Special Issue On India'S 63Rd Republic Day: New York Edition

SPECIAL ISSUE ON INDIA'S 63RD REPUBLIC DAY
NEW YORK EDITION

Vol.4 No.40 January 28-February 3, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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Vol. 4 | No.12 | July 9-15, 2011 | 60 Cents
The South Asian Times
US Affairs 9 Op Ed 19 Spiritual Awareness 30 Lifestyle 27
NEW YORK EDITION
Excellence In Journalism
Parsi community
created modern
India: Amitav Ghosh
Features,
Page 26
Indian-American
broadcaster les age
discrimination suit
National Community,
Page 7
Deadlock over
separate Telangana,
protests hot up
India Newswire,
Page 12
JAINAs 16th
Convention in Houston
a huge success
JAINA Convention,
Pages 16-18
Pakistan turns
new front line
of war on terror
2G scam claims another
minister: Maran quits
Kerala temple
treasure could be
worth $100 billion
New Delhi/Chennai: Union
Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Ma-
ran resigned Thursday following
allegations of involvement in the
2G spectrum scam, becoming the
second DMK minister after A.
Raja to exit the cabinet.
New Delhi: The
valuables found in
the secret cellars of
Keralas famous Sree
Padmanabhaswamy
Temple in Thiru-
v a n a n t h a p u r a m
could be worth Rs
5 lakh crore ($100
Toronto: Pakistan is now the
new front in the war on terror as it
has become a new safe haven for al-
Qaeda, says the Canadian media a
day after the country blacklisted the
Pakistani Taliban and started with-
drawal from Afghanistan Tuesday.
The war on terror has shifted,
and Pakistan is its new front line,
said the daily National Post.
These two events (blacklisting
of the Pakistani Taliban and the
start of withdrawal from Afghani-
stan) encapsulate a shift, not only
for Canada, but for all other na-
tions on the front lines of the war
on terror. For a number of years,
those lines have been shifting
southeast, from Afghanistan to
Pakistan, the paper said.
It said the Tehrik-e-Taliban is
very dangerous as its stated goal is
resistance to the countrys govern-
ment, the draconian imposition of
Sharia law and the waging of war
against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Because of these militant outts
Pakistan has become the main
staging area for terrorist plots
around the world and - despite the
United States assassination of Osa-
ma bin Laden in Abbotabad - a new
safe-haven for al-Qaeda.
Quoting a study by the New
America Foundation, the paper
said 53 percent of terror plots
worldwide since 2004 involved
jihadists trained in Pakistan, com-
pared to six percent in Yemen and
three percent in Iraq. Pakistani ji-
hadi groups have directed 44 per-
cent of the terror plots since then,
according to the paper.
War on terror continued on page 4
While the government and the
Congress party did not comment on
the big political development, an
emboldened opposition described
it as too little too late and sought
resignation of Home Minister P.
Chidambaram, who they alleged
showed complicity in the scam.
Thursdays turn of events is
likely to impact both the shape of
impending cabinet shufe and deli-
cately poised relations between the
Congress and the DMK.
2G scam continued on page 4
Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran is second DMK minister to exit
Manmohan government in the spectrum scam.
53 percent of terror plots worldwide since 2004 involved jihadists,
like Tehrik-e-Taliban and LeT cadres, trained in Pakistan.
Only ve of the six secret cellars of Padmanab-
haswamy Temple have been opened, yielding
Gold idols, ornaments and other valuables.
billion), believes former chief sec-
retary of Kerala CP Nair.
As per a report, Thursday, the
former bureaucrat claims that the
estimated market value of the trea-
sures unearthed from the temple
makes it the richest temple in the
world.
Kerala treasure continued on page 4
CommuniIy 15
TheSouIhAsianTimes.inlo May 14-20, 2011
PSG College ol Technology, CoimbaIore
celebraIes diamond jubilee in New |ersey
T
he Diamond Jubilee
Celebrations oI PSG
College oI Technology,
Coimbatore, India was held at
Chutney Mary restaurant in
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey
on Saturday May 7, 2011. The
gathering was attended by 50
alumni Irom various Iields oI PSG
College oI Technology. The alumni
came Irom Boston, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, New York and New
Jersey. Included were, the oldest
graduate Mr. Shanmugam Irom
1959 batch and the youngest grad-
uate Irom 2010 batch.
The meeting was presided by
visiting dignitaries oI PSG
Management Mr. G. Rangaswamy-
Managing Trustee, Mr. C. R.
Swaminathan - the ChieI
Executive, Dr. R. Rudramoorthy
Principal PSGCT, Dr P.
Radhakrishnan - Director,
PSGIAS, Dr. R. Nandagopal
Director, PGSIM, Dr. G.
Ranganathan - President, Alumni
Association, Dr R. Nadarajan,
Head/Maths & Computer
Applications, PSGCT, Dr A.
Kandaswamy, Head/Biomedical
Engineering, PSGCT.
The slide show presentation
highlighted various departments in
PSG College oI Technology and its
growth into an University accredi-
tation which will be honored upon
PSG next year. It emphasized the
importance oI PSG Tech Corpus
Fund, which will help in education
oI 200 deserving students every
year. The PSG Trust already helps
250 students each year Ior their
education.
Some oI the alumni honored by
Mr. Rangaswamy were - Mr. Jack
Poola Ior his donations to PSG
Tech, Mr. SampathKumar, Mr.
Marthuchala Moorthy, Mr. Selvam
and Mr. Vijay Ior planning the
meeting in New Jersey.
1he college's Managing 1rustee Mr Rangswamy presenting a plaque
to 1ack Poola (left) in recognition of his donation to PSC 1ech.
Mr C R Swaminathan Chief Executieve (in white) and Dr Radhakrishnan
Past Principal (in blue) with students
Mg 1rustee Mr Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to Sampath Kumar,
organizer of the event
Mg. 1rustee Mr. Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to
Selvam, master of ceremony
Dr Rudramurthy, Principal, speaking. Mg 1rustee and
Selvam are also seen in the picture.
1he alumni at the event
Resurgent India
displays its power and
heritage on 63rd R-Day
Vol. 4 | No. 40 | Jan 28-Feb 3, 2012 | 60 Cents
The South Asian Times
Business 38 Spiritual Awareness 44 Bollywood 41
NEW YORK EDITION
Excellence In Journalism
India chooses
to wield its
soft power
R Day Special,
Page 20
Young Indians
on state of the
Republic
R Day Special,
Page 12
America indis-
pensable in world
affairs: Obama
US Affairs,
Page 36
Giants, Patriots
to meet in Super
Bowl XLVI
Sports,
Page 40
to Pakistan that confronting
terrorism in all forms is in Islam-
abads interest. Indian External
Affairs Minister S M Krishna re-
spon
ded by saying that terror sanc-
tuaries in Pakistan need to be
eliminated for regional peace and
stability. And Krishna welcomed
Washingtons decision to suspend
the $800-million aid to Islam-
abad, it said.
There were boycott calls by in-
surgents in parts of the country,
including restive Chhattisgarh and
Orissa, where Maoists hold control
over large swathes of territory, and
in volatile northeast and Jammu
and Kashmir, but the day passed
off peacefully. And even in these
cynical times, when fatigue with
the government, corruption and
rising prices dominates daily dis-
course, people came out in large
numbers to celebrate the day.
New Delhi: It was a celebra-
tion of India in all its diversity,
complexities and color. The 63rd
Republic Day unfolded Thursday
with a grand pageant here show-
casing a resurgent Indias military
power and culture kaleidoscope
and also millions of tricolors
hoisted across the country in cer-
emonies big and small.
Promises were made and sacri-
fces acknowledged in state capi-
tals and in New Delhi, the cen-
terpiece of the festivities where
history, tradition and modernity
marry perfectly in a 90-minute
ceremonial parade down Rajpath.
The beginnings are traditionally
somber and so it was Thursday with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
laying down a foral wreath at the
Amar Jawan Jyoti to pay tribute to
an unknown soldier. Soon after, a
grateful nation acknowledged one
of its heroes when President Prat-
ibha Patil posthumously conferred
the Ashok Chakra, Indias high-
est peacetime gallantry award,
to young army commando Lt.
Navdeep Singh, who died battling
terrorists in Kashmir.
As Thailands frst woman Prime
Minister Yinluck Shinawatra, the
guest of honor, watched along with
the president, Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh and other dignitaries,
the spectacle began with the uni-
formed men and women of armed
and paramilitary forces marching
down the famous boulevard.
There were camels and horses,
the showcasing of Indias ad-
vanced arsenal, including Indias
latest nuclear-capable strategic
missile Agni-IV displayed for the
frst time, elaborate tableaux from
states and ministries and school-
children dancing down the road.
As the sun shone brightly and
crowds squinted to look up at
the blue skies, the fypast began
with intricate aerial maneuvers.
The Indian Air Forces (IAF) lat-
est acquisition, the US Lockheed
Martin C-130J transporter, made
its debut. The culminating act
was the vertical Charlie manoeu-
vre by a lone Sukhoi.
R Day celebration story
continued on page 6
See Republic Day Special pages 5-27.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Thai
PM Yingluck Shinawatra, at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.
Indias nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV displayed for the frst time at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, January 26, 2012.
Tristate Community 32
SPECIAL ISSUE ON INDIA'S 63RD REPUBLIC DAY
NEW YORK EDITION
Vol.4 No.40 January 28-February 3, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Minister Ravi at NY
Consulate R-Day event
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi (left)
attended the Republic Day celebration at Indian Consul-
ate in New York, seen here with veteran diplomat Lalit
Mansingh and host Consul General Amb. Prabhu Dayal.
Republic Day celebration in India
Namaste India, says Thai PM at Indias R-Day
Poll panel showcases ballot power in parade
5
January 28 - February 3, 2012
New Delhi: Namaste India.
Elegantly attired in a cream skirt
and jacket, Thai Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra, accompa-
nied by President Pratibha Patil,
moved around the sun-dappled
lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan,
hands folded, greeting hundreds
of invited guests on India's 63rd
Republic Day.
It was also a special day for the
77-year-old Patil as she hosted
what could well be her last At
Home reception for around 1,000
carefully chosen guests at the ele-
gantly manicured Mughal
Gardens.
After the national anthem was
played, Patil moved around with
Shinawatra, chief guest at India's
Republic Day reception,
exchanging greetings with her
guests.
The contrast in their profiles
was too obvious not to notice: the
44-year-old Shinawatra is more
than three decades junior to Patil,
who became India's first woman
president in 2007.
Incidentally, Shinawatra,
known for here elegant sense of
style and couture, is the first
woman head of government to be
invited as guest of honour at
India's Republic Day parade in
the last five decades. Queen
Elizabeth II came to India in
1961 as the chief guest.
The bright sunny weather
ensured an unusually large
turnout of guests that included
diplomats, senior officials, artists,
businesspersons and journalists.
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and his wife Gursharan
Kaur, United Progressive
Alliance chairperson Sonia
Gandhi, Vice President Hamid
Ansari were among those who
were seated under a makeshift
marquee erected on the lawns
with the president.
The guests milled around the
sprawling ground, many nibbling
on the samosas, idlis, patties and
fish fingers, what has come to be
known as the staple At Home
menu.
Unlike earlier At Home recep-
tions, there were only a handful
of cabinet ministers present.
Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee, Defence Minister
A.K. Antony, Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar were
among the senior ministers pres-
ent at the function.
Patil's five-year presidential
term ends July 24, 2012. Though
there is no established rule bar-
ring a second term, the only pres-
ident to have got one is Rajendra
Prasad who was in the post from
Jan 26, 1950, to May 13, 1962.
The guessing game on who
would succeed Patil was the pet
topic of conversation at this sun-
lit At Home reception.
New Delhi: Amid a grand display of India's
military might, the Election Commission for
the first time in the history of Republic Day
parade Thursday put on show the power of
ballot too, and sought to woo the electorate,
particularly youngsters, to come out to vote.
The panel marked its first presence at the
Republic Day parade and rolled its tableau
down Rajpath depicting a mammoth model
of electronic voting machine and banners
asking young Indians to vote.
With elections barely a week away in
some states, the poll panel used its participa-
tion in the parade as a platform to get more
people to vote, an Election Commission offi-
cial said.
The tableau depicted the entire election
process with a replica of Parliament House
in the backdrop. Human replicas lining up to
cast their vote with their voter ID cards sur-
rounded the float.
A human bust was shown beating a naga-
da, a big kettledrum played with sticks, as if
asking more and more people to come to
polling booths and vote.
The poll panel float was among the 23
tableaux from 23 states and union ministries
and departments exhibiting diverse histori-
cal, architectural and cultural heritage of
India and its progress in various fields.
The Election Commission tableau also
highlighted the National Voter' s Day,
observed for the second time Jan 25, which
is also the panel's foundation day.
It observes the day with the objective to
maximize enrolment of voters and thereby
enhance the quality of Indian democracy.
The panel was set up Jan 25, 1950, as a
constitutional body to conduct free and fair
elections.
It was a celebration of India in all its diversity, complexities and color. The 63rd Republic Day unfolded
with a grand pageant here showcasing a resurgent India's military power and culture kaleidoscope and
also millions of tricolors hoisted across the country in ceremonies big and small.
Rajpath came alive with the daredevil stunts of motorbike
riders of Border Security Force.
BSF Jawans riding camels during
the Republic Day celebrations
in New Delhi.
Chief Guest and Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra with
President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Publisher & Chairman of The South Asian Times,
receiving the Jewel of Rajasthan felicitation from Mr. Chandmal Kumawat,
CEO & President of Maneesh Media, publisher of Jewels of Rajasthan cof-
fee table book featuring 64 eminent Rajasthanis across the world, launched
on Jan 8, 2012 during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 in Jaipur. Seen in the
photo: Mr. Kamlesh Mehta receiving Lifetime Achievement Trophy from
Mr. Chandmal Kumawat & Mr. Abhishek Kumawat in Jaipur.
In a first, IAF woman officer
leads contingent
New Delhi: The latest nuclear
capable Agni-IV missile, its C-
130J special operations plane,
and a woman officer leading the
IAF unit on Rajpath were among
the firsts at the 63rd Republic
Day parade.
Agni-IV, successfully tested in
November 2011, was on display
as part of the Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) tableau.
A potent and technologically
advanced arsenal, Agni-IV,
which can hit targets 3,500 km
away, adds a new dimension to
the country' s capabilities in
strategic deterrence.
The DRDO also showcased the
new tactical battlefield support
high-speed missile Prahaar and
the medium altitude long
endurance unmanned aerial vehi-
cle Rustom-I.
Indian Air Force's (IAF) latest
acquisition, the US Lockheed
Martin C-130J transport plane,
made its debut at the parade.
Three C-130Js were part of the
IAF's 29 aircraft fly past, includ-
ing three Su-30MKIs and MiG-
29s.
India bought six C-130Js from
the US for over $1 billion. Ft. Lt.
Sneha Shekhawat made history
when she led the IAF contingent
down Rajpath, becoming the first
woman officer to do so.
Shekhawat, from Sikar in
Rajasthan, flies non-combat
transport planes like the Avro.
She was joined by three other
women officers to march ahead
of the 144-men contingent.
The other women are Flying
Officer Anupam Chaudhary, who
flies Chetak and Cheetah heli-
copters, Flying Officer Pooja
Negi and Flying Officer Hena
Pore, both from IAF accounts
branch.
6 Turn Page
January 28-February 3, 2012
Praise for Indias upsurge at R-Day event in NY
Mangano honors
Woodbury business for
medical supplies to
typhoon hit in Philippines
New York: The 63rd anniversary of In-
dias Republic Day was celebrated with
great fanfare at Indias Consulate General
here in the presence of Minister for Over-
seas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi where the
Ball Room was packed with diplomats, ex-
servicemen, community leaders and elected
representatives of the Tri-state area.
Minister Ravi, in his speech, listed the
accomplishments of India as a nation where
the parliamentary democratic system has
thrived for more than six decades. We stand
as an economic powerhouse, unaffected
by the world-wide recession, he proudly
announced adding that the reason behind
Indias success story was its Regulated
Economic System. We have nationalized
banking system and a central Reserve Bank
that ensured oversight over the monetary
process, he said referring to the policies of
Indias late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
who had provoked uproar among the fnan-
cial sector with her decision to nationalize
the countrys banking system in the 1970s.
Ravi said that another reason of Indias up-
surge was its multi-party system in which
coalitions of political parties govern at the
center as well as in states. He pointed out
that India proved that Democracy not only
survived in India but fourished after inde-
pendence. We proved the predictions of
Western experts wrong, who had cast doubt
about Indias future as the country suffered
from widespread poverty and illiteracy.
Consul General Prabhu Dayal, who hosted
the event, in his welcome address, lauded the
Indian American community for giving the
push in strengthening the strategic bilateral
relationship between India and the US. La-
lit Mansingh, former Ambassador of India
to USA, underscored Indias role in various
world bodies. He said that India was play-
ing major role in strengthening various eco-
nomic and political groups of nations, such
as, BRIC, ASEAN and others and hoped that
we will soon gain the permanent member-
ship of the United Nations Security Council.
Indias absence from the Security Council
as a permanent member was a great loss for
the United Nations, not ours, he commented.
While admitting that 80% people in India are
still mired in poverty, Mansingh said that a
visible sign of Indias prosperity was vast in-
crease of cars seen on Indias roads. Some
people complain about increase in pollution
in cities like Delhi due to too many cars on the
city roads, which in fact proved that Indians
purchasing power was getting stronger and
many could afford their own cars.
Vijay Nambiar, the newly appointed special
UN ambassador on Myanmar, commented
that Indias sign of prosperity may not be seen
by increase in number of cars and pollution,
but by its commitment to curbing pollution
and making its contributions in world affairs.
Prasad Srinivasan, the only Indian-origin
lawmaker in Connecticut legislature, opined
that the Indian community here should now
give back to the country of their origin.
Prominent guests who graced the event in-
cluded Consuls General of Trinidad and To-
bago Ms. Rudrawatee Nan Ramgoolam and
Australias Phillip H. Scanlan AM. A num-
ber of retired Indian army offcers, who are
settled in USA, proudly displayed the med-
als they received for valor. The audience was
moved by Indian patriotic songs that were
sung. The program ended with a dinner.
strife-torn Afghanistan who were special
invitees of the Indian government. The
states saw their own, smaller versions of
the event with chief ministers and gover-
nors presiding over the functions.
Saffron, white and green were the colors
of the day. Patriotism the underlying essence.
And this is the one day of the year when even
the most cynical doffed their hat to that spirit.
R Day celebration story
continued from page 3
Petals were showered on the people be-
low as the parade drew to a close.
Amongst those at the ceremony, the an-
nual goosefesh moment for hosts of Indi-
ans who are glued to television year after
year, were a group of 20 children from
Woodbury, NY: Nassau County Ex-
ecutive Edward P. Mangano (center) was
joined by Consul General of the Republic
of the Philippines in New York Mario de
Leon, Jr. (front 1st left) and Nassau County
Offce of Emergency Management Com-
missioner Craig Craft (front 3rd right) as
he honored Service by Air Global Logis-
tics of Woodbury and the Catholic Medical
Mission Board for helping those in criti-
cal need in the Philippines after Typhoon
Washi that struck December 16th-18th,
devastating the cities of Cagayan de Oro
and lligan and killing over 1,200 people
with many still missing.
The Catholic Mission Board donated
$2.2 million worth of medical supplies
and Service by Air, headquartered in
Woodbury, not only provided the techni-
cal assistance needed to export this ship-
ment promptly, but also incurred all ex-
penses associated with logistics, labor,
and shipping in excess of $2 million worth
of medical supplies. The Countys Offce
of Emergency Management packaged 116
cases of MREs for the relief. The special
boxes and shipping for the meals was paid
for by the American Asian community.

It is inspiring to see these acts of gen-
erosity in the wake of a natural disaster,
said County Executive Mangano. Aver-
age citizens reaching out to help complete
strangers is what being a true humanitar-
ian is all about.
By Ashok Ojha/SATimes
8
Republic Day Celebration in India
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
got the rare opportunity to take the
Republic Day parade salute, as
Governor M.O.H. Farook was on
medical leave.
H.R. Bhardwaj who is holding
charge in the absence of Farook
could not come down here as he is
the governor of Karnataka.
Chandy hoisted the national flag
at the Central Stadium here. "The
total plan outlay for the Twelfth
Five Year Plan period is more than
Rs.1.50 lakh crore and this will
certainly propel our state into
newer realms of development. Our
aim is to see that this takes place in
a timebound manner and also in a
transparent way by taking into con-
fidence all," said Chandy.
"Even as we talk of the proposed
Smart City Kochi, IT project which
will provide one lakh new jobs, we
are equally serious on our efforts to
uplift the beleaguered fishing com-
munity. Both these programs
would get equal importance," said
Chandy. Chandy pointed out that
despite keeping the secular flag
flying high, it was most unfortu-
nate that there had been efforts in
some quarters "to dilute the secular
principles of our state".
"It is best that those who did this
correct themselves and if that does
not happen, then the people of our
state will take up that effort," said
Chandy.
On the Mullaperiyar Dam issue
that has caused heartburn in rela-
tions between Tamil Nadu and
Kerala, Chandy emphasised that
his government's stand remains the
same - which is safety for Kerala
and water for Tamil Nadu.
Kolkata: West Bengal Governor
M.K. Narayanan unfurled the tri-
color as the state celebrated the
63rd Republic Day along with the
rest of India.The governor took the
salute at a parade by the combined
forces of the army, navy and air
force on the Indira Gandhi Sarani,
popularly known as Red Road.
An air force helicopter showered
flower petals on the flag just after
Narayanan unfurled it.
Kolkata Traffic Police, Eastern
Railway and NCC cadets also took
part in the colourful ceremony.
Five girls from Purulia district,
who battled pressure from their
families and called off their mar-
riage in order to continue studies,
also joined the parade on Red
Road.Colorful tableaux of the
Election Commission, the industry
department and West Bengal
Power Development Corp were
showcased at the two-hour cere-
mony, which drew huge crowds.
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, several of her ministers
and senior officials were present
on the occasion.
Kerala CM takes R-Day parade salute
West Bengal celebrates
Republic Day
Chandigarh: Republic Day
was celebrated in Punjab
under the watchful eye of the
Election Commission (EC)
officials as the state goes to
assembly polls on Jan 30.
Chief Minister Parkash
Singh Badal unfurled the
national flag in Ferozepur
town while deputy chief
minister Sukhbir Singh
Badal did it in Mohali town,
adjoining Chandigarh.
The EC, while allowing the
chief minister and ministers
to hoist the national flag at
official functions, had direct-
ed that no political element
or listing of achievements of
the government would be
done in the speeches of the
leaders.
The EC had also directed
that all political functionar-
ies, who are contesting elec-
tions will not be allowed to
attend Republic Day func-
tions in the district from
where they are contesting
the polls.
