2nd August to 8th August August 2014VOL 43. ISSUE 13 80pLet noble thoughts come to us from every side

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in EuropeSEE INSIDE ....India on 5th positionat Commonwealth

games

Bonds between UK andIndia are as much

personal, as they arepolitical: ED Davey

PM launches uniqueweb platform to get

citizens' ideas

See Page 26

See Page 25

See Page 32

SEE INSIDE ....Leading Economist

establishes MahatmaGandhi Statue Trust

London celebrates UK Goan festival

London TrafalgarSquare to

celebrate Eid

See Page 17

See Page 16

See Page 7

Clegg enroute to India

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Rupanjana Dutta

After the brief visit to the Modi government made by Chancellor George Osborneand the then Foreign Secretary William Hague, it is now the turn of British DeputyPrime Minister Nick Clegg, who is set to make his first trade mission to India inend of August. He will be visiting Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, focusing on aero-space, retail and education sectors and will also be accompanied by Dr Vince Cable,and some other MPs and Peers from the Lib Dem party.

Kerry’s India visit aims buildingbridge with Modi govt

US Secretaryof State JohnKerry’s thet h r e e - d a yvisit fromWednesday(July 30) isaimed atb u i l d i n gbridges with the newgovernment in Delhi ledby a man Washingtonabhorred for nearly adecade. Following thelandslide victory of BJP-led NDA underNarendra Modi’s leader-ship, America changedits policy, that includeimportant decision toinvite the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to visitthe United States.

Identifying this as “apotentially transforma-tive moment in our part-nership,” Kerry said thatthe Obama administra-

tion is deter-mined todeliver onthe strategicand historicoppor tun i -ties withIndia as heembarked on

a visit to New Delhi forthe annual strategic dia-logue between the twocountries.

Having presided overdamaging US processeson the Modi visa issueand the diplomatic fiascoinvolving an IndianForeign Service official,Kerry ramped up talkabout a “new set ofopportunities, new pos-sibilities” with the newgovernment. There wereseveral other laudatoryreferences in his speechto Modi's vision and Continued on page 26Continued on page 16 DPM Clegg addressing

guests at Whitehall

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 20142 UK

1) Please tell me about yourcurrent position?My current position is that Iam currently working on myalbum which will be hopefullybe finished quite soon.

I will also be going on atour to perform at schools

around the country in the com-ing months.

2) What are your proudestachievements?So far, my proudest achieve-ment to date is probably over-coming stage nerves in my first

ever live show. I have been anartist, or even a singer at all, forabout 2 years now. When Istarted off on my journey, Iwasn't the most talented personwith any experiences perform-ing in front of even the smallestcrowd of 2. Overcoming that

fear was a very proudmoment.

3) What inspires you?I would say that I amdefinitely inspired bythe greats: MichaelJackson, Elvis etc.However, whatinspires me the most isany person with a tal-ent that makes mewant to go home andimprove my skills.

4) What has been thebiggest obstacle inyour career?My biggest obstaclewill always be myself. Ibelieve that whatever Iwant to do, I canachieve, I must justovercome whatever itis in myself that isstopping myself fromachieving it.

5) Who has been thebiggest influence onyour career to date?My biggest influenceto my career to date isactually my mentor

Steelo. He has taught me manythings that have helped mycareer: how to analyse musicstylistically and culturally, theart of recording music and aid-ing me in improving my singingability. He has been my biggestbeliever only second to my

father.

6) What is the best aspectabout your current role?The best aspect about my cur-rent role is that I can makemusic and improve my craftknowing that it is in prepara-tion to be able showcase it tothe world.

7) And the worst?The worst is that it is very hardwork but I don't mind because Ienjoy it anyway and could hap-pily do it for a very long time.

8) What are your long termgoals?My long term goals are to seemyself in a few years' time as anestablished award-winningartist delving into other areas ofmy career whether it be busi-ness or film.

9) If you were Prime Minister,what one aspect would youchange?Politics is definitely not one ofstrongest fields. If I were PrimeMinister, I would spend mybest efforts to try to eliminateunemployment in the UK.

10) If you were marooned on adesert island, which historicalfigure would you like to spendyour time with and why?I think I would like to of spentmy with Jesus. I think I wouldlearn a lot from him.

Rishi ChoudhuryRishi Choudhury from a very young age discovered his love andpassion for music. He spent his early teenage years creatingacoustic tunes on the guitar and creating his own Pop and R&Bmelodies on his keyboard.

Only just two years ago, he embarked in the journey to fulfil hisdream as a successful professional performer, vocalist and musicianand his friends and family are supportive throughout his journey.

Since then, Rishi has had the opportunity and pleasure of work-ing with leading producers like ShaeToneDef, Rishi Rich and DanDare. They have also worked on productions and alongside topmusicians like Jessie K, Rizzle Kicks, Drake and Jay Sean. Rishi hasalso spent time in the studio working alongside some of the musicindustries top song writers including: Richard Derbyshire, Steelo1and Toby Faulkner to name a few and dancing alongside London'sleading choreographer Aaron Black of Flawless.

Rishi is destined and quoted by established musical friends asbeing "one of the new Pop and R&B teen superstars to arise fromthe UK."

To date, he has been occupied in many public appearances, fea-tured in multiple online fashion blogs and will be on tour performingto his increasing followers of all ages at nationwide festivals, con-certs and also a radio tour across the UK.

With many exciting and fun collaborations in his busy scheduleand teaming up with various key people in the music and entertain-ment industry, Rishi's much awaited music launch is finally comingto light and those can only expect the finest outcome to emergefrom UK's youngest music artist.

2014 is looking to be an exciting year for this talented youngmusician who embraces each day with a passion for reaching thetop.

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Recent figures haverevealed that whiteteenagers are the leastlikely group to apply touniversities after beingovertaken by pupils fromethnic minority back-grounds.

Rising numbers fromall ethnic groups are set-ting their sights on adegree but white teenagersare less likely to applythan black, Asian orChinese pupils.

The statistics alsoshow that pupils on freeschool meals due to familypoverty are half as likely toseek a place as their moreprivileged peers. Just onein seven schoolboys onfree meals is aiming forUniversity.

The analysis from theUniversities and CollegesAdmissions Service exam-ined applications from 18-year-olds at England’ state

schools to start universitythis autumn. It revealedthat 31% of whiteteenagers applied –com-pared with 61% ofChinese, 45% of Asianand 39% of black.

An inquiry by theCommons EducationSelect Committee lastmonth called for radicalmeasures to help reversethe ‘eal and persistent’un-der-performance of poorer

white pupils, includinglonger school days to helpchildren complete theirhomework.

It called for furtherresearch on the role ofpoor parenting and the‘ffects of historical fund-ing and strategies’ UCASrevealed that this year hasseen the second highesttotal number of universityapplications submitted onrecord.

Figures show white teenagers leastlikely to apply to Universities

Spotlight on Krishna Avanti School

Children of Krishna Avanti school along with the Head ofthe Parents Association, Mr Shah, the Headteacher of theSchool, Usha Sahani and the Harrow Mayor's chaplain,Srutidharma das of the ISKCON Hare Krishna temple

The new Mayor ofHarrow Cllr Ajay Maruofficially opened theSummer Fayre at theKrishna Avanti School onCamrose Avenue. The fairwas all about raisingfunds for a new minibusfor the school and a greattime was had by all.

Avanti's GotTalent!

The Head of HarrowCouncil Cllr David Perrygot a taste of the life ofSimon Cowell this weekwhen he officially openedthe "Krishna Avanti's GotTalent" show.

The Krishna AvantiSchool, on Harrow'sCamrose Avenue, staged atalent contest for theschool children and CllrDavid Perry thoroughlyenjoyed his first visit therewhere he met children,staff and governors alike.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 3

ASIAN VOICE is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House,12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW.Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.comwww.abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

Congress makeover necessary for Indian democracyIt isn’t in the interests of Indian democracy that theCongress Party should languish as a rump. It is,after all, the party that led the country’s struggle forindependence and governed it for most of the sub-sequent six and a half decades and more, construct-ing its industrial and science platforms and definingits foreign policy paradigm. In opposition theCongress should have a constructive role in keepingthe country’s political system robust and relevant.India’s political giants, Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, C.Rajagopalachari, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and pre-inde-pendence figures such Dadabhai Naoroji, GopalKrishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak et albelonged to the Indian National Congress. But thatis history. Depressingly the Congress cupboard isnow bare: bereft of ideas, its leadership is largelyanonymous. Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, theparty’s public face, has diminishing credibility withthe Indian public, his cliché-ridden speeches andstatements intensifies the gloom among the partyfaithful. Time, surely, for a shake-out, for introspec-tion and fresh faces and rejuvenating ideas. Theseneed to be coherent and include the big issues of theday. Economic development, and best way forwardinclusively; public-private partnerships in industry,agriculture, science and technology and educationshould be fleshed out with well structured detail.How best to energize the largely slack judicial andadministrative system, strengthen the rule of law,

stimulate freedom of thought and expression shouldbe at the heart of the Congress discourse, reflectingin the best traditions of the nation’s cultural plural-ism. Vote bank politics should be relegated to thedustbin, where it truly belongs. It breeds cynicismand destroy hope. It represents a debilitating pastand annuls the present. It divides society, not healits discords. It violates moral probity and commonsense; it derails the prospect of national fulfillment.

There is little sign, thus far, that Congress isready for such soul-searching. Jogging along asbefore has few rewards in public esteem, rather itinvites public contempt. To start a new chapter, aparty in the doldrums needs new wine in new bot-tles, in other words, bring in younger people in tothe top party echelons eager and willing to embracea brave new world. Ritual hullabaloos in Parliamentare symptoms of nullity. As a starting point,Congress should tell the country of its plans (if ithas any) to tackle the malaise of social inequality,insufficient empowerment of women, enhance eco-nomic modernization, fine-tune an educational sys-tem capable of delivering skills and knowledge, andthrowing overboard rote learning fit for regiments ofclerks in an already over-weight bureaucracy thatclogs the administration, seeds corruption andmakes bribery a way of life. The Congress Party hasan opportunity to renew itself by accepting the chal-lenge of change, by becoming its articulate voice.Else, extinction looms.

Remembering India’s Glorious Dead in the Great WarIndian troops, frequently pressed into service indefence of the British Empire along the North WestFrontier of the subcontinent and in Africa, hadacquitted themselves well. The First World War orthe Great War, as it is also known, was a sternerchallenge. Here, in the snow, slush and trenches ofEuropean battlefields, they were to encounter theformidable army of Imperial Germany. In the heatand dust of the Middle East they took on theOttoman Turks. Originally a Balkan conflict, theclash of arms spread to the European heartland,and from August 1914 became a World War, includ-ing in its periphery parts of East Africa and SouthWest Africa and the German coastal possession ofTsingtao in China. The Indian Expeditionary Corpsthat was shipped to France held a significant por-tion of the British line in the opening year of hos-tilities until Britain was fully mobilized. Indiantroops disembarking in France were given a warmwelcome by the French public, but how they wouldstand up to German firepower and disciplinedassault was as yet unknown. But not for long.Indian troops, much to the surprise of the Germanenemy, held their own in valour and skill andbecame a force to be reckoned with in the FirstBattle of the Marne and in subsequent battles inFrance and Belgium, at Gallipoli, in Iraq, Syria andPalestine. In the French city of Neuve Chapellestands a statue of Naik Darshan Singh Negi, one ofthe first Indians to be awarded the coveted VictoriaCross. More is the pity that the French public todayis generally unaware of the Indian contribution tothe defence of France a century ago. Philip

Mason’s masterly work on the British Indian Army,“A Matter of Honour,” should be required readingfor students of twentieth century history. It relatesa story that begins with the East India Company inthe mid-eighteenth century and ends in 1945 withthe Allied victory over Nazi Germany and ImperialJapan, in which Indian troops distinguished them-selves in every theatre of conflict, from Italy andNorth Africa to South East Asia.

Apropos of the First World War, Indian nation-alist leaders, from Mohandas Gandhi to BalGangadhar Tilak, from Sarojini Naidu to MotilalNehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru et al called onIndians to enlist on the calculation that the displayof loyalty to the Crown would be rewarded withpolitical concessions on Indian self-rule in thepeace to come. Tilak advised his compatriots to“Purchase war debentures, but look to them as thetitle deeds of Home Rule.” Nehru and Sapru, look-ing farther ahead, wanted Indians to acquire expe-rience of modern warfare in preparation for theday when a free India would be responsible for itsown security. Which is what came to pass, as onetradition moved seamlessly into another. The menwho fought in two world wars deserve greaterpublic recognition in UK as well as in India fortheir achievements and sacrifice than theypresently receive. Reflexive immiigrant numbergame or anti-colonialism is a juvenile malady incontemporary conditions. We need to rid ourselvesof thin skins that simply itch but do not assure usof peace of mind, leading only to bunkered mind-sets.

Battered wife who stood tall and shinesBorn Shabnam Ahmed, now Shabnam Ramaswami,is a story of a blissful childhood, of a house of mirthof a family of a army doctor in the Murshidabad dis-trict of West Bengal. Educated at a Convent inAsansol and at La Martiniere school in Calcutta onthe insistence of a maternal grandmother, keen thatshe learn English, Shabnam’s life was that of a care-free, fun-loving, sporty adolescent. Followed thenightmare of an arranged marriage to a psychopath,who beat her black and blue from bouts of drinkingand womanizing. Four of her children died in infan-cy, two survived. Incarcerated in a rigidly orthodoxMuslim household, Shabbana was thrown out on tothe street after a particularly savage assault from herhusband. There was no going back to this hell andbegging for mercy. She left with breast-fed baby anddaughter, arriving at Sealdah station in Kolkata andlived there for two months under a tarpaulin. Thencame the trudge through city streets looking forwork. Her education helped. She started makingher way in life. Her children grew up. After gettinga divorce, she travelled to Delhi and put her chil-

dren to school, before finding her feet as a profes-sional in a welfare organization. Shabana met andmarried Jugnu Ramaswami, a journalist making adocumentary for UNICEF. That was in 1990. Shereturned to Bengal in 2000 with her husband andbought a plot of land in a poor conservative Muslimneighbourhood in the environs of Murshidabad andset up a school. The local maulvis and maulanaswere dead set against her subversive project. Fourmen were hired to kill her. Undaunted, Shabanatook her campaign for education and women’s self-help from village to village, armed with a loudspeak-er and chair. Her Jagriti public school - with Englishan integral part of the curriculum - is a flourishinginstitution today. Her chauffeur and bodyguard –Man Friday - was one of her would-be assassins.His daughter is a pupil in the school. Shabana’shusband Jugnu Ramasawmi died of a heart attack.She told her interviewer, “See I held life by its col-lar, pushed it to the wall and said ‘you live accordingto me and not me according to you.” Sweet are thepleasures of adversity.

COMMENT

Five and a half yearsago, I wrote a piece forAsian Voice in theimmediate aftermath ofthe Gaza War. Thatconflict, which last 22days, saw the deaths ofover 1,000 Palestiniansand 13 Israelis. Tens ofthousands of homeswere destroyed, alongwith many of Gaza’sschools and hospitals.As the conflict woreon, I distinctly remem-ber the utter horror Ifelt as I watchedimages of the bombingson television.

In the last fewweeks that feeling hasreturned with reportsof the indiscriminatekilling of innocentmen, women and chil-dren. Having visitedGaza on a number ofoccasions, I have seenfirst-hand the devastat-ing physical and emo-tional impact that liv-ing in a land undersiege has had onPalestinians. It is hardto comprehend that thesituation there hastaken yet another turnfor the worse.

The recent kidnapand murder of threeIsraeli teenagers inJune was appalling.The firing of rockets byHamas across the bor-der into Israel is unac-ceptable, and remains asignificant barrier topeace in the region.

However, the Israeligovernment’s responsehas been far from pro-portionate. I firmlybelieve that there is nojustification – morallyor in international law– for collective punish-ment. The deaths of somany children in therecent bombardment isparticularly appalling.

Whatever theprovocation, the killingof innocent people andthe destruction of civil-ian homes and infra-structure is not accept-able. Anger at theIsraeli government’sresponse has beenexpressed around theworld. Earlier thismonth in London,100,000 peoplemarched in protest atthe violence.

This anger is under-standable when youconsider that morethan 1,000 Palestinianshave now been killed.As this goes to press,the humanitarian situ-ation is deterioratingrapidly, with medicalsupplies stuck at theborder and rescueteams unable to oper-ate safely in Gaza dueto the constantshelling. 150,000 peo-ple have been displacedand are now living inshelters.

I visited the MiddleEast shortly after aceasefire endedOperation Cast Lead in2009. Having visitedPalestine again lastyear, this latest vio-lence brings with it aterrible sense of déjàvu. As conflict peaksyet again, I understandbetter than ever theoverwhelming sense ofhopelessness felt bymany of thePalestinians I met.

So now is the timefor a ceasefire to beagreed between thetwo sides. This is obvi-ously a fast moving sit-uation, but only anurgent and peacefulsettlement can put astop to the unimagin-able suffering of inno-cent civilians.

Sarah Teather MPLiberal Democrat MP for Brent Central

The long wait for peace

It is not the critic who counts: not theman who points out how the strong manstumbles or where the doer of deedscould have done better. The creditbelongs to the man who is actually in thearena, whose face is marred by dust andsweat and blood, who strives valiantly,who errs and comes up short again andagain

- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

AsianVoiceNewsweeklyAsianVoiceNews

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 20144 MIDLANDS VOICE

A pub landlord caughtwithout a TV licence hasbeen ordered to pay £155by magistrates.

Surinder Rura, land-lord of the Fox Inn, inMain Street, ThorpeSatchville, Melton, wasfined £135 at LeicesterMagistrates' Court. He

was also ordered to pay a£20 victim surchargeSpeaking after the

hearing, East Midlands TVLicensing spokesmanMark Whitehouse said anybusiness showing TV pro-grammes, whether for cus-tomer use or in staff areas,must be covered by a

licence."We appreciatethese are tough times forbusinesses, but to be fairto the majority who do paythe licence fee, we have totake action. Those busi-nesses who do try to getaway with it might find theprice of being caught to behigher than just a fine. We

would rather businessesthink ahead and check ifthey need a licence. Alicence costs £145.50 andcan be bought in minutesonline," he said.Business which have a

TV without a valid licencerisk a fine of up to £1,000per offence, plus costs.

Pub landlord caught without a TV licence is fined by magistrates

A doctor who worked atLeicester's hospitals hasbeen suspended from themedical register for sixmonths.

Dr JayaprakashGosalakkal, a consultantchildren's neurologist,was found guilty of mis-conduct by a panel at theMedical Practitioners'Tribunal Service.It related to allega-

tions that guidelines co-authored by the doctorfor a test known as videoEEG telemetry, whichvideos patients whohave seizures whilerecording brainwaveactivity, were "not fit forpurpose" and that hefailed to recognise safestaffing levels when the

test was carried out.The panel also heard

that Dr Gosalakkal, whoworked at the UniversityHospitals of LeicesterNHS Trust (UHL) fromJanuary, 2002, toOctober, 2011, did notco-operate with investi-gations by the trust andthat he inappropriatelycontacted the parents ofa patient in 2011 after hewas excluded from UHL.An allegation that Dr

Gosalakkal did not pro-vide good clinical care topatient D in March,2009, was found notproved.Dr Gosalakkal was

also cleared of three alle-gations of not providinggood clinical care to two

patients. Accusationsthat he had prescribedsome medications to thethree patients whichwere not needed werealso found not proved.The suspension will

take effect in 28 daysunless Dr Gosalakkalexercises his right ofappeal.

Six-month suspension for doctor

Burglars ransacked a 71-year-old woman's home asshe lay in hospital withterminal cancer.The intruders stole

Naseem Moghal's £50,000collection of family heir-loom jewellery and a sub-stantial sum of cash, andleft her Wigston home indisarray. Her horrifiedfamily has offered a£5,000 reward for the jew-ellery's safe return andinformation that leads tothe arrest and convictionof the burglars.Mrs Moghal has not

been told about the break-in as she is so poorly. Herfamily said the newswould "destroy" her. Herson Tariq Malik said hismother, a refugee from IdiAmin's Uganda in theearly 1970s, has myeloma,a form of blood cancer.She was admitted to hos-pital four months ago.Until then, she had carriedon working at Leicester'sBradgate Bakery.Mr Malik, 41, said:

"Mum was diagnosed withmyeloma five years agoand she has still beenworking despite us all try-ing to persuade her to

stop. Everything Mumhas, she has worked forwith her own sweat, bloodand tears. She has nevergiven up."He continued: "Mum

witnessed carnage inUganda and had every-thing taken away from herand had to rebuild her lifefar away from home. Herexperiences from Ugandanever left my mum and asa consequence she hasalways stashed savingsand valuables in the housein case we needed to makea speedy getaway again."The past few months

have been a nightmare forour family, watching Mumsuffer such immense painand still remaining stoicand still worrying about usmore than herself."We had been hoping

to get Mum home with thehelp of round-the-clocknursing, but that will notbe possible now. We havestarted to clean up in

between hospital visits –just what you need whenyou are in such a raw stateanyway. It has taken eighthours to clean up the car-nage left in one room."We want people to

appreciate that this is notsomething that can just becleaned up and everythingis okay. They have robbedmy mother of all herlabours and also robbedher of the opportunity toreturn to the home she hasworked so hard to build. Iwould ask whoever didthis to have some humankindness and return mymother's jewellery. Thiscan't be replaced and is soimportant to her."

Naseem Moghal's homewas ransacked by a

burglar and gold jewellerywere stolen

Teachers accused ofinvolvement in the TrojanHorse plot have been sus-pended, the Governmentconfirmed Monday.Education minister

Lord Nash made theannouncement in theHouse of Lords. It came 48hours after the BirminghamMail exclusively revealedthe news. Lord Nash saidteachers had been suspend-ed for causing harassmentamid allegations of a plot byhardline Muslims to seizecontrol of Birminghamschools. A Government-ordered inquiry into theallegations, led by formeranti-terror chief PeterClarke, concluded therehad been “co-ordinated,deliberate and sustainedaction” by a number of indi-viduals to introduce an“intolerant and aggressive

Islamic ethos” into somecity classrooms.The Birmingham Mail

revealed last Saturday thatPark View School actingprincipal Monzoor Hussainand Nansen Primary deputyhead Razwan Faraz hadboth been suspended.The two schools were

run by the Park ViewEducational Trust –described by Mr Clarke as

“the incubator for much ofwhat has happened and theattitudes and behavioursthat have driven it”.Park View, Nansen and

a third school in the Trust’sportfolio, Golden Hillock,were among fiveBirmingham schools placedin special measures byOfsted as a result of theTrojan Horse claims earlierthis year.

Teachers suspended over Trojan Horse plot

Monzoor Hussain and Razwan Faraz

Last week BirminghamAirport welcomed theUK’s first direct flightfrom China into a non-London airport. The air-port also inaugurated theuse of its recently extend-ed runway as the servicedeparted for its 5,000 milejourney back to Beijing. The flight was wel-

comed by Lord DolarPopat, the GovernmentTransport spokesperson inthe House of Lords, alongwith the UK’s TourismMinister Helen Grant MPand other dignitaries fromBirmingham. The China Southern

A330-200 aircraft, operat-ed by Chinese tour opera-

tor, Caissa TravelManagement Co Ltd,arrived into BirminghamAirport fully laden with248 tourists venturinginto the UK on organisedpackage tours. Speakingat the inaugural reception,the Airport’s ChiefExecutive said, “This is ahistoric day forBirmingham, and indeedthe Midlands region.Never before has a com-mercial airliner toucheddown on a runway out-side of the Capital fromChina and we are enor-mously proud to be thefirst to make this hap-pen.”Lord Popat was at the

Airport to welcome thearrival of this historicflight and to greet the pas-sengers, including MrRen Jun, Vice Presidentof Caissa TravelManagement. Lord Popatsaid: “I welcome thisinaugural flight fromBeijing to BirminghamAirport. As the first directflight from Beijing to aUK regional airport, thisis a very significantmoment. This is greatnews for Birmingham, theWest Midlands and theUK, and underscores therole our regional airportshave in generating growthas part of the UK’s longterm economic plan.”

Birmingham welcomes firstdirect flight from China

Lord Popat welcoming Birmingham Airport’s first direct flight from China, with Paul Kehoethe Airport’s CEO and Mr Ren Jun the Vice President Caissa Travel.

Leicester’s Muslim com-munity have raised£100,000 for the relief ofvictims in the Gaza andSyria conflicts.The money, collected

in Leicester to mark theend of Ramadan, will gotowards work carried outfor the global charityHuman Appeal.Leicester Ramadan

Festival, which raisedthe money, ran fromThursday to Sunday atThe Spinney, in SpinneyHills. Thousands of peo-ple attended.Festival director

Abdul Osman said:"Various charities made atremendous effort inraising more than£100,000 for humanitari-an efforts. A special auc-tion was held by HumanAppeal and that oneevent raised £52,000."Leicester is the only

city that holds aRamadan festival of this

kind. It marks theuniqueness of Leicester'sdiversity and cultures."On Monday, Muslims

celebrated Eid-al-Fitr fol-lowing the month-longfast. Traditionally, Eidconsists of prayer in themorning, and a familymeal in the evening.After dinner, Muslims goto cemeteries to pay theirrespects to loved ones

who have died.Hundreds of people

gathered in Saffron Hillcemetery. Among themwas ShaheerezChoudary, 35 who said:"After we sat down for ameal with the family, wewent to the cemetery topay our respects to fami-ly who are not with usany more. It's aboutunity."

Leicester’s Muslim community celebrateEid and remember loved ones

Muslims saying prayers for loved ones at Saffron Hillcemetery

Thieves raided pensioner's homeas she lay in hospital with cancer

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 5

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 20146 UK

The Indian JewishAssociation hosted areception at Bank Leumi(UK) last week andexplore the rich cultureand similarities betweenthe two nations – Indiaand Israel. The chiefguests of the eventincluded the Indian HighCommissioner to the UKMr. Ranjan Mathai andMr Eitan Na’eh, IsraeliDeputy Ambassador,who stood in at the lastmoment for theAmbassador, HE MrDaniel Taub, who wasaccompanying the newlyappointed British ForeignSecretary, Mr PhilipHammond on a short tripto Israel.The Bank’s Chief

Corporate FinanceOfficer, Jonathan Watson,and fellow senior execu-tives welcomed over 80guests to their Londonoffices off Oxford Street.Having served as

India’s ambassador toIsrael at an earlier stagein his career, Mr Mathaispoke of his experiencesthere, including playingcricket against the Israelnational team, of whichone third were formerIndian Test cricketerswho had migrated toIsrael. He went on to dis-cuss the growing strate-gic and commercial linksbetween the two coun-tries, a theme that wastaken up by Mr Na’eh,who spoke about newadvanced Israel bio tech-nology engineeringschemes in India.Mr. Mathai also spoke

about his wonderfulexperience asAmbassador to Israel forthree and a half years andspoke of various similari-ties between the twonations. Israel is current-ly in the middle of a crisiswith Gaza and that’simpacting its economyand politics.Mr Eitan Na’eh,

Israeli DeputyAmbassador talked aboutthe crisis his country wasfacing currently and alsosaid that Israel is ready to

accept ceasefire proposedby Egypt but was rejectedby Hamas. The IJA’s Co-

Chairman, Mr John Levy,explained the 20 year his-tory of the associationwhich seeks to bringleading members of theIndian and Jewish com-munities in Britaintogether to share experi-ences, and to worktogether on political andsocial issues which con-front both migrant faithcommunities. Members of the asso-

ciation include some ofBritain’s leading entre-preneurs, bankers,lawyers, medical scien-tists and journalists aswell as leaders of TheHindu Forum, IndianJournalists Association,National SikhC o n s u l t a t i v eAssociation, NationalCongress of GujaratiO r g a n i s a t i o n s ,Confederation of IndianIndustry, National AsianBusiness Association andthe Board of Deputies ofBritish Jews.The Indian Jewish

Association is an organi-sation that aims to drawtogether the most cre-ative personalities in twoimmigrant communities,to share thoughts andideas on contrasting cul-tural and historic experi-ences, and jointly forgenew prescriptions forhelping these communi-ties maintain theirvibrancy, whilst con-tributing positively tomainstream life in theUK.Since 1980 members

of the Indian and Jewishcommunities in Britainhave developed closerelations and an interestin each other’s culturalheritage. Subsequentlythe two communitiesrealised that both canbenefit from sharing theirexperiences as importantminorities permanentlysettled in this country.By 1995 it was felt

that the links betweenthe Indians and Jews

should be put on a morepermanent basis. On 28April 1996, at a meetingat the Hillel HouseJewish Centre, attendedby over fifty representa-tives from both commu-nities, the Indian JewishAssociation UK wasestablished, and sincethen we have held a vari-ety of events involvingdistinguished andrenowned speakers.The event was held at

the classy offices of BankLeumi in the posh BondStreet area. Bank Leumi(UK) is a first-class bou-tique bank offering awide range of corporateand private banking serv-ices to UK-based andinternational clients.Founded over 110 yearsago in London, the Bankoperates through its headoffice in London, itsnorthern office in Leedsand in Jersey via its sub-sidiaries Bank Leumi(Jersey) Limited andLeumi Overseas TrustCorporation. There isalso an award-winningoffice in Brighton - asset-based lender. With a reputation for

true relationship bank-ing, Bank Leumi (UK)activities include com-mercial finance, tradefinance, commodityfinance, financing Israelirelated business, mediafinance, property andhotel finance, and assetbased lending (via LeumiABL). The Bank alsospecialises in UK andinternational privatebanking and wealth man-agement, offering anextensive range ofdeposit accounts, invest-ment services, structuredproducts, and foreignexchange and hedgingfacilities. It is a sub-sidiary of the BankLeumi le-Israel Group. The Group has a sig-

nificant share of thedomestic Israeli bankingmarket as well as anestablished overseas net-work of 60 offices in 17countries around theworld.

