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Bollywood 24 US Affairs 10
Vol.7 No. 5 May 31-June 6, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Humor 28 Spiritual Awareness 30
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Thursday asked
his Cabinet colleagues to set 100-
day agendas with focus on efficient
governance, delivery and imple-
mentation of programs.
Saying progress of states is cru-
cial to the countrys overall devel-
opment, he also instructed his min-
isters to give priority to issues
brought by the state governments
and the MPs.
The directives were given by
Modi at a Cabinet meeting here in
the context of his 10-point vision,
which includes increasing invest-
ment, completing infrastructure
projects in time-bound manner and
exploiting the natural resources to
the countrys benefit.
To send out a similar message
across the country, Modi is likely
to address the nation, possibly after
the brief Parliament session from
June 4 to 11 during which
President Pranab Mukherjee will
address a joint sitting outlining the
governments agenda.
Modi told his Cabinet colleagues,
at the second meeting in two days,
that he would be regularly meeting
them as also the secretaries indi-
vidually.
Within two days of taking over,
the Modi government has also
begun work on allowing up to
100% FDI in defense production,
sending a strong signal to global
investors as well as to try and
move the production base of some
equipment into the country. The
Hussain Baqueri
elected NDMF President
New York: The Nargis Dutt
Me mo r i a l
C a n c e r
Foundation
( N D MF ) ,
that strives
to improve
and upgrade
cancer treat-
ment and
care in India,
has finally
e l e c t e d
H u s s a i n
Baqueri as its President. This was
announced by outgoing President
Sher Singh Madra and the Election
Chair, Peter Bheddah.
Baqueri has been actively
involved with NDMF for 7 years,
including as a donor and recently
as its General Secretary.
Taking over as President,
Baqueri said that hell work
towards fulfilling the dreams and
aims of the foundation and sought
the continued support of the
NDMF board and the community
at large. Mr Madra congratulated
Srinagar/New Delhi: The row
over article 370 escalated
Wednesday with Jammu &
Kashmir's political parties as well
as Congress opposing any move to
revoke the constitutional provision
guaranteeing special status to the
state and the RSS stressing that the
state would remain an integral part
of India and attacking Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah for sug-
gesting otherwise.
The state' s ruling National
Conference and its coalition part-
ner, the Congress, as well as the
opposition Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) reacted strongly to
Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra
Singh's statement that talks had
been started with stakeholders to
begin the revocation process.
Abdullah asked the central gov-
ernment to come clean on the
"stakeholders" it was talking to on
the contentious issue.
"We will oppose the move tooth
and nail. Since it is the minister of
state in the PMO talking, it is a
policy matter. They (central gov-
ernment) must come clean and
share who are the stakeholders
they have talked to," he told jour-
nalists in Srinagar.
On Tuesday soon after Jitendra
Singh's statement, Abdullah said:
"Jammu and Kashmir would not
be part of India if Article 370,
which grants special status to the
Continued on page 4
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at work in his office.
J&K Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah will oppose the
move tooth and nail.
Modi gets
cracking on
investment,
infrastructure
The PM asks ministers to set 100 day agendas for efficient, result
oriented governance. Working on 100% FDI in defense projects.
Article 370: Kashmir parties slam talk of
revocation, RSS hits out at Omar
Hussain Baqueri
By Shiv Chopra
New York:
Scripting history,
Sriram J. Hathwar,
14, and Ansun
Sujoe, 13, jointly
won the 2014
Scripps National
Spelling Bee held
in Washington
Thursday. It was
seventh year in a
row that Indian
American boys
and girls have
monopolized the championship.
And it was the first time in 52
years that the trophy had to be
shared. However, they both got
the prize money of $30,000.
Eighth grader Sriram is from
the Alternative School for Math
and Science in Painted Post, New
York. He was the only one to
have participated in the competi-
tion 5 times and came at third
place last year. Ansun, a 7th
grader, is from the Bethesda
Christian School in Fort Worth,
Texas. They both fought vigor-
ously as the contest went into
overtime.
Finally, they were down to four
words and Sriram spelled
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe are
Co-Champions of the 2014 National Spelling Bee.
Indian spell continues in 7th year
May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
31st
3 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Special to SAT
New York: At a gathering to cele-
brate the victory of BJP and instal-
lation of Narendra Modi as Indias
prime minister, a call was made for
strengthening of Hindutva and its
values in India and other parts of
the world.
Hindu parades should be held an-
nually in such cities as New York,
Hindi should be made an official
language at the United Nations, and
countries like Pakistan and
Bangladesh should be persuaded to
abandon their Islam-centered out-
look, speakers said at the meeting
organized by the Indian American
Intellectuals Forum here last
week. They also urged the Modi
government to abrogate Article 370
of the Constitution, which gives a
special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
This, combined with other steps,
should be taken to further integrate
the nation, they opined.
The event on May 24, where there
was no keynote speaker, described
the election outcome in India as the
defeat of anti-Hindu UPA govern-
ment. About 30 people spoke
briefly to the 150-strong audience
at a restaurant in Queens. The 10-
year Congress party administration
was described as misrule: mi-
norities ruling the majority people.
Narain Kataria, President of Indi-
an American Intellectuals Forum,
welcomed the guests. Arish Sahani,
Vice President of the New York
based forum, was one of the main
organizers of the meeting emceed
by Rakesh Bhargava.
The speakers and community
leaders who addressed the meeting
included: Srichand Sidhwani, Yash
Pal Arya, Veena Shetty, Dr. Shashi
Shah, Nagendra Rao, Rajender
Singh Khalsa, Kamlesh Mehta,
Pabitra Chaudhuri, Dr. Narinder
Kukar, Bhupinder Singh Bhurji,
Animesh Goenka, Vibhuti Jha,
Dr. Urmilesh Arya, Shashikant
Patel, Sunil Modi and Toni
Sardana.
NY group wants India to be a
nation of Hindu values
Mineola, NY: I
am honored to
receive the
endorsement of
Nassau County
Executive Ed
Mangano, Grant
Lally said in a
statement. He is
s e e k i n g
Republican nomi-
nation to run for
New Yorks 3rd
Congressi onal
district, which
comprises por-
tions of Nassau,
Suffolk and
Queens counties. No one has fought
harder for the hardworking taxpay-
ers than Executive Mangano. Like
him, I understand that in order for
our quality of life to improve on
Long Island, we must fight to keep
taxes low, repeal unfair regulations
placed on small businesses, and pro-
mote good government," Lally said.
In his statement, Mangano said,
"More than ever before, America
needs principled, conservative patri-
ots serving in our government -
especially in Washington. Just like
we turned Nassau County around by
fighting out-of-control taxes and
promoting good government, I am
positive Grant Lally will take those
same principles to Washington. I am
proud to endorse Grant Lally for
Congress, and urge all Republicans
to get out and vote for Grant in the
June 24th Republican primary."
Lally is up against Stephen Labate
in the primary. If nominated, he will
run against the Democratic incum-
bent Steve Israel.
Mangano endorses Grant
Lally for Congress
New York: National September 11 Memorial
Museum opened last week to outrage among
some victims' families over a gift shop at the
site and a black-tie reception held close to the
unidentified remains of people killed in the
2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center.
More controversy has erupted with news
that a restaurant is opening soon inside the
museum offering an array of local, seasonal
fare in a relaxing and comfortable environ-
ment, according to the museum guide.
Its the crassest, most insensitive thing to
have a commercial enterprise at the place
where my son died, Diane Horning told the
New York Post. She and husband Kurt never
recovered the remains of their son Matthew,
26, a database administrator at the Twin
Towers.
The gift shop is selling fire and police T-
shirts and caps, earrings molded from trees
that survived the destruction, United We
Stand blankets and even FDNY vests for
dogs.
But spokesman Anthony Guido said the
shop is essential to keep the museum going,
since it receives no federal or state funds and
is financed entirely by private
donations. Between 60 and 70
percent of the museum's annual
operating cost of about $60 mil-
lion will come from revenue gen-
erated from the gift shop and the
museum's admission fee, which is
$24 for an adult, he told
NBCNews.com.
Mary Fetchet, who lost her son
Brad in the attack, went to the
dedication of the museum last
week and said she didn't think the
shop detracted from the message.
"People have to recognize this
was a very expensive project,"
she told NBCNews.com. "This
has to be preserved for perpetuity
so you need to raise the money.
When people visit here from around the
world, they want a memento to remember
that day and reflect on their experience of
visiting the memorial." Relatives of unidenti-
fied 9/11 victims have also demanded that
the remains being housed in the bowels of
the new 9/11 Museum be moved above
ground to a tomb similar to the Tomb of the
Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
The museum displays photos of the nearly
3,000 victims as well as some artifacts used
by some of them. While dedicating the muse-
um to the nation May 22, President Obama
said, Nothing can ever break us, nothing can
change who we are as Americans. Those we
lost live on within us.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano (left)
and Grant Lally who is seeking GOP nomination
for Congress from New Yorks 3rd district.
A view of the gathering at the lunch meeting organized by the
Indian American Intellectuals Forum.
A Bostonian wins Lok
Sabha seat in India
Boston, MA: Jayant Sinha,
the Harvard-educated
Bostonian and a resident of
Chestnut Hill, MA, has
been elected as a Member
of India's Parliament. He
contested the Lok Sabha
election on BJP ticket from
Hazaribagh in Jharkhand
and won in the anti-incum-
bency wave against the ruling Congress Party.
Sinha is a venture capitalist passionate about
India, technology and cricket. "It is truly a
journey from Boston to Hazaribagh," Sinha
said from New Delhi, speaking to
IndUSBusiness Journal based in
Massachusetts. "People in Delhi have more in
common with Boston than those in
Hazaribagh. The journey from Boston to my
small village is a very long journey in terms
of culture, development and infrastructure. I
often say that I feel like a person who has
played tennis all his life and has been thrown
in to play cricket with Sachin Tendulkar. It is
a great experience to go on stage in front of
75,000 people and with Narendra Modi in
Hazaribagh and speak to everyone."
Jayant Sinha
Victims families criticize commercial activities at new 9/11 museum
President Obama and former NYC Mayor
Bloomberg at the dedication of the
museum on May 18.
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4 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE
New Delhi: The Sahara group
Thursday told the Supreme Court
that it was selling its three prime
properties in London and New
York to raise money to secure the
release of Subrata Roy and two
other directors.
The court, however, asked
Sahara to place before it the com-
munication it had exchanged with
the Bank of China with which
these properties were mortgaged.
The three hotels in which the
Sahara group would be off-load-
ing stakes are the Grosvenor
House Hotel in London and the
New York Plaza and Dream New
York hotels. The court said
Sahara will also inform it
whether the valuation of the three
hotels by an international valuer
at the instance of the Bank of
China has been accepted by the
bank and about the total outstand-
ing liabilities it had towards the
bank that financed their purchase
and with which Sahara's shares
were pledged. The bench of
Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice
A.K. Sikri reserved its order on
Sahara's application seeking lift-
ing of the embargo on its bank
accounts and nine properties in
different parts of the country
including the mortgage of its real
estate assets in the Aamby Valley
project. The court also reserved
its order on Roy's plea seeking to
be placed under house arrest if he
could not be granted bail.
Roy is at present in Tihar jail
after the court sent him to judicial
custody March 4 for not comply-
ing with the court's Aug 31, 2012
and Dec 5, 2012, order to return
the investors' Rs.24,000 crore
that Sahara' s two companies
SIRECL and SHICL had raised
from investors through
Optionally Fully Convertible
Debentures (OFCDs).
The court has said that for
securing release of Roy and the
others, Sahara will have to
deposit with the court registry
Rs.10, 000 crore, of which
Rs.5,000 crore would be in cash
and Rs.5,000 crore in bank guar-
antee.
Los Angeles: Former Microsoft
chief executive Steve Ballmer
won a frenetic bidding war for
ownership of the Los Angeles
Clippers, with his $2-billion
offer setting a record price for an
NBA team, The Los Angeles
Times has reproted.
Balmer was chosen over com-
petitors that included LA-based
investors Tony Ressler and Steve
Karsh and a group that included
David Geffen and executives
from the Guggenheim Group,
the Chicago-based owner of the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
The sale price is almost four
times the highest previous NBA
franchise sale price -- the $550
million paid earlier this month
for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The prospective sale by
Clippers co-owner Shelly
Sterling comes five days ahead
of an NBA hearing to oust her
family from ownership follow-
ing a controversy in which
Donald Sterling insulted
African-Americans in a secret
audio recording.
The tentative deal still must
receive the blessing of her hus-
band, Donald Sterling, who has
waxed and waned on the ques-
tion of whether he would allow
his wife to sell the team he has
controlled for more than three
decades.
Ballmer, 58, left the software
giant in February and has an
estimated net worth of $20
billion.
Modi gets cracking on investment...
Continued from page 1
commerce and industry ministry has
circulated a Cabinet note seeking
comments from other government
agencies.
The ministry is also readying other
proposals to allow FDI in sectors such
as railways, where the list of areas
where investment will be allowed is
being expanded, according to sources.
Similarly, there is a proposal to ease
FDI norms in construction.
Article 370: Kashmir parties slam ...
Continued from page 1
state, is revoked."
"Mark my words & save this tweet -
long after Modi Govt is a distant
memory either J&K won't be part of
India or Art 370 will still exist," he
had tweeted.
The RSS hit back at Abdullah, say-
ing the state would remain an integral
part of India irrespective of Article
370 being repealed or not.
"Is Omar thinking it's his parental
estate? (Article) 370 or no 370, J&K
has been and will always be an inte-
gral part of India," RSS spokesman
Ram Madhav tweeted.
In New Delhi, Congress spokesper-
son Abhishek Manu Singhvi said
Jitendra Singh's remarks were "delib-
erate, thought out orchestrated and
intended to politicize and polarize".
Attacking the move, PDP president
Mehbooba Mufti said: "Experts
believe article 370 is the bridge of
Kashmir's accession to the country
and if you break it, you go back to
pre-1947 position. You give people to
re-negotiate. Are you ready?"
She sought the intervention of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
send out a signal that there is no such
intention.
Indian spell continues in 7th year...
Continued from page 1
stichomythia correctly. The
announcer told Ansun that if he
spelled the next word correctly they
both would be declared co-champi-
ons. Ansuns word was feuilleton,
which he had difficulty pronouncing
but with only 30 seconds left, he said
whatever and spelled it correctly.
Sriram said afterwards on ESPN
which was telecasting the contest
live, that they werent fighting each
other but the dictionary.
The competition started with 11
million students worldwide. This list
was shrunk to 281 who came to the
event in Washington, DC. Six of the
finalists on Thursday evening were
predictably of Indian origin: Sriram,
Ansun, Neha Konakalla, Tejas
Muthusamy, Ashwin Veeramani, and
Gokul Venkatachalam. Last year's
winner, New York middle-schooler
Arvind Mahankali, was the sixth
Indian American in a row to take the
title.
Indian Americans, who have won
the championship eleven times in the
last 16 years, swept the top three
spots this year as they did in the pre-
vious two years.
The author is a 10th grader in
Hicksville High School, NY.
Hussain Baqueri elected...
Continued from page 1
Baqueri on his election and thanked
the NDMF board and the community
for support extended to him during
his tenure. Hyderabad born Baqueri
began his career as a commercial
pilot. Immigrating to the US in 1977,
he acquired an MBA in Finance &
International Business.
Currently, he is the Vice President
of Client Services for North and
South America at Jet Aviation, which
manages aviation assets globally. He
also runs several minority owned
small businesses including Sir Speedy
Printing & Marketing Services in
Plainview, NY.
NDMF was established in 1981 in
memory of cine star Nargis Dutt who
died of cancer.
Over the years, it has completed 56
projects in India valued at more than
$5 million.
Sahara group is running
helter-skelter to raise money
to secure the release of their
chief Subrata Roy
Sahara to sell assets in New York, London to raise money
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
to buy Clippers for $2 billion
Steve Ballmer
5 May 31- June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New York: New
research conduct-
ed by an Indian
high school stu-
dent could help
make visual con-
tent online more
accessible to color
blind users, Mash-
able reported.
Animesh Tri-
pathi, 17, is inves-
tigating algo-
rithms that could determine how to most ef-
fectively adjust color schemes online. The
technology would let color blind users con-
sume content such as videos, images, and
charts, which would otherwise be difficult
for them to see, more easily.
"Some simple technical changes on the re-
ceiving end go a long way in enhancing the
visual experience for the color blind," he
told Mashable. "Devices tend to have mag-
nifying and color-inversion features for vi-
sual problems, however, despite the preva-
lence of color blindness, there has not been
any native, inbuilt feature that can correct
visual content at the press of a button."
Tripathi, whose father serves in the Indian
Navy, was inspired to begin this research
when a friend was unable to fulfill his dream
of becoming a fighter pilot in the Indian Air
Force because he was diagnosed with red-
green color blindness the most common
form of the deficiency. He hopes to contin-
ue his work when he starts college in the fall,
where he plans to study computer science.
New York: Jhanvi Ravis-
hankar, an Indian American
eighth-grader from Nesconset's
Great Hollow Middle School,
who won a hard-fought slot in
the Scripps National Spelling
Bee, was eliminated from the
competition Wednesday, the
Newsday reported.
Jhanvi, 13, wearing the num-
ber 157 in the preliminaries,
correctly spelled both "leder-
hosen," a type of leather shorts
often worn with suspenders, and "larith-
mics," the scientific study of the quantitative
aspects of population, in rounds held
Wednesday afternoon.
But she misspelled several words on a
computer-based test that was factored into
her overall performance. She and other con-
testants took that exam Tuesday.
Ravishankar's participation in the national
bee -- held in National Harbor, Maryland,
outside the nation's capital -- followed her
February victory in the Hofstra Long Island
Regional Spelling Bee.
Then, she and another student battled for
nearly 15 minutes, each vying for a chance
to compete at the national level. She cor-
rectly spelled "rorqual," a type of whale, to
win. Ravishankar said Wednesday that she
was disappointed, but that she was proud of
her performance on stage. She felt poised
and ready to speak before both
the audience and the judges,
she said, and was glad for the
boost of confidence.
She said she spent months
preparing for the event, study-
ing some 30,000 words, some-
times for hours a day. Her
teachers agreed to hold off on
issuing homework during her
final week of preparation as
long as she agreed to study the
entire time, she said.
"I tried my best and put in as many hours
as possible," she said.
Her parents, both software engineers, said
they were thrilled with her success.
"She came up to this level," her father,
Ravishankar Moorthy was quoted saying in
Newsday report. "We are so proud of that.
She did, for us, an excellent job."
This year's national contest included 281
spellers -- 142 girls and 139 boys. About
three-quarters were in the seventh or eighth
grades; the youngest was in the second
grade.
Fifteen students were from New York.
Ravishankar, who hopes to study invest-
ments and financial management in college,
spends most of her time reading and playing
video games, she said.
She will attend Smithtown High School
East in September.
VENUE:
New Jersey Performing Arts Center,
1 Center St., Newark, New Jersey
DATE AND TIME:
July 12, 2014; 3 PM to 8 PM
Followed by Gurudevs personal
blessings and Prasad (dinner).
Registration is required for this
complimentary (no-charge) event.
Over 2,000 seats already booked.
Only a limited number of seats left.
TO REGISTER, VISIT
www.GuruPoornima2014.com
or call 516 484 0018
Get the Blessings of Satguru Brahmrishi
Sri Guruvanand Ji Swami Gurudev
on 2014 Guru Poornima
If you have any understanding of the divine power
of a Satguru and the everlasting positive influence
of their blessings given on Guru Poornima then
you know it is an opportunity of a lifetime!
Brahmrishi Sri Guruvanand Ji
Swami Gurudev is one of the
few living Satgurus. He has
invoked all Chakras of his
Kundalini and achieved all Siddhis.
Free bus transportation will be available from Long Island,
Queens and Edison, NJ.
Sikh group appeals dismissal of
1984 case against Congress Party
New York: A Sikh group has challenged the
dismissal of a rights violation case against
India's Congress party relating to the 1984 anti-
Sikh riots before the US Court of Appeals here.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) contends the case
"touches and concerns" the US and the group
has "institutional standing" to seek "declarato-
ry judgement" on November 1984 violence
against the Sikh community. US District Court
Judge Robert W Sweet had on April 24 dis-
missed the lawsuit against Congress party for
failure to show sufficient "touch and concern"
to the US.
However, he had also ruled that a corporate
defendant can be liable under the Alien Torts
Statute (ATS) assuming that the statute's "touch
and concern" requirements are adequately
alleged.
SFJ's appeal is based on grounds that the vic-
tims' group claim is not barred under a US
Supreme Court ruling as plaintiffs have already
been granted refugee status by California fed-
eral court for being victims of violence. This
proves "touch and concern" and sufficient con-
nection to the US.
On the issue of SFJ's standing in the case, the
appeal claims that federal law grants "institu-
tional standing" to human rights groups to seek
"declaratory judgements" by the US Courts.
In this case, SFJ is seeking a judgement to
declare November 1984 violence against the
Sikh community after the assassination of then
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as "genocide."
The monetary compensation against Congress
Party is being sought only by the individual
plaintiffs who are survivors or legal heirs of the
1984 victims, SFJ said.
Washington, DC: Asserting that the future
of India-US ties holds "extraordinary poten-
tial", a bipartisan group of four American
lawmakers today wrote to US President
Barack Obama, extending their services in
strengthening the bilateral relationship.
"India's commitment to democracy con-
tinues to strengthen our conviction that the
United States and India are natural allies in
confronting some of the biggest challenges
of the early 21st century. We look forward
to working with you on United States-India
relations in the years ahead," the lawmakers
wrote in a joint letter to Obama.
"We continue to believe that the future of
our relationships holds extraordinary poten-
tial, and we can continue to build upon trust,
convergent geopolitical interests, and strong
people-to-people ties," the four lawmakers
said.
