Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765” Top Stories VOICE OF INDIANS WORLDWIDE www.indiapost.com NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA VOL 15, No. 804 February 5, 2010 50¢ Periodical Postage India Post CONTENTS Details on page 40 Details on page 7 Details on page 10 Details on page 28 YES 23% Last week’s result NO 77% This week’s question INDIA POST SURVEY [email protected]Is India showing more interest in NRIs? Details on page 12 Details on page 11 Details on page 8 Details on page 25 Details on page 17 OUTSOURCING FIRMS TO LOSE TAX BREAKS WASHINGTON: In bad news for India's IT-BPO sector, US President Barack Obama has said he will slash tax breaks to American firms that move jobs abroad. "To encourage... businesses to stay within our bor- ders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America," he said in his first State of Union address. A report by IT consultancy firm Forrester Research es- timates that 3.3 million American jobs will be lost to outsourcing in 15 years ending 2015. Already, half of the Indian IT-BPO industry's USD 71.7 billion revenue comes from the US. Details on page 6 GLOWING REPUBLIC: Rashtrapati Bhawan is decorated in lights, as part of Indiaís 61st Republic Day celebrations, in New Delhi on January 27. See Republic Day feature on page 9 Details on page 6 Seven from US conferred Padma Awards India Post News Service NEW YORK: Seven persons from the United States have been named recipients of the prestigious Padma Awards by the government of India on the eve of its Republic Day, in the foreigners/NRIs /PIOs category for distinguished service in their respective fields. Among those receiving the Padma Bhushan this year are CNN's Fareed Zakaria for his contributions to Journalism; Chicago-based Prof Tan Chung, an Indian of Chinese descent, and a pioneer of Chinese studies in India, for his contributions to Literature & Education; Prof. Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Pro- fessor of Electrical Engineering (Research) at Stanford University, CA, for his contributions to Sci- ence & Technology; and Sant Singh Chatwal, New York-based hotelier for his contributions to Public Affairs. Large turn-out for R-Day celebrations at NY Consulate NJ Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver addressing the gathering as Consul General Prabhu Dayal looks on India Post News Service NEW YORK: The 60th Republic Day of India was enthusiastically celebrated with a large turnout of people at the Indian Consulate in New York on January 26. Details on page 6 Sania Mirza calls off engagement FIA-Chicago hosts grand R-Day dinner Headley pleads not guilty to Mumbai plot Padma honors for Aamir, Rahman, Saif ‘India, China mainstay of world economy’ NY budget cuts for Asians decried World's first Indian art hotel opens in Mumbai 'Year of India' at Brown Univ. features Husain Obama conveys R-Day greetings to Indians Bollywood ---------------------- 22-23 Classifieds --------------------- 45-47 Community Post -------------- 10-21 Date Book -------------------------- 46 Edit Page --------------------------- 50 HealthScience Post --------- 38-39 Horoscope ------------------------- 42 Immigration Post -------- 35-36-37 Philosophy ------------------------- 49 Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4 Real Estate ------------------------ 44 Sports ------------------------------- 28 TechBiz Post -------------------40-41 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-32 Can Pak govt prevent attack on India?
Transcript
Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”
Top Stories V O I C E O F I N D I A N S W O R L D W I D E
www.indiapost.com
NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA VOL 15, No. 804 February 5, 2010 50¢ Periodical Postage
WASHINGTON: In bad news for India's IT-BPO sector,US President Barack Obama has said he will slash tax breaksto American firms that move jobs abroad.
"To encourage... businesses to stay within our bor-ders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companiesthat ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks tocompanies that create jobs right here in the United States
of America," he said in his first State of Union address.A report by IT consultancy firm Forrester Research es-
timates that 3.3 million American jobs will be lost tooutsourcing in 15 years ending 2015. Already, half of theIndian IT-BPO industry's USD 71.7 billion revenue comesfrom the US.
Details on page 6
GLOWING REPUBLIC: Rashtrapati Bhawan is decorated in lights, as part of Indiaís 61st Republic Day celebrations, in New
Delhi on January 27. See Republic Day feature on page 9
Details on page 6
Seven from US conferredPadma Awards
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: Seven persons from the UnitedStates have been named recipients of the prestigiousPadma Awards by the government of India on theeve of its Republic Day, in the foreigners/NRIs /PIOscategory for distinguished service in their respectivefields.
Among those receiving the Padma Bhushan thisyear are CNN's Fareed Zakaria for his contributionsto Journalism; Chicago-based Prof Tan Chung, anIndian of Chinese descent, and a pioneer of Chinesestudies in India, for his contributions to Literature &Education; Prof. Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Pro-fessor of Electrical Engineering (Research) atStanford University, CA, for his contributions to Sci-ence & Technology; and Sant Singh Chatwal, NewYork-based hotelier for his contributions to PublicAffairs.
Large turn-out for R-Daycelebrations at NY Consulate
NJ Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver addressing the
gathering as Consul General Prabhu Dayal looks on
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: The 60th Republic Day of India wasenthusiastically celebrated with a large turnout ofpeople at the Indian Consulate in New York onJanuary 26.
Details on page 6
Sania Mirzacalls offengagement
FIA-Chicagohosts grandR-Day dinner
Headley pleadsnot guilty toMumbai plot
Padma honorsfor Aamir,Rahman, Saif
‘India, Chinamainstay ofworld economy’
NY budgetcuts for Asiansdecried
World's firstIndian art hotelopens in Mumbai
'Year of India' atBrown Univ.features Husain
Obama conveysR-Day greetingsto Indians
Bollywood ---------------------- 22-23
Classifieds --------------------- 45-47
Community Post -------------- 10-21
Date Book -------------------------- 46
Edit Page --------------------------- 50
HealthScience Post --------- 38-39
Horoscope ------------------------- 42
Immigration Post -------- 35-36-37
Philosophy ------------------------- 49
Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4
Real Estate ------------------------ 44
Sports ------------------------------- 28
TechBiz Post ------------------- 40-41
Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-32
Can Pak govt prevent attackon India?
India Postwww.indiapost.com
February 5, 20102
February 5, 2010 India Post 3www.indiapost.com
22
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BollywoodNational AwardAt 4 am in New York, Priyanka Choprajumped out of bed in sheer joy when shegot the news.
1Cover Story:Bad news
10Community:R-Day banquet
24Life Style:Dance Pe ChanceFIA recently concluded its dance com-petition, Dance Pe Chance as part of itscelebrations for India's Republic Day.
28Sports:
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has calledoff her engagement with childhood friendMohammed Sohrab Mirza.
40Techbiz:
Global financial crisis has "irreversibly"shifted the world economic power toemerging markets like India and China.
29Travel:PalampurPalampur is known for its numerous teagardens and paddy fields and also forits colonial architecture and temples.
Davos meet
The FIA (Chicago) hosted a festive galabanquet to celebrate the 60th year ofIndia's Republic Day.
In bad news for India's IT-BPO sector, BarackObama has said he will slash tax breaks toAmerican firms that move jobs abroad.
Break-up
I have always been skeptical about the doomsday forecasters who run aroundin the guise of scientific experts on climate change - especially that motleybunch led by our own countryman R.K. Pachauri of Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. No disrespect meant here to the panel which boasts of2500 of the best climate change scientists in the world, but one should realize thatit was based on their claims about the extinction of the Himalayan glaciers by2035, that India has been under pressure from the Western countries to fall inline with their recommendations for emission control.
I wouldn't necessarily gloat in vindication that Pachauri and his ilk have nowcome under flak for their far fetched claims on the Himalayan glaciers or theAmazon forests, and that they have admitted to have goofed up on their assess-ments. That is because, one does not really know if the counter claims are anymore accurate than the original claims, even if they were admittedly wrong.
I am sick of how ridiculously politicized the whole climate change issue hasbecome. No word, expert or otherwise, seems sacrosanct anymore consideringit could have been manipulated by some lobby group, political interest or indus-trial conglomerates.
Let alone the heavily funded scientific panels, even the weather forecasts wesee on TV everyday are part of multi-million dollar businesses where cold weatherin winter and hot weather in summer is sensational news.
Sure we've had the wild fires in California this past year, the devastatingearthquake in Haiti early January. But are they any more unusual than thetsunami in the Indian Ocean a few years ago or the hurricane in Louisiana afterthat? Change is the fundamental truth of nature. It will occur in the form ofcorrection every so often, and there is little that man can do - either to destroy itor preserve it.
What we can do, however, as responsible inhabitants of this earth is recycle,conserve water, increase forest covers and yes, stop producing plastic. And letnature take its course.
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Cover/Top Stories
US to slash tax breaks to outsourcing firmsWASHINGTON: In bad news
for India's IT-BPO sector, USPresident Barack Obama has saidhe will slash tax breaks to Ameri-can firms that move jobs abroad.
"To encourage... businesses tostay within our borders, it is timeto finally slash the tax breaks forcompanies that ship our jobsoverseas, and give those taxbreaks to companies that createjobs right here in the United Statesof America," he said in his firstState of Union address.
A report by IT consultancy firmForrester Research estimates that3.3 million American jobs will belost to outsourcing in 15 yearsending 2015. Already, half of theIndian IT-BPO industry's USD 71.7billion revenue comes from the US.
According to Gartner, IndianBPO vendors will command 10 percent of the total global marketshare by this year end.
Obama said: "Now, the Househas passed a jobs bill that includessome of these steps (to slash taxbreaks). As the first order of busi-ness this year, I urge the Senate
to do the same... People are out ofwork. They're hurting. They needour help. And I want a jobs bill onmy desk without delay."
American companies primarily
move jobs abroad to save costs,with no dent to services as coun-tries like India boast of an English-educated workforce -- be it IT en-gineers or for jobs that have to bedone over phone.
"I think the concerns we haveis about indirect protectionism. Idon't think tax break issue is... im-portant for us," Indian softwareservices industry bodyNASSCOM Vice-President AmeetNivsarker said.-PTI
Mention of IndiaIndia Post News Service adds:
No State of Union address by theAmerican President in the lastnearly a decade has been deliv-ered without the mention of Indiaas a potential challenger forAmerica's supremacy as the mostpowerful economy in the world.
President George W. Bush didit; and now President Barack
Obama too delivered his firstState of Union address on Jan 27mentioning India, even if in pass-ing, while talking about competi-tion the US is already facing in
education.Stating that China, Germany
and India were not standing stillor waiting for fruits of progressset in the future or putting their
country's future on hold, Presi-dent Obama said these countrieswere putting emphasis on scienceand math, and investing in cleanenergy towards attaining a "sec-ond place" among the worldeconomies. "I do not want sec-ond place for America," he added.
Pointing out that these emerg-ing economies are investing inclean energy initiatives because"they want those jobs", PresidentObama said, "The nation thatleads a clean energy economy willbe the nation leads the globaleconomy and American must bethat economy."
The thrust of PresidentObama's first State of the Unionaddress was restoring theeconomy and creating jobs. Healso highlighted the need to goahead with healthcare reform, par-tisan politics, and a freeze on gov-ernment spending.
Seven from US conferredPadma Awards
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: Seven personsfrom the United States have beennamed recipients of the presti-gious Padma Awards by the gov-ernment of India on the eve of itsRepublic Day, in the foreigners/NRIs /PIOs category for distin-guished service in their respectivefields.
Among those receiving thePadma Bhushan this year areCNN's Fareed Zakaria for his con-tributions to Journalism; Chicago-based Prof Tan Chung, an Indianof Chinese descent, and a pioneerof Chinese studies in India, for hiscontributions to Literature & Edu-cation; Prof. Arogyaswami JosephPaulraj, Professor of ElectricalEngineering (Research) at
Stanford University, CA, for hiscontributions to Science & Tech-nology; and Sant Singh Chatwal,New York-based hotelier for hiscontributions to Public Affairs.
Among the Padma Shri honor-ees are Sheldon Pollock, The Wil-liam B. Ransford Professor of San-skrit and Indian Studies, Colum-bia University, for his contribu-tions to Literature & Education;Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran,Professor in the Columbia Univer-sity School of Engineering andApplied Science, for his contribu-tions to Science & Engineering;and Dr. Sudhir Parikh, NJ-basedphysician, for his contributions tosocial work.
The awards will be conferred onthe honorees by the President ofIndia sometime in March this year.
Large turn-out for R-Day celebrations at NY ConsulateIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: The 60th Repub-lic Day of India was enthusiasti-cally celebrated with a large turn-out of people at the Indian Con-sulate in New York on January 26.
More than 300 invited guestsamong them several non-Indians,a number of elected officials fromthe New Jersey legislature includ-ing newly appointed NJ Assem-bly Speaker Sheila Oliver, Assem-bly Deputy Speaker UpendraChivukula, Assembly MajorityWhip John F. McKeon, SenateMinority Leader Thomas H KeanJr., Assembly Deputy Speaker
Linda R. Greenstein, New JerseySecretary of Agriculture DouglasH. Fisher and others including theDemocratic Chairman and DistrictAttorney of Rockland County,Virendra Gupta Director General ofICCR and Vijay Nambiar Chef deCabinet (Chief of Staff) to the UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moonof the United Nations and otherfriends of India joined the celebra-tions hosted by Consul GeneralAmbassador Prabhu Dayal.
Ambassador Dayal began byeulogizing the outstanding suc-cess of the Indian American com-munity and thanked them for turn-ing out in such large numbers tocelebrate Republic Day. He saidthe bridge of friendship built byIndian Americans between Indiaand the US is becoming strongeryear by year. Dayal further said itwas a matter of great pride for In-dia that Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh was invited as
the first State guest at the WhiteHouse in November last year.
Speaker Oliver, the first AfricanAmerican woman to hold this of-fice, also lauded the Indian Ameri-can community for their contribu-tions to all aspects of NewJersey's development.
Assemblyman Mckeon re-called that Amb. Dayal had madehistory when he took over officein New York, as the first Indiandiplomat to address the New Jer-sey Assembly as well as for hav-ing been the first Indian diplomatto be special guest at New JerseyGovernor Jon Corzine's State ofthe State Address. Mckeon alsoappreciated Amb. Dayal's effortsto reach out to mainstream politi-cal leaders in New York and NewJersey by hosting them at the vari-ous Consulate events.
Virender Gupta, Secretary forcultural affairs, Ministry of Exter-nal Affairs talked about the gov-
ernment of India's plans to host amajor Indian cultural festival inseveral cities of the US in 2011.He said a festival of this scale washosted 25 years ago in the US.
In his address, Under SecretaryGeneral Nambiar delivered a paeanto the common man of India as a
resilient entity - one who has thecapacity for self-critique much onthe lines of what Amartya Sencalled the Argumentative Indian;and the lowest common denomi-nator in the social structure whohold themselves with much dig-nity despite their standing in thesocial hierarchy.
He also lauded Indians whoconsidered tolerance an absolutevirtue which has helped Indiaevolve into the society it is today.
Nambiar also reminded the gath-ering that it was a bitter sweet mo-ment time for him where on one hand
he was joyful of celebrating India'sRepublic Day, he was mindful of thesituation in quake-hit Haiti. "At theUnited Nations we are all dealingwith great stress since the UN asan organization has lost the largestnumber of employees in the earth-quake in Haiti," he said.
Following the brief speeches,three of the Padma Award honor-ees present on the occasion -Prof. Sheldon Pollock, PonisserilSomasundaran and Dr. SudhirParikh - and Pravasi Samman hon-oree Assemblyman Chivukulawere felicitated.
More than 300 attended Indiaís Republic Day celebrations at the Indian Consulate in New York
A report by ITconsultancy firmForrester Researchestimates that 3.3million American jobswill be lost tooutsourcing in 15years ending 2015
‘The nation that leadsa clean energyeconomy will be thenation leads theglobal economy andAmerican must bethat economy’
India PostFebruary 5, 2010 7
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
Headley pleads not guilty to Mumbai plot chargesCHICAGO: Pakistani-origin
LeT operative David Headley, ac-cused of scouting targets for thedeadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai,has pleaded not guilty in a courthere to updated terror charges,some of which carry death penalty.
Headley, 49, entered a plea ofnot guilty to all the 12 chargesagainst him in the superseding in-dictment returned on January 14when he appeared for his arraign-ment before US Magistrate JudgeArlander Keys in US DistrictCourt, Northern District of Illinois,at the hearing that lasted about 10minutes.
The hands and legs of Headley,who was wearing the regular USprison uniform -- an orangejumpsuit, were shackled when hewas brought into the packedcourtroom. He talked briefly to hislawyers John Theis and RobertSeeder before the hearing beganand at one point he even smiledand laughed.
Headley greeted the Judge'Good Morning' and responded "Ido your Honor" and "Yes yourhonor" when Keys asked himwhether he understood thecharges the prosecution read outto him and that the maximum pen-alty in his case is death if con-victed.
Headley said "That is correct"when the Judge asked him if he isentering a not guilty plea.
The next status hearing hasbeen set for February 23 before USDistrict Judge Harry Leinenweber.
But Headley's lawyers have re-quested that his presence bewaived. Therefore, he is not re-quired to be present in the courtfor his hearing on that date.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who
is Headley's accomplice and a Pa-kistani-Canadian LeT operative,appeared in the same court and hadalso pleaded not guilty to provid-ing material support to terror plots
in Mumbai and Denmark.This was the second appear-
ance for Headley, who remains infederal custody at the lock-upMetropolitan Correctional Centre(MCC) here since his arrest in Oc-tober last year, in the court afterDecember 7 when he had appearedfor his first arraignment andpleaded not guilty.
A federal grand jury on January14 returned a superseding indict-ment adding Rana to the chargesfiled in December against Headley,alleging they and others partici-pated in conspiracies involving aplanned terror attack against aDanish newspaper and the strikeson Mumbai that killed 166 people,including six Americans.
"Case is progressing. It is go-ing to be a significant period oftime while we review the evidence.We are in discussion with the gov-ernment about what they believeHeadley is responsible for," law-
yer Theis told reporters.Theis said he would not read
anything particular into the factthat Headley appeared calm in thecourt and smiled while he was talk-ing to his attorneys.
"Headley is a very intelligentman who is participating very ac-tively in the defense. We talk tohim of and about the evidenceagainst him. He knows the serious-
ness and gravity of the chargesagainst him and I am confident hetreats it as seriously as we do".
Theis said that between nowand the next court date on Febru-ary 23, "we will continue to reviewthe evidence with Headley" andwould report to Leinenweber abouthow things are moving along andwhether "we are making progressas to an ultimate disposition of thecase".
Headley, a Chicago-based UScitizen, is facing the same 12charges that were filed against himlast month - six counts of con-spiracy involving bombing publicplaces in India, murdering andmaiming persons in India and Den-mark, providing material support toforeign terror plots and providingmaterial support to Lashkar-e-Toiba, and six counts of aiding andabetting the murder of US citizensin India. Some of these chargescarry death penalty.-PTI
Will soon unveilnew plan forTamils: Rajapaksa
COLOMBO: Triumphant SriLankan President MahindaRajapaksa has declared that emer-gency provisions in the countrywould be scrapped but not hast-ily and said he would soon unveila political plan for the estrangedTamils.
A day after his thumping vic-tory in Presidential polls,Rajapaksa, 64, said he would comeout with his plans after a dialoguewith Tamil leaders following par-liamentary elections.
When pointed out that Tamilshad not voted for him, he evadeda direct reply saying it was goodthat people, who had been de-prived of voting for years, had gota chance to exercise their fran-chise. "I will come out with my so-lution. It is in my manifesto, so itis planned, the way I am going todo it and I will be doing it," thePresident said.
Elaborating on his promiseddevolution package for the Tamils,the Sri Lankan President said: "Itwill be a political solution."-PTI
he hands and legs ofHeadley, who waswearing the regular USprison uniform -- anorange jumpsuit, wereshackled when hewas brought into thepacked courtroom
Headley is facing sixcounts of conspiracyinvolving bombingpublic places in India,murdering andmaiming persons inIndia and Denmark
India Post February 5, 20108
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
Obama conveys R-Daygreetings to Indians
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: President BarackObama, in his message on the oc-casion of India's Republic Day hasconveyed his "warmest wishes onbehalf of the American people tothe people of India and to thosehere in America and around theworld who are celebrating Repub-lic Day." As the world's largestdemocracies, the United Statesand India have a strong sharedbelief in the values of liberty, plu-ralism, and religious tolerance, thePresident said in his message.
"This Republic Day is particu-larly special because it marksIndia's Diamond Jubilee," thePresident said. "In the sixtyyears since the Indian Constitu-
tion was adopted, we have builta strong and vibrant partnership.I was pleased that Prime Minis-ter Singh was the honored guestfor the first state dinner of myPresidency. It was a chance tocelebrate the great and growingpartnership between our twoNations, and the friendship be-tween our peoples.
Indeed, the more than two mil-lion Indian Americans in theUnited States enrich every cor-ner of our great nation - leadingin government, science, industryand the arts. And as our peoplescontinue to build upon thatfriendship, let our governmentscontinue to work together to ad-vance peace, prosperity, and sta-bility around the globe."
