Washington: The political strategist

spearheading the Senate Republicans'

campaign effort declared Thursday that his
party will take control of the Senate in
November, after close to a decade in the
minority.
"We are going to win the Senate, I feel
very good about that," NRSC executive
director Rob Collins said.
"These races have been tough. They
have been a grind. But we are seeing
movement in the right direction and I feel
really good about where we are and think
we're going to take the Senate and we're
going to take it on election night," Collins
said, predicting the GOP will win the 6
seats it needs to control the Senate, even if
races in Louisiana and Georgia are close
enough to require run-offs in the weeks
ahead.
Earlier, noted psephologist Nate Silver
predicted Republicans have a 57.9 percent
chance of getting a majority in the Senate.
Washington Posts Election Lab gives a 94
percent chance to GOP of gaining control,
with a projected 52 Senate seats. A Gallup
poll released Monday suggests the GOP
may be outpacing Democrats in voter con-
fidence on several issues that are expected
to be crucial in determining Novembers
Senate races.
Collins said the credit for the party's
expected success belongs to a disciplined
crop of GOP challengers and good stew-
ardship from political handlers in
Washington so the campaigns avoided
the types of gaffes and missteps that
derailed several GOP candidates in 2012.
Foreign policy, terrorism, Ebola, and
ISIS are high on voters' minds, Collins
said. Those "constant crises" -- coupled
with President Obama's high unfavorable
ratings -- have created openings for
Republicans.
The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism
FASHION 15 FESTIVALS 16 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Vol.7 No. 25 October 18-24, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
CINEMA 25
Washington: The US government and the
Dallas hospital where a man died of Ebola on
Thursday admitted to errors that led to the
infection of two nurses, while Republicans
are demanding a ban on flights from the
African nations affected by the disease.
In a House investigatory subcommittee
hearing, lawmakers charged the government
with being slow to halt the arrival of Ebola in
the country and U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention director Thomas
Frieden said that "it's not easy" to prevent the
virus from spreading.
The "mistakes" that occurred must be "cor-
rected quickly" to prevent more infections
but the "trust and credibility of the adminis-
tration and government are waning as the
American public loses confidence each day,"
said Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy,
the subcommittee chairman.
Ebola is not a new virus, although it is new
to the US, said Frieden, adding that, despite
the recent incidents, "we remain confident
that our public health and health care systems
can prevent an Ebola outbreak here." He also
New Delhi: The BJP will form the
next government in both
Maharashtra and Haryana, exit
polls predicted on Wednesday. The
only thing they did not agree on
was whether the party would win a
clear majority on its own.
The exit polls validate the BJP's
bold gamble in going it alone in
both states, as well as its focus on a
Modi-centered campaign that dwelt
more on governance issues. The
results will be announced on Oct
19. In Maharashtra, Today' s
Chanakya exit poll gave the BJP
151 seats or a clear majority in the
288-member assembly. AC
Nielsen/ABP News predicted the
party would just hit the half-way
mark of 144. The CVoter/Times
Now poll gave the BJP 138. Thus,
BJP may need some support from
others, which it get easily.
Interestingly, the Sena too is not
seen as a major loser. All the polls
agreed that it would finish second
and that it would improve signifi-
cantly upon its 2009 tally of 44
seats, though the numbers varied
from 59 to 77. Three of the four
polls put the Congress in third spot,
just a little ahead of the NCP while
one had it the other way round. The
MNS would get fewer than the 13
seats it won in 2009.
In Haryana, only three polls made
predictions and two of them gave
Gov't admits mistakes handling Ebola,
Republicans demand ban on flights
There have been only three known
Ebola cases so far in the US, and with
proper training and instructions to
hospitals, the spread of this fatal but
curable disease will certainly be
curbed, so panic is unnecessary. Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
GOP predicts Senate victory
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh:
India Thursday moved tantaliz-
ingly close to having its own
satellite navigation system as it
smoothly launched a satellite
with its rocket - and is now only a
step away from joining a select
group of space-faring nations that
have such a system.
With the successful launch of
the third of seven satellites
planned under the Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS), India is just a
satellite and a couple of months
away from having its own satel-
lite navigation system.
This puts India at the door step
of an exclusive space club that
has the US, Russia, China and
India getting its own
navigation satellite system
Modi will snatch Maharashtra,
Haryana from Congress: Exit polls
ISROs PSLV-C26 carrying
India Regional Navigation
Satellite System lifts off from
Sriharikota in AP Oct.16.
Continued on page 4
October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
JAN. 2015
Washington: As a new poll showed
Indian-American Rohit 'Ro' Khanna
closing the gap in the Congression-
al battle for Silicon Valley, he
vowed to focus on the community's
key concerns - education and the
economy.
"With the polls tied at 38/38 %,
this is the best pick up opportunity
for an Indian American in the coun-
try," said the former Obama admin-
istration ofcial challenging veteran
fellow Democrat 7-term incumbent
Mike Honda in the Nov 4 election.
"Ultimately, the choice in this
election is clear: We can rest on our
laurels as the innovation capital of
the world and watch new jobs and
opportunities go elsewhere. Or, like
those who built Silicon Valley, we
can roll up our sleeves and get to
work," Khanna said.
Khanna's campaign pollster found
in a survey of 400 likely voters last
week the two tied at 38 % with 24 %
undecided - a big turnaround from
the 20-point lead Honda held in
June's primary vote.
But Honda's campaign disputed
the gures, saying Monday that its
own internal polling -- a survey of
500 likely voters, conducted Oct 7-
12 -- showed 42 % support to Hon-
da to Khanna's 27 %, with 31% un-
decided. Exuding condence, the
38-year-old said, that the 38-38 g-
ure reects a sense of urgency from
voters who want effective and ac-
cessible leadership in Congress." He
also claims his campaign has galva-
nized the Indian community.
He has already won the backing of
Yahoo's Marissa Mayer and Face-
book's Sheryl Sandberg in the con-
stituency that's home to tech titans
Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, Intel and
eBay.
"I'm running for Congress be-
cause Silicon Valley needs a Con-
gressman who will bring a different
approach to governing - someone
who will build bipartisan coalitions
to get things done. Someone who
will lead on issues, not follow.
Someone who will be engaged and
show up in the community," Khan-
na said. Khanna said while working
in the Commerce Department he
had gained an understanding of not
only the challenges faced by "man-
ufacturers of all sizes, but also of the
competitive advantages that Ameri-
ca has in manufacturing and export-
ing." "We need more people in Con-
gress who understand how the econ-
omy works and will reach across the
aisle to get things done," he said.
Khanna said he was also "very
proud of the Indian American com-
munity's increasing participation in
the Democratic process.
This is representative of the in-
credible contributions that the com-
munity has made to the economy,
innovation, and much more."
Toronto: Canadas new
High Commissioner to
India, Nadir Patel is an
Indo-Canadian, one
who was born in Prime
Minister Narendra
Modis state of Gujarat
and speaks Gujarati at
home.
Patel is barely 44. His
appointment was an-
nounced last Friday by
Foreign Affairs Minis-
ter John Baird and International
Trade Minister Ed Fast.
Patels appointment follows the
appointment of Richard Rahul Ver-
ma, an Indian American, as Ameri-
cas next ambassador to India.
We are pleased to announce the
appointment of Nadir Patel as
Canadas new High Commissioner
in the Republic of India, said the
Canadian ministers. Patel brings a
wealth of experience and will
strengthen even further the Canada-
India relationship, including on bi-
lateral trade and international secu-
rity. Parliamentary Secretary to
Baird is another Indo-Canadian
Deepak Obhrai. I am delighted
Nadir Patel is our new high com-
missioner, Obhrai said. He will
join other distinguished Canadians
who have had a strong hand in
strengthening our relations with In-
dia, especially when my govern-
ment has put relations with India as
a priority. Patel was rather young
when his parents decided to emi-
grate to Canada. After graduating
from Wilfrid Laurier University in
Waterloo with political science as
his major subject, he joined the Fed-
eral Public Service and kept inces-
santly moving up the ladder.
Till three years back, Patel was
Canadas consul-general in Shang-
hai. On returning to Ottawa, he be-
came assistant deputy minister for
corporate planning, nance and IT,
and CFO at Foreign Affairs, Trade
and Development Canada.
Nadir has an MBA from New
York Universitys Stern School of
Business and the London School of
Economics and Political Science.
Washington: President Obama
will nominate top ACLU lawyer
Vanita Gupta to run the Civil
Rights Division at the Justice
Department, but will delay a for-
mal announcement until after the
midterm elections, LA Times has
reported.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder
Jr. announced Wednesday that
Gupta would take over the post
immediately as acting assistant
attorney general for civil rights, a
somewhat unusual move for some-
one who is about to be officially
nominated for such a post.
By announcing her appointment
as acting head rather than proceed-
ing with a formal nomination at
this time, the Obama administra-
tion appears to be trying to avoid
potential controversy in the
November elections. In a similar
move Tuesday, administration
sources said the White House
would not nominate anyone to
replace Holder, who plans to step
down, until after the Nov. 4 elec-
tions.
Obamas previous nominee for
the civil rights job, Debo Adegbile,
was rejected by the Senate in
March after some Democrats
joined Republicans in opposing his
appointment because of his previ-
ous legal representation of a pris-
oner convicted of killing a police-
man. Gupta is also likely to run
into opposition, though, unlike
Adegbile, she has support from
some prominent conservatives,
including anti-tax crusader Grover
Norquist and David Keene, former
president of the National Rifle
Assn. Gupta is a former lawyer for
the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund. At the ACLU
(American Civil Liberties Union)
she rose to become deputy legal
director. Former colleagues
describe her as a rock star
among civil rights and criminal
justice lawyers. In her first case,
she won pardons for 35 mostly
African American defendants,
whose convictions she showed
were based on falsified evidence
from a police officer.
Her duties as head of the Civil
Rights Division will include super-
vising the Justice Department
investigation into the August
shooting death of unarmed African
American Michael Brown, 18, by a
white policeman in Ferguson, Mo.
Gupta was born in Philadelphia,
but mostly grew up in England and
France. She is a graduate of Yale
and New York University Law
School, graduating from law
school in 2001.
3 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Ro Khanna closes gap in Congressional
race from Silicon Valley
ACLU lawyer Vanita Gupta to head Justice Deptts civil rights unit
Ro Khanna, 38, is pitted against Mike Honda, 73, a Japanese
American, in the only Asian American-majority
district in continental United States.
Former colleagues describe
Vanita Gupta as a rock star
among civil rights and
criminal justice lawyers.
Nadir Patel with Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Indo-Canadian is Canadas
new envoy to India
432 Park Avenue has become the tallest residential building
in the Western Hemisphere, with 104 condos, 84 stories, and
a height of 426 metres (1,396 ft). It is the second tallest
building in Manhattan, behind One World Trade Center. The
building was topped out on September 21, 2014.
Towering over
Manhattan
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4 October 18-24 , 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TURN PAGE
Gov't admits mistakes handling Ebola ...
Continued from page 1
said that to protect US citizens, it is necessary
to first prevent the spread of the virus in West
Africa, where the epidemic arose in March.
The second nurse found to have Ebola,
Amber Joy Vinson, traveled by plane from
Cleveland to Dallas on Monday, when she had
a slight fever.
Frieden admitted in his testimony that the
nurse should not have traveled, although it was
a CDC official who gave her the OK to take
the flight, given that her fever was under the
threshold set by the CDC and she had no other
symptoms.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest
said Thursday that the decision to allow
Vinson to travel was "a mistake" that should
not have occurred, but the risk of infection for
the other passengers was "rather low."
Vinson and the other infected nurse, Nina
Pham, work at Texas Health Presbyterian
Hospital in Dallas, where Duncan received
medical care for 10 days before dying of
Ebola, which he had contracted in his native
Liberia.
The hospital acknowledged making a mis-
take in failing to diagnose Duncan with Ebola
when he first sought medical care on Sept. 25,
prescribing antibiotics for his high fever and
sending him home, only to have him return
three days later when his symptoms got worse,
at which time he was admitted and quaran-
tined.
At the hearing on Thursday, several lawmak-
ers urged the U.S. government to consider a
temporary ban on flights from the countries
affected by the virus, a proposal backed by
House Speaker John Boehner.
Although five U.S. airports have now imple-
mented special procedures to screen incoming
passengers for Ebola, the White House said
that the administration was not considering a
ban on flights.
Modi will snatch Maharashtra, Haryana ..
Continued from page 1
the BJP a clear majority, while the third had it
hitting the half-way mark. The ABP News poll
suggested the BJP would win 54 seats in the
90-member house, Today's Chanakya put the
figure at 52 and CVoter at 45. So the BJP is
poised to comfortably form the government in
the state.
The polls were also unanimous that
Chautala's INLD would finish second with 22-
23 seats, and the Congress a distant third.
In any case, brand Modi is getting a major
boost, wiping out any dent made by the earlier
by-poll results in some states like UP. The
polls also send a strong signal to BJP allies that
they would be ill-advised to try any hard bar-
gaining with the BJP, as the Sena did. The
Congress looks like a party currently in free
fall.
India getting its own navigation satellite ..
Continued from page 1
Japan as members. The navigational system,
developed indigenously by India, is designed
to provide accurate position information serv-
ice to users within the country and up to 1,500
km from the nation's boundary line.
Though IRNSS is a seven-satellite system, it
could be made operational with four satellites,
ISRO officials said.
The fourth navigation satellite is expected to
be launched this December. The entire IRNSS
constellation of seven satellites is planned to
be completed by 2015.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated
ISRO scientists and described the launch as "a
matter of immense pride and joy".
The rocket - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV) C26 blasted off with its luggage, the
1,425-kg IRNSS-1C (Indian Regional
Navigational Satellite System-1C) satellite.
"India's third navigation satellite is up in the
orbit," ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan said
post launch. In the coming days, the satellite
will be positioned in the Geostationary Orbit.
The satellite has two kinds of payloads - nav-
igation and ranging. The navigation payload
would transmit navigation service signals to
the users. The satellite has a life span of 10
years.
The system, expected to provide a position
accuracy of better than 20 meters in the pri-
mary service area, is similar to the naviagation
systems of the US, Russia, Europe, China and
Japan.
The system will be used for terrestrial, aerial
and marine navigation, disaster management,
vehicle tracking and fleet management, inte-
gration with mobile phones, mapping and geo-
detic data capture, visual and voice navigation
for drivers and others. It will be used for
defense purposes as well.
By Parveen Chopra
New York: Columbia
University is holding a panel
discussion on India Beyond
Technology and Yoga: The
Power of Literature in a
Globalizing World on
October 27.
Pankaj Mishra (author of
From The Ruins of Empire),
Urvashi Butalia, founder,
Zubaan Books, Vikas Swarup
of Slumdog Millionaire
fame, and Suketu Mehta (Maximum City:
Bombay Lost and Found) will be in con-
versation with Vishakha Desai, Special
Advisor for Global Affairs to the President
of Columbia University and Professor of
Professional Practice at the School of
International and Public Affairs.
But isnt it the IT prowess that has put
India on the world map? Talking to The
South Asian Times, Dr Desai argued that it
is not either/or, and that while talking about
Indias soft power, it is important to explore
the role of Indian literature.
Urvashi Butalia added that people judge
a country not by one thing but by many.
When suggested that bloggers and twit-
terati are diminishing the thinkers and
authors, Butalia replied, No, I think not. In
fact, with the new social media, neither
thinking nor authorship is any longer the
preserve of the elite, so you have literally a
million - and more - viewpoints and so
much to choose from and I find that both
frightening and exciting!
Desai argues that with the clutter of infor-
mation, you need powerful voices to make
sense of things, to help provide wisdom .
Just like video did not kill movies, they
adapted, books are not going away in the
digital age. Both Desai and Butalia agreed
that it is still the Indian authors writing in
English who get all the attention. Says
Butalia, Translation is difficult, India
offers very few subsidies for translations -
unlike many other countries - so it is
English that gets to travel, mainly, and
English that gets to represent the whole of
India. But imagine how much more impact-
ful it would be if we could get even a frac-
tion of the wonderful literatures in our vari-
ous languages up there in the world!
Butalia agreed that Prime Minister Modi
is playing an impactful role in the represen-
tation of India and its image around the
world. I think he is just the most recent
example. Recall when Nehru first made his
visits abroad and floated the concept of non-
alignment. Or when Indira Gandhi met
Castro and he put his arms around her. Or
when Manmohan Singh met with President
Bush and they signed the nuclear deal.
Dr Vishakha Desai, former head of Asia
Society, was a witness to the Modi effect in
New York. She revealed that she is now
writing a personal book about India, taking
off from her parents trajectory who were
freedom fighters.
The event is sponsored by Columbia-
Bibliotheque nationale de France World
Writers Festival.
To learn more, visit:
www. globalcenters.columbia.edu
Indian authors panel at
Columbia on Oct 27
Urvashi Butalia
Vishakha Desai
(Moderator)
5 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Washington,DC: A 28-year-old
Indian techie has been sentenced to
death in the US for the gruesome
killing of an Indian baby and her
grandmother in a 2012 kidnapping
plot that went horribly wrong.
Raghunandan Yandamuri was
convicted by a Montgomery Coun-
ty Court jury of first-degree murder
in the stabbing death of 61-year-
old Satyavathi Venna and the suf-
focation death of her 10-month-old
granddaughter, Saanvi Venna, in
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
During the trial, Yandamuri
showed no remorse and said he
would rather accept the death
penalty than sit through arguments.
The jury on Tuesday could have
chosen to sentence Yandamuri to
life in prison but in making their
decision, the five women and sev-
en men considered aggravating
factors such as the elements of
Yandamuri's crimes and mitigating
factors such as testimony regarding
his gambling addiction and mental
state.
Investigators say Yandamuri was
a neighbor and friend of the Venna
family and carried out a kidnap-
ping of the baby to try and get
$50,000 ransom to pay off a gam-
bling debt.
Formal sentencing will be sched-
uled within 45 days. Defense At-
torneys say there will be an appeal.
While agreeing that it is the first
known case of an Indian being
slapped the death penalty, eminent
attorney Ravi Batra issued this
statement on the case: What is
certain is that a baby and a grand-
mother were senselessly killed.
The jury has spoken, the court act-
ed, prosecutors vindicated societal
rights and the defense, at times pro
se, maintained a stony innocence.
While the tragedy is obvious as to
the victims, the dynamic of every
trial, even when "fair," is different
- and it is that difference that raises
concern in some - none more than
now-former United States
Supreme Court Justice Harry
Blackmun who in 1994 while re-
nouncing the death penalty after 20
years of dealing with capital cases
said, given the differences in trials
and variations in justice-output,
that he would from this day for-
ward, I no longer shall tinker with
the machinery of death," and ruled
all death sentences as "unconstitu-
tional."
The Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations of 1963's Arti-
cle 36 grants a foreign national
consular access for effective legal
representation - a law binding fed-
erally but not on the 50 states as the
VCCR has never been ratified by
the US Senate. This is an issue that
continues to simmer multilaterally,
as it does in United States."
New York: Two weeks after In-
dias Prime Minister wowed
20000 of his ardent supporters at
New Yorks biggest arena, anoth-
er Indian headlined the Madison
Square Garden with his two back
to back sold out shows.
31 year old Aziz Ansari, actor,
comedian and soon to be pub-
lished author presented his fourth
and latest show, modern Ro-
mance at two scheduled shows
on Thursday that saw about
10,000 people each show. After
his latest show he became the sev-
enth comedian in history to sell
out a show at the arena in Madison
Square Garden joining an eclectic
club that in the 25 years has wel-
comed Andrew Dice Clay, Chris
Rock, Eddie Izzard and Kevin
Hart.
Ansari, who was born in the US
to Tamil parents, began his career
as a comedian in 2000 when
studying at New York University.
He branched into films around
2007 and is now widely known
for his role as Tom Haverford, a
government employee in NBCs
award-winning comedy, Parks
and Recreation.
New York Times wrote about
Ansaris performance as usually
jittery and rapid-fire in his jokes,
tried a more sober, conversational
style in his show at Madison
Square Garden.
New York: Kundan & Santosh
Jasuja Foundation organized a
unique event on October 12 in
"Little India" area of Hicksville to
mark National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month.
First 'Cars vs Cancer Cruise'
was flagged off from the Apna
Bazar parking lot which was
turned into meeting and starting
point for cars cruising to Bear
Mountain, upstate New York. The
event was a successful turnout
with vehicles including Maser-
atis, GTRs, BMWs, Infinitys,
FRSs, Mustangs, Corvette and
many others. Registration fee of
$25 per vehicle were donated to
'Making Strides Against Breast
Cancer' organization.
