Vol 7 Issue 33 - Dec13-19, 2014

The South Asian Times
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Vol.7 No. 33 December 13-19, 2014 60 Cents
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CIA torture report could lead to

prosecutions of Americans abroad
Chinese President and Australian PM

too visited India in recent months
Human rights groups say actions on foreign soil could fall under legal jurisdictions of those
countries or ICC, which is already looking at potential US torture of detainees in Afghanistan.
Modi scores
hat-trick with
fruitful Putin visit
London: US officials and military

officers implicated by the Senate
report on torture could face arrest
in other countries as a result of
investigations by their national
courts, human rights lawyers said
on Wednesday, The Guardian
reported.
The report, released on Tuesday
by the Senate intelligence committee, found the CIA misled the
White House, the Justice
Department, Congress and the
public over a torture program,
launched post 9/11, that was both
ineffective and more brutal than
the agency disclosed. If I was
one of those people, I would hesi-
tate before making any travel

arrangements, said Michael
Bochenek, director of law and
policy at Amnesty International.
Obviously this is something for
US justice, both military and
civilian, to take up. They have the
first bite of the apple, said
Richard Verma confirmed

as US envoy to India
Washington: The US Senate
has confirmed Richard Rahul
Verma, President Obamas nominee to be the next American
ambassador to India, making
him the first Indian-American
envoy in New Delhi.
He is expected to take up his
position in New Delhi before
Obamas visit there to be the
chief guest at Republic Day celebrations, the first US president
to grace the occasion.
Verma, 46, a former key aide
to then secretary of state Hillary
Clinton, was approved by the
Senate by a unanimous voice
vote Tuesday, signifying the
bipartisan support for better
India-US relations.
At his confirmation hearing
last week, Verma told the Senate
Foreign Relations committee
that Obamas historic visit to
OP ED 13
First Indian American in the

post, Verma will reach New
Delhi before Obamas
R-Day visit.
India in January will build on

Modis highly successful visit
to the United States this past
September. There is no
Continued on page 4
CULTURE 18
TECH TOP 26
Richard Dicker, the director of

Human Rights Watchs international justice program. But we
have not seen any persuasive indicators that the department of justice is willing to step up to its
responsibilities.
However, because torture is
considered a grave crime under
international law, other governments could arrest and prosecute
anyone implicated in the report
who happened to be on their territory under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Some of these people will
never leave US borders again,
Continued on page 4
UN adopts Modi proposal

for International Yoga Day
New York/New Delhi: The UN

General Assembly adopted a
resolution, with a record 175
country co-sponsors, for observance of International Day of
Yoga June 21 each year.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, who had proposed holding such a day in his UN
General Assembly speech on
Sept 27, voiced his elation on
twitter. The 69th Session of the
UNGA Thursday adopted by
acclamation draft Resolution
A/69/L.17. Tweeting his
Continued on page 4
Russia has agreed to build a dozen nuclear plants in India.
New Delhi: Nuclear energy cooperation between India and Russia got a
major boost Thursday with the signing of a deal for Russia building 12
nuclear units in India over two
decades as Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and visiting Russian President
Vladimir Putin held summit talks
here.
The two sides inked 20 agreements, including in defense cooperation, oil and gas, and in trade, at the
15th India-Russia annual summit.
Modi, reading out a statement after
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
the talks, termed India's strategic

partnership with Russia "incomparable in content".
While Modi said that both sides
outlined an "ambitious vision for
nuclear energy of at least 10 more
reactors", Putin, in his address, said
Russia would set up "20 nuclear
units" in India and also cooperate in
uranium mining.
The 12 reactors includes the
1,000-MW reactor now operating at
the Kudankulam nuclear power
Continued on page 4
excellence in journalism
December 13-19, 2014
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
We should have asked people before resigning: Kejriwal

In New York to raise funds, the AAP leader assures supporters that the party is not falling apart
By SATimes Team
New York: On his 24-hour whirlwind visit to the city, Aam Admi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on
Sunday assured his supporters and
party workers in the US that he will
not repeat the mistake of resigning
should the party return to power in
Delhi. Earlier this year, as a rst-time
political contender, AAP had won a
surprising 28 of Delhis 70 assembly
seats. Heading a minority government, Kejriwal quit after just 49 days
in power. Calling it a wrong political assessment, Kejriwal said, We
should have asked the people before
doing so. As soon as I resigned (as
chief minister), all the initiatives that
I took were reversed. I resigned anticipating the dissolution of the state
assembly and with the idea that we
will come back to power in the reelection, what I did not anticipate
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal addressing supporters and party

workers at a meeting in New York on Sunday.
was that President's rule would be

imposed and that the elections would
not take place for over eight
months."
He further assured his supporters
at the meeting at a Manhattan hotel
that the party is not falling apart and

that AAP bus brakes and clutches
are working ne and the driver
knows the way, have faith in the
driver. Just like any other organization people come and go. People fo-
South Asians dismayed over new

US racial profiling limits
Washington: Sikh, Muslim and
South Asian communities have
expressed dismay over new
guidelines that ban racial proling by federal law enforcement
ofcers but do not apply to
screeners at airports or border
check points.
The new guidelines announced by Attorney General Eric Holder
Monday replace the 2003 Bush administration
rules. They prohibit proling based on race,
ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion or
sexual orientation. But the new rules apply
only to federal ofcers, such as the FBI and Secret Service and any local law enforcement that
work with them on task forces.
"We are particularly troubled by a critical exemption for several key federal law enforcement agencies that allows these agencies to explicitly continue proling, mapping, and surveilling communities in the name of national
security investigations," said The South Asian
Americans Leading Together (SAALT).
It joined the National Network of Arab
American Communities, the Sikh Coalition,
OneAmerica, Rights Working Group, the
Southern Border Communities Coalition, and
the National Council of Asian Pacic Americans in expressing deep concerns over the new
rules. The exemption given to

several key agencies "essentially allows the proling of broad
swaths of individuals, and many
communities as a whole, including South Asian, Muslim, Arab,
Middle Eastern, Latino, and border communities," it said.
"Justice and civil rights protections cannot be dispensed on a sliding
scale," SAALT said.
"Immigrants and communities of color risk
continuing to be treated as second-class citizens by the very law enforcement ofcials
tasked to protect them."
Rejecting the "awed and misleading"
guidelines, the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy organization, moved to petition the White House
and Congress, and sent protest letters to justice
and homeland security departments.
"The guidance is like a used car with new
paint. The car looks better, but once you look
underneath the hood, you realize it's unsafe to
drive," said Rajdeep Singh, Director of Law
and Policy at the Sikh Coalition.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) also expressed concerns over the new
guidelines retaining what it called "Muslim
carve-outs on proling by government agencies at airports and borders."
cus on one Shazia Ilmis resignation

but nobody talks about a thousand
new volunteers who joined us.
Kejriwal also took umbrage at criticism for him travelling businessclass. Today I am wearing a branded sweater, tomorrow that will be the
headline. A lot of things that AAP
does will be over-hyped, said Kejriwal, evoking laughter among the audience. The mufer man, so called
for his sartorial preference, was on a
fundraising trip in the run up to the
Delhi state assembly elections, and
urged Indians living in the US to donate money to AAP because, as he
put it, clean politics is not possible
without clean money.
He also declared that their only rival in Delhi this time is BJP. This
time we are against very powerful
forces as the ght is directly between
the BJP and AAP. BJP has a lot of
money, it has every kind of money,"
Kejriwal said, adding that AAP does

not want to ght the elections with
black money.
BJP has no agenda today. We say
we will open 20 new colleges in Delhi and the BJP says it will not let girls
wear jeans. We say we will put
CCTV cameras across the city for
the protection of women, BJP says it
will not let people celebrate Valentines Day. That is the difference between the two parties, he said.
He also addressed about 200 students and faculty at Columbia University at an event organized by its
School of International and Public
Affairs. He took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modis MSG reception. Large number of people turning up at Madison Square Garden is
not foreign policy; it was an event.
Our prime minister doesn't go there
for entertainment value... Hardcore
diplomacy needs to be discussed."
Huffington Post launches

India edition with ToI
New Delhi: News website
phones. "More and more
Hufngton Post launched
people (in India) are going
its India edition on Monday
to be able to access news
in a tie-up with media conon their mobile devices,"
glomerate Times of India
Arianna Hufngton, the
Group, as the AOL-owned
website's editor-in-chief,
site expands into markets
said at a Delhi launch
where internet use is growevent on Monday. "It's a
ing rapidly. The India edigreat opportunity for us."
tion is Hufngton Post's
She is entering a highly
13th and follows launches
competitive market where
in a handful of European
dozens of free-to-access
and Asian countries, as well
websites chase India's relas an Arabic version set to
atively afuent EnglishArianna Huffington,
go live next year. The weblanguage readers. The
president and Editor-insite, which was sold to AOL
country has 226 million
Chief of The Huffington
for $315 million in 2011,
English speakers, accordPost Media Group, was once
generates revenue through
ing to the 2001 governa student at Vishwa Bharati
advertising and is crucial to
ment census.
in Shantiniketan, India.
AOL's shift away from its
Hufngton, who said Insubscription dial-up internet business.
dia has held a special place in her heart
Internet penetration in India is low, with since studying in the country aged 17, has
less than one in four of its 1.25 billion peo- hired a team of eight and plans to expand
ple online, but that number is expected to that to 15 in the next few months to report
grow quickly in the next few years as the their own stories as well as reposting news
government improves connections to rural and opinion from other outlets. The website
areas and more people switch to smart- has next set its sights on China.
TURN PAGE
Lata Mangeshkar and

Asha Bhosle to duet
after 30 years
Mumbai: The legendary singers Lata Mangeshkar and
Asha Bhosle have ruled Bollywood for decades with
their melodious voice and unique style of singing. Now,
the two sisters have come together for the new album
titled Mein Hawaa. The last time these two sung
together was 30 years ago for Mann kyon behka ri
behka in the film Utsav (1984).
The upcoming album is produced by LM Music which
is the music brand of Lata, in collaboration with
SaReGaMa HMV. The album is produced by Lata
where Asha and Shaan have lent their voices.
Lata said, "It's a pleasure to come together with my
sister again. We've sung many songs together and it's
always a challenge to face the mic with her."
Asked about the 30 year gap, Lata said, "We are very
different singers. The music composer has to find the
meeting-point. And this isn't easy. This task has been
achieved by Rohan Shah who is a new face in the music
industry.
A strong buzz has already been created around this
new album.
Modi scores hat-trick..

Continued from page 1
station in Tamil Nadu and the second
unit that is set to come onstream in
2015. Now units 3 and 4 at
Kudankulam have also been agreed
on. Two more would come up at
Kudankulam. Land has to be earmarked for the remaining reactors to
be built by Russia, said sources.
The deal has been inked by India's
Department of Atomic Energy and
Russia's state nuclear power corporation Rosatom.
Among the 20 agreements inked
was a formal contract between the
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Limited
(NPCIL)
and
Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear
power equipment and service export
monopoly, for units 3 and 4 at
Kudankulam.
The agreement marks the "commencing of the implementation" of
the two units "with supply of some
major equipment" by the Russian
company.
In the field of hydrocarbons too,
both sides inked agreements for India
to scout for oil and gas in the resource
rich Arctic Shelf. Russian energy
behemoths Rosneft and Gazprom
would join up with Indian companies
to scout for oil and gas there.
India's Essar Group inked an agreement with Rosneft for long-term supply of crude oil. This envisages a 10year supply and purchase by India of
crude oil and feed stocks/products.
Defense was another area that saw
both sides enhancing cooperation.
Modi said Russia has been "India's
foremost defence partner through
decades" and termed the refitted
Russian aircraft carrier INS
Vikramaditya as a "great symbol" of
bilateral defense cooperation.
"Even as India's options have
increased today, Russia will remain
our most important defense partner,"
he said. India imports around 70 percent of its defense requirements from
Russia, but has been looking at other
countries, including Israel and the
US, for its weaponry.

Modi said Russia has offered to
fully manufacture in India one of its
most advanced helicopters -- for both
military and civilian use -- with the
possibility of exports from India.
Modi also proposed that Russia
should locate its defence spares and
components manufacturing facilities
in India and added that Putin had
"responded very positively" to the
request.
Putin's visit and the agreements
with India came as the Russian economy is buffeted by Western sanctions
over Ukraine and the rouble has
slumped following the slide in oil
prices.
CIA torture report could...
Bochenek said. If say, one of them
goes on holiday in Paris, then France
would have the legal obligation to
arrest and prosecute that individual.
States have clear obligation in cases
of torture.
As the repercussions of the report
spread around the world, Polands
president, Bronislaw Komorowski,
said it would be critical for an inquiry
underway on the running of a secret
US prison black site on Polish soil.
The Senate report will almost certainly be assessed by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) as part of a preliminary examination of US treatment
of detainees in Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, The Hague
based ICC, revealed that it was looking into the potential US torture of
detainees in Afghanistan.
Bochenek said that the ICC inquiry
represented the most obvious way
the report would enter the ICCs jurisdiction.
Richard Verma conrmed...
question that this is a defining and
exciting time in the US-India relationship, he said.
Verma, whose parents immigrated
from India in the 1960s, also
acknowledged the contribution of

Indian Americans and vowed to
strive to live up to the high standards
they have set. Currently Verma is a
senior counselor at Steptoe &
Johnson law firm and the Albright
Stonebridge Group, a business advisory company, led by former US
Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
He served as assistant secretary of
state for legislative affairs at the State
Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.
The New Delhi post has been
vacant since Amb. Nancy Powell quit
in May after India-US ties hit a low
over the Devyani Khobragade affair
Kathleen Stephens, a career foreign
service official has served as charge
affaires in New Delhi since July.
UN adopts Modi proposal...
thanks, Modi said: "I profusely thank
all 177 nations across the world who
co-sponsored the resolution."
"Countless people across the world
made Yoga an integral part of their
lives. Congrats to them! This will
inspire many more people towards
Yoga. Yoga has the power to bring the
entire humankind together! It beautifully combines Gyan (knowledge),
Karm (work) and Bhakti (devotion),"
he wrote.
Modi had indicated that June 21,
one of the two solstices, which is the
longest day in the Northern
Hemisphere, has special significance
in many parts of the world and could
be considered for adoption as the
International Day of Yoga by the UN.
To implement Modi's initiative, the
Permanent Mission of India in New
York convened three rounds of informal consultations with all 193 member states of the UN.
Both the President of the 69th UN
General Assembly Sam Kutesa and
UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon
issued congratulatory statements on
the adoption of the Resolution in the
General Assembly.
New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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Bhagwati Creations,
Dhiraj Kumar
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
139 complaints of fraud NRI marriages

With speed cameras repeal,
received from US: Indian Minister Mangano looks to plug budget hole
New Delhi: The US tops the list of eight countries from where complaints or cases of fraudulent NRI marriages are received, with 25
complaints received so far this year, the Indian
parliament was told Wednesday.
Minister of State in the ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs and External Affairs Gen
V.K. Singh (Retd) said in the Lok Sabha that
the Indian missions provide assistance to the
complainant in the form of financial help for
legal procedures, counseling and taking necessary action as per the need and requirement of
the case.
In the list circulated by the minister, covering
three years from 2011-12 onward to now, the
most number of complaints or cases of fraudulent NRI marriages have come from the US.
In 2011-12 it was 26, followed by 49 complaints in 2012-13, 39 in 2013-14, and 25 in the
current year, with the total working out to 139
complaints.
Canada followed with a total of 22 complaints or cases over the three years, with the
highest of 11 complaints filed this year so far.

Britain has 13 complaints or cases filed over
the three year period, with the highest of eight
complaints filed this year so far, the list shows.
The other countries from where complaints
or cases have been reported are New Zealand,
Germany, the Philippines, Australia and Singapore.
Singh said the Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs (MOIA) implements the scheme for
giving legal/financial assistance to Indian
women deserted by their overseas Indian/foreigner husbands through the empaneled NGOs
and legal organizations.
Such assistance under the MOIA's Scheme is
provided through Missions/Posts in the US, the
UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Malaysia, Singapore and the Gulf countries.
The amount of assistance provided per case
under the scheme to deserted Indian women is
up to $3,000 in developed countries and $2,000
in developing countries, an official statement
said.
Vijay Jolly made advisor at

GOPIO International
Mineola, NY: Cuts to social services,

police and the county medical center are
among the suggestions being offered by the
Nassau County executive as a way to fill
the $30 million budget gap that would be
left by repealing the school zone speed
camera program.
County Executive Ed Mangano is also
suggesting selling billboard advertising on
county roads and facilities, WCBS 880
Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs
reported.
Lawmakers will meet Friday to discuss
the options. Legislative Presiding Officer
Norma Gonsalves said she is committed to
not raising taxes.
The county Legislature is expected to
unanimously approve repeal of Nassaus
controversial speed camera program
Monday. Many residents some who said
they have received multiple $80 tickets
Nassau County Executive

Ed Mangano
have complained that there arent enough

signs warning drivers of speed camera
locations. Lawmakers admitted that public
outrage over the program is fueling the
likely repeal and blamed its failure on poor
implementation. But the program generated over 400,000 tickets Sept. 2-Nov. 21,
bringing in about $32 million in revenue.
Ricky Kej nominated for

Grammy Awards
First ever Indian to be nominated for the Best New Age Album Category
Vijay Jolly with

GOPIO Intl
president
Ashook
Ramsaran (left)
Ricky Kej andWouter Kellerman 'Winds of Samsara' cover
New Delhi: Global Organization of People

of Indian Origin, International has appointed senior BJP leader Vijay Jolly as Advisor
Global Political Affairs, GOPIO International. Guyana-born Ashook Ramsaran,
president GOPIO International with headquarters in New York, wrote to Jolly and
confirmed his appointment, said a release
from Jolly's office. GOPIO, formed in
1989, represents the interests of the Over-
seas Indian Community exceeding 28 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) in more than 25
nations across the globe.
Jolly is credited to spread the organizational network of BJP from two nations in
2011 to more than 45 nations up till 2014
as Global Convenor BJP Overseas Affairs.
He is currently Special Invitee in BJP National Executive.
New York: Award-winning Indian Music

Composer and Producer Ricky Kej has
been nominated for the prestigious 57th
Grammy Awards for his Music album
Winds of Samsara. The Recording Academy announced this on December 5.
Winds of Samsara, the debut collaborative album by Ricky Kej and renowned
South African flutist Wouter Kellerman is
nominated in the Best New Age Album of
The Year category for the 2015 AWARDS.

