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Vol.6 No. 17 August 17-23, 2013 60 Cents
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While this special issue covers the I-Day celebrations in India and abroad, we also deep-focus on the theme India: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead. (See pages 5-64.)
Indian expatriates and the diaspora across the globe marked Indias 67th Independence Day away from their motherland with festive fervor. In New York, Consul General Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay cut the ceremonial cake at the Consulate and rang the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the nation on the occasion of 67th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, in Delhi.
admitted that India's growth rate had fallen to 5 percent. "We are trying our best to remedy the situation... I believe this phase of slow growth in India will not last long." India, he said, grew in the last nine years at an annual average rate of 7.9 percent. He called the pace "the highest in any decade". Manmohan Singh said the government had taken many steps to
speed up the process of clearances for industry, build an environment more conducive to trade and industry, and increase investment in the economy. Even as he listed his achievements, including the much talked about food security bill, he admitted that much remained to be done to reform India's educational system. "Many of our schools still lack
drinking water facilities, toilets and other necessary infrastructure. There is a need to improve the quality of education." The prime minister claimed a reduction in Maoist and terrorist violence but admitted that "Naxal attacks happen from time to time". He said the UPA had taken key measures to make governance responsive, transparent and honest.
President Pranab Mukherjee asked people to vote in a stable government to ensure economic development.
On the latest flare-up with Pakistan, particularly in reference to the recent killing of Indian soldiers, he said: "Despite India's consistent efforts to build friendly relations with neighbours, there have been tensions on the border and repeated violations of the ceasefire on the Line of Control, leading to tragic loss of lives." Mukherjee was referring to the
killings of the five soldiers by Pakistani troops who sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir last week. Without naming Pakistan, the president said: "Our commitment to peace is unfailing but even our patience has limits. All steps necessary to ensure internal security and protect the territorial integrity of the nation will be taken." Mukherjee cautioned the people
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On August 15, Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay and his wife Sadhna Shanker, Ambassador Asoke Mukerji and Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, India's envoys to the UN, cut the ceremonial cake that had Congratulations India written on it.
Mulay, who has so far visited 8 out of the 10 states under his jurisdiction since he the start of his tenure here earlier in the year, said, Our plan is to start a comprehensive outreach program by October, whereby community members could get information on the spot about visas, passports, about how to go to India, what are the travel
arrangements, investment opportunities.He also recognized the significant contribution by the Indian community towards $5 million endowment to India Studies Chair at the Stony Brooks University. He particularly felicitated Dr Nirmal Mattoo and his wife and Prof. SN Sridhar and his wife for the endowment.
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President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries, during the 'At Home' function, organised on the occasion of 67th Independence Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on August 15, 2013.
The Dignitaries coming out from the Red Fort after the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the Nation on the occasion of 67th Independence Day, in Delhi on August 15.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee salutes during the 67th Independence day celebration in Kolkata
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan after hoisting the national flag at Mantralaya in Mumbai Members of 'Bangalore Round Table India and Ladies Circle India' painting their cars in tricolors to celebrate Independence Day in Bangalore President Pranab Mukherjee paying tributes at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate
New Delhi: Bomb blasts in Assam and Manipur marred an otherwise peaceful Independence Day celebration across India that also saw Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi take on the prime minister and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voice unhappiness over the "different treatment" meted to his state. In Goa, a man chose the occasion to swim across the Mandovi river to demand a halt to mushrooming casinos in the coastal state. Suspected Bodo militants tried to disrupt the Independence Day celebrations in Assam by triggering a blast in Tengapara of Kokrajhar town, injuring one person. Police recovered another grenade from the same location. A grenade was recovered at Bijni in Chirang district, while four motorcycle-riding youths lobbed a grenade in Chirang, but it did not explode. In Manipur, a bomb blast marred the celebrations as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh appealed for peace in the state. No one was injured in the explosion. In New Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi hoisted the national flag at the party headquarters. Top party leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
and Rahul Gandhi were present. The Congress president also distributed sweets among children on the occasion. Goa resident Sudip Dalvi swam to the banks of the Mandovi that flanks state capital Panaji and is home to five offshore casinos to protest against casino vessels parked midstream in the river. Omar Abdullah voiced pain at the criticism over the communal
violence in Kishtwar and demanded to know why Kashmiris were treated differently. After taking the salute and hoisting the tricolour at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar amid tight security, Abdullah alleged the Kishtwar incident had been "exploited". In Hyderabad, slogans of "Jai Telangana" rent the air during the celebrations at Gandhi Bhavan,
headquarters of the ruling Congress party. Andhra Pradesh saw unprecedented security with protests against the proposed division of the state being seen in a few places in the Rayalaseema and Andhra regions. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in his Independence Day message, complained of his state being ignored by the central government.
In Tripura capital Agartala, heavy rains ended the Independence Day celebrations in just 10 minutes, with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar forced to finish his speech in a record two minutes. The Agartala programme was scheduled to last two-and-a-half hours. Maharashtra celebrated the day in the shadow of Wednesday's naval tragedy in which 18 sailors were feared killed after an Indian Navy submarine sank. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan hoisted the tricolour at a function in the Mantralaya. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed hope that the state will regain its prominent position in the country, while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unfurled the tricolour at the Indira Gandhi Sarani in Kolkata. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in his first Independence Day address, declared that his government was ready to hold talks with Maoists if they gave up violence. Reports of Independence Day celebrations came from other states, including Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh.
Modi takes on Manmohan, BSF gives sweets to Pakistan Rangers ticks off Congress
Bhuj (Gujarat)/New Delhi: minister. As per traditions, the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra prime minister presents India's Modi found fault with Prime aspirations, thinking, belief and Minister Manmohan Singh's determination before the country Independence Day speech and and the world from the Red Fort. sought a debate on development At least today, Modiji should but praised President Pranab have maintained some restraint," Mukherjee in the same breath. said External Affairs Minister "You are ruling a big country, Salman Khurshid. we are managing a small state. While Modi attacked the prime There should be a debate on the minister, he praised Mukherjee, issue of development and good who expressed his concern over governance between the governcorruption in his address to the ment sitting in Delhi and our nation Wednesday evening. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi government," Modi said during "It would have been good if addressing on 67th I-day an Independence Day function at the prime minister today had said Bhuj. something on corruption," said Pakistan. He said former prime "Our shortcomings will come minister Lal Bahadur Shastri also Modi. He said the prime minister out. It will bring out who has been belonged to the Congress but was listed the same problems before the left behind. Today there is need for ignored by Manmohan Singh. country that were mentioned when competition on development," said Modi said the morale of the Nehru was the prime minister. Modi. "What have you done in the last Indian military would have gone In his address, Modi attacked up if Manmohan Singh had used 60 years. The problems are the Manmohan Singh for not taking "the language the country expect- same," he said. the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri ed" over the killing of five Indian Modi also took a dig at the while referring to previous prime soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir by Congress over allegations of falsiministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Pakistani troops. fication of documents in a property Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and for His remarks invited strong reac- deal against Robert Vadra, son-innot speaking out strongly against tion from the Congress. law of Congress president Sonia the killing of Indian soldiers by "Today is the day of our prime Gandhi.
The BSF officers and jawans celebrating I-day at Attari-Wagah border. Attari (Punjab): The Border Security Force (BSF) in Punjab offered sweets and fruits to Pakistan Rangers to mark India's 67th Independence Day. BSF Deputy Inspector General M.F. Farooqi walked up to the zero line at the Attari-Wagah border, 30 km from Amritsar, and offered sweets, fruits and plants to his counterpart, Wing Commander Adnan Shiekh. Both sides greeted each other at the brief informal ceremony. Tension has mounted between India and Pakistan after Pakistani troops were accused of killing five Indian soldiers after sneaking into Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector last week. The Pakistan Rangers gave sweets to the BSF Wednesday to mark Pakistan's Independence Day. The midnight vigil and cultural functions by social groups, a regular feature near the Attari-Wagah border in recent years, have been postponed following the killing of the Indian soldiers.
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election. "The people of Karnataka opted for a change... Change does not mean one party has completed its tenure and another party had replaced it to govern. Our action should be evident and the people should be able to see visible changes." Since the model code of conduct was in force for by-elections in the Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha seats Aug 21 and in three assembly segments (Chitradurga, Dharwad and Mysore), he said he would not dwell upon his government's future schemes on this occasion. Earlier, under a cloudy sky
and breezy weather, the chief minister hoisted the tricolour and reviewed a guard of honour from an open jeep at the Field Marshal Manekshaw parade ground in the city centre. Even as he took the salute and martial music rent the air, a military chopper showered rose petals from a low altitude over the flower-decked dais, drawing cheers from about 10,000 people thronging the venue. About 2,000 personnel from the military, state police, Home Guards, fire brigade, scouts and guides and 3,000 students from various schools in the city marched past.
Mumbai: Maharashtra celebrated the 67th Independence Day in the shadow of naval tragedy in which 18 sailors were feared killed after an Indian Navy submarine sank here. Governor K. Sankaranarayanan unfurled the national flag in Pune and greeted the people on the occasion. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan hoisted the tricolour at a function in the Mantralaya and spoke about the strides made by the state in various sectors. Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu also unfurled the flag at the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters with a large number of employees in attendance. Similar functions were held at the headquarters of the
Western Railway, Central Railway and Konkan Railway, the state Police Headquarters, headquarters of various political parties, government buildings, private organisations, colleges and schools and housing complexes across the city. In some parts of Vidarbha, which has been ravaged by massive floods in recent weeks, some people boycotted the official functions but held their own small celebrations to mark the occasion. "This was to register our silent protest at the lack of help to the people in the flood-ravaged areas and the continuing neglect of the debt-hit farmers of this region," said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishore Tiwari.
Sukhbir Singh Badal unfurled the national flag in Mohali, adjoining Chandigarh. In Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda unfurled the national flag at Sonipat, despite rainfall. In Chandigarh, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Shivraj Patil unfurled the national flag.
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Artists performing traditional dance during I day ceremonies at Indira Gandhi sarani in Kolkata
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in his Independence Day address, said his government was committed to fulfilling the dreams of the people of the state despite difficult geographical and social conditions.
"We have provided a transparent and responsive government, and are trying to work for the development of the state," Gehlot said after unfurling the national flag at a ceremony in Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on the occa-
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Andhra Pradesh policemen march during Independence day celebrations at parade ground
provided timely seeds, fertilizers and free irrigation from state-owned canals and tube wells. "The state government has given
a 138-acre land in Rae Bareilly for AIIMS. I am sure very soon work will start on this ambitious project," he said.
idence. "So I want to wish the prime minister and his entire cabinet on this occasion. I want this feeling to grow... without criticising one another, people should be aware on this day that India has unlimited possibilities," said the BJP leader.
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By Parveen Chopra
NRIs celebrating the growth and development back home in India since Independence, but is also a showcase of the growing presence and prominence of the emerging community in America. Shobha Prakash of Herricks put it simply, We are celebrating with gusto. We are in America, but our hearts are still in India where we came from. An estimated 15,000 people attended the celebrations held in Hicksville, the newest Little India located in Nassau County. Indu Jaiswal was chair of the 2013 parade and DJ Kucha the emcee of the entertainment program. There were 17 floats including of Air India, Patel Brothers, Apna Bazar, INOC, Friends of Good Health, and Indian American Bank. The 30 booths near the stage included those of HAB Bank, MetLife, Antuns, NY Life, and Hicksville Rajbhog. Air India, Patel Brothers and Lotus Management Group were the Grand Sponsors of the event. Platinum Sponsors included Friends of Ed Mangano, MetLife and Antuns. The South Asian Times was also Platinum Sponsor & leading Media Partner. The Long Island parade was telecast live by Global Punjabi TV and covered by many other channels.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, actress Aarti Chhabria (on his left), and Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley (in sky blue lehnga-choli) and the BQ Girls marching in the front line of the parade.
Hicksville, NY: Only two years old and the India Day Parade of Long Island is already becoming so well attended and immaculately organized to stand tall with the leading parades celebrating Indias Independence Day in America from coast to coast. The parade organized by IDPUSA celebrating Indias 67th Independence Day in Hicksville was led by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Bollywood star Aarti Chhabria, and Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley, all Grand Marshals. They were joined by other elected officials and Indian community leaders. They were followed by colorful floats and marching group playing Indian patriotic songs and lustily chanting Jai
Hind as well as bands and dhols. The march down South Broadway was joined by thousands of cheering people. At the culmination point near the Hindu temple a viewing stage was erected for the dignitaries, which then staged a scintillating entertainment program of song and dance. Said County Executive Mangano, Today is a celebration of culture; it is a celebration of freedom. It is a wonderful day to unite with old friends, make new friends. Aarti Chhabria, who has starred in 28 films, was ecstatic: Being a patriotic Indian, I am honored and proud to be the Grand Marshal at this parade. The experience has been breathtaking and exhilarating. She frequently broke into a
jig along the parade route. Even Chelsea Cooley, dressed in a sky blue lehnga-choli, showed her newly mastered Bollywood moves from the stage. Looking at so many beautiful women in colorful Indian outfits, Bobby Kumar, parade founder and sutradhar, told local Channel 12, The whole idea of this parade is power to the women and women is the power. Kamlesh Mehta gave the background, Hicksville has become like a hub for the south Asian community and it is growing fast. The purpose of India Day Parade is to bring all the diversity of Indian community together under one umbrella. Indeed, the parade is the collaborative effort of about
Many state, county and town lawmakers joined Indian community leaders at the parade, and they included New York State Senator Jack M. Martins (second from left), and Nassau County legislator Mike Venditto (second from right).
The floats were led by one of the parade organizer, IDPUSA, with patriotic songs and shouts of jai Hind.
Glamorous Bollywood star Aarti Chhabria breaks into a jig on the parade route, unprompted by Bobby Kumar (in pink shirt), parade founder.
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Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley (middle) shows her newly mastered Bollywood moves on the entertainment stage.
The 3 star fundraisers of the parade, Finance Committee Chairs: Kamlesh Mehta 2012, Nagendra Gupta, Chair and Co-Chair Rajan Nabe 2013.
ndu Jaiswal, Chair of India Day Legislative building on Indias InParade 2013 in Long Island, as dependence Day since 2010. well as Harendra Singh and Indu Jaiswal is also Chairperson Kamlesh Mehta, founders of the of the Indian American Forum, India Day Parade in and past president Long Island, were of India Association bestowed with the of Long Island. She Jewel of India in has been involved USA award by the in community orIndia Day Parade ganizations for the Committee. last 30 years, and They were honored served on the board in the presence of top of many leading orgovernment officials ganizations. She has and over 300 gathbeen awarded by ering of elite memmany organizations bers of the Indian in the past for her community in Long tireless community Island. The three service. were recognized for Harendra Singh their leadership, viis CEO & President sion and outstanding of Singh Hospitality service to the Indian Group, which owns American communicrown catering venty at large. Kamlesh ues such as Waters Mehta was honored Edge in Long Isat the Nassau County land City & WoodLegislative Chamlands in Woodbury bers along with Nas& Melville. He is sau County Executive Honorees Indu Jaiswal, also known for his Ed Mangano during philanthropic conChairperson, and Harendra Singh, a the flag hoisting certributions to many emonies on August founder of the parade. charitable organiza15. Both are instrumental in start- tions. He contributes in managing ing the flag-hoisting at the presti- Raj Rajeswari Foundation, and a gious Nassau County Executive & hospital in rural India.