Punjab celebrates R-Day
under EC watch
Srinagar: It was a peaceful
Republic Day in Jammu and
Kashmir with the main parade in
summer capital Srinagar passing
off uneventfully. There were no
reports of any untoward incident
from anywhere in the Valley where
separatists had called a shutdown.
Finance Minister Abdur Rahim
Rather unfurled the tricolor and
took salute at the Bakshi Stadium
where smartly turned out contin-
gents of police, paramilitary,
Home Guards and school children
march passed the podium.
Rather said the situation had
remarkably improved in the
Kashmir Valley and time had come
to focus on moral education of the
youth.
"Democracy should be respected
by everybody and all people asso-
ciated with the democratic dispen-
sation must exercise their powers
and functions to bring relief into
the lives of the ordinary people.
"While we talk of rights, we
must also realise and respect our
duties," he said.Senior civil, para-
military officials and many promi-
nent citizens attended the function
that passed off peacefully.
R-Day parade passes off
peacefully in Srinagar
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inspects the Republic Day
parade at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Jaipur: More than 5,000 people
packed into the Sawai Man Singh
(SMS) Stadium to watch Rajasthan
Governor Shivraj Patil hoist the tri-
color to mark the 63rd Republic
Day celebrations.
Patil took salute and inspected
the guard of honor from the march-
ing contingents amidst cheers and
thunderous applause from the spec-
tators.
Personnel from the Rajasthan
Armed Constabulary (RAC),
Rajasthan Police, government rail-
way police (GRP), home guards,
NCC cadets and defense forces
besides school children participat-
ed in the parade.
After the parade, school children
and more than 200 artists per-
formed folk dances, and some set
to patriotic songs.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,
some of his cabinet colleagues and
senior officials were present on the
occasion.
On the occasion, the governor
honored 43 officers, employees,
police personnel and players for
distinguished and meritorious serv-
ices. In his address to the people,
Gehlot called upon citizens to
respect the constitution and partici-
pate in the development of the
nation.
The tableau of Rajasthan.
Bangalore: Karnataka Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj
urged people of the state to restore probity in public
life by eliminating corruption in society.
"There is an urgent need to restore probity in public
life due to lack of which there is a strong discontent in
society. There is a growing demand for an environ-
ment free from corruption," Bhardwaj said in a brief
address at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations after
hoisting the tricolor at the Field Marshall Manekshaw
ground in the heart of this tech hub.
Assuring the people that he would not allow dilution
or weakening of the ombudsman (Lokayukta) in the
state, the governor said the anti-graft institution would
be given independence and powers to carry its investi-
gation into various high-profile cases, including the
multi-billion rupee mining and land scams that led to
the fall of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP)
first government in south India in July 2011.
"There will be no dilution or weakening of the
Lokayukta and independence of its investigating teams
will be maintained to prosecute the guilty and bring
justice to the affected people," the governor told about
10,000 people who gathered to witness the colorful
event, which included ceremonial parade by the three
services and security agencies.
Cautioning the authorities against any attempt to
weaken the administrative structures and institutions,
the former central law minister said that efforts should
be made to build strong institutions and administrative
structures for rendering high standards in serving the
people.Lauding the state's rich cultural heritage and
the spirit of co-existence, Bhardwaj said nothing
should be done to disturb the fine balance of the plu-
ralistic traditions.
Karnataka governor calls for probity on R-Day
The tableau of Karnataka passes through
the Rajpath during the 63rd Republic Day
Parade-2012 in New Delhi.
Cheers as Rajasthan
celebrates R-Day
"Heartiest Congratulations
on 62nd Anniversary of
Republic Day of India"
10
President Patil message
Miranda, Hazarika in Padma honors' list
New Delhi: India's highest civilian
awards, the Padma awards, would
be conferred on 110 eminent people,
including the late Bhupen Hazarika
and cartoonist Mario Miranda,
showbiz star Dharmendra and cardi-
ologist Devi Prasad Shetty, it was
announced. This year too, nobody
has been listed for the Bharat Ratna
honor. In the list are those who have
contributed in an entire gamut of
fields, from cinema and civil service
to science and social work.
While five people have been listed
for Padma Vibhushan, 27 will get
the Padma Bhushan and 77 the
Padma Shri. Among the awardees
are 19 women such as actor Shabana
Azmi, director Mira Nair and
activist Uma Tuli.
President Pratibha Patil gave the
nod for five people to get the Padma
Vibhushan for "exceptional and dis-
tinguished service".
Mario Miranda and Bhupen
Hazarika found posthumous men-
tion. The others are sculptor K.G.
Subramanyan, orthopaedist Kantilal
Hastimal Sancheti and civil servant
T.V. Rajeswar.
Prominent showbiz names like
Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and
Mira Nair as well as artist Jatin Das
will get the Padma Bhushan for
"distinguished service of high
order". Former ambassador to the
US Ronen Sen and Devi Prasad
Shetty also figure in the list.
Amongst the eminent NRIs get-
ting the Padma Bhushan are sculptor
Anish Kapoor (Britain) and judge
P.C. Rao (Germany). The list also
includes four people in the literature
and education category -- Vidya
Dehejia, Arvind Panagariya and
Jose Pereira from the US and Homi
K. Bhabha from Britain.
George Yong-Boon Yeo,
Singapore's former foreign affairs
minister, will get the Padma
Bhushan too.
Another Singaporean, Gopinath
Pillai, is slated to get the Padma Shri
in the trade and industry category.
Shoji Shiba from Japan (trade and
industry) and US-based professor
Jagadish Shukla (science and engi-
neering) are also in the list.
The 77 Padma Shris for "distin-
guished service in any field" include
22 people from the field of art.
Vocalist Fariduddin Dagar, theatre
veteran Joy Michael as well as com-
poser Vanraj Bhatia, bhajan singer
Anup Jalota and the famous
Gundecha brothers, Ramakant
Gundecha and Uma Kant Gundecha,
who sing dhrupad have been
acknowledged as well.
No sportsperson got the Padma
Vibhushan or the Padma Bhushan.
Eight people will be awarded the
Padma Shri. Amongst them are
hockey legend Zafar Iqbal, former
archer Limba Ram and adventure
sportsperson Ajit Bajaj.
The world of science was repre-
sented in the Padma Shri list by V.
Adimurthy, Krishna Lal Chadha and
Rameshwar Nath Koul Bamezai.
The social work category recog-
nizes the work of people from all
over the country, some known and
others working in relative anonymi-
ty. The names include P.K. Gopal
from Tamil Nadu and Phoolbasan
Bai Yadav from Chhattisgarh.
The last person to have got a
Bharat Ratna was Pandit Bhimsen
Joshi in 2008.
New Delhi: Cautioning against losing sight of long-term goals while dealing with short-
term pressures, President Pratibha Patil said the most effective law was the con-
science of citizens and hoped that solutions will be found to matters of national impor-
tance in the spirit of national interest.
In her address to the nation on the eve of the 63rd Republic Day, the president said
all countries were facing the impact of global economic instability and there were ques-
tions about how growth and resources will be shared in an equitable manner.
In an apparent reference to the contentious debate on the Lokpal bill between the
government, Team Anna and the opposition parties, the president said the tree should
not be brought down while shaking it to remove the bad fruit, and process of dialogue
in a democracy should flow in a manner that "we are willing to listen to each other."
Patil, who is the country's first woman president, said people should build a strong,
prosperous nation based on firm system of values".
In an address replete with references to country's civilizational values, Patil said
youth should be involved in nation building beyond self-advancement.
"As we remove poverty, let us enrich our thoughts. As we remove disease, let us all
remove ill-will towards others," she said.
Patil began her fifth address as president by greeting the citizens in all parts of the
world and conveying her best wishes to the armed forces and security personnel.
She said forces of globalization had created an interlinked and interdependent world
and no country exists in isolation.
"All nations, developed and developing, are facing the impact of global economic
instability, as well as problems of unemployment and inflation in varying degrees," she
said .
"There is also a growing quest for materialism. There are worries about the direction
in which the human community is heading in this age of globalization, knowledge and
technology," Patil said.
Patil stressed the need for scientific and technological outlook among people and
said India will continue to bring moral force on the global stage.
"How should we proceed to build our nation and its people? I believe that the answer
lies in our age-old values, the ideals of our freedom movement, the principles of our
Constitution, as also in our unity, a positive attitude and our aspiration to grow."
"We look at building our country, as one whose economy demonstrates a robustness
to grow, so that we can become a developed nation."
Underlining India's growing global stature, Patil pitched for the reform of global institu-
tions to reflect contemporary realities.
She said the country's institutions may not be flawless but they have coped with
many challenges.
"While bringing about reforms and improving institutions, we have to be cautious that
while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself.
There will be short term pressures but in the process we must not lose sight of the long
term goals and must work together on our core national agenda," the president said,
apparently referring to the contentious issues including the Lokpal bill.
Patil said there can be no place for violence in democracy and all differences should
be resolved through dialogue.
"Negativity and rejection cannot be the path for a vibrant country that is moving to
seek its destiny. Our work, our values and our approach must be based on the vast
capacity that India and its people have."
Patil said solutions to matters of national importance in the spirit of national interest
will strengthen "roots of democracy and the foundation of our nation".
R-Day: President urges nation
to trust its institutions
President Pratibha Patil addressing the nation on the eve of the
63rd Republic Day in New Delhi.
Legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika (right) and cartoonist Mario
Miranda were awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.
Eight people of Indian origin
in Padma list
T
en people of Indian origin and
foreigners have been awarded
India's prestigious Padma awards
announced. While seven have got
the Padma Bhushan, three are list-
ed for the Padma Shri.
Amongst the eminent NRIs get-
ting the Padma Bhushan are sculp-
tor Anish Kapoor (Britain) and
judge P.C. Rao (Germany). The
list also includes four people in the
literature and education category -
- Vidya Dehejia, Arvind
Panagariya and Jose Pereira from
the US and Homi K. Bhabha from
Britain.
Also in the Padma Bhushan is
George Yong-Boon Yeo,
Singapore's former foreign affairs
minister.
Another Singaporean, Gopinath
Pillai, is slated to get the Padma
Shri in the trade and industry cate-
gory. Shoji Shiba from Japan
(trade and industry) and US-based
professor Jagadish Shukla (science
and engineering) are also
in the list.
The tableau of Assam passing through Rajpath
12
Miles still to go... India
As the nation celebrated its 63rd Republic Day, SATimes spoke to a cross-section
of Indian youth to know their views about the relevance of this day to them, how far
do they think has our democracy moved and their idea of a developed nation.
Indians React
Ankit Kharod from Vadodara, Gujarat current-
ly working as an Electrical Engineer outside
the city of Philadelphia
The Republic Day is clearly one of the
most significant days in Indian history,
considering our constitution came into
effect on that day. It's a day when I appreci-
ate being born in a country with a constitu-
tion that pushes forward a democratic and
free nation ideology. India has come a long
way, when it comes to being a living and breath-
ing Democracy, the gift our forefathers bestowed upon
us. In light of the current Anna Hazare led anti-corrup-
tion movement, one can say that surely, Indians are not
afraid to take on to the streets in order to make a point.
This is however, one part. A huge part of being a dem-
ocratic nation, is to shine its bright light around the
world while being successful in defending one's own
democracy from the eyes and deeds of violent
states/individuals. India hasn't been able to do a great
job in defending its territory from frequently attempt-
ed assaults, coming from outside or inside
the country; this results in an insecure
nation, which can be harmful to our
goal of furthering our cause of
democracy.
The fact that 40 per cent of our
children are still malnourished,
points to two main issues: a) A
vibrant democracy needs a respon-
sible and responsive government,
which doesn't engage in corruption
and helps in looking after the needy. This
clearly isn't the case with our country. b)
Another vital piece to a democracy is its citizenry. The
fact that we as a nation can go to bed at night and
swipe away our flashy credit cards mindlessly when
40 % of our nations' children are malnourished, is
quite telling.
We need to instill a sense of belonging as well as a
fundamental quality of charity in our current and
future generations so as to help avoid the danger of
being called an inhumane democracy.
Siddharth Shah, Pharma
IT Functional Consultant,
Pune:
The day reminds me of
the promises that our lead-
ers made for a post inde-
pendent Indi a i n 1947.
Salute to our soldiers who
protect us and I hope to see
an India where we can say
"saare j aha se aacha,
Hindostan hamara."
As far as my perception
of how far our democracy
has moved? Wel l ,
nowhere. It is development
with-
out vision. First we need
the political will, then poli-
cies with practical gover-
nance and t ransparent
feedback from citizens to
know how good/bad the
policies being implement-
ed are.
Vidya Sharma, home maker,
Bangalore
My mom used to make us
watch the R-Day parade on tele-
vision and I have continued with
the tradition. I think the visuals of
our fleets march past and the dis-
play of our military might are
moments of pride for all Indians
at heart.
We sure havent had our share
of visionary leaders steering the
country on a steady path of
progress but considering from
where we started 60 years back
we sure havent done bad. All we
need is a focused growth, able
leadership and efficient system.
But thats asking for too much
isnt it? I am optimistic though.
The way people came out in full
support of Anna Hazare proved
the extent to which people are
frustrated with the system. If peo-
ple in the Arab world can bring
about massive change we are the
largest democracy.
Shreya Dholakia, Post Graduate
student of Microbiology
Post Graduate student of
Microbiology: Going by the
current scenario, Republic day
seems more of an occasion to
show-off for political leaders.
We ourselves have made a lim-
itation in making the best of
democracy. Apart from the elec-
tion process we hardly get involved.
In fact what per cent of the literate elec-
torate cares to go and vote while
we as a nation of 35 per cent
youth should be able to make a
huge difference at the ballots.
We have developed but we
still need a direction. The
growth is haphazard. The
government has started pro-
grams like ' Madhyahn
Bhojan' even rationing
schemes for rural areas but due
to corruption majority are still
away from benefiting from those.
Jatin Chaudhary, entrepreneur & CEO,
SweetlyDesigns, Ahmedabad
The republic day reminds me of the
greatest step of a country to become self
sufficient and be directed by the wishes
of its citizens and not by a dictatorial
monarchy.
I am very proud to be the citizen of the
largest democracy in the world in spite of
being hamstrung with all sorts of prob-
lems. Right To Information, Indian
Judiciary, Election Commission are some of
the great examples of the success of Indian
democracy which gives power to common man to
take on the powerful. Recently Indian Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh termed malnutrition
as a matter of national shame, so
definitely we haven't developed
enough where almost half of
the Indians are still not able
to get the basic necessities
in life.
To solve such problems
we really need to focus on
inclusive development and
enable the grassroots peo-
ple to earn sustainable
livelihood. I believe if we
can make our people in
remotest areas resourceful
enough to earn the livelihood it
would be one of the greatest achievements as a
country.
Kiran Singh, School
Teacher, New Delhi
How can we forget the con-
tribution of those who fought
for our freedom? Republic Day
is a great way to honor those
who make us proud, because of
whose sacrifices we are able to
live without any fear. In day
and age of Facebook it is
encouraging to see how the
youth today feels and express-
es their patriotism.
Given our geographical
diversity our development is
uneven.
Some areas have benefited a
lot from the centers policies,
some have remained deprived.
Theres this huge gap which
needs to be bridged.
Dr.Siddharth Jain, Surgical
Gastroenterologist, Indore
Republic day for me carries a very special
meaning. It instills in me a sense of pride
and patriotism. The day confers and reiter-
ates the power of the people of India. It tells
us that we are the masters of our country,
which we have conveniently forgotten over
the last 50 years. But most of all on the
Republic day the images which gets the
adrenaline pumping and gives me goose
bumps are of our army and the other wings
marching past. The valor and dignity, the
loyalty and bonds between the soldiers, the
patriotism surges and also the hatred for
the political class increases because
you see them fighting for their bet-
terment while the people who
give away their lives for all of us
are neglected and never taken
care of. To enjoy power we
have to be responsible and
believe in ourselves. The cen-
turies of slavery has weakened
our genetic structure to such a
great level that the mutation has
become the norm. We always
believe that somebody else will come
to solve our problems, first there were
the kings, then the Britishers,
then came Gandhiji and
other leaders, after that
the politicians took
over. We as a nation
have never believed
in our potentials
and have always
looked up to others
to solve our prob-
lems, whether it is
God or other mortals.
Our democracy has
become strong no doubt,
otherwise we wouldnt be
having this discussion. But the progress and
the democracy has been skewed, we have
substituted our cowardice and spinelessness
as our tolerance, which makes us more and
more weak. Our development has also been
skewed and for a select few with the left-
overs passed to the common people who are
satisfied with some basic facilities like cars
and cell phones. Corruption is the most dif-
ficult problem facing our nation at present.
We as a nation have to rise above our basic
needs. We have to have the moral courage
to stand up against wrong and injustice and
learn to ask questions and displease those in
power.
By Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Congratulations on
63rd Republic Day of India
Accepting Applications for MD Admissions
Open House Schedule
DATE LOCATION ADDRESS TIME
Saturday
January 28
MIAMI Miami Airport Marriott
1201 Le Jeune Road, Building A, Miami, FL 33126
12:30 PM
Sunday
January 29
TORONTO Marriott Courtyard Toronto Airport
231 Carlingview Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M9W 5E8
11:00 AM
Sunday
January 29
VANCOUVER Vancouver Marriott Downtown
1128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4R5
11:30 AM
Sunday
February 5
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19225 Highway 10, Surrey, BC Canada V3S 8V9
11:00 AM
Sunday
February 5
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102-05 Ditmars Blvd., East Elmhurst, NY 11369
11:00 AM
12:00 PM Saturday
February 11
FALLS CHURCH Courtyard Dunn Loring Fairfax
2722 Gallows Road, Vienna, VA 22180
Sunday
February 12
BALTIMORE Courtyard BWI Airport
1671 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090
11:30 AM
Sunday
February 12
SEATTLE Seattle Bellevue Redmond Courtyard
14615 NE 29th Place, Bellevue, WA 98007
2:00 PM
Saturday
February 18
LONG ISLAND 82 North Broadway
Hicksville, NY 11801
11:00 AM
2:00 PM Saturday
February 18
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916 Dallas Street, Houston, TX 77002
Sunday
February 19
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2493 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207
10:30 AM
Sunday
February 19
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3050 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, NJ 08337
11:00 AM
Saturday
February 25
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6415 Yorktown Circle, East Syracuse, NY 13057
12:00 PM
Sunday
February 26
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3801 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY 13850
12:00 PM
Cellular jail in Mumbai
A glimpse of historic Kala
Pani in Mumbai
The doyen of Indias broadcasting and veteran sports commentator reminisces on how he happened to celebrate August 15, 1947 in Paris.
Jasdev Singh: Voice of the Republic Day Parade
14
By Quaid Najmi
S
oon a replica of the world-famous
Cellular Jail in the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, along with some orig-
inal fittings and articles, will be seen in
Mumbai at the country's first upcoming
museum dedicated to revolutionaries of the
Indian freedom struggle.
The museum will come up on 10,000 sq ft
at the existing 'Swatantryaveer Savarkar
Rashtriya Smarak' at Dadar, which is a
national monument to one such revolution-
ary, Veer Savarkar.
According to his grand-nephew, Ranjit V.
Savarkar, the museum will be an ultra-mod-
ern one with 3D effects to highlight the
struggles and travails undergone by Savarkar
in the dreaded 'Kala Pani' jail.
"Veer Savarkar spent 14 years in an isolat-
ed cell in the Cellular Jail and another 13
years under house arrest in Ratnagiri, coastal
Maharashtra," Ranjit V. Savarkar, who is
also executive president of SSRS, said.
He said many people in the country have
little or no idea of the Cellular Jail situated
on a remote group of islands in the Bay of
Bengal, around 1,200 km from Kolkata and
Chennai.
"Many people want to go there and witness
its historical past but are constrained by vari-
ous factors. A replica with some of the origi-
nal articles from that jail would enable the
new generation, especially the school and
college youth, to get a glimpse of its histo-
ry," he added.
SSRS president Arun S. Joshi said while
some of Veer Savarkar's belongings have
already been brought to Mumbai, a team will
leave for Andaman and Nicboar Feb 1 to
bring back some other articles.
"So far we have brought a couple of the
original doors of the iron cell where he was
lodged, some heavy iron chains and cuffs
with which he was tied on the arms and legs,
his jail clothes and other small items," Joshi
said.
Now, the SSRS team plans to request the
jail authorities to hand over other belongings
or items used by Veer Savarkar there.
"This will include a huge crushing instru-
ment to which the prisoners were chained
and forced to move around to crush and
extract oil from dried coconuts, one of the
most dreaded forms of rigorous labor in
those times," Joshi said.
"It is now more than 45 years since Veer
Savarkar died after giving up food and water
for several days. However, there is not a sin-
gle museum in India dedicated to armed con-
tribution or revolutionaries in the country's
freedom movement," Ranjit V. Savarkar
explained.
"Besides Veer Savarkar, the museum will
also depict major events spanning 1857-
1947 in which armed freedom fighters also
played a significant role."
The SSRS plans to have a full-fledged
library of all available literature around the
country at the proposed museum. So far, the
SSRS has already uploaded for free down-
load all the writings, including books, poems
and plays, penned by Veer Savarkar.
Both Joshi and Ranjit V. Savarkar said
while the contribution of the unarmed (non-
violent) freedom fighters has been focused
upon for the past six decades, the struggle of
armed revolutionaries has been relegated to
the fringes of history.
"One of the aims of the museum is to
enable people get a total picture of the Indian
freedom struggle with the valuable contribu-
tion of people like Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose, Veer Savarkar, the Bhagat Singh-
Sukhdeo-Rajguru trio, and many others
around the country," Joshi said.
The three-storied Cellular Jail, constructed
between 1896 and 1906, originally had
seven wings in a circular design with a tall
watch tower and a bell at its centre.
Two of the wings were destroyed after the
Japanese invasion of the islands in 1942 and
its reign there till 1945 - when the British re-
captured it.
Since India's Independence in 1947, the
jail's 693 tiny cells remained vacant even as
two more wings were demolished.
The remaining three wings were converted
into a 500-bed public hospital for the local
population in 1963, though Veer Savarkar's
original cell has still been preserved.
Later, in 1969, the premises of the entire
Cellular Jail and the watch tower at the cen-
ter were declared as 'national monument'.
Incidentally, the Cellular Jail was made
famous in a Bollywood movie in 1996,
"Sazaa-e-Kala Pani," a multi-lingual classic
directed by Priyadarshan, which won three
National awards and six Kerala state awards.
By Prakash Bhandari
T
he doyen of Indias broad-
casting and veteran sports
commentator had never
dreamt in his youth that one day he
would do the commentary of the
Republic Day parade. Jasdev Singh
still remembers how Indias
Independence was celebrated by the
young Indian scouts who had gone
for the world Scouts jamboree in
Paris.
Jasdev Singh, who is now 80, has
been a popular commentator who
not only gave his voice to sports
commentary, but did other national-
ly important commentaries on
Independence Day and Republic
Day. Jasdev Singh joined as an
announcer at All India Radio Jaipur
and retired as deputy director gener-
al of Doordarshan.