Winds of Samsara debuted at #1 on the
US Billboard New Age Chart and continued to be in the Top 10 for the next 12
weeks. This masterful collaborative album
by Kej and Kellerman also debuted at #1
on the ZMR World Radio Charts.
The album was recorded over two years
by Ricky Kej with over 120 musicians
from five continents.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Dr Kanti Rai gets highest hematology honor
Indian Christian Forum condemns

church burning in New Delhi
New York: The American

Dr. Rai began his medical
Society of Hematology (ASH)
career in 1955 after earning his
has conferred the Societys highBachelor of Medicine and
est honor, the 2014 Wallace H.
Bachelor of Surgery from the
Coulter Award for Lifetime
University of Rajputana in
Achievement in Hematology, to
Jaipur. After his internship at
Dr Kanti Rai, of the Hofstra
S.M.S. Medical College,
North Shore-Long Island Jewish
Jaipur, in 1957, he came to
(LIJ) School of Medicine, for his
New York to begin his residen50-year career combining landcy training in Pediatrics at
mark clinical leukemia research,
Lincoln Hospital in the South
steadfast commitment to educaBronx and immediately theretion and mentoring, and excepafter assumed the role of Chief
tional patient care.
Resident in Pediatrics at North
The award was presented to Dr
Shore University Hospital in
Rai during the 56th ASH Annual
Manhasset, New York.
Meeting and Exposition in San
Following his Pediatrics resiFrancisco on Dec 7. With his
dency,
he completed his fellowDr Kanti Rai (right) with Dr Akshat Jain at the
unwavering commitment to American Society of Hematology meeting in San ship in Nuclear Medicine and
hematology spanning more than
Hematology at the Long Island
Francisco in September.
five decades and his innumerable
Jewish Hospital and later joined
contributions to the field and to ASH, Dr. Rai exemplifies the Hematology research team of Eugene P. Cronkite, MD
the values of the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime (1971 ASH President) at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Achievement in Hematology, said ASH President Linda J. in Long Island. Dr. Rai returned to India in 1962 to serve as
Burns, MD, of the University of Minnesota. From the Rai Chief of the Division of Experimental Medicine of the
staging system to his many clinical contributions, Dr. Rai is Institute of Nuclear Medicine in New Delhi. After four years
internationally synonymous with CLL, which serves as a in New Delhi, he returned to Brookhaven, and, in 1970,
testament to the great impact of his career on legions of col- returned to Long Island Jewish Hospital where he has
leagues, trainees, and patients, she added.
remained ever since.
New York: The Indian Christian Forum, USA

(ICF), an advocacy
group promoting
freedom of conscience issues, convened an emergency
executive committee meeting and
strongly condemned
the burning down of
St.
Sebastian
Church in New
The charred remains of
Delhi, India on
St. Sebastian Church,
December 1. Early
New Delhi, India
indications by the
experts point to arson as the reason for fire which
gutted the sanctuary, sacristy and the first floor
balcony. The slow response by the law enforcement officials to investigate the suspicious fire
seemed to have angered the faithful who used to
worship at the St. Sebastian Church. ICF also condemned BJP Minister Niranjan Jyotis speech during an election rally in New Delhi. ICF requested
the Indian Diaspora all over to voice their disapproval and disgust at the recent incidents by writing to the Prime Minister and urging him take stern
measures to safeguard Indias democracy and freedom and its inclusive fabric.
Mayors meet to back President's

executive actions
By SATimes Team
New York: Mayors and senior officials from
25 cities across the country on Monday met
in New York City to rally support and lay the
groundwork for implementing President
Obamas executive actions.
In a bid to provide relief to millions of undocumented immigrants nationwide, the city
executives signed five- point challenge, a
plan that includes creating a mayoral war
room to share strategies, safeguarding immigrants from fraudulent services and reaching eligible applicants through community
outreach and public education.
Mayors in attendance included were Mayor Byron Brown of Buffalo; Mayor Javier
Gonzalez of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mayor
Tony Harp of New Haven; Mayor Edwin
Lee of San Francisco; Mayor Ed Murray of
Seattle; Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta; Mayor Pedro Segarra of Hartford; Mayor Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, Washington; and
Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio. The
summit represented some of the largest immigrant populations in the country in a coalition currently made up exclusively of Democratic lawmakers.
We will build a coalition of mayors, to do
a day of action together in January, to do a

lobbying day in Washington in February, all
with the purpose of taking the historic moment of the executive action, and turning it
into something bigger. And we believe the
voices of mayors have really not been heard
in this immigration debate, sufficiently.
There's a sleeping giant here, which is America's mayors, representing tens of millions of
people, Mayor De Blasio told reporters after the meeting.
Leaders hope to kick off a social media
campaign to spur action and awareness
across the country. Also in February, elected
officials are planning a Mayoral Lobby
Day for city officials to ascend on Capitol
Hill and lobby members of Congress who do
not support comprehensive immigration reform.
To the question on the most immediate effects of the order in New York, Commissioner Nisha Agarwal, Office of Immigrant
Affairs, said, we've been trying to do some
analysis to figure out exactly how many people in New York City would be affected. We
estimate somewhere between 114,000 to
121,000 people may be eligible for some of
the programs that President Obama announced.
Court jails man for

threatening Tulsi Gabbard
Washington: A court has
necessary.
sentenced a New York man to
Sherbow was arrested on
33 months in prison for makAugust 28, 2013, in Tijuana,
ing a series of threats against
Mexico. He has been in cusTulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu
tody ever since. In addition to
member of the US House of
New York, Sherbow has lived
Representatives.
in California, Mexico, and
Aniruddha Sherbow, 44,
Hawaii.
had entered a plea of no conAccording to the prosecutest on February 21 in the US
tion, Sherbow had been haDistrict Court to two counts
rassing Gabbard since Februof transmission of threats in
ary 2011, including making
interstate commerce, accordthreats via e-mail and teleing to an FBI release.
phone. The charges relate to
Tulsi Gabbard
Judge Reggie B Walton actwo such threats, made in Aucepted the plea and sentenced Sherbow gust of 2013.
Monday. Following his prison term, SherOn August 1, 2013, Sherbow left a
bow will be placed on three years of su- voice-mail message on Gabbard's phone
pervised release. During that time, Sher- in which he threatened to kill her. Gabbow is barred from any direct or indirect bard was in Washington, DC, when she
contact with Gabbard.
received the threatening message.
Walton also ordered Sherbow to pay
On August 3, 2013, Sherbow, identify$538,282 in restitution to the US governing himself by name, sent an e-mail to
ment, as reimbursement for security ex- Gabbard and others, including the FBI.
penses incurred as a result of his threats.
The subject and body of this e-mail also
He also ordered Sherbow to get a men- contained threats directed at Congresstal health evaluation and treatment, if woman Gabbard.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Arun Majumdar named

US science envoy
Washington, DC: Dr. Arun Majumdar,
an Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay alumni is among four eminent
scientists chosen to serve as US Science
Envoys beginning in January, 2015.
Majumdar, a professor at Stanford
University and an expert in energy, climate change, and innovation was named
by the State Department along with Dr.
Peter Hotez, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, and
Dr. Geri Richmond.
Majumdar, who graduated in
Mechanical Engineering from the IIT,
Bombay in 1985, he is a member of the
US delegation for the US-India Track II
dialogue on climate change and energy.
In October 2009, President Barack
Obama named him as the Founding
Director of the Advanced Research
Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E),
where he served till June 2012.
Announced by Obama in Cairo in
June 2009, the US Science Envoy program demonstrates the US' commitment
to science, technology, and innovation
as tools of diplomacy and economic
growth, the State Department said.
"Like their nine predecessors, these
distinguished scientists will engage
internationally at the citizen and government and advise the White House, the
State Department and the scientific
community about potential opportunities for cooperation," it said.
Currently Majumdar is the Jay
Precourt Professor at Stanford
University where he serves on the faculty of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering and is a Senior Fellow of
the Precourt Institute for Energy.
Prior to joining Stanford, he was the
Dr Arun Majumdar
Vice President for Energy at Google,

where he created several energy technology initiatives and advised the company on its broader energy strategy. He
continues to be a consultant to Google
on energy.
Between March 2011 and June 2012,
Majumdar also served as the Acting
Under Secretary of Energy, and a Senior
Advisor to the Secretary of Energy.
He currently serves on the US
Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board,
the Council for the National Academy
of Engineering and the Electric Power
Research Institute, as well as the
Science Board of the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center (SLAC) and the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
Majumdar is also a member of the
National Academy of Engineering and
the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences.
He received his PhD from the
University of California, Berkeley in
1989.
Kumar Barve to lead House panel in Maryland

Washington: After serving as Maryland's
House majority leader for over a decade,
Kumar P. Barve, the first Indian-American
to be elected to a US state legislature, is set
to lead a new House panel.
Democrat Barve, 56, elected to his 7th
four-year term last month, has been named
chairman of the newly designated
Environment & Transportation Committee
by Speaker Michael E. Busch, according to
Gazette.net.
"Delegate Barve has demonstrated time
and time again his command of complex
issues and he is a natural choice of someone to guide State environment and transportation policy," Busch said in a press
release.
Barve, who has been a delegate since
1991, will leave his seat on the Ways and
Means Committee to assume his new post.
The lawmaker said he felt great about the
appointment and is excited to get started. "I
think it's a good fit for me in terms of
issues that I've worked on before," he was
quoted as saying. "I'm just fortunate that I
was in the position to be able to step up and
take it."
The committee, which was formerly the
Environmental Matters Committee, will
tackle both environmental and transporta-
Kumar Barve to chair Environment &

Transportation Committee
tion issues. Barve said he believes the decision to bring together both subjects under
one committee is a smart and sensible
move.
Son of immigrant parents from India,
Barve's legislative work has focused largely on health care and the promotion of the
high-tech industry in Maryland.
He sponsored both the 1995 Health
Access Act that placed limits on Health
Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) for
the first time and legislation that created
the Technology Development Corporation
of Maryland.
Dr Rahul Gupta to lead

West Virginia health bureau
Washington, DC: Dr. Rahul
"Dr. Gupta is a wellGupta, an Indian-American
respected and established
doctor with a medical degree
public health professional,"
from Delhi University, is set
Bowling said."His vast
to lead West Virginia's
experience and wealth of
Bureau for Public Health
knowledge will greatly benfrom Jan 1.
efit DHHR, as will his relaGupta's appointment as
tionships with officials in
Commissioner of Bureau for
government and the medical
Public Health and State
community."
Health
Officer
was
Since 2009, Gupta has
announced Thursday by West
served as the Executive
Virginia Department of
Director and Health Office
Health
and
Human
of the Kanawha-Charleston
Resources Cabinet Secretary
Health Department, the
Dr Rahul Gupta
Karen L. Bowling.
largest local health departHe holds an MD from University College ment in West Virginia.
of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi and
He also serves as the Executive Director
a master's degree in Public Health from the and Health Officer of the Putnam County
University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Health Department.
He has been certified by the American
Prior to that, he was Assistant Professor of
Board of Internal Medicine since 1999.
Medicine of Meharry Medical College in
Gupta replaces Dr. Letitia E. Tierney, who Nashville, Tennessee, Assistant Professor of
is resigning effective Dec 31, just 13 months Medicine at the University of Alabamaafter her appointment.
Birmingham, and a primary care physician at
Tierney was the target of criticism during Florida Medical Clinic. "I am deeply honthe January 2014 Elk River chemical spill oured to be appointed to this position by
when crude MCHM was released from a Secretary Bowling," Gupta said.
facility in Charleston in West Virginia.
"Working with professionals and partners
Critics claimed she wasn't giving the public across our great state, I look forward to the
enough information about how the chemical opportunity to help West Virginians build a
could effect humans, according to local news healthier future by achieving positive and
reports.
lasting health outcomes."
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Republican presidential aspirant Made in China: Canada-US complaints

trigger holy book ban
seeks support of Indians
Washington, DC: Republican presidential aspirant and a Tea Party favorite
Senator Rand Paul has sought support of
the Indian Americans, in particular the
influential physician community, to realize his ambition of US Presidency.
"Senator Paul is much interested to
bag the early support of Indian
Americans specially influential Indian
American Physician group," said Sampat
Shivangi, president of Indian American
Forum for Political Education, after a
meeting with the Republican lawmaker
in Mississippi. "I was impressed with his
depth of knowledge of India and Indian
American and their contribution in economical, medical and US political
spheres," Shivangi said in a statement.
Paul expressed his desire to meet
Indian Americans and Indian American
Physician group for their early support
in his quest for US Presidency.
"He very much wants to build up a
National Physicians Coalition all across
USA and AAPI ( Association of
American Physicians of Indian Origin)
to take leadership role in such a coalition
as he finds kinship as himself is a
Physician," Shivangi said.
Senator Paul was in Jackson,
Mississippi to address Mississippi
Republican Party Victory event. It was
Senator Rand Paul
attended by top State Republican leadership included the Governor Phil Bryant,
Lt Governor Tate Reeves, Secretary of
State Delbert Hoseman.
"Senator Rand Paul is very impressive
with vast Senate experience, analytic
and brilliant mind. He may be conservative to the core but has immense love for
the country and want to take the nation
to newer glory and heights," Shivangi
said.
New York: Calling it sacrilege, the Sikh clergy

in Amritsar has issued a diktat to its global community not to buy copies of the Guru Granth
Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs, which is now
being published in China and made available,
online. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC), responsible for the administration of Sikhisms holiest shrine, The Golden
Temple has registered a case against the USbased website sikhlink.com for hurting the religious sentiments by selling hard and online
copies of Guru Granth Sahib and sacred poems
called Japji Sahib.
Its secretary Manjit Singh said only the SGPC
is authorized to print and publish Guru Granth
Sahib, in Gurmukhi script.
The Sunday Star reported that controversy over
the Guru Granth Sahib come in the wake of
China-made kirpans (dagger) and Guru Nanak
Devs idols with Chinese characteristics flooding shops across Punjab, India.
The highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Akal
Takht, has termed it an act of sacrilege and issued
directions to the global community not to purchase these copies in any form, while the SGPC
plans to take up the matter with the Chinese
ambassador.
The diktat was issued by the head priest or
Jathedar of the Akal Takht after devotees based in
USA and Canada, complained vie emails about
the offers on the homepage of the website
(sikhlink.com). The Sunday Star said there are
two icons on the website Japji Sahib (a sacred

hymn) and Palki Sahib; one can click on Japji
Sahib and order the copy for free and on Palki
Sahib to donate up to $220.
There is also a link, free books, that redirects
to another address, sikhbookclub.com, where
there are many religious books available in
English, Hindi and Punjabi for downloading.
There are books on Guru Nanak, Guru Angad,
Guru Ram Das, Guru Amar Das, Guru Arjan Dev,
Guru Hargobind, Guru Harkrishan, Guru Tegh
Bahadur, Guru Gobind Sahib and a dictionary
about Guru Granth Sahib.
The complainants said they had contacted this
website were told that the Holy book will be
delivered to them from China as it is being published there. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar
said, The case was registered based on whatever
information was provided to us by the Sikh
devotes in the US and Canada. It needs to be
investigated so that clarity can come out who is
publishing and who is selling.
Meanwhile, the SGPC is set to raise the matter
at a diplomatic level. We will give a formal
complaint to the Chinese ambassador, asking for
a probe and details of the publisher, Makkar
said. In the past, certain private publishing houses
have been summoned to the Akal Takht for printing the scripture. In 2007, rampant sale of madein-China Guru Nank dev idols at had prompted
the Sikh clergy to issue directions to the community to refrain from buying them.
Modi wins TIME magazine's readers' poll Controversial Indian-American

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named winner of
this year's readers' poll for TIME
'Person of the Year', securing more
than 16 per cent of the almost five
million votes cast.
However, he did not make it to
the final eight selected by TIME for
the annual 'Person of the Year' title.
Protesters in Ferguson, who were
demonstrating against a grand jury's
decision not to indict white police
officer Darren Wilson who shot and
killed unarmed black teenager
Michael Brown in August ranked
second with 9 per cent of the votes.
TIME said "a strong showing of
readers from India" helped drive
Modi's first-place finish.
"More people from the country
voted than from any other country,
with the exception of the United
States," it said. Readers from more
than 225 countries participated in
the online poll, with US votes leading the tally at 37 per cent, followed
by India at 17 per cent, and Russia
at 12 per cent. TIME said Modi be-
abortion doctor arrested
came Prime Minister in May after

securing a landslide victory on a
"platform of rebooting India's
stalling economy." But his detractors have questioned his past
record," it added. Hong Kong
protest leader Joshua Wong, Nobel
Peace
Prize-winner
Malala
Yousafzai and the doctors and nurses treating Ebola rounded out the
top five. A majority of votes, 60 per
cent, came from desktop computers. Just over 35 per cent came from
mobile devices, and 4.5 per cent of
readers voted on tablets. Modi, who
"entered office this year on the
promise of reviving the country's
economy", however has not made it

to the list of eight finalists shortlisted by TIME editors for the 2014
Person of the Year title, which will
be announced on Wednesday.
Names of the eight finalists were
announced by TIME editor Nancy
Gibbs on Tuesday. Making it to the
final eight are founder and CEO of
the Alibaba Group Jack Ma, Apple
CEO Tim Cook, pop star Taylor
Swift, Ferguson protestors, Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Ebola
caregivers, National Football
League commissioner Roger Goodell and President of the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq Masoud Barzani.
Washington, DC: A controversial

Indian-American abortion doctor,
Naresh G. Patel, operating in
Oklahoma City since 1984, has
been arrested on fraud charges for
prescribing abortion-inducing
drugs to patients who were not
pregnant.
Patel, 62 operating the
Outpatient Services for Women
clinic in Warr Acres area, faces
three counts of obtaining money
under a false pretense, according
to a media release.
If convicted, he could face up to
three years in jail and a maximum
fine of $15,000.
Patel was arrested after an
undercover operation with three
female agents pretending to be
patients, whom he allegedly fraudulently identified as pregnant and
prescribed an abortion-inducing
drug. "This type of fraudulent
activity and blatant disregard for

the health and well-being of
Oklahoma women will not be tolerated," said Attorney General
Scott Pruitt.
An investigation into Patel's
dubious practices arose from a
complaint that he had performed
an abortion procedure on Pamela
King, even though she was not
pregnant.
King was diagnosed and later
died from complications of cervical cancer. Her autopsy determined that she had not been pregnant in the time frame that the
abortion procedure occurred, the
release said. Caption: Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
secured more than 16 per cent of
the almost five million votes cast.
He received a rockstar reception
during his maiden US visit after
swearing in.
US AFFAIRS
US Senate report slams CIA for torture

Washington: A scathing Senate
report Tuesday slammed the CIA
for its "brutal" interrogations of terrorist detainees in the Bush era,
saying they delivered no "ticking
time bomb" information that prevented an attack.
The majority report issued by the
Senate Intelligence Committee also
accused the spy agency of routinely
misleading the White House and
the Congress about the information
it obtained from the detention and
interrogation of terrorism suspects.
The interrogation techniques branded by critics as torture deployed after the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attack were "deeply flawed"
and often resulted in "fabricated"
information, according to the
report.
Based on more than six million
internal agency documents, the
report said detainees were deprived
of sleep for as long as a week, and
were sometimes told that they
would be killed while in American
custody. With the approval of the
CIA's medical staff, some prisoners
CIA officials had claimed

that the interrogation program led them to a courier
for Osama bin Laden who in
turn led them to his hideout
in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
But now it is revealed that
the detainee who gave
information about the
courier was cooperative
from the outset.
were subjected to medically unnecessary "rectal feeding" or "rectal
hydration" -- a technique that the
CIA's chief of interrogations
described as a way to exert "total
control over the detainee".
CIA medical staff members
described the waterboarding of
Shaikh Mohammed, the Pakistani
mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks,
as a "series of near drownings".
The CIA immediately hit back,
saying in a statement that the program was "effective" and substan-
tially helped its understanding of Al

Qaeda's tactical operations and
goals.
President Obama said the report
reinforced his view that the harsh
interrogation methods "were not
only inconsistent with our values as
a nation, they did not serve our
broader counterterrorism efforts or
our national security interests".
In one facility, a detainee was
said to have died of hypothermia
after being held "partially nude"
and chained to a concrete floor,
while at other times, naked prisoners were hooded and dragged up

and down corridors while being
slapped and punched.
Multiple CIA detainees subjected
to the techniques suffered from hallucinations, paranoia, insomnia and
tried to mutilate themselves, the
report said.
Thousands of Marines at US
diplomatic posts and military bases
around the world are on alert amid
fears the graphic details of how
detainees were treated could spark
a violent backlash, CNN reported.

Senior members of the Bush
administration also voiced disquiet
over the release of the report.
Former president George W.
Bush told CNN last week that the
US was "fortunate to have men and
women who work hard at the CIA
serving on our behalf. These are
patriots".
Indeed, there is more than one
side to this story. GOP Sens.
Marco Rubio of Florida and Jim
Risch of Idaho condemned the
release of the report. "This report
does not qualify as either serious or
constructive. This was a partisan
effort that divided members of the
committee, and the committee
against the people of the CIA," they
wrote in a joint statement. "We
voted against this report because it
is flawed." Republicans on the
committee issued a dissenting
report concluding that some useful
intelligence was in fact obtained
from enhanced interrogations, and
former CIA officials set up a website to defend the agency.
Congress $1-tn budget will avoid shutdown
Hawaii healthiest,
Mississippi unhealthiest state
Short time funding for Homeland Security to fight Obama amnesty
Washington: For the third year in a row, America's Health

Rankings, an annual accounting of Americans' health, has
found that Hawaii is the healthiest state and Mississippi is
the least healthy state in the US. The rankings are funded
by the United Health Foundation and are based on data
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
American Medical Association, the Census Bureau, and
other sources. They take into account 27 distinct measures
including rates of smoking, obesity, drug deaths, education, violent crime, pollution, childhood poverty, infectious
disease, and infant mortality. Overall, the rankings showed
progress in some areas and not in others. The 2014 analysis found increases from the previous year in obesity and
physical inactivity and decreases in infant mortality and
smoking rates. After Hawaii, the four healthiest states are:
Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Utah. New York
is at 14 and New Jersey at 11.
Washington: US Congressional leaders

have agreed on a budget bill of $1 trillion
to finance the federal government until
2015 and avert a government shutdown
like the one which occurred last year.
The budget bill was presented Tuesday
and needs to be approved by both houses
of the US Congress by Thursday in order
to avoid administrative paralysis.
A few Congressmen have said that the
measure would be passed before the
deadline and the US government would
not face another shutdown.
The bill will finance most government
institutions until September 2015, except

the Department of Homeland Security
which will receive funds until Feb 27
under a continuous resolution mechanism.
This has given time to the Republicans
to plan a legislative strategy in response
to President Barack Obama`s decision to
use executive powers to regularize the
legal status of over five million immigrants.
The bill includes a provision of $5.4
billion expenditure to control the Ebola
virus disease, as well as $64 billion for
overseas military operations, including

the fight against the Islamic State Sunni
radical group in Syria and Iraq, and aid to
European countries facing threats from
Russia.
The budget also includes $542 billion
in military expenditure and $429 billion
for the rest of the federal agencies.
However, it does not incorporate additional costs for Obama`s healthcare
reform. In case the voting faces a delay,
legislators added that there were mechanisms to extend the funds for a few more
days and avoid any shutdown.
Obama announces $1B for early childhood education

Washington: Declaring early childhood education "one of the best
investments we can make,"
President Obama on Wednesday followed up on a promise to expand
early education opportunities for
tens of thousands of children by
announcing $1 billion in public-private spending on programs for
young learners.
Obama said that less than onethird of 4-year-olds are enrolled in
preschool and blamed the high cost
of these programs for essentially
shutting off access to poorer infants,
toddlers and preschoolers. He said
studies repeatedly show that children who are educated early in life
are more likely to finish their educations, avoid the criminal justice system, hold good jobs and have stable
families. All those factors are good
for the U.S. and its economy over-
all, Obama said.