"These attributes offer an opportunity for
both our countries to deepen co-operation to
enhance each other's prosperity, security
and well-being," they said.
Dated May 23, the letter was signed by
the two Co-Chairs of the Senate India
Caucus - Senators Mark Warner and John
Cornyn -- and Co-Chairs of the
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian
Americans -- Congressmen Peter Roskam
and Joseph Crowley. "As co-chairs of the
Senate and House caucuses, we join you in
congratulating the Indian people and gov-
ernment on their successful elections," they
wrote.
"As longtime supporters and advocates
for a deepening partnership between the
United States and India, we appreciate the
efforts by you and previous Administrations
in working to sustain, deepen and expand
this relationship," they said.
"The relationship between the world's old-
est and the world's largest democracies has
grown stronger over the years, and there is
bipartisan support for expanding US-India
co-operation going forward," the Senators
said.
Meanwhile, Cornyn sent a separate letter
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said
that he looks forward to "partnering" with
him to promote greater co-operation
between the US and India.
"As co-founder and the Republican Co-
Chair of the Senate India Caucus, I stand
ready to work with you and the government
to promote and strengthen the partnership
between our two great democracies," he
wrote.
"The strategic relationship between the
United States and India is multifaceted. In
recent years, significant progress has been
made in a broad range of areas, including
defense ties, security co-operation, econom-
ic relations and education," Cornyn wrote.
Future of Indo-US ties holds
extraordinary potential: Lawmakers
Jhanvi Ravishankar eliminated from
spelling bee prelims
New Delhi high schooler's
research could aid color
blind users online
Event Promotion
Jhanvi Ravishankar
Animesh Tripathi
6 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Paramus hires first Indian American police officer
T
he Paramus borough in New Jersey
hired six new police officers, includ-
ing two veterans and its first Indian-
American officer, as the department contin-
ues to boost numbers and reduce officer
overtime, NJ.com reported.
Officers Amit Vaidya, Richard Paldino,
Timothy Reed, Connor Nutland, Matthew
McGuire and Gil Maynard went to work
Wednesday after the council approved hiring
them Tuesday night. Each officer is being
paid $40,101 annually, according to the
council resolution.
The six officers were sworn in for duty
Wednesday morning, but will take part in a
formal swearing-in ceremony at a council
meeting sometime this summer, Police Chief
Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
The six men along with the four officers
hired late last year bring the force up to 82
officers, though Ehrenberg said the depart-
ment is expecting an officer to retire later this
year.
Mayor Richard LaBarbiera during Tues-
days council meeting hailed the hiring of the
six cops as significant for the borough.
For a couple of years, we not just in the
police department but throughout the bor-
ough were doing more with less, LaBar-
biera said.
Five of the officers are transfers from oth-
er departments, according to the officers bi-
ographies provided by the Paramus Police
Department.Vaidya represents the boroughs
first Indian-American officer and is fluent in
Gujarti and Hindi. A Metuchen resident,
Vaidya had been employed as a patrol officer
for New Jersey Transit Police since 2009
Indian-origin man found 'not guilty' of stabbing
sister 107 times
Pakistani man on trial for allegedly beating wife to
death for preparing veg meal
A
n Indian-origin man
accused of stabbing
his sister 107 times
was acquitted of the murder
and all other charges Tues-
day, a media report said.
Vishnu Phagoo, 37, was ar-
rested on the charge of stab-
bing his sister Shrimatie
Parasram, 45, to death in her
Jersey City home in Septem-
ber 2010, The Jersey Journal
reported Tuesday. He was
subsequently charged with the murder
February 2011.
Deliberating for less than four hours, a
US federal jury pronounced Phagoo "not
guilty" on the charges of murder, unlawful
possession of a weapon and possession of
a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
"There was no physical evidence pre-
sented during the trial showing Phagoo
was in the apartment when the murder oc-
curred. In addition, a medical
examiner who testified dur-
ing the trial did not testify as
to when Parasram died," The
Jersey Journal quoted Scott
D. Finckenauer, Phagoo's
counsel, as saying Tuesday.
"My client is happy that the
jury saw that there was no
evidence that proved that he
did this. I felt comfortable
that we were going to get
this," Finckenauer said.
Phagoo would, however, remain in jail
because he faces an arson charge from a
2009 incident where he allegedly tried to
burn down the Jersey City home of a dif-
ferent relative, the report said.
Phagoo went over to Parasram's apart-
ment to sell her a cell phone in a transac-
tion that was previously arranged, the re-
port said. Parasram was later found dead
in her apartment.
A
75-year-old Pakistani
man from Brooklyn is
currently on trial for
allegedly beating his wife to
death for preparing a vegetar-
ian meal instead of a hearty
goat dish that he was craving.
Noor Hussain, 75, was so out-
raged over the vegetarian fare
that he pummeled his wife,
Nazar Hussain, 66, with a
stick until she was a bloody
mess, according to prosecu-
tors and court papers submitted May 21, the
first day of the trial, local news reports said.
She was covered with bruises and with se-
vere head injuries after the 2011 incident,
The New York Daily News reported.
The defendant brutally attacked his wife
as she lay in her bed, the Daily News quot-
ed Assistant District Attorney Sabeeha
Madni as saying in the Brooklyn Supreme
Court May 21. It was a beating that was so
vigorous and so repeated that it stopped her
brain functions.
Defense attorney Julie Clark admitted
Hussain beat his wife but argued that he is
guilty of only manslaughter because he did-
nt intend to kill her. In Pakistan, Clark said,
beating ones wife is customary. He comes
from a culture where he thinks this is ap-
propriate conduct, where he
can hit his wife He cultural-
ly believed he had the right to
hit his wife and discipline his
wife, the Daily News quoted
Clark as saying.
Prosecutors, however, said
Hussain meant for his wife to
die. His intentions were to
kill his wife, Madni said in
court. This was not a man
who was trying to discipline
his wife. Madni said that
Hussain brutally attacked his wife as she
lay in her bed leaving deep lacerations
on her head, arms and shoulders, and caus-
ing her brain to hemorrhage. He beat her
with a stick that the family had found in the
street and used to stir their laundry in a
washtub and then tried to clean up the blood
that had splattered onto their bedroom wall
before calling his son for help, Madni said.
Madni also said Pakistani women who
lived in the same building as the Hussains
would testify about the beatings Nazar re-
ceived at the hands of her husband. They
have told us about years of abuse they wit-
nessed, Madni said.
Hussain met his wife in Pakistan and
the couple married before moving to
Brooklyn.
New York Seniors celebrated Mother's Day on May 7 at Shri Saneeswara
Temple in Bellerose Terrace, New York. Indian Association of Long Island
President Satnam Parhar had graced the event.
A group photo from the event. (Photo by CK).
Malini Rudra (2nd from left) received 4th place in a field of 78 golfers in the
Nassau County Girls High School Golf tournament held at
Bethpage(yellow/green)courses. Syosset girls won the team championship
defeating Garden City who had a 9 year winning streak. She made All County
and All State, she in one of eight and the only middle school student to
qualify to represent Nassau for the NYS High School States Championship to
be held at SUNY Delhi, NY next month.
IACFNJ celebrates Spring Color Festival in South Brunswick
I
ndo-American Cultural Foundation of
Central Jersey - IACFNJ held Spring Col-
or Festival for the first time with beautiful-
ly choreographed cultural dances and fun-
filled activities for more than six hours on May
18 at Reichler Park in South Brunswick, NJ.
Radio Guru Kulraaj Anand of EBC Radio
1170 AM was the Master of Ceremony who
hosted the event in front of more than 300 peo-
ple from Central Jersey area.
IACFNJ celebrated Spring Color Festival to
bring the community together to welcome
spring after long winter months and also to
mark Indian color festival of Holi.
The cultural dances and other live musical
performances were performed by talented
young students from Bina Masters Nrityakala
Dance Academy, Meghna Goradia of Sangeet
Madhuram and beautifully choreographed
Nagade Sang Dhol Baje song from Ram-
Leela by talented Anjali Mehta, a solo per-
former.
The New Jersey State Assemblyman Upen-
dra Chivukula and other community leaders at-
tended the event. The live entertainment and
traditional colorful Holi songs were provided
by Deep Shukla from DJ Deep of Finnegans
Deli.
Upcoming events of IACFNJ will be sum-
mer picnic at Mercer County Park, West Picnic
area on June 29 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and In-
dia Independence Day celebration at Reichler
Park in South Brunswick on August 17 from
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Noor Hussain
Vishnu Phagoo
Event also marked festival of Holi
7 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: The bipartisan American
Sikh Congressional Caucus has announced the
appointment of John Garamendi and Patrick
Meehan as its co-chairs. While Garamendi is
from the Democratic Party, Patrick Meehan rep-
resents the Republican party.
They would work with the current co-chairs
Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman
David Valadao, who were instrumental in form-
ing the first American Sikh Congressional Cau-
cus a year ago. "It is an honor to be selected as
co-chair of the bipartisan American Sikh Cau-
cus. I am proud to take this next step in my work
with Sikh-Americans to defend civil rights,
fight discrimination, and educate members of
Congress and the public about the community,"
said Garamendi. "I commend the community on
their industriousness and entrepreneurship. I
also want to thank them for their democratic
civic engagement for speaking up for their
rights and beliefs. Regardless of background,
we all want a good environment to raise a fam-
ily. I will work in a bipartisan fashion to achieve
this," he said. Last year, Congressman Gara-
mendi joined a coalition that successfully per-
suaded the FBI to track hate crimes against
Sikh, Hindu and Arab-Americans through a let-
ter signed by over 100 Members of Congress.
On Wednesday, members of the Caucus held
their first anniversary reception at the Capitol
Hill which was attended by Sikhs from across
the US. The caucus now has 42 members.
California: A Sikh temple in is facing lo-
cal opposition because of plans to replace
its existing prayer hall with a 12,000-sq-
ft building with gold domes in a rural
neighborhood, media reported Monday.
The construction of a new building has
been opposed by the people in Sacramen-
to County in California. Gurdwara au-
thorities are questioning the residents
whether race has played a role in the op-
position, since building a church does not
face any such opposition, the Sacramento
Bee reported.
The Community Planning Advisory
Council is scheduled to hear the Sri Guru
Ravidass Gurdwara's proposal Wednes-
day.
County officials have denied claims of
racism raised by any project opponents.
"When someone keeps complaining
without reason then you might guess that
racism is the reason," a county resident,
Ramesh Banger, said.
Charlea Moore, a member of the Com-
munity Planning Advisory Council, said
neighbors have legitimate concerns about
the project but she said she thinks they
can be resolved.
Residents raised complaints about how
the temple would use properties adjacent
to the prayer hall and a few complained
about the drainage in the property due to
the constant floods in the area. They also
asked how parking would be handled,
Moore said. The project's supporters have
addressed the concerns with plans for a
detention pond and shuttle bus service
when large events are scheduled.
Garamendi, Meehan appointed co-chairs
of American-Sikh Caucus
Cambridge, MA: Over 500 entre-
preneurs and investors will be at-
tending TiE-Boston's 16th Annual
TiECON East conference, the
largest startup conference on the
East Coast, being held on May 29
and 30 at the Cambridge Marriott.
This year, the theme Breaking
Boundaries celebrates the hottest
sectors making an impact on the
entrepreneurial ecosystem on the
East Coast. New this year is
Leader Bank TiE Sharks, a spon-
sored program, where outstanding
startups will pitch LIVE, during the
Friday Night Banquet, to a panel of
angel investors for on-the-spot in-
vestment, modeled after ABC's
Shark Tank!
"I am thrilled to introduce this
new program, where startups can
pitch and raise real money on the
spot from TiE Sharks" says Sanjay
Jain, TiECON East Conference
Chair. Surya Panditi, SVP of Cis-
co, kicks off the conference with
his keynote address followed by
the high powered India Keynote
Panel, Exporting India, which fea-
tures senior executives from Pira-
mal, TATA, JSW Steel, and Essar.
In short, Indian multi-national
companies on a global buying
spree and expansion.
Friday morning session cele-
brates "Made in Mass" with
keynotes from Roger Marino, Co-
founder of EMC, Tom Erickson,
CEO of Acquia, and a Fireside
Chat with Abigail Johnson, Presi-
dent of Fidelity Investments with
Stephanie Mehta of FORTUNE.
The conference also explores areas
of innovation across three tracks:
Startup Track, which covers hur-
dles a startup faces from Fundrais-
ing to Selling to Exits; the Technol-
ogy Track discusses the latest
trends in Big Data, Cyber Security,
and Electronic Payments; while
Rodney Brooks, Mick Mountz, Joe
Zarb, and Aman Bhandari celebrate
industries defining the East Coast:
Robotics, Connected Health, and
Internet of Things in the "Heat in
the East" track. Friday Night Ban-
quet highlights include a keynote
from US Representative Tulsi Gab-
bard and inspiring stories from TiE
Stars. Other programs in the con-
ference include Entrepreneur Boot-
Camp Sessions on: Finding Your
First Customer, Branding and Part-
nerships, and Intellectual Property;
and the final pitches to select the 5
Champions of TiE Challenge 2014.
"Entrepreneurs benefit from at-
tending TiECON East because it
offers a platform to push their lim-
its and reach their goals," says Gau-
garin Oliver, President of TiE-
Boston.
Leader Bank TiE Sharks Program to
make a debut at TiECON East annual meet
Washington, DC: The United
States Capitol Building served as
the venue for a US India Political
Action Committee (USINPAC)
symposium and reception enti-
tled: "US-India: The Road
Ahead."
USINPAC members and USIN-
PAC State Chapters leaders had
flown in from across the country
to celebrate with Members of
Congress, Congressional staff,
American diplomats, and well
known India-Watchers from
Washington think tanks, media,
law and political consulting
firms.
Rajnath Singh, President,
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of-
fered the following remarks in a
written message to mark the oc-
casion: "Thank you for your good
will towards India. The people of
India and our karyakartas have
handed not only a victory but also
a heavy responsibility to our par-
ty and Shri Narendrabhai Modi as
the Prime Minister of India. We
look forward to fulfilling the
mandate given to us by the people
of India. The BJP is looking for-
ward to strengthen bilateral rela-
tions with the United States and
we will take the large Indian-
American community on board in
this endeavor. I congratulate US-
INPAC for its active role and all
friends of India who are working
to promote mutual understanding
and strong relations between both
the countries."
Congressman Ed Royce (R-
CA), Chairman, House Foreign
Affairs Committee, stated: "I sent
out an invitation immediately af-
ter the election inviting the Prime
Minister here on behalf of the
Foreign Affairs Committee and
we look forward to his visit."
Nisha Desai-Biswal, the first
Indian American Assistant Secre-
tary of State for South Asia, com-
mented: "It is indeed a time for us
to be looking forward and looking
ahead." She added that the BJP's
political mandate focused on
"economic opportunity and effec-
tive governance is what the Unit-
ed States supports and wants to
partner with."
Others who delivered remarks
include: Senator Jean Shaheen
(D-NH), Congressman Eliot En-
gel (D-NY), Congressman Joe
Crowley (D-NY), Congressman
Todd Rokita (R-IN), Congress-
man George Holding (R-NC),
current Indian Deputy Chief of
Mission Sandhu, former US Am-
bassador to India David Mulford.
The US India Political Action
Committee (USINPAC) supports
candidates for local, state and fed-
eral office and encourages politi-
cal participation by the Indian-
American community.
Indian Americans mark a new day in Indo-US
relations at Capitol Hill reception
Congressman Ed Royce
(R-CA), Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Modeled after ABCs
Shark Tank!, out-
standing startups
will pitch live to a
panel of angel
investors for on-the-
spot investment
New gurdwara faces opposition in Sacramento
8 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Fourteen Indian Americans named
2014 US Presidential Scholars
Washington, D.C: U.S. Secretary of Educa-
tion Arne Duncan announced May 5 the 50th
class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recogniz-
ing nearly 14 Indian American and South
Asian youths among the 141 high school sen-
iors for their accomplishments in academics
or the arts, the IndiaWest reported.
The White House Commission on Presi-
dential Scholars, appointed by President
Obama, selects honored scholars annually
based on their academic success, artistic ex-
cellence, essays, school evaluations and tran-
scripts, as well as evidence of community
service, leadership, and demonstrated com-
mitment to high ideals.
Of the three million students expected to
graduate from high school this year, more
than 3900 candidates qualified for the 2014
awards determined by outstanding perform-
ance on the College Board SAT and ACT ex-
ams, and through nominations made by chief
state school officers or the National Youn-
gArts Foundation's nationwide YoungArts
competition.
The 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholars are
comprised of one young man and one young
woman from each state, the District of Co-
lumbia and Puerto Rico, and from American
families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen
at-large and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in
the Arts.
The Indian American and South Asian
Presidential Scholars include:
Rajet Vatsa, Brophy College Preparatory,
Phoenix, AZ; Maya L. Srinivasan, Saratoga
High School, Saratoga, CA; Abhishek D.
Rao, Caravel Academy, Bear, DE; Sathvik R.
Namburar, Woodward Academy, College
Park, GA; Meghana R. Nallajerla, Milton
High School, Alpharetta, GA; and Rohan
Sinha, Bloomfield Hills High School,
Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Other Presidential Scholars are Pranita
Balusu, Rochester High School, Rochester
Hills, MI; Akshay S. Rajagopal, Lincoln East
High School, Lincoln, NE; Karthik W. Ro-
hatgi, Davidson Academy of Nevada, Reno,
NV; Gokul P. Mukunda, Colts Neck High
School, Colts Neck, NJ; Siddharth S. Gupta,
Davies High School, Fargo, ND.
The list also included Surabhi Beriwal,
North Allegheny Senior High, Wexford, PA;
Nina C. Srivastava, Spartanburg Day School,
Spartanburg, SC; and Rajdeep Trilokekar,
Skyline High School, Salt Lake City, UT.
The 2014 ceremony will be held June 22,
when each honoree will receive a Presiden-
tial Scholar Medallion.
Man faces trial for
gunning down father
Washington, DC: An Indian-American
man is facing trial for shooting down his 62-
year-old father in his home in a North Car-
olina city, a media report said.
Jiten Patel, 29, has been accused of killing
his father Ashwin Patel intentionally in a
drug binge in his home in Mount Holly city,
a suburb of Raleigh in the US state of North
Carolina in January last year, The Gaston
Gazette reported.
The Gaston County Court Wednesday
heard the testimony from investigators and
forensic scientists who found Jiten Patel's
DNA on the handgun that killed his father.
Ashwin Patel's body was found in his
house with several gunshot wounds.
The police also noticed blood on the out-
side lock of the BP gas station owned by
Ashwin Patel.
The police identified Jiten Patel as a sus-
pect in the killing and took him in custody.
Jiten Patel, reportedly a drug-addict, has
been charged with first-degree murder,
breaking and entering and larceny.
In his defence, he contended that he acted
in self-defence.
Jiten Patel's clothes were stained with his
father's blood and his shoes left bloody foot-
prints on the carpet of the Mount Holly
home, scientists testified Wednesday.
Two people also testified to be in Jiten Pa-
tel's company the night the murder took
place.
The two witnesses for the prosecution said
they noticed that Patel had an injured hand
that was wrapped in a towel or T-shirt.
They said that they were at a friend's
house with Patel later that night and that he
gave no indication that his father had been
killed.
Jiten Patel
Manish Dayal lands his dream
role opposite Helen Mirren
New York: For his
first leading role in a
film, Indian American
actor Manish Dayal is
starring opposite Os-
car-winner Helen Mir-
ren in The Hundred-
Foot Journey, co-pro-
duced by Steven Spiel-
berg and Oprah Win-
frey.
Dayal is best-known
for the role of Raj Kher
in the hit television se-
ries 90210. In The
Hundred-Foot Journey,
Dayal will play the role
of Hassan Haji, who
flees Mumbai after a
riot. The family ends
up in southern France after a stint in England.
Haji is a chef cooking at his family-run,
cheap Indian eatery, an establishment his fa-
ther opens a hundred feet away and across
from a Michelin-starred French restaurant
helmed by the snooty Madame Mallory,
played by Mirren. A grand culinary battle en-
sues.
The film, based on the 2010 book of the
same name by Richard C. Morais, and direct-
ed by Lasse Halstrom of Chocolat fame, is set
to hit the screens on August 8.
The Hundred-Foot Journey, produced by
DreamWorks, in which India's Reliance Enter-
tainment is an investor, is the latest among
Hollywood films in recent years that have told
Indian stories, including The Namesake, Slum-
dog Millionaire, and Life of Pi.
Actor Manish Dayal
9 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Springfield, Illinois: An Illinois Indian Amer-
ican business and civic leader has been ap-
pointed to the board of directors for the Abra-
ham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.
Smita Shah is founder and CEO of SPAAN
Tech Inc., an engineering and construction
management firm based in Chicago.
Shah is vice chairman of the Chicago Plan
Commission and serves on philanthropic
boards for Loyola University, the Ann &
Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital and the
Museum of Science and Industry President's
Council.
She earned a bachelor's degree from North-
western University and a master's degree from
MIT.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Foundation supports the educational and cul-
tural programming of the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum in Spring-
field. It also fosters Lincoln scholarship
through the acquisition and publication of doc-
umentary materials.
Washington, DC: South
Carolina's Republican gover-
nor Nikki Haley and Neera
Tanden, president of liberal
think tank, the Centre for
American Progress have been
named among 50 Most Pow-
erful Moms of 2014 by The
Working Mother magazine.
Born Nimrata Nikki Rand-
hawa to Sikh immigrant par-
ents from India, Haley has
made to The Working Mother
list for "breaking a lot of po-
litical ground."
Tanden who worked as pol-
icy director for Hillary Clin-
ton's presidential campaign
has been recognized by For-
tune as one of the Most Pow-
erful Women in Politics.
The Working Mother noted
that elected in 2010, Haley is
the youngest US governor in
office, the first woman gover-
nor of South Carolina and
one of two sitting Indian
American governors. The
other is Louisiana's Bobby
Jindal.