He covered 9 Olympic Games, 8
hockey World Cups and was hon-
ored with the Olympic Order by the
International Olympic Committee
for his contribution to sports as a
commentator.
On the eve of Indias 63rd
Republic Day, Jasdev Singh spoke
to SATimes. He divides his time
between Delhi and Jaipur where he
manages a school started by late
freedom fighter Gita Bajaj. He remi-
nisced how he and his Indian friends
celebrated Indias first
Independence. Jab hum England
hote France ke liye world jamboree
ke liye rawana hue, tab hum ghulam
the, jab pani ke jahaj se wapas apne
desh laut rahe the to azad the,
Jasdev says in his familiar baritone
with a twinkle in his eyes.
Four boys -- Jasdev Singh, who
had earned 26 Boy Scout badges,
Hariharnath Kaul, Manohar Lal
Nigam and Prithipal Singh -- were
sent to the world Scouts jamboree
by the Maharaja of Jaipur. There
were eight boys from Mayo
College, Ajmer who had gone to the
jamboree under the leadership of
well known educationist late Dan
Mal Mathur.
On July 29, 1947 we along with
6,000 scouts from all over the world
were invited by King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth to Buckingham
Palace. Little did we know that we
assembled there as representatives
of India which would get its
Independence after just 17 days.
When on the night of August 14-15,
Jawahar Lal Nehru was delivering
his famous Tryst with destiny
speech from Red Fort, we were in
France and were just thinking how
back home Indians would be cele-
brating the first taste of
Independence.
Next morning at the world jam-
boree assembly we lined up as three
flags were to be hoisted at the rally
Indian Tricolor, World Scouts flag
and the third one of Pakistan. The
scouts from what is now Pakistan
had come as part of the Indian con-
tingent, but with the Partition, they
were to hoist Pakistani flag. VK
Krishna Menon, Indias high com-
missioner in London, immediately
sent across the Indian flag. But there
was no Pakistani flag. The leader of
the contingent from what became
Pakistan was one Qureshi Iqbal.
Spotting me wearing a green turban,
he asked me to spare an extra green
turban so that a flag resembling
Pakistans green flag could be
stitched. This was done in great
hurry. As a result, the Indian tri-
colour was bigger than the Pakistani
green flag, recalls Jasdev Singh,
who was later decorated with Padma
Shri and Padma Bhushan.
But during the flag hoisting cere-
mony, as a gesture Qureshi Iqbal
raised the Indian flag and Dan Mal
Mathur raised the Pakistani green
flag. Both Indians and Pakistanis
then sang Tagores Jan Gan Man
and Saare Jahan Se accha Hindustan
hamara as the flags of the two
nations were raised. BBC and
French radio had recorded this great
and memorable ceremony. We sang
the national anthem for the two
radio services and it was for the
first time that I saw a microphone
used for radio program recording,
knowing little that I would become
a broadcaster one day.
The memory of that Paris episode
is etched in Jasdevs mind and often
when he covered the Republic Day
parade, he would recount how
Indians celebrated Indias
Independence in a foreign country.
Later, on subsequent visits to
Pakistan on commentating assign-
ments, he renewed his association
with Qureshi Iqbal and other mem-
bers of the contingent and all of
them fondly remembered the flag-
hoisting ceremony in Paris.
Aerial view of the historic Cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of the jail recreated at
a Mumbai museum for Indian revolutionaries.
Jasdev Singh on assignment in
Seoul, South Korea, for the 1988
Olympic Games; (inset) doing
running commentary as he regu-
larly did of Indian National Days.
15
Lone lenswoman's tryst with
India, before and after 1947
Homai Vyarawalla (1913-2012)
India's first and oldest photojournalist won several accolades includ-
ing the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor.
Her tryst with Independence as India's lone lens-woman in the
male-dominated media came on the night of August 14-15, 1947.
The Parsi from Gujarat died a fortnight ago. Here are some of her
best shots including the scandalous one of Nehru smoking..
Homai Vyarawalla with her
Speed Graphic Pacemaker
Quarter Plate camera.
(Photos courtesy: Homai Vyarawalla archive, Alkazi Collection of Photography)
Homai at work, shooting late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Nehru at an exhibition with children.
Nehru spinning khadi on a modern charkha.
Prime Minister Nehru with Mrs. Simon, the wife of the British Deputy High
Commissioner, on board the first BOAC flight in India.
Homai's "favorite photo".
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Ambassador to
Russia, received at the Delhi airport
by brother Jawaharlal Nehru.
T
ill a year ago, Homai Vyarawalla,
India's first and oldest photojournal-
ist, was still as spirited as she was in
the 1920s when she captured glimpses of
Bombay (now Mumbai) life with her box
camera and chronicled the Independence
struggle. The story of Vyarawalla's life
spans almost a century -- older than that of
independent India.
"I started clicking photographs at the age
of 13 in Bombay with a box camera in 1926
and I shot my last photograph in 1970, 40
years ago. Since then, I have not touched
the lens. But I am aware of the drifts in
press photography down the decades,"
Vyarawalla had said.
The daughter of an actor in an Urdu-Parsi
theatre company, Homai Vyarawalla was
born in Navsari in Gujarat in 1913. She
grew up in Bombay and learnt photography
from a friend.
Her tryst with Independence as India's
lone lens-woman in the male-dominated
media was on the night of August 14-15.
"The women decided to organize a 'havan'
at night to felicitate the leaders who were
going into parliament for the transfer of
power. I was not allowed to photograph the
leaders by the man in charge of the press
section because he thought he was a greater
patriot. However, I was supplied with pic-
tures by a friend who had gone in,"
Vyarawalla recalled in the interview.
In the morning, Lord Mountbatten was
sworn in as the governor general, she
recalled. "The prime minister and the cabi-
net were sworn in at the Government House
Aug 15 and the tricolor was unfurled at the
Red Fort on Aug 16 and I wanted to photo-
graph the guard of honor," Vyarawalla had
said.
"I climbed on to the ramparts to shoot the
sea of faces and the unfurling of the flag. I
had a Rolleiflex camera, but cameras did
not have zoom, wide-angle or telephoto lens
those days. I was fortunate because I man-
aged to capture Lady Mountbatten with
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in my frame.
Pandit-ji (Nehru) was addressing the peo-
ple... and we shot many photographs,"
Vyarawalla said
For eight years, Vyarawalla used a 35mm
camera and then a Rolleiflex Speed Graphic
with which she could take pictures on the
darkest of the dark nights.
"I remember shooting Pandit-ji and
Mountbatten talking under a tree at night.
As I used the range finder mounted at the
side, he thought a worm had crept up his
coat and he tried to brush it off," Vyarawalla
said.
She also photographed the departure of
Lord Mountbatten from India and the funer-
als of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru
and Lal Bahadur Shastri. She was awarded
the Padma Vibhushan last January.
The 1990s sounded the bugle of
the golden era for the Indian econ-
omy. Today, 100 percent FDI in
retail sector has been allowed, the
economy is looking around 8.5
percent growth in 2011-12 and the
fiscal deficit is set to remain under
the target of 4.6 percent of the
GDP. Despite the slowdown, India
remains one of the fastest growing
economies in the world. As we cele-
brate the 63rd Republic Day, here
is the great India story.
By New Delhi Bureau/SAT
S
ixty three years is a long time. From the
perspective of a nations history, it is a
brief moment in time. But much can
happen in such brief moments.
In 1947, India awoke to light and freedom,
and chose to become a democracy based on
universal suffrage. Have the last 60 years,
seen equally dramatic change in the economy?
This is the time to explore different dimen-
sions of our economic trajectory since 1947.
Between 1900 and 1950, the Indian econo-
my stagnatedthe growth rate was below 1%
per year. From 1950 to about 1980, we grew
at the so called 'Hindu Rate of Growth' of 3.5
percent.
From 1980 to the early 1990s the annual
growth rate accelerated to about 5%. In the
late 1990s, the government was hoping to
achieve an annual 8% growth rate in the Ninth
Plan.
From 2002 or so, growth seems to have
averaged 8% or more. The trend seems to
have changed to a higher level.
Despite the World Bank sharply lowering its
global economic growth rate forecast to 2.5
percent in 2012 from its previous estimate of
3.6 percent, amid risks triggered by the ongo-
ing eurozone crisis, India's "growth story is
intact."
"The government would target more than
eight percent growth in the next financial year
on the back of easing inflation and rate cuts by
the central bank that would stimulate private
investment and demand," said Minister of
State for Finance Namo Narain Meena recent-
ly.
Global observers are talking of the India
Growth Story." India' s foreign exchange
reserves are $317.50 billion at the moment.
"India's gross domestic product (GDP) is
expected to grow by 7.7 percent in 2012 and
7.9 percent in the following year as compared
to the estimated 7.6 percent in 2011, the
United Nation' s department of economic
affairs said recently.
Agriculture
Agriculture in 1947 was traditional. Nearly
70% of the population contributed over 50%
of national income. In these 60 years, it has
changed fundamentally. Today, 20% of the
national income is from agriculture, but it still
supports 50% odd of the population. The
Green Revolution of the late 1960s brought in
the new technologynew seeds, fertilizers,
credit, aimed at the progressive farmer.
Parts of the countryPunjab, Haryana,
western UP, coastal Andhra, etc saw dramatic
increases in output. India became self suffi-
cient in food by the end of 1970s. Cash crops
like sugar became important in several states
when irrigation became available. But there
has been no such boom in other food crops.
Millets like ragi and jowar, which the poor
eat, await a green revolution.
One of the important items on the agenda at
Independence was land reform. Zamindari
was abolished. This made a difference in
states like Bihar. But it was not until the late
1970s and early 1980s that the process was
taken further in states like West Bengal.
That this step in West Bengal was the right
one is borne out by the dramatic increase in
agricultural output later in the 1980s. But the
process was not taken to its logical conclusion
of land to the tiller in most states. India still
has a very large number of landless laborers.
There has been remarkable success in the
white revolutionmilk production, which is
ancillary to agriculture.
Based on the success of the co-operative
movement in Anand in Gujarat, technology
and organization together have led to India
becoming one the largest producers of milk in
the world, in a system based on small produc-
ers, but taking advantage of economies of
scale innovatively.
This is in part a success of marketing, with
Amul becoming one of the best known of
Indian brands. But it is also an organisational
innovation. This experience holds lessons for
other non-farm sectors too, and holds promise
for the future.
Industry
Manufacturing has increased significantly
since Independence. There was little by way
of industry in 1947. There has been some spo-
radic industrial development in the war years,
to support the British war effort.
Two steel plantsboth in the private sec-
torand one in our own statea railway sys-
tem, some textile plants in Bombay, tea in
Kolkata and small enclaves of industry in
Baroda and Mysore, were what the country
started with in 1947.
The Second Five Year Plan, around which
there was general agreement, began a thrust
for public investment in industry, and in a
short span of years, capacity was built up in
machine tools, heavy electricals, power equip-
ment, electronics, chemicals and fertilizers,
telephones and many more areas. As an aside,
perhaps I can note the fact that Bangalore can
truly be described as the Mahalanobis city, as
HMT, ITI, HAL, BEL etc were all located
here.
With the Third plan, for a host of reasons,
industrial growth slowed down. Not least was
the bureaucratic grid lock through the licens-
ing system which led to a new term being
introduced in economics' rent seeking
behavior'. Economists were worried then
about 'inflationary recession'. After the late
1960s, public sector growth based on new
investments slowed down. Such growth as
took place was on the basis of nationaliza-
tionscoal, banking etc.
The public sector grew, but by transfer from
the private sector. Not all of it was viable; coal
and textiles were in a disastrous condition
when taken over. The base for public sector
inefficiency and losses was set.
The next phase across India was a growth of
what then was called small scale industry,
often as ancillaries to big units.
Who has not heard of Aligarh locks, Agra
shoes, or Tirupur hosiery? This took place in
many parts of the country, but the overall level
of investments, for a large country, was not
enough to push growth. This was the time
when a new term entered the economist's lexi-
con: industrial sickness. Large amounts of
bank funds were locked up in sick units.
The next major thrust for industry came
from the software boom, in which 'namma
Bengaluru' playedand continues to playa
major role. The software firms that were
happy with simple Y2K work reinvented
themselves as pioneers in Business Processes
Re-engineering, and bid for work successfully
in the global market.
Bengaluru, with its Indian Institute of
Science, engineering and medical colleges
built over the past century, and public sector
Continued on page 17
Development in India
16
India@63: The birth of a powerhouse
Continued from page 16
R&D institutions, had the resources which
provided the foundation for this industry. Call
Centres offering simple services have boomed
and provided the youth with jobs.
One aspect of glottalization has been the
shift of work and jobs from the
Westmainly the USto Bangalore led to
a new word being added to the English vocab-
ularyBangalored. This outsourcing process
is now happily spreading to other parts of the
country. Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata,
Thiruvananthapuram are all now important IT
locales.
Indian industry, especially the private sector,
had become soft after the 1970s. The protect-
ed environment of the license raj gave it no
incentive to modernize. This circumstance
changed after 1991, when the current round of
reforms, especially liberalization, began.
Many of us were worried that Indian indus-
try could not face competition and would dis-
appear over time. After an initial period of dis-
comfort in the mid 1990s, Indian industry has
responded magnificently to the challenge of
global competition. In a range of sectors
automobile components, pharmaceuticals,
steel, aluminium, garments, mobile telephony,
earth moving equipment, cement, space
Indian firms have established themselves and
taken advantage of the opportunities provided
by globalization.
If the stock market is booming today, it is in
part due to the competitiveness of our
industry.
Economic services have increased their
share in the national income, now accounting
for more than half. This sector is a mixed bag,
including all that cannot be classified under
the other two. It includes a bewildering vari-
ety of activities and technologiesfrom rag
picking to software consultancy. In part this
increase in the sectoral share reflects the
growth of information-based services that our
large companies provide across the world.
But it also reflects the cost/price advantage
of education/knowledge intensive services
that India can provide. There has been consid-
erable investment in higher education in India.
Apart from the IITs and IIMs, today has more
than 250 universities.
The institutional investors are optimistic and
are taking a long-term view of the economy
and its performance rather than being dis-
turbed by the short-term statistics.
The next generation financial sector reforms
have already been initiated. These include,
among other steps, the widening and deepen-
ing of the Indian securities markets, liberaliz-
ing the policy on foreign capital flows,
strengthening the regulatory and other institu-
tional architecture and reducing transaction
cost in the securities markets.
Despite the slowdown, India remains one of
the fastest growing economies in the world.
High savings rates and strong domestic
demand will drive our growth in the future.
Development in India
17
18
Indias paradox: HungaMa
amid growth and hope
Opinion
By Subhash Chopra
I
ndia has a long way to go to meet the basic
needs of her people and nobody could be
more candid in acknowledging it than
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who, despite
his empathy for IMF solutions to problems,
called the prevalence of hunger and malnutri-
tion, especially among the countrys children,
a national shame. This double deficit in
human welfare has rightly acquired the
acronym of HungaMa, a gigantic issue by
any yardstick.
The Prime Minister had no hesitation in
admitting that malnutrition among 42 per cent
of the nations children is unacceptably high,
but he also reminded that the scourge had
declined from a high of 53 per cent over the
last seven years. All that Impressive growth
in our GDP, was not enough, he said while
quoting malnutrition figures from a private
foundations survey. The media and opposition
parties had a field day bashing the government
as if they had no part in this shameful phenom-
enon.
Home grown criticism, though always
healthy, can sometimes lose sight of the picture
in the wider context. Nobel Laureate Joseph
Stiglitz, for instance, thinks that by recogniz-
ing the Right to Food Security as a basic
human right, legislation for which is currently
on the anvil, India is leading the way for the
rest of the world and is on the verge of a his-
toric implementation of the worlds largest
social program against hunger. He was refer-
ring not just to the right to food but to a slew of
similar programs like the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (Nregs), later
named after Mahatma Gandhi.
Putting it in a comparative context while
speaking at the Indian Statistical Institute in
Kolkata, Manmohan Singh pointed out that
while one in seven Americans today are on
food stamps, an equal number still face food
insecurity. While India debates whether there
should be basic human rights like the right to
food, such debates are still not part of the dis-
course in America. Attacking the global GDP
fetish, he said the success or failure of any
programs should be judged not on the GDP
growth but on the welfare of the people.
Fellow American and billionaire George
Soros, also on a tour of India, said he was
positive over the long term about India and
less optimistic about the US where we are in a
political and financial crisis. The crash of
2008, he said, was the result of a super-bub-
ble that began in 1980 when Ronald Reagan
became the US president and Margaret
Thatcher was the British prime minister. The
misconception was the belief that markets
correct their own excesses. The bubble effect
was more in evidence in the US and the UK
than in the developing economies like India.
When developed countries are facing one of
the worst crises, developed countries, India in
particular, show an aspiring phenomenon of
(handling) market and democracy.
Like Stiglitz, Soros blames the flawed eco-
nomic theory of market equilibrium as part of
the problem in creating booms and busts. The
assumption that markets left on their own will
allocate resources efficiently leading to market
equilibrium does not work in the real world, as
people act on imperfect knowledge and human
thinking is indeterminate. Speaking in
Bangalore at the Azim Premji University lec-
ture series, Soros underlined that in a globaliz-
ing world, capital will flow to regions where
regulations are less stringent, thus increasing
the chances of bubbles and all the consequent
perils of instability.
Asked about the mass deprivation and cor-
ruption in India, British Labour party leader
and former foreign secretary David Miliband
said anyone visiting India sees a vibrant econ-
omy and also a vibrant political system. That
is one of the great things about this country
that it has a vibrant political system. Its a
standing testimony to the value thats placed
on different opinions expressed often with
great force and passion. Every democracy is
trying to figure out how to make its democracy
work better. There are dysfunctions in all
democracies. We have to address them. In the
Indian system, you have got your own debate
how best to do that; you dont want people
coming from Britain to tell you how to do it!
Miliband said.
Another vote of confidence in India has just
come from the WHO on the countrys land-
mark achievement of eradication of polio in
the year just gone by when not a single case of
wild polio was recorded wile as many as 741
cases were recorded only two years earlier.
WHO director general Margaret Chan said,
Indias success is arguably its greatest public
health achievement and has provided a global
opportunity to push for the end of polio (in
other countries).
Indias health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
claimed, justly, This giant leap towards polio
containment in a short span of two years is an
endorsement of Indias tireless and persistent
efforts.
Next target: Elimination of hunger and mal-
nutrition, even as India quite realistically
hopes for 6-7 % GDP growth while downturn
stalks the developed economies of the world.
Hunger and malnutrition
(HungaMa), especially
among the countrys chil-
dren, are still prevalent. Yet,
as Nobel Laureate Joseph
Stiglitz said, by recognizing
the Right to Food Security
as a basic human right,
India is leading the way for
the rest of the world in
implementing the worlds
largest social program
against hunger.
2012 as year of 'Proud to be a Skilled Indian'
By Vijay Thadani
N
ever before in the history of any
country has human capital develop-
ment been such a key focus area as
2011 was for India, marking the beginning of
exciting times. Determined to leverage the
demographic dividend and reach the goal of
imparting skills to 500 million, India created
many ripples in 2011. Four themes dominat-
ed the year in this context:
1. Private industry participation
Skills development in India got a fillip
when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh con-
stituted the National Council on Skills
Development in 2008 and the National Skills
Development Corporation (NSDC) there-
after. For NSDC, a-one-of-its-kind public-
private partnership has been formed to con-
tribute to the charter of skilling Indians.
NSDC forged many joint ventures with the
Bharti Group for 11.5 million, with Everonn
for 15 million, with Future Group for seven
million and with NIIT for another seven mil-
lion. They have approved 34 training projects
and eight sector skills councils, covered 177
districts, set up 2,427 centers, touched 20
sectors and have already set up the founda-
tion to train 58.6 million people in 10 years.
In addition, under a special scheme, indus-
try showed interest in joining
hands with NSDC to induct
youth from Jammu &
Kashmir to train them in spe-
cial skills at their facilities
across India. Appointment of
an industry veteran, former
TCS chief executive S.
Ramadorai as an advisor to
the PM in NSDC with the
rank of a cabinet minister, is
yet another achievement.
Private participation also
came along. Fiat India
launched "Diksha" to provide
educational avenues and
technical training for youth.
Axis Bank and Bandhan jointly launched a
Rs.100-crore initiative on providing skills
training and assets to the marginalized in
West Bengal.
2. Higher secondary education reform
The HRD Ministry launched the revised
scheme of vocationalization of higher sec-
ondary education. To promote vocational
training in schools, the government estab-
lished a vocational education cell within
Central Board of Secondary Education. The
scheme also helps create a bridge between
academia and industry. The National
Occupational Standards (NOS)
developed by the sector skills
councils formed by NSDC will
govern the activities in vocation-
al education.
In higher education, HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal advocated
the need for mobility of students
from one university to the other.
The number of engineering seats
went up to 1.3 million in 2010-
11 and there was talk on how to
make the selection process for
IITs and other engineering col-
leges stress-free for the stu-
dents.
3. Job creation remained a
key challenge
The government could create only one mil-
lion jobs against the target of 50 million jobs
during the 11th Plan period that ends March
31, 2012. It has now set a daring target of
creating 60 million jobs during the 12th Five
Year Plan.
As a step towards this, the government
unveiled a new Manufacturing Policy that
promises 100 million new jobs. India is also
on the path to dusting off the Apprentices Act
to create an industry-driven apprenticeship
regime.
4. Changing the social perception of
skills
The WorldSkills Competition got signifi-
cant coverage in the media in India. A 16-
member India contingent participated in the
competition in London and showed the deter-
mination to become the skills reservoir of the
world.
Path forward
As we move into 2012, we are moving in
the right direction. Skills do not form the
social fabric of India as yet. To have social
currency, the acceptable tags are of an engi-
neer, a doctor, an MBA. Skills, such as
plumbing, electrician and masonry, have little
social currency, and this is evident even in
our matrimonial advertisements. Changing
the social perception about skills, therefore,
is our big challenge for 2012.
We should also look at launching events
such as 'Indian Skills Idol' and have popular
brand ambassadors to endorse pride in skills.
Then we will not be apologetic about our 1.2
billion population. We can be an enviable
reservoir of 1.2 billion skilled people. Let's
declare 2012 as: "The Year of 'Proud to be a
Skilled' Indian."
Vijay Thadani is CEO of NIIT Limited and
Chairman of CII's Northern Region.
India as leader: Where the
head is held high
India chooses to use its soft power only
20
By Namit Narain
W
hile India is still far from assuring
social security and health care to
all, and struggling with controlling
corruption, it has come a long way after
becoming a Republic in 1950. It is the leading
developing country in the entire world. Being
the second most populous country in the
world is no more considered a curse as in the
1960s and 70s. India now treats its population
as an asset and as human capital indeed as
demographic dividend. More, it is the only
young country in an aging world.