"We've got kids in this country
who are every bit as talented as
Malia and Sasha but they're starting
out the race a step behind," Obama
said, referencing his teenage daughters. He said the investments
announced at a daylong White
House summit on early education
will help level the playing field.
Nationwide, 28 percent of
America's 4-year-olds were enrolled
in a state-funded preschool program
last year.
"We're not close to where we need
to be," Education Secretary Arne
Duncan said during a morning panel
discussion on how to pump more
investment into early learning. The
panelists, including a local sheriff
from Ohio, agreed that spending

more money on early education can
have significant lifetime effects
such as reducing crime and teen
pregnancy and increasing future
earnings for those who went to preschool.
At the summit, 18 states are being
awarded a total of $250 million in
Education Department grants to create or expand high-quality preschool
programs. Those states are:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada,
New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, Tennessee, Vermont and
Virginia. In all, 36 states had
applied for the grant money.
Another $500 million from the
Health and Human Services
Department is being sent to more
than 40 states to expand Early Head

Start and child care programs for
youngsters from birth to 3 years old.
The White House said about 63,000
children would benefit from the federal dollars, which officials said
already have been appropriated by
Congress.
On top of the federal money is
another $330 million from dozens
of corporations, foundations and
individuals. That money is part of a
new campaign called Invest in US.
The effort being led by the First
Five Years Fund will challenge the
private and public sectors to spend
more on early childhood education.
Among those supporting the campaign are The Walt Disney Co. with
$55 million, the LEGO Foundation
with $5 million and the J.B. and
M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation
with $25 million.
10
INDIA
'Emergency a misadventure, Indira paid a heavy price'

Reveals President Pranab
Mukherjee about the tumultuous period in India's postindependence history in his
new book "The Dramatic
Decade: the Indira Gandhi
Years.
New Delhi: The 1975 Emergency
was perhaps an "avoidable event"
and Congress and Indira Gandhi
had to pay a heavy price for this
"misadventure" as suspension of
fundamental rights and political
activity, large scale arrests and
press censorship adversely affected people, says President Pranab
Mukherjee.
A junior minister under Gandhi
in those turbulent times,
Mukherjee however, is also
unsparing of the opposition then
under the leadership of the late
Jayaprakash Narayan, JP, whose
movement appeared to him to be
"directionless".
The President has penned his
thoughts about the tumultuous
period in India's post-independence history in his book "The
Dramatic Decade: the Indira
Gandhi Years" that has just been
released. He discloses that Indira
Gandhi was not aware of the
Constitutional provisions allowing for declaration of Emergency
that was imposed in 1975 and it
was Siddartha Shankar Ray who
led her into the decision.
Ironically, it was Ray, then
Chief Minister of West Bengal,
who also took a sharp about-turn
on the authorship of the
Emergency before the Shah
Commission that went into 'excesses' during that period and dis-
President Pranab Mukherjee was a junior minister under Indira Gandhi in those turbulent times.
(right) Pranab's new book.
owned that decision, according to

Mukherjee. Mukherjee, who celebrated his 79th birthday today,
says, "The Dramatic Decade is
the first of a trilogy; this book
covers the period between 1969
and 1980...I intent to deal with the
period between 1980 and 1998 in
volume II, and the period between
1998 and 2012, which marked the
end of my active political career,
in volume III."
"At this point in the book, it will
be sufficient to say here that many
of us who were part of the Union
Cabinet at that time (I was a junior minister) did not then understand its deep and far reaching
impact." Mukherjee's 321-page
book covers various chapters
including the liberation of
Bangladesh, JP's offensive, the
defeat in the 1977 elections, split
in Congress and return to power
in 1980 and after.
The President says there was no
doubt that Emergency brought
discipline in public life, a growing economy, controlled inflation,

a reversed trade deficit for the
first time, enhanced developmental expenditure and a crack down
on tax evasion and smuggling but
"it was perhaps an avoidable
event".
"Suspension of fundamental
rights and political activity
(including trade union activity),
large scale arrests of political
leaders and activists, press censorship, and extending the life of
legislatures by not conducting
elections were some instances of
Emergency adversely affecting
the interests of the people. The
Congress and Indira Gandhi had
to pay a heavy price for this misadventure," says Mukherjee.
Recounting the dramatic
moments leading to declaration of
Emergency minutes before midnight of June 25, 1975, he says
that it was the suggestion of Ray,
then Chief Minister of West
Bengal, and Indira Gandhi acted

on it. "Indira Gandhi told me subsequently that she was not even
aware of the Constitutional provisions allowing for the declaration
of a state of Emergency on
grounds of internal disturbance
particularly since a state of
Emergency had already been proclaimed as a consequence of
Indo-Pak conflict in 1971", he
says.
Ray, then member of CWC and
Central Parliamentary Board, was
one of the "most influential advisors" of Indira Gandhi with his
views being sought on diverse
issues. "Siddhartha Babu had considerable influence over the decision making process of the organisation and administration...In
matters relating to West Bengal,
he was the decisive voice. So it
was not surprising that he was
privy to considerable information...," the President said.
Interestingly, though not sur-
prisingly, once it was declared,

there were a whole host of people
claiming authorship of idea of
declaring the Emergency. And,
again not surprisingly, these very
people took a sharp about-turn
before the Shah Commission.
"Not only did they disown their
involvement, they pinned all the
blame on Indira Gandhi pleading
their own innocence.
Mukherjee recalled that a number of ministers and bureaucrats
deposed before the Commission
blaming Indira Gandhi "alone"
for the imposition of the
Emergency with the Cabinet not
being taken into confidence.
Giving details of the testimony of
the then Home Minister Kasu
Bramhananda Reddy before the
Commission, the President said
Reddy told the panel that he was
called by the Prime Minister at
10.30 PM and was told that on
account of deteriorating law and
order situation, it was necessary
to impose an internal Emergency.
According to Reddy, he told the
Prime Minister that the powers
already available under the existing Emergency could be availed
of to deal with the situation but
was overruled by Indira Gandhi
saying internal Emergency was
"considered
necessary."
"Bramhananda Reddy told the
Commission that he then signed a
letter to the President of the
Republic and appended the draft
proclamation of Emergency for
the President's assent with this
letter. The Letter signed by
Brahmananda Reddy was on a
plain sheet of paper and not on
the letter head of the Home
Minister of India," he said.
(Source: Press Trust of India)
Post general elections, RSS expands in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: Since Narendra Modi became the
prime minister in May, the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has been merrily expanding its network in populous Uttar
Pradesh.
In recent months, the RSS -- founded in
1925 and traditionally weak in the sprawling
state -- is focussing on widening its influence
among Dalits and in the countryside.
The RSS has also launched a membership
drive and taken to social networking and the
virtual world in a big way.
And the dividends have begun to trickle in.
The number of 'shakhas' of the RSS -where members, old and new and young and
old, meet for regular morning and evening
exercises -- in Uttar Pradesh has risen to
about 8,500 almost dramatically.
A senior RSS functionary overseeing the
membership drive through the 'Join RSS'
campaign started on its web site says the
group gets 200 to 250 responses every day.
Some want to know more about the RSS.
The RSS has also launched a membership drive and taken to social networking
and the virtual world in a big way.
"The RSS has being doing great work for

decades. But we admit that it is only after
our open support to Modi and the BJP that
people, specially the young, has recognized
our worth and are taking us seriously," the
official in the group said. The 'shakhas' now
get a fair sprinkling of youngsters, he added.

With almost a 8-10 percent growth in
membership in the state in the past few
months, the RSS has set a target of 15 percent increase in activities.
After reaching every block across the
sprawling state, the RSS is trying to make

inroads into the 8,000-odd Nyay Panchayats
in the countrywide.
The Sangh has roped in affiliates like the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to target universities and other educational institutions, a source said.
"Whats wrong in it? RSS is a nationalist
organization and not a terror outfit," said
Santosh Pathak, a sympathiser here.
The RSS, outlawed thrice since India's
independence in 1947, is the ideological
mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Many
BJP veterans, Modi included, began their
public life in the RSS.
Simultaneously, the VHP has begun a new
drive to reach out to the Dalit community,
which accounts for a substantial chunk of the
population in Uttar Pradesh.
The VHP's aim is to consolidate the exodus of Dalits, OBCs and others to the BJP
fold during the May general elections.
INDIA
India's strategic ties with Russia incomparable: Modi

New Delhi: India's strategic partnership with Russia is "incomparable in content" and it remains
India's foremost defense partner,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said here.
Addressing media after his
summit talks with visiting
Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Modi said Russia has been
a pillar of strength for India's
security.
"The strategic partnership is
incomparable in content," he
said, adding that Russia had
given its steadfast support to
India "in difficult times".
"India too has stood with
Russia through its challenges,"
he added.
In his remarks, Putin said bilateral trade between the two countries was $10 billion in 2013,
which "is not enough". "We
talked of measures to diversify
bilateral trade," the Russian president said.
He said Russia was keen to
deepen the political dialogue
between the two countries to
strengthen cooperation in various
areas. The president noted that
the two countries have a special
privileged partnership. "It contin-
ues to develop dynamically,"

Putin said.
Meanwhile, Modi said Russia
will remain India's most important defense partner and the
armed forces of the two countries
have been holding joint exercises. Russia will fully manufacture
in India one of its most advanced
helicopters, he said.
Besides, Modi urged Russia to
locate defense manufacturing
facilities in India.
Referring to the Kudankulum
nuclear project, he said more
Russian-made reactors would be
set up in India.
Modi also referred to the need
to boost collaboration between
the two countries in hydrocarbons.
The prime minister said he had
met Putin this year at opposite
ends of the world -- in Brazil and
in Australia.
He recalled that Putin and then
prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee launched the annual
bilateral summit process in 2000.
The two sides inked several
agreements and discussed a wide
range of issues, including combating terrorism and ensuring
security in Afghanistan.
Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin

in New Delhi.
Indian, Russian agencies

ink accord to promote IT
New Delhi: The governmentsponsored Electronics and
Computer Software Export
Promotion Council (ESC) has
signed an agreement with
Skolkovo Foundation, the strategic development institution of
the Russian government, to promote Indian IT companies in
international markets.
The signing of the agreement
by D.K. Sareen, executive director ESC, and president of the
Skolkovo Foundation Victor
Vekselberg took place during the
ofcial visit to India of Russian
President Vladimir Putin,
Skolkovo said in a release. This
is one of the many agreements
signed during the rst fulledged summit between India
and Russia after the Narendra
Modi government took ofce in
May. The agreement provides for
exchange of information to help
set up joint venture start-ups
looking to enter both Russian
and Indian markets, promotion
and networking for companies,
as well as holding innovationrelated events in both countries
"to promote joint innovative
project technologies, products
and services in international
markets", the statement said.
Protest in Rajya Sabha over

eulogizing Godse
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha witnessed
protests as opposition leaders raised the
issue of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin
Nathuram Godse being eulogized in
Maharashtra.
"Nathuram Godse 'shaurya divas' (bravery day) is being observed in
Maharashtra," said Congress leader
Husain Dalwai, raising the issue in the
Rajya Sabha. He alleged that two legislators were also in the list of invitees.
"They are deliberately observing the
'shaurya divas' of the man who killed
Father of the Nation. There was forced
conversion in Agra, and now this...,"
Dalwai said, alleging that groups associated with ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) were responsible for this.
"I have written to Maharashtra chief
minister on this," he added.
This was followed by a ruckus in the
house, with other opposition parties joining in. Some members also trooped near
the chairman's podium, raising slogans
against the government.
An angry Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi said government is not supporting
the killers of Mahatma Gandhi in any
way. "This kind of language is unacceptable," Naqvi said. As ruckus continued,
Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned
the house till noon. When the house met
again for question hour at noon, the

ruckus continued, forcing another
adjournment for 10 minutes.
After the second adjournment, Congress
leader Anand Sharma said he was certain
the government will not support killers of
Mahatma Gandhi, and added that the
whole house shall speak in one voice on
the issue.
"Opposition also wants the house to
function. Government will never approve
of eulogizing of the assassins of Father of
the Nation... Let the house speak in one
voice. We must condemn it as one house,"
said Sharma.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah
Naidu said there is no question of eulogizing Godse. "There is no question of anybody accepting such a preposition eulogizing the person responsible for the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. There
is no question of anybody associating with
such persons. I am saying this on record,"
Naidu said.
11
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12
INDIA
Delhi rape: US-based Uber in deep trouble

New Delhi: Delhi Police questioned radio taxi company Uber's
Asia-Pacific head Eric Alexander
for the second consecutive day in
mounting problems for the USbased company that has faced
trouble in several countries.
Police also said they have gathered "all necessary evidence"
against Uber cab driver Shiv
Kumar Yadav accused of raping a
25-year-old woman on December
5 night and were unlikely to seek
extension of his custody.
Alexander expressed his sympathy for the victim but did not
answer a query about a complaint
made to the company against
Yadav by a NRI woman about 10
days back.
Yadav was among drivers
attached to Uber and ferried passengers who availed the company's services.
In her complaint to Uber, Nidhi
Shah had alleged that Yadav kept
staring at her through the mirror
Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav is accused of

raping a 25-year-old woman on December 5 night.
58 percent turnout in
Kashmir, 61 in Jharkhand
during the taxi ride on Nov 26.

Alexander told reporters that
they were cooperating with the
police.
"We are cooperating with
police. My deepest sympathy is
with the girl. I can't say anything
more than that because it is an
ongoing investigation," he said.
Delhi Police asked Alexander
12 questions including over the
safety mechanism of the company, usage of GPS, and background checking of drivers.
Uber has stopped its services
after a written notice handed over
to them from Delhi government
and Delhi Police.
According to police, Uber officials had "admitted" to not
installing GPS in the car but only
on iPhones provided by them -which meant that the location of
the cab could only be determined
till the time the phone was
switched on and the driver had
internet connectivity.
"Uber officials also admitted

they did not conduct independent
verification on drivers or invest
in background checks," the official said.
The FIR also said that the photograph and driving license of the
driver was not displayed on the
dashboard of the cab, the driver
was not having any public service badge and his criminal record
was not verified.
"Besides lack of supervision on
the part of the Uber company,
there are many more rules which
have been flouted by it," the FIR
said.
Yadav, 32, was arrested from
Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and
was sent by a court to three days'
police custody.
"We have enough evidence
against Shiv Kumar Yadav. We
will not urge the court to extend
his police remand," Deputy
Commissioner of Police Madhur
Verma said.
Insurance bill report tabled, Congress indicates support

New Delhi/Chennai: The Indian
government's move to increase the
FDI limits in insurance brightened
with a select committee of the
Rajya Sabha headed by BJP's
Chandan Mitra tabling its report,
backing the bill proposing to hike
existing 26 percent cap to 49 percent and the Congress saying it
supported the provision "in principle".
According to industry experts, a
total of around Rs.62,500 crore of
fresh foreign funds is expected to
come in life and non-life sectors
when the foreign holding limits are
hiked.
The report recommends a composite cap "of 49 percent should be
inclusive of all forms of foreign
direct investment and foreign port-
folio investments."
At least 11 out of the 15 members, save those of the Trinamool
Congress, Samajwadi Party,
Communist Party of India-Marxist
and Janata Dal-United, agreed to
the report.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek
Manu Singhvi expressed "in principle" support to the bill.
Industry experts said that the bill
if passed will pave way for the
much-needed funds that would
have a cascading effect like
increase in household savings,
fresh investment, new employment, higher insurance penetration
and others. Hike in the FDI limit
has been a long pending demand of
the private sector players.
Showing intent on speeding up
reforms, the Modi government has

expressed confidence at getting the
insurance bill passed to allow
Indian insurance companies easier
access to much-needed capital for
growth.
India opened up the insurance
sector for private players in 2000,
setting the cap on FDI at 26 percent
with a start up capital of Rs.100
crore for life and non-life insurers.
Life Insurance Council of India
secretary general V. Manickam said
that the increase in FDI limits
would attract more foreign players
to India, where the uninsured population is around 30 crore.
According to him, the upward
revision is expected to result in
additional capital infusion of
around Rs.50,000 crore by 2020.
Conversions aimed at polarizing nation: Congress

Voters defied terror threats in Kashmir.
New Delhi: The third phase of

polling for 16 assembly seats
in Jammu and Kashmir recorded 58 percent voter turnout,
while in Jharkhand, the polling
percentage for 17 assembly
constituencies was 61 percent,
Election Commission officials
said.
The turnout in Kashmir was
up from 52.13 percent recorded in 2009, Deputy Election
Commissioner Vinod Zutshi
said.
Another poll panel official
Umesh Sinha said that in
Jharkhand, the polling percentage was up from 54.85 percent
recorded in 2009.
In Kashmir, the three districts
of Baramulla, Budgam and
Pulwama saw polling percentages of 57, 70 and 43, respectively.
"Polling was peaceful and
there was no untoward incident," Zutshi said.
The overall cash seizure for
the third phase was Rs. 91.81
lakh.
In the eight districts of
Jharkhand that voted, there
were 5,865 polling stations out
of which 271 were critical.inha
said Rs.1.33 crore in cash was
seized from the state.
New Delhi: The Congress said

the incident of alleged forced
conversions in Agra is a ploy by
the government to "polarize" the
nation and sought a clarification
from Prime Minister Narendra
Modi regarding the matter.
Congress leader Jyotiraditya
Scindia said the government is
trying to polarize the country, so
that it can digress from issues
like black money and hike in rail
fare.
"This is against the constitution. It wants to digress from real
issues like black money, rail fare
hike and incursions by China. So,
it has started this campaign for
polarisation," he said in the Lok
Sabha during a debate over the
issue. The alleged forcible con-
versions of about 300 Muslims in

Agra found its echo in parliament
Wednesday as well as Thursday,
with opposition members raising
the issue in both the houses.
Nearly 300 members of some
60 Muslim families living in a
settlement on Agra's outskirts
were reported to have embraced
Hinduism Monday.
Scindia said the government
has pledged to protect the constitution, but in the last seven
months, there has been an agenda
for polarisation.
Opening the debate from the
opposition benches, he mentioned the Trilokpuri riots in
Delhi. "For the first time, there
was a sense of insecurity when
Tazia procession was taken out in
Delhi during Muharram."

