Vol 7 Issue 32 - Dec 6 - 12, 2014

The South Asian Times
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Vol.7 No. 32 December 6-12, 2014 60 Cents
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17 states sue to block Obama immigration order
De Blasio sends NYPD back to school
House Republicans vote against the executive order
No charges in
chokehold death:
Protests erupt
Washington: Texas and 16 other

states filed a lawsuit Wednesday
challenging President Obama's
order on immigration.
As congressional Republicans
seek ways to block the president, a
coalition led by Texas Gov.-elect
Greg Abbott went the legal route to
stop the Obama administration
from protecting up to 5 million
undocumented immigrants from
deportation.
"The president is abdicating his
responsibility to faithfully enforce
laws that were duly enacted by
Congress and attempting to rewrite
immigration laws, which he has no
Continued on page 4
The protests against legalizing the undocumented

are bound to grow after the President unveiled
last week his delayed immigration plan.
Remembering Bhopal,
30 years on
Justice eludes victims
of the world's worst
industrial disaster
New Delhi: This week India
remembered the Bhopal gas
tragedy that happened on the
night of December 2, 1984. But
even 30 years later, justice
eludes the victims of the deadly
gas leak from the Union Carbide
pesticide plant, the disaster
caused by corporate greed.
The Bhopal gas tragedy was
the worst industrial disaster in
the World. The gas of methyl
isocyanate (MIC) and other
chemicals leaked, killing almost
five thousand people. Thosuands
more are still facing problems
like inadequate medical care,
poor living conditions including
safe drinking water and employment. Tons of toxic waste lying
in the defunct Union Carbide
plant has yet to be disposed off.
OP ED 13
The iconic picture of the

Bhopal catastrophe
See page >> 11; also looking

at two Bhopal films
on page >> 17
SOCIETY 26
TRAVEL 27
Superbugs killing
thousands of
newborns in India
New York: More than 58,000
babies died in India last year of
bacterial infections that are
stubbornly resistant to antibiotics, and the growing strength
of these superbugs may make
them a threat worldwide,
according to a new study.
The deaths are among the
more than 800,000 newborn
fatalities each year in India
enough to account for one-third
of all newborn deaths worldwide.
Reducing newborn deaths in
India is one of the most important public health priorities in
the world, Dr. Vinod Paul,
chief of pediatrics at Delhis
AIIMS and leader of the study,
told The New York Times. But
if resistant infections keep
growing, that progress could
slow, stop or even reverse
itself. And that would be a disaster for not only India but the
entire world. In fact, the world
Continued on page 4
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
The decision not to indict the officer in the death

of Eric Garner came soon after no-indictment
in Michael Brown case in Ferguson, MO.
New York: Protesters across the

nation swarmed city streets on
Thursday to voice outrage and their
demands for police and judicial
reform in the wake of refusal by a
grand jury to indict the officer who
put a chokehold on Eric Garner in
Staten Island, NY, killing him.
From One Police Plaza in New
York City to Oakland, Calif., and
from Savannah, Ga., to the Twin
Cities, people unhappy with the
lack of an indictment in the July
death of Garner, 43, continued to
stop traffic, stage "die ins" in
which groups of people lay down
on sidewalks or floors and otherwise
protest
peacefully.
@ICantBreathe became a trending
hashtag as in a cellphone video of
the chokehold incident, Garner, an
asthmatic, is heard saying
Continued on page 4
The medical examiner ruled

Eric Garner's death a homicide
and charges could have
ranged from murder
to reckless endangerment.
excellence in journalism
December 6-12, 2014
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
December 6-12, 2014
India-US partnership poised for the next level: India envoy nominee
Washington: Richard Rahul Verma, the rst
Indian-American to be nominated as the US
Ambassador to India, believes there is renewed
enthusiasm on both sides to take a re-energized
India-US partnership to the next level.
"There is no question that this is a dening
and exciting time in the US-India relationship,"
he told the Senate Foreign Relations committee Tuesday at his conrmation hearing.
Verma, 45, a former key aide to then secretary of state Hillary Clinton, noted that President Obama "will make a historic visit to India
in January, becoming the rst US head of state
to attend India's Republic Day and the only sitting US president to visit India twice."
"His trip will build on Prime Minister Modi's
highly successful visit to the US this past September," he said.
"There's little doubt the relationship has been
re-energized, with renewed enthusiasm to take
our partnership to the next level," said Verma,
who was named as the US envoy to India
just ahead of Modi's visit.
If, as widely expected,
Verma is conrmed
by the full Senate, two IndianRichard Rahul Verma testified before the US Senate committee for a
Americans will
hearing to confirm the Indian American as US Ambassador to New Delhi.
be dealing with
matters relating to India in both Washington

and New Delhi. Nisha Desai Biswal, hailing
from Modi's home state of Gujarat, became the
rst Indian American to head State Department's South Asia bureau last November.
Recalling his past association with the panel,
Verma said, "If conrmed, I am committed to
partnering with you again in shaping our relationship to India - a country so important that
President Obama called it the dening relationship for the United States in the 21st Century."
"The US and India share a wide range of critical national interests," he said. "Our partnership is deep, it touches nearly every endeavor
of human pursuit, and it has produced important gains for each of our countries."
"Across Asia, US and Indian interests are
converging. India has been called the lynchpin
of our Asia rebalance," Verma said.
"With India's Look East, and now Act East
policies, our two countries can play a critically
important role together in bolstering peace and
security and promoting a rules-based, liberal,
democratic order in the Indo-Pacic region,"
he said
"The ripple effects of our partnership need
not be limited to Asia," Verma said.
He cited Modi as noting, "The true power
and potential in this relationship is that when

the oldest and largest democracies come together, the world will benet."
Verma acknowledged that India and US "will
have our differences from time to time - close
friends often do - but when we do have differences, it is imperative that we maintain a
healthy dialogue."
Expressing deep appreciation of all those
who have worked so hard on cultivating this relationship over many decades," he also acknowledged the contribution of immigrants
from the Indian subcontinent.
They "took a chance like my parents, who
worked hard, who continue to pursue their
dreams, and along the way have helped ensure
India and the United States become the closest
of friends and partners," Verma said vowing to
"strive to live up to the high standards they
have set."
The New Delhi post has been vacant since
the previous ambassador Nancy Powell quit in
May after India-US ties hit a low after a major
diplomatic spat over the December arrest and
strip search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.
Kathleen Stephens, a career foreign service
ofcial has served as charg d'affaires in New
Delhi since July.
Trying to nix a Central Park fixture GOPIO reinstates meet coinciding

with PBD2015 and Vibrant Gujarat
New York: Mayor Bill de Blasio

will have to twist arms on the City
Council to get the 26 votes hell
need to pass a bill banishing carriage horses from Central Park in
2016.
A majority of council members
told a media outlet on Monday
that theyre either undecided on
the measure or dont agree that the
plan to offer a green-taxi permit
worth about $6,000 in exchange for a horse-drawn carriage
license is fair.
Based on conversations Ive
Mayor de Blasios horse carriage ban in
had with my colleagues, theres
Manhattan disfavored
more support for the industry than
there is for a ban, said Councilwoman Eliza- pear to be putting all of his political might behind the legislation. Some sources said hes
beth Crowley (D-Queens).
This is a labor-friendly council. I dont be- presenting a bill to appease the wealthy anilieve this is an animal rights issue its an mal lovers who spent about $1 million on negative ads that took down his rival Christine
anti-labor issue.
The mayor also faces opposition from the Quinn.
De Blasio promised to ban the carriage
Working Families Party, which is usually on
his side, and from the Manhattan Chamber of horses from Day One during his campaign.
I cant support this, said another oppoCommerce.
I think its a mistake, Queens Democratic nent, Democratic Councilman Mark Weprin
Councilman Rory Lancman said of the proof Queens.
My argument all along has been that I
posal. Trying to convert horse-carriage drivers into taxi drivers misunderstands that for wont vote to eliminate jobs and tourism dolhorse-carriage drivers, this isnt just a liveli- lars. Handing out medallions doesnt solve the
job problem, and it certainly doesnt solve the
hood, its a way of life.
Council sources said the mayor doesnt ap- tourism problem.
New York: The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) will nally hold a diaspora conference
and banquet on 10th January,
2015 in Ahmedabad, India in
conjunction with the annual
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
(PBD2015 Jan 7-9 Jan) being held in the Gujarat city
and Vibrant Gujarat (Jan 11 -12).
Notably, it reverses cancelation of the annual meet, an earlier decision that came under re from a section of GOPIO life members. PBD2015 marks the Centenary Year
celebrations of the return of the greatest
Pravasi of all, Mahatma Gandhi, from
South Africa, said the press release from
GOPIO which wants to join in this tting
tribute and celebration. GOPIOs events are
expected to garner maximum delegates
among GOPIO membership and others attending PBD2015 and Vibrant Gujarat.
The program will focus on Indian Diasporas Connection and Partnership with India, with emphasis on economic, social
and cultural need and opportunities, as well
as GOPIO Growth & Development: Diaspora & Migration Trends. GOPIOs

Chief Guest invited is HE
Hon. Donald Ramotar, President of Guyana who is also
Chief Guest at PBD2015, as
well as ofcials of Ministry
of Overseas Indian Affairs
and other ministries and
states. There is an extraordinarily high
level of euphoria, excitement and anticipation of stronger partnership with India
among the worldwide NRIs and PIOs with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
mandate and agenda for reform.
It is a unique time in the history of the
partnership between India and its Diaspora
with many opportunities to strengthen the
relationship on several fronts: economic,
social and cultural. As the premiere global
advocacy Indian diaspora organization representing the interests and concerns of NRIs
and PIOs, GOPIO looks forward and supports more progress to strengthen the partnership between India and its Diaspora,
said the release.
TURN PAGE
December 6-12, 2014
Delhi on alert for LeT

strike before Obama visit
New Delhi: A high alert has been
sounded in the Capital after credible
intelligence inputs suggested that
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba
jihadis were planning a sensational
terror attack in the run-up to US
President Barack Obamas two-day
visit during the Republic Day next
month. The alert has been communicated to the highest levels of the
Modi government. Lashkar has been
involved in some of the most deadly
terror attacks in India, including
Mumbais
26/11
massacre.
According to top Delhi Police officials, the intelligence was received
this week from security agencies.
Police commissioner BS Bassi and
other senior officials were briefed on
Wednesday in detail on countermeasures needed to extinguish the
threat. Since Obama is the chief
guest at the Republic Day parade,

the Delhi Police and security agencies have advanced security screening and anti-sabotage check by nearly a month. Rather than tighten security a month before the parade, a
decision has been taken to impose
blanket measures this week on.
Security has been tightened around
sensitive locations such as
Parliament House, Indira Gandhi
International Airport, Raisina Hill,
India Gate, the citys Metro network,
shopping malls, and cinema halls.
A Facebook post criticizing Obama daughters Sasha and Malia for

their short skirts and bored facial expressions during presidential
turkey pardon ceremony backfired on the GOP Congressional aide
Elizabeth Lauten, who had to quit.
No charges in chokehold...
Continued from page 1
repeatedly, "I can't breathe" to
Officer Daniel Pantaleo who
was trying to arrest Garner for
selling loose cigarettes.
Significantly, the medical
examiner ruled Garner's death a
homicide and charges could
have ranged from murder to
reckless endangerment.
A grand jury's decision last
month not to indict the police
officer in the Michael Brown
case set off a national wave of
protests, prompting many to
question the way grand juries
conduct themselves and the
U.S. justice system overall,
which is discriminatory to
blacks.
In Manhattan, a multi-racial
crowd
marched
down
Broadway, sometimes blocking
taxi cabs and buses, chanting
"Hands up, don't shoot," a homage to Michael Brown, the 18year-old unarmed black man
fatally shot by a Ferguson, Mo.,
police officer in August.
As protests remained peaceful
in New York and elsewhere,
Mayor Bill de Blasio praised
his department for its handling
of the protests and sought to
assure residents that new training for the NYPD would reduce
the use for force by officers.
"We are changing how our
officers talk with residents of
the city, changing how they listen, slowing down some interactions that sometimes escalated too quickly," he said.
De Blasio said the bottom line
is that officers will be "using
less force whenever possible."
The three-day retraining course,
which had already begun,
involves officers of all ranks.
17 states sue to block Obama...
authority to do," said Greg
Abbott, a Republican, acting in
his current capacity as Texas
attorney general.
Obama has said he was
forced to act because Congress
failed to pass a comprehensive
immigration bill.
Homeland Security Secretary
Jeh Johnson told a House committee earlier this week that the
Obama administration has "the
legal authority to push forward
these reforms."
Meanwhile,
House
Republicans approved a measure Thursday that aims to
block the Obama administration from moving to shield millions from deportation, a largely symbolic legislative
response to the president's new
immigration policy that reflects
lawmakers' limited options.
The
House
measure,
approved on a 219-197 vote, is
the first step in a two-part plan
devised by GOP leadership to
provide an outlet for
Republican frustration over the
White House plan while also
preventing the issue from provoking another government
funding crisis.
House Speaker John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) and incoming Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are
intent on avoiding a repeat of
past fiscal brinkmanship as the
GOP is set to assume full control of Congress.
The House bill, called
Executive Amnesty Prevention
Act, states that any attempt by
the administration to exempt
immigrants from deportation
laws "shall be null and void
and without legal effect."
Reuters
reports
that
Republicans have planned their
own legislation in 2015
strengthening the U.S.Mexican border to discourage
illegal immigration. The move,
likely to come early next year

according to House Republican
leadership aides, may lead to
other steps the House of
Representatives could contemplate to repair parts of U.S.
immigration law.
"I think there is the realization...that this issue is not going
away," said Republican
Representative Mario DiazBalart, who has labored to
write broad immigration legislation.
Superbugs killing thousands...
is heading towards a time when
common infections will
increasingly kill because drugs
are no longer effective against
them, according to a WHO
report released earlier this year.
Bacteria naturally evolve to
resist drugs, but speeding their
evolution is the use and misuse
of antibiotics in humans and
animals, including in medical
treatment and on farms.
In the U.S., more than 20,000
people die from such infections
each year, up to 2 million get
sick from them and dealing
with the crisis costs an estimated $21 billion to $34 billion a
year.
These superbugs are now
spreading in frightening ways
with alarming speed, both
across the globe and inside
hospitals, including the
National Institutes of Health
Clinical Center, one of the
nations most prestigious
research hospitals.
Earlier this year, the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) reported 44
infections of a bacteria strain
known as carbapenem-resistant
enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, at
a hospital in Illinois. It was the
largest outbreak of the strain in
the U.S. on record.
New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Six Indian authors in NYT 100

Notable Books of 2014
Works of Akhil Sharma, Atul Gawande, Ramachandra Guha, Vikram
Chandra, Anand Gopal and Anand Giridharidas made it to the list
Washington, DC: Works of five Indian-American and one Indian author figure among 100
Notable Books of 2014 selected by the editors
of The New York Times Book Review.
Delhi-born Indian-American author Akhil
Sharma's novel "Family Life" figures in the
Fiction & Poetry section. "Sharma's novel,
deeply unnerving and tender at the core, charts
a young man's struggles to grow within a family shattered by tragedy and disoriented by its
move from India," Times said.
Books in nonfiction include "Being Mortal:
Medicine and What Matters in the End" By
Atul Gawande, an American surgeon, author,
and public health researcher.
The book is described as "A meditation on
living better with age-related frailty, serious illness and approaching death."
Indian historian and writer Ramachandra
Guha makes it to the list with "Gandhi Before
India."The Times noted "It was as a young
lawyer in South Africa that Gandhi forged the
philosophy and strategies later put to such effect in India."

Indian-American writer Vikram Chandra,
winner of 1996 Commonwealth Writers' Prize
for Best First Book, is included for "Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty."
"With great subtlety and depth, Chandra,
who is both a novelist and a programmer,
traces the connections between art and technology," says the Times.
American author and journalist Anand
Gopal's "No Good Men Among The Living:
America, the Taliban, and the War Through
Afghan Eyes" takes "A devastating look at how
we got Afghanistan wrong."
In "The True American: Murder and Mercy
in Texas" by American author and newspaper
columnist Anand Giridharadas, "Competing visions of the American dream collide in this account of a post-9/11 hate crime and its unlikely reverberations," according to the Times.
December 6-12, 2014
Home robberies strike fear

among Indian-Americans in NJ
New York: A series of robberies in the
homes of Indian-Americans in New Jersey
since the start of Diwali festive season in
October has stoked fears in the community,
according to a media report.
As many as five Indian-American families in Middlesex County have been robbed
in their homes since Oct 20 with the latest
coming on Saturday in Old Bridge, according to the New York Times. In each case,
the gunmen pointed their weapons at victims' heads, tied the victims up and ransacked the houses, apparently looking for
gold, it said.
All but one of the robberies took place in
late October, during and just after the festival of Diwali, when families often have
gold jewelry on hand as part of their celebration, according to the Times.
The police and prosecutors have not publicly linked the five home invasions, which
occurred in Edison, Old Bridge and South
Plainfield - an area of New Jersey is home
to large communities of Indian-Americans.
As many as five
families have
been targeted
since Diwali
The Times said a spokesman for the
Middlesex County prosecutor's office,
James O'Neill, on Tuesday declined to
explain why the office had not released
descriptions of suspects or why it would
not discuss the similarities in the crimes.
But Peter Kothari, a community activist,
told the newspaper the crimes were most
certainly aimed at Indian-Americans and
needed to be treated as such. "They are
coming after Indian-Americans because
they think they are passive people, they are
not going to fight back - and most of them
are well-to-do people," he was quoted as
saying. "We will fight back."
MIT Professor wins Infosys Science Foundation Prize

New York: Madhu Sudan, principal researcher
at Microsoft Research New England and adjunct
professor at MITs electrical engineering and
computer science department and the universitys Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory, has won the Infosys Science Foundations 2014 Infosys Prize in the field of mathematical sciences.
The Indian American researcher was honored
for seminal contributions to probabilistically
checkable proofs and error-correcting codes,
the foundation said in a press release.
Now in its sixth year, Infosys Prizes honor
high-caliber researchers for impactful contributions in six categories: engineering and computer science, humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social
sciences.
The prize includes a money award of about
$90,000, a 22-karat gold medallion and a citation
in each category.
Probabilistic proof checking is an important
tool in the verification of algorithms making sure
that programs work correctly and do what they
are supposed to do, said mathematical sciences
jury chair Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, a professor of
mathematics and Frank J. Gould Professor of
Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical
Sciences in New York.
Sudans coding work, Varadhan added, has resulted in better error-correcting codes that sig-
Prof Madhu Sudan
nificantly impacts electronic communication and

encryption.
Before joining MIT, Madan obtained a bachelors degree in computer science from IIT-Delhi
in 1987, a Ph.D. in computer science from U.C.Berkeley in 1992 and worked on the research
staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research
Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
The winners of the other five Infosys awards

included four individuals based in India and
French economist Esther Duflo, a professor at
MIT.
Jury chairs besides Varadhan were: U.C.-San
Diego chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla (engineering and computer science); Harvard University
professor and noted economist Amartya Sen (humanities); Inder Verma, American Cancer Society professor and first incumbent of the Irwin
Mark Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Sciences
in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute
for Biological Studies (life sciences); Shrinivas
Kulkarni, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at
the California Institute of Technology (physical
sciences); and Kaushik Basu, chief economist
and senior vice president of the World Bank and
economics professor at Cornell University (social sciences).
Infosys Foundation Board of Trustees president N.R. Narayana Murthy said that the foundation has been able to recognize some of the
best researchers of our time through the Infosys
PrizeTheir contributions will be an inspiration
to students and professionals and have the potential for real-time impact on individuals and
society.
The award ceremony for the prizes will be held
Jan. 5 in Kolkata, where Indian President Pranab
Mukherjee will congratulate the winners.
Former Hedge Fund

trader Martoma
reports to prison
Miami, FL: Mathew Martoma,
the former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager convicted in February of insider trading, has begun his nine-year
prison term.
According
to
Finalternative.com, Martoma
reported to the Federal Correctional Institute in Miami on
Nov. 20, and was assigned to the
minimum-security prison camp
adjacent to main jail.
U.S. District Judge Paul
Gardephe, who sentenced Martoma, directed that the Indian
American serve his term at the
facility, about 65 miles south of
the Boca Raton, Fla., home he
shared with his wife and three
children, and 30 miles south of
downtown Miami.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Martoma is
scheduled to be released on
Sept. 20, 2022, less than eight
years from now.
December 6-12, 2014
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
3rd Sikh Games NY held in Long Island