Inimical forces trying to stuntcountry's growth: PM
National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets perform a drill during the NCC parade in New Delhi on January 28. Cadets
selected all over the country come to Delhi take part in the Republic Day parade
NEW DELHI: Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has warned thatinimical forces "both inside andoutside India" were trying tostunt the country's growth andcalled for defeating the "twinthreats" of terrorism and commu-nalism.
"Inimical forces, both insideand outside India, are trying to
stunt growth and well-being of thecountry. The twin threats of ter-rorism and communalism must bedefeated," Singh told NCC cadetsat their Prime Minister's Rally here.
"In such circumstances the re-sponsibility of youth organiza-tions like NCC that inspires itscadets to serve the country in-crease manifold," he said after re-viewing the NCC cadets' parade.
The Prime Minister saidthough the 13-lakh cadet strongNCC was a large organization, itcomprised of just about four percent of the eligible youth in thecountry.
"I wish and urge you to in-crease this number so that many
more eligible youth can benefitfrom the NCC's activities," he said.
Applauding the "disciplinedand smart" turn out of the NCCcadets at the parade, Singh con-gratulated them on their achieve-ments in activities like mountain-eering and sports at the globallevel. .
Recalling that India's first Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had in1952 directed inclusion of commu-nity development as a curriculumin NCC, the Prime Minister saidhe was happy to note that the ca-dets were actively involved in di-saster relief and social service,apart from global warming, envi-ronment, cancer and AIDS relief.
He also called for expandingthe scope of the youth exchangeprogram of the NCC to increasethe number of cadets from foreigncountries attending the camp.
Defense Minister A K Antony,Minister of State for Defense MM Pallam Raju, Army Chief GenDeepak Kapoor, IAF Chief AirChief Marshal P V Naik and Navy
Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma werepresent on the occasion.
Singh also gave away awardsto the winners of various trophiesand medals at the camp held inconnection with the 61st Repub-lic Day Parade on January 26.
The Champion Directorate tro-phy for 2010 went to Maharashtra,while Punjab, Haryana, Himachal
and Chandigarh Directorate wasadjudged the runners up.
The Best Directorate for GirlsWing went to Tamil Nadu, the BestDirectorate (Army) Trophy wentto Kerala and the Navy and AirWings trophies were won byMaharashtra.
There were nearly 100 cadetsfrom countries like Sri Lanka, Rus-sia and Kazakhstan who attendedthe parade and marched alongsidethe Indian NCC cadets.
The NCC also displayed thewar-fighting training provided tothem at the camp, including slith-ering operations and flying of mi-cro-light aircraft and mass band. -PTI
Pak dragging feet on bringing26/11 accused to justice: HMNEW DELHI: India has said it
would have to conclude that Pakistanis dragging its feet on bringing terroraccused in Mumbai attacks to justiceif it does not put on trial people in-cluding Hafiz Saeed, founder of ter-ror group Lashker-e-Taiba.
Union Home Minister PChidambaram, while reacting toPakistan's claim that India had notprovided any evidence againstSaeed, said "Zaki-ur-RehmanLakhvi is one of the masterminds.There are others. We know theirnames and Pakistan also knowstheir names.
"If they do not bring the othersto trial, then I would have to con-clude, reluctantly and regretfullythat they are dragging their feet,"Chidambaram told reporters here.
He was responding to questionsthat Pakistan had spared Saeed inits charge sheet filed in an anti-ter-rorist court accusing seven otherLashker terrorists including Lakhvi.
India has been demanding trialof Saeed, against whom Interpolalso issued Red Corner Notice forhis alleged role in the 26/11Mumbai attack. Islamabad, how-ever, claims that India had onlyshared information about Saeed andno evidence.
Pakistan Federal InvestigatingAgency, in its report to the courtconducting the trial of seven ac-cused, including Lakhvi, states thatthere is "sufficient incriminatingevidence on record against thosearrested for orchestrating theMumbai attacks. -PTI
PC may visit Islamabad for SAARC meetingNEW DELHI: In the midst of
current chill in Indo-Pak relations,a SAARC Home Ministers' con-ference is scheduled next monthin Islamabad to which PChidambaram plans to go subjectto Foreign Office's approval.
Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and External Affairs Minis-ter S M Krishna will discuss theissue and if the External AffairsMinistry allows, the Home Minis-ter will travel to Pakistan to attendthe SAARC meeting, a highlyplaced source said.
The SAARC Interior/HomeMinisters' conference is sched-uled to be held from February 20for three days in Islamabad.
In case Chidambaram travels toIslamabad, it would be the firstMinisterial visit to Pakistan sinceMay, 2008 when the then ExternalAffairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee had gone for talks aspart of composite dialogue.Things worsened after theMumbai terror attack on Novem-ber 26, 2008.
The third SAARC interior min-isters' conference was postponedfrom November 24 and 27, 2009 atthe request from Bangladesh be-cause of parliamentary polls inthat country.
The meeting will be attendedby ministers from Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and SriLanka and is expected to discussregional cooperation for dealingwith the menace of terrorism, nar-cotics and organized crime.-PTI
NEW DELHI: Pushing for re-sumption of Indo-Pak dialogue, Pa-kistan Prime Minister Yousuf RazaGilani has said his country and In-dia should not be held "hostageto one incident" of 26/11 andshould hold talks since both thecountries cannot "afford war".
Noting that things were"stuck" after the Mumbai terrorattacks, he said "1.25 billionpeople should not be made hos-tage to one incident. If we are hos-tage to one incident then the ben-eficiaries are terrorists and there-fore we should move ahead....
"I think dialogue is the onlyanswer. We are both responsible na-
tions and we can move forward. Wecan't afford war. I think only wayforward is talks." Describing hismeeting with Prime MinisterManmohan Singh in Sharm el-Sheikh as "very good", Gilani toldCNN-IBN in an interview that bothof them "had understanding that weboth are suffering from terrorism."
"Things are stuck with theMumbai incident, the matter is al-ready sub-judice with the courts.We certainly condemn terrorismand believe that neither India norPakistan soil should be usedagainst each other....There are 101Mumbai-like incidents in Pakistanafter that (26/11)," he said.-PTI
The SAARC Interior/Home Ministers'conference isscheduled to beheld from February20 for three days inIslamabad
India PostFebruary 5, 2010 9
www.indiapost.com
R-Day spectacle
The President of
Korea and Chief
Guest of Republic
Day, Lee Myung
Bak, Vice
President Mohd.
Hamid Ansari and
Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh
being welcomed
by President,
Pratibha Devisingh
Patil during the
'At Home` being
hosted by her,
at Rashtrapati
Bhavan, in New
Delhi on
January 26
Dare devil stunts of mobike riders of Border Security Force Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laying wreath at
Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate
Mobike riders
The tableau of Mizoram passes through the Rajpath
The tableau of Ministry of Agriculture
The tableau of Jammu & Kashmir
The Multiple Launch Rocket System
The tableau of Meghalaya
Three planes in arrow formation fly over Rajpath
A spectacular
overview
of Rajpath
India Post www.indiapost.com February 5, 2010
COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA
Details on page 1910
Desi News
Details on page 11
Details on page 12
Details on page 14
FIA-Chicago hosts grandRepublic Day dinner
FIA Trustee Niranjan Shah addressing the meet. The FIA Trustee team (L-R) Dr. Dilip Dharker, Anil Pillay, Hetal Patel, Prahlad Patil,
Sitaram Patel, Sohan Joshi, Kanti Patel Iftekhar Shareef and Niranjan Shah addressing the meet
FIA Interim President Sunny Gabhawala
addressing the meetEvent Chair Iftekhar Shareef addressing the
meet
Cont’d on page 12
Concern over NYbudget cuts forAsian AmericansIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: More than 30Asian and South Asian led andserving organizations in New YorkCity fighting for fair state and citybudgets, have expressed seriousconcerns over NY Governor DavidPaterson's 2010-11 proposed bud-get.
The organizations under thebanner of '12% and Growing Coa-lition' said in a statement that"When Governor Paterson saidthat 'we can no longer afford ourspending addiction,' it is unlikelythat he was referring to funding forservices that affect some of themost vulnerable New Yorkers.
World's first Indianart hotel opens inMumbaiIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: Le Sutra, theworld's first Indian art hotel openedrecently to a thematic artistic fan-fare in Mumbai recently.
The latest hospitality ventureof the Bajaj Group of Hotels head-quartered in Mumbai, Le Sutra is aone-of-its kind art hotel that takesone on a journey in time and intoIndian ideology.
Sikh volunteersserve langar toHaiti survivorsIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: A volunteer teamof the United Sikhs arrived at Port-au-Prince last week and startedserving langar (the Sikh traditionof serving hot meals cooked in acommunity kitchen) to survivorsof the earthquake. HarcharanSingh and Amritpaul Singh, bothfrom Brampton, Canada, arrivedearlier that week to join the ongo-ing relief efforts in Haiti under-taken by the Sikh organization.
Lipman to speakon creating aVastu community
A.Q. SIDDIQUI
India Post News Service
CHICAGO: The Federation ofIndian Associations-Chicago
(FIA) hosted a festive gala ban-quet to celebrate the 60th year
of India's RepublicDay with unity andspirit of patriotism.The event was heldat India House Ban-quets inSchaumburg lastweek amidst galoreof political and so-cial dignitaries.
Buoyed by thehuge attendance,the fervor of theevening's RepublicDay celebrationswas further en-hanced with the pa-triotic orations, daz-zling dance presen-tations, melodiousmusical selectionswith the entire event envel-oped in gala festive spirit.
Congresswoman Melissa
Bean of 8th congressional dis-trict in Illinois set the tone forthe evening by commending
India's republic and India's abid-ing commitment to a democraticway of life.
CongresswomanMelissa Bean of 8thcongressional districtin Illinois set the tonefor the evening bycommending India'srepublic and India'sabiding commitmentto a democraticway of life
February 5, 2010 India PostCommunity Across Americawww.indiapost.com
11
Concern over NY budget cuts for Asian AmericansIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: More than 30 Asian andSouth Asian led and serving organizationsin New York City fighting for fair state andcity budgets, have expressed serious con-cerns over NY Governor David Paterson's2010-11 proposed budget.
The organizations under the banner of'12% and Growing Coalition' said in a state-ment that "When Governor Paterson saidthat 'we can no longer afford our spendingaddiction,' it is unlikely that he was referringto funding for services that affect some ofthe most vulnerable New Yorkers. Despitemaking up 12% of New York City's popula-
tion, the Asian Pacific American communitycurrently receives less than 1% of the City'scontract and foundation grant dollars."
"Budget cuts at the state level will dras-
tically impact the already-limited servicesand funding available for the Asian PacificAmerican community - the fastest growing
population in New York," said Steve Choiand Wayne Ho, co-coordinators of the 12%and Growing Coalition. "Among the pro-posed reductions for FY 2010-11 are the $1.1
billion cut in school aid, $1 billion cut inMedicaid and health care savings, and $10.9million cut in Advantage Afterschool. This
is not the direction that the 12% and Grow-ing Coalition was urging the Governor andLegislature to move in after the Deficit Re-duction Plan was announced in December2009. Now, we urge the Governor and Leg-islature to restore funding to education,health, and human services in order to pro-tect New York's most vulnerable populationsduring these tough times."
Among the South Asian organizationsthat are part of the 12% and Growing Coali-tion are: Andolan - Organizing South AsianWorkers; NYU South Asian Health Initia-tive; SAKHI for South Asian Women; SouthAsian Council for Social Services; and SouthAsian Youth Action.
Big fundraiser for Toni PreckwinkleMOHAMMAD GHOUSE
Seen at the fundraiser Ald Toni Preckwinkle (fourth from left) with Balwinder Singh by her side. Raja Krishna Moorthi,
Dr Harjinder Haira, Congresswoman Jan Schakowski, Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Ald Joe Moore and Lakhwant
Singh Kamal
CHICAGO: A good number ofIndian Americans led by a promi-nent community activist BalwinderSingh have been lending theirsupport to Ald. Toni Preckwinklewho aspires to be Cook CountyBoard President replacing incum-bent Ted Stroger.
Balwinder in a talk to this papersaid that Toni stands for valuebased politics and reflects the as-pirations of Indian and Pakistanicommunity. A number of Pakistanicommunity leaders also supportToni, he said.
Close on the heels of helpingToni open a campaign office inIndia Town on Devon Avenue,Balwinder held a media meet withethnic Indian and Pakistani news-paper representatives. This he fol-lowed with a fundraiser at his resi-dence in Glenview on SundayJanuary 21 that helped Toni's cam-paign chest swell by over $16,000.
Keeping up the momentum, heorganized a rally eliciting supportfor Toni Preckwinkle on Devon Av-enue last Sunday. "She is going tobe our next Cook County President,take my word," he told this paper.Incidentally, Balwinder had lent hissupport to Barack Obama even be-
fore he became a Senator, "I pickup right candidates and do my bestwith our like minded communitymembers," he said.
Dr. Harjinder Khaira, a promi-nent Sikh community activist, wel-comed the guests and ToniPreckwinkle at the Sunday fund
raiser in Glenview. Present on theoccasion were leading politicianslike US Congresswoman JanSchakowksi, Cook County Com-missioner Larry Suffredin, Ald JoeMoore among others. Schakowksi
introduced Toni Preckwinkle andpitched for extending wholehearted support to her. LarrySufffreding and Joe Moore ad-dressed the meet also.
Toni broadly outlining her ob-jectives said that she would seekto repeal the Stroger sales tax in-crease, and work hard to decreasethe overall sales tax while alsobringing down expenses by cut-ting wasteful spending and elimi-nating inefficient programs. Thesales tax stands as a considerableroadblock to progress in CookCounty and the outer edges of theCounty have especially felt theimpact with high taxes driving outshoppers and businesses toneighboring counties. "Loweringthe sales tax will encouragespending, incentivize businessesand jobs back to Cook County andstimulate commerce county wide,"she observed.
"We must also work to improvethe County's economy, by assess-ing arenas of economic develop-ment, prioritizing job training pro-grams and allocating additionalfunds for new, growing sectors.
Asian Americans celebrateLunar New Year
SURESH SHAH
CHICAGO: The Asian Ameri-can Coalition of Chicago (AACO)celebrated its 27th Annual LunarNew Year last week at the HyattRegency O'Hare Hotel inRosemont Illinois. This year's galaevent themed "Bridging Genera-tions and Cultures for Progress"
was hosted by the Filipino Ameri-can community of Chicago, withMs. Aurora Abella-Austriaco serv-ing as event chairperson.
The Indian community inChicagoland has agreed to hostnext year's celebration and thegavel was passed on to next year's
host Indian American community,accepted by Rajinder Singh Magoand Prem Lalvani the directors ofAsian American Coalition of Chi-cago. Both are AACO Executiveteam members and they were in-troduced to the members of theaudience.
AACO also honored two IndianAmericans among others - HarinderPaul Singh, Chief Executive Officer,Management and Information Tech-nology Solutions, Inc. and AshikaKalra, Senior, Saint Charles EastHigh School, Saint Charles.
Rajinder Singh Mago and Prem Lalvani accepting the gavel from Aurora
Abella-Austriaco of the Filipino American community on behalf of the Indian
American Community to be the next year's host
Cont’d on page 15
Harinder Paul Singh C.E.O., MIT
Solutions getting AACO awardJesica Karla receiving Youth
Excellence Award
Cont’d on page 18
‘Budget cuts at the state level will drastically impact the al-ready-limited services and funding available for the AsianPacific American community - the fastest growingpopulation in New York’
Toni broadly outliningher objectives saidthat she would seek torepeal the Strogersales tax increase,and work hard todecrease the overallsales tax while alsobringing down ex-penses by cuttingwasteful spending
February 5, 2010India Post12 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
FIA-Chicago hosts grand Republic Day dinner
FAI Office bearers for 2009 Omkar Singh Sanga, Sunil Shah and Shaid Rizvi
She congratulated FIA leadersfor hosting a commendableevent to mark this significantdate in Indian democratic his-tory. Congresswoman MelissaBean was earlier introduced byKeerthi Kumar Ravoori as anoutstanding friend of the IndianAmerican community and forsupporting the congressionallegislations that seek to help thecauses that are important to theIndian Americans.
Iftekhar Shareef, the EventChairman and FIA Trustee chair,in his remarks, welcomed theguests and thanked them for
their overwhelming attendancewhich he added represents theabundant patriotic spirit of theIndian Americans.
Iftekhar Shareef commendedthe adopted country - theUnited States of America forgranting each of its citizens andtheir residents such a greatdemocratic privilege tounrestrictedly celebrate IndianRepublic Day - which he addedis truly heart warming. He wasprofuse in his homage to India'sfreedom fighters for their sacri-fice which led to attainment offreedom and subsequently therepublic of the nation.
Iftekhar Shareef also hailedIndia's majority Hindu electorate fortheir magnanimous spirit of elect-ing first the minority Muslim Presi-dent Sri. Abdul Kalam and now V.P
of India Ansari followed by a mi-nority Sikh Prime Minister Sri.Manmohan Singh and a CatholicChristian Madam Sonia Gandhi
spirit. Remembering the earthquakevictims in Haiti, Iftekhar Shareefstressed that Indian community willdraw a long term plan to host anevent to raise funds for rehabilita-tion of the victims devastated by
the earthquake.Satish 'Sunny' Ghabawala, the
Event Convener and interim Presi-dent, in his remarks extolled the
enduring democratic way of life inIndia and eloquently recalled thegolden moments in history whenIndia attained freedom from colo-nial rule over six decades ago andthat which culminated into a sov-ereign democratic republic of Indiawith constitution to guide its des-tiny.
Ghabawala thanked theguests, board members and thetrustees for their valuable part-nership in making the event "sotremendously successful". Asan interim President, SatishGhabawala, outlined the plansfor a colorful India Indepen-dence Day parade in August2010 and announced a series ofplans and initiatives to host amemorable India IndependenceDay celebrations in the summerof 2010.
World's first Indian art hotel opens in MumbaiIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: Le Sutra, the world's firstIndian art hotel opened recently to a the-matic artistic fanfare in Mumbai recently.
The latest hospitality venture of the BajajGroup of Hotels headquartered in Mumbai,Le Sutra is a one-of-its kind art hotel thattakes one on a journey in time and into In-dian ideology.
Acclaimed actor\dancer MallikaSarabhai, artist Anjolie Ela Menon, celebri-ties Amrita Rao and Kumar Gaurav wereamong those who headlined the excitingkick-off of the hotel.
Sutra in Sanskrit is 'a rope or thread thatholds things together' and Le Sutra is thethread that binds Indian art and Indian hos-pitality together. Whether one makes this ahome for either a night or a week or evenlonger, your stay here will be full of learn-
ing, of discovery and of romancing thebeauty in Indian art, according to the hotel'smanagement.
Situated on one of the most vibrantstreets in Mumbai, this 3-storeyed hotel ismanifests the three universal 'Gunas' -Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Every brick, arti-fact, stairway and room of Le Sutra capturesthe evolution of the human spirit and itsrelationship with creation by portraying the
various attributes of human nature or gunaswith a brilliant use of color, design, muralsand decor.
According to Indian scriptural sciences,a 'Guna' is that form of energy which con-notes the innate character, complexion andconstitution of mind and matter. And justas these gunas suggest, the rooms in thehotel are designed to be minimalistic, celes-tial, aesthetic, ethereal (Sattvic); vibrant,passionate, vivacious, stylish (Rajasic); and
colorful, opulent, intricate and erotic(Tamasic).
Each of its 16 rooms are based on either'characters' (Ravana, Ashoka, Buddha) or'characteristics' (sensuality, love, purifica-tion) inspired by Indian mythos. In effect,every room is in itself the metaphorical char-acterization of a story; more like a mood
board depicting its artwork through de-signs, paintings and sculptures.
As the seat of influence and power, the'chair' has been accorded a singular statureand every room has a magnificent chairwhich silently chronicles the room's theme.
Anjolie Ela Menon & Mallika Sarabhai at the inauguration
Cont’d on page 14
A section of the audience
Cont’d from page 10
who are currently at the helm ofIndia's democratic leadership hier-archy.
Shareef emphatically attributedthe warm spirited Hindu electoratefor their liberal, secular democratic Cont’d on page 18
Each of its 16 rooms are based on either 'characters'(Ravana, Ashoka, Buddha) or 'characteristics'(sensuality, love, purification) inspired by Indian mythos
Satish Ghabawala,outlined the plansfor a colorful IndiaIndependence Dayparade inAugust 2010
February 5, 2010 India PostCommunity Across Americawww.indiapost.com
13
Niles R-Day celebrations 'a joyous blast'SURESH BODIWALA
CHICAGO: Indian Communityof Niles Township celebrated 60thRepublic Day of India at Niles WestHigh School Auditorium in Niles, aChicago suburb last week, with alot of enthusiasm in the presenceof one thousand plus members ofthe Indian community, local digni-taries and guests from India.
