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Vol.10 No. 13 July 29-August 4, 2017 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

GOP lastditch effort is China thaw signal

skinny repeal of Obamacare
Breaking 'Skinny Repeal' got 49 yays and 51
8 news: nays, failing to pass in Senate.
Washington: Senate Republicans
Thursday evening unveiled the
text of their latest alternative
healthcare bill intended to repeal
Obamacare, before starting a
debate and voting that may
extend into Friday.
The legislation, dubbed "skinny
bill" because only amendments in
the few areas where there is con
sensus will be put to vote, was
presented on Thursday night by
the Senate Republican majority
leader, Mitch McConnell, reports
Efe news.
Republicans can only afford to
Continued on page 4
US House approves $1.6bn
for Trump's border wall
Washington DC: The House of
Representatives has voted to
approve a budget bill which
includes $1.6 billion requested
by the White House to begin the
construction of a wall along the
USMexico border, the media
after Ajit Doval
meets their
top diplomat
US won't sit idle if India-China
conflict breaks out: Experts
Beijing: Amid the
dragging border row,
China on Thursday
Senators John McCain, who returned a mere week after raised "major prob
his surgery for brain cancer, and Lindsey Graham slammed lems" in ties with
the stripped down version as bad policy. (Photo courtesy AP) India as its top diplo
mat Yang Jiechi held
talks with India's
Nitish partners
with BJP to form
National Security
Advisor Ajit Doval on
the sidelines of a
govt in Bihar BRICS security meet.
The two met "sepa
Republican lawmakers included rately" & exchanged
the wall budget proposal in the views on bilateral The standoff is over Doklam, at the trijunction of
defense budget bill with the aim relations where Yang India, Bhutan and China and of high strategic
of forcing House Democrats to expressed China's importance to all three.
vote in favor of the wall, one of view on "major problems and bilat
the key campaign promises made eral issues", according to China's What USA will do
by Donald Trump during his pres official news agency Xinhua,
eanwhile, experts

reported. In a 235192 vote on
Thursday, the lower house gave
the green light to a $788 billion
defense, veterans and energy
budget bill for fiscal year 2018
which runs from October 1,
2017, through September 30,
2018, reports Efe news.
"Every single dime the
President requested to start
building a wall on our southern
border he's going to get. Most
importantly, we're sending more
to the VA (Veterans Affairs) to fix
veterans' health care and reform
outdated VA systems," said House
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
idential campaign but a measure
that has been opposed headon
by Democrats.
Lawmakers could not agree on
a comprehensive budget to
finance the government as a
whole and, therefore, they have
been dividing the total funds into
smaller bills for different depart
ments.
Not included in the bill
approved on Thursday are funds
for the Department of Homeland
Security, which is in charge of the
wall project and financing for
which will be considered in a
Continued on page 4
Nitish Kumar (right) took oath as
CM with BJPs Sushil Kumar Modi
as his deputy. (Photo : PTI)
Patna: Nitish Kumar on Thursday
took oath as Bihar Chief Minister
at the head of a JD(U)BJP coalition
government, a day after dumping
his earlier alliance partner,
Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu
Prasad Yadav and Congress party
over corruption charges against
RJD leader and Deputy Chief
Minister Tejashwi Yadav. BJPs
Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn in
as Deputy Chief Minister. The BJP
Continued on page 4
M
reports IANS.
believe that US is not
It was not known whether Doval
likely to be an idle wit
and China's State Councillor Yang
ness in the case of a military
discussed the standoff between
conflict between India and China
their armies in Doklam in Sikkim
and it might take actions to put
sector that is in its second month,
pressure on Beijing, two experts
and has added to the host of dis
told The Times of India in inter
putes between the two countries
views.
that fought a war in 1962.
"I do not think that the United
The meeting between the two
States would become involved in
top officials is seen as a positive
a border conflict between China
sign in view of Beijing's tough pub
and India, but I do think that an
lic posturing on the issue.
increasingly competitive China
Earlier, China had ruled out any
India dynamic is likely to lead to
talks over the feud until India
increased security cooperation
withdraws troops from Doklam.
Continued on page 4 Continued on page 4

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 29-August 4, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY July 29-August 4, 2017 3

Donald Trump visiting Amazons Bezos overtakes Bill

Long Island Friday Gates as the worlds richest
New York: President Donald Trump New York: Jeff Bezos, the
will travel to New York on Friday to CEO of the world's
meet with law enforcers on Long largest online retailer
Island. Amazon, has surpassed
Citing Rep. Peter King, Newsday Microsoft cofounder Bill
reported that Trump plans to dis Gates as the world's rich
cuss the violent MS13 gang prob est man. According to a
lem thats resulted in the killings of report by Bloomberg, a
11 young people in the last year sharp spike in Amazon's
there. share prices ahead of the
Brentwood residents Rob Mickens company's earnings
and Elizabeth Alvarado say they report resulted in Bezos'
President will deliver a message on curbing net worth rising to an
hope to meet President Trump dur transnational violent gangs, one of which named
ing his Long Island visit to share a astounding $90.9 billion.
MS13 has been active in Suffolk county.
personal story related MS13 and In comparison, Bill Gates
stress the importance of ending gang vio Associated Press, We are putting MS13 in net worth currently
lence. Their 15yearold daughter Nisa and jail and getting them the hell out of our stands at $90.7 billion.
her friend Kayla Cuevas were murdered last country We are out in Long Island clean The Bloomberg
September by alleged MS13 members. ing out the MS13 scum. Suffolk police say report further says that Jeff Bezos, the founder CEO of Amazon
Attorney General Jeff Sessions even came that there have been at least 17 MS13relat Amazon is likely to post
out to Central Islip in April to meet Mickens ed murders over the past year and a half. In a quarterly revenue of $37.2 billion, plans to buy Souq.com, the Middle East's
and Cuevas families, bolstering Trumps recent months, they, along with the FBI, have which is 22% more from what the com largest online retailer.
commitment to enforcing immigrant laws arrested dozens of MS13 members, includ pany earned last year. Bezos has reportedly added a whop
and battling street gangs before his relation ing those responsible for killing Mickens and Just about three months back, Bezos ping $10.2 billion to his wealth this year
ship with the president grew tense. Cuervas. Immigrant advocates on Long had become the secondrichest man in and $7 billion since the global equities
If you are a gang member, know this Island have accused the president of politi the world, overtaking Amancio Ortega rally began following the election of
we will find you, Sessions said at the meet cizing the MS13 gang problem to justify a and Warren Buffett. This happened just Donald Trump as US president on
ing. Around the same time, Trump told The crackdown on undocumented immigrants. a day after the company announced its November 8.

Modi unlikely to attend UN General Assembly Muslims see friendly

session; Sushma to address debate
United Nations: PM Narendra Modi
is unlikely to attend the annual UN
General Assembly session here in
September. Instead, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj will
address the highlevel session,
according to the provisional agenda
released by the UN. According to
the first provisional list of speakers
for the General Debate of the 72nd
session of the General Assembly,
Swaraj will address the highlevel
session on the morning of Sept. 23.
She had addressed the General
Debate last year as well. The
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj
General Debate will open on Sept.
19 and run through Sept. 25. All
eyes will be on President Trump,
who will deliver his first address to
the global leaders from the General
Assembly hall's iconic green podi
um on Sept. 19. The U.S. is tradi
tionally the second speaker on the
opening day of the General Debate,
after Brazil. According to the list of
speakers, Pakistans PM Nawaz
Sharif is scheduled to address the
global leaders on Sept. 21. Modi
had visited Washington late last
month for his first bilateral meeting
with Trump. Modi had given his
maiden address to the UN General
Assembly as prime minister in
2014. Source: PTI
neighbors in US, but
a foe in White House
New York: US Muslims say they
have experienced widespread sus
picion about their faith in the first
months of Donald Trump's presi
dency, but also have received more
support from individual Americans,
and remain hopeful they can even
tually be fully accepted in
American society, a new survey
finds.
Nearly threequarters of US
Muslims view Trump as unfriendly
optimistic about their future.
Seventy per cent believe hard work
can bring success in America, a fig
ure largely unchanged for a
decade. "There's a sense among the
American Muslim population that
others are beginning to understand
them and beginning to sympathize
with them,'" said Amaney Jamal, a
Princeton University political sci
entist and adviser to Pew
researchers. Prejudice against

Rs 200 note to circulate by Aug 15 to them, according to a Pew

Mumbai: The new Rs 200 currency
note will be available in the market
much before the reported launch
date of August 15. According to
sources the Reserve Bank of India
is in the final stages of introducing
the new currency note in the mar
ket with enhanced security fatures.
It should be noted that the apex
bank had stopped printing the Rs
2,000 currency notes. The intro
duction of Rs 200 currency note
will help address the demand for
smaller currency notes in the coun
try. There was shortage of smaller
denomination currency notes in
the country and shopkeepers in
many smaller towns were still not
accepting Rs 2,000 currency notes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs
1,000 currency notes on
Research Center report released on
Tuesday. Sixtytwo per cent say
Americans do not view Islam as
part of the mainstream after a
presidential election that saw a
surge in hostility toward Muslims
and immigrants. At the same time,
November 8, 2016. Following this
nearly half of Muslims said they
Rs 2,000 currency note was intro
had received expressions of
duced in the market and a new Rs
encouragement from nonMuslims
500 currency note with enhanced
in the past year, an increase over
security features was also intro
past polls. And Muslims remain
duced later.
Muslims has "pushed the average
American to say, 'This is really not
fair. I'm going to knock on my
neighbor's door to see if they're all
right," Jamal said. The Pew survey
is its third on American Muslims
since 2007, and its first since
Trump took office January 20. He
promised to fight terrorism
through "extreme vetting" of
refugees and had a plan to tem
porarily ban travelers from six
Muslimmajority countries.
 4 July 29-August 4, 2017
US stocks open at
record highs on
strong earnings
New York: US stocks opened higher on Thursday,
with major indices hitting record highs, bolstered by
upbeat earnings. Shares of Facebook soared over 5
per cent early on Thursday, after the social media
giant posted betterthanexpected quarterly results,
Xinhua news agency reported.
Facebook reported secondquarter diluted earnings
per share of $1.32 on revenue of $9.32 billion. The
company also posted its daily active users of 1.32 bil
lion on average for June 2017, an increase of 17 per
cent yearonyear. Twitter and Comcast also
announced quarterly earnings that topped Wall
Street estimates. This earnings season has been
strong so far and pushed the major indices that have
notched record highs recently. Latest data from
Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 compa
nies' blended earnings in the second quarter of 2017
are expected to rise 9.9 per cent yearonyear, while
the revenues are forecast to increase 4.7 per cent.
On the economic front, in the week ending July 22,
the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial
claims was 244,000, an increase of 10,000 from the
previous week's revised level, the US Labor
Department said.
Meanwhile, Wall Street still digested a monetary
policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. The
Fed on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rates
unchanged as expected amid soft inflation. But the
central bank signaled that it would begin shrinking
its balance sheet "relatively soon."
Andal celebration set for July 30
Flushing, NY: An event to celebrate the protection
and preservation of the Mother Earth is scheduled for
this weekend at the Ganesh Temple in Flushing. The
Saraswati Hall on the temple premises will play host
to the event, titled Andal Thirunakshatram (birth
day of Andal or Bhoodevi). It will feature Dr Uma
Mysorekar, president of the temple, as the main
speaker. Other notables will also take part in the
event. Exactly 90 days ago, Ramanujacharyas
Sahasraabdi (the 1,000 years since the birth of
Ramanujacharya) was celebrated at the same venue.
For additional information on the halfday (that
ends before 2pm) event to be held on Sunday, July
30, please call Madhavan 9179577079 or email
kmadhavan@hotmail.com
Chairman and Co-Founder
Kamlesh C. Mehta
Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull
President: Arjit Mehta
Chief Operating Officer:
Ginsmon P. Zacharia
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TURN PAGE
China thaw signal after Doval
meets China's top diplomat
Continued from page 1
Beijing claims Doklam as its own territo
ry. India has said it is ready to pull back
from the Bhutanese territory if China
does so too.
Doval along with his BRICS counter
parts will call on Chinese President Xi
Jinping on Friday.
Some experts fear the festering situa
tion could lead to an armed conflict.
Doklam, located at the trijunction of
India, Bhutan and China, is of high strate
gic importance to all three. It is disputed
by Bhutan and China. India says Doklam
is Bhutanese territory and perceives any
Chinese presence in the area as a threat
to its own security.
The standoff began over a road being
built by the Chinese Army in Doklam.
Indian troops halted the work in mid
June, leading to the crisis.
What USA will do
Continued from page 1
between the United States and India,"
Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the
Washington based Center for Strategic
and International Studies. Cooper said
the US is trying to balance against
China's growing power and India can
play a major role in this balancing effort.
"In that sense, if China continues to
pursue its claims against India, Beijing
risks creating an antiChina balancing
coalition of its own making," he said. "In
my view, Beijing would be wise to de
escalate the crisis and resolve the stale
mate without a violent conflict."
Rising military competition between
the US and China has kept Beijing
engaged in recent weeks. The US might
enhance its naval presence in case of a
conflict in the IndiaChina border, ana
lysts said.
"Should the ongoing push and shove
turn into a hot war, Washington is
expected to provide logistical, intelli
gence and material support to India's
military," said Mohan Malik, professor of
AsiaPacific Center for Security in
Honolulu. "It might even dispatch an air
craft carrier and submarines to the
Indian Ocean to monitor and deter
Associate Editors:
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,
Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
West Coast Correspondent
Pooja Jain,
Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Chinese naval assets," he said
GOP lastditch effort is
skinny repeal of Obamacare
Continued from page 1
lose the support of two Republicans in
order for it to pass. Vice President Mike
Pence is prepared to be the tiebreaking
vote. The Senate on Tuesday approved
the start of a new legislative procedure to
keep the debate on the future of health
care alive, a small victory for President
Donald Trump when all seemed lost in
that regard. After the first step, two leg
islative projects were voted on one that
contemplated the repeal of Obamacare
and a substitution plan and another that
ended a large part of the current health
system and gave two years of leeway to
create an alternative none of which
prospered.
The "skinny bill", which will be voted
on late on Thursday night, has become
Trump's last option to fulfil his campaign
promise of dismantling Obamacare.
This bill would put an end to the obli
gation to have health insurance or risk
paying a fine, one of the most unpopular
clauses in former President Barack
Obama's 2010promulgated health
reform called the Affordable Care Act.
Moreover, the bill would leave no fed
eral funds for the reproductive rights
organization "Planned Parenthood" and
would give states flexibility in complying
with some of the protections guaranteed
by Obamacare.
According to the calculations of the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office, the "skinny bill" would leave
about 16 million people without any
healthcare. With Democrats opposing en
bloc, several Republican senators have
also shown objections to the new text,
but seem willing to vote in favor of open
ing a round of negotiations with the
House of Representatives, which passed
its own health bill in May.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, in a state
ment earlier on Thursday, expressed his
willingness to negotiate with the Senate
on drafting a bill that could be signed by
Trump.
"If moving forward requires a confer
ence committee, that is something the
Jaipur (India) Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/
masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra
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Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan
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Bhagwati Creations,
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info
House is willing to do," Ryan said.
"The reality, however, is that repealing
and replacing Obamacare still ultimately
requires the Senate to produce 51 votes
for an actual plan."
US House approves $1.6bn for
Trump's border wall
Continued from page 1
separate bill. In May, the White House,
via the Office of Management and
Budget, asked Congress for $1.6 billion
to build 51.5 km of the wall along a sec
tor of the Rio Grande River Valley in
South Texas and another 45 km along
another stretch in the region.
Yet another 22.5 km of wall is to be
built in the San Diego sector to replace
existing border fencing there. It comes as
no surprise that the bill passed the House
because Republicans hold a 240192
majority there over Democrats, and it
does give Trump and his congressional
supporters something of a minivictory
before lawmakers leave for their summer
recess.
But greater resistance is anticipated in
the Senate, where Republicans hold just
52 of the 100 seats, and 60 votes are
needed to pass the corresponding budget
bill.
It is considered to be virtually impossi
ble that eight Senate Democrats will join
with the Republicans to pass the budget
bill including the wall funds. Congress
needs to approve a government budget
for fiscal 2018 before the end of
September and, if lawmakers cannot do
so, at least a partial government shut
down could result, as occurred in 2013.
Nitish partners with BJP to
form govt in Bihar
Continued from page 1
offered support to Nitish Kumar after he
resigned as Chief Minister on
Wednesday.
This is the JDUs second innings with
the BJP in the state. Nitish Kumar had in
2013 ended his partys association with
the BJP after the party projected
Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial
candidate for the 2014 general election.
Nitish Kumars alliance with BJP is set to
adversely affect the opposition unity.
IANS Newswire Services
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY July 29-August 4, 2017 5

Asha Parekhs autobiography

launched in NJ
Edison, NJ: Yesteryears Bollywood star
Asha Parekhs autobiography, aptly titled
The Hit Girl, recently saw the North
American launch here. Coauthored by emi
nent and prolific writer & filmmaker
Khalid Mohamed, the book was released in
TV Asia premises in the presence of hun
dreds of nostalgic fans. To begin with, a
montage of her film clips, dialogs and
songs played on the screen as homage to
the living legend, presented by actress and
TV host Tabassum.
The ageless Asha Vikas Nangia of TV Asia moderated the
Parekh at the interactive event with Asha Parekh. About
North American the title of her book, said Parekh, I felt it
launch of her auto was a bit immodest but Khalid Mohamed
biography; (inset) and Ajay Mago, publisher, Om Books
the title page of International, insisted on retaining the
The Hit Girl title, going perhaps by the commercial suc
cess of my films starting with Dil Deke
Dekho in 1959. Then came the decade of
breezy, colorful entertainers, followed by
70s, an era of intense emotional dramas,
where Parekh blossomed from an endear
ing, gregarious girl next door to a woman
who portrayed an array of splendidly
enduring characters. Some of her most
memorable films are Teesri Manzil, Jab
Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Ziddi, Caravan,
Love in Tokyo, Aaya Sawan Jhoom Kay,
Kati Patang and Mai Tulsi Tere Aangan
Ki. She also spoke about her private life
with dignity. Nasir Saab was the only man
I ever loved, confessed Parekh, who
remained unmarried. Since Nasir Hussain
was already married, she did not want to
be a homebreaker. Asha Parekh said that
Indian cinema is technically advanced and
is tackling new themes, including the sta
tus of the contemporary Indian woman.
She stated Kahani, Lagaan and Dangal
as films one would watch more than one
time, with good storylines and also
declared that Oscars are not important! It
is a matter of immense pride that our film
actors are making an impact in American
cinema, she said while mentioning actors
like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone
and Irrfan Khan who have portrayed sig
nificant roles in Hollywood. Asha Parekh
ruled the roost at the Hindi film industry
from 1959 to 1973. But even after retir
ing, she transitioned into a life no less
active or busy than that of a filmstar, run
ning her own charitable hospital and
becoming the first female chairperson of
Indias film censor board.