Prior to being elected gov-
ernor, she served in the South
Carolina House of Represen-
tatives from 2005 to 2010.
She graduated from Clem-
son University with a politi-
cal science degree.
Haley was inspired to run
for office by none other than
Hillary Clinton after hearing
her as a keynote speaker at a
leadership institute.
Tanden, a graduate of Uni-
versity of California, Los An-
geles and Yale Law School,
worked on domestic policy
for both the Obama and Clin-
ton administrations and also
for think tanks.
She served as chief operat-
ing officer of the Center for
American Progress before
becoming president of the
nonpartisan educational insti-
tute and she was also senior
advisor for health reform at
the Department of Health and
Human Services.
Nikki Haley, Neera Tanden among
50 Most Powerful Moms
Seepaj Dhaliwal crowned
Miss India North America 2014
Smita Shah joins
Lincoln Library Foundation
California: In a magical
night, amongst Bollywood
and Hollywood celebrities,
Seepaj Dhaliwal was
crowned Miss India North
America. Spirit Of Indias
22nd annual sold-out pag-
eant had Indian contestants
from all over USA and Cana-
da competing for the coveted
titles.
Beauty queen Rima Fakih,
the first Muslim-American to
win Miss USA 2010, was re-
vealed as South Asia Maga-
zines cover girl on the red
carpet.
Rajan Sra, from Indiana,
was declared Mr. India North
America 2014 title and Amit
Keswani won Mr. India Cal-
ifornia 2014. Aparajita Pan-
da, from Washington, won
Mrs. India North America
2014 and Mili Shah took
home the Mrs. India Califor-
nia 2014 title.
Seepaj declared, "I was ex-
tremely happy when I won
the title that night. I couldn't
believe that my name had
been called as Miss India
North America.
Seepaj Dhaliwal, a 24 year
old, 58 Sikh Punjabi beau-
ty born in Los Angeles, now
lives in San Diego. Seepaj
graduated from University of
California, San Diego with a
Bachelors of Science degree
in Biology. Currently she is
working at a medical intern-
ship in San Diego while ap-
plying to Medical schools.
It was an honor to repre-
sent the Indian community
on such a grand stage, and to
win this title not only for my-
self but for other young Indi-
an girls. The biggest thing I
hope for is to be able to in-
spire young Indian girls
across America to reach for
their goals and let nothing
stop them. Winning this title
was a truly humbling experi-
ence and something I will
cherish for the rest of my
life, she added.
Dhaliwal and Mr. India
North America 2014 Rajan
Sra are hopeful to grab a role
in Rahul Rawails Love Sto-
ry Again, as they got to meet
with the legendary Bolly-
wood director.
Nikki Haley
Neera Tanden
Smita Shah is a well-known business
and civic leader in Chicago
Seepaj Dhaliwal and Mr India North America 2014
Rajan Sra
Photo by Teofie S. Decierdo at VTM Photography
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
US AFFAIRS 10 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: Hillary Rodham
Clinton has said she wrote her
memoir about her time as Secre-
tary of State for Americans and
people everywhere who are trying
to make sense of this rapidly
changing world.
In an authors note released this
week by her publisher, Simon &
Schuster, the former First Lady
and potential 2016 presidential
candidate explains the title of the
book to be released June 10:
All of us face hard choices in
our lives. Some face more than
their share, Mrs. Clinton wrote.
Figuring out how to pay for col-
lege. Finding a good job, and what
to do if you lose it. Whether to get
married or stay married. For
leaders and nations, those difficult
decisions can mean the difference
between war and peace, poverty
and prosperity.
Mrs. Clinton will hold events
around the US and Canada to pro-
mote the books release, starting
with a June 11 event in Chicago,
her hometown. Mrs. Clintons first
memoir, Living History, about
her time as first lady, sold more
than one million copies.
In the authors note, Mrs Clinton
writes about going from the
painful end of the 2008 campaign
to an unexpected partnership and
friendship with her former rival,
Mr. Obama, visiting 112 countries
and traveling nearly a million
miles as secretary of state, and the
tense decisions that led to the raid
that killed Osama bin Laden.
One chapter is expected to be de-
voted to the 2012 attack on a US
diplomatic compound in Beng-
hazi, Libya. Mrs. Clinton has
called the episode her biggest re-
gret in her four years as Secretary
of State.
Some excerpts that have been re-
leased:
"When I chose to leave a career
as a young lawyer in Washington
to move to Arkansas to marry Bill
and start a family, my friends
asked, Are you out of your mind?
I heard similar questions when I
took on health care reform as First
Lady, ran for office myself, and
accepted President Barack Oba-
mas offer to represent our country
as Secretary of State."
Hillary memoir pre-sales cross
one million copies
Washington: First Lady
Michelle Obama called on Re-
publicans Tuesday to avoid
undoing recent advances in
healthy lunch policies.
The last thing we can afford
to do right now is play politics
with our kids health, especial-
ly when we are starting to see
progress on this issue, Obama
said at the White House during
a discussion with school lead-
ers. Now is not the time to
roll back everything we have
worked for. Rolling things
back is not the answer.
Obama, who rarely enters
congressional policy debates,
has been actively engaged as
an advocate for healthy eating
since she launched her Lets
Move campaign in 2010. Her
efforts aim to combat childhood obe-
sity and ensure families have access
to nutritional, affordable food in their
communities.
She was responding to Congres-
sional Republicans who want to
waive previously enacted healthier
school lunch standards. Republicans
in the House introduced a new bill
last week that seeks to address their
concerns with the dietary guidelines,
which they call too restrictive and
costly for some school districts.
Since Michelles initiation of the
campaign four years ago, large chain
restaurants have offered menus with
calorie-conscious options and organ-
izations have planted gardens out-
side academic buildings. Additional-
ly, thousands of American schools
have reintroduced exercise into the
curriculum, and at least 90% of U.S.
public K-12 schools have imple-
mented new lunch standards to serve
more whole grains, lean protein, and
an array of fruits and vegetables.
Michelle has proposed removing
all junk food and soft drinks from
U.S. schools starting this fall. Obesi-
ty, which affects 17% of all Ameri-
can children and adolescents, is
triple the rate now than from one
generation ago, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
First Lady Michelle Obama
Now First Lady combats
Republicans over school lunch
Washington: The pay gap between
college graduates and everyone else
reached a record high year, accord-
ing to the new data, which are based
on an analysis of Labor Department
statistics by the Economic Policy
Institute in Washington. Americans
with four-year college degrees made 98 percent
more an hour on average in 2013 than people
without a degree. That's up from 89 percent
five years earlier, 85 percent a decade earlier
and 64 percent in the early 1980s.
There is nothing inevitable about this trend.
If there were more college graduates than the
economy needed, the pay gap would shrink.
The gap's recent growth is especially notable
because it has come after a rise in the number
of college graduates, partly because many peo-
ple went back to school during the Great Re-
cession. That the pay gap has
nonetheless continued growing
means that we're still not produc-
ing enough of them.
"We have too few college grad-
uates," says David Autor, an MIT
economist, who was not involved
in the Economic Policy Institute's analysis.
"We also have too few people who are prepared
for college."
The much-discussed cost of college needs
some clarification also. According to a paper
by Autor published Thursday in the journal Sci-
ence, the true cost of a college degree is about
negative $500,000. That's right: Over the long
run, college is cheaper than free. Not going to
college will cost you about half a million
dollars.
Sacramento, Calif.: California Legislature
must do more to deter the type of violence
that left six young people dead over the week-
end near the University of California, Santa
Barbara, Democratic lawmakers said Tues-
day. That includes establishing statewide pro-
tocols for all law enforcement officers who
are called to check on mentally troubled peo-
ple, they said.
Additional steps are also needed to identify
young people with severe mental illness and
get them needed services, said state senators,
who eulogized the students at the state Capi-
tol and expressed frustration that such ram-
pages continue despite previous efforts to end
the problem.
Meanwhile, two Assembly members pro-
posed legislation that would create a gun vio-
lence restraining order for use when family
members and friends notify law enforcement
about someone who is threatening violence.
Currently, therapists can tell law enforce-
ment when they fear a client is at risk of com-
mitting a violent act. That can lead to the in-
dividual being prohibited by law enforcement
from buying or owning firearms.
The lawmakers' comments came after 22-
year-old community college student Elliot
Rodger killed six university students in the
Isla Vista community on Friday after posting
an Internet video describing his plans. The at-
tacker died of an apparent self-inflicted gun-
shot. Authorities say Rodger stabbed to death
his three roommates then fatally shot two
women outside a sorority house and another
student who was working in a deli.
The rampage came hours after Rodger
emailed a lengthy manifesto to his parents,
therapists and others, and a month after sher-
iff's deputies had visited him on a welfare
check after his parents became concerned
about his postings on YouTube.
The initial printing of one mil-
lion copies of Hillary
Clintons Hard Choices has
sold out in pre-orders.
College graduates earn twice more than
those without a degree: new data
California massacre prompts action from lawmakers
"As is usually the case with
the benefit of hindsight, I wish
we could go back and revisit
certain choices. But Im proud
of what we accomplished. This
century began traumatically
for our country, with the ter-
rorist attacks on 9/11, the long
wars that followed, and the
Great Recession. We needed to
do better, and I believe we
did."
"I wrote it for anyone any-
where who wonders whether
the U.S. still has what it takes
to lead. For me, the answer is
a resounding Yes. Talk of
Americas decline has become
commonplace, but my faith in
our future has never been
greater. While there are few
problems in todays world that
the U.S. can solve alone, there
are even fewer that can be
solved without the U.S."
INDIA
New Delhi: With the setting sun forming a
magnificent backdrop, India got a new prime
minister Monday as Narendrabhai
Damodardas Modi, 63, took oath in a 90-
minute, open-air, business-like ceremony in
the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the
presidential palace, attended by leaders of
eight neighbouring countries.
Among the 4,000-strong guests at the
epochal event were the Who's Who of India -
politicians, business honchos, cinema stars,
inter-faith leaders - as well as diplomatic
representatives from over 100 countries.
The oath of office and secrecy including
pledge of allegiance to the Indian constitu-
tion was administered in Hindi to Modi -
who wore an off-white kurta-churidar and a
fawn-coloured Nehru jacket - by President
Pranab Mukherjee.
Modi becomes India's 14th prime minister,
succeeding Manmohan Singh, who was at
the event, along with his Congress president
Sonia Gandhi. Modi is the first prime minis-
ter born in independent India -- and the sec-
ond from Gujarat.
Leaders of the members of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation coun-
tries who were present included Presidents
Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, Hamid
Karzai of Afghanistan and Abdullah Yameen
of the Maldives as well as Prime Ministers
Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, Tshering Tobgay
of Bhutan and Sushil Koirala of Nepal.
Bangladesh was represented by parliament
speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.
Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra
Ramgoolam also attended the event. Their
presence was a first for a prime ministerial
inauguration.
Seconds after he took oath, the web site of
the Prime Minister's Office carried his mes-
sage to the people promising to "script a glo-
rious future for India", one that is "strong,
developed and inclusive" and that engages
with the global community for the cause of
world peace and development.
Modi said he was choosing his web site to
deliver his first message to the people as he
was a "firm believer in the power of technol-
ogy and social media to communicate with
people across the world" and a "very impor-
tant medium of direct communication
between us".
There was a certain poignancy to the
momentous occasion as the inauguration of a
new prime minister happened 50 years after
the death of India's first prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru on May 27, 1964.
Along with Modi, a 45-strong council of
ministers that included 23 of the cabinet took
oath. There were seven women in the min-
istry, including six in the cabinet.
Prominent ministers were BJP president
Rajnath Singh, the first among ministers to
take oath, Sushma Swaraj, the former Leader
of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Arun
Jaitley, the former Leader of Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha. Najma Heptullah is the
only Muslim in the cabinet.
The setting was in many ways unique.
Contrary to earlier occasions when the short
ceremony was held in the stately Ashoka
Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi, true to his
style as a communicator, chose to have it in
the open in order to be able to accommodate
many more people, perhaps the largest such
gathering for any prime ministerial swear-
ing-in in India.
The ceremony was watched live across the
nation and in world capitals, on TV and web
casts. Those on the move could get a real-
time feed from the social media.
As soon as the ceremony concluded, Modi
met the visiting leaders, starting with a warm
handshake with Nawaz Sharif. The leaders
then posed for a photo-op with the new
Indian prime minister, the president and Vice
President Hamid Ansari.
With the reins of government passing to
Modi, the elite Special Protection Group
(SPG) formed a protective ring around him
as his party colleagues and others jostled to
congratulate the new leader. In the back-
ground, his supporters chanted slogans of
"Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram".
Modi promises strong, inclusive nation
11 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
President Pranab Mukherjee administers oath of office to Narendra Modi at
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi
Triumph of developmental politics over vote bank politics
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
W
hen Narendera Modi
was sworn in as India's
14th prime minister, the
world's largest democracy was
marking the ushering in of a new
era. Over 2,500 privileged guests
witnessed not only the culmina-
tion of a perfect storm generated
by the Modi-led BJP but also the
burial of the Nehruvian legacy
which the Congress dispensation
used as a leitmotif for over three
generations.
It marked the day when Modi-
led India was keeping another
tryst with the destiny. But, unlike
the impoverished, battered and
bleeding country Jawaharlal
Nehru addressed on August 15,
1947, Narendera Modi is poised to
pilot a much more confident, self-
assured and youthful India to a
position among the global equals.
It is a sheer coincidence that
Modi' s first day in office also
marks the 50th death anniversary
of India's first prime minister.
The events which have unfolded
in India earlier this month have
changed the political landscape for
all time to come.
Any which way you look at the
results of the 16th Lok Sabha elec-
tions, you cannot help noticing the
tectonic paradigm shift in a num-
ber of ways. The pole position
occupied by the Nehru-Gandhi
political dynasty has changed to
this effect that the iconic Congress
Party is struggling to stay alive.
The Modi tsunami has enabled
the Bhartiya Janata Party establish
total dominance in the Hindi
heartland and make inroads in
uncharted territories.
The impregnable Congress
citadels have been demolished by
that son of a chaiwala from a
small Gujarati town. It's a massive
compliment to the Indian democ-
racy that a person with such hum-
ble origins has been elected to
lead the second most populous
country in the world.
Most of the political pundits
commenting on the Indian politics
concur that Modi would have to
hit the ground running. The
charismatic Gujarati leader has
done even better as he covered
massive distances in the air even
before hitting the ground.
Modi has his work cut out for
him. He faces enormous chal-
lenges to kick-start the slowing
growth trajectory and to imple-
ment his inclusive growth model.
Modi would also have to walk on
a tight rope to keep the aspirations
of the ultra-right BJP and Sangh
Parivar adherents in check.
Modi is the Indian Pied Piper
who carries the burden of hopes
and aspirations of his billion plus
compatriots. The usually-ignored
people of Assam are also among
such hopefuls. Such a massive
swing in favour of the BJP in
Assam reflects the hopes of a sec-
tion of its population which would
like firm steps to be taken to stop
the perceived infiltration of
Bangladeshis into the state. The
changing demographics of Assam
is a major issue for a majority of
the indigenous population who
often complain of being swamped
by the alleged migrants from the
neighbouring country.
Modi would have to ensure that
the fencing of the international
border with Bangladesh is under-
taken on a war-footing. Another
immediate step the Assamese vot-
ers of the BJP would like is to
expedite the process of updating
the National Register of Citizens
(NRC).
Modi's ascension to the highest
executive post in India is being
seen as a positive development
Down Under. The Indian Prime
Minister's determination to align
diplomacy with trade and invest-
ment priorities has given hope to
the Australian mandarins that new
opportunities would open for this
South Pacific country and, as
Australia India Institute chief
Amitabh Matoo has mentioned in
a recent write-up, it is an opportu-
nity Canberra must seize.
Whether the first post-independ-
ence born Indian prime minister
can live up to the expectations or
not, the 2014 elections have defi-
nitely ushered in an era where
developmental politics and not
vote bank politics would dictate
the way Indian politics is run.
Narendra Modi faces enormous challenges to kick-start the
slowing growth trajectory and to implement his inclusive
growth model.
Along with Narendra Modi,
a 45-strong council of ministers
that included 23 of the cabinet
took oath. There were seven
women in the ministry, including
six in the cabinet.
12 May 31- June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: It was an action-packed
Day One for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. From holding
"good and substantive" meetings
with leaders of seven SAARC coun-
tries, including his Pakistani coun-
terpart Nawaz Sharif, to announcing
an SIT to investigate about black
money stashed abroad, the 63-year-
old leader set a scorching pace after
formally assuming office.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader took charge as India's prime
minister at South Block office at 8
a.m. and soon proceeded to the
stately Hyderabad House to meet
Afghanistan President Hamid
Karzai.
In the nearly 30-minute meeting
beginning 9.30 a.m., the two dis-
cussed, among other things, India's
commitment towards a "prosperous
and sovereign" Afghanistan.
Between 10 a.m. and 12 noon,
Modi then held a series of meetings
with the heads of the neighboring
countries who had come at his invi-
tation to attend his swearing-in
Monday at Rashtrapati Bhavan or
the presidential palace.
He met Maldives President
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom,
Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, Bhutan Prime Minister
Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius Prime
Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam
and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil
Koirala. As he spent some time with
each of these leaders, his meeting
with Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif began behind sched-
ule at 12.10 p.m. In the nearly 45-
minute-long meeting, he discussed
with Sharif a wide-range of issues
including terrorism. Both sides,
however, hoped to start a new chap-
ter in their strained bilateral ties. He
then met Bangladeshi parliament
Speaker Shirin Sharmin and pressed
for border management. He also
hinted that India was not averse to
holding talks with the neighbouring
country over the Teesta water shar-
ing agreement.
After his diplomatic engagements,
Modi then went and met former
prime minister Manmohan Singh at
his 3 Motilal Nehru Marg residence.
He then chaired his first cabinet
meet at the South Block. Law
Minister and Information and
Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad later announced that the
BJP-led government has decided to
form a Special Investigation Team
(SIT) on black money with retired
Supreme Court judge M.B. Shah as
its head. "It is a matter of great satis-
faction that we have constituted an
SIT to bring back black money as
per Supreme Court orders," Prasad
said. "The highest level of financial,
revenue and economic management
of the country are members of the
SIT. This indicates the commitment
of the new government of India," he
said. "We are committed to fighting
black money," he added.
Although there is no official fig-
ure, various estimates put the quan-
tum of black money stashed abroad
at up to $1.4 trillion.
The BJP in a report in 2011, when
it was in the opposition, had esti-
mated India's black economy to be
between $500 billion and $1.4 tril-
lion. The BJP in its poll manifesto
had also promised to bring back
black money.
Modi rounded up his chock-a-
block day at 7.15 p.m. when he
returned to Gujarat Bhavan -- his
temporary residence till he finally
shifts to 7 Race Course road, the
official residence of the prime min-
ister. But the day was not yet over
for him. He held another round of
meetings with officials.
Modi's day one: action-packed with results
Narendra Modi's
cabinet takes charge,
promises clean,
effective governance
New Delhi: A new Indian govern-
ment took charge this week with
most ministers visiting the offices
of their allotted portfolios, some
even to two-three offices, led by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who
began with an early meeting at his
South Block office. One of the first
official directives issued by Modi
was to ensure best treatment for
those injured in Monday' s
Gorakhdham Express rail accident,
besides announcing a grant of
Rs.200,000 to the families of each
of the 25 people killed in the
mishap.
"Modi has directed the railway
ministry to ensure that the relief
operations following the
Gorakhdham Express rail accident
are carried out smoothly," an offi-
cial statement said, adding the
injured, numbering some 100, will
be given Rs.50,000 each.
Modi himself assumed charge at
8 a.m. at his South Block office and
held a meeting with his principal
secretary, Nripendra Mishra, and
other officials in his secretariat.
Modi then shifted to Hyderabad
House for a series of meetings with
visiting dignitaries from neighbour-
ing countries who had flown in to
witness his inauguration as India's
15th prime minister at a grand,
well-attended event the evening
before.
The dignitaries included Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,
Afghan President Hamid Karzai,
Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, Maldives President
Abdullah Yameen, Bhutan Prime
Minister Tshering Tobgay,
Mauritius Prime Minister
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Nepal
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and
Bangladesh speaker Shirin Sharmin
Chaudhury.
Soon after taking charge of his
finance portfolio, Arun Jaitley said
he was only holding additional
charge of the third portfolio,
defence, and that it would be hand-
ed over to a new person once there
is a cabinet expansion. Jaitley also
holds the portfolio of corporate
affairs.
Otherwise, he said the immediate
task at hand was to restore the con-
fidence of domestic and overseas
investors, besides reviving eco-
nomic growth that has fallen to its
lowest in a decade, containing
inflation and repairing public
finances.
Jaitley also had a chat at South
Block, the office of the defence
minister, where he said there was
no issue now in the appointment of
Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag as the
next army chief by the previous
government during its last days in
office.
"I believe there should be no con-
troversy about the appointment of
any person," said Jaitley, who will
be a member of Modi's Cabinet
Committee on Security, along with
Rajnath Singh, given home min-
istry, and Sushma Swaraj, who will
oversee external affairs.
According to sources, Rajnath
Singh and Sushma Swaraj were to
join office Wednesday. There were
also murmurs in the corridors of
power that some of the alliance
partners, not happy with the allot-
ted portfolios, had asked their min-
isters to wait.
Among the other ministers, Ravi
Shankar Prasasd had to visit three
offices. A lawyer himself, Prasad
first visited the office of the law
ministry, then Sanchar Bhavan that
houses the communications min-
istry and later to IT department's
Electronics Niketan. He, too, made
an important statement. "For good
governance, a good legal regime is
very necessary," he said, adding his
government will be investment-
friendly, with fair and transparent
policy. He also promised to set
right the mess in the telecom sector.