Founder President of KSJ
Foundation, Shudh Parkash
Singh flagged off the cruise. The
organizing committee Chairman
Arjun Vir Singh announced that
the event raised hundreds of dol-
lars and will now be held annual-
ly.
Sukhmani Kaur Jasuja, a direc-
tor of KSJ foundation said this
cruise is especially important as it
was organized by all youngsters
representing the second and third
generation of Indian Americans.
"We must carry on the Indian cul-
ture of helping others. A lot of
participants shared with me that
their Indian parents and grandpar-
ents raised them with family val-
ues and importance of philanthro-
py, " she said.
The cruise covered over 137
miles and the participants were
jubilant. 'Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer' distributed pink
and grey jerseys to all drivers.
"We feel so good. Cruising
along in a caravan of cars on a
nice day like this is not only fun
but also gives me satisfaction for
making a small contribution to-
wards cancer research." said
Vikram Singh a participant.
"We got to spend time with
friends and made new friends. I
think more people should support
charities like KSJ Foundation for
organizing events like these," said
Michael Gill, one of the partici-
pating drivers.
Raghunandan Yandamuri is convicted of killing an Indian baby
and her grandmother in a botched kidnapping in Pennsylvania,
which has death penalty on statute.
Cars lined up for the cruise. (Inset) Shudh Prakash Singh, founder
President of KSJ Foundation flagged off the cruise.
First Indian origin person sentenced to death in US
Comedian, actor Aziz Ansari
at MSG (Photo courtesy: The
New York Times)
He is seventh comedian in history and first
Indian-American to achieve the feat
Ansari joins the big league with
two sold out shows at MSG
First Cars Vs Cancer Cruise takes off in Hicksville
6 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
California: Indian
American comedian
Hasan Minhaj is the lat-
est addition to The Dai-
ly Show with Jon Stew-
art, set to join the show
as a correspondent start-
ing from November, the
India West reported.
Minhaj will be a part
of the Emmy and
Peabody award-winning
shows team of on-air
personalities including
Samantha Bee, Jordan Klepper, Ja-
son Jones, Jessica Williams, Lewis
Black, John Hodgman, Al Madrigal,
Aasif Mandvi, Kristen Schaal and
Larry Wilmore.
The Daily Show, a late-night
satirical news program, airs Monday
through Thursday on Comedy Cen-
tral.
Also coming on board the show in
December will be South African
comic Trevor Noah, who first de-
buted in the U.S. on The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno.
Minhaj and Noah will be replacing
Michael Che and Larry Wilmore.
Reacting to the announcement,
Minhaj posted on Twitter Oct. 10,
Beyond excited to be joining
@TheDailyShow team
with my South African
brother @TrevorNoah.
NYC here I come!
Minhaj, also an actor
and writer, has appeared
on popular shows like
Arrested Develop-
ment on Netflix, E!s
Chelsea Lately,
HBOs Getting On,
Comedy Centrals
@midnight and Fai-
losophy on MTV.
Recently, the Los Angeles-based
comic participated as a New Face
at Montreals 2014 Just for Laughs
Festival. Minhaj, who hosts the web
series The Truth with Hasan Min-
haj, was also chosen by the Sun-
dance Institute to create his own
show and feature film at the New
Frontier Storytelling Lab Oct. 22-27.
His project is Paint the Town, a
film adaptation of Sakoon, the au-
tobiographical solo show based on
Minhajs first-generation experi-
ences as an Indian American come-
dian.
Earlier this year, Minhaj presented
David Munros documentary Stand
Up Planet at the San Francisco In-
ternational Film Festival.
Standup comic Hasan Minhaj
to join The Daily Show
New York: Indian
American journalist
Anand Gopals riveting
book No Good Men
Among the Living:
America, the Taliban, and
the War through Afghan
Eyes (Henry Holt) has
been announced as a
finalist in the non-fiction
category by the National
Book Foundation for the
National Book Awards.
Gopal has served as an
Afghanistan correspon-
dent for The Wall Street
Journal and The Christian
Science Monitor, and has
reported on the Middle
East and South Asia for
Harper s, The Nation,
The New Republic,
Foreign Policy, and other publi-
cations.
Gopal earned a bachelor s
degree from New York
University and also completed
graduate studies in physics and
chemistry at the University of
Pennsylvania. As a Bernard L.
Schwartz Fellow at New
America Foundation, Gopal
wrote No Good Men Among
the Living: America, the
Taliban, and the War through
Afghan Eyes.
He is known for conducting a
rare interview with Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar, the reclusive leader
of one of the Talibans most
important allies.
No Good Men Among the
Living: America, the Taliban,
and the War through Afghan
Eyes follows three Afghans a
Taliban commander, a U.S.-
backed warlord, and a housewife
trapped in the middle of the
fighting. The narrative reveals
the workings of Americas
longest war and the truth behind
its prolonged agony.
Journalist Anand Gopals book shortlisted
for National Book Award
Washington, DC: The Future of
Diplomacy Project at the Belfer
Center for Science and International
Affairs at Harvard Universitys
Kennedy School has appointed Farah
Pandith as fall 2014 Fisher Family
Fellow.
Pandith, in residence in September,
will teach a series of study groups on
shifting national security paradigms
since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and
the language and tools of extremism.
Pandith was appointed the rst-
ever special representative to
Muslim communities in June 2009
by then-U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
Before that, the Indian American
was senior advisor to the assistant
secretary of state for European and
Eurasian Affairs and director of
Middle East regional initiatives for
the National Security Council.
In these roles, Pandith launched
initiatives focusing on Muslims,
including Europes rst pan-
European Muslim professional net-
work, Generation Change, Viral
Peace and the Transatlantic
Leadership Network. A key architect
of the Women in Public Service
Project and the Hours Against
Hate Campaign, after her fellowship,
she will be a senior fellow with the
Middle East Initiative at the Belfer
Center through mid-November this
year.
The fellowship was funded in 2010
by the Richard and Nancy Fisher
Family Fellows Program.
Previous fellows have included C.
Raja Mohan, senior associate in
Carnegies South Asia program; and
Shyam Saran, former Foreign
Secretary of India.
Anand Gopals book No Good Men Among the Living: America, the
Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes.
Farah Pandith
Hasan Minhaj
Farah Pandith named
Fisher Family Fellow
A picture that captures the love affair between United
States and India: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney looking
resplendent in a saree, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
and eminent attorney Ravi Batra at the reception for
the PM hosted by Indian Ambassador S. Jaishankar at
The Pierre, New York Sept 28.
Khumariyaan band
(from left, Sparlay
Rawail, Shiraz Khan,
Farhan Bogra and
Aamer Shafiq) per-
forming at Asia
Society, NY, last
Sunday.Khumariyaan
means intoxicators,
and the Peshawar,
Pakistan group,
calling themselves
"music of the
oppressed", work with
Pashtun folk tunes
and their own compo-
sitions. Photo cour-
tesy: The New York
Times.
Prakash Patil from New Jersey brings
home the title of Mr.India Galaxy
2014, after beating 15 semi-finalists.
The pageant was held on August 23 at
Hotel Renaissance in Los Angeles,
California and was organized by
Jinnder Chohaan from Spirit of India.
Second Indian American after Aasif Mandvi to
join as correspondent
7 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: Indian-
American food justice
activist Navina Khanna is
one of the five winners of
the prestigious James
Beard Foundation
Leadership awards for
2014, considered North
America's highest honor for
food and beverage profes-
sionals.
Khanna, Fellow at
Movement Strategy Center,
has won the award "For her
work as a food justice
activist organizing across
communities for equitable
and ecological food sys-
tems on local, regional and national levels."
The JBF awards covering all aspects of the
industry -from chefs and restaurateurs to
cookbook authors and food journalists to
restaurant designers and architects - are pre-
sented each spring at Lincoln Center.
New York based JBF also maintains the his-
toric James Beard House in the City' s
Greenwich Village as a "performance space"
for visiting chefs and hosts conferences, tast-
ings, lectures, workshops and food-related art
exhibits around US.
Khanna is also a co-founder and the Field
Director of Live Real, "a national initiative
dedicated to amplifying the power of young
people in frontline communities shaping radi-
cally different food systems through policy
and practice."
As a Movement
Strategy CenteR
Innovation Fellow,
Khanna, according to her
profile, applies lessons
from other social justice
movements to build a
stronger, more aligned,
and strategic food justice
movement.Committed to
creating equitable, ecolog-
ical systems, "she has
spent nearly 15 years
focused on transformative
change through agricul-
ture and food systems."
Based in Oakland, she's
worked as an educator,
community organizer, activist and policy
advocate transforming local, regional, and
national agri-food systems from field to
vacant lot to table.
Khanna holds an MS in International
Agricultural Development from University of
California, Davis, where she developed cur-
riculum for the first undergraduate major in
sustainable agri-food systems at a Land-Grant
University.
She also has a BA from Hampshire College,
where she focused on using music and dance
for ecological justice. She is also a certified
Vinyasa yoga teacher and permaculturalist.
"A first generation South Asian American,
Navina's worldview is shaped by growing up -
and growing food - in the US and in India,"
according to her profile.
Chicago suburb rst US city to
host ofcial Diwali celebrations
Aurora: The City of Aurora, a suburb of Chicago
organized an evening of music, dance and fireworks to
celebrate the festival of Diwali. This makes it the first
city in the US to officially sponsor the celebration of
Diwali, according to the organizers of the event.
Several thousand Indian Americans attended the fes-
tivities, which was organized on the weekend, because
the festival falls on a work day here. Traditional folk
dances from various Indian states alongwith Bollywood
numbers were performed while vendors showcased eth-
nic Indian jewelry and sold snacks like bhelpuri. Cash
prizes were offered to Indian American children who
answered questions on Indian history and culture. The
event also included an outdoor fireworks display spon-
sored by the city. The organizers had to do with battery
operated 'diyas' inside the auditorium to comply with
local fire protection laws. The event was attended by
Aurora mayor Tom Weisner and other local politicians.
They noted that the Diwali celebration honored the
diversity of the suburb while acknowledging the contri-
bution of the local Indian American community. Aurora
is the second most populous town in the state of Illinois,
next to Chicago. It is known as the 'city of lights'
because it was one of the first cities in the United States
to adopt an all -electric street lighting system. Next year
the organizers have promised an even bigger event.
"This year we put together the festivities in barely five
weeks. Next year we plan to hold this in an outdoor
park which has a capacity of 20,000 people," said
Krishna Bansal, the chairperson of the City of Aurora
commission which organized the event.
(The South Asian Times solicits news/photos pertaining
to Diwali celebrations from across the nation. Send
them to editor@thesouthasiantimes.info)
Navina Khanna
New York: Anoop Jain has won the
prestigious 2014 Waislitz Global Citizen
Award and $100,000 cash prize for his
work to build community sanitation
facilities, an area that aligns with Prime
Minister Narendra Modis commitment
to ending open defecation, organizers of
the award said.
Jain, educated in the United States,
was named the recipient of the award for
his exemplified values of a Global
Citizen through his work in founding
Humanure Power in Bihar in 2011 to
build community sanitation facilities in
rural India.
The award carries a $100,000 cash
prize in recognition of the winners work
in making the world a better place.
The announcement of the award coin-
cided with Modis recent visit to the
United States when he addressed thou-
sands of people at the Global Citizen
Festival last week in Central Park.
The organization said Jains work
through Humanure Power is in line with
Modis goal to put a toilet in every
household and school in India by 2019
a commitment he reiterated in his
remarks onstage at the festival.
Humanure Power has already seen
over 17,000 users, while hygienically
disposing of eight tons of human excre-
ta. Such efforts would help prevent dis-
ease and improve productivity as toilets
prevent water-borne diseases caused by
fecal contamination, which affects
broader health, social and economic
change desperately needed in India.
Jains company would use the
$100,000 to advance its mission of
improving access to toilets for thousands
of people living in rural India by build-
ing more community sanitation facili-
ties. In addition, the money would go
towards formalizing their monitoring
and evaluation methods.
Jain graduated from Northwestern
University in 2009 with a degree in
Environmental Engineering. After work-
ing as an engineer for a year, he quit his
job after raising $30,000 to build a com-
munity soup kitchen for Tibetan
refugees in northern India. He continued
working in rural India before moving to
Bihar, where Humanure Power was
born. To acquire the requisite skills to
work in the public health field, Jain pur-
sued an MPH from Tulane School of
Public Health and Tropical Medicine,
and graduated from there in May 2013.
Anoop Jain
Indian-American activist wins
prestigious US food award
Jains company would
use the $100,000 to
advance its mission of
improving access to
toilets for thousands of
people living in rural
India by building more
community sanitation
facilities.
Anoop Jain wins Global Citizen
Award for sanitation
8 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington: Three decades after
many Sikhs fled the violence that
devastated their families in Punjab,
the Indian government is continuing
to make it hard for them to visit
India. Their crime? Sikh Americans
say its the price theyre being
forced to pay for having sought
political asylum in the West.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis
promise on a recently concluded
visit to the U.S. to make it easier for
people of Indian origin and U.S. cit-
izens to travel to India has thus
received a cool reception from Sikh
Americans, some of whom have
been kept out of India because of a
government blacklist that
includes the names of Sikhs accused
of terrorism, supporters of Khalistan
and those who sought political asy-
lum on the grounds of religious per-
secution in India.
We are disappointed that the
prime minister has not indicated any
reforms to the Indian governments
maintenance of a blacklist, which
unfortunately includes innocent and
law-abiding Sikhs, said Manjit
Singh, co-founder of the Sikh
American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (SALDEF).
Currently there is no official
process to appeal the incorrect
inclusion of your name on the
blacklist by providing documentary
evidence to prove your case, he
added.
Those who manage to travel to
India often get harassed by immi-
gration officials who single out all
Sikhs ... regardless of if they were
ever Indian citizens in the past, to
more closer scrutiny and checks;
clearly indicating the process dual
standards that apply to Sikhs and
other Indians (who are non-Sikhs)
entering the country, said Manjit
Singh.
The blacklist was constituted
in the 1980s when the separatist
Khalistani movement was at its
peak in Punjab. At least half a dozen
Sikh Americans interviewed for this
story said many Sikhs ended up on
the government blacklist despite
never having committed any crime.
At that time a lot of people fled
to escape the violence and sought
political asylum in the U.S. But now
things have changed in India, yet for
us Sikhs living outside we are
looked upon as people who are not a
part of India any more, said Jasdip
Singh, chairman of the South Asian
Democratic Caucus of Maryland.
Rajwant Singh, chairman of the
Sikh Council on Religion and
Education (SCORE), said by lifting
the visa restrictions on Sikhs the
government of India will help ease
the feelings of many who have been
wronged in the turbulent times of
the 80s.
(Courtesy The Tribune, Chandigarh)
New York: Inspired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation at
its annual international meet last weekend in
Cincinnati, Ohio raised Rs.1 Crore, though it
was not a fund-raising event. The non-profit
organization also year-marked $150,000 for
rehabilitation of Kashmir valley flood victims.
In opening remarks, Shyamji Gupta, founder
of Ekal Movement set the tone by challeng-
ing the gathering to undertake a new initiative
for the rural masses. Inspired by the clarion
call for a Swachha-Bharat (Clean-India) by
PM Modi, Ekal volunteers wholeheartedly
adopted this campaign to create and implement
a strategy to clean the Ekal Villages where 1.5
million children are being nurtured and
groomed. The campaign will create awareness
and develop sustainable approaches to keep
the villages clean.
Spearheading the on-the-spot fundraising
efforts Himanshu Shah, CEO, Shah Capital,
said poor sanitation and lack of solid waste
management has had tremendous negative
impact on the health of Indians all over. It is
time we address this issue.
He contributed significant amount to the
cause and matched donations raised by Ekal.
Welcoming this impromptu generosity, Vinod
Jhunjhunwala, President of EVF-USA said,
while ideas are plenty, India often loses out
on implementation. Ekal, with its reach in over
54,000 villages throughout India has wide
grass-root network that can effectively imple-
ment this cleaning initiative. Ekal uses edu-
cation as a primary vehicle to bring holistic
development of remote and rural villages. In
addition to education, Ekal is working on
health, sanitation, agriculture and develop-
ment. Ajay Singh, Project Coordinator for
EVF-USA, informed the gathering about the
state-of-the-art approach adopted by Ekal-
India to administer and monitor various
aspects of Ekal. He further elaborated that the
teachers and students third-party assessment,
automated school allocation as well as their
google-mapping was already underway. The
movement has created so much excitement
among youth in the U. S. that several college
students are going to Ekal villages to study the
movement. Several innovative solutions to a
range of issues including the use of technology
for education and the micro-rural entrepre-
neurship were also discussed. In several vil-
lages, solar energy is already being used by the
villagers for lifes basic necessities with help
from Ekal. At the conference, Ekal also
addressed the national tragedy of the floods
affecting the Kashmir valley. Ekal USA has
year-marked $150,000 for these flood victims.
Milwaukee: Dr. Raj
Rao, a professor of
Orthopaedic Surgery
and Neurosurgery at
the Medical College
of Wisconsin, has
been appointed
chairperson of the
Orthopaedic and
R e h a b i l i t a t i o n
Devices Panel of the
U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
Rao, who is a
p r a c t i c i n g
orthopaedic surgeon
at Froedtert Hospital
and Childrens
Hospital of
Wisconsin, will
chair the FDAs lead adviso-
ry panel that reviews the
safety and efficacy of
orthopaedic and spine-relat-
ed devices for marketing in
the U.S. The Indian
American has previously
served as a voting member
on the panel.
Rao completed his intern-
ship and residency in
orthopaedic surgery at the
University of Southern
California in 1995, and a fel-
lowship in spine surgery at
William Beaumont Hospital
in Royal Oak, Mich., in
1996. He joined the MCW
faculty in 1999.
He was recently awarded
the 2014 David Selby Award
of the North American Spine
Society for contributions to
the field of spinal disorders.
Ekal raises Rs. 1 Crore for
Clean India Campaign
Washington, DC : A week
after his controversial com-
ments about women and pay
raises, Microsoft CEO Satya
Nadella has again apologized
for the remarks, telling
employees in a companywide
memo that it was a humbling
and learning experience.
He described his comment
that women should rely on
good karma rather than ask-
ing for a raise as generic
advice that was just plain
wrong in hindsight.
For context, I had received this advice
from my mentors and followed it in my
own career, he wrote. I do believe that at
Microsoft in general good work is reward-
ed, and I have seen it many times here. But
my advice underestimated exclusion and
bias conscious and unconscious that
can hold people back. The memo, sent
prior to a regular monthly Q&A session
with employees, went on to outline a series
of steps that Nadella says the company will
be taking to improve diversity and inclu-
sion across the company, including the
companys engineering and senior leader-
ship teams. The plan also includes manda-
tory diversity training for employees.
Excerpts of Nadellas memo to employees,
as obtained by GeekWire, a tech news
website. ., I want to provide additional
thoughts from the Grace Hopper confer-
ence last week. Thank you to the many
people who sent me comments
and feedback over the past
few days. It was a humbling
and learning experience.
Any advice that advocates
passivity in the face of bias is
wrong. Leaders need to act
and shape the culture to root
out biases and create an envi-
ronment where everyone can
effectively advocate for them-
selves. Make no mistake: I am
100 percent committed to
Diversity and Inclusion at the
core of our culture and com-
pany. Microsoft has to be a great place to
work for everybody. I deeply desire a
vibrant culture of inclusion. I envision a
company composed of more diverse talent.
I envision more diverse executive staff and
a more diverse Senior Leadership Team.
There are three areas in which we can
and will make progress starting immedi-
ately.
First, we need to continue to focus on
equal pay for equal work and equal oppor-
tunity for equal work.
Second, we need to recruit more diverse
talent to Microsoft at all levels of the com-
pany. To achieve this goal and especial-
ly in engineering we will have to
expand the diversity of our workforce at
the senior ranks and re-double our efforts
in college and other hiring. Third, we need
to expand training for all employees on
how to foster an inclusive culture.
Wisconsin Professor to
Chair FDA Panel
(L to R): Shyam Gupta, Himanshu
Shah, Ramesh Shah
Dr Raj Rao
Microsoft CEO Satya
Nadella
Blacklisted US Sikhs in visa tangle
A Sikh delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during Modi's US visit last month.
