Date post: | 26-Oct-2014 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | thesouthasian-times |
View: | 770 times |
Download: | 3 times |
US Affairs 10 Bollywood 18 Books 26 Spiritual Awareness 30
NEW YORK EDITION
Narendra
Modi: He is no
lion king
Op Ed,
Page 20
Jaipur royal team
to play in NY polo
tournament
US auto dealers
sue Mahindra &
Mahindra
Thousands cheer
Queen's Diamond
Jubilee river pageant
Elizabeth II's
Diamond Jubilee,
Page 16-17
Vol.5 No. 8 June 9-15, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Stocks rise globally after Chinacuts rates; gold tumbles
New York: Global stocks and the
euro rose on Thursday after China
unexpectedly cut interest rates to
shore up growth, but optimism was
tempered by Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke, who dis-
appointed investors looking for fur-
ther stimulus for the US economy.
Gold tumbled 2 percent as
investors unwound bullish bets built
on expectations of Fed easing.
Bullion was hit particularly hard
compared with equities and other
commodities, as it has been heavily
used by institutional investors to
hedge against economic uncertain-
ties.
Bernanke, in testimony to
Congress, said the Fed was ready to
shield the US economy if financial
troubles mount, but his tone was far
from crisis mode.
He said the central bank was
closely monitoring "significant
risks" to the U.S. recovery from
Europe's debt and banking crisis.
But he noted: "Despite economic
difficulties in Europe, the demand
for U.S. exports has held up well."
The MSCI world equity index
rose 1.0 percent to 302.24 points,
after hitting its highest level in more
than a week.
Hopes that central banks in the US
and Europe would act to bolster the
global economy had driven world
shares up more than 3 percent this
week after steep losses in May.
U.S. stock indexes also gained,
but were well off early highs. The
Dow Jones industrial average was
Continued on page 4
UN wants probe into US droneattacks inside Pakistan
Sania-Bhupathi claimmaiden French Open crown
Islamabad: The UN human rights
chief on Thursday called for a UN
investigation into US drone strikes
in Pakistan, questioning their legal-
ity and saying they kill innocent
civilians.
UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay made
the remarks at the end of a four-day
visit to the country, where US
drone strikes have on average tar-
geted militants once every four
days under US President Barack
Obama.
Islamabad is understood to have
approved the strikes on Al Qaeda
and Taliban targets in the past. But
the government has become
Continued on page 4
Pakistani protesters shout anti-U.S. slogans rallying against U.S.drone attacks in the Pakistani tribal belts during a demonstration in
Multan on June 4, 2012. (inset) UN High Commissioner forHuman Rights Navi Pillay.
Paris: India's Sania Mirza and
Mahesh Bhupathi captured their
second mixed doubles Grand Slam
title beating Klaudia Jans-Ignacik
and Santiago Gonzalez 7-6, 6-1 in
the French Open final here
Thursday.
The seventh seeds recovered from
a dodgy start to get over the line
against the Polish-Mexican duo.
It was Sania-Bhupathi's maiden
triumph at the Roland Garros and
second major crown after the pair
won the Australian Open in 2009.
While the victory gave Bhupathi
his eighth mixed doubles Grand
Slam title, it was the second trophy
for his Hyderabad born partner.
Bhupathi, who turned 38
Continued on page 4
Sania Mirza and MaheshBhupathi holding the mixed dou-bles trophy at the Roland Garros.
Chidambaram hit by court ruling,opposition wants him out
Chennai/New Delhi: The Madras
High Court Thursday declined to
dismiss a case against Home
Minister P. Chidambaram for
allegedly manipulating the 2009
elections in his Lok Sabha con-
stituency, prompting the BJP and
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK to
demand his resignation.
In a clear setback to the minister,
the Madurai bench of the Madras
High Court gave the ruling in
response to a petition challenging
Chidambaram's election from
Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.
Holding that Chidambaram has
to face the petition filed by
AIADMK's Raja Kannappan, one
of those who lost from Sivaganga,
the court struck down two of the
29 charges - use of bank officials
and banks to induce voters.
The court said he would face the
remaining 27 charges and appear
before the court when required. It
asked the minister to "fully cooper-
ate" during the trial.
Chidambaram had sought the
dismissal of Kannappan's petition
and exemption from personal
appearance.
In the close contest,
Chidambaram polled 334,348
votes and Kannappan 330,994 in
2009, giving the former a narrow
victory margin of 3,354 votes.
Kannappan has said that around
Continued on page 4
Madras High Court has declined todismiss case against Home
Minister P. Chidambaram forallegedly manipulating the 2009
poll in his Lok Sabha constituency.
Tristate Community 3
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
Rajat Gupta secretly servedRajaratnam's hedge fund:
Prosecution
Gupta's lawyers say traders'bragged' falsely about tipsters
New York: Prosecutors in the insider-trad-
ing trial of Rajat Gupta have suggested he
leaked information about Goldman Sachs to
convicted hedge fund billionaire Raj Ra-
jaratnam because he was secretly serving as
an executive of his Galleon Group.
Gupta quietly served as an executive of
Galleon while also serving on the boards of
Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble, a
witness testified Thursday at the Manhattan
federal court trial.
Ayad Alhadi, a marketer for Galleon be-
tween 2008 and 2009, told the court that he
was called into Rajaratnam's offices a few
days ahead of a big fundraising trip to the
Middle East and was told that Gupta was the
new chairman of Galleon International.
"I think I congratulated him," he said.
Alhadi and Gupta then went together to the
Middle East, where they met with a slew of
moneyed institutions - some of which were
quite taken with Gupta and his ties to Gold-
man, the witness said.
Among their meetings were representa-
tives of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authori-
ty, the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, First Gulf
Bank and the Abu Dhabi Investment Coun-
cil (ADIC).
The ADIC promised to invest up to $75
million with Galleon within days of their
meeting with Alhadi and Gupta.
Asked if an investment of this size after
four days was common, Alhadi said "that's
pretty uncommon".
An e-mail exchange about the National
Bank of Abu Dhabi suggested that Gupta's
Goldman ties were a selling point.
"When I told him of your affiliation with
Goldman, he was extremely pleased," Alha-
di told Gupta in an e-mail about the head of
the investment unit, which was set to invest
$1 billion in hedge funds over the next 12
months. Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd
Blankfein told jurors that Rajat Gupta, a
board member in 2007 and 2008, wasn't au-
thorized to disclose the bank's earnings to
outsiders before the public announcement.
New York: Convicted hedge fund billion-
aire Raj Rajaratnam and traders at his
Galleon Group "exag-
gerated" and "bragged"
about having sources of
inside information,
lawyers for Indian
American businessman
Rajat Gupta have sug-
gested.
Gary Naftalis, a
lawyer for Gupta, for-
mer director of Gold-
man Sachs and Procter
& Gamble, made the
suggestion in Manhat-
tan federal court
Wednesday during
cross-examination of a
prosecution witness.
Questioning Michael
Cardillo, an ex-Galleon
portfolio manager who
has pleaded guilty, Naf-
talis, asked about Rajaratnam and other
Galleon traders' claims about their sources
of illegal tips.
"Were there others at Galleon who claimed
to have sources of inside information that
they did not have?" he asked.
After an objection by prosecutors, US Dis-
trict Judge Jed S. Rakoff barred Cardillo
from answering.
Cardillo testified last week that he traded
on P&G stock in 2009 after learning that Ra-
jaratnam had a "guy" on the company's
board. Prosecution alleges Gupta was the
person on the P&G board.
"At morning meetings with Raj Rajarat-
nam, did people talk about or exaggerate
their sources of inside information from time
to time?" Naftalis asked.
"There were rare occasions when it hap-
pened," Cardillo said.
Naftalis also sought to discredit Cardillo
by eliciting testimony that he had worn a
recording device to try to capture incrimi-
nating information against a friend, days be-
fore that friend's wedding.
Cardillo, he suggested, cut a deal with the
government by pleading guilty to one count
of securities fraud when he faced charges re-
lating to five other stocks.
Prosecutors Wednesday introduced evi-
dence that a key card assigned to Gupta was
swiped into Galleon's offices at 11.36 a.m.
on March 12, 2007, which according to
Gupta's calendar was when he was to dial
into a Goldman Sachs audit committee
meeting to discuss its first-quarter earnings.
Prosecutors allege that 25 minutes after
the audit committee meeting ended, Galleon
funds bought 350,000 Goldman Sachs
shares. The next day Goldman announced
earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Defense lawyers also argued that Gupta
had no motive to leak inside tips to Raj Ra-
jaratnam as their relationship had deteriorat-
ed as early as 2007. Naftalis made the sug-
gestion in Manhattan federal court Monday
during cross-examination of Anil Kumar, a
former McKinsey partner described as a pro-
tege of Gupta's, on his testimony about the
relationship between Gupta and Rajaratnam.
Court orders protection of NYtemple president from assailant
Ravi Batra resigns as'Special Counsel'
to Mangano
NJ Muslims file federalsuit to stop NYPD spying
ByVikas Girdhar/SATimes
New York: An order of pro-
tection has been issued on
behalf of Ajoy Nayak, presi-
dent of Kali Mandir in Bald-
win, NY, against Suman
Saha, a licensed pharmacist
accused of assaulting him on
May 13, 2012 in cohorts
with some temple officials,
allegedly to cover up
Nayak’s discovery of inap-
propriate financial dealings
by the temple’s previous
president. The order, issued
by Hempstead criminal court
Judge Douglas J. Lerose,
was signed June 4 and pro-
hibits the defendant Saha
from having any contact with
Nayak.
The order of protection is
the latest in the Kali temple
assault case, in which Ajoy
Nayak claims he was physi-
cally attacked in a locked
room by Saha and fellow of-
ficials of the temple, includ-
ing past president Kumar
Sankar Mandal, Milan
Awon, registered pharma-
cists Buddhadeb Majumder,
Dhrubo Dutta, Dilip
Chakroborty and Sankar
Bhaumik, all of whom were
allegedly verbally abusive
while instigating Saha in the
criminal attack.
Ajoy Nayak, a 72-year-old
disabled left-leg amputee,
had said earlier, “I have
spent the early part of my
tenure as president of New
York Kali Mandir trying to
clarify our financial position,
and ensure a successful and
secure resource for our Hin-
du community there. It is
shocking and disheartening
that members of our reli-
gious community would not
only misappropriate the
funds of our temple, but then
resort to thuggery and vio-
lence in order to try to cover
it up.
“This is a sad time for our
community, but I urge mem-
bers to come together in
peace and harmony and
demonstrate that these be-
haviors are not demonstra-
tive of our beliefs and culture
and will not be tolerated by
our community.”
New York: Eminent attorney Ravi Batra has
resigned as Special Counsel to Nassau Coun-
ty Executive
Ed Mangano,
a position he
held since Au-
gust 15, 2011
to provide ad-
vice “with
special em-
phasis on fis-
cal manage-
ment, ethical
issues, and
identifying fraud, waste and abuse in gover-
nance". The reason he cited in his resignation
letter is “a full plate due to much heavier load
from private practice and my present obliga-
tions to protect public trust.” He serves on
the New York ethics board.
Washington: Eight Muslims filed a federal
lawsuit Wednesday in New Jersey to force
the New York Police Department to end its
surveillance and other intelligence-gathering
practices targeting Muslims in the years af-
ter the 2001 terrorist attacks. The lawsuit al-
leged that the police activities were uncon-
stitutional because they focused on people's
religion, national origin and race.
It is the first lawsuit to directly challenge
the NYPD's surveillance programs, which
were the subject of an investigative series by
The Associated Press since last year. Based
on internal NYPD reports and interviews
with officials involved in the programs, the
AP reported that the NYPD conducted
wholesale surveillance of entire Muslim
neighborhoods, chronicling daily life includ-
ing where people ate, prayed and got their
hair cut. Police infiltrated dozens of mosques
and Muslim student groups and investigated
hundreds more.
In this courtroom sketch, Judge Jed Rakoff, second from right,listens as U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky, right, questions GoldmanSachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, center, during the insider trading
trial of Rajat Gupta (inset), June 4.
Ravi Batra
Printed Every Saturday by
Forsythe Media Group, LLC
ISSN 1941-9333
76 N Broadway, Suite 2004,
Hicksville, NY 11801
P: 516.390.7847
Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Updated Daily
Chairman and Co-Founder
Kamlesh C. Mehta
Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull
President: Arjit Mehta
Board Advisors (Honorary)
Ajay Lodha, MD,
Lakhpat B. Mehta, Esq.
Rajasthan High Court & Supreme Court
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra
C : 516.710.0508
Associate Editors
Vikas Girdhar, Hiral Dholakia-Dave,
Meenakshi Iyer
Contributing Editors: Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Harry Aurora,
Ashok Vyas, Ashok Ojha, Jinal Shah,
Dr Akshat Jain, Nupur Joshi
West Coast Correspondent
Pooja Jain,
New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Strategy & Business Development
Namit Narain, C: 516.303.2075
Administration and PR (New York)
Smita Bhooplapur.
P: 516.390.7847
Marketing & PR (Washington DC)
Chander Gambhir, P: 703.717.1667
Jaipur (India) Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Print Distribution in India
Maneesh Media Agency,
P: 91.141.4188811,
Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/
masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Photo Journalist: Parveen/Bhanu Seth
Chief Cartoonist: Mahendra P. Shah
Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski
Bhagwati Creations, Rahul Sahota
Web Editor: B.B.Chopra
News Service: HT Media Ltd.
IANS Newswire Services
Printing: Five Star Printing, NY
Richner Publications
Contacts
Advertisements
P : 516.390.7847
F : 516.465.1343
Notice: The South Asian Times is published weekly by The Forsythe Media Group, LLC. POSTMASTER: Send all address notices, subscription orders/payments and other inquiries to The South Asian
Times, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Copyright and all other rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be reprinted without the consent of the publisher. The
views expressed on the opinion pages and in the letters to the editor pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of The South Asian Times. The editor/publisher does not warrant accuracy
and cannot be held responsible for the content of the advertisements placed in the publication and/or inaccurate claims, if any, made by the advertisers. Advertisements of business or facilities included in this
publication do not imply connection or endorsement of these businesses. All rights reserved.
4 Turn Page
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
UN wants probe story Continued from page 1
increasingly energetic in its public opposition
as relations with Washington have nosedived.
“Drone attacks do raise serious questions
about compliance with international law,”
Pillay told a news conference in Islamabad.
“The principle of distinction and proportion-
ality and ensuring accountability for any fail-
ure to comply with international law is also
difficult when drone attacks are conducted
outside the military chain of command and
beyond effective and transparent mechanisms
of civilian or military control,” she said.
She said the attacks violate human rights.
“I see the indiscriminate killings and
injuries of civilians in any circumstances as
human rights violations.”
The UN human rights chief provided no sta-
tistics but called for an investigation into civil-
ian casualties, which she said were difficult to
track.
“Because these attacks are indiscriminate it
is very, very difficult to track the numbers of
people who have been killed,” she said.
“I suggested to the government that they
invite the UN Special Rapporteur on
Summary or Arbitrary Executions and he will
be able to investigate some of the incidents.”
She said UN chief Ban Ki-moon had urged
states to be “more transparent” about circum-
stances in which drones are used and take nec-
essary precautions to ensure that the attacks
involving drones comply with applicable
international law
Stocks rise globally storyContinued from page 1
up 112.09 points, or 0.90 percent, at
12,526.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
was up 8.14 points, or 0.62 percent, at
1,323.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index was
up 5.56 points, or 0.20 percent, at 2,850.28.
China's interest rate cut helped boost U.S.
companies linked to its commodity-hungry
industrial complex. U.S. Steel Corp climbed
1.7 percent to $20.38, and miner Freeport-
McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc edged up 1
percent to $33.98. The S&P Materials index
gained 1 percent.
European shares closed higher, but well off
an earlier peak. The FTSEurofirst 300 provi-
sionally closed up 1 percent at 983.81, its
highest close since May 29.
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2596, recov-
ering from early losses. It briefly fell after
Fitch slashed Spain's credit rating by three
notches and signaled it could make further
cuts as the cost of restructuring the country's
troubled banking system spiraled and Greece's
crisis deepened.
Chidambaram storyContinued from page 1
1,400 votes polled by him were credited to
Chidambaram.
G. Saravanakumar, counsel for Kannappan,
told IANS in Chennai: "The court has decided
there is material fact and substance on the cor-
rupt electoral practices done on behalf of
Chidambaram."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK
general secretary J. Jayalalithaa said the prime
minister should drop Chidambaram from his
cabinet if he did not resign on his own.
Accusing Chidambaram of fraudulently
winning the polls, she said: "As he has to face
criminal cases now, it will be blot on the coun-
try's democracy if he continues in office.
Hence Chidambaram should resign."
The BJP agreed.
"We appeal to the prime minister to throw
him out of the cabinet immediately," BJP pres-
ident Nitin Gadkari said in Delhi.
The government rejected the call for
Chidambaram's ouster.
"The demand for Chidambaram's resigna-
tion is ridiculous," said Minister of State in
Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanaswamy.
"He has not lost the case and it has got noth-
ing to do with his functioning as home minis-
ter," added Congress general secretary
Digvijay Singh.
Sania-Bhupathi storyContinued from page 1
Thursday, has now won all four Grand Slams
twice in the category with first one coming
here in 1997 when he partnered Rika Hiraki of
Japan. He also has four doubles titles to his
name.
"A Grand Slam title has come after a long
time. The first one since I have become a
father. It will always be special," said
Bhupathi referring to his first Grand Slam win
since Melbourne in 2009.
It was not the best of starts for the Indians as
they looked jittery. Bhupathi struggled with
his serve in the semifinal and this time it was
Sania who took time to get into the groove.
She lost her first service game on love to
make it 1-3.
Sania-Bhupathi got back into the match by
breaking Klaudia's serve with Bhupathi
unleashing a cracking forehand down the line,
leveling the set at 4-4.
It was anybody's set going into the tie-break.
The seasoned Indian combination rose to the
occasion, taking 6-3 lead and converting their
first set point. Bhupathi made the difference in
the tie-break, coming up with lethal returns at
the right time.
They raced to a 5-1 lead in the second as
Klaudia and Gonzalez could not maintain
their level of play.
STAR TV inks 4 channel deal with Time Warner Centennial, CO/New York:
International Media Distribution
and STAR TV, a wholly owned
subsidiary of News Corporation
and Asia’s leading media and
entertainment company,
announced the signing of a deal
for carriage of STAR India PLUS,
STAR India GOLD, Life OK, and
ABP NEWS with Time Warner
Cable.
STAR India PLUS, officially
the #1 Asian television channel in
India and the UK, will soon be
available to Time Warner Cable
customers in select markets.
STAR India PLUS is a 24/7 pre-
mium network in Hindi with
English subtitles.
Prime time programs on STAR
India PLUS include household-
name soap operas as well as some
of the nation’s favorite reality and
game shows. The biggest phe-
nomenon to come to STAR India
PLUS is Aamir Khan’s Satyamev
Jayate, which debuted on May
6th. The viewership this show has
increased substantially over three
episodes, and is estimated to be a
record-breaking 33 crore people.
“This collaboration between our
two major companies, STAR TV
and Time Warner Cable, will offer
an increased distribution to reach
and entertain more viewers,” said
Rajan Singh, Executive Vice
President of International
Business for STAR TV.
Indian community supports Judge Peter Skelos’s re-election to the NYSSupreme Court at an event held in Rasraj, Hicksville.
Seen in the photo (from left) Dr Bhupendra Patel, Kamlesh C. Mehta,Judge Peter Skelos, event organizer Rashmin Master and Arvind Vora.
Tristate Community 5
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
19 Indian Americans honored with Light of India Awards By Jinal Shah/SATimes
New York: Noted author and
Padma Shri, Amitav Gosh, actor
and cancer survivor Lisa Ray
were among 19 distinguished
persons who received the Light
of India awards on Saturday in
New York.
The awards, instituted by
Remit2India, a Times Group
online money transfers unit, were
handed over to recognize the
exemplary achievements of
Indians living abroad. Saturday’s
function was the second edition
of the annual awards.
“Remit2India The Light Of
India Awards is our humble ini-
tiative to acknowledge the contri-
butions of the global Indian com-
munity in making India the
emerging superpower,” said
Avijit Nanda, President of
TimesofMoney Group. “These
leading lights have lit the global
skyline with their beams of bril-
liance.”
Saluting the indomitable spirit
of Lisa Ray in fighting multiple
myeloma and also recognizing
her work in Indian film industry
and her efforts in fighting cancer,
she was awarded the people’s
choice award for excellence in
arts and entertainment. “I am
very proud to be an Indian. India
has been a source for so much for
me.
Also they say adversity makes
your successes even sweeter and
as a cancer graduate I learned
that,” said Canada top chef host
Ray. She is expected to tie knot
with banking executive and phi-
lanthropist Jason Dehni, October
this year in Napa valley in a tra-
ditional Indian style.
Model turned host of Emmy-
winning US reality show Top
Chef, Padma Lakshmi, won the
jury award in the same category.
“I wish my mom was here. When
my mother divorced my dad, she
came to America. I grew up here
but I spent a lot of time in India,
three months every year. I always
felt I had one foot in Madras
(Chennai) and one in America but
somehow I was not Indian
enough when I was there and not
American enough when here.
Today I felt just right with the
award,” she said.
Awards were given to honor
people in various fields including
arts and entertainment, literature
and journalism, education and
academics, corporate leadership,
business leadership, medical sci-
ences and technology. In the liter-
ature and journalism category,
Amitav Gosh won the jury award
whereas Indu Sunderasan author
of The Twentieth Wife won the
people’s choice award.
“My work is completely rooted
in Indian history. I feel that
everything I have comes from
India. It comes from the experi-
ence from people like us and our
ancestors who left India who
made these incredibly difficult
journeys,” said Gosh.
The excellence in academics
award both jury and people’s
choice went to University of
Huston System’s second woman
president and first Indian immi-
grant to head a comprehensive
research university in the United
States, Renu Khator.
“No journey is traveled alone
especially in my journey.
Because I was born and brought
up in a very small town in Uttar
Pradesh in a Marwadi
Maheshwari family and was mar-
ried when I was 18 years old. I
was thrown in here because it
was an arranged marriage and I
just thought my life was over
because nobody continued educa-
tion after marriage in my extend-
ed family. However I am fortu-
nate that I found a life partner
who took second job, third job
and whatever it took to get my
education.
I am grateful for my matrub-
hoomi (mother land) for giving
me principles that I follow each
day and also to my karmabhoomi
that is US where I got opportuni-
ties,” said Renu Khator who has
recently joined some of the
world’s most respected leaders
when she was named to the
Indian Prime Minister’s Global
Advisory Council. Other promi-
nent awardees included Sabeer
Bhatia co-founder Hotmail in the
technology category, Jagdish
Bhagwati, Columbia University
professor and economist, lifetime
achievement award for study in
global economics.
Present at the event were the
crème de la crème from the field
of business, finance, education,
entertainment, and politics
including parliamentarian Shashi
Tharoor.
The evening ended with a scin-
tillating performance by noted
playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj,
a recipient of the 58th National
Film Award for the Best Female
Playback Singer.
Canada’s Top Chef host Lisa Rayaccepts Light of India Award after
receiving excellence in arts andentertainment people’s choice award
US Top Chef host PadmaLakshmi after receiving
excellence in arts and entertain-ment jury award
(From L to R): Comedian Papa CJ, author Siddhartha Mukerjee,parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, author Amitav Ghosh at the event
New York: Three students from
Syosset High School, Syosset,
NY, have been awarded scholar-
ships to study in Japan this sum-
mer which includes two Indian
Americans Tanya Datta and Ravi
Jain, and Krista Wu who will
spend six weeks in different parts
of Japan, each living with a
Japanese family and studying at
the local high school.