In the backdrop of the
Gorakhdham Express accident,
Rail Minister D.V. Sadanand
Gowda' s first remarks covered
safety, even as his deputy, Manoj
Sinha, visited the spot with his sen-
ior cabinet colleague Kalraj
Mishra, allotted small enterprises.
Among others who took charge,
Ram Vilas Paswan promised to
ease the flow of foodgrain at fair
price shops and curb inflation, as
part of the challenges posed by his
consumer affairs ministry, while oil
minister Dharmendra Pradhan
focused on energy security.
Promising "100 percent" trans-
parent administration, Harsh
Vardhan, the new health minister,
said he would take advice from
international experts on ways to
improve the country's health sys-
tem.
"I would hold consultations with
domestic and international experts
on how to improve the health sys-
tem in our country," Harsh Vardhan
said after taking charge of the
health and family welfare ministry
at Nirman Bhavan here.
As many as 46 ministers, includ-
ing Modi, took oath of office and
their portfolios were announced the
next morning. The prime minister
has himself retained, among other
portfolios, personnel, atomic ener-
gy, space and "all important policy
issues".
Narendra Modi with Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan
delegation in New Delhi
New Delhi: Arun Jaitley, who
has got important portfolios of
finance, defence and corporate
affairs in Prime Minister
Narendra Modi-led govern-
ment, said there will be cabinet
expansion soon.
Talking to reporters after tak-
ing charge as finance minister
at North Block here, Jaitley said
he holds defense portfolio only
as an additional charge and it
would go to a new person once
there is a cabinet expansion.
For a transition phase, I will
be looking after the ministry of
defense also, but that's only an
additional charge till when
there is an expansion in the cab-
inet, Jaitley said. In the newly
sworn-in National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) government,
Jaitley has turned out to be the
most important person after
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the Cabinet Committee on
Security (CCS), the apex deci-
sion-making body of the cabi-
net, Jaitley holds two portfolios
- finance and defence. Other
two ministers in the CCS,
besides the Prime Minister who
chairs it, are Rajnath Singh as
home minister and Sushma
Swaraj as external affairs
minister.
Arun Jaitley hints at
cabinet expansion
Team Narendra Modi at the helm
Modi with his cabinet of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
13 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: Smriti Irani's education-
al qualifications led to a full-blown
war of words between the Congress
and the BJP, as the former intensi-
fied protest against an "undergradu-
ate" being appointed human
resource development minister
whereas the BJP countered it with
questions on Sonia Gandhi's aca-
demic background.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek
Manu Singhvi said there is a need to
debate the appropriateness of Irani
being given a portfolio which had
earlier been held by luminaries such
as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and
senior politicians like Karan Singh,
V.P. Singh and BJP's Murli Manohar
Joshi. Although BJP dubbed the
Congress apprehension as "frustra-
tion" stemming out from "worst ever
electoral defeat", Congress went on
to claim the 38-year-old Irani lied
about her degrees.
Singhvi said that in her affidavit
when she was contesting the 2004
Lok Sabha election, Irani had men-
tioned her qualification as bachelors
of arts (BA) which she passed in
1996 from Delhi University's school
of correspondence, but in her affi-
davit for this year's Lok Sabha elec-
tions, mentioned her educational
qualification as "Bachelor of
Commerce Part I, School of Open
Learning (Correspondence),
University of Delhi - 1994."
"The first issue is misstatement.
Was the affidavit wrong? Only BJP
can explain it," he said.
Incidentally, Irani lost both the
Lok Sabha elections. She is at pres-
ent a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Answering queries, Singhvi said
the party was not targeting Irani per-
sonally over her educational qualifi-
cation, but noted that the human
resource development minister
heads the boards of premier institu-
tions such as the IITs and IIMs.
Party spokesman Ajay Maken --
whose tweet: "What a Cabinet of
Modi? HRD minister (looking after
education) Smriti Irani is not even a
graduate! Look at her affidavit at
ECI site pg 11!" -- sparked off the
controversy, said that he agreed that
no qualification was mandatory to
be in public life but the party was
raising the point about Irani' s
"appropriateness" for the post.
On the other hand, Water
Resources Minister Uma Bharti
tried to shift attention to Congress
president Gandhi, whose academic
qualifications too had been in con-
tention in the past. "What is Sonia
Gandhi' s qualification?" Bharti
asked media persons here.
New Delhi: US Secretary of State
John Kerry called up External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to
congratulate her on ministerial
posting and discussed "re-energis-
ing strategic" ties, an official said.
Kerry called up Sushma Swaraj
late Wednesday night. It was the
first congratulatory call that she
received from one of her counter-
parts around the world.
"The US secretary congratulated
the minister and the party (BJP) on
its election victory," Syed
Akbaruddin, spokesperson,
ministry of external affairs told
IANS.
Kerry spoke about the economic
agenda of the new Indian govern-
ment and said the US was keen to
boost bilateral trade to $500 billion
from the current around $100 bil-
lion.
Sushma thanked the US secre-
tary of state and spoke about
enhancing the Indo-US strategic
partnership. She briefed him about
the visit of the SAARC leaders to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
swearing-in ceremony and the out-
BJP-Congress war of words over Smriti qualification
SEP.
Human Resource Development
Minister Smriti Irani
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her office
Kerry congratulates Sushma,
discusses re-energizing ties
New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said
that "extraneous circumstances" were created by the opposition to
divert her and requested the people to judge her on the basis of her
work. "Extraneous circumstances have been created to ensure that my
attention is deviated from the work I have been entrusted with. I am
judged by my organisation with regard to my capacity to deliver an
assignment," Irani told reporters here.
"I humbly request all of you to judge me by my work," she added.
The minister's reaction came after the Congress questioned the alloca-
tion of the HRD ministry to an undergraduate person and said she lied
about her degrees in her election affidavit.
Judge me by my work: Smriti Irani
14 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
Islamabad: The outcome of
Pakistan Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif's meeting with
new Indian Premier Narendra
Modi in New Delhi Tuesday
was better than expected,
Sharif's National Security and
Foreign Affairs Advisor
Sartaj Aziz said.
Addressing a press confer-
ence here after Sharif and his
delegation returned from the
swearing-in ceremony of
Modi as India's new prime
minister, Aziz said the meet-
ing between Sharif and Modi
was not just a photo op, but
its outcome proved better
than anyone's expectations.
Aziz said the issues of
cross-border terrorism and
Kashmir were discussed but
not substantially during the
bilateral meeting Tuesday in
New Delhi.
During the meeting, Modi
also sought that the 26/11
Mumbai attacks case be
expedited, a demand which
Aziz described as not a new
one from India.
The leaders of the two
neighbouring countries
agreed that terrorism was an
issue of mutual concern and
that they needed to address
all conflicts to end the dis-
trust between the two sides,
Aziz said.
He also added that Sharif
did not meet the Hurriyat
leadership as it was a ceremo-
nial visit to India.
Meeting outcome better than
expected: Sartaj Aziz
New Delhi: India' s new Prime
Minister Narendra Modi raised con-
cerns on terrorism and need for
action in 26/11 during his meeting
with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz
Sharif as the two sides stuck a note
of optimism and hoped to start a
new chapter in their strained bilater-
al ties.
The first meeting between Modi,
who assumed charge earlier in the
day Tuesday and Sharif was held at
Hyderabad House here with the two
sides agreeing that their foreign sec-
retaries will be in touch to discuss
the future roadmap for talks.
Modi clearly articulated India's
concerns on terrorism at the meeting
which was described as a "good,
substantive and constructive" meet-
ing by Indian officials.
Sharif, who interacted with media
before going back to Islamabad,
said he had "a very good meeting"
with Modi and it was time to open
"a new page" in bilateral relation-
ship.
Modi "underlined his concerns on
terrorism and expressed the hope
that Pakistan will abide by its com-
mitment to not allow its territory or
territories controlled by it to be used
for terrorist activities against India,"
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha
Singh told media.
Modi also called for a speedy trial
of Pakistanis accused of master-
minding the 2008 Mumbai terror
attack. The bilateral relationship
between the two countries has been
bedevilled by what India views as
Pakistan's hesitation in taking action
against the perpetrators of the 26/11
Mumbai terror attack.
Sharif had Monday joined leaders
from SAARC countries at the
swearing in of Modi as India's prime
minister. He met Modi Tuesday for
what was called a "courtesy meet-
ing" by officials.
In a statement which he read out
in his media interaction, Sharif said
he had underlined that India and
Pakistan needed peace to build their
economies. Noting his 45-minute
meeting with Modi was held in a
warm and cordial atmosphere, he
told Modi that he desired to take
forward the peace process that he
had initiated with then Indian prime
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
1999 until it was derailed by a mili-
tary coup.
"I intend to pick up the threads of
the Lahore peace declaration."
The Pakistani premier said his
own election and Modi's electoral
victory - both "with a clear man-
date" - "should be a historic oppor-
tunity for both our countries" to
meet hopes and aspirations of peo-
ple on the two sides.
Sharif said he urged Modi "to
strive to change confrontation to
cooperation" and added his govern-
ment was "ready to discuss all
issues in a spirit of cooperation".
"After all we owe it to our people
... to rid the region of instability and
insecurity that has plagued us for
decades."Accusations and counter-
accusations will be counter produc-
tive... We must end the legacy of
mistrust. Modi warmly reciprocated
my sentiments," he said.
Sujatha Singh termed the meeting
between the two prime ministers as
"very constructive".
"Both sides were trying to address
each other's concerns," she said."We
want peaceful relations with
Pakistan. However, for such rela-
tions to proceed it is important that
terror and violence is brought to an
end."
The foreign secretary said that
India's "concerns on terrorism were
clearly articulated" but did not con-
firm or deny if Modi had raised with
Sharif concerns about involvement
of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in
the attack on the Indian consulate in
Herat in Afghanistan last week.
On Kashmir, she said that foreign
secretaries of the two countries will
meet and discuss the way forward.
She said Modi has been invited to
Pakistan and he had accepted the
invitation but no dates had been
fixed yet. Asked about India getting
NDMA (non-discriminatory market
access) status from Pakistan, she
said that there was also discussion
on trade.
Modi, Sharif open new chapter
Narendra Modi with Nawaz Sharif at Hyderabad House.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Modi with Sharif and
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a dinner
Pakistan's National Security and Foreign Affairs
Advisor Sartaj Aziz (left)
Sharif, Modi meeting hints at peace,
trouble: Pak daily
Islamabad: The meeting between Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif and India's Premier
Narendra Modi hints "at the prospects for
peace and the likelihood of trouble in the
months ahead", said a Pakistani daily.
The editorial "A new page?" appeared in the
News International a day after Sharif and
Modi met at New Delhi. Sharif along with
other SAARC leaders attended the swearing-
in ceremony of Modi Monday.
The daily said that Sharifs India trip for the
inauguration of Modi was "in itself such a
seismic event - the first time ever for a
Pakistani leader - that it would have been
unrealistic to expect any substantive break-
throughs".
"Instead, this was a battle for public rela-
tions and setting the ground for an improve-
ment in relations further down the line. In this
Nawaz excelled, particularly with the
poignant touch of calling on former Indian
prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his
residence," it said.
Vajpayees visit to Lahore to meet Nawaz is
"still fondly remembered as a rare high point
in Pakistan-India relations and served as a
reminder to Modi that there is a history of the
BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) engaging
Pakistan positively".
The daily noted: "The meeting between
Nawaz and Modi hinted both at the prospects
for peace and the likelihood of trouble in the
months ahead. Nawaz focused, as he always
has, on engagement but Modi spoke mostly of
terrorism, particularly the Mumbai attacks of
2008."
The editorial went on to say that the way to
work "through these troubles, as Nawaz well
understands, is by engaging in other issues
first and broaching matters of disagreement
once ties have improved".
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh
expressed confidence that Pakistan would
soon grant India Most Favoured Nation trad-
ing access. She also said that Modi has
accepted Nawazs offer of a return visit to
Pakistan.
"In his own brief remarks to the press,
Nawaz once again sung the song of peace.
That the word 'peace' can even be uttered with
the hardline Modi in power is in itself a testa-
ment to the surprising developments of the
past few days," said the daily.
"A point to note was that the Indian side did
bring up specific issues of concern but the
Pakistani PM talked of our issues only in gen-
eral diplomatic terms? While a measure of
optimism is in order for this unexpected
progress, we still need to be wary of likely
challenges," the editorial said.
INDIA May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 15
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has asked union
ministers to focus on good gover-
nance and implementation, come
up with a plan of action for the
first 100 days and give quick
response to representations from
states and public representatives.
Briefing reporters after a meet-
ing of the cabinet, Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu
said the prime minister heard the
ministers and gave suggestions on
some issues.
He said Modi also asked cabinet
ministers to take their ministers of
states into confidence and give
them adequate work.
"The prime minister said that the
main issue was governance. That
is the need of the hour and there is
need to focus on it. He said deliv-
ery and efficiency is important and
there was also need to pay atten-
tion to implementation (of govern-
ment schemes)," Naidu said.
He said Modi told the ministers
that there should be immediate
response to representations from
states.
"State proposals should not be
kept pending for long. There is
need to take states along," he said.
"The issues raised by MPs and
by the people should also be
viewed in all seriousness and
resolved soon," Naidu added.
Modi, who served as Gujarat
chief minister for over 12 years,
had often complained about the
indifference of the central govern-
ment to some issues raised by his
state.
Naidu said Modi was keen that
the "spirit of federalism was fol-
lowed".
"He (Modi) asked them (minis-
ters) to prepare a time table for the
first 100 days and decide on prior-
ities," Naidu said.
He said departments had been
asked to prepare a list of issues
that were pending and to try and
implement them.
Naidu said Modi will meet min-
isters and secretaries of various
departments in the coming days.
Asked about the timeframe for
the ministers to prepare an action
plan for 100 days, Naidu said the
prime minister had given his guid-
ance and everyone knows the
"mind of prime minister".
Srinagar/New Delhi: The row over arti-
cle 370 escalated with Jammu and
Kashmir's political parties as well as
Congress opposing any move to revoke
the constitutional provision guaranteeing
special status to the state and the RSS
stressing that the state would remain an
integral part of India and attacking Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah for suggesting
otherwise.
The state's ruling National Conference
and its coalition partner, the Congress, as
well as the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) reacted strongly
to Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh's
statement that talks had been started with
stakeholders to begin the revocation
process.
Abdullah asked the central government
to come clean on the "stakeholders" it was
talking to on the contentious issue.
"We will oppose the move tooth and
nail. Since it is the minister of state in the
PMO talking, it is a policy matter. They
(central government) must come clean
and share who are the stakeholders they
have talked to," he told journalists in
Srinagar. On Tuesday soon after Jitendra
Singh's statement, Abdullah said: "Jammu
and Kashmir would not be part of India if
Article 370, which grants special status to
the state, is revoked."
"Mark my words & save this tweet -
long after Modi Govt is a distant memory
either J&K won't be part of India or Art
370 will still exist," he had tweeted.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) hit back at Abdullah, saying the
state would remain an integral part of
India irrespective of Article 370 being
repealed or not.
"J&K won't be part of India? Is Omar
thinking it's his parental estate? (Article)
370 or no 370, J&K has been and will
always be an integral part of India," RSS
spokesman Ram Madhav tweeted.
Attacking the move, PDP president
Mehbooba Mufti said: "Experts believe
article 370 is the bridge of Jammu and
Kashmir's accession to the country and if
you break it, you go back to pre-1947
position. You give people to re-negotiate.
Are you ready?"
She sought the intervention of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to send out a sig-
nal that there is no such intention.
Chinese premier speaks to Modi,
desires robust partnership
New Delhi: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the phone and
conveyed his government's desire to establish a
"robust partnership" with the new Indian govern-
ment.
According to a statement by the external affairs
ministry, Li congratulated Modi on his victory in
the recent election and conveyed his government's
desire to "establish robust partnership with the new
government of India for further development of
relations between the two nations".
Acknowledging that "China was always a priori-
ty in India's foreign policy", Modi underlined the
Indian government's resolve to "utilise the full
potential of our strategic and cooperative partner-
ship with China" and also welcomed "greater eco-
nomic engagement" between the two nations.
He also expressed his keenness to work closely
with the Chinese leadership "to deal with any out-
standing issues in both the countries' bilateral rela-
tions by proceeding from the strategic perspective
of our developmental goals and long-term benefits
to our peoples". The two leaders agreed to maintain
frequent high level exchanges and communication,
the statement said. Modi extended through Li an
invitation to President Xi Jinping to pay a visit to
India later this year. The prime minister's telephon-
ic conversation with Li was his first with a foreign
head of government since taking charge.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his chair
New Delhi: Nripendra Mishra, former chairman
of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI), was appointed principal secretary to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While talk about Mishra's appointment was
doing the rounds for some time, the official inti-
mation of his appointment was issued.
Mishra, a 1967 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has
served in various administrative positions.
He has also served as union home secretary in
the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
government in 2004.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government
appointed senior Supreme Court counsel Mukul
Rohatgi, who appeared for the Gujarat govern-
ment in several 2002 post-Godhra riot-related
cases, as attorney general of India.
He succeeds G.E. Vahanvati who resigned fol-
lowing the rout of the Congress-led UPA in the
2014 general election.
A versatile lawyer who has appeared in a large
number of cases representing various state gov-
ernments, corporate houses and individual liti-
gants in the Supreme Court, Rohatgi told IANS
shortly after his appointment that his priority is
to streamline the working of the central agency that files appeals in
the Supreme Court on behalf of the central government.
As the country's first law officer, the attorney general is the only
non-member of parliament who can come to parliament to give his
opinion when it is sought. The official also advises government on the
legal issues surfacing from time to time in discharge of its legal and
constitutional obligations.
According to Article 76 of the constitution, the attorney general will
be a person who is qualified to be appointed as an apex court judge.
Rohatgi appointed attorney general
Nripendra Mishra
Senior Supreme
Court counsel
Mukul Rohatgi
Mishra appointed Modi's principal secretary
Article 370: Kashmir parties slam talk of revocation
J&K Chief
Minister
Omar
Abdullah
16 May 31-June 6, 2014 TEAM MODI SWEARING-IN TheSouthAsianTimes.info
LK Advani at the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi
at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Saarc leaders with Indian politicians during the swearing-in ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi' first day at his office at South Block.
President Pranab Mukherjee during a dinner hosted for the
Prime Minister and his council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Actor Anupam Kher during the swearing-in ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur in New Delhi.
A new Indian government took charge with most ministers
visiting the offices of their allotted portfolios, some even to
two-three offices, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who
began with an early meeting at his South Block office. Some
glimpses from Modi's swearing-in ceremony, and beyond.
TEAM MODI SWEARING-IN May 31- June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 17
Arun Jaitley gets three
heavy portfolios of
finance, defence and
corporate affairs while
Rajnath Singh gets home
ministry and Sushma
Swaraj external affairs
ministry
New Delhi: Arun Jaitley has turned out to be
the most important person in the new govern-
ment after Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
with three heavy portfolios of finance,
defence and corporate affairs, it was
announced here.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan released the port-
folio allocation of 46 ministers, including 24
cabinet ministers, of the new government.
Sushma Swaraj is the new foreign minister
and Rajnath Singh will head the home min-
istry.
Modi has kept with him, like some of his
predecessors, the portfolios of personnel,
public grievances and pensions as well as the
departments of atomic energy and space
besides any other department not allocated to
any minister.
He will, as the presidential communique
states, be in charge of "all important policy
issues". Rajnath Singh, the BJP president
who is likely to hand over the party baton to
someone else, gets the important portfolio of
home (interior) and Sushma Swaraj gets both
external affairs and overseas Indian affairs.
M. Venkaiah Naidu, a former BJP presi-
dent, also gets a lot of responsibility with
urban development, housing and urban
poverty alleviation as well as parliamentary
affairs. Nitin Gadkari, another former BJP
president, takes charge of road transport and
highways as well as Shipping while D.V.
Sadananda Gowda will the railway minister.
V.K. Singh, a former army chief, is the
minister of state for external affairs, overseas
Indian affairs and development of north east-
ern region (independent charge).
Harsh Vardhan, the former Delhi chief min-
isterial candidate, is the new health minister
while former TV star Smriti Irani gets the
heavy portfolio of human resources develop-
ment.
New Delhi: From promoting beauty prod-
ucts, to contesting the Miss India beauty
pageant, to becoming the country's most
sought after 'bahu', and on Monday being
sworn in as a minister in the Narendra
Modi government - 38-year-old Smriti
Irani's life has been a saga of meteoric rise
to fame and success.
A star in her own right, Smriti's political
journey started in 2003 when she joined the
BJP which has just pulled off a landslide
win in the 16th parliamentary election by
winning 282 out of the 543 contested seats.
Although she couldn't win when she con-
tested the 14th Lok Sabha polls as the BJP
candidate from the Chandni Chowk con-
stituency in Delhi - being defeated by
Congress candidate Kapil Sibal - she
became a prominent and articulate face of
the party on television.
In the 2014 general election, the gutsy
Smriti took on Congress Vice President
Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough of
Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and gave him
tough competition. Though she lost, the
actress-turned-politician, who was sworn
in as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament
from Gujarat in 2011, will now work as an
important member of the newly elected
government. In her life, every decision she
took turned into a stepping stone, taking
her closer to stardom and politics.
In one of her interviews she was quoted
as saying that she started earning after the
10th standard - the Delhi girl used to earn
Rs.200 for promoting a beauty product.
But determined to chart her own destiny
Smriti, one of the three daughters of a con-
servative Punjabi-Bengali family, broke
free of the norms and decided to try her
luck in the glamour world.
She sent her application for the 1998
Miss India contest, which was won by
Lymaraina D'Souza. She couldn't reach the
finals of the contest but fate took her to
Mumbai, the entertainment capital of the
country, where she joined McDonald's
Bandra outlet to support herself while audi-
tioning for work in showbiz.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan
PRIME MINISTER:
Narendra Modi: Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Department of
Atomic Energy Department of Space, All
important policy issues and all other port-
folios not allocated to any minister.
