Washington: Amid a row over

reports that the US National

Security Agency was authorized to
spy on BJP in 2010, the US hopes
it would not impact ties with India.
"Well, we certainly hope not,"
State Department spokesperson Jen
Psaki told reporters Wednesday
when asked if the incident would
impact US ties with India as the
new Prime Minister Narendra
Modi belongs to BJP.
"As you know, there's been an
invitation issued for a visit, and
we' re looking forward to that,
hopefully in the fall," she said
referring to President Obamas
invitation to Modi to visit the US.
"We look forward to continuing
discussion on a full range of bilat-
eral and regional issues," Psaki
said.
Citing documents leaked by for-
mer NSA contractor turned
whistleblower Edward Snowden,
the Washington Post had Tuesday
reported that the BJP was among
six political organizations across
the world NSA was authorized to
spy on by a US surveillance court.
Psaki, however, declined to
"comment publicly on every spe-
cific alleged intelligence activity".
She also cited a Jan 17 speech in
which Obama had "made clear that
he's instructed his national security
team as well as the intelligence
New York: A meeting may take place between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel during his halt in Germany on way to
Brazil for the BRICS summit this month.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed
Akbaruddin said that it was normal to have a transit
halt during a trans-Atlantic journey and in previous
instances also these transit halts have been in
Germany.
"A transit halt is what is being planned for and that's
where we are. If in the context of the transit halt, there
is a request for any further interaction, at this stage
that has not been decided upon," he said in response to
queries about a meeting
The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism
LIFESTYLE 25 OP ED 12 FIFA WORLD CUP 23 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
New York: On July 12, people
from all walks of life will have the
opportunity to be personally
blessed by Brahmrishi Sri
Guruvanand Swami, lovingly
known as Gurudev, at The
International Guru Poornima 2014
celebration. This event will take
place at the New Jersey Performing
Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark,
NJ, from 3:00-10:00 PM.
Guru Poornima is the day for
paying reverence to Guru, teachers,
mentors or anyone who has made a
significant positive impact in your
life. It falls on the day of the full
moon in June or July. This is the
day when Gurudevs divine power
is at its peak and he offers his
blessing personally to everyone
present. During a press conference
on July 1 at Bombay Palace restau-
rant in Manhattan, a video presen-
tation gave a snapshot of the divine
life and teachings of Gurudev.
Yogiraj Devraha Baba, one of the
most esteemed saints of recent
times, saved Gurudev from a ter-
minal illness when he was an
infant, and then predicted that he
would attain the pinnacle of spiri-
tuality.
Yogirajs predictions have come
true. Gurudev has invoked all
Chakras of his Kundalini (spiritual
energy) and has acquired all
Siddhis (supernatural powers).
Gurudev is using this enormous
divine energy acquired through 42
years of vigorous meditation to
help those in distress and to uplift
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Vol.7 No. 10 July 5-11, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Guru Poornima
attracts thousands
to meet a true
spiritual master
A rare opportunity to get a personal blessing in the
New York metropolitan area from a living sage.
Devotees of Sri Guruvanand Swami (seen on overhead screen)
and organizers of the Guru Poornima event at a press meet in
Manhattan on July 1. (Photo: Mukesh Kashiwala)
US hopes BJP snooping row would not hurt ties with India
Modi may meet Merkel on way to BRICS summit
New York: Fans across the coun-
try gathered together in bars and
courtyards, huddled in front of
TVs and computer screens, and
congregated by the thousands
Soldier Field in Chicago to watch
their team play a hard-fought 120
minutes. It was for the first time
that a huge number of Americans
ducked out of work early, got
together, and screamed them-
selves hoarse over a soccer game.
Something reserved for basket-
ball or baseball games.
They questioned coach Jurgen
Klinsmanns tactical decisions,
cursed out officials, and
screamed themselves more
hoarse cheering on the impossi-
bly good Tim
Howard, the goalie,
who had a recofd 15
saves in the
match against
Belgium the
team lost 1-2.
They saw
19-year-old
J u l i a n
Green score, and even though the
team lost, talked excitedly about
the future. They looked
ahead to four years from
now, when Green will be
US team may have lost, but soccer in America won
Continued on page 4
US goalie Tim
Howard had a
record 15 saves in
the match against
Belgium, becoming
a national hero.
Independence Day Special: Pages 14-19
3 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
By Ashok Ojha
Fords, NJ: It was a moment of pride for the audience
assembled at Royal Alberts Palace on July 2, when US
Senator Bob Menendez introduced Nisha Desai Bisw-
al, Assistant Secretary of State (South Asian Affairs), as
an immigrant from India who first arrived in New Jer-
sey. Everyone applauded and gave standing ovation to
Ms. Biswal.
The event was organized by the Obama Administra-
tion as an outreach with the Indian community in the
US, largely seen as supporters of Indian Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi, who as chief minister of Gujarat
was denied US visa.
Modi is scheduled to visit USA for a meeting with
President Obama. Biswal indicated that Democratic
Senator Menendez, who is also the chairman of the For-
eign Relations Committee of the US Senate, will visit
India prior to the summit in Washington. Biswal and
Menendez visited New Jersey to send a clear message
to the Indian community that US government looked
forward to a robust partnership with India, and was
willing to put the unpleasant episodes of recent past.
Menendez and Biswal, in their speeches, reiterated In-
dias crucial role in maintaining regional stability in
Asia as well as in the prosperity of both nations.
Biswal spoke about the success stories as the hall-
mark of the Indian diaspora as she brought home the
point that people of Indian origin played important role
in strengthening Indo-US ties. The future of US econ-
omy is greatly influenced by the economic growth of
Asia, she said adding that the growth of opportunities
were powerful factors in increasing partnership be-
tween USA and Asian nations. Biswal remarked that In-
dia and America share great opportunities for two-way
investment in the fields of commerce and technology.
Sen. Menendez mentioned that he had congratulated
PM Modi and invited him to the US Congress during
the latters visit to the US capital. He indicated that as
NATO troops pull out of Afghanistan, Indias role as a
counter terrorism power and peacemaker will further
increase. He praised US Congressman Frank Pallone as
a great supporter of the Indian community and NJ As-
semblyman Upendra Chivukula as a prominent politi-
cian of the state. Newly elected Assemblyman Raj
Mukherjee as also a number of local politicians were
present at the event. Chivukula moderated the QA ses-
sion at the event.
New York: Four naturalized citi-
zens from India are among
Carnegie Corporation of New
Yorks 2014 honorees as part of
Great Immigrants: The Pride of
America campaign. They are: Mi-
crosoft CEO Satya Nadella, actor
Aasif Mandvi, Carnegie Melon
University President Subra Suresh,
and former university president Be-
heruz Sethna. This tribute is spon-
sored by Carnegie Corporation,
founded by immigrant Andrew
Carnegie in 1911, that honors every
year about 40 naturalized citizens
who have contributed a lot to this
country. On Independence Day,
they run a full-page ad in The NY
Times, plus we have a companion
website
(greatimmigrants.carnegie.org)
with profiles, blogs, videos with
green card holders seeking citizen-
ship, interactive timeline, citizen-
ship quiz, overview video with
YouTube founder Steve Chen and
Olympic marathon medalist Meb
Keflezighi. We owe the vitality,
the progress and the hope we all
have for the future of this nation to
the contributions that each and
every citizen has brought to the
banquet table, including those who
have come as immigrants, either re-
cently or in the distant past, said
Vartan Gregorian, President of
Carnegie Corporation. Andrew
Carnegie was perhaps the best ex-
port of Scotland to the US who sub-
sequently became one of the cham-
pions of American democracy and
philanthropy.
New York: US cable distribution major
Comcast will air a Public Service
Announcement (PSA) throughout July recog-
nizing Sikhs as a vibrant part of America's cul-
tural tapestry and aiming to reverse Americans'
anti-turban bias.
Featuring Waris Ahluwalia, a, the PSA
demonstrates through words and images how
Sikh Americans' values are America's values,
including a love of service, family, and commu-
nity. According to Sikh American Legal
Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), which
provided the script for the PSA, Comcast will
donate $1 million in airtime on cable channels
on Comcast to air it.
Comcast said it will air the PSA as part of the
company's commitment to educate audiences on
a variety of issues.
Eastward Films served as art directors and
producers for the film.
"Sikhs have contributed to America's culture
for the past 125 years, including helping to
build the Panama Canal and railroads in
California," said SALDEF executive
director Jasjit Singh while talking about
the history of Sikhs in the US.
In fact, the first Asian American to
serve in the US Congress, Dalip Singh
Saund, was a Sikh American, he noted.
There is no better way for us to cele-
brate our history and day-to-day contribu-
tions in America this July 4th,
Independence Day, than through a mon-
tage of images and words narrated from
today's most well-known Sikh American
actor and designer, Waris Singh
Ahluwalia, Jasjit Singh said.
"At Comcast, we know that timely, rele-
vant information can inspire people and
energize organizations to work toward
change," said Johnnie Giles, executive
director of external affairs at Comcast.
SALDEF said it had received 400 photo
and video contributions from Sikh
Americans across the nation to use in the
PSA.
In the public service ad the cable major
is featuring Waris Ahlwualia, Sikh American
actor and designer.
As Modis US visit nears, Biswal visits
NJ as a community outreach
Nisha Biswal, Asstt Secretary of State (South
Asian Affairs) and US Senator Bob Menendez
from New Jersey.
Comcast aims to reverse anti-turban bias
(from left) Satya Nadella, Aasif Mandvi, Subra Suresh,
and Beheruz Sethna.
4 Indian American in Carnegie
Great Immigrants list
Obama rated worst
president since
World War II
Washington: Americans
ranked President Obama as the
worst com-
mander-in-
chief since
World War
II in a new
Quinnipiac
poll. Of
those polled,
33% rated
Obama as the least impressive
of the 12 Presidents since the
last global conflict. His prede-
cessor, George W. Bush, was a
close second with 28%. When
asked to rank the best
Presidents since 1945,
Americans rated Ronald Reagan
as the best with 35%. Bill
Clinton came second with 18%
and in third place was John
Kennedy with 15% support.
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4 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE
Guru Poornima attracts ...
Continued from page 1
the lives of millions of people
around the globe. Full of compas-
sion and love combined with humil-
ity and simplicity, he has traveled to
over 170 countries teaching people
the art of living a morally uplifting
and spiritually fulfilling life.
At the July 1 dinner meeting, con-
ducted by Dr Raj Bhayani and
Shudh Jasuja, President of INOC(I),
the organizers informed that over
2,600 people from 14 countries and
22 states of America have already
registered for the Guru Poornima
event in NJPAC, the first Gurudev is
gracing outside India. Rakesh
Bhargava said they were confident
that finally 3,000-3,200 people will
get Gurudevs blessings.
Ashok Sancheti, coordinator for
USA, said that though Gurudev has
been coming to America since 2008,
it was hard to bring him here for
Guru Poornima because tens of
thousands get his blessings on that
day in India.
Some devotees related their per-
sonal experiences of how their lives
were transformed after connecting
with Gurudev. Chandra Bhansali
said his background in science (PhD
in plasma engineering) made him a
non-believer till six years ago when
a series of tremendous coincidences
led him to Gurudev, who has
superhuman capabilities, and can
make a difference in the life of his
devotees. Bhansali, who runs an
accountancy firm from Long Island,
particularly mentioned a near acci-
dent involving his family, from
which they were saved by
Gurudevs intent and presence.
Bhansalis sister, Prabha
Bhandari, said her life has been so
transformed and become purpose
driven that she is now devoted to
Gurudev and his work.
Others who spoke at the meeting
included Abrahm Nassi, an NY
businessman, Dr Chandra Kaushik,
Kamlesh Mehta and Apra Bhandari,
organizer of the spiritual youth
forum. There is no charge for
attending the Guru Poornima event,
courtesy of the World Spiritual
Awareness Forum. A complimentary
dinner (Guru Prasad) will also be
provided. Free bus service will be
available from Hicksville, Queens,
Edison, Jersey City and Passaic to
take the attendees to the venue.
Everyone is welcome, but registra-
tion is required by going to
www.GuruPoornima2014.com or
calling Rakesh Bhargava, 516-484-
0018.
US hopes BJP snooping...
Continued from page 1
community to work with foreign
counterparts to deepen our coordi-
nation and cooperation in ways that
rebuild trust moving forward".
Psaki said diplomats from the US
embassy in New Delhi had met with
their counterparts in the external
affairs Ministry "on this issue, but
I'm not going to get into the sub-
stance of our private conversations".
Asked if BJP had been taken off
the list since it had now become the
ruling party, she said: "I'm just not
going to have any more details I can
lay out for you, other than to convey
that we have a deep and broad part-
nership with India."
"We will discuss any concerns that
are we need to discuss through our
private diplomatic channels. And
obviously, that is already ongoing,
including as it relates to these spe-
cific reports," she said.
Asked what was the need for such
surveillance since US diplomats
have had regular meetings with the
BJP leaders, Psaki parried: "I think
we've spoken to this extensively as
it relates to reports from around the
world.
"I would point you to the
President's speeches and remarks on
this issue and steps we've taken to
change our policies," she added.
Psaki also declined to say whether
US had given any assurance to India
that such snooping will not be done
in the future.
The spokesperson said she was
"not aware of plans at this point of
Secretary of State John Kerry or
Deputy Secretary Bill Burns "to
travel in the coming weeks to
India".
"But we look forward to going at
some point," she added.
Modi may meet Merkel on way...
Continued from page 1
with the German leader.
He said that dates of transit halt
had not been decided.
"My understanding is that it is
nearer to July 14 than to what is
being reported," he said.
Modi will attend the summit of
the BRICS countries - Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South
Africa - July 15-17 in the Brazilian
city of Fortaleza. Germany was
among the countries to reach out to
Modi as his status grew within the
BJP after he led the party to its third
successive victory in the Gujarat
assembly elections in 2012.
Germany is India's biggest trading
partner in Europe, its fifth biggest
trading partner in the world, eighth
largest source of FDI and second
most important partner in terms of
technological collaborations.
US team may have lost...
Continued from page 1
bigger and stronger and ready to
score more World Cup goals. The
US team was outmatched by
Belgiums talent, but they never
stopped fighting. They lost, but they
never quit. Its been said that soc-
cers growth in this country is a
two steps forward, one step back
sort of thing, but the game took a
big leap in this country on Tuesday.
The US has a team they can be
proud of, a team the nation will look
forward to watching in the future,
and a sport it is learning to under-
stand and love more and more. Get
on board.
London: India's Leander Paes and
his Czech partner Radek Stepanek
moved into the semi-final of the
men's doubles while Sania Mirza
and her Romanian partner Horia
Tecau were knocked out of mixed
doubles of the Wimbledon at the All
England Club here Thursday.
Sania and Tecau, who were seed-
ed sixth, went down 5-7, 3-6 to the
10th seeded pair of Briton Jamie
Murray and his Australian partner
Casey Dellacqua in the third round
of mixed doubles. Paes and
Stepanek registered a hard fought
win over Nenad Zimonjic and
Daniel Nestor in the quarter-finals.
The fifth-seeded Indo-Czech pair
won 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 against
the third seeded Serbian-Canadian
pair in an encounter that lasted two
and half hours.
Paes has won the men's doubles
title at Wimbledon only once in
1999. But he has three-mixed dou-
bles titles here in 1999, 2003 and
2010. Paes is also one of the few to
win both the men's doubles and the
mixed doubles title together here in
1999.
Wimbledon: Paes-Stepanek
in semis, Sania-Tecau out
S
im Bhullar at 7 feet 5 inches
and 360 pounds is not only
the first player of Indian
descent in the NBA but also the
largest player ever drafted. An Indo-
Canadian college basketball player
who recently graduated from New
Mexico State University, Bhullar
has signed a summer contract with
Sacramento Kings, according to
NBC News.
Bhullar, 21, explained his reason
for going pro: Guys my size dont
have long careers and you have to
take advantage of it and do the best
you can with the time you have to
play. I just want to play at the high-
est level.
Averaging 10. 4 points, 7.8
rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per
game as a sophomore for New
Mexico State, Bhullar was named
the Most Outstanding Player of
the 2013 Western Athletic
Conference.
His younger brother, Tanveer,
who is 7 feet 3 inches, is also a bas-
ketball player.
Sim Bhullar is NBAs first
player of Indian origin
5 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New York: Did you know
that there are 67,000 Indian
millionaires in the U.S.
alone, each with an average
net worth of $3 billion? Or
that their combined net
worth of $200 billion is
greater than the top 50 foun-
dations in the world com-
bined? Can you imagine how
even 1% of their financial as-
sets could transform educa-
tion in India?
These were some of the
questions the Rockefeller-
Aspen Diaspora Program
(RAD) asked attendees at its
town hall meeting of the In-
dian diaspora in Richmond
Hill, NY. The meeting took
place June 21and featured prominent commu-
nity leaders, including Joya Dass, TV anchor
on NY1; Ravi Ramkeesoon, Vice President at
RCL Trinidad and Researcher at Garden City
based, Rauch Foundation; and Jagajit Singh,
Executive Director at South Asians for Em-
powerment (SAFE).
RAD is playing a critical role in understand-
ing the barriers that currently inhibit these di-
aspora members from making strategic invest-
ments in development projects and in develop-
ing an effective approach to overcome those
barriers.
RAD is hosting a series of town hall meetings
with diaspora communities throughout the U.S.
in order to better understand the bottlenecks to
diasporas investing in their countries of origin.
As part of the meetings, it is surveying diaspo-
ra communities in order to create an accurate
profile of the community and correctly identi-
fy their areas of interest.
RAD will use the information gathered from
the Richmond Hill town hall and future town
halls to develop a concrete set of recommenda-
tions on mechanisms which will catalyze dias-
poras investments.
During its pilot phase, RAD is targeting U.S.
diaspora populations from Colombia, Egypt,
India, Kenya, and the Philippines. Next year, it
will target diaspora populations from ten addi-
tional countries, including Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
New York: Starting this month,
almost 100 American high school
and college students from all
over the U.S. will travel 8500
miles to the Indian cities of Hy-
derabad, Vadodara and Indore to
provide their at-risk peers, most-
ly juvenile delinquents and or-
phans, basic life skills in the
hope that a focus on values such
as honesty, kindness and self-es-
teem will help incarcerated youth
assimilate back into their soci-
eties.
Following the One Step For-
ward curriculum, a handbook de-
veloped by the non-profit organ-
ization Uplift Humanity India,
the American millennials em-
barking on this life-altering jour-
ney will teach their Indian coun-
terparts the importance of proper
communication and leadership.
Now in its fourth year of opera-
tions, Uplift Humanitys summer
programs are starting to create
the impact they were designed to
make.
"Uplift Humanity is the first
U.S. non-profit to send American
teenagers directly to India to
work in orphanages and juvenile
detention centers, said founder
Anish Patel, a business student at
New York University. I created
the organization, while a student
myself, to give orphans and juve-
niles in India a second chance.
Students who have attended the
program in the past say the re-
sults have been transformational,
both for them and their Indian
peers.
"At Uplift Humanity India, I
learned that the people who seem
to be the most insignificant are,
in fact, the ones with the most
potential and desire to grow as
individuals. Through our pro-
gram, I hope the juveniles and or-
phans learned that they DO have
the power to change the course of
their lives and achieve bigger and
better things, says Krishna Dos-
apati, Vadodara Alumnus 2013.
However, after three successful
cycles of executing the summer
program, educators realized that
there was too much of a gap be-
tween the instruction periods,
given that students only travel to
India once a year. Therefore, to
increase its impact, Uplift Hu-
manity launched The Continua-
tion Program, an initiative that
uses local Indian students and
teachers, whom Uplift hires, to
provide instruction throughout
the entire year in India.
To highlight that tech revolu-
tion, students attending one of
Uplifts summer sessions in 2014
have been challenged to capture
their experience within the juve-
nile detention centers and or-
phanages by creating an original
2-3 minute I-pad or cell phone
video, which will be judged by a
celebrity and shared through so-
cial media. The director of the
winning video will receive a
$2000 scholarship for further ed-
ucation from the organization.
Indian-American actor Sunkr-
ish Bala, the brand ambassador
for the organization, noted: I
love the direct, tangible, observ-
able improvements Uplift has
been able to make on the lives of
these children. Uplift isn't simply
throwing money at a problem.
Rather, it's affecting change on a
personal, human level.
New York: Indian sand artist Su-
darsan Pattnaik has won the Peo-
ple's Choice prize for his work
"Save Tree, Save the Future" at the
World Cup of Sand Sculpting-2014
held in the Atlantic City.
Pattnaik was presented with the
People's Choice medal by the May-
or of Atlantic City. Twenty interna-
tionally renowned sand artists from
around the world participated in the
event. Under the competition that
began on June 19, every sculptor
got 30 hours to create their artwork
using 10 tons of sand. Pattnaik also
participated in doubles category
with an American sculptor Mathew
Roy Diebert. Both created sand
sculpture of Tajmahal. They were
placed at fifth position in the dou-
bles category. Awarded with the
Padmashri by India this year, Pat-
tnaik has participated in over 50 In-
ternational championships and fes-
tivals around the World and won
many prizes. He is also known for
creating sand sculptures on current
issues and social awareness. Born in
Puri, Pattnaik (37) runs a sand art
school there.
Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik poses with his award after
winning the Peoples Choice prize for his sand sculpture of
'Save Tree, Save the Future' at World Cup of Sand Sculpting
2014 in solo category at Atlantic City USA on Saturday.