Tanya Datta and Kristu Wu are
awarded the Japanese –American
Friendship Scholarships while
Ravi Jain received the Japan -
U.S. Senate Exchange scholar-
ship. The scholarships are institut-
ed to promote mutual understand-
ing and friendship and advance
learning, across cultures. The stu-
dents were invited to write essays
and interviewed extensively
before qualifying for the program.
The program is facilitated by
Youth for Understanding (YFU)
Exchange Program, one of the
largest and most respected inter-
national educational exchange
organizations. It includes a net-
work of over 50 independent
national organizations worldwide,
working together to prepare
young people for their responsi-
bilities and challenges in a chang-
ing, interdependent global com-
munity.
The three students have been
studying Japanese at Syosset High
School for the past three years and
are now eager to immerse them-
selves in the language and culture.
“I love the study of the Japanese
language”, said Tanya. “To actual-
ly go to Japan and experience the
culture first hand is something
beyond my wildest imagination.
We are so looking forward to it.”
In the past eight years, 10
Syosset students have received
this honor.
This year is particularly
poignant as the SHS Japanese
Club recently raised more than
$6000 to help a school in Iwate,
Japan hard hit by the 2011 earth-
quake and tsunami. Efforts are
underway for one of the three
scholarship recipients to be able
to visit the school in Iwate and
deliver the money personally.
(L to R) Tanya Datta, Krista Wu, Ravi Jain and Lauren Lustig
Indian American High School studentsawarded Japanese Study Scholarships
6 Tristate Community
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Youth focus on ‘Dharma’ at HinduStudent Council’s 22nd annual camp
Schuylkill Haven, PA: Memorial
Day Weekend brought together
over 50 Hindu youth from over ten
universities across the country for
the 22nd Annual Hindu Students
Council (HSC) Camp on the
grounds of Vraj Bhoomi in
Schuylkill Haven, PA.
HSC serves as a medium for col-
lege students and young profession-
als to help foster awareness of
issues affecting Hindus, offers
opportunities to learn about Hindu
heritage/culture, an provides seva
(service) to the community. HSC
chapters from universities across
the nation, as well as individuals
and organizations interested in
Hindu Dharma, attended the camp.
The annual camps are a place for
chapters across the nation to meet,
network, share ideas and discuss
issues.
“Coming to HSC camp helped
fill a void I was feeling all year
long when I was away at school,”
remarked Khamini Harinarian, an
upcoming sophomore at Syracuse
University, “After this weekend, I
feel complete again. I missed this.”
Nikunj Trivedi, past president
and current member of the Board of
Trustees, spoke about the impor-
tance of Hindu Dharma and the role
HSC has been playing to educate
college students about Hindu cul-
ture and heritage.
Throughout the weekend the
attendees participated in a game in
which they were grouped into king-
doms named after Hindu dynasties:
the Cholas, the Guptas, the
Mauryas and the Pandyas. The stu-
dents competed in physical and
intellectual games to earn points for
their Kingdom. Attendees also
enjoyed the cultural celebrations in
the evening with Garba and
Bhangra. While the camp connect-
ed the youth deeply at a spiritual
and intellectual level, games and
dancing helped them connect on a
social level and build on the bonds
already formed throughout the
weekend.
“When I go to other camps, it's
usually full of kids who are way
younger than me and their parents,”
remarked Mahesh Persaud, the
President of HSC at Rochester
Institute of Technology, “It’s nice
seeing other people my age who are
interested in the same things I am.”
Vineet Chander, the Hindu
Chaplain at Princeton University,
gave a talk on “The Dharma of
Dating,” followed by a question
and answer session. “It was great
discussing a topic that Hindus as a
whole are reluctant to address,”
said Ravi Jaishankar, General
Secretary of HSC. In addition, he
told the story of Dhruva Maharaja
from the Srimad Bhagavatam and
related it to how Bhakti could be
practiced in our day to day lives.
Camp participants especially liked
his practical and modern approach
to applying spiritual teachings to
modern life.
Kanchan Banerjee, one of the
founding members of HSC, gave a
history on the origins of HSC. On
the last day, Memorial Day, he
reminded the importance of
remembering those who have
fought for their country, not just in
America, but all over the world.
His daughter, Shoilee Banerjee, led
the American and the Indian
National Anthems to commemorate
the national holiday.
Dr. M.G. Prasad gave a lecture on
“Science, Technology and Vedic
Hinduism,” followed by a question
and answer session. He also led
students in explaining and chanting
the Vishnu Sahasranamam (1000
names of Lord Vishnu). Mitesh
Kapadia, in addition to leading the
daily morning yoga sessions, gave
a lecture on “The 5 T's of Total
Transformation,” which brought a
spiritual perspective on taking con-
trol of one's life. Haimanti
Banerjee, part of the founding
group of HSC, spoke about the life
and message of Swami
Vivekananda.
50 youth from over 10 universities from across the country attended the camp
IN BRIEF
Prabhat Hajela named Provost of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Prabhat Hajela, a professor of aero-
space engineering at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.,
has been appointed provost starting July 1.
Hajela, who was the vice provost and dean
of undergraduate education, had been serv-
ing as acting provost since Jan. 1.
He will be responsible for a variety of
tasks like expanding research in strategic
areas, developing several new study abroad
and international experience opportunities
and creating the framework for living and
learning communities, a continuation of his work as a vice
provost. "Following an international search, Dr.
Hajela emerged as the leading candidate among
an exceptionally strong pool of candidates for the
position," Rensselaer President Shirley Ann
Jackson was quoted as saying in a statement on
the RPI website. An expert in complex system
analysis and design in the presence of uncertainty,
He has published over 270 papers and articles in
the areas of structural and multidisciplinary opti-
mization, according to his bio data on the RPI
website. In 2004, he received American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Biennial
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award.
Prabhat Hajela
Healthfirst to host Hicksville South AsianHealth Day festival on June 9
Healthfirst and local community organizations will
host the South Asian Health Day Festival on
Saturday, June 9 at Apna Bazaar in Hicksville. The
festival will provide health education and increase aware-
ness about treatment and prevention of diseases that affect
the South Asian community including diabetes, heart dis-
ease, high cholesterol and cancer.
“Healthfirst is committed to bringing health resources
that promote good health and wellness to the communities
we serve,” said Pat Wang, Healthfirst President and CEO.
“We are pleased to work with our partner hospitals, com-
munity leaders and local healthcare organizations to bring
this festival to the Hicksville South Asian community.”
"We are delighted to join with Healthfirst in hosting the
South Asian Health Day Festival to help our local resi-
dents lead healthier lives. Our clinical staff, committed to
playing a vital role in prevention of diseases, will provide
health screenings and important educational information,
as well as help our local residents better manage a broad
range of chronic illnesses," said Arthur A. Gianelli,
President/CEO, NuHealth System.
Activities planned for the entire family include free on-
site health screenings for blood pressure, body mass index
and vision provided by NuHealth (Nassau Health Care
Corporation). NuHealth will also provide useful informa-
tion on the importance of cancer screenings and mammo-
grams for women. Health vendors, a live DJ, giveaways
and a special magic show with face painters for kids will
be featured during the festival. For more information on
the festival, visit www.healthfirst.org.
New research finds Craigslistlinked to rise of STDs
An Indian-American profes-
sor's research reveals that
Craigslist, the classified
advertisements website, may be
responsible for a rise in the num-
ber of new AIDS and STD cases
nationwide.
Anindya Ghose, an associate
professor at the Stern School of
Business in New York, decided to
take a closer look at Craigslist
after reading a news item about a
congress- man who was forced to
resign after soliciting sex on the
web-site.
Ghose, who has been conduct-
ing research into the economic
consequences of the Internet, had
not yet focused on health. But
after reading about the sexual
solicitation item, he felt it might
be a wide- spread phenomenon
and sought to study it. Research
he conducted along with his doc-
toral student, Jason Chan, showed
a dramatic rise in cases of AIDS
and syphilis nationwide over the
last eight years, which could be
directly attributed to the use of
Craigslist that links buyers and
sellers of products and services
The authors used data on the rates
of new STD cases in 50 states and
the District of Columbia from
1998 to 2005, the first 8 years of
Craigslist's existence. Among the
STDs reported, they focused on
AIDS and syphilis. Ghose and
Chan found that the entry of
Craigslist led to a 14 percent
increase in the rate of new AIDS
cases, which means an annual
increase of 6,658 new AIDS infec-
tions in the United States
each year.
Anindya Ghose
National Community 7
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
Washington DC: The first
edition of annual DC South
Asian Film Festival
(DCSAFF) came to an end
with the screening of Dev
Anand's Hum Dono, fully
restored in color.
Attended by a host of
celebrities from the Indian
film industry, the June 1-3
festival, sponsored by Ceasar
Productions, kicked off with
an exclusive opening night
red carpet gala featuring
Shyam Benegal's classic film,
Mammo.
Saturday night's highlight
was Deepti Naval's directorial
debut, Do Paise ki Dhoop,
Chaar Aane ki Baarish.
Other highlights of the
weekend included a Bengal
retrospective, acting and
filmmaking workshops, short
films directed by local artists,
and the Washington, DC pre-
miere of Indian American
filmmaker Manan Singh
Katohora's Bollywood style
thriller, 9 Eleven.
Besides Benegal others
attending the festival includ-
ed Ketan Mehta, Manisha
Koirala, Rajit Kapur and
Suneil Anand.
Raghu Tadepalli named Deanof Elon University B-School
Washington, DC: Raghu Tadepalli has been
named dean of the Martha and Spencer Love
School of Business at Elon University follow-
ing a national search. He begins his duties
July 1. Tadepalli comes to Elon from Babson
College in Massachusetts, where he serves as
Murata Dean and professor of marketing in
the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business,
successfully leading a major overhaul of the
MBA curriculum at a school renowned for its
graduate programs in entrepreneurship and
business administration.
A recognized scholar in the field of market-
ing, he has written or contributed to many
peer-reviewed journal articles and presenta-
tions on cross-cultural ethics, evaluation of
performance for purchasing agents and sales-
people, and the factors that affect salesper-
sons’ customer orientation.
Prior to his tenure at Babson, Tadepalli was
dean of the graduate school and associate dean
in the Williams College of Business at Xavier
University. Tadepalli has a bachelor’s and a
master’s degree in commerce with a major in
accounting from Andhra University in India.
The Indian American academic completed his
master of business administration degree with
a concentration in marketing from Arizona
State University and later earned his doctorate
from Virginia Tech.
First South Asian film fest concludesin Washington
US to help India build communitycollege system
Washington, DC: The US has offered to
help India build a system of community col-
leges, saying a world-class education would
be good for both nations.
"I think the challenges India faces dwarf --
make ours look relatively simple," US
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told
reporters at a White House news conference
Tuesday, ahead of next week's India-US edu-
cation dialogue. "But I think there's a chance
to provide a much better education for hun-
dreds and hundreds and thousands of young
people in India," he said.
"Whatever we can do to help as they build
the next system of community colleges, as
they scale up what's working, as American
institutions start to set up campuses in India,
we want to be a great partner," Duncan said.
"I just absolutely believe that a rising tide
lifts all boats. And the more young people
across India are getting a world-class educa-
tion, that's a great thing (for India and the US
as well)," he said in response to a question.
Next week's India-US education dialogue
co-chaired by Human Resource
Development Minister Kapil Sibal and
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will focus
on two key areas -- advanced research and
innovation and workforce development,
specifically, community colleges.
During the dialogue, Washington will
announce the first eight partnership projects
to be funded jointly by the US and India
through the Obama-Singh 21st Century
Knowledge Initiative, according to Assistant
Secretary of State for South and Central Asia
Robert Blake.
These three-year joint projects between
American and Indian universities in the
areas of food security, energy, climate
change and public health will be funded by
about a quarter million dollar in grants.
Film director Shyam Benegal sharing his thoughts on con-temporary Indian cinema at the Indian Embassy in
Washington DC on May 31, 2012 in connection with thefirst annual DC South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF).
Seen behind him in the photo (L to R): Suniel Anand, sonof Dev Anand, Manoj Singh, Managing Director of
DCSAFF, actor Rajit Kapur, actress Manisha Koirala,director Ketan Mehta and actor Samrat Chakrabarti.
Raghu Tadepalli
Washington, DC: Ahead of India-US strate-
gic dialogue, Pentagon has described India
as a global power, which is meeting its
responsibilities, and appreciated its work to
help provide continuing support in
Afghanistan.
"India is a global power, and they are
meeting their responsibilities and we wel-
come that," Department of Defence
spokesman Captain John Kirby told
reporters Tuesday discounting reports that
the US wanted India to step up its role in
Afghanistan.
"I think the reports have been slightly
exaggerated," he said when asked about
media reports citing US officials that visiting
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta will
encourage India to take a more active role in
Afghanistan. "I don't believe the secretary
asked them to impress them to do more
rather than expressed how much he appreci-
ated the work they were doing to help pro-
vide support in Afghanistan and some of the
things that that they have expressed interest
in continuing to do in Afghanistan, but also
in the region," Kirby said.
"And so I think it was really more a state-
ment of appreciation for everything they've
done and the hope that they'll continue to
stay involved as a leader in the region."
When pressed if the US wanted to see
India deepen its involvement in the
Afghanistan war, Kirby said: "The Chicago
summit encouraged countries around the
world to continue to do more to invest in
Afghanistan's future, and there was broad
consensus at the Chicago summit by every
nation attending to do just that."
But to characterize Panetta's visit to "India
as some sort of poke in the chest to get them
to do more would be to do his visit a disserv-
ice," he said.
"That's not why he's in India," Kirby said.
"He's in India to thank them for their efforts
at regional leadership and to look for ways to
deepen our defence cooperation with India
and our relationship with India. That is
something he would like to do more of."
"But we're very appreciative of India's
efforts in the region and in Afghanistan in
particular," he added.
Pentagon's comments came a day after
Assistant Secretary of State for South and
Central Asia Robert Blake said that the
United States believes India has "the institu-
tional capacity to become a world power."
Meanwhile, at the State Department,
spokesman Mark Toner said: "We look for-
ward, obviously, to next week's very impor-
tant meeting as another opportunity to
engage with our Indian counterparts.
"We believe our relationship with India is
very strong and very positive, and moving in
a positive trajectory."
Pentagon says India isa global power
8 National Community
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Dr.Sanjukta Chaudhuri receivesAmerican Assoc. of University
Women Fellowship
Ricky Gill gets 'Young Gun' status
Indian students make US team forInt’l Physics Olympiad
University of Wisconsin-
Eau Claire faculty mem-
ber Dr. Sanjukta Chaud-
huri, an assistant professor of eco-
nomics, is one of 89 scholars in the
nation to receive an American Fel-
lowship from the American Asso-
ciation of University Women.
With this prestigious fellowship,
Chaudhuri joins the ranks of
awardees who include scholars
from Harvard, Columbia and
Duke universities.
Chaudhuri will spend the sum-
mer analyzing data and finalizing
a paper on issues of gender in-
equality, gender gaps in infant and
child mortality and demographic
implications of female mortality
disadvantage in India.
"India's population is character-
ized by millions of missing girls,"
Chaudhuri stated in a press
release.
"Sons are considered more valu-
able offspring than daughters;
consequently, female children
may suffer from significant health,
morbidity and, most importantly,
mortality disadvantage."
This research can contribute to
overcoming the lack of under-
standing of gender issues in India,
which arises from sheer lack of
data, especially in developing
countries, Chaudhuri said.
The National Republican
Congressional Committee
has awarded Ricky Gill,
who is running for Congress in
Lodi, Calif., “Young Gun” status,
the top tier of the NRCC’ four-lev-
el program for national congres-
sional candidates.
Gill hopes to unseat Democratic
incumbent Congressman Jerry
McNerney in the November elec-
tion in California’s Ninth congres-
sional District.
“Ricky Gill has met a series of
rigorous goals that will put him in
position to win on Election Day,"
said NRCC chairman Pete Ses-
sions. In achieving Young Gun sta-
tus, Gill has met organizational
and fundraising benchmarks and
has established himself as a strong
contender, the NRCC Said.
Born and raised in Lodi, in 2004
Gill was named to the California
State Board of Education, making
the Indian American the youngest
member of the administration. He
is a graduate of Princeton Univer-
sity’s Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs.
Indian Americans Arka
Adhikari and Preetum
Nakkiran have been se-
lected to be on the U.S.
Physics Team and will be
training for the 43rd Interna-
tional Physics Olympiad to
be held this July in Estonia.
Adhikari, who attends
West Windsor-Plainsboro
High School in Princeton
Junction, New Jersey, was
introduced to physics in his
sophomore year when he took honors physics, in
which the teacher showed him how physics was able
to explain the mysteries of the universe. He plans to
attend Princeton University next year
When Nakkiran, a senior at Redmond High School
in Redmond, Wash., was young, he would pry apart
every mechanical device he
could lay his hands on, trying
to discover the secret of their
workings.
These days, he still spends
most of his time creating
things, though his creations of-
ten take the form of bits and
bytes. Through his tinkering,
he has built a 3D projectile
tracker, created a programming
language, and is currently
working on a small UAV.
Graduating this year, he plans on attending UC
Berkeley to study electrical engineering and comput-
er science.
Over the past ten years, every U.S. Physics Team
member traveling to the international competition
has returned with a medal.
Indian American charged withmurder of wife
Aman accused of strangling his wife and leav-
ing her body in a closet in their Irvine apart-
ment has been charged with murder.
Orange County prosecutors say 39-year-old Shal-
abh Rastogi was having “marital trouble” with 40-
year-old Jalina George, with whom he had three
school-aged children.
Prosecutors claim Rastogi strangled George in a
bedroom May 21, left her body in the closet then
called police.
Prosecutors say the couple's three children were not
home at the time and are now in protective custody.
Rastogi faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if
convicted. The Indian American is being held with-
out bail pending a hearing June 15.
Rastogi was booked into jail May 22.
He called dispatchers about 9:40 p.m. May 21 to
tell them he killed his wife earlier in the day, said Lt.
Julia Engen of the Irvine Police Department.
Officers arrived at the couple's apartment on Monte
Vista and took Rastogi into custody without incident,
police said.
Inside, officers found the body of Rastogi's wife.
Rastogi, who according to court records works in
finance, has been cooperative with investigators, of-
ficials said. Investigators suspect Rastogi killed
George, his wife of 13 years, after an argument but
officials would not expand on the details of the dis-
agreement May 22.
Shalabh Rastogi with wife Jalina George in happier times
Dr. Sanjukta Chaudhuri
Ricky Gill
Arka Adhikari and Preetum Nakkiran
IN BRIEF
Don't forget Rajat Gupta's philanthropic work in India, say friends
New York: As the high-profile in-
sider trading trial of former Gold-
man Sachs director Rajat Gupta
enters its third week, the Indian-
American's prominent friends feel
he has been portrayed in an "unfair
and one-sided" manner and his
philanthropic work in India should
not be forgotten.
63-year-old Gupta's trial, which
began in Manhattan federal court
on May 21, will resume today after
a weekend break with his protege
and former McKinsey executive
Anil Kumar returning to the wit-
ness stand to testify against him.
Last week, Kumar had told jurors
he had worked closely with Gupta
in 1997 to set up the Indian School
of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad.
Gupta, in March last year, had re-
signed as chairman of ISB's execu-
tive board after the Securities and
Exchange Commission initiated an
administrative action against him
on insider trading charges.
As Gupta fights the charges of
securities fraud in a closely
watched trial, ISB Dean Ajit
Rangnekar has voiced support for
the prestigious school's co-founder
saying it has been "very difficult"
for those who have known Gupta
to "understand" and come to terms
with the charges and allegations
against him.
Rangnekar's name is among a list
of 20 witnesses, who could testify
for him in the trial, submitted in
court by Gupta's defence team.
"Here is a man who has done in-
credibly amazing things for India,
completely selflessly without
wanting anything for it when he
could have spent that same time
making a lot of money for him-
self," said Rangnekar.
The ISB dean said several of
Gupta's friends feel that a "very
one-sided and unfair depiction" of
him has been made in the case so
far.
"No due recognition has been
made for the immense good he has
done in India," he said adding that
the work Gupta has done in fields
of education, health and urbaniza-
tion should also be recognized and
given equal prominence just as the
charges against him have been
highlighted.
"A person should be presumed
innocent till proven guilty but
Gupta's achievements are real
achievements," Rangnekar, cur-
rently on a visit to the city, said.
Rangnekar said Gupta's support-
ers would have to wait for the ver-
dict by the jury and the judge but
they would always remain "ex-
tremely grateful" to him for the
"wonderful" work he has done.
"We are immensely proud and
grateful to him for everything he
has done," Rangnekar said.
Gupta has denied passing any
confidential company information
he received in his capacity as board
member of Goldman Sachs and
Proctor and Gamble to hedge fund
founder Raj Rajaratnam, who is
currently serving an 11-year prison
sentence after being convicted of
insider trading charges last year.
India's former Minister of State
for External Affairs Shashi Tha-
roor, who has also known Gupta,
said the accomplishments of the
ex-McKinsey head "cannot be tak-
en away even if he has made a mis-
take."
"I still believe in his innocence,"
Tharoor, a Member of Parliament,
said adding that one would have to
wait for the decision by the court.
National Community 9
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
Court to hear anti-Sikh riots caseagainst Congress party
Prosecutors 'tarring' Rajat Gupta: Judge
New York: A US court has
set June 27 to hear Indian
National Congress party's
plea to dismiss or stay pro-
ceedings in the 1984 anti-
Sikh riots case on the ground
that the statute of limitation
had expired.
Judge Robert Sweet of
New York's southern district
issued the order after the
Congress party's lawyers
argued that claims filed by
the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a
Sikh community organiza-
tion, are "time-barred
because they complain about
alleged activities that
occurred more than twenty-
five years ago; all statutes of
limitations have long
expired."
Congress party treasurer
Motilal Vora also gave an
affidavit to the US Court in
support of the motion to dis-
miss the complaint on the
ground that "no summons
and complaint from the New
York Litigation was deliv-
ered to the Indian National
Congress Party in accor-
dance with the Hague
Service Convention."
The party had earlier chal-
lenged the jurisdiction of the
US Federal Court to hear the
case. SFJ legal advisor
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
said the plaintiffs will
request the court to deny the
motion because despite hav-
ing knowledge of the law
suit and having ample
opportunities to raise these
issues, Congress party chose
not to respond and has thus
waived all the defences.
New York: A US federal court judge trying
Rajat Gupta on insider trading charges has
observed that prosecutors were "tarring" the
former Indian-American managing director
of McKinsey & Co. with an unrelated sepa-
rate scheme.
"That's the problem," US District Judge
Jed Rakoff said when Gupta's lawyer, Gary
Naftalis, argued in a hearing Friday outside
the jury's presence that prosecutors were
attempting to retry the case of convicted
hedge fund billionaire Rajaratnam to get his
client. Rakoff ruled that he wouldn't allow
Anil Kumar, another Indian American
employee of McKinsey, to testify about any
illicit payments received by him from
Rajaratnam or say they were in violation of
McKinsey policy because prosecutors failed
to show the payments went against any spe-
cific McKinsey policy.
Rakoff said Kumar, who has pleaded
guilty to insider trading charges, isn't
accused of being a co-conspirator with
Gupta and was instead involved in a sepa-
rate insider-trading scheme with Galleon
Group co-founder Rajaratnam that didn't
include Gupta.
