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This week’s question

Should NDA remove UPAGovernors?

Last week’s result

YES 57% NO 43%

Top Stories

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CONTENTS

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UPA GOVERNORS ONWAY OUT: 2 QUIT

US waking up tominorities' plightin Bangaldesh

GOPIO honors5 achievers &Congressman

Bollywood ---------------------- 28-29

Classifieds ------------------------- 52Community Post -------------- 16-26

Date Book -------------------------- 50

Edit Page --------------------------- 54

HealthScience Post --------- 32-35

Horoscope ------------------------- 51

Immigration Post ------------- 44-46

Life Style ----------------------- 48-49

Philosophy ------------------------- 53

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

Real Estate -------------------- 38-39

TechBiz Post ------------------- 12-14

Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 40-43

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked some of the Gover-nors appointed during UPA regime to quit in the wake ofchange of government. Heeding the call, two governorshave resigned - BL Joshi of Uttar Pradesh and HR Bhardwajof Karnataka, according to reports.

Though there is no official confirmation yet, many otherGovernors have resigned or are about to resign. TheNarendra Modi government has sounded out nearly 12Governors appointed by its predecessor to resign. So far,

two have obliged. Some others denied reports that theywould quit but they came and met President PranabMukherjee.

"If I were in their place, I would have resigned," saidHome Minister Rajnath Singh.

In its plans for governors, the government has createdtwo categories: those who have more than two years leftin office should exit; seven others who have nearly com-pleted their terms will be spared.

KINGSIZE

HAPPI-NESS:

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi

at the lunchhosted by the

King ofBhutan, His

Majesty JigmeKhesar

NamgyelWangchuck, in

Thimphu,Bhutan onJune 16.

(Details onpage 6)

Details on page 5India-bornamong ChangeChampions

Pratishtha Khanna

'Modi shouldlook intoSikhs visa issue

ArcelorMittalopens steelplant in China

3 Indianscharged intrade froud

83-yr-old Indianworker honoredby British Queen

Will ties with China takeprecedence over US?

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Bollywood:Hidden celebrityOn his recent visit to Delhi, Ranbir tookthe rear seat in an ordinary car, hidingunder his trademark cap and dark glasses

5Cover Story:2 Governors quit

16Community:Brahmin convention

44

48Life style:

US President Barack Obama andBollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khanhave emerged as the most admired dads

12Techbiz:

The Indian IT industry, which has of latebeen eyeing the Chinese market, willhave to sweat to gain entry there

40Travel:AmarkantakAmarkantak is a unique natural heritagearea, meeting point of Vindhyas andSatpuras and origin of Narmada River

Chinese market

After ten years the city of Chicago willbe hosting again an annual conventionof Brahmins from all over the world

The Centre has asked some Governorsappointed during UPA regime to quit inthe wake of change of government.

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I don't know how it is with the other American communities, but in the IndianAmerican community, organizational unity seems an onerous task that is atbest impossible to achieve.

I will not sit in judgment over any group as I have myself been associatedwith organizational activities for several decades. But I will say this with sad-ness that more often than not, we seem more interested in who gets to head theorganization than who actually works for it.

The infighting, or should we call it the 'power struggle' is more evident inorganizations that are associated with or are affiliated to political parties backin India.

I remember how more than a decade ago when the then Indian Prime Minis-ter Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited New York, he was affronted by the relentlessbickering among the members of the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya JanataParty here in the US, and their unabashed tug of war for the party's executivepositions. So much so that Vajpayee had reportedly burst out at a OFBJP meet-ing in New York with anger and walked out stating that he did not understandwhat the fight was for since none of these individuals would ever hold any electedposition in India.

A similar struggle is currently playing out in the Indian National OverseasCongress (INOC) over the past few years since the long time founding Presidentof the INOC was unceremoniously ousted from the party's presidentship. Thingshave come to a head once again now where different individuals within the partyare claiming to be the party's president or chairman or whatever the positionthat they think important.

Such issues are not uncommon among the many non-political communityorganizations too. And honestly, it's not about whether such things happen withother immigrant communities or not; rather, it's about the purpose such infight-ing would serve be it for the organizations, the Indian American community or,for that matter, India.

A little introspection can go a long way in placing ourselves in meaningfulpositions of greater good than be found wanting in leadership positions that noone recognizes.

Immigration:

Eric Cantor's startling primary loss illus-trates how the GOP finds itself paralyzedby immigration reform

GOP paralyzed

India PostJune 20, 2014 5

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UPA governors on way out: 2 quitNEW DELHI: The Centre has

asked some of the Governors ap-pointed during UPA regime to quit

in the wake of change of govern-ment. Heeding the call, two gov-ernors have resigned - BL Joshiof Uttar Pradesh and HR

Bhardwaj of Karnataka, accord-ing to reports.

Though there is no officialconfirmation yet, many otherGovernors have resigned or are

about to resign. The NarendraModi government has soundedout nearly 12 Governors ap-pointed by its predecessor to re-sign. So far, two have obliged.Some others denied reports thatthey would quit but they cameand met President PranabMukherjee.

"If I were in their place, I wouldhave resigned," said Home Min-ister Rajnath Singh.

In its plans for governors, thegovernment has created two cat-egories: those who have morethan two years left in officeshould exit; seven others whohave nearly completed their termswill be spared.

Home secretary Anil Goswamireportedly phoned Sheila Dikshitto ask if she would resign. To himand to reporters, her responsewas non-committal. "I can't re-act to rumors," the 76-year-oldsaid. She was posted as Gover-nor of Kerala in March after sheled the Congress to a humiliatingdefeating the Delhi state electionafter three terms in power.

Her son, Sandeep Dikshit,who is a Congressman, said,"Who is the Home Secretary tocall a Governor? Governors areconstitutional posts. There is aSupreme Court ruling that gov-ernors can't be removed onwhims and caprice."

The government believes it iswithin its right to appoint gover-nors of its choice. "The countryis not the property of any party,"disagreed Naresh Agarwal of theSamajwadi Party, which rules

Uttar Pradesh, whose governorhas quit.

Rajasthan Governor MargaretAlva, who met the PM and AssamGovernor JB Patnaik, who metPresident Pranab Mukherjee, de-nied speculation that they weresurrendering their offices.

Assam Governor JB Patnaik

was also said to have resignedbut he later told media personsthat he has not resigned. "If thereis a rumor (about his resignation)I cannot help," he said.

The speculation had gainedweight after Patnaik met Presi-dent Pranab Mukherjee. Patnaik,a former Congress chief ministerof Odisha, said meeting the Presi-dent, who is his friend, did notmean that he was resigning.

Karnataka Governor H R

Bhardawaj, who had an uneasyrelationship with the then BJPgovernment in the state, alsocalled on the President.

Rajasthan Governor MargaretAlva met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi which was de-scribed as a courtesy call.

Former Delhi chief ministerShiela Dikshit, who was madeKerala Governor hours before themodel code of conduct of LokSabha polls came in to force, saidshe cannot comment on media re-ports (on the Centre wanting herto quit).

Others who are in pressure toquit are Gujarat Governor KamlaBeniwal, her Punjab counterpartShivraj Patil. MK Narayanan(West Bengal) and KSankanarayanan (Maharashtra)may also have to quit RajBhavan.

The Union Home Secretaryhad reportedly called up Gover-nors of many states and sug-gested that they put in their pa-pers. The Prime Minister's Office(PMO) also, reportedly, soughtdetails of the tenures of at leasteight Governors who are due toretire by the year-end.

Joshi's resignation came hoursafter BJP leader SubramanianSwamy said that incumbent Gov-ernors should have resignedthemselves as most of them wereappointed by Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi and not onmerit.

"With a new central Govt, it'san expected process, so BL Joshiji (UP Governor) by resigning has

Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj

Rajasthan Governor Margaret AlvaKerala Governor Shiela Dikshit

The Union HomeSecretary hadreportedly called upGovernors of manystates and suggestedthat they put in theirpapers. The PrimeMinister's Office(PMO) also,reportedly, soughtdetails of the tenuresof at least eightGovernors

done the right thing," UP BJPchief Laxmikant Bajpai said.

The BJP has reasons to be in

a hurry as several senior partyleaders like MM Joshi, LaljiTandon, VK Malhotra, Kalyan

Singh, Shanta Kumar and BCKhanduri, who could not findplace in the Modi cabinet are eye-ing the gubernatorial assignment.-Agencies

India-born in White House'Champions of Change'

WASHINGTON: An India-born is among ten young adultsselected by the White House as"Champions of Change" for theirexemplary leadership in their com-munities, who were felicitated in aceremony.

All ten including New Delhi-born Pratishtha Khanna are alsoDeferred Action for ChildhoodArrival (DACA) recipients, whoserve as success stories and rolemodels in their academic and pro-fessional spheres.

"These Champions distin-guished themselves through theircommunity involvement and thehard work they put into helpingother members of their academicand professional communitiessucceed," the White House saidin a statement.

Pratishtha of Laurel, Marylandwho migrated to the US at the age

of 10, is currently a senior at theUniversity of Maryland, BaltimoreCounty (UMBC).

She will graduate with a BS inBiology. She is an active memberof the API Youth Convening-DACA Collaborative planningcommittee and the MarylandDream Youth Committee (MDYC).She is also a member of Dreamersfor DREAMers student organiza-tion at UMBC.

After graduation, Pratishthawill be working (thanks to DACA)as an emergency room medicalscribe and will pursue a CertifiedNursing Assistant Program atHoward Community College.

She hopes to attend medicalschool in Fall 2017, the WhiteHouse said. US government'sDACA program is designed toshield young undocumented immi-grants from being deported.-PTI

'Modi govt should look into visaproblem of Sikhs'

WASHINGTON: India's newgovernment should look into theissue of denial of visas to Sikhswho took political asylum in theUS at peak of the militancy and inthe aftermath of the 1984 riots,according to a top Sikh leader.

Manjit Singh, president of DelhiSikh Gurudwara PrabhandhakCommittee (DSGPC) and a leaderof the Akali Dal (Badal) which ispart of the ruling NDA coalition atthe Centre, told members of theSikh community in the US that thenew government is serious in re-solving the issue.

"The Indian government needsto have a second look at the is-sue, which was a creation of theprevious Congress regime. I amsure that New Delhi would ad-dress the issue to the satisfactionof the large Sikh community in the

US," Singh, who was here on avisit, told PTI.

Singh, who visited New York,New Jersey, Maryland, Virginiaand Washington DC, said this is

one of the major issues of con-cerns for the Sikh community inthe US.

At a community reception forSingh, hosted by Jasdip Jesse

Singh, Chairman of MarylandGovernor's Commission on SouthAsian Affairs, he was presentedwith a memorandum seeking acorridor from India into Pakistan,up till Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahibwhich is five kilometers away fromthe border.

At another reception held inRockville, Singh said promotingeducation and excellence shouldbe the top priority of the commu-nity in India and abroad.

"A focused attention on theagenda of guiding our youth inthe field of education will set thecommunity on the path of abrighter future. Delhi SikhGurdwara Management Commit-tee is committed to have this asour primary mission besidesspreading the message of GuruNanak.” -PTI

Manjit Singh


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Strong, prosperous India can help neighbors: Modi

New ideas to strengthenties with Bhutan

THIMPHU: India and Bhutanhave decided to scale up their bi-lateral relations with Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi asserting thata "strong" and "prosperous" In-dia can help smaller countries inthe region.

Concluding his two-day visitto the Himalayan Kingdom, Modigave an assurance that a changeof government in Delhi will notaffect their ties and past commit-ments will be fulfilled.

Thimphu, on its part, promisednot to allow its territory to be usedagainst India, an assurance thatcomes against the backdrop ofmilitants from northeast takingshelter there.

Just before winding up his visit,Prime Minister Modi, who wasgiven a rare honor of addressingthe joint session of Bhutan's Par-liament, agreed with Speaker ofthe National Assembly JigmeZangpo that stronger India is, thebetter it is for Bhutan.

Referring to the welcome re-

marks by Zangpo, Modi said theentire region, especially theSAARC countries, could benefitif India is prosperous. "Only astrong, prosperous India can helpalleviate the problems that itsneighbors face," he said.

At the end of the visit, the firstforeign outing since he took overthree weeks ago, the two coun-tries came out with a joint state-ment that reaffirmed their commit-ment to further strengthening thespecial relationship between thetwo countries.

Here are some of the key pointsof Modi's visit to the Himalayannation:

1. India and Bhutan reiteratedtheir commitment to achieving the10,000 MW target in hydropowercooperation and not to allow theirterritories to be used for interests"inimical" to each other.

2. Modi inaugurated one ofIndia's assistance projects - the

building of the Supreme Court ofBhutan and laid foundation stoneof the 600MW Kholongchu Hy-dro-electric project, a joint ven-ture between India and Bhutan.

3. India also announced a num-ber of measures and concessionsincluding the exemption ofBhutan from any ban on export ofmilk powder, wheat, edible oil,

pulses and non-basmati rice.. The two sides recalled the free

trade arrangement between themand the expanding bilateral tradeand its importance in further ce-menting their friendship.

5. Prime Minister NarendraModi also mooted the idea of anannual hill sports festival withIndia's northeastern states alongwith Bhutan and Nepal.

6. Modi announced doublingof scholarships being provided toBhutanese students in Indiawhich will now be worth Rs 2crore.

7. India will also assist Bhutanset up a digital library which willprovide access to Bhutaneseyouth to two million books andperiodicals. 8. Both India-Bhutanreaffirmed their commitment toextensive development coopera-tion and discussed ways to fur-ther enhance economic ties.

9. Modi described Bhutan as a

natural choice for his first visitabroad as the two countriesshared a "special relationship''.

10. The fact that the Prime Min-ister chose Bhutan as his first for-eign destination assumes signifi-cance since China has lately in-tensified efforts to woo it and es-tablish full-fledged diplomatic tieswith Thimphu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing National Assembly

in Thimphu on June 16

THIMPHU: India has proposednew ideas for further enhancingcooperation with Bhutan whileasserting that commitments madeby the previous government willbe fulfilled.

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj, who is accompa-nying Prime Minister NarendraModi to Bhutan on his maidenforeign visit, told reporters herethat the Indian side was "extremelysatisfied" with the "extremely suc-cessful" visit.

Swaraj said Prime MinisterModi gave some new suggestions

to Bhutan.Prime Minister Modi proposed

to hold a joint sports festival be-tween Bhutan and northeasternstates of India, establish e-librar-ies in 20 districts in Bhutan andset up a university on Himalayanstudies, she said.

"We reiterated that the commit-ments made by the previous gov-ernment will be fulfilled. These com-mitments are made by a country toa country and not by governmentto government," Swaraj said.

"He reiterated commitmentsmade by the previous governmentregarding the Five Year Plan bysaying that such commitments arenot made by government to gov-ernment but by country to coun-try. We will fulfill commitments intoto," Swaraj told reporters allay-ing fears that India would discon-tinue with subsidies on LPG.

She said Bhutan was selectedfor the Prime Minister's first for-eign visit as it is one of India's"important neighbors".

The visit, Swaraj said, has re-inforced relations between the twocountries. Though it was a shortvisit, Modi was able to interact

with the members of the Legisla-ture, Judiciary and the Executive.

Referring to the power projectsbeing implemented in Bhutan,Swaraj said Modi was of the viewthat these projects should be com-pleted in a speedy manner.

Swaraj said India wants to es-tablish e-libraries in each of the20 districts of Bhutan so that twomillion books become available tothe youth of the country.

Referring to Modi's speech atthe Bhutan Parliament, she saidwhile there is a thinking thatHimalayas divide, the Prime Min-ister is of the thinking that theHimalayas unite.

In his speech Modi had de-scribed the Himalayas as a sharedlegacy of the two countries andhad stressed on the need to de-velop the ecology of the region,Swaraj said.

The Prime Minister spoke fromhis heart to the Bhutanese leader-ship and said the name of the twocountries start with the letter 'B'and "Bharat should stand forBhutan and Bhutan for Bharat,"Swaraj told reporters.

"It has become a quotablequote," she said.

Responding to a question, theExternal Affairs Minister saidwhile a strong India was in theinterest of its neighbors, strongand stable governments in theneighborhood were also in theinterest of New Delhi.-PTI

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj along with Foreign Secretary

Sujatha Singh and spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Syed

Akbaruddin during a press conference in Thimphu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling the plaque to inaugurate the Supreme

Court of Bhutan, in Thimphu, Bhutan on June 15. Prime Minister of Bhutan

Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay is also seen

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets people who lined up to say goodbye,

waving flags, on way to the airport, in Thimphu, Bhutan on June 16


June 20, 2014


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Not perturbed by growingIndia, Bhutan ties: China

Modi may pursue Manmohan'sforeign policy: China

BEIJING: Playing down its un-successful bid to establish diplo-matic ties with Bhutan, China hassaid it is glad to see New Delhiand Thimphu develop their rela-tions further during the just-con-cluded visit of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

"With regard to China's rela-tions with Bhutan, we have notestablished diplomatic relationsbut our two countries maintainfriendly exchanges and visits,"Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes-person, Hua Chunying told a me-dia briefing here an-swering a question onModi's visit toThimphu.

"We respect the in-dependence, sover-eignty and territorial in-tegrity of Bhutan and weare willing to furtherdevelop good neigh-borly relations withBhutan based on the five prin-ciples of peaceful coexistence,"she said.

Strategically placed betweenIndia and Tibet, Bhutan has re-mained aloof since 1951 afterChina took firm control of Tibet,which borders Bhutan.

Relations between Beijing andThimphu remained traditionallystrained following a border dis-pute.

However in a surprise move in2012, the then Chinese Premier

Wen Jiabao and his Bhutanesecounterpart, Jigmi Y Thinley meton the sidelines of the UN Con-ference on Sustainable Develop-ment at Rio De Janeiro.

During the meeting, the twoleaders expressed their willing-ness to establish diplomatic rela-tions and discussed measures tospeed up efforts to resolve theborder dispute and to step up bi-lateral ties.

But Bhutan did not pursue themove apparently to avoid creat-ing any misunderstanding in its

ties with India.China and Bhutan however

continue their exchanges with vis-its by high level diplomats besidesa dialogue to resolve the borderdispute.

On Modi's visit to Thimphuwhich was his first foreign visitafter taking over as Prime Minis-ter, Hua said, "We are paying at-tention to the Indian primeminister's visit. We are glad to seeour neighbors develop friendlyties with each other". -PTI

Strategically placedbetween India and Tibet,Bhutan has remained aloofsince 1951 after China tookfirm control of Tibet

BEIJING: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi may still not haveunveiled his foreign policy but hemay follow his predecessorManmohan Singh's diplomatic ini-tiatives, official Chinese media said.

"After being sworn into office,India's new Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has shared littleabout his foreign policy platformwith the outside world. This gen-erates increasing interest andspeculation," state-run GlobalTimes said.

India's foreign policy has tre-mendous historical burdens.

Modi's agenda will depend onhow he perceives his predeces-sors' achievements and what vi-sion he himself has for India, it said.

In 2003, it was Atal BihariVajpayee, a BJP premier whopicked up and carried forward arapprochement policy with Paki-stan, a platform started by his pre-decessor P V Narasimha Rao andinterrupted by the Kargil crisis in1999 and the terrorist attack on the

Indian parliament in 2001, it said.Singh inherited Vajpayee's Pa-

kistan policy.He insisted on a largely calm

and measured response to theMumbai attacks in 2008 and keptovertures toward Pakistan.

Since the 1990s, India's posi-tion on border issue with Chinawitnessed a pragmatic improve-ment in Rao's time, a legacyVajpayee maintained in his 2003visit to China by departing fromIndia's traditional approach andagreeing to negotiations based on"territorial give-and-take" ratherthan asserting China was the ag-gressor and must vacate disputedterritories, it said.

"Singh adhered to this prin-ciple and significantly improvedIndia-China relations. In 2013,Singh made a historic visit to Chinawith the signing of Border De-fense Cooperation Agreement(BDCA), in which both countriespledged not to use force in caseof face-offs.-PTI

3 Indian-Americans chargedin trading scheme

NEW YORK: Three Indian-Americans and their associatehave been charged by federalregulator in an insider tradingscheme where they reaped USD12 million in illegal profits by trad-ing in shares of a discount cloth-ing chain.

US Securities and ExchangeCommission alleged that SaleemKhan was routinely tipped by hisfriend Roshanlal Chaganlal, whowas a director in the finance de-partment at Ross headquarters inCalifornia.

Khan used the confidential in-formation to illegally trade onmore than 40 occasions ahead ofthe company's public release offinancial results.

The SEC's complaint chargesKhan, Chaganlal, Mendonsa, andAkbari with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federalsecurities laws.

The complaint seeks perma-nent injunctive relief,disgorgement of illicit profits plusinterest, financial penalties and anofficer-and-director bar againstChaganlal.

Besides trading in his own bro-kerage account, Khan traded in hisbrother-in-law's account as well as

an account belonging to anotheracquaintance.

Khan also tipped his work col-leagues Ranjan Mendonsa andAmmar Akbari so they too couldtrade in Ross stock options basedon the nonpublic information.The insider trading resulted incollective profits of more than 12million dollars, the SEC said.

The SEC further alleged that at

the outset of the scheme,Chaganlal gave USD 17,000 toKhan for the purpose of insidertrading in Ross securities usingthe brother-in-law's account.

Khan later funneled USD1,30,000 of the generated trading

profits back to Chaganlal by us-ing third-party intermediaries.

According to the SEC's com-plaint filed in federal court in SanFrancisco, Khan separately madeapproximately USD 4,50, 000 in il-licit profits by insider trading instock options of a software com-pany ahead of its 2012 acquisitionby Oracle.

The SEC alleges that the serialinsider trading involving Rosssecurities began in August 2009and continued until December2012, when Chaganlal was termi-nated by the company.

He had access to confidentialsales figures on an internalwebpage limited to a relativelysmall group of Ross employees.

Chaganlal regularly communi-cated the confidential details toKhan so he could trade ahead ofimpending monthly sales an-nouncements by Ross.

Khan generated USD 5.4 mil-lion in profits, and USD 6 millionin profits in his brother-in-law'saccount.

Khan's supervisor Mendonsamade approximately USD 8, 00,000in insider trading profits based onthe nonpublic information thatKhan in turn tipped to him. -PTI

83-yr-old Indian worker honoredby British Queen

Chaganlal regularlycommunicated theconfidential details toKhan so he couldtrade ahead of im-pending monthlysales announce-ments by Ross.Khan generated USD5.4 million in profits

LONDON: An 83-year-old In-dian-origin businessman, whotook early retirement to help theIndian community in the Britishcity of Manchester, has been hon-ored by Queen Elizabeth II.

Hari Dutt Seth has been ap-pointed the British Empire Medal(BEM) for founding the IndianSenior Citizens' Centre (ISCC) tocare for the elderly in this year'sQueen's Birthday Honors List re-leased to mark her official birth-day.

He is also a founder-member ofManchester's Hindu Temple.

"I'm very pleased," said Seth,who retired from a successful re-tail business more than 40 yearsago.

The father-of-two, who arrivedin the UK in 1957, said his carecentre is aimed at "elderly peoplein our community who feel iso-lated as there is a real generationgap with the young."

A British Sikh, GurcharanSingh Chatwal, has also beenhonored with a BEM for servicesto the community in the LondonBorough of Hounslow.

Among the other Indian-origin

candidates on the honors list in-clude Dharam Bir Lall for servicesto the community and businessesin Essex and in the London Bor-ough of Newham and YasvenderSingh Rehill for services to polic-ing and community engagementin Bradford.

Among the list of MBEs thisyear is Dr Jayshree Bagaria, healthadviser in the Department for In-ternational Development, for hu-manitarian services in southSudan; Anjan Kumar Banerjee,honorary consultant surgeon at

Bedford Hospital for services topatient safety; and Amrik SinghBhabra, president of Coventryand Warwickshire Chamber ofCommerce for services to busi-ness and the community.

Others honored with an MBEinclude Dr Kumarendra Das, as-sociate specialist in Trauma andOrthopedics Friarage Hospital inNorth Yorkshire for services totrauma and orthopedic surgery; DrNirmal Chandra Dhar for servicesto community cohesion in thewest of Scotland; Jaya ChakrabartiGallemore, founder and chief ex-ecutive officer of Nameless forservices to the creative and digi-tal industries and to the commu-nity in Bristol.