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

IJA hosts summer reception withIndian High Commissioner and

Israeli Deputy Ambassador

Left to right: Aubrey Rose, IJA Founding Co-Chairman; Mike Whine MBE, IJA FoundingTrustee; Mr Eitan Na’eh, Israeli Deputy Ambassador; Peter Chadha, IJA Executive

member; HE Mr Ranjan Mathai, Indian High Commissioner; John Levy, IJA Co-Chairman; Ajay Aggarwal, IJA Executive member

Spriha Srivastava

Lord Loomba highlightedthe important work of theBBC World Service andthe British Council inIndia, and asked theGovernment whetherthere had been “anyfocused research on howfar the BBC World Serviceis responsible for educat-ing listeners about Britishculture and British val-ues”.He spoke primarily on

efforts in education andcultural exchange. LordLoomba was contributingto a debate introduced byLord Alton of Liverpool,seeking the Government’sassurances of support forboth the BBC WorldService and the BritishCouncil in promotingBritish values and inter-ests abroad.He referred to the

BBC’s “Learning English”programme which pro-vides free languageresources to those learn-ing English in India, whilealso stressing the impor-tance of the BBC WorldService coverage of Britishcurrent affairs, in bothEnglish and Hindi. Hestressed to the House thatthe awareness this creates

“contributes to the cultur-al interaction betweenIndia and Britain.”Lord Loomba, pic-

tured, also paid tribute tothe efforts of the BritishCouncil in this area, devel-oping connectionsbetween universities andindustries in India and theUnited Kingdom throughthe UK-India Educationand Research Initiative.He described this work,and that of the BBC WorldService, as “a vital tool inpromoting Britain to therest of the world and...invaluable in shaping theway in which Britain isviewed.”Lord Loomba also cel-

ebrated the importance ofBBC World Service news

and documentary pro-grammes in spreadingBritish values and influ-ence, particularly in bene-fitting efforts in interna-tional development. Thisis an area in which LordLoomba has great experi-ence, as founder ofLoomba Foundation, aUN accredited NGO,which has been workingto support widows andtheir children in Indiasince 1997. The LoombaFoundation has educatedmore than 9,000 widows’children and has launcheda project to empower10,000 widows throughvocational training andemployment.In her concluding

remarks, Baroness Warsi,the Senior Minister ofState for Foreign andCommonwealth Affairs,answered that there isongoing surveying by theBBC of their specific lan-guage programming. Shealso joined Lord Loombaand other members of theHouse in describing theBBC World Service andthe British Council as“important partners andassets in the UK’sapproach internationally.”

Lord Loomba CBE pays tribute to BBCWorld Service and British Council in India

The International CricketCouncil has announcedthat the England BatsmanMoeen Ali has beenbanned from wearingwristbands with slogans‘Save gaza’ and ‘FreePalestine.’B r i t i s h - Pa k i s t a n i

Moeen has been helpingraise funds for charitiesworking with those affect-ed by the three-week con-flict with Israel.Though Moeen was

backed by the England

and Wales Cricket Boardbut was told by match ref-eree David Boon toremove the wristband andnot wear them again whileplaying for England.Risking disciplinary

action under the ICCCode of Conduct, whichforbids players wearing,displaying or conveyingmessages through armbands or other items onclothing or equipmentwithout prior approval,wore the wristbands on

Monday’s second day ofthe third test against Indiaat Southampton.

Moeen Ali banned from wearing wristband

Britain may soon makepregnant women drinkingalcohol a criminaloffence. Children born to alco-

holic mothers may also belegally allowed to demandcompensation from his or

her parent for the injuriesinflicted of deformitiesdue to alcohol consump-tion. Civil organisation

Birthrights and theBritish PregnancyAdvisory Service (BPAS)

have initiated a courtcase against such a legis-lation, which one believescould seriously under-mine women’s autonomywhile pregnant and theirfreedom to make deci-sions for themselves.

Britain may make drinking alcohol acriminal offence

A report has revealed thatalmost 400,000 children inEngland and Wales nowdivide their time betweentwo homes because theirparents have separated ordivorced, though thisnumber is much less inareas with large concen-tration of Asian settle-ment.Analysis of findings of

the 2011 census showsthat 386,000 childrenunder 16 have two homeaddresses, not countingthose at boarding schoolor whose parents have asecond home in the coun-try.However, Tower

Hamlets in east London,

with a large number ofethnic minorities, has thelowest concentration ofchildren who alternatebetween two households,less than 1% of all depend-ent children in the bor-ough.The picture was simi-

lar in other parts of thecapital as well asBirmingham andManchester, which alsohas a large Asian popula-tion. The report probably

points at the ethnic mix inthose boroughs- especiallythe conservative Asianvalues acting as a gluebetween couples or fami-lies.

By contrast, almost 6%of children growing up inRibble Valley, one of thewealthiest parts ofLancashire, have two fam-ily homes – the highestproportion in the country. The ONS cited that

Tower Hamlets, which isthe only local authority inthe UK in which morepeople list themselves asMuslim than Christian.“This may relate to the

higher proportions of thepopulation reportingAsian ethnicity in theseareas, reflecting differentcultural attitudes towardsmarriage, divorce andcohabitation,” it noted ina commentary.

Are Asian values helping couples to stay together?

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 7

Leading economistMeghnad Desai has estab-lished a charity trust inorder to raise about onemillion pounds for thestatue of MahatmaGandhi to be installed atParliament Square nextyear.The Gandhi Statue

Memorial Trust has beenregistered with the UK’sCharity Commission andwill launch next week forpeople to begin contribut-ing funds. At an event organised

by the Asian BusinessAssociation of the LondonChamber of Commerceand Industry recently,Desai reportedly said, “Wewant as many people tocontribute whatever little

they can from any wherein the world. This is a peo-ple’s statue. There havebeen lots of offers to fundthe statue but I don’t wantit to be done exclusively

by any billionaire. We arenot here to play with this.It should be everybody’sproperty.”Ex-foreign secretary

William Hague andChancellor GeorgeOsborne, on their visit toIndia, announced the newGandhi statue forParliament Square along-side those of Britain’s war-time Prime MinisterWinston Churchill andanti-apartheid leaderNelson Mandela. Desai reportedly said

that the plans are to unveilthe new statue of theFather of the Nation onMartyrs’ Day - January 30,2015 and hopes that it willbe done by PM NarendraModi.

Leading Economist establishesMahatma Gandhi Statue Trust

Meghnad Desai

Indian native SwathiPalisetty, who attendedthe University ofBedfordshire in Luton,has won £3,500 poundscompensation for herillegal detention atHeathrow Airport,reports say.Ms Palisetty, a failed

ex-student of ComputerStudies, was held for 17hours by suspicious UKBorder Agency (UKBA)officials at Heathrowupon her return from atrip to India inDecember 2011. Shewas later flown toHyderabad in India afterthe detention ordeal.A British high court

heard that the agencyhad reportedly wronglyconcluded Palisetty wasnot registered at her uni-versity college, and thatshe was entering thecountry to work.Palisetty sued the

Home Office over herdetention, saying shehad been blocked fromBritain on the mistakenbasis of working as ananny.The judge issued the

verdict in her favour andtold the British HomeOffice to pay £3,500 indamages. The Home

Office was also orderedto pay £568 for the costof her flight back toHyderabad.Palisetty’s lawyer

said that the BorderAgency’s assumptionthat she had been work-ing was reportedly‘unjustified’ and that itsofficers did not checkthe visa database ormake direct inquirieswith the university.Throughout the

court hearings, theBorder Agency main-tained that Swathi wasnot able to provideagency officers withdetails about her coursemodules. The student also

could not speak Englishwell when she tried toreturn to Britain fromIndia, the report stat-

ed. Her visa expired atthe end of July 2012. The University of

Bedfordshire removedher from its register aftershe was allowed back inBritain late 2012. TheUniversity informed theHome Office that theywere not confidentabout Palisetty’s abilityto continue the courseand therefore did notreadmit her. Palisetty was flown

back to Britain ‘at publicexpense’ in March 2012,so that she could takeher exams. She alsoclaimed that her deten-tion had contributed toher failure to get herdegree but the highcourt rejected herattempt to recover thecourse fees, the reportsaid.

Indian student gets £3,500compensation for illegaldetainment at Heathrow

A major investigation wasordered on Monday 25July, after it was revealedthat social services haddecided to stop monitor-ing three-year-old MikaeelKular a month before theboy was beaten to deathby his mother.Horrific details of the

injuries sustained by thetoddler were heard in thecourt after 34-year-oldRosdeep Adekoya, 34,admitted to killing her sonand beating him at thestart of this year. Adekoya, who is a

mother of five, sparked offa major public searchwhen she reported her sonmissing in January. Shewas charged with murder-ing Mikaeel but admitted areduced charge of culpablehomicide.She admitted to

repeatedly punching herchild on the head and

body after he was sick fol-lowing a trip to a restau-rant. She inflicted life-threatening injuries to herson over the next 24 hoursand refused to seek med-ical help. Mikaeel died onTuesday 14 January fol-lowing the injuries.The court heard that

Adekoya, from Fife, had anumber of mental healthproblems and was closelymonitored by social serv-ices as she struggled withbeing a single mother of

five children all under theage of ten. Police examined her

phone and discovered anumber of internet search-es, which reportedlyincluded “I find it hard tolove my son”, “I love allmy children except one”and “I always feel angrywith my son”.The court heard that

just over a month beforeMikaeel was so badly beat-en by his mother that hisbowel ruptured, FifeSocial Services hadstopped monitoringAdekoya and her children.She had moved her familyto Edinburgh severalmonths earlier.Fife council and the

city of Edinburgh councilannounced that they arelaunching a case reviewfollowing Adekoya’sadmission. She will besentenced next month.

Mother of ‘missing’ Mikaeel admits tobeating him to death

A teenager, who threat-ened a shopkeeper andher seven-year-old daugh-ter with a sawn-off shot-gun during a terrifyingarmed robbery, has avoid-ed jail because he is“young an impression-able.”

Jack Phillips, 18,burst into the store with amask on, waving the 2ft-long loaded weapon atRanvir Bassi, 35, ataround 8.20pm onNovember 4 last year,demanding money whileher daughter hid at herfeet. CCTV footage showed

the brave mum fighting

off the raider with justher hands before chasinghim out.However, despite

admitting the attemptedrobbery, a judge gavePhillips, now 18, twoyears’ detention, sus-pended for two years.Ranvir has contested

the “ridiculous” decision.She said, “He terrified myfamily – my daughter stillhas nightmares. I don’tfeel like justice has beenserved.”He was ordered to

carry out 240 hours’ com-munity work and given acurfew.

Shotgun robber who threatenedbrave shopkeeper spared jail

Brave shopkeeper Ranvir Bassi and robber Jack Phillips

A well-respected andinspirational elderly cou-ple were found dead intheir swimming pool bytheir son, after they bothsuffered fatal heartattacks, on Tuesday 15July.

Nayyar Siddique, 77,collapsed during her regu-lar exercise session in thepool of their garden attheir £625,000 four-bed-room detached house inThorpe Bay, Essex. Herhusband Aqeel, 79, aretired surgeon, attemptedto save her - but then alsosuffered a fatal heartattack.Their son Haroon

Siddique, 49, found themboth later that day andcalled the police at around7.45pm.Mr Siddique reported-

ly said, ‘My father dedicat-ed his life to helping peo-ple and he died trying tohelp my mother. We arevery proud of everythingthey achieved and that

gives us some solace. Theywere amazing people andwere amazing examples tofollow.’The couple, who were

both born in India, mar-ried in 1960 and firstmoved to England in 1962so Mr Siddique could trainas a surgeon. He qualifiedin 1965 and went on toLesotho, where he becamethe country’s only surgeonin 1969. He was only sup-posed to be there on ayear’s placement, but thecouple’s passion to help

improve the lives of thecountry’s 1million citizenssaw them stay.As a couple they devel-

oped a strong friendshipwith the royal family ofLesotho - KingMoshoeshoe II and hissons - the current kingKing Letsie and PrinceSeeiso.Mr Siddique also

developed many new med-ical services to help resi-dents especially in themore remote areas of thecountry.

Couple found dead by son in poolafter both suffer heart attacks

Whistleblowers havelaunched an emergencyinvestigation followingrecent claims that contam-inated chicken is beingsupplied to high streetstores and restaurants likeTesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s,Aldi, Marks & Spencerand Nando’s.The Daily Mail news-

paper reported that thepublic is being put at riskbecause of suspect prac-tices at two of the largestUK poultry processors,the 2 Sisters Food Groupand Faccenda. 2 SistersGroup is owned by billion-aire British Indian tycoon

Ranjit Singh, popularlyknown as the “chickenking”.He has an estimated

personal fortune of £840million shared with hiswife Baljinder Boparanand the couple are rankedthe fifth richest BritishIndians in the UK. An undercover

reporter for the Guardianfound evidence that chick-ens that fell on to the fac-tory floor at two factorieswere put back into thefood chain and that feath-ers, guts and offal were leftto pile up for hours whileproduction continued at a

factory in Wales.As well as allegations

of poor hygiene at its fac-tories, the company is alsofacing claims about poorworking conditions andlow wages.Sisters Food operates

factories around the UKand employs a staggering24,000 people.However, the allega-

tions, which first appearedon The Guardian website,are denied by the compa-nies, while the supermar-kets all insist that theirown audit systems ensurethat the meat reaching thehigh street is safe.

Asian meat company facesinvestigations over contamination

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 20148 UK

On Wednesday 23 July, anAll Party ParliamentaryGroup (APPG) on IndianTraditional Sciences wasformally established byLord Patel, Lord Rana,Baroness Uddin, LordHussain, Lord Stone,Lord Ahmed andVirendra Sharma MP forEaling Southall in theHouse of Lords.

Amarjeet S Bhamra, along time champion ofComplementary andAlternative Medicines anda Lecturer on AyurvedicSciences called represen-tatives of all natural heal-ing and medicinal tradi-tions, along with LordPatel promoted and facili-tated informed discus-sions on issues concern-ing all Indian TraditionalSciences (Ayurveda,Ghandharav, Jyotish,Siddha, Unani, Vastu,Yoga and etc.) in Britainwithin the Parliament byproviding a forum forcross partyParliamentarians, seniorpolicy makers, academics,leading community fig-ures, and other interestedparties.The meeting was also

addressed by AshishSharma - First Secretary(Visa) Indian HighCommission London,Richard JohnsonMaharishi Foundation,Svamini HamsanandaGiri - Hindu ForumEurope (Italy), Dr Venkat

Joshi - College ofAyurveda UK, DrVijayendra Murti -AyuWave, Haribhai Halai– Hindu Forum GB, DrPrathima Nagesh -Ayurvedic MedicalAssociation, GordonBrennan - BritishAssociation of VedicAstrologers, SatyaMinhas - Hindu CouncilUK, David Balen - BalensInsurance, DesireeShelley - NationalInstitute of MedicalHerbalists, Satish Sharma- National Council ofHindu Temples, Dr RobVerkerk - ANHInternational, Ms AnosiyaAparau (Int’l HumanRights Lawyer), PhilipAbraham - Kerala Link,Ravi Bhanot Ayurveda

Institute of Europe, KirithAhluwalia City SikhNetwork, and DrGeoffrey Clements in thecompany of nearly onehundred participants.Mr Virendra Sharma

MP said, “It’s an honourto be here at the launch ofthe APPG – TraditionalSciences. I am glad thathe asked me to join thisdiscussion. As an Indianbrought up in an environ-ment where we know thevalue of these medicines,we have had experienceabout using these medi-cines ... we have seen thatit has worked, on manymany people for manyyears. We feel proud thatour ancestors have giventhat medicine to theworld and we are still

using it. Therefore, Ididn’t want to miss theopportunity to show mysupport.”After the event,

Amarjeet Bhamra said“Representatives from allfaculties of IndianSciences agree that we doneed the support of asmany MP’s and Membersof the House of Lords tohelp in improving thehealth of the nationthrough more preventa-tive measures and com-plementary treatments.”The meeting was sup-

ported by AyurvedicMedical Association,College of Ayurveda UK,Quality Foods Southall,Surjeet Herbals Southall,Cool Herbals, Sira Cashand Carry Southall.

Launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group(APPG) on Indian Traditional Sciences

(L to R) Svamini Hamsananda Giri (Hindu Forum Europe), Lord Stone, Lord Patel,Baroness Uddin, Lord Hussain, Amarjeet-Singh Bhamra, Dr Godagama (Ayurvedic Medical

Association UK)

This week, 6,500 world-class athletes from 71nations gathered inGlasgow for the start of the20th CommonwealthGames. Over the next weekand a half, hundreds of mil-lions of spectators willwatch these athletes displaytheir skill, strength andendurance in seventeen dif-ferent disciplines.As I watched the open-

ing ceremony, I was proudof the attention the Gamesare drawing to Glasgow, thethird largest city in theUnited Kingdom and thebiggest in Scotland. It wasalso a chance to reflect onthe bonds which hold ustogether – in the UnitedKingdom of course, butalso within theCommonwealth. What is itthat unites us? And howcan we make these linkseven stronger?The Commonwealth is

an astonishing group ofnations. It is home to athird of the world’s popula-tion, over half of whom areunder the age of 30. It isdiverse. It includes some ofthe world’s largest, small-est, richest and poorestcountries, and stretchesacross every continent.Some 31 of its members aresmall states, many of themisland nations. Its terrainincludes high mountains,Arctic islands, shifting sanddunes, coral reefs, tropicalrainforest and green rollinghills.As a voluntary associa-

tion, it is a constantreminder that what bringsnations together in the 21stcentury is common inter-ests and common consent.The fact that we choose

to work together in thisway, and that others seek tojoin us, is because theCommonwealth has been aforce for good for over 60years: it helps us to learnfrom each other, enablesdevelopment, promotesdemocracy and the rule oflaw, and helps to create jobsand growth. We haveshared values, and we usethose values to create peaceand prosperity. This spirit ofco-operation is what makesthe Commonwealth tick.But we cannot be com-

placent. Our organisationneeds to remain relevant.The rapid technologicalboom of the past fewdecades has brought with itmany opportunities, andmade the world we live inmuch more interconnected.It’s important in these cir-cumstances that we spreadthese benefits between allof our members. Workingto increase prosperity is avital function of theCommonwealth. Where wecan help one another todevelop the skills to thrivein a modern commercialenvironment or make moreeffective use of new meansof communication, we

must.The United Kingdom is

a passionate supporter offree trade. We will do ourutmost to expand trade andinvestment across theCommonwealth – forinstance, by using our lever-age in other bodies, includ-ing the EU and the WorldTrade Organisation, toopen up more markets toCommonwealth countrieswho, together, account for afifth of the world’s econo-my.But we will also push to

make the Commonwealthrelevant in other areas, pro-moting the values and aspi-rations that unite us, whichare enshrined in theCommonwealth Chartersigned last year by HerMajesty The Queen. Thesevalues – democracy, humanrights and the rule of law –are fundamental to whatthe Commonwealth standsfor. And the UK will contin-ue making the case forthese values to be upheld.In particular, we will con-tinue to pressCommonwealth countriesto recognise that the LGBTcommunity deserves thesame protection as all oth-ers.Next year, the

Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment meeting inMalta gives us an opportu-nity to work out a plan ofaction for how to put thesevalues into practice.Importantly, this summitcomes at a time when westart working towards anew set of internationaldevelopment goals. Ibelieve that theCommonwealth can makea significant contributionhere: development is a firstorder priority.This is hard, serious

work, and rightly so. But itis necessary to keep theCommonwealth in goodshape for the years ahead.This week, I hope to see

at least a few of the events.I wish the organisers andthe teams every success. Tome, these Games epitomisethe great strengths of theCommonwealth - how withenergy and enthusiasm, wecan work together with acommon purpose andachieve world-class results.And I will return from

Glasgow to the Foreign andCommonwealth Officedetermined to step up ourwork, alongside otherCommonwealth nations, toincrease the security andwell-being of the 2.2 billionpeople that we collectivelyrepresent.

The Glasgow Games:Showcasing the

Commonwealth’s strengthsForeign Office Ministerfor the Commonwealth,

Hugo Swire

Two brothers fromHarrow, London, AdityaRajan (yr 9) and AryanRajan (yr 3) organised acharity event on 19th July2014 at The John LyonSchool, Harrow on theHill, to raise funds forChinmaya Jagriti Patiala, abranch of ChinmayaMission Worldwide. Chinmaya Jagriti is

temple under constructionin India for teaching theprinciples of Vedanta for

personnel spiritual devel-opment throughChinmaya Misssion. Chinmaya Mission is a

highly intellectualSpiritual organisation hav-ing more than 300 centresall over the world. TheMission is serving thehumanity all over theworld through variousSpiritual, Educational,Medical and Social activi-ties. The boys performedbrilliantly on drums along

with other artists includ-ing Dr Limci Gupta(Neha Gupta, ConsultantHistopathologist), KasemSehouja and his band(Rock Band Player), MrsBinu Sood (professionalsinger), Nibedita fromChinmaya Mission U.K(Indian classical dancer),Dr SukhwinderRandhawa (a surgeon)and Mr Manoj Puri (fromPhytaOptikz). They raised£5,150 from the concert.

Charity fundraiser organised at John Lyons School,Harrow on the Hill

Aditya and Aryan Rajan

Virendra Sharma, MP forEaling Southall, and TheHepatitis C Trust hostedan event on Monday 28thJuly 2014, outsideSouthall Town Hall forWorld Hepatitis Day. Theaim of this event was toraise awareness ofHepatitis C and theHepatitis C Trust carriedout free testing onsite.A nurse was also

available onsite for anypositive testing in order toconnect people with alocal care pathway.Virendra Sharma MP

and the Hepatitis C Trusthave been working closelyto raise awareness of thedisease, specificallyamongst Black, Asian andEthnic minority groups.HCV Action’s recent

report on Health andWellbeing Boards &

Hepatitis C showed thatEaling falls within the top10 worst performing areasof England for HepatitisC.Despite a high local

prevalence rate, HCVAction found low prioriti-sation of the virus by

Ealing Health andWellbeing Board in itsJSNA. According toPublic Health Englanddata, Ealing has 2,183cases of Hepatitis C.Virendra said:

‘Hepatitis C is anextremely important

health issuethat oftengoes unde-tected and ofwhich ther i s k si n c r e a s ewith time. Ihave beeni n v o l v e dwith groupsthat workclosely onr a i s i n gawareness,testing andoffering sup-port topatients who

have been affected by thisdisease. I hope that host-ing this event in my con-stituency will contributeto raising awareness inthe local area and willcontinue to support thiscause.’

Virendra Sharma MP raising awareness of Hepatitis C

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 9

Kailash Budhwar was thefirst Indian head of theBBC Hindi Service, aposition previously alsoheld by Sir Mark Tully.Kailash worked at theBBC’s World Service for22 years. Kailash had an illustri-

ous career away from theBBC, too. He was study-ing for an MA in Historyat Allahabad Universitywhere he also held the cel-ebrated post of theGeneral Secretary of theDramatic Associationwhen Prithviraj Kapoor,the founder of PrithviTheatres, visited.Kailash’s dramaticprowess led to Kapooroffering him a staffwriter/performer positionat Prithvi Theatres whenMr Budhwar later movedto Mumbai, then Bombay.Kailash travelled with

the troupe all over India.“Prithvi Theatres was anacademy at that timebecause there was noNational School ofDrama, no Film Institute,”he told me in the conser-vatory of his home inHarrow. “It gave you anentry into stage and film.

When I joined, 13 produc-ers had been trained there,big names like RamGangooly, Raj Kapoor,Shammi Kapoor. ShashiKapoor was a newcomer, aschool student, but heused to come and performon the stage with me,” hecommented.After Bombay, Kailash

became Senior House

Master and Head ofDepartment at boys’ pub-lic schools in Ranchi andKarnal, though duringthat period he sat twice forAll India Radio nationalentrance competitions andwas awarded the top entrylevel grade, known as the“C” category, each time.This was for newsreaders,something Kailash wanted

to do. He joined All IndiaRadio Delhi twice, butthough jobs were offered,the promised newsreaderposts never materialisedbecause of “the old storyof getting jobs in India,”Kailash explains, musingabout how and why hewas not offered the jobwhich he was twice select-ed for by the central panel. But the BBC World

Service, then broadcastingin 42 languages (now 27),came calling andKailash started a longand difficult set ofentry tests which tooka year and a half. “Firstof all we had hometests, where we had toprepare lots of essaysand questions,” Kailashnarrated. “And aftercompleting those hometests, we were invitedfor formal tests; forauditions, for voicetests, and finally, for anappearance before a boardof selection, which hadflown from London toDelhi. You were inter-viewed, and of coursethere were hundreds ofapplicants. It was toughcompetition. After I wasselected it took me sixmonths to decide to comehere as I did not want toleave the country. Once,when I did not proceedwith my response for awhile, the senior person-nel officer wrote to measking if I was seriousabout joining the BBC.But having reached here, I

have never regretted it.” Finally, he succeeded

Mark Tully, Evan Charlton(former chief editor of theStatesman) and TowynMason to become theHead of Hindi- and Tamil.His audience reach at thattime was estimated ataround 35m regular listen-ers, larger than the totalaudience of all the chan-nels in the UK put togeth-er. Kailash travelled toTamil Nadu as well to

meet listeners, editors andleaders, as he did in theHindi speaking states. While at his desk or at

home, any time of the dayor night, he was constant-ly, he told me, “consultedand asked to give an opin-ion about the Indian Sub-continent, which I do evennow.” Kailash’s BBC high-

lights are many, but he hasthree top ones. “I was lucky to travel

to India and Nepal withPrince Charles when hewas on a three week tour.Even after I had retired Iwas asked to accompany

John Major when he wasthe chief guest on 26thJanuary. I met eminentleaders, writers, musi-cians, politicians...likebefore Rajiv Gandhibecame Prime Minister, Iwas able to interview himand have a long chat.The biggest challenge

was keeping the faith ofthe listeners; making surethat the news was nevertwisted. The news depart-ment has lots of intake[stories] lots of PR com-panies, lots of people whowant to set the news intheir own way. So news isa very tricky area. Peoplecan make the news soundtotally different to whathappens. But I know thereality cannot be hiddenfrom people. So mybiggest challenge was tofind out the facts, not letthem be twisted by anyside, any wing, or anypressure. My biggest chal-lenge was, without fear orfavour, to find out thetruth for listeners and tobroadcast the truth.”And a final reveal that

unforgettably bindsKailash Budhwar and me.The BBC bought anepisode of Thunderbirdsto dub into Hindi andasked me to be the voice ofLady Penelope. And guesswho they asked to be LadyPenelope’s trusted driverand confidant, Parker?Kailash Budhwar, whoalso transformed thewhole episode fromEnglish into Hindi!

Leading LightsRani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

“My Love for Radio and the Stage;”First Indian BBC Hindi Head

“My biggest challengewas, without fear or

favour, to find out thetruth for listeners and

to broadcast thetruth.”

Kailash Budhwar.

Kailash Budhwar

Prem Rawat presented his Message of Peace Wembley Arena on June 29th 2014

"The cloudy days do not take away the importance ofthe sun. The sun does, and always will have, its impor-tance. It is the giver of light.

I, too, need that sun in my life — the remover ofdarkness. To bring light into my life every single day sothat I can see, so that I can understand, this life that Ihave."

- Prem Rawat, Wembley London. June 2014.International Ambassador of Peace Prem Rawat attendedan event in Wembley where over five thousand peopleattended. This was the penultimate event in theEuropean tour. He had already addressed audiences ofseveral thousand people in Lisbon, Madrid, Athens, LasPalmas and Barcelona as part of his European tour. AfterLondon, events have been scheduled for Dublin andCanada and USA.a

Whilst in London he attended two events in Westminster. The first was at theHouses of Parliament where Prem Rawat presented the Pledge to Peace to the UKParliament. The second event was The Water and Food Award (WAF), at WestminsterHall. WAF has presented Food and Humanitarian award to organizations that have ini-tiated the most innovative, sustainable and replicable projects globally to provide foodand water to those people most in need. Prem Rawat was invited as the keynote speakerat this special occasion. He was also the Patron of the 2014 award along with HRHPrincess Basma Bint Ali of Jordan.

Earlier this year, in India Prem Rawat attended nine events, one was particularlygroundbreaking, a Youth PeaceFestival held in New Delhi. TheTimes of India Foundation andThe Prem Rawat Foundation co-sponsored this event to promotea culture of peace and wellbeingfor young people in the city. PremRawat was invited as the keynotespeaker. He addressed a live audi-ence of over 185,000 people, witha further estimated reach of 6.5million through TV, radio, onlinepublications and newspapers.