(PTI Photo)
Dozens of American students pitch in
to help orphans in India
VENUE:
New Jersey Performing Arts Center,
1 Center St., Newark, New Jersey
DATE AND TIME:
Saturday, July 12, 2014
3 PM to 8 PM
Followed by Gurudevs personal
blessings and Prasad (dinner).
Registration is required for this
complimentary (no-charge) event.
TO REGISTER, VISIT
www.GuruPoornima2014.com
Or CALL
Rakesh Bhargava (516) 484-0018,
Bharti Doshi (516) 282-4353,
Suman Kumar (201) 562-2788.
Event Promotion
Do you know how fortunate are
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invoked all Chakras of his
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FREE buses from Long Island, Queens, Edison,
Jersey City and Northern New Jersey.
Bridging the divide:
Rockefeller-Aspen Diaspora program
RAD is conducting series of town hall meets across US to
understand botterneck preventing diaspora's strategic
investment in their countries of origin
Indian artist wins award at Sand
Sculpting World Cup in Atlantic City
6 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Special to The South Asian Times
New York: Indian-American community or-
ganizations are gathering at various places
across the country to celebrate their regional
cultures, languages and cuisines in the July
4 long weekend.
The Telugu community gets two confer-
ences. Both the American Telugu Associa-
tion (ATA) and the North American Telugu
Association (NATA) are upbeat.
"We already have received more than
7,000 registrations and expect up to 9,000
participants," said Srinivas Ranabothu,
spokesperson for the ATA meet in Philadel-
phia. Film luminaries such as S.P. Bala-
subrahmanyam, Rajendra Prasad, Rana Dag-
gubati, Shriya, Sunil, Sekhar Kammula and
Tanikella Bharani and several singers have
confirmed their participation. Government
representatives from the Center as well as
Telangana and Andhra will grace the occa-
sion.
Entertainment, business, literary and cul-
tural programs will to cater to all age groups.
ATA teamed up with the Telugu Associa-
tion of Greater Delaware to organize the
meet, which is drawing delegates not only
from the US and India but also from Cana-
da, the UK, etc.
Remarked Parmesh Bheemreddy, conven-
er of the mega-event: "US Telugus are very
excited about the event. We are looking for-
ward to witnessing great participation from
our community."
Celebrities like Miss USA Nina Davuluri,
Executive Director of Select USA Vinay
Thummalapally (a close friend of President
Obama) and Indian Ambassador S. Jais-
hankar were scheduled to grace the occa-
sion. Literary legends Garikapati Narasimha
Rao, Jonnavithula, film writer Ananth Sri-
ram, poet Acharya K Venkata Reddy and
writers Dr Saradapurna Sonty and Satyam
Updrasthta were to attend the literary ses-
sions.
Food is going to be a special attraction as
cuisine from all the three regions--the
coastal area, Rayalaseema and Telangana--
will find its place at the august gathering.
At the Atlanta gathering, Georgia Gover-
nor Nathan Deal will be the chief guest.
Nartanrang pays tribute to A R Rahman at annual show
T
he Nartanrang Dance Academy of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan held its annu-
al dance production, Nritya Ranjani, at
the Hindu Temple Auditorium in Queens, New
York, on June 22.
This year, choreographer and director Swati
incorporated a unanimously loved theme into
the show; the music of maestro AR Rahman.
The students of Nartanrang performed to pop-
ular and classic AR Rahman numbers such as
"Taal Se Taal Mila," "Jai Ho," & "Ruth Aa
Gayee Re," while also adding a few uncon-
ventional songs into the mix such as "O Saya"
from Slumdog Millionaire, "Innisai" from
Tamil blockbuster Varalaru, & "Keep The Hus-
tle" from Million Dollar Arm. Dances were
choreographed by Swati and Siddhi Vaishnav.
The most spectacular surprise of the evening
was a personal video message recorded by AR
Rahman himself, specifically for Nartanrang
Dance Academy, that was played at the
halfway point of the event. Mr. Rahman apol-
ogized for not being able to be present at the
show due to numerous prior commitments, and
generously wished the students the best of luck
and imparted the knowledge that all you need
to succeed is perseverance and hard work.
This years graduates, Pooja Pandya, Chand-
ni Patel, Ami Zala, and Anuja Desai, show-
cased their achievement in beautiful and touch-
ing performances.
Fundraiser for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum, Pune: A successful
fundraiser was organized by Smt Chandrakala Kamath at Bridgewater
Temple in NJ in honor of Mr Francois Gautier, a journalist and author who
has undertaken the responsibility to build Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Museum in Pune. (L to R): Arish Sahani, Pabitra Chowdhuri, Vibhuti Jha,
Francois Gautier, Surinder Verma, Narain Kataria, Nand Lal Rmsinghani
and Krishna Darooka.
India Day Parade 2014: The Consulate General of India, New York and the
Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of the tri-state area hosted a special
curtain-raiser for the 34th India Day Parade 2014 on June 13, 2014. Members
of FIA seen in the photo with Consul General Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay
Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani and Neeti Mohan mesmerized an
audience of nearly 2,000 at the Ritz Theater in NJ on June 27.
Photo: Asim Farooki Photography
Philly, Atlanta all set for Telugu conventions
House committee passes legislation to
prevent religion bias
Students of Nartanrang Dance
Academy performing to Rahmans
chartbusters.
T
he House Foreign Affairs Commit-
tee approved legislation sponsored
by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)
that would prohibit the United States Com-
mission on International Religious Free-
dom (USCIRF) from discriminating against
peoples religion.
The measure, which was attached to the
United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act
(H.R. 4653), would bar any form of em-
ployment discrimination by USCIRF on the
basis of religion. It passed by voice vote.
Meng noted that a lawsuit was filed
against the Commission by an Indian Mus-
lim women who claimed USCIRF rescind-
ed a job offer because she was Muslim.
Mengs legislation would protect
Muslims, Hindus and those who observe all
religions.
Measure now heads
to House Floor
Couturiere Amita Bal teams up with Trishala Dutt
T
hey both have Indians roots, grew up
in the US and are part of the glamour
world. Now couturire Amita Bal
and Trishala Dutt, daughter of Bollywood
actor Sanjay Dutt and late actress Richa
Sharma, have joined hands and are set to
give fashion a new meaning.
Their first project is for a high-end fash-
ion magazine. While Amita, based in Palo
Alto in the Silicon Valley entered the field
with her couture line three years ago, New
York-based Trishala recently floated her
hair extension line DreamTresses Hair Ex-
tensions, which provides hat clip-in hair ex-
tensions. They both are stylish, fashion
forward, business women and are planning
to take over Bollywood and US with their
trend-setting, said a statement. Their
maiden project was shot June 23 at a private
winery, Kuleto Estate, Napa Valley. While
Amita styled and directed it, Trishala pro-
vided her hair extension line for the shoot.
Next month, the duo will work on Bolly-
wood celebrity photo-shoot in Los Angeles.
7 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: The United States has
named a mountain in Antarctica in honor of an
eminent Indian-American scientist whose pi-
oneering biological research expedition has
provided critical data about animal popula-
tions. Akhouri Sinha, adjunct professor in the
department of genetics, cell biology and de-
velopment at the University of Minnesota,
was recognized by the US Geological Survey,
which named the mountain Mt Sinha, for his
work he did as an explorer in 1971-72.
Sinha was a member of a team that cata-
logued population studies of seals, whales and
birds in the pack ice of the Bellingshausen and
Amundsen Seas using US Coast Guard Cut-
ters Southwind and Glaciers in 1972 and
1974. The mountain was named by Advisory
Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN)
and the US Geological Survey.
Mt Sinha, a mountain (990 m) at the south-
east extremity of Erickson Bluffs in the south
part of McDonald Heights, overlooks lower
Kirkpatrick Glacier from the north in Marie
Byrd Land. "Anyone can see the Mt Sinha,
Antarctica on Google.com or Bing.com," Sin-
ha told in an interview.
"Show to the world that you are capable,
don't be afraid to contact people out in the
eld today, and grab every opportunity," he
said. Sinha, who graduated with a BSc degree
from the Allahabad University in 1954 and
MSc degree in Zoology from the Patna Uni-
versity in 1956, said he was invited to conduct
research on reproduction of Antarctic seals by
the National Science Foundation Antarctic
Program. He also taught in the department of
zoology at the Ranchi College from Novem-
ber 1956 to July 1961, before coming to the
US. "I went to Antarctica on two expeditions
lasting for about 22 weeks on the US Coast
Guard cutters, Southwind and Glacier, during
1972 and 1974, respectively," said Sinha, who
has published over 100 papers and has been
teaching graduate level courses for almost 25
years. Sinha says his forefathers migrated to
Buxar in Bihar from Delhi after Nadir Shah of
Iran invaded Delhi in 1739.
"I go to my village (Churamanpur) almost
every year, preferably in February to escape
Minnesota winter and to visit relatives and vil-
lage friends and others."
San Antonio, TX: Historic 32nd
annual convention of American
Association of Physicians of Indi-
an Origin (AAPI) attended by
nearly 2,000 delegates from
across the nation concluded at the
Grand Hyatt Henry Gonzalez
Convention Center in San Anto-
nio, TX with the outgoing preside
of AAPI Dr. Jayesh Shah admin-
istering the oath of office to Dr.
Ravi Jahagirdar, the new presi-
dent of AAPI during the Presiden-
tial Gala on June 29th. Today
marks the culmination of my term
that started on May 27, 2013
when I assumed the Presidency of AAPI, Dr.
Shah reminded the enthusiastic audience about
his assuming the presidency from Dr. Naren-
dra Kumar in Chicago. I am proud to report
that the state of AAPI is strong. We have made
significant progress; Our reputation, our cred-
ibility, our member engagement, our sponsor
commitment & our financial status is stronger
than ever, declared Dr. Shah, who passed on
the mantle of AAPIs leadership to Dr. Jaha-
girdar. In his final address as president of
AAPI that represents over 100,000 physicians
of Indian origin in the US, Dr. Shah attributed
the successful term to the contributions of its
members. We do not view successful AAPI
year through the limited prism of one year. It
is a golden opportunity to strengthen and ex-
pand the organization for years to come. We
are very proud of each one of you. AAPIs suc-
cess this year is the story of the hard work of
each and every AAPI member who has self-
lessly set out to create a better AAPI for future
generations. He particularly paid rich tributes
to the Convention Committee led by Dr. Vijay
Koli, for their extraordinary commitment and
dedication. In his first ever presidential ad-
dress, Dr. Jahagirdar, who is not only an expert
in medicine, but also is proficient in worlds
ancient language, Sanskrit, praised the great
tradition of AAPI and said, AAPI has had
great visionaries in its short life. As President,
I see myself as another member in the trench-
es who likes to team with others and reach out
to even higher goals.
Dr. Jayesh Shah administering the oath of office to
Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar. Also in the picture is Dr.
Shashi Shah, Chairman, Board of Trustees, AAPI
Dr.Jahagirdar takes charge as new
president at 32nd AAPI Convention
A mountain in Antarctica has been
named after Prof Akhouri Sinha (inset).
Washington, DC: Building on a
strong partnership forged through
years of cooperation on issues
ranging from global energy and
sustainability to leadership and
academics, Washington
University in St. Louis (WUSTL)
and the Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay (IIT
Bombay) have announced a joint
Executive MBA program aimed
at the international executive.
The new program is the first of
its kind to confer an MBA degree
from both an Indian and an
American university and will be
modeled after WUSTLs highly
ranked Executive MBA in China
and the United States. The
Financial Times recently ranked
the WUSTL-Fudan University
Executive MBA program No. 6 in
the world.
In classes taught by world-class
faculty from WUSTLs Olin
Business School and IIT
Bombays Shailesh J. Mehta
School of Management, execu-
tives will be given the knowledge
and tools to immediately apply
lessons learned to contemporary
and emerging business chal-
lenges. The curriculum is rooted
in leadership development and
innovation, including theoretical
and practical training, and inte-
grates local and cultural perspec-
tives.
By engaging with this program,
executives become part of a glob-
al network of the worlds future
leaders and policy makers. This
joint program with IIT Bombay
strengthens that network and pro-
vides an opportunity for innova-
tive executives to make a real dif-
ference in their own countries in
a direct and observable way,
says Mahendra R. Gupta, dean of
Olin Business School,
Washington University.
The Executive MBA program is
meant for professionals with a
minimum of seven years work
experience. Apart from teaching
business fundamentals, it will
address leadership, strategic man-
agement themes, growth and
innovation. The pedagogy
employed will encourage peer
group learning through case dis-
cussions, group projects and
other interactive methods, besides
classroom instructions, simula-
tions and guest lectures.
This program will create the
positive mindset of executives to
orient themselves toward facing
the challenges related to innova-
tion, leadership and entrepreneur-
ship, says Prof. S. Bhargava,
Head, Shailesh J. Mehta School
of Management, IIT Bombay.
The program will be spread
over a duration of 18 months,
where classes will be offered four
days per month in Mumbai and it
will end with a two-week cap-
stone experience at Washington
University. The first session of
the program will commence in
2015.
First U.S.-India joint EMBA program announced
Devang Khakhar (2nd from left), director of IIT Bombay shakes
hands with Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton of Washington
University in St. Louis following the signing of the formal
announcement June 30 of a new joint EMBA program between
the two institutions. Looking on are Mahendra R. Gupta (far
left), dean of Olin Business School at WUSTL and Shivganesh
Bhargava (far right), head of Shailesh J. Mehta School of
Management at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
Mt Sinha: US names mountain after
an Indian-American scientist
8 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: Indian drug-makers have
pooled in their resources to counter negative
campaigns against them in the US.
Washington-based India First Group (IFG),
an advisory firm led by Ron Somers, former
head of the US-India Business Council (USI-
BC), will mobilize support in the US for af-
fordable medicines manufactured by Indian
and US generic companies.
Under the banner of the Coalition for Af-
fordable Care, the IFG will counter one of
the most anti-Indian, negative advocacy cam-
paigns ever witnessed in the two countries
history, the advisory firm said.
The Coalition includes the Indian Pharma-
ceutical Alliance, a platform for large local
drug-makers, including Sun Pharmaceuti-
cals, Lupin, Dr Reddys Laboratories and Zy-
dus.
Also invited to join the Coalition are in-
surers seeking to lower costs, pension funds,
large employers, doctors, healthcare profes-
sionals essentially all generations of
Americans born after 1930 who now find
themselves unable to afford basic healthcare,
IFG said. The move to set the record
straight from an Indian perspective came
about after severe criticism of the Indian drug
industry by sections of the US industry and
government representatives over the past
several months. Under fire was Indias im-
plementation of the amended Patents Act, es-
pecially after a couple of key legal outcomes
went against multinational drug-makers.
With more American baby-boomers requir-
ing access to lower cost, high quality medical
treatments and drugs, they join a large chunk
of the worlds population some 5 billion
people who are unable to afford even ba-
sic care, said Somers.
Somers, who resigned as USIBC President
in April, said the time has come to let the
truth be known on Capitol Hill, in the halls of
government, and across America, that Indian
and US manufacturers of generic drugs are
producing high quality medicines at a frac-
tion of the price of branded pharmaceuti-
cals. Short-sighted tactics and negative
campaigns may have worked to preserve
market share for these special interests previ-
ously, but history is not on their side, he
added.
Washington,DC: Three top US law-
makers have asked the Congressional
leadership to invite Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to address a joint session
of the US Congress when he visits Wash-
ington at the invitation of President
Barack Obama.
"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
is expected to visit Washington in late
September 2014. Given the importance
of our relationship with India, we ask
you to invite Prime Minister Modi to ad-
dress a Joint Session of Congress," Con-
gressmen Brad Sherman, Ted Poe and
Eni Faleomavaega wrote in a joint letter
to the top leadership of the US Congress.
While no dates of Modi's US visit have
been announced yet, he is expected to
visit America in September to attend the
annual General Assembly session of the
UN. "India recently held the largest dem-
ocratic exercise in history; about 550
million people voted in free and fair
elections. Since recognizing India's in-
dependence in 1947, the US and India's
relationship has steadily grown," they
said.
The US and India share many core val-
ues, including religious pluralism, indi-
vidual freedom, the rule of law, and elec-
toral democracy, they said. "We have an op-
portunity to build on the US-India strategic
partnership to the benefit of both our nations.
India is a growing economic power in a strate-
gically important region of the world. New
Delhi plays a critical role in regional peace and
security," they wrote in the letter.
"In each of the last three decades, a Prime
Minister of India has addressed a Joint Session
of Congress, and the upcoming visit of Prime
Minister Modi will allow us to continue that
tradition," they said. Last week Senior Repub-
lican Senator John McCain had urged Con-
gressional leadership to invite Modi to address
the joint session of the US Congress.
Two top American lawmakers including
Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, last month
urged the Speaker of the US House of Repre-
sentatives John Boehner to invite Modi to ad-
dress the session.
Washington, DC: An Indian-American inno-
vator's video streaming service that sought to
provide an alternative to traditional TV broad-
casters, suspended its operations three days af-
ter the US Supreme Court ruled that it violat-
ed copyright laws.
The Supreme Court had ruled last Wednes-
day that Aereo had violated copyright laws by
capturing broadcast signals on miniature an-
tennas and transmitting them to subscribers for
a fee.
"We have decided to pause our operations
temporarily as we consult with the court and
map out our next steps," Chet Kanojia, Aereo's
chief executive, said in a letter to customers
sent this morning under the heading "Standing
Together for Innovation, Progress and Tech-
nology."
Aereo said that the service would not be
available after 11:30 am today and that it
would give users a refund for their last paid
month, The New York Times reported.
The company had fewer than 500,000 sub-
scribers in about a dozen metropolitan areas.
Customers paid $8-2 a month to rent one of
Aereo's dime-size antennas that captured over-
the-air television signals.
They then could stream and record programs
from major broadcasters using their mobile
phones, tablets, laptops and Internet-connect-
ed televisions. In a 6-to-3 decision, the
Supreme Court sided with broadcasters in a
case that was closely watched by the media
and technology industries.
The ruling comes as the foundation of the
media business undergoes vast change reflect-
ing a rush of new technologies and a rising
number of consumers who are abandoning tra-
ditional pay-television subscriptions.
Aereo challenged the economics of the tele-
vision business. Broadcasters were worried
that had the start-up triumphed, it would have
threatened the billions of dollars they received
from cable and satellite companies in retrans-
mission fees.
Top American cable broadcasters including
ABC, CBS and Fox approached the Supreme
Court, alleging that Aereo was an infringement
on the current copyright laws.
Broadcasters argued that Aereo's business
model violated copyright laws and was a high-
tech way to steal their programmes. Aereo
countered that its service was a digital-age so-
lution for watching free over-the-air broad-
casting.
Kanojia said Aereo's journey was "far from
done". A spokeswoman underscored that the
company was not shutting down, merely tem-
porarily stopping its service.
"The spectrum that the broadcasters use to
transmit over-the-air programming belongs to
the American public, and we believe you
should have a right to access that live pro-
gramming whether your antenna sits on the
roof of your home, on top of your television or
in the cloud," Kanojia was quoted as saying in
his letter to Aereo users.
Kanojia's Internet TV startup
Aereo suspends service
Chet Kanojia
B
oth the active pharmaceutical (API)
and the formulation plants in India
that Ranbaxy Laboratories planned
to use to manufacture the long-delayed
generic of Novartis' ($NVS) blood pressure
drug Diovan are under FDA import alerts.
But the Indian drugmaker has finessed a
manufacturing workaround with the agency
to make the heart drug at its Ohm Laborato-
ries plant in New Jersey.
FDA spokesman Christopher Kelly said
in an email that the agency approved the
Ohm Laboratories plant to make valsartan,
the generic of Diovan, in 40 mg, 80 mg, 160
mg and 320 mg doses. The New Jersey plant
is the only FDA-approved Ranbaxy plant
that has escaped bans for sales in the U.S.
Bill Winter, vice president of North Ameri-
can sales for Ranbaxy, said in a statement
Friday that the drug will be launched "as
soon as sufficient supplies are manufactured
to meet the needs of the market."
US advisory firm to counter negative
campaign against Indian pharma companies
FDA allows Ranbaxy NJ plant
to make generic Diovan
More US lawmakers seek joint
address to Congress by Modi
Washington: The IRS is
about to get an unprece-
dented look at bank ac-
counts and investments US
citizens hold abroad,
through a law that is mak-
ing it harder to hide assets
from the tax collector.
From Tuesday, the gov-
ernment started imposing
30 percent taxes on many
overseas payments to fi-
nancial institutions that do not share informa-
tion with the IRS.
That new burden has frustrated overseas
banks and US expatriates. It has also created
a standard of global bank-to-government in-
formation sharing designed to reveal diffi-
cult-to-trace accounts. No one knows yet how
successful the law will be in combating tax
evasion. Still, it allows the US to scoop up
data from more than 77,000 financial institu-
tions and 80 governments about its citizens
overseas financial activities.
I dont think anything on this scale has
ever been tried before, said John Harrington,
a former international tax counsel at the
Treasury Department who is now a partner at
Dentons in Washington. The idea that it
would go off without a hitch is sort of hard to
imagine. What led to the 2010 Foreign Ac-
count Tax Compliance Act
was the inability of federal tax
authorities to obtain clear in-
formation about financial ac-
counts that US citizens have
outside the country. Thats es-
pecially important for the
United States, because unlike
many other countries, it taxes
citizens on their worldwide
income regardless of where
they live.
If you had an account outside of the Unit-
ed States, you were pretty much on your hon-
or to disclose that information, said Denise
Hintzke, the global tax leader for Deloitte
Taxs Fatca practice.
