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Manmohan was not taken seriouslyby Obama, Sharif?

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YES 41% NO 59%

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CONTENTSBollywood -------------------------- 33

Classifieds ------------------------- 47

Community Post -------------- 18-28

Date Book -------------------------- 48

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

HealthScience Post --------- 50-52

Horoscope ------------------------- 32

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

Life Style ----------------------- 30-31

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

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Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 40-43

Top Stories

U.S. PUTS INDIA AT PARWITH CLOSEST ALLIES

Details on page 18

Details on page 9

Obama, Manmohan summit outcome

WASHINGTON: Taking their defense ties to a new level,India and the US have decided to undertake joint devel-opment and production of military hardware, involvingtransfer of high-end technology from America, a moveaimed at matching Russia's co-operation with India in thisfield.

After the summit meeting between Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama at the

Oval Office the two sides issued a joint declaration ondefense co-operation spelling out the principles of coop-eration in this area.

In the declaration, the US expressed its support toIndia's full membership in the four international exportcontrol regimes that would further facilitate technologysharing.

Details on page 5

OBAMA CARES: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama during meeting at

White House in Washington on September 27

Details on page 12

Details on page 8

Details on page 13

Details on page 10

Manmohantrusts Sharif butwill verify

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

with Prime Minister of Pakistan,

Nawaz Sharif In New York

Govts withingovt ruiningIndia, says Modi

Sikh driver in UScalled 'terrorist'by police

Lalu convictedin fodder scam,sent to jail

Details on page 12

Masood gets 4years in jail, setto lose LS seat

Baba Ramdevdetained for 8hours in UK

Illinois GovernorPat Quinn tovisit india

IS US manufacturers’ complaintagainst India valid?

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Bollywood:Scared of losingA relentless worker that he is, Shah RukhKhan goes the extra mile to achieve suc-cess as he fears losing the top position.

1Cover Story:Defense ties

18Community:Quinn to visit India

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Taking defense ties to a new level, Indiaand US will undertake joint developmentand production of military hardware

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Did we make enough noise about that historic phone call from PresidentObama to President Rouhani of Iran?

I guess: The American media was cautiously skeptical as may be expected,the academics and think tanks were overtly welcoming of the development, andthe hardliners in both the US and Iran dissed it - the Americans by twittering andtweeting about their displeasure, and the Iranians by throwing shoes and rottentomatoes at their President's motorcade on his return to Tehran from New York.

But guys I will say it was an excitingly unexpected development for worlddiplomacy. Taking the initiative to break a 34-year hiatus and talk directly to ahead of state of Iran is indeed, a big deal and only establishes American superi-ority.

This phone call does not solve anything - at least not yet. There's Israel tocontend with from the outside and the Republicans to contend with on the inside.

We must grant it to President Obama. I mean, he holds few diplomaticinhibitions and increasingly, I see him as a true communicator. Like, he is veryclear on his conviction that Israel has as much a right to its existence as doesPalestine.

In any case, President Obama has little to lose - if his overtures fail - exceptmaybe a legacy as the "Peace President" as against what President Bush hadgained as a "War President".

For Rouhani, on the other hand, it is not so much a question as to what he hasgot to lose, but that of how much he has to gain, especially for his people, who arereeling under crippling economic sanctions.

Unlike an average American who fears Iran, the average Iranian does nothate America. But the average American has grown weary of war. They under-stand the irony of what a sophisticated war would cost the country when all ittakes might be a landline phone call, the least sophisticated form of communica-tion in this day and age.

So what does it take to just pick up the phone and call someone? People inreal life are closer than they appear in political rhetoric.

Immigration:

Provisions of the current immigration re-forms bill, in particular those related tothe H-1B visas, are self-defeating

Self-defeating

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US puts India at par with closest alliesObama, Manmohan summit outcome

WASHINGTON: Taking theirdefense ties to a new level, Indiaand the US have decided to un-dertake joint development andproduction of military hardware,involving transfer of high-endtechnology from America, a moveaimed at matching Russia's co-operation with India in this field.

After the summit meeting be-tween Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and US President BarackObama at the Oval Office the twosides issued a joint declaration ondefense co-operation spelling outthe principles of cooperation inthis area.

In the declaration, the US ex-pressed its support to India's fullmembership in the four interna-tional export control regimes thatwould further facilitate technol-ogy sharing.

According to the joint declara-tion on defense co-operation, theUS and India share common se-curity interests and place eachother at the same level as theirclosest partners.

"This principle will apply withrespect to defense technologytransfer, trade, research, co-devel-opment and co-production fordefense articles and services, in-cluding the most advanced andsophisticated technology," the

declaration said."They will work to improve li-

censing processes, and, whereapplicable, follow expedited li-cense approval processes to fa-cilitate this cooperation," the dec-laration said, adding that the USand India are also committed toprotecting each other's sensitivetechnology and information.

A joint statement released bythe two countries showcased thebreadth of their cooperation aswell as highlighted joint naval ex-ercises, promised momentum oninvestment treaties, reaffirmedtheir commitment to specific en-ergy-sector projects andcounterterrorism strategies.

Among the key initiatives

flagged in the joint statement, In-dia particularly welcomed the U.S.offer of membership in its 'GlobalEntry' Trusted Traveler Networkprogram, a scheme only offeredto select countries, which will ex-pedite the entry of approved In-dian travelers at the U.S. border.

The joint statement welcomedthe announcement that Indian

Nuclear Power Corporation of In-dia Limited and U.S. nuclear com-pany Westinghouse had con-cluded a Preliminary Contract todevelop a nuclear power plant inGujarat. It also reiterated that bothnations remained committed to a"full and timely implementation"of the bilateral civil nuclear agree-ment.-PTI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama during a delegation level meeting at White House in Washington on October 27

Defense ties with US not atRussia's expense: India

NEW YORK: Days after agree-ing on joint development and pro-duction in the field of defense withthe US, India has said the first-of-its-kind of initiative with Americawill add "more muscle" to the bi-lateral strategic partnership but itis not at the expense of traditionalfriend Russia.

External Affairs MinisterSalman Khurshid said the defensecooperation between India andthe US has been at a lower leveldespite the two countries havingengagement in a wide range ofareas and it will be upgraded bythe Defense Declaration issuedafter meeting between Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh and Presi-dent Barack Obama.

"I think, it gives major sub-stance to our strategic partner-ship," he told the PTI in an inter-view here about the decision un-der which the two countries willundertake joint development andproduction of defense equipmentwith transfer of technology fromthe US.

"It (joint defense declaration)gives more muscle (to India-USrelationship), gives it more con-tent, more strength and I think itgives it more traction," saidKhurshid, who was part of theIndian delegation in the Summit

meeting between Singh andObama in Washington on Septem-ber 27.

Noting that there are many di-mensions to the India-US strate-gic partnership, he said, "Nuclear

co-operation is one major initia-tive. The defense co-operationwhich was substantive but at alower level, has now been raisedto a higher level, is another dimen-sion of our strategic partnership."

The decision came against thebackdrop of America's wish to"replicate" Russia in joint devel-opment of defense equipmentwith India like Brahmos missiles.

Asked whether this could cre-ate apprehensions among India'sold defense partners like Russia,Khurshid asserted that this initia-tive with the US is not at the ex-pense of those already having tiesin this area.

“Everybody knows that wehave to diversify and expand. Butwe do not do this at the cost oftraditional friend of ours. There ismassive co-operation betweenIndia and Russia, which contin-ues apace," the Minister said, add-ing "that is not going to be af-fected".

He pointed out that Russia toodeals with the US.-PTI

“Everybody knowsthat we have to di-versify and expand.But we do not do thisat the cost of tradi-tional friend of ours.There is massive co-operation betweenIndia and Russia”

First commercial deal on civilnuclear power sealed

WASHINGTON: India and theUS have reached the first commer-cial agreement on civilian nuclearpower, five years after a landmarkdeal between the two countrieswas clinched.

Addressing a joint media inter-action after talks with Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh,President BarackObama disclosed thatthe two countries havesealed the agreement.

"We've made enor-mous progress on theissue of civilian nuclearpower, and in fact, havebeen able to achievejust in the last few daysan agreement on thefirst commercial agree-ment between a US company andIndia on civilian nuclear power,"Obama said. India's nuclear opera-tor NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corpo-ration of India Limited) and USfirm Westinghouse have signedan agreement that will pave theway for setting up an atomic plantin India.

However, there was no word onthe tough nuclear liability clausein the Indian laws over which theUS firms had strong objections.

There was a major uproar inIndia over the agreement becauseof apprehensions that it entailedbypassing the Civil Nuclear Liabil-

ity Law in place in the country bywaiving the operator's right to re-course with the supplier.

Reiterating his commitment forstrong ties, Obama said India isnot just a regional, but also a glo-bal power.

India's nuclear operatorNPCIL (Nuclear Power Cor-poration of India Limited)and US firm Westinghousehave signed an agreementthat will pave the way forsetting up an atomicplant in India

Cont’d on page 7


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India, US eye five-fold increase in commerceWASHINGTON: Eyeing to in-

crease two-way commerce by fivetimes from the current level of USD100 billion, India and the US havevowed to expeditiously addressall trade and investment policyissues to remove obstacles andimprove business environment inboth countries.

In this context, the two sides,after talks between Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh and USPresident Barack Obama, ex-pressed their commitment to con-cluding a high-standard BilateralInvestment Treaty that will fosteropenness to investment, trans-parency and predictability,thereby supporting economicgrowth and job creation in bothcountries.

They also agreed to considerestablishing a Joint Committee onInvestment in Manufacturing.

"Noting that two-way trade hasincreased five-fold since 2001 tonearly USD 100 billion, PresidentObama and Prime Minister Singhagreed that there are no insur-mountable impediments to bilat-eral trade increasing an additional

five-fold," a joint statement issuedafter the talks said.

"The leaders welcomedprogress towards increased en-gagement by experts from bothgovernments, underlining theneed for expeditious progress toaddress all trade and investmentpolicy issues of bilateral concernso as to remove obstacles andimprove the business environ-

ment in both countries," it said.The statement said that Obama

expressed confidence that theongoing Indian economic reformsand policy measures to liberalizeIndia's economy would accelerateeconomic growth, opening greateravenues for trade and creatingjobs in both countries.

In this respect, the leaders rec-ognized in particular the role and

contribution of the Indian and USInformation Technology industryand the IT enabled service indus-try in strengthening India-UStrade and investment relations,the statement said.

The leaders also committedtheir officials to work toward asuccessful outcome at the WorldTrade Organization MinisterialConference in Bali.

Obama and Singh emphasizedthe dangers that high oil pricescan pose to the global economyand the need to increase oil mar-ket transparency and emergencyresponse collaboration, throughcloser coordination and bilateraldialogue.CHIDAMBARAM TO MEETJACOB LEW

Meanwhile, Finance Minister PChidambaram and his Americancounterpart Jacob Lew would holdthe next round of India-US eco-nomic dialogue in Washington onOctober 13, an official announce-ment said.

"Lew looks forward to beingjoined by Chairman Bernanke toengage with Indian Finance Min-ister Chidambaram and (RBI) Gov-ernor (Raghuram) Rajan on themajor macroeconomic and finan-cial sector issues affecting our twoeconomies," Lael Brainard, theTreasury Under Secretary for In-ternational Affairs, told PTI.

Lew will participate in thefourth annual meeting of the US-India Economic and Financial Part-nership with Chidambaram at theDepartment of Treasury.

The Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke would also partici-pate in the meeting.

"In this fourth meeting of thePartnership, the Secretary (Lew)will be pressing strongly on pri-orities of interest to our privatesector, including tax issues, anddeepening collaboration on com-bating illicit financial activity thatwill make both of our economiesmore secure," Brainard said.

The US-India Economic andFinancial Partnership has servedas a platform for greater coopera-tion on economic issues of impor-tance to both nations.

Both countries recognize theimportance of expanding bilateraleconomic engagement, noting theincreasing range of global macro-economic and financial issues,including those related to illicit fi-nance, on which the US and Indiacooperate. -PTI

Manmohan Singh meeting the US CEOs, on the sidelines of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York on September 27

Committed to early pacton bilateral investment

PM invites US companiesto invest in India

WASHINGTON: India andthe US have expressed theircommitment for early conclusionof a Bilateral Investment Treatyaimed at increasing investmentand job creation in the two coun-tries.

"The Leaders reaffirmed theircommitment to concluding ahigh-standard Bilateral Invest-ment Treaty that will foster open-ness to investment, transpar-ency, and predict-ability, and therebysupport economicgrowth and job cre-ation in both coun-tries," according tothe joint statementon Prime MinisterManmohan Singh'sSummit Meetingwith PresidentBarack Obama here.

In terms of for-eign direct investment (FDI), theUS is the fifth-largest investorin India. As per official data, FDIfrom the US between April 2000and July 2013 totaled USD 11.49billion.

The treaty is expected to in-crease regulatory stability andreduce investor uncertainty, par-ticularly during these challeng-ing economic conditions.

Welcoming the increased en-gagement by experts from both

governments, the two leadersunderlined the need for expedi-tious progress to address alltrade and investment policy is-sues of bilateral concern so asto remove obstacles and im-prove business environment inboth countries.

"In this respect, both sidesagreed to consider establishinga joint committee on investmentin manufacturing," the state-

ment said.Singh and Obama were also

committed to working toward asuccessful outcome at the WorldTrade Organization ministerialconference in Bali. The four-dayministerial is scheduled to be heldfrom December 3.

They discussed ways tostrengthen bilateral efforts topromote energy efficiency, cleanenergy and address climatechange.-PTI

NEW YORK: Citing long-termopportunities in sectors like infra-structure and defense, Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh today in-vited US companies to invest inIndia while asserting that con-cerns about the country'sgrowth prospects and economicpolicy environment are "mis-taken".

Seeking to assure the foreigninvestors, he told US industry lead-

ers here that virtually all politicalparties in India have supported theprocess of reforms since 1991which gives confidence about thefuture direction of the country'seconomic policies.

Singh made the remarks whileaddressing US CEOs forum soonafter his arrival here from Wash-ington.

He acknowledged that India'sgrowth had slowed down andtouched five per cent from the

average of eight per cent wit-nessed over the last decade butexpressed confidence that therewill be a turnaround in the sec-ond half of the current fiscal be-cause of steps the governmenthas taken besides the goodmonsoon rainfall.

"I am aware that the businesscommunity in the US has someconcerns about India's growthprospects, macroeconomic sta-

bility and the eco-nomic policy environ-ment. Doubts havebeen expressed aboutour sincerity in thisregard. This is a mis-taken perception,"Singh said in his open-ing statement to busi-ness leaders.

He said the govern-ment is committed to"fostering an economic

environment that is open, predict-able and transparent" as well asinvestment friendly.

"The results of our efforts willbe visible in the second half ofthe year. We expect strongergrowth in 2013-14 than in 2012-13. The second half of the yearshould see a distinct turnaround,partly because of the good mon-soon and partly because of thesteps we have taken," he said. -PTI

The treaty is expected toincrease regulatory stabilityand reduce investor uncer-tainty, particularly duringthese challengingeconomic conditions

Government is committedto "fostering an economicenvironment that is open,predictable andtransparent" as well asinvestment friendly


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Prime Minister Singh recipro-cated the feelings, saying US isas an indispensable partner forIndia.

"India, as a significant not justregional power but world power,has worked closely with us on awhole range of issues from climatechange to how we can help feedthe world, alleviate poverty anddeal with disease," Obama toldreporters in his Oval Office fol-lowing their hour-long meeting.

Praising the Prime Minister forhis leadership instrengthening India-USties, Obama said Singhhas been a great friendand partner to theUnited States and to himpersonally.

"Across the board,Prime Minister Singhhas been an outstand-ing partner," Obamasaid, adding that Indiacontinues to grow at an amazingrate, but obviously there are a lotof people in India that are stilltrapped in poverty.

He said US is a strong partnerto help India realize that visionbecause if there is a strong India,that is good for the world and it'sultimately good for the US.

In his remarks, Singh saidObama has imparted a powerfulimpetus to that process of the twocountries being on the same page.

"I've always believed that In-dia and America are indispensablepartners. During the time that Ihave been Prime Minister, andparticularly during the time that

First commercial deal on civilnuclear power sealed

President Obama and I haveworked together, I think PresidentObama has made an outstandingcontribution to strengthening, wid-ening and deepening of our coop-eration in diverse ways," he said.

Singh said India and Americaare working together to build onthe cooperation and widening,and deepening it in diverse direc-tions. . "We are cooperating inexpanding the frontiers of tradeinvestment in technology. Our bi-lateral trade today is USD 100 bil-lion. Investments in India are USD80 billion. And they are growing,

despite the slowdown in the glo-bal economy," Singh said, refer-ring to the increasing trade be-tween the two sides.

"Outside the area of trade tech-nology and investment, we areexploring avenues of cooperationin new areas like energy coopera-tion, clean coal technology, en-ergy-efficient technology, coop-eration in the field of environment,cooperation in the field of defenseand security-related, cooperationwith regard to the intelligencegathering and counterterrorism.In all these areas, India needs theUnited States to be standing byour side," Singh said. -PTI

Praising the Prime Ministerfor his leadership in strength-ening India-US ties, Obamasaid Singh has been a greatfriend and partner to theUnited States and tohim personally

Cont’d from page 5

PM flags concerns over US immigration law changesWASHINGTON/NEW YORK:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singhhas told President Barack Obamathat certain aspects of the pro-posed changes in the Americanimmigration laws will hit Indian ITprofessionals, eliciting a promisefrom the US that concerns will belooked into.

Singh raised the issue duringhis three-hour discussion withObama in Washington and saidthat the Indian IT sector is a ma-jor contributor to US' GDP andemployment generation besidesbeing a cementing force betweenthe two countries and any barri-ers would be counter-productive.

The Prime Minister expressedconcerns over the changes pro-posed by the US in the immigra-

tion laws. He noted that any re-strictions on the movement of ser-vices will have an adverse impacton India.

The US President said the con-cerns will be looked into whileconsidering changes in immigra-tion laws.

He told Singh that the matter isstill an open question and it is notgoing to happen in the next fewmonths as it is still under consid-eration of the Congress.

The US President mentionedthat immigration laws needed tobe reformed to fix the gaps.

Later, addressing businessleaders in New York, Singh saidIndian IT companies have beenthe "most ardent champions" ofIndia-US relations and barriers

would affect the perception in In-dia about bilateral economic part-nership with the US.

"I would like to use this oppor-tunity to urge you to oppose ef-forts to create barriers for IndianIT companies through legislative

or administrative measures,"Singh said.

"The inability of IT companies

to operate in the US market wouldnot only affect our economy, butalso the climate of opinion in In-dia about the economic partner-ship with the US," Singh said.

He said that a number of tax-related concerns of US companies

that have wholly owned subsid-iaries in India have been ad-dressed.

Singh noted that some secu-rity related restrictions on elec-

The US President said the concerns will belooked into while consideringchanges in immigration laws.He told Singh that the matter is still an openquestion and it is not going to happenin the next few months

tronic imports were perceived as"disguised protectionism".

"We have put these restric-tions in abeyance and will workto find more acceptable solutionsthat address our legitimate secu-rity needs," he said.

US India Business Council(USIBC) President Ron Somerssided with India on the concernsrelated to certain provisions of theimmigration bill, in particular thoserelated to the H-1B and L1 visas.

"Let's have an immigration billthat does not close our borderswhen we are asking India to openhers," Somers had said.

He said USIBC is taking up thecase of India and Indian compa-nies on Capitol Hill and exudedconfidence that its views wouldbe incorporated in the final ver-sion of the bill. -PTI

Obama mentions Miss America ashe praises Indian Americans

WASHINGTON: US PresidentBarack Obama made a referenceto the new Miss America's Indianheritage as he acknowledged therole of the community in pushingfor stronger relationship betweenthe world's two largest democra-cies.

"The strong people-to-peoplerelationship makes it more impor-tant for the two governments forcloser ties," Obama told reportersin a joint news conference withPrime Minister Manmohan Singhin the Oval Office of the WhiteHouse.

"And you know, I think all ofus recognize that as the world'stwo largest democracies, coun-tries that have for a very long timebeen invested in, you know, the

peace and prosperity of their ownpeople, that there is a natural con-vergence between the UnitedStates and India," Obama told abattery of reporters after his meet-ing with Singh.

"And part of that has to do withthe incredible people-to-peopleties that exist. You know, Indian-Americans make extraordinarycontributions to the United Statesevery single day - businessmen,scientists, academics," he said.

"Now Miss America is of In-dian-American descent. I think it'sa signal of how close our coun-tries are," Obama said in his re-marks. Early this month, NinaDavuluri became the first Indian-American ever to be crownedMiss America. -PTI

Nina Davuluri

Congressman wants level-playingfield for US exports in India

WASHINGTON: As leadersfrom the two nations push forgreater Indo-US economic ties, aCongressman here has intro-duced a new bill to ensure a level-playing field for American manu-facturing exports in India andother countries benefiting fromthe US trade preference pro-grams.

The new legislation named'Playing Fair on Trade and Inno-vation Act' has been introducedby the House of Representativemember Lee Terry, who chairs theCommerce, Manufacturing andTrade Subcommittee.

"Countries like India are en-gaged in a growing pattern of un-fair and discriminatory treatment

designed to benefit its own do-mestic companies at the expenseof American manufacturing andjobs," Terry said in a statementafter introducing the new bill onSeptember 20.

"India recently has announcedrules requiring the local produc-tion of information technologyand clean energy equipment. It

has denied or revoked patents forwell over a dozen innovative medi-cines," he added.

If passed into a law, the Play-ing Fair on Trade and InnovationAct would prevent the Presidentfrom granting special access to theUS market under the GeneralizedSystem of Preferences (GSP) pro-gram to countries that blockAmerican exports, either by requir-ing products to be manufactureddomestically or by failing to pro-tect IP rights.

After introducing the bill, Terrysaid that the US trade preferenceprograms have sought to eco-nomic development in nationsaround the world for nearly 40years. -PTI

The Playing Fair onTrade and InnovationAct would prevent thePresident from grant-ing special access tothe US market


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Govts within govt ruiningIndia, says Modi

NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack onRahul Gandhi, BJP's Prime Ministerial can-didate Narendra Modi on Sunday Sept 29accused him of committing the "sin" of in-sulting the Prime Minister when he wasabroad and asked people to decide in thenext Lok Sabha polls if the nation will berun based on the Constitution or whims ofthe "prince".

Addressing a huge rally - his first in thecapital as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate- Modi tore into the UPA alliance alleging

there were "governments within the gov-ernment" which was affecting the country'soverall growth and development.

"The pride of the Prime Minister hasbeen brought down by his own party. Con-gress party Vice President has committedthe sin of disrespecting the Prime Minis-ter," he said, referring to Gandhi's publicdenouncement of the ordinance on con-victed lawmakers. Gandhi had termed theordinance as "complete nonsense" andsaid it should be torn up and thrown away.

Modi also attacked the Prime Ministerand questioned his abilities in effectivelytaking up India's concerns and said, "UPAcoalition is headed by a sardar but is not'asardar' (effective)."

Exhorting people to bring the 'dreamteam' of BJP to power in 2014, he asked themto throw out UPA which is "deeply en-trenched" in corruption.

"Today the issue is whether the countrywill run on the whims of the prince or onthe basis of the Constitution," he said, al-leging that Congress leaders were "disre-specting" the Indian Constitution, Parlia-ment, democracy and the Cabinet.

He said all political allies of UPA are run-ning individual governments because ofwhich nation's growth and developmenthave been severely affected.

"There are so many governments inDelhi. There is a mother's government.There is son's government. There is also ason-in-law's government."

"This government is mired in corruption.Instead of finding solutions to problems, ithas stopped functioning.

This government is paralyzed. The UPAgovernment is immersed in Gandhi-bhakti. TheGandhi-bhakti refers to currency notes whichthey are collecting in tonnes," he alleged.

"Coalition governments are formed onarithmetic but run on chemistry. Till thechemistry matches, such government can-not do any public good. Though UPA coa-lition government is together, there is nocoordination...because of which the coun-try is not moving forward," he said. -PTI

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi

speaks at party Vikas Rally in New Delhi

on September 29


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Take Brand Indiato the world: Modito marketers

MUMBAI: Urging top advertising gu-rus, brand strategists and managers to take"Brand India" to the world, BJP's prime min-isterial candidate Narendra Modi said herethe need of the hour is to inspire and not toimpress.

"We have failed to present Brand Indiain front of the world because of some self-created problems," he told a global market-ing summit here.

Modi was the guest-speaker at the din-ner session of the summit, organized byInternational Advertising Association.

Admen Piyush Pandey, Sam Balsara,brand managers Pradip Guha and SunilAlagh, prominent banker Deepak Parekhand BJP leader Gopinath Munde werepresent, among others.

"India should try to inspire people ratherthan just impressing them," Modi said.

Noting that we as a nation lack confi-dence, Modi said the country had failed tomarket itself and its products globally.

Hailing Mahatma Gandhi as the mosteffective communicator, he said no otherleader in the world could match up to hiscommunication prowess. -PTI

Sikh driver in US called 'terrorist' by policeNEW YORK: A Sikh truck driver in the

US has alleged that traffic police in Missis-sippi called him a "terrorist" and a countyjudge later humiliated him by describing histurban as "that rag."

Jagjeet Singh, 49, a trucker from Califor-nia, was driving through the MississippiState when he was pulled over for drivingwith a flat tyre in Pike County on January16, according to a complaint filed by theAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) andUnited Sikhs.

Police officers called Singh a "terrorist"and had him arrested for declining to re-move his kirpan, a small, sacred sword ofthe Sikh faith, which Singh was lawfullywearing in accordance with his religiousbeliefs.