Amrit Paul Kaushal, vice-presi-dent of the Association of IndianOrganizations for services to com-munity cohesion in the west ofScotland; Dr Jitendra ChottabhaiPatel, cardiologist, and MilanShah, director of Varani Food Prod-ucts Limited and chair of theboard of governors at Universityof Northampton for services tobusiness and the community inthe East Midlands. -PTI

The father-of-two,who arrived in the UKin 1957, said his carecentre is aimed at"elderly people in ourcommunity who feelisolated as there is areal generation gapwith the young."


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Top Stories

US sought immunity forManmohan in court case

WASHINGTON: The USsought immunity for ManmohanSingh in his capacity as the PrimeMinister in an alleged humanrights violations case against himfiled by an American Sikh organi-zation in a court here.

In its fresh petition filed beforethe court, Sikh for Justice (SFJ)argued that since Singh is nolonger the Prime Minister, theclause of immunity does not ap-ply on him. It argued that becauseForeign Sovereign Immunity Act(FSIA) does not cover acts com-mitted by the foreign officials intheir "official capacity" and be-cause defendant Singh is not PrimeMinister anymore, it opposes thesuggestion of immunity.

Last September, when Singhvisited the US to meet PresidentBarack Obama at the WhiteHouse, the SFJ had filed a case ofalleged human rights violationsagainst him.

The court had later issuedsummons to the Prime Minister.

However, on May 2 this year,when Singh was the Prime Minis-ter, the US Department of Justicetold the court that he is immunefrom this suit.

The Department of Justice ar-gument was supported by a letterfrom the State Department in thisregard at the request of the IndianGovernment.

"The Department of State rec-ognizes and allows the immunityof Prime Minister Singh as a sit-

ting head of government from thejurisdiction of the US DistrictCourt in this suit," Maty EMcLeod, Principal Deputy LegalAdvisor, said in a letter to theDepartment of Justice on April 15.

"In light of his current statusas India's head of government, theRepublic of India has asked theDepartment of State to take thesteps necessary to have this ac-tion against the prime minister dis-missed on the basis of his immu-nity from jurisdiction as a sittingforeign head of government," theState Department said.

As such, the Department ofJustice in its May 2 affidavit urgedthe court that Singh enjoys immu-nity in the US as the Prime Minis-ter of India.

In its footnote, the Departmentof Justice said that US expressesno view on the merits of SFJ'sclaims against Singh.

It informed the court that thedepartment is approaching it at therequest of the Indian Embassy inWashington.

"The Office of the Legal Ad-viser of the US Department ofState has informed the Depart-ment of Justice that the Embassyof the Republic of India has for-mally requested the Governmentof the United States to determinethat Prime Minister Singh is im-mune from this lawsuit," the Jus-tice Department said. -PTI

Don't blame us for carbonemissions: India

NEW DELHI: Sending out asignal to the developed world onthe issue of climate change, Indiahas said developing countries likeit have "a right to grow" and inthe process "our net emissionmay increase."

Environment Minister PrakashJavadekar underlined that theproblem of carbon emission hasnot been created by the develop-ing nations and hence responsi-bility for addressing it should notbe solely put on them.

"We have toreduce our car-bon emissions.But I have notcreated the car-bon emissionp r o b l e m s ,which havebeen done byothers. But I amnot into anyblame game.The issue isthat I have aright to grow.India and de-veloping coun-tries have rightto grow. Theseare the emerg-ing economies," the Minister saidwhile addressing a function here.

His statement assumes signifi-cance in the light of a meeting of'governments, leaders from fi-nance, business, local govern-ment and civil society' in NewYork in September this year to"bring bold and new announce-ments and action" to keep the

earth below the globally agreedtwo degree temperature rise.

Noting that poverty is an "en-vironmental disaster", Javadekarsaid "unless we tackle poverty,unless we eradicate poverty, wecannot really address the climatechange."

"To that end, we need to grow.Our net emission may increase,"he said while speaking as thechief guest on the occasion of"World Day to Combat Desertifi-cation" organized by the Environ-

ment Ministry and Indian Coun-cil for Forestry Research andEducation.

The statement is expected tofurther strengthen the BASICgroup of nations on climate - abloc of four biggest emergingcountries - Brazil, South Africa,India and China - formed in No-vember 2009.-PTI

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar

In its footnote, theDepartment of Justicesaid that US ex-presses no view onthe merits of SFJ'sclaims against Singh.It informed the courtthat the department isapproaching it at therequest of theIndian Embassy inWashington

2 Indians jailed for riotin Singapore

SINGAPORE: Two Indian work-ers have been jailed by aSingapore court after they admit-ted their involvement in the LittleIndia riot last December, the city-state's worst street violence in 40years.

Moorthy Kabildev (25) andMongan Anbalagan (41) pleadedguilty to rioting on December 8 inSingapore's Little India, a precinctof Indian origin businesses, eat-eries and pubs.

Kabildev initially faced twocharges - one for rioting and onefor causing hurt by allegedlypunching bus time-keeper MadamWong Geck Woon, The StraitsTimes reported.

He pleaded guilty to the formerand the prosecution withdrew theother charge, said Deputy Public

Prosecutor Sarah Ong.Kabildev was sentenced to 24

months imprisonment, backdatedto his December 9 arrest date.

Anbalagan admitted to throw-ing concrete pieces at a bus andin the direction of police vehicles.

He was sentenced to 18months in prison, backdated to hisDecember 8 arrest date.

The riot was sparked by a fatalaccident involving the bus and anIndian national who was workingin Singapore.

Some 400 migrant workers wereat the scene of the riot duringwhich 23 emergency vehicles weredamaged and 54 police officersinjured.

Twenty-five Indian nationals,working in Singapore on permits,were charged for rioting. -PTI

In touch with Indian nursestrapped in Iraq: Govt

NEW DELHI: The governmenthas said it was in touch with theIndian nurses stranded in vio-lence-hit Tikrit town in Iraq andassured every possible help toIndian citizens in the trouble-torncountry.

Following a request by the In-dian government, a team of Inter-national Red Crescent contactedaround 46 nurses in Tikrit and re-ported back to the Indian authori-ties about their well being, sourcessaid.

The Indian Mission is also intouch with the Iraqi governmentand the UN Assistance Missionin Iraq (UNAMI) to ensure thesafety of all Indians stranded inthe violence- affected areas ofthat country, they said.

Asked whether the governmentwas considering evacuating thenurses from Tikrit, they said theroads are not suitable for anymovement at present.

The government had asked In-dians residing in Iraq to considerleaving the country in view of the"precarious" security situation. Inan advisory, the government had

also asked people not to travel toIraq.

Strongly condemning the vio-lence in Iraq, the government hadsaid it was "deeply concerned"with the deteriorating securitysituation in that country resulting

from recent attacks and takingover of some cities, includingMosul and Tikrit, by terroristoutfits since June 8.

"The safety and security ofthe Indian nationals currently inIraq remains a matter of serious

concern for the Government ofIndia," it said.

Terming the attacks a "directthreat to the security and terri-torial integrity" of Iraq, the Min-istry of External Affairs said In-dia remained strongly commit-

ted to the "emergence of astable, peaceful, united anddemocratic Iraq" which is in theinterest of regional and globalpeace. Over 10,000 Indians are es-timated to be currently living inIraq. -PTI

Iraqi federal policemen watch as Shiite tribal fighters deploy with their

weapons in the northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood, Iraq


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Top StoriesIndian-originDakshina is 'MissMarwadi Nepal'

NYC manthreatenedMuslim advocate

NEW YORK: A New York City man hasbeen charged with sending emails threat-ening to kill a leader of a Muslim civil rightsgroup.

The man, Bernhard Laufer, appeared infederal court in Brooklyn.

According to a criminal complaint,Laufer began sending the emails last yearto the Washington-based Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations. The groupidentified the recipient as its national ex-ecutive director, Nihad Awad.

Laufer, 56, was already facing attemptedmurder charges alleging he stabbed a manat a mosque in 2012 while yelling, "I will killyou Muslim." He was out on USD 200,000bail when he sent an email accusing theMuslim group of framing him, warning,"CAIR will now be destroyed," court pa-pers say.

In an email to Awad, he wrote, "I am com-ing after you, you jihad bastard," the pa-pers say. In a third, he called himself a "madman" who would "stop at nothing to killyou, your body guards and anybody elsethat is around you," they say.

In a statement, CAIR called the case "an-other incident demonstrating the actual,imminent harm that can result fromIslamophobia."-AP

KATHMANDU: Indian-origin DakshniaAgrawal has won the 'Miss Marwadi Nepal2014' title during the second edition of thepageant here.

The 24-year-old model received the titleat a ceremony held by Indian-origin'Marwadi' business community.

Dakshina beat 11 contestants to becomethe top beauty of the Marwadi community.

Vishaka Agrawal (22) and Sanjoli Joshi(23) bagged first and second runner up titlesrespectively in the contest.

The event marked the second edition ofMiss Marwadi beauty pageant organizedin Kathmandu.

Deputy Chief of mission at Indian Em-bassy, Kathmandu Piyush Srivastava, wasthe chief guest of the function. -PTI

Dakshnia Agrawal

Delhi adjudged best destination for food & drinkNEW DELHI: The national capital has

been adjudged as the best destination forfood and drink by a noted travel magazine.

Lonely Planet Magazine India TravelAwards, 2014 declared New Delhi as the'Best Destination for Food & Drink' at aglitzy ceremony held in a Mumbai hotel.

Chief Manager (Public Relations) of theDelhi Tourism, Sudhir Sobti received thisaward.

The award is an exemplary recognitionfor Delhi and is a step forward towardsmaking the city a preferred tourist destina-tion, Sobti said in a statement issued here.

This awards is widely acknowledged asthe most prestigious award in the Tourismand Travel Industry. -PTI

Manish Chatrath, Chairman, Delhi Tourism along with Sudhir Sobti, Chief Manager (PR), DTTDC

received the award from Lonely Planet


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Top Stories

US supports Pak steps against terrorists

Indian-origin physicisthonored by Queen

LONDON: Indian-origin physi-cist, Professor Tejinder Virdee,best known for his work on theLarge Hadron Collider, was ac-corded an honoraryknighthood by QueenElizabeth II for his contri-bution to the field of sci-ence.

Virdee of Imperial Col-lege London was nameda Knight Bachelor for hisservices to science in theQueen's Birthday HonorsList.

His citation reads:"Professor Virdee is oneof the UK's most distin-guished physicists and,as one of the creators ofthe Compact Muon Sole-noid (CMS) Experiment he hasmade outstanding contributionsto science.

The CMS experiment, at theLarge Hadron Collider, CERN,Geneva, has delivered seminal re-

sults in particle physics, includ-ing the groundbreaking discov-ery of the Higgs Boson, or theGod particle, a particle that gives

mass to other particles."Beyond his innovative work

in particle physics, he is also agreat campaigner for science, andpromoter of science and educa-tion in Africa and India." -PTI

DEDICATED TO NATION: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deck of

INS Vikramaditya, in Goa on June 14. The Chief of Naval Staff,

Admiral R.K. Dhowan is also seen

Tejinder Virdee

WASHINGTON: The US sup-ports Pakistani efforts to extendits sovereignty and stability in thecountry, the Obama Administra-tion said as Pakistan army contin-ued its major military operationagainst terrorists in the restiveNorth Waziristan.

"This is a Government of Paki-stan operation. We've long sup-

ported Pakistan efforts to extendtheir sovereignty throughout thecountry and stability throughoutthe country," State DepartmentSpokesperson, Jen Psaki, told re-porters.

This is an entirely Pakistan-ledand executed operation, she said.

"We have long supported anyPakistani efforts to extend stabil-

ity and sovereignty in their owncountry," she reiterated.

The Pakistan army haslaunched an all-out offensive us-ing jets and tanks in NorthWaziristan, killing nearly 184Taliban fighters including foreign-ers, while six soldiers were killedin an IED blast, the first militarycasualties in the operation. -PTI

India confident of rescuingworker in Afghanistan

KABUL: Abducted Indian aidworker Alexis Prem Kumar in Af-ghanistan is safe and India is con-fident of getting him rescued un-harmed soon, according to a topIndian diplomat here.

"It's unfortunate that we havenot been able to get him released.We have been tracking him andwe have been told that he is withhis abductors but he is safe. Weare working with Afghan agen-cies to get him released un-harmed," Indian Ambassador toAfghanistan Amar Sinha told re-porters here.

Sinha said he is in touch withthe Afghan authorities on the is-sue and indicated that 47-year-oldAlex, who hails from Tamil Nadu,was somewhere close to the Heratprovince where he was abductedby the gunmen early this month.

He refused to divulge furtherdetails, saying it was a sensitivematter but expressed hope of hiscoming out of the captivity of theabductors in a few days.

Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterJayalalithaa has sought PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's per-sonal intervention in securing therelease of Kumar, who was work-ing with an educational charitythe Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

as its Afghanistan Director forover three years.

In the wake of unfortunate se-quence of events that included anattack on Indian Consulate inHerat recently, security measurehave been strengthened in Af-ghanistan to protect Indian assetsin the war torn country.

Sinha said Lashkar-e-Taiba wasbehind the attack.

"Local agencies have con-veyed to us which was confirmedto them by international agenciesthat the attack was the handiworkof LeT who have also been in-volved in attacks on our Embassyin the past. We are alert and aware

of their plan and increased secu-rity in terms of procedure on de-ployment and coordination withthe local agencies," he said.

"Three months ago we en-hanced manpower for Kabul andother consulates. Director-GeneralITBP and foreign secretary visitedAfghanistan recently and we havehad regular visit of security ex-perts," Sinha said.

Sinha also spoke about alertsreceived from Afghan and otheragencies on militant threats.

"They understand threat per-ception for India and take it seri-ously and they alert us," he said.

He said that threat reports werecoming in daily which were beingtracked. "However, this does notmean that each threat is going tolead to attack. Vast majority of theyare neutralized before they becomelethal. There were 150 attacksaround the country on the Elec-tion Day but the good thing wasthat 473 different plans of Talibanto disrupt the elections were neu-tralized by the agencies," he said.

On recent media reports of ter-rorist groups going to Kashmir towage war, Sinha said, "We knowfrom which region terrorists cometo Afghanistan and go to India aswell." -PTI

"Three months agowe enhanced man-power for Kabul andother consulates.Director-General ITBPand foreign secretaryvisited Afghanistanrecently and wehave had regular visitof security experts,"Sinha said.

Indian wins photo competition in AustraliaMELBOURNE: An Indian-ori-

gin scientist has bagged first prizein a photo competition in Austra-lia for his shot on deep red andorange colored autumn trees.

Expressing his delight over hiswin, 54-year-old Vijay Koul saidhe won the award in his secondattempt in 'The Canberra TimesAutumn Photo Competition'.

"I had participated in TheCanberra Times winter photocompetition last year but couldnot win it. However, that picturegot into print in the newspaper,"Koul said.

"I am very happy to win it thistime," he said.

His shot on vibrant and deepred and orange colored autumn

trees at the time of sunset withKangaroos grazing in a local parkwon the first prize.

"The beauty of this picture re-minds me of my birthplace, Kash-mir," he said.

"I'm now planning to collate mywork on autumn in Canberra in aphotobook," he said, adding thatpictures of Kashmir would also bea part of that book as well.

The scientist's photo stoodfirst among over 350 entries whichwere received during the contestthat was open for three months.

He found the colors of autumnin Canberra so appealing andbeautiful that he now had shotover hundred pictures.

Koul, for whom photographybecame a passion after he startedclicking on social events, said thecompetition was a fierce one ashe was competing with many pro-fessional photographers DownUnder. -PTI

The scientist's photostood first amongover 350 entrieswhich were receivedduring the contestthat was open forthree months

SanjayWarke (L),CountryHead,Toshiba andSiva Kumar,VP, SalesandMarketinglaunch theirlatest laptoprange, inNew Delhion June 1712 India Post June 20, 2014www.indiapost.com

TechBizTech News

China IT market a hard nut tocrack, says Infosys official

BEIJING: The Indian IT indus-try, which has of late been eyeingthe Chinese market, will have tosweat to gain entry here, a topInfosys official has said.

Penetrating into tier two banksin China, however, is possible asthey are looking for alternativesbeyond global companies, said

Infosys China CEO RangarajanVellamore.

"The knowledge base of theIndian companies is strong, butthe customer base of the Chinesecompanies is very strong in China.The question is how to penetratethe Chinese IT markets, which are

not enamored by the big names ofIndia," he told PTI in an exclusiveinterview.

In order to address the USD 35-billion trade deficit, India has beeninsisting that China open its ITmarket more to Indian companies.

Chinese officials have main-tained that there are no built-inbarriers and the Indian companieshave to compete in the market.

"There are some unwritten bar-riers in penetrating ... governmentprojects. However, there is a lotmore that can be done before hit-ting those barriers," Rangarajansaid.

Almost all top brands of IndianIT firms are present in China, butthey mostly service the multina-tional companies.

"Market entry strategy is aboutpositioning as an alternative toglobal IT providers, which are wellentrenched in Chinese markets,"he said.

Infosys China itself has beenexperimenting with various mod-els with some success.

"We have to build case ex-amples. Records elsewhere do nothold good in China. You have tostart step-by-step with required

investment and persistent cam-paign to demonstrate we can dobetter," he said.

India's over USD 100 billionsoftware industry is focused onthe US as a major chunk of rev-enue comes from this market.

Chinese IT market in compari-son is far smaller and profit per-centages are not high.

"If you look at the Chinese ITindustry per se, overall address-able market spending is about

USD 150 billion on the IT space. Itis about USD 14 billion per annumaddressable space which is not bigfor Indian firms," he said.

The addressable market size ofUS market is about USD 600 bil-lion and the Indian companiesreaped more benefits there as they

expanded on hardware, he said."A lot of homework has to be

done to enter into the market. Itcould be acquisition, joint venturegoing on your own partnership.Find your own sweet spot and lis-ten to the customer. Fame heredoes not matter. Prove and do wellwhat he wants to accomplish.Then the customer will listen," hesaid

"That is how we are makingprogress. By working with various

Chinese companies we have cre-ated references," he said referringto Infosys work with top Chinesedairy firm Yily, which it got in acompetitive bidding.

Infosys is working with severalChinese brands leaving aside mul-tinationals, Rangarajan said. -PTI

A lot of homework has to be done to enterinto the market. It could be acquisition, jointventure going on your own partnership. Findyour own sweet spot and listen to the cus-tomer. Fame here does not matter. Prove anddo well what he wants to accomplish.Rangarajan Vellamore

Xoom's instant deposit service to PNB, India

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India Post News Service

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This breakthrough serviceallows Xoom customers to in-stantly deposit money directlyinto their recipients' Punjab Na-tional Bank accounts in India inless than a minute. Instant de-posit is available 24 hours a day,seven days a week, 365 days ayear, except during a mainte-nance window from 8 am - 1 pmIST on Sundays.

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Xoom provides great locked-in exchange rates for moneytransfers to India, and there isno fee when customers sendmore than $1,000 and pay withtheir US-based bank account.

Cont’d on page 14

'Modi's victorypositive forIndian firms'

SINGAPORE: Narendra Modi'scomprehensive win to become theprime minister should have a posi-tive impact on Indian companiesand the world's third largesteconomy could witness a verystrong cyclical recovery, accord-ing to a Singapore-based portfo-lio manager.

"Having a strong governmentdefinitely helps the case, butthere's also cyclical recovery thatwas happening any way before theelections," said Sukumar Rajah,the Singapore-based portfoliomanager of the Franklin IndiaFund.

He pointed out that the Indianeconomy was already on an up-swing before the general elections.

"He (Modi) fought the nationalelections based on his trackrecord," Rajah was quoted as say-ing by The Sunday Times.

"It's only been a few weekssince he assumed power but it'svery clear he has been workingovertime to make a big difference,"he said. The deterioration andgrowth of India's economy havebeen blamed on politics, but it maynot necessarily be the case, headded. -PTI

Thomas Cook seeksrationalizationof ent tax

KOCHI: Welcoming NDAgovernment's pro-tourism policy,Thomas Cook (India), which orga-nizes inbound and outbound tourpackages, has pitched in for ratio-nalizing the entertainment tax tomake India a more viable destina-tion for travelers.

"Tax rationalization and unifor-mity across state lines will play avital role in creating an attractivevalue proposition for product Des-tination India," company's Man-aging Director Madhavan Menonsaid here.

"We need to reduce the enter-tainment tax to make our hotelsattractive. If you want to spur eco-nomic growth, there should bemore efficient ways to tax people,"he said.

In Kerala, the entertainment taxis 40 per cent. Reducing theentertaintment tax before the nexttourist season starts in Novemberwill have a 'positive impact' on in-bound traffic and make India amore viable destination, he said.

Praising the new government'spro-tourism policy, he said the factthat the powerful role of tourism inemployment generation and as agrowth driver had been recognizedaugurs well for the sector.-PTI

13India PostTechBiz PostJune 20, 2014

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ArcelorMittal opens steel plant in ChinaNEW DELHI: NRI billionaire

Laxmi Mittal-led ArcelorMittal hasopened its first steel making facil-ity in China through a joint ven-ture, VAMA, aimed at catering tothe local automotive market withUSD 832 million investment.

Valin ArcelorMittal AutomotiveSteel Co (VAMA), in which Chi-nese firm Hunan Iron and Steel Coalso has stake, has an annual ca-pacity of producing 1.5 milliontonnes high-strength automotivesteels. China imports such steel tomeet domestic need, the world'slargest steel maker said in a state-ment.

"VAMA will produce state-of-the-art grade steels for safe andcost-efficient light-weight design,superior surface quality and coat-ing technology, helping to meet

rapid growth in demand for ad-vanced automotive steels inChina," it said.

"The annual production capac-ity will be 1.5 million tonnes, in-cluding 800,000 tonnes of coldrolled coils, 200,000 tonnes of alu-minum-coated coils and 500,000tonnes of hot-dip galvanizedcoils," it added.

International car makers suchas Volkswagen, GM, Ford, Daimler-Benz, BMW, Honda Toyota,Honda, Renault, Fiat and Nissanhave presence in China. Domesticmanufacturers such as Geely,Chery, Dongfeng, GuangzhouAuto, Shanghai Auto andChangan are also to be targeted.

"China has the world's fastest-growing automotive market, re-cording a 16 per cent increase incar sales to 18 million units lastyear, and is expected to accountfor 35 per cent of worldwide auto-motive growth between now and2020," the company said.

Mittal, who was present at theinaugural ceremony, said comple-tion of the major project with sixmillion safe work hours, on sched-ule and within budget, was a "re-markable achievement which setsa new standard in our industry".

VAMA is located in the eco-nomic zone of Loudi, Hunan prov-ince. ArcelorMittal has contrib-uted the most advanced automo-tive steel production technologyavailable and assisted with thecompletion of the quality controland R&D systems.-PTI

AirAsia India announces Bengaluru-Kochi flights

NEW DELHI: AirAsia India hasannounced flights betweenBengaluru and Kochi from nextmonth with a limited offer of anall-inclusive fare of Rs 500.

The airline, which had launchedits first flight between Bengaluruand Goa on June 12, would startdaily operations from Bengaluruto Kochi and vice versa from July20, an airline spokesperson said.

In a statement, AirAsia IndiaCEO Mittu Chandilya said, "Wehave done a complete analysis onour third destination and we areconfident we will be able to reachout to more first time fliers."

Announcing "our third desti-nation Kochi, within a few days ofour launch," he said "we will standby our promise to deliver a qualityproduct to our guests that prom-ises value for their money. ... Weare very encouraged by outstand-

ing reception to our product andservice."

AirAsia India will be operatingtwice-a-day flight on the Banga-lore-Chennai-Bangalore routefrom June 19, besides the dailyflight between Bangalore and Goa.

The no-frill carrier is a 49:30:21joint venture involving Malaysianlow-cost carrier AirAsia Berhad,

Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia'sTelstra Tradeplace.

AirAsia India would focus onconnecting tier-II cities offeringfares about 35 per cent lower thanthe prevailing market rates,Chandilya had earlier said. Theother budget carriers are IndiGo,SpiceJet and GoAir, besides AirIndia Express and JetLite. -PTI

Aviation minister cracks down on nepotismNEW DELHI: Days after taking

over the reins of the ministry, In-dian Civil Aviation Minister AshokGajapathi Raju is learnt tohave objected to the em-ployment of relatives of sev-eral officials in the aviationsector and asked all depart-ments to come out with de-tails.