But this demographic dividend is only good
if there is a huge investment in the human
capital for education, health, social security,
and jobs. Looking forward to connecting the
dots, India is evolving rapidly compared to
any other country in Europe or the Americas.
The countries which have not respected the
value of human capital have turned demo-
graphic dividend into demographic disaster.
So far India has been the largest exporter of
highly educated and skilled human capital to
the west. Indians have clearly been far more
comfortable with globalization.
There has been a sea change in the way peo-
ple think now in India. The role of entrepre-
neurs has evolved from being seen as villains
in the 1950s to role models in the 21st centu-
ry. These people have taken risks in business,
succeeded and created jobs so many more can
run their homes, send their children to good
schools and make a better future. So far they
have done this by learning from the past and
from other economies. Credit for local entre-
preneurs success also goes to the banks.
Their micro credit system has created a huge
value chain, which drives success and a safe
economic environment.
Central to Indias success story is embrace
of technology over the past decade.
Technology was earlier seen as a new shift in
a business that cut jobs. Today the country has
led the race of technology and created jobs in
the bargain. The irony is, technology first
evolved in the West, was adopted with gusto
in India and China, where it helped create
jobs. India sells over 8 million mobile phones
a month -- a measure of how technology has
been liberated in India and embraced by the
culture.
In 2011, we saw India taking the lead in not
only technology but also education, energy,
politics, and sports. Hundreds of thousands
Indians stood together against corruption and
valued the democracy by using their right to
free speech and protest. Schools such as IIMs
and ISB (Indian School of Business) got list-
ed in the Financial Times Top 50 business
school rankings. More and more Indians are
getting masters degrees compared to other
nations, making them highly skilled and high-
ly paid work force. This has enabled to double
the per capita income of India over just 9
years as compared to 45 years it took for the
same increase earlier. Naturally, aspirations
have risen among the billion plus people. This
is also the key reason the West is looking to
India for its growing purchasing power.
Still in this modernizing, urbanizing India,
conflicting ideas persist such as caste system,
reservations for certain sections of society and
outmoded labor policies. There are still 93%
of Indians who dont have health care, job
security, and pension benefits. India has the
highest rate of cardiac problems, diabetes, and
poor sanitation. What is missing can be
addressed by taking high end decisions, quick
implementation, less bureaucracy, and no-cor-
ruption. Despite all the hurdles, Indias march
in 2011 has made Indians feel proud. Witness
the launch of the Nano-satellite Jugnu, cricket
World Cup win and putting the country on the
map of F1 Grand Prix. We also caught the
world's attention by launching the cheapest
ever android tablet, Aakash, costing only $35.
India is a country full of dreams and hope
where we have seen the steepest decline in
population growth in the past decade and high
increase in the literacy rate.
In 2012, India has a lot more to give to the
globalized world where we will see Indians
going full steam ahead in business, global pol-
itics and socio-cultural aspects.
By Smita Prakash
H
ailed as a superpower in the
making, India today stands
on the cusp of a past, rich in
history, and a promising future. Its
democratic ethos is hailed world-
wide; from Canberra to Cairo, India
is looked upon as a stabilizing force
in the Asian region and a voice for
developing countries.
As we celebrate our 63rd Republic
Day, it is with pride and humility
that we can look back upon our civi-
lizational ethos and our pluralistic
democracy and realize that these two
are strengths, which make us a bea-
con of light in the region. Quite nat-
urally, it leads one to wonder why
just a soft power? Why not a hard
power or a super power?
What is a soft power? Harvard
University professor Joseph Nye
first coined the term describing it as
a countrys ability to alter the behav-
ior of others through attraction rather
than sticks and carrots. No country
in the world can afford to be just a
hard power or just a soft power. The
desire to influence other countries
and make them agree with ones per-
ceptions and co-opt them is part of
every countrys foreign policy.
Can we do that with just carrots
and sticks? Not possible, as the US
has realized in its interactions in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Soft
power is not merely the act of per-
suasion. The country would also
need to have the ability to attract
another country to its way of think-
ing. For that one needs assets. For
example, Indias democracy, non-
violent freedom struggle, pluralistic
society, ancient and rich culture,
educated work force, arts and crafts,
computer software industry,
Bollywood and cuisine are all soft
power assets. A healthy foreign
exchange reserve helps.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
once said, The soft power of India
in some ways can be a very impor-
tant instrument of foreign policy.
Cultural relations, Indias film
industry, Bollywood I find wher-
ever I go in the Middle East, in
Africa people talk about Indian
films. Or Indian doctors, or Indian
tech workers or Indian cooks. Each
of them is an ambassador. Each one
who speaks on behalf of India
becomes an instrument of Indias
soft power. He or she gives credibili-
ty and legitimacy to the Indian way
of doing things. It is at once a
responsibility, as is a burden.
Shashi Tharoor, in his essay on
Indias soft power, puts it succinctly.
so many speak about India as a
great power of the 21st century
when we are not yet able to feed,
educate and employ all our people.
So it is not economic growth, mili-
tary strength or population numbers
that I would underscore when I think
of Indias potential leadership role in
the world of the 21st century. Rather,
if there is one attribute of independ-
ent India to which I think increasing
attention should now be paid around
the globe, it is the quality, which
India is already displaying, in ample
measure today - its soft power.
The only objection I have to the
above statement is the word today.
India has always displayed its soft
power, albeit unwittingly, uninten-
tionally. From the times of Gautam
Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi, from
the Kushanas to the Mughals, from
Nehru and the Panchsheel, from
Tandoori chicken to Raj Kapoor and
Amitabh Bachchan, from appam and
avial to M.S. Subbalakshmi and
Rukmini Devi Arundale, from pash-
mina shawls and patola sarees to
Tagore and Mira Nair, our soft
power is constantly at play. See them
as products or assets, they have
worked for us in subtle and consis-
tent ways to show the world the
Indian way of doing things: unhur-
ried, elegant, sensitive, traditional,
pathfinding and persuasive.
In its 64-year history India has
never invaded or dominated another
country and despite its huge armed
forces and nuclear arsenal, it poses
threat to no country. We have gone
to war four times but always when
there was aggression thrust upon us
and negotiation and compromise had
failed. We have lost territory, never
gained in the wars that we fought.
This astonishes the world, as they
wonder what holds back India to
emerge as the superpower in the
region. Why dont we flex our mus-
cles? Why do we always seem vul-
nerable to smaller nations in our
neighborhood?
The simple fact is that we are
uncomfortable being seen as a bully.
We engage with the global strategic
community but as a persuasive
power and a co-optive power. Blame
or praise Mahatma Gandhi and
Gautam Buddha for that. We follow
the middle path of peaceful coexis-
tence. It makes us vulnerable but we
dont see vulnerability as a flaw. We
build defenses not moats. We build
bridges not fences.
It is impossible for a state to exer-
cise its soft power without having
strong foundations. Hard power is
essential for that but not chronic
warfare. Kautilya in his seminal
work, the Arthashastra, says that
compassion, morality and religious
principles have no place when a
country is under threat, unless they
are useful for bringing victory in
war. For sure, we posses hard power,
we just choose not to exercise it.
The author is Editor, News at
Asian News International.
India is the leading developing country in the entire world. Being the second most populous country in the world is no more considered
a curse as in the 1960s and 70s. India now treats its population as an asset and as human capital indeed as demographic dividend.
From the times of Gautam
Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi,
from the Kushanas to the
Mughals, from Nehru and the
Panchsheel, from Tandoori
chicken to Raj Kapoor and
Amitabh Bachchan, from appam
and avial to M.S. Subbalakshmi
and Rukmini Devi Arundale,
from pashmina shawls and
patola sarees to Tagore and Mira
Nair, our soft power is
constantly at play.
Comparing India and US democracies
The long march towards a clean
Indian democracy
India can learn from the ways the constitution of the USA has touched the lives of its citizenry.
21
By Ashok Ojha
A
s the people of Indian origin cele-
brate 62 years of Indian Republic,
the largest democracy in the world, it
is natural to think how much the system has
touched the lives of ordinary citizens. It is
also relevant to look at the ways the constitu-
tion of the oldest democracy in the world,
the United States of America, has touched
the lives of its citizenry.
While socialism is the mantra of Indian
Democracy, capitalism is the hallmark of
American Democracy. India is a multi-party
representative parliamentary democracy
sharing various features with the political
system and institutions of the USA. Both
systems are federal in nature with their inde-
pendent judiciary and legislative bodies.
However, the executive branch in the US is
headed by the President rather than the prime
minister. The powers of the US president are
restricted by the two houses of the Congress.
The executive branch depends upon a num-
ber of government agencies as in India.
In India, the executive is headed by the
Prime Minister who is answerable to the
elective body, the parliament. He administers
the country with his cabinet of ministers, all
elected by people. The head of Republic of
India, the president, holds nominal powers.
The judiciary in both nations, headed by the
Supreme Court, is independent, and can rule
against the executive.
In USA there is a clear separation of power
among the executive, the legislative, and the
judiciary. The US and India are governed by
the laws and principles of their respective
constitutions. The US Constitution empow-
ers all the branches with appropriate mecha-
nism of checks and balances. This principle
is followed at the lowest rank of democratic
apparatus, such as the local self govern-
ments. The federal apparatus is watchful of
unlawful and corrupt practices of both elect-
ed officials and government employees.
There is a constant fear of being investigated
by the federal agencies, such as the FBI,
whose action is swift and free from political
interference. The legal system is efficient
and effective and though corruption is not
unusual in USA it is most often investigated
and culprits are regularly prosecuted. The
State has met its social obligation to a great
extent, thanks to a broad overseeing by the
justice system, a free press and the vigilance
of people.
The democratic society in India is based on
the principles of a welfare state where the
government is responsible for providing
basic needs to the people, such as health and
education. Indian political leaders love to
make promises of helping the poor and
claiming to be great supporters of a socialist
society. Though belonging to a communist
party has never been frowned upon in India,
most of the politicians shied away from com-
munism but took pride in calling themselves
socialists. Capitalism, for almost five
decades, remained a term that the Indian left-
ists used as if it was a form of crime. Until
the demise of communism in the late 80s, a
capitalist in India was thought to be one who
made money by exploiting the poor. In reali-
ty Indian political system has a history of
creating capitalists by granting government
contracts to favored bidders become rich
using corrupt means. The State largely neg-
lected its obligation to providing medical
facilities in most of the rural India as well as
providing a framework of primary education
system in most part of the country. Political
parties of both shades, the left and the right,
are responsible for neglecting the poor as
most of them got opportunities to rule the
country during the six decades of
Independent India.
In USA, politicians of both sides,
Republican and Democrat, shied away from
doing something that could label them as
Socialists. The conservatives never liked a
big government and labor unions, but the
working class, especially in manufacturing
sector, has greatly benefitted by unionizing
themselves. The unity among the working
class in America, including teachers, enabled
them protection of effective systems of
health and pension while the private sector
employees depend upon bonuses but
deprived of lifelong benefits other than
investment opportunities. But the State cares
for all Americans on their retirement by pro-
viding an efficient system of social security
and Medicare network.
Millions of Indians, though promised by
the State, are deprived of social security ben-
efits. However, the State has been kind to
government employees by showering them
with periodic salary increases. The politi-
cians in power are also the beneficiary of the
system as they are assured of indirect bene-
fits even after they cease to be in power.
The executive branch in India deliberately
avoided a transparent framework of decision
making affecting the lives of common peo-
ple. On the other hand, ordinary citizens are
subjected to an elaborate system of provid-
ing documentation and certificates for seek-
ing administrative approvals of different
types. The bureaucracy in India has built a
very sustainable system of supporting its
complicated nature of working by fulfilling a
variety of unconstitutional whims of their
political masters. As a result there is a lack of
loyalty towards the guiding principles of the
constitution. Most of the government depart-
ments find it easy to listen to the politicians
in power rather than to their constitutional
obligations. Many powerful branches of the
executive including those responsible for
development and human resources are large-
ly seen favoring lobby groups while neglect-
ing the needs of the ordinary citizens. This
practice, which began in the early days of
Independent India, originated from the
Socialist pattern of controlling peoples
resources by the ruling elite, resulted into
losing propositions as most of the govern-
ment owned enterprises failed in the
Seventies and Eighties. The situation
improved only after the government relieved
itself from socialistic guidelines and moved
closer to capitalist principles of allowing the
private industry become engine of growth.
Indian political leaders win elections
promising to work for the poor. As soon as
they take the oath of allegiance to the Indian
constitution, they begin looking for opportu-
nities to make money through often dubious
dealings with contractors, builders, and
industrialists. The bureaucracy of India has
been very pragmatic. It is manipulative and
quickly coach the politicians how to govern
and then a cool liaison develops between the
minister and their secretaries.
When a common man goes to get his
papers cleared at a government office, he has
to listen to the demands of the officer con-
cerned. When a farmer goes to the block
development officer he has to find a middle
man for getting his work done as the govern-
ment officers avoid speaking local languages
for fear of losing their social status. The une-
ducated citizen is most often lost in the long
line of needy people. The police force whose
job is to protect the people, are mostly busy
protecting ministers and the MLAs and over-
looking criminal activities.
The Indian justice department and inves-
tigative agencies are not free from political
interference. The provisions of Indian consti-
tution have allowed the ruling party and the
parliament to enjoy most of the executive
powers. The members of the parliament,
who dont have to qualify on an educational
or professional yardstick and are not often
elected by a totally fair and free election sys-
tem, are prone to corrupt practices as they
enjoy authoritative powers lacking oversight
or fear of being investigated. The people of
India are demanding overhaul changes in the
administrative system as it has been rocked
by a series of scandals in recent times. The
good news is that the Indian democratic
apparatus is working overtime these days to
clean itself of crony capitalism, nepotism,
corruption and disregard for peoples needs.
In India, political parties of all shades are responsible for neglecting the poor
as both the left and right groupings have had opportunities to rule the
country during the six decades of Independent India.
First Person
Miss you, Ma
Jinal Shah writes to her mother comparing and contrasting
living in New York and Mumbai.
American-born, not-so-confused desi
22
Dear Ma,
I
ts been six months since I left Mumbai
to live in the Big Apple. Since you keep
asking me on the phone how the transi-
tion was, I decided to put it all on paper for
you.
No doubt, everybody gets bowled over by
the enormousness of New York City, its bril-
liant infrastructure, its hustle and bustle
round the year. People are courteous too.
It is true that I am in awe of this city, which
is slowly captivating my mind. Yet, the
memories of years in India remain etched in
my mind, especially the last days in Mumbai
- hogging on street food as if I will never get
to have it again, meeting streams of relatives
and that bundling up apprehensions and inhi-
bitions with my clothes, utensils and some
home-made food.
The exposure to both the cultures tempts
me to compare and contrast the two.
Remember how we pictured New York? The
city that makes you feel tiny with its jungle
of skyscrapers, the city that makes you feel
lost with its potpourri of world cultures and
crowds thronging the streets.
Well, it is not as simple as a change in
address in what is touted as a global village.
For me it entailed a change in attitude and
even outlook towards life. Now with a slight
attitude shift, I can also be part of the con-
crete jungle, absorbing the world culture and
enjoying what the crowds enjoy, including
American football. O Ma, People here are as
crazed about football as Indians are for
cricket. Many even give work a miss to catch
up on matches, particularly the upcoming
Super Bowl, the grand finale of the league
matches.
Our Mumbai is in many ways similar to
New York. Both are financial hubs, a melting
pot of diverse cultures and languages. Both
are coastal cities dealing with crazy traffic,
and home of entertainment (Broadway and
Bollywood). Finally, both are cities that
never sleep. The throngs in subway trains
match the madness in Mumbai locals.
But after my honeymoon phase with
NYC was over, when I started experiencing
life as an average Indian American here to
stay, small and subtle differences caught my
attention. Coming from a tea drinking coun-
try, the Starbucks culture is a novelty. I was
also pleasantly surprised by the variety of
packaged Indian food at Indian groceries
playing on your nostalgia of home cooked
food.
Also, the Sunday outings back home are
now enjoyed on Saturdays and Indian fast
food has given way to world cuisine. The
busy, busy weekdays leave little scope for
socializing as we did with our extended fam-
ily in Mumbai. Contrary to our image of
American Born Confused Desis (ABCD),
the second or third generation Indian
Americans are clear about their identity and
are comfortable with both cultures.
I live in Jersey City and commute to
Manhattan practically every day. It is impos-
sible to walk on the streets without bumping
into a fellow Indian or more specifically a
Gujarati. Indian restaurants are no more con-
fined to Little Indias; tony New York neigh-
borhoods also have Indian restaurants with
exotic menus and prices. Indian fashionistas
here are more conscious about the brands
they are wearing. And of course, it is the
whites who crowd yoga studios not browns.
As I write this on the eve of Indias
Republic day, it just dawned on me that stay-
ing away from homeland makes one more
patriotic. Apart from the parade - something
we religiously watched every Republic day
on Doordarshan - I will miss the jalebis and
flag hoisting on our building terrace.
-Jinal Shah
Jersey City
P.S.: Oh, did I mention how much I miss
our maid. Everything here is self-service
right from assembling furniture from Ikea to
cleaning up the house to doing laundry. At
times I even miss our loud neighbors as here
it is hard to see, leave alone befriend, blokes
next door. And, it pinches the pocket to hail a
cab every time for short distance, so wish
there were auto-rickshaws here too!!!
P.P.S.: I miss you Ma, and your yummy
dosas.
By Vikas Girdhar
I
have been born and raised in
New York and, aside from the
rare weekend getaway to a
neighboring state, have spent my
entire life here. I moved from
Queens at the age of six to
Hicksville, where being Indian
meant being part of a glaring minor-
ity. That was in the early 90s, how-
ever. Today, Hicksville is commonly
referred to as Little India with its
rapidly growing desi population and
booming sites for Indian shops and
grocery superstores.
The Indian-izing of Hicksville is
something I have witnessed for 20
years. As the years passed, I noticed
not only certain aspects of my envi-
ronment becoming more identical to
values of the motherland, but I
myself became more comfortable
with my expression of them.
I come from a family that places
great importance on Indian customs
and values the unity they promote.
My parents have done an absolutely
fantastic job of keeping my brother
and myself as informed and aware
as possible about our culture. I
speak Hindi at home, regularly eat
and enjoy home-cooked Indian food
and am familiar with and able to
participate in poojas. Being in touch
with my culture and religion has
never been a problem for me. While
I am friends with several people
who are equally adept at demon-
strating core Indian values, I also
know many second-generation desis
who are not nearly as familiar with
elements of their first-generation
parents upbringings. I would have
to attribute many of my experiences
to my changing environment.
Going to an elementary school
where I could count the number of
fellow desi children on one hand
was tougher than some may expect.
The vast differences between my
traditional Indian home life and the
aspects of it that I could readily
expose in a society not particularly
willing to accept them was probably
the toughest part about growing up.
The transition between a well-cul-
tured home life and school life is
one that strengthens the will of a
child if he can master it. Some
might say that the transition is
inevitable, and they would be right.
The important thing to realize is that
some of these children feel so cul-
ture-shocked from either direction
that they tend to gravitate towards
the one that takes them less out of
their comfort zone. The result is a
child who is either too
Americanized and far apart from
cultural values or a child that is too
oblivious to the way the American
society works. Of course, this
struggle is much easier to tackle
as one gets older, somewhat because
of increasing maturity levels of both
the individual and the society he
interacts with. That perfectly coin-
cides with my belief that ignorance
finds its most comfortable home in
children with parents who havent
yet opened their eyes to the rest of
the world.
For example, if I took Indian food
for lunch one day, I would be the
center of attention. What I was so
comfortable with at home was sud-
denly a cause of commotion among
my non-desi peers. Of course, it
took adjustment. I accepted the
trades of two separate lifestyles,
ignored the stereotypical ques-
tionsand those that asked them--
and simultaneously became more
adept with mastering the values of
two separate societies.
In hindsight, it opened my eyes to
reality. I see it as such a strength to
be so well-versed in both the Indian
culture and the American culture,
but I feel there are many factors that
play a role. The persistence of the
parents to teach their children, the
environment the children grow up in
and finally the willingness of the
child to learnare all equally
important.
My views on marriage, religion
and other major elements have been
shaped by how Ive been brought up
and what I have been able to experi-
ence and witness within my sur-
roundings.
It must have been a tougher transi-
tion for my parents, Im positive.
Im just fortunate enough to have
been able to carry their lessons forth
as a follow-up to their generation.
I already consider it a success to
havefor the most partmade a
seamless transition between two
very different lifestyles. That shy
and misunderstood child who
seemed weird or too Indian to
other children now comfortably sits
and writes about his experiences to
an entire newspaper-reading audi-
ence, convinced he got the better
end of the bargain.
The author (right) at a friends wedding. I accepted the trades of
two separate lifestyles, ignored the stereotypical questionsand
those that asked them--and simultaneously became more adept with
mastering the values of two separate societies.
When the constituent assembly was formed in India,
most of the 565 or so princely states had voluntarily
signed their accession to the Republic of India.
We look at the contribution of two such princely
states to the growth of its people
A
t the Nandkuvarba Kshatriya Kanya Vid-
hyalaya (NKKV) in Bhavnagar, smartly
dressed girls are gathered for the centenary
celebrations of the late Maharaja Krishnaku-
mar Sinhji, one of the frst princes to voluntari-
ly accede his princely state to the government
of India. Krishnakumar Sinhji was also one of
the frst Rajpramukhs of Independent India.
Education fowered in Bhavnagar, which saw
the mushrooming of educational institutions
like schools, the institution of scholarships for
foreign studies in felds like medicine and sci-
ence, and the launch of an arts college that was
among the frst in Gujarat. The Nandkuarba
school was started in the late-1800s during the
reign Of Maharaja Bhav Sinhji and Maharani
Shri Nandkunverba Sahiba in the princely state
of Bhavnagar between 1896 to 1919.The Maha-
rani in 1911 was awarded the Order of the Crown
of India, the highest Imperial award for women
of the Empire. From the school, we drove to
the Takth Sinhji Hospital which was built in
1879 AD during the rule of Maharaja Takth
Sinh. This hospital was designed by Sir Wil-
liam Emerson, whose other works include Cal-
cuttas Victoria Memorial. This is an impressive
building with domes, arches and latticework.
Continuing from here we drove past many
institutions started by the Maharajas including
the Samaldas College, the frst arts college of
Saurashtra, which counts many distinguished
people as its alumni including Mahatma Gan-
dhi and Indias frst chief justice, HJ Kania.
We drove to the Barton Museum, built
in 1895 AD and housed the collections of
Col. Barton, a British resident of Saurashtra.
Since then the collection has been enhanced
with exhibits donated by the Oza family and
other prominent personalities of Bhavnagar,
as well as various departments. Prominent
among the exhibits are the coins and curren-
cy, including koris of Kutch and other royal
minted coins, the old guns and other arms
and armour, and farming implements.