Honoree Kamlesh Mehta, a founder of the parade, with Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.
Nuns and priests of a church watching intently the India Day Parade go by.
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Tom Suozzi (top left) took out a float to seek support for his run for Nassau County Executive, a post he held before Ed Mangano, the incumbent. The float of Patel Brothers, a grand sponsor of the parade. The parade in Hicksville originates from Patel Brothers Plaza and moves along South Broadway towards the Hindu temple.
Indu Jaiswal, chair of IDPUSA Parade 2013, received a certificate of appreciation from Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. County Comptroller George Maragos is on the right.
The Maharaja held aloft the flags of India and USA at the float of Air India, the countrys national carrier, a grand sponsor of the parade.
Lusty dancing to Punjabi music at the Bolla group float - group founder Harry Singh is in grey suit. HAB Bank's new manager at Hicksville branch, Rupal Sehgal, with the parades Guest of Honor Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley and the BQ Girls. The branch was specially kept open on a Sunday to provide hospitality for the Guest of Honor and the Grand Marshall Aarti Chhabria.
The publicity-shy Chief Deputy County Executive Rob Walker (left) was snapped by The South Asian Times with Kamlesh Mehta, Nassau Countys Director of Economic and Business Development as well as parade co-founder.
The Indus American Bank float, led by the Hicksville branch manager, Akshat Kaul (in red T-shirt).
India Association of Long Island had a walking group and a float, led by the IALI President Kishore Kuncham (middle).
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The float of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, founded by Ashuthosh Maharaj. Rotary Club of Hicksville members group club President Quddus Mohammed (second from right) and founder President Kamlesh Mehta. Role reversal: A Caucasian artist named Senya applying henna to an Indian girls hand.
(From left) Prominent community members Zinda Singh, Juned Qazi, Darshan Singh Bagga and Mohinder Singh Taneja.
Young and old all enjoyed the parade offerings and they came from all over Long Island and Queens.
Rajbhog Sweets of Hicksville, managed by Sheetal Talati (in green apron), had mouthwatering chaats at its stall. Rajbhog is offering special discounts for Rakhi festival.
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on August 15 itself. It was his own brainchild backed by the County Executive Ed Mangano, which has become now an annual event. Bobby Kumar, Co-Founder and sutradhar of the India Day Parade in Long Island, gave a memento of appreciation to Mangano, and said, He is a man of his word, always helpful to the community.
Lal Motwani, Chairman of NFIA presented a Gandhi statue to Mangano. He added, We wish to celebrate 15 August the same way for four more years under Hon. Mangano, alluding to the second term that Mangano is seeking. Dr. Kishore Kuncham, President of IALI, was the emcee, and Indu Jaiswal, Chair IDP, presented a vote
of thanks. Commissioner of Public Works Shila Shah read the Pledge of Allegiance. Sunita Sadhnani of BollyArts presented the patriotic cultural program, and sumptuous brunch was catered by Hicksville Rajbhog. The flag hoisting event was attended by many leading community leaders as well as over a dozen veterans of Indian Forces.
(left to right) All those honored by the County Executive posing for a picture. | Bollywood actress Aarti Chhabria, Grand Marshal of the Long Island India Day Parade, posing with Mangano and Bobby Kumar Kalotee. | County Executive Mangano receiving gift of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from NFIA Chairman Lal Motwani.
Veerapen, Krishnasri Gandham are a few names who were instrumental in the parades grand success. Media Masters printed the 168-page souvenir in recordshort notice. Antuns by Minar, Glamorous Events, Lavanya, FernDcor and DJ Kucha lent their services free of charge. Friends of Ed Mangnao, Met Life, Apna Bazar and Purna Aramalla were also Platinum Sponsors. Patel Bros., Air India, and Lotus Management Group were Grand Sponsors. Global Punjabi TV telecast the parade via live stream; The South Asian Times was the Platinum Sponsor besides a leading Print Media Partner.
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Headlining the parade was Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and IBA president Kapil Shah. By Jinal Shah/SATimes New Jersey: Despite the arch rivalry between two organizing groups, Indian Americans living in New Jersey attended the India day parade in huge numbers on Sunday. Edisons India day parade is famous for being one of the largest Indian independence day parades outside of India, besides the annual parade in Manhattan. However past couple of years NJ parade is in the news for the rivalry between the two organizing groups to run Edisons annual parade. This year marked round three in the battle between Iselin based Indian Business Association (IBA), and Edison based Oak Tree Indian Business Association Inc. (OTIBA) that led to two separate parades. It was a celebration of unity organized by two groups who cant unite. Friction between factions has grind on for years, almost since inaugural procession in 2004.For over nine years, Woodbridge Township has granted a parade permit to the Indian Business Association, which is based in the Iselin section of Woodbridge. In Edison, Mayor Antonia Riciglianos administration for the third straight year granted the parade permit to the Oak Tree Indian Business Association Inc. Since then the Independence Day celebration was marred by factional fight between IBA and a rival group both of who claimed legitimacy for holding the parade. The issue went to court to determine who should be allowed to hold the parade on Oak Tree Road, the hub of Indian businesses. The issue is yet to be resolved amicably. Despite the dispute, thousands of Indian Americans straddled the border between Woodbridge and Edison to watch the dueling parades march down Oak Tree Road in Edison within a half hour of each other. According to IBA around 37,000 people are estimated to have witnessed the parade. The IBA parade, now in its ninth year, kicked off at 1:30 p.m. from the Cinder Road intersection in Edison and moved across the Woodbridge border into the heart of the Indian-American business district in Woodbridges Iselin section. Then around 2 p.m., the Oak Tree Indian Business Associations parade made its way down Grove Avenue and turned onto Oak Tree Continued on page 26
Governor hopeful, Senator Barbara Buono in a pink saree walked the parade, greeting people along the way.
Volunteers for the Aam Aadmi party in the USA participated in the India day parade. Three of the party volunteers marched from Washington DC in the swaraj yatra- an attempt to create awareness about participatory democracy.
Women clad in nauvari sarees danced with lezim to the beats of dhol at the IBA India day parade on Sunday
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Continued from page 24 Road on the heels of the other event. It stopped just before Wood Avenue. Leading the parade as the Grand Marshal were Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover and television actress Rashmi Desai for the IBA parade and Bollywood actor Shweta Bharadwaj for the OTIBA parade. It is my honor to be part of India day parade and to commemorate India's 66th Independence Day, said actor Gulshan Grover. Indian Business Association had 19 floats and about 22 walking groups making it the largest India day parade in New Jersey. A lot of political bigwigs were also part of the parade, said Viru Patel secretary of IBA. We had just four days to prepare for the parade after getting permission despite that we managed to roll 10 floats and two walking groups with dholis, said Pradip (Peter) Kothari, president OTIBA. Most of the floats were decorated with Indian tricolor flags and American national flag, children on board the floats danced to popular Bollywood songs. Part of the IBA parade was a group of young professionals who marched down to New Jersey from Washington DC as a part of the swaraj yatra - A walk for Democracy 2.0 in order to create awareness for Aam Aadmi Party and learn about local governance system in every county region. Of the group, three working professionals walked end to end from Washington DC to New Jersey nonstop for a week to participate in the India day parade on Sunday. We started our yatra last Saturday and covered 145 miles to participate in the India day parades both in New Jersey as well as New York (August 18), educating Indians along the way about Aam Aadmi Party. We walked 15 to 20 miles a day to make it to the parade to create awareness about the importance of citizen participation in Indian democracy and the necessity of upgrading Democracy 1.0 to Democracy 2.0. We were met with great enthusiasm from public, said Massachusetts based software consultant and a volunteer with Aam Aadmi Party, Madhusudhan VN. He along with Akshay Kumar Anugu and Jayesh Srivastava are now creating awareness in Jersey city area. The parade worked as a perfect battleground for politicians to lock in campaign battles. IBA parade had a heavy presence of politicians such as U.S. Senate candidates such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker and U.S. Reps. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.) and Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) shook hands with the crowd. Also in attendance was state Sen. Barbara Buono, (D-Middlesex), who is running against Gov. Chris Christie for governor. On the other hand OTIBA too had some known faces including Edison mayor Antonia Ricigliano, Councilman and mayoral candidate Sudhanshu Prasad and Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula. Asked on the rift between the two groups Patel said, Yes there are people in both the groups who are at loggerheads but we are not divided as a community as portrayed. We are friends and socialize regularly outside the realm of India day parade. The spectacle left some confused, some nostalgic and some embarrassed. It is sad to see people divided for a celebration of unity, harmoparades with his four year old son Aditya and two year old Akash. While many saw the parade as a way of connecting their kids to their Indian roots, there were others who found nothing Indian in the India day parade. National pride or publicity stunt? asks 44 year old Pawan Patel at the India day parade in New Jersey. From banks to local ethnic television stations, from local beauty parlors to pathology clinics and even liquor companies participated in the parade each in their own floats. Patel criticized the march and said the event was too commercial and that it did not reflect the spirit of India. You expect Independence Day parades to be about national pride, a tribute to the thousands of people who lost their lives in the freedom struggle. You expect the parade to be recognition of everything the nation has achieved since independence or least; display Indias rich culture and heritage. There was no display of Indian culture, tradition except for a couple of Hare Krishna floats. None of the two parades had statue of Mahatma Gandhi or any other national leader or freedom fighter or displayed Taj Mahal or the Red Fort replica. I could not find anything Indian in the parade. Majority of the floats advertised local business, or rallied US politicians, rest of the charm was taken away by Bollywood personalities and not to forget the rivalry between the two groups, said Patel, a resident of Woodbridge. The event drew a lot of Americans, one of them was Florida resident Kathy Freeman. My son has many Indian friends and my exposure to India is through my son David. I am glad I came here to see the parade, said Freeman. She was with her sister Phyllis Iau, Woodbridge resident. This is my first time at the parade. It is exciting to see the young and old come together to celebrate and to experience the beauty of India culture. The parade is colorful and the music is great especially the drums (dhol). Both the parades ended with cultural programs with children dancing on popular Bollywood dance numbers, games and stalls with delicious Indian cuisine. Amidst the celebration, an unidentified 50 year old woman, a spectator, was rushed to hospital after she fell down at the sidewalk. Emergency medical service responded promptly. Viru admitted that the parade has become more commercial. When we started we talked about representing our country on floats but the only way to survive the escalating cost of organizing the parade is through sponsors. The budget for this year s parade was over $ 150,000 for a half hour spectacle, we too have to recover costs. Without money nothing happens, people have to understand. This parade was done in just four days and parading 10 floats and two walking groups in such a short notice is in itself an achievement. For cultural display we have navratri and many other cultural functions round the year, said Kothari. The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin also celebrated Indias Independence Day with a parade on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. The parade started at 4 pm on Saturday in front of the Taj Mahal casino.
A kid dressed as hanuman takes a break from walking. ny and peace, said Sheetal, a 17 year old student. For 77 year old Shantaben Patel who was discharged last week from a hospital where she was admitted for stroke, parade reminds her of the first Independence Day. I was 10 back then. My father took me out at the junction in Ahmedabad, the mood was festive. People old and young, of every caste, creed and color, were cheering and singing to their hearts' content on jam-packed roads in celebration of azadi, recollects Shantaben who has been living in the US past 23 years. Music blared from floats during both parades, as dancers moved to the rhythm and Hare Krishna worshippers chanted. This is my first parade with the kids and this is as close as I can get to India. It is very important for me to expose my children to Indian culture, said Suresh Menon, an IT professional from Edison. Menon saw both the
Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano, grand marshal Shweta Bharadwaj and president of OTIBA Pradip (Peter) Kothari leading the parade. A participant blew conch shell to start the OTIBA parade
Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano, grand marshal Shweta Bharadwaj and president of OTIBA Pradip (Peter) Kothari addressed the crowd post parade.
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Actress Priyanka Chopra graced the India Day celebrations in Los Angeles last weekend.
Dignitaries on the stage between India and the largest Canadian province, she said Ontario and India have a lot in common as both were models of democracy and multiculturalism. Lauding the contribution made by the Indo-Canadians in strengthening these bilateral ties, the Premier said Ontario is fortunate to have half a million people who trace
Premier Kathleen Wynne with Consul General Preeti Saran, Consul D Charandasi and Panorama India Chair Jibanjit Tripathy of India and said India and Ontario shared deep bonds of friendship and common values. Panorama India Chair Jibanjit Tripathy said freedom remains the most cherished word in human history, and Indias freedom remains the most cherished and recognized event in world history. As we continue to celebrate our independence, we remember those sacrificed their lives so that we could live a free nation, Tripathy said. He said Indo-Canadians are proud of their unique heritage and culture as well as being part of Canadian mosaic of multiculturalism. In his speech, Tim Uppal, Canadian minister minister of state for multiculturalism, praised the immense contribution made IndoCanadians to Canada. Parliamentary secretary and seniormost Indo-Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai highlighted how India stood out in the world today for its vibrant democracy and economic growth and how it has become a role model for many countries since it began journey as an independent nation. Senator Asha Seth read out Prime Minister Stephen Harpers message of greetings for the IndoCanadians. In his congratulation message read by MP John McCallum, Liberal leader Justin
their origin to India. She praised outgoing Indian consul general Preeti Saran for her contribution to strengthening bilateral ties between India and Ontario. Preeti is one of the most gracious persons I have ever met, Kathleen Wynne said. Thanking the Premier, Preeti Saran called her the `dearest friend
Dancers performing Bharatnatyam Trudeau said, Such festivities work to connect our Indian communities with all CanadiansI, and the Liberal Party of Canada, believe that this country is great not in spite of its diversity, but because of it, and these celebrations further enrich society by introducing people to Indian culture and traditions. After the opening ceremonies were over, a big India Day Parade went around the downtown core, giving a glimpse of life in various Indian states. Decorated rickshaws and cultural troupes representing various Indian states added color to the parade. It was followed by a cultural extravaganza.
Amb. Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to UN, hoisted the national flag at the Permanent Mission in New York, The impressive ceremony was attended by over 150 guests including senior Indian officials of the UN, Indian Army and Police officers on deputation to the UN.
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ot many may know that Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay had started writing much before he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983. But the Service broadened the horizon, he admits. He has been an award winning writer in Marathi and Hindi and has published several books, some of which have been translated into Kannada, Urdu and Arabic Before taking over as Consul General in New York earlier this year, Amb. Mulay was posted as High Commissioner to Maldives. The career diplomat has also been posted in Indian missions in Tokyo, Moscow and Port Louis and has served at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Amb. Mulay was born in 1958 in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra and has a master's degree from Mumbai University. He wife, Sadhna Shanker, has recently joined him in New York. They have two sons and a daughter. In New York, within a short time he has endeared himself to the Indian community, graciously attending receptions given in his honor. In this interview given to The South Asian Times days before Indias 67th Independence Day, Ambassador Mulay dwelt on Indias genius and soft power, and on the happy state of Indo-US ties. More importantly, he answered questions on what the consulate is striving to achieve under him vis-vis the Indian community and what is on his wish list as India front man in this part of America. SATimes: What is India's genius that has brought us to the forefront of world's nations within seven decades after independence? Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay: India offers to the world many things that no other country offers. It is the most diverse country with a very rich and vital cultural heritage. The more than 5,000 years of uninterrupted civi-
health services, as well as infrastructure are being encouraged. CGI is playing an important role in these endeavors. SATimes: Indo-US relations are said to the warmest ever. What is the view from inside the Indian establishment, and what awaits the ties in future? Amb. Mulay: The strong bilateral relations are only likely to expand by leaps and bounds in the future. Convergences and synergies between the two countries are visible in almost all areas. Besides the high level bilateral visits including that of President Obama and Vice President Biden from the US and PM Dr. Manmohan Singh from India, a highly multifaceted cooperation has emerged. Being democracies and respectful of pluralistic culture, our countries could benefit immensely from each other. The future is going to be one that witnesses newer and bigger partnerships in almost all fields including education, science and technology, strategic fields, trade and commerce, investment, banking as well as cultural arena.
Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay (middle) was recently honored at Bharatiya VidyaBhavan, New York, where he shared his literary journey.
The gracious guest at community receptions -- Consul General Mulay with wife Sahdna Shanker (standing next to him) at one hosted by Ravi and Ranju Batra.
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The voice of Aam Aadmi Party in India and the man who made Hindi poetry popular again, explains why India needs you now!
wo weeks before Indias Independence day, I had a chance to interview Dr Kumar Vishvas, who is now a prominent face of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in India. Living in New Delhi a few years back, I was a part of the English-speaking generation of the Indian youth, who were irresistibly pulled towards Hindi poetry by Dr Vishvas legendary, Koi Deewana Kehta Hai. Hindi poetry was
Dr Kumar Vishvas
support you in the anti-corruption movement? Kumar Vishvas: We are short of money but we have not initiated NRI funding. If you do not have an Indian passport, we do not welcome any financial support of NRIs. We are the first party, who said we wont take money from any corporate house. We do not take any money that we cannot declare. NRIs can help us by supporting us with technology and helping to spread our message on social networks. We want NRIs to come to Delhi in mid-November and canvass for AAP. That time the weather will also be good for you to visit Delhi. We also have a dedicated group of followers. We have guys from IITs, Indian youth from all over the world, who have taken leave from their jobs to work for us and to see a new political revolution in this country.
Interview continued on page 33
not the in thing for us but Dr Vishvas was too compelling to be ignored. I later moved to the US but like millions of his fans, continued following him on social networks. His association with the AAP and strong stand on issues such as corruption in India, increased my respect and admiration for him. In times of delusion and hopelessness, its refreshing to hear a man, who does not mince words in opposing what is wrong. I consider him the king of sarcasm and wit, and truly a man of substance. After an hour long conversation with him on the phone, I felt a new hope for the future of India. I wish many more people like him come forward and take a lead in Indian politics. Here are excerpts from the interview. How did you get associated with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)? Kumar Vishvas: My association with AAP began as a personal call on behest of my childhood friend and journalist Manish Sisodiya, who is now a member of AAP. I joined Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal in the anti-corruption movement. Then there was no looking back. I felt compelled to be a part of the movement. I took it as a social responsibility, which I could not abdicate. Are you contesting on AAP ticket?
Kumar Vishvas: AAP is fighting against corruption. Youth can make a big difference by joining us in this movement. In a country where bhrastachaar was shristacchar and we had a chalta hai attitude, the anti-corruption movement that we started has now brought us forward from kuch nahi ho sakta hai to kuch ho sakta hai. Chalta hai attitude has to go. Some people say Modi, Nitish Kumar, or Kejriwal, will remove corruption, but I say it will be over once we have good governance. What is the short-term and long-term agenda of AAP? Kumar Vishvas: Our immediate agenda is formation of Lokpal (Ombudsman), right to recall (legislators), right to reject and good governance. The long-term agenda is peoples governance or Gram Swaraj. It is my observation that voters in India do not see beyond BJP and Congress. Many are not even aware of AAP. Comment. Kumar Vishvas: BJP and Congress are not parties, these are gangs. People are now angry with both Congress and BJP.
Kumar Vishwas (left) with Aam Aadmi Party colleagues Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.
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t is a dream of every parent that their child will do something special in this world. But what they never anticipate that their child and that too a daughter coming from a traditional family with its set of rules and restrictions, will face political goons, be nominated to run in elections and be famous at a young age of 30 years. Santosh Koli was born in an east Delhi colony in 1983. Her father works in a garment factory and mother in an NGO. True to her name, Santosh (meaning satisfaction in Hindi) was not going to tolerate ill-governance of the prevailing system. What gave her a sense of accomplishment was when she could help hundreds of people get what is rightfully theirs, be it rashan (food), electric supply or their basic human rights. Santosh met activist Arvind Kejriwal in 2001 through her mother seeking
Santosh Koli was 30 when she was silenced by elements with vested interests. (right) A feisty Santosh stopped at a protest rally by the police.
We also seek funds from the constituencies where we do not have money. We gave a call for Santosh Kolis constituency. Sadly, Santosh, an RTI activist, has died after she was brutally attacked. Now we will call for Surinder Singh, an ex-NSG commando, who was denied pension by the Indian government on account of a disability. We stood for him and he started getting his pension. Now he is our candidate from Delhi Cantt area. Some other candidates of AAP are an auto rickshaw driver, another was in CISF (Central Industrial Security Force). We seek funds for them and we hope people will come forward to support us. We want to clean up politics. Its a time to take a stand. We are fighting hard and it is the first time that this is happening in the Indian political history. Politics is an agenda of the times. It is Yug dharam. We all should be in love with politics. Its our social responsibility. Dont calculate your benefit and loss in this. Everyone should come forward and join us in this revolution. I read somewhere that you also have some forthcoming projects in Bollywood. Kumar Vishvas: Yes, I am in discussion with several good producers and directors. I have developed some stories as well as lyrics. The biggest names of film industry are regularly interacting with me. Big Boss (TV reality show) is calling me every year. They offered me a few crore rupees but I denied because I think this doesnt go with my profile. I dont think my fans and followers
would love to see me there. I also have a lot of respect for you and I would never want to see you on Big Boss! Kumar Vishvas: Thank you for that. Every artist is in need of money and so am I. Salman ji (host of Big Boss) is very interested that I should be there. However, I know if I do this, I will end up losing that what I have and which no one else has! At the most, I can go to Big Boss for just one day to perform for the residents but if they expect that I stay inside, I wont be able to do it.
Information) bill, but also mobilized people to stand up against injustice and corruption. As concerned parents of a daughter of marriageable age, they asked her to leave her activism which had resulted in several attacks on her life. Once her throat had been cut by knife and several times there were attacks on her with blades. Harrowing conditions which will force ordinary mortals to give up on the cause, but Santoshs only answer was that if she wouldnt do it then who will! At an age when most girls from traditional families are busy raising kids, Santosh was in the forefront of any group raising issues of common man. As has been noted in the blog of one of her activist friends, After April 2011
all of us worked for grass rootmobilization and Santosh was the one who used to give us tips. She had far more knowledge about the ground scenario than any of us. Also , One incident I specifically remember is of 21st August 2011 She coordinated the effort of protesting in front of the homes of our political leaders That day was the first time anyone protested in front of PMs house in the history of Indias anti-corruption protest She and her colleagues got arrested but that never deterred her. When in April 2013, Aam Aadmi Party started selecting candidates to contest Delhi assembly elections slated for alter this year, Santosh Koli was an obvious choice to run from the Seemapuri
constituency in east Delhi. Masses considered her sister, daughter and a fighter. But this indomitable person was becoming Enemy No 1 for people who did not want to relinquish their power which they were using for their own gain. On June 30, 2013, Santosh was hit by a vehicle while she was on her way to AAP office along with another activist Kuldeep on a motorbike. Santosh sustained extensive injuries while Kuldeep had minor injuries. Due to the extent of her injuries, Santosh breathed her last on August 7. She is not among us now but her short life has taught us a lesson, how to live and fight for a cause. If we can stand for something that does good for society, then the expanse of life does not matter but the content does.
The author is Vice President, The South Asian Times. She can be reached at roopsi@thesouthasiantimes.info
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Tablet Revolution
By designing and sanctioning the Aakash tablet and starting the process of connecting India via fiber-optic cable, the Indian government has inadvertently started a revolution that will transform Indiaand shake up the world. India has lowered the expected base price of tablet technologies from $400-500that is common in the West, to $35-50. This would not have happened on its own. For example, if you look at Apple, their new versions of technology mostly involve only minor upgrades in featureswith the price being constant. Now, Acer is set to announce a $99 tablet and Chinese vendors are competing with Aakashs manufacturer Datawind to bring the production cost below $35. This will wreak havoc on the global PC, laptop, and smartphone industries because profit margins will decimate while the numbers of cheap tablets in use increases exponentially. India currently has around 900 million cell phones which were typically purchased for $30 or more. With the cost of tablets reaching this price point, the replacement devices for cell phones will be tablets. The fiber-optic lines that the government is laying in hundreds of villages will provide cheap, affordable Internet for the masses. India will likely have more than 100 million new Internet users over the next 2-3 years as a result, and this number will grow to more than 500 million within 5 years and a billion by the end of the decade. India is going to leap-frog the entire PC generation. Other countries have gone from desktop to laptop and now to tablets. India doesnt need to do that. It doesnt have to invest in cable wires and fiber optics like the US; it can move directly to cell towers for broadband access. Never before has humanity been connected the way India will soon be thanks to the Aakash project. With Internet connected devices, the poorest of the poor in India will be able to gain access to the same ocean of knowledge as is available to the elite the world over. They will be able to educate themselves, learn about the latest advances in agriculture and farming, find out the real value of the goods they produce, and take advantage of e-commerce to purchase and sell their goods. Most importantly, they will be able to participate in discussions and exchange of ideas with the rest of us. They will be able to tell the world about the bribes they paid and the abuses they suffered
Despite government inefficiency, corruption scandals and global slowdown, India is well on its way to several first-generation billion-dollar technology companies that solve its grand challenges.
By Vivek Wadhwa
espite my belief that Indias IT industry will soon peak and that its government will be embroiled in even more corruption scandals (thanks to a more vigilant and vocal public), I am more optimistic than ever about India. Thats because as they have done before, Indias entrepreneurs will save the day. They will reinvent India and solve not only its problems, but those of the world. All the government has to do is to get out of their way and steal a little less. There are three trends that will converge and give India its advantage: more IT executives will tire of working for their white masters and take the leap into entrepreneurship; exponential technologies will enable them to think bigger; and a tablet revolution that the Indian government inadvertently started will transform education, commerce, and societyand this will become the governments worst nightmare, by empowering the people to hold it accountable.
The number of active Internet users in India will go from the double digit millions to triple digits millions. India will have many Amazon and Google-sized Internet companies. And Indian entrepreneurs will start using the new technologies and their unique experience and skills to start solving big problems.
Indian IT
In its third decade, in addition do doing the grunt level IT maintenance they are known for, Indian engineers are now designing aircraft engines, automotive components, manufacturing plants, next-generation microprocessors, telecom products, and medical devices for western companies. There now are hundreds of thousands of highly skilled workers who have worked for these companies for more than a decade and are reaching middle age. They respected the wishes of their parents and joined brand-name corporations, and built a nest egg of savings. Now, they are yearning to break out on their own and become entrepreneurs. American entrepreneurs typically start their first companies when they are 40they get tired of working for others and want to build wealth before they retire. Indians are doing the same. So in any city you visit, you find hundreds of former IT executives taking the leap into entrepreneurship.
at the hands of corrupt government officialsin other words, they will be able to stand up just like the Indian middle class did to the horrendous cases of rape and government corruption. Indias Internet and e-commerce industry is struggling right now because there just arent enough Internet users to achieve critical massand profitability. If these startups can surviveanother 18 months and hone their business models and customer service skills, they will be positioned for greater growth than what Silicon Valleys startups experienced during the last decade. The number of active Internet users will go from the double digit millions to triple digits. India will have many Amazon and Google-sized Internet companies. And Indian entrepreneurs will start using the new technologies and their unique experience and skills to start solving big problems. This will be good for India and for the world. So there is every reason for great optimism about India and its future.
Vivek Wadwa is Fellow, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Vice President of Innovation and Research, Singularity University and Director of Research, CERC, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University.
With cheap Internet connected devices like the Aakash tablet, the poorest of the poor in India will be able to gain access to the same ocean of knowledge as is available to the elite the world over.
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The female literacy rate is 65.46 percent and male literacy rate is 82.14 percent
he Indian economy from 1947 to 1991 was based on a mixed economy combining features of capitalism and socialism, resulting in an inward-looking, interventionist policies that failed to take advantage of the post-war expansion of trade. Five-Year Plans of India resembled central planning in the Soviet Union. Steel, mining, machine tools, telecommunications, insurance, and power plants, among other industries, were effectively nationalised in the mid1950s. The rate of growth of the Indian economy in the first three decades after independence was derisively referred to as the Hindu rate of growth by world economists. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the Gulf War, which caused a sharp rise in oil prices, resulted in a major balanceof-payments crisis for India, which found itself facing the prospect of defaulting on its loans. In 1991, India adopted liberal and free-market principles and liberalised its economy to international trade. The country's economy grew rapidly with relatively large increases in per-capita incomes. Goldman Sachs has predicted
that India's GDP in current prices would overtake France and Italy by 2020, Germany, UK and Russia by 2025 and Japan by 2035, making it the third largest economy of the world, behind the US and China. India is often seen by most economists as a rising economic superpower and is believed to play a major role in the global economy in the 21st century.
Salient points
India is today one of the worlds fastest growing economies. By 2030, India will become the worlds third largest economy with projected GDP (PPP) at $13,716 bn. India is the 19th-largest exporter and the 10th-largest importer in the world. During 201112, India's foreign trade grew by an impressive 30.6% to reach $792.3 billion. Industry accounts for 28 per cent of the countrys GDP and employs 14 per cent of the total workforce. India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world. One of the top five retail markets in the world by economic value, the retail industry is estimated to be $450 billion. India has the world's third
largest road network, covering more than 4.3 million kilometers and carrying 60 per cent freight and 87 per cent passenger traffic. India has a national teledensity rate of 74.15 per cent with 926.53 million telephone subscribers. India has the second-largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world. India has 122 billionaires with net assets of Rs 500 crore and above, as of December 2012. The production of passenger vehicles in India was recorded at 3.23 million in 2012-13 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent during 2012-2021, as per data published by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). Passenger car sales saw sales of 1.89 million units in 2012-13. The aviation sector in India has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $449.26 million from April 2000 to March 2013. Indias Rs 77 trillion banking industry has 87 scheduled commercial banks, 26 public sector banks, 20 private banks and 41 foreign banks. ndia took a major step t o w a r d s attaining its long-awaited nuclear weapons triad as a reactor on board the countrys first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant was activated on August 10, paving way for its deployment by the navy after sea trials. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described it as a giant stride in the progress of the country's indigenous capabilities. The production of INS Arihant makes the Indian Navy one of the six navies in the world that are capable of building and operating
he importance of education in India was recognized by the founding fathers of the country and the subsequent governments, and as a result considerable importance has been given to literacy, school enrolment, institutions of higher education and technical education, over the decades ever since independence. Indias aspirations to establish a knowledge society in the context of increasing globalization, is
based on the assumption that higher and technical education essentially empowers people. Post-independence India has witnessed an above average growth in the number of higher educational institutions vis--vis its population. While there were just about 20 universities and 500 colleges at the time of independence, today these numbers have grown exponentially.