For further information :-

SONY SAB TV: SKY 816 – Watch: “Words of Peace” in Hindi, every SUNDAY at 08.00am.In English: Tuesday 8.00pm on SKY 212 and FREESAT 401, repeated Saturday 5:30pm

UK Info Line: 08450 76 77 78 Hindi: 0845 387 0009; www.wopg.org www.tprf.org

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201410 YOUR VOICEIndia’s caste system

Mr Jhalla, thank you for supporting meon the negative role of single faithschools. However, I need to say some-thing about the caste system.

I am sure that you're absolutely rightin the historical aspect of caste but I ammuch more concerned with the presentday practice which now has been goingon for a very long time. The learnedexplanations of what was or was notintended do not help us today because wesee the terrible effect of caste discrimina-tion every day.

Population increase in India is due toignorance and insufficient effort by thegovernment to provide information andcontraceptives.

But I want to point out that in Africathe Catholics have very strong influenceand the Bishop of Uganda has told hispriests to tell everyone what a sin it is topractise contraception. Between 8 and 9million children die every year beforethey reach the age of 5. Philippines hasthe same problem because it is a Catholiccountry.

I was surprised that you mentionedChina. Through one child policy Chinahas stopped 4 million potential births.They would certainly not have made theprogress they have if they had not con-trolled their population.

Baroness Shreela FlatherBy email

Flying the silver bugMalaysian Airline plane, flight MH17,which was a scheduled internationalflight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur,was recently shot down killing all 298passengers who were on board, whiletheir flight MH370 (which was en routefrom Kuala Lumpur to Beijing) is stillmissing with no trace of any survivors.

It is distrubing to know that air travelnowadays is not as safe as it used to be.We non-residential Gujaratis (NRGs) andNRIs travel from London to Bombay orLondon to Dar-es-Salaam to see ourfriends and relatives. These incidents willnow put us off from frequenting our for-mer places of abode. We also make exten-sive use of air trvel to go on holidays.

I remember the good old days whenwe used to travel from Dar-es-Salaam toBombay by ship like SS Amra, SSKaranja and The State of Bombay toname but a few. We would take coconutswith us as offerings to appease the seaGods when crossing the rough waters atmid sea. It used to take us eight to twelvedays to reach the destination but weenjoyed the long journeys. There werehardly any incidents of these ships goingunder!

Should we now revert to that practiceand offer coconuts to the air-Gods? Ihave flown by Malaysian Airlines to andfrom Kaula Lumpur and have found it tobe the most comfortable with the cabincrew being very helpful indeed!

Dinesh ShethNewbury Park, Ilford

Hinduism and SanatanDharma

Shri Kapil Dudakia, your Khichadi tastedvery nice when I read your article onSwami's Galore of the 12th July. My wifeand I always like to read AV and GSevery week for the last few years servingus with varied and comprehensive India,UK and International news. Some timeswe do like to write about our Voice,Views and Appreciation!

I am very upset when I read and hearon BBC and everywhere about onlyIslam and Christianity despite Hinduismand Sanatan Dharma being the mostancient with its invaluable preaching andteaching! Hence, I minutely studiedBhagwat Gita quite a few times, which isits basis, and put in my head, heart andsoul to write an article on 'Light onHinduism and Bhagwat Gita' quotingGita Chapters and Shlokas' Nos. andspread its philosophy and intrinsichuman values all over the world!

As such I was very pleased to read inyour Kapil's Khichadi that BBHS hasbeen established under the auspices ofNCHTUK and some well known Swamis,Gurus, Conservative MPs and othercelebrities are busy working forHinduism and Sanatan Dharma. GodBless them with Success!

Upendra KapadiaBy Email

Paans - a cultural heritageI read the recent comments about the banon mangoes and paan. It is interesting tonote the concerns that paan eating is notonly a traditional custom but consideredas cultural heritage.

The concerns about salmonella inpaan is not new as concerns were raisedby the Food Standards Agency in 2011.It is not just salmonella in paan that is anissue, but also the fact that betel nut[sopari] is also a known carcinogen, andtobacco is not only a carcinogen but alsoaddictive.

The fact is that the combination of allsalmonella, betel nut as a carcinogen andtobacco as a carcinogen, make paan alethal health hazard. Furthermore, thehabit of spitting paan on streets is createshealth and safety issues, and is unsightly.A number of local authorities have nowtaken the step of banning spitting on thestreets for precisely this same reason.

The Indian community is wiseenough not to follow cultural traditionsblindly but is able to adapt and change toimprove the health of its community.Many Indian states have also nowbanned paan and ghutka because of thehigh rate of oral cancer in India. Theattached article maybe helplful.

What is so surprising is that theIndian community in UK has not yetbeen proactive in highlighting these con-cerns about Paan, and out communityneeds to work collectively to raise aware-ness of these health hazards.

The Asian Voice should proactivelyraise awareness of these issues toimprove the health of our community.

Jayam DalalBy email

Hell-holes of IndiaReader Nagindas Khajuria, in a recentletter to Asian Voice, commented that theIndian government should consider allo-cating more funds for urban enhance-ments such as better footpaths, pedestri-an crossings, bicycle lanes and public toi-lets to "improve the quality of life in everycity".

I agree, especially with the need forbetter toilets which are filthy, foul-smelling hell-holes spattered with stag-nant faeces and urine. Moreover westernvisitors find those squat toilets awkwardto use as they are unfamiliar with theIndian custom of sitting on one's haunch-es. I heard of an English guy who lost hisbalance while attempting to squat over a"hell-hole" and fell backwards, soiling histrousers with other people's carelesslydischarged waste.

Once, while travelling by coachthrough a sweltering Maharashtriannight, our driver made a comfort stop ata remote hotel. My bladder bulging, Iasked the receptionist for the nearest toi-let and hurried there, only to find a west-ern-type sit-downer brimming withunflushed poo. Holding my nose andretching, I ran outside the hotel and indesperation let rip behind a tall bush.

Rudy OtterBy email

Mogul dynasty in IndiaMr Dhiraj Kataria’s data about theMongol invasion of India is shallow andconfined to very narrow time period.

Prior to the Moguls India was invad-ed by Arabs, Greeks, Turks, Afghans,Persians, Changez Khan, Shakas, Huns,Ghori and Gazanavi. These invaderswere from lands bordering India. Theirraids were punitive or for plunderingtreasures from temples and palaces. Theyhad no imperial ambitions, as they hadhome lands to return, where they trans-ported the loot, children, women andslaves.

Moguls were nomads from centraland eastern Asia popularly known asMongolia. They moved to fresher pas-tures when pushed out by strongerenemy. On finding India a secure haven,and as they had no homeland to retreat,decided to strike roots in India. Dataprior to 1526 can be labelled as Mongols’struggle to ward off invaders from border-ing countries and establish a safe domainin India.

Mogul dynasty was irreversibly termi-nated by British rule. Indians struggledfor independence for more than 90 years.But yoke of Mogul soul destroying tyran-ny and British mind bending brainwash-ing is still alive in India’s subconsciousmind which was sustained by incumbentgovernments.

History was made in 2014 electionwhere all Indians united to overthrowdecadent UPA rule.

Ramesh JhallaBy email

Faith SchoolsThe views expressed by Baroness Flatherare very timely. The British media is giv-ing mixed messages. In their view faithschools should continue with the provisoof no segregation of the sexes, compara-tive study of various religions and the

Continued on page 11

Have something to say about thestories featured in Asian Voice?Letters are welcome at: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Word limit: 200 words.

Dear Readers,

Diwali is now threemonths away. The NewYear is knocking at thedoor waiting to bring incolours and light to our liveswith fervour of joy andever lasting happi-ness. Asian Voice andGujarat Samachar asevery year will be publishingthe ‘Diwali Special’Magazine for our fabulous and sup-portive readers like yourself. This yearin the English section, we are doingsomething special for our young read-ers. l If you are between 7-25 years ofage, write an article in English on'how you celebrate your Diwali everyyear' or 'your most memorable Diwaliwith friends and family' or 'how youcelebrate Diwali in your school' in nomore than 700 words, along with asuitable photo.l if you an organisation, which has ayouth wing or support youthactivities, tell us how youryoung members or youthwing celebrates Diwali in500-600 words with 2 pic-tures (in no less than300dpi).Last date of entry is Sunday 20 September 2014.Please email your article to aveditori-al@abplgroup.com with your fullname, age and contact number.

- Asian Voice

appointment of staff on merit.However, the Islamic schools are not

prepared to accept these democraticnorms. In fact all of us are not able toappreciate what Islam stands for. Theirwomen are not allowed to be seen with-out a veil except by very close familymembers like parents or other siblingsmainly women, even adult male cousinsare excluded. You will never be able toforce English traditions on them.

Islam is convinced that all nonMuslims are on the wrong track - thatonly Islam is the true religion! It has been1,500 years since Islam was born and yetthey have not moved one inch from theirold position. Although three semitic reli-gions viz Judaism, Christianity and Islamare very closely related in their originalbeliefs only the first two have moved withthe times and accept Eastern religions insome respects.

Islam is so convinced that soonerrather than later they will prevail over allthe world and there will be only one reli-gion left - Islam. So where is the questionof listening to you? All this talk of inter-faith harmony is a sham!

PC AggarwalBy email

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 11

Continued from page 10

Religious schoolsI fully and wholeheartedly agree withBaroness Flather’s view (AV page 3, July19) on whether there should be a plethoraof religious schools. The examples of reli-gious beliefs she has cited are hundredper cent correct. She has expressed suchan opinion because of her concern for theconsequence of teaching religious beliefsto young minds. Young boys and girls oftoday are the future leaders of to-morrow.If they are indoctrinated with rigid beliefsand if such beliefs are taken as God given,the consequence could be dangerous.

What has been happening in someparts of the world today is a direct exam-ple of what religious beliefs can do to thehumanity. The most important tool ofeducation is to enable them to discrimi-nate between good from the evil, rightfrom the wrong and fact from the fiction.Rigid religious beliefs could act as naturalimpediments to advancement of knowl-edge and civilization. It is something themankind must endeavour to refrain fromat all costs.

Dr. Jatindra SahaBy email

Your voiceOrgan scarcity that

threatens livesNational Transplant Week, as reported inAV, highlights extreme shortage of organs.It adversely affects BAME communitymore than indigenous population. Humannature is unbelievably selfish and suspi-cious. Although we know, consciously orsubconsciously that once we die, lifecomes to an end. Yet instead of donatingour organs, ultimate gifts that would saveprecious lives, we let them go to waste.

There are 9000 patients on waiting listand 3000 die before organs become avail-able, especially kidneys and livers. Asusual, this country is light years behindprogressive nations in reforming our lawsthat would make difference.

Some hide; shy away under outdated,misguided, half-baked social, religious,cultural and personal beliefs and encum-brance that would be in abundance frombleeding-heart politicians. Yet they are thefirst to jump queues if in need of trans-plant. Most popular, effective and enforce-able scheme in operation is that when weregister with GP, it should be obligatory tosign legally binding document that onecould not be recipient without beingdonor, without exception.

But we need luminaries, to endeavour,encapsulate, educating people with liai-son, mass advertising to make them awareof consequences of opting out. Ourobsessed politicians are too gutless, igno-rant and selfish to offend, to be at logger-head with their political vote-bank. Theyare so often pawns in the pocket of ethnicminorities. In any case they enjoy 5* treat-ment under NHS.

Kumudini Valambia By email

Is notoriety a blessing indisguise?

With every criminal act of notoriety, inde-cency and abuse, hurting feelings of decentpeople, celebrated artists, actors and archi-tects, likes of Rolf Harris benefit in oneway or another. Their works, paintings anddemand for their services appreciatebeyond belief.

Late huckster F. M. Hussain who tooksome twisted pride in painting nudity, notpeccadillo misdeeds but serious, serialoffender, hurting feelings of millions ofHindus was the prime example withIndian billionaires, sponsoring and buyinghis sordid paintings as an investment,chasing that elusive pot of gold, fame andfortune, show-off that would offend mostdecent people with conscious.

Then these arrogant, out of touchtycoons living in their filthy “Ivory Tower”with demeaning and presumptuous cha-rade could not care a hoot for ordinarypeople, blurring difference between make-believe and reality who could not differen-tiate classic literature from graffiti, Gandhifrom Hitler, without an ounce of penitent.

With prosecution and conviction ofserial pertinacious philander Rolf Harris,untouchable pervert of the worse type whoeven painted Queen and so many promi-nent personalities being locked-up; thelast boorish bastion of privileged few issurely coming to an inglorious end!

Lets’ hope Harris’ heterogeneouswork, no doubt a brilliant artist, willdepreciate rather than appreciate in value.Then again we do not live in a sane worldwhere greed over-rides decency.

Bhupendra M GandhiBy email

The BAFTA award win-ning British Televisionbaking competition thisyear has yet anotherAsian contestant. ChetnaMakan, from Kent, is afashion designer, whostarted her own fashionlabel in India after mov-ing to Mumbai for uni-versity. The 35-year-oldmet her husband at col-lege, where he was train-ing to be a doctor, andthey moved to the UK in2003. Chetna runs asocial curry club everyweek, and likes to com-bine her mum’s tradition-al recipes with Britishbakes.

Though Asians havecontested in this socalled amateur bakingendeavour since thebeginning, sadly no onehas won it till now.

In 2010 JasminderRandhawa, AssistantCredit Control Managerfrom Solihull was thefirst Asian participant inthe first series, but shegot sent home at the endof the fifth round. She

was followed byUrvashi Roe, aMarketing Head, fromEnfield Chase who wentonto become the firstAsian finalist, thoughcould not win the series.

In 2012, it hadManisha Parmar a nurs-ery nurse from Leicester,who was the youngestfemale in the series andthe fourth season (2013)had the British PakistaniAli Imdad from Saltley,

the firstS o u t hAsian malecontestantin theseries.

Started first in 2010,the series has gainedimmense popularityamongst viewers espe-cially as it gives a reinvig-orating interest in bakingthroughout the UK, giv-ing winners a career onbakery.

Great British Bake Off gets its 5th Asian contestant

Jasminder Randhawa Urvashi Roe

Manisha Parmar Ali Imdad

Chetna Makan

The controversial mayor ofTower Hamlets is to face aHigh Court trial overclaims of electoral fraud. Ithas been reportedly allegedby four petitioners that MrLutfur Rahman (pictured)promised electorates coun-cil houses if they voted forhim. Rahman’s teamallegedly used a “variety offorms” of fraud when hewon the mayoral ballot by3,000 votes in May. HighCourt judge Mr JusticeSupperstone, sitting withMr Justice Spence, grantedthe petitioners a trial after

Mr Rahman’s legal teamfailed to get their casethrown out. Mr JusticeSupperstone said that, “fur-ther particulars of the alle-gations in the petition”should be supplied by 18August and declined to fix atrial date, saying: “In anyevent, a commissioner willnow be appointed to hearthis petition and the com-missioner will fix the dateof the hearing.”

The court refused anapplication to have the caseheard outside the TowerHamlets area. The petition-

ers had claimed that “loudand intimidating” support-ers of the mayor intimidat-ed witnesses. They alsoalleged that voters weregiven lollipops and led tobelieve they would not begood Muslims if they didnot support Mr Rahmanand his Tower HamletsFirst party. Mr Rahman’slegal team had applied tohave the entire petition dis-missed, claiming that it was“flawed and insufficientlydetailed”.

Mr Rahman denies anywrong-doing.

Petitioners win bid to expose Tower Hamlet Mayor

Asian Voice would like to congratulate Alpesh Pateland Aekta Mahajan on their wedding. Wishing youboth a wonderful journey ahead as you build your

new life together

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201412 MEDIA WATCH

They include Air One AviationPvt Ltd, Zexus Air and PremierAir, which seek to a nationalreach. Joining them for limitedgeographies are Turbo Megha,Air Carnival and Zav Airways.The Civil Aviation Ministry’sgoal is to stimulate competitionand improve connectivity.Unlike the practice of the previ-ous government of picking andchoosing applicants. India’s sixoperating national airlines are:Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways,SpiceJet, GoAir and Air Costa.Returning to the new applicantsmentioned above, Air One, witha reported paid up capital of Rs90-100 crore, is being promotedby Alok Sharma, former head ofthe erstwhile Air Sahara. ZexusAir is expected to be Delhi-based, while Premier Air, pro-moted by non-resident IndianUmapathy Pinaghani, will oper-ate from Bangalore. TurboMegha, which operates charterflights out of Hyderabad, willcontinue to be based there for itsnew venture. Air Carnival is toconcentrate on South India andZav Air will make North EastIndia its hub. An exciting era inIndian aviation is ready for take-off. Fasten your seat belts,please. (Mint, Hindu July 22,23)

BJP takes-off inWest Bengal

West Bengal has never been ahappy hunting ground for theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – ithas only two MPs in Parliament

– but the party appears to be onthe cusp of a breakthrough, withits vote base registering expo-nential expansion. The State’snext Assembly elections areexpected to reflect the party’sburgeoning influence, the latestevidence being the defection ofthe youth wing of the ForwardBloc, a longstanding constituentof the Communist-led LeftFront, which was ousted frompower in a Trinamool Congresslandslide in May 2011.

Economic uncertainties

Musical chairs defectionsinclude Communist andCongress members of theLegislative Assembly transfer-ring their loyalties to the rulingMamata Banerjee-led TrinamoolCongress. Chief MinisterBanerjee, responding to the shiftof these tectonic plates,appealed to Left Front affiliatesto join her party in what wasprojected by her, at a monsterpublic meeting in Kolkata, as agrand alliance against the BJP, aclear sign of anxiety about itsswelling ranks and outreach.Economic uncertainties, includ-ing labour indiscipline fomentedby Trinamool cadres and theconsequent lack of big ticketinvestments in the state and theslow pace of its industrializationhave tarnished the ChiefMinister’s image, although theTrinamool Congress presence inthe rural hinterland remains for-midably visible (Hindu,Telegraph July 22)

Congress-NC Allianceends

The Congress-NationalConference Alliance in Jammuand Kashmir has ended in slowdeath. With the former reducedto a skeletal dinosaur pickedover by taxidermists, the valley-based National Conference hasbeen compelled to cast aroundfor new, credible help-mates bythe dynamics of national poli-tics. The present Congress-National Conference Alliancewill, however, see out its termbefore the Assembly electionstake place later in the year. Thedecks have been cleared foralternative alignments. The BJPis the irresistible force in Jammu,but Congress has ceased to bethe immovable object in Ladakh,opening the door for a possiblealignment between the BJP andsome local Ladakhi grouping.

Congress is now committed tocontest the Assembly polls on itsown. Congress Vice PresidentRahul Gandhi, a ghostly figurethese days, is fast becoming apolitical nonentity (Hindu July21)

China lauds Pakistan’s ISI

Those prone to clutch at thestraws of anodyne rhetoric on anew, unfolding Sino-Indian rela-tion based on trust and mutualgood will (following the Modi-XiJinping talks on the sidelines ofthe recent BRICS summit inBrazil) should think again.China’s newly appointed specialenvoy for Afghanistan, Sun Yuxi(a former ambassador to India)has praised the role played byPakistan’s Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) directorate incombating terrorism. Rejectingaccusations that Pakistan’s InterServices Intelligence (ISI) direc-torate and elements within thePakistan military were fanningjihadi terrorism in the neigh-bourhood, particularly inAfghanistan, Mr Sun, speakingin Beijing, claimed that the ISI“has been effective in fightingagainst terrorism.” The jihadiattack on the Indian consulatein Heart was something, he said,he was unaware of, since he had-n’t kept abreast of regional poli-tics. Hopefully, AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai, whopointed an accusing finger atPakistan after the Herat attack,will share his information on theincident with Mr Sun. TheChinese envoy said he lookedforward to working withPakistani and Indian officials onsecurity issues in Afghanistan(Hindu, Times of India,Telegraph July 22)

Gaza debate

Parliament’s debate on the Gazasituation turned out to be adamp squib. The Opposition, atsixes and sevens, soughtthrough to make a case for thejihadist Hamas, but its contrivedsound and fury, didn’t make the

desired impact. The low farceended with the predictableOpposition walkout. ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swarajpresented a cogent case of for-eign policy continuity: Indiawould not jeopardize its rela-tionship with Israel, nor would itdeviate from its longstandingsupport for a sovereignPalestinian state as part of acredible two-state solution tothe overall Middle East crisis.Period. Violence could not be asolution to the present Gazaimbroglio, argued Ms Swaraj,who pointed out correctly thatit was Hamas that had startedthe conflict by firing salvoes ofrockets into Israel. The Israeliresponse had to be proportion-ate. She could have mentionedthe total Israeli withdrawal fromGaza a decade ago (Hindu July22)

Limits to Indian power

Thankfully, India has neither thepower nor the political will toenforce a settlement of its choos-ing on the warring parties. OnlyAmerica has the necessary eco-nomic and military heft to do so.Let Washington face up to itsresponsibilities in the region,assuming it has any conceptionof what this should be. Its poli-ciess in the area as a whole – in,Iraq, Syria, Libya - have led tomurderous anarchy and jihadiviolence, notwithstandingPresident Obama’s Nobel Peaceprize and vacuous pieties.

Facilitating Goa’sRussian tourism

Goa has for long been a favoureddestination for Russian touristsin search of sunshine, invitingbeaches and exoticcuisines. Now, AirIndia has started adirect service fromMoscow to Goa,making it the onlyone-stop connec-tion between thecities. The bother ofchanging planes isdone with. “Scoresof Russians flock toGoa every year andthey even come with charteredplanes. We will extend the Delhi-Moscow service to Goa shortlyto tap into this market,” said anAir India official. Air India hasrecently restarted its Delhi-

Moscow flights. “As a member ofthe Star Alliance, Air Indiahopes to attract flyers, as thebenefits of flying with analliance member are manifold.This is especially true for busi-ness class travellers,” said aDelhi-based agent. (Times ofIndia July 23)

Cracking wheatgenetic code

Agricultural scientists - withfunding from the government’sDepartment of Biotechnology -from three Indian institutes incollaboration with theInternational Wheat GenomeSequencing Consortium havedeciphered the cereal’s geneticblueprint, which is expected tohelp breeders produce betterquality crops. Scientists at theNational Research Centre onPlant Biotechnology, New Delhi;Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana, and Delhi UniversitySouth Campus have collaborat-ed with the International WheatConsortium and have publisheda chromosome-based draftsequence of the bread wheatgenome. Wheat breeders will beable to produce superior wheatvarieties at an accelerated paceto meet the demands of a grow-ing world population. EarlierIndian scientists helped crackthe genetic code of rice andtomato and of the chickpea(Business Line, Hindu July 21,24)

Modi pitch fornuclear energy

At a classified briefing with sci-entists at the Bhabha AtomicResearch Centre (BARC), nearMumbai, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi advised them tokeep to targets that would tripleIndia’s nuclear power genera-tion by 2023. The private sectorwould have a role since “nuclearenergy must be commerciallyviable and competitive withother sources of clean energy inthe long run,” he said. ThePrime Minister’s speech indicat-ed the government plan to gofull steam ahead with its nuclearenergy programme (Hindu July24)

Fast Breeder Reactor

The final stage for the commis-sioning of India’s 500MWePrototype Fast Breeder Reactor(PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Chennai,in early 2015, is undergoing thenecessary preparation.Announcing that all the electri-cal systems were operationaland all steps to full production

were being put in place, a seniorscientist at the site expressedfull confidence in project. Indialeads the world in fast breedernuclear technology. (Hindu July18).

AirAsia aircraft

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressing a rally in Kolkata

Omar Abdullah

Sushma Swaraj

Kalpakkam nuclear plant

Government has given approval for six new airlines to take tothe skies during the current fiscal ending 31 March 2015. TataSons joint venture with AirAsia is already operational, whileTata’s joint venture with Singapore Airlines will be ready forlaunch in October. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Rajuin the past month has issued no-objection certificates in alllong pending applications from these airlines.

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 13

Thousands marched in London againstthe deaths of Muslims in Gaza. But whynot against the killing in Syria? There isnot the same outrage. It was the West,not Turkey or Saudi Arabia that backedaction in Syria. Or what about Muslimdeaths in Bosnia – it was Nato jets pro-tecting Muslims then.

An England cricket player wears aprotest band on his wrist against what ishappening in Gaza, but not in Syria.Truly the concept of Islamic Brotherhoodcan be so so much more greater than this,to enforce the peace, that ‘Islam’ meansaround the world.

I recall my recent trip to a mosquewhere I wrote these words:

I prayed to a Hindu God today in aMosque.

I prayed for the children of Syriabeing murdered and slaughtered andexterminated and eradicated by fellowMuslim Assad. Prove me seditious forpraying to another God on behalf of thechildren of Islam, because their God hasdeserted them.

I prayed, that the Muslim God, whomy faith teaches me is my God too, lis-tens to me in your Mosque, because Hedoes not listen to His own children intheir mosques – because surely as theyare being murdered their parents pray forsalvation – and none comes.

I prayed to Shiv, the destroyer, in yourMosque, that He may become death andthe destroyer of worlds…the world ofAssad.

(Forgive my impertinence, I confess,my God also fails to listen to the cries ofHis children in His mandirs.)

I prayed that Islamic blood boils with

anger and the wrath of the Lord flowthrough your veins and you strike downwith a mighty vengeance those who harmyour children.

What relevance that I am Indian?More Muslims reside in India than anyother secular State – so it is that Indiahas a responsibility to the world’sMuslims to show them secular liberaldemocracies will be their defender. It is aduty and opportunity both countries haveyet to grasp. China has more Muslimsthan Syria, yet China fails to protectSyrian Muslim children. Russia has moreMuslims than Jordan and Libya com-bined – yet Russia too fails to protectSyrian Muslim children. So it is surelyleft to India.

So show us non-believers, ‘the evi-dence of truth, that you are all over theworld and that it is not enough thy Lordis witness over all thing’s’ – but that youwill save the children of your greaterGod.

When Pope Benedict visited this sameMosque I was in he said, ‘May all believ-ers identify themselves with the one Godand bear witness to true brotherhood.’Tonight I bore witness as a believer inGod, make me a believer in Islamic broth-erhood.

Muslims outside Syria – you are yourbrother’s keeper. A Catholic has told you– a Pope no less, a Hindu commoner hastold you – both from inside your ownMosque – when will the brotherhood ofIslam tell you?

Alpesh Patelwww.PoliticalAnimal.me

India needs to protect global Muslims– because Muslims won’t

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Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of internationalmoney transfer startupTransferWise, on how thebusiness got started.

Can you tell us a little bitabout yourself?I am the co-founder ofTransferWise, an interna-tional money transferplatform. Prior to this Iwas Skype’s director ofstrategy until 2008, start-ing as its first-everemployee. I helped takethe business from an ideaon the back of a napkin toa multi-million user busi-ness.

What is TransferWise?International moneytransfers are more expen-sive than meets the eye –even when they claimthere are ‘no fees’. Manybanks and brokers take asmuch as 4 percent of themoney being sent toIndia, for instance. Theydo this by using an unfairexchange rate.

TransferWise usestechnology developed bythe people who builtSkype and PayPal to cutout traditional bankingfees altogether, givingcustomers access to thereal mid-market exchangerate (that’s the rate pub-lished in the newspapers,not one invented by thebanks). TransferWisecharges just 0.5 percentto send money fromBritain to India. It pres-ents all its cost transpar-ently before you make atransfer.

The business wasfounded in 2011 andsince then our customershave already transferredmore than £1bn - anapproach that has putover £45m back in theirpockets.

Is this a global problem?It is indeed. Roughly $5-10 trillion of money trans-fers are sent every year.According to a World

Bank report £3.76bn issent from the UK to Indiaevery year. This meansthat Britain’s Indian com-munity lose an estimated£132m in banking feeswhen they send moneyhome.

How easy it is to useTransferWise?It’s simple. All you haveto do is go to the websitewww.transferwise.com,type in your’s and therecipient’s details andhow much you want totransfer. You can theneither type in your debitcard details or use inter-net banking to send themoney to TransferWise.Then you’ll receive a con-firmation email whenwe’ve received the moneyand another when it’sbeen paid out to therecipient. The wholeprocess takes only takes1-2 working days – it nor-mally takes banks andbrokers twice as long.

How did you come upwith the idea forTransferWise?TransferWise came aboutas a solution to a problemthat me and my friendKristo faced when weboth lived in London asexpats. I had been work-ing for Skype in Estonia,so was paid in euros, butI lived in London andmost of my expenses werein sterling. Kristo on theother hand worked inLondon and was paid inpounds, but had a mort-gage in euros back inEstonia.

We found that we had

the opposite currencyrequirements so insteadof transferring moneythrough the banks, whichcost us about 5% for eachtransaction, we startedexchanging money amongourselves. Every month Iput euros into Kristo’sEstonian account, andKristo put pounds intomy British account. Weused the official mid-mar-ket exchange rate ratherthan the invented oneoffered by the banks. Wemanaged to save thou-sands of pounds by doingthis and thought thatsurely there must be oth-ers like us. That’s why wedecided to set upTransferWise.

Who is your typical cus-tomer? We don’t have a “typicalcustomer” since we dra-matically reduce the costof international moneytransfers for anyone whowants to send moneyabroad. That said, thereare several broad groupswe’re particularly popularwith. These include: anyexpats who live and workabroad, freelancers whoget paid in a different cur-rency, international stu-dents who have to paytuition fees, pensionerswho retire abroad.

One of our Indiancustomers is KaushalMaru, who’s an IT con-sultant living in London.He started usingTransferWise to sendmoney home to his mumthis Diwali: “It’s sorefreshing to use a servicethat’s easy to use andtransparent about itscosts. I used to use mybank and found it veryconfusing and a completenightmare - the chargeswere unclear, it took agesand it delivered a terribleservice. TransferWise istwice as fast and onlycharges me 0.5 percent.What better way to cele-brate the festival of light!”