One of Bhavnagars principal sightsee-
ing spots is the Takteshwar temple which
rises serenely from an incline and offers a
good view over the cityscape to the Gulf of
Cambay marshes.
From this temple, we drove into the city to
see the Darbargadh, the imposing old palace
of the Maharajas of Bhavnagar who founded
this coastal city in the 18th century. The Maha-
rajas belong to the Gohil clan that came from
Rajasthan in the 13th century and founded
their kingdom along the Gujarat coast. From
the palace, the roads led us through the mar-
kets to the lake called the `Talao with the
Ganga Jalia Temple on its banks.
As evening approached, we drove to the
Gaurishankar lake created as a reservoir in
the 1800s and named for Gaurishankar Oza.
This lake is a popular recreational spot of
Bhavnagar and is a birding paradise.
Revisiting the glorious past
26
The Holkars Indore
Earlier mainly a stopover between the
jyotirlingas of Ujjain and Omkaresh-
war, Indore developed after this part
of Malwa was given to Malhar Rao Hol-
kar by the Peshwas following his mili-
tary achievement. But Indore owes its
heritage to his successor, Ahilya Bai
Holkar, who was described by her Brit-
ish contemporaries as the most ex-
emplary ruler that ever lived. Besides
developing Indore, the gifted Ahilya
founded palaces, temples, dharam-
shalas and charitable institutions all
over the country.
After her death in 1795, a series of
skirmishes between the Marathas and
East India Company followed, ending in
the Treaty of 1818, which secured for
the dynasty a small but rich dominion
with Indore as the capital and gave the
city a status as a British headquarters
in Malwa. Indore grew financially as
the centre of cotton and opium trade
through the 19th and early 20th cen-
tury, and after independence it has re-
mained an affluent city second to Bho-
pal, the state capital, in importance in
Madhya Pradesh, and the major centre
for industrial growth in the state.
I remember my visits to Indore in
the 1980s when industrial estate of
Pithampur was hyped as the Detroit
of India with auto-manufacturers like
Honda, Bajaj, Hindustan Motors, with
steel industries and ancillary units, set-
ting up units here as the car-economy
began in India, and of course there are
various other industries at Indore and
nearby towns like Dewas and Mhow.
Incidentally, Indore was also a centre
of the 1857 mutiny and again the Hol-
kars were among the first princes to
support Gandhijis call to open temples,
schools and wells to Harijans.
After spending the night at a 5-star ho-
tel, we set off to explore the city driving
into the market area early in the morn-
ing to avoid the crowds. The market
has many three and four storey historic
buildings, some of them palaces and
havelis converted into shopping or of-
fice blocks with their ornate overhang-
ing jarokha balconies still in place and
comings-and-goings through a court-
yard in the centre. We had skipped
breakfast to have it in the market and
enjoyed indulging in sweetened milk,
poha wrapped in newspaper, stuffed
kachoris and gulab jamun!
Walking from the stall, we came to a
palm-filled square in the marketplace
dominated by the Raj Wada, an eigh-
teenth-century palace worth seeing for
its ornate seven-storey gatehouse that is
something of an Indore landmark. Most
of the palace inside was burnt in a fire
and only the newer wings can be seen.
We drove out of the market as it began
to bustle with energy, and set off to the
Lal Bagh palace in a pleasant garden
setting. This extravagant palace has an
eclectic style like most other princely
buildings of the British Raj period with
Doric columns, gilded stuccowork and
a neo-classical faade. Rated among the
most flamboyant of the palaces of Mad-
hya Pradesh, after the Jai Vilas palace in
Gwalior, it has been restored and reno-
vated into a museum open to visitors
for a fee. For me one of the highlights
of Indore was the Maharajas private
planetarium where we were shown the
position of planets, important stars and
constellations in the Indore night sky
on the day of our visit.
Historic college building of Bhavnagar
Barton Museum & Gandhi Smriti
The Indore Palace (top) and the Raj Wada
By Anil Mulchandani
Photos by Dinesh Shukla
The public works
of Bhavnagar
Chandigarh: The recent cold wave
may have partially abated from
Punjab, but political clouds continue
to loom over the state. The state's
ruling first family Badal (which lit-
erally means cloud) and its extended
clan are out in full force to contest
next week's assembly polls.
There may be over 1,000 candi-
dates testing their luck in the Jan 30
elections to 117 assembly seats in
Punjab, but the Badal family, led by
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,
84, has nearly a dozen leaders in the
fray this time.
While the chief minister is con-
testing for his traditional Lambi seat
from Muktsar district, his son and
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir
Singh Badal, who is also the
Shiromani Akali Dal president, is
seeking re-election to the Jalalabad
seat from Ferozepur district.
Sukhbir's wife and Bathinda MP
Harsimrat Badal is actively cam-
paigning for her father-in-law as he
faces perhaps his toughest political
test, being pitted against his younger
brother Gurdas Badal, 81, and
cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal in
Lambi.
Gurdas Badal, who used to be his
elder brother's poll manager till the
last election (2007) and used to
nurse the constituency on his behalf,
has entered the fray as a candidate
of the People' s Party of Punjab
(PPP).
The PPP was floated last year by
former Punjab finance minister
Manpreet Singh Badal, the son of
Gurdas Badal. Manpreet had left the
government of his uncle in October
2010 following ideological differ-
ences.
Manpreet Badal is himself con-
testing from two assembly con-
stituencies - Gidderbaha, which he
has represented four times, and the
new constituency of Maur.
The surname 'Badal' comes to the
family from their ancestral village
Badal, near Lambi town in Muktsar
district.
Another Badal in the fray, though
not from the original Badal family,
is former Punjab agriculture minis-
ter Gurdev Singh Badal from the
Jaiton (reserved) constituency.
Besides the immediate Badal fam-
ily, there are other close relatives in
the fray as well.
Bikram Singh Majithia, the broth-
er of Harsimrat Badal and brother-
in-law of Sukhbir Badal, is seeking
re-election from Majitha near
Amritsar.
Parkash Singh Badal's son-in-law
Adaesh Pratap Singh Kairon is seek-
ing re-election to his traditional Patti
seat from Tarn Taran district.
Another relative of the chief min-
ister, Irrigation Minister Janmeja
Singh Sekhon, is contesting against
Manpreet Badal for the Maur seat.
'Clouds' galore over Punjab's electoral skies
Lucknow: The Election
Commission went on an unprece-
dented drive across poll-bound
Uttar Pradesh to inculcate the
spirit of voting among the state's
12 crore electors.
While a mega show to mark the
'National Voters Day' was held in
Lucknow where Governor B.L.
Joshi led the voting promotion
bandwagon by exhorting the citi-
zens to make it a point to come
out and cast their vote, the mes-
sage was spread right down to the
polling booth level across the
sprawling state by lower func-
tionaries.
As a symbolic gesture, Joshi
also gave away voter cards to a
few people, while he handed over
certificates of appreciation to
school and college children as
well as organisations and officials
engaged in the two-month-old
campaign.
The function drew massive
crowds, keeping the entire Indira
Gandhi Pratishthan premises
packed to its capacity. Much
enthusiasm was visible among
students, who not only turned up
in huge numbers but also took a
pledge to do everything to urge
more and more people to vote.
"It was matter of serious con-
cern that the educated were partic-
ularly shy or reluctant to exercise
their right of franchise," said the
governor, expressing hope that the
efforts of the election commission
would bring the desired change.
The state's pro-active chief elec-
toral officer Umesh Sinha, who
has been deeply engaged in
exhorting the young and old alike
to exercise their vote, expressed
confidence that his efforts will not
go wasted.
"I am sure, our efforts to pro-
mote voting will bear fruit; I am
particularly hopeful because the
youth has displayed tremendous
enthusiasm in join the campaign,"
he told this scribe.
Praising the role of several
younger officers, he said, "Some
young district magistrates came
up with novel ideas to encourage
people to cast their vote."
Seven-phased elections will be
held in Uttar Pradesh from Feb 8-
March 3.
Huge turnout at drive to
promote voting in UP
BJP candidate Navjot Kaur Sidhu (right) with husband and former
cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh
Badal at a rally in Amritsar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters
at a rally in Muktsar.
28 India
January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
30 India
Bangalore/New Delhi: In an unprecedent-
ed action in the annals of Indian space
odyssey, the central government blacklisted
top scientist G. Madhavan Nair from offi-
cial jobs following the controversial deal
with Devas Multimedia but the former
space agency head hit back, blaming his
successor K. Radhakrishnan for the action.
The government's action and the blister-
ing attack of Nair, the man who led the suc-
cessful launch of India's first Lunar probe
in 2008, on Radhakrishnan sent shock-
waves among the scientists and staff at the
Indian Space Research Organisation' s
(ISRO) in Bangalore and other centers.
Along with Nair, three other scientists --
former scientific secretary A.
Bhaskarnarayana, former satellite center
director K.N. Shankara and former Antrix
executive director K.R. Sridharamurthi --
have also been barred from holding any
government position or being on official
committees over the deal ISRO's commer-
cial arm Antrix signed with Devas for allot-
ting the scarce S-band spectrum (air
waves).
The deal, signed during Nair's steward-
ship of ISRO, was cancelled in February
last year on the ground that it would have
caused the government loss of billions of
rupees. Besides blaming Radhakrishnan,
who succeeded him as ISRO head in 2009,
Nair said ISRO had "gone to the dogs" and
asked the government whether he was
"worse than a terrorist" for blacklisting
him.
The government's move came in for sharp
attack from the BJP also which wanted
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take
action against the then minister of state in
his office, Prithviraj Chavan, now
Maharashtra chief minister, as the space
department was handled by him.
Atomic Energy and Space Science have
always been under the direct charge of
prime ministers.
ISRO, however, chose to keep mum and
declined to comment on Nair's outburst.
Congress slams Hazare for
justifying slapping
ISRO row: ex-chief, govt locked in battle
New Delhi: The Congress hit out at Anna
Hazare for justifying slapping as a means of
expressing anguish against corruption and
said the whole country would like to be edu-
cated on "this new definition of the
Gandhian path".
Reacting to Hazare's remark that an indi-
vidual is left with no option but to slap when
his power of tolerance of corruption runs
out, Congress spokesperson Abhishek
Singhvi said that it was not appropriate for
the social activst to say so."We would all like
to understand this new approach to the
Gandhian way which talks of fast and sacri-
fice and also about slapping other people,"
Singhvi said.
Hazare had told reporters Tuesday after
seeing a movie on the theme of corruption
that slapping appeared to be an option for a
person who had run out of tolerance in fight-
ing graft.Hazare had also sparked a row in
November last year by his remarks seeming-
ly approving the action of a youth who had
slapped Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
The social activist had later condemned the
incident.
Fresh setback for Modi, probe
in fake shootouts
New Delhi: In yet another setback to
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,
the Supreme Court directed a panel head-
ed by former apex court judge M.B. Shah
t o probe 15 cases of al l eged st aged
shootout killings in the state 2003-06.
An apex court bench of Justice Aftab
Alam and Justice C.K. Prasad said that it
was open to the monitoring authority
headed by Justice (retd) Shah to consti-
tute its own investigating team of police
officers either from the existing special
task force (STF) or other officers from
within and outside the state.
The court said the monitoring authority
would steer clear of the cases that were
already under investigation on the direc-
tion of the apex court or the Gujarat High
Court. This included the staged shootout
cases of alleged gangster Sohrabuddin
Sheikh and alleged terrorist Ishrat Jahan
and three others.
The apex court is already hearing a CBI
pl ea seeki ng i nvest i gat i on i nt o t he
al l eged st aged shoot out ki l l i ng of
Tul si ram Praj apat i , an ai de of
Sohrabuddin Sheikh, saying his case was
part of a chain.
The government has blacklisted Madhavan
Nair from official jobs following the
controversial deal with Devas Multimedia.
By Prakash Bhandari/SATimes
Jaipur: The annual Jaipur Literature
Festival (JLF) has undoubtedly
become Asias biggest literary festi-
val. This year, with Oprah Winfrey,
Deepak Chopra, Ben Okri, Jamaica
Kincaid, Lionel Shriver and Richard
Dawkins in its lineup, over 70,000
people, including hordes of students
from all over north India, turned up
at the venue Diggi Palace.
The Jaipur festival aims to provide
a platform for Indian writing, in
English as well as in other official
Indian languages, including Hindi
and Bengali. An appearance by
Salman Rushdie in 2007 was a turn-
ing point, attracting global attention -
- and no incidnet. He was followed
by Tina Brown, Vikram Seth, Martin
Amis and Nobel laureate Orhan
Pamuk.
This year, Oprah Winfrey had most
mass appeal and she was on stage
with Indias top TV presenter Barkha
Dutt.
Oprah showed up in light mustard-
yellow kurta and a floral churidar
with a pink dupatta, creating a rap-
port. She praised the Indian chaos
and calm. In Agra, she said, she was
amused to see a cart being pulled by
an ass, reminding her how after ful-
filling her mission to get Barack
Obama elected President, she stuck a
picture on her pinboard of a
Rajasthani woman riding a camel
with the caption: "Come to India".
The festival has become a hotbed
of activity, with publishers scouting
for talent and writers for book deals.
Even Indian publishers have begun
rushing books to capitalize on the
event, said Mita Kapur, an author.
JLF has had a ripple effect, with
similar events springing up all over
South Asia, said Pakistani writer
Ameena Saiyid.
There is everything for everyone
at the festival. There is a star-studded
lineup and we also showcase home-
grown talent, said co-producer of
the festival Namita Gokhale.
The session 'The Magic of Reality'
had Lalla Ward in conversation with
Richard Dawkins, a self-proclaimed
atheist and science writer. Dawkins
spoke passionately about the impor-
tance of science and how it can teach
us to look at the world in unfamiliar
ways.
The session 'Adaptations', chaired
by Girish Karnad, had Lionel
Shriver, Vishal Bhardwaj, Richard
Flanagan and Tom Stoppard discuss
adaptation of books into theatre and
movies. Novelist Flanagan said it
took three years for him to write the
screenplay for The Sound of One
Hand Clapping, and when he could-
nt sell it, turned it into a novel
instead, a very different process.
Indian screenwriter and director
Vishal Bhardwaj talked of his,
Maqbool being based on Macbeth.
The session 'Nothing to Declare:
Straight Lines and History' had
Fakrul Alam, Mohammed Hanif,
Rabi Thapa and Siddhartha Gigoo
talk about interpretation of the word
border . Poet and novelist
Siddhartha Gigoo spoke about his
experience of Kashmir, talking of the
migration within the country itself.
The session The Good Muslim
had Tahmima Anam read passages
from her novel, The Good Muslim,
which portrays post-1990s
Bangladesh. The session Writing
and Resistance, moderated by
Fatima Bhutto, had Raja Shehadeh,
ThantMyint-U and Iftikhar Gilani
explore writing contributing to
resistance. Bhutto questioned
whether books themselves were
inherently dangerous. Iftikar Gilani
responded that there was nothing
dangerous about books.
Festival co-producer William
Dalrymple talked about the wonder-
ful heritage of arts still alive in
Rajasthan, citing the performance of
epic stories such as Pabuji The
Camel Herder, a sacred and healing
performance event which can start at
sunset and end at dawn, taking place
over eight days.
Rich fare attracts 70,000 to Jaipur litfest
Oprah Winfrey was interviewed by
Barkha Dutt
Fatima Bhutto moderated a ses-
sion on Writing and Resistance.
Rushdie fiasco cloud over
freedom of expression in India
Jaipur: The organizers of Jaipur
Literature Festival (JLF) were
disappointed when because of
pressure from Muslim clerics
Salman Ruhdie was neither
allowed to come to the festival
nor to speak via video conferenc-
ing.
The alleged death threat to the
controversial author of The
Satanic Verses forced him to can-
cel his visit.
It is tragic. What is hurting is
the protestors are trying to snatch
from the authors their right to
speech. This is happening in a
country which claims to be the
worlds largest democracy," said
William Dalrymple, an author
and co-organizer of the JLF.
Rushdie is unpopular with the
Muslims because of his 1988
novel The Satanic Verses which
was banned in India. He lived for
long years in police protection
when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran
issued a fatwa against him.
The strong stand against
Rushdie by the Muslim organiza-
tions in India this time became a
free speech controversy. The
cancellation of his trip to Jaipur
and videoconferencing drew crit-
icism from authors and writers
from all over the world for rising
censorship and limits on freedom
of expression in India. Four
authors including Amitava
Kumar and Hari Kunzru, who
dared to read a few paragraphs
from the banned Satanic Verses
were forced to leave the festival
as they were likely to be arrested
for reading the banned book. The
Congress government in
Rajasthan did not rise to the
defense of Rushdie because of
the Assembly election in Uttar
Pradesh where a large number of
electorate are Muslims.
Salman Rushdie
Washington, DC: The Indian
community in the US celebrat-
ed the Republic Day with the
Ambassador Nirupama Rao
unfurling the national flag at a
colorful function at the Indian
embassy here on a rain swept
chilly day.
After hoisting the flag in front
of the embassy overlooking a
statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Rao
read out President Pratibha
Patil's message to the nation. A
short cultural program of patri-
otic songs in Marathi, Telugu,
Assamese and Hindi followed.
About 200 members of the
community joined the celebra-
tions.
Similar flag hoisting cere-
monies were also held at the
Indian consulates in New York,
San Francisco, Chicago and
Houston
R-Day celebrated
in US
Iselin, NJ: Indus American Bank has
appointed Smita Goradia as Senior
Vice President & Director of Retail
Banking.
In welcoming Goradia, Jasbir
Chopra, President & CEO of the
Bank said, Smita brings with her
extensive retail banking and manage-
ment experience, and her client net-
work and a proven track record of
business development will help us in
our plans for expansion and growth
in market share. In this position at
Indus American Bank, Goradia will
be responsible for heading the Retail
Banking Division, which includes
the four branches located at Iselin,
Parsippany, Jersey City and
Hicksville, and increasing the sales
and promoting business development
for the Bank.
Goradia has held executive and
managerial positions which include:
VP /Regional Sales Manager at
United Central Bank and AVP /
Branch Manager at Unity Bank. Her
experiences include business devel-
opment, relationship management,
account and portfolio management,
branch compliance and operations.
New York : In the wake of revela-
tions about NYPD's involvement in
production of an anti-Muslim propa-
ganda film, the Muslim American
Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC)
has called for the resignation of Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly and
the Deputy Commissioner of Public
Affairs Paul Browne. Kelly's and
Brownes admission of their involve-
ment in the production of The Third
Jihad marks the blatant bigotry and
lack of transparency that permeates the
NYPDs approach to New Yorks
Muslim communities MACLC said in
a press statement. It demanded that the
City Council institute an independent
community control and oversight
mechanism for the NYPD. MACLC
further called on the NYPD to retrain
all 1500 officers who watched The
Third Jihad during cadet training.
In early 2011, MACLC contacted
the NYPD regarding the use of the
The Third Jihad in cadet training, only
to have the NYPD deny its role in
training of cadets. However, police
documents obtained by a Freedom of
Information Law (FOIL) request now
reveal that the film was shown to near-
ly 1500 officers during police training.
Only after the films producer identi-
fied for the New York Times the date
on which Kelly was interviewed for
the film, did Kelly and Browne admit
to participation in the film.
NYPD officials should not have
permitted and actively participated in
the screening and creation of such
hateful propaganda produced by a spe-
cial interest organization, said
Nermeen Arastu, staff attorney at the
Asian American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (AALDEF), a mem-
ber of MACLC.
Shown to NYPD officers, The Third
Jihad portrays Muslims as engaged in
a 1400 year war to infiltrate and
dominate America. The film alleged-
ly includes inflammatory imagery,
including people who appear to be
Muslim engaging in acts of terrorism,
car bombs exploding, executed chil-
dren, and repeated images of an
Islamic flag flying over the White
House.
Smita Goradia appointed head of
retail at Indus American Bank
Muslim civil rights group asks
NYC top cop to step down
Ambassador Nirupama Rao
unfurling the Indian National Flag.
Smita Goradia
Raymond Kelly, NYC Police
Commissioner
By Ashok Ojha/SATimes
New York : Prominent Indian American teachers and
professionals, who gathered at the Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan auditorium in New York City on January 20 to
celebrate World Hindi Day, felt disappointed when
Indias Consul-General Prabhu Dayal categorically stat-
ed that Government of India was not able to pursue a
long standing demand to make Hindi as one of the
working languages of United Nations due to financial
reasons. In order to introduce Hindi at the UN as a
working language, it will cost India enormous money,
said Ambassador in response to speeches by speakers at
the event. The United Nations will have to recruit
many translators and interpreters for varieties of work it
would need to do in Hindi.
Earlier Dr. Navin Mehta, Trustee of Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan and Dr. Surendra Gambhir, Chairman of Yuva
Hindi Sansthan raised the issue of introducing Hindi at
the UN and Government of India offices in USA and
other countries. Reminding the audience that the
Government of India had organized the eighth World
Hindi Conference held in July 2007 in New York with
great fanfare, Dr. Mehta pointed out that the conference
was inaugurated at the United Nations General
Assembly Hall where promises to introduce Hindi at the
UN were made by officials in the presence of 800 writ-
ers, authors, and teachers who came from various parts
of the world to attend. Nothing substantial was done to
fulfill the promise to introduce Hindi at the UN.
To commemorate the World Hindi Day the Consul
General read a message sent by the Prime Minister of
India in which Hindi was termed as a very important
aspect of Indian culture. Paying rich tributes to
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan for its services in promoting
Hindi and Indian culture he said that the Bhavan was
conducting Hindi classes at the premises of the Indian
Consulate in New York for a long time. He said that
Hindi was used in private conversation among the
Consulate staff. Traditionally it is celebrated on January
10 every year.
An announcement to teach Hindi at the TV Asia stu-
dio in Edison was made by H. R. Shah, Chairman,
Board of Trustees of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
at the event.
Introducing Hindi at UN: Indias
apathy irks community
The Consulate General of India celebrated the
World Hindi Day Jan 20 where H. R. Shah (extreme
left) announced to launch a Hindi teaching program
at TVAsia studio in Edison, NJ. Also seen in the
picture are Dr. Navin Mehta (second from left),
Consul General Prabhu Dayal, Dr. Surendra Gambhir
and Kenny Desai of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
(Photo by Ashok Ojha)
Rao paying floral tribute at Mahatma Gandhis statue in front of the
Indian Embassy in Washington, DC
32 Tristate community
Nambiar named UN chief's adviser
on Myanmar
United Nations: Veteran Indian
diplomat Vijay Nambiar is step-
ping down as chef de cabinet of
UN Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon to become his special
adviser on Myanmar.
"Nambiar expressed (his) wish
to step down, so as to allow me
to compose a new team of senior
managers for my second term as
UN chief," Ban told reporters
Wednesday.