In one of his first direc-tives, Raju has asked headsof Directorate General ofCivil Aviation, Bureau ofCivil Aviation Security, AirIndia, Airports Authority ofIndia, Pawan Hans Helicop-ters Ltd, Airports Economic Regu-latory Authority and the Indira

Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academyto furnish details regarding rela-tives of their staff working in or-

ganizations connected with theaviation sector, official sources

said.He is understood to have told

the chiefs of all these organiza-tions that a serious view would betaken on the matter if the laid-down guidelines and norms arefound to be violated.

In his directive, Raju's office hassaid the Minister has observed thatrelatives of some of the officialsworking in the ministry, its subor-dinates offices and public sectorunits under the ministry were tak-ing up jobs with organizationsconnected with the civil aviationsector "without obtaining priorapproval of the competent authori-ties, in violation of the existingrules".-PTI

Ashok Gajapathi Raju

14 India Post TechBiz Post June 20, 2014

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Plus, Xoom continues to pro-vide fast bank deposits within fourhours to all other banks in India,including to NRE and NRO ac-counts, when sent during bankprocessing hours in India.

Customers can also downloadthe Xoom App for Android andiOS mobile devices for free. Visithttps://www.xoom.com/india formore information.About Xoom

Xoom is a leading digital moneytransfer provider that enables con-sumers to send money to 31 coun-tries in a secure, fast and cost-ef-fective way, using their mobile

Xoom's instant depositservice to PNB, India

phone, tablet or computer. Duringthe 12 months ended March 31,2014, Xoom's more than 1.1 millionactive customers sent more than$6.1 billion to family and friends.The company is headquartered inSan Francisco and can be foundonline at www.xoom.com.About Punjab National Bank

Punjab National Bank is a lead-ing Public Sector Bank in Indiaheadquartered in New Delhi withover 6,200 branches and 7,000ATMs spread across the country.It serves over 80 million custom-ers. The Bank has developed anadvanced computerized modulefor speedy payments of remit-tances received.

Cont’d from page 12

30 lakh seedlings preparedat Centre of Excellence

Govt plans policy framework for missile exports

CHANDIGARH: About 30 lakhseedlings of vegetables havebeen prepared in the Centre of Ex-cellence for Vegetables - an Indo-Israel project at Gharaunda in dis-trict Karnal.

To improve the economic sta-tus of farmers, they are being en-couraged to undertake protectedfarming in poly houses, an officialspokesman said.

He said by adopting polyhouses for farming, the income offarmers is increasing by manifoldsas compared to the conventionalfarming.

He said a subsidy of 65 per centwas also being provided to thefarmers for setting up of polyhouse.

Efforts were also being made byNABARD to help those farmerswho intended to do farmingthrough poly house but even af-ter getting the subsidy of 65 percent from the state governmentwere unable to share the remain-ing 35 per cent amount, he said.

To facilitate such farmers, be-sides the Cooperative Banks andPACS Banks, a few nationalized

banks have also been contactedso that they could provide loan tosuch farmers for setting up of polyhouse.

This would not only benefit thefarmers but the business of bankswould also flourish, he added.

Subsidy has been given to thefarmers to set up poly houses overan area of 100 acres in the districtat a cost of Rs 17 crore, he in-formed.

He said the setting up of Cen-tre of Excellence of Vegetables atGharaunda, the farmers are takinginterest towards protected farm-ing.

Farming through poly house isfree from pesticides and as a re-sult of this farmers get remuner-able prices of their produce in themarket.

He said that to encourage farm-ers, they were also being impartedtraining regarding farming throughpoly house. After getting trainingfrom this Centre of Excellence, thefarmers of not only Haryana butalso of other states are taking upprotected farming through polyhouses. -PTI

HYDERABAD: Many coun-tries have expressed interest inacquiring missiles developed byIndia and efforts would soon bemade on laying down a policyframework to tap this export po-tential, according to ScientificAdviser to the Defense MinisterAvinash Chander.

The export of missiles is a newarea that India is exploring,Chander, who is also Director Gen-eral of Defense Research and De-velopment Organization (DRDO),said even as Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has pitched formaking the country self-reliant inmanufacturing of defense prod-ucts and even capable of exportsin the sector.

"The new government is alsokeen on building up the exportpotential (of defense products).

There hasbeen lot ofi n t e r e s tshown bymany coun-tries on ourmissiles," hesaid deliver-ing an in-vited talk atthe Aero-space Lumi-nary LectureSeries, orga-nized byAeronauticalSociety of In-d i a ,Hyderabad,late last evening.

Speaking on board India's larg-est aircraft carrier INSVikramaditya, Modi had said, "Not

only should we become self-reli-ant, we also should provide them(defense equipment) to smallcountries. The small countriesshould feel secure that they haveIndia-produced defense equip-ment."

"We have to lay down policynorms and methodologies how towork out (tap export potential ofmissiles)," said Chander, who alsointeracted with reporters.

"We are confident we will besoon working on this," he said.

India's Akash and Prahaar mis-siles can be easily exported, asalso BrahMos (developed in ajoint venture with Russians) forwhich a lot of countries have

Avinash Chander

Infosys diluted focus on meritocracy: MurthyBANGALORE: As he signed

off his second innings at Infosys,industry icon N R NarayanaMurthy said the nation's secondlargest ITservices firmInfosys had"diluted fo-cus onmeritocracyand ac-countabi l -ity" in thepast decade,forcing himto take "hardand toughdecisions."

Address-ing share-holders forthe last timeas ExecutiveChairman,Murthy, whoannounced that he along with hisson Rohan have decided to stepdown full four years ahead of theirterm, said his "work was done" andhoped that the new CEO VishalSikka would chart a new coursewithout any interference fromfounders.

"...fairness, transparency,meritocracy and accountability arethe key to success for any enter-prise. Somehow, the company had

diluted its focus on meritocracyand accountability during the lastdecade," Murthy said at the 33rdAnnual General Meeting (AGM)here.

Describing Sikka as a technol-ogy visionary, Murthy said he hadcarried out the mandate that the

Infosys board had accorded himabout a year ago.

Sikka, whose appointment wasannounced on June 12, was not

present at the Annual GeneralMeeting as he was on his wayto the US.

Thirty-three years since itsinception, the Indian IT behe-moth appointed its first non-founder CEO in Sikka, who wasroped in from outside. Analystsbelieve this could be the "freshstart" that Infosys needed as ithas lagged behind peers likeTCS and HCL Technologies.

Murthy, who foundedInfosys along with six engi-neers in 1981, bid adieu to theover USD 8 billion entity for thesecond time. He was calledback from retirement last June.

Defending his decision tobring in his son, Rohan, Murthy

said he wanted to bring in a "freshperspective to the field" and fo-cus on the use of "technology andhigh quality people."

Murthy will continue as non-Executive Chairman till October10, after which he will be desig-nated as Chairman Emeritus. -PTI

Outgoing Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthyspeaking at the 33rd Annual General Meeting of the company

in Bengaluru on June 14

shown interest, he said."Our future missiles that we are

developing...that will have lot of(export) potential," he pointed out.

DRDO is working on a programto extend the range of surface-airmissile beyond 200 kms, Chandersaid.

"We need to have ship-launched, sea-launched, air-

launched, submarine-launchedcruise missiles. India needs super-sonic air-launched cruise missiles.India needs hypersonic transpor-tation systems and these are thevarious segments in which we areoperating (working on)," he said.

"Of course, we are working onanti-radiation missiles," he said. -PTI


June 20, 2014

www.indiapost.com June 20, 2014

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

16 India Post

Desi News

Details on page 25

Sonuenthralls

LA, with hitsongs

Details on page 23

Details on page 20

All Brahmin convention comingto Chicago after a decade

RAMESH SOPARAWALAIndia Post News Service

CHICAGO: After ten years thisaugust city of Chicago will be host-ing again an annual convention ofBrahmins from all over the world.By all accounts it would be a bitunique as it seeks to lay more em-phasis on youth (second genera-tion of Indians abroad) and backhome.

The three-day conventionhosted by Brahman Samaj ofGreater Chicago is slated to be heldat Best Western in Hill Side, asouthwest suburb of Chicago fromJuly 4 to July 6. It is expected to beattended by over 600 members,guests and attendees not only fromChicagoland but from USA,Canada, UK, Africa and India.

"It will be a grand affair by allaccounts as the organizers haveplanned program and activitiesthat will meet the expectations ofall, especially the second genera-tion Indian. The biggest attractionwould be Single to Mingle thatseeks to provide a platform to theyoung generation of Indiansacross the world to meet their coun-terparts to know each other andseek forging common values and

possibly lifelong partnerships,"said Dr Ravi Trivedi, president ofthe host association.

Raj Trivedi, vice president, saidthat one of the great attractionsfor the youth would be a key noteaddress from a renowned motiva-tional speaker Bhupendra Pandyawho is specially coming from In-dia. He is a very impressive speaker

and has motivated youth andadults alike for leading a purpose-ful life. "We have also chalked outentertainment program and activi-ties for children who would not feelleft out while their parents andadults are busy elsewhere. It willbe a convention for one and all,and will be a lifetime experience."Single To Mingle- a special

program for Youth Cont’d on page 19

Chicago Brahmo Samaj Planning Committee members

GOPIO honors achievers & Congressman HimesIndia Post News Service

STAMFORD, CT: The Con-necticut Chapter of the GlobalOrganization of People of IndianOrigin (GOPIO) honored five In-dian American achievers andCongressman Himes as a friendof India during last week at apacked Stamford Italian Center inStamford, Connecticut.

Several dignitaries attendedthe event including India's Con-sul General in New YorkDnyaneshwar Mulay, Rep JimHimes (D, CT 4th District), Stam-ford Mayor David Martin,Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling,New Jersey State AssemblySpeaker Upendra Chivukula andConnecticut Assemblyman Dr

Prasad Srinivasan.The program started with a

welcome by GOPIO-CT Presi-dent Shelly Nichani who said thechapter initiated several newprograms including a cancerwalk fundraiser, participation inthe Thanksgiving Day Parade inStamford, interactive sessionswith elected officials in additionto the regular program such assponsoring and volunteering insoup kitchens, India Indepen-dence Day flag hoisting andDiwali.

Stamford Mayor David Mar-tin extended a warm welcome toeveryone and complimentedGOPIO-CT for its outstandingcommunity work.

GOPIO-CT award recipients, L-R Prasad Chirnomula, Congressman JimHimes, Dr Subbarao Bollepalli, Arati Sureddi, Meera Vasudevan

and Ashok Vasudevan Cont’d on page 20

Juned Qazinamed INOC (I)USA chiefPM SWAMY

NEW YORK: Dr. Karan Singh,Chairman, Foreign Affairs Commit-tee of All India Congress Party hascommunicated his acquiescenceon the appointment of Juned Qazias the new INOC (I) President ef-fective June, 11, 2014.

Upon receiving the notification,George Abraham, Chairman ofINOC(I) congratulated Qazi on hisappointment and offered supportand wished him every success inthe exercise of his mandate.

Juned Qazi has thanked DrKaran Singh for his show of con-fidence and pledged to work hardin accordance with the establishedrules and procedures.

Juned Qazi

Technologyoveruse can affectsafety, healthMANASI MAHESHWARIIndia Post News Service

Teenagers today can barelygo more than a couple ofhours before giving in to

the urge to go online. In recentyears, people have come to de-pend on technology in nearly ev-ery aspect of their lives. Whiletechnology use obviously hasmany benefits, without moderationits impact can be very detrimentalto teenagers' safety, social skilldevelopment, and health.

Terry D'Souza, firstIndian woman Govof Lions Club

HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: Terry D'Souza hasbagged the honor of being thefirst ever Indian origin woman Gov-ernor for Lions Clubs Interna-tional. She was inducted by PastInternational Director DanielReilly at the Crystal Sky Banquetshere in McCook on June 8.

She is the charter member ofThe Forest Kala Sampath LionsClub established in 1996.

India Post 17June 20, 2014 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Washington waking up to minorities' plight in BangaldeshNEELA PANDYA

Congressman Brad Sherman with HAF leaders after beinghonored with Award

WASHINGTON DC: The plightof religious minorities inBangladesh was brought to theattention of Washington authori-ties last week who were asked tosupport a bipartisan Congres-sional letter, spearheaded by Rep-resentatives Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)and Aaron Schock (R-IL), thaturges US Secretary of State JohnKerry to make human rights and

the protection of minorities inBangladesh a priority in US-Bangladesh relations.

The Hindu American Founda-tion (HAF) marked its 11th AnnualD.C. Advocacy Day with its acrossthe country delegates meetingnearly 80 Congressional officesbringing to their attention the mis-eries heaped on minorities inBangladesh.

CongresswomanTulsi Gabbard

and CongressmanBrad Sherman

Cont’d on page 19

June 20, 2014India Post18 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Father's Day celebrated in Hindu waySURI SWAMY

CHICAGO: Enthusiastic LakeCounty Indians celebrated'Father's Day' in a Hindu way withall the religious rituals when peoplein different countries were cel-

ebrating it in their own way by giv-ing gifts, spending quality timeand having sumptuous lunch ordinner with fathers.

A group of young boys andgirls honored more than one hun-dred fathers as living gods on thisearth by washing their feet and

offering them tilak, pushpakshata,Aarti, uttariya, fruits and a spe-cial poem 'Our Gratitude to Fathers'written by Geetha Patil. The mo-tive of the temple is to celebrate

all events in a traditional way sothat the younger generation canlearn and preserve our age oldculture, values, and traditions.

Colorfully dressed devoteeswith their young children gatheredin the temple with a special spiriton this fatherhood celebration

event. Devi and Sankat HaranChaturthi Abhishekam to LordGanesh were performed by PanditJoshi with all the rituals and man-tras. Later Satyanarayana Katha

Pujan was performed by Templesecretary Natesiyer with his fam-ily, relatives, friends, and templedevotees to obtain the blessingsof Jagatpita Vishnu under the di-rection of Pandit Ganesh.

Melodious bhajans were sungby Anu Gupta, Rita Patel, and

Aarti during Father's Day celebration at Grays Lake Temple

other devotees created a spiritualatmosphere in the temple. All chil-dren and fathers felt happy andjubilant on this occasion. This cel-ebration gave an opportunity forchildren to recognize and appreci-ate the social, economic, cultural,and spiritual contributions thatfathers and father figures make totheir lives.

Both priestsblessed KumarNatesiyer and his wifeMadhumati for theirSilver Jubilee weddinganniversary. Pt. Joshiin his Ashirvachanamto devotees and espe-cially to youngstersstated that Fathers'Day is not the one dayof the year when Dadgets to be Father of theYear or Star of theHouse for a day. He said a mantrafrom Taittiriya Upanishad, "maatrudevo bhava, pitru devo bhava,aachaarya devo bhava, atithi devobhava" which conveys the "codeof conduct" for Hindu society. Itmeans everyone should pay re-spects to mother, father, guru andguest since they are all forms of

God.Here Atithi, meaning guest, in-

cludes every other person in theworld. This sloka suggests thatoneness and equality comes intoexistence by regarding every indi-vidual as the supreme power.Those who practice this mantra intheir lives obtain happiness, com-

fort, and a contented life. Pt. Joshithanked profusely all devotees andchildren who participated in thismeaningful event to develop pa-ternal bonds, and recognize theinfluence of fathers in society.Maha Mangalarati was followedby delicious Maha Prasadam to alldevotees.

Puja in progress during Father's Day celebration


John (Janardan) Trivedi, chairentertainment committee, men-tioned that the convention wouldnot be a tedious affair as there aretwo great entertaining programsby talented artists from India -Yadon Ki Barrat which will takethose present down the memorylane with beautiful rendering ofBollywood songs and live pro-gram by Smriti Pandya in filmsongs and rendering in semi clas-sical mode. "On top of that wehave planned Blue after Darkcruise for Single to Mingle candi-dates and informative architec-tural tour for those interested inChicago's history and architec-ture," he said

Dr Ravi Trivedi added there will

All Brahmin convention comingto Chicago after a decade

be sessions for health, fitness,Yoga, emotional well being andspecific health problems faced bywomen during two days of theconvention.

There would be a panel of sixdoctors practicing internal medi-cine, different specialties and adietician on the first day while thesecond session will be only forwomen who could bring up theirspecific problems without any res-ervation.

"Let me assure one and all thatthis Convention would be an Af-fair to Remember with organizersmaking all efforts to celebrate,educate and cultivate our values,customs traditions, culture andhistory leaving no stone unturnedfor its all round success," he saidin a talk to this paper.


"Promoting a stable and demo-cratic Bangladesh is important toUS economic, political and secu-rity interests in the South Asia re-gion," wrote Reps. Gabbard andSchock in a message circulated totheir colleagues. "Under domes-tic law, the Bangladesh govern-ment is obliged to enforce minor-ity land rights, provide restitutionfor illegally seized land, and pro-tect religious and ethnic minorities

against violence and discrimina-tion."

"To date, the Bangladesh gov-ernment has taken no significantsteps to compensate individuals,primarily Hindus, who lost theirland under the 1974 Vested Prop-erty Act. Moreover, theChittagong Hill Tracts Land Dis-pute Resolution Commission hasbeen largely ineffective, therebydenying fundamental rights to in-digenous people in that region."

Besides this issue, the del-egates also sought support for theFreedom of Faith Act (H.R. 4460)which permanently reauthorizesthe special immigrant provision fornon-minister religious workers.HAF meetings culminated in anevening gala reception attendedby more than 200 people, includ-ing Members of Congress, Con-gressional staffers, interfaith andreligious freedom advocates, andleaders of the Hindu Americancommunity.

Congressmen Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House For-

Washington waking up to minorities' plight in BangaldeshCont’d from page 17 eign Affairs Committee (HFAC)

and member of the CongressionalIndia Caucus, was honored at theCapitol Hill reception with HAF'sFriend of the Community Awardfor consistently calling attentionto the plight of Bangladeshi Hin-dus and for his work in strength-ening relations between the USand India.

Congressman Brad Sherman(D-CA), a Ranking Member on theSubcommittee on InternationalTerrorism, Nonproliferation and

Chairman Ed Royce of the House Foreign Affairs Committee with Suhag and Samir Kalra,HAF Director and Senior Human Rights Fellow

Trade, was similarly awarded withthe HAF Friend of the CommunityAward for promoting awarenessof human rights violations againstreligious and ethnic minorities inPakistan and Bangladesh.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard(D-HI), member of the Subcommit-tee on Asia and the Pacific, waspresented with the Pride of theCommunity award for inspiringyoung Hindus as the first HinduAmerican elected to Congress.

Among the evening's otherawardees, were Dr DC Rao, BoardMember of the Interfaith Confer-ence of Metropolitan Washington,who received HAF's Dharma SevaAward, and Steve Spreitzer, Direc-tor of Programs at the MichiganRoundtable for Diversity and In-clusion, with HAF Mahatma

Gandhi Award for the Advance-ment of Religious Pluralism.

Finally, HAF's Award for the Ad-vancement of the Dharmic Arts andHumanities went to Manjari Sharma,

an internationally acclaimed artist,who has educated the public aboutHindu beliefs through her most re-cent project, Darshan, on Hindugods and goddesses.

Amb Neil Parsan of Trinidad and Tobago, Jay Kansara of HAF

Manjari Sharma (white Kurti) recipient of HAF's artist award and SheetalShah (golden kurti), HAF Senior Director in NY

"To date, the Bangladesh government hastaken no significant steps to compensateindividuals, primarily Hindus, who lost theirland under the 1974 Vested Property Act.Moreover, the Chittagong Hill Tracts LandDispute Resolution Commission has beenlargely ineffective”

Harsh Voruganti, HAF's Asso-ciate Director for Public Policy saidthat "from Capitol Hill, to strate-gic meetings with foreign embas-sies, the U.S. Department of State,

and influential think tanks, HAFis playing a leading role in address-ing a number of critical domesticand foreign policy issues facingour country."


GOPIO honors achievers& Congressman Himes

This year, GOPIO-CT had se-lected U.S. Representative fromConnecticut 4th District Congress-man Jim Himes as Friend of India.A member of India Caucus, Jim hadtraveled several times to Indiawhile he was working for GoldmanSachs. As a Congressman Himesis committed to providing all chil-dren in America access to afirst-rate public school,affordable and effec-tive health care, adecent and safehome, and a sup-portive community.An undergraduatefrom Harvard, Jimearned a RhodesScholarship and at-tended Oxford University inEngland.

There Indian Americans werehonored for their achievements inbusiness and profession. Dr.Subbarao Bollepalli, MD FAPA, aleading psychiatrist in the State ofConnecticut, was honored for hisachievements in medicine.

A husband-wife team in busi-ness, Ashok and MeeraVasudevan, were selected to re-ceive entrepreneurship award.

Ashok, a 'corporateur' turned en-trepreneur, co-founded with hiswife Meera, Preferred Brands In-ternational, which makes TastyBite.

Arati Sureddi, the Founder ofLotus Alliance, a social enterpriseaddressing human trafficking andforced labor, received an award foryoung achievers. She is a gradu-ate of Boston University's School

of Management.P r a s a dChirnomula, anavid restaurateur,received a specialaward for pro-moting India cui-sine to American

society by help-ing community

groups through me-dia. Chef Prasad leads

tasting tours of India, hosts pri-vate tasting dinners, teaches cook-ing classes and offers his servicesat multiple charity events.

Connecticut SenatorBlumenthal lauded GOPIO-CT forits outstanding community ser-vice and presented certificate ofappreciation to all award recipi-ents. The program ended with anentertainment by Bollywood danc-ers and a dinner.


Terry D'Souza, first Indian woman Gov of Lions ClubHARISH RAO

tional Convention at McCormikPlace, in the heart of Chicago.

In her acceptance speech,Terry spread out her goals for theyear - recognize, encourage,mentor and support the hugecontribution made by District1A-Mother District of Lionism'sfemale members including youngadults. Currently about 23% ofDistrict membership is of women.

Terry created a 10 memberGovernor's Advisory Board con-sisting of Cabinet Secretary,

Cabinet Treasurer, Global Lead-ership Team, Global MembershipTeam, 4 Past District Governorsand finance committee chair tomonitor, administer, communi-cate, encourage, mentor andsupport her goals for the com-ing year.

Jerry Mascanguay and Prin-cess Santos entertained thecrowd with their singing. Dr Aus-tin Prabhu emceed the programand the event was organized bychairperson Gail Anton.

CHICAGO: Terry D'Souza hasbagged the honor of being the firstever Indian origin woman Gover-nor for Lions Clubs International.She was inducted by Past Inter-national Director Daniel Reilly atthe Crystal Sky Banquets here in

McCook on June 8.She is the charter member of

The Forest Kala Sampath LionsClub established in 1996. WithTerry being installed as the Gov-ernor of District 1A, she and herhusband Dr Austin Prabhu became

the First 'Couple Governors' fromthis prestigious district of Lionismin the world.

Lionism started in Chicago inthe year 1917 and in 2017 Chicagowill be celebrating its centennialcelebration and 100th Interna-

Dr Austin Prabhu, Terry D'Souza and Daniel O'Reilly

Emirates’ non-stop Chicago-Dubai from Aug 5

A.Q. SIDDIQUIIndia Post News Service

CHICAGO: Expanding itswings over US skies, Emirates aworld class airline, will fly daily

non-stop from Chicago to Dubaifrom August 5 connecting passen-gers to over 140 destinationsworldwide.

Chicago will become theairline's ninth gateway in the USAsoon after Boston it started fromMarch this year. This was an-nounced at a glittering "launch"party event held at Radisson BlueHotel downtown Chicago on June11. The star attraction of the partywas a First Class Private Suitesimulator expo. "Feel the luxury"slogan invited the guests to bee-line the simulator and experienceit personally.

A large number of Emirates ap-proved travel agents and busi-ness persons were invited for thegala dinner. The program wasemceed by Emirates local SalesManager Andrea Smagacz. AliKazmi Senior Sales Executive andAlexander Houston RegionalSales Director Central USA wel-comed the guests. The daily non-stop service will be operator by

Boeing 777-200 LR series with acapacity of 8 First class privatesuites, 42 Business class with flatbed and 216 in economy classwith a configuration of 3-4-3 in arow.