Britain’s Indian community lose estimated£132m in banking fees every year

FX startup challenges banks and brokers Ex-Skyper launches international money transfer platform

Taavet Hinrikus

Lord Raj Loomba CBEhas been bestowed withan Honorary Fellowshipby the University ofNorthampton at thisyear’s SummerGraduation Ceremonies.

Inspired by his latemother, who became awidow at the early age of

37, Lord Loomba hasdedicated his life to help-ing the plight of 245 mil-lion widows in the worldthrough his charity, TheLoomba Foundation, sup-ported by Cherie BlairQC CBE as President andSir Richard Branson asPatron-in Chief.

On being awarded hisHonorary Fellowship,Lord Loomba told AsianVoice, “When I found outI was going to be hon-oured by the University ofNorthampton, I felt veryhumbled and I’m gratefulto the University for con-sidering me.”

Lord Loomba receives Honoraryfellowship from Northampton University

TK Maxx has nowremoved men’s boxershorts with Lord Ganeshimages or motifs from dis-play, after outragedHindus of the countrymade a formal complain totheir customer head.

The offensive boxershorts made byfreegun.com sold at TKMaxx stores in the UK.On receiving several com-plaints from his communi-ty, Mr. Jit Jethwa VicePresident of Hindu Forumof Britain contacted TKMaxx and Freegun toexpress the anger andshock felt by decentHindus around the coun-try.

Replying to his letter,

Head of EuropeanCustomer Service, TJXEurope told Mr Jetwa, “Wehave strict guidelines onthe type of products soldin our stores but weacknowledge that witheach store stocking asmany as 50,000 items andweekly deliveries of10,000 new and differentproducts, an error can bemade, as in this case.

“We take matters ofthis nature extremely seri-ously and are very sorrythat this mistake wasmade. As soon as theoffending product wasbrought to our attention,we initiated an urgentstock review and immedi-ate removal from sale.

“Please accept myassurances that it is neverour intention to causeoffence. We believe that allcustomers should be treat-ed with dignity andrespect and have a longhistory of valuing diversi-ty.”

TK Maxx stores removes boxer shortswith Lord Ganesh images from display

PM David Cameron hassaid that his governmentneeds to do more on domes-tic abuse in Britain and makethe justice system more“sympathetic” to victims.

Backbench MPs havecalled for a tough US-stylelaw that would make domes-tic abuse a specific offencecarrying up to 14 years inprison. They want a legalframework for domesticabuse allowing police andprosecutors to examine of anoffender’s course of conductover a period of time, not justan individual incident.

Mr Cameron also saidthe Government is makingefforts to ensure that peopleare able to give evidence tocourts in a more sympatheticway.

Domestic violence tobecome criminal

offence?

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201414 ART&CULTURE

This year, for the seventhtime, the unique setting ofthe Engadin hosts St.Moritz Art Masters 2014.This annual arts and cul-tural festival, taking placefrom August 22 to August31, 2014, will focus onIndia, promising diverseartistic positions from thecontemporary Indian artscene, which ranges fromyoung to establishedartists presenting adiverse range of art fromsite-specific interventionsto Indian ClassicalModernism. In addition toa high-profile program ofIndian, national and inter-national contemporaryart, the St. Moritz ArtMasters festival standsout with special exhibi-tion sites andthe Walk OfA r t .S c u l p t u r e sand artisticworks in pri-vate and pub-lic spaces andu n c o n v e n -tional venuesfeature art-works from anew perspec-tive, beyondthe usual"white cube."

F r e e dfrom the bur-den of a colo-nial past, con-t e m p o r a r yIndian artistswill addresscurrent press-ing questions of today bylinking ritual, myth andeveryday life in a uniquemanner. The vibrant fieldof contemporary Indianart reflects the Indiannation's rapid change andcontrasts, giving Indianartists a unique voicewithin the internationalart scene.

Within this pro-gramme StellarInternational ArtFoundation will bepresenting a groupexhibition of worksof Modern Art fromIndia. The exhibi-tion will be present-ed to the public forthe first time andwill feature worksby M F Husain,Paresh Maity andJayasri Burman.

The StellarInternational ArtFoundation wasestablished in 2008and took as its basisthe private collec-tion of theChoudhrie family.Currently the

Foundation comprisesover 600 works by anarray of Indian andWestern Contemporaryartists ranging from paint-ing to sculpture.

The collection beganin the 1970s when theChoudhrie family began topurchase works of art.This led to intimate rela-

tionships with some ofIndia’s most importantcontemporary artistsincluding those in thepresent exhibition. Atthe point theFoundation was creat-ed, the collectionchanged direction tofocus on Western andA m e r i c a nContemporary Art,selecting importantworks by the mostimportant contempo-rary artists workingtoday.

The three mainshowcasing artists arerenowned in the worldof Art and Culture andhave all contributedsignificantly with theirbeautiful works.

The mostrenowned of these istalented artist MFHusain, who was bornin Pandharpur,Bombay Presidency inBritish India and hasbeen hailed as a'genius' by KishoreSingh. Mr Singh said,“Husain was as prolif-ic as he was talented,

and several of hisworks have never beenseen before in public.This is what makes thepresentation of someof these paintings anddrawings at St Moritzso important, almostguaranteeing, as itwere, his presenceamidst this hallowedgathering”.

Artist JayasriBurman, born inKolkata in 1960, hasheld many solo showsin the past whichinclude: ‘Gazing intothe Myth’ at Visual ArtCenter, Hong Kong in2014; ‘Fables andFolklore', presented byArt Musings atJehangir Art Gallery,

Mumbai in 2010; ‘A Mythical Universe', organ-ised by Art AliveGallery, New Delhi atLalit Kala Akademi,New Delhi in 2010along with a releaseof a publication onher work and life.

On her works,Jayasri said, “I dreamand paint the harmo-nious existence ofthe divine, humans,animals and nature. Ifeel Buddha's mes-sage of Ahimsa (nonviolence) and toler-ance; the much need-ed mantra for love,peace and harmonyin today's times.”

Paresh Maity wasborn in Tamluk, his-torical town in WestBengal in 1965 andhas held over 65 soloshows including;‘Shesh Lekha – TheLast poems ofRabindranath Tagore’a tribute in watercolours by PareshMaity to commemo-rate the 150th birthanniversary of Nobel

Laureate RabindranathTagore at NGMA Delhiand Mumbai in 2011. Hehas participated in severalprestigious shows in Indiaand aboard. ‘A MysticJourney’ an exclusive col-lection of his watercolourworks was shown withthe works of Americanphotographer SteveMcCurry, as a part of thefestival “India Calling!2010” at Chicago TourismCenter Gallery of Art,Chicago presented by ArtAlive Gallery, New Delhi.

Speaking about hisart, he said, “The leitmotifof my art has beeninspired by my journeysinto strange lands; by mymeetings with people. Mydramatis personae drawfrom real life & capturethe romance of distantlands. The gypsies &balls, the verdant greenvistas of Kerala or myste-rious lovers keeping atryst in a Venetian alleyreflect my painterly obses-sion with the magic ofmoments as I have livedthem."

St. Moritz Art Masters focuses onIndia's Greatest Artists

Mrs Anita Choudhrie, Stellar International Art Foundation

Jayasri Burman (b. 1960)Enlightenment I, 2011watercolour, pen and ink on board90 x 90 cm.Copyright Jayasri Burman, CourtesyStellar International Art Foundation

Paresh Maity (b. 1965)Magical Odyssey, 2008watercolour on paper 102 x 102 cm.Copyright Paresh Maity, CourtesyStellar International Art Foundation

M F Husain (1913 - 2011)Untitled (Horses on a Battlefield)acrylic on canvas 175.5 x 108 cm.Copyright the Estate of M F Husain,Courtesy Stellar International ArtFoundation

© C

harle

s S

hear

n

By Chagan Dabhi

On Friday 18th JulyShishukunj was proud tohost a bhajan sandhya tosupport the fundraisingefforts for the ShishukunjBhavan in Edgware. Thisevent was a gesture ofthanks and appreciationfrom Shishukunj, for allthe help and support ithas received.

Upon arrival, all theguests were warmly greet-ed by senior Karyakars ofShishukunj, followed bytasty Indian refreshments.It was a very warm andhomely atmosphere whereguests mingled with eachother before settling downfor the musical evening.

Shri JagdeepbhaiShah, welcomed everyoneon behalf of ShishukunjLondon and invited SmtNituben Shah and ShriSamjibhai Varsani to light

the lamp, in accordancewith our Hindu traditionto start the programme.

Young members ofShishukunj were the firstto take to the stage andthey sang a soulful prarth-na followed by somemelodious bhajans whichwere warmly acknowl-edged by the audience.

Shri PratapbhaiGadhvi then introducedthe renowned Bhajanmaestro of Gujarat, ShriHemantbhai Chauhanwho took to the stagewith his accompanyingmusicians. ShriHemantbhai is a very pop-ular bhajani who singswith full devotion, capti-vating any audience withhis voice. His percussion-ists included Bharat Parion tabla and a very youngand talented manjira play-er, Rahulbhai Solanki.Everyone was entertained

by the Kathiawadi jokesand Lok Dairo byBabubhai Barot.

Shri Hemantbhai sangsome of his very popularbhajans; ‘U rangai ja nerang ma ..; Janani ni joddsakhi nahi jade re lol;Pankhida; Unchi medi temara sant ni re...andmany more. The atmos-phere was so rich andmesmerising, bringingmany to feel like theywere experiencing a trueLok Dairo in a traditionalGujarati village.

Amongst the few dis-

tinguished guests, presentin the audience were ShriDhanjibhai Tanna, ShriDhirubhai Pankhania andSmt Jyotsnaben Shah ofGujarat Samachar.

The programme endedwith the President of

Shishukunj London, ShriSamirbhai Shah, honour-ing the guest kalakar, ShriHemantbhai Chauhan bypresenting him with ashawl. He extended hisgratitude to the audiencefor attending the pro-

gramme and for givingtheir whole hearted sup-port for the newShishukunj Bhavan.

For more informationabout Shishukunj pleasevisit their websitewww.shishukunj.org.uk

Hemant Chauhan mesmerises the audience by taking to the stage for Shishukunj London

Young members of Shishukunj entertaining the audience with a soulful prarthna andother melodious bhajans

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 15

For the first time in histo-ry, the Ministry of Defencewas host to an Iftar, thetraditional breaking of theRamadan fast, at thelaunch of the country’sfirst ever Armed ForcesMuslim Forum.

The Forum waslaunched by DefenceSecretary Michael Fallonon Wednesday 23 July, toenhance the partnershipbetween the Muslim com-munity and the Ministryof Defence and ArmedForces.

The Forum aims toencourage better dialogueand help highlight the cru-cial role British Muslimsplay in our Armed Forcesboth past and present.

At the event, the newDefence Secretaryaddressed members of theBritish Islamic communi-ty, thanking them for theircommitment to this cru-cial initiative and reflect-ing on the contribution ofMuslims to the ArmedForces. With the centenaryof the First World War justaround the corner, thelaunch of the Forum is atimely and poignantreminder of the enormouscontribution and sacrificemade by hundreds of thou-sands of Muslim troops in1914.

Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon said: “I’m

very proud to be able tolaunch the country’s firstArmed Forces MuslimForum. This is a real mile-stone, which underlinesthe strong relationshipthat exists between ourArmed Forces and theMuslim community, andshows our commitment tostrengthening it.”

Also at the event wereserving Muslim membersof the Armed Forces andImam Asim Hafiz, Islamicadviser to the MoD. Asthe MoD’s first ArmedForces’ Muslim Chaplain,he understands the impor-tance of good dialoguebetween the Services andthe Muslim community.

Imam Asim Hafiz,Islamic adviser to theMinistry of Defence, said:

“Loving your country andserving your community isan important part of theMuslim faith. Muslimshave fought for this coun-try since the First WorldWar. Some people havequestioned whether youcan be a good Muslim andserve in our ArmedForces, because of thewars in Iraq andAfghanistan. But theyoung men I’ve servedalongside in Afghanistanknow that they’re trying tomake the country safer forthe people who live there.Some of these soldiers arevery devout but they don’tfeel a contradictionbetween being a Muslimand serving their country.We need to get out thereand make that argument

much more clearly.”Sughra Ahmed,

President of the IslamicSociety of Britain, said:“British Muslims areproud to play an activepart in our society and thecentenary of the FirstWorld War is a chance toshow how this shared his-tory stretches back over ahundred years and contin-ues today. The ArmedForces Muslim Forum willhelp promote the Muslimcommunity’s support andparticipation in the ArmedForces, as well as giving usa chance to discuss someof the challenges we face.”

Sunder Katwala,Director of integrationthinktank British Future,

Defence Secretary launches Armed ForcesMuslim Forum and hosts celebratory Iftar

Julie Siddiqi, NationalCoordinator of the Big Iftaraddressing the first everArmed Forces MuslimForum at MoD MainBuilding, London

The Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State forDefence addresses the audience

Actress Freida Pinto,renowned for herrole in “SlumdogMillionaire”, hasjoined forces withgirls’ rights cam-paigners to call forthe end of the prac-tice of female genitalmutilation.

Pinto, an ambas-sador for an interna-tional children’sdevelopment organi-zation, called formore progress toabolish the practiceas she addressedBritain’s one-dayGirl Summit onTuesday 22nd July,co-hosted by the UKGovernment andUNICEF.

UNICEF, the UnitedNations’ childrenagency, said someprogress has been madeon ending female genitalmutilation, most com-monly practiced inAfrica and the Middle

East. It is still highlyprevalent in Egypt,Sudan, Mali andSomalia.

The agency andBritain’s governmenthope that the summitwill help galvanizeaction to end the prac-tice within a generation.

Actress Freida Pinto joinsforces with campaigners

at Girl Summit

said: “People just don’tknow that commonwealthsoldiers, many of themMuslims, made up nearlyone in six of Britain’sfighting force in 1914.That contribution contin-ues to this day, and I hopethe new Armed ForcesMuslim Forum will help to

tell that story more wide-ly.”

Members of theMuslim community alsospoke at the event. Theirspeeches were followed bya call to the Maghribprayer, before everyonecame together for Iftar, thebreaking of the fast meal.

Freida Pinto

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Q: You mentioned retailas one of the areas, areyou going to try and per-suade the new govern-ment to open up to multi-brand retail? There havebeen some misgivingsabout that kind of open-ness.A: Well I think it’s for theIndian government, obvi-ously, to decide its ownpolicy on retail as muchas anything else, but sincePrime Minister Modi hadbeen as clear as he hasthat he wants to try andsweep away some of theimpediments to furthergrowth in the Indianeconomy, we’re very keento enter with him into adialogue about how sec-tors – not just retail, butother sectors – could befurther – further liberal –liberalised as a general –as a general economicphilosophy. We believethat by opening sectorsup you stand to benefitmore than you lose. But,as I say, those are deci-sions that are entirely upto the Indian governmentto take itself.Q: How does the Indo-British relationship fitinto recent public fearsabout immigrantsbecause a lot of peoplefrom India still feel thatthey are not welcomed inthe UK?A: I will be going out ofmy way during my visit tosay very, very clearly, par-ticularly to young, bright,ambitious Indians whoare thinking of where theyshould study around theworld, they are welcome,welcome, welcome toBritain. There is nonumerical limit to Indianstudents wanting to cometo study here. There is along, long tradition of

outstandingly brightyoung Indians coming tostudy in our outstandingBritish universities. Wewant to see more of that,not less.

And also I want to dis-pel some of the myths. Sothere is a myth that some-how we have stopped anyability to work afteryou’ve graduated in theUnited Kingdom. That’ssimply not the case.What we have said is aslong as you earn a certaingraduate salary, a certainminimum, you are wel-come to work here aftergraduating, and in factwhat we’ve said is that ifyou do so you can study –you could work for threeyears after graduatingwith the option of work-ing a further three years.That’s considerablylonger actually than theprevious postgraduatework – work route whichwas made available topeople.

So I am very keen todispel a lot of the misgiv-ings that have arisen inrecent years, because Ithink Britain is enriched,

I think India is enriched, Ithink our relationship isenriched by having talent-ed, bright people going inboth directions in order tostudy in our great – in ourgreat universities.Q: Financial trade hasfallen short of, generally,the targets that were setin 2010. What do youthink stands in the way atthe moment and what doyou think trips such asyours can do to actuallypush it further towardsthat target?A: Well you’re right. Iwant to see more trade. Ithink we can reach ourtarget of £22 billion worthof bilateral trade, thatwould be up from £16 bil-lion previously. And thisdelegation, this trip, ispart of the attempt tomake sure that we meetthat ambition by havingpeople in key leading sec-tors of the British econo-my meet with their part-ners and to meet withthose people who offernew opportunities in thishuge burgeoning Indianmarket to make sure thetrade increases even fur-

ther.And as I said ear-

lier, the bilateralinvestment relation-ship is already hugelyimportant. Britain isa vitally importantinvestor in India.India, as I say, investsmore into the UnitedKingdom that it doesinto the rest of theEuropean Union.

So I come with amessage of openness.Openness towardspeople who want tostudy, opennesstowards new com-mercial opportunitiesbetween British and

Indian companies, open-ness towards forging astrong relationship withthe new administration ofPrime Minister Modi.Q: Before Narendra Modicame to power, he wasseen as anti-Muslim bythe West. How do you seeNarendra Modi now he’sthe Prime Minister?A: Well he, obviously, hassaid very clearly that he isgoverning on behalf of allIndians, and I, in politicsjust as in life, always takepeople in what they say atface value until it’s sug-gested otherwise. He’sbeen very clear that hesees it as part of his man-date – which was a hugedemocratic mandate, over500 million people voted– as a mandate for thecountry as a whole. Andgiven the sheer size anddiversity and raucousvariation of life in India, itseems to me obvious that– that India must, and canonly, be successfully gov-erned by administrationswho want to stand up forthe whole country andnot only part of it.

Clegg enroute to IndiaContinued from page 1

Mr Clegg on a rare occa-sion invited the trade del-egates, business and com-munity leaders toAdmiralty House inWhitehall for a summerreception, to brief themabout the upcomingopportunity.

Addressing the guestshe said, “It will be the firstand largest delegation ofthat kind since PrimeMinister Modi was elect-ed in that extraordinarydemocratic extravaganza:over 500 million peoplevoting in the greatest actof democratic volitionthat the world knows.

“This visit is also welltimed I think, becausePrime Minister Modi hasbeen so clear and outspo-ken in his view that hewants to get the wheels ofthe Indian economy mov-ing more rapidly, he wantsto liberalise those parts ofthe Indian economy thatneed a further liberalisa-tion, he wants to build onthe major trading relation-ships that India has witheconomies around theworld, not least that of theUnited Kingdom, and thatis why I’m so keen toreach out to him andreach out to his adminis-tration, with your help, toseek out new opportuni-ties where we can deepenand widen and enrich thealready very strong com-mercial relationship thatexists between our twocountries.

“Everybody is familiarwith the great, great cul-tural, historical and otherlinks that bind our twonations together. Thereare more Indians living inthis country than anyother place in the worldoutside India. Indiainvests more money intothe United Kingdom than

it does in the rest of theEuropean Union puttogether.

“The United Kingdomis a major investor in turnin India. We have about£16 billion worth of bilat-eral trade between ourtwo countries taking placeper year. I think we couldeasily increase that to ourtarget of £22 billion, andthat is why I am sodelighted that so many ofyou are prepared to travelwith me.

“I’m seeking to createa delegation which focus-es on some key sectors:aerospace, retail and edu-cation.

“I think in many wayswe almost sort of take forgranted the relationshipthat exists between ourtwo great countries. Wekind of assume that itoperates on autopilot, butany relationship, howeverfamiliar, however well-established, needs con-stant nurturing, needsconstant attention andthat is why this delegationtimed, as I say, just afterthe election of PrimeMinister Modi and hisnew administration is onewhich I hope will be assuccessful as I believe itcould be.”

This trip is supposedto be followed by a trademission by PM Cameronin September.

Photo credit: Raj Bakrania, PRMediaPix

Thousands of people willhead to Trafalgar Square onSaturday (2nd August) forthe annual Eid Festival,organised by the Mayor ofLondon, in celebration ofthe end of Ramadan.

The event is open to peo-ple from all communitiesand faiths, with a host ofactivities for the whole fami-ly to enjoy, including stageentertainment, arts andcrafts, exhibitions, calligra-phy, henna, face paintingand much more.

This year, visitors canexpect a sumptuous array offare from Muslim countries,with the inclusion of a globalfood festival, which willserve delicacies from acrossthe Islamic world includingTurkish, Egyptian,Indonesian, Lebanese andMoroccan cuisines. Therewill also be a Malaysian foodmarket and cooking demon-strations by the festival’ssupporting partnerMalaysian Kitchen.

A first for 2014 is a cat-walk show featuring contem-

porary Arabic and Asianclothing by AsianBride Liveand EBH (Events by Hajra).There will be an exclusiveopportunity to see ‘Capturethe Spirit of Ramadan’, thewell-renowned exhibition ofinternational photographyabout the essence ofRamadan.

Performing live areNasheed artists andcommunity groupsfrom around London,including Saif Adam,Nazeel Azami,Indonesian PelangiNusantara dancegroup, Moroccan Sufiband,Tariq Khan andZee TV’s Sa Re GaMa Pa winnerShehnaz Akhtar.

The Mayor ofLondon BorisJohnson said:“Muslims in Londonand around the worldhave been fasting asthey observe the holymonth of Ramadan.As they break the fastat Eid-ul-Fitr, it is a

time for celebration. I urgeall Londoners and touristsalike to come down andimmerse themselves in theflavours, colours and cultureof the city’s many Muslimcommunities. It’s a chance

to join together and rejoicein the global diversity of thecapital. Eid Mubarak!”

The Eid Festival is pre-sented by the Mayor in asso-ciation with the EidCommittee, a voluntarybody made up of representa-tives from various Muslimcommunity groups andorganisations in London.

London Trafalgar Square to celebrate Eid I want to send my bestwishes to Muslims acrossthe country and aroundthe world celebrating Eid.

This Ramadan, BritishMuslims have shown whatIslam is all about.

We’ve seen an inspir-ing amount of charity withMuslims across the coun-try giving what they canand giving up their own time for those less for-tunate.

We’ve seen a commitment to contempla-tion and Muslims have been putting them-selves second as they pray, abstain and fastduring the holy month.

Third, we’ve seen a dedication to commu-nity and once again this year British Muslimshave opened their doors to those of all back-grounds as part of the Big Iftar breaking breadand breaking down barriers in mosques, incommunity centres, in parks – even at a syna-gogue in north London.

It’s been a challenging month – especiallyduring those long summer days.

So it is fantastic to see so many BritishMuslims and those of other faiths and none –come together to celebrate at this special time.

Once again, to everyone who is celebrat-ing, Eid Mubarak.

- PM David Cameron

Asian Voice wishes Eid Mubarak to allits Muslim readers

Asian Voice Associate Editor Rupanjana Dutta interviewingDeputy PM Nick Clegg

Face to Face with Deputy PM Nick CleggEXCLUSIVE

UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 17

Charusmita

In the largest ever turnoutof Goans outside of Goa,on Sunday, 27th July, ahuge crowd of about10,000 attendees gatheredto celebrate the UK GoanFestival 2014. The venue,Cranford CommunityCollege witnessed theannual feature of the UKGoan Association in col-laboration with otherGoan associations.The UK Goan

Association came intobeing in 1966 with thestart of the migration ofGoans into the UK. It is avoluntary organisationand continues to organisesocial, cultural and sportsactivities for its members.UK Labour Party MPKeith Vaz, also a proudGoan, also graced theoccasion and with theweather Gods on its side,the festival attracted bothnatives and Non-Goans. The event, sponsored

by Air India, SonyEntertainment Televisionand Tilda Rice also servedas a guiding platform forGoans visiting or migrat-ing to the UK. A roughestimate of 50,000 por-tuguese Goans live inEngland which is theirfavoured destination over

other European countriesin contrast with migrantsfrom Daman and Diu. Theevent began with an openair mass followed by theChairman’s speech by RaviVaz, who is the festivaldirector and the Presidentof the UK GoanAssociation.There is much more to

Goa than meets the eyeand the UK Goan festivalmanaged to bring to us theessence of the wonderfultiny emerald land on thewest coast of India. Fromits natural scenic beauty,to stunning beaches, fromtemples to churches, hills,rivers, forests, Goa canboast rightly of being themost popular destinationamong the young and theold in India. Speakingabout the fiercely competi-tive tourism industrygrowing around the world,Ravi Vaz, the festival direc-tor, said, “The response is

overwhelming and it ismost heartening to seeeven Non-Goans partici-pating with such vigour.We look forward to havinga mini Goan carnival setupif all goes well”. The musicians, both

local Goan and from theUK, kept the adrenalinehigh throughout the day.Varun Carvalho, a crowd-puller in Goa, flew to theUK for the fest. A sociallyconscious musician, Varuntakes his role as a GoanYouth Icon quite critically

and has made songslike “Let’s Vote”,“Stand Up” and“Amchem Goa”among others. Hehad his new songpremiered duringthe festival called“I’m an Indian”. JanGraveson, an inter-national singer whohas had BAFTAnominations to hercredit along withhaving performed inLondon’s West Endand Broadway, NewYork, feels no differ-ently about Goathan Goans them-selves. She lives inGoa for a large partof the year.Although she per-

formed for a very limitedtime but this shortlongevity on the festivalscene was more than madeup for by her enthusiasmand connection with thecrowd. DJ Kim and bandsflown from all the wayfrom India such as HighLevel, Shine (a Goan bandbased in the UK) andRaising Steam had theaudience in a frenzy asthey sang in a pop mix ofEnglish and (or) Konkani.From musicians droppingtunes to the food anddance, it seemed like a per-fect Sunday. The headliner of the

day which had been wide-ly expected to be greatwas the famous Goan cui-sine. Largely, the foodstalls were a tad bit disap-pointing for people whohave known its authentic-ity all their lives. But that,in no way, prevented thefood stalls and the bar

A Glimpse of Goa pulling 10,000 people

Indian Cinema has always been oneof the brightest colours on the fab-ric of South Asian culture. You can-not take Bollywood out of anIndian. This great Indian filmindustry which includes Bollywoodhas completed 101 years of nationalentertainment and continues to doso in all its grandeur. Keeping thetradition of bringing the best of thebest of culture alive, the IndianJournalists’ Association (IJA,London) organised a press talk withscreen legend Kamini Kaushal onMonday, the 28th, at Indali Lounge,Baker Street. The glitz and glamourof Bollywood has changed the livesof millions in India and abroad butmeeting the great actress made usrealise how we can rule the heartsof millions without detaching your-self from your social and family life.Humility, grace, simplicity, straight-forwardness and opinionated-that’s how she has always definedher style. A bunch of curious jour-nalists is never easy to satisfy, butconfessing here, I must say, Ms.Kaushal was pretty close to voicingher own opinions convincingly andcandidly. Accompanied by her son and

grand-daughter, she was in conver-sation with Viji Alles, Editor at UKAsia Online and a member of theIJA. She was introduced to theaudience by Rupanjana Dutta(Secretary, IJA), who spoke ofKamini ji’s enlivening puppetshows and children’s short storiesapart from her achievements andcontributions to the Indian cinema.Talking about her family, she feltgrateful to have a family thatencouraged her acting career, giventhe time when this professionwasn’t one of the most respectableones for females in Indian society.She had won Filmfare Best ActressAward in 1955 for the film BirajBahu and one of her other criticalacclaimed roles was in the filmNeecha Nagar (1946, Dir. ChetanAnand) that went on to be the firstinternationally recognised Indiafilm after it shared the (Best Film)award at the in 1946. The actress,

talking about this film, expressedher disappointment and shock tolearn that the film hardly had anymention in various celebratoryevents about 100 years of Indiancinema last year in 2013- “It(Neecha Nagar) was such animportant film, tackling socio-eco-nomic issues that are still relevanttoday. It was a film with depth,intensity and was a powerful invok-ing piece in cinematic history. It

deserved more”. It is a well known fact that she

had to move to India after the parti-tion of 1947 and lived the formativeyears of her life there. CallingLahore her home, she did not wishto discuss any further about her lifethere as the talk of partitionbrought back too many painfulmemories. On being asked whichactress does she think can playKamini Kaushal on screen today,she replied, “It will be too painful acharacter to be played by anybody(owing to her great loss during and

after India’s partition in 1947). Buther face lit up on the mention ofchildren. She has herself authorednumerous children’s books andenjoys making toys and puppets-“Everybody asks me about the yearsI worked but nobody mentionswhat I did in those breaks I tookfrom working. I made puppets!”.She has worked in numerous TVserials among which was KhelKhilone (Games and Toys). Shewas just ten when she created herpuppet theatre. Her daughter too,has recently published a book forchildren on Gandhian philosophies.As a message to today’s parents shesaid, “Let the kids experiment, goout, struggle and make somethingof their lives”. Playing mature roles came natu-

rally to her and she had no qualmsabout playing grandmother tonumerous actors/ actresses inBollywood. Acting was about ‘beingnatural’ for her. She was notobsessed with her looks and glam-our and that made her transition

smooth- from playingyounger women’s rolesto skipping a generationof characterisation alto-gether. On her experi-ence of working withShahrukh Khan, shesaid, “I did ChennaiExpress because I waswondered that if some-body asks me if I’veworked with Shahrukh,I would have to say noand I wondered what

reactions that would evoke! So Isaid yes to the film. But he sure is acharmer and a very pleasant man”.At 87, she still remembers fondly allthe legendary actors/ actresses shehas worked with- including LateZohra Sehgal, Dev Anand, DilipKumar and Raj Kapoor. Sheremained tight-lipped about DilipKumar’s confessional on KaminiKaushal being his first love but Ithink we can gloss over that!