The highlight of the nearly
four-hour celebrations was eye-catching performances from over106 dancers from Kalapadma DanceAcademy, Tarana Dance Academyand Nartan Dance Academy. Theprogram was a great blast and therewas not a single dull moment, ac-cording to Rohit Joshi, a North East-ern Illinois University officials.
There were scores of dignitar-ies including former Congresscommittee president ofMaharashtra Ranjit Deshmukh,Industry minister of MadhyaPradesh Kailash Vijayvargiyaji,Indian Consulate official SureshMenon, Dorothy Brown the Clerkof Cook County, Ravibaichwal
from Channel 7 News, candidatefor Illinois Comptroller office RajaKrishnamoorthi, State representa-tive Lou Lang, US Rep CongressWoman Jan Schakowsky., presi-dent of Oakton community collegeMs. Peggy Lee, chairman of so-cial work program at north East-ern University Dr. Jade Stanley,Vice President of Academic affairs,
Oakton community collage TomHamel and First Lady of SkokieSusan Van Dusen.
The event started with the tra-ditional lighting of lamp which wasfollowed by a welcome address bySatish Chander, vice president ofthe Indian Community of NilesTownship (ICNT). Usha Kamaria,
president ICNT in her address talkedabout the activities undertaken in2009 and alluded to exciting line ofactivities in the current year. She es-pecially mentioned about a very spe-cial movement taking place in Skokie'called coming together in Skokie andobserved "You will hear more aboutcoming to gather in Skokie later in
our program."In the light of huge devastation
in Haiti, she pitched for generousdonation generously for Haitipeople. She pointed out that one of"our community activists Dr.Chandrakant Modi had gone to
Haiti to take care of sick and injuredpeople in Hiati," She complimentedsecretary Fouzia Khan for receiving"an excellence award as director oftot learning center."
Concluding she said "on behalfof my executive board, I would like
to share our pride on the 60th Re-public Day of India. We'd also liketo salute all of those unsung he-roes, our brave soldiers who pro-tect our citizens day and night byproviding security to all."
Industry Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kailash Vijayvargiyaji lighting traditional Diya. Looking on
are ICNT members and guests
'Jai Ho' done by local young artists
Cont’d on page 18
Maharashtra congressman Deshmukh
singing Raj Kapoor song
MP Industry Minister Kailash
Vijayvargiyaji singing
The highlight of the nearly four-hourcelebrations was eye-catching perfor-mances from over 106 dancers fromKalapadma Dance Academy
February 5, 2010India Post14 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Each piece of art whether onthe floor or the walls or eventhe furniture is unique and es-pecially commissioned for thetheme of the room and eachroom is itself unique when seenin isolation. However, when all16 rooms are considered to-gether, it all adds up to thewholesome, inimitable experi-ence that tunes the mind toconnect with itself.
As a hotel, Le Sutra servesas a transit-abode for that poi-gnant realization of the self -from the ephemeral to the per-petual.
Cont’d from page 12
World's first Indian art hotel opens in Mumbai
Prakriti Room Nirvan Room
Sikh volunteers serve langar to Haiti survivors
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: A volunteer team of theUnited Sikhs arrived at Port-au-Prince lastweek and started serving langar (the Sikhtradition of serving hot meals cooked in acommunity kitchen) to survivors of theearthquake. Harcharan Singh and AmritpaulSingh, both from Brampton, Canada, arrivedearlier that week to join the ongoing reliefefforts in Haiti undertaken by the Sikh or-ganization.
The volunteers purchased food, waterand supplies in two 20 feet trucks beforeheading to the United Sikhs Aid camp inHaiti. Despite the immensely difficult travel,the volunteers did not rest until they hadprepared and served hot meals to about 500survivors.
"We were tired after spending 30 hourson the road, but did not want to rest untilwe had cooked and served our first hot mealsto earthquake survivors," said HarcharanSingh, United Sikhs Aid Langar in-charge.
Earthquake survivors waiting in line for hot meals United Sikhs Aid team with UN armed forces in Port-au-Prince United Sikhs base camp in Port-au-Prince
"My family and Sikh community have sup-ported me to come and serve here. I amhappy that I was able to live up to my faithand expectations."
"After seeing the magni-tude of disaster I forgot allmy pain. Here, everyoneneeds help. Countless survi-vors with serious injuries arehungry and waiting for food.I could not think of anythingelse but to cook hot mealsand serve them," saidAmritpaul Singh, UnitedSikhs Aid volunteer.
"We believe it's a clearsign of progress when we seethe quantity of supplies thatrelief agencies are pouring in.I am thankful to United Sikhsfor serving hot-meals to ourpeople. It is a noble cause,"said a member of the interiorministry of Haiti in a meeting with Lt ColGurbachan Singh.
Earlier this week, the United Nations ap-pealed to NGOs on the ground for immedi-ate medical supplies. United Sikhs' medicalteam will be transporting the supplies thatthey collect. A second medical team will alsoreach there soon to provide additional medi-cal assistance.
Recovery would be faster if there were
more ways to get aid into the country, in-cluding the reopening of the city's seaport,the organization's volunteers feel. However,United Sikhs is sending food and emer-
gency supplies from Miami using all pos-sible means of air and sea routes, in addi-tion to ground transport from other regions.
Thanking all donors, individuals,Gurdwaras and volunteers for their help inthe relief effort, United Sikhs has appealedfor monetary donations that can be usedfor providing food, water, temporary shel-ter, medical services and emotional supportto the quake survivors.
Ali Jiwani, Entrepreneur;Owner, Twin Peaks Inc wasBangladeshi American Commu-nity Awardee. Besides AshikaKarla, there were two other stu-dents from Indian subcontinent-
Azmina Panjwani, Junior, NilesWest High School, Skokie,Bangladeshi American Commu-nity and Saleha Ehtesham, Sopho-more, Streamwood High School,Streamwood, Pakistani AmericanCommunity Awardee.
The Indian American commu-nity also shared honors present-ing Punjabi cultural danceBhangra. "Shan Punjab DiBhangra Group" performedPunjabi folk dance Bhangra dur-ing the entertainment segment.Other dance performances in-cluded the Chinese, Filipino, In-donesian, Japanese, Korean, Ma-laysian, Thai and Vietnamesedance presentations coordinatedby director Marc Rita.
More than 1000 people at-tended this extravaganza. The at-tendees included Pat Quinn, Gov-ernor State of Illinois, Jesse White,Secretary of State, US Congress-woman Jan Schakowsky, State'sAttorney of Cook County AnitaAlvarez and many governmentofficers, media outlets, local dig-nitaries, business and communityleaders, and the counsel generalsof many Asian countries.
The Chicago celebrity TV per-sonalities co-presenters were: JanJeffcoat, Morning Anchor/Re-porter, FOX Chicago TV News;Nancy Loo, Morning and Noon
Anchor/Reporter, FOX ChicagoTV News; Nesita Kwan,HealthWatch Reporter and An-chor, NBC 5 Chicago TV News;Joanie Lum, Broadcast Journalist;Mai Martinez, Weekend Anchor/Reporter, CBS 2 Chicago News;and Judy Wang, Weekend Morn-
ing Anchor/Reporter, CLTV Newsand WGN-TV News
"The purpose of this celebra-tion is to showcase the culture, thecontributions, and the harmonyamong Asian Americans of Chi-cago," said Rajinder Singh Mago
Asian Americans celebrateLunar New Year
one of the directors of AsianAmerican Coalition of Chicago. Anevent held on this grand scale onlyonce a year, Lunar New Year is tra-ditionally the single largest orga-nized annual event in Chicago'sAsian American community whichtakes turns to host the event.
There were exhibition boothsfor businesses and community or-ganizations in the foyer area dur-ing the cocktail reception hour.
Cont’d from page 11
Bhangra Group that performed at AACO Lunar Year celebrations
One more feather in Sudhir Parikh's capPINKI KAUR
NEW JERSEY: A front rankingIndian community activist andburgeoning Media Mogul, theNew Jersey based Indian physi-cian Dr. Sudhir Parikh has addedone more feather in his cap ofachievements. He was namedamong six others Indian Ameri-cans as recipient of coveted 2010
Padma Shri award on the eve ofthe country's 60th Republic Day.
With this honor, Dr. Parikh nowjoins the ranks of one of the mosthonored Indian Americans and theonly one to receive all three muchcoveted awards- the Ellis IslandAward, the highest honor con-ferred on U.S. immigrants for their
lifetime of community service; thePravasi Bharatiya Samman, a spe-cial award given by the Govern-ment of India to select non-resi-dent Indians for their individualaccomplishments and contribu-tions to India, and the Padma Shri,which is awarded to distinguishedIndians and people of Indian ori-gin for their contribution in vari-ous spheres of activity includingthe arts, education, industry, lit-erature, science, sports, social ser-vice and public life. The award willbe presented by PresidentPratibha Patil at a ceremony in NewDelhi in March.
Dr. Parikh is honored with thisaward for his community services.He was one of the keynote speak-ers at the recently concludedPravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventionin New Delhi. The main thrust in hisaddress was giving back to the com-munity and to the motherland bynon-resident Indians. In a talk to thispaper, he reiterated his views on thissubject saying that charity alwaysbegins at home and that overseasIndians, especially Indian Ameri-cans should step up efforts to helpphilanthropic and charitable causesin India and elsewhere.
Charity efforts of late havebeen slowly getting institutional-ized with numerous foundationslike Bill Gates' popping up. Indian
Americans have also picked up athread and he cited exemplary worksbeing done by organizations likePratham, AAPI, AIA and others.
The Indian government has ini-tiated steps to identify NGOs whichhave been rendering yeomen ser-
vices to the society in various ar-eas. It is in this context, he felt thatthere are more avenues for helpingthe community at large and it istime" for all of us to give back to thesociety and share our prosperity."
The Indian government an-nounced Padma Shri to Dr. Parikhfor community service because ofhis zeal in this field. "I'm deeplyhonored and humbled by the
honor conferred on me by thePresident of India," Dr. Parikh saidin a statement, adding, "but I alsorecognize the responsibility of liv-ing up to this honor by redoublingmy efforts to further U.S.-India re-lations, and making greater efforts
at community service on bothsides of the Atlantic."
Dr. Parikh, who is a noted aller-gist and an acclaimed authority inthe field of allergy, asthma and im-munology, is also the chairman andpublisher of New York-basedParikh Worldwide Media, Inc.,which publishes three periodicals- "News India Times', "Desi Talk"and "The Indian American."
Dr. Sudhir Parikh
The Indian Americancommunity alsoshared honors pre-senting Punjabi cul-tural dance Bhangraperformed ‘ShanPunjab Di BhangraGroup’
Dr Parikh said char-ity always begins athome and thatoverseas Indians,especially IndianAmericans shouldstep up efforts tohelp philanthropicand charitablecauses in India andelsewhere
February 5, 2010India Post16 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Kentucky varsity collaborationwith Indian university
Indian Americans welcomeBollywood awards show in Seoul
MOHAMAMD GHOUSE
Tamil Sangam of Missouri celebrates PongalASHWIN PATEL
Young artists who performed at the Pongal celebrations in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS: St. Louis TamilSangam of Missouri (TSM) cel-ebrated Pongal Festival on Janu-ary 16 at St. Charles High School,St. Charles, MO with great enthu-siasm and fervor. The function wasorganized by the new executivecommittee of TSM.
The auditorium stage was deco-rated with a colorful pongal pots,banana trees, sugarcane,kuthuvilakku, garlands, etc to re-flect the pongal festival. The func-tion started off with invocation toGoddess Tamil by students ofMissouri Tamil School. The Presi-dent of TSM Veera Pandian gavethe welcome address and intro-duced the MC. Tamil school stu-
dents and other kids participatedin several traditional dance pro-grams and skits depicting Indianhistory and culture includingKavadi attam, Boghi dance,Villupaatu, Bharatam,Dhuriyodhana vadham, Kondraivendan, Carnatic song, Naveenathruvilayadal, folk dance, etc. Theaudience was thrilled and enjoyedthe traditional and modern pro-grams given by kids and adults ofall ages.
The costumes used by the per-formers and the performanceswere spectacular. The programcoordinators and parents haddone an outstanding job in choos-ing the right costumes and pro-
viding high quality programs.The highlights of the program
were Oyilattam, Kummi andMukunda song fromDasavatharam movie. The per-formers of Oyilattam wore tradi-tional Tamil dress Dhoti and whiteshirt and gave an amazing perfor-mance.
Kummy performers wore tradi-tional dress of saree and gave astunning performance. The cos-tumes and dance performance forMukunda song were excellent.
The previous executive com-mittee of TSM was recognizedwith plaques to acknowledge theirservices to TSM during the lasttwo years. Missouri Tamil Schoolpresented certificates and prizesto the students who won and par-
ticipated in Tamil Bee competitionheld on January 9, 2020. Also, Tamilschool students who successfullycompleted the Intermediate LevelCertificate Course offered by TamilVirtual University were presentedwith their certificates at this func-tion. TSYVO volunteers collectedwinter coats for charity organiza-tions and donations for earthquake victims in Haiti. TSYVOvolunteers extended their help torun the program smoothly.
All children who performed atthis function were honored withtrophies. The program startedwith a social hour ended with adelicious dinner prepared by thevolunteers.
ASHWIN PATEL
India Post News Service
LEXINGTON: The Universityof Kentucky, which has a memo-randum of understanding and co-operative agreement with ManipalUniversity, is now exploring pos-sibilities of further comprehensivecollaboration between the twouniversities.
Dr. Rajasekharan Warrier, ViceChancellor of Manipal Universitywas in Lexington KY campus andthe University of Kentucky admin-istrators accorded him a rousingwelcome with hopes of pursuingopportunities for comprehensivecollaboration between the twouniversities.
"Internationalization is a criti-cal element of our top 20 strategicplan," KY Provost Dr. KumbleSubbaswamy said. "Forming astrong partnership with the larg-est private university in India willbring greater opportunities for ourstudents and faculty to becomeglobal citizens."
A presentation ceremony washeld on Jan. 22 at the KentuckyClinic to make a gift presentationof a videoconference system toManipal University. This gift, madepossible by a donation through
the University of Kentucky andPolycom, would enhance the part-nership and increase the possibil-ity of a health center alliance forpediatric and family medicine resi-dents to make rounds at thechildren's wards at Manipal Hos-
CHICAGO: Indian Americans inthe entertainment business herehave welcomed news that Seoul(South Korea) will be the host forthe International Indian Film Acad-emy (IIFA) Awards in 2010.
"It is expected to draw hun-dreds of India's leading actors,actresses and filmmakers", ac-cording to South Korea's leadingdaily JoongAng Ilbo's Englishedition JoongAng Daily.
Starting with London (UnitedKingdom) in 2000, these annualAwards events have been held inSouth Africa, Malaysia, Singapore,Netherlands, United Arab Emirates,Thailand, People's Republic ofChina and are announced to beheld in Canada (Toronto) in June2011 . IIFA Awards are said to rec-ognize, honor and celebrate theachievements of India's film indus-try. It claims to attract a worldwidetelevision audience of over 350 mil-lion.
Iftekhar Shareef, a prominentcommunity activist and a frontranking supporter of Indian artistscoming to Chicago for stage per-formances, said that it would be agreat day if the award event is heldin the USA- the Hollywood zone.
His views are getting supportfrom others including Raju Shah,Vallabhbhai Patel, DhittuBhagwaker and others who arealso hosting dramas, plays andentertainment performances fromartists coming from India.
Seoul has been described by
Lonely Planet as a "fashion-filled"city that "vibrates with energynight and day" and South Koreaas "a country of endless possibili-ties".
Rajan Zed, a prominent IndianAmerican activist in Nevada ex-tending a welcome to Seoul's move
to host Awards events, said in astatement that it was time now forAmerican Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences to rec-ognize India's contribution toworld cinema and introduce a newaward category of "BestBollywood Film" in Oscars forfilms made in India. This gesturewould bring more credibility toOscars also in the internationalarena, as it was long overdue,Rajan Zed, who is chairperson ofIndo-American Leadership Con-federation, added.
Bollywood is said to be produc-ing about double the number ofmovies than Hollywood and aboutfour billion cinema tickets are soldannually in India.
Mumbai based IIFA endeavorsto promote Indian cinema andshowcase its talent globally. Itsfounder-directors are AndreTimmins, Viraf Sarkari, and SabbasJoseph. Its Advisory Board boastsof big Bollywood names: AmitabhBachchan (Brand Ambassador),David Dhawan, J.P. Dutta, JayaBachchan, Karan Johar,Manmohan Shetty, PahlajNihalani, Ramesh Sippy, ShyamShroff, and Vinod Khanna.Cont’d on page 21
pital."In order to work together, we
felt it was important thatvideoconference technology wasreadily available to the ManipalUniversity faculty and students inhealth-related colleges," said RobSprang, director UK's HealthCareKentucky TeleCare Network.
Kummy performerswore traditional dressof saree and gave astunning perfor-mance. The cos-tumes and danceperformance forMukunda songwere excellent
A presentation cer-emony was held onJan. 22 at the Ken-tucky Clinic to makea gift presentation ofa videoconferencesystem to ManipalUniversity
Bollywood is said tobe producing aboutdouble the numberof movies than Hol-lywood and aboutfour billion cinematickets are sold an-nually in India
February 5, 2010 India PostCommunity Across Americawww.indiapost.com
17
'Year of India' at Brown Univ. features Husain's paintings
PASE Award to SouthAsian afterschooleducatorIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: Shreya Janssens-Sannon,a New York City afterschool educator isamong the five of the city's most innova-tive and dedicated afterschool profession-als to receive the PASEsetter Award thisyear. The award was presented by the Part-nership for Afterschool Education (PASE)at an event on January 26.
The PASEsetter Awards recognize theessential role afterschool educators play inthe lives of the city's youth, and honoreesreceive a $5,000 cash award for their agency.
Shreya Janssens-Sannon is Program Di-rector at the Sadie Nash Leadership Project.
Cont’d on page 21
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: The Cogut Center for theHumanities, in collaboration with the DavidWinton Bell Gallery at Brown University, will
host an exhibition of work by M. F. Husain,one of India's most famous living painters,from Feb 5 through March 26, at the CogutCenter in Pembroke Hall. The show is a partof Brown's Year of India initiative, a seriesof public lectures, art exhibits, academicconferences, and other explorations ofIndia's dramatic rise on the global stage.
M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces, 1950s-70s, are drawn from the collection of Amrita
Jhaveri, a 1991 Brown graduate. Jhaveri is aspecialist in 20th-century Indian art and theauthor of A Guide to 101 Modern and Con-temporary Indian Artists (India BookHouse, 2005). The exhibition and bothevents are open to the public at no charge.
"Husain's paintings are unique for theirprofundity and their playfulness, for theirability to explore themes of cultural historyand legacy in a context of explosive color
and beauty," said Michael Steinberg, direc-tor of the Cogut Center for the Humanities."This union of visual art and humanisticinquiry makes for an ideal collaborativeproject between the Cogut Center and theBell Gallery, as well as a perfect celebrationof the Year of India."
Focusing on Husain's early works, thecurrent exhibition features 12 paintings cre-ated between 1954 and 1971, providing a view
into the artist's first manifestations of hismany favorite subjects: life on the streets,woman and horse (together and apart), andmythological and religious personages.
The Year of India initiative is the latest ina series of Brown University programmingfocusing on international issues and re-search. The 2007-08 academic year featuredevents and programs related to LatinAmerica.
M.F. Husain: Early Master-pieces, 1950s-70s, are drawnfrom the collection of AmritaJhaveri, a 1991 Brown gradu-ate. Jhaveri is a specialist in20th-century Indian art andthe author of A Guide to 101Modern and ContemporaryIndian Artists
February 5, 2010India Post18 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
The County provides too manycritical services and opportunitiesfor our community to be stalled bythe waste, fraud and abuse of thecurrent Cook County govern-ment," she added
In order to create a solid foun-dation for a fiscally-sound Countyhealth system, Toni will push forthe independent Board of Direc-tors to be made permanent.
Another key challenge relatesto the residents of surroundingcounties using Stroger Hospitalfree of charge. "It is simply not fairthat our residents are paying fortheir services and we would try tocollaborate with other counties toensure that those counties usingour health resources pay their fairshare," she added.
Besides working for reducingovercrowded jails, Toni alludedthat the Cook County staff wouldaccurately represent the diversityof the County under her adminis-tration and that her hiring processwould be streamlined to meet thisstandard.
Balwidner Singh in his brief
Big fundraiser for ToniPreckwinkle
Cont’d from page 11
FIA-Chicago hosts grand Republic Day dinner
He reminded the critics thatany efforts to create disunity inthe Indian community will onlystrengthen the collective resolveto stay tenaciously united andtherefore, urged all FIA membersto strive for unity. He thanked theFIA board members SubhashBhatt, Mrs. Anupama Dharkar,Sher Mohammed Rajput, Dr.Indrajit Patel, Ashfaq Sharief, SunilShah, Onkar Sangha, AjaiAgnihotri, Arvind Joshi andShahid Rizvi for their importantcontribution.