In establishing the law, Congress and Pres-
ident Obama in effect threatened to cut off
banks and other companies from easy access
to the US market if they didnt pass along
such information. The United States was able
to leverage its status as a financial center to
demand action from governments and banks
in other countries. Under the act, US banks
and other companies making certain cross-
border payments such as interest and div-
idends to foreign financial institutions
must withhold a 30 percent tax if the recipi-
ent isnt providing information about its US
account holders.
US AFFAIRS 9 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: The U.S.
Supreme Court has decided
not to hear an appeal by
Google over whether it vio-
lated federal wiretapping law
when its Street View map-
ping cars collected con-
sumers' personal data.
That leaves intact a federal
appeals court ruling that the
U.S. Wiretap Act protects the
privacy of information on
unencrypted in-home Wi-Fi
networks and means Google can face lawsuits
over the matter, according to a Bloomberg re-
port. The issue stems from Google's Street
View, a comprehensive mapping program that
provides images of areas around the world.
Google has admitted that its camera-equipped
Street View cars inadvertently captured emails,
passwords and other data from unprotected
wireless networks as they
drove by. In a statement, a
Google spokesman said the
Mountain View, Calif.,
company was disappointed
that the Supreme Court had
declined to hear the case.
In March 2013, Google
agreed to pay a $7-million
fine for collecting personal
data from millions of unse-
cured wireless networks
while operating its Street
View fleet. The fine settled an investigation of
the data collection by 38 states and the District
of Columbia. As part of that agreement, Google
promised to educate employees about the pri-
vacy of consumer data and sponsor a public
service campaign to teach people how to secure
their wireless networks. Google also agreed to
destroy the data it collected.
Facebook 'manipulated emotions' in secret experiment on 700,000 users
Mountain View, Calif.: Facebook let researchers adjust its users' news feeds to manipulate their
emotions and has suggested that such experimentation is routine, which is seemingly how the idea
got past the advertising firm's ethics committees. In 2012, the trick cyclists, led by the company's
data scientist Adam Kramer, manipulated which posts from their friends the sample of nearly
700,000 users could see in their News feed, suppressing either positive or negative posts, to see
whether either cheerful or downer posts seemed to be emotionally contagious.With only a user's
agree click on Facebook's terms and conditions document to provide a fig-leaf of consent to the
creepy experiment, researchers from Cornell University, the University of California, San Francis-
co. manipulated users' news feeds. Let's hear from the university: The researchers reduced the
amount of either positive or negative stories that appeared in the news feed of 689,003 randomly se-
lected Facebook users, and found that the so-called 'emotional contagion' effect worked both ways.
Cornell Social Media Lab professor Jeff Hancock reports the simple correlation that turned up: Peo-
ple who had positive content experimentally reduced on their Facebook news feed, for one week,
used more negative words in their status updates. When news feed negativity was reduced, the op-
posite pattern occurred: Significantly more positive words were used in peoples status updates.
Washington: Thwarted by Republicans in
Congress, President Barack Obama an-
nounced Monday that he will make policy
changes on his own to overhaul the na-
tion's "broken" immigration system.
"If Congress will not do their job, at
least we can do ours," Obama said in a tel-
evised statement from the White House
Rose Garden.
The President said he is ordering a shift
of law enforcement resources from the in-
terior of the country to the Mexican bor-
der to take on a flood of immigrant chil-
dren trying to enter the US.
With Vice President Biden at his side,
Obama also said he has asked his admin-
istration for a list of actions he can take
unilaterally "to fix as much of our broken
system as we can."
He said he expects the list by summer's
end.
In the wake of Supreme Court rulings
rolling back Obama's power on recess ap-
pointments and his signature health care
law, Obama's vow amounted to a defiant
assertion of executive power -- and an es-
calation of his war with Republicans in
Congress.
Obama said he decided to act after
House Speaker John Boehner informed
him last week that the lower chamber will
not act this year on a Senate-passed immi-
gration reform bill, or on any immigra-
tion-related measures.
Obama accused House Republicans of
political cowardice for what he called
their refusal to allow an up or down vote
on immigration legislation.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
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Obama to act on his own on immigration
IRS crackdown starts with
penalty on overseas banks
With Vice
President Joe
Biden by his
side, President
Obama
announced
steps Monday
to deal with
immigration
through
executive
actions
without
Congressional
approval.
Supreme Court rejects appeal by Google
over Street View data collection
Google has admitted that its
Street View cars inadvertently
captured emails, passwords
and other data.
10 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi: The Congress has
launched a scathing attack on the
BJP, saying it lacked respect for
the judiciary's independence and
impartiality, even as the ruling
party reaffirmed its commitment
to the apex court.
"The government action speaks
nothing except prejudice, "
Congress spokesperson Abhishek
Manu Singhvi said, alluding to
the hasty manner in which former
solicitor general Gopal
Subramaniam's name was segre-
gated from the list of four people
to be made Supreme Court
judges.
Former union law minister M.
Veerappa Moily alleged that the
Bharatiya Janata Party was in
confrontation with the judiciary,
which was "unprecedented".
"There was no consultation at
all. The decision was taken unilat-
erally and arbitrarily without even
an informal consultation with the
chief justice of India," Moily told
the media here.
"It's a confrontation between the
government and the judiciary with
no precedence at all."
BJP leader and Union Law
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
refuted the allegations.
"We have the highest respect
and regard for the institution of
judiciary. We are fully committed
to the freedom of judiciary,"
Prasad said.
Singhvi, however, pointed out
that there were examples galore in
the history of Indian politics
where the BJP made petty allega-
tions against constitutional bodies
or authorities.
"The BJP government had in the
past removed a sitting navy chief.
The BJP cannot tolerate any dis-
senting voices. The (Narendra)
Modi government does not
believe in the judiciary's inde-
pendence and that is evident in
the developments of the last one
month," he told the media here.
He said the BJP's opposition to
Subramaniam stemmed from the
fact that he had approved the
appointment of an amicus curiae
against Modi.
"Here is a man (Modi) with ele-
phantine memory who neither for-
gets nor forgives," Singhvi said,
hinting that Subramaniam was
being targeted.
Prasad countered the allegation,
claiming that the government has
the right to be "consulted" before
an apex court judge is appointed.
"In the process of appointment
of judges, the government has got
the right to be consulted.
Whatever opinion the government
has given is based upon sound
grounds," the minister said.
The government earlier segre-
gated the name of Subramaniam
from the panel of four names rec-
ommended by the collegium for
appointment as apex court judges.
Subramaniam withdrew his can-
didature for the judge's post June
25 following media reports which
said the NDA government was
objecting to his appointment as a
Supreme Court judge because of
his "links" with corporate lobbyist
Niira Radia and a "negative"
report by the Central Bureau of
Investigation.
New Delhi: India and the US have
expressed a desire to revitalize
their relationship and expand their
strategic partnership.
US Senator John McCain met
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
conveyed the keen desire in the US
to work with him to revitalize the
India-US strategic partnership, an
official release said here.
He also conveyed the expecta-
tions in the US about a new
momentum in India's economic
growth and all-round progress
under the new government and
wished the prime minister success
in this endeavour.
Modi said he desired to further
deepen and expand the strategic
partnership, based on shared values
of India and the US and interests,
sensitivity to each other's concerns
and tangible progress across the
full spectrum of bilateral relations.
He observed that success of dem-
ocratic countries and their coopera-
tion will advance peace, stability
and prosperity in the world and
hoped for a forward looking,
result-oriented visit to the US in
September 2014 to take the rela-
tionship to a new level.
The two sides also discussed the
situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The prime minister expressed con-
cern over the increased threat of
terrorism across the world and reit-
erated that the fight against terror
should be a global priority for
humanitarian forces.
New Delhi: A passenger train set a new nation-
al speed record of 160 kilometres an hour (100
miles an hour) during a test between the
national capital and the Taj Mahal city of Agra.
The introduction of high-speed links and bul-
let trains were one of the key poll campaign
promises of India's new right-wing prime min-
ister, Narendra Modi, who won elections in
May.
The test, part of the government's plans to
upgrade the ageing rail network, saw the train
complete the 200 kilometres between New
Delhi and Agra in around 90 minutes. The top
speed clocked at 10 kilometres more than the
previous record.
"This is now the fastest train in India," Delhi
divisional railway manager Anurag Sachan told
AFP from inside the train. "We are recording
all technical parameters during the trial run and
hope to introduce it to the public by this
November."
While fast by Indian standards, the train is
some way from the Japanese "Shinkansen"
admired by Modi which reach speeds
of 320 kilometres an hour. The Indian
media labelled it a "semi-high-speed
train" or "semi-bullet".
India is set to roll out extensive plans
to overhaul India's massive but loss-
making network on Tuesday when the
Modi government will present its first
railway budget.
Observers say the railways have been
neglected by successive governments
over the past three decades of rapid
economic growth during which car
ownership has surged and low-cost air-
lines have mushroomed.
But it continues to be one of the main modes
of long-distance travel for most of India's 1.2
billion people, while increased use of the tracks
for freight could help ease road traffic conges-
tion.
Similar high-speed rail corridors are being
planned between New Delhi and the northeast-
ern city of Chandigarh, and the national capital
and the industrial town of Kanpur 500 kilome-
tres away.
"The cost of upgrading tracks, signal systems
and other related infrastructure isn't high on
some of the corridors which already have other
high speed trains," Sachan told AFP.
"We are confident of expanding it once this
project is completed," he added.
Congress, BJP lock horns over Gopal Subramaniam
India, US keen to expand
strategic partnership
Former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam
US Senator
John
McCain
with Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi in
New Delhi.
Sweet budget
being prepared:
BJP
New Delhi: Even as the govern-
ment said "bitter medicine" is
needed for reviving the econo-
my, the BJP Wednesday said the
budget would be "sweet".
"A sweet budget is being pre-
pared in the finance ministry,"
Bharatiya Janata Party
spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain said.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi earlier said that "bitter
medicine" might be needed to
rescue the economy and restore
its fiscal health even if the meas-
ures dent his popularity and hurt
the BJP in the short run.
The newly-installed National
Democratic Alliance govern-
ment will present its first budget
July 10.
Agra-Delhi 'semi-bullet train' sets speed record
This is now the fastest train in India
INDIA 11 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Srinagar: Sharp shooters, barri-
cades, luggage checks and more -
the security forces are taking no
chances in Srinagar and other parts
of the Valley on the eve of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's visit to
Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
Traffic moved at a snail's pace Lal
Chowk, Residency Road, Jahangir
Chowk, Karan Nagar and other busy
business hubs in the city as police
erected barricades, stopped vehicles
and checked luggage to prevent
guerrillas from carrying out any
attack here.
Sharpshooters have also been
posted at vantage points in the city
and some other towns of the Valley
to keep round the clock vigil at such
places.
Modi will chair a high level secu-
rity review meeting at the Badami
Bagh headquarters of army's 15th
corps in Srinagar Friday.
The meeting would also be attend-
ed by Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah, GOC-n-C army's north-
ern command Lieutenant General
D.S. Hooda, state Director General
of Police K. Rajendra Kumar, GOCs
of 14th, 15th and 16th corps, senior
officials of central and state intelli-
gence agencies besides those from
central paramilitary forces.
The prime minister was scheduled
to inaugurate a 240 megawatt
hydro-power in the border town of
Uri in Baramulla district.
Thiruvananthapuram: At least
five Indian nurses were injured
after ISIS militants blew up a hos-
pital in Iraq' s Tikrit on July 3,
according to their relatives in
Kerala.
A group of around 46 nurses was
trapped in the Iraqi city of Tikrit
and had to spend days in the base-
ment of the local hospital where
they worked for a fortnight.
"We were politely resisting their
(the miliants') moves. But now the
tone of the bearded boys is differ-
ent. We have no other option but to
obey them," Sona Joseph, one of
the nurses, told HT, while com-
menting on the group being taken
to Mosul.
Joseph also blamed the govern-
ment for their plight, saying "all
hopes were lost". "Our govern-
ment wasted precious time. Now
they can send enough coffins to
take us back."
Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister
Oommen Chandy met external
affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in
Delhi and discussed the situation in
Tikrit.
"The Centre, like the state,
expressed their deep concern over
the turn of events in Iraq and like
us they are also concerned of the
safety of these nurses. They are
doing their best to see that these
nurses are brought back," Chandy
told reporters.
According to Princy Seju, one of
the nurses who came on vacation
before the unrest begun, 800-1,000
nurses from Kerala are working in
different hospitals in Iraq. They
earn around USD 750-1, 000 a
month.
New Delhi: A day after the
AIIMS administration denied
doctor Sudhir Gupta's allegation
that he was pressurized to change
Sunanda Pushkar's autopsy report,
he said the report was based on
the principles and ethics of medi-
cine.
"I want to clarify that not only
Sunanda Pushkar, but all the post-
mortem reports prepared by me
are based on the principles and
ethics of medicine," Sudhir
Gupta, head of forensics depart-
ment at All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told
reporters outside his residence
here.
Pushkar, 52, was found dead in
a mysterious condition in her
room at a five-star hotel in south
Delhi Jan 17.
"So not only this case, but in
every case I have prepared all the
reports on the basis of the ethics
and law," he added.
Earlier, Gupta said he was pres-
surized by top officials to show
that Congress MP Shashi
Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar's
death was "natural".
Delhi Police set up a Special
Investigation Team a few days
after Pushkar's death to probe the
case as it occurred a little over
three years of the marriage. Under
the law, every death of a bride
within three years of marriage is
viewed with suspicion that it may
be a case of dowry death.
SEP.
Sunanda Pushkar was found
dead in a mysterious condition
in her room at a five-star hotel
in south Delhi.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Pushkar's report based on
principles of medicine: Doctor
Extra tight security for PM's Kashmir visit
5 Indian nurses hurt, moved out of Tikrit in Iraq
By Chanakya
T
here is more to the summer rains than the romance of
pitter-patter. Who would know this more than Indias
new finance minister, Arun Jaitley!
As he prepares to present the Narendra Modi-led National
Democratic Alliances first budget, he would probably be
remembering one widely used concept in economic theory:
constrained optimisation.
It represents arriving at a set of best solutions to an array
of problems. In a real economy, however, the most
favourable way out for one set of problems could harm
prospects somewhere else. For instance, if prices are rising
steeply, slashing high interest rates may sometimes end up
only fanning inflation. Striking a balance may involve a
painfully long process of slow, gingerly taken steps.
With the rains playing truant, Jaitley is sweating it out, lit-
erally, closeted with officials, knee-deep in files, scouring
for that extra rupee to be wrung out of the coffers. Or, figur-
ing out how to get some of the countrys mount of rotting
grain into stomachs that need them.
The government needs to spin jobs for tens of millions of
restive hopefuls to fulfil its poll pledge of Achhe din
aane wale hain (Good days are ahead) while the elbow
room in the treasury remains extraordinarily tight.
That brings me to the larger question of inflation. Time
was when price rise was about food staples like onions. This
season, the causes of the tears also lie elsewhere.
Food inflation, a proxy for how costly the platter has
become over a year, is galloping towards the worrisome
10% mark. It was 9.50% in May. It could get worse if India
receives deficient monsoon rains because of a possible El
Nino effect a weather glitch in the Pacific Ocean that
causes droughts in the sub-continent. It is not just about
food prices. Payments for utilities such as telephone servic-
es and electricity have surged and a visit to a beauty parlour
or a salon is more expensive now than, say, a year ago.
Pumping iron at the gym, or a weekly visit to the movies at
a multiplex also costs more.
A weak rupee, higher service taxes, rising borrowing
costs, rentals and utility bills have collectively prompted
restaurants to raise meal rates and gyms to hike fees.
Besides, yesterdays luxuries have become todays norm.
As millions of people shift to higher standards of living, the
focus is changing from basic needs of nutrition to more
aspirational products and services that will soon become a
part of daily life. Let us call it lifestyle inflation, shall we?
The Reserve Bank of Indias continuous monetary tight-
ening raising interest rates to squeeze demand, and thus,
prices has failed to tame the inflation monster.
The governments financial plans, pretty much like house-
holds, are primarily about prioritising spending. The budget
for 2014-15 will be a tough balancing act, with the govern-
ment required to keep public spending under check, without
falling into a debt trap.
I can recall many families that are battling multiple EMIs
funding day-to-day spending as well as juggling around
funds from one loan account to another. Jaitley faces a
somewhat similar predicament.
Slashing customs and excise duties can help temper shop-
end prices, but will erode revenues, upsetting plans to con-
tain the fiscal deficit shorthand for the amount of money
the government borrows to fund its expenses.
(Courtesy, Hindustan Times)
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
By Amulya Ganguli
A
s Narendra Modi resumes the task of continuing
the economic reforms even if it means adminis-
tering "bitter medicine", one might have expect-
ed the Congress to offer him wholehearted support.
Such a gesture would have been normal considering
that the former finance minister, P. Chidambaram,
admitted that his government made a mistake by taking
the "foot off the accelerator of reforms" in the last two
years before its unlamented demise.
However, now that the new prime minister has decid-
ed to step on the gas albeit with the warning that the
harsh measures under the reforms are likely to make a
"dent" in his popularity, at least Chidambaram should
be pleased that his unfinished task is being completed.
Instead, the Congress's negative reaction was con-
firmed by its criticism of the railway fare and freight
hikes although these were proposed by its own govern-
ment before it left office. This attitude not only demon-
strates a sense of cussedness, but is probably also moti-
vated by the fear that all its profligate programmes are
now in danger of being junked.
It is worth nothing that for the first time since the
reforms were initiated, the Modi government is serious
about implementing them. Unlike Manmohan Singh,
who had been apologetic about the reforms because of
resistance from the Left (between 2004 and 2008) and
from the left-leaning members of the Congress led by
Sonia Gandhi, Modi is likely to go full steam ahead
with what the communists decry as a pro-capitalist,
"neo-liberal" agenda.
This template is expected to include the cutting of
subsidies, which were the lifeblood of Sonia Gandhi's
populism, a preference for imposing user charges and
removing environmental and other bottlenecks for
industrial projects such as the complicated land acquisi-
tion process drafted by the previous government.
All of this cannot but raise the hackles of the "social-
ists" in the Congress and of the mainstream Left, who
will see these measures as a capitulation to the corpo-
rate lobby. Unfortunately, those in the Congress like the
former dream team of Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram
and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who may secretly
endorse Modi's initiatives, are expected to maintain a
deafening silence.
It is their tendency to avoid speaking the unpleasant
truth to the Congress president which led to the party
downhill. Yet, there is unlikely to be any reversal of this
suicidal mentality. The reason is the ingrained belief in
the Indian political class that it is the bounden duty of
the opposition to oppose even if the government's pro-
posals are aimed at economic revival.
This reflexive response is largely due to the absence
of an ideological approach to the economic issues
among politicians. To many of them, politics is a matter
of manipulating castes through the quota system and
promising freebies. If there is an ideology, it has a
Leftist bias with its innate animus against businessmen,
who are invariably pilloried as rapacious.
Since Modi is an exception among politicians in this
respect, he has always stood out as a distinctive figure.
However, if he embarks on a capitalist path, the flutter
in the political field, including the saffron camp, can
well be imagined.
The country obviously faces a situation when it either
has to make up its mind to be a part of the global econo-
my or regress to a closed, autarkic system of the kind
when it crawled at the 2-3 per cent Hindu rate
of growth.
Budget 2014: Here comes the big squeeze
With the rains playing truant,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is sweating it out
The reason is the ingrained
belief in the Indian political class
that it is the bounden duty of the
opposition to oppose even if the
government's proposals are
aimed at economic revival.
12 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED
The country faces a situation when it has to make up its mind to
be a part of the global economy
Modinomics will face 'socialist' roadblock
DIASPORA 13 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
S i n g a p o r e :
Justice V K
Rajah, an Indian-
origin judge, was
on Wednesday
appointed as the
eighth attorney
general of
Singapore.
Justice Rajah's
a p p o i n t me n t
takes effect from
Wednesday, said
a statement from
President Tony
Tan Keng Yam's
Office.
Rajah takes
over from Steven
Chong. President
Tan also appoint-
ed Rajah, 57, as a
Member of the Presidential
Council for Minority Rights
for a term of three years.
Rajah was appointed as a
Judicial Commissioner of
the Supreme Court and as a
judge in 2004. He has been
the Chairman of the
Singapore Institute of Legal
Education as well as the
Board of Judicial Learning
since 2010.
Vatican has a
Vishnu temple
Rome: The Collections of Vatican Museums
reportedly houses colorful 18th century Vishnu
temple made of wood, mirror, paper, pigments
and glass paste. It also includes bronze statues
of Hindu divinities dating from 8th to 14th
century.
Vatican Library carries extensive collection
of ancient Hindu scriptures and various other
Hinduism related texts; including books on
Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Bhagavad-Gita, Panchatantra,
Krishna, Brahma, yoga, Shakti, Hindu theolo-
gy, Hindu pantheon, etc. This Hindu collection
is in various languages and some of the edi-
tions are as old as 1819.
The Vatican in the past also included well-
known verse from Brhadaranyaka-Upanishad
("Lead me from the unreal to the real, from
darkness to light, from death to immortality."),
line from Tagores Gitanjali ("Give me the
strength to make my love fruitful in service."),
and reference to Mahatma Gandhi in Way of
the Cross at the Colesseum Meditations and
Prayers on Good Friday 2009 led by Pope and
put together by Vatican Office for the
Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.