Kumar testified at Rajaratnam's trial last
year that from 2003 to 2009 the two men
had an agreement where he passed inside
information about companies he was advis-
ing to Rajaratnam, in exchange for pay-
ments of as much as $1 million a year to an
offshore account.
Atlanta: Lawyers for U.S.
automobile dealers in five
states said they've filed a law-
suit accusing an Indian truck
manufacturer and its
American counterpart of
fraud, misrepresentation and
conspiracy, according to an
AP report.
The lawyers said the suit
was filed Monday in federal
court in Atlanta against
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
and Mahindra USA Inc. on
behalf of dealerships in New
Hampshire, Florida,
California, New Jersey and
Washington. The lawsuit
claims that Mahindra duped
hundreds of auto dealers and
walked away with millions in
cash and trade secrets.
"Mahindra told the dealers
that its light trucks and SUVs
were ready for delivery to the
U.S. market," Michael Diaz,
a lawyer for the dealers, said
in a statement.
"However, Mahindra inten-
tionally delayed certification
of its vehicles after obtaining
the dealership fees and trade
secrets and began pursuing
other partners in the U.S. and
elsewhere in clear violation
of their commitments."
A statement on Mahindra's
website says the company
cannot comment on the legal
matter but goes on to say the
company "unequivocally
denies all allegations of
fraud, misrepresentation and
conspiracy."
The auto dealers paid initial
dealership fees, hired addi-
tional staff, did marketing and
built Mahindra showrooms,
display platforms and show-
cases, all at Mahindra's urg-
ing, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says
Mahindra's efforts to enter the
U.S. market and build a
nationwide dealer network
began in 2004. The company
made an aggressive pitch to
attract U.S. dealers, including
sending senior executive
Arun Jaura to an Atlanta auto-
motive show in 2007, where
he repeatedly said, "I love
America!", the lawsuit says.
After getting millions in
fees from the dealers,
Mahindra continued to tell
them its certification process
was on track but the company
was actually delaying submit-
ting the required documenta-
tion to regulators as a pretext
to terminate its agreements,
Diaz said. The lawsuit says
the dealers have given
Mahindra more than $9.5
million in cash and more than
a $100 million worth of deal-
er trade secrets and a strong
market foundation from the
dealers' "free" promotion of
the Mahindra name.
"Mahindra repeatedly failed
to live up to its obligations,"
Diaz said. "Now, after spend-
ing millions of dollars on
behalf of Mahindra, the U.S.
dealers have nothing to show
for their time and energy
other than a series of false
promises."
US auto dealers sue Indiantruck manufacturer
Lawsuit claims Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd andMahindra USA Inc duped them and walked away
with millions in cash and trade secrets
Indian-Americans appointedto key Texas Boards
Houston: Two prominent
Indian-American commu-
nity leaders here have
been appointed to engi-
neering and medical pro-
fessionals boards in Texas.
Texas governor Rick
Perry appointed
Sockalingam Sam
Kannappan to the Texas
Board of Professional
Engineers for term to
expire on September 26,
2017.
The board licenses quali-
fied engineers, enforces
the Texas Engineering
Practice Act and regulates
the practice of profession-
al engineering in Texas.
Born in Nattarasankottai
in Sivaganga district of
Tamil Nadu, Kannappan is
a senior design engineer
for SNC-Lavalin
Hydrocarbons and
Chemicals.
Kannappan received a
bachelor's degree from
Annamalai University and
a master's degree in
mechanical engineering
from the University of
Texas.
He is one of the co-
founders of Sri Meenakshi
Temple in Houston.
Perry appointed
Surendra Varma of
Lubbock, Texas, and
Robert Hootkins of Austin
to the Texas Medical
Board District Review
Committees Three and
Four.
Committee members
evaluate medical practice
or professional competen-
cy and make recommenda-
tions on investigations
conducted by the board.
Varma is associate dean
of Graduate Medical
Education and Resident
Affairs at Texas Tech
University Health
Sciences Centre (TTUH-
SC).
He is also the Ted
Hartman Endowed Chair
in Medical Education and
vice-chair of Pediatrics at
TTUHSC School of
Medicine.
He has been appointed to
the District Three review
committee for a term to
expire January 15, 2018.
Sockalingam Sam Kannappan and Surendra Varma
10 US Affairs
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Bill to raise federalminimum wage to $10Chicago: U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson
Jr. has written legislation for the
U.S. House that would increase
the minimum wage to $10 per
hour. Under his proposal the fed-
eral minimum wage would
increase $2.75 per hour. The fed-
eral minimum wage has been
$7.25 since 2007.The Chicago
Democrat says the legislation will
affect more than 30 million work-
ers. He says former independent
presidential candidate and con-
sumer advocate Ralph Nader
encouraged him to introduce the
legislation which will encourage
Americans to spend more and
thus help stimulate the nation’s
sluggish economy.The federal
minimum wage is covered by the
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
New York: A group closely allied
with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
received $2 million from gambling
interests last December as he
developed a proposal to expand
casino gambling in New York.
Mr. Cuomo’s support for expand-
ed gambling, which he made a cen-
terpiece of his State of the State
address in January, had a profound
impact. Within weeks, the
Legislature endorsed a constitu-
tional amendment that, if approved
once more by lawmakers and then
by voters, would allow for seven
full-scale, privately owned casinos,
potentially worth billions of dol-
lars, reports New York Times.
Genting, a subsidiary of
Southeast Asia’s largest gambling
company, made an additional con-
tribution of approximately
$400,000 to the group allied with
Mr. Cuomo during 2011. The New
York Gaming Association, a trade
group founded by Genting and
other companies that operate race-
tracks and electronic slot machines,
chipped in the $2 million.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, strong-
ly disputed any suggestion that he
was influenced by money from the
gambling industry. He noted that
he had expressed support for an
expansion of casino gambling
months before the contributions
were made, and that he had
diverged from the gaming associa-
tion on several key issues.
“To try to suggest an improper
relationship between the governor
and gaming interests is to distort
the facts in a malicious or reckless
manner,” Richard Bamberger, a
spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said in
an e-mail.
The contributions went to the
Committee to Save New York, a
business and labor coalition that
raised $17 million and spent nearly
$12 million in 2011, much of it on
campaign-style television and radio
advertisements praising Mr.
Cuomo and supporting his propos-
als to cap property taxes and slash
state spending.
Founded by real estate develop-
ers and business executives at Mr.
Cuomo’s urging shortly after he
was elected governor, the commit-
tee has rapidly become the biggest
spender on lobbying in Albany,
providing not only critical backing
for Mr. Cuomo but also a counter-
weight to the labor unions whose
money and political muscle have
traditionally dominated the
Capitol.
Gambling group gave $2 millionto Cuomo ally: NYT
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo
Slim chance of US slippingback into recession: Buffett
Washington: The possibility of
the US economy sliding back
into recession is very small
despite the fragile economic
recovery, US billionaire investor
Warren Buffett said here.
The US economy would not
slip back into recession unless
events in Europe get out of con-
trol and the spillover effects hit
the world's largest economy,
Buffett said Tuesday at an event
hosted by the Economic Club of
Washington, reported Xinhua.
The chairman and CEO of
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. called
the ongoing eurozone debt crisis
the "big question" for the global
economy. Buffett stressed that
the US must make its fiscal house
in order by increasing tax rev-
enue and slashing spending,
adding that he supports raising
income tax and capital gains tax
rates to balance the federal gov-
ernment's budget.
Buffett has famously said that
he paid at a lower tax rate than
his secretary. The Obama admin-
istration has been touting the
importance of so-called "Buffett
Rule" that millionaires should
share the burden of mounting
government fiscal pressure.
Nearly one-quarter of all US
millionaires pay a lower tax rate
than millions of middle-income
taxpayers currently, figures from
the White House showed.
On the spending side, the US
federal government has regis-
tered a budget deficit surpassing
$1 trillion for three consecutive
years.
Wisconsin recall raises warning flags for Obama
Washington: Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott
Walker's recall victory raised numerous warning flags
for President Obama and his fellow Democrats, who
badly flunked the first big political test of the 2012 cam-
paign. Walker's surprisingly easy win over Democrat
Tom Barrett on Tuesday was fueled by a big turnout
from a motivated Republican base of voters, and by
heavy spending by out-of-state conservatives who
flooded Wisconsin with campaign cash.
Both trends raised difficult questions for Obama's re-
election campaign, which has struggled to match the
enthusiasm of his 2008 White House run and compete
financially with the huge sums of money being raised
by conservative outside groups ahead of the November
6 election.
At the least, the result moved Wisconsin from a rela-
tively safe state for Obama, who won it by 14 percent-
age points in 2008, to a competitive tussle with
Republican rival Mitt Romney.
"You could have a reasonable debate about whether
Wisconsin is a toss-up or maybe slightly leaning to
Obama," said Charles Franklin, a pollster at the
Marquette University School of Law in Wisconsin. "But
you can't debate that it will be competitive, and it really
will depend on how the economic numbers play out
over the next few months."
In Walker's 7 percentage point victory over Barrett
after a 15-month battle over his efforts to slash spending
and rein in public-sector unions, Republicans saw an
endorsement of his bulldozing approach to limiting gov-
ernment and a good omen for November.
Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker'shas won the recall election
‘Paycheck Fairness Act' failsin Senate
Washington: The bill received 52
votes in its favor, only 8 votes shy of
the minimum to pass to final consider-
ation.
President Barack Obama and his
allies in the Senate pushed the bill, an
election-year effort to merge political
appeals to women.
Republicans voted largely against
the bill on the basis that its passing
could affect business if employees
decide to sue for pay-related issues.
"To those of our colleagues who
claim to be so concerned about the
economy and the middle class, now is
your chance to prove to your con-
stituents that you really mean what
you say," said Sen. Patty Murray, (D)
Wash., as debate opened Tuesday.
"The paycheck fairness act is not just
about women, and it is not just about
fairness. It is about the economy."
Lily Ledbetter, the face of the move-
ment, complained that Obama’s
republican challenger would not com-
ment on his stance on the bill.
"Of course Gov. Romney supports
pay equity for women," said Romney
spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg.
"In order to have pay equity, women
need to have jobs, and they have been
getting crushed in this anemic Obama
economy, losing far more jobs than
men."
According to the Washington Post,
democratic aides have said President
Obama’s reelection campaign and
Senate Democrats aim to use the fail-
ure of the Paycheck Fairness Act as
part of a strategy to expose congres-
sional Republican hostility towards
women interests.
The fact remains that there's a gen-
der gap in the workforce, and it needs
to be addressed. Women earn 77 cents
for every dollar men earn -- 64 cents
for African American women and 56
cents for Latinas -- which adds up to a
loss of about $431,000 over the course
of their professional lives.
Space shuttle Enterprise docks atNew York museum home
New York: The space shuttle Enterprise - named
after the spaceship in Star Trek - achieved lift-off on
Wednesday when it was hoisted by a crane onto a
floating museum in New York's Hudson River.
Cheers and thunderous applause erupted from the
crowd of New Yorkers and tourists who turned out to
see the retired spacecraft moved to its new home atop
the flight deck of repurposed World War Two aircraft
carrier now named the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space
Museum. "Beam me up, Scotty!" a man in the crowd
shouted as a crane lifted the shuttle off a barge onto
the museum, repeating a catch phrase from the popu-
lar science fiction television show.
The crowd grew quiet and the air was filled with
the creaking of the crane and beating of a helicopter
circling overhead as the shuttle rose 230 feet
into the air.
Earlier Wednesday, as the shuttle, strapped to a
barge, made its way up the Hudson River and past the
Statue of Liberty, crowds ranging from small children
to elderly couples strained for a glimpse of the craft.
For a shuttle that never made it into space,
Enterprise has had quite a journey. In April, crowds
of tourists and New Yorkers watched in awe as
Enterprise flew over the city piggy-backed on a
Boeing 747 Jumbo jet.
Enterprise drew more crowds on Wednesday on the
banks of the Hudson to watch the NASA spacecraft
make its final approach to its new floating home on
Manhattan's west side.Despite never flying in space,
Enterprise holds a special place in American history,
having been the first of NASA's space shuttles.
US Affairs 11
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
Is it racist to say 'blacks attacking whites'?Society grapples with politically incorrect fact about crime
By Colin Flaherty
Let’s say thousands of people riot in your
upscale downtown neighborhood. And
it happens a few dozen times in just a
few years: Not just partying, but violence,
destruction, theft and serious injuries.
Question: If people notice that most of the
criminals were black and most of the victims
were white, does that make them racist?
Depends. In Philadelphia, it makes you a
hero. In Baltimore, a bigot.
Let’s start with Philadelphia: For three
years, the black mayor, Michael Nutter, said
race had nothing to do with the dozens of vio-
lent episodes of black people marauding
through older neighborhoods, stealing, beating
and destroying property.
There is no racial component to stupid
behavior, Nutter told the New York Times in
one of the few stories to even raise the topic if
only to dismiss it.
Despite their denials, the violence contin-
ued. Sometimes daily. Injuries mounted. So
did the explicit videos on YouTube and pres-
sure to confront the obvious.
Finally, Nutter changed: The rioters were
black and they were hurting their own race,
Nutter told a crowd at his neighborhood
Baptist church.
At his side: the head of the Philadelphia
Branch of the NAACP, J. Whyatt Mondesire.
Nutter’s comments were courageous, he said.
These are majority African-American youths
and they need to be called on it.
TheGrio.com, a division of NBC News that
satisfies the desire of African Americans to
stay informed and connected with their com-
munity, said Nutter’s comments were tough
love... about things black people think but
won’t say. Nutter was disgusted by the mobs
of African American youths who have been
terrorizing folks in City Center lately, he gave
the black community a good old-fashioned
whipping, said Annette John Hall, columnist
for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The tough love had weak results: Violence
continued as did the local media’s willingness
to ignore its racial component.
One hundred miles down the road, mob vio-
lence at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor may have
been less manic and less reported, but it was at
least as widespread.
Most famously, on St. Patrick’s Day 2012, a
group of black people beat and stripped and
mocked a drunken tourist. Videos they posted
went viral.
Police officials said the incident was small
and limited. The Baltimore Sun would later
release a study showing the violence was far
greater and more widespread than city offi-
cials reported.
As to the race of the criminals in this and
other incidents? That’s not something
reporters in Baltimore wonder about.
But state legislator Pat McDonough did.
In the spring of 2012, McDonough and his
wife saw it for themselves while visiting the
Inner Harbor for a charity dinner: Hundreds of
people marauding through the streets, fight-
ing, wreaking havoc.
With not a cop in sight, the McDonoughs
noticed the rioters were black.
A few weeks later McDonough issued a
press release, calling for the mayor and gover-
nor to declare a No-Travel zone in the area
because it was not safe. The headline on his
press release read: Black Youth Mobs
Terrorize Baltimore on Holidays.
Which is what the black columnist for the
Inquirer said just a months before. No matter:
The governor, mayor, elected officials and the
media lined up to blast McDonough.
Race-baiting, said a fellow legislator.
Racially charged publicity stunt, said a
spokesman for the mayor.
The governor dismissed McDonough
because crime was down.
The former head of the NAACP in
Baltimore said McDonough was guilty of big-
otry. The editorial writers of the Baltimore
Sun dutifully heaped on the scorn: Bluster ...
Bombast ... Bloviating, they called it. Why is
the race of those involved in criminal behavior
pertinent? they asked McDonough.
Fair question, McDonough said.
They should tell us, said McDonough. In the
days before and after this editorial, the Sun
has run articles referring to race more than
100 times. There were stories about black
homesteaders, black ministers, blacks and ille-
gal immigration, blacks and schools, blacks
and gay rights, black tennis stars, blacks in the
1940 census, black school children, black
criminal suspects, black criminal victims. The
list goes on and on. All from the paper that
pleads with us to ignore race. I’m confused.
Do we ignore race or not?
Or is it sometimes yes and sometimes no?
he said. If you pay attention to race are you a
bigot or enlightened? These big city newspa-
pers writers are just too bright for me.
With permission from WND (formerlyWorldNetDaily), a leading Internet news sitein both traffic and influence.
Opinion
12 India
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Beijing: China has reiterated its
desire to open a fourth mission in
India, possibly in Chennai to further
expand growing trade and business
ties with its neighbor. Chinese for-
eign minister Yang Jiechi raised the
issue at a meeting this afternoon
with Indian external affairs minister
SM Krishna at the Great Hall of the
People.
Krishna was in a Beijing to repre-
sent India as an observer country at
the two-day Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) summit.
According to Indian embassy
sources, Yang said China was keen
to expand consular presence in
India. Currently, China has an
embassy in New Delhi and two con-
sulates Mumbai and Kolkata.
Krishna was said to have told him
that matter should be taken forward
through meetings between consular-
level officials.
Current trade between the coun-
tries stands at 74 billion USD; the
projected volume is 100 billion
USD by 2015. India has also urged
China to invest in infrastructure. As
a port city on India’s east coast,
Chennai’s location is seen as crucial
to the increasing industrialisation in
the area.
Interestingly, Taiwan, which
China claims to be its territory,
opened its second representative
office in India in Chennai a few
months ago.
China also expressed interest in
creating “sister city” ties with
Indian cities. Yang said these ties
have worked very well for China
especially with Japan, Korea and
Russia.
It was the fourth meeting between
the two ministers in 2012 and they
discussed issues of bilateral interest
and some that are outstanding ones.
For one, next month technical teams
from both countries will meet dis-
cuss the issue of sharing river water.
The two countries have already held
talks on counter-terrorism and poli-
cy planning this year. Relevant offi-
cials will also meet soon for a bilat-
eral dialogue on and Central and
West Asia.
Embassy sources said on his part
Krishna assured Yang that Chinese
businesses will be given a “level
playing field” if they want to invest-
ment in India. Yang had expressed
concerns that many Chinese busi-
nessmen were not sure whether they
were welcome in India and whether
they will be treated fairly.
On the huge trade deficit in the
trade between the two countries,
Yang told Krishna: “We are looking
to see where is it that India is com-
petitive?”
But overall, according to ambas-
sador S Jaishankar, it was evident
from the meeting that “relationship
(between the two countries) was
going more smoothly than before.”
China for creating 'sistercity' ties with India
Rupee hits 2-week high;China rate cut helps
Mumbai: The rupee breached the
55-per-dollar mark on June 7, hitting
its strongest level against the dollar
in more than two weeks, as a rate cut
in China in late trade further boosted
a revival in global risk sentiment.
Dollar sales by foreign and custo-
dian banks tied to the rally in domes-
tic stock markets also helped the
rupee strengthen, although dollar
buying by oil firms capped some of
the gains.
India's promise on Wednesday to
push ahead with major transport and
power projects, which some analysts
initially saw as a positive signal from
a government often accused of policy
inaction, failed to sway markets.
The rupee has now gained for four
consecutive sessions, bouncing back
from a record low of 56.52 hit a
week ago, and analysts see further
gains ahead if demand for global risk
assets continues to improve.
"I think the rupee should appreci-
ate from here on. The rupee could
rise to 54 in the near-term, while
downside should not be beyond
56.50 levels. We have likely seen the
bottom," said SK Kalra, general
manager and head of treasury at
Allahabad Bank.
The partially convertible rupee
closed at 54.94/95 per dollar, accord-
ing to SBI data, after earlier hitting
54.92, its strongest since May 28.
The rupee closed at 55.36/37 on
Wednesday.
Global risk sentiment improved in
part on rising hopes for new mone-
tary stimulus from the US Federal
Reserve, with traders also welcoming
China's surprise move to cut bench-
mark interest rates in a bid to spur
economic growth.
The Reserve Bank of India is also
widely expected to cut domestic
interest rates at its policy meeting on
June 18 after growth slowed sharply
in the first three months of the year,
which may help improve confidence
in the economy.
Foreign investors, whose flows are
critical to India's markets and its
economy, bought Rs 1.7 billion of
stocks on Wednesday, though they
remain net sellers of about Rs 20 bil-
lion so far this month, indicating they
have sold into the rally in Indian
stocks.
"As of now stock flows are expect-
ed to continue, but we need to see
how far the euro zone goes in sorting
out the crisis, which is not easy," said
Hari Chandramgathan, a forex dealer
with Federal Bank.
"So rupee weakness will continue
after the initial pause. If flows are
good, the rupee can gain to 54.60 or
53.80 in the coming weeks."
Compulsory disclosure of overseasassets irks taxpayers
New Delhi: Filing of income tax
returns has become more complicat-
ed from this year for those having
bank accounts or any other assets
overseas. The government has made
it compulsory for Indian as well as
expatriate resident individuals to
disclose their overseas assets.
"The overseas assets will not be
taxed, but it is an additional hassle
for taxpayers," said Neeru Ahuja,
partner, Deloitte Haskins and Sells.
Apart from the additional hassle,
Ahuja said, expatriate resident indi-
viduals find it as an intrusion into
their privacy.
"Many people are complaining.
Expatriates who have come here to
work even for a short period are
required to disclose assets back
home. It is an intrusion into their
privacy," Ahuja told IANS.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) recently notified the new
tax return forms for the tax year
2011-12 or assessment year 2012-
13, mandating disclosure of foreign
assets. In the tax return forms called
ITR 2/3, a new section called 'FA'
(Foreign Assets) has been intro-
duced to disclose foreign assets.
As per the notification, individuals
having taxable income exceeding
Rs.1 million (nearly $20,000) and
domestic and expatriate resident
individuals with assets located over-
seas have to file their returns
through the electronic mode.
"Resident individuals are required
to file tax returns in India irrespec-
tive of whether they have income
chargeable to tax in India or not,"
said Ahuja.
As per the Finance Bill 2012, resi-
dent individuals having assets,
including financial interest in any
entity located outside India are
required to furnish tax returns elec-
tronically from financial year 2011-
12 onwards giving complete details
of such assets.
In other words, income is not the
only criteria to file an income tax
return in India now. Those resident
individuals who have assets outside
the country are compulsorily
required to file income tax return,
irrespective of whether they have
any income generated in India or
not.
The government has made disclo-
sure of foreign assets mandatory in a
bid to trace black money, which has
become a big political issue in the
country.
Although there is no official fig-
ure, some private research puts
quantum of illicit money held by
Indians to the tune of $1.4 trillion.
The government recently released
a white paper on black money, but
did not give any estimate.
Now, Digvijay hits out atBaba Ramdev
New Delhi: A day after Congress appeared going
soft on Ramdev, party general secretary Digvijay
Singh hit out at the yoga guru asking him to first
declare how much black money he possesses before
launching a campaign to bring back ill-gotten
wealth stashed abroad.
"Everything of whatever I had said about Ramdev
and Anna Hazare in past has come out to be true.
There is a notice by ED on tax evasion against
Ramdev. He (Ramdev) himself is in the dock but
keeps talking about bringing black money back.
First he should declare how much black money he
has," Singh told reporters.
Ridiculing BJP chief Nitin Gadkari for touching
the feet of Ramdev, the AICC leader said,"I was
very happy to see Gadkari on the feet of Ramdev,
who is facing an ED notice on tax evasion. So the
BJP President is on Ramdev's feet."
His remarks came on a day when after Sharad
Pawar's NCP, another Congress ally RLD came out
in support of Ramdev's campaign against black
money and corruption with the yoga guru saying he
will put a fresh proposal before the government
during the coming monsoon session of Parliament.
Observing that Ramdev has helped in awakening
the people on this issue, Ajit Singh today said there
is more black money in the country than what is
stored abroad.