Ramita Ravi gets entry to US allows fast processing

So You Think You Can Dance again for some H1B visa
New York: A 22yearold Indian American student,
Ramita Ravi, has made her entry into the Emmy Award
winning dance reality show of Fox TV So You Think You
applications
Can Dance with an amazing performance that combines Washington, DC: The U.S. gov for up to six months. Under the
both Indian classical dance and contemporary. ernment said on Monday it expedited procedure, applicants
During the auditions for the shows season 14 in New would resume fast processing of can be eligible for visa approvals
York, the Murrysville, Pennsylvania, native impressed the H1B visas requested by institu within 15 days, instead of a reg
judges by a performance on Jai Wolfs Indian Summer tions of higher education and ular review period that can last
and selected for the choreography round. nonprofit and governmental several months.
Ive been watching the show since its first season. Its research organizations, while The United States currently
always been a dream of mine to audition. My best friend leaving in place a longer caps H1B visas at 65,000 a
in college auditioned for the show a few years ago, and approval time for companies year, with an additional 20,000
he encouraged me to try out this year, Ravi told the that use the visas. allowed for those who have
Tribune Review. President Donald Trump cam earned advanced college degrees
She described the audition process as nerve wracking paigned on a promise to crack in the United States.
and exciting. down on immigrants, whom he The overall suspension
Before the New York auditions, she performed two said were taking jobs from U.S. remains in place but USCIS said
A 22yearold Indian American Ramita Ravi
solos, a group routine and choreography in hip hop, con citizens, and signed an executive on Monday in a statement that
temporary, ballroom, and jazz in the preliminary rounds quoted Ravi. The dancer found the talent surrounded her order in April calling for a premium processing would
for her first reality television competition. in New York unbelievable and said that fusing classical review of the H1B program. The resume for some applications
According to the triblive.com report, Ravi credits and contemporary helped her to express her own Indian visa allows foreigners with cer from educational and research
instructors Jaya Mani, Julia Coxon Saltsman and Debbie American identity. tain skills to work temporarily in oriented organizations exempt
Rogers for her performances in Bharatanatyam and con Other Indian dance styles, such as Bollywood, have the United States. from the cap.
temporary, jazz and hip hop. been shown on the program; however, I was the first con U.S. companies often use the The agency resumed premium
Ravi has been dancing competitively since she was five testant representing an Indian style who was fortunate visas to hire graduatelevel processing for physicians work
years old and already won ten regional titles. She also enough to progress as far as I did, she said, adding that workers in several specialized ing under a specific waiver pro
won the National Miss Headliner in 2013. Ravi is a 2013 her aim with sharing this style is to inspire future gener fields, including information gram on June 26.
graduate of Pittsburghs the Ellis School. She holds a ations of Indian Americans, or individuals with mixed technology, medicine, engineer USCIS has said that suspend
bachelors degree in health and societies from the identities. ing and mathematics. The visas ing premium processing was
University of Pennsylvania and is now pursuing her mas Ravi also plans to relocate to dance professionally are heavily used in the tech sec necessary to reduce a backlog of
ters in public health in Penns Perelman School of through her studies with Brinda Guhas Kalamandir tor. On April 3, the U.S. longpending visa petitions and
Medicine in Philadelphia. Dance Company in New York and has been able to per Citizenship and Immigration thus reduce overall H1B pro
Eventually, I plan to work in health innovation/entre form across the country and to teach guest classes at Services (USCIS) suspended pre cessing times.
preneurship with a dance career on the side, triblive.com Broadway Dance Center. mium processing of the visas (News source: Reuters)
6 July 29-August 4, 2017
Indian Americanled research team at Notre
Dame receives $3 M to study monsoons
A
University of Notre Dame research
team led by Indian American
Harindra Joseph Fernando has re
ceived funds to help conduct a fiveyear
study that will measure oceanic and at
mospheric conditions and flow patterns of
monsoons across the Indian Ocean, in par
ticular the Bay of Bengal.
The study, which hopes to help im
proved predictive models, received $2.9
million. We want to understand funda
mental processes that regulate monsoons.
The active and break cycles of rainfall
within a monsoon season, called monsoon
intraseasonal oscillations, are difficult to
predict and involve intricate airsea dy
namics, said Fernando, a UND professor
in the civil and environmental engineering
and earth sciences department, in a state
ment. Giant atmospheric wave patterns
coming from the Indian Ocean impact
countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Singa
pore and Seychelles, and they circumnavi
gate and affect global weather much
like we see with the polar vortex, he said.
The focus of our research is to look at
how these planetaryscale waves shape the
regional weather and understand the con
ditions for extreme rainfall events.
The monsoon rainfall, which helps for
necessities such as agriculture, drinking
Rutgers student Megha creates health education
program to empower homeless women
W
hen pharmacy stu
dent Megha Shah be
gan her internship at
the Ozanam Family Shelter in
Edison, she was prepared to
improve the health literacy of
the residents. What she didnt
realize was how much the resi
Megha Shah
dents would teach her. Shah,
who will graduate in 2019 from the Ernest tions for building a program, Shah says.
Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers Uni
versity, spent seven weeks this summer
developing a health education program at
the emergency shelter that houses 16 sin
gle women and 26 families in Middlesex
County. She participated as part of the
Bridging the Gaps Community Health In
ternship, a program that links graduate
students preparing for careers in health
and social services with community initia
tives in underserved populations. The
Philadelphiabased program is adminis
tered in New Jersey by Rutgers School of
Public Health. Shah credits the success of
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
water and hydroelectricity production, has
also resulted in deadly floods and land
slides in India. Current models can predict
monsoon weather seven to 10 days out.
Fernando hopes the study will help im
prove those predictions to several weeks,
according to the university news release.
For India and Sri Lanka, advanced pre
dictions are important for water resource
planners. Knowing when the rains are
coming in, where theyre coming from and
what their tracks are as early as possible
would be a significant advantage for water
resource management, allowing planners
to allocate those resources more efficient
ly, the professor said.
As part of the study, researchers will de
ploy a number of sophisticated instru
ments from research ships and an aircraft
to measure the ocean and atmospheric
properties over two monsoon cycles, ac
cording to the university. The researchers
are interested in the temperature, salinity,
humidity, flow velocities, turbulence, pres
sure and wave properties, as well as global
impacts of MISO events. The measure
ments will allow the researchers to study
physical and thermodynamic processes re
lated to MISO, the release noted. The fund
ing for the study comes from the U.S. Of
fice of Naval Research.
the health education program
to her preceptor, Rebecca
Rhoads, the housing and social
justice service area director at
Catholic Charities, which oper
ates Ozanam. I care strongly
about womens health, and she
was very open minded and en
couraging about my sugges
Teaching at Ozanam marked a turning
point for Shah, who decided she wanted to
study medicine in high school. It wasnt
until after a health scare during her under
graduate career that she knew she defi
nitely wanted to continue to pursue phar
macy. I was prescribed the wrong medi
cine during a hospital stay. My mother is a
retail pharmacist and flagged the error
when she realized it would have been dan
gerous to me in my condition, she says. It
was then that I knew I needed to learn
more about medications before I pursued
any further education.
Saladino and Hand: Home improvement assistance
available for homeowners with physical disabilities
I
n celebration of the 27th Anniversary of
the Americans with Disabilities Act, New
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Sal
adino and members of the Town Board re
mind residents with disabilities of the Towns
Home Improvement Assistance Program.
The program allows eligible individuals to
make essential home improvements by pro
viding them with grant monies and interest
free loans for necessary home repairs.
Supervisor Saladino stated, Federal funds
allow the Town of Oyster Bay to offer assis
tance to eligible residents in making im
provements to their home. On this anniver
sary of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
we remind residents with physical disabilities
of the Towns home modification program
which can help accommodate your disability
through loans for projects such as wheel
chair ramps, stair glides, the widening of
doorways, and bathroom modifications.
The program is made possible through a
Federal Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG), which the Town has been
proudly administering since the programs
inception. In recent years, the Town has ded
icated nearly $500,000 annually in CDBG
funds to the Home Assistance Program. Ad
ministered by the Towns Department of In
tergovernmental Affairs, eligible improve
ments include wheelchair ramps, stair glides,
widening of doorways, and bathroom modifi
Upset Hindus urge Brooklyn based
Etsy to withdraw Lord Ganesha
toilet seat, apologize
U
pset Hindus have urged Brooklyn
(New York) headquartered ecom
merce company Etsy, Inc. for imme
diate withdrawal of toilet seat carrying im
age of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; calling it
highly inappropriate. Hindu statesman Ra
jan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, said that
Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hin
duism and was meant to be worshiped in
temples or home shrines and not to adorn a
toilet. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities
or concepts for commercial or other agen
da was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society
of Hinduism, also urged Etsy and its CEO
Josh Silverman to offer a formal apology,
besides withdrawing Ganesha Toilet Seat.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest
religion of the world with about 1.1 billion
adherents and a rich philosophical thought
and it should not be taken frivolously. Sym
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Oyster Bay Town
Supervisor Saladino (speaking)
cations to make their homes more accessible.
Additionally, funds are available for replace
ment of windows, doors, roofs, as well as
electrical and hot water systems. The pro
gram is also open to incomeeligible senior
citizens residing in the Town of Oyster Bay.
Councilman Thomas P. Hand added, Im
proud to be part of an administration that
puts our residents first, and looks for all av
enues in which to assist them. Estimates in
dicate the Home Improvement Assistance
program will help nearly 40 households this
year and that means dozens of residents will
be more comfortable in their own homes, liv
ing their lives to the fullest! For more infor
mation on the Towns Home Improvement
Assistance Program, contact the Department
of Intergovernmental Affairs at (516) 624
6177 or visit www.oysterbaytown.com.
bols of any faith, larger or smaller, should
not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.
Zed further said that such trivialization of
Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus
world over. Hindus were for free artistic ex
pression and speech as much as anybody
else if not more. But faith was something
sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt
the followers, Zed added.
Zed suggested that Etsy and other com
panies should send their senior executives
for training in religious and cultural sensi
tivity so that they had an understanding of
the feelings of customers and communities
when introducing new products or launch
ing advertising campaigns.
In the Item details of Ganesha Toilet
Seat, Lord Ganesha is described as bath
room Ganesha holding a comb, mirror,
toothbrush and toothpaste and his vahana
rat is replaced by a rat tail comb.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY July 29-August 4, 2017 7

Modi's Cabinet approves revision of Indian

Community Welfare Fund guidelines
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet,
chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, on Wednesday
approved revision of the Indian
Community Welfare Fund (ICWF)
guidelines, to expand scope of
welfare measures that can be
extended through the fund to
overseas Indian nationals in
times of distress and emergency.
The ICWF, set up in 2009, is
aimed at assisting overseas
Indian nationals in times of dis
tress and emergency in the most
deserving cases on a means test
ed basis.
"The revised guidelines being
made broadbased seek to
expand the scope of welfare
measures that can be extended
through the fund. The guidelines
would cover three key areas
namely Assisting Overseas
Indian nationals in distress situa
tions, community welfare activi
ties and improvement in con
sular services," said an ofcial
statement.
"They are expected to provide
Indian Missions and Posts
abroad greater exibility in
swiftly addressing to requests for
assistance by overseas Indian
nationals.
"Apart from assisting Indian
nationals in distress abroad,
ICWF has been a critical support
in emergency evacuation of
Indian nationals in conict zones
in Libya, Iraq, Yemen, South
Sudan and other challenging sit
uations like assistance extended
to undocumented Indian workers
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
during the Nitaqat drive in 2013
and the ongoing Amnesty drive
in 2017," it added.
Noting that the scale and speed
of these evacuations and assis
tance rendered through the fund
has been universally appreciated,
the statement said that it "also
created a sense of condence
among the migrant workers
going overseas about the support
they can expect from India dur
ing critical times".
"ICWF stands extended to all
Indian Missions and Posts
abroad and is primarily funded
by levying service charge on var
ious consular services rendered
by Indian Missions and Posts
abroad," it added.
(IANS)

Indian American CEO of Google CEO Sundar Pichai appointed to

LyondellBasell to build Alphabet board of directors
San Francisco: Googles parent company,

largest alcohol plant Alphabet Inc., has appointed Indian American

Google CEO Sundar Pichai to its board of direc
New York: Indian American Bhavesh tors."Sundar has been doing a great job as
(Bob) V Patel, CEO of Petrochemical giant Google's CEO, driving strong growth, partner
LyondellBasell, is planning to build the ships and tremendous product innovation. I
worlds largest propylene oxide and terti really enjoy working with him and I'm excited
ary butyl alcohol plant in the Houston that he is joining the Alphabet board,"
area where the Netherlandsbased com Alphabet CEO Larry Page said in a statement.
pany has its operational headquarters. As Google's CEO, Pichai is responsible for its
This worldscale project is a key part product development and technology strategy,
of our organic growth strategy which is as well as the company's daytoday opera
Bhavesh (Bob) V Patel, CEO of
designed to meet rising global demand tions.
Petrochemical giant LyondellBasell,
for both urethanes and cleanerburning Pichai joined Google in 2004 and helped
oxyfuels while creating real, longterm lead the development of key consumer prod ucts and platforms.
value for our shareholders, Patel told ucts, which are now used by over a billion peo After years of working closely with Google's
PTI. Our investment in this plant com ple.In 2014, he took over product, engineering cofounders, Page and Sergey Brin, Pichai
bines the best of both worlds: our leading and research efforts for all of Google's prod became Google's CEO in August 2015. (IANS)

Allow women to sing shabads at

PO/TBA process technology with proxim
ity to lowcost feedstocks, which gives
LyondellBasell a competitive advantage