Kuala Lumpur: A promi-
nent lawyer and politician of
Indian-origin in Malaysia has
been posthumously conferred
with a prestigious public
service award in recognition
for his dedicated service to
the nation over the past few
decades, a media report said.
The special award was
given by the Gandhi
Memorial Trust of Malaysia
to Karpal Singh' s family
members in Kuala Lumpur
Monday.
Karpal Singh's daughter,
Sangeet Kaur, in her speech,
reminisced how he had
fiercely protected the notion
of equality, non-discrimina-
tion, democracy, and human
rights, the Malay Mail online
reported Monday.
Karpal Singh, known as the
"Tiger of Jelutong", died in a
car accident on the North-
South Expressway in Perak
state of Malaysia April 17
this year. He was 73.Karpal,
who was the member of par-
liament for the constituency
of Bukit Gelugor in Malaysia,
was one of the most influen-
tial lawyers in the country.
He was also the chairman of
Democratic Action Party
(DAP), which is one of the
three main opposition parties
in Malaysia.
Durban: Once home to the young Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, the city of Durban in South Africa has more over-
seas Indians than any other city outside India. Glimpses of
India are visible in the sights, smells and sounds of this city
on the country's southern coast.
The aroma of herbs, spices and curries greet visitors in
the Indian and herbal markets of the Indian districts and
Grey Street areas and it is common to see Indian women
proudly wearing their traditional attire.
South African Indian culture got enriched in 1860 when
the first Indian immigrants arrived on board the Truro as
indentured laborers to work on sugarcane farms in present
day KwaZulu-Natal. In 2010, more than 1.2 million people
of Indian descent in South Africa celebrated the 150th
anniversary of their ancestors' arrival in this country.
But the influence of the Indian community is not limited
to Gandhi, with many members of this community being
represented in the government and ruling party in positions
of influence and importance.
Indians in this South African city have a language of their
own that is very different from the languages spoken by the
locals. Local residents and other travelers have to actually
surf the internet or find dictionaries to decode the language.
Charous is the local dialect people of Indian descent here
use to communicate with one another. The "Durbs" would
just swing their heads from left to right while speaking
Charous.
This dialect combines English, Hindi and Afrikaans.
From the Indian spices in the coastal city of Durban and
the Indian accent, which has influences of other languages
of South Africa, the Indians in Durban have something new
to share, according to Davison Mudzingwa,
Entrepreneurship Africa Founder and Editor.
"A yearning for the Easter mosaic and an Africa root --
both identities that are now indelible part of their oeuvre --
adds to the parable oriental influence that defines Durban
thanks to the Indian population," he said.
Durbs or other South African communities who grew up
looking at the Indian community are used to the aroma of
the food especially found in special Sunday markets.
They sing along with the Hindi songs, try to communicate
with the little words they know with Indians and are part of
the celebrations.
In addition, cultural ideas and influences are strongly felt
here. Tradition has been handed down from generation to
generation and preserved in the largest Indian diaspora out-
side of India.
The sari is seen being worn by Indian women on many
South African streets, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. Indian
cuisine is hugely popular, with south Indian and north
Indian restaurants popular all over the country, including
delicacies such as samosas, chilli bite and bunny chow (hol-
lowed out half loaf filled with curry).
And the fever for cricket that grips India is as much in
evidence in KwaZulu-Natal, where the first Indians had set-
tled.
"Indians played a significant role in the anti-apartheid
struggle that we went through as Africans. Some of them
even contested and won the elections held in 1994," says
Davison.
Whether it is the aromatic spices and cuisine on offer in
bustling bazaars or Hindu worshippers on Battery Beach,
the Indian influence is reflected in every aspect of life in
Durban and is hard to miss.
Karpal Singh gets
Malaysian public service
award posthumously
Indian-origin judge
appointed Singapore
attorney general
FEATURE
Spices and Indian masala on display
in Grey Street in Durban
Collections of Vatican Museums
reportedly include a portable
temple of Hindu deity Vishnu.
Karpal Singh
Justice V K Rajah
By Robert Golomb
M
y son didnt die on 9/11, but it was
9/11 that eventually killed him,
said Stephen Grossman when I
spoke with him recently at the 9/11
Responders Remembered Park located in the
town of Nesconset in Suffolk County. The
late son he remembered was named Robert
Grossman. Robert, I learned, was a NYC
police officer assigned to the 28th Precinct in
Harlem - a precinct in which he served since
the day after he graduated from the NY
Police Academy in February 1994 until the
day in April 2006 that his illness forced him
to leave the job and eventually resulted in his
death on October 9, 2009 at the age of 41.
The illness that took the life of Robert
Grossman- who left behind his wife Carla
and son Noah, now 11 and who in 2010 was
posthumously declared A Hero of 9/11 by
the NYC Police Department and later was
honored with a Distinguished Service medal
from NYPD and a Medal of Valor from NYS
- was a form of cancer called Brain Cell
Glioma. And his father, as were his doctors,
is certain of its cause. Robert was sent to
Ground Zero after 9/11 and spent three weeks
there among the rubble, disease and devasta-
tion, he said. It was during that time that
his exposure to deadly toxins eventually
resulted in the cancer that was to take his life
5 years later. Yet, even when he knew he
was dying, he never once said he was sorry
he went down there. As a police officer, he
knew it was his responsibility.
Robert Grossmans fate, it is known, was
neither rare nor unique. There were approxi-
mately 40,000 responders who came to
Ground Zero the day of and the days, weeks
and months following the attacks of 9/11.
These too often unremembered heroes
included those in uniform - police officers,
correction officers, fire fighters, EMS work-
ers, military personnel - and also civilian
responders - electricians, plumbers, mainte-
nance workers, demolition operators, Red
Cross volunteers and so many others. There
is a general consensus within the medical
community that most if not all of these
responders were exposed to deadly toxins
that emanated from debris, dust and plastic
that caused the illnesses that eventually
claimed the lives of many.
How many still remains an open question.
The difficulty, I learned, involved in identify-
ing, recording and analyzing the death certifi-
cates of post 9/11 responders - many of
whom came to Ground Zero as volunteers
from states across America and from nations
throughout the world - makes it extremely
hard to come up with clear estimates of the
numbers of these heroes who have died as a
result of their exposure to these toxins.
However, there have been estimates placing
that number to be in the range of 2,000.
Of those, Grossman told me the names of
approximately 300 of the dead are engraved
in the granite wall standing within the parks
4 acre parcel. Grossman explained why he
provides an approximate rather than an exact
number. The count, he lamented, is
always going up, and it is not the type of
addition that you want to do and remain
sane. Last week we received the names of
two more responders who passed away. Their
names will be added to the memorial at our
next ceremony. And we know that the
names we receive are but a fraction of the
actual number of deceased responders. Also,
he added, rather than as a hard, cold num-
ber, I want to think of each one of these
heroes as a unique individual who once lived
his or her life upon this earth and died too
early. Just like my son.
As we paused at the wall to view the list-
ings of these heroes, Grossman pointed to the
names of Firefighter Richard Mannetta and
Police Officer Cory Diaz. These two 9/11
responders, he informed me, had died within
the same week as his son. For those who
deny the connection between all of these peo-
ple dying or battling illnesses and their serv-
ice at Ground Zero, he stated referring to
some lawmakers who have expressed doubts
about the connection between the responders
service at Ground Zero and their eventual ill-
ness or death, I implore you to come here
and look at the names engraved in stone on
these walls forever and explain why these
responders, all of whom worked in the same
place and in the same environment within the
same period of time, are dying in clusters. It
simply cannot be a coincidence.
Grossman, a 73-year-old retired NYC high
school teacher, told me that he devotes his
time now to honor the memory of his son and
other 9/11 responders who have passed away
by serving on the current six active member
board of the 9/11 Responders Remembered
organization. The organization was first cre-
ated in 2009 by small business owners, union
members, community leaders, local elected
officials, ordinary Suffolk County citizens,
surviving 9/11 responders and the widows,
parents, children and siblings of deceased
responders. Its goal to build a privately fund-
ed park that honored the service and sacrifice
of 9/11 responders, the first at the time of its
kind, was fulfilled three year later with the
unveiling of the First Responders
Remembered Park on September 10th, 2011.
As we continued to talk, Grossman proud-
ly told me that from start to finish the park
was totally privately funded, receiving con-
tributions from many of the same people and
groups that first helped found the organiza-
tion. The work of the committee, which cur-
rently meets once a month, involves the day-
to-day maintenance of the park which,
Grossman said is paid for with private funds.
The committee also focuses on planning for
the twice yearly official ceremonies held on
or around Memorial Day and on or around
September 11th when the names of recently
deceased 9/11 responders whose deaths were
determined to be caused by their work at
Ground Zero are added to the parks sacred
walls.
This past May, Grossman informed me, 92
names of Americas still unsung heroes were
added.
Grossman stated he rarely misses a com-
mittee meeting. It is my way of showing
my appreciation, admiration and respect for
all the 9/11 responders, he said, and of say-
ing to my son Robert that I miss you every
moment of every day and will always love
you.
Robert Golomb is a nationally published
columnist. Contact him at
MrBob347@aol.com
A father remembers his son and memorializes
the other forgotten heroes of 9/11
Efforts of a group of people like Stephen Grossman created the 9/11 Responders Remembered Park in Nesconset in Suffolk
County. On the Wall of the Park unveiled in Sept 2011 are engraved the names of a few hundred responders who succumbed
to illnesses resulting from exposure to deadly toxins that emanated from debris, dust and plastic at Ground Zero
Robert Grossman was an NYC police officer 9/11 Responders Remembered Park in Nesconset, NY
14 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL
INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 15
Held since 1785, the Bristol Fourth of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island is the oldest continuous
Independence Day celebration in the United States.
Since 1868, Seward, Nebraska has held a celebration on the same town square.
In 1979 Seward was designated America's Official Fourth of July City-Small
Town USA by resolution of Congress. Seward has also been proclaimed
Nebraska's Official Fourth of July City by Governor James Exon in proclama-
tion. Seward is a town of 6,000 but swells to 40,000+ during the July 4 celebra-
tions.
Since 1912, the Rebild Society, a Danish-American friendship organization, has
held a July 4 weekend festival that serves as a homecoming for Danish-Americans
in the Rebild municipality of Denmark.
Since 1972, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New
York City
Since 1959, the International Freedom Festival is jointly held in Detroit, Michigan
and Windsor, Ontario during the last week of June each year as a mutual celebra-
tion of Independence Day and Canada Day (July 1). It culminates in a large fire-
works display over the Detroit River.
Numerous major and minor league baseball games are played on Independence
Day.
The famous Macy's fireworks display usually held over the East River in New York
City has been televised nationwide on NBC since 1976. In 2009, the fireworks dis-
play was returned to the Hudson River for the first time since 2000 to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of that river.
Since 1970, the annual 10 kilometer Peachtree Road Race is held in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Boston Pops Orchestra has hosted a music and fireworks show over the Charles River Esplanade called
the "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" annually since 1973. The event was broadcast nationally from
1987 until 2002 on A&E, and from 2003 until 2012 on CBS (who aired the final hour of the event in prime-
time). In 2013, CBS dropped the Pops broadcast, with no reason given; however, executive producer David
G. Mugar believed that an encore presentation of the Macy's fireworks on NBC aired at 10:00 PM ET/PT
was successfully counterprogramming the Boston Pops, since the broadcast lost as much as 20% of its audi-
ence in 2012 in comparison to 2011. As it did prior to the cancellation, the full concert continues to air local-
ly by Boston's CBS affiliate WBZ-TV.
On the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C., "A Capitol Fourth", a free concert, precedes the fireworks and
attracts over half a million people annually. (Source: wikipedia)
Macy's fireworks over Hudson in NYC
Party table for family get-togethers
16 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL 17 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
E
minent attorney Ravi Batra, who is
Chair, National Advisory Council on
South Asian Affairs, a foreign policy
think tank serving the best interests of the
United States, is well-known to the readers of
The South Asian Times for contributing in-
sightful op eds with a air his own. Here in a
wide-ranging interview on the eve of Amer-
icas Independence Day, he deliberated on
India-US ties, the Devyani Affair, rise of the
Tea party, NewYork politics, and US foreign
policy.
The SouthAsian Times: Indian Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi said publicly that the
personal matter - earlier cancellation of US
visa to him -- will have no affect on how
India relates to the US now on, yet he does
not seem to have warmed up much to Wash-
ington. So whither Indo-US relations?
Ravi Batra: The state of the US-India rela-
tionship, given its core importance across a
spectrum of geo-political and geo-economic
relations, will be an on-going "litmus test"
throughout the 21st Century. India's recent,
awe-inspiring election that proves democracy
is eternally rooted in every Indian citizen,
speaks to the everyday Indian's belief in a
strong federal government in the country. This,
in a parliamentary democracy modeled on
merry old England.
That then-CM Narendra Modi chose to run
an American presidential-like election cam-
paign speaks to the convergence of both young
Indian voters and the social media assets -- in
truth, it seems that the Arab Spring in India,
originally the Anna Hazare movement/AAP,
was successfully co-opted by now-PM Modi
to such an extent that he was elected with the
Modi Mandate -- almost as if he harnessed the
hope and energy of Tahrir Square. The Con-
gress-led UPAI and II governed as coalitions
do - just ask Israel. That doesn't take away
from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or
Congress President Sonia Gandhi their
achievements, for they held the UPA I and II
together despite a whole hosts of issues that
were coalition-killing -- including the 2008
global economic meltdown, which nearly
every American is still trying to recover from
-- and made many a new friend, none more
important than the US, which celebrated India
with PM Singh as President Obama's rst
State Guest.
The US looks to India as a vital partner for
global peace and security, as well as enhanced
prosperity. It is America that gave India the
civil nuclear deal -- a dening moment for
both nations, and the Indian-American com-
munity, during the UPA. But the great hope
and investment by these United States in India
has not been paid back in full measure by
India by making the US its primary nuclear
supplier -- that title has gone to France and
Russia. This should not be so. India must
honor that old saying, "You dance with the one
who brought you to the party", and forego cut-
ting the best deal every time -- for if we in the
United States did that, there would have been
no civil nuclear deal.
There have been some discrete mistakes
coming out of Washington DC. The Modi visa
ban was one, and ill-deserved as India, a na-
tion of laws, is capable of nding guilt or lack
thereof. We need not have taken a preemptive
position on the Gujarat riots, and instead al-
lowed the Indian judiciary to rst sort it out.
Then, and only then, we should have taken a
position, even if adverse, with its relationship-
chilling consequences. By acting in a preemp-
tive fashion against CMModi, now PMModi
with a Modi Mandate, we have some back-
tracking to do if we are going to harness the
bilateral and multilateral benets of a close
US-India relationship.
That Modi has stated that India will relate
with Washington DC free of the personal
slight speaks to a national leader who will, like
his predecessor, well grace the international
stage -- only stronger as he is coalition-free.
On June 13, 1985 while I was a member of
the Tip O'Neill's Club, then Speaker of the US
House of Representatives, I had the great
pleasure of receiving then-Foreign Minister
Narasimha Rao in the South Portico of the
Congress with Ambassador Harry Barnes,
then our ambassador to India, as PM Rajiv
Gandhi was to address a Joint Session of Con-
gress. Since the ties with India are a bipartisan
asset for the United States, Modi should be in-
vited to address a Joint Session of Congress in
addition to an intimate Oval Ofce meeting
with our President Obama. We need to repair
and enhance US-India relationship, as if the
global economy and security depends on it --
because it does, and a prior mistake or two,
and a crisis caused, is too important an oppor-
tunity waste from being converted into a rela-
tionship-enhancer. The bottom line is that
America and India will be better friends than
ever before, and Secretary John Kerry and his
team, including Nisha Desai Biswal, deserve
full support for their efforts to make it so at
President Obama's urging.
Was Ambassador Nancy Powell withdrawn
from New Delhi by Washington for bungling
in the Devyani Khobragade affair or for not
making early enough overtures to Narendra
Modi, or both? And why was Devyani so
badly treated, a diplomatic blunder?
Ravi Batra: The Devyani Affair is self-in-
icted bilateral tragedy. All those who at-
tacked US Attorney Preet Bharara need to
have their head examined. I'm delighted to
have pushed Nancy Powell to retirement -- for
her sin exceeded everyone else's. Like our er-
rant ambassador in Iraq, April Gillespie, who
intimated a "green" signal to Saddam Hussain
to take over Kuwait before causing Desert
Shield and Desert Storm, here Amb. Powell
misjudged her disrespect for India's laws and
pre-existing criminal case pending against
Sangeeta Richard by "evacuating" her hus-
band and kids two days before Devyani was
arrested. The supreme irony is that Sangeeta's
husband, once in the US, said he must divorce
her as she is not trustworthy and lies. Wow!
Try getting a jury to convict Devyani after that
-- yet this is what the middle level functionar-
ies unleashed upon a vital bilateral relation-
ship. You can't make this stuff up.
Of course, Devyani's lawyer was so lost in
the legal woods, that he issued false statements
that insulted the process and USA Bharara --
ignorance of the law(or the lawon immunity),
as they say, is no defense, especially for a
lawyer. Out of this tragic mess, Devyani be-
came the ash point between two natural
friends - US and India. A colossal pity. That
NYC police ofcer Manny Encarnacion was
arrested in March in India in apparent retribu-
tion was not helpful; his release, however,
serves to prove India remains a mature friend
of the US -- something the powerful Senator
Chuck Schumer and Rep. Peter King must
note and give credit for.
I would love for India to re-install the Jersey
security barriers around the US Embassy in
Delhi -- the removal optics after Devyani
were, and remain, horrible. We, of course,
ought to reverse the removal of the security
buffer zone in front of the Indian Embassy in
Washington DC. Retaliatory reciprocity is the
mother of all ill-considered rebukes. The re-
sulting loss is the suppression of its wiser sib-
ling: proportionality. We need more
Indian-Americans to speak up when we feel
India went overboard with respect to an Amer-
ican action. Absent same, we don't have the
right to ask Washington DC or any of the 50
states to treat Indian-Americans better than
they do and equal under law.
Nations, like people, make mistakes. Na-
tions however always nd a multitude of rea-
sons to keep moving forward, without getting
stuck in a rut of ego or insult. Both America
and India are moving forward to a brighter and
a co-joined future that is mutually respectful.
That is something to celebrate.
How much credit you take for the success-
ful defense in the law suits led by Siksh for
Justice (SFJ)?
Ravi Batra: It would be the ultimate insult to
any genuine victimof the 1984 anti-Sikh Riots
for me to take credit for successfully getting
the SFJ cases dismissed and to have both fed-
eral judges hold that SFJ cannot legally be a
plaintiff in an Alien Tort Statute (ATS) or Tor-
ture Victim Protect Act (TVPA) case. But as a
lawyer, like a surgeon, one only deals with the
legal issues presented and not their historical
context or collateral effects for result-sake --
and nothing is more critical to either law or
medicine than timely and accurate diagnosis
for merit-based dispute resolution or a success-
ful surgery. It was that accurate diagnosis, with
a laser focus across a panoply of legal issues,
that caused the dismissals even as I argued for
honoring Indian sovereignty as I wished
American sovereignty to be honored by every
other nation. We are not Spain, and don't want
to be. Lest it be forgotten, if we as a nation
push this sovereignty envelope too far, other
nations will engage in retaliatory reciprocity
and also enact laws that give them extra-terri-
toriality jurisdiction, and then like the curse of
sectarian violence, we will also be cursed by
rule of law run amok and Americans being
sued or tried on foreign soil. If the rule of law
fails, then democracy fails, and tyranny fol-
lows. So, the legal doctrine of abstention is as
vital to the law's survival as respect for the rule
of law.
As for our predecessor counsel, Jones Day,
who represented the Indian National Congress,
they are a most well respected law rm with
over 2,000 lawyers and I am grateful for their
graciousness at case-transfer.
SFJ, like every litigant who gets knocked
out, has an appeal as of right. They have exer-
cised that right with respect to the dismissal of
their case against the Congress party. We will
argue to the Second Circuit that J. Sweet was
right to issue his dismissal order, and SFJ has
not a leg to stand on, other than harnessing
publicity by ling lawsuits. But publicity is not
justice. SFJ has not yet led an appeal from
the sharp rebuke issued by J. Cogan in SFJ's
case against Mrs. Sonia Gandhi -- and I can
only hope that SFJ will accept the error of their
ways and not appeal.
Most troubling last year was SFJ's ling a
lawsuit against a Sikh Prime Minister of India
as he visited President Obama in our Capital,
and then reling the same lawsuit in SDNY
when he came to New York to address the
UNGA. Aside fromthe bigamous lings, itself
a legal wrong, was that SFJ was suing a head-
of-state with clear immunity. Indeed, our State
Department in April asked the Justice Depart-
ment to le a "Suggestion of Immunity" with
the federal court in Washington DC -- which is
binding due to separation of powers regime, as
the judicial branch is not permitted to engage
in foreign relations of these United States, and
hence must accept a grant of immunity when
proffered by the Executive. So, that is that.
But, it remains shameful that a Sikh Prime
Minister was wrongfully sued.
You have been a Democrat. Now both the
state Governor and NYC Mayor are Dems.
How have they delivered on promises? Are
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Bla-
sio good for immigrant communities like the
Indians?
Ravi Batra: Well, I am an American before I
am a Democrat. Mayor de Blasio (BdB) has
become a national hero of the progressive left.