Andrea made a video presen-tation of Emirates on board facili-ties and in-flight service. Once onboard the First Class passengerswill enjoy luxury and privacy ofan 82" long suite with slidingdoors and leather seats that forma full flat-bed, a complimentary in-

seat mini-bar a desk and dine ondemand. The Business class fullflat bed seats are privacy adjust-able. On board all passengers getchoice of multi course meals anda range of complimentary drinks.

For entertainment, sky is thelimit; up to 1800 channels on de-

mand, 350 movies from aroundthe world and 100 TV channelsand 100 video games plus audiochannels. In addition to carryingpassengers, the aircraft will alsocarry up to 17 tonnes of cargo that

will furtherboost tradeties betweenDubai andChicago. An-drea alsos c r e e n e dE m i r a t e slounges atDubai and de-tailed aboutE m i r a t e sS k y w a r d saward-win-ning frequentflyer program.

There wasanother videopresentationon Dubai, atourist attrac-tion andworld fameduty frees h o p p i n ghub. Soon af-

ter presentation the guests wereled in for dinner and many con-tinued to line up for the First ClassSimulator experience.

Currently Emirates operates 70US weekly flights including 2daily flights with iconic A380 anda third with 777 leaving New York

for Dubai via Milan. The otherdestinations are Los Angeles,San Francisco, Seattle, Houston,Washington and Boston. TheChicago operation will carry pas-sengers for smooth transfer todestinations in India, Pakistan,Africa, Middle East and Australia.

Alexander Houston, Regional Sales Director Central USA,Sales Manager Andrea Smagacz and Ali Kazmi, Senior Sales Executive

Chicago will become the airline's ninth gate-way in the USA soon after Boston it startedfrom March this year. This was announced ata glittering "launch" party event held atRadisson Blue Hotel downtown Chicago onJune 11. The star attraction of the party was aFirst Class Private Suite simulator expo.


'Hanuman' beer withdrawnfollowing strong protests

SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: Odd13 Brewing, Inc., ofLafayette (Colorado) has withdrawn"Hanuman" beer following protests fromacross section of Indian community in thecountry

On the brewery's website, all the refer-ences to Hanuman have been removed.

Single Hop IPA seems to have taken theplace on the website where "Hanuman" beeronce existed. Single Hop Australian Sum-mer shows up where once Hanuman Aus-tralian Summer was mentioned.

The protest was spearheaded by RajaZed, president of Universal Society of Hin-duism. Decrying efforts to deni-grate Hindu gods and god-desses by a number of commer-cial corporations marketing theirconsumer products, he said thebeer with Lord Hanuman picturewas "highly inappropriate" andhad hurt sentiments of devoutHindus across USA.

Sohan Joshi, president of Na-tional Federation of Indian Ameri-cans, said it was really demean-ing on the part of any individualor company to use and misusethe name and pictures of deitieswhatever religions they may rep-resent. They are revered figuresand are representing in a way theOmnipresent Supreme power."We have to take up this matterwith the top layer of administra-tion in this country and the law-makers as well to ensure that any-body resorting to this tacticneeds to be criminally perse-cuted. We will not take this ly-ing down anymore" he said.

Madhu Patel, president of NRIPress Club observed that Odd13Brewing has withdrawnHanuman Beer following "ourprotests" but it has already donethe damage.

Rajan said that such trivialization of LordHanuman was disturbing to the Hindusworld over. Hindus are for free expressionand speech as much as anybody else, if notmore, but faith is something sacred and at-tempts at trivializing it hurt the devotees.Zed says that businesses should be re-

spectful to variousfaith traditions. In Hin-duism, Lord Hanumanis known for incrediblestrength and was theperfect grammarian.

He however,thanked and com-mended the "Odd13Brewing" for appreci-ating hurt feelings ofHindu community andfor showing responsi-bility, respect and ma-turity by taking quickaction in withdrawing"Hanuman" beer.

Before the protest,"Odd13 Brewing" de-scribed Hanuman beeras: Hanuman is anAmerican IPA with alight malt characterthat showcases robusthopping. Giving the"story" behind

"Hanuman", which was styled as "SingleHop IPA", it then stated: "Hanuman is akind shape shifting super-monkey".

Ryan Scott, brewery's co-founder, wasquoted in the media today: We didn't meanfor it to be offensive… the name for the beeroriginally came from a Facebook contest.


PCS honors graduates and recognizes artistsHARISH RAO

CHICAGO: The Punjabi Cul-tural Society of Chicago (PCS)hosted its fourteenth annual"Punjabi Youth Graduation andScholarships Awards Night" onSunday, June 8 at Viceroy of IndiaBanquet Hall, Lombard, honoringPunjabi graduates. More than 250guests attended the event. Theguests of honor were about 25Class of 2014 graduates from thePunjabi community.

The celebration included key-note address by Dr Birinder SinghMarwah, Chief of Geriatrics atAdvocate Masonic Medical Cen-ter. His eight point thoughtful andinspiring speech hit home with theyoung graduates and the otheraudience alike.

speeches.The keynote speakers Dr

Birinder Singh Marwah and DrJaswinder Singh were honoredwith plaques. All the performingartists and emcees of "RanglaPunjab 2014" the PCS Vaisakhicultural show were recognized andawarded trophies for their hard

The motivational studentspeaker was Dr Jaswinder Pal. Hiskey message was persistence andresilience, never to give up in ad-versity and eventually success willkiss your feet.

The participants of "RanglaPunjab 2014," a PCS AnnualVaisakhi cultural program, receivedappreciation awards. PCS presi-dent Pardeep Singh Deol wel-comed the gathering

The celebration included recog-nition awards, certificates, schol-arships, keynote address, cakecutting ceremony, DJ music, danc-ing, networking, and delicious In-dian cuisine. Rajinder Singh Magocoordinated the scholarship awardceremonies and the keynote Student speaker and Keynote Speaker Dr Birinder Marwah at Annual Punjab Cultural Society Graduation Nite

Graduating Class 2014 seen cutting cake

work. A special cake cutting cer-emony honoring all the class of2014 graduates was also held.

The upcoming PCS events are:Punjabi Sports Festival Basket BallTournament 2014 on July 27 at Fal-con Park, Palatine, IL and PCS Chi-cago International Bhangra andGidha Competition on November 8.

Grand celebration for Telangana in DallasPRASAD THOTUKARA

DALLAS, TX: The TelanganaPeoples' Association of Dallas or-ganized a grand celebration inDallas-Texas to mark the formationof Telangana as the 29th state ofIndia. The event was aptly named'Dhoom -Dhaam' and was set in aMela environment, attended bywell over 2500 people.

TPAD Interim Advisory BoardRao Kalvala, Mahendar Kamireddyand Updendar Telugu invited Dal-las-Fort Worth Indian communityat-large to celebrate the event in an

inclusive manner. Several Teluguorganizations provided their sup-port and attended the TelanganaFormation Day on June 7.

The event started with LordGanesha and Lord Venkateswarapujas conducted for the well-be-ing and prosperity of the newstate. A colorful procession tookplace with Telangana Talli photoand young girls carrying bonaluwith dholak drum beats. MCs forthe event Swapna Udimella.Ashwin Kowtha energized the

audience throughout the evening.Mela environment was set with

food booths to serve authenticTelangana cuisine, including vari-ous types of Hyderabadi Biryanis,Khubani Ka Meeta, Double KaMita, Haleem etc. Vendor boothswere set to sell sarees, jewelry andother items, face painting for kidsand mehendi for women.

Mahendar Kamireddy gavevote of thanks and called TPADEvent Executive committee on thestage.

Gathering celebrating formation of Telengana as 29th State of India

Telangana formationcelebrated in St Louis

ASHWIN PATEL

ST LOUIS: Greeting and con-gratulating each other, the SaintLouis Telangana people jubilantlycelebrated the Telangana Forma-tion Day on June 8 at Mayuri Res-taurant. The function was orga-nized by localTelangana Group

Along with the "JaiTelangana" slogans,friends and family mem-bers shared theTelangana formationevents joyfully.Telangana martyrs wereremembered and respects wereduly paid on the occasion asTelangana's birth came after yearsof struggle and sacrifices by sev-eral people.

Congratulating the new CM of

the state K. Chandrashekar Rao,everybody wished for the betterfuture of all Telangana people andexpressed their strong confidencethat the new government will fo-cus on education, employment,

electricity generation, new indus-tries and agricultural growth tolive up to the people's expecta-tions.

The event was concluded withcake cutting and tasteful dinner.

Celebrating Telangana Day in St Louis

Telangana martyrs wereremembered and respectswere duly paid on the oc-casion as Telangana's birthcame after years of struggle


Technology overuse can affect safety, healthMANASI MAHESHWARIIndia Post News Service

Teenagers today canbarely go more than acouple of hours before

giving in to the urge to go online.In recent years, people have cometo depend on technology in nearlyevery aspect of their lives. Whiletechnology use obviously hasmany benefits, without moderationits impact can be very detrimental

to teenagers' safety, social skilldevelopment, and health.

Overuse of technology cancompromise safety. All over thenation teenagers are so addictedto looking at their phones that

keeping their eyes off their devicesfor even a few minutes gets to bedifficult. This has led to an epi-demic of texting while driving,which kills 11 teens each day andaccounts for about a fourth of caraccidents a year. In fact, drivers

who text behind the wheel havean equal chance of causing a crashto those who drink four beers be-fore driving.

Texting while driving puts notonly the culprit at risk, but also

endangers the lives ofinnocent people onthe road, highlightingthe risk associatedwith inappropriate useof technology. Tech-nology is in no wayinherently bad or dan-gerous, as it obvi-ously helps peoplestay connected andprovides easy accessto help if necessary. Itis, however, importantto moderate technol-ogy use to ensuresafety, especially onthe road.

Another huge is-sue is how overusingtechnology affects

teens' social skills. As they usetechnology more often, they havestarted becoming less socially in-clined. Melissa Ortega, a psy-chologist at the Child Mind Insti-tute in New York, says teens usetheir cell phones as an avoidance

strategy by checking them con-stantly during conversations.

Rather than engaging with newpeople in unfamiliar scenarios,teenagers can usually be seen justlooking at their phones becausethey find virtual communicationeasier than dealing with people.This overdependence hinderstheir adjustment into society andtheir personality development.

Neuroscientist Gary Smallstates that young people are not

learning how to read body lan-guage and nonverbal cues due totheir reliance on technology. Forexample, most find it so mucheasier to break up with someoneover text than to do it in personand deal with the ensuing emo-tions. But teens need to learn howto think on their feet to prepare forthe inevitable difficult situationsthat they will come across. How-

ever, when used appropriately,technology can break down com-munication barriers.

For example, my brother, whostudies at UC San Diego, can keepin touch with my parents and methrough instant messaging. Thismakes it easy for all of us to com-municate without making the longtrip over or having to schedulemeetings. While technology candefinitely bring people together, itis important that it is not the only

means of conversation as it cannever be as effective as personalinteraction.

Using technology too oftencan have a profound effect on teenhealth. It has been shown thatchildren who spend over 3 hoursa day in front of a screen have a 17to 44% increased risk of beingoverweight.

Rather than engaging with new people inunfamiliar scenarios, teenagers can usuallybe seen just looking at their phones becausethey find virtual communication easier thandealing with people. This overdependencehinders their adjustment into society

Cont’d on page 25


June 20, 201424


Technology overuse canaffect safety, health

With the lure of the instant andconvenient entertainment thattechnology provides, teenagersare much less likely to leave thecomfort of their beds and couchesto go out and exercise.

While before, teens used to gooutside to the park and hang outwith their friends, now they usu-ally just stay inside and watch TVor play video games. Furthermore,prolonged screen time can causeeyestrain and can even adverselyaffect ears and wrists due to theuse of earphones and keepinghands stationary for too long. Bal-

ancing technology use and physi-cal activity is a good way to main-tain optimal weight and stayhealthy.

To conclude, technology canbe a bane or boon, depending onhow it is used. In order to staysafe, social, and healthy, teensmust depend less on technologyand manage their screen time bet-ter. With this in mind, they will beable to reap all the benefits tech-nology provides without the pos-sible harmful impact.

Do you have an interestingteen topic to share? Send yourcomments/ feedback [email protected]


Sonu enthralls LA, with hit songs


LOS ANGELES: On May 31, the"Klose to My Soul" concert ar-rived at the Nokia Theater in L.A.Live. This was part of a monthlong, multinational tour SonuNigam performed in an effort toraise money for Sankara Eye Foun-dation, the host of the event.

The show was opened byJonita Gandhi from Toronto,Canada who is raising vocal starin Bollywood. She has had hittracks such as "Chennai Express","Dil Chaspiya", and "KahaanHoon Main" (from Highway).Jonita during the opening sangsome of these hits as well as per-forming some oldies.

Shortly thereafter, Sonu Nigammade a grand entrance and had thecrowd enthralled with his perfor-mances of songs such as

"MaahiVe", "Dil le ja leja", "Bijuriya", "Kyahua tera vada" and"Kal ho na Ho". Dur-ing thee concert, SonuNigam also educatedthe audience how asong is really made. Hewas joined on stage byhis father Agam KumarNigam and the audi-ence also saw picturesand video of Sonu withhis mother, who passedaway in February 2013.

The concert was agreat success and filledwith high energy per-formances as well astouching moments.The audience was entertained bril-liantly by all the performancesthroughout the three and half hourconcert and all the proceeds from

this concert will benefit a wonder-ful organization, Sankara EyeFoundation, in its goal of eradi-cating preventable blindness in

India.The Sankara Eye Foundation is

a non-profit organization whosemission is to provide 20/20 visionfor the people of India by the year2020. The organization's goal isto initiate and drive communityeye care activities in India throughtheir partner, Sankara Eye Care In-stitutions (SECI). SECI operatesand manages eight eye care hos-pitals all over India.

During a break in the concert,Sankara Eye Foundation's chair-man Murli Krishnamurthy spoketo the audience about the goalsand mission of the organization.The majority of the money raisedat the concert will be used to helpbuild a new SankaraEye CareFoundation eye hospital in Jodh-pur, India. The organization has afurther goal of establishing 20 hos-pitals by the year 2020.


35 Muslim students complete social justice programIndia Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: The Council onAmerican-Islamic RelationsGreater Los Angeles Area office(CAIR-LA) congratulated the firstgraduates of its new MuslimGamechangers Network (MGN).On Sunday, June 8, 35 Muslim highschool students celebrated thesuccessful completion of the four-month social justice training pro-gram at a graduation ceremonyhosted at the Islamic Center ofIrvine (ICOI).

"I'm very proud of the firstgraduating class from the MuslimGamechangers Network," saidZienab Abdelgany, youth devel-opment coordinator at CAIR-LA."The journey has just begun aswe set out to apply the thingswe've learned from each otherthroughout the course of this pro-gram."

Friends, family and community

members attended the graduationceremony. Student participantshailed from high schools acrossIrvine and neighboring cities in-cluding Beckman High School,Northwood High School, Univer-sity High School, WoodbridgeHigh School, and Fountain ValleyHigh School, among others.

From January to June, studentsattended weekly interactive ses-sions hosted at ICOI to learn thetools that would equip them tobecome better community advo-cates and leaders. They delvedinto subjects including: under-standing American Muslim history,learning how to deconstruct andcombat stereotypes, examiningtheir family histories, learningabout economic justice and injus-tice, organizing a political cam-paign, building coalitions, andengaging government and mediabodies effectively.

During the program, partici-

pants shared reflections of how ittransformed their worldview and

opened their hearts to service andengagement with the greater com-munity. "One of my favorite partsof MGN was the field trip that wetook to Manzanar," said Salma

Nasoordeen, a Fountain ValleyHigh School student.

"We broke out into discussiongroups and through our conver-sations with former relatives ofJapanese American internees, I dis-

covered that we as Muslims arenot alone and other people are

willing to support Muslimsand Muslims are willing tosupport other communities."

The graduationceremony's keynote speakerand MGN guest facilitatorwas Yousef Baker, a doctoralcandidate in sociology atthe University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara. Baker facili-tated one of the MGN ses-sions in which studentslearned about the globaleconomy. In his keynote ad-dress, he talked about thevalue of fostering a sense ofcommunity through goodworks.

"Home is the communitywe build through service that isbased in solidarity, compassion,and empathy," said Baker in hiskeynote address.

Sri Sri to visit BayArea June 26


SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Sri SriRavi Shankar, a global humanitar-ian and founder of the Art of Liv-ing Foundation, will visit the BayArea June 26-July 1. A world peaceleader and a happiness expert, SriSri's travel marks a unique oppor-tunity for the Bay Area residentsto take the reputed Art of LivingH a p p i n e s sProgram.

Sri Sri's vi-sion of a vio-lence-free andstress-free so-ciety hasunited millionsof people. Tofollow up onhis March2013 launch ofthe Stress-free, Violence-free campaignin the BayArea, he is now coming to leadseveral workshops to strengthenthe local community. The Happi-ness Program teaches practicaltools to manage the mind and emo-tions so that one can live life withgreater purpose and fulfillment.This dynamic workshop allows anindividual to tap vast possibilitieswithin and discover one's unlim-ited power and freedom. The cen-terpiece of this program is theSudarshan Kriya, a powerful tech-nique that uses specific, naturalrhythms to get unstuck withevents of life. It is a time-tested

technique based on ancient Vedicknowledge.

"Sri Sri has created waves ofhappiness across the globe. Hisvisit offers a rare opportunity toexperience profound meditationsand peace with the skillful use ofthe breath," said Ashwani Dhall,Chairman, US Art of Living Foun-dation.

Named one of the five mostpowerful peoplein India byForbes, Sri Srihas inspired aglobal phenom-enon of com-passion andservice throughhis initiativeswhich have im-pacted the livesof an estimated300 millionpeople world-wide.

The BayArea has six Art of Living centersthat serve community upliftmentthrough its breathing, meditation,yoga, and knowledge programs.

About the Art of Living Foun-dation

An icon of non-violence anduniversal human values, Sri SriRavi Shankar seeks global peacethrough service and dialogue.Founded in 1981, his Art of LivingFoundation is an internationalnonprofit which offers programsdesigned to eliminate stress andfoster a sense of well-being. It haspresence in 152 countries.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


June 20, 2014

www.indiapost.comIndia Post

TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS

1 Mast Magan: 2 States

2 Locha-E-Ulfat: 2 States

3 Party With The Bhoothnath:

Bhoothnath Returns

4 Whistle Baja: Heropanti

5 Galliyan: Ek Villian

6 Raat Bhar: Heropanti

7 Dard Dilo Ko: The Xpose

8 Fugly Fugly Kya Hai: Fugly

9 Baby Doll: Ragini MMS 2

10 Caller Tune: Humshakals

28 June 20, 2014

It's a given for any star to be accompanied by an entouragewhen he goes visiting other cities - be it for work or tocatch up with friends. However, Ranbir Kapoor, it seems,avoids getting caught in the trappings of stardom.

The young superstar, one hears, isn't enamored by high-endluxury cars. "When a fancy sedan was sent for him on his recentvisit to Delhi, Ranbir sent it back saying a car like that wouldattract attention and people would become aware of a celebrity

in it. He asked for popular multi premium car, where he took therear seat, hiding under his trademark cap and dark glasses," saysa source.

"He also didn't want too many bouncers around him, insteadhe preferred to only have a sole bodyguard accompanying him.That way, he could also stop at a roadside dhaba to savor streetfood in the car, without attracting attention of people around,"added the source.

Aamir Khan couldn't curtail his excitement when herecently unveiled Dilip Kumar's autobiography 'TheShadow and The Substance' along with veteran actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. Aamir was

seen kissing Dilip Kumar's hand lovingly while he was restinghis head on his wife and veteran actress Saira

Banu's shoulder.Aamir first read out a poem written

by his friend and writer-poet PrasoonJoshi amidst huge round of applause."I wish Prasoon was personally hereto read out," said Aamir, claiming that

he was the biggest fan of DilipKumar in the industry. "There is

no bigger fan of Dilip Kumarthan me in the industry. I haveseen every film of his many

times and he has had a huge influence on me. The bestpart is that I rediscover him with every film and con-tinue to learn."

Aamir further accompanied senior Bachchan onthe stage to unveil the autobiography. SingersShaan and Javed Ali along with composer Lalit

Pandit recreated magic and took peopledown the memory lane with some

of Dilip Kumar's hit songs likeSuhana Safar, Madhubanmein radhika, Nain lad jaihain, Ude jab jab zulfienteri and many more.

Bipasha will be playing the roleof twins who are conjoinedat birth in the film Alone (tentative title), which is being

produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak,Abhishek Pathak and PradeepAggarwal, and directed by BhushanPatel.

The film is about how one (of thetwins) becomes an evil spirit, while

the other one is sweet andprotective of the other.

Bipasha says that Aloneis a very challenging

film, because it's anemotional journeywherein the charac-

ters are layeredand complex.She addedthat she isalso study-ing thes u b j e c ta n d

watching docu-mentaries onc o n j o i n e dtwins.

Popular TVactor KaranSingh Grover,who makes hisBollywood de-but with thisfilm, will be

seen playingBipasha's love

interest in thisfilm.

Bipasha says that Alone is avery challenging film,because it's an emotionaljourney wherein the charac-ters are layered and complex

India Post 29June 20, 2014

www.indiapost.com

Bollywood

A ftabShivdasani has beendating Nin Dusanj, aBritish-Indian girl, whowas working in HongKong for six years as aconsultant in the luxurybrand industry beforerelocating to India in2012. She met Aftabthrough commonfriends at an event.

It is learnt the couplehas tied the knot at aprivate ceremony at-tended only by theirfamilies. Of course, theyalso plan to have anelaborate celebration atthe end of the year. Infact, our source tells usthat the star and hisbride will check out mul-tiple locations acrossIndia where they canhold the various func-tions. And they intendto invite their closefriends from India andoverseas. At the mo-ment the couple is ontheir honeymoon at anundisclosed destina-tion.

If the 'Hate Story' contentwas bold, the second installment is bolder andnow adult star and

Bollywood actress Sunny Leoneis set to spice it up further withher item number.

According to a source, thetrailer featuring lead actorsSurveen Chawla and JayBhanushali's love scenes in therecreated version of the song"Aaj fir tumpe pyaar aaya hai" isalready scorching the web space.And Sunny's item song 'PinkLips', composed by Meet Bros,will be like a cherry on directorVishal Pandya's 'Hate Story 2'.

Sajid Nadiadwala launched his friend JackieShroff's son Tiger with his productionHeropanti directed by Sabbir Khan. After asuperhit debut, many people want to know,

what film Tiger Shroff will do next. We have learntfrom sources that his second film will again be aromantic action film with Sabbir Khan.

What is interesting is that apparently ShraddhaKapoor has been spoken to pair with him in this filmand principally, she has agreed. Tiger is being sentfor a month-and-a-half abroad to train in action inthe style of his hero Bruce Lee and the film is slatedto go on the floor this August.


June 20, 201430

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www.indiapost.com32 India Post June 20, 2014

Health ScienceHealth Line

Details on Page 34

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blood banksin each dist

Senate bill doubles spendingon veterans' health care

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. speaking to reporters aboutveterans health care on Capitol Hill in Washington after public outcry over laxcare at Veterans Affairs health facilities. Spending on veterans’ health care

could double in three years under the Senate’s solution to the long waitsexperienced by thousands seeking medical care at VA hospitals and clinics.

WASHINGTON: Spending onveterans' health care coulddouble in three years under theU.S. Senate's solution to the longwaits experienced by thousandsseeking medical care at govern-ment-run veterans' hospitals andclinics, according to congres-sional budget experts.

Analyzing a bill the Senatepassed overwhelmingly, the Con-gressional Budget Office esti-mates the measure would add $35billion over the next three yearsto the $44 billion the governmentnow spends annually on medicalcare for veterans.

Both the Senate bill and aHouse version also passed thispast week would dramatically ex-pand government-paid healthcare. They would require the De-partment of Veterans Affairs topay private providers to treatqualifying veterans who can't getprompt appointments at the VA'snearly 1,000 hospitals and outpa-tient clinics or who live at least 40miles (65 kilometers) from one ofthem.

Once the program was fully inplace, the budget office said it ex-pected that veterans ̀ `would ulti-mately seek additional care thatwould cost the federal govern-

ment about $50 billion a year'' -double the current spending, thereport said.