When he returned to Mississippi for hiscourt date in Pike County, Judge AubreyRimes ordered him out of the courtroombecause he did not like his turban calling it"that rag" -- and threatened to punish himunless he removed it, the ACLU said in apress release.

"The officers' shameful treatment of Mr.Singh was an abuse of their authority anda betrayal of the public's trust that law en-forcement officials will carry out their du-ties free from prejudice," said Bear Atwood,legal director at the ACLU of Mississippi.

"The fact that officers may be unfamiliarwith Sikhism or other minority religions doesnot give them license to harass and degrademembers of the public who follow thosefaiths," Atwood said.

The letter sent to the Mississippi De-partment of Transportation (MDOT) offi-

cials demands that they provide publicdocuments relating to Singh's detainmentand arrest and urges them to implement anongoing training program to educate offic-ers about their responsibility to treat everyperson with dignity and to remain respect-ful of religious diversity.

Sikhs deserve the same protections asall other people of faith. No person shouldbe harassed and discriminated against bylaw-enforcement and judicial officers merelybecause he practices a minority religion,Manmeet Singh, staff attorney for United

Sikhs, said.In response to an investigation by the

US Department of Justice, the county re-vised its harassment and non- discrimina-tion policy to explain that religious discrimi-nation includes forcing an individual to re-move religious head coverings.

The ACLU and United Sikhs said theyplan to file a separate complaint with theMississippi Judicial Commission, askingofficials to investigate Judge Rimes's con-duct and impose appropriate sanctions. -PTI

"The fact that officers maybe unfamiliar with Sikhismor other minority religionsdoes not give them licenseto harass and degrademembers of the publicwho follow those faiths,"Atwood said


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PM wants to give Sharif a chance: KhurshidNEW YORK: Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh, who metNawaz Sharif here despite strongcriticism from opposition backhome, wants to "trust" the newPakistan Prime Minister and givehim a chance to "walk the talk" onstopping ceasefire violations andterror activities against India.

Stating this, External AffairsMinister Salman Khurshid under-lined that while "seeking to trust"Sharif, India will "verify" the ac-tions on the ground before takingany step further on resuming thestalled dialogue process.

In an interview to PTI here,Khurshid said the "bacteria" ofanti-India terrorism rooted in Pa-kistan must be eliminated whether"it is state-sponsored, state-con-trolled, state-mandated or state-encouraged" and should not beallowed to grow and destroy the"sapling" of "creative construc-tive relationship".

"Our Prime Minister wants togive him (Sharif) a chance, wantsto trust him. But as he (Singh) hassaid we have to verify," saidKhurshid while defending Singh'smeeting with Sharif despite oppo-sition BJP contending that it wasnot the right time as Pakistan wasengaging in ceasefire violations.

Noting that Sharif has takenover as Prime Minister of Paki-stan recently, he said there is a"reasonable element of hopethat this discussion will not gowaste and it will lead to some im-provement and something con-crete in the future."

At the hour-long meetingwith Sharif on the sidelines ofUNGA, Singh made it clear thatending ceasefire violations onthe Line of Control in Jammu andKashmir is a pre-condition for re-sumption of bilateral dialogue.

Khurshid, who was part of theIndian delegation, said Singhhad "free, frank and friendly dis-cussion" with Sharif and flaggedevery issue of concern, includ-

ing Mumbai attack, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its chief Hafiz Saeed,and LoC firing during the meet-ing.

Rejecting BJP's opposition tothe meeting, Khurshid said, "Weowe it to our nation. Trust butverify. You can turn it (the state-ment) around. We can verify andthen trust. Now, I think, what ourPrime Minister has done is thathe has kept verify and trust in

parallel."He said Singh made it clear

that "while we trust you (Sharif),we must continue to verify."

This is why, he said, "Our PMhas chosen among various alter-natives that has been suggestedby Pakistan. He has preferred hisown view which is - now thisshould be done at the level ofDGMO. And the good thing isPakistan's acceptance."

Khurshid said a mandate hasbeen given to the Directors Gen-eral of Military Operations(DGMOs) of the two countriesto "come in much closer contact,spend some time together anduncover the reason of why thishas happened, try to apportionresponsibility and then try tofind ways and means to ensurethat this don't happen again."

DGMOs, he said, are giventhe primary responsibility tolook at past, present and future,come up with some specific rec-ommendations and find mecha-nism to ensure peace and tran-quility at LOC is maintained.

According to Khurshid,Sharif said that he has in-structed the Interior Ministry tospeed up things with regard tothe trial of the 26/11 terror at-tack. Sharif indicated that "weneed to move forward" on thisissue.

On Hafeez Saeed, the master-mind of the Mumbai terrorist at-tack, Sharif said now that theyhave more evidence against him,these evidences can be broughtto the court.

"And that evidence will thenhave implications for whoeveryou think is involved inMumbai. He said that of coursecourts have to function inde-pendent of the government, butnow that you have more evi-dence because of judicialcommission's cross examinationnow evidence can be utilized,"Khurshid said. -PTI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif,

in New York on September 29

Pak gives no clear assurance on terrorismNEW YORK: Pakistan has

given no clear assurance towardsaddressing India's concerns onterrorism, instead raked up Kash-mir issue and "external interfer-ence" by India in Balochistan.

"Terrorism was discussed. Weare aware of your concerns on ter-rorism, and I think our concernsare also known to the Indian side,"Pakistan's Foreign Secretary JalilAbbas Jilani said, while briefingreporters on the meeting betweenPrime Minister Manmohan Singhand his Pakistani counterpartNawaz Sharif.

"Prime Minister Sharif alsoemphasized on external interfer-ence in Baluchistan and otherparts of Pakistan," Jilani said.

"I have no doubt that the meet-ing discussed all issues includingJammu and Kashmir," he added.

Describing Kashmir as a "veryimportant issue", Jilani said thisneeds to be resolved.

"We witnessed an equal will-ingness on the part of the two lead-ers to do so in an amicable man-ner," he said.

Responding to questions onHafeez Saeed and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Jilani refrained fromgiving any commitment and saidthat there is "willingness and com-mitment" on the part of both sidesto discuss the terrorism issues

including that of JuD and HafeezSaeed.

Jilani described the meeting as"very positive and constructive."

Sharif, according to Jilani dur-ing the meeting, emphasized thatthe two countries have no option

but to sustain peaceful dialoguebetween the two countries.

"The leaders expressed theircommitment to have better rela-tionship between the two coun-tries. During the meeting the twoleaders also all issues and factorswhich have contributed to thepresent state of relationship be-tween our two countries," he said.

India raised the issue of con-tinued cross-border terrorism andthe support groups like Jamaat-ud-Dawa led by Mumbai attackmastermind Hafiz Saeed get fromthe Pakistan government.

Responding to the allegations,Jilani said schools and other edu-cational institutions being run byJuD have now been taken over byprovincial government of Pakistanat the direction of Islamabad incompliance with the UN SecurityCouncil resolution in this regard.

He claimed that the monitoringteam of the UN which had recentlyvisited the country in its report hadfound nothing about Pakistan vio-lating the UN Security Council reso-lution in this regard.-PTI

Responding to theallegations, Jilanisaid schools andother educationalinstitutions being runby JuD have nowbeen taken over byprovincial govern-ment of Pakistan

Pak media terms Singh-Sharifmeeting as 'minor miracle'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani me-dia has termed the first meetingbetween Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and NawazSharif as a "minor miracle" andnoted that the dialogue heldamidst a tense atmosphereyielded "words" but "no action".

The News International in itseditorial said the prelude to themeeting could not have beenmore disastrous, and that themeeting itself took place is a "mi-nor miracle" as both sides calledit useful and constructive.

The Dawn newspaper saidthe meeting with the "lowest ex-pectations" was perhaps a smallvictory for both the nations,while the Daily Times said theintent shown by both the neigh-bors to continue the process ofdialogue and peace negotiationswas encouraging.

The Dawn editorial head-lined "Words, no action",praised Singh for holding talks

despite "pressure domestically".The News said Prime Minis-

ter Singh has "devoted much ofhis speech" at the United Na-tions General Assembly to thequestion of Pakistan and terror-ism, calling "us an 'epicenter ofterrorism' and refusing to nego-tiate over the status of Kashmir."

"The tense atmospherequickly turned farcical when itwas claimed that Nawaz Sharifhad compared ManmohanSingh to a 'village woman' in anoff-the-record meeting with jour-nalists, although other attend-ees denied he said any suchthing," it said.

The editorial also brought inBJP leader Narendra Modi's com-ments at a rally in New Delhi andsaid External Affairs MinisterSalman Khurshid "poured fur-ther fuel to the fire by blamingthe Pakistan military and the ISIfor not obeying PM Nawaz andfor militancy in Kashmir." -PTI


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Sharif asks aides to explain'dehati aurat' remark

NEW YORK: The 'dehatiaurat' comment attributed to himis learnt to have upset PakistanPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif,who in immediate damage-con-trol, sent a message to his In-dian counterpart ManmohanSingh that he never used sucha language against him.

According to senior Paki-stani officials here, Sharif di-rected his close aides to get intouch with Indian officials assoon as he came to know that acontroversy had erupted overthe purported comments.

Sharif is understood to havetasked his Foreign Secretary JalilAbbas Jilani to pass on the mes-sage to Singh on the factualposition that he never usedsuch a language against him.

It was early in the morningthat Jilaini called National Secu-rity Advisor Shivshankar

Menon to explain him the Paki-stani position.

According to sources,Menon told Jilaini that he hasalready verified the authentic-ity of such a statement and isaware about the factual posi-tion.

The Prime Minister too hasbeen informed about it; Menonis believed to have told Jilani.

This came as a big relief tothe Pakistani delegation and thePrime Minister Sharif.

Earlier, a Pakistani journalistwho was present at the break-fast hosted by Nawaz Sharifdenied that the Prime Ministerhad used any word like 'dehatiaurat' for Singh.

He, however, said Sharif wasnot pleased that Singh 'com-plained' against Pakistan whenhe met US President BarackObama in Washington.-PTI

Meeting with ManmohanSingh productive: SharifISLAMABAD: Terming his

first meeting with Prime MinisterManmohan Singh as "produc-tive", Pakistani Premier NawazSharif said dialogue between thetwo countries is the only way for-ward in normalizing ties.

"Dialogue is the only way for-ward in normalizing situation be-tween the two neighborly coun-tries," Sharif said on his arrival atthe Heathrow airport in London onhis return from the US after attend-ing the UN General Assembly.

Sharif termed his meeting withSingh as "productive and said allimportant issues, including Kash-mir and Sir Creek, were discussed,state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

"Sharif said during the meet-ing, he also pointed out the In-dian interference in Balochistan,"it added.

To a question, he said the is-sue of terrorism was not just lim-ited to Pakistan but many othercountries were also facing thischallenge. -PTI

Pak must shut down terror machinery: PMUNITED NATIONS: In a hard-

hitting speech, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh asked Pakistanto shut down "terrorist machin-ery" on its soil while making itclear that there can "never, ever"be a compromise on the territorialintegrity of India of which Jammuand Kashmir is an integral part.

In his address to the UN Gen-eral Assembly, he virtually rejectedPakistan Prime Minister NawazSharif's demand for resolution ofthe Kashmir issue on the basis ofUN Security Council resolutions,saying India favored settlement ofall issues on the basis of the SimlaAgreement.

Earlier, Sharif had made the de-mand when he raked up the Kash-mir issue in his speech.

"India is committed sincerelyin resolving all issues with Paki-stan, including the issue of Jammuand Kashmir, through bilateral dia-logue on the basis of Simla Agree-ment," he said. India considersthe UN resolutions as outdated.

Singh said terrorism remaineda grave threat to security and sta-bility everywhere and extracts aheavy toll of innocent livesaround the world.

"From Africa to Asia, we haveseen several manifestations of thismenace in the last few daysalone," he said in an apparent ref-erence to the twin terror attacksnear Jammu that claimed 10 livesand the Kenyan mall attack.

"State-sponsored cross-bor-der terrorism is of particular con-

sustenance from Pakistan be shutdown. There must be a clear un-derstanding of the fact thatJammu and Kashmir is integralpart of India and that there cannever, ever, be a compromise withthe unity and territorial integrityof India."-PTI

The Prime Minister also under-lined the need to renew the com-mitment, especially at the UN, forconcerted, cohesive and continu-ing global action against terror-ism.

"There can be no tolerance forstates sheltering, arming, trainingor financing terrorists. Nor canthey absolve themselves of theresponsibility to prevent their ter-ritories from being used to launchacts of terrorism," Singh said.

He noted that the increasinglycomplex challenges to interna-tional peace and security require anew international consensus to bebuilt, whether it is in cyber secu-rity, non proliferation or terrorism.

"We must also guard againstterrorists and non-state actorsgaining access to sensitive mate-rials and technologies," Singhadded. -PTI

cern to India, also on account ofthe fact that the epicenter of ter-rorism in our region is located inour neighborhood in Pakistan."

While expressing readiness tosolve issues including Jammu andKashmir through bilateral dia-logue, the Prime Minister said,

"However, for progress to bemade, it is imperative that the ter-ritory of Pakistan and the areasunder its control are not utilizedfor aiding and abetting terrorismdirected against India.

"It is equally important that theterrorist machinery that draws its

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addresses the 68th session of the United

Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York

Singh-Sharif dialogue apositive step forward: US

WASHINGTON: The meetingbetween the Prime Ministers ofIndia and Pakistan held on thesidelines of the UN General As-sembly in New York is a positivestep forward and would improvetheir bilateral ties, the US has said.

However, the Obama Adminis-tration, which has been encour-aging the two countries to resumetheir peace process, refrained frommaking any public evaluation ofthe results of the talks betweenPrime MinisterManmohan Singh andhis Pakistani counter-part Nawaz Sharif.

"We welcome anyand all high-level dis-cussions between Paki-stan and India. Thatwould improve their bi-lateral relationship,"State Departmentspokesperson JenPsaki told reporters ather daily news confer-ence.

"As President (Barack) Obamasaid, we share an interest withboth countries in seeing a peace-ful reduction of tensions on thesubcontinent, and we continue tosupport, strongly, efforts by In-dia and Pakistan to improve allaspects of their bilateral relations,and we encourage further dia-logue," Psaki said.

Singh had met his Pakistanicounterpart Sharif over the week-end in a closely-watched hour-long meeting during which heraised the issue of terrorism ema-nating from Pakistani soil andasked Islamabad to do more tocurb cross-border terrorism.

When asked to comment on theoutcome of the Singh-Sharif meet-ing, she said, "Well, it's not for usto evaluate, but dialogue is a posi-tive step forward and we'll con-

tinue to encourage that."Responding to a question on

Kashmir, in particular the UN Se-curity Council resolution in thisregard, which is being still beinginsisted upon by Pakistan despitethat the Shimla Agreement callsfor bilateral resolution of the dis-pute, the State Department offi-cial said there has been no changein its position on this issue.-PTI

‘Was oustedbecause of peacetalks with India’

NEW YORK: Pakistani PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif has said hewas ousted from power in a mili-tary coup in 1999 because hestarted peace talks with India.

Sharif made these remarks inhis address to the PakistaniAmerican community here. Hesaid he was "ousted from power"by the military leadership dur-ing his last stint as premier be-cause he had initiated a processof peace and friendship with In-dia.

"What mistake did I make?"he asked the audience, addinghe is committed to peace withIndia and Afghanistan.

Sharif was ousted from powerin 1999 when then army chiefPervez Musharraf led a militarycoup against his government af-ter the two developed differ-ences in the wake of the Kargilconflict.

The Pakistani leader said hebelieved that if there is peace inAfghanistan and India, there willbe peace in Pakistan too.

In his address, Sharif is be-lieved to have told the PakistaniAmerican community that hisgovernment, which was voted topower with an overwhelming ma-jority in May, favors peace anda policy of non-interference withIndia and Afghanistan.-PTI

"We welcome any and allhigh-level discussions be-tween Pakistan and India.That would improve theirbilateral relationship," StateDepartment spokespersonJen Psaki told reporters


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Manmohan-Sharif meetingwelcome, says China

New York meeting a futileexercise: Geelani

UNITED NATIONS: UN chiefBan Ki-moon welcomed the talksbetween the Prime Ministers ofIndia and Pakistan held on thesidelines of the General Assem-bly here as he stressed the im-portance of India's role in SouthAsia.

Ban met External Affairs Min-ister Salman Khurshid and dis-cussed regional developments inNepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, theMaldives, and Myanmar, stress-ing the importance of dialogue,inclusiveness and reconciliation,as well as India's regional role.

The UN chief "welcomed therecent talks held between Indiaand Pakistan," a statement is-sued from Ban's office said.

Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh had met his Pakistani coun-terpart Nawaz Sharif over theweekend in a closely-watchedhour-long meeting during whichhe raised the issue of terrorismemanating from Pakistani soil andasked Islamabad to do more tocurb cross-border terrorism.

Ban thanked India for its sig-nificant contribution to UNpeacekeeping operations and its"generous" assistance to devel-opment of Afghan security, eco-nomic and human capacities.

He lauded India's leadership inthe post-2015 developmentagenda, building capacity for di-saster management, and in vitalefforts to promote internationalagreement on climate change is-sues. -PTI

BEIJING: Welcoming the meet-ing between prime ministers ofIndia and Pakistan in New York,China has said it supports effortsby the two neighbors to resolvetheir differences through dialogueas it is critical to the region's peaceand stability.

"We welcome the efforts madeby the leaders of India and Paki-stan to improve bilateral rela-tions," Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Hong Lei said whilewelcoming the meeting between

Manmohan Singh and NawazSharif.

"India and Pakistan are both im-portant countries in South Asia, theimprovement of their relations is criti-cal to peace, stability and develop-ment in the region," Hong said.

"As their common neighborsand friends, China supports, aswe always, efforts by India andPakistan to solve their differencesthrough dialogue and coopera-tion to achieve common develop-ment," he said.-PTI

SRINAGAR: Hurriyat hardlinerSyed Ali Shah Geelani has termedthe meeting between the Premiersof India and Pakistan in New Yorkas a futile diplomatic exercise whilethe moderate separatists said itwas a bold initiative.

"Unless India accepts the real-ity that a solution to the Kashmirissue is not possible without hon-oring wishes and aspirations ofthe people, such meeting whetherheld in New York or Delhi orIslamabad will yield nothing,"Geelani said.

He described the meeting be-tween Manmohan Singh andNawaz Sharief in New York as a"futile diplomatic exercise".

"We did not expect a break-through from this meeting be-cause unless India fulfills its prom-ises made to Kashmiris and Paki-stan demonstrates boldness with

regard to Kashmir, such meetingsare formalities.

"By such meetings, the leader-ship of the two countries canachieve applause but there will beno change in the actual situa-tion," Geelani, the chairman of thehardline faction of the Hurriyat,said in a statement here.

Describing the meeting be-tween the two Prime Ministers asa "bold initiative", the moderateHurriyat Conference hoped thedialogue process would not re-main restricted to tension alongthe LoC and terrorism.

"We hope the dialogue pro-cess will not be restricted to sub-sidiary issues like tension alongthe LoC and terrorism. "It is im-perative to demonstrate politicalboldness based on ground reali-ties for the success of the dia-logue," the amalgam said. -PTI

Lalu convicted in fodder scam,faces disqualification

RANCHI: Former Bihar ChiefMinister Lalu Prasad suffered amajor blow when a special CBIcourt convicted him in a 17-year-old fodder scam case of corrup-tion that disqualifies him from Par-liament and will keep him out ofelectoral arena for at least sixyears.

Also convicted was a sittingJD(U) MP from JahanabadJagadish Sharma, who becomesthe third MP to be disqualified inthe wake of a Supreme Court judg-ment striking down a provision inthe electoral law that deferred im-mediate disqualification of law-makers on conviction.

Less than a fortnight ago,former Union Health Minister andsitting Rajya Sabha memberRasheed Masood was convictedin a corruption case and faces dis-qualification.

Another 43 accused, includingformer Bihar Chief MinisterJagannath Mishra, five politiciansand four IAS officers, were alsoconvicted by the court of PravasKumar Singh for fraudulent with-drawal of Rs 37.7 crore fromChaibasa treasury.

The court fixed October threefor pronouncement of sentenceagainst Yadav, Mishra and others.

While BJP and JD (U), rivals ofRJD in Bihar, welcomed the judg-ment, its ally Congress merelysaid the law has taken its course.JD (U) leader and Bihar Chief Min-ister Nitish Kumar, a one time as-sociate of Lalu, declined to com-ment on the judgment.

The RJD said they would chal-

lenge the judgment while partyleaders said they would discussthe strategy to steer the party inthe absence of Prasad.

Accompanied by his sonTejaswi to the court, 65-year-old

Prasad declined to react to thejudgment. He appeared calm whilehis car sped away to the BirsaMunda Central Jail located on theoutskirts of Ranchi straight fromthe court. -PTI

RJD leader and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, arriving at

the special CBI Court

Masood gets 4 years in jail,set to lose LS seat

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabhamember and Congress leaderRasheed Masood has been sen-tenced to four years in jail by aDelhi court in a corruption case,becoming the first MP to lose hisseat after a recent Supreme Courtjudgment had removed the immu-nity for convicted lawmakers.

67-year-old Masood, who at-tains the dubious distinction ofbeing the first lawmaker to be dis-qualified after the July 10 SupremeCourt judgment, was immediatelytaken into custody by the court.

Special CBI Judge J P S Malikhanded down the jail term toMasood after holding him guiltyof fraudulently nominating unde-serving candidates to MBBSseats allotted to Tripura in medi-

cal colleges across the countryfrom the central pool as HealthMinister in the National Frontgovernment of 1990. The court

also imposed costs of Rs 60,000on Masood.

Masood's conviction and sen-tencing is the first case after the

Supreme Court judgmentthat struck down a provi-sion in the Representa-tion of the People Act,under which incumbentMPs and MLAs couldavoid disqualification tillpendency of the appealagainst conviction in ahigher court.

Masood was heldguilty of offences underthe Prevention of Corrup-tion Act and IPC Sections120-B(criminal con-spiracy), 420 (cheating)and 468 (forgery). -PTI

Rajya Sabha member and Congress leader,

Rasheed Masood arrives to appear at Tis

Hazari court in New Delhi on October 1

UN chief Ban Ki-moonwelcomes India-Pak talks


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Baba Ramdev detained for 8 hours by UK immigrationDR GAUTAM SEN

LONDON: Baba Ramdev,India's prominent Yoga guru andcampaigner against corruption,was detained on arrival atLondon's Heathrow airport on Fri-day, the 20th September. He hadvisited the UK regularly in recentyears and was the guest of honorat the celebrations for SwamiVivekananda's 150th birth anni-versary. The young Asian womanimmigration officer informed him hewould have to wait.

When he enquired after a halfhour why he was being held up,she curtly told him to remain in thedetention centre, failing to recog-nize her famed guest. His hostswaiting outside were growing anx-ious and Baba Ramdev phoned toinform them he was not being al-lowed to enter the country. Afterthree hours he demanded to knowthe reason for detention but nonewas forthcoming.

Persistent representations fromhis hosts failed to elicit any expla-nation from the immigration au-thorities. Legal representativeswho arrived to offer counsel andinquire had no luck either. The In-dian High Commission in Londonwas contacted, but claimed itcould not fathom why BabaRamdev was being denied entry. Itcannot be said they evinced un-due interest over the issue, per-haps conscious of the Congressparty's abhorrence for BabaRamdev and all his works.

Eventually, after being detainedfor eight hours, Baba Ramdev wasgranted temporary entry to the UK,but was required to return for afurther interview the following day.His passport, the leaflets he wascarrying and his personal diarywere seized while Hindi and San-skrit translators were sought toscrutinize them.

The timing of the immigrationinterview he was required to at-tend coincided exactly with thecommencement of theVivekananda birth anniversary cel-ebrations. It was evident they didnot wish him to participate.

One of Baba's devotees tele-phoned Mr Keith Vaz, MP for Le-icester and Chair of the Home Af-fairs Parliamentary Select Commit-tee, a position of authority pertain-ing to official police and immigra-tion policy. He swung into action

immediately, inviting Baba Ramdevto his home to discuss the situa-tion. It is unprecedented to be in-vited to the home of a MP to con-fer about an issue raised by a mem-ber of the public.

Keith Vaz, whose wife happensto be a leading expert on immigra-tion issues, spent several hours onthe phone to the authorities in-volved at Heathrow, the HomeSecretary as well as 10 Downing,Street, the prime minister's officialresidence. He berated the immigra-tion authorities roundly and thenaccompanied Baba Ramdev toHeathrow airport.

The immigration authoritiessuddenly became receptive andacceded to Keith Vaz's demandthat Baba Ramdev's passport andthe seized documents be restoredto him immediately. All this onlytook five minutes and he wasgranted a two-year multiple entryvisa by the immigration authoritieson their own initiative. Keith Vazearned the profound gratitude ofBaba Ramdev's followers and Brit-ish Hindus for his huge efforts andextraordinary courtesy towardstheir revered saint.

It transpired that a coded nota-tion, visible to scanners used inairports, had been imprinted inBaba Ramdev's passport by the au-thorities at New Delhi immigrationcontrol, as he was departing for theUK. Such a notation is reservedfor terror suspects and drugs war-

lords and prompted aninstant red alert whenBaba Ramdev arrived atHeathrow.

It would seem thatthe highest political au-thorities in New Delhisought to disrupt BabaRamdev's travelabroad, to the UK andUS, where he was par-ticipating in various

events connected to SwamiVivekananda's 150th birth anniver-sary. It can only be inferred thatthey have become so fearful of hiscampaign against corruption andsupport for political change in In-dia that they were prepared to sinkto the lowest depth imaginable.

No doubt Baba Ramdev's sup-port for Narendra Modi's primeministerial candidature com-pounded their rage, prompting dis-regard for all legal and moral norms.They were prepared to instigatethe humiliation and possible arrestof a Hindu saint to perpetuate theircorrupt hold on power and persistin their increasing disregard for theIndian Constitution.