"Are we trying to create enmity
between the communities," he
asked.
"We want the prime minister to
clarify. The prime minister has
been asked by a senior leader in
your party (BJP) to fulfil
Rajdharma," he said.
He also attacked External
Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj's comments on making
the Bhagwad Gita the national
scripture. "For us, the constitution should be the national
book".
"It (government) is changing
history, culture and the country's
identity. It is the responsibility of
the government to protect the
Constitution," he said.
OP-ED
13
For PM Modi, English switchover came naturally

By Ranjana Narayan
or those following Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's
addresses abroad, his switch
to English instead of the expected
Hindi during his recent foreign visits may have come as a surprise.
But, for a politician known to be a
powerful orator and effective communicator, the reason was simple he wished to convey the essence of
his speech in his own way.
And the teleprompter has been a
useful aid in his switchover to
English.
For Modi, who has comfortably
addressed six rousing election
speeches in a day, speaking extempore in Hindi comes effortlessly,
though he is a native Gujarati
speaker, who avoided speaking in
English unless absolutely required.
Initially all his diplomatic interactions were in Hindi with a translator at hand. His speeches during
his Japan and US visits were in
Hindi, with the translators scrambling to keep pace.
But Modi, known for his use of
pithy yet simple words, is understood to have been dissatisfied with
the translated versions. Reason:
they failed to convey the essence of
Narendra Modi uses his hands expressively during his

speeches and likes to pause to await the audience reaction.
his speeches, several conversations

IANS has had with aides revealed.
Modi first chose to speak in
English during the PSLV launch in
July at the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). Aided by a
teleprompter, Modi switched to
English interspersed with some
Hindi sentences. Again in
September, Modi spoke in English
in his congratulatory address to
ISRO scientists when India's
Mangalyaan was successfully

placed in the Mars orbit.
Both times, the switch to English
was perhaps keeping in mind that
many scientists, including the top
ones, are from non-Hindi speaking
states.
But with regard to foreign policy,
it was believed that the Modi government would keep Hindi as its
medium of communication, in
keeping with how other govern-
ment heads, including those from

China, Russia, or non-English
speaking European states, do.
Modi's first speech in English,
without the teleprompter, was during the BRICS - Brazil, Russia,
India, China, South Africa - summit
in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July, when
he read out his speech in English.
During his US visit, Modi delivered his UN address in Hindi. In
Washington, during the bilateral
interaction with President Barack
Obama, an avid user of the
teleprompter, and in his address to
the Council on Foreign Relations,
the prime minister stuck to Hindi.
He gave a short speech in English
at the Central Park in New York,
aided by a teleprompter.
But he took to English in a big
way during the Australia and Fiji
visits and in Nepal for the SAARC
Summit.
In Australia, Modi spoke in
English with the aid of
teleprompters at a cultural event
hosted by the mayor of Brisbane on
Nov 16. He followed it up by
speaking in English the next morning during a power breakfast in
Brisbane with top business leaders
from Australia's Queensland state
and India. In his address to the
Australian parliament in English,

Modi even cracked a local joke on
"shirtfronting", evoking laughter.
Modi, who uses his hands expressively during his speeches and likes
to pause to await the audience reaction whenever he has posed a query
or made a light hearted remark, is
able to get directly across to his foreign audiences with his English
speeches.
The two teleprompters are placed
on either side of the podium and
not visible to TV audiences. Modi
swings his head comfortably
between the two, reading the lines
as they scroll down in keeping with
the speed of his speech-delivery.
In his informal interactions during the G20 Summit in Brisbane,
Modi was seen cracking jokes and
chatting and laughing with global
leaders, including Obama, mostly
without the help of aides, highlighting how comfortable Modi has
become in conversing in English
and also in conducting diplomacy.
Obama is known to be a frequent
user of the teleprompter, even for
short speeches. During an event last
year, Obama jokingly chided his
aides for forgetting to load his
speech on to the teleprompter,
which they did hurriedly.
What Uber can learn from McDonalds

N Madhavan
wo seemingly unconnected news items
last week are, in fact, connected. On
the one hand, there was news from the
US that Uber, the hot ride-sharing service that
makes instant cabs out of available cars with
drivers through a mobile app, was raising a
fresh round of funding that valued the company at a staggering $40 billion (Rs 240,000
crore). On the other hand, at the weekend
came the depressing news of how a young
woman executive in Gurgaon suffered rape at
the hands of a taxi driver after hailing a cab
from Uber (which have now been banned
from Delhi operations).
Between these two items hang the tale of
how global businesses need a local touch.
American startups thrive on teenage enthusiasm, usually because they are drunk on new
technology. But there is much more to business models than hot technologies.
Google-backed Uber has also been trying to
lobby against restrictive Reserve Bank of
US-based online global cab company Uber has also been slapped with
a case of cheating and violating lawful orders.
India regulations. The company uses a mobile

wallet system, in which the central bank
requires a two-step authentication process.
RBI also requires local banks to be involved

and insists on rupee transactions. This is
intended to provide safety to customers, but
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
the US company called the checks "antiquated" and reluctantly started using local
mobile wallet operator Paytm to comply with
RBI rules.
One might stretch the RBI-style logic to the
safety of women. Sadly for Uber, Gurgaon is
not San Francisco. Though the company cannot be truly blamed for what one of its cabbies
did, the event last week shows how a fullservice taxi service company is more than a
savvy tech player. In Delhi, police advise
domestic servants to be verified. Cabbies are a
logical extension.
Can Uber take ownership for the safety of
its passengers? Be it financial or physical
safety, how far can or should Uber go?
The one-size-fits-all approach doesnt work.
There are no easy answers, but Uber could
learn from McDonalds, the burger chain. It
eschewed beef in India and for the first time
introduced vegetarian burgers. Think global,
act local.
(Madhavan is a columnist with Hindustan
Times)
14
OP-ED
Despite progress on racism, the uncomfortable truth is that work remains

By Eugene Robinson
resident Obamas observation that
racism is deeply rooted in U.S. society is an understatement. Racism is as
American as the Fourth of July, and ignoring
this fact doesnt make it go away.
Obama made the remark in an interview
with Black Entertainment Television, telling
the networks largely African American
audience something it already knew. The
presidents prediction that racism isnt
going to be solved overnight also came as
no surprise.
Right-wing media outlets feigned shock
and outrage. But their hearts didnt seem to
be in it. Not after Ferguson and Staten
Island. Not after the killing of 12-year-old
Tamir Rice in Cleveland. These recent atrocities prompted Obamas comments.
This is something that is deeply rooted in
our society. Its deeply rooted in our history, the president said. You know, when
youre dealing with something thats as
deeply rooted as racism or bias in any society, youve got to have vigilance but you have
to recognize that its going to take some
time, and you just have to be steady so that
you dont give up when we dont get all the
way there.
Patience and persistence are virtues. As
Obama well knows, however, weve already
been at this for nearly 400 years.
An African-American man drinking at a

"colored" drinking fountain in a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, 1939. Laws change, but attitudes die hard.
The election in 2008 of the first black

president was an enormous milestone, something I never dreamed would happen in my
lifetime. Obamas reelection four years later
was no less significant a stinging rebuke
to those who labored so hard to limit this
aberration to one term.
But no one should have expected Obama
to magically eliminate the racial bias that
has been baked into this society since the
first Africans were brought to Jamestown in
1619. The stirring words of the Declaration
of Independence all men are created
equal were not meant to apply to people
who look like me. The Constitution specified that each slave would count as threefifths of a person. African Americans were
systematically robbed of their labor not

just before the Civil War but for a century
afterward, through Jim Crow laws and other
racist arrangements. Blacks were deliberately denied opportunities to obtain education
and accumulate wealth.
You knew all of this, of course. I recite it
here because there are those who would prefer to forget.
A Bloomberg poll released Sunday found
that 53 percent of those surveyed believe
race relations have worsened under the first
black president, while only 9 percent
believe they have improved. A 2012
Associated Press poll found that 51 percent
of Americans had explicit anti-black attitudes up from 48 percent four years earlier, before Obama took office. All this
makes me wonder whether, for many people, Obamas presidency may be serving as
an uncomfortable reminder of the nations
shameful racial history.
Then again, it may be that having a black
family in the White House just drives some
people around the bend. Why else would a
congressional aide viciously attack the presidents daughters, ages 16 and 13, by telling
them via Facebook to dress like you
deserve respect, not a spot at a bar? The
scold apologized and resigned, perhaps
without fully knowing why she felt compelled to go there in the first place. For some
people, it doesnt matter what the Obamas

do or dont do. Their very presence is inexcusable. Theres something alien about
them; their teenage girls cant just be seen as
teenage girls.
We already know, from painful experience, how our society looks upon black
teenage boys.
After reminding the nation that racism
exists, Obama went on to express optimism.
As painful as these incidents are, we cant
equate what is happening now to what was
happening 50 years ago, he said. And if
you talk to your parents, grandparents,
uncles, theyll tell you that things are better
not good, in some cases, but better.
Of course, thats true. But it would be a
betrayal of the brave men and women who
fought and died during the civil rights movement to lose our sense of urgency when so
much remains to be done.
U.S. neighborhoods and schools remain
shockingly segregated. Jobs have abandoned
many inner-city communities. The enormous wealth gap between whites and blacks
has increased since the onset of the Great
Recession. Black boys and men wear
bulls-eyes on their backs.
Whatever Obama says about race, or doesnt say about race, somebodys going to be
angry. He should just speak from the heart
and tell the uncomfortable truth.
Courtesy Washington Post
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
JAN. 2015
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
15
Dilip Chauhan heads the

politically powerful NRI Overseas
Affairs organization, which supports
candidates, Democrat or Republican,
who understand the make-up and
needs of the community.
By Robert Golomb
hen the Prime Minister of
India Narendra Modi
attended a mid-day reception held in his honor at New York
Citys Madison Square Garden this
past September 28th, he was treated
with what some in the media
described as Rock Star Status.
Speaking in Hindi about India, the
largest democracy in the world with
a billion and a quarter inhabitants,
Modi said to the audience of over
20,000, In India democracy is not
just a system, its a faith. Its a
belief.
After he spoke those two short sentences, many of the 20,000 attendees, both young and old, male and
female and mainly, but not all, of
Indian background, broke into chants
of Modi! Modi! Modi! These
chants were reported to have been
constantly repeated throughout the
60 minutes that Modi, making his
first visit to America since his election as Prime Minister this past May,
spoke.
Sitting in the front rows of that
crowded stadium that day was a 43year-old man named Dilip Chauhan.
Because in the New Yorks Indian
American community Chuahans
face is known to be not nearly as
identifiable as is his name, he
remained, I later learned, incognito
that day.
But it would come as no surprise
to either those who personally know
Chauhan, President of the politically
powerful NRI Overseas Affairs
organization, or those who just know
him by his name and title that many
of the prominent elected officials
whom they could see seated in the
Garden that night, including New
York Senator Democrat Charles
Schumer, Congress members
Democrats Joseph Crowley, Gregory
Meeks, Grace Meng, and most
notably, South Carolinas Republican
Governor Nikki Haley, seen as a possible presidential contender in 2016,
had come either directly or indirectly through Chauhans outreach and
invitation.
However, when I interviewed
Chauhan last week, he quickly
downplayed this feat. Not one of
Dilip Chauhan honored with New York State Proclamation by

NYS Assembly members David Weprin, Ed Brauestein and Nily
Rozic. (Photo: Hasmukh Patel). Chauhan is also Chairperson of
Gujarati Samaj of New York, Political Advisor - AAPI, and was
City Hall News Political Rising Star "40 under 40" - 2010.
these elected officials came because
of me. Once they were informed that
the Prime Minister was to be celebrated and honored, they all wanted
to join in the celebration of this great
man.
What Chauhan did not downplay
was his and his familys long time
relationship with Prime Minister
Modi. Chauhan, who was born in
India and moved to the United States
when he was 28, explained, My
parents, one sister and five brothers
and I were neighbors of PM Modi
for 15 years in Gandhinagar in
Gujarat. He was a legislator then,
and we got to know him quite well.
He was a brilliant but humble man.
My family still lives in the community in India and continues to be in
contact with him.
Nor did Chauhan try to downplay
his support of Modis conservative
economic policies, which he likened
to those of Republican President
Reagan. Prime Minister Modi is to
India today what President Ronald
Reagan was to America thirty years
ago, Chauhan contended. Prime
Minister Modi, like President
Reagan, understands that people, not
government, create wealth. In
{Modis} first six months in office,
he has already started to implement
policies that remove the disincentives and shackles that previous governments placed on the backs of
entrepreneurs and business pioneers,
which now enables them to produce
greater amounts of goods and services, which, as we learned from

President Reagan, leads to the creation of large numbers of private sector jobs. However, while Chauhan
extolled the conservative policies of
Reagan in America in the 1980s and
those of Modi in India today, he
made it a point to inform me that
NRI Overseas Affairs Organization,
which plays an active role in
American politics, has endorsed and
supported both Democratic and
Republican candidates in the past.
We look to support candidates be
they Democrats or Republicans who
possess great personal integrity and
whose policies will benefit all the
people they represent. In addition, as
a South Asian Indian organization,
we look to support candidates
regardless of their party affiliation
who possess a deep understanding of
the make-up and the needs of the
South Asian Indian community.
Citing data revealing the national
composition of that community,
Chauhan continued, There are
approximately four million South
Asian Indians living in America
today. In statistical terms, we comprise 17% of the Asian American
community, making us the third
largest Asian ethnic group in the
United States, behind only Chinese
Americans and Filipino Americans.
From this South Asian India community, we have 120,000 doctors. We
also have in the range of half of a
million owners of small or large

businesses. Included in the ranks of
those entrepreneurs are about
200,000 who own hotels and motels
and approximately 80,000 who run
and operate convenience stores.
Together these doctors and small and
large business men and women
employ approximately four million
American workers.
Chuahan
told me that he feels a good deal of
the success that South Asian Indian
Americans have achieved in the US
can be attributed to the important
role family plays in their lives.
Chauhan, who resides in Nassau
County, NY with his wife, Ruchika,
and two daughters, Riddhi (6), and
Kahini (15), explained, The family
unit is most important in the South
Asian community. Divorce is rare,
and it is common to see grandfathers
and grandmothers sharing homes
with their children and grandchildren, or if health and finances allow,
living in homes nearby. Each
member of the family unit gains
understanding and strength from the
other, which has played a large part
in the success South Asians have
obtained in America.
Chuahan explained that he
believes that the Hindu religion,
which is practiced by the overwhelming majority of South Asian
Indians living in India, America and
other nations around the world, complements the family lives of South
Asian Indian Americans. You see
families -- children, parents, grandparents and sometimes great grandparents -- together in temple,
Chuahan stated. They go there

with the common purpose of meditating and praying and learning how
they as individuals and as part of a
family unit can best provide understanding, compassion and help to
their fellow human beings.
Chuahan, who is a close disciple of
Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the head
of the global socio-religious organization BAPS Swaminarayan
Sanstha, added , Hinduisms teaching of respect for all other religions
has helped South Asian Indian immigrants assimilate into the culture of
America. Adhering to this teaching
has made us respectful and accepting
of our fellow Americans of all religions and creeds and has helped
make them respectful and accepting
of us. Chauhan, a business development consultant who specializes in
creating marketing strategies for
large and small United States and
international companies and corporations seeking to establish markets in
the northeastern South Asian communities, told me that he loves what
he does for a living because it gives
him the opportunity to help entrepreneurs create goods and services and
jobs for people. I consider myself to
be a blessed man, he said, to be
able to make a living doing what I
most enjoy doing, which is simply to
help people achieve the American
dream.
Robert Golomb is a nationally published columnist.
MrBob347@aol.com. He can also be
followed on Twitter@RobertGolomb.
Chauhan with US Senator ChuckSchumer and (right) with

Congress member Joseph Crowley.
16
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Freida Pinto
here is a recurring pattern in actress

Freida Pinto's films and that is the presence of strong female characters. The
Hollywood-based Indian actress says it's the
first thing that she considers while choosing
films. Be it "Slumdog Millionaire", "Miral" or
her upcoming film "Trishna" - all the films
have seen her playing such charcters.
"A strong female character is the most
important thing that I look for in my films.
Hence the bottom line is that every character I
play needs to have a strong undertone," Frieda
told IANS in an interview.
She did pick up a film in which she couldn't
get the same satisfaction that she drew from
her earlier films.
"I'm not going to mention the film's name
and I'm glad that most of the people didn't see
it. In the film, I did a role where I could not
feel the strength of my character and it showed
in my performance. Since then, I haven't
repeated that thing," she added.
Freida, who gained global recognition after
Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire", minces
no words to declare the hype around objectification of women in Bollywood a hypocrisy. "I
have a problem with women being objectified
on-screen. But I feel it's also unfair that we
only talk about women objectification as if it's
perfectly okay for men to be objectified,"
said the actress while she was in Delhi to
unveil the Girls Rising campaign in
India.
"I feel there is a little bit of hypocrisy over
there," Freida added.
She added that it's not entirely the filmmakers' fault as viewers should also understand
that the artist is just playing a character on the
screen.
"As filmmakers and artists, we should be
responsible about the material we put out, but
at the end of the day it's very important for the
viewers to understand that we are acting.
"I am not a stripper from the video I just did,
it is my character. I feel if people are going to
be so narrow-minded about believing that the
character is an extension of me, then it defeats
the purpose of films," she said.
The actress feels the line between commercial and serious cinema is fading. "I don't
know what commercial films are in
Bollywood because there are some art house
films that I enjoyed and they became commercially viable," said the 30-year-old. Moving
beyond acting, the actress has ventured on to
the other side of filmdom as a producer.
The actress, who is at present producing two films, refrains from delving
more into the projects.
Paris
Hilton
parties with
'friend'
Salman
Paris Hilton with Salman Khan
merican socialite Paris

Hilton was recently spotted
partying
with
Bollywood superstar Salman
Khan in Pune. "Finally after 24
hours of traveling, I've finally
made it to my final destination of
the trip. Pune, India. So tired &
jetlagged!," she tweeted.
The 33-year-old socialite took
to social networking websites to
share her photograph of a party.
She captioned it: #GoodTimes
in India with my friend
@BeingSalmanKhan". The duo is
seen in black ensemble in the pho-
tograph. Singer Mika Singh was

also present at the party and he
posted a string of photographs
with Salman and socialite. Let's
party of the year for my brother,
the one and only Bala...Ready to
tear the stage up with pretty
@ParisHilton, he tweeted. Gm:)
had a great party with
@BeingSalmanKhan & beautiful
@ParisHilton at Balas birthday
Guess what salman is doing?, he
further posted. It's not the first
time that Bollywood has caught
Hilton's fancy. She had earlier
praised "Bang Bang!" star Hrithik
Roshan and expressed her desire
to work with him.
Roger Federer wants to watch 'PK'

nternational tennis legend Roger
Federer is eagerly waiting to watch
Aamir Khans much anticipated film
PK. Federer, who had a friendly match
with the superstar at the ongoing
International Premiere Tennis League,
was enthralled by the first poster of PK
and told Aamir that he will be watching
the film. When Roger met Aamir he first
spoke about the poster of 'PK'. He was
very excited to know the idea behind the
poster and told Aamir he would be watching the film when it releases, Aamir's
spokesperson said in a statement. The
movie, which also stars Anushka Sharma,
will hit the screens Dec 19.
Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma

seen in a poster of PK.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
'Mahakumbh' fever grips Varanasi

he usual evening of prayers was made
special for devotees at a ghat on the
bank of the Ganga river here when
Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari along with the
cast of forthcoming TV show "Mahakumbh
- Ek Rahasya, Ek Kahani" made the right
noises about channel Life OK's new offering.
It was more than just a regular evening at
the Dashashwamedh Ghat - with the fervor,
the cheering and the smiles on people's
faces.
Apart from the hustle bustle before the
evening Ganga aarti, visitors sensed something special was in store -- much with the
huge posters of the show, floral arrangements as well as a team of 20 security men.
Just then entered Gautam Rode, the actor
whose popularity went up several notches
with "Saraswatichandra". He plays the protagonist Rudra in "Mahakumbh". If
teenaged girls ran with their mobile phones
and screamed with excitement upon seeing
their favourite 'Saras', the men in the crowd
could easily recognize him via the
"Mahakumbh" posters. Accompanied by his
Bipasha happy
with 'horror
queen' tag
The cast of TV show "Mahakumbh - Ek Rahasya, Ek Kahani"

co-actors Payal Rajput, Robin Das and
Manish Wadhwa, child actor Siddharth
Nigam, and Life OK executive vice president and general manager Ajit Thakur,
Gautam cut through the crowd to make his
way to a boat. Just when the crowd couldn't
get enough of his presence, entered Manoj
Tiwari. "Har har Mahadev" -- the crowd
chanted upon spotting Manoj, considered
ctor-filmmaker Aamir
his TV show "Satyameva
A
Khan says a project starJayate" next year.
ring Bollywood's three
"I'm
not
doing
film with
'Satayamev Jayate' next
Khans - Shah Rukh, Salman
all three Khans year, and currently, I
and himself, would be exciting and that he would be
am not doing any films.
would be
happy to do it. The trio recentI am currently reading
exciting:
ly appeared together on the
scripts and deciding on
what to do next. When I
same stage. Asked about any
Aamir
find a good script and which
plans to work with Salman and
Shah Rukh in one film, Aamir said: "I
excites me, I will sign it.
really think a film with three of us would be
"Right now I don't have any films
exciting...and if ever a script, which appeals and since 'Satyamev Jayate' just comto three of us, comes up, I am sure we would pleted a series, we feel we need a break
be happy to do it." Aamir says he has neither after five years of research just for
signed any new films nor is he going to do emotional reasons and to heal.
one of the biggest stars to emerge from