Photo Courtesy: Charusmita & Raj DBakrania, Prmediapix

Indian Journalists’ Association hosts ‘Inconversation with Kamini Kaushal’

Asian Voice journalist Charusmitawithjactress Kamini Kaushal

IJA member Viji Alles in conversation with Kamini Kaushal

The UK Goan Fest 2014

from gettingthronged. MuttonXacutti, SpicyGoan Chorizo,Sorpotel, Goanfish curry, Beefchilli with breadroll, Goansausages, stone-ground currys andchutneys were justthe few of thenumerous fooditems available atthe festival. Whatcaught my eyewere the stalls thatsurrounded thevenue and as I vis-ited each of them,I admired thediversity withinGoa more. From astall selling T-shirtsabout ‘Liberating

Goa’ and making it inde-pendent to a corner withexperts specialising inwedding gowns and hand-

made gifts, there was a lotto choose from. Stalls hadalso been put up by chari-ties such as ‘Goa forGiving’ and free diabetestest corners. Literature,arts and native musickiosks were also some ofthe attractions whichmade the crowd both nos-talgic and curi-ous. Therewere specialrides andswings for chil-dren whichkept themt h o r o u g h l ye n t e r t a i n e dthroughout theday.Most of the

Goan migrantsto the UK havebeen por-tuguese pass-port holdersand this festi-val provides

them with every assis-tance that they require tomake their life comfort-able in the UK. It is anannual community eventwhere the people canmingle with fellow Goansand strengthen their net-work. As Ravi Vaz put it,“This event makes us

Ambassadors of Goa andIndia tourism, working ascatalysts to promote Indo-UK trade on anotherlevel”. Well, all I have tosay is, if you cannot visitthe ‘Escape Paradise Goa’anytime soon, make sureto block your dates forthis fest next year!

Ravi Vaz, the festival directoraddressing the audience

Hedge fund manager BillAckman who spent $50mon undercover investiga-tion to prove fraud atHerbalife fails to impressthe investing public.Despite making public theresults of his investiga-tion, the value of thenutritional supplementscompany rose more than$1.3bn. He was predictingthat after the revelation ofhis findings, the shares ofthe company would crash,instead it has rose morethan 25 per cent.Ackman has been bet-

ting against Herbalifesince 2012, claiming itruns an illegal pyramidselling scheme, somethingthe company denies. Histhree-and-a-half hour TVevent included undercoverrecordings and internal

documents, whichAckman claimed provedHerbalife distributorswere put on “training”schemes, where they wereforced to buy the compa-ny’s shakes in order tograduate. But rather thandelivering a “death blow”to the company as hepromised, pain was inflict-ed instead on investorswho had bet against thestock, with many forced toabandon their positions asthe share price rise accel-erated. Some 480 peoplepacked a Manhattan audi-torium to hear him speak,while 10,000 morewatched a live webcast.Meanwhile the companykept up a barrage of rebut-tals on Twitter, insistingits business practices arelegitimate.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201418

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

It’s going to be a great second half of the year forinvestments.

The most striking image for me is of a graphI saw showing just how many US companiescontinue to beat earnings expectations. Eversince my University days of studying economicsI know expectations are what moves the mar-kets in theory and reality.

I see no reason for those expectations not tokept getting beaten. We are, believe it or not,lacking the confidence to raise our expectations,and that is why markets keep rising, because weget surprising earning jolts and then slip backinto our ‘couldn’t happen again’ mode. Perversebut so are the markets.

The US Dollar getting hammered is soon forgottentoo as now it is a safe haven again. Politics has over-taken economics. But that won’t last long I don’t think.How soon we have forgotten the Federal Reserve'sdecision not to scale back its asset purchases programlast year and the fundamental reasons for a weak dol-lar. The Fed was providing stimulus to the US economyby purchasing $85 billion in assets per month to provideliquidity in the domestic market. But all forgotten.

We have forgotten the fundamental weakness in theUS markets - Fed's president and the rest of the FreeOpen Market Committee surprised the financial marketsby announcing that they will keep their stimulus effortsintact citing that weaker than expected job and housemarket data last year. What now of our worries for jobsand US growth?

And we have forgotten as we hit all time highs, thehours of debating and discussing between Democratsand Republicans that even then the US Congress andSenate didn't manage to find a solution to the debt ceil-ing issue. To make things more clear, there is legislationin the United States that prohibits the federal govern-ment to surpass a certain level of debt and in such acase the law dictates that if there is no amendment tothis then the federal government cannot continue tooperate as usually.

Such an incident however is far from usual as thelast time that such a shutdown in government servicesoccurred was 17 years ago. Analyst express their fearsthat this shutdown in possibly critical sectors of the USgovernment will take its toll on the annual GDP andthey predict that even a couple of weeks of stalematecould bring down the annual production as much as 1-4%. Can it happen this year – why not? How soon weforget. So what do you do when you feel you’re in amental asylum, everyone should be crazy, but they arebehaving quite sensibly and not panicking? Do youtrade for the inevitable panic, or do you go along andbehave calm too?

Personally, I like to keep a very close eye on every-one and not take big bets on people eventually seeingthings my way. I’d rather work on the basis of how willthey continue seeing things. So for now I am bettingon higher highs in global equities.

British economy back at pre-crisis levelBritish economy has final-ly back at its pre-crisispeak achieved six yearsago, but its effect may takesome time to be felt. Theeconomy expanded by 0.8per cent between Apriland June, the same as inthe previous three months,according to the Office forNational Statistics(ONS). This means thatthe economy is now 0.2per cent higher than it wasin the first quarter of2008. The InternationalMonetary Fund, mean-while, forecast that UKwould grow by 3.2 percent this year, beating allother G7 countries. It is afull percentage pointabove Canada, the nextclosest country. RoyalBank of Scotland alsopublished its half-yearresults a week earlybecause profits have comein far better than expect-ed, sending its sharesrocketing by more than 10per cent.

David Cameron said:“It shows if you stick to along-term economic plan,you take the long-termand difficult decisions thatare necessary, you can getthe country back on theright path.” While EdBalls, the shadow chancel-lor, welcomed the news,he warned that wages afterinflation were down morethan £1,600 a year since2010, house building wasat its lowest level since the1920s and business invest-

ment was lagging behindthe UK’s competitors.Economists were also

quick to point out that,because of populationgrowth, gross domesticproduct per capita wasstill 4 per cent below itsprevious peak at the endof 2007. JohnHawksworth, chief econo-mist at PwC, said: “It willbe some years yet beforeaverage real incomes havefully recovered the lossessuffered during the reces-

sion.” Alan Clarke, headof European fixed incomestrategy at Scotiabank,also stressed that it wasimportant to keep in mindhow much groundremained to be made up.“Had we not been in

recession you would nor-mally have seen the econ-omy continuing toexpand, so output is stillshort of where we wouldhave been had the econo-my continued to expand.There is lost ground tomake up for,” he said.A breakdown of the

figures showed thatgrowth had been buoyedby a strong service sector,which grew by 1 per centin the second quarter.Production also increasedby 0.4 per cent. However,the construction sector,which had started torecover after being badlydamaged during thedownturn, floundered,decreasing by 0.5 per centin the second quarter.

Chancellor GeorgeOsborne did not see anychance in near future toreducing tax rates eventhough the economy hasimproved considerably. Hesaid that the boomingeconomy has not beenaccompanied by a corre-sponding rise in tax rev-enues. Osborne’s state-ment in November orDecember will be his lastchance for the governmentto change tax and spend-ing plans in this parlia-ment, since next year’sbudget will be too close tothe election.

Key decisions in theautumn statement arelikely to be announced atthe party conferences,

with the Tories’ confer-ence beginning onSeptember 28, meaningthat talks between the par-ties have already begun.Senior Whitehall

sources said that despitestrong GDP figures - eco-nomic growth betweenApril and June was 0.8 percent - there will be littleroom for tax cuts or morespending. One sourcesaid: “Despite growthupgrades, there hasn’tbeen a correspondingincrease in tax revenues ofthe size that would offersignificant tax cuts in the

autumn statement.“The Treasury would

need the Office for BudgetResponsibility to rule thatthe improvement in thefinances is structural, notcyclical. In order for themto do this, the next coupleof public finance state-ments would have to bemuch better than recentones. Otherwise the coali-tion would have to changetheir fiscal rules, sincetheir current target is tocut structural deficit.”The Institute for Fiscal

Studies broadly concurredwith this assessment.

George Osborne

Ackman’s move to provefraud at Herbalife fails

Osborne unlikely to go for tax cuts

S&P 500 stock marketindex is the world’sbiggest index and it isdesigned to be the leadingindicator of US equities.It consists of America’s500 big companies and itis widely traded by banks,hedge funds, professionaland private traders.Based on technical

analysis (Chartist)method, future pricemovements of any trad-able instrument, whetherit is shares, currencies,commodities or stockindex can be predictedbased on past price pat-terns and movements.If you look at the

graph of S&P 500 indexyou can see a very impor-tant price pattern emerg-ing. In the recent 20years, the bull marketaveraged 63 months.Both the first (Dec 1994to Mar 2000) and the sec-ond (July 2002 to Oct2007) bull market alsoprevailed for 63 months.The current bull marketbegan at the end of March2009 and to date, July2014 is coincidently the63rd month. Thereforemany experts are of the

opinion that correction inthe stock market is immi-nent.Apart from the

Chartist view, other fun-damental factors are alsopointing to a stock mar-ket correction in the nearfuture. Stock prices oflow quality companies’rising to high levels is nota good health sign for themarket. A $100,000investment at the begin-ning of 2009 in the lowestquality stocks would haverisen to $380,000 by mid-

2013 versus $271,000 forthe high quality stocksand this out performancehas continued into 2014.Other factors such as thegradual withdrawal of liq-uidity from the marketsby Fed, in excess of 70%of the S&P 500 compa-nies trading above thelong term average priceearnings ratio of 15 andthe willingness of bothUK and US to raise inter-est rates early next yearare all negative signs butinvestors who “short” themarket may welcome thissituation.Finally the margin

debt, for investors (bor-rowing money from stockbrokers) recently reach-ing record high levels isalso a sign that the stockmarket has almostpeaked. Please note thatin the last decade whenhigh margin debt wasexperienced was duringthe previous stock markethighs of March 2000 andJuly 2007.

Ragu DharmaratnamACMA CGMA

Are stock markets due for correction?

REAL ESTATE VOICEwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 19

Suresh VagjianiSow & Reap

A Property InvestmentCompany

There has been much press regarding the cooling housing market; aninteresting report examined the London property market through theeyes of Foxtons share price and offered an interesting perspective.

Foxtons was founded by ex-army man Jon Hunt in 1981, with£30,000 from school friend Anthony Pelligrini. He was 28. The compa-ny started with a two-man office in Notting Hill. And as luck wouldhave it, 1981 was not far off the bottom of the market.

A friend of mine a few years ago became the top selling agent in theNotting Hill branch, he performed top consistently and became a livinglegend in the Foxtons world for years to come. He was rewarded with aFerrari for his efforts, which he declined in favour of another benefit.Though popularly known for its green Minis around London, the agentshave a chance to elevate themselves to BMW 1 series and upwards; theyare consistently targeted and given rewards as they hit their milestonesfrom cars to holidays every quarter.

Needless to say my friend soon left to start his own property devel-opment business by selling in the patch he got to know well, breakingthe ceiling prices of the streets he developed in. In this industry the staffturnover rate is high, retention is very low. Foxtons is a great place toget your nose dirty and learn the trade. In the course of business wehave seen many negotiators come and go, they make their money andmove on. Understandably in this type of environment the burn out rateis high and therefore not sustainable, very few people stay on long term.

During the crash of 1989 to 1992 the company struggled for sur-vival. It was at this point they started a letting arm which is just asaggressive as the sales arm, also offering short lets which can prove tobe a very lucrative yield for the landlord in Central London, wheremany tenants prefer to have their own privacy and comfort in a flat,rather than a hotel, and are prepared to pay well for the privilege.

The firm was sold in 2007, just before the crash for £390m for only20 branches to BC Partners. Many stated this was a ridiculous amountof money to pay for the company valuing each branch at nearly £2m. Inthe following years there followed a lot of press regarding the sanity ofpurchasing the company at this price, and BC Partners lost control ofthe company and was forced to restructure their debt. The companypost credit crunch started to build up again and currently has 49branches in the hot spots of London.

However the company was floated in August 2013, raising £55m inthe process. At its peak in March this year the share price was 398p,giving it a market capitalisation of more than £1.1bn.

But since its high, the share price has been falling. And this week,the share price had fallen to 261p – a 52-week low, hence the marketcap had slid to £740m, nearly at the level they were when they firststarted trading.

Foxtons make serious profits when there is a large number of sellersin the market. When this declines the revenue decreases. In 2013, it sawstrong growth on the previous year: revenue was up 16% on the year at£139m, while pre-tax profit was up 57% at £39m.

Jumping on the band wagon

The firm is known for doing things dif ferently, e.g. offering 0% commission to attractcustomers from other agents every time they open a new office for three months towoo business from other agents. Staff are worked hard 12 hours a day as well asweekends which gives them the edge on other agents.

The firm is renowned for its ability to get higher prices than other agents thereby jus-tifying its no compromise fee of 2.5% for sole agency or 3% for multi-agency. This isgood for sellers who clearly benefit f rom this type of model.

Let’s face it, 2013 was about a good year in the London propertymarket and everyone made money. Foxtons had a 22.5% jump in sales.When the market declines in the hotspots of London, sellers tend tohang on to their properties; they are not faced with the same need to sellas the rest of the nation and can afford to hang on till the market picksup. A lack of seller spells a downturn in turnover and profits forFoxtons. It seems the city has cottoned onto this and this is reflected inthe stock price.

A quick survey of transaction levels in London will reveal the trans-action levels have decreased, therefore this will mean the bullish predic-tion for 2014 of £163m in revenue and £55m in profit is unlikely to beattainable. The rest of the city’s opinion is also in stark contrast to thisprediction.

A cooling market means what exactly? The transaction levels willdrop and there will start to be a nervousness in the atmosphere of wherethe market will go from this point on.

A point of note is a property is a tangible asset and its value does notdrop to zero in the same way Foxtons’ share price can. So it’s importantto keep things in perspective.

If your focus is investing in rental yield such as those whospecialise in purchasing HMOs, a slight temporary declinein property values will have little impact on your invest-ment. However if you’re aiming to develop and are bankingon values to carry on increasing you might f ind yourself ina hole.

This is the kind of market where deals will surface, when the massesare scared to purchase is precisely the time to strike. The investors whorecently have made the most money are those who piled into the marketin 2009, when most were sitting on the fence.

No doubt a parallel cannot be drawn from 2009 to now. In 2009 themarket was in pick up mode somewhere at the bottom of the curve, andcurrently we are in a phase where the decline is just starting at the topof the curve, therefore any purchase must be done with much discrimi-nation and with the anticipation of a further dampening of price.However from my experience what happens in this type of market, inthe key areas of London, is most owners simply don't sell, they don’tneed to. Many have purchased in cash or have very little mortgagestherefore things like the credit crunch don’t really affect them as thereis no credit to crunch. This is the same for areas which are heavily pop-ulated by Jews and Indians, who have the reputation of being morefinancially savvy.

In behavioral finance it known that psychologically investors weigha downturn in price much more heavily than the equivalent upturn inprice. This translated into the property market means everyone will beprepared to jump on the bandwagon when prices are increasing yetwhen they are faced with making a decision in a falling market most willend up just sitting on the fence. No matter which way the market isgoing three things will not go away: death, divorce and distress.

Very simply following the masses cannot make you money, if it didthey would all be rich!

West Ealing, London, W7Purchase Price: £350k

l A large two bedroom mid terrace housel Freeholdl Currently generating £1,300 per month rental incomel Similar properties are being sold for around £440k, so this property is coming at around 20% discount

l Very good buy and hold opportunity

Call us now to secure this deal!

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l Be strict about what you’re looking for, ifyou want good rental yield you may bebetter off purchasing a property above agrocer’s shop close to a station rather thana property for the same price 15 minutesaway.

l Remember capital values may beaffected but regular income in terms of rentcan be expected in good as well as badtimes.Follow us online:

The Ministry of OverseasIndian Affairs and theConfederation of IndianIndustries through theirjoint platform of OverseasIndian Facilitation Centre(OITC) organised a twoday conference to showcase the investment poten-tial of north Indian statesof Haryana, Punjab,Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Delhi.The event was attended byofficers from all the statesalong with leadinginvestors and profession-als around the world.Amit Kant, Secretary atthe Ministry of Commerceand Industry and PremNarain, the Secretary atthe Ministry of OverseasIndian Affairs spoke at theconference.

Overseas presenceincluded senior represen-tatives from South Africa,Korea, Hong Kong,

Canada, the USA,Bangladesh and the UK.Uday Dholakia, Chairmanof the Indo- British TradeCouncil a long standingpartner of the OIFC spokeon further enhancingbilateral trade and invest-ment based on legacybased support. The newgovernment under theleadership of PrimeMinister Modi has fuelleda degree of optimism inUK for further enhancebilateral trade and invest-ment with India, Dholakiasaid. He said that whenModi was the chief minis-

ter of Gujarat, he showedthe investment potentialof the state by his VibrantGujarat shows. Dholakiasaid “the commitment ofthe UK government toenhance British exportsand investment withIndia to the tune of £1billion announced by theChancellor George

Osborne during his recentvisit to Delhi, underpinsthis special relationship.The challenge for theModi administration is tocreate a favourable FDIenvironment and furtherenhance sound corporategovernance, Dholakiasaid. The UK’s challengeremains how to practicallysupport British companieswith legacy based tradesupport and most impor-tantly to galvanise theconsiderable reach of theBritish Asian communi-ties”.

Conference on investmentpotential in N Indian states

India-made KarbonnA50S is all set tostorm the mobile mar-ket and hops to chal-lenge the market lead-ers - Apple iPhoneand Samsung Galaxy– at a fraction of thecost. Karbonn A50Swith a touch screendisplay, internet con-nection, front andrear camera lens anddual phone numberfunction will cost just£26.

While the low costsmart phone is officiallyavailable to domestic cus-tomers in India, Britonscan buy the handsetonline. The mobile can beused on most UK net-works with a pay-as-you-go Sim card.

And as it runs onAndroid, the Google-owned operating system,it comes with all the usual

Google services includingGmail and Google Maps.While Apple's latestiPhone, the 5S, costs£549 in the UK and theSamsung Galaxy S5 coststhe same, Karbonn A50Swill cost just £26.

The Karbonn A50S isone of a new breed ofcheap smart phones thatwill start flooding the UKand European market

over the comingmonths, expertswarn.

“Ten years agothe technology wasexpensive, but that’snot the case any-more,” Ben Wood,head of research atCCS Insight, amobile phoneresearch company,said. Android hasbeen the great lev-eller in the marketbecause anyone caninstall it, while the

hardware from placessuch as China is incredi-bly cheap and reliable.'

Carolina Milanesi ofconsumer research firmKantar Worldpanel addedwestern nations includingthe UK are only just wak-ing up to the potential ofsmartphone technologywith has been cheap forseveral years.”

India-made Karbonn handsetsto challenge market leaders

The Australian govern-ment has approved Indianfirm Adani group’s multi-billion dollar coal mineand a railway line project.The $15.5 billionCarmichael project inQueensland is subject tostrict conditions to pro-tect groundwater. TheCarmichael mine hassparked protests fromgreen groups and marinetour operators worriedabout carbon pollutionand export of the coalfrom a port near theGreat Barrier Reef.

Greenpeace said theconditions imposed onthe project would do littleto protect the environ-

ment from the biggerimpact of shippingthrough the WorldHeritage-listed reef .Despite the challenges,Adani and compatriotGVK, which is workingon a rival Galilee Basincoal project withAustralia's Gina Rinehartare planning to buildlarge new mines, rail linesand a port terminal.

Adani, which recentlylined up South Korea'sPOSCO Engineering &Construction Co to buildthe rail line for the proj-ect, aims to start produc-ing in 2017, which wouldbe three years behind itsoriginal target.

Australia approves Adani’scoal mine project

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201420

Bank of England hasaccused Lloyds BankingGroup of unlawful behav-iour after it emerged itstraders had manipulatedinterest rates in order tocut fees for its emergencylifeline at the height ofthe financial crisis.

The latest chapter ofdisgrace in the Libor rig-ging scandal left Lloydswith a bill of £226m,including £218m of finesfrom regulators. It alsoexposed a new form ofmanipulation, which hasresulted in the 24% tax-payer-owed bank beingforced to repay £8m tothe Bank of England.

The revelationsunleashed an angryattack by Mark Carney,the Bank of England'sgovernor, who said:"Such manipulation ishighly reprehensible,clearly unlawful and mayamount to criminal con-duct on the part of theindividuals involved."

The case is a setbackto the two-year-longattempt by the industryto clean up its reputationin the wake of Barclays'fine for Libor rigging.

The fines imposed onLloyds by the City'sFinancial ConductAuthority (FCA) coveredtwo main issues: riggingLibor, for which sevenother institutions havealready been punished;and for the first time,manipulating anotherrate, known as the reporate. This repo rate wasused to calculate thescale of the fees paid tothe Bank of England forits special liquidity

scheme (SLS), whichwas created in April 2008to cheapen the prices atwhich money could beobtained by banks as thecredit crisis unfolded.

Tracey McDermott,the FCA's director ofenforcement and finan-cial crime, said collusionbetween traders at Lloydsto influence the rate paidto the Bank of England"at the expense, ultimate-ly, of the UK taxpayerwas unacceptable".

As has been the casewith other fines for rig-ging Libor regulators onboth sides of the Atlanticpublished emails andelectronic chats exposingevidence of manipula-tion. In one exchange, aLloyds trader remarkswhen asked about reduc-ing a Libor rate: "Everylittle helps ... It's likeTescos."

But Lloyds will alsopay £7.8m in compensa-tion to the Bank ofEngland because of thelower fees the bank paidfor the SLS, which wasclosed in January 2012.The enlarged Lloydsgroup was one of thelargest beneficiaries, pay-ing a total of £1.3bn feesby the end of the crisis.

Carney referred thematter to the Bank's regu-lation arm, the PrudentialRegulation Authority,while the Serious FraudOffice said its investiga-tions into Libor werecontinuing. Lloyds chair-man Lord Blackwell said:"This was truly shockingconduct, undertakenwhen the bank was on alifeline of public support."

Lloyds accused ofunlawful behaviour over

bailout funding

IMF cuts global growth outlook;India avoids ratings downgrade

The InternationalMonetary Fund choppedits 2014 forecast for globaleconomic growth to takeinto account weaknessearly in the year in theUnited States and China,the world's two biggesteconomies.

The IMF warned thatonly some of the factorsleading to the reductionwere temporary, and richernations in particular facedthe risk of economic stag-nation unless they tooksteps to foster sustainablegrowth.

In an update to itsWorld Economic Outlookreport, the IMF said theglobal economy shouldexpand 3.4% this year, 0.3percentage points belowwhat it predicted in April.Growth should still speedup to 4% next year, it said,

unchanged from what itpredicted earlier this year.

But the Fund said arobust global recoveryfrom the deep financialtroubles of 2007-09 wasstill not assured, andgeopolitical risks from thecrises in the Middle Eastand Ukraine could dentgrowth further.

"Robust demandmomentum has not yetemerged despite continuedvery low interest rates andeasing of brakes to therecovery, including fromfiscal consolidation ortight financial conditions,"the IMF said, adding thatall major advancedeconomies would do wellto keep policy rates low fornow. Central banks in theUnited States, Japan, theeuro zone and Britainhave all sharply lowered

rates to boost economicgrowth and pledged tokeep them there for longerto let the recovery takehold. The low rates havespurred markets higher,and valuations could be abit "optimistic," the IMF'schief economist OlivierBlanchard said.

While unemploymentfell more quickly thaneconomists had expectedin the United States andBritain, wage growth andconsumer confidence stilllinger below pre-crisis lev-els in many richer coun-tries. At the same time,emerging markets are stilldealing with tighter finan-cial conditions andreduced future growthprospects.

Speaking at a newsconference in Mexico City,Blanchard urged countries

to do more to boostgrowth via structuralreforms and investing ininfrastructure.

The IMF said brightspots in the global econo-my included growth pick-ups in Japan, Germany,Spain and the UnitedKingdom. But they wereovershadowed by weakgrowth in the UnitedStates in the first half ofthe year, as well as a slow-down in domestic demandin China, where the gov-ernment sought to tampdown lending and thehousing market cooled.

In fact, out of theBRICS countries - Brazil,Russia, India, China andSouth Africa - only Indiaavoided an IMF ratingsdowngrade, as businesssentiment recovers afterthe country's election.

BUSINESS

India blocked an agree-ment on new global cus-toms rules, angering fel-low members of the WorldTrade Organization whosay Delhi's veto could becostly, economically andpolitically.

At a meeting inGeneva, diplomats fromthe 160 WTO membercountries were supposedto rubber stamp a deal on"trade facilitation" thatwas agreed at talks in Balilast December. Some esti-mates say it could add $1trillion to the world econ-omy and create 21 millionjobs. But India said itwould veto the agreementuntil it gets what it wantsin a separate area linkedto its system of subsidis-ing and stockpiling crops.Several countries issuedstatements saying that afailure to agree the dealwould be a massive blowto the WTO, which is try-ing to emerge from adecade of failed negotia-tions on further liberalis-ing global trade.

WTO director generalRoberto Azevedo saidtalks were ongoing to tryto resolve the problembefore a deadline of July31. "We are informallytalking," he said. Whenasked what would happenif there were no deal byJuly 31, he said: "That'spart of the conversation."

A group of 25 coun-tries including Australia,Canada, Colombia,Mexico, Norway,Switzerland and Thailandsaid they were "dismayed"at the failure to agree atThursday's meeting.

They warned that fail-ing to seal the trade facili-tation deal would unravelthe whole package oftrade agreements done inBali, effectively destroyingthe chance of further glob-al trade reform, somethingthat India has longdemanded.

India blocksWTO deal oncustoms rules

CURRENCY VOICEwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 21

Foreign Exchange

The International MonetaryFund has cut its forecast forglobal economic growth thisyear but upgraded the UK again.The IMF now expects the globaleconomy will growth by 3.4%this year, down from 3.7% backin April. They now expect UKgrowth of 3.2% this year, upfrom 2.8% that had been previ-ously forecast. The IMF says four negative

surprises have hit the worldeconomy in recent months withthe US, Russia, China and otheremerging markets all disap-pointing it blamed a weak firstquarter in which the US econo-my contracted, and a less opti-mistic outlook for severalemerging market economies. The IMF also warned that

increased geopolitical riskscould hurt the global economy,by driving oil prices sharplyhigherOn Wednesday The Bank of

England voted 9-0 to leave inter-est rates unchanged at therecord low of 0.5%.The mainconcern from The Bank ofEngland however is that peo-ple's earnings are not increasingespecially as inflation rose to1.9% last month. This was a

concern as we have seen unem-ployment fall but wages are yetrise in line with thepositive growth in the UK jobmarket. MArk Carney did state that

as the economy normalises,interest rates need to rise inorder to achieve the inflationtarget but the MPC has no pre-set course and the timing of anyinterest rates rises will be deter-mined by the economic datathat is released.He also suggested that The

Bank of England would be risk-ing a housing bubble and areturn to recession if it left inter-est rates at an all-time low for

too long. With rising housingprices, this could result inhouseholds taking on moremortgage debt to afford a newhome, minimising their abilityto spend money on goods andservices that could cause theeconomy to contractRetail sales figures released

show that shops have enjoyedtheir strongest trading quarterin a decade, with volumes up by1.6% in April-June compared tothe previous three months. TheJune figure was below expecta-tions showing growth of just0.1%figures were below expec-tations and the pound was soldoff immediately after the news

was released. In the US he number of

Americans filing new claims forunemployment benefits has hitits lowest level since early 2006,as the US labour market contin-ues to improve. Initial claims forunemployment benefit slid by19,000 last week to 284,000, thelowest level in eight yearsMarkit's US manufacturing

PMI came in at 56.3 in July,down from June's 57.3, easingoff the 49 month high. Factoriesreported that output grewstrongly. However, new exportorder growth remained subduedand employment growth slowedUS pending home sales

again showed a sharp dropfalling a further 7.3% comparedwith a year ago. Suggestingmany Americans remain unwill-ing or unable to enter the mar-ket despite historically low bor-rowing costs and a pickup in jobcreation.Limited availability of credit

and poor wage growth are mak-ing it harder for prospectivebuyers to purchase property.Continued gains in employ-ment and a bigger supply ofavailable homes will be neededto help boost new home sales.