CABINET MINISTERS:
Rajnath Singh: Home Affairs
Sushma Swaraj: External Affairs,
Overseas Indian Affairs
Arun Jaitley: Finance, Corporate Affairs,
Defence
M. Venkaiah Naidu: Urban
Development, Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation, Parliamentary Affairs
Nitin Gadkari: Road Transport and
Highways, Shipping
D.V. Sadananda Gowda: Railways
Uma Bharati: Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Najma A. Heptulla: Minority Affairs
Gopinathrao Munde: Rural
Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking
Water and Sanitation
Ramvilas Paswan: Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution
Kalraj Mishra: Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises
Maneka Gandhi: Women and Child
Development
Ananth Kumar: Chemicals and
Fertilizers
Ravi Shankar Prasad: Communications
and Information Technology, Law and
Justice
Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati: Civil
Aviation
Anant Geete: Heavy Industries and
Public Enterprises
Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Food Processing
Industries
Narendra Singh Tomar: Mines, Steel,
Labour and Employment
Jual Oram: Tribal Affairs
Radha Mohan Singh: Agriculture
Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Social Justice
and Empowerment
Smriti Irani: Human Resource
Development
Harsh Vardhan: Health and Family
Welfare
MINISTERS OF STATE:
V.K. Singh: Development of North
Eastern Region (Independent Charge),
External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs
Inderjit Singh Rao: Planning
(Independent Charge), Statistics and
Programme Implementation
(Independent Charge), Defence
Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Textiles
(Independent Charge), Parliamentary
Affairs, Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Shripad Yesso Naik: Culture
(Independent Charge), Tourism
(Independent Charge)
Dharmendra Pradhan: Petroleum and
Natural Gas (Independent Charge)
Sarbananda Sonowal: Skill
Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth
Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge)
Prakash Javadekar: Information and
Broadcasting (Independent Charge),
Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (Independent Charge),
Parliamentary Affairs
Piyush Goyal: Power (Independent
Charge), Coal (Independent Charge),
New and Renewable Energy
(Independent Charge)
Jitendra Singh: Science and
Technology (Independent Charge), Earth
Sciences (Independent Charge), Prime
Minister Office, Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Department of
Atomic Energy, Department of Space
Nirmala Sitharaman: Commerce and
Industry (Independent Charge), Finance,
Corporate Affairs
G.M. Siddeshwara: Civil Aviation
Manoj Sinha: Railways
Nihalchand: Chemicals and Fertilizers
Upendra Kushwaha: Rural
Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking
Water and Sanitation
P. Radhakrishnan: Heavy Industries
and Public Enterprises
Kiren Rijiju : Home Affairs
Krishan Pal: Road Transport and
Highways, Shipping
Sanjeev Kumar Balyan: Agriculture,
Food Processing Industries
Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava:
Tribal Affairs
Raosaheb Dadarao Danve: Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Vishnu Deo Sai: Mines, Steel, Labour
and Employment
Sudarshan Bhagat: Social Justice and
Empowerment
The phenomenal rise of Smriti Irani
Smriti Irani being sworn-in. She is
the new human resource
development (HRD) minister
18 May 31-June 6, 2014 INDIA TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Saroj Mohanty
I
believe God has chosen me,"
Narendra Modi had once said in
the course of the election cam-
paign that has catapulted the Gujarat
chief minister to the very pinnacle of
power as the next prime minister of
India. His words sounded prophetic
May 16 as the Bharatiya Janata
Party won an absolute majority on
its own, securing a record number of
282 seats in the Lok Sabha, and in
the process reducing the Congress to
its lowest number in the house.
It has been an extraordinary jour-
ney for the man, an outlier, who
does not belong to any of the coun-
try's enduring political dynasties or
to the socio-cultural elite. Pilloried
as a "Hindutva hardliner", a 'divi-
sive", "polarizing figure", especially
because of the 2002 riots under his
own rule in his home state, Modi has
in a way taken a sweet revenge as he
savors the phenomenal poll results,
his own glory and the finest-ever
performance of the BJP in more than
three decades of its existence.
At the height of a grueling cam-
paign, Modi had said in an interview
that he sensed a very strong anti-
incumbency wave against the 10-
year Congress rule, marked by mas-
sive corruption and seemingly dys-
functional government. As he trav-
elled across this country of sub-con-
tinental size and bewildering diver-
sity, he saw "an equally strong wave
for the BJP and its NDA partners", a
yearning for change, for a "stable",
performing government in New
Delhi.
To a large extent, his own careful-
ly crafted image of a "strong and
decisive" leader found resonance
across the country and has no doubt
played a role that is reflected in the
poll results. In the 13 years he has
been at the helm of affairs in
Gujarat, Modi has built an image of
a leader who delivers, someone who
is interested in results.
In the last few years, when the
Manmohan Singh government was
ridiculed for being caught in a "poli-
cy paralysis" Modi seized the oppor-
tunity and conveyed a vision of
decisive government and develop-
ment. And this he made the main
plank of his electoral campaign that
touched a chord, an instant connect,
especially with the young, first- time
voters and the country's burgeoning
middle class. As one of his biogra-
phers, Nirendra Dev, says, the mid-
dle class perceives Modi more as
someone who "functions like a mod-
ern day CEO laying emphasis on the
outcome and often allegedly putting
the rules and normal norms in the
backburner".
This was facilitated by an aggres-
sive use of technology and media,
and well supported by the Sangh
Parivar whose members pressed its
cadres to canvass for the BJP. In
contrast, the campaign of the
Congress led by its undeclared
prime ministerial nominee, vice
president Rahul Gandhi, was unin-
spiring. Opposition leaders and
independent observers, however, say
that though Modi talked about
development, the party indulged in
some social engineering in states
like Uttar Pradesh, played the back-
ward caste and communal cards.
But there are specific and deep
social changes that seem to have
helped the so-called Modi wave.
Increased urbanization, inter-region-
al migration and spread of commu-
nication have bridged the rural-
urban divide in voting behavior. In
fact, economic shifts and greater
connectivity are creating a new kind
of constituency, one that is neither
classically urban nor rural, but a
hybrid "rurban". As demographer
Sonalde Desai says, though India
has not become a non-agricultural
country, farming has increasingly
become a part-time job. Recent sur-
veys have shown greater divergence
between states than between villages
and cities.
And Modi has been tapping into
what he calls a "neo-middle class"
made up of newcomers to the urban
economy.
The country's travel from a state-
run economy to one run more by
private capital has led to a situation
where aspirations are rising a lot
faster than improvements on the
ground and a lot of angst, especially
among the young. A master strate-
gist, Modi also saw to it that the
BJP, which traditionally appealed to
the urban middle class, this time
moved into rural and semi-urban
areas, and tapped especially youth.
And now a Modi Doctrine?
Proactive instead of reactive diplomacy
I
n an unprecedented move, Narendra Modi
has invited leaders of all of India's South
Asian neighbors to his swearing-in cere-
mony as prime minister on May 26. To an
extent, this is in line with his own loud think-
ing and the BJP's poll manifesto to "reorient
and reboot" India's diplomacy to achieve its
foreign policy goals.
In fact, since his stunning electoral success
and even prior to that, there has been much
speculation and anticipation about what
changes he might bring in to India's foreign
policy, as not much was known about his pref-
erences. World governments, strategic circles
and the media drew various conclusions,
extrapolating what he did in his 13-year rule
as Gujarat chief minister and putting under
microscope his statements during the election
campaign and recent interviews to decipher
his line of thinking and what possible road as
leader of the world's third largest economy he
would take for the next five years. Indian for-
eign policy is known more for its continuity
than change, although of late there have been
cracks in the national consensus, as some
states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have
asserted their interests and want their say in
policy-making. Modi has been supportive of
the states' role in foreign policy formulation.
He is said to have discussed among his close
advisors and confidants the country's policy-
making in areas like trade and energy, which
are inextricably linked to diplomacy and for-
eign policy. He has also talked about capacity
building, bringing in even expertise outside
the officialdom. What has also drawn attention
is the way he would rope in the private sector
and the active and highly networked Indian
diaspora, which also participated enthusiasti-
cally in his election, as force multipliers that
could bring rich foreign policy dividends.
During the election campaign, Modi has
called the United Progressive Alliance govern-
ment as "status-quoist". The BJP manifesto
has talked about rebooting and reorienting
"foreign policy goals, content and process in a
manner that locates India's global strategic
engagement in a new paradigm" and nurturing
"interlocking relationships". Former envoy
Hardeep Puri, who joined the BJP earlier this
year, gave an inkling of things to come when
he told IANS that the landslide victory in the
general election had given Modi "the mandate
required to repair the relationships in the
neighborhood". By inviting South Asian lead-
ers, Modi is trying to send a message to people
in India's neighborhood who have come to see
him in a certain way, and to the wider world,
about possible future changes on the neighbor-
hood policy front where they too have interest.
Modi is taking the reins of government at a
time when the country is faced with a difficult
security neighborhood, stretching from
Afghanistan to Myanmar. There is a widely
shared belief that the geopolitical situation in
the neighborhood is likely to change signifi-
cantly due to uncertainties in the global econo-
my, instability in the Af-Pak region, especially
in the wake of the US troop drawdown, con-
tinuing anti-India sentiments in some of the
countries, demographic pressures, growth in
illegal migration, and adverse consequences of
climate change.
However, there are also opportunities in
economic integration and strengthening of
democratic institutions in some countries.
Modi has come to power promising to fix the
economy and understands the potential bene-
fits of South Asian economic integration and
the importance of trade and in catalyzing
India's own economic growth.
In the late 1990s, the then prime minister I.
K. Gujral followed a policy that called for set-
tling all disputes in South Asia through peace-
ful bilateral negotiations and espoused non-
reciprocity from smaller neighbors. The coun-
tries of the region also had a positive attitude
towards the principles, which was dubbed as
the Gujral Doctrine. However, as it happens in
this part of the world, the move floundered on
the reefs of shifting geopolitical realities, par-
ticularly the antagonistic relations between
India and Pakistan. Gujral's successor Atal
Bihari Vajapyee's efforts to mend ties with a
bus ride to Lahore also failed to stoke the rela-
tionship. Manmohan Singh's visa and trade
liberalization policy didn't take off.
All this makes it imperative for India to for-
mulate policy options and develop relations
with all its neighbours. India also knows it
cannot match the "checkbook diplomacy" of
China, a significant player in the region, and
that there have to be more creative ways to
solve strategic issues. In an interview to Open
magazine earlier this month, Modi said "I will
look at India, what is in her self interest will
be India's foreign policy".
Seen in this perspective, the move to bring
all leaders of the region to New Delhi and
have an interaction is proactive diplomacy and
a welcome one, given that India's foreign poli-
cy in recent years has often been reactive.
The middle class perceives Modi more as someone who functions like
a modern day CEO laying emphasis on the outcome and often
allegedly putting the rules and normal norms on the backburner.
By inviting South Asian leaders to his
swearing in, Modi is sending a mes-
sage to people in India's neighborhood
who have come to see him in a certain
way, and to the wider world, about
possible future changes on the neigh-
borhood policy front where they too
have interest.
I will look at India, what is in her self-interest will be
India's foreign policy, Modi said.
DIASPORA 19 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Trinidad PM hails Modi-Sharif meeting
Indian-origin CEO on Forbes
Middle-East list
Port-of-Spain: Trinidad and To-
bago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-
Bissessar has hailed the meeting be-
tween newly-elected Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his
Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
In a message congratulating Modi
for becoming India's new prime
minister, Persad-Bissessar noted
that the "unity shown as Mr. Modi
took the oath of office before thou-
sands of guests, including his coun-
terpart from rival Pakistan, Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, is heart-
warming."
She added that this is the first time
since the two countries won inde-
pendence from Britain in 1947 that,
"a prime minister from one state has
attended such a ceremony in the
other."
Persad-Bissessar pointed to the
strong diplomatic ties which
Trinidad and Tobago enjoys with
India and which were "brought
alive" during her official visit to In-
dia in January 2012 where she was
awarded the Pravasi Bharaitya
Samman award.
She added: "The Republic of In-
dia has set an example to the world
in holding the largest
elections in history
which is a demonstra-
tion of democracy and
good governance at its
best."
Persad-Bissessar ex-
pressed the hope that
both India and Trinidad
and Tobago would con-
tinue to share "friendly
and mutually beneficial
relations that exist be-
tween our two great na-
tions" during Prime
Minister Modi's tenure.
The Indian election
was widely covered in
the local media, and
Trinidad and Tobago na-
tionals and people of In-
dian origin here fol-
lowed it right from the
time of voting to Modi's inaugura-
tion as prime minister.
This event also rekindles the links
between both the countries as this
country observes the 169th anniver-
sary of the arrival of the first set of
Indians here May 30, 1845.
The "human cargo" of 230 Indi-
ans was the first batch followed by
several others, totalling 148,000,
most of whom came from Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar.
The India diaspora in Trinidad
and Tobago comprises 44 percent of
the Caribbean nation's total popula-
tion of just over 1.3 million people.
Muscat: A poor cotton farmer's son from Maha-
rasthra's Vidarbha region has been named in the
Forbes list of top 40 CEOs in Middle-East coun-
tries, announced recently by Forbes.
The distinction-holder is Krishnakumar Taori,
the group managing director of Hasan Juma
Backer Trading & Contracting Co. Oman.
He hails from a remote village called in
Ghuikhed in the backward Amravati district of Vi-
darbha.
For the first time, Forbes acknowledged the
tremendous of Indian business leaders in shaping a
vibrant business community in the Arab world by
releasing a comprehensive ranking of 40 promi-
nent expats.
"I am happy...Though I have been working in the
Middle-East for so many years, my mind is always
on how to rehabilitate the maximum number of
suicide-hit farmers' families of Vidarbha on a per-
manent basis. I hope this will help me further to
achieve that goal," Taori said in an email statement.
Taori's recognition in the prestigious list was
welcomed by the farming community in Yavatmal
and other districts who have been benefitted by
help from their son-of-the-soil in recent years.
He did his engineering from Government Engi-
neering College, Amravati in 1980 and then com-
pleted his M.Tech in Public Health Engineering
from VNIT, Nagpur in 1983.
In an effort give back to society, Taori started a
computer training center in his native Ghuikhed
village and is now setting up a full-fledged Indus-
trial Training Institute to help promote education
and employment opportunities in the region.
Trinidad & Tobago PM
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Krishnakumar Taori, group MD of Hasan
Juma Backer Trading &Contracting Co
Modi urged to utilize resources
of Indian diaspora
Thiruvananthpuram: A Sharjah-
based diaspora organization has
urged Prime Minister-designate
Narendra Modi to utilize the re-
sources of Indian diaspora for na-
tional development like China did
to attain its economic supremacy.
"We request more concessions to
NRIs for bringing foreign currency
into the country. The non-resident
Chinese played an important role in
the present economic supremacy of
China," Pravasi Bandhu Welfare
Trust said in its memorandum to
Modi.
"India never made any such at-
tempt to effectively utilize the re-
sources of diaspora for the national
development," PBWT chairman
K.V. Shamsudheen said in his
memorandum.
"We request the new government
to encourage the businessmen here
(India) to join hands with NRIs, for
expansion and diversification of
their existing ventures. These joint
ventures will create new synergy in
Indian industry," said the PBWT.
The PBWT demanded exemption
from short-term capital gain tax for
investment in capital market, ap-
proval for the diaspora to invest in
Public Provident Fund, and setting
up of pravasi housing complexes.
Besides, it urged the new govern-
ment not to send unskilled and do-
mestic workers abroad.
It said the outgoing United Pro-
gressive Alliance "government has
failed" in tapping NRI resources,
and "during the last Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas, you had promised
that when you will be in power, you
will address all our issues.
So,...NRIs from all over the world
are eagerly waiting for your re-
sponse to this representation," it
said. The PBWT was established in
2001 for the welfare of the NRIs.
Estimated at over 30 million, the
Indian diaspora community is to-
day diverse and heterogeneous,
representing various regions, lan-
guages and cultures.
Australian state pushes for dowry ban
Sydney: The Australian state of Victo-
ria is pushing for a ban on the Indian
practice of dowry in marriages amid
concerns that it is leading to domestic
violence and abuse of women within
the Indian community here, a media re-
port said Friday.
Economic abuse was made illegal un-
der the Family Violence Act in 2008,
but Australian politician Ted Baillieu
and women's rights advocates also want
a specific ban on dowry, which would
bring state law into line with Indian law,
The Melbourne Age reported Friday.
Baillieu, a former premier of Victoria,
tabled a petition in state parliament in
April, calling for amendments to fami-
ly violence laws.
"Dowry is clearly part of the issue
faced by these women," The Age quot-
ed Baillieu as saying.
Baillieu said the matter may be re-
ferred to the Victorian Law Reform
Commission.
Manjula O'Connor, an Indian-born
psychiatrist and research fellow at Mel-
bourne University, said that dowry must
be outlawed.
O'Connor said she witnessed many
women plagued by dowry-related do-
mestic violence during her private prac-
tice in Melbourne.
"Paying a dowry belittles the woman,
it reinforces their role as inferior in the
relationship and it makes the marriage
an economic transaction," O'Connor
said.
Baillieu was contacted by O'Connor,
who urged the Victorian government to
ban the payment of dowries in the state.
Baillieu added that some young
women who arrive in Australia in
arranged marriages face pressure to
provide more to their husbands, which
can trigger abuse.
The move has caused deep rifts with-
in the state's 190,000-strong Indian
community, the report said.
A dowry can be gifts, money or prop-
erty that a wife or wife's family gives to
her husband when they marry.
In India, the payment of dowry has
been prohibited since 1961 under Indi-
an civil law with enactment of Sections
304B and 498A of the Indian Penal
Code.
The provisions under Section 498A
have been criticized in India in the wake
of growing complaints about the misuse
of anti-dowry laws by women.
SUBCONTINENT 20 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Zardari acquitted in corruption case
Pakistan hails Obama's Afghan
withdrawal plan
Islamabad: The accountability
court has acquitted former
Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari
in the polo ground corruption case,
a media report said.
The court said in its verdict that
the accused had not been proven
guilty so far, Dawn online reported
Wednesday.
The court stated that evidence
against Zardari was not sufficient
for further proceedings.
The National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) reopened a reference
case last year, over the construction of a
polo ground, along with ancillary works at
the Prime Minister House during the tenure
of Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s, on the ver-
bal orders of her husband Zardari to CDA
chairmen Saeed Mehdi and Shafi Sehwani
at an estimated cost of Pakistan Rs.52.29
million (around $529,360).
The bureau held it as illegal and in viola-
tion of the rights and privileges that were
afforded to Zardari.
In February, the court had reserved its
judgment on the application of the former
president seeking acquittal in the corruption
reference, the report said.
The NAB in the reference nominated the
two former CDA chairmen as the principal
accused.
Zardari served as the 11th president of
Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 and presently,
is the co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples
Party.
Islamabad: Pakistan has welcomed US
President Barack Obama's plan of with-
drawal of forces from Afghanistan, noting
that the country stressed the importance of a
responsible withdrawal and cautioned
against the creation of a security vacuum.
The statement came hours after President
Obama said that the US plans to pull out all
forces from Afghanistan by 2016 and will
begin with reducing the troop presence in
the country to only 9,800. The US will end
its combat mission at the close of 2014.
A top Pakistani adviser hailed Obama's
announcement and said the country would
continue to work with the US to facilitate an
orderly withdrawal and encourage an
Afghan-led reconciliation process, Xinhua
reported.
"Pakistan has always advocated that a
measured, planned, organised withdrawal
would be far more favourable to ensuring
peace and stability in Afghanistan rather
than a hasty unplanned departure as had
been witnessed on the last occasion," Syed
Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the prime
minister on foreign affairs, said in
Islamabad in response to a question at a
news conference.
"Pakistan favoured a dialogue amongst all
the countries of the region to promote peace
and reconciliation in Afghanistan and to that
end we have also been in discussion with
Iran, with China, with the US, with EU and
with Russia," Fatemi said.
He said the withdrawal of NATO/ISAF
forces in Afghanistan is slated for comple-
tion by December 2014, while President
Obama's latest statement has provided fur-
ther clarity about the "residual" presence
post-2014.
"We have welcomed the US policy goal of
a 'responsible end' to this long war. Pakistan
would continue to work with the US to
facilitate an orderly withdrawal and encour-
age an Afghan-led reconciliation process,"
Fatemi said.
Isl amabad/ Dhaka/ Col ombo:
Member nations of the South Asian
regional grouping Saarc lay big
hopes in the new Indian government
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with their respective media
Wednesday reflecting the region's
collective optimism over India's
new leadership.
Prospects of peaceful times and
improved bilateral relations were
the main theme in media reports fol-
lowing Modi's meetings with lead-
ers of the region as he hit the ground
running on his first day as prime
minister.
The meeting between Modi and
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif hints "at the prospects for
peace and the likelihood of trouble
in the months ahead", said a
Pakistani daily in its editorial
Wednesday.
The editorial, "A new page?",
appeared in the News International a
day after Sharif and Modi met in
New Delhi. Sharif, along with other
SAARC leaders, attended the swear-
ing-in ceremony of Modi Monday.
The daily noted: "The meeting
between Nawaz and Modi hinted
both at the prospects for peace and
the likelihood of trouble in the
months ahead. Nawaz focused, as he
always has, on engagement but
Modi spoke mostly of terrorism,
particularly the Mumbai attacks of
2008."
The daily said that Sharifs India
trip for the inauguration of Modi
was "in itself such a seismic event -
the first time ever for a Pakistani
leader - that it would have been
unrealistic to expect any substantive
breakthroughs".
"Instead, this was a battle for pub-
lic relations and setting the ground
for an improvement in relations fur-
ther down the line. In this Nawaz
excelled, particularly with the
poignant touch of calling on ailing
former Indian prime minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee at his residence," it
said.