Salient points
Today, India has a total of 610 universities. 43 central universities, 299 state universities, 140 private Universities, 128 deemed universities and 5 institutions established through state legislation, 30 Institutions of National Importance There are 45 technical institutes, 13 management institutes, 4 information technology institutes, 6 science and research institutes and 3 planning and architecture institutes Currently, the Government spends around 3.8 percent of its GDP on education According to the 2011 census, the total literacy rate in India is 74.04 percent compared to the world average of 83.4 percent. The female literacy rate is 65.46 percent and male literacy rate is 82.14 percent FDI inflows in the education sector during May 2012 stood at $31.22 mn There has been phenomenal growth of higher education in India since Independence. There were only 20 universities and 500 colleges at the time of independence. These numbers have increased by 26 times in the case of universities and 66 times in the case of colleges.
INS Arihant
nuclear-powered submarines. The 6,000-tonne submarine will provide India the third leg of its nuclear triad the capacity to fire nuclear weapons from land, sea and air. The army has nuclear capable Agni and Prithvi-II missiles in its arsenal and the air force has aircraft capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The Indian armed forces are steadily undergoing modernization with investments in missile defense system and a nuclear triad. India has been in possession of nuclear weapons since 1974 and maintains a no-first use and a nuclear deterrence policy. Apart
from nuclear missiles Prithvi and Agni, India has long range strategic bombers like the Tupolev Tu-22 M3 and Tupolev Tu-142 as well as fighter jets like Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Dassault Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 capable of armed with nuclear tipped bombs and missiles. The surface-to-surface Agni-III ballistic missile has a range of over 3,000 km. Agni-III is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes. The nuclear-capable Agni-IV missile has a 4,000 km range. The missile is designed to carry a payload of 1,000 kg.
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India, the Land Columbus Set out to Find Is a Delicious Mystery That Thomas Jefferson Would Find with Destiny, and John Kerry Finds Warm and Thirsty
being conquered, as a whole, by the unstoppable digital binary code, the great denominator, the world has indeed gone flat, and time instantaneous: lost are the curves of the globe and the hands of time on the altar of digital transparency - more controlled by multinational corporations than by analogue sovereign governments desperately seeking to harness the binary code to defend against enemies, foreign and domestic. What is to become of India, one may ask. Beware, I say to all who thought that China would counter-balance the Soviets. Like Chinas core greatness lay sub-rosa unseen by the likes of Henry Kissinger, so, I fear is true of India, albeit, mercifully, only in part. In part, I say, because Indias investment in democracys warts is fullthrottle and every citizen, poor and rich alike, sees himself as the master of the public trust. Just ask The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as to why he is so in love with India, and why India, a Hindu-majority nation, effortlessly and confidently rests its position in the comity of nations in the gentle, strong and erudite hands of Salman Khurshid. It is as if Ashoka the Great, Akbar the Great, Guru Nanak, and Mother Teresa, not just Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru, wrought this continuing tryst with destiny. For us in the United States, where each of the 50 states are a laboratory of policy for the nation to embrace or reject, India, I submit, given its diverse religious content and in the main peaceful co-existence, economic growth that defies the weight of regulations, may well be a laboratory to the world - for there, East and West, greed and charity, ambition and detachment live in substantial harmony. Since Secretary John Kerry is working overtime to seize the moment decreed by destiny, as he races to the Middle East to jumpstart the cobwebbed peace process between Israel and Palestine, no matter the profit of the status quoers, and harder yet, to re-order the Afghan-Subcontinent equation, each of the affected nationsand citizenry, in the exercise of their enlightened self-interest, owe a good faith response -- for destiny awaits, in an infinite variety of shades and colors, the outstretched-hands state of loneliness or girth, given the many amalgamated hands reaching for the same sweet spot of history. Moreover, the dynamic of Israels meddlesome Thomas Dewey-like preference in last years presidential elections when Barack Obama won the imperial term in a resounding Harry Truman-like fashion, presents the Middle East a better shot than ever before. However, multi-lateral frustration infecting the Afghan-Subcontinent recalibrated process requires a critical mass of trilateral leadership, which ignores the interlopers inflammatory excesses, so as to bring the blessings of liberty and prosperity to their populace, unhappily aware of their common ancestry and uncommon present. For them I recall the example of the European Unions birth, when jealous pride of many a nation, that claimed the world as its own, was overcome - surely those in the subcontinent can bequeath to their childrens children a gentle neighborhood where all are free to worship as they see fit and prosper per individual effort, as they have the benefit of crosspride across the border. It may well be that the United Nations, created with the ink of World War II victory and a subsequent switcheroo a la ROC with PRC, needs the reforms that many have pushed for, including, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and his then-Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri, after winning an unprecedented near-unanimous electoral victory to a rotational seat on the Security Council. It may well be that the bubbling South China Sea needs to bubble less, even as it starts the Kabuki dance of a future theater of avoid-able war and re-militarization. Indias attention, then, must be Eastward, Upward, and Westward. As an American, I can only hope that the land Columbus set out to find, India, and the nation he caused to be born, the United States, find in each other a common soul, aided by the rule of law and abetted by a democratic republic, such that Jeffersons Declarationof Independence, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ... And Jawaharlal Nehrus Tryst with Destiny speech loudly resonates tothis day: Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? The world is better that Columbus lived, dreamed and strove. For we are here, dear Cristoforo Columbo, to prove you were never map-lost.
By Ravi Batra
hat is it about India, that its tryst with destiny is still on-going? Why does India keep moving forward despite the doers and the naysayers, the empire builders and the colonized? The answer, I submit, lies in the glorious amalgam of history and hope, glory and defeat, education and renunciation, family and loneliness, accomplishment and
India, I submit, given its diverse religious content and in the main peaceful coexistence, economic growth that defies the weight of regulations, may well be a laboratory to the world - for there, East and West, greed and charity, ambition and detachment live in substantial harmony.
worthlessness, ego and doubt, government and the governed, East and West, nuclear energy and organic linen; in short, India is a living contradiction - old and young, religious and secular, Eastern and Western, proud and humble, poor and rich, stranger and friend. On Indias 67th Independence Day, one cannot but thank the British empire for all of its managerial excellence and vision, for it is they who did what no maharaja was able to do short of Ashoka the Great: create a Greater India, a unified India. That there was a Great Partition, with untold stories of misery and heroism, courage and slaughter, so that a few Royals, domestic and foreign, could uproot so much humanity for map-makers joy rather than compel sovereign governments to give equal protection to the governed, remains an irksome lesson for would-be nation-makers. Arab Springs lessons are both forward-looking, as they are rear-view looking, and given the world
As an American, I can only hope that the land Columbus set out to find, India, and the nation he caused to be born, the United States, find in each other a common soul, aided by the rule of law and abetted by a democratic republic, such as envisioned in Jeffersons Declaration of Independence and Nehrus Tryst with Destiny.
> The author is an Eminent attorney based in new York and Chairman of National Advisory Council on South Asian Affairs. <
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Opinion polls have rejected any single party formation in 2014 elections. This requires a fresh interpretation into who finally is going to represent Congress and BJP as PM candidate.
In the run-up to the 2014 elections, one thing is certain: Neither Congress nor BJP have declared their PM candidates so far. Will it be Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi? While both the parties keep cards close to their chest, Narendra Modi seems to hog the limelight while Congress is waiting for him to utter something that can be made another national issue. Game is on!
Modi - the veil of secularism is better than "naked communalism", as Ajay Maken said - shows that they are happy to lure the BJP's poster boy into the secular vs communal debate where he will be at a disadvantage. It is to avoid this trap that the BJP's Yashwant Sinha has advised Modi to stick to his development plank and not veer into the quicksand of ideology and identity politics. Although Modi started off with an emphasis on the Gujarat model of economic progress, the series of public functions and interactions with the media are apparently forcing him to digress into controversial areas, says political expert Amulya Ganguli. Today Modi is not just a rising, but a risen star. If coordination between major parties is the name of the game, it would be appropriate to understand the level of coordination for all round benefit. All round benefit means benefit to India Inc headquartered in Mumbai, Congress, BJP and the multinationals who have gauged India as a trillion-dollar market which could be utilized for global economic recovery, after which we may have time to consider the Indian People too, adds political commentator Saeed Naqvi. It is elementary that Modi is no coalition builder. Since only a coalition, a UPA-III or an NDA-II, are possible after the 2014 general elections, why is Modi being projected? And what is he being projected as? The BJP has not announced Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. He is the chief of the partys campaign panel, a position earlier held by Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley. And yet, there he goes flying, higher and higher, on the winged horse called the media. On the other hand, the suspense over whether Congress will project Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls continues to linger. Political circles feel that Congress is reluctant to project Rahul PM because it would like to the 2014 elections as a Presidential match up between him and Narendra Modi. It is also felt that spelling out the choice might embarrass Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has eight months of his tenure left and who has been
painted by the party as a success. Congress had so far argued that it has traditionally not projected PM candidate, the exception being 2009 when Congress Manmohan Singh was the incumbent PM was the obvious choice. The question however remains -- who would head the next Congress regime should the party be in position to form the government. While insiders say Rahul would take the baton, many believe it may depend on the tally the party mops up at the hustings. The 2009 score of 206 seats was more than comfortable for Rahul's ascension but a dip would mean that the party would not be able to have a dominant say in the affairs of the next non-BJP coalition and could lead to a search for other options. Today's voter in any country of the world is not in a mood to give an absolute majority to any political party, forcing coalition governments. The voter is crying out loud to urge the politicians not to take extreme positions on any issue so that they can join hands with other parties to form coalitions. A majority of them are below 35 years in age, just like in India, and they don't like any kind of discrimination based on religion, class, caste or creed. They want all to work together for the betterment of the entire humanity. Keeping the voters' mood in mind, both Congress and BJP are waiting for time to pass. They would come in close battle once this year ends and we enter 2014. Till then, the ball would move from Modi's court to Rahul's and vice versa. There is no substance in the fight all media masala -- at least at this very juncture.
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With election year 2014 closing in and the falling rupee, rising inflation, corruption and crimes making living conditions miserable for an average Indian, sentiments hit a high this Independence Day as we spoke to people from different sections of the society. The political parties are all set to fight it out over ballots but with no clear mandate expected the rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial candidate is a hot topic of discussion across the board. Will Congresss poster boy Rahul Gandhi be able to shift the winds of change in his partys favor? Readers speak
Many think that the political system in India needs cleaning up. No wonder, the new Aam Aadmi Party has adopted broom as its election symbol.
Vinayak Rajesekhar
student pursuing diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding and a photo-journalism enthusiast
At this point in time, when the political structure is witnessing a major flux and shift in power and focus, it is difficult to say/ ascertain who would prove to be a better leader albeit it is important they take into account major issues that need attention and come up with timely solutions without politicizing any of them or allowing their attention to deviate to relatively more trivial matters. Having said that, I feel the opposition this time around, not just the BJP must realize the role of a responsible opposition that is created not just to oppose, but to oppose on substantive, productive grounds which it has failed to do so. Therefore, while I do recognize that there were positives as well as negatives during both the BJP as well as the Congresss rule as independent as well as coalition parties, they must learn to work together as they represent political parties along with the nation in the parliament, debating for the nations interests, not just their own. As far as Indias future and its role and standing in the world community is concerned, I see a deficit/imbalance between legislation and execution. While I do not blame the Bureaucracy explicitly, I feel there is an apparent crevasse between the execution related aspect of legislation, and legislation itself. Until that is resolved, Indias future in both the short and long term looks anything but progressive.
Amit Rele
entrepreneur, Pune
The comparison between Gandhi and Modi is unfair for Gandhi, Gandhi is yet to achieve his political stripes and Modi is a seasoned administrator, campaigner and proved his governance. Willy-nilly Gandhi has chosen to be the face of the elections, given a choice he would rather retire and lead a simpler life. So if you ask me who will be better it will be Modi. After 66 years of independence, the middle class strata of the society where in lies the largest Indian population is completely
D. R. Kaarthikeyan
Padmashri Awardee, Former Director, CBI and Chief of SIT-CBI, Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, New Delhi
I do not like to discuss political personalities or parties. No doubt the nation is facing crisis on many fronts, Economic, Political, Social, Security and Governance. All this can be attributed to loss of values, particularly by those holding reins of authority in various sectors. Unfortunately the society at large also has been reduced to worshiping power and wealth, whatever be the means by which they are acquired. Increasing greed for wealth has corrupted not only those at the highest levels, it is becoming a norm for anyone to be considered successful. The nation has been let down even by those kept at highest levels by the tax payer. For the sake of post retirement jobs, they mortgage their conscience and collaborate with people in power in doing wrong things, harmful to the nation but beneficial to the ruling clique.
disillusioned with the governance of this country. The only hope that we see now is if there is a change in the way justice and law is enforced in the country. While there are several areas which will require immediate attention, the biggest bane of this country is the spread of corruption in our everyday life which we have taken for granted resulting in a miserable quality of life for an average Indian. Taking action is the need of the hour, at every level and it has proven time and again Modi does it in Gujarat and so did T.Chandrashekar in Nagpur and Thane. We need to allow such good people to exist. If that does not happen, we will soon have no standing in the international scene. If the current government continues then we will see more of the brain drain that we saw 15 years ago, which had been arrested some time back and I will certainly be the first one to move back to UK where I was based earlier.
New York: Indias anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will be a surprise guest of honor at the largest India Day Parade in America in Manhattan this Sunday as Indian-Americans celebrate Indias Independence Day. Now in its 33rd year, the parade organised annually by the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA-NY-NJ-CT), will also feature Bollywood film star Vidya Balan as grand marshal and Sarath Kumar and Raddhila as other guests of honor.
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By Parveen Chopra
1. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has already launched BJPs election campaign for 2014 and is his partys as yet undeclared PM candidate. Hit by scams and policy deadlock, Congress partys standing has been hurt. Opinion polls say, no single party will get a majority in the next Lok Sabha. So, will BJP-led or Congress-led coalition form the government? Who will be better for the country as PM, Modi or Rahul Gandhi? 2. Indias growth rate has slowed but is still considerable. How do you see Indias future and its role and standing in the world community? Here are their responses.
The government formed in India after the election next year will be a khichdi, a coalition.
We need to become ambassadors of those values in the world. Indians do very well abroad, because we bring our values system here. We come here and get good education and the values that we learn at home and in our families, and that is how we do so well here. But we leave politics of India behind. If we can change the politics of India, bring more transparency, India can do much better. One of the objectives of AIANY is to promote the image of India in the US by showing its rich culture and traditions through various events. The annual Deepavali Mela in South Seaport, Manhattan, is our flagship event. This year it is on October 6. BJP looks likely to improve its seats tally in Lok Sabha and has more chances. Congress chances are hurt because of corruption scandals and muddled policy on FDI (foreign direct investment). So Congress has scored self-goals. But in the end, the next government will be a khichdi, a coalition. Led by BJP or Congress? My guess is Samajwadi Party may become the deciding factor. Narendra Modi becoming prime minister will be great, he will be 100 per cent good for the country. Even an impartial person will say that Rahul is too young and lacking in governance experience to be ready for the top job. Even if you want him to, he will not be the in PM chair. What India needs to grow is to have policies which are clear, crystal clear. Look at how the 2G licenses were cancelled, badly hurting the companies involved. That brings a bad name to the country for investors, making them feel unsafe. Also, there should be single window clearance for FDI. And what kind of a system prevails in India, which will not let Durga Nagpal do her job. (The upright IAS officer was suspended by the UP government on some pretext and has even been charge-sheeted). It sullies the image of the country abroad.