Golden Temple: Sikh Americans

in the global marketplace for these prod
ucts, Patel added.
The $2.4 billion project, which will
start in the second half of 2018 and end
by the middle of 2021, is part of the com
panys $5 billion investment in the US
Gulf Coast and is expected to create as
many as 2,500 jobs at the peak of con
struction and about 160 regular jobs
once it is built.
We are pleased that LyondellBasell
continues to view the Houston area as
important to their global operations, cre
ating jobs and opportunities for
Houstonians, Bob Harvey, president and
CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.
This new project further advances
Houstons position as a global hub of
petrochemical manufacturing, leveraging
Houstons strategic access to the
Bhavesh (Bob) V Patel, CEO of
Petrochemical giant LyondellBasell,
Americas and top markets around the
world, Harvey added.
Each year, the main plant is expected to
produce about 1 billion pounds of propy
lene oxide (PO), which is used to make
bedding, furniture, carpeting, coatings,
building materials and adhesives, and 2.2
billion pounds of tertiary butyl alcohol
(TBA), which is converted into two ether
based oxyfuels which help gasoline burn
cleaner.
Reports said the PO and derivative
products will be sold to domestic and
global customers while the oxyfuels will
mainly go to Latin America and Asia with
a portion remaining in the US to be used
in tires and lubricants.
Washington, DC: SikhAmericans have pro
posed that women should be allowed to sing
shabads or hymns at the Golden Temple to rec
ognize the important role played by them in
strengthening the Sikh faith. About 120 young
Sikhs between the age group of seven and 17
from across the United States and Canada,
gathered in a Maryland suburb of Washington,
raised the question of why Sikh women are not
performing kirtan at Darbar Sahib (Golden
Temple).
"It is clear from the many other historical
references that Sikh women were crucial to the
success of the 5th largest religion and it is
extremely important that we give them their
deserving role in Sikh affairs, especially being
able to sing shabads or hymns at the very
About 120 young Sikhs between the age
group of seven & 17 gathered in a Maryland
suburb of Washington and raised the ques
tion of why Sikh women are not performing
kirtan at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple).
heart of Sikhism, in Darbar Sahib, the Golden
Temple," Rajwant Singh, one of the Sikh
Americans who taught the campers said.
The Sikh youth camp was organized by the
Washingtonbased Guru Gobind Singh
Foundation.
"This Panth would not be where it is today
without the actions of Sikh women, so we
should recognize their contributions," said
Sehejneet Kaur, one of the counselors who is
pursuing dentistry. (PTI)
8 July 29-August 4, 2017
2017 MoneyGram Cricket Bee
Dallas winners announced
The winners with Rahul Walia, founder of the MoneyGram cricket bee
hree North Texas men are headed
T
the Cricket Bee Finals in New Jersey
next month after winning the Dallas
regional Cricket Bee held on July 16.
Vikram Shukla of Frisco, TX was declared
second runner up, Vinay Bulusu of Irving,
Delegate Aruna Miller urges
Governor Hogan to join compact on
K12 Computer Science education
elegate Aruna Miller
D announced that she is
pleased that Governor
Larry Hogan has agreed to
join the National Compact on
K12 Computer Science Edu
cation, where participating
Governors commit to working
toward policies that will help
meet the goal of increasing access to K12
computer science education. Delegate
Miller led the effort, in a December 2016
letter joined by 16 members of the Mary
land Senate and House of Delegates, urg
ing the Governor to join what was then 22
(and is now 38) other states in this Nation
al Compact. Delegate Miller is a trans
portation engineer and has been a strong
advocate for STEM education in the state
legislature. In explaining the importance of
New Delhi man sentenced to 30 months
for illegally selling gun silencers in US
n Indian citizen from New Delhi has
A been sentenced to 30 months in
prison by a federal court in
Louisiana state for illegally selling gun si
lencers and planning to smuggle more of
them disguised as auto parts. Mohit
Chauhan, 31, from Pitampura in New Del
hi, who was sentenced on Tuesday, had ad
mitted before federal Judge Elizabeth E.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
TX was first runner up and the Regional
champion was Nadeem Aslam of Murphy,
TX. The competition allows cricket fans
to compete for prizes while sharing their
knowledge of the game to win a cash
prize of $10,000.
this multistate effort, Miller
stated: A core component of
every child's education must
include computer science.
Computing and computer
technology touches almost
everything in our lives from
the cars we drive, to the
ways we conduct business
and to innovation in the sciences that can
lead to cures for diseases. Delegate Miller
commented, Computer science is an ab
solute must in Maryland because it puts
students on the path toward some of the
highestpaying, fastestgrowing jobs in our
state and nationwide. In todays work
place, a computer and computer skills are
vitally needed whether you work in an of
fice, an auto body shop, a restaurant, or on
a farm, added Delegate Miller.
Foote in April that he had dealt firearms
without a license.
Alexander C. Van Hook, the acting feder
al prosecutor for Western Louisiana, said
on Wednesday that Chauhan was contact
ing by someone who wanted to buy si
lencers and he discussed by email and
phone manufacturing silencers for the
client.
Mika Singh to
perform at
Naperville India
Day Celebration
B
ollywood musician Mika Singh will be
performing at this years India Day cel
ebration and parade in Naperville.
Scheduled for August 13, the festival will
start at 11 a.m. at Knoch Park featuring an
ethnic Indian bazaar and a fashion show
along with food and beverages, the parade
will start at Naperville Central High School
at 4 p.m. and will run a milelong stretch.
Ever since it was started in 2015,
Napervilles India Day celebration and pa
rade has been growing in both size and at
tendance and this year it will join other India
Day Parades and Celebrations throughout
the country in celebrating Indias 70 years
of Independence.
"He's one of the top names," said Krishna
Bansal, chairman of Indian Community Out
reach. "You can compare him to any of the
big names here." The India Day parade isn't
your typical procession of marching bands,
local businesses and politicians. "It's a differ
Former US envoy to India Richard Verma
named vice chair of The Asia Group
F
ormer U.S. Ambassador
to India Richard Verma
has joined The Asia
Group as vice chairman and
partner, the firm announced
in a July 19 news release.
The former Indian American
diplomat, the firm said,
brings more than 20 years
of experience at the highest
level of government, business and diplo
macy across the IndoPacific region.
"The Asia Group's team is innovative,
creative and has a reputation for excel
lence," Verma said in a statement. "I am re
ally pleased to continue working on the
critically important trade and economic is
sues across Asia, and in India in particu
lar." Verma served as U.S. ambassador to
India for a little more than two years, bow
ing out of his role in January this year
upon President Donald Trumps inaugura
tion.
"Rich brings a wealth of expertise and
experience to The Asia Group. His distin
guished range of service ... brings unique
capacities to The Asia Group," Asia Group
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
ent kind of parade," Bansal said. "It's more
colorful, and groups decorate floats and
bring in dance clubs and display cultures of
different regions of India."
Organizers are hoping the event draws a
diverse crowd interested in learning more
about IndianAmerican culture.
"It's not just for IndianAmericans; it's for
everyone," Bansal said.
While the event does celebrate India's in
dependence, "It's more about showcasing the
IndianAmerican heritage in our area and
showcasing the culture," Bansal said. Any
where from 200 to 250 volunteers will help
prepare and run the event. Naperville's India
Day celebration started after thenNaperville
Mayor George Pradel created the Indian
Community Outreach organization in 2013.
The group provides education opportunities
throughout the year, and helped with work
behind the scenes to bring the Patel Broth
ers grocery store to Naperville, Bansal said.
chair and chief executive Dr.
Kurt M. Campbell said in a
statement. "The 21st century
will indeed be an Asian cen
tury and Rich will enhance
The Asia Group's ability to
better anticipate develop
ments and seize opportuni
ties in Asia."
In his role, Verma will hold
a key leadership position, leading the ex
pansion of the firm's South Asia practice,
enhancing its ability to provide clients
with cuttingedge solutions and meaning
ful insights across the IndoPacific, the
firm said. Additionally, his experience will
help deepen the firm's services across key
sectors including energy, manufacturing,
defense, transportation, health and tech
nology, it added. "Rich has an outstanding
reputation in business, legal and foreign
policy circles and a demonstrated record
of success in Asia," the firm's president Ni
rav Patel said in a statement. "There is no
doubt he will further enhance The Asia
Group's ability to provide partnerled solu
tions and services for the firm's clients."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
800 attend Shrimad Bhagvat Indian convicted of using fake
Katha on Royal Caribbean Cruise identity to get US citizenship
Detroit, MI: In the midst of ones
busy life, there is a longing in
everyone to be united with the
Divine, to listen to the spiritual
discourses, and read the scrip
tures. With the challenges of
meeting ones daily needs of work,
family, and social life, its hard to
nd time for spirituality, prayer,
and divine experience.
To he lp fulll these noble
desires, as well as to provide an
opportunity for participants to
experience the divine in a fun and
memorable way, a sevenday
cruise with spiritual teachings of
Shrimad Bhagvat by Shri
Rameshbhai Oza, popularly
known as Pujya Bhaishree, was
org anized aboard a Royal
Caribbean cruise ship departing
from Seattle starting July 14th
courtesy of Jaya Travel & Tours.
Attended by 800 devotees, this
Bhagvat katha was inspired by
members of the Board of Trustees
of the Sanskruti Foundation USA.
The volunteer force comprised of
devotees from Detroit, Seattle, and
many other cit ies across the
United States, UK, Australia, New
Zealand, Fiji, Madagascar, and
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Karshni Gurusharanananda Swami of the Udasin Ashram in Raman,
Reti Gokul and Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati with Rameshbhai
Oza (seated) aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise
India as well.
The presence of saints Karshni
Gurusharanananda Swami of the
Udasin Ashram in Raman, Reti
Gokul and Pujya Swami
Chidanand Saraswati, and the
spiritual head of the Parmarth
Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh
made for a special experience on
this unique cruise.
Specially prepared Jain vegetari
an meals were available to devo
tees roundtheclock. The abun
dant comforts, good food, lack of
any physical wants, and the rela
tive isolation provided a perfect
environment for devotees to
develop focused attention and
love for the most beloved scrip
ture and their Lord. Pujya
Bhaishree acknow ledged the
inspirations that he received with
the presence of these holy sages.
Daily satsang inspired from the
readings of Shrimad Bhagvat took
the devotees into a different plane
of existence. The cruise katha was
seven days of continuous celebra it intends to facilitate interaction
tion of Lord Krishna, his creation,
his saints, and his devotees.
July 29-August 4, 2017
Washington, DC: An Indian man
has been convicted of using fake
identity to obtain American citi
zenship, an immigration ofcial
has said.
Balbir Singh alias Ranjit Singh,
50, faces up to 10 years in fed
eral prison, a maximum
$250,000 possible ne, revoca
t ion of his cit izenship and
enforcement of his outstanding
deportation order.
According to Act ing US
Attorney Abe Martinez, Balbir
Singh had previously attempted
to obtain asylum under false
pretences. When that attempt
failed, an immigration judge
IABC launches India national chapter
New Delhi: The Indian American
Business Council (IABC) on
Saturday launched its Indiabased
"national chapter" to provide a
platform for micro, small, and
medium sized enterprises to
expand their businesses.
T he nonprot org anizat ion
headquartered in Chicago said that
with access to collaborations, tech
and cooperation between MSMEs
from both the countries.
9
then ordered his deportation
from the United States, thus
making him ineligible to ever
become a naturalized citizen. A
resident of Houston, Sing h,
instead of leaving the country,
changed his name, date of birth,
the manner in which he entered
the United States and his famil
ial history so that he could
obtain lawful immigration sta
tus, and later naturalization,
based on a marriage to a United
States citizen. In the process of
obtaining the citizenship, he
denied ever being ordered
deported, seeking asylum or
using a different identity. (PTI)
According to IABC, under its aegis
three investment deals MoUs
(memorandum of understandings)
totaling over $35 million are
currently under way. "IABC has
been working with industries that
include healthcare, manufacturing,
energy and infrastructure prod
ucts and services to provide them
nical knowhow and investors rela
tions," it said in a statement. (IANS)
10 July 29-August 4, 2017
Presidential pardon and the case of Donald Trump
l By Shivaji Sengupta
he Washington Post report
T ed last week that President
Trump's personal lawyers
were exploring possibilities of
President Trump pardoning him
self if he were to be found guilty
of participating in the collusion
with the Russian government in
its effort to meddle in the
Presidential Elections in 2016.
This report, not yet confirmed by
any other source, has neverthe
less taken the country by a storm.
Two intriguing questions arise:
Why are the lawyers exploring
presidential pardon? Is Trump,
after all, guilty of colluding with
the Russians? Can a president of
the United States pardon himself?
But before we engage with
these questions, let me state at
the outset that, like most issues
'Trump still
doesn't accept
intel on Russia'
White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci
Washington: President Trump
remains unconvinced that
Russia attempted to inuence
the 2016 election, the newly
appointed White House
Communications Director
Anthony Scaramucci said.
"He basically said to me, 'Hey
you know, this is, maybe they
did it, maybe they didn't do it,'"
Scaramucci told CNN on Sunday
of a conversation he had with
the President about alleged
Russian interference.
Prior to Trump's inauguration,
the Ofce of the Director of
National Intelligence released
an unclassied report showing
the CIA, FBI and National
Security Agency all concluded
the Russian government
attempted to inuence the elec
tion to help Trump.
Scaramucci suggested Trump
does not yet accept the conclu
sion of the intelligence commu
nity and questioned the media's
having to do with our president,
this one too, is lacking an anchor.
Whether or not Trump is guilty is
not for Washington Post to
decide. The investigation is on, at
several levels, and we dont know
when the verdict will be out, or
whether there will be a verdict at
all. Meanwhile, the president, with
a characteristic flare for muddle,
keeps tweeting fire crackers into
the air confusing his constituen
cies but keeping them busy.
Just as we are busy here, trying
to decide whether Donald Trump
as president can pardon himself;
or whether he is guilty of any
crime in the first place so that he
can pardon himself.
Lets take up the constitutional
question first: Can the president
of the United States pardon him
self? Article II, Section 2, of the
Constitution says the president
pursuit of the story, saying it
tarnished Trump's victory in
November.
"The mainstream media posi
tion on this, that they interfered
in the election," Scaramucci told
CNN. "It actually in his mind,
what are you guys suggesting?
You're going to delegitimize his
victory?"
Scaramucci said he intended
to review the intelligence com
munity's evidence once he had
his security clearance and
pledged to give Trump his per
sonal thoughts on the conclu
sions. He said Trump would
make up his own mind in time
and that if Trump believed
Russia was responsible for the
2016 efforts and a threat to
future elections, he would act.
"A person that's going to be
super, super tough on Russia is
President Trump," the
Communications Director
added.
US AFFAIRS
"shall have the Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for offens
es against the United States,
except in Cases of Impeachment."
It seems that his pardoning pow
ers are pretty absolute. According
to James Robenalt, an expert on
Watergate, The power of the par
don is considered one of the least
limited powers of the executive.
Apparently, this authority can be
traced back to English kings and
their pardoning powers.
Alexander Hamilton, a well
known anglophile, wrote in The
Federalist Papers, Humanity and
good policy conspire to dictate,
that the benign prerogative of
pardoning should be as little as
possible fettered or embarrassed.
Alas, the Honorable Hamilton
could hardly have anticipated a
Donald Trump to be the president
of the United States! Also, accord
Kushner denies colluding with Russia
Washington: Jared Kushner, the
senior adviser and soninlaw of
President Donald Trump, has, in a
statement sent to the Senate and
House Intelligence Committees
and published by local media,
denied having colluded with
Russia during the 2016 presiden
tial election campaign.
I did not collude, nor know of
anyone else in the campaign who
colluded, with any foreign govern
ment, Kushner said in a written
statement issued hours before tes
tifying behind closed doors to the
Senate Intelligence Committee
about his contacts with Russia dur
ing the 2016 electoral campaign,
Efe news reported.
I had no improper contacts. I
have not relied on Russian funds to
finance my business activities in
the private sector. I have tried to
be fully transparent, Kushner said
in the 11page statement.
Kushner said he had no inappro
priate contacts with anyone who
had been or was at that time a rep
resentative of the Russian govern
ment. In his testimony, Kushner
mentions a meeting unknown up
Trump backs law expanding
Russia sanctions: White House
Washington: President Donald
Trump supports a bill announced
on the weekend by Congress to
increase sanctions on Russia, in
part due to Moscows alleged inter
ference in last years election,
White House Press Secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Sanders told ABC News on
Sunday that Trump supports the
bill as it now reads as the White
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
ing to the same Robenalt, the
phrase offenses against the
United States is generally meant
to address federal criminal cases
and to rule out statelevel cases
and civil cases.
So, from all available sources
and experts it seems that our
president can indeed pardon him
self although one legal scholar
has made a fine point of the
phrase to grant in Article II,
quoted above. The president can
grant a pardon, it says. The word
grant usually means to give
something to someone else, not to
oneself. By this lexical logic,
Trump cannot grant a pardon to
himself! But, I dare say, this bit of
semantics will not prevent Trump
and his lawyers from trying it!
As to what crime Donald Trump
might have committed, that will
take a while to sort out. I have
Jared Kushner, the senior adviser &soninlaw of President Donald Trump
to now with the Russian ambassa
dor to Washington, Sergei Kislyak,
at the Mayflower Hotel in
Washington.
According to Kushner, he met
Kislyak and three other ambassa
dors a few months before Trump
was designated the Republican
candidate for President.
He said they shook hands,
exchanged brief pleasantries and
each exchange lasted less than a
minute.
Recently Trumps soninlaw has
been at the centre of a controversy
for a meeting with a Russian
House has opposed an earlier ver
sion of the same bill because it lim
ited Trumps ability to lift sanc
tions on Russia, Efe news reported.
The revised bill, which also
includes new sanctions on Iran
and North Korea, retains Trumps
sanctionlifting authority and his
ability to make significant policy
changes toward Russia, although
he would have to inform Congress
written elsewhere in these
columns that the president should
not try to bring down Robert
Mueller, the special counsel
appointed by the Attorney
Generals Office, because he
would then even more seriously
implicate himself as trying to hide
something. My own conjecture is
that if he does get compromised it
would have something to do with
money laundering. He might be
impeached (though, with
Republicans controlling Congress,
I doubt it) but not removed from
presidency, something similar to
what happened with President
Clinton.
Thus, what I have written
amounts to this: if at all President
Trump is convicted of something,
it will not rise to the level of a
crime. Therefore, he will not have
to invoke presidential pardon.
lawyer who was expected to pro
vide damaging information against
thenDemocratic candidate and
Trump rival Hillary Clinton.
But Kushner said the meeting
was a waste of our time.
Kushner was questioned on
Monday by the Senate Intelligence
Committee and was due on
Tuesday to appear before the
House Intelligence Committee,
both currently investigating
Russian meddling in the 2016
elections and the possible collu
sion of members of the Trump
campaign with the Kremlin.
and lawmakers would have 30
days to decide whether or not to
allow such changes.
Meanwhile, the White House
also said that Trump is not consid
ering pardoning his advisors, his
family members or himself regard
ing the Russia probe, one day after
Trump himself claimed that as
President, he had the complete
authority to pardon anyone.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
GOPs last option: skinny
repeal of Obamacare
Washington: The Senate rejected
4555 a proposal Wednesday that
would have repealed major parts
of the Af fordable Care Act, but
Republican leaders were growing
more confident about their
chances of passing a more modest
overhaul of the healthcare law
later this wee k, reported
Washington Post
Republicans appeared to be
coming around a skinny repeal
that would abolish the individual
and employer insurance mandates
and perhaps just one tax in an
attempt to sustain their seven
year quest to unwind President
Barack Obamas healthcare law.
But even if they succeed and
start negotiations with the House
they will face significant obsta
cles in accomplishing anything
more substantial.
Top Republicans such as Sen.
John Thune (S.D.), the chambers
thirdranking Republican, said
Trump bans
transgenders
from serving
in US military
Washington: President
Donald Trump announced on
Wednesday that the US mili
tary will no longer allow
transgender individuals to
serve in "any capacity" in the
military.
Trump said in a series of
tweets that the military needs
to be focused on "decisive and
overwhelming" victory.
"After consultation with my
Generals and military experts,
please be advised that the US
government will not accept or
allow...Transgender individu
als to serve in any capacity in
the US military," Trump tweet
ed.
"Our military must be
focused on decisive and over
whelming ... victory and can
not be burdened with the
tremendous medical costs
and disruption that transgen
der in the military would
entail. Thank you."
Trumps abrupt decision has
been widely criticized includ
ing by Senator John McCain.
The ban may not get ratified
by US Congress.
that although leaders have not yet
found the sweet spot between to getting 50 votes for a bare
conservatives and centrists, they
had picked up support for a more
modest plan because it did not
include deep cuts to Medicaid.
Some Republican senators were
simply open to any legislation
that could keep alive the roller
coaster push for an overhaul.
Sen. McCain pleads for bipartisanship
The war hero and Republican senior returned to Senate merely a week
after the surgery for his brain cancer, and condemned the zero-sum
game in Washington. Excerpts from his speech:
I
have been a member of the US
Senate for 30 years. I've known
and admired men and women
in the Senate who played much
more than a small role in our his
tory, true statesmen, giants of
American politics. They held dif
ferent views on the issues of the
day, and they often had very seri
ous disagreements about how best
to serve the national interest. But
they knew that however sharp and
heartfelt their disputes, however
keen their ambitions, they had an
obligation to work collabora
ENT
tively to ensure the
M use ful. But I
Senate discharged
its const itut ional COM
responsibilities effec
tively. Our responsibilities are
important, vitally important, to the
continued success of our republic.
And our arcane rules and customs
are de liberate ly intended to
require broad cooperation to func
tion well at all. The most revered
members of this institution accept
ed the necessity of compromise in
order to make incremental
progress on solving America's
problems and defend her from her
adversaries. That principle mind
set and the service of our prede
cessors who possessed it come to
mind I hear the senate referred to
as the world's greatest deliberative
body.
I'm not sure we can claim that
US AFFAIRS
The Senate on
July 26 voted
against a
proposal to
repeal the
Affordable Care
Act with a
replacement
coming within
two years. A day
earlier, their
repeal and
replace also fell
through.
Were edging closer and closer
bones plan, Thune said. He said
leaders were betting that some
Republicans who defected on
votes this week would feel more
pressure to support any bill that
emerged from negotiations with
the House to face a final vote in
the Senate.
distinction with a straight face
today. Our deliberations today
not just our debates, but the exer
cise of all of our responsibilities
authorizing government policies,
appropriating the funds to imple
ment them, exercising our advice
and consent role, are often lively
and interesting. They can be sin
cere in principle, but they're more
partisan, more of the time than
at any t ime that I can
remember. Our delibera
tions can still be
important and
think we'd all agree,
they haven't been overbur
dened by greatness lately.
Like now, they aren't produc
ing much for the American peo
ple. Both sides have let this hap
pen. Let's leave the his
tory of who shot first
to the historians. I
suspect they'll find
we all conspired
in our decline,
either by deliberate actions or neg
lect. Incremental progress, com
promises that each side criticized
but also accept, just plain mud
dling through to chip away at
problems and keep our enemies
from doing their worst isn't glam
orous or exciting.
I hope we can again re ly on
humility, on our need to cooperate,
July 29-August 4, 2017
Trump takes more
jibes at Sessions
Washington: In his latest attack
on Attorney General Je f f
Sessions, President Donald
Trump on Wednesday ques
tioned why he did not replace
current acting chief of the FBI
Andrew McCabe.
"Why did not A.G. Sessions
replace Act ing FBI Director
Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend
who was in charge of Clinton
investigation but got big dollars
($700,000) for his wife's politi
cal run from Hillary Clinton and
her representatives. Drain the
Swamp!" Trump tweeted.
Trump described McCabe as a
friend of James Comey, the FBI
chief Trump fired in May while
he was leading the agency's
investigation of Russian med
dling in last year's presidential
election aimed at helping Trump
defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
According to a report in Voice
of America, Trump said McCabe
on our dependence to learn how
to trust each other again, and by
so, doing better serve the people
who elected us. Stop listening to
the bombastic loud mouths on the
radio and te levision and the
Internet! To hell with them! Let's
trust each other. Let's return to
regular order. We've
been spinning our
whee ls on too
many impor
tant issues
because we
keep trying
to find a
way to win
without help
from across
the aisle.
That's an approach that's been
employed by both sides, mandat
ing legislation from the top down
without any support from the
other side, with all the parliamen
tary maneuvers that it requires.
We're getting nothing done, my
friends! All we've really done this
year is confirm Neil Gorsuch to the
Supreme Court. Our health care
11
President Trump is said to be
provoking Attorney General Jeff
Sessions to resign, but he is not
complying. (Photo : Reuters)
headed the investigation last
year that cleared Clinton of
wrongdoing in her use of a pri
vate email server while she was
US secretary of state from 2009
to 2013.
US media have said that White
House aides have urged Trump
to end his almost daily broad
sides against Sessions.
insurance system is a mess. We all
know it, those who support
Obamacare and those who oppose
it. Something has to be done! We
Republicans have looked for a way
to end it and replace it with some
thing else without paying a terri
ble political price. We haven't
found it yet and I'm not sure we
will. Why don't we try the old way
of legislating in the Senate? The
way our rules and customs encour
ages us to act. If this process
(Obamacare overhaul) ends in fail
ure, which seems likely, then let's
return to regular orderlet the
health, education, labor and pen
sions committee under chairman
Alexander and ranking member
Murray hold hearings, try to
report a bill out of committee with
contributions from both
sides. Something that
my dear friends on
the other side of the
aisle didn't allow to
happen nine years
ago.
Let's see if we can pass some
thing that will be imperfect, full of
compromises and not very pleas
ing to implacable partisans on the
other side, but that might provide
workable solutions to problems
Americans are struggling with
today. What have we to lose by try
ing to work together to find those
solutions?
 12 July 29-August 4, 2017
President Ram Nath Kovind and former President Pranab Mukherjee
leave after the Guard of Honor in New Delhi.
Kovind pledges to follow
'mantra' of Constitution
New Delhi: Making history as the
first o ccupant of Rashtrapat i
Bhavan from the BJP, President
Ram Nath Kovind has pledged to
always follow the basic mantra of
the Constitution to ensure justice,
liberty, equality and fraternity.
Elected to the highest constitu
tional office last week, Kovind was
administered the oath of office by
Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar
at a brief but glittering ceremony
in the Central Hall of Parliament
before a gathering of MPs, Chief
Ministers and diplomats.
Taking oath in the name of God,
Kovind pledged to "preserve, pro
tect and defend the Constitution
and the law" and devoted himself
to the services and wellbeing of
the people of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
ministers, opposition leaders
including Sonia Gandhi and for
mer Prime Ministers Manmohan
Sing h and H.D. Deve Gowda
attended the event. At the end of
over three hours of protocol and
formalities on a rainmarred day,
the new President accompanied
his predecessor Pranab
Mukherjee to the latter's new
abode 10 Rajaji Marg after his and our society also. For all its
warm farewell at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan.
In his speech, Kovind hailed the
vision of Mahatma Gandhi and
Sangh icon Deen Dayal Upadhyay
and said there was a need to build
Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar administers oath of office of the
President of India to Ram Nath Kovind in the Central Hall of
Parliament. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
India as "an economic leader as
well as moral exemplar".
"For us, those two touchstones
can never be separate. They are
and must forever be linked."
Recalling his humble beginnings
from growing up in a mud house
in an Uttar Pradesh village, Kovind
said he has had a long journey.
"Yet this journey is hardly mine
alone. It is so telling of our nation
Const itut ion's architect B.R.
problems, it follows that basic
mantra g iven to us in the
Preamble to the Constitution
ensuring justice, liberty, equality
and fraternity and I will always
cont inue to follow this basic
INDIA
President Kovind inspecting the Guard of Honor after the
mantra." In another line that
avoided any reference to Congress
o ccupants of the Rashtrapat i
Bhavan barring two, Kovind said
he was conscious he was follow
ing the footsteps of stalwarts such
as Rajendra Prasad, S.
Rad hakrishnan, A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam and his predecessor Pranab
Mukherjee. Referring to Mahatma
Gand hi, Sardar Pate l and
its ancient values and compliant
Ambedkar, the President said
these leaders did not believe that
political freedom was enough; it
was crucial to also achieve eco
nomic and social freedom for mil
lions. "The key to India's success
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
swearingin ceremony. (Photos: PIB/IANS)
President Kovind debuts
on Twitter
New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind's entry into the cyber world as the 14th
President of India was swift and seamless garnering over three
million followers within hours of debuting on Twitter.
"Honored to be sworn in as the 14th President of India; would be
carrying out my responsibilities with all humility #PresidentKovind,"
said the Twitter handle of Kovind @rashtrapatibhvn even as he was
completing the mandatory constitutional oath of office in the
Central Hall of Parliament here.
And then followed a series of tweets from his speech after the oath
of office was administered by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar.
Within hours, Kovind had 3.27 million followers, though he was
"following" only his immediate predecessor Pranab Mukherjee
@POI13. Not to be left behind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who
is active on Twitter, posted: "Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath
Kovind ji on taking oath as the President of India.
@RashtrapatiBhvn." "Very inspiring address by President Ram Nath
Kovind Ji, which beautifully summed up the essence of India's
strengths, democracy & diversity," he said in another tweet.
is its diversity. Our diversity is the the science of a contemporary
core that makes us so unique. In India." He said as the gram pan
this land we find a mix of states chayat must determine India's
and regions, religions, languages, consultat ive and community
cultures, lifestyles and much based problem solving, "the
more. We are so different and yet Dig ital Republic must he lp
so similar and united." 21st centu leapfrog deve lopmental mile
ry India will be in conformity with stones".
Kovind said people needed "to
with the fourth industrial revolu sculpt a robust, high growth econ
tion, he said. omy, an educated, ethical and
"There is no dichotomy there, no shared community, and an egali
question of choice. We must com tarian society, as envisioned by
bine tradition and technology, the Mahatma Gandhi and Deen Dayal
wisdom of an ageold Bharat and Upadhyay.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Nitish takes oath as Bihar
Chief Minister again
Patna: Nitish Kumar took oath as
Bihar Chief Minister at the head
of a JDUBJP government, within
hours of dumping the Grand
Alliance.
This is the JDU President's sec
ond innings in the last two years.
He snapped t ies late on
Wednesday with Grand Alliance
partners Rashtriya Janata Dal
and the Congress over corrup
tion charges against RJD leader
and Deputy Chie f Minister
Tejashwi Yadav.
The Raj Bhavan here echoed
with chants of "Nitish Kumar
Zindabad" as Governor Keshari
Nath Tripathi administered the
oath to Nitish Kumar.
BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi was
sworn in as Deputy Chie f
Minister. The BJP of fered sup
port to Nitish Kumar after he
resigned as Chief Minister on
Wednesday.
Nitish Kumar took the oath in
Hindi. This is the JDU's second
innings with the BJP in the state.
Nitish Kumar had in 2013 ended
his party's association with the
BJP after the party projected
Narendra Modi as its prime min
isterial candidate for the 2014
general election.
Meanwhile, venting his ire on
the JDU chief for dumping the
Grand Alliance, RJD chief Lalu
Prasad alleged that Nitish Kumar
had "conspired" with the BJP to
get graft cases filed against his
family by central investigation
agencies. "Nit ish Kumar has
cheated the people of Bihar. I
charge that he (Nitish Kumar)
colluded with BJP to file CBI
cases against me and my family,"
Lalu Prasad told reporters after
appearing before a CBI court
WILL NOT DECLARE 39 MISSING INDIANS
DEAD WITHOUT PROOF: SUSHMA
New Delhi: External Af fairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj said she
would not declare the 39 Indians
missing in Iraq as dead till she has
concrete evidence to that effect.
"I repeat, I will not declare them
(the missing Indians) dead until
we have concrete evidence to that
effect," she told Rajya Sabha.
T he Minister said that she
"never said in Parliament or out
side that they are alive, as being
claimed by some Congress MPs".
T here were some sharp
exchanges between the Minister
and Congress members Pratap
Bhiar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushik
Kumar Modi after taking oath of office in Patna. (Photo: IANS)
here in a fodder scam case.
He said that Sushil Modi, who
was sworn in as Deputy Chief
Minister, was asked to run a cam
paign to damage the image of his
family members.
The CBI, ED and the Income
Tax department have filed cases
of corruption against the family
members of Lalu Prasad, includ
ing his w ife Rabri Devi, his
youngest son Tejashwi Yadav,
who was Bihar Deputy Chief
Minister until Wednesday, and
daughter Misa Bharti.
Describing Nitish Kumar as
'Bhasmasur', Lalu Prasad said, "I
made him the Chief Minister
Singh Bajwa and Ambika Soni as
the latter accused the government
of "shift ing goal posts" and
demanded to know why she was
not trusting the word of Harjit
Masih, one of the 40 Indians cap
tured by the Islamic State in Iraq
in June 2014, who claimed that
the rest of the group had been
shot dead.
"Why would Harjit Masih tell a
lie? What would he get out of it?"
Bajwa asked.
"I have reasons to not trust
Harjit Masih. I was the first one to
speak with him when he first con
INDIA
despite my party being the single
biggest party in the state.
"I was not selfish," he said.
Everything was fixed," Lalu
Prasasd said, adding, "He is a
very big opportunist. The man
date we got was against the BJP
and the RSS. We jointly made
them return empty handed from
Bihar (during the 2015 Assembly
election)."
He also claimed that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and BJP
chief Amit Shah were "jealous" of
him. "They knew that my base is
unshakable. I never g ave
Nitish Kumar any problems," he
added.
tacted Indian authorities soon
after the incident. I repeatedly
asked him over phone as to how
he survived when the rest were
shot dead according to him. But
he kept saying he did not know,"
Sushma Swaraj said.
"Secondly, the family of Nishan
Singh, one of the missing persons,
says they spoke with him on June
17 (2014). How is this possible
when Harjit claims they were
killed on June 15?" she said.
Congress MPs Bajwa and Soni
demanded to know what the
Minister's sources were on whose
July 29-August 4, 2017
Modi invokes Tamil
to captivate audience
Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu): "I
considered it my privilege to
come to the holy land of
Rameswaram," said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in Tamil
to the delight of the gathering he
addressed here after inaugurating
a memorial for late President
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
"Nanbargale, vanakkam! Indha
punid ha sthalamana
Rameswaram nagarathuku van
dadhai en baghyamaga karud
hugiren," was the opening line in
Modi's 40minute speech, which
was peppered with Tamil words
and praise for the late Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister, J. Jayalalitha, and
Kalam. "Ramayanathil vanda anil
pola (Like the squirre l in
Ramayana)," he said, calling upon
people to contribute their mite to
the building of the nation.
"If a squirrel can inspire God, so
can 125 crore people get togeth
er to realise the dream of Abdul
Kalam for a deve loped India,
which the government is working
to achieve by 2022," Modi said.
In the Ramayana, the squirrel is
believed to have played a part in
he lping Lord Rama build the
bridge that was used to cross into
Prime Minister Narendra Modi address at a public meeting at
Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
basis she was claiming that the
missing persons may be alive.
Sushma Swaraj said she cannot
disclose sources on the floor of
the House as it may put their lives
in danger.
"Bajwaji if you have the nerve to
tell the families of the missing
persons that they are dead, you do
it. I cannot do it. I w ill keep
searching for them until I get con
crete proof that they are dead,"
Sushma Swaraj said.
She said that according to the
informat ion that has been
received, the group was caught at
13
Lanka to rescue the abducted
Sita.
Modi referred to Rameswaram
as one of the sacred sites of 12
Jyotirlings and said he was happy
to inaugurate the train that will
connect the town with Ayodhya,
the birthplace of Rama in Uttar
Pradesh. He called his presence at
five functions as 'panchamrut'.
The Prime Minister spoke about
his government's help to Tamil
Nadu through liberal financial
assistance in projects like Smart
Cit ies, AMRUT Mission and
expansion of Chennai Metro for
which Rs 4,000 crore had been
given.
He said Chennai, Coimbatore,
Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur are
among the nine cities picked
under the Smart Cit ies pro
gramme for development while
33 cities had been selected under
the AMRUT Mission for which Rs
4,700 crore had been allocated
for development of power, water,
sewage and health.
Rameswaram, Madurai,
Tut icorin, Tirune lve li and
Nagercoil are among the cities
chosen under the AMRUT
Mission.
the Mosul airfield, and taken to a
jail, after which they were put to
construction work, and then farm
ing, before being taken to Badush
jail in 2016. But after that there
has been no contact.
The Minister said that all the
information was culled from dif
ferent sources and there was no
evidence to support any of the
claims.
Following reports in the media
that the Badush jail building had
been demolished, the Minister was
blamed for misleading the nation
on the 39 Indians.
 14 July 29-August 4, 2017
A strange omission in
PRESIDENT'S FIRST SPEECH
By Amulya Ganguli
am Nath Kovind's first speech as
R President was in keeping with his
lowkey personality.
He said all the right things about his
illustrious predecessors, including Pranab
Mukherjee, and also about Indian poverty
and diversity and combining the "wisdom"
of ancient Bharat with the science of con
temporary India. Similarly, the village pan
chayats and a digital Republic were
described as the "twin pillars" of national
life.
This twotrack approach was also evident
in the references to Mahatma Gandhi,
Sardar Patel and B.R. Ambedkar when the
President was speaking of the years imme
diately after independence. However, the
name of Jawaharlal Nehru, generally
regarded as the architect of modern India,
was missing from the luminaries men
tioned by Ram Nath Kovind.
The curious omission could not have
been inadvertent, especially when Deen
Dayal Upadhyay's name was mentioned in
the same breath with Gandhi's towards the
end of the speech. Evidently, the aversion
of the present dispensation towards the
founder of the NehruGandhi dynasty has
grown stronger of late, considering that
Narendra Modi had once spoken of Nehru
in favourable terms in parliament.
It may not be out of place to see in the
blanking out of one of the famous persons
Pranab Mukherjee set for his new address
New Delhi: 10 Rajaji Road, the new abode
of outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee,
is all ready to welcome its newest resi
dent.
The eightroom, twostorey villa quite
a change from the 340room Rashtrapati
Bhavan is no stranger to former
Presidents, having previously hosted A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam.
The rooms of the villa spread over an
expansive 11,776 sq feet have been
spruced up and the walls repainted. The
existing furniture has also been replaced
and the entrance and exit gates await the
nameplates of the new resident. "It is not
overcrowded with furniture. We are keep
ing it simple. Also, a large space has been
created which is being turned into a
library," a senior official from the Urban
Development Ministry told IANS.
With Ram Nath Kovind elected as the
14th President of India, it is time for
Pranab Mukherjee to bid adieu to
Rashtrapati Bhavan and move to the new
address as he goes into retirement.
Mukherjee will be moving out of the
sprawling presidential palace atop Raisina
Hill to his new home on July 25 after the
OP-ED
The name of Jawaharlal Nehru, generally regarded as the architect of modern India, was
missing from the luminaries mentioned by Ram Nath Kovind. (Photo: IANS)
of Indian history both before and after
independence as an example of a key fea
ture of the saffron brotherhood to rewrite
history in accordance with its own distinc
tive perception of what the students as
well as the people of India should know.
The Hindutva lobby has been feverishly
engaged in recent times in pushing its
agenda of a new interpretation of history
incoming President is ceremonially wel
comed to Rashtrapati Bhavan, an official
told IANS. Kovind will then escort
Mukherjee to his new home.
Mukherjee, 81, who was elected
President in 2012, is a voracious reader
and will be carrying all his personal books
to his new address, which will be compa
rable to a residence allotted to a Union
minister.
"He is also planning to pen a book based
on his five years as the President although
nothing is final yet," another official said.
As a former President, Mukherjee's pen
sion will be Rs 75,000 per month (50 per
cent of that while in office). There are
some other perks, including two tele
phones, one mobile phone and a car for
free. The President Emoluments Act also
allows the former President to access sec
retarial staff, and office expenses of up to
Rs 60,000.
This will be apart from free medical
attendance and treatment as well as travel
anywhere in India, accompanied by one
person, in the highest class in any mode of
travel.
According to the President Emoluments
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
as it apparently believes that the wrong
version has been taught for too long a peri
od by the Nehruvians because of their pre
viously privileged position in positions of
power. It was time, therefore, to undo the
earlier mistakes.
Few would have expected, however, that
this desire for change would be articulated
by the highest constitutional authority in
A view of the 10 Rajaji Marg bungalow which will now be the residence of
outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee, in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)
Act 1951, a retired president is entitled to
facilities like rentfree Type VIII accommo
dation anywhere in India, free water and
electricity, apart from the landline, mobile
phones and medical amenities.
Mukherjee will have at his disposal five
personal staffers, including a private sec
retary, a personal assistant and two peons.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
the land.
While lesser functionaries like the state
level ministers may declare that the title of
"Great" be attached to the name of
Maharana Pratap and not to Akbar because
it was the former who won the battle of
Haldighati according to the saffron camp,
it is odd for those much higher up in the
official hierarchy to display the same bias.
It is known that between Nehru and
Patel, the latter is the Sangh parivar's
favourite. Not surprisingly, the President
referred to the first Deputy Prime
Minister's sterling contributions towards
unifying the country in the turbulent post
partition years. Similarly, he mentioned
Ambedkar as the principal architect of the
constitution.
While all of this is in line with the stan
dard account of the immediate postinde
pendence years, the silence on Nehru is
strange, to say the least. It is all the more
strange since the President had a special
word of praise for Upadhyay, whose name
is even less known outside the parivar than
of V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar.
The fact that this is Upadhyay's birth
centenary year is not a sufficient reason to
place him on the same pedestal as the
Father of the Nation.
Arguably, the new President can be said
to have begun his tenure on the wrong
footing by displaying a partisan bias. Even
if the speech was written by the govern
ment, he could have edited it to make it
more statesmanlike.
Responsibility for his security will be
handed over to the Delhi Police.
The 10 Rajaji Marg bungalow was allot
ted to Minister of State for Culture and
Tourism Mahesh Sharma in 2015 after
Kalam's death. Sharma has been allotted
another bungalow on the adjacent Akbar
Road.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 29-August 4, 2017
 16 July 29-August 4, 2017 Bollywood