The bills are Congress's re-sponse to a growing uproar overpatients dying while awaiting VAtreatment and mounting evidence

that workers falsified or omittedappointment schedules to maskfrequent, long delays. The result-ing election-year firestorm forcedVA Secretary Eric Shinseki to re-

sign two weeks ago.An audit showed that more

than 57,000 veterans have had towait at least three months for ini-tial appointments. An additional64,000 veterans who asked forappointments over the past de-

cade never got them.The VA has confirmed that at

least 35 veterans died while await-ing appointments at VA facilitiesin the Phoenix area, although offi-

cials say they can't say whethernot getting VA treatment causedany of the deaths.

More than 8 million of thenation's 21 million veterans arenow enrolled in VA health care al-though only about 6.5 million seekVA treatment every year. The CBOanalysts said the VA now coversabout 30 percent, or an average$5,200, of those veterans' annualhealth care costs, excluding long-term care.

The Senate bill would open upVA health care to as many as 8million veterans who now qualifyfor VA health care but have notenrolled, the budget office said.By making it easier to get outsidecare, the Senate bill and a com-panion measure in the House alsowould encourage veterans to seekVA coverage for a bigger portionof their health care, the report said.

Both bills would make it easierto fire or demote senior agencyofficials, and both would end bo-nuses to regional VA officials andother administrators based onmeeting patient scheduling goals- a practice investigators say ledsome officials to create phonywaiting lists to ``game'' the sys-tem.

Innocent's cancer memoir now part of textbookTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

After winning the Lok Sabhapolls as an LDF-independent,actor and humorist Innocenthas earned another credit withKerala Government including ina school textbook excerpts fromthe memoir he penned when heunderwent treatment for cancer.

Innocent, who survived can-cer just a few months before heplunged into the electoral arena,jotted down his experiences asa patient in the memoir titled"Cancer Wardile Chiri" (Smile atthe Cancer Ward).

Portion of this book has beenincluded in the Malayalam text-book for fifth standard of theKerala state syllabus from this

academic year.The memoir, replete with hu-

morous undertones, narrates howbravely he fought cancer and sur-

vived the most painful phase ofhis life without discarding posi-tive outlook.

The selection was made byS t a t eCouncil ofE d u c a -tional Re-search andTraining,the R andD wing ofthe Educa-tion De-partment.

T h eportion isincluded inthe section"Chiriyum

Chinthayum" (laughter andthought) in the textbook.

Innocent's lucid and simplenarration provides an insightinto the trauma faced by himand how he overcame thatpainful phase in his life by per-sistently refusing to be de-spondent.

The textbook also has acaricature of the 69-year-oldactor, who got elected to theLok Sabha defeating Congressheavyweight P C Chacko inChalakkudi seat.

His memoirs, published byMathrubhumi Books last year,has become an instant bestseller book running into fifth im-pression. -PTI

Actor and humorist Innocent

US man sues docsafter removal ofwrong kidney

HOUSTON: A 55-year-old USman has sued his doctors andsought USD 1 million in damages,claiming that surgeons mistakenlyremoved his healthy kidney in-stead of a cancerous one.

Glenn Hermes and his wifeBernadette from Fort Worth,Texas, filed suit against his urolo-gist Robert Stroud and radiologistDavid Fenyes, for malpractice andgross negligence.

When Hermes learned that hehad cancer in one kidney early lastyear, he agreed to have surgeryto remove his left kidney before ithad a chance to spread.

He checked into Plaza MedicalCentre in Fort Worth and his leftkidney was removed. Hermesthought it was a crisis averted.

But then Hermes soon learnedthat a CT scan had been misreadand that the wrong kidney was re-moved - it was his right kidneythat was riddled with cancer, theFort Worth Star-Telegram re-ported.

Hermes, chief executive officerfor a wound care and hyperbaricmedicine management company,was looking forward to retirementand spending time with hisgrandchildren.

Now, he deals with an uncer-tain future wondering if he willface dialysis, a transplant or thepossibility of taking expensivedrugs.- PTI

Police officersaves stabbingvictim

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: AnAlbuquerque police officer whowas at the center of one of city'scostliest wrongful death lawsuitsis being credited with saving awoman's life.

Police say Officer BrettLampiris-Tremba helped a stab-bing victim outside a motel.

Police spokeswoman TasiaMartinez says the woman had atleast nine stab wounds and col-lapsed in front of Lampiris-Tremba's vehicle.

Martinez says Lampiris-Tremba applied two tourniquetsto the victim's arm and put pres-sure on other wounds.

Emergency responders say theofficer kept the woman frombleeding to death.

Officers later arrested 33-year-old Freddy Granger, who had fledthe scene.

In 2010, Lampiris-Tremba fa-tally shot Kenneth Ellis III, an IraqWar veteran. The city was or-dered to pay more than $10 mil-lion in damages to Ellis' family. -AP

Cont'd on Page 35

India PostHealth Science Post 33

www.indiapost.com

June 20, 2014

Report will expose moreproblems at VA

OKLAHOMA CITY: A U.S. senator fromOklahoma claims that a new report will ex-pose more weaknesses at Veterans AffairsDepartment hospitals, including disappear-ing doctors and staff members.

In a national Republican radio address,U.S. Sen Tom Coburn focused onthe problems encountered by thenation's veterans in getting treat-ment, or even appointments, accord-ing to The Oklahoman.

``But the problems at the VA arefar deeper than scheduling,'' Coburnsaid in the weekly GOP address.``Getting to see a doctor, after all,does not guarantee quality care. Justlike the VA is cooking the books tomake wait times appear shorter, thedepartment is also glossing over thegrowing number of hospitals withpoor medical outcomes.''

Coburn co-authored legislationaddressing a wide range of problemsat VA hospitals and in the health caresystem. That bill cleared the Houseand Senate recently.

Among the provisions champi-oned by Coburn are ones that would allowveterans to see any physician or visit anyhospital if they live more than 40 miles froma VA hospital or cannot get a timely ap-pointment at one.

``VA hospitals serve an important andunique role but veterans should be allowedto choose where, when and from whomthey receive treatment,'' Coburn said.

Coburn faulted Congress for not con-ducting proper oversight of the VA evenafter investigative reports exposed sys-

temic failures.And he called on President Barack

Obama to nominate a Veterans Affairs sec-retary ``who possesses the managementskills, leadership ability and determinationto correct the failings of the VA.''

Obama's first VA Secretary, Eric Shinseki,resigned last month amid an uproar overlong wait times and falsified data aboutthose wait times at some VA hospitals.

Coburn and his staff have been digginginto VA problems for years. The senator saids report will be released by his office nextweek that ̀ `exposes a culture within the VAwhere vets are not always a priority and inwhich administrators manipulate both dataand employees to give the appearance thatall is well.'' -AP

Tom Coburn

600 doctors to be recruitedfor paramilitary forces

NEW DELHI: Faced with a critical short-age of doctors to aid troops undertakinganti-Naxal operations and border guardingduties, the government has announced afresh recruitment drive to hire over 600 suchprofessionals.

The maximum of these vacancies are in

country's largest paramilitary force CRPFwith 123 posts vacant for specialist medicalofficers in various important disciplines like

Medicine, Surgery and Orthopedics.The forces, according to a senior para-

military officer, have been wanting to fill anumber of vacant posts in this domain fora long time, essentially for troops deployedin operations.

The Union Home Ministry, in the latestdrive, wants to recruit a total of 218 spe-cialist medical officers, 390 medical of-ficers and one specialist Dental Surgeon.

The total vacancies are 609."The paramilitary forces, especially

those in anti-Naxal and border guardingtasks, have a critical shortage of doc-tors on field. The new drive is expectedto bring some relief from the point ofview of providing quick medical aid totroops," the official said.

The new recruits will be given com-bat ranks of Deputy Commandants(specialist doctors) and Assistant Com-mandants (medical officers) in forceslike Central Reserve Police Force, Bor-

der Security Force, Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice, Sashastra Seema Bal and AssamRifles.-PTI

Last year, these forces recruited close to 250doctors, against the double number of vacancies

they had advertised

Fasting may wardoff diabetes

WASHINGTON: Fasting can reducecholesterol levels in prediabetic people overextended period of time, according to a newresearch.

The research on periodic fasting hasidentified a biological process in the bodythat converts bad cholesterol in fat cellsto energy, thus combating diabetes riskfactors.

Researchers at the Intermountain HeartInstitute at Intermountain Medical Centerin Murray, Utah, noticed that after 10 to 12hours of fasting, the body starts scaveng-ing for other sources of energy through-out the body to sustain itself.

The body pulls LDL (bad) cholesterolfrom the fat cells and uses it as energy.

"Fasting has the potential to becomean important diabetes intervention," saidBenjamin Horne, director of cardiovascu-lar and genetic epidemiology at the Inter-mountain Medical Center Heart Instituteand lead researcher on the study.

"Though we've studied fasting and itshealth benefits for years, we didn't knowwhy fasting could provide the health

benefits we observed related to the riskof diabetes," Horne said.

Prediabetes means the amount of glu-cose, also called sugar, in the blood ishigher than normal but not high enoughto be called diabetes.

Prior research done by Horne and histeam in 2011 focused on healthy peopleduring one day of fasting and showedthat routine, water-only fasting was as-sociated with lower glucose levels andweight loss.

"When we studied the effects of fast-ing in apparently healthy people, choles-terol levels increased during the one-time24-hour fast," said Horne.

"The changes that were most interest-ing or unexpected were all related to meta-bolic health and diabetes risk.

"Together with our prior studies thatshowed decades of routine fasting wasassociated with a lower risk of diabetesand coronary artery disease, this led usto think that fasting is most impactful forreducing the risk of diabetes and relatedmetabolic problems," Horne said.-PTI

India Post Health Science Post34

www.indiapost.com

June 20, 2014

Vardhan promises bloodbanks in each dist

NEW DELHI: Expressing con-cern over the high rate of mater-nal mortality in the country dueto want of safe blood during preg-nancy, Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan has said that thegovernment will work to ensurethat each district soon has ablood bank.

"Almost 88 per cent of preg-nant women in thiscountry suffer from ane-mia, which is a majorcontributor to the highmaternal mortality ratein India.

"Of these, 13.5 percent women come underthe grip of acute anemia,often leading to death,"Vardhan said here at anevent organized to markWorld Blood DonorDay.

He said that as manyas 80,000 women die inthe country due to wantof safe blood duringpregnancy. About 87per cent of pregnantwomen suffer from ane-mia of which 13.5 percent suffer from acuteanemia, which can belife threatening.

If there are more safeblood banks in the country, thenumber of women dying duringpregnancy due to loss of bloodcan be significantly reduced,Vardhan said.

"We will see that each districtin the country has a safe bloodbank in the coming one-two years.

I will talk to the states and civilsociety organizations about this.The Centre will do all it can to seethat this is implemented soon,"said the Health Minister.

He also launched a NationalPlasma Policy on the occasionwhich is aimed at optimizing theuse of plasma recovered by bloodbanks which are tested safe for

clinical use.The policy aims at making

available high-quality proteins ofimmense clinical significance, de-rived from human plasma, whichotherwise goes to waste.

While attempting to bridge thegap between demand and supply

of such life-saving plasma-de-rived proteins, it seeks to ensureadequate regulatory and legisla-tive steps for monitoring of activi-ties related to plasma-derivedproducts.

The policy, drafted by the De-partment of AIDS Control, is anaddendum to the National BloodPolicy, 2003.

Stating that, "every two sec-onds, someone in India needsblood transfusion", Vardhanurged people to donate blood andspoke about the positive aspectsof blood donation on health -- fromsignificant reduction in hyperten-sion to reduced chances of car-diac diseases.

"Four state-of-the-art bloodbanks are going to be set up inthe four metros of Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata and Chennai while givingspecial focus to 40 selected dis-tricts where services need to bereached immediately," he said.

Earlier, Vardhan launched ablood donation drive organized bythe blood bank of RML hospital.He also felicitated several indi-viduals who are regular donorsalong with organizations workingin this field.

Among those honored on theoccasion was the 44-year-old visu-ally-impaired Vijay Negi, who hasdonated blood 25 times till date.

State Blood Transfusion Coun-cil of Maharashtra and the StateAIDS Societies of Maharashtraand Uttarakhand were awardedfor their "commendable work to-wards making safe blood avail-able". -PTI

Brain activity explains whykicking the butt is hard

WASHINGTON: Researchershave identified an aspect of brainactivity which may help explainwhy for some cigarette smokers,strategies to aid quitting work well,while for many others no methodseems to work.

Researchers from Penn Stateobserved the brains of nicotine-deprived smokers with functionalmagnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) and found that those whoexhibited the weakest response torewards were also the least will-ing to refrain from smoking, evenwhen offered money to do so.

"We believe that our findingsmay help to explain why somesmokers find it so difficult to quitsmoking," said Stephen J Wilson,assistant professor of psychol-ogy, Penn State.

"Namely, potential sources ofreinforcement for giving up smok-ing - for example, the prospect ofsaving money or improving health- may hold less value for some in-dividuals and, accordingly, haveless impact on their behavior,"Wilson said.

The researchers recruited 44smokers to examine striatal re-sponse to monetary reward inthose expecting to smoke and inthose who were not, and the sub-sequent willingness of the smok-ers to forego a cigarette in an ef-fort to earn more money.

"The striatum is part of the so-called reward system in the brain.

It is the area of the brain that isimportant for motivation and goal-directed behavior - functionshighly relevant to addiction," saidWilson.

The participants, who werebetween the ages of 18 and 45, allreported that they smoked at least10 cigarettes per day for the past12 months.

They were instructed to ab-stain from smoking and from us-ing any products containing nico-tine for 12 hours prior to arrivingfor the experiment.

Each participant spent time inan fMRI scanner while playing acard-guessing game with the po-tential to win money.

The participants were informedthat they would have to wait ap-proximately two hours, until theexperiment was over, to smoke acigarette. -PTI

Those who exhibitedthe weakest re-sponse to rewardswere also the leastwilling to refrainfrom smoking, evenwhen offeredmoney to do so.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

VA clinic takes steps to correct problemsEL PASO, Texas: The Veter-

ans Affairs health clinic in ElPaso, pinpointed as havingsome of the longest wait timesin the country for veterans tomeet with a mental health spe-cialist, is moving on its own tofix some of the problems insteadof waiting for a national plan, theagency's local director said.

John Mendoza, El Paso's VAdirector, told the El Paso Timesthe clinic will begin getting pa-tients help from privatecaregivers, create new appoint-ment times and increase staffnumbers in some departments.

``I know that right now whenyou take a look at the numbersand you see the wait times youmay say, `Why bother?'' 'Mendoza said. ̀ `My response is,

please give us that opportunity.''He talked to the newspaper af-

ter an extensive audit of the De-partment of Veteran Affairs foundthat more than 64,000 veterans

nationwide have been unable toget a doctor's appointment. The

El Paso center was found fourth-worst nationally in the mentalhealth arena, with veterans wait-ing an average of 60 days to getan appointment with a specialist.

The audit also found that331 veterans in El Paso havebeen waiting 90 or more daysfor their first medical appoint-ment, and more than 1,100 havenever received an appointment.

Significant problems alsohave been found in other TexasVA clinics, including inHarlingen, which has a worst-in-the-nation, 145-day averagewait for new patients seekingspecialist care.

Mendoza said the El Pasoclinic has already started mak-ing calls to those on its wait list.-AP

The audit also foundthat 331 veterans inEl Paso have beenwaiting 90 or moredays for their firstmedical appoint-ment, and more than1,100 have neverreceived anappointment

Portea in-home health carenetwork in 50 cities

KOLKATA: By investing USD30-40 million, in-home healthcareservices provider Portea Medicalplans to expand to 50 Indian cit-ies over the next two years.

"We are by far the largest and

fastest growing home healthcareprovider in the Indian market to-day. Our target is to be in 50 In-dian cities which have a popula-tion of above 1 million) in the next

24 months," said Meena Ganesh,CEO and co-founder of PorteaMedical.

Six months ago, they had raisedUSD 8 million (around Rs 48 crore)in series A funding from AccelPartners and Ventureast.

"We are aiming to raise our se-ries B funding of USD 30-40 mil-lion in the next 12 months and arelooking at all options, including thePE route for these funds," she said.

Started last year, the Banga-lore-based company has alreadyexpanded to 18 cities using theirproprietary technology platform.

Their Kolkata chapter startedrecently while they are alreadypresent in other cities likeHyderabad, Pune, Coimbatore,Lucknow and Vizag.

The company CEO said Ban-galore and the Delhi/NCR regionfollowed by the other metros ac-counts for the bulk of their patientbase. -PTI

'We are by far thelargest and fastestgrowing homehealthcare provider inthe Indian markettoday. Our target is tobe in 50 Indian citieswhich have a popula-tion of above 1 million'

India PostHealth Science Post 35

www.indiapost.com

June 20, 2014

Summit puts limits ondoctor offices

UNL health center to bemanaged by UNMC

But the Senate bill also would devote atleast $1 billion to leasing 26 facilities in 17states and Puerto Rico for use as new VAhospitals or clinics and $500 more millionfor hiring more VA doctors and nurses.Declaring the long appointment waits anemergency, the Senate averted having toraise taxes or find spending cuts elsewhereto cover the bill's costs.

The Center for a Responsible FederalBudget, a bipartisan policy group devotedto cutting federal deficits, criticized theSenate's bill in a lengthy blog post after itpassed, saying it would swell thegovernment's debt by creating a new un-funded entitlement program bigger than

Congress's expansion of Medicare in 2003to cover prescription drugs for seniors.

``We can't just write a blank check andthink it will solve these problems,'' saidRepublican Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of threesenators who voted against the bill. He said``veterans deserve better than that.''

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, thechairman of the Senate Veterans' AffairsCommittee, said the bill was expensive, butso were the wars that veterans have served

in. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistanalone will have cost at least $3 tril-lion, he said.

``If we can spend that kind ofmoney to go to war ... surely wecan spend (less than) 1 percent ofthat amount to take care of the menand women who fought thosewars,'' he said.

The CBO did not provide acomplete cost estimate on theHouse bill, which includes no pro-

visions for new hospitals or clinics or hir-ing more VA doctors and nurses.

House Veterans' Affairs CommitteeChairman Jeff Miller said there would benegotiations with the Senate over final leg-islation. ̀ `We're not just accepting the Sen-ate bill,'' he said.-AP

LINCOLN, Neb.: Within weeks, the Uni-versity of Nebraska-Lincoln will transfermanagement of its on-campus health cen-ter to the University of Nebraska MedicalCenter.

The transfer will take place on July 1,the Lincoln Journal Star reported.UNMC will form a long-range planon how to operate the health cen-ter after getting input from stu-dents, faculty, staff and the healthcenter's advisory board.

UNL Chancellor HarveyPerlman informed the health cen-ter staff about the managementtransfer.

The school had worked with aLincoln hospital system, BryanHealth, to take over operations ofthe center and build a new $14.4million building by December 2014,but the University of NebraskaBoard of Regents rejected thatcontract.

Perlman reached out to UNMCto manage the health center,UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Goldsaid in a news release. UNMCplans to build a referral networkwith specialty partners in Lincolnand Omaha.

``We are taking on this responsibilitybecause we have expertise in the areas ofhealth care management and delivery,which have grown increasingly complex,''

Gold said.UNL officials said it's common to have

university health clinics run by theuniversity's medical schools.

The plans do not affect any currenthealth center staff, UNL officials said.

The concept to build a new UHC facilityremains in place, UNL spokesman SteveSmith said, but no timeline has been set tocomplete a final plan or begin construction.-AP

Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.: "We are excited aboutensuring that this clinic best meets the health needs of

UNL students."

Senate bill doubles spendingon veterans' health care

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistanalone will have cost at least $3trillion. ̀ `If we can spend that kindof money to go to war ... surelywe can spend 1 percent of thatamount to take care of the menand women who fought those wars

SUMMIT, Miss.: Summit officials havedeclared a moratorium on new doctor of-fices along the town's main business thor-oughfare.

The Town Council's decision came afterDr. Jennifer Gholson bought the formerGolden Hushpuppy restaurant building atthe corner of Robb Street and U.S. High-way 51 to comply with an ordinance requir-ing doctors to have five parking spaces peremployee.

Since Gholson's office has seven em-ployees, she needs 35 parking spaces tocomply with the law - far more than what'savailable on Robb Street.

Seeing a potential for doctors' offices totake parking spaces from retailers - a sourceof sales tax dollars - the council decided tolimit medical facilities on Robb Street andreview ordinances covering them.

The Enterprise-Journal reported theparking issue is at the heart of the morato-rium.

``Street parking is not an option'' fordoctors' offices, Mayor Percy Robinsonsaid. ̀ `My merchants downtown, they needthat. We're not going to give leeway so theirpatients can park downtown. Doctors' of-fices have to have so many parking spaces,and there's no way you can get them down-

town.''Robinson said the moratorium will only

affect new medical operations, notGholson's office.

``She's already there, so this moratoriumis not about her. It's to prevent any otherdoctors' offices from coming in the down-

town business district,'' he said.Local real estate agent Debbie Stovall

said that from an economic standpoint, thetown would be better served by having re-tailers along Robb Street.

``We really need the revenue of retailstores, so that's what we're hoping to fill upwith these other businesses,'' she said. -AP

Seeing a potential for doc-tors' offices to take parkingspaces from retailers - asource of sales tax dollars -the council decided to limitmedical facilities on RobbStreet and review ordi-nances covering them.

Cont'd from Page 32


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India Post June 20, 2014www.indiapost.com

Real Estate38

Realty Tidbits Omaxe eyes 20% risein sales booking

Colorado warns real estateagents about listings

DENVER: Colorado regulatorsare warning real estate agents notto keep listings away from the mar-ket in an effort to boost their pay.

The state's hot real estate mar-ket is boosting the practice of bro-kers putting up signs saying list-ings are ̀ `coming soon,'' The Den-ver Post reported.

The Colorado Real Estate Com-mission issued the warning be-cause the practice can be bad forconsumers. Because the full mar-ket can't bid, sellers might not getas much as they could. Agents areable to take a commission fromboth the buyer and the seller.

Selling property off the marketis OK if sellers realize the riskthey're taking, the commissionwrote in its opinion issued lastweek. If not, that `èndangers theinterest of the public.''

Marcia Waters, director of the

Department of Regulatory Agen-cies' real estate division, said thepractice has become ̀ `fairly wide-spread'' for the last six to eightmonths.

No agents have yet been pun-ished for using such tactics, butthey could face reprimands or

fines.Consumer harm can be sub-

stantial, said Marcia Cotlar, anagent at 8z Real Estate in Boulder.She said sellers could stand tolose as much as 25 percent of theirhomes' value by going under con-tract before hitting the market.

`Ì think sellers these days are,Òh my god, I can get that much?I'll take it,' where really the sellercan get even more than that,''Cotlar said.

The market is ripe for such off-the-market deals, because there arefar more buyers than sellers, mak-ing for a more aggressive, fast-paced environment. Within a dayof listing an Aurora home lastweek, Steve Danyliw, an agent inLittleton, had shown it to 23 po-tential buyers and had six con-tracts - all above full price.

`Ìf we didn't have it on the mar-ket - exposed to all of those po-tential buyers - might've we soldthat for less?'' said Danyliw, a Den-ver Metro Association of Realtorsboard member. ``You've got tomake sure your seller is completelyinformed of any positives or nega-tives.'' -AP

Affordable options limited for rentersBEND, Ore.: Brittney Sweeney

has less than a month left to find anew home for her family to rent inBend, and the pickings are slim.

``The hard part about it now,there is a shortage of houses, but(also) just the amount of moneythey're wanting for these houses,''Sweeney said.

Sweeney, 26, lives with herboyfriend, daughter and two neph-ews in a four-bedroom house insoutheast Bend. The couple pays$1,200 a month in rent, but the

owner of the house plans to sell itand the family must move out byJuly 6.

Sweeney noticed other housesin the neighborhood for rent at$1,700 to $2,000 a month, but said,``We can't afford that because ourwages haven't gone up.''

Bend Mayor Jim Clinton hasheard a lot of similar concerns from

distressed renters, who have beenemailing him to complain about thehigh cost and scarcity of rentalhousing in the city. In April, a sur-vey by the Central Oregon RentalOwners Association of its mem-bers revealed a vacancy rate ofjust 0.4 percent for rental apart-ments in Bend and 1.2 percent forhouses in the city.