Ashok Sapra
Event organizer
It is hard to say whether Narendra Modi-BJP will come to power or Congress party after the next elections in India.
Mahendra Shah
Cartoonist
Shudh Jasuja
President, Indian National Overseas Congress (I)
Let me first wish Happy Independence Day to the South Asian Times readers. I will not make any unfair or unfounded statements. No one can correctly predict the 2014 Indian elections outcome. But if consecutive victories of Congress in several state polls is any indication, the party should retain power in the center too. Opinion polls are projecting no party will get clear majority. No party would be able to form government without alliances. BJP-led NDA is completely broken while Congress-led UPA is intact. BJP will not be able to come to power as they dont have any big alliance partner left. Rahul Gandhi is a young man with sincere intentions to make India better. He talks less, does more. He doesnt talk loud and does not do self-promotion like Narendra Modi.
Looking at the progress, prosperity in Gujarat for the last three terms of Narendra Modi, plus his personality, popularity, not only he is the best candidate for prime minister, not only from BJP, but also from all political parties. Given political, social, and economic turmoil plus scams and corruption, NarendraModi as PM will turn around the country in no time, which India needs very badly! Rahul Gandhi and other leaders are no way close to him. Lets look at the factors favoring the ascension of Modi: Modi the youth icon: The points he makes with his impressive and aggressive speeches, not just older generation but also the youth of India are inspired to support Modi. One thing that helps him connect with the youth are his speedy results in any field, be it infrastructure, education. 15 years legacy in Gujarat: Modi has proved his leadership
Sunil Modi
President, Association of Indians in America (AIA-NY)
I have lived in America for 22 years, and so I am not the right person to comment on the Indian political scene. But I do think India needs a change and Modi is a good candidate to accomplish that change from what I hear of him, because of what he has achieved in Gujarat. Indias future can be very bright because India is the mother of culture, something even world philosophers have agreed upon. We need to demonstrate that to the world, rather than trying to copy what goes on in the world, and make everybody realize how deep our philosophy is, how deep our values are.
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or the past decade, the Indian establishment has been scrupulously adopting market mantras of the land of Kennedy. Indias economy is now more open than that of the mother of all open economiesthe US. Both, however, have one thing in common. They are afraid to let people know the truth behind the establishments shady decisions. America wants to snoop on every global citizen. The Indian government is going out of its way to conceal the truth from the people. Defense Minister A K Antonys statement last week followed this example. Within a few hours of Pakistani soldiers killing five jawans at the LoC, Antony was forced to say terrorists in Pakistan
Despite LoC violations and nationwide protests, UPA is determined to host Nawaz Sharif at a friendly rendezvous in New York next month
the freedom to devise an independent foreign policy. But our diplomats were busy cozying up to the US, and ignored Bhutan. In the case of Sri Lanka, Indias top leadership reversed its policy on human rights, which led to not only DMKs exit from the UPA but also to the island nation turning hostile to India. Now it is creating more trouble by arresting Tamil fishermen on a daily basis. It has invited China to take over strategic port construction activities. Indias Bangladesh policy is worrying. Our diplomats are busy playing golf and smoking cigars in Nepal, a playground for extremists from
China and Pakistan. Despite having a massive Indian-origin population, Nepal is not an ally. Like other neighbors, it perceives India not as a dependable friend but a ferocious foe. South Block, it seems, has forgotten the saying that once you lose your neighbor's confidence, you run the risk of being gobbled up by Big Brother and losing your identity acquired at a huge cost and through hard work by leaders like Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (The article appeared in The Sunday Standard and The New Indian Express)
What is worrisome is that it isn't the government alone which is in the throes of indecisiveness. The entire political class seems to be in the grip of this malady.
ministry has been held responsible by the well-known economist, Arvind Panagariya, for robbing the reforms of their momentum although the market-oriented economic measures are known to be favored by the prime minister. The reason for this divergence of opinion is an inability of the people at the helm, viz. the prime minister and the Congress president, to evolve a consensus on the proposed path. It isn't that Manmohan Singh hasn't occasionally clarified where he stands. For instance, on the question of GM
crops, and also on nuclear power plants, he has said that it is the opinion of experts which should count since these are not matters which can be decided on the streets. Yet, the government takes weeks and months to proceed on these and other issues, like FDI in retail, for instance, which was once rolled back, because the ideological background of these measures is not cogently presented. It is obvious that unless the reins of leadership are gripped by a firm hand and the ideological direction
is specified, the present uncertainty will continue. Considering that the general election is less than a year away, it is however unlikely that there will be a change in the leadership style or an articulation of the Big Idea which should guide a nation, as it was when Indira Gandhi raised the "Garibi Hatao" (Banish Poverty) slogan in 1971, or Rajiv Gandhi spoke in 1984 of taking India into the 21st century, or V.P. Singh promised in 1989 to eradicate corruption. It can seem, therefore, that the
Congress's unexpected victory in 2004 caught it unprepared to either select a leader with firmly held views or formulate a clear ideology. As is known, Manmohan Singh declared himself to be an "accidental" prime minister who was chosen because Sonia Gandhi refused to accept the crown of thorns. It is possible that the sudden selection left no time for either Manmohan Singh to convince the party about his right-wing views, or for the party president to signal a return to a Nehruvian past of Fabian socialism, which she seemingly favours. Hence, the drift. What is worrisome is that it isn't the government alone which is in the throes of indecisiveness. The entire political class seems to be in the grip of this malady. As much is evident from the leadership tussle in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is unable to summon the courage to name a prime ministerial candidate. The paucity of leadership means that the country will continue to be rocked almost on a daily basis by events big and small, whether it is the suspension of an officer in a state or a border skirmish.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
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Key events since Independence that shaped the modern day India.
6. Nehru passes away -- 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru, architect of modern India and her Prime Minister for the 17 years since independence, died on May 27, 1964 at the age of 74. Born in Allahabad in 1889 into a wealthy Kashmiri family, he was a lawyer in England till 1912. But by the end of World War II, hed evolved into Mahatma Gandhi's second in command in India. As Indias first PM, he put the nation firmly on the path of industrialization and pioneered the non-aligned movement during the cold war. 7. Indira Gandhi becomes PM -- 1966 A new definition was bestowed upon India when Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was sworn in as prime minister on January 19, 1966. She is not only India's only female prime minister to date, but also remains the world's longest serving female PM as of 2013. She was also the only Indian premier to have declared an emergency in order to 'rule by decree' and the only Indian PM to have been imprisoned. 8. Creation of Bangladesh -- 1971 India defeated Pakistan and helped carve out Bangladesh. The victory shook off the countrys weak image after the unsettled 1965 war with Pakistan and the disastrous 1962 conflict with China. Earlier, President Nixon had sent in warships to the Indian Ocean to "threaten" India into submission. But Mrs Gandhis special bond with Brezhnev and her "friendship treaty" with the Soviets forced America to back off. However, the India-Pakistan Simla Agreement signed soon after, could not settle the Kashmir dispute once and for all. 9. First Nuclear Explosion, Pokhran 1 -1974 India joins the nuclear club after a successful explosion of its first nuclear testing device on May 18, 1974 in Pokhran desert in Rajasthan. The test, which made India the world's sixth nuclear power, broke the nuclear monopoly of the five members of the UN Security CouncilUS, USSR, Britain, China, and France. 10. Emergency's hard knocks - 1975 Democracy was suspended for 19 long months and India was reduced to a tin-pot dictatorship when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi declared emergency. She drove the worlds largest democracy to the brink - and beyond. Son Sanjay Gandhi ruled the roost before dying in a plane crash. 11. SLV-3 satellite launcher succeeds - 1980 On July 18, 1980, India's image as a country of bullock-carts was changed forever. Made in India, the SLV-3, Indias first satellite launcher, punched a 30 kg satellite 300 km into space. Made in India suddenly was a tag to be proud of. Today, India hurls indigenous satellites as big as trucks, 36,000 km into space, saving billions in foreign exchange. 12. Colour TV launched -- 1982 Indians saw colors come alive on screen for the first time on November 19, 1982 when viewers saw the first color telecast of the Asian Games in Delhi. Each color TV cost Rs 8,000 then. 13. India wins the World Cup - 1983 Indian did the unthinkable at Lord's on this day, June 25 in 1983. In a fight dubbed as David vs Goliath, the mighty West Indies were stunned by India in the World Cup final at the Lord's. Kapil's Devils made cricket an entire nations everlasting obsession. Its an event still etched in sharp memory for many Indians. 14. Bhopal Gas Tragedy -- 1984 On the night of December 3, more than three lakh unsuspecting Bhopal residents were suffocated by a mix of methyl isocyanate, chloroform and hydrochloric acid leaking from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) an Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).Over two thousand died instantly. Children of the survivors of this ghastly incident are still born with genetic defects. Investigations revealed that all safety regulations had been brazenly flouted. 15. Advanis Rath Yatra -- 1990 In a motor carriage emblazoned with the Om and the Lotus, Lal Krishna Advanis political rally covered 10,000 km across India. Countrys liberal, secular credentials stood severely eroded as the kar sevaks rubbed the nation's nose in the debris of the Babri Masjid and protests erupted. Advanis attempt at defeating VP Singh's reservations agenda worked. The BJP's support base surged in the 1991 elections: its seat share in the Lok Sabha increased from 85 to 120 in just two years. 16. Economic liberalization -- 1991 A foreign exchange crisis in 1991 induced India to abandon decades of inward-looking socialism and adopt economic reforms that have converted the once-lumbering elephant into the latest Asian tiger. Thanks to liberalization, the license raj ended; almost all Central taxes were lowered and public-sector monopoly on a whole range of industries was broken. A good 44 years after political freedom, India finally began to taste economic freedom. 17. Babri Masjid demolished - 1992 On December 6, 1992, Indian secularism fell to the fanatics pick-axe. When the Masjid crumbled, it ripped the fabric of communal harmony in free India. Today, Ayodhya is still a hotbed of dispute, a source of energy to the loony fringe of the Sangh Parivar and an abiding motif in the divisive politics of the republic. 18. Beauty pageants craze -- 1994 First Sushmita Sen became Miss Universe. Then Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World. The double whammy sparked off a near hysterical beauty industry. The historic win on the worlds largest beauty pageant platforms kindled the hope in thousands of starry-eyed girls. 19. Sabarmati Express torched, Gujarat riots - 2002 On February 27, 2002, Gujarat changed for the worse. The S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express caught fire at Godhra, killing 59 people, mostly kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya. The communal riots that followed affected at least 16 of the state's 25 districts and claimed over 1,000 lives, mostly Muslims. Many were rendered homeless.
1971: Indian General Jagjit Singh Aurora (left) hands a pen to Pakistani General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Governor of East Pakistan, on Dec 16 to sign the document surrendering his army, paving the way for the creation of Bangaldesh.
1975-77: A pensive Mrs Indira Gandhi during the fag end of the Emergency period, a dark era in Indias history.
1984: The deadly gas leak from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal killed over two thousand and gave genetic defects to the progeny of those exposed to the gas.
1994: Sushmita Sen became Miss Universe and Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World both in the same year.
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20. RTI Act -- 2005 The RTI Act was among a slew of rightsbased legislation put in place by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its first term. Of the package, the RTI law was the most successful, gaining in momentum faster and wider than anyone expected. Not only empowering the ordinary citizen, it became the means to unearth scams and scandals of those in power. The biggest hit was taken by the very government that created the law. It became the common mans greatest weapon against corruption and red-tapism. 21. US signs nuclear deal with India -- 2005 America, that once imposed sanctions on India for nuclear testing went out on a limb recognizing India as a responsible nuclear weapons power. It offered US nuclear technology, fuel and military hardware it had banned after Pokhran in 1998. On July 18, 2005 by signing a nuclear deal exclusively with India, it put aside non-proliferation laws it had held sacrosanct for the past 60 years. 22. Mumbai terror attacks -September 2008 All the violence before the Mumbai terror attacks seemed only a dress rehearsal for what turned out to be the most audacious terror strike in the history of independent India. Armed assailants held Indias financial capital hostage for nearly three days. 179 people were killed as many of Mumbais iconic landmarks including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal hotel and the Oberoi-Trident came under fire. 23. India decriminalizes gay sex - 2009 India took a giant step towards joining global mores on July 2, 2009 when the Delhi high court delivered a historic judgment to amend a 149-year-old colonial-era law Section 377 of the IPC and decriminalized private consensual sex between adults of the same sex. It is the biggest victory yet for gay rights and a major milestone in the country's social evolution. India becomes the 127th country to take the guilt out of homosexuality. 24. Commonwealth Games, Delhi -- 2010 On October 3, 2010, as the huge inflatable blimp rose slowly and smoothly into the hot air above Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to the sound of hundreds of traditional drums, pipes and conch shells, and the cheers of 65,000 people, India showcased Indias booming economy and growing international clout at the 19th Commonwealth Games that was marred by allegations of large-scale corruption, but were held succesfully. 25. Indian rupee gets a new symbol. 2010 India joins the elite currency club that includes US dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity. The symbol gave a distinctive character and identity to the Indian currency and further highlighted the strength and global face of the Indian economy 26. Unique identification project Aadhar -- 2010 The country's most ambitious and tech savvy initiative called 'Aadhaar' (base) to provide the unique ID cards was rolled out on September 29, 2010. It is the world's first ID project where biometric data is used to provide unique identification numbers for India's billion-plus citizens. 27. India unveils first Formula 1 race track After Formula One came to China with its race outside Shanghai in 2004, there remained no market in Asia more important for the elite racing series to break into than India. With a population of 1.2 billion and a growing middle class, the powerhouse on the subcontinent was a vast and potentially lucrative market for the series and its sponsors. 28. Nirbhaya rape case 2012 Over the last year, the story of Nirbhayaa 23-year-old paramedic who was gang raped with unspeakable brutality on a bus on December 16, 2012, and died 13 days later of her injurieshas triggered shock and outrage across the world and galvanized spontaneous and unprecedented protests in India. She has become an icon of resistance, a watershed moment.
2007: In July, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex Index eclipsed the 15,000 mark for the first time. The milestone meant India's markets had soared fivefold in five years. Economic liberalization at work.
2010: Delhi successfully hosted the Commonwealth Games, a massive project, and also did very well in the medals tally.
2010: Delhi successfully hosted the Commonwealth Games, a massive project, and also did very well in the medals tally.
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Politics, Science & IT, Medicine, Hospitality, Governance, Academics they are all over, more often than not, on the top. Indian Americans have arrived and how!