The prime minister himself andhis patron, who has usurped po-litical and constitutional authorityin India, must both be personallyheld to account for this outrage

against Hindus.In the event, Vivekananda 150th

birth anniversary celebrations inLondon's Hounslow Borough were

a huge success. The audience wasamply rewarded for their patience,having waited many hours for BabaRamdev's presence. He delivereda pithy and thoughtful speech

when he arrived at the closing min-utes of the first day's session.

Mr Venkiah Naidu also spokeat length about India and its fu-ture in the context of SwamiVivekananda's aspirations forHindu civilization. On the follow-ing day, many speakers, from doc-tors to educationists and women'srights activists, delivered inspiringtalks about the future for India theyvolunteered to help promote.

Baba Ramdev spoke at lengthabout the situation in India, sug-gesting some extraordinarily use-ful economic solutions that anyout-of-the-box policy makershould take seriously. He coun-seled more modest aspirations formaterial advancement in Indiasince European and American stan-dards of living would be unrealis-tic for Indians to expect.

He criticized the waste of re-sources, citing the huge land hold-

The Indian HighCommission in Lon-don was contacted,but claimed it couldnot fathom why BabaRamdev was beingdenied entry. Itcannot be said theyevinced undueinterest

ings of the Indian railways thatcould be used for economic devel-opment. Such imaginative ideas fora yoga guru were a surprise! Heended by giving a ringing endorse-ment of Shri Narendra Modi, muchto the delight of the audience!

It only remains to reiterate thesense of outrage that pervaded theevent in London at the treatmentmeted out to Baba Ramdev at theinstigation of the Indian govern-ment and its supreme authorities.It seems that they will stop at noth-ing to retain political power.

Dr. Gautam Sen taught inter-national political economy at theLondon School of Economics andPolitical Science for more thantwenty years. He is currentlyPresident of the World Associa-tion of Hindu Academicians andMember of the Steering Commit-tee of the World Hindu EconomicForum

No doubt Baba Ramdev'ssupport for Narendra Modi'sprime ministerialcandidature compoundedtheir rage, promptingdisregard for all legaland moral norms

India Post October 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

Real Estate14

Realty Tidbits

How to sell your home & buy anotherat the same time

DEIDRE WOOLLARD

Being a move-up buyer canbe tough in today's mar-ket. Although deals are

closing rapidly, there's no guaran-tee that your new dream home willclose at the same time as your olddream home. Selling and buyingat the same time is a delicate dance,but it is doable. There are a fewways to pursue this plan:

1. Sell first, then buy. This isperhaps the safest plan, but it callsfor multiple moves. In this sce-nario, you list your home and com-plete the transaction before pur-chasing another home. When yousell your home, you put the bulkof your belongings in storage andlive in a temporary rental or, if pos-sible, enter into a rent-back dealwith your home's new owner. Theadvantage of this method is thatyou know exactly how much youcan spend on a new home, andyou don't have to worry abouttemporary financing. Also, with-out another home waiting in thewings, you'll be less tempted todrop the price or to take the firstoffer that is below the asking price.The disadvantage is that it is a dis-ruptive experience, and you couldbe displaced for a while if you arehome-shopping for a long time.

2. Buy first, then sell. This strat-egy minimizes disruption. You canmove into your new place at yourleisure and then take time to pre-pare your home for sale. The ma-jor disadvantage is that, depend-ing on how fast your old homesells, you could be shoulderingthe burden of two mortgages for

some time. You are also respon-sible for maintenance and securityon the vacant home. This scenarioworks best if your first home is al-ready paid off.

A variation of this plan is to buya new home with the plan to rentout the old one for a year. This

buys you some time with moneycoming in, but being a landlordcomes with its own stresses andresponsibilities. You may also needto repair or renovate the home af-ter it has served as a rental.

3. Buy and sell simultaneously.To execute this plan, you need toprepare for all contingencies and

to know that if your timing is off,you will face one of the two sce-narios listed above. The trickiestbit can be timing the financial bur-den. One option is bridge financ-ing. This enables you to own twohomes for a short amount of time.

To do this, you need to either

borrow money from family or ob-tain a short-term loan from a bankor other lending institution tospan the time period betweenwhen you close on your new homeand sell your old one. In essence,you are getting a short-term home-equity loan, also known as aHELOC, a Home Equity Line of

Credit, on your present house andusing it as a down payment onyour new house. You then repaythe loan when you sell your firsthome. It is not easy to qualify fora conventional bridge loan, sinceyou have to demonstrate that youhave enough money to pay forboth mortgages for an indefiniteperiod of time.

Experts advise applying for theHELOC well before you buy a newhouse. That way most of the crediton the line is unused until you ac-tually need it. Lenders don't like aHELOC that works only for a veryshort time, and it's a challenge toget a HELOC if your present homeis on the market.

Try to schedule the closingdate on the sale of your old homeafter the closing date on the homeyou buy. In this way, you can stayin your present home until youmove into your new home. Other-wise, you can attempt to negoti-ate a rent-back arrangement.

There is no right answer inchoosing any of these scenarios.Your Realtor may be able to ad-vise which is best, depending onthe local market. However, muchdepends on your financial stabil-ity, as well as your tolerance forrisk or disruption.

Land acquisition bill to be notifiedin two months: Ramesh

MUMBAI: The new land acqui-sition law, replacing a 119-year-old"colonial" and "anti-democratic"legislation, will be notified in thenext two months, Union Rural De-velopment Minister JairamRamesh has said.

The Right to Fair Compensa-tion and Transparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation andResettlement Bill, 2013, passed byParliament during the MonsoonSession, has also received thePresident's assent.

The bill will come into effectonce the notification is issued innext two months providing forjust and fair compensation tofarmers while ensuring that no

land could be acquired forcibly,Ramesh told a press conferencehere.

He said the new land acquisi-tion law will go a long way in ad-dressing concerns of farmers andtribals as a new clause on re-settlement and rehabilitation hasbeen introduced for the first timein the original Act of 1894.

"It (the Act) has come at a righttime. There had been disappoint-ment among farmers...protestswere seen throughout the coun-try (against unjustified land ac-quisition). These protests willcease to exist provided the newlaw is implemented sincerely," hesaid, dubbing the previous Land

Acquisition Act as "colonial" and"anti-democratic".

All state governments are freeto enact their own land acquisi-tion laws, but they cannot under-mine the law enacted by the Cen-tre, the minister said.

"Law enacted by the Centrehas established a broad basis.

States can add to this new lawbut cannot undermine it. For thefirst time, a clause ensuring re-settlement and rehabilitation is in-troduced in the new Act," he said.

Ramesh said the earlier Acthad been misused frequentlysince most of the states acquiredmore than required land for vari-ous purposes. -PTI

Tata likely to get 3months' extensionfor Taj hotel

NEW DELHI: Tata-owned In-dian Hotels Company Limited(IHCL) is likely to get an exten-sion of three months to operateTaj Mansingh hotel in poshLutyens Bungalow Zone here af-ter its lease expires next month.

The IHCL has been runningthe landmark property for past 35years and its lease is due to ex-pire on October 10.

The New Delhi MunicipalCouncil, which owns the prop-erty located in the heart of thenational capital on Mansinghroad, is yet to come to any con-clusion on auctioning the hotelas it is waiting for the SolicitorGeneral's opinion.

NDMC sought the opinion ofthe Solicitor General after it got anod from the Home Ministry forit earlier this month.

NDMC officials said the civicbody is likely to extend the leasewith the IHCL for operating thehotel for at least three months asit cannot reach a decision on theissue until it gets the opinion ofthe Solicitor General.-PTI

No unsold inventoriesin books ofaccount, says DLF

NEW DELHI: DLF Ltd, thecountry's largest real estate firm,has said it has no unsold invento-ries despite slowdown in the prop-erty market as the company mostlysells flats before the start of con-struction of projects.

"We have always followed themodel where we sell the projectbefore we start construction andthis approach ensures that we donot have an inventory of flats,"DLF Group Executive DirectorRajeev Talwar said.

DLF said the Rs 17,645 crorementioned in the books of ac-counts under head 'Inventories'represents mainly cost of landand plots, construction and de-velopment material. -PTI

Multi-crop land acquisition should

be the last resort: RameshCHANDIGARH: The Centre has said it is up to the

states how much multi-crop irrigated land they could ac-quire for urban and industrial infrastructure, but noted "itshould be the last resort".

Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Kerala hadexpressed concerns that urbanisation and industrializa-tion process in their states would be adversely affected ifacquisition of multi-crop irrigated land under the new landacquisition law was not allowed as multi-crop irrigatedland is the major portion in their states, Union Rural De-velopment Minister Jairam Ramesh said here. -PTI

15India PostReal Estate PostOctober 4, 2013

www.indiapost.com

Luxury to drive retail growth, but infra may spoil partyMUMBAI: The fast growth in India's luxury retail space

will push up the total retail market size to USD 650 billion by2017, a report said but it warned lack of quality real estatemay put spanners in this expansion.

In a report titled 'Luxury retail: Evolution and future pros-pects', property consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield(C&W) said India's total retail market is expected to exceedUSD 650 billion by 2017 from USD 450 billion in 2013, whichexcludes online retailing.

"With the introduction of much-awaited reforms like FDIin multi-brand retail and progressive amendments, the coun-try is expected to emerge as an attractive destination forglobal retailers," it said.

Over 50 per cent of the total income in India is earned bythe top 20 per cent of the population and their monthlyexpenditure is twice that of the next lower bracket. By FY'17,this population bracket's earnings will increase by about 10per cent and they will control 60 per cent of the income, thereport maintained.

"Given that over the years, exposure, availability andenhanced spending capacities have created a noticeabledemand for luxury goods, the scope for luxury retailers,

including international ones, is expected to increase expo-nentially."

To meet the requirements of a host of incoming globalretailers, more high-end malls catering to luxury retailers areexpected to come up, C&W said.

"The luxury retail sector is not hit by the ongoing slow-down. Rather it has prospered indicating that the luxuryindustry is on a rising curve."

However, quality real estate, logistics and poor infra-structure, coupled with issues surrounding FDI rules andtaxation, are some of the roadblocks in growth of the sector,which also faces lack of trained manpower, the report said.

Availability of quality retail space is limited to just a fewcities and that too in very small percentage, it noted.

"This shortage of good quality supply will result in pricerise for luxury retail. Therefore, there is a need for rapidtransformation of retail real estate in terms of availabilityand quality." -PTI


October 4, 201316

www.indiapost.com October 4, 2013

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

Details on page 26

18 India Post

Desi News Anna Hazarehonors Anu

Peshawaria forservice to

community

Details on page 23

Details on page 20

Illinois Gov Quinn & MayorEmanuel to visit india

RAMESH SOPARAWALA

India Post News Service

CHICAGO: Illinois GovernorPat Quinn is likely to lead a del-egation to India after his electionnext year with a view to giving fur-ther boost to burgeoning tradebetween Illinois and India in thepast few years.

Indian Consul General Dr AusafSayeed, said that Chicago MayorRahm Emanuel was also consider-ing paying a visit to India in fore-seeable further in order to furthercement Sister City relations withNew Delhi. Besides cultural ex-change an improvement in traderelations is also on the agenda, hesaid here.

Sharing this information at thepress meet at Consulate office inChicago, Dr Sayeed said thatcloser business ties between In-dia and the Midwest region, whichis under his jurisdiction, would beone of the primary areas he wouldfocus on as India has emerged amajor trading partner not only withUSA at large but Chicago, Illinoisand Midwest too. Illinois ranked7th among the 50 US States forimports from India and 7th in ex-ports, showing a 40% increase

It is interesting to note that theexports from India to Illinoisboomed to $590 million for the pe-riods ending June 2013 while theimports from Illinois were at $367million. The figures for Midwestare still more impressive and theConsulate is seeking to give a fur-ther boost in coming years, DrSayeed said. He was accompaniedby two colleagues Consuls NJGangte and Devashis Banerjee.

Dr Sayeed informed that hispurpose of hosting this meet wasto appraise the media about theworking of Consulate, its volumeof work, limitations and also get afeel of the grievances and prob-lems faced by members of the In-dian community in general with aview to have them addressed toproperly. The press briefing waswell attended and the media gotaway with the impression that thenew CG is serious in understand-ing the problems and was keen to

have them resolved amicably.A suggestion to have frequent

town hall type meetings was wellreceived by the CG. He soughtcooperation from local communityorganizations to get them orga-nized to reach out to the publicand try to explain rules and

changes the in issuance of Visa,PIO and OCI cards. He also ap-praised about services renderedby CG Office and time taken/re-quired for each issue and reasonfor the same, and assured hewould continuously try to reduceperiod of action to the minimumpossible, barring certain formali-

ties that need clearance from NewDelhi. There were many problemsand incidents were cited related toVisa and other services delegatedto new agency BLS. The CG as-sured that his office would try toaddress them.

He furnished data to show thatthe Consulate was relativelyspeaking quite burdened but its

staff still managed to handle thejob efficiently. The following in-dicated the CG office workload:

Number of Visas Issued: 2012 -45,357; 2013 (up to 24th Sep) -30,427

Number of OCI Cards Issued:2012 - 11,367; 2013 (up to 24th Sep)

- 5,620Number of Passports Issued:

2012 - 1830; 2013 (up to 24th Sep)- 1304

Number of PIO Cards Issued:2012 - 4957; 2013 (up to 24th Sep)- 3292

Number of miscellaneous ser-vices Issued: 2012 - 11164; 2013

(up to 24th Sep) - 8927Consular Services include:

Visa; PIO card; OCI card; Renun-ciation of India Citizenship/Sur-render Certificate; Passport Re-lated Services; Miscellaneous Ser-vices; Life Certificate; MarriageCertificate; No Obligation Letterfor Child Adoption; Power of At-torney; Birth; Change; Attestation

of Will; Attestation of Documents;Attestation of Death Documents;Birth Certificate or Non-availabil-ity of Birth Certificate; CommercialDocuments; Affidavit for ChildSupport to be issued in India; Aca-demic Qualification Equivalence;Certificate; NRI Certificate; Certifi-

cate; No; Statement of Need;Emergency Certificate.

In a talk to the Media, he indi-cated that the Consulate has in-stalled emergency number 312 7809801 to facilitate getting visa onemergency basis for traveling toIndia. Dr Sayeed also laid empha-sis on promoting cultural ties andacademic faculties' exchanges. Asuggestion to get here the IndianHeritage Exhibition - Beyond Hol-lywood being organized bySmithsonian Museum in New Yorkwas readily accepted.

A product of Osmania Univer-sity with Master of Science andPh.D. in Geology under his belt,Dr Ausaf Sayeed, is an acclaimedauthor with three books to hiscredit. He came to Chicago suc-ceeding Ms Mukta Tomar after athree year stint as Indian Ambas-sador in Yemen. He has handleddifferent areas of work in his 24years of diplomatic service. He hasheld various diplomatic assign-ments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia,Qatar and Denmark, besides serv-ing as the Regional Passport Of-ficer in Hyderabad.

Indian Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed (center) flanked by NJ Gangte to his right and Devashis Banerjee to his left

Exports from India to Illinois boomed to $590million for the periods ending June 2013while the imports from Illinois were at $367million. The figures for Midwest are still moreimpressive and the Consulate is seeking togive a further boost in coming years

Details on page 27

Miracles of Krishna- Spectacular showin Bay AreaVIDYA SETHURAMAN


LOS ALTOS, CA: Sri KrishnaLeela dance ballet was yet anothercap for Srimati Sneha Vivek, headof the Natya Ninada and a discipleof Guru Vidwan ChandrashekarNavada. The ultimate dream of pro-ducing the exciting dance produc-tion, "Krishna Leela" for Bay Areahas become a reality, says Vivek,Sneha's husband and organizer.

Spectacular Krishna Leeladance ballet was performed onSept 28 at The SmithWick Theater,Foothill College, Los Altos, CA."Karnataka Kalashri" VidwanChandrashekar Navada with hiseight talented Bharatanatyam art-ists from India with Smt. SnehaVivek and her trained team of art-ists delivered an evening of truedelight.

Gautam Khannawins ChicagoIndian Icon crownAsian Media USA

CHICAGO: With 211 contes-tants from Chicagoland participat-ing in the first ever Chicago In-dian Icon Karaoke competition, thefinale at Meadows Club in RollingMeadows on Saturday, Sept 21was destined for grand successand all those present at the eventwith one voice gave it a bigThumbs Up. The event was moni-tored and managed exceedinglywell by a five-person team of In-dian Events Management (IEM).

This historic, prestigious titleand trophy went to GautamKhanna.

MAFS raises$75000 for itsactivities for seniorsASIAN MEDIA & NAZNEEN BEGUM

SCHAUMBURG: MetropolitanAsian Family Services (MAFS) an-nual fundraiser at India House inSchaumburg could not have notchedmore success than what was plannedand expected by the management formonths to raise funds for its senior-service activities.

With huge attendance andhighly entertaining programs(dance, magic show and fashiondisplays), MAFS raised $75,000 tobridge gaps in State, Federal andlocal funding for its programs forseniors.

India Post 19October 4, 2013 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Quinn proclaims Swami Vivekananda Day in IllinoisSURENDRA ULLAL & RAMESH SOPARAWALA

CHICAGO: Illinois GovernorPat Quinn proclaimed SaturdaySeptember 28 as SwamiVivekananda Day in Illinois to markthe celebration of 150th birth an-niversary of this great spiritualleader from India who came, whosaw and who conquered Americaa century ago.

The Proclamation that ac-knowledged Swami Vivekanandaas a great scholar and a personcommitted to making the world abetter place to live and creating aworld without borders, was a greatmorale booster for the State-widecelebrations of his birth anniver-sary. He the taught the world bothtolerance and universal accep-tance of all religions as true. Thisstands in sharp contrast to thepresent day intolerance and kill-ings of innocent people in nameof religion.

The Proclamation also standsin sharp contrast with the intol-erance displayed by a group ofpeople who allegedly sought totorpedo the Chicago celebra-tions by hook or crook and

means at their command.It is alleged that efforts were

made by an interested group toderail Baba Ramdev's coming toChicago through subtle maneu-vering that would either deny ordelay his arrival to Chicago viaLondon. He was delayed fornearly nine hours at the airport

before clearance was given thruintervention by an MP in UK Par-liament.

The huge delay, it is reported,is triggered by a sort of "RedAlert" that is usually marked forthe person with terrorist connec-tions or links. In a talk to this pa-per, Baba said that he repeatedlymade it clear to the Immigrationauthorities that he had nothingto hide nor was he carrying any-thing that could remotely getconnected to terrorism. He hadnothing but a Jhola and hisLangoti.

In USA, nothing untowardhappened although a smear cam-paign was unleashed that soughtto link Swami's Birth anniversarycelebration with one religion orwith one organization that hadreligious affiliation. In fact, thiswas not true as two dozen orga-nizations pooled their resourcestogether to host the celebra-tions.

The members of the Indiancommunity were also surprisedand piqued that Indian Consul

General, who had earlier prom-ised to attend the celebrationsat Meadows Club on Friday Sep-tember 28, did not show up. Thisbecame a talk of the town as itwas not easily explicable

Talking to a correspondent,CG Dr Ausuf Sayeed sought toexplain this away by saying that

a visit of two Federal Ministersupset the applecart.When pointed out that thevisits of Ministers or del-egations are planned inadvance and are not aneleventh hour affair, hesaid that this time the no-tice was sudden. Besides,participation by an Indianpolitical figure gave a dif-ferent color to the meetand hence, he chose tostay out.

To a question if deput-ing one of the Consulswould not have been ap-propriate, he said that no-body from the organizinggroup sought or sug-gested it. Nand Kapoor, aformer president of AIA,said that the London epi-sode and CG's absence atthe main event are indeeddisturbing and need to be

pursued.Meanwhile, the two days cel-

ebrations - September 28 at Mead-ows Club and the other on Sep-tember 29 at Art Institute of Chi-cago and later on at Bartlett Jaintemple - turned out to be a hugesuccess with a sizeable partici-pation from first and second gen-eration Indian Americans. Theevent at Meadows club attractedover 500 participants while thatat Bartlett (which was an all dayaffair) had an array of speakersfrom different organizations - so-cial and religious who whole-heartedly subscribed to thetheme of World Without Borders.The attendance was over 700people. Even the lamp lightingceremony at Chicago Art Instituteearly in the morning was attendedby 250 plus saints from across In-dia and local elites.

The Chicago Art Instituteevent had special significance in

that it was in the month of Sep-tember 130 years ago that SwamiVivekananda preached universalbrotherhood and Vasudha AiveKutumbak philosophy by ad-dressing the huge gathering witha novel and unique salutation'My Brothers and Sisters ofAmerica.' The event was livebroadcast on Aaj Tak, Z TV, TVAsia and a few other leading chan-nels.

It was done for the first timeand the credit should go to theorganizing team led by Dr S Sheth,Harendra Mangrola, VineshVirani, Vandana Jhingan, JDibvenkar, Nirav Patel and oth-ers. All of them however ac-knowledged the "untiring effortsby Art Institute officials likeRobert Hudson and one of hiscolleagues Kevin Lunt. Morenews and event details would berun in the next week issue of In-dia Post.

Lamp Lighting at Chicago Art Institute where Swami Vivekananda delivered the historic address

Governor Quinn's Proclamation

Art Institute of Chicago overflowed with attendees during celebrations of 150th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

October 4, 2013India Post20 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Gautam Khanna wins Chicago Indian Icon crown

Shekhar Suman and winner Gautam Khanna with Indian Icon Team

The IEM Team Brij Sharma (President), Pratibha Jairath (VP), Sharan Walia (Director Planning), Raju Bankapur (DirectorEntertainment), Anoop Walia (Director Public Relations)

Asian Media USA

CHICAGO: With 211 contes-tants from Chicagoland participat-ing in the first ever Chicago In-dian Icon Karaoke competition, thefinale at Meadows Club in RollingMeadows on Saturday, Sept 21was destined for grand successand all those present at the eventwith one voice gave it a bigThumbs Up. The event was moni-tored and managed exceedinglywell by a five-person team of In-dian Events Management (IEM).

This historic, prestigious titleand trophy went to GautamKhanna.

Captivating everyone's atten-tion at the grand finale was ShekharSuman, a multi-talented personal-ity, known as the 'Badshah of TV'who lost no time in connectingwith both the audience and the

performers alike and took the en-tire event to the next level thatmany will cherish for years tocome.

The program commenced withtraditional Diya Lighting cer-emony by IEM team and the es-teemed Judges Pt Ronu Majumdar,Kalyan Pathak and Hitesh Mas-ter. Welcoming all those presentIEM president Brij Sharma an-nounced his plans for the IndianAmerican edition in 2014 andurged the participants as well asmembers of the audience "to keepthe spirit of Indian music alive, andcontinue to instill our culture inthe younger generation".

Having Pandit Ronu Majumdarof Grammy Awards fame as a ce-lebrity judge was another featherin the Chicago Indian Icon crown.The participants felt proud to per-form in front of him and lookedforward to his divine Bansuri per-formance.

Pratibha Jairath, Vice President

of IEM, explained how the passionfor music motivated the four part-ners to plan the project. "But weonly came up with a sketch. BrijSharma's vision to promote ourculture and will to support theproject was a big push and moti-vation", she said.

All the contestants hadplanned a scene that consisted ofeither classical or contemporarydance to add 'Wow factor' to theirsong performances. NatashaTrikha, winner in her category sang'Kabhi Sham Dhale" and had anawesome team of friends who pre-sented a dance in which she alsoparticipated. Nipa Shah presented'Mere Dholna' along with beauti-ful Bharatnatyam dancer creatingthe scene from the movie. A fewcontestants had brought beauti-ful young Kathak performers toenhance the song performance.

Suraj Patnaik was the winner in hiscategory and did a beautiful job

with 'Laga Chunri Mein Daag',once again accompanied by ayoung Bharatnataym dancer.

The auditorium witnessed theoutstanding performance of

Pandit Ronu Majumdar, HiteshMaster and Kalyan Pathak, whilethe flute notes mingled with thedrum beats and keyboard echoedagainst the walls. End of everystanza was a beginning of anotherone, giving goosebumps to thespeechless audience while theyraised their eyebrows in apprecia-

tion.The constructive feedback

from the esteemed judges was ap-preciated by participants and au-dience. The participants wereelated to hear positive comments.One such unforgettable momentwas felt when Praveen Jaligamasang "Bheegi Bheegi Raaten' andRonu Ji commented "It was betterthan original".

Senria Nath (Winner in the cat-egory), Nitya Nair and PriyankaKhanna (Under 12 category con-testants) stole the heart of audi-ence with their performance.There were a few special awardsnamely, Shining Star award toShreya Addanki, Community Ser-vice award to Shaila Khedkar and

Artistic Creativity award to NehaliDhutia. DJ Excellence award toSahaj Shah was accepted by hisfather Sunil Shah.

Raju Bankapur (known as theKishore Kumar of Chicago) andhis team were at their best in pro-gram execution. "Contestants feelproud and happy to be judged by

this caliber of judges", he said.Anoop Walia was happy to seethat contestants were actually per-forming, not just singing. "Thatadds another dimension to thesong", he said.

Sharan Walia explained votinginstructions to all the audienceurging "Remember to be fair, thecontestants have worked hardand need your honest votes".

The professionally set up stagewith the backdrop of images of thelegendary Hindi music icons, hightech cameras to capture andbroadcast the event, excellentsound system and sound engi-neers were a few elements thatcontributed to high level of theshow.

It was a historic karaoke nightwhere one listened to some of thefinest voices of all age groups andcontestants from various partsof United States who flew in toChicago to be part of this event.But, the truth of the matter is,every participant was a musicalwinner!