Indeed, BdB now denes and owns the left --
watch as his recipe of the "middle class left be-
hind" is heard across the nation. While Albany
was used to seemingly outmaneuver on a NYC
Home Rule tax authority for Pre-K, BdB got
his Pre-K without raising taxes. I wouldn't
want to play poker with Bill. Indeed, Gov.
Cuomo seeking to get a sizable lift in his re-
election efforts to keep a possible presidential
bid alive, was saved by BdB in working out
the fault lines with the Working Families Party.
If not for BdB, Westchester's "clean-cut" Rob
Astorino would become a winnable candidate.
Today, BdB is more powerful than his his-
toric percentage of victory on election night -
- today he is an elder and tallest statesman in
NewYork State, where the fate of the governor
and state senate has been substantially effected
by him.
As for Albany and the Governor, there is
much more ethics trouble ahead -- not the least
of it coming from the sudden and wrongful
dismissal of the Moreland Commission to ght
public corruption -- a legal impossibility, as
each Commission member was also deputized
as an Assistant Attorney General incapable of
being red by the governor.
America's core genius is our cherished sep-
aration of powers regime - this was seemingly
violated by the Moreland Commission being
disbanded and the USABharara, a known cor-
ruption-ghter, is reportedly on the case. That
the very issues that caused me great discom-
fort while I served as a commissioner on NYS
Joint Commission on Public Ethics, including
a premature departure caused by gubernatorial
hubris, well below the oor that Gov. Cuomo
is worthy of as a genuine "blue blood" in pol-
itics, are the identical issues now starring in
the prosecutorial review. Albany, it seems, re-
mains "dark and deep" a la Robert Frost, and
needs Preet to continue to shine disinfectant
light on every nook and crook: and he just did
it again with a double indictment of the Libous
father and son team. Maybe, we should just
put Albany under a federal monitor -- for de-
spite the overwhelming honest politicians that
serve there, those who control Albany just
don't wish to honor Lincoln's Gettysburg
Promise: a government of the people, by the
people and for the people.
Mayor de Blasio's NYC ID cards for undoc-
umented immigrants is a move worthy of an
earthquake. Yet, Gov. Cuomo has rightly iden-
tied federalism issues, but has not spoken if
as a state, he wishes to lead. Arizona, however,
certainly has taken the lead from the "right,"
and NYS seems to be demurring from the left
even as BdB is roaring.
Both BdB and Cuomo are good, one more
than another, each in their own ways for the
immigrant communities. As for Indian-Amer-
icans, there is a disconnect as with the Jewish
community. While everyday NewYorkers may
view the Indian-American community as
doing well, there is poverty and abuse too -
and it seems invisible politically - and the
fault, I'm afraid, lies with us in not speaking
loudly enough to identify it, and seek political
resources to assist our poor or abused elderly
and women - how can we, when all that folks
"involved" in politics want is a "photo op."
The Indian-American political donor is a bar-
gain in politics - give 'em a picture and they
are happy. Politicians will deliver needed re-
sources for senior citizen centers, abused
women and children, and poverty-affected if
our community leaders ask.
Former House Majority Leader Eric Can-
tor lost the Primary to a Tea Partier. What do
you read there?
Ravi Batra: Eric Cantor's loss has redened
American politics. It's a new game in town.
The Tea Party lives, and the Republicans must,
and now do, pay heed. Just note Speaker John
Boehner's impending lawsuit against President
Obama, and even incredulously, hear noises
being made about impeachment. That is how
signicant the partisan fault lines have nowbe-
come: near toxic. While Americans continue
to moderate, politically the nation drifts to ei-
ther extreme quiet happily, made painfully real
in presidential elections thanks to the consti-
tutional circuit breaker for popular tyranny: the
Electoral College.
The Obama-Kerry team has got brickbats
for lack of decisive action on Iraq vs ISIS and
in the Syrian civil war. So, is America losing
its ability or will to effect desirable change in
trouble spots globally?
Ravi Batra: We have a problem. We cannot
have our nation's foreign policy dictated by the
4-year presidential election cycle - but we do.
Iran remains a singular example of whats
amiss. During the Shah of Iran's time, Iran was
one of our closest friends. After he was de-
throned by those who tookAmericans hostage,
a deal was worked out to permit a split-screen
release of the hostages to coincide with Presi-
dent Reagan taking the Oath of Ofce. Our re-
lationship with Iran was so close, that we
ended up with the Iran-Contra Affair, with Iran
doing our bidding, or at least what appeared to
Iran to be our bidding.
Then, we cut Iran off, as the Independent
Counsel got going until America learned to
love both Oliver North and I'm-not-a-plotted-
plant Brandon Sullivan. This left our Iranian
friends confused; also, our other foreign
friends. Fast forward to today's Iraq, and after
a near trillion dollars of treasurer and countless
lives and injured soldiers, it is Russia sending
planes and troops to help Iraq ght ISIS. How
dare Iraq do so? This is near nuts, and if it was-
n't so painful, it would make for a great script
for Shakespeare's comedy of errors play. As
America, we have no business picking be-
tween Shia and Sunni, and ought to be friends
with both.
Syria's unleashing sectarian violence to end
the Arab Spring was quiet instructive as to
statecraft,
INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL
The Devyani Affair is self-inflicted bilateral
tragedy. All those who attacked US Attorney Preet
Bharara need to have their head examined. I'm
delighted to have pushed Nancy Powell to
retirement -- for her sin exceeded everyone else's.
Both America and India are moving forward to a brighter and a
co-joined future that is mutually respectful, states Ravi Batra.
Today, BdB is
an elder and
tallest states-
man in New
York State,
where the fate
of the Governor
and state
Senate has been
substantially
effected by him.
Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Permanent Representative of Romania to the UN,
Ravi Batra, Mrs. Mehdiyev, Ranju Batra, Amb. Agshin Mehdiyev, Azerbaijan's PR
to UN, Neal Batra and friend at a reception hosted by the Batras for Amb.
Mehdiyev in March 2014. That reception has been recorded in the official history
of the US by Congressman Eliot L. Engel, rising on the floor of the House of Repre-
sentatives to pay tribute to Amb. Mehdiyev who completed his term at the UN. Continued on page 19
Interviewed by Parveen Chopra
Ravi Batra
18 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL
By Jinal Shah
I
s Nina Davuluri American enough to be
Miss America?, This is Miss America
not miss terrorist. Minutes after she was
crowned the Miss America 2014, the 24-
year-old Indian origin girl from Fayetteville,
NY was attacked with racial comments like
these on Twitter.
Of the many debates triggered by
Davuluris victory, one might emphasize that
her win once again brought to light the long
history, almost century old, of Indians striv-
ing hard in America, much of the time in con-
ditions less hospitable to immigrants.
But Davuluri's coronation as an American
beauty icon also points to a changing nation
that is ever more hospitable to diversity.
Listen to her replying to a question at the pag-
eant: "Ive always viewed Miss America as
the girl next door. And Miss America is
always evolvingI always viewed myself as
first and foremost American " It was touching
to see Davuluri's pride at being American, a
point her detractors seemed to miss altogeth-
er.
So why did her victory prompt backlash
among those who rarely pay attention to the
contest? In a recent article titled Indian Miss
America resonates as symbol of change by
Associate Press, Amardeep Singh, an English
professor at Lehigh University, said, Miss
America is a symbol of national identity, who
represents the society as a whole. So when an
Indian woman wins, that really resonates."
And the girl next doors win is not a case
of cultural idiosyncrasy. In fact, her victory is
a huge symbolic advance in the story of the
other Indians contributions to the US melt-
ing pot. For many Americans of Indian her-
itage, Davuluris win showed the unique
promise of America, the way the nation and
its relatively new immigrants are responding
to each other and the challenges that
remain as America changes in deeper ways
than black and white. Indian Americans are
breaking away from the model minority tag
and actively participating in shaping
Americas economy.
Satya Nadellas ascension to CEO of
Microsoft is one such example. It is a victory
for not just Indian Americans, but also those
who embrace the idea that having a heritage
from outside the United States is something
to be celebrated. It is a compelling fact that
software giants in US including Microsoft,
Adobe, Cognizant, Google, and Cisco have a
decent background in recruiting the right peo-
ple for the top job including Indian
Americans among others. Some of the names
who have distinction of being tech companies
tallest leaders include Shantanu Narayen,
founder and CEO of Adobe, also a member of
Obamas management advisory board,
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president, Anroid,
Chrome and apps, Google (Bloomberg
Businessweek profile dubbed him as Most
powerful man in Mobile for diffusing ten-
sions between Samsung and Google early this
year over the former's decision to relegate
Android to the background in new devices),
Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and
strategy officer, Cisco who is also among
favorites for CEO job in Cisco.
These men and woman of Indian origin are
a tangible proof that their contributions to
America and the corporations that power her
cant be ignored, that they too are winners in
the American Dream sweepstakes. There are
many more Indian Americans shaping the
internet companies of late as Indians are
inextricably tied to Americas technology
Today, although Indians are celebrated as a model minority in America, this influential community is fast changing the
one-dimensional stereotyping by establishing itself as dynamic, diverse yet patriotic American next door. Here
Davuluri's prediction resonates even more deeply: "America is changing. And she's not going to look the same anymore."




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Nina Davuluri's coronation as an American beauty icon points to a changing
nation that is ever more hospitable to diversity.
Recognizing the
immense talent
and potential in
the three million
strong Indian
community, sev-
eral Indian
Americans have
been serving in
the Obama
administration in
top posts includ-
ing Rajiv Shah
and Nina Desia
Biswal.
19 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL
growth. According to Bloomberg, Asian
Americans became the majority of the tech
workforce in the (Silicon) Valley in 2010;
and one third of Valley startups are founded
by Indian Americans.
It was a common perception in the US till
some time ago that Indians didn't know how
to lead a company or delegate authority. A
study by the US based Kauffman Foundation
now shows that Indians are good managers
and are dominating the immigrant entrepre-
neurship.
The study points out that 33.2% of the
cofounders of engineering and technology
firms founded by immigrants in the US since
2006 were Indians. First generation entrepre-
neurs like Vinod Khosla became poster boys
of immigrant startups. One by one they mas-
tered the Valleys unwritten rules of engage-
ment and shattered its glass ceiling.
Indian origin entrepreneurs Kanwal Rekhi,
Pramod Haque, Gururaj Deshpande, and B V
Jagadeesh are only some of the immigrants
who won the goodwill and heart of American
investors. It is tempting to dismiss Indian
American dominance in the Silicon Valley
and tech filed with the notion that Asians are
genetically endowed with the characteristics
that enable them to succeed in science, tech-
nology, and national spelling bee competi-
tions - with past eight winners and 13 of the
past 17 being of Indian heritage and with two
Indian American spellers declared this years
co-champions. But it is hard to dismiss the
fact that a growing number of Indians in US
are making an ever big impact in American
politics by their influential personalities and
passion to serve the nation.
After a decade of quietly building behind-
the-scenes influence, Indian Americans are
entering politics in record numbers and are
successful. The American politics is going
through a transformation with the increasing
number of Indian Americans conquering
political heights along with other leaders.
The growing roster of candidates and elect-
ed officials of Indian descent includes two
governors: Republican Bobby Jindal of
Louisiana, first Indian American to hold the
position of governor, and who also features in
the short list of presidential prospects in the
Republican Party. Jindals record has been
exemplary. He moved with lightning speed in
transforming the states reputation on ethics
and corruption, implementing healthcare, cre-
ating jobs and education reforms ever since he
took charge in 2007.
Another governor of Indian descent, making
her own strides, is Republican Nikki Haley,
first woman of Indian origin to hold the top
gubernatorial post in the US. For her efforts to
cut taxes and slow the growth of government
spending, Nikki was named Taxpayers
Hero. In advancing reforms designed to
make South Carolina more competitive, she
has emerged as a true "Reagan Republican",
a tireless proponent of common sense legisla-
tion designed to raise income levels, create
new jobs and materially enhance quality of
life. The current attorney general of
California, the only Indian American to hold
the post, Kamala Devi Harris has aggressively
focused on combating transnational gangs that
are trafficking guns, drugs, and human beings
throughout California and dealt with states
foreclosure crises. Most politicians of Indian
decent like Californias gubernatorial candi-
date Neel Kashkari, the architect of the US
banks bailout at the height of the 2008 col-
lapse, focus on education and jobs, resonating
with Indian community where education is
highly valued.
Almost half a dozen Indian Americans ran
or are in the race for Congress in Washington,
California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kansas,
etc. and dozens more are either holding or
seeking seats in state legislatures. Dr Ami
Bera, of course, is the third Indian-American
ever to be elected to the US Congress (preced-
ed by Bobby Jindal and Dalip Singh Saund).
Indians Americans are too small a potential
voting bloc less than 1 percent of the popu-
lation to sway the outcome of state or
national-level contests. However, as they
amass wealth and become more active in poli-
tics, they're being increasingly sought out,
especially as donors, by Democrats and
Republicans alike. They're disproportionately
wealthy, well-educated and employed at high
levels in fields such as medicine, technology,
engineering and energy, which politicians see
as key to the nation's economic future.
Recognizing the immense talent and poten-
tial in the three million strong community,
several Indian Americans have been serving
in the Obama administration. Although there
is no official count, it is estimated that more
than three dozen Indian Americans have
served or are serving as presidential
appointees in the Obama government spread
over State, Treasury, Defense and Commerce
departments. This is a far cry from the Regan
Administration when the first Indian
American was appointed to a senior adminis-
tration post - Joy Cherian to Equal
Employment Opportunities Commission.
Cherian went on to become its Commissioner
from 1990 to 1994. Indian Americans have
since come a long way either supporting
President Obama from outside or working for
him. Some of the Indian Americans tapped to
play important roles in Obama administration
include: Rajiv Shah, one of the Presidents
first and highest serving Indian American in
any US government so far, was in charge of
administering the $2.6 billion of US foreign
aid for humanitarian efforts the world over.
Others include Vinai Thummalapally,
Obamas old roommate from his days at
Occidental College in Los Angeles, appointed
US Ambassador to Belize, becoming the first
Indian-origin Ambassador in the US history.
Vikram Singh in his capacity as the Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and
Southeast Asia (SSEA) is the highest ranking
Indian American official in the Pentagon.
Sachin Dev Pavithran, blind most of his life,
was appointed to deal with formulating
national standards related to disabled persons.
Among other top officials appointed by
Obama are: Nisha Desai Biswal -- Assistant
Secretary of State for South and Central Asia
(SCA) overseeing India and a vast swathe of
nations in the region; Gargee Ghosh, member
of the presidents global development council;
Sethuraman Panchanathan, an IIT Bangalore
alumni, to the National Science Board of the
National Science Foundation.
In the legal field, US Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, Firozpur-born
Preet Bharara is engaged in a number of high-
profile insider trading cases including of Rajat
Gupta, former McKinsey head. Nominated by
President Obama, Bharara was unanimously
confirmed by the Senate in May 2009. He was
on the cover of Time magazine this year for
cracking down on corruption on Wall Street
and hit the headlines for dogged prosecution
of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade. He
is considered a strong candidate for Americas
Attorney General. And a bright prospect for
the US Supreme Court is Srikanth "Sri"
Srinivasan, currently United States Circuit
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit, consid-
ered the second highest court in the country.
Started in 1925, Scripps National Bee
is as American as apple pie. Yet, past
eight winners and 13 of the past 17
have been Indian American teens.
Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe are
this years co-champions.
Satya Nadellas ascension as CEO of
Microsoft is a victory for not just
Indian Americans, but also those who
embrace the idea that having a
heritage from outside the US is some-
thing to be celebrated.
First generation entrepreneurs like
Vinod Khosla became poster boys of
immigrant startups. One by one they
mastered Silicon Valleys unwritten
rules of engagement and shattered
its glass ceiling.
Continued from page 17
but Syria's use of chemical weapons seems to
be a crime against humanity - but the Security
Council's P5-veto power is a reminder that we
have an imperfect world and that vital reforms
are needed at UNSC.
Secretary Kerry, a former warrior and chair-
man of Senate Foreign Relations, knows well
the proper use of war and the need to secure an
all-participants peace. He has worked his heart
out, as a true patriot and a statesman, while
seeking to bridge the gap with humor and
nesse between sides at war on a sectarian level
of hatred, or while dealing with Russia after
Crimea. Surely, the Ukraine non-eruption is a
major victory for smart sanctions without
"boots" on the ground or "drones" in the air.
Any thinking person would wish John Kerry
more power and a little more sleep. Of special
mention is Congressman Eliot Lance Engel -
Ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee - for he has taken principled
stances, sometimes to nudge our executive to a
different nuance and continuing need to protect
Israel. Rep. Engel's efforts serve our nation to
be stronger and better respected abroad.
America remains the strongest nation on
earth, and we should all do our part to keep her
that way. Citizenship means more than earning
a better living; it also means to rise to patriot-
ism - and more Indian-Americans need to do
so, even as we now have some serving in the
armed services Most notable of all is
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii - an
Iraq war vet. As an aside, I am very insulted
that her opponent has said that a Hindu does not
belong in the Congress - we ought to teach that
errant fool about bigotry and separation of
church and state.
Washington: US secretary of state
John Kerry has called Afghan
President Hamid Karzai and asked
him to address the concerns of indi-
vidual candidates vying to succeed
him, amid fears that a poll dispute
could lead to instability.
Kerry stressed the importance of
national unity and a peaceful politi-
cal process during his call the
Karzai yesterday, a state department
spokesperson said.
The preliminary result of
Afghanistan's presidential election
run-off was delayed for days for a
recount of ballots in 2,000 voting
centres. Afghans voted on June 14
to elect between former foreign
minister Abdullah Abdullah and for-
mer World Bank economist Ashraf
Ghani.
But the two candidates are at log-
gerheads, triggering fears that the
election results could lead to
protests and uncertainty in
Afghanistan. Kerry encouraged the
Independent Election Commission
to conduct a full and thorough
review that ensures the Afghan peo-
ple have confidence in the integrity
of the electoral process, the
spokesperson said.
"While the US does not support
any individual candidate, we have
long stated our support for a credi-
ble, transparent and inclusive
process that is broadly supported by
the Afghan people and which pro-
duces a president who can govern
the country," the spokesperson said.
"We call on all sides to work
toward this goal and to avoid steps
that undermine national unity."
Dhaka: India has agreed to send
back Nur Hossain, the prime sus-
pect in a multiple-murder case in
Bangladesh, foreign minister AH
Mahmood Ali told parliament.
Replying to a query from Jatiya
Party member Pir Fazlur
Rahman, the minister said: "The
matter was discussed during the
recent visit of Indian foreign min-
ister Sushma Swaraj. The Indian
government has agreed to extra-
dite him."
Hossain and his two accom-
plices were arrested June 15 from
an apartment at Baguiati, close to
Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose International Airport,
bdnews24.com reported.
A councillor in Bangladesh's
Narayanganj and prime accused
in the murder of seven people,
Hosain has been booked under
the Arms Act and Foreigners
Registration Act for illegal
trespass into Indian territory
without valid travel documents
and for illegal possession of a
weapon.
All three are currently in police
custody.
Hossain's arrest was made near-
ly one and a half months in India
after the seven murders in
Narayanganj that shook the coun-
try.
Nazrul Islam, a city councillor,
senior lawyer Chandan Kumar
Sarkar and five others were
abducted April 27. Their decom-
posed bodies were recovered
from the Shitalakhyya river sev-
eral days later.
Hossain went off the radar after
the families of the victims alleged
he orchestrated the abductions
and murders.
Bangladesh sought the help of
the Interpol May 22 to nab him,
but it had also informed India to
check out reports that Hossain
had slipped into Kolkata.
After his arrest, the Bangladesh
government began the process to
bring him back from Kolkata
under the extradition treaty.
Hossain is believed to be the
mastermind of the Narayanganj
multiple murders, for which some
officers of the Rapid Action
Battalion (RAB) are now in the
dock.
Assassinated councillor Nazrul
Islam's relatives alleged that the
RAB officers took 60 million
taka (about $770, 000) from
Hossain to carry out the abduc-
tions and murders and then
helped him escape to Kolkata.
But the RAB has denied the
charge even though it had
claimed that he fled to India.
However, three officers of
Narayanganj-based RAB-11 were
removed from the force two days
after the April 27 abductions.
Later, their parent forces
packed them off on forced retire-
ment after allegations of their
involvement in the crime sur-
faced.
After the trio were arrested fol-
lowing a court order, all of them
confessed to their roles in the
abduction and murder of the
seven men.
Beijing: China has allocated funds
for building a railway line from the
city Kashgar in northwestern
Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
to Pakistan's deep-sea Gwadar Port
on the Arabian Sea, local media
reported.
"The 1,800-km China-Pakistan
railway is planned to also pass
through Pakistan' s capital of
Islamabad and Karachi," China
Daily quoted Zhang Chunlin, direc-
tor of Xinjiang's regional develop-
ment and reform commission, as
saying last Thursday at the
International Seminar on the Silk
Road Economic Belt in Urumqi,
Xinjiang's capital.
"Although the cost of constructing
the railway is expected to be high
due to the hostile environment and
complicated geographic conditions,
the study of the project has already
started," Zhang said.
The railway line, which will pass
through the Pamir Plateau and
Karakoram Mountains, will be one
of the hardest to build, Zhang said,
adding that it will be the most vital
transport infrastructures on the
China-Pakistan corridor along
China's newly proposed Silk Road
Economic Belt.
"China and Pakistan will co-fund
the railway construction. Building
oil and gas pipelines between
Gwadar Port and China is also on
the agenda," Zhang said.