Nadella sets new diversity plan
after humbling experience
Washington: President Barack
Obama vowed a more aggressive
response to the handling of any new
US Ebola cases on Wednesday after
the infection of a second Texas
healthcare worker prompted him to
postpone a political trip in a sign of
growing concern.
Obama spoke after convening a
special Cabinet meeting at the
White House to discuss the U.S. re-
sponse to the deadly virus. He ac-
knowledged concerns and fears
raised by the handling of the origi-
nal Ebola patient at a Dallas hospi-
tal, Liberian national Thomas Dun-
can, who died before infecting at
least two healthcare workers while
there. The case of the second health-
care worker who contracted the dis-
ease, Dallas nurse Amber Vinson,
has triggered alarm because she
flew on a commercial airliner a day
before reporting symptoms.
The Vinson case forced Obama,
who typically hews closely to his
schedule, to abruptly put off a trip to
New Jersey and Connecticut, amid
growing criticism of the administra-
tion's handling of Ebola, which is
raging out of control in West Africa.
Obama said the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, which
has been criticized for its handling
of the Ebola situation, would send a
rapid-response SWAT team within
24 hours to any hospital or health-
care facility where an Ebola case is
reported to ensure proper protec-
tions are being carried out.
He also said it is critical to safe-
guard doctors and nurses. "We have
to make sure that we are doing
everything we can to take care of
them even as they take care of us,"
he said.
At the same time, Obama urged
Americans to remain calm and
stressed that the risk posed by Ebo-
la in the US was extremely low.
"It's not like the flu, it's not air-
borne," he said. Rather, he said, the
only way to get it is by coming into
contact with the body fluids of
someone who is showing Ebola
symptoms.
Meanwhile, House Speaker John
Boehner said Obama should "ab-
solutely consider" a temporary ban
on travel to the United States from
countries at the center of the Ebola
outbreak - something the White
House has so far ruled out.
In New Yorks JFK airport, teams
armed with thermal guns and ques-
tionnaires are screening travelers
from West African countries hit
hardest by the outbreak. JFK Air-
port is the first of five US airports to
start enhanced screening of US-
bound travelers from Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone, where
most of the outbreak's more than
4,000 deaths have occurred.
US AFFAIRS 9 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: Republicans are
poised to seize control of the Sen-
ate in the Nov. 4 midterm elec-
tions, according to multiple pro-
jections. But Democrats arent
ready to concede just yet.
An Oct. 11 forecast by Five Thir-
ty Eight -- run by noted psepholo-
gist Nate Silver -- predicted Re-
publicans have a 57.9 percent
chance of getting a majority in the
Senate. The predictions from the
Washington Posts Election Lab
are even more troubling for De-
mocrats. Republicans are given a
94 percent chance of gaining con-
trol, with a projected 52 Senate
seats. A Gallup poll released Mon-
day suggests the GOP may be out-
pacing Democrats in voter confi-
dence on several issues that are ex-
pected to be crucial in determining
Novembers Senate races, includ-
ing Republican policies on the fed-
eral budget deficit, combating Is-
lamic State militants, the effective-
ness of the federal government and
the economy as a whole.
The six seats most likely to flip
from the incumbent party to the
opposition are all held by Democ-
rats, the Washington Post says. Of
those six seats, the Senate races in
Montana and West Virginia seem
certain to fall to the GOP. Momen-
tum in Arkansas, Louisiana and
Alaska seems to favor Republi-
cans, as well. The race for South
Dakotas seat is close enough that
the Democratic Senatorial Cam-
paign Committee recently fun-
neled $1 million in funds toward
the contest to secure a favorable
outcome.
The negative outlook for De-
mocrats comes as the DSCC raised
a record $16 million last month,
surpassing the $15.5 million raised
by the National Republican Sena-
torial Committee, The Hill reports.
The massive war chest suggests
Democratic leaders have the ca-
pacity to reverse the sluggish
polling numbers.
Pointing to a poll as evidence of
a coming victory -- particularly
when several of the Senate races
are tightly-contested -- is a shaky
proposition, asserted Democratic
strategist Brent Budowsky in a re-
cent column for The Hill.
Washington: Just as the US job
market has finally strengthened, the
Federal Reserve now confronts a
new worry: A sputtering global
economy that's spooked investors
across the world.
The economic slump could spill
into the US, potentially weakening
job growth and keeping inflation
well below the Fed's target rate.
Such fear has led some analysts to
suggest that the Fed might wait un-
til deep into next year to start rais-
ing interest rates and then raise
them more gradually than expected.
Yet so far, the prospect of contin-
ued lower rates which make
loans cheaper and can fuel stock
gains is being outweighed by in-
vestors' mounting fears of weakness
from Asia to Europe to Latin Amer-
ica. After shedding 223 points Mon-
day, the Dow Jones industrial aver-
age is now 5.5 percent below its
September peak. Americans with
stocks in their retirement accounts
have taken a beating at least for
now.
On Tuesday, solid earnings from
several large U.S. banks gave
stocks a boost. The Dow was up
nearly 100 points, or 0.4 percent, in
mid afternoon trading.
The Fed's vice chair has publicly
acknowledged that the turmoil
abroad could lead the Fed to act
more cautiously.
"If foreign growth is weaker than
anticipated, the consequences for
the U.S. economy could lead the
Fed to (raise rates) more slowly
than otherwise," Vice Chair Stanley
Fischer said in a speech last week-
end.
GOP tipped to take control of US Senate
Obama vows more aggressive response to Ebola fears
Slowing global economy could
lead Fed to delay rate increase
New York: Gas prices
have fallen below $3 a
gallon at 43,000 US gas
stations, according to
GasBuddy.com, or one-
third of the stations it
tracks.
And prices at the
pump, already the low-
est in four years, should
continue to fall, said
Tom Kloza, GasBuddys
chief oil analyst. On
Tuesday, he cut his fore-
cast for the national av-
erage price this fall to
between $2.95 and
$3.10, from his previous
call of $3.10 to $3.25.
Prices, said motor
clubs group AAA
spokesman Michael
Greene, are in free
fall. Prices on average
have tumbled 15 cents a
gallon so far this month
and are down about 50
cents a gallon from the
recent peak on June 28.
While gas prices usu-
ally drop in the autumn,
this years decline is be-
ing accelerated by fears
of a price war between
members of the OPEC
countries and non-
OPEC producers, Gas-
Buddys Kloza said.
il prices have been
falling since June amid
concerns over sluggish
demand in a weak glob-
al economy. On Tues-
day, the International
Energy Agency cut its
2014 oil demand growth
forecast to its weakest in
five years the same time
that output has been ris-
ing.
Gas at under $3 at one-third of pumps
Amber Vinson, 29, and Nina Pham, 26, are the two nurses at a
Dallas hospital to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus after
treating Thomas Eric Duncan who died from the virus.
10 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2014
New Delh: Kailash Satyarthi, who shares
this year's Nobel Peace Prize with Pakistani
child rights activist Malala, is possibly
India's best known face against child labour.
Satyarthi and his organization, Bachpan
Bachao Andolan (BBA) - the Save
Childhood Movement, have single-handedly
brought to centre-stage the debate on child
rights in India.
They have so far freed 80,000 children
from servitude, including bonded laborers,
and helped in their successful re-integration,
rehabilitation and education.
Officially, there are only about five
million child workers in India, but voluntary
organisations and social and other activists
say the actual figure is ten times as much.
The Delhi-based Satyarthi, 60, has been a
persistent campaigner worldwide on social
issues involving children since the 1990s.
He gave up a promising career as an elec-
trical engineer at the age of 26, and has since
highlighted child labour as a human rights
issue as well as a welfare matter and charita-
ble cause.
He has argued that it perpetuates poverty,
unemployment, illiteracy, population growth
and other social problems. Several presti-
gious awards have been conferred on him -
among these, Defenders of Democracy
Award (2009-US), Alfonso Comin
International Award (2008-Spain), Medal of
the Italian Senate (2007-Italy), and Robert F.
Kennedy International Human Rights Award
(US).
He has been involved with the Global
March Against Child Labor and its interna-
tional advocacy body, the International
Center on Child Labor and Education
(ICCLE) - a global coalition of NGOs,
teachers and trades unionists - and also the
Global Campaign for Education.
Satyarthi has helped enactment and adop-
tion of national and international legisla-
tions, treaties and conventions as well as the
constitutional amendment on child labour
and education.
Satyarthi, who was born in Vidisha in
Madhya Pradesh, has a degree in electrical
engineering and a post-graduate diploma in
high-voltage engineering.
After teaching engineering in a college in
Bhopal for a few years, he decided to work
for social change, and initially began by
starting a book bank for poor students who
could not afford textbooks.
Islamabad: Malala Yousufzai, the 17-year-
old Pakistani girl education campaigner who
was shot in the head in 2012 by a Taliban gun-
man, is the youngest person ever to win a
Nobel Prize.
Malala won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
along with Indian children's rights activist
Kailash Satyarthi.
Before Malala, Australia-born British citi-
zen William Lawrence Bragg was the
youngest Nobel laureate when he won the
physics Nobel in 1915 at the age of 25.
In naming her for the 2014 Nobel Peace
Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said:
Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has
already fought for several years for the right
of girls to education, and has shown by exam-
ple that children and young people, too, can
contribute to improving their own situations.
This she has done under the most dangerous
circumstances. Through her heroic struggle,
she has become a leading spokesperson for
girls rights to education.
Malala and India's Satyarthi were named the
joint winners of the eight-million kronor ($1.1
million) peace prize by the chairman of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee - Norway's for-
mer prime minister Thorbjoern Jagland -
Friday morning.
Malala was shot in the head while on her
way to school by a Taliban militant Oct 9,
2012.
From that horrific moment two years ago to
this momentous one Friday morning, the 17-
year-old's tale has been one of immense inspi-
ration for millions of people across the world
who value children's - and not just girls' -
rights and education.
After being shot, a critically injured Malala
was airlifted to a military hospital in
Peshawar. There a damaged portion of her
skull had to be removed. Later the Pakistan
government at its expense, airlifted her to
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham,
England, where she was treated for life-threat-
ening injuries and pulled back from the brink.
Malala did not become famous only two
years ago after the appalling Taliban attack on
her. Rather, Taliban militants shot at her
because she had already earned name for rais-
ing her voice for girls' right to education much
before that, defying Taliban diktat.
Born July 12, 1997, in a Sunni Muslim fam-
ily at Mingora in Pakistan's Swat Valley,
Malala attended a school run by her father,
Ziauddin Yousafzai.
After the Taliban started attacking girls'
schools in Swat, Malala gave a speech in
Peshawar, Pakistan, in September 2008, on
How dare the Taliban take away my basic
right to education?
The next year, she started writing a blog
under the pen name Gul Makal for the BBC
on life under Taliban threats, but her identity
was given away in December the same year.
Her activism did not go unnoticed and, in
2011 she was nominated for the International
Children's Peace Prize, also known as the
Children's Nobel. The same year she was
awarded the National Youth Peace Prize of
Pakistan.
In England, after being discharged from
hospital, she started attending Birmingham
High School in March 2013.
On July 12 that year, her 16th birthday, she
gave a speech at the UN. She said: I speak -
not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I
raise up my voice - not so that I can shout, but
so that those without a voice can be heard.
Those who have fought for their rights: Their
right to live in peace; their right to be treated
with dignity; their right to equality of opportu-
nity; their right to be educated. In October
2013, she released her autobiography: I am
Malala: The girl who stood up for education
and was shot by the Taliban.
The same month, the European Parliament
conferred on her the Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thought.
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize last year too but did not get it. This year
she became the Nobel laureate, the youngest
ever. She was in school in Birmingham when
the good news floated in.
Malala was shot in the head while on her way to school by a Taliban militant
on October 9, 2012.
Malala, now youngest Nobel laureate
Kailash Satyarthi: Champion of child rights
Kailash Satyarthi and his organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan have single-
handedly brought to centre-stage the debate on child rights in India.
New Delhi: The Nobel Peace Prize has, more
often than not, raised eyebrows and created
controversies for the political statement it
invariably makes.
As tensions escalated on the India-Pakistan
border, exciting fears of two nuclear armed
neighbors who might become trigger-happy
with nukes, it was the perfect time for the
Nobel committee to send a political signal
through two non-political entities.
The politics of the Nobel Peace Prize have
been described as tragic, outrageous and
sometimes cringe-worthy, a report in the
Times of India said.
Kailash Satyarthi's Nobel Prize is a cause
for national celebration in India, even if many
Indians had to Google him to appreciate the
battle he has fought for child rights.
But Malala Yousufzai, who received her
much deserved Nobel exactly two years after
she was shot in the head by the Taliban while
traveling to school, will be the second Nobel
laureate from Pakistan who will be forced to
make her home outside her own country.
The first, Abdus Salam, was one of the
finest minds in theoretical physics. In 1979, he
became the first Pakistani and so far the only
Muslim scientist to win the Nobel Prize. But
he was shunned in his native Pakistan, and
settled in Trieste in Italy. He was an Ahmadi,
and therefore not acknowledged as a Muslim
in Pakistan.
Writing in Foreign Policy, Elias Groll won-
dered "Will Malala's Nobel Prize Backfire?"
even as he viewed Yousafzai and Satyarthi's
joint selection as "an obvious nod towards the
ongoing global efforts" to end long-standing
India-Pakistan conflict.
"For Satyarthi, the award brings recognition
to decades of work on behalf of child labour-
ers, but for Yousafzai, the prize arguably
comes with risks," he wrote.
Noting that "In some quarters of Pakistan,
Yousafzai has become a symbol of Western
interference in the country," Groll wrote that
"huge international profile does not necessari-
ly translate into change on the ground in
Pakistan."
"If anything, those in Pakistan who are hos-
tile toward Yousafzai may only harden in their
opposition now that she has received the
Peace Prize. That may set her work back more
than it advances her cause," he wrote.
Calling the two "South Asia' s Peace
Heroes," Alyssa Ayres, a senior fellow at the
Council on Foreign Relations, thought the
Nobel committee clearly "views the hard work
of education and children's rights as vital
components in making South Asia a more
peaceful place."
But noting "a long history of India-Pakistan
civil society collaboration to try to overcome
tensions in the region, she wrote: "the Nobel
Committee's message isn't for those already
seized with the importance of normalizing
India-Pakistan relations."
"It's for those who would prevent better ties
from ever developing between India and
Pakistan, and who work to disrupt peace
efforts when they are underway," Ayers wrote.
"It's for known terrorists like Al Qaeda and
the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani
Network, and myriad others."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congrat-
ulated Malala but his attending the award giv-
ing ceremony along with Pakistan PM Nawaj
Sharif is doubtful.
President Pranab Mukherjee praised the
Nobel committee for choosing India's Kailash
Satyarthi for this year' s Peace Prize but
declined to comment if the joint conferment of
the award on Pakistan's Malala Yousufzai was
possibly intended to help find a solution to the
long-lasting tension between the two coun-
tries.
"This conflict (India-Pakistan) is a com-
pletely different issue. According to the con-
stitution of India, the president cannot make
any political statements. This is an issue for
the politicians to solve," Mukherjee said.
INDIA 11 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Islamabad: Members of Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan's (TTP) offshoot Jamat-ul-Ahrar
has condemned the awarding of the Nobel
Peace Prize to Malala Yousufzai, calling her
an "agent of kuffar (disbelievers)".
Jamat-ul-Ahrar's spokesman Ehsanullah
Ehsan and other members together Friday
posted comments on Twitter about Malala
and the award, stating that she did not repre-
sent Islam, Dawn online said.
Ehsanullah threatened that fighters would
continue to strike people who took what to
them was anti-Islamic positions.
Pakistani girl child education campaigner
Malala Yousufzai and Indian child rights
activist Kailash Satyarthi were awarded the
2014 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian
Nobel Committee for their struggle against
the suppression of children and young peo-
ple and for the right of all children to educa-
tion. Malala, 17, was shot in the head by
Taliban militants in October 2012 in her
home town in Swat district due to her defi-
ance of the Taliban's ban on girls' education.
The Pakistani Army announced last month
that a group of ten Taliban militants, who
were allegedly involved in attacking Malala
Yousufzai, had been arrested by the security
forces. The arrested militants admitted that
TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah plotted the
attack on Malala
The arrested militants admitted that TTP
chief Mullah Fazlullah plotted the attack on
Malala.
Nobel Peace Prize raises political controversy
Pak Taliban condemns Malala
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
The politics of the Nobel Peace Prize
have been described as tragic, outra-
geous and sometimes cringe-worthy
12 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
New Delhi:Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has unveiled some
key labor reforms that rely on trust
and promote the ease of doing
business, and said the measures
will go a long way in changing
India's work culture and promoting
social security.
The prime minister also unveiled
the Shram Suvidha portal, a Labor
Inspection Scheme, as also the
portability of social security
through a Universal Account
Number for Employees Provident
Fund at an event in Vigyan Bhavan
conference complex here.
"How to change the work cul-
ture? These efforts are a great
example," said Modi amid
applause. "This is Minimum
Government Maximum
Governance." The prime minister
said: "E-governance is easy gover-
nance. It builds trust for trans-
parency."
Modi said the government must
also trust its citizens and other
stakeholders and that a big step has
been taken in this direction
Thursday by allowing the self-cer-
tification of documents.
On the Inspector Raj regime, he
said, a computer will now deter-
mine where an inspection will be
carried out the next day. He also
said the number of forms that com-
panies have to fill on labour-related
issues has been reduced from as
many as 16 to just one now.
"The Shram Suvidha portal sim-
plifies compliance of 16 labor laws
with on online form," he said,
adding this form can be filed
online.
On the issue of social security of
labor force, the Prime Minister
expressed concern that as much as
Rs.27,000 crore was lying
unclaimed with the Employees
Provident Fund Organization.
"This money belongs to poor
workers of India," he said, adding
the portability provided under the
Employees Provident Fund
through one universal account
number will put an end to such
large sums of money being locked
up and not reaching the intended
beneficiary.
The prime minister said the
"Shramev Jayate" initiatives were
essential elements of the "Make in
India" vision, paving the way for
skill development of youth in a big
way, and creating opportunities for
India to meet the global require-
ment of skilled labour.
Modi also unveiled a booklet on
National Brand Ambassadors for
Vocational Training and a souvenir
for All India Skill Competitions.
Gurgaon: No one can give a
warning to India, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh said, a day after
China objected to India building
road along the border.
"No one can give a warning to
India. India is a powerful nation
now," the home minister
said on the sidelines of
the 30th Raising Day cer-
emony of the National
Security Guards (NSG) in
Manesar, on the outskirts
Delhi.
"As far as China is con-
cerned, both countries
should sit together and
discuss the issues," he
said.
China said India should
not take any action that
may complicate the situa-
tion in disputed border
areas.
The remarks come in
the wake of comments
made Tuesday by India's
Minister of State for
Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju
that there were plans to
construct a 2,000-km-long road
along the international border
between Mago-Thingbu in
Tawang district and Vijaynagar in
Changlang district of Arunachal
Pradesh.
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's pet Clean Ganga
project received a boost with the
inking here of an agreement
between India and Canada to clean
up the river, one of the most heavily
used in the world.
The Ministry of Water Resources,
River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation inked a memorandum
of understanding with India-Canada
Centre for Innovative
Multidisciplinary Partnerships to
Accelerate Community
Transformation and Sustainability
(IC-IMPACTS) for collaborative
water research with Indian institu-
tions and industry partners to clean
up the Ganga.
Under the partnership, existing
Canadian technologies in waste-
water treatment, water quality moni-
toring and management, and water
reduction and waste-water reuse for
sectors such as the pulp and paper
industry would also be highlighted,
said an official statement from the
Canadian High Commission here.
Canada's Minister of International
Trade Ed Fast and India's Minister
of Science and Technology Jitendra
Singh Wednesday launched a call
for joint R & D projects under the
Canada-India Science and
Technology Cooperation
Agreement.
India's Department of Science and
Technology (DST) would collabo-
rate directly with the IC-IMPACTS.
"This new call for proposals will
promote scientific collaboration
between Indian and Canadian scien-
tists through joint R & D projects in
safe and sustainable infrastructure
and integrated water management.
Successful joint research projects
are expected to lead to solutions to
challenges that affect the quality of
life of millions of people in Indian
and Canadian communities," said
the statement.
Minister Fast's six-day, three-city
trade mission to India coincides
with an intensive week of high-level
engagement with India with
Canada' s Minister for Foreign
Affairs John Baird, Minister for
National Revenue Kerry-Lynne
Findlay and Premier of the province
of British Columbia Christy Clark
visiting India.