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Senria Nath winner in under 12 category Pt Ronu Majmudar (center) being honored


Hindi Kavi Manch to be launched on Oct 15RAMESH SOPARAWALA & ASIAN MEDIA USA

CHICAGO: Brainchild offormer president of Hindi LoversClub (HLC) Gurbachan KaurNeelam, the Hindi Kavi Manch willhave its first meeting on TuesdayOctober 15 in Arlington Heights.

The start will be at the residenceof one of the HLC members, Kamal

Gupta and all the local Kavis whowould like to participate either forreciting their poems or listening tothe work of other poets are invitedto attend this event and give aboost to HLC bid to promote theIndian national language in thispart of the world, says Gurbachan

Kaur.In a talk to this paper, Kaur said

that the response is really goodas over 10 local Kavis have agreedto come to the event and recite theirpoems while many more are ex-pected to be present to encour-age them. "We plan moving to abigger space for our once a monthmeeting once we garner a consis-tent and good response," she said.

Hindi Diwas

HLC had earlier celebratedHindi Diwas Day and 150th Anni-versary of Swami Vivekanand on15 Sept at Ashyana Banquets inDowners Grove, a southwest sub-urb of Chicago, with Indian Con-sul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed asthe Chief Guest.

Interestingly, it was on Septem-ber 14 that India officially an-nounced Hindi as its national lan-guage and Hindi Lovers Club has

been celebrating this declarationannually as Hindi Diwas for thepast few years.

Vinita Gulabani, President ofthe Club, welcomed guests and inher unique poetic style introducedJassi Parmar and Ankit Mahajanas MCs of the evening. To theirgreat credit, they did the job grace-fully.

Hindi Lovers Club team with supporters and guests. Pics Asian Media USA

Cont’d on page 22


Vandana Jhingan, one of the pil-lars of the Club, briefed all thosepresent about its activities and ac-knowledged services ofGurubachan Kaur. She then wel-comed Vinita Gulabani asthe new incoming Presi-dent. Introduction of theNew Board was done byVinita Gulabani as sheinvited them to the stage.

Hindi Lovers ClubBoard 2013: Founder/CEO: Gurbachan KaurNeelam, President/Sec-retary: Vinita Gulabani;Joint Secretary: BeenaPatel; Treasurer: PrafulRami; Editorial Commit-tee: Jodhsingh Rawat,Kamal Gupta, Rajeev,Kusum; Public Rela-tions: Pratik Tanna,Ambika Jamula; ChiefAdvisory Board: SohanJoshi, Vandana Jhingan.

Advisory Board: Rohit Joshi,Dr Oranga, Rita Sunil Shah,Santosh Kumar, Naren Patel,Kamal Gupta, Subhash Pandey,Sudaksha Kapoor, ManmohanSharma, Srikant Modi, DhirenShah, Jia Jassi Parmar, Renu Sood.

"My dream is for us and ourfuture generations to realize thetrue potential of our traditionalvalues, or "Sanskars", read ourscriptures, the way they weremeant to be so that we may gleanfrom them those words of wisdomwhich would otherwise have beenlost in translation. I would like tomake an appeal to everyone in this

organization to join me in thisnoble endeavor of keeping Hindialive in our Karmabhoomi" ob-served Vinita Gulabani in herPresidential address.

Chief Guest Dr Ausaf Sayeed,Consul General of India, Guests ofHonor Naren Patel CEO of MedStarGroup, Dr Virendra Bisla and DrBirendra Sinha, Dr SubhashPandey, Sunil Shah and DrUpadhyay were invited on thestage and were presented with

Hindi Kavi Manch to belaunched on Oct 15

garlands. The ceremonial lampwas lighted with traditional pujaby Rohit Joshi and befitting theoccasion, a prayer was sung bytwo kids, Sudit and Arush. DeviStuti - Invocation of GoddessDurga was performed by Aadya

Verma, Muskan Bhatla, SimranMahajan and Shreya D. Patel

Chief Guest CG Dr AusafSayeed emphasized the need toenlighten the world with the im-portance of Hindi. He also urgedpoliticians, social and religiousleaders to engage in the spread ofHindi at the highest level.

Vandana Jhingan urged allthose present to celebratethe150th Anniversary of SwamiVivekananda on a grand scale andinvited all to attend the two dayscelebrations at the end of Septem-ber in Chicago land. A small playwas performed by group of smallchildren depicting examples of

Swami Vivekanand's earlylife.

Bollywood dance wasperformed by AlokiPandya followed byBollywood Act by LakshMehta, a small kid in awonderful style of hisown. This was followedby poetry from ShanuSinha, Solo PerformanceMujhe Rang De by JignaSheth, Amithab Bachchanpoem by Vishnu Panjwani,Guitar performance by DrSaurabh Agarwal, Group

Dance (Hum Hain Hindusani) byBalodyan Group - Sauruv Garg,Ria Sharma, Sharen Gonsalves andAahana Shedge, poetry by ShikhaTandon, Bhajan by Bhamini, clas-sical dance by Urja Patel, Skit byPika Munshi, Bollllywood Dance,Kathak Performance by MedhaBhargav, an act by RanjoyGanguly and Tabla performanceby Raju Deshmukh.

President Vinita Gulabani fi-nally proposed a vote of thanks.


Hindi Lovers Club incoming President VinitaGulabani and former chief Gurbachan Kaur

Young artists presenting a classical dance

Seniors make merry atNew Jersey event

SUDHIR VYAS

EDISON: Senior citizens mademerry at the three-day event orga-nized by the Indo American Se-niors Organization of New Jersey(IASONJ) as part of its 10th anni-versary celebrations at the RoyalAlbert's Palace here from Septem-ber 27-29. The event was aptlynamed as `Anandutsav'. This wasthe first ever event for senior citi-zens of this magnitude held any-where in the USA.

They had everything they couldask for. There was music, dance,entertainment, educational semi-nars, excellent food and lots to talkabout their lifestyle, their problems

and issues during the three daysthat they stayed together and en-joyed.

It must be said to the credit tothe President of IASONJ, RamanShah to have put together a pro-gram of this magnitude which wentabout flawlessly. It was a thought-fully carved out event and every-one had something to take backas fond remembrance from theevent.

Probably for the first time, JainMuni Acharya Lokesh Munijigraced the event on the openingday and blessed the event. Hecalled upon the audience to preachpeace, happiness and brother-hood amongst humanity.

The chairman of the organiza-tion, Piyush Patel in his addresscalled upon the seniors to help inkeeping our tradition and cultureintact. He said it was time for all ofus to unite and share our happi-ness and joy.

Mafat Patel, leading business-

man and founder of Patel Cash andCarry chain of Indian grocerystores across United States, wasone of the main sponsors of theevent. He too was felicitated bythe organizers. He called upon theaudience to keep supporting thework he was doing.

Indian and American electedofficials, including Edison MayorToni Ricigliano, remained presentas a mark of solidarity for the In-dian community and the seniorsin particular.

The event will go downmemory lane for a number of rea-sons. It was extremely well ex-

ecuted, well organized and fun-filled. The seniors enjoyed to thefullest extent and according toRaman Shah, president of IASONJ,"my aim to make the seniors happyhas been fulfilled and I haveachieved my goal". Part of thecredit for the success of this eventalso goes to Rajesh and UshaShah and also Mukesh Kashiwalaand the entire team of IASONJwho worked tirelessly to ensurethat there were no glitches duringand after the event at the RoyalAlbert's Palace.

As part of giving back to theseniors from whom we have learntso much and took inspiration, theevent also felicitated senior citi-zens over the age of 75 as part oftheir Vadil Vandana program. Thethree-day event also held educa-tional seminars on healthcare, re-tirement planning, social security,long term care, religious dis-courses and travel, besides lots ofentertainment.

Students of the IndianicaDance Academy performed dancenumbers including one on `SareJahan Se Acha Hindustan Hamara'and other one a traditional Garbabased on famous Gujarati folksongs. Their performances werewell appreciated by the audience.

Another performance was anevening with Suma Nair, the voiceof legendary Bollywood singerLata Mangeshkar. IncidentallySeptember 28 was also the birth-day of Lataji and Suma made themost of it by rendering some ofthe memorable numbers sung byLata during her long Bollywood

career.The organizers

had also madeprovision for amusical night withBarba and Partywhich had comeall the way fromIndia for their en-tertainment, be-sides an eveningwith well-knownsinger RexD'Souza. NatwerThakkar of 999Ente r t a inmentplayed a key rolein the success ofthe musicalevents presentedby IASONJ.

IASONJ hasover 3300 mem-bers in New Jerseyalone. The organi-zation made a

humble beginning with just 29members in 2003 and has nowturned into a giant organization andis presently one of the most influ-ential seniors group in the UnitedStates. It aims to provide variousbenefits and services to its mem-bers and at the same time tries touphold Indian values and culture.

The organization has held itsannual picnic, health camps whichhave benefited many of the mem-bers, and also various cultural pro-grams to help them overcome theboredom in their life. One of thepet projects, Ramanbhai, presidentIASONJ, mentioned is to organizeforeign tours for the seniors whichgives them the benefit of seeingthe world. Their special needs arelooked after while they enjoy thetourist's spots around the world.According to Ramanbhai "my nextproject is to construct a big build-ing cum office for the senior citi-zens and I have already startedwork on it".

(L-R) President of IASONJ Raman Shah, Edison Mayor Toni Ricigliano, Piyush Patel, Mafat Patel,NJ Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula and other community leaders at the 10th anniversary

celebration of the IASONJ


MAFS raises $75000 for its activities for seniorsASIAN MEDIA & NAZNEEN BEGUM

SCHAUMBURG: MetropolitanAsian Family Services (MAFS)annual fundraiser at India Housein Schaumburg could not havenotched more success than whatwas planned and expected by themanagement for months to raisefunds for its senior-service activi-ties.

With huge attendance andhighly entertaining programs(dance, magic show and fashiondisplays), MAFS raised $75,000 tobridge gaps in State, Federal andlocal funding for its programs forseniors. The support from thecommunity was still intact andMAFS could reasonably expect totap this support

The event on September 21marked unmatched services to thecommunity from this organization

headed by Ms Santosh Kumar of-ten described as Mother Teresa ofChicagoland.

The program was started by thelightening of auspicious 'Deep"followed by Ganesh-vandanaprayer dance by Catherine Jafriand her group and welcome ad-dress of Dr Firdaus Jafri, PresidentMAFS.

In his keynote remark, Bill Fos-ter, US Congressman, commendedthe vision and mission of MAFSand reaffirmed the commitment ofhis Democratic Party to welfareprograms and reformation of im-migration law to give immigrantsensible policy. Married to a firstgeneration Asian American, theCongressman called for a compre-hensive immigration reform thatwill boost home sales, widen taxbase and provide other wider ben-

efits."Guest speaker Husain Dalwai,

Member of Parliament UpperHouse (Rajya Sabha), lauded

MAFS for lessening the pangs ofold age. Invoking Swami

Vivekananda's speech at theWorld Parliament of Religions inthis city of Chicago, he also de-

nounced the murder of his friendNarendra Dhabholkar by extrem-ists and stressed the need to fol-low the example of leaders like

Gandhi, Nehru, and Azad.Dalwai spoke on various pro-

grams that Government of Indiahas initiated to address this prob-lem but observed that "we look up

to MAFS as a role model in serv-ing and enriching the communitywithout any discrimination to ori-gin, cast, creed and religion."

Consul General Chicago, DrAusaf Sayeed praised MAFS andMs Santosh Kumar for persis-tently serving community with itsvarious programs, since 1992 inher leadership. Dr Ausaf, attend-ing with his family, had a pleasantsurprise when all those presentoffered him Happy Birthdaywishes and greetings. MaryKillough, Deputy Director, IDOA,remarked that it was her fourthyear to attend the function andevery time she is amazed with thenumber of people and programsMAFS serves and continues togrow to meet the increased needsof its community, despite shrink-

ing of state and federal fundingfor social services.

Mrs Kumar spoke on howMAFS is working in collaborationand shared vision with the com-munity and how it is transformingthe entire field of social servicesas a shared responsibility of all.She asked the community to joinin this honorable mission to serveand nurture the community bysharing their responsibility andunderstanding the importance ofGovernment funds which are thor-oughly audited.

Mrs Kumar thanked her teamfor collectively working throughrain and shine to take the MAFS'vision to the next level. NarenPatel, a Director and front-ranking

community leader, congratulatedMAFS board and staff membersfor celebrating 21 years of com-munity service.

This year the "Making a Differ-ence in the World Award," wasgiven to Dr Joseph Marek, MD,and Public Service Award was con-ferred on Husain Dalwai, IndianMember of Parliament (MP), for hiswork with tribal, Dalit and minor-ity communities. The Best Em-ployee of the Year Award wasgiven to Afaan Muhammad, ITManager and Jahnavi Bavisi,Manager Niles branch. Best Su-pervisor award was given toSmitesh Shah, supervisor andPublic Benefit Award was given toShree Gurusamy, SOS specialist.

Ms Catherine Jafri, Bollywoodchoreographer and her New York

dance group presented one of themost colorful dances that were in-

terspersed with fusion, traditionaland contemporary dance presen-tations. Live magic show by Den-nis Watkins, award winning magi-cian from Chicago Theater, lefteveryone with illusion and laugh-ter. Raaz boutique, leading fash-ion house in Devon Ave, show-cased its haute couture and pretcollection. Finally Rinki Talati, sen-sational local talent, enthralledeveryone with famous Bollywoodnumbers till midnight.

The program was emceed by DrRakesh Asthana, Neelam Desai,and Shree Guru. The final vote ofthanks was proposed by BeenaPatel and Nikunj Baxi.

Lamp lightening ceremony by Dr Kusum Patel and dignitaries.Pics Asian Media USA

Prominent dignitaries with awardees

Speakers at the event (L-R) Bill Foster, Santosh Kumar, Naren Patel, Husain Dalwai, Member of Parliament Upper House, Dr Rakesh Asthana, and Dr Firdaus Jafri, President MAFS

Bollywood dance performance by Catherine Jafri and magic show performance by Dennis Watkins

In his keynote re-mark, Bill Foster, USCongressman, com-mended the visionand mission of MAFSand reaffirmed thecommitment of hisDemocratic Party towelfare programsand reformation ofimmigration law


Steny Hoyer honors Hindu scriptures at Capitol HillHARISH RAO

WASHINGTON DC: Senior US Congressman StenyHoyer (D-Md.) honored a renowned scholar of Sanskritand Hindu philosophy, Bhadreshdas Swami of the BAPSSwaminarayan Sanstha at a special ceremony in Capitol Hillon Wednesday, September 18.

Congressmen Hoyer was presented with five volumi-nous Sanskrit books penned by Bhadreshdas Swami - theSwaminarayan Bhashyam: Commentary on the Upanishads,the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutras. Observing thatthis scholarly work needs to be preserved in the Library ofCongress, Hoyer presented these texts in a separate cer-emony to an officer of the Library of Congress. She wel-comed the texts of ancient Hindu wisdom as an importantaddition to the cultural and intellectual wealth of the na-tional library.

While an interest in all things yoga has led to a recentrevival of Sanskrit and Indian culture in American popularconsciousness, the American preoccupation with Indian

philosophy and Sanskrit texts stretches back to the mid-19th century when transcendentalists such as Ralph WaldoEmerson roamed the halls of Harvard, inspired by passagesof the ancient Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. Sincethat time, ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Upanishadsand Gita have been contributing to our understanding ofourselves and our world in ways both subtle and overt.

Bhadreshdas Swami was described as a modern-day in-terpreter of this very ancient tradition. His SwaminarayanBhashyam is a classical-style Sanskrit commentarial text onsome of the most prominent scriptures of Hinduism whichare revered by almost one billion Hindus worldwide. Manyscholars have lauded the Swaminarayan Bhashyam as oneof the great contributions to Hinduism and Indian philoso-phy in the past several centuries.

Dr Krishnamurti Shastri, Member of the Project Commit-tee, Maharshi Sandipani Rashtiya Vedavidya Pratishthanof India has said that this "poetic commentary presentsnew insights into the secrets of Vedanta in comparison toany previous views on the subject."

Bhadreshdas Swami is a scholar of Sanskrit and Hinduscriptures. After being initiated as a swami in 1981, he hasbeen studying Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures for the last 32years. Having completed a 500-page thesis on the BhagavadGita written entirely in Sanskrit, he has earned five Mastersdegrees as well as a PhD in Sanskrit.

He recently completed commentaries on the Upanishads,Brahmasutras and the Gita and is currently working on acommentary on the Vedas. In recognition of his achieve-ments, the Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University (KKSU)in Nagpur awarded him a Doctorate of Literature as well asthe honorary award of Mahamahopdhyaya, an honorarytitle given to prestigious scholars by the Government ofIndia.

The Swaminarayan Bhashyam is named thus as it en-compasses the values revealed by Bhagwan Swaminarayanin a philosophy known as Swaminarayan Darshan. The fivevolumes of the Swaminarayan Bhashya address the mod-ern need of religious and social pluralism and harmony inthe world along with explaining universal ethical and spiri-tual values.

As Bhadreshdas Swami explained to Congressman Hoyer,"When the sages of government and the sages of spiritual-ity come together, the result is the spread of peace in theworld." Congressman Hoyer averred that, "Surely thesecommentaries written by you will bring peace and bless-ings to the millions who will read and benefit from them."

BAPSBhadreshswami

presenting hisscholarly work

to US Rep.Steny Hoye

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EZ Armor for securityagainst burglaries

HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: When the economygoes down, crime goes up! Bur-glaries and home invasions havehit record levels. The most trou-bling fact is that these crimes areoccurring far more frequentlyin rural and suburban areaspushing up guns and homesecurity as people look forways to protect their homesand families.

Naperville suburb of Chi-cago is experiencing a spateof theft and robberies of latewhich are causing concernamong the residents.

In the past several years,the increased distribution ofmet amphetamine and otherdrugs has dramatically in-creased the amount of crimein rural areas. "Better" sub-urban areas have also seen asignificant increase in crimeduring that same time.

Alan Young, a graduatefrom Vanderbilt Universitywith a B.S. degree and a dualmajor in Organizational De-velopment and Economics, and asought-after speaker and securityexpert has set up a company tocombat this growing menace.

With his engineer brother, theyformed Armor Concepts andstarted producing the highly suc-cessful EZ Armor, Door Jamb Ar-mor and ArmorDoor products.Young's advice to homeowners is

to be proactive. Securing yourdoors and windows is crucial toincreasing the likelihood of suc-cess against a burglar.

Alan Young's product, EZ Ar-

mor, was put to the test by a newsstation and police department inMichigan. EZ Armor was recentlyrecommended in an online articleabout apartment security as "anaffordable door security devicethat will strengthen yourentryways and help prevent un-welcome intruders from forcingtheir way in."

Alan Young

Pankaj Udhas back with heart-touching ghazalsSEETA BRAHMBHATT

Seniors celebrate GaneshChaturthi in Chicago

JAYANTI OZA

CHICAGO: Bhartiya Senior Citi-zens (BSC) of Chicago celebratedGanesh Chaturthi at Shri NathjiHaveli, Addison, a north side sub-urb of Chicago on September 21.

Over 200 members, invitees andguests attended the event. BSCSecretary Purshottam Pandya wel-comed all those present whileJoint Secretary Rakshika Anjariabriefed about the significance ofthe program

BSC President Haribhai Patel ac-corded welcome to Kunal Vyas, Di-rector of Marketing, Dr PurviPardiwala, Physical Therapist andBhavin Dave, Managing Director ofWellocity Physical Therapy & Rehab.

Committee member RamsinghParmar welcomed Vimal Patel,Pharm D. from Walgreens. Celebra-tion began with Ganesh Vandanaand Ganesh Chaturthi informationby BSC Member Hemangini Bhatt.

Carried away by joyous spiritualtheme and atmosphere of GaneshChathurthi Mahotsav, many mem-bers started dancing.

All BSC members viewed avideo clip of Gujarat Chief Minis-ter and PM candidate NarendraModi's birthday celebrations inGujarat. BSC Chairman BatukbhaiShukla gave information aboutplanned Navratri 2013 celebra-tions by BSC group.

BSC members and guests celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi

ST LOUIS: Ghazals come fromthe heart! This is what ghazalmaestro Pankaj Udhas proved athis Sept 22nd concert in St. Louisto a crowd of over 300 as a part ofhis Heart to Heart concert tour or-ganized by Seema Enterprises andSeema World Travel at ClaytonHigh School.

The graceful ghazal singer, whogave the music genre his personaltouch, was back in St. Louis after15 years to once again enthrallaudiences with the spectacularheart-touching ghazals. His popu-lar numbers such as Chitthi AayiHa, Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai Teraand many more have made audi-ences in India and overseas yearnfor more from this ghazal maestro.

The eminent ghazal singer hastaken ghazal singing to foreignlands and regularly performs con-certs around the globe. Udhaswas recognized for his efforts witha Padma Shri award, a governmentof India civilian award in 2006.

Padamshree Pankaj Udhas isnot only a ghazal singer but hasalso sung a number of songs forHindi movies as a playback singer.His footprints in Bollywood withsongs like Jiye to Jiye Kaise, and

Ghazal samrat Pankaj Udhas acknowledging greetings from the audience. Pic Hema Patel

Chitthi Ayi Hai are timeless.He sang many soulful ghazals

like Ghungroo toot gaye, Chandijaisa rang hai tera, and Thodi PiyaKaro that have mesmerized ghazallovers over three decades with hisintoxicating renditions. Pankajsang several new ghazals from hisrecently released album 'Sentimen-tal' which he autographed to a lim-ited number at the show.

Despite decades of singing,Pankaj still has that young voice thatwas evident in many of his ghazals.His soothing voice and the way heled the concert had the crowd sway-ing and singing along with hits likeEk Taraf Uska Ghar, Na Kajre Ki Dharand of course his signature ghazalThodi Thodi Piya Karo.

The quality of the accompany-ing artists was also evident as

some outstanding interludes wereperformed on flute, violin, mando-lin, key board, dholak and tabla.Pankaj Udhas himself onharmonium was accompanied byhis very accomplished musicians:

Violin by- Rajendersingh Sodha,Mandolin by Nasir Quereshi, Key-board by Anupam Chatterjee,Flute by Ninad Mulaonkar, Dholakby Nirmal Singh Pawar and Tablaby Rashid Mustafa.


Anna Hazare honors Anu Peshawariafor service to community

RITU MAHESHWARIIndia Post News Service

Anna Hazare visited Bay arearecently to raise community aware-ness among Indian community forhis cause of social reforms in In-dia. During his visit, he awardedAttorney Anu Peshawaria for heroutstanding service to the Indiancommunity in USA.

Anu is recipient of many otherprestigious awards for her tirelessdedication to the human and legalrights of immigrants. Some ofthese include Excellence for herservice & dedication for spread-ing social awareness and uphold-ing immigrant rights, Hind Rattanaward, Pravasi Samman Award andAlien of Extraordinary Ability sta-tus by the Immigration and Natu-ralization Service of the UnitedStates.

Anu has over 25 years of expe-rience in US and Indian laws. Sheis a practicing US attorney in Se-attle, Washington as well as Cali-

fornia and a practicing Attorneyfor the Supreme Court of India aswell. Anu Peshawaria is a pioneerin Indian American laws.

She is a human rights activistand has been an advisor to vari-ous governmental and non-gov-ernmental organizations includingthe Anna Harare movement in In-dia and the NRIAC (Non ResidentIndians against Corruption) inUSA. She has authored severalbooks on Immigrant Rights in theUS including "Lives on the Brink,Bridging the chasm between In-dia and United States"

Besides being academically andprofessionally accomplished, shehas been a famous tennis player,India no 1, USPTA, as well as rep-resented India at Wimbledon.

Third World Film Festival held in Bay areaSANJEEV SHARMA

The 3rd annual Third WorldIndependent FilmFestival's (TWIFF) red car-

pet event was held at Dave andBuster's in the Great Mall Plazafrom 6.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m.TWIFF's collection of films depict-ing Third World hardship and tri-umphs gets at what matters notonly to Third World people, butall the people. The event screenedfilms from India, Uganda, Grenada,USA, Philippines, Nepal, Thailand,

Lebanon, Vietnam, North Korea,Cambodia, Syria, Bolivia, Guyana,Sudan, Nigeria, Guatemala, andFinland.

The program started with lightrefreshment, drinks and entertain-ment followed by TWIFF 2013Awards. The best social entrepre-neur (short film) award went to LifeChanging Moments-Uganda pro-duced and directed by Dr SherryThomas. Dr Thomas was frequenttraveler to Africa where she saw

the health conditions of thepeople, specially women. She de-cided to bring this to the wholeworld's attention that what kind ofmedical privilege a woman has inthe Third World. Another bestNarrative (Feature) was from Phil-ippines 'Alagwa/Breakaway.

In the short film category, Bestdocumentary was Gawah from In-dia, produced and directed byGauri Chadha. This short film wasabout the victims of 2008 Mumbai

attacks. GauriChadha as awriter and direc-tor has alwaysbeen the one totry and dive intothe issues to un-derstand a par-ticular situationfrom reality of acertain indi-vidual at theroot level. Sheexplained themotivation be-hind this shortfilm as learningabout "how dowe witness andsurvive". It tookabout threeyears to make'Gawah' as Gauri

was explain-ing her ad-v e n t u r o u sjourney thathow shelearnt to un-derstand thebridge be-tween thecraft and thebusiness offilm industry.Gauri hopesthat movie-goers willgain a differ-ent perspec-tive on suchsi tuat ions .As terrorismis not boundby border,culture orcreed, afterseeing 'Gawah' she hopes the au-dience will understand that ourgreatest strength as a civilizationis unity, and Gawah can representa pathway to this.