Vajpayees visit to Lahore to meet
Nawaz is "still fondly remembered
as a rare high point in Pakistan-
India relations and served as a
reminder to Modi that there is a his-
tory of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata
Party) engaging Pakistan positive-
ly".
The media in Bangladesh cited the
country's Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina as expressing the hope that
good relations will be maintained
with India with Modi at the helm.
"I believe we'll be able to keep up
a good relationship. Modi has his
own ideas, now he has become
Indian prime minister and I hope as
prime minister of India he would
play his due role so that all neigh-
boring countries have good rela-
tions," the Daily Star quoted Hasina
as saying.
Bangladesh parliament speaker
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury met
India' s new Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Tuesday and found
him "positive" on solving outstand-
ing bilateral issues like sharing
Teesta water and implementing the
Land Boundary Agreement,
bdnews24.com reported.
During the meeting with Shirin,
Modi listed Bangladesh's success in
areas like micro-finance and poverty
alleviation and said South Asian
nations should adopt each other's
best practices.
In Sri Lanka, President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, after meeting Modi, said
that he looked forward to working
with India in taking forward Saarc
ventures, media reported.
During the two leaders' bilateral
meeting in New Delhi Tuesday,
Rajapaksa stated that Indias leader-
ship was crucial for the success of
the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation' s (Saarc)
operations and the countries must
focus on common issues that can
benefit the region on a global plat-
form, the Daily News reported.
Rajapaksa and Modi also dis-
cussed the issue of fishermen of
both countries and the measures that
can be taken to find a permanent
solution in which the views of fish-
ermen can be taken into considera-
tion.
On his part, Nepal' s Prime
Minister assured Modi that the
Himalayan nation would have a new
constitution within a year.
During their meeting, Modi
expressed concern over Nepal's con-
stitution drafting process, and in
response, Koirala assured him that
the new constitution would be ready
within a year, The Himalayan Times
reported.
Koirala extended an invitation to
Modi for the upcoming Saarc sum-
mit in November and requested him
to visit Kathmandu even before the
summit.
The two leaders discussed various
bilateral issues, including harness-
ing Nepal's hydropower, develop-
ment of tourism, road projects and
fast tracking the Terai-Kathmandu
road project for mutual benefit.
South Asian nations have big hopes from Modi
Narendra Modi with Saarc leaders in New Delhi
Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari
India's
leadership
crucial for
SAARC:
Sri Lanka
Colombo: Sri Lankan
President Mahinda
Rajapaksa on meeting new
Indian Prime Minister said
that he looks forward to
working with India in tak-
ing forward SAARC ven-
tures, media reported.
During the two leaders'
bilateral meeting in New
Delhi Tuesday, Rajapaksa
stated that Indias leader-
ship is crucial for the suc-
cess of South Asian
Association for Regional
Cooperation' s (SAARC)
operations and the countries
must focus on common
issues that can benefit the
region on a global platform,
the Daily News reported.
Rajapaksa and Modi also
discussed the issue of fish-
ermen of both countries and
the measures that can be
taken to find a permanent
solution in which the views
of fishermen can be taken
into consideration.
INTERNATIONAL
Washington: US President Barack
Obama has laid out a new doctrine
of using "military force unilateral-
ly" without permission when its
own interests are at stake, but turn-
ing to "collective action" when
Washington is not directly threat-
ened.
America would still lead using
"military force unilaterally if nec-
essary", he told graduates at the US
Military Academy at West Point,
New York, but would avoid the
"costly mistakes" of the past by
"collective action" with allies
abroad.
"Here's my bottom line: America
must always lead on the world
stage. If we don' t, no one else
will," he said.
"But US military action cannot
be the only -- or even primary --
component of our leadership in
every instance."
Answering critics who have
accused him of following a passive
foreign policy, the President laid
out the new Obama doctrine of
using "military force unilaterally if
necessary, when our core interests
demand it."
"International opinion matters,
but America should never ask per-
mission to protect our people, our
homeland, or our way of life,"
Obama said amid applause.
"On the other hand, when issues
of global concern do not pose a
direct threat to the United States,"
he said "we should not go it alone."
"Instead, we must mobilise allies
and partners to take collective
action."
"We have to broaden our tools to
include diplomacy and develop-
ment; sanctions and isolation;
appeals to international law; and, if
just, necessary and effective, multi-
lateral military action," he said.
For the foreseeable future, "the
most direct threat to America at
home and abroad remains terror-
ism," Obama said. "But a strategy
that involves invading every coun-
try that harbours terrorist networks
is nave and unsustainable."
Advocating a shift in US counter-
terrorism strategy "to more effec-
tively partner with countries where
terrorist networks seek a foothold,
he said: "today's principal threat no
longer comes from a centralized Al
Qaeda leadership."
"Instead, it comes from decen-
tralised Al Qaeda affiliates and
extremists, many with agendas
focused in countries where they
operate."
Obama advocated developing "a
strategy that matches this diffuse
threat -- one that expands our reach
without sending forces that stretch
our military too thin, or stir up
local resentments."
Small-scale capture and drone
operations by the US military
would continue to be used, but
with increased transparency, he
said.
Obama's only reference to India
came in the context of a world
"changing with accelerating speed"
where "from Brazil to India, rising
middle classes compete with us,
and governments seek a greater say
in global forums."
Commenting on Obama's speech,
Richard N. Haass, President of
Council on Foreign Relations, a
leading US think tank, suggested it
"lacked a clear strategic rationale."
"It was an attempt to essentially
carve out a form of involvement in
the world that avoided any and
every excess, but with one or two
exceptions, it didn't provide any
specifics."
Ahead of the speech Haass had
offered 12 Ideas to fix US foreign
policy, including reaching out to
India's recently-elected govern-
ment.
"A joint declaration in which
Congress and the president wel-
come the new prime minister and
expressed a commitment to closer
US-Indian relations would be one
way to start."
"So, too, would suggesting regu-
lar, high-level consultations on
economic and strategic issues," he
wrote.
Obama advocates using military force unilaterally
21 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
'Syria suffered
$143.8-bn economic
loss due to civil war'
United Nations: Syria has suffered
$143.8 billion in economic losses due
to the continuing civil war in the coun-
try, according to a new UN report.
The joint report by the Syrian Centre
for Policy Research and the UN says
that even as the death toll from Syrias
three-year civil war continues to rise,
the countrys human development has
also suffered immense collateral dam-
age -- the economy has been gutted, the
healthcare system is in ruins, and edu-
cation facilities are "teetering".
According to the report, titled
'Squandering Humanity', covering the
last two quarters of last year, three out
of four Syrians now live in poverty,
with more than half the population -
54.3 percent in 2013 - living in extreme
poverty.
As the conflict grinds on with no end
in sight, some 20 percent of the popula-
tion now barely has the means to meet
basic needs.
"Syria is now blighted by joblessness
and overwhelmed by unemployment,"
said Alex Pollock, director of micro-
finance for the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East (UNRWA), which worked
with the UN Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Syrian Centre
for Policy Research to compile the
report.
Ukraine confirms partial
Russian pullout
Moscow/Kiev: Russia
offered to send humanitari-
an aid to Ukraine's eastern
regions as Ukraine con-
firmed a partial pullout of
Russian troops from its bor-
der. Expressing its readiness
to send humanitarian aid to
Ukraine's eastern regions,
Russia said it expected a
prompt response from Kiev
to facilitate the deliveries.
"Russia receives insistent
pleas from the conflict
zones in eastern Ukraine for
urgent humanitarian aid,"
the Russian foreign min-
istry said in a statement.
Noting that the ongoing
military operation in those
regions had led to numerous
casualties, Russia urged
Ukrainian authorities to
undertake all measures to
provide aid delivery
promptly, Xinhua reported
citing the statement.
The aid would consist
mostly of medical products,
it said, adding the delivery
routes should be agreed and
secured.
Since Ukraine's political
crisis became acute in
February, Moscow has
warned of a looming
humanitarian catastrophe in
the country.
In March, Federal
Migration Service head
Konstantin Romodanovsky
said Russia was concerned
by symptoms of a "growing
humanitarian catastrophe"
in Ukraine.
During recent operations
by Ukraine troops and pro-
government paramilitary in
the rebellious Donetsk
region, up to 100 people,
including civilians, have
been reportedly killed.
Meanwhile, Ukraine' s
State Border Service (SBS)
Wednesday reported a par-
tial withdrawal of Russian
troops from the border.
"According to our infor-
mation, the pullout of
troops from our borders is
under way. However, intel-
ligence units, radio units,
electronic reconnaissance
units as well as logistic
infrastructure are staying
where they were, " SBS
Chairman Mykola Lytvyn
told a press conference in
Kiev.
Lytvyn said his agency
did not rule out the possibil-
ity of Russian troops return-
ing to the area and urged the
government to create a spe-
cial 3, 000-troop unit to
strengthen control on the
eastern border-crossing,
according to Xinhua.
US President Barack Obama
Berlin: Ukrainian Prime Minister
Arseny Yatsenyuk said his country
should become a European country
under the newly elected President
Petro Poroshenko.
Visiting Yatsenyuk was invited to
a dinner by German Chancellor
Angela Merkel at her Chancellery
in Berlin, Xinhua quoted a state-
ment posted on the website of the
German government as saying.
Merkel told Yatsenyuk she was
glad that the presidential election
was held in Ukraine, and a result
was already achieved in the first
round of the ballot.
Yatsenyuk said the security situa-
tion in Ukraine was still complicat-
ed, saying all countries, in particu-
lar Russia, should fulfill their inter-
national obligations.
The goal, he stressed, is that
Ukraine would become a European
country with its new president.
Preliminary official results
showed that Poroshenko, a 48-year-
old billionaire and independent
politician, led Sunday's presidential
election in Ukraine with a vote
share of 53.7 percent.
Ukraine should turn
European country under
Poroshenko: PM
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk
BUSINESS 22 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
eTailing India announces pact with
US events group
New Delhi: eTailing India, the
well-known eCommerce knowl-
edge platform, and IRCE, a glob-
al e-commerce exhibition in the
US, announced a pact to promote
each others' events and reach out
to a larger international audi-
ence. As part of the pact,
eTailing India and IRCE will
also provide on-site support to
the visitors and and exhibitors.
The benefits will include dis-
counted registration fee, and
global reach, the two groups said
in a statement. They pack also
calls for programming, specifi-
cally geared toward reaching out
to each other's visitors. An all-
new "eTailing India Global
Theater" at IRCE will feature a
series of industry sessions on
issues specific to the Indian e-
commerce market.
"This very exciting collabora-
tion for IRCE fits perfectly with
our strategic growth plans to
reach around the globe through
new events and partnerships,"
said Craig Dooley, senior vice
president of Emerald
Expositions, IRCE' s parent
group that also organises a num-
ber of smaller e-commerce
events in the US and Asia.
"We look forward to working
with eTailing India to expand the
e-commerce conversation to the
vibrant and growing e-commerce
market in India. With our com-
bined network of events, IRCE
and eTailing India deliver more
resources, strategies and solu-
tions that businesses need to suc-
ceed, no matter their size, indus-
try or geography."
eTailing India is the largest
eCommerce knowledge platform
in India with five large confer-
ences, some 18 master classes
and workshops, Webinars (semi-
nars), guides, news, industry
research, experience centers,
training institutes, and consult-
ing.
The focus is on omni-channel
retailing and the surrounding
eco-system.
"India is the second-fastest-
growing eCommerce economy
in the Asia Pacific region. Close
to $12 billion today, the market it
is forecast to grow to over $76
billion by 2021, said founder of
eTailing India, Ashish Jhalani.
We are excited to be part of the
driving force for the growth of
the eco-system in India.
Now in its tenth year, IRCE is
the flagship event for the e-com-
merce industry with over 600
exhibitors and 10,000 attendees
annually. IRCE features a packed
agenda with speakers from some
of the most well-known compa-
nies throughout the globe.
IRCEs next event will take
place at Chicago's McCormick
Place West, June 10-13.
Need to rebuild confidence
in Indian economy: Jaitley
New Delhi: The
Indian economy is
passing through a
very challenging
time and there is
need to re-build con-
fidence of global and
domestic investors in
it, newly sworn-in
Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley said
after taking charge.
"The challenges are
very obvious. We
have to restore back
the pace of growth,
contain inflation and
obviously concen-
trate on fiscal consol-
idation," Jaitley told
reporters after taking charge at the
North Block office here.
He said political changes have
sent a strong signal to the global
as well as domestic investors and
it will help rebuild the confidence
in the Indian economy.
"The mandate that our govern-
ment has received has an inbuilt
hope in it.
Political change itself sends a
strong signal to the global com-
munity and also the domestic
investors," he said.
Washington: A majority of
Americans say large US companies
do a poor job in helping the US
economy, with 43 percent saying the
companies are weak in creating jobs
for Americans, Gallup found in a
poll. The poll comes amid a still
flagging US economy in terms of
jobs growth, with continuing high
US unemployment nationwide,
except in areas such as Washington
D.C., where the local economy
remains strong, Xinhua reported.
Americans see large US compa-
nies as having a more positive effect
overseas than they do domestically,
with 66 percent of Americans
believing that large US companies
create jobs for citizens in countries
outside the US, Gallup found.
Americans in general have a less-
than-stellar image of big business,
with a mere 22 percent in previous
Gallup polls saying they have "a
great deal" or "quite a lot" of confi-
dence in big business -- one of the
lowest confidence ratings of any of
the institutions Gallup has tested.
Americans do seem to recognise
that large US companies contribute
in some areas, and are most positive
about large companies' ability to
create important new products and
technologies, Gallup said.
Clearly the public is sceptical of
the benefits provided by America's
large companies for their home
country -- even while conceding that
these organisations create new prod-
ucts and technologies and help the
countries overseas where they oper-
ate. In sharp contrast, previous
Gallup polls show that 65 percent of
Americans have a great deal of con-
fidence in small business. Even
though Americans rate large US
companies positively overall for
their creation of new products, they
get much less credit on this dimen-
sion when compared with small
businesses, Gallup found.
One major challenge for large US
companies is to convince Americans
that they help the US economy as
much as they do economies over-
seas.
Demonstrating their economic
contribution domestically compared
with small businesses is another
challenge.
Americans' confidence in big business is low: Gallup
66 percent of Americans believe that large US companies create
jobs for citizens in countries outside the US.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley takes charge
New Delhi: The new govern-
ment will deal with foreign
direct investment (FDI) in a
calibrated manner and there is
no blanket approach,
Minister of State Nirmala
Sitharaman, who hold inde-
pendent charge of the com-
merce and industry ministry,
said.
Taking to reporters after
assuming charge at Udyog
Bhawan here, Sitharaman said
she would try to push forward
the promises made by
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
in its election manifesto
regarding the FDI in multi-
brand retail.
In its manifesto, the BJP
promised it would not allow
FDI in multi-brand retail as
allowed by the Congress
party-led United Progressive
Alliance government.
At this stage, the party's
position is very very clear, we
have explained about FDI in
multi-brand retail that proba-
bly it is not best opened up
now, Sitharaman said.
The way in which medium
and small sized retailers and
small farmers have not been
adequately empowered that
immediately if you open up
the flood gate of FDI in multi-
brand retail, it may affect
them, she added.
However, she clarified that
the government has no blanket
approach to the foreign invest-
ments and it would be allowed
selectively in a calibrated
fashion.
In the newly sworn-in Prime
Minister Narendra Modi-led
National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) government,
Sitharaman also holds minis-
ter of state portfolios of
finance and corporate affairs.
No blanket approach on foreign
investments: Sitharaman
SPORTS 23 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Knights slay Kings to march into IPL final
Mumbai: Riding on a
strong batting perform-
ance Chennai Super
Kings booked a berth in
the Qualifier 2 beating
defending champions
Mumbai Indians by seven
wickets in the Eliminator
of the Indian Premier
League (IPL) here.
Super Kings will now
face Kings XI Punjab in
Friday's Qualifer 2 for a
place in Sunday' s final
against Kolkata Knight
Riders.
It was a clinical show
by Chennai Super Kings
at the Brabourne Stadium
here Wednesday night
after their skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
opted to field.
Super Kings achieved the target
easily, scoring 176 for three with
eight balls to spare after Suresh
Raina remained unbeaten on 54
and David Hussey on 40.
It were the openers Dwayne
Smith (24) and Faf du Plesis (35),
who set the foundation of the
chase with their quickfire 60-run
stand. Du Plesis was the most
aggressive of the two and
slammed five fours and a six in
his 20-ball knock.
Double strikes by veteran off-
spinner Harbhajan Singh, who
removed both the openers,
pegged back Super Kings at 64/2.
Brendan McCullum (14) also
entertained briefly before he was
stumped by Aditya Tare of
Pragyan Ojha.
Super Kings knock out Mumbai
Indians in IPL eliminator
Chennai Super Kings booked a berth
in the Qualifier 2 beating defending
champions Mumbai Indians
Rio de Janeiro: The Brazilian
government has roped in some
157,000 security agents to
ensure the smooth conduct of
the FIFA World Cup that will be
held June 12-July 13.
The government has spent 1.9
billion reais ($855,000) to pro-
vide security for the the World
Cup. The security scheme is
already in place and will be
operational till July 18, five
days after the final match,
reports Xinhua.
The 157,000 security agents
include officers from the local
and federal police forces, the
Federal Highway Police, the
National Security Force, and
Brazil's armed forces.
In addition, FIFA has hired
20,000 security agents who will
work in the stadiums and their
vicinity, as well as hotels and
training centres for the 32
squads who will participate in
the tournament. On an average,
900 agents will be present at
every match.
The government announced
Monday that Brazil is prepared
to host the World Cup and will
ensure security during the com-
petition.
"We are ready to receive for-
eign tourists, authorities and
delegations and ensure every-
one' s safety," said Andrei
Rodrigues, Undersecretary for
Large Events' Security at the
Justice Ministry.
Rodrigues warned against vio-
lence and said the country is
ready to deal with protests, if
they occur as in the FIFA
Confederations Cup last year.
"The security forces are pre-
pared to any scenario, such as
terrorist acts or violent protests.
We will not tolerate any acts of
vandalism, looting or destruc-
tion," he said.
Brazil ropes in 157,000
security agents for
World Cup
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders
came up with an all-round show to
romp into the final with a clinical
28-run decimation of Kings XI
Punjab in qualifier 1 of the Indian
Premier League here.
Put in to bat, the Knights posted
a challenging 163/8, and then
restricted the Kings to 135/8 before
a packed Eden Gardens here to
reach their second final in three
years. They had won the tourney in
2012.
The hosts rode on useful contri-
butions by their mainline batsmen,
and overcame the hiccups of losing
wickets at crucial moments to fin-
ish on the right note by plundering
49 runs in the last four overs.
The Kings' reply started on the
wrong note with the big wicket of
Virender Sehwag (2) falling in the
very second over. The seasoned
campaigner punched a short of
length delivery of Umesh Yadav,
but finished in the hands of cover
fielder Shakib-al Hasan.
Manan Vohra (26; 19b,3x6) and
Wriddhiman Saha (35; 31b 2x4
2x6) began cautiously as they tried
to put the innings back on track.
The rain, which had led to a 25-
minute stoppage during the
Knights' knock, resumed in the
fourth over of Kings' essay. The
ground staff rushed in with the
covers but the umpires thought oth-
erwise and continued the game.
The visitors, then 17/1 in 3.2
overs, needed to reach 37 for the
par score within five overs. The
realisation dawned on Vohra, who
hit two consecutive sixes of Shakib
as the fifth over produced 15 runs,
taking the Kings to 39/1.
Vohra got another shot out of the
ground over long on but pacer
Morne Morkel got the batsman out
of the way three balls later with
Yadav catching a miscued pull
deep at mid on. The visitors were
45/2.
The in-form Glenn Maxwell (6)
did not last long, but Saha - playing
on his home ground - kept the
scoreboard moving with singles,
besides a big six off Piyush
Chawla.
But facing a daunting asking rate,
it was not enough for the Kings as
the asking rate continued to climb
putting the visitors under pressure.
Earlier, the Knights rode on the
brilliance of top scorer Robin
Uthappa (42;30b 4x4 2x6) to post a
challenging total as the other bats-
men also chipped in with useful
contributions.
Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan with Yusuf
Pathan after the team defeated Kings XI Punjab
at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Gambhir back in Test squad, Zaheer dropped
Mumbai: Gautam Gambhir
returned to the Test side after a
year-and-a-half while there was no
place for veteran fast bowler
Zaheer Khan in the 18-member
India squad for the five-Test series
in England starting July 9.
Keeping in mind the whitewash
the team suffered in 2011, the
Indian selectors decided to pack
the team with six fast bowlers and
also recalled tall Rajasthan pacer
Pankaj Singh, who last represented
India in ODIs in 2010.
Zaheer was dropped on the basis
of his recurring injuries and selec-
tors felt that the 35-year-old won't
withstand the demands of Test
cricket any longer. Zaheer also
missed this season of the Indian
Premier League (IPL) due to an
injury.
Pankaj was rewarded for his con-
sistent performance on the domes-
tic circuit, picking up 39 wickets at
22.46 in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy.
He was also a key member of the
Rajasthan team that won back-to-
back Ranji titles in 2010-11 and
2011-12.
The five Tests will be played at
Nottingham (July 9), London (July
17), Southampton (July 27),
Manchester (Aug 7) and London
(Aug 15).
Besides Pankaj, the other pacers
are Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey,
Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and
all-rounder Stuart Binny. There are
two spinners in Ravichandran
Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra
Jadeja.
The last time India played an
away five-Test series was way
back in 2002 in the West Indies.
They also have failed to win an
away Test series in three years.
Losses to South Africa and New
Zealand in the past six months, saw
them sliding to No.5 in the rank-
ings.