By Hiral Dholakia-Dave
hen Arvind Mahankali, 13, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 30th this year, he became the sixth consecutive Indian American winner and the 11th Indian American in the last 15 years to win the title. The statistics surrounding this winning-streak are astounding: Indian Americans make up 1% of the total US population. However, their representation in the Bee is significantly higher: This year, 20% of the 281 Bee contestants were of Indian origin; seven of the ten finalists were of Indian origin, as were the three finalists. It is no surprise, too, that the youngest participant this year (8yrs) is of Indian origin. This phenomenal representation by one ethnic minority has not only merited much commentary but is also a reflection of the larger picture where a million strong Indian American voters are gaining clout in the mainstream. nita Raghavan, the author of The Billionaire's Apprentice, in an article for The Daily Beast has aptly summarized the success stories thus: Less than 50 years since Asian immigration into the U.S. was relaxed, Indians have vaulted into Americas power elite. They now head Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo (think Chennai-born Indra Nooyi) and mete out law and order (think principal deputy solicitor general, Sri Srinivasan, a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 970 on May 23, 2013.) They create movies and write books (think M. Night Shyamalan, the Pondicherry-born director of The Sixth Sense, and Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer Prizewinning Bengali fiction writer) and they start innovative companies (think Vinod Khosla, the cofounder of Sun Microsystems and a prominent venture capitalist). The number of Indian-Americans who as US citizens are eligible to vote has now crossed one million with their total population, including multiple ethnicities, growing by 68 per cent over the 2000-2010 decade from 1.9 million to 3.19 million. Even counting single ethnicity (discounting mixed race), the Indian-American population grew from 1.67 million to 2.84 million in the same period, according to data released by an
USAID administrator Rajiv Shah is the highest ranking Indian American appointee.
organization devoted to tive focused on the Indian strengthening South Asian American experience, will Communities in America convey the history, contribuBased on the 2010 census, tions and challenges of nearthe number of Indian ly three million Indian Americans who can vote has Americans and signal their increased 100 per cent from place in America. 2000, when it was 576,000, Another major evidence of to 1.15 million in 2010. the rising profile of Indian Indian Americans now make Americans are the numerous the third largest AsianWhite House appointments. American group in the US President Barack Obamas after Chinese-Americans administration has by far the (3.79 million) and Filipinolargest number of Indian Americans (3.42 million), Americans. USAID adminbut with a much faster istrator Rajiv Shah is the US Attorney Preet Bharara highest ranking Indian growth rate. Besides, with two of them on cover of Time magazine American appointee. governors, four billionaires and over a score And who wont recognize Preet Bharara, sitting in high places in government, Indian the Punjab-born, Harvard and Columbia Americans not only keep making news but alumni currently serving as the U.S attorney have also emerged as major players in for the Southern district of New York. In American media. Take Indian-born Aparism 2012 Bharara was featured on the cover page Bobby Ghosh, for instance, who was last year of Times magazine as one among The 100 named by Time magazine as Editor-at- Most Influential People in The World. Large. In naming Ghosh, Time Managing Under his supervision the judiciary was Editor Richard Stengel, called him "one of involved in the high profile prosecution of Times greatest assets and this past year was insider trading and other financial fraud on one of his best yet." Wall Street including a detailed investigation Called "the most influential foreign policy made against Galleon Group founder Raj adviser of his generation" by Esquire Rajaratnam and former McKinsey chief Rajat Magazine, Zakaria hosts what has been Gupta. Due to this he was featured in Time dubbed one of the most intelligent shows on magazines cover story entitled This man is American TV, Fareed Zakaria GPS on bustling Wall Street. His name was also CNN. included in Vanity fairs New establishment Equally ubiquitous is Sanjay Gupta, the list and Bloomberg markets magazines 50 multiple Emmy-award winning chief medical most influential list. correspondent for CNN. He previously served as the chief counsel Little wonder then that the Smithsonian to Senator Chuck Schumer and also played a Institution, the significant role in U.S Senate committee durworld's largest ing the judicial investigations into the firings museum and of the U.S attorneys. research complex Its not just Indian American men. Indian is putting together origin women too have made their mark in an exhibition fields as diverse as politics, Information chronicling the Technology and governance. story of immiDuring the California State elections in grants from India 2010, Kamala Devi Harris was made the and their descen- Attorney General of California. She has predants in America. viously served as the District attorney of San " H o m e S p u n : Francisco from 2004-2011. She is the 32nd S m i t h s o n i a n and current attorney general of California. Indian American Prior to this she has served as the deputy disHeritage Project", trict attorney in Alameda County, California, the first from 1990-1998. Since 1998, she has been 2013 Scripps Spelling Bee winner Arvind Mahankali is Smithsonian initia- serving as the Managing Attorney of the thesixth consecutive Indian American winner
Career Criminal Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. She is also recognized by The Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California serving on the board of the California District Attorney's Association and is also the Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association. The 52 year old Chief Technology and Strategy Officer of $43 billion Cisco Systems, Padmasree Warrior has led the company through 15 acquisitions in 15 months. In a recent interview, Chairman John Chambers named her as one of the people who could get his job when he retires in 2-4 years. The poster women of tech companies, Warrior is among a handful of women executives in the overwhelmingly male-dominated technology world. For over 30 years, Indian physicians have made significant contributions to health care in this country, not only practicing in inner cities, rural areas and peripheral communities but also at the top medical schools and other academic centers. Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin. The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States. AAPI is an umbrella organization which has nearly 130 local chapters, specialty societies and alumni organizations. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over 100,000 physicians and fellows of Indian heritage in the United States. Similarly, founded in 1989, Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) is now one of the fastest-growing organizations in the industry, with nearly 11,000 members owning more than 20,000 hotels totaling $128 billion in property value, and employing 578,600 full- and part-time workers with a $9.4 billion payroll. These organization are not only working towards furthering the interests of their members in the US but are also creating bridges with their counterparts backhome in India thereby contributing to the now so important Indo-US strategic ties. The Silicon Valley is replete with dynamic startups, many, many of which have Indian origin founders who are changing positively the way we go about our lives, at the same time creating thousands of jobs in the US.
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This dance of young Men in Blue, after clinching ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, would be remembered forever in the history of Indian cricket.
that till the semi-finals they have won quite easily. It just speaks volumes about the way this team has developed into a unit. It speaks volumes of their temperament." Former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad was of the view that the Champions Trophy triumph would help in restoring the fans faith back in the game which took a beating in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal in IPL 6. "It's so much important to win the trophy to win the faith of Indian cricket fans back. It's a tremendous achievement from that point of view," he said. Added Wasim Akram: "The Indians have moved ahead of Pakistan as far as cricket is concerned. Theyre organising more tours around the world for all of their teams at all levels. Everybody wants to play against India at home or in India, so they are playing a lot more cricket than Pakistan and that has an impact on the quality of player you produce." Gaekwad praised the selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil for their decision to blood youngsters which has paid rich dividends. What does the success mean to the chucked out stars like Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan? They seem to be already fading from memory. To be fair to Dhoni and also the national selectors, these great players went out of the team on form after getting ample opportunities to fight their way back in. A couple of them are sulking, but that will not get them back into the side. After seeing this Indian team playing, Einstein would have added the word cricketers to his quotable quote to read: "If you want your children to be intelligent 'cricketers', read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."
Captain Cool
Under him, India reached the top of the Test rankings (a level theyve subsequently been toppled from), won the T20 and 50-over World Cups, and is now the undisputed king of the one-day game. Dhoni is the countrys most successful Test captain and is nine wins away from leapfrogging Mohd. Azharuddin in the ODI section. However, this latest triumph a bruising, unbeaten run through the competition with a team that was anything but the favourite should firmly locate him among Indian crickets greatest leaders. Today, Team India is a side that is reverberating with young dreams to take on to the world in all formats of the game. Team India created history again by recording their firstever five-match ODI series whitewash on foreign soil as they thrashed Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer, riding on leg-spinner Amit Mishra's careerbest six wicket haul. This feat was achieved under the captainship of Virat Kohli - another promising cricketer.
Showering praise
The cricket fraternity has hailed the Indian team's "tremendous achievement" of winning the ICC Champions Trophy with some former players raising a toast for captain Dhoni's "ability to rise from the ashes" and instill confidence in his young teammates. "It really has been a fantastic team because the way they have played, the way they have won every match, the way they have come out of tough situations, just speaks of a cham-
pion's mentality and that's what we have seen throughout this tournament," former skipper Sunil Gavaskar said. "He (Dhoni) has got this ability of rising from the ashes. It is his temperament where he has treated those two imposters - fame and failure -- in just the same manner. I think that is the reason why he is able to bounce back after a tough time," Gavaskar said. Former India captain Gundappa Vishwanath also lauded Team India. "Full marks to MS Dhoni. Now, he has all the world titles to his name. He is undoubtedly one of the best captains we have ever produced," Vishwanath said. Another former Indian captain and selector, Krishnamachari Srikkanth said that India has again proved their superiority. "This is an excellent win. Yet again they proved that they are the best team in the world in one-dayers. In 2011 they won the World Cup and again they proved their superiority with solid performances," he said. Gavaskar said Dhoni has managed to develop the team into a good unit. "You expect a final to be a close thing but before
Pitch dark
Amid all the praise came the darkest hour of the Indian cricket. IPL match fixing and BCCI drama over it. The credibility of the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been shattered beyond repair after the thorough exposure of the 'skeletons in their cupboard', according to a report. BCCI has been faced with a serious credibility crisis ever since the spot-fixing and betting scandal broke out in the sixth edition of the IPL. The whole issue led to N Srinivasan stepping aside as BCCI president and even the Bombay high court declared that the two-member panel, constituted to probe the scandal, was "illegal and unconstitutional". The Indians love for cricket had in a way, transformed the BCCI into what it is today. We hope that sense would prevail and the Indian cricket would come out of the din. Till then, in the 66th year of independence, it is time to celebrate the young Team India and its growing charisma.
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Indian Ambassador to US Nirupama Rao launched the book in Washington DC last month, with Inder Singh, chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), co-author of the book.
By Inder Singh and Sayantan Chakravarty; published by India Empire Publications; to order: indersingh@sbcglobal.net.
built up a reputation for hard, unmitigated labor. Through the money they earned, they bought up large tracts of farmland and other businesses that they were later able to sell and fund the Gadar movement. They were true heroes, their patriotism unmatched. They staked their lives so that India could break free, and breathe the sweet air of freedom. The intellect, thinking, brainstorming and
outreach for the movement became the responsibility of Indian students and teachers at Berkeley and Stanford in California. Their message was spread to overseas Indians across the world through the Gadar weekly newspaper, printed in Urdu and Punjabi from November 1913 at the Gadar Party headquarters, Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco. In the end, the revolution was short-lived. The British spy network foiled attempts of Gadarites to free their motherland. The gaddaars, the traitors succeeded; the patriots could not. The Gadarites were arrested and jailed, several hundreds from the moment they landed in India from overseas. They were tried swiftly in British special courts and sentenced to hanging, life imprisonment and held guilty of sedition, waging war against the crown and conspiracy. In January 2013, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh released a Gadar centenary stamp and announced that Gadar Memorial Hall will be upgraded to a functional library and museum. An oration on Gadar was held at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Kochi in January 2013. The Gadar Heroics takes the opportunity to continue that momentum, and see who those heroes were.
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Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments. To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell. The appointed day has come - the day appointed by destiny - and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we Independent Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave his have to do much before we refamous Tryst with Destiny speech to the Constituent Assembly deem the pledges we have so ofin Parliament on the night of August 14, 1947. ten taken. Yet the turning point On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which freedom, the Father of our Nation, who, embodying the we shall live and act and others will write about. It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the east, a new lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materialises. strayed from his message, but not only we but succeedMay the star never set and that hope never be betrayed! The service of India means the service of We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds sur- ing generations will remember this message and bear the the millions who suffer. It means the ending round us, and many of our people are sorrow-stricken and imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnifiof poverty and ignorance and disease and in- difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings re- cent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We sponsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, equality of opportunity. however high the wind or stormy the tempest. spirit of a free and disciplined people. - Nehru Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death. We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good and ill fortune alike. The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman. We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country, on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrowmindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action. To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the Throngs of Indians celebrating the first flush of freedom outside ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourRashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on August 15, 1947. selves afresh to her service. Jai Hind [Victory to India].
ong years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now. That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over. And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for anyone of them to imagine that it can live apart.
Freedom at Midnight
To continue to keep to the ideals envisioned by Indias freedom fighters and nation builders, it will do us good to recall and re-read Prime Minister Nehrus Tryst with Destiny he gave on the eve of independence , a speech that ranks with Lincolns Gettysburg address and captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the countrys hundred-year non-violent struggle to throw away the British yoke.
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Arun Gandhi, the New York based grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi shared the lessons he learnt from him in a talk he gave recently.
rowing up in South Africa in the 1940s, Arun Gandhi was beaten by whites for being too black and by blacks for being too white. I was filled with rage and wanted eye-for-an-eye justice, the Rochester, NY resident, now 79, said in a talk at the Carlson MetroCenter YMCA on July 30. Aruns parents saw the anger building up in him and sent him to live with his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, from whom they thought he could learn a valuable lesson. Arun shared some of the lessons he learned from his grandfather in the talk, Growing Up Gandhi. It was not a bed of roses growing up, he said. Sometimes it bordered on the ridiculous. Arun Gandhis father was the second of Mahatma Gandhis four sons. After moving to South Africa, he adopted a life of voluntary poverty. Living in a home 18 miles away from the nearest town, Arun learned about real poverty from the children of the laborers on the sugarcane plantations surrounding his home. He said he learned to make his own fun playing with them, building toy cars out of matchboxes and buttons. He, in turn, taught them the lessons he learned in school. By the time he was 7, Arun was leading informal classes on the alphabet, counting, and arithmetic. As we grew up and began to experience life, I saw that it could be a very wonderful experience, he said. Arun was sent to live with his grandfather in India at a time when the elder Gandhi was in the middle of the struggle for Indian independence. At the YMCA talk, he told stories about two of the lessons his grandfather taught him during those years. The first lesson he taught me was about understanding anger and being able to channel that anger into positive action, Arun said. The elder Gandhi compared anger to electricity, saying they could both be used with deadly force or for the good of humanity.
In the Gandhi household, Arun Gandhi said, punishment had no place. If the children misbehaved, their parents would take on an appropriate penance.
asked him to drive him to town. He got a shopping list from his mother and dropped his father off, promising to pick him up again at 5 p.m. After running some errands, Arun went to a John Wayne double feature and didnt pick his father up until 6 p.m. When his father asked why he was late, Arun was caught in a lie. His father said there must have been something wrong in the way he brought Arun up that would cause him to not be confident enough to tell the truth, and he insisted on walking the 18 miles home as a penance. For nearly 6 hours I was crawling behind him in the car,watching him go through this banal agony for a stupid lie, and I decided right then and there I would never lie again, Arun said. If he had punished me I would not have learned the lesson. I would have just tried harder to not get caught next time. Arun said that from then on, he made the decision every morning to be a better person today than yesterday. Nonviolence is about personal transformation, he said. It is about change in ourselves and our weaknesses. If we make that decision that we are going to be better human beings, we can achieve it. It is not impossible.
Arun Gandhi takes groups to India on yearly Gandhi Legacy Tours, exploring Indian villages to show visitors how young people are employing Gandhis teachings to bring about change in the county. For more information, visit ArunGandhi.net.
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Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1858 just after his show trial in Delhi and before his departure for exile in Rangoon. This is possibly the only photograph ever taken of the Mughal Emperor.