He strongly pitched for endingrift within the organization andobserved that "our roots are thesame and FIA would be there whileindividuals could come and go."He pleaded for united action asotherwise this umbrella organiza-tion would approve less effectivein implementing its avowed objec-tives and goals.
Niranajan Shah, one of the fore-most community leaders and FIATrustee in his brief address alsopitched for untied endeavors onthe part of FIA members and spe-cifically mentioned that Sunil Shahand others who waged elections forthe FIA office bearers need to becomplemented for upholding demo-cratic traditions in contesting elec-tions. Sohan Joshi in his brief ad-
dress also talked about strong FIAroots in the community.
Interestingly, a group of FIAoffice bearers led by Sunil Shahsecretary, Shahid Rizvi Joint Sec-retary, and Omkar Sangha VicePresident, who had grievancesagainst the newly elect team fortheir alleged unfair election prac-
tices were present and attendedthe dinner. Sunil Shah in a talk tothis paper said that they share FIAideals and that FIA should beabove personal politics.
Several of the FIA Trustees in-cluding Kanti Patel, Prahlad Patil,Anil Pillai, Niranjan Shah, Iftekhar
Shareef, Sohan Joshi, SitaramPatel, Dr. Dilip Dharkar, and HetalPatel were invited on the stage tobe applauded for their steadfastsupport and leadership. Also, rec-ognized were the principal spon-sors and business leaders includ-ing Dr Ram Gajjella, presidentIndo-American Democratic Orga-nization, Jude Cresto, GeneralManager of Air-India, VargheseChacko, President of All AmericanBank and Rohit Maniar, Vice Presi-dent of The National RepublicBank of Chicago and the represen-tative of new bank United CentralBank previous owners of MutualBank. Keerthi Ravoori was Mas-ter of the ceremony
As a mark of tradition on thisoccasion, Ramesh Soparawala, aprolific journalist from the Indiancommunity was honored for hisdistinguished journalism. Theaward was presented by NiranjanShah & Michael Alvarez, Demo-cratic candidate for the Water Rec-lamation District of Chicago - whowas earlier introduced to the audi-ence by Hetal Patel, FIA Trustee.
The highlights of the eveningwas Rahul Singh & Noman Khanand company with their impromptudancing and singing medleys thatwas augmented by his troupe belt-ing out colorful dance presenta-tions and melodious singing ofJyothi and Hussain.
Cont’d from page 12
Niles R-Day celebrations 'a joyous blast'
Master of Ceremony wasSantosh Verghese. No program iscomplete without singing of Na-tional anthems of India and USA.This was done ably by MiraChotalia, Ankush Verma, KrunalBodalia & Sajani Ganger. There wasa video presentation by "Coming to-gether in Skokie" committee and pre-sentation of awards to IndustryMinister, Madhya Pradesh-KailashVijayvargiya and formerMaharashtra Pradesh CongressCommittee (MPCC) RanjitDeshmukh.
Among those who spoke wereMayor of Skokie-George VanDusen, Mayor of Niles-Robert M.Callero, Mayor of Des Plaines-Martin J. Moylan ABC 7 NewsChannel Anchor Ravi Baichwal,Candidate for Illinois comptrolleroffice Raja Krishnamoorthi, Clerkof Cook County Dorothy Brownand India Tribune's LakshmanaRao
Kalapadma Dance Academypresented -"Pushpanjali" FusionDance". and "Vande Mataram."Tarana Dance Academy pre-
sented-"Ganapati Vandana" andEast meets West". Nartan DanceAcademy presented-"Shri GaneshDhimahi", "Jodha Akbar","Vaishnavajan" and "VandeMataram", Niles West studentspresented "Modern Remix Dance"songs". Payalia Dance Studio pre-sents "Medley". UIC DangraasGroup presents "Raas-Garba",Shaila Khedkar sang "Aiye MereVatan Ke Logo", Jitendra Bulsarasang "Kare Chale hum" and RajuBankapur 'Jay Ho'.
A pleasant surprise was sing-ing by two dignitaries from India.Industry Minister overwhelmedthe audience singing "Aiiy MerePyare Vatan Aiye Mere BichhadeChaman" while Maharashtra Con-gressman Deshmukh delighted theaudience singing Raj Kapoor'ssong "Kisi Ki Muskarhato pe HoNissar- Jina Isika Naam Hai."Members of the audience gavestanding ovation to both of them.Secretary Foyuzia Khan proposeda vote of thanks at the end.
Cont’d from page 13
address urged all those presentto work hard for Toni's successand then proposed a vote ofthanks.
World's first Indian arthotel opens in MumbaiCont’d from page 13
"We believe that the futurelies in hospitality that givesphysical comfort, value to mindand solace to the soul. In therecent past, the industry movedfrom boutique to personalizedand then to home-décor typehotels where the ambience wasinteresting but also typical.
But soon it became an over-played card so there was a needto break-through the clutter.Moreover, fashion and peoplepreferences change as theyhave more evolved options tocontend with and their desiretakes a higher fling.
These connoisseurs are look-ing for newer trends and experi-ences and we think Le Sutra couldbe the answer to their search,"says the Management Panchayat,that runs the organization.
The Bajaj Group is a mid-sizegroup involved in the businessof hospitality and real estate;having hotels, restaurants andproperties around India.
It is home to the restaurantbrands - Out of the Blue, cited
by Cornell-Nanyang in theirBest Practices survey andFodors Choice, serves sizzlers,fondue and fun. Olive Bar &Kitchen, with awards by Condé
Nast and Golden Plate, is theMediterranean lounge bar andrestaurant; and Deliciae, thedessert café.
The group also runs the PalmBeach Hotel, a 3-star hotel withits own private beach, overlook-ing the Bay of Bengal, inVishakapatnam, AndhraPradesh.
UIC Raas Garba group that entertained the audience
The Bajaj Group is amid-size group in-volved in the busi-ness of hospitalityand real estate;having hotels, res-taurants and proper-ties around India
Another key chal-lenge relates to theresidents of surround-ing counties usingStroger Hospital freeof charge. "It is simplynot fair that our resi-dents are paying fortheir services and wewould try to collabo-rate with other coun-ties to ensure thatthose counties usingour health resourcespay their fair share,"she added
Interestingly, a groupof FIA office bearersled by Sunil Shahsecretary, Shahid RizviJoint Secretary, andOmkar Sangha VicePresident, who hadgrievances against thenewly elect team fortheir alleged unfairelection practiceswere present andattended the dinner’
February 5, 2010 India PostCommunity/Californiawww.indiapost.com
19
Peter Mathews salutesDr. King's dream
India Post News Service
LOS ANGELES: PeterMathews, Professor of AmericanGovernment and International Re-lations and Democratic candidatein the June 8, 2010 Primary Elec-tion, rode in the Dr. Martin LutherKing Parade in Long Beach, Cali-fornia in front of thousands ofviewers, most of whom were vot-ers in Mathews's 37th Congres-
sional District. Speaking to thecrowd on both sides of the paraderoute, Mathews referred to theBiblical Vision on which Dr. King'sDream was based. Mathews said,"Let's make Dr. King's Dream a re-ality, a new American reality inwhich every child has equal op-portunity in education from pre-school through university, equalopportunity through UniversalHealthcare, equal opportunity
Lipman to speak on creatinga Vastu community
India Post News Service
PALO ALTO, CA: Architect JonLipman, AIA, the foremost U.S.authority on Maharishi Vedic ar-chitecture, or Vastu, will speak onCreating a Vastu Community forthe Bay Area Sunday, January 31,2 pm at the Maharishi Enlighten-ment Center of Palo Alto.
Vastu, an ancient architecturalsystem also known as MaharishiVedic architecture or SthapatyaVeda, bases its principles in thelaws of nature to have healthfuleffects on a building's occupants.Originating in India and restoredby Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Vastu
is thought to be the source of morerecent design systems such asFeng Shui.
Since the strongest influenceof natural law on earth comes fromthe sun, a Vastu-trained architectwill design a home with specificroom placement that takes advan-tage of the sun's differing quali-ties of energy as it passes acrossthe sky. For example, the kitchenis placed where the sun's energyis strong and most supportive tothe activity of cooking.
Maharishi Vedic architectureconsiders these factors of rightplacement to ensure that everyaspect of activity in the home or
office is in harmony with NaturalLaw. People who live or work inVastu buildings report influencessuch as greater clarity of mind,more harmony among family mem-bers and increased calmness.
"Having lived in a Vastu home,I can say that it was totally differ-ent than living in an ordinaryhome," says Celia Bella, a Palo Altoreal estate agent. "I felt so muchinner happiness and peace ofmind, as well as a sense of totalprotection."
Lipman will explain the prin-ciples of Vastu, show photos andgive an update on medical andscientific research related to the
effects of this system. As the chiefarchitect of the Maharishi Vedicarchitectural system in the U.S.,Lipman has overseen the designand construction of more than$400 million in Vastu homes andbuildings nationwide.
Lipman is a former president ofthe Frank Lloyd Wright BuildingConservancy and a New YorkTimes praised author. He has spo-ken at Harvard, Yale and Colum-bia Universities; the Museum ofModern Art (New York), theSmithsonian Institution; and hasbeen invited to address the annualconvention of the American Insti-tute of Architects.
Dance eventfor Haiti quakereliefIndia Post News Service
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA: OnFeb 6, BollyRitmo, a Bay Area-based fusion dance company, isorganizing a fundraiser event toaid Haiti disaster relief efforts. Allproceeds from the event will bedonated to Mercy Corps.
This unique dance class eventwill be held at one of thePeninsula's most poplar nightlifelocations, Zen Lounge, in Moun-
tain View. Participants will havethe chance to learn a variety ofdance styles from BollyRitmo'sdiverse instructors. The first hourwill be dedicated to Salsa, accom-modating learners at all levels. Inthe next hour, participants will ex-perience a dynamic fusion of worlddance, including Bollywood!
The event is open to all indi-viduals above the age of 21.
through High Paying Jobs basedon innovative Green technolo-gies."
Peter Mathews was highly ap-plauded for saluting Dr. King'sdream by the approximately 10,000parade viewers.
People who live orwork in Vastu build-ings report influencessuch as greater clar-ity of mind, moreharmony amongfamily members andincreased calmness
Peter Mathews washighly applauded forsaluting Dr. King'sdream by the ap-proximately 10,000parade viewers Participants will have
the chance to learn avariety of dance stylesfrom BollyRitmo'sdiverse instructors
Peter Mathews
February 5, 2010India Post20 Community/Californiawww.indiapost.com
LOS ANGELES: Gurdwara Sahib Vermontcelebrated Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji's birth-day (Prakash Utsav) on January 23. Studentsrecited shabads. There was a lecture on the
life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The topic wasSaint & Soldier - Sacrifices of the 10th Mas-ter. Kids were encouraged to talk about the
Guru. There was kirtan by Hazoori Ragis ofdifferent Gurdwaras. Senior members of thecommunity were honored. Akhand Path was
held from Jan 20-23. Langar was served allday. The management thanked all the par-ticipants and the sangat.
Mendoza announces Women ofthe Year awards
Saratoga studentwins speechcompetitionIndia Post News Service
SARATOGA, CA: Deepika Bodapati, a9th grader at Presentation High School,Saratoga has won the first place in a varsitylevel speech and debate tournament called
India Post News Service
NORWALK, CA: To kick off the NationalWomen's History Month beginning the firstweek in March, Assemblymember TonyMendoza has announced upcoming Womenof the Year Awards Gala.
The gala recognizes the work and talentsof constituents from within the 56th Assem-bly District.
Assemblymember Mendoza invited all toparticipate by nominating someone who hasmade a positive difference where she worksor lives.
The gala honors women whose life'swork has impacted the local community ingovernment, charity, education and busi-ness.
The event is scheduled for Friday, Feb-
ruary 26th at the Norwalk Marriottfrom 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Logan's Speech Tournament. She had tocompete with much older kids who were in9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades.
More than 1,000 kids and 60 schools par-ticipated in this multi-state tournament in 2010
AssemblymemberMendoza invited all toparticipate by nominat-ing someone who hasmade a positive differ-ence where she works orlives. The gala honorswomen whose life'swork has impacted thelocal community ingovernment, charity,education and business
More than 1,000 kids and60 schools participatedin this multi-state tourna-ment in 2010
February 5, 2010 India PostCommunity/Californiawww.indiapost.com
21
In her six and a half years at theSadie Nash Leadership Project,Shreya has dramatically changedthe way the organization operates.She was hired in the summer of2003 to facilitate a class of her owndesign as part of their summer pro-gramming, and she designed thepowerful and unique class -"Power, Identity, and Privilege." Itoffered young women an extraor-dinary opportunity to examinetheir identities, their experiences,and the realities of oppression andinjustice in society.
The class also gave youngwomen a chance to explore differ-ent types of power, concepts ofsolidarity, and case studies of re-sistance and leadership, develop-ing in them in them a commitmentto advocate for social justice intheir lives and communities.
Shreya also launched a new fel-lowship for young women thatcalls on participants to Engage,Learn, Lead, and Act in the spiritof the social justice leader EllaBaker.
"The spirit of service and dedi-cation exemplified by thePASEsetter winners lives in each andevery individual nominated for theaward," explains PASE ExecutiveDirector Alison Overseth. "Withsuch talent, heart, and commitmentworking in the field, the future ofafterschool is indeed bright."
For children from privilegedbackgrounds, afterschool pro-grams provide extra academic sup-
port and a chance to discover ordevelop a passion for an athleticor creative talent. For children inlow-income communities in NewYork City and beyond, these pro-grams provide the same opportu-nities to young people who mightotherwise become involved incrime or a gang, succumb to sub-stance abuse, or drop out ofschool altogether. Participation inafterschool programs empowers
PASE Award to South Asianafterschool educator
Cont’d from page 17
Manipal University and theUniversity of Kentucky, USA hadsigned a co-operative agreementto facilitate exchange of facultyand students, undertake joint re-search activities and also for jointscientific publications.
The signatories to the agree-ment are Dr H Vinod Bhat, Regis-trar International programs andexecutive director, planningManipal University and SusanCarvalho, associate provost forinternational programs, Universityof Kentucky.
Signing and the exchange ofpapers took place at the ManipalUniversity in India. Pro Chancel-lor of Manipal University, DrH.S.Ballal and Prof Thomas Youngof the College of medicine, Uni-versity of Kentucky exchangedthe papers in the presence of DrBhat, the registrar of Manipal Uni-
Kentucky varsity collaborationwith Indian university
Cont’d from page 16
Seizure of Ahmadi mosque inPakistan condemned
versity, Dr G.K. Prabhu and MsCarol Steltenkamp, chief medicalinformation officer of the Univer-sity of Kentucky.
India Post News Service
LOS ANGELES: ImamShamshad A. Nasir, spiritualleader of the Baitul HameedMosque in Chino, has con-demned the Jan. 14th seizure ofan Ahmadi mosque in Pakistanby anti-Ahmadi Muslims. Themosque, Bait Noor, was built in1983 by an Ahmadi Muslim onhis own land and was used bythe Ahmadiyya sect for 20 yearsbefore the government sealed themosque in 2003, allegedly to pre-vent sectarian clashes betweenAhmadis and their opponents.
Minority religious communi-ties fear a further erosion of plu-ralism in the country in the wakeof the seizure of the Ahmadiplace of worship. "It is a sad hap-pening under the elected gov-ernment of Punjab province. Thesheer negligence of authoritiesis threatening the freedom of re-ligion," said Alvin Murad, execu-tive secretary of the major reli-gious superiors' justice andpeace commission.
Peter Jacob, executive secre-tary of the Catholic bishop's Na-tional Commission for Justiceand Peace, agreed. "We disap-prove of such treatment of mi-norities. Some political figures,belonging to the main-stream,are accused of backing this de-cision," he said, adding that theauthorities have once againproven to be insensitive to reli-gious diversity. "It is indeed thewhittling of pluralism in thecountry. Extremism has manymanifestations and discrimina-tion is being institutionalized,"
In a Jan. 21 press release,
Saleem-ud-din, the Ahmadi com-munity spokesperson, de-manded justice from authorities."This is a blatant display of theweakness of administration, andlawlessness. We had presentedlegal documents of the lateAhmadi who built (the worshipvenue) on a piece of land heowned, and various local politi-cians had submitted writtenstatements supporting our
stand," he said.This was the 15th forcible oc-
cupation of an Ahmadi place ofworship since the promulgationof Ahmadi-specific laws byPresident General Zia ul-Haq in1984. Under these laws, Ahmadisare prohibited from engaging in"anti-Islamic activities," includ-ing propagating their faith, and
young people to make positivechoices that will have a lifelongimpact on themselves and theirfamilies.
PASE is a child-focused orga-nization that promotes and sup-ports quality afterschool pro-grams, particularly those servingyoung people from underservedcommunities. PASE connects andserves more than 1,600 commu-nity-based organizations servinghalf a million young peoplethroughout New York City.
For children fromprivileged back-grounds, afterschoolprograms provideextra academicsupport and achance to discoveror develop a passionfor an athletic orcreative talent
using Muslim worship practicesand greetings.
The Ahmadiyya Communitywas founded in 1889 in Qadian,India, by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,who claimed to be the PromisedMessiah and Imam Mahdi.
And while all Muslims holdJesus Christ in high regard as aprophet, the Ahmadis have theunique belief that he survivedthe crucifixion and traveled toIndia to continue his ministryamong the Lost Tribes of Israel.They claim that a tomb contain-ing his body has been discov-ered in Srinagar, Kashmir.
Mainstream Muslims aretaught that Jesus was never puton the cross in the first place,and that God took someone else- generally thought to be Judas -and then made him look likeJesus. This person was then ar-rested by the Romans and latercrucified to death. Most Mus-lims believe that God took Jesusbodily alive into heaven to es-cape this "accursed" death onthe cross.
Ahmadis state that this ideacame into Islamic thought as theresult of the Christian influenceon Muslim beliefs followingWestern colonial expansion intoMuslim lands.
Ahmadis also point out thatJudas committed suicide afterbetraying Christ, so while Mus-lims deny the resurrection ofJesus, they would then have tobelieve in the resurrection of Ju-das to account for his being aliveto be tried, convicted and thencrucified to death by the Ro-mans.
And while all Muslimshold Jesus Christ inhigh regard as aprophet, the Ahmadishave the unique beliefthat he survived thecrucifixion and trav-eled to India to con-tinue his ministryamong the Lost Tribesof Israel. They claimthat a tomb contain-ing his body has beendiscovered inSrinagar, Kashmir
Manipal Universityand the University ofKentucky, USA hadsigned a co-opera-tive agreement tofacilitate exchangeof faculty and stu-dents, undertakejoint researchactivities and also forjoint scientificpublications
22 India Post
6 Phir Se - Toh Baat Pakki!
7 Tu Jo Jaan Le - Dulha Mil Gaya
8 Hey Ya! - Karthik Calling Karthik
9 Maa Tera Jaisa - Bolo Raam
10 Remote Ko Baahar Phek - Rann
February 5, 2010www.indiapost.com
1 Noor E Khuda - My Name Is Khan
2 Taali - Veer
3 Zoobi Doobi - 3 Idiots
4 Dil To Bachcha Hai - Ishqiya
5 Just Do It - Chance Pe Dance
At 4 am in New York, the last thing Priyanka Chopra wasexpecting to hear was that she had won her first NationalFilm Award. She jumped out of bed in sheer joy when she
got the news."It feels soooooo fantastic! It's 5 in the morning here (New
York) and my phone has been ringing non-stop since about anhour. I am so excited," Priyanka said over the phone from NewYork, where she has been shooting for Siddharth Anand's "AnjaanaAnjaani".
The 27-year-old has won her first ever National Film Award forher performance in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Fashion". She saysshe is glad that she agreed to do the film.
"When Madhur approached me for this film, I was terrifiedabout how complex the character was. But I am glad that I didit," she said.
Though Priyanka has already won several awards including aFilmfare best actress award for her portrayal of a struggling modelin the film, she says the National Award is most special.
"This is a National Award! I was just not expecting this andespecially because there are several regional films and actors com-peting for it. One can't keep track of the nominations at all. Butthis feels just great. After having won 15 awards for 'Fashion' sofar, I feel I have come full circle with this one," she said.
Priyanka, who made her Bollywood debut in 2003, says shereceived the most special congratulatory call from her parents.Her father Ashok Chopra had shed tears after watching "Fash-ion" in 2008 because he was touched with his daughter's perfor-mance, and he cried now again after hearing about her victory.
Ayesha Takia is amused at rumors that she has marriedinto an ultra-conservative family where acting is per-haps not permitted.
"I'm amazed at the games people play. The other day some-one asked me if I've started wearing a burqa after marriage,"laughs Ayesha.
"Far from feeling clamped I now have the freedom to domore things than before. My parents-in-law are cool aboutmy business ventures with my husband and my film career."
"And that's so ridiculous," says Ayesha with a laugh. "Farhanand I went around together for five years before marriage. Sothere goes the conservative card. Suddenly after we makeit official I hear all kind of rumors including the factthat I'm out of Revathy Varmha's film and that I'vebeen replaced by some other actress."