Glen Cove, NY: The 3rd Annual Sikh
Games NY hosted six sports this year -basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton,
table tennis and elementary games bringing together enthusiastic crowds and
applauding audiences from the Tristate
area. There were also cash prizes for winners.
Basketball was the highlight of the weekend but badminton and table tennis brought
players from all over the country.
Kicking off the games on Nov. 29 at Glen
Cove High School was basketball that
attracted 300 players, 11-40 years old.
Each team had two chances to advance to
the championship. For the 19+ men's category, team Soormay won all their games
including the championship. They had won
at earlier two NY Sikh Games too. Carteret
showed great effort in coming second in the
men's division.
On Nov. 29, Mayor of Glen Cove stopped
by to wish athletes good luck in the finals.
It was a great moment in showing commu-
Founder Manmeet Lamba and her team look to grow the event by having their
own sports facility for all Sikh athletes.
nity support. Manmeet K Lamba and her

NY Sikh Games team look to grow this
event by one day having their own sports

facility to call home for all Sikh athletes.
Basketball was the highlight of the

weekend attracting 300 players.
Hyderabadi Cultural Association of

Greater NY hosts third annual gala
New York: On November
philanthropist, and Khavi
15, the Hyderabadi CulturAhmed, a 12 year old
al Association of Greater
member of the HCA comNew York (HCA) held its
munity. During the course
Third Annual Gala at the
of the night, over 20 educaLaGuardia Palace Hotel in
tional scholarships for stuNew York City. The event
dents in Hyderabad were
was graced by Dnyaneshpledged by the attendees.
war M. Mulay, the Consul
Ambassador Muley highGeneral of India at New
lighted the importance of
York. The keynote address
promoting the culture of Inwas delivered by Dr.
dia in the USA and around
Abusaleh Shariff, the Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, Consul the world and also encourChief Scholar at the US
aged the Hyderabadi diasGeneral of India, NY with
India Policy Institute in
pora to actively engage in
Quddus Mohammed,
outgoing President of HCA
Washington D.C.
promoting US-India relaQuddus Mohammed,
tionship. The keynote
the outgoing President of the HCA, welcomed speaker Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, who was a
the over 300 attendees and stressed the role of member of the Sachar Committee, shared his
HCA as a secular cultural organization that research on the issues and growth inequality
not only sought to promote Hyderabadi cul- among of the Indian minorities.
ture among the diaspora but also participated
The gala also featured a comedy act, a muin charitable initiatives helping the underpriv- sical program featuring the famous singer Ali
ileged get educational access. The organiza- Sher, and a sumptuous authentic Hyderabadition also felicitated a variety of diaspora Hy- style dinner. The attendees lighted the night in
derabadis including Dr. Rajender Jinna, a for- their traditional Hyderabadi attire as a team of
mer President of the American Telugu Asso- six-member panelist nominated the best Sherciation, Ms. Tasneem Osmani, an education wani and the best dressed couple winner.
Al Falah and Bridgewater Township settle row over plans to build mosque
New Jersey: This week, Al Falah Center
reached a settlement with Bridgewater Township allowing Al Falah to proceed with its
plans to build the first mosque in this New Jersey township. "We applaud the Mayor and the
Council for entering into this Agreement and
look forward to working cooperatively with
them to reach our objective. And we want to
thank our legal team, who have stood by us
throughout," said Yasser Abdelkader, President
of Al Falah Center. The lawsuit, filed on September 26, 2011 in New Jersey federal court,
arose from the Township's enactment of a zoning change after Al Falah Center sought approval to convert the Redwood Inn, a former
banquet hall, into a mosque. The suit alleged
that the Township violated Al Falah Center's
federal constitutional rights under the First

Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as corresponding protections of New Jersey's Constitution. The suit also alleged violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons
Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). On September 30,
2013, the court ruled in favor of Al Falah Center, preliminarily enjoining the Township from
applying the zoning ordinance to Al Falah Center's mosque application. The court found that
Al Falah Center had not only demonstrated irreparable injury to the Muslim community that
had been deprived of the ability to use its property as a house of worship but had also demonstrated that it was likely to succeed on the merits of at least its statutory claim.
Saraswathi Award honorees of dance and music with organizers
17th Saraswathi Awards honor

Indian dance and music teachers
New York: In order to recognize the contribution in promoting Indian classical music and dance in the United States, the
teachers (Gurus) of various schools in
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
were honored by The Saraswathi Awards in
New York.
The 2014 Awards Ceremony was held at
Frank Padavan Queens High Schools of
Teaching in Bellerose, and the chief guest
of the ceremony was Mr. Leivang Kam
Ngaihte, Head of Chancery & Press/Information and Appellate Authority of Indian
Consulate in New York. The guest speakers were Mr. Sovy Azhath, CNN news Producer & Editor and Mr. Taj Mathew, National President of the India Press Club of
North America and Editor, Malayalam
The honorees at the 17th Saraswathi
Awards includes Mrs. Savitri Ramanand
(Mukthambar Fine Arts), Mrs. Satya
Pradeep ( Nritya Saagaram Dance Academy of New York
), Mrs. Sulekha
Karthikeyan (Pallavi Sangeethalaya), Mrs.
Sumathy Haran (Sri Vidhyalaya Music
School) , Mrs. Keetha Mohan (Arunod-
haya Dance Academy ), Mrs. Usha Balachandran and Mr. Violin George Devassy
Puthoor.
Mr. Jojo Thomas and Mrs. Manju
Thomas, the organizers and founding members of The Saraswathi Awards greeted the
honorees on stage and honored with Ponnada as a symbol to recognize their contribution in their respective fields. During
the last 30 plus years these teachers have
dedicated their service in teaching hundreds
of young talents to inherit Indian art forms
such as dance and music. They have performed on many stages all over USA and
abroad to showcase India and its immense
cultural heritage.
Mr. Leivang Kam Ngaihte applauded the
contributions of teachers and greeted the
students for showcasing India at its best in
the United States and abroad. Mr. Taj Mathew and Mr. Sovy Azhath greeted the
Saraswathi Awards organizers for their contribution to Indias culture and art in the
USA. The winners of the 17th Saraswathi
Awards competition were also presented
with trophy and certificate.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Lawyer Vanita Gupta heads Federal

probe into Ferguson shooting
Washington, DC: Top Indian-American
lawyer and civil rights activist Vanita
Gupta is leading a Federal probe into the
events in Ferguson, Missouri, in which a
Grand Jury chose not to indict a white
police officer who shot dead an unarmed
black teenager, The Times of India
reported.
The Obama administration last month
appointed Gupta to head the Justice
Department's Civil Rights Division,
which is continuing its probe even after
the Grand Jury decision. Gupta, who
was formerly a staff attorney with the
American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), was already involved in a
Ferguson investigation in that capacity
when she was named by Attorney
General Eric Holder as the acting civil
rights division. The division is now
spearheading the Federal probe.
Gupta was also previously associated
with the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), which is now leading the
Lawyer Vanita Gupta
agitation to bring justice to the family of

Michael Brown, the slain teenager. She
is also co-author of a study on the militarization of local police departments.
Ranadive wants to make

basketball No.2 sport in India
Vivek Ranadive
New York: Vivek Ranadiv has big plans

for Kings, who he says will do everything
possible, to make basketball the No. 2
sport in India. "That's our plan. That's
what the NBA wants, too. We are not here
for a quick-fix. It's a long-term plan," he
was quoted saying by the DNA newspaper. His action plan for basketball in India
is "NBA 3.0."
For someone who "didn't know a thing
about basketball" but still "foolishly
coached" his 12-year-old daughter's
school team to victory by making the fullcourt press a norm, Ranadiv has come a
long way. He calls basketball the "greatest
show on earth", played by athletes who
are "gods."
He's a great fan of prime minister
Narendra Modi. "I had dinner with him in
New York. In fact, my daughter (Anjali)
sang the National Anthem at the Madison

Square Garden. Mr Modi has energized
and galvanized the Indian diaspora. He is
a man of vision, values and I am sure he
will convert all of that into action and execute his plans.
Never in my life have I seen that kind of
excitement around a political leader as I
saw around prime minister Modi. He will
go onto become one of the greatest leaders
of this century. He will take India to, what
I call, a non-linear path of growth and
development."
In 2010, Ranadiv became the co-owner
of Golden State Warriors, making him the
first person of Indian descent to own an
NBA franchise. In 2013, he gave up his
stake in the team, only to pick up a majority stake in Kings. Today, the franchise is
valued at $550 million.
December 6-12, 2014
US to determine whether child

labor is used in Indian carpets
Washington, DC: The US has proposed
to determine whether Indian carpets are
produced by forced or indentured child
labor, even as it added cotton and sugarcane to the already existing child labor
produced list from India.
The US Department of Labor
announced its initial determination with
regard to Indian carpets as it released the
sixth edition of the 'List of Goods
Produced by Child Labor or Forced
Labor' as mandated by the US Congress.
Stake holders have been asked to submit their comments on the proposed
determination by January 30, 2015.
The US also added cotton and sugarcane to the already existing child labor
produced list from India, which now has
crossed the two dozen mark.
If the US Department of Labor finally
makes such a determination, federal
American agencies would be prevented
from procuring Indian carpets.
Such a determination by the US would
also badly hit sale of Indian carpets in the
international markets.
According to the report released by US
Department of Labor more than two
dozen Indian items are produced by
employing child labor. These are bidis,
brassware, bricks, carpets, cotton,
embellished textiles, fireworks, footwear,

garments, gems, glass bangles, hybrid
cotton seed, incense, leather goods and
accessories, locks, matches, rice, silk fabric, silk, thread, soccer balls, stones, sugarcane and thread/yarn.
"There's a story behind each item on
these lists -- a child facing back-breaking
labor without education or other opportunities for a better life or an adult trapped
in a dismal job through deceit or threats,"
said the US Secretary of Labor Thomas E
Perez. "These lists raise awareness about
child and forced labor. Through collective
efforts we can, and must, work together to
end these cycles of exploitation," Perez
said after releasing the report.
He said 11 goods made with child labor
have been added to the sixth edition of
this list.
These are garments from Bangladesh,
cotton and sugarcane from India, vanilla
from Madagascar, fish from Kenya, fish
from Yemen, alcoholic beverages, meat,
textiles, and timber from Cambodia, and
palm oil from Malaysia.
One good, electronics from Malaysia,
has been added to the list for being produced with forced labor. The report has
on its cover page a girl child labor working in a brick kiln in West Bengal.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
December 6-12, 2014
Hurdles in the path of helping the undocumented

By SATimes Team
New York: President Obama's
executive action to defer deportation of up to five million undocumented immigrants is as expected
facing intense scrutiny from
Congressional Republicans who
are developing plans to use their
funding authority against it.
But the biggest test facing the
presidents plan, experts believe,
could be the under preparedness of
government officials and community organizations to handle the
deluge of complex applications
from immigrants and the delays
caused due to the critical shortage
of immigration lawyers and other
legal assistance for families navigating the immigration bureaucracy and justice system.
In order to be eligible for deportation relief or to be able to secure
work permit, undocumented immigrants will have to establish they
have been in the country for at
least five years in addition to meeting other requirements. This will
be a difficult task, explains Rishi
Singh of DRUM - South Asian
Organizing Center (formerly Desis
Rising Up and Moving). As most
have spent their lives in the shadows
avoiding
detection.
Convincing them that the information they provide will not be used
DRUM members watching Presidents address
to deport them is a huge task.

DRUM, an organization of lowwage South Asian immigrant
workers and youth in New York
City is actively working to create
awareness about the executive
order.
Lawyers also point to practical
hurdles that can hold eligible
immigrants back from applying as
happened in the case of Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA)
program
relief.
According to the Migration Policy
Institute, only 44 % of the 1.2 million eligible immigrants had been
approved after two years under the
2012 order aimed at undocumented immigrants brought to the
United States by their parents as
children. Reasons: High application costs, extensive documentation requirements and long waiting
periods for approval. The process
is expected to be even more arduous this time around as many
undocumented adults never attended a US school or signed an apartment lease or paid utility bill.
Many advocacy groups, lawyers
and politicians are trying to sidestep the hurdles by expanding their
current services. NYC Mayor Bill
de Blasio along with 20 other mayors will host a summit Dec 8 to
discuss and lay out a step-by-step
implementation of Obamas plan.
The summit will aim to create
fertile ground at the municipal
level for implementation of the
Sikh Woman elected

city council member in the US
Washington, DC: A
Sikh woman was elect"We worked
ed a city council mem- in the fields
ber, first woman from here. We are
the community to hold the farm
the post not just in Cal- laborers who
ifornia state but in the just raised
country, media report- ourselves up.
ed.
I was one of
Preet Didbal, 46, was the first out
sworn in by her daugh- of our family
ter as part of the Yuba to go to
City ceremony for new college."
council
members
Tuesday night, KCRA
3 News reported Tuesday.
"This is a big day. It
is very emotional and I
still can't believe it,"
Didbal was quoted as
Preet Dibdal (center) with her family members.
saying. Her journey
Didbal recalls her parents' thoughts years
started from humble beginnings. "We worked
in the fields here," Didbal said. "We are the ago about getting into politics.
She said her parents said to her that they
farm laborers who just raised ourselves up. I
were
raising her and her three sisters like their
was one of the first out of our family to go to
sons,
because they had four daughters. "We
college." Didbal holds an associate degree in
nutrition, a Bachelor's degree in physical ed- give you the strength to go out and do what
ucation and a Master's in public administra- you want," Didbal's parents told her. She has
also served on the Yuba City Planning Comtion, the report said.
She is presently a correctional health care mission for eight years. Didbal said she will
services manager in the California Depart- focus on children, education and public safety during her term.
ment of Corrections.
presidential order through diverse

and thorough outreach to immigrant communities and local
authorities, among other initiatives, creating consensus on the
need for a permanent solution to
the nations broken immigration
system through congressional
action on comprehensive reform.
This convening sends an important message to Washington: That
cities across the country are ready
for immigration reform and will
not wait to move forward in light
of inaction in Washington, said
Immigrant Affairs Commissioner
Nisha Agarwal.
The summit will also kick off a
national campaign that includes
media appearances and events.
Additionally, New York City is
convening a task force of dozens
of city agencies to plan for a coordinated city-wide response that
includes public engagement, education, and delivery of services to
immigrants who will gain temporary legal status thanks to the
Presidents actions.
Immigration lawyers are also
gearing up for the new wave of
applications. We have been doing
pro bono work in the past. When
DACA was introduced in 2012,
our lawyers worked with the community to help young undocumented immigrants and we will contin-
ue to work pro bono with the community, attend community meetings, provide free guidance, said
Sheela Murthy, immigration attorney and president of the Murthy
Law Firm in Baltimore. The
American Immigration Lawyers
association will hold sessions
across the country informing community members about the new
order once it is implemented, she
added.
Murthy and her law firm are a
byword in the Indian community
in the US and among those coming
from India. Information is the
key. We give out as much information as possible on our website for
free so that people dont have to
spend oodles of money to find out
basic information.
Another advocacy group, South
Asian Americans Leading
Together (SAALT) is working
with National Coalition of South
Asian Organizations (NCSO), a
network of community based
organizations, to reach out to the
community. Our role is to pass
most detailed and accurate information.
Over the next few months we
will be putting out information in
English and south Asian languages
and work with South Asian
media, said Suman Ranganathan,
executive director of SAALT.
Eight-year-old CEO lectures at

Cyber Security Summit
Houston, Texas: An eightGames, his own gaming
year old Indian American
firm, and is designated as
child prodigy from Austin,
CEO of the company. His
Texas, was among the
dad is his partner in the comexperts who addressed a
pany.
cyber security conference
Prudent Games, which
Nov. 14 in New Delhi where
makes games that combine
Minister of State for External
educational content with fun,
Affairs V.K. Singh was also
also had an App which
listed as a keynote speaker.
shows children how to come
In his address at the sumup with secure passwords
mit Nov. 14, whiz kid
and another about the basics
Reuben Paul who had to
of Bruteforce attacks, which
stand on a chair to reach the
is used by hackers to, among
Reuben Paul, CEO,
microphone on the lectern
other things, crack passPrudent Games
highlighted and demonstratwords, reported DNA.
ed the need for developing the current gen"This will be Reuben's fourth conference
eration with cyber security skills, accord- where he will be giving a lecture on cyber
ing to the organizers of the Ground Zero security. He will talk about the need to creSummit held here.
ate awareness about cyber security among
"I started learning about computer lan- young kids as well as demo white page
guages around one- and-a-half years back. hacking," Mano Paul said.
Now I design my own projects," Reuben
Incidentally, according to DNA, Reuben
said.
was crowned America's Most Beautiful
Reuben has been trained by his father, Baby. RAPster, as his friends call him,
Mano Paul, in Object C programming lan- because his name forms the acronym RAP
guage and is now learning Swift program- (he has a middle name Abhishai), also
ming for Apple's iOS platform. Mano does gymnastics, swims, plays inline
Paul, born and brought up in Odisha, hockey, and takes lessons in music (piano
moved to the U.S. in 2000.
and drums) and also learns art, the paper
Reuben in August started Prudent reported.
US AFFAIRS
December 6-12, 2014
Ferguson effect: WH asks Lawmakers make 'hands up' gesture on House floor
$263M for police body
cameras, training
Washington: The White House

on Monday proposed $263 million in funding for police body
cameras and training as the
administration wrestles with a
federal response to unrest in
Ferguson, Missouri.
The program, which needs congressional nod, would offer $75
million over three years to match
state funding for the cameras by
50 percent, helping to pay for
more than 50,000 of the devices.
The announcement came as
Obama held a series of meetings
with law enforcement personnel,
civil rights leaders and Cabinet
officials to discuss possible
reforms to ease mistrust towards
police, particularly in minority

communities. The administration
also said Monday that it will not
make major changes to a program
that transfers military equipment
to state and local law enforcement
agencies, but will instead focus on
better oversight, transparency and
training to ensure that the equipment is used properly.
Obama will also announce the
creation of a new task force - led
by
Philadelphia
Police
Commissioner Charles H.
Ramsey and former Office of
Justice Programs AG Laurie
Robinson - to prepare recommendations for "21st century
policing."
Washington: Several lawmakers

took to the House floor Monday
evening to make the Hands up,
dont shoot, gesture to protest the
police shooting of the unarmed
Ferguson teen, Michael Brown.
Hands up, dont shoot. Its a rallying cry of people all across
America who are fed up with police
violence, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
(D-N.Y.) said as he took the floor.
In community after community,
fed up with police violence in
Ferguson, in Brooklyn, in
Cleveland, in Oakland, in cities and
counties and rural communities all
across America.
Jeffries added that people are fed
up with injustice, a broken criminal
justice system and continuing to
see young, unarmed AfricanAmerican men killed as a result of
a gunshot fired by a law enforcement officer.
Now this is a problem that
Congress cant run away from and
the [Congressional Black Caucus]
Ash Carter picked for Defense Secretary