IMF cuts its global economicgrowth forecasts

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

GBP - INR = 102.13

USD - INR = 60.27

EUR - INR = 80.82

GBP - USD = 1.69

GBP - EUR = 1.26

EUR - USD = 1.34

GBP - AED = 6.22

GBP - CAD = 1.84

GBP - NZD = 1.99

GBP - AUD = 1.80

GBP - ZAR = 17.93

GBP - HUF = 392.05

www.rationalfx.comInformation provided by RationalFX.None of the information on this pageconstitutes, nor should be construedas financial advice. The exchangerates used are the commercial foreignexchange rates provided byRationalFX. For a live quote or to findout more about how RationalFX canhelp you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

Weekly Currencies

As of Tuesday 29th July 2014 @ 4.30pm

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201422 LONDON - PAKISTAN

London: Labour Partyleader Ed Miliband saidthat if the people want agood-looking PM thenthey should not vote forhim. In a speech on gener-al election in London, hetried to present himself asa man of principle. He saidthat he may lose the racein the election if the con-test is about image ratherthan ideas.

He said, if you want apolitician who thinks thata good photo is the mostimportant thing, thendon't vote for me. Thespeech was an explicitadmission that his nega-tive personal ratings maybe a barrier to Labour'selection next year. Histeam believes the elec-torate could be persuadedto think that the morethoughtful, consensual tal-ents he may possess aremore important to modernpolitical leadership.Miliband said peoplewould like someone whostand up and say that

there was more to politicsthan the photo op.

His critics think he istrying to make a virtue ofhis failure to connect withvoters, but his allies arguegenerations of glib retailpolitics had bred cynicism,and Miliband can at leastwin respect for offering adifferent kind of leader-ship. He tried to recasthim, potentially buildingsome defences ahead ofthe personal assault likelyto be mounted by theConservatives in the cam-paign.

Miliband's personalratings have trailed behind

those of his party and inJune fell to the lowest everrecorded. Cameron's rat-ings were also down. Thelatest YouGov pollingshows that by more thanfour-to-one, voters regardMiliband as weak ratherthan strong and by three-to-one they say he is notup to the job of prime min-ister. On both measures,Cameron scores more pos-itive than negativeresponses.

"It is no surprise thatpeople think that politi-cians only care about thephoto op, how we look, orhow we are presented, andnot about substance.Because so often the termsof trade of politics – theway it is discussed andrated – has become aboutthe manufactured, the pol-ished, the presentational.This is not new but it hasgot worse.

Politicians have fuelledit. The media feed it, butthis political culture is adisaster for the country.

Because let's face up tosomething: this hasbecome a game that fewerand fewer people arewatching, or believing.

"The public's antennaefor the artificiality, thetriviality, the superficialityof politics is more highlytuned than ever. Andunless we stand up andsay that we want to offerthe public something dif-ferent, more and more willsimply turn off."

He said Cameron"made his name as leaderof the opposition for somefantastic photos, likehanging out with huskiesin the Arctic Circle. I con-gratulate him for it".

He added: "Even mybiggest supporters wouldsay I haven't matched himon that. I didn't set out todo it when I becameleader, and I haven't doneso. And it's not just that Ihaven't tried to do it, it'snot where my talents lieeither – as you may havenoticed."

Miliband tries to present himselfas a man of principle

Sydney: A group of 157 SriLankan asylum seekers hasarrived at a detention campin Australia, governmentofficials said on Monday,after having been held atsea by authorities foralmost a month, sparking alegal challenge.

The interception anddetention of the group hasspotlighted Australia's con-troversial and secretivepolicies to turn back boatscarrying potential refugees.These policies have drawnworld scrutiny and criti-cism from rights groupsand the United Nations,besides legal challenges.

The group was taken tothe remote CurtinDetention Centre in out-back Western Australia onSunday and Monday.

Indian consular offi-cials were due to begininterviewing some of the

group, whose boat wasintercepted by theAustralian navy after set-ting sail from India. Indiahas agreed to take back anyof its nationals among thegroup but a lawyer asked torepresent the Tamils saidthey should first be inter-viewed by Australianauthorities to establish anyclaims to asylum. "Nowthese people are inAustralia, the ordinary pro-tections of Australian lawmust be afforded to these

people," human rightslawyer David Manne said."On the information athand so far, it's completelyunclear what role Indiacould properly play in thisprocess. It's a fundamentalprincipal of refugee lawthat no person should haveto deal with the authoritiesof another country fromwhich they may have fled."

The government madethe decision to bring thegroup, which includes 50children, to Australia after

human rights lawyersbegan legal action in theHigh Court to stop thembeing sent to Sri Lanka anddisputing the government'sright to assess asylumclaims while the detaineeswere at sea. The HighCourt decided on Monday,after the group's arrival inAustralia, to drop thatcase, cancelling a hearingscheduled for next week,citing the detainees'changed circumstances.

Lawyers for the groupsaid they were discussingnew potential legal actionwith the detainees, basedon their current situation.The group of Sri Lankanmen, women and childrenare the first asylum seekerstravelling by boat to reachmainland Australia inseven months, an apparentsetback for the govern-ment's policies.

Lankan asylum seekers detained in Australia

Muslims seek support to ban burkaLondon: Following the French example, Muslims in UKhave launched a signature campaign to ban the burka.They are planning to collect 10,000 signatures so thatthe House of Commons will have to consider theirpetition and ban Muslim women from covering theirfaces in public. The campaign to forbid what petitionerscall a “disturbing social trend” to wear the burka (faceveil) reflects a growing split in British Islam.

Paracetamol may not give relief for backpainSydney: According to a study by George Institute forGlobal Health in Sydney, paracetamol, the mostcommon pain reliever for back pain, does not work anybetter than a placebo. The institute conducted a trialafter it was unable to find evidence that paracetamolwas effective. In the trial one group received a placebo,another was told to take paracetamol as needed and athird received regular extended-release paracetamolthree times a day. "Surprisingly we found that it didn'treally matter whether you gave people a placebo,paracetamol or time-contingent regular paracetamol,there was no difference in any of the outcomes," saidProfessor Chris Maher who led the study.

Father and son killed while trying to createworld recordIndiana (US): A Pakistani-American teenager who wasaiming to become the youngest pilot to circumnavigatethe globe has died along with his co-pilot father after theirplane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Haris Suleman, 17,and his 58-year-old father Babar had taken off fromAmerican Samoa en route to the Hawaiian island ofHonolulu on the penultimate leg of their round-the-worldtrip when their Hawker Beechcraft turbo-prop aircraftcrashed.

Yoga and meditation best way to relaxLondon: Experts said that the best way to relax in theevening after a day of hard work is to meditate or takea yoga class than to watch TV. They found thatwatching TV to wind down can actually leave peoplefeeling more anxious and unhappy. The study foundthat people who were highly stressed after work did notfeel relaxed or recovered when they watch TV or playcomputer games. The researchers found that watchingTV or playing games was procrastination, and that theywere dodging more important tasks. They found thatyoga, meditation or watching a highbrow documentarywas the best way to relax.

Quick radiotherapy treatment for breastcancer patientsLondon: The NHS drug rationing body has approved aconvenient 20-minute one-off dose radiotherapy forbreast cancer patients. Intrabeam radiotherapy allows aone-off low-dose to be delivered directly into the woundarea during surgery avoiding the need for repeatedvisits to hospital for radiotherapy in the following weeks.It is thought that the new treatment is as successful astraditional radiotherapy but the National Institute forHealth and Care Excellence said women should bewarned that their cancer may be more likely to returnfollowing Intrabeam.

Nurseries fleecing parentsLondon: A new study has found that nursery schoolsare fleecing the parents for extras like food, late pick-ups and registration which some parents find it difficultto afford. Parents complain they are being charged extrafees for lunch, nappies, day trips and even milk in apractice that has been compared to the policies ofbudget airlines. The growing problems of hidden feesemerged in research compiled by Citizens Advice, whosay the cost and availability of childcare is still a barrierfor parents who want to work. Parents are also beingforced to shell out money before their children evenstart, with 90 per cent of nurseries asking for paymentin advance and 40 per cent requiring a deposit of up to£150.

Woman jailed for claiming benefits forholidayingLondon: A British woman has been sent to jail forclaiming medical benefits worth £134,000 only to holidayin Goa and get cosmetic surgeries done in India. Fifty-two-year-old Karen Trant of Dartmouth was sentenced for27 months by the Plymouth Crown Court after pleadingguilty to dishonestly claiming benefits over a 13-yearperiod. Between August 1999 and April 2013, Karen Trantfalsely claimed housing benefit, council tax benefit,employment support allowance, income support anddisability allowance. Despite claiming that she neededcontinual supervision, she holidayed in Goa, India, paidfor cosmetic surgery and enjoyed horse-riding andsocialising in crowds.

In Brief

London: Employmentminister Esther McVeysaid that middle class chil-dren should think of set-ting up their own businessand it was as good asgoing to a university andworking for a big compa-ny. The minister said thatself-employment shouldbe given the same socialstatus and respect as theuniversity route intoemployment. She said thatthe Conservative Partyshould encourage theyoungsters to create theirown businesses andbecome “little engines” ofwealth creation in theircommunities.

The minister whojoined the Cabinet in therecent reshuffle, stronglydefended self-employ-ment, saying that for manypeople setting up their

own firm is “better” thanworking for an employer.Asked if middle-class par-ents should encouragetheir children to view self-employment as a viablealternative to a degree, theminister said the differentroutes to work should beseen as equals.

She added that if youhave the idea, creativityand want to set up a busi-ness, then that is what youshould do and theConservative Party shouldbe able to support thosepeople. “That is what weshould be doing, liberatingeveryone’s potential,whether it’s a self-madeindividual, whether it’ssomeone taking the uni-versity route, whether it’sthe apprenticeship route.They are all equal andgood and worthwhile.”

Minister urges pupils to setup their own business

Islamabad: Pakistan's for-mer chief justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhryserved a Rs 20 billiondefamation notice to crick-eter-turned-pol i t ic ianImran Khan. Khan, chiefof the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party (PTI), had saidthat Chaudhry as chief jus-tice of Pakistan failed tostop rigging in the generalelection of 2013 and thusindirectly helped his rivalsto win the polls.

The notice was issuedagainst Khan by thelawyers of Chaudhry formaligning the top judiciaryof the country and bringingthe former judge to disre-pute. "I claim from you indamages a token sum of Rs15 billion only and anotherRs 5 billion only as dam-ages for mental agonies,torture, harassment,

humiliation, etc, caused tome as well as my family,"said the former top judgein the notice. Chaudhryhowever said that thenotice will be withdrawn ifKhan tendered an uncon-ditional apology withintwo weeks. The legal pro-ceedings against the PTIsupremo will commence ifhe failed to prove the alle-gations. Khan's party so farhas not commented on thedevelopment. The battlebetween Khan and the for-mer chief justice has beengoing on for some time dueto his harsh criticism of thejudiciary. Chaudhry's son,Arsalan Iftikhar, is alsoactive against Khan andhas announced to chal-lenge his election allegingthat Khan did not fulfil thecriterion to be a Member ofParliament.

Former Pak CJ slaps libelsuit on Imran Khan

WORLDwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 23

Geneva: Jihadists in Iraqhave ordered that allwomen between the agesof 11 and 46 must undergofemale genital mutilation,which could affect up tofour million women andgirls in the war-ravagedcountry, a UN official said.The UN official in Iraq

Jacqueline Badcock said,"It is a fatwa (or religiousedict) from ISIS, we learntabout it this morning. Wehave no precise numbers."The Islamic State, for-

merly known as theIslamic State of Iraq andthe Levant (ISIS), tookover large swathes of thecountry last month andhas begun imposing itsextreme Salafist interpre-tation of Islam.Badcock said that if

you took UN populationfigures as a guide, around"four million girls andwomen could be affected".Female genital mutila-

tion is unusual in Iraq andis only practised in "cer-tain isolated pockets ofthe country", she added.She said only 20 familiesfrom the ancient Christianminority now remain inMosul, the northern Iraqcity which ISIS has takenas the capital of its Islamicstate. Most have reported-ly fled north into Kurdish-controlled territory.Badcock said some

Christians have convertedto Islam, while othershave opted to stay and paythe jiyza, the tax on non-Muslim's ISIS hasimposed.

Alert in Britain's highways over Asiantiger mosquitoLondon: British highways are on high alert over Asiantiger mosquito which can bite over four dozen times injust over 15 minutes and transmit the life-threateningdengue infection, yellow fever and chikungunya. Themosquito is notorious for hiding in cars or caravanstravelling across countries. Public Health Englandwhich has warned that some species will takeadvantage of the warm weather and water-filledhabitats, like water butts or paddling pools to breed,particularly those without covers that collect leaveshas now set up innovative traps at motorway servicestations because motorists returning from parts ofEurope could be carrying home a deadly species. TheAsian tiger mosquito has been spreading north fromsouthern Europe and experts are worried that it willsoon enter UK.

Wife-beaters escaping with minorpunishmentLondon: The new figures have revealed thatperpetrators of domestic abuse are getting away withminor punishments rather than facing criminalsanctions. The number of domestic abuse cases dealtwith by “community resolution” has jumped from1,337 in 2009 to 3,556 in 2012 and 3,305 last year. Acommunity resolution is designed to allow a swiftoutcome following an incident, which often results inperpetrators being asked to apologise to the victimand does not leave the guilty party with a criminalrecord. They are designed to allow officers toconcentrate on more significant offences. But type ofpunishment will encourage the offenders to repeat thesame offence.

Men happier with a breadwinner wifeLondon: A study shows that the new generationhusbands did not find wives with an equal or bettereducation a threat. The husbands also don’t mind ifthe wife is the breadwinner. The research confirmsthat in previous generations marriages where thehusband was better qualified – and therefore likely tobe the breadwinner.. However, the trend has nowgone into reverse. The pattern of relationships wherethe wife has the “educational advantage” being morelikely to break down has disappeared, and coupleswho are evenly matched are more likely to staytogether than relationships in which the husband iseducated to a higher level.

Bumping fists better than handshakeWashington: Scientists have found that bumpingfists - the fashionable alternative to the handshakeused by everyone from President Barack Obama tothe Dalai Lama - is better than the traditional greetingbecause it reduces the spread of germs. A study atAberystwyth University found that using a "fist bump"instead of a handshake could reduce the spread ofbacteria and viruses by up to 90 per cent. Evenswapping a firm handshake for a gentler one couldhalve the spread of infections such as MRSA. This isthe same reason that ‘Namaste’ has been practical inIndia for so long and so widely.

France offers asylum to Iraq ChristiansParis: The French government has offered asylum toIraqi Christians who were forced to flee by Islamistmilitants in the northern city of Mosul. French foreignminister Laurent Fabius and interior minister BernardCazeneuve said, "We are ready, if they so desire, tohelp facilitate asylum on our territory." A seniorChristian cleric in Iraq, Patriarch Louis Sako, estimatedthat before the advance of Muslim militants, Mosulhad a Christian population of 35,000 - compared with60,000 prior to 2003. According to the UN, just 20families from the ancient Christian minority nowremain in the city, which Isis has taken as the capitalof its Islamic state. Islamic State was previouslyknown as Isis (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant).

Hamid Karzai’s cousin killed in suicideattackKandahar (Afghanistan): The outgoing AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai’s cousin was killed in suicideattack near the volatile southern city of Kandahar onTuesday, officials said. Hashmat Karzai was acampaign manager in Kandahar for Ashraf Ghani, oneof the two presidential candidates involved in a bitterdispute over fraud that threatens to pitch the countryinto worsening instability. Hashmat Karzai, who owneda pet lion, was killed by a man with explosives hiddeninside his turban when visitors arrived to celebrateEid. "A suicide bomber disguised as a guest came toHashmat Karzai's house to greet him," Dawa KhanMinapal, the Kandahar provincial governor'sspokesman, said.

In Brief

ISIS jihadists order genitalmutilation of women in Iraq

Doctors turning away millions of patientsLondon: At least 40 mil-lion patients who want tosee the GP could not beable to do so as the doc-tors could not handlemore cases. Only onepatient out of nine couldget an appointment withthe GP. Doctors’ leaderssaid that the figures werea “shocking indictment”of a failing system andwarned that the earlysigns of cancer and otherdeadly diseases could bemissed when patientswere shut out of surger-ies.Patients have to queue

out of the door at emer-gency sessions, go toA&E or simply give upand hope that they getbetter, experts said.Receptionists and callersare trying to judge who isin need of emergencytreatment, with the resttold to phone back atanother time.Patients in London

and Birmingham face themost frustration, with onein seven being turnedaway. The Royal Collegeof GPs said that the sys-tem had been “brought toits knees” by the weight ofpatient demand andwarned that it was onlygoing to get harder to seea doctor.Maureen Baker, chair-

woman of the RCGP, said:“No GP wants to turnaway a single patient - but

surgeries are being facedwith no choice becausethey don’t have theresources to cope with theincreasing number ofolder people who needcomplex care, whilst alsomeeting the needs of fam-ilies and people of work-ing age. The professionhas been brought to itsknees both by a chronicslump in investment andthe fact that there are nowsimply not enough family

doctors to go around.”GP numbers are close

to record levels but theyare dealing with a risingpopulation of older andsicker patients. Ministershave conceded that thereare not enough GPs tocoordinate care for thefrail, or to bring more careout of hospitals, whereone in four patients inA&E say that they couldnot get an appointmentwith a family doctor.The RCGP analysed

data from the NHS GPpatient survey of a millionpeople, which found that11 per cent of patientssaid that they could notget an appointment thelast time they wanted tosee a GP or nurse. Theroyal college estimatesthat this translates to 46million “non-consulta-tions” this year, up from34 million in 2012, when9 per cent could not getan appointment.

Terminally ill should be allowed to diewith dignity: Lord Howard

London: Former leader ofthe Conservative PartyLord Howard said that theterminally ill patientsshould be able to die with"dignity" in hospices ortheir own homes insteadof ending their lives inhospitals. He said thatelderly people should seethe hospitals as the lastoption.The peer, who is chair-

man of the charity Helpthe Hospices, will launcha new drive to reduce thenumber of terminally illpeople who die in hospi-tals by a fifth, saving theNHS £80 million.He spoke about how

his own father, who diedat home at the age of 49from breast cancer, was"lavished gentle, loving

care" from a group of "self-less" nuns in the sixmonths before he passedaway. He said that "whenthe moment comes" hehopes to die at his homein Kent surrounded by hisfamily rather than "on award with a lot of other

people around and nursespreoccupied with otherthings".He said that most peo-

ple don't want to die inhospital. Their focus,understandably, is on cur-ing people. They are notalways good at recognis-ing when somebody can'tbe cured and needs pallia-tive care."Even when it's recog-

nised they are not verygood at providing pallia-tive care because they arenot properly equipped todeal with people whoaren't going to get better."Help for Hospices

wants to reduce the num-ber of people dying in hos-pital each year by a fifth,equivalent to 50,000 peo-ple a year.

Washington: A newly-elected US congressmanhas caused embarrass-ment in Washington aftermistaking two seniorIndian-American officialsfor foreigners.Representative CurtClawson - a RepublicanCongressman from Florida- was addressing NishaBiswal, AssistantSecretary of State forSouth Asia at the US StateDepartment, and ArunKumar, who works for theUS Department ofCommerce, during a con-gressional hearing onFriday. During a minute-long monologue, Clawsonsaid, "I am familiar withyour country. I love yourcountry. I'm hopeful withthe new change in regimethat the future and theland of promise and theland of opportunity ofIndia can finally becomeso". As Biswal and MrKumar - two of the mostsenior and prominent offi-cials of South Asianextraction in Washington -stared in disbelief, MrClawson requested thatIndia become open tomore investment from theUnited States. “Just asyour capital is welcomehere to produce good-pay-ing jobs in the US, I’d likeour capital to be welcomedthere,” he said. "Can Ihave that?" There was amoment of silence beforeBiswal answered."I think your question

is to the Indian govern-ment," she said. "We cer-tainly share your senti-ments and will advocatethat on behalf of the USgovernment." Realizing hismistake, Clawson said hewas merely "asking fortheir opinion". Accordingto USA Today, the politi-cian has since apologized.

New Delhi: While theIndian government isstruggling to bring backover 40 Indian workerscaptured by ISIS in Iraq,an Indian family has beenabducted in violence-rid-den Libya.There was little clarity

about who kidnappedthem, but initial reportssaid the Indian familywas abducted while driv-ing on the highway toTripoli. It was not clearwho abducted them,making the government’sjob more difficult.There have been

fierce clashes betweenmilitias in Tripoli andBenghazi this week,sparking fears that Libyais fast slipping into law-lessness. Libya has been ahotbed of violencebetween different militiasfor the past couple ofyears, but the situationhas become worse sincethe June 25 presidentialelections.

Indian familyabducted in

Libya

US politicianmistakes

Washingtonofficials forIndians

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201424 INDIA

Karnataka bans book on ValmikiBangalore: The Karnataka government hasordered the seizure and ban of “Valmiki Yaaru,”a book on Maharshi Valmiki written by K SNarayanacharya. IT-BT minister and Houseleader S R Patil said the government wasconvinced that the book might hurt sentimentsof the Naik (Valmiki) community. Earlier,Congress member V S Ugrappa staged a protestin the council, seeking appropriate actionagainst the author for allegedly dishonouringValmiki. He trooped into the well of the House,taking exception to Narayanacharya's allegedclaim that Valmiki was a Brahmin.

DMK MLAs suspendedChennai: Tamil Nadu speaker P Dhanapalsuspended DMK MLAs for the rest of thesession, saying their "conduct was not inconsonance with the dignity of the House".The Speaker's action came after membersobjected to certain remarks made by revenueminister R B Udhayakumar, leading tocommotion in the assembly for a while. Theminister was replying to a call attention motionmoved by opposition members on the situationarising out of poor monsoon in the last threeyears in the state and apprehension of farmers.The DMK members were not happy with theminister’s reply and raised slogans whichprompted the Speaker to suspend then for therest of the session.

Amma employment schemeChennai: After a string of 'Amma' brandedproducts and services, Tamil Nadu chief ministerJ Jayalalithaa announced 'Amma skillemployment and training scheme' to meet thedemand for human resources in micro, smalland medium enterprises in the state.Jayalalithaa said under the scheme, unemployedyouth with an engineering degree or diplomawould be given on-the-job training for sixmonths with a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000.

South Brief

International flights fromChandigarh allowed temporarilyChandigarh: Union defence minister has givenclearance for operation of international flightsfrom Chandigarh airport beyond 8 pm as an"interim measure." In a letter to Punjab chiefminister Parkash Singh Badal, defence ministerArun Jaitley said that Spice Jet and IndigoAirlines have already been accorded permissionfor international operations from Chandigarh.Jaitley said that presently civil aircraft operationsat Chandigarh were cleared from sunrise to 8pm, but international flights would be facilitatedbeyond the existing watch hours as and wheninternational flights were finalized, as an interimmeasure.

Quota for Kashmiri migrants Chandigarh: Punjab government has reservedone seat for Kashmiri migrants in admissions forvarious courses in the state. The stategovernment has waived off condition of domicilerequirement for Kashmiri migrants. Technicaleducation minister Madan Mohan Mittal said thatthe state government, after considering theguidelines issued by All India Council forTechnical Education and ministry of humanresources development, has reserved one seatin each engineering/MBA/MCA/M-pharma/B-pharma/hotel management and cateringtechnology, diploma in engineering in ThaparUniversity, Punjabi University, engineeringcolleges and polytechnic Colleges of the state foradmission of Kashmiri Migrants for the academicsession 2014-2015.

Shrikhand yatra suspendedManali: The Kullu administration has suspendedShrikhand Mahadev yatra for the year followingadverse weather conditions and fast meltingglaciers. The 32 km trekking route to Srikhandhas been blocked following several landslidesand avalanches. Five persons have died of coldand low oxygen level in a week. Theadministration had to suspend the yatra on July19 and over 400 pilgrims were rescued fromvarious points along the route. ShrikhandMahadev lingam is situated at an altitude of18,500 feet from sea level. The entire regionabove Bhim Dwar is experiencing moderaterainfall, coupled with snowfall.

North Brief

Tennis player Sania Mirzahas been appointed as brandambassador of Telangana byChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and wasgiven a cheque of Rs 10 mil-lion, which the ChiefMinister said was for train-ing and preparation purpos-es for upcoming tourna-ments.

As the brand ambassadorof Telangana, Mirza isexpected to promote the newstate’s interests in India andabroad. “Telangana is proudof Sania Mirza, a trueHyderabadi. In internationaltennis, she is ranked No. 5and we wish she becomesNo. 1 very soon,’’ Rao saidwhile felicitating her at aninteraction session with vari-

ous industry representa-tives.Rao interacted withrepresentatives of industrybodies like CII, FICCI,Assocham, and small andmedium enterprises to gettheir views for shaping the

industrial policy ofTelangana, which he saidwould be announced byAugust-end. Rao said hisgovernment would make 200million acres uncultivableland available to the industry.

BJP backs her appoint-ment

The BJP leadership hasbacked her appointmentafter one party leader KLaxman opposed theappointment saying that thetennis star was Pakistan’sdaughter-in-law followingher marriage with Pakistancricket star Shoaib Malik.

"Sania Mirza is a prideof India. She has an inter-national standing on herown… So, we have noobjection.... She is brandambassador of India," infor-mation and broadcastingminister Prakash Javadekarsaid making it clear that thecomments made by KLaxman were not the partyposition.

Medak (Telangana):Fourteen children werekilled when a passengertrain rammed into a privateschool bus at an unmannedrailway crossing at atToopran in Medak district ofTelangana. The driver andcleaner of the bus belongingto Kakatiya Techno Schoolalso died. The bus was onits way to school after pick-ing up students from thesurrounding villages whenthe mishap happened. Thebus was being driven by anew driver as the regulardriver was on leave. “Whilemoving past the level cross-ing, the driver failed tonotice the approachingNanded –Secunderabadpassenger train,” saidSecunderabad Railway SPS. Chandrashekhar Reddy.

Eyewitnesses said thatthe school bus was flunginto the air as the traincrashed into it before fallingon the track again only to be

dragged for another 30yards. Death was instant for12 students and the driver.The cleaner and two otherstudents died on the way tohospital. Twenty injuredstudents were shifted toYashoda hospital inHyderabad where the condi-tion of five students is stat-ed to be critical.

Investigators were look-ing into the charge that thebus driver was talking overmobile phone while goingpast the crossing. Othersheld the view that a con-crete structure built by therailways for the guardsblocked the view of theapproaching train resultingin the accident.

Bangalore: The Chairman ofthe Bangalore school inwhich a six-year-old girl wasraped by a skating instructorhas been arrested. VibgyorHigh School chairmanRustom Kerrawala wasarrested for not reporting thecrime and hiding informa-tion. He has been bookedunder Section 201 of IPC,Section 23 of JuvenileJustice Act and POSCO Act,Bangalore PoliceCommissioner MN Reddisaid. Earlier, a 30-year-oldskating instructor wasarrested for sexually assault-ing the minor in the schoolpremises. The skatinginstructor has a record ofmolesting young girls andhad lost his earlier job for hismisdeeds. Preliminary inter-rogation revealed that theaccused was thrown out of aprevious school where heworked following a similarcomplaint, although no casewas registered against him

then.It later come to light that

Mustafa had earlier beensacked for touching girlsinappropriately despite beingwarned on numerous occa-sions by the school where heworked previously.

Mustafa, alias Munna,has been working at VibgyorHigh School in Bangalore'supscale southeast suburbsince 2011, after being firedby Deens Academy for mis-conduct.

Deens Academy on itsFacebook page posted thatMustafa did not commit anyculpable incident whatsoev-er that required Deens toreport him to the police.

The principal of theschool, Shanthi Menon said:“The School has some strin-gent policies, especially forthe male staff, with regard tophysical proximity with chil-dren while they undertaketheir tasks (touching/sup-porting physically).

Patiala: Thenational execu-tive of the AamAadmi Party(AAP) said theparty would con-test electionsfrom both Patialaand TalwandiSabo. The deci-sion to contestthe by-election in Punjabwas taken at a meeting heldin New Delhi by AAPnational convener ArvindKejriwal and senior partyleaders from Punjab.

"Although it was nearlycertain that AAP would con-test by-elections in Punjab, afew developments takingpace at the national andstate level could havedeferred the decision.Finally, the party leadershiphas decided to contest by-elections from Patiala(Urban) and Talwandi Saboassembly segments," AAPparliamentary board leaderand Patiala MP DharamviraGandhi said.

Sources said AAP'sfocus on Delhi, ebbing of thepro-party wave in Punjabafter the Lok Sabha elec-

tions, infighting, change ofleadership and dearth ofpopular faces made theirpoll prospects uncertain.However, Punjab leadersprevailed over the nationalleadership, underscoring theparty's performance in thestate.

"Not contesting electionsin Punjab, from where peo-ple elected all its four MPs,would amount to commit-ting the same mistake whichthe party made in Delhi afterforming government.There's still a political vacu-um in Punjab and AAPshould exploit it. You can'trun away from contestingelections in the state wheremore than 24% of votersopted for you just threemonths ago," said Gandhiafter the meeting.

Amritsar: Sikhs' supremereligious body, the AkalTakht, once again came tothe rescue of the ShiromaniAkali Dal (Badal) by issuinga diktat that restored theShiromani GurdwaraParbandhak Committee's(SGPC) authority to managegurdwaras in Haryana.Earlier Akal Takht played therole of peacemaker in theHaryana Sikh GurdwaraManagement Committee(HSGMC) row.