Nambiar, who has held his cur-
rent position since 2007, will
move to serve as Ban's "Special
Advisor on Myanmar at an
appropriate time, following the
transition in my Executive
Office," the UN Chief said.He
thanked the former Indian
Permanent Representative to the
UN for his "unfailing support,
wise counsel, and dedication in
handling the many challenges
that have faced the organization
during my first term."
Nambiar previously served as
India's ambassador to Pakistan,
China and Afghanistan.
Ban said the United Nations
has been playing a key role in
furthering the democratization
process of Myanmar.
"Encouraged" by the recent
release of political prisoners in
the country, Ban said he is plan-
ning to visit Myanmar in the near
future to have further discussions
with the authorities.
Vijay Nambiar
L
et me start with a warm, happy and joy-
ous wish: Happy Republic Day, India!
Luckily, it comes soon after New
Years Day and part of the global wellness
during January, when the world over folks are
wishing each other a Happy New Year! and
harnessing the promise of tomorrow. The
Republic Day of India commemorates January
26, 1950, when the Constitution of India
replaced the Government of India Act of
1935. Amazingly, while India declared its
independence on August 15, 1947, it contin-
ued its life under the Act of 1935 for two and a
half years. India, like the United States, is a
nation of laws. 26th January is celebrated with
much enthusiasm all over India, and outside
India, by folks who trace their ancestry to
India. It is also a solemn reminder of all the
sacrifices made by freedom fighters who gave
their lives for the freedom of the country. So
here is to all the SHAHEEDS- JAI HIND!
Their sacrifices did not go to waste. Look
where India is today.
Living life in the greatest city in the world,
New York, and reflecting upon Indias
Republic Day is a pretty blessed thing to do.
Particularly, since the exhaustion from organ-
izing and staging an awesome AIA-NYs
Diwali 2011 is finally behind us, and the
Diwali Stamp Petition process awaits contin-
ued and concerted action.
So, lets take a quick look back, and a longer
look forward. 2011 was pretty cool: we made
it into 2012 without injury and the world is
safer. The Arab Spring has sprung, and politi-
cal solutions necessary to cause stable and
peaceful governance may in fact force all con-
cerned stakeholders to find that sweet spot,
closer to the center, which each stakehold-
er's ideology permits. We wish all our global
citizens to realize their dreams peacefully and
make regime change through the ballot box.
Japans nuclear incident was scary, as was the
Tsunami that caused it. Indias blossoming
relationship with the United States, the single
most important bilateral to India, is at its high-
est, particularly, given the warmer multilateral
dynamic at the highest level. The robust bipar-
tisan India Caucus in the House and Senate as
well as tangible policy warmth by President
Obama and his cabinet bodes well for greater
partnering between the US and India. The
globally well received Prime Minister of
India, Dr. Manmohan Singh's reference to
Pakistan as a "friendly power" is a milestone
for the sub-continent. That the Supreme
Courts have become active, some say hyper-
active, leaves no doubt that there is a rule of
law and civil society is well and strong.
2012 is a year when we push for the Diwali
Stamp in a concerted way, harness the good-
will of our dear friend Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney, and get the United States
Postal Service to take note. In addition, we
seek to launch new programming for AIA-NY,
as Diwali at the Seaport Street in Manhattan
needs a cultural relative during the earlier part
of the year; something before FIAs glorious
India Day Parade on Madison Avenue. I
would like to invite emails from those inter-
ested in supporting AIAs goal of greater com-
munity activities, be it to volunteer or with do-
able program suggestions and enhancements.
This is also a big year, while the Euro fights
for relevance, we have a presidential election,
and through the ballot box our nation will re-
define or re-calibrate our nation's direction
and policies, from economic growth and debt
reduction, border security and immigration
reform, national security and global stability.
But most of all, it will seek to re-energize the
American Dream for all, especially, for those
who are more challenged in life or society.
America is exceptional in human history,
and American exceptionalism needs to be re-
felt the world over. That India is becoming a
stronger presence on the global stage is a mat-
ter of greater joy if it also continues in becom-
ing even closer to the US, as this will let free-
dom ring louder yet.
The cultural heritage of India, the economic
and professional achievements, and the young
folks amongst us who are ready to embrace
the public service across the US is both satis-
fying as it is exhilarating. The mainstreaming
of our young is a top priority for all of us, as
well as keeping their roots memorable.
Happily, it seems our young ones are well on
their way to make their families, communities
and nation proud.
I cannot close without noting that AIA was
started in the 1960's, when civil rights was a
hot button topic. In 2012, an African-
American president Barack Obama is seeking
that special Second Term from his fellow
patriot, the Republican candidate for presi-
dent, and what lies ahead after the election is a
better and stronger America. AIAs core mis-
sion in 2012 isnt a civil rights agenda any-
more, but one of enhancing American excel-
lence while serving to protect and enhance the
contributions that ones cultural Indian-ness
can make to all our neighbors from sea to
shining sea.
Let me close by wishing everyone a Happy
& Healthy New Year, and to India, a safe and
strong republic that can continue to harness
the benefits of civil society from Jan Gan
Man to Jai Ho. God bless America!
Wishing all readers
Happy 63rd Republic Day of India.
Happy 63rd
Republic Day, India
33
By Ranju Batra
President, Association of Indians in
America-NY Chapter (AIA)
34 National Community
January 28 - February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Jay Leno sued over Golden Temple remark
New York: Talk show host Jay Leno has
been sued by an Indian-American in
California for his "racist" comments on the
Golden Temple and ridiculing the entire Sikh
community by portraying the holy shrine as
a vacation home.
According to court papers filed in the Los
Angeles Superior Court, Randeep Dhillon
claims that Leno "hurt the sentiments of all
Sikh people in addition to those of the plain-
tiff" with his joke that the Golden Temple
could be a possible summer home of Mitt
Romney, a leading Republican presidential
hopeful.
Celebrity website TMZ said Dhillon has
filed a libel suit and is seeking unspecified
damages.
The suit adds that Leno's joke "clearly
exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their reli-
gion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and oblo-
quy because it falsely portrays the holiest
place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort
owned by a non-Sikh."
It also mentions that this is not the first
time that the talk show host has ridiculed the
Sikh community.
"Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs 'dia-
per heads.' Clearly, Jay Leno's racist com-
ments need to be stopped right here," the suit
added.
In more trouble for Leno, a Sikh rights
group here has lodged a complaint with a
federal agency demanding action be taken
against him and NBC channel for airing the
"racist and derogatory" depiction of the
Golden Temple.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has filed its com-
plaint with regulator Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) against
Leno and NBC.
FCC is tasked with regulating the broad-
cast of television programs, analyzing com-
plaints and conducting investigations.
SFJ's Legal Advisor Gurpatwant Singh
Pannun said that while freedom of speech
should be valued and protected, it should not
be made a tool to ridicule a religion.
He added that Leno's wrongful depiction
of the Golden Temple is "more hurtful to the
sentiments of the Sikh community because
any disrespectful or derogatory remark about
the Golden Temple brings back the torment-
ing memories of Operation Blue Star in June,
1984."
SFJ will be holding a protest rally on
February 2 in front of the NBC Headquarters
in New York demanding that the channel
sack Leno.
India has strongly objected to Leno' s
remark, with Overseas Affairs Minister
Vayalar Ravi directing Indian Ambassador to
the US Nirupama Rao to take up the matter
with the State Department.
In turn, the US defended Leno's right to
free speech and has termed his comments as
"satirical."
Romneys loss a setback for Nikki Haley
Washington, DC: Republican pres-
idential hopeful Mitt Romneys
crushing defeat in the South
Carolina primary comes as a major
setback for the states Indian-
American Governor Nikki Haley,
who not only endorsed him but also
extensively campaigned for him.
Haley won the South Carolina
gubernatorial election with an
impressive margin only a year ago,
and her candidate not winning the
Republican primary is an indication
that her popularity is fast slipping
away, which was also reflected in
recent opinion polls.
Only the second Indian-American
after Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana, to
be elected as Governor of a US
state, she was praised by Romney
when he conceded defeat.
Governor Nikki Haley has been
fabulous and I owe her so very
much, Romney said. Romneys
opponent Newt Gingrich, who won
the primary with a decisive margin,
was endorsed by the Speaker of the
South Carolina House of
Representatives and the House
Majority Leader.
Immediately after former
Massachusetts Governor Romney
was defeated, a disappointed Haley
said she would continue to cam-
paign for him and would travel to
other states in his favour.
According to Huffington Post,
Haley, who won the South Carolina
gubernatorial elections last year
because of the support from Tea
Party activists, shocked her base by
endorsing Romney. Haley isnt get-
ting the kind of strong support she
did when she was elected, and Tea
Party supporters couldnt have been
more shocked with her choice to
back Romney, National Public
Radio said.
Amit Gupta finally gets bone marrow donor
California: Amit Gupta, a California based
Indian-American entrepreneur diagnosed
with leukemia, has finally found a donor with
matching bone marrow. More than 100 drives
organized by Amit' s family, friends and
strangers through tweets and Facebook posts
were eventually able to find him a perfect
bone marrow match.
The 32-year-old Silicon Valley entrepre-
neur, who is the founder of start-ups like
Photojojo and Jelly, was diagnosed with
leukemia last year. His South Asian ancestry
meant his odds of finding a matching donor
were slim - a successful donation required a
close genetic match. But of the nine million
names in the National Bone Marrow registry
in the US, approximately only one per cent
are South Asians.
On his Tumblr page, Amit said, "... After
over 100 drives organized by friends, fami-
ly, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a
bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and
Facebook posts, press, fundraising and
international drives organized by tireless
friends, and a couple painful false starts,
I've got a 10/10 matched donor! You all lit-
erally helped save my life. (And the lives of
many others.)" He adds that the transplant
procedure will begin at the Dana Farber
hospital in Boston, where he will be kept
for the next four to five weeks.With a donor
in place, Amit can now look forward to the
successful completion of the procedure and
a healthy life ahead.
Raju Narisetti named
Managing Editor of Wall
Street Journal
New York: The Wall Street
Journal has named Indian-
American journalist Raju
Narisetti as Managing Editor of
the publication's digital network.
Narisetti is currently the
Managing Editor for The
Washington Post, where he over-
sees the company's digital content
products, staff and strategy.
Narisetti's appointment marks
his return to the Journal, where he
had first worked in 1994 as a
reporter in Pittsburgh and most
recently served as Editor of The
Wall Street Journal Europe in
2006.
At the Journal he will be in
charge of the online platforms
like the WSJ. com,
SmartMoney. com and the
Chinese, Japanese and German-
language editions of WSJ.com.
Narisetti will also become a
Deputy Managing Editor of the
Journal and he will report to Alan
Murray, Deputy Managing Editor
and Executive Editor, Online.
Narisetti holds a Bachelor' s
degree from Osmania University
in Hyderabad and a Master's in
Management from the Institute of
Rural Management in Gujarat.
Prior to joining the Post in
2009, Narisetti had served as
founding editor of Mint newspa-
per In India.
Robert Thomson, Managing
Editor of the Journal said
Narisetti's experience in creating
Mint brings "important relation-
ships and unique expertise that
will assist us as we expand our
global digital network."
Amit Gupta was
diagnosed with leukemia
in Sept 2011
Talk show host Jay Leno
Raju Narisetti
Nikki Haley had endorsed Republican presidential
hopeful Mitt Romney
Washington, DC: A group of Indian American IT-profes-
sionals have asked US Senators to support a key immigra-
tion-reform legislation, which if passed would drastically
reduce the "Green Card" waiting period for highly- skilled
workers from countries like India and China.
"This as an important step in the effort to reform immi-
gration policy in response to the changing global situa-
tion," said the Silicon Valley-based Global Indian
Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) in a
statement.
Currently pending the Congress, Fairness for High-
Skilled Immigrants Act (HR 3012) proposes to eliminate
the per nation cap on employment-based visas in favor of
a more fair, "first come, first serve" system, where all
green-card applicants meeting the requirements will have
the same waiting period.
"The bill will also reduce the uncertainty faced by
organizations in retaining experienced resources critical to
support the business," said Khanderao Kand of GITPRO.
GITPRO asked US Senators to support the legislation in
the Congress.
The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, contains
a technical fix to eliminate per-country limits on allotment
of high-skilled green cards without adding a single addi-
tional green card to the system, he said.
The bill also increases per-country limits from seven to
15 per cent in the family-based immigration system, which
will help reduce the huge backlogs in the family based
system as well, without adding any new visa numbers,
GITPRO said in its statement.
Launched in 2009, GITPRO is a global networking plat-
form for Indian Technology Professionals for their profes-
sional and self-development and their contribution back to
the profession, society and people of US and India.
Indian Americans ask Senators to support
immigration reform
36 US Affairs
Romney pays about 14% tax
Washington: Republican presiden-
tial hopeful Mitt Romney Tuesday
made public his two most recent tax
returns, which reveal that the mil-
lionaire businessman is subject to a
much lower tax rate than the aver-
age working American.
The returns released show
Romney had income of some $42
million in 2010 and 2011 and paid
taxes at an effective rate of 14.6
percent, The Washington Post said.
The question of taxes has become
a bone of contention in the
Republican election debate, after
another of the candidates, former
House speaker Newt Gingrich chal-
lenged front-runner Romney to pro-
vide details about the origin of the
fortune he made as a financier.
The former Massachusetts gover-
nor urged Gingrich to make public
his consulting contracts with the
government-backed mortgage giant
Freddie Mac, an institution often
criticized by Republicans.
For months, the campaign team of
Romney, erstwhile boss of private
equity firm Bain Capital, refused to
release his tax returns.
Romney's fortune is estimated at
around $250 million.
More than half of Romney' s
income in 2010 and 2011 came
from the interest and dividends on
his investments, which the US tax
code states are taxable at a rate of
up to 15 percent.
US taxpayers whose income is
derived from wages and salary pay
at rates ranging from 23 percent to
35 percent.
Gingrich promises
moon base by 2020
Florida: Newt Gingrich has
promised to build a moon base
by 2020 if he becomes the next
US president in the November
poll. The former Speaker of the
House of Representatives said
this before a crowd of over 700
people on Florida' s "Space
Coast" Wednesday.
"By the end of my second
term, we will have the first per-
manent base on the moon and
it will be American," Gingrich
promised to an applauding
crowd.
He also said that he would
push to develop "the first con-
tinuous propulsion system in
space" that would enable
humans to travel to Mars,
Politico.com reported.
The topic of Gingrich's latest
campaign struck a particular
chord with the residents of
Florida's "Space Coast" who
are still struggling economical-
ly after recent US federal cuts
to the space program.
"We will have commercial
near-Earth activities that
include science, tourism and
manufacturing, and are
designed to create a robust
industry precisely on the model
of the development of the air-
lines of the 1930s," CBC News
quoted Gingrich, "the Chinese
and the Russians will never
come anywhere close to match-
ing."
Gingrich' s rival, former
Massachusetts governor Mitt
Romney, mocked the idea of a
lunar settlement, but Gingrich
simply commented that "here's
the difference between roman-
tics and so-called practical
people".
Gingrich leads
Romney 37-28
nationally as per
new WSJ/NBC
poll among
Republican
voters.
Washington: Joining issue with those sug-
gesting that Washington's influence was on
the decline, President Barack Obama has
asserted that America remains the one
indispensable nation in world affairs and he
intended to keep it that way.
"Yes, the world is changing; no, we can't
control every event. But America remains
the one indispensable nation in world
affairs - and as long as I'm president, I
intend to keep it that way," he said in his
third annual State of the Union address to a
joint session of the Congress Tuesday.
"Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone
who tells you that America is in decline or
that our influence has waned, doesn't know
what they're talking about," Obama said,
turning to foreign policy issues in his 65-
minute address focused on the economy.
"That's not the message we get from lead-
ers around the world, all of whom are eager
to work with us. That's not how people feel
from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to
Rio; where opinions of America are higher
than they've been in years," he said.
"The renewal of American leadership can
be felt across the globe. Our oldest
alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger
than ever. Our ties to the Americas are
deeper," Obama said.
"Our iron-clad commitment to Israel's
security has meant the closest military
cooperation between our two countries in
history. We've made it clear that America is
a Pacific power, and a new beginning in
Burma has lit a new hope," he said.
"From the coalitions we've built to secure
nuclear materials, to the missions we've led
against hunger and disease; from the blows
we've dealt to our enemies; to the enduring
power of our moral example, America is
back," Obama said.
Seeking the cooperation of opposition
Republicans, he said: "When we act togeth-
er, there is nothing the United States of
America can't achieve. That is the lesson
we've learned from our actions abroad over
the last few years.
"Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to
strike decisive blows against our enemies.
From Pakistan to Yemen, the Al Qaeda
operatives who remain are scrambling,
knowing that they can't escape the reach of
the United States of America," he said by
way of examples.
America indispensable
in world affairs: Obama
President Obama giving his 3rd State of the
Union address to Congress.
Eyeing re-election, Obama calls for
bringing jobs back home
Washington: Saying that 'no challenge is
more urgent' than keeping the American
dream alive, President Obama virtually
launched his re-election campaign hitting out
at "outsourcing" with a call to bring "manu-
facturing jobs back" to America.
Declaring that "the state of our union is
getting stronger", Obama in his third State of
the Union address to Congress Tuesday
pledged to fight obstruction by opposition
Republicans saying America had come too
far in its still sluggish recovery from eco-
nomic recession "to turn back now".
Obama, who then went on a three-day
swing through five key election states,
offered both his administration's priorities for
the coming year and his campaign messaging
for his re-election bid in November.
While he did not name India in his tirade
against outsourcing, Obama announced cre-
ation of a trade enforcement unit to investi-
gate "unfair trade practices in countries like
China", where a large number of American
goods are made.
"No, we will not go back to an economy
weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and
phony financial profits," Obama said as he
defended a long list of his trademark policies
-- tax increases on the wealthy, Wall Street
reform, healthcare reform and government
stimulus spending.
Describing the possibilities offered by what
he called a "blueprint for an American econo-
my that's built to last," Obama said: "Think
about the America within our reach... a coun-
try that leads the world in educating its peo-
ple." He called for lowering corporate taxes
and providing incentives for US manufactur-
ers to bring overseas jobs back to America,
while ending tax breaks for businesses that
continue to outsource.
At the same time, Obama said, every multi-
national company should pay a basic mini-
mum tax while giving American manufactur-
ers a tax cut.
"It's time to stop rewarding businesses that
ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding com-
panies that create jobs right here in
America," Obama said, adding a line that he
repeated throughout the speech in a chal-
lenge to Congress. "Send me these tax
reforms, and I'll sign them right away."
With unemployment still above 8 percent
amid sluggish economic recovery, Obama
framed the challenges facing the country as a
choice between opportunity for some or giv-
ing everyone a chance to prosper.
The Republican response chided Obama
for not addressing the nation's $15 trillion
debt more forcefully, presenting a stark con-
trast in policy proposals and outlook to the
president's more optimistic assessment of
what has been accomplished and what is
needed.
"It was irresponsible for him not to recog-
nize the dire circumstances our country is in
because of our debt," conservative Senator
Jim DeMint said. "He spent his speech mak-
ing some more promises from government.
International+Subcontinent 37
TheSouthAsianTimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012
Insurgents and militias in Iraq still carry out daily attacks and assassinations
in an attempt to undermine the government.
The Concordia rammed a reef and capsized on January 13 off the tiny
Tuscan island of Giglio as it was carrying 4,200 passengers and crew on
a Mediterranean cruise.
Baghdad: Four car bombs exploded in mainly
Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad, killing 14
people and wounding 75, underlining a politi-
cal crisis that threatens to revive sectarian
strife in Iraq.
The first blast hit a group of day laborers
gathering for jobs in the poor northeastern
Sadr City area of the capital, leaving a chaotic
scene of scattered shoes and food, and pools of
blood. The bomb killed at least eight people
and wounded 24, police and hospital sources
said.
"We were all standing waiting to earn our
living and all of a sudden it was like a black
storm and I felt myself thrown on the ground,"
said Ahmed Ali, a 40-year-old laborer whose
face and hair were burned by the explosion.
"I fainted for a while then I woke up and
hurried to one of the cars to take me to the
hospital," said Ali, lying on a bed in the emer-
gency room at Imam Ali hospital in Sadr
City.The second blast near a traffic roundabout
in Sadr City killed three people and wounded
26 others, the sources said.
Two other car bombs exploded in mainly
Shi'ite northwestern areas of Baghdad, killing
three people and wounding 25, sources said.
One car blew up near two schools in the Shula
district, the other on a busy commercial street
in Hurriya.Violence in Iraq has dropped
sharply from the height of sectarian killing in
2006-07, but insurgents and militias still carry
out daily attacks and assassinations in an
attempt to undermine the government.
Car bombs kill 14,
wound 75 in Iraq
Rome: Nudged gently by the tides
off Tuscany, the capsized Costa
Concordia has been deemed stable
enough on its rocky perch for sal-
vagers to begin pumping fuel oil
from its giant tanks.
The cruise liner, its hull gashed by
a reef and pocked by holes blasted
by divers searching for the missing,
yielded two more bodies, 10 days
after the accident. The corpses of
two women were found in the luxu-
ry liner's Internet cafe, now 55 feet
(17 meters) underwater.
Tables, desks, elegant upholstered
armchairs and cabinets bobbed in
the sea as divers guided the furniture
out of the holes to clear space for
their exploration inside.
So far, the bodies of 15 people
have been found most of them in the
submerged portion of the vessel,
while 17 others remain unaccounted
for. Authorities said earlier reports
that an unregistered Hungarian
woman had called friends from the
ship before it flipped over turned out
to be groundless.
The Concordia rammed a reef and
capsized on January 13 off the tiny
Tuscan island of Giglio as it was
carrying 4,200 passengers and crew
on a Mediterranean cruise.
Salvage experts received the green
light to start pumping fuel soon
from the double-lined tanks of the
Concordia. The weekslong fuel-
removal operation aims to avert a
possible environmental catastrophe
in the waters off Giglio, part of a
protected seven-island Marine Park.
The ship' s Italian captain,
Francesco Schettino, is under house
arrest near Naples, facing possible
charges of manslaughter, causing a
shipwreck and abandoning his ves-
sel while some people were still
aboard. He has insisted that he was
coordinating rescue operations from
a lifeboat and then from shore.
Despite earlier fears, officials said
the crippled cruise ship, with a 230-
foot (70-meter) gash in its hull, is
not expected to roll off its rocky
seabed perch and be swallowed by
the sea.
The sea has been calm for several
days but was expected to become
choppy in the next few days.
Seven bodies still await identifica-
tion. Gabrielli said officials have
DNA from the relatives of all of the
missing passengers and are working
to confirm their names.
Italy ship disaster:
More bodies found
Colombo: Sri Lanka has ordered a
group of 161 foreign Islamic clerics,
including Indians, to leave the coun-
try for flouting visa regulations.
Sri Lanka' s immigration head
Chulananda Perera said that the
clerics had no right to preach in
mosques as they had arrived on
tourist visas. "They have violated
immigration laws.
A tourist visa is to have a holiday
or visit friends and family, and not
to preach Islam," The BBC quoted
Perera, as saying.