Washington: Ashton B. Carter, a
Pentagon veteran and longtime
Harvard University faculty member, emerged Tuesday as President
Obamas leading choice to replace
outgoing Secretary of Defense
Chuck Hagel as the White House
seeks a trusted hand to steer defense
policy in a period of deep uncertainty.
Carter, 60, held top Pentagon
posts in the Clinton and Obama
administrations in between a nearly
two-decade career at Harvards
Kennedy School of Government
and MIT, where he was one of the
leading thinkers on national security and helped train a generation of
practitioners.
The White House, which was said
to be vetting the nomination, has
not made a final decision, but
Ashton B. Carter is a Pentagon

veteran and Harvard faculty
Carter is the top contender, according to people on Capitol Hill familiar with the presidents thinking on
the matter. In addition, The New
York Times reported that unnamed
administration officials identified
Carter as the leading candidate for

the job.
If hes nominated, it should be a
pretty easy confirmation, said
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma,
the top Republican on the Senate
Armed Services Committee.
Carter has a unique pedigree that
includes a doctorate in physics and
a degree in medieval history, as
well as service as the Pentagons
second-ranking official under Hagel
until last December. He was also
the Pentagons top weapons buyer
in Obamas first term, giving him a
unique mix of attributes at a time
when defense budgets are shrinking
but new threats are evolving from
terrorist organizations like the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Carter is also an expert on USRussian security relations.
NY jury refuses to indict cop in chokehold case

New York: New York City grand
jury has declined to indict a white
police officer in the case of Eric
Garner, a 43-year-old unarmed
black man who died July 17 in a
police chokehold, a lawyer
involved in the case said
Wednesday.
Jonathon Moore, an attorney for
the victim's family, said he was
told there would be no indictment

of Officer Daniel Pantaleo. The
medical examiner had ruled the
death a homicide.
The decision comes nine days
after a grand jury declined to
indict a Ferguson, Mo., police
officer in the shooting death of an
18-year-old black man, setting off
waves of protests across the coun-
try. A video of the Staten Island

incident drew national attention.
Garner, who had asthma, is heard
shouting "I can't breathe" at least
eight times as police take him to
the ground in what appears to be a
chokehold, an action NYPD prohibits.
Garner was pronounced dead at
a hospital later that night.
Black Caucus: (Clockwise from top left) Reps Hakeem Jeffries,

Sheila Jackson Lee , Yvette Clarke and Al Green.
stands here today to make sure that

Congress runs toward the problem, Jeffries said. That we come
up with constructive solutions to
breaking this cycle, this epidemic,
this scourge of police violence all
across America. Joining Jeffries
were Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.),

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and
Al Green (D-Texas), who praised
the handful of St. Louis Rams
players for also making the hands
up gesture as they entered the field
for their game on Sunday.
Falling divorce rates

explode myths
New York: True, divorce rates
increased in the 1970s and 1980s,
but in the last 20 years they have
dropped. But myths persist of the
institution of marriage in peril.
When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris
Martin consciously uncoupled
this year, ABC News said it was the
latest example of the out-of-control
divorce rate, 50 percent and climbing. When Fox News anchors were
recently lamenting high poverty levels, one of them blamed the fact that
the divorce rate is going up.
And when Bravo introduced its
divorce reality show, Untying the
Knot, this summer, an executive at
the network called it a way to look
at a situation that 50 percent of married couples unfortunately end up
in. Fact is, marriages in this country are stronger today than they have
been in a long time. The divorce rate
peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s
and has been declining for the three
decades since.
About 70 percent of marriages
that began in the 1990s reached
their 15th anniversary (excluding
those in which a spouse died), up
from about 65 percent of those that
began in the 1970s and 1980s.
Those who married in the 2000s are
so far divorcing at even lower rates.
Popular perception
notwithstanding, marriage is
not in peril in US or Europe.
If current trends continue, nearly

two-thirds of marriages will never
involve a divorce, according to data
from Justin Wolfers, a University of
Michigan economist, reports The
New York Times.
There are many reasons for the
drop in divorce, including late marriages, birth control and the rise of
so-called love marriages. These
same forces have helped reduce the
divorce rate in parts of Europe, too.
Of college-educated people who
married in the early 2000s, only
about 11 percent divorced by their
seventh anniversary, the last year for
which data is available. Among people without college degrees, 17 percent were divorced, according to
Mr. Wolfers.
10
INDIA
December 6-12, 2014
Sadhvi Niranjan row: Modi

disapproved minister's remark
Minister Sadhvi
Niranjan Jyoti
New Delhi: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi said he strongly disapproves a controversial remark by
Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and
urged the opposition not to disrupt
the Rajya Sabha.
Making a statement in the house,
which has been witnessing protests
over Jyoti's remark, Modi said she is
a first time Lok Sabha MP from a
humble background and urged the
members continue the work in
national interest.
"Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has apologized... the house should gracefully
accept that and carry forward its
business in national interest," Modi
said in the upper house.
"I strongly disapprove it and have
told MPs that they should be careful
and avoid making such statements".
"...we should refrain from making
such statements and using such language."The minister reportedly said
at a public meeting here: "Aapko tay
karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar
Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon
ki." (You have to decide if you want
a government in Delhi to be led by

the children of Lord Ram or illegitimate children).
The upper house, which had
already witnessed one adjournment
before the prime minister's statement, however continued to be disrupted by opposition members who
refused to relent and said the minister should be sacked.
"Niranjan Jyoti's apology means
she has committed a crime. She
must resign," Communist Party of
India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader
Sitaram Yechury said.
Congress leader Anand Sharma
said: "We respect what prime minister said, but...the minister should be
removed."
The protests forced another
adjournment. When the house met at
noon for question hour, the protests
continued forcing Chairman M.
Hamid Ansari to adjourned the
house till 2 p.m.
An angry Ansari said it was
"unbecoming" of members to keep
disrupting the proceedings.
Obama impressed with Modi shaking

up bureaucrats
Washington: US President
Barack Obama is very much
impressed with the way Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has shaken up the bureaucratic
inertia inside India to improve the
business climate in the country.
"Modi has impressed me so far
with his willingness to shake up
the bureaucratic inertia inside of
India," he said speaking with
Business Roundtable, a group of
CEOs of some of leading US
companies, at an event here.
"But that is a long-term project
and we'll have to see how successful he is," said Obama giving
a global perspective of the world
economy and the challenges and
opportunities ahead for America.
Obama and Modi hit it off with
their very first meeting in
Washington in September end
making for a highly successful
visit that re-energized a stalled
relationship.
Modi followed it up with an
invitation to Obama to be the
chief guest at India's Republic
Day parade in January.
"The United States stands out
as an economy that's going strong
at the moment," Obama said.
"Japan is contracting in a way
that has surprised many analysts"
and enough attention was not
being paid "to just the overall
weakness of the European economy."
"The emerging markets I think
have been slower than anticipat-
Barack Obama and Narendra Modi began their cordial

relationship with their very first meeting in Washington
in September end.
ed," he said.
"China has a fairly good rationale for that," he said before turning to India and "Brazil -- challenges, but they just completed
an election and I think they recognize they need to grow faster."
"So I guess the overall global
picture . is people continue to
look to America for economic
leadership," Obama said.
"We need some other engines
to be pulling the global economy
along and we're pursuing diplomatic policies and consultations
to try to encourage that."
At the height of 2008 global
financial crisis "America's businesses were shedding about
800,000 jobs per month," he said.
"Today, our businesses . have

created over 10.6 million new
jobs; 56 months of uninterrupted
job growth."
"All told, the United States of
America, over the last six years,
has put more people back to work
than Europe, Japan, and the rest
of the advanced world combined.
And that's a record for us to build
on," Obama said.
Addressing the progress still to
come, Obama identified "common-sense things we should be
doing but aren't, largely because
of politics or ideological gridlock
- issues including infrastructure
investment, tax reform, trade, and
immigration reform."
A.R. Antulay: The enfant terrible of Maharashtra politics

Obituary
Mumbai: Abdul Rehman Antulay
entered student politics way back
in 1945, kicking off a long political
career that saw him become the
first Muslim to become chief minister of Maharashtra in 1980.
The high-profile "Barrister
Antulay" - as he was popularly
referred to in political circles seemed to be an unending bundle
of controversies several times in
his seven-decade-long political
career.
Born in February 1929 at Ambet
village in then Kulaba district (now
Raigad), Antulay plunged into student politics in 1945 before going
to London from where he earned
the coveted degree of Barrister-atLaw.
On returning, he continued his
political life becoming a legislator
in 1962 and later serving as a minister in various capacities till 1976
when he was elevated to the Rajya
A.R. Antulay was considered among the most secular leaders

and intellectuals of the Congress.
Sabha, and later drew close to

Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of
then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
His days of glory came as Indira
Gandhi, riding a crest of renewed

popularity, regained power after
the collapse of the Janata Party
government in January 1980.
Later, he set up the the Indira

Gandhi Pratisthan Trusts which
allegedly solicited donations from
the builders community in return
for cement quotas in those days
when it was a controlled commodity.
Following the expose by The
Indian Express, the subsequent
national furore, and an unfavorable
ruling of the Bombay High Court,
he was forced to resign in January
1982. However, he was exonerated
of all the allegations years later,
paving his way for rehabilitation in
the party and in the central government, though his first love was to
lead the state as chief minister
again.
"I had done nothing wrong. I was
targeted by political rivals but they
failed. I suffered some setbacks,
but they could not destroy me," he
later said of his victory.
Later, as the minority affairs minister in the first United Progressive
Alliance government, Antulay
again raked up a mega-controversy

when he raised doubts about how
certain police officials, particularly
then Anti-Terrorist Squad chief
Hemant Karkare, were killed during the Mumbai Nov 26, 2008 terror attack.
Under attacks from various
groups, he subsequently backtracked and diluted his original
stand even as the Congress distanced itself terming them as
Antulay's "personal views".
Elected to Lok Sabha four times,
twice to Rajya Sabha and six times
as legislator, Antulay managed to
remain in the limelight whether in
the government or outside.
Considered among the most secular leaders and intellectuals of the
Congress, he had once sought to
endear himself to the Maratha
community by demanding that
Britain return the legendary
'Bhavani talwar' (sword) of
Chhatrapati Shivaji kept in a
London museum.
30 YEARS AFTER
December 6-12, 2014
11
18,000 tonnes of toxic waste still in Bhopal plant

Bhopal: The tens of thousands who survived the leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC)
gas from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal
on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984 not only battle the after-effects but also live with an
unsavoury legacy: 18,000 tonnes of toxic
waste in the defunct plant that is polluting
the environment and contaminating the soil
and ground water.
The nearly 2,000 truckloads of the waste
had been accumulating for nearly 15 years
before the world's worst industrial disaster
struck, killing over 3,000 people immediately and thousands others over the years
due to related causes.
Union Carbide had set up the pesticide
plant in 1969. Twenty-one ponds were dug
to dispose of the toxic effluent from the
plant. The ponds were in use till 1977 when
they proved to be inadequate due to the
increasing volume of effluent from the
plant.
This necessitated a 32-acre solar evaporation pond, soon followed by two more such.
Water from the effluent in these ponds got
evaporated, leaving behind the harmful
chemicals.
In 1996, waste from the three ponds was
gathered in one pond and covered with soil.
This waste exceeds 18,000 tonnes, Satinath
Shadangi, a member of rights body Bhopal
Group for Information and Action, told
IANS.
It was only when various research showed
that this waste was contaminating the soil
and ground water and its spread was
increasing over time that urgent steps were
planned to destroy it, Shadangi said.
Alok Pratap Singh, who has been crusading for the rights of the victims of the gas
tragedy, moved the Jabalpur High Court in
July 2004 for disposal of the waste. The
court constituted a task force to make recommendations on this.
When a stench of death enveloped Bhopal

M.R. Narayan Swamy
New Delhi: "Can you go to Bhopal immediately? Something big seems to have happened. Many people have died. You can
help out our local bureau and return after
two or three days."
This was U.R. Kalkur, a marvel of a journalist who was the deputy general manager
of UNI. He spoke hours after the Bhopal
gas leak of Dec 2-3, 1984, whose bloody
magnitude wasn't clear then but which
turned out to be the world's worst industrial
disaster.
All that our Bhopal colleagues knew for
sure - and had told Kalkur - was that there
had been an unprecedented calamity and
they needed help to cover it.
I ew to Bhopal post-noon of Dec 3,
landing in a city that had been enveloped
by the stench of thousands of deaths caused
by a leak of lethal gas from the Union
Carbide's pesticide plant.
It became clear in no time that I was in
for a long haul. The "two or three days"
that Kalkur said I would spend in Bhopal
became 16 long days - when the world
turned upside down for tens of thousands of
innocents. The culprit was corporate greed.
Since the Madhya Pradesh authorities
appeared to have no real idea about what
had happened and how, it was left to the
ingenuity of the journalists to report the
world's biggest news story.
How many people had died? No one
could say for sure. The police had no clear
gures, the hospitals were mostly in the
dark and there was no trace of the otherwise voluble Chief Minister Arjun Singh
and his minions.
As for the guilty Union Carbide, it simply
threw up its hands.
The earliest credible story spoke of a
huge mass of a poisonous gas called MIC,
used to produce pesticide, leaking on the
night of Dec 2-3, catching - barring a few
Carbide employees - Bhopal by surprise.
Tens of thousands who were asleep suddenly woke up to a stinging pain in their
eyes. Some began to throw up or had violent ts.
Like in a horror movie, thousands of
Nearly 2,000 truckloads of the waste had been accumulating for nearly 15 years
before the world's worst industrial disaster struck.
In June 2005, the state government, as

directed by the high court, tasked Ramky
Enviro Engineers at Pithampur near Indore,
to rid the Union Carbide plant of the waste.
The company deposited 346 tonnes of pesticide and other chemicals and 39 tonnes of
lime sludge in a warehouse in the pesticide
plant.
However, due to protests in villages surrounding Pithampur , the Madhya Pradesh
government wrote to the central government in August 2010 expressing its inability
to send the waste.
It's a different matter that American courts
have been moved for damages, but the
question that now begs an answer is: If 346
tonnes of waste cannot be disposed off,
what happens to the remaining 18,000
tonnes lying buried in the solar evaporation
pond and elsewhere in the plant.
Within 24 to 48 hours, a staggering

3,500 had died. Animals and birds too
perished in thousands.
men, women and children ed their houses

screaming and crying in pain, many not
even aware where they were headed to.
Thousands simply collapsed on the streets - dead.
Within 24 to 48 hours, a staggering 3,500
had died. Animals and birds too perished in
thousands.
At the hospitals, doctors had no clue how
to treat the victims of the poison gas.
The worst hit was the sprawling shanty
just outside the now shuttered Carbide
plant. But the gas did travel a long way,
killing some employees at the Bhopal railway station too.
Trains coming into Bhopal were quickly
and fortunately diverted, preventing a disaster.
Most of those who were exposed to the
gas but didn't die went to hell: they lost
eyesight or began to suffer various ailments
that continued to kill, taking the overall
death toll since 1984 to well over 25,000.
For this monstrous crime, Union Carbide,
now owned by Dow Chemical, got away by
paying peanuts as nancial compensation.
Indian lives come cheap.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
12
INDIA
December 6-12, 2014
Decisions to make Sanksrit

compulsory taken by UPA
New Delhi: The HRD Ministry said the
decisions to ask those central universities
to explore the possibilities of opening of
Sanskrit department where it doesn't exist
and to ask CBSE to make the language
compulsory upto class X were taken during the previous UPA government's tenure.
Officials of the Ministry referred to the
circulars issued shortly after a national
conference in Lucknow in September last
year where it resolved to make Sanskrit
compulsory in all secondary schools.
The Circular was sent to both the CBSE
chairman as well as the NCERT director.
The communication to all central universities to explore the possibilities of opening
of Sanskrit department where department
of Sanskrit does not exist was also issued
on January 7 this year based on the resolution passed in the conference and not by
the Ministry under the present dispensation, the officials said.
The late night clarification by the
Ministry officials came after HRD
Minister Smriti Irani earlier said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that, "In order to
promote Sanskrit language, the Central
Government has requested all central universities, where department of Sanskrit
does not exist, to explore the possibilities
of opening of Sanskrit departments."
The reply had, however, not specified as
to when the circular was sent to the central
universities.
Irani's recent decision to replace German
HRD Minister Smriti Irani
with Sanskrit as the third language in

Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) has courted
controversy, though she has insisted that
German was being taught in violation of
the National Policy of Education and the
Three Language Formula.
BJP, Shiv Sena announce

alliance in Maharashtra
Mumbai: After more than a
month of bitter squabbling, the
BJP has announced the Shiv
Sena is joining the Devendra
Fadnavis government in
Maharashtra.
"The mandate is for both of
us and against the Congress
and NCP. We respect the sentiments of the people and have
decided to run the government
together," chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis said at a
joint press conference.
The Sena will get ministers
from the Sena, five of cabinet
rank and seven ministers of
Maharashtra Chief Minister
state. The party will have 10
Devendra Fadnavis.
ministers taking oath Friday.
The first indications of a breakthrough
The names and portfolios are expected to
were out earlier this week when chief
be announced later in the day.
The Sena will not be get the deputy minister Fadnavis said that 80% talks
chiefminister's post which it had been bar- were completed and only a few things
needed to be a sorted out.
gaining for all the while.
The BJP and the Sena were allies for 25
The two parties will form a coordination
committee to work out modalities for years, but had parted ways over seat sharalliance in the muncipality and panchayat ing ahead of the assembly polls held in
levels. The BJP and the Sena were in October.
When the BJP emerged the single largest
power from 1995-99. But the Sena held
the chief minister's post and BJP played party but landed short of a majority, the
Sena announced it will sit in the opposithe junior partner.
Now the BJP is in dominant position tion. The Sena also voted against BJP in
with 121 MLAs and the Sena has just 63 the confidence motion, and when the
and did not even get deputy CM's post Speaker declared that Fadnavis had won,
which the BJP had in the past government. joined the Congress in protest.
Historic WASH summit to make India a clean nation

New Delhi: In a bid to transform India into
a clean, green and healthy nation, some the
most renowned world leaders have joined
hands at the Worship to WASH Summit,
organised by the Global Interfaith WASH
Alliance at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh
with the technical support of UNICEF.
The summit was inaugurated in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish
Rawat, in the presence of over 200 leaders
came from the US, England, Europe,
Australia and Africa, leaders of social
organisations, NGOs, political leaders and
celebrities.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that the launch of the WASH revolution was an auspicious beginning and had
the potential to transform India into a clean,
green and healthy nation.
Welcoming some of the most renowned
faith leaders from across the globe to
Uttarakhand, Rawat lauded Swami
Chidanand Saraswati for launching this historic transformational initiative.
He committed the full support of his
administration to this noble task.
Swami Chidanand Saraswati, co-founder
of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance
(GIWA) and President of Parmarth Niketan,
said: It is great that we can send shuttles to
space but let us also create space here for
WASH. While government can make bills,
interfaith leaders can change dills (hearts).
The 'Worship to WASH' revolution is a
Acharya Lokesh Muni, founder president of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti, addressing

the Worship to WASH Summit in Rishikesh.
powerful symbol of a collective and innovative approach that will clean and purify not
only our outer environment but our inner
environment also, he told the gathering.
Acharya Lokesh Muni, founder president
of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti, said that cleanliness and prosperity are deeply linked.
He said achievement of Arth, Kama,
Dharma and Moksha is not possible without
healthy body and mind. It is noteworthy that
Acharya Lokesh Muni with leaders of other

faiths were present at the United Nations
headquarters when the WASH alliance was
launched on September 25, 2013.
After the inauguration, a beautiful Water
Blessing Ceremony took place in which
the leaders ceremonially poured water onto
a globe, praying that all people in all parts
of the world should have access to clean,
safe and sufficient water.
At Rs 1.8 crore a year,