"I order that thereshouldn't be any wranglingon the issue till it isresolved," Akal Takhtjathedar Giani GurbachanSingh said in a directive onSunday. "The managementof gurdwaras in Haryanashould continue as it used tobe earlier." On Saturday theAkal Takht had directed thewarring factions of the com-munity to cancel all conven-tions planned for and againstthe HSGMC's formation.Following this, the groupshad cancelled the meetings,but Punjab chief ministerParkash Singh Badal saidthe SAD(B) would not allowthe SGPC's division.

However, a 41-member adhoc committee was sworn inon Saturday in Haryana tomanage the affairs of gurd-waras in the state.

Giani Gurbachan Singhsaid that he was satisfiedthat all parties concernedabided by his orders and can-celled their respectivePanthic conventions. Hesaid he issued the new direc-tive to ensure a peacefulsolution to the issue.

But the order didn't godown well with HSGMCsenior vice-president DidarSingh Nalvi. "Now the Billhas been passed and it is anAct under the Constitution,everyone should accept it asa reality," Nalvi said.

Sania named Telangana’s ambassador

14 children killed as trainrams school bus

Management of gurdwarasgiven back to SGPC

School chairman arrestedfollowing rape of 6-year-old

AAP to contest assemblyby-polls in Punjab

Giani Gurbachan Singh

Mayuri Dave

British Cabinet MinisterEdward Davey won manyhearts, especially inAhmedabad. Davey alsomade an importantannouncement that Britishgovernment will open aDeputy High Commissionin Ahmedabad during afunction at IndianInstitute of Management,Ahmedabad (IIMA).Though, the Minister

for energy & climatechange was key-notespeaker on the topic of‘Changing Economics –Tackling Climate Change& Driving Growth’ at theprestigious B-school, hisspeech indeed struck thechord for the elite audi-ence. The son of a solicitor

father and teacher mother,made the audience emo-tional right from the begin-ning of his speech by say-ing that bonds between theUK and India are as muchpersonal, as they are polit-ical. He elaborated on hispersonal experience withIndians. “From my Indian

neighbours when I wasgrowing up in Nottingham– the Malhotras – who

were so kind to my broth-ers and me when we lostour mother, bringing usthe best curries I’ve evertasted. To my cousin,Peter Lawton, who lovesyour country so much henamed his daughter Indiaand helped set up theRanthambore tigerreserve,” said Davey,adding that India hastouched him personal-ly, in so many specialways.

“In fact, the UKis home to 600,000citizens of Gujaratiorigin. Just like inIndia, Gujaratisare drivers ofe c o n o m i cgrowth. Withentrepreneur-ship and

excellence across count-less fields, they matters tothe UK economically too,”said the UK’s Secretary ofState who was all praisefor Gujarati people. He further said that

Gujarat matters to the UKbecause Gujarat matters toIndia as it is a driver ofgrowth and prosperity,learning and culture for allIndia. “Gujarat must beproud that the newGovernment in Delhi ispublicly following the‘Gujarat Model’ ofgrowth,” he said. “Andbecause Gujarat matters, Iam delighted that the UKwill strengthen relation-ship further with an agree-ment to open a DeputyHigh Commission (DHC)in Ahmedabad,” he saidadding that a DHC inGujarat will help to deep-en and broaden the tiesbetween the UK andGujarat.The Deputy High

Commission will enable tobuild on the strong peopleto people links that enrichall communities. “For ourvision for UK-India, UK-Gujarat isn’t about seriesof one-off transactions,important though individ-ual projects might be. The

vision is more powerful –it’s about an enduring rela-tionship, of families,friends and firms growingtogether,” said Davey. “The year 2015 will be

a defining moment. Aglobal climate deal is inIndia’s interest, as well asthe rest of the world.India’s growth and devel-opment matter to us. Wesee India’s emissions ris-ing in the short term. Thenpeaking and fallingtowards a common level.This low carbon path willsupport India’s energysecurity and its growth,”he added. He said that the UK

has set a target to reducedamaging greenhouse gasemissions by 80% by 2050.Indeed, the UK is nowpushing for higher ambi-tion in Europe too, he said,adding that the UK ispushing the EU to agree a40% cut on 1990 emis-sions by 2030, and toincrease this to a 50% cutif there is ambitious globaldeal, next year.“The UK and India

have rapidly growingresearch collaborationwith over £150 million ofjointly-funded, high quali-ty research in key areassuch as solar energy, smartgrids and energy storage.The UK is the biggest for-eign investor in India’senergy sector. British oiland gas majors are bring-ing in crucial technologyto enhance domestic pro-duction, and improve effi-ciency,” said Davey. He also made it clear

that there is no cap on thenumber of students thatcan come to the UK. “Wecontinue to attract bril-liant students from Indiaand other countries tostudy in the UK. We areafter all home to four ofthe top ten Universities inthe world. And those whocan get a graduate job canstay to work after theirstudies at British universi-ties,” he asserted.

INDIAwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 25

Bonds between UK and Indiaare as much personal, as

they are political: ED Davey Mumbai: Bollywoodsuperstar RajeshKhanna's Carter Roadbungalow, popularlyknown as 'Aashirwad', isbeing sold to an industri-alist based in Mumbai.The landmark sea-facingproperty, a major touristattraction for legions ofhis fans, is believed tohave been purchased byShashi Kiran Shetty, exec-utive chairman ofAllcargo Logistics.Market sources said

the 603sq m propertycould fetch the late super-star's family around Rs 90crore. The sole beneficiar-ies are his two daughters,Twinkle and Rinke. Shetty refused com-

ment when TOI contactedhim. His solicitor firm,Maneksha & Sethna, too,declined to name thebuyer. According tosources, the deal isexpected to be concludedonce the mandatory 14-day notice about any own-ership claim by a thirdparty is over, said sources.Shetty has been scout-

ing for a bungalow in thecity with a budget ofaround Rs 100 crore forthe past couple of years.He had booked a sprawl-ing apartment in theunder-construction PalaisRoyale skyscraper at Worlifor about Rs 40 crore. Butthe highrise, touted as thetallest residential tower in

India, has been embroiledin a legal battle since 2012and the BMC has halted

work. "When PalaisRoyale got into legal trou-ble, Shetty started hunt-ing for a bungalow,'' thesources said.Khanna's bungalow

falls under the stringentcoastal regulation zoneand, hence, the propertyis entitled to a limitedfloor space index in case itis redeveloped. But thesources said Shetty plansto live in it.

Film star Rajesh Khanna'sfamous bungalow sold

Indian scientists havedeveloped what could bethe ultimate delicacy - aseedless mango which isfinely textured and juicy,with a rich, sweet and dis-tinctive flavour whenmature. “We have devel-oped a seedless mangovariety from hybrids ofmango varieties Ratna andAlphonso,” V.B. Patel,chairman of the horticul-ture department at theBihar AgricultureUniversity (BAU) atSabour in Bhagalpur dis-trict. Trials of the new vari-ety, named Sindhu, areunder way at different loca-tions in the country but theresult of the one at BAUsuggests it could be suit-able for both integratedhorticulture and kitchengardening. “We are happy

and enthusiastic as well asconfident and hopeful ofimproving the seedlessmango variety,” Patel said.He said that an averagefruit weighs 200 grams andits pulp, which is yellowishin colour, has less fibrethan other mango varieties.He said the trials of the

Sindhu variety, originallydeveloped at the regionalfruit research station of theKonkan Krishi Vidyapeethat Dapoli in Maharashtra'sKonkan region, has thrownup good fruiting on a three-year-old plant this year. Itgenerally grows in bunchand the fruit matures in themiddle of July.BAU vice chancellor

M.L. Choudhary said theuniversity has, on anexperimental basis, decid-ed to recreate plants of this

variety and make themavailable to Bihar's mangogrowers during the nextseason.“The seedless variety

also has good exportpotential. The universitywould provide qualityplants to mango growers in2015 to explot the exportmarket,” he added. Patelsaid our trial has success-fully established that seed-less mango could be grownin local condition.According to the

National HorticultureMission (NHM), Biharranks third in mango culti-vation and covers about 50percent - a little over38,000 hectares - of thetotal fruit area in the state.The produce last year wasin the region of 1.5 milliontonnes.

Now seedless Indian mangoes

India summonedPakistan's deputy highcommissioner and lodgeda strong protest againstthe adjournment of theongoing Mumbai terrorattack case trial inPakistan.While the Pakistan

deputy high commissionerwas summoned to theministry of external affairshere, the Indian deputyhigh commissioner wentto the Pakistan foreignoffice in Islamabad andlodged a similar protest.

According to informedsources, Indian officials,in their meetings withPakistani officials both inNew Delhi and Islamabad,have sought regular brief-ing on the progress of thetrial and the investigationbeing conducted byPakistani authorities.It is understood that

Indian officials, during themeetings, reiterated thehigh importance that Indiaattaches to bring to justiceall those responsible inPakistan for the Mumbai

terror attack in2008 in which 166people were killedand hundred othersinjured.For the seventh

time in a row, aPakistani anti-ter-rorism court tryingthe seven accusedin the Mumbaiattacks caseadjourned the hear-ing recently. Thelast hearing in thecase and the one onJune 25 could not

be held because the judgewas on leave. Case proceedings have

not been held on a regularbasis following theabsence of prosecutionlawyers. Lashkar-e-Taibaoperations commanderZakiur Rehman Lakhvi,Abdul Wajid, MazharIqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq,Shahid Jameel Riaz, JamilAhmed and Anjum havebeen charged with plan-ning, financing and exe-cuting the attacks inIndia's financial capital.

India summons Pakistan official over Mumbai attack trial

The British Cabinet minister Edward Davey is great fan of Indians.When he was growing up in Nottingham – the Malhotras – who were hisneighbours, took care of him and his brothers when their mother passedaway. For his cousin, Peter Lawton, who loves India so much he named

his daughter India and helped set up the Ranthambore tiger reserve.“India touched me personally, in so many special ways,” says Davey

Ed Davey

Khanna wanted to turnthe bungalow as museum

The tinsel town heartthrob, whose real name was JatinChunnilal Khanna, died of cancer in July 2012. Someyears before his death, the actor, adulated as 'Kaka',wanted his house to be converted into a museum. Inan interview to Bombay Times in 2009, Khanna hadtalked about plans to open India's first star museumhere. “By the grace of the Almighty, my daughtersTwinkle and Rinke are married, settled and have hugehouses themselves. They don't need my property...Aashirwad is the home of the first superstar ofBollywood, and I would like it to remain that way. Ofcourse, my daughters will take the final decisionbecause it will be their inheritance in the future,” hehad said.

Surgeons in Mumbai haveremoved 232 teeth fromthe mouth of a teenager inwhat they believe may be aworld-record operation.Ashik Gavai, 17, soughtmedical help for a swellingon the right side of hislower jaw and the casewas referred to Mumbai’sJJ hospital, where theyfound he was sufferingfrom a condition known ascomplex odontoma, saidhead of dentistry SunandaDhivare-Palwankar."We operated the boy

and it took us almostseven hours. We thought itmay be a simple surgerybut once we started the

operation there were mul-tiple pearl-like teeth insidethe jaw bone," she said.After removing the smallerones they found a larger"marble-like" structurethat they struggled to shiftand eventually had toremove in fragments.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201426 INDIA - LONDON

164 killed in two airline crashes in aweekAlgiers/Bamako: In another bad day forinternational aviation already hit by spate ofdisasters, an Air Algerie plane with 116 on boardcrashed over northern Mali in Africa on Thursday -the third crash involving a passenger aircraft in aweek. On Wednesday, 48 passengers died aboard aTransAsia Airways plane that was trying to make anemergency landing in stormy weather in Taiwan. Badweather was the cause of the Air Algeriecrash. OnJuly 17, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down byRussian rebels over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298on board.

Boko Haram kidnaps wife ofCameroon's vice PMYaounde (Nigeria): Nigerian Boko Haram militantskidnapped the wife of Cameroon's vice primeminister and killed at least three people on Sundayin a cross-border attack involving more than 200assailants in the northern town of Kolofata,Cameroon officials said. A local religious leader, orlamido, named Seini Boukar Lamine, who is also thetown's mayor, and five members of his family werealso kidnapped in a separate attack on his home.There was no immediate claim of responsibility. BokoHaram, an Islamist group which abducted 200Nigerian schoolgirls in April, has stepped up cross-border attacks into Cameroon in recent weeks.

Pope meets Sudanese womansentenced to deathRome: Pope Francis met privately with a Sudanesewoman who refused to recant her Christian faith inthe face of a death sentence, blessing the woman asshe cradled her infant daughter born just weeks agoin prison. The Vatican characterized the visit withMeriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 27, her husband andtheir two small children as "very affectionate". The30-minute encounter took place just hours after thefamily landed at Rome's Ciampino airport,accompanied by an Italian diplomat who helpednegotiate her release, and welcomed by Italy'spremier, who hailed it as a "day of celebration."

Pak govt working to give MFN statusto IndiaIslamabad: In the wake of an upcoming meetingbetween the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistanin Islamabad next month, Pakistan said that it wouldrecommence work in order to improve itsrelationship with India. According to reports, whileIndia granted Pakistan "Most Favoured Nation(MFN)" status in 1999, Pakistan had pledged to grantIndia MFN status by the end of 2012, meaningIndian exports would be treated the same as thosefrom other nations, but has so far not done so.Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhrysaid that when the dialogue process resumes,Pakistan hopes to build on the work already done inthis regard.

Pakistan hands over Islamabadsecurity to armyIslamabad: The Pakistan government handed overfederal capital Islamabad's security to the army forthree months. The move is seen in light ofopposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief ImranKhan's call for "decisive" march to Islamabad on theeve of the country's independence day on August 14.Khan has been mounting pressure on thegovernment to agree to an independent inquiry intothe alleged rigging in the national polls last year. Hesaid his dream of "new Pakistan" would be realizedonly by taking to the streets. "On the IndependenceDay, I would expose the whole team that had fixedthe last general election match," Khan said inLahore. Analysts believe the government is primarilytrying to contain Khan's march besides counteringthe terrorist threats in the wake of ongoing anti-Taliban military offensive in North Waziristan bycalling the army.

Pak woman climbs world’s sevenhighest peaksIslamabad: Samina Baig became the first Pakistaniwoman to climb seven highest peaks in sevencontinents under eight months. Baig, 23, hascompleted the challenge of climbing seven of thehighest mountains around the world, including MountEverest which she scaled in May 2013, Dawn onlinereported. Baig accompanied by her brother Mirza Ali,flew out to Russia, after Alaska, where they went onto scale the highest mountain in Europe, Mt Elbrus inRussia, which is 5,642 metres tall, bringing their"Seven Summits" adventure to an end.

In Brief

Continued from page 1dynamism, a far cry fromthe harsh language andcontempt state departmentfactotums had displayedduring the visa imbroglio.All that is evidently in

the past, because, Kerrytold the Centre forAmerican Progress think-tank, “this is the momentto transform our strategicrelationship into a historicpartnership that honoursour place as great powersand great democracies,” apartnership that he pro-jected will be consecratedwhen the US President willwelcome Prime MinisterModi to Washington inSeptember. Deepening

ties, Kerry maintained, is a“Strategic imperative” forboth countries - “It doesn'tmatter just to us or toIndia; it actually matters tothe world.”While much of his

address was upbeat withits panoramic vision of astrategic US-India partner-ship that stopped justshort of an alliance, Kerrysubtly flagged several bilat-eral areas of concern forWashington, mainly in thetrade and business domainthat will be pursued by hisco-traveller to New Delhi,commerce secretary PennyPritzker. The issuesinclude removing varioustrade barriers, including

fewer limits on US tech-nology and products inareas ranging from energyto agriculture. From thesolar spat to the unfulfilledcivilian nuclear agreementto climate change, therewere several areas of dis-pute Kerry quietly under-lined, although he empha-sized that “we need tokeep our eye on the prizeout there and not getdragged down by onesmall or lesser particularaspect of a restraint.”“The bigger picture

and the end game has toguide us,” Kerry said.Whether Kerry will be ableto sell that vision to thenew leadership in New

Delhi where its old alliessuch as Vajpayee, Advaniand Jaswant Singh havebeen sidelined, is a $500billion (the targeted figurefor bilateral trade) ques-tion. Kerry appeared to

acknowledge that US rec-ognized that in a global-ized world, India is goingto have many differentpartners. “But we believethere are unique opportu-nities for just UnitedStates and India,” hemaintained, identifyingcommon areas ofdynamism and entrepre-neurial spirit that fewother countries could gen-erate.

Kerry’s India visit aims building bridgewith Modi govt

Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onSaturday launched a webplatform - MyGov - whichwill allow common manand experts from differentfields to reach out to thegovernment with theirideas and suggestions.The web platform -

www.mygov.nic.in- isdevised in such a way thatit allows the citizens to dis-cuss their ideas withexperts within and outsidethe government and evenearn "credit points" for thetasks which would eventu-ally be approved for imple-mentation by concerneddepartments\agencies.The platform will allow

flow of ideas\suggestionson various issues includingModi's pet project of clean-ing the river Ganga, educa-tion of girl child and jobcreation." The objective of each

group is to bring about aqualitative change in thatsphere through people'sparticipation", said Modiafter launching this ambi-tious web interface of hisgovernment.Stating that in the past,

there used to be a big gapbetween the people andthe processes of gover-nance, the Prime Minister

said that in the past 60days, the experience of hisgovernment was that therewere many people whowanted to contributetowards nation-building,and devote their time andenergy."The only thing they

required was an opportuni-ty to shine and showcasetheir contribution. TheMyGov platform is a tech-nology-driven medium thatwould provide this oppor-tunity to contributetowards good governance,"he said.Official note of the

PMO explains that the webplatform presents anopportunity to the citizensto both 'Discuss' and 'Do'.There are multiple theme-based discussions onMyGov where a widerange of people would

share their thoughts andideas.Further, any idea

shared by a contributorwill also be discussed onthese discussion forums,allowing constructive feed-back and interaction. Forthose who wish to gobeyond discussions andwish to contribute on theground, the MyGov offersseveral avenues to do so.Citizens can volunteer forvarious tasks and submittheir entries."These tasks would

then be reviewed by othermembers and experts.Once approved, thesetasks can be shared bythose who complete thetask and by other memberson MyGov. Every approvedtask would earn creditpoints for completing thetask", said the PMO state-

ment.The National

Informatics Centre (NIC),Department of Electronicsand InformationTechnology (DeitY) wouldimplement and manage theplatform "MyGov" whichwould facilitate CitizenEngagement in GoodGovernance.Speaking on the occa-

sion of the launch ofMyGov, which also markedthe completion of 60 daysof the new government,the Prime Minister said,"The success of democracyis impossible without par-ticipation of the people".He expressed confidencethat the people would wel-come this initiative andinvited suggestions tostrengthen and improvethe platform.The platform has been

divided into variousgroups namely CleanGanga, Girl ChildEducation, Clean India,Skilled India, Digital India,Job Creation. Each groupconsists of online and on-ground tasks that can betaken up by the contribu-tors. The objective of eachgroup is to bring about aqualitative change in thatsphere through people'sparticipation

PM launches unique webplatform to get citizens' ideas

232 teeth removed fromMumbai boy’s mouth

A twelfth-century Hindutemple that attracts hun-dreds of thousands of pil-grims annually is to admitwomen and lower-castemen as priests for the firsttime. The historic breakwith tradition came aboutafter India's SupremeCourt ruled against thetwo Brahmin families,Badve and Utpat, who hadprovided the temple'spriests for centuries.The court ruled against

their claim to exclusiveancestral rights over theearnings and rituals atVitthal Rukmini temple, inthe town of Pandharpur inMaharastra state.

The state governmenthas now appointed a man-agement committee tooversee the running of thetemple, and the committeeadvertised and inter-viewed for potential newpriests.The committee has

already named the firstwomen and non-Brahminmen to be trained to carryout the prayer and wor-ship rituals in the temple.Some 199 applicationswere received, 23 fromwomen. Last week themanagement committeeannounced the names of10 candidates they haveselected for training.

Indian temple to havewomen priests for 1st time

Having a neck painthese days is very

common due to the hecticschedules and stressfulworking culture. It notonly irritates us the most,but also compels us tovisit a doctor. Almost two-third of the population inworld witnesses neck painat some point in theirlives.

Neck pain can becaused by various spinalproblems. Examples ofcommon conditions caus-ing neck pain are degener-ative disc disease, neckstrain, neck injury or evencommon throat infectionleading to swelling in thelymph node can lead to astiff neck.

Natural remediesappear to be an effectivetreatment for neck painand provide added bene-fits of improved psycho-

logical well-being andquality of life. It has beennoticed that though it maytake time, but home reme-dies for neck pain workbetter than traditionaltherapy and medication.

Here are a few naturalremedies that you can eas-ily adopt.

Menthol and camphor:Whenever we suffer fromacute neck pain, we usepain relievers which have

menthol and camphor astheir main ingredient.Now, menthol and cam-phor when rubbed on theaffected area, increasesblood circulation and pro-duce a warm or coolingeffect which soothes theneck muscles.

Lavender: Lavenderhas been used for medici-nal purposes since ancienttimes, but these days itsoil is extracted and used in

aromatherapies and mas-sage oils which providerelief from neck pain.

Ginger: Consumingginger juice, tea or extractcan help a lot in reducingpain caused by inflamma-tory diseases like neckpain. One can also rubginger oil on the neck forinstant relief.

Arnica: Arnica is oneof the best remedies usedto relieve pain. It is madefrom the extracts of freshArnica flowers and helpsrelieve neck pain and stiff-ness.

Devil's claw:Traditionally, it is a shrubnative to Africa and isavailable both in pow-dered and pills form. It ismainly used to treatrheumatoid arthritis, butalso soothes neck pain asit has anti-inflammatoryproperties too.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 27

HEALTH STOP

Do you always feeltired? Do you alwaysfeel like you have noenergy? Or have short-ness of breath?...youmay well be sufferingfrom anaemia.

The most commoncause of Anaemia is dueto a lack of iron in yourblood, which means lessred blood cells are pro-duced, in turn less oxy-gen is supplied to theorgans and thus causingour body to functionirregularly. Other causesinclude a lack of VitaminB-12 & lack of FolicAcid.

Its effects women inparticular who are moreaffected during heavyperiods, pregnancy andthe post-menopausalstage. A study “NFHS-3indicates that 36 percent of Indian womenare chronically under-nourished and 55 percent are anaemic’’ KarenHulshof, Unicef repre-sentative. If left untreat-ed it can lead to furtherlong term medical com-plications such as chron-ic tiredness, a weakenedimmune system andcomplications duringpregnancy.

Do not let Anaemiaget you down; here arethree simple solutionsthat will pick you backup again…

Don’t get beat upover it, simply eat upover it...

Ensure you are sup-porting yourself with ahealthy diet. Foods thatare high in iron are asure fire way to beat theblues. These includedark green vegetables,lentils, pulses, beans,nuts, seeds, dried fruit,brown rice & tofu are allexamples of kinds offoods you should be eat-ing. A quick recipe forsuccess is Dry RoastedChick Peas. The ingredi-ents include 2 cups ofcooked chick peas, ½teaspoon garlic powder

& ½ teaspoon sea salt.Prepare by preheatingthe oven to 350 degrees,then mix the ingredientstogether & spread on alightly greased sheet andcook for 30 minutesuntil the chick peas arecrisp on the outside,slightly tender inside.This is but one of hun-dred recipes taken fromthe book ‘’ForgetCalories...Love food’’ byRavi Bhanot andSushma Bhanot.

Take the all-naturalapproach...

The Ancient wisdomof Ayurveda dictatesthat we are in completeharmony when all threeDosha’s; namely Vata,Pitta & Kapha are in per-fect balance. When thereis an imbalance, howev-er, we tend to succumbto illnesses such asAnaemia. Hence itbecomes the sole duty ofAyurvedic Medicinesuch as The CoolherbalsAshwagandha & GingerCapsules to correct thissituation. TheAshwagandha helps toincrease muscle powerand stamina, ashwa lit-erally meaning horse.

The Ginger increas-es your Agni, the biolog-ical fire that providesenergy for the body tofunction. The herbalapproach is in fact supe-rior in the sense thatthere are no side effects.

It’s not set in stone,but it IS in the tablet...

It goes without thatthe most obvious way toovercome iron deficiencyis to pop the pill! TheCoolherbals AdvancedProtein VitaminandMineral for women isspecially designed fortoday’s woman and isscientifically formulatedto support iron, B12 &Folic acid deficiencyalong with nutritionalsupport for hair, skinand the immune system.As well as successfullybeating Anaemia it isalso beneficial forimproving all roundvitality and is also suit-able for vegetarians.

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Lecturer and Author. HeadsResearch and Development

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Natural remedies to cure neck pain

Cinnamon can not onlytickle your taste buds, theancient cooking spice isalso an effective anti-bacte-rial agent and can help pre-vent some of the most seri-ous food-borne illnessescaused by pathogenic bac-teria, says a study.

Cinnamomum cassiaoil can work effectively as anatural anti-bacterial agentin the food industry, thefindings showed. "The oilcan be incorporated intofilms and coatings forpackaging both meat andfresh produce," said LinaSheng from theWashington StateUniversity. "It can also beadded into the washingstep of meat, fruits or veg-etables to eliminate micro-organisms," Sheng added.In the study, the essentialoil killed several strains ofShiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli (E coli),known to the US Centersfor Disease Control andPrevention as "non-O157STEC." The study lookedat the top six strains ofnon-O157 STEC.

The cinnamon cassia

oil is effective in low con-centrations, Sheng said.About 10 drops diluted in alitre of water killed the bac-teria within 24 hours.Rising health concernsabout chemical additiveshave strengthened demandfor natural food additives,Meijun Zhu, an assistantprofessor at theWashington StateUniversity noted.

"Our focus is on explor-ing plant-derived naturalfood bioactive compoundsas anti-microbials to con-trol food-borne pathogens,in order to ensure safety offresh produce," she added.Cassia cinnamon is pro-duced primarily inIndonesia and has astronger smell than theother common cinnamonvariety.

An Indian-originresearcher at the

University of Minnesotahas discovered that trip-tolide - an extract of theChinese herb thunder godvine (tirpterygium wil-forii) - suppresses a keyprotein that helps pancre-atic cancer cells thrive.

GRP78, a protein thatprotects cells from dying,is more abundant in can-cer cells and tissue than innormal organs and isthought to play a role inhelping pancreatic cancercells survive and thrive.

"Our study shows thatalthough increasedexpression of GRP78 con-fers a survival advantageto the tumour cells, pro-longed exposure to trip-tolide induces chronicendoplasmic reticulum(ER) stress that eventuallyleads to cell death," ProfAshok Saluja said.

In this context, inhibi-tion of GRP78 by activa-tion of the ER stress path-way by triptolide offers anovel mechanism forinhibiting the growth andsurvival of pancreatic can-cer cells, he noted.

For mammals to usethe proteins in our bodies,a process called proteinfolding must occur in theendoplasmic reticulum(ER) of cells. If proteinsare not folded fast enough,unfolded proteins begin tobuild up and the cellbecomes stressed.

Prolonged ER stressactivates a cellular processcalled the "unfolded pro-tein response (UPR)".Initially, the UPR helpskick-start the cell's pro-tein-folding ability, allow-ing it to function properlyagain. But if the problemdoes not resolve, the UPRtriggers cell death.

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A traumatic experience when one isbalding or suffering from hair loss

If you have been one to watch in despair as your luscious locks disappeard down the plug-hole everyday, then there is hope to save your crowing glory!

While lustrous, healthy hair is a source of pride for men and women alike, many are forced to battle with hair problems.There are many reasons why a person can start losing their hair. Research has shown that stress plays a vital factor in determining hair condition. Poor hair care, environment, lifestyle and diet too has its effect on hair growth.It is very important to ascertain what kind of hair you have and then look after it accordingly.Hair loss falls into two categories, where it is distributed over the whole scalp and where hair loss is limited to localised areas. Hair loss is often more than a beauty problem. In some cases of alopecia, the condition is caused by bacteria or other infection or may even indicate a severe systemic disease. In the case of Hair loss, the hair follicles loose the capacity to initiate new growth. Neeta’s Herbal offers a safe and natural solution to combat hair and skin problems.

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items in good faith,kindly consult your

Doctor before you try toimplement it. We do nothold any responsibility

for its efficacy...

Cinnamon can preventfood poisoning

Chinese herb maytreat pancreatic cancer

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201428

‘D Gangs of Mumbai’It is an action moviedirected by WilfredLobo and Rajiv RanjanDas and produced byC h a n d r a s h e k h a rShetty. Story is writ-ten by AbhayChaudhary. SanjayKapoor, Aarya Babbar,Mahima Chaudhary,Om Puri, Sushil Singhand Vinay Apte are theleading stars in themovie. The story is

about two friends Avi and Shiva who are sharingtheir energetic youth in order to get recognitionin Mumbai city. They selected criminal activitiesto get recognition. ACP Hemant Jog attempts tohandle the case in his innovative visionary con-cept. They go to another city to start a new begin-ning. In the meantime ACP Hemant Jog diedwhich leaves them in great worry. After threeyears, Soutya, a man whose brother was killed byAvi and Shiva, manages to figure out the murder-ers. How Avi and Shiva handle the situation isthe climax of the flick.

Arya, Siddharth, and Samantha for'Bangalore Days' remakePooja says yes

to her crush

Man i s h aKoirala ,

who has recov-ered remark-ably well fromcancer and waslast seen inRam GopalVarma’s ‘BhootReturns’ lastyear, has nowbeen finalisedfor a film titled‘Sitare’. Themovie is basedon the life offilm stars inB o l l y w o o d .