Control of Gwadar Port was given
to China and an agreement was
signed with China Overseas Ports
Holding Co May 16, 2013, to trans-
fer operational rights from the Port
Authority of Singapore.
The move means China will now
be able to run a port just opposite
the Gulf of Oman, an important
route for oil tankers.
The speed of road and railway
construction in Xinjiang was signifi-
cantly increased after September
2013, when President Xi Jinping
raised the idea of the economic belt,
Zhang said. Xi proposed reviving
the ancient trade routes connecting
China, Central Asia and Europe.
Bannu: Pakistan' s military
launched a ground assault in
North Waziristan tribal area,
beginning a new phase in its
offensive against Taliban mili-
tants, officials said.
Troops moved on Miranshah,
the main town in north
Waziristan, around 9.30am (0430
GMT) after two weeks of air
strikes and artillery bombard-
ment of insurgent targets.
Kabul: The final result of the
Afghan presidential election
will be announced Aug 24,
Election Commission chairman
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristan said.
The preliminary results of the
presidential polls will be
announced July 7, Xinhua cited
Nuristan as saying in a press
conference.
Afghanistan' s presidential
election was held April 5 where-
in eight candidates contested to
secure the country's top slot for
the next five years.
Since no contender secured
more than 50 percent of the
votes required to become the
president, a runoff election was
held between front-runners
Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf
Ghani Ahmadzai June 14.
However, Abdullah who
secured 45 percent of some 7
million votes in the first round
of the race has accused the
Election Commission of siding
with Ahmadzai, who bagged
31.6 percent of the votes.
Abdullah has warned that no
decision of the Election
Commission is acceptable
unless the clean votes are fil-
tered from the fake ones.
The Election Commission was
supposed to announce the
partial result of the runoff votes
last week but postponed it
in the wake of Abdullah' s
warning.
The preliminary results of the
prolonged process of runoff
votes was scheduled to come
out July 2 and the final result
was set for July 22, but the
Election Commission chairman
once again delayed the
announcement.
Afghans voted on June 14 to elect between former foreign
minister Abdullah Abdullah and former World Bank
economist Ashraf Ghani.
Kerry calls Karzai amid Afghan poll fears
India ready to extradite
Nur Hossain
Final result of Afghan
presidential poll on Aug 24
Pak army begins ground offensive
against Taliban
China to build new
Silk Road rail link to Pakistan
The 1,800-km China-Pakistan railway is planned to also pass
through Pakistan's capital of Islamabad and Karachi.
SUBCONTINENT 20 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
INTERNATIONAL
Damascus/Baghdad: The Islamic State in
Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), an Al Qaeda
splinter group seized a strategic eastern
Syrian town along the Iraqi border follow-
ing days of intense clashes with rival jihadi
group.
The ISIS captured Bukamal town in
Syria' s Deir al-Zour province after an
"intense" battle with the Al Qaeda-linked
Nusra Front, Xinhua reported citing the
London-based watchdog Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
The ISIS has started advancing towards
al-Shahel town, a stronghold of the Nusra
Front, in the eastern Syrian countryside of
Deir al-Zour, the observatory said.
The Nusra Front and the ISIS have been
fighting since early this year.
Their battles have claimed the lives of
more than 7,000 insurgents and civilians
since the beginning of 2014 in northern and
eastern Syria, according to the Observatory.
The two rebel groups have been fighting
over Bukamal due to its strategic location
on the border with Iraq and its oilfields.
Meanwhile, the UN Assistance Mission
for Iraq (UNAMI) said as many as 2,417
Iraqis, mostly civilians, were killed in ter-
rorist attacks and violence in June.
The UNAMI statement said that 1,531
civilians, including civilian police person-
nel, and 886 members of the security forces
were killed, while 1,763 civilians were
wounded, in addition to 524 security mem-
bers in terrorist and violent acts last month.
In another development, the ISIS staged a
military parade in Syria's northern city of
al-Raqqa, displaying weaponry and mili-
tary gear it looted from military depots in
neighbouring Iraq, activists said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, incidents of bombing and fir-
ing were reported in the vicinity of the
building in Iraq's Tikrit town which is
housing 46 Indian nurses.
They have taken refuge in the basement,
the Indian government said, expressing
hope that they will be evacuated safely.
In New Delhi, External Affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said it was
a "delicate situation" and Iraqi authorities
had been informed about the location of
nurses.
Dubai: The leader of the al-
Qaida offshoot now calling
itself the Islamic State has
called on Muslims worldwide to
take up arms and flock to the
"caliphate" it has declared on
captured Syrian and Iraqi soil.
Proclaiming a "new era" in
which Muslims will ultimately
triumph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
issued the call to jihad holy
war in an audio message
lasting nearly 20 minutes that
was posted online on Tuesday.
It was his first purported mes-
sage since the group previ-
ously known as the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIS) -proclaimed the caliphate
and declared him its leader, in
an audacious bid to sweep away
state borders and redraw the
map of the Middle East.
Baghdadi, who has assumed
the medieval title of caliph,
used the message to seek to
assert authority over Muslims
everywhere. He called on them
to rise up and avenge the
alleged wrongs committed
against their religion, from
Central African Republic to
Myanmar (Burma).
"Terrify the enemies of Allah
and seek death in the places
where you expect to find it," he
said. "Your brothers, on every
piece of this earth, are waiting
for you to rescue them."
The audio message,
titled "A Message to the
Mujahideen and the
Muslim Ummah in the
Month of Ramzan," was
posted online through
the group's media arm.
Another account affiliat-
ed to the group posted
translations in English,
Russian, French,
German and Albanian.
"By Allah, we will
take revenge, by Allah
we will take revenge,
even if after a while,"
Baghdadi said.
While ISIS' s power
grab may appeal to many
militants, there have already
been signs of dissent. Some
Islamist groups fighting in Syria
have rejected the announcement
of the caliphate, saying its terms
had not "been realized at pres-
ent", and urged Muslims to
avoid siding with the Islamic
State. Iraq' s Association of
Muslim Scholars, which was
formed to represent minority
Sunnis, said in a statement:
"Any group that announces a
state or an Islamic emirate...
under these conditions is not in
the interest of Iraq and its
unity."
The audio message's authen-
ticity could not be immediately
verified, but it was carried by
SITE, an authoritative US-based
organization that monitors
jihadist statements.
Fighters should "embrace the
chance and champion Allah's
religion through jihad",
Baghdadi said.
He called on Muslims to
immigrate to the self-styled
caliphate, saying it was their
duty. In a direct, confident mes-
sage, he urged them to "listen,
realize and stand and free your-
self from the shackles of weak-
ness, and stand in the face of
tyranny".
Moscow/Kiev: Moscow "deeply
regrets" Kiev's decision to call
off ceasefire in Ukraine's eastern
regions, Russia's foreign ministry
said in a statement.
The decision has undermined
"important joint diplomatic
actions" of Russia, Germany and
France over the Ukrainian crisis,
Moscow said following a phone
conversation between foreign
ministers of Russia, Ukraine,
Germany and France late
Monday, Xinhua reported.
"There is an impression that the
changing of Kiev's position hap-
pened in contradiction with the
position of the European Union's
leading members," the statement
said.At the phone talks, Ukraine's
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin
discussed steps to implement
President Petro Poroshenko' s
peace plan with his three counter-
parts and necessary steps to
extend the ceasefire.
The Ukrainian president
announced a week-long ceasefire
by the government forces June 21
to seek a peaceful solution to the
conflict, and later extended it to
June 30.
However, Poroshenko decided
not to extend the ceasefire in the
violence-hit regions Tuesday. The
Ukrainian troops resumed mili-
tary offensive Tuesday against
insurgents in the eastern regions
after the end of the 10-day cease-
fire.
21 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Paris: Former French President Nicolas
Sarkozy has been was placed under
investigation for corruption, after he
was called for questioning.
Sarkozy arrived in Nanterre, west of
Paris, where the police held him for
questioning over suspected influence-
peddling, Al Jazeera reported.
The former French president was held
for questioning for 15 hours over suspi-
cions that he used his influence to
secure leaked details of an inquiry into
alleged irregularities in his 2007 elec-
tion.
The investigators are trying to find if
Sarkozy, with the help of his lawyer
Thierry Herzog, attempted to manipu-
late the course of justice.
The investigators suspect Sarkozy
tried to obtain inside information of his
mobile phone which was being tapped
by judges looking into the alleged
financing of his 2007 election campaign
by former Libyan dictator Muammar
Gaddafi.
Sarkozy is alleged to have been
helped to victory in 2007 with up to $70
million provided by Gaddafi, and
envelopes stuffed with cash from
France' s richest woman, Liliane
Bettencourt.
He dismissed the Gaddafi claims as
ridiculous and was cleared last year of
taking Bettencourt's money.
Nicolas Sarkozy served as the 23rd
President of France from May 16, 2007,
until May 15, 2012.
Former French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
The Ukrainian president had announced a week-long ceasefire
by the government forces.
ISIS seizes key Syrian
town on Iraq border
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Sarkozy placed
under investigation
Russia regrets ceasefire
termination by Ukraine
Syria-Iraq 'caliph' incites
Muslims to holy war
France proposes 1 bn euro
credit line to India
New Delhi: French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius has called for greater
cooperation between France and
India to tackle climate change and
offered a proposed credit line of 1
billion Euro to enable sustainable
urban development.
"In order to boost our cooperation,
I am happy to announce that France
has decided to propose a credit line
of up to 1 billion Euros over the next
three years for sustainable infra-
structure and urban development in
India through the French
Development Agency," he said.
Fabius was speaking at a discus-
sion on "Sustainable development in
response to climate change" organ-
ised by the French embassy, The
Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI) and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) at the India Habitat
Center here.
He outlined five areas of concrete
cooperation between the two coun-
tries.
"I see at least five areas of possible
concrete cooperation between
France and India. Cooperation on
carbon-free energy,
developing our part-
nership on civilian
nuclear energy,
water-management in
the context of the
ambitious Indian
projects on the Ganga
and other rivers,
urban development,
and space and earth
observation," he said.
TERI Director
General R. K.
Pachauri said India
should do exemplary
work in the direction
of controlling climate
change.
"India for its own
sake can go a great
deal since we are vul-
nerable to the
impacts of climate change. As a
country of 1.2 billion plus people,
whatever we do is of enormous
value to the world. We should raise
our level of ambition and lead by an
example for the world to follow,"
Pachauri said in a video message.
Fabius said France is scheduled to
hold the "Paris Climate 2015" event
with an ambition to bring the planet
back on track with a global warming
of less than two degree Celsius.
New Delhi: Worldfloat, India's largest homegrown social net-
work with around 60 million users, has launched a new mobile
application that combines news feeds, videos and movies with
the social network.
"What makes Worldfloat mobile unique and exclusive is that
it gives picture-based real time news on mobile from mixed var-
ied news sources and the internet in a convenient way,"
Worldfloat founder Pushkar Mahatta said.
When you visit Worldfloat.com through Google on your
mobile now you will experience a beautiful-looking interface
with a cover story of the latest news happening in India and
around the world and latest news feeds from different sectors
including technology, science, global, sports, business and
entertainment, Mahatta said.
He said the new mobile app offers easy-to-scroll interface
with hard-hitting headlines from various sources.
"Through the mobile, we have the best news app for India.
Today, the international competition for Worldfloat mobile is
Flipboard mobile in the US and valuation for Flipboard is close
to a billion dollars," Mahatta said.
Worldfloat claims to be the Flipboard for India on mobile and
with the Indian population of mobile internet users growing
rapidly, the company expects to have the largest market share in
the news world of mobile apps.
Flipboard is mostly focussed on US and western countries and
dominated by news, while Worldfloat has introduced to India
focussed mobile apps and also caters to Western audiences.
"In the coming months we will be launching stunning new
features in Worldfloat mobile," Mahatta said.
New Delhi: The Indian
government has deferred
by three months a deci-
sion on raising the price
of locally produced gas,
saying a comprehensive
discussion was required
on the issue.
The Cabinet
Committee on Economic
Affairs (CCEA) took the
decision at a meeting
chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Petroleum Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan
later said the government has decided to
hold extensive consultations on the issue
before taking a call on hiking the price.
"The cabinet has decided there is need for
comprehensive discussion and consultation
with all stakeholders keeping in mind the
interests of the common man. We have
deferred the matter for three months," he told
media persons here after the CCEA meet.
The meeting was called to consider the
new gas price notified by the UPA govern-
ment which could not be implemented owing
to the election model code of conduct.
The UPA government had decided to
almost double the gas price from the existing
rate of $4.2 per mBtu. Major domestic pro-
ducers Reliance Industries Limited and the
government-run Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) has said that the cur-
rent price is not enough to explore new areas
of reserves.
The new price was supposed to be imple-
mented from April 1, but was deferred due to
the general election.
New Delhi: The government has hiked the
minimum export price of onion to $500 per
ton to improve the domestic supply and curb
prices.
Last month, the minimum export price
(MEP) on onion was re-introduced at US$
300 per tonne barely three months after the
previous government in March had abolished
it. MEP is the rate below which no exports
are allowed.
Retail prices of onion have risen to about
Rs 25-30 per kg, while the wholesale prices
are ruling at Rs 18.50 per kg in the national
capital.
The decision to increase the onion MEP
was taken on June 30 by an inter-ministerial
committee.
"Keeping in view, the rising retail and
wholesale prices and delayed monsoon, the
Committee unanimously decided to fix the
MEP at USD 500 per tonne which translates
to Rs 30 per kg with a view to arrest domes-
tic price rise and augment domestic supply,"
an official statement said. The committee
observed that "the wholesale and retail prices
of onion are going up in producing and con-
suming mandies and despite MEP at USD
300 per tonne, there is no appreciable decline
in the exports of onion."
Onion prices have been rising due to spec-
ulation amid anticipation of below normal
monsoon despite sufficient supply in the
country.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius meeting his
Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.
Onion prices have been rising due to
speculation amid anticipation of below
normal monsoon
Govt hikes export price of
onion to $500 per tonne
Worldfloat launches
'billion dollar' mobile app
BUSINESS 22 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Govt. defers gas price hike by 3 months
The UPA government had decided to almost double the
gas price from the existing rate
SPORTS 23 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New York: Fans across the
country gathered together in
bars and courtyards, huddled
in front of TVs and comput-
er screens, and congregated
by the thousands in Soldier
Field to watch their team
play a hard-fought 120 min-
utes.
Did everyone understand
the rules? Most certainly
not. Will a lot of the people
who watched the game stop
caring about soccer tomor-
row morning? Absolutely.
But a huge number of
Americans ducked out of
work early, got together, and
screamed themselves hoarse
over a soccer game. They questioned Jurgen
Klinsmanns tactical decisions, cursed out
officials, and screamed themselves more
hoarse cheering on the impossibly good Tim
Howard.
They saw 19-year-old Julian Green score,
and even though the team lost, talked excited-
ly about the future. They looked ahead to four
years from now, when Green will be bigger
and stronger and ready to score more World
Cup goals. The U.S. team was outmatched by
Belgiums talent, but they never stopped fight-
ing. They lost, but they never quit.
Is soccer going to replace the NFL tomor-
row? Of course not. But you can bet a few
more people will start tuning in to Premier
League games on Saturday morning or go to
an MLS game when the Sounders bring U.S.
stars Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin to
town.Its been said that soccers growth in this
country is a two steps forward, one step
back sort of thing, but the game took a big
leap in this country on Tuesday.
The United States has a team they can be
proud of, a team the nation will look forward
to watching in the future, and a sport it is
learning to understand and love more and
more. Get on board.
Rio de Janeiro: Both the
Netherlands and 10-men
Costa Rica reached the
World Cup quarterfinals in
a way that stunned the
football world.
The Netherlands, the
three-time runners-up,
fought back from the brink
of elimination to beat
Mexico 2-1 in Fortalezar
while Costa Rica booked a
berth in the last eight for
the first time by upsetting
former European champi-
ons Greece in a tense
penalty shootout in Recife.
After a goalless first half, Dos Santos put
Mexico ahead in the 48th minute by firing
off a half-volley from the top of the area to
the bottom corner past a diving Jasper
Cillessen.
Netherlands broke Mexican hearts in the
final moments after Wesley Sneijder's
super strike in the 88th minute and Klaas
van Huntelaar's calmly finished penalty
four minutes into the injury time.
Arjen Robben was fouled inside the box
by Mexican captain Rafael Marquez. A
penalty was awarded and Huntelaar scored
from the spot and Ochoa dived the oppo-
site way.
Costa Rica, known as the Ticos, were 5
on 5 in penalty kick while Greek veteran
striker Theofanis Gekas's fourth round
effort was denied by keeper Keilor Navas.
The first half was dull and slow and full
of turnovers with lackluster performance
from both sides. The Arena Pemambuco
was surrounded by boos from the stands,
when the referee Benjamin Willianms
blew the whistle to end the first half. But
the second was filled with drama.
The Netherlands fought back from the brink
of elimination to beat Mexico 2-1.
Rio de Janeiro: Germany and
France fought off tenacious chal-
lenges to advance to the World
Cup quarter-finals after beating
respectively Algeria 2-1 and
Nigeria 2-0.
Two extra-time goals from
Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil
sent the three-time champions
Germany through to their ninth
successive World Cup quarter-
finals in Porto Alegre.
After a tense and flying pace
regular time, the two sides tied at
0-0. No more than 90 seconds
into extra time, Schurrle beat the
Algerian defenders to near the
post using a clever back heel
flick to put the ball in the net.
In the 120th minute, Ozil and
Schurrle put together a few nice
passes in the box, Schurrle's first
shot was blocked by Algerian
goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi, but the
rebound was sent into the top
corner by Ozil.
The Algerian side, playing in
their first Round-of-16 match
ever, still didn' t give up.
Substitute Abdelmoumene
Djabou received a cross brilliant-
ly in the final minute and found
the back of the net, but it was too
late for Les Fennecs. Germany
will now face France, who beat
Nigeria 2-0 in an earlier game in
Brasilia, at the Maracana in Rio
de Janeiro Saturday to fight for a
semi-final berth. The French side
also scored very late en route to
the victory.
A Paul Pogba header and
Joseph Yobo own goal earned
France the win.
Sao Paulo: Angel di Maria's
goal deep into extra time sealed
Argentina's berth in the quarter-
finals after a hard fought 1-0
win over a defensive-minded
Switzerland in a round of 16
match at the Arena Corinthians
here. After being frustrated for
much of the match, Real Madrid
winger Di Maria finally broke
the Swiss resistance in the 118th
minute. The match exploded
after the goal as the Swiss, who
for the entire game played for
the penalties, finally showed
some urgency and almost
equalised but the post came to
the rescue of stunned Argentine
p l a y e r s .
Argent i na
will now play
the winner of a
later match between Belgium
and the United States.
It was a match of attrition for
both sides -- Argentina's attack
against the Swiss defence.
Argentina lacked the cutting
edge and found it extremely
hard to break down a well
organised Swiss defence.
Switzerland, who had one of the
best defensive records in the
qualifying stage where they
won seven of the ten matches,
packed men at the back.
Argentina, who have heavily
relied on Messi's goals, failed to
string together quick passes
with the Barcelona star seeing
very little of the ball in the first
half.
Netherlands and Costa Rica
win in stunning fashion
US team may have lost but soccer in America won
Rio de Janeiro: Following are the
quarterfinals line-up:
July 4:
At Rio de Janeiro: France vs Germany
At Fortaleza: Brazil vs Colombia
July 5:
At Brasilia: Argentina vs Belgium
At Salvador: Netherlands vs Costa Rica
World Cup quarterfinal line-up
Germany will now face France in the quarterfinals
Real Madrid winger Di Maria
finally broke the Swiss resistance
in the 118th minute.
Di Maria seals Argentina's
berth in World Cup quarters
The United States has a team they can be proud of, a
team the nation will look forward to
watching in the future.
24 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
By Parveen Chopra
G
uru Poornima is an Indian
festival dedicated to spiritu-
al and academic teachers.
It is traditionally celebrated by
Hindus to thank their gurus and is
marked by ritualistic respect to the
Guru, Guru Puja. The auspicious
day falls on the full moon day in
the Hindu month of Ashad (July-
August), a day sacred to the memo-
ry of the great sage Vyasa, who was
born on Guru Poornima. Hindus are
indebted to this scholar-saint who
compiled the four Vedas, wrote the
18 Puranas and the Mahabharata.
Hindus attach paramount impor-
tance to spiritual gurus. Gurus are
often equated with God and always
regarded as a link between the indi-
vidual and the Immortal.
Buddhists observe the festival in
honor of Lord Buddha who gave
his first sermon on Guru Poornima
at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.
According to Jain lore, it was on
this day that Bhagwan Mahavir, the
24th Tirthankara, after attaining
Kaivalya, made Indrabhuti Gautam,
later known as Gautam Swami, his
first disciple, thus becoming a Guru
himself.
Significantly, for sanyasis and
spiritual teachers, Guru Poornima
kicks off Chaturmas for four fort-
nights, a period when they are sup-
posed to stay put at a retreat and
give discourses to the public.
On Guru Poornima the Guru
Principle is said to be a thousand
times more active than on any other
day. You may be wondering can
one find a Satguru in America of all
places! Well, people living in the
New York metropolitan area and
those who can travel here are fortu-
nate to be able to celebrate Guru
Poornima 2014 in the divine pres-
ence of an enlightened master and
perfect Satguru, Brahmrishi Sri
Guruvanand Ji Swami. It is the first
ever Guru Poornima to be graced
by Gurudev, as he is addressed by
his followers, outside India.