Oracle may be highest payer
Mumbai: If Oracle's current stock value is
taken into account, the software giant is
probably the highest payer at the IITs this
placement season.
Going by stock rates, the package Oracle
has offered for overseas positions would
come to Rs 1.83 crore a year, higher than
that of Facebook which is around Rs 1.42
crore a year. Oracle has offered around 10
overseas positions to students in the IITs this
placement session.
Two students from IIT-Bombay, S S
Kausik and Tarun Kathuria, have received
offers for the overseas position with the
company, a source said. But there is no
details if it made any pre-placement offer.
According to sources in IIT-Roorkee,
where one student bagged an overseas position with Oracle, the multinational firm has
made an offer of close to Rs 80 lakh, along
with 4,000 company stocks.
Till the end of the third day of placements
at IIT-B, around 500 students, who registered
for the campus exercise, bagged jobs. Tower
Research Capital India has reportedly made
the highest offer for a domestic position, to
Sagar Jha, whom they would pay Rs 34 lakh
plus performance incentive of Rs 8 lakh a
year. Jha was the only one to be chosen by
the firm. At the end of the first slot of the
third day, 261 students at IIT-Roorkee got
jobs. E-commerce companies, which started
pouring in on Day 3, made the highest numbers of offers.
OP-ED
December 6-12, 2014
13
Black money: BJP's advantage, Congress' problem

By Amulya Ganguli
rom the time in the 1960s
when undeclared income,
or black money, stashed
away in foreign banks was said to
constitute a parallel economy, the
issue of unaccounted funds has
remained a riddle wrapped in a
mystery inside an enigma.
The riddle or brainteaser relates
to those who have deprived the
Indian exchequer of vast
amounts. It is a matter of some
relief that after the passage of
more than half a century, an estimate of the numbers is now available. According to Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley, the government has a list of 627 accountholders, of whom the identities of
427 have been established.
Moreover, 250 have admitted that
they have kept their money
abroad. But, is the list complete?
How many of those who are in it
are politicians who have always
The BJP's advantage is that it is more believable at present

because of Narendra Modi's emergence as an "ace avatar of
modernity and progress.
been the prime suspects? And

businessmen, who have long had
a bad reputation in India? Are
there any famous names among
the guilty which can bring down a
government or rattle a political

party? Such questions may appear
to be too prying and insidious.
But, at their root, lies the inordinate delay in shedding light on
the subject, which has strengthened the popular belief over the
decades that the governments at
the center - of all hues - have
been basically engaged in a prolonged cover-up operation lest
anyone in the political establishment should be shamed or incarcerated.
If this perception persists, the
reason is that the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) hasn't played its cards
well in this sensitive matter. A fair
share of the blame for this lapse
lies with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, who merrily used the black
money stick to lambaste the
Congress during the campaign for
the April-May general election.
It was a legitimate political tactic since it could not but evoke
cheer, except for the fact that he
ignored the possibility of the
charges and the promises backfiring. This is exactly what has happened since his pledge to recover
all the hidden money and deposit
Rs.15 lakh in the account of every

citizen has now come to haunt the
prime minister and his party.
What sounds good at an election
rally can prove to be embarrassing when one sits on the throne.
The BJP's only advantage is
that it is somewhat more believable at present than its predecessor in office if only because of
Modi's emergence as an "ace
avatar of modernity and
progress", as Shashi Tharoor put
it, much to the dismay of other
Congressmen. But it goes without
saying that too much delay will
deny the party its present advantage of probity.
The Congress' problem is that
for all its attempts to trip up the
BJP for failing to keep its promise, the (no longer) Grand Old
Party simply does not have the
moral authority to press home its
point because of its recent crushing election defeats and inability
over decades to nab the culprits.
Modi's greatest contribution to Kashmir ballot

By Vijay Kranti
t was not too many years ago
when most newspapers in
India front-paged a photograph showing a TV set placed
prominently on a street outside a
polling booth in Srinagar. An
obnoxious looking gift tag
"PRIZE FOR THE FIRST
VOTER" ran boldly across the
width of the photo. It demonstrated less the audacity of the separatists in Kashmir and more the
helplessness of the state.
No surprise the voter turnout in
the Kashmir Valley and the ordinary Indian's indifference to the
Jammu and Kashmir elections
used to compete with each other
in most elections in the state.
Now compare it with the
unprecedented scenes during the
first phase of polling for the
Kashmir assembly. One photo
shows a sea of phiran-clad voters
spread from end to end in more
than five layers of endless queues
outside a polling station in
Bandipora. Yet another shows a
similar crowd of thousands of

cheerful women voters in long
queues.
On the other side of the Pir
Panjal too, it is the first time in
the six decades of Indian elections that Kashmir elections are
being discussed across the country with as much interest as the
recent ballot in Haryana and
Maharashtra. There is no doubt
that Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has been successful in rehabilitating Kashmir in the mind of
the nation in a manner that was
beyond anyone's imagination all
these years.
This glowing enthusiasm of
Kashmiri voters who logged an
impressive over 71 percent attendance at the polling booths stands
out in sharp contrast to the
demoralization that starkly dominates the separatist camp which,
until recently, had got used to
calling the shots through election
boycott calls in the valley. The
gloom that envelops the home of
the most prominent separatist,
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, represents
Experts are busy arguing about the extraordinary turnout of

voters in the valley that may reflect the changing public mood
in favor of Modi.
this mesmerizing change in full

perfection.
Experts on Jammu and Kashmir
politics are busy arguing whether
this extraordinary turnout of vot-
ers in the valley reflects the

changing public mood in favor of
Modi or it actually means a collective effort on the part of
Kashmiri people to push back the
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
Modi wave from overwhelming

their valley. To some this massive
surge of voters represents the last
shove for the already non-functional Abdullah family and the
Congress. There is no shortage of
experts who see it as a clear sign
of public support in favor of the
only other alternative family -Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
The nation and the world will
get to know the election results
only in the last week of
December. But at least one unambiguous sign is fast emerging
from this unprecedented public
enthusiasm towards the democratic process. The ordinary people in
the valley now appear too restless
to stay confined in the long house
arrest imposed on them by their
self-styled gods and political conscience keepers. Peace and prosperity appear to be returning to
their agenda.
(Vijay Kranti is a senior journalist and chairman of the Centre
for Himalayan Asia Studies and
Engagement or CHASE.)
14
December 6-12, 2014
DIASPORA
Attacks on Hindu temples in Pakistan a worrying trend

Islamabad: In the latest incident
of its kind, a Hindu temple was
attacked by fanatics in Pakistan,
the temple was torched, the stone
idol of Lord Hanuman blackened
with soot and some religious
books burnt.
This attack Nov 21 on the
Hindu temple in the Tando
Mohammad Khan area in Sindh and reported in the Dawn newspaper - is however, not a one-off
incident in a country where such
attacks are increasingly turning
out to be the rule, rather than an
exception.
With a population of around
seven million, Hindus form the
largest religious minority group
in Pakistan, which, at 195 million, is the second largest Muslim
nation in the world after
Indonesia.
In a similar attack March 28
this year, a small Hindu temple
was torched near Fateh Chowk in
Hyderabad, Sindh, triggering
widespread protests by the Hindu
community. Only a couple of
Hindu temple that was torched in Tando Mohammad Khan

area of Sindh. (Photo courtesy: The Dawn)
weeks before that, a dharamshala,

or a pilgrims' rest-house, was set
ablaze and some statues of Hindu
deities in an adjacent temple in
Larkana were damaged to protest
the alleged desecration of the
Islamic holy text Quran.
The arson attacks on Hindu
places of worship are seen as
Statue of Indian-origin British

fighter pilot unveiled in Kent
London: A statue of Mahinder
Singh Pujji, an Indian-origin
fighter pilot who had served in
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF)
during the Second World War,
was unveiled in Kent.
Pujji had died at the age of 92
in the Gravesend town of
Britain's Kent county in 2010, as
the longest surviving fighter pilot
from a group of 24 Indians who
had arrived in Britain in 1940,
BBC reported Friday.
The statue is intended to represent all the service personnel
from across the world who have
fought for Britain in conflicts
since 1914. Members of the Pujji
family attended the unveiling in
St Andrews Gardens.
Pujji, who learned to fly as a
hobby in India, began training
with the RAF in the autumn of
1940.Early the next year, he
began flying Hurricanes, protecting coastal convoys and intercepting bombers and fighters
Mahinder Singh Pujji
when Adolf Hitler ordered the

bombing of London.
He survived several crashes and
flew combat missions throughout
the second World War in Britain,
Europe, north Africa, the Middle
East and Burma (Myanmar) and
was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross.
After the war, he became a
champion air race pilot in India.
attempts to fan flames of communal violence. All these incidents

have been reported in the media,
in the highly regarded Dawn
newspaper, as well as by BBC
and others.
Even the Jinnah Institute, a
think tank, has chronicled these
incidents.
White Sikh contesting Canada

parliament elections from
Brampton North
Toronto: Martin Singh will be the
candidate of the
N
e
w
Democratic
Party (NDP)
from Brampton
North in the
2015 parliamentary elections,
News East West
reported.
A
Martin Singh
native of Nova
Scotia, Martin Singh converted to
Sikhism many years ago. He is married to a Punjabi woman from
Amritsar and the couple have three
children. Brampton is home one of
the largest concentration of the
Sikh-Punjabi community in
Canada. In fact, it is one of the
fastest growing cities in the country
thanks to immigrants. Martin Singh
will take on the sitting MP Parm
Gill of the ruling Conservative
Party. Gill had unseated the famous
Ruby Dhalla of the Liberal Party in
the last general election. A pharmacist by profession, Martin Singh
made a bid for the leadership of the
New Democratic Party in 2012.
The arson attacks on Hindu

temples and other incidents of
religious intolerance have made
the Hindu community in Pakistan
nervous, according to media here.
With kidnappings and forced
conversions of teenage Hindu
girls, abduction of Hindu traders
for ransom, and desecration of
temples, many Hindus have been
forced to migrate to India and
elsewhere, Dawn reported in
September this year.
"As a last resort, we have
decided to migrate to India," a
Dawn report in November quoted
a Hindu man in Sindh as saying.
"We are completely insecure
here. We are looted, but our
voice is not heard by the people
in the saddle, our temples are
attacked in broad daylight, but no
one takes action, our girls are
kidnapped and forcibly converted
only to hear more empty promises of justice," he said.
"Nothing happened in the last
65 years and we don't expect any
improvement in future. Things
will only become worse," he

added.
"Minorities are still as vulnerable as they were one-and-a half
years ago and to add to their misery, the land mafia is actively
engaged in illegally occupying
the religious places of the minorities, and kidnappings of Hindu
girls are still happening," said
Chela Ram Kewlani of the
Pakistan Hindu Council.
The Hindus are the most vulnerable in Pakistani society,
wrote vice president of the
Pakistan Hindu Seva Chander
Kolhi in an article titled "Forced
conversions -- a peril for Hindus"
in the Daily Times Friday.
"They are unable to educate
their children and it is also difficult for them to have their children treated in government hospitals. In some localities, where girl
children from the Hindu community are sent to school, they are
abducted, raped or are forcefully
converted at a minor age," Kolhi
stated.
Children drugged, tortured at

Indian ashram in Australia
Sydney: A public hearing here
has revealed shocking details of
cases of sex abuse in Australia by
an Indian yoga guru, who died
around 17 years ago, media
reported Wednesday.
Children living at the ashram
were starved, tortured and
drugged, according to the evidence presented at the Royal
Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sexual
Abuse, the Sydney Morning
Herald reported.
"I was forced to expose my
genitals to ashram members and
drugged with morphine for minor
ailments," said a former child
resident, given the pseudonym
APK. "Children as young as four
were tortured at the ashram," she
said.
APK moved to the ashram with
her family when she was aged
nine in 1978. Her older sister,
given the pseudonym APL, told
the commission that sexual activity was banned at the ashram and
those who disobeyed were pun-
ished by its leader, Swami

Akhandananda Saraswati.
Children went on what they
called "f*** patrol" across the
ashram's grounds at Mangrove
Mountain on the central coast to
see if any adults were being intimate. "If Akhandananda found
out that any of the swamis were
guilty he would publicly shame
them and sometimes beat them,"
she said.
The commission heard that
Akhandananda, who established
the ashram in 1974, was a serial
sex abuser who forced child residents into depraved acts for his
own gratification. Many such
cases were reported from the
Satyananda Yoga Ashram located
on Mangrove Mountain, New
South Wales, in the 1970s and
1980s. Satyananda Yoga Ashram,
which changed its name to
Mangrove Yoga Ashram in 2012,
and Swami Akhandananda
Saraswati were later charged with
over 35 sex offences against four
teenaged girls.
December 6-12, 2014
JAN. 2015
16
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
December 6-12, 2014
Deven Verma: A life of jokes and laughter

OBITUARY
eteran Bollywood character actor and filmmaker
Deven Verma, who delivered memorable performances in
films like "Angoor" and "Khatta
Meetha", died in Mumbai. He was
77. He is survived by his wife
Rupa Ganguly, the younger
daughter of the late legendary
actor Ashok Kumar.
He began his screen career in the
early '60s with roles in films like
Dharmputra, Aaj Aur Kal and
Anupama.
By the seventies, he was one of
Bollywood's most in-demand
comedians, winning the first of his
three Filmfare Awards for Best
Comedian in 1976 for Chori Mera
Kaam.
Verma's most famous roles were
in films directed by Hrishikesh
Mukherjee, Basu Chatterji and
Gulzar. Gulzar directed him in a
double role opposite Sanjeev
Kumar, also in a double role, in
1982's Angoor, the Hindi adaptation of Shakespeare's The Comedy
of Errors.
Bollywood bids adieu to 'subtle' comedian
he void of a comedian with the subtlety reflected by Deven

Verma will be hard to fill, said Bollywood celebrities following the actor's death.
Heres what they tweeted:
Karan Johar: RIPDevenVerma ...your straight-faced impeccable
comic timing still doesn't have a successor.
Riteish Deshmukh: Deven Verma - incredible actor, comic excellence second to none. Thank you for making my childhood so memorable. Will miss you sir- RIP.
Anushka Sharma: RIP Deven Verma...How much I love his scene
in 'Andaz Apna Apna' "Main betiyon ko chudiyaan pehnaoonga...Aap
ma ko."
Manoj Bajpayee: Sad to hear that the great Deven Verma ji passed
away. my heartfelt condolences to his family...RIP.
Vikram Bhatt: Saddened by the news of #DevenVarma passing
away. Spent hours watching him and even imitating him. Thank you
for the joy you spread sir.
Madhur Bhandarkar: Sad to hear Deven Varma-ji has passed
away. A breakthrough humorist & baadshah of subtle comic timing,
he made comedy look classy. RIP, Sir.
Alok Nath: Rest in eternal peace Mr. Deven Verma, will always
cherish the pleasurable moments spent with you, your subtle humor
enthralled us all.
Actor Deven Verma with Sanjeev Kumar

in a scene from Angoor.
He won his third Filmfare Best

Comedian award for his performance as twin brothers separated at
birth, both called Bahadur and
working for a second set of twins
separated at birth called Ashok.
In Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1983
film Rang Birangi, Deven Verma
played a starring role as the mastermind of an elaborate comedy
involving characters played by
Amol Palekar, Farooque Sheikh,

Parveen Babi, Deepti Naval and
Utpal Dutt.
Verma continued appearing on
screen in the Nineties. In 1994, he
had a brief but unforgettable role
in Andaz Apna Apna playing the
long-suffering father of Amar, the
ne'er-do-well played by Aamir
Khan. His last film was 2003's
Calcutta Mail, playing actress
Gauahar Khan slapped,

film fraternity shocked
Mumbai: Members of the film fraternity

are shocked and speechless after hearing
the news that actress-model-host Gauahar
Khan was slapped by a man for reportedly
wearing skimpy clothes.
Director Madhur Bhandarkar finds it
"disgusting and highly condemnable".
"Shocked to hear that Gauahar Khan got
slapped for alleged indecency. Absurdity
just touched a new level. Disgusting and
highly condemnable," tweeted the
"Chandni Bar" director.
Gauahar was slapped on the sets of
singing reality show India's Raw Star
here. The accused was one of the audience
members.
Farhan took to Twitter to express his
anger. Dearest natural selection, please
help us out-evolve morons like the one

who slapped Gauahar Khan. Sincerely, he
tweeted.
An official from Aarey Colony police
station said: "Last night (Sunday night),
the accused Mohammad Akil Malik was
brought here and he is in our custody. We
are investigating this case."
The accused had been reportedly observing the model for the last three days.
On Sunday night, he suddenly got up
and went to the stage.
He initially tried to touch her and then
slapped her. He is likely to be booked on
charges of molestation and assault.
He asked her how could she wear
skimpy outfits and dance to cheap songs
despite being a Muslim.
films, in addition to Hindi. Verma

was married to Rupa Ganguly,
daughter of late actor Ashok
Kumar and niece of his actorsinger brother Kishore.
Sex discussion among

youngsters important:
Ranveer Singh
ctor Ranveer Singh, who
emerged as a sex icon with his
bold condom ad campaign "Do
the Rex", says sex is natural and it's time
to bring it out of the bedroom.
"Sex is a beautiful and perfectly natural phenomenon. Everyone does it and
by no means is it a bad or evil thing. So,
there's really no reason to be cagey
about it," he said.
"The facilitation of an open and
healthy discussion about sex amongst
young people is important to combat the
repressed status of sex in India,"
Ranveer said in a statement.
The 29-year-old actor feels it's the
ignorance towards the issue that is
cropping up problems amongst
youngsters and says it's silly that
we still shy away from talking
about how we came into existence.
The actor, who has done bold
scenes in movies like Goliyon
Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and
Band Baaja Baaraat, has
collaborated with MTV and
Durex, a condom selling
brand, to create a web
show called Durex MTV
Rex Talk to promote sexawareness among youngsters.
Actor Gauahar Khan was slapped on the sets of

singing reality show India's Raw Star.
Rani Mukerji's grandfather. Verma

also produced and directed films
like Nadaan (1971), Besharam
(1978) and Dana Paani (1989). He
appeared in Marathi and Bhojpuri
Ranveer Singh
Russian movie 'Leviathan' wins best film award at IFFI

Panaji: Russian movie
"Leviathan", directed by
Andrey Zvyagintsev, won
the best film award, while
Marathi
film
"Ek
Hazarachi Note" won two
awards at the 45th
International Film Festival
of India (IFFI) which concluded in Goa. The awards
for best actor and best
actress were tied, while
the best director award
was presented to Nadav
A poster of the Russian movie
Lapid for his Israeli film
Leviathan.
"The
Kindergarten
Teacher". The best actress award was shared by Cuban actress Alina
Rodrigues for her role in the film "Conducta" (Behaviour) and Sarit Larry
for her part in Israeli film "The Kindergarten Teacher". The best actor
award was shared by Russian actor Alexel Serbriakov for "Leviathan" and
Dulal Sarkar for his role in Bengali film "Chhotoder Chhobi". Set in rural
Maharashtra, Shridhar Sathe's film "Ek Hazarachi Note" won the Special
Jury Prize as well as the Centenary award. The Lifetime Achievement
award went to master filmmaker from Hong Kong Wong Kar-wai, whose
film "The Grandmaster" was also the festival's closing movie.
'Seventh Son' set for January release in India

antasy
saga
Seventh Son will
release across Indian
theaters in January next
year. Directed by Sergei
Bodrov, the fantasy epic
brings together stars like
Jeff Bridges, Julianne
Moore, Ben Barnes and
A scene from the film 'Seventh Son'
Kit
Herrington.
Distributed by Universal Pictures India, the movie will release across
Indian theatres Jan 23, 2015, read a statement. Based on the novel The
Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch, Seventh Son follows the story
of a supernatural champion named Master Gregory (Bridges) who defeated Mother Malkin (Moore), a witch. Now, she has escaped imprisonment
and thirsts for vengeance. She summons her followers and prepares to
unleash her wrath on humanity. Only Gregory stands in her way.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
December 6-12, 2014
17
Relevant and timely, 'Ungli'

fingers the corrupt
REVIEW
ngli" is what one would
call a late bloomer.
Dont get me wrong. It
doesnt take long to get to the
point. In fact the films vigilante
intentions are unmasked immediately after the film opens. No
beating around the bush. No
introductory songs.
No nonsense?
Well, not quite that. An utterly
unnecessary and badly-choreographed item song by Shradha
Kapoor shows up like a bad
omen. Before I finished shaking
my head in dismay and disbelief, the corruption in this anticorruption film got worse.
Emraan Hashmi was forced into
doing what he knows best. The
smooch is stuck into the script
like a tail pinned to a donkey.
And according to the script,
Emraan is a cop.
We always knew the law is an
ass. Four youngsters out to
cleanse our country of corruption make a total ass of the law.
Masked but alas not menacing
Randeep
Hooda,
Neela
Bhoopalam(remember his stellar turn as the honourable politician in Anil Kapoor television
series "24"?), Angad Bedi and
Kangna Ranaut go for the jugular like four highschool students
A scene from the film 'Ungli'
playing
Enid
Blytons
Adventure 4.
There is a sense of mischief
about the Swachch Bharat
andolan undertaken by dSilvas
adamant quartet. I dont know
whether thats good or bad.
While the twinkle-eyed
approach prevents the plot from
tripping over with self-importance, it also undermines the
gravity of the situation where
the rich and the privileged are
shown to get away with much
more than murder.
Significantly Rensils film is
able to show the murder of values without mauling the characters innate sense of joie de
vivre. This is where "Ungli"

parts ways with "Rang De
Basanti", the other far more
important film on youthful vigilantism that Rensil dSilva
wrote. In the earlier film the
youngsters(the youngest of the
group was Aamir Khan) took to
the gun after being personally
pushed to the wall.
In "Ungli", the belligerent
bunch is driven into lawless
lawry from the word go.
Ominously "Ungli" seldom
rises above expectations. But it
does manage to keep afloat,
touching raw nerves in the audience by addressing corruption
on the streets.
Films that relived Bhopal's industrial catastrophe

A
t least 3,000 people were
killed on the night of Dec
2-3, 1984, after poisonous
gas leaked from the Union
Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal.
The incident has inspired quite a
few filmmakers and as the disaster is marching towards its 30th
anniversary, we list the movies
made on one of the world's worst
industrial disasters on the big
screen:
"Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain":
Directed by Ravi Kumar, the film
will release in India Dec 5. It had
released Nov 7 in one theatre in
New York and the film was sold
out on the opening night. It also
opened in Los Angles Nov 14 plus
additional US cities throughout
the month. Hollywood star Martin
Sheen, Mischa Barton, Indian
American actor Kal Penn and
Bollywood actors Raajpal Yadav
and Tannishtha Chatterjee feature
in the film, which focusses on the
events leading up to the industrial
disaster as it intersects with the
life of rickshaw puller Dilip
(played by Raajpal), who gets a
job at the Union Carbide plant.