Says Ayesha, "I've never felt the need tograb roles. I've got what I wanted. And it willcontinue that way. I always felt Wanted wouldbe the first big hit of my career. Ironical that itshould come now after my marriage.
And I've got more to do in it than the lead-ing lady in a Salman vehicle would be expectedto. In fact I was blown away by the way I waspresented.
Marriage hasn't changed Ayesha. "I'm thesame. I always will be. Post-marriage I'm ex-actly the same. That could be because I wasseeing Farhan from long before. Psychologi-cally we were married long before. It feels likewe were serious about each other forever."
Jiah Khan was at the butt of a huge joke played by her Houseful co-stars Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Akshay Kumar, RiteshDeshmukh, director Sajid Khan and producer Sajid Nadiadwala at
a restaurant in Italy.Akshay and Ritesh, who came up with the prank, let everyone onto
it, including the waiter at the restaurant who served them dinner.After everyone had finished their meal, Akshay quietly got
up with his two forks and two spoons and pretended to talk onthe phone. While keeping the charade on, he slipped his cut-lery into Jiah's huge bag. Ritesh got up and did the samething after a while.
Everyone else passed their forks and spoons to Akshayand Ritesh, who kept slipping them into Jiah's bag. Sheremained unaware about this the whole time until thewaiter came to the table and exclaimed how all the cut-lery was missing.
He then asked them to let them check their bags.When he checked Jiah's bag, she was stunned to seethe forks and spoons coming out.
India Post 23February 5, 2010
www.indiapost.com
Bollywood
Recently, Anushka Sharma showed her disapproval over kissing Shahid Kapoor. Yes, it is a wonder because any girl wouldleap at the opportunity to kiss Shahid but Anushka made her discomfort very apparent. This is because she had tosmooch him not just once but three times.
The kisses came into the script because Anushka and Shahid got along really well on the sets of the film in the US. DirectorParmeet Sethi obviously wanted to show this chemistry on screen too.
As Anushka wasn't too happy about the kissing scenes, Parmeet had to convince her a lot until she agreed. Shahid, on theother hand, made no fuss about kissing her.
Now all that's left is to see if the kisses survive the editing and the Censor Board's snipping.
Sonya forAsh
Abhishek Bachchan's film, 'Crooked' was supposedto star his wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. But shewas out of the film before Abhishek started shoot-
ing for it on January 14 due to date issues. However, heisn't upset at all.
According to sources, Abhishek and Ash wanted towork together again but not as a pair. They weren't play-ing a couple in 'Crooked'; on the contrary, Ash was toplay his enemy. His romantic interest in the film is formerMiss India and VJ Sarah Jane Dias.
The film, directed by Abhinay Deo, stars Sarah Janealongside Shahana Goswami, Gul Panag and Pakistani ac-tress Sonya Jehan, who has replaced Ash.
Ash's role, which was that of a cop trailing global crimi-nals, has gone to Sonya. Sonya debuted with AkbarKhan's 'Taj Mahal', where she played Mumtaz Mahal andthen did Sudhir Mishra's 'Khoya Khoya Chand' whereshe played the role of a 1950s actress, which was basedon her grandmother Noor Jehan.
Sonya was chosen for her fair skin and light eyes. Pro-ducer Ritesh Sidhwani has confirmed her part in the film.However, he won't reveal her role. He also wants to changethe title as 'Crooked' is only their work title and he doesn'twant it to stick.
Bollywood actress Preity Zinta pulled off a stunt byjumping off the wall of a toilet at the Delhi airportafter she got stuck inside for more than 10 min-
utes."Spent 10 minutes stuck in the toilet at the
airport...Finally had to climb the wall and jump over...People were calling out my name," Preity posted on herTwitter page.
The 34-year-old says she felt she would die in there,but managed to escape.
"Thought I was going to die as I am claustrophobic.Pulled a muscle in my arm...," she added.
She says her tomboy attitude helped her comeout of the toilet.
"Being a tomboy when I was younger defi-nitely helped. Trying to climb a wall is nevereasy. Phew! Happy to go home now," shesaid.
jumpPreity
Vidya's now all set to lure two men -Naseeruddin Shah andArshad Warsi - in her next film, Ishqiya, a far cry from herrole in Paa. And one thing that everybody is talking about
is her character Krishna, which is said to have negative under-tones. "Krishna is not negative. It's very easy to label arole - if someone plays a mother, she's glorified; if it'svaguely sexual, she gets portrayed badly. Krishna is likeyou and me," she explains. Ishqiya is about love and lust."Love keeps us going in our lives and sex is a part of it.Lust involves a range of emotions, which are part oflove," she points out.
It's also been reported that Arshad was a little hesi-tant about doing a kissing scene with Vidya in thefilm. So much so that director Abhishek Chaubeyapparently left the actors alone and set the camerarolling to make them comfortable. Is that true? "It'sall rubbish. It was awkward initially. Arshad wasnervous and so was I. As we get along verywell, I don't think Arshad had any problemultimately," she clarifies.
While Vidya loves crossing borderswith her roles, she's back to her oldways, with sarees finding favor withher during public appearances. "Yes,I'm back to doing what I like. More-over, Indian woman are built in sucha way that they look sexy as wellas sensuous in a saree," she says.
Vidya on sex
www.indiapost.com February 5, 201024 India Post
India Post News Service
NEW JERSEY: "While I dance I can-not judge, I cannot hate, I cannot sepa-rate myself from life. I can only be joy-ful and whole. That is why I dance."
This quote by Hans Bos captures theprimordial spirit of dance, and its pivotalrole in the evolution of human culture.
The Federation of Indian Associa-tions (FIA) recently concluded itsmuch anticipated dance competition,Dance Pe Chance as part of its celebra-tions for India's 60th Republic Day, arhythmic celebration of India's richpast and abundant future.
The association's annual dancecompetition is a 28-year-old legacy thatis an integral part of the FIA's corephilosophy: preservation and promo-tion of Indian culture and arts.
Held at the Watchung Regional
Nirav Mehta - President
Oath ceremonyLighting ceremony
High School, Warren, NJ, on Jan 23,Dance Pe Chance's distinctly colorfuland high-octane format was based onthe theme of 'Emotions'. It drew a stronginfluence from the Indian film industry,especially Bollywood.
The event saw participants recre-
ate the magic of their favorite movie stars,epitomizing the vivacity, passion, glitz andglamour synonymous with Bollywood. Eigh-teen dance groups, spanning the tri state areaof New Jersey, New York and Connecticutcompeted for the several prizes, including cat-egories for Senior, Junior, Minor, Costume,
Choreography and People's Choice.The People's Choice Award, with votes
being cast via sms, was a first for any In-dian dance competition held in the US. Par-ticipating groups included the popular all-male fusion dance team Broad StreetBaadshahz, Gujarati Samaj of New York and
Studio Mudra, among others.Dance Pe Chance served as a grand
platform for Indian American dancers andchoreographers, who showcased theirawe-inspiring talent and connect betweenmodern techniques and traditional forms.
Cont’d on page 26
February 5, 2010 India Post
www.indiapost.com
25
Padma honors for Aamir, Rahman, Saif
MUMBAI: Oscar-winning musi-cian A R Rahman, Southern indus-try Musician Ilaiyaraaja, Bollywoodsuperstar Aamir Khan and veteranactor Zohra Segal are among theprominent names from the entertain-ment industry to be chosen for thisyear's Padma awards.
44-year-old Aamir, who madehis directorial debut with highlyacclaimed "Taare Zameen Par" in2007, is enjoying an unprec-edented success with his recentblockbuster "3 Idiots", which hasbecome the highest earning filmin Bollywood.
While Rahman, 44, who becamethe first Indian to win double Oscars
for "Slumdog Millionaire", is againin the race for the coveted honor withhis maiden Hollywood venture"Couples Retreat". Tamil song 'Nana', sung by Rahman's son Alim, is inthe Oscar shortlist this year.
Padma Vibhushan, the secondhighest civilian honor, was alsoclaimed by renowned faces fromthe world of arts. Eminent theatreand film personality Zohra Segal,founding director of National
School of Drama (NSD) EbrahimAlkazi and country's topmostmridangam player Umayalpuram KSivaraman are among those cho-sen for the honor.
Among those from the film in-dustry who have been chosen forthe Padma Sri include veteran ac-tress Rekha, Bollywood actor SaifAli Khan, Academy Award-win-ning sound technician ResulPokutty, TV and theatre actressArundhati Nag and Nemai Ghosh,
who had done camera work forSatyajit Ray. Also honored weredanseuse Mallika Sarabhai who isa distinguished figure in India asalso tabla exponent PanditChannulal Mishra.
Good day for me: AamirAamir Khan, who has been se-
lected for the prestigious PadmaBhushan award, has said it was
"wonderful" to be chosen for thehonour and thanked his fans andwell wishers for their support. Theactor-filmmaker, who is in the USattending the Sundance Film Fes-tival, said, "The first thing thatcomes to my mind is my mother'ssmiling face.
This has been a good day for me.My film ''Peepli Live'' gets superb
response at the Sundance Film Fes-tival and then I receive this wonder-ful news of getting Padma Bhushan."I wish I was back home right now."
The 44-year-old film star saidhe thanked God for these happymoments and all his fans and wellwishers for their love and support.
This is one actor who hasclimbed the ladder to success witha lot of gusto and yet with a calcu-lated pace. Khan, who made hisdirectorial debut with the critically-acclaimed ''Taare Zameen Par'' in2007, recently came out with ''3Idiots'', the highest-earning Hindimovie.
Proud & honored: SaifActor Saif Ali Khan, selected
for Padma Sri, said he felt veryproud and honoured. "I would liketo thank my family and loved oneswho have been there for me andthe industry for supporting me.""I would particularly like to thank(film personalities) Imtiaz Ali,Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar,Ramesh Taurani, Farhan Akhtar,Vidhu Vinod Chopra, SiddharthAnand, Kunal Kohli and VishalBharadwaj for having faith in meand making me who I am today,"the 39-year-old star said.
A smiling Musician Ilaiyaraaja
A R Rahman
said the Padma Bhushan awardfor him "is not a recognition, butan appreciation. An appreciationto encourage artists to producemore."
The 66-year-old music director,who recently scored music forAmitabh Bachchan starrer 'Paa',refused to comment on fellow mu-sic director and double Oscar-winner A R Rahman also beingchosen for the honor.
When asked whether therewas any preference accorded toNorth Indian professionals whileannouncing such awards,Ilayarja shot back saying, "Askthis question to politicians, notme."-Agencies
Aamir Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Bollywood script to be partof Oscar's library
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: The Academy ofMotion Picture Arts and Scienceswill be adding to its Library ar-chives, a copy of the recentAkshay Kumar hit comedy 'DeDana Dan'.
According to a release, theBollywood actor is "humbled andthrilled" at the request from theLibrary of the Academy of MotionPictures Arts and Sciences for acopy of his 2009 release, especiallysince this is the second such honorfor him - the script of his movieNamastey London is already a partof the Library archives.
It means that students, film-makers, writers and actors willhave access to the scripts for re-search purposes. It's anotherhuge accomplishment for the en-tire Bollywood film industry anddemonstrates its global reachand success.
'De Dana Dan' united the infa-mous 'Hera Pheri' gang once more,teaming up directing talentPriyadarshan with Master of Com-edy, Akshay. The film tells thestory of two friends, struggling tomake ends meet but dreaming of
riches and facing ultimatums fromtheir girlfriends to earn as muchmoney as they can in return fortheir hands in marriage, causingthem to go to extreme lengths tofulfill their respective love'swishes. A backfired kidnapping,mistaken identities, a hired assas-sin and an assortment of charac-ters met along the way rangingfrom a Chinese don to a young,frustrated wife made 'De Dana Dan'one of 2009's most popularBollywood entertainers.
Fox TV picks up Indo-American comedy
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: "Nevermind Nir-vana", director-writer-producerAjay Sahgal's comedy, has beenpicked up by Fox television net-work as a pilot.
"Nevermind Nirvana," from20th TV, is described as "Every-body Loves Raymond" with IndianAmericans. It is an ensemblemulticamera comedy about twogrown-up sons, their Indian immi-grant parents and their friends,including one of the son's Cauca-sian girlfriend.
"It's about how their lives inter-sect in often polarizing ways andabout the clash of the old Indianvalues and the new American val-ues," Sahgal is quoted as sayingby The Hollywood Reporter.
Canadian-born Sahgal (It's aShame About Ray), 44, is marriedto Kelli Williams (The Practice, LieTo Me). "Nirvana" is largely basedon real-life experiences by Sahgal,who is the son of Indian immigrants.
He first developed "Nirvana"for NBC and NBC Studios duringthe 2003-04 season under Fox en-tertainment president Kevin Reilly,who then was NBC's president ofprimetime development.
The project was picked up topilot starring Kal Penn and JudyGreer and directed and producedby David Schwimmer.
In the fall of 2004, NBC rede-veloped it as "Nearly Nirvana,"with Schwimmer as director-pro-ducer and, in a last-minute recast-ing of Arj Barker, Sahgal as the leadopposite Greer.
While it ultimately didn't make thecut at NBC, Reilly remained a fan ofthe concept, and when Sahgal raninto him at an event last year, Reillyencouraged him to revisit it, whichSahgal did under a blind script dealhe had with 20th TV.
"Maybe third time is the charm,"Sahgal said, dismissing any pos-sibility for him to star in the newpilot. "I'd like it to be successful,"he quipped.
My film ‘Peepli Live’gets superb responseat the Sundance FilmFestival and thenI receive thiswonderful news
It means thatstudents, filmmakers,writers andactors will haveaccess to thescripts for researchpurposes
‘It's about how theirlives intersect inoften polarizing waysand about the clashof the old Indianvalues and the newAmerican values’
February 5, 2010India Post
www.indiapost.com
26
The judges for the event in-cluded Parijat Desai, artistic di-rector of a Brooklyn-based ac-claimed dance company; mediaveteran and news journalistGulshan Singh; Tapan Patel, ac-tor and entrepreneur; NimmiMehta, veteran folk dancer andcritic; Swathi Gundapuneedi,Kuchipudi stalwart and accom-plished instructor.
The show saw an enthusias-tic turnout of over 1000 people,what with the 2010 team headedby Nirav Mehta, the 'Force InAction', bringing in new perspec-tives to the event. Of the manyfar-reaching initiatives taken thisyear, including the vote by textmessaging and a donation drivefor Haiti earthquake victims, theinherent promise to take this
annual extravaganza and makeit 'State-of-Art', was trulyachieved.
The winners of the competi-tion are: For the Minor Category,the First prize for Dance was
'Reservoir bitches'in a heist
India Post News Service
LOS ANGELES: The BerubiansTheatre Company presents 'Reser-voir Bitches;' a stage play basedon Quentin Tarantino's debut, 'Res-
ervoir Dogs.''Reservoir Bitches' centers
around a group of crooks - ledby the grand dame of L.A.'s crimescene, Jolie Cabot - and their plotto rob a local jewelry store. How-
ever, one of the crooks is actu-ally an undercover cop. After thejewelry heist goes terribly wrong,some of the group's membersstart to suspect a rat. Will they
figure out which one of the groupis the LAPD disguised as a hard-knocks, of-the-streets criminal?Or will they have to shoot eachother first?
Director Lemar Harris changes
two things to Tarantino's cult clas-sic: first, Harris presents the storyin chronological order (as opposedto film); and second, he uses an allfemale cast. The rest is as Tarantinointended: gritty, violent, and veryentertaining. So if you've ever won-dered what 'Reservoir Dogs' wouldlook like with women runnin'around shootin' and cussin' at eachother, here's your chance.
The play will be held at NextStage Theatre in Hollywood onSaturdays 6, 13, 20 and 27 Febru-ary at 8 pm.
Magic of Dance Pe Chancebagged by Gujarati Samaj of NewYork; In the Junior Category, In-dia Performing Arts Center won
the top dance prize; In the SeniorCategory, Broad Street Baadshahzbagged both Best Costume & BestChoreography awards, as well asthe top dance prize;
Broad Street Baadshahz alsobagged the coveted 'Best of Best'award, which recognizes dancingskills across all the categories.
The People's Choice Awardsaw Arya Dance Academy (Minor
Category), India Performing ArtCenter (Junior Category) andNatya Tilakam Dance Company
(Senior Category) being crownedas winners.
The event also served as a plat-form for the executive members ofthe FIA 2010 team to take theiroaths, in the presence of Assem-blyman Upendra Chivukula.
The FIA executive committeefor 2010 is Nirav Mehta, president;
Dance Pe Chance served as afitting start to 2010, which will markthe FIA's 40th anniversary withthe launch and kick start of thecampaign "Salute India" - Cel-ebrating The Spirit Of India.
Minor winners: 1st Gujrati Samaj of New York
Juniosr: 1st IPAC
Seniors 1st
Cont’d from page 24
'Reservoir Bitches'centers around agroup of crooks - ledby the grand dame ofL.A.'s crime scene,Jolie Cabot
Dance Pe Chanceserved as a fittingstart to 2010, whichwill mark the FIA's40th anniversary
February 5, 2010 India Post 27www.indiapost.com
28 India Post February 5, 2010
www.indiapost.com
Sports post
TRIUMPHANT: Indian cricketers pose with the Test series trophy at the end of the second Test match between
Bangladesh and India at The Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on January 27. India crushed Bangladesh
by 10 wickets on the penultimate day of the second and final Test to clinch the series 2-0
Sania calls off engagement, cites incompatibilityNEW DELHI: Indian tennis ace
Sania Mirza has called off her en-gagement with childhood friendMohammed Sohrab Mirza, citing"incompatibility". The 23-year-oldHyderabadi had got engaged to24-year-old Sohrab, who is froman influential business family, inJuly last year.
"We were friends for years butfound ourselves incompatible asfiances. I wish Sohrab the verybest in life," Sania said in a briefstatement without elaborating theexact reasons for the break up.
Sania's father Imran Mirza saidthe two families, who have beenfriends for years, continue to beon good terms despite thecouple's split.
"The two families have knowneach other for over half a century.Despite the engagement not work-ing out, the friendship continues,"he said.
Sohrab is currently studyingbusiness in the United Kingdom.
During last six months, Sohrabwas seen going around with Saniaand also accompanied her duringher professional tours abroad.Though both the families were notwilling to go in to the details,sources say that differences hadcropped up on various issues in-cluding the question whether Saniashould continue her professionalcareer after marriage and when themarriage should take place.
'She has to fight out of it'Imran said the broken engage-
ment may affect Sania Mirza's ten-nis career but he hoped that hisdaughter will overcome the emo-tional setback.
He said that Sania's tennis ca-reer had nothing to do with the"mutual" decision of calling off theengagement with her childhoodfriend Sohrab Mirza.
"She will continue playing. Ithas nothing to do with her career.She had been playing before,played through the engagementand will continue to play," he said.
Asked if the break-up could
hamper her career, he said, "Ofcourse, it could. But she has tofight out of it. It would hurt Sohraband he too has to come out of it."
On reports about some recentshowdown between Sania and
student, had got engaged in Julylast with a lot of fanfare.
The engagement of the glam-orous and charismatic player hadgenerated so much passion thatat least two of her fans had bargedin to her residence demanding thatshe should marry them.
The engagement break-upmarks yet another low in Sania'scareer this year as she has beenbattling poor form on the tenniscourt too.
The Indian crashed out of theseason's first Grand Slam theAustralian Open just a few daysago and didn't have any good re-sults to talk of in the run-up tothe big event.
Sania's engagement to Sohrab
Sohrab, Imran pleaded igno-rance. "I know about the com-patibility, don't know the detailsmyself," he said.
Both Sania and Sohrab comefrom the same middle class socialbackground and their Hyderabadbased families knew each other forhalf a century. Sohrab Mirza's fa-ther Adil Mirza owns UniversalBakers chain and runs a real es-tate business.
Imran Mirza said that the call-ing off of engagement will not af-fect the friendship of the two fami-lies and the decision was takenafter the two families discussedthe matter.
Adil Mirza confirming the de-velopment said, "We agreed to itfor the children's happiness".
Sania, the most successful everIndian woman tennis player andSohrab, a business management
had triggered speculation abouther injury-ravaged career and shealso later stated that she would quittennis after marriage.
Sania, the most successfulwoman player to take to tenniscourt, has had mixed fortunes af-ter a breakthrough year in 2005.
She ranked inside top-30 on theWTA charts, a first for Indianwoman and went on to win theAustralian Open mixed doublestitle last year with MaheshBhupathi.
Apart from making waves oncourt, Sania also created furors offcourt, landing in controversiesthat ranged from fatwas againsther tennis attire to her commentson pre-marital sex.-PTI
An Indian woman applies vermilion to the forehead of Brett Lee at the launch
of Pearls Media Electronic Channel in New Delhi on January 28. Pearls
introduced Brett Lee as its new brand ambassador
Indians should be as welcomein Aus as I am in India: LeeNEW DELHI: Condemning the
violent attacks on Indians DownUnder, Australian speedster BrettLee has said he wants the com-munity to be as welcome in hiscountry as he is in India.