Kangana finds Saifs open Talent matters,

letter on nepotism disturbing Soundarya on nepotism
wrote an open letter in the Mid-Day tabloid.
While I enjoyed some of the perspectives
on this subject, I did find a few disturbing ones.
Soundarya
feels that
F ilmmaker Soundarya Rajinikanth, who is
directing her brother-in-law Dhanush in
the upcoming film VIP 2 - Lalkar, says talent
This morning, I woke up to one such open star children
face extra matters in the world of showbiz regardless
letter, written by Saif Ali Khan, she wrote.
pressure. of the background the artistes come from.
The last time I was deeply pained and upset
Asked about the ongoing nepotism de-
about this issue was when Karan Johar wrote
bate in the cine world, Soundarya, who
a blog on it, and even once declared in an inter-
is the daughter of superstar Rajinikanth,
view that there are many criteria for excelling
told reporters: At the end of the day, tal-
in film business. Talent is not one of them.
ent is what is going to last and is going to
Kangana said: I dont know if he was
speak loud... No matter which family you
being misinformed, or simply nave, but to
are coming from or no matter what back-
discredit the likes of Dilip Kumar, K. Asif, Bi-
ground you come from, if you are not tal-
mal Roy, Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt, and many
ented, people are not going to accept you.
more, whose talent and exceptional abilities
Soundarya feels that star children face
have formed the spine of our contemporary
extra pressure. With star children there
film business, is absolutely bizarre.
is extra pressure because there is so much
She said nepotism, on many levels, fails
of expectation from us that if we fall than
the test of objectivity and rationale. I have
coming back up is all the more difficult,
acquired these values from the ones who
she said. Its the talent that matters at the
have found great success and discovered
end of the day, added the director.
a higher truth, much before me. These val-
ues are in the public domain, and no one
Kangana Ranaut
has a copyright on them.

Film
Taapsee Pannu

A ctress Kangana Ranaut, who started

the nepotism debate by labelling film-
Referring to another part of Saif s let-
ter, she wrote: You talked about the re-
made her acting
debut with a

industry
maker Karan Johar as its flag bearer dur- lationship between genetics and star kids, south Indian
ing his chat show, says she found the open where you emphasized on nepotism being film.

has taught
letter by her Rangoon co-star Saif Ali Khan an investment on tried and tested genes...I
on the subject disturbing. A day after Saif fail to understand how you can compare
shared his views on the debate, Kangana genetically hybrid racehorses to artistes!

me lot of
Aadar Jain nervous, patience
excited about debut film

A ctress Taapsee Pannu, who has impressed many with her strong willed and fearless
woman characters in films like Pink and Naam Shabana, says the film industry
has changed her a lot as a person as she can kind of take a lot of nonsense.
I think it (film industry) has changed me quite a bit, Tapsee said when asked how she
has transformed as an individual over the years after entering the industry.
From being extremely impulsive, short tempered or the person who used to be over
planned in a way that I never used to believe in taking risks...now, I have totally changed.
I used to say no before even trying anything, but now I have at least started to believe
in never say never and that anything can happen in life, she said. I have started being
more experimental so, I have changed quite a bit, especially in terms of patience. I think
this industry has taught me lot of patience as I used to be extremely short tempered.
She was speaking at the launch of Skechers 90th store at Ambience Mall in Gurugram.

Indu Sarkar
cleared by CBFC revising committee

Aadar is Raj Kapoors daughters son. F ilmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar says he

is happy and relieved as his film Indu
Sarkar has been cleared by the Central Board
The film, set against the backdrop of
the 1975-77 Emergency, features Neil
Nitin Mukesh, Kirti and Kulhari Tota Roy

A adar Jain, grandson of late actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, is all set to make his debut with
the upcoming movie Qaidi Band. He says he is nervous and at the same time excited
about his maiden film. I am very nervous, but at the same time I am very proud of the fact
of Film Certification (CBFC) revising commit-
tee. Bhandarkar took to Twitter, where he
Chaudhary. It also stars Supriya Vinod,
Anupam Kher and has characters in-
said that the film was cleared with a few cuts. spired by the late Prime Minister Indira
that the trailer has finally come out and people like my family, friends, teachers from my Thank you CBFC revising committee. Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi.
school have been calling me up and saying that You have done such a great job and they Indu Sarkar has been cleared with few cuts. The CBFC had suggested 12 cuts and two
are proud of me, he said. The 23-year-old -- who is Raj Kapoors daughter Rimas son -- says Happy and relieved. See you in cinemas this disclaimers, including removal of words
its a relieving feeling to get such positive responses. Entertainment banner Yash Raj Films Friday, July 28, Bhandarkar tweeted. like RSS and Akali from Indu Sarkar.
(YRF) is launching Aadar and debutante Anya Singh through the Habib Faisal directorial.
 Bollywood July 29-August 4, 2017 17

REVIEW
Newbie bags Hollywood
project Turned out
The actors in
the film portray
their characters
with panache.
A fter her award winning performance
in Hindi short Kajal, Salony Luthra
will be seen as a Spanish girl in a Holly-
wood film Turned out that will span three
continents - Asia, North America as well as
South America. Her costars are Hollywood
actor George Katt and Anya Monzikova.
This is Salonys second Hollywood project,
her first film Forbidden is a high octane
action sequence where she has gone under
tremendous training with the same trainer
who trained Brad Pitt and Al Pacino.
Salony Luthra is a popular face in the
South Indian film industry. She won the

Lipstick Under My best actress award for her Tamil film Sarab-
ham. Kajal, directed by Pakhi Tyrewala,
made fetched her the best actress award at

Burkha : Lifelike Bangalore shorts film festival, 2017.

Salony Luthra, who has done a Tamil

and Irrepressible
film and a Hindi short, is to star
as a Latino in Turned Out.

T he much-awaited Lipstick Under My for the cleverly crafted screenplay.