"Bhopal Express": The 1999
film directed by Mahesh Mathai,
is a powerful drama about a newlywed couple whose lives are
changed during the lethal gas
tragedy in Bhopal. The movie has
an impressive line of actors like
Kay Kay Menon, Naseeruddin
Shah, Nethra Raghuraman and
Zeenat Aman.
"One Night in Bhopal": Far
from fiction, the film tells the
story of the tragedy through the
eyes of those who experienced it.
The 2004 BBC documentary
shows the sequence of events that
led to the disaster and horror and
terror in the early hours of Dec 3,
1984.
"Bhopali": If the filmmakers
took inspiration from the events
leading to the tragedy, there were
those who focussed on the lives of
victims too. Van Maximilian
Carlson is one such director who,
through his documentary
"Bhopali", presented the story of
the survivors of the industrial disaster. It shows their suffering and
Scenes from 'Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain' and 'Bhopal Express.'
their fight for justice against

Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible for the catastrophe. The 2011 film is a modern
portrait of shattered lives in the
community surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory.
"Sambhavna": Four years back,
Joseph Malone had made a documentary about the disaster that
still haunts many even today. It
also shows Dow Chemical's

responsibilities to the people of
Bhopal. It also focused on the
Sambhavna Clinic, which provides free healthcare to victims of
the incident and to those who
were affected by water contamination, caused by the fact that the
site of the disaster has still not
been cleaned up. "The Yes Men
Fix The World": The political
documentary was co-directed, cowritten and co-produced by Andy

Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno.
The duo even starred in the 2009
film, dedicated to the ongoing
struggle of the people of Bhopal.
Also co-directed by Kurt Engfehr,
critics described it as "outrageously entertaining", "almost too good
to be a film" and "comedic vigilante justice".
December 6-12, 2014
SUBCONTINENT
Imran Khan threatens to

cripple major Pak cities
Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has
announced his plans to bring major
cities in the country to a standstill,
while pressing for Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif's resignation.
Addressing a massive rally in
Pakistan's capital Islamabad, Imran
said: "On Thursday (Dec 4), I will
go to Lahore and shut it down. On
Dec 8, I will shut down Faisalabad;
on Dec 12, I will go to Karachi and
shut it down. By Dec 16, I will close
down all of Pakistan," The Dawn
online reported.
"I know people of Lahore are
ready... I know all of Faisalabad is
ready... and Karachi, I know, they
are waiting for me," Imran said.
However, the PTI chief said that
he was not saying this to become the
prime minister.
He reiterated his demand for a fair
probe into the 2013 general election.
"We still have no word on the
investigation of rigging," Imran
said. "We want justice. We want an
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is pressing for

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation.
investigation (into the) 2013 elections and a result within 4 to 6

weeks under (the) supervision of the
Supreme Court, " he added.
"The ball is in your court, Nawaz
Sharif -- do your talks, do your
investigations and solve the issue.
We will close Pakistan down when
Dec 16 comes (about), and what I
'No breakthrough expected on

bilateral dialogue with India'
Islamabad: Pakistan does not expect any breakthrough on resuming
the bilateral dialogue with India, Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz said.
"India has suspended the dialogue process and now it's their responsibility to resume it," he said. Aziz made the comment after inaugurating the annual conference of the Pakistan Institute of Development
Economics in Islamabad, Dawn online reported. In August, India had
called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan following criticism of Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit's meeting in New
Delhi with Hurriyat leader Shabir Shah.
do after that, you will not be able to

bear that," the PTI chief said.
"Naya Pakistan is waking up
every day. We can all see it," Imran
noted.
Criticizing the government and
the Pakistan Peoples Party, Imran
said they colluded to rig the 2013
general election.
December 6-12, 2014
19
Boundaries can't be
rewritten: Jaitley to Pakistan
Srinagar: Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said Pakistan should understand once and forever that boundaries between nations cannot be
rewritten now.
Addressing a gathering of local
civil society and intellectuals here,
Jaitley said: "Pakistan needs to
understand once and forever that
boundaries between nations cannot
be rewritten now."
"Those few who believe resorting
to violence can result in secession of
any part of a country of over 1.25
billion people are badly mistaken,"
he added.
The minister said that Jammu and
Kashmir is an integral part of India
and no power on earth can change
this fundamental reality.
"Yes, there are problems and we
are ready to discuss and resolve
them," he said.
Jaitley said that he took charge as
the defence minister when two
youths were killed in Chattergam
area in army ring. "Prime Minister
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Narendra Modi asked me to immediately nd out the reality. I found

out the truth and let me tell you, I
became the rst defence minister of
the country to express regrets and
apologise for the mistake on my
Twitter handle," he said.
"Within less than a month, those
found responsible for the incident
were identied and punished," he
added.
"We want permanent peace in the
state and want Jammu and Kashmir
to prosper...," Jaitley said.
Sri Lankan opposition to form all-party government

Colombo: The Sri Lankan opposition has agreed to form an allparty government if it wins the
presidential election next year,
ofcials here said.
In a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) signed
between joint opposition presidential candidate Maithripala
Sirisena and opposition political
parties, including the United
National Party, it was agreed that
an all-party government would be
formed for a period of not less

than two years, Xinhua reported.
The text of the MOU said the
joint opposition will look to reestablishing democracy, good
governance, social justice and the
rule of law.
The tasks will be implemented
within 100 days, including the
abolition of the current executive
presidency and the re-establishment of a parliamentary form of
government. Sirisena, a former
health minister and general secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka

Freedom Party led by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, left the government recently to contest the
presidential poll as the consensus
candidate for the combined opposition.
Former president Chandrika
Kumaratunga and a few former
government members have also
offered support to Sirisena's
campaign.
India's $3-bn investment a game changer for Nepal

Kathmandu: Within just six
months at the helm, Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi injected
over $3 billion of investments into
Nepal, a possible game changer in
Nepal-India relations that may
entirely change the economic
landscape of the Himalayan
nation.
The two sides recently reached
three agreements - two in the
energy sector and one on India's
line of credit - and another landmark power trade agreement.
Tapping Nepal's hydropower
resources is a major focus in the
deals signed.
Mired by decades-long armed
conict that totally devastated
Nepal's economy, the size of
which is a mere $62.384 billion,
the Himalayan nation needs huge
investments in infrastructure
development, ghting poverty
alleviation and illiteracy and food
The two sides recently reached three agreements - two in the

energy sector and one on India's line of credit .
security.
The latest Indian initiative under
Modi started with the signing of
the project development agree-
ment Sep 19 of the 900 MW

Upper Karnali hydropower project
in west Nepal between Investment
Board Nepal and India's GMR-
ITD Consortium.
The second and third were
Indian soft loans of $1 billion for
various Nepali infrastructure projects and the project development
agreement of Arun III between the
Investment Board Nepal and
Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam of India
on the sidelines of the 18th Saarc
Summit in Katmandu last week.
Both Upper Karnali and Arun III
will have a generation capacity of
900 MW each and the projects
will cost over $2.4 billion at present market rate. This is probably
the biggest investment coming in
Nepal within a short span of time
from one country.
This has also rekindled hopes
that the much touted and ambitious Pancheshwar Multipurpose
Project, which was initially signed
some 17 years ago between Nepal
and India, is all set to take off.
The 6,720-MW project will cost
over $6 billion and the two sides

are ready to set up the
Pancheshwar
Development
Authority within a couple of
months.
While inaugurating the Indiafunded trauma centre in
Kathmandu Nov 25, the Indian
prime minister thanked the prime
minister of Nepal, the political
parties and ofcers of Nepal for
removing obstacles and speeding
up work which had been held up
for the last 25 to 30 years. He said
he felty satised because "a happy
Nepal gives India a reason to
smile". Nepal and India have been
discussing building the Upper
Karnali project for 30 years and
Arun III for six years.
Apart from these projects, several other pending projects
between Nepal and India are moving ahead, giving bilateral relations a fresh impetus.
20
INTERNATIONAL
December 6-12, 2014
Xi Jingpings power consolidation worrying: Obama

Washignton: US President Barack
Obama said that Chinese President
Xi Jinping had consolidated power
more quickly than any Chinese
leader in decades, raising human
rights concerns and worrying
China's neighbors.
Obama, who met Xi last month in
Beijing, told the Business
Roundtable group of top US chief
executives that the Chinese leader
had won respect in the short time
since he had taken over.
"He has consolidated power faster
and more comprehensively than
probably anybody since Deng
Xiaoping," Obama said, referring to
the man who led China from 1978
to 1992.
"And everybody's been impressed
by his ... clout inside of China after
only a year and a half or two years."
But Obama said there were negative sides to Xi's rise.
"There are dangers in that. On
issues of human rights, on issues of
clamping down on dissent. He taps
into a nationalism that worries his
neighbors," Obama said, noting
maritime disputes in the region.
"On the other hand, I think they
US, partners continue airstrikes against IS

Washington: The US and its partner nations continued to attack Islamic
State (IS) forces over the past three days using fighters and bombers to
conduct 14 airstrikes.
Separately, US and partner-nation military forces conducted 11
airstrikes in Iraq during the same period using fighter, attack, and
remotely-piloted aircraft against IS forces, reported Xinhua citing a
statement issued by US Central Command.
In Syria, the airstrikes destroyed an IS vehicle, 17 IS fighting positions, and an IS staging area. Also, those airstrikes suppressed eight
other fighting positions and struck a large IS unit.
In Iraq, the airstrikes destroyed five IS bunkers, six IS-occupied buildings, 22 IS vehicle, an IS fighting position, two tactical IS units and two
IS tractor trailers.
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the US,
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands and the
Britain.
Hong Kong protest leaders walk free

US President Barack Obama with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
have a very strong interest in maintaining good relations with the

United States. And my visit was a
demonstration of their interest in
managing this relationship effectively." Obama said the United States
wants to show China that it wants a
constructive "win-win" relationship
while also insisting on fixing problems such as commercial cyber
theft.
He was less optimistic about
Russia and President Vladimir

Putin. The Russian leader, whose
country is suffering from western
sanctions over its annexation of
Crimea, was caught off guard by the
situation in Ukraine.
"He has been improvising himself
into a nationalist, backward-looking
approach to Russian policy that is
scaring the heck out of his neighbors
and is badly damaging his economy," Obama said.
Hong Kong: Three founders of the Occupy Central pro-democracy

movement in Hong Kong were released without charges just an hour
after surrendering to Hong Kong police for organizing the protests
which began more than two months ago.
The three leaders are Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and
Chan Kin-man.
"We have not been arrested so we are allowed to leave with no restriction on our liberty," Tai told reporters.
The three leaders and dozens of other people, who came to the police
station to surrender, were asked to fill out a form on the activities of
Occupy Central by marking the boxes of various events, such as participating in unauthorized assembly, inciting crimes and vandalism, according to Tai.
Mona Lisa portrait of his Chinese mother?
The woman in Leonardo da Vinci's

Mona Lisa painting might be both a
Chinese slave and his mother,
claim Italian historian.
Beijing: A Hong Kong-based historian and

novelist has claimed that the woman
depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa
painting might be both a Chinese slave,
and his mother.
Angelo Paratico has spent the last two
years piecing documents together to connect the dots.
Paratico, in a non-fiction book titled
"Leonardo Da Vinci: A Chinese scholar
lost in Renaissance Italy", which he hopes
to publish next year, traces ties between
Da Vinci and the Far East, the South China
Morning Post reported.
Paratico says he is "sure up to a point
that Leonardo's mother was from the
Orient, but to make her an oriental
Chinese, we need to use a deductive

method".
It is widely accepted that the artist's
father was a notary but very little is known
about his mother Caterina, with some
believing she was a local peasant.
But Paratico claimed, "One wealthy
client of Leonardo's father had a slave
called Caterina. After 1452, Leonardo's
date of birth, she disappeared from the
documents. She was no longer working
there."
Paratico believes Caterina was taken to
Vinci, about 32 km from Florence, where
she gave birth and the move was made
because a relationship with a slave was
seen as improper. "During the
Renaissance, countries like Italy and Spain

were full of oriental slaves," he said.
Paratico also points to other indications
of Chinese ancestry, "for instance, the fact
he was writing with his left hand from left
to right... and he was also a vegetarian,
which was not common" among
Europeans.
"Mona Lisa is probably a portrait of his
mother, as Sigmund Freud (an Austrian
neurologist) said in 1910. On the back of
Mona Lisa, there is a Chinese landscape
and even her face looks Chinese," Paratico
added.
Only DNA analysis, using samples from
relatives buried in Florence, can solve the
mystery, he said.
Many women desperate to be IS fighters' jihadi brides

London: The Islamic State (IS)
fighters in Syria may be demonized
by the world community for their
terrorist activities but there are those
who look up to them.
Some among the admirers of the
IS happen to be European women
who have flocked to the war zone in
the hope of becoming "jihadi
brides", the Daily Mail reported, citing the findings of new research.
Academic experts monitoring the
lawless region have identified at
least 11 women linked to the fighters.
What is worse, British women are
suspected of running sex slave
brothels for the IS fighters in Syria.
Hundreds of women belonging to
the Kurdish religious minority have

been kidnapped, tortured and raped
by the IS fighters, the Daily Mail
report said.
Still, there is growing evidence of
British women being drawn to the
region to support the militants.
Melanie Smith, of the King's
College International Centre for the
Study of Radicalisation, said that
there are "hundreds" of girls who
want to travel across Europe to
Syria. "Hundreds. I come across
girls every day who say, 'I'm so desperate to go over there, but it's just
so hard for me'," Smith said.
However, she said that only a
"tiny" proportion of girls actually
make it to the war-torn region.
Smith said that there is even a

"jihad matchmaker" service on
Twitter in which women can post
their photographs for the men to
choose from.
Among those who had travelled
from Britain are Manchester twins
Salma and Zahra Halane, 16, who
fled their home in the middle of the
night in June.
Many women are apparently lured
to Syria by the prolific online activities of the fighters who present a
"romantic" image of the bloodshed.
What is worse, British women
are suspected of running sex
slave brothels for the
IS fighters in Syria.
BUSINESS
'Japan should participate in

Make in India initiative'
New Delhi: India and Japan are
natural partners in information and
communication technology (ICT)
and Japanese companies should
take part in Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's Make in India
initiative, Communications and
Information Technology Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad said here.
"I invite Japan to come and
Make in India. There is immense
scope for Japanese companies to
come and invest in India in the
manufacturing sector. The two
countries have huge scope in electronics, manufacturing and ICT
services," he said at the inaugural
session of the 2nd India-Japan
Joint Working Group meeting.
He added that Japanese companies who manufacture in India will
get the same export benefits as
Indian companies.
"But the larger issue is this relationship should get cemented. The
warmth that PM Modi has developed with (Japanese Prime
Minister) Shinzo Abe is evident...," the minister added.
Modi visited Japan in
September. Prasad and Yasuo
Communications and Information Technology

Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Sakamoto, vice minister of

International Affairs, Ministry of
Internal
Affairs
and
Communication (MIC) of Japan
had met on the sidelines of ICT
Ministerial meeting at Brunei on
September 9. They had discussed
matters of mutual interest in the
field of ICT and decided to hold a
Smartphone market
slowing down globally: IDC
London: While Android devices
still dominate the market with 82
percent of all smartphones running on the Google mobile operating system, the overall smartphone market is slowing down,
latest data from global research
firm
International
Data
Corporation (IDC) shows.
Smartphone shipments will
reach nearly 1.3 billion units in
2014, an increase of 26.3 percent
over last year.
In 2015, however, 1.4 billion
smartphones are expected to be
shipped worldwide - a mere 12.2
percent increase over the 2014
figures, according to the IDC
report released Tuesday.
Chinese players in the global
market will help reduce prices.