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina will be
leading the ODI side in next
month' s three-match series in
Bangladesh. Raina makes is way
back to the side after being
dropped from the last ODI series -
the Asia Cup. Mahendra Singh
Dhoni and Virat Kohli have been
rested for the series along with
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan,
Ashwin, Jadeja and Shami Ahmed.
Robin Uthappa makes a come-
back to the national team while
Wriddhiman Saha will be Dhoni's
replacement.
The three ODIs will be played in
Mirpur, June 15, June 17 and
June 19.
Gautam Gambhir returned to the Test side
after a year-and-a-half
24 May 31- June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
B
ollywood superstar
Salman Khan and his
father and writer Salim
Khan, actor Anupam Kher and
filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar
were among the high profile
Bollywood celebrities who
attended the swearing-in ceremo-
ny of the country's 14th Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his
cabinet at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan.
Also actor-politicians Hema
Malini, Shatrughan Sinha and
Manoj Tiwari, members of
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
were present on the occasion.
Dressed in black shirt and
trouser, Salman was spotted sit-
ting next to his father. Looking
elegant in a sari, actress Poonam
Dhillon was spotted with her
million dollar smile while taking
her seat.
Hema and her actor husband
Dharmendra, and Shatrughan
Sinha were seen exchanging
pleasantries before the ceremony
began.
Bhandarkar was spotted in a
black suit, while Bhojpuri star
Manoj Tiwari was looking his
best in a kurta-pajama teamed
with a Nehru coat.
"Company" fame actor Vivek
Oberoi too came in to attend the
oath-taking ceremony of the
country's 14th prime minister.
Legendary singer Lata
Mangeshkar was personally
invited by Modi for the ceremo-
ny, but she had to miss the event
due to health reasons. However,
she sent a handwritten letter to
Modi apologising for not being
able to make it to the function.
She wished Modi all the best
saying that the people have given
the reins of the country in the
hands of a great leader and that
today is the happiest day for the
nation.
Leone excited about
her first Punjabi
music video
I
ndo-Canadian adult film
actress Sunny Leone will
be seen making her first
appearance in a Punjabi music
video with Girik Amin's "Sari
wali girl" and she is thrilled
about it.
A rendition of Amin's imagi-
nation of his dream girl in a
sari, the song features Sunny
in the video shot in the desert
landscapes of Dubai.
"This is my first ever full-on
Punjabi song in a sari and it's
called Sari wali girl'. Girik
Amin is a great singer and you
guys are going to absolutely
love the video as it's shot in
Dubai, it's hot, it's beautiful,
it's glamorous," the "Ragini
MMS 2" actress, who has fea-
tured for the first time in a
non-film Punjabi pop-song,
said in a statement.
Amin says the song is "very
close to my heart". "This track
describes the girl of my
dreams and who better to have
featured in it than Sunny
Leone. She is extremely gor-
geous and working with her
on this song was a delightful
experience."
Sunny Leone in the
Punjabi music video
N
o one can fault Akshay
Kumar's dare-devilry on
screen, but Bollywood's
action titan insists his forthcoming
film "Holiday - A Soldier Is
Never Off Duty" shouldn't be
confused with a typical action-
drama. He says the film's
topic, which focuses on ter-
rorism and sleeper cells, as
well as real stunts sets it
apart.
"' Holiday' is an amazing
film on what terrorism is all
about and how the army tries
to capture the sleeper cells,"
Akshay, who has teamed up
with Sonakshi Sinha for the
fifth time in the movie said.
Interestingly, director A.R.
Murugadoss is helming it, and it
is a known fact that nobody
makes actioners like him.
"It is not a typical Akshay
Kumar film where I am doing
fun and comedy all the time.
Yes, there is a little bit of comic
element in 'Holiday', but otherwise
it's a serious thriller," he said about
the film for which he teamed up
with producer Vipul Shah, with
whom he has given several hits.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What is "Holiday" about?
A: Not many people are aware
of sleeper cells - special terrorists
who blend into society so well that
no one realises they are terrorists.
Sleeper cells were behind 9/11 and
26/11 attacks. In "Holiday", some
army officers are home for a holi-
day and realise that the enemy is
not only present at the border, but
there are a lot of enemies inside
the city and village. "Holiday" is
an amazing film on terrorism
and how the army tries to capture
the sleeper cells.
Q: You say the film is a serious
thriller, but promos show just
comedy and songs. Is it deliber-
ate?
A: You are right. But from now
on you will start watching promos
that will show seriousness of the
film. Since it is a Hindi film, there
has to be some song and dance. In
the film, my character comes
home for a holiday and never
thought that he would face terror-
ism.
Q: There's a lot of hand-to-
hand combat in the film
A: Yes, the film has very real
action. You won't see the kind of
action I did in "Boss" or "Khiladi
786" where I would just punch
and 20 people would fly in
every corner. Greg Powell, who
was the stunt coordinator on
"Skyfall", has choreographed
the action sequences in
"Holiday". We haven't taken
the help of cables. If I kick
someone and take a somersault, it
is all real. It is compulsory for
the producer to insure all the
actors. So if something happens,
we are taken care of.
Q: But that only looks after
the monetary aspect.
A: It is part of my job. I do all
my stunts because I enjoy it. I
don't do it because someone forces
me to.
'Holiday' not a typical Akshay Kumar film
Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in '2 States'
Salman Khan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini at Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
Akshay Kumar in a scene from 'Holiday'
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 25 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
S
o this is what the
Dev Anand of the
South would look
like if he were to really
and truly - cross my heart and hope to
'dye' - not age after 40.
Using the technique known as the
Motion Capture 3D technique,
"Kochadaiiyaan" brings us Rajnikanth
looking infinitely trimmer and younger
than he actually is. In fact at the end of
the film the director, who happens to be
the mega-star's daughter,gives us a wide
spectrum of out-takes where we see
Rajnikanth Sir (full respect,
Mr.Superstar) the way he looks like
now.
The end-bit is a sad reminder of mor-
tality in a film that addresses itself to
enormously epic issues such as heredity,
lineage, duty, loyalty and the conflicts
within the kingdom assigned to a sol-
dier.
You can't harness civilization without
shedding blood. You can't make a film
about Rajnkanth the Warrior without
retarding age.
It' s all like a complicated jigsaw,
naughtily and deliberately digitalized
wunder-product Awhere the actors
whom we know (Deepika Padukone,
Jackie Shroff and of course Rajni Sir)
seem to come alive with personalities
that challenge and mock reality. The
actors less-known to North Indian audi-
ences (like Nasser, Sarath Kumar,
Shobana) seem far more credible in the
Hindi belt. We don't know them better,
you see. It's really hard to pin down the
true merit of "Kochadaiiyaan". It is at
once outrageously ambitious and
endearingly intimate. It's a tribute to
that enduring evergreen quality of
Rajnikanth's stardom which time cannot
preserve. But the miracles of the com-
puter age surely can. Rajnikanth plays
the roles of multiple warriors - a father
and a son, and third role too, that never
quite shapes up in this film. But surely
will in the sequel. Deepika is the
enemy's daughter so madly besotted by
Rajnkanth's warrior avatar she dances
like a woman possessed. As an insanely
unbridled homage to a superstar's trib-
ute, "Kochadaiiyaan" works very well
in spite of the very poor dubbing in
Hindi and A.R. Rahman's repetitive dull
and sermonistic songs that lack both
zing and freshness. Rajnikanth's tandav
towards the end is so riveting you for-
give the languid expressions of some of
the animated actors who seem to have
lost their spirit in translation.
Rajnikanth roars again. Never mind if
the lion is computer-generated. The
superstar returns in a stylish never-
before avatar conceived and executed
by the star' s daughter who is an
unabashed fan.
Kochadaiiyaan one
of my toughest
movies: Rahman
D
ouble Oscar-winning composer AR
Rahman said that superstar Rajinikanth's
Kochadaiiyaan was the toughest film in
his career of composing because of the importance
of music in the narrative.
"Kochadaiiyaan was one of the toughest movies
to score and mix for, due to the responsibility and
role music had in the narrative. Kudos to my
whole team for coming through. We had to move
forward on many sensibilities and step back for
some others," Rahman posted on his Facebook
page Tuesday.
"We consciously stayed away from conventional
massy numbers. With confidence in the script, we
tried to stay true to dance numbers that were
intrinsic to the setting of the movie and heighten
the emotion," he further posted.
Rahman also said that he is "trying my best to
put together a score album soon".
A scene from 'Kochadaiiyaan'
Review
'Kochadaiiyaan': India's own Desi "Avatar'
AR Rahman
26 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info SELF HELP
F
or busy women, finding a stretch
of time to unwind might seem
impossible, but no matter how
busy life gets, taking a moment for one-
self has crucial benefits, suggests a new
study.
Nine out of ten women agree no mat-
ter how stressful their day, taking a
moment to relax and recharge makes
everything better, according to a recent
survey conducted by Lindt USA.
While a lengthy shopping excursion or
a relaxing yoga class may not be possi-
ble every day, it only takes a moment to
get the benefits of a daily pause. Nearly
one-in-three women say they would only need
five minutes or less each day to relax or
recharge, while half of women are too busy
taking care of others to pay attention to their
own needs.
For women juggling lifes demands, here
are some great ways to pause for a moment of
me time:
Take a Deep Breath
A few minutes of daily meditation is good
for the body, mind and soul. Whether its
while walking the dog or commuting to work,
spend a few minutes setting aside your
anxieties.
Clear your mind and focus on the present,
not on what needs to get done.
Break for Lunch
More than a quarter of women surveyed say
a daily recharge makes them more productive
at work. Even when deadlines are piling up,
never forget to take a break in the middle of
the work day. Leave your desk or workstation
for fresh air or a visit with coworkers. An
indulgence, such as a chocolate treat or a
quick walk around the block can improve
your focus for the final home stretch.
Unwind Before Bed
After the kids have gone to bed, carve out a
peaceful routine before turning in for the
night. Whether its reading in bed or curling
up and watching your favorite TV show, des-
ignating a few minutes each night to unwind
will help you sleep better.
Taking a daily breather provides
positive benefits for women
S
mall changes to your surroundings can
have a strong impact on mood and over-
all health, say experts. A relatively new
movement in design and construction, called
designing for health, aims to make homes and
communities have positive impacts on the way
people live, work and play.
Encouraging movement, social interaction
and physical health can address problems like
obesity and our increasingly sedentary
lifestyles. Thoughtful design and home
improvements can solve these issues, says
Cyril Stewart, President at Cyril Stewart, LLC
and member of the American Institute of
Architects (AIA) Design and Health
Leadership Group.
Spaces that promote movement -- walkable
and livable communities -- are an idea gaining
steam, as noted by the AIAs most recent Home
Design Trends Survey. Increasingly, designers
and developers are creating pedestrian-friendly
communities with access to recreational activi-
ties.
Want to foster healthy, active spaces in your
own home and community? Stewart is offering
a few tips:
Extend the Home
Adding porches, patios or balconies improves
access to the outside world. This provides great
health benefits, ranging from maximizing natu-
ral light to extending living spaces.
Many people retrofit homes with these
amenities, to allow for more space and fresh air
and improve ventilation, says Stewart.
Add Strategic Seating
Strategic seating is another interesting trend
design professionals are employing to encour-
age movement in and around a home or com-
munity. For example, public seating in the mid-
dle of spaces that mix residential, dining and
entertainment establishments ensure people
need to get up and walk to those services before
enjoying them. In other communities, areas des-
ignated for more quiet activities, like reading,
are on the rise.
Sleep-Friendly Bedrooms
Ensure your bedroom promotes healthy sleep
by making it a tranquil place. If possible, avoid
sleeping in a room that is along a busy street.
Install soundproof windows and use drapes.
And leave the entertainment center out of your
bedroom. Its hard to get quality sleep alongside
the lights and sound of the television.
Breathe Quality Air
An easy, but often overlooked solution for
ensuring better health, is keeping air quality
high. Fresh air aids sleep and lessens the occur-
rence of diseases like asthma. Simple ways to
improve air quality include:
Finding the optimum setup to promote fresh
air flow and ventilation in a building
Regularly replacing and cleaning filters on
air conditioners and heating systems
Confirming radon and carbon monoxide
detectors are present and in working order
These are just a few examples of how design
can affect health. For help implementing these
ideas or to find recommendations for your
home or community, an architect can help you
decide what would work best. To find an archi-
tect in your area, visit
http://ArchitectFinder.aia.org.
I
ts time for fun outdoor afternoons
spent with family and friends.
If youre looking for frugal fun this
summer, the experts at Dollar General
are offering some great tips for gath-
ering around the grill on a budget:
Get organized: With a little
preparation, you can better enjoy your
evening of entertaining and avoid run-
ning around getting everything
together. A few days before your
event, determine what items you
already have so you dont buy dupli-
cates and make a task list of all that needs to
be done before your party. You may find you
can accomplish some items well in advance of
your barbeque.
Use Charcoal: Charcoal grills are less
expensive, more interactive and tend to burn
hotter for a nice, deep-brown sear that also
gives your food a natural smoky flavor.
Use the grill to also flavor fruits and vegeta-
bles like peaches and sweet potatoes. You can
remove the pit from fresh summer peaches
and grill for a tasty and healthy dessert or lay
sweet potatoes directly on the coals for a great
roasted vegetable side dish.
Decorate: Use a festive and seasonal
color palette to give your party an extra fun
factor. Accent your outdoor table with a col-
orful tablecloth, small solar-powered lights
that can last throughout summer and small
planters with flowers and herbs that can grow
all season long.
Also, look for disposable and affordable
patterned cups, plates, cutlery and napkins
that coordinate with your outdoor tablescapes
and make cleaning up easier.
A discount retailer like Dollar General has a
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Tips to make great summer barbecues on a budget
BOOKS & IDEAS
A
Jain delegation in
the leadership of
Acharya Dr. Lokesh
Muni met Tourism & Cultural
Minister of Government of
India Shripad Yesso Naik in
New Delhi and requested to
celebrate 150th Anniversary
of Shri Virchand Raghav Ji
Gandhi who addressed the
1893 World Religion
Parliament at Chicago at
national level, they also wel-
comed Naik for taking charge
of Cultural ministry of govern-
ment of India. Anil Jain, Manoj Jain, Ashok
Jain and from Chicago Atul Shah, Smt
Dharmsihtha Shah were part of the delegation.
Eminent thinker Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni
said that addressing the World Religion
Parliament in Chicago and many prestigious
international organizations Shri Vir Chand
Raghav Ji Gandhi has done a great work of
taking Indian Culture to the masses.
Gandhi was an intensive thinker, original
writer and person with versatile talents. He
served the nation by providing help from
abroad at that time when India faced serve
famine. He played an important role in mak-
ing Palitana Tirth Tax free and removal of
slaughter houses from Samedshikhar Jain
Tirth.
Cultural Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said
thinkers, saints and litterateur have important
contribution in protection and promotion of
culture. Shri Virchand Raghav ji Gandhi had
contributed greatly by promoting versatile
Indian culture in the whole world.
Government of India in the past has honored
his great works by releasing his stamp.
Present government will extensively celebrate
Shri Virchand Ragav ji Gandhis 150th
Anniversary. This will familiarize the young
generation with ancient valuable Indian
culture.
On the occasion Atul Shah and Smt
Dharmishtha Shah from Chicago presented
the written proposal of establishing Jain chair
in Claremont Lincoln University. On behalf of
Jain community Manoj Jain, Anil Jain and
Ashok Jain greeted the cabinet minister by
presenting garland, shawl and memento.
C
elebrities, activists and
fans from across the
world, on Thursday,
took to Twitter to remember
legendary American author
and poet Maya Angelou, who
died Tuesday at age 86.
One of the most famous
African-American writers to
emerge in the 20th century,
Angelou was a poet, play-
wright, and great orator. She
rose from a childhood of
poverty in Arkansas to become
an American literary icon who was best-
known for her first book "I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings" that told the story of her
life up to the age of 17.
She died peacefully at her home in North
Carolina, in the US. As the news of her death
broke, netizens took to Twitter to remember
her strong writings and shared her popular
quotes.
Model-turned-actress Lisa Ray tweeted:
"RIP to one of my idols, the Mistress of lan-
guage and life, Maya Angelou."
Singer-actress Suchitra Krishnamurthy
wrote on her Twitter handle: "How impor-
tant it is for us to recognize and celebrate our
heroes and she-roes! Maya
Angelou."
American rapper, singer
and songwriter, Will.a.am,
best known as one of the
members of the popular band
"The Black Eyed Peas"
tweeted: "An American inspi-
ration, American icon &
American freedom fighter
MayaAngelou will always be
remembered and treasured."
Arizona-based Dolly tweet-
ed: "I didn't properly mourn
Maya Angelou's death yesterday and I feel
like I am gonna cry now because I am very
sad."
One Marissa Guzman wrote:
"MayaAngelou is one of the most articulate,
poetic, influential women of all time. May
her sweet soul RIP."
Gifted with a majestic voice, Angelou was
tall and shared warm and deep friendship
with human rights activist Malcolm X, South
African anti-apartheid leader Nelson
Mandela and the reverend Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Angelou also had an influence on
American talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Jain delegation meets Culture & Tourism Minister of India
Twitterati remember Maya
Angelou's poignant work
Atlanta Consulate hosts release of India Unveiled: Spirit, Tradition, People
A
mbassador Ajit Kumar,
Consul General of India,
Atlanta, Georgia hosted a
reception at the Atlanta Consulate
on May 22, 2014 marking the offi-
cial release of the expanded sixth
edition of the well-known, multi-
award-winning book, India
Unveiled: Spirit, Tradition, People
by Robert Arnett in which India is
presented in all her richness and
diversity for the readers to relish
and to savor.
The new edition of India
Unveiled Spirit, Tradition,
People written by renowned writer
Robert Arnett, is one of the best
books written by any foreign
writer on India, remarked
Ambassador Kumar. It captures
the essence of Indian civilization
and its traditions. His extensive
travelogue portrays a beautiful
depiction of the Indias people and
culture. His insight into the
regions and States of India is fasci-
nating. In fact, this is an excellent
book which presents a comprehen-
sive picture of India. It is a great
honor to release his book India
Unveiled at the Consulate General
of India, Atlanta.
The highlight of the evening was
a presentation with slides and com-
mentary on his travels throughout
India by Robert Arnett, the author,
photographer, and publisher of the
beautiful book. Arnett and Mrs.
Smita Turakhia, the editor, book
designer, and contributing photog-
rapher, then presented a copy of
India Unveiled: Spirit, Tradition,
People to Ambassador Kumar,
followed by a book signing for the
invited guests. The evening ended
with an Indian dinner.
Among the many prominent
invited guests was Dr. Jagdish
Sheth, the internationally
renowned Professor of Marketing
at Emory University who has
donated over a thousand copies of
previous editions of India
Unveiled to schools in Georgia and
across the country. When asked
about his patronage, Sheth replied,
Being involved for many years
with the Indian American
Education Foundation-Atman
Press School Library Project has
been extremely gratifying to us.
Mrs. Sheth and I consider it a priv-
ilege to share Indias rich culture
with students through India
Unveiled and Finders Keepers?
The Sheth Family Foundation has
received hundreds of letters from
schools telling us how the books
are so informative and enlighten-
ing and just the sort of reference
students today need.
Arnett's journey to India was not
that of a casual traveler. Having a
graduate degree in history and
being a collector or Oriental,
African and primitive art, he chose
places with cultural significance,
or found significance in them in
the light of his scholarly back-
ground and artistic and philosophi-
cal interests. He brought back not
only his understanding of an
ancient civilizationbut also a
pictorial and narrative record of his
travels.
The new volume contains 308
pages and 307 photographs repro-
duced on acid-free archival paper.
Many of the new images were
captured during a recent trip to
India. In addition, the text has been
strengthened considerably. With an
eye toward furthering understand-
ing and neutralizing prejudice
toward differences in our society
today, this updated version
acknowledges Indias modernity
while giving full credence and
more explanation of Hinduism,
Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,
the four religions that originated in
India. The book addresses topics
such as the mother aspect of God,
the symbolism of murti, the sym-
bolism of Aum, why Hindus
respect cows, and the caste system.
The book includes a timeline of
India and the World, which is more
in line with archeological discov-
eries and Indias ancient texts and
history, rather than based on colo-
nial influenced, dated ideas about
the history of the country. The text
in India Unveiled is punctuated by
quotes of notable people including
Einstein, Rudyard Kipling, Mark
Twain, Marco Polo and others. The
book has an excellent glossary that
is extremely useful for first-time
readers of India and is especially
helpful for younger generations
that grew up outside of India.
Ambassador Ajit Kumar, Consul General of India, Atlanta, officially releasing the new edition of India Unveiled at the Consulate.
(L-R) Mrs. Madhu Sheth; Dr. Jagdish Sheth, internationally renowned Professor of Marketing at Emory University who has
donated over a thousand copies of India Unveiled to schools in Georgia and across the country; Ambassador Ajit Kumar,
Consul General of India, Atlanta; author and photographer Robert Arnett; editor and book designer Smita Turakhia;
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award recipient Subash Razdan; Mrs. Raj Razdan.
Jain delegation led by Acharya Lokesh Muni with the
minister, Shripad Yesso Naik (third from left)
Maya Angelou
27 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
M
Y colleagues complain that I have a
disgustingly messy desk.
I prefer to call it the ideas vortex.
***
But lack of cleanliness was on my mind
this week after a reader sent me a Global
News clipping about firefighters who
recently raced to a scene of utter devasta-
tion in a residential street in Calgary,
Canada.
After finding furniture and debris spewed
out over the front yard, they donned protec-
tive gear to find the site of the explosion.
There hasnt been an explosion, neigh-
bors said. Its just a REALLY messy
house.
***
I used to have a friend EXACTLY like
this.
His home was basically an individual
portion landfill.
When I helped him move house, the peo-
ple next door came to watch with tears of
gratitude in their eyes.
Where is he going? one asked.
Far, far away, I said. VERY far away.
She nearly hugged me.