Burkha is a bold and brutally honest
film about the unbridled dreams of four
women, trapped in their lives owing to so-
cietal norms and stereotypes.
Set in a middle-class mohalla (locality)
in Bhopal, the film centres around the lives
The actors portray their characters with
panache and sincerity, each one becoming
the character they are essaying.
Parmanu is based
on true story:
Ratna Pathak Shah although distinct
in her typical style, essays the sexually re-
pressed Buaji with the requisite restraint

of the four protagonists - Usha Parmar aka
Buaji, (Ratna Pathak Shah), an elderly wid-
ow, who supresses her deep-seated physical
desires, Shireen Aslam (Konkona Sen Shar-
ma), a sales girl who does a job without her
husbands knowledge as she is a mere sex
object for her husband who has scant re-
gard for her feelings, Leela (Ahana Kumra),
who loves a photographer Arshad (Vikrant
Massey), and Rehana (Plabita Borthakur),
a collegian who is a musician at heart and
finds her burkha stifling as it confines her.
How each of them lead an unhappy and
uncomfortable life and secretly long to be
someone else, forms the crux of the film.
Although the four protagonists are not
related to each other in the film, the dex-
terous manner in which their lives are in-
terwoven is laudable and speaks volumes
and candor befitting her caliber as an actor.
Konkona Sen Sharma as Shireen, is brilliant
as always but does not offer anything that
one has not seen her do before. It is Plabita
as the split personality Rihana who steps
out of her burkha and is a different person
who renders a realistic performance, as does
Ahana Kumra. She is a bohemian, dauntless
girl who is unapologetic about her physical
needs and lives life on her terms.
Director Alankrita Shrivastava, manages
to take the audience into the lives of her four
protagonists with ease. The layered screen-
play debunking myths about women in small
towns and their bottled-up dreams and de-
sires is well-written. The use of erotica which
Buaji secretly reads to propel the narrative
forward, metaphorically linking it to the lives
of all four protagonists is astutely handled.
John Abraham
A ctor-producer John Abraham, who is
coming up with a film Parmanu - The
Story Of Pokhran, says that its entertain-
ing but based on a true story. Parmanu
- The Story Of Pokhran is based on the
nuclear test conducted at Pokhran in 1998
when BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee was
the Prime Minister.
Asked if this film is somewhere a trib-
ute to the leader, John said: I think it
is an interesting film. Atal Ji was one of
the greatest Prime Ministers we had, but
this is film and it has to be entertaining.
Neither we are political nor are we show-
ing anything in the film which is overtly
political. We have just tried to make an
entertaining film.
He added: Parmanu - The Story Of
Pokhran is a very entertaining film but a
true story which happened in India.
The film also features Diana Penty and
Boman Irani in lead roles.

Playing double-role isnt

easy: Arjun Kapoor
Arjuns Mubarakan is slated
for release on July 28.
A ctor Arjun Kapoor will be seen play-
ing a double-role for the second time
in his five-year-old acting career in up-
coming Mubarakan. He says its difficult
to play a twin role in films.
The 32-year-old previously essayed a
double-role in the 2013 film Aurangzeb.
Asked how easy or difficult it is for an ac-
tor to essay a double-role on screen, Arjun
said: Its definitely not easy. It is difficult.
But, its a challenge you look forward to as
an actor. Thats what excites you, makes you
nervous and work harder because you are
not just playing, but two and specially with
comedy... With Mubarakan being a comedy
there is a definite new situation for me.
Directed by Anees Bazmee, Mubara-
kan, which also features Anil Kapoor, Il-
eana DCruz and Athiya Shetty, is slated for
release on July 28. John Abraham during the promotion of his upcoming film Parmanu.
 18 July 29-August 04, 2017
Beauty conscious Indian
men boost skincare market
A rising aspiration among Indian men to look better groomed has led to this markets
rapid growth of more than 42 per cent in the last five years, as per an Assocham report.
By Nivedita
W
hether it is workplace competi-
tion, a growing urge to appear
well groomed, or increased visibil-
ity of metrosexual men in pop culture, a me-
lange of social and cultural factors are driv-
ing Indian men to break stereotypes and opt
for skincare products -- giving, in the process,
a boost to the skincare market, say experts.
Shikhee Agrawal, Head Training, The
Body Shop, feels that men have evolved from
basic shaving creams and shampoos to a vari-
ety of products for haircare, skincare, beard-
care, fragrance, accessories and beyond.
(left) Bollywood King Khan endorsed skin lightening cream despite criticism. Men have evolved from basic shaving creams
and shampoos to products for haircare, skincare, beard-care, fragrance and accessories. (right) Grammy Award winner Jus-
tin Bieber has a nail polish collection under brand Nicole by OPI. Metrosexual men have created demand for new products.
Redefining gifting in India with technology
by Vivek Gupta
G
ifting has always been a part of In-
dian tradition and culture; a way to
express love, gratitude, apprecia-
tion and good wishes. In the past decade,
rising income levels, changing consump-
tion patterns, nuclearization of families,
emigration, work-life balance and womens
empowerment have led to a sharp change
in the nature and form of gifting.
The evolving scenario in gifting has also
been aided by the advent of technology and
internet penetration. This has led to ease in
gifting, enabling a range of gifting experi-
ences, making the gifting industry flourish.
Technovation in gifting is similar to how
Fintech companies are revolutionizing mone-
tary transactions. As the mobile and internet
are revolutionizing the way people interact
socially and make payments, it is also chang-
LIFESTYLE
Over the years, men have begun to ac-
cept that basic skin care and even make-up
is a daily routine to keep the skin healthy
and flawless. Competition among the work-
force too has upscaled the drive to look
youthful and has led to increased demand
for products specific to men.
In India, as in other parts of the world,
light skin is the culturally accepted and en-
dorsed form of beauty. Skin lightening, hair
color and oil control products are most pop-
ular among Indian men, Agrawal told IANS.
According to a 2016 Assocham report,
the market size of Indias beauty, cosmetic
and grooming market will reach $20 billion
by 2025 from the current $6.5 billion on the
ing the way people gift each other. Though
it is still the beginning of this new trend, gift
tech is rapidly becoming an acceptable way
of gifting for the mobile-enabled Indian.
Adding to this, the world economy today
is driven by millennials, who bring their own
unique flavor to gifting. Millennials live in an
impulsive world, stimulated by social media.
Besides being educated, they are tech-savvy
and super-connected and have the capacity
to spend well. The number of occasions for
gifting is not just confined to festivals but
also includes several personal moments.
They want to make these moments thought-
ful, warm and full of personal attention.
Here are the key trends helping the
gifting industry boom:
* E-Gifting: While cash is seen as imper-
sonal and a physical gift may not be liked
by the receiver, e-gifting offers the flexibil-
ity to buy anything, anytime and anywhere.
E-giftings rising popularity is also because
back of a rise in middle class disposable in-
comes and the growing aspirations of people
to live the good life and look good.
Also, a rising aspiration among Indian
men to look better groomed has led to this
markets rapid growth of more than 42 per
cent in the last five years, revealed the report.
Interestingly, men are even replacing
women in some beauty product endorse-
ments. For instance, Maybellines Big Shot
mascara campaign, released earlier this year,
featured a male model with an eye make-up,
thick eyelashes and well-groomed stubble.
Apart from models, male singers like
English-Irish pop band One Direction have
ventured into the beauty industry with a
it offers greater choice to the buyer and re-
ceiver. It also comes in multiple forms: E-
vouchers, branded gift cards, gift cards and
virtual currency, each one of which comes
with a variety of features and benefits.
* Gift Cards: Gift cards are available in
both digital and physical formats; they are
often offered in tie-ups with banks, retail-
ers and e-commerce platforms for grati-
fication options. The flexibility to choose
what one likes is the driving force for gift
cards in the e-gifting industry.
* Currency Gifting: Monetary value in
e-gift holds high importance with millenni-
als. Hence, digital currency gifting is gain-
ing momentum. Multiple brands have joined
with the gift-tech companies to cater to this
segment. With built-in rewards points and
cumulation of gift credits, the users are ac-
tively seeking the new age gifting paradigm.
* Experiential Gifting: From an array of
products to bespoke services like holiday,
make-up range, and so did Grammy Award
winner Justin Bieber. He has a nail polish
collection under brand Nicole by OPI.
Indian men are increasingly gravitating
towards lighter skin as more and more fair-
ness commercials and branding populates
the digital space. The notion of acting, being
and looking more Western has influenced
a lot of young boys and men, Vidushi Agar-
wal, Head Brands of Headstart International,
a marketer of beauty brands, told IANS.
Bollywood also plays a big role in influ-
encing youth. Remember actors like Shah
Rukh Khan and John Abraham endorsing
skin lightening creams despite criticism?
With more and more Bollywood celebri-
ties and public personalities openly support-
ing fairer skin, young audiences are natu-
rally drawn towards the same. Traditionally,
Indians associate good looks with fair skin in
women, but now even men are being judged
by the same benchmark, added Agarwal.
Experts at ayurvedic beauty and well-
ness brand Kama Ayurveda feel that fair-
ness and brightness remain important for
Indian consumers. The rise in demand for
male grooming products is driven by vari-
ous emerging factors such as rising dispos-
able incomes, growth of social media and
the increased visibility of metrosexual ce-
lebrity men in Indian pop culture.
The changing grooming behavior of In-
dian men is also largely due to exposure and
access to international influences and trends.
The younger demographic requires and de-
mands to be well presented and attired.
Male consumers in India are becoming
increasingly conscious of the need to look
groomed in order to evolve personal hygiene
and boost self-confidence, said the experts.
spa/beauty treatment, fine-dine, luxuri-
ous hotel stay, etc. the e-gifting industry
is also seeing fast growth in experiential
gifts. This form of gifting can help curate a
unique unforgettable experience from the
giver and for the receiver.
Happy gifting!
(Vivek Gupta is Co-founder
and CEO of Storecheq)
-- IANS
TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA July 29-August 4, 2017 19

Indianorigin Muslim woman Indians missing in Iraq: Families

murdered in suspected
honor killing in UK
London: A 19yearold Indianorigin
Muslim woman was kidnapped, raped
and murdered in the UK in a suspected
honor killing for dat ing an Arab
Muslim, a media report has said.
T he deceased was allegedly kid
napped with the other woman, bound
and gagged and taken to an address in
KingstonuponThames in south west
London where they were raped and she
was killed on Wednesday, a UK court
has heard.
Her body was found inside a 1.5 mil
lion pound home after the other
woman in her 20s who had her throat
slit alerted police from a hospital, The
Mirror reported.
A postmortem examination carried
out on Friday gave the cause of death
as an incised wound to the neck.
The deceased was an aspiring make
up artist, and a blog from a school
media project described her as having
worked in the makeup department of a
thriller film. Mujahid Arshid, 33,
appeared in Wimbledon Magistrates'
Court charged with the murder, rape
and kidnap of the woman.
He is further charged with the rape,
attempted murder and kidnap of the
second woman.
He appeared alongside his codefen
dant, Vincent Tappu, 28, who is
charged w ith the kidnap of both
women.
"The deceased was involved in a rela
tionship with an Arab Muslim and the
family members didn't approve of this
relationship because they are Indian
Muslims," said prosecutor Binita
Roscoe. "Her face and mouth were cov
ered in duct tape. Her hands were tied
with cable tie. She believes a sock was
placed in her mouth. She had heard the
deceased who was in the shower
screaming," she told the court. District
Judge James Henderson remanded
Tappu and Arshid in custody.
swing from hope to hopelessness
Chandigarh: Families of 39 Indians, mostly
from Punjab, who went missing in Iraq's
Mosul town three years ago are still keeping
their fingers crossed even after Iraqi Foreign
Minister on Monday said that he was not sure
if the missing Indians were alive or not.
"We can only hope for the return of our
loved ones. We have been going through this
torture for the past over three years," said
Manjit Kaur, whose husband Dalwinder is
among the missing men.
"The minister (Sushma Swaraj) told us that
things are settling in Iraq and the area, where
the 39 men are said to be held hostage, could
be cleared in the next 23 months," said Kaur,
who had met her in New Delhi last week
along with families of the other missing men
and been assured that all efforts were being
made to trace the missing men.
Visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al
Jaafari, who met Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi
on Monday, later said: "We're not 100 per
cent sure if they're alive or not. We don't
know, but we'll do our best."
Sushma Swaraj had, earlier this month, also
assured Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh that her ministry was making allout
efforts to trace and facilitate the return of the
39 Indians. Other af fected families, who all
are from poor backgrounds from dif ferent
parts of Punjab, say that they have nothing
but to pin hopes on the government's and the
minister's assurances.
"The families are in a bad shape with chil
dren and old parents to fend for. T heir
respective breadwinners, who had gone to
Iraq to earn money are not safe. The families
are hardly able to sustain themselves despite
government help," said Balbir Singh, friend of
one of the missing persons.
Meanwhile, a Punjab government of ficial
said that they were in touch with the External
Affairs Ministry "to ensure that all efforts are
made to trace the missing Indians and to get
them back home safely."
A man from Punjab, Harjit Masih, who
escaped from the clutches of IS terrorist
organization in June 2014 had claimed that
all 39 Indian nationals who were taken
hostage on June 11, 2014 in Mosul town had
been killed.
However, the External Affairs Ministry had
maintained that it had no information con
firming that they were dead. (IANS)

Greet global audience with Hindu Keith Vaz elected to

salutations, Miss T&T urged
PortofSpain: In this Caribbean
nation, where 44 percent of the
population is of Indian origin, the
new Miss Trinidad & Tobago has
been advised to greet g lobal
audiences at the Miss World
2017 pageant in China in
October with Hindu salutations
like "Sita Ram, Namaste."
Chandini Chanka will be the
person of Indian origin in 40
years to represent the multieth
nic society at the international
beauty contest in Sanya, China.
Surujdeo Mangaroo, Public
Relations Officer of the National
Council of Indian Culture (NCIC),
the country's premier sociocul
tural organization, made the plea
at a reception held in Chanka's
honor at Divali Nag ar,
Chaguanas, earlier this week.
Chanka won the Miss World
Trinidad and Tobago 2017 title
last Sunday. She was crowned by
the reigning queen Danie lla
Walcott after beating back some
tough competitors.
"I want to remind Miss Chanka
conviction that she was the win
Debra and Krishendath Chanka
the West Indies in September.
Chandini Chanka
that as she makes her way on the
international stage ... please do
not forget or ignore the tradition
al Hindu form of greetings, Sita
Ram, Namaste," Mungroo said.
He said that when Chanka won
the annual Miss Divali Nagar
Queen Contest in October 2015,
she strode the walkaway "with
dignity, poise, confidence and
head UK's committee on
immigration, visas
ner all through, even before the
London: Britain's longest serving
results were announced."
MP of Indianorigin Keith Vaz has
"I hope these values would be
been elected to serve as the head
applied at the Miss World Queen
of a new parliamentary committee
Pageant in China in October and
to deal with issues concerning
to bring home that glory and
immigration and visas.
international honor as a Hindu
Vaz, 60, who has served in
woman for Trinidad and Tobago," Keith Vaz
Parliament for 30 years will be
Mangaroo said.
joined as an Officer of the Group of the UK who need urgent clarifi
Chanka is the only daughter of
by Conservative MP Bob cation of that status," Vaz said.
Blackman, who will be the Vice "It is imperative that we get a
of Aranguez, San Juan. She has a
Chair for the group and Martyn grip on the immigration and visa
brother and holds a bachelor's
Day, a Scottish National MP who situation. There is concern that
degree in international relations
will serve as Secretary. visa decisions are now being
and has been accepted to pursue
The group will look at the work taken in New Delhi rather than in
a law degree at the University of
that is being done on a number of Mumbai and concerns that once
areas concerning immigration and you apply in Sylhet in Bangladesh
She has plans to become an
visas. you have to have your visa grant
attorney.
"As the United Kingdom leaves ed in New Delhi," he said.
Trinidad and Tobago's Indian
the European Union, issues of "We are also very concerned
diaspora hails principally from
Immigration come to the fore. The about the decline in the number of
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. People
Home Office in the UK is still suf Indian students coming to study
from these two states were
fering from a backlog of hundreds in the UK. We want to know why
broug ht to the country to
of thousands of cases. In addition, this has happened. It is hoped that
enhance the agricultural capacity
there are thousands of Indianori this new Parliamentary
of the then colony between 1845
gin citizens who are now Committee will help cut red tape,"
and 1917.
Portuguese citizens and residents he added. (PTI)
(IANS)
 20 July 29-August 4, 2017 SUBCONTINENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

No talks unless India US withholds aid

withdraws, China says
before Doval visit
Beijing: On the eve of Indian NSA Ajit
Doval's China visit to attend the BRICS secu
rity summit, Beijing on Wednesday made
clear that India's pullback from Doklam on
the border remained the "precondition" for
any dialogue on the issue.
T he Foreign Ministry said Foreign
Minister Wang Yi's remarks, who blamed
India for triggering the border row and
asked it to withdraw its troops, were
"authoritative".
"The solution as the Foreign Minister put
it is that Indian border troops pull out
unconditionally and this is the precondition
for any meaningful talks between both
countries," Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Lu Kang said.
Doval will attend the twoday BRICS
National Security Advisers meet in Beijing
beginning on July 27.
The meet, where the fivenation bloc tra
ditionally discusses counterterrorism and
security issues, assumes significance in the
view of festering border row between India
and China. It is not known if Doval will meet
China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi separately
on the sidelines of the summit.
An editorial said India should not pin
hopes on Doval's visit to resolve the border
standoff.
China has told India repeatedly to with
Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
draw troops from Doklam, which it calls as
its own. New Delhi says troops from both
sides should withdraw as Doklam belongs
to its ally Bhutan.
Bhutan, a Himalayan nation that has no
diplomatic ties with China, has also protest
ed against the road construction by Chinese
troops in Doklam.
Doklam, at the trijunction of China, India,
and Bhutan, holds strategic importance to
all three. In June, the Indian Army stopped
road construction by Chinese troops, lead
ing to the standoff that is now in its second
month.
to Pakistan
Washington: The Pentagon has
said it will not give Pakistan the
remainder of a key US military
reimbursement fund allotted to
the country for 2016 due to
Islamabad's insufficient countert
errorism action.
The Pentagon announced the
move to withhold $50 million in
"Coalition Support Funds", saying
it had determined Pakistan had
not taken "sufficient action"
against the Haqqani network, the For fiscal 2016, $900 million were
Taliban offshoot responsible for marked for Pakistan.
numerous attacks in neighboring
Afghanistan, the Washington Post funds does not "prejudge" the White
reported. "This decision does not reduce House and Pentagon's upcoming strate
the significance of the sacrifices that the gy for Afghanistan and the surrounding
Pakistani military has undertaken over region, now known as the "South Asia
previous years," said Pentagon Strategy".
spokesman Adam Stump in the state "Pakistan still has time to take action
ment. For fiscal 2016, $900 million were against the Haqqani Network in order to
marked for Pakistan, $550 million of influence the Secretary's certification
which Islamabad had already received. decision in," Stump said. The US in 2012
However, before withholding of $50 mil designated the Haqqani Network as a
lion announced on Friday, Defense terrorist organization. Since the US inva
Secretary James Mattis' predecessor Ash sion of Afghanistan in 2001, Washington
Carter decided last year to withhold had often made pledges to put more
another $300 million of the funding. pressure on Pakistan to help stem the
In the statement, Stump said the 2016 tide of fighters moving back and forth
funds had to be "released or repro between the two countries. Despite some
grammed" before their expiration. He Pakistani military operations in the
added that the decision to withhold the region, little progress had been made.