"Emerging markets like India
will see much lower smartphone
prices, as average selling prices
(ASPs) hit US$135 (Rs.8,360) in
2014 and will fall to US$102
(Rs.6,300) by 2018," Melissa
Chau from IDC said in a statement.
Apple sold a smaller number of
phones but generated better revenues per phone and will continue to do so in the future.
"By 2018, Android will control
80 percent of global smartphones
shipped and 61 percent of revenues, while iOS will control
only 13 percent of volumes and
34 percent of revenues," added
Chau.
joint working group in Delhi in

December 2014. This joint working group meeting is part of this
ongoing process of cooperation.
India provides 100 percent foreign direct investment in the field
of ICT, which is perceived as an
important criteria for countries
investing in India.
Panel formed to
fast-track US
investment proposals
New Delhi: The government said
it has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to fast-track investment proposals from US and to
address the issues related to their
implementation. According to the
commerce ministry, the inter-ministerial committee will be headed
by the secretary in the department
of industrial policy and promotion
(DIPP). The ministry said that
among other things, the committee
will facilitate and fast-track proposals, identify bottlenecks and
interact with US companies to
facilitate investments.
"The committee will encourage
such practices that promote investment in manufacturing with special
emphasis on green, advanced and
smart technologies by US companies," the ministry said in
statement.
December 6-12, 2014
21
Sahara can sell four

India assets: SC
New Delhi: The
prospect for Sahara
chief Subrata Roy's
release from Tihar jail
brightened as the
Supreme
Court
approved the company's plea to go ahead
with the sale of four
domestic properties.
The sale is likely to
raise Rs 2,710 crore
as the group, part of
the Rs 10,000 crore
Sahara chief Subrata Roy
needed to fulfill bail
conditions. The court allowed that the group has generated Rs
the group to sell properties in 184.5 crore as part payment for
Jodhpur, Pune, Chauma in its assets in Jodhpur, Chauma
Gurgaon and Vasai in Mumbai and Vasai and following which
after it was satisfied that the it was allowed to hand over
transactions were in accordance three demand drafts and one
with its June 4 order. This order cheque to Sebi's counsel. "It is
had stated that "such sales are a welcome step as Supreme
not for a price lower than the Court has acceded to our
estimated value indicated in the request. The Supreme Court
statement filed before this has appreciated the efforts of
Court or the circle rates fixed Sahara in making the attempt to
for the area in which such prop- sell four of its domestic propererties are situated". The bench, ties," Gaurav Kejriwal, the
comprising justices A R Dave company's advocate said in a
and A K Sikri, was informed statement.
Intel to digitally skill 5

million people in India
New Delhi: US-based chipmaker
Intel said it will work with the
Indian government through its
'Digital Skills for India' program to
help 5 million people by the end of
2015. Intel India will also work with
Bharat Broadband Network Limited
(BBNL) to build capacity by
imparting digital literacy training to
key resource persons in the first
1,000 Panchayats under the
National Optic Fiber Network rollout in India.
"At Intel we believe that skill
development and innovation are
imperative for realizing the Digital
India vision and these are the two
areas in which Intel will begin
working with the government to
digitally empower the citizens of
India. "We are proud to launch the
Intel Digital Skills for India
Program which will set India on the

path of becoming a digitally inclusive society. We are also excited to
announce the Intel Innovate for
India Challenge which will foster
local innovation for pervasive technology adoption and usage across
India," said Debjani Ghosh, vice
president, sales and marketing
group, and managing director, Intel
South Asia.
As a part of the initiative, Intel
India unveiled the Digital Skills
Training Application comprising of
modules on digital literacy, financial
inclusion, healthcare and cleanliness
in five Indian languages. This application will be available free on the
Android Play Store from Dec 6,
while a similar offline training module will also be made available in
seven Indian languages.
22
December 6-12, 2014
SPORTS
SC pulls up BCCI, Srinivasan

claims innocence
India have a strong chance to

win Champions Trophy
Mumbai: The Supreme Court

has reacted sharply on the IPL
scandal by asking the Board of
Control for Cricket in India to
give information with regards
to the financial working of the
apex body of cricket in the
country along with the findings
with respect to auction and purchase of players in IPL.
Asking the BCCI to come
clean on the financial aspects in
terms of broadcasting rights and
ticket sale, the Supreme Court
also sought detailed financial
information.
On the other hand, the former
President of BCCI and the
Former President of BCCI N Srinivasan.
chairperson of International
Cricket Council, N Srinivasan, had informed he said: "we will have to see about that."
The SC also put the onus on Srinivasan to
the court that he had acted swiftly when he
got to know about the betting allegations prove that there was no conflict of interest
against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan. involving him that came in the way of a
He further went on to say that all the alle- probe into the IPL-6 scam and took strong
gations leveled against him are incorrect and exception to his counsel "repeatedly" namthe BCCI did all that was required to be ing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the prodone, starting with lodging a complaint ceedings.
BCCI, in its working committee meeting
against Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals
on May 28, 2013 had set up a three-member
co-owner Raj Kundra.
Reacting to the court's observation, Justice Commission comprising two retired judges
Mukul Mudgal said that everybody is as independent members and and one from
the board with Srinivasan asking the Board
allowed to argue their case in court.
"The case is being heard at fast pace by to proceed against Meiyappan, who was an
the Supreme Court." On the financial part, official of CSK.
Bhubaneswar: Australian
chance to win this champihockey skipper Eddie
onship as well," Ockenden
Ockenden said that India
said.
can win the Champions
The 27-year-old skipper
Trophy here if the Sardar
said that his team is also
Singh-led team continues to
shaping up well to defend
play like it did in the Asian
the title, despite the
Games and the recent
absence of some star playAustralian tour. "India is a
ers.
much improved team and
"We have a good mix of
they are playing well.
experienced and semiWhen we played against
experienced players as well
them last month, they were
as a lot of youngsters in
really good and so they are
our team. We have been
the team we are looking at
performing really well so
closely," Ockenden, who Australian hockey skipper far and in spite of some
plays as a striker, said at the
really experienced players
Eddie Ockenden
Kalinga Stadium. "They are
not here with us, we are
a very experienced team and if they continue comfortable playing with this squad."
playing in the same manner as they perAustralian chief coach Graham Reid said
formed in the 17th Asian Games and the that their aim is to win the title for sixth time
India tour of Australia, they have a strong on the trot.
WADA signs
deal with
US-based
drug maker
Washington : The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it has

signed a deal with a leading US-based drug maker to share information
about new performance-enhancing substances that could be misused by
athletes.
WADA signed "long-term global agreement" with Pfizer, whose headquarters are at New York, and it allows the company to provide details
about products that have a "probable or high risk of abuse in sport",
reports Xinhua.
WADA director general David Howman says the agreement comes at
a "crucial time" because the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code will soon be
introduced.
Hughes remembered at emotional funeral service

Sydney: Australian cricketer Phillip
Hughes was remembered by more than
5,000 people at an emotional funeral service in his hometown of Macksville in New
South Wales.
The service, which was televised and
broadcast nationally, paid tribute to the
popular batsman who was described as a
"one of a kind" and "as loyal as they
come.
Australian captain Michael Clarke
choked back tears as he delivered an emotional eulogy to his former teammate,
while Hughes' best friends, his brother, sister and cousin, and Cricket Australia (CA)
CEO James Sutherland, also honored his
gregarious personality and gentle nature.
Hughes, 25, died after being struck on
the head by a bouncer in a domestic match
at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The funeral was watched by many more
people at live screenings at the SCG,
Adelaide Oval, Blundstone Arena, the
Gabba in Brisbane, the WACA Ground in
Perth and Melbourne's Federation Square.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and
Opposition leader Bill Shorten, as well as
the entire Australian Test team and the
Australian women's team, attended the
service.
Former Australian captains Mark Taylor
and Ricky Ponting were also in attendance,
while former international greats such as
New Zealander Richard Hadlee and West
Indian Brian Lara made the trip to the
NSW town. Indian stand-in captain Virat
Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri also
Sachin pays
tribute to Hughes
Over 5,000 people attended Phillip Hughes funeral service in his hometown of
Macksville in New South Wales.
attended the service. Hughes' brother

Jason, father Gregory, cricketers Clarke,
Aaron Finch and Tom Cooper and friends
Corey Ireland, Mitchell Lonergan and
Matthew Day acted as pallbearers, with his
coffin led out of the service by a guard of
honor and through the streets of
Macksville.
In the midst of the service, Clarke
choked back tears as he spoke of his "little
brother." Clarke, who was also a close
friend of Hughes, reminisced about the
times the pair spent playing together and
said he would always be with him when he
will be in the middle.
Hughes' cousin, Nino Rammuno, deliv-
ered a eulogy on behalf of his family,

recalling his journey into cricket, which
was heavily influenced by his brother.
"Jason first introduced in a club game
where, had Phillip not played, the game
would have been called off. On debut, as a
tail-ender, Phillip made 25 runs and so his
love of the game begun," Rammuno said.
Close friend of Hughes and his family,
Corey Ireland, paid tribute to the man
away from cricket and in particular, his
love for Angus cattle.
Ireland revealed that Hughes had ambitions of creating his own agricultural business after retirement and promised that he
would strive to continue Hughes' vision.
Kolkata: Paying a tribute to Phillip

Hughes, who died Nov 27 after being hit
by a bouncer, Indian cricketing legend
Sachin Tendulkar said the Australian
would be "missed".
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble and
right-arm off-spinner Ravichandran
Ashwin also took to Twitter to express
their condolences.
"Will miss you Phil. Your enthusiasm to
learn and drive for perfection was most
impressive. #FarewellHughes," tweeted
Tendulkar, also attaching a photograph of
him with Hughes.
While Kumble's short tweet was about
how cricket would miss Hughes, Ashwin
believed that the turnout at the funeral
showed how many lives the 25-year-old
Hughes had touched.
"Phil Hughes RIP...#63notout cricket
will miss you," wrote the former leggie.
Noting the game has become poorer with
the death of Hughes, Ashwin posted, "This
funeral shows how many lifes the little
man touched, the game is surely poorer
without you. RIPPhillipHughes".
"I will miss your energy, eternal optimism, your cattle and our family. Hughesy,
I will make a promise to you today mate, I
will keep your dream alive," Ireland said.
LIFESTYLE
Mediterranean diet your

ticket to healthy aging
New York: Researchers have
found that women who eat a
Mediterranean diet can keep agerelated diseases at bay and live
longer than others.
The Mediterranean diet is rich
in fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes
and heart-healthy fats and greater
adherence to such a diet is associated with longer telomeres, the
biomarkers of aging, the findings
showed.
"To our knowledge this is the
largest population-based study
specifically addressing the association between Mediterranean diet
adherence and telomere length in
healthy, middle-aged women,"
said Immaculata De Vivo, an
associate professor at the Brigham
and Women's Hospital (BWH) in
the US.
Telomeres are repetitive DNA
sequences at the ends of chromosomes that get shorter every time
a cell divides. Shorter telomeres
have been associated with

decreased life-expectancy and
increased risk of aging-related
disease, while longer telomeres
have been linked with longevity.
"Our results further support the
benefits of adherence to this diet
to promote health and longevity,"
De Vivo added. The study
Free falling iPhone to rotate in

mid-air to prevent damage
New York: The next time your
iPhone is about to fall onto the
ground, it might just rotate in
mid-air and save itself from damage.
Apple has been granted a patent
for a futuristic iPhone protection
system that recognises when a
phone is dropped.
The device then calculates the
point of impact and shifts the
phone's centre of gravity to save
sensitive
components,
Appleinsider reported.
Developed by Nicholas V. King
and Fletcher Rothkopf, the system
will rely on sensors to monitor
physical device activity and
positioning.
The latest iPhone and iPad models already come fitted with
accelerometers, gyroscopes and
GPS which will also be used to
full effect.
The date from these sensors will
go to a central processing unit
while the phone is in free fall.
A motor will then apply a force
inside the phone and cause it to
land on a preferred site, such as its
side or back.
Other components in the device
are miniature gas canisters and
sliding weights that move internally to save the phone from damage, the report added.
involved 4,676 disease-free

women. The researchers found
that a greater adherence to the
Mediterranean diet, and even
small changes in diet, were associated with longer telomeres.
The study was published online
in The BMJ (formerly the British
Medical Journal).
December 6-12, 2014
Beware of allergens
this winter
New York: While the onset of
freezing temperatures brings an end
to seasonal pollen allergies, it doesn't mean that your environment is
free of allergens.
Huffingtonpost.com shares a list
of a few common triggers that can
contribute to those unwanted allergens:
Dust and dust mites
What: Microscopic, allergy
symptom-inducing dust mites lurk
in bedding, mattresses, carpets and
upholstered furniture.
Tip: Use dust-proof covers on
mattresses, box springs, and pillows to avoid exposure and regularly wash bed linens in hot water to
kill dust mites. Vacuum all carpeted
areas at least twice a week.
Mold
What: Mold grows in damp environments like basements and bathrooms and can be present both
indoors and outdoors. Airborne
molds can cause asthma symptoms.
Tip: To combat mold, fix plumbing problems or leaks, increase
ventilation in damp areas, and
scrub mold off surfaces using water

and detergent and dry completely.
Animal dander
What: All warm-blooded pets
such as cats, dogs and birds, have
dead skin cells, also known as animal dander. Colder weather usually
means that both people and animals
are indoors more often. Increased
exposure to animal dander can lead
to an increase in allergy symptoms.
Tip: Pets should be kept out of
bedrooms and other highly-used
areas in the house to reduce exposure, and they should be bathed
once a week.
Smoke and pollutants
What: Wood burned in a fireplace can release irritating smoke
and other airborne pollutants into
the house environment, potentially
leading to asthma symptoms.
Tip: When you bring in any firewood into the house, make sure that
it's been cleaned. In addition, when
starting any fire, be sure that the
chimney damper is open so that no
unwanted smoke comes into the
house.
Myths about noon nap busted

London: It is often believed that an afternoon nap
can do a body good. But there are people who are
not convinced with the power of the afternoon
snooze.
Here are common myths about napping listed by
huffingtonpost.com:
Myth: Napping is only for the lazy or those under
the age of 5.
Fact: A short snooze can boost everything from
alertness and memory to creativity and productivity.
And not one of those perks sounds like laziness.
Myth: If I take a nap, Ill only wake up feeling
worse.
Fact: That groggy feeling after you wake up from
a nap is real but its not a guarantee. How you feel
after your snooze is probably a factor of how long
you slept. Experts generally agree that a nap should
last no longer than 30 minutes.
If you take it longer than 30 minutes, you end up
in deep sleep, said sleep expert Michael J. Breus.
Anyone who has ever felt worse upon rising from
a nap is sleeping too long, he added.
Myth: Coffee before a nap will keep me up.

Fact: There is such a thing as a caffeine nap
affectionately referred to as the nappuccino. To do it
right, enjoy that cup of coffee or tea, and then take
your nap. As you sleep, the caffeine will begin to
kick in (it reaches peak effectiveness about 30 minutes after you drink it), so that when you wake,
youll be feeling your most refreshed.
Welsh town of 5,000 is Britain's drink drive capital

London: A study has found Llandrindod
Wells, a small town in Wales, is emerging
as Britain's drink and drug driving capital.
Llandrindod Wells, with a population of
around 5,300, knocked Aberdeen city off
the top spot with the highest proportion of
offences for drink and drug-driving, with
1.98 offences per 1,000 drivers, The
Independent reported.
Blackpool and Crewe were close behind
the Welsh town, with a rate of 1.85 and
1.81 offences per 1,000 people, but
Llandrindod Wells still had twice the ratio
of motorists with drink drive convictions
than London, Bradford, or Liverpool.
In contrast, East London was found to
have the lowest drink and drug conviction
rate in the UK.
23
The
survey,
conducted
by
MoneySuperMarket, assessed 11 million
quotes run over the past year to identify the
areas.
Bradford, Liverpool and Huddersfield
were also found to be in the top 20 of
Britain's low conviction areas.
Men were found to be more than twice as
likely to drive after drinking or taking
drugs as women, while drivers aged
between 20 and 24 were most likely to
commit the offence, with 2.5 convictions
per 1,000 motorists.
In Scotland, the legal drinking limit is
being reduced from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood from Dec 5, meaning just one drink could push a driver over
the limit.
Town of Llandrindod Wells
24
SELF HELP
December 6-12, 2014
10 common excuses why we dont exercise

Facts: Its not an either-or-situation. Have you ever left for
office/business without wearing
clothes because so much work was
waiting for you that you had no time
to dress? Going to work without
exercising is akin to going out without dressing.
By Amar Chandel
e all intend to exercise
regularly. But when it
comes to putting intention to practice, only about 10 percent are successful. Others happen
to have numerous seemingly convincing excuses for not doing so.
Here are some of the oft-quoted
reasons, and the reality behind
them:
Excuse 1: I just dont have time.

Facts: Everyones day is 24
hours. Its all a question of priority.
If you dont find time to exercise,
you will have to find time to visit a
hospital. Choice is yours. Anyway,
somebody who has time for a book,
a movie, the idiot box or a gossip
session cant crib about time shortage, considering that one can exercise a lot even in half an hour.
Excuse 2: I have no energy to do
even household chores. How can I
exercise?
Facts: The more you procrastinate, the more your energy will
Excuse 5: I am too old to start

now.
Facts: You are too old NOT to
start. In youth, you were fairly
active throughout the day. Now that
you are sedentary, you just cannot
escape a workout. Not exercising
then was inexcusable. Now it is sacrilege.
dwindle. Make a small beginning
and energy will get generated by
and by. Learn from an infant in a
cradle. He cannot stand or sit. Yet,
he moves his limbs all the time. If
he can do that, so can you, even if
bed-ridden.
Excuse 3: I started, but my
aches and pains increased instead
of vanishing.
Facts: You have not done for
years what you should have done all

your life. Whenever you commence,
some discomfort is inevitable.
While these self-induced pains will
go away in a few days, the aches
and diseases that may come your
way because of not exercising will
haunt you for months and even
years.
Excuse 6: I have exercised like

crazy during my school/college
days.
Facts: Basking in your college
glory will be like not bathing/shaving/eating now just because you did
enough of that in good old days.
Excuse 4: Do I do my job/business or spend time exercising?
Excuse 7: Whenever I get time, I

do go out for a walk/swim.
Facts: Suppose you have to
Add some sparkle to your

holiday dcor
By Melinda Myers
iven up your holiday dcor
with lights, a bit of glitz and
some colorful blossoms this
season.
Start by gathering greenery from
your landscape. Use needled evergreens like pines and firs,
broadleaf evergreens like boxwood, holly and evergreen magnolia as well as junipers and arborvitaes to create wreaths, swags, centerpieces and garland. And dont
forget to include cones, holly
berries, crabapples and the bluishcolored fruit of junipers.
Be selective as you prune your trees and shrubs
when collecting these materials. Use sharp bypass
pruners that have two sharp blades and will make
a clean cut that closes more quickly. Make your
cuts above a healthy bud, where the branches join
another branch, or back to the main trunk. Take
only a few branches from each tree or shrub to
maintain the plants beauty.
Place freshly cut greens in a cool location away
from heaters, fireplaces and open flames. Set
them on colorful fabric or paper to catch the sap
and avoid damaging your woodwork and furnishings.
Check your greenery for freshness every few
days. The needles, leaves and stems should bend,
but not break. Replace dried greens with fresh
materials.
Then brighten up the display with some cool
burning LED lights. Create a mantle display or
centerpiece with the help of LED pillar lights. Or
add a string of LEDs to your garland. Look for
something unusual like pinecone string lights
(gardeners.com) to add sparkle and charm to your
display.
If you have artificial greens

that could use a facelift, add
fresh berries, cones and seedpods for a more natural look.
Increase the glitz with the help
of silver and gold metallic paint
or glitter. Paint milkweed, lotus
and other pods and then tuck
them into the greens. Painting
allium seedheads white will add
the appearance of flowery
snowflakes in your indoor
arrangements and outdoor container gardens.
And dont forget the fresh
flowers and flowering plants.
Poinsettias are a long-time
favorite, but you may want to change things up
with Amaryllis, spring flowering bulbs and lily of
the valley. Look for unusual varieties or combinations to increase your enjoyment. Combine large
flowered amaryllis with small flowering bulbs
like star of Bethlehem. Or go for a unique size
shape or flower color like that of the Honeybee
Amaryllis with its beautiful yellow flowers that
are sure to brighten your days.
Add a few flowers to your greenery and houseplants for some instant color. Stick your greenery
and flowers in dampened floral foam to create a
long-lasting holiday centerpiece. Or place cut
flowers in floral picks and set them in dish gardens and houseplants to brighten things up. Then
swap out the flowers as they fade.
And consider making a few extra planters or
centerpieces to give as holiday and hostess gifts
this year.
Now is the time to put on your gardening shoes,
grab the pruners and get started decorating for the
holiday season ahead.
Melinda Myers is a gardening expert and
TV/radio host.
employ a person. He may be talented but what if he says: I will come

to work only when I have time.
Will you hire him?
Reason 8: I am sure once or
twice a week is good enough.
Facts: Not really. You can be off
exercise only on those days when
you are absolutely off food. You eat
daily. So work out daily. OK, may
be one weekly off, but no more.
Reason 9: My weekdays are
hopelessly packed. But I make up
through heavy exercise on weekends.
Facts: That will do more harm
than good. The body will be stiff
due to four-five days of inactivity
and the Sunday round of vigorous
tennis or squash may cause a catch
or muscle pull.
Reason 10: There is always a
tomorrow.
Facts: Of course there is. But it
never comes.
Amar Chandel is an author of
self-help books.
4 ways to celebrate the

holiday season affordably
he holidays
can be an
expensive
time for decorating,
entertaining and
shopping. Luckily,
there are easy ways
to economize, so you
can spend more time
celebrating and less
time stressing over
expenses.
Create
Typically, one of
the largest expenses
during the holiday season is gifts for
friends and family. Instead of spending a
fortune on store-bought presents, consider creating a DIY gift.
For example, you can place dry ingredients inside a canning jar with an easyto-follow recipe for sugar cookies or
holiday pancakes for a creative, inexpensive gift.
Gift cards dressed up with a festive
greeting card also makes a great present.
Another option is to look for an autorenewal program that allows you to give
a practical gift like diapers, pet food and
more to a recipient on a weekly or
monthly basis.
Cook
One of the best parts about the holidays is baking delicious treats for the
whole family to enjoy. A holiday
favorite is fruit cake, so bake up something tasty like date nut bread using simple ingredients like flour, milk and eggs
that can be bought from a discount
retailer like Dollar General.
Clean
The holidays are often about spending
time with family and friends, which
means you could be doing a lot more
entertaining than usual at your home.
Get your home holiday-ready by making a plan for house-cleaning.
Straighten up before cleaning, so the
process is expedited. To save on cleaning supplies, consider buying store
brands, rather than name brand products. Be sure to also add the smells of
the season with scented candles and
electric warmers.
Celebrate
Adorning your home with holiday
decorations can really get your family in
the spirit. Deals on dollar ornaments,
festive garland, decorative trees and fun
wreaths can help you to make your
home festive without breaking the bank.
By spending carefully, you can celebrate affordably and in style, without
breaking the bank.
(StatePoint)
Mr Steve Gorn (Flute)
December 6-12, 2014
Ms Daisy Paradis (Sitar)
Nitin Mitta (Tabla)
Pandit Ramesh ji Misra (Sarangi)
Media Sponsor:
Special Thanks to Sunny Thakker
26
December 6-12, 2014
SOCIETY
Rigid gender roles & expression resist change in India