Singh's strong attack on Ramdev is in contrast to
the position taken by party spokesperson Rashid
Alvi.
Alvi saw nothing wrong in Ramdev meeting
Sharad Pawar on the black money issue and said
Sonia Gandhi will "definitely consider" giving an
appointment to him, if it was sought.
He had also not found any problem with Pawar's
remarks that the yoga guru's suggestions to tackle
the menace were "pragmatic". Pawar, who holds
the agriculture portfolio, had said he did not "smell
politics" in Ramdev's campaign.
Alvi said, "Everybody supports the fight against
black money. If anybody talks against black money,
everybody will spontaneously support it."
Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Monsoon rains were 36
percent below average in the week
to June 6, the Indian weather office
said, reflecting the delay in the
arrival of the seasonal rains over
Kerala from the usual June 1 start
date.
The four-month long rainy season
is in the initial stages and crops are
not greatly affected by the quantity
of rains now, with distribution of
rainfall in mid-July after the mon-
soon covers the entire country more
important for their growth.
On Tuesday, the monsoon arrived
in Kerala four days after the usual
arrival date as a cyclone on the west
coast stalled the onset.
The weather office had predicted a
June 1 start for the rains and has a
four-day margin of error for its fore-
cast. It forecast average rainfall for
the whole June to September season
-- the third year in a row to avoid a
drought.
The monsoon rains are crucial for
farm output and economic growth as
about 55 percent of the south Asian
nation's arable land is rain-fed, and
the farm sector accounts for about
15 percent of a nearly $2-trillion
economy, Asia's third-biggest.
Indian monsoon rains 36% below average
I've not insulted medicalprofession: Aamir Khan
New Delhi: Pats and brickbats -
Aamir Khan was prepared for it all
when he set out to discuss burning
issues in his debut TV show
"Satyamev Jayate". Fearless and
convinced about the aim of the
show, the actor-filmmaker says he is
totally unapologetic about raising
the issue of malpractices in the
medical profession, thereby upset-
ting an umbrella body of 21 medical
institutions.
"I have absolutely no intentions of
apologising because I have not done
anything wrong," Aamir said.
After raising concerns over
female foeticide, dowry and child
abuse, Aamir took it upon himself to
shake up viewers and awaken them
to the existence of irregularities in
the country's healthcare system.
He brought issues like cut prac-
tices, unethical medical practices,
and commission demands to the
fore and presented live examples of
people who could have been cured
with simple medicines but were
advised by doctors to undergo sur-
geries, robbing them of precious
money.
This 'exposure' has landed Aamir
in the bad books of the Indian
Medical Association (IMA). But he
does not fret!
"We were aware that since these
are issues that are core to all of us
and affecting every Indian, obvious-
ly there are some people who are
part of the problem, and they are not
going to be happy with us because
these are the ones who don't want a
solution to be there.
"In fact, I would have been sur-
prised if we would not have earned
brickbats. The people who are get-
ting troubled are very likely the
ones who are part of the problems,"
said Aamir, adding that he hasn't
received any physical threats so far.
He protests against the allegation
that he only highlighted the negative
aspects of the medical profession on
his show, to which was invited K.K.
Talwar, chairman, board of gover-
nors, Medical Council of India
(MCI).
"I don't know whether they have
seen the show because a number of
times we brought out that there are
many doctors who are doing great
work. We gave such strong exam-
ples of positive work by doctors like
Dr. Devi Shetty and Dr. Shamit
Sharma," Aamir told IANS.
He denied the accusation that he
insulted the medical profession.
India 13
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2012 ADMISSIONS.
XAVIER OFFERS NEW SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE BASIC SCIENCES
* 4 YEAR OR 5 1/2 YEARS MD PROGRAM FOR MOTIVATED STUDENTS
* CLINICAL ROTATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
* LOW STUDENT/TEACHER RATIO
* USMLE REVIEW WITH KAPLAN
* SUPERIOR FACULTY AND IDYLLIC LOCATION FOR THE STUDY OF MEDICINE
* PAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE
Merit Scholarship
MCAT 25-29 $1500* PER SEMESTER
MCAT 30-34 $2000* PER SEMESTER
MCAT 35UP $3250* PER SEMESTER
* MAINTAIN MINIMUM HONORS TO QUALIFY FOR FURTHER SEMESTERS
* ONLY SEMESTER MD1 THROUGH MD4
OPEH HOUSE SCHEDULELocation Date Time
SAT JUN 16
SUN JUN 17
LONG ISLAND
EDISON
1000 Woodbury Road, Suite 109, Woodbury, NY 11797
The Edison Hotel, 3050 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08337
11.00 AM
SAT JUN 23 TORONTO Marriott Courtyard Toronto Airport, 231 Carlingview DR., Toronto, ON M9W 5E8
11.00 AM
11.00 AM
Udaipur gets country’s biggest solar telescope By Prakash Bhandari
Jaipur: Udaipur, called the Venice
of the East, will soon earn a new
identity when the country’s biggest
solar telescope Multi-Application
Solar Telescope (MAST) will start
functioning from the island of
Fatehsagar lake.
MAST is a 50 cm diameter tele-
scope , which, despite its limited
size, is expected to be competitive
with other large and costly projects,
thanks to its versatility regarding
science goals and its demanding
optomechanical and thermal specifi-
cation. Its optical configuration is
based on a focal off-axis Gregorian
combination integrated on an
mechanical mount, with a suite of
flat folding mirrors to provide the
required stationary collimated beam.
The main strength of MAST will be
its capability to perform precision
spectroscopy and polarimetry over
both the solar photosphere and chro-
mosphere.
Udaipur's Solar Observatory
(USO), set up in 1976, by Dr
Aravind Bhatnagar, uses a vast
assortment of high quality tele-
scopes that help in solar observa-
tions. It is modeled on the one at
Big Bear Lake in Southern
California. It is run by the Union
government’s Physical Research
Laboratory, Ahmedabad, for the
Department of Space.
MAST, weighing 8 tonnes, is
being installed under the rounded
structure on the top of the building
of USO, which enjoys a unique
location sitting on an island in the
Fatehsagar Lake. Because it is locat-
ed in the middle of a large mass of
water, disturbance that might occur
in the air due to ground heating by
sun rays is decreased in its intensity.
Indeed, it enhances the quality of
the image and seeing.
This site provides on an average
of 270 clear days in a year, which is
important for intensive study of
solar phenomena. Studies conduct-
ed at USO have shown that the full
potential of adaptive optics can be
realized up to a telescope aperture of
50 cm, given the good daytime “see-
ing” conditions at USO lake site. At
the USO, solar observations carried
out include magnetic field, spectral,
and velocity observations for studies
relating to solar flares, mass ejec-
tions, and the evolution of solar
active regions. This observatory is
also famous for patching the long
gap between Australia and Spain. It
acts as a channel for uninterrupted
solar coverage in many international
joint programs comprising the
Global Oscillations Network Group
(GONG).
A milestone in USO's history
came in 1995, when it appeared on
the world map as an important link
in GONG. The GONG system was
further upgraded in 2001. The other
five sites selected under GONG are
located at the Canary islands
(Spain), CTIO (Chile), Big Bear
(USA), Hawaii (USA), and
Learmonth (Australia), for a near
continuous 24 hour solar coverage
to probe the solar interior. A $1.5
million dollar instrument was
installed at Udaipur under this proj-
ect. It monitors the sun automatical-
ly, and takes digital velocity images
of the sun every minute. The USO
data is then combined with that
from other five sites at the central
facility located at National Solar
Observatory, Tucson, USA.
Udaipur's solar observatory onFatehsagar island
14 India
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Zardari talksAfghanistan with
KrishnaBeijing: India and Pakistan Thursday
briefly discussed Afghanistan when
Indian External Affairs Minister S.M.
Krishna spoke to Pakistan President
Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
(SCO) summit here, an official said.
Zardari asked Krishna about Indian
investments in Afghanistan. Krishna
replied that these were concentrated in
the areas of health, education and
capacity building, the official said.
While addressing the summit,
Krishna had referred to the $2 billion
that India has allocated for
Afghanistan's reconstruction.
Court order not a setback forme: Chidambaram
Sonia wants rubber stamp president: Swamy
New Delhi: Home minister P
Chidambaram has ruled out his res-
ignation in the wake of Madras
high court decision in the election
petition against him saying the ver-
dict was not a setback for him but
for his rival.
He ridiculed the demand for his
resignation by BJP president Nitin
Gadkari and Tamil Nadu chief min-
ister Jayalalithaa saying he was
astonished by their "monumental
ignorance".
Reacting to the demands of the
opponents, the minister said those
who make the demand for his res-
ignation "do not have criminal
case, do not have charges and have
not been questioned under
Criminal Procedure Code".
"I am astonished by the monu-
mental ignorance displayed by cer-
tain political leaders. This is an
election petition. There are 111
election petitions filed against
members of 15th Lok Sabha,"
Chidambaram said.
The Madurai bench of the
Madras high court declined
Chidambaram's plea for dismissal
of the election petition against him
by the losing AIADMK candidate
R S Rajakannappan in Sivaganga
constituency in Tamil Nadu in
2009 Lok Sabha polls.
But the court struck down two
paras in Rajakannappan's petition
containing allegations against
returning officer, government and
bank officials.
Chidambaram said in the election
petition against him, there were
only allegations.
"Issues have not yet been framed.
Trial has not yet started. Not one
witness has been examined. At the
threshold an application was filed
to strike out pleadings.
"That application has been partly
allowed and para 4 and 5 which
contain allegations against return-
ing officer, police officers, other
government servants and bank offi-
cials have been struck out," he
said. The home minister said he
sincerely hoped that political lead-
ers will read Order
Lucknow: Janata Party chief
Subramanian Swamy Thursday
accused Congress president Sonia
Gandhi of wanting "a rubber stamp
as the next president" and said
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was best suited
for the job.
Charging Gandhi with blocking
good names for presidency, Swamy
said the country looked towards
political parties to elect "an illustri-
ous, honest and respectable man"
to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Swamy spoke after meeting
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav here in view of the
presidential polls scheduled next
month.Addressing a press confer-
ence later, Swamy called for anoth-
er term for Kalam, who was the
president from 2002 to 2007.
He said Kalam was immensely
respected by people of all age
groups. "I think that Kalam is the
most suited person to occupy
Rashtrapati Bhawan."
If all opposition parties unite and
select one candidate, the ruling
party's candidate is sure to be
defeated, he said.
US' patience with Pak 'reaching limits': PanettaNew Delhi/Kabul: Defense sec-
retary Leon Panetta pressured
Pakistan to do more to root out
the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani ter-
rorist network from its territory,
saying that US officials are
"reaching the limits of our
patience."
The Haqqani group has been
blamed for several attacks on
Americans in Afghanistan,
including last year's attack
against the US Embassy and Nato
headquarters in Kabul.
It also has ties to the Taliban
and has emerged as perhaps the
biggest threat to stability in
Afghanistan.
Lawmakers from both parties
have been urging the State
Department to designate the
Haqqani network a foreign terror-
ist organization.
The US has given Pakistan bil-
lions of dollars in aid for its sup-
port in fighting Islamist militants.
Panetta made his comments at a
news conference with Afghan
defense minister Abdul Rahim
Wardak, capping two days of
blunt commentary on Pakistan.
"It is an increasing concern that
the safe haven exists and that
there are those -- likely Haqqanis
-- who are making use of that to
attack our forces," Panetta said.
"We are reaching the limits of
our patience here, and for that
reason it is extremely important
that Pakistan take action to pre-
vent this kind of safe haven from
taking place and allowing terror-
ists to use their country as a safe-
ty net in order to conduct their
attacks on our forces."
Panetta then underscored his
point.
"We have made that very clear
time and time again and we will
continue to do that, but as I said,
we are reaching the limits of our
patience."
Wardak also said he thought
Pakistan could do more to elimi-
nate the sanctuaries that militants
are using in Pakistan, saying the
Pakistanis are in a better position
to provide intelligence or take
law enforcement or military
actions.
"I do hope that gradually they
will come to the conclusion to
cooperate with us," Wardak said.
"I think it's important to make
sure we are aware of the kind of
attacks they're going to engage in
... as we go through the rest of the
summer," Panetta told reporters
traveling with him during a stop
in New Delhi.
US Defense secretary Leon Panetta
Home minister P Chidambaram
Presidential poll: DMK leaders meet PMNew Delhi: DMK leaders T.R.
Baalu and M.K. Stalin met
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and are believed to have
discussed the issue of selection
of a candidate for the presiden-
tial election.
The meeting lasted for around
5 to 7 minutes and was
described by the DMK leaders
as a courtesy call.
Talking to reporters after his
meeting with the Prime
Minister, Stalin said, "Whatever
Karunanidhi had conveyed to
defence minister A K Antony is
the party's stand on the selection
of UPA's Presidential candi-
date".
On May 5, Karunanidhi said
he had no objection if Union
finance minister Pranab
Mukherjee was chosen as UPA's
Presidential candidate.
Baalu and Stalin would also
be meeting Congress president
Sonia Gandhi later in the day
apparently to discuss the issue
of selecting a presidential candi-
date.
Last month, Gandhi had dis-
patched senior party leader
Antony to Chennai to take the
DMK supremo M Karunanidhi
on board on the issue.
Gandhi had held talks with
NCP chief Sharad Pawar and
Trinamool Congress chief
Mamata Banerjee on the issue
soon after the meeting between
Antony and Karunanidhi.
Gandhi had on Tuesday also
met the RLD chief Ajit Singh.
The RLD chief had yesterday
said that Pranab Mukherjee was
"qualified" for the highest con-
stitutional post but his views
were "positive" on others as
well.
A fresh round of consultations
on the issue of selection of a
Presidential nominee has begun
in the UPA, after the Congress
Working Committee in a meet-
ing passed a resolution authoris-
ing Gandhi to decide candidates
for the Presidential and Vice
Presidential elections.
6, Rule 16 of the Civil
Procedure Code and understand
what is the meaning of 'strike
out the pleadings'.
"If pleadings are struck out, it
is a setback to the election peti-
tioner and not to me," he said.
Asked about the claim of the
lawyer for Rajakannappan that
except para 4 and 5, all other
charges in the petition have
been accepted by the court,
Chidambaram said "pleadings
have not been accepted. Now
the trial is to start".
Replying to Jayalalitha's
charge, the home minister said
"they (rivals) have not sought
adjournments to the trial dozens
of times.
"They have not approached
high court or Supreme Court
dozens of times. Therefore, they
are entitled to make these
demands," he said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Poor Muslim women in India connectto global fashion with crafts
By Madhusree Chatterjee
New Delhi: Marginalized Muslim
craftswomen and weavers in Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and in the capital
are making an international con-
nection with their work thanks to
two projects by the Self-Employed
Women's Association (SEWA), one
of the country's oldest crafts and
women's empowerment organiza-
tions.
One project, "Ruaab: SEWA
Artisans Producer Company", is
empowering nearly 1,500 Muslim
women in the eastern fringe of the
capital with full-time jobs as
embroiderers and designers to
international brands like Zara, Gap
Inc-Banana Republic, Monsoon,
NEXT, Newlook and Vero Moda.
The women work both at the
SEWA centets and out of their
homes.
Another cooperative project with
100 Bhagalpur silk weavers in
Bihar is empowering at least 90
Muslim families with women lead-
ing the trade, a spokesperson for
the organization said.
Their creations, mostly saris and
yardage, are finding global plat-
forms through the foreign missions
like the German, American and
Canadian embassies in India, the
government's Handloom
Commission, Silk Mark and private
organizations like KPMG and
Aircel.
In April, hundreds of Muslim
women weavers employed with
SEWA created a range of embroi-
dered home furnishings - mostly
hand-beaded cushions - for
London-based designer Tracey
Boyd's "Aboydbazaar" - a show
marking his return to the world of
accessory and apparel design after
a small break.
Boyd was named the New British
Designer Of The Year in 2000.
"The cushions were embellished
with 'Ari' thread embroidery and
beadwork," SEWA designer Pallavi
Yadav told IANS at a showcase of
Ruaab in the capital Friday.
Yadav said: "The SEWA centets
in east Delhi, which are Muslim-
dominated, has more than 350 reg-
ular Muslim workers and over 700
home-based workers."
Most of these workers are
migrants from Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh who come in
search of better livelihood.
The women have learnt the tradi-
tional "Ari" thread work from their
native villages in districts like
Barielly and Bulandsahar.
The "Ari" embroidery is a varia-
tion of the Kashmiri "addawork"-
an intricate thread craft, Yadav
said.
"It is a common sight in the reset-
tlement slums in east Delhi to find
these women sitting outside their
houses with a piece of fabric tied to
a long "adda", a wooden frame on
which they embroider," Yadav said.
Ruaab also has centets in the
Muslim-dominated villages of
Uttar Pradesh.
The organization, which was set
up in 1972 by Ela Bhatt in Gujarat,
works in nine states across India.
"In Bhagalpur district in Bihar,
where the traditional handloom
weavers have been battling power-
loom and the nexus of middlemen
in the silk trade, SEWA has been
trying to link them to the market
with the help of SEWA Saheli, its
cooperatve", the director of SEWA
Bharat said.
The weavers are paid Rs.600 per
sari against the Rs.500 paid by the
government, and Rs.250 by mid-
dlemen, said Neha Saini, marketing
coordinator for the organization's
Bhagalpur project.
For the illiterate and poor Muslim
women, who have never been out
of the confines of their homes, the
formal engagement with SEWA has
been socially and psychologically
empowering.
They can now go out unescorted,
speak to people. The core group of
sample crafts people - who make
samples for international brands -
now have developed international
fashion consciousness.
"We took a few women to
London a couple of years ago to
show them the brand headquarters
to which they supplied. They now
suggest their own inputs for the
designs," Yadav said.
Confidence shines like an armour
in the faces and body language of
Tabassum, Taslim and Zeenat -
three full-time "ari" thread workers
from Sundernagar near Noida in
east Delhi.
They say working for SEWA has
taken the insecurity out of their
lives.
"I don't want to work anywhere
because SEWA pays well. I make
around Rs.5,000 a month and live
comfortably with my family of
three children. I worked for a mid-
dleman earlier who paid me
Rs.2,500," Taslim, a migrant
craftsperson from Bulandshahr,
said.
Tabassum has built a home
together with her husband, a shoe-
maker, after joining SEWA.
Sports & Society 15
Thesouthasiantimes.info June 9-15, 2012
A SEWA project worker beads a cushion cover.
Jaipur team to play in NY polo tournament By Prakash Bhandari
Jaipur: The scion of the Jaipur
royal family whose commitment to
polo is tremendous and which has
promoted and popularized the sport
globally, will be leading a team
from Jaipur that will play under the
name and style of Team India in the
15th annual Mashomack interna-
tional polo tournament at New York
beginning June 16. The tournament
will feature teams from US, Britain,
France and Italy.
“We have been invited by
Mashomack Polo Club to play in
their summer international tourney
and we take this opportunity to pro-
vide an opportunity to our players
to play abroad against the profes-
sionals and gain experience,” said
Maharaja Narendra Singh, the hus-
band of Diya Kumari, princess of
Jaipur, and father of the present
Maharaja Padmanabh Singh.
The Mashomack Polo Club, in
Pine Plains, NY, has invited the
Royal Jaipur Polo team to take part
in the 15th Annual Mashomack
International Polo Challenge begin-
ning June 16. The festivities for this
prestigious event will begin with a
party for the media. For the main
game Rajmata Padmini Devi of
Jaipur (the queen mother),
Maharaja Padmanabh Singh, who is
only 14, and Princess Diya Kumari
will be the Guests.
The skipper Narendra Singh, who
is also India’s envoy to the
International polo federation, said
the other members of the team are
Col. N.S. Sandhu, Angad Kalaan
and Ransher Singh.
Prior to reaching New York, the
team will play an exhibition game
at Toronto on June 9. After playing
in New York the team will play at
6th Asia Cup at Royal Berkshire
Polo Club, Windsor near London.
Located on a 1,900-acre preserve
in Pine Plains, NY, just 90 minutes
from New York City, the
Mashomack Polo Club is a full
service club for polo players of all
levels. It has undertaken a multi-
year capital improvement program
and now features five tournament-
class fields, one practice field, stick
and ball areas and a regulation out-
door polo arena.
Mashomack Polo offers league
polo from 4 goal to 12 goal, and
hosts tournaments such as the pres-
tigious USPA Eduardo Moore
Invitational, the USPA Tracey
Mactaggart Challenge Cup, the
USPA Governors Cup, the USPA
Officer ’s Cup and the USPA
Constitution Cup. There is polo to
suit every level of player from June
through September.
The Mashomack Polo Club, in Pine Plains,NY, has invited the Royal Jaipur Polo team to
take part in its 15th annual InternationalPolo Challenge beginning June 16.
Team members Angad Kalaan, Ransher Singh, Maharaj NarendraSingh and Col. N.S. Sandhu.
Maharaj Narendra Singh ofJaipur will lead the team.
Thousands cheer Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant
Queen's gala connects toIndia with mega party
16 Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee 17
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaves St Paul's Cathedral after the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebratethe Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in London.
New Delhi: The gala celebrating 60
years of British Queen Elizabeth II's
accession to the throne in 1952
reached the Indian capital in a multi-
racial rainbow carnival on the lush
lawns of the British High Commis-
sion.
The celebration, a mega picnic of
more than 200 British expatriates,
showcased the colorful legacy of the
Commonwealth replete with ele-
phant rides, samosas, coronation
chicken, British fairy cakes, scones
and an element of colonial nostalgia.
The 86-year-old British queen, the
titular head of the nation, was
crowned after the death of her father,
king George VI, in 1952. Over their
lives, the queen and her husband
Prince Philip have witnessed the
transformation of the former impe-
rial empire into a commonwealth of
nations and the emergence of a new
world order.
Elizabeth II is Britain's second-
longest serving monarch after queen
Victoria. She celebrated the silver ju-
bilee of her coronation in 1977 and
the golden jubilee in 2002.
The jubilee celebration theme in
Britain is "street parties and multi-
racial bonding", said British High
Commissioner James Bevan.
"Today is a people's party day in
Britain and we are trying to replicate
the spirit of the jubilee party and
mood in India. Sixty years ago in
1952, the British society wasn't
much heterogeneous. Since then, we
have welcomed people from all over
the world," Bevan told IANS, de-
scribing the changing colour of the
British royal events over the
decades.
In the last 30 years, the size of the
Indian diaspora has grown in Britain
and country has nearly one and a half
million people of Indian origin,
Bevan said.
"The Indian diaspora is one of the
biggest, richest and the most suc-
cessful diapsora in Britain spread
across all areas of British life - poli-
tics, business and arts. The Indian di-
aspora is a part of the British
society," Bevan said.
He said that 2012 "was a year of
events in Britain and all of them
were finding resonance in India".
"In April, I hosted the queen's 86th
birthday celebrations at my resi-
dence in the capital with more than
2,000 Indian guests and we are
working with our Indian friends to
open the July 2012 London
Olympics. We have been running a
'Britain Is Great' in India showcasing
the country's past, present and fu-
ture," Bevan said.
Drawing on the larger picture of
exchanges between the two coun-
tries, the British envoy said it was a
"sign of the widening cultural and
people-to-people contact between
India, the UK and the rest of the
world".
The party, which opened at the
British High Commission lawns,
brought a slice of the London gala
via a gaint television screen, on
which was telecast the "Thames Di-
amond JubileePageant" - a royal
party flotilla of 1,000 boats traveling
down the Thames in London - live to
the audience in the capital.