Report of Moscow Sri Lanka urged to end

arming Taliban
'groundless': Russia impunity for crimes
United Nations: UnderSecretary
Moscow: Russia General Jeffrey Feltman urged Sri
denied a report Lankan officials to ensure an end
that it supplied to impunity for crimes when he
arms to Taliban met them last wee k follow ing
militants in harsh criticism by a human rights
Afghanistan, and official of what he called "routine
called the allega and endemic" torture mainly
t ion "g round against Tamils.
less". "Russia He asked the island nation's lead
does not support ership to make Sri Lanka a "model
the Taliban, and of postconflict country with har
maintains con monious relations among commu
tacts w ith it nities", Farhan Haq, the deputy
exclusive ly to spokesperson for Secretary
UN UnderSecretaryGeneral Feltman with Lankan President Sirisena.
ensure the safety CNN showed a video in which militants demonstrat General Antonio Guterres, told
of Russian citi
ed sniper rifles, Kalashnikov etc. reporters. "routine and endemic" torture of accounts of brutal torture, which
zens in Afg hanistan and to and American governments Feltman, who is in charge of those detained under national "included beatings with sticks,
encourage it to join the process of deeply concerned about Moscow's political affairs, met with President security law. "The Tamil communi stress positions, asphyxiation using
national reconciliation," a Foreign intentions here," the CNN report Maithripala Sirisena, Prime ty has borne the brunt of the plastic bags drenched in kerosene,
Ministry statement said. said. Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, state's welloiled torture appara pulling out of fingernails, insertion
CNN showed a video in which The Russian Foreign Ministry Foreign Minister Ravi tus," a UN News Centre report of needles beneath the fingernails,
militants demonstrated sniper said the allegations were "ground Karunanayake and Tamil National quoted him as saying. various forms of water torture, sus
rifles, Kalashnikov variants and less", pointing out that it was Alliance ( TNA) leader R. He noted that the Prevention of pension for several hours by the
machine guns, claiming that the impossible to determine the origin Sampanthan as well as representa Terrorism Act is used dispropor thumbs, and mutilation of the geni
weapons were originally supplied of the shown weapons in the tives of civil society organizations tionate ly against the minority tals", the report said. During
by Russian government sources. video, as they were stripped of during his threeday visit. group, it added. Eighty per cent of Feltman's visit, President Sirisena
Although the video does not any means of identification. Feltman's trip was preceded by a all those arrested in late 2016 signed the notification on the
provide incontrovertible proof of No evidence has been provided fiveday visit of Ben Emmerson, the under the law had reported torture Missing Persons Act, which will
the trade, it of fers "some of the that could confirm the accusa UN Special Rapporteur on human and other physical illtreatment, create an investigative of fice for
first battlefield evidence of a flow tions against Russia, according to rights and counterterrorism, who the report quoted him. During his identifying people missing during
of weapons that have the Afghan the ministry. criticized what he described as visit, Emmerson heard firsthand the years of civil conflict.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INTERNATIONAL July 29-August 4, 2017 21

Will strike 'heart of US' if China tells India to give up

Kim regime threatened:
Pyongyang
Pyongyang: North Korea has
threatened a nuclear strike on "the
heart of the US" if it attempts to
remove Kim Jongun as Supreme
Leader, Pyongyang's staterun
news agency reported.
The report in Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA) quoted a
spokesman from the North Korean
Foreign Ministry.
T he spokesman said the law
stipulates that if the supreme dig
nity of the nation was threatened,
"it must preemptively annihilate
those countries and entities that
are directly or indirectly involved
in it, by mobilizing all kinds of
strike means including the nuclear
ones." "Should the US dare to show
even the slightest sign of attempt
to remove our supreme leader
ship, we will strike a merciless
blow at the heart of the US with
our powerful nuclear hammer,
honed and hardened over time,"
the Foreign Ministry spokesman
added. The threat was in response
to comments from CIA Director
Mike Pompeo, who said the
Donald Trump administration
North Korean leader
Kim Jongun.
needed to find a way to separate
Kim from his growing nuclear
stockpile, CNN reported.
"As for the regime, I am hopeful
we will find a way to separate that
regime from this system," Pompeo
said last week. "The North Korean
people I'm sure are lovely people
and would love to see him go."
North Korea's threat comes amid
an ongoing assessment from the
US intelligence community that
Pyongyang has accelerated its
intercontinental range ballistic
missile program, CNN reported.
'illusory thinking'
Beijing: China urged India to give
up impractical "illusory thinking"
and immediately withdraw all its
troops that it said have "illegally"
crossed into Chinese territory.
China would defend its territori
al sovereignty "at all costs",
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu
Qian told reporters.
"T he 90year history of the
People's Liberation Army (PLA)
demonstrated its increasing
capacities and unshakable deter
mination to safeguard national
sovereignty and territorial
integrity. It is easier to shake the
mountains than to shake the
PLA," Wu was quoted as saying Chinas Wu Qian urged India to immediately withdraw its troops.
by the staterun Global Times. withdraw its troops, saying this China's territory. China has every
Indian and Chinese troops have was a prerequisite to resolving right to build road in its own ter
been eng aged in a dragg ing the issue. ritory," Wu added.
standoff in Doklam, which is at a "India should immediately with India has blamed China for try
trijunction of India, Bhutan and draw its troops to the Indian side ing to change the status of the tri
China. of the boundary w ith China, junction and wants the issue to be
China calls Doklam its own ter which is a precondition and basis resolved diplomatically. China
ritory but India and Bhutan say it for resolving the conflict. says the withdrawal of troops by
is Bhutan's. "India should take practical India is a precondition for talks.
India stopped the Chinese Army measures to correct its wrongdo The matter is expected to fea
from building a road in Doklam in ing, stop provocation and jointly ture in talks between National
June, leading to the faceof f safeguard peace in the border Security Advisor Ajit Doval and
between New Delhi and Beijing. regions. his Chinese counterpart State
Wu urged India to immediately "The Doklam region is part of Councillor Yang Jiechi.

EU court upholds Russia: Fresh US sanctions

Hamas terror listing, blow to normalizing ties
removes Tamil Tigers Moscow: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergey Ryabkov slammed the US move to
impose fresh sanctions on Moscow, calling
it "destruction of prospects for normaliz
Brussels: T he ing relations between the two countries".
European Union's Ryabkov's comments came after the US
top court annulled a House of Representatives approved a
court ruling to package of further punitive measures for
remove the Hamas Russia's alleged interference in the 2016
militant group from US elections and its 2014 annexation of
the EU terror black the Crimea.
list. "What is happening is beyond common
The court, howev sense," Ryabkov told Russia's official TASS
er, removed Sri news agency. "The authors and sponsors
Lanka's Liberation of this bill are making a very serious step
Tigers of Tamil towards destruction of prospects for nor
Eelam (LTTE) from malizing relations with Russia."
the 28member He said the approval of the law "would
Ryabkov said US move has complicated
blo c's terror list, negotiations between the two countries.
be the work of the enemies of Russia and
BBC reported. the US". Ryabkov also said that the measure. Ryabkov called the result of
T he Court of Militant group Hamas denounced the ruling. Washington's move had complicated nego the vote "predicted" and said that the sanc
Just ice of the tiations between the two countries about tions bill would soon be approved by the
European Union (CJEU) ruled on an "Only the initial entry of a person or
the return of seized Russian diplomatic US Senate.
appeal lodged by the Council of the EU entity on the list must be based on a
property in the US. The bill also includes extended punitive
after the European General Court (EGC) nat ional decision by a competent
"The US executive authority's capabili measures against North Korea and Iran
decided to scrap Palestinian Islamist authority," it added.
ties to make the only correct decision to and would limit Trump's capacity to ease
group's retention on the terror list in Hamas, whose political wing governs
return to us the diplomatic property with sanctions on Russia in the future without
2014. the Gaza Strip Palestinian territory,
out any conditions are significantly nar seeking the approval of lawmakers.
The Luxembourgbased CJEU over denounced the ruling and said its lead rowed... Therefore, of course our dialogue Since taking over at the White House in
turned the judgment and said "the coun ers were preparing an official response. on this topic becomes even more difficult," January, Trump had been fighting of f
cil may maintain a person or an entity The EU's terrorist list was drawn up
Sputnik news agency quoted Ryabkov as accusations that members of his election
on the list if it concludes that there is an after the September 11, 2001 attacks telling RIA Novosti. campaign team colluded with Russia in
ongoing risk of that person or entity on the US. The list was last updated in The bill awaits a final vote in the Senate order to gather damaging information
being involved in the terrorist activities January and now included 13 individu before it can be presented to US President against his Democrat opponent Hillary
that justified their initial listing". als and 22 organizations.
Donald Trump, who has the power to veto Clinton.
 22 July 29-August 4, 2017
Nifty closes above 10,000 for first time
Mumbai: Boosted by positive glob
al cues, along with expectations of
healthy quarterly results and
intense buying activities wit
nessed in metal, banking and
automobile stocks, the Indian
equity markets surged to a record
high, with the benchmark index
NSE Nifty50 closing firmly above
the 10,000point mark for the
first time.
On Tuesday, the wider Nifty50
of the National Stock Exchange
(NSE) climbed the 10,000point
peak for the first t ime in its
almost 22year history, but soon
ceded its gains to close on a flat
note on the back of profit booking
and expensive valuations, after
touching an intraday high of
10,011.30 points.
However, the key index sur
passed even that level and scaled
a record intraday hig h of
10,025.95 points on Wednesday
be fore closing at 10,020.65
points.
The other benchmark index
SC asks Sahara to
deposit Rs 1,500 crore
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court has asked Sahara
chie f Subrata Roy to
deposit Rs 1,500 crore a
part payment of Rs 24,000
crore that two group com
panies had raised from the
investors with market reg
ulator Sebi to stall the auc
tion of its lands in Aamby
valley.
Direct ing the sum be
deposited by September 7,
the bench of Justice Dipak
Misra, Justice Ranjan Gogoi
and Justice A.K. Sikri per
mitted Roy to place before
them a reasonable plan for
the payment of balance
amount over a period of 18
months as he had himself
sought.
As it cleared all the
terms and conditions sub
mitted by Bombay High Court's
of ficial liquidator Vinod Sharma
for floating a global tender to
BSE Sensex too touched a fresh high of 32,413.63 points intraday.
BSE Sensex too, touched a fresh
high of 32,413.63 points intra
day. According to market
observers, some cautiousness pre
vailed in the global markets ahead
of the outcome of the twoday US
Federal Open Market Committee
meet later in the evening. At clos
ing time, the NSE Nifty50 rose by
Sahara chief Subrata Roy.
invite bids for the auction of
Aamby Valley, the court said that
if Sahara pays Rs 1,500 crore by
BUSINESS
56.10 points or 0.56 per cent to Retail Research, HDFC Securities,
close at a new high of 10,020.65
points.
The 30scrip Sensitive Index
(Sensex) closed at a fresh high of
32,382.46 points up 154.19 uled later to day ( July 26).
points or 0.48 per cent from its
previous close at 32,228.27
points.
September 7 and sub
mits a plan, it would stall
the process of auctioning
Aamby Valley.
However, it was subject
to payment of this sum,
the court said, which
also include balances of
Rs 305 crore that Roy
has yet to pay from his
last installment that he
was to submit by June
15.
On April 16, the court
had asked the Bombay
High Court's of ficial liq
uidator to evaluate and
auct ion the Aamby
Valley property of the
Sahara Group and
Sharma, in his reportq
on its worth, said that its
market value is Rs 37,
390 crore and the fair
value is Rs 43,000 crore.
The next hearing would take
place on September 11.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
The BSE market breadth was,
however, slightly bearish with
1,365 declines and 1,324
advances.
In terms of the broader markets,
the BSE midcap index rose by
0.18 per cent and the smallcap
index by 0.28 per cent.
"Markets rallied to new life
highs on Wednesday with the
Nifty closing above the 10,000
level for the first time. The main
indices opened the session with
small gains amid initial volatility,
which later hovered in green with
smalltomo dest g ains. T hey
extended intraday gains towards
late trade to hit fresh record
highs," Deepak Jasani, Head of
told IANS.
"Globally, investors awaited the
outcome of a twoday US Federal
Reserve's policy meeting sched
Markets will be watching for any
signals about another possible
rise in the benchmark lending rate
INDIA SHOULD TARGET
INFLATION RATE OF
45%: US EXPERT
New Delhi: Indian policy
makers would do well to
target keeping annual
retail inflation in the coun
try in the range of 45 per
cent without aiming to
lower this rate significant
ly, according to an
American expert.
"India should target
inflation at 45 per cent," Kenneth
Rogoff, Professor of Economics at
Harvard University in the US told
BTVi in an interview.
"Many people in the advanced
economies are saying we should
have been at 4 per cent (inflation
rate), and not be at 2 per cent,
which was a mistake. There is a
debate on," he said referring to the
prolonged phase of low inflation
coupled with low growth being
experienced by Western
economies.
"I think that if a lot of countries
were starting from scratch, I bet
in 2017, and on when the Fed will
begin winding down its multitril
liondollar investment holdings,"
Desai added.
On the currency front, the rupee
strengthened by 23 paise to
64.36 to a US dollar from its pre
vious close at 64.3839.
In investments, provisional data
with the exchanges showed that
foreign institutional investors
(FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 60.60
crore, while domestic institutional
investors (DIIs) purchased stocks
worth Rs 676.61 crore. According
to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief
Operating Of ficer of Tradebulls,
the benchmark index Nifty
reclaimed the 10,000milestone
led mainly by g ains in metal
stocks. "Expectations of a better
earnings season with improving
economic indicators have
increased investor confidence,
extending a recordsetting rally
this year, although high valua
tions are seen capping gains in
the near term," Desai told IANS.
they would opt for a 3 per cent tar
get," he added. Noting "there is no
rush to come down to a lower
inflation target, the American
economist said it is "predictability"
that is important in keeping down
inflationary expectations.
"In economic theory, which who
knows if its true...historically it has
been seen that if you are pre
dictable, that's what people expect.
People can adjust to any steady
inflation rate," Rogoff said.
"There are number of reasons for
India, not to bring it (inflation)
down too quickly," he added.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info SPORTS July 29-August 4, 2017 23

Harmanpreet, Jhulan
gain big in ODI rankings
Dubai: Indian cricketers Jhulan
Goswami and Harmanpreet
Kaur's brilliant performances in
the justconcluded ICC Women's
World Cup lifted them to the No.2
and No.6 spots respectively in the
latest International Cricket
Council rankings for bowlers and
batswomen, released here.
Harmanpreet vaulted seven
slots to the No.6 position after fir
ing a swashbuckling unbeaten
171 to help India defeat Australia
Indian women cricketer
by 36 runs in the semifinal and
Jhulan Goswami
followed that with a fighting 51
in the final, which India narrowly Jhulan Goswami has gained four
lost to England by nine runs at slots to reach the second position
Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara celebrates fall of Hardik Pandya's wicket at Galle International Stadium in Sri
Lord's on Sunday, according to an and within four points of South
Lanka. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
ICC statement. Africa's Marizanne Kapp.
The Punjab batswoman is now The 34yearold India pacer had

First Test: Sri Lanka off the second Indian to feature in

the top10 after her second
ranked skipper Mithali Raj, who is
figures of 3/23 in the final and
2/35 in the semifinal.
Jhulan's newball partner

to shaky start
Galle: Sri Lanka scored 38/1,
trailing by 562 runs at tea in the
first innings on the second day of
the first cricket Test against India
at the Galle International Stadium
here.
After India scored 600 runs in
their first innings, Sri Lanka got
of f to a poor start as they lost
opener Dimuth Karunaratne (2)
w ith just seven runs on the
board.
Karunaratne was caught leg
before wicket by pacer Umesh
Yadav. Fe llow opener Upul
Tharanga (24) and new batsman
Danushka Gunathilaka (12) were
at the crease when the umpires
called for the tea break.
Tharanga's 14ball knock was
laced with five boundaries while
Gunathilaka slammed two bound
aries in his steady start.
Earlier, resuming at 503/7,
debutant Hardik Pandya and
tailender Mohammad Shami
10 points behind Australia cap Shikha Pandey (up one place to
tain Meg Lanning. Australia's 12th) and legspinner Poonam
Ellyse Perry is third, trailing Raj Yadav (up six places to a career
by 12 points. Apart from best 28th) are other India
helped India post 600/10 in the
Harmanpreet, opener Punam bowlers to move up.
first innings.
Raut has gained five slots to reach As for the ICC Women's Team
Shami (30) and middleorder
14th position after scores of 86 rankings, there was no change in
batsman Pandya (50) contributed
and 14 in the final and semifinal positions with Australia retaining
62 runs for the ninth wicket.
respective ly, while Veda top spot at 128 points.
Pandya's halfcentury was laced
Krishnamurthy has gained seven England have gained one point
with five boundaries and three
slots to reach a careerbest 26th to reach 125 in second position,
sixes while Shami slammed three
position following scores of 35 in while New Zealand and India
sixes in his cameo innings with a
the final and 16 not out in the remain on 118 and 113 points,
strike rate of 100.00. Incoming
semifinal. Among the bowlers, respectively. The West Indies
batsman Umesh Yadav stayed
world's leading wickettaker in (105), South Africa (93), Pakistan
unbeaten on 11 runs off 10 balls
Oneday Internationals (ODI) (73) and Sri Lanka (67) follow.
at the end.

Indian women cricket team did a Chak De India!

l By Shivaji Sengupta remember is the indif ferent manner the
Indian women's cricket team have been
et me remind the readers of a famous treated over the years. The men received