By Krishanthan
Jeyarajasingham, MD
t is the year 2014 and much
has changed in the world we
live in. Technology has
achieved monumental advances to
the point where we can communicate with another person across
the globe with the touch of a button or swipe of a finger. Medical
and public health initiatives have
worked synergistically to eliminate some of the most virulent diseases plaguing the human race
such as the polio virus in India.
One can confidently state that
everything is subject to change
with respect to all arenas governing our lives.
However, despite some of these
notable achievements, it is disconcerting to observe that our attitudes, as South Asians regarding
the role of gender remain
entrenched in antiquity. Many of
the laws in India place males and
women into rigid gender roles and,
thus, limiting gender expression.
Kya ladkiyon ki tarah sharma
rahe ho! (Real men dont cry,
only wimps do!) might be a thunderous comment that jolts many
males of Indian descent. The suffocating confines of Indian culture
have rigorously demanded males
to be physically strong, flagrantly
limit emotionality, be sexually
dominant in a relationship, be the
head of the family and the keeper
of property. Any sign of potential
weakness and vulnerability should
be eschewed. At such tender,
young ages, they are encouraged
to play with toy cars, action figures and things of that ilk, not
dolls or tea cups. Blue is for boys
and avoid the color pink under all
circumstances, society hopes for.
These male gender roles restrict
the fluidity in a boy's behavior by
limiting his ability to act according to various situations; they have
ingrained in advance what is
expected of him. Males have been
made so insecure about their masculinity that they will do the
utmost to safeguard such an
image. A 2006 study examining
gender attitudes involving males,
126 Mumbai youth (ages 18-29)
detailed heavy drug, alcohol and
tobacco usage in order to avoid
social derision from their peers.
During one of the festivals, all
the boys were sitting together and
had their bottle with them. They
tried to force me to drink but I
refused. So all the boys began
teasing me: You are a gud (feminine boy). This put me off. I drank
four glasses of raw liquor. It was
so strong that I was unconscious
for days, said one study participant.
It is also worth mentioning that a
common sentiment that was noted
amongst the individuals was a real
In the countrys poetry and ancient mythologies, Indians have

conceded the fluidity of gender; it is only in the laws and
societal acceptance that we stick with the binate
system of male and female.
man should not have baila (feminine mannerisms), which is considered characteristic of homosexual men. The level of expectations
and pressure that are shouldered
by many Indian males are many,
though they may not be as routinely evident as when compared to
females.
While males are taught to be
gregarious and socially engaging,
girls are encouraged to be more
introverted and taciturn. A frequently recited Hindu wedding
blessing meant for females is:
May you be the mother of a hundred sons." (Sons, not children,
but sons?) Traditionally, females
are supposed to rear their children
along with completing any domestic responsibilities while a man
would be the main source of financial strength. If a woman does
have a career, she would be
expected to relinquish that if the
needs of the family demand that.
To be female is, at best, to be protected, but nearly paternalistically.
When females are expected to
assume a subordinate position to
men in almost every conceivable
way, their general health is negatively affected during different
points in their life. Young females
may experience difficulty in
obtaining food and access to equitable health care during childhood,
and may experience date violence
during their teenage years, with
heightened risks of domestic violence and martial rape as they age.

In addition, women who are raised
to adhere to tolerant attitudes of
traditional gender roles experience
an increase in violence than those
who seek to challenge them. It
would not be an exaggeration if an
Indian female tacitly believes:
Basically, we (women) are made
for them (men). We are made to
serve them. We die serving them
and there is nothing in between.
According to a 2011 study conducted by the International Center
for Research on Women (ICRW),
Indian men were among the least
supportive of equitable relationships and roles between men and
women. Nearly 80 percent of men
surveyed agreed that it was the
responsibility of the mother to
change diapers, bathe, and feed
children. Furthermore, only 16
percent of Indian men acknowledged any domestic responsibilities such as cleaning the house and
preparing the food. Ajay Singh, a
researcher for the ICRW, noted
that throughout India, social
norms and practices are mostly
governed by patriarchal ideologies
that define the roles of men and
women. He continued, Men are
confined to it, and its reflected in
their attitudes and behaviors.
Even something such as owning
property rights remain an issue.
According to the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the

United Nations (FAO), women
account for roughly 10 percent of
landowners in India (that is astonishingly pathetic), compared to
countries such as America or even
Thailand, where women own
about 33% of land. In 2003, Bina
Agarwal, a renowned scholar of
land rights and gender, interviewed a group of rural women.
She enquired as to whether they
ever desired to have the land they
managed registered in their names.
To no surprise of Agarwal, the
women explained: We are taking
so long in answering because no
one had ever asked us this before!
It seems like a dream that we
might have land of our own.
Ultimately, if one is born as a male
in India, there is a great chance to
own land in the land-owning lottery. However, if one is a female
born in India, the odds of inheriting property, owning a home, or
even just claiming a modicum of
dirt as her own are deliberately
miniscule.
It is so sad when I continue to
read a whole litany of such studies
and newspaper articles littering
the front pages of prominent
Indian periodicals. The plight of
females has been documented
seemingly every day with progress
being slowly achieved, though
with many more milestones to
reach. As for South Asian males, it
is a silent plight, a suffering that
encompasses ones physical, mental and emotional welfare.
We, as South Asians, should
encourage our males to conduct
their lives with a freedom as we
do our own even if they do not
encapsulate the expectations society maintains of them. Any archaic
ideas of gender roles should be
vanquished as polio is in India. We
should be helping our younger
developing boys to understand
that being sensitive, nurturing, less
sexually focused, or artistic does
not compromise their masculinity
in any way; character development is most essential. South
Asian parents, would you not
desire a son that is responsible to
his family, academically sound,
and contributes to the betterment
of society, regardless if he willingly undertakes roles traditionally
assigned to a female expresses
himself uniquely, defers any
important decisions to his wife, or
not be a dominant figure in a relationship? On a personal level, I
was fortunate to have parents who
created strong spiritual underpinnings for myself to grow from to
establish myself. They encouraged
me to play sports I enjoyed, assist
in performing domestic duties
such as washing clothes, sweeping
floors and cooking whatever
pleased me -- gender roles were
never discussed. There were no
restrictions, just unconditional

love. As I became older, there was
a natural growing curiosity to
expresses myself as more feminine in terms of wearing makeup,
womens clothing and displaying
feminine
mannerisms.
Subsequently with careful introspection, it evolved into an honest
acceptance of myself as being listed under the umbrella term,
transgender. I realized that this
was who I am while the circumstances around me helped to expedite my awareness of it.
Nevertheless, I am free to live my
life, be a productive member of
society and make my family proud
through my work, characters &
overall comportment taught by
them and our spiritual guru, Sai
Baba.
This is my narrative which is not
extraordinary, to say the least. It is
my belief that many such South
Asian males maintain such surreptitious sentiments. What is gained
if a male child deals with such
feelings by suffocating himself
just to please society? Could he be
at risk for depressive symptoms or
even become suicidal? Maybe. It
is imperative that many Indian
parents teach their male children
at the youngest age possible by
tangible examples themselves
because in a misguided quest to be
'real men', many males may cease
being real humans.
On a macro level, imagine how
gender functions in the real world:
From homosexual men and
women, to the transgender community, to masculine women or
feminine men, and all the majestic
shades of gender ambiguity in
between, gender is not an absolute
quantity so much as it is a spectrum, a rainbow coalition, if you
will. In the countrys poetry and
ancient mythologies, Indians have
conceded the fluidity of gender; it
is only in the laws that we stick
with the binate system of male and
female. A change in Indias
thought process where gender is
thought of as one of the various
hues in a rainbow would offer a
more dynamic and hearty nation
that would be on the ascent
because its children. Heres hoping for that change; the change
that is good.
Krishanthan Jeyarajasingham,
MD is a research fellow in
Nuclear Medicine affiliated with
Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore, Maryland. He has
plans to pursue medical residency
in the United States or Australia
in the near future. He has recently come out as Transgender to his
family, and being Indian, that is
normally a difficult experience.
This article was edited by Sonya
Soni, MPH, MA.
TRAVEL
By Somrita Ghosh
f you've flipped through English romantic poet Wordsworth's "The Mountain
Echo", you will realize that the peaceful
valley of Narkanda, a picturesque town in
Himachal Pradesh, perfectly echoes his
mesmerizing poetry.
I remembered Wordsworth the moment I
witnessed the topaz blue sky, the misty
morning and the winter chill - a perfect
combination for a small vacation I was
craving for. Not a hot spot among the
tourists' circle, the first glance made me fall
in love with the place.
Commonly known as "The Gateway to
Apple Country", Narkanda is located about
65 km from Shimla, towards Rampur on
National Highway 22 - also called The
Hindustan Tibet Road.
Away from the maddening crowd, the valley welcomes you with the view of a snowclad Himalayan mountain range on one side
along with tall pines, spruce and scattered
maple and aspen trees on the other side.
The narrow curvy road has its own charm.
The valley soothes with the silence of its
surroundings. The whispering of cold
breeze and the rattling sound of leaves are a
constant companion and creating a sweet
and rapturous mood.
The Hatu peak is a major attraction in
Narkanda. As I began my journey towards
the peak, amid the pine and maple trees, the
serenity of the valley drifted me into a different world.
The road, scattered with red maple leaves,
paved my path while heading towards the
peak - with glimpses of the mighty
Himalayan peaks blinking out of the pine
December 6-12, 2014
27
How to reach
Narkanda is well connected from

Shimla. Cabs would charge around Rs
2,500. If travelling by car, the route from
New Delhi is via Chandigarh on
National Highway 22. Estimated time
taken to travel from Delhi to Narkanda
is 10 hours. From Shimla, it takes
around two hours to reach the town.
For local sightseeing, cabs would
charge Rs.1,200.
Where to stay
Far from the maddening crowd, Narkanda, just 65 km from Shimla, welcomes
you with the view of a snow-clad Himalayan mountain range on one side along
with tall pines, spruce and scattered maple and aspen trees on the other.
trees.
As I reached the top, the breathtaking
view of the mountain range enchanted me
with its beauty and it seemed as if Mother
Nature had cast her magic spell over me.
The place is also famous for its apple
orchards. Thanedar, which is about 14 km
from Narkanda, is known as the hub of
apple cultivation. From Narkanda it's a 20minute drive to Thanedar.
The Stokes Farm is one such popular
apple orchard. Started in 1916 by Samuel
'Satyanand' Stokes - an American who came
to India to work at a leprosy home - the
farm provides livelihood for several locals,
especially women.
Apple wines and jams are also manufactured in Thanedar.

And what better way to sip the wine with
sun setting behind hills enveloping the sky
gets in a reddish hue!
Located 8,600 feet above the sea level, the
valley is ideal for a short escape from the
busy city life.
Yes it was the mountain echo,
Solitary, clear, profound
Answering to the shouting cuckoo,
Giving to her sound for soud. After the
Narkanda visit, the Wordsworth poem came
alive for me. I am sure these beautiful lines
will make your Narkanda experience an
unforgettable, poetic experience.
Being less crowded and a not so popular tourist spot, there are limited choices
for hotels in Narkanda. There are some
resorts which charge between Rs.2,000
to Rs.4,000 per night. If your budget is
limited, then settling between two hotels
in the town area won't cost more than
Rs.1,000 for a double-bed room.
There is also The Hatu being run by
the Himachal Pradesh Tourism
Development Corporation.
Where to eat
There are countable restaurants and
road-side dhabas. However, all hotels
have their own restaurants; so there's
plenty of choice. Average meal for two:
Rs 500 without alcohol.
Best time to visit : March-June,
September-November. Avoid the monsoon. The winter is harsh except if one is
comfortable with the extreme
temperature.
World's first underground park

to come up in New York in 2018
ew York City, famed for being a
concrete jungle, could become the
world's first city to build an
underground park complete with grass,
trees, park benches, and sunlight.
Inspired by the city's High Line, an elevated rail line that was transformed into a
public park in Manhattan's West Side, a
team of engineers and entrepreneurs are
working to reclaim an abandoned underground trolley terminal on the Lower East
Side and give New Yorkers a new green
space that would harness the sunlight and
redistribute it underground.
The project, dubbed The Lowline,
hinges on solar technology that would
create a kind of remote skyline: After
planting a collection of solar dishes at
points around Delancey Street that have
full access to the sun, the natural light is
bounced back to a set of reflector shields
which concentrate the light and "irrigate"
or redistribute the energy source throughout the underground park.
The light would be used to help grow
plants and trees underground and create a
subterranean, urban oasis in a city where
green space comes at premium and the
The project, dubbed The Lowline, hinges on solar technology that would create
a kind of remote skyline.
population continues to grow. The project

would transform what used to be the
Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal

below Delancey Street on the city's Lower
East Side, which opened in 1908 but has

been left abandoned and derelict since
1948.
Project leaders note that despite nearly
six decades of neglect, the space still
retains historic features like cobblestones,
rail tracks and vaulted ceilings.
Likewise, because it's adjacent to subway tracks at the Essex Street subway
stop, park visitors and subway riders
would pass each other daily.
"Our vision is a stunning underground
park, providing a beautiful respite and a
cultural attraction in one of the world's
most dense, exciting urban environments," developers say on their site.
In a promotional video, the team also
gets a ringing endorsement from New
York's 'it' girl of the moment, Lena
Dunham, creator of the TV drama series
"Girls."
"The idea of being able to create a sunlit, verdant atmosphere underground
there's something so surreal, and it really
feels like we're living in the future and the
future is now."
If all goes according to plan the Lowline
will be complete in 2018.
28
December 6-12, 2014
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
Fun things to do with barcodes, possibly illegal

friend taught me this trick. You get
a barcode for, say, Apple Inc from
the Internet and glue it on a can of
beans at your supermarket. Then wait to see
the cashier's face when she scans the can
and finds out the price is US$530 billion.
I thought about this but ultimately decided that it would not work at my supermarket.
Prices at ParknShop are marked up so
high that US$530 billion for a can of beans
sounds about right.
***
banned from public spaces in Nanjing have

colonized Hongshan zoo and are traumatizing the giant pandas and giraffes.
***
In the summer I went to one of those new

do-it-yourself supermarkets in Britain
where customers use the barcode scanner
themselves to zap their own purchases.
I zapped several hairy body-parts and the
machine could not give me a price, but it
seemed to think my left forearm was made
by Kellogg's.
I had a sudden urge to take the scanning
gun to the zoo to zap the zebras and tigers,
which must surely cost a fortune.
***
Zoos are on my mind after a reader sent
me a news report about one in China which
is struggling with an infestation of dancing
grannies.
Since time immemorial, old folk in China
have gathered to do elegant Tai chi movements to the sound of birdsong.
But these days, scary, intimidating gangs
of older women do line dances to boomboxes playing music so bad elevators
would hang their heads in shame.
***
I once woke early in Shanghai and found
a mixed group of octogenarians doing the
lambada outside my hotel. It was the most
disturbing thing I'd ever seen, NOT discounting the time my dog swallowed a
bone whole and ejected it out the other end,
still whole.
***
Why are these elderly ladies exercising so

militantly? I think they're planning a global
takeover. This would be good.
If grannies ran the world, wars would be
replaced by chicken soup contests.
There'd be no traffic accidents since
everyone would have to drive at 20 kilometers an hour with their left indicator on.
And there would be no disorderly conduct, since we'd all be too embarrassed to
step out in our shapeless, hand-knitted
jumpers.
But mostly, the world would be filled
with love. Everyone loves grannies, with

the exception of animals at Hongshan zoo.
***
Random thought: if you can read zebras
with a barcode scanner, can you read leopards with a QR (spotty barcode) reader?
I would check for you, but it's hard to
"borrow" a scanning gun from a scan-ityourself supermarket because there are
security sensors everywhere.
This could be problematic for people like
me who scan their own body parts for fun.
"But sir, I did not pay for these hairy legs
because I brought them into the store
myself, honest. Even if the machine does
say they are made by Kellogg's."
Laughter is the Best Medicine
The report said that dancing grannies
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

December 6-12, 2014
ARIES: Subordinates/co-workers
would be very helpful. Relatives are
likely to give some valuable advice
regarding personal life. Important people
will be ready to finance anything that has a
special class to it. Initiatives in love bring
positive results as you catch the desired
attention. You will have ample time to do
things to improve your health. Traveling
overseas would be an experience full of
spark that enlightens your imagination.
Lifestyle home is what you are looking for?
An ideal day to impress others with creative
talent.
TAURUS: Traveling brings new
overseas business opportunities. You
receive care and affection from family members. Be careful with whom you deal
financially in this week. Your generous attitude would contribute much in your love life
in this week. Sound physical health will
enable to participate in outdoor activities.
Travel plans for better communication will
be helpful for new horizons. Deals on commercial property can tend to be at full boom.
You get unlimited respect in friend circle.
GEMINI: Auspicious week to start a
new venture. If possible, plan something exciting & entertaining with
family members. Property dealings would
materialize helping in bringing fabulous
gains. Extremely supportive & loving partner would help in withering away your troubles. You will be successful in getting rid
from tensions. Business or vacation traveling
is what you needed right now. Investing residentially is one thing you can rely on. Efforts
succeed in winning the hearts of adversaries.
CANCER: Professional attitude at
work brings success. Dont forget to
spend quality time in the company of
family friends you care. You are likely to
earn monetary gains through various
sources. Romantic vibrations from someone
unknown would lift your spirits taking imaginations to scaling heights. A sparkling
laughter filled week when most things proceed, as you desire. Traveling with kids can
be a challenge, try to reduce the stress and
nerves. Investment on overseas property has
to be considered seriously. Strange fascinations are likely to attract.
LEO: Seniors colleagues are likely to
lend a helping hand. Matrimonial
alliance for eligible bachelor in family
brings joy to all. Increase in income from
past investment is foreseen. Love life brings
immense romantic pleasure. Your enormous
confidence would help in enjoying a healthy
life. Implementation of new ideas to travel
will be beneficiary for you on work front.
Time to spend money on your homely
accommodations. Interaction with others
will be significant.
VIRGO: Hard work & dedication
would win the trust of seniors at
work. If possible share the company
of close relatives who understand your feelings and needs. Monetary gains from
unplanned sources will brighten your week.
Traveling proves a blessing in disguise by
bringing a love in your life.
A very healthy week filled with happiness &
vitality. Excitement for a vacation is not
enough, planning is also required. A good
week to make some investment on kitchen
items. Temptation of any kind fails to allure
you.
LIBRA: Mental clarity would

remove past business confusions. A
new outlook will be the source of
laughter at family front in this week. New
moneymaking opportunities will be lucrative. You are likely to get a new friendship
opportunity in the evening. Pleasure trip
would help in maintaining sound health in
this week. The idea of a holiday seems to be
tired and rushed. You might be purchasing a
refrigerator or any other gadget for your
house. Even unusual & challenging situations would not deter you from path.
SCORPIO: Travel undertaken for
establishing new contacts and business expansion will be very fruitful.
Enjoying a picnic with family will not only
bring joy but also help in clearing misunderstandings. You get some financial rewards as
dedication & hard work gets noticed. New
romance that some of you are going to experience would take the worries off mind. Yoga
and meditation would help in keeping in
shape and mentally agile. Travel plans for
ambitions are in full bloom. Purchasing of
electrical appliances can be done. You succeed in accomplishing much with ease.
SAGITTARIUS: Your artistic and
creative ability would attract a lot of
appreciation. Charming nature and
pleasant personality would make you the
attraction of family function. Monetary gains
are likely to be from more than one source.
You enjoy a memorable time with partner to
cement the lovely bond. Blessings of a saintly person give peace of mind. A beckon destination sounds tempting to you. A good deal
for residential property is ahead. Personal
interaction with others immensely helps in
bringing things back on track.
CAPRICORN : A long pending
decision gets finalized at professional
front. Family members appreciate the
changes made in & around the house. A new
financial deal gets finalized paving the way
for fresh money. You will be attracted to
someone special. Chances of recovering
from physical ailment are high. Planning a
trip for your love will embrace you and your
spouse. Time to make investments on farmlands. Teenagers can expect joyful encounters.
AQUARIUS: You will be highly
benefited by making the fullest use
of communication skills and the
ability to handle any pressurised situation.
Friends and family members would encourage to work harder. Financial position will
improve later in the week. Warm romantic
thoughts occupy mind. Inexhaustible energy
enables to participate in outdoor activities.
Enjoy your holiday with love of your life.
Your investment plans are at full boom and
you might succeed in them. Thinking pleasant things would make you feel better.
PISCES: You are likely to face some
tense moments at professional front.
You are likely to hear a good news
from close relatives. Real estate investment
would be lucrative. Your charm & generosity
bring new romantic opportunities for you.
You attain a bloom in health on sharing happiness with others. Romantic destinations
seems appealing to you. Your girlfriends
desire for an apartment might lead to its destination. Spending some tine in brooding
over wrong actions would highly benefit
you.
December 6-12, 2014
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

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

6th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are simple, generous, cheerful, friendly, humble, honest and peace loving. You
are pretty interested to stay in harmony with each and everyone
in your surroundings. You need to work on your nature of being
restless and pessimistic.
Health this year: Your health would be moderate this time. You
may not have the privilege to take the diet of your wish as the doctor would prescribe to avoid that. You may practice yoga and meditation along with your prescribed medicines for better results.
Finance this year: Your expectations for financial gains may not
convert to reality as you have to spend a moderate financial life
this year. Do not invest huge amount on anything as you may go
in loss. You should wait for the right time to invest on anything.
You should not lend money to anyone as it may create financial
crisis for yourself.
Career this year: As far as your professional life is concerned,
you are expected to get a lot of opportunities throughout this
year. However, you have to work hard and efficiently to convert
those opportunities. Being a quick decision maker, you may have
to decide on many critical matters in your professional circle.
Romance this year: You may try and convert your long time romantic relationship to a married one. You will be enjoying a great
life with your spouse with lots of understanding, love, and care.
You need not get into any kind of argument with your beloved
this year.
Lucky month: April, August, October and November
7th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no :7
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Neptune makes you intelligent,
adaptable, charming, independent, humble, decisive, courteous,
and courageous. Along with many positive characters, you also
have few negatives. You need to work on your carefree and dominating attitude towards others to get respect and attention in
your friend circle.
Health this year: You need to take an appropriate care of your
health. You may fall sick in the middle months of the year though
those will not be serious. If you are a sportsperson, you need to
be very careful for your diet and nutrition to perform better in
your sporting events.
Finance this year: You will be financially profited from you
long term past investments. Your legal issues will be solved to
give you a huge amount of money. You may end up spending a
lot of money on your family members this year though you will
earn a handsome amount. You may go for investments to get
benefited in future.
Career this year: Professionally, you are a very smart and efficient worker. So you may need to clarify doubts and help you
peers and juniors in their work. People in your professional circuit will seek your help at every crucial situation. You may get
promoted as a result of your spectacular performance throughout the year. You may be assigned a new responsibility this year.
You may go for a job change as well as there will be plenty of
opportunities available.
Romance this year: You will be spending a peaceful and content life with your beloved. During the last few months of the
year, you may have few misunderstandings, which can be
cleared and sorted out if you both sit and try to listen each other.
Lucky month: January, March and September
8th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no :8
Traits in you: The influence of the planet Saturn makes you creative, realistic, helpful, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and optimistic.
You should take care of your impatience and jealousy to excel as
an individual.
Health this year: You may fall sick often this year if you do not
take required preventive measures. You should see your doctor
once a month to check your health conditions and supplements
if required. You should also take care of the health of your family members by providing them medical attention.
Finance this year: You may prosper financially with the opportunity to earn as much as possible with new sources of income.
You may go for long distance business trips if you want success
in your business. Be aware of fraud investment agencies as you
may end up losing a huge amount of money. You are advised not
to lend money this year.
Career this year: Your hard work, dedication, and efforts in
your work will get reflected in your professional hierarchy as
you may go a step further towards your promotion. You will be
admired by your peers and seniors this year for your performance and decision making capabilities. Treat your ordinates respectfully and try to help them in difficult situation as it would
help you in getting a better appraisal towards the end of the year.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your partner may
reach to new heights this year as your love, trust, care and concern will develop towards your beloved. You may get married towards the end of this year if you are yet to marry.
Lucky month: February, April and October
9th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no : 9
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mars makes you strong, determined, courageous, enthusiastic, intelligent, ambitious, and motivated. You have a strong dislike towards fake people and fake
emotions. You are a huge fan of truth and cleanliness. You need
to work on your nature of showing dictatorship and being rude
and stubborn at times.
Health this year: As far as your health is concerned this year,
you may not remain healthy throughout the year. There will be
few hiccups in your health as you may suffer from many minor
diseases. If you want to stay healthy, you should go for proper
medication and a healthy diet plan. You have to leave consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes.
Finance this year: You may go through sudden gains and loss-
es this year. However, you will be capable enough to find out the
source to earn ample amount of money. Your financial condition
will be improved for a long term. If you are into business, you
may enhance your business to gain better profits. You should invest in real estate this year as the chances of return are high.
Career this year: You will face huge challenges in your professional field this year. There will be a lot of changes in your professional life. You may remain disturbed about your profession.
You may go for a new job change as you would find the current
work disgusting and monotonous.
Romance this year: You will enjoy an improved life with your
partner with lot of love, care, and concern. You should give time
to your spouse or partner. If you are not married, you might have
to wait as the movement of your planets does not suggest a marital alliance this year.
Lucky month: January, March, July and October
10th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: Your ruling planet, the Sun blesses you with a
unique character. You are pretty confident, creative, intellectual,
optimistic, and enthusiastic. You are gifted with an artistic perception. You are very much social and like to make new contacts
wherever you go. However, you need to control your mood
swings and selfishness.
Health this year: You may go through a very bad patch as far as
your health is concerned this year. You may fall sick frequently
with minor diseases like fever, cough, cold, body pain, and so on.
You should take care of your health by taking proper medication.
Finance this year: If you are well educated and employed, you
may find yourself in huge monetary benefits this year. You might
get favors from government officials to get your work done,
which will earn you a lot of money. You may go for investments
in various sectors as it may prove to be profitable for you.
Career this year: You are quite capable of taking wise decisions. So your colleagues may seek you help in taking critical decisions. You will excel as an efficient employee and this might
bring you a promotion or salary hike. Your confidence, hard
work, and dedication will help you obtain success in every project assigned to you.
Romance this year: You may go for a romantic relationship this
year if you are yet to be in one. If you are married, you will enjoy a good time with your spouse. You may plan for marriage if
you are still unmarried. You should plan for a long holiday with
your partner to give time to each other.
Lucky month: June, August and November
11th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: Being influenced by the Moon, you are creative,
simple, reliable, intelligent, hardworking, and very social. You
are a very efficient in your work. However, you need to control
your attitude of being rude and pessimistic.
Health this year: Your health will remain fine. However, you
may suffer from various minor diseases say cough, cold, body
pain, loss of sleep and so on. To enjoy a very healthy life,
you need to get a good control on your diet. You have to stay
away from alcohol and cigarettes to avoid any organ dysfunction.
Finance this year: You may go through a moderate financial
condition this year. You past investments may not bring you expected results. You may get minimal return from your fixed savings and that would not make you secure financially. You should
not lend money to anyone during this year as you may feel the
requirement of money at any point of time.
Career this year: Being a hardworking professional, you are
well capable of performing the best. However, you need to be
very selective and cautious if you plan to make a move for your
career. You may go for a new job opportunity. You may see many
ups and downs in your career as you may struggle to get things
right for yourself.
Romance this year: Your marital life will go on smoothly with
the gradually growing understanding between you and your
spouse. You will get enough support from your partner whenever you are in a problem. If you are yet to marry, you may need to
wait for another year.
Lucky month: April, June and November
12th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: As you are influenced by planet Jupiter, you are
dignified, religious, mentally strong, enthusiastic, lovable, respectable, determined, devoted, and courteous. You are self dependent and have a great leadership quality. You are able to take
quick decisions. However, you need to take care of you nature of
being arrogant and stubborn.
Health this year: Your health will remain good throughout the
year. However, you need to go for regular fitness programs or
practice yoga and meditation for better results. Do not avoid your
regular medication. Look out the health of your family members
as they may fall ill frequently.
Finance this year: Sudden gain in money may surprise you.
Your pending legal issues will get resolved this year and provide
you with ample of money. You may go for new investments this
year as this year seems to be profitable for you. Do not trust
strangers in business. Do not lend any money this year as you
face a straight loss.
Career this year: You will be over ambitious as far as your career goals are concerned. Take time to plan your career. Do not
be in a hurry for a job change. You will improve your skills and
expertise. You will find your work pretty interesting and it will
give you the job satisfaction you wanted.
Romance this year: Your romantic life would be at its peak this
year around. Try to sort things out if you have any problem with
your spouse or partner. Do not initiate an argument with your
beloved as it may result in weakening your relationship.
Lucky month: January, April and August
30
December 6-12, 2014
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Concluding part of the discourse 'Show gratitude by giving'
Inculcate virtue of giving in our lives

children, or siblings, in the same
way we see all as our family and
freely share with them. We are
then generous not only to our own
family but even to strangers. We
no longer consider anyone a
stranger. We are then ready to give
to anyone who needs our help.
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
nother example of this
spirit of giving is illustrated in the life of Sant
Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj. During
the partition of India, train service
was not running as usual. Sant
Kirpal Singh Ji informed Sant
Darshan Singh Ji that the health of
their Master, Hazur Baba Sawan
Singh Ji Maharaj, was failing and
he should come immediately to
see Hazur. Sant Darshan Singh Ji
rushed to the train station in Delhi
to catch a train to Beas.
Unfortunately, the last train was
already packed, and the gates to
the train were closed. Being athletic and determined to get on that
train, Sant Darshan Singh Ji
climbed the fence. There were
absolutely no seats left in any train
compartment. Thus, he had to ride
along with other passengers on the
top of the train. The ride took
many hours. At night, the temperature dropped, and it grew colder.
As Sant Darshan Singh Ji rode on
the top of the train, he noticed a
man who had no coat. The man
was shivering tremendously. Sant
Darshan Singh Ji, moved by compassion, took off his own coat and
wrapped it around the shivering
man. As a result, Sant Darshan
Singh Ji had to bear many hours of
being in the cold night air, with the
wind whipping around him. As a
result, Sant Darshan Singh Ji contracted chronic asthma. This asthma plagued him for many years to
come. But, as is the case of all
saints, he put the needs of others
before his own needs. His compassion for the suffering of others was
so great that he gave of himself,
even if it meant he had to sacrifice
his own health, his own time, his
own money, or his own comfort.
Such cases are just a few examples of the long history of saints
giving of themselves to help others. As we advance spiritually, we
become immersed in the love of
God and are filled with a neverending stream of bliss coming
from within. This love is so great
that we no longer feel pleasure
from the outer gifts of the world or
for wanting things for ourselves.
We then realize that whatever we
have is a gift of the Lord. We also
realize that all creation is part of
our family, as brothers and sisters
in God. Just as we freely share
what we have with our parents,
As Sant Darshan Singh Ji

Maharaj said in a verse:
Others have disowned their
kith and kin,
But I have made even strangers
my very own.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji is saying
that most people feel obligated to
help their families. We mostly
focus on our immediate family
who lives in our household, such
as our parents or children. Then,
we go out of our way due to family obligations for our brothers and
sisters, our aunts and uncles, our
grandparents, or our grandchildren. But beyond that, most people stop. They think that the problems of people who are not related
to them are the problems of other
peoples families. We often only
give out of social obligation at the
time of Christmas or Thanksgiving
to organizations that collect
money for the poor. We may
donate to an organization that provides toys to needy children or toiletries to needy families. We may
open up our pockets at the time of
an international disaster such as a
flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, volcano, or fire. Some people do this because everyone else
is doing it, and they do not want
to be perceived as being selfish.
But beyond these occasions for
giving, we seldom consider the
need to help a stranger.
It is only when we meditate and
rise above consciousness of this
physical world to travel as soul in
the spiritual realms beyond that
we gain a new awareness. We
begin to see that we are not separate people anymore. There is no
such thing as a stranger. We experience that the same Light of God
shining in us is in all other people.
We feel connected to all other
human beings as if we were all
one family of God. We love others
and want to help them. We turn a
new page in our life and begin to
help everyone. We live by the
principle that Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
lived by which said, I have come
to serve all.
The more we meditate, the more
we develop this angle of vision.
Then, one day, we too will be
filled with extreme generosity and
will share whatever we have with
all creation.
Let Thanksgiving not just be a
day in which we thank God and
our family for our many gifts. Let
this be a day in which we make a
commitment to give and serve others. We should not be like a

sponge in which we soak up all
the gifts from others. We need to
squeeze the sponge so that the
water within us flows out to others.
How can we inculcate the virtue
of giving in our own lives? We can
give in many ways. We can give
physically, intellectually, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.
There are two areas of the introspection diary designed to help us
develop the qualities of giving and
selflessness. One area of the diary
lets us record the number of times
we fail per day in a particular
virtue. One of these is selfless
service, which is also called seva.
helping others. What is more, we

are spending our lifes breaths
engaged in activities that do not
create any new karma. When we
act in our own name, we are creating karma. Even when we do good
deeds we are accumulating good
karma for which we must stay in
the physical world to reap physical
rewards. If our aim is to wind up
karmas in our lifetime, then we do
not want to come back to this
physical realm. Any karma,
whether for good deeds or bad
deeds, requires us to reap rewards
or consequences. This physical
realm is one in which we pay for
all our karmas. Thus, any karma is
going to bring us again and again
to this world. When we do so, we
Let Thanksgiving not just be a day in

which we thank God and our family for
our many gifts. Let this be a day in which
we make a commitment to give and serve
others. Seen in the picture, in a group
effort, women preparing food for langar.
Each time we are presented with

an opportunity to help someone
and we do not avail ourselves of
that chance, we note that as a failure. In this way, we become more
attuned to these opportunities that
present themselves and make a
concerted effort to help someone
next time around. The other area
of the introspection diary provides
a place in which we mark the time
we spend in selfless service or giving. This means that it is not only
that we take each opportunity for
selfless service, but that the
amount of time we spend in serving selflessly is equally as important. Why? Time spent in seva is
time in which we are remembering
God and are acting as a humble
vessel through which Gods grace
can flow to reach others. We are
not doing seva for our own gains,
but doing so in the name of God
and the Master. During these
moments, we are humble. We are
spending our time engaged in
have to pass through the ups and

downs of life in this physical
realm again.
Our goal should be to rise above
the three lower realms of karma.
We need to transcend the physical
realm, the astral realm, and supracausal realm. When we do so, we
enter the supracausal realms and
Sach Khand, where we are no
longer touched by our karmas. We
are then free from the cycle of
births and deaths, and live in an
eternal realm of all peace, joy, and
bliss. To free ourselves of this
cycle of births and deaths, we
have to stop accumulating new
karma and burn off our old karma.
How can we pay off our karma?
There are three blessings we
receive when we come to a spiritual Master that wind up our karma.
First, the Master takes over our
karmic accounts at the time of initiation. This means that Master is
the accounts keeper of our destiny.
He can determine how best we can
wind it up for our maximum

progress.
Second, the Master helps us pass
through the sanchit karmas allotted for this lifetime in an easier
fashion. Thus, what was supposed
to be the gallows could be reduced
to a pin prick.
Third, the Master lays out a path
by which we can avoid incurring
further karmas. He tells us that
daily meditation on the inner Light
and Sound can help burn away
new karmas we create just by the
process of living. Each day, without intending to do so, we may
step on insects, drive over insects
or tiny creatures, kill microscopic
life forms just by breathing, and
take the lives of plants given by
God to eat for food. Even though
killing plants incurs the least
karma of all living things, there is
still some karma. Thus, each day
we are adding karma just by virtue
of being human. By meditating,
we can burn off the added karma
we create each day. Also, when we
keep the introspection diary, we
are weeding out the negative traits
that incur more karma. By leading
lives of nonviolence, truthfulness,
chastity, humility, and selfless
service we are avoiding creating
bad karmas for which we will
have to return to the earth to pay
off. The Master also gives us the
gift of meditation and selfless
service. When we spend time in
those two activities, we are not
incurring any new karma, as long
as we remain selfless. That is why
entering the time spent in seva is
important, because each hour we
spend in selfless service, we are
not incurring more karma. But that
seva must be selfless, in which we
do not want any material gains for
ourselves. We do seva in the name
of God and the Master, whereby
our help is given and we only reap
the spiritual rewards in the form of
blessings from God and the
Master. It is okay to want spiritual
blessings from God and the
Master for our seva. That is
because those spiritual blessings
move us to the true purpose of our
lives, union of our soul with God.
Each time we give of ourselves in
selfless service, we are not incurring more karma and are attracting
the grace of God and the Master,
whose blessings will uplift us so
our soul can merge back into God.
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.
December 6-12, 2014
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Vol.7 No. 32 December 6-12, 2014 60 Cents

New York Edition

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as GOPIO Growth & Development: Diaspora & Migration Trends. GOPIOs

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guest at the Republic Day parade,

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likely to come early next year

New Delhi Bureau

Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

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Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

Six Indian authors in NYT 100

philosophy and strategies later put to such effect in India."

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MIT Professor wins Infosys Science Foundation Prize

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nificantly impacts electronic communication and

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event by one day having their own sports

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Hyderabadi Cultural Association of

federal constitutional rights under the First

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agitation to bring justice to the family of

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