"The basic idea was to come to-
gether and party as would happen in
the UK. People came with their own
food and watched the Thames Pag-
eant together," Marcus Winsley, head
of press at the British High Commis-
sion, said. The food was fusion - re-
flecting the spirit of the new Britain.
London: The Queen Elizabeth
II's Diamond Jubilee River Pag-
eant concluded this week as a
world record-beating 1,000-
strong flotilla passed under the
Tower Bridge here with hundreds
of thousands of people cheering
along the Thames.
People crowded the Thames
river's shoreline to watch the pag-
eant organized to celebrate the
Queen's 60 years on the throne.
The belfry, carrying The Royal
Jubilee Bells was the first vessel,
followed by the million-pound
row barge Gloriana, the new
Royal vessel, led by Olympic
gold medalists Sir Matthew Pin-
sent and Sir Steve Redgrave,
rowing with 16 others, Daily
Mail reported.
A 41-gun salute was given from
the Tower of London, the historic
castle on the north bank of the
Thames, while thousands of peo-
ple cheered on the banks of the
river despite the wet weather.
Catherine, Duchess of Cam-
bridge, Prince Philip, The Duke
of Edinburgh, Camilla, Duchess
of Cornwall, Prince Charles,
Prince of Wales, Prince William,
Duke of Cambridge and Prince
Harry watched Sunday's proceed-
ings from the Royal barge which
formed part of a flotilla of 1,000
boats.
Just after 2 p.m. over a thou-
sand vessels set off in wave after
wave of tugs, steamers, pleasure
cruisers, dragon boats and kayaks
with the Queen traveling at its
heart.
The river-borne event was one
of the highlights of the four-day
Diamond Jubilee weekend and
spectators refused to let the
weather dampen their spirits.
The flypast finale to the
Thames River Pageant, however,
had to be canceled following in-
clement weather.
An elephant draped in the Union Jack lends an Indian touch to thecelebrations in spirit of Commonwealth in New Delhi.
Members of the British royal family with Queen Elizabeth II on the royal barge 'Spirit of Chartwell' during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames in London.
The Buckingham Palace is illuminated by fireworks during the Queens' Diamond Jubilee Concert in London.
The spectators on the streets outside Buckingham Palace to watchDiamond Jubilee Concert in London.
British singer-songwriter Elton John performs during theQueen's Diamond Jubilee Concert at the Buckingham Palace.
At 86, Queen works morethan British MPs
In what should be a wake-up call
for British parliamentarians, 86-
year-old Queen Elizabeth II has
worked far more days this year than
any member of parliament, the Daily
Express reported. The Diamond Ju-
bilee pageant on the Thames river
was her 80th day of official engage-
ments in 2012. MPs, in contrast, have
been in Westminster for only 72 days.
The British daily reported that in
the middle of a two-week half-term
break, MPs have had 38 weekdays off
so far this year - almost double the
holiday allowance for most people in
the country.
By the end of this year, according
to the parliamentary calendar, MPs
will have been at Westminster for 151
days and have had 110 weekdays and
bank holidays off. Once weekends are
taken into account, they will have
been away from Westminster for 215
days, 59 percent of the year.
18 Ultimate Bollywood
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Producer Kumar Mangat is
set to bring bikini killer
Charles Sobhraj's
escapades on the big screen as
"Jailbreak". Directed by Prawaal
Raman, it is said to be based on
the dreaded murderer's prison
break from Delhi's Tihar jail.
It was earlier to be a biopic to
be produced by Sanjay Dutt, who
was to play the lead role, but this
was shelved due to legal issues.
Mangat's son Abhishek Pathak
has now confirmed that the film is
to be made in a new avatar. It is
said to be made at a budget of
Rs.40 crore.
"We saw the vast research that
Prawaal has done on Sobhraj and
we did our own research too.
We've now pooled our informa-
tion and Prawaal, whom we find
to be a very gifted storyteller, will
be directing the biopic," said
Pathak.
Raman's previous project with
Sanjay was thrown into jeopardy
after Sobhraj sued him for mak-
ing a film on his life.
"We'll probably get rid of the
original title 'Charles and I' and
call the film 'Jailbreak', because
that is the aspect of the story that
interests me at this point of time.
Sobhraj's 1986 jailbreak from
Tihar would be the core of the
film.
"The film is based on Sobhraj's
jailbreak. It will definitely be
inspired by the incident. But I'm
not interested anymore in making
a biopic on Sobhraj," said the
director.
The makers are planning to cast
either Saif Ali Khan or Emraan
Hashmi to play the lead role.
"We're looking at Emraan Hashmi
or Saif Ali Khan," said Pathak.
Raman says he is keen to talk to
the policemen who had caught
Sobhraj.
"I find the cops involved in the
arrest namely Mr. Amod Kanth
and Mr.Madhurkar Zende far
more inspiring than Sobhraj. So
there will be three main male
characters in 'Jailbreak'. A man
who spent 40 years of his life in
prison doesn't really interest me
to base an entire film on him."
The filmmakers are planning to cast either Saif Ali Khan or EmraanHashmi to play the lead role
Over the
l a s t
month or
so, Anurag
Kashyap has been
dealing with a
rather unconven-
tional problem.
The director of
Gangs of
Wasseypur is
apparently getting
calls from
unknown num-
bers — possibly
made by city
goons, says a
source close to
the director.
But the nature
of the calls is
unique: far from
being threatening,
the callers seem
to be complaining
that Anurag’s film
about the coal
mafia of Dhanbad
will take the lime-
light away from
the Mumbai mafia. None of the
callers is believed to have either
threatened or spoken inappropriate-
ly to the filmmaker.
“They mean no harm. They seem
to be local goons who might be
related to the underworld. Their
only grouse is over Anurag throw-
ing light on the mafia in Dhanbad,”
says the source.
When contacted, the director did-
n’t deny this development, but stat-
ed that he doesn’t want to comment
on it. “Maybe a few people are anx-
ious that with his new film, the
spotlight might shift away from the
Mumbai underworld,” the source
claims.
They were especially unhappy, it
seems, about the film coming from
the same man who wrote Satya
(1998), a landmark movie on the
Mumbai underworld.
Interestingly, Kashyap’s movie
comes three decades after Yash
Chopra made his multi-starrer 1979
blockbuster Kaala Patthar (starring
Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor
and Shatrughan Sinha), which
showcased illegal coal trafficking
in and around Dhanbad.
Anurag’s film, recently show-
cased at the Cannes film festival,
will show that, after all these years,
the coal mafia in Jharkhand still
rules by the barrel of the gun.
Unofficial estimates of the daily
value of illegal mining by the mafia
in Dhanbad is believed to be
around Rs. 100 crore.
This mafia is one of the oldest in
the country and is believed to be
financially stronger than the
Mumbai underworld. It has been
operating since the start of mining
activities during the British era.
Anurag gets threateningcalls for 'Wasseypur'
Sobhraj's jailbreak saganow on celluloid
A poster of ‘Gang of Wasseypur’
Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt has stepped
in as a producer to help director Andrew
Dominik on his long delayed Marilyn
Monroe biopic. Naomi Watts was to play the icon-
ic bombshell in Dominik's biopic Blonde, which
stalled before shooting was scheduled to begin in
January 2011, reported Contactmusic.
However, Pitt, 48, is planning to give a new life
to the Monroe film by producing the movie
through his 'Plan B' production company. "We're
going to get this one done," Pitt said.
The actor has worked with with Dominik in
gangster thriller ‘Killing Them Softly’ and ‘The
Assassination of Jesse James’.
Brad Pitt to produce MarilynMonroe biopic
Khiladi Kumar is back
with a bang! Akshay
Kumar and Sonakshi
Sinha's Rowdy Rathore is doing
exceptionally well at the box
office. Watch it for Akki's
Dabangg avatar and Sonakshi's
Chikni Kamar.
The Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi
Sinha-starrer Rowdy Rathore
(RR) may make its place in the
Rs. 100 crore club in the coming
weekends, according to trade
expert Komal Nahta. He says,
“Single-screen cinemas are going
berserk over RR. It’s a straight
blockbuster.”
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh
rubbishes the film’s negative
reviews, saying, “People want
entertainment and this film offers
it. They rubbished Sholay (1975)
and called Hum Aap Ke Hai
Kaun...!(1994). What matters is
how much money the film is
making.”
RR was released in 3,000
screens in India and overseas.
Made at a budget of Rs. 45 cr, the
film had recovered its money
when its satellite, music and
home video rights were sold for
Rs. 35 cr, Rs. 7 cr and Rs. 3 cr
respectively. And with overseas
collections of Rs. 11 cr over the
weekend in addition, this is defi-
nitely the biggest solo release of
his career.
Celebrating Rowdy’s success,
Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD,
Studios, Disney UTV, says, “We
had a six month promotion strate-
gy for the film, but what really
hit it was the connect
Prabhudheva, his team and the
film have made with the audi-
ence.”
Rowdy Rathore may enterRs. 100 crore club
Brad Pitt
A scene from ‘Rowdy Rathore’
Ultimate Bollywood 19
Thesouthasiantimes.info June 9-15, 2012
'Urumi' wins best film atMadrid film fest
Malayalam film "Urmi"
won the best film award
at the Imagineindia
International Film Festival held in
Madrid, while Santhosh Sivan
won the best director trophy for
the same movie.
"Urumi and Santhosh Sivan
keep making us proud, yayyy," an
ecstatic Genelia D'Souza, who has
acted in the film, tweeted.
"Urumi" was dubbed and
released in Telugu and English
and it is due to release in Tamil.
The festival also saw Deepti
Naval winning best actress award
for "Memories in March", while
Salim Kumar won best actor for
"Adaminte Makan Abu", accord-
ing to the festival's official web-
site.
Music composers Shankar-
Ehsaan-Loy walked away with
the trophy for best music for Zoya
Akhtar's "Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara".
About 70 films were screened in
12 sections at the festival. The
films in the competitive section
included "Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara",
"Urumi", "Memoirs in March",
"Achal", "Adaminte Makan Abu"
and "Traffic".
Sultry Sunny scorchesSri Lanka in bikini
Sunny Leone seems to be
playing the role of seductress
in Jism 2 to the hilt. The
pornstar-turned-actor flaunts a
toned body in an uber sexy white
bikini. With her hair left open and a
come hither expression, Sunny
scorches the sets. Sunny Leone is
in Sri Lanka to shoot the final
schedule of Pooja Bhatt's directori-
al venture.
"Shooting a bunch of sexy shots
for @Jism2. This movie is so hot
you guys are gonna love it!" Sunny
Leone had tweeted earlier.
Sunny Leone is also doing an
array of lovemaking scenes in the
film. The stills of the one between
Randeep Hooda and the Leone
babe was released few weeks back.
"Just finished a major love mak-
ing scene for @Jism2 . Extreme,
exhausting and exhilarating. Hope
we can turn people "on" all over
with it ;))" Randeep had wrote on
his twitter account.
Actor Sunny Leone
A poster of the Malayalam film ‘Urmi’
Sitar player Fateh Ali Khan performing at the Rambagh apmhitheatre, Manali.
Lady Gaga loves the sitar:Fateh Ali Khan
Bollywood's young blood torock IIFA in Singapore
The Lion City is set to roll the green carpet for
Indian cinestars. From bigwigs like Salman
Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Bipasha Basu as well
as young guns like Sonakshi Sinha and Abhay Doel -
Bollywood's gliteratti is set to rock at the 13th
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.
There's lots more - the evergreen Rekha, effervescent
couple Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, maverick filmmaker
Ramesh Sippy and a whole gamut of filmmakers, writ-
ers, actors and singers will enthrall film fans at the
three-day cine event.
As Bollywood head towards serving the youth last
year, this edition of IIFA is focused at providing a plat-
form to new and fresh talent, says Sabbas Joseph,
director of organizers Wizcraft International
Entertainment.
"The freshness in this year's edition, is across multi-
ple perspectives. It is a much younger approach, some-
thing that represents the youth of the country on global
platform," Joseph said.
True to its approach, the gala will see young and
budding talent taking centrestage. Shahid and Farhan
Akhtar are set to entertain the audience with their wit
and humor as the hosts of the glitzy awards ceremony.
The pre-finale celebrations will include a race on
Singapore's F1 track co-inciding with the promotions
of "Ferrari Ki Sawaari".
Writers like Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi, com-
poser Shantanu Moitra and filmmakers Zoya Akhtar
and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will host music work-
shops, where they will discuss what goes behind creat-
ing music for a Bollywood film.
The other highlights include a world premiere of
Dibakar Banerjee's "Shanghai". Also, excerpts of Neha
Dhupia-Sonu Sood starrer "Maximum" and Kamal
Hassan's "Vishwaroopam" will also be showcased dur-
ing the weekend.
IIFA Rocks, a fashion and musical night, featuring
designers like Masaba Gupta, Suneet Varma and Varun
Bahl, will be held a day before the main award func-
tion.
Other Bollywood stars expected to attend the event
include Vidya Balan, Preity Zinta, Malaika Arora
Khan, Rani Mukerji, Parineeti Chopra, Dia Mirza,
Emraan Hashmi and Anil Kapoor.
Delhi-based sitar player
Fateh Ali Khan, who per-
formed with Lady Gaga,
says that the Grammy award win-
ning singer not only knows about
India's classical instruments but
also appreciated his work.
"When I took my sitar in front
of Lady Gaga before my perform-
ance, she said she loved the sitar
and listened it a lot in the US,"
Khan, who performed with Gaga
at the Formula 1 after party, said.
"She liked the designs on my
sitar and already knew about the
instrument.
That's why she wanted me to
play it in the beginning of her act.
She's very humble and
professional.
It was an honor for me that my
music and talent has been recog-
nized by her," he added.
According to Khan, maestros
such as Ravi Shankar, Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan, Bismillah Khan
and others have made classical
instruments popular globally.
"Thanks to our maestros...they
have made the classical instru-
ments popular in the global
arena," he added.
Khan, who is associated with
bands like Kabul and Soul
Samvaad, has so far launched four
albums. He also gave music for
some international songs with his
brother Murad Ali Khan, who
plays the sarangi.
IIFA curtain-raiser
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
India growth: a meaning streak
By Manas Chakravarty
The newspapers have been full of
India's economic growth plunging
to the lowest in the last nine years.
In order to make things clear, I have
deconstructed some of the comments. An
economist: "Stagflationary concerns could
return to the fore as the recent rupee depre-
ciation adds to inflation worries, even as
the negative output gap tempers demand
conditions."
What he meant: Reach for that crash
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chair-
man, Planning Commission: "We have to
do something about it."
What he really meant: I've been telling
them to do something for years. I've writ-
ten lots of reports telling them to do all
kinds of things about it. About what? It, of
course. Now that things are so bad, it's all
the more necessary to keep telling them to
do things.
HDFC non-executive chairman Deepak
Parekh: "This is a wake-up call".
What he really meant: I'm sick and tired
of these guys. We've been shouting from
the rooftops about the slowdown, we've
been raving and ranting about the need for
reforms, but the only response we got was
a loud collective snore emanating from
New Delhi. Now the snoring seems to
have stopped, but I'm not sure whether
that's because they've woken up, or instead
slipped into a coma.
C. Rangarajan, chairman, Prime
Minister's Economic Advisory Council:
"The figures are disappointing as they
turned out to be much lower than what we
had expected."
What he implied: If we had forecast a
lower GDP growth number, we'd be per-
fectly happy.
Pranab Mukherjee, Union finance minis-
ter: "These are disappointing figures... but
have to be seen in the light of overall glob-
al developments."
What he hoped: The best thing would be
to blame those damn Greeks. People will
believe anything about them - about how
they're responsible for our high subsidies,
our policy paralysis, our lousy infrastruc-
ture.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley: "It's high time
they took some concrete steps."
What he really meant: Oh goody, this
gives us another stick to beat them with.
We shall, of course, do our best to prevent
them taking any steps. Look how success-
fully we've stalled the Goods and Services
Tax, which economists say will add quite a
bit to economic growth. And I do hope
they hike diesel prices, so we can have
another Bharat Bandh.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister, West
Bengal: Silence.
What that means: The economy has been
sabotaged by the Maoists in league with
extra-terrestrials, aided and abetted by
Papua New Guinea and the CPI(M).
Manmohan Singh: Total silence.
What he means: Being prime minister is
really cool. You get to travel, see the
world. Had some lovely khao suey during
my Myanmar trip. But it's nice to be back
home, this bungalow is gorgeous. The
pay's not great, but the perks are good.
Best of all, you don't have to actually do
anything. What GDP numbers? You should
ask some economist, they're a dime a
dozen, unlike us prime ministers.
Man on the street: "No jobs. Pay cuts all
around. Prices going through the roof. And
our leaders are bothered about cartoons!
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
For the common man on the street, it means “No jobs. Pay cuts all around. Pricesgoing through the roof. And our leaders are bothered about cartoons!”
20 Op Ed
Narendra Modi:He is no lion king
By Sujata Anandan
This morning, I received
a text message from a
friend in Gujarat
informing me that chief minis-
ter Narendra Modi, after forc-
ing Sanjay Joshi to resign
from the BJP’s national execu-
tive, also compelled him to
cancel his return to New Delhi
by the Pashchim Express and
take a flight back to the capi-
tal.
Much as I abhor the dictato-
rial manner in which Modi
functions, I was rather startled
that Joshi’s growing populari-
ty in Gujarat would make
Modi so nervous so as to
reveal this big chink in his
armour. It is becoming obvi-
ous to most political observers
that Modi is not doing as well
in Gujarat as he would like the
people to believe – there are
rising voices of dissent and
most of these are from the
BJP. In fact, a top national
functionary of the BJP had
admonished me some months
ago about the manner in which
the media continued to rail
against Modi: “You guys con-
centrate too much on just the
communal angle. Why don’t
you visit Gujarat and see for
yourself how he is marginalis-
ing our own workers. No party
man can do anything in
Gujarat except to toe Modi’s
line and that is not good for
our party.’’
That, I discovered, is very
true. Modi reminds me of the
Mughal emperors. It is a little
noted fact but a study of
Mughal history reveals that
Akbar had decreed that no girl
born to the royal household
could ever be married, though
she would be well taken care
of throughout her life and
enjoy powers almost parallel
to that of the Empress. That is
because in the early days of
his reign he had been greatly
troubled by his own noblemen
who attempted to grab his
empire by hook or by crook –
and at least a couple of these
noblemen were married to his
sisters.
Accordingly, unlike in
Britain and elsewhere in
Europe, titles (like that of
Amir) in the Mughal empire
were neither for life nor hered-
itary. A nobleman could
remain one so long as he
enjoyed the confidence of the
emperor and could be deposed
in a moment if he ever
incurred the displeasure of his
master. But while the emperor
smiled upon him, he could
gather unto himself with both
hands and no questions would
ever be asked.
Modi, I can see, operates in
much the same fashion in
Gujarat – tickets are decided
by him, even the party high
command has no say in the
matter. And if any BJP legisla-
tor or MP incurs Modi’s dis-
pleasure, he can kiss goodbye
to his job forever. That is why
there is so much corruption in
Gujarat – because no one is
sure if they are returning to a
second term, despite their
good work among the people
because that good work alone
could incur Modi’s displeas-
ure for he starts to look at
these do-gooders as potential
challengers. But, while per-
haps not corrupt himself, he is
known to look the other way
so long as his ministers and
MLAs do not pose a threat to
him. That is why, I am told, he
opposes the appointment of a
Lokayukta in Gujarat, lest that
institution upset this applecart
that has been rolling for long
without let or hindrance.
However, Joshi has found
many supporters in Gujarat
among those whom Modi has
denied tickets. One of these is
former BJP MP Kashiram
Rana who had planned to
felicitate him at the Surat and
Baroda railway stations with
bands of other disgruntled BJP
workers and turn him into a
hero for the ``supreme sacri-
fice’’ that Joshi had made by
resigning from the party’s
national executive.
Joshi told our Gujarat corre-
spondent, Mahesh Langa, that
he had changed his plans, to
fly to Lucknow instead for
local self-government elec-
tions. But reading between the
lines, it is clear that on this
score, too, Nitin Gadkari, who
asked Joshi to proceed to
Lucknow, could not stand up
to the main fund raiser of the
BJP and sacrificed Joshi all
over again, twice in as many
days.
But whatever Gadkari’s
compulsions, I am very sur-
prised by the fact that the all-
powerful Modi should feel
threatened by the gathering
support for Joshi, a compara-
tive political midget, and run
him out of his state. So is the
so-called ‘Lion of Gujarat’
worried about the possibility
of his own extinction?
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
Diaspora 21
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
London: The main accused in the
sensational murder of Indian student
Anuj Bidve in Salford in Britain on
December 26 last year pleaded
guilty on Friday in a Manchester
court.
Kiaran Stapleton admitted to
shooting 23-year-old Bidve in an
unprovoked attack on the Boxing
Day. Stapleton, 21, admitted to
manslaughter at the Manchester
Crown Court. He is expected to go
on trial for murder.
Lancaster University student
Bidve was walking with friends in
Salford when he was shot in the
head at close range.
Bidve, who was a postgraduate
student of Microelectronics at
Lancaster University, died from the
single gunshot wound.
Hundreds of people had attended
emotional candle-light vigils in
Salford and New Delhi as the inci-
dent hit the headlines across India
and Britain.
Anuj Bidve murder: AccusedStapleton pleads guilty
New Delhi: St Vincent and the
Grenadines, a string of small islands
in the Caribbean, celebrated its
Indian heritage on a grand scale
Friday. A commemorative function
and an international conference on
the Indian diaspora were held on
what is officially recognized as
Indian Arrival Day, according to the
organizers.
The first group of Indians reached
St Vincent in June 1861. The Indian
Heritage Foundation of St Vincent
and the Grenadines re-enacted the
landing of Indians at Indian Bay.
This was followed by a procession
through the streets of Kingstown
culminating at Heritage Square
where an Indian mela was organ-
ized.
The Indian Arrival Day functions
were organized by the Indian
Heritage Foundation with support
from the St Vincent ministry of
tourism and culture and the Global
Organization of People of Indian
Origin (GOPIO). The celebrations
began at an opening ceremony in the
presence of St Vincent Prime
Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves at the
Peace Memorial Hall.
According to the organizers, while
there have been international Indian
diaspora conferences held in other
countries of the Caribbean such as
Trinidad and Tobago, this is the first
such in St Vincent. The three-day
conference ended on June 3.
The Indian migration to Trinidad,
Guyana and Suriname is well docu-
mented but there is a lack of knowl-
edge about Indians who were
brought to the smaller island territo-
ries in the Caribbean.
St Vincent and the Grenadines is
among a number of small Caribbean
island nations where Indian workers
were brought to work on sugarcane
plantations during the years when
sugar ruled the global economy.
Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, St
Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Belize
and St Lucia also have small Indian
communities.
Unlike the larger territories where
Indian workers retained their cultur-
al traits due to their substantial num-
bers, in St Vincent the churches
were very active in baptizing Indian
children. The distance from India
and the small size of the Indian
community meant a slow loosening
of links with India and a gradual
assimilation in St Vincent society.
"In recent years there has been a
revival of interest amongst the peo-
ple of Indian descent in their Indian
heritage. The SVG Heritage
Foundation was established five
years ago to promote cultural and
social links with India. The new
interest led to June 1 being officially
declared as Indian Arrival Day and
October 7 as Indian Heritage Day,"
said an e-mail from the Indian
Heritage Foundation.
The conference brings together
academics, scholars, students, teach-
ers and organizations and people
with an interest in the Indian diaspo-
ra in the Caribbean. The organizers
hope to bring together and gather
the different bits of information
from diverse people to add to the
limited store of public knowledge
about Indians in St Vincent.