Bihar. He was like Pied Piper with the
crowd following him and not to one's
surprise, joyfully danced to his tunes.
A contemporary mytho thriller produced by Arvind Babbal Productions, the
show will go on air Dec 15, 2014 and
will see acclaimed actress Seema Biswas
in a key role.
Bipasha Basu at the launch

of the trailer of her
new film 'Alone' in Mumbai.
Aamir Khan with Shah Rukh

and Salman Khan
Review
A scene from 'Action Jackson'

kabbaddi. The question that arises after
watching Devgn and Devgn (yes, there are
two of him) plus girls, guns, gore and
garbage, is... what is "Action Jackson"
about? Is it a tale so deep that we perhaps
confuse the the trees for the wood? Or
inversely, is it a tale so shallow and crass
that it parades bombastic and brash tripe as
mass entertainment?
Tragically the latter option repeatedly
stares into our face. There is no mistaking
the motivation behind the mayhem and
melodrama.
So far Prabhudheva's films may have
ctress Bipasha Basu, who has done

a string of horror and supernatural
films, is happy with the tag of
"horror queen" as long as audiences watch
her films and get entertained. "I think I
have done 60 films and almost equal number in horror genre but off late I have done
lot of supernatural and horror films. There
was no plan that I wanted to be a horror
queen. It's fine if you call me horror
queen," Bipasha, who has been part of horror films like "Raaz", "Aatma" and
"Creature 3D", said here. "I am good with
it as long as you watch my films and get
entertained," she added. Bipasha was present at the trailer launch of her upcoming
horror film "Alone", that shows her dishing
up "never-seen-before" horror. Further
talking about her choice of roles, the 35year-old said: "I want to do films that give
me roles that excite me and entertain the
audiences, and something new to do and
that's it.
That's the way I look at it". Directed by
Bhushan Patel, "Alone" features Bipasha
as conjoined twins. Besides, it also features
TV star Karan Singh Grover.
'Action Jackson': If MJ was alive, he would sue

fficially, there are two comic relief
providing actors in "Action
Jackson". The very talented Kunal
Roy Kapoor, here reduced playing the
hero's cretinous sidekick whose sides get
kicked in every frame, and Sonakshi Sinha
who spends a good part of the first-half
ogling at her leading man's power-point...
and we don't mean his fists which speak
louder than his words.... really, loud.
Decibels are so high, they could split
eardrums provided you can stay put in your
seat through the ordeal. The very talented
Sandeep Chowta provides helpful pointers
in the background score: "Vishy Vishya"
goes the score when Devgn is on the
screen. "Bangkok Bangkok" is the chant on
the soundtrack for those who like their
locations well mapped.
But we are straying....quite like the script
for Prabhudheva's film which seems to
have been scribbled on a series of paper
napkins in crowded cafe where fights often
break out, quite like the ones we see break
out in the public places in Prabhudheva's
designer-inanity.
Admittedly Devgn fights much better
than he dances. This is akin to saying
Tendulkar plays cricket much better than
17
been guilty of strutting a lowbrow idiom as

an antidote to highbrow tedium. "Action
Jackson" changes the rules radically. This
is a new aggressive Prabhudheva who not
only strives to make Ajay Devgn, giggle
giggle, dance but also wants to portray the
women characters as lust machines.
Hence Sonakshi thinks that a certain part
of Devgn's anatomy is "lucky" for her. In
the secondhalf we get a "horny harridan" sorry, but there is no more polite way to
describe her - named Marina, played by a
newcomer Manasvi Mamgai who wants
some of the same that Sonakshi does. It's
basically lusting for the land of carnal

opportunities. One does it is the ditzy way.
The other is more your Sharon Stonemeets-Mallika Sherawat types.
In the second half when all hell breaks
loose, Marina's sex drive is so intense it
makes her a bestial bitch. In the climax she
is understood to be groping the good girl
(Yami Gautam) whom Devgn 2 (or is
Devgan 1) loves before drawling: "Tum
mein kya hai jo mujh mein nahin".
How about some self-control?
Dare we say, Prabhudheva has turned the
double role into a psychedelic doublevision. What we see is certainly not what
we get. Honest, I didn't get it.
18
edic Heritage Inc. of Long

Island had their annual
presentation of Indian
Classical Dance and Music on Dec
6 at the Pandit Jasraj Auditorium in
the Hanuman temple premises in
Hempstead, NY with outstanding
performances by legendary Pandit
Ramesh Misra on Sarangi,
American artists Steven Gorn on
Flute and Daisy Paradis on Sitar.
They were accompanied by Nitin
Mitta on Tabla and Tejas Tope on
Tabla and Pakhawaj. Presented in
the Indian Classical Dance segment was celebrity Kathak dancer
Smt. Archana Joglekar.
The program started auspiciously
with conch blowing and
Mantra/Shlokas chanting by Pandit
Rameshji after which the traditional Lamp lighting ceremony was
performed by the members of the
Board of Trustees of Vedic
Heritage Inc. and the artists on
stage to initiate the program.
Chief Guests for the night were
Dy. Consul General of India in
New York, Dr. Manoj Kumar
Mohapatra, and Ms Nasrin G.
Ahmad, Town Clerk who presented
Vedic Heritage Inc. (VHI) with a
citation of appreciation on behalf
of the Town of Hempstead.
Amongst the audience were many
other key community members
CULTURE
including the President of AIA-NY

Sunil Modi, President of IALI
Satnam Parhar, and Chairperson of
Indian American Forum Indu
Jaiswal.
A melodious 'Hanuman Chalisa'
sung by Shri Paresh Parikh opened
the program followed by a truly
mesmerizing performance on
Sarangi by Pt Ramesh Misra,
Steven Gorn on Flute, Daisy
Paradis on Sitar accompanied by
Nitin Mitta on Tabla and Tejas
Tope on Tabla and Pakhawaj. They
played a set to different beats and
Taal to a couple of different
Ragas and performed as an ensemble with Raga Roopak. It was just
magnificent and a treat to all music
lovers present there as the artists
had the audience in complete awe
of the depth and intensity with
which Rameshji played the Sarangi
and Steve Gorn's Flute. Daisys soft
string admission added a special
effect. Percussionists Tejas Tope
and Nitin Mitta enthralled the audience with their mastery of
Tabla/Pakhawaj.
It was a unique experience to
hear American artists Steve on flute
and Daisy on Sitar. Both have mastered the Indian Classical Arts and
made a name for themselves by
excelling in their arts for several
years and have performed with the
most revered Indian artists and won

awards.
A beautiful second half of the
concert was Kathak dance by
celebrity dancer Archana Joglekar.
She explained all the pieces she
presented as she performed them.
Her expressions, movements and
grace had the audience glued to
her presence. She is an Indian
actress, a classical dancer and a
renowned choreographer who has
appeared in numerous Marathi and
Hindi films and television serials.
Her mother Smt. Asha Joglekar,
also a noted Kathak danseuse and
instructor, founded a dance school
Archana Nrityalaya in India and
Archana Joglekar runs a branch of
this school in New Jersey, US.
An Art Auction of paintings
mainly by Thota Vaikuntam and
Shri Nayan Kisnadwala was sponsored by Kuhus Art at intermission. Much appreciation and many
thanks were given to Ms Nilima
Madan - Trustee/General Secretary
of VHI as the main Organizer,
besides the VHI Trust Board, VHI
volunteers and media sponsors
ITV, TV Asia, and The South Asian
Times for promotion and grand
success of the event.
Vedic Heritage was founded in
1979 by Guru Maa Jyotishanand
Saraswati.
Archana Joglekar, actress, classical dancer and choreographer, captivated the audience with her performance.
Pandit Ramesh Misra played on

sarangi with depth and intensity
The musicians were accompanied by

Nitin Mitta (pictured) on tabla and Tejas
Tope on tabla and pakhawaj.
American artists Steven Gorn (on flute) and Daisy Paradis (on sitar)
havemastered the Indian Classical Arts and performed with the most
revered Indian artists and won awards.
The musicians performing as an ensemble.
Trustees and dignitaries posing with the star performer Archana Joglekar
(fifth from right). Nilima Madan (fourth from left), Trustee/General Secretary
of VHI, was the main organizer.
INTERVIEW
19
Growing convergence of our interests shifted

India-US relationship: Amb. Jaishankar
An interview the Indian Ambassador to the US gave to Huffington Post
on the occasion of the launch of the news sites India edition.
We have had shared values for a long
time. What has changed in recent
years is the growing convergence of
our interests. As for being nonaligned,
its Cold War context is overplayed. At
the end of the day, it was about freedom of choice and independence of
thought. Both remain relevant even if
times have changed. The U.S., I believe,
is also coming to terms with the reality that partnerships are more appropriate now than alliances.
r. S. Jaishankar, one of
India's most experienced
diplomats, has a knack for
being in crucial places at crucial
times: Moscow in the early '80s,
the U.S. (as a political attach) during President Ronald Reagan's second term, Eastern Europe in the
early '90s, Tokyo in the late '90s,
and India's ambassador to China
from 2009 to 2013. He returned to
the U.S. as Indias ambassador last
year at a time when ties were deepening dramatically between the two
countries but there was also some
tension .
On the eve of the launch of
HuffPost India, Jaishankar touched
on the U.S.-India relationship,
media and yoga, when he spoke
with HuffPost just before he left for
a trip home to India:
Dr. Jaishankar, thank you for

taking the time to speak with us on
the occasion of the launch of
HuffPost India. We're very excited
to do our part in expanding the
global conversation. What's your
sense of the role of social and digital media in India today?
Amb. Jaishankar: First of all,
welcome to the party. Clearly,
social and digital media have a significant role in India. As in other
areas, we see the phenomena of
leapfrogging on one hand and coexistence of successive generations
[of media] on the other.
Professionally, it calls for a different set of skills to make the most
out of them.
Well, thanks for using that skill

on our behalf. We both can
remember when the U.S. and
India were wary, distant allies -- if
allies at all. India was famously
"nonaligned" during the Cold
War. Now our two countries have
moved much closer to each other.
I know it's a complex question, but
why?
Amb. Jaishankar: We have had
shared values for a long time. What
has changed in recent years is the
growing convergence of our interests. As for being nonaligned, its
Cold War context is overplayed. At
the end of the day, it was about
freedom of choice and independence of thought. Both remain relevant even if times have changed.
The U.S., I believe, is also coming
to terms with the reality that partnerships are more appropriate now
than alliances.
India is an "Eastern" country
with a "Western" commitment to
free speech and democracy. Does
that give India a uniquely important role in the global politics of
the 21st century as they relate to,
say, China and even groups such
as the Islamic State?
Amb. Jaishankar: Free speech
and democracy are not just Western
commitments. India has a very long
history of pluralism, which is the
underlying value. We have chosen a
political model that suits us best.
Obviously we would not have done
so if we did not think highly of it.
Trade and investment between
the U.S. and India have expanded

enormously, and I see that India
recently announced measures to
remove more bureaucratic barriers. What else needs to be done in
both countries? Be as blunt and
specific as you want!
Amb. Jaishankar: I prefer a
broader answer. We are trying to
make India an easier place to do
business. It is as easy as that.
Which, on the ground, of course, is
easier said and more challenging to
get done. A lot of that is overcoming process issues rather than
changing laws. The bottom line,
however, is a change of mindset -instill that commitment to improve
the business climate, as much for
The Indian American

community is a
game-changer. It has
shaped the American
view of India and
Indians. Much of the
credit for the
upswing in our ties
goes to those people.
As the relationship
expands and feeds
into the transformation of India, I am
confident they will
play a still bigger role.
our own business as for foreign

investors.
What more can our two countries do together to deal with the
challenge of climate change?
Amb. Jaishankar: We are focusing on renewables and trying to get
nuclear power cooperation restarted.
The Indian-American community is fast-growing and increasingly
influential; the new U.S. ambassador-designate to your country, as
you know, is Richard Verma, the
first Indian-American named to
that post. What's the role -- and
what should be the role -- of that
community in relations between
our countries? How have they
been helpful?
Amb. Jaishankar: The community is a game-changer. It has
shaped the American view of India
and Indians. Much of the credit for
the upswing in our ties goes to
those people. As the relationship
expands and feeds into the transformation of India, I am confident
they will play a still bigger role.
Two related questions. For our
U.S. readers, and those elsewhere
around the world, what's the most
important thing for them to know
about India that they probably
don't know? And for our new
Indian readers, what's the most
important thing they need to know
about America that they don't
know?
Amb. Jaishankar: Funnily
enough, the answers to the two are

the same. At both ends, people
don't fully appreciate how alike we
are. We have a work ethic, an individualism, family values and patriotism that are similar. That is why
Indians do so well in the U.S.
What do you like most about life
in the U.S.? I would ask what you
like least, but you are a diplomat.
Amb. Jaishankar: Like the
most? The American attitude. The
"can-do" approach. Least?
Baseball. It blocks cricket.
Any advice for us on how to
cover the news in India?
Localize.
Can Indian-Americans do us a
favor and explain the rules of
cricket to sports fans, or have you
concluded that that would be a
waste of time?
Amb. Jaishankar: Definitely a
waste of time.
I read that Indian officials want
to take back control -- marketing
and branding control, if you will -of yoga, the practice of which is
booming in the U.S. and around
the world. I'm curious to see what
that marketing campaign is going
to look like! I'm hereby giving you
space in The Huffington Post to
make the pitch. Which is?
Amb. Jaishankar: Yoga is a
lifestyle, an awareness. Don't
approach it as a product. No one is
trying to control it. It is a grassroots phenomenon, which is why it
is growing.
20 December 13-19, 2014
Indians queuing up to
migrate to Australia
Melbourne: Indians are seeking
increasingly to migrate to
Australia, drawn by the work
opportunities that Australia
offered, media reported.
A study by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), in this
connection, stated that India has
now replaced Britain as the top
country of origin, regarding applications for "457 visas" in
Australia, The Melbourne Age
reported.
According to the website of
Australian government's department of immigration and border
protection, the "457 visa", or the
temporary work (skilled) visa
(subclass 457) allows a skilled
worker to travel to Australia to
work in the nominated occupation, for the approved sponsor, for
up to four years.
According to the latest "457
visa" figures, Indians make up
almost a quarter of the skilled
visas, at 23.3 percent. This was
followed by those from Britain at
18.3 percent and those from
China at 6.5 percent.

Furthermore, during 2012-13,
40,100 Indian citizens had applied
to migrate to Australia, while
27,300 applications were from
China and 21,700 from Britain.
This indicates a significant
boost to Australia's migration program.
According to migration law
expert Sharon Harris, there is a
growing trend of Indian and
Chinese citizens seeking citizenship in Australia for greater global
movement.
"India and China is without
doubt, the most prolific source
countries for pursuing visas and
ultimately citizenship. With an
Australia passport, this opens up
greater travel access globally,"
she said. Harris said that the
change in government in
Australia had been particularly
popular with the Chinese citizens,
who were attracted to the Abbott
government. "With the change in
government, they have more confidence in a stable political environment," Harris noted.
UK judge quits after racial slur on

Indian-origin woman
London: A senior judge in Britain
has been forced to quit his job after
allegedly making a racist remark
about an Indian-origin woman
while hearing a harassment case
involving the woman's exboyfriend.
"With a name like Patel she can
only be working in a corner shop
or off licence," said District Judge
Peter Hollingworth after being told
a prosecution team could not bring
forward the case against Parvan
Singh, accused of threatening
Deepa Patel, as the victim was not
in court, The Daily Mail reported
Sunday. "She won't be working

anywhere important," he was quoted as saying. The "inappropriate
comments" of Judge Hollingworth
were reported to HM Courts and
Tribunals Service after which he
resigned as a deputy district judge.
However, he remains an immigration judge with the Asylum and
Tribunal Services.
"It's shocking and disgusting for
anyone to say that, especially a
judge...You would assume people
of this day and age, especially a
judge, wouldn't be racist," Patel
was quoted as saying.
First Tamil newspaper launched in UAE

Dubai: Daily Thanthi, the first Tamil newspaper in the United Arab
Emirates, was launched Tuesday. Tamil actors Prasanna and his wife
Sneha Prasanna were among those who launched the daily, the Khaleej
Times reported. Bala Aditya, director of Dina Thanthi, opened the
event. "I am glad to bring Daily Thanthi to the UAE. I have been raised
here. Hence the introduction of this daily to the country is very close to
my heart," said Sneha Prasanna.
DIASPORA
Saudi Arabia
approves pact to hire
Indian domestics
Riyadh: The Saudi Arabia government has approved an agreement for recruitment of Indian
domestic workers including
maids, media reported. The
council of ministers, chaired by
Crown Prince Salman, deputy
premier and minister of defence,
Monday approved the Saudi
Arabia's agreement with Delhi,
Arab News reported Tuesday.
"The agreement aims to protect
the rights of domestic workers
as well as their employers and
regulate the contractual relationship between the two parties,"
said Haj Minister and Acting
Information Minister Bandar
Hajjar. The agreement also aims
at organizing the recruitment
process and controlling the cost
of recruitment in both countries.
"It stipulates that such domestic labor shall have no criminal
records, be trained in specialized centers in household work
and educated on the kingdom's
customs and traditions as well
as the terms and conditions of
the employment contract,"
Hajjar said.
Freed of murder charge,

Shrien Dewani to return home
London:
An
Indian-origin businessman
from
Britain, Shrien
Dewani is preparing to leave South
Africa after a judge
cleared him of
arranging the murder of his wife on
their honeymoon,
The court dismissed case against Shrien
media reported Dewani as the murder of his wife Anni was
Tuesday.
'riddled with contradictions'
Dewani, 33, was
accused of ordering the murder of Ami Denborg said.
"We came here looking for
his wife, 28-year-old Anni Dewani,
answers
and we came here looking
who was shot on the outskirts of
Cape Town in November 2010 dur- for the truth, and all we got was
ing the course of their honeymoon, more questions." "We would have
BBC reported. On Monday, Deputy preferred to have known about his
Judge President Jeanette Traverso secret sex life with male prostitutes
of the Western Cape High Court and the activities he engaged in
dismissed the case against him, before he married Anni," Denborg
after describing evidence from pros- said referring to Dewani's admisecution witnesses as "riddled with sion in court that he was bi-sexual.
Judge Traverso said claims by the
contradictions." Anni's family said
they were heartbroken that the case chief prosecution witness, cab drivwas dismissed before Dewani testi- er Zola Tongo, about the murder
were "riddled with contradictions",
fied.
"We feel as a family that the jus- "highly debatable" and the evidence
tice system has failed us and we are from the prosecution was "far
deeply disappointed," Anni's sister below" the required threshold.
Indian doctor adds life to days

of terminally-ill patients in Singapore
Singapore: Saving lives is always
the priority of a doctor, but for
India-born oncologist Ramaswamy
Akhileswaran ensuring that terminally ill patients spend their last
days at home with dignity and their
families learn to manage end-of-life
issue well is the mission of his life.
As a specialist in Radiation
Oncology with a leading hospital in
Bangalore, Akhileshwaran used to
see many patients going through the
painful process of radiation therapy
despite knowing that they wont
live.
This motivated him to study palliative care a holistic approach to
caring for patients going through the
last stages of their lives in the
UK. After coming back to India, he
realized that his skills were not used
properly. Passionate about palliative
care, Akhileswaran, 55, left his job
in India and joined HCA, the largest
home palliative care provider in
Dr R Akhileshwaran
Singapore, as its medical director in

2001. He assumed the position of
CEO in 2007.
Akhileshwaran, who studied at
Osmania University, was instrumental in turning HCA around, financially salvaging it from the verge of
closure. He feels that a person who
is about to die want to spend his
remaining days with his relatives,
but on the other hand the family
members keep him in hospital and
spend a lot of money on him despite
knowing that this won't help the

patient.
"The option of palliative care,
which would have improved the
quality of the remaining life and
reduced suffering, is often ignored.
Families end up trying to fight the
illness instead," he said.
According to him, the families,
with some training, could learn to
look after their dying relatives
themselves.
Hospice care aims to meet all
needs physical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual so as to
alleviate suffering and maximize
quality of life for patients and their
loved ones. "Home hospice care
service is free because we don't
want to burden the family who is
going through such an emotional
trauma and may be running out of
money because of medical expenses," he said, adding that the service
is available 24X7.
SUBCONTINENT
21
Satyarthi, Malala dedicate Peace Nobel to the voiceless

Oslo: India's child rights crusader Kailash
Satyarthi and Pakistani girls' education
activist Malala Yousafzai received the
Nobel Peace Prize, dedidating the prizeto
the voiceless.
"A conscience exists in the world that
extends beyond all boundaries. It says that
children have the right to childhood, that
children should go to school and not be
forced to work. They should not start their
lives as slaves of others. This world's conscience can nd no better expression than
through Kailash Satyarthi and Malala
Yousafzai," Thorbjorn Jagland, head of the
Nobel Committee, said while addressing
the award ceremony in Oslo City Hall 1.
"Satyarthi believes child labour can be
eradicated in his own lifetime. Every one
here shares his hope."
"Nothing should be further from Islam
than shooting at a young girl whose only
demand was to go to school. Malala's
vision was clear from the start, girls have a
self-evident right to education," he added.
Satyarthi and Malala each were presented
with a diploma and a medal.
Satyarthi said his life's aim was to make
sure that every child was a free child.
"My only aim in life is to make sure that
every child is a free child. I refuse to accept
that all the temples, mosques, churches and
prayer houses have no place for the dreams
of our children," he said in his acceptance
speech.
Child rights crusader Kailash Satyarthi and girls' education

activist Malala Yousafzai at the Nobel ceremony.
Satyarthi has worked for child rights for

over 30 years through the Bachpan Bachao
Andolan, an NGO which is credited with
freeing over 80,000 children from bonded
labour across India.
"I have seen gods in the smiles of kids I
have rescued, I represent the sounds of

silence, the voices of innocence," he said.
"In the pursuit of global progress, not a
single person should be left out in any corner of the world. Let us work together for
the good of the whole world. I represent
millions of children who are left behind."