IC-IMPACTS is led on the
Canadian side by the universities of
British Columbia, Alberta and
Toronto and is funded through the
Government of Canada's Networks
of Centres of Excellence pro-
gramme. In 2008, Canada and India
ratified an Agreement for Scientific
and Technological Cooperation to
foster greater bilateral science and
technology collaboration.
Canadian MoU boost for Modi's Clean Ganga project
The prime minister also
unveiled the Shram Suvidha
portal, a Labor Inspection
Scheme Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh
Modi launches key labor reforms
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi called up new
Afghanistan President Ashraf
Ghani and conveyed to him that
India will stand as a friend and
partner in Kabul's endeavor to
build a strong and prosperous
nation.
Ghani, who was sworn in as
president on Sep 29, in turn
thanked the prime minister for
his letter of congratulations sent
earlier and "described India as
the foundation of Afghanistan's
diplomacy and economic strate-
gy". During the phone call,
Modi congratulated the former
finance minister and ex-World
Bank economist on his election
as president of Afghanistan,
marking the country's political
transition since the US-led
coalition ousted the Taliban
from power in 2001. Former
president Hamid Karzai was in
power since 2001.
Modi expressed confidence
that President Ghani's "exper-
tise, global experience and
grassroots knowledge, borne out
of travel to every district of
Afghanistan, will help him
implement his bold agenda of
economic reforms and develop-
ment in Afghanistan". He said
President Ghani's "experience
will be beneficial for India and
the region", said an official
statement. He lauded Ghani's
"wisdom and statesmanship"
and his commitment to unity,
peace and progress in
Afghanistan, which had enabled
the formation of a broad-based
and inclusive government and a
peaceful political transition.
Modi paid tributes to the peo-
ple and the political leaders of
Afghanistan for their faith in
democracy and their determina-
tion to prevail over violence and
terrorism.
Afghanistan, under a power-
sharing agreement, has a nation-
al unity government that helped
end weeks of political bickering
following a June 14 runoff pres-
idential election whose results
were highly contested. While
Ghani is president, the country
now has a chief executive in
rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
The PMO statement said
Ghani accepted Modi's invita-
tion to visit India at the earliest
opportunity.
India will stand as friend,
Modi tells
Afghan president
13 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
BJP on top in Maharashtra, Haryana: Exit polls
New Delhi/Mumbai/Chandigarh: The BJP
was within striking distance of power in both
Haryana and Maharashtra, exit polls said at
the end of keenly fought assembly elections
that pitted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
party against all key players in the two states.
Various exit polls gave the Bharatiya
Janata Party a margin of 42-54 seats in the
90-member Haryana assembly and 124-151
seats in the 288-strong Maharashtra legisla-
ture.
The Congress, which had ruled Haryana
for the last 10 years, was predicted to end up
with just 10-18 seats. In Maharashtra, the
exit polls gave the Shiv Sena, the BJP's for-
mer ally for 25 years, 51-77 seats, Congress
27-48 seats and Nationalist Congress Party
28-41 seats. The last two had ruled the state
for three terms since 1999 before their
alliance ended last month.
While some exit polls predicted BJP get-
ting a majority in the two states, others pro-
jected it as the single largest party, a few
seats short of a simple majority.
The bitter battle for Maharashtra ended
with over 64 percent of the 8.35 crore elec-
torate voting. Polling also took place for the
Beed Lok Sabha seat where a bypoll was
necessitated following the death in June of
central minister Gopinath Munde.
A total of 4,119 candidates were in the fray
in the elections that saw Maharashtra's two
main coalitions -- the BJP-Shiv Sena com-
bine and the NCP-Congress alliance -- col-
lapse, making the contest wide open but with
advantage to BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the
BJP's campaign, addressing scores of heavily
attended rallies and prompting a verbal
assault from Shiv Sena. The Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS) was also a key con-
tender but surveys indicate it seemed to bare-
ly make an impact.
In Haryana, the voters set a new record
with over 75.9 percent of the 1.63 crore elec-
torate exercising their franchise, perking up
the BJP's hopes to come to power on its own.
This is the highest voting in Haryana
assembly polls since 1967, chief electoral
officer Shrikant Walgad said.The previous
record of maximum polling was 72.65 per-
cent in 1967. In 2009, Haryana recorded
nearly 72.29 percent voting.
The BJP was confident of victory. "The
BJP is all set to form the next government in
Haryana on its own. We will get a clear
majority and end scams and corruption,"
party leader Abhimanyu said.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
was not willing to give up easily, saying the
"response of the voters" showed the
Congress will form the government for a
third term.
Exit polls were unanimous in their predic-
tion about major gains for BJP. Here is a
state-wise prediction of some exit polls.
The BJP may have a margin of 42-54 seats in Haryana
and 124-151 seats in Maharashtra.
Chandigarh: The heavy voter turnout in
Haryana's assembly elections has taken the
state to a new high with a record 75.90 per-
cent of the state's 1.63 crore electorate
exercising their franchise. The voting per-
centage is the highest ever in any assembly
elections since Haryana became a state in
1966.
"This is the highest ever voting record in
the history of Haryana's assembly polls
since 1967," Haryana Chief Electoral
Officer Shrikant Walgad said.
The voter turnout has already put the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is tak-
ing its first shot at power in the state on its
own, on victory course if the exit poll
results are to be believed. The exit polls
have given the BJP between 34 to 54 seats
in the 90-member assembly. The results
will be known after the vote count Sunday.
"The BJP will form the next government
and the high voter turnout is a clear indica-
tor that people in Haryana want a change.
They were fed up with the scams, corrup-
tion and misrule of the last 10 years," said
BJP leader Abhimanyu, who is a frontrun-
ner in the race to be the next chief minister
if the BJP comes to power.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD),
which has been given between 20 and 26
seats in the exit polls, too is confident after
the high turnout.
Out of Haryana's 21 districts, 15 districts
recorded a voting percentage of 75 percent
or more. Of these, six districts recorded
heavy voter turnout of over 80 percent.
Sirsa district, which is the stronghold of
the opposition INLD, recorded the highest
polling of 84.2 percent. It was followed by
Fatehabad district with a turnout of 83.2
and Kaithal with 82.2 percent voting.
The previous record for maximum
polling at 72.65 percent in 1967 was bro-
ken.
In the 2009 assembly polls, Haryana
recorded nearly 72.29 percent voting. In
the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year,
Haryana saw a turnout of 71.86 percent.
The assembly constituency of Ellenabad
in Sirsa district saw the highest voter
turnout of 89 percent. It was followed by
Rania at 87.9 percent, Sadhaura at 84.9
and Jagadhri at 84.7 percent.
The high profile assembly seat of
Uchana Kalan in Jind district saw a record
voting of 84.8 percent. Here INLD candi-
date Dushyant Chautala, who is the current
Lokk Sabha member from Hisar con-
stituency and great-grandson of late former
deputy prime minister Devi Lal, was pitted
against Premlata Singh, wife of Jat leader
Birender Singh who quit the Congress
recently to join the BJP.
The National Capital Region (NCR)
areas of Faridabad and Gurgaon were the
ones which could not match up to the high
voting percentage elsewhere in the state.
Faridabad district recorded the lowest
turnout in the state at 62.1 percent while
Gurgaon was a shade better at 69.2 per-
cent.
Badhkal (55.9 percent), Ballabhgarh (58)
and Faridabad (59.7) assembly constituen-
cies recorded the lowest turnouts in the
state.
Even Panchkula assembly segment,
adjoining state capital Chandigarh, had a
low turnout of 65.7 percent. Gurgaon
assembly constituency, adjoining the
national capital, saw only 63.8 percent vot-
ing.
"The state's rural areas voted heavily.
Details will be known later," one election
official said.
Haryana hits a new high
with voter turnout
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
14 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED
By Ranjana Narayan
T
he government of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has
fulled a spike in social media
and interest in his government and
its policies, including foreign policy.
With a robust foreign policy agen-
da and some well-publicized diplo-
matic engagements, the Twitter han-
dle and Facebook page of the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
has seen a quantum jump of 400
percent since the Modi government
came in over four months ago, while
its website has more than doubled
its viewership.
The Twitter handle of MEA
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin
@MEAIndia is chockful of infor-
mation, constantly being updated by
the spokesperson - something on the
lines of the refurbished and smart
Prime Minister of India (PMO)
website and Twitter handle that are
constantly giving blurbs of informa-
tion.
Akbaruddin, who has over
140,000 followers, is prompt with
tweets on any latest happening -
from posting links to the video of
the media briefing, photos with
links on Minister Sushma Swaraj's
diplomatic forays, about any visit-
ing dignitary, and also on the latest
visit of the prime minister.
He said since the Modi govern-
ment came in, there has been
"enhanced interest in the website"
while social media interest has
"increased by 400 percent". This has
particularly happened after Modi's
recent visit to the US, where he got
almost celebrity treatment from the
affluent and influential Indian com-
munity, as well visit to Japan and
visits to India by leaders of China
and Australia.
The MEA website -
www.mea.gov.in - in its attempt to
reach a wider global audience is
now available, besides in English
and Hindi, in Spanish and Arabic,
with the latter introduced a few days
ago. "It will be available in French
and Russian by early next year,"
Akbaruddin said.
Two months ago it was named
among the 40 best government web-
sites in the world for Design
Inspiration, along with websites of
the US House of Representatives
and Japan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
Though devoted to foreign policy,
the MEA website is not just for the
high-brow or those interested in
international relations.
Colorful photographs on the latest
diplomatic events are constantly
uploaded as are interesting photo
features and articles on any major
event. It has seen a more than dou-
bling of visitors since Modi came to
power, with the figure at present
standing at more than 26 million.
Its section on documentaries is
gaining in popularity, with a new
documentary uploaded every week
by the Public Diplomacy Division
of the ministry. The current docu-
mentary ' Bridging Worlds: A
Meeting of Minds: The Story of
Indians in The United Kingdom' has
got over 1,400 views on its YouTube
channel.
"Social media has added to the
conventional utility of the website,
the links posted on Twitter and
Facebook have expanded our out-
reach," Akbaruddin said.
During Prime Minister Modi' s
major visit to the US, the spokesper-
son's Twitter handle was a constant
source of news and updates of what
the prime minister was doing or
who he was meeting.
The twitter handle and the website
saw a huge number of visitors dur-
ing this time.
The MEA page has a section
devoted to its flagship magazine,
India Perspectives, with the latest
issue on Durga Puja, while there is
another section ' Distinguished
Lectures' where lectures by retired
diplomats are posted.
It has a separate section on
Minister Sushma Swaraj and also
links to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's latest 'Make in India' cam-
paign, Swachch Bharat and not for-
getting the most important Consular,
Passport and Visa division of the
ministry.
By C Uday Bhaskar
I
n a surprise announcement,
India' s little-known child
rights adherent Kailash
Satyarthi and Pakistans Malala
Yousafzai have together been
awarded this years prestigious
Nobel Peace Prize "for their strug-
gle against the suppression of chil-
dren and young people and for the
right of all children to education".
This prize assumes significance
not only because this is the first
time that the legacy of Mahatma
Gandhi (who incidentally did not
receive the Nobel) has been
acknowledged by the Nobel com-
mittee. Concurrently, it is a first
for Pakistan, in that a young girl
internationally recognized for
braving a brutal Taliban attack and
who remains committed to educa-
tion for the girl-child has been
awarded the coveted prize.
But this joint award is even
more ironically poignant, coming
as it does when India and Pakistan
are engaged in an intense
exchange of ordnance across the
contested Line of Control in
Jammu & Kashmir and heavily
guarded International Border. The
fact that innocent civilians have
been killed on both side under-
scores the imperative of nurturing
peace on the sub-continent despite
the revisionist agenda of the
deep-state in Pakistan.
Kailash Satyarthi has been
active in the movement against
child labour since the 1990s. His
organization Bachpan Bachao
Andolan has freed thousands of
hapless children from various
forms of servitude and helped in
their successful re-integration,
rehabilitation and education.
The Norwegian Noble commit-
tee awarded the peace prize to
Kailash Satyarthi for showing
great personal courage and
strength. The committee noted that
Satyarthi followed the great tradi-
tion of Mahatma Gandhi and has
headed various forms of peaceful
protests and demonstrations,
focusing on the grave exploitation
of children for financial gain. The
Committee further added: His
contribution towards the develop-
ment of important convention on
childs rights is immense.
In relation to Malala Yousafzai,
it was observed that she has shown
by personal example that even
children and young people can
contribute to improving their own
situation. It is pertinent to note
that Malala has worked under the
most dangerous situations and the
citation said: Through her heroic
struggle, she has become a leading
spokesperson for girls' right to
education.
An exile of sorts, who cannot
return to her country because of
the Taliban threat, Malalas choice
for the Peace Prize draws attention
to Pakistans most severe socio-
cultural challenge - that of radical
and ideological extremism which,
among other inflexible strictures,
forbids girls from obtaining edu-
cation. Malala herself is a victim
of such radical extremism and was
shot at by the Taliban in 2012 for
supporting girls education and
protesting against curbs imposed
by extremist forces.
Satyarthi symbolizes the quiet
one-man crusade against this form
of exploitation and hopefully the
Nobel prize (despite its incongru-
ous reference to the Hindu-
Muslim identity of the awardees)
will focus much needed attention
and spur a more concerted collec-
tive effort in this regard.
As the guns remain silent and an
uneasy peace prevails on the
India-Pakistan border, hope for
that abiding peace remains elu-
sive. Perhaps it may yet filter
through the many tears that scar
the faces of the oppressed children
of the sub-continent.
That the sub-continent still has a
wry sense of humour is summed
up in this lighter vein quip from
Pakistan doing the cyber rounds:
"When Pakistan is getting its
first Nobel Peace Prize, an Indian
comes and steals half of it. I'm
going to call one half of the 2014
Nobel Peace prize as Azad Nobel
Peace Prize and the other half as
Indian Held Nobel Peace Prize."
During Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's major visit
to the US, the MEA spokesper-
son's Twitter handle was a
constant source of news and
updates.
The joint Nobel Peace prize to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash
Satyarthi comes at a time when India and Pakistan are
engaged in an intense exchange of
ordnance across the Line of Control.
India's foreign policy a big draw on new and social media
Irony of peace award amid India-Pak border friction
FASHION 15 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi: From Mother Nature to
weavers, designers used the Wills Lifestyle
India Fashion Week Spring-Summer
(WIFW SS) 2015 as a platform to pay trib-
ute to them. However, the gala, where
technology met fashion, was low on B-
Town glam.
The fashion gala, which concluded
Sunday, saw participation of 124
designers, out of which some drew
inspiration from Kashmir, Assam
and Benares and also from Japan,
China and Africa.
Opened by Aneeth Arora, her
collection had summer-friend-
ly pieces like cotton khadi
dress, shorts, chanderi tops,
blue denims as well as cotton
and silk shirts in colors like
white, blue, green and
orange.
Oriental inspiration
was part of designers
like Alpana Neeraj and
Atsu Sekhose collec-
tions and they even
familiarized the atten-
dees with Japanese cul-
ture on the runway. If
Japan-inspired creations
grabbed eyeballs, the
nomadic culture of
Xining, capital of
northwest Chinas
Qinghai Province,
was the focal point of Urvashi Kaur s
spring-summer line. She made extensive use
of tassels, pom-poms, tapes and ribbons on
garments, which had a lot of Chinese-
inspired necklines.
Nachiket Barves show transported the
attendees t o Africa. Fascinated by the
continent, Barve came up with the
Kalahari collection, an atypical tribal
wear it had everything that decodes fashion
front slit skirts, palazzos and more.
Mother Nature inspired Gauri and
Nainikas collection. With a modern and
stark silhouette, the collection was primarily
designed in the striking colors of earth like
white, blue, green and shades of grey was
an ode to nature.
Organized by the Fashion Design Council
of India (FDCI), the five-day event was held
at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
Even Kavita Bhartia collections was an
ode to master artisans and karigars.
Denim, which has returned to the ramp,
was the focal point of Rajesh Pratap Singhs
collection. He also made sure that the
weavers, whom he addressed as his col-
leagues, actively participated in the show.
The collection brought forward Singhs love
for raw selvedge denim made with pure nat-
ural indigo. In the fashion circuit, stoles are
considered trendy, but this time Poonam
Dubey and Chhaya Mehrotra made our own
desi gamcha a fashionable. The traditional
gamcha (cotton stole), a must have for
people in the states like Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar, got a fashionable twist. This time
there were two off-site shows too on the
opening day, Tarun Tahiliani braved dust
storm for his show at DLF Emporio and
wowed fashionistas with colorful and artis-
tic ensemble.
The grand finale, held at Quli Khans
tomb with Qutub Minar as its backdrop, by
Rohit Bal was truly larger than life. The
Kashmiri designer presented Gulbagh,
inspired by the rich and the lush Mughal
gardens in the valley.
However, the Bollywood quotient was not
so overwhelming. Arjun Rampal walked for
Bal, while Aditi Rao Hydari turned show-
stopper for Payal Singhal, singer-actress
Monica Dogra for Kanika Saluja and tennis
star Sania Mirza turned heads in designer
Ritu Pandes creation.
Evergreen actress Rekha, though didnt
make her presence at the fashion gala,
Wendell Rodricks paid homage to the icon
through his collection.
The FDCI launched the Wills Lifestyle
India Fashion Week app in partnership with
Sent.ly for Android Play Store with an aim
to connect designers with visitors at the
event. A Wills Fashion Drone was also seen
flying over the venue and capturing the best
moments of the fashion week.
If that was not enough, Wills Rock the
Ramp 360 Degree Selfie was another ini-
tiative that attracted the attendees.
Fashionistas were seen flocking towards the
selfie booth that had a mechanical arm fitted
with a Go Pro camera, which rotated and
captured a 360 degree video.
The 5-day Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Summer-Spring, 2015 was organized by
the Fashion Design Council of India at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi earlier this month.
(L to R) : Mother
Nature inspired
Gauri and
Nainikas
collection.
A model on the
ramp displaying a
Rahul Singh
ensemble.
A model walks on
the ramp for Rohit
Bal show.
Tennis star
Sania Mirza
showcased
Ritu Pande's
creations.
16 October 18-24, 2014 FESTIVALS TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Women pray during the festival of Karva Chauth in Patna.
With autumn finally settling in, the nation and its vast diaspora began a long
celebration with a bouquet of annual festivals like Navratri, Dusshera, Durga
Puja, Eid and Karva Chauth. The festival mood is ready to culminate in Diwali
festivities which is just a week ahead. A glimpse...
A Durga idol being immersed in the Hooghly river in Kolkata.
An effigy
of Ravana
being
burnt on
Vijaya
Dashmi
in New
Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Oct 3 shared stage with
his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Congress President
Sonia Gandhi at a Dussehra celebration in north Delhi.
Muslims
offering
namaz on
the occasion
of Eid-ul-Azha
at Jama
Masjid in
Delhi.
Women practice garba during Navratri festival in Ahmedabad.
On Oct 11 Shankara Eye Foundation Dandia event rocked the house and
culminated its Navratri/Dandia season with a power-packed house with 6,000
patrons during its grand finale Sharad Purnima Dandia.While the Dandia event was
going on, SEF also inaugurated its 9th hospital in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh during
those very moments! (Photo: SEF Dandia Facebook Page)
The Nartan Rang
Dance Academy
of Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan
held its 3rd
annual Navratri
celebration on
October 11 at
Mitchel Athletic
Complex in
Garden City,
Long Island.
With melodic
music of
Naishad Pandya
& his orchestra,
a crowd of near-
ly 250 people
gathered to offer
their prayers to
Goddess Durga.
Traditional aarti
in progress as
seen in the
photo.
Dushahra Festival was celebrated in New Jersey on October 12. Lake Papaiaani Park in Edison was the venue where more than 8000 people gathered to
witness 40 feet effigy of Ravana burst into flames. 75 artists from Navrang Dance Academy presented a dazzling Ram Leela performance. Cultural pro-
grams also kept the crowds entertained for more than four hours.
FESTIVALS 17 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
NJ Telangana Association celebrates Bathukamma: New Jersey Telangana Association Bathukamma Celebrations, started with jubilation and joy at Johnson
Park, in Piscataway. About 700 people of all ages participated. (Left photo): Women in traditional saris seen with beautiful Bathukammas made of locally
available flowers placed in the center. (Photo on right) Women danced around Bathukammas singing Bathukamma songs.
18 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
E
vergreen actress Rekha turned 60
and it was time to revisit some of
the most popular songs picturised
on the diva.