"I want to make it absolutelyclear that I as an Australian wel-come Indians in Australia whetherthey are students, tourists orthose coming for work. I knowabout the current issues and I amsaddened by what has hap-
pened," Lee told reporters here.The 33-year-old speedster,
who calls India his second home,however, said he didn't considerthe attacks racist, as is being al-leged in India.
"As far as racism is concerned,I don't think that it is the case.Australia is a safe place. Wewould like Indians to feel as com-fortable and as welcome as I feelin India. I can't be more blunt then
that," he said.Indians have been targeted in
a series of violent attacks in Aus-tralia in the past few monthswhich has created a diplomaticstorm in both the countries.
Shiv Sena no threatUnfazed by threats issued by
Shiva Sena and well on his way torecovering from an elbow injury,Lee said he would play in the In-dian Premier League startingMarch 12.
"I obviously feel very proudcoming to India. I have been herea lot of times and I love cominghere. I have said it time and againthat India is like a second home tome. I feel very comfortable withthe way I am treated here. It'shumbling," Lee said on beingasked whether Sena's threat tostop Aussies from playing in IPLwould prevent him from participat-ing in the Twenty20 event. -PTI
The break up
During last sixmonths, Sohrab wasseen going aroundwith Sania and alsoaccompanied herduring her profes-sional tours abroad
February 5, 2010India Post29 www.indiapost.com
Palampur is the tea capitalof North India. This hillstation is not only knownfor its numerous tea gar-
dens and paddy fields but it alsoknown for its colonial architectureand temples. One can enjoy thescenic beauty of the Dhauladharrange and the slopes of theKangra valley from Palampur.Palampur and places around it arepopular for adventure sports likehang-gliding and trekking.
Palampur is located in the north-western part of the state ofHimachal Pradesh, in the northern
year. However, the best time tovisit Palampur is between Marchto June and mid-September to No-vember.
Palampur got its name from theword pulum that means abundantwater. It was a part of the local Sikhkingdom and later came under theBritish rule.
Tourist AttractionsThe tourist can take a walk in
Palampur and enjoy its colonialarchitecture. The tea factory andSt John's Church are importantplaces to visit in Palampur.
A walk beyond the town willtake one to the Bundla Chasm,where a waterfall drops into theBundla stream. One can see thecaptivating Dhauladhar range fromNeogal Park, which is 1 km fromPalampur. One can go on innumer-
able promenades along the teagardens and the nearby forests orinto the Dhauladhars.
Places around PalampurThere are a number of places of
tourist importance near Palampur:The village of Andretta is 13 kmfrom Palampur and is an importantcraft center, which is known for itspottery.
region of India. It is situated in theKangra valley, near theDhauladhar ranges. It is located onan altitude of 1,220 m above sealevel. Palampur is 30 km fromDharamshala. The weather inPalampur is moderate. Summers(April-June) are mild and winters(November-February) are cold butpleasant. It experiences south-western monsoon rains in July-September.
Palampur has a mild climate andcan be visited throughout the
Cont’d on page 31
Palampur got its namefrom the word pulumthat means abundantwater. It was a part ofthe local Sikh kingdomand later came underthe British rule
One can see thecaptivatingDhauladhar rangefrom Neogal Park,which is 1 km fromPalampur. One cango on innumerablepromenades
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India Post February 5, 201030 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com
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Florida Gov. Crist meets with AAHOA hoteliersIndia Post News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FLA: In re-sponse to a rally on the morningof January 19, in the Capitol Ro-tunda that had been organized byAAHOA (Asian American HotelOwners Association), GovernorCharlie Crist cleared his calendarand opened his Boardroom doors
to meet with more than 100AAHOA hoteliers, leaders of theNational and Florida SCLC (South-ern Christian Leadership Confer-ence), NABHOOD (National As-sociation of Black Hotel Owners& Developers), and small businessowners to address the unfair in-creases in fees and taxes in theState.
On behalf of AAHOA, Floridaleaders Treasurer Hemant D. Patel,Florida Regional Director KiritPatidar, former AAHOA ChairmanNash Patel, President FredSchwartz, Jay S. Patel, and numer-ous AAHOA Ambassadors,joined with SCLC Florida ChairmanArt Rocker and SCLC membersfrom around the country to rally in
the Capitol Rotunda and voicetheir strong opposition to the fol-lowing increase of fees and costsduring this severe economic reces-sion:
1. The dramatic increase in thefees imposed by the Florida De-partment of Transportation (DOT)of up to two hundred to four hun-dred percent (200% - 400%) for the
blue interstate Logo Sign Program;and
2. The drastic 12-fold increasein the unemployment compensa-tion taxes in 2010 during a timewhen all employers are having adifficult time paying their currentemployees and keeping them onthe payroll.
In response to the concernsraised, the Governor and hisDeputy Chief of Staff stated that,at their request, the DOT will openup a three-month rule making pro-cess to address the fee structurefor the Logo Sign Program, and willseek input from invited hotel andbusiness owners. Governor Cristfurther shared concerns about theunemployment compensation taxhike, and stated that he anticipatesa solution will be reached when theFlorida Legislature addresses thisissue during the session in March.
Hemant Patel praised the admin-istration for its efforts and stated,"AAHOA is grateful that we haveenjoyed a long relationship withthe Governor's office. When theAAHOA members need our help,we go to great lengths to ensurethat the top elected officials hear
our voices. Governor Crist is agreat leader of this State, and wetrust that he will continue to ad-vocate on behalf of business own-ers in Florida."
Former AAHOA ChairmanNash Patel agreed. "The Gover-nor commented that when yousend an e-mail to his office, it willgarner some level of attention.When you send a letter to his of-fice, it might get more attention.When you appear with many sup-porters for an in-person meeting inhis office, however, you have hiscomplete attention. With ourstrong and diverse coalition ofAAHOA members and leading busi-nessmen from across the Stategathering for a Rally in the Capitol,we grabbed the Governor's atten-tion, and he heard our concerns.The Governor will now work to as-sist us in reaching a satisfactoryresolution of these issues."
Cont’d on page 32
In response to theconcerns raised, theGovernor and hisDeputy Chief of Staffstated that, at theirrequest, the DOT willopen up a three-month rule makingprocess to address thefee structure for theLogo Sign Program
India PostFebruary 5, 2010 31Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com
A number of well-known artistshad made their base in Andretta.Sujanpur Tira, which is 42 km fromPalampur, is famous for its fort andold temples. The town of Baijnathis 16 km from Palampur and is fa-mous for its Shiva temple. A mini zoois also located at Gopalpur, which isat a distance of 13 km from Palampur.The Chamunda Devi Temple locatedon Baner River, 10 km from Palampur,is an important place to visit. Thereis a Tibetan monastery at Tashijong,which is 12 km away from Palampur.The monastery complex is famousfor producing traditional Tibetanhandicrafts.
Adventure: Several trek routeslead out of Palampur, particularlyover the Dhauladhar Mountains to-wards the town of Chamba. Someimportant treks are over the Sangharpass to Bharmaur via Holi and fromBaijnath over the Jalsu pass to
Bharmaur. A four-day trek will leadthe traveler to Holi, via Waru La.
Twenty-eight kilometers fromPalampur is an important center forthe adventure sport ofhang/paragliding. It also
Cont’d from page 29
Palampur : The tea capital of North Indiahas numerous Buddhist monu-ments and is famous for its Ti-betan handicrafts. The town ofBilling, which is 42 km fromPalampur and 14 km from Bir, isalso an important center for hang-gliding.
How to reach: Palampur does nothave an airport or railway station.The nearest railway station is atMaranda, which is 2 km fromPalampur and on the narrow-gaugeline between Pathankot andJogindernagar. The main bus stationis located 1 km south of the mainBazaar. The bus service fromPalampur to Dharamshala (2 hours),Mandi (4 hours), and Pathankot (4hours) is frequent. Travelers canalso make use of taxis to travel tothese towns from Palampur.
A number ofwell-knownartists hadmade theirbase inAndretta.Sujanpur Tira,which is 42 kmfrom Palampur,is famous for itsfort and oldtemples
India Post February 5, 201032 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com
Red alert on buying airline tickets onlineA.Q. SIDDIQUI
India Post News Service
CHICAGO: It was a nightmar-ish experience for hundreds of trav-elers a couple of months back atMumbai, Delhi or other Indian air-ports as two major airlines opera-tions were grounded in India dueto a pilot strike. For 65 years oldVithal Bhai Patel, who sat on cor-ner of his baggage trolley atMumbai departure terminal theproblem was not as tricky as forother hundreds of travelers whohad purchased tickets on internetand were stranded as they had nocontacts to rebook their tickets forother airline.
Vithal Bhai’s son in New Jerseyhad sent an E ticket through a lo-cal travel agent for him and histravel agent had asked Vitha Bhaito wait there until he finds alterna-tive airline booking for him. But formany who had purchased ticketsthrough internet, there was no sup-port available for them. The toughincident was related to this newspaper by few Indian origin stu-dents and others who returned toU.S. after a few days.
And this was not the singularevent during a specific time. Often,
people buying tickets on internet,even through an airline website,had encountered problems.
It is a misconception that tick-ets are cheaper online, SaysNadeem, CEO Canmatrix Inc, a Ca-nadian based company loadingfares for online booking enginesin U.S to major consolidators forinternal ticketing. According toNadeem, the online booking en-gines are permitted by airlines forpublished fares only, much higherthan the “Negotiated fares” or“Bulk ticket” fares offered to air-line consolidators. The consolida-tors, in turn sell these ‘negotiatedfares’ to affiliated travel agents.
In keeping with agreements withconsolidators, airlines cannot orwill not publish same negotiatedfares on its websites. They willhowever, keep available seats forsale for at least $100 or $120 morethan the negotiated fares. So younever buy a cheaper internationalticket online on any website,Nadeem claims.
Nadeem Qureshi’s companyCanmatrix Inc is engaged by manyconsolidators in U.S. for fare load-ing on internal website for staff toissue tickets for bulk fares. In Chi-cago, Krisbi Travel and Evia Travel
avail Canmatrix for internal ticket-ing on bulk fares. Most consolida-tors in New York, Washington andTexas are connected with his com-pany.
Nadeem’s views have beenshared by other travel agents inChicago. Faizan, Lufthansa spe-
cialist at Evia Travel Inc says, “Youare paying more and buying a ticketgoverned by most restrictive con-ditions”.
“No internet fare is cheaper thannegotiated fares offered by travelagents”, he claims. Faizan says factit is risky to buy tickets on “unau-
thorized” or “referral” websites. Hesaid further that recently people aregetting attracted to websites oper-ated from India. These ‘outsideoperators’ have obtained a tele-phone line in U.S. and have for-warded calls to New Delhi orAhmedabad and operating fromthere, making big advertisementson Indian channels and mislead-ing Indian community in U.S. thatthey are offering cheaper fares.
“We are in business for 25years, we cannot afford a full pageadvertisement in a newspaper andthese websites are making TV adsafter every 20 minutes on mostchannels. They do not have of-fices in U.S., they are chargingmore selling published fares (muchhigher than bulk fares), they donot hire any manpower and hencethey are making big money to makeTV advertisements. Airline ticketsare not just for $100 or so. If youare spending over $1000 for asingle ticket, is it not better youbuy it from someone you know,”he says.
Birju Bhagat, CEO Krisbi Travelelaborates that all internet basedfares are ‘published fares’ muchhigher than Consolidator fares.Airlines appoint consolidators to
distribute ‘bulk fares’ cheaper thanpublished fares and governed byflexible conditions. Even the fareson any airline’s own website arepublished fares; travel agents en-joy commission for the same andshare it with their customers. Sohow come any internet fare couldbe cheaper than travel agent’s fare?
Umesh Patel, Manager SkybirdTravel a leading consolidator inU.S., however says that not allpeople feel comfortable withinternet buying of international air-line tickets, except those new breedof IT consultants working for longhours and who have no time formaking calls to travel agents. Travelagents offer choices, they workhard to clear seats on lower fares.They even help to plan your jour-ney.
Zia Hassan, a senior travelagent narrates an interesting inci-dent. He said he had a family in hisoffice. As he was checking faresfor them and quoted a fare for Chi-cago to Karachi for $1180, theyoung man in family promptlyshowed a website on his I-phoneshowing the same flights availablefor $1250.
“I asked him mockingly, whomare you going to pay more?”
AAHOA President Fred Schwartzsummed up the efforts made in Florida bystating, "Governor Crist welcomed us byquoting Lincoln's famous line that 'govern-ment [is] of the people, by the people, for thepeople.' This is a great example of how thefull engagement by our organization can makeinroads in protecting our members from un-
fair legislation. I applaud the efforts of ourAAHOA Florida leaders and the unified pres-ence of our members that created the oppor-tunity for the necessary changes to be iden-tified and accomplished in a short time."
In addition to being invited to meet withseveral key legislators to discuss these is-sues, the group drew support from SenatorDave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, a candidatefor Florida Attorney General.
Gov. Crist meets with AAHOA hoteliersCont’d from page 30
Kumari Selja
Selja opens India Pavilion in MadridNEW DELHI: Tourism Minister Kumari
Selja inaugurated India Pavilion at theFeira International deTurismo, (FITUR) inMadrid, aimed at improv-ing tourism ties andboosting business in thesector.
FITUR is a meetingpoint for tourism profes-sionals from around theworld, in which they es-tablish lines of action,strategies and businessalliances to energies andconsolidate the tourismbusiness.
Kumari Selja also hada bilateral meeting withher Spanish counterpartMiguel Sebastian, offi-cial sources said.
Discussion between both the Minis-
ters covered areas of bilateral tourism co-operation between India and Spain, they
added.Covering an area of
130 sq mt, the IndianPavilion has been setup by the India Tour-ism Office in Paris,which is responsiblepromotion of India inSpain. This year thefair is being held fromJanuary 20-24, 2010.
Tourism promotionagencies, tour opera-tors, hotels, travela g e n c i e s ,consultancies and ex-perts in internationaltourism managementand development from
all over the world meet in Madrid forFITUR annually. -PTI
According toNadeem, the onlinebooking engines arepermitted by airlinesfor published faresonly, much higherthan the “Negotiatedfares” or “Bulk ticket”fares offered to airlineconsolidators
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India Post34www.indiapost.com
February 5, 2010
35 India Post February 5, 2010www.indiapost.com
In Brief Immigration
BOSTON: For months, immi-grant advocacy groups like theChelsea Collaborative and Berk-shire Immigrant Center havebeen gearing up to push lawmak-ers on state and federal immigra-tion reforms.
They've held statewide forums,marched in Washington, D.C., andorganized rallies with hopes ofseeing the major immigration over-haul promised by Gov. DevalPatrick and President BarackObama.
But after the historic electionvictory of Republican Scott Brownto the U.S. Senate, those illusionsmay be evaporating. Political ob-servers say Brown, who ran on aplatform opposing some of thosereforms, has emboldened conser-vative voters, and they will likelytable reforms in the near future.
``Much of the angry and frus-tration of voters, particularlythose on the right, are clearlyaligned with forces that opposeimmigration reform,'' said PaulWatanabe, a political science pro-
fessor at University of Massa-chusetts-Boston. ``They are vo-cal opponents of anything otherthan enforcement.''
Watanabe said it's now doubt-ful that Patrick and state lawmak-ers will spend political capitalpushing any controversial pro-posals in an election year shortlyafter Brown's victory.
Patrick has said he is plan-ning to seek re-election this fall,but is struggling with saggingpoll numbers.
During his campaign, Brownsaid he opposed granting driver'slicenses and in-state tuition ratesto illegal immigrants ideas Patrickvowed to support in Novemberafter receiving recommendationsfrom an advisory panel. As a statesenator, Brown also introduced
legislation that would have re-quired proof of citizenship or rightto work in the US for wage enforce-ment cases.
``His record is concerning,''said Eva Millona, executive direc-tor of the Massachusetts Immi-grants & Refugee Advocacy Coa-lition, a group that represents 130immigrant groups.
But Brown's positions excitedconservative voters and won himendorsements and praise from na-tional groups like Americans forLegal Immigration PAC, who hailedhim for opposing ̀ `amnesty.''
It's a dramatic shift from posi-tions taken by his predecessor, thelate Sen. Edward Kennedy. TheDemocratic senator sponsored a1965 immigration law that changedthe nation's demographic makeup
Mass. immigration reforms inperil after Brown win
Lawsuit targetsNeb.'s immigranttuition law
OMAHA, Neb.: A Kansas attor-ney has filed a lawsuit challengingthe validity of Nebraska's 2006 lawthat allows some illegal immigrantsto pay in-state college tuition.
Kris Kobach filed the lawsuitin Jefferson County District Courton behalf of several Nebraskans.The lawsuit names the Universityof Nebraska Board of Regents andother state college boards as de-fendants.
The state law passed in 2005deals with students whose parentsbrought them to the US illegally.To be eligible for in-state tuition,the students must have graduatedfrom Nebraska high schools, livedin the state for at least three yearsand be pursuing or promise to pur-sue legal status. -AP
Controversial USCIS memo on H-1B petitionsCYRUS D. MEHTA
Donald Neufeld, Associ-ate Director for US Citi-zenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) Operations, re-leased a memorandum on Janu-ary 8, 2010, that provides guid-ance concerning the requirementthat an H-1B petitioner establishthat an employer-employee rela-tionship exists and will continueto exist with the beneficiarythroughout the duration of therequested H-1B validity period.
The memo states that a lackof guidance clearly definingwhat constitutes a valid em-ployer-employee relationshiphas "raised problems," particu-larly with independent contrac-tors, self-employed beneficia-ries, and beneficiaries placed atthird-party worksites. Mr.Neufeld notes that the place-ment of a beneficiary/employeeat a worksite that is not oper-
to fill vacancies in businesses thatcontract with the petitioner forpersonnel needs. Such place-ments are likely to require closereview in order to determine if therequired relationship exists," thememo warns.
Further, the memo notes, USCISmust ensure that the employer is
in compliance with Department ofLabor regulations requiring that apetitioner file a labor conditionapplication (LCA) specific to eachlocation where the beneficiary willbe working.
The memo includes a discus-sion of the "right to control" when,where, and how the beneficiary
performs the job, which the memodistinguishes from "actual con-trol." The memo states that theemployer-employee relationshiphinges on the right to control thebeneficiary, and outlines 11 fac-tors USCIS will consider to makesuch determinations. The memoalso provides examples of validand invalid employer-employeerelationships; exceptions; docu-mentation to establish the em-ployer-employee relationship;and requests for evidence.
The memo, which has stirredcontroversy (see, e.g., http://cyrusmehta.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-uscis-memo-on-em-ployer-employee.html andnationofimmigrators.com/), isavailable at uscis.gov/USCIS/L a w s / M e m o r a n d a / 2 0 1 0 /H 1 B % 2 0 E m p l o y e r -Employee%20Memo010810.pdf.
ated by the petitioner/employer(third-party placement), commonin some industries, "generallymakes it more difficult to assesswhether the requisite employer-employee relationship exists andwill continue to exist.
Among other things, petitionercontrol over the beneficiary must
be established when the benefi-ciary is placed into anotheremployer's business and is ex-pected to become a part of thatbusiness's regular operations, thememo notes. "The requisite con-trol may not exist in certain in-stances when the petitioner's busi-ness is to provide its employees Cont’d on page 36
Immigrationattorney gets 8month sentence
NORFOLK, Va.: An Illinois im-migration attorney is going tospend eight months in federalprison for participating in an im-migration fraud ring.
Forty-year-old Beth AnnBroyles also must spend a yearconfined to her home once she'sreleased. U.S. District Judge MarkDavis said sentencing theEvanston, Ill., resident.
Broyles pleaded guilty to a con-spiracy charge last September forhelping Virginia Beach residentViktar Krus make millions by bring-ing illegal immigrants to the UnitedStates to work.
Krus is serving more than sevenyears on conspiracy, visa fraudand tax evasion charges. -AP
by scrapping an immigration quotasystem that favored Western Eu-ropeans, and he remained for de-cades a ``go-to'' legislator for im-migrant advocates.
After Brown's victory overDemocrat Martha Coakley, theFederation of American Immigra-tion Reform, or FAIR, sent out astatement arguing that Brown'swin showed even Massachusettsvoters oppose some of Kennedy'sideas on immigration and that itwould be ̀ `suicide'' for any politi-cian to support certain reforms.
``If support for amnesty andbenefits for illegal aliens won't flyin Massachusetts, it won't fly any-where,'' said FAIR president DanStein. ``Democrat or Republican,any candidate who 'leans into'amnesty in 2010, as some advo-cates advise, is likely to shareMartha Coakley's fate.''
Massachusetts is home toaround 1 million foreign-born resi-dents, or 14 percent of the state'spopulation.
Detained Haitianimmigrant releasedback to NYC
NEW YORK: A Haitian immi-grant whose federal detentionled to protests has been releasedfrom custody and is back in NewYork.
Jean Montrevil had been takeninto custody on Dec. 30 and wasfacing deportation over a years-ago conviction and prison term.Supporters staged protests, andseveral were arrested.
Deportations to Haiti have beenstopped temporarily in the wakeof the earthquake.
Montrevil's lawyer said he hadfiled papers in federal court tohave Montrevil released sincethere was no imminent deporta-tion. He said his client was releasedbefore the case was heard. -AP
Cont’d on page 36
Details on page 37
Thousands protest sheriff'simmigration efforts
PHOENIX: Ten thousand immi-grant rights advocates marched infront of a county jail in Phoenix ina protest that was aimed atMaricopa County Sheriff JoeArpaio's immigration efforts andwas marked by a clash between asmall group of protesters and po-lice officers.
‘If support for amnesty and benefits for illegalaliens won't fly in Massachusetts, it won't flyanywhere,’ said FAIR president Dan Stein
The memo states that a lack of guidanceclearly defining what constitutes a validemployer-employee relationship has‘raised problems’
Indian Passport & Miscellaneous Consular ServicesWe speak Gujarati/Hindi/Punjabi/Urdu
DHS grants TPS to Haitiansfollowing catastrophic earth-quake
Following the catastrophicearthquake in Haiti, the Obamaadministration announced that itis granting temporary protectedstatus (TPS) to Haitians who werein the U.S. as of January 12, 2010.The designation will allow eligibleHaitian nationals in the U.S. to con-tinue living and working in thecountry for the next 18 months.Secretary of Homeland SecurityJanet Napolitano noted that"[t]hose who attempt to travel tothe United States after January 12,2010, will not be eligible for TPSand will be repatriated."
In a related field guidance memoissued on January 15, SecretaryNapolitano said that U.S. Citizen-ship and Immigration Services "willimplement procedures to adjudi-cate favorably, where possible,
Controversial USCIS memoon H-1B petitions
* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contactedat 212-425-0555 or
For their part, immigrant advo-cates in Massachusetts say theyaren't giving up on prospects for
Mass. immigration reformsin peril after Brown win
applications for change or exten-sion of nonimmigrant status fol-lowing the expiration of anapplicant's period of admission;grant an additional period of pa-role or advance parole in appro-priate cases; and authorize 'F' non-immigrant students' requests foroff-campus employment work au-thorization." She said USCIS willalso "expedite the processing ofadvance parole applications andrelative petitions for minor chil-dren from affected areas," and will"grant employment authorization
where appropriate."The field guidance memo,
which outlines actions a USCISofficer may take when an applicantis a Haitian national or a habitualresident of Haiti, is available athttp://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2010/haiti-field-guidance.pdf. Resources onrepresenting Haitians are availableat www.aila.org.
Cont’d from page 35 state and federal immigration re-form. But Millona acknowledged,after Brown's win, ``It makes itharder for us.''
Still, Millona said advocateshope to meet with Brown soon.
``In the state Senate, Mr. Browndid not always support issues thatwere important for immigrant com-munities,'' Millona said. ̀ `But the so-ber responsibility he demonstratedin his victory speech was very prom-ising, as was his humble recognitionthat he has a lot to learn.''
Millona said despite the upcom-ing election she still expectsPatrick to keep his promise on re-forms from an advisory panel re-port with 131 recommendations,which include suggestions formore English classes for Massa-chusetts immigrants and allowingundocumented students to pay in-state tuition. -AP
India Post 37
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Thousands protest sheriff'simmigration efforts
PHOENIX: Ten thousand immi-grant rights advocates marched infront of a county jail in Phoenix ina protest that was aimed atMaricopa County Sheriff JoeArpaio's immigration efforts andwas marked by a clash between asmall group of protesters and po-lice officers.
Organizers say the protest wasmeant to show officials in Wash-ington that Arpaio shouldn'thandle immigration enforcement,and that Congress and the Obamaadministration need to come upwith a way for immigrant workersto come to the country legally.
The three-mile walk that startedin a west Phoenix park ended atthe Durango Jail Complex, a col-lection of five jails, where officialsplayed music, including a LindaRonstadt record, to drown outnoise made by protesters.Ronstadt took part in the protest.
Protesters chanted ``Joe mustgo'' as they approached the jailcomplex. One person carried asign that said ``We are human''and bore a picture of a lawmanwith a wolf's face. A family of fivewore T-shirts saying ̀ `Who wouldJesus deport?''
For his part, Arpaio said hewasn't bothered by protesters andthat they should be directing theirfrustrations at Congress becauseit has the power to changeAmerica's immigration laws.``They are zeroing in on the wrongguy,'' Arpaio said. ̀ `They ought tobe zeroing in on the president.''
The demonstration was peace-ful until police say protesters nearthe end of the procession startedthrowing water bottles at officers.Lt. Pat Hofmann of the Phoenix Po-lice Department said officers usedpepper spray as they tried to sepa-rate protesters from an officer whowas trying to take the bottles away.
Phoenix police said that fivepeople were arrested and taken toMaricopa County Jail.
Three people were booked foraggravated assault on police, whilea fourth was booked for aggra-vated assault on police and disor-
derly conduct. A fifth person wasbooked for disorderly conduct andaggravated assault on police.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt.Andy Hill said on-scene supervi-sors described a group of demon-strators purposefully disruptingthe demonstration by assaultingseveral police officers and a po-lice horse.
Hill said one suspect strucka police sergeant on the headand chest with a flagpole. Twoother officers were assaulted bysuspects who threw waterbottles, possibly containingrocks. The bottles missed theofficers, Hill said.
Hill also said a police officer onhorseback was assaulted while
her horse was mobbed, punchedand pushed. The officer used pep-per spray to stop the assault.
``Most regrettably, a nearby 2-year-old child was hit by some ofthe pepper spray,'' said Hill, add-ing that the Phoenix Fire Depart-ment was called to the scene totreat the girl.
``I am told she was released andwas expected to be OK,'' he said.No one else was seriously injuredor hospitalized.
Though the scene of the dis-turbance was cleared within min-utes, the aftermath of the incidentwas chaotic. Protesters yelled ob-scenities at police officers in riotgear. One officer shook his pep-per spray canister as he orderedpeople to keep moving. One pro-tester wore goggles, and severalothers wrapped bandanas aroundtheir mouths.
Critics have accused deputiesworking in Arpaio's immigrationefforts of racial profiling, which thesheriff denies. He says his depu-
ties approach people when theyhave probable cause to believethey had committed crimes.
Ten months ago, Arpaio learnedhe was under investigation by theU.S. Justice Department for al-leged discrimination and uncon-stitutional searches. He says theinvestigation was prompted by hisimmigration efforts, although fed-eral authorities haven't provideddetails.
Since early 2008, Arpaio has run13 immigration and crimes sweepsinvolving officers who flood a sec-tion of a city in some cases heavilyLatino areas to seek out traffic vio-lators and arrest other violators.
Arpaio's power to make federalimmigration arrests was strippedaway three months ago by officialsin Washington, but he continueshis immigration efforts through theenforcement of two state laws.
A federal grand jury also is in-vestigating Arpaio and his officeon allegations of abusing his pow-ers.
Salvador Reza, chief organizer ofthe protest, said the alleged abusesby Arpaio continue even thoughhe faces two federal investigationsand lost his power to make federalimmigration arrests. ``He is goingto continue doing it. He doesn'tchange. He is too set in his ways,''Reza said.
Jorge Duran, a forklift driverfrom Phoenix, carried a sign say-ing ``Stop the Hate.'' He said heattended the protest becauseArpaio's deputies pulled over hiscousin about four months ago forhaving a cracked windshield andhad him deported to Mexico.``They are always looking forlittle excuses to stop them,''Duran said.
Security concerns about theprotest led sheriff's officials tocancel visitation inside theDurango Jail Complex, which in-cludes Tent City, where inmatesare housed in surplus militarytents. Sheriff's officials say theywere trying to protect jailers andinmates from problems that mayhave arisen in the protest. -AP
One person carried asign that said ‘We arehuman’ and bore apicture of a lawmanwith a wolf's face
www.indiapost.com38 India Post February 5, 2010
Health ScienceHealth Line
Research seeks cause ofchildhood cancers
ST. LOUIS: Two major researchinstitutions are launching thelargest-ever attempt to identifyand understand the genetic ori-gins of childhood cancers inhopes it will lead to better diag-nosis, targeted treatment and per-haps even prevention.
The urgency of childhood can-cer, along with genome technol-ogy that made the project afford-able, prompted the collaboration,said researchers at WashingtonUniversity's Genome Center in St.Louis and St. Jude Children's Re-search Hospital in Memphis,Tenn. The three-year project willcost $65 million.
They said it is the largest re-search effort to date to identifygenetic changes that give rise tochildhood leukemia, brain tumorsand cancers of bone, muscle andother tissue.
Every cell in the body has DNA,and the collection of that geneticinformation is the genome, whichencodes every inherited featurefrom height and eye color to howthe body reacts to cancer-causingforces in the environment, or can-cer-fighting drugs.
The research will involve 600child patients of St. Jude who do-nated samples of normal tissueand tumors. Researchers will se-quence the genomes of eachchild's normal and cancer tissueand compare them, looking for dif-ferences that could be the causeor result of the disease.
``It's a huge black box, and we'restruggling to understand why
Eight rural healthgrants total nearly$600,000
WINNFIELD, La.: Eight ruralhealth programs are getting atotal of nearly $600,000 ingrants.
Gov. Bobby Jindal and Healthand Hospitals Secretary AlanLevine announced the grants atthe Winn Parish Medical Centerin Winnfield.
Each agency will get about$75,000.
Three are in North Louisiana:the Central Louisiana Area HealthEducation Center in Alexandria,the Health Enrichment Network inOakdale, and the David RainesCommunity Health Center inBossier Parish.
The others are St. James Par-ish Hospital, Pointe CoupeeHomebound Health Hospice,Pointe Coupee Better AccessCommunity Health, the St.Charles Community Health Cen-ter, the Southwest Louisiana Cen-ter for Health Services. -AP
similar work on an adult leukemiapatient in St. Louis for the journalNature, and found 10 mutations.It's since done dozens on adultpatients.
Wilson said the large samplein this research is buttressed byrich clinical information on each
some kids get cancer and otherslive to their 90s without it,'' saidDr. Rick Wilson, the genomecenter's director.
He said ``bits and pieces'' ofthe genome in children have beenstudied, but no one has done it inits entirety. He said the difference
rector of St. Jude, said childhoodcancer accounts for 70 percent ofits work.
``It's still the No. 1 cause ofdeath in U.S. children,'' he said.
Evans explained that whilesmoking and other activities mayraise the cancer risk in adults, ̀ `inchildren, we don't know thecause, what genes have beenmutated.''
He said the three-year effortwon't solve the mystery, and likelywill raise even more questions.
Evans said St. Jude's $55 mil-lion share of the funding will comefrom individual donors includingKay Jewelers, which committed$20 million. The rest, he said, willcome from St. Jude's budget overthe next three years. He said Wash-ington University will fund the re-mainder over time from existingresources. -AP
NY health aideused patient'scredit cards
WHITE PLAINS, NY: A NewYork home health care aide hasbeen accused of stealing $59,000by using her patient's creditcards - even after the patientdied.
Westchester District AttorneyJanet DiFiore says Yves Archin ofBrooklyn has been charged withgrand larceny, identity theft andfraud.
DiFiore 's spokeswomanTracy Everson said the 51-year-old Archin fainted during her ar-raignment and was taken to ahospital.
The district attorney said thatstarting in 2007; Archin allegedlyused the victim's credit cards fromBloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor,Macy's, Target and more.
The complaint says she usedthe cards even after the womandied in October 2008.-AP
Details on page 39
in what researchers can learn bydoing whole genome sequencingis like venturing out on a largeship with a trawler as opposed tofishing in a small boat with a rodand reel.
The genome center described
child that was collected at St.Jude. Since the 1970s, the hospi-tal has maintained a bank of tu-mor tissue that was surgically re-moved and frozen for researchwith families' consent.
Dr. William Evans, CEO and di-
Louisiana to repay Medicaid moneyBATON ROUGE, La.:
Louisiana's health departmenthas reached tentative settlementsto repay hundreds of millions ofdollars in Medicaid money thefederal government says wasmisspent years ago, Gov. BobbyJindal said.
The settlements which stillneed final approval from two fed-eral agencies would lower the in-terest rates on the money owedand allow for a repayment planthat stretches the heftiest paybackover a decade.
The money owed totals $266million plus interest.
The US Centers for Medicareand Medicaid Services, or CMS,said the state improperly usedMedicaid money to pay for haz-ardous road claims against Loui-siana in the state's self-insuranceprogram and violated federal rulesin Medicaid payments to certaingovernment-run nursing homes.
The claims against the statehave lingered for years, threaten-ing other federal Medicaid dollarsto Louisiana. The state has beennegotiating with federal officialsabout the overpayment figures,hoping to get the debt reduced.
``These disallowances havebeen a cloud over our state formore than a decade. We can't waitany longer to settle these dis-putes with the federal govern-ment. Interest costs are increas-ing, and we've come to the pointthe federal government is readyto start taking the money directlyout of our Medicaid program,''Jindal said.
The state is alleged to owe $310million for the road hazard spend-ing $150 million plus 12 percentannual interest since 2005, whenfederal officials notified the stateof the misspending.
Jindal said under the tentativesettlement, the state would repaythe $150 million plus 1 percent in-terest from 2005 to 2010 and 3 per-cent interest thereafter. The first
payment would be due in July2013, and the repayment planwould be over 10 years, the gov-ernor said.
The state Department of Healthand Hospitals wouldn't provideestimates of what the total repay-ment would cost the state, and thedepartment hasn't identified a spe-cific source of funds to use.
For the nursing home debt, thestate would pay the $116 millionowed plus interest over a year,with the first quarterly paymentbeginning March 31, Jindal said.All the money would come from astate trust fund set aside for eld-erly care, if lawmakers approve.With interest, the state would re-pay about $120 million, saidCharles Castille, undersecretaryfor the state health department.
If the agreements are approved,that won't settle all the state'sMedicaid debts.
CMS also alleges Louisianaowes $362 million for a separateclaim that the state-run charityhospitals were overpaid federalhealth care dollars in the mid-1990s for care provided to unin-sured patients. State officials areappealing. -AP
Wash. Gov pressesCongress to act onhealth care
OLYMPIA, Wash.: The uncer-tain future of federal health carereform has wrinkled Washingtonstate's hopes of landing a $1 bil-lion bailout to fix its budget deficitthis year, Gov. Chris Gregoire said.
Researchers will sequence the genomes ofeach child's normal and cancer tissue andcompare them, looking for differences thatcould be the cause or result of the disease
The state improperlyused Medicaidmoney to pay forhazardous roadclaims againstLouisiana
India PostFebruary 5, 2010 Health Science Post 39
www.indiapost.com
Parents had no sign teendeath imminent
OREGON CITY, Ore.: The firstdefense witness for two parentswho reject doctors in favor offaith healing has testified that thesymptoms they saw in their 16-year-old son were cause for con-cern, but gave no indication deathwas imminent.
Dr. Douglas Diekema said hefactored in each bit of availableinformation in reaching his con-clusion that Jeffrey and MarciBeagley acted reasonably whentheir son Neil became ill.
The symptoms included Neil'sfaltering stamina, lack of appetite,breathing problems and inabilityto keep food down.
Diekema specializes in pediat-ric emergency medicine at the Uni-versity of Washington School ofMedicine. The parents are on trialin Clackamas County on criminallynegligent homicide charges in theJune 2008 death of their only son.The Beagleys are members of theFollowers of Christ Church andreject doctors in favor of faith heal-ing through prayer, anointing withoil and laying on of hands.
Jeffrey Beagley's lawyer Wayne
Mackeson asked whether thecouple's failure to seek medicaltreatment was a significant depar-ture from the care that a reason-able person would have provided.
``Not necessarily,'' Diekemasaid. ̀ `If you don't think your childis dying, you may not bring themto the emergency room.''
The boy died from an untreatedurinary blockage.
``Reasonable'' describes a hugerange of well-meaning people, thedoctor testified.
Anxious parents ̀ `worry aboutevery spot and bump'' while oth-ers are slow to react, Diekema said.``It may take three days of (a childhaving) seizures to get them intomy emergency room.''
Diekema testified that children with
Neil's defect can feel fine and showno outward signs of ill health for years.``You can have renal failure and berelatively asymptomatic,'' he said.
Under questioning from pros-ecutor Greg Horner, Diekema saidhe knew of only two cases wherea child died of untreated renal dis-ease. In both cases, the parentsdecided against treatment, he said.
The case is complicated be-cause under Oregon law, children15 or older may independently seekmedical treatment. The Beagleyssaid they offered to take the boy toa doctor but let him choose.
The couple's granddaughterdied in March 2008 of pneumoniaand a blood infection that couldhave been treated, resulting inmanslaughter charges against theBeagleys' daughter, RayleneWorthington, and her husband,Carl Brent Worthington.
Another Clackamas Countyjury acquitted the Worthingtonsof manslaughter in the death oftheir 15-month-old daughter, Ava,but found Carl Brent Worthingtonguilty of the lesser charge of crimi-nal mistreatment. -AP
Wash. Gov presses Congressto act on health care
OLYMPIA, Wash.: The uncer-tain future of federal health carereform has wrinkled Washingtonstate's hopes of landing a $1 bil-lion bailout to fix its budget deficitthis year, Gov. Chris Gregoire said.
That change could bring stron-ger momentum for tax hikes andbudget cuts at the Legislature,now a quarter of the way throughits scheduled eight-week session.
Falling tax collections and rap-idly rising costs mean thatWashington's state operatingbudget is expected to be short byabout $2.6 billion through June2011, the end of its current two-year fiscal period.
A sizable federal bailout wouldeffectively shrink the deficit, mak-ing the eventual combination ofspending cuts and tax hikes morepolitically palatable. Gregoire, aDemocrat, has been hoping forroughly $1 billion from the federalgovernment through three differ-ent pipelines.
Two of those sources, how-ever, were tied to the health careoverhauls being debated in Con-gress an effort that has stalled fol-lowing Massachusetts Republi-can Scott Brown's convincing
election to the Senate.Gregoire and other leading
Washington Democrats urgedCongress to move ahead withhealth care reform, despite theupset in Massachusetts.
In addition to the Democrats'overarching reasons for support-ing health care reform lower costs,broader coverage, better resultsGregoire said national leaders must
remember that states are bankingon more federal aid to make itthrough this recession-hobbledbudget cycle.
``My concern is not that wewon't get it,'' Gregoire said. ``Butwill we get it in time for the budget?That's where my concern lies.''
``This has direct bearing on ourcurrent budget,'' said state Sen.Karen Keiser, D-Kent. -AP
The symptomsincluded Neil's falter-ing stamina, lack ofappetite, breathingproblems and inabilityto keep food down
Gregoire, aDemocrat, has beenhoping for roughly$1 billion fromthe federalgovernment
40 India Post February 5, 2010www.indiapost.com
Tech News TechBizPost-crisis, India, China mainstay of
world economy: CEOsDAVOS: Global financial crisis
has "irreversibly" shifted the worldeconomic power to emerging mar-kets like India and China, top glo-bal CEOs said as the five-dayWorld Economic Forum opened atthe Swiss Alpine resort here.
"Crisis has accelerated the shiftof economic power from the Westto East. This is irreversible," saidPeter Sands, Group Chief Execu-tive Officer, Standard Chartered inhis opening remarks at the 40thannual meeting of the World Eco-nomic Forum (WEF).
Global CEOs have learnt a lotduring the past 24 months, AzimPremji, Wipro chief and WEF co-chair said, pointing out "enormouspurchasing power which is getting(generated) in India and China".
India and China continued togrow at a reasonable rate even theseveral developed countries facedrecession and witnessed eco-nomic contraction. In case of In-dia, the growth rate during the2008-09 moderated to 6.7 per centand is expected to rebound to 8per cent during the current fiscal.
As far as China is concerned,the economic growth rate jumpedto 10.7 per cent during the quarterending December 2009 from a lowof 6.8 per cent during the corre-sponding period a year ago.
Elaborating on the theme ofshift of economic power, Sandssaid, it is from those countrieswhich "consume and borrow" tothose which "produce and save".
How much regulationGlobal bankers appeared a di-
vided lot at the meeting with somepitching for better regulations andsafer banks and others expressingapprehensions that more regula-
tions could stifle the financial sec-tor itself.
"We need a better financialregulatory system... We want abanking system that is safer andthe one which supports the real
economy," said Peter Sands,Group CEO of Standard CharteredBank and WEF co-chair, at theopening press conference here at
the Swiss Alpine holiday resort.Although Sands echoed the sen-
timents of many of the 2,500 CEOs,who have converged here to explorepossibilities to re-design and re-build the recession-hit global
economy, Peter Levene, chairman ofBritish bank Lloyd's, said, "Let's getgood regulation, better regulation,but not more regulation."
Ronald A Williams, CEO of US-based insurance company Aetnasuggested taking a long-term viewwith regard to regulatory frame-work for the financial sector.
The Stanchart chief further saidthe re-think and re-design themeof the WEF "applies to bankingsector more than any other sectorof the economy. The idea thatbanking is getting back to usualbusiness is a misunderstanding ..
Banking is fundamentallychanged (post crisis)". -PTI
Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma talks with Robert Hormats, US Under Secretary of State for
Economy, Energy and Agricultural Affairs during a televised session by NDTV at the
World Economic Forum on January 28, in Davos
Akshaya Patra wins India's accounting award India Post News Service
BOSTON: The Akshaya PatraFoundation, the world's largestNGO-run midday meal program,has been awarded the Gold ShieldAward for best financial reportingby the Institute of Chartered Ac-countants of India (ICAI).
Akshaya Patra's vision is thatno child shall be deprived of edu-cation because of hunger. The or-ganization currently feeds overone million children each day in7,000 schools through 18 kitchens
in seven states in India.The award was given based on
Akshaya Patra's Annual Reportand the Accounts of Akshaya
Patra for the year ending March31, 2009. Akshaya Patra was se-
lected by a panel of judges on thedegree of compliance with ac-counting standards, statutoryguidelines and other relevant pro-
nouncements. The Gold Shield isthe top award given by the ICAI
and is only given to those organi-zations with the highest level ofaccounting practices.
"This recognition is reflectiveof our commitment to makeAkshaya Patra's financial report-ing second to none. We strive tobe a role model for other non-prof-its," said Madhu Sridhar, AkshayaPatra USA's President and CEO."We are overjoyed by this honor,and thank ICAI for recognizingAkshaya Patra with this presti-gious award."
Cont’d on page 41
WTO shares India'sconcerns onprotectionism
DAVOS: Sharing concerns ofIndia and other developing coun-tries, the WTO has said protec-tionism is major concern and ex-pressed confidence that a deal onopening the world trade further ispossible this year.
"We need to remain vigilant.With unemployment remaininghigh, protectionist pressures re-main a worry," WTO Director Gen-eral Pascal Lamy told PTI here.
His comments incidentally co-incide with US President BarackObama's heightening the pitch toprotect American jobs in the wakeof employment losses due tooutsourcing to developing coun-tries such as India. Obama said itwas time to end tax breaks toAmerican firms that outsourcejobs overseas, while helping thosewhich create employment withinthe US. -PTI
Hyundai Motor'sQ4 profit nearlyquadruples
SEOUL: Hyundai Motor's netprofit nearly quadrupled in thefourth quarter on higher sales fol-lowing a strong performance dur-ing 2009 in the fast-growing Chi-nese and Indian auto markets.
South Korea's largestautomaker and a growing force inthe global market, earned 945.5 bil-lion won (USD 820 million) in thethree months ended December 31,it said in a statement.
Hyundai Motor Co reportednet profit of 243.5 billion won thesame period the year before.
The Ulsan, South Korea-basedmaker of the Elantra and Sonatasedans and the luxury Genesissaid sales during the quarter rose9.3 percent to 9.65 trillion won from8.83 trillion won a year earlier. -PTI
Deal reached onsale of Alexandria'sHotel Bentley
ALEXANDRIA, La.: BatonRouge real estate developer BobDean and Hospitality InitiativesPartnership have reached anagreement in principle for the saleof Alexandria's historic HotelBentley.
Mayor Jacques Roy an-nounced the deal at a city councilmeeting. He said the two sideshave ̀ `arrived at a purchase price.''
``They have arrived at a priceand to my understanding havesigned an agreement,'' Roy said.
The hotel, which is owned byDean, has been closed since De-cember 2004. -AP
Oregon says yes to taxingwealthy, businesses
PORTLAND, Ore.: Oregon has set aside its history of shooting downtax increases on statewide ballots, with voters endorsing higher taxeson businesses and the rich amid a brutal economic slump.
Democrats in the Oregon Legislature made it as easy as they couldfor the voters to raise taxes on somebody else, and the electorate re-sponded by approving Measures 66 and 67.
The increases will hit people with taxable income upward of $125,000 -estimated at fewer than 3 percent of filers. Many businesses who hadbeen paying an annual $10 minimum will see that rise to at least $150. --AP
Global CEOs have learnt a lot during the past 24months, Azim Premji, Wipro chief and WEF co-chairsaid, pointing out "enormous purchasing powerwhich is getting (generated) in India and China’
‘This recognition is reflective of our commitmentto make Akshaya Patra's financial reportingsecond to none. We strive to be a role modelfor other non-profits’
41India PostTechBiz Postwww.indiapost.com
February 5, 2010
Akshaya Patra maintains a commitmentto organizational transparency. The organi-zation is audited by M/s BSR & Co, a lead-ing Indian audit firm, to ensure transpar-ency and accountability of its operations.Furthermore, the organization is managedby an independent Board of Directors, manyof whom are leaders in the private sector.Akshaya Patra is also advised in account-ing standards and services by the reputedconsulting firm KPMG.
A public-private partnership, AkshayaPatra combines good management, innova-tive technology and smart engineering todeliver school lunch at a fraction of the costof similar programs in other parts of theworld. It costs $28 to feed a child daily forthe entire school year. With an average gov-ernment subsidy of 50 percent, $28 feedstwo children.
Akshaya Patra has a demonstrated im-pact on the children it reaches. AC Nielsen,an independent research firm, performed animpact assessment which demonstrated anincrease in enrollment, especially among thefemale students, and better health and im-proved performance among all students whoreceived school lunches. This meal givesthese children an incentive to come toschool, stay in school and provides themwith the necessary nutrients they need todevelop their cognitive abilities to focus onlearning.
Akshaya Patra is a great example of whatcan be accomplished when the public sec-tor, private sector and the civic society col-laborate-- a cost effective, scalable solutionwith high quality service delivery. Afterreaching its goal of feeding one million chil-dren each school day, Akshaya Patra's nextmilestone is to serve 5 million children dailyby 2020.
Akshaya Patra wins India'saccounting award
Cont’d from page 40
Former Satyam chief declared'pauper' in US court
NEW YORK: Ramalinga Raju, formerchairman of Satyam Computers, who lastyear confessed to have inflated hiscompany's assets by over USD one billion,has been declared a pauper by a court hereexempting him from paying court costs.
New York judge Barabara S Jones ap-proved 'pauper' status for Raju, his brotherRama Raju, Satyam's former chief executiveofficer, and Srinivas Vadlamani, thecompany's former head of finance.
In October 2009, the defendants filed an"in forma pauperis" and for the appointmentfor a pro bono counsel.
According to court documents, the ac-cused stated they are "unable to engage anattorney in the US to defend (themselves)in the class action litigation and to pay anycourt fees or to meet any financial obliga-tions which might be imposed by this court".
"The court finds that defendants haveadequately demonstrated that they are un-
able to pay costs as described in the federallaw," US District Judge Jones said.
The judge however denied the requestfor a pro bono counsel as the "defendants
are incarcerated in a foreign country and itwould be unusually difficult for the ap-pointed counsel to meet and otherwise com-petently represent Defendants under thecircumstances". -PTI
According to court docu-ments, the accused statedthey are ‘unable to en-gage an attorney in the USto defend (themselves)’
February 5, 2010India Post42
www.indiapost.com
HoroscopeARIES
Mar 21-Apr 20
February 5
to
February 11
In order for you to implement your
plans, you will need to confront some-
one you like very much. Luck is on
your side and as a result you will ac-
complish a lot this week. Journey will
be fruitful. No harm in going for a new
venture in partnership. You will receive
a very interesting phone call. Expenses
will stay under controls.
People prone to litigations should be
careful for next few weeks. Running
around will increase and the results
will come very slow. It is a favorable
week for job seekers as strong plan-
ets in sixth can help them achieve their
goals. You will meet a very interesting
person this week. There will an addi-
tion in the family soon.
You will not only receive good advice
but also get a chance to learn little di-
plomacy. You will attend an interesting
get together and win a small bet too.
There will be tension at work but you
will continue to stay strong and keep
doing your job right. Spouse may feel
exhausted and need extra rest. A long
distance trip is in the air.
TAURUS
Apr 21-May 20
LEO
Jul 23-Aug 22
SAGITTARIUSNov 23-Dec 22
VIRGO
Aug 23-Sept 22
CAPRICORN
Dec 23-Jan 19
GEMINI
May 21-Jun 20
LIBRA
Sept 23-Oct 22
CANCER
Jun 21-Jul 22
SCORPIO
Oct 23-Nov 22
AQUARIUS
Jan 20-Feb 18
PISCES
Feb 19-Mar 20
There will be few positive develop-
ments at work. You will be in line for adream assignment or promotion. An
overseas or long distance trip is alsoin the air. Health issues will continue
to bother. Ongoing legal matters willtake a favorable turn. You will get a
big check from an insurance companyin near future.
You will try to dodge unnecessary
stress at work as well at home. You
will be working really hard to obtain a
new assignment. You may need to use
some part of your reserves to meet your
commitments. It's not a bad idea to con-
tact the person who was always help-
ful in the past. You may decide not to go
to the party and focus on work.
If you play your cards right and ready
to accept the challenges, you will be
rolling into big money soon and for a
long time thereafter. You may also visit
a holy place with family this week.
Plans to buy a property for investment
purpose will need to be put on hold.
Some one who was close in the past
will try to come back in life.
Try to deal with issues diplomatically
rather than getting frustrated and an-
gry. You will try to stay focused on
real issues and try to forget about past
incidence. Few issues involving chil-
dren will get resolved. You will be in
touch with a fatherly figure for some
advice and encouraging words. Keep
an eye on credit cards.
You are really going to enjoy this week.
Choice will be in between opportunity
poles apart in benefits and risks. You
will have few other reasons to cel-
ebrate this week. You will hear from
an almost forgotten friend. Some of you
will start a new relationship with a
wonderful person. Bank balance will
shot up suddenly.
You may have to settle for lot less than
what you really deserve. Some one
from distance will call to give you some
good news. You will travel to a nice
area with family to meet few old
friends. People on the other side will
respond quickly to your mail. Spouse
will continue to give good ideas. Bank
balance will grow suddenly.
You will have couple of chance to
make some easy money. Expect less
pressure at work. Boss will appreci-
ate your work and send a favorable
report. You will make new friends and
enjoy a small get together this week. It
will be a wise idea to get rid of money
making stocks. You will hear good
news from distant places.
Do not feel disheartened if things do
not happen on time. If you stay focused
and have patience, you will accomplish
a lot soon. Planets help you make money
through stocks. You will get to meet
very old friends this week. You will be
studying some very useful material.
Spouse may feel little exhausted and
need extra rest for few days.
Presence of helpful planets in fifth
will bring big relief. Issues stuck for
some time and giving big headache
will clear and once again everything
will start moving in correct direction.
You will make few intell igence
choices in career. Expenses will
come under control finally. You will
finish some important paperwork.
Time to do away withreservations
Readers Write...www.indiapost.com
We need to go back to ourroots and redefine nation-
alism. The word "Hindu" meanspeople living by the side of theIndus River. It includes peopleof all religions, caste, and creeds.But, we have separated our iden-tities. Instead of calling our-selves Hindus, we identify our-selves on the basis of religion.The reality, of course, is that allof us are Hindu-Muslims, Hindu-Christians, Hindu-Parsis andHindu-Jews.
Our first identity is that of be-ing a Hindu, of living by the sideof the river Indus. All other identi-ties including religion, caste andcreed follow. We are all part ofHindustan; we need to make thisidentity our primary identity andpromote it to avoid future violence.
It is time to reverse the braindrain and invite the talent and in-telligence back. For starters, we
Disclaimer :- India Post does not endorse opinions expressed in the letters.
need to do away with the reserva-tion system. The system wasmaybe needed at that time, but nowdecades have past, andyesterday's child has grown up asgrandfather. The richer have got-ten poor and poor have gottenricher. Now, we are producinggreat scholars and IIT graduateswho have done the country proud.
Education is based on reasonand democracy. It is not basedon reservations or favoritism.The reservation system dividesthis principle. Many intelligentstudents are denied entry intoprestigious institutions. It is timeto do away with reservations.This will allow intelligent and cre-ative people to compete demo-cratically. Also, the system willproduce scholars, regardless ofreligion, caste and creed.
Nand KapoorFormer President
AIA Illinois
February 5, 2010 India Post 43www.indiapost.com
India Post February 5, 2010www.indiapost.com
Real Estate44
Realty Tidbits
Lock-in period for FDI in realestate to continue
NEW DELHI: India's financeministry has reportedly turneddown a proposal by the Depart-ment of Policy and Promotion(DIPP) that had suggested doingaway with the mandatory three-year lock-in period for FDI in thereal estate sector. The ministry'spoint of view is that a lock-in actsas a deterrent, checking specula-tion and protecting the sector fromthe sudden flight of capital.
This could be particularly trueat times of an unprecedented cri-sis, such as the global meltdownin 2008, when foreign institutionalinvestors pulled out nearly $5 bil-lion worth of equity investmentsbetween September and October2008. For sure, there is a big dif-ference between portfolio invest-ments or hedge fund money com-ing into the stock market andmoney that is being channeledinto the development of projectsthat by nature are of a muchlonger gestation.
However, the ministry's con-tention is that despite the correc-tion after the meltdown, real es-tate prices were not eroded to the
extent that values of some otherasset classes were, largely be-cause the lock-in prevented in-vestors from sending their moneyback home.
The ministry may have a point.After all there's no running awayfrom the fact that there could havebeen some volatility in real estate
prices had investors been allowedto repatriate their investments.However, given the fact that thereis tremendous interest in the In-dian real estate market and thatmost of the investments are of along-term nature, how muchmoney would have flowed out, isdebatable.
According to one estimate,nearly $20 billion worth of foreigninvestment has come into the In-
dian market since FDI was firstallowed. So, in any case, impos-ing a lock-in on the original in-vestment, which is between $5million for a joint venture and $10million for a 100% subsidiary, de-pending on the structure of theentity, should not bother long-term investors. As of now, it ap-
pears that the lock-in will be im-posed on a rolling basis-in otherwords, the investment amount willbe locked in for three years. Thatmay seem harsh but again,shouldn't hurt too much. All thatinvestors would need to do attheir global investment commit-tee meetings is to point out thatthe Indian government hasshifted the goal post. But thatshouldn't really make anyone too
uncomfortable about putting inmoney to work in India given itsreputation as one of the world'stop business destinations.
Some investors have been sug-gesting that the minimum spacerequirement of 50,000 sq feet, fora project to be eligible for foreigninvestment, should be reducedbecause smaller projects tend tolose out. There could be somemerit in that though it's hard toknow where to draw the line. Ac-tually, it's not such a bad ideagiven that there is a shortage ofgood projects in any case.
The other area where foreigninvestors have been looking foreasier regulations is when itcomes to selling fully developedproperty to foreign buyers. Thereare some assets, such as malls,which when fully constructed,can't be bought by a foreign in-vestor. There is a clear rationalefor this, namely that there is a fairchance that such purchaseswould fuel asset inflation andmoreover, the government be-lieves it would be tantamount totrading in land.
India 3rd mostpopular real estatedestination
According to survey conducted by Association of
Foreign Investors in Real Estate(AFIRE), India is 3rd behind Chinaand Brazil to attract foreign invest-ment in real estate.
China is heads and shouldersabove the others as the preferredcountry for Foreign investment inreal estate - In fact China is theonly country where more ForeignInvestors showed interest in buy-ing real estate in 2010 as comparedto 2009. All other countries in top5 on the contrary have showed asteep decline.
In 2009, more than 18% Foreigninvestors showed interest inIndia's real Estate, while this yearthe figure dropped to close to 11%.The other countries which showsharp decrease in interest in realestate acquisitions are Brazil,Mexico, Turkey and Russia.
SC allows construction inforest areas
NEW DELHI: Real Estate Developers and buildersin Mumbai have got a relief from the Supreme Courtwhich allowed them to go ahead with their projects inforest areas provided they have deposited the NetPresent Value (NPV) of the land with Maharashtra gov-ernment. The apex court recorded names of the devel-opers and builders, who have paid the NPV and haveconceded as an interim measure that the land in ques-tion are in forest areas, to commence the constructionactivity. -PTI
Unity Infra housingprojects in Kolkata,Bangalore
Construction firm UnityInfraprojects has said it will
develop two mixed-use housingprojects aimed at middle-to-highincome segments in Kolkata andBangalore with an investment ofaround Rs 500 crore. "We havealready acquired 37 acres of landin these two cities. Work on theprojects will kick off next quar-ter," company Chief OperatingOfficer Yogen Lal told PTI. Thetotal cost of developing theprojects would be around Rs 500crore, including Rs 90 crore foracquisition of land.
Unity Infraprojects has twowholly-owned subsidiaries -Unity Realty & Developers andUnity Infrastructure Assets.While the former is into real es-tate development, in the later thecompany takes up cash contractson Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)basis in various segments of theinfrastructure sector.
Parsvnath seeks Rs 100 crore refundN e w - D e l h i - b a s e d
Parsvnath Developersis in the process of rais-
ing Rs 100 crore by way of refundsfrom various state governmentsdue to cancelled or stalledprojects. The developer wants tomonetize the delayed projects
since it sees no possibility of go-ing through with them. It is thusseeking refunds on projects whereclear titles have not been obtained.The firm is seeking refunds to thetune of Rs 25 crore from a housingproject in Ranchi that could not becompleted due to the government'sinability to procure land.
Similarly, it is seeking Rs 19crore from the Malerkotla projectin Punjab by selling land. It hasalso written to the state govern-ment to surrender the film cityproject in Chandigarh for Rs 48crore, as well as the Mahim (in
Mumbai) bus terminal project forRs 8 crore. Last year, Parsvnathwas able to get refunds of overRs 200 crore from a group hous-ing project at Sector 116 in Noida.In an earlier statement, the devel-oper said it is looking at raisingRs 242 crore by March end bydiluting more stakes to private
equity (PE) investors at theproject level.
So far this fiscal, the developerhas raised Rs 115 crore from RedFort Capital in two tranches, Rs168 crore through a qualified in-stitutional placement (QIP) and Rs
75 crore from SUN-Apollo, a realestate private equity fund. Mean-while, the realtor is also looking toleverage its in-house constructionand purchase division for con-tracting business, along with ex-ternal construction contracts. It islooking at sales of Rs 310 crorefrom these external projects.
Several developers are lookingto exit the stalled projects sincethe government has been unableto provide clear land titles. Re-cently, DLF Developers got a li-cense fee refund of Rs 200 crorefrom the Haryana government,due to the obstacles in its com-mercial projects caused by slowexecution by the government au-thorities. Last year, another NewDelhi-based developer cancelleda land deal worth Rs 5,000 crorewith the Noida Authority in UttarPradesh as it was not able to makethe payments.
The other area where foreign investors havebeen looking for easier regulations is when itcomes to selling fully developed propertyto foreign buyers
Several developers are looking toexit the stalled projects since the governmenthas been unable to provideclear land titles
Music ShowVenue: Ramada Inn, 999 Route 1 South, North Brunswick,New JerseyTime: 6:30pmContact: 732-233-3499
Sun Feb 21• Abhishek's 7th annual Bridal ShowcaseVenue: Royal Albert's Palace, 1050 King Georges Road,Fords, New JerseyTime: 11am to 6pmContact: 917-440-5110
Sun Feb 28• HOLI HungamaVenue: Tawa Restaurant, 1357 Stelton Road, Pscayaway,New JerseyTime: 11am to 4pmContact: 732-763-0118
Sat March 27• Marathi Vishwa-Vasantotsav 2010Venue: Crosroads Middle School- South, 195 Major Road,Monmouth Junction, New JerseyTime: 3pm to 8pmContact: 732-355-9844
Sat March 27• 2010 Spring FestivalVenue: Ocean Township High School, Ocean, New JerseyTime: 3pm to 9pmContact: 732-801-4694
Sat May 29• Vishwa Marathi Natya SammelanVenue: Raritan Center, New Jersey Convention Center, 97Sunfield Avenue, Edison, New JerseyHighlights: The VMNS will be hosted and executed by theUS branch of ABMNP, led by Dr. Meena Nerurkar and herteam. It will have an attendance of some V.V.I.P.s in the enter-tainment industry, about 200 top notch artists fromMaharashtra, the chief minister of Maharashtra and govern-ment representatives.
Sat March 20• Naach RevolutionVenue: Union County Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street,Rahway, New JerseyTime: 6pm to 9pmContact: 732-763-0118
Every Sat (start from Sat Aug 8)• Gurukul Classes for ChildrenVenue: Sindhu Center, South CaliforniaTime: 2pm to 4pmContact: 818-541-1754 & 909-576-1114Highlights: Children between the ages of 5 and 18. Chil-dren will be taught the Fundamentals of Hinduism, Prayers,Shlokas, Bhajans and Values of our culture.
Sat Feb 6• Russell Peters's Stand Up
Comedy ShowVenue: Nokia Theatre, 777