The champion of child rights added that
he represented "the sound of silence. The
cry of innocence. And, the face of invisibility" at the prestigious prize ceremony.
"I have come here to share the voices and
dreams of our children, our children,
because they are all our children."
"You and I live in the age of rapid globalisation. We are connected through highspeed Internet. We exchange goods and
services in a single global market. Each
day, thousands of ights connect us to
every corner of the globe.
"But there is one serious disconnect. It is
the lack of compassion. Let us inculcate
and transform the individuals compassion
into a global movement. Let us globalise
compassion. Not passive compassion, but
transformative compassion that leads to justice, equality, and freedom," Satyarthi said.
Malala said she was glad she received the
Nobel Peace Prize together with Satyarthi
because it showed the world that an Indian
and a Pakistani could work together for
children's rights.
"I am also honored to receive this award
together with Kailash Satyarthi, who has
been a champion of children's rights for a
long time... I am also glad that we can stand
together and show the world that an Indian
and a Pakistani can be united in peace and
together work for children's rights," said
Malala in her acceptance speech.
Talks with PTI would resolve US embassy warns of anti-American protests in Pak
crisis: Pak minister
Pakistan
Tehreek-eInsaf
(PTI) chief
Imran Khan
Islamabad: Pakistan Planning

and Development Minister
Ahsan Iqbal said the political
crisis in the country would only
be resolved through talks with
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
He said the talks were suspended on PTI's unreasonable
demand for the prime minister's
resignation and now since the
party has withdrawn its demand,
progress in negotiations could
be expected, Radio Pakistan
reported. Ahsan Iqbal, who
would accompany Finance
Minister Ishaq Dar in the dialogue with the PTI, which is led
by cricketer-turned-politician
Imran Khan, said the govern-
ment desires to reach a breakthrough in the political impasse

as early as possible.
He urged the PTI leadership to
demonstrate seriousness to
resolve the issue so that the
country could move forward on
the path of progress and prosperity.
Ahsan Iqbal also expressed
regret over the violent clashes
which took place in Faisalabad
Monday, resulting in the death
of two activists.
PTI had agreed to resume
talks with the government.
However, party spokesperson
Shireen Mazar said PTI would
not accept "conditional talks".
Islamabad: The US embassy in

Islamabad has warned American
nationals in Pakistan against possible anti-American protests after a
US Senate committee's report called
the CIA interrogation of Al Qaeda
suspects "brutal".
The report said CIA repeatedly
misled the public, Congress and the
White House about its aggressive
questioning and torture on detainees
after the Sep 11, 2001, attacks on
the US.
"US citizens in Pakistan should be
aware that the release of declassied
versions of the executive summary,
ndings, and conclusions of the
Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence's study on the CIA's
Rendition,
Detention
and
Interrogation programme could
prompt anti-US protests and violence against US interests, including
private US citizens," the US

embassy said. "American citizens
should pay attention to their surroundings and take appropriate safety precautions, including avoiding
demonstrations or confrontational
situations," Xinhua quoted the
embassy as saying in a statement.
It advised the Americans to monitor the situation via local media and
the embassy's website, stay clear of
all known demonstrations, keep a
low prole, avoid large gatherings,
and monitor the embassy website
for updates.
"The US embassy in Pakistan
urges American citizens to vary
their times and routes when traveling anywhere in Pakistan, and to
avoid traveling to such locations
that would allow other persons to
predict when and where they will
be." Depending on ongoing security
assessments, and as part of routine

operational security measures, the
US mission occasionally places
areas such as hotels, markets, airports, or restaurants off limits to
ofcial personnel, the statement
said. The CIA downplayed the brutality of the interrogations and exaggerated the usefulness of the information it gathered, including its role
in setting in motion the US raid that
killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden, said the Senate Intelligence
Committee report.
The 6,000-page report also found
that the "Enhanced Interrogation
Techniques" programme escaped
effective scrutiny by outsiders long
after its inception in 2002, with CIA
records showing that President
George W. Bush was never fully
briefed by the agency on torturous
interrogation techniques until 2006.
Sri Lanka has changed attitude on fishermen: India

New Delhi: Sri Lanka has changed
its attitude towards Indian shermen
straying into its territorial waters,
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj said. Sri Lankas attitude
has changed, and this has also led to
a change in our tone and tenor in
dealing with them, she said in
response to a calling attention
motion on the issue. The matter was
raised by members of the AIADMK.
The minister said the Indian government had appealed at the highest
levels in Sri Lanka to commute the

death sentences of ve Indian shermen who had been sentenced to
death. This is a case from 2011
when (the BJP-led) NDA was not in
power. We saved them and got them
back, she said. Sushma Swaraj said
the since Narendra Modi became
the prime minister in May, incidents
involving Tamil Nadu shermen in
the sea dividing India and Sri Lanka
had been resolved within three to
seven days. Five Indian shermen
sentenced to death in Sri Lanka for

alleged drug trafcking were
released Nov 19 after President
Mahinda Rajapaksa commuted their
death penalty. India had led an
appeal in the Supreme Court of Sri
Lanka against the death sentence.
Rajapaksa and Modi spoke on telephone on the issue. Sushma Swaraj
said: We are aiming to have a
national identication system to
track shermen through transponders attached to their ships.
22
INTERNATIONAL
US examines its conscience after CIA torture report

Washington: The fact that the US
tortured suspected terrorists for
years after 9/11 is not news.
However, controversial details of a
Senate report has compelled the
nation to undertake the difficult
task of examining its conscience.
"There's controversy in terms of
the details, but what's not controversial is the fact that we did some
things that violated who we are as
a people," US President Barack
Obama said in an interview with
Telemundo and Univision television stations, after the details of
the report were made public this
week.
The document, which analyses
controversial interrogation methods on suspected terrorists for
eight years after 9/11, concludes
that the US Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) resorted to more
brutal torture methods than it had
admitted to.
Simulated suffocation, baths in
A scathing Senate report slammed the Central Intelligence

Agency (CIA) for its "brutal" interrogations of terrorist detainees.
frozen water, sleep deprivation for

over a week, rectal feeding and
hydration, and death threats and
abuses were among the cruel practices that were revealed publicly
Tuesday.
"This is not how Americans
should behave. Ever," wrote The
Washington Post in its editorial
titled "The horrors in America's
'dungeon' should never have happened".

"Torture is wrong, whether or
not it has ever 'worked'. As an
Obama administration official said
Tuesday, 'The reason we prohibited these techniques is because they
are contrary to our values'," it
added. The Republicans, who are
now in the opposition, and key
members of the George W. Bush
administration, including the former president himself, criticised
the report and defended the CIA's
methods, claiming that they helped
prevent terrorist attacks and saved
lives. "We're fortunate to have men
and women who work hard at the
CIA serving on our behalf. These
are patriots and whatever the
report says, if it diminishes their
contributions to our country, it is
way off base," Bush said before
the report was published. On the
other hand are those who argue
there can be no justification for
torture.
"That some of these detainees
were highly dangerous men does
not excuse subjecting them to illegal treatment that brought shame
on the United States and served as
a recruiting tool for terrorist
groups," lamented The New York
Times in its editorial.
The Republicans acted "as
though it is the reporting of the
torture and not the torture itself
that is bad for the country", it
added.
Besides the debate regarding the
legitimacy and effectiveness of the
controversial methods highlighted
in the report, it has also opened the
risk of igniting more anger against
the US in many parts of the world.
"No nation is perfect. But one of
the strengths that makes America
exceptional is our willingness to
openly confront our past, face our
imperfections, make changes and
do better," Obama said.
15,000 from various countries joined jihadi groups: Interpol

Maspalomas (Spain): Nearly
15,000 people from various countries have enlisted in one of the jihadi groups involved in the conflicts in
Syria and Iraq, according to Interpol
figures.
That estimate was made public in
the meeting of senior police officers
from more than 35 countries held in
the Spanish town of Maspalomas,
on the Atlantic island of Gran
Canaria.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
Kerry asks Congress to reduce

restrictions for anti-IS campaign
Washington: US Secretary of
State John Kerry has asked
Congress to reduce restrictions
on fighting the Islamic State (IS)
radical
group,
allowing
American troops to engage in
combat in the future and possibly expand the current campaign
outside Syria and Iraq.
Speaking to the Senate, Kerry
said that the Obama administration needed flexibility in a campaign that could last for years
and which is unpredictable.
The president has applied the
Authorization for the Use of
Military Force (AUMF) of 2001
to carry out 1,100 attacks against
the IS so far, and another such
measure from 2002 for operations in Iraq which his predecessor used against terrorists
abroad.
Both authorizations were put
into place following the Sep 11,
2001, terrorist attacks on the US.
The chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee,
Sen. Robert Menendez, said he
was not comfortable with the
government using these two
measures as the current circumstances are completely different.
President Barak Obama asked
Congress in November to adapt
the 2001 AUMF to the on-going
IS campaign which includes
airstrikes, ground forces training
and weapons supplies for local
allies fighting the IS. Kerry also
urged the legislators to vote soon
on a bipartisan authorization that
would strengthen the US offensive.
Police begin
clearing Hong
Kong protest site
Hong Kong: Hong Kong police
has began clearing tents, barricades and improvised shelters
from the downtown Admiralty district after giving an ultimatum to
pro-democracy protesters occupying the area to disperse.
Using loudspeakers, the officers
repeatedly asked the protesters
who have occupied the area for
two months to maintain calm, otherwise force would be used against
them and arrests made if necessary. While maintenance personnel
dismantled and removed barricades, police began to advance
towards the main protest site from
both sides of Hardcourt Road, the
street with the most number of
tents put up by the protesters.
Hundreds of people, however,
remained at the protest site despite
the government's announced determination to clean up the
Admiralty, Hong Kong's main
financial and government office
district, where the "Umbrella
Revolution" first began in late
September.
Experts belonging to three international police organizations met to

discuss the challenges involved in
the search and capture of jihadi
combatants.
Interpol's Deputy Director
General for Counter-Terrorism Juan
Francisco Heras said 800 jihadi
fighters have been identified by
Interpol, although he estimated the
actual number of jihadis operating
in the region to be much higher,
around 15,000 members.

In fact, it is believed that 1,000
Islamic State (IS) recruits originate
from France alone, in addition to
about 500 Britons, 250 Australians
and 200-250 Germans, according to
Heras.
It is also believed that at least 39
Spaniards have been recruited by
jihadi groups, according to figures
provided by Interpol and Spanish
police.
Russian to give back Watson's

auctioned Nobel medal
The medal, awarded in 1962 for the discovery of the structure of DNA, sold for $4.8 million at auction.
Moscow: Russia's richest man has

revealed that he bought US scientist James Watson's Nobel Prize
gold medal, and intends to return
it to him. Steel and telecoms
tycoon Alisher Usmanov said Mr
Watson "deserved" the medal, and
that he was "distressed" the scientist had felt forced to sell it.
The medal, awarded in 1962 for
the discovery of the structure of
DNA, sold for $4.8 million at
auction.
The medal was the first Nobel
Prize to be put on sale by a living
recipient.
The 1962 prize was awarded to
Watson, along with Maurice
Wilkins and Francis Crick, with
each receiving a gold medal.
Watson, 86, has said he planned
to donate part of the proceeds to
charities and to support scientific
research.
BUSINESS
Moody's projects GDP growth between 5-6 percent in 2015

New Delhi: India's gross domestic
product (GDP) is estimated to
grow next year in the range of 5-6
percent on the back of stronger
domestic demand, ratings agency
Moody's has said.
"India will have stronger GDP
growth in 2015, which we forecast
at 5-6 percent, up from around 5
percent in 2014," Moody's said in
their report titled 2015 Outlook Global Credit Conditions.
The American agency said the
country has benefited from a
strong domestic demand base and
diversified export markets that
cushion it from the effects of a
slowing Chinese economy and
sluggish growth in Europe and
Japan.
"Employment and consumption
are likely to rise in India, and the
fall in global commodity prices
will help to lower high inflation in
the country," it added.
Growth in the earlier two consecutive fiscals has fallen below
the 5 percent level.
Moody's also said its outlook on
the banking system remains nega-
Growth in the earlier two consecutive fiscals has

fallen below the 5 percent level.
tive as it expects poor asset quality

to require continued provisioning
and strengthened capital buffers.
"Our outlook for the Indian
banking system remains negative,
reflecting high leverage in the corporate sector that will inhibit any
meaningful recovery in asset quality, notwithstanding a moderate
Modi, Mukesh Ambani

top Yahoo India's
2014 search list
New Delhi: Online Indians were
most fascinated in 2014 by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's reforms
and his style, Yahoo India said in its
2014 Year in Review (YIR) report
here. Reliance Industries chairman
Mukesh Ambani led the list of
finance newsmakers. The report said
Modi led the political top 10 list.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Amit
Shah and Arun Jaitley also featured
in the list.
"The slew of reforms and Modi's
efforts to improve diplomatic ties
were of ongoing interest to Yahoo
users. 'Make in India', the three
magic words that constitute Modi's
mantra while abroad, made it to the
top of the list of Biggest Financial
Events of the year," the report said.
The YIR was based on users' daily
search habits and an editorial selection of what they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo in
India.
Mukesh Ambani led the list of
YIR's 2014 Finance Newsmakers.
rebound in economic growth," the

report said.
The percentage of gross nonperforming assets (GNPAs) for the
banking sector is expected to
worsen from 3.9 percent of
advances in fiscal 2013-14 to
about 4-4.2 percent in 2014-15,
ICRA has said in a report earlier.
23
Most CMs back Modi on

replacing planning commission
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's call for replacing
the Planning Commission with a
suitable institution found support
from "most" chief ministers, but
those from Congress-ruled states
and West Bengal wanted any
changes should be made within
the existing framework.
The meeting held at the Prime
Minister's official 7, Race Course
Residence, was followed by a
first-of-its-kind "retreat" where
the chief ministers discussed innovative practices. West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
skipped the meeting.
In his opening remarks, Modi
said states should have key role in
the new body that replaces the
commission and there should be
an effective mechanism to address
inter-state disputes.
He said relevance of the poll
panel has been repeatedly questioned for more than two decades
and policy planning should be
"bottom to top" instead of the
other way round. "Can we develop

a new mechanism, that plans
according to India's strengths,
empowers states, and brings on
board all economic activity,
including that which happens outside the government," he asked.
Modi said his predecessor
Manmohan Singh, in his remarks
at a meeting of plan panel earlier
this year, had noted that the body
has "no futuristic vision in postreform period".
On the final decision of the government, Jaitley said a considered
view will be taken after consultations are over but he did not specify a time frame.
Action on home turf adds to Uber's worldwide woes

Washington: US-based online ride-sharing
service Uber, in the eye of a storm over the
rape of a passenger in New Delhi by one of its
commissioned drivers, ran into more trouble
worldwide besides its home turf.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles and in San
Francisco said they were filing a suit against
the San Francisco based service, alleging
false and misleading statements to consumers,
according to USA Today. At the same time,
the prosecutors said they had reached a settlement with Uber's rival service, Lyft, in a consumer protection action. Lyft agreed to pay
$500,000 in civil penalties.
San Francisco District Attorney George
Gascn and Los Angeles County District
Attorney Jackie Lacey jointly announced the
actions in San Francisco. "Uber continues to
put consumers at risk by misleading the public about the background checks of its drivers
and its unwillingness to ensure that correct
fares are charged," Lacey was quoted as saying.
Portland, Oregon's largest city Monday
filed a lawsuit Monday to shut down Uber
there just days after the launch of its low-cost
UberX service in defiance of city officials.
The lawsuit, filed in the Oregon Circuit
Court, claims Uber is operating in violation of
Portland city regulations and asks the court to
order Uber stop operations, CNet reported.
Ride-sharing apps have been hit with cease-
Prosecutors in Los Angeles and in San Francisco said they were

filing a suit against the San Francisco based service.
and-desist orders in Pennsylvania and

Virginia, and resistance to Uber and Lyft has
also heated up in New York, San Francisco,
Chicago, Washington, DC, Denver, Miami
and Los Angeles, it said.
Meanwhile, according to the New York
Times, Spain and Thailand ordered the ridesharing service to cease operations.
In Madrid, a commercial court judge sided
with a taxi association complaint, while in

Bangkok, Thai transport authorities ordered
Uber to shut down after finding that its drivers lacked the registration and insurance
needed to operate commercial vehicles.
Also, a Dutch appeals court upheld that
Uber drivers who transport passengers without a taxi license are violating Dutch law, the
Times said.
24
SPORTS
Kohli leads India in first Test against Australia

Adelaide: Skipper Virat Kohli lead India's
batting charge with a superb knock of 115
runs as India ended day three on 369/5, in
reply to Australia's 517/7 declared, in the
first Test of the four-match series here at
the Adelaide Oval.
Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Murali Vijay
(53) and Ajinkya Rahane (62) made solid
half-centuries to keep the Indian team in
the contest who still trail the hosts by 148
runs. Rohit Sharma and wicket-keeper
Wriddhiman were at the crease, batting on
33 and 1 respectively at stumps.
India reached 119 for two wickets till
lunch on the third day after Australia
declared their first innings at the score of
517 for seven wickets in the first of the
four-match Test series at the Adelaide
Ocal.
India lost openers Shikhar Dhawan (25)
while Murali Vijay (53) while Cheteshwar
Pujara (unbeaten 34) and Virat Kohli
(unbeaten 3) were at the crease till lunch
as the host decided to make full use of the
early morning conditions by having a
crack at the young Indian batting line-up.
Indian openers started cautiously. They
showed a lot of patience and did not score
in the first two overs bowled by pacers
Mitchell Johns on and Ryan Harris.
Left-hand batsman Dhawan started the
calculated onslaught in the third over,
spanking left-arm pacer Johnson for three
boundaries through leg side and followed
it up with another cracking cut in the his
next over.
Vijay was watchful and defended solidly
against the testing line and length persisted by right-arm pacer Harris. He took 19
Hughes horror
evoked as bouncer
hits Kohli
Skipper Virat Kohli made 115.
deliveries to scored his first run with a

punch through mid-off that fetched him
three. Harris was the better of the two
bowlers with Johnson's ploy of bowling
full did not work.
However, Dhawan lost his wicket, dragging a Harris delivery on to his stumps as
he tried to drive a ball on the up with his
front foot not in perfect position. Harris
was the better of the two bowlers with
Johnson's ploy of bowling full did not
work.
As new batsman Pujara walked in, the
team scoreboard read 30 for one in 7.4
overs. The Saurashtra batsman took time
SC allows BCCI to put off

elections till Jan 31
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has
allowed the Indian cricket board to
postpone its Annual General Meeting
(AGM) and elections till Jan 31,
2015, as it was still hearing the plea
into the allegations of conflict of
interest and betting involving board
president N. Srinivasan and his sonin-law Gurunath Meiyapan.
An apex court bench of Justice T.S
Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed
Ibrahim Kalifulla allowed the postponement of the AGM and the election of the office-bearers saying that
it was in the process of hearing the
matter which will take some more The Supreme Court is still hearing the plea into
time.
the allegations of conflict of interest and bet"Thus we direct that the holding of ting involving board president N. Srinivasan
the AGM and the election of office
and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyapan.
bearers stands postponed till January
end, 2015," the court said. The holding of the chief, told the court that if he is re-elected, he
AGM and the election of the office bears would stay away from the Indian Premier
including BCCI president was slated to be League (IPL) governing council meeting or
any meeting of the board relating to IPL till a
held Dec 17.
The court passed the order on the plea of the proposed committee decides on the larger
board which said that under its rules it could question of conflict of interest in the affairs of
postpone the holding of the AGM and the cricketing body including his role as the
election of the office bearers till December board chief and the owner of CSK.
Srinivasan is the vice-chairman and the
31, 2014, and beyond that it would require the
managing director of India Cement Limited
order of the court.
Earlier, N. Srinivasan, the board's sidelined that owns CSK.
to settle and judged the pace and bounce

well before getting on to his business. He
scored regular boundaries through the leg
side as Johnson and Peter Siddle bowled
full. On the other hand, Vijay shifted his
gear in the 17th over bowled with two
consecutive fours - one a brilliant drive
through cover -other a beautiful flick
through mid-wicket.
He made good use of his feet when spinner Nathon Lyon came on to bowl, milking him for a six over mid-on and a four
with a backfoot punch through the extra
cover. He followed it up by dancing down
the track and hitting it over the offie's
Adelaide: With memories of the late batsman Phillip Hughes still fresh, the
Australian team rushed to the aid of Indian
captain Virat Kohli after he was hit by a
bouncer on the helmet during third day of
the first Test match between India and
Australia at the Adelaide Oval here.
Taking guard after the dismissal of opener Murali Vijay, Kohli was hit on the helmet by a Mitchell Johnson delivery. The
close-in Australian fielders rushed in to
check the condition of the Indian batsman
with a nervous-looking Johnson rushing in
the aid of the Indian skipper.
Among the first to move in was wicketkeeper Brad Haddin along with Shane
Watson, David Warner as Kohli removed
his helmet to inspect the damage.
Kohli was, however, unharmed by the
blow. Australia captain Clarke also walked
in to check on the Indian No.4 and later
rubbed Johnson's hair and placed his hands
on the nervous quick's shoulders as he
slowly walked back to his mark.
head. Australia skipper Michael Clarke
brought in Johnson and the bowler delivered by taking the wicket of Vijay, who
guided a full delivery that shaped away
from him to the wicketkeeper Brad
Haddin.
Champions Trophy: Buoyant India

ready to face Belgium
Bhubaneswar: Having registered a confidence-building victory over the Netherlands in their
final pool assignment, India will
be eyeing a smooth passage into
the semi-finals when they take on
Belgium in the last eight stage of
the hockey Champions Trophy
here.
The 3-2 victory over world cup
silver medalists Netherlands at
the Kalinga stadium Tuesday, the
first in 18 years, boosted the
morale of the Indian team which
had faltered in their first two
Pool B matches, losing 0-1
against Olympic champions
Germany and 2-4 against World Cup bronze
medalists Argentina.
The hosts showed tremendous resilience
and self-belief to win against the Dutch but
finished an unimpressive third in the group.
Indian coach Roelant Oltmans called upon
the team to display the same spirit and verve
they displayed against the Dutch.
"Top eight teams of the world are playing
in the Champions Trophy. Every match
gives you a new challenge. We have to
prove ourselves. The Netherlands match
was a close contest match and I hope our
players will play with the same spirit with

Belgium in the quarters," Oltmans said.
Belgium finished second in Pool A,
unbeaten behind England, with five points
from three matches.
"We have plan and strategies for every
match and we will also plan for Belgium.
We want to perform well in every single
game," Oltmans said.
Indian captain Sardar Singh said, "The
team is day-by-day improving. We will try
to play our best against Belgium and continue our performance.
LIFESTYLE
Smartphone use can

ruin your leisure
New York: Instead of entertainment, too much smartphone use
can actually lead to leisure distress, feeling uptight, stressed and
anxious during free time, new
research has found.
An increased level of smartphone use is linked with a diminished experience of daily leisure,
the findings showed.
"Being constantly connected to
your phone is not likely to
enhance your experience of
leisure," said Jian Li from Kent State
University in Ohio, the US.
"On the other hand, disconnecting for
short period of time in order to seek more
challenging leisure opportunities is likely
to be beneficial," Li added.
The researchers from the Kent State
University surveyed a random sample of
454 college students to examine how different types of cell phone users experience daily leisure.
An analysis revealed three distinct
types of cell phone users: low-use extroverts, low-use introverts and a high-use
group.
The high-use group averaged over 10
hours of cell phone use per day.