Here are the 10 best songs from her
hit and not-so-hit movies:
"In aankhon ki masti": Take any of
the sparkling royal gems from Muzaffar
Ali' s "Umrao Jaan", shake stir and
serve....ummmm! Khayyam's magical
melody as sung by Asha Bhosle gave
Rekha's on-screen image a new vision,
vista and vibrancy.
"Salaam-e-ishq": Oh my god, what a
whopping chartbuster! What would
"Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" be without
this Kalyanji-Anandji number? Rekha
as the kothewali Zohra Bai in Prakash
Mehra's mega-hit epitomised the Mujra
culture.
"Tere bina jiya jaye na": If you
watch "Ghar" now, you will realize it is
an overrated film. What stood out were
Lata Mangeshkar's melodies filmed on
Rekha.
"Ghum hai kisike pyar mein dil
subah-o-shaam": In this early R.D.
Burman melody from "Rampur Ka
Lakshman", Rekha acquired an image
of absolute serenity and sobriety thanks
to Anand Bakshi's uncluttured but lucid
lyrics.
"Kaahe manwa naache hamra": A
little known melody from Hrishikesh
Mukherjee's flop film "Alaap" featuring
Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan, this Lata
Mangeshkar solo was the only solo
composition by the great Jaidev that
Rekha got to croon in her career.
"Pardesiya": Sometimes an ever-
green hit just happens. A mediocre song
like "Pardesia" from the film "Mr.
Natwarlal" would have been forgotten
under normal circumstances. But
Rekha' s frantic dancing with her
favourite co-star made it one of her
most iconic numbers.
"Kaayda kaayda": A zingy track
about breaking rules from Rekha's most
beloved film "Khubsoorat", "Kaayda
kaayda" was sung in Rekha' s own
voice.
"Mann kyon behka ri behka aadhi
raat ko": Laxmikant-Pyarelal's 'saheli'
song featured Rekha singing in Lata
Mangeshkar's voice looking super gor-
geous and Anuradha Patel crooning in
Asha Bhosle's voice matching the icon-
ic Rekha gaze for gaze.
"Mera saamaan lauta do": The tale
of a woman, her unfaithful husband and
the other woman, Gulzar's poetry was
so evocative that while emoting Rekha
just went with the flow.
"Jaane kaise beetegi yeh barsaaten
maange huey din hain maange hui
raatein": Lata, when she sang for
Rekha, and Gulzar saab, when he wrote
words for her ...there was magic in
the air.
S
hah Rukh Khan's produc-
tion banner Red Chillies
Entertainments Pvt Ltd.,
which is reportedly targeting a 25
percent annual business growth,
is set to roll out four to five films
and the Bollywood superstar says
he won't act in them.
"We want to make four-five
films without me. As a producer I
would like to concentrate on the
films and visual effects," Shah
Rukh said.
Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt
Ltd. turned 12 this year. Shah
Rukh said the company would
also make a couple of films with
him in the lead.
"We will make a couple with
me and some with other actors.
The office is working towards
that. The office is concentrating
on filmmaking because that is our
forte," he said. In 12 years, Red
Chillies has made 12 films,
including forthcoming heist
drama "Happy New Year" (HNY)
as well as last year's blockbuster
"Chennai Express". The company
broke even in 2012.
The entire bouquet has a mix of
hits like "Student of the Year",
"My Name Is Khan", "Om Shanti
Om", "Main Hoon Na" and
"Chalte Chalte" and misses
"Ra.One", "Billu", "Paheli",
"Asoka", and "Phir Bhi Dil Hai
Hindustani".
Talking about the multiple films
in the pipeline, Shah Rukh said:
"We have a whole creative depart-
ment, which is planning two-three
films - some small, some medi-
um. A couple of them with me
like ' Raees' is with me, Rohit
Shetty's film is with me.."
"Raees" is being co-produced
with Excel Entertainment.
"Over 12 years when you have
collected a set of creative people,
producers, you need to give wings
to them. And I think we are in a
position now and hopefully, with
'Happy New Year' releasing, and
if it does well, we will be in a
position where we can try out dif-
ferent things," said Shah Rukh.
He also feels that as producers
they have grown over the years in
terms of technology, presentation,
and marketing of the films. HNY
will reflect that as it has some
"amazing stuff", he adds.
He believes a film's fate cannot
be controlled, "but technology is
what we can control as produc-
ers."
According to reports, film pro-
duction and VFX are the two
most important businesses of Red
Chillies, together constituting
almost 70 percent of its revenues.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan with Happy New Year team.
Red Chillies to make films without me: SRK
A
ctor Aamir Khan made many
women go weak at the knees
after his hit film "Dil" released
in 1990. But the film' s director Indra
Kumar says he can't cast the superstar in
its sequel. Asked if he is planning to
remake any of his old films, Kumar said:
"I will make 'Dil 2', but I can't cast Aamir
in the film because he can't fit in that role
now. Let's see who can do justice to the
role."
While the project is yet to begin, the
"Grand Masti" director says he will con-
tinue to make adult comedies.
"When I made 'Masti', people (from the
industry) told me not to make the film and
asked 'Are you crazy?'...Then I also went
ahead and made 'Grand Masti' which again
worked. For me, audience is important and
I will make these kind of films," he said.
Kumar roped in Bollywood's ageless
beauty Rekha for his new film "Super
Naani" and says the script convinced the
actress to do the film.
"I didn't convince Rekha. She loved the
script and the script convinced her to do
the film. When you will see the film, you
will know how hard she has worked for
it," he said.
I can't cast Aamir in 'Dil 2'
Aamir Khan
with
Madhuri
Dixit in 'Dil'
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 19 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
A
fter an intensely private six-
month romance, things are over
between Richard Gere and
Padma Lakshmi, Page Six has learned.
The 44-year-old Top Chef host was
recently asked in a television interview
about her love life, and confirmed she is
single. Were told the couple recently
decided they would be better as
friends, according to a source, who adds
that both had been busy with work.
Gere, 65, was this summer filming
Oren Movermans Time Out of Mind,
in which he plays a homeless man on the
streets of New York. The movie screened
this past weekend as part of the New
York Film Festival and the Hamptons
International Film Festival.
Speaking at the Film Society of Lincoln
Center last week, Gere said the film is
one of the projects he is most proud of
during his long career.
He also joked that what probably real-
ly helped was I was right in the middle of
a divorce [from Carey Lowell], so the
emotions were right on the surface.
Gere is about to start working on a new
film by award-winning Israeli director
Joseph Cedar, titled Oppenheimer.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi filmed a season of
her Bravo show Top Chef in Boston
this summer, and has since been travel-
ing. Page Six exclusively revealed in
April that Gere and Lakshmi began dat-
ing after he had split with Lowell, his
wife of 11 years. A source told us at the
time, They have been quietly spending
some time together. It is all very new and
recent. The couple remained low key
and were only spotted out together in
public a few times.
Lakshmi was married to author Salman
Rushdie for three years until they
divorced in 2007.
F
ilmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was
presented with Sophia Award at the
Syracuse International Film Festival in
New York.
His movies Heroine and Fashion were
also screened at the film festival.
Honored to have received the SOPHIA
award today (Sunday) from Tom Bower at
Syaracuse Film Festival, New York! @SYR-
FILM (sic), he tweeted.
Bhandarkar, also known for helming films
like "Page 3" and "Corporate", is now work-
ing on his new project "Calendar Girls" with
fresh faces.
The director, who has worked with actress-
es like Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra
and Tabu, has won National Award for films
like "Chandni Bar", "Page 3" and "Traffic
Signal".
Madhur Bhandarkar
honored in
New York
Richard Gere and Padma Lakshmi split up
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar
Richard Gere and Padma Lakshmi
A
ctor Rajpal Yadav, who
is making his debut in
Hollywood with
"Bhopal - A Prayer For Rain", is
extremely satisfied because work-
ing in the film is like a dream
come true for him.
Director Ravi Kumar's film also
features Hollywood names Mischa
Barton and Martin Sheen as well
as Indian-American actor Kal
Penn. Tannishtha Chatterjee too
joins the cast of the film, which
will hit Indian screens in
December.
"I am extremely satisfied with
my Hollywood debut and it's a
dream come true for me," said the
actor. "I have been part of the
industry for so long and I have
played comedy roles, supporting
roles, and lead roles, but when you
get such a project, you feel satis-
fied as an actor," added
Rajpal, who featured in
films like "Main Madhuri
Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon!"
and "Main, Meri Patni... Aur
Woh!". "Bhopal - A Prayer
For Rain" is based on true
events of 1984 when a toxic
gas leak from the Union
Carbide Corporation's pesti-
cide plant in the Madhya
Pradesh capital killed and
maimed thousands of peo-
ple. "I am playing the
lead in it. I am playing
actress Tannishtha' s
husband.
A
sk anyone. Its the hardest
thing to play dead. Satish
Shah did it in the cult com-
edy Kundan Shahs "Jaane Bhi Do
Yaaron". Anupam Kher, who plays
dead in this weeks release, also
played dead in that appalling come-
dy Rahul Rawails "Buddha Mar
Gaya".
Providentially, "Ekkees Toppon
Ki Salaami" (ETKS) is closer to
Shah rather than Rawails film. Its
heart beats and bleeds for the inno-
cence that independent India lost
when politicians decided to get
happily corrupt at the cost of the
common man. Kher plays an
Everyman, the role he specialised
in when he came into the movies
with "Saaransh". Its heartening to
see him return to his roots.
This is a well-balanced, nimbly
executed wake-up call for a nation,
that has for long gone into a state of
stupefied slumber. Writer Rahil
Qazis writing is authentic and
amusing. Debutant director
Ravindra Gautam handles the
inflammatory material with care.
He seems to know what we all pre-
tend to not know. That corruption is
not a beast from outerspace. It
exists within all of us.
Khers characters humiliation
and death is a moving metaphor for
the annihilation of Gandhian val-
ues. The films plot hinges on a
sons endeavour to fulfil his
fathers dying wish. The narrative
cuts to the chase without wasting
much time. Except for those annoy-
ing songs that show up as speed-
breakers, the film keeps moving
briskly putting across its message
to a nation that has lost its values
with a farcical ferocity that some-
times leaves us shaken stirred and
sober.
The film has some sterling per-
formances, reined-in and yet
w a c k e d - o u t .
Anupam Kher, of
course. Dead or
alive, he acts both
the parts with credi-
bly commitment to
keeping the flag
unfurled.
Manu Rishi (last
seen being impres-
sively jingoistic in
"Kya Dilli Kya
Lahore") and spe-
cially the under-used
u n d e r - r a t e d
Divyendu Sharma,
bolster the themes
vision of a decadent
debauched politics .
Neha Dhupia as
the scheming femme
fatale is once again
so right in her gait
and attitude, you wonder why she
doesnt get more challenging roles.
"Ekkess Toppon Ki Salaami"
deserves a 21-gun salute. It has a
heart and it doesnt hesitate in let-
ting it show.
REVIEW
A scene from 'Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami'
Rajpal
Yadav
goes to
Hollywood
Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami - deserves a 21-gun salute
20 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA
Wellington: An Indian ori-
gin professor from New
Zealand' s University of
Canterbury, who returned a
student-voted 'lecturer of the
year' award to protest what
he calls an "underbelly of
hate" on campus, has been
praised by the country's race
relations commissioner,
media reported.
Ekant Veer, an associate
professor who has taught
marketing at the university
since 2010, won the award on a vote from
the university students' association
UCSA, NZ City reported.
But he returned the award after what he
says was UCSA's failure to act over the
RoUndie 500 event run by the university's
Engineering Society, where participants
were encouraged to dress up in costumes
that were "the more inappropriate the bet-
ter." Veer - of Indian descent and born in
the English city of Liverpool - says this
resulted in a host of costumes that were
"undeniably racist and sexist."
"I have no proof that the UCSA has
taken the matter seriously. With no apolo-
gy and no guarantee of ensuring similar
behavior does not occur again, I believe
that racist and sexist
behavior will continue."
New Zealand' s Race
Relations Commissioner
Susan Devoy has said Veer
epitomized the Kiwi fight-
ing spirit.
"It's not easy to be the
one who stands up and
speaks out but Professor
Veer is giving us all a very
important lesson: even
young people hold obso-
lete, outdated opinions that
belong in 1914 not 2014," Devoy said.
Devoy said Christchurch students
should not forget that foreign nations
were some of the first to send search and
rescue teams into the devastated city in
February 2011 and migrant workers and
Asian companies were investing millions
in the rebuild.
"While we've come a long way as a
nation in terms of treating each other with
respect -- it's clear some of us still have a
long way to go." Veer said he has been a
target of racism since arriving in 2010.
This included one student writing "his
ethnicity" when he asked for feedback on
what should be changed to improve a
course he taught.
New Delhi: British Foreign Secretary
Philip Hammond with External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will
inaugurate the regional Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas on Oct 17 in London,
the first ever such event to be held in
Britain.
A British High Commission release
said that the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office will host a
reception Oct 17 "celebrating" the
country's Indian diaspora community.
"The reception will mark the first
ever regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
event - the Indian government's flag-
ship diaspora convention - to be held
in Britain," it said.
It said Deputy Prime Minister Nick
Clegg will present the first Britain-
India Dadabhai Naoroji Awards to the
2014 winners at the reception.
The two-day regional Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas is being organized by
the ministry of overseas Indian affairs
and Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII).
The release said the reception will
take place in the iconic Durbar Court,
at the heart of the old India Office
buildings in London.
The Britain-India Dadabhai Naoroji
Awards were launched by Clegg dur-
ing his visit to India in August. The
awards celebrate the work of individ-
uals who have made an exceptional
contribution in the fields of education,
commerce or culture.
Ahead of the regional Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas, the Overseas Indian
Facilitation Centre (OIFC) engage-
ment meet will be held in London Oct
16. OIFC is a public private partner-
ship between the overseas Indian
affairs ministry and the CII formed to
facilitate the economic engagement of
Indian diaspora with India.
Britain to host Indian
diaspora convention
Thiruvananthapuram: A diaspora directory
for all the non-resident Keralites will go online
Nov 1, which is celebrated as the Kerala Day,
an official said Friday.
The software for making the directory was
developed in-house, said P. Sudeep, CEO of
Roots-Norka, the Kerala government agency
that looks after the welfare of the state's dias-
pora. Kerala came into being place Nov 1,
1956. The directory will help all the non-resi-
dent Keralites make online registrations,
Sudeep said he said.
"Last minute checks are going on and we
wish to begin the online registration Nov 1.
We are now awaiting the clearance from the
state government," said Sudeep.
The Kerala diaspora directory has been a
long standing demand by the academic com-
munity as there is no authentic record to know
the exact number of the non-resident Keralites.
Over the years, the only one source that has
been quoted is a series of studies done by the
migration unit of the Center for Development
Studies (CDS) here.
The most recent study by K.C. Zachariah
and S. Irudayarajan came last month which
said that the number of emigrants in 2014 from
the state is 23.63 lakh so far. The figure was
22.81 lakh in 2011, 21.93 lakh in 2008, 18.38
lakh in 2003 and 13.62 lakh in 1998.
It also points out that 90 percent of the state
diaspora is in various Middle-East countries.
"The online registration is a simple process
and any Keralite who lives outside can log-in
to our site and register themselves. This will be
useful for the state government as none has
any idea about the exact number of Keralites
abroad," said Sudeep.
"After getting clearance from the state gov-
ernment, we will get in touch with all the
Kerala based organizations in other countries
to provide help to those who do not have direct
access to computers," Sudeep said.
Roots-Norka is planning to give the duration
of about three months to the Keralites abroad
to register themselves.
Kerala diaspora directory
to go online Nov 1
Prof Ekant Veer
Deputy Chief of Mission of India in Paris,
Indra Mani Pandey paid homage to the
Mahatma Gandhistatue on the occasion
of Gandhi Jayanti in Strasbourg. A peace
march and a Talk on Non Violence by
eminent author Mr. Jean Marie Muller
was organized by Inde-Alsace
Association. Mr. Muller has won the
Jamnalal Bajaj Award for promotion of
Gandhian values in 2013. Seen in photo:
Mr.Pandey with Jean Marie Muller.
Ambassador Arun
Singh inaugurated
the 'Know India Week'
at the Paris 13
University.
Indian origin lecturer praised
for anti-racism stand
New Delhi: India said it was will-
ing for a "serious dialogue" with
Pakistan on all outstanding issues,
including Kashmir, within the
framework of the Simla agree-
ment and Lahore declaration and
Islamabad's tactic of seeking to
internationalize the Kashmir issue
will not succeed.
External affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin
also said that Pakistan must take
immediate steps to de-escalate the
situation on the border created by
ceasefire violations.
The framework in which all out-
standing issues can be resolved
and a peaceful and cooperative
relationship built between the two
countries was the Simla accord
and the Lahore declaration, he
said.
"We have already stated that we
are willing for serious dialogue in
this framework. It will cover all
issues including that of Jammu
and Kashmir. It seems from what
Pakistan is doing, it is not interest-
ed in this kind of dialogue,"
Akbaruddin said. "Sending of a
letter to the UN secretary general
by Pakistan is a well-known tactic
and it has not worked earlier, it
will not work now," he said.
Akbaruddin said if Islamabad
was interested in serious dialogue,
the road was from Islamabad to
Lahore and then to New Delhi.
SUBCONTINENT
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif raised
the Kashmir issue during his
meeting with a delegation of US
Senators, saying it should be
resolved in accordance with the
UN resolutions.
Sharif, who met Senators Tim
Kaine, member of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, and
Angus King, member of the
Senate Armed Services
Committee, underlined that dia-
logue is the only way forward
between India and Pakistan.
A statement issued by the
Prime Minister' s Ofce here
said that Sharif told the two
Senators that the "UN resolu-
tions must form the basis for any
solution for Kashmir and people
of Kashmir be made part of it."
"He asked the UN to honor its
own resolutions on this matter.
He said the only acceptable
solution of Kashmir will be the
one which is endorsed by all
parties including Pakistan, India
and Kashmiris," the statement
said.
Sharif expressed his disap-
pointment on the cancellation of
Foreign Secretary-level talks
between India and Pakistan.
He also appreciated US sup-
port on Bhasha and Dasu dams.
He informed the US Senators
that Pakistan has seen improve-
ment in its economic indicators
and asked for better market
access for Pakistani products in
the US.
He said that enhancing mutual
trade is Pakistan's priority area
in bilateral relations.
Earlier, foreign ofce said the
Senators met adviser to the
Prime Minister on national secu-
rity and foreign affairs Sartaj
Aziz and discussed a number of
issues including Pakistan's rela-
tions with the US and the
regional situation.
Aziz expressed Pakistan's con-
cern over tensions with India
due to situation at the LoC.
Colombo: The European Union
(EU) has decided to ban the import
of sheries products caught by
vessels agged in Sri Lanka from
entering the EU market after three
months time from now, the EU
ofce said here in a statement.
The European Commission had
in November 2012 sent a warning
to Sri Lanka saying, they were not
complying with international rules
on illegal shing and their control
systems were inadequate.
According to the European
Commissioner for Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries, Maria
Damanaki, two years later, not
much has changed and the same
problems are still there and even
getting worse. Sri Lanka is now
authorizing huge vessels to sh in
the Indian Ocean without marine
GPS (VMS) and that this renders
control totally impossible, she
added. Damanaki said Sri Lanka is
the second biggest exporter of
fresh and chilled swordsh and
tuna to the EU and in those cir-
cumstances the EU cannot tolerate
not to know whether the sh they
import into the EU was caught sus-
tainably or not. EU citizens have
the right to know what lands on
their plate. "So today, the commis-
sion goes to the next level: we are
formally identifying Sri Lanka in
the ght against illegal shing.
Fisheries products caught by ves-
sels agged in Sri Lanka will not
be able to enter the EU market
after three months time from now."
"The council will, by that time,
have the possibility to conrm and
extend the depth and scope of the
trade measures," she added.
21 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
If Islamabad is interested in serious dialogue, the road is from
Islamabad to Lahore and then to New Delhi.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a meeting with
US senators Tim Kaine and Angus King.
Sharif unlikely to
attend Malala's
Nobel ceremony
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif is unlikely
to attend the award ceremony for
the Nobel Peace Prize shared by
Malala Yousufzai and Indian
activist Kailash Satyarthi, a top
official said.
Malala has called upon Sharif
and Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to attend the Dec
10 ceremony in Oslo, The Nation
reported.
But Advisor to Prime Minister
on National Security and Foreign
Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said that
Sharif is scheduled to travel to
China for an official visit on the
day of the ceremony.