Devotees of Gurudev point out
that on Guru Poornima day his
divine power is at its peak. So they
have invited one and all to the
International Guru Poornima 2014
celebration on July 12, taking place
at the New Jersey Performing Arts
Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ.
Each one of the 3,000 people
expected to attend will have the
opportunity to be personally
blessed by Sri Guruvanand Swami.
He gives his blessing in the form of
shaktipat personally. Shaktipat is
how a satguru awakens the
Kundalini of others by touch, look,
intention, etc. Such a precious
blessing given on Guru Poornima
goes a long way for the devotees
and their families to bring long last-
ing peace and happiness in their
lives.
Who should attend the special
Guru Poornima 2014 with
Gurudev? There is no initiation of
any kind. If you are a spiritual per-
son, come to cherish an unforget-
table evening of spiritual bliss. If
youre seeking a Guru, this may be
a golden opportunity to unite with
your Satguru and get his blessings.
If you already have a Guru and
youre unable to be in his presence,
attending this celebration is the
next best thing. And if youre
among hundreds of thousands of
very fortunate individuals who
have been united with Sri
Guruvanand Swami, then come and
pay your respect and gratitude to
Gurudev on the auspicious day and
get his blessings.
At a press conference on July 1 to
give details of the Guru Poornima
celebrations, some devotees and
organizers of the event related their
personal experiences of how their
lives were transformed after con-
necting with Gurudev.
A video presentation at July 1
meeting gave a snapshot of the
divine life and teachings of
Gurudev. His spiritual journey
began in his infancy. Yogiraj
Devraha Baba, one of the most
esteemed saints of recent times,
saved Gurudev from a terminal ill-
ness and then predicted that he
would attain the pinnacle of spiritu-
ality.
Yogirajs predictions have come
true. Gurudev has invoked all
Chakras (energy points) of his
Kundalini and has acquired all
Siddhis (supernatural powers).
Gurudev is using this enormous
divine energy acquired through 42
years of vigorous meditation to
help those in distress and to uplift
the lives of millions of people
around the globe. He has traveled
to over 170 countries teaching peo-
ple the art of living a morally
uplifting and spiritually fulfilling
life.
For the Guru Poornima 2014
event at NJPAC there is no charge,
made possible by the World
Spiritual Awareness Forum (formed
by devotees of Gurudev). A compli-
mentary dinner (Guru Prasad) will
also be served. Free bus service
will be available from Hicksville,
Queens, Edison, Jersey City and
Passaic to take the attendees to the
venue.
Everyone is welcome, but registra-
tion is required by going to
www.GuruPoornima2014.com or call-
ing Rakesh Bhargava, 516-484-0018.
Get blessed by a Satguru, Brahmrishi
Sri Guruvanand Ji Swami, on this
Guru Poornima in the New York
metropolitan area.
The significance of Guru Poornima for seekers
By Mohit Dubey
Lucknow: Hard pressed for time
in today's fast-paced world, keep-
ing track of religion and its day-
to-day rituals is not an easy task.
Cutting across religious lines, this
seems to be a niggling problem
for the Genxt devout in particular.
As the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan gets under way, things
are going to be easy this time
around for the 'rozedaars' (those
who keep the fast).
Finding the right time for begin-
ning and breaking the fast are
among many things they will now
get help with. Thanks to a bevy of
applications available for their
mobile phones - Window,
Android, iPhone - they are not
only kept abreast with 'sehari' and
'aftaar' timings on a day-to-day
basis but are also kept updated on
the timings of the coming days.
These applications, mostly
available on Google Apps store,
also have alarm functions and aid
you in reading out a ' dua'
(prayer).
One of these apps is 'Ramadan
2014 and prayer time, ' said
Saleem Haider, a travel agent
who said it has "almost mini-
mized" his chances of missing out
on aftaar and sehari, as well as
prayers.
The 32-year-old said he had
also set alerts for the five-times-a-
day 'namaaz' as the "nature of my
job is such that I miss out on
prayer timings".
Another application on Good
Playstore is a compendium of
'duas' tailormade for the pious
month. Once downloaded, they
can be read anywhere and at any
time. These prayers are also sub-
stitutes of the long and arduous
'Taraabi' (special prayers) that
many professionals do not get
time for.A Muslim government
official, while pointing to the
"immense utility" of such appli-
cations, said he can listen to them
while poring over files and even
while driving as his job does not
allow him the "luxury of attend-
ing long prayers at mosques."
Shadaab, a 16-year-old milk
seller in Indiranagar, too, is a
votary of such applications.
"Bhaijaan", he muses between
attending his clients, "this is very
helpful as it allows me prayers in
the shop though I would love to
go to a mosque for prayers."
Eminent cleric Maulana Irfan
Miyan Farangi Mahali said using
such apps was not "anti-Islam"
but cautioned users to ensure that
the prayers they contain are cor-
rect and in sync with the holy
Quran. "It not only saves time but
is also handy," he said, while cit-
ing the busy schedules of young
Muslim professionals.
Among other apps available are
easy to learn prayers for children
in which the invocations are sim-
plified and explained. There are
also apps that offer guidance for
'zakaat' (giving of alms) and also
cooking for the aftaari during the
holy month.
"Women-centric applications
are in demand and we use them
off and on over traditional ways
of cooking," admitted Mohsina
Hussain of Thakurganj.
"While the use of the internet is
strictly banned for entertainment
purposes, nobody stops us from
seeking out knowledge, especial-
ly about our religion," said
Saanya, a housewife who is a fre-
quent user of such apps on her
iPhone gifted by her husband.
Technology wedded to religion,
hence, is only helping the com-
munity, especially when "time is
ascarce commodity", an elder
pointed out.
Phone apps aid Genxt Muslims in India during Ramadan
"While the use of the internet is strictly banned for entertainment purposes in Islam, nobody stops us from seeking
out knowledge, especially about our religion," said Saanya, a housewife.
Brahmrishi Sri Guruvanand Ji Swami
Muslims break their fast during roza-iftaar at Jama Masjid on the first
day of the holy month of Ramadan in New Delhi.
25 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info LIFESTYLE
O
rganise your refrigerator
to ensure that you know
what' s in your fridge,
what' s in date and what you
need to get rid of.
Vicky Silverthorn, declutterer
to the stars and creator of life
organization company
YouNeedAVicky, shares a series
of practical tips to help you bet-
ter organize your fridge, reports
femalefirst.co.uk:
Keep the items you use most
at the front of the fridge:
Having a streamlined fridge can
make a positive difference to
someone on a busy day, given
the number of times we go in
there - for that morning cup of
tea, when making breakfast,
lunch and dinner and everything
in between. Having the items
you use most to hand as soon as
you open the fridge door can
make a lot of difference.
Make the food items more vis-
ible: With such busy lives how
could we be expected to remem-
ber every single item we own or
have bought. The easier the con-
tents of your fridge are to see,
the less likely you are to be sad-
dled with out-of-date products.
Keep what you want to eat
most in front: If you're trying to
eat more healthily, then make
sure your fresh fruit and vegeta-
bles are the first thing you see
when you open the fridge and
hide the chocolate as much as
possible.
Store childrens items at the
lowest possible height: It might
involve creating their own area
so that items they are allowed to
help themselves to are within
easy reach and then placing the
'treats' higher up or hidden away
so they can' t just help them-
selves.
Make the most of flexible
storage: You can often move
your refrigerator shelves up and
down. So, adjust to suit what
you are storing to ensure you
don't have any dead space.
C
elebrities like
B e y o n c e
K n o w l e s ,
Angelina Jolie and
Rihanna have been
giving sparkling
accents to their
knuckles by wearing
midi rings. So how
about trying your
hand at it?
If bold cocktail
rings are out of style
for you, try the midi
rings in various styles
to up the attractive
quotient of your fin-
gers.
The little jewelry
pieces, available on high-
streetshop.net, are available
in an array of style like in the
shape of bows, crown and
many more, said a statement.
J
ewelry is a weakness of many
women and a survey shows
that British women of 40 years
of age have a jewelry collection
worth 6,000 pounds.
The research, conducted by Vashi
Dominguez, founder of the jewelry
brand Vashi.com, has revealed that
the typical value of a woman's jew-
elry increases by 2,000 pounds
every 10 years as they reach mid-
dle age. By the time she reaches
50, her jewelry is worth 8,000
pounds, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
The collection generally includes
up to 150 pieces with the most
expensive item normally an
engagement ring worth 3, 000
pounds.
The study also
shows that only
33 percent of
the jewelry is regularly worn. The
remaining two-thirds are left neg-
lected in a jewelry box because just
9 percent of women sell or remodel
unwanted pieces.
"Many women dont realize their
jewelry box is such a valuable
treasure trove. These findings
prove the continual popularity of
jewelry. No matter her age, women
love the feeling new jewelry gives
them," said Dominguez.
"They are consistently adding to
their collections through their 30s
and 40s. Women see fine jewelry
as an investment they can enjoy for
life.
"Many affluent 50-year-olds are
sitting on jewelry collections worth
more than 40,000 pounds - far
more than the average annual
wage," added Dominguez.
S
ubliminal learning in your sleep is
usually dismissed as pseudo-sci-
ence at best and fraud at worst, but
a team of Swiss psychologists say you
can actually learn a foreign language in
your sleep.
Well, not from scratch, but a research
published in the journal Cerebral Cortex
by the Swiss National Science Foundation
claims that listening to newly-learned for-
eign vocabulary while sleeping can help
solidify the memory of the words.
In the study led by biopsychologist
Bjorn Rasch, 60 German-speaking stu-
dents were asked to learn some Dutch
words that they had never seen before at
10pm. Half of the group were then
allowed to go to sleep, with the words
played back to them, while the other half
were kept awake to listen to the words.
The first group was then woken at 2am
and all sixty students were tested on the
new vocabulary. The scientists found that
those who had listened to the Dutch while
sleeping were much better at recalling the
new words. The study first reported by
Wired.co.uk also considered the fact
that the group that was kept awake were
simply performing worse because they
were sleep-deprived, using EEG measure-
ments of the sleeping leaners to show
increased activity in the parietal lobe a
part of the brain important in processing
language.
This isn't the same as going to bed with
a 'learn French' CD and waking up with
'comment ca va?' and 'omelette du fro-
mage' on your lips, but further testing
could confirm that stimulus in our sleep
helps consolidate memories.
In fact, in a study from 2012 by the
Weizmann Institute of Science scientists
were able to condition subjects to associ-
ate smells with certain sounds - even
while they were asleep.
The researchers concluded: "This
acquired behavior persisted throughout
the night and into ensuing wake, without
later awareness of the learning process.
Thus, humans learned new information
during sleep."
F
or working women, who are out in
the field, there is hardly any time to
follow a hair and beauty regime.
Experts suggest some tips that can help
them retain their radiance and look fabu-
lous.
Beauty experts at Hairtrade.com share
tips, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Salt spray: The best tip for hair is
to keep it looking natural. Add texture
and mattify your hair with a sea salt
spray. Simply spritz the spray all over
your hair for a wavy, effortless look.
Dry shampoo: Dry shampoo will
absorb the grease in your hair and add
volume to the roots. Simply spray the
shampoo on your roots, wait for around
30 seconds and rub it off.
Waterproof mascara: Waterproof
mascara is advisable to prevent panda
eyes. It does not run so your lashes will
stay looking luscious for longer.
Headband: Wearing a headband or
bandana will not only make you look fes-
tival ready but it will also hide a bad hair
day. Try a floral bandana for the day and
mix it up with a metallic headscarf at
night.
Tinted lip balm: Chapped lips are a
common problem. Spending all of your
time outdoors partying and enjoying the
sun is bound to leave them dehydrated
and dry. A tinted lip balm will moisturize
your lips while adding a dash of color to
brighten up your makeup look.
Sun protection for hair: The sun
can make your hair dry and discolored.
The best way to tackle this is by using sun
protecting hair products.
The specially formulated hair care prod-
ucts have protecting and restoring formu-
las that keep your hair looking healthy
and full of shine. Try a spray for quick
application and apply a replenishing
masque for deep treatment after the
festival.
Tips to declutter your refrigerator
Make your knuckles sparkle
with midi rings
By the time a British woman reaches 50,
her jewelry is worth 8,000 pounds.
Spotted on stars such as
Rihanna, these tiny trinkets are
supposed to be worn at the top of
any finger.
You can learn a
foreign language
in your sleep
Women's jewelry collection
a treasure trove
Beauty, hair tips for working girls
26 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
A
ctress-businesswoman Preity Zinta, whose cur-
rent legal conflict with ex-beau Ness Wadia
scorched the headlines, is set to make a come-
back with Neeraj Pathak's "Bhaiyyaji", in which she
plays a ferocious bandit.
The film will also feature Sunny Deol as a gangster
from Uttar Pradesh.
According to Pathak, Preity has pulled it off with
aplomb.
"Preity plays a Uttar Pradeshwali. She plays a gang-
ster's daughter. She's no-nonsense UP gangster and
Sunny Deol's wife," he added.
Apparently Preity's transformation into a foul-mouthed
rustic bandit was so convincing that Sunny wants to cast
her as Sohni's Punjabi mother in the remake of "Sohni
Mahiwal", a film that the actor reportedly wants to do
with his son in the lead.
Pathak said: "Preity's interpretation of the firebrand
wife's character is bang-on. She will not be seen as only
for urbane sophisticated roles after 'Bhaiyyaji'."
"We've 12 days' shooting left. We will complete the
shooting post-monsoon," said the director.
In the past Preity had worked with both Sunny and
Bobby in "The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy" and
"Soldier". Interestingly, both the films were hits.
A
fter two back-to-back hits, Varun Dhawan is
looking forward to his forthcoming "Humpty
Sharma Ki Dulhania" and says the movie is a
modern-day version of the 1995 cult film "Dilwale
Dulhania Le Jayenge" (DDLJ).
He explained that the film showcases contemporary
Indian family and is devoid of melodrama that used to
dominate the screen earlier.
"It is a modern-day tribute to DDLJ... it is a modern
2014 version of DDLJ... so there's no melodrama...
today's youth reacts very differently to authority. So,
it's not a copy... it's a humble, small tribute," Varun told
reporters Tuesday while promoting the film here.
"This is a 2014 family film. India has progressed a
lot...almost a revolution happened... the youth brought
about a big change...there's a lot of fire...lots of angst...
so we are bringing out that part. So we are trying to
show what a modern-day family film is... he said.
Produced by Karan Johar, and directed by Shashank
Khaitan, "Humpty Sharma..." hits theatres July 11.
modern-day tribute to DDLJ
F
rench Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius has con-
ferred his country's highest
award - Knight of the Legion of
Honour - on Bollywood superstar
Shah Rukh Khan in recognition of his
outstanding contribution to cultural
diversity across the world.
There are different moments in life
that make you feel that you are on the
right track and this is one such
moment. I am truly humbled to
receive this honor," said Shah Rukh,
thanking French President Francois
Hollande and Foreign Minister Fabius
for finding him "fitting for this honor".
"I am a part of the Indian film frater-
nity and it makes me feel proud to be
recognized for the field I am most pas-
sionate about. This honor has further
motivated to take Indian cinema to the
next level of acceptance, love and
glory. And thank you France for being
so loving and appreciative of Indian
films, it's extremely encouraging," he
said.
Created in 1802 by Napoleon
Bonaparte, the Legion of Honour is
the highest award given by the France
for outstanding service to the country,
regardless of the nationality of the
recipients.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is honored with
Knight of the Legion of Honour.
A scene
from
'Humpty
Sharma Ki
Dulhania'
Preity Zinta is set to make a comeback
with 'Bhaiyyaji'
Shah Rukh
conferred France's
highest honor
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 27 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
W
ho do you call during a
crisis? Most likely, the
people youre closest to.
So, when a bit of chaos broke out
on the sets of Katrina Kaifs film
involving a renowned interna-
tional make-up artiste working
with her she called her alleged
ex, Salman Khan.
Katrina was shooting for the
upcoming film, Bang Bang (also star-
ring Hrithik Roshan) at Filmcity,
Goregaon, when members of a local
body, Cine Costume & Make-up Artists
Association, landed up on the sets to
protest the involvement of make-up
artiste Daniel Bauer. They arrived
around 2 pm, and kept protesting till 5
pm, says a source from the set.
Bauer has worked with Katrina,
among other actors, in the past, for
magazine and ad shoots. However, the
associations protest was regarding him
working in a film.
When contacted, Stanley DSouza, the
associations secretary, confirms the news
and says, Our team went on the sets
Only registered members are allowed to
work in films [in Mumbai]. Katrina had
no idea about this, so she agreed to use a
registered member till he [Daniel] gets
registered (sic).
Apparently, Katrina came to Daniels
defence, since it was she who had insist-
ed on working with him, the source
adds.
Then, apparently, she called Salman
and explained the situation. Soon after,
someone from Salmans team called the
association to resolve the matter, and let
them resume shooting, the source adds.
S
iddharth simmers and scorches the
screen with his implosive one man
against the world act. As a loner on a
rampage after the love of his life is killed,
he brings to the table a certain intensity
which unfortunately, in this case, can only
go this far and no further.
We are looking at a film that is deeply
flawed and fatally self-defeating.
Much was expected from director after
"Aashiqui 2". Alas, Suri chooses to wallow
in unnecessary and at times prolonged bru-
tality rather than focus on the tender love
story between the seething brute and the
bubbly babe.
Not that there is anything new to offer in
the love story. The silent indignant loner and
the gregarious chirpy girl next
door...havent we seen Amitabh Bachchan
and Jaya Bhaduri take those two characters
to the acme of perfection in Hrishikesh
Mukherjees "Mili"?
"Ek Villain" is "Mili" over-heaped with a
maelstrom of mayhem, mostly uncalled-for
and sometimes atrociously out of place. The
action sometimes borders on the utterly
ludicrous. This isnt
first time when the
director seems to enjoy
visualizing the exploits
of a sadistic serial
killer. In "Murder 2"
too, the graphic grue-
some killings of the
serial offender were
recorded with an
embarrassing back-
handed relish .
The killer in "Ek Villain" is a henpecked
husband moonlighting as a guy who
believes if life screws you use a screwdriver
to screw other peoples lives.
Providentially, this incoherent serial killer
is played by Riteish Deshmukh who inter-
prets the character with more cogency than
it demands.
There are many lapses of continuity in the
storytelling all trying to pass off as a stylish
non-linear love story told backwards. One
of the turning points in the story when
Siddharth's character befriends his wifes
killers little son in a church, is such a wild-
ly improbable shot in the dark, you wonder
what the director was thinking!
In trying for a merger of mayhem and
emotions the film finally falls apart like the
shattered pieces of a broken heart.
We expect so much and get so little.
Katrina
Kaif with
Salman Khan.
deeply flawed,
Review
V
eteran actor Anupam Kher, whose
wife Kirron Kher won the
Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat on a
BJP ticket this year, says that she is so
dedicated to people of the city that she
doesn't get time to even meet him. "I used
to meet her sometimes before that now I
don't get to meet her...which is good and
not very good also. I don't get to see her
because she is now in Chandigarh and
Delhi and even when she is in Mumbai,
she is sorting out Chandigarh peoples'
lives. She is an actor and an actor's wife,
she gets calls for Salman Khan's number
also," Anupam told reporters here. The
actor, who supported his wife during the
poll campaign too, says she feels she
needs to do "concrete work". "She is not
very (active on social media). She will
want her people to handle all that because
she feels that she needs to do concrete
work and she has to deal with not through
social media. She has to go on the field
and do it," he said.
Politics can wait for now as he is busy
with film projects and his new celebrity
chat show "The Anupam Kher Show -
Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai". The 12-
episode show that will start July 6 on
Colors, will have guests like Shah Rukh
Khan, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt,
Parineeti Chopra and Sonam Kapoor.
A scene
from the
film 'Ek
Villain'
I don't get to
meet my wife
much now:
Anupam
Veteran actor Anupam Kher with
Kirron Kher
I
f you havent been following the 2014
FIFA World Cup in Brazil, you may be
wondering what all the excitement is
about. Let me put it in just a few words:
another excuse to drink beer.
The amount of beer consumed during the
World Cup is roughly equal to the amount of
water in the Indian Ocean. In fact, some of the
beer served in Brazil looks and tastes just like
the ocean. Its amazing what you can get peo-
ple to drink if you put it in a bottle, stick a
fancy label on it and serve it during a soccer
game.
Trust me, beer flows during the World Cup
like no other sporting event. Look what hap-
pened when Spain, the defending world cham-
pion, lost to Chile and was eliminated from
this years tournament. Both countries were
immediately crippled with beer shortages.
While Spaniards were drowning their sorrow
in beer, Chileans were drinking in ecstasy. The
beer shortage was so dire that three Chilean
men broke into a home in Santiago suspected
of having a cache of beer, only to come away
with 10 cases of ginger beer.
Not all soccer fans drink beer, of course.
The Russians, for example, prefer vodka. And
the Algerians well, theyve been in good
spirits ever since they qualified for the World
Cup.
You may not know this, but FIFA, the gov-
erning body of soccer, is an acronym that
stands for Football is for alcohol.
But you dont have to sip alcohol during
games to love the World Cup. You can also
gulp, guzzle or swig it. Here are five other
reasons to appreciate the quadrennial tourna-
ment:
1. Every team has a chance. Thirty-two
teams qualified for the World Cup, and fans of
every team, even Japan, Honduras and
Bosnia-Herzegovina, believed that their team
had a decent chance to win it all. Thats what
beer can do for you.