By Nirupama Dutt
he lament of the last of the proud Mughal emperors, Bahadur Shah Zafar, remains ever alive in the collective consciousness of the subcontinent in which the emperor who was also a poet cried out of his misfortune at not being able to avail of the two yards of land in his beloved country: Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar dafn ke liye/Do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-eyaar mein. This couplet still has the power to sadden the human heart to let out a helpless grieved sigh. This summer a campaign of sorts is being built to bring back the mortal remains of the emperor back from Rangoon (now Yangon) in Myanmar. The campaigners of this very just although somewhat delayed demand are a handful of liberals and Leftists who see in Zafar a symbol of the composite culture of pro-colonial India. These include the old guard like journalists Kuldip Nayar and Saeed Naqvi, lawyer Rajinder Sachar, historian Mushirul Hasan, Leftwing theatre artiste Shamsul Islam, Prem Singh, general secretary, of the near-forgotten Socialist Party of India. After a Press conference in early May in New Delhi, a public meeting was held at the Law Institute in the Capital but the old guard is rather surprised that but
for stray reporting, the media has not highlighted the campaign with the emphasis that it required. In 2006, an initiative had come from the government itself in this direction, a year before the 150th anniversary of the War of Independence. A high-level meeting was held at 7 Race Course Road, residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, attended by the who's who of Indian politicians, academics, artists, writers and journalists. The Prime Minister raised the issue, describing Zafar as the man who defined India's diversity, liberalism, integrity and the national movement. All were in unison that the remains of the emperor who suffered great tragedy should be brought back and it would be poetic justice if these could be buried in the two yards at a dargah in Mehrauli. The grave is still waiting to be claimed for Zafar over a century and a half after he chose it. Zafar's wish was to be buried in the dargah of Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki in Mehrauli and had earmarked two yards of land there. Dargah caretakers have kept an empty grave to honor wishes of the star-crossed emperor.
Burmese king
Meanwhile, at the time of his hasty burial in Yangon in November 1862, a bamboo fence surrounded his grave and with grass growing over the precise spot was lost for a long time and only in a restoration exercise as late as 1991 was the original brick-lined grave discovered. The Burmese Muslims then built a shrine and Zafar is worshipped there as a Saint to whom devotees go for wish fulfillment. Ironically, Zafar's own wish remains unfulfilled. The sad chapters of colonial history tell that while Zafar was exiled to Myanmar, King Thibaw of Burma (1859-1916) was exiled to India and died pining for his land in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Of
late, Myanmar has been wanting the tomb of the King to be relocated in his native country. Political dignitaries have not responded to this civil-society demand that has yet to gather popular momentum. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj is the perhaps the only one who has warmly supported this campaign. The responses to her statement on Twitter show that not many are interested setting the wrongs of the faraway 1857 in present times. One response smirks at
concern for what happened over a 150 years ago, while another asks about the mortal remains of the BJP in Karnataka. The British had showed callousness to the last Mughal and now it is indifference. So is there a hope for the lost cause unless some smart Bollywood director brings him back into public domain like Aamir Khan did to Mangal Pandey, the rebel soldier who led the 1857 revolt? (Courtesy: The Tribune, Chandigarh)
Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar dafn ke liye Do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar mein.
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s we know that patriots from each and every faith did in some way or the other display their patriotism for Mother India in the last millennium before Independence. But not much is known about the contribution of the Jain Patriots who too had displayed their love and patriotism for their motherland fought and sacrificed much for its sake.
Jorawarmal Bapna
In the 19th Century another patriot was Sheth Jorawarmal Bapna (owner of Jaiselmers famous Patwa Haveli) who acted as a prominent diplomat between the British and the local Rajput princes and had played an instrumental role in settling crucial issues of princely states like Udaipur, Jodhpur and Indore. He also had built many Jain temples in Rajasthan and elsewhere.
Virchand R Gandhi
On 25th September, 1893 in Chicagos Parliament of World Religions, Jain youth jcon, Virchand Raghavji Gandhi had displayed his patriotism by defending Hinduism & Indian culture though he was there to represent Jainism. Richard Hughes Seager in his book on the 1893 event mentioned that the audience had applauded Virchand on his this patriotic speech. A true patriot is someone who feels or voices expressions of patriotism, love and devotion to ones country. VRG displayed his patriotism, love and devotion for Mother India and its spiritual heritage. Later he also had corrected prevailing fallacy about India that was spread by Christian missionaries that in India mothers used to throw their babies in Ganga and people willingly used to sacrifice their life by coming under the rath of Jagannath. He talked about economic and political freedom five decades before India became independent.
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country of contrasts listening to Justin Bieber on their iPods. Its incredible how much progress India has made in the last decade or so. You can see it almost everywhere. The economy is churning, people are earning, and rupees they are burning. The people who rode bicycles to work a decade ago are now riding motorcycles, those who rode motorcycles are now driving cars, and those who drove cars are now relaxing on houseboats in Kerala. As the country develops, it may one day be flooded with tourists. Then I wont be surprised to see a luxury bus with the words Intolerable India on it. And underneath, some genius in the tourism department will include an explanation: The mantra to shoo tourists.
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.
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Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj delivered keynote speeches on spirituality & vegetarianism.
Naperville, IL: Tens of thousands of fun-seekers from throughout the Chicagoland area and over a dozen countries flocked to the Chicago suburb of Naperville, IL this past weekend for Veggie Fest, one of the largest vegetarian festivals in North America. Now in its 8th year, Veggie Fest has become a popular summer event that people look forward to each year. The gorgeous Chicago weather encouraged the large crowds to come early and stay late to enjoy more than 100 vendor booths, the Spirituality and Health Symposium, an extensive international vegetarian food court, live cooking demos by cookbook authors and chefs, meditation classes, exciting childrens activities, and great live music by local bands. Admission was free, with Science of Spirituality its principle sponsor. On both days, people enjoyed the wide variety of vegetarian fare in the international food court, danced to the music, and attended the many talks and demos Veggie Fest has become noted for. Vendors busily
served the thousands of people coming to their booths many making record sales. This has been our best Veggie Fest yet, said event coordinator Jonathan Kruger. Many of our vendors, as well as the local fire and health departments tell us were one of the best run festivals in DuPage County. Its great to see so many people coming out for a weekend in celebration of vegetarianism and spirituality. Highlighting the weekends festivities were the keynote talks by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, a world-renowned spiritual Master and head of Science of Spirituality. Over 2,000 people attended his talks with overflow crowds gathering around the grass outside the main tent. On Saturday, during his talk, What is Meditation? the spiritual Master spoke on how all faiths and traditions advocate meditation in some form, whether they call it sitting in stillness, inversion, prayer with attention, or turning within. He reminded the audience that our
Festival organizers were inspired to see that 2200 people pledged to take the Vegetarian Challenge, an initiative encouraging people to drop meat, fish, chicken, and eggs
for two weeks in exchange for a vegetarian lifestyle. For more information about Veggie Fest, visit www.veggiefestchicago.org.
Veggie Fest 2013 attracted tens of thousands of health-enthusiasts from around the world.
Indian artist set to break Guinness record for the longest painting
New York: Gurmej Singh, widely known as Artist SinGh, is a famous if controversial artist based in southwest Michigan. He is now all set to break the Guinness world record for the longest painting by an individual artist. Called The Worlds Best Stunt Painter, SinGh rose to fame with his unique ability to paint while performing stunts such as levitating, jumping from heights, and hanging himself from trees. His shows are high on entertainment quotient, while producing some finest art pieces. The Kalamazoo Gazette has referred to him as the man who redefines art. Besides one-man shows and public sculptures in many parts of the world, his work is on permanent display in galleries in Kalamazoo, MI, Dubai and India. He is also known for his unique drip painting technique, where he paints without actually touching the canvas. SinGhs love for unconventional painting methods has made him the center of attraction. In the past, SinGh hit the headlines for his controversial works such as the one based on the rape of Oprah Winfrey and Saddam Husseins effigy. Currently SinGh is all set to participate in ArtPrize 2013 and break the record for the worlds longest painting. The painting will be displayed for the $560,000 competition. He aims to achieve this rare feat in a duration of less than two
Stunt painter Artist SinGh and a part of his longest painting.
months. Speaking to The South Asian Times, SinGh shared how he has been painting for more than 17 hours every day to complete this work on time to be displayed in the Grand Rapid exhibition on September 18. This project is being
supported by Claredon Textiles, which has provided $50,000 worth of canvas. OLeary Paint has provided all the paint. SinGh also spoke about some of the challenges he is facing while working on breaking this record. Apart from the erratic weather and rain, which slows down his work, finding a sponsor is tough. He
agreed to the competition criteria including paying for the visit of a Guinness official that costs $9000. On www.artistsingh.com, one can even book a piece of the worlds longest painting for a reasonable price and follow SinGhs blog. SinGh dedicates this work to liberty and well-being of women all around the world.
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NATIONAL COMMUNITY
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will be at her Aug 26 kickoff events suggests she will be able to tap the national money pipeline again and again, the Post said. "The natural tilt of the state gives Haley an advantage, too," it said noting "Haley's 2010 race against Sheheen was pretty competitive, even in a Republic wave year. But the the state remains a bright red (Republican), which is a challenge for Sheheen." "For Democrats, it's an opportunity to make a pickup in a deeply Republican state, which would be a big-time gain for the party," the daily said. "The bottom line is this: South Carolina is a contest worth watching, because of the high stakes both in and outside the state," the Post said. "And while the race could move in either direction as we head toward 2014, right now, Haley could lose, but just about everything would need to go right for Democrats," it said.
The winning team of Gopi Ramanathan, Asha Jain and Neelam Kaur Sandhu
the St. Cloud Times. "It (the world competition) is different from any other geo bee I've been in. It was very fun." Ramanathan, who has won his state geography bee twice already, finished seventh in the 2012 National Bee in Washington, DC. "I was kind of surprised that they asked me to do it," he told the St. Cloud Times. "I thought it was odd because it had been a year since I last competed in a geo bee, but I was happy to be selected." Students around the world earned the chance to be part of the World Championship
competition by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. The 15 other teams competing were from Australia, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Britain. Indonesia and Mongolia participated for the first time this year. The competition was sponsored by Google, and presented by the US National Geographic Society in partnership with the Russian Geographical Society.
Internet millionaire Gurbaksh Chahal pleads not guilty to domestic violence charges
California: Gurbaksh Chahal, the multimotion seeking to rail Chahal's bail. millionaire Internet mogul pleaded not According to court documents, proseguilty Aug. 9 in San Francisco, Superior cutors said Chahal was angry when he Court, to 47 charges of domestic violence learned his girlfriend had gone to Las in connection with an argument Vegas with another man and cheated with his girlfriend. He allegedly on him. hit and kicked his girlfriend The alleged attack reportedly 117 times over a half-hour occurred about 10:30 a.m. in period Monday morning at his his home. He beat her, pulled home in The Infinity Towers, her hair and threatened to kill according to prosecutors, her despite multiple pleas from adding the entire assault was the victim, the court documents caught on video. Chahal, 31, said. Gurbaksh Chahal of Rincon Hill, the chief She called 911 when he left the executive of online advertisroom, prosecutors said, and coming company RadiumOne, also allegedly pre- mented to investigators that when police rang vented the young woman from breathing for the doorbell she was "saved by the bell." 20 seconds during a dispute prosecutors said Police reportedly seized surveillance video was fueled by jealousy. from cameras inside the bedroom. The video A judge raised his bail from $125,000 to $1 provides a "grisly picture" of the attack, prosmillion, ordered him to stay away from his ecutors said. The girlfriend told police it wasgirlfriend and seized his passport, according n't the first domestic violence incident. The to prosecutors. He is out of custody after most recent attack, she claimed, occurred posting the $1 million bail. July 4 when he allegedly busted her lip. Chahal's attorney Stuart Gordon called the The entrepreneur was once named charges overblown in a statement sent to America's "most eligible bachelors" by reporters. He said the woman "provided pho- ExtraTV. He reportedly founded his first tographic proof of an unblemished complex- Internet advertising company, ClickAgents, ion to SFPD" and filed an affidavit requesting at age 16 and later sold it for $40 million. At that the investigation be terminated. 25, Yahoo bought another one of his compaProsecutors told a different story in a nies, BlueLithium, for $300 million.
Ambassador Nirupama Rao co-hosted "Reflections on Peace: From Gandhi to King" concert at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Aug. 10 honoring 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Seen here at preview concert Aug. 9.
Washington, DC: A candlelight concert "Reflections on Peace: From Gandhi to King" at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Aug. 10 was previewed at the Washington residence of India's Ambassador Nirupama Rao. Spirituals, songs of peace and the civil rights movement, classics by Beethoven and Brahms, were interwoven with readings of passages from Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King at the Ambassador's residence Aug. 9. Gandhi, who led India to independence through nonvio-
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INDIA
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Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D.K. Joshi briefing Defense Minister A.K. Antony and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan about the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak submarine in Mumbai.
Earlier this year, the European Union also ended a decade-old boycott of Narendra Modi
ages should be the future of modern India. Gardiner is also a shadow minister. The influential Labour organisation works to further links between the Labour Party and India. Asked whether Modi is capable of governing India, Gardiner said, "Gujarat is the size of the UK or any European country. Since he has taken the state to the highest pinnacles of growth, it's easy to see him as the head of the UK or any European country." Earlier this year, the European Union also ended a decade-old boycott of Modi.
Mumbai: At least three bodies of sailors who were trapped inside INS Sindhurakshak submarine, which exploded, caught fire and sank here, were recovered on August 16 by naval diving teams. The fate of 15 more sailors was still uncertain as rescue efforts continued since the past 36 hours, an official said requesting anonymity. The identity of the bodies, or their condition, is still not known. The defense ministry released the names of the three officers and 15 sailors who were aboard the ill-
fated submarine INS Sindhurakshak. Eight of these 15 personnel, including two officers, were married. The divers' efforts are seriously hampered by poor visibility conditions inside the submarine which is filled with water, extremely restricted spaces and displacement of most of the equipment from their original locations. The heat of the explosion had melted parts of the internal hull deforming the submarine hatches, preventing access to different compartments. Heavy duty pumps have been deployed to pump
out the seawater from the sunken submarine. The cause of the explosions and a raging fire - to which the submarine succumbed within six hours and sank - is still not clear nearly three days after the incident. US ambassador Nancy J. Powell has expressed "sincere condolences" over the sinking of the Indian submarine INS Sindhurakshak. Powell offered the condolences on behalf of the US to the Indian people and to the "families and friends of those lost aboard INS Sindhurakshak", an American embassy statement said.
Parliament disrupted over Vadra's land deals Onion makes people cry,
New Delhi: Both houses of parliament were rocked this week over allegations of illegality in Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's land deals in Haryana, leading to proceedings being disrupted. While the Congress played down the issue, the government slammed Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who probed the land deals, for his "administrative overreach" and said the matter could not be debated in parliament as it was "a state issue" and urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not to disrupt the house over the matter. "I don't think when you exercise quasi-judicial authority, you are supposed to call off the principles of natural justice," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said outside Parliament House. Parliament Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said parliament cannot discuss the purportedly illegal land deals of Vadra as it is a "state
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's land deals in Haryana are under the scanner
issue". "It is a state issue and parliament does not discuss state issues ... if they (opposition) want to discuss, then Congress members will demand a debate on the mining scam in Karnataka and mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh. We must discuss issues of Gujarat," Kamal Nath told Times Now channel here. The allegations forced repeated adjournments of the Rajya Sabha
and the Lok Sabha which saw the BJP raise slogans like "Congress ka hath, damad ke sath (Congress' hand with the son-in-law) referring to Vadra. BJP members even called Vadra a "thief". "He is a thief, so what if he is a son-in-law," BJP members shouted. The party also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored special investigation team (SIT) probe into the alleged land deals.