Malala and Satyarthi will both
give speeches at the ceremony
about their struggles in Pakistan
and India against the suppression
of child rights.
EU to ban fish caught by vessels flagged in Sri Lanka
Islamabad: Pakistan has briefed
the entire diplomatic corps here on
the border tensions with India and
reiterated its "principled position
on the Kashmir dispute" of
demand for an impartial plebiscite
in Jammu and Kashmir in accor-
dance with the UN Resolutions.
The ministry of foreign affairs
briefed the diplomatic corps on the
situation arising from the ceasere
violations along the Line of
Control (LoC) and the Working
Boundary (WB) by the Indian
armed forces, a statement said.
"The brieng included a detailed
presentation by a senior represen-
tative of the military operations
directorate to explain the situation
on-ground, the frequency and
intensity of the unprovoked and
indiscriminate ring and shelling
by the Indian security forces since
Sep 30, 2014, and details of civil-
ian casualties, injuries and damage
to property," the foreign ofce
statement said.
The ofcial "informed that
efforts towards restoring peace and
tranquillity on the LoC and the
WB through available means of
communications were not respond-
ed to by the Indian side.
"On a few occasions of sector-
level hotline contacts, the Indian
side refused to acknowledge that
its troops were ring, despite
intense shelling on the civilian
population in Pakistan, taking
place at that time."
Sharif raises Kashmir
issue with US Senators
Indian and Pak military
officials speak over hotline
New Delhi: Senior Indian and Pakistani military officials talked over
hotline in the wake of the heavy cross border firing between the two
countries which killed civilians on both sides.
"It was a functional DGMO (director general of military opera-
tions) -level talk. The talk was routine," army sources said.
Pakistan has been indulging in unprecedented targeting of civilian
habitations since Oct 6. Eight people have been killed and 62 injured
in the shelling so far.
There had been an overnight calm on the international border and
the LoC Sunday, but Pakistan violated the ceasefire again Monday
afternoon, injuring a woman on the Indian side. Military officials in
Pakistan said the two sides discussed "ways to reduce tension along
their border", according to a media report.
Pak not serious on dialogue, says India
Pakistan briefs diplomats on
border tensions
Geneva: The World Health
Organization (WHO) has warned
that the Ebola epidemic in West
Africa could reach 5,000 to 10,000
cases per week by the first week of
December.
"Quite frankly, ladies and gentle-
men, this health crisis we face is
unparalleled in modern times. The
gravity of the situation is difficult
to get across with just a few num-
bers," Xinhua quoted WHO's assis-
tant director-general Bruce
Aylward as telling a press confer-
ence in Geneva.
He said the Ebola crisis, which
occurred in West Africa six months
ago, has now become a health sec-
tor crisis and a larger crisis of
essential services in these coun-
tries.
"The disease is entrenched in the
capitals, 70 percent of the people
affected are definitely dying from
this disease, and it is accelerating
in almost all of the settings," he
added. He said the rate of cases
slowing down does not mean we
return to zero cases, adding the
outbreak continues to expand geo-
graphically. He predicted as much
as 5,000 to 10,000 Ebola cases per
week were anticipated in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone by
December. However, he pointed
out the WHO's goal is by 60 days
to identify all chains of Ebola
transmissions in Guinea, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, to make sure 70 per-
cent of burials are safe, as well as
the 70 percent of cases are taken
care properly within 60 days.
The total number of cases attrib-
uted to Ebola virus disease in West
Africa has reached 8,914, includ-
ing 4,447 deaths.
Stockholm: The 2014 Nobel Prize for
Economics, or officially the Sveriges
Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in
Memory of Alfred Nobel, was awarded
to French economist Jean Tirole "for his
analysis of market power and regula-
tion", the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences announced.
Answering questions during phone
interviews, Tirole said he was "so
moved" upon being awarded this year's
economics prize.
Commenting on the regulation on the
banking industry globally, Tirole told
Xinhua that governments "have to do
more", especially in terms of regulations
on the liquidity. But he also emphasized
that regulation as such "has to be light
enough so as not to thwart entrepreneur-
ship", and that governments should
"intervene only when necessary".
Being "one of the most influential
economists of our time", Jean Tirole "has
made important theoretical research con-
tributions in a number of areas, but most
of all he has clarified how to understand
and regulate industries with a few pow-
erful firms", the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences said in its state-
ment. According to the statement, "the
best regulation or competition policy
should be carefully adapted to every
industry's specific conditions".
Tirole has, in a series of articles and
books, presented a general framework
for designing such policies and applied it
to a number of industries, ranging from
telecommunications to banking.
Washington: Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg
announced on that social net-
working site that he and his
wife, Priscilla, have donated
$25 million to the US Centres
for Disease Control and
Prevention for the fight against
the Ebola virus disease.
"We need to get Ebola under
control in the near term so
that it doesn't spread further and
become a long term global
health crisis that we end up
fighting for decades at large
scale, like HIV or polio," he
said in a Facebook post.
"We believe our grant is the
quickest way to empower the
CDC and the experts in this
field to prevent this outcome,"
Zuckerberg added.
Washington: US President
Barack Obama warned that
there would be periodic set-
backs in the fight against the
Islamic State (IS) and said it
is a long-term campaign.
"This is going to be a long-
term campaign; there are no
quick fixes involved," Obama
said after a meeting with
coalition military leaders at
Joint Base Andrews in the US
state of Maryland.
The president acknowl-
edged that the terror network,
which controls large swathes
of territory in Iraq and Syria,
does not present a "classic" military chal-
lenge. The meeting with international mili-
tary leaders, top White House officials and
top Pentagon brass was held amid new fears
that IS is still making gains in both Iraq and
Syria despite a US-led bombing campaign.
IS militants have reportedly captured a mil-
itary training camp in western Iraq and
lobbed bombs at Baghdad suburbs, sparking
concerns that the Iraqi military is not up to
the fight.
But the White House maintained that
despite some of the troubling news, the presi-
dent's plan against IS was "succeeding".
London: The first Man Booker prize to allow
American nominees was won by an Australian,
with Richard Flanagan triumphing for a novel
of love and war that tells the harrowing stories
of prisoners and captors on the infamous
Burma railway.
Flanagan won for The Narrow Road to the
Deep North, with philosopher AC Grayling,
who chaired the judges, describing the book as
"an absolutely superb novel, a really outstand-
ing work of literature", the Guardian reported.
The book, at its heart, narrates the excoriat-
ing, horrific story of what it was like to be a
prisoner of war forced to work on what has
become known as the Death Railway between
Thailand and Burma (Myanmar).
This is also the first time in the British presti-
gious literary award's 46-year history that it
was opened to writers of any nationality, writ-
ing in English and having their work published
in Britain. It had hitherto been confined to
writers from Commonwealth countries,
Ireland, and Zimbabwe. British-Indian writer
Neel Mukherjee, who was being stated as
favourite to win this year's Man Booker Prize,
could not make it possible. The Kolkata-born
writer was considered to be the frontrunner to
clinch the 50,000 pounds award.
INTERNATIONAL 22 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
The total number of cases attributed to Ebola virus disease in
West Africa has reached 8,914, including 4,447 deaths.
Australian Richard Flanagan
wins 2014 Man Booker prize
Ebola cases could reach 10,000 per week: WHO
Jean Tirole wins 2014 Nobel
Prize for Economics
Zuckerberg donates $25
mn to fight Ebola
IS militants have reportedly captured a military
training camp in western Iraq.
Obama predicts long-term
campaign against IS
French economist Jean Tirole
Mumbai: Shares of real estate
giant DLF fell sharply by over
28 percent, wiping-out Rs.7,439
crore from its market valuation, a
day after SEBI imposed a three-
year ban on the company and its
top executives from capital mar-
kets for acting to "mislead"
investors on its public offer.
DLF stock closed at Rs.104.95
a share, down 28.46 percent over
its previous close on the Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE). At the
NSE, the stock fell 27.98 percent
to settle at Rs.105.80.
The fall led to a Rs.7,438.67
crore loss in DLF's market valua-
tion which stood at Rs.18,701.33
crore at the close of trade.
Reacting to the Sebi order,
DLF said it had not violated any
laws and would defend its posi-
tion against any adverse findings
in the order.
"DLF and its board wish to
reassure its investors and all
other stakeholders that it has not
acted in contravention of law
either during its initial public
offer or otherwise," the company
said in a statement.
"DLF has full faith in the judi-
cial process and is confident of
vindication of its stand in the
near future," it added.
Those prohibited from the mar-
kets include DLF chairman K.P.
Singh, his son and vice-chairman
Rajiv Singh and daughter Pia
Singh, who is whole-time direc-
tor. Others barred are managing
director T.C. Goyal, former CFO
Kameshwar Swarup and former
Bangalore: The Enforcement Directorate
(ED) is reported to have issued a notice to
leading e-retailer Flipkart on its Oct 6 "Big
Billion Day" discount sale offer being in vio-
lation of statutory rules.
Though the city-based Flipkart declined to
confirm if it had received the notice, its
spokesperson said that the company com-
plied with the law and would cooperate with
the authorities when required. "We are in
complete compliance with the laws of the
land and will cooperate with authorities
when required," the spokesperson said.
The ED notice has also sought the compa-
ny's response on the charge it had facilitated
transactions in violation of the Foreign
Exchange Management Act (FEMA) during
the mega sale.
The notice comes following complaints
from retail traders last week to the govern-
ment that the e-commerce major was
indulging in unfair trade practices and
sought to regulate e-commerce business in
the country
Falling crude prices redefine
new normal in oil markets
Mumbai: Oil prices have fallen
to fresh multi-week lows on a
supply glut from almost all play-
ers, as well as weakening
demand from key economies
such as Europe and China.
What makes the present fall in
oil prices peculiar is that prices
are falling even when a number
of oil producing countries are at
war, or battling internal strife.
Earlier even when one oil pro-
ducer would be in trouble, oil
prices would immediately react.
This time the dynamics have
changed, which is why expecta-
tions are that prices might fall
further.
But there is a limit to the
where oil prices can fall to.
Prices cannot keep on falling
below the cost of production
once that happens, uneconomi-
cal wells will simply be closed.
Then theres the issue of oil
producing countries need to
keep oil prices high to balance
their budgets.
There are various conspiracy
theories floating in the market.
One of them is that USA and
Saudi Arabia are keeping oil
prices down to hurt Russia by
keeping supplies high, like they
did during Russias Afghanistan
misadventure.
The question now is who will
blink first but it looks like a
price of $100-110 per barrel will
be the ceiling rather than the
floor. We are now witnessing a
new normal in the oil markets.
A day after 'sale', Flipkart
apologizes to irate customers
New York: A year-and-a-half after it was
first set to go on sale, the August Smart Lock
is now on the market and available through
Apple Stores. The smartphone-controlled
home lock is the startup company's first
foray into its larger smart-home development
goals.
Priced at $249.99, the August Smart Lock
is available at brick-and-mortar Apple Stores
across the U.S. starting Tuesday. It will also
be available through Apple's online store
sometime this week.
The smart lock now includes two new fea-
tures: EverLock, which automatically locks a
home door when the user leaves, and Auto-
Unlock, which senses a user's approach and
automatically unlocks a door without the
need to take out a smartphone.
August is also working to make the smart
lock compatible with Apple's HomeKit, a
framework for smart-home device connectiv-
ity. August announced that work with Apple
this past summer, and has since expanded the
partnership to include the sale of smart locks
through Apple's online and offline stores.
Rather than replacing a traditional door
lock, the August Smart Lock is attached to a
door's deadbolt and can be installed in 10
minutes or less, according to the company.
The device uses four AA batteries that need
to be replaced about once a year.
If the batteries run out or if the user loses
his or her phone, the door can still be
unlocked using the standard key lock.
"August is an important step towards the
invisible home interface; the way we come
and go becomes a seamless process," Bhar
said.
BUSINESS October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 23
DLF chairman K.P. Singh, his son and vice-chairman Rajiv Singh
and daughter Pia Singh are barred from capital markets.
Apple's
August
Smart Lock
DLF stock dives over 28 percent after SEBI ban
Apple's 'Smart' lock
hits stores in US
Flipkart
claimed that
it got a billion
hits and sold
products
worth $100
million
(Rs.600
crore).
SPORTS 24 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Shillong: India will be able to
compete against Asia's football
elite in the next five to six years,
John Abraham, Bollywood actor
and co-owner of ISL franchise
NorthEast United FC, said.
"Currently, India is ranked 158
in the FIFA world rankings, and
it will be some time before we
see this ranking make an upward
move. The success of the Indian
Super League (ISL) is important
for the growth of football in the
country," John told journalists in
the state capital of Meghalaya
here.
"We are hopeful that India will
give a good fight in football to
Asian countries in the next five
to six years."
"We need more time. We need
to begin somewhere and the suc-
cess of ISL is important for the
growth of football in the country.
If this (ISL) does not work, then
I don't know what will work,"
said the actor-producer.
John, however, acknowledged
that ISL was still in its nascent
stage with the sole emphasis at
generating an interest in football
and identifying the hidden talent
in this region.
Moreover, he said the partici-
pation of Bollywood stars, crick-
eters and business people in
managing the football clubs of
the ISL and the presence of
renowned international players
from across the world in various
ISL teams would take football in
the country on an ascendant path.
All India Football Federation
(AIFF) vice-president Larsing
Ming Sawyan, who was present
on the occasion, was candid in
admitting that development of
football in India was growing at
a very slow pace.
"The ISL has just started and
our aim is to look at a meaning-
ful programme to develop foot-
ball as the number one sport in
India," Sawyan, who is also the
co-owner of the NorthEast
United FC, said.
John silenced critics who
regarded the whole ISL follow-
ing the lines of IPL when he
said: "I am using the platform of
being an actor to simply facili-
tate its promotion. The limelight
will slowly shift focus to the tal-
ent we see in the field."
However, John and Sawyan
were of the opinion that a game
so pure should stress on the
domestic heroes rather than the
glitz of celebrities.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
felicitated the medal winners of the 17th
Asian Games, saying a sportsperson' s
achievements brings respect and pride for
all Indians.
"No country can progress without self-
respect and pride. When Mangalyaan suc-
cessfully reached Mars, it was the achieve-
ment of the scientists, but a matter of pride
for all Indians, and it brought global recog-
nition for India," he said.
"Similarly, a sportsperson's achievements
bring respect and pride for all Indians."
Congratulating the medal winners, Modi
said he has "great enthusiasm to see India
excel in sports".
He expressed hope that the combination
of his enthusiasm and the spirit of sportsper-
sons would bring good results for the
nation.
Adding that India had a long history of
sports, and a sports stadium had been dis-
covered in the archaeological site of
Dholavira near Kutch, he said: "But we
have not geared ourselves up to compete
globally, so far.
"This situation is slowly changing now as
states focus on specific sports, and setting
up sports universities."
He said India was tying up with other
countries to develop sports.
Asking sportspersons to consider him
their friend, Modi urged them to "feel free
to give their suggestions to him, and to call
on him personally if they have anything
specific to talk about".
However, he urged them to be cautious
about their conduct. "A mistake by one
sportsperson can bring bad name to the
country." While appreciating the efforts of
boxer Mary Kom and cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar vis-a-vis the Clean India
Campaign, he said: "These had much
greater visibility than a prime minister
wielding the broom... Sportspersons do as
much for the country as political leaders."
He suggested that award winning
sportspersons who can speak well should
deliver talks at universities. "This will prove
inspirational for youths."
New Delhi: Double Olympic
bronze medallist wrestler Sushil
Kumar and six other Indian ath-
letes will get to train at the
SPIRE Institute in the first week
of November under a joint ven-
ture between Sheru Classic and
the Ohio-based institute.
"Indian athletic capabilities and
talent have great potential for
every level.
Proper preparations and nurtur-
ing of global standards will pro-
vide great results for the Indian
sports.
We are excited to establish a
partnership with SPIRE Institute,
because exposure of Indian ath-
letes at the SPIRE Institute will
result into Indias pride at the
Olympics, " Sheru Aangrish,
director of Sheru Classic, said in
a statement Wednesday.
Commenting on this tie-up,
Bobby Bosmann, director of
SPIRE Institute, said: "We are
excited to establish this tie-up
with Sheru Classic and we are all
set to welcome Indian athletes.
We look forward to train Indian
talent at our facility in Ohio,
US."
In this tie-up, Sheru Classic
will send talented athletes from
India to SPIRE Institute for pro-
viding worlds best sports training
and preparation to become cham-
pions in the Olympics.
Sydney: Australian all-rounder
Shane Watson Wednesday said that
his team, with the support of the
favourable home conditions, will
hope to make life difficult for the
visiting Indian cricket team when
the two sides meet in a four-Test
series starting Dec 4.
India will play the first Test start-
ing Dec 4 in Brisbane, for the first
time in 10 years while the series'
other games will be played in
Adelaide (Dec 12 to 16),
Melbourne (Dec 26 to 30) and
Sydney (Jan 3 to 7).
This will be followed by a ODI
tri-series, including England, start-
ing Jan 16.We are hopeful that the
groundsmen are going to make the
grounds very conducive to what
we do (because) in India they cer-
tainly make sure the conditions are
favorable to them," Watson was
quoted as saying by The
Australian.
They (India) have got a lot of
world class players, especially in
their batting, but over here is a dif-
ferent challenge for them," the 33-
year-old added.
Sushil Kumar, 6 others to train
in Ohio-based institute
India will face strong challenge
in Australia: Watson
New Delhi: Cricketing legend
Sachin Tendulkar called on Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and dis-
cussed the steps undertaken by
him for the Clean India
Campaign.
An official statement said that
Tendulkar apprised the prime
minister of his contribution
towards the campaign.
Modi had invited him along
with eight other well-known per-
sonalities to participate in the
campaign for a clean India.
He also informed Modi that he
has extended the chain by inviting
others to participate in the cam-
paign. Tendulkar said he looked
forward to adopting a village
under the Sansad Adarsh Gram
Yojana and expressed keenness to
work towards development of
sports in schools and colleges.
The former cricketer was accom-
panied by wife Anjali Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar meets PM Modi
India will compete with Asia's elite soon: John
Achievements in sports bring respect for Indians: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the medal winners of the 17th
Asian Games in New Delhi.
Sachin Tendulkar with Narendra Modi
Wrestler Sushil Kumar
CINEMA 25 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Parveen Chopra
W
hen I met Linda
Anouche early this year,
she was still trying to
raise money to complete her docu-
mentary titled Dreadlocks Story.
But such has been her determina-
tion and focus that the independent
filmmaker has managed to com-
plete the film. To be released short-
ly, it is having its Dutch premiere in
Amsterdam Nov 1, in Rootical
Vibrations, a cultural event that
offers the Rasta experience through
film, music and food, attended by
her via Skype.
The 90-mintue labor of love,
written and directed by Linda
Anouche, reveals the hidden spiri-
tual links between Jamaican Rastas
and Indian sadhus. Dreadlocks
Story opens up the history of
Rastas. It goes into the history of
the now smirked upon dreadlocks
hairstyle and the roots of the
Rastafari culture, which is entan-
gled with the Hindu tradition in
Jamaica. The documentary was
shot in France, India, Jamaica and
the US with four different lan-
guages (French, Hindi, Jamaican
Patois and English). It draws upon
a part of Jamaican and Indian histo-
ry.
There are many misconceptions
and judgments about the Rasta way
of life, but few have taken the trou-
ble to understand the why of what
they do, says Linda in her state-
ment about the film. Hairstyle is
the most universal and unavoidable
form of body art. It is also one of
the most interesting and commonly
misunderstood. How and why can
it be subject to prejudice and mas-
sacre? she asks. Similarly, for
Rastas, as for Indian sadhus, smok-
ing cannabis (ganja) is a spiritual
act, to open the gates of higher con-
sciousness.
The Rasta movement began as
slavery progressed. Rastafari
pledges a response to African
descendants to recover and rebuild
their culture suppressed bybrutal,
stultifying European domination. In
this context, it is an attempt forthe
survival of African culture and an
upfront anti-slavery, anti-colonial
and anti-imperialist struggle.
British colonists ruled in Jamaica
until 1962 and in India until 1947.
Slaveryended in Jamaica in 1838
and Indian workers were brought to
the island from1845 to 1917. Both
Afro-Jamaicans and Indians were
kidnapped and sent to work on
sugar and banana plantations
throughout Jamaica where they
forged warm relationships through
their shared oppressive hardships.