There are issues of conversion,
discrimination, politics, family his-
tories, migration and literature that
will be discussed. Aside from for-
mal papers to be presented at the
conference by scholars and academ-
ics, the conference will seek to gath-
er oral histories and local songs for
a more comprehensive understand-
ing of the Indian heritage.
St Vincent and the Grenadines celebratesits Indian heritage
Pretoria: South African President
Jacob Zuma has praised Hindus in
the country for their role in the
freedom struggle.
"Many South Africans of Indian
origin and specifically Hindus,
played a prominent part in our
struggle for freedom and are still
playing a meaningful role in the
social, economic and political
reconstruction of this country," he
said.
South African Indians constitute
1.28 million of the country's total
population, of which over 60 per-
cent are Hindus, the state-run
BuaNews reported.
Zuma said people of Indian ori-
gin were an integral part of South
African society and "added to the
colorful rainbow nation that made
us proud South Africans."
He said he was inspired by the
strong values, which include
accountability, selfless service,
fairness, respect and unity that
guided the activities of the Hindu
Maha Sabha.
"These are values that we all
believe in, and which promote
peace and good neighborliness...
that fits in well with the goals of
government, of promoting social
cohesion," Zuma said at the cente-
nary gala dinner of the Maha
Sabha in Durban Saturday.
The president also reminded the
nation of the need to preserve cul-
tural organizations and respective
cultures. "We cannot produce a
new generation that is not ground-
ed in indigenous culture as they
will be confused and be alienated
from their roots."
"Let us encourage the Hindu
youth for example to learn Indian
languages so as to be in touch
with their culture and traditions.
"That will not make them less
South African.
Instead, they will add to the
rainbow mix and make this a
more colorful country when it
comes to languages as well," said
Zuma.
Zuma lauds Hindus' role in South African struggle
Anuj Bidve was shot dead by Kiaran Stapleton (right)
South African President Jacob Zuma
London: Asian families in Britain
have been warned by police to
beware of criminals who could
target their gold jewelry during the
traditional wedding season in
summer.
Police fear the number of bur-
glaries could soar when a large
number of relatives arrive with
gifts including gold for newly-
married couples, the Daily Mail
reported.
In Slough, 32 km from London,
there were more than 300 gold
thefts last year -- a third of all bur-
glaries reported to police. "We are
worried it can only get worse with
the summer season of weddings
about to start, when families come
over to Britain bearing gifts of
gold. The gangs will be homing in
like bees round a honeypot and
we're expecting the burglary rate
to soar unless residents take sensi-
ble precautions," a police
spokesman said.
"The trouble is Asian families
are traditionally reluctant to put
their gold and other treasures in
the bank for safe keeping, prefer-
ring to keep their precious things
at home," he said.
Tahir Maher, a councilor in
Earley, near Reading, where there
is also a high Asian population,
said: "At one point last year the
robberies were two a day and peo-
ple weren't going out of their
houses."
He said thieves took advantage
of religious celebrations to target
Asian households. "With us, it
started during Ramadan, when a
lot of people were going to each
others' houses to break the fast and
then going to prayers, the houses
were empty and it was a prime tar-
get for robbers," he said. Jewelers
have also been victims themselves
with attacks carried out on several
of Slough's 33 shops selling gold.
British Asians warned of gold theftduring wedding season
NRI kids row:Norwegian authorities
want Abhigyan,Aishwarya back
New Delhi: According to a
news report in NewsX, the
Norwegian authorities, are ask-
ing for three-year-old Abhigyan
and one-year-old Aishwarya to
be returned back, when they
came to know about the
renewed fight over the custody
of the two children of an Indian
NRI couple – Anurup and
Sagarika Bhattacharya.
The authorities are now ask-
ing for an explanation from the
Indian embassy about the recent
development and further said
that they will never trust India
again if they do not get the
answers.
Earlier, Sagarika had com-
plained to Kulti police station in
Burdwan (West Bengal), alleg-
ing that her father-in-law, Ajay
Bhattacharya, had sent some
goons to threaten to kill her if
she came near the children.
Bhattacharya, on the other
hand, had filed a complaint in
the same police station counter-
alleging that Sagarika and her
father Manotosh Chakraborty
had been threatening them with
dire consequences if they did
not return the children to their
mother.
“Sagarika has said that she
will send us to jail under the
dowry laws if I did not give her
the children. I fear about the
safety and security of my fami-
ly. They can go to any extent,
which is why I approached the
police,” Bhattacharya had said.
22 Subcontinent
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: An American law-
maker has introduced a bill in the
Senate, seeking to eliminate for-
eign aid to Pakistan until the con-
viction of Shakil Afridi, the physi-
cian held for helping CIA find
Osama bin Laden, was over-
turned.
It proposes to strip Pakistan of
all US foreign aid until Afridi's
recent 33-year prison sentence is
overturned and he is allowed to
leave Pakistan, Online news
agency reported.
Another bill introduced by sena-
tor Rand Paul seeks to grant
Afridi US citizenship for his
efforts.
"Pakistan must understand that
they are choosing the wrong side.
They accuse Dr. Afridi of working
against Pakistan, but he was sim-
ply helping the US capture the
head of Al Qaeda.
"Surely Pakistan is not linking
their interests with those of an
international terrorist organisa-
tion. Foreign aid has been an
abysmal failure precisely for this
reason - we give the aid to gov-
ernments who then turn and work
against our national interest. That
must end," Paul said.
Last week, Paul wrote a letter to
US President Barack Obama, urg-
ing a delay in the release of for-
eign military financing to the gov-
ernment of Pakistan, and to hold
all aid until Afridi was released.
Earlier, Geo News reported that
the US State Department is still
awaiting a clarification from
Pakistan on Afridi. "We've not
received any updates. And our
position's very clear," the report
quoted US State Department
spokesman Mark Toner as saying.
He said the US didn't think there
were ever any grounds for
Pakistan to hold Afridi, much less
convict him of any wrongdoing.
Afridi helped conduct a phony
polio vaccination campaign at the
behest of the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) to secure the DNA
of bin Laden and his family.
US senator introduces bill tostop Pakistan aid
India pitches for SCO's membership, Afghan role
Kunming/Beijing : A day before
the SCO summit opened in Beijing,
India renewed its pitch for full
membership of the six-nation
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
and backed the grouping's role in
stabilizing Afghanistan.
"Indeed, we are looking for full
membership. India has conveyed its
desire and earnestness in becoming
a member of the SCO. We have
made our intent known," India's
External Affairs Minister S.M.
Krishna told select Indian media in
Kunming, capital of Yunnan
province in southwest China, on his
way to Beijing.
"They are working out the modali-
ties. We are waiting for that process
to be over," Krishna said. He was
referring to elaborate technical for-
malities and procedures the SCO
firmed up for prospective members
at the 11th summit in Astana,
Kazakhstan last year.
"Once the modalities from the
SCO side are completed, we will
move faster," he said.
Krishna, who arrived in Beijing,
will represent Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh at the two-day
summit that opened in the Chinese
capital with a gala cultural show.
The SCO comprises Russia and
China, the two regional giants and
permanent members of the UN
Security Council, and the energy-
rich Central Asian states, including
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan.
India, along with Iran, Pakistan
and Mongolia, currently enjoy the
status of observers at the SCO. The
future of the organization and the
expansion of membership will loom
large on the agenda at 12th SCO
summit in Beijing, but well-placed
sources indicated that any decision
on including India or expanding
membership is unlikely to be taken
this time round.
Given intricate procedures and
rigorous criteria, India's admission
into the SCO could take up to two
years after the SCO members unani-
mously decide to open the doors for
new members. India is now eying
2014 as the target for getting inside
the SCO tent.
"The SCO has been discussing
Afghanistan for many years. Afghan
President Hamid Karzai has been
participating as a special invitee. It
will be very helpful if these coun-
tries can give some assistance and
help in stabilizing Afghanistan,"
Krishna said when asked whether he
thinks the SCO could be an effective
platform for a regional approach
towards the violence-torn country.
Guards of Honor prepare for the arrival of central Asian leaders for the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Beijing.
Shakil Afridi was held for helpingCIA find Osama bin Laden
Islamabad: The Pakistani government has appointed
Rehman Malik as advisor on internal affairs to Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani just after he resigned as
interior minister following the suspension of his Senate
membership by the Supreme Court.
According to Geo News, Malik was appointed advisor
on internal affairs Tuesday, but the former minister later
told Dawn News he has not been informed about his
appointment. The Supreme Court suspended Malik's
Senate membership for holding dual nationality of
Britain and Pakistan. Malik told the court he had forfeit-
ed his British citizenship but he failed to provide suffi-
cient documents to the apex court.
Malik told Dawn News he stepped down as he does
not want any conflict with the court.
He said he has also taken off the Pakistan flag from
his house and his car. Documents from the UK Border
Agency (UKBA) showed that the former minister has
renounced his British citizenship. The apex court earlier
suspended the National Assembly membership of
Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Farahnaz Ispahani,
and has issued notice to Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez
Sheikh on similar grounds of holding dual nationality.
Rehman Malik made PakPM's advisor
Former minister Rehman Malik is now an advisoron internal affairs to PM Gilani
Myanmar, Voiceof America ink
pactYangon: Myanmar's state-run
radio and television (MRTV) and
the Voice of America (VOA)
have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU), official
media reported. The MoU was
signed during the visit of VOA
Director David Ensor, reported
Xinhua.
In Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Minister of Information and
Culture U Kyaw Hsan and Ensor
discussed VOA's assistance to
Myanmar with advanced equip-
ment and training courses for the
employees of the MRTV to
improve their technological skill,
the New Light of Myanmar said.
Such cooperation between the
media sector of Myanmar and the
US came after Myanmar
embarked on a road to political
and economic reform since a
civilian government was installed
in March 2011.
With the opening of media sec-
tor in Myanmar, a number of for-
eign media such as CNN, BBC
and Al Jazeera TV are seeking to
enter the TV market.
India, US to assist Sri Lanka militarySingapore: India and the US have
agreed to provide enhanced train-
ing facilities for military personnel
from Sri Lanka, it was announced.
This followed meetings Sri
Lankan Defense Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had with
General Martin Dempsey, chair-
man of the American Joint Chiefs
of Staff, and Indian Defence
Minister A.K. Anthony here.
The meetings took place on the
margins of the Shangri-La
Dialogue. "As a coastal nation, the
meetings recognized the pivotal
role the Sri Lanka Navy could play
in strengthening the security of sea
lanes in the Indian Ocean," a Sri
Lankan foreign ministry statement
said.
It said the three countries
"resolved to co-operate closely in
drawing on their synergies in com-
bating international terrorism.
"As two key strategic partners of
Sri Lanka, the US and India
responded positively to a request
for enhanced training opportunities
for capacity building of defense
personnel in their institutes of
repute."
The statement said the US and
India commended the "incremental
and steady progress" made in Sri
Lanka's north and east, the former
war zone, in rehabilitating those
displaced by decades of conflict.
Both countries, it said, "were
keen to assist Sri Lanka in all
aspects of their multifaceted bilat-
eral partnership for attaining sus-
tainable peace".
International 23
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
No contentious issueswith China: India
Kunming: Amid a row over a
Chinese travel advisory, India's
External Affairs Minister S.M.
Krishna said there were no con-
tentious issues between India and
China besides the decades-old
boundary dispute.
"Apart from the boundary issue,
there aren't any contentious issues.
I have always held this view con-
sistently," Krishna said here before
holding talks with China's Vice-
Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.
"We are hopeful we will be in a
position to find a mutually accept-
able resolution to the boundary
question," he said. He was
responding to a question, during a
stopover here, on whether con-
tentious issues will be discussed
with Li.
"It's a time-consuming process.
Resolving the boundary issue takes
time. Borders must be peaceful,"
he stressed.
Li is widely expected to succeed
Wen Jiabao as China's premier and
Xi Jinping is set to replace Hu
Jinatao as China's next president at
the once-in-decade party congress.
Krishna's remarks underlined
India's desire to keep the prickly
relations with China on an even
keel amid a controversy generated
by a Chinese travel advisory in the
wake of the nation-wide protests in
India against petroleum price hike
last week.
The advisory asks Chinese citi-
zens who are traveling to India or
are in India to be careful of any
disruptions and disturbances. The
advisory came as a surprise to
India's foreign office as the reason
for the advisory appeared exagger-
ated. There are some who have
tried to link the Chinese advisory
as a tit-for-tat for Indian advisories
asking Indian traders to avoid
doing business in Yiwu, the
Chinese commodity hub. However,
both India and China denied any
linkage and sought to play down
the differences.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna
Washington: In another "serious blow" to
Al Qaeda, a US drone strike in Pakistan
killed its No. 2 leader Abu Yahya al-Libi,
who helped steer the terrorist group after
Osama bin Laden's death, the White House
has confirmed.
Al-Libi's death was "another serious blow
to core Al Qaeda," White House spokesman
Jay Carney told reporters. "His death is part
of the degradation taking place in core Al
Qaeda in the last several years."
However, Carney was unable to provide
further details. Earlier, US officials said
that al-Libi was killed by a CIA drone
strike in Pakistan launched Monday. Al-
Libi's death marks one of the most signifi-
cant blows to Al Qaeda since the US mili-
tary killed Osama bin Laden in a daring
nighttime raid on his hideout in
Abbottabad, near Islamabad on May 2 last
year. Al-Libi was second-in-command
behind Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-
Zawahiri, who took the helm after bin
Laden's death. "There is no one who even
comes close in terms of replacing the
expertise (Al Qaeda) has just lost," CNN
cited an unnamed US official as saying.
Al-Libi "played a critical role in the
group's planning against the West, provid-
ing oversight of the external operations
efforts," the official said adding, "Zawahiri
will be hard-pressed to find any one person
who can readily step into Abu Yahya's
shoes."
"In addition to his gravitas as a longstand-
ing member of AQ's leadership, Abu
Yahya's religious credentials gave him the
authority to issue fatwas, operational
approvals and guidance to the core group in
Pakistan and regional affiliates."
An Islamic scholar and high-ranking
member of the group, al-Libi frequently
appeared in Internet videos, CNN said. He
gave many videotaped speeches praising Al
Qaeda leaders, urging resistance and trying
to recruit new members.
Al Qaeda No. 2 leader isdead: White House
Abu Yahya al-Libi was second-in-commandbehind Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,who took the helm after bin Laden's death.
Beirut: Syria has labeled 17
diplomats, most of them
American or European, as
"persona non grata" (unwel-
come) in response to a mass
expulsion of Syrian envoys
by Western capitals last
week.
But the foreign ministry
said the government was still
open to re-establishing ties
with the diplomats, almost
all of whom had already
been recalled by their gov-
ernments.
"The Syrian Arab Republic
still believes in the impor-
tance of dialogue based on
principles of equality and
mutual respect," a ministry
statement said. "We hope the
countries that initiated these
steps will adopt those princi-
ples, which would allow
relations to return to normal
again."
Syrian security forces are
trying to crush a revolt
against President Bashar al-
Assad's rule.
Among those listed were
diplomats from former ally
Turkey, which has become
an outspoken critic of
Assad's crackdown and has
given haven to army defec-
tors. The foreign ministry
said the ambassador and all
the staff at Turkey's embassy
in Damascus were unwel-
come.
The United States, France,
Britain, Canada, Germany,
Italy, Spain, Australia,
Bulgaria and Switzerland
coordinated a move to expel
Syrian diplomats in response
to a massacre of 108 people
in the city of Houla. Nearly
half those killed were chil-
dren. Deputy foreign minis-
ter Faisal Maqdad told the
Syrian news channel al-
Ikhbariya that the govern-
ment's decision aimed to
encourage those countries to
"correct" their position.
Syria lists 17 envoysas unwelcome
Syria has labeled 17 diplomats, most of them American orEuropean, as "persona non grata" (unwelcome).
Jerusalem: International pres-
sure is forcing Iran to hold off
on a decision about whether to
make the dash to develop
nuclear weapons, Israel's mili-
tary Chief of Staff said.
"Iran is striving for nuclear
military ability, but has not yet
reached the decision to cross the
threshold, for its own strategic
considerations," Lieutenant
General Benny Gantz told MPs
at the parliamentary committee
on foreign affairs and defense.
"The international isolation,
pressure, sanctions, a reliable
military threat -- and for that you
have to be super-ready -- all of
that can cause the Iranians to
decide to say 'not now' as far as
crossing the threshold," he said
in remarks relayed by the com-
mittee spokesman.
Iran has already developed the
capacity to enrich uranium to 20
percent, which is used to create
medical isotopes, but going "the
extra mile" would mean working
to enrich to 90 percent -- the
level needed to make nuclear
weapons.
Tehran is under huge pressure
from a raft of international sanc-
tions imposed on its oil and
banking sectors over its disputed
nuclear program.
And Israel, which sees a
nuclear Iran as an existential
threat, has refused to rule out a
pre-emptive military strike on its
nuclear facilities.
Tehran denies its intentions are
anything but peaceful. In April,
Gantz told Israel's Haaretz news-
paper that he did not believe Iran
would take the decision to build
a nuclear bomb.
"It stil l hasn't decided yet
whether to go the extra mile," he
told the paper.
World powers have held two
rounds of talks with Iran aimed
at convincing the Islamic
Republic to roll back its nuclear
program, which Israel and much
of the West believes is a front for
developing atomic weapons.
So far, the negotiations have
not produced any tangible
results although a third round is
due to take place in Moscow
later this month.
"The only people who can
decide to relinquish the nukes
are the Iranians themselves, and
as an army we should be ready
for that too," Gantz said, without
elaborating.
Pressure holding Iran frombomb decision: Israel
Israel's Lieutenant GeneralBenny Gantz
24 Business
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi: India has prepared a
contingency plan for Greece exit-
ing the Eurozone and even a col-
lapse of the monetary union,
Indian officials said. The
Eurozone debt crisis has already
put a damper on India's exports to
Europe, the biggest destination
for Indian goods, as well as capi-
tal inflows into equity and debt
markets. PM Manmohan Singh's
government blames Europe's
woes for the slowdown in Asia's
third-biggest economy, although
economists also blame policy
inertia.
Finance chiefs of the Group of
Seven leading industrialized
powers were to hold emergency
talks on the Eurozone crisis on
Tuesday in what was seen as a
sign of growing global alarm
over the threat posed by the
strains within the 17-nation
union.
"Yes, India does have a contin-
gency plan. There are different
crisis management groups within
the government to deal with such
a possible scenario," Kaushik
Basu, the chief economic adviser
to finance minister Pranab
Mukherjee, said.
He declined to give details of
the plan, but another senior offi-
cial familiar with the planning
said the finance ministry and cen-
tral bank were prepared to take
monetary and fiscal measures if
necessary to try to insulate India
from the shock of a Eurozone
collapse.
He did not spell out the meas-
ures, but they could include low-
ering interest rates, which are
among the highest in the world,
and lowering the amount of
money that banks have to keep on
deposit in the central bank. The
latter step would allow banks to
lend more money to firms to keep
hiring and expanding. At the
moment, banks are required to
keep 4.75% of their deposits with
the RBI.
"We are already preparing tech-
nical analysis for different possi-
ble scenarios that could impact
trade, stock markets and financial
institutions," the finance ministry
official said, speaking on condi-
tion of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue. "We are
facing a fast-evolving situation.
The question is not only about the
exit of Greece from the
Eurozone, but whether the
Eurozone will be able to hold as a
fiscal entity," he said.
India readies plan for Eurozone meltdown
The Eurozone debt crisis has already put a damper on India's exports to Europe
Washington: The White House has
called on the European nations to
take more steps to solve the worsen-
ing Eurozone crisis, saying the mar-
kets view the measures being taken
so far as insufficient.
"There's no question that markets
remain skeptical that the measures
taken thus far are sufficient to
secure the recovery in Europe and
remove the risk that the crisis will
deepen," Xinhua quoted White
House spokesman Jay Carney as
saying.
"So we obviously believe that
more steps need to be taken," he
said. The administration has been
discussing with its European coun-
terparts on the "difficult steps" need
to be taken, the spokesman said.
These steps, he said, included
"strict stress tests" for the banks and
requirement for them to raise capi-
tal, which were both the measures
being taken by the US during the
2008-2009 financial crisis.
Recent gloomy job data in the US
and the uncertainty of the European
debt crisis have raised doubts on the
recovery of the US economy.
Days ago, US President Barack
Obama sent Lael Brainard, the
under secretary of treasury for inter-
national affairs, to Greece,
Germany, Spain and France, the
four key players in the Eurozone cri-
sis. Many believe that Washington is
increasing pressure on the
Europeans to take more decisive
measures.
US wants more steps to solveEurozone crisis
New Delhi: There is at least a
one-in-three chance of Greece
exiting the eurozone in the
coming months, following
national elections on June 17, a
report by global ratings agency
Standard & Poor's said.
It said such an outcome
would seriously damage
Greece's economy and fiscal
position in the medium term
and most likely lead to another
Greek sovereign default. "This
could be brought about by
Greece rejecting the reforms
demanded by the troika--the
European Commission,
International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and European Central
Bank (ECB)--and a consequent
suspension of external financial
support," the report said.
The report examines the like-
lihood of Greece leaving the
eurozone and the potential
impact of this on the credit
worthiness of other sovereigns
in the region. "However, we
note that the potential impact
on other "peripheral" sover-
eigns in the eurozone would be
less clear cut," the report said.
'One in three chanceof Greece exiting
the eurozone'
White House spokesperson Jay Carney.
Washington: Google, the world's
biggest search engine, is buying
Silicon Valley startup Meebo that
helps online publishers make
their websites more social.
The acquisition will bring more
tools to Google Plus, an alterna-
tive to Facebook 's popular online
hangout.
Founded in 2005, Meebo began
as a browser-based instant mes-
saging client, growing to include
the Meebo Bar, which allowed
users to chat on various websites
like TV Guide, TMZ, and
Entertainment Weekly.
"Together with Google, we're
super jazzed to roll up our sleeves
and get cracking on even bigger
and better ways to help users and
website owners alike," Meebo
wrote Monday on its official
blog.
A Google spokesman said in a
statement that the company is
always looking for better ways to
help users share content and con-
nect across the web, as in daily
life.
"With the Meebo team's expert-
ise in social publisher tools, we
believe they will be a great fit
with the Google+ team," the
company said.
"We look forward to closing the
transaction and working with the
Meebo team to create more ways
for users to engage online."
Terms of the acquisition were
not disclosed. But tech blog All
Things D first reported rumors
about a Google-Meebo acquisi-
tion in May with an alleged ask-
ing price of about $100 million.
Google buys social sharingfirm Meebo
CII agenda for revivingIndian economy
Hyderabad: Industry lobby, the
Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) has mooted a 10-
point agenda to revive India's
economic growth through
reforms and governance.
The CII national council,
which met here, asked the gov-
ernment to act fast to avoid con-
ditions getting worse and change
the perception of the economy,
which it said is one of the con-
tributors to the depreciation of
the rupee.
It called for early introduction
of Goods and Services Tax
(GST), saying this would be the
biggest fiscal stimulus which
can improve GDP growth by
one and half percentage points.
The CII revival package pro-
poses, among other things, a cut
in the repo rate by 100 basis
points, cut in cash reserve ratio
(CRR) by 1000 bps, increasing
foreign direct investment (FDI)
limits in civil aviation and
defense, allowing FDI in multi-
brand retail and allowing accel-
erated depreciation for invest-
ments in plant and machinery at
25 percent.