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New Delhi: Pakistani terrorists might sabotage new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's peace policy towards New Delhi by staging terror attacks in India, a new book by a Pakistani journalist warns. Author Babar Ayaz also says in "What's Wrong With Pakistan" (Hay House India) that Sharif's peace overtures might suit the Pakistan
Army for now as it wants to cut the tensions with India. Sharif, the 364-page book says, wants to resurrect the peace process from where he had started with the former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 before Pakistan's Kargil war sabotaged it. "This might suit the military for the time being as it has been looking
New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the people of his country aspire to "promote friendly, cooperative and good neighborly" ties with India and he looked forward to meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York. In an Independence Day message, the Pakistan prime minister said it is Islamabad's "desire to turn a fresh page in our bilateral relations". His message read: "The peo-
ple of Pakistan aspire to promote friendly, cooperative and good neighborly relations between our two countries. I would like to reiterate that it is in our common interest to work closely to achieve our shared goals of peace and prosperity in the region. I look forward to our meeting in New York to discuss issues of mutual interest. It is our desire to turn a fresh page in our bilateral relations."
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US AFFAIRS
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Bill de Blasio (right) has overtaken early favorites Anthony Weiner & Christine Quinn. the two engaged in heated exchanges throughout the night. Incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg has served three terms, one more than the normally permitted. Meanwhile, former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer has a 19-point lead over his rival, Scott Stringer, for New York City comptroller, according to an opinion poll released Wednesday. Propelled by an advantage of better than 3-to-1 among black voters, Spitzer, who quit as Governor after a prostitution scandal, was supported by 56 percent of likely Democratic primary voters to Stringer's 37 percent, the Quinnipiac University poll showed.
INTERNATIONAL
At least 525 people were killed in assaults on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi
renounce violence and return immediately to negotiations. "On the orders of foreign minister Westerwelle, the ambassador was told the position of the German government in no uncertain terms," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman. Turkey's Erdogan, a Morsi supporter, told reporters in Ankara that "the security council of the United Nations should convene quickly to discuss the situation in Egypt". "This is a very serious massacre ... against the Egyptian people who were only protesting peacefully," he added, criticizing "the silence" of the global community in the face of the bloodshed. The United States did not initially criticise the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected and Islamist leader, and has avoided using the term "coup," which under US law would have halted some USD 1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo.
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ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
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Amitabh Bachchan was crowned the greatest Bollywood star in a poll by a British Asian weekly newspaper with the top 10 list is dominated by actors from Indian cinema's golden era.
mitabh Bachchan has emerged as the greatest Bollywood star in a UK poll celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. The multi-award winning actor of countless classics bagged a major share of votes from critics, fans and the film fraternity to be named on top in the survey '100 Greatest Bollywood Stars' published by British Asian weekly 'Eastern Eye'. In a career spanning an incredible 40 years, 70-year-old Bachchans blockbusters include 'Sholay' and 'Deewar'. He is also credited with bridging the gap between films and TV by hosting the popular game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', which is in its seventh season. Referred to as Big B by his fans,
and critical acclaim. Bachchan's own choice and yesteryear's acting legend Dilip Kumar came in second. Evidently, the charisma of veteran actor Dilip Kumar has stood the test of time. He was followed by Shah Rukh Khan in the third position. Dilips haunting Devdas with Suchitra Sen, in which he gave an iconic performance definitely was much superior to SRKs later version with Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. Shah Rukh Khan may have been crowned the biggest superstar since Big B, but many argue that his histrionic ability is limited, and
According to the survey compiled via a combination of audience votes through social media, box-office figures, cinematic impact and critical acclaim, the top five Bollywood stars of all time are: Amitabh Bachchan (No. 1), Dilip Kumar (2), Shah Rukh Khan (3), Madhuri Dixit (4) Raj Kapoor (5). Bachchan was also the first Bollywood star to be honored with a wax likeness at Madame Tussauds and represented India as the Olympic torch-bearer at the London 2012 Games. "If you take longevity, impact, number of fans and varied body of work into account then Amitabh Bachchan is the greatest movie star in the history of global cinema. No other movie star has remained at the very top for as long as he has or made a positive impact on the lives of so many," said Asjad Nazir, showbiz editor of the magazine. The survey was compiled via a combination of audience votes through social media, box-office figures, cinematic impact now he is getting old for his lover boy image. Madhuri Dixit topped the survey among Bollywood's female actresses and was placed fourth in the overall list. "I am proud to be a part of that and I am also proud to be a part of the whole movement where cinema is getting better and we are trying to do something different," Madhuri said. Given her intact appeal, no wonder Madhuri has moved lock, stock and barrel with hubby Dr Nene and her two sons from America as she could no more resist the offers from Bollywood. She has made a successful entry back into films and into the hearts of her millions of fans who just cannot have enough of her. The great showman of Bollywood, Raj Kapoor, rounded off the top five list of greatest stars. Nargis, who is one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian Cinema, landed in the sixth position. Both Nargis and Raj Kapoor made famous romantic pair on screen in films such as Awara, Shri 420 and Barsaat, which were all hits during the 1950s not only in India but also abroad. Russians and the people in the Middle East and eastern European countries loved Raj Kapoor movies and still sing Awara hoon The others who made it to the top 10 included Dev Anand (7), Waheeda Rehman (8), Rajesh Khanna (9) and Sridevi (10). Dev Anand is another great favorite that NRIs love, in particular his Guide. Waheeda Rehman still rules through the movies that we still love to watch such as Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Khamoshi. Rajesh Khannas movies look fresh even now and full of positive energy as this evergreen star enters the screen. Aradhana and Anand are everyones favorite as they relive his nostalgia and talk about him as if he is still alive. Other notable stars to make the cut include Salman Khan (11), Aamir Khan (14), Dharmendra (15), Hema Malini (18), Madhubala (24), Kajol (30), Hrithik Roshan (32), Rani Mukerji (38), Kareena Kapoor (43), Mumtaz (50), Saif Ali Khan (59), Priyanka Chopra (86) and Katrina Kaif (93).
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74
ASTROLOGY
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Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
17th August, 2013 Traits in you: Your governing planet Saturn makes you confident, unique, creative, dynamic, and intelligent. You are determined enough to perform any task assigned to you. So you always remain a step ahead from others. Along all your good characteristics, you have few negative characters as well. You need to work on your unreliability, insensitiveness, and selfishness. Health this year: Though you would not face any major health related issues, you should take extra care of your health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your health in stake. Go for regular medical checkups. Finance this year: Your confidence and hard work will help you earn a lot of money and you will be able to expand your business as well. You may go ahead investing on anything you want as this year is pretty rewarding for you. Your past legal disputes will get resolved this year and give you enough opportunity to make money. Career this year: Your interest and enthusiasm to perform will make you an extraordinary performer in your professional circuit. You will be respected and rewarded for your work. You need to take the leadership responsibility to cement your position in your organization. Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse or partner will blossom this year. If you are not married, you may have to wait for few more years though you are eligible for marriage. Lucky month: September, January and May 18th August, 2013 Traits in you: Being ruled by Mars, you are aggressive, courageous, aspiring, focused, friendly, generous, and honest. You lag behind others because you lose many opportunities. You need to work on your frequent mood swings and temperament. Health this year: You should take your prescribed medication in spite of a better health. The health of your parents may make you a worried person. Finance this year: Your financial condition will be pretty good as the movements of your stars are favorable for making money this year. You may go for any investment on real estate or gold. Do not trust anyone when partnerships are concerned. You should not lend or borrow money as it will create disputes. Career this year: You will be establishing yourself
19th August, 2013 Traits in you: Your ruler the sun makes you unique, creative, dedicated, responsible, reliable, and confident. You are the master of intelligence and skills. However, your domination nature and stubbornness you make you lag behind others. Health this year: Your overall health would remain fine this year. Some of the aged members in your family may fall sick frequently to add your woes. You need to take care of your family members by providing them better medical attention. Finance this year: Your undisputed energy and enthusiasm to earn money will make you financially stable this year. You may go for property sale this year and earn a lot of money. Career this year: You may have to take few major decisions in your profession. You can succeed if you put some extra effort in your work and deliver quality. You have to drive the team to put qualitative effort. Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with your love interest this year. You will lead a blissful life with your beloved with lots of love, care, concern, and support. Lucky month: November, February and July 20th August, 2013 Traits in you: As dominated by the Moon, you are very peace loving. You do not want to get involved in unnecessary talks. You are reliable, emotional, generous, humble, kind, mature, and optimistic. However, you need to eradicate selfishness from your nature to improve as an individual. Health this year: As far as health is concerned, you will be enjoying a pretty good health this year. However, some of your family members may fall sick and that will bother you.
21st August, 2013 Traits in you: As you are ruled by Jupiter, you are ambitious, dignified, friendly, cheerful and highly optimistic. You are a believer but you do not believe anything without proper proof. People respect in many ways as you are very social and friendly to them. However, your arrogance blocks the way to become a complete person. Health this year: Your sibling may suffer from an incurable disease this year. You need to take care of yourself and your family members by providing them with modern medical facilities. Finance this year: You may be able to improve your financial conditions by find an extra source of income. You may go for new short term investments. You will be able to obtain luxury and happiness by spending money. Career this year: Your confidence will convert you into a winner. You will be capable enough to overcome any challenge you need to face. The chances of your promotion and transfer are high due to the organizational change. Romance this year: You will find your partner to be a huge emotional support for you during the tough times of your life. You may get involved in a matrimonial alliance. Lucky month: October, December and April 22nd August, 2013 Traits in you: Your dominating planet Uranus makes you dynamic, friendly, fun loving, reliable, focused and optimistic. Your skills and optimism allows you to crate wonders in everything you do. However, you
need to work on your frequent mood swings to obtain expected success in your life. Health this year: Your health will not be very normal this year. You may suffer from some chronic diseases. You should take some precautions before you fall sick badly. Finance this year: Though you will be able to improve your financial status, you may end up spending a lot of money in buying luxury and comfort for yourself and your family. You may put your money in real estate for better returns. Career this year: Your efforts will bear results and you will be appreciated with awards and rewards towards the end of the year. You may get a promotion for your smart work and efficiency. Romance this year: You will be enjoying a better relationship with your partner or beloved. You will get the required emotional support from your partner whenever you seek. Lucky month: September, February and July 23rd August, 2013 Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mercury makes you realistic, reliable, sincere, and optimistic. You are the master of an excellent memory power and charismatic characteristics. You need not get nervous at tough time as it may create a question mark on your capabilities. Health this year: Though you would not face any major health related issues, you should take extra care of your health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your health in stake. Go for regular medical checkups. Finance this year: You may get your pending works done, which will yield enough financial benefits for you. You should invest in share market or real estate to get better benefits. You need not borrow or lend money as it may create disturbances in your personal life. Career this year: You need not concentrate on the gossips prevailing in your workspace. You should concentrate on your career goals and try to succeed in every department. You should handle professional issues diplomatically. Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse or partner will blossom this year. If you are not married, you may have to wait for few more years though you are eligible for marriage. Lucky month: November, March and August
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SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
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The solution to finding peace requires us to look at the problem from a new perspective. We cannot change the nature of the world or its problems, but we can add a new dimension to life that will give us peace.
advisors to help run his kingdom. Among these great minds was Birbal, the wisest of them all. He was quite clever and could figure out solutions to difficult problems by looking at them from a totally different perspective. One day Akbar wanted to test his advisors, so he presented them with a puzzle. He took a stick and drew a line in the sand. He asked the advisors to try to shorten the line without erasing any part of it. Each counselor took a turn, but all were stumped. They could not figure out how to make it shorter. Finally, Birbal came forward, took the stick, and carefully drew a line next to the one the emperor had drawn but Birbal made his line longer. By drawing the second line longer, it made the original one look shorter. The solution to finding peace requires us to look at the problem
ings of our mind and body. Most of us think of ourselves as a body and a mind; few realize that we have another part that is our true essence, our soul. When our soul declares its own independence from the bondage of the mind and body, it soars with exhilaration and freedom. Instead of being bound to the limitations of time and space of this earthly realm, the soul experiences its unlimited nature as it experiences the bliss and joy of regions of creation that exist beyond this realm. Scientists of the soul, often
ife and strife seem to go hand in hand. We have all experienced this. Any happiness that we receive is often short-lived, for at any moment we may suddenly find ourselves in states of sorrow. Disturbances occur at each and every stage of our life. Although existence in this world is turbulent, life should be more than a pendulum in which we swing back and forth between moments of joy and moments of sorrow. The dictionary defines peace as freedom from strife, a state of serenity, calmness, and stillness. Despite the obstacles, we can attain true peace in this lifetime, but to do so, we need to undergo a shift in our way of thinking. Our angle of vision needs to change. We tend to look for peace in the outer world. We hope to find it in our possessions, positions, and relationships, but the loss of any of these causes us to become agitated and distraught. Our peace of mind is disturbed. Everything in this world is subject to change and eventual decay. So long as we look to the transitory world for happiness, we will be disappointed. We need to change the way we look at this problem. An anecdote from the life of the Moghul Emperor Akbar can help us in this regard. Akbar is considered to be one of the most enlightened emperors of India. He had a number of
from a new perspective. We cannot change the nature of the world or its problems, but we can add a new dimension to life that will give us peace. Lasting peace can be found within us. Enlightened luminaries throughout history have had mystical experiences which verified for them the existence of an inner spiritual reality. Mystics from every religious tradition have described their
inner spiritual experiences. They have spoken of heavenly realms that co-exist with the physical world. These are realms of joy and love which are within us. They are regions of eternal peace and bliss beyond time and space. Although we cannot change the fundamental nature of the world, we can become attuned to the worlds lying within us. In order to find peace in the world, we must first find it within ourselves. We can do this only by changing our perspective in life. The way to reach the spiritual realms is to invert through a process known as meditation. Through meditation we can separate our soul from the body and voyage into the regions within. We have within us an opening or door by which our attention can enter the higher regions. This entryway is located between and behind the two eyebrows. It is known as the seat of the soul in the body and has been referred to in many ways by various religions and philosophies. It has been called the single eye or third eye, the shiv netra, divya chakshu, daswan dwar, or tenth door. If we can withdraw our attention from the outer world and focus it at this point we will see the Light of the higher regions reflected therein. As our soul collects at this point, it rises into the beyond. We may spend our time seeking worldly enjoyments, but they last for only short periods of time. So long as our attention is identified with the world outside, we are faced with the problems and miseries that are inherent in physical existence. By inverting our attention and rising above the physical body through a process of meditation on the inner Light, we will find regions within which give us lasting peace. For more information contact www.sos.org.
referred to as saints, mystics, philosophers, or Masters, have been exploring the regions beyond since recorded history. They came to the same conclusions. We are more than the body and mind; we are the soul. The soul can travel into spiritual realms and merge back in its source, the Oversoul, the Creator, or the Divine. They have all achieved this realization by inverting their attention, whether it is called prayer, inversion, or meditation. They tell us our true independence comes when we sit in silence, close our eyes,
direct our attention within, and experience the Divine. The journey begins with our inner awareness or inner eye opening up to see inner light and hear celestial music. Through further absorption in these, our soul transcends awareness of the physical body to become aware of the inner realms, such as the astral, causal, and supracausal regions, until it merges into a region of all spirit, the home of the Divine. We then discover our soul, which is spirit, is the same essence as the Creator, which is also spirit. The two merge
back into one and we experience limitless bliss, joy, and divine love. When we celebrate the outer independence days in our respective countries, whether it is July 4 in the United States, or on different dates in different countries, let us also strive to achieve our spiritual independence. We can do so by meditating on the inner Light and Sound which will lead our soul to recognize that we are more than the physical body and intellect. We are soul, a part of the Divine, and our true nature is bliss, joy, and love.
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