L Indian film, Chak De, India! in which an

out of sorts inept Indian women's
hockey team is coached by an erstwhile
male Indian hockey captain, came from
nowhere to win the Hockey World Cup in
Australia, against the six times champion,
Aussies. Last week the 10th Women's World
Cup in cricket ended in England, with India
being narrowly beaten by England in the
final. Indeed, according to the seeds, India
were not supposed to figure in the final at
all. But the tournament started auspiciously
for them when they defeated England, the
second ranked team, and the eventual cham
pion. Not unlike the men's team in 2015, the
women's team also won their first four
matches. Players like Smriti Mandhana,
Poonam Raut, Ekta Bisht and Rajeshwari
covered themselves with glory. However,
after that, they were beaten easily by South
Africa and Australia. The magic started hap
pening immediately after. India beat New
Zealand, ranked number three, with ridicu
lous ease and made it to the semi final. As
the fourthranked team, this was not a sur
prise.
But what was a huge surprise was that in
the semifinal Indian Women convincingly
PM Narendra Modi hosted the Indian Womens Cricket Team in New Delhi on July 27. The
team were runners up in the 10th Women's World Cup in England. (Photo: PIB)
upended Australian women, the six times
reigning champions. In fact, their eventual
victory by 39 runs was flattering to
Australia. At one stage Australia were 1699
in reply to India's 281. In that match,
Harmanpreet Kaur decimated the Australian
attack by scoring a mammoth 171 in only
115 balls. She hit seven sixes what Meg
Lanning, currently ranked the best batsman
in the world and Australia's captain said,
should be etched in everyone's memory: "We
are sad not to make the final, but no one
could have won against India today with
Harman playing that kind of an inning."
The final was a seesaw affair, with both
teams holding the upper hand, unt il
England, by far the more experienced and
reputable team, won out. The Indian crick
eters were crushed with disappointment, but
there was no shame in losing.
Congratulations to the Indian Women (all
Indian women) for this tremendous feat.
Congratulations to the women's cricket
team upon being awarded 50 lakh rupees
each!
W hat every Indian supporter mig ht
every conceivable support, in terms of
money and equipment. Compared to that it
is only very recently, the Indian women
received even anywhere near the support.
This, in spite of the fact that they had made
it to the finals in 2005 (where they lost
badly to Australia); that the Indian captain,
Mithali Raj and their pace bowler, Jhulan
Goswami, topped the batting and bowling
rankings respectively.
What their runners up position in the
tenth World Cup has done, hopefully, is put
the focus back on the women. This is a very
young team that flourished under the lead
ership of Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.
Mithali Raj has called for the BCCI to organ
ize a women's IPL where great professional
women from all over the world would come
and play, much like the women's Big Bash
League in Australia. I heartily support her
call. Let me end with what Mithali Raj said
when, upon their departure from India, a
journalist asked her for her favorite Indian
male cricketer. "Let me ask you this," Mithali
quipped, "Do you ask a male Indian cricketer
who his favorite Indian woman cricketer is?
I hope the respected journalist was put in
his place.
24 July 29-August 4, 2017
l By Saket Suman
T
he worlds largest democra
cy is witness to debates on a
range of issues and noted
public intellectuals from across
the political spectrum Left
Right and Centre have shared
their thoughts in two recent
books.
The first "India Now and in
Transition" (Niyogi/Rs 595/448
Pages) has been edited by Atul K.
Thakur, a public policy profes
sional who specializes in the
interface of politics and econom
ics. This scholarly offering has
essays by 37 leading thinkers
such as Ramachandra Guha,
Shashi Tharoor, Robin Jeffrey,
Jayati Ghosh, Vinod Rai and T.S.R.
Subramaniam.
With a foreword by Sunil
Khilnani, Professor of Politics and
Director of the Kings College,
London India Institute, the book
analyzes the way ahead for the
country in the fields of politics
and governance, economics and
development, security and for
eign policy, society and culture
Business is to increase not only
wealth but also 'dharma'
l By Porisma P. Gogoi
T
he first thing that comes to mind
when we hear the word "dharma"
is "religion". But
how is "dharma"
related to business?
It is interpreted as
"duty" the duty of
traders towards their
businesses as well as
themselves. As the
"Laws of Manu" state,
"Commerce (varrta) is
the religious work
(tapas) of a Vaishya
(trader)."
To that extent, busi
ness law in medieval
and early modern
India was developed
within the volumi
nous and multifac
eted Dharmashastras,
which codify the concept of dharma,
which laid down rules for merchants,
traders, guilds, farmers and other indi
viduals in terms of the complex reli
gious, legal and moral idea of dharma.
Gurcharan Das, a former CEO of
Proctor and Gamble and author of
books like "India Unbound", in a lucid
introduction to The Dharma of
Business, Donald R. Davis, narrates how
a dishonest seller loses her market
share by selling low quality mangoes at
a high price, referring to her as a "per
son of low dharma". The message?
Good actions are rewarded and the bad
ones punished. Going further, Davis, an
Associate Professor of Sanskrit and
Indian Religions at the University of
Texas, explains: "The fact that it wasn't
The
idea of
India
And how our public intellectuals define it
and language and literature. nation has the worlds largest
The beauty of India, the book youth population and is undergo
reminds us, is that there are ing tectonic social and political
many kinds of Indias. changes at present; therefore this
Understanding the fundamentals book becomes crucial as it helps
that have given birth to such mul one understand what direction
tiplicity across various segments India may take in the future.
is especially imperative in the Each essay critically analyzes a
present day when the Idea of major theme of Indias present to
India is keenly contested. This propose the likely way ahead for
hard to find things to discuss convinced
me that it would be worthwhile to pres
ent an account of business law in these
traditional sources to a general audi
ence."
The book aims to
describe substantive
legal concepts and
categories of com
mercial laws found
in medieval and
early modern
Dharmashastra texts.
It also provides an
interpretation of
how common mod
ern assumptions, val
ues and goals in the
business world
would look through
the prism of
Dharmashastra.
The
Dharmashastras
explicitly state that among the four
classes or 'varnas', commerce and busi
ness are the dharma of the Vaishyas.
The book also identifies the fact that
business is not only a way to make and
increase wealth but also a religious
duty, which came as a set of laws that
gave religious significance to secular
business dealings.
As Davis explains: "The whole point of
Dharmashastras was to convert ordi
nary activities into sacred duties by pre
scribing particular ways of doing them.
If you followed the rule for making
loans, for paying employees, for secur
ing partnerships, and so on, you were
not just conducting fair business but
also building religious merit, good
karma."
BOOKS TheSouthAsianTimes.info
and Centre: The Idea of India"
(Penguin/Rs 599/269 Pages)
which has been edited by televi
sion journalist Nidhi Razdan. It
brings voices from all the three
spectrums of our politics. You
have the likes of Chandan Mitra,
Derek O Brien, Sunita Narain and
Shabana Azmi sharing their per
spectives in this book.
In the introduction Razdan
makes her point that the idea of
India is different for different
people. In an apparent reference
to the ruling government, Razdan
says that it is responsible for
fuelling a kind of nationalism
where "youve to wear your patri
otism on your sleeve" and where
"to question the government, the
courts, the army is to be anti
this emergent nation. The book national". She also takes readers
notes that while beset with both through the many instances of
internal and external challenges the recent past and succeeds to a
on many fronts India isnt waiting large extent in establishing that
for its moment. It is making its there is indeed a rising tide of
moment happen. "India Now and nationalism in India. She counters
in Transition" is an enquiry into this with the words of Tagore
possible futures based on current who despite penning Indias
happenings. national anthem was a strong
And then there is "Left Right critic of nationalism.
A spiritual powerhouse
and an iconic Swami
l By M.R. Narayan Swamy people to walk out of hospitals because they did
not need any operation; those who obeyed him
D
evis Emerald" is a touching and beautifully realized he was so very right. Miles away from
written story of a small hospitals he would tell doc
temple in Bengaluru tors to change their line of
dedicated to Mookambika medication. His predictions
Devi where until he passed often stumped people
away, an electrical engineer because they had never met
turnedSwami made such the Swamiji ever before. He
suggested different religious
accurate predictions that the
remedies for various prob
wellknown author Ruzbeh
Bharucha ended up calling lems; in rare cases alone he
him as "one of the most spiri would gently say that there
tually powerful men on the was no hope.
globe". How did he manage all this?
V.S. Nayak, a father of five, Swamiji would light camphor
used to work in Phillips India in the Devi temple and he said
and was far removed from the he could see yes literally see
spiritual world when he had a answers to questions that
divine calling. It led to the were posed to him. "She
birth of the temple where shows me like a movie the
Swamiji as he came to be entire place and scenario.
widely known became the This is why we can answer
Devis medium and gave innumerable but always questions pertaining to past present and future.
accurate predictions that turned even the most We can answer about unseen people dead people
doubting skeptics into staunch devotees. living people... everything comes in front of me
The Swamiji did not believe in mumbo jumbo. like a movie."
He would tell visitors not to go deep into trying The best part of the story was that he would
to understand and experience God. Have sincere not charge money for his predictions; except a
faith and utter simple prayers that would do. bare minimum that went to cover the cost of run
Dont starve in search of God. As a sage he was ning the shrine and feeding every single person
very different. He liked to laugh loudly, usually who visited it. Nobody was allowed to leave the
avoided philosophical and religious stuff and had temple without food. Swamiji had seen grinding
no problems eating in restaurants. He would tell poverty and he knew what hunger was; he didnt
devotees that the best way to know God was to want anyone to be hungry ever.
feed the poor and hungry. "He is the most practi "Devis Grace" is a followup to the first book by
cal Swamiji you will ever meet." He was more two devotees who explain how Swamijis son,
than practical. Although Swamiji was on the dot Guruji, is carrying on his fathers tradition.
visavis whatever he predicted he was humble Devotees who have benefited from Gurujis pre
and truly devotional. He credited whatever he did dictions tell their astounding tales to Karen
to Devis grace. He would predict accurately Rajesh and Vishal Desai. "Devi s Emerald" intro
when people would die and when babies would duced the otherwise little known Mookambika
be born even how they would look like. He told Devi temple to the larger world. IANS

Shrimadji - in the eyes
of Mahatma Gandhi
It was Gandhijis personal interaction and correspondence through letters
with Shrimad Rajchandra that had a profound influence on his character.
Presenting the Mahatmas expressions about the spiritual luminary.
by Dr. Bharatbhai Shah
T
he personal relationship of Shrimad
Rajchandra and his contemporary
Mahatma Gandhi, is a bright chap-
ter not only in their personal lives, not only
for the state of Gujarat, but for the cultur-
al, political and spiritual history of India.
Gandhijis herculean and countrywide ef-
forts in freeing the nation from slavery by
fighting on the principles of non-violence
and truth, resulting in the attainment of
freedom - represent an unprecedented vic-
tory of non-violence, self-restraint and aus-
Miles OSullivan becomes Jain Saman Abhiroop
O
n July 9, Miles OSullivan, a pro-
fessional underwater photogra-
pher, took Jain Saman Diksha un-
der Acharya Shree Yogeesh at Siddhayatan
Tirth in Dallas, TX.
Miles had his calling to become a monk
at the age of 22. Looking for a master,
he found Shree Yogeesh while browsing
through YouTube videos. Miles moved to
Siddhayatan four years ago to live, work,
and practice intensive sadhana. He studied
Jain scriptures and the Hindi and Sanskrit
languages. For Miless initiation celebra-
tion into monkhood his family travelled
from California, and the Carolinas.
The Acharya gave Miles his vows to re-
nounce all wrongdoings for the rest of his
life. He also committed for all of his life
to follow the 5 great vows--nonviolence,
truthfulness, non-stealing, brahmacharya,
and non-possession.
He was then christened Saman Abhiroop:
religion
terities in the history of mankind. It was
his association with Shrimadji and the wise
counsel provided by him on the principles
of truth and non-violence, which formed
the cornerstone of this great mans life.
In his autobiography, the chapters on
Raychandbhai, Dharmik Manthan, Dhar- ously). Someone suggested that I should ut-
ma-Nirikshan and Brahmacharya, and his
other writings and lectures on Shrimadji re-
flect Gandhis faith in him. Revashanker Jag-
jivanbhai had requested Gandhiji to write a
preface of the book, Shrimad Rajchandra,
second edition, published in 1982, under
the auspices of Paramshrut Prabhavak
Mandal. Gandhiji accepted his request; com-
pleted the last chapter on some
of the memoirs of Shrimadji that
he had previously written in the
Yervada jail, added other mate-
rial to it, and prepared an ar-
ticle entitled, Raychandbhaina
Ketlak Smarano. In this, he has
heaped a lot of praise on Shrim-
adji. Presenting some excerpts:
I was introduced to
Raychandbhai in July 1891,
on the very day on which, re-
turning from England, I landed
in Bombay. At this time of the
year the sea is stormy. The ship,
therefore, had arrived late and it
was already night. I stayed with
Dr. Pranjivan Mehta, Barrister,
now the well-known jeweler of
Rangoon. Raychandbhai was his
elder brothers son-in-law. The
doctor himself introduced me
to him. On the same day I was
also introduced to Jhaveri Re-
Saman means a male monk following the
Shramanic Tradition, and Abhiroop means
beautiful inside and out. Immediately af-
ter, Saman Abhiroop delivered his very first
speech as a newly initiated Jain monk.
In his inspiring and deeply heartfelt
speech, he delved into the deeper reasons
why he wanted to follow this path: When I
realized that I do not have freedom, it became
the most important fight in my life. My mis-
sion. My purpose. When a person becomes
a monk, they become a protector of all life,
because when you begin to understand your
suffering, you automatically see the suffer-
ing of others and you know that their pain
is no different than yours. You become one.
Saman Abhiroop has become the third
American student to take Jain Diksha un-
der Acharya Shree Yogeesh.
Email: info@siddhayatan.org
July 29-August 4, 2017
vashanker Jagjivandas, another elder broth-
er of his. The doctor introduced Raychandb-
hai as a poet, and added, though a poet, he
is in our business. He is a man of spiritual
knowledge and a shatavadhani (One who can
pay attention to a hundred things simultane-
at close quarters. He used to walk slowly,
ter a number of words in his presence, say-
ing that no matter to what language they
belonged he would repeat them in the same
order in which I had uttered them. I could
not believe this. I was a young man, had just
returned from England, and was a little vain,
too, of my knowledge of languages; in those
days I was under the powerful spell of Eng-
lish. Having been to England made a man
feel that he was heaven-born. I poured out
all my store of knowledge, and first wrote
out words from different languages - for
how possibly could I afterwards remember
them in their due order? I then read out
the words. Raychandbhai repeated them
slowly one after another and in the same
order. I was pleased and astonished, and
formed a high opinion about his memory.
This was an excellent experience to break
a little the binding spell of English on me.
The poet did not know English at all. At
the time I am speaking of, he was not more
than 25. His study in the Gujarati school was
not much either. And even then he possessed
such a powerful memory and such knowl-
edge, and was respected by everyone around
him! I was all admiration. The power of mem-
ory is not sold in schools. Knowledge, too,
can be acquired without going to school if
one wants it - is keen on it - and one need not
go to England or elsewhere to command re-
spect, for virtue is always respected. I learned
25
these truths on the very day I landed in Bom-
bay. The acquaintance with the poet which
began on this occasion grew over the years.
One rare feature of his writings is that
he always set down what he had felt in his
own experience. There is in them no trace of
unreality. I have never read any line by him
which was written to produce an effect on
others. He had always by his side a book on
some religious subject and a notebook with
blank pages. The latter he used for noting
down any thoughts which occurred to him.
Sometimes, it would be prose and sometimes
poetry. The poem about the supreme state
must have been written in that manner.
Whatever he was doing at the moment,
whether eating or resting or lying in bed, he
was invariably disinterested towards things
of the world. I never saw him being tempted
by objects of pleasure or luxury in this world.
I watched his daily life respectfully, and
and the passer-by could see that he was ab-
sorbed in thought even while walking. There
was a strange power in his eyes; they were
extremely bright, and free from any sign of
impatience or anxiety. They bespoke single-
minded attention. The face was round, the
lips thin, the nose neither pointed nor flat
and the body of light build and medium size.
The skin was dark. He looked an embodi-
ment of peace. There was such sweetness in
his voice that one simply wanted to go on
listening to him. The face was smiling and
cheerful; it shone with the light of inner joy.
He had such ready command of language
that I do not remember his ever pausing for
a word to express his thoughts.
These qualities can exist only in a man of
self-control. A man cannot become free from
attachments by making a show of being so.
That state is a state of grace for the atman.
Anyone who strives for it will discover that
it may be won only after a ceaseless effort
through many lives. One will discover, if one
struggles to get rid of attachments, how dif-
ficult it is to succeed in the attempt. The Poet
made me feel that this state of freedom from
attachment was spontaneous to him.
This article is a reprint from Sadguru
Echoes, Shrimad Rajchandra Missions
monthly magazine. http://www.shrimadra-
jchandramission.org
The newly initiated monk is grateful
to Acharya Shree Yogeesh,
founder of a Jain center in Texas.
 26 July 29-August 4, 2017 HEALTH TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Innovative newborn hearing New class of breast

screening device Sohum launched cancer drugs are
A valuable contribution to Make in India campaign
New Delhi: The Minister of State for
Science and Technology & Earth
Sciences, Y.S. Chowdary has formally
launched the indigenously developed
newborn hearing screening device
Sohum in New Delhi. The newborn
hearing screening device is devel
oped by School of International
Biodesign (SIB) startup M/s Sohum
Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd.
Sohum is a low cost and unique
device which uses brainstem audito
ry evoked response, the gold stan
dard in auditory testing to check for
hearing response in a newborn. As of
now, this technology is prohibitively
expensive and inaccessible to many.
Startup Sohum has made the tech
nology appropriate for the resource
constrained settings and aims to
cater to nearly 26 million babies
born every year in India.
One of the most common birth dis
orders congenital hearing loss is
a result of both genetic and non
genetic factors. These factors are
mostly associated with resource
poor economies such as India where,
unlike advanced healthcare systems,
hearing impairment goes undiag
nozed. Thus, when it is discovered at
4+ years, its too late to reverse the
damage and this leads to a host of
problems such as impaired commu
nication skills and even possible
mental illness; all of which have a
deep impact on the child, emotional
ly and economically lifelong.
Globally, 8,00,000 hearing
impaired babies are born annually of
which, nearly 1,00,000 are in India.
And all this preventable damage
needs is early screening, which can
facilitate timely treatment and reha
bilitation. Sohum team has come up
with a screening device to facilitate
the routine screening of newborn
babies with the potential to help
children at a key stage of their devel
opment.
T he portable Sohum Hearing
Screening measures auditory brain
waves via three electrodes placed on
the babys head. When stimulated,
they detect electrical responses gen
erated by the brains auditory sys
tem. If there is no response, the child
cannot hear. The batteryoperated
device is noninvasive, which means
well tolerated: Study
New York: Researchers, includ
ing one of Indianorigin, have
found that a new class of oral
drugs for treating breast cancer
are generally welltolerated
with a manageable toxicity pro
file for most patients.
T he new class of drugs,
known as cyclindependent
kinase (CDK) inhibitors, have a
great potential for treating the
most common type of breast
cancer known as hormone
receptorposit ive (HR+)
(Image courtesy: sohumforall.com)
metastatic breast cancer in
which the cancer cells express
babies do not need to be sedated,
hormone receptors.
which is the current, and risky, test
"CDK inhibitors have changed
ing in process at present. Another
the landscape of management
key advantages over other testing
of HR+ breast cancer," said
systems is the patented, inbuilt algo
Aditya Bardia, a specialist in
rithm that filters out ambient noise
breast cancer at the
from the test signal. This is impor
Massachusetts General Hospital
tant because health clinics can be
in Boston, US.
incredibly crowded and noisy.
CDK inhibitors interfere in
This innovative medical device has
cancer cells' ability to multiply
been developed under Department
rapidly by blocking the activity
of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of
of enzymes known as CDKs,
Science and Technology,
particularly CDK 4 and CDK 6,
Government of India supported (SIB).
that help to regulate cell divi
SIB is a flagship program of the DBT
sion, the researchers said in the
aimed to develop innovative and
paper published in the journal
af fordable medical devices as per
The Oncologist.
unmet clinical needs of India and to
The first CDK inhibitors pal
train the next generation of medical
bo ciclib (Ibrance) was
technology innovators in India, it is a
approved in February 2015 by
valuable contribution to the Make in
the US Foo d and Drug
India campaign of the government.
Administration (FDA), and sec
ond ribociclib (Kisqali) was
approved in March 2017, while
a third abemaciclib is cur
rently undergoing Phase 3 tri
als.
For the study, Bardia and his
team reviewed all the publicly
available studies conducted on
palbociclib, ribociclib and abe
maciclib.
T hey found that the most
common side effect of palboci
clib and ribociclib was a low
level of white blood cells, a con
dition known as neutropenia,
which can increase the chance
of infection.
However, the e f fect was
found temporary and dose
dependent.
Neutropenia was found less
common with abemaciclib, but
the side ef fects such as diar
rhoea and fatigue were more
common. Nausea and alopecia
are less common side ef fects,
researchers found, but they
were typically mild and easily
treated.
Currently, CDK 4/6 inhibitors
are being investigated for their
ability to treat various other
cancers, including lung cancer,
prostate cancer and ovarian
cancer, the researchers stated.
(IANS)