Melissa Heil, 34, wrote in anemail to Clinton that she runs asmall counseling private practicein addition to working full time fora state agency, and her husbandhas a real estate appraisal busi-ness. They pay $1,295 a month fora 2,200-square-foot home, plus in-stallments on a large student loanand other monthly bills.

The home they rent is beingsold.

``For us to move into a homewith similar (square footage) andin the same area (NE) of town tokeep our kids in the same school,we would pay $1,695 to $2,400 permonth and a deposit of approxi-mately $2,000,'' Heil wrote. ̀ `Thatmeans we must come up with an

extra $400 per month at least tostay in Bend and about $4,000 tomove.''

Heil said she would like to pur-chase a home, but she has beenunable to get approved for a mort-gage because of $80,000 in studentloan debt.

Clinton said there is little thecity government can do to controlrents or provide more affordablehousing in the short term. City of-ficials might be able to increase thesupply of reasonably priced rentalproperties in the future, if Bendchanges some zoning laws andcomes up with an expansion planthe state will accept.

City Manager Eric King said onequestion the city might explore ishow many bank-owned homes aresitting vacant and whether the citycan do anything to encourage in-stitutions to make them availablemore quickly to renters or buyers.Other options would be more longterm, and King asked the city Af-fordable Housing Advisory Com-mittee to begin vetting ideas toincrease the supply of affordablerentals.

City officials might be able to increase thesupply of reasonably priced rental proper-ties in the future, if Bend changes somezoning laws and comes up with an expan-sion plan the state will accept.

Cont’d on page 39

Private firms exitreal estate withgood returns

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: At atime when the Indian propertymarket is showing sluggishness,some private equity firms haveexited their investments in real es-tate companies and locked in goodreturns too. Of the total institu-tional PE capital deployed untilMarch 2014, nearly a fifth, amount-ing to $6.9 billion, has been exitedby PE funds, according to a recentreport by Brookfield Financial.

This is in contrast to the per-ception that private equity fundsare stuck with their investmentsand are finding it difficult to makea profitable exit.

PE funds investsRs 4,800 cr inrealty

NEW DELHI: Private equityfunds pumped in about Rs 4,800crore in the realty sector mainly incorporate land deals in the Janu-ary-March quarter, property con-sultant CBRE said.

These investments came at atime when sector faced liquiditycrunch, high land acquisitioncosts, and stringent due dili-gence from the banking sector -which continues to perceive realestate as a high-risk domain inIndia, CBRE added.

"For the quarter ended March2014, nearly USD 800 million wasinvested into India's real estatesector. This translates to almostRs 4,800 crore having been in-jected into the sector through theprivate equity route over thepast few months," CBRE said ina release.

More than 60 per cent of therealty investments observedduring the quarter under reviewwere seen to be the sale of landparcels by corporate entities, pri-marily in the Mumbai metropoli-tan region (MMR), to realty de-velopers for housing develop-ment projects, CBRE said in arelease. -PTI

NEW DELHI: Realty firm Omaxe is expecting about 20per cent increase in sales bookings this fiscal at over Rs2,500 crore.

The company's sales bookings fell by 11 per cent dur-ing last fiscal to Rs 2,107 crore against Rs 2,373 crore in theyear before.

In terms of volume, sales bookings fell by 31 per cent to7.83 million sq ft in 2013-14 fiscal. However, the averagerealization grew by 29 per cent to Rs 2,692 per sq ft. -PTI

39India PostJune 20, 2014

www.indiapost.comReal Estate Post

``We are starting to look at whatare some policy things we can doto incentivize more affordablehousing to be built,'' King said.

City Affordable Housing Man-ager Jim Long said possibilitiesinclude selling surplus city-ownedproperties at a discount to afford-able-housing developers and cre-ating a ̀ `density bonus'' that wouldallow developers who include af-

fordable housing in a project tobuild more houses, on smaller lots,that otherwise would not be per-mitted in a zoning area.

The city could also change itscode to allow larger accessorydwellings, such as apartmentsabove garages, to make them moreeconomically feasible to develop,and create a ``cottage code'' to al-low projects with smaller houses

clustered around a central parkingarea.

`Àt any one time, there's 18units available for rent (in Bend),''Long said. ``That's not enough.''

One reason for the shortage ofaffordable housing is that inves-tors pay cash for many single-fam-ily homes that come on the mar-ket, Long said. ``The other is wejust didn't build multifamily (hous-ing) for a while,'' Long said.

Kenny LaPoint, housing direc-tor for local housing authorityHousing Works, said the region isheaded toward a painful correctionin rental prices in the next coupleof years because many peoplecannot afford the rising costs. Ifthese people choose to remain inthe area and pay higher rates, anyemergency such as a car repair ormedical care could put them at riskof homelessness.

``This isn't Southern Califor-nia,'' LaPoint said. ̀ `You can't havea two-bedroom apartment at$2,000 a month. . Our incomesdon't match up with that in Cen-tral Oregon.''

Clinton, the Bend mayor, saidhe views the rental housing short-age as a symptom of a nationalproblem of wages lagging while thecost of living increases.

`Ì doubt if a lot of this isunique to Bend,'' Clinton said. ̀ Ìt'sjust a manifestation of this incomestagnation that has been the casefor the last couple decades in thiscountry.'' -AP

Investments rising in real estate sectorInvestment in the real estate

sector in January-March, 2014,has more than doubled to $800

from the previous quarter of only$317 million, mainly driven by cor-porate land sales.

Around $597 million was in-vested in the sector a year ago.More platform deals and equitystake acquisitions can be ex-pected. "Although India is not yet

a significant player in the regionalreal estate investment market, go-ing forward, we expect the entryof real estate investment trusts(REITs) to provide alternative fund-ing channels to the sector and trig-ger strong growth in its investmentvolumes," said Anshuman Maga-zine, chairman and managing di-rector, CBRE South Asia.

For the quarter ended March

2014, nearly $800 million was in-vested into India's real estate sec-tor. This translates to almost Rs4,800 crore having been injectedinto the sector through the privateequity route over the past fewmonths, the CBRE report said.

"This couldn't have happenedat a more opportune time for a sec-tor faced with liquidity crunch,high land acquisition costs andstringent due diligence from thebanking sector-which continues to

perceive real estate as a high-riskdomain in India. It is this selectiveattitude towards lending to par-ticular assets and markets whichhas provided opportunities tonon-bank lenders such as pensionfunds and insurance companies tobegin to consider funding India'srealty industry," said Magazine.

One of the first foreign pensionfunds to invest directly in an In-dian company is the Canada pen-sion plan investment board

(CPPIB) and Caisse de depot etplacement du Quebec (CDPQ) inpartnership with Oman's stategeneral reserve fund (SGRF). Theentity invested Rs 2,000 crore.Around Rs 1,000 crore was in-vested in phase I while the remain-ing amount will be funded within aperiod of 12-18 months in Larsen& Toubro's infrastructure develop-ment arm, L&T Infrastructure De-velopment Projects (L&T IDPL),during the first quarter of 2014.

Affordable optionslimited for renters

Clinton, the Bendmayor, said heviews the rentalhousing shortage asa symptom of anational problem ofwages lagging whilethe cost of livingincreases.


India Post40 June 20, 2014www.indiapost.com

Amarkantak is a pilgrim town in Anuppur District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Indiasituated at an altitude of 1065 meters. A relatively off track destination, Amarkantak is a

veritable paradise, with a salubrious climate and picto-rial environs. Its ever-pervading air of composure, thegrassy hills, woody backgrounds and the bewitchingcascades make it a popular destination.

Also called "Teerthraj" (the king of pilgrimages),Amarkantak region is a unique natural heritage area andis the meeting point of the Vindhyas andthe Satpuras, with the Maikal Hills beingthe fulcrum. This is where the NarmadaRiver, the Sone River and Johila Riveremerge.

While the Narmada flows westwardsfrom Amarkantak, the Sone flows towardsthe East. Amarkantak is indeed blessed

by Nature. Holy ponds, loftyhills, forested surroundings,breathtakingly beautifulwaterfalls and an ever-pervading air ofserenity make Amarkantak a much

sought-after destination forthe religious-minded as

well as for the nature-lover.

SACRED RIVERAmong all the sa-

cred rivers of India,the Narmada oc-cupies a uniqueplace. Legend

has it that Lord Shiva blessed Narmada with unique puri-fying powers. Whereas to purify himself, a devotee re-quires to take one dip in the Holy Ganga, seven days'prayers on the banks of Yamuna and three days prayerson the banks of Saraswati, the mere sight of Narmada isenough. A charming folk tale describes the superiority ofNarmada over Ganga. Once every year, after she herselfis polluted beyond tolerance, Ganga visits Narmadadressed like a dark woman and takes a cleansing purify-ing dip in its waters! There are other rivers too, popular,

romantic and life sustaining, each glamorized in the folklore and history but none can match the mystique ofNarmada.

The temperate climate and the equitable distributionof rain make Amarkantak an ideal plateau for dense veg-etation cover.

RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCEAmarkantak is a place of worship for all the three worlds.

Gods and Gandharvas (celestial beings), Asuras (demons).Saints and Sages have achieved great spiritual powershere. It is believed that who ever dies at Amarkantak isassured a place in heaven.

Amarkantak is a place of worship for all the threeworlds. Gods and Gandharvas (celestial beings),Asuras (demons). Saints and Sages have achievedgreat spiritual powers here. It is believed that whoever dies at Amarkantak is assured a place in heaven

India PostJune 20, 2014 41Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

India to be No 1 for growth in wellness tourismDUBAI: India could be number

one for growth globally in thewellness tourism sector in the nextfive years, clocking over 20 percent gains annually through 2017,according to a recent study.

Wellness tourism is a USD 439billion industry worldwide withinthe USD 3.2 trillion global tourism

industry, representing 14 per centof all tourism spending, it said.

The study conducted by SRIinternational projected India to benumber one globally for growth inwellness tourism over the next fiveyears, clocking over 20 per centgain annually through 2017.

Wellness tourism is travel for

the purpose of promoting healthand well-being through physical,psychological, or spiritual activi-

ties.The study predicted that India's

total wellness market to surpassUSD 18 billion in the next four

years. Luxury Wellness Tourismsegment is estimated to grownearly 50 per cent faster than glo-

bal tourismby 2017, itwas re-ported onthe side-lines of at h r e e - d a yexhibition'Royal IndiaWe l l n e s s2014' here.

SRI In-ternationalis a US-based non-

profit, independent research andinnovation centre serving govern-ment and industry.

"India has wealth of knowledge

and medical systems to treatpeople and maintain their healththrough natural means and thera-pies," said Paras Shahdadpuri,President of Indian Business andProfessionals Council.

"India must come forward andgive its gift of naturopathy to themankind. It has a hidden treasurewhich should be discovered," hesaid at the exhibition.

"Unfortunately, we got used toquick fix through allopathy whichtreats only the manifestationsrather than the cause," he said.

The exhibition on Indianwellness brands with their pack-ages on rejuvenation, holistic heal-ing and prevention and reversal oflifestyle diseases was organizedhere to reach out to the health con-scious people. -PTI

Chinese, foreign cities todevelop Silk Road tourism

BEIJING: Nineteen Chinese andforeign cities along the historic SilkRoad have signed a declaration tojointly develop tourism along theancient trade route.

The cities will promote touristitineraries and explore tourism re-

sources to rejuvenate the areasalong the route and seek mutualbenefit, said the declaration, issuedat the opening ceremony of thefourth Silk Road In-ternational TourismFestival in ZhangyeCity of northwestChina's Gansu Prov-ince.

The 19 cities in-clude some in theChinese provincesof Shaanxi, Gansu,Ningxia, Qinghai, In-ner Mongolia,Xinjiang and Tai-wan, as well as in Belarus, Ukraine,Bahrain, Cyprus, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Malay-sia and Nepal, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.

The initiative comes underChina's strategic vision of the Silk

Road Economic Belt, a strength-ened set of trade infrastructurealong the ancient Silk Road.

China will cooperate with coun-tries along the Silk Road for moretourist-friendly policies, set uppromotion platforms and boost in-

terconnec-tion alongthe route,Shao Qiwei,head ofChina's Na-tional Tour-ism Admin-i s t r a t i o nsaid.

The 19cities willhold tour-ism exposand forumsin 2014.

The SilkRoad Economic Belt was first pro-posed by Chinese President XiJinping last year.

Strengthening economic ties

along the route is seen as an op-portunity for China to continue itsopening up to the world and main-tain economic advances.

The Silk Road connected Chinaand Europe from around 100 BC. -PTI

India Post June 20, 201442 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

AMARKANTAKKing of pilgrimages &origin of River Narmada

If a woman makes offerings offruits and flowers, she will gain therespect of her husband, and nodoubt she will achieve a place inheaven.

When Lord Shiva destroyedTripura (the three cities) by fire,the ashes of one fell upon MountKailash, the ashes of another fellupon Amarkantak, and the ashesof the third were saved by LordShiva and kept in heaven. Theashes that fell upon Amarkantakturned into crores of Shivalingas.Only one is visible at Jwaleshwarin Amarkantak.

Amarkantak is a Sanskrit wordthe literal meaning of which is im-mortal (amar) obstruction (kantak).The place was abode of gods butwas disturbed by the hindrancesof Rudraganas and hence calledAmarkantak. The poet Kalidas hasmentioned it as Amrakoot, whichlater became Amarkantak. Myth isthat the dense forests of this re-

gion were full of mango (amra)trees.ATTRACTIONS

Dudh Dhara Falls: Dudh Dharafalls lies in the western edge of theAmarkantak valley in the midst ofthick woods. Dudh literally stands

for milk and thename itself suggestthe nature of thegurgling streams ofthis pretty cascade.

Kabir Chabutra:Kabir Chabutra,which ideally meansthe platform of SaintKabir, is situated 5 kmfrom Amarkantak on theway to Bilaspur. This isone of the sacred placeswhere Saint Kabir is saidto have achieved salva-tion. Pilgrims coming tothis place can also see the foot-wear of the saint kept inside a smalltemple near the chabutra.

This chabutra is mainly a smallpond, where every morning be-tween 9 am and 10 am, tourists cansee white smoke screen spreadingover the water. The Kabir Chabutrais the meeting place of three dis-tricts of Madhya Pradesh, namelyBilaspur, Anuppur and Dindori.Travelers can also see the KabirWaterfalls in this region.

Sonemuda: Sonemuda is con-sidered to be the place of origin ofthe Son River, which is located ata distance of around 1.5 km fromthe Narmadakund Temples. TheSon River flows down from theMaikal Mountain in the form ofwaterfall that descends hundredsof feet. Tiny granules of gold canbe found in this river, due to which,it is named as Son River.

Mai Ki Bagiya: Mai ki Bagiyais one of the prettiest locations inAmarkantak. Literally Bagiyameans orchard

and Mai kiBagiya is a lovely stretch of trees,which is believed to be the play-ground of River Narmada. Legendhas it that mother Narmada usedto pluck flowers from this garden

A natural garden with wide va-rieties of shaded trees, this orchard

proffers a nice walking trail in ab-solute serenity. The garden con-tains endless varieties of mangos,bananas and so many other fruitbearing trees along with a longstretch of flowery plants. Mai KiBagiya encompasses shrines,trees, a rain- fed kund and the

banks of this holykund is quite fa-mous for largevarieties of me-dicinal herbsand plants.

K a p i lDhara: KapilDhara, whichis alsoknown asKapil Wa-terfall, isl o c a t e djust 6 km

towards the north-west of the Narmadakund Temples.This waterfall is around 100 ft talland is surrounded by dense for-ests and mountains. Kapil Dharais named after the sage KapilMuni, who is believed to havemeditated at this place.

Narmadakund and Temples:Narmadakund is the place of ori-

gin of river Narmada, which is sur-rounded by 16 major stonetemples. This place covers around6 acres of land and comprises over23 statues of various deities. In thecentral position, there is an elevencorner kund, which is around 500ft long. This eleven cornered kundis also known as Narmada Udgamor Bisha Yantram.BEST TIME TO VISIT

Best season to visit Amarkantakis all through the year. October toMarch is cool and pleasant. Marchto September is good for all kindsof tourist activities.HOW TO REACH

By Train: The nearest railheadto Amarkantak is Pendra Road at adistance of 17 km from the heart ofthe city. Anuppur at distance of 48km from Amarkantak is also con-venient.

By Air: The nearest airport isat Jabalpur, 245 km away. Pre-paidtaxi services are available from air-port to Amarkantak

By Bus: There are state ownedtransport buses from Pendra Road,Shahdol and Bilaspur. Amarkantakis connected by buses to Jabalpur(245 km), Rewa (261 km) andShahdol (67 km).


Kabir Chabutra

Kapil Dhara

Dudh Dhara FallMai Ki Bagiya

India Post 43Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

June 20, 2014

'Segway Lady' takes visitors around FairbanksFAIRBANKS, Alaska: Trina

Jeannet has lived in Fairbanks formore than three decades, but she'smanaged to carve out a new iden-tity in the community in the pastfew years.

When Jeannet, 54, runs errandsaround town, she's now often rec-ognized as ̀ `the Segway lady'' - theperson who leads downtownFairbanks tours each summer onthe two-wheeled electric vehicles.

Although she was once some-one who mocked the geek factorof a Segway ride, Jeannet hasgrown to enjoy her new moniker.

`Ìt's funny,'' she said. ̀ Ì like it -it's kind of sweet.''

Jeannet started EcoSeg Alaskafour years ago, offering visitors achance to see Fairbanks whileriding the quirky self-propelleddevices.

Pioneer Park manager Jasonpark each summer while leadingher Segway tours. After watching

her groups pass by enough times,Avery even decided he needed totake one of the tours himself.

``She's always super friendly,has a smile on her face,'' he said.``She's a great tour guide and rep-resentative of Fairbanks.''

Becoming a local tour guide hasbeen an unexpected chapter forJeannet, who moved to Fairbanksfrom Oregon with her husbandCharlie in 1980.

She spent the next 30 yearshome schooling their four childrenthrough high school. But as theybegan leaving home, Jeannet saidshe started to wonder what she'dfind to do next.

The answer came unexpectedlyfrom her son, Sayre. He and hisfuture wife, Leslie, would oftenspend dates riding Segways to-gether, leading to plenty of mock-ery from back home.

Then they convinced Trina toride along on an excursion. Andlike that, the spark for her futurecareer was born.

``We loved it,'' she said. `Ìthought, `My gosh, we're allnerds.'''

Wearing an EcoSeg T-shirt - itshows a salmon, bear and mooseriding Segways - the energetic,petite Jeannet led a pair of noviceriders through an obstacle course.Her enthusiasm for the job wasevident as she patiently explainedthe various techniques for ridingthe self-balancing gyroscopic ve-hicles.

Passengers propel the Segway

2018 Cup offers ticketed fansfree ground travel

Avery said Jeannet has become aperpetually upbeat presence in the

by leaning forward or backward,with a steering handlebar that ispushed to the right or left. It canspin in 360 degrees with no turn-ing radius.

The Segway company statesthat after 15 minutes, every riderfeels like an expert. Jeannet saidit's not far from the truth, whichmakes some novice riders feel likethey're better than they really are.

`Ì have a saying, ̀ After 15 min-utes, I have to start watching,''' shesaid with a laugh. ̀ `They say, ̀ Thisis so fun,' and start doing less-than-smart things.''

Segway tours don't always goperfectly - Jeannet said there's theoccasional wipeout or speed-ob-sessed 14-year-old boy to contendwith - but she's thrilled with hercareer choice. It's led to a love ofFairbanks history, as she devoursbooks and lectures about the com-munity to include on her tour.

``Now I'm a little bit of a junkiethat way,'' she said. ̀ `You're alwayslistening and keeping your ears tothe tracks.''

She's also made a new setfriends through her tours, with cli-ents stretching from Fairbanks'Aurora neighborhood to Austra-lia. The seasonal job has becomeeverything she'd hoped - a way toenjoy an Interior summer whilemeeting people from all over theworld.

``This is not a direction I wouldhave thought,'' she said with asmall shrug. ``You make yourplans, and life happens.'' -AP

Trina Jeannet, owner and operator of EcoSeg Alaska Segway tours,

leads a tour

RIO DE JANEIRO: Fans withgame tickets will be offered freeground transportation betweenhost cities at the 2018 World Cupin Russia.

``Free travel is a guaranteewhich we signed at the highestlevel during our bid,'' AlexeySorokin, head of the organizingcommittee, said in Rio de Janeiro.

He said the free travel would beby train or bus. Though games willplayed only in the western part ofRussia, it still could mean somelong trips.

Travel has been challenging -and expensive - at the last threemajor football tournaments, in-cluding this World Cup in Brazil,the 2012 European championship,and South Africa's 2010 WorldCup.

``We'll come up with a verycomplicated system of using tick-ets to the game as tickets to a cer-tain means of transportation,''Sorokin said.

Russia will use 11 cities - and

12 stadium venues - ranging fromKaliningrad and St. Petersburg in

the north to Sochi in the south andYekaterinburg in the east.

Sorokin acknowledged he hadnever traveled vast distances on abus or train in Russia. He esti-

mated a train trip between Mos-cow and Sochi would be about 18

hours. He said several high-speedtrains were currently operating in

Russia, and said moremight be ready in fouryears.

``We'll see how it will beimplemented and whatmight be on time for theWorld Cup,'' he said.

Sorokin said Russian or-ganizers proposed to FIFAthat teams play their threegroup games in two adjoin-ing clusters of venues,which would eliminate thekind of country-wide travelprevalent in Brazil. He saidno times for startingmatches had been pro-posed yet to FIFA.

He said hotel priceswould be controlled, whichis a problem Brazil has failedto control.

``The government ofRussia has the power to interferewith hotel prices once it sees thatthe situation is getting out of con-trol,'' Sorokin said. ̀ `We used thatin Sochi (Winter Olympics), andwe will use that in the World Cup.''

Sorokin deflected questionsabout Russia's annexation ofUkraine's Black Sea peninsula ofCrimea. He said tourists would be``well informed and not afraid tocome'' to Russia.

``Tourists will come to Russiato see the matches of the WorldCup,'' he said. ̀ `They will not cometo discuss political developments,which by then will be all in thepast.'' -AP

Alexey Sorokin

Sorokin said Russian organizers proposedto FIFA that teams play their three groupgames in two adjoining clusters of venues,which would eliminate the kind of country-wide travel prevalent in Brazil. He said notimes for starting matches had been pro-posed yet to FIFA.

44 India Post June 20, 2014www.indiapost.com

In Brief ImmigrationDetails on page 46

USCIS limitsvalidityperiod

medicalrecord

Immigration a political quandaryfor Republicans' future

DENVER: House MajorityLeader Eric Cantor's startling pri-mary loss to a tea party-backedopponent illustrates how the GOPfinds itself paralyzed by immigra-tion reform. The policy most partyleaders agree is best for the Re-publican Party's future is risky formost House Republicans seekingre-election in the fall.

Almost all represent districtsthat are home to few minorities andthey are in greater danger of los-ing to a primary challenger than toa Democrat in the general election.That leaves little incentive for theGOP-controlled House to eventouch an immigration overhaulthat would grant citizenship tomany of the 11 million people liv-ing in the country illegally.

Economics professor DavidBrat hammered Cantor, R-Va., forpurportedly backing `àmnesty''for people in the U.S. illegally dur-ing his primary challenge. Hecalled his unexpected victory awake-up call that ̀ ìmmigration re-form is DOA.'' After Cantor's de-feat, Republicans are left in a quan-dary before the 2016 election -what to do about an issue that'soften a winner in primaries butcould cripple the party in a WhiteHouse race before a more diverseelectorate.

``Pain can be a good teachingtool sometimes,'' said Mario H.Lopez, a Republican and executivedirector of the Hispanic LeadershipFund. ̀ Ìt may take another WhiteHouse beat-down before somefolks understand what kind of cliffthey're walking over.''

Many people involved in theimmigration debate have similarpredictions about what will hap-pen next: The House takes no ac-tion on an immigration overhaul,President Barack Obama makesgood on his promise to ease de-portations by executive action later

this summer, and that inflames theGOP even more, dooming any billin 2015.

When the next presidential racegets underway, a broad field of theGOP's presidential candidates willbe competing for the support ofprimary voters who are far moreopposed to an immigration over-haul than most Americans.

To some Republicans, thatbrings back memories of 2012,when Republican Mitt Romneyadopted tough-on-illegal-immigra-tion rhetoric to win the Republi-can presidential primaries. On Elec-tion Day, Hispanic and Asian vot-ers overwhelmingly backedObama.

The lone policy recommenda-tion of GOP's post-mortem onRomney's loss was to pass immi-gration reform. While 14 Republi-can senators voted for an immi-gration overhaul that chamberpassed last year, the measure wasdeclared dead on arrival in theHouse. Republican lawmakers,many of whom were focused onthe midterms, sought to avoid an-gering their base.

Immigration skeptics arguethat's the right way for the partyto appeal to the working class.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. arriving to meet with fellowRepublicans the day after his defeat in the Virginia primary. Emboldenedconservatives are promising to make themselves heard on Capitol Hill like

never before in the wake of Cantor's surprise defeat to an unknown with teaparty backing.

California migrant kids shelter could soon fillPORT HUENEME, Calif.: The

converted warehouse on aSouthern California military basethat once housed sailors prepar-ing to deploy overseas is nowplastered with posters of X-Menand Green Lantern and filledwith migrant teens eatingapplesauce and chatting aboutWorld Cup soccer.

The cavernous facility at Na-val Base Ventura County knownas ̀ `Building 267'' is one of threeshelters set up by federal gov-ernment officials to house hun-dreds of Central American chil-dren caught entering the coun-try illegally following a surge inborder crossing. And while beds

in the sleeping quarters are stillcrisply cornered, the blankets arenow pink and turquoise, withteddy bears on top of some of the

pillows.During a tightly controlled tour

in Port Hueneme, a governmentofficial said the number of teens

housed at the 42,000 square footfacility could more than triple to575 soon. The official could notbe named as a condition of thevisit, and no photos or videowere allowed.

Federal authorities have alsoset up a shelter at a military basein Texas and are planning an-other for Oklahoma to cope withwhat they have described as an`ùrgent humanitarian situation.''More than 47,000 children,mostly from Central America,have been apprehended at theMexican border since the startof the budget year in October.

Migrant children exercise at the Naval Base Ventura County Temporary Shelterin Port Hueneme, California in this Department of Homeland Security handout

DNC head urgedto take lead onimmigration

AVENTURA, Fla.: Florida immi-grant youth activists are urgingDemocratic National CommitteeChairwoman Debbie WassermanSchultz to take a stronger lead onthe immigration issue.

Two of the Congresswoman'sstaffers met with United We Dreamactivists, after they staged a pro-test outside her South Florida of-fice.

United We Dream spokesmanTim Eakins said after the meetingthat they hoped WassermanSchultz would make her voiceheard on immigration reform. Heroffice employees said the con-gresswoman could not speak withthe activists because she was inWashington.

United We Dream activistswant leaders like WassermanSchultz to urge President Obamato stop deportations of their par-ents and other immigrants whohave been in the country for de-cades, paid taxes and avoided run-ins with the law. -PTI

Homeland Securitychief visitsdetention center

CHICAGO: U.S. Homeland Se-curity Secretary Jeh Johnson saidhis visit to a Chicago-area immi-gration detention center will helphim as he reviews federal deporta-tion policy at President BarackObama's direction.

Johnson made the visit toBroadview Immigration DetentionCenter after an invitation from U.S.Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, theNo. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

Speaking to reporters after thetour, Johnson described meetingfamilies about to be separated bydeportation, saying the interaction``brings home some of the heart-break'' for him. Minutes after talk-ing to one man on the verge ofdeportation, Johnson said, ``wewalked out to the family visitingarea and spoke with his motherwho was trying to catch a glimpseof him before he was deported.''

Johnson called on Congress topass an immigration reform bill. Buthe added that he's looking forways to reform the system ̀ `withinthe confines of existing law.''

Durbin and two Democraticcongressmen, Luis Gutierrez andBill Foster, accompanied Johnsonon the tour and spoke to reportersafterward. Gutierrez and Fostersaid the surprising election defeatof House Majority Leader EricCantor, R-Va., has been misinter-preted as a death knell for legalchanges to existing immigrationlaws. -AP

Cont'd on Page 45

Cont'd on Page 46

India Post 45June 20, 2014 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

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Obama delaying on immigrationdespite Cantor loss

WASHINGTON: To the frustra-tion of many of his supporters,President Barack Obama is back-ing away from immigrationchanges he could make on hisown. He is kicking the issue toHouse Republicans instead, de-spite mounting evidence theywon't address the millions of im-migrants living illegally in theUnited States.

Lawmakers from both partiessummarily declared immigration-overhaul efforts dead after HouseMajority Leader Eric Cantor suf-fered an unexpected defeat at thehands of a fellow Republican whocriticized him as too soft on theissue. But Obama still voices hopeCongress will act.

`Òur strategy hasnot changed,'' saysWhite House commu-nications director Jen-nifer Palmieri. ̀ `The im-petus for action re-mains on the House.''

It's an approachthat's drawing friendlyfire from immigration ad-vocates who say Obamahas been sitting on hishands long enough. Forstarters, they want im-mediate action to slowdeportations.

But the WhiteHouse wants to ensurethat if and when anoverhaul ultimatelydies in Congress, Re-publicans can't claim it was Obamawho pulled the plug. Instead,Obama hopes his strategy will al-low Democrats down the road toput all the blame on Republicansfor failing to deal with immigrantsin the U.S. illegally.

It's not as if Obama could legal-ize an estimated 11.5 millionpeople with a wave of his hand.

Last month in the Oval Office,Homeland Security Secretary JehJohnson presented him with a bas-ket of options he'd developed af-ter the President personally or-dered a review of how he couldmake deportation policy more hu-mane, said a senior White Houseofficial. The official spoke only oncondition of anonymity to de-scribe a private meeting.

Johnson's options were narrowand would affect only smallgroups of immigrants facing de-portation, the official said - a farcry from the across-the-boardfreeze many immigration advo-cates are demanding.

Even so, Obama directedJohnson to hold off. Republicanswere arguing that if Obama actedunilaterally, he would prove hecan't be trusted to enforce immi-gration laws and would doomprospects for the legislative over-haul he so badly wants. So Obamadecided to wait until it was certainHouse Republicans wouldn't actduring a narrow summertime win-dow before the midterm elections.

For many lawmakers, that win-

dow has closed. Cantor wastrounced in his Virginia primary byan obscure, under funded profes-sor who had accused him of sup-porting `àmnesty'' and open bor-ders. Cantor denied that, but nomatter. Members of both partiessaid Republicans would draw aclear lesson: GOP voters will pun-ish anyone who doesn't take a firmstance on immigration - even theHouse's No. 2 Republican.

`Ì think immigration is dead forthe rest of the year,'' said Rep. JohnFleming, a conservative LouisianaRepublican. `Ì wouldn't be sur-prised if it ends it for the entireterm of President Obama.''

On the night after Cantor'sshocking defeat, White Housechief of staff Denis McDonough

huddled with top Democrats inHouse Minority Leader NancyPelosi's Capitol suite to assesswhether that was true and to plottheir path forward. Joining thesession were Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid and the Demo-cratic half of the ̀ `Gang of 8'' thatwrote and passed a bipartisanimmigration overhaul last year.Obama sent his legislative liai-son, Katie Fallon, and his domes-tic policy chief, Cecilia Munoz,across town for the meeting, ac-cording to several Democraticofficials.

Over Capitol-shaped cookiesand chocolate mousse left overfrom a reception honoringKathleen Sebelius, the former

Health and HumanServices secretary,the Democratsagreed to stay thecourse, the officialssaid. The assump-tion was that Cantor,who had hardenedhis immigrationstance after being at-tacked by his oppo-nent, actually hadbeen more of a hin-drance than a help ingetting a bill to theHouse floor.

The Democrats'hopes have beenbolstered now thatit's increasingly likelythat Majority Whip

Kevin McCarthy will succeedCantor as speaker-in-waiting.His two main potential challeng-ers for the post bowed out assupport began coalescing be-hind McCarthy, although a thirdchallenger has entered the race.McCarthy's California district ismore than a third Hispanic, andhe has been supportive in thepast of the idea of changing U.S.immigration laws.

Still, McCarthy's own inclina-tions on immigration could proveless than decisive if rank-and-fileRepublicans decide that afterwhat happened to Cantor, it's toorisky to be perceived as soft onimmigration by the tea party andother conservative parts of theRepublican base.AP

President Barack Obama speaks on the South Lawn of theWhite House in Washington, Friday, June 13, To the frustrationof many of his supporters, President Barack Obama is backing

away from actions he could take unilaterally on immigration.

In California, bunk beds andextra dining tables await the new-comers. Dirt soccer fields were cre-ated for outdoor play, and manyare excited to watch World Cupmatches on television, a sheltersupervisor said.

Reporters were not allowed tospeak with the children, who rangein age from 13 to 17.

During their stay, the teenswere learning long division in mathclass and drawing in art. Lunchwas pizza bread, Caesar salad andapplesauce served on brown dis-posable plates and eaten underwhite tents outdoors.

Each child is assigned a bunkbed and locker. Girls and boys arehoused separately in sparselydecorated quarters hung with pic-tures made by the children or ofsuperheroes. In the classroom ar-

eas, posters feature the presidentand American icons such as RosaParks.

The facility has air condition-ing but officials haven't needed touse it yet, and children bathe inindividual showers.

After their arrest on the border,the children are transferred toHHS' custody and placed at a shel-ter until case workers find a rela-tive or sponsor to care for themand ensure they attend immigra-tion court hearings on governmentefforts to deport them.

Martha Arevalo, executive di-rector of the Central American Re-source Center in Los Angeles,said children fleeing dire situationsand enduring a perilous journey tothe United States should be housedin warm, personal settings wherethey feel safe _ not a detention-style or military environment. -AP

California migrant kidsshelter could soon fill

Cont'd from Page 44

India Post46 June 20, 2014Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

USCIS limits validity period medical recordCYRUS D. MEHTA

As of June 1, 2014, U.S. Citi-zenship and ImmigrationServices (USCIS) is now

limiting the validity period for FormI-693, Report of Medical Examina-tion and Vaccination Record, toone year from the date of submis-sion to USCIS.

Applicants must also submit theI-693 to USCIS within one year ofthe immigration medical examina-tion. USCIS said it will provideadditional ways to submit an I-693.This updated policy applies to anyI-693 supporting a benefit appli-cation that USCIS adjudicates.

USCIS permits filing of a FormI-485, Application to Register Per-manent Residence or Adjust Sta-tus, without the medical report.USCIS will issue a request for evi-dence for the report, which will bevalid for submission within oneyear of the civil surgeon's signa-ture and valid for one year fromsubmission. Although the medicalexamination report is generally validfor adjudicatory purposes up toone year after filing, the officer may

order an additional immigrationmedical examination at any time ifhe or she has concerns about anapplicant's inadmissibility onhealth-related grounds.

The medical examination reportmay be submitted to USCIS con-currently with the immigration ben-efit application, or at any time afterfiling the application but beforeadjudication. If not filed concur-rently with the application, USCIS"encourages applicants to waituntil USCIS requests the medicalexamination report before submit-ting it." This includes a request to

bring the medical examination re-port to the interview.

DHS proposes rule to extend workauthorization to certain H-4 de-pendent spouses of H-1Bnonimmigrants

As part of the Obamaadministration's efforts to attracthighly skilled workers, the Depart-ment of Homeland Security (DHS)has proposed extending the avail-ability of employment authorization

to certain H-4 dependent spousesof principal H-1B nonimmigrants.The extension would be limited toH-4 dependent spouses of princi-pal H-1B nonimmigrants who areseeking lawful permanent residentstatus through employment.

The proposed rule includessuch spouses of H-1Bnonimmigrants who are either thebeneficiaries of an approved Immi-grant Petition for Alien Worker(Form I-140) or who have beengranted an extension of their au-thorized period of admission in theUnited States under the AmericanCompetitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21),as amended by the 21st CenturyDepartment of Justice Appropria-tions Authorization Act.

DHS said this regulatory changeis intended to lessen any potentialeconomic burden on the

H-1B principal and H-4 depen-dent spouse during the transitionfrom nonimmigrant to lawful per-manent resident status, furtheringthe U.S. goals of attracting and re-taining highly skilled foreign work-ers.

The lack of employment autho-rization for H-4 dependent spousesoften gives rise to personal andeconomic hardship for the familiesof H-1B nonimmigrants the longerthey remain in the United States,DHS noted. In many cases, forthose H-1B nonimmigrants andtheir families who wish to remainpermanently in the United States,

the time frame required for anH-1B nonimmigrant to acquire

lawful permanent residencethrough his or her employmentmay be many years.

As a result, DHS pointed out,retention of highly educated andhighly skilled nonimmigrant work-ers in the United States can becomeproblematic for employers. "Re-taining highly skilled persons whointend to acquire lawful permanentresidence is important to the UnitedStates given the contributions ofthese individuals to the U.S.economy, including advances in

entrepreneurial and research anddevelopment endeavors, whichcorrelate highly with overall eco-nomic growth and job creation,"the agency said.

DHS believes that this proposalwould further encourage H-1Bskilled workers to remain in theUnited States, continue contribut-ing to the U.S. economy, and notabandon their efforts to becomelawful permanent residents (to thedetriment of their U.S. employers)because their H-4 nonimmigrantspouses are unable to obtain workauthorization.

DHS said this proposal alsowould remove the disincentive formany H-1B families to start theimmigrant process due to thelengthy waiting periods associ-ated with acquiring lawful perma-nent resident status.

DHS seeks public commentson the proposed rule. The agencynoted that the most useful com-ments will reference a specific por-tion of the proposed rule, explainthe reason for any recommendedchange, and include data, informa-tion, or authority that support thechange.

DHS proposes rule to enhanceopportunities for H-1B1, CW-1,and E-3 nonimmigrants and EB-1 immigrants

In another Obama administra-tion effort to attract highly skilledworkers, the Department of Home-land Security (DHS) has proposedupdating its regulations to includenonimmigrant high-skilled spe-cialty occupation professionalsfrom Chile and Singapore (H-1B1)and from Australia (E-3) in the listof classes of those authorized for

employment incident to statuswith a specific employer, to clarifythat H-1B1 and principal E-3nonimmigrants can work in theUnited States without having toapply separately to DHS for em-ployment authorization.

DHS also is proposing to pro-vide authorization for continuedemployment with the same em-ployer if the employer has timelyfiled for an extension of anonimmigrant's stay. DHS pro-poses this same continued workauthorization for Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands

(CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker(CW-1) nonimmigrants if a Petitionfor a CNMI-Only NonimmigrantTransitional Worker, Form I-129CW, is timely filed to apply foran extension of stay.

In addition, DHS is proposingto update the regulations describ-ing the filing procedures for exten-sions of stay and change of sta-tus requests to include the princi-pal E-3 and H-1B1 nonimmigrantclassifications. These changeswould harmonize the regulationsfor E-3, H-1B1, and CW-1 nonim-migrant classifications with theexisting regulations for other simi-larly situated nonimmigrant clas-sifications.

Finally, DHS is proposing to ex-pand the current list of evidentiarycriteria for employment-based firstpreference (EB-1) outstanding pro-fessors and researchers to allow thesubmission of evidence comparableto the other forms of evidence al-ready listed in the regulations.

This proposal would harmonizethe regulations for EB-1 outstand-ing professors and researcherswith other employment-based im-migrant categories that already al-low for submission of comparableevidence.

DHS said it is proposing thesechanges to the regulations to ben-efit these highly skilled workersand CW-1 transitional workers byremoving unnecessary hurdlesthat place such workers at a dis-advantage when compared tosimilarly situated workers in othervisa classifications.

The medical examination report may be sub-mitted to USCIS concurrently with the immigra-tion benefit application, or at any time afterfiling the application but before adjudication. Ifnot filed concurrently with the application, USCIS"encourages applicants to wait until USCISrequests the medical examination report”

DHS believes that this proposal would furtherencourage H-1B skilled workers to remain inthe United States, continue contributing to theU.S. economy, and not abandon their effortsto become lawful permanent residents be-cause their H-4 nonimmigrant spouses areunable to obtain work authorization.

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

[email protected]

``There aren't enough richpeople and there aren't enoughbusinesspeople to elect people tooffice,'' said Roy Beck, presidentof Numbers USA, which advo-cates for less immigration and be-lieves those in favor of an over-haul are catering to financial eliteswho want to import cheaper work-ers into the U.S. ``They have tohave wage-earners.''

Immigrant rights groups com-plained that Cantor was part of thereason the overhaul died in theHouse, but as majority leader heopened the door to narrower mea-sures that would grant citizenshipto people brought to the U.S. ille-gally as children. That wasenough to fuel his primary chal-lenger.

It wasn't immigration alone thatdoomed Cantor. The Virginia con-gressman sowed resentment byspending too much time focused

on national issues as majorityleader and not enough tending tohis district. Others note that SouthCarolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Gra-ham, a chief architect of theSenate's immigration overhaul,

easily won his primary against abatch of tea party challengers.

And yet, the message appearsclear to Republicans in Congress.House Speaker John Boehner said

a bill probably wouldn't be pos-sible this year.

``Perception is reality in poli-tics, and the perception amongRepublican members of Congressis going to be that (Cantor) lostbecause he took a somewhatsquishy stance on immigration,''said Republican pollster GlenBolger, who expects similar cau-tion among 2016 hopefuls.

``You'll see the volume turnedway down on that,'' Bolger said.``You're going to see a lot morecaution and a lot less risk-taking.''

Among the 2016 prospects tak-ing care with the issue is KentuckySen. Rand Paul, who has receiveda tepid reaction from some Repub-lican activists for a proposal thatwould let some people living in theU.S. illegally receive citizenship.He told reporters the immigrationdebate has become too charged.

``We're trapped in this rhetoricand we have to get beyond that,''Paul said.''-AP

Immigration a political quandaryfor Republicans' future

“Perception is realityin politics, and theperception amongRepublican membersof Congress is goingto be that (Cantor)lost because hetook a somewhatsquishy stance onimmigration''

Cont'd from Page 44


June 20, 2014

www.indiapost.com June 20, 201448 India Post

US President Barack Obamaand Bollywood superstarShah Rukh Khan have

emerged as the most admired dadsin a new survey.

Matrimony websiteShaadi.com conducted an onlinesurvey with over 5,500 respon-dents to find out who the mostpopular father is. When Indianwomen were asked about thecountry's most popular father,SRK, who has three children, gotthe lion's share of votes, whileObama topped the charts whenthe ladies were asked about fa-mous fathers of other nationalities.

Interestingly, 42.5 percent ofthe women surveyed voted forShah Rukh as 'India's Most Popu-lar Father', followed by masterblaster Sachin Tendulkar, whogot 36.9 percent votes and thenBollywood megastar AmitabhBachchan, who received 20.6 per-cent votes.

When the women were askedto vote for 'Most Admired Dad'from famous fathers of other na-tionalities, 40.3 percent of themchose Obama, followed by musi-cian Will Smith (31.4 percent),former football ace DavidBeckham (15.2 percent) and ten-nis champion Roger Federer (13.1percent).

The respondents were alsoasked to choose 'India's Most

Admired Father-Daughter Rela-tionship'.

As many as 43.2 percent ofthem voted for the camaraderiethat Shah Rukh shares with hisdaughter Suhana. The duo wasclosely followed by MaheshBhatt and Alia Bhatt (27.3 per-cent), Prakash Padukone andDeepika Padukone (17.2 percent)and Anil Kapoor and SonamKapoor (12.3 percent).

When it came to the 'Most Ad-

mired Fa-t h e r - S o nRela t ion-ship', 33.4percent In-d i a nw o m e nvoted forR i s h iKapoor andR a n b i rK a p o o r ,followed by

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan(31.2 percent), Shah Rukh andAryan (23.3 percent), and SunilGavaskar and Rohan Gavaskar(12.1 percent).

Commenting on the survey re-sults, Gourav Rakshit, chief op-erations officer, Shaadi.com, saidin a statement: "The survey high-lights that people adore and idol-ize celebrities who spend qualitytime with family despite their ce-lebrity status."

The respondents werealso asked to choose'India's Most Admired

Father-DaughterRelationship'.

India Post

www.indiapost.com

49June 20, 2014

Dastangoi - charm of fantastical storytellingNEW DELHI: On a recent after-

noon in Delhi's fiery heat, a groupof people sat huddled under anAmaltas tree listening to a storyin rapt attention.

Barring the occasional spurt ofchuckles there was a stoic silence.Even the generally restless mobilephones went silent under the spellof the young raconteur.

As the evening descended, thespell broke in a series of claps atthe end of a session of 'Dastongoi'as the young raconteur, or the'Dastango', donned in a whitekurta pajama and a muslin cap,took a polite bow and left the stage.

'Dastangoi', explains MahmoodFarooqui "is an art of improvisedstorytelling where the roles of au-thor, narrator, performer and poetare all fused into one."

Critically acclaimed writer-direc-tor Farooqui, who directed the2010 film "Peepli Live" is the pointman behind attempts to revive theancient art of storytelling, present-ing it in a very contemporary fash-ion.

Elaborating on the nature ofthis art form, Farooqui says, "Itdoesn't require any props otherthan the performer's expressionsand voice, no music, no visuals,nothing."

Derived from Persian wordDastan, which means a story, andgoi, meaning to tell a story,Farooqui says he came across thisart form at a fairly young age, ow-ing to his uncle, renowned poetand leading Urdu theorist,Shamsur Rahman.

Farooqui owns an entire collec-

tion of one of the most populardastans, Dastan-e-Amir Hamza.Running into 46 volumes, it deals

with the life and adventures ofAmir Hamza, believed to be thelargest fictional narrative in Urdu.

It is a fantastical tale character-ized by the copious presence ofmagic, sorcery, chicanery and se-duction.

The glory days of Dastangoi inIndia, at its zenith during Akbar'sreign, came to an unceremoniousend with the death of legendaryDastango, Mir Baqar Ali in 1928followed by the onset of new formslike the novel and new media likethe modern stage, the Parsi the-atre, and cinema and radio.

But Farooqui holds the "dis-paraging attitude of modern Urduwriters and critics" most respon-sible for the gradual loss of its sta-tus and popularity.

"Indians everywhere learnt todisparage their own cultural heri-tage because of the colonial en-counter in the nineteenth centuryand to uphold a narrow view ofmorality. It was this narrow viewof morality and literature that led

to these traditions being castaside," he says.

Originally meant to entertain,the political undertones inDastangoi in its present formadds to its contemporary rel-evance. As Farooqui makes itclear, "It is political to bring backa marginalized form, marginalizedstories and a relativelymarginalized language like Urduto the centre stage. Then we alsodo explicitly political stories onbanning of books, partition or onthe life of Saadat Hasan Manto."

Farooqui denies having facedany form of fundamentalist back-lash till date.

The journey that Farooqui em-barked upon back in 2006, underthe leadership of S R Faruqi, alongwith Anusha Rizvi and DanishHusain might have a long way togo in terms of achieving its objec-tive of reviving the art form butFarooqui is hopeful.

"I think it has now acquired afirm grounding and a fairly goodrecall in several cities in India. Overthe next decade I would like tohave Dastangos in as many citiesof India as possible and dozens ofmore stories in our repertoire,"says Farooqui.

Although social media's rippleswere yet to be felt when Farooquistarted out almost a decade ago,today his team is making extensiveuse of the social media in popular-izing the art form.

"We use it quite extensively;we have a presence on Twitter, aFacebook page and a Blog. Plusmost of our team members havetheir own visibility and spread. Itis very important to our work,"says the writer director. -PTI

eBay zooms in on fashion & lifestyleNEW DELHI: Online market-

place giant eBay is sharpeningfocus on the fashion andlifestyle segment in India say-ing that buyers are looking be-yond electronics and gadgets toshop on e-commerce sites.

eBay India, which startedoperations nine years ago, alsosaid that with growing aware-ness among people from tier IIand III cities about online shop-ping, the trend to buy clothesand accessories online will fur-ther gain momentum.

"We have a razor sharp fo-cus on fashion and lifestyle onour platform. One reason is thatwhile a shopper will usually buyan electronic item or gadget oncein a long time, say a year or so,those who purchase clothingand accessories would be doingthis more frequently, like everymonth," eBay India ManagingDirector Latif Nathani told PTI.

Analysts attribute growth ine-commerce to increasinglyyoung crowd going online toshop for products, not just traveltickets and mobiles, but alsofashion accessories, clothingand household items.

Besides, the growth is also

being fuelled by a surge in con-sumption of fashion and lifestyleproducts, primarily driven by in-creasing women shoppers in thecountry, he added.

Already, the US-based firm isseeing 50 per cent of its businesscoming from the tier II and III cit-ies in India with growing Internetuse, smartphone penetration andrising income levels helping small

cities to rise on the e-commerceroadmap.

"To cater to the growing fash-ion-centric consumers across4,306 cities, towns and villages inIndia, we have sharpened our fo-cus on fashion by offering over200,000 products across 1,000fashion brands," Nathani said.

According to the eBay IndiaCensus 2012, 41 per cent of itstransactions happen in theLifestyle category, while 48 per

cent happen in the Electronicscategory.

Quoting analyst figures, hesaid India is witnessing growthin e-commerce and this is ex-pected to continue.

According to digital researchfirm ComScore, e-commerce in-dustry attracts 30 million uniquevisitors to online shoppingwebsites every month in India,Nathani said.

Another research firmForrester expects the market totouch USD 3.2 billion in 2014with a growth rate of 60 per centyear-on-year, he added.

Besides, offering popularbrands such as United Colors ofBenetton, Biba, Remanika, AND,Stop, PUMA and Chemistry,eBay India also gives space toregional brands to reach out toits 2.1 million strong active con-sumer base.

"We have over 500 regionalbrands like Do Bhai, Ishta, Shree,Pehran, Pothy's, PN Gadgil,Roopkashish to name a few.

We are offering an un-matched selection of fashion andlifestyle products across na-tional brands and regional spe-cialties," Nathani said. -PTI

June 20, 2014India Post

www.indiapost.comDatebook

NORTHERN CALIFORNIAUpcoming

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAUpcoming

Sun, June 22• Halo Ne Apna Malak MaVenue: Jain Temple, 722 South Main Street,Milpitas, CA 95035Time: 4:00 pmContact: 408-646-0330

Sat, July 12• Devi Sri Prasad Live InConcertVenue: San Jose State University EventCenter, 290 South 7th Street, San Jose, CA95192Time: 7 pmContact: 972-655-8849

Sat, Jun 7• Papon and The East IndiaCompanyVenue: Chabot College Performing ArtsCenter, 25555 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward,CA 94545Time : 4:00 pmContact: 408-892-9907

Sun, July 13• Bombay Jayashree AndShubha Mudgal Live In BayAreaVenue: Sunnyvale Hindu temple, 450 Per-sian Dr, Sunnyvale, CA 94089Contact: 510-565-9518

July 26, 27, Aug 2, 3• BATA-Cricbay Cup - Pro-ceeds will go to Sankara EyeFoundation (SEF)Venue: Fremont and Sunnyvale CricketGroundTime: 9:00 am

ATLANTAUpcoming

Tue, Jun 24• Aakriti - An Evening of In-dian Classical DanceVenue : Joe Mack WilsonAuditorium,Southern Polytechnic State U,1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta,GA 30060Time: 4:30 am

Sun, June 29• Bollywood Dream GirlHema Malini As DurgaVenue: Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303Time: 6:30pm

Fri, Jul 11• Tamil Mega StarsKondattamVenue: Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 FerstDr, Atlanta, GA 30313Time: 6:30 pm

• J K Yog Satsang and BalMukund Hindi Classes are heldevery 2nd and 4rth Sunday ofMonthChicago Satsang Information:

J K Yog, Chicago - Swami Mukundananda

Venue: Clarion Inn/Waterford Banquets,

Board Room, 933 South Riverside

Drive, Elmhurst, IL 60126

Time: 3:30pm-5:30pm

Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok

@ 630-561-4807

Website: www.jkyog.org

1st and 3rd Sunday of Month• Chicago Children'sBal MukundCharacter Building Programand Hindi Literacy ClassesVenue: Vogelei Center, 650 W. Higgins

Road, Hoffmann Estates, IL 60192 (Next

to Nissan Dealership)

Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @

630-561-4807

Website: www.jkyog.org/bal-mukund

Mondays and Fridays• Free ESL - English as SecondLanguage ClassesWhere: Metropolitan Asian FamilyServicesVenue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL,

Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm

Contact: 773-465-3105

ILLINOISUpcoming

NEW JERSEYUpcoming

NEW YORKUpcoming

Sat, Jun 21• 17th Annual Event by AsavariVenue: Valimar Clubhouse, 166 Valimar Blvd,White Plains, NY 10603Time: 03:00 pmContact: 9149488969

Sat, July 12• Hema Malini as DurgaVenue: Colden Center Auditorium, 65-30Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY 11367Time : 8:00 pmContact : 718-639-2881

Sat, Aug 9• Kumar Sanu Live In ConcertVenue: Colden Center, 65-30 Kissena Blvd,Flushing, NY 11367Time: 08:00 pmContact : 718-639-2881

Sat, June 21• Swaranjali 2014Venue: New Senior Center, 12 Halsey ReedRd, Monroe Township, NJ 08831Time : 05:00 pmContact: 732-547-2809

Sat, July 12• Papon Featuring BollywoodMusicVenue: Edward Nash Theatre, Raritan Val-ley Community College, 118 Lamington Rd,Branchburg, NJ 08876Time: 6:00 pmContact: 609-865-9698

Sun, July 20• Padma Bhushan Dr K.J.YesudasVenue: Raritan Valley Community CollegeEdward Nash Auditorium, 118 LamingtonRd, Somerville, NJ 08876Time: 4:00 pm

50

Sun, Jun 22•Halo Ne Apna Malak MaVenue: Jain Temple, 722 South Main Street,

Milpitas, CA 95035

Time: 4:30 pm

Contact: 408-646-0330

Sat, Jun 28• Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty -Sanskriti MusicVenue: Amador Theater, 1155 Santa Rita

Rd, Pleasanton, CA 94566

Time: 05:00 pm

Contact: 408-887-5948

India PostJune 20, 2014 51www.indiapost.com

Horoscope

Your Weekly FutureJUNE 13TH - JUNE 19TH, 2014

by Pandit Parashar

(March 21 to April 20)

Money wise it looks like a very promising week. People in busi-ness will be successful in recovering some past dues. Stocksand other speculation will be profitable. Decision on legal is-

sues could also come this week and in your favor only. You may alsotravel to a nice area with family to meet an old friend. Boss will put youon an important project.

(November 23 to December 22)

Planets are still in right place to help you achieve your goalseasily. You may be called for second interview this week. Youmay also receive some kind of clearance from a government

agency. There is no harm in being aggressive but it should not reflectanger when on phone. One of vehicle may need minor repairs thisweek.

(May 21 to June 20)

Do not let fresh obstacles change your mind. Continue and stickto your plans, success is just around the corner. Your ex-penses towards to child will increase and you may even make

a short trip to meet your child who moved away for educational pur-pose. You will help spouse clean up and get rid of things piling up dirtin the house this week.

(July 23 to August 22)

Do not be disheartened by minor setback and look at the achieve-ments. Strong Mars in second will be helpful in locating a niceproperty. Weather may have some negative affect on spouse

and over the counter medication will be enough to resolve the issue.You may change some electric gadgets in the house and may startshopping for another car.

(September 23 to October 22)

You have all the chances of hitting it in a big way. Week verypromising for all financial matters. Money can roll in from alldirections. Most of your plans will work out fine. Boss will call

you and discuss an important issue and ask for your opinion. You mayarrange a small get together at your place next week and start callingclose friends.

(April 21 to May 20)

You will be tempted to take some hasty decisions about career.Hold on as another better offer is few weeks away. You will havean opportunity to make some quick money this week. It will be

a favorable week for people working as brokers. A close friend will callto seek your advice. Bachelors will be introduced to a nice person byanother friend.

(June 21 to July 22)

Spouse may make some fresh and big financial commitments.You may call a real estate agent and start exploring the possi-bility of buying another property for investment purpose. You

may completely drop or change your travel plans. You will get to meetfew well known people at the party this week. You may also finalizesome important paper work.

(August 23 to September 22)

Presence of strong Mars in first will help you gain an edge overyour opponents. Legal matters should also take a favorableturn with a quick decision in sight. Money wise you will con-

tinue to make progress, as liability and expenses will come down a lot.You may call few old friends and invite them for a small get together atyour place.

(October 23 to November 22)

You will have almost no difficulty in getting the job done from agovernment agency or people in power this week. Some of youmay be traveling to a nice and warm area for business purpose

this week. Final commitment is also just around the corner. You mustcontinue working on your plans as they are perfect and so are yourcalculations.

(December 22 to January 19)

If you are not careful, you may end up making big commitment andincrease your liabilities. Try to take all decisions with a calm andrational mind. Children will be the source of happiness this week.

There will be progress in your efforts to locate a better job. Do not let astrong competitor change your mind and all earlier plans.

(January 20 to February 18)

(February 19 to March 20)

Do not stretch your limits when making any financial commit-ment this week. Money will come and disappear fast. Some ofyou will be making a smooth switch in career in near future.

You may go out to a mall and buy some new cloths for your self. Youwill get to learn a lot from one of your strong competitor. Do not take achance with weather.

You may take money out of savings and reinvest in your busi-ness. People prone to litigations should be careful and com-plete all paper work. You will be looking to expand or looking for

another franchise location. Some of you may start going to club tocome back in shape. There is absolutely no harm in listening to spousecompletely.

PANDIT PARASHAR, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA isalso available for individual consultations.He can be reached at: [email protected]

510-886-4370www.parashar.com

52 June 20, 2014India Postwww.indiapost.com

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NAME CHANGE

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Philosophy

Kabir calls guru as avadhoowhich means infinite

Man is never an essence, nomatter how much he strives

Being-in-itself is concrete, lacks the ability tochange, and is unaware of itself. Being-for-itself is conscious of its own consciousness butis also incomplete. For Sartre, this undefined,nondetermined nature is what defines man.

Anandmurti Gurumaa

The mystic saint Kabir refersto the true guru asAvadhoo, the one who be-

stows higher wisdom and unrav-els the inner intricacies.

Those who have dared to walkthe spiritual path fearlessly havealways been intrigued by the mav-erick mystic Kabir's life as well ashis revolutionary and succinct ex-pression of truth. Simple, yet mys-teriously profound, soft, yet hard-hitting, Kabir's teachings are incommon dialect but their esotericmeanings are way beyond com-mon perception.

They have always challengedthe status quo, awakening seekersto realize the transience of life asopposed to the magnificence of theeternal being. Over the years, hispiercing wisdom, courage, sheeraudacity to voice the truth amidstvociferous opposition and heartfeltdepths of love have endeared Kabirto aspirants and mystics alike.

Kabir coined an exquisite termAvadhoo to call upon the guru.There was a time when the word'guru' used to be spoken with im-mense reverence and honor butthen it came to be bandied aboutin a most casual way, mainly dueto the proliferation of run-of-the-mill individuals - from conmen topseudo gurus and charlatans. Andthus, the beauty and depth of thispristine word got blemished.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Sartre introduces Being andNothingness, his singlegreatest articulation of his

existentialist philosophy, as "anessay in phenomenological ontol-ogy." Essentially, it is a study of theconsciousness of being. Ontologymeans the study of being; phenom-enological means of or relating toperceptual consciousness.

He rejects Kant's concept ofnoumenon saying it is not inacces-sible-it simply isn't there. Appear-ance is the only reality. From thisstarting point, Sartre contends thatthe world can be seen as an infiniteseries of finite appearances.

Such a perspective eliminates anumber of dualisms, notably theduality that contrasts the insideand outside of an object. What wesee is what we get (or, what ap-pears is what we know).

After dispensing with the con-cept of the noumenon, Sartre out-lines the binary distinction thatdominates the rest of Being andNothingness: the distinction be-tween unconscious being (en-soi,being-in-itself) and conscious be-ing (pour-soi, being-for-itself).

Being-in-itself is concrete, lacksthe ability to change, and is un-aware of itself. Being-for-itself isconscious of its own conscious-

ness but is also incomplete. ForSartre, this undefined,nondetermined nature is what de-fines man.

Since the for-itself (like man)lacks a predetermined essence, itis forced to create itself from noth-ingness. For Sartre, nothingnessis the defining characteristic of thefor-itself. A tree is a tree and lacks

the ability to change or create itsbeing. Man, on the other hand,makes himself by acting in theworld. Instead of simply being, asthe object-in-itself does, man, asan object-for-itself, must actuatehis own being.

Sartre next introduces the re-lated truth that the being-for-itselfpossesses meaning only throughits perpetual foray into the un-known future. In other words, aman is not essentially what one

might describe him as now. Forexample, if he is a teacher, he is nota teacher in the way that a rock, asa being-in-itself, is a rock. In truth,the man is never an essence, nomatter how much he strives at self-essentialism.

The way he interprets his pastand foresees his future is itself aseries of choices. As Sartre ex-

plains, even if an individual canbe said to have a certain physicalnature, as a chair does (e.g., "he issix feet tall, and the chair two"),the individual nonethelessprojects himself by ascribingmeaning to, or taking meaningfrom, his concrete characteristicsand thus negating them.

The paradox here is great. Thefor-itself, desiring to become onewithin the in-itself, imposes itssubjectivity on the other's objec-

One even travels far and wide to exotic loca-tions seeking this very pleasure, which is likethe eternal mirage in the desert that can neverquench the thirst of a traveler. Whereas the ironyis that the ocean of bliss is ever present within.

tivity. The for-itself is conscious-ness, yet the instance this con-sciousness makes its own being aquestion, the irreconcilable fissurebetween the in-itself and the for-itself is affirmed.

Sartre explains that as a con-scious being, the for-itself recog-nizes what it is not: it is not a be-ing-in-itself. Through the aware-

ness of what it is not, the for-itselfbecomes what it is: a nothingness,wholly free in the world, with ablank canvas on which to createits being. He concludes that thefor-itself is the being throughwhich nothingness and lack enterthe world, and consequently, thefor-itself is itself a lack.

Excerpted from websiteSparknotes. The 109th birth an-niversary of Jean Paul Sartre willbe observed on June 21.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Kabir

Kabir calls guru as avadhoowhich means infinite, vast, expan-sive, 'boundaryless', and as pro-found as ether; that which isboundless, unfathomable, indivis-ible and impeccable.

It is usually perceived that theone who doesn't wear any garmentis an avadhoota. But in reality, it isthe one who has stripped off allthe layers of his mind - the layers

of delusions, ignorance, attach-ment and aversion - becomes re-splendent, self-effulgent,unswervingly established in histrue Self.

Kabir boldly proclaims thatwhat we ignorantly believe to beour real home - this body - is notour true abode. The body isephemeral and so are its relation-ships, which we mistakenly con-sider to be real. Only the Self isreal - truth, consciousness, blissand all-pervasive. Those who have

forgotten this true identity areguided back by avadhoo, andsuch a one is most dear to me, forit is he who brings the wanderingones home, says Kabir.

It is a fallacy to assume that ex-ternal pleasures can ever truly sat-isfy, but that is exactly what ev-eryone is doing - running afterscraps of sensory gratification, beit via husband or wife, job, bank

account, food, wealth and the like.One even travels far and wide to

exotic locations seeking this verypleasure, which is like the eternalmirage in the desert that can neverquench the thirst of a traveler.Whereas the irony is that the oceanof bliss is ever present within.

It is only the avadhoo, the truemaster who can inspire the turn-ing within and initiate the inwardjourney. It is then we realize thatthis bliss is our own swarupa.

When it comes to seeking, a

person usually begins with out-ward renunciation. However, Kabirsays that one doesn't become atrue seeker merely by abandoninghis family or house. It's only whenhe knows the way to turn inwardthat he becomes a seeker in thetrue sense.

Yoga, pranayama and mantrajapa are all tools given by mastersto tame the wayward mind and help

it become one-pointed and con-centrated. It is the integrated mindthat can cut through the clouds ofinertia and ignorance, the greatestobstacles to awakening. Steadyprogress on the spiritual pathcomes with dedicated practise,self-effort and discipline - the cul-mination can only happen with thegrace of the master.

Kabir Jayanti was celebrated onJune 13. Anandmurti Gurumaa,born in Amritsar, Punjab, is a mod-ern day spiritual master.

The individual has alwayshad to struggle to keepfrom being overwhelmedby the tribe. If you try it,you will be lonely often,and sometimes fright-ened. But no price is toohigh to pay for the privi-lege of owning yourself.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Thousands of candlescan be lighted from asingle candle, and the lifeof the candle will not beshortened. Happinessnever decreases by beingshared.

- Buddha

Being deeply loved bysomeone gives youstrength, while lovingsomeone deeply givesyou courage.

- Lao Tzu

You don't develop cour-age by being happy inyour relationships every-day. You develop it by sur-viving difficult times andchallenging adversity.

- Epicurus

In everyone's life, at sometime, our inner fire goesout. It is then burst intoflame by an encounterwith another human be-ing. We should all bethankful for those peoplewho rekindle the innerspirit.

- Albert Schweitzer

All the world's a stage,and all the men andwomen merely players:they have their exits andtheir entrances; and oneman in his time playsmany parts, his acts be-ing seven ages.- William Shakespeare

54 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

June 20, 2014India Post

India Post

India's Northeast: Anagenda for DoNER

RUHEE NEOG

In interviews conductedpost his appointment asthe head for the Ministryfor the Development of theNortheastern Region

(DoNER), General (Retd) VKSingh identified certain areas forthe "overall development" of theNortheast. This article will seek todiscuss and give substance totwo of these areas, which havethus far been mentioned prelimi-narily, and suggest a third.

The very first priority, which isprobably already in the works,must of course be a review of theperformance of the ministry -whether it has been able to fulfillits remit, and most crucially, whereit might have gone wrong. This isprimarily because the goals of theministry are going to roughly bethe same as before, and the

changes will most likely be in theprocesses employed - not the'what' but the 'how'. An assessmenttherefore will be of immense helpin identifying how past mistakescan be avoided and in structuringthe list of priorities.

Connectivity andEconomic Growth

Connectivity is essential fortrade, and trade for economicgrowth. For this, comprehensivebackward and forward links withthe rest of India and across theregion's massive international bor-ders are essential. Currently, con-nectivity on all three counts - be-tween the Northeast states, withthe rest of India, and abroad - isdismal.

General Singh also holds theportfolio of Minister of State ofExternal Affairs, which is very in-teresting because the develop-ment of the Northeast necessitatesto a large part the proper imple-mentation of India's Look EastPolicy (LEP). There have longbeen complaints about how, in the

enthusiasm for the LEP's success,the Northeast would merely be aspectator of the development thatwould pass through it withoutnecessarily doing any good to theregion itself.

The dual role that GeneralSingh has taken on is therefore awelcome move, and it is hopedthat this would lead to the DoNERand the Ministry for External Af-fairs (MEA) working complemen-tarily where required.

In terms of cross-border trade,the trade conducted at Moreh inManipur and Tamu in Myanmar isinstructive. It is noted that whilethe essential institutions are inexistence, their performanceleaves a lot to be desired. For in-stance, Moreh has both Land Cus-toms and Currency Exchange Cen-ters, but they are under-staffed

and do not function well.Additionally, despite there be-

ing a Double Taxation AvoidanceAgreement between Myanmarand India, which is meant to en-sure that taxation occurs only in acompany's country of permanentresidence, tax irregularities con-tinue to persist.

Business is therefore sought tobe conducted through seaports inKolkata, Mumbai and Singapore,even though a land access pointwith (theoretically) hugely re-duced transport costs is available.

Another major problem is airconnectivity. Proposals forGreenfield airports in the North-east have been bandied about butcome to naught, with the excep-tion of the airport at Pakyong,Sikkim, and the future of an OpenSkies Policy as introduced by theASEAN-India Aviation Coopera-tion Framework, which could be atrade multiplier, is uncertain.

Infrastructurefacilitation andinvestment promotion

The problem here is not of in-sufficient funds but that of fundsnot funneling through to their tar-geted beneficiaries.

The most practicable invest-ment model for the Northeast isthe Public Private Partnership(PPP) model. However, it is diffi-cult to chart a clear trajectory inthe advancements that have ap-parently been made, and politicalimperatives often mean that theseprojects extend indefinitely be-yond their deadline or come to ahalt altogether with declarationsof being revived at some point inthe future. The lethargic imple-mentations of ambitious plans andinter-state politicking have heldthese projects back.

Image managementand accountability

The popular perception ofDoNER in the Northeast is morenegative than positive. It is seenas a region-specific ministrywhose perspective is unfortu-nately informed more by the Cen-tre, from which it emerges, ratherthan the region whose interests itseeks to represent. Added to thisis its lackluster performance andapparent inaction, which has muchto do with the lack of public dis-semination of information.

The deficiency in public knowl-edge of the DoNER's activitiesbecomes especially important inlight of the reactions to DoNER'snew avatar. In particular, much hasbeen said about the appointmentof a former Army man, General(Retd) VK Singh, as the Ministerin charge of this portfolio. Manyhave expressed their concernsabout the practice of looking atthe Northeast through a 'combat-ive', military lens.

To quell such misgivings, itbecomes imperative for the minis-try to corroborate its work to safe-guard the interests of the regionthrough active and regular dis-semination of information. Con-trolled transparency would allowaccountability, which in turnwould help inspire regional confi-dence in DoNER's workings.

What can be most unambigu-ously said about this change ofguard is that above all else,DONER needed an injection offresh blood. Whether this will beto the detriment of the region orits gain cannot be deduced in thefirst few days of the new ministry'sexistence.

The writer is Senior ResearchOfficer, NSP, IPCS

Facing challengesIt is interesting to watch how Narendra Modi will be able to deal

with the increasing challenges that he now faces on the national stage. His intent is convincing. He has put his ministers

and bureaucrats on their toes by demanding cleanliness and deliv-ery. He keeps a check on them. A minister in a hurry to return fromhis constituency to his post in Delhi confessed that Modi rings upon his landline to know if he is there in his office.

On the economic front Modi has promised tough steps whichwill earn him unpopularity. He is willing to take that bitter pill forthe sake of the country as he says the UPA left the exchequerempty. He has made great promises and his critics are alreadyready to pounce on him for failure to deliver. The power shortagein the country has reached even the capital of India. The Congressand AAP parties have started burning his effigies for failure tosolve the power problem of Delhi. And he has promised 24-hourelectricity. How is he going to manage it?

In his first speech in Parliament, Modi said similar questionswere asked of him when he had promised 24-electrircity in Gujarat.Nobody would believe him. But he has been able to provide 24-hour electricity in the State which approved of his governanceability to give him four election victories in succession. But tack-ling the power situation in Gujarat may be child's play compared toIndia's problem. Here you have to deal with individual States man-aging power resources and the ubiquitous corruption. The minis-ter he has put in charge of power is a whiz kid who managed thetechnology of his election. So everyone is watching how this is-sue will be resolved.

On defense he made a dramatic foray by visiting India's presti-gious aircraft carrier Vikramaditya to dedicate it to the nation. Whilewatching the impressive naval and aerial display laid out for him,he sent out a message that he is going to take a personal interest indefense matters. There is criticism for him for not having appointeda full-time defense minister. How could defense of the countrymatter to him when he has not been able to name a minister capableenough to manage the difficult portfolio? There is suspicion thatthis may have been a deliberate, clever move of Modi. He is keento look after defense himself but this will be seen as over-burden-ing himself and also send alarm in some quarters. So he has de-cided to take de facto decisions himself while keeping the ministryostensibly under Arun Jaitley who is already saddled with theheavy portfolio of Finance.

As Prime Minister, Modi can look into the work of any ministry.So he has decided to keep a tab on it which he may not freely beable to do once a proper defense minister is appointed. Indeed,defense is too important a portfolio to imagine that he has notgiven due thought to it. So this could be a ploy to remain his owndefense minister while not appearing to be so.

His actions may appear abrupt but below the surface there isdeep planning and meaning behind them. His decision to make hisfirst foreign visit to the small neighboring state of Bhutan leaves amessage to China which is trying to cosy up to this state whichborders both India and China. His visit comes before another roundof dialogue between Bhutan and China which is said to be keen onestablishing diplomatic ties with Thimpu.

Under the UPA government last year, India had annoyed Bhutanby temporarily rolling back subsidies on LPG and kerosene supplyto the land locked country. Conscious of this ill-advised move,Modi went on a charm offensive, making full use of India's softpower and its historic ties with the country.

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang with DoNER Minister VK Singh and others


June 20, 2014


June 20, 201456

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