The official also said that some
local Muslims had complained that
the visitors were not teaching a
moderate form of Islam. The group
also included preachers from
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives and
Arab nations. They have been
ordered to leave by January 31.
Perera said the group belonged to
Tablighi Jamaat, an international
Islamic movement popular in Sri
Lanka and the region.
According to the report, Muslim
members of Sri Lanka's government
have expressed concern at the mass
expulsion, and are expected to meet
other officials to try to delay the
move.
The news has also created conster-
nation in the Muslim community in
Sri Lanka, the third largest ethnic
group in the country after Sinhalese
and Tamils.
Lanka expels 161 foreign
Muslim clerics
Pak Senate wants Musharraf
tried for treason
Islamabad: The upper house of Pakistan's parliament
unanimously adopted a resolution that demanded the
arrest of former president Pervez Musharraf on his
arrival in the country and the registration of a case of
high treason against him.
The resolution was moved in the Senate by Raza
Rabbani, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan People's
Party.
Rabbani accused Musharraf, currently living in self-
exile in London and Dubai, of abrogating the
Constitution twice, arresting members of the superior
judiciary and compromising national interests.
Musharraf dented the national economy and inflicted
colossal loss to the national exchequer, Rabbani said.
The rules of business of the Senate were suspended
when Rabbani moved a motion and informed the chair-
man of the House that he and several other Senators
intended to move the resolution against the ex-dictator.
Muslim members of Sri Lanka's government have expressed
concern at the mass expulsion, and are expected to meet other
officials to try to delay the move.
The former president of Pakistan is currently living in
self-exile in London and Dubai.
38 Business
Mumbai: After keeping money supply
under a tight leash for nearly two years to
tame galloping inflation, India's central bank
took steps to infuse more liquidity into the
system by reducing a key rate that would
help the industry get out of the current down-
turn.
The cash reserve ratio (CRR), the amount
against deposits which commercial banks
have to keep as liquid assets such as cash,
has been lowered by 50 basis points to 5.5
percent from 6 percent and will be effective
Jan 28.
"This step will release Rs.320 billion into
the system," Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Governor D. Subbarao said in a statement,
soon after presenting the third quarter review
of the monetary policy for the current fiscal
year.
"The policy actions and the guidance are
expected to ease liquidity conditions, miti-
gate downside risks to growth and anchor
medium-term inflation expectations on the
basis of a credible commitment to low and
stable inflation," he added.
Industry welcomed the cut in CRR, but
urged the central bank to start lowering inter-
est rates in forthcoming reviews.
"This gives a clear signal that the RBI has
recognized the challenges to growth owing
to a weakening demand condition. The RBI
needs to start reducing the repo rate as well
in order to start the investment cycle, which
has weakened," said Chandrajit Banerjee,
director general, Confederation of Indian
Industry.
For the past two years, the central bank
had been taking steps to curb liquidity with a
mix of measures such as hikes in the short-
term lending and borrowing rates to contain
inflation that had risen to double digits with
food inflation at 20 percent once.
But this has affected investments and
increased the cost of capital to industry. As a
result, industrial output has been largely
sluggish in the current fiscal.
Cumulative factory output in the April-
November period has been sluggish at 3.8
percent as against a growth of 8.4 percent in
the like period of 2010.
In the mid-quarter review of the monetary
policy in December, the central bank had hit
the pause button on rate hikes while also
indicating that it may ease the tight money
policy regime if inflation were to moderate
further.
"The growth-inflation balance of the mon-
etary policy stance has now shifted to
growth, while at the same time ensuring that
inflationary pressures remain contained,"
Subbarao said in Tuesday's policy statement.
India's annual rate of inflation currently
stands at a two-year low of 7.47 percent for
December. Food inflation has been in the
negative for the past three weeks, giving
some comfort to policy-makers.
India's central bank infuses Rs 320 bn into system
Industry welcomed the cut in CRR, but
urged the central bank to start lowering
interest rates in forthcoming reviews.
Currently, the government allows for FDI up to 49 percent in Indian
carriers by non-airline players.
New Delhi: Operating through a
tough financial environment,
Indian carriers see a ray of hope in
the government proposal to allow
foreign airlines to invest funds and
expertise in them so as to bring
back the zing in the sector.
"A market growing at over 15
percent, huge untapped market in
the interiors, growing per capita
incomes and propensity to fly
make India an attractive aviation
market to be in," said Amber
Dubey, a director in global consul-
tancy firm KPMG.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit
Singh will move a cabinet note
seeking 49 percent foreign direct
investment (FDI) by foreign carri-
ers in domestic airlines. The Group
of Ministers will take up the issue
of direct ATF imports and discuss
plans to revive the aviation sector.
Currently, the government allows
for FDI up to 49 percent in Indian
carriers by non-airline players but
bans foreign airlines from directly
investing for security concerns.
But would foreign carriers be
keen to invest in a bleeding sector
where three listed players -- Jet,
Kingfisher and SpiceJet -- are
reporting heavy second quarter
losses?
Industry watchers say 'yes'. The
Indian aviation market is one of the
fastest growing in the world. Last
year, it expanded by 20 percent.
And the current downturn makes
valuations attractive. "Those who
wait and watch may have to pay a
higher price later," Dubey said.
But a deterrent for foreign carri-
ers could be the plethora of state
sales taxes which make jet fuel one
of the costliest in the world.
FDI in aviation may give
flight to domestic airlines
New Delhi: India has taken possession of a nuclear-
powered submarine from Russia on a 10-year lease.
The Akula II craft was handed over to India in a cer-
emony in eastern Russia in a deal that has cost close to
$1bn. India previously owned a Soviet-built nuclear
submarine but decommissioned it in 1991. It now
rejoins China, Russia, the US, the UK and France as
an operator of underwater nuclear vessels.
India is also developing its own nuclear-powered
submarine.
It is expected to be ready by the end of this year. The
8,140-tonne Akula II submarine, the K-152 Nerpa, has
been renamed by India as the INS Chakra II.
It was due to be handed over to Delhi in 2009 but
was delayed because of problems during testing.
In November 2008, at least 20 people died in an
accident on the Nerpa when a fire extinguishing sys-
tem was activated by mistake. The INS Chakra II will
operate from the Visakhapatnam base in the Bay of
Bengal and have Granat nuclear cruise missile
capability.
India gets N-capable Russian submarine
India likely to weather
global slowdown better: ILO
Morgan Stanley
tops India deal
show
Geneva: The International
Labour Organization (ILO)
believes India is likely to weath-
er the latest global slowdown
better than most countries, pro-
vided it ensures rising income
levels for the working class and
enough jobs for a growing work-
ing-age population.
According to the annual report
on global employment by the
ILO, "The main challenge is not
unemployment, but rather the
high degree of informality that
persists despite strong growth."
"The robust growth witnessed
in the South Asian region was
driven largely by India and was
largely due to the rapid rise in
labour productivity, rather than
an expansion in employment,"
the report, titled, ' Global
Employment Trends 2012:
Preventing a Deeper Jobs Crisis',
said. This situation is prominent
in India, which accounts for 74
per cent of the South Asia
region's labour force.
In India, total employment
grew by only 0.1 per cent over
the five years to 2009-10 -- from
457. 9 million in 2004-05 to
458.4 million in 2009/10 -- while
labour productivity grew by
more than 34 per cent over this
period.
Mumbai: Morgan Stanley was the
top Indian deal maker last year con-
solidating its position five years after
its split with Nimesh Kampani's JM
Financial. Morgan Stanley's M&A
team, led by the 41-yearold Aisha de
Sequeira, the new power woman on
the deal street, occupied the top slot
in the three prominent deal league
tables even as Goldman Sachs ral-
lied to become the number two firm
in 2011. Aisha de Sequeira is MD
and head of investment banking at
Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley
advised transactions worth $11.2 bil-
lion , with 29.4% share of the deals
by value, according to data from
Thomson Reuters.
The 8,140-tonne Akula II submarine, the K-152 Nerpa,
has been renamed by India as the INS Chakra II.
40 Sports
Adelaide: Virat Kohli's maiden Test
ton and three quick wickets gave
India something to cheer for, but
Australia remained in command
with a massive 450 runs lead after
the third day's play of the fourth and
the final cricket Test at the Adelaide
Oval. India's first innings folded up
for 272, in reply to Australia's 604
for seven, shortly after tea with
Kohli scoring a valiant 116. Kholi
also became the first Indian batsmen
to score a century on the current
tour. Peter Siddle was the pick of
Australian bowlers with five for 49
while Ben Hilfenhaus bagged three
for 62.India spinner Ravichandran
Ashwin (2-24) then struck twice to
remove Australian openers Ed
Cowan (10) and David Warner (10)
while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan
(1-24) dismissed Shaun Marsh to
leave the hosts at 50 for three in the
second innings at stumps. Ricky
Ponting (1) and skipper Michel
Clarke (9) were at the crease.
Despite a poor start in the second
innings, Australia remained on top
of the Test. They also didn't ask
India to bat again despite the fact
that visitors fell 132 runs short of
avoiding the follow-on.
With bowlers tiring and two days
in hand, Clarke decided to built on
the first innings lead of 332 runs
before setting a stiff target for the
tourists, who are probably staring at
another 0-4 whitewash, their second
in seven months.
Barring Kohli, the Indian batting
crumbled yet again as they were
bowled out post the tea break on a
flat track after resuming at 61 for
two. Kohli's innings remained the
highlight of the day as he experi-
enced some nervous moments while
batting with the tail before getting
his maiden Test century.
Olympics ethics panel
commissioner quits
Oz Test series: India fear 4-0 whitewash
London/Bhopal: Meredith
Alexander, a prominent
member of the independent
watchdog that monitors the
sustainability of the 2012
London Games, has resigned
to protest Dow Chemicals'
sponsorship of the Olympic
Stadium wrap.
Alexander, who was one
of the 13 Ethics
Commissioners for the
Games, quit her unpaid role,
protesting against the 7 mil-
lion pound sponsorship deal
with the chemical giant,
which is linked to Union
Carbide, the company
responsible for the 1984
Bhopal gas disaster that
claimed thousands of lives.
Her step was welcomed by
organizations representing
the Bhopal victims, who
lauded her courage while
asking Indian leaders to fight
against Dow's sponsorship
more actively. Dow's associ-
ation with the London
Olympics has angered
human rights campaigners.
Kohli blasts Australia for sledging
Adelaide: Young middle-order batsman Virat
Kohli, who struck his maiden Test century,
blasted the Australian team for their over-
indulgence in sledging and also the local fans
for disrespecting the Indian cricketers.
Kohli said Australians were frustrated at not
getting a wicket for long after they had
reduced India to 111 for five. Kohli (116) and
Wriddhiman Saha (35) resurrected the innings
with their 114-run stand before India's first
innings folded up for 272.
"They (players) sledge when they get frus-
trated. Obviously, it was hot out there.
Constantly they were sledging the players so
that they could spoil their concentration.
During that partnership (between him and
Wriddhiman Saha) they were really, really
having a go," said Kohli, who also became the
first Indian on this tour to get the three-figure
mark.
Asked about his heated exchange with Ben
Hilfenhaus after he survived a run out, Kohli
said: "Hilfenhaus said something to me which
was quite unnecessary. It was out of the blue.
He wasn't even bowling. I had just survived a
run-out on 99. He said something to me which
I can't say in press conference. I gave it back
to him, (I said) you didn't have to do anything,
why would you do it."
Kohli had to be pulled away by former
Australian captain Ricky Ponting before
things turned ugly.
The Australia Test series has been a disastrous one for Team India.
By Vikas Girdhar/SATimes
One by one, Facebook statuses around the
world reflecting the new development were
trickling in. It was a sight to behold, as people
all over were filling up their personal pages
with updates about football, not the usual
Sunday status content. Quotes about life and
complaints about another weekend gone and
work the following day no longer dominated
the Facebook realm.
Instead, the New York Giants, New England
Patriots, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, referees,
fumbles, touchdowns and the pending Super
Bowl were at the table of discussion. If you
had no idea what was going on before, you
most certainly did after logging in.
January 22, 2012 was a different sort of
Sunday. Those who were watching the two
crucial games that day chose to let the world
know, as Facebook essentially became a per-
sonal play-by-play broadcast with updates
almost every minute.
The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday,
February 5 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis in Indiana.
Fans in New York and New England area
are sharing a bit more of the excitement, as
the Giants and Patriots both advanced to the
Super Bowl for the second time in four years.
To do it, they defeated the San Francisco
49ers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively, in
dramatic fashion.
In the AFC Championship game, the
Ravens Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field-
goal that would have tied the game up in the
final moments, giving Tom Brady a shot to
capitalize in his fifth Super Bowl appearance.
In the NFC Championship game, the Giants
Lawrence Tynes hit the game-winning 31-
yard field goal in an overtime thriller to
advance over the 49ers. The Giants are now a
perfect 5-0 all time in NFC Championship
games. This years NFC Championship game,
with an average 57.6 million people watching,
was the second most-watched since 1982 and
the third most-watched ever.
Eli Mannings Giants and Tom Bradys
Patriots are slated for a rematch of Super
Bowl XLII, played in 2008. That year, the
Patriots were 18-0until losing that one
game, 17-14, to the underdog Giants. Even
two-time league MVP Brady had publicly dis-
missed any chance of the Giants winning that
game.
Were only going to score 17 points?
Brady scoffed at the Giants Plaxico Burress
prediction that the Giants would down the
Patriots 23-17 that year.
How the Giants and Patriots got to the final
game in 2008 and this time is quite similar.
The Patriots, though not unbeaten this season,
were a dominant 13-3 while the Giants had to
rally furiously and didnt look back. They had
to win their last two regular-season games just
to make the playoffs and followed that up
with victories over the Falcons, Packers and
49ers to make the Super Bowl, which is just
the third time a 9-7 team has ever done that.
Its been 7 seasons since the Patriots last
won the Super Bowl, that was against the
Eagles. They have now made 5 appearances
in the last 11 years. When the two teams faced
off this past season, the Giants won 24-20 on
November 6, 2011.
Fan bases of both teams started talking trash
as soon as it became clear that there would be
a rematch: New Yorkers playing up
Mannings dominance in 2012, fans in
Connecticut, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire harping on Bradys track record
and stellar leadership. With the lines clearly
drawn, there remained just one question:
would New York Jets fans be cheering their
cross-town rivals on in the championship
game?
Well, the Jets arent going there anytime
soon, so sure why not? said Jets season-tick-
et holder and Farmingdale, NY resident Poly
Saha-Gogia. But seriously, I will be cheering
the Giants on because in the end, its New
York. It would have been much sweeter if the
Jets were representing in the Super Bowl
instead of the Giants, but at least New York is
there. As long as Tom Brady loses, Ill be
happy!
Giants, Patriots to meet in Super Bowl XLVI
The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday,
February 5 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis in Indiana.
Meredith Alexander.
Ultimate Bollywood 41
Thesouthasiantimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012
V
ijay Dinanath Chauhan is back! The
character, made popular by megastar
Amitabh Bachchan in 1990 film
"Agneepath", is making a comeback on the
big screen, albeit in a new avatar with
Bollywood hearthrob Hrithik Roshan.
The 1990 film, directed by Mukul Anand,
was produced by Karan Johar's father Yash.
Though the film didn't work at the box-
office, it won the best actor national award
for Amitabh.
Twelve years later, Johar came up with the
idea of remaking the film by setting it in the
modern day scenario, with debutant Karan
Malhotra taking the mammoth task of direct-
ing it.
Set in a small Indian village of Mandawa,
Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik) is taught
by his principled father about the path of fire
- Agneepath. However, Vijay is left com-
pletely broken after evil drug lord Kancha
Cheena (Sanjay Dutt) hangs his father to
death.
Following the death of his father, Vijay
leaves for Mumbai with his pregnant mother,
pledging to return to his native village later
and bring his father's glory back. The role of
evil Kancha Cheena was originally played by
Danny Denzongpa. But this time, Sanjay has
been roped in to essay the villain's part.
T
hree films produced by
Reliance DreamWorks, a
venture between industrialist
Anil Ambani and Hollywood pro-
ducer-director Steven Spielberg,
have bagged as many as 11 Oscar
nominations this year, it was
announced Tuesday. This is the first
time movies produced by a compa-
ny with such huge Indian holding
has bagged such large nominations
for one of the most prestigious cine-
ma awards across the globe.
The nominations are for "War
Horse", "The Help" and "Real
Steel".
Directed by Spielberg himself,
"War Horse" has been nominated
for six categories -- best picture,
sound editing, sound mixing, origi-
nal score, art direction and cine-
matography.
This movie is about the friendship
between a horse named Joey and a
young man called Albert and releas-
es in India Feb 10.
Nomination for best achievement
in visual effects is for "Real Stee" --
a sci-fi thriller with Hugh Jackman
in the lead.
For "The Help", directed by Tate
Tylor, the nominations are again for
best picture, as also for best actress,
best supporting actress and best pic-
ture trophies.
This year's Oscar nomination pack
is led by "Hugo", which has 11
nominations alone. It is followed by
"The Artist" with 10 nominations.
Apart from movies produced by
Reliance DreamWorks, India's only
hope at the Oscars -- Sohan Roy's
"DAM 999" -- failed to make it to
any category.
One of Ambani's group firms and
Spielberg-promoted venture had
forged a mega venture in 2008 to
make films for the global audience
and set up a Hollywood studio.
The deal also helped the celebrat-
ed filmmaker to break away from
Viacom Paramount Pictures, which
owned DreamWorks till then.
While the Reliance Group
pumped in $325 million, a similar
amount was raised from a consor-
tium of investment banks.
Though the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Agneepath' did not catch the eye of the
audience, the remake has already grabbed eyeballs.
'Agneepath' returns
in new avatar
Dhanush signs first
Hindi film
A
anand L Rai will direct
the Kolaveri Di singer in
his next film, set against
the backdrop of Banaras
Director Aanand L Rai has
signed Tamil actor Dhanush for
his film. He says, "For the past six
months, I've been looking for a
simple boy to play the lead in
Raanjhnaa. My requirement was a
man who could look vulnerable
on screen. When I saw Dhanush
in the Tamil film Aadukalam (for
which he won the National
award), I liked him immediately.
He looks very ordinary and hon-
est, and that was the demand of
the character."
Dhanush doesn't know Hindi;
won' t language be a problem?
Dhanush says, "The problem is
not language. It's culture. I will
learn the culture and the language
will come automatically."
Rai adds that he's not worried
about it. "The film is an intense
love story. Just like my film Tanu
Weds Manu, the film and its char-
acters will take you to Delhi,
Punjab, Chennai, etc."
Director Aanand L Rai has
signed Tamil actor Dhanush for
his film Raanjhnaa.
4084 is a crisply edited one-wild-night-on-the-wrong-end-of-town
caper that manages an improbable merger of the sinister
and the satirical.
'Chaalis
Chauraasi' -
a quirky comedy
F
our fine actors, one wild
unpredictable night of
adventure. As a premise for
a two-hour adventure-caper this
sounds exactly like the recipe
Sudhir Mishra ordered from his
scriptwriters when he made "Iss
Raat Ki Subah Nahin" 15 years
ago.
Times have changed. So has
morality. Nowadays guns are no
longer what the villains hold in
our films. They are often the tools
to trigger off a torrent of titters in
times of violence. In this day and
age of dithering morality "Chaalis
Chauraasi" (4084) has some fin-
ger-licking fun with the formula
of farce.
4084 is a feast of the feisty.
Indeed Hriday Shetty who earlier
directed a tender but undercooked
tale of midlife romance "Pyar
Mein Twist", is here on far surer
grounds as he takes his quartet of
quirky characters through a maze
of mindboggling adventures. All
highly nefarious.
The camaraderie among the
quartet of over-aged fun-seekers
is so convincing you wonder if the
director Hriday Shetty came up
with this brawny concoction of
crime and comedy after getting
Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni,
Kay Kay Menon and Ravi Kissan
on board.
There's no blood and gore, no
abusive invocation of mothers and
sisters and their private spaces.
And yet the rollercoaster ride is
never free of excitement. In spite
of some repetitive scenes Bunty
Negi's editing is crisp and sassy.
4084 is a crisply edited one-
wild-night-on-the-wrong-end-of-
town caper that manages an
improbable merger of the sinister
and the satirical. The four princi-
pal performers are dead-on, full of
beans percolating with a pun-
gency that makes them credible
all through their incredible
journey.
Reliance DreamWorks films
get 11 Oscar nominations
Steven Spielberg directed Reliance-DreamWorks' "War Horse" has
been nominated for Best Picture Oscar.
E
veryones offering money-
saving tips these days, trying
to help people survive the eco-
nomic downturn. It doesnt take
much to save a few bucks here and
there, even if youre already scrimp-
ing, even if you order the short
cappuccino at Starbucks and have
reduced your cable TV package to
only 380 channels.
Anyone whos really serious about
saving money needs to follow
Melvins cant-miss tips:
1. Be more religious. Yes, going to
the temple, gurudwara, mosque or
church can save you money. How?
Well, many of these religious institu-
tions offer you something you cant
usually find anywhere else: FREE
FOOD! Entire meals are served at
many temples, gurudwaras and
mosques, while snacks are common-
place at churches.
Im not suggesting, of course, that
you go there just to eat. You can also
get something to drink. But if the
minister asks if you want to be filled
with the spirit, its probably not a
good idea to say, No, thanks. Im
driving.
2. Dont pay interest on your
credit card. If youre buried in credit
card debt, it might be time to look in
the mirror and accept that theres
only one person to blame for the
mess youre in: your spouse. (Or sig-
nificant other.) He or she buys all
sorts of luxury items with the credit
card, whereas you use it only for
essential items, such as wool pajamas
for the dog. It might be time to get a
divorce - from your credit card.
3. Find vacations on the Internet.
Lets face it. its expensive to travel
abroad and, even if you can afford it,
do you really want to spend half your
vacation going through airport secu-
rity? Thankfully, theres an easy solu-
tion. Just travel anywhere in the
world - Tahiti, Jamaica, Hawaii -
by gazing at your Facebook friends
vacation pics. Put your face right
against the computer screen and
youll almost feel yourself there.
4. Cancel your gym membership.
Does it really make sense for you to
spend two hours lifting weights,
sweating profusely and not getting
paid for it? Instead, head to the air-
port or train station and get yourself a
job as a porter. Many companies,
including UPS, Wal-Mart and Sears,
offer lifting opportunities, though
it might be a good idea to stay away
from shoplifting.
5. Take the bus or train to work
and do some reading. The first step
is to buy a monthly bus/train pass.
The second step is to cancel your
newspaper subscription. Why sub-
scribe to the newspaper when you
can read it for free over someones
shoulder?
6. Take advantage of telemar-
keters. If you get lots of calls from
telemarketers, you need to do what I
do: sell them stuff. Its amazing how
much you can sell if youre a little
forceful. Just ask Satwinder, the guy
in New Delhi who just bought 100
copies of my novel Bala Takes the
Plunge.