About one-third of the teams had a good
chance, a quarter had a slight chance, and the
remaining teams had a minuscule chance
about the same chance that U.S. striker Clint
Dempsey has of winning the Miss America
contest. (You should see him in a bikini.)
2. Passionate fans. If youve watched the
World Cup games, youve seen a lot of jump-
ing and dancing and thats just the coaches.
The fans are even more animated. Its a party
atmosphere in the stands, where even the 82-
year-old grandma and 85-year-old grandpa are
dancing like theyre in the
latest Bollywood movie.
Mexican fans are among
the most passionate in the
world. I love watching them
celebrate. When the Mexican
team is playing, the entire
country is glued to the TV,
and its the only government-
sanctioned nap time for mem-
bers of the U.S. Border
Patrol.
3. Great acting. You
havent seen acting until
youve watched a World Cup
game. The penalty box is the
main stage of the theater, but
the acting isnt limited to the
stage. Players have been trained in the fine art
of taking a dive, as demonstrated in the
Greece-Ivory Coast match. The referee award-
ed a game-winning penalty to Greece after
striker Georgios Samaras was knocked to the
ground when Ivory Coasts Giovanni Sio, in a
clearly unintentional act, breathed a little too
hard on him.
4. Good headings. Few sports, besides
chess, require players to use their heads as
much as soccer, and the World Cup showcases
some of the best tacticians.
Its a marvelous skill, and if you dont
believe me, just go to a grocery store, throw a
watermelon in the air and try heading it into
your shopping cart past the produce manag-
er waving his arms, trying to stop you. Trust
me, by the fifth melon, your melon will be
hurting.
Frances Zinedine Zidane was a master at
using his head, whether he was scoring two
goals with his head in the 1998 World Cup
final or head-butting Italys Marco Materazzi
in the 2006 final.
5. Exciting games. The World Cup is full of
exciting games, with at least five goals per
game on average whenever Brazil is playing a
team from Asia. Most other games average
one goal per game, but thats also part of the
appeal: if there was more scoring, fans would-
nt have time to drink so much beer.
Even Americans, who once believed that
soccer was dull and boring, have warmed up
to the sport, so much so that when the U.S.
team beat Ghana 2-1, almost every bar in
America was full of Mexicans. They were still
celebrating Mexicos victory over Cameroon
three days earlier.
Humor with Melvin Durai
28 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info HUMOR
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Five reasons to love the World Cup
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.
5th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you are guided by Mercury, you are
gifted with strength, intelligence, diplomacy and prac-
ticability. You are physically and mentally active with
an intelligent business mind.
Health this year: To attain peace of mind, you should
plan a pilgrimage during the end months of the year.
Finance this year: You may undergo financial crisis
in the first couple of months this year. You may get
carried away by new ventures. However, you need to
do enough research on the market before investing.
You will find your past investments paying off in the
latter half of the year. You will be able to solve the
property related matters during the middle months of
the year to receive extra monetary gains.
Career this year: Your effort and commitment in
your professional life is appreciated by your peers and
higher authorities. Your will be criticized hugely at
times for your nature of being extravagant and reck-
less.
Romance this year: Some of you may find your new
love interests and some may tie their knots this year.
Lucky month: August, September, March and May
6th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Being under the guidance of Venus,
you are bestowed with simplicity. You are philosoph-
ical, cooperative, and a talented. You are inclined to
literature and witty discussions. You are able to mem-
orize lot of things as you will be the master of a sharp
memory. However, you need to work on your erratic
and careless behavior to become a better person.
Health this year: You may remain concerned over the
health of your family members.
Finance this year: You may find new sources to earn
money. However, you will end up spending lot of
money, which would make you unable to save money.
You may travel a lot during this year to find new op-
portunities and to enhance your business relation-
ships.
Career this year: You may find this year to be a mix-
ture of good and bad experience as far as your profes-
sional life is concerned. You may not get expected
credit for your hard work.
Romance this year: Your partner will be understand-
ing enough to support you during your emotional
break downs. You will enjoy a mature relationship
with your partner.
Lucky month: October, November, April and June
7th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: Being under the influence of Neptune,
you are born to be responsible, affectionate, creative,
reliable and highly emotional. You possess the quali-
ty and courage to brave any unfavorable condition to
adapt with it or win over it. You need to work on your
stubbornness to enhance the charm in your
personality.
Health this year: You may undergo various health re-
lated issues. You have to take enough stress regarding
you law matters as they will not be solved easily.
However, you will find peace and happiness because
of financial improvements, improvement in life style,
and spiritual beliefs.
Finance this year: You may receive cash as gifts this
year from your guests and relatives. Your financial
condition would be mediocre with not much loss.
Career this year: You need to listen to others opin-
ions to get benefited professionally. You will find new
and exciting job offers, which will prove instrumental
in improving your financial position this year. You
will be able to fulfill your long cherished dreams. You
may find your subordinates difficult to handle.
Romance this year: You will find your life romantic
enough and it would add some extra spice to your life
style.
Lucky month: July, December, February and April
8th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: As Saturn guides you, you have all the
characteristics to be a lively, reliable, efficient, and
temperate person. You are the owner of an attractive
and charismatic personality.
Health this year: you may undergo few minor health
issues. However, your overall health should remain
fine.
Finance this year: You will be able to accumulate
enough money this year as you will be moving to-
wards a successful future. You will be benefitted from
any new venture or association.
Career this year: You are appreciated by your col-
leagues and ordinates for your hard work and effi-
ciency. You will prove to be an excellent resource in
your professional life as you are productive. Howev-
er, you need to work on your nervousness and laziness
at times. You may require a technology up-gradation
or renovation to improve your efficiency at work in
the middle months of the year.
Romance this year: You will gain lots of love and
care from your spouse or partner. Some of you may
find this year romantic enough to be in a good spirit.
Some may tie their knots.
Lucky month: September, January, May and July
9th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9
Traits in you: Being ruled by Mars, you are endowed
with energy. You are energetic, dependable, and or-
ganized.
Health this year: This year you will remain healthy.
You may lose things both personally and personally
being emotional. You may visit a distant pilgrimage to
attend an auspicious occasion towards the end of the
year to attain mental health which is contaminated due
to pressure and overload of work.
Finance this year: Your financial condition may im-
prove this year thanks to your previous investments.
You need to invest your life time investment intelli-
gently so that you need not repent later.
Career this year: You have the ability to make quick
decisions. You are capable enough to get rewards and
appreciation for your efficiency in your professional
field. However, you should control your jealousy to
improve your personality. You should not try to do
things beyond your capabilities. It may land you in
difficulties.
Romance this year: Your romantic life would be an
excellent one this year as you will be able to clarify
past misunderstanding with your partner.
Lucky month: January, March, June and July
10th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: Being under the guidance of Sun, you
are active, dynamic, authoritative, brilliant and talent-
ed. You have the ability to initiate new ideas and work
on them. However, you need to work on your stub-
bornness to become a better individual.
Health this year: You may suffer from joint pain or
high blood pressure this year. Gowever, proper med-
ication would help you maintain a good health.
Finance this year: You will find new ways to en-
hance your confidence to earn and improve your fi-
nancial condition. Your professional journeys will pay
off and you will be successful in your deals this year.
You should invest in a house or selected socks to get
better benefits. If you schedule business trips abroad,
you may find a chance to meet old friends and get new
opportunities to improve your business. You may end
up spending a lot of money in your legal issues as they
will be stretched more than expected.
Career this year: The following year will bring you
lot of promises and surprises to cherish in your career.
You may get rewards for your work. Your long cher-
ished dreams may get fulfilled this year.
Romance this year: You will find your spouse or
partner supportive and understanding enough to help
you in critical situations this year.
Lucky month: September, October, April and May
11th July, 2014 Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Moon, you are sim-
ple, honest, and cooperative. You are fond of peace
and harmony.
Health this year: You may get worried for your par-
ents health and increasing household expenditure.
Finance this year: You may establish new contacts
and partnerships this year. You will get benefitted
from your previous investments. You may gain unex-
pectedly, which will improve your financial position
much better than expected.
Career this year: You have ample new and innova-
tive ideas. You are a perfectionist in whatever you do.
However, you have to control your whim and jealousy
to succeed in your life. This year will fulfill all of your
dreams by providing you with lot of opportunities.
Romance this year: You will find your spouse sup-
portive enough to your concerns and provide you with
love and affection.
Lucky month: July, November, February and June
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Stars Foretell: July 5-11, 2014 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
29
ARIES: Success in completing difficult
assignments brings a lot of laurels at
work. You achieve success in personal
work with the timely help & support provided
by family members. You seem to know exactly
what people need and want from you, but dont
try to be too lavish in your spending. Romance
rules heart & mind in this week. Blessings of a
saintly person give peace of mind. Finally you
have found the time for your deserving break,
travel will be favourable. It might be the right
time to sale your empty plot as property rates
are at peak. If possible think twice before mak-
ing any promise to friends.
TAURUS: Colleagues and subordinates
will lend a helping hand enabling to
complete the work on time. Your efforts
bring success & happiness at family front. You
succeed in making some extra cash on playing
your cards well. Partner brings immense roman-
tic pleasure even if work pressure occupies your
mind Yoga and meditation would help in keep-
ing in shape and mentally agile. Travelling
abroad can be exciting adventure that will be
remembered forever. Its high time to think of
purchasing a new office. Devoting quality time
to help needy people would bring immense
pleasure.
GEMINI: Mental clarity gives a decisive
edge over all competitors at professional
front. Children would do their best to
keep you happy. You are likely to make good
money, but the rise in expenses could make it
difficult to save. Behave properly while going
out with love companion. Inexhaustible energy
enables to participate in outdoor activities. Take
a trip, as there is some place waiting for you.
Your loan procedures for pursuing a plot will be
in process. Developing social contacts would
immensely help in widening horizons.
CANCER: Self-confident would
enable to convey your point of view
with ease a workplace.
Misunderstandings with near ones in the family
will get cleared. An auspicious week to invest
money on items that would grow in value.
Romantic imagination occupies mind forcing to
go out of the way to please partner. Chances of
recovering from physical ailment are high.
Adventurous holidays, the best way to experi-
ence with your friends, time to enjoy. Your plan
for a new house will be in process very soon.
Your guidance would encourage others.
LEO: A missed opportunity would hard
to regain especially at professional front.
Parents and friends will do their best to
keep you happy. Improvement in finances
makes it convenient in clearing long pending
dues & bills. Cupids arrows would make your
heart flutter high. A cheerful state of mind
would allow enjoying the perfect health. Travel
opportunities full of challenges are often the
beginning of great enterprises. Investment on
construction business might give fruitful
results. An ideal week to impress others with
creative talent.
VIRGO: Promotion is likely to make
you vulnerable, as everyone is watching
you closely and failure could be embar-
rassing and expensive. You are likely to be ben-
efited as family members positively respond.
Investment on long-term plans would pave the
way for earning financial gains. If possible,
spend quality time with love partner to know &
understand each other better. You attain a bloom
in health on sharing happiness with others.
Great time for perfect family vacation to an
exciting destination. Investment in hotel indus-
try can be the right choice to be made. A visit to
place where never gone before is on the card.
LIBRA: Calculated risks would
enables to complete the project on time.
You would be the centre of attraction at a social
gathering that you attend especially with family.
Successful execution of brilliant ideas would
help in earning financial profits. Romantic
entanglement would add spice to your happi-
ness. You need to keep patience as your contin-
uous effort coupled with common sense &
understanding brings success. A trip that is
unconventional and adventurous will be
favourable enjoy every minute of it. The best
ideas for investment are to on invest on real
estate business. Efforts succeed in winning the
hearts of adversaries.
SCORPIO: High time to know your full
potentials to enhance career prospects. A
promising week to plan things for your
progeny. Instead of wasting time, better to get
involved in something to improve your finan-
cial position. You are likely to enjoy a pleasure
trip that will rejuvenate your passions. Divine
knowledge from a saintly person provides sol-
ace & comfort. You will discover travel destina-
tions that are unique and magical. Investing on
a ship or a cruise is an exciting venture to be
made. You get unlimited respect in friend circle.
SAGITTARIUS: Cooperative nature
brings desired results at professional
front. You would prefer to relax and
enjoy the company of family members in the
evening. A very successful week as far as mon-
etary position is concerned. Exciting week as
your long pending wait for affirmation is going
to materialize. A very healthy week when your
cheerfulness gives the desired tonic and confi-
dence. Take some time to travel with your
spouse for romance and seduction. Are you
longing to buy a farmhouse, try for it?
Interaction with others will be significant.
CAPRICORN: A firm commitment
will not only enable to achieve profes-
sional targets but also to realise your
dreams. Time to get involved into activities that
would help in bringing contact with close rela-
tives. The secret mantra of earning your profits:
invest wisely. Chances of your love life turning
into life-long bond are high on the card.
Meditation and yoga prove beneficial for spiri-
tual as well as physical gains. Dreaming of trav-
elling is good, but if possible than plan a trip.
Investment on restaurant might be strain on
your check book. Strange fascinations are likely
to attract.
AQUARIUS: Your inner values cou-
pled with a positive attitude will bring
success at work. Family front seems to
go smoothly as you receive their full support to
your plans. Important people will be ready to
finance anything that has a special class to it.
The presence of love would make you feel life
meaningful.
A continuous positive thinking gets rewarded as
you succeed in whatever you do in this week.
Spiritual vacation is a quest for life, plan it and
enjoy it with your family. Selling your home
privately can be an excellent way of saving on
costs. Even unusual & challenging situations
would not deter you from path.
PISCES: For some change of job would
bring mental satisfaction. You move
with new excitement & confidence as
you receive support from family and friends.
Indications of earning financial profits through
commissions, dividends or royalties. Enjoying
the company of partner in a lively restaurant
would bring immense romantic pleasure. You
are likely to maintain good health that would
also give you success.
You can make your vacation extra special by
planning it with your family and friends. If you
want to invest on property, then go for
residential one. Temptation of any kind fails to
allure you.
July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY
30 July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
How to engage in true prayer
I
f we were to sit next to God and listen to
the prayers being uttered by millions of
people around the world, we may find
that many go through the mechanics of
prayer, but their mind is thinking of other
thoughts. We may say the right words, but
one person is wondering who will win the
basketball game, another is thinking about
whether they will get good grades on a test,
someone else is thinking about their next
vacation, while another is thinking about
their money problems. How many who pray
are really engaged in true prayer?
True prayer is a moment in which we open
ourselves up to the Lord. We sit in humble
supplication of the Creator of all and wait for
Gods love and grace to enter into our being.
How many of us can keep our mind open
enough to receive what God wants to give?
Are we too busy in our thoughts of the world
to notice what God is sending us?
In this connection there is the classic story
of Princess Laila from the Indian tradition.
There was once a princess named Laila who
was always absorbed in the love and remem-
brance of her earthly beloved, Majnu. Once
she was going to the mosque to pray. She was
so lost in her thoughts of Majnu that she did
not notice that she stepped on the prayer mat
of a holy man. As soon as she had stepped on
the mat, the holy man jumped up and began
scolding her for her sacrilegious act. She was
startled out of her reverie by this commotion.
He said, How could you have committed
such a disrespectful act, walking on the
prayer mat while I was praying? She was
apologetic and said, I am sorry, but I was so
lost in the thoughts of my earthly beloved
that I did not notice where I was going.
Then, with great wisdom, she remarked, I
just wonder, O holy one, that if I could be so
lost in my worldly beloved that I did not
notice where I was walking, how could you
say you were lost in prayer to God, the divine
Beloved, and yet still notice me walking on
your mat? If you were truly lost, you would
not have noticed me at all!
Is our condition like that of Lailas or is it
that of the holy man? If we were truly lost in
prayer, we would not notice what was going
on around us and we would not be aware of
any distracting thoughts.
We need to remember that the thoughts that
pull us away from our prayers or from com-
munion with the Lord are instigated by the
mind. Just as each of us has a soul, which is
our connection with God, we also have a
mind, which is our connection with Kal, the
Sustaining Power, also called the Universal
Mind. Thus, every time we are moved to
return to God, Kal sends an impetus in the
form of a distraction and temptation to keep
us from remembering God. It is like we have
a computer chip programmed into us that
connects us with the mainframe of God, and
we have a computer chip programmed into us
that connects us with the mainframe of the
Universal Mind. To which one do we pay
attention?
If we want to overcome the pull of the
mind, then engaging in accurate meditation,
doing simran, leading an ethical life, attend-
ing satsang and performing selfless service
are the game moves that outwit the mind. We
do not have to treat the mind as an enemy; we
can, instead, befriend the mind. This means
having an understanding with our mind that
it, too, will receive benefits by following the
plan laid out by the soul. If we reason with
our mind, we can use it as an ally to reach our
spiritual goals.
The mind benefits from meditation in that
it develops increased concentration to make it
achieve more in its worldly goals. It keeps
the mind calm so it can be more productive
and efficient. Meditation also helps take the
mind back to its home in the third spiritual
region. Leading an ethical life also helps the
mind from the ravages of anger, greed,
attachment and ego. Once freed, the mind
can be put to better uses, more creative uses,
and more productive uses for its achieve-
ments of worldly goals. Satsang also helps
the mind because it gives it a theoretical
understanding of the topic relating to the soul
and God. Selfless service helps the mind
because it gives it something useful to do as a
positive contributor to society and to the
world as well as its own spiritual upliftment.
Thus, if we show the mind the benefits it,
too, gains through our spiritual practices, it
will be helpful to us in developing good
habits to grow spiritually. Then, the mind will
achieve its ends, and the soul can go on fur-
ther to its ultimate destination, back to God.
If we do not wish to be like the person who
goes through the motions of prayer, but
whose mind is wandering, we can do several
things. First, let us perfect our meditations.
When we sit for meditation we can enter into
a devotional mood to create a space between
our worldly work and meditation time. For
some, it may mean having a special or sacred
place in the house in which only meditation
takes place. It may mean creating a special
consistent time in which the mind develops
the habit of sitting regularly. It may mean
singing a devotional prayer or song before
meditating. Some people find exercise, a
brisk walk, or a shower helps them still their
mind and focus on meditation. Others like to
read something from the scriptures, from the
great saints and mystics, or spiritual poetry to
create the right mood. Then, when we sit for
meditation, we are fresh and ready to concen-
trate. Whatever we do, we should do wholly
and solely. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj used
to say, When you play, you should play.
When you work, you should work. He
advised us to put our attention wholehearted-
ly into whatever we were doing. By training
our mind to be fully attentive into whatever
task we are doing, we can then ensure that
when we perform our prayers and when we
meditate, we will fully do so. Our mind will
be concentrated.
Let us try to keep our mind, heart, and soul
focused on our prayers or meditations so that
we can achieve the best results. In this way,
we can tame our mind so that our soul can
have free access back to the Lord.
Naperville, IL: Four hundred
young adults representing six conti-
nents and twenty countries gathered
in Naperville, IL on June 6 for the
first International Science of
Spirituality Young Adult
Conference. Spiritual Master Sant
Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, head of
Science of Spirituality (sos.org),
presided over the three-day event.
The conference, which featured
yoga, daily meditation, interactive
workshops, and opportunities to
work on volunteer projects, was
planned, managed, and facilitated
entirely by the young adults.
National Advisor Sara Pletcher
Robles said, "It was important to us
that we work together harmoniously
to make this conference a reality. By
keeping love, service, and medita-
tion at the forefront, its amazing
what can be accomplished!
Sant Rajinder Singh's Ji Maharajs
message to the audience set the
intention for the weekend's activi-
ties: "May you shed your radiant
light on young people everywhere to
illumine their lives with the peace,
divine love, and nonviolence that
comes from a life of meditation on
the Light and Sound of God and
selfless service."
Speaking on the 3 S' s of the
Young Adult's Mission Statement,
the spiritual Master laid out the pri-
orities for the group: to enhance
their personal and collective spiritu-
al growth and gain a deeper under-
standing of the spiritual path; to act
as positive spiritual role models for
teenagers and children; and to
increase their involvement with var-
ious volunteer activities to serve
humanity and all creation.
Speaking about the family feeling
that extended throughout the week-
end, one local participant said, "It
was great talking with my peers
from all over the world about the
issues we all face. It's not always
easy being vegetarian in a non-vege-
tarian world or living according to
the ethical code that you know is
right. Finding out how they handled
these challenges was very helpful."
Science of Spirituality Young
Adult groups meet at various centers
around the world. Those ages 1830
in the Chicagoland area who are
interested in learning about medita-
tion and how to live spiritually-ori-
ented lives are invited to attend the
Young Adult programs at the
Science of Spirituality Meditation
Center, 4s 175 Naperville Rd.,
Naperville, IL 60563, on the 1st and
3rd Sunday of every month from
12:00PM 2:00PM.
To learn more about Sant Rajinder
Singh Ji Maharaj, his meditation
teachings, and the Science of
Spirituality, visit www.sos.org or
call 630-955-1200.
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is an
internationally recognized spiritual leader
and Master of Jyoti Meditation who
affirms the transcendent oneness at the
heart of all religions and mystic traditions,
emphasizing ethical living and meditation
as building blocks for achieving inner and
outer peace. www.sos.org.
True prayer is a moment in
which we open ourselves up to
the Lord. We sit in humble
supplication of the Creator of
all and wait for Gods love and
grace to enter into our being.
400 young adults from worldover attend SoS Conference
Young Adult delegates from around the world gather
for a cake cutting with Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj, his wife, Mata Rita Ji, and other family
members during the first International Science of
Spirituality Young Adult Conference in Naperville, IL.
July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
July 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info