***
But I have always liked messy people. At
college I had the job of waking my flat-
mate Sarah for morning lectures.
I sometimes searched her room twice
before finding her.
***
Now of course the defense that all messy
people use is the line from Einstein that
your desk reflects your mind.
This worries me.
I have a colleague whose desk is wall-to-
wall anime figures (one-third busty, one-
third tentacled, one-third both).
Another keeps his desk so empty that
sound waves bounce back from his cubicle.
***
A deeper view of this issue comes from
the tidiest people on earth: the Japanese.
Theyve bought millions of books by
neat-freak guru Marie Kondo.
In The Life-Changing Magic of
Tidying she says tidy minds create orderly
societies in which bad things cant happen.
I was extremely skeptical about this idea
until a Japanese reader sent a news report
which illustrated it. A robber went into a
shop in Osaka recently, grabbed a knife
from the tools section and took it to threat-
en the cashier.
Being an orderly-minded person, she
grabbed it, scanned it and told him the
price. Disarmed, literally and figuratively,
he left, empty-handed.
***
You can use this orderliness principle
even outside Japan.
A few years ago, I covered the story of a
man who took a knife to a branch of
McDonalds in Australia and demanded
cash.
Instead of handing it over or putting up a
fight, staff took a Japanese approach and
told the robber that the system required
him to buy something first.
He obediently checked the menu for the
cheapest item, counted the change in his
pockets, and then apologized and left.
***
But what if youre like me, and find tidi-
ness impossibly difficult?
Defend yourself with logic!
When my wife complains about my stuff,
I tell her: I keep my part of the apartment
messy so that if an assassin comes for me,
he will trip over something and die.
28 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info HUMOR
Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi
Laughter is the Best Medicine
My colleagues complain about my desk
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant
Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
31st May, 2014 Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: Uranus, being your dominating planet helps
you become dynamic and creative. You are positive, realis-
tic, responsive, and sincere. You need to work and over-
come the weaknesses in your personality to attract more
people towards you.
Health this year: Your health would remain very good this
year. However, you need to go for regular yoga exercises.
You should not ignore your healthy diet plan to remain in
shape. Go for regular medical checkups to avoid any hic-
cups further.
Finance this year: Though you will be able to improve your
financial status, you may end up spending a lot of money in
buying luxury and comfort for yourself and your family. You
may put your money in real estate for better returns.
Career this year: Your efforts will bear results and you will
be appreciated with awards and rewards towards the end of
the year. You may get a promotion for your smart work and
efficiency.
Romance this year: Your plans to go for holidays with
your partner may not work because of huge work pressure
and this may create disturbance in your marital life. You
need to take care of the emotional requirements of your
partner to lead a peaceful life this year.
Lucky month: November, December, March and April
1st June, 2014 Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no:1
Traits in you: As you are governed by the Sun, you epito-
mize uniqueness and philosophy. You are courageous, dar-
ing, courteous, affectionate, decisive, and very determined
by nature. However, you need to work on your impatience
and short tempered nature to become a better individual.
Health this year: You need to take appropriate care of your
health. You may fall sick in the middle months of the year
though those will not be serious. If you are a sportsperson,
you need to be very careful for your diet and nutrition to
perform better in your sporting events.
Finance this year: You may prosper financially with the
opportunity to earn as much as possible with new sources
of income. You may go for long distance business trips if
you want success in your business. Be aware of fraud in-
vestment agencies as you may end up losing a huge amount
of money. You are advised not to lend money this year.
Career this year: You will be very impressive in your pro-
fessional circuit this year. However, you need to work smart
and perform well to grow as a perfectionist. You should take
quick decisions to excel in your field. You may have to help
your ordinates to drive productivity.
Romance this year: You will enjoy an improved life with
your partner with lot of love, care, and concern. You should
give time to your spouse or partner. If you are not married,
you might have to wait as the movement of your planets
does not suggest a marital alliance this year.
Lucky month: July, December, February and April
2nd June, 2014 Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As dominated by the Moon, you are very
peace loving. You do not want to get involved in unnecessary
talks. You are reliable, emotional, generous, humble, kind,
mature, and optimistic. However, you need to eradicate self-
ishness from your nature to improve as an individual.
Health this year: As far as your health is considered you
may go through minor health issues this year. However, reg-
ular medical checkups and proper medication will solve this
problem. You may go for Yoga and meditation classes to re-
main healthy.
Finance this year: Your financial conditions will be very
stagnant this year. As you will not earn much or spend
much, you will lead a peaceful life in money matters. You
may invest for future. Do not lend or borrow money from
your friends or colleagues.
Career this year: You will be successful professionally this
year. You will be additional responsibility and you will well
execute them to perfection. Your success may get you var-
ious awards and rewards as well. You may share your ideas
with the higher management as it would help you grow
quickly.
Romance this year: You may get some good news from
your spouse or partner later this week. This will make your
relationship grow stronger. You may have to travel to dis-
tant places to spend time youre your partner and maintain
a good relationship.
Lucky month: June, August, December and May
3rd June, 2014 Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: Being ruled by Jupiter, you are courteous,
courageous, decisive, ambitious, disciplined, and realistic.
You are gifted with high imagination power, optimism, and
enthusiasm. However, behaving restless and dominating
may hamper your characteristics at times. You need to work
on your personality to make yourself better as an
individual.
Health this year: As far as health is concerned, you will be
enjoying a pretty good health this year. However, some of
your family members may fall sick and that will bother you.
Finance this year: You may try your entrepreneurship
skills this year and you will be successful unexpectedly.
You will be able to get many projects, which you help you
establish as a good businessperson. You should go for in-
vestments in real estate and stock market.
Career this year: You will get enough opportunities in
your professional life to prove yourself. You will create a
better impression on your seniors or higher management,
which may result in promotion. You should work efficient-
ly to maintain your respect at your workspace.
Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with
your love interest this year. You will lead a blissful life with
your beloved with lots of love, care, concern, and support.
Lucky month: August, January, March and June
4th June, 2014 Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet Uranus
makes you active, practical, enthusiastic, courageous, am-
bitious, and highly philosophical. You are very proud of
your traditions, culture and rituals. You are highly religious
and have a very sharp mind. However, you need to work on
your impatient and stubborn behavior.
Health this year: You should take your prescribed medica-
tion in spite of a better health. The health of your parents
may make you a worried person.
Finance this year: Your undisputed energy and enthusiasm
to earn money will make you financially stable this year.
You may go for property sale this year and earn a lot of
money.
Career this year: You will get new heights in your profes-
sion because of your excellent communication skills. Your
employer would be very impressed and will admire you.
You may get few extra responsibilities and salary will also
increase. You will get expert in your domain and you must
go for learning new things in your profession.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse or
partner will blossom this year. If you are not married, you
may have to wait for few more years though you are eligi-
ble for marriage.
Lucky month: January, April and June
5th June, 2014 Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you are influenced by your ruling planet
Mercury, you are intelligent, unique, sensible, business ori-
ented, dignified, optimistic and charismatic. You are also
pretty warmhearted and friendly. However, you need not be
restless and impatient always to get your things done.
Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this year as
compared to last year. However, the health of an aged fam-
ily member may deteriorate and that will make you both-
ered. You may end up spending lot of money for the health
issues of your family members.
Finance this year: You may go for a property transaction
this year and this will bring you a lot of money. You need to
be decisive to invest on real estate or gold as there are risks
involved. Do not trust any of your new partners as they may
cheat you. You may spend enough money on buying a ve-
hicle or renovating your property.
Career this year: You need to work hard to prove yourself
in your profession. Do not take up minor issues to an esca-
lation. Try and brush up you knowledge and skills to per-
form more efficiently. You may go for a job change during
the last months of the year.
Romance this year: You will share a good relationship
with your spouse. You may decide to turn your relationship
into marriage if you are not married yet. However, you need
to understand your beloved and provide the required emo-
tional support for the betterment of your relationship.
Lucky month: October, December, February and April
6th June, 2014 Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Venus makes optimistic,
ambitious, caring, aspiring, and determined. You are very
social and love to make new friends and get into new rela-
tionships. You are a huge follower of intelligence and
education.
Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good health this
year. You need to take care of the health of your family
members. You need to take extra care of your health if you
are having some chronic diseases. You may go for domestic
healthcare instead of allopathic medicines as it will give bet-
ter results for your ailments and save your money as well.
Finance this year: Your innovative ideas to earn money
may not meet your expectations. However, you need to
keep trying until you succeed. You will find it tough to
make money this year. You may go for investments in var-
ious sectors like shares, gold, land and so on.
Career this year: You will get new heights in your profes-
sion because of your excellent communication skills. Your
employer would be very impressed and will admire you.
You may get few extra responsibilities and salary will also
increase. You will get expert in your domain and you must
go for learning new things in your profession.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your partner
may reach to new heights this year as your love, trust, care
and concern will develop towards your beloved. You may
get married towards the end of this year if you are yet to
marry.
Lucky month: September, November, March and May
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Stars Foretell: May 31-June 6, 2014 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
29
ARIES: The efforts of people aspiring
to join interior designing course are
likely to be handsomely rewarded. You
are likely to be benefited as family members
positively respond. Important people will be
ready to finance anything that has a special
class to it. Love works like a panacea as you
find sanity. A beneficial week to work on
things that will improve your health.
Travelling with kids can be a challenge, try to
reduce the stress and nerves. Purchasing offi-
cial accessories can lead to improve growth
of your office. You are likely to help people
navigating through rough patches of life.
TAURUS: Make sure you dont forget
to motivate and guide enthusiastic &
inquisitive minds at work. Parents and
friends will do their best to keep you happy.
Property dealings would materialize helping
in bringing fabulous gains. If possible avoid
wearing clothes, which could offend love
partner. Your confidence and energy will be
high in this week. Travel plans for better
communication will be helpful for new hori-
zons. Inheriting property from your relatives
seems to be ahead. The ability to swiftly tack-
le problems is likely to bring recognition.
GEMINI: Chances of misleading by
competitors in business are high. A
promising week to plan things for your
progeny. You are likely to earn monetary
gains through various sources. Love partner
touches soul that would take imagination to
unlimited heights. A week when smile will
perpetually be on your face and strangers will
seem familiar. Business or vacation travelling
is what you needed right now. Your income
can be doubled by renting your house or a
part of your house. You devote much of your
time in physical as well as mental activities.
CANCER: Leadership qualities and
ability to understand people would
benefit at work. You would be the
centre of attraction at a social gathering that
you attend especially with family. Increase in
income from past investment is foreseen.
Someones timely help would enable visualiz-
ing succeeding in love. Your energy level will
be high. Better to channelize it in a positive
direction. Implementation of new ideas to
travel will be beneficiary for you on work
front. It would be beneficial if you plan to
buy a small property. You are likely to remain
agile despite a hectic week.
LEO: At work you will be perfect in
whatever you do in this week. You
would prefer to relax and enjoy the
company of family members in the evening.
Unexpected travel for some proves hectic &
stressful, but financially rewarding. Romantic
imagination would keep you in a jovial &
cheerful mood. Positive outlook impresses
those around you besides keeping you fit &
fine. Travel plans for ambitions are in full
bloom. Real estate is one thing on which you
can rely on to invest. Thinking pleasant things
would make you feel better.
VIRGO: Support and appreciation
from seniors would raise your morale
and confidence. You move with new
excitement & confidence as you receive sup-
port from family and friends. Expenditure
rises but rise in income takes care of your
immediate bills. The company of love partner
makes you forget about the work. Charity
work undertaken will bring mental peace &
comfort. A beckon destination sounds tempt-
ing to you. Investment on construction busi-
ness would flourish your income. You are
likely to work to your fullest satisfaction.
LIBRA: A very good week to apply
for overseas job. Family front seems
to go smoothly as you receive their
full support to your plans. Monetary gains
from unplanned sources will brighten your
week. Sudden romantic encounter will lift
your spirits. Meditation and self-realization
prove beneficial. Planning a trip for your love
will embrace you and your spouse. Dealings
for older properties can be in process.
Interactions with strangers would bring a
newer kind of joy.
SCORPIO: Promotions and monetary
benefits for dedicated professionals.
You find relief, comfort and affection
in the company of family members. New
moneymaking opportunities will be lucrative.
Attending a social event/family function
brings a romantic encounter. You will have
ample time to do things to improve your
health. Enjoy your holiday with love of your
life. Your possession for acquiring a plot
might be achieved. Failures are likely to be
stepping stones for success.
SAGITTARIUS: Pending proposals
will get implemented with the help of
seniors. Time spent with relatives will
be to your advantage. You get some financial
rewards as dedication & hard work gets
noticed. Dont worry everything changes with
time so will your romantic life. Sound physi-
cal health will enable to participate in outdoor
activities. Romantic destinations seems
appealing to you. If you invest on smaller
properties then it can be beneficiary for future
investments. You will devote time to improve
behaviour and learn new things.
CAPRICORN: Good week for
implementing new plans and ventures.
If possible share the company of close
relatives who understand your feelings and
needs. Monetary gains are likely to be from
more than one source. Your physical charm
would catch the attraction of opposite sex.
Make sure you avoid everything that affects
your health. Travel for fun and pleasure is
what you demand. Your plan to own a house
is ought to be in the right way. Planning to
visit a pilgrimage is on the cards.
AQUARIUS : Subordinates/co-
workers would be very helpful.
Family members will be very posi-
tive & supportive to your plans. A new finan-
cial deal gets finalized paving the way for
fresh money. Love life blossoms paving the
way for lovely times ahead. You will be suc-
cessful in getting rid from tensions. Small
journey with your office colleagues will be
interesting. Plan to invest in cafeteria or a
bakery shop; it might create new opportuni-
ties for you. You are likely to learn the benefit
of being enthusiastic.
PISCES: Travelling brings new over-
seas business opportunities. Relatives
will be willing to lend a helping hand
at the time of need.
Financial position will improve later in the
week. A romantic encounter is likely to add
spice to life. A sparkling laughter filled week
when most things proceed, as you desire.
Your boss may ask you for your company to a
friends party.
You might apply for bank loan as to get back
the possession of your mortgaged property.
Efforts on the path of progress would keep
stagnation away.
May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY
T
here is a story of a beautiful
queen who loved to sit under
the trees and enjoy the beau-
ty of nature. One day, as she looked
up, she noticed a bee flying around
a honeycomb. As she sat there,
some liquid dripped onto her face.
When some dripped onto her lips,
she accidentally licked them and
was surprised by its sweetness.
She thought, This liquid drip-
ping out is sweet. This would be
great to add to tea and give it a
sweeter flavor.
She asked her attendants to col-
lect some of this liquid and bring it
to the palace. She took this sweet
substance and experimented by fla-
voring different foods with it. She
had discovered honey for the first
time and learned how the bees
made it. She continued to experi-
ment with it to learn how it could
improve the taste of food and bev-
erages.
Over time, she taught the people
in her kingdom how to cook with
honey. This new type of flavoring
became popular throughout her
kingdom. No other country had
ever seen it or heard of it before.
Over the years, word spread about
this special flavoring that was
being made in her kingdom. The
queen told the people of her king-
dom to keep the information on
how honey was made a secret.
Although people heard of the
honey, no one from her kingdom
would divulge the method of how
it was made.
Years later, the queens daughter,
the princess, was invited to visit
another country to visit the emper-
or. It was traditional to bring a gift
when visiting the emperor of
another country. She thought
deeply about what would be spe-
cial to bring to him. She asked her
father, the king, what to bring.
Whenever one had a problem, one
would ask the wise men for a solu-
tion. The king sent for the wisest
men in the land to find out what
would be the most special gift that
the princess could bring with her
for the emperor.
The princess asked, What do
you think would be the most valu-
able gift that I could bring the
emperor?
The wise men thought about it
for a while and told her, The
secret of making honey is the most
valuable gift you could bring him.
The princess did not know what
to do. It was forbidden to share the
secret of making honey with any-
one outside of her kingdom. How
could she bring the gift without her
mother, the queen, finding out?
She decided the best way to bring
this gift was to bring to the emper-
or some of the bees that made the
honey. The princess asked one of
her attendants to put her hair up
into an elaborate hair style. She hid
the eggs of the bees in the folds of
her hair. Then she set off for the
other country. Since no one could
see the eggs in her hair she was
able to transport them from her
kingdom.
When she reached the distant
kingdom, she took care of the eggs
until they hatched. She then let
them grow into bees that produced
the honey. She presented the honey
to the emperor. He greatly appreci-
ated the valuable gift she had
brought. She then taught the
emperor the secret of how bees
make honey.
The emperor took care of the
bees which laid more eggs. Over
time they multiplied. They contin-
ued to thrive in his country. Soon
there were thousands of bees. The
honey they produced was used by
the people of his land. Unlike the
queen who discovered the honey,
the emperor did not keep the infor-
mation on how honey was made a
secret. As a result, not only people
of his country, but people through-
out the world were taught the
secret of honey. Before long,
everyone around the world knew
the secret of honey.
This imaginary tale is a beautiful
analogy to describe the role of the
Masters and saints. The secret they
share with the whole world is not
physical honey, but the sweet nec-
tar of the Divine. They share with
suffering humanity the secret of
how to find the sweet nectar of the
Divine that leads the soul back to
God.
Throughout the ages, saints and
Masters have blessed this earth
with their spiritual teachings.
Through their grace, suffering
souls are able to find a way to
reunite with God.
Just like the queen who wanted
to keep knowledge of honey a
secret, so does Kal, the sustaining
power, want to keep it secret that
God exists and that we can reunite
with God. We are kept in ignorance
of the most valuable gift of all,
experiencing our soul and God. We
are in the dark about the fact that
there is God, the soul is a part of
God, and we can reunite the soul
with God. The honeyed divine nec-
tar that connects us with God is
called the holy Naam, Shabd, or
the Light and Sound of God. We
have forgotten who we are as soul
and are ignorant of reuniting our
soul with the Creator.
The Masters are like the princess
who was able to bring the honey
out of the kingdom to impart it to
the whole world. Just as the
princess was able to find a way to
bring the honey out of her country
even though the queen tried to keep
it there, so do Masters find a way
to bring us knowledge of the divine
honey. They are able to put people
in touch with the divine nectar that
reconnects our soul with God.
How do they do it? They teach
people through the process of initi-
ation how to find the spiritual
honey within. At the time of holy
initiation, they open our third or
single eye so we can contact the
holy Naam within. They open our
inner eye to see the Light of God,
and they open our inner ear to hear
the Celestial Music, or Sound of
God. They teach us a method of
meditation by which we can
become absorbed into the inner
Light and inner Sound within.
Once we connect with the inner
Light, we see inner vistas unfold
for us. We think that honey is deli-
cious. But tastier than outer honey
is the honey within. This inner nec-
tar also radiates with divine Light
and sings with divine Music. We
see Light of various colors and
radiant inner stars, moon, and sun.
We come to the most beautiful
manifestation of all, the ethereal or
radiant form of the Master. This
form serves as our inner guide on
the further journey within.
The Master takes us to even more
beautiful realms, from the astral to
the causal and supracausal realms
until we reach the souls eternal
Home, Sach Khand. There, our
soul merges back in God.
There is no more valuable gift
that can be brought to humanity
than contact with the inner Light
and Sound. Just as the princess
brought the most valuable gift her
kingdom had to offer, which was
the secret of making honey, the
Masters bring from God to human-
ity the most valuable gift, the secret
of contacting the inner nectar of the
Light and Sound within us.
The Masters are selfless and
sharing. Unlike the queen who
wanted to keep the secret for her-
self, the Masters want to share their
gift with all humanity. They are
generous and want to make sure
the whole world avails itself of this
blessing.
They make their gift known to all
sincere seekers after truth. They
bring this gift to people of all coun-
tries. They share the gift with peo-
ple of all religions. They share it
with people of all walks of life,
from the rich to the poor, from
those who are highly literate to
those who are illiterate. They share
it with people of all cultures. Just
as the princess gave the honey to
the emperor freely, and he, in turn,
freely shared the knowledge of it
with the rest of the world, so do the
Masters share the gift of Naam
with the world. They do not hold
back the secret from anyone.
How can we share the divine
honey within? How can we be like
the princess who shared the secrets
so the whole world can benefit?
The best way we can share the
gift of what we receive with others
is to be a model to inspire others to
want to partake of this divine
honey. How can we be a model to
others? Mahatma Gandhi once
said, Be the change that you want
to see in others. This profound
statement holds the key to how we
can inspire others to taste of the
divine Nectar that has transformed
our lives. Rather than telling other
people what they should and
should not do, we can become an
example of what we want others to
try. When they see us living up to
that example, they, on their own,
will be inspired to undergo the
same transformation.
There are several ways in which
we can be the change we want oth-
ers to undergo. It is a process of
three steps: step one is meditation;
step two is ethical living; and step
three is leading a life of intoxica-
tion, joy, and bliss. If we can stop
telling others how to live, but start
leading a life of ethical living,
meditation, and bliss ourselves,
then others, on their own, will want
to follow our lead.
There are many people who
preach leading an ethical life. But
on closer examination, many of
them are hypocrites who profess
one way of living but do not follow
it themselves. The end result is that
when others see the mismatch
between what the hypocrites say
and what they do, others feel the
hypocrites are not honest. Others
see through them. This gives a bad
name to leading an ethical life
because others see such people
teaching it but not living it. If we
want to inspire others to lead an
ethical life, then we need to first do
so ourselves.
(To be continued...)
Sharing the divine honey
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
30 May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
is an internationally recognized
spiritual leader and Master of
Jyoti Meditation who affirms the
transcendent oneness at the heart
of all religions and mystic tradi-
tions, emphasizing ethical living
and meditation as building blocks
for achieving inner and outer
peace. www.sos.org.
How can we be a
model to others?
Mahatma Gandhi
once said, Be the
change that you
want to see in
others. This
profound statement
holds the key to
how we can inspire
others to taste of the
divine Nectar that
has transformed
our lives.
May 31-June 6, 2014
May 31-June 6, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info