India's forex reservesdrop by $1.74 bn
Mumbai: India's foreign
exchange reserves fell by $1.74
billion to $290 billion, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
data showed.
The reserves registered a sharp
drop for the fourth week in a
row, largely due to suspected
sale of dollar by the central bank
to defend rupee, according to the
data.
The forex reserves had
declined by $1.80 billion, $1.37
billion and $2.18 billion, respec-
tively, in the previous three
weeks.
Foreign currency assets, the
biggest component of the forex
reserves kitty, fell by $1.71 bil-
lion to $254.40 billion during
the week ended May 25, accord-
ing to RBI's weekly statistical
supplement.
The RBI did not provide any
reasons for the change in foreign
currency assets. It said the assets
expressed in US dollar terms
included the effect of apprecia-
tion or depreciation of non-US
currencies such as the pound
sterling, euro and yen held in
reserve.
Sports 25
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
French Open: Sania-Bhupathi in final,Paes-Vesnina knocked out
Paris: India's Sania Mirza and
Mahesh Bhupathi reached their
maiden French Open mixed dou-
bles final but Leander Paes and his
Russian partner Elena Vesnina
were knocked out of the event here
Wednesday.
Mirza and Bhupathi outplayed
Galina Voskoboeva and Danielle
Bracciali 6-4, 6-2 to enter the
mixed doubles final. They will face
the Polish-Mexcian combine of
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago
Gonzalez in the title clash at the
Roland Garros.
The unseeded pair of Klaudia
and Santiago caused a shocking
upset beating the fifth seeded pair
of Paes and Vesnina 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.
Meanwhile earlier in the day, the
seventh-seeded pair of Mirza and
Bhupathi beat the Kazakh-Italian
pair of Voskoboeva and Bracciali
in a battle that lasted under 70 min-
utes.
Sania-Bhupathi got on the board
breaking their opponents' serve in
the very first game of the match.
Bhupathi struggled with his serve
early on as Voskoboeva-Bracciali
immediately broke back for 1-1.
The Indians lifted their level of
play as the set progressed, with
Bhupathi finding his rhythm. Sania
played solid throughout the set,
serving well and using her danger-
ous forehand for desired results.
Bhupathi closed out the set with an
ace. The first set lasting 39 minutes
saw Indians converting half of their
six break points while Voskoboeva
and Bracciali cashed in on the two
opportunities that came their way.
Sania-Bhupathi showed their
class in the second set as
Voskoboeva-Bracciali ran out of
steam.
Bhupathi's only mixed doubles
title at Roland Garros came in 1997
when he partnered Japan's Rika
Hiraki. Sania is yet to win here in
the mixed doubles event. She
reached the women's doubles final
in 2011 with Vesnina.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza celebrate their semifinal win
Call for legalizing sports bettingNew Delhi: Retired judge Mukul
Mudgal and former cricketer Kirti
Azad called for legalizing sports
betting so that the revenue gener-
ated can be used for development
activities.
Speaking at the conference on
'Regulating Sports Betting in India
- A vice to be Tamed' here
Wednesday, Mudgal was of the
opinion that legalizing sports bet-
ting and regulating it with proper
laws could act as a deterrent to the
illegal betting syndicates.
"If betting is legalized, the coun-
try stands to get close to 12,000
crores in tax. If this is regulated,
this revenue can go into the devel-
opment of sports. Rules can be
drafted through the income tax
regulation," said Mudgal, a former
chief justice of Punjab and
Haryana High Court.
Citing example of horse racing,
Mudgal said if it is legal to bet on
one sport, it should be legal for
others as well. "If betting on horse
racing is legal then it should be
applicable to all sports. FIFA has
advanced match betting warning
system. If an unusual betting pat-
tern is seen they immediately
closed down the market," he said.
Azad, a BJP MP and member of
the 1983 World Cup winning
cricket team said: "Before we
think of regulating betting in
Indian sports, there is a need to
regulate the sport federations and
associations in the country."
Azad came down heavily on the
Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) and said it has been
seen that sports bodies have failed
to abide by the law of the land and
given a leeway for malpractices
like spot fixing and match fixing
to flourish.
"Instances have come up where
there is no accountability of
money being transferred from
unknown sources to a sportsper-
son's account or new bank
accounts being opened in foreign
lands without prior permissions
from the concerned authorities
like Reserve Bank in India," said
Azad.
Azad said the BCCI has no
authority to conduct a criminal
investigation on its own and the
five players should have been
booked by police for their involve-
ment in spot-fixing.
Asif rules out takingasylum in UK
London: Former Pakistani paceman
Muhammad Asif says he is not seeking
asylum in Britain and wants to return
home as soon as possible.
Asif was released from prison last
month after having served just half of
his 12-month imprisonment on charges
of spot fixing.
The pacer told Geo News that he was
determined to clear his name and play
for Pakistan again. Asif's lawyer Ravi
Sukul of Balham Chambers has taken
the case to the Court of Appeal. "I am
training regularly these days. I spend a
lot of time speaking to my family on
the phone and over the internet. I am
hopeful that I will play for Pakistan as I
played before," said Asif."There is no
question of applying for political asy-
lum in Britain. Those who run away
from Pakistan apply for asylum. I want
to return to Pakistan as soon as possi-
ble. I intend to return to Pakistan and
play for my country," he stressed.
Arjun Kadhe in boys' doublesquarters at French Open
Paris: Pune boy Arjun Kadhe
and his Peruvian partner Jorge
Brian Panta Herreros stormed
into the quarterfinals of the
boy's doubles at the French
Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victo-
ry over third seeds Julien
Cagnina and Luke Saville here
Wednesday.
Ninteen-year-old Kadhe and
Herreros dominated the first set,
wrapping it up in just 20 min-
utes.
However, their higher ranked
opponents were never going to
cave in and fought back in the
second as both teams managed
to break their opponents twice.
Just when it looked like the
Belgian-Australian duo were
getting into their rhythm, Kadhe
and his partner raised their game
in the tie-breaker to set up a last
eight clash against Australia's
Andrew Harris and Nick
Kyrgios.
Kadhe is currently the Indian
national doubles champion.
Rising star Arjun Kadhe
Aditya Mehtaposts secondwin at Wuxi
Classic Snooker
Sheffield (England): India's
Aditya Mehta registered his
second win at the Wuxi Classic
snooker qualifiers, defeating
World No.63 James Wattana of
Thailand 5-1.
Though James was a chal-
lenging opponent, Mehta start-
ed the match on a winning note
and captured back to back
frames, including a 95 break in
the second. He sealed the
match in the sixth frame.
Mehta will now be playing
against English veteran Jimmy
White Thursday.
Talking about the win,
Aditya Mehta said: "It was a
good match. My next match is
going to be a challenging one
as I've played Jimmy twice
before and lost on both occa-
sions."
Aditya Mehta32 junior women
hockey players to getmonthly stipend
New Delhi: India's 32 junior
women hockey players received a
major boost Wednesday with
Hockey India (HI) announcing a
monthly stipend of Rs.10,000
each. HI in a statement said that
each player will get Rs.1,20,000
per annum, payable at every quar-
ter in equal installments.
"The payments will start from
July-September quarter. This
amount will provide a big support
for players in purchasing their
equipment and it will further help
players to reduce the financial
burden on their families," said HI
in a statement.
HI also said that it would also
provide four junior goalkeepers,
among the pool of 32, with best
quality kits.
Goalkeepers: Shweta, Bigan
Soy, Jaspreet Kaur (Junior), Sonal
Minz.
Defenders: Apoorva
Vishwakarma, Sandeep Kaur
(Haryana), Jaspreet Kaur (Senior),
Sushila Lakra, Manjeet Kaur and
Diksha Tiwari.
Midfielders: Rukmani Dodari,
Anju Dhiman, Nikki Pradhan,
Manmeet Kaur, Teena, Reena
Devi, Renuka Yadav, Reena Rani,
Shabnam Lakra.
Forwards:Reena Rathore,
Poonam Madhuri Tete, Ritusha,
Surabhi Pradhan, Julie M.S
Tluangi, Anima Minz, Shrishti
Singh, Pratibha Chaudhary,
Priyanka Wankhede, Jaswinder
Kaur, Ramngaihzuali, Malkeet
Kaur and Pooja Kundu.
Saina in quartersof Thailand Open
New Delhi: India's badminton star
Saina Nehwal advanced to the quar-
terfinals of the Thailand Open
Grand Prix Gold in Bangkok defeat-
ing Chinese Li Han 21-17, 21-13
Thursday. World No.5 Saina took 42
minutes to get past the Chinese in
the second round. She next plays
Thailand's Sapsiree Taerattanachai
in a last-eight match Friday.
Taerattanachai came from behind
to beat Kaori Imabeppu of Japan 20-
22, 21-19, 21-15.
Saina Nehwal
26 Books
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Vikas Girdhar
Parinda Joshi’s debut novel,
Live from London, is
exactly as advertised on the
cover: a “heartwarming medley of
love” and it touches on so many
bases that the younger generations
of the South Asian community can
relate to.
Live from London tells the story
of Nishi Singh, a 21-year old
woman who winds up embarrass-
ing herself on the set of Britain’s
Got Talent. Following the deba-
cle, she sets out to rebuild her
self-esteem and establish a foun-
dation of fame as a musician the
conventional way—as an intern at
a record-label company. In the
thick of the 204 pages of the
novel, readers are exposed to a
progressive yet drastic series of
life-changing events for the pro-
tagonist. They are not only able to
see a young adult’s coping mecha-
nisms en route to a cross between
success and luck; but also very
realistic responses to tensions
with her parents, boyfriend and
best friends. As Nishi finally
comes across a period in her life
when she feels like she “was in
fantasy land” only to see it crum-
ble before her very eyes, she is
forced to follow her parents in
their move to India to pick up the
pieces of her life. The novel is
essentially a tale of the London
lady who must reconstruct her life
for what seems like the third time
in these 204 pages—but with most
difficulty in a country she has
always been so disconnected
from.
This isn’t your average, run-of-
the-mill novel—and it certainly
isn’t one with farfetched elements
governing its credibility. Rather,
the struggles of the protagonist as
they relate to her familial life are
very well described and believ-
able. The reader is able to garner a
complete sense of Nishi’s
thoughts as a direct result of her
often over-analytical ways. She
cannot be described as obsessive
but she does have a habit of dis-
secting every situation down to its
bare essentials. Joshi employs
clever language and literary ele-
ments that turn otherwise ordinary
situations into escapades.
Live from London is able to har-
ness the most basic yet important
parts of a typical Indian student’s
life—love, family, career and
social etiquette—and touch on all
of them in an authentic way. That
is perhaps the best selling point of
the novel.
Joshi uses Nishi as a sole repre-
sentative of issues that South
Asians would enjoy reading about
because they can relate to them.
Through Singh, readers are able to
see themselves in what she goes
through, how she thinks, the way
she reacts and the manner in
which she accepts what life deals
to her. From the description of her
mom, who tends to worry about
all the small details and underesti-
mate the ability of her daughter to
get through situations, to the
description of her tough-nosed
dad, who rarely shows emotion
but is more on the rational side,
the tensions that arise from differ-
ent generations growing up in dif-
ferent countries hit home.
As a result of the realism por-
trayed throughout this “medley of
love”, Joshi’s work and writing
can be complimented. That ele-
ment is essentially what trans-
forms a novel full of otherwise
ordinary events into an epic jour-
ney through the protagonist’s life.
Add to that the author’s story-
telling methods, and the book
ends up as a quick read.
America's science fiction
pioneer Ray Bradbury,
whose works included
"Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian
Chronicles," passed away Tuesday
night. He was 91.
A prolific author of hundreds of
short stories and close to 50 books,
as well as numerous poems, essays,
operas, plays, and screenplays,
Bradbury was one of the most cele-
brated writers in the US.
"Mr. Bradbury died peacefully,
last night, in Los Angeles, after a
long illness," Xinhua quoted a
spokesman for his publisher
HarperCollins as saying
Wednesday.
Bradbury's groundbreaking
works include Fahrenheit 451, The
Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated
Man, Dandelion Wine, and
Something Wicked This Way
Comes.
He wrote the screen play for John
Huston's classic film adaptation of
Moby Dick, and was nominated for
an Academy Award. He adapted 65
of his stories for television's The
Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an
Emmy for his teleplay of The
Halloween Tree.
The author was awarded the
2000 National Book Foundation
Medal for Distinguished
Contribution to American Letters,
the 2004 National Medal of Arts
and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special
Citation. He won an Emmy Award
for his teleplay adaptation of his
1972 novel, "The Halloween Tree."
In a statement issued Wednesday,
President Barack Obama paid trib-
ute to the memory of Bradbury.
Citing Bradbury's "gift for story-
telling" that "reshaped our culture
and expanded our world," Obama
praised the author for understand-
ing "that our imaginations could be
used as a tool for better under-
standing, a vehicle for change and
an expression of our most cher-
ished values."
Telling turns mundane story into epic journey
Parinda Joshi, who earlier wrote a column for South Asian Times, andthe cover of her debut novel, Live from London
Ray Bradbury
India's security in jeopardy if army ignores merit: Book
India's security will be in jeopardy
unless the nation's political class,
backed by a compliant bureaucra-
cy, "gets its act together and vigorous-
ly desists from sacrificing the merit
system and the army rules at the altar
of favoritism and nepotism", a new
book on civil-military relations says.
The alternative is a situation in
which India's security would go into
the hands of "uniformed guardians
perhaps less than qualified to hold the
posts to which they have been pro-
moted", noted lawyer R.K. Anand
wrote in "Assault on Merit" (Har-
Anand Publications, Rs.495, 198
pages) that was released last week by
the outgoing Indian Army Chief,
Gen. V.K. Singh.
The book wonders how a "line of
succession" could be established "in a
system that is so steeped in merit,
where each and every soldier is being
judged and evaluated at each and
every step".
"The acknowledged 'line of succes-
sion' adopted by the government of
India basically means that an officer
has already been earmarked for the
COAS's job even before he has com-
manded a division. This has made a
complete mockery of the system,"
says the book, which has been edited
by veteran journalist Inderjit
Badhwar and has contributions from
military historian and filmmaker
Kunal Verma.
While the book does not specifical-
ly deal with the messy controversy
involving Gen. Singh's date of birth,
"the issues it addresses have a fright-
eningly similar ring as well as a last-
ing relevance: The state and morale
of the armed forces", Anand says in
the preface.
In this sense, the book is the first
authoritative account of Gen. Singh's
controversy against the larger back-
drop of what is termed "the stage-
management of promotions, transfers
and postings".
The book deals with more than a
dozen real-life case studies covering
the last decade. Most of these involve
major generals, lieutenant generals,
corps commanders and army com-
manders who, Anand says, "were at
the receiving end of malice and injus-
tice from babus and politicians".
Verma puts this in another perspec-
tive.
"The whole gamut of the civil-mili-
tary relationship needs to be exam-
ined in depth. It is time that our politi-
cal class came to terms with a simple
truth - the armed forces are unlikely
to stage a coup in this country - so
they might as well get that monkey
off their backs and get on with some
serious introspection. It is not the
bureaucracy but the political class
that represents the civil supremacy as
the elected representatives of the peo-
ple," Verma says in the final chapter
titled "Conclusions and
Recommendations".
"Professionals have to be allowed
to run the ministry of defense. The
railways have successfully adopted
and stuck to that model, so why can't
the armed forces do it too? This
would also help distribute the large
number of armed forces personnel
who desperately need to be absorbed
in a productive manner," Verma says.
"The promotion boards and the sys-
tem have to be made completely
transparent. Any attempt at manipula-
tion must be dealt with ruthlessly,"
Verma noted.
RK Anand, author of ‘Assault on Merit’
Lifestyle 27
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
By Eileen Wacker
Istrive to be a great parent. I
have moments of glory and
others of massive doubt and
worry. Because I constantly
revisit what is a good parent?
And for every happy, proud
moment there are a thousand
small deaths endured as a parent.
I die a small death every time my
child gets cut from a team, left
out of a birthday party or receives
a bad grade. And, seriously my
kids are not always dying with
me. It’s often me bleeding and
worried and they are texting and
making plans, leaving their
potential at the door as they walk
out.
I have four children aged eight
to fourteen. My fourteen year-old
daughter is “the pleaser,” my thir-
teen year-old son is a “swagger-
in-training,” my ten year-old son
is a combination “swagger-in-
training apprentice and hide and
seek addict” and my eight year-
old daughter is a “puppy-wor-
shipping tomboy.”
As parents, we want them to
have happy, productive lives and
we see their potential more than
anyone. All we want is for them
to do their best at every moment
so they do not miss out. How did
we get so unrealistic? They are
not a reflection of us but a reflec-
tion of them, most of which is
hard wired in. This has resulted
in over-parenting of some of our
kids and the assumption our easi-
est to raise will glide through life
as a result of our excellent parent-
ing.
Our most “over-parented” child
is our second child, otherwise
known as “swagger in training.”
He goes to a school for gifted
dyslexics wearing his Vans,
jeans, a flatback cap, t-shirt and
inexpensive chain. We rarely
have a positive parent conference
as he is disorganized (forgets
everything), opinionated and
moves around… a lot. If he
weren’t my child, many of his
stories would be hilarious, like
when he called 911 last week just
to see what would happen and
then hung up and did not answer
when the police called back, so of
course they came to our home.
We were on Kauai for several
hours so the phone call from the
police (who assumed we had left
our two oldest alone for the
weekend) screamed “bad parent.”
It all worked out but I’m starting
to have this face tic when I see
certain numbers crop up. Then
two days later, we go to a school
event, and he has a posse of
friends, is very funny in his pres-
entation and recognized for his
athleticism. I feel the shock of
pride watching his moment of tri-
umph.
All of a sudden, I had this shiv-
er of doubt. Could the hardest
child to raise in fact be the one
most prepared for life?
As a contrast, my first child is
very easy. We call her “the pleas-
er.” She runs with me and is part
of student government. Her par-
ent conferences are always great
as she has a positive sunny atti-
tude and never ever misbehaves
in class. She works hard and
manages to pull mainly “Bs” and
actually practices her piano. Am I
being a bad parent, loving her for
always going along and never
being defiant towards us or any
adult? The shiver gets stronger.
Could the easiest child to raise
end up being less successful
because of the behavior I am
reinforcing? I can’t get this ques-
tion out of my mind…
I struggle every day to keep
perspective related to my chil-
dren. I have so many hopes and
dreams for them. Realistically I
know they will determine their
own path, but I “mommy-lobby”
endlessly for them to do certain
things. So I need to change – the
old me tries to correct every flaw
and ensure they don’t miss an
opportunity. The new me sees my
difficult child as someone with
strengths I need to notice and
nurture and my daughter as
someone who needs to learn to
stand up and say no once in a
while.
Our youngest daughter is eight
and has been to four birthday par-
ties in four years. She is a tomboy
and would not be caught dead in
a dress or attend a tea party or
anything remotely “fluffy.” The
old me worried – why don’t the
girls like her? The new me
embraces her sunny disposition
and sporty prowess and feels
relieved she is strong enough to
make her own path and select
friends she shares interests with.
Our ten year-old son watches
everything and his favorite
expression is “it’s not fair.” He is
never left out and always gets his
fair share. He does the bare mini-
mum at school and still gets
straight As in fourth grade. The
old me worried when it starts to
get harder he will not have the
good study habits of his older sis-
ter. The new me admires he has
the heart of a lion and is always
in the thick of everything.
It is very difficult – as a parent I
have caught and corrected flaws
at every turn. I nurtured the early
reader, applauded the reluctant
bike rider and attended every ath-
letic event. So the old me is still
in there but the new me is going
to be a lot more visible. I just got
a call from school – “swagger in
training” was sent to the office
for holding his breath in an
attempt to get light-headed. I feel
the face tic thing again. But I am
rooting for the difficult child to
be successful in life.
Eileen Wacker is an award win-ning children’s author. Hernewest book is Black Samuraiand the Dynasty Dragon, part ofthe ‘Fujimini Adventure Series’.
By Nivedita Sharma
Who says you need to be svelte and
tall to carry off a long dress or
cocktail gown with panache?
Celebrities like Hilary Duff, Eva Longoria
and Rani Mukerji are perfect examples of
how women with short frames can do won-
ders with the elegant garment, albeit with a
little accessorizing and experimentation.
Select the best cut, choose the right print,
throw in a few accessories and team up the
look with high heels -- and you're ready to
rock in a gown, say Indian designers.
Pam Mehta, who specializes in couture,
says opting for an empire line, off-shoulder
gown with asymmetric hemlines and
styling it up with statement accessories will
suit shorter women.
"Empire line silhouettes can look great on
shorter women. Avoid breaking the body
into many parts horizontally, especially at
the waist and hips.
"Off-shoulder or collar band tie-ups and
trailing hemlines also look great on shorter
girls. Since asymmetric hemlines and clas-
sic cuts with halter necklines and spaghetti
straps are in, one can opt for such gowns,"
Mehta said.
She also emphasized on styling gowns
with statement accessories.
"Style gowns with statement accessories!
In fact, the best option is to add a chunky
collar neckpiece or a stone-studded bib.
Avoid belts as it will divide your body in
two parts.
"A pair of stilettoes will enhance the
grace and length of the gowns," she added.
Though fashion changes every season and
year, there are some wardrobe staples. A
gown is definitely considered one of them.
From Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan to Malaika Arora Khan, Kangna
Ranaut, Bipasha Basu and Priyanka chopra
- most Bollywood beauties have flaunted
gowns on several red carpet events.
Often Bollywood fashion has influenced
movie-goers. So no wonder many young
girls want to copy these leading ladies. But
if your height is stopping you from follow-
ing the trend, don't fret!
Designer duo Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor
say one should only focus on choosing a
gown right for one's body size and type.
"Short ladies can try this trick before
choosing the best gown -- if you have
shorter legs than torso, a shorter dress with
an emphasis on the waist would really
make your legs seem longer.
"If you have a shorter torso than legs,
longer dresses will drop your waist and
make you seem longer; so gown is always a
best option," Arjun said.
Anjalee shared tips on the right fabrics.
"The fabric of the dress you select should
be silk, chiffon velvet, or satin. A sheath
style dress is very flattering to many figures
and can add height. Do not select a multi-
color garment. If the dress is one color from
head to toe, along with the smooth texture,
that alone will make you appear taller," she
said.
Gowns with vertical stripes and smaller
prints in monotonic colors like red, blue,
bottle green and black work best for shorter
women, says designer Payal Singhal, who
also suggests that Indo-western touch to
gowns is also a good idea.
Raising a difficult child
British parents regretgifting gadgets to kids
Astudy in Britain has
found one third of par-
ents regretting having
given their children mobile
phones, computers, and games
consoles.
According to the study com-
missioned by Hobbycraft, a
chain of arts and crafts super-
stores, parents fear about the
harm to youngsters' patience,
creative and social skills as well
as to quality time means 34 per-
cent of them yearn to take the
gadgets back from their chil-
dren.
About 67 percent of the par-
ents were found to be annoyed
with the amount of time their
children spend with computer
or watching TV instead of
enjoying traditional activities.
The study, of 2,000 parents of
children aged 3-16, found that
over half of youngsters have a
hand-held games console, while
another 50 percent have a
games console. And four in ten
kids have their own TV in their
bedrooms.
Dear Indian-American Kids:
Iknow you’re busy with your school work
and other important stuff but there’s
something important I’d like to say to
you: Please stop winning the National
Spelling Bee!
Yes, you heard me right. Back away from
the unabridged dictionary, tear up the list of
10-syllable words your mom printed out for
you, delete the soundtrack of “Akeelah and
the Bee” from your iPod.