"The high-frequency cell phone user
may not have the leisure skills necessary
to creatively fill their free time with
intrinsically rewarding activities,"
researcher Andrew Lepp explained.
"For such people, the ever-present
smartphone may provide an easy, but less
satisfying and more stressful, means of
filling their time," Lepp added.
In comparison to the other two groups,
the high-frequency cell phone users
experienced significantly more leisure
distress, the researchers noted.
The study appeared in the journal
Computers in Human Behavior.
25
Punishment not the cure

for kids who lie
Toronto: If you want your kids to speak the
truth, it is best not to threaten to punish them if
they lie.
In an experiment involving 372 children aged
between four and eight, researchers found that
children were less likely to tell the truth if they
were afraid of being punished than if they were
asked to tell the truth either because it would
please the adult or because it was the right thing
to do and would also make the child feel good.
"The bottom line is that punishment does not
promote truth-telling," said lead researcher
Victoria Talwar from McGill University's department of educational and counselling psychology.
"In fact, the threat of punishment can have the
reverse effect by reducing the likelihood that
children will tell the truth when encouraged to do
so," Talwar added.
During the study, the team left each child alone
in a room for one minute with a toy behind them
on a table, having told the child not to peek during their absence.
While they were out of the room, a hidden
video camera filmed what went on.
When the researchers returned, they asked the
children whether they had turned to look back at
the toy.
Nearly 68 percent of the children took a peek.
For every 1-month increase in age, children
became slightly less likely to do so. When the
children were asked whether or not they had

looked back, nearly 67 percent of them lied.
The researchers found that while younger children were more focused on telling the truth to
please the adults, the older children had better
internalized standards of behavior which made
them tell the truth because it was the right thing
to do.
"This is useful information for all parents of
young children and for the professionals like
teachers who work with them and want to
encourage young children to be honest," Talwar
said.
The study appeared in the Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology.
Now clothes that Sleep loss can damage body cells

monitor your health
New York: Sleep deprivation causes damage to cells, especially in
the liver, lung, and small intestine,
says a study, adding that sleep
recovery following deprivation
heals the damage.
The findings suggest that sleep
abnormalities are risk factors for
cardiovascular disease and cancer.
"The study culminates years of
work and provides physical evidence that sleep deprivation injures
cells and that sleep recovery
restores the balance between,
among other parameters, DNA
damage and repair," said lead
author Carol Everson, professor at
Medical College of Wisconsin in
the US.
"This is important because specific physical underpinnings that
pose disease risk from sleep defi-
New York: Your jacket could

soon be monitoring what is
going on inside your heart and
brain and send the critical
information to your doctor for a
quick analysis.
Researchers at Universite
Laval in Canada have created
smart textiles that can monitor
and transmit their wearers' biomedical information through
wireless or cellphone networks.
The team created the smart
fabric by sandwiching multiple
layers of copper, polymers,
glass and silver.
"The fiber acts as both sensor
and antenna. It is durable but
malleable and can be woven
with wool or cotton. The signal
quality is comparable to commercial antennas," said Younes

Messaddeq from Universite
Laval.
The surface of the fiber can
be tuned to monitor information such as glucose levels,
heart rhythm, brain activity,
movements and spatial coordinates.
The fabric could help people
suffering from chronic diseases, elderly people living
alone, and even firemen and
police officers.
"The technology will have to
be connected to a wireless network and there is the issue of
power supply to be solved,"
said Messaddeq.
ciency have been elusive and are

now becoming identified," Everson
added. The study appeared in the

journal Sleep.
Clear sense of self-worth keeps mental disorders at bay

New York: Researchers from the
University of California - Berkeley
in the US have linked inflated or
deflated feelings of self-worth to
afflictions such as bipolar disorder,
narcissistic personality disorder,
anxiety and depression.
In a study of more than 600
young men and women, the team
found that one's perceived social
status - or lack thereof - is at the
heart of a wide range of mental illnesses. "People prone to depression or anxiety reported feeling little sense of pride in their accomplishments and little sense of
power," said senior author Sheri

Johnson, a UC psychologist.
In contrast, people at risk for
mania tended to report high levels
of pride and an emphasis on the
pursuit of power despite interpersonal costs,' she added.
Previous studies have established
that feelings of powerlessness and
helplessness weaken the immune
system, making one more vulnerable to physical and mental ailments. Conversely, an inflated
sense of power is among behavior
associated with bipolar disorder
and narcissistic personality disor-
der. Recent studies have found that

people living in developed countries with the highest levels of
income inequality were three times
more likely to develop depression
or anxiety disorders than their
more egalitarian counterparts.
The findings make a strong case
for assessing traits like "ruthless
ambition", "discomfort with leadership" and "hubristic pride" to
understand psychopathologies.
The paper was published in the
journal
Psychology
and
Psychotherapy: Theory, Research
and Practice.
26
TOP TECH OF 2014
Top 5 Gadgets & Tech News

Mars Rovers Selfie
be available in many markets around the world.

In this, if a bit of pressure is applied the screen bends a
bit. It is also a self-healing phone. That is, the phone is
equipped with a self-healing back panel which repairs and
heals itself even if there are some tiny scratches or cuts on
the back side of the device. The display screen is of 6 inches
with 720p resolution and it forms a vertical curve when
bent slightly by applying some force.
LG G Flex runs on Jellybean version of Android and with
other specifications like a processor of 2.2 GHz Quad-core
Snapdragon 800. The camera is 13 megapixel as the device
is powered by a battery of 3500mAh.
Panano Panoramic Camera
10. 2048 Puzzle Game
Top 10 Paid Mobile

Apps
NASAs Mars Curiosity rover took an out-of-this-world

image on June 24 to mark a full Martian year, which is 687
days on Earth. It had a productive year, between collecting
rock samples and discovering a former lakebed that NASA
says had essential elemental ingredients for life. But no
word on how close it is to finding living organisms capable
of taking selfies.
Instagram users top Twitters

An amazing and so interesting device for capturing
images. The mechanism is that when you throw the Panano
up in the air, it captures impressive images from up there
and that too at 350 degrees. By the time it makes its way
back in your hands, the images are all clicked. An awesome
feature is its ability to take the most fascinating panoramic
images. This comes with a price tag of 549 Euro.
LG Home Chat
Just four years old, photo-sharing service Instagram now
has more than 300 million monthly active users. That puts it
ahead of Twitter, which has 284 million monthly active
users, and it could soon rival LinkedIn, which has 330-plus
million registered members.
Instagram, the mobile app, is now growing by more than
70 million shared photos and videos every day, said
Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom in a blog post announcing
the latest user figures.
Instagram was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion in
April 2012. Its users have now shared more than 30 billion
photos with one another.
LG Flex smartphone
1. Heads Up!
2. Minecraft - Pocket Edition
3. Afterlight
4. Plague Inc.
5. Sleep Style alarm clock
6. Facetune
7. Cut the Rope 2
8. Bloons TD 5
9. A Dark Room
10. 7 Minute Workout Challenge
Top 10 Most Searched

On Google 2014
Dying for a beer in the comfort of your own home but
can't remember if there's any left in the fridge? No worries use LG Home Chat to text your fridge to check for you. You
can also text your washing machine to start a load whilst
you're out and about, or tell your robotic vacuum cleaner to
start tidying up. Truly the next generation of home appliances.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Facebook
YouTube
Google
Yahoo
iPhone 5s
Book Summaries
7. Sports
The answer to life, the Universe
What is Love
Paul Walker
Top 10 Free Apps
LG launched a curved screen smart phone with a price tag

of $1000 (approx). It is the most expensive smart phones to
These are the 10 most downloaded free mobile Apps.

1. Facebook Messenger
2. Snapchat
3. YouTube
4. Facebook
5. Instagram
6. Pandora Radio
7. Google Maps
8. Flipagram
9. Spotify Music
Paul
Walker
SELF HELP
27
Delight the five senses this holiday season
Are you a smart traveler?
o create a memorable holiday experience this year, turn your gifts, celebrations and home dcor into a festive feast for the five senses.
Beautiful Sights
One sure sign that the holiday season has
arrived at your home is when all the festive
lights, dcor and colors are on display. Trim
your tree with DIY ornaments for a personal touch and add a wreath to your homes
entryway, so that visitors immediately feel
welcomed before they even step inside.
Using scented candles in a variety of
styles and sizes, you can create an intriguing and creative tablescape or mantlescape.
Simply swap out smaller accessories to
make the decorations last throughout the
winter season. One easy option is to try an
electric wax melt warmer, which can be
used with a variety of different fragrances
and warmer styles and has no wick or
flame.
Seasonal Sounds
Fill your home with joyful holiday
sounds. Luckily there are a variety of genres within the holiday music category.
Whether you and your guests prefer contemporary pop, jazzy classics or choral
hymns, there is something to please listen-
hether venturing around the world

or road-tripping across your home
state, traveling smart can help you
get the most out of your vacation without
over-spending. Nine out of 10 Americans
think they are smart travelers, according to a
Bank of America survey, but only 54 percent
are planning their vacations in advance and
only 38 percent use credit card rewards to
help offset costs.
Travel Channel host and expert, Samantha
Brown, has partnered with Bank of America
to offer these tips to help Americans raise
their travel and budget IQ :
Work out the details before departure. Send
your itinerary and contact information to
loved ones.
Alert your credit card company that youll
be traveling, especially when going overseas.
And check to see if they waive foreign transaction fees.
Apply for TSA pre-check to get through
airport security faster.
Follow your airline, hotel, the city youre
traveling to, and sites you plan to see on
social media. When you connect with businesses theyll send you deals directly and
give you great advice on what to do locally.
They can often prove to be a helpful
resource. she says.
ers of every sensibility.

Wonderful Aromas
The scents of the season should evoke the
feeling and spirit of the holiday from sweet
and spicy notes to a cool brush of frosted
fir. You can accomplish this with holiday
cooking and baking as well as with scented
candles.
For example, the Pure Radiance line from
Yankee Candle offers special holiday scents
such as Christmas Candy, Winter,
Cinnamon, Holly and Ice Crystal. The fra-
New trends in holiday

shopping this year
hether its a
husband buying
yoga
pants for his wife, a
daughter looking for fly
fishing supplies for her
dad, or a childless uncle
looking for gifts for
nieces and nephews,
consumers tend to stray
from their retail comfort
zones during the holiday season in pursuit of the perfect gift for
loved ones. In fact, nearly two-thirds of consumers will shop at national retailers they
dont normally visit during the holiday season, and this behavior increases the higher
the income bracket, according to recent data
from Placeable, a company that helps
national brands compete locally by building
improved local digital presences.
So how do retailers make sure one-time
shoppers find their local outlet during the
holidays and retain them as customers into
2015 and beyond?
In the information age, many retailers
are wisely relying on digital marketing
strategies to better catch a shoppers eye,
says Ari Kaufman, CEO of Placeable.
Luckily, such strategies are beneficial to
customers and retailers alike, and there are
some key trends to watch out for this shopping season.
Many consumers, particularly millennials,
turn to a retailers website first before going
to a physical store to make a purchase-- and
they are expecting that the location and
hours, as well as current discounts and promotions, will be readily accessible information. Savvy brands will make sure this information is locally accurate and precise, as
research shows that more than two-thirds of
people will lose trust

in a brand if they get
lost walking or driving to a location
because of an incorrect address listing. In
fact, 71 percent of
customers will go to a
competitor while en
route to their intended
location, according to
Placeable data.
No shopper wants to be lost at the mall,
which is more likely to happen when youre
searching for a store you wouldnt normally
visit or youre shopping while out of town,
another seasonal trend. As more brands
catch onto the importance of their crucial
information being up-to-date at the local
level, you can expect to be a better-informed
and more efficient consumer, especially during the busy holiday shopping season. These
days, online research drives many consumers purchasing decisions. As more
brands catch onto the importance of this
trend, consumers can expect that their online
searches for a particular retailer will trend
less toward an online directory listing (with
potentially obsolete information) and more
directly toward a retailers locally tailored
website. This will mean more useful, realtime information at the fingertips of consumers -- such as in-store promotions,
extended hours and other local marketing
efforts. Brands that keep up with the digital
trends and adopt data crunching tools, such
as marketing automation, will be better prepared to handle the increasing demands of
consumers looking for more targeted information in the years to come. The holiday
season is a great time to notice how these
changes affect your shopping experience.
grances and sleek design offer style and

ambiance, as well as a smooth crackling
flame for a welcoming, peaceful atmosphere.
You can also set the holiday mood traditionally with their new Festive Fragrances
line. The tumbler jar design comes in a
variety of sizes to suit any home decor.
To add to the warmth of the season,
incorporate scented candles throughout
your home and consider gifting them to
friends and family to spread the cheer.
More ideas for celebrating the season with
scent
can
be
found
at
www.YankeeCandle.com.
Festive Flavors
Certain flavors are so closely associated
with the season that it wouldnt be the same
without them. Cinnamon, mint, nutmeg and
ginger can be used to flavor drinks and
desserts. From eggnog to peppermint tea to
gingerbread cookies and houses, dont forget to give your taste buds a treat and spice
it up!
Feel the Warmth
Stay warm this holiday season. Cozy up
with thick rugs, warm blankets, pillows and
throws. A soft pair of slippers is a winter
must have, and make a great holiday gift.
Get the low down on

low down payments
ou may have heard the rule of thumb
that you shouldn't buy a home unless
you can put down 20 percent of the
purchase price. However, todays home buyers have many choices when it comes to the
size of the down payment.
While this magic number of 20 % will save
you from paying Private Mortgage Insurance
(PMI), an added insurance policy that protects the lender if you are unable to pay your
mortgage, you can pay considerably less than
this if you want. Today's consumers persistently overestimate the size of a down payment they need to finance a home, says
Christina Boyle, SVP and Head of SingleFamily Sales & Relationship Management at
Freddie Mac. According to the results of a
recent survey conducted by Zelman &
Associates, 39 % of those surveyed estimated
that the minimum down payment requirement
for a home is at least 15 percent of the purchase price.
The reality is quite different however, as
qualified buyers can get a conventional mortgage with a down payment of as little as three
percent. In fact, recent statistics show more
than one in five borrowers who took out conventional mortgages in 2014 put down 10 %
or less.
Educating potential
homeowners on the rules
of down payments and
available assistance programs plays a large role
in getting qualified borrowers off the sidelines
and into homeownership,
according to Boyle, who
also notes that today's historically low mortgage
rates, coupled with affordable home prices in many
parts of the country, make
Qualified
borrowers can get
conventional mortgage
with a down payment of
it an attractive
as little as 3%.
time to consider
buying.
If putting 20 % down
will deplete all of your savings and leave you
with no financial cushion, it's probably not in
your best interest, she says.
If you dont put down 20 percent, the cost
of PMI varies based on your loan-to-value
ratio the amount you owe on your mortgage
compared to its value and credit score, but
you can expect to pay between $30 and $70
per month for every $100,000 borrowed.
While its no doubt an added cost, it enables
buyers to purchase now and begin building
equity versus waiting five to 10 years to build
enough savings for a larger down payment.
Additionally, once you've built equity of 20
percent in your home, you can cancel your
PMI and remove that added expense from
your monthly payment.
New homeownership opportunities are
poised to grow. Carefully evaluate your
finances to determine how much you can
afford and talk with your lender or housing
professional about what makes best sense for
you and your particular situation.
(StatePoint)
28
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
Cool Google trick and how not to have any regrets

ot Tip: If I ever need to cheer yourself up, I just go to Google and
type:
"Nury Vittachi is the koolist guy on urth."
Google will instantly tell you that it reckons that what was obviously meant was that
"Nury Vittachi is the coolest guy on earth."
Okay, well, if you insist, thanks, Google!
This lifts your spirits mightily, as long as
you're an easily pleased person.
(I try to limit myself to doing this only 50
or 60 times a day.)
***
But the truth is, even the most successful
people have regrets. Evidence comes in the
shape of a news report a reader sent me
about a monarch who has ruled his kingdom for 20 years but recently told his
shocked populace: "I miss being an
accountant."
King Ajibade Bakare-Agoro of Nigeria
ascended to the throne in 1993 with the
royal title Ranodu of Imota. But he misses
his old job shuffling papers in an office, he
told a stunned reporter at the Sun newspaper of Nigeria, and admitted that he sneaks
off to his former office to stare nostalgically at piles of receipts.
***
By coincidence, an interviewer asked me
a related question: What is your biggest

regret?
I told him these were my top three:
1) Not being Johnny Depp;
2) Fifty to 70 percent of the things I say
or write every week; and
3) Not being Taylor Swift's "partner for
life" this week.
***
Psychologists say that if you have a regret
involving another person, you should talk
to them as soon as possible.
True. Here's a line that works for me:
"I totally regret the things I said to you
last night. I came up with a much more
caustic list of scornful put-downs during
the night."
***
The most sure-fire cure for feeling lowspirited is to look up tattoo pictures online
and count how many people have invested

money and pain in having "no ragrets," "no
regerts" or "no regets" tattooed permanently on their bodies.
This never fails to cheer me up.
**
And, King Ajibade Bakare-Agoro, if none
of the above helps, I suggest you get some
wisdom from the Holy Scriptures:
"Regrets. I've had a few. But then again,
too few to mention."
No, wait, that's a song lyric. You can tell
because it flows nicely but means nothing.
***
This columnist canvassed regular contrib-
utors to come up with some good advice

concerning regrets in the modern era, and
they produced these three maxims.
1) Never waste time brooding over mistakes you have made. Just blame someone
else and move on.
2) If you're doing something that you
realize you will regret in the morning, make
a decision now to sleep past noon.
3) Don't dwell on your past failures, as
you'll surely make worse ones in future.
Now, if you regret wasting precious minutes of your life reading this column, don't.
It was written by the coolest guy on earth.
Google says so, or will do in a minute.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
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.
ASTROLOGY
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