7. Do your own recycling. Dont
throw out that fashion magazine -
pull out the glossy pages and use
them to wrap small gifts. Dont
throw out that worn boot - fill it
with soil and grow a plant in it. Dont
throw out that old pair of underwear
- cut it into a fancy shape and use it
as a doily.
8. Keep your lotto dreams in
check. Its okay to buy a lottery tick-
et now and then, but if youre plunk-
ing down 10 bucks a week, youre
throwing your hard-earned money
away. Yes, people do win the lottery,
but you have a better chance of get-
ting Justin Bieber to share nail pol-
ishing tips with you.
9. Think big. Dont buy a small
bag of rice when a big bag is more
economical in the long run. The best
part is, once the bag is empty, you
can recycle it. Just write Gucci on
the side of it and use it for shopping.
10. Get to know your neighbors.
Neighbors can save you a lot of
money. In fact, if youre trying to
buy a house, make sure you find one
with a plumber living on one side, an
electrician on the other and a carpen-
ter across the street. Dont forget to
show them your appreciation with a
special gift, such as a nicely wrapped
doily.
42 Humor
Money-saving tips that really work!
Tech Life
Humor with Melvin Durai
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.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Kolkata: It may sound like another Rajinikanth
joke, but a new website dedicated to the super-
star runs 'without an internet connection'!
Visitors to www.allaboutrajni.com are greeted
with a warning that "He is no ordinary man,
this is no ordinary website. It runs on Rajini
Power" and are advised to switch off their
internet connection to enter the website.
Only when the web is disconnected, one is
allowed to explore the site.
Netizens can trace the story of
the legend from the beginning,
read inside scoops from his films
and get a glimpse of behind-the-
scenes action, while browsing
through famous Rajini jokes about
impossible feats only he can
achieve.
"The unbelievable spectacle of running a
website without the internet is a tribute to
Rajinikant's larger than life image," claimed
Webchutney' s creative director Gurbaksh
Singh, who developed the site for
Desimartini.com.
With a heady mix of foot-tapping music,
vibrant splash of colors, quirky quotes and
illustrations, and icons in true Rajni style and
lingo, the unique website reflects Rajini's sig-
nature style.
Singh told that the website is based on a com-
plex algorithm running in the back-end that
keeps an eye on the propagation of data packets
between two terminals.
Magic kicks in soon as the internet speed is
down to zero, which is the basic premise on
which the site and the concept has been con-
structed.
The humor element on the website is accentu-
ated by the error message in
typical Rajini style that
appears if a visitor attempts
to re-connect the internet.
"Aiyyo! That was unex-
pected. To keep browsing,
switch off your internet,"
reads the message.
"The website has received
a phenomenal response and has gone viral with
several thousand hits and counting, along with
innumerable shares and mentions across the
web, especially on popular social networking
sites like Facebook and Twitter," Singh said.
"After a few iterations and testing, we
cracked the code required to build the world's
first website that runs without the internet - a
website that runs offline - which is as awesome
and unbelievable as miracles and stunts associ-
ated or performed by Rajni himself," he said.
No joke this! Rajnikanth website
really runs without internet
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644
9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Stars Foretell: January 28-February 3, 2012
January 28
Dominated by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you are sim-
ple, energetic, authoritative, jovial, reliable and highly or-
ganized person. You possess magnetic appeal and you are
very fond of accepting challenges, but you need to check
your tendency to behave moody, timid and spendthrift at
times. This year someone close to you would bring you un-
expected opportunities. Financial gains would also accrue
from past investments. A wonderful period to do things that
you enjoy and make you feel good. A distant journey for
pleasure or pilgrimage seems likely later in the year. Your
health would remain good but health of an aged family mem-
ber would become a matter of concern. New friendships and
contacts would develop during this period. The months of
May, June and September will be important. Number 4 and
planet Uranus will be chief negotiator and also provides you
the qualities of being nave, industrious, dominating, jubi-
lant, reliable and extremely systematic. You have the courage
to fight against any inequalities, extremely resplendent in na-
ture and loves to be aware of all around the world but should
give a look at your sullen, fearful and extravagant nature.
Sidestepped lending of money will now again comes to you
to its original master. A privilege time which support you to
conduct all the activities which give you calmness and tran-
quility. Be aware of the status of the health of some elder in
the family which might take off your peace. Upsurge of new
people in your life continues to be the main focus. May, June
and September will be lively for you.
January 29
You are governed by the number 2 and the Moon. Your alert-
ness allows you to lead a cautious life. The coming year will
see you and your spouse enjoy your marital relationship,
which will be full of peace and harmony. Most of you have
a good communication skill, and there are chances that you
will be able to develop your linguistic mastery to teach lan-
guage as a profession. Your high degree of imagination and
your inborn talent will bring success in any creative work
that you undertake, in the coming year. The months of Feb-
ruary, May, September and December will be important.
Number 2 and the Moon will be path seeking for you. The
motto of your life is to live cautiously with kid gloves. Your
personal relation has less demand which paves the way for
outstanding and highly adhesive chemistry between both of
you. Your breakthrough is your command over your native
language skills which eventually become your hard earned
way of livelihood. You way of reaching out directly to the
work area with pre defined concepts in mind accompanied
by massive blessed acumen will helps you to sit on the
mountain of money. February, May, September and Decem-
ber will be in your favor.
January 30
With Jupiter as your governing planet, you are blessed with
intelligence and optimism. You are governed by the number
3. Your religious mind and noble nature, makes you tolerant
towards those who need your help. The coming year has a lot
of travel in store for you. Visits to pilgrimage places, is fore-
seen. Although you appear outwardly to be gently and sensi-
tive, you sometimes tend to get secretive and deep down in
your heart, you are restless. Try to get over this habit so that
you can overcome even the smallest of difficulties, which
you may confront. Those of you, who are in government job,
will reach the acme of success. The months of March, May,
July and November will be highly productive for you. Abil-
ity to comprehend the enigmatic task and highly positive at-
titude are the traits given by the combative planet Jupiter.
Number 3 will make you benevolent and compassionate to-
wards humanity for which you always stand by. Time prom-
ises to pave the way for highly hectic schedule stuck in lo-
comotion. Your focus is shifted towards some quest to some
sacred place for finding the eternal peace. In principle you
seemed to be highly disciplined and decent person but from
the inner side very restive and covertive in nature. You need
to commence a movement against it via appropriate mecha-
nism to bypass all the nitty gritty troubles. In your profession
you are likely to reach maximalist positions. March, May,
July and November will be highly yielding for you.
January 31
Governed by Uranus and the Number 4. Truthfulness is what
you preach and practice. You detest whatever is achieved
through dishonesty. You are meticulous in your way of work-
ing, and this will catch the attention of your Bosses, in the
year ahead of you. Your analytical and logical mind will take
you to the pinnacle of success. However, your argumentative
nature needs to be controlled. If you overcome this drawback
in your nature you will be able to win over your enemies.
Originality of thought and expression brings around unex-
pected changes for you. Your association with a charitable
organization for the handicapped, will not only give you sat-
isfaction, but also bring fame to you. You will be able to put
your ideas and concepts into practice with a little assistance
from your friends and colleagues. The months of February,
April, August and January will be result oriented. Number 4
and Uranus regulate you. Loyalty and honesty are your trade-
mark. You always find people incompetent and uncivilized
who are deceit and of double standard. You have the power
to commute any decision in your organization by your ex-
traordinary heedful and measured attitude. You resort to the
path of utmost success and glory through your way of syn-
thesizing the problems. Sometimes you might have to regret
for your combative and contentious issues. If you consider to
lower down this spirit then you fervently move forward in
your life. You have plenty in reserve to bring about favorable
and cheerful change through your innovative and artistic
ideas. A huge cheer and great experience associated with
NGOs of disabled person paves the way to be in upbeat
mood ubiquitously. You share wonderful chemistry with
your friends who always help you to transit your ideas into
reality. February, April, August and January will be healthy
for you.
February 01
Influenced by number 7 and the planet Neptune, you are hon-
est, affectionate, creative, sensitive and a very emotional per-
son. You are a wonderful host and you love to entertain oth-
ers, but you need to control your tendency to behave stub-
born and extravagant at times. There would be opportunities
for miscommunication with your employer this year. Be sure
to check your work before you give it to your seniors. It
would not be an easy period as many things would not be in
your favor, but support and help from friends and family
members would induce new energy into you and make things
much comfortable than they actually might be. Gains from
property transaction, investments and gifts cannot be ruled
out. The months of January, August and October will remain
significant. Every act that you play on the stage teaches an
unforgettable and inspirational lesson to the viewers. Besides
being a loyal and artistic soul you need to curb your obdu-
rate and prodigal behavior. You need to be very careful re-
garding your calculation in your task as slight mistake may
bring down your performance and being impeached. You
might be in a locked up situation in reordering the scattered
matters which are the matter of concern for you but the much
celebrated victory over them is because of the galvanization
induces by loved ones. Surprises in the form of cash and
goodies are high on your cards. January, August and October
will be celebration time for you. The qualities like calm-
ness, sensitive and compassionate are provided by number 7
and planet Neptune.
February 02
Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn, you are prac-
tical, disciplined, systematic, original, and authoritative per-
son. You never run away from challenges. You are bold,
strong and always ready to face difficult situations and find
creative solutions, but you need to control your tendency to
behave moody, stubborn and jealous at times. This year your
work would offer you great opportunities to express your
skills. However, certain changes would be essential. Take ex-
tra care of the important documents that you carry while trav-
elling. Few losses due to theft and hasty decisions seem like-
ly. Businessmen should see their new plans and ventures get-
ting implemented. You would be emotionally interested in
someone whom you do not get to see so often. Romantic en-
tanglement would disturb your concentration and decision
making ability. Property investment would be beneand
morale would reach new height as you establish important
contacts. The months of February, July and December will
be highly significant. You are a organized, firsthand, domi-
nating, checked and pragmatic soul. You never swing from
hard line to soft line whatever be the situation might be. With
the difficulty level of the problem your stubbornness and ex-
citement for the same also increases. But hold back your
sullen, adamant and green eyed traits. Alternative proposals
are high on your fate agenda list to check your activeness and
hunger for growth. Some alteration might be there, accept
them. Preserve the testimonies carefully as they collectively
provides sigh of relief to you. Watchman is needed to guard
your legacy. In spite of taking small leaps be ready for the
hard work which starts now for giant one. It is good time to
look at the insights of the plans that you are trying to start for
so long. Someone from distant place might get come closer
than anybody in this world. Pleasure of love might create
pains at the work. Potential gains in trading of land will boost
you up and also helps you to make ever-lasting relation with
top honchos. February, July and December will be
good for you.
February 03
Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are intelligent,
energetic, confident, enthusiastic and courageous person.
You possess a sharp memory and amazing technical skills,
but you need to check your tendency to behave short tem-
pered and vindictive at times. This year professional ad-
vancement would depend on your ability to handle important
responsibilities. Your significant other would be a real asset
to you. This person would make your daily life comforting
and enjoyable. Distant pilgrimage is certain later in the year.
Be extra careful while lending money and take extra care of
your jewelry, precious gifts and items. The months of Feb-
ruary, April, September and November will be important.
Besides controlling your life, number 9 and planet Mars will
make you more sound in knowledge, store house of energy,
surefooted, keen and bold soul. You are versatile to take
many forms with the help of your honed mind and profes-
sional attitude but should restrict your impulsive and venge-
ful attribute. You need to be as clever as your policies are so
as to show your positive and right attitude. A lover of you
will probably reduce all your worries and provide comfort
throughout your life. Broad proposals to go for quest are at
your anvil. Blow your whistle by guarding your hard earned
money and deter yourself from any money transaction activ-
ity. February, April, September and November will be vital
for you.
Taurus:This week romantic thoughts will ruin
your ability to work efficiently.
Difficulties concerning financial
matters would ease, bringing
happiness and peaceful atmos-
phere at home. Scholars and
artists will gain recognition in their
work. Health related problems might bring
some discomfort. Your varied interests and
vast knowledge will become a major attraction
for you at social gatherings. Sports and physi-
cal exercise will be beneficial.
Aries: Your confidence and energy level will
be high and accomplishing diffi-
cult tasks will be much easier
than you ever thought. Find ten-
der love and comfort in the
arms of your beloved.
You would find members of the
opposite sex very appealing, but try not to
annoy someone you really care. Partnership
with people having a creative mind will bring
enormous monetary gains. Be to the point in
your correspondence.
Sagittarius: Spend more time doing your hob-
bies in order to relax. Pressure at
work and home will increase
making you short-tempered and
a little restless. Investment deci-
sions should be made only after
proper guidance. You will make extra
bit of money if you bring your creativity to
proper use. Your outgoing nature will help you
in making some new friends. Contribute gener-
ously towards social events and organizations.
Travel will be pleasurable but expensive.
Capricorn: A colleague, being jealous of
your recent success might try to
sabotage your plans. Your cre-
ative side will grow during this
period, bringing you popularity
and good monetary gains.
Certain changes in your looks will
be highly appreciated. Later in the week a
spiritual person gives blessings and good
wishes. Catch up on pending correspondence
and call up friends with whom you have not
been in touch for the past few days.
Aquarius: Love and romance dominate your
week as you spend extra time
with your beloved. Govt.
favours sees pending proposals
getting implemented. Spend
some time with children and
close relatives. Your high energy and dynam-
ic approach would make you popular
amongst your colleagues. Fix up something
exciting and entertaining to do for the week-
end. Avoid rash driving when you are mov-
ing out with your friends.
Pisces: Participating in lectures and seminars
will bring new growth opportu-
nities. You are likely to gain
approval from your seniors if
you present your ideas well.
Favourable period for new ven-
tures and alliances. Take care of
your health and avoid overwork and late
nights. Problems with your beloved will sur-
face if you try to force your ways. Do not
overspend on your friends and entertainment.
Spiritual gains for some.
Cancer: This week entertainment activities along
with family members will be highly
enjoyable. You should look for
ways to make things better for all
those around you. Personal needs
and requirements will be fulfilled
and a cordial relationship with the
spouse brings peace and harmony at home.
Business partners however are unlikely to agree
to your terms and uneasy atmosphere might pre-
vail at work. You can make long lasting relation-
ships during this period if you are open to some
unique ideas.
Gemini:This week you will try new ideas
and methods to improve your
work efficiency. You will reap
fantastic rewards if you stick
to your objectives. Personal
spending on yourself and your
friends should be avoided, rather
children and family members should be on
your priority this week. Weekend would be
perfect to go out for some recreation and
entertainment. Sports persons should look
after their health and physique.
Leo: This week your interaction with influ-
ential people will be highly pro-
ductive. New assignments and
jobs for some.
You will gather valuable
information if you are open to
new cultures and ideas. Unexpected
guests crowd your place later in the week.
Your involvement in the affairs of others
will only bring you criticism. A small out-
ing towards the weekend will be good for
the entire family.
Virgo:This week completing your backlog of
personal work should be your pri-
ority. Your communication skill
and knowledge will be highly
impressive. Investment opportu-
nities if any should be properly
verified, as only wise investments
will fetch returns. Spouse remains cooperative
and helpful. Children would win laurels and
make you feel proud. Certain domestic issues
will need immediate attention. You are likely
to get cornered if you are not honest at work.
Libra: This week you should avoid discussing
issues, which are likely to disturb
the peace at home. Your attitude
and sarcastic comments need to
be controlled. Health of an eld-
erly person in the family will
cause anxiety. You will meet new and
interesting people at social gathering, however
be careful while revealing your secret plans.
Do hobbies and work that would keep you in a
relaxed and jovial mood. Avoid spicy and oily
food and be regular towards exercise.
Scorpio: Confusion and arguments will arise if
you ignore your spouse ruining the
peaceful atmosphere at home.
Rise in frustration will dampen
your work and slow down your
progress. Company of friends
would keep your relaxed, but you
should not shy away from your responsibility
towards your family members. Shopping
would be pleasurable and exciting provided
you stick to your budget. Not a favourable
period for venturing into joint ventures.
Astrology 43
TheSouthAsianTimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
44 Spiritual Awareness
O
nce upon a time there was
a carpenter who worked
out of his home. Every day
he took joy in building some furni-
ture or tools to sell to others. He
merrily sang and hummed as he
worked, content with life.
One day, his rich neighbor grew
fed up with the noise the carpenter
made as he hammered the wood.
The neighbor had reached a point
in which he could not take the
noise anymore. The neighbor final-
ly had a plan to quiet the carpenter.
He took several hundred dollars
from his money and left it in an
envelope in the carpenters work-
shop. The neighbor thought that if
he gave the carpenter money he
would not have to work and he
would stop his incessant hammer-
ing.
The carpenter entered his work-
shop and found the envelope lying
there. Instead of using it to take a
vacation or a break, the carpenter
thought, Someone left me several
hundred dollars. What good for-
tune!
I will take some of the money
and invest in new tools so I can
build bigger and better furniture
and make more money. Thus, the
money flamed the carpenter s
desire to earn more money. He
began working even harder, hoping
to increase the newly found hun-
dreds into thousands.
As he began to make more
money, he was still not content. He
decided he wanted to turn the thou-
sands into tens of thousands and
thus he worked still harder. The
rich neighbor was annoyed that his
plan had failed and instead of
silencing the carpenter, it merely
increased the noise because now
the man worked longer hours.
When the carpenter had earned
tens of thousands he wanted to
make a hundred thousand. He put
pressure upon himself to work day
and night and even on weekends.
Soon, he stopped his humming and
singing. He no longer took joy in
his work but felt strangled by the
pressure he had put upon himself.
On many nights, he was so
stressed out he could not even
sleep. The inner contentment and
peace he had when he was just a
poor carpenter were gone in the
pursuit of trying to make more and
more money.
Consider our own lives. Do we
find ourselves spending all of our
time working to make money so
we can retire? Do we work over-
time to make more money? Do we
work all weekend long to increase
our profits?
Do we find that we cannot even
take a day or even several hours off
work without thinking about work?
If this is what is happening to us
are we becoming like the carpen-
ter? If we make all the money in
the world but cannot enjoy person-
al peace and joy in our work, is it
worth it?
If we find that we are devoting
too much of our time to making
money and not enough to our fami-
ly, our hobbies, our spiritual pur-
suits and those things we love then
we need to analyze whether we are
making the right choices. It is good
to save for the future, but is it
worth using up our entire life in
trying to have more than what we
need?
Who knows what the future will
bring? When we become old, will
we have the health to do what we
waited our whole life to do? If we
leave our spiritual pursuits until we
have reached our senior years, who
knows how much time we will
have left or whether we will be
able to devote time to spirituality at
that stage. If we ignore our family
until they are already grown and
have children of their own, we
miss an important part of their
lives that can never be recovered.
Let us consider how we spend
our time. If we have decided that
certain goals are important then we
should try to find time for them
throughout our life and not put
them all on the back burner in the
pursuit of amassing more money
than we need. We should weigh
our time and make sure that we do
not lose our peace and contentment
over the stress of being engaged in
a mad pursuit for money and pos-
sessions.
Being conscious of how we
spend our time and our life is
important. If we listen to our soul,
we will find that inner peace and
contentment are more valuable
than all the riches in the world.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj,
an international spiritual leader
and Master of meditation, affirms
the transcendent oneness at the
heart of all religions, emphasizing
prayer and meditation as building
blocks for achieving
peace.www.jyotimeditation.org
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
I
n our daily life we face many difficulties,
hardships and disappointments. Things do
not always go our way. If we listen to the
discussions of others and review our own
words and thoughts, we find that many of
them deal with complaints about how life is
treating us. Life seems to be bitter at times
and in turn makes us bitter. Have we ever
thought about life from a different perspec-
tive? Think about how fortunate we really
are.
After all, we are human beings. How many
species of life are there that walk the earth?
There are mammals, reptiles, and insects.
There are creatures of the air and creatures of
the sea. Fortunately for us, we have been born
as human beings.
How many of us have ever thanked God for
the life we have been given? We complain to
God when things go wrong but what about
the hundreds of things that God has given us?
God has provided us enough food to keep us
alive this long. We have had protection from
the elements in the form of
clothes and some sort of shelter. Most of us
have families who love us. We have received
some kind of education and have some kind
of work.
If we take all that comes to us as a gift from
God then we can accept the good and the
tribulations equally under Gods will. In this
respect, there is a story about King Mahmud
of Ghazni. One day, while he was sitting with
his most devoted servant, Ayaz, he shared half
of his cucumber with him. When he had fin-
ished, the king then took a bite of his own
half.
Yuk! he cried, as he made a disgusted
face and spit out the cucumber.
This is so bitter! How could you have
eaten your piece if it tasted like bitter poi-
son?
Ayaz replied, My dear king, I have
enjoyed so many favors and blessings from
you all these years.
Whatever you give me tastes sweet!
Ayazs attitude demonstrates the frame of
mind of a true lover of God. Such a lover is so
much enamored of God and so grateful to
God, that he or she takes everything, good or
bitter, as a gift of the Beloved. Ayaz had
received so many blessings from the king that
he felt it was not his place to complain if one
of these gifts were bitter.
After all, if the king gave him so much
good, he must love him. If therefore, once in
a blue moon, he had handed him something
bitter, Ayaz knew he had no evil intention. He
accepted all the king gave him with love and
gratitude.
If we could accept the rainy days with the
same gratitude as we do the sunny days, we
would find our lives would be more full of
love, peace, and happiness. If we could appre-
ciate the weeds as well as the roses, we would
enrich our daily lives. If we could appreciate
our enemies as well as our friends, we would
not have to waste precious breaths in com-
plaints and bitterness. If we could accept days
when we are ill and under the weather as well
as those in which we are well and healthy, we
would reduce our stress and worry and maybe
even heal faster.
Life is precious. Do we want to live our
lives to their fullest? The pain and disappoint-
ments will not go away by complaining about
them. We must pass through those times. Let
us try to do so in a state of calm acceptance
and conserve the energy that we normally use
for complaining. Instead we can think of God
in love and gratitude. We will find that we
pass through the times of tribulations more
easily.
Like Ayaz, let us take everything coming
from God as tasting sweet. Then, we will
sweeten our whole lives and the lives of those
around us.
For more visit www.sos.org
No end to desires
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.
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
If we find that we
are devoting too
much of our time to
making money and
not enough to our
family, our hobbies,
our spiritual pur-
suits and those
things we love then
we need to analyze
whether we are
making the right
choices. It is good to
save for the future,
but is it worth using
up our entire life in
trying to have more
than what we need?
Whatever you give me tastes sweet
Life is precious. Do we
want to live our lives to
their fullest? The pain
and disappointments will
not go away by com-
plaining about them. We
must pass through those
times. Let us try to do so
in a state of calm accept-
ance and conserve the
energy that we normally
use for complaining.
Instead we can think of
God in love and grati-
tude. We will find that we
pass through the times of
tribulations more easily.

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