Kapil Sharma, who played one of the leadcharacters in ‘Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun’,will be making his directorial debut withthe film. In the last few years, Koirala wasseen making a foray into Malayalam filmswith ‘Elektra’ about four years ago. Shealso did a Tamil film, ‘Mappillai’. Thebeautiful actress was also seen in Onir’scritically-acclaimed ‘I Am’ with JuhiChawla.

Sridevi in Kamal's next?

“Bangalore Days” is a movie which gota story line that can be easily associ-

ated with the dreams of every youngsteracross the country. The multi starrerMalayalam movie is still running successful-ly, courtesy - a starry cast, wonderful screen-play, and lovely music. It is being remade inTamil and Telugu. There has been reportsuggesting few names from Tamil industryas the lead cast as replacement for, FahadhFassil, Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salman, andNazriya. Bhaskar, who rose to fame with

'Bommarillu' will take care of the duties asdirector from Anjali Menon. Now the leadactors for Tamil/Telugu bilingual are almostfinalized. Arya is not new for multi starrersand he will be seen along with Siddharthand Naga Chaitanya from Tollywood. And,Samantha is all set to recreate the magic ofNazriya. Keeping the bilingual in mind, themakers have picked a wonderful cast to cashin Tamil/Telugu markets respectively. Thedetails of rest of the crew are yet to beannounced.

Pooja Umashankar is backwith a road movie with her

crush who proposed her 16years ago. She refused his pro-posal and said 'Poda', Pooja her-self has revealed the news in apress meet held by team'Kadavul Paadhi MirugamPaadhi'. Raj Zacharias is makinghis debut as director and hero inthis road movie. I've known Rajsince my college days inBangalore. I remember meetinghim at an inter-collegiate event.We've been great friends and wewere even attracted to eachother back then but it wasn'tlove. Many years later, Rajapproached me with a film offerand I couldn't refuse it," saidPooja. The story takes place ona highway between Hyderabad -Chennai and my cameo in thesecond half is the crucial junc-ture to the context of the movie,an elated Pooja disclosed.Pooja's last movie in Tamil'Vidiyum Munn' was a criticalsuccess and her role was widelyappreciated.

Vidyut Jammwalsays he foundstardom in south

Who would not love to see KamalHassan and Sridevi together! If things

go well both of these big personalities cancome together for the Malayalam remake"Dhrishyam" which originally had Mohanlaland Meena in the lead cast. Sridevi whomade a comeback to Indian cinema with‘English Vinglish’ has been requested toplay the role of an IPS officer for this movie.However, there is no official confirmationyet. There are also talks to sign up RamyaKrishnan for the IPS role if Sridevi couldnot make it and Asha who played in theMollywood movie is also a contender forthe role. Gautami leads the top contenderfor essaying Kamal's pair in the movie, fail-ing which the part is expected to go toVirumandi fame Abirami or even Meena

who played in the original. Albeit with“Uthama villain” in its final stages Kamal ison a foray indeed!

Manisha Koirala to makea comeback with ‘Sitare’

The 21-year-old Alia

Bhatt feels sheneeds to lookmore maturedto work withthe Khans whowere in the40s. Whenasked if shethinks she istoo young tobe paired withthe Khans,Alia said: “I

am right now definitely (young)because I look small not age wise, butmy face. I am just maturing right now– from ‘Student Of The Year’ till nowyou can see a difference. So, when Ibecome a little more matured looking,then it can work. But having said thatI have done a film with RandeepHooda, in which I looked too youngwithout make-up, which didn’t lookbad at all. So if there is a scope or acharacter and a role like that then itwill work,” she said in an interview.

I am not mature enoughto work with Khans: Alia

Rapper Yo YoH o n e y

Singh is said tohave gone outof his way toappreciate thetalent he hasspotted whilea u d i t i o n i n gcontestants fornew singingreality show“India’s Raw

Star”. He gifted pure gold lockets towelcome the shortlisted candidates forthe show. Honey Singh visited variouscities like Ahmedabad, Varanasi andJaipur to welcome 10 shortlisted peo-ple to “India’s Raw Star” family. Theywere chosen via digital audition. Healso made sure to finalise the design forthe gold lockets as he wanted to givethe contestants a special token ofappreciation and acknowledgement fortheir talent. The “Blue eyes” singer willappear as a judge-cum-mentor on theStar Plus show, which is aimed at find-ing a singing sensation.

Honey Singh gifts puregold lockets

In southern cinema, actor VidyutJammwal may have only played vil-

lainous roles so far, but he says aftersharing screen space with some super-stars such as Ajith, Suriya and Vijay, hefeels like a star in the industry.

“Since I work in Bollywood as wellas southern cinema, I feel I have beenrecognized in both the industries. I havemy fan following. It’s a double whammyI’m enjoying. But having worked withsouthern superstars, I feel like a star toowhen I go there. It’s like I’ve found myown stardom,” Vidyut said. “I also feelI’m getting the recognition in southernfilmdom because a lot of Bollywoodactors are recognized there. I may notbe playing lead roles down south, butI’m happy with the success and recogni-tion,” he said. After playing a baddie insouthern films such as ‘Billa 2 ′, ‘Shakti’and ‘Thuppakki’, Vidyut is finallychanging gears with upcoming Tamilaction ‘Anjaan’. He doesn’t appear in atypical “villain” role in the film.

“Audiences will also get to see medoing some action in this film. I’ve per-formed my own stunts and I’m sure itwill be received well,” he added.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 29

Bo l l y w o o da c t r e s s

Aishwarya RaiBachchan attend-ed the openingceremony of the2 0 t hCommonwealthGames atGlasgow as theL o n g i n e sAmbassador of

Elegance. Dressed in a black coat with lus-trous locks tied in a high bun, she wasaccompanied at the event by LonginesPresident Walter von Kanel. The Swiss lux-ury watch brand Longines is the officialtimekeeper and watch of the CWG and itprovides more than 190 timekeepers and122 tonnes of equipment to support theevent. The official watch of Glasgow 2014 isa chronograph in steel from the ConquestClassic collection

Aishwarya adds glamourto CWG opening ceremony

Bollywooda c t r e s s

A n u s h k aSharma is overthe moon asher followerson micro-blog-ging siteTwitter haveincreased toover three mil-lion. “Crossed3 Million fol-lowers here!Thank you toall my 3 mil-

lions for the constant love and support.Love you all,” Anushka tweeted. Afterfeaturing in movies like “Rab Ne BanaDi Jodi”, “Band Baaja Baaraat” and“Jab Tak Hai Jaan”, the actress will soonbe seen in “Bombay Velvet”, “P.K.” and“Dil Dhadakne Do.”

Anushka has 3 mnTwitter followers

Bollywood actressBipasha Basu has

refused to share stage with‘junior’ actress ChitrangadaSingh during a fashion week.Bipasha, Chitrangada andMadhur Bhandrakar wereset to walk the ramp for thegrand finale of the show.

Bipasha who made herBollywood debut with the2003, told the organisers ofthe event that she will notshare the stage withChitrangada, a 'junior'actress since she had startedher career four years laterwith 'Hazaron KhawishenAisi'.The organiser went into a

tizzy, when no amount ofpleas could convinceBipasha to change herstance. She even made itclear to the organisers thatshe would not rehearse withher fellow actress. Left withno option, the jewellerybrand that had invited thetrio, changed the choreog-raphy of the finale. A source from the

show said, "Bipasha,Chitrangada andMadhur tooksolo turns onthe ramp.Bipasha's stancewas absolutelyshocking."

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar isa happy man now that after the suc-

cess of his last film, “Holiday,” he wasable to give another successful flick in“Entertainment.” Apart from provingthat he can handle romance to action tocomedy with ease, he is doubly happythat for the first time he was sharingscreen space with Junior – a dog named“Entertainment” in the movie. Director duo Sajid-Farhad said that

Junior was so good at emoting and com-pletely natural before the camera. Juniorworked for 15 days continuously. On the16th day, he was given a break. Sajidadds, "We felt that he was getting restlessand thus shot all playful scenes with himand that calmed him down.” After work-ing with Junior, the director duo whowere petrified of dogs changed their per-ception about the animal. Junior inspired actress Tamannah to

actually get herself a pet dog. Talkingabout the film she says, "Initially I foundthe title to be strange. But now since Ihave a dog at home I can completely

relate to it. And though it was Akshaywho shares screen space with the dogmost of the time, the scenes that I havedid make me realise its value as a com-panion."The director duo thoroughly

researched the rules and regulationsbefore actually shooting with the dog.Animal right activist and Minister ofWomen and Children, Maneka Gandhiendorsed and supported the film as thedirector duo followed all the rules andregulations regarding the use of animalin the film.

Akshay Kumar on cloud nine with ‘Entertainment’

Bipasha refuses to share stage withChitrangada

For a crucial sequence inthe forthcoming biopic“Mary Kom”, based on thelife of Olympic bronzemedallist boxer M.C. MaryKom, Priyanka Choprawent for a bald look. Theactress says it was her“responsibility” to do jus-tice to her character.The versatile actress

says she was very excitedabout it – so much so thatshe was all around the film’s set in thatlook. “Mary has done it (gone bald) in herlife. This is an authentic scene in the filmand I was very excited about it,” Priyankasaid at the launch of the film’s trailer.

“First of all I am anactor, so as an actor it is myresponsibility that whatevercharacter I take up I do itwith honesty. This is alwaysmy personal challenge that Iset for myself that how dif-ferently I can portray all mycharacters. So I was not atall hesitant, in fact I wasvery excited,” she added.Will she ever go bald in reallife? “Never say never. I

always surprise myself, so you neverknow,” the 32-year-old said. Produced bySanjay Leela Bhansali and helmed byOmung Kumar, “Mary Kom” will hit thetheatres on Sept 5.

Priyanka goes bald in ‘Mary Kom’ biopic

When ZareenKhan entered

Bollywood, herfirst film “Veer”did not do well atthe box office. Buther weight drew alot of criticism. Butwhen she did anitem number in“Ready,” her slimmer avatar became thetalk of the town. Right exercise and prop-er diet is what helped Zareen to get thosesultry curves. She says, “I was so laid-back. I didn't care about my weight,although people repeatedly asked me towatch it.” And since she always wantedto be a doctor and not an actress, she

never cared abouther weight. She adds, “I

thought that it real-ly wouldn't matterhow I looked if Iwere a doctor.” Butwhen she could notfulfil her ambition,she dreamed of

being a model. And this is when shedecided to shed those extra kilos. Andwithin a year, with right exercise and diet,she lost 43 kg. She says, “I just developeda strong will power which helped me curbmy food cravings and be regular with mywalks. In turn, it motivated me to pushmyself further."

Zareen Khan’s weight loss journeyfrom 100 to 57 kg

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201430 UK

You should enjoy avery popular phase in

your life where everyone wants to invite you to par-ties. This will give you a chance to meet people andpursue any romantic liaisons that might presentthemselves. Your communications are extremelyhigh making it easy to close those lucrative deals.

Developments duringthis week are likely to

make you feel rather restless, perhaps because youhave allowed yourself to fall into a routine that isnow becoming jaded. If so, then the hint of changewill be extremely welcome, even if it might entail anelement of disruption. It is unlikely that even amajor change will faze you.

At work sometimes alittle upheaval and chaos

is exactly what you need to set things right again.There’s no need to be complacent: the time is now.Unpredictable energies continue to influence yourhealth sector, bringing erratic highs and lows. Thekey for you as always is to remain calm and collect-ed.

The fiery planetMars is the moving force in regard to amorous

experience, giving more than just a hint that linksbetween lovers will be rather intense and passion-ate. Your attitude to material interests is likely toundergo some deep change. On a material level thetrend greatly favours anything geared towardsestablishing greater financial stability.

You have everything togain by following creative inclinations. If you have

new ideas, now is the time to put them into practice.Whatever your present interests you are likely tofind that new doors open and the way ahead offersincreased scope for expressing your real self. A greattime to meet and interact with people.

An exchange of opin-ions ought to prove very enlivening at this time.

An influence that should help to enjoy the 'nicer'side of others as bring out the best in friends, col-leagues and partners alike. A wind of change may bein the air; attention should turn to the wider worldand benefits come from broadening of horizons andmental stimuli.

You know you’ve gotno choice but to streamline and reassess your pri-

orities before haphazardly saying yes to everythingthat smells like a potential opportunity. Try to createa balance between expansion and conservation.Jupiter in Leo makes you feel invincible, base yourdecisions on facts.

You will continue tobe in a restless mood for some time to come.

This makes you impatient with restrictions and evenmore determined to cut your own path. Do not getover-anxious if everything seems to be in slowmotion - it is time to pull a few strings. You are likelyto experience some tension in close relationships..

This is a goodtime to appreciate

what you have already created in your life. Ofcourse, there are still challenging issues on both apersonal and practical level. To get here you mayhave overcome obstacles by making importantdecision and choices that set the direction of yourlife.

Responsibility isyour key word, espe-

cially at work. Set your own goals, rather than try-ing to meet those set by someone else. Your abilityto manage what you have on your plate earnsrespect from others around you. You will benefit inevery way if you learn to self-discipline and paceyourself wisely.

Anything or anyonethat drains your time and energy should be re-evaluated. It’s time to use that creative imagina-tion of yours to create grandeur in your life. Don'tget too carried away and lose sight of little thingsthat mean a lot to you. There are a lot of opportu-nities around you.

If your ambitions havebeen undefined, don't

worry as from now on, you understand exactlywhat kind of impact you need to make on theworld. All those little details should run perfectly,without you constantly worrying. That means youcan focus on matters that are important to you.Health-wise you will be feeling fit.

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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���� �������������

Coming Eventsl 3 Aug 2014- Bhajans, 3pm by Shree BudhdevbhaiKansara, Shri Maubhai Kotak, Shri SurendrabhaiSharma and visiting artists. Adhyashakti Mataji tem-ple, 55 High Street, Cowley, Middlesex UB8 2DZ.Contact 07882 253 540l 108 Hanuman Chalisa sponsored by batukbhai andArtiben Thakar, 3 Aug 2014, 11am-5pm. Social clubhall, Watford Road, Harrow HA1 3UJl Janmashtami celebration on Sunday 17 Aug atDhamecha Lohana Centre in S. Harrow. Contact 07960 541 216l Saturday 2nd August – Sunday 9th August 2014 –Jai Siya Ram in the aid of Poor Child Education –Bapuji Programmes in UK - Shree Hanumant Kathafrom 4-7pm at Shree Hindu Temple, Baxter Avenue,Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and wear, NE4 9QB, UKContact: 0116 266 2652. l Fl Remembrance Day at Shri VenkateswaraTemple, Dudley Road East, Tividale, Oldbury, WestMidlands, B69 3DU from 10.30am. Contact: 0121 544 2256.

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly AsianVoiceNews

An essay writing competi-tion for children agedbetween 12-15 years willbe conducted to encour-age them to think on glob-al warming, climatechange, how the Ozonelayer depletion has animpact on communitiesand measures to reducethe negative impacts. Theessay must be on one ofthe topics1. Environmental

Pollution: How we canhelp reduce it.2. Hazardous Waste: Howwe can manage it3. Recycling4. Environmentallyresponsible behaviour:What we can do to reducenegative impacts on theenvironment. (ex: EnergyConservation, EcoTourism etc.)The essay must be

maximum of 1000 words

long and must be sent by10 August to essaycompe-tition14@gmail.comMulti-location TERRE

Policy Centre andSanskruti Centre forCultural Excellence basedin the UK are jointly hold-ing a two-day environmen-tal film festival on 12 & 13Sep ‘14 coinciding withthe International OzoneDay week. The festivalwill screen films on

Environment, ClimateChange & threat to theBiodiversity and is intend-ed to spread awarenessabout nature, pollution,ethics and sustainablepractices. Winners of theessay competition shall beawarded prizes during thefestival. Free registrations.For more details please

check www.sanskruti.netor www.terrypolicycen-tre.com

Essay writing competition on Environmental topics

A report has suggested thatthe Home Office haswarned that holidays couldbe put in jeopardy afterthousands of passportworkers went on strike.The Public and

Commercial ServicesUnion said the action wasa “bid to end staffing short-ages that have caused theongoing backlog crisis”.Figures from the Home

Office suggest 360,000passport applications arecurrently being processed,although it is not clear howmany are overdue.

The BBC said thePassport Office had “strug-gled to cope with anunprecedented number ofapplications” this year.Around 170,000 passportsare processed per week,the Home Office estimates.

Holidays may be in jeopardy aspassport workers go on strike

Two tickets are up for grabs to see legendary PareshRawal in ‘Dear Father’ on Friday 10th October2014 in Croydon. All you have to do is answer thefollowing question to be in with a chance of win-ning. The winner will be chosen from all correct

entries on a lottery basis. All entries need to be sentto aveditorial@abplgroup.com by no later than

Saturday 13th September. Good luck.

In which year did Paresh Rawal win the FilmfareBest Comedian Award for Hera Pheri?

1) 1999 2) 2001 3) 2009

Empowerment throughEducation (ETE) a UKregistered charitableorganisation set up withthe aim of providing finan-cial assistance to econom-ically deprived studentstowards their tuition feesand also aid in bolsteringexisting educational insti-tutions held their inaugu-ral launch on June 28 inNorth London. It wasgraced by Dr NandaKumar, DirectorBharatiya Vidya Bhawan.ETE through a local

charity based inHyderabad will be provid-ing financial assistance toorphaned girl studentsfrom Amanvedika – a local

NGO.The present project

being funded by ETE isconstruction of a twostorey block inTalakondapally – Libraryand Computer cumScience Laboratory –which will be completedby November 2014.More details:

eteii.co.uk.

Charity set up to helpthe poor in India

SPORT WORLDwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 2014 31

A Leicester academic hashelped curate an exhibitionwhich reveals how Indiahelped South Africa returnto the international cricketstage after the fall ofapartheid.

Dr Prashant Kidambi,Director of the Universityof Leicester's Centre forUrban History, has helpedcurate an exhibition titledCricket Connects: Indo-South African CricketRelations as part of theFestival of India in SouthAfrica 2014.The exhibition began on

Saturday 26 July at theWanderers stadium, inJohannesburg, and shifts toKingsmead SaharaStadium in Durban onFriday 15 August, until 31August. The exhibitionfocuses on the long historyof cricketing relationsbetween the two countries,dating back to the late nine-teenth century. In particu-lar, it looks at how Indiahelped South Africa find itsway back into the interna-tional sporting world in theearly 1990s, following the

end of Apartheid.Cricket established

itself as a popular sport inIndia by the end of thenineteenth century - andthe exhibition's organiserscomment that it "nowforms a binding force forthe entire country".Consequently, cricketbecame a very importantway for migrant Indiancommunities in SouthAfrica to interact with eachother and other non-European races.However, relations

between the two countriestook a blow in 1948 whenthe National Party came topower in South Africa andestablished the Apartheid.

India became the firstcountry to close itsembassy. In the followingyears, India was seen as amain opponent of theApartheid until racial seg-regation began to be phasedout in the 1990s.Consequently, India’s deci-sion to support SouthAfrica’s re-entry into inter-national cricket at a meet-ing of the InternationalCricket Council ICC) wasseen as an importantendorsement for SouthAfrica.Following the ICC

meeting, the South Africanteam toured India in 1991,and the Indian side touredSouth Africa in 1992-3 -the first official tour by anon-White team in thecountry. The exhibition'sorganisers comment thatthe two nations have had avery close cricketing rela-tionship ever since.The exhibition features

a variety of documentaryfootage, photographs andaudio. It will feature 175significant cricketingmoments captured on cam-

era between 1991 and2012, and there will also besome cricket-related memo-rabilia on display. Dr Prashant Kidambi

said: “This is an importantexhibition which showcas-es the role of sport in bothpromoting the bonds of sol-idarity but also highlightingthe tensions it can gener-ate. “We are using cricket tounderstand the long historyof interaction betweenIndia and South Africa.Cricket is a way of show-casing how the historicconnections between Indiaand South Africa haveplayed out. “Indians havecome to South Africa sincethe 19th century. Cricketbecame a way in whichmigrant communities cameto relate to each other. Theexhibition showcases thatkind of history. It alsoshows what happened afterapartheid. India was verystrenuous in opposingSouth Africa on the inter-national stage, but support-ed South Africa’s re-entryinto international cricketafter the end of apartheid.”

How India aided South Africa’sreturn to international cricket

Dr Prashant Kidambi

Jadeja fined for Anderson fracasRavindra Jadeja has been fined half his match fee for

his involvement in an altercation with England quickbowler James Anderson during the drawn first test atTrent Bridge. The clash, which occurred as theplayers left the field at lunch on the second day, sawJadeja charged with a level two misconduct chargefor allegedly approaching Anderson in a threateningmanner. Anderson was charged with a level threeoffense for having "abused and pushed" hisopponent. Match referee David Boon found Jadejanot guilty of the offence for which he had beencharged, but felt his conduct was contrary to thespirit of the game. "While I was in no doubt thatconfrontation did occur, and that such conduct wasnot in the spirit of the game and should not havetaken place, I was not comfortably satisfied that thiswas a level 2 offence," Boon, the former Australiabatsman, said in a statement."Therefore, inexercising my discretion under Article 7.6.5 of theCode and having heard all the evidence, I wascomfortably satisfied that Jadeja had committed alevel 1 offence under Article 2.1.8 of the Code."Anderson's hearing will be held on Aug. 1.

Sikh Indian basketball playersforce to remove turbans

Two Sikh Indian basketball players - Amritpal Singhand Amjyot Singh -at the 5th Fiba Asia Cup inWuhan (China) were asked to remove their turbansbefore the start of the match on July 12. They werestopped from entering the court moments beforeIndia were to open their campaign against Japan.The match officials informed the players that theywere breaking International Basketball Federation(FIBA) rules and were not allowed to play with tur-bans. India's American coach Scott Flemming's pleasfell on deaf ears and the duo didn't figure in the start-ing five. Only after they removed their turbans werethey allowed to play in the first quarter. Despite thehumiliation, Amritpal scored a game-high 15 pointsin the match. Shockingly, such objections were neverraised in the past against Sikhs playing with turbans."We have always played in turbans, even in last year'sAsian Championship in Manila and also the recentlyheld Lusofonia Games in Goa," 23-year-old Amritpalsaid. "This Asia Cup was a memorable event for all ofus. But the controversy left both of us distressed. Iwear a turban in practice too, and it was strange tonot have it on during the game." For 22-year-oldAmjyot - India's consistent scorer in the champi-onship - playing basketball without a turban was afirst. "Wearing turban is a part of me. When they toldus we couldn't play with one it felt very awkward. Butfor the team we decided to play without turbans," saidAmjyot. Both the Indian players were not allowed towear the turbans in remaining six matches over eightdays. "From the next game onwards we tied our hairwith a band and it was really awkward," addedAmjyot. If the rule is applied in future then Indiamight miss the services of both the upcoming stars orfor that matter any Sikh player. Parents of both theplayers are against their wards playing without a tur-ban. Amjyot said, "My parents have told me to play inIndia only because here the turban is not an issue. SoI will miss playing abroad in future." Even coachFlemming was shocked. "I am personally against arule that infringes on someone's religious beliefs. Aheadgear does not cause any harm to others."

TradeNext, a global finan-cial trading company, onTuesday July 29 has signeda Preferred Partnershipwith Derby CountyFootball Club. The two-sea-son deal will see Indian-owned TradeNext and theFootball LeagueChampionship club worktogether on a series of com-munity initiatives.Over the course of the

multi-year partnership,TradeNext will work in col-laboration with the seniorteam at Derby County andmembers of the first-teamplaying squad to developand produce a series ofshort videos, introducingsupporters and potentialclients to the world offinancial trading. The part-nership in football is thefirst in the UK forTradeNext. The London-based provider of FX (for-eign exchange) services,

CFDs (contracts for differ-ence) and financial spreadbetting already has stronglinks with football in theIndian states of Punjab andGujarat. TradeNext ChiefExecutive Mohsin Jameelsaid: “There is a naturalsynergy between TradeNextand Derby County Football

Club. We both have clearbusiness strategies, deter-mination, and we are goingplaces. We are proud to bethe first Indian-owned com-pany to enter into a part-nership with Derby County.We want to become knownas the South Asians whoare doing something tangi-

ble in the world of footballfor our region. “TradeNext is the first

Indian-owned ForeignExchange trader to bebased in the UK. Wealready feel at home withDerby County. We aredelighted to be associatedwith this famous club. Weare going to work togetheron football and communityinitiatives for British Asiansin Derby and the surround-ing regions.”Derby County Chief

Executive Sam Rush com-mented: “TradeNext is anextremely forward-thinkingcompany and we aredelighted to welcome themas our latest ‘PreferredPartner’. We believe this is atremendous opportunity forDerby County andTradeNext to work closelyand provide supporterswith an insight of financialtrading.”

BAPS Charities organised afive-a-side football tourna-ment and an indoor netballtournament on Saturday 26July 2014, promoting ahealthy lifestyle as well asproviding a forum for chil-dren and youths to expresstheir skills, interests and aspirit of teamwork. ThePowerleague football pitch-es at Mill Hill in NorthLondon provided the venuefor the football tournamentwhere almost 80 teams withmore than 450 playersenjoyed a hugely successfulcompetition. More than200 matches and almost450 goals scored by teamsfrom as far afield asManchester are a fewremarkable numbers whichprovide a flavour of theoccasion.

There were separatecompetitions for childrenunder 16 years and the 16-23 age groups, howeverwith matches being playedtogether for six hours at thesame venue, the youngerand elder players were ableto intersperse and share theexcitement. Tremendousteam spirit, enthusiasm aswell as talent were dis-

played throughout the day,and particular credit to theteams from East Londonwho won both the juniorand senior competitions ofthe main knockout phase.Kevin Coleman (InclusionProjects Coordinator at TheFootball Association)attended and was given anoverview into the tourna-ments and how the organis-

ers and the FA could poten-tially work together goingforward. A netball tourna-ment – entering into its16th annual competition,was also played with thesame ethos of enjoymentand togetherness at BAPSShri SwaminarayanMandir, London and TheSwaminarayan School.There were 17 teams fromacross the UK who battledfor 8 hours for the variouscoveted trophies.A young girl expressed

her sentiments, “I think thenetball game was a chanceto show our skills and learnfrom each other and we gotto know many more peoplefrom different towns andcities. It was also great tohear others cheering uson.”

TradeNext signs deal with Derby County FC

BAPS organises sports tournaments

Derby County Chief Executive Sam Rush withTradeNext Chief Executive Mohsin Jameel

India with 33 medals (10gold, 14 silver, 9 bronze)finished with 5th rank inthe medals table at theCommonwealth Gameson Tuesday. India bagged3 gold medals on Day 5including shooter JituRai’s gold.

C o m m o n w e a l t hgames kick started onJuly 23 at the beautifulcity of Scotland, Glasgow.Australia notched up thetop slot in the last edi-tion’s CommonwealthGames with 177 medalswhile 19thCommonwealth Gameshosts India finished sec-ond in the medals tallywith total of 101 medals.India had won 38 gold, 27silver and 36 bronzemedals.

India have showcasedprime form at theCommonwealth Gamesedition. And a lot wasexpected from the visitingcontingent of 215 athletes(second largest contin-gent ever with highestnumber of participants inathletics with 41 mem-bers) at the GlasgowCommonwealth Games2014. The Indian side

boasts of some heavy-weight names in the sidefrom major sporting

events like boxing, shoot-ing, badminton andw r e s t l i n g .

Commonwealth Gamesthat are perceived sec-ondary to the SummerOlympics will be hopingto revamp the oldthoughts as the beautifulScottish city Glasgowlooks ready to host the12-day event from July 23to August 3, 2014. Thenumber of sportingevents has been broughtdown to 17 from 21 earli-er played in the 19th edi-tion. They are: Aquatics,Diving, Swimming,Athletics, Badminton,Boxing, Cycling –Mountain biking, Road,Track, Gymnastics –Artistic gymnastics,Rhythmic gymnastics,Hockey, Judo, LawnBowls, Netball, Rugbysevens, Shooting,Squash, Table tennis,Triathlon, Weightlifting,Wrestling – Freestyle.India have been partici-pating in 14 of those 17events at Glasgow. Thethree events India willnot be participating arenetball, rugby sevens andtriathlon. There are total1,385 medals to be won inthis edition ofCommonwealth Games.

SSPPOORRTTwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 2nd August 201432

India on 5th position at Commonwealth games

Medal TallyRank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total1 Australia 32 25 34 912 England 29 26 25 803 Scotland 13 8 12 334 Canada 11 5 13 295 India 10 14 9 336 New Zealand 9 9 11 297 South Africa 9 7 8 248 Wales 3 9 11 239 Malaysia 3 5 4 1210 Nigeria 3 5 3 1111 Singapore 3 1 1 512 Kenya 2 3 0 513 Jamaica 2 2 3 714 Cyprus 2 2 2 615 Cameroon 1 1 1 316 Papua New Guinea 1 1 0 217 Northern Ireland 0 1 1 2

Medals Tally

India’s gold medal winners

Sathish Sivalingamweight lifting

Rahi SarvanotShooting

Apurvi ChandelaShooting

Jitu RaiShooting

Sukhen DeyWeight lifting

Sushil KumarWrestling

Vinesh PhogatWrestling

Amit KumarWrestling

Sanjita ChanuWeight Lifting

Abhinav BindraShooting