ARIES: At work you are likely to win
appreciation and awards for past efforts.
Enjoying the company of close relatives
will brighten your evening. A new source of
income will generate through influential contacts. Love partner touches soul that would
take imagination to unlimited heights. Good
time to divert attention to spirituality to
enhance mental toughness. Traveling abroad
can be exciting adventure that will be remembered forever. Your investment plans are at full
boom and you might succeed in them. You are
likely to devote time to help others.
TAURUS : Your plans to organise a
musical evening for team members
might not materialise in this week.
Shopping with family members will be highly
pleasurable and exciting. Investment made in
this week would enhance prosperity and financial security. Someones timely help would
enable visualizing succeeding in love. A pleasure trip gives the much-needed tonic to health.
Finally you have found the time for your
deserving break, travel will be favourable. Your
girlfriends desire for an apartment might lead
to its destination. Sense of humour will help in
developing healthy relations with others.
GEMINI: Ineffective communication
could force to suffer professional problems. You will be at the limelight in a
social gathering provided you attend. An
improvement in financial position would
enable to make important purchases. Romantic
imagination would keep you in a jovial &
cheerful mood. Cutting down the number of
parties and pleasure jaunts would help in keeping in good mood. Adventurous holidays, the
best way to experience with your friends, time
to enjoy. Time to plan a gift for your parents
may be their dream home. Tough situations
will be handled easily with friends help.
CANCER: Timely and swift action
would give an edge over others at professional front. You will be the star of
attraction of familys get-together in this week.
You are likely to earn monetary profits through
most unexpected sources. The company of love
partner makes you forget about the work. A
beneficial week to work on things that will
improve your health. Take a trip, as there is
some place waiting for you. Its high time to
think of purchasing a new office. You are likely
to spellbind others by wit & repartee.
LEO: Colleagues and subordinates will
lend a helping hand enabling to complete the work on time. Help from family members would take care of your needs.
Investment in speculation should be made with
extreme care in this week. Sudden romantic
encounter will lift your spirits. Your confidence
and energy will be high. Great time for perfect
family vacation to an exciting destination. It
might be the right time to sale your empty plot
as property rates are at peak. You get a great
respect in friends circle.
VIRGO: Success in completing difficult assignments brings a lot of laurels
at work. You will enjoy the time spent
with family members and friends. A sudden
inflow of funds will take care of your bills and
immediate expenses. Attending a social
event/family function brings a romantic
encounter. A week when smile will perpetually
be on your face and strangers will seem familiar. Travel opportunities full of challenges are
often the beginning of great enterprises. Your
plan for a new house will be in process very
soon. Maintaining a distance from new
acquaintances would be in your interest in this
week.
LIBRA: Self-confident would enable

to convey your point of view with ease
a workplace. Your generous behaviour
would enable to enjoy some lovely moments
with family. Monetary position is likely to
improve on recovering of delayed payments.
Your physical charm would catch the attraction
of opposite sex. Your energy level will be high.
Better to channelise it in a positive direction.
You will discover travel destinations that are
unique and magical. Your loan procedures for
pursuing a plot will be in process. Perfect planning would enable to get rhythm back.
SCORPIO : Mental clarity gives a decisive edge over all competitors at professional front. Friends and family members would lend a helping hand. Investment in
antiques & jewelry brings monetary gains and
improvement in financial position. Love life
blossoms paving the way for lovely times
ahead. Positive outlook impresses those around
you besides keeping you fit & fine. A trip that
is unconventional and adventurous will be
favourable enjoy every minute of it. Investment
in hotel industry can be the right choice to be
made. You strive to make accolades a regular
feature of life.
SAGITTARIUS: Calculated risks
would enables to complete the project
on time. An auspicious week for family
functions and important ceremonies. Long
pending arrears and dues will finally be recovered. A romantic encounter is likely to add
spice to life. Charity work undertaken will
bring mental peace & comfort. An ideal holiday is that which is planned. Investment on
construction business might give fruitful
results. Devoting quality time to correct behavioural flaws would benefit.
CAPRICORN: A firm commitment
will not only enable to achieve professional targets but also to realise your
dreams. An unexpected message from a distant
relative brings happy news for the entire family. Investment concerning residence will be
profitable. Romantic partner would try innovative methods to catch your attention.
Meditation and self-realization prove beneficial. If your family loves to travel, then put
together some ideas to help you. Investing on a
ship or a cruise is an exciting venture to be
made. Success in creating well-defined and
mature set of values.
AQUARIUS: Cooperative nature
brings desired results at professional
front. Relatives are likely to give some
valuable advice regarding personal life.
Financial hassles seem to get over as someone
lends a timely helping hand. Initiatives in love
bring positive results as you catch the desired
attention. You will have ample time to do
things to improve your health. Dreaming of
travelling is good, but if possible than plan a
trip. The best ideas for investment are to on
invest on real estate business. Developing new
contacts with influential persons would help in
the long run.
PISCES: For some change of job
would bring mental satisfaction. You
receive care and affection from family
members. Promising week to invest surplus
money in real estate. Your generous attitude
would contribute much in your love life in this
week.
Sound physical health will enable to participate in outdoor activities. Take some time to
travel with your spouse for romance and seduction. Are you longing to buy a farmhouse, try
for it? You are likely to help someone in distress in this week.
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

13th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: As you are ruled by planet Uranus, you are
highly energetic, generous, focused, friendly, humble, honest, hard working and optimistic. You are endowed with the
ability to deal with various kinds of people. You should control your mood swings and stubbornness to be a better individual.
Health this year: You may suffer from stress related sickness throughout the year. Do not work overtime and take
unnecessary stress. You should see a doctor regularly to get
relieved from your health issues. Try meditation to avoid
your problems. You should also take care of the health of
you parents.
Finance this year: Financial gains will be plenty for you
this year as your past investments would pay off. You may
start few new business ventures. You may expand your business in foreign as well. Do not trust new people as they may
prove untrustworthy. Do not lend a big amount of money.
Career this year: Being a hardworking professional, you
may create wonders for your organization. You need to
learn more and look for better options. You may not get
your expected promotion or salary hike in spite of your hard
work and efficiency.
Romance this year: You may get married to your long time
partner this year. If you are already married, this year will
bring you the joy of being in a marital relationship. Do not
create any unpleasant situation at home as it may weaken
your relationship with your spouse.
Lucky month: February, May and July
14th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet Mercury
makes you dynamic, unique, smart, confident, workaholic,
knowledgeable, and highly independent. You being very social loved by your friends and you are capable of making
friends very soon. You should not become introvert and
work on your frequent mood swings.
Health this year: You need to stop your bad habits such as
smoking and consuming alcohol to remain healthy. You
should take expert advice from a doctor to avoid health related issues. You should take your medicines at time to
avoid further complicacy in your health. Take care of the
health of your spouse and parents as well.
Finance this year: Your new business alliances and partnerships will help you earn financial stability this year. You
will receive all the pending payments and money you gave
away as loans in the past. You should go for investing in real
estates and share market.
Career this year: You will find your profession hectic
enough as you have to do overtime due to the project requirements. Your confidence and determination will be at
peak so you will perform better than ever this year. You may
not like the behavior of your seniors. You need to deal
diplomatically with the unpleasant situations arising at your
workspace.
Romance this year: Your spouse will be supportive enough
throughout the year in crucial times. You can rely on your
partner for any kind of support may be financial or emotional. You should get married this year as this is the best
time for you.
Lucky month: March, June and August.
15th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: As you are influenced by your ruling planet
Venus, you are very energetic, joyful, optimistic, practical,
realistic, punctual, determined and kindhearted. Your helpful nature toward all help you earn friends and popularity
wherever you go. Your friends are quite fond of your company.
Health this year: You will remain fit and fine throughout
this year. However, the health issues of your family members may put you in immense pressure. You need to secure
the health of your family member by investing some money every year.
Finance this year: You will be in ample financial gains this
year. Your new business ventures will be successful this
year. You should go for new partnerships and businesses as
your star favors your luck this year. You may go for investments in any sector. Do not spend unnecessarily in luxury
and comfort.
Career this year: Your communications skills will be
proved instrumental in the overall improvement of your
professional career. You will be able to make enough contacts and you will get regular projects and assignments. You
may get promotions and salary hike towards the end of the
year.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a romantic relationship, this is the ideal time to go for one. You will enjoy
a pleasurable relationship with your spouse or partner.
Lucky month: December, July and November.
16th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: As your governing planet is Neptune, you are
simple, dignified, unique, charismatic, reliable, trustworthy
and confident. You have a great leadership skill and you are
very creative. You should not be pessimistic and show your
stubbornness.
Health this year: As far as your health is considered you
may go through minor health issues this year. However, regular medical checkups and proper medication will solve this
problem. You may go for Yoga and meditation classes to remain 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: With an enhanced confidence and
brushed up skills, you will become very successful professionally. You will do justice to the role assigned to you. You
may get promotion or a hike in your current salary. If you
are in creativity field, this year will bring you much more
success and recognition.
Romance this year: Your marital life would be a peaceful
one this year. Your partner will be supportive enough in
every tough situation. You should get married this year if
you have not married yet.
Lucky month: January, May and November.
17th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Your ruling planet the Saturn makes you
highly dynamic, hardworking, courageous, trustworthy, reliable, courteous and friendly. You are very much inclined
to music and literature. You should work on your impatience. You need to enhance your constructive ideas as well.
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
better results for your ailments and save your money as
well.
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 investments in real estate and stock market.
Career this year: Your professional ability and skills will
take you to new heights. You will be admired by your peers
and seniors for your high productivity. You should help others at office as it will be considered as a positive pointer
during your appraisal.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your partner or
beloved will be strengthened as day passes. You may decide
to get married this year if you are in a long term relationship.
Lucky month: February, June, August and September.
18th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9
Traits in you: Being governed by the planet Mars, you are
adventurous, sensitive, courageous, emotional, hard working, charismatic and punctual. You are full of enthusiasm
and ambitions. You should try and avoid your shyness and
stubbornness.
Health this year: Your health may remain disturbed
throughout the year because of some minor ailments. If you
do not take proper care of your health you may end up
spending a lot of money for your treatment. You should take
preventive actions to avoid health issues.
Finance this year: As far as finance is concerned, you will
be earning a lot of money. You will be assigned to new projects and those will be highly yielding for you. You will gain
enough profits from your past investments. Your improved
financial status may bring you lot of happiness and joy
later this year.
Career this year: If you are a working professional, you
may face various profession related problems this year. You
need to handle all the issues diplomatically else you may
lose your job. You may create wonder in the creativity field
if you are a writer, singer or actor.
Romance this year: This is a quite good year for women
when romance is concerned. You will enjoy a very strong
relationship with your spouse. You may decide to get married towards the end of the year.
Lucky month: March, May and October
19th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: As you are ruled by the powerful Sun, you
are dynamic, confident, intelligent, unique, daring, and
very helpful. You are the master of a strong willpower,
which helps you stay ahead of others. However, you need
t work on your nature of being introvert, careless, and
fickle-minded.
Health this year: Your health would not cause much worries for you this year. However, the health of your family
member s may require extra care. Provide your parents with
proper medication as they may fall sick often due to old age.
You may start taking a balanced diet. You should stop consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes for the betterment
of your health.
Finance this year: Your financial conditions will be very
good this year as you will be working hard to reach your
goal. Your past property dispute will get solved and it will
earn you a lot of money. If you are into business, you may
go for new ventures as those seem to be very profitable this
year.
Career this year: You need to work hard to prove yourself
in your profession. Do not take up minor issues to an escalation. Try and brush up you knowledge and skills to perform more efficiently. You may go for a job change during
the last months of the year.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse
will get filled with more romance as day progresses. You
will find enough support from your partner in every crucial
situation. If you have not married yet, this is the best time
to tie knots.
Lucky month: December, June and September.
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
The power of attention
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
soul is sent to a life in the
human body for a certain
period of time. During that
time the soul is confined in the
human form like a prison cell.
When the soul inhabits a body, the
soul is still a part of God and is
still one with God. The soul, however, is now overpowered by some
very powerful forces, such as the
mind, the body, and the outer
world, which cause the soul, over
time, to forget itself. The soul
slowly begins to identify itself
with the body and mind and world
outside. It suddenly begins to
think that it can only receive information from the outer world
through the senses. Thus, the soul
has become attuned to only one
channelthe channel of the
world.
If we think about our life as
watching a television program, we
have multiple choices as to what
to watch. Just as there are a dozen
network stations and then dozens
if not hundreds of cable stations
from which to choose, so, too,
there are many activities in this
world that we can engage in.
Now, let us take a look at the
other choices available to us. This
physical planet is not a separate
offshoot from all of creation and
God. Most religions believe that

there are higher regions of existence to which the soul goes after
it dies. Scientists and doctors have
tried to verify this by documenting
accounts of people who were
declared clinically dead but had
near-death experiences and
described something beyond this
world. The question is, where are
these realms? They are not zones
in outer space delineated by borders. All these realms exist concurrently with this one. The reason
we are not aware of them is
because they operate on a different
frequency or vibration.
The saints and mystics tell us
that we have the choice to either
stay tuned to this physical world,
or to tune into the channels of
God. God wants us to watch Gods
programming. God is available
twenty-four hours of the day, three
hundred sixty-five days a year.
choice that this is what we want to

do. The steps to do this are simple.
Step one is to stop identifying with
the body, mind, and world outside,
and identify with the soul. Step
two requires that when we identify
with our soul that we shift our
attention to the frequency of the
higher realms and ultimately to
God. That is all we must do. God
did not make it hard for us to
become aware of our true Home.
It is we who have made it complicated.
So how do we accomplish step
one and step two? To accomplish
step one, we must withdraw our
attention from our body, mind, and
the world outside. We must decide
to turn off the outer programming.
When that programming is in the
off mode, then in the silence we
will experience ourselves as soul.
That is the step that we call selfknowledge. Once we identify with
the soul, we
will be able
If we meditate accurately we will to pick up
frequencies
experience ourselves as soul.
that the soul
is capable
Once we identify with the soul,
of receivthen we will also be aware of the ing. We can
do a gradual shift in which we go

from the consciousness of one
region to consciousness of the
spiritual realms.
Once someone asked the great
saint, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji
Maharaj, how long it took to get
from here (the physical region) to
Sach Khand (the highest spiritual
region). Hazur closed his eyes,
and then opened them. He told
them, I have just been there and
back. He was showing that the
shift of attention from the physical
realm to Sach Khand could be
done in the twinkling of an eye.
Why? Because we are not going
anywhere physically. We are
merely shifting our attention from
one state of consciousness to the
other. The other state of consciousness does not exist in time
or space. They are operating concurrently. We are simultaneously
in the other realms and in God at
the same time but we are not
aware of it because our attention is
only focused on one regionthe
physical. So, for step one, the
Masters who have learned to be
attuned to the realm of God, teach
us that we can withdraw our attention from the world, the body, and
inner Light and Sound that is the

radiance and vibratory sound
of God within us.
Gods programming does not turn
off at three a.m. like some networks do. It is a free station broadcasting all the time without any
cable fees. We only need to know
how to tune into Gods station.
The hook-up to God is not hard.
It is just a matter of making the
Lifes awakening moments
life is.
Read about the life of any of the great saints and mystics
and you will find some life-transforming experience that
awakened their quest. Once these burning questions arise,
there is no turning back. We are restless until we find the
solution.
Before our awakening, it is like we are sleeping. Our soul
has been asleep for aeons. We started out in the lap of God
but became lost in the attractions of the world. We have forgotten our true Home.
We are in a state of slumber or forgetfulness that we are
souls, a part of God. We think we are the mind and the body
and have forgotten our true essence as soul, as a part of the
Creator.
Sant Mat
n each persons life a moment comes when we have a
transcendent experience or a revelation in which we
become aware that we have a higher purpose in this
world. Suddenly, amidst the daily rituals of waking up, getting dressed, going to work, eating, and sleeping, we get a
glimpse that there is something more to this life. That
moment may come when we are a child. It may come to us
while a teenager, or it may come in adult life. Some may
have it when they are young adults, and some have it in their
senior years of life. Whenever it comes, it leaves us transformed. Suddenly, we begin to question who we are, why we
are here, where we go when we die, and what our purpose in
ant Mat, the Path of the Saints, reflects the core

teachings of saints and mystics through the ages.
People new to this path often say they are attracted by
its simplicity, integrity, and effectiveness in fostering spiritual growth.
Although Sant Mat was born centuries ago in India, it is in
many ways ideal for the modern seeker. Followed under the
guidance of a living spiritual Master, these teachings couple
meditation on the inner Light and Sound with an inclusive,
positive way of living.
At the heart of Sant Mat are these simple principles: There
is one God of all creation, though people worship the Lord
the mind by sitting in meditation.

If we meditate accurately we will
experience ourselves as soul. Once
we identify with the soul, then we
will also be aware of the inner
Light and Sound that is the radiance and vibratory sound of God
within us. If we absorb ourselves
in the Light and Sound within, we
can then attain step two. We can
shift our attention into the Light
and Sound, which attracts our soul
to higher levels of vibration.
The Light and Sound function at
different vibratory rates in the different regions. As we shift our
attention we find ourselves conscious of being in the different
regions. Ultimately, the Light and
Sound function at their highest
vibratory rate, which is the power
of God itself. When we shift our
attention to that, we have come to
the state of consciousness where
we are at one with God and merge
with God.
It is simply a matter of choosing
where we want to put our attention. That is the true meaning of
the anecdote about Bulleh Shah
and Inayat Shah. When Bulleh
Shah asked his Master, Inayat
Shah (who was a gardener by profession), How can I find God?
Inayat Shah pulled up a plant and
replanted it in another place.
When Bulleh Shah questioned
what that demonstration meant,
Inayat Shah said, To find God it
is merely uprooting your attention
from one place and planting it in
another place. That is the simplicity of spirituality. God did not
make things complicated. It is
simple. It is only we who have to
choose to transplant the flower of
our attention from the world into
Gods garden.
by different names and through different practices. While

Sant Mat respects all faiths, it stresses that religion has two
dimensionsouter and inner. Sant Mat focuses on the inner
dimensionthe deep spiritual essence known as mysticism.
Mysticism looks beyond rites, rituals, and scriptural knowledge and pursues spirituality as a matter of personal inner
experience.
Sant Mat expresses the deepest values of every great spiritual traditionlove for God, compassion for Gods creation,
and a daily life grounded in ethical values. Sant Mats unique
contribution is distilling these noble ideals into a simple, universal spiritual path and then providing the tools and techniques to make them a personal reality.
Sant Mat does not demand that we renounce our families
or societies. Instead, we can pursue our spiritual goals while
leading normal lives.
The need for a living master

competent teacher speeds our progress. It's a common sense principle of life: studying with one who
has mastered the subject we wish to learn accelerates
our learning.
That's why seekers throughout history have turned to spiritual Masters. By virtue of their own inner awakening, these
Masters awaken others.
As much as we revere Masters of the past, Sant Mat stresses the importance of a living guide.
~ Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

Vol 7 Issue 33 - Dec13-19, 2014

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The South Asian Times

Vol.7 No. 33 December 13-19, 2014 60 Cents

New York Edition

CIA torture report could lead to

Chinese President and Australian PM

London: US officials and military

tate before making any travel

Richard Verma confirmed

First Indian American in the

India in January will build on

Richard Dicker, the director of

UN adopts Modi proposal

New York/New Delhi: The UN

Russia has agreed to build a dozen nuclear plants in India.

the talks, termed India's strategic

December 13-19, 2014

December 13-19, 2014

We should have asked people before resigning: Kejriwal

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal addressing supporters and party

was that President's rule would be

that the party is not falling apart and

South Asians dismayed over new

rules. The exemption given to

cus on one Shazia Ilmis resignation

Kejriwal said, adding that AAP does

Huffington Post launches

December 13-19, 2014

Lata Mangeshkar and

Modi scores hat-trick..

US, for its weaponry.

acknowledged the contribution of

New Delhi Bureau

Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

Printed Every Saturday by

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

Strategy and Marketing

Web Editor: B.B.Chopra

Marketing & PR (Washington DC)

IANS Washington Bureau

Chairman and Co-Founder

Contributing Editors: Melvin Durai,

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors (Youth):

Jaipur (India) Bureau

News Service: HT Media Ltd.

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

December 13-19, 2014

139 complaints of fraud NRI marriages

highest of 11 complaints filed this year so far.

Vijay Jolly made advisor at

Mineola, NY: Cuts to social services,

Nassau County Executive

have complained that there arent enough

Ricky Kej nominated for

Vijay Jolly with

Ricky Kej andWouter Kellerman 'Winds of Samsara' cover

New Delhi: Global Organization of People

New York: Award-winning Indian Music

The Year category for the 2015 AWARDS.

December 13-19, 2014

Dr Kanti Rai gets highest hematology honor

Indian Christian Forum condemns

New York: The American

New York: The Indian Christian Forum, USA