Four myths about olive oil busted

live oil is a gift of God, especially Fact: Flavour may change when heated,

O due to the numerous health bene

fits it offers. It is a gold standard
when it comes to edible oil.
Whether making the heart healthy or
regulating sugar levels or bringing with
itself vitamins and antioxidants, olive oil
is an ideal companion for all who wish to
lead a healthy life.
But due to a lack of precise knowledge
about this oil, some are reluctant to make
it part of their daily lives. This is, to some
extent, a result of all the crazy marketing
out there: Peruse the olive oils in a typi
cal grocery store and youll be greeted by
all kinds of terminology.
Some of it is confusing like pure
and extravirgin which is better?
Other terms are just pointless cold
pressed, for example, doesnt really
mean much. Basically, all extravirgin
olive oil is coldpressed.
So its time we debunk some of the
my ths about this bene ficial
Mediterranean favourite.
Myth 1: If olive oil gets cloudy or solidi
fies in the refrigerator, it is 100 per cent
authentic and of high quality.
Fact: There is no home test to check for
olive oil authenticity. Some oils get
cloudy in the refrigerator and some
dont. Quality is best checked through
taste and smell authenticity is best
tested in a properlyequipped lab.
Myth 2: A very green colour indicates
high quality olive oil.
Fact: Color is not an indicator of the
oils quality. Quality olive oil isnt a
generic product. Factors like olive vari
and smoking point. Extra virgin olive oil
ety, growing conditions and country of
origin create variability in oil color
from pale yellow to dark green and
how fast the oil will cloud or solidify in
the refrigerator.
Myth 3: Heat diminishes olive oils
health benefits; so it is best to use extra
virgin olive oil raw or straight from the
bottle.
but the health benefits remain. You can
cook with all types of olive oil without
losing health benefits because their
smoking point is higher than most other
cooking oils.
Myth 4: Olive oil cannot be used for
cooking, frying and sauting.
Fact: You can cook on high heat with
olive oil. Here, the answer lies in under
standing the various grades of olive oil.
One can most certainly find three grades
of olive oil extra virgin, classic/pure
and extra light and, lastly, pomace, which
is a chemically extracted variant of olive
oil.
The difference lies in the taste, aroma
has a strong flavour of olives and low
smoking point as it is obtained from cold
pressing. Pure olive oil is obtained from
refining olive oil, so its smoking point is
high but has the flavor of olives, so it can
be heated and used for cooking pizzas,
pastas, sauting vegetables et al. Extra
light has neutral/no flavor of olives and
be used for everyday cooking/frying in
Indian kitchens.
Need any more persuasion about the
benefits of olive oil? (IANS)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 29-August 4, 2017
 28 July 29-August 4, 2017
Someone is probably filming you reading this
A
LL adults have a vital duty to tell
young people about The Olden Days
(a phrase which covers the period
from the early Triassic era to about 2016).
"In the past, people would go a whole day
without taking a single picture of anything,"
I declared.
My Facebooking Snapchatting children
were stunned. "So how did you have fun,
dad," one asked.
"We would look at clouds and see if we
could find animal shapes," I told them. Yes,
life was thrilling then. They have no idea.
But now family life is upside down! In my
house, the only people who can open child
proof packaging are the children. The only
people who can get past the netnanny web
filter are the children. The only people who
can do online hedgefund asset swaps that
crash the Dow Jones are the children.
One friend said that this resourceful, hi
tech generation of youngsters would make
great spies. No, I've met spies, and it's no
fun: they get swallowed up by their cover
jobs. I knew one agent who played the part
of a harddrinking, grizzled journalist so well
that he drank himself to death. Probably got
an authenticity award from the espionage
community. What's more, read the news: the
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
(Image courtesy: thedigitalsheepdog.ca)
whole hitech spying thing has been out
sourced to wildlife. A few days ago, a pigeon
was arrested and charged with espionage on
the PakistanIndia border not a joke. The
bird was detained for acting suspiciously,
which probably means it was wearing a false
moustache and taking snaps of military
facilities.
Indian security of ficers discovered mes
sages in a foreign language and a phone
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
army arrested 14 squirrels for suspiciously
hanging out in the woods near a nuclear
enrichment facility. Smug of ficials proudly
said they detained the creatures "before
they were able to take any action", but did
not say what the squirrels' expected actions
were. I suspect the list would include "eating
nuts", "hanging out in trees", and "stealing
food from bird feeders", which are things
we've all done at some time, right? Or is that
just me?
The night before writing this, this writer
was strolling to a meeting and looked to the
skies for animalshaped clouds. Lo and
behold, there was a camera drone hovering
overhead! It stayed there for about two min
utes, watching me walk and eat junk food.
Either it was hungry, or (more likely) it had
been sent to check up on me by my calorie
number written on its feathers, the news counting app. Or my kids.
item said. Now spies don't usually share con But there's one good thing about technolo
tact details, so this might just be the pigeon gy: If it's time to summon people for dinner,
equivalent of when you write down your I just turn off the WiFi and watch the whole
phone number on your hand because you're family come running.
getting old. Pigeons get old too, right? And here's a tip to help adults use comput
Just a week before the dramatic pigeon ers. Change your password to "invalid."
arrest, the Egyptian authorities detained a Every time you get it wrong, the computer
stork for espionage and readers may recall will says: "Your password is invalid."
the stillearlier incident when the Iranian You're welcome.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
By Mahendra
Shah
Mahendra Shah
is an architect by
education,
entrepreneur by
profession,
artist and
humorist,
cartoonist and
writer by hobby.
He has been
recording the
plight of the
immigrant
Indians for
the past many
years in his
cartoons.
Hailing from
Gujarat, he lives
in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
JULY 29AUGUST 4, 2017
ARIES: Subordinates/coworkers would
be very helpful. Believe it or not someone
in the family is watching you closely and
considers you a role model. An improvement in
monetary position makes it convenient to pur
chase essential items. You are likely to get a
new friendship opportunity in the evening. A
pleasure trip gives the muchneeded tonic to
health. You will discover travel destinations
that are unique and magical. Time to spend
money on your homely accommodations.
Adhering to your priorities would be gainful in
the long term.
TAURUS: Pending proposals will get
implemented with the help of seniors.
The company of family friends will keep
you in a happy & relaxed mood. You seem to
know exactly what people need and want from
you, but dont try to be too lavish in your
spending. Romantic vibrations from someone
unknown would lift your spirits taking imagina
tions to scaling heights. Mental alertness would
enable to solve a tricky problem. Take a trip, as
there is some place waiting for you. Deals on
commercial property can tend to be at full
boom. Turning thoughts towards love and fun
would immensely benet.
GEMINI: You need a careful planning
and will have to chalk out new strate
gies at professional front. Parental guid
ance in your decision would immensely help.
Your brilliant ideas would help in bringing
nancial gains. Love life brings immense
romantic pleasure. A cheerful state of mind
brings mental peace. Great time for perfect
family vacation to an exciting destination.
Investing residentially is one thing you can rely
on. Your highly developed intuition would act
as a guide to lead in a positive direction.
CANCER: Mental clarity would remove
past business confusions. You will be
the star of attraction of familys get
together. You succeed in making some extra
cash on playing your cards well. Your wit &
charm would help in catching the attention of
opposite sex. Charity work undertaken will
bring mental peace & comfort. Your journey
might be affected when you begin to yearn for
your work. Time to plan a gift for your parents
may be their dream home. Some of you plan to
go on an adventure to broaden horizons.
LEO: Good week for implementing new
plans and ventures. A week when mis
understandings at family front are sort
ed out with ease. A promising week to earn
prots in real estate and nancial transactions.
Traveling proves a blessing in disguise by
bringing a love in your life. Good time to divert
attention to spirituality to enhance mental
toughness. Travel opportunities full of chal
lenges are often the beginning of great enter
prises. Investment on overseas property has to
be considered seriously. Changing attitude and
prioritising things would help in managing
everything.
VIRGO: Traveling brings new overseas
business opportunities. Dont forget to
spend quality time in the company of
family friends you care. You are likely to make
good money, but the rise in expenses could
make it difcult to save. New romance that
some of you are going to experience would take
the worries off mind. Cutting down the number
of parties and pleasure jaunts would help in
keeping in good mood. A trip that is unconven
tional and adventurous will be favourable enjoy
every minute of it. A good week to make some
investment on kitchen items. Your convictions
give you the courage to stand up for justice,
values and priorities.
ASTROLOGY
LIBRA: Auspicious week to start a new
venture. An important development at
personal front brings jubilation for
entire family. Longterm investment would
enable to make substantial gains. You enjoy a
memorable time with partner to cement the
lovely bond. A benecial week to work on
things that will improve your health. Dreaming
of traveling is good, but if possible than plan a
trip. You might be purchasing a refrigerator or
any other gadget for your house. You nd
yourself having a desire to do something
creative.
SCORPIO: Professional attitude at work
brings success. A happy time in the
company of friends and relatives as
they do many favours to you. Financial hassles
will be eased out with the help of your friends.
You will be attracted to someone special. Your
condence and energy will be high in this
week. Take some time to travel with your
spouse for romance and seduction. Purchasing
of electrical appliances can be done. You try to
take some time to pursue hobbies to keep
yourself busy.
SAGITTARIUS: Your ef forts to put
yourself in a strong position at work
place are not likely to materialise.
Enjoying the company of close relatives will
brighten your evening. Certain important plans
will be executed, bringing fresh nancial gains.
Warm romantic thoughts occupy mind. A week
when smile will perpetually be on your face
and strangers will seem familiar. You can make
your vacation extra special by planning it with
your family and friends. A good deal for resi
dential property is ahead. You learn a lesson
from negative experiences and get on with life.
CAPRICORN: Learn from past mistakes
and keep longterm interest in mind at
professional front. Shopping with fam
ily members will be highly pleasurable and
exciting. Speculations are likely to bring mone
tary prots. Your charm & generosity bring
new romantic opportunities for you. If possible
try to make your life a tree, giving shade to
others while personally enduring the scorching
heat. Success would bring unlimited joy.
Spiritual vacation is a quest for life, plan it and
enjoy it with your family. Time to make invest
ments on farmlands. You nd yourself in
search of creative pursuits to make life joyous
and fullling.
AQUARIUS: Seniors colleagues are
likely to lend a helping hand. You will
be at the limelight in a social gather
ing provided you attend. Monetary position is
likely to improve later in the week. Love life
brightens your week. Your energy level will be
high. Better to channelize it in a positive direc
tion. Vacation full of beauty and history as well
as exciting is waiting for you. Your investment
plans are at full boom and you might succeed
in them. Your relations with friends will be full
of warmth, sharing and caring.
PISCES: Hard work & dedication would
win the trust of seniors at work. If pos
sible share the company of close rela
tives who understand your feelings and needs.
Hard work of previous days brings good for
tune enabling to fulll monetary promises.
Dont give into unnecessary demands of
romantic partner. Positive outlook impresses
those around you besides keeping you t &
ne. Traveling on your own, with a friend or
with the whole family will be exciting and com
fortable too.
Your girlfriends desire for an apartment might
lead to its destination. Group activity is likely
to bring a lot of happiness.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
29th July, 2017
You come under the influence of 2 number
and the moon planet and the planet mercury
also manipulates you. Your level of understand
ing and intellect makes you class apart. The
hunger for knowledge inside you would become
your mentor and would show you the way of
success and would also help you to attain some
thing unachievable and implausible. Your undi
vided dedication and strong determination
would sure make you the center of attraction at
professional front. It would also facilitate you to
get promotion and increment. The forthcoming
year would allow you to add so many feathers
in your cap. After a long series of efforts and
struggle, a sure shot victory in the matter of
love and relationships will be possible. Your
unconventional thinking may become a reason
of family dispute but you would settle all the
issues in your favor sooner or later. Just try to
keep a tab on your fanatic nature. A happy
married life is waiting for most of you singles.
Slowly and gradually, new doors and ways will
be opened for most of you. August, December
and March will be lucky and joyful.
30th July, 2017
Number 3 and the Planet Jupiter operate you
and that makes you fun loving, dedicated,
decent and reverent person. Your cooperative
and happygolucky nature showers incredible
energy and spirit to people around you and
work with you. Your associates and colleagues
try to match up with your style of working but
fail to get success in it. But the most important
thing, you must abide all the rules and regula
tions at your workplace so that nobody can
never have a chance to pinpoint you at your
flaws. Dont indulge yourself into nasty office
politics and gossiping as it could tarnish your
image anytime. The upcoming year is positive
in terms of profits in business tie ups and joint
ventures. Seems you would be blessed with the
lady luck. Your partner or spouse would
bestow his or her love, care and money upon
you. Although you would try your level best to
fulfill all the expectations of your family but
still somewhere down the line they would give
you a sense of dissatisfaction with their increas
ing demands and aspirations. Monetary gain
form stock market and real estate business
would take a twist and would end up in your
favor at the end of this year. November,
January, April and June would be crucial
months in decision making.
31st July, 2017
This day is predisposed by the Uranus planet
and 4 number and that makes you vigorous, full
of feelings and imagination and realistic. You
carry a down to earth and practical attitude.
You love attending events/ parties, mingling
with people and are quite comfortable in a big
crowd of people. Your supporting nature and
simplicity leave a lasting impression on people
you meet. At some point of time, you tend to
behave whimsically and that eccentric charac
teristic must have been controlled for your bet
terment. The coming year will provide you a
lot of opportunities to attend some holy and
spiritual ceremonies. Your quality to gel well
very easily with people around you will
increase your networking and social circle. This
year, you will get ample chances to change your
job profile but a sense of satisfaction may not
exist. Chances to move on from job to business
are very high. A person of opposite sex may
add new wings to your life and may change
your entire vision towards life. You may get a
legacy and money from a will. In the months of
August, November and February, you may get
success in your respective fields.
July 29-August 4, 2017 29
1st August, 2017
Governed by number 1, and the Sun, you are
authoritative, dignified, determined, assertive
and a passionate person. You have lot of in built
talents and you can easily impress others with
your intellect and knowledge, but you need to
check your tendency to overspend and domi
nate others. This year will prove to be signifi
cant for those in creative jobs and for profes
sional people. Financially things will improve a
lot. Some of you may get promoted or trans
ferred to a place of your choice. Real estate mat
ters will take a shape. Renovation or beautifica
tion of the house or purchase of the luxurious
items may be on the anvil. A few journeys are
likely to take place, resulting in financial gains
as well as an opportunity to meet imminent and
influential people. Students will perform
remarkably well in academics and sports. The
months of March, June, October & December
will be eventful.
2nd August, 2017
Ruled by number 2 and the planet Moon, you
are imaginative, warmhearted, emotional, hon
est, simple and hard working person. You are
loyal to your friends and enjoy substantial
respect within your group, but your fickle
mindedness and introvert behavior makes you
loose many good opportunities that come you
way. This year provides you with plenty of
opportunities to improve your financial status.
Foreign travel or transaction will prove benefi
cial. Disputes related with property will get
resolved. A pilgrimage is on your cards later in
the year, providing you with solace and mental
comfort. Children will bring you good news, but
at the same time theyll demand more attention.
Take care of your health. T he months of
February, April, September, December will
prove to be significant.
3rd August, 2017
Governed by number 3 and the planet
Jupiter, you are ambitious, enthusiastic, hard
working, warm and kindhearted person. You do
not compromise with the work. You have the
command on the projects you undertake. You
are well behaved and you can easily impress
others with your decent manners and witty con
versations, but you need to check your tenden
cy to be restless and skeptical. Excellent returns
from Investment that you would make this year.
Foreign trip or transaction may prove to be
highly beneficial. Property transaction, con
struction or renovation would be high on your
agenda. Avoid any kind of confrontation and
things that lead to tension and stress. Your fam
ily front needs to be handled carefully, other
wise you may face resentment from certain
family members who expect lot from you.
Weeding bells for some and others find healthy
period of romance. The months of March,
September and December will prove to be
important and eventful.
4th August, 2017
Ruled by number 4 and the planet Uranus,
you are active, energetic, ambitious, methodical,
systematic and a reliable person. You are fond
of literature and art and like to associate with
people who have similar taste and intelligence,
but you need to control your attitude to be
stubborn and jealous at times. New assign
ments and opportunities are certain this year
bringing you financial gains. Marital front
seems comfortable despite moments of argu
ments and disagreements. Your creative mind
will make you popular amongst your friends
and in social gatherings. Those suffering from
piles and blood pressure need to be extra care
ful about their health. The months of Jan., April
& Oct. will prove to be good months for you.
30 July 29-August 4, 2017
By Sant Rajinder
Singh Ji Maharaj
pirituality is not only developed
S in one place like a monastery, or
on the banks of a river, or in the
wilderness. If we want spirituality, it
can be developed in any place. We
can recognize our spirituality in
whatever culture, region, or religion
we are born and in whatever activi
ties we are involved.
Although in some forms of mysti
cism people try to negate life and
everything else just to concentrate
on their spiritual journey, we need
to become complete human beings.
We need to develop physically,
mentally, emotionally, and spiritual
ly. Actually, on the health of the spir
it depends the health of the body,
mind, and intellect.
In the East it is said that when the
peacock dances in the jungle or for
est and nobody sees it, what good is
it? Just like a flower that blooms
and gives fragrance to others, so
should we. Hence, we should remain
in our outer societies and not
negate that part of our life.
Once we recognize that we are
soul, we need to spend time in
enhancing our spiritual capabilities.
To do so, we need to set spiritual
goals. If, on the other hand, we
spend our time haphazardly, with
out knowing where we are going,
then we will have a hard time reach
ing our aspirations. In the spiritual
arena, our goals consist of spending
time in meditation and in improving
our ethical life.
On the spiritual path we need to
realize what is important, set our
goals, and do whatever makes sense
to take us in a direction to reach
those goals. It is essential to realize
that there are certain factors that
will help us in our spiritual
progress.
The key is to still the mind. If we
do not still the mind, we will not be
able to recognize ourselves spiritu
ally. Therefore, leading an ethical
life in which we cultivate the virtues
of truthfulness, nonviolence, humili
ty, purity, and selflessness will aid
us on the spiritual path. When we
lead virtuous lives, our mind is
calmer, and once our body and mind
are stilled, we can connect with the
divinity within. This is why the
mind, which is the source of all
desires, must be stilled.
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Setting spiritual goals in our lives
Keeping the mind focused on God That is why we find a quiet place to
helps us in this process. That is meditate, but when we reach a cer
where the principle of simran comes tain level in our spiritual growth,
into play. Simran keeps the mind none of these outer things bother
occupied by the repetition of the us.
names of God. If the mind is empty, There is a story of Isaac Newton
thoughts will come in, and as soon who was sitting by a roadside, lost
as a thought enterswhether it is a in thought.
good or bad thoughtit distracts us He was so absorbed that he did
in our meditation. Once we learn not notice a band passing by.
how to still our mind, we automati Similarly, when someones attention
cally get closer to a state of having is focused on the divine within,
no desires. nothing in the outside surroundings
If we want spirituality, it can be bothers him or her. It takes a long
developed in any place. It does help time to get to that state, but we can
when we live in a peaceful environ improve spiritually wherever we are
ment where there is little or no com
motion around us. It definitely helps
and in whatever environment we
live.
goals, we need to evaluate our prior
ities so that our desires do not make
ties of the world. Instead, when we
are detached, our attention will
when there is peace, calm, and quiet. In order to reach our spiritual us attached to the objects or activi automatically focus on the Divine.
THE STRONGEST ENEMY
This article has been selected and reprinted from Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajs book,
Spiritual Pearls for Enlightened Living (Radiance Publishers) an inspirational collection
of stories from the worlds great wisdom traditions.
uring the time of Guru Gobind Singh, world? The mind is the obstacle our soul
D there was a great rishi who gave up must deal with to return to God. The mind
everything to go to a forest to meditate. is like a soccer goalie, guarding the goal. It
There was also a king who had already will try everything to keep the ball from
conquered many other territories and reaching the goal. If even devoted rishis
their people. One day, the king set his am had trouble overcoming the mind, how
bition on conquering the rishi to make can we do it?
him obey his The fact is that we cannot conquer the
commands. People thought it was mind on our own. The only way to con
strange that the king would focus on con quer the mind and still it is through the
quering a rishi who had no property, king help of someone who has conquered the
dom, or wealth. But it turned out that the mind. Such enlightened beings give us a
rishi had previously been a king before lift to contact the Light and Sound within
giving up his kingdom for the spiritual us. The Light and Sound help uplift our
life. This made the present king have an soul beyond the realm of mind.
obsession with wanting to conquer the The rishi found that doing spiritual
rishi. So the king gathered his entire army practices alone in the jungle did not help
to prepare for battle. him overcome the mind. The mind still
The army marched into the deep forest. tempted him with the countless desires of
The army finally reached the rishi, who the world.
was sitting in the woods, deep in medita The mind knows that contact with the
tion.
When we learn to concentrate soul will render it harmless. Thus, the
The king waited for the rishi to come fully, wholly, and solely into the mind will find all kinds of excuses to keep
out of meditation, but he kept on sitting
Light and Sound, we will experi us from meditation. It will make us think
there. of the past. It will make us think of the fu
Finally, the king became restless and ence bliss, peace, and joy. We will ture. It will make us wiggle around instead
shook the rishi out of meditation. want to repeat meditation again of sitting still. It will make us feel sleepy
The king shouted, Prepare for a fight. I just when we sit to meditate. It will make
have come to do battle with you. and again because of the won us feel hungry. It will make us feel jealous.
The rishi surveyed the scene calmly. He derful experience we receive. It will make us feel depressed. It will
saw the great army and said, Fight! I ran make us feel like doing work instead of
away from my worldly life for fear of my one The king replied, If I cannot conquer him, I meditating. It will find a million excuses.
great enemy. I came here to hide in the woods will consider myself a failure. How do we overcome the minds tendencies
from this enemy. My soul shudders in fear The rishi then told him, This great enemy to distract us? We must use the tendency of
when I hear the sound of my enemys name. of whom I am speaking is the mind. the mind to form positive habits. The mind
Just to think of this enemys name causes my From that day on, the king tried everything likes habits. If we tell our mind that we need
heart to quiver. to overcome the mind. He tried all kinds of to sit for meditation each day at the same time
The king listened carefully as the rishi con techniques to gain control over his own mind. and place, a habit will form. Soon we will find
tinued to describe his feared enemy. Finally, Years passed and still he could not conquer ourselves compelled to sit for meditation at
the king became angry and shouted, Is your the mind. Finally, the king had to admit that that time each day. If will miss meditation, we
enemy stronger than me? he had failed and that the mind is truly the will start to feel like something is amiss. Soon
The rishi replied, Even the thought of this strongest enemy. we will find ourselves meditating regularly.
enemy destroys my soul. I left everything to The mind is powerful and will try every When we learn to concentrate fully, wholly,
escape from this enemy. means possible to gain control over our soul. and solely into the Light and Sound, we will
The king said, Tell me the name of this ene Many yogis and rishis have tried to gain experience bliss, peace, and joy. We will want
my of yours. control over their minds but failed. If such is to repeat meditation again and again because
The rishi said, There is no use in telling you the fate of those who have given up the world of the wonderful experience we receive.
who it is. You will never be able to conquer to conquer their own mind, then what is the
him. fate of the rest of us who are immersed in the (For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 29-August 4, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 29-August 4, 2017