We know you’re good at spelling. You’ve
already proven it. You’ve won five consecu-
tive National Spelling Bees – and 10 of the
last 14. If the Los Angeles Lakers merged
with the Miami Heat, they wouldn’t win as
many titles as you. You’re so dominant that
the Las Vegas oddsmakers have made you 2-
1 favorites to win the next Spelling Bee, bet-
ter odds than they’ve set for Aishwarya Rai
to get a tummy tuck.
We know you’re dedicated and disciplined.
You’ve already proven it. While other kids
have been going to basketball camp or soc-
cer camp in the summer, you’ve been going
to spelling camp. While other kids are hors-
ing around in the showers before dinner,
embarrassing each other with not-so-polite
comparisons, you’ve been making compar-
isons that would do your parents proud: “My
word is bigger than your word.”
We know you’re eager to please your par-
ents. You’ve already proven it. You didn’t
complain when your mom handed you that
list of 10-syllable words or your dad shook
his head vigorously and said, “Only 10 sylla-
bles? You need to start giving her 12-syllable
words – she’s in kindergarten now.”
Yes, you’ve already proven enough, so
why not give some other kids a chance to
win the National Spelling Bee? The other
kids have also studied thousands of words,
but when they reach the final round of the
spelling bee and see you looking so confi-
dent – as though you’ve been on ESPN hun-
dreds of times – they lose their cool. They
say to themselves, “Oh no, those kids are
Indian-Americans. They must have been to
spelling camp!”
It’s like facing Rafael Nadal in the final of
the French Open. Sure, you might win a few
games, but then you look across the net and
see the six-time champion pumping his fist
and think to yourself, “Well, at least I got
this far.”
That’s what happened to Gifton Wright,
the boy from Kingston, Jamaica, who fin-
ished fourth this year. We knew there would
be a big celebration in Jamaica if he won, but
his valiant effort fell short, giving us the
same newspaper headline in India as last
year: “Ho-hum. Another Indian-American
wins the Spelling Bee.”
Even worse than that, we had to hear the
same old joke again. Several people tweeted
it, thinking they were being original:
“Snigdha Nandipati won the National
Spelling Bee by spelling her own name!
LOL! Someone put me on Comedy Central.”
But that’s not why I want you to stop win-
ning the National Spelling Bee. I want you to
stop because you’re putting too much pres-
sure on all the Indian-American kids who
don’t want to spend half their weekends
studying words and the other half being test-
ed on them. Take my 10-year-old daughter,
Lekha, for example. She’s a good student
who loves to read books and play the piano,
but isn’t that interested in spelling. Every
year, when the National Spelling Bee is
being televised — the only time my wife
ever asks if we have ESPN on our cable –
Lekha has to endure comments such as, “If
they can do it, so can you,” “Look how
proud her parents look” and “It’s my mistake
– I should have started spelling words to you
when you were in my womb.”
So here’s my request again: Please stop
winning the National Spelling Bee! I know it
won’t be easy, but with a little effort, I’m
sure you can do it.
See you at Geography Camp!
28 Humor
An open letter to Indian-American kids
Tech Life
Humor with Melvin Durai
by Mahendra ShahMahendra 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
Boston: Microsoft warned that a bug in Windows
allowed PCs across the Middle East to become infect-
ed with the Flame virus and released a software fix to
fight the espionage tool that surfaced last week.
Security experts said they were both surprised and
impressed by the approach that the attackers had used,
which was to disguise Flame as a legitimate program
built by Microsoft.
"I woke up to this news and I couldn't believe it. I
had to ask, 'Am I reading this right?'" said Roel
Schouwenberg of Russian security firm Kaspersky
Lab, one of the researchers who helped discover the
Flame virus. Experts described the method as "elegant"
and they believed it had likely been used to deliver
other cyber weapons yet to be identified.
"It would be logical to assume that they would have
used it somewhere else at the same time, Mikko
Hypponen, chief research officer for security software
maker F-Secure. If other types of cyber weapons were
indeed delivered to victim PCs using the same
approach as Flame, then they will likely be exposed
very quickly now that Microsoft has identified the
problem, said Adam Meyers, director of intelligence
for security firm CrowdStrike. Cyber weapons that
bear the fake Microsoft code will either stop working
or lose some of their camouflage, said Ryan Smith,
chief research scientist with security firm Accuvant.
A spokeswoman for Microsoft declined to comment
on whether other viruses had exploited the same flaw
in Windows or if the company's security team was
looking for similar bugs in the operating system.
Flame's code included what is known as a digital
certificate, which falsely identified it as a piece of soft-
ware from Microsoft.
The creators of the virus obtained that certificate by
manipulating a component of the Windows operating
system known as terminal services licensing, or TS
licensing, that is designed to authorize business cus-
tomers to use advanced features of Windows.
A bug in TS licensing allowed the hackers to use it
to create fake certificates that identified Flame as being
from Microsoft, Mike Reavey, a senior director with
Microsoft's Security Response Center, said in a blog
post. He feared that other hackers might be able to
copy the technique to launch more widespread attacks
with other types of viruses, Reavey said.
"We continue to investigate this issue and will take
any appropriate actions to help protect customers,"
Reavey said in the blog post.
News of the Flame virus, which surfaced a week
ago, generated headlines around the world as
researchers said that technical evidence suggests it was
built on behalf of the same nation or nations that com-
missioned the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's
nuclear program in 2010. Researchers are still gather-
ing information about the virus.
Microsoft issues Flame virus warning
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Aries: This week you should make plans
that include sufficient time for entertain-
ment along with usual business meetings.
Recreation will result in to a newfound love.
Home environment will be peaceful and pleasant,
and family members will extend full support. Your
reputation may be at stake if you become intimate
with someone you work with. Avoid trusting sub-
ordinates for important information. Expenses are
likely to rise on luxuries.
Taurus: Don’t make promises to clients
that you might find difficult to keep.
Although your confidence and imagination runs
high this week but taking important decisions
might not be too easy for you. Older members of
the family will pose some problems and financial
position will not be very comfortable. Travel
undertaken for work purpose will bring moderate
returns. Your ability to come up with new ideas
will bring appreciation from superiors.
Gemini: This week you are likely to be
involved in some work, which is of highly
creative nature. You might even sign up for a new
course or even visit a seminar to help you toward
your goal. Although your financial position will
improve, but the outflow of money will leave you
with little money to save. Relationship with your
spouse will be cordial and healthy. Health will
show sign of improvement despite a busy and hec-
tic week. A distant trip is on the cards for some of
you.
Cancer: Avoid making any type of finan-
cial commitment without seeking the
advice of experts. Hasty decisions will only leave
you regretting. Money gains through investment
are quite likely later in the week. Students should
seek advice from successful people on career
related issues. Budding romance for those unat-
tached will bring new excitement and happiness in
life. Your mental state seems fine as you go out
and spend good moments with close friends.
Leo: Focus and concentrate on your goals,
but you should try not to get yourself so
wrapped up in work, that you neglect your house-
hold duties. Arguments and confrontations should
be strictly avoided, as emotional outburst will
cause disharmony at home. Few important pur-
chases are likely to be made for the house towards
the weekend. A Sudden romantic development
with someone you have known for long, might
come as a surprise. Do not let children take advan-
tage of your generous behaviour.
Virgo: This week you seem to take a more active
role in social groups and liven up the
atmosphere around you. Although new
money making ventures and investment
opportunities will keep you occupied, instant
gains do not seem likely. End of the week sees
you take blessing from a spiritual person. Other
religious activities will also take some of your
time. Children will seek your advice and guid-
ance. Fitness program will be important to keep in
perfect shape.
Libra: Do not loose your cool if things do
not work your way. Investors will see past
investments gaining new heights. New Investment
in property is also recommended. Relationship
with some relative might suffer due to minor mis-
understanding. Mid-week will be highly crucial
for artists, writers and those involved in creative
line as they can expect a major boost in their
career. Spouse will be highly supportive and
shower you with love and affection.
Scorpio: This week you are likely to loose
an excellent financial opportunity if you do
not act swiftly. Your cash liquidity improves as
you benefit from past investments but pending
bills and old debts will makes it impossible for
you to save. Journey overseas or foreign transac-
tions will prove to be highly beneficial. Job
opportunities for people still unemployed. Health
of your spouse will cause some concern or rela-
tionship with her might get tensed over small
issues. Children will be supportive.
Sagittarius: Take a good look at your per-
sonal financial situation and stick to your
budget. Emotional frustration will make it diffi-
cult for you to concentrate on productive issues.
Your relationship with your partner may get
tensed or your colleagues might say something
disappointing, which might leave you highly
demoralized. A small vacation and other recre-
ational activities will make you feel relaxed.
Small ritual or a ceremony might be performed at
home.
Capricorn: This week, be careful as
someone might try to undermine you.
Keep your ideas to yourself and learn to behave in
a more responsible and realistic manner. You
should do some self-introspection, list your priori-
ties, and try to work towards your career goals. At
work your are likely to face some criticism for not
being helpful and adjustable. Certain changes to
improve your physical appearance will be highly
appreciated by your beloved and friends.
Aquarius: Your family will have an
expensive plan for home improvement,
and you will be the only person who will con-
tribute the most. This is a good week to plan out a
budget and take care of your bills and debts.
Professional advancements for some. In the latter
half of the week you will build up new associa-
tions and important contacts, which will be long
lasting and highly fruitful. Yoga and meditation
will bring in physical as well as spiritual gains.
Pisces: This week you find yourself sup-
pressing under extreme work pressures.
Someone you work with will be unhappy with
your performance, which will make you feel high-
ly frustrated. Health needs special care as you try
to cope up with this stressful and tensed period.
An increase in income through part-time jobs or
assignment most likely.
Family members might demand some extra time
and attention. Be very cautious of casual acquain-
tances who demand temporary financial assis-
tance. Spouse behaves cooperative despite your
erratic behaviour.
June 09:
Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are
courageous, energetic, trustworthy, dashing, inde-
pendent and quick in taking decisions. You always
welcome new ideas and are fond of increasing your
knowledge and learn new things, but you need to
control your tendency to behave quarrelsome, impa-
tient and moody at times. This year you will work on
new projects, which will ensure gains not immedi-
ately but eventually. This seems to be a good time to
invest in stocks and property, but all investments
should be made for long-term duration. A distant
journey seems likely later in the year, most probably
for attending some auspicious occasion or pilgrim-
age. Friends and relatives will promise more than
they could deliver. The months of October, Septem-
ber, December and March will prove to be beneficial.
June 10:
Influenced by number 1 and the Sun, you are smart,
energetic, practical, dignified and highly sensitive
person. You like an independent and free lifestyle for
yourself, which allows you to move gradually to-
wards your goals, but you need to check your ten-
dency to behave spendthrift, dominating and restless
at times. This year a promotion or an increase in re-
sponsibility will bring you reasons to celebrate.
Those professionals looking for a career abroad will
receive favorable response. New projects will add a
touch of class to your profile. A healthier and loving
atmosphere will prevail at home, which will bring
good health and prosperity. Housewives will have to
cope with regular arrival of guests and relatives.
Traveling to a distant place for spiritual gains cannot
be ruled out. The months of August, October, De-
cember and February will prove to be result oriented.
June 11:
Ruled by number 2 and the moon, you are an honest,
responsible, trustworthy, intelligent and broadmind-
ed person. You are fond of intellectual conversation
and soothing music, but you need to control your ten-
dency to behave extra nervous and restless during
difficult times. This year you will benefit immense-
ly if you listen to what your family members have to
say. New sources of income will improve your fi-
nancial position and your confidence will be at its
peak. Career changes if any will prove to be benefi-
cial. Your outgoing nature will work to your advan-
tage. Spouse and other female members will do their
best to keep you happy. Avoid standing surety or a
guarantee for others, as it would lead to embarrass-
ment and legal problems. Real-estate transaction to-
wards the yearend should bring monetary gains. The
months of July, August, October and January will be
eventful.
June 12:
Dominated by number 3 and the Planet Jupiter, you
are energetic, charming, ambitious, talented, digni-
fied and highly methodical person. You are inde-
pendent by nature and people admire you for your
ability to take bold decisions, but you need to curb
your tendencies towards stubbornness, extravagance
and dictatorial nature at times. This is the right time
to take important business decisions. Investments
made during this phase will bring in good profits.
Matters related to property will bring gains. Distant
travel, may be overseas, brings joy and happiness
along with a possible reunion with an old contact.
Renovation of the house or construction related ac-
tivities would also be high on your agenda. Chronic
patients definitely need to be more careful about their
health. Preventive medicines should not be avoided
at any cost. The months of September, November,
February and April will prove to be highly signifi-
cant.
June 13:
Influenced by number 4 and the Planet Uranus, you
are talented, bold, reliable, energetic and systematic
individual. You always aim high and work with com-
plete dedication towards your goals, but at times you
receive a setback after coming extremely close to
your goals because of your changeable, inconstant
and stubborn nature. This year although productive
but results will be slow and will require you to give
in your best. Your inability to gather support on your
prevailing project will create a sense of dissatisfac-
tion and frustration. Period in the second half of the
year will be better for financial dealing, though part-
nership and joint ventures should be completely
avoided. Romance will flourish and some lovebirds
will even go for a matrimonial alliance. Despite ten-
sions and stress your health will be fine. The month
of July, October, December and May will be event-
ful.
June 14:
Governed by number 5 and the planet Mercury, you
are active, authoritative, dashing, confident, helpful,
sincere and kind-hearted person. You like to enjoy
life to the fullest. You are not very good in express-
ing your emotions to your lover and your tendency to
behave extravagant and lazy always attracts criticism
from those around you. This is going to be an ex-
tremely rewarding period for women. Favorable stars
will bring you prosperity and good fortune. A spec-
tacular leap in your professional career is foreseen
provided you make use of the opportunities that arise
before you. Good flow of finances will improve your
living comforts and savings. An infatuation with the
opposite sex will come as a surprise and it will take
some time before you start thinking straight again.
The health of your parents will cause some concern,
but don’t worry unnecessarily. The months of July,
August, November and February will be highly im-
portant.
June 15:
Influenced by number 6 and the Planet Venus, you
are enthusiastic, loyal, charming, witty and helpful in
nature. You have a very sharp memory, and your
grasping power is really wonderful. You can easily
hold position of leadership and authority but you
loose good opportunities due to your tendency to be-
have moody, stubborn and vindictive at times. This
year there will be a rise in your expenses making it
difficult for you to save. Although slow progress of
work and disagreements over small issues will irri-
tate you and even show on your health, but towards
the yearend, you will be pleased and satisfied with
your achievements. Investments made during this pe-
riod will bring in good returns, though not immedi-
ately but eventually. Students will perform well in ac-
ademics and will be rewarded for their contribution
towards extra curricular activities. Spouse remains
cooperative despite your erratic behavior. The
months of April, October, December and February
will be important.
Astrology 29
TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 9-15, 2012
By Dr Prem Kumar SharmaChandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 [email protected]; www.premastrologer.com
Stars Foretell: June 9-15, 2012 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week
i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date,
Time and Place of birth is accurate.
ii) Careful: Did you check background of the
astrologer before disclosing your secrets.
iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel
shy. It’s his business.
iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the out-
come is not as desired, never give up.
v) Consult: Take second opinion before
spending thousands on cure/remedies.
Learn about the fair value ofdiamonds & precious stones.
from a Gems Expert For appointment, please call 516-390-7847
or email [email protected] special offer for the readers of
The South Asian Times
Before you consult...
Free Consultation
30 Spiritual Awareness
June 9-15, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
If we are in the body of a
teenager, we are bound to go to
school and are pressured by
our friends to do what they do. We
may want to go off and meditate
or be in the company of a saint but
our friends consider us crazy.
Their life is even crazier with their
fascination with experimenting
with drugs and alcohol which
make us less conscious but they
want us to be like them. They do
not want us using our own natural
method of meditation to get intox-
icated—they want us to use the
unnatural and dangerous means
that they use. They pressure us to
engage in worldly pleasures and if
we do not comply, we become the
laughingstock of our neighbor-
hood and school. People make fun
of us and call us names. We feel
torn between finding joy in our
spiritual life and being accepted
by others who have no spiritual
interests. The soul is tormented by
the world around it and knows not
what to do.
If we are in the body of an adult,
we are bound by the responsibili-
ties of our job or of raising a fami-
ly and doing our duties in society.
Our soul wants to be lost in ecsta-
sy in the arms of the Lord, but our
attention is being pressured to
attend to the worldly pursuits. We
have to put in many hours on a job
to get paid to keep our body fed
and housed. We have to take care
of our spouses, our children, or
our parents. We have to pay our
taxes, pay our mortgage, pay the
expenses of a car, pay annual
licenses, and take care of all sorts
of paperwork that each citizen of
every country has to do. Time is
the enemy of the soul, for it takes
away from the soul’s yearning to
be lost in ecstasy within.
Even if we are on a spiritual
path, the soul has some problems.
Those souls who have awakened
to their true nature are only happy
when in the presence of the Master
physically or inwardly in medita-
tion. They want to focus totally on
the Master when in his presence.
When not in his presence, they are
restless for the next chance to be
with him. They are filled with
anguish and torture when kept
away from him.
Those on the spiritual path are at
different stages. Some are at a
stage where they have not yet
identified with their soul and are
still enticed by the world. They
have some pull towards the Master
and meditation but they are still
functioning at the level of the
mind and the world. They act
responsibly. They look at the
Master more as a physical being.
They consider meditation a chore,
and do not like to do it. They intel-
lectually understand the path, but
their soul has not yet fully tasted
the bliss within and they are con-
tent to come and go at the regular-
ly scheduled times of programs.
Then, we reach a stage in which
we awaken to our spiritual nature.
We identify with the soul. When
we do so, then the soul is not
happy with things of this world. It
finds its enjoyment in being in the
spiritually-charged radiation of the
Master and sitting in meditation. It
enjoys the bliss of seva because
during those times it is receptive
to the Master power within and
flowing through it as seva is done.
It finds attending to the world to
be drudgery. It wants to spend as
much time as possible in the
Master’s presence.
When such souls cannot be in
the Master’s presence, they have a
difficult time. Their soul is in
agony and torture when away
from the Master. It is a real, living
pain that stabs at their heart. Their
heart feels like it is being stabbed
over and over again without stop.
Their whole being feels as if it is
on fire. They feel as if they are in
torture. Outwardly, they may look
like they are calm, cool, and col-
lected, but inside they are being
burned alive in the fire of separa-
tion. We know what it is like to get
a paper cut. The thin cut goes right
down to the nerve. Now picture a
soul in separation from the
Master—it is like tens of thou-
sands of paper cuts are slicing the
disciple at once. Knives are stab-
bing at their hearts every second
of every day. Now, picture a soul
in such agony, and then asking it
to behave normally. Ask such a
soul to smile when tears are flood-
ing behind its eyes. Ask such a
soul to be cheerful, when the soul
cannot take the pain anymore. Ask
such a soul to do any work, when
its whole being is filled with pain.
But the worst of it is that it cannot
escape the pain and must bear all
this torture second by second. It
knows that escaping the pain is not
an option. So, the soul just has to
bear this torture of separation.
The soul then pleads to the
Master to be gracious. It cries out
with every ounce of its being to
the Master to end the separation. It
prays that the Master is merciful in
ending its period of distance so it
can enjoy that loving, captivating
company again.
Then, if the Beloved does not
respond, the torture intensifies
because the soul feels the Master
has forgotten him or her. The soul
feels the Master does not care. The
soul cannot understand how the
Master can be aware of his or her
pain and not do something about
it. In such a state the soul has
reached the end of its limit. It
prays with great intensity to the
Master and begs for relief. Then,
the Master is gracious. The Master
lifts the veil and shows himself to
the disciple. The Master gives the
disciple a boost and a lift and
pours out his love to the disciple.
He takes the disciple in his arms
and fills the disciple with hope and
love again. The disciple is able to
survive for another day.
The plight of the disciple in the
world is best described by this
verse by Sant Darshan Singh Ji
Maharaj. This verse touches a
chord in describing the plight of a
soul in such a condition. The verse
says:
I am as full of the pangs and
longings for the Beloved as the
harmonium is full of music;
Just touch it, move your finger
on it once, and see what happens.
The disciple who has reached a
stage in which he or she has iden-
tified with the soul and wants only
the Master and God is like the dis-
ciple described by Sant Darshan
Singh Ji Maharaj in this verse.
Picture a harmonium or any
instrument sitting on a table. It
looks like any other physical
object. A harmonium looks like a
wooden box. It has white and
black keys. There is a part of it
that is like an accordion which
fans out as you move it in and out.
It looks very much like a physical
object. But when you just touch
the keys or move out the accor-
dion-like part, exquisite sound
comes out of it. Then, as you
move your fingers over it, you can
produce music so uplifting it stirs
the soul. From this physical object
comes unseen sound that has the
power to move hearts. The music
can make people dance, it can
make people sing, it can make
people smile, and it can make peo-
ple wail and cry. The element that
comes forth from this physical
form is ethereal; it has no sub-
stance, but it can move the spirit.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj
is saying that just as music is hid-
den within the physical structure
of an instrument, such as a harmo-
nium, so is the music of longing
and pain hidden within the physi-
cal form of a disciple. The disciple
may have a body like everyone
else. The disciple may have eyes,
ears, a nose, and a mouth like
everyone else. Yet, when one just
touches its strings the music of
longing and pining flow from it.
The disciple may look like a
human form like everyone else,
but that form really is a casing or
embodiment of one long song of
yearning and pining for the
Beloved. Behind the face and
smile is a soul crying in agony to
be with the Beloved. The disciple
is really the music of the heart
playing its melody all twenty-four
hours of the day. It is singing
songs of pain and agony when in
separation from the Beloved. It is
singing songs of ecstasy when it is
with the Beloved. The music of a
disciple only contains two ragas:
ecstasy and agony. There is little
in between.
Those who live in the company
of such a disciple think they are
living with another physical per-
son with a body and a mind. But
that is as illusionary as the harmo-
nium sitting on a table. There is
skin, there is flesh and blood, but
within that disciple is a musical
instrument. It is either singing in
ecstasy because it is in the compa-
ny of its Beloved again, or it is
playing the most heart-rending
music of torture when separated
from the Master.
The disciples are asked to live in
the world. They are asked to fol-
low the path of positive mysti-
cism. They are asked to behave
normally. Thus, he or she plays a
role as a student in school, a pro-
fessional at work, a good wife or
husband at home, a good parent to
its children, and a good communi-
ty neighbor. But as the verse of
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj
says, "Just touch the strings, just
touch the instrument," and see
what happens. If anyone living
with such a disciple just touches a
chord within the disciple, the
music of ecstasy or music of
yearning comes forth. It does not
take much. The disciple is already
ready to burst with the pain of sep-
aration. The disciple is trying to
cover it up within the outwardly
normal form. But the slightest
touch will cause the disciple to
explode out with his or her true
feelings.
(To be continued..)
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajis an internationally recognizedspiritual leader and Master ofJyoti Meditation who affirms thetranscendent oneness at the heartof all religions and mystic tradi-tions, emphasizing ethical livingand meditation as building blocksfor achieving inner and outerpeace. www.sos.org.
Second of three part series on Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj's discourse 'Yodeling for God'
Material world distracts soul away from spiritual path
By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj
The plight of the disciple in the worldis best described by this verse by SantDarshan Singh Ji Maharaj. The versesays:
I am as full of the pangs and longings for the Beloved as the harmonium is full of music;
Just touch it, move your finger on itonce, and see what happens.