The history of Indian indigent
workers in Jamaica reminds us that
enslaved people have not come
only from Africa. What is the
unique way of life arising from the
cross-cultural mixing between the
sons of African slaves, as well as
African and Indian forced workers
under contracts in the planta-
tions?
Leonard Percival Howell, known
as the First Rasta was the pioneer
who spoke about Rastafari (1932).
He empowered and promoted the
belief that everyone isdivine and
equal through the figure of the
Emperor Haile Selassie I of
Ethiopia.
His first followers were mainly
very poor, persecuted people. Jailed
for two years by the colonial gov-
ernment, Howell wrote a pamphlet
(1935) under a Hindu pen name,
which showed commonalities
between the lifestyles of Rastas in
Jamaica and Hindu holy men in
India. In 1939, Howell became the
first black man to purchase a piece
of land called Pinnacle where he
implanted a free, self-reliant com-
munity for his followers. Incessant
persecutions followed for him and
the Rastas. Pinnacle was destroyed
by the colonists in 1958. The
destruction of this autonomous
society caused an exodus of Rastas
throughout Jamaica. To wear
dreadlocks became a mean of defi-
ance and a blanket of protection
against the Establishment.
Today, dreadlocks are not con-
fined to Jamaica but fly throughout
the Caribbean and their diasporas.
Although, since Jamaicas inde-
pendence in 1962, some accommo-
dation has been made towards
Rastas, this minority communitys
struggle against prejudice and dis-
crimination continues.
For her documentary, richly illus-
trated with archival material, stills
and videos, Linda has interviewed
experts such as Helene Lee, author
of The First Rasta, Verene
Shepherd, Social History Professor
at the University of the West Indies,
Jamaica; Professor Ajai and Laxmi
Mansingh, pioneer researchers of
the Indian presence in Jamaica.
She has also tried to elicit respons-
es from Rasta men and women
from different generations on how
they see dreadlocks, how they
regard Hindu influences on
Rastafari history. Finally, Linda
asks, Who knows if without
Indians, Bob Marley would have
met the same success?!
More details at www.dreadlock-
story.com
Linda Ainouches documentary Dreadlocks Story unearths the hidden spiritual links between Jamaican
Rastafarias reggae legend Bob Marley was one - and Indian sadhus, and not just the matted hair. An anthropologist
from France now based in New York, she is an expert on Jainism, having lived for years with Jains in India.
Linda Ainouche, who has a doctorate degree; Poster of the
documentary; (above) Rasta couple in a Hindu temple in
Jamaica, and Bob Marley. (top) A sadhu, and
Linda touching the matted locks of a Rastafaria.
Washington, DC:Narendra Modi
was dressed for the occasion wher-
ever he went, but the diverse colors
that the Indian prime minister
donned on his recent US visit had
one unifying theme - to win
America. And this is being talked
about even a week after his visit.
And win America he did even
before he reached Washington for a
much awaited summit with
President Barack Obama after
wowing the Indian diaspora, shar-
ing the stage with top American
music stars to reach out to
America's liberal youth and woo-
ing the big business in the Big
Apple.
It was a surprise performance
from a once provincial leader with
little foreign policy experience
who came to power just four
months ago though with a historic
win in Indian elections giving his
Bharatiya Janata Party a clear man-
date for the first time in 30 years.
Landing in America's financial
capital in a smart casual maroon
bandhgala and black pants, he got
out of his car in front of his hotel to
shake hands with delighted mem-
bers of the Indian-American com-
munity chanting "Modi Modi" as
anxious security guys scrambled to
keep their charge safe
Then he switched to a more for-
mal bandhgala suit for meetings
with the city's mayor and a Nobel
Laureate cancer researcher. That
was to be the pattern of Modi's
100-hour action-packed whirlwind
tour laced with symbolism.
Next day wearing his trade mark
half sleeve Modi kurta and churi-
dars with a grey shawl thrown on
his left shoulder, he paid homage at
Ground Zero where the twin tow-
ers of the World Trade Center
stood before the 9/11 attack, to
show India's resolve to fight terror-
ism and solidarity with Americans.
Switching to a formal blue band-
hgala suit, Modi then took to the
world stage with an address to the
UN General Assembly choosing to
speak in India's national language,
Hindi.
And instead of mouthing cliche
ridden paeans to non-alignment he
gave a call to form a ' G-all' in
today's interdependent world. Yet
he also chided Pakistan for raking
up Kashmir at the UN and offered
to engage in a "serious bilateral
dialogue", but "without the shadow
of terrorism".
In the evening, he outlined his
vision of a ' Clean India' to a
65,000-strong youthful crowd at
New York's Central Park address-
ing them in an idiom they under-
stood saying "I salute you" and
"May the force be with you" from
the evergreen hit Star Wars films.
A capacity crowd of nearly
20,000 star struck Indian-American
gave him a rock star like welcome
at the Madison Square Garden as
he spoke to them in Hindi in his
chatty style for over an hour as
thousands more heard him on jum-
botron screens at Times square and
in homes across the US.
Then packing meetings with two
governors, including South
Carolina's Indian-American Nikki
Haley, 40 odd lawmakers, 11 CEOs
and an address to the Council on
Foreign Relations, again in Hindi,
Modi headed to Washington.
An Indian-American writer sug-
gested that Modi through his fast
for the Hindu festival of Navratri
and the choice of his apparel was
speaking in code his "Hindu
nationalist" supporters, while
another implied that he was cock-
ing a snook to the American estab-
lishment that had denied him a visa
for nearly a decade.
Be as it may, the US officialdom
from President Barack Obama
down also treated Modi no less as
they broke the ice over an exclu-
sive dinner at the White House. As
they shared common experiences,
Obama wondered how Modi kept
up such a rigorous schedule on just
a diet of warm water and yoga and
told him how he himself enjoyed
dancing during his 2010 trip to
India.
So much so that as the summit
ended with the two leaders giving a
new mantra of "chalein saath saath
- together we go forward," Obama
joined Modi on an unscheduled trip
to the memorial of African-
American civil rights leader Martin
Luther King Jr.
New York:
Facebook co-
founder Mark
Zuckerberg has
reportedly spent
over $100 million
to buy two mas-
sive chunks of
land on Kauai -
the oldest of the
main Hawaiian
Islands, Forbes
magazine report-
ed.
With this pur-
chase, the 30-
year-old billionaire plans to create a secluded
700-acre sanctuary for his family, it added.
The first acquisition is Pila'a Beach, an iso-
lated 393 acre land with a private white sand
beach.
The second land is the adjacent Kahu'aina
Plantation, a 357 acre former sugarcane plan-
tation.
With a net worth of $32.2 billion,
Zuckerberg has paid a reported $66 million
for the Kahu'aina Plantation and $49.6 million
for Pila'a Beach.
Zuckerberg bought Pila' a Beach from
Pfleuger Properties, a Hawaii limited partner-
ship belonging to Jim Pfleuger, a retired local
Honda dealer. The Pila'a Beach property con-
sists of five separate parcels, each which
could be developed into private homes, the
report added.
The Kahu'aina Plantation was owned by the
California-based Falko Partners, belonging to
a Hawaii land owner named Larry Bowman.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Hugh Jackman
onstage at the 2014 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park
during his US visit.
Facebook co-founder
Mark Zuckerberg
United colors of Modi in America
Rotterdam (Netherlands): The Kunsthal
museum in Rotterdam has inaugurated an
exhibition titled "The 007 design, 50 years
of Bond style", which sheds light on how
the British secret agent influenced art,
music, technology and design.
The exhibit, which features more than
500 objects and environmental recreations,
shows the Bond effect on contemporary
culture since the character was created
more than 50 years ago by Ian Fleming.
"Not only does the exhibition show
James Bond's history, but also allows liv-
ing an experience," Kunsthal curator
Jannet de Goede told Spanish news agency
Efe during the inauguration Monday.
Documents, models, prototypes, scripts,
music and film clips, large selections of
costumes and accessories, as well as origi-
nal photographs, many unrevealed to date,
provide an insight on how the Bond series
were done.
With 23 Bond films in five decades, the
museum shows the glamor of the
renowned Bond style, which is not only a
landmark in the history of cinema, but also
for the world of art, music, fashion, tech-
nology, car design and lifestyle.
Eight halls of the museum are dedicated
to Bond themes and to recreate the atmos-
phere of the series, since the debut film
"Dr. No", which was produced in 1962 and
starred Sean Connery, until the latest, the
2012 production "Skyfall" which starred
Daniel Craig.
In the "Gold Room", a circular bed cov-
ered in white linen and a woman's body
painted in gold are a reminiscence of the
classic 1964 production "Goldfinger."
There are also sections dedicated to the
author who created Agent 007, British
writer Ian Fleming, and a reproduction of
the office of M, where the secret agent
received his orders.
The exhibition and the multi-sensory
experience of this extensive retrospective
of the world' s most famous spy also
includes the "Q" branch, the fictional
research division of the British Secret
Service, the casino of "Casino Royale",
foreign countries, villains, enigmas and the
Ice Palace of "Die Another Day."
In the tour through the Bond world, more
than 500 objects can be seen, like the white
bikini worn by Ursula Andress in "Dr. No",
Q's briefcase in "From Russia with Love",
Scaramanga's golden gun in "The Man
with the Golden Gun", and the shark teeth
that first appeared in "The Spy who loved
me."
Another section features 007's famous
cars, such as the silver Aston Martin DB5
that first appeared in "Goldeneye" and
made a return to the screens in "Skyfall."
The exhibition, which was first held in
London in 2012, will remain at the
Kunsthal until February 2015.
Netherlands museum unveils James
Bond's impact on fashion
LIFESTYLE 26 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Zuckerberg spends
over $100 mn to buy
Hawaiian properties
Bond's silver Aston Martin on display
at the museum
Youngsters in US lack
sewing skills
Contribute 14.3 m tonnes
of textile waste in 2012
New York: A stitch in time saves nine. Not
knowing how to sew and repair, American
youths contributed to 14.3 million tonnes of
textile waste in a single year in 2012, says a
study.
A significant gap exists in the degree of
clothes repair skills possessed by members of
the baby boomer generation - people who
were born between the years 1946 and 1964 -
and millennials, the findings showed.
"In 2012, Americans created more than 14.3
million tonnes of textile waste," said
researcher Pamela Norum, a professor from
the University of Missouri in the US.
"Much of this waste is due to clothes being
discarded due to minor tears or stains - easily
repairable damages if the owners have the
skills and knowledge to fix them," Norum
added. The study surveyed more than 500
American baby boomers and millennials about
their clothing usage practices.
While baby boomers generally had much
more knowledge of clothes repair and laundry
than millennials, millennials who reported to
have taken sewing classes or who had been
taught how to sew by a family member had
more overall clothes repair skills than those
that had no education on the subject.
This indicates the need for increased educa-
tion on what once was considered common
clothing maintenance knowledge, Norum said.
"Traditionally, these skills were learned in
the home or in secondary school," he said.
The researcher suggested delivering this
kind of instruction in settings that may extend
beyond the school environment, such as social
media and online videos.
The study was published in the Family and
Consumer Sciences Research Journal.
ART AND CULTURE 27 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Thiruvananthapuram: It' s a 50x1.5
meter canvas that took Melbourne-based,
Kerala-origin Sedunath Prabhakar 18
months and AUS$7,000 to create as a trib-
ute to 50 Australian greats, both living and
dead, thereby bringing alive the country's
history. It is set to be unveiled next month.
Through my 50 portraits, I wanted to
narrate the history of Australia. The exact
date and the venue of a two-week-long
exhibition where my painting will be dis-
played would be decided soon. It is for the
first time such an exhibition is being held
in Australia, 40-year-old Prabhakar said
from Melbourne.
Among the greats depicted are cricketer
Donald Bradman; Julia Gillard, the coun-
try's first woman prime minister; explorer
Captain James Cook; General John
Monash, who saw action in World War I;
literature Nobel winner Patrick White;
aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye;
swimmer Ian Thorpe and footballer Tim
Cahill, to name a few.
I first sketched the person and then used
the acrylic medium to paint. In all, it took
me 18 months from start to finish, which
included research on selecting the 50 emi-
nent Australians who should be por-
trayed, said Prabhakar.
Hailing from Kidangoor in Kottayam
district, Prabhakar graduated in fine arts
from the prestigious Baroda School of Arts
in 1998 and migrated to Melbourne in
2008 along with his wife, who is now a
social worker.
It cost me more than
7,000 (Australian) dol-
lars for the material,
besides my time. It took
me around three to four
days for each portrait,
said Prabhakar who
takes classes in painting,
as also Carnatic music,
which is a passion with
him.
Thiruvallam Bhasi,
editor of a Malayalam
magazine published
from Melbourne, said
that Australian Prime
Minister Tony Abbot, at
a meeting of editors in
August, was so happy
on being told of
Prabhakar's effort that
he put his arm around
him and congratulated
him.
The Federation of
Indian Associations of
Victoria and the
Malayalee community
has taken keen interest in
the upcoming exhibition
and is extending all sup-
port to make it a grand
success, Bhasi said.
Prabhakar has decided
to hold similar exhibi-
tions in other Australian
states. And, for his future
projects he will explore
the possibility of a fusion
of Australia's rich artis-
tic tradition with his
own.
Kolkata: With deft brush strokes she drew
the eye of the goddess, authored a new book
and did the cover of a festival publication,
while a musical album based on her poems
was a big hit multiple shades of Mamata
Banerjee were on display this Durga puja.
West Bengals maverick and impulsive chief
minister, known for her passion to delve into
various genres of art and culture far divorced
from her principal career as a politician,
seemed to have chosen the states biggest
carnival to yet again showcase her versatility
at a time her government was under increas-
ing attack from the opposition.
The snowballing Saradha chit fund scam,
student agitation at Jadavpur University and
a series of setbacks in the courtroom has
made the going tough for the Trinamool
Congress government in recent weeks,
notwithstanding two assembly by-poll victo-
ries. But for the time being, Banerjees focus
was only the Durga Puja. Now well known
for her paintings, which have fetched her
both buyers as also some controversy over
reports that one of the pieces was picked up
by Saradha Group head Sudipta Sen for a
whopping amount, the chief minister sprang
a surprise on Mahalaya that heralds the
advent of the mother goddess on earth.
Onlookers at the Chetla Agrani Club mar-
quee in South Kolkata were witness to
Banerjee painting the trinayan (third eye) of
the goddess on the forehead of the idol. The
idol maker, famed artist Sanatan Dinda, was
ecstatic. I had requested her to draw the
third eye, as she is adept at painting. Initially
she was a trifle tense. But she did a great job.
Later, I only touched it up. I can tell you, that
many an established artist would have pan-
icked at the very thought of doing it first
time, Dinda said.
Smoothly switching from the painting to
the pen, Banerjee came out with her 46th
book Kutsapakkha (Of Canards). The
Bengali volume showcased her reply to what
she called canards and disinformation cam-
paign against her and the Trinamool
Congress. The book, party workers said,
flew off the shelves at the stalls set up by the
party near the community pandals.
A local music band joined in by setting 15
of Banerjees poems to tunes and compiling
them in an album released ahead of the festi-
val which concluded Oct 3. The album titled
Mukta Akash is a collage of recitations,
songs and Sanskrit shlokas. The chief min-
ister herself chose the poems. She also
intently hard the songs and suggested
changes. Some of the poems have been made
into songs. Some others are recitations with
background music. We have used Sanskrit
shlokas to heighten the effect, Palash, mem-
ber of the Mahul Abrittir band, said.
The poems include Maati, Nobo
Projonmo, Dhonyo, Shanti, Tornedo,
and Mrityu. The poems are quite unique.
Even if she had taken to writing poems only,
she would have gone places. The poems are
simple, and detail her feelings on what she
saw around her. Nature forms an important
part, said Palash. We have got very good
response from the public. We hope to do
more such albums next year, he said.
Besides, Banerjee did the cover for the festi-
val number of the partys Bengali mouth-
piece Jago Bangla. She also wrote a poem
and wrote an article coming down heavily
against her political opponents and a section
of the media for trying to defame her, the
Trinamool and the government.
Author, artist, song writer Mamata Banerjees different shades
Keralite pays tribute to 50 Aussie greats on canvas
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee giving finishing
touches to a painting of hers.
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi at the exhibition of
mosaic paintings by Harjeet Sandhu in New Yorks Ditra Gallery recently.
Sandhus latest finished mosaic painting is of President Obama.
Prabhakar being congratulated by Australian Prime
Minister Tony Abbot for his effort.
Sedunath Prabhakar posing in front of the portrait of
Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer ever.
I
was stunned to hear that an armed securi-
ty contractor with a criminal record
recently rode an elevator with President
Obama. According to news reports, the
Secret Service didnt do anything about the
man until he started taking photos with his
cellphone and acting unprofessional. Im not
sure what acting unprofessional means,
but if I were in an elevator with the president
and his bodyguards, the last thing Id be
doing is taking selfies.
My pal, Barack, and I riding an elevator
would be a great Facebook post, but Id be
afraid of the follow-up post: Just spent eight
hours in the interrogation room. Please pray
for me. Tomorrow is the deportation hear-
ing.
The elevator incident is hardly the first
time Obamas security has been compro-
mised. Just a few weeks ago, a man carrying
a knife jumped over the White House fence
and managed to enter the presidents home
through an unlocked front door. Reacting
quickly, the Secret Service stopped the man
and directed him to the kitchen, believing he
was there to cut a pot roast for the presi-
dents dinner.
Actually, they chased him around for a few
minutes and managed to capture him, thanks
to a solid karate kick to the backside by
Michelle Obama.
No, thats not true either, but you get the
point: the Secret Service bungled their job
and compromised the presidents safety.
Who knows what this knife-wielding fence-
jumper would have done if he had run into
Obama? Thankfully, the president wasnt
home; otherwise it could have been a huge
tragedy. America is prepared for a lot of
things, but Im not sure its ready for
President Biden.
Given the seriousness of these security
breaches, I was pleased to hear that the U.S.
Congress called Secret Service Director Julia
Pierson before the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee, whose
duties include directing important questions
at government officials while drinking mas-
sive amounts of coffee. Soon after that,
Pierson resigned from her position and the
Secret Service announced that it will imple-
ment three major changes to better protect
the president:
1. From now on, members of the Secret
Service will be required to screen all people
who ride in elevators with the president,
making sure that they are either unarmed or
wearing nice suits.
2. Anyone who attempts to climb the
White House fence will immediately be
asked to stop what theyre doing and fill out
a questionnaire about their motives.
3. All doors to the White House will be
kept locked whenever the presidents dog,
Bo, is taking a nap.
These changes will certainly help, but I
dont think theyre quite enough. I think its
time for a drastic change: President Obamas
security needs to be outsourced to China.
Why China? Well, China leaves no stone
unturned in its security measures. When
10,000 doves were released recently in
Beijing to celebrate Chinas National Day,
they served as symbols of peace as well as
the countrys airtight security. Prior to being
released, every single dove went through a
screening process, its legs, wings and anus
checked to make sure it wasnt carrying any
dangerous material or a banner that might
open mid-flight saying, Communism
Sucks.
If Chinese workers can check every doves
anus, just picture what theyd do to anyone
who attempts to get into an elevator with
President Obama.
I can only imagine what those doves
were saying.
Dove 1: Hey, what are you doing? Stop
ruffling my feathers. And dont look down
there! Were not that close. I dont even
know your name.
Dove 2: Dont make such a fuss. Theyre
going to set us free after this.
Dove 1: So what? We shouldnt have to
go through this undovelike treatment.
Dove 2: If thats how you feel, express
your feelings later while youre flying over
them. Drop them a message or two.
Dove 1: What would I be saying?
Dove 2: Screen this, you idiots.
Humor with Melvin Durai
28 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info HUMOR
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Time to Outsource the Presidents Security
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.
18th October, 2014
Traits in you :Being number 9, you are one of the most en-
ergetic, courageous and brilliant person, who successfully
completes the work taken in hand. You can be called cleanli-
ness freak person. You always help those who need your help.
You love to be in the company of those people who are intel-
ligent and sophisticated. You are good at evaluating any situ-
ation and work accordingly. For you emotional happiness is
more important than material happiness. Being focused in
life, you climb the ladder of success.
Health this year: Keeping a positive outlook towards life
will give much-needed relief to your health this year. At the
same time it would be in your interest to get rid of your neg-
ative emotions to bring a permanent growth in your health.
Finance this year: In this year, you are likely to inherit prop-
erty from ancestors, especially from your fathers side. Your
technical skills and marketing knowledge would help you in
earning good money. You are likely to generate a new source
of income to reap handsome returns.