Gauri Chadha has made fourfilms comprising a short fiction, anexperimental short, a short featureand a short documentary. Asidefrom this she has worked on nu-merous commercials, corporatevideos and several Bollywood and

a few Hollywood feature filmssuch as "Mission Impossible" and"Ghost protocol". Currently she isworking on her feature film whichis a crime drama that explores thehuman psyche.

TWIFF attracts many film en-tries from Third World countriesand has grown into an importantpart of international film movementand encourages their develop-ment.

Dr Romesh Japra addressing the gathering

(L-R standing) Dr Romesh Japra, Gauri Chadha, Rewa Kumar, a guest,Mr. N. Parthasarthy and Sunita Japra

Anna Hazare givingaward to AnuPeshawaria while KiranBedi looks on


Miracles of Krishna - Spectacularshow in Bay Area

VIDYA SETHURAMANIndia Post News Service

LOS ALTOS, CA: Sri KrishnaLeela dance ballet was yet anothercap for Srimati Sneha Vivek, headof the Natya Ninada and a discipleof Guru Vidwan ChandrashekarNavada. The ultimate dream ofproducing the exciting dance pro-duction, "Krishna Leela" for Bay

Area has become a reality, saysVivek, Sneha's husband and orga-nizer.

Spectacular Krishna Leeladance ballet was performed onSept 28 at The SmithWick Theater,Foothill College, Los Altos, CA."Karnataka Kalashri" VidwanChandrashekar Navada with hiseight talented Bharatanatyam art-ists from India with Smt. Sneha

Vivek and her trained team of art-ists delivered an evening of truedelight.

In ancient Indian mythologymany great people had taken birth

and one of them was "LordKrishna" who was the symbol oflove. Undoubtedly, Sri Krishna isthe most romantic God whom weall worship day in and day out. In

Bhagavatham, the most interest-ing story is about Krishna's birthand his childhood and we call thisas Krishna Leela.

Cont’d on page 28


Miracles of Krishna - Spectacular show in Bay Area

The conceptualization of using the sacred SrimadBhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita, to tell a compellingtale using different classical genres of ballet, drama, musicand poetry hints at divine inspiration. The unique produc-tion celebrates Sri Krishna's journey from birth to adult-hood primarily through classical Bharatnatyam.

This show has been single handedly organized by SmtSneha Vivek and was choreographed by Kalashree VidwanK.Chandrashekara Navada. The show opened with tradi-tional pushpanjali, followed by Devaranama - stories of Lord

Vishnu such as Gajendra Moksham, Prahlada's Bhakti andDrupathi Vastrabarna. This was followed by scintillatingShiva Navarasa Padam depicting the stories of Lord Shiva.

The second half of the show was the spectacular classi-cal dance Ballet - Krishna Leela. It was a vibrant display ofcolor, emotion, radiance and the blissful experience of love

for God through dance. All the 14 artists took us through adivine journey into Sri Krishna's life from birth to countlessadventures from Putana Vadha, Kaliya Mardana, ChanuraVadha and Mushtika Vadha.

Kalashree Vidwan Chandrasekara Navada played Kamsaand enthralled the audience with his priceless expressionsand moves. He established Sri Natyanjali Kala Academy in1985 to foster and promote Bharatanatyam. He is the recipi-ent of many awards including the Bharatha award and pres-tigious Rajyothsava award.

Sneha Vivek adds, "This has been a wonderful journeyto share our work and experiences with dancers from In-dia". This is a classic example of a prodigy offering arathnamala, a garland of jewels, back to the Gurus in Indiaas a gesture of gratitude.

The performers were Sandhya Rao, Anjali Nagabhushan,Malavika, Ranjani, K, Sandhya Rao Baglodi, BhavyaBhajan, Sneha Vivek, Amrutha Rao, Sanika Vivek, SathvikVivek, Padmasri Ramineni, Ganesh Brahmavara, AshokUpadhya.

Natya Ninada offers dance and music classes at Sunny-vale and Fremont.


www.indiapost.com30 India Post October 4, 2013

(L-R) Reliance Entertainment COO Mahesh Ramanathan, Rishi

Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Consul

General Dnyaneshwar Mulay, producer Himanshu Mehra.-PicGunjesh Desai, MasalaJunction.com

SUDHIR VYAS

NEW YORK: Well-knownBollywood star Rishi Kapoor dis-missed any plans to launch re-make of any of the old classics fea-turing legendary film star RajKapoor. "It is important that wekeep these black and white clas-sics in their original form and nottamper with them", he told acrowded press conference.

The first family of Bollywood,the Kapoors - Rishi, his wife Neetu

and son Ranbir along with his co-star Pallavi Sharda, Sanjeev LambaCEO, Mahesh Ramnathan COO ofReliance Entertainment and pro-ducer Himanshu Mehra were ad-dressing media on the launch oftheir forthcoming film Besharam.

It was probably for the first timethat the Indian Consulate hadopened its doors for the launch ofany Bollywood movie launch.

According to Rishi, "Raj

Kapoor and his work is publicproperty and we would not like totamper with that. Efforts were madeto make some of the Charlie Chaplinclassics into color and the audiencehad rejected it outright and hencehe would also not like to see theall-time hits like Awara, Shri 420 orBarsaat in color or remake them".

Replying to a question abouthow she felt about the success ofRanbir and her returning to film in-dustry after a long time, NeetuSingh, mother of Ranbir, said "Ob-viously my family came first and Ihad to look after my two children.Now that they have grown up andwith my daughter married andRanbir busy with his films, I felt itwas time to go and do what I likemost. In Besharam I am with my sonand husband and so it was workinglike a family. So far as Ranbir is con-cerned, I do not think I have spoilthim in any way. He has become whathe always wanted to be."

Asked to comment on what su-

perstar status meant to him, Ranbirsaid "I do not understand the con-cept of superstar. The word seemsto have been overused. We are allactors and we must be judged bywhat amount of entertainment wegive to the people and not by thenumber of films we act in. An actoris a superstar when he starts be-lieving in his talent and leaves therest to the audience".

In reply to a question as to howhe felt as a member of the Kapoor Cont’d on page 31

clan and what difficulty and chal-lenges he faced as a result of thisidentity, Ranbir said "I am aware ofthe legacy that I have to take for-ward but there is no pressure - Isee it as a responsibility. But hav-ing said that it was very importantthat I made my own identity youknow - with my own hard work. Iwas born with that and I can't keepthat away from me. I'm 10 films oldnow. I'm six years in the industry.

“Efforts were made to make some of theCharlie Chaplin classics into color and theaudience had rejected it outright andhence he would also not like to see the all-time hits like Awara, Shri 420 or Barsaat incolor or remake them".

Scenes from Besharam, above and right

October 4, 2013 India Post 31

www.indiapost.com

Hrithik sports 3looks in Krish 3


Portraying as many as threestrikingly different looks,Hrithik says the journey for

Krrish 3 has been a fairly challeng-ing but rewarding one. Comment-ing on the hard work involved in

making the film, he said: "Krrish 3is the most difficult film. I play tworoles. If I want victory again, I'llhave to go through the battleagain."

The shooting of Krrish 3 hastested Hrithik Roshan's mettle tothe full. The visual effects teamfound the shot in which Hrithikjumps from a bridge, which is 2000meters above sea level, the mostdifficult shot to accomplish. Thatone sequence required around

Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor

Kareena has filled gapleft by Karisma

Karisma Kapoor feels thatthe gap created by her exitfrom the movie industry

has been more than filled up byher sister Kareena. She also ex-presses joy over carrying forwardtheir family's acting tradition alongwith their cousin Ranbir,Bollywood's current heartthrob.

"I don't regret my decision. Ithink it is a great graduation forme. Kareena took the place whereI left off, if I can say so. Now mycousin (Ranbir) is also doing sowell. I am glad that the tradition iscontinuing," Karisma, who quit theindustry in 2003 after marriage,said in an interview to media.

She married Delhi-based indus-trialist Sanjay Kapur, but they di-vorced this year. The actress ofhits like Raja Hindustani and BiwiNo. 1 took a break from acting toraise her children - Samaira, 8 andKiaan 3.

Her comeback film was 2012 re-lease Dangerous Ishhq, which gota lukewarm response at the box of-fice. Even though she is back un-der the arc lights, she still puts herchildren before everything else.

"Earlier, it was a conscious de-cision for me not to work. I washappy to be away and I wanted tobe with my children during theirformative years. I do step out now,but my first priority is my kids. Thisis how it will always be for me,"said Karisma, who also acted innon-commercial films like Fiza andZubeidaa.

Asked about her children's re-sponse to her star status, she saysher daughter treats her like a regu-lar mother.

"My daughter is the most nor-mal towards me. For her, I am justher mom. I am just a regular momand the actor comes after that. Ifshe likes something that I am wear-ing, she tells me and if she doesn't,

she still makes it a point to let meknow," she said.

Karisma said that she is moreof a disciplinarian than a strict par-ent.

"I won't say I am a strict mother,but discipline is important. Timingand routine are important for kids.My children also look forward tothat," she said.

"I think it is important to be a

3,000 different shots which werethen put under various algorithmsto see what would look most natu-ral. A dedicated team of 35 peoplewere concentrating on this onescene for four months. The chal-lenge was to make Hrithik leap inthe air for 45 seconds and then

land him in an upright position."It was difficult playing many

roles In Krrish 3" says Hrithik."The script of "Krrish 3? has beensuch that it challenged each andevery character and departmentfrom the production to the cre-ative".

'Krrish 3' directed by RakeshRoshan is the third instalment inthe franchise after 'Koi Mil Gaya'(2003) and 'Krrish' (2006). Krrish 3releases globally on 4 November.

friend to your kids. But it is alsoequally important to set bound-aries. My mother was a strong in-fluence and so was my dad. Mymom was my friend whom Icouldn't cross," she said.

Karisma also wants to protecther children from the limelight.

"I try to shield my children asfar as possible from the public

glare. I want them tohave a normal child-hood, like we had. Wewent to school by theschool bus, hadschool food... Therewas no special treat-ment given to us. Thesame applies to mychildren as well," the39-year-old said.

But beingbrought up in the lapof luxury, it was verytough for Samaira tobelieve that her fam-ily was different fromthe rest.

"She thoughteveryone's mom was

an actor and everyone's auto-graphs are taken. Having a masi(Kareena), a mama (Ranbir) likethat, it was tough for her to under-stand. My son's still young, buthe will get a grip of this from mydaughter," said the actress.

The actress recently launchedher book My Yummy MummyGuide on pregnancy and mother-hood.


Raj Kapoor classics won't be remadeSo I'm still working hard. I'm

trying to find myself, find myown identity. I think my parentswould be really proud with whatI have done so far".

Asked of how he felt when hewas acting in front of his legend-ary parents who were themselvesacclaimed actors in their time,Ranbir admitted saying, "Till Ishot the film Besharam I had

never looked into my father'seyes but during the shooting ofthe film I had a scene when I hadto bundle up my father and thatwas when I saw directly into myfather's eyes and then found thespontaneity in his acting.

"I can tell you from my experi-ence that my mother is the bestactress I have ever worked withso far. But I had not much diffi-culty in acting in front of my par-ents as on the sets we were char-

acters and we were all doing ourjobs. It was a delight to workwith my parents. My father is sonatural in acting.

He's so effortless in front ofthe camera. He is very encour-aging as a co-actor. So it neverfeels as if I was acting with myfather. It was always that I wasacting with a brilliant talent infront of me. So I think that addeda lot and was a great learningcurve for myself."


www.indiapost.com

Horoscope32

Your Weekly FutureOCTOBER 5TH - OCTOBER 11TH, 2013

by Pandit Parashar

(March 21 to April 20)

Property deal can finalize and will be beneficial. Your actions will

be full of confidence and dedication. Hard work will not go waste

and results will be almost instant. You may visit an old friend with

family this week. You may be thinking of joining a health club to get

back in shape. Things will keep getting better at work.

(November 23 to December 22)

You may visit or call a government agency for some favor. Work

will be done instantly. This is the perfect time to launch your

project or take over a new business. Spouse may deliver the exciting

news you had been waiting for. You may also get in touch with an old

confidant for some advice and to seek direction.

(December 22 to January 19)

Try to look beyond immediate and plan things accordingly. You

may give final shape to a long distance trip. Money will come and

will go on good reasons. Change of strategy will help you save a lot

in long term. You will try to work extra hours in order to finish project

well before deadline. Bank balance will grow.

(January 20 to February 18)

You may buy some nice gifts for a sibling. There are strong chances

for finding a very suitable match for a marriageable child.Careful

planning will take you closer to your professional goals. You may be

advised minor surgery to tackle an health issue. You will start to

enjoy company of a new colleague.

(February 19 to March 20)

Things will be relaxing and normal at work. Money will come but

will not stay for long. Planets will really help those looking for a

job. You may spend an evening with some well known people.If ap-

pearing for any competitive exam, chances of passing in first shot

are good. You will also overcome a temporary health issue with home

remedy.

(May 21 to June 20)

Luck continues to be on your side. Positive changes in career will

bring confidence back and you may feel like celebrating with family

and friends. You will mean business when on phone and success-

fully resolve an issue causing headache. Health issue will come un-

der control with home remedy. Your valuable advice will help a needy

person.

(July 23 to August 22)

Strong Mars will bring opportunities nothing less than a jackpot.

You will be full of energy and feel motivated. You may decide not

going to a party on last minute. All financial speculations will pay off

in a big way. Children will do better but may need some money. A tall

and fair complexion person will be really helpful in career.

(September 23 to October 22)

Money wise it looks like a great week. Business will pick up all of

a sudden and new contracts will start pouring in money in your

pocket right away. Some one from a different caste and culture will

be helpful. Tough and a systematic approach will clear many road

blocks. You may also visit a holy place with family this week.

(April 21 to May 20)

Bachelors will finally find the right partner. Money will come in

plenty and you will spend it wisely this time. You will continue to

work on a bright idea and keep looking for ideal partners. Some of

you may travel to a warmer area in connection with some business.

You may also purchase some gold jewelry for spouse this week.

(June 21 to July 22)

You may be slightly nervous about an ongoing property deal. Family

may not completely agree with your plans. You may spend some

money on an upcoming trip also. One of your vehicle may need

minor repairs or replacement. Suddenly you may develop taste for

hot and spicy food. You may completely discard an old friend from

your list.

(August 23 to September 22)

Venus will keep mind little restless but will help you overcome all

problems big or small. You may spend most of your time away

from your desk this week. Boss will agree on your ideas and plan.

Spouse if working may get a raise or promotion. And of course ex-

penses will not leave you alone. You will visit a holy place with spouse.

(October 23 to November 22)

Be cautious unless you want some one to come after you with a

law suit. Do not give more than required information to anyone

this week. You may be spending extra hours at work trying to finish

the project well before the deadline. You will gain friendship of an

influential person. bank balance will continue to grow gradually.

Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individualconsultations. He can be reached at: [email protected]

510-886-4370 website: www.parashar.com

www.indiapost.comIndia Post

TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS

1 Get On The Dance Floor:Chennai Express

2 Titli: Chennai Express3 Gulabi: Shuddh Desi Romance4 Ye Tune Kya Kiya: Once Upon

A Time In Mumbaai Dobara5 Lungi Dance: Chennai Express6 Sun Le Re: Madras Cafe7 Tere Mere Beech Mein:

Shuddh Desi Romance8 Main Rang Sharbaton Ka : Phata Poster Nikla Hero9 Shuddh Desi Romance: Shuddh Desi Romance10 Zinda: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

33 October 4, 2013

A relentless worker that he is, Shah Rukh Khanoften goes the extra mile to achieve successas he fears losing the top position.

"I am scared of losing. I am scared of coming sec-ond. I am scared of not making it big. So, I have sucha fear of failure that I work harder when even I don'tneed to. I work longer when I don't have to.

"I never rest on my laurels because I feel that thiswill be taken away one day. I have this fear that if Idon't work hard enough I will lose what I have at-tained and not be able to continue to do so. I don'thave blood pressure, neither I am a heart victim but Ineed to just work hard," he said on the sidelines of

40th National Management Convention by All In-dia Management Association (AIMA).

"Failures also get you to find who your realfriends are. The true strength of your relationship

gets tested in the phase of strongadversity. I lost lots of friends

post 'Ra.One', apart from los-ing a lot of audience too.

And after 'Chennai Ex-press', I haven't madeany new friends but Ihave a whole new setof enemies now," headded.

"I NEVER REST ON MY LAURELS BECAUSE I FEELTHAT THIS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY ONE DAY. I HAVE

THIS FEAR THAT IF I DON'T WORK HARD ENOUGH IWILL LOSE WHAT I HAVE ATTAINED AND NOT BE

ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO SO”

Kundan Shah is returning to the genre of satire with 'P SePM Tak' and the filmmaker has already started shooting the film after zeroing in on a fresh face to play the

protagonist.Shah's debut film 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron' is credited with

pioneering satire in the Hindi film industry and remains a cultfavorite after three decades of its release.

And his latest venture too has all the ingredients of itspredecessor, a fresh cast and an incredulous story, this timeabout a prostitute who quickly finds herself in the ChiefMinister's chair and then in the run to become the Prime Minis-ter of the country.

The filmmaker is introducing Meenakshi Dixit in the filmand the Lucknow girl plays the fiesty protagonist. "I hadbeen on the look out for a fresh face. She is photogenicand also a talented actress," said the filmmaker. "Thefilm is set in the Northern belt of the countryand because the actress too is from thatregion, she has got the accent and otherdetails right," added Shah.

“I HAD BEEN ON THE LOOK OUT FOR AFRESH FACE. SHE IS PHOTOGENICAND ALSO A TALENTED ACTRESS,"SAID THE FILMMAKER

Ranbir Kapoor says people willlearn the truth about his reported affairs only when he gets

married."When I get married, the truth be-

hind these reports will come out on itsown. It is the media which is publish-

ing all this," Ranbir said, talking toreporters.

The actor, who is currentlydating Katrina Kaif after his

break up with DeepikaPadukone, added that atpresent he is focused on hisfilms.

The 30-year-old actorsaid he believes in healthy

competition, and addedthat he will have competition

with actors ranging from AmitabhBachchan to Varun Dhawan,Siddharth Malhotra and ArjunKapoor, who were all doing agood job.

Ranbir said he considered hisfather Rishi Kapoor the best ac-tor of Hindi cinema, and there-fore, he doesn't want to act inremakes of his father's films.

34 India Post October 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

TechBizTech News Interim report submittedon Saradha scam

'Big Data leads to better decision making'BANGALORE: Ninety one per

cent of Indian businesses that re-sponded to a survey conductedby Information management andstorage major EMC Corporationfeel that Big Data will lead to bet-ter decision making.

"91 per cent of Indian busi-nesses surveyed reported thatbetter uses of Big Data will leadto better decision making," EMCIndia & SAARC PresidentRajesh Janey told reporters herequoting from the survey.

"In India, big data is givingrise to markedly improved deci-sion making and is having a sig-nificant impact on companies'competitive differentiation andability to avert risk," he said.

EMC released the findings ofa survey that asked IT decisionmakers in India for their perspec-tive on challenges and opportu-nities that big data and IT trans-

formation - and related skills -can present to their companies.

The company polled a total of

309 business and IT decisionmakers and executives, technicalarchitects, data scientists and

storage/infrastructure managersfrom a range of Indian busi-nesses who have registered to

attend the EMC Forum event inIndia on October 3, 2013.

EMC in its findings said 68 per

cent of respondents believe bigdata will be a key factor in deter-mining winners and losers intheir industry and 35 per centhave already achieved a competi-tive advantage as a result of bigdata analytics technology.

68 per cent of respondents be-lieve those industries that suc-ceed will be the same ones usingbig data tools, the survey added.

Stating that big data technol-ogy is seen as an important in-strument in identifying the cyberattack risks, Janey quoting thesurvey said "62 per cent of re-spondents agree that big datatechnology will prove vital inidentifying and protectingagainst cyber attacks."

He also pointed out that 89 percent of respondents agreed thatdata center automation will becrucial to innovation and agilityover the next three years. -PTI

Janey quoting the survey said "62 per centof respondents agree that big datatechnology will prove vital in identifyingand protecting against cyber attacks."

60 crore Indians do nothave bank accounts

AMBALA: All India Bank Em-ployees' Association general sec-retary C H Venkatachalam has saidaround 60 crore people in thecountry do not have accounts inbanks due to insufficient numbersof branches in rural areas.

Talking to reporters after ad-dressing the state-level conferenceof State Bank of Patiala employ-ees' union, he said inflation andrecession have badly affected thecountry's economy.

Growth in the employment sec-tor was very low, he said adding,

around 6 lakh permanent jobs ofCentral services have been abol-ished, creating uncertainty for theyouth.

20 crore women are working inthe unorganized sector, but nostep has been taken by the Centre

to securetheir basicrights, hesaid.

Venkat-achalam al-leged thegovernmentas well asRBI waspromotingp r i v a t ebanks andbank li-censes werebeing is-sued to big

corporate houses.The government has become a

puppet in the hands of bigcorporates, he said adding, figurespublished by public sector banksindicate they have about Rs1,64,449 crore as bad loans as onMarch 31, 2013.-PTI

Current account gap widensto 4.9% of GDP in Q1

MUMBAI: High imports ofgold and oil pushed Current Ac-count Deficit (CAD) to 4.9 per centof GDP to USD 21.8 billion in theApril-June quarter of the currentfiscal, RBI has said.

CAD, the difference betweeninflow and outflow of foreign ex-change, was 4.4 per cent or USD16.9 billion in the same quarter oflast fiscal, 2012-13.

"The trade deficit, coupled witha slow recovery in net invisibles(income and services), led to wid-ening of CAD to USD 21.8 billionin Q1 of 2013-14 from USD 16.9billion in Q1 of 2012-13," RBI saidin its Balance of Payments state-ment.

CAD had de-clined to 3.6 per centin the January-March quarter aftertouching a recordhigh of 6.5 per centin the October-De-cember quarter.

The governmentplans to bring downCAD to 3.7 per centor USD 70 billion inthe 2013-14 fiscal,

from 4.8 per cent or USD 88.2 bil-lion in 2012-13.

Gold imports increased by USD7.3 billion in the first quarter of cur-rent fiscal. The imports stood atabout 335 tonnes in the April-Junequarter.

"Excluding the increase in goldimports of USD 7.3 billion in Q1 of2013-14 over the correspondingquarter of the preceding year, CADwould work out to USD 14.5 bil-lion, which translates into 3.2 percent of GDP," the Reserve Banksaid.

RBI said there was a small drawdown on country's foreign ex-change reserves to finance theCAD. -PTI

TVS launchesnew scooterin Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Aiming to have 24 percent market share in two-wheeler,especially scooter, segment in fu-ture, TVS Motor Company haslaunched its new vehicle 'Jupiter'in Rajasthan.

New scooter was styled to en-thuse the male customer with a fuelefficiency of 62 km per liter, its Re-gional Manager North-2 RavindraChauhan told reporters here.

The scooter is installed witha mobile phone charger too, hesaid.

Trying to compete with Activascooter which got 60 per centmarket share in two wheeler seg-ment, Chauhan said, the com-pany presently having 13 percent market share in Rajasthanwill raise it to 24 per cent withthe new product which heclaimed was unique.

Across the country TVS got15 per cent share in two-Wheelersegment, and it will get a jumpby 7 to 8 per cent in near futurewith its new vehicle, he furtherclaimed.

About 25,000 units of new ve-hicle would be manufactured ev-ery month in first year, he repliedto a question.

About 11,000 scooters of dif-ferent companies are being soldevery month in Rajasthan, hesaid, adding its price would be Rs47,215 for the entire state. -PTI

SC issues notice toCentre, CBI, RIL ongas controversy

NEW DELHI: The SupremeCourt has issued notice to Centre,Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) andothers on a PIL seeking cancella-tion of contract for exploration ofoil and gas concerning the KGblock and to impose penalty forfailure in adhering to commitments.

A bench headed by Chief Jus-tice P Sathasivam sought responsefrom CBI on the petition filed byCivil society members includingformer Cabinet Secretary T S RSubramanian and ex-Naval chiefAdmiral L Ramdas seekingprobe by the agency in the al-leged "collusion between RILand the political establishment".

The bench, which had earlieralso issued notice to the Centreon a PIL filed by CPI MP GurudasDasgupta, asked the parties tofile their response within fourweeks and tagged the case withDasgupta's petition.

The petitioners, also includingformer Secretary Ramaswamy Iyerand NGO Common Cause, chal-lenged the Center's decision toraise the price of natural gas.-PTI

NEW DELHI: A SFIO probe into Saradha scam and 'chit fund'operations of 62 other entities has found serious financial misman-agement and siphoning off the funds by their promoters, who tookadvantage of regulatory gaps.

The financial fraud investigative agency is also trying to get de-tails stored by these entities on computer servers located abroad,the Corporate Affairs Ministry said here while releasing excerpts ofthe interim report on SFIO probe.-PTI

35India PostTechBiz PostOctober 4, 2013

www.indiapost.com

Tough business takes a toll onairline CEO salaries

NEW DELHI: Amid turbulenttimes in the aviation space, topexecutives of listed carriers haveseen their salaries coming down,with low-cost SpiceJet's CEO tak-ing the biggest cut.

Neil Raymond Mills, who quitas CEO of Spicejet this July, saw

his annual pay coming down toRs 3.32 crore in 2012-13, from Rs4.97 crore in the preceding year,according to company's annualreport. Mills had joined Marangroup's airline venture in 2010.

It also said Spicejet's Manag-ing Director S Natrajhen, however,saw his total remuneration risingto Rs 89.1 lakh during the last fis-cal, from Rs 34.6 lakh in 2011-12.

Crisis-ridden Kingfisher's CEOSanjay Aggarwal also saw a mar-ginal dip in his salary to Rs 3.99

crore in 2012-13, from about Rs4.01 crore in 2011-12, the airline'sannual report said. Vijay Mallya-led UB Group's airline venture hasincidentally remained groundedfor almost a year now since it sus-pended operations in October2012.

The third listed air carrier JetAirways has not disclosed thesalary of Nikos Kardassis, whoresigned as its CEO in June 2013,in its latest annual report.

Jet Chairman Naresh Goyalearned a sitting fees of Rs 60,000in 2012-13, unchanged from thelast year's figures.

The airline's total payment to-wards remuneration to "key man-agement personnel" fell to aboutRs 51 lakh in 2012-13, from Rs 2.11crore in the previous year.

The payment of Rs 51.4 lakhwas made to Gaurang Shetty forhis role as 'manager and director(executive)' for the period fromMay 24, 2012 to March 31, 2013,Jet disclosed in its annual report.

In the previous year 2011-12,Saroj Datta was paid Rs 2.11 crore,but he ceased to be a director witheffect from September 30, 2011.

Jet paid its non-executive di-rectors sitting fees of Rs 20,000for each board and committeemeeting attended by them.

"Due to the losses made by thecompany for the year endedMarch 31, 2013, no commissionis payable to the non-executivedirectors for the financial year2012-13," it noted.

Jet Airways had reported a netloss of Rs 495.53 crore for thefourth quarter ended March 31,2013 compared to loss of Rs298.12 crore in the same periodyear-ago.

Jet has proposed to sell 24 percent stake in the company to AbuDhabi-based Etihad Airways forRs 2,058 crore.

Under the proposed deal,Goyal would eventually have a 51per cent stake in the company,while 24 per cent stake would beheld by Etihad and the remaining25 per cent will be with publicshareholders. -PTI

Nationwide raids launchedagainst NSEL bosses

MUMBAI: Dubbing it as "oneof the biggest scams in India", theMumbai Police has registered anFIR against National Spot Ex-change Ltd (NSEL) promoterJignesh Shah and others in con-nection with Rs 5,600-crore pay-ment crisis at the crippled ex-change and began raiding theiroffices, residences and ware-houses across the country.

NSEL, promoted by Shah-ledFinancial Technologies (FT), hasbeen facing prob-lems in settling Rs5,600 crore dues of148 members/bro-kers, representing13,000 investor-cli-ents, after it sus-pended trade onJuly 31 on the di-rection of the gov-ernment.

Other promot-ers, directors anddefaulting brokersof the spot ex-change have alsobeen named in theFIR, which comesnearly two monthsafter NSEL sus-pended trading. The accused havebeen charged with several crimi-nal offences.

"An FIR has been registered bythe Economic Offence Wing(EOW) against the NSEL promot-ers, directors and defaulters oncharges of cheating, forgery andbreach of trust among others,"Joint Police CommissionerHimanshu Roy said.

As many as 63 police squads,comprising 121 officers and 241policemen, have fanned out across16 states to conduct searches at

184 locations that include resi-dences, offices and warehouses ofthe accused, police said.

The NSEL office, residences ofShah, Chairman and Managing Di-rector of Financial Technologies,and Joseph Massey, ManagingDirector and CEO of MCX StockExchange (also promoted by FT),in Mumbai were raided.

The states where raids are be-ing carried out includeMaharashtra, Punjab, Uttar

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh andGujarat, police said.

"The accused had hatched aconspiracy and cheated 13,000 in-vestors to the tune of crores ofrupees by using the NSEL plat-form," Roy said.

"The raiding teams have beenbriefed to confiscate all hard disks,CDs, other electronic evidences,account books among others, be-sides sealing the warehouses. Itis one of the biggest scams in thecountry in the recent past," an-other officer added.-PTI

Jignesh Shah

UP ranks highest in real estate investmentsLUCKNOW: UP has been

ranked top with maximum share ofabout 40 per cent in the new in-vestments attracted by real estatesector among top 20 states acrossthe country during the first quar-ter of current fiscal, industry bodyASSOCHAM has said.

Interestingly, the total new in-vestments in real estate sectoracross the country had dipped byover 50 per cent during the courseof past one year.

The top 20 states of India hadattracted new investments worthover Rs 11,905 crore in the Q1 ofFY 12-13 as against Rs 5,884 worthof new investments in Q1 of thisfiscal.

"UP has attracted new invest-ments in the real estate sectorworth about Rs 2,350 crore in Q1of FY 13-14 as against Rs 1,500crore worth of new investmentsattracted by the state during cor-responding period of last year,"according to a paper titled 'Cur-rent State of Real Estate Sector inIndia and It's Revival,' released byThe Associated Chambers ofCommerce and Industry of India

(ASSOCHAM).However, timely completion of

ongoing projects has remained amajor concern for a long-time inthe state, said D S Rawat, national

secretary general of ASSOCHAM,while releasing the chamber's pa-per.

"Real estate projects worthover Rs 2,971 crore got completedduring the Q1 of FY 13-14 acrossIndia, thereby registering over 50per cent growth in rate of projectcompletion as realty projects

worth only Rs 1,976 crore had gotcompleted in Q1 of the previousfinancial year," Rawat said.

"With a share of about 10 percent in total outstanding invest-

ments worthover Rs 14 lakhcrore attractedby top 20states in thereal estate sec-tor as of June2013, UP ranksfifth with out-standing in-v e s t m e n t sworth over Rs1.4 lakh crore inthe realty sec-tor," Rawatsaid.

With real es-tate projects worth over Rs 1.3 lakhcrore under implementation in UP,the state commands a share ofabout 14 per cent in realtyprojects out of a total of over Rs9.4 lakh crore under implementa-tion across top 20 states of thecountry, the ASSOCHAM papersaid.-PTI


October 4, 201336

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India Post38www.indiapost.com

October 4, 2013

India Post40 www.indiapost.com October 4, 2013

Set against the backdrop of the dramatic Dhauladharmountains, Dharamsala is perched on the high slopesin the upper reaches of Kangra Valley. The town isdivided into two distinct and widely separated sec-

tions, Upper and Lower Dharamsala, which differ almost athousand meters in height.

Dharamsala has become synonymous with the Tibetangovernment in exile and the home of Tibetan leader DalaiLama. Even if the Tibetan community dominates the town, ithas still retained the colonial lifestyle and British fervor.

Dharamsala overlooks the plains and is surrounded bydense pine trees and Deodar forests. A nearby snowline withnumerous streams and cool healthy atmosphere makes thesurrounding very attractive.

Dharamsala is a busy bazaar town and has establisheditself as the travelers' base camp, who come to explore thenearby mountains. The Kotwali Bazaar provides the entirecolor and characteristic of a small town, which is mixed withsimple lifestyle.

The colorful temple and Gompas which reflect the cultureof Tibet add attraction for the visitor. The Kangra museumgives an overview of the rich past of the region. There areinstitutes that have been established to preserve Tibetan art,cultures and traditions.

Cont’d on page 42

India PostOctober 4, 2013 41Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Brand USA eyes 1 m Indian visitors to US in 2015NEW DELHI: Brand USA has

said it is looking at a million visi-tors from India to the United Statesin 2015 as it hard sells the countryas a premier travel destination.

"We expect a million visitors fromIndia to USA in 2015," Brand USAGlobal Partnership DevelopmentVice President Jay Gray told PTI.

He was speaking on the side-lines of conclusion of second In-dia Travel Mission by Brand USA.

Established under the TravelPromotion Act 2010 of that coun-

try, Brand USA is the public-pri-vate partnership responsible forpromoting United States as a pre-mier travel destination. Its mandateis to increase international visita-tions to the country.

India ranked twelfth among thetop 20 countries in the number ofvisitors to the US with 7,24,433 ar-rivals in 2012, an increase of 9.2per cent from the previous year.

"We are also expecting a 9 percent increase in the number of In-dian visitors in 2013," Gray said.

In 2012 Indian visitors alsoranked 10th in terms of moneyspent with a total spend of USD4.9 billion, Brand USA said in astatement.

When asked what the driversfor growth will be in the number ofIndian outbound visitors to US,Gray said: "It will be more about

the 'experience'. The diversity andexperience which US offers makesit the greatest destination."

India, China and Brazil havehuge growth potential for BrandUSA, he added.

Indian visitors are also impor-tant because of duration of stayand the fact that Indian visitors

ranked tenth in terms of moneyspent, Gray said.

The India travel mission byBrand USA this year witnessedparticipation of 47 delegates rep-resenting 31 organizations fromvarious US destinations that in-cluded hotels and destinationmanagement companies. -PTI

'90 per cent of tourist spotsin Uttarakhand safe'

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhandgovernment has sought to dispelthe perception that tourist spotsin the state were in disarray fol-lowing the mid-June natural calam-

ity there, saying that 90 per centof the destinations are in fact un-affected.

"From the tourism point of view,90 per cent of the tourist spots inthe state, including Mussoorie,Nainital, Rishikesh and Haridwar,are absolutely safe.

"These places were almost un-affected by the calamity and thereis no risk in visiting them," tour-ism minister Amrita Rawat said inDelhi at the launch of a campaignto provide a boost to tourism in

Himalayan states.The campaign was launched by

the Union Minister of State forTourism, Chiranjeevi, an officialrelease here said.

Rawat said that only 10per cent of the tourist des-tinations, part of the 'CharDham Yatra' circuit, sufferedextensive damage in theJune flash floods.

Efforts were on to gradu-ally repair the damaged in-frastructure in the CharDham area, she added.

The flash floods inUttarakhand, whichclaimed the lives of hun-dreds of pilgrims and tour-ists, generated a sense ofinsecurity among potentialvisitors with hotels and re-sorts in places likeMussoorie and Nainitalwitnessing bulk cancella-tions.

Meanwhile, UttarakhandTourism Secretary Umakant

Panwar, who also spoke on theoccasion, said a 14-km long rope-way will be built betweenGaurikund and the Kedarnathshrine.

The 14-km trek route betweenGaurikund and Kedarnath wasbadly damaged in the flash floods.

Panwar said that the feecharged by the state governmentfor people to visit high-altitudeareas had been waived to give aboost to adventure tourism inUttarakhand. -PTI

India Post October 4, 201342 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

ATTRACTIONS:St. John's Church in Wilder-

ness: 7-km upward fromDharamsala, between Forsyth Ganjand Mcleod Ganj lies the charm-ing St. John's Church. It was builtin 1852 and is dressed in grey stonewith some fine Belgian stainedglass windows donated by LadyElgin. The church is popularlyknown as the church of St. John inWilderness.

Chamunda Devi Temple: Mere15-km from Dharamsala in a tinyvillage of Dadh on Palampur Roadis the famous temple dedicated toGoddess Chamunda Devi. It is anenchanting spot with gloriousviews of the mountains, the BanerKhud, Pathiar and Lahla forests.

Maharana Pratap Sagar:Named in honor of the great pa-triot 'Maharana Pratap' (1572 - 97AD), the Maharana Pratap Sagarwas once known as the 'Pong DamReservoir'. India knows the

Home of Dalai Lama & travelers' base campDHARAMSALADHARAMSALA

'Maharana' as a man whostruggled valiantly for his king-dom of 'Mewar' for the principle ofindependence. In the words of theChroniclers James Tod and Will-

iam Crooke, "He spurned everyoverture that had submission forits basis". Over the river Beas, the"Pong Dam" was completed in1976. Its reservoir has an area ofabout 45,0000 hectares at maximum

possible flooding - the level var-ies with every season and aver-ages around 30,000 hectares. Over2,000 villages with a population ofover 85, people are lying along the

wetland.The Wildlife Sanctuary: In

1983, Maharana Pratap Sagar wasdeclared a wildlife sanctuary andover 220 species of bird belong-ing to 54 families have been

sighted over the waters and thefringing mud-banks. These includeblack-headed gulls, plovers, terns,ducks, water-fowl and egrets. Thefirst sighting in the region of thered-necked grebe was made at theSagar.

The wetland's location at thehead of the Indian plains has madeit a suitable habitat and stopoverfor migratory birds that enter In-dia from Central Asia. The landportion of the sanctuary has bark-ing deer, sambar, wild boars, nilgai,leopards and clawless otters.Twenty-seven species and sub-species of fish belonging to sixfamilies have been recorded in theSagar's waters. Some of the impor-

tant commercial varieties are -Labeo dero (Gid), Labeo rohita,Labeo Calbasu, Tor putitora(Mahsir), and Mystus seenghala(Singhara). Since 1976, fishing hasbeen a major economic activity inthe areas and today it providesemployment to some 1,500 fisher-men and the annual catch is val-ued at over a crore of rupees.

Norbulinka Institute: Just 4-

kms from Dharamsala isNorbulinka. This place has heavyJapanese influence. TheNorbulingka Institute of TibetanCulture was founded by the De-partment of Religion and Cultureto preserve and promote Tibetanart and culture in exile

Nurpur Fort: Originally knownas Dhameri, 66-km fromDharamsala and 24-km fromPathankot, Nurpur Fort was re-named by Emperor Jehangir, sonof the Great Moghul Jalal-Ud-DinMohammad Akbar. The fort is nowin ruins but still has some finelycarved reliefs.

Tsug-Lag-Khang (Central Ca-thedral): Though a plain and utili-

tarian substitute for its far moresplendid namesake in Lhasa, alsoknown as the Jokhang, the Tsug-Lag-Khang is nevertheless fasci-nating and peaceful. Situated op-posite the residence of His Holi-ness the Dalai Lama, Tsug-Lag-Khang is known to local Indiansas the Main Temple.

Cont’d on page 43


Norbulinka Institute

Tsug-Lag-Khang (Central Cathedral)

Dall Lake

India PostOctober 4, 2013 43Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Andretta: Situated just 13-kmsaway from Palampur lies this dwell-ing place of artist S. Sobha Singh.It houses a gallery ofsome of his majorworks and a potterycenter.

Dall Lake: Sur-rounded by high andgreen Deodar trees isthe lake, which fills amountain bowl. Situ-ated 11-kms awayfrom the town, thislake is easily ap-proachable by roadand makes an en-chanting and serenepicnic spot.

Dharmkot: Just11-km away fromDharamsala, locatedon the crest of a hilllies this attractivepicnic spot, whichpresents a panoramicview of the KangraValley and Dauladharranges

Kunal Pathri:These are the rocktemples from whichthe place derives its name. KunalPathri is a 3 kms flat walk fromKotwali Bazaar.

Best Time to visit: Mid-May toMid-October.HOW TO GET THERE:

Air: Dharamsala can be ap-proached by air from Delhi and thenearest Airport is at Gaggla, just

DHARAMSALAHome of Dalai Lama &travelers' base camp

13-km away from the town.Rail: Pathankot is 85-km and is

the nearest railhead forDharamsala. Trains from all overthe country make a stop over at

Pathankot and from here it is athree-hour journey to Dharamsala.

Road: From Manali bus servicesare available to this place. One candrive from Delhi via Chandigarh,Kiratpur, Bilaspur and it's an eight-hour journey. From Delhi andShimla, luxury buses ply toDharamsala.


St. John's Church in Wilderness

Asia new favorite for Indiantravelers: Survey

MUMBAI: Asian destinationslike Singapore, Dubai and Thailandare fast emerging as the favoritedestinations for Indian travelers,pushing the US, Australia andMauritius to the back-burner asexpenses are spiraling with fall inrupee's exchange value, says asurvey.

"Singapore, Dubai and Thailandare replacing the US, Australia andMauritius as top three choices dueto rising costs," an ICICI-Lombardsurvey said here.

As per the survey, factors like asharp fall in the rupee, expensive over-seas travel and rising air travel havecontributed towards this change ofpreference among travelers.

The survey covered Mumbai,Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and

Indore, with inputs coming in from1,043 participants.

The survey further said thatwhile beaches, landscapes, histori-cal and heritage sites seem to bethe top consideration for overseastravel, safety and security are also

gaining importance.Interestingly, while the US is

considered the safest country bytravelers, China is perceived to beleast safe.

"China is seen as the most un-

safe country and the US is con-sidered the safest by domestic trav-elers. Similarly, Singapore rankstops in tourist infrastructure, whileSri Lanka is placed in the bottomon this front.

It also said majority of the trav-

elers prefer to travel with their fami-lies.

On the cost side, the survey re-veals that while the US is the mostexpensive destination, Sri Lanka isthe least expensive.

As far as the information foroverseas travel is concerned, thesurvey reveals that travel agentsare the key source of information,followed by advice from friendsand relatives as well as theInternet.-PTI

Govt committed to develop Agra to attract touristsAGRA: Uttar Pradesh govern-

ment has approved a Rs 1,700 croreplan for the overall development

of Agra as a tourist destination,the state's Minister for Tourism,Om Prakash Singh, said here.

Speaking at the inauguration ofan air-conditioned toilet facility atTaj Mahal on the occasion ofWorld Tourism Day, Singh saidthat the state government waslooking at improving the conditionof Agra to make it a more attrac-tive destination for tourists.

He said that UP governmenthad received a USD 410 millionpackage from World Bank for thedevelopment of tourism in thestate and added that the state Cabi-net had cleared the Rs 1,600 croreAgra-Lucknow Greenfield Ex-pressway project.

The project for an internationalairport at Agra, too, has beenokayed, he added.

Aridaman Singh, the UP Minis-ter for Stamp, Court Fee and CivilDefense, who was also present onthe occasion, said better air con-nectivity would make it easier fortourists to visit Agra. -PTI

44 India Post October 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

In Brief ImmigrationDetails on page 46

Fla. Citizenfighting to prove

he was bornin USA

Provisions of Immigration bill self-defeatingfor US, says economist

WASHINGTON: Certain provi-sions of the current immigrationreforms bill, in particular those re-lated to the H-1B visas, are self-defeating for the United States, atop Indian economist has said.

The immigration bill, from theUS point of view, is going to bringin much more talent to the US,which is desirable aid, said econo-mist Arvind Subramanian.

"But I think it also has a num-ber of restrictive elements whichare not so good for the US, be-cause it's like imposing a tax onchips. That's what imposing re-strictions on skilled labor cominginto the US," he told Senators dur-ing a Congressional hearing onIndian economic conditions.

Noting that the H-1B visas gen-erates a lot of revenue for Indian

nationals, Subramanian said it is asymbol of cooperation but alsopeople-to-people cooperation.

"I think it's really important togoing forward to get this bill rightas kind of sending a signal thatthis is a really important relation-

ship," he said."I would say that the Indian

economy has to recover, has togain back itss t r e n g t h .And oncethat happens,I think we canmove into anew phasewhere theeconomic re-lationship canb l o s s o mmore.

"At thatstage, I thinkwe do need to

be thinking about somethingmuch more ongoing, substantive,and big, moving beyond a BIT,"he said.

However, a senior Administra-tion official defended the immigra-tion bill arguing that Indians havebeen the greatest beneficiary ofthe H-1B visa program.

The bill aims to address themisuse of the popular work visaregime by illegal emigrants. TheIndian side has been arguing thatIndian IT professionals are tem-porary workers and not emigrants.

The proposed law says all com-panies with 50 per cent or moreemployees from outside the USwill have to pay a higher visa feeof USD 10,000 per worker. Atpresent, the fee is USD 4,500, andit used to be USD 2,000 for H-1Band L1 visas till 2010.

The proposed legislation is ex-pected to kick in early next year. -PTI

BALCA on the homeoffice option

CORA-ANN V. PESTAINA

It's time for another lesson,courtesy of BALCA (Board ofAlien Labor Certification Ap-

peals). In a November 2010 blogentitled Perm and the roving em-ployee (www.cyrumehta.com), I

discussed different types of rov-ing employees and the existingBALCA or DOL (Department ofLabor) guidance on how recruit-ment for these types of positionsought to be conducted. I raisedthe question, "What should theemployer do when the employeeworks from home in a location that

is different from the employer'sheadquarters?" and stated "[this]less common issue of the homeoffice has not yet been the sub-ject of a BALCA decision."

In an October 2011 blog Balcasays there is no need to list everybenefit of employment in job ad-vertisements. With still no defini-tive word from BALCA on thehome office issue, I discussedMatter of Emma Willard School,2010-PER-01101 (BALCA, Sep-tember 28, 2011) where the DOL'sCO (Certifying Officer) had deniedthe employer's PERM applicationbecause the recruitment failed tostate that subsidized housing wasbeing offered to the qualified USworker.

In that case, BALCA held thatthere is no obligation for an em-ployer to list every item or condi-tion of employment in its adver-tisements and listing none doesnot create an automatic assump-tion that no employment benefitsexist.

Argentine-born rabbi museson immigrants' dreams

MCALLEN, Texas: RabbiClaudio Kogan was just 7 yearsold when his native Argentina wasripped apart by war, its governmenttaken over by the military in a vio-lent coup, leaving its people un-der the regime of militarydictatorship. He grew up ina place where, for sevenyears, students, labor orga-nizers and other dissidentswere assassinated, torturedand disappeared for de-manding basic humanrights during what wasknown as ̀ `The Dirty War.''

In March of this year, 37years to the day after hisnative country's govern-ment was overthrown,Kogan realized a dream andbecame a citizen of theUnited States. His back-ground has propelled himforward with a mission: tounite people of different faiths andcombat prejudice and poverty.

``Coming from a country thatsuffered a lack of democracy, andcoming to a place with pure de-mocracy was incredible,'' the 44-year-old told The Monitor of

McAllen (http://bit.ly/18qumyf).``One example is PresidentObama's move toward the Con-gress (asking them to vote abouttaking military action in Syria).Some people might say `You are

president: Make the judgment anddo it.' But whether we like (his ac-tions) or don't like it, going to Con-gress is a show of democracy. Inmy former country, it was, `Wewant it, we take it.'''

Rabbi Claudio Kogan

BALCA held thatthere is no obligationfor an employer to listevery item orcondition ofemployment in itsadvertisements

Cont'd on Page 45 Cont'd on Page 46

Feds executewarrant at LumberLiquidators HQ

RICHMOND, Va.: Federal au-thorities have executed a searchwarrant at the Virginia headquar-ters of hardwood flooring retailerLumber Liquidators.

Immigration and CustomsEnforcement's Homeland SecurityInvestigations spokesman Bran-don Montgomery said the warrantwas executed at the company'sToano, Va., headquarters and aLumber Liquidators business lo-cation in suburban Richmond incoordination with U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and the Depart-ment of Justice.

No other information about thedetails of the search was providedand Montgomery said the war-rant is sealed. He could not saywhether the warrant was relatedto a particular person or for thecompany as a whole.

A spokesman for the U.S.Attorney's Office for the EasternDistrict of Virginia did not imme-diately return a phone messageseeking comment.

In a statement, the companysaid it is cooperating to provideinformation and documentationto ``answer questions relating tothe importation of certain prod-ucts.''-AP

Experts fearDominican rulingcould cause crisis

SANTO DOMINGO, Domini-can Republic: Experts havewarned that a Dominican courtdecision to strip citizenship fromchildren of Haitian migrants couldcause a human rights crisis, po-tentially leaving tens of thou-sands of people stateless, facingmass deportation and discrimina-tion.

Officials promised to create apath to Dominican citizenship, butgave no details about how it wouldwork or who would be covered.

The ruling by the Constitu-tional Court is final and gives theelectoral commission one year toproduce a list of people to be ex-cluded from citizenship.

The decision applies to thoseborn after 1929 - a category thatoverwhelmingly includes descen-dants of Haitians brought in towork on farms. It appears to af-fect even their grandchildren, saidWade McMullen, a New York-based attorney at the Robert F.Kennedy Center for Justice & Hu-man Rights.-AP

India Post 45October 4, 2013 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

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In my blog, I suggested that anemployer whose PERM applica-tion was denied because the re-cruitment did not list a "work fromhome" benefit, might be able toargue, under Emma Willard School,that it was not required to list allbenefits in its recruitment and thatthe choice not to list the "workfrom home" benefit should notserve to deter any US workersfrom applying for the position be-cause US workers are savvy andwell aware of the increasing flex-ibility offered by employers withregard to where they perform theduties of the job.

While I presented an argumentthat could have been made afterreceipt of a PERM denial, readersof that blog would likely havetaken away that it is certainly bet-ter to list the "work from home"benefit in all of the recruitment.BALCA has finally spoken on thisissue and has made the require-ment very clear.

In Siemens Water TechnologiesCorp., 2011-PER-00955 (July 23,2013), the employer filed a PERMapplication for the position of FieldService Engineer. In all its recruit-ment the employer listed Houston,Texas as the location for the jobopportunity and conducted re-cruitment from that location.

The PERM was audited and inits audit response, the employerexplained that the primaryworksite listed on the ETA Form9089 was the same as the foreignworker's home address becausethe Field Service Engineer wouldbe permitted to work from homeand travel to various client sitesas necessary.

The CO denied the applicationbecause the benefit of workingfrom home was not offered to U.S.workers.

In its Request for Reconsidera-tion, the employer argued thatthere is no regulation that requiresadvertisements to indicate that thegeographic location is a home of-fice. The employer argued that its

recruitment was properly con-ducted based on the Texasworksite address and in supportof its position cited minutes fromthe DOL's March 15, 2007 Stake-holders Liaison Meeting whichread as follows:

19. If an employer requires anemployee to work from home in aregion of intended employmentthat is different from the locationof the employer's headquarters(i.e. work is required to be per-formed in a designated county orstate that differs from theemployer's headquarters), pleaseconfirm that the prevailing wagedetermination and recruitmentcan take place in the location ofthe employee's region of intendedemployment. Please confirm thatthe notice of posting under thiscircumstance should be posted atthe company's headquarters.

If the 9089 form shows theworksite at a designated locationother than headquarters, the PWD

and recruitment would be for theworksite. AILA note: This issue es-sentially requires a strategy de-cision. The PERM form can statethat the worksite is the home of-fice, in which case the PWD andrecruitment can be for the area ofthe home office, but the fact thatthe worksite is the same as the for-eign national's home address willbe picked up by the PERM systemand the case will likely be au-dited. This can then be addressedin the audit response and shouldnot be a problem, if the case isotherwise approvable. Alterna-tively, the PERM form can state

that the worksite is the headquar-ters office, but then the PWD andrecruitment must be done for thatlocation.

20. In the case of a telecommuteror an employee whose location is

not specific to the job, please con-firm that the notice of posting, re-cruitment, and prevailing wage de-termination should be based onthe location of the employer'sheadquarters.

Please see answer to number19 above.

The employer argued that its re-cruitment did not contain anyterms and conditions of employ-ment that were less favorable thanthose offered to the foreign na-tional. The CO denied reconsidera-tion and forwarded the case toBALCA.

BALCA held that the employer'sreliance on the minutes of the Stake-holders Liaison Meeting was mis-placed and stated that while theemployer may indeed conduct re-cruitment from the location wherethe foreign national resides andmay list the foreign national's ad-dress as the primary worksite onthe ETA Form 9089, the minutes ofthe Stakeholders Liaison Meetingare silent on what geographic lo-cation should be included in theadvertisements in cases where theapplicant would work from home.

BALCA found that applicantsreading the employer's advertise-ments would think that they wererestricted to working in Houston,Texas when, in contrast, the foreignnational was given the option towork from his home which did notnecessarily have to be in Houston,Texas. BALCA held that the recruit-ment was unduly restrictive andmisleading and could have pre-

BALCA on the home office optionvented potential US applicantsfrom applying for the job. Althoughthe CO did not cite this in the initialdenial, BALCA also found that therecruitment violated 20 CFR §656.17(f)(3) and (4) because it was

not specific enough to apprise appli-cants of where they would have toreside to perform the job and appli-cants were also not informed of thetravel requirement that the employerexplained in its audit response.

Time and time again we see thatthe fact that the PERM regulationsprovide no guidance on a particu-lar issue is no defense when theDOL decides that an error has beenmade. As practitioners, we are leftconstantly trying to anticipate po-tential novel reasons for denial. Wecannot confidently rely on existingguidance but must somehow an-ticipate future guidance and com-ply with that! One of the maintakeaways from this case is that, asa rule of thumb, it's a good idea toinclude in the recruitment any un-usual benefit that will be given to(e.g. work from home, subsidedhousing) or requirement that willbe asked of (e.g. travel, relocation,mandatory week-end employment)the qualified candidate for the of-fered position.

One of the main takeaways from this case isthat, as a rule of thumb, it's a good idea toinclude in the recruitment any unusualbenefit that will be given to (e.g. work fromhome, subsided housing) or requirementthat will be asked

Cont'd from Page 44

In its Request forReconsideration, theemployer arguedthat there is no regu-lation that requiresadvertisements toindicate that thegeographic locationis a home office.

India Post46 October 4, 2013Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

Fla. Citizen fighting to prove he was born in USAWEST PALM BEACH, Fla.: If

Nebeth Carbajal's claim is true, heis living a life just the opposite ofso many Latino immigrants today.He is a legal, U.S.-born citizen whohas been forced to live as if hewere undocumented.

Carbajal, 33, whose Mexicanparents came to the U.S. illegally,claims he was born in a house inBelle Glade on Dec. 6, 1979, deliv-ered by his aunt and anotherwoman. No birth certificate wasissued, and 14 months later, hismother took him and his babybrother back to Mexico becauseshe had to care for a sick relative.

In 1995, when Nebeth was 15,all three crossed back into the U.S.and have lived in Texas ever since.The brother, Junior, 32, was bornin Everglades Memorial Hospitalin Pahokee and has always had aU.S. birth certificate.

But Nebeth is now trying toprove his citizenship, in part toacquire a U.S. passport so he cantravel legally to Mexico to visit hisfather, who he said he has not seenin 14 years.

In June 2012, his mother andaunt testified in Palm BeachCounty Circuit Court about theday of his birth and they pre-sented documents to support theircase. On Sept. 28, Judge Lisa Small

ordered the county to file a ``de-layed birth certificate'' for Carbajalwith the Florida Department of Vi-tal Statistics.

He applied for expedited servicefrom the U.S. Passport Agency, butinstead, a State Department inves-tigator showed up to questionCarbajal at his job in Texas, wherehe does painting and construc-tion. Almost a year later, he stilldoesn't have a passport.

`Ì understand that they haveto be careful about this kind ofthing,'' Carbajal said. ``We haveshown the government all kindsof documents, but it has been im-possible to get them to respond.''

His attorney, Elizabeth Ricci ofTallahassee, said U.S. citizenshave to show only a valid birthcertificate to acquire a passport,and Carbajal now has one.

``He is being made to prove hiscitizenship more than other citi-zens would need to, and that isn'tright,'' she said.

The State Department wouldnot comment on Carbajal's case,but spokeswoman Beth Finan pro-vided a list of documentation,``secondary evidence,'' that mustbe submitted in cases where abirth certificate issued within a yearof birth is not available.

One such piece of evidence is abaptismal certificate. Carbajal hasone, showing he was baptized Jan.31, 1981, at St. Philip Benizi Catho-lic Church in Belle Glade. The docu-ment notes the child was born inBelle Glade and that the Rev.Vincent Villar performed the sac-rament. A church secretary con-firmed that Villar had served at thechurch.

Another document sought bythe State Department was a``doctor's record of postnatal care.''Ricci gave the Circuit Court judgeand the State Department a regis-tration card issued to his mother,Elizabeth Carbajal, in 1980 by theFlorida Department of Health'sWomen, Infant and Children pro-gram, which provides low-incomemothers with food and nutritionalcounseling.

Dates have been written in, re-ferring to appointments Elizabethkept and when she received nutri-tional supplements.

His mother also saved a notefrom a Belle Glade family doctor,Rolando Piedra, saying he treatedNebeth for an ear infection on July15, 1980.

The State Department alsowanted his early school records.That schooling happened inMexico, but Nebeth providedthose records, which indicate hewas registered at his elementaryschool as a student `òf U.S. na-tionality.''

The State Department websitealso says a delayed birth certifi-cate must be issued on evidenceof this kind and on affidavits pro-vided by the parents. Carbajal ful-filled those requirements as well.

He also included an affidavit fromhis aunt, Hortencia Carbajal, whoassisted at his birth.

Ricci said her client has fulfilledthe requirements the State Depart-ment has posted publicly. But inan Aug. 8 letter to Carbajal, itsNational Passport Center includedan expanded list of possible ̀ `sec-ondary evidence,'' which includedproof of prenatal care.

The document provided byElizabeth Carbajal listing visits tothe WIC clinic starts with one on``12/2,'' but with no year included.

`Ì interpret the 12/2 notation tobe Dec. 2, 1979, the week beforeshe gave birth,'' Ricci said. ButElizabeth Carbajal says she neverreceived prenatal care and doesn'tknow to what the date represents.

Still, she insists she gave birthin Belle Glade, having arrived therefrom Mexico when she was five orsix months pregnant.

`Ì didn't know any such prena-tal care was available,'' she said.`Ìt was same thing with givingbirth. Back in Mexico, women gavebirth in their homes. That's what Idid. My sister-in-law was there andanother woman, who wasn't ex-actly a midwife, but she had expe-rience assisting with births.''

Dr. Ahmed Barhoush, an obste-trician who has practiced in BelleGlade since 1974, said Carbajal'sstory was feasible.

``Sometimes it happened thatway,'' he said. `Ìt would happenmuch more back then in BelleGlade than it does today.''

Elizabeth Carbajal and her hus-band, Asencio, a landscaper, alsodid not register the child and get abirth certificate.

``We spoke no English andwouldn't have known where togo,'' she said. ̀ `We were ignorant.''

Ricci said asking for proof ofprenatal care, even though thatrequirement is not listed publicly,is the State Department ``chang-ing the rules in midstream.''

In her submission to the court,Ricci included other ``secondaryevidence,'' including the birth cer-tificate of Nebeth's youngerbrother, Junior, born in December1980.

``By then I knew what to do,''Elizabeth Carbajal said. ̀ Ì went tothe hospital in Pahokee and wealso got a birth certificate.''

Not long after Nebeth was bap-tized, Elizabeth Carbajal took hersons back to Mexico because hermother-in-law was ill and no oneelse could care for her, she said.Her husband stayed in the U.S. to

work.On re-entering Mexico, she was

told to file visa applications for hersons after informing Mexican bor-der authorities that they were U.S.-born, which meant they were for-eigners entering Mexico. She hascopies of both visas, dated Feb.21, 1981, and giving Belle Glade as

their place of birth.Nebeth Carbajal said he sneaked

back into the U.S. in 1995 becausehe could not prove he was U.S.-born. He said that in 1996 the fam-ily sought an attorney's help instraightening out the matter.

``But the attorney wanted$5,000,'' he said. ̀ `Where were wegoing to get that kind of money?''

In 2011, the family contacted

Ricci, who helped them convinceJudge Small they were telling thetruth and then sent off the pass-port application, accompanied bythe ̀ `delayed birth certificate.''

After months without a re-sponse, Ricci asked the State De-partment to refund the fee for ex-pedited service.

"Rather than issue a reimburse-ment or reach out to me, the (StateDepartment) sent an investigatorto Carbajal's job to interrogatehim,'' Ricci told The Palm BeachPost in an email.

The State Department claimedthe ̀ `delayed birth certificate'' was`ìnsufficient evidence to provehis birth in United States,'' Riccisaid. -AP

Rabbi Kogan, who is stationedat Temple Emanuel, became therabbi for McAllen last July aftermoving from Connecticut, wherehe served as senior rabbi and po-lice chaplain.

Kogan hadalways wantedto help peopleboth spirituallyand physically,so at 18, he de-cided to be-come a rabbiand a medicaldoctor. In Ar-gentina, Koganpursued bothpassions simultaneously: he at-tended rabbinical school at a semi-nary while he started medicalschool at the University of BuenosAires. He became a doctor in 1995,and a mohel (professional who per-forms circumcisions) two years later.

When Argentina underwent adisastrous economic crisis in 1999,Kogan left to seek his fortune inthe U.S., despite leaving a medicalcareer and steady girlfriend of oneyear behind. Kogan said that at the

time his girlfriend, Ana Sverdlick,thought he was kidding when hesaid he was going to move toAmerica to earn his rabbinical de-gree. Still, Sverdlick - now his wife -was committed to their relation-ship.

`Ì used to joke that airlines andAT&T were thebeneficiaries ofour relation-ship,'' he said.After a couple oflong-distanceyears, Sverdlickleft her own ca-reer behind tojoin Kogan.``She left a job asa lawyer to be-

come the girlfriend of a broke stu-dent,'' Kogan added, seeming tostill be in disbelief. Since her ar-rival, Sverdlick has earned amaster's degree in global affairsfrom Rutgers University, and sheis currently finishing her PhD inhuman trafficking. Kogan haspicked up four more universitydegrees himself, two in Hebrewstudies, and one each in educa-tion and medical ethics, respec-tively.-AP

Argentine-born rabbi museson immigrants' dreams

Cont'd from Page 44

When Argentina un-derwent a disastrouseconomic crisis in1999, Kogan left toseek his fortune in theU.S., despite leavinga medical careerand steady girlfriendof one year behind.

One such piece of evidence is a baptismalcertificate. Carbajal has one, showing hewas baptized Jan. 31, 1981, at St. Philip BeniziCatholic Church in Belle Glade. The docu-ment notes the child was born in Belle Gladeand that the Rev. Vincent Villar performed thesacrament.

`Ì didn't know any such prenatal care wasavailable,'' she said. ̀ Ìt was same thing withgiving birth. Back in Mexico, women gavebirth in their homes. That's what I did. Mysister-in-law was there and another woman,who wasn't exactly a midwife, but she hadexperience assisting with births.''

India Post 47www.indiapost.com

ClassifiedsOctober 4, 2013

www.indiapost .com

NEWSon your desktop

Notice is hereby given that this isan Online Bid Process; only bidssubmitted through the online portalwill be accepted. Please logon orregister at https://ezsourcing.acgov.org/psp/SS/SUPPLIER/ERP/h/?tab=DEFAULT.NETWORKING BIDDERS CONFER-ENCES for RFQs #901179 -901182: 2014 Ford, Chevrolet,Dodge and Toyota Vehicle Pur-chase North County – Monday,October 7, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. atGeneral Services Agency, 1401Lakeside Drive, Room 1107, 11th

Floor, Oakland, CA or participateremotely @ https://gsaalamedacounty.adobeconnect.com/vehicles South County– Tuesday,October 8, 2013, 2:00 p.m. atCastro Valley Library, ChabotRoom, 3600 Norbridge Avenue,Castro Valley, CAResponse Due by 2:00 pm asfollows: RFQ 901179 and 901180– November 6, 2013 RFQ 901181and 901182 – November 7, 2013County Contact: Evelyn Benzon(510) 208-9622 or via email:[email protected] At-tendance at Networking Confer-ence is Non-mandatory. Specifica-tions regarding the above may beobtained at the Alameda CountyGSA Current Contracting Opportu-nities Internet website atwww.acgov.org.10/4/13

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October 4, 2013India Post

www.indiapost.com

DatebookNORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Fri, Oct 4

• Red Carpet Bollywood Nights:

DJ Kamya & IZ Rock

Venue: Nirvana Beverly Hills, 8689

Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Time: 9:30 pm

Contact: 310-698-9223

Fri, Oct 4

• The International Gem and

Jewelry Show

Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center,

1201 Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90744

Time: 12:00 pm

Sat, Oct 5

• Raas-Garba With Jayshree

Gohil & Group

Venue: Anaheim Convention Center,

800 W Katella Ave, Anaheim,

CA 92802

Time: 4:00 pm

Contact: 951-318-7375

Sat, Oct 12

• Bharathanatyam Fund

Raiser

Venue: Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman

Way, Canoga Park, CA 91605

Time: 4:30 pm

Contact: 8183575313

Fri, Oct 18

• Musical Prayer For Peace

Venue: Holy Nativity Episcopal Church,

6700 W 83rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Time: 8:00 pm

Contact: 310-670-4777

Fri, Oct 18

• Celebrate 100 yrs of Indian

Music With Jasraj Joshi

Venue: CENTINELA VALLEY CENTER

FOR THE ARTS, 14901 S Inglewood Ave,

Lawndale, CA 90260

Time: 8:30 pm

Contact: 3104978050

ATLANTA

Upcoming

Fri, Oct 11

• Durgostav 2013

Venue: Berkmar High School, 405 Pleas-

ant Hill Rd, Lilburn, GA 30047

Time: 9:00 pm

Contact: 678-764-5179

Sun, Oct 20

• Dussehra Mela 2013

Venue: Atlanta Event Hall, 3750 Venture

Dr, Duluth, GA 30096

Time: 3:00 pm

Contact: 404-934-9991

Fri, Oct 25

• Diwali Dhamaka 2013q

Venue: Ashiana Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy

Carter Blvd, Norcross, GA 30071

Time: 7:30 pm

Contact: 770-309-1074

Thu, Oct 17• Silent River Film Festival

Venue: Edwards Westpark 8, 3755 AltonPkwy, Irvine, CA 92606Time: 5:00 pmContact: 949-394-5148

Fri, Oct 18• Durga Puja Kickoff

Venue: Centinela Valley Center For The Arts,14901 S Inglewood Ave, Lawndale,CA 90260Time: 5:00 pmContact:310-497-8050

Sat, Oct 19• Grand Diwali Mela – 2013

Festival Of Lights

Venue: Bharat Community Center, 1732Reynolds Ave, Irvine, CA 92614Time: 5:00 pmTime: 714-846-1301

• J K Yog Satsang and Bal

Mukund Hindi Classes are held

every 2nd and 4rth Sunday of

Month

Chicago 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's

Bal Mukund

Character Building Program

and Hindi Literacy Classes

Venue: 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

Sat, Oct 5• Grand Musical Concert By

Abhishek Raghuram

Venue: The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago,

10915 Lemont Rd, Lemont, IL 60439

Time: 4:00 pm

Contact: 630-403-8342

Sat, Oct 5• Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan

Venue: Lake Villa, 18788 Wildflower Way,

Lake Villa, IL 60046

Time: 7:30 pm

Contact: 847-915-2291

Fri, Oct 18• Shree Jalaram Mandir :

Garba 2013

Venue: Shree Jalaram Mandir, 425 Illinois

Blvd, Hoffman Estates, IL 60169

Time: 5:30 pm

Contact: 847-596-0363

Thu, Oct 24• IACS Diversity Job Fair 2013

Venue: Chicago Hilton, 720 South Michi-

gan Avenue, Chicago, 720 South Michigan

Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605

Time: 10:00 am

Contact: 847-596-0363

Sat, Oct 26• 25th Anniversary Celebra-

tions of Bihar Cutural

Association of North America

Venue: The Community House, 415,W 8th

St, Hinsdale, IL 60521

Time: 6:00 pm

Contact: 708-691-2268

Sun, Oct 27• Dhawani Entertainment

Presents Down Memory

Lane

Venue: Cutting Hall of Performing Arts, 250

E Wood St, Palatine, IL 60067

Time: 5:30 pm

Contact: 847-884-0912

Fri, Nov 1• Diwali Celebrations 2013

Venue: Viceroy Of India, 233 E Roosevelt

Rd, Lombard, IL 60148

Time: 6:00 pm

Contact: 773-230-3173

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

NEW JERSEYUpcoming

NEW YORKUpcoming

Thu, Oct 3• DJ Rekha Presents BasementBhangraVenue: Le Poisson Rouge, 158 BleeckerStreet, New York, NY 10012Time: 7:00 pmContact: 718-207-0058

Sat, Oct 5• Raas Garba BenefitVenue: Van Wyck Junior High School, 10Hillside Lake Rd, Wappingers Falls, NY12590Time: 6:00 pmContact: 845-245-6047

Sat, Oct 5• Navratri Rass-GarbaVenue: Navratri Rass Garba 2013 St.Anthony’s High School 275 Wolf Hill Rd,Melville, NY 11747Time: 5:00 pmContact: 347-455-8515

Fri, Oct 18Sun Tv Kalyana MalaiPattiman-dram & ShootingVenue: Hindu Temple Community Center,143-09 Holly Ave, New York, NY 11355Time: 7:00 pmContact: 917-300-9284

Fri, Oct 4• Bollywood Legend, Farooq

Sheikh

Venue: Edison Hotel, 3050 WoodbridgeAve, Edison, NJ 08837Time: 8:00 pmContact: 732-277-6687

Sat, Oct 5• ICS Presents Navratri 2013

Venue: Dunn Sports Center-NJ, 600 PearlSt, Elizabeth, NJ 07202Time: 9:00 pmContact: 908-656-2020

Sun, Oct 6• Bhakta Prahlada Dance

Ballot

Venue: The Marlboro High School,95 N Main Street, Marlboro Township,NJ 07746Time: 3:00 pmContact: 732-429-4855

Fri, Sep 11• OVBI-TV Asia Navratri

Garba Nite

Venue: TV Asia Auditoriam, 76 National Rd,Edison, NJ 08817Time: 7:30 pmContact: 732-261-4084

48

www.indiapost.com50 India Post October 4, 2013

Health ScienceHealth Line

Details on Page 52

Plan to get 100Indian firms under

'Healthy Workplaces'

Houston practices yoga with RamdevHOUSTON: A large number of

yoga enthusiasts got a chance tostart their day with Yoga GuruRamdev who performed variousyoga postures and Pranayamaduring a 'Yoga Shivir' here.

During the session, Ramdevdemonstrated his ability to con-trol his breath, sucking in his stom-ach so it wiggles beneath hisribcage and turns concave.

Ramdev demonstrated eighttypes of breathing exercises andexplained the benefits of each.

He said he has conducted hun-dreds of clinical control trials forestablishing the effectiveness ofbreathing exercises in treatingstress related problems.

His prescription for goodhealth comprises 10 per cent ofphysical exercise and 90 per centof breathing exercises.

He compared the human bodyto hardware and the organs andtheir functions to software. Whilethe physical exercise can keep thehardware in good condition, itwon't protect the software and

yoga played that part, he said.Ramdev, who was in Houston

in 2010 last, enjoys a considerable

following among Indian-Ameri-can population.

He stopped in Houston en

route Chicago and New Jersey toparticipate in the 150th birth anni-versary celebrations of Swami

Vivekananda in Chicago and NewJersey.

He will also commemorate the

120th anniversary of the famousaddress by Swami Vivekananda atthe World Parliament of Religionsin Chicago on September 11, 1893.

Earlier, Ramdev addressed ahuge gathering of Indians on Sep-tember 26.

He talked about everythingright from yoga, religion and is-sues surrounding India during hisover three hour public meeting,"Yoga & India's Current Chal-lenges".

"I didn't change people, yogachanged people," said Ramdev.

"If you want a good life, a bet-ter life, you have no choice but todo yoga. Life is not for doingyoga. Yoga is for making life bet-ter," he said.

Ramdev came out openly infavor of Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi for the PrimeMinister's post, describing him asthe "most suitable person".

"People have already acceptedModi as the future PM and he ismost suitable person for the post,"he said. -PTI

Indian doctors face promotion bias in BritainLONDON: Doctors from In-

dian and other ethnic minoritycommunities in Britain are lesslikely to be promoted to seniorhospital jobs, a medical investi-gation has found.

The 'BMJ Careers' journalfound that in 2012, 13.8 per centof white applicants to seniorhospital doctor jobs in Englandwere successful in securing therole they applied for, comparedwith just 4.8 per cent of doctorsfrom ethnic minority back-grounds.

Black doctors were the leastlikely to secure consultant, spe-cialist or other senior doctorroles, with a success rate of only2.7 per cent.

Asian and British Asian doc-tors had a mildly better ratio at5.72 per cent, with a total of 2,514appointed last year.

Indian-origin doctors havelong been seen as the back-boneof the NHS with over 25,000 prac-ticing in the UK. But concernsaround discrimination within thecountry's health service had re-cently forced the General Medi-

cal Council (GMC), the doctor'swatchdog in the UK, to investi-gate.

Another paper, also publishedby the 'British Medical Journal',

found that ethnic minority doctorswere much more likely to fail theexam required to practice as a gen-eral practitioner (GP).

The researchers said they"cannot exclude subjective biasowing to racial discrimination in

the marking of the clinical skillsassessment" as a reason for thediscrepancy.

The paper follows a GMC re-view of the exam, which is run by

the Royal College of General Prac-titioners (RCGP), following con-cerns about failure rates amongdoctors who qualified outside theUK, as well as among UK-traineddoctors from black or other eth-nic minority backgrounds.

In his report for the GMC,Aneez Esmail, professor of gen-eral practice at the Universityof Manchester, said moreneeded to be done to acknowl-edge that candidates trainedoverseas may require moretraining and support.

Ethnic minority GP candi-dates trained in the UK werefour times more likely to fail thantheir white UK-trained col-leagues at the first attempt, butthese differences disappearedat the second attempt, Esmailfound.

According to RCGP figures,the failure rate for British medi-cal graduates of South Asianorigin is 17.5 per cent and for ablack candidate 24.4 per cent,compared with 5.8 per cent fora white candidate.

The British Association ofPhysicians of Indian Origin(BAPIO), which represents In-dian-origin doctors working inthe UK, has been campaigningfor a probe into the disparity inresults for over two years ago.-PTI

Yoga Guru Ramdev

Diabetes may uprisk of breast andcolon cancer

LONDON: Diabetics have anincreased risk of developingbreast and colon cancer, a newstudy has warned.

Researchers at the ErasmusUniversity Medical Center inRotterdam and colleagues foundthat patients with diabetes had a23 per cent increased risk of de-veloping breast cancer and a 38per cent increased risk of dyingfrom the disease compared to non-diabetic patients.

Diabetic patients also had a 26per cent increased risk of develop-ing colon cancer and a 30 per centincreased risk of dying from it.

"Our meta-analysis is the firstto combine incidence and deathfrom breast and colon cancer,while excluding all other causesof death. We have investigated thelink between diabetes and the riskof developing as well as the risk ofdying from these cancers," said DrKirstin De Bruijn from the ErasmusUniversity Medical Center.

The study analysed resultsfrom 20 trials that had taken placebetween 2007 and 2012, involvingmore than 1.9 million patients withbreast or colon cancer, with orwithout diabetes.

"The results for breast and co-lon cancer incidence in patientswith diabetes are consistent withother meta-analyses. Furthermore,this meta-analysis shows a higherrisk and a stronger associationbetween diabetes and death frombreast and colon cancer thanpreviously reported," said DeBruijn. -PTI

Health sector isour priority,says Omar

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kash-mir Chief Minister Omar Abdullahhas said health sector has beenflagged as one of the most impor-tant areas in the state's develop-ment policy.

"Health sector has beenflagged as one of the most impor-tant sectors in the state's devel-opment policy. During the lastmore than four-and-a-half year,tremendous expansion and con-solidation has been achieved be-sides providing specialists andparamedics in the hospitals andhealth centers," Omar said.

The chief minister was inau-gurating a 200-bed District Hos-pital in Baramulla district of northKashmir.

Omar said the hospital wasanother milestone in the endeavorof the government to universal-ize modern health facilities acrossthe state.-PTI

Ethnic minority GP candidates trained in theUK were four times more likely to fail thantheir white UK-trained colleagues at the firstattempt, but these differences disappearedat the second attempt

India PostHealth Science Post 51

www.indiapost.com

October 4, 2013

SC gearing up for launch of insurance exchangeCOLUMBIA, S.C.: Uninsured South

Carolinians can begin signing up for healthcoverage through the online marketplacecreated under the federal health care over-haul, but many residents may have no ideahow to do that in a state run by Republi-cans who have actively opposed the pro-cess.

South Carolina is among 36 states thatopted against running its state exchange,leaving that to the federal government. Soit's spent no money to advertise it. Still,hundreds of thousands of uninsured SouthCarolinians are expected to sign up forhealth insurance, and some state agencieshave geared up to help.

The state's Medicaid agency has ex-panded its existing call center for Medic-aid-eligible residents and launched a 2-1-1center to answer health overhaul ques-tions, complete with a team ready to helpresidents sign up.

Asked why, director Tony Keck madeclear his agency's assistance is not due toany support for the Affordable Care Act.

``We expect increased calls to our Med-icaid call center by frustrated South Caro-linians, and we will do our best to directthem to the right place to get an answer,''he said.

Organizations recruited by the federalgovernment to help people navigate theprocess appear to largely still be in the plan-ning stages in South Carolina. Officials ofboth nonprofits and insurers say they ex-pect chaos and confusion. But MelanieColclough, deputy director of The BenefitBank of South Carolina, said people areputting too much emphasis on openingday.

``You have some time to actually shopand understand everything,' ' saidColclough, whose group is partnering witha company that received a federal outreachgrant. ̀ `You don't have topull the trigger and go onOct. 1.''

Beginning in 2014,people who don't havehealth insurance willhave to pay a penalty. En-rollment through the ex-change has begun butpeople have until Dec. 15to sign up for health cov-erage that starts Jan. 1.They have until March 31to avoid the penalty.

``A lot of the mysterywill be unveiled Oct. 1,'' Colclough said.``It's OK. Everybody can breathe now.''

In South Carolina, three insurance com-panies will offer a total of 52 plans to indi-viduals and families over the exchange, ac-cording to the state Department of Insur-ance. That includes eight ``catastrophic''plans, which the federal law limits to thoseunder 30 and some low-income residents.

Participating insurers are Blue Cross andBlue Shield of South Carolina; Consumers'Choice Health Plan, a nonprofit co-opera-tive; and Coventry Health Care of the Caro-linas. Both Blue Cross Blue Shield and Con-sumers' Choice are offering plans statewide.Coventry's range is unclear. A Coventryspokeswoman said parent company Aetnawould call The Associated Press to answer

exchange questions, but no one called.Blue Cross Blue Shield will offer about

20 plans. Its marketing effort includes open-ing as many as seven retail stores by theend of 2014, adding to those opened inMount Pleasant and Greenville. It is also

sending a 40-foot mobile unit, with fiveagents aboard, to large sporting events andfestivals across the state, as well as smallcommunities that can't support a store. Andthe company's hired about 15 people tohelp residents sign up for its plans, saidTerry Peace, a company vice president.

Consumers' Choice is among 24 co-opsnationwide created by the federal law. Lim-ited by how it can use a federal loan tomarket its eight plans, outreach involves ateam of six people talking at churches andcommunity forums, said spokeswomanAdrian Grimes.

``We were designed to create competi-tion and drive down cost,'' she said.

On average, South Carolinians will beable to pick from 26 plans, depending on

where they live, accord-ing to a federal report.

Outside of cata-strophic plans that pro-tect from worst-case sce-narios, plans must fallwithin four tiers: bronze,silver, gold and plati-num. The benefits are thesame, but the cost-shar-ing varies, with bronzerequiring the highestout-of-pocket expensesin deductibles and co-pays.

No company is offering platinum-leveloptions to individual buyers in South Caro-lina, according to state officials.

Specifics of South Carolina's plans - in-cluding premiums, cost-sharing and pro-vider access - aren't being made public un-til www.healthcare.gov goes live. TheObama administration's report said thesticker price in South Carolina for a mid-range plan will be $339 a month on aver-age, before federal subsidies that work likeupfront discounts.

That in-state average for a benchmarkpolicy known as the ``second-lowest-costsilver plan'' is $11 more than the nationalaverage. But averages can be misleading.What residents pay for premiums will varywidely, with factors including family size,

age, income and tobacco use. Catastrophicplans don't qualify for subsidies.

Those helping the uninsured enroll in-clude ̀ `navigators,'' who must complete 20to 30 hours of training and pass an exam tobe certified. They can determine whether

people are eligible for subsidies and helpthem through the online process, but theycan't suggest which plan to pick.

Last month, the Obama administrationawarded three groups a total of $2 millionin federal navigator grants for outreach inSouth Carolina.

The largest grant of more than $1.2 mil-lion went to DECO Recovery Management,which is working with the Benefit Bank.

The Benefit Bank, created in 2009 to helppeople secure various social services, hasvolunteer counselors in roughly 500 loca-tions across the state's 46 counties. ButDECO is in charge of the navigator pro-gram.

``This was a no-brainer for DECO to part-ner with us,'' Colclough said. ̀ `We were al-ready in the trenches all over South Caro-lina.''

The Columbia-based Cooperative Min-istry received $508,300 to target uninsuredpeople in eight counties, though the grouphopes to cover more. When fully staffed,the charity expects to have between 30 and45 navigators.

Appointments will be available begin-ning the second week of October. Naviga-tors will spend the first week familiarizingthemselves with the exchange, she said.

The Beaufort County Black Chamber ofCommerce received $234,100. Six of itsseven navigators are certified. To reachpeople across eight counties, they will workwith ``certified application counselors'' _volunteers who receive five hours of train-ing. Help will largely be offered throughchurch functions and other communityevents, said Larry Holman, the chamber'spresident.-AP

Nomaan Merchant U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, right, with

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, left, discusses the implementation of the federal health care

overhaul in Dallas, Texas.

On average, SouthCarolinians will beable to pick from26 plans, dependingon where theylive, accordingto a federal report.

India Post Health Science Postwww.indiapost.com

October 4, 2013 52

Glenmark gets USFDA nodfor skin infections cream

NEW DELHI: Glenmark Pharmaceuticalshas said it has received approval from theUS health regulator for its generic Hydro-cortisone Butyrate Cream used for treatingvariety of skin infections.

Glenmark Generics Inc USA, the subsid-iary of Glenmark Generics Ltd has receivednod for it's Hydrocortisone Butyrate CreamUSP (0.1 per cent), abbreviated new drug

approval (ANDA) from the United StatesFood and Drug Administration (USFDA),Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a state-ment.

The company is entitled to 180 days ofexclusivity with respect to the product as itis the first generic company to file an ANDAfor the product, it added.

"In April 2011, Glenmark had enteredinto a royalty- bearing license agreementwith Triax Pharmaceuticals, Astellas PharmaEurope BV and Astellas Pharma Interna-tional BV to settle a patent infringementsuit against commercialization of genericversion of Locoid Lipocream and agreed tolaunch it near the end of CY 2013," GlenmarkPharmaceuticals said.

According to IMS Healthsales data for the 12 month periodending June 2013, HydrocortisoneButyrate Cream garnered annualsales of nearly USD 34 million, itadded.

The company's product is a ge-neric version of Triax's LocoidLipocream.

"Hydrocortisone Butyratecream is indicated for the relief ofthe inflammatory and pruriticmanifestations of orticosteroid-re-sponsive dermatoses in adultsand the treatment of mild to mod-

erate atopic dermatitis in patients 3 monthsto 18 years of age," Glenmark Pharmaceuti-cals said.

The company's current portfolio con-sists of 90 products authorized for distri-bution in the US market and 53 ANDA'spending approval with the USFDA, itadded.-PTI

Plan to get 100 Indian firmsunder 'Healthy Workplaces'

NEW YORK: An effort to get 100 Indiancompanies under the category of "HealthyWorkplaces" by 2016 was announced by aglobal health non-profit organization to pre-vent the spread of non communicable dis-eases.

Committed to changing the course ofchronic diseases, Arogya World announced"Commitment to Action" program to en-courage companies to meet high standardsfor wellness, helping one million ofthose who work there to lead healthylives."

"We have designed this ambitiousand pioneering public health initiativeto leverage the workplace as a plat-form for preventing Non-Communi-cable diseases (NCDs)," said Dr NaliniSaligram, Founder and CEO of ArogyaWorld at the just concluded three-day2013 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)annual meeting here.

The global health non profit is col-laborating with the Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare in the Governmentof India regarding this.

Joining Arogya World in the workplacewellness program are several leading orga-nizations such as Public Health Founda-tion of India (PHFI), Aon plc, andNationWide.

"With an external score-card that recog-nizes companies for their commitment toworkplace wellness, we want to encouragecompanies to meet high standards forwellness, and motivate others to followsuit", said Keshav Desiraju, Secretary, De-partment of Health and Family Welfare,Government of India.

"India has a huge burden of NCDs - 20

per cent of Indians have at least one chronicdisease, and 10 per cent more than one. Forus to win against NCDs, multiple sectorsof society must work together", he said.

"It is smart to target workplaces, whereso many young people spend so much oftheir day, to influence health behavior," saidDr Srinath Reddy, President Public HealthFoundation of India.

Companies who have committed to ap-

plying for Healthy Workplace awards, bybenchmarking themselves against thesecriteria, this year include iGATE, Infotech,Quinnox, Aon, Reliance Infrastructure,Wipro GE Healthcare and Emami which to-gether have a pool of more than 50,000 em-ployees.

"Indians get diabetes 10 years earlierthan counterparts in the West often in their30s and 40s and half of India are under 25years of age", Desiraju said.

Criterias that mark a workplace as'Healthy' were previously developed byArogya World for India, with the input ofmultiple stakeholders in 2012. -PTI

"We have designed this ambi-tious and pioneering publichealth initiative to leverage theworkplace as a platform forpreventing Non-Communicablediseases (NCDs)," said Dr NaliniSaligram, Founder and CEO ofArogya World

Lower breast cancer risk withpeanut butter use

WASHINGTON: Girls who eat more pea-nut butter and nuts substantially reducetheir risk of breast cancer later in life, a newstudy has claimed.

The study from Washington UniversitySchool of Medicine in St Louis and HarvardMedical School shows that girls aged 9 to15 who regularly ate peanut butter or nutswere 39 per cent less likely to develop be-nign breast disease by age 30.

Benign breast disease, although noncan-cerous, increases risk of breast cancer laterin life, researchers said.

"These findings suggest that peanutbutter could help reduce the risk of breastcancer in women," said senior author Gra-ham Colditz.

The findings are based on the healthhistories of 9,039 US girls enrolled in TheGrowing Up Today Study from 1996through 2001.

Later, from 2005 through 2010, when thestudy participants were 18 to 30 years old,they reported whether they had been diag-nosed with benign breast disease that had

been confirmed by breast biopsy.The researchers found that participants

who ate peanut butter or nuts two timeseach week were 39 per cent less likely tohave developed benign breast disease thanthose who never ate them.

The study's findings suggest thatbeans, lentils, soybeans and corn also mayhelp prevent benign breast disease, but con-sumption of these foods was much lower inthese girls and thus the evidence was weaker.

Past studies have linked peanut butter,nut and vegetable fat consumption to a lowerrisk for benign breast disease.

However, participants in those studieswere asked to recall their high school dietaryintakes years later.

This new study is the first to use reportsmade during adolescence, with continuedfollow-up as cases of benign breast diseaseare diagnosed in young women.

Because of the obesity epidemic, Colditzrecommended that girls replace high-caloriejunk foods and sugary beverages with pea-nut butter or nuts. -PTI

India Post 53October 4, 2013

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Philosophy

Civilization means voluntary reduction of wants

Our egos fight but our soulsremain untouched

Mahatma Gandhi

So long as one has any

association with this aw-

ful sense of being the

doer, there cannot be

the least achievement of

liberation which is some-

thing very different.

-Adi Shankaracharya

There will be light waves

that are beyond the ca-

pacity of lens to per-

ceive. There could also

be sound which cannot

come within the hearing

capacity of the ear. How

can we say that there is

nothing in the universe

other than what we see

and hear?

-Paramacharya

God grant me the se-

renity to accept the

things I cannot change,

the courage to change

the things I can, and the

wisdom to know the dif-

ference.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

Give up the belief that

mind is, even tempo-

rarily, compressed within

the skull, and you will

quickly become more

manly or womanly. You

will understand yourself

and your Maker better

than before.

-Mary Baker Eddy

It is better to live your

own destiny imperfectly

than to live an imitation

of somebody else's life

with perfection.

-The Bhagavad Gita

The material world of the ego is finite, as arethe bodies where our egos are housed. Godis infinite and eternal; our souls are similarlyeternal for they carry the divine spark.

MAHATMA GANDHI

Civilization, in the real senseof the term, consists notin the multiplication, but in

the deliberate and voluntary re-duction of wants. This alone pro-motes real happiness and content-ment, and increases the capacityfor service.

From the standpoint of pureTruth, the body too is a posses-sion. It has been truly said, thatdesire for enjoyment creates bod-ies for the soul. When this desirevanishes, there remains no furtherneed for the body, and man is freefrom the vicious cycle of birthsand deaths.

The soul is omnipresent; whyshould she care to be confinedwithin the cage-like body, or doevil and even kill for the sake ofthe cage?

We thus arrive at the ideal oftotal renunciation, and learn to usethe body for the purposes of ser-vice so long as it exists, so muchso that service, and not bread, be-comes with us the staff of life. Weeat and drink, sleep and awake, forservice alone. Such an attitude ofmind brings us real happiness andthe beatific vision in the fullnessof time. Let us examine ourselvesfrom this standpoint.

We should remember that Non-possession is a principle appli-cable to thoughts, as well as tothings. One, who fills his brainwith useless knowledge, violatesthat inestimable principle.

Thoughts, which turn us awayfrom God, or do not turn us to-wards Him, constitute impedi-ments in our way.

In this connection we may con-sider the definition of knowledgecontained in the 13th chapter ofthe Gita. We are there told, thathumility (amanitvam) etc. consti-tute knowledge, and all the rest isignorance. If this is true much thatwe hug to-day as knowledge is ig-

norance pure and simple, andtherefore, only does us harm, in-stead of conferring any benefit. Itmakes the mind wander, and evenreduces it to a vacuity, and dis-content flourishes in endless rami-fications of evil. Needless to say,this is not a plea for inertia.

Every moment of our life shouldbe filled with activity, but that ac-tivity should be sattvika, tendingto Truth. One, who has conse-crated his life to service, cannotbe idle for a single moment. Butone has to learn to distinguish be-

tween good activity, and evil ac-tivity. This discernment goesnaturally with a single-mindeddevotion to service.

FearlessnessEvery reader of the Gita knows

that fearlessness heads the list ofthe Divine Attributes enumeratedin the 16th chapter. Whether thisis merely due to the exigencies ofmeter, or whether the pride of

place has been deliberatelyyielded to fearlessness, is morethan I can say. In my opinion,however, fearlessness richly de-serves the first rank assigned toit there. For it is a sine qua non forthe growth of the other noblequalities.

How can one seek Truth, orcherish Love, without fearless-ness? As Pritam has it, 'the path ofHari (the Lord) is the path of thebrave, not of cowards'. Hari heremeans Truth, and the brave arethose armed with fearlessness, not

with the sword, the rifle and othercarnal weapons, which, strictlyspeaking are affected only by cow-ards.

Fearlessness connotes freedomfrom all external fear - fear of dis-ease, bodily injury and death, ofdispossession, of losing one's near-est and dearest, of losing reputa-tion or giving offence, and so on.One, who overcomes the fear ofdeath, does not surmount all other

fears, as is commonly but errone-ously supposed. Some of us donot fear death, but flee from theminor ills of life.

Some are ready to die themselves,but cannot bear their loved ones tobe taken away from them. Some willswerve from the strait and narrowpath simply because they are afraidof incurring the world's odium.

Excerpted from Selected Writ-ings of Mahatma Gandhi byRonald Duncan. The 144th birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhiwill be observed on October 2.

RAM DASS

Most people define them-selves in terms of theiregos - I am a father, a

mother, a teenager, rich, poor, lib-eral, conservative, young,old...the list goes on forever. Ourculture reinforces this level ofawareness - "you are what youwear," "you are what you eat,""what kind of car do you drive?"et cetera. Most of us also gener-ally define others in terms of theiregos - they are nice, mean, attrac-tive, ugly, smart, stupid, funny, orunpleasant.

The ego is competitive; it as-sesses itself by comparison toother egos. We will tear downanother's ego if it threatens ourown or doesn't "measure up" toour standards - "Sure, she isbeautiful, but she is really scat-terbrained. I am smarter than sheis." "He might be successful butI bet he doesn't have any realfriends."

SoulWe are much more than our

egos, thanks be to God. We arealso souls. If we identify with oursouls, then we begin to seethings as God sees them. In theGospels, Jesus taught us time

and time again that God sees usas souls. Souls are eternal, egosand all things that are importantto egos are not. If we see othersas souls instead of only theiregos, then following Christ'sgreat teaching to love others asyou love yourself becomes much

easier.Compassion flows more

readily when we realize that theperson who injured our ego isalso a soul just like us. Our egosfight. Our souls are untouched.Even if we are worlds apart interms of our egos, we share thesame divine spark of the Creatorin our souls. We are all childrenof God and beloved by Him. Justas God loves us He commandsus to love others as well.

GodGod is the source of all that is.

He is the Creator and we are cre-ated in His image. The materialworld of the ego is finite, as arethe bodies where our egos arehoused. God is infinite and eter-nal; our souls are similarly eternal

for they carry the divine spark.God is spirit, the soul is spirit aswell. Our souls yearn to merge withGod, to be one with Him. Christsaid that He and the Father are oneand that we should approach theHoly through Him. We can becomeone with God through Christ. Wecan think of Christ as our guru.

AwarenessAs we increasingly identify with

our souls instead of our egos, we

Ram Dass

We learn to use the body for the purposesof service so long as it exists, so much sothat service, and not bread, becomeswith us the staff of life.

will be better able to live a Christ-centered life. Christ, who asspirit lives in our hearts, bringsus into union with God throughHis presence. The key is to beaware of His presence. We can-not attain this wonderful stateof awareness by doing any-

thing. We attain it by doingnothing.

We attain it by being still, byletting go of our egos, by surren-dering our life to God so that wemight live more fully. When wefinally let go, freed of the prisonof the ego, aware that we aresouls, we are connected to God.

Ram Dass is an Americancontemporary spiritual teacherand the author of the seminal1971 book 'Be Here Now'

54 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

October 4, 2013India Post

India PostOut of character

If actors in the Indian political drama are behaving out of char-acter, the reason is the looming elections. If the soft spoken,almost timid Prime Minister of India was roaring like a lion inNew York it is because of fear of public opinion back home

which will decide the fate of his party six months from now. Afterelections, which give them a mandate for five years, politicians ceaseto care about those who elected them. They engage in enrichingthemselves and their kin until the next call of accountability. Thattime is soon arriving. Manmohan Singh may not have enrichedhimself, but he has allowed all those around him to do so becausethere has been no call from his masters (or mistress) not to do so. Asa former bureaucrat he has been trained to follow orders.

As Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif privately remarked,Manmohan Singh had been complaining to Obama about Pakistanlike a "village woman." This was out of character for the amiableSikh. Normally he is all courtesy and bon homie. But with the publicback home baying for his blood for tolerating attacks from acrossthe border at the Line of Control and the particular incident twodays before his visit to the US in which a police station and an armycamp was attacked by fully armed Pakistani terrorists resulting inthe death of ten people including an Army Lt Colonel. His positionhad been further destabilized by crown prince of the Congress RahulGandhi publicly attacking the ordinance cleared by his own party'sprime Minister and his cabinet to protect legislators who have beenconvicted by courts for crimes. The hugely embarrassed PM wastrying to buttress his image by behaving like an angry man.

Having been born in that part of India which is now Pakistan,Manmohan Singh during his tenure has been keen to strengthenties with that country even at times going against public opinion.But this time, at his New York meeting with Nawaz Sharif he demon-strated a tough exterior not even looking into the eyes of Sharif lestthe TV cameras take a wrong image to the Indian public which iseager to announce a verdict on his alleged accommodation to Paki-stan. The several overtures from Pakistan to start talks on trade andother issues were rejected out of hand. The only priority, the IndianPrime Minister indicated, was end to the attacks from the other sideof Line of Control. Other things will have to wait.

Both Obama and Sharif did not seem to be taken aback by thechange in the posture of the Indian Prime Minister. Both, in fact,may not have taken the current Indian PM seriously. They are wait-ing to do business with his successor, who could be the one whowas haranguing massive crowds in Delhi at that time. NarendraModi may not ultimately become the next Prime Minister keeping inmind the arithmetic necessary for such a scenario, but there was nodoubt about his popularity going by the enthusiasm of those listen-ing to him, by the extensive media coverage and the attendance bya horde of foreign diplomats who took notes and even did videocoverage.

The Modi factor has challenged the present Congress dispensa-tion in power like nothing ever before. The opposition criticism andpublic outcry is responded to. Attempts are being made to defendRahul Gandhi for his ill-mannered outburst against an ordinancefashioned by his own party old guard. Rahul and Sonia have com-municated to the Prime Minister that there was no attempt to humili-ate him and he is in fact looked up to with great respect.

Modi on the other hand has not been leaving any chance toattack the dynastic rule in the Congress and the sycophantic hang-ers on who benefit from proximity. What however we are missing isa credible alternative particularly on foreign policy.

‘A Kashmir agreement mustbe 90 percent face-saving’

D SUBA CHANDRAN

How does the Americanscholarship see J&Ktoday, and the role ofUS? Unlike the South

Asian case, in the US, the aca-demic community plays an impor-tant role in influencing and reflect-ing the thinking of the State onvarious issues. Hence, it is impor-tant to analyze the perceptions ofthe academic community.

The recently publishedbook - Shooting for the Cen-tury authored by ProfStephen Cohen, one of themost important scholars ofSouth Asia in the US is im-portant. He has served in dif-ferent American administra-tions and hence a critique ofhis perspectives on J&Kwould be significant.

For Cohen, the dispute hasnot been resolved for threefactors - the Cold War be-tween the US and SovietUnion, inflexibility of theStates, and the failure of theDiaspora in US in projectingthe cause of Kashmiris.

First, Cohen points out, that theCold War led by the US and So-viet Union did not see J&K as aregional dispute, but a part of thelarger East-West struggle, withIndia and Pakistan being proxiesor treaty allies.

True, Cold War may haveplayed an important role in inter-nationalizing the Kashmir disputesince the 1950, but the importantquestion is - has that helped thecause of J&K in reaching a peace-ful understanding?

If Cold War is one of the pri-mary factors, then the end of ColdWar should have helped the inter-national community to perceiveJ&K as a regional dispute and

helping the settlement process.Ironically, the violence in J&K

increased multi fold after the endof Cold War. True, Soviet Union isno more and does not play anysubstantial role in J&K today.However, there seems to be a newglobal context, in which J&K isagain getting sucked into. The USand China are the new global play-ers vying for superiority; while theUS wants to maintain its influence

in Asia and rest of the world, Chinawants to upset the existing equi-librium, be the undisputed leaderin Asia and a leading global power.

The American Pivot and Rebal-ancing strategies towards Asia isa part of the US led efforts to checkChina within Asia. At least that ishow China perceives it; Indo-USstrategic partnership and the

Indo-US nuclear deal are seen aspart of American strategies to propup India against China.

As a response, China is at-tempting to cultivate Pakistan tocheck India within South Asia, andsend warning signals to New Delhinot to move closer to the Ameri-can allies in the rest of Asia, forexample in Southeast and EastAsia.

China's renewed support toPakistan's nuclear weapons pro-gram, taking over of the Gwadarport, building of the KarakoramHighway and the investments inGilgit-Baltistan are a part of prop-ping up strategy. The Chinese in-trusion in Ladakh should be seenas part of warning strategies pre-

venting New Delhi from buildingany partnerships within Asiaagainst China.

That the Chinese intrusionscame weeks before the visit ofManmohan Singh to Japan was nocoincidence. With Japan becom-ing increasingly anti-Chinese andAbe pursuing a hostile approach,China is worried about any largerIndo-Japan strategic partnershipwith American support.

True, Cold War may be overnow, but there are new alignments,which will pull J&K again into aninternational complex; this shouldnot be seen as "internationaliza-tion" of Kashmir issue; it will onlymake the issue even more intrac-table.

The second factor that Cohenidentifies for the Kashmir conflict

not being resolved is theinflexibility of both theStates - India and Pakistan.Despite certain significantpositive measures duringthe last decade, especiallyduring Musharraf's periodsuch as the Ceasefire,opening of the LoC for busand truck services, the twoStates continue to remaininflexible. Perhaps, what-ever was achieved duringthe last decade over J&Kwas due to the leadershipin both countries, and nota result of a realizationwithin the respective bu-reaucracies and the mul-

tiple institutions.Third factor, equally important

one that Cohen highlights is therole of Kashmiri Diaspora in theUS and how it is seen.

To quote Cohen, "the so-calledKashmiri Action Committee a ma-jor lobbying effort on behalf of theKashmir 'cause' in the UnitedStates - with links to several othercountries - was shown to belargely paid for by Pakistan's in-telligence service, the ISI, and itsAmerican director was convictedand sentenced to prison.

“ Still the committee pursuesthe goal of an independent Kash-mir, oblivious to the wishes ofmost Kashmiris and certainly tothe views of the Indian govern-ment. This remains a Diasporacause, and while the grievancesin Kashmir that the committeehighlights are real, it forwards norealistic strategy for resolution."

There has to be a larger dia-logue between J&K and itsDiaspora. As Cohen asks, dothey advocate what the peopleof J&K want, and have a "realis-tic strategy for resolution"?

As a conclusion, Cohen ar-gues, "a Kashmir agreementmust be 90 percent face-saving;it must find reasons for bothsides to accommodate the in-tensely held fears and feelings ofthe other, as well as those ofKashmiris."

Can there be such an agree-ment? Can we work towards it? Ashe says, this would be difficult, butnot impossible.

The writer is Director, IPCS

The American Pivot and Rebalancingstrategies towards Asia is a part of the US ledefforts to check China within Asia. At leastthat is how China perceives it; Indo-US strate-gic partnership and the Indo-US nuclear dealare seen as part of American strategies toprop up India against China

Prof Stephen Cohen


October 4, 201356