av 10th august 2013

10th August to 16th August 2013VOL 42. ISSUE 15 80pLet noble thoughts come to us from every side

See Page - 26

See Page - 26

Gorkhas up in

arms; seek

separate state

Pak troops kill 5

Indian soldiers,

Parliament

outraged

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Indian origin pizza tycoonappointed as a Peer

Rumi Verjee

Indian origin entrepreneur,donor to the Liberal Democratsparty and philanthropist RumiVerjee is among 30 new peersannounced by British PrimeMinister David Cameron.

Mr Verjee, a multi-million-aire who brought the Domino'spizza chain to Britain, becomesLord Verjee in what has beendescribed as one of the mostcontroversial appointments.

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Brit-Indian Kumar Iyerappointed as UKTI India headand DHC for western India

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The British governmenthas appointed Kumar Iyer,an Indian origin official,as Director General forUK Trade and Investment(UKTI)

Direct flights to Hyderabad &Amritsar/New Delhi dampenBritish Gujarati spirits

The diaspora demands a direct flight toAhmedabad from London Heathrow or Gatwick

Continued on page 5

Direct flight announce-ments to North and Southof India by Air India andBritish Airways respec-tively, makes BritishIndians proud of thecountry's rising popularityas a business and holidaydestination. But BritishGujaratis, Britons and thediaspora interested indoing business withGujarat, one of the fastestgrowing states in India, isextremely disappointedthat no direct flights to

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EID

MUBARAK

After the holy

month of

Ramadan, here

comes Eid ul fitr

festival on 9th

August. Asian

Voice wishes Id

Mubarak to all

its Muslims

readers.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 20132 UK

1) What inspired you to standfor Parliament?I would not say that anything“inspired” me to stand forParliament. I had never intend-ed to stand, but I was persuad-ed by a number of Councillorsand activists in theConstituency, who felt that Iwould do a better job of beinga candidate than the previousLib Dem PPC.

2) What are your proudestachievements in politics?My proudest achievement wasgetting elected in 2005, andthen despite a 5 year campaignof hate, I was still able to be re-

elected in 2010. My proudestachievement as an MP waseither winning Parliamentarianof the Year for Road Safety orleading the successful cam-paign to overturn the decisionby NICE on a prostate cancerdrug.

3) Please tell us about yourcurrent position?I have recently taken over fromDon Foster as the Lib Demspokesperson for CultureMedia and Sport. This couldnot have happened at a busiertime, with press regulation onthe agenda, allegations of sexu-al misconduct by numerous

people in the world of TV, theOlympic legacy and the pub-lishing of the Hillsboroughindependent panel. It has cer-tainly been a busy time

4) What has been the biggestobstacle in your career?I would have to say going intocoalition with the Tories. Ialways assumed that getting re-elected for the first time wouldbe the biggest challenge, butthe Tories are so hated in manyparts of the North, that anydeal with the Tories would be

very unpopular inplaces like southManchester.

5) Who has beenthe biggest influ-ence on yourcareer to date?U n d o u b t e d l yCharles Kennedy.As leader duringmy election cam-paign in 2005, hisprincipled stanceover Iraq was atelling factor inme getting elect-ed and bringingthe LiberalDemocrats intothe mainstreamof British poli-tics.

6) What is the best aspectabout your current role?I really enjoy the DCMS SelectCommittee. Select Committeeare undervalued and do lot ofexcellent work – they ought tohave more power and influenceover the direction and scrutinyof Government policy.

7) And the worst?I cannot stand PMQs. I am sickto death of MPs behaving likenaughty children, playing up tothe cameras and creating a cha-

rade and an unseemly specta-cle.

8) What are your long termgoals?I’m not looking much past thenext election at the moment,and I’m focused on trying tomake sure that I get re-elected.In the long term, as far as myparty brief is concerned, Iwould love to be the MPresponsible for bringing safe-standing to premier leaguefootball grounds. What the vastmajority of football fans wantto see.

9) If you were SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations,what one aspect would youchange?I would be pushing for greaterpowers for the UN to play amuch bigger role in interna-tional conflicts. Individualnations should not be theworld’s “police”.

10) If you were marooned on adesert island, which historicalfigure would you like to spendyour time with and why?David Livingstone – I am fasci-nated by Africa and its explo-ration, and I doubt you couldget bored with hearing thenumerous stories of explo-ration of the continent.

John Leech MP

John Leech entered Parliament at the first attempt in 2005when he was elected to represent Manchester Withingtonconstituency. He is a member of the Transport SelectCommittee and a Lib Dem transport spokesman. Prior tobecoming an MP, John worked for both McDonalds as atrainee manager and the RAC and served for ten years as amember of Manchester City Council where he was DeputyLeader of the Liberal Democrat group and group spokesper-son on Planning and the Environment. A keen sportsman,John is a member of the parliamentary football team andhas been a Manchester City season ticket holder for over 20years.

Keith Vaz MP Keith Vaz MPwith

Continued from page 1

The proprietor andChairman of ThomasGoode & Co, based inLondon's Mayfair, is afourth generation Indianborn in Uganda, much ofthe Verjee family's assetswas seized by Idi Amin'sregime. He is currentlybelieved to be worth anestimated £125 million.

The full list of newpeers released includes 14from the rulingConservative party, 10Liberal Democrats, 5Labour and 1 Green.

Verjee was nominatedby the Deputy PrimeMinister Nick Clegg.

The 30 nominees willtake their seats when theHouse of Lords returnsfrom its summer recess inSeptember taking thenumber of active membersto 800. FormerManchester United bossSir Alex Ferguson was tobecome a peer too. But herejected a peerage tospend more time with hiswife. The list also includesDoreen Lawrence, motherof murdered teenagerStephen Lawrence, a vic-tim of race attack in South

London.Verjee studied Law at

Downing College,University of Cambridgewhere he is now anHonorary Fellow and afterthe expulsion of the Asianpopulation from Uganda,made UK his home.

The latest appoint-ments have triggered awarning that the member-ship of the House of Lordsis on course to top 1,000by 2015.

Verjee in a statementreportedly said, "As animmigrant from EastAfrica I arrived in the UKwith little more than agood education and adesire to succeed."

However critics haveclaimed the House ofLords has become toolarge and reformers havecalled for peers to beallowed to retire withoutlosing their peerages.

More than 40 peers arecurrently on a "leave ofabsence" and are notattending Parliament dueto illness or other commit-ments, while approximate-ly 10 are disqualifiedbecause they are membersof the judiciary or electedrepresentatives elsewhere.


in India and also as theBritish deputy high com-missioner for westernIndia. This is probably thefirst time a British Indianhas been appointed inthese positions by Britain.He took up both the posi-tions, based in Mumbai,on Monday, 5 August.

This new top level posthas been created to reflectthe increasing importanceof business ties betweenthe two countries. AsUKTI director general,India, Iyer will have over-all responsibility for thebilateral commercial andtrade relationship.

The Mumbai office hassome 200 staff, whosemain work covers tradeand investment, entryclearance and bilateralrelations with India. Thereare over 80 UKTI staffacross India that work tosupport British businesseswanting to trade in Indiaand Indian businessesinvesting in the UK.

"I am very excited atthe prospect of living andworking in India, it's acountry of boundlessenergy, talent and poten-tial. Having lived andstudied in India whilstgrowing up, I am equallykeen to play my part inpromoting the academic,cultural and social linksbetween our two coun-tries," Iyer said, lookingforward to his posting.

Iyer has an MPhil inEconomics fromCambridge Universitywhere he was a Bank ofEngland scholar and anundergraduate tutor inMicroeconomics. He wasalso a Kennedy Scholarand Teaching Fellow inInternational CapitalMarkets at HarvardUniversity. Since 2008,Iyer has been a high-rank-ing official at the BritishTreasury and the PrimeMinister's Strategy Unit.

He was born inLondon to parents ofIndian origin and spenthis formative childhoodyears in India. He joinedthe British government in2008 as Deputy Director,Prime Minister's StrategyUnit. In 2010, he movedto the Treasury, first asDeputy Director,Strategy, Planning &Budget, and then as Headof Financial SectorInterventions.

Prior to that, he wasat the Boston ConsultingGroup where he workedmainly in the FinancialServices Practice but alsofor large multinationalmedia and retail clients.

Looking forward tohis posting, Kumaradded: "I am delighted tobe appointed DG forIndia of UKTI. Being aneconomist whose careerhas included managementconsulting in the privatesector and working forthe British Government

Brit-Indian Kumar Iyerappointed as UKTI India head

and DHC for western India

Indian origin pizza tycoon

appointed as a Peer

both at Number 10 andthe Treasury, it's a greatfit for the position, com-bined with being DeputyHigh Commissioner forWestern India. My aim isto take the entire India-UK business relationshipacross the whole country

to the highest possiblelevel", he said.

He is a keen cricketerand chess player and ismarried to Kathryn, abarrister practicing crimi-nal law. They have twochildren, a son and adaughter.

Father of GeorginaThomsson, an Indianstudent from LiverpoolUniversity who wasfound dead in her accom-modation, has sent thebody for a second post-mortem on this Monday.Unhappy with the firstpostmortem, fatherSeshiyan Thomsson, aChennai inspector decid-ed to go for a secondpostmortem, despite ofthe expensive and timeconsuming processinvolved.

The brilliantAerospace Engineeringstudent who came toBritain last Septemberwas found dead on 12July, after which herfather was summonedfrom India. While thefather was told that thegirl has committed sui-cide by hanging herself,he grew suspicious whenhe saw the small room

that Georgina lived in,making hanging impossi-ble by a girl of her heightand structure.

He was more disap-pointed when the policeallegedly refused to shareGeorgina's suicide note.Thereafter a UK coronerrepeatedly asked tolaunch a further investi-gation in Britain andIndia.

The result of the sec-ond postmortem whichmay have cost the fatherthousands, will be avail-able to the family andlegal representatives, endof this week.

Thomsson's fatheralso visited Rt HonKeith Vaz MP, Chair ofHome Affairs Committeewho has agreed to helphim seek justice, howev-er possible within hismeans. Mr Thomssonreturned to India on lastFriday without her body.

Liverpool Uni student'sbody sent for second

postmortem

Father Seshiyan Thomsson with Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 3

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Marooned in the shallows of immigrationTalk of a new Indo-British relationship has givenway to the reality of the old obsession: immigration.That, in so many words, sums up the present stateof affairs. In a fast changing world, with diversechallenges to confront and overcome, India andBritain have to move on. Britain is grappling withits membership of the European Union and thespillover of the Eurozone crisis into its own econo-my. The performance of EU leaders on the interna-tional stage is little more than a shadow play of USpolicy – which is how the 21st century’s tributarysystem works. With India concentration on its LookEast policy, there is now a clear mismatch betweenwhat the UK and EU have to offer by way of a part-nership and what would be acceptable to India. TheUK immigration bond scheme, petty, niggling andutterly self-defeating is a sign of the times. Hoaryattitudes and phobias prevail as David Cameron’svision of a brave new world, enunciated on hisassumption of power as Britain’s prime minister,fades. Despite his assurance that India would beexempt from his contentious visa scheme for “highrisk” visitors deemed unlikely to return to theircountry, he has proved immovable. To assuage suchsuspicions the would-be visitors will be required todeposit a substantial sum of money before enteringthe UK, to be returned when they leave its shores.This may be projected as a pilot measure, but itslikely impact on the broader relationship will belongstanding for sure. Immigration, more than the stalled British econ-

omy and rising unemployment, appears to be thegovernment’s foremost priority. The cost of admin-istering this paranoid scheme in time and moneytranscends its worth or its goal. Mr Cameron andhis Conservative party colleagues seem oblivious ofits knock-on effect on bilateral trade, investmentand education. What is already in place in the Indo-British relationship will probably be kept undis-

turbed, but the pace of Indo-British ties will surelyslow from now on. Western leaders, especially thosefrom the US and UK, are much given to sermoniz-ing benighted humanity on the pleasures that wouldfollow with the removal of what they perceive to bethe protectionist barriers set up by the natives.. Butin the slipstream of the free movement of capital fol-lows, inevitably, the movement of labour primarilyskilled labour in this day and age. Both the US (overIndian IT operatives) and UK generally wish toplace impediments to this process on the ground ofsaving jobs for their own people. Truth is thatIndian IT companies are a significant source ofemployment in America, while Indian investmentsin the London area alone rank second on the list offoreign investments. A Conservative Party insider told the Financial

Times that “the Prime Minister doesn’t want to doanything that cuts across the message he took toIndia.” British business leaders who have a vestedinterest in closer Indo-British ties are perceptiveenough to appreciate the negative outcomes of theirgovernment’s immigration paranoia. British busi-ness circles have described the bond project as an“insulting deterrent” to wealthy Indian tourists.Government-printed posters on vans in six Londonboroughs telling illegal immigrants to “go home orface arrest” have been described by LiberalDemocratic Business Secretary Vince Cable as “stu-pid and offensive.” So they assuredly are, as evenUKIP admits. Worse: the poster campaign is to betaken from London to all corners of the UK. It com-pounds injury with insult. As Nigeria shares a placewith India on the list of bondsmen and women,there could be an Afro-Asian dimension to a loom-ing Commonwealth crisis. Is this arcane institution,memorabilia of Empire - and unfit for purpose inany auction house - worth India’s time and trou-ble?

Reaching for the pinnacles of sciencePolitics is where India’s eighteenth and twenty-firstcenturies collide; its vacuous big bang echoesthrough every TV host show night after boring night.What makes India a working proposition are thestrides being made in science and technology. Theseare the surest guarantees of the country’s future andhence deserve close attention. Siegfried Hecker, oneof the world’s most distinguished nuclear scientistsand, before his retirement in 1997, head of America’sNew Alamos National laboratory, has been a fre-quent visitor to India, is well acquainted with Indianprogress in the nuclear energy field. Talking to anIndian reporter, he said: “I have visited both theBhabha Atomic Research Centre and the IndiraGandhi Centre for Atomic Research. The technicalpeople I have found are absolutely first-rate, theseare world-class scientists and engineers and, in myopinion, on par with those of the United States. Infact, India is ahead since you have never stopped theserious research related to nuclear energy and tech-nology. If anything, the Indians accelerated it afterthe 1974 nuclear blast [Pokhran 1] because theywere sanctioned and realized that if they were goingto carry out their plan for this very ambitious three-stage atomic programme, they would have to do itthemselves.”In the US, continued Dr Hecker, the Three Mile

Island accident brought work on nuclear power to astandstill, including Congressional and universityfunding. “But India never stopped. So India has anoverall nuclear energy research programme that issignificantly superior to the US.” It is a message Dr Hecker has taken back with

him to Washington, where he told its great and goodthat it would “ be to the US’s advantage to actually

work with the Indians because there are things theIndian nuclear complex can do in their facilities thatwe can no longer do.” Indo-US nuclear energy coop-eration was vital if the US wished to get back into thebusiness, he said. Apropos of the Indian Fast BreederReactor programme, Dr Hecker described this as“one of the most innovative and the most ambi-tious.” India, a world leader in the field, he said, isable to design, manufacture and operate such reac-tors, and he expected one to be ready quite soon.An endorsement of Siegfried Hecker’s findings is

the first unit of the Kundakulam nuclear power facil-ity, near Chennai, which went critical three weeksago. The 1,000 MW power it will generate at fullcapacity is India’s biggest plant. Lodged within amassive structure with myriad safeguards, theChairman of (India’s) Atomic Energy Commission(AEC) told a local weekly magazine that “Ournuclear programme has reached an important mile-stone. I am glad and I feel very proud.” He called theKundakulam Russian VVER 1000 MW units “techni-cally perfect” and “among the safest reactors in theworld.” Russian Light Water Rector technology was anovel experience for Indian scientists and engineers,who asked for and received Russian drawings,designs and components, after which they wentabout constructing the site themselves. It was ahands-on learning process and a model of Indo-Russian science and engineering cooperation.V.Rybkin, a member of the Russian workforce, said:“The purpose of our stay here and one of our objec-tives is to put the project into operation. We havenow reached that goal. This was because of the greatand fruitful cooperation between Russia and India.We are friends. We are brothers.”

The message of TelanganaThe Congress-led United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government in Delhi bit the bullet by bifur-cating Andhra Pradesh. Its central-southern coastalregion, Telangana, will be accorded full statehood.The States Reorganization Committee in the mid-1950s had drawn up new boundaries to the oldprovinces of British India and carved out entities ona linguistic platform. Telugu-speaking Telanganamerged with Telugu-speaking Andhra to becomeAndhra Pradesh, but over time the arrangementproved to be an economic disappointment for theTelanganites. The UPA agreed to the Telanganaproject on returning to power in 2009, but has onlynow, after much hesitation and cogitation,redeemed its pledge. With the port city of

Visakhpatnam and nearby hub Vijayawada in itsdomain, Telangana, as India’s 29th state, is set tobecome an economic powerhouse.Telangana reinforces the need for smaller states

in the interest of good government and better gov-ernance. The trifurcation of Punjab in the mid-1960s into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh has paidoff handsomely in every sense. Detached from UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar respectively bythe BJP-led NDA government (1998-2004),Uttarkhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand haveprospered. Uttar Pradesh, however, can do with fur-ther pruning. A compact Maharashtra, with a newVidarbha next door would also be a wise move.Small is beautiful to a very large extent.

Comment

A person without a sense of humour is

like a wagon without springs, jolted by

every pebble in the road

-Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

I write to you as I plan my trip to India. Gujarat hasalways been a problem for the British. Ever since therehas been a Mahatma and a Sardar Patel, Gujarat hasbeen a problem for the British.

I am Gujarati. And it pains me when anyone criticis-es Gujarat. When they forget, the Mahatma was Gujarati– the man who was the inspiration for Mandela andObama. When Indians forget the Gujarati, Sardar Patel,was the man who created the Union of India. WithoutGujarat and these two Gujaratis, let no one dare deny,there would not be an Independent India, there wouldnot be a unified India.

Yet the reflex anti-Modi reaction around the Indianpress and indeed outside India is incredulous. Emotion,over reason. In politics people will happily see them-selves and their opponent worse off, then both betteroff. And so it is with Indian politics outside Gujarat.

So how should Gujarat be treated? A State in theworld’s largest democracy. The fastest growing majorState in the Union of India? Well with a hell of a lot morerespect than it has been. But the problem is not theBritish, they are keen Governmentally and commerciallyto do all they can in Gujarat. Or at least they should be.They’d be in self-destruction mode if they were not. Theywould be in denial of the largest international anddomestic companies establishing there. They would be indenial of a British Prime Minister’s dictat that India’s eco-nomic growth is a top priority, and that means Gujarat,they would be wanting to come second to the rest of theworld. Frankly, they would be irrational to be treatingGujarat as an outcaste, an untouchable.

The diplomatic post in Ahmedabad must be elevatedto a Deputy High Commission which is justified by thestatus of Gujarat’s trading. Oh, Beijing can be anEmbassy, forget human rights, but Gujarat cannot – tothe detriment of British trade, because successive BritishGovernments are afraid of their domestic muslim popu-lation – or flanks in their own political parties briefingagainst the idea. But British national interests are para-mount and that means close links to India as the BritishPM has recognised and close links to therefore to Gujaratby his Ministers on their visits I trust.

But that is what so many in the Indian media andBriton don’t desire. Hate the man, so hate the State.

You don’t hear liberal Delhi-ites talking much abouthow when Sikhs were massacred in 1984 in Delhi – notmuch was done – but then again their ‘Gandhi dynasty’worship prohibited that. Well they should remember thereal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, not Indira or Rajeev orSonia, came from Gujarat – the last one didn’t evencome from India, but the deity worship of the name goeson.

When recently Manoj Ladwa and CB Patel againorganised a UK conference with Narendrabhai appearingvia video, Manoj kindly introduced me – simply – ‘Alpeshis from Karamsad’ and to that Narendra replied, simply,‘Jai Sardar, Jai Karamsad’. Really, the British and Indiansneed only understand that Narendrabhai sees himselfcarrying the legacy of Sardar Patel, to understand theman and to know what he is, and is not capable of.

Gujarat – Serve Briton,Serve India

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th August 20134 Midlands Voice

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Lord Krishna ‘to descend’ on BirminghamScores of people are expected to gather inVictoria Square in Birmingham city centrethis Sunday (11 August) for the Rath YatraFestival. Now in its 13th year, this event,also known as the Festival of Chariots, isorganised by the International Society forKrishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or theHare Krishna Movement.The 10.30am to 4pm programme will

feature street dancing and chanting, agrand procession of the enormous LordJagannatha chariot, stalls, food and drink,a stage drama, speeches, recitals, musicalsand much more. Everyone is most welcometo attend this free event. For more infor-mation visit www.iskconbirmingham.orgor telephone event coordinator MayapurMadhava Das on 07966 238 376.

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On Sunday 4th August 2013,a charity effort set up by aLeicestershire resident col-lected a staggering number oftoys from members of thepublic for children affectedby the conflict in Syria.

Sharen Ravat who wasdeeply affected by the plightof children in Syria decidedto launch the initiative tohelp bring some joy to fami-lies because the conflict hasresulted in many lives beinglost, many injuries and manybeing made homeless.According to the UnitedNations, the conflict has ledto the worst humanitariancrisis since Rwanda from twodecades ago.The drop-in session held

at St Philip’s Church inLeicester collected an esti-mated ten thousand (10,000)toys which filled seven (7)van loads. Those who gaveitems then signed a board asa keep-sake from the day. The

toys were given to theUK-based charity,Hand in Hand forSyria who will shortlytransport the items fordistribution to chil-dren in hospitals andrefugee camps inSyria.Sharen Ravat said,

“I pay tribute to thewonderfully generouspeople including manychildren who donatedtoys for this vitalcause. What was par-ticularly heart-warm-ing was that so manyof Leicestershire’s dif-ferent faith communi-ties came together.Collectively theydemonstrated theirshared values of compassionand love for children whothey will never know. I hopethat these toys will bring asmile to their faces”. The Federation of Muslim

Organisations (FMO) wasone of the many faith organi-sations supporting the cam-paign. Their spokesperson,Suleman Nagdi MBE DLsaid, “We were privileged to

be part of this superbcharity effort whichhas collected a hugeamount of toys whichwill bring happiness toso many children whoare facing a major cri-sis. This effort whichfocused on childrenwas greatly needed ata time when many arefacing huge traumaand uncertainty. I paytribute to SharenRavat who single-handedly had thevision to arrange thisappeal which has unit-ed so many of the faithand non-faith commu-nities for a commoncause for humanity”.Fadi Al-Dairi from

Hand in Hand for Syriaadded, “The people ofLeicestershire will make a lotof children smile.Leicestershire is amazingwith its people”.

Ten thousand toys for children in Syria

Revd Sonya Brown, Sharen Ravat, Suleman Nagdi

Three members of a window company usedpersonal information stolen from a rivalfirm to target- and then rip them off- elder-ly customers.Pensioners were among those duped

out of deposits from double glazing andother work after being told lies by salesstaff at Leicester based Premier HomeImprovements, a court has heard. At least25 victims, many in their 70s and 80s, lostdeposit totalling about £15,000 whichwere never refunded.Trading standards officers seized 2,500

customer files from Premier HomeImprovements' offices in Swan Street, nearFrog Island, belonging to Zenith Staybritewindow company, where the offenders hadpreviously worked.Leicester Crown Court was told that

work promised was either never carriedout or if customers changed their minds,they would not get their money back. In a few cases work was carried out,

but there were complaints about the quali-ty. One of the bosses, Neeraj Madhavani,and his girlfriend, Ekaterina Lycett, alongwith Lee Varnum, all admitted conspiracyto commit fraud by making false represen-tation, between February and October2009. They were each given suspendedsentences. A fourth person allegedlyinvolved in the same confidence fraud,Christopher Donne, in his 50s, is still atlarge and being sought in connection withthe case. Jane Sarginson, prosecuting forLeicester trading standards, said all fouroriginally worked for Zenith Staybrite, orBowater Windows, which had nothingwhatsoever to do with them.”Lycett and Varnum were involved in

“lying and deceiving” customers by usingfalse personal names and trading on thereputation of well known firms, underMadhavani's orders.Madhvani, of Raine Way, Oadby, admit-

ted a second fraud offence, by failing tonotify customers of a seven day coolingperiod. He was given a 12 month jail sen-tence, suspended for a year, with 180 hoursof unpaid work. He was responsible forbetween £11,000 and £15,000 of cus-tomers' lost deposits.

Window company staff “ripped off elderly customers”

The British Heart Foundation hasopened a new fundraising branch inWakefield and District.Well-wishers and supporters joined

Councillor Brian Holmes, Mayor ofWakefield, and Mayoress CouncillorJanet Holmes who officially announcedthe opening last Wednesday.The new branch aims to support

local volunteers and fundraisers to helpfurther boost the coffers of BHF, whichwas launched more than 50 years ago,and to help raise awareness of theimportance of continuing to supportground breaking advances in research tocombat heart disease, the nation'sbiggest killer. Through research there have been

life changing treatments for many suffer-ers of heart disease, ranging from hearttransplants, to heart valve surgeries, toheart by-passes, and now to the possibil-ity of growing new heart muscle toreplace lost muscle.Councillor Holmes said he had cho-

sen BHF and Take Heart, which raisescash for the Yorkshire Heart Centre atLeeds General Infirmary, as his twonominated charities during his term ofoffice. Sue Green, BHF’s fundraisingvolunteer manager, said: “Sadly, coro-

nary heart disease touches us all. Frombabies born with life-threatening heartproblems to many mums, dads andgrandparents who survive a heart attackand endure the daily battles of heart fail-ure. Every pound raised, minute of yourtime and donation to BHF will helpmake a difference to people’s lives.”Also present at the launch was Dr

Mahendra Patel, as Chair of the Branchand one of Britain’s leading pharma-cists. “I’m delighted to be supporting agood cause, one which can help savelives. I know there are many well-wish-ers from all walks of life out there and I

hope together we canmake a real and last-ing difference tothose who need oursupport the most andmake Wakefield andDistrict Branch verysuccessful. I haveworked with the BHFfor nearly 15 years inmore ways than onein my professionaland advisor capacityas well as to raisefunds."After the opening,

Dr Patel spoke aboutBHF and its work at the Rotary Club ofNormanton. They were so impressedwith the talk, they donated £100towards BHF’s Mending Broken HeartsAppeal. The Club’s Secretary DavidPiggin, thanked Dr Patel and said: “Youwere passionate and committed andgave some very sobering facts aboutheart disease for members to reflect on.”

For information about joining BHF,call 01274 548324, email [email protected] or visitwww.bhf.org.uk

BHF opens new branch in West Yorkshire

L-R: Dr Mahendra Patel (Branch Chair), Manisha Patel (Treasurer), Cllr Brian Holmes, Cllr Janet Holmes, Susan

Hartley (Vice Chair/Secretary)

More than 10,000 peopleattended the funeral of one ofLeicester's first imams at theweekend.

Imam MohamedbhaiPeerbhai, known as MaulanaGora Sahib, died on Fridaynight in Leicester RoyalInfirmary after suffering aheart attack. He was 70.At Spinney Hill park,

thousands of mourners gath-ered fro his funeral andprayers before his burial atthe Saffron Lane cemetery. Leicester Federation of

Muslim Organisation

spokesman Suleman Nagdisaid: “This is a massive lossthat will be felt by communi-ty of Leicester.

“He was amost learned andhuman i t a r i a nindividual whoinspired rever-ence and respectfrom many thou-sands of peoplefor his actions,such as the earlypromotion ofinter-faith iftaars,as well as his

refusal to get drawn intoissues of contention betweendifferent schools of thought.”"The presence of so many

people at Spinney Hill Parkfor the Imam's funeral wastestament to his 'popularityand legacy'.Traffic came to standstill

and police warned motoriststo avoid the area as so manypeople were congregatingthere. In recent years he wasimam at Keythorpe StreetMosque, closer to his homein Hartington Road, SpinneyHill. The Federation ofMuslim Organisationsthanked volunteers and thepolice for their assistancewith the funeral.

Thousands attend Imam's funeral

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 5


Ahmedabad has been started,despite repeated requests, petitionsand reminders to Indian authorities,over the last 3 years.

This reaction came after AirIndia and British Airwaysannounced that they will be offering4 weekly flights betweenBirmingham-Delhi/Amritsar anddaily London-Hyderabad flights.

Currently, British Airways isoperating only 6 weekly flightsbetween London and Hyderabad,and now this new service of dailynon-stop flights between the twosectors will offer an entirely seam-less facility to the passengers.

Air India has also launched its 4weekly flights directly betweenBirmingham to New Delhi andAmritsar, now operational from 1August. The authorities haverevealed that the flights are flyingfull so far- establishing the successin the initiatives taken by Air India(full story page 15)

The British Airways authoritieshave also revealed that sensing a40% increase in demand they decid-ed to start this daily direct flightsfrom autumn onwards.

Right after the above announce-ments by authorities, Asian Voiceand Gujarat Samachar received sev-eral calls and letters from angry andconcerned readers, including busi-ness tycoons and keen investors,demanding an explanation why aretheir interest in direct flights toGujarat being ignored repeatedly.

Between 2005-06 and 2011-12,Gujarat clocked a Gross StateDomestic Product (GSDP) growthof 9.98% states the Indian EconomicSurvey 2012-13. In the category ofunemployment rate (per 1,000) for2009-10, Gujarat has the lowestnumber of unemployed in urbanareas as well. Naturally these factorsmake Gujarat, one of the most desir-able states to do business with.

Asian Voice and GujaratSamachar news weeklies, along witha few local organisations have raisedthe issue of direct flight betweenLondon and Ahmedabad and cam-paigned from time to time. As manyas 10,000 petitions have been col-lected in this favour. A few months

back lawyer and Chairman of theLabour Community EngagementForum, Manoj Ladwa handed overthe petitions to Gujarat ChiefMinister and BJP Election CampaignChairman Narendra Modi on ourbehalf, requesting direct non-stopflights between London andAhmedabad.

We also understand that manypeople have written to the IndianHigh Commission, requesting forthe same.

Asian Voice and GujaratSamachar have requested its readersto raise their concerns with appro-priate authorities and treatHyderabad-London direct non-stopflight and Delhi/Amritsar-B'hamflight as an inspiration.

The British Airways (BA) nonstop flights announced dailybetween Hyderabad and London isstarting from October 27 and willoperate on Boeing 777-200 in athree-class configuration offeringflat beds in Club World, BusinessClass, World Traveller plus andWorld Traveller seats. Flight No. BA276 will take passengers fromHyderabad to London, leaving hereeveryday at 6.55 am, while on thereturn, BA 277 would land here at4.35 am.

Having seen a 20 per cent

increase in capacity when theywent six flights a week fromfive, in October last, the pre-mium airline now expects 40per cent more by November,2013, said ChristopherFordyce, BA’s RegionalCommercial Manager at apress conference.

After the US, India is thebiggest market for BA, he said,adding that Hyderabad is thefaster growing market for theairline.

Tracing the operationalhistory, he said that BA’sengagement with India wentback to 84 years, with 46flights a week from LondonHeathrow to Mumbai, NewDelhi, Chennai, Bangalore andHyderabad. Last year, Mr.

Fordyce recalled, BA hadannounced its commitment tothe tune of £5 billion to improveits products and services.

Why direct flight to Gujarat?

Asian Voice and GujaratSamachar news weeklies and localBritish Indian organisations raisedthe issue of direct flight betweenLondon and Ahmedabad, as in theabsence of such a facility, travellersto Gujarat have to spend at least 4 to5 hours in waiting, which at timesgoes up to 10 to 12 hours at someother air-port in India or in someother country.

Lack of such a flight is also agreat inconvenience for senior citi-zens, children and female passengersespecially pregnant mothers ormothers with young children.Businessmen interested in invest-ments in Gujarat or professionals ontight schedules also don’t wish towaste time in waiting for connectingflights.

British MPs, Peers and Indianpoliticians write to several authori-ties

A memorandum was submittedto various authorities, including CMNrendra Modi over the past fewyears.

Many letters were written bypoliticians in India and British MPsand Peers with India connections,requesting for the prompt start ofdirect flights.

Direct flights to Hyderabad & Amritsar/New Delhidampen British Gujarati spirits

Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia,British Airways, Christopher Fordyce,

addressing press conference in Hyderabadon last Tuesday

Lawyers acting forShrien Dewani arelaunching a bid to takehis case to the SupremeCourt to stop being sentback to South Africa toface trail over his wife'sdeath.

Last month, ChiefMagistrate HowardRiddle ruled atW e s t m i n s t e rMagistrates' Court that33 years old Dewanishould be extradited andrejected his attempt tostay in the UK for fur-ther hospital treatmentfor mental health prob-lems.

Judge Riddle hadgiven the go-ahead toDewani's extradition in2011. He had to recon-sider the position aftertwo senior High Courtjudges allowed an appealin March last year.

They were toldDewani was sufferingfrom depression andpost-traumatic stressdisorder.

Dewani's lawyerslodged an application atthe High Court for thetwo judges to now certi-fy that their ruling raised"a point of law of generalpublic importance" forconsideration by theSupreme Court, thehighest court in the land.

Dewani is suspectedof ordering the killing ofhis new wife Anni, 28,who was shot as the cou-ple travelled in a taxi onthe outskirts of CapeTown in November2010. Dewani's lawyershave stressed at varioushearings that he will bewilling to defend himselfat trial once he is fit todo so.

Lawyers plan to takeDewani case toSupreme Court

A British jury has convict-ed three people of stab-bing Lieutenant GeneralKuldeep Singh Brar inLondon last year. A juryat London's SouthwarkCrown Court foundMandeep Singh Sandhu,Dilbag Singh and HarjitKaur guilty of woundingwith intent to do grievousbodily harm. Another sus-pect already pleadedguilty. Lieutenant GeneralBrar had sustained a neckwound in what prosecu-tors called "a highly pre-meditated assault" as hewalked with his wifeMeena, in CentralLondon in September2012.

He suffered a 1ft cutacross his jaw and neck.Harjit Kaur, 39, ofLondon, who had moni-tored the couple’s move-ments, Mandeep SinghSandhu, 34, ofBirmingham, and DilbagSingh, 37, of London,

were convicted atSouthwark Crown Courtof intentional wounding.Barjinder Singh Sangha,33, of Wolverhampton,had admitted the charge.

General Brar had beenthreatened with reprisalssince he led a militaryoperation against Sikhmilitants who were stag-ing protests at the GoldenTemple in Amritsar inJune 1984. The IndianArmy stormed the com-plex, killing at least 500Sikhs and damaging thebuilding.

The general has sur-vived several assassina-tion attempts and stillreceives death threats, thecourt was told.

Speaking by video-linkfrom India, he said that asa result of the attack hisprotection ranking wasraised to the highest pos-sible in India. The gangwill be sentenced inSeptember.

Three convicted of attackingLt General Kuldeep Singh Brar

General Brar last year, after the knife attack

While the £3000 cashbond for visitors has beenbranded as a racist moveby concerned countries,now probably reachingthe European Courts ofHuman Rights for areview, Britain has finallyrealised worth of interna-tional students, who theyhave denied a deserving 2years post work studyvisa since last year.

As Britain sees a fallin Central London apart-ment rents by Britons, areport has claimed thatoverseas students fromwealthy families are rent-ing some of London’smost desirable and expen-sive flats, according to arecent report by theEstate agents

While UK students aremostly forced to make dowith tiny bedsits andcramped shared accom-

modation on the outskirtsof town, centralLondon’s best addresses -where weekly rents cantop £1,000 per week - areseeing an influx fromabroad moving alongsidebankers, oil industrytycoons and advertisingdirectors.

Estate agents PeterWetherell and marketintelligence groupDataloft reportedly foundthat Knightsbridge wasthe most expensive placein prime central Londonto rent a two-bedroom flat(average rent £1,252 perweek), followed byMayfair (£1,016 perweek), Kensington HighStreet (£822),Marylebone (£761),Fitzrovia (£685) Victoria(£713) and CoventGarden (£752).

The review found that

foreign students made up35% all Mayfair tenantsin the £750 to £999 perweek price band and 25%in the £1,000 to £1,999price band. There wereeven a few renting at over£2,000 per week.

The Wetherell findingsare supported by figuresfrom the Home Office anda report on LondonHigher Education byOxford Economics. Thereare more than 300,000non-EU students atBritish universities at anyone time, worth £5 mil-lion a year to the UKeconomy. Of these,105,000 are studying inLondon either full orpart-time, contributing£1.5 million a year to thecapital’s economythrough rents, educationfees and spending inshops and leisure venues.

Wealthy international studentsrent posh Central London flats The family of a business-

man who unfortunatelydied - after suffering a sin-gle punch from an alleged-ly racist drunk called forthe case against theattacker to be reopened.

Property managerKamlesh Ruparelia, 55,originally from Uganda,was knocked down ‘like askittle’ after beingpunched in the face by 38-year-old KieranBeresford, who had drunkten pints of cider, reportedthe Daily Mail.

Several witnesses toldan inquest at SheffieldCoroner’s Court that thefather of one did nothingto provoke his 6ft 4inattacker, who punchedhim after making racistremarks to two women ina pub.

The hearing cameafter prosecutors droppeda manslaughter chargeagainst Beresford inFebruary 2011 - who

claimed self-defence -after deciding there wasno realistic prospect ofconvicting him.

After the inquest, MrRuparelia’s family report-edly said in a statement:‘The decision of theCrown ProsecutionService not to prosecuteanyone over Kamlesh’sdeath and not to let a juryhear the evidence sends

out the wrong message.‘We are shocked by the

mismanagement of thecase and feel a double loss- the loss of Kamlesh andthe loss of justice.

'The failure to prose-cute this case to trial rep-resents a serious failure bythe CPS to demonstrateits commitment to protectthe public.’

Family shocked atlack of justice

after man's death


I know we are all eager-ly awaiting the filmSatyagraha by PrakashJha and the film has anextremely good starcast and direction andraises a very importantissue that India is fac-ing at the moment. Butthe film has got into abit of controversy withTeam Anna supportersclaiming that the storyis inspired and basedon Anna Hazare’s lifewhich Prakash Jha hastotally dismissed. Prakash Jha’s

Satyagraha is not basedon any person or event,the film from my under-standing is inspired bythe Gandhian ideology(as the name suggests)and is a story of anuprising by citizens tofight against corrup-tion. The story in itselfis extremely intenseand looks at the socialproblems that India isfacing today but theentire focus seems tohave been shifted to thedebate between Jha andTeam Anna.I would like to say

that India being ademocracy will alwayshave millions of opin-ions and commentsfrom every section ofthe society and films

are a very strong medi-um in our country toinfluence young minds.However, the timing ofthis film is extremelyinteresting, especiallywith the general elec-tions in sight, everyonewill again go back tothe tough question ofwho to vote for? And ina country like India, it’snot an easy one toanswer. One can hopethat this film bringsmuch more than justcontroversies anddebates. During a press con-

ference of this film lastmonth, the star castshared such wonderfulexperiences whileshooting the film. In relation to her

r o l ein Satyagraha, KareenaKapoor said, "I havealways wanted to workwith Prakash-ji, and therole that he's offered methis time is the role of ajournalist, which Ihaven't really essayedbefore. It's a verystrong-headed but sen-sitive character and Icouldn't say no. And, ofcourse, being part of afilm which is sociallyvery relevant right nowin our country is also agreat honour." Adding

about her character inthe film, she elaborat-ed, "Playing the part ofa journalist excited me.Their personalities arein some ways similar tomine because I amheadstrong and quitesure about what I want.As a director's actress, Ididn't really prepare assuch for the role and Icompletely followedPrakash-ji's direction."Will the film be as

successful and as grip-ping as Rajneeti was?Will it do a Prakash Jhamagic again? One per-son I haven’t men-tioned till now isAmitabh Bachchan whois the central figure inthe film and we allknow how he drives thestory to success. Well the film has not

only AmitabhBachchan and KareenaKapoor but ArjunRampal, ManojBajpayee, AmritaRao and VipinSharma. Overall, onecan only hope that thefilm impacts the citi-zens in the right way,makes them think andquestion their leader-ship and help themmake an informed deci-sion. It’s high time wemake one.

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at [email protected]

Of Satyagraha and corruption

Spriha Srivastava

We have seen the fullpage advert in Mail onSunday (4 August2013) sponsored byseveral UgandanAsians or their busi-nesses to thank HerMajesty and people ofBritain for receivingthem and enabling

their current progress. This country,

indeed has beenextremely supportiveand its our duty toshow our appreciationpublicly. The generous spon-

sorship which helpedto place this advert is

well worth while andall concerned ought tobe congratulated.Prosperity and publici-ty go hand in hand andif the third dimensionof appreciation isadded, then it becomes'triveni sangam' (con-fluence of three rivers)

Well done, Ugandan Asians

Londoners await Sonu NigamIt’s summer time and before the sungoes into hiding again let’s try andmake the most of it. The seasonalways comes with lots of surprises,for instance, music concerts, flowershows, theatres, farmers markets andyummy brunch deals. For bollywood fans in the UK, this

summer is bringing Sonu Nigam toLondon. Sonu Nigam isone of the most popu-lar and loved bolly-wood singers ofIndia. With acareer spanningover twodecades, Nigamhas recorded hisvoice for almostall top-ratedmusic directors ofIndia including A. R.Rahman, Ilayaraja, AnuMalik, Pritam, Jatin-Lalit, NadeemShravan, ManoMurthy, VishalS h e k a r ,S a n j e e vDarshan, AadeshShrivastav, AnandMilind, Sajid-Wajid,V. Harikrishna, G.V. Prakash Kumaramong others.

He has sung some of the mostpopular songs of bollywood like Kalho na ho, Saathiya among others.Londoners were extremely disap-

pointed when Sonu had to cancel histrip last year at an event at O2 alongwith Atif Aslam due to visa issues.Sonu fans had waited for a long timeto attend the show but when he

announced the cancellationof his trip, his fans attend-ed with a very heavyheart. Now they canall rush to theWembley stadium onAugust 17th toattend the worldclass singer andlisten to his mag-ical voice.

Nirbhaya, the 23 years oldIndian girl who was bru-tally gang raped inside amoving bus in Delhi lastDecember, and thrown outnaked on the roads withher male friend, has nowsent tremors globallythrough one of the mostpowerful performances ata prestigious arts festival. I n t e r n a t i o n a l l y

acclaimed multiple award-winning South Africantheatre director and play-wright Yael Farber's latestproduction 'Nirbhaya' pre-miered at the EdinburghFringe on the weekend. Itreceived a standing ova-tion from hundreds ofFringe enthusiasts.According to the

Fringe, "this scorchingnew work enraged,

moved, devastated andinspired with the sheercapacity of the humanspirit to rise, bear witness,survive and turn the tide" .Farber who had visited

Mumbai in February thisyear for workshops on theplay told Times of India:"Thousands of people whotook to the streets of Indiawere breaking the silenceagainst such sexual vio-lence. The idea of shameand loss of honour at pres-ent is felt by the victim ofsuch a crime. Our playgives the message that theloss of honour and face isof the perpetrator whorapes a woman rather thanthe survivor."The testimonial work

follows five women onstage sharing their story

of the sexual violence theyfaced. They portray howNirbhaya's death forcedthem to break theirsilence.The play takes direct

inspiration from the realincident the circum-stances that led to herboarding the bus, therape, the violence that fol-lowed and her subsequentdeath.Audiences have called

the production tremen-dously powerful "thatcracks open the cone ofsilence on the staggeringdepth and breadth of vio-lence perpetrated againstwomen in India" .Farber intends to per-

form the play in India onthe first anniversary ofNirbhaya's death.

Play on Nirbhaya movesglobal audience

Valiant Indian soldiers,who played a crucial rolein the first World War withawe-inspiring acts ofcourage, may end up get-ting a raw deal fromBritain. Around 1.2 million sol-

diers from undivided Indiafought for the BritishEmpire during the war,with 74,000 of them losingtheir lives.To mark the centenary

of the Great War in 2014,UK has announced specialcommemorative pavingstones will be laid in thehometowns of thoseawarded the VictoriaCross for valour 'in theface of the enemy' duringthe conflict. These stoneswill be presented to coun-cils in the areas wherethose Victoria Cross recip-ients of the First WorldWar were born.Communities secretary

Eric Pickles said, “It isour to remember theBritish andCommonwealth troopswho lost their lives fight-ing in the Great War andwe are determined tomake sure their braveryfor the king and the coun-try is not forgotten.”When contacted by theTOI, the organising com-mittee said the schemewill only apply to soldiersborn in Britain.The Heritage Lottery

Fund has created a £6 mil-lion “First World War-Then and Now” grantsprogramme that will help

local governments fromDevon to Durham andfrom Brecon toBridlington with fundingto commemorate the cen-tenary. An official reportedly

said, “The programme willonly recognise soldiersborn in Britain. ManyIndian soldiers won theVictoria Cross for theirtremendous acts ofcourage but they will onlybe recognised with com-memorative paving stonein their hometowns if theywere born in UK.”Pickles said “laying

paving stones to markthese Victoria Crossheroes will ensure thatthere is permanent memo-rial to all the fallen whofought for our country.This will connect commu-nities to their shared his-tory and ensure memories

of that sacrifice for Britishfreedom are kept alive forgenerations to come.”There were 28 VC

medals awarded in 1914and these stones will beunveiled in 2014. Thestones of winners from1915 will be unveiled in2015, and every 100 yearsafter an individual wonthe VC. Indian soldiers who

fought in the war for theBritish hailed fromPunjab, Garwahl, Bengal,Nepal, Madras, andBurma. Culture ministerMaria Miller said, “TheFirst World War had a fun-damental effect on our his-tory. It saw nearly a mil-lion British military andcivilian deaths as well asheroes from across thecommonwealth whofought for King andCountry”.

Indian heroes forgotten inUK WWI tribute?

Eric Pickles

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 7


Siddhi Salvi, Student,George WashingtonUniversity School ofBusinessThe overarching theme inDante Alighieri’s, TheDivine Comedy, is an indi-vidual’s journey to goback to his creator: God.This goal is not unique toMedieval Christianity, theChristianity practiced dur-ing the Middle Ages. InHinduism, the goal is alsoto return to one’s creator.The path by which thisoccurs varies between thetwo ancient religions, butnevertheless the conceptof the outcome remainsthe same. Dante takes hisreaders through the jour-ney of afterlife and reach-ing God, while inHinduism the journey toreaching God is breakingthe cycle of reincarnation.Although Hinduism andMedieval Christianity dif-fer, both religions sharethe underlying goal ofgoing back to God, whothey believe is the creatorof life.In order to understand

how Dante’s Christianityand Hinduism parallel oneanother, it is imperative tounderstand the theologyof Hinduism. This beginswith karma. If a staunchfollower of the traditionsdoes not believe thatkarma is the pattern ofaction in life or that abeing is inherently the heirof his or her own karma,then justifying the conceptof “being reborn” becomesimpossible. Hindusbelieve in karma just asChristians believe in salva-tion and Heaven, to ulti-mately reach God. The Law of Karma cor-

relates with Dante’s place-ment of souls in TheDivine Comedy. Danteplaces souls who wereextremely sinful in theInferno, Hell. InHinduism, individualswho acted immorally arereincarnated into anotherlife form. Dante impliesthat the souls in theInferno, Purgatorio(limbo), and Paradiso(Heaven), were placedthere due to their ownactions while they werealive. This parallels theconcept of karma becausean individual’s actions inone life determine theirdestiny in another life, orafterlife as described byDante. Throughout an indi-

vidual’s lives, he attemptsto fulfill his dharma, thereason an individual acts,one’s duty. It states theway one is to act and liveaccording to their state.Fulfilling one’s dharmarelates to instancesdescribed in The DivineComedy. Dante stressesthe importance fulfillingones duties in the CatholicChurch and how it is cru-cial that each member ofthe Church takes their job

seriously. This adherenceto duty is essential in theposition of the Pope. Sincethe Pope is believed to beinfluenced by the HolySpirit, it is extremelyimportant that whoeveroccupies this position,upholds it with a greatdeal of responsibility.Many people trust theCatholic Church, and ifpopes are misusing thatpower, then it is more

deceitful and morallywrong than if anotherindividual had committedsuch heinous acts.Nevertheless, the HolySpirit of the CatholicChurch did not stop PopeBoniface VIII from sellingindulgences to the Romancitizens. Although Danterespected Boniface VIII as“officially Christ’s Vicaron Earth,” he placed himin the Inferno, the bottomtier, because he tookadvantage of his powerand did not fulfill hisduties. Dante expresses how

souls in the Purgatorio,the middle tier, all desireto reach God and can doso by moving up the ter-races of Purgatory. Thisresembles samsara, thecycle of birth, becauseindividuals want to bereleased from the cycle butcan only do so by havinggood karma; just as soulsin Purgatory must want togenuinely become betterspirits and have “nothingbut their desire to be madeclean move them to accepttheir pains, and nothingmore is needed.” If a spiritin Purgatory solely wantsto get closer to God, theywill not move up inPurgatory because theirintentions are not sincere.The sprit in Purgatorymust want to better itselfand not want to movecloser to God until it istruly ready.Similar to how sam-

sara and moving upPurgatory parallel oneanother, moksha andParadiso do too. Mokshais when an atman does notget reincarnated any more.According to theBhagavad-Gita, it isimpossible to get out ofmoksha once it isachieved. When Dante isin Paradiso, Heaven, herealizes how some human-ly desires must be over-come to truly be apart ofHeaven and reach God.

Those same wants anddesires are what inhibitfollowers of Hinduism toreach moksha. Although there are

many similarities betweenHinduism’s reincarnationand the afterlife depictedby Dante, there is onemajor disparity; inHinduism a person isreborn into another lifeform whereas in MedievalChristianity, the soul onlyhas one life to be placedin the Inferno,Purgatorio, or Paradiso.In Hinduism, an atmanis reborn into anotherlife as something differ-ent, and is either closerto God than in its pre-vious life or furtheraway. Although thisrelates to Purgatory, itcontradicts the soulsplaced in the Inferno.In Hinduism, if an indi-vidual does bad deedsin one life or fails to ful-

fill their duties, then theywill be reborn furtheraway from God in the nextlife, no matter how badthe deed. This differs fromThe Divine Comedybecause if an individualcommits a horrid crime,such as adultery, deceivingothers or being abystander, then they willbe placed in a particularlevel of Hell. Once a soulis placed in the Inferno, itis to remain there for eter-nity. Regardless of this main

difference betweenMedieval Christianity andHinduism, the unknow-able judgments of Godremain the same acrossboth religions. InMedieval Christianity,Dante states that onlyGod knows what is tocome and holds all of theanswers. This indicatesthat a soul’s journey isresult of Gods judgment,and not all souls will endup in Paradiso, even afterleading a good and ethicallife. For example Virgil isnot able to enter Paradiso,even though he is a verygood and wholesome soul.The enigmatic judgmentof God is also seen inHinduism. God has a pre-determined path for allatmans. This path exem-plifies all of the dharmaseach atman must fulfillbefore reaching moksha.God determines the path,and the atman does notknow what duties Godwishes it to complete. Thismeans that even thoughan atman, in the form of ahuman, leads a life filledwith good, if that individ-ual does not fulfill theirduties only known to God,then they may not movecloser to reaching moksha.Regardless of the manydifferences betweenDante’s Christianity andHinduism, followers ofboth religions seek toreturn to their creator,God.

The Journey to One (self)Dear Readers,

As a devoted public transport com-muter, I recollect the warning 'holdtight' on the old red buses. In the under-ground repeatedly we are warned to'mind the gap' between the train andplatform and 'mind the closing doors'.

Prime Minister David Cameronprior to his election victory in 2010,used to repeatedly proclaim his grandideas of the 'Big Society' as well as 'in-clusiveness'. Many almost believed that. The local election results and the

rise of UKIP has perhaps destabilisedthe focus of the Prime Minister.Something resembling 'vote snatchingsyndrome' appears to have been takingplace. "Immigrants, immigrants andrestricting immigration to a certainnumbers" have become the buzz words(a mantra) for the PM, Downing Streetspokespersons and some Tory partyleaders. This £3000 cash bond is surely dis-

criminatory and divisive. The 6 coun-tries viz. Nigeria, Ghana, India,Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka arenamed and to a certain extend 'shamed'.USA, Australia and Canada after all rep-resent the 'keith and keen'- hence theyare not included in the bond or "bondedlabour category". This rampant discrimination is like-

ly to reach upto the European Court ofHuman Rights (ECHR) and possibly asit happened with PM MargaretThatcher on her Nationality andImmigration Acts and several otherepisodes, the British government willhave to retract and rectify the blaun-ders. Even now the Rt Rev Nick Bains,

the Bishop of Bradford has raised hisvoice against a wave of 'spot checks' onsuspected illegal immigrants as 'nasty',and warned that it could 'feed into'racist agendas. The Bishop has also saidunequivocally that the Home Office'scontroversial 'Go Home' van campaignwas divisive and ineffective, joking thatit would hardly bring illegal immigrants'out of their nail bars' asking to leave thecountry.Newly ennobled Baroness Doreen

Lawrence has also severely criticisedspot checks on suspected illegal immi-grants at London railway stations asracial profiling. More than 130 suspect-ed illegal immigrants were arrested onlast Thursday in the latest of a series ofraids and spot checks by the HomeOffice. The Equality and Human RightsCommission said it would investigatethe spot checks to examine whether any'unlawful discriminations took place'.

Lord Tebbit of the 'Cricket Test' haswarned that he will play no part in thefighting dirty, mud slinging at UKIP,amidst determination amongst theConservative leadership to confront theparty.

Lynton Crossby, David Cameron'selection strategist has discussed thethreat from Nigel Farage's UKIP, duringa private meeting with a lobbying com-pany. Interestingly Lynton, anAustralian running Mr Cameron's 2015election operation said Ken Clarke (awell experienced Cabinet Minister) hadbeen 'stupid' after the Minister withoutportfolio dismissed UKIP voters as'closet racist' earlier this year.Perhaps David Cameron needs

reminding that three of his predecessorsIan Duncan Smith, Michael Howardand William Hague tried to cash in onimmigration card and were rejected bythe voters. Great Britain has remainedgreat due to its noble traditions of equalopportunities, fair play, tolerance aswell as acceptance of the ethnic minori-ties- non white residents of the UK whoare entitled and encouraged to partici-pate in public life and politics irrespec-

tive of their nationalities. Lets also look at another fact. In a

number of studies it is proved beyonddoubt that the demographic change dueto fall in birth rate, late marriages andseveral other factors, some countriesincluding Britain, will need migrants ofworking age and skills not available inthe country. In the modern world human and

financial resources cannot be controlledwith 'impregnable walls'. Of courseUSA, Canada, Australia and some othercountries can have and they do havemore wide open doors for new immi-grants. Britain has to have some limita-tions for its size and other reasons. But,lets go back to a slightly different mat-ter. Up until 1979, the Exchange controlregime created a lot of problems for theNational Exchequers as well as theCrown Prosecution System. Within 3days of taking the oath of office in 1979,PM Thatcher removed exchange con-trols completely. Since then irrespectiveof the vagaries of trade (import andexport) and GDP growth statistics, thiscountry has not rushed with a cap in thehand to the World Bank. Let me also recollect that in the

aftermath of Idi Amin's announcementof Ugandan Asian expulsion, some localauthorities (especially Leicester) placedadverts in Ugandan newspapers that'they are not welcome'. With such warn-ings however, the response, as it hap-pens normally, was that the largestnumber of Ugandan Asians choseLeicester and perhaps helped to bringthe prosperity there, beyond the wildestexpectations of that provincial City andCounty.

Indians are comingOn one hand PM Cameron pleads forinvestments and skills and on the otherhand how can he behave in such an irra-tional and counter productive manner?What has gone wrong with this usuallysensible and rational man? Let usremind him of another fact. Accordingto reliable reports from well reputedestate agents, almost quarter of thehouses and flats that were bought- forupto £3500 sq ft- by Indians in Mayfair,making them the second biggest afterBritons.

The Economist reported that "earlyin the morning St James's Park resem-bles Lodi Gardens in Delhi or the hang-ing Gardens in Mumbai. Such is theprocession of well-heeled Indians per-ambulating around it."Mr Cameron, you can't have your

cake and eat it, hold tight and be care-ful of the gap!

- CB

As I See It

Drive carefully, Cameron

PM David Cameron

Hinduja brothers: Key example of affluentand successful Indians in Mayfair


Mahanta Shrestha waseducated at TribhuvanUniversity in Kathmandu,Nepal; he did a BA inPolitical Science, Englishand History. He is a busi-nessman and founder ofNon Resident Nepalis(NRNs) UK, a trustee ofSouthall Mandir (or tem-ple) and senior vice presi-dent of the World HinduParishad (UK- Chapter).

British NRNs are oftenclustered around Armybases like Aldershot,Farnborough, Reading,Kent and in London.

The Nepali communityin the UK is increasingrapidly. “Nepalese peoplestarted to come to the UKas émigrés or as studentsafter establishing in Nepalin 1990, though a few peo-ple came earlier too. Themass influx has been dueto the Gurkhas’ settle-ment rights in UK,” heexplained.

It was for this reasonthat Mahanta founded theNRN UK to unite andbind the Nepalese diaspo-ra. The aim was to pro-

mote and protect therights and interests of theNepalese living outsideNepal and also to promotethe Himalayan country.

Mahanta feels it isimportant to work withhis community, preservethe culture, and also tohelp people in need. Some

Leading LightsRani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Mahanta Shrestha

Mahanta Shrestha, Linking Nepal, the UK, and India

of the NRNUK activitieshave concerned transfer-ring skills learned in theUK to Nepal and viceversa.

The organisationorganises events, workingwith other institutions inLondon to promoteinward investment inNepal and bilateral trade.

“One of our concernsis to integrate theNepalese community withthe British, and to workwith the Government ofNepal on dual citizenshipin Nepal. We say, ‘once aNepali, always a Nepali’and want to restructureour country’s energy andresources for the transfor-mation of Nepali society.”

The relationshipbetween India and Nepalis highly significant,Mahanta observes to us.“Nepal and India share ahuge open border andboth countries are cultur-ally and religiously inter-connected. India is a hugetrading and investmentpartner for Nepal and alsoone of its largest donors.People to people relationsand even intermarriage isstrong, especially in thesouthern part of Nepaland amongst some of theelite. The Goddess Sita,the wife of Lord Rama wasfrom Janakpur, Nepal andLord Buddha was born inNepal. He was enlight-ened in Bodh Gaya inBihar. I have been to Indiaoften.”

Mahanta is the vice-chairman of the Britain -

Nepal Chamber ofCommerce. The BNCC isan independent associa-tion of companies andindividuals wishing toincrease the level andquality of trade betweenBritain and Nepal, and toassist people who intendto initiate or foster busi-ness between Britain andNepal. One slogan of theBNCC is "Trade not Aid".

The BNCC organisesevents regarding tax, high-er value agriculture andhorticulture, hydropower,tourism, infrastructure,commercial farming,receptions and dinners.

The major project sofar has been the first everUK Trade delegation toNepal which Mahanta co-led.

Mahanta was the firstNepalese Hindu to be thetrustee of Southall Mandirand his role is to integratethe Nepalese within thecommunity. “I was the oneto install the first everminiature of HolyPashupatinath in theMandir. Pashupatinath isone of the most significantHindu temples of LordShiva in the world. It isbased in Kathmandu,Nepal.

Mahanta thinks thatthe November generalelection in Nepal should

be held on time for thesake of a healthy democra-cy. He says that if thathappens, uncertainty willbe replaced by stability.

I wanted to knowMehanta’s views on theNepali constitution whichstill awaits creation. “80%of the constitution work inNepal was done by the lastconstituent assembly;however there were somecontentious issues.Especially in the federalstructure, like the numberof states and the statemodel which were thornyissues and were kept tilllast. I think these werecrucial topics whichshould have been debatedearlier and worked out.But, I hope this time theycan learn from mistakes,and unlike last time, ifthere is any deadlock, theywill sort it out throughvoting.”

Nepal needs socio-eco-nomic development,Mahanta feels. “Nepalneeds to use its strategiclocation as a bridgebetween India and China.Nepal can exploit itshydropower, tourism,herbs and spices and othernatural resources. For allthese the country needs astable, full-term govern-ment.”

Mahanta finds thatmany NRNs are now busi-ness people, doctors,teachers, and professors.He says that social changemay take time. “TheNepalese are tolerant andhardworking people.”

“The relationshipbetween Indiaand Nepal is

highly significant”

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 201310 Your Voice

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Can I have my changeback please?

These days as the Rupee becomesweaker, the value of its change gets evenlower. This is a bit worrying. When I grewup, I was taught what different changemeant and I used them wisely savingsome regularly.

I remember my Grand Ma makingLaddoos from rice-puffs hiding a 5, 10 or25 paisa coin inside; which would driveme to eat more Laddoos in order to gainthose coins. Nowadays some shops keepa jar full of various sweets and gums onthe counter: classic example would be apharmacy-shop. You will be given somesweets equivalent to your change due ifthe change is less than 5 rupees. At someplaces, they don’t carry change of a rupee(i.e. paisa) so as a consumer you are leftwith 2 options: either leave it or gainsome unwanted cheap sweets equivalentto the change due!

Now the knock-on effect because ofthese is that the price-tags have becomerounded (i.e. in the multiples of 5 or 10).

India’s GDP may have gone up but atthe same time, I believe, the Govt. shouldlook into the matter seriously. I wouldexpect receive my change to be a realchange instead of mere unwanted sweets!And it’s not only about me getting mychange back, it is to preserve both thevalue and existence of paisa-coins forfuture generations.

Devang Bhatt,Ilford, LondonRip off Parking Charges

The communities secretary, EricPickles, has mooted an idea that wouldallow motorists a grace period of up to 15minutes to nip into a shop without beingfined. This initiative would allow cars tostop on double/single yellow lines in thevicinity or front of shops for 15 minutesto make a purchase. It is hoped that thiswould boost trade for shops and will gosome way to revive Britain’s High Streetswhich are rapidly becoming ghost townswith many corner shops or small shopsclosing down due to lack of trade . Whilethis is a good idea, it may not help theshopkeeper if people would just stop tobuy a pint of milk or a packet of fags.People need more time to do proper shop-ping which they could only do at super-markets with considerable free parkingspaces.

However, this idea should be applaud-ed. As it is, parking charges in the citycenters, airports and hospitals are skyhigh, putting off people from parking.Specially so at hospitals where peoplehave to go out of necessity and to avoidparking charges, sick and feeble peopleeither walk to the hospital if not too faror park in the set down and pick up areasthereby congesting those areas. In thesedays of recession and unemploymentpeople would be vary of spending moneyand try to avoid paying parking chargeswhere they could find alternative meth-ods. A campaign to stop hospitals fromcharging for parking need to be mounted.

Dinesh ShethNewbury Park, Ilford

Another mystery to solve

Ramesh Jhalla continues to impressAsian Voice readers with his extensiveknowledge of paranormal matters, andhis take on “deja vu” in last week’s issuewas no exception.

Deja vu entails believing, when youhave seen or done something for the firsttime, that you suddenly remember doingthe very same thing before in a previousincarnation.

The experience, says Mr Jhalla, iscaused by an “electro-chemical storm inthe human brain...” but there is more to itand you can read his full and interestingaccount in last week’s paper.

I now invite him and other readers toexplain the phenomenon of “speaking

in tongues”. How can people, duringa fit, start speaking a flurry of foreign lan-guages previously unfamiliar to them?

Rudy OtterVia Email

Himalayan Tragedy

As a person with keen interest in thedeteriorating condition of pilgrimagesites in India, I want to commend Dr.Kusum Vyas on an outstanding article(Himalayan Tragedy: Asian Voice, 27thJuly, 2013: Is Kalidasa Prophecy ComingTrue?) Thank you for publishing the arti-cle. A detailed discussion about theunhealthy state of our holy places is longoverdue.

Dr. Vyas succeeded in putting a per-sonal face on this crisis, and yes, it is acrisis. Most people are not aware of theoutrageous conditions and the humangreed aspects until they or a family visitsthese places and falls ill or until a tragedylike the floods strikes. To most pilgrimsthe unsanitary and filthy conditions seemto be acceptable. Why? Could it bebecause most of us accept the status quoand do not demand better? India is losingmillions of potential tourists as a result ofpoor sanitation. The religious communityneeds to come up with realistic, con-structive solutions. Thought-provokingarticle such as this is laudable.

But the failure of concerned authori-ties to address the issue of rapid overde-velopment, so eloquently illustrated byVyas, will bring the entire pilgrimageindustry down very soon if it is notaddressed. And I appreciate Dr, Vyas’emphasis on the need to heed Kalidasa’swarning. The hidden cost is enormous.

Chandra PatelHarrow

Dying to know whathappens

Rudy Otter arouses curiosity andkeeps discussion about differing informa-tion on souls’ retro-migration into animalbody. But both opinions may be corrector wrong. Mr. Raithatha relies solely onancient vedic source, which depended onsingle method – meditation by sages.Tibetan gurus mention tulku, a soul pass-ing from a human body into an animalbody on temporary basis, but there is noverifiable data.

No efforts have been recorded byHindu or western theologists to verifysouls’ retro-incarnation into animal body.I assume, fearful statements were pro-pounded to keep unquestioning followerson middle path.

Also consider additional knowledgesince vedic times till now. Today we knowabout chemical/electrical/magnetic/plan-etary input/output controlling physicalorgans, faculties /capacities available tohumans to test and verify /deny meta-physical phenomena after death.Knowledge of neurology, psychology,parapsychology, hypnotism, mesmerism,truth serum, electro-recording methods isaccessible. There is plenty of informationabout soul passing to another humanbody. Reincarnation of human into ani-mal body is also contra to souls’ evolu-tion towards Godhead. Hindu philosophyteaches that it takes 8,400,000 incarna-tions to reincarnate as a human. Wouldany God waste this process by retro-incarnation of soul into an animal body?

In future, these philosophies will bejudged differently on scales of quantum,all inclusive universal knowledge, e-knowledge, information / technologicaladvances, genetic engineering, robotics,cyborg science, and micro-chip that canover-ride central control panel and think/implement decisions independently.Karma, reincarnations etc may be givenqualitative and quantitative values/for-mulae to incarnate in human /animalbodies ad infinitum.

Ramesh JhallaVia Email

Electronic cigarettes

There has been a growing trendamongst Londoners who smoke to switchto electronic cigarettes. These have theadvantage of not emitting tobacco fumesfor non-smokers to inhale. Electronic cig-arettes are being increasingly used as asmoking ‘quit aid’, with one in fourattempts to quit involving the use of elec-tronic cigarettes.

Unfortunately, the EuropeanParliament has just voted to classify themas a medicinal product, and that willmean the manufacturers having to under-go a costly and protracted authorisationprocesses. Many of the producers of e-cigarettes are small start-up businessesand will simply be unable to afford theauthorisation process and pack up shop.If this measure goes through, it will denypeople who want to quit smoking anoth-er way of doing just that.

Syed KamallConservative MEP for London

Misconstrued term‘secularism’

According to any English dictionarysecular is defined as worldly or materialand not religious or spiritual and to theoriginal intent of the founding fathers-Gandhi etc- who were staunch followersof the principles of religious plurality andequality to all religions, securing spiritualwelfare, they excluded secular in thePreamble to the Constitution of India in1950, as the term secular was found mostambiguous. The constitution remained inforce until 1976 when it said that it wasundemocratically amended by introduc-ing the term secular into it, during the42nd Amendment to it by Mrs Gandhi, inpresence of few MPs, while others werein jail.

But thereafter proposals from mem-bers of the atheist/agnostic circles con-struing ‘secular’ crudely, made enact-ments to such an extent that religiousinstructions are forbidden in schools.

Secular term should be deleted fromthe Preamble repealing all successivelaws to be replaced, if needed word byword both in the spirit and the latter to beinterpreted transparently in Indian courtsby Common law based on an agelesscivilisation and culture of India.

R N PatelEssex

Continued on page 13

Britain is no longer the countryof choice for immigrants

Of the 6 billion world population,only about 200 million people across theworld live in a different country than theone they were born in, be it for economicreasons, personal reasons, moving forlove or family—or to flee war or prosecu-tion. It is a mere 3.33%.

The top emigrant countries are China8.3 million [.6%]; India 11.4 million[1%]; Mexico 11.9 million [10.5%];Russian Federation 11 million [8%] andUkraine 6.6 million [14.4%].

The top migrant destinations areCanada 7.2 million [21.3%]; Germany10.8 million [13.2%]; Russian Federation12.3 million [8.8%; Saudi Arabia 7.3 mil-lion [28.3%] and USA 42.8 million[13.8%].

The percentages relate to the relevantcountry’s own population. Britain has 6.9million foreign born residents [11.5%].

Labour’s idea of three types of IDcards was very practical: national, EUnational and non-EU national. They hadalready spent £1 billion designing andpiloting that project. The Coalitiondropped that idea. ID cards are ideal.

There are 100 countries round theworld which have a compulsory ID cardsystem including Germany, Belgium andSpain. India, with its population of 1.3billion, is planning to introduce cyber-agebiometric ID cards.

Stamping the Passports of the sixcountries subject to £3,000 bond uponarrival and upon departure is anotherbetter way to monitor immigration.

Conservative’s actions to target illegalimmigrants more aggressively is to winthe next Election. NHS scare stories areagain designed to win the next Election.

Nagindas KhajuriaVia Email

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th August 2013 11

Change Makers

The above quote illus-trates the fundamentalbasis of which Sai Schoolwas built upon 18 yearsago. Their ethos is heavi-ly focused around thehuman values pro-gramme which promotes:love, truth, peace, nonviolence and right con-duct to all students,which is furtherenhanced through a multifaith syllabus thatincludes various citizen-ship activities.Combining all of this intoour study, Sai Schoolencourages us all to takethe right paths in life.The school has

inspired me to live a lifeof integrity. It has actedas a stimulus towards myambitions, so that I nowfeel as keen as ever tohelp others. This hasdriven me to take anactive role within theorganisation, which con-sists of creating and run-ning the presentations atthe weekly assemblies.By making commitmentsto attend every Saturdaymorning, I now begin to

feel grateful for its posi-tive outcomes, as mymental attitudes havechanged, so that I nolonger have a negativeapproach to life. This inturn, has led to my selfesteem and optimismbeing significantly boost-ed; as a result, it hashelped improve mygrades, so that I am nowachieving my full poten-tial at school. The knowledge

gained over the years, hashelped broaden myawareness about my ownreligion and has hugelycomplimented otherareas of my education.Our curriculum containsmany aspects fromHinduism such as theRamayana andMahabharata which areboth taught in Yr’s 4 & 5.In our final year, we sit aHinduism GCSE courseand at the end we aregiven the chance to jointhe youth wing, where wemerge with the voluntarycommunity and assistthem in the running ofthe school. Those who

display loyalty and con-sistency are rewardedwith the Diana award,which is a prestigiouscertificate that can provemost useful when apply-ing for any university. Ontop of this, Sai Schooloffers a wide range of freeafter-school activities,which includes: tablaclasses, vocal singing,folk dancing and Vedachanting. Finally, I would like to

take this opportunity inthanking Sai School forall that I have receivedduring the years and Isimilarly hope that otherstudents will make fulluse of the benefitsgained.

Change Maker – Inspirations‘Love all Serve all’ – Baba

Sainka Shah

Education/council Voice

��

Bristol University stu-dents- Chloe Tingle andAdam Smith will be trav-elling to the South Indianstate of Tamil Nadu andMumbai as part of a pio-neering project. They willbe discussing ways inwhich villagers canimprove their lives by gen-erating their own power.Adam and Chloe will runworkshops to educatelocal people about theimportance of renewableenergies. Their trip beganon 27th July in a MumbaiSlum, where a solar proj-ect is underway at a localcommunity centre.This mission is a part

of a unique project led byBristol based charity, TheConverging world. It hasinstalled wind farms in thearea and invests the prof-its into helping peoplewho live in energy poverty. There are two villages-

Kililaspura andMuthumakamura, whichare close to the wind tur-

bines built by TheConverging world. Adamand Chloe will travel tothese villages and willassess the energy needsand lifestyles of the localpeople. They will alsomeet the local suppliers ofbio-mass and bio-gas gen-erators.Both Chloe and Adam

are part of the Bristolbranch of EngineersWithout Borders (EWB), astudent run organisationwhich works to removebarriers to developmentthrough engineering.

Chloe is in the finalyear of her Master's degreein Engineering design anda volunteer project manag-er for the Charity. Adam,just completed a mastersin Physics. They will bothcontinue working on theproject in the UK and tocontribute towards itsadvancement and support-ed efforts to create a morecohesive society whereMuslims would participatefully.”

UK students to “brighten” up Indian villages

Adam Smith

Chloe Tingle

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Councils are set to make£2 billion profit frommotorists after a surge inparking charges since thelast election., The Timeshas reported.Motoring groups say

that the increase of 24%since 2010 shows thatcouncils are increasingparking fees to counter adecline in governmentgrants. Separate sets offigures published by theRAC Foundation and theDepartment forCommunities and LocalGovernment show thatcouncils in Englandreaped a surplus fromparking of £511 million in2010-11. This is forecastto reach £635 million thisyear.Westminster Council

made the biggest profit, of£41.6 million. The multi-million-pound profits arenot just limited to Londonboroughs. Brighton & Hove and

Cornwall also appear inthe top ten councils prof-iting from parking.The publication of the

figures came after a HighCourt ruling last week

Council set to make billions profitthat Barnet Council inNorth London actedunlawfully in raising thecost of a parking permitfrom £40 to £100.Officials had planned

to use the increased rev-enue for road mainte-

nance and improvements,and concessionary fares.Councils have recentlyasked ministers to letthem raise fines for park-ing offences outsideLondon above the £70limit.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th august 201312 Media Watch

Shiv Sena abuse

Columnist Shobha De tweetedthat, with Telangana moving tofull statehood, mightn’t Mumbaiseparate from Maharashtra.There was a touch of levity inthe comment, but Shiv Senaleaders let loose a torrent ofabuse in her direction. Their lan-guage was appalling, but Ms De,stood her ground on NDTV,pouring scorn on her thuggishSena detractors, challengingthem to do their worst, beingherself a proud no-nonsenseMaharashtrian.

Benighted politicians

A viewer castigated India’sbenighted politicians - manyproven criminals - of bullyingand intimidation, upholdingtheir own licence to say any-thing they pleased, yet lackingthe courtesy tolerance, humourand humility, to accord a similarprivilege to the broader public.Indian governments, past andpresent, exclaimed the viewer,had surrendered meekly to thepassions of incited mobs. Helisted the case of SalmanRushdie, whose invitation to theJaipur Literary Festival wasaborted by Islamist fanatics.Tasleema Nasreen, theBangladeshi novelist, wasdenied permission to reside inKolkata because of the hostilityof local mullahs. The IndianConstitution may guaranteefreedom of expression andthought but such guaranteesmean little where cowards rule.

No cause for gloom,doom

Kalpana Morparia, CEO at J.PMorgan India, dismissed gloomand doom talk about the Indianeconomy as “exaggerations.”She countered the Jeremiahswith a predication of an eco-nomic upswing following recentgovernment policy measures,which are set to continue till thenext elections. She detected thefirst green shoots of revival inthe performance of the country’spower sector. The present goodmonsoon should help growththis fiscal, but improvement in

the next will be marked, sheopined. Ms Morparia stressedthe need for education, voca-tional training and job creation.“Our entire strength is ourdemographic profile. We have tomake sure that we give themevery opportunity to pay thatdividend to the country,” shesaid (Mint July 30)The Telecom Regulatory

Commission of India’s latestquarterly performance indicatorfor the Indian telecom sectorshows a return to growth andincreased revenue from voiceand data. Companies cut tariffsand focused on adding sub-scribers to the exclusion ofeverything else (Mint August 2)

Foreign investment rules eased

The Indian Cabinet has easedrules for foreign supermarketchains to set up establishmentsin large cities and small towns(instead of being restricted tothe former) in States prepared toadmit foreign direct investment(FDI) in retail, and approvedincreases in FDI limits in thetelecom, defence and insurancesectors in a bid to revive theIndia story, which has taken abeating in the past eighteenmonths. Government is alsokeen to privatize six airports bythe end of the year includingChennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad,Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati.The opposition BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has assuredthe government of full coopera-tion in the smooth transactionof parliamentary business (MintAugust2)Hurrah! Good sense at last.

Better late than never.

Military creditsfor Vietnam

India has offered Vietnam a$100 million credit line for thepurchase of military equipment.Vietnam will use this to acquirefour patrol boats. India will alsoremain engaged in oil explo-ration activity in Vietnam’swaters (at Hanoi’s invitation) inthe South China Sea, overwhich China claims sovereignty.Vietnam’s claims in the South

China have been rejected byBeijing, giving rise to frictionbetween the two countries.Vietnam and India enjoy

close strategic ties that includecooperation in civilian nuclearenergy, training of Vietnamesemilitary officers. India has longwanted to move beyond theseareas to broader military tiesincluding the supply of Indiandefence hardware. Top of theVietnam wish list is the super-sonic cruise missile, BrahMos,produced jointly by India andRussia. The missile with its landand sea platforms are in servicewith the Indian Army and Navy,but is currently being tested foruse from Sukhoi 30MKIsquadrons of the Indian AirForce. Relations with Vietnamfall within the parameters ofIndia’s Look East policy (HinduJuly 28)

Myanmar seeksassistance

Myanmar has sought Indianassistance to strengthen its navy– a strategic development thatmust warm the cockles of everyheart in its top ministries. Thechief of the Myanmar NavalStaff Vice Admiral Thura ThetSwe’s talks in New Dehi withIndia’s naval chief D.K.Joshiincluded various proposals tofurther strengthen navy-to-navycooperation in operations, train-ing and material support andtake the existing relationship toa another plane.

“Myanmar is one of our clos-est neighbours. We share a landborder as well as a maritime bor-der with them,” said AdmiralJoshi in a welcoming address.Vice Admiral Thet Swe asked forIndian help in servicing fourmaritime surveillance aircraftthat New Delhi gifted toMyanmar in 2007. He also askedIndia to supply offshore patrolvessels and fast attack craft builtin Indian shipyards. He wantedIndia to increase its quota ofMynamar trainees at Indiannaval academies. Vice AdmiralThet Swe called on Army chiefGeneral Bikram Singh and ViceChief of the Air Staff AirMarshal Arup Raha. WithBangladesh headed for an uncer-tain election later this year,India’s relationship withMyanmar is vital for Indiansecurity in the North East the-atre as well as in the Bay ofBengal (Telegraph July 30)

US markets DRDO bomb detection kit

In reverse technology mode, theUS is to manufacture and mar-ket an explosive detection kit

invented by India’s DefenceResearch & DevelopmentOrganization (DRDO). Thedevice was launched at the USChamber of Commerce buildingin Washington last weekend.Former US Defence SecretaryWilliam Cohen described this as“excellent example” of reversetechnology transfer (Times ofIndia August 4)

Bhutan gas subsidyback

India has restored its cookinggas subsidy to Bhutan. The deci-sion on the renewal was con-veyed to the new BhutanesePrime Minister Tshering Tobgayby the Indian AmbassadorV.P.Haran in Thimphu. The cool-ness in Indo-Bhutan ties follow-ing the previous government’sconversations with China onborder demarcation, despiteIndia’s security concerns, wasthe ostensible reason behind

India’s suspension of the sub-sidy. Tshering Tobgay’s acces-sion to power has healed thebreach in India-Bhutan rela-tions.

Khurshid musings

External Affairs MinisterSalman Khurshid, in an absorb-ing inter-active session with themedia, academics and con-cerned citizens in Bangalore,said India would have to “care-fully weigh Pakistan’s offer” oftalks” in the light of recentevents including “people’s hurtover soldiers being beheaded byPakistan’s Army earlier thisyear.” Simultaneously, Indiawould also have to considerevents prior to the presentPakistan government’s acces-sion to power.

Jalalabad blast

Mr Khurshid’s words have beenovertaken by the suicide bomb-ing outside the Indian consulatein the southern Afghan city ofJalalabad, not far from thePakistan border. The 12 dead

included children among theworshippers emerging afterprayers from a local mosque. Asimilar attack on the IndianEmbassy in Kabul some yearsago, which claimed a large num-ber of embassy staff, was attrib-uted (and subsequently con-firmed by Bruce Riedel, formerlyof the US State Department) toIslamabad’s Inter ServicesDirectorate (ISI) and theLaskar-e-Taiba. The AfghanTaliban issued a prompt denialof any involvement in theJalalabad bombing.The ExternalAffairs Ministry and MrKhurshid must factor this intoIndia’s Pakistan policy.

Indian soft power

Returning to Mr Khurshid’sBangalore musings, theMinister referring to the con-stant media comparisons withChina, he mentioned the work-ings of Indian soft power inAfrica, South East and CentralAsia . “No Chinese forays canmatch the conquest that songsfrom Raj Kapoor’s films, ShahRukh Khan’s dialogues and eventhe samosa have made.” WhilstMr Khurshid accepted the needfor critical scrutiny of India’sforeign policy, he invited hisaudience to appreciate the chal-lenges India faced in a complexinternational environment, andits achievements as a swing statereflected in the stature the coun-try enjoyed worldwide. (HinduJuly 30)

Rajnath in the US

BJP President Rajnath Singhappeared bewitched, botheredand bewildered during hisrecent visit to the United States,wrote K.P.Nayar, TheTelegraph’s WashingtonCorrespondent (July 29).USCongressmen and Senatorsopened their doors to the visitor,

keen to learn about BJP policieson a range of issues, from for-eign investment in India tostrategic problems in India’sneighbourhood and beyond.Neither Mr Singh, nor his fourBJP colleagues, were able toenlighten their mystifiedAmerican hosts: rural pradhansunable to cope with the myster-ies of post-Copernican realities.Whither BJP?

Jalalabad bombing

Rajnath Singh

Admiral D.K. Joshi with Myanmar’s Vice Admiral Thet Swe

By winning 13 of the 17 zilla parishads (district councils), and

securing over half the seats in the lower tiers of the panchay-

ats, Trinamool Congress has retained its rural support base

and also its hold on West Bengal’s small towns. Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee’s party has demolished any hope that her

rival, the Communist-led Left Front may have had of making a

comeback after its stunning rout in the 2011 State elections.

The Congress Party too fared

badly, but with its organization

in a state of disrepair, following

decades of accumulated rust,

this was to be expected. The

feisty Ms Banerjee is as loqua-

cious and confrontationist as

ever, vowing to fight the

Gorkhaland parties in their bid

to establish a separate state in

the sub-Himalayan districts of

West Bengal. She also detects a

“conspiracy” between the cen-

tre in Delhi and Darjeeling’s

Gorkha leaders. The economic neglect of the hill districts

appears not to figure in her political calculus (Telegraph, Times

of India, Hindu July 30-August 1)

Mamata Banerjee

uKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 13

There is a commonmisconception insociety today that itis men who are( p h y s i c a l l y )stronger thanwomen and assuch, are incapableof being victims ofDomestic Violence.However, this isincorrect andaccording to UK

Government statistics 1 in 6 men will bevictims of domestic violence at somestage in their life. Moreover, 2 out ofevery 5 victims of Domestic Violenceare male with approximately 4 millionmen affected on a yearly basis. Such sta-tistics emphasise the fact that domesticabuse is not something to which womenare exclusively subjected to. Moreover,it is time for society to recognise thestrong impact that psychological andemotional abuse can have on an indi-vidual whether male or female.

The UK Crown Prosecution Servicedefines ‘domestic violence’ as a termdescribing a range of controlling andcoercive behaviours, used by one personto maintain control over another withwhom they have, or have had, an inti-mate or family relationship. However,contrary to what the term ‘domestic vio-lence’ actually suggests, there need notbe any physical violence. Regardless ofgender, an array of psychological, emo-tional and financial abuse all falls with-in the ambit of domestic violence.

One of the primary hurdles faced bymale victims of domestic abuse is find-ing the strength to speak out and seekhelp. It is widely acknowledged thatmany male victims suffer for yearsbecause they fear that they will beridiculed by their peers. The BritishCrime Survey found that only 10% ofmale victims had reported abuse to thepolice when compared with 29% ofwomen. Male victims also appear tohave a strong lack of faith in the justicesystem. Stigma and fear of being disbe-lieved or not taken seriously by theauthorities is also another barrier pre-venting male victims from taking action.However, the same legal remedies areavailable to both male and female vic-

tims. There is legislation in place thatprovides protection to victims of domes-tic abuse who fall within the definitionof ‘associated persons’. This definitionis wide and includes (but not limited to)parties:

l who are/have been married to each other,

l who are relatives,l who have/have had an intimate personal relationship of significant duration or

l who are parents or have Parental Responsibility for the same child.

If parties fall within the ambit of thislegislation, they can apply to the Courtsfor Court Orders such as a NonMolestation Order which forbids theabusive party from harassing/pestering,using/threatening violence towards,communicating with or even comingwithin a certain distance of the victim.Applications to the Court can be madeon an emergency basis and this meansthat the abusive party does not becomeaware of the Court proceedings until theOrder has been granted and servedupon him/her. Further orders can beobtained to regulate the occupation ofthe family home which may result in theremoval of the abusive party from theproperty in cases where parties livetogether.

Accordingly, male victims ofDomestic abuse are afforded a vastamount of protection from the Courts.With the knowledge that such protec-tion exists, male victims can have theconfidence to now feel that they are in aposition to take action against an abu-sive partner or associated person toensure that they need not continue tosuffer. Knowledge dispels fear.

If you are a victim of domesticabuse, male or female, you should seeklegal advice immediately. If you knowsomeone who is a victim then it is para-mount that they seek legal assistance toprotect themselves. In most cases, thetime span between taking initialinstructions and attending Court is veryquick, often between 24 and 48hours.

Author is Savita Sharma, Director& Family Law Solicitor at Legal 500Leading Firm, Duncan Lewis.

l Bradford l Manchester

l Birmingham l Islington

l Cambridge l Harrow

l City of London l Leicester

l Hackney l Tooting

l Lewisham l Shepherd’s Bush

l Southall

Tel: 020 7923 4020 - www.duncanlewis.com

By Savita Sharma

With over 500 Staff to Assist

Offices across London and throughout UK

Domestic Violence is not genderspecific. Knowledge dispels fear

Your VoiceColumn with a punch

I must congratulate Asian Voice andKapil Dudakia for his courageous, wittycolumn that deals with current affairspertaining to Asian/Indian communitywith gusto and intelligence. “Time forTruth Ed” in last week’s AV is no excep-tion. But knowing the mentality of theParty, I would be extremely surprised ifhe gets response.

It is indeed regrettable that Labourparty with Hobbesian culture is takingdocile Indian/Hindu community forgranted. Labour is selecting candidatesfor Council elections due next year and Iunderstand few of the LabourCouncillors have lost out, deselected ormoved to an unwinnable seat withoutreason. One of our friends, ever popularBarnet Labour Councillor Ansuya Sodhais one such casualty.

I would like to urge these loyal, dedi-cated Councillors not to take easy wayout, be Hobson’s choice. If their repre-sentation fails, they should considerstanding as Independent Labour andIndian community should support themto the hilt.

It is also time that Labour selectsBritish Indian for one of theBrent/Harrow parliamentary seats, espe-cially as there is no shortage of good can-didates, the names that readily comes tomy mind are Cllr. Navin Shah AM, longstanding politician of proven ability,Manoj Ladwa, a brilliant lawyer and com-municator and Cllr. Ansuya Sodha, anintellectual politician, perfect candidatefor an all women seat.

Unless Indian community unites;projects perception and be pertinacious,we will always be ventriloquist’s dummy,ignored in favour of Jewish, Muslim andother ethnic minorities who are united,dedicated and willing to stand-up and becounted.

Bhupendra M GandhiVia Email

House of Lords

I welcome the news that DoreenLawrence has been appointed to theHouse of Lords. She has fought for jus-tice for her son and inspired a whole gen-eration to stand up for their rights. Whata shame that most of the others appoint-ed have made huge party political dona-

Kapil’s Khichadi

We have been monitoring Kapilji’scolumn for several months now and aredelighted that coherent, articulate andunashamedly Hindu voices are now beinggiven adequate coverage of sufficientprominence, enabling them to genuinelyquestion long established communal,political and religious relationships.

Over the last 12 months, the NationalCouncil of Hindu Temples (UK) NCHTUK, has been very strongly questioningthe manner in which our Hindu commu-nity has been exploited and our Dharmadenigrated by a succession of politicaland religious figures over the last fewyears and it is encouraging that Kapilji isalso asking questions which are vitallyimportant and completely contemporary.

The manner in which our mostancient Hindu Dharma and specificallyour British Hindu community, was sub-jected to a “Vastra Haran” in the “RajyaSabha” of the Chamber of the House ofLords, warrants a response of equal pro-portion and it is imperative that our grassroots Hindu community are made awareof the reality of our position in this coun-try.

Our Hindu youngsters are waking upto the political realities, as demonstratedby the remarkable achievement of theAlliance of Hindu OrganisationsSecretariat and its supporters, it is essen-tial that the elders of our Hindu commu-nity also decide where their loyalties lie,to our Dharma first and foremost, oradherence to some political maya. As anyunbiased, politically uncompromisedobserver can see, the best response to atroubling question is a simple answer,Kapilji’s relentless probing is to beapplauded and we look forward to seeingsimple answers emerge.

Satish K Sharma General Secretary

National Council of HinduTemples,(UK)

Kapil’s letter to EdMiliband

Kapil Dudakia talks about sending aset questionnaire to the leader of theopposition Ed Miliband, as if he is goingto take notice of him.

We have to consider two issuesregarding Modi’s visa to UK. One per-taining the opposition within the Labourparty and another within Indian politi-cians in India.

As far as as Labour party is concernedthere are only a very few Indians. Thattoo from Gujarati Hindu community whoare members and who can raise Modi’svisa in the Labour party. On the otherhand Muslims from Indian sub-continentare very active in the Labour party.Muslim Lords like Adam Patel andAhmed are anti-Indians and anti- Modi.

It would be more sensible for the localIndians to write to their local MPs (egVirendra Sharma, Malhotra, Keith Vaz)to raise the matter in the House ofCommons.

The sad point is even in areas whereHindus in large numbers such as Harrowand Brent, Labour party has not nomi-nated any Hindu to represent in theHouse of Commons. In Harrow, Indiansare fighting amongst themselves unlikeMuslims who are united. Hindus segre-gate themselves on the basis of regionthey come from and they want to pro-mote their own candidates.

The Opposition to Modi’s visa withinIndia has been well documented and itincludes several Hindu MPs from differ-ent parts of India.

Arun VaidyanathanVia Email

Open letter to Nitin Mehta

I refer to an open letter to NitinMehta MBE from Baroness ShreelaFlather in Asian Voice of 3rd August2013.

All I can say - WOW - and quote fromher letter the following:-

“I am very sorry but there areextremely few, probably not even a per-centage point of Hindus, who are notcasteist”

“I don’t know whether you have seenit but all the British know now, but Idoubt very much if the Asians and theothers know”“

If ever proof was needed about one’sviews of anti-Hindu and anti-Asian. Justwonder who British Asians are British orAsians in this context.

Surendra PatelManchester

Dying to know? Thenknow the scriptures

For those dying to know as evincedfrom last week’s Asian Voice.

The process of reincarnation is notsome theory upon which to speculate, itis a science that needs to be understood.This understanding is given to us in theVedic or Hindu scriptures.

The Rig-Veda (10.16.3) says that afterdeath, the soul can return to the earth, orgo to the waters, or go to the plants, tak-ing on new bodies, depending on the con-sequences of its actions.

The Bhagavad-Gita (14.15) andBhagavata-Purana (11.22.52) explainthat when one dies in darkness, one isreborn into the animal kingdom.

A human birth cannot be justified forsomeone whose life has been embroiledin darkness, recklessly pursuing animalis-tic desires. Instead, the natural law worksto provide an animal body for that indi-vidual, which has been specificallydesigned to satisfy such desires. Thewhole system is fair and just in governingour lives.

I implore the dear readers to notwaste time in speculating on these mat-ters. It is better to spend the precious lit-tle time we have, in discovering the truthby studying and practising the knowledgegiven to us in the sacred scriptures.

Nilesh M. ChauhanBirmingham

tions. One of the new Lords is Rumi Verjee

who has allegedly donated £800,000 tothe Liberal Democrats. A wholly unelect-ed chamber is making decisions whichimpact the people of the country. Thereare now 838 members in the Lords andeach on of them would earn £40,000attendance allowance. All they have todo is to appear in the chamber and nodetheir head to the speaker and theirallowance is earned! Unless the House ofLords is reformed and its numbersreduced British democracy will becomean embarrassment.

Nitin MehtaVia Email

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Rani Singh

When Shahrukh Khan and DeepikaPadukone appeared at theCourthouse Doubletree last week totalk about their new film ChennaiExpress, they were both utterlycharming and engaging.The film is the story of a Mumbai

boy (Shahrukh Khan) who embarkson a journey to a small town in TamilNadu, only to fulfill the last wish ofhis grandfather to have his ashesimmersed in Rameshwaram. Enroute, he meets a South Indian girl(Deepika Padukone) hailing from anorthodox family. As they find love onthis journey through south India, aclash of cultures awaits them. Aseries of adventures follows asShahrukh’s character finds himselfin new surroundings, challengedwith an unfamiliar language. Many of us had the impression

that the film is set in Chennai, TamilNadu, since it is called ChennaiExpress. Shahrukh patiently cor-rected this misunderstanding.He said, “The film is not set in

Tamil Nadu nor is it set in Chennai.The film is called Chennai Expresswhich is a train that goes all aroundthe south- and the film doesn’t hap-

pen in the train either. I get off halfway through and then we go by road,by foot and by boat all around thesouth- so when you see Kathakaliand the other cultures it is becausewe are traveling through the south.”

Rohit Shetty, known for fast-paced action thrillers, has directedthe romance Chennai Express andpacked it with plenty of excitingaction sequences. The film is pro-duced by UTV Motion Pictures andShahrukh Khan’s own Red ChilliesEntertainment.How did Shahrukh prepare for

the stunts? “I’m mostly fit, I like

being fit,” he explained tome, looking lean and youth-ful in his dark trousers, whiteshirt with a blue scarf tiedloose and trendily round hisneck.“My kids are grown up. I

find them very fit so I stillplay with them. I’ve alwaysbeen like that. I’ve neverbeen an overeater. I alwayslike to exercise, I like to playgames, I like sports. Rohit isa fantastic action director. Hehas a team of 200 people whotake care of everything.These guys flying (he pointsto characters from the filmposter) they actually fly onwhat’s known as ramps.They just stand on them andthey’re thrown up in the airand are flying. It’s very nicelydone. You have these mattress-es and you have these air bags andthey [land] exactly and you havepeople standing just in case theytopple, jump up or they bounce offso it’s very safely done.”Deepika Padukone was also

frank and fulsome. She said thatreceiving the film’s bound script andhearing the writers talk through the

plot “Was the most hilarious I evergot because the writers do it withfull sound effects –so it was, ‘doon,dash, duma!’ –I was cracking up, itwas really funny. I felt like I waswatching the film –I didn’t feel like Iwas listening.”Deepika told me that she worked

with a tutor from Tamil Nadu for acouple of weeks before the shootstarted, even though she had grownup in south India. “I have beenfamiliar with the language but main-ly for the screen it has to be not thespoken Tamil but what it is original-ly. We all now speak a slightly cor-

rupted Hindi or slang Hindi; it’s notas pure as it used to be. I get verystressed out on set if I’m not readywith my lines. I need to know [thelines] and get that out of my mind sothat I can just focus on my perform-ance-that took a couple of weeks.” Deepika said it was a real chal-

lenge mastering the voice she want-

ed to use, and had only finished herwork on the film the day before shemet me. “I couldn’t do more thanone hour a day –normally I do two-three hours a day and a couple ofscenes but because I had to changethe pitch it sort of took a strain onthe throat. So I couldn’t do morethan one scene a day. It’s somethingthat I definitely struggled with thefirst couple of days. I rememberturning up on set and everyonecracking up. On the third or fourthday Shahrukh showed me a coupleof videos and I do have people fromTamil Nadu who monitored.”

EXCLUSIVE

Shahrukh Khan talks to Asian Voiceregarding the popular misconceptions

about Chennai Express

Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone

Shahrukh, Deepika, Rohit Shetty and other actors from Chennai Express

While most of thesix-year-olds arestill playing withtoys, RishanGanatra isalready a promis-ing cricket playerwho dreams ofr e p r e s e n t i n gE n g l a n d .Selected in under11s team at theO l dG r amma r i a n sclub inWellingborough,Rishan hasalready shownmuch ability forhis age to grabattention of thecoaches.He is the

youngest playerto perform in theHigham &District Leaguethis season, andlast week he tookan impressivethree wickets fortwo runs in twoovers during amatch.Rishan has

been playingcricket with hisg r a n d f a t h e rJagdish Ganatra,since he was fouryears old.He can now

name every inter-national player,including his favourite,England and formerNorthants spin bowlerGraeme Swann.His father Amit

Ganatra, 36, of ElsdenRoad, Wellingborough,told a local newspaper:“If he has any spare time,or he is sitting around, hewill be watching cricket.”Mum Bhakti

Ganatra, 32, reportedlysaid: “He recorded all ofthe Ashes and he watch-es it every morningbefore he goes toschool.”Rishan’s 10-year-old

sister Bipasha is alsovery active in sports andplaying for the OldGrammarians.Speaking about liking

for cricket and theyoungest status in team,Rishan said: “I enjoy itand I quite like being theyoungest.”Coach Kev Odell

reportedly said: “He isdefinitely a talent, butthe key thing for a six-year-old is that he isenjoying it.“It is quite rare to

have a player so youngon the team; our nextyoungest player is nine.”

Meet the 6 years oldpromising cricketer

Rishan Ganatra

Following its premiereat Dartington TagoreFestival, Red ManeProductions bringAyndrilla Singharay’snew play 'Unsung' to theRosemary BranchTheatre for a limitednine performances only.Unsung marks the cen-tenary of RabindranathTagore’s receipt of theNobel Prize forLiterature.

Mukul Ahmeddirects Singharay’sadaptation of Tagore'sshort story 'Punishment'relocated to modern dayLondon. The castincludes: Avita Jay(Joy),Rez Kabir(Rana), Nadia Nadif(Megh,) Niall Ray(Ash). Set and costume

design are by EmmaJesse. Performances fea-ture live Bengali musicand song.Brothers, Ash and

Rana share a jointhousehold with theirwives Joy and Megh.Unlike the happy newly-weds, Rana and Meghare struggling to tolerateeach others’ company.When a seemingly inno-cent meeting leads todevastating conse-quences, allegiances arechallenged and a terriblesacrifice demanded...

Gurpreet KaurBhatti, playwright said,“'Unsung' is a uniqueand exciting re-interpre-tation of Tagore's origi-nal story for moderntimes. It tells an impor-

Unsung reachesRosemary Branch Theatre

tant story, and itsportrayal of genderviolence is as rele-vant today as it wasin Tagore's time."A y n d r i l l a

Singharay is aB r i t i s h - B e n g a l iwriter. She complet-ed her MA inCreative Writingfrom Royal HollowayUniversity London in2009. During herMA she was tutored

by former Poet Laureate,Andrew Motion and herwork was published in ananthology of new writ-ing, Bedford Square 4(pub. John Murray2010). Unsung is her firstplay. She also works as atraining and developmentco-ordinator for ASHA, aSouth Asian charity thatprovides refuge accom-modation for women andchildren escaping vio-lence.


Birmingham Airport wel-comed Air India’s Boeing787-8 ‘Dreamliner’ intoBirmingham on 1stAugust as it operated itsinaugural service fromAmritsar and Delhi.

The new service nowoperates four timesweekly each Monday,Tuesday, Thursday andSaturday, arriving fromAmritsar and Delhi intoBirmingham at 1800hours and departing toDelhi and Amritsar fromBirmingham at 2130hours.

The 256 seat B787-8series aircraft has a splitcabin, consisting of 18business class and 238economy seats.Birmingham is only thesecond UK airport tooperate dedicated Boeing787 scheduled services.

Welcoming the inau-gural flight, the Airport’sCEO, Paul Kehoe, said,“We are delighted to wel-come this new serviceinto Birmingham and tonow offer regular sched-uled services to Delhi

and Amritsar on the fan-tastic Dreamliner air-craft. Air India hasresponded to the enor-mous demand that lies inour catchment and wethank all the supportreceived from the City,and indeed the region, to

secure these directflights.”

According to FDIMarkets, the WestMidlands receives moreforeign direct investmentfrom India than anyother region outsideLondon. Globally, the

UK is the third largestrecipient of Indianinvestment, behind onlythe UAE and the USA.

The Chairman of AirIndia, Rohit Nandan,flew in on the inauguralservice and was wel-comed by a delegation ofMidlands’ VIPs, includ-ing Sir Albert Bore, theLeader of BirminghamCity Council and Mr SriVS Ramalingam, theConsul General for Indiain Birmingham.

Commenting on thespecial occasion, Sir

Albert Bore, Leader ofBirmingham CityCouncil, said:“Birmingham has aproud reputation as adiverse city, with resi-dents from the widerIndian subcontinent thefastest growing group,according to the 2011census. It makes a greatdeal of sense for there tobe a direct flight betweenDelhi and Birmingham,rather than just London,and so I am delighted towelcome the commence-ment of the new service.”

The Boeing 787Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet air-liner which entered intocommercial service inOctober last year. Boeingstates that it is the com-pany's most fuel-efficientairliner and the world'sfirst major airliner to usecomposite materials asthe primary material inthe construction of itsairframe. The 787 hasbeen designed to be 20%more fuel efficient thanthe 767 it is to replace.

Air India Dreamliner lands at Birmingham Airport

New Service Now Operating Four Times Weekly to Delhi and Amritsar

Sir Albert Bore (Leader of Birmingham City Council), RohitNandan (Chairman of Air India), Paul Kehoe (CEO ofBirmingham Airport) celebrating Air India’s inauguralBoeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ flight into Birmingham from

Amritsar and Delhi

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As Muslims in Londonand around the worldobserve the month ofRamadan, Mayor BorisJohnson has confirmedplans to mark Eid-ul-Fitrwith a free festival inTrafalgar Square.

Eid-ul-Fitr literallymeans 'breaking the fast'and signals the end theholy month of fasting.For the first time therewill be a food festivalwhich will offer peoplethe opportunity to sam-ple delicacies from acrossthe Islamic world,including Turkey,Lebanon, India andMorocco.

The free event offersa welcome to people fromall communities andfaiths and is suitable forthe whole family, withstage entertainment,exhibitions, children'sactivities and more.Those appearing on themain stage will includeNasheed artists AdamAli, Suhail Ahmed, SaifAdam and Fursaan.

The Mayor ofLondon Boris Johnsonsaid: 'Muslims in Londonand across the world arefasting for the blessedmonth of Ramadan andspending time in prayerand contemplation.

When it ends, comes atime of happiness andcelebration, as well asforgiveness and unity. Ihope that Londonersfrom all communitieswill take the opportunityto join our festivities inTrafalgar Square. EidMubarak!'

The Eid Festival ispresented by the Mayorin association with theEid Committee, a volun-tary body made up ofrepresentatives from var-ious Muslim communitygroups and organisationsin London. Lebara is thepresenting partner. ZeeTV is the media partner.

Mayor announces plans for EidFestival in Trafalgar Square

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 1716 www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013

Bollywood actor Salman Khan can finally heave a sigh ofrelief. His visa woes are over and now he can fly to Londonand shoot for Sajid Nadiadwala's next film. The film washeld up as Salman's UK visa was allegedly rejected andapparently authorities had not given any reason for doingso. According to reports, Salman would be leaving forLondon in a week's time. Till then he will wrap up othercommitments. While Salman was facing hassles regardinghis visa in India, Sajid was trying his best to follow theschedule by shooting with rest of the cast includingRandeep Hooda. And apparently, Salman's portions wasbeing shot by his body double. These portions are scenesthat Salman can't do due to his health. While mediareports about Salman's UK visa getting rejected created ahue and cry, there were sections of industry that claimedit was due to his proceeding against the actor in 2002 hitand run case. Do you think Salman should be punished for2002 hit and run case?

Bollywood has seen a few weddings last year withKareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan tying the knot, but askactor Tabu if she plans to get hitched anytime soon, andshe says, “Don’t ask me questions on marriage. Yeh abhipuraana ho gaya. Jo nahi hai uske bare mein baat karneka kya faayda.” The 41-year-old actor, who was lastseen in Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi (2012), isn’t part of manyBollywood films now. Is she being selective? “My criteria(of choosing work) is different. Earlier I just wanted todo good roles. Uske liye kuch bhi karna pade ... but thatis over now. I don’t feel the need to kill myself or reducemy money just for a good role. I have done all that. So,now the project has to be big enough for me to becomfortable in,” she says, and adds on a list ofdemands, “They’ve to pay me well and look after mewell. I have to feel that it is worth spending my time ona film. I have to take back something with me after theexperience.

Actor Katrina Kaifreportedly wants tosell her black SUV,which ex-flame, actorSalman Khan, hadgifted her on herbirthday last year.“Though Salman andKatrina never talkedabout their affair inpublic, they didexchange lavish gifts.Now that they havemoved on, Katrinadiscussed selling offthis car with a cardealer,” a sourcesaid. It was reportedthat actor Salman

Khan, who is slated to go to London for theshoot of filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kick, hasapparently been denied a UK visa. Speculationwas that it was due to his involvement in thehit-and-run case, however, after talking to hisfather, writer Salim Khan, we’ve been told thatthe visa issue is not related to the pending case.

Katrina Kaif to selloff car gifted bySalman Khan

Madhuri Dixit apparently keptforgetting her lines in Urdu forher next film 'Dedh Ishqiya'She's been a part of the industryfor decades but looks like evenMadhuri Dixit is not perfect. Theactress apparently had to shootfor 25 retakes for her upcomingfilm as she just couldn't get her

lines right. A source says, ‘Mads plays a begum inAbhishek Choubey's sequeal of Ishqiya and shehas to speak some lines in Urdu. For oneparticular scene, she just couldn't mouth themaccurately. She was furious with herself.’Apparently so angry was Madhuri that she stalledthe day's shoot. However, she managed thecorrect lines the next day. ‘Madhuri is generallyconsidered a one-take actress but even she had atough day,’ adds the source.

Salman Khan getshis UK visa

Arima Nambi to commencethe next phase

“Madras Cafe has been my dream project and we’vebeen in discussions for years over the subject. We’ve

worked extremely hard on the film and are satisfied with theoutcome. What I can assure you is audiences will be talkingabout the film even after they’ve stepped out of the theater.It is a high-on-content, thought provoking film.”says JohnAbraham who plays the role of an Indian intelligence agentin the film. It is an upcoming Indian political spy thriller filmdirected by Shoojit Sircar. Nargis Fakhri, is the female leadplays an international reporter. The film also deals with thesubject of terrorism, and is shot in India, Thailand, Bangkokand other places. It is set to release on August 23. Essayingthe role of special agent, John sports a body which is morereal and naturally lean. The film is political spy thriller setagainst backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War of the 1990s.Indian Army special officer who is appointed by Indianintelligence agency to conduct covert operations in SriLanka. As he journeys to an island at war, with the intentionof disrupting a rebel group, he discover the larger issue.There he meets a journalist who is there to reveal the truthabout the civil war, and in the process uncovers aconspiracy.John says ‘It is very different movie andsomething which London audience must have not seenbefore, Madras Café is on different line altogether. If one islooking for dance like entertainment, this is not for them buta film that will make you sit back and think, Well, more thananything else, Madras Café will make you think anddeliberate at coffee tables, board rooms and othergatherings. That’s something that I would want to do withcertain films with mine where commerce and content cometogether.”

After her much-publicized breakup with John Abraham,Bipasha Basu has reportedly found new love. The 'Raaz

3' actress is allegedly dating actor Harman Baweja, andboth were seen leaving for a holiday in Goa. According toonlookers, both Bipasha and Harman seem quite smittenwith each other. Also if sources are to believed, both arevery serious about each other and are contemplatingmarriage. However, both are little hesitant to talk about theirrelationship in public and are waiting for Harman to finallycreate a name for himself in Bollywood with his nextrelease. While Harman was reportedly seeing superstarPriyanka Chopra, Bipasha too has had her share of flingswith model-actor Dino Morea and John Abraham. We hopethis time Bipasha finds long-lasting love with Harman.

Bipasha Basuto marry Harman

Baweja?

Sunny Leone goesbold with SachinJoshi in ‘Jackpot’

Lakshmi MenonSells Idli

Imran andSonakshi sizzle in‘Once upon a time inMumbai Dobaara’

Vikram Prabhu sure is giving out an air of promises in theupcoming gen of heroes, his looks and acting sure will be putto test for his upcoming flicks, as he already has a lineup ofthem. Arima Nambi is being directed by a former associate ofAR Murugadoss, Anand so expect pace and power packedscript he might be taking a page out of his Guru's. The movieis also being directed by ace producer Kalaipuli.S.Thanu.The movie also has the new Barbie doll of Kollywood: PriyaAnand, who is also busy signing off movies with astronghold. The first schedule was wrapped up last monthand the second phase of shooting is to kick start by lateAugust. With Sivamani's thumping music, it will be a peppyshow in the music department indeed.

It certainly looks like that. The Gunday actor was presenton the sets of the Lungi dance song from ChennaiExpress Looks like Ranveer Singh can’t get enough ofDeepika Padukone! Whether Dippy is shooting in Wai orin Dubai, her Ram Leela co-star manages to pop upeverywhere and that’s what happened on the sets ofChennai Express. After Deepika and Shahrukh Khan shotthe Lungi song, director Rohit Shetty shouted pack upand suddenly Ranveer appeared on the sets out ofnowhere to cheer his gal. While Mr Singh was happy tobe part of the closing celebration of the Lungi song, wehear the Chennai Express lass hardly paid any attention.Deepika fed a big chunk of cake to her director and someof her friends who were present at the occasion but notRanveer. Now that’s surprising! It seems like the BandBaaja Baaraat actor needs to understand that givingspace to your girl is as important as spending time withher. All we can say is – Take it slow Ranveer!

With the film entangled in legal soup, Vidya Balan might beready to move on Vidya Balan's impressive portrayal ofSouth siren Silk Smitha had earned applause from even theharshest of critics. Naturally, cinephiles had been eagerlywaiting for her upcoming biopic based on famous Carnaticsinger and Bharat Ratna winner M S Subbulakshmi.However, insiders say with the project stuck due to legalhassles, Vids is reportedly losing interest in it.

25 retakes for one sceneleave Madhuri fuming

Is Ranveer Singh toopossessive of

Deepika Padukone?

Why Vidya is loosing interest inSubbulakshmi's biopic?

Rishi Kapoor has spoken about his son Ranbir's link-ups in amag interview. He says, "He's not that kind. Even if he is;why not? He's successful Any girl would like to date him. Abhinahi karega toh kab meri umar mein aakey karega? This isthe age to find a soulmate. He's seeing everyone because Ikeep seeing A B C and D in the house. But I don't think thatA knows about B and C knows about D. The staff knows andI know. I'm still the boss of the house. The news reaches myears.` Ahem... but that's frank Chintu speak.

Tabu says no formarriage

At a recent closed doorscreening of Once Upon ATime in Mumbai Dobaaraheld in Mumbai, senior Balajiofficials were incrediblyimpressed with the fresh andcrackling Imran Khan andSonakshiSinhachemistrythat is beingdepictedon thesilverscreenfor thefirsttime.Somuchso thatEktaKapoorspoke toher team

members

immediatelyabout castingthem together ina future Balaji film. Saysa source: "Balaji isproducing a largenumber of films with well-known directors and has

decided to cast the duo in aromantic film. Ekta Kapoorconfirmed: "We wereamazed at the sparklingchemistry between Imranand Sonakshi. They are thenew romantic pair created

and we would definitelylike to repeat themin one of our future

productions."Directed byMilanLuthriathe filmalso starssuperstarAkshayKumar aswell asSonali

Bendre,who makes

her return tothe big screen

after a 10-year hiatus.Once Upon A Time In

Mumbai Dobaara releases on15th August through B4Uglobally.

Yes you read it right.Young actress LakshmiMenon is acting as an idliseller and has walked theextra mile to perfect herrole in her upcoming film'Jigarthanda'. Directed byKarthik Subburaj of 'Pizza'fame, 'Jigarthanda' is saidto be a suspensethriller.StarringSiddharthandLakshmiMenonin thelead,the

moviehasbeen

progressingat a fast paceand most of the shootwas held in Madurai.The film portrays

Lakshmi Menon as an idliseller and the actress saysshe personally visited afew idli shops beforeshoot, to get a hang of herrole. "It feels great to dosuch real time roles. I haveeven danced for a kuthunumber in the movie. Thesong was shot in Madurai

and I am excitedabout having triedthis genre for the

first

time"she

beams.Apart

from

'Jigarthanda',the actress is

also acting alongside Gautam Karthik

in 'Sippai'.

Indo-Canadian adult film actress Sunny Leone, who was seenin a dare-bare role in Bollywood film Jism 2, has shot a bold

scene with actor Sachin Joshi for new film Jackpot.They are inGoa to shoot the film, and Sachin guarantees that the boldscene has been well-shot. "We shot for a bold sequence, andnow I would like to leave it to the audience. I am not allowed totalk much about that scene. I can assure you it is shotaesthetically and it doesn't look vulgar," Sachin said. The film is directed by Kaizad Gustad, who made the 1998 filmBombay Boys, followed by Boom in 2003. Talking about Sunny, Gustad said: "Sunny will be seen in a very edgy andsharp character. She is playing a sophisticated woman. Yes, there is a bold scene in the film between Sunny andSachin."

Madras Caféis thought provoking film

‘Krrish 3’ FirstLook Unveiled

Fans of HrithikRoshan can nowrejoice as the firstlook of his much-anticipated filmKrrish 3 has finallybeen unveiled. Twoposters of the filmwere revealed todayby the makers andboth of them featureHrithik in hissuperhero avatar.While in one of theposters, Roshan Jr. isseen standingstraight on a debrisof destroyed cars, inthe other one themasked hero is seenstanding with an

unknown demonic character in the backdrop,which most probably is the antagonist of thefilm, Vivek Oberoi. Directed by Rakesh Roshan,Krrish 3 also stars Priyanka Chopra and KangnaRanaut and is all set to illumine the screens thisDiwali.

Farhan Akhtar haschanged after 'BhaagMilkha Bhaag'Farhan Akhtar has earlier

said, "When I take up a

film, I always think of the

effect it will have on my

children when they see the

film years later." 'Bhaag

Milkha Bhaag' will certainly

qualify as a film that he can

be proud of. As the film nears

the 100-crore mark and

continues to get the love from

the audience and the tax-free

special status given to it by

several state governments,

we spoke to Farhan urf Milkha

about how the film has

changed his life. Excerpts:

The success of the film

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has

given me a lot of confidence

to look out for things that will

be challenging to do. It also

makes a lot of writers and

filmmakers not think of me as

just an urban metro-centric

guy and I am being offered

different roles breaking the

mould I was slotted in so far.

When you make a film, you

can never plan success, but

can only hope for the best.

The moment you plan it,

the design will destroy it. But

when it surpasses what you

had planned, you feel so

small in comparison. It's a

great reassurance to be true

to your instinct. To me, the

philosophy of Milkhaji is true

that genuinely if you work

hard, the results can be

outstanding. We remember

him as he worked harder thananyone else at that time. I feel

really happy and grateful for

the acceptance, given what

has gone into

the film and

the love it has

got in return.

There is

something

about this

movie that

has

resonated and

touched

people's

hearts for

me, more

than ever

before. I was

talking to my dad the

other day that never

before on any film that I

have made or directed or

acted in, has a film appealed

to a cross-section of society

like this has. From the

moment I leave home, from

the guy who checks your ID at

the airport to the lady who

checks you in to the guy who

gives you the coffee at the

lounge to the guy who is

tearing the boarding pass at

the boarding gate to the man

in the suit sitting next to you

in the flight to the driver who

picks you up at the airport,

says nice things about the

film. And that is because it is

a human story that has

touched every strata of

society. I felt really good post

the release of the film, when I

got a phone call from Shah

Rukh (known to be Farhan's

close friend) who said, 'I just

called to say apni picture hit

ho gayee.' I was so touched.

I remember so clearly as a

kid, my biggest problem in life

was I used to never follow up

on anything. I would get

excited about doing

something, but the fad would

fade off within 2-3 weeks. The

guy in Lakshya had a lot of

me in it. While it has not

happened overnight, I have

come a full circle in this film. It

was really tough, but the

commitment to play Milkha

revealed the extent to which

you had to dig deep, no

matter what happens to do

the role.

It's a game changer for

setting standards of hard work

that an actor can put into a

role.

While in the

industry we

compete

for the

outside

world, within

the

fraternity, I

find it

extremely

inspirational

when I see

good work as you

want to do something

even better. It's amazing if

my work will inspire others.

Any girl would like to date Ranbir:Rishi

India's currency - therupee - has fallen to an alltime low in recent weeks,putting pressure on nearlyevery facet of the oncebooming economy. Thedepreciation is affectingmany who are already hurtby the country's high infla-tion rate.

New Delhi residentJaskaran Lamba knewpursuing a Masters inPublic Administration atColumbia University inNew York would be expen-sive. What he did notcount on was a 13 per centdrop in the rupee’s valuein just two months toreach a record low of 60against the US dollar.

The additional finan-cial burden has made himsecond guess whetherstarting the two year pro-gram in September will beworth it. “The fact remainsthat I am going to pay$100,000 and if that$100,000 means a differ-ence of five rupees, that’sstraight five lakh [500,000rupees or $8,500]. Even ifI take a loan or my parentsare funding me, that’s adifference of five lakh tothem or to me from mysavings,” Lamba stated.

He is not alone. Effects

of the rupee’s depreciationwill spread across much ofthe Indian economy, withmost people eventuallyfeeling the pinch.

Not only will imports,such as electronics andauto parts, be more expen-sive - but fuel costs willlikely also go up. India isthe world’s fourth largestimporter of oil - relying onimports for 80 per cent ofits crude needs.

Rising fuel prices meanshigher transportation coststhat will hit consumersalready dealing with highfood inflation. India is notalone in seeing its currencydepreciate - other emergingmarkets like Brazil andSouth Africa have alsobeen affected by thestrengthening of the dollar.But economists here saythe rupee was alreadyunder pressure from a highfiscal deficit, untamableinflation and a lack of for-eign direct investment.

The falling rupee could

help Indian exports bymaking them cheaper. ButN. R. Bhanamurthy withthe New Delhi-basedNational Institute ofPublic Finance and Policysaid that is likely notenough to overcome manyof the challenges that for-eign companies face doingbusiness in India.

“I think it’s veryimportant for the govern-ment to bring in moregrowth-oriented policiesso that you attract moreinvestment. In fact, youcan control the domesticcapital going out. For thelast two to three months,there is a trend thatdomestic capital is goingout,” said Bhanamurthy.

Whether it was dealingwith bureaucracy orbribes, Anant Dehadraisaw firsthand the hurdlesforeign companies face asa former head of aJapanese firm in India andnow an investor in India’shealth system. “If I havean opportunity to be inIndia or somewhere else, Iwould rather go some-where else," Dehadrai stat-ed. "Where it’s so mucheasier to do business. Atthe end of the day, I wantto optimize my profits.

Why should I come here?”With two children liv-

ing abroad, including a sonwho just finished lawschool in the UnitedStates, Dehadrai is acutelyaware of the effect of therupee’s depreciation.

He remembers paying40 rupees against the dol-lar and hopes those daysand that of India’s eco-nomic prosperity are not athing of the past.

India out of trillion-dollar club: India slippedout of the elite globalleague of stock marketswith a trillion-dollar valua-tion, as total value of all itslisted companies fell to$989 billion amid hugeselling pressure on thebourses. At the end ofTuesday's trade, total mar-ket capitalisation of all list-ed companies in the coun-try fell to Rs 60,185.04 bil-lion, as the stocks wit-nessed a large scale sell offthat dragged down thebenchmark Sensex by overtwo per cent to below19,000-level after a gap ofover five weeks. Rupee atits all-time low of 61.80against the US dollar, butrecovered later to closemarginally higher near60.81 level.

The British government isexploring the possibilitiesof investment and cooper-ation in the fields of ener-gy, manufacturing,tourism and education inTripura, British high com-missioner to India SirJames Bevan has said.

"Tripura has a promis-ing future because it is apeaceful and safe statewhere many developmentworks have taken place. Ihave discussed with himregarding investment andcooperation in the fields of

energy, manufacturing,tourism and education sec-tor," Bevan who met chief

minister Manik Sarkar,told reporters on Monday.

"We are looking forclose relations with Britishgovernment and Tripurafor mutual benefits," hesaid. He said the chiefminister had soughtBritish High Commission'shelp in imparting trainingin English language for thestudents and teachershere. Besides, he alsosought British expertise inprofessional skill develop-ment.

"Since Tripura has

good quality of gas, we canwork together to excel fullpotential. We can alsoshare expertise in tourismand manufacturing sectorsand there are scopes forexchanges in universitylevel and undertakeresearch works," he said.

The British envoy said,Tripura had a very cordialrelation with neighbouringBangladesh and I hope thepeople of the state wouldget a corridor through thecountry for going to otherpart of India.

India’s chief economicadvisor Raghuram GRajan has been appointedas the next governor of theReserve Bank of India(RBI). Rajan will replaceD Subbarao, who com-pletes his five-year term onSeptember 4, and will bethe 23rd governor of thecentral bank.

"Prime MinisterManmohan Singh hasapproved appointment ofRaghuram Rajan as gover-nor of RBI for a term ofthree years," an officialstatement said.

Rajan, a former IMFchief economist, wasappointed as the chief eco-nomic advisor in thefinance ministry in Augustlast year. As the new RBIchief, Rajan will have a

challenging time as he willhave to battle the declin-ing rupee, sliding growthand rising retail inflation,amid global economicuncertainty.

Known for his frankviews, Rajan was also hon-orary economic adviser tothe Prime Minister. Hewas acclaimed for predict-

ing the 2008 global finan-cial crisis.

An alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIT-Delhi,Rajan did his doctoratefrom the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.He was professor at theUniversity of Chicago'sBooth School of Businessbefore taking over as CEA.

Rajan was alsoinvolved with the reporton financial sectorreforms, which was autho-rised by the PlanningCommission. Known forhis frank views, Rajan wasacclaimed for predictingthe 2008 global financialcrisis. In 2005, Rajan haddelivered a lecture severelycritical of the financial sec-tor and argued that afinancial disaster might be

looming. He had replacedKaushik Basu as chiefeconomic adviser in thefinance ministry last year.

His appointment wasgenerally welcomed byeconomic administratorsand the industry.

"Rajan will make anexcellent governor at themoment" as he has beendealing with the problemsin the last one year, said CRangarajan, chairman ofthe Prime Minister'sEconomic AdvisoryCouncil (PMEAC) and aformer RBI governor.

Planning Commissiondeputy chairman MontekSingh Ahluwalia saidRajan was coming in at atough time but he has aterrific academic and pro-fessional background.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 201318

Financial Voice

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Dear Financial Voice Reader,

Summer is a time to contemplate – including yourtrading and investing. So I penned this:

The Setting Is A Wedding. The marriage of thedaughter of a Priest to the son of a Trader. The weddingis finished and people are now dancing. In one corner ofa large outdoor tent the father of the bride and groomsit at a table having some wine with one or two otherguests including a philosophy professor.

Trader: I know you didn’t want this marriage. Let’sbe honest. I also know you think we’re not worthy. Butwhat you and I do is very much the same.

Priest: How so? ‘In God we Trust’? But whilst youprint that on your money, and hold your money up asyour God, I Trust in God with no mention of money.

Trader: I’ll leave aside that nowhere on earth does anon-governmental institution hold so much wealth as theChurch. No, I meant, that for me to be successful, I mustbe detached from the fruits of my labour. A Trader tomake money must not focus on the money itself butrather perform his actions with detachment and therewards will follow. I read somewhere it’s what youteach – detachment in all things.

Philosophy Professor: You’re mistaking Christian teach-ing with that of Hinduism. “Better indeed is knowledgethan mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is medi-tation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results,because there follows immediate peace.” It’s from theBhagavad Gita, an Indian religious text, 5,000 years old.

Priest: I do not understand that helps you in yourbusiness and what business it is of mine?

Philosophy Professor: The Hindus argue all religions,including yours padre, lead to one truth, one god andthat to attain true enlightenment one must be detachedfrom the vagaries of daily life, emotions and throughsuch self-control, rather like with the Priesthood, webecome closer to god.

Priest: Are you both trying to tell me that trading isan act of religious devotion? Or brings you closer to god?Exactly how much wine have you drunk?

Trader: No, I’m telling you that a bad Trader needsdetachment from money and emotions. In trading he willexperience in one day most of the emotions mankindand the church have been battling for centuries andtelling us to control: fear, greed, anger. The Trader hasto do exactly that.

Trader: You know, our children have got married, butyou never told me how you became a Priest?

Priest: Before I joined the Priesthood I was a mathe-matics teacher and it is mathematics which led me to god.

Trader: See I told you we had a lot in common. I dealwith maths everyday, and the maths leads me to god –‘in God we trust’ remember.

Priest: Not quite. I didn’t use maths to make money.Consider the beauty there is in mathematics. You men-tioned Hindus earlier Professor. Take the Pingalasequence discovered by the Indians in 200BC. You willknow it better by its Western discoverer – Fibonacci some1,400 years later. The first two Fibonacci numbers are 0and 1, and each remaining number is the sum of the pre-vious two. So it runs 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144and so on. Fibonacci sequences appear in biological set-tings, in two consecutive Fibonacci numbers, such asbranching in trees, arrangement of leaves on a stem, thefruitlets of a pineapple, the flowering of artichoke, anuncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone. TheFibonacci numbers are also found in the family tree ofhoneybees. God saw fit to make himself known throughnumbers. Through design in nature. It was these types ofclues throughout mathematics of a higher power, adesigner, that led me to god. Galileo Galilei asserted that"the laws of nature are written by the hand of God in thelanguage of mathematics."

Philosophy Professor: And to return to the Indians,according to the great Indian mathematician SrinivasaRamanujan, "an equation is meaningless to me unless itexpresses a thought of God."

Trader: You know there are traders who use onlyFibonacci numbers to forecast the next move in globalmarkets.

Priest: Wherever there is god, there is man to makemoney from Him.

Trader: Amen to that Father of the bride.

James Bevan

Falling rupee adds toIndia’s economic woes

UK exploring possibilities for investment in Tripura: Bevan

Raghuram Rajan appointed RBI governor, faces daunting task

finAnciAl Voicewww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 19

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap

A Property Investment

Company

Almost a week ago I was asked to see a flat in Dorset Sq, it was on alate Friday afternoon. The property was on the first floor of a periodconversion, the ceilings were unusually high - I would estimate at over12 ft. in height; it was south facing and had balconies, and access to theSquare.

Two large floor to ceiling windows in the reception room gave a viewto the square. It is unusual to find one feature in a property and this onehad several. Moreover the service charge was only £1,200 per annumand the lease length was 92 years. I know of studio flats which haveservice charges of £3,500 pa and are kept in worse condition than thisflat, so this service charge is very modest, especially when you consid-er it includes an element of building insurance as well.

However when we looked at the comparables the property did notlook as attractive as it had at first glance. Many properties had beensold less than or around the same as we were purchasing the flat for.Two of the comparables were showing at around £1,000 Per Sq Ft.Other evidence was coming in at £1,200 per sq ft near the square. Soon the surface this didn’t look so attractive. Certainly it didn’t seem itwas a deal.

We were apparently purchasing at £1,200 per sq ft, so 20% over acomparable dated only in February this year. I say apparently becausewe were led to believe this was a 893 sq ft flat. It didn’t seem that waywhen we looked at the flat, the flat actually looked bigger.

So these are not actually comparables, as you can only compare likefor like. Lower ground flats are avoided especially among foreign buy-ers which represent a large section of buyers in central London. Ithought until recently this was because of the possibility of damp andsecurity issues, however I didn’t appreciate the financial ramificationsthis has on the rental and the void periods of the property.

We currently have a situation where a client who has a lower groundproperty cannot rent this property because of the damp. He cannot sim-ply do the works to rectify the damp as this is the freeholder's respon-sibility, the managing agent will not do these works because they havenot got the money from the other lease holders, and so consequently theflat is remaining empty until this sorry state of affairs gets sorted. Andin the interim the landlord is losing rent.

The other comparables apart from the lower ground flats were frompurpose built blocks and ground floor properties. A quick look aroundthe square will tell you that none of the flats have the ceiling height ofa first floor flat. It's almost like you can fit another floor inside proper-ty. Many purpose built flats have a school hall type of feel about them,the service charges tend to be high and you do not see where the serv-ice charges are being spent.

Agents put emphasis on the sq footage of a property when selling,generally no mention is made of the ceiling height. The square foot areais measured but not the volume of the property which seems absurd asyou can actually get another floor in and add mezzanine level balconies,this would increase the square footage.

The particulars hadn’t been done by the agent when we saw theproperty, we simply got a phone call and were told to come and see theproperty straight away. Through our connection with the agent we man-aged to secure the deal at £1.075m, £25k above the asking price.

The reason we had to go over was there was another agent on thescene, who had down valued the flat in order to secure it himself. Theirfloor plans suggested the flat was only 893 sq ft, however this lookedway too low, the flat seems nearer the 1,000 sq ft mark. A 100 sq ftmeans the difference of £100,000 in this location. It seems the agentmarketing this property had plans to down value it; unfortunately acommon practice in this area.

This was a very difficult proposition for an armchair investor to takea decision on, as the comparable evidence doesn’t support the pur-chase. Two choices existed: either purchase the flat on our say so, orcome out and see the property to understand the features.

We were confident this flat would make an excellent BTL invest-ment, not in terms of yields but sheer capital growth. We expect thisproperty will reach £1,500 per sq ft by December 2013 very easily - thisis my prediction and one which I’m pretty sure of.

Property is in short supply in this location. Properties such as thisare even shorter when you consider all the features this property has;perhaps ten properties around the block have only some of these fea-tures.

The property was in dilapidated condition, the high ceiling in cer-tain locations had been lowered to provide storage, thereby ruining the

The trouble with figures

However things are never as they seem on the surface, on closer inspection there werereasons as to the low comparables; two of the properties were lower ground f lats andthe others were in purpose buil t blocks.

These are aspects you can only appreciate from visiting the property; the south fac-ing view is also very important as this allows daylight into the property and thisensures the f lat has a light and airy feel to it.

natural features of the flat. The flat can be made into a £1.35m flat very easily by spending

£120k on it. However the value of this flat is not in the buy and resellbut in the buy and hold. The location is heating up and the price herewill rise quickly and strongly. The flat is minutes away from both BakerSt and Marylebone stations.

We passed this on to a client of ours who was specifically looking fora buy to hold property. We spent last week securing the contract at ourlawyer’s office and then we arranged one viewing over the weekend onthe Saturday gone, and the monies for the exchange were promptly sit-ting in the lawyers account by Monday morning in anticipation ofexchange tomorrow morning - hopefully!

The lawyers were working over the weekend in anticipation of anexchange on Monday morning. Their fees certainly reflected this, but inall fairness, if someone is giving up their weekend to close this for usthey do need to be compensated.

The client's background is property, so he knows a thing or twoabout a good deal. He also knows we know how to smell a deal andappreciates our local knowledge. He also knows the importance ofspeed when moving on deals. A property we sourced for him previous-ly went up from £500k to £720k within a year and a half; this propertywas on the market for £500k and we offered full asking price. Despitereceiving contrary opinions he decided to go with our recommendationto purchase this property.

This property in Dorset Sq although three bedrooms would show inmuch better light if the kitchen was shifted to one of the bedrooms. Atthe moment the kitchen adjoins the reception room, removing it andbreaking the wall in between will mean the reception room becomesgrand and has three floor to ceiling windows instead of two. This willallow more light and increase the views of the square, though losing onebedroom. However the features which it will bring out will far outweighthe loss of one bedroom. This also is not an area where cramming anextra bedroom will necessarily achieve a higher resell price.

This idea would be great for a resell but not necessarily for rentals.The rental market is different to the resell market. A one size fits allstrategy will not work and will be very expensive.

If the aim is to rent, then the works should not be done. A large seg-ment of the rental market is made up of sharers made up of say threeindividuals or couples who would share the otherwise expensive rent.The rental on this property would be about £850 per week - £1,000 perweek dependent on condition and timing.

The yield would be enough to service the mortgage and a little morebut not much. The plan for refurbishment to bring out the featureswould be executed at the time of resell not whilst the property is beingrented.

If this was done the amount spent would not justify the increase inrental, and the property would also lose a bedroom.

Decision making and speed are two of the characteristics which sep-arate the investors who make money and those who do not. That is notto say they always make the right decisions, but they do not procrasti-nate and sit on the fence when a deal is brought to them.

I have seen more people losing money by not making a decision thanmaking the wrong decisions when purchasing property.

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l Investing in bricks and mortar meansthe investment is real, hence it cannotsimply disappear, like non tangible investments such as stocks and shares.

l Make sure you get the right mortgagewhile flipping properties otherwise you willend up paying big penalties when you sellquickly.

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[email protected] Fernandes

Racial Profiling –is it any wonder?

The furore about immigra-tion officers stopping andsearching ethnic minori-ties is nothing new – afterall the mood music in thelast couple of years hasbeen overwhelminglyabout migrants and mostof it negative. The strate-gy has more recently beenrolled out by the PiedPiper van that calls out toillegal migrant to givethemselves up.

With the change in lawextending the powers ofofficers to carry out inter-nal immigration control, socomes responsibility. Anundertaking has beengiven to Parliament thatenforcement visits will bebased on intelligencerather than on fishingexpeditions. The test forcarrying out a street oper-ation is that there must bea reasonable suspicionthat there will be immigra-tion offenders in the area.This, in practice, meansgoing to areas likeWembley or Southallwhere there will be richpickings. Officers arebound to find someonewho is illegal and this theywill argue justifies thevisit. And the racial profileof the people they arelikely to find? You get thepicture. Be in no doubtthat this is racial profilingat its best and more thanthat, it is legal. Take thevan asking illegal workersto go home. It scouredBrent and Southall. Was itseen in Mayfair or inMaida Vale? This intrusionis set to increase with the

introduction of lawsrequiring landlord to checkimmigration status.Already the Governmenthas announced that cer-tain areas will be targeted.Guess where they will tar-get?

The courts have statedthat the questioning ofindividuals on the streetmust involve some infor-mation to justify thisprocess. The questioningmust be consensual.Individuals cannot becompelled to answerquestions and if a personexercises their right not toanswer questions andleave, there is no power toarrest a person purely onsuspicion of committingan immigration offence.The Equality Act 2010makes it unlawful to carryout their duties in a waythat treats some peopleless favourably than oth-ers. There is an exceptionto this when undertakingimmigration functions ifauthorised by ministers.In other words: legalisedracism. Colour can neverbe the reason for stoppinga person. If they are tar-geting people of a certainracial profile they shouldbe able to justify reasonswhy they have done so.

In joint operationswith the police, the policecan only refer a person toan immigration officer ifthey have reasonable sus-picion and again the ques-tioning must be consen-sual.

Reasonable suspicioncan arise in numerous ways.

In its latest bid to wooglobal chains such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, thegovernment of India sweet-ened the deal for foreigninvestment in multi-brandretail stores. It also liberal-ized the rules for overseascompanies looking toinvest in manufacturingdefence goods or runningtelecom companies.

At the same time, theCabinet approved a plan totighten the norms for ‘con-trol’ of companies withforeign investment byIndians to ensure that for-eign players do not over-whelm any joint venturepartnership.

The Cabinet decisionto open the door for FDIwas an official endorse-ment of a decision taken ata meeting chaired by PrimeMinister Manmohan Singhto ease the rules in nearly adozen sectors. In most sec-tors, the simplification willallow companies to onlyinform the governmentafter investment instead of

having to get the proposalapproved by the ForeignInvestment PromotionBoard.

With no investor set-ting shop after the govern-ment allowed FDI inmulti-brand retail 10months ago, the govern-ment has decided to waterdown some of the provi-

sions which were seen asobstacles to investment.The Cabinet decided thatforeign retailers wouldnow be allowed to openstores in cities that have apopulation of less thanone million. Earlier, super-markets could only comeup in 53 cities. Only incase of states that did not

have a city with one mil-lion population was arelaxation permitted. Themove will allow stores tocome up in cities such asGurgaon and Aurangabad.

Industry and com-merce minister AnandSharma told reporters thatretailers can now sourcegoods from medium, small

and micro enterprises,where the investment capwill be $2 million, insteadof the earlier ceiling of $1million to comply with therequirement of sourcing atleast 30% goods from smallvendors. Further, sourcingcan continue even after the$2 million investment capis breached. “You can’t

penalize a small companyfor being competitive,”Sharma reasoned. As a fur-ther relaxation in the rules,the government has saidthat retailers can buy fromfarmers’ and agriculturecooperatives, which will becounted in the sourcingrequirement. The sourcingnorms have to be met overa five-year period.

To address anotherconcern, the governmenthas said that at least 50%of total FDI brought in thefirst tranche of $100 mil-lion will be invested in cre-ating backend infrastruc-ture within three years.

Cabinet clears 10%IOC disinvestment:Meanwhile, the Cabinetcleared the proposal forsale of 10% governmentstake in Indian OilCorporation, which mayfetch around Rs 37.50 bil-lion to the exchequer at thecurrent market price. “TheIOC disinvestment propos-al has been cleared by theCCEA,” sources said.

The government of India isconsidering a plan to givecash or tax incentives forreplacement of passengerand commercial vehiclesthat are over 12 years oldas part of a plan to rebootthe auto sector and revivemanufacturing.

Commerce and indus-try minister AnandSharma said that his min-istry had made a recom-mendation for the sops forvarious sectors, includingconstruction and capitalgoods, which are underconsideration.

“If a trucker is given Rs100,000 incentive plussome tax benefit just toreplace the old ones. Thenif you replace 50,000trucks in the country, it

would cost you Rs 5 bil-lion but it will revive man-ufacturing,” the ministersaid while elaborating theproposal.

The manufacturingsector has been underacute stress due to highinterest rates, stubborninflation and high inputcosts. Overall industrialoutput growth fell 1.6% inJuly while the manufactur-ing sector slumped 2%prompting urgent calls formeasures to revive thevital sector with sales ofkey products such as auto-mobiles and white goodsremaining weak.

Preliminary datareleased by listed autocompanies shows thatcompanies such as

Hyundai, Mahindra &Mahindra, Toyota and TataMotors saw sales declinein July, while marketleader Maruti Suzukimanaged to drive backinto positive terrain. Thepicture is equally gloomyin the commercial vehiclesspace. Indian Foundationof Transport Research andTraining said that truckand trailer sales fell over21% in May to around17,350 units.

The auto industry hasdemanded a stimuluspackage, including taxbreaks, to revive demandfor vehicles. A key demandis to reduce the excise dutyon small cars from 12% to8% and have a fixed levyof 20% against up to 30%

for larger vehicles. Thegovernment has beenreluctant in slashing ratesgiven the fiscal pressuresand fears that it may find ittough to achieve the budg-et target due to poor salesand weak demand.

Economists said theplan was good for thestressed sector, but notenough. “This is good atthe margins, but may notbe a game changer,”Siddhartha Sanyal,regional economist atBarclays Capital, said.

But government offi-cials pointed out that therewere implementation issuesas well. “How do you pro-vide the subsidy and whatdo you do with the old vehi-cles?” asked one.

Indian eases FDI rules for retail, defence

India considers incentives to revive auto sector

India’s Prime MinisterManmohan Singh vowedto accelerate the pace ofreforms to reverse the eco-nomic slowdown. “Thelast couple of years havebeen challenging not onlyfor us but for the wholeworld. We must view thisas a short term decelera-tion,” Singh said at a bookrelease function.

“Our government isdetermined to once againaccelerate the pace ofchange. Once again, wewill prove the naysayersand Cassandras of doomwrong,” Singh said. Theprime minister said theeconomy slowed to 5% in2012-13 but this did notsignal that the economyhas slipped back to the oldgrowth rates.

“Over the past decade,when the economy hadabsorbed the full benefit ofthe reforms that began in1991, our economy hasgrown at close to 7.5%,”Singh said. “Our growthrate has slowed down to5% in 2012-13. But this

should not make us feeldisheartened and imaginethat we have slipped backto our old growth rate.”

He said that the gov-ernment has to deal withthe macro-economicimbalances that havedeveloped and there aremajor challenges in keysectors such as such asenergy, water, and land.

Earlier, finance minis-ter P Chidambaramdefended the govern-ment’s reform track andrejected the charge of apolicy paralysis saying anumber of decisions havebeen taken.

Manmohan, Chidambaram vowsteps to reverse slowdown

Three franchisees of theWorld Trade Centre (WTC)in India have expressed adesire to set up a new officein Gujarat InternationalFinance-Tec City (GIFT).The franchisees sent theirproject proposals to thestate government in thisregard a few weeks ago,claim urban developmentdepartment officials.

The franchises belongto Pune, Gurgaon andMumbai and are part ofWorld Trade CentreAssociation (WTCA).Seeing multiple franchiseesvying for the same space inGIFT city, the matter willnow be taken up with theWTC board in New York.“The meeting at WTC NewYork is scheduled forOctober. The board willdecide which of the threefranchisees could go aheadand hold talks with thestate government,” claimsa senior urban develop-ment official.

GIFT director RK Jhaconfirmed that a letter ofinterest had been received

from the three franchisees,“I have received the letter.But the project proposals arewith the state government. Iwould not be able to elabo-rate on this much,” said Jha.

The purpose of a WTCis to make informationavailable on world trade inreal time and coordinatedmanner. “In such an envi-ronment, exports increasebecause of accessibility tovaluable expertise. Amongthe 19 major facilities thatare mandatory at a WTCare a club, large meetingrooms, group trade mis-sion offices, translatingservices, trade fair andmarts, international tradelibrary, trade educationservices, display and exhi-bition facilities and a hotel.

By August 15 NarseeMonjee will lay the foun-dation stone for a neweducational institute.International TextileMachinery Exhibition(ITME) will start con-struction work for its cen-tre by September on its350,000 square feet area.

3 WTC franchisees keento set up office in Gujarat

When DLF CommercialProjects Corporation - apartnership firm in whichIndia's largest real estatefirm, DLF, held 74% - filedits income-tax returns inSeptember 2009, declaringa loss of Rs 201 million, theassessing officer could notunderstand certain trans-actions. One such transac-tion was Rs 37.17 billionreceived as advances byDLF Commercial from itsparent, on which it paid nointerest and invested thisamount in more than 100firms.

The assessing officerordered a 'special audit' - arelook at the company'saccounts by an auditorappointed and paid by theI-T department. DLFCommercial objected tothis special audit in theDelhi High Court, andwon the decision inOctober 2012. In recentyears, several frontlinecompanies have chal-lenged the I-T depart-

ment's special audit incourt - Nokia India, HeroMotoCorp and SaharaIndia are three otherexamples.

But the ability of cor-porates to resist such anoversight audit might beweakened following awidening in the scope ofthe law. Effective fromJune 1, the I-T departmentcan order such audits onsix counts. Accountingprofessionals say thatwhile this gives more teethto the I-T department toorder special audits, it alsoraises the spectre ofharassment if these pow-ers were used more as arule than as an exception.

"This move is surely aweapon in hands of I-Tdepartment to gatherexhaustive facts of trans-actions and would lead tomore instances of specialaudit," says HimanshuParekh, partner-globalinternational corporatetax with KPMG.

India’s tax departmentgets more teeth

finAnciAl voicewww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 21

GBP - INR = 93.96

USD - INR = 60.77

EUR - INR = 80.87

GBP - USD = 1.54

GBP - EUR = 1.15

EUR - USD = 1.33

GBP - AED = 5.64

GBP - CAD = 1.60

GBP - NZD = 1.95

GBP - AUD = 1.72

GBP - ZAR = 15.23

GBP - HUF = 345.92

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WeeklyCurrenciesAs of Tuesday

6th August 2013 @ 4pm

Last week we saw all three cen-tral banks come into focus withthe US Federal Reserve Bankoutlining monetary policy, theBank of England deciding on

the key interest rate and quanti-tative easing plan and the

European Central Bank outlin-ing monetary policy as well.Starting with the US, the

Federal Reserve reaffirmed whatthey said back in the July mone-tary policy press conference, bystating that they will continue itsbond buying program for thetime being and monetary policywill remain accommodative asthe outlook for inflation and thejob market changes. Bernankemade particular reference to theFed’s 2% inflationary target,stating that whilst the rateremains below this, then wecould see a risk to economic per-formance – consumer spendingmakes up typically about 70% ofUS economic growth.

The US also experiencedsome better than expected dataas growth figures revealed thatthe world’s biggest economygrew by 1.7% in the secondquarter, up from a revisedgrowth of 1.1% in the first quar-ter.

The key datahowever camefrom the labourmarket as the non-farm payrolls andu n emp l o ym e n trates wereannounced. Theoverall unemploy-ment rate in the USdropped more thanexpected to 7.4%down from 7.6%.This will be viewedby investors as akey indicator as tothen the Fed willreduce QE as earli-er in the year, Bernanke statedhe wants to see the overallunemployment rate at 6.5%before scaling back the QE. Thenumber of jobs added to the USjobs market (non-farms) fellbelow expectations by almost20k, the lowest in four months.The overall effect was dollarweakness on Friday afternoonclosing just above 1.53.

The European Central Bankheld their interest rates on holdhowever Mario Draghi indirectlyhinted at possible future cuts bystating that ‘we are not at zero’.He was relatively positive over

the general economic health ofthe euro zone and this wasreflected in the euro as it gath-ered some momentum over thepound and the US dollar.

In other news from the eurozone the European Commissiondeclared that Greece’s bailoutremains on track and theyremained confident that Greecewill return to growth in 2014.Expectations remain for growthto shrink by 4.2% this year butthen to rise to 0.6% in 2014.

Data wise we had mixed dataas manufacturing PMI improvedin Italy, Germany and the euro

zone as a whole butfalling in Spain andFrance. Data from theeuro zones labour mar-ket was fairly positive asthe number of unem-ployed people inGermany fell by 7,000,the unemployment inthe euro zone as a wholeremained at 12.1% andunemployment in Italyfell to 12.1%. Inflation inthe euro zone remainedat 1.6%, falling short ofan increase to 1.7%.

The Bank ofEngland’s interest rate

and monetary policy decisionwas as expected – with the keyrate being held at 0.5% and themonthly bond buying programremaining at £375bn per month.The pound was boosted by thisnews as well as by data showingthat the construction sector hasexpanded – adding to the argu-ment that the recovery in the UKeconomy is gathering pace.However demand for the poundremains limited ahead of thisweek’s quarterly inflation reportwhere Mark Carney will detailplans on ‘Forward Guidance’ oninterest rates.

UK Economy Gathering Pace

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX,

Currency Specialists.

Indian mission in Afghanattacked, nine killedJalalabad: Suicide bombers targeted theIndian consulate in the eastern Afghan cityof Jalalabad on Saturday, detonating a carpacked with explosives and killing nine civil-ians, including seven children in a nearbymosque. The terrorist strike came daysafter a security team from Delhi visitedKabul following reports that the ISI-backedHaqqani network was plotting to attackIndian interests in Afghanistan. A Talibanspokesman immediately denied responsibili-ty for the blast that erupted outside theIndian mission and left the mosque, severalhouses and shops in ruins.

Gunmen kill 13 buspassengers in PakistanQuetta (Pakistan): Dozens of gunmen dis-guised in police uniforms shot to death 13people they pulled off of a convoy of busesin southwest Pakistan and dumped theirbodies in a nearby ravine, officials said. Themotive for the attack on Monday night wasunclear since no one has claimed responsi-bility. But suspicion may fall on separatistswho have been waging a low-level insur-gency in southwest Baluchistan province fordecades. The buses were headed to centralPunjab province, and the separatists have ahistory of attacking Punjabis who they viewas outsiders encroaching on their independ-ence. The province is also home to manyIslamic militants who have carried outattacks in the past, especially on minorityShiite Muslims.

China-funded port opens inSri LankaBeijing: A Chinese-built container terminalopened in Colombo on Monday giving anew sea route for mega vessels from China.This is a major breakthrough for Beijing,which has been trying to access the east-west route through Sri Lanka in order toreduce its dependence on the congestedand risky Malacca Straits near Malaysia. SriLanka, which is conscious of India's con-cerns about China getting access to theIndian Ocean, has assured New Delhi thatthe new terminal will not be used for mili-tary purpose. But New Delhi has reasons tobe worried because China funded a deepsea port in the southern Sri Lankan city ofHambantota, which opened last year.

Floods kill 80 as Pakistanmonsoon takes its tollIslamabad: Torrential rain in EasternAfghanistan and Pakistan has caused floodsthat have killed at least 80 people. Pakistanidisaster relief officials issued fresh warningsas heavy monsoon rains paralysed parts ofKarachi, the country’s biggest city. Thedownpours overwhelmed main roads andswept away homes in the northwesternprovince of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In neigh-bouring Afghanistan, flash floods killedmore than 40 people, mostly in Surobi dis-trict east of Kabul. Pakistan’s NationalDisaster Management Authority warnedthat more thunderstorms and heavy rainsare expected.

Sri Lanka arrests 65 IndianfishermenColombo: Sixty-five Indian fishermen innine trawlers have been detained by the SriLankan navy for allegedly violating theinternational maritime border. Navalspokesman commander KosalaWarnakulasuriya has said that 34 of themin five trawlers were arrested off the coastnorth of Point Pedro in the north.Whileanother 31 were arrested east ofMullaithivu along with four vessels.

Babies given away on Pak TVtalkshowIslamabad: Pakistani TV is screening whatmany call its most controversial content yetin a ruthless quest for ratings - a talkshowhost who gives away babies live on air.Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a 41-year-oldwith a neatly trimmed beard, gave awaytwo abandoned infant girls to childless fam-ilies last month.

In Focus

Islamabad: Glossing overstrained bilateral ties for overtwo years, the United Statesand Pakistan on Thursdayagreed to resume the stalledstrategic dialogue whileWashington played downIslamabad’s concerns overcontinuing American dronestrikes in its lawless north-western tribal regions to takeout Taliban militants. “We arehere to speak honestly witheach other, openly about anygaps that may exist and wewant to bridge,” US secretaryof state John Kerry said dur-ing his long-anticipated visitto Islamabad, the first high-level contact after the NawazSharif government tookcharge. “Our people deservethat we talk directly,” he said.

Bilateral ties hit an all-time low in 2011 when US airstrikes killed 24 Pakistanisoldiers in the tribal regionbordering Afghanistan, andafter al-Qaida chief Osamabin Laden was killed in thegarrison town of Abbottabadin a daring secret raid by hel-icopter-borne US comman-dos. The killing of two

Pakistanis by CIA contractorRaymond Davis in Lahorefurther strained ties.

“There is a determinationto move this relationship tothe full partnership that itought to be, and to find waysto deal with individual issuesthat have been irritants overthe course of the past years,”said Kerry, addressing a jointpress conference with SartajAziz, advisor to Sharif on for-eign affairs. “I believe thatthe prime minister is seriousabout it and so is presidentObama.” During his meetingwith Sharif, Kerry invitedhim to visit the US for talkswith president Obama.Officials said the talksfocused on the economy,energy shortage in Pakistanand security in the regionahead of Nato's withdrawalfrom Afghanistan next year.

Kerry brokers peace:US, Pak to start afresh

Rawalpindi: A court inPakistan delayed the indict-ment of former leader PervezMusharraf because it was toodangerous for him to attendthe proceedings due tothreats to his life.

Musharraf, oncePakistan's most powerfulman, had been expected to becharged over his failure toprevent the assassination offormer prime ministerBenazir Bhutto in 2007.

The closely watched casehas shattered an unwrittenrule in Pakistan that the topmilitary brass are untouch-able. Charging Musharrafwould be unprecedented in acountry ruled by the militaryfor half of its 66-year history.

Public ProsecutorMohammad Azhar toldreporters at an anti-terrorismcourt in Rawalpindi - a mili-tary city where Bhutto waskilled - that the indictmentwould now take place onAugust 20. "They havereceived threat letters," hesaid, adding that Musharraf'sdefence had formally request-ed the court delay the pro-

ceedings until the security sit-uation improved. Musharrafwas army chief and seizedpower in a 1999 coup. Helater become president andstepped down in 2008.

Bhutto was killed in a gunand suicide bomb attack afteran election rally, weeks aftershe returned to Pakistan fromyears in self-imposed exile.The government at the timeblamed Pakistani Taliban mil-itants and Musharraf has saidhe warned her of the dangershe faced. A U.N. commis-sion of inquiry said in a 2010report Pakistan failed toproperly protect Bhutto orinvestigate her assassination.

Pakistan has been on highalert this week and securityhas been tight in Islamabadand elsewhere ahead of aMuslim holiday marking theend of the holy month ofRamadan.

Taliban-linked militantsthreatened to kill Musharrafwhen he returned to Pakistanin March, hoping to contestan election in May after near-ly four years of self-imposedexile.

Islamabad: Pakistan hastaken unprecedented securitymeasures to fend off a loom-ing threat by Taliban mili-tants to launch the "biggestattack" on some unspecifiedimportant installation, offi-cials said. Joint teams of com-mandos from the army, navyand air force went into actionand took control of importantfacilities like the BenazirBhutto International Airportin Rawalpindi and several keysensitive security buildings inIslamabad.

Elite police units weredeployed at prisons, the par-liament building, diplomaticenclave, five-star hotels andother key places in the capitalfrequented by VVIPs.

"It is the highest level ofsecurity in the country,"Islamabad Police chiefSikandar Hayat said.Security was ratcheted upafter credible reports thatTaliban militants were plan-ning to storm some key build-ing and take people hostage.

An intelligence officialsaid militants emboldened by

last week's attack on DeraIsmail Khan jail - duringwhich 252 prisoners escaped- wanted to create an evenbigger impact with a high-profile attack.

"The secret communica-tion revealed that, apart fromother potential targets, themilitants want to storm someairport, occupy passengerlounges and even destroy air-craft," the official said.

Army and police person-nel have been combing thethickly forested MargallaHills overlooking Islamabadsince yesterday, city policechief Hayat said.

"We have a very specificthreat this time and ourforces are searching the hills,"

he said. He confirmed thatthere were reports the mili-tants could attack some "sen-sitive" buildings inIslamabad.

Hayat did not specify thetargets but the President'sHouse, Prime Minister'sHouse and Secretariat, par-liament, diplomatic enclave,NGOs' offices, five-starhotels and banks could be onthe hit list of the rebels,sources said.

Security has also beenincreased in other cities. Thethreat emerged after a globalwarning of possible Al Qaedaattacks, which forced the USand Western nations to tem-porarily close their missionsin some countries.

Dhaka: In a landmark ruling,Bangladesh’s biggest funda-mentalist party Jamaat-e-Islami was declared “illegal”by the high court which dis-qualified it from contestingfuture polls, leaving the once-most powerful right-wing out-fit with an uncertain future.

“It is hereby declared ille-gal,” Moazzem Husain, thechief judge of a high courtpanel hearing the high profilecase, said while ruling infavour of a petition whichargued that Jamaat shouldnever have been allowed toregister as a political party asits charter breached the secu-lar Constitution.

“By majority, rule is madeabsolute and registration givento Jamaat by the election com-mission is declared illegal andvoid,” justice Husain saidamid tight security outside thecourthouse here.

Anti-Jamaat protestersgathered outside the packed

court flashed V-for-victorysigns in celebration, even asIslamists took to the streets ofDhaka and other parts of thecountry, blocking roads andattacking vehicles, police said.

Scores of Jamaat support-ers burnt a bus and damagedseveral cars as violence brokeout just outside the northerncity of Bogra. The party issueda statement calling for a 48-hour shut down across thecountry beginning August 12.

It has also moved theappellate division to overturn

the judgment which makes itsparticipation in the cominggeneral elections uncertain.

The election commissionhas said the ruling meantJamaat could not stand in theelections scheduled for theend of this year or early nextyear.

The three-member panelof justices Husain, MEnayetur Rahim and QuaziReza-Ul Hoque pronouncedthe judgement accepting awrit petition that challengedthe legality of Jamaat’s regis-

tration as a political party. Bangladesh Tariqat

Federation’s secretary gener-al Rezaul Haque Chandpuriand 24 others had filed thewrit petition on January 25,2009. Tariqat is a group thatpreaches Sufi philosophy andpromotes secularism. In thepetition, they said Jamaat-e-Islami was a religion-basedpolitical party and it did notbelieve in independence andsovereignty of Bangladesh.

The Tariqat Federationclaimed in the petition thatthe representation of peopleorder law does not allow theregistration of a communaloutfit as a political party.

Police and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalionmen enforced a strict vigilaround the court complex astension mounted ahead of theverdict while officials saidthey also kept prepared extraforces to face any law andorder situation.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th August 201322 Pakistan-Bangladesh-sri lanka

Indictment of Musharrafadjourned over security fear

High alert in Pakistan afterserious Taliban threat

HC declares Jamaat illegal, Bangladesh tense

London: A British appealscourt upheld a law againsteuthanasia in rejectingappeals from two severelydisabled men who arguedthat doctors should beallowed to legally killthem.

The two men - one ofwhom died of pneumonialast year - claimed theirright to "private and familylife" as guaranteed by theEuropean Convention onHuman Rights was beingviolated since they were notallowed to choose how andwhen they wanted to die.

In a judgment, theCourt of Appeal acknowl-edged the current lawinterferes with that rightbut ruled the ban oneuthanasia is justified. Itupheld a decision by theHigh Court last year thatany changes to theeuthanasia law must bemade by politicians, notjudges.

In a unanimous ruling,the judges said the twomen had "permanent andcatastrophic physical dis-abilities" but said the issueof euthanasia "raises pro-foundly sensitive ques-tions about the nature ofour society." The judgeswrote that "Parliamentrepresents the conscienceof the nation" and said thecourt had no jurisdiction

to challenge the legal banon euthanasia.

"I am absolutely gut-ted," said Paul Lamb, oneof the men involved, whowas severely paralyzedafter a car accident. I washoping for a humane anddignified end," Lamb saidin a statement. "This judg-ment does not give methat."

Lamb said he wouldcarry on with the legalfight for euthanasia. Hislawyer said they were con-sidering options forappealing the case to theSupreme Court, togetherwith the widow of theother man in the case,Tony Nicklinson.

In a related case, thecourt ruled that an appealby another disabled manto clarify who will beallowed to help peoplecommit suicide, should beallowed. At the moment,the Crown ProsecutionService does not prosecuteclose family and friends ifthey help loved ones travelabroad to commit suicideas long as they act in goodfaith.

There is no such provi-sion for doctors or nurses,for whom it is illegal tohelp or even provide med-ical records for patients ifthey suspect they maywant to go abroad for

assisted dying. Lawyersfor a man known only asMartin argued the policywas "defective" in failing tooutline cases where healthcare professionals mightbe allowed to help theirpatients die. Martin's fam-ily wants no involvementin his suicide.

In its ruling, the courtsaid that while it wasimpossible to guaranteeimmunity for a health careprofessional who helpssomeone commit suicide,the current policy shouldbe amended to be moreprecise.

Keir Starmer, directorof public prosecutions,said it would be sensible tohave the advice of theSupreme Court before anyamendments are made tothe guidelines. His office isappealing the decision tothe Supreme Court.

In Europe, euthanasiais allowed in Belgium, theNetherlands, andLuxembourg.

Assisted suicide is usu-ally for people who have atleast some capacity to killthemselves, perhaps bydrinking a lethal beverageor taking a fatal dose ofdrugs. It is legal inSwitzerland, the onlyEuropean country thatallows foreigners to travelthere to die.

worldwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 23

Washington: In a first of itskind of reverse technologysharing between India andthe US, an innovativeexplosive detection kitdeveloped by Indian scien-tists would be manufac-tured in America and soldglobally for quick detectionand identification of com-binations of explosives.

The India-developedUS manufactured explo-sive detection kit waslaunched at the USChamber of Commercebuilding in Washington.

This was probably forthe first time that technol-ogy developed by theDefence Research &D e v e l o p m e n tOrganization was beingmanufactured and market-ed in the US, officials andindustry partners said.

Former US defencesecretary William S Cohendescribed this as an“excellent example” ofreverse technology trans-fer. The detector is notexactly rocket science forwhich India’s DefenceResearch andD e v e l o p m e n tOrganization (DRDO) isbetter known, with itswork on Agni and othernuclear-capable missiles.But, is a nifty bit of tech-nology that could onlyhave been devised in sucha scaled-down version by acountry ravaged by terror-ist attacks. It attracted a

fair bit of attention from arange of international ter-rorism experts and lawenforcement agencies, forboth its price and its fea-tures, particularly after itwon several awards, andserved as an import substi-tution for more expensivetechnology India wasimporting from the west.

The kit can be used toinstantly identify explo-sives that are typicallyused in bomb blasts. Atthe simplest level, samplesfrom the crime scene aretested against chemicals inthe kit, which then deter-mines whether the explo-sive used is RDX, TNT,PETN or any other. TheDRDO has also made apocket sized, use-and-dis-card version of the kit,which can be used by locallaw enforcement agenciesto determine quick resultsin cases such as theBoston marathon bombingand New York City’sTimes Square episode.

According to theDRDO, the kit can detectand identify explosivesbased on any combinationof nitroesters, nitramines,trinitrotoluene (TNT),dynamite or black powder.The testing requires only 3to 5 mg of the suspectedsample and only 3 or 4drops of reagents. The kit,which costs less than $100,comes packed in a box thesize of a vanity case.

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British court rulesagainst euthanasia London: A police inspec-

tor from Chennai hasalleged that his 18-year-old daughter who came toBritain to train andbecome an astronaut hasbeen murdered. GeorginaThomsson, a first-year stu-dent of bachelor of engi-neering in aerospace at theUniversity of Liverpool,was found dead in her hos-tel recently. The universitylater said she was foundhanged in her room.

But Georgina's father SThomsson, a police inspec-tor (law and order) inChennai, found no hangingmarks on her neck. "I sus-pect foul play," he said."After I arrived in the UKand investigated, I foundout my daughter was sup-posedly not in her hostelroom from June 28 to July11. The rule is that the hos-tel is supposed to informthe family or the UKBorder Agency if an inter-national student is missing.They didn't even inform thelocal police station. Also,she supposedly slipped intoher room on the night ofJuly 11 and committed sui-cide by hanging. Howcome no one saw her enter-ing the premises?"

Thomsson saidGeorgina was a very ambi-

tious girl. Two years agoshe was a student of StJohn's InternationalResidential School inPalanjur, Chennai, whenshe was selected to go andwatch the launch of aspaceship at NASA in theUS. Ever since, she hadwanted to be like astro-naut Sunita Williams.

"That is why eventhough she got throughseven colleges in India, shecame to the UK to studyaerospace engineering,"Thomsson said. "She want-ed to do her master's inGermany and a PhD in theUS before working forNASA. How can someoneso dedicated commit sui-cide? I have been trying tosee her body before thepost-mortem but the policedidn't let me. I finally sawthe body on Thursdayafternoon. I have investi-gated hundreds of cases ofhanging and murder inChennai. I know she didn'tdie of hanging. I will not

take the body till a properinvestigation is launched."

Thomsson hadn't spo-ken to his daughter sinceFebruary. He said he hadcalled the college severaltimes to speak toGeorgina, but the hostelnever put the phonethrough. Recently,Thomsson had sent amobile phone to Georginathrough a friend visitingthe UK from Chennai.

"After I arrived I foundout that last month she hadfainted in the bathroomand an ambulance wascalled," Thomsson said."She refused to go andwanted to rest in her room.The college never informedme of the incident. A pro-fessor also told Georgina togo see a doctor since shehad been looking pale. Butthe college didn't eveninform the family."

He is now waiting forthe coroner in Liverpool toannounce an inquest intoGeorgina's death.Thomsson, who had mort-gaged his home to fundGeorgina's education, nowplans to ask the IndianHigh Commission for help.Thomsson, who has anoth-er daughter, has decided tostay in the UK till an inves-tigation is launched.

Girl from Chennai dies in UK;father suspects foul play

London: FCO Minister ofState for India, Rt HonHugo Swire MP, alongwith Lord Singh ofWimbledon, met Sikh rep-resentatives to discuss thecase of Professor Bhullarwhose appeal for his deathsentence to be commutedwas rejected by the IndianSupreme Court on 12April. Mr Swire reiteratedthe UK Government’sopposition to the deathpenalty in all circum-stances as a matter of prin-ciple, in India and else-where. The UK will con-tinue to monitor the caseof Professor Bhullar close-ly, as we will in all caseswhere the death penaltyhas been given as a sen-tence. We also continue tocall on the Indian govern-ment to reintroduce amoratorium on the deathpenalty, with a view to for-mal abolition, Mr Swiretold Sikh representatives.

Hugo Swiremeets Sikh

representativesabout Prof

Bhullar

London: A British appealscourt upheld a law againsteuthanasia in rejectingappeals from two severelydisabled men who arguedthat doctors should beallowed to legally killthem.The two men - one of

whom died of pneumonialast year - claimed theirright to "private and familylife" as guaranteed by theEuropean Convention onHuman Rights was beingviolated since they were notallowed to choose how andwhen they wanted to die.In a judgment, the

Court of Appeal acknowl-edged the current lawinterferes with that rightbut ruled the ban oneuthanasia is justified. Itupheld a decision by theHigh Court last year thatany changes to theeuthanasia law must bemade by politicians, notjudges.In a unanimous ruling,

the judges said the twomen had "permanent andcatastrophic physical dis-abilities" but said the issueof euthanasia "raises pro-foundly sensitive ques-tions about the nature ofour society." The judgeswrote that "Parliamentrepresents the conscienceof the nation" and said thecourt had no jurisdiction

to challenge the legal banon euthanasia."I am absolutely gut-

ted," said Paul Lamb, oneof the men involved, whowas severely paralyzedafter a car accident. I washoping for a humane anddignified end," Lamb saidin a statement. "This judg-ment does not give methat."Lamb said he would

carry on with the legalfight for euthanasia. Hislawyer said they were con-sidering options forappealing the case to theSupreme Court, togetherwith the widow of theother man in the case,Tony Nicklinson.In a related case, the

court ruled that an appealby another disabled manto clarify who will beallowed to help peoplecommit suicide, should beallowed. At the moment,the Crown ProsecutionService does not prosecuteclose family and friends ifthey help loved ones travelabroad to commit suicideas long as they act in goodfaith.There is no such provi-

sion for doctors or nurses,for whom it is illegal tohelp or even provide med-ical records for patients ifthey suspect they maywant to go abroad for

assisted dying. Lawyersfor a man known only asMartin argued the policywas "defective" in failing tooutline cases where healthcare professionals mightbe allowed to help theirpatients die. Martin's fam-ily wants no involvementin his suicide.In its ruling, the court

said that while it wasimpossible to guaranteeimmunity for a health careprofessional who helpssomeone commit suicide,the current policy shouldbe amended to be moreprecise.

Keir Starmer, directorof public prosecutions,said it would be sensible tohave the advice of theSupreme Court before anyamendments are made tothe guidelines. His office isappealing the decision tothe Supreme Court.In Europe, euthanasia

is allowed in Belgium, theNetherlands, andLuxembourg.Assisted suicide is usu-

ally for people who have atleast some capacity to killthemselves, perhaps bydrinking a lethal beverageor taking a fatal dose ofdrugs. It is legal inSwitzerland, the onlyEuropean country thatallows foreigners to travelthere to die.

worldwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 23

Washington: In a first of itskind of reverse technologysharing between India andthe US, an innovativeexplosive detection kitdeveloped by Indian scien-tists would be manufac-tured in America and soldglobally for quick detectionand identification of com-binations of explosives.The India-developed

US manufactured explo-sive detection kit waslaunched at the USChamber of Commercebuilding in Washington. This was probably for

the first time that technol-ogy developed by theDefence Research &D e v e l o p m e n tOrganization was beingmanufactured and market-ed in the US, officials andindustry partners said. Former US defence

secretary William S Cohendescribed this as an“excellent example” ofreverse technology trans-fer. The detector is notexactly rocket science forwhich India’s DefenceResearch andD e v e l o p m e n tOrganization (DRDO) isbetter known, with itswork on Agni and othernuclear-capable missiles.But, is a nifty bit of tech-nology that could onlyhave been devised in sucha scaled-down version by acountry ravaged by terror-ist attacks. It attracted a

fair bit of attention from arange of international ter-rorism experts and lawenforcement agencies, forboth its price and its fea-tures, particularly after itwon several awards, andserved as an import substi-tution for more expensivetechnology India wasimporting from the west. The kit can be used to

instantly identify explo-sives that are typicallyused in bomb blasts. Atthe simplest level, samplesfrom the crime scene aretested against chemicals inthe kit, which then deter-mines whether the explo-sive used is RDX, TNT,PETN or any other. TheDRDO has also made apocket sized, use-and-dis-card version of the kit,which can be used by locallaw enforcement agenciesto determine quick resultsin cases such as theBoston marathon bombingand New York City’sTimes Square episode. According to the

DRDO, the kit can detectand identify explosivesbased on any combinationof nitroesters, nitramines,trinitrotoluene (TNT),dynamite or black powder.The testing requires only 3to 5 mg of the suspectedsample and only 3 or 4drops of reagents. The kit,which costs less than $100,comes packed in a box thesize of a vanity case.

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British court rulesagainst euthanasia

London: FCO Minister ofState for India, Rt HonHugo Swire MP, alongwith Lord Singh ofWimbledon, met Sikh rep-resentatives to discuss thecase of Professor Bhullarwhose appeal for his deathsentence to be commutedwas rejected by the IndianSupreme Court on 12April. Mr Swire reiteratedthe UK Government’sopposition to the deathpenalty in all circum-stances as a matter of prin-ciple, in India and else-where. The UK will con-tinue to monitor the caseof Professor Bhullar close-ly, as we will in all caseswhere the death penaltyhas been given as a sen-tence. We also continue tocall on the Indian govern-ment to reintroduce amoratorium on the deathpenalty, with a view to for-mal abolition, Mr Swiretold Sikh representatives.

Hugo Swiremeets Sikh

representativesabout Prof

Bhullar

London: The Jaspar Centre, housed with-in the majestic Grade II Listed formerHarrow Magistrate’s Court building,opened on 22 July, is owned and man-aged by the Jaspar Foundation;Registered Charity No. 1127243. TheJaspar Foundation have supported vari-ous Asian elderly groups since 2009 pro-moting good health and well-being andorganising social activities in order toenrich the fabric of our local community.The Foundation provides grants for

projects to relieve people who are inneed, hardship or distress due to theirsocial and economic circumstances. Itprovides grants to institutions and pro-motes activities which advance the Asiancommunity.The Jaspar Centre is a home for the

essence of these Foundation objectives.It is perfectly placed to serve the localarea. Focusing on the Asian elderly mem-

bers of our community, the Centre aimsto take over some of the popular socialactivities run in rooms that have beenhired at Harrow Leisure Centre since2009.The building has been designed with

the community in mind. Halls, officesand rooms have been provided for organ-ised activities. Supervised health and cul-tural activities (such as yoga and generalactivity classes, folk dancing and singing)will also be provided within the Centre. The Centre will form a hub for

daily/weekly activities such as providingfresh hot lunches, medical advice, a drop-in clinic, language courses and generalwelfare support. All the facilities withinthe building will also be available for pri-vate hire.

For more informationhttp://www.jasparcentre.org

Jaspar centre perfectly placed toserve elderly from Asian community

Close on the heels of policenotifying guidelines on barsand restaurants employingwomen, the Central CrimeBranch (CCB rescued 240women from seven joints run-ning dance bars illegally inMajestic-Gandhinagar area.

At the time of raids onHotel Rajadhani, HotelAishwarya , Hotel SkyHeaven, Hotel Sakhi, HotelKajal, Port of Pavilion andBlue Heaven, police said theyfound women gyrating ondance floors and customersmisbehaving with them. Policesources said the women wereskimpily clad and customerswere showering them withcurrency notes. The joints didnot have authorization to playmusic on the public addresssystem. The raids began past10pm and ended by midnight .About 300 customers werealso picked up and taken tojurisdictional Upparpet policestation, and later released.

A senior police officer saiddance bars are illegal. He said

the rescued women were sentback to their homes afterpolice collected their details,including permanent address-es. They will involve NGOsnow to inform the girls'guardians, and check if theycan be rehabilitated . Besidesrecovering music equipment,police also seized Rs 35 ,000 incash during the raids. Of therescued women, 50 were fromPunjab, 47 from Maharashtra,32 from West Bengal, 28 fromDelhi, 25 each from Karnatakaand Uttar Pradesh, nine fromBihar , seven from AndhraPradesh , four from Rajasthanand one each from Nepal,Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.Twenty men were picked upfor running these seven joints.

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th August 201324 IndIa

Bangalore cops won’t spoilthe party, says ministerAllaying fears of the pubbing classes thatthe city's nightlife would be further cutshort, home minister K J George saidpolicemen won't play party poopers anddisturb pubs and restaurants. Maintainingthat these places can remain open till11.30pm, the minister said police don'thave the right to enter legally run pubs orrestaurants, unless neighbours complainabout loud music.

Karunanidhi asks Centre totake up fishermen’s issuesDMK chief M Karunanidhi sought theCentre's intervention to end increasing inci-dents of detention of Indian fishermen bythe Sri Lankan Navy and address theirrequest to fish near the island nation for aselect period due to declining resources inIndian waters.

13 killed as landslides,floods ravage KeralaAt least 13 people died in landslides, manymore were injured and hundreds displacedacross Idukki district in Kerala on Monday.Two others died elsewhere in the state asincessant rains for close to two days sawthe Cochin international airport shut downfor an unprecedented 48 hours, while thePeriyar river, in spate, threatened to inun-date Aluva town. The Kerala tourismdepartment has issued an advisory totourists, advising them against travelling toMunnar and other places in Idduki district.

Music director held forverbally abusing womanKollywood music director James Vasanthanwas arrested for verbally abusing andshowing indecent gestures to his 63-year-old neighbour. This is the second complaintby Radha Venuprasad, a resident ofPalavakkam, against the television person-ality. In her previous she had alleged thatVasanthan attacked her in connection witha dispute pertaining to construction of ahouse.

South

Panjab University students toseek administration helpStudents of Panjab University (PU) areplanning to seek the intervention of the UTadministration on the issue of banningPunjabi language in Delhi University (DU)affiliated colleges. Students said they wouldimplore the education secretary to take upthe matter with his counterparts in Delhiand urge them to revoke the ban. Theyhave also begun an online campaign andwere approaching DU students to garnertheir support. The students would start asignature campaign and submit over10,000 signatures to the administration, headded.

Royal fraud busted; uncleheldClose on the heels of victory of a courtcase of two daughters of the king ofFaridkot, the granddaughters of a royalfamily which used to rule the province ofGarhiKotaha in Raipurrani in Panchkula,lodged a first information report (FIR)against their maternal family members forgrabbing their three fixed deposits (FDs)amounting to around Rs19 lakh through aforged will.

Seven killed in HaryanaaccidentAt least seven people, including threewomen and three children, were killedwhen a car carrying them collided with atruck Monday in Haryana's Rohtak district.One child was rushed to the Post-GraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) herein critical condition. Police said the accidenttook place near Brahmanwas village. Thetruck was being driven on the wrong sideof the road which led to the collision. Thetruck driver fled after the accident.

Punjab

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa accused archrival and DMK president M.Karunanidhi of betraying theinterests of the state byextending support to theNational Food Security Bill.The chief minister said thebill would result in food inse-curity in the state.

In a statement issued,Jayalalithaa said: "The DMK,which opposed the NationalFood Security Bill when itwas introduced in the LokSabha, has changed its posi-tion and said it would nowsupport it." Citing newsreports, she said the DMK

had opposed the bill in theLok Sabha in May.

Jayalalithaa referred tonews reports quoting DMKMember of Parliament T.K.S.Elangovan's comments thatthe bill was useful for thecommon man. Elangovan hadquestioned why the bill wasbeing opposed.

"Now Karunanidhi is lay-ing the foundation forextending the party's supportto the bill," Jayalalithaa said.

She said that throughElangovan, the DMK chiefhad conveyed that the partywould support the food secu-rity bill that was totally

against thestate.

The chiefminister saidshe had toldthe centralgovernmentthat the pro-posed food

security law, with lots of con-fusing provisions, wouldresult in increased expendi-ture to Tamil Nadu, whichwas already spending aroundRs.5,000 crore by supplyingfood items at free/subsidisedrates. Jayalalithaa said theproposed law would desta-bilise the public distribution

system in the state and thebenefits will not be enjoyedby the poor, but by others.

She said that as per theprovisions of the proposedbill, the rice allocation to thestate will come down by100,000 tonnes per month,and the state would have tospend an additional Rs.3,000crore per year to procure rice.Jayalalithaa said Karunanidhiseemed to have forgotten thepoor people of Tamil Naduonce his daughter Kanimozhiwas elected to the RajyaSabha. Kanimozhi was re-elected to Rajya Sabha recent-ly with Congress support.

Lots of protests continued inthe Seemandhra region ofAndhra Pradesh for the sixthconsecutive day against theCongress and UPA's decisionto bifurcate the state for cre-ation of Telangana.

Samaikyandhra support-ers and members of variousorganisations held protestsacross coastal Andhra andRayalaseema districtsdemanding united AndhraPradesh, though, the situa-tion was under control,police said.

Protesters came up withhuge rallies and held demon-strations in Anantapur.

However, the situation isunder control and peaceful,DIG (Anantapur range) BBalakrishna said, adding thatthey have taken some pro-testers into preventive cus-tody.

The Samaikyandhra sup-porters, including students,also held road-blockades,dharnas, formed humanchains in Visakhapatnam,

Chittoor, Kurnool districts,besides in Vijayawada andTirupati cities. They alsoresorted to tonsuring theirheads, washing clothes andcooking food on the roads atsome places.

A report fromVisakhapatnam said agitationfor united Andhra Pradeshcontinued there with rallies,demonstrations and forminghuman chains by variousorganisations andSamaikyandhra joint actioncommittee (JAC) students.

RTC employees staged adharna in front ofMaddilapalem bus depotdemanding the Centre not tobifurcate the state.

The relay hunger strike ofJAC of lawyers of various barassociations, who boycottedcourts till August 8, enteredsecond day.

At Polytechnic College,students squatted on the roaddisrupting the traffic on NH-5 forcing the police to dis-perse them.

Punjab Deputy ChiefMinister Sukhbir SinghBadal has found himself inthe midst of an unwantedcontroversy after he used theterm "item" while talkingabout the incidents of crimeagainst women in state dur-ing an interview on a newschannel.

"Agar koi bhi item... (fum-bles) ladki pe koi bhi casehota hai, immediate flare upmedia kar deta hai (Wheneverany item... case takes placewith women, media flares upsuch incidents immediately),"Sukhbir said while replying toa query on spurt in crimeagainst women on TeekhiBaat with Prabhu Chawla.The episode was aired onIBN7 on July 28.

The Punjab Congresslatched on to the remarkswith its women wingdemanding that Sukhbir ten-der an unconditional apologyto the women in state.

"It was a shameful act onthe part of the deputy CM.He has not only belittled thewomen folk but also failed to

keep the dignity of the posi-tion he enjoys in the state.He should tender an apologyto the women in the state,"Nimisha Mehta, vice-presi-dent, Punjab MahilaCongress said.

Mehta said it was not thefirst time that Sukhbir hasbelittled women. Recallingan earlier incident, she saidthat Sukhbir had asked awoman journalist to repeatthe abuse that his brother-in-law and Punjab RevenueMinister Bikram SinghMajithia had allegedly hurledabuses at Congress legisla-tors on the floor of theVidhan Sabha.

She remembered anothersuch incident, this oneinvolving Sukhbir's fatherand Chief Minister ParkashSingh Badal. "When askedabout some buffaloes thatBadals had sought to bebrought from Pakistan, thePunjab CM had said that'majhan hi magvaian han,memman ni (we havebrought only buffaloes, notbeautiful women)

Punjab Cong flays Sukhbir’s‘item’ women remark

In a perfect example of serv-ing the old wine in new bot-tle Punjab chief ministerParkash Singh Badal againsaid that more funds shouldbe placed at the disposal ofstates by the revision of for-mula regarding devolution oftaxes to states.

Badal who was in the cityfor administering oath tonewly elected sarpanches andpanches of Ludhiana said thatit was the need of the hour torevise the formula for devolu-tion of central funds as thestates needed more funds fortheir primary developmentalneeds. He again harped onthe same demand that thestates should be given moreshare in taxes collected fromthem adding that the alloca-tion of funds to the statesshould be made growthdependent, so as to encouragethe states to perform better.

Stressing on the need forstrengthening federalism byincreasing devolution ofCentral funds, he said that ifmore funds were placed atthe disposal of the states an

era of unparalleled develop-ment could be ushered inthem. He categorically saidthat by giving the centralfunds the Union governmentwas not doling out anythingspecial to the states rather itwas duty bound to reimbursetheir share from the revenuecollected in form of varioustaxes from them.

Supporting his claimsBadal said that it was aknown fact that the stategovernments were well con-nected with the people at thegrass root level due to whichthey were more aware oftheir needs. He alleged thatdue to the Unitary form ofgovernment the states werevirtually at the mercy of theUnion government to carryon the development works.

Punjab CM Badal seeksmore autonomy for states

Anti-Telangana protestscontinue in Seemandhra

Jayalalithaa attacks Karunanidhiover food security bill

240 women freedfrom dance bars

indiAwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 25

The BJP leadership is likelyto formally declare by August15 that Gujarat chief ministerNarendra Modi will be theparty's PM candidate for the2014 Lok Sabha polls.

"We have decided toannounce Modi as the party'sprime ministerial candidate onAugust 11. However, we arekeeping the schedule a bit flex-ible to make adjustments incase of any unavoidable situa-tion," a senior party leader saidon condition of anonymity.

The RSS leadership,which recently parleyed withBJP brass, has already givenits go-ahead for the decisionthat will formally mark Modi'sarrival as the new strongmanof BJP at the expense of fad-ing seniors and his peers, andwhich might set the tone forthe 2014 contest.

A small, although tena-cious and influential section,in the BJP continues tooppose the idea of Modibeing anointed as the PMcandidate at this point in

time on the ground that itwill push Congress's failuresinto the background, andderail the party's plan to cor-ner the UPA in the currentsession of Parliament.

However, the factionappears to have lost to thosewho argue for early projec-tion in order to maximizegains by showcasing what isbeing touted as Modi's "talis-manic" leadership. The needto quell the continuing dis-cordant notes on who shouldbe the party's PM candidatehas been cited as the otherreason for a swift closure onthe leadership debate.

Sources said BJP chiefRajnath Singh had startedsounding out members of theparliamentary board, the topdecision making body of theBJP, to put a de jure seal onthe decision.

As per the plan, Singh isto make the announcement inthe presence of senior partyleader L K Advani and Modihimself. Other members of

the parliamentary board andsenior party leaders, includ-ing CMs of party-ruled states,will also be present.

The parliamentary boardwill have a formal meetingbefore the announcement ismade. Significantly, the partyleadership, in its anxiety tohave an early decision, is notgoing to wait for hundredpercent turnout at the meet-ing of the board. The boardwill take the decision even ifthere are a few abstentions aslong as the requirement ofquorum: that is, the mini-mum attendance laid down inthe constitution, is met.

Party sources said theRSS had during meeting withBJP leaders last Saturdayconveyed their estimateabout a groundswell forModi, and suggested a formalannouncement without fur-ther delay. Sources said theparty leadership expectsAdvani, who had expressedstrong reservations aboutModi being declared as PM

candidate, to come around. The announcement is

timed well ahead of the forth-coming round of assemblyelections due in November sothat any lingering doubt overthe BJP's PM candidate isstubbed out and the partycampaign gains a sharperfocus. Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarhand Mizoram and will go forassembly polls in November.

RSS asks BJP to pickModi as PM choice.

The decision to moveahead with Modi’s anoint-ment as PM nominee came asSangh leaders felt a furtherdelay will not prove beneficialand BJP will gain by complet-ing the formality of the parlia-mentary board endorsing theCM. Now Singh is expected tosound out members of theboard including party senior LK Advani — who had opposedModi’s elevation as chair ofBJP’s campaign committee —about RSS’s point of view andcomplete consultations.

In FocusCCI okays Mumbai’s newairport terminalThe cabinet committee on investment (CCI)under the Cabinet Secretariat cleared theupcoming terminal’s design where interna-tional passengers will first go through secu-rity check and then clear immigration.Security and intelligence agencies hadobjected to this layout and wanted it to bechanged to the first immigration, thensecurity model, like Delhi’s terminal 3. TheCCI has approved the terminal to open inthis design.

Govt wins over BJP onpension billThe UPA’s reforms agenda received amuch-needed boost with finance minister PChidambaram and BJP leaders agreeing ona 26% FDI cap in pension fund manage-ment companies, paving the way for thePension Fund Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority Bill’s passage in the monsoonsession of Parliament.

Hundreds die in India forlack of organsNeera Yadav (name changed), a 20-yearold college student suffering from an end-stage renal disease, was in desperate needof a kidney transplant. Though her parentswent from pillar to post, they could not finda donor for her in Delhi and she died lastmonth. Experts say this is not an isolatedcase. Hundreds of people in need of organtransplants cannot be saved every yearbecause of lack of donors.

Incessant rains, flash floodsleave 20 dead in MaharashtraIncessant rains and flash floods have left atleast 20 people dead in Maharashtra'sChandrapur district.In the rescue efforts,thousands of people in the low-lying areasof region have been evacuated to saferplaces. In the city we have relocated 5204people to safe places till now. 2251 peopleare in relief camps and the rest of themhave taken shelter with their relatives.

Mahabodhi temple gets CISF coverMahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, whichwas rocked by multiple blasts, will be pro-vided security by CISF, the first shrine to beguarded by the paramilitary force. Thisdecision has been taken by the Unionhome ministry following a request from theBihar government after the holiest Buddhistshrine was hit by serial blasts on July 7.Bihar government will bear the expenses tobe incurred for deployment of the CISFpersonnel at Mahabodhi temple.

Midday meal deaths:Principal takes lie detector testMeena Devi, the principal of a Biharschool where 23 children died after eatingcontaminated food last month, underwenta lie detector test. Meena Devi, principal ofthe government primary school atGandaman village in Saran district, wasarrested last month and sent to judicialcustody till August 5 by a court in Saran.She is named as an accused in the case.She had earlier claimed innocence anddenied her involvement in the tragedy.

Mother of two elopes with16-year-oldA 30-year-old woman, mother of two chil-dren, eloped with a 16-year-old boy inKalvada village of Valsad district around 10days ago and returned as they had nomoney. The woman took the teenager toKalol and Ahmedabad along with her twokids. They stayed at these locations for 10day and returned when they ran out ofmoney.

Man arrested for rapingdaughters, granddaughter A 64-year-old man has been arrested forallegedly raping his two daughters and agranddaughter for several years in Bayantown of Bharatpur district, police saidtoday. "Babulal Dhakar's wifeShakuntala Dhakar was also arrested forsupporting him in one of the most cruelacts of perversion," said Ashok Chouhan.

Modi may be named PM candidate by August 15

Now Gita to be taught inmadrasas in Madhya Pradesh

Gujarat chief ministerNarendra Modi seems out toprove he is more popularthan US President BarackObama — at least on socialnetworking sites.

Having faced a defeat atthe hand of the US presidentin November 2011 whenModi lost following a last-minute spurt in negativevotes in the fifth annualMashable awards in the cate-gory of 'Must-FollowPolitician On Social Media',the Gujarat CM now wantsto get back.

By January, Modi's cyber-army is scripting an architec-ture that would ensure thathis likes on Facebook and fol-lowers on Twitter crossObama's score — 3.64 crore'likes' on Facebook and 3.45crore followers on Twitter.

Before fifteen days, theclose-knit IT cell of the BJPhad sent special online formsto all Modi fan pages onFacebook asking them to'merge' into the main parentfan page. This would mean allthe 'likes' on various individualpages run by Modi fans wouldget converted into 'likes' on theGujarat CM's FB page.

The BJP team had heldmeetings with administratorsof various Facebook fan pagesin Delhi recently and havesought their approval — amove to ensure that the 'likes'increase on Modi's fan page.

Today the official fan page'Narendra Modi' on Facebookhas garnered 26.05 lakh 'likes'.Sponsored Facebook page'Narendra Modi for PM' has12.45 lakh 'likes' with 13,000'likes' adding every week.

This site also has 4.71lakh fans talking about'Narendra Modi for PM',much more than the officialsite. Another site sponsoredon Facebook is 'Namo India'which too has garnered 2.4lakh 'likes' in a short time.

"We have a team inHyderabad which has beenpaid for the job. 'NarendraModi for PM' will merge intothe official campaign fan pageonce Modi's name is officiallydeclared by the BJP. Besidesthis, Every MLA in Gujaratand outside the state hasbeen asked to manage theirFacebook pages and garner'likes'. Some MLAs have beengiven the target of almost 1lakh likes on Modi's parentpage," senior BJP functionarysaid it.

This experiment will be

replicated on Twitter as well."If you click the lakhs of fol-lowers on Modi's fan page onTwitter you will notice thatmany of the accounts havenot even tweeted once. It isclose to 4.13 lakh suchaccounts on Twitter. Thesewere created by the BJP's ITcell and some techies whoused special software to cre-ate these accounts," says amember of BJP's IT cell.

The teachings of Hindu scrip-ture Bhagwad Gita will soonbe compulsory for young stu-dents in Islamic schools ofMadhya Pradesh, says thestate's Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government, its latestin a series of decisions criti-cised as 'saffronisation ofeducation'.

The MP government'sAugust 1 order says Urdutextbooks of Class 1 and 2will include teachings of theGita - considered one of theholiest of Hindu scriptureschronicling Lord Krishna'sadvice to a dithering princeArjuna ahead of the epicMahabharata battle.

The order may snowballinto a huge controversy as itclearly applies to Islamicschools, or Madrasas, the onlyones to have Urdu textbooks.

"It is unconstitutional,"said Haleem Khan, memberof the Centre's NationalMonitoring Committee forMinority Education. "If thegovernment does not take

back its decision, we will goto the court."

Another controversialmove three years ago to makeSurya Namaskar and chantscompulsory in governmentschools was toned down afterMuslim bodies moved court.

Last month, the Gita wasintroduced in 'Special Hindi'books of Class 9 - 12 and'Special English' books ofclass 11 and 12. Since 2011,when the Shivraj SinghChouhan government'sannouncement of the Gita incurriculum sparked protests,the move has been intro-duced in phases.

"This should not be takenthe wrong way - this is notsaffronisation," stateEducation Minister ArchanaChitnis told media."Teachings from Sikhism,Christianity and other reli-gions are also taught in ourschools."

Religion, added the minis-ter, had nothing to do withthe decision. "We have pickedup threads from the Gita toinstill a sense of duty andresponsibility, obedience,love for nature and environ-ment in students."

The controversial ordercomes just four monthsahead of the state assemblyelections.

Opposition parties accusethe state government of try-ing to give a Hindu twist toschool education at a timethere are other, more seriousconcerns like plummetingschool results, shortage ofteachers and the poor qualityof teachers who are hired at apittance.

Political parties bandedtogether to strongly opposethe recent Supreme Courtorder that legislators be imme-diately disqualified on convic-tion and called on the govern-ment to take measures toundo the ruling. The all-partymeeting ahead of the mon-soon session on Thursday sawpolitical parties in one voiceprotesting the “erosion” ofParliament’s supremacy inlaw-making with leadersclaiming the SC order is anassault on their rights. Theoutrage stems from the viewthat disqualification on con-viction for an offense attract-ing a sentence of two years ormore — instead of allowing anMP or MLA to remain a legis-lator until his appeal is dis-posed — may prove arbitrary.Political leaders expressed thefear that while a legislatorloses his membership, he willhave no redress in case he isfinally acquitted if the processof appeal outlasts the durationof his term as an MP or MLA.

Political partiesgang up to protect

themselves

Narendra Modi eyes Obamain battle for cyber world

www.abplgroup.com - asian Voice 10th August 201326 IndIa

Porbandar revivesMahatma’s visionThe place that gave us Mahatma Gandhiis now showing the way in eye donation.Porbandar has beaten all other districts ofGujarat in eyeball collection under theNational Programme for Control ofBlindness (NPCB). Given its small size, thedistrict has been given a target of just 40eyes (20 pairs) for 2013, but collectionshad already reached 120 till July.

Stop misuse of red beacons,says Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court sounded the last warn-ing to the Centre saying if it failed toenforce the law and stop rampant misuseof red beacons, sirens and multitone hornswithin two weeks, it would pass an orderfor its strict implementation. If you do nottell us the mechanism to stop it, then wewill pass orders,” a bench of Justices G SSinghvi and V Gopala Gowda said.

Naked woman distracts manas he gets robbedA man watched a woman swimming nakedin his pool, while her partner allegedlystole valuables and a gun from inside hishome. The pair reportedly called on the54-year-old man at his home in Crossville,Tennessee, to ask if they could use his poolto cool off on a hot day. The woman in herthirties then inquired if it she could swimnaked, to which Stephen Amaral agreed.

Yes, we killed CaptainSaurabh Kalia: Pak soldierPakistan may have denied for long thatCaptain Saurabh Kalia, and five of hisplatoon members, were tortured and killedby its soldiers during the Kargil War of1999, but a video that surfaced on the webhas nailed the lie. A video shot during afunction of the Pakistani Army to felicitateKargil heroes shows a Pak soldier reported-ly admitting to killing Captain Kalia - formerPakistani interior minister Rehman Malikhad claimed that Captain Kalia may havedied in bad weather.

In Focus

A heavily-armed team of ter-rorists and Pakistani troopsambushed an Indian Armypatrol along the Line ofControl in the Poonch sectorof Jammu and Kashmir in theearly hours of Tuesday, killingfive Indian soldiers. The inci-dent occurred just hours afterthe ceasefire violation inSamba sector on Mondayevening in which one BSFsoldier was injured. TheArmy said 15-20 terrorists,backed by Pakistani Armyregulars, intruded into theIndian territory after crossingover the LoC at about 1amand ambushed the six-mem-ber Indian patrol near theSarlah post of PoonchBrigade near the Chakkan-da-Bagh area, over 200 kmaway from Jammu. "Five ofour soldiers from the 21Bihar Regiment died in thefirefight around 450 metersinside our territory, while onewas injured," said an officer.The Pakistani Army, accord-ing to sources, took advan-tage of the weather condi-tions and topography of thearea to sneak across the LoC.

J&K chief minister OmarAbdullah tweeted, "(I) wasbriefed early this morningabout the news that five ofour soldiers had been killedon the LoC. My heartfelt con-dolences to their next of kin.These incidents don't helpefforts to normalise or evenimprove relations with Pakand call in to question thePak Govt's recent overtures."

Army Chief Gen Bikram

Singh was taking stock of thesituation in New Delhi, withthe Indian DGMO beingasked to lodge a strong protestwith his Pakistani counterpartover the hotline. The injuredis likely to be shifted toCommand Hospital NorthernCommand provided theweather conditions permit.The injured soldier is present-ly undergoing treatment atMilitary Hospital Poonch.

This is the second biggestattack in Poonch area in ayear, after the January 8beheading incident that hadtriggered a series of skirmish-es along the LoC and theIndia-Pakistan internationalborder. Pakistan has alreadyviolated the border ceasefireover 33 times this year. Thelatest incident could cast adark shadow on the resump-tion of the Indo-Pak compos-ite dialogue process expected

to begin later this month,much like the beheading ofan Indian soldier by Pakistanitroops in January hadderailed the bilateral ties forsome time. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and hisPakistani counterpart NawazSharif are also slated to meetin New York next month onthe sidelines of the UNGeneral Assembly session.The incident sparked uproarin Parliament, with the oppo-sition parties accusing thegovernment of a soft foreignpolicy. Defence minister A KAntony is expected to make astatement in both houses. "Itis a sad incident. If Pakistanwants better ties with Indiathen this is not the way," saidminister of state for homeRPN Singh.

Union minister FarooqAbdullah said the incidentwill affect the process of nor-

malisation between India andPakistan. "The hand of friend-ship cannot be extended fromone side only. Pakistan has tostop the killings of Indian sol-diers. The dialogue processcannot resume if such a situa-tion continues," he said.Gujarat chief ministerNarendra Modi accused thegovernment of laxity in secur-ing Indian borders.

On July 27, another BSFjawan was injured whenPakistani troops violatedceasefire twice in the space of10 hours by targeting Indianposts along the Indo-Pak bor-der in Poonch and Kathuadistricts.

The Pakistani troops hadused mortars, RPGs andheavy machine guns leadingto heavy firing exchanges.

On July 3, Pakistan violat-ed ceasefire when it fired oncops, who had gone to LoC inSabzian, Poonch to collectthe body of a Pakistaniintruder killed in an IEDblast on July 1.

Pakistani troops fired ontroops trying to evacuateinjured porters after two werekilled in IED attack byPakistani militants along LoCin Poonch on July 8.

On July 12, PakistaniRangers fired on Indian for-ward posts in Pindi belt alonginternational border (IB) inJammu district.

Pakistani troops openedsmall arms firing on Indianposts in forward area alongLoC in Poonch district on thenight of July 22.

The announcement to cre-ate a separate Telanganastate by the ManamohanSingh government ignitedcalls for statehood inDarjeeling in West Bengal,among the Karbis andBodos in Assam and inUttar Pradesh where for-mer chief ministerMayawati called for imple-mentation of her ‘4-state’formula. Even the demandsfor creating the state ofVidarbha by dividingMaharashtra have reachedthe national capital.

The Gorkha JanmuktiMorcha (GJM) announcedan indefinite strike innorthern West Bengal'sDarjeeling Hills to pressfor Gorkhaland. GJM chiefBimal Gurung has alsoresigned as chief executiveof Gorkhaland TerritorialAdministration (GTA) - anautonomous and electedhill development council -which the party has beenrunning for a year.

West Bengal’s rulingTrinamool Congress madelight of the developmentsand said it was prepared totackle any problem. Itruled out any talks withthe GJM. GJM general sec-retary Roshan Giri saidGurung faxed his resigna-tion to Governor M.K.Narayanan.

"Gurung has resigned

because of interference inthe GTA by the Bengalgovernment as well as forthe demand ofGorkhaland," said Giri.

Mangal Singh Rajput,a worker of GorkhaJanmukti Yuva Morcha(GJM's youth wing), sethimself on fire inKalimpong town while theparty activists were raisingslogans for the proposedstate of Gorkhaland to becarved out of parts ofDarjeeling and Jalpaiguridistricts. The 24-year-oldhas been admitted to anursing home with 60 percent burns.

With the hills alreadyparalysed following a 72-hour shutdown called byhis party, Giri said anindefinite shutdown willbe organised to raise thepitch for Gorkhaland. "Wewill go for indefinite shut-downs and our movementwill not stop until ourdemand for Gorkhaland ismet," he said. "Once thepresent 72-hour shutdownends, we will give a two-day respite to the people tostock provisions and thetourists and the studentsto leave for the plains. Theindefinite shutdown willbegin on Saturday."

"The UPA has allowedthe formation ofTelengana. Now we are left

with no choice but tointensify our movementfor Gorkhaland. Ourdemand for a separatestate is far more older thanTelangana," Giri claimed.

Bodo students threat-en 1,000-hour strike afterEid: The entire north-eastregion remained virtuallycut off from the rest of thecountry on Monday afterprotests by pro-statehoodactivists crippling trainservices and blockinghighways.

Bodos, Koch-Rajbongshis, Karbis andDimasas agitated inAssam while Garos inMeghalaya renewed theirstir for Garoland andTribals in Tripura, underthe banner of IndigenousPeople's Front of Tripura(IPFT) demanded a sepa-rate state.

All trains to the north-east have been stalled onthe tracks, leaving thou-sands of passengersstranded due to the 12-hour 'rail roko' sponsoredby All Bodo Students'Union (Absu). Trucks car-rying essential suppliesremained stuck near theAssam-Bengal border asclashes broke out at sever-al places between Absuactivists and thoseopposed to the strike. Theoutfit has threatened tostart a 1,000-hour strikeafter Eid if the Centre didnot invite Bodo leaders fortalks on their demand forBodoland.

"We have launched ouragitation for a legitimatedemand. The Centreshould hold talks with uson the issue of creation ofBodoland as soon as possi-

ble. We do not want peopleof the state to suffer," saidPramod Boro, president ofAbsu which has beendemanding a separate stateon the northern bank ofthe Brahmaputra by carv-ing out areas between theSankosh river in the westand Sadiya in the east.

The Absu's 48-hourstrike crippled life inKokrajhar, Baksa,Chirang, Udalguri andSonitpur districts. A 36-hour stir called by AllKoch RajbongshiStudents' Union for a sep-arate Kamatapur stateparalysed traffic in west-ern Assam, includingDhubri district.

Statehood demand bytribals in the twin hill dis-tricts of Dima Hasao andKarbi Anglong disruptedlife.

Pro-Vidarbha activistsseek separate state: Thedemands for creating thestate of Vidarbha by divid-ing Maharashtra havereached the national capi-tal. Around 60-70 activistsfrom the Vidarbha JointAction Committee heldprotests near JantarMantar demanding a sepa-rate Vidarbha state.Former BJP presidentNitin Gadkari sympa-thised with the demand."In principle, BJP supports

the idea of smaller statesand formation ofVidarbha. If a bill isbrought in Parliamentthen BJP will certainlysupport it. In fact,Congress must take up theissue of Vidarbha alongwith Telangana and BJPwill support it," saidGadkari in Nagpur.

M e a n w h i l e ,Maharashtra BJPPresident DevendraPhadanvis along withother leaders will meetparty's top brass in Delhito apprise them of the sen-timents of the people inVidarbha and press theissue of separate state-hood, with the proposedTelangana Bill.

"We have decided tocall on our party leaders inDelhi and insist on com-bining the Vidarbha state-hood issue with that ofTelangana by moving anamendment in Bill for sep-arate states," Phadanvissaid in Nagpur.

"We are seekingappointment with partyleaders who are already inthe national capital for themonsoon session of theParliament, includingparty chief Rajnath Singh,senior BJP leader LKAdvani, Gopinath Mundeand Sushma Swarajamong others, he added.

Gorkhas up in arms; seek separate state

Pakistani troops kill 5 Indiansoldiers, Parliament outraged

indiAwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 27

By Mayuri Dave

‘Barhi’ variety of datesgrown in Kutch

peninsula is truly a globalfruit. Sounds strange!!!But it is a fact. First timeBarhi tissues were import-ed into Kutch from a UKlaboratory based in UAEand the variety was origi-nated from Iraq. It is nowgrown in Kutch district ofGujarat using Israeli tech-nology. Apart fromEuropean market, thesweet Kutchi dates arebeing exported toSingapore, Maldives andSri Lanka.

Though first batch ofBarhi date palms in Kutchare on the threshold ofpuberty, farmers havestarted reaping rich divi-dends from them. Overthe past four years, someof the farmers startedexporting the high qualityfruit in the internationalmarket. Exporter KaushikDavda said that exportsduring last year was 70tonnes and more than 100tonnes were expected tobe exported this year.

Kutchi dates are ingreat demand in GreatBritain. “UK is the largestimporter of Barhi dates inEurope from Kutch. Theother importers are fromcountries likeSwitzerland, Germany,Portugal, Italy, Poland,France and Austria,” saysDavda adding that farm-ers are expecting to dou-ble the exports in 2014, asalready more importershave evinced interest forthe Barhi dates of Kutch.

Around 11 years agoPravin Gala, a progressivefarmer in Kutch, importedBarhi tissue from a UKlaboratory to try to grow itthere. As the Barhi palmadopted Kutchi soil, eightmore farmers joined Galain the initiative. More tis-sue was imported fromUAE. Today, there aremore than 70,000 Barhidate palms spread over1,000 acres of land in dif-ferent locations. Now

more and more farmersare joining the bandwagonto grow the Barhi varietyof dates. Now around 25farmers are engaged inBarhi plantation.

Most of the farmersdeveloping Barhi datesorchard are using Israelihorticulture methods,including drip irrigation.“Our monitoring systemstoo are fully computer-ized,” says Gopal Gorasia,who is the biggest farmerin Kutch. Gorsia plans toimport cold storage tech-nology from Holland.

Barhi dates, which areoriginally from Iraq andnicknamed 'honey balls'for their roundness andsweet taste, may have wonthe hearts of people inEurope but farmers haveto keep patience.Generally Barhi palmsmature only after eight to10 years, says RameshThakker adding that how-ever, it’s worth the wait asunlike Deshi KutchiKharek (the local variety),the taste of Barhi is uni-formly sweet.

As against 90,000-tonne yield of kharek,Barhi variety crop standsat a mere 3,000 tonnes."But since it is in greatdemand in internationalmarkets and fetch a heftyprice, the patience of thefarmers will not gowaste,” says Rahul Galawhose family has grownBarhi date palms, spreadover 115 acres.

Around a decade ago progressive farmers ofKutch started importing the world famous ‘Barhi’

dates plant. Today it has changed the barrentracts of land into lush green dates palmorchard and bring high rewards to them

Consequent action againstGautam Buddh Nagarsub-divisional magistrateDurga Shakti Nagpal bythe UP government.

In his public interestlitigation, petitionerManohar Lal Sharmacited the September 29,2009 order of the apexcourt directing all collec-tors and officers of allstates that no unautho-rised construction shall becarried out or permitted inthe name of temple,church, mosque or gurd-wara, etc on publicstreets, public parks orother public places.

The UP governmenthad placed Nagpal undersuspension July 27 forallegedly ordering thedemolition of a wallreportedly belonging to areligious structure.

SP dares the Centre onsuspension of IAS officer

Uttar Pradesh IASofficer Durga ShaktiNagpal's suspension hasturned into a SamajwadiParty vs Congress war.Samajwadi party chiefMulayam Singh Yadavand Uttar Pradesh Chief

Minister Akhilesh Yadavhave justified the decisionto suspend Durga ShaktiNagpal for allegedlydemolishing a mosquewall in a village in GautamBudh Nagar district of thestate.

While Mulayam saidthat Durga's suspensionwill not be revoked, hisson Akhilesh stoodbehind the decision bypointing out that all thosewho commit a mistake arepunished and the IAS offi-cer's case cannot be anexception.

"Yes, it is right," repliedMulayam when asked isAkhilesh's decision on

Durga is correct. "No, thechargesheet will not berevoked," he added.

While the UP govern-ment claims Durga hasbeen suspended fordemolishing a mosquewall, her former boss hasspoken in her favour.

Earlier, Akhilesh hadsaid that the previous gov-ernments, too, had sus-pended senior officials,but no one questionedtheir move or motive.

"I'm sure there are a lotof children here who werepunished by their parentsand teachers. All govern-ments run the same way.If an official makes a mis-take he or she will be pun-ished," said the UttarPradesh Chief Minister."When we take a decision,everyone opposes us. Inthe past several incidentshave happened with IASofficers. They were walk-ing freely in our officesyesterday. Under BSPrule, they had to removetheir shoes before enteringtheir offices," he added.

The Samajwadi partyalso dared the Centre towithdraw all IAS and IPS

officers from UttarPradesh, saying the statecan be administered withthe help of state officers.

"If this undue pressurecontinues, then my gov-ernment would like towrite to centre to with-draw all their IAS and IPSofficers. We can managewith state administrativeand police officers," saidSamajwadi Party GeneralSecretary RamgopalYadav.

Even though theAkhilesh governmentclaims the suspension isn'tbecause she took on thesand mafia, but becauseshe had the wall of amosque demolished,Durga Shakti Nagpal'sformer colleague and bossShivdular Singh Dhillon,who was first officer shereported to after joiningthe Punjab cadre of theIAS before changing hercadre to Uttar Pradesh,has spoken in her favour.He has said that DurgaShakti Nagpal is an hon-est officer and her actionswere in compliance withthe Supreme Court guide-lines.

Runny noses and stomachflu aren’t the only ills asso-ciated with overcast skies.The absence of sunlighthits production of VitaminD in the body, adverselyaffecting blood pressure. Arecent research has provedbeyond doubt that lowerthe vitamin level, higherthe BP.

Vitamin D is synthe-sized when the sun’s ultra-violet rays fall on skin. Butthe high melanin pigmentin the Indian skin deters it.So, a hot and sunny Indiahas high levels of deficien-cy. Some studies say everysecond Indian is affected,others peg it higher ateight out of every 10Indians. The deficiencysurely is something tothink about as it’s linked toa range of diseases —frombone problems to cancer.

India-born researcherVimal Karani’s work from

University CollegeLondon only conclusivelyproves that low Vit D lev-els can send blood pres-sure soaring.

Karani looked at 35studies, covering 1.5 lakhpeople across Europe andNorth America, and foundpeople with high concen-trations of 25-hydroxyvita-min D (25(OH)D) hadlower blood pressure and,therefore, a reduced risk ofhypertension. A prehor-mone, 25-hydroxyvitaminD or calcidiol, is producedin the liver when VitaminD3 is synthesized (hence,a blood test to determineits levels also is an indica-tor of Vit D levels).

The study found thatfor every 10% increase in25(OH)D concentrations,the risk of developinghypertension decreased by8.1%.

In India, where every

fifth grown-up has hyper-tension, the study hassevere implications. DrSiddharth N Shah, editor-in-chief of JAPI (Journal ofthe Association of thePhysicians of India), said,“The association of lowerlevels of Vitamin D andhigh blood pressure can, inpart, be associated withincreasing number ofhypertensives in India.”Delhi-based endocrinolo-gist Dr Anoop Misra,though, pointed out thathypertension has a stronghereditary component.“We know that salt, smok-ing, obesity and heredityare the causes for hyper-tension. We can at bestconsider Vitamin D defi-ciency as a fifth contribu-tor,’’ Dr Misra said.

The theories aboutVitamin D deficiency andits various implicationshave gained importance in

the past decade. One rea-son could be easy avail-ability of diagnostic tests.Dr Vipla Puri fromHinduja Hospital, Mahim,said, “When we startedoffering the test about 15years back, we would get 5to 10 cases a month.’’Now her laboratory per-forms 1,500 tests a month.

Why the sudden focuson Vitamin D?Endocrinologist DrShashank Joshi fromLilavati Hospital, who hasdone several studies onboth hypertension andVitamin D deficiency, said,“There are over 200Vitamin D receptors in thebody. Previously, wethought that Vitamin Donly affected skeletalaspects of the body.” It isonly now that the world islearning that it is connect-ed to the body’s entiremetabolism.

SC moved against IAS officerDurga Shakti Nagpal's suspension

Avoid the sun & risk high BP, heart ailments

‘Barhi’ dates bringhigh rewards toKutchi farmers

Durga Shakti Nagpal

Prerna 2013 – a national-level social event organ-ized by the students of MS University’s (MSU)Faculty of Technology andEngineering (FTE) is setto register a Limca Bookof Records this year.

More than 700 deafand mute people fromevery caste, creed and sexwill sing the Indiannational anthem on thesame platform in sign lan-guage. Prerna, being hel-don August 3 and August4, is aimed at providing aplatform to the differently-abled from across thecountry to showcase theirabilities and talents.

Over 2,000 differently-

abled including the physi-cally handicapped, mental-ly disabled, deaf and muteand visually impaired par-ticipants are expected totake part in 35 differentevents.

“This year, under ournew initiative – Shiksha –we will support educationof nearly 10 under privi-leged students enrolled inNavprerna run byNavrachana EducationSociety for the under rep-resented segments of thesociety,” said FTE studentJainish Parikh.

Other than blind anddisabled cricket tourna-ments which are an annualfeature at Prerna.

National anthemin sign language

The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) has got itself anelection symbol, thebroom. This serves twosymbolic purposes, that oftelling voters that it willclean up the filthy systemof which it is now a partand the other that it willmake a clean sweep in thenext elections. As soon asnews of this came, partymembers were seem carry-ing brooms to meetings.

It became clear to usthat AAP leader ArvindKejriwal and his gang hadobviously read The Walrusand the Carpenter, thatimmortal classic by LewisCarroll. On seeing the vastexpanse of sand on the

beach they were walkingon, the Walrus and theCarpenter wonder whetherit can be cleaned up. "Ifseven maids with sevenmops/Swept it for half ayear/Do you suppose" theWalrus said, "that theycould get it clear?" "I doubtit," said the Carpenter/Andshed a bitter tear.

Supplant the Walrusand the Carpenter withArvind and ManishSisodia and things becomeclearer. We have to confessthat we are a little disap-pointed in the options thatthe AAP had come up within case some dastardlypolitician plotted to denyit the broom.

AAP's broom ready for'clean sweep' & 'clean up'

Basen puda is a great dishto serve for breakfast or alight lunch. This recipe isquick to prepare and canbe served many differentways. Makes 5 pudas.

Ingredients: 1 cupbesan (gram flour) 1/4cup rice flour (optional)1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cupwater 1/2 teaspooncumin seeds (jeera) 1teaspoon chopped greenchilies 1 tablespoonchopped cilantro (greencoriander) About 6tablespoons of oil to cook

Method: Mix the dryingredients together in abowl, besan (gram flour),rice flour which helps forthe crispness, salt, andcumin seeds. Add the waterslowly to make a smoothbatter, batter should be con-sistency of pancake batteror Dosa batter. Next addthe chopped green chilies,chopped cilantro (greencoriander). Mix well.

Use a non-stick skilletand place on medium-highheat. To check if the skilletis ready, put a few drops ofwater on it. If the watersizzles right away, the skil-

let is ready.Next pour about 1/2

cup of the mixture on theskillet and spread evenlywith a back of spoon.Starting from the center,spread in circular motionoutwards until it is evenlyspread about 7 inch circles.

When batter start dry-ing. Put 1 teaspoon of oiland spread over gently,using a flat spatula. Lift thepuda from one side using aflat spatula (A flat spatulamakes it easy to flip thepuda). Flip the puda whenit turns golden-brown.

Next, press the pudalightly with the spatula allaround so the puda cooksevenly. The puda shouldbe golden brown on bothsides to ensure it is crispy.

You can serve the pudawith yogurt, chutney, spicypickles, or ketchup.

You can also fold thepuda with shredded ched-dar cheese, sliced toma-toes, or roasted vegetables.

Health Benefits: It islight, filling and have lesscalories. If you consumedan entire half-cup of besanflour, you’d get 50 percentof the recommended dailyintake of folate. This impor-tant vitamin is critical forthe production of proteinsAnd is a good source of thi-amin and vitamin B-6.

www.abplgroup.com - asian voice 10th August 201328 travel & women

Looking for a holiday and can’t find itin any brochure? Or do all the pre-

packaged holidays look the same? Andyou’re longing to get the big discountsthat specialist travel companies negotiateand looking to get someone else to do allthe leg work? Then the only route for youis to approach a company that will tailormake a holiday to suit your needs.

Take for example a holiday to theCaribbean, there are high street agents withglossy brochure upon glossy brochure ofperfect blue beaches and lush green pinetrees with couples lounging on sandybeaches. Decisions, decisions! Or betterstill pick up the phone and get the holidayyou want for the price you want to pay.Antigua conjures up perfect days and stun-ning sunsets with blue crystal clear waters.So, it makes sense to find a resort on the

beach where everything is taken care of. Nohunting around for restaurants everyevening, waking up and the shortest ofstrolls to the beach – with plenty of beachtowels and friendly staff bringing youdrinks right to your sun lounger. A resortthat is friendly and relaxed. Well a brochureisn’t going to tell you all that. But a quickphone call to Brightsun travel and within afew moments they had put together anunforgettable holiday that was spot on withprice and location! And the best part aboutit was that the deal included not only Fullboard accommodation, but also a very spe-cial 50% saving on standard prices.

The resort they secured had 1600 feetof the most amazing waterfront that canbe imagined. With sun beds dottedaround, you won’t feel crowded as youlaze and swim and relax with views to diefor. In most resorts, “all inclusive” meansjust all the food is included but not here.All food, all drinks (including cocktails)all accommodation, and a fantastic rangeof water sports activities like snorkeling,sailing, kayaking and windsurfing areincluded and to top it all off you don’teven have to worry about tips for thefriendly staff – that’s all included too! Theonly thing to worry about is whether you

lie on your back or on your front to meetthose glorious sunshine rays!

The resort in question is the gloriousGrand Pineapple Beach, a four star com-plex right on the waters edge on the pris-tine island of Antigua. Brightsun Travelmanaged to secure a price starting fromjust £935 per person. Lets put that intoperspective, at that price it works out atless than £138 per person per night forfull board including flights – that is anamazing price for such a unique holiday.

When booking a holiday, we recom-mend using a well established travel agentwho is well versed in delivering holidayswith an ATOL certification, ensuring thesecurity of your booking. When bookingwith an online agent, check there is a con-tact phone number – this ensures you willget service from an actual person and get

your questions answered swiftly.Brightsun Travel also offers a price

match promise on worldwide flights andholidays. To book your dream holiday,visit www.brightsun.co.uk or callBrightsun Travel on 0208 819 0486 andmake a booking with an actual person – arefreshing way to book your next holiday!As always, all quoted fares are subject toavailability and terms and conditions.

Basen Puda

AV Correspondent

Camp Hanuman Temple,known to be one of the

biggest temples dedicatedto Lord Hanuman in India, islocated at the Cantonmentarea of Shahibaug inAhmedabad. Almost 100years ago the temple wasestablished by PanditGajanan Prasad. PanditDwarka Prasad earlierserved as the chief Mahantof this temple. The mem-bers of the Pandit family actas the managing trustee ofthe temple. The temple`shistorical records state thatit was visited by formerPrime Ministers of Indiasuch as Atal BehariVajpayee and Indira Gandhi.

During the rule of theBritish Raj, CampHanumanji Temple wasreferred to as JalalpurVillage Hanumanji Temple.During that period theBritish army cantonmentwas established at GaekvadHaveli in Ahmedabad. TheEnglish set up an armyquarter close to theHanuman temple. For theexpansion of the base itwas proposed to shift thetemple from its currentlocation but the proposalwas strongly resented bythe temple authorities andthe devotees. Without pay-ing heed to their words, theEnglish demolished fourinns and miniature templesbuilt in the vicinity of thetemple. However, millionsof black and yellow waspsenclosed the temple wallwhen the Englishapproached to demolishthe Hanumanji Temple. TheBritish sent their labourersbut were severely attackedby the wasps. After study-ing the situation theEnglish executive finallyhad to alter his decision.

This miraculous histori-

cal event has beendescribed in detail in abook “Shri CampHanumanji” penned downby Vandanaben Shukal in1983. Camp HanumanTemple celebrates andorganises several festivals,fairs and processionsattracting thousands of pil-grims, both national andinternational, from differ-ent destinations.

The temple celebratesShri Hanuman Jayanti, i.e.birthday of Lord Hanuman,with great pomp and show.On this auspicious day, theLord is bestowed with spe-cial offerings and prayerspresented by hordes ofdevotees visiting the tem-ple. A flag having religiousconnotations known as‘dhaja rohan’ is hoisted atthe camp temple by replac-ing old flag. Devotees offersweets, especially Laduand Foolvadi that are laterdistributed as prasad.

After hoisting of theflag, special dinner treat‘Bhandara’ is arranged bythe temple authority. Onthis special occasion LordHanuman is specificallydecked gorgeously withnew garments. A baby idolof Hanuman, adorneddelightfully, is set in a cra-dle and installed near the

central idol of the Lord.Kali Chaudas is cele-

brated by the temple onthe fourteenth day ofKrushna Paksha fortnight ofAso month. On this day aspecial prayer accompaniedby soft music is organisedat the temple at midnight.A black thread deemed tobe a gift from the god isdistributed among thedevotees on this day.

Dev Diwali, an auspi-cious festival of the temple,is celebrated by resplen-dently dressing and deco-rating the temple and itspresiding deity. On thisspecial day devotees flock-ing the temple offer thedeity 56 types of specialeatables. Later it is distrib-uted among devotees asprasad from the God.

Makar Sankranti, cele-brated to commemoratethe onset of the harvestseason, is celebrated on agrand scale by the templeauthorities. The celebrationis arranged by ‘Punjabi’society. On this day a spe-cial lunch is organised forthe devotees. In the morn-ing special eatables such assome spicy products likegota and sweets like jalebiand tea are served forsnacks. Later lunch is alsooffered to devotees.

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Women's immune systemsage more slowly thanmen's which may con-tribute to them livinglonger, according to a newstudy. Researchers lookedat the blood of healthyvolunteers in Japan, rang-ing in age between 20 and90 years old and foundthat in both sexes the totalnumber of white bloodcells per person decreasedwith age.

The number of neu-trophils decreased for bothsexes and lymphocytesdecreased in men andincreased in women.Younger men generallyhave higher levels of lym-phocytes than similarlyaged women, so as ageinghappens, the number oflymphocytes becomescomparable.

The rate in decline in Tcells and B cells was slow-er for women than men,researchers said. "Theprocess of ageing is differ-ent for men and womenfor many reasons.

Yoga Nidra or Shavasan isa way of experiencing totalrelaxation. Although it iscalled an asana or a posture– the body does nothingduring shavasan – nostretching, no bending. Youjust lie down and leave alllimbs and joints loose. Eyesare closed. You lie downlike a corpse (whichexplains why it is known asShavasan). (Also read: Top5 yoga poses for women)

Why is Shavasanimportant?

After performing otherasanas, shavasan allowsthe body to cool-down,relax and rejuvenate.

It also calms down themind and is known tobring down blood pres-sure, heart rate and othersymptoms of stress. It alsosupposed to cure psycho-somatic ailments.

Does lying down andclosing the eyes amount toShavasan?

No, Shavasan is morecomplex than you think itis. Here’s the right way toperform it:

After lying down witheyes closed and limbsloose, try and bring yourattention to the tip of your

nose and just observe thebreathing process. Bodyshould be absolutely still.

Observing and beingaware of the breathingprocess is the core ofShavasan. Whenever youinhale, you feel coolness inyour nostrils and whenyou exhale you feel hot inyour nostrils.

Shwas – Praswas –Sheetalata –Ushnata: Thebody takes in cool air,absorbs energy and expelshot air along with body

toxins. This is the physicalaspect of Shavasan.

As you go on observingthis process, you willnotice that every breath isbecoming slow, steady anddeep. This process ofbreathing slowly, steadilyand deeply i.e. inhaling tothe full capacity of yourlungs at a slow and steadypace and exhaling by emp-tying your lungs slowlyand steadily brings in afeeling of peace – withyourself and the world.

When you are angryand excited your breathingis fast and short. When youare happy, it is slow andsteady. This is the psycho-logical aspect of Shavasan.As the body is resting looseand relaxed – the limbs andjoints become free fromstress. And as your totalobservation is on breath-ing, your mind is free fromthoughts.

Shareer tanav mukt,man bhavana mukt (bodyfree from stress, mind freefrom emotions) – this is aunique state of emptinesscalled shunya sthithi. Inthis state of emptiness, themind is free of all desiresand thoughts, free from allbeliefs.

At this stage, there isno desire to becomehappy. There is just a stateof happiness without anycause or result. That isAnanda - the state of bliss.This is the philosophicalaspect of Shavasan.

In order to masterShavasan, one needs toempty their mind of everythought, every belief,every dogma, and be justaware of everythingaround them.

Fluoride usage can causeosteoporosis, birth defects,lower IQ plus much more

From the 1940s to thepresent time, Americanshave been told that fluoridedramatically reduces cavi-ties. But, the United Statesgovernment and conven-tional dentistry do notwant you to know what sci-ence has already proven -better oral hygiene anddietary habits are why cav-ities have declined.

Few studies haveproved that consumingfluoride does not reducecavities including a U.S.public health departmentreport on 39,000 schoolchildren that was hidden,for quite some time, fromthe American public. So,we must ask ourselves,"Why are we spending somuch money to put fluo-ride in the water supply"?

Is water fluoridationpart of a grand "social engi-neering" project plus agreat way to increase dis-ease (and profits) for con-ventional medicine? I'll letyou decide - but you shouldknow that facts. Sciencehas already shown thatwater fluoridation increas-es cavities, bone fractures;behavioral problems andcancer death rates.

Did you know that flu-oride bio-accumulateswithin the body? In otherwords, the more you drinkor eat - the more it willconcentrate in body tissue.The brain and thyroidgland are two areas thatfluoride loves to accumu-late. Obviously, low thy-roid function (due to fluo-ride toxicity) can causefatigue, apathy, weakness,tiredness and, most impor-tantly, a permanent lower-ing of the IQ within adeveloping fetus.

Water fluoridation isliterally dumbing down anentire nation. Even theslightest reduction of thy-roid function, in pregnantwomen, can cause seriousneurobehavioral problems.

Your body's immediateresponse (within 6 hours)to consuming somethingthat it does not want toprocess and cannot utilizefor nutrition are often telltale signs that if you con-tinue to inflict the same"damage" to your system,eventually major system"failure" will occur.

It's time to understandthat your symptoms aresimply your body's way oftelling you to "check fluid."All of those "symptoms" aresigns with simple remediesthat will provide you with along lasting, productive"engine" of the body.

8 Telltale Signs are"Flashing"

8 telltale signs thatyou've consumed sometoxic food and your "symp-toms" need more than justcover up medicine, in fact,your body needs organicfood, from now on:

• You have a migraineheadache: Most headachesare the result of dehydra-tion. Drink only naturalspring water and stop con-suming concentrated saltslike monosodium gluta-

mate (MSG), hydrolyzedsoy protein, autolyzedyeast extract and mal-todextrin..

•You are experiencinginflammation or edema:Are you retaining abnor-mal amounts of water?This could show up asweight gain. Do yourhands and feet swell often?Are you consuming exces-sive animal protein, dairy,or GM wheat? What aboutrefined sugars? Check thesodium levels in processedfoods, especially ones youate in the past 6 hours.

• You have vertigo(dizziness): This is usuallyan equilibrium issue in theinner ear, boiling rightback to diet. Check yourrecent intake for MSG,Aspartame, nitrates inmeats and concentratedsweets.

• You are constipatedor you have diarrhea,stomach pains, acid refluxor irritable bowels (IBS):Gluten is "mutant" GMOfood "glue" and causes con-stipation. Gluten and arti-ficial sweeteners can irri-tate your entire digestive

tract and pollute yourcleansing organs with syn-thetic toxins which maynever release. Pay atten-tion to the warning signs.

• You are breaking outwith a skin rash, eczema orpsoriasis: Check your con-centrated sweets, gluten,GMO pesticide-ladenfoods like corn and soy,and remember, the moreprocessed food you eat, themore you break out withthese skin conditions.

• You are experiencinglethargy: Nothing slowsdown a human body fasterthan "trash" food. Any ath-lete will tell you "garbage

in - garbage out," whichmeans if you eat nutrient-void food, you will nothave any energy. It's notcomplicated.

• You are caught in amassive brain fog: Did youjust drink some tap water?Did you just get a flu shotor a vaccine? Did you justeat something with aspar-tame in it? Did you justreturn from the dentistwith a new mercury cavityfilling? Did you just takesome toxic pharmaceuticalmedication for anxiety,depression or ADHD?

• You have no motiva-tion and you are

depressed: Everyone hasheard the saying, "You arewhat you eat." It's true. Ifyou eat animals that livedtheir whole life depressed,you will experience depres-sion. If you eat pesticideand insecticide that makesbugs sick, you will be sick.Know what's in your foodat all times

By covering up symp-toms or temporarily"killing the pain," humanbeings are acting like com-plete idiots, asking formassive system failurelater on, all while they con-tinue consuming toxicfood. There is a simplesolution to the madness.

If you are experiencingone or more of the 8 mostpopular categories of "tell-tale" symptoms of toxicfood consumption, simplygo through your refrigera-tor, freezer and pantry andthrow away everythingwhich is not organic orlocally grown without foodadditives, pesticides, andthat which is notprocessed, and begin yourjourney towards perfecthealth and longevity.

To Our Readers

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Matrimonial

Eight tell-tale signs you've eaten toxic foodCancer-causingfluoride is risky

Tips to doShavasan or Yoga

Nidra the right way

Women's immunesystems remain

younger for longer

There seems to be adanger of conflicts of

duty between home and work. Your work is likely totake up a lot of your time which may generate somedomestic strain. Try to balance these areas of yourlife. Some of you will be intent on expanding theirmental horizons through meditation, yoga or bytravelling.

Make a very con-scious attempt to stick to main priorities.

Organise your time so that it is not taken up entire-ly by the demands of other people. If you knowyour ground and are not afraid to stick your neckout, you can create your own opportunities. A goodtime for the affairs of the heart.

It seems that thewinds of change begin to

gather momentum and put a strong focus on domes-tic and family matters. Besides spending more timetending to domestic affairs, the focus can be on cul-tivating and nourishing your inner foundations, so tospeak. It will serve you well in getting things sort-ed out without upsetting anyone.

You will find addedscope and greater

incentive to push full steam ahead with your cher-ished aims. You must be careful not to tread onother people's toes. This is the right time to talkhings over with your loved one - especially anythingthat has been worrying you or making you feel inse-cure.

You may find yourselfhard at work behind the

scenes, although that may not be apparent to oth-ers. You may find yourself caught up in a whirlwindof activity, with opportunities to advance on boththe inner and outer level. There’s a sparkle to yoursocial life and you will have fun communicating with

others.

Sun's transit of your12th Solar House indicates that experience will

put you in a deeply reflective mood. This is afavourable time for getting away from usual routinesand seeking a retreat for a few days. All the betterif you are interested in such things as meditation,yoga and therapies that help you to get in closer

touch with your inner self.

You have the dynam-ic planet Mars in your solar 10th house of work. Thisplanet indicates a desire to push forward, to assertyourself mentally and physically. This also meansthat you want to improve your work prospects. Ofcourse, there are still challenging issues on both apersonal and practical level - tread carefully.

It seems that you willbe in gregarious mood, intent on cultivating a

wider circle of acquaintances. Mentally you will be ingood form to make on-the-spot decisions and alsoget your ideas across to the right people. Ideas thatyou have been juggling with for quite some time willnow be easily pulled into shape, allowing you to

push ahead. &nb sp;

Give top priority toimportant written work. This applies particularly tofinancial and commercial interests. If you can man-age to get away from usual routines, this will proveto be highly enjoyable and have a beneficial effecton your physical and psychological well-being.

Loved ones will be looking after you.

It is certainlygoing to be a fortunate time for those already mar-ried or in an established relationship. The keynoteis emotional enrichment through close interactionwith a loved one. Facets of your life that have beena source of restriction and dissatisfaction will beginto loosen their hold.

You will have the dis-tinct feeling that every-

thing is moving ahead at a very satisfying pace. Youwill be in a forward-looking mood, more inclined toreflect on the future and its potentials. The power ofdestiny is very much in your own hands and that anymajor decision you make will have a profound effecton your future.

With Venus traversingyour opposite sign of rela-

tionships for some time to come, it will put you inthe right mood if you intend to indulge your pleas-ure-loving instincts. Venus, the planet of love andromance throws a pleasing light on affairs of theheart. Existing emotional differences can be easilysorted out now.


ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

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l Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are publish-ing a special issue within the papers to markIndian independence day in our 17 August issue.If you are a member of an organisation and arecelebrating the same, please [email protected], details of your cele-bration in no more than 50 words, with contactdetails.l Sangam and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan holddance/music classes upto Diploma. Starting 21stSeptember on Monday evenings and Saturdaymornings at Sangam, 210 Burnt Oak, Broadway,Edgware HA8 0AP. Contact: 020 8952 7062l Indian Independence Day celebrations

- India's Independence Day at Navnat Vadil Mandalin Navnat Center on Friday, 16th August. Navnatcenter, Middlesex UB 3 1AR

- Sunday 11th August 2013 Independence Day cel-ebrations and bhajans at 3.00pm by ShreeBudhdevbhai, Shree Manubhai Kotak. Monday 12th August 2013 to Monday 2ndSeptember (Shiv Puja) - Rudrabhishek for all visi-tors every 15 minutes starting at 10am to 5.00pm. Adhya Shakti Mataji Temple, 5Middlesex UB8 2DZ,Tel: 07882 253 540

- Gujarat Hindu Association will be holding India’sIndependence Day celebration on Thursday 15thAugust 2013 at 7.00 pm at the BelgraveNeighbourhood Centre, Rothley Street, Leicester .LE4 6LF. Chief Guest will be Mr B C Pradhan,Consul and Head of Chancery at the Indian HighCommission in Birmingham. Contact: Rajendra MGosai t0116 266 8266

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After the Ashtakshar Dhun Manorath organised byVaishnav Sangh of UK in March, Vaishnavs inLondon were once again immersed in the most joyfulcelebrations on Sunday, 21st July at Cannon HighSchool in the holy presence of Shree DwarkeshlaljiMahodayshree (Kadi, Ahemdabad). After Bhajan &Kirtans by Sunilbhai from Mathura, when the stagecurtains opened, the vaishnavs experienced the firstDarshan of newly unveiled Shree Thakorji'sSwaroop. This Swaroop will be present at all futuremonthly Satsangs that Vaishnav Sangh of UK willhold. Over four hundred Vaishnavs took part in theevent, and also benefited from Je Je Shree'spravachan, followed by 108 Aarti Manorath forThakorji.

Chandni Joshi from Freshfields BruckhausDeringer LLP will be taking part in the UgandaBike Ride challenge with Link CommunityDevelopment, a charity that supports and promoteseducation in Africa. She will be riding 280 milesacross Uganda for 7 days, and if you would like tosupport her in achieving the fundraising target setfor this challenge, log on tohttp://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ChandniJoshi

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samacharto host their own Anand Mela

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are to host their

popular Anand Mela on 28th and 29thSeptember 2013 at Kingsbury High School.The Mela like last year promises to being exquisite

shopping, fashion and entertainment to your

area along with Raas-Garba to celebrate the forth-

coming Navratri.

(See advert on page 23)

Anand Mela

A boy of 11 weighingalmost 24 stone has beenrevealed as the most over-weight child in the coun-try. The boy fromManchester had the high-est Body Mass Index(BMI) in England, accord-ing to NHS statistics.

He weighed 23 stone11 lb and stood just 4ft4in, giving him a stagger-ingly high BMI of 84.Anyone with BMI of 30 ormore is classed as beingobese.

The healthy weight foran 11 year old boy of thatheight is just under 6st,according to BMI guide-lines.

The statistic wasrevealed by the NHSinformation centre after arequest under theFreedom of InformationAct.

Under the govern-ment's annual child meas-urement programme theheight and weight of everyreception and year sixpupil in England is record-ed. Count MargaretMorris, assistant mayorfor health at Salford coun-cil, said at the time:“Public health and helpingalternatives so people canhave an informed choiceabout the food we eat.”

The Meet Britain’s overweight child in the country

Indian Leg-spinner AmitMishra's six-wicket haul ledIndia to a comprehensiveone-day series whitewash inZimbabwe as they beat thehosts by seven wickets inSaturday's fifth and finalODI in Bulawayo.

Mishra' figures of six for48 saw Zimbabwe bowledout for a paltry 163, and alsotook his wicket tally in theseries to 18 — a new recordfor a five-match series. Indiamade light work of theZimbabwean target, knock-ing off the runs in 34 oversto record their first white-wash away from home in afive-match contest.

Although fast bowlerKyle Jarvis returned to theZimbabwean line-up toclaim two wickets in the first11 overs, Ajinkya Rahaneslammed a half-century aftercoming in for his first gameof the tour and RavindraJadeja hit an unbeaten 48 tosee India to another crush-ing victory.

Rahane batted steadily inhis 66-ball innings before hewas bowled by part-timerMalcolm Waller, while Jadejastarted slowly before opening

up to hit two sixes in the sec-ond half of his innings.

Man of the series Mishrawas the clear star of theshow though, as he struckwith his very first deliveryand then ran through theZimbabwean lower orderwith embarrassing ease.Sean Williams was the onlybatsman to put up resistancefor Zimbabwe, hitting 51from 63 balls as he provideda partial recovery from 45/4.

With the hosts onceagain struggling with the lat-eral movement on offer tothe bowlers up front, seam-ers Mohit Sharma, Jaydev

Unadkat and Shami Ahmedclaimed a wicket apiecebefore left-arm spinnerJadeja forced HamiltonMasakadza to play on for 32.

Although Williamsgained reward for some sen-sible batting through themiddle overs, he continuedto lose partners at regularintervals as Waller pulledMishra's first ball to mid-on.Mishra then trapped EltonChigumbura leg before wick-et and had TinotendaMutombodzi caught at sec-ond slip in his sixth over,before getting rid of Williamsin his seventh.

With Natsai Mushangwebowled and Brian Vitoriundone by Mishra's googly,the Delhi spinner had bet-tered Sri Lankan AjanthaMendis' record of 17 wicketsin five matches at the 2008Asia Cup.

Even, Mishra was happyto have put up a good show.Adjudged the Man of theMatch, an elated Mishra saidthe hard work was paying off.“It feels good. I have done lotof hard work and it has paidoff now. This wicket is a littleslow and is quite good forbatsmen, but they did notread my googly,” Mishra said.

The Jamnagar-born left-armspinner Ravindra Jadejaachieved a major landmarkon Sunday by becoming thefirst Indian bowler, sinceAnil Kumble in 1996, tohead the bowlers’ chart ofInternational CricketCouncil’s (ICC) ODI rank-ings. Jadeja is sharing thehonour with West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine.

The Saurashtra bowler’sranking has steadily risen inthe last one year. He wasranked fifth before India'srecently-concluded ODItour of Zimbabwe.

Jadeja’s impressive per-formance in the five-matchseries, where he took fivewickets, catapulted him tothe top spot. He thus becamethe first Gujarat player ever

to top the ICC rankings forbowlers in any format of thegame. He, incidentally, is thefourth Indian to bag the hon-our. Anil Kumble earlier hadtopped the table for 11matches in November-December 1996. Earlier,Kapil Dev and ManinderSingh had led the ICC rank-ings for the bowlers in ODIs.

The series againstZimbabwe also turned outto be a big one for India's legspinner Amit Mishra, whohas rocketed 47 places to32nd spot after bagging arecord 18 wickets.

In the last one year, theSaurashtra all-rounder hastransformed into a socialmedia sensation, thanks tothe Rajnikanth-like jokes onTwitter and Facebook.

The India team, mean-while, consolidated its posi-tion as number one team inICC ODI rankings. A 5-0series win over Zimbabwehas helped it strengthen itsposition at the top. Thoughthe series sweep earned theIndian side just one ratings

point to help it finish at 123,it now has a lead of nine rat-ings points over secondranked team, Australia.

In the batting table, how-ever, both Virat Kohli andMahendra Singh Dhonihave lost a position each tobe placed at 4th and 7thspots, respectively.

Suresh Raina in 17th (upby one) and ShikharDhawan in 23rd (up by 16)have made progress in thelist, which is still headed bySouth Africa's Hashim Amla.

Sri Lanka's KumarSangakkara has achieved acareer-best rating of 829points and has equalled hisbest-ever ranking of thirdafter finishing as the highestrun-getter in the ODI seriesagainst South Africa.

Sport Worldwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 2013 31

It was celebration time for ourhockey lovers as India held theirnerves to beat a fancied England3-2 on penalties to claim thebronze medal in the JuniorWomen's World Cup inMonchengladbach, Germany onSunday.

Defending champions theNetherlands, who India lost to inthe semifinals, lifted the trophyby beating Argentina 4-2 onpenalties.

The Indian girls showedmaturity beyond their age in thethrilling match to clinch thebronze, thus becoming the firstwomen's hockey team from Indiato win a medal in a World Cup.India's gamble to field goalkeep-er Bigan Soy for the first time inthe tournament during thepenalties paid off as she came upwith several saves to help theteam finish on the podium.

"It means a lot to our kids'psychology that they can actual-

ly win a medal," India's coachNeil Hawgood said after thematch. "Our goalkeeper BiganSoy, who had not played even aminute in the whole tournament,did a great job. It was (always)clear, (that) when it comes downto shootouts, she will be in thegoal," he was quoted as saying.

Soy added: "I did my verybest and it's a good to know thatI saved my team. I'm very happy.

It now feels as if I have playedthe entire tournament."

Rani, who was later named"Player of the Tournament",opened the account for India inthe 13th minute of the matchbefore England equalized in the55th through Anna Toman asboth team teams finished the reg-ulation time tied 1-1. The penaltyshootout saw more misses thanhits as both the sides failed to

score from four strokes each.India scored from their first

attempt while England convertedtheir last one. Rani scored fromIndia's first stroke after Tomanmissed England's first. No goalswere scored from the next six asEngland went to their final shottrailing 0-1 in the shootout. AfterEmily Defroand found the targetto level the score, India neededto score their final hit to win. ButPoonam Rani failed to score.

In the sudden death, Raniand Defroand scored for theirteams respectively beforePoonam Rani missed to giveEngland a chance to wrap up thematch. But Shona McCallinfailed to take advantage.Navneet Kaur, who had earliermissed a penalty, rose to theoccasion by scoring in herattempt while Toman could notconvert to hand the Indian girls awell-deserved win.

"This is my first Junior World

Cup and my first medal, I'm sohappy. It was tough to take a sec-ond penalty after I didn't scorefrom the first. I knew that I need-ed to get the goalkeeper to diveand then I could score. This iswhat I did," said Navneet, anoth-er team member.

Vice-captain Rani said thatthe team was well-prepared. "Wewere mentally prepared for theshootouts, which was good. Thisis our first-ever medal in a JuniorWorld Cup, now we will cele-brate," Rani said. This was thebest finish by the team in theevent, having finished outsidetop-eight in their earlier threeattempts.

HI announces cash reward:Hockey India (HI) on Sundayannounced that each member ofteam will be rewarded with acash prize of Rs 100,000, accord-ing to agencies. Chief coachHawgood will also receive a cashreward of Rs 100,000.

Indian girls win first-ever World Cup medal

IPL-style football leaguegets green signalAll India Football Federation’s marketing partnersgot the official support they needed to go aheadwith their proposed IPL-style league. IMG-Reliance gave a detailed presentation on thetournament to the all powerful executive com-mittee at the Football House last week. AIFFpresident Praful Patel was impressed with theplan and said, “We feel it I-league will sustainIndian football but this short league will be abooster dose for Indian football. This new tour-nament will popularize Indian football. I-leagueand this tournament will go hand-in - hand,” thepresident said. To iron out the rift between theirate clubs and the federation, Patel has askedhis four vice-presidents - Subrata Dutta,Srinivas Dempo, Larsing Ming Sawyan andK M I Mather - to negotiate with the clubs intheir respective zones. “Two members (LarsingMing and Dempo) are themselves club ownersand they will talk to the clubs to find an amica-ble solution to the issues and the important pointis we have to see the bigger picture which is toimprove the profile of Indian football,” the presi-dent said.

Somdev zooms up to 115 inlatest singles rankingsS o m d e vDevvarman onMonday jumped 14places to 115 in thelatest ATP singlesrankings, courtesy hisp r e - q u a r t e r f i n a lappearance at the CitiOpen. Somdev hadlost to American JohnIsner in the round of16 at the WashingtonATP 500 event, last week, earning 55 rankingpoints. In the doubles, Rohan Bopanna main-tained his third rank. Mahesh Bhupathi's positionwas unchanged at number seven while LeanderPaes lost a place to be 10th. Left-hander DivijSharan slid to 72, having lost four positions whilehis partner Purav Raja gained two places to be86th on the list. In the women's rankings, SaniaMirza was static at 19th in the doubles chart.

South Africa win T20 seriesagainst Sri LankaSouth Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 22 runs in thesecond Twenty20 international in wind-sweptHambantota on Sunday to take an unassailable2-0 lead in the three-match series. JP Duminyscored 30 off 23 balls and David Miller hit anaggressive 21-ball 36 as the Proteas reached145-6 after electing to take first strike in the day-night match. Fast bowlers Lonwabo Tsotsobeand Morne Morkel then claimed two wicketseach as Sri Lanka, the world's top-rankedTwenty20 side, were restricted to 123-7 by animpressive South African fielding display. KumarSangakkara played a lone hand for the hostswith an attractive 39 off 35 balls, but he was onlyone of three batsmen who crossed 30 in difficultconditions for both teams due to the stiff breeze.

Jadeja first Gujarat player to top ODI bowlers’ list

India beat Zimbabwe;complete whitewash

Old Trafford's famous fickleweather helped shakyEngland retain the Ashesafter steady rain on the finalday of the drawn third Teston Monday, destroyedAustralia's outside hopes ofwinning the series. England,who have won the last twoAshes campaigns, lead thefive-match series 2-0, and asholders will keep the urn inthe event of a drawn series.

The hosts were lookingfor the draw but were in trou-ble at 37 for three when playwas suspended after lunchand rain fell until the end. JoeRoot was unbeaten on 13from 57 balls after the youngopener tried to leave everywide delivery he could. IanBell was four not out havingbeen struck on the glove andseen the ball balloon over theslips just before a second rainbreak.

Fast bowler Ryan Harrisstruck twice for Australiabefore lunch to give thetourists real hope they coulddrag themselves back into theseries after a 14-run loss atTrent Bridge and a 347-runhumbling at Lord's. The hostsgot off to a terrible start whencaptain Alastair Cook wastrapped lbw by Harris for aduck, compounding his mis-ery by wasting a review eventhough he was proved to beplumb in front.

Jonathan Trott (11) sur-vived a scare when Australiareviewed a not-out call foranother Harris lbw shout,technology showing it wasthe umpire's call, but thetourists did not have to waitlong before he edged the

same bowler down the legside to wicketkeeper BradHaddin. More decisionreview system (DRS) contro-versy followed when first-innings centurion KevinPietersen was adjudged tohave nicked Peter Siddlebehind for eight.

Pietersen called for areview and despite nohotspot showing on the videoreplay, the third umpireupheld the decision.Television's snicko technolo-

gy, not used by the officials,suggested the batsman wasout. It was almost a lot worsefor England but Australiacaptain Michael Clarkedropped a fairly routine edgeoff Root in the slips as theswinging ball moved around.

The teams next face eachother at Chester-le-Street inDurham from Friday, whichwill be an anti-climax afterMonday’s damp-squib finish.

Clarke, Warner rage asAussies see lights out onAshes: Earlier Australia skip-

per Michael Clarke and bats-man David Warner took outtheir frustrations on theumpires as well as England'sover-rate on Sunday as theirAshes dreams were left on aknife-edge. Clarke was furi-ous that the officials took theplayers off the field for badlight on the fourth day of thethird Test at Old Trafford.

Australia, 2-0 down in thefive-match series and needingto win this match to standany chance of regaining the

Ashes, were 172 for seven intheir second innings - a leadof 331 runs - when umpiresMarais Erasmus and TonyHill called a halt at 4.26 pm.Subsequent rain preventedthe match resuming and playwas officially abandoned forthe day at 5.38 pm.

Clarke, 30 not out, wasangry at being told to go offfor bad light in a situationwhere any stoppageincreased England's chancesof securing the draw thatwould see them retain the

Ashes. Although the floodlights

were on, the umpires decidedconditions were too danger-ous to continue when itlooked as if fast-mediumbowler Stuart Broad wasabout to be brought back intothe attack.

"It's now our decision,"said Erasmus, whose jointinterview with Hill on Skytelevision was booed byangry fans when replayedover the giant screens at OldTrafford. "For a while thereEngland's fielders were ask-ing about the light and thepossibility when they bat. Itwas fine by then but it keptdropping, dropping, drop-ping. Eventually we asked thecaptain (Alastair Cook) tobowl spin which eventuallyhe decided not to. Thatpushed our hand because it'sa safety issue." Clarke had aprolonged conversation withErasmus as he and battingpartner Ryan Harris stayed inthe middle while Englandwalked off.

Eventually, theAustralians trudged off thefield. "The umpires have con-trol over that now. Theydeemed it dangerous and wejust had to come off andrespect their decision," saidWarner, earlier out for 41.

"Obviously Michael was alittle bit annoyed with thatbut he felt it (the light) didn'tchange in that last half anhour. The umpires seemed tosay it did."

Warner suggested thatCook was risking a ban fortime-wasting by theInternational Cricket Council.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th August 201332

��Murray hungry formore grand slamsAndy Murray underlined his hunger formore grand slam silverware on Sundaywhen he said he would pass up the chanceto be world number one if it meant hecould taste more major success. The 26-year-old will play his first match sincebeing crowned Wimbledon champion whenhe lines up at the Rogers Cup MastersSeries event this week in Montreal. Afterspending some time away from the courtfollowing last month's triumph at the AllEngland Club, and having reassessed hisgoals following a holiday in the Bahamasand a training block in Miami, Murray'sdesire to win the sport's main prizes runsdeeper than ever.

"I sat down actually just few days agoand talked a little bit about that ... I wantto try and win another grand slam," arefreshed and relaxed looking Murray toldreporters. "Every player would like to getto number one but I would rather winanother a grand slam or two and not get tonumber one." Serbia's Novak Djokovic,the man Murray beat to the Wimbledoncrown, currently occupies the top spot,with the Scot the world number two bysome distance. Murray's next opportunityto add to his two grand slam titles will bewhen he returns to New York later thismonth as defending champion at the USOpen, the title which he won in 2012 witha pulsating five-set victory over Djokovic.

"It took me a long time to win my firstone (grand slam) and I know how difficultit is to win those tournaments," Murraysaid. "I'll work as hard as I can to givemyself an opportunity at the U.S Open andsee how I do there." The Scot boasts agood record on Canada's hard courts hav-ing been a back-to-back Masters championin 2009 and 2010. "The last couple ofyears I haven't always played my mostconsistent tennis in the build up to theslams and then when I got there I startedto play better," Murray said.

England coach Andy Flowerjoined the captains of both sidesin calling for improved use of theDecision Review System (DRS)in the remaining two Ashes Testsagainst Australia.

Holders England retained theAshes after the third Test at OldTrafford ended in a rain-affecteddraw on Monday, leaving thehome side 2-0 up with two toplay ahead of the fourth Test inDurham starting on Friday.

But once again the use ofDRS by the officials this Asheswas a major talking point afteryet more contentious rulings inManchester.

"Firstly umpiring is a verytricky business but I would saythat there are very clear proto-cols to use and to stick to and Ithink some calm decision-mak-ing needs to be made over thenext two Tests," Flower said.

Sometimes the availabletechnology has contradicteditself and former Zimbabwebatsman Flower added: "I thinkthere are improvements that can

be made. There are improve-ments in the use of the technolo-gy and the use of experts whoknow how to use the technologythat could make a difference togetting better results."

Given eight of theInternational Cricket Council's12-strong elite panel of umpiresare barred from officiating inAshes matches because they arefrom either England or Australia,this series has been overseen bythe quartet of Pakistan's AleemDar, Sri Lanka's KumarDharmasena, New Zealand'sTony Hill and South Africa'sMarais Erasmus, who've rotatedthe standing and third umpireroles between them.

In the first Test at TrentBridge, where Erasmus waswidely criticised for overturningDar's original not out decisionand ruling England batsmanJonathan Trott was out lbw, sixout of 13 reviews led to achanged decision.

At Lord's, where Englandwon the second Test by 347

runs, only one review led to anoverturned call.

Meanwhile at Old Trafford,where Hill and Erasmus werethe men in the middle withDharmasena the third umpire,the teams sought 10 reviews,with none of the standingumpires' decisions reversed.

This appeared to indicate theteams were becoming progres-sively more careless with theirchallenges, when further expo-sure to DRS ought to producethe reverse effect, or that thethird umpire was increasinglyreluctant to over-rule his twostanding colleagues.

At Old Trafford, there weretimes when both England andAustralia, more than being frus-trated at DRS verdicts goingagainst them, didn't seem tounderstand why their challengeshad failed.

In Manchester, the most con-troversial case involved the firstinnings dismissal of Australiabatsman Usman Khawaja, givenout caught behind off the bowl-ing of off-spinner GraemeSwann for one by Hill.

DRS appeared to indicatethere was no noise at themoment the bat ought to havehit the ball and nor did Hotspotreveal an edge.

Yet Dharmasena upheldHill's decision, promptingAustralia great Shane Warne tolabel the decision "absolutelyshocking".

Meanwhile both Australiacaptain Michael Clarke andEngland counterpart AlastairCook said they were "confused"by the application of DRS thisseries.

"I'm a fan of DRS, I am a fanof technology in our game andthere's obviously been a coupleof occasions where both teamshave been a bit confused but theone thing I like about is that it isconsistent for both teams," saidClarke.

Cook added: "In practice,DRS has worked really well,maybe apart from this series.

"I don't know whether it'sjust because it's the Ashes thecricketing gods have thrown upsome slightly inconclusive evi-dence.

"We are just a little bit con-fused at the moment why certaindecisions have been overturnedand certain decisions haven'tbeen overturned.

"I don't think that's just withan England cap on, I think bothsides would be feeling that.

"We are a little bit confusedwith it but hopefully the ICC caniron out (the problems) and wecan get back to what it'sdesigned for which is makingmore decisions correct."

Rain helps shakyEngland retain Ashes

Andy Flower calls for 'calm' DRS verdicts

av 10th august 2013

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