Career this year: Hard work and the ability to take right de-
cisions, will bring success to you in the coming year. For
those, who are into business, it will be a good year. You might
sign and negotiate big deals.
Romance this year: This year you are likely to be touched
by a wonderful emotion that can make you a giving person.
As first time in the life you will find happiness in other's hap-
piness. There is nothing to worry, as you might simply fall in
love this year.
Lucky month: October, December and February
19th October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 1, you are a person who loves
originality in whatever work you do. By nature you are an au-
thoritative person and so you always take charge of things
which also makes you responsible person. If you take some
task in hand, you are determined to finish it. You are very soft
spoken and kind hearted person.
Health this year: This year you will have to be little careful
while travelling. As you will be travelling a lot this year, just
keep in mind that careless driving could harm you. So, be ex-
tra careful while driving especially on turnings. Healthwise a
good year ahead.
Finance this year: You need to apply your thinking power to
make quick decisions regarding investing the money in right
place this year. You yourself would invite financial losses if
you invest carelessly. You need to save yourself from invest-
ing in dubious financial schemes.
Career this year: Happiness, prosperity and fame, is what
most of you can expect in the coming year. Your methodical
approach to work, coupled with your sincerity, will take you
to newer heights in your professional career.Your quest for
knowledge and research, will help you immensely in your
field of work to acheive success.
Romance this year: This year you are likely to develop a
sudden acquaintance with a stranger who will share your
thoughts- fulfill dreams and love without end. This will not
only bring an everlasting fragrance of true love but also sink
you slowly in the sea of love. Those who are already in a re-
lationship, will enjoy the love and affection of their loved
ones.
Lucky month: July, September and January
20th October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 2, you are a person with high
confidence, imagination and the one who is always ready to
help others. Anyone can trust you blindly as you are very bal-
anced person in nature. Though you are reserved personality,
but when it comes to do some task, you are independent and
complete your work with full determination and honesty.
Health this year: This year you will have to be extra cautious
about your diet and also make them others understand the val-
ue of eating healthy food. It would be in your interest to avoid
junk food and as far as possible, restrain yourself from taking
fried and spicy food.
Finance this year: This year taking loan from bank for short-
term investment will be useful. If possible, invest the money
in reputed firm to yield good returns. Carelessness on your
part could cost dearly, so read all the papers carefully before
signing them.
Career this year: Those of you, who are in the field of jour-
nalism or teaching, can expect to reach newer heights of ex-
cellence, in the year ahead of you. If possible, take the help
of like-minded friends in work. Their timely help would be
crucial and beneficial for you.
Romance this year: For those of you, who are going to be
married, can expect success and prosperity in their married
life. If possible, take sometime out for your love life. You
must keep your promise even after a tight schedule otherwise
it would create some strain in your relationship.
Lucky month: July, November and February
21st October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 3, you are confident, ambitious
and independent person who loves to work with optimistic at-
titude. You are a born leader, and you are always appreciated
for your work, whether it is at home or work place. Your ef-
forts are always sincere and thats why you balance your per-
sonal and professional life very smoothly.
Health this year: It is high time for you to be disciplined in
eating habits. Make sure that you avoid snacking in between
your meals at all costs. This would enable you to keep your-
self fit and enable you to enjoy life to the fullest.
Finance this year: Important projects might suffer due to
shortage of funds this year. Chances are that some projects
may even end half way, if some alternative arrangements are
not made immediately. You need to keep the project within
stipulated budget to avoid additional financial burden.
Career this year: The coming year, will see you achieve hon-
our and fame, in your professional front. You might have to
travel a lot for work purpose. Make sure you use your profes-
sional expertise to solve stumbling blocks in your progress.
Your little effort could resolve the problem once for all.
Romance this year: A very good year to sort out all misun-
derstandings with lover/beloved, if you have! Let these small
problems not affect your relationship. Therefore resolve all
these rightno to enjoy this lovely bond.
Lucky month: June, September, December and March
22nd October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 4, you are a person who likes to
take responsibilty and do your work with full dedication and
honesty. You are a very down to earth person with religious
beliefs. This year you might plan to go for a pilgrimage.
Sometimes you become bossy, jealous or stubborn, which
you should avoid to lead a happy life with smiling people
around you.
Health this year: This year keep in mind that keep your cool
and don't allow anybody to lose your temper on trivial issues
especially when someone is deliberately trying to provoke
you. Restrain yourself otherwise chances are that this might
harm your personal interests.
Finance this year: Most of you will be lucky in money this
year. You need to grab any new business offer, which comes
to your way. It might appear to be too small to invest but a
closer look would be required on your part. You need to re-
alise that it has long-term potential.
Career this year: Those of you in your 40th year and above,
should expect to reach the height of your professional career,
in the coming year. Time to evaluate situations and work on
priorities to succeed at professional front. Keep in mind that
setting priorities would enable to complete work on time and
at the same time give time to enjoy life.
Romance this year: Most of you will be lucky in love mat-
ters. This year is likely to bring a surprise gift of love for you.
You should convey your feelings to begin your ride in the sea
of love.
Lucky month: June, July, October and January
23rd October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 5, you are very strong headed
person with friendly nature and practical thoughts. You in-
spire others to do their work with full dedication and perfec-
tion. You have an ability to make many friends and the best is
that you are known as a very loyal friend to all your friends.
This year keep control over your moody nature, which can put
you in trouble. You strongly believe in destiny and have
strong concentration power. This year you will feel more in-
clined towards religious activities.
Health this year: Make sure you keep yourself away from
two demons, greed and egoism to enable yourself to enjoy
sound health. Their presence in your life would make it diffi-
cult for you to live a peaceful life.
Finance this year: Financially too, it will be a good year.
Some of you can expect to inherit property from your ances-
tors. It would be in your interest if you keep your investment
plans secret. At this time you must focus all attention on fu-
ture goals.
Career this year: Those of you in the field of writing, or
teaching, can expect it to be an exceptionally good year. Your
extensive vocabulary and communication skills, will take you
to greater heights of success. You like your projects and plans
to move in double quick time. You will be able to achieve suc-
cess and that too in a short time, in the coming year.
Romance this year: Separation from romantic partner for
few days would act as a blessing in disguise for you this year.
This will make you realise that what is true love and will con-
tribute in cementing your romantic bond.
Lucky month: May, July, September and December
24th October, 2014
Traits in you: Being number 6, you are lover of simplicity
and originality. You are always there to help others. You are
an ambitious person, who always climb the stairs of success
in whatever work you take in hand. You are very out-spoken
in nature and good at solving other's problem. The best qual-
ity in you is that you have an ability to laugh at yourself and
make others smile.
Health this year: This year as far as possible, avoid
overindulgence in the work you do. Keep in mind that this
will only affect your health. It would therefore be in your in-
terest to give body the much-needed rest to keep yourself
physically fit.
Finance this year: Good year as investment progress by
leaps & bounds. You need to invest the money in a regular in-
come bond. You will also love to spend a lot of time in col-
lecting donations for charitable institutions.
Career this year: You are full of confidence and do not un-
derestimate you capabilities. In this year, you will try to im-
pose your ideas on others. This may not be liked by your col-
leagues, who tend to drift away. You will achieve success in
your pursuit of knowledge.
Romance this year: This year, take a pledge that you will not
get disappointed on a sad beginning in romance. Keep in
mind that love being the matter of hearts takes a little time in
blossoming. Just be sincere in your efforts.
Lucky month:June, August, January and February
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
October 18-24, 2014 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
29
ARIES: You will be successful in
regaining your professional touch. A
promising week to plan things for your
progeny. Monetary position is likely to
improve later in the week. Love life brings
immense romantic pleasure. Charity work
undertaken will bring mental peace & com-
fort. An interesting cruise ship is next place
for your vacation. Selling your plot might
increase your bank balance. Charity & social
work will attract you in this week.
TAURUS: Your efforts to put yourself
in a strong position at workplace are
not likely to materialise. You would be
the centre of attraction at a social gathering
that you attend especially with family. Hard
work of previous days brings good fortune
enabling to fulfil monetary promises.
Travelling proves a blessing in disguise by
bringing a love in your life. Meditation and
self-realization prove beneficial. Breathtaking
beautiful site scenes are your lovers desire.
Buyers will get attracted to your property as
your property value is good. Construction
work undertaken will finish to your satisfac-
tion.
GEMINI: Businessmen are likely to
suffer some setbacks on failing to meet
the deadline. You would prefer to relax
and enjoy the company of family members in
the evening. You succeed in making some
extra cash on playing your cards well. You are
likely to get a new friendship opportunity in
the evening. You will have ample time to do
things to improve your health. Time to relax
and enjoy your visit to a relatives place. If
you wish to achieve a good deal in property
then try at commercial basis. You are likely to
hear some compliments, which you were
expected for long.
CANCER: Self-confidence helps in
making an impact at professional
front. You move with new excitement
& confidence as you receive support from
family and friends. An auspicious week to
invest money on items that would grow in
value. New romance that some of you are
going to experience would take the worries off
mind. Sound physical health will enable to
participate in outdoor activities. Journey to
some famous historical place sounds exciting
to your kids. Develop an attitude to be suc-
cessful on your property investment plans.
Your choice of activities will not only keep
you busy but also benefit you.
LEO: Valuable support from a col-
league would help in professional mat-
ters. Family front seems to go smoothly
as you receive their full support to your plans.
Financial profits are solely depended on
investment in conservative investment. You
enjoy a memorable time with partner to
cement the lovely bond. You will be success-
ful in getting rid from tensions. Romance is in
full bloom, a journey full of pleasure is your
crave. If you are looking for a sure-fine
method to earn on your property, student
rental could be exactly what you need. You
receive an invaluable guidance from a spiritu-
al leader.
VIRGO: Good week for computer pro-
fessionals as they realise their dreams.
You find relief, comfort and affection
in the company of family members.
Investment on long-term plans would pave the
way for earning financial gains. You will be
attracted to someone special. A sparkling
laughter filled week when most things pro-
ceed, as you desire. Its time to travel with
innovative imagination. Looking to buy prop-
erty, then go for commercial one. You get time
and opportunity to correct flaws in lifestyle.
LIBRA: An excellent time for devel-
oping professional contacts. Time
spent with relatives will be to your
advantage. Improvement in finances makes it
convenient in clearing long pending dues &
bills. Warm romantic thoughts occupy mind.
Your enormous confidence would help in
enjoying a healthy life. Are you longing to go
on a vacation then be ready for it? Good time
to purchase a property. You find many takers
for your unique & innovative ideas.
SCORPIO: Senior colleagues cooper-
ation brings success at professional
front. Family members will be very
positive & supportive to your plans.
Successful execution of brilliant ideas would
help in earning financial profits. Your charm
& generosity bring new romantic opportuni-
ties for you. A very healthy week filled with
happiness & vitality. Be ready to hang out
with your friends. A good deal for your new
property is ready to be made. You would be
full of good ideas especially in later half of the
week.
SAGITTARIUS: Business partners
would be enthusiastic about new plans
& ventures. Unexpected gifts and
presents from close relatives/family members
cannot be ruled out. A very successful week as
far as monetary position is concerned. Love
life brightens your week. Pleasure trip would
help in maintaining sound health in this week.
Your trip will be beneficiary for work but not
for your personal life. Buying overseas prop-
erty will be beneficiary for you. Legal battle
proves fruitful as you succeed in your efforts.
CAPRICORN: Female colleagues
would help in completing pending
work. Relatives will be willing to lend
a helping hand at the time of need. Indications
of earning financial profits through commis-
sions, dividends or royalties. Your wit &
charm would help in catching the attention of
opposite sex. Yoga and meditation would help
in keeping in shape and mentally agile. Being
extra ordinary comfortable on an official trip
might affect your work. You can apply for
your home loan. Favourable planetary posi-
tion will give you plenty of reasons to cheer.
AQUARIUS: A promising week for
ambitious professionals to demon-
strate technical skills & abilities.
New relationship at family front will be long
lasting & highly beneficial. Important people
will be ready to finance anything that has a
special class to it. Love partner would be
extremely supportive and in a loving mood.
Blessings of a saintly person give peace of
mind.
By travelling you will learn about new
places, ultimately its a great deal for yourself.
Your search for a house is towards its final
destination. Timely help to someone will be
rewarded/acknowledged.
PISCES: Politicians find a very
smooth sailing as results go in your
favour, thus immensely boosting confi-
dence. Guests visit would make it a pleasant
& wonderful day.
Property dealings would materialize helping
in bringing fabulous gains. A romantic week
as you receive all praises from partner.
Chances of recovering from physical ailment
are high. Pack your bags and some eatables
and go out for a picnic. Your personal loan
plans for property could be in progress.
Forced travelling brings pleasure more than
expectations.
October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY
30 October 18-24, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Part two of the discourse 'Olympics of meditation'
Keep yourself focused on the goal
Focus on Their Own Achievement
Instead of What Others Are Doing
W
hen interviewed about
their plan for winning,
those gold medal win-
ners often give the same reply, say-
ing, "I have to focus on my game. I
have to focus on what I do best."
They are not concerned with what
others are doing. They know that if
they do what they are supposed to
do they have a chance at winning.
Those who do not win get
caught up in what others are doing.
For example, at times someone
may be ahead in a race, but when
they see someone gain on them,
they turn their head to watch the
other player, and suddenly this dis-
traction causes the one in the lead
to fall behind. We see horses that
watch other horses trip and fall.
For this reason, blinders are put on
a horse to keep the animal on track
and not be distracted by others.
Athletes on a gymnastics team
who watch other teammates per-
form before their own turn comes
and who see a friend make an error
are often so upset and feel the pain
of disappointment of their team-
mate so strongly that their own
ability is affected. They have
focused on someone else and their
own performance suffers.
The winners stay fixed on what
they are doing and not what others
are doing. In this way, they can
give their best and not lose pre-
cious seconds looking at what oth-
ers are doing.
Perseverance
The life story of gold medal win-
ners at times reveals they had
uphill battles against many obsta-
cles. They may have suffered
physical pain, emotional pain fac-
ing criticism of others, or financial
setbacks.
Many gold medal winners suf-
fered falls with resulting broken
bones or torn muscles. Did that
stop them? No, they were back in
action as soon as possible. We
have seen people win gold medals
with colds, flu, and fevers. Some
competed with their legs or arms
wrapped up because they had not
completely healed. Tiger Woods
won a major golf tournament play-
ing with a broken foot! These great
athletes rise above their physical
challenges and compete despite
their pain.
Many athletes faced criticism
and ridicule from others who may
have said, "You must be crazy!
What makes you think you can
win a gold medal in the
Olympics?" Family and friends
may have tried to dissuade the ath-
lete from competing by putting
them down or saying they do not
have the right stuff. Gold medal
winners have worked through the
criticism of others because they
stayed focused despite outer chal-
lenges.
Many other obstacles can deter
an athlete. Some face financial
challenges. It costs money to have
a coach, to practice, to get the right
equipment, and to pay membership
in certain sports training facilities.
Over many years, these costs
become daunting. The parents of
one gold medal winner had to
mortgage their house several times
to pay the fees for their child to
practice. Where there is a will,
there is a way for winners.
Unaffected by Failure
Many athletes have a defeatist
attitude. If they cannot do it well
the first time around, they give up.
The first time someone loses a race
they take it as a sign that they do
not have a chance. What sets an
Olympic gold medal winner apart
is that they learn from their fail-
ures. If they do not win the first
time, they try again. They take that
as an incentive to try even harder.
The winners will look at video-
tapes of their performance to spot
their errors and fix them. If they
fall, they get back up on their feet
and try again. They do not let fail-
ure stop them. They take it as a
challenge to overcome and keep
going.
Olympians who were runners-
up or who only made silver or
bronze may return four years later
to try again for the gold.
Sometimes they get it on their sec-
ond or third try. They do not let
failure sidetrack them from their
goal.
Full Concentration and Focus
Watch any gold medal winner
perform and one finds an almost
superhuman ability to concentrate
and focus. Before they perform,
they are mentally focused. They
mentally rehearse the movements
they must do. They are focused
within themselves on what they
must do. They visualize the task
they are going to perform over and
over to set their mind in gear. They
do not let anyone distract them.
When they perform, they have one
hundred percent attention on what
they are supposed to do.
When one watches those who
make mistakes in gymnastics, in
diving, or in any routine, one may
at times see a moment of distrac-
tion set in. They lost focus. Those
who win are those who are able to
maintain full concentration for the
entire duration of their perform-
ance. This is one of the keys to
going from good to great.
If we look at the qualities men-
tioned above in the field of sports,
we will find they also apply to
spirituality. We can look at the life
of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj
who left this earth in 1974. He
started his mission in 1948, after
Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji com-
missioned him to carry on the spir-
itual work of initiation into the
Light and Sound for sincere seek-
ers after truth. He continued his
mission until his passing away in
1974. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj helped spread the teach-
ings of Sant Mat outside the bor-
ders of the East to reach the entire
world. He was the first Master of
Sant Mat to undertake world tours
to North America, South America,
and Europe. He published over
twenty books in English which
were translated into many other
languages. He made the teachings
accessible to a Western audience
who had a scientific bent of mind.
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj as a
Model of These Qualities
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj
exemplified qualities that make a
gold medal winner. His achieve-
ment was the Olympics of
Meditation and Spirituality. He
attained the goal that every person
who meditates is trying to attain
union of the soul with God. His
life exemplified all the qualities an
Olympic gold medalist needs to
win the gold. If we examine his
life from this angle, it gives a blue-
print of what we need to do to also
achieve the same goal.
In the physical Olympics there
can only be one gold medalist, but
in the field of meditation and spiri-
tuality each of us can win the gold
medal. Winning the gold medal
means meditating on the inner
Light and Sound, rising above
physical body-consciousness, soar-
ing on the current of Light and
Sound through all the higher
realms and reaching the abode of
God, Sach Khand, where our soul
merges with the Creator and
becomes one with God. It is not
restricted to an Olympics every
four yearswe can participate in
this Olympic all 24/7 and can
attain it at anytime. The questions
are: Why wait? Why not start now
and complete the course now?
We have observed each of the
traits of a gold medal winner in the
life of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj.
100% Focus on the Goal
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj had
one hundred percent focus on his
chosen goal. When he had matric-
ulated from high school he took
seven days to decide what he
wanted to do in life. He had inter-
ests in being a doctor and having a
huge library. But he ultimately
came to the decision, "God first
and the world next." Once he took
that decision he never looked back.
He did attend to his duties in life as
he had a successful career and
raised a family. But his mind,
heart, and soul were all focused on
achieving God-realization. He
never swerved from that goal and
stuck with it until he attained
union of his soul with God.
A Ruling Passion and Drive to
Achieve His Goal
From the moment the question
about solving the mystery of life
and death entered his being, Sant
Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj had a
ceaseless ruling passion and drive
to achieve that goal. When he was
a youth, he observed at a crema-
tion ground that the body of a
young person and an old person
had both passed away. He pon-
dered over what was that element
within a person that made that per-
son alive and then left when the
person died. He began seeking
answers by studying books and
visiting those who could answer
these questions. He had a continual
prayer to meet a perfect Master
who could lead him to the Truth.
In fact, when he had compassion-
ately nursed his own father back to
health after a serious illness, his
father told him to ask for anything
he wanted. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj said that all he wanted
was to find someone who could
show him the way back to God.
When Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj began seeing the inner
radiant form of a Master in 1917,
he took the form to be that of Guru
Nanak. That form continued
appearing to him within until final-
ly in 1924 he came in contact with
Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji
Maharaj and realized that this was
the form he had been seeing within
all along. He thought it was due to
the boon granted by his father that
he was able to meet the Master
who could show him the way back
to God.
Once he took initiation from
Hazur, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj fully committed to follow
the teachings to the letter. Sant
Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj often
exhorted his disciples, saying, "If
you love me, keep my command-
ments." Why? The reason was that
this was the attitude he had when
he followed the teachings of his
own Master. He obeyed Hazur
implicitly with full passion and
zeal which was another gold medal
trait that helped him achieve union
of his soul with God in his life-
time. (To be continued...)
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj exemplified
qualities that make a gold medal winner. His
achievement was the Olympics of
Meditation and Spirituality. He attained the
goal that every person who meditates is try-
ing to attainunion of the soul with 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 tradi-
tions, emphasizing ethical living
and meditation as building blocks
for achieving inner and outer
peace. www.sos.org.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 18-24, 2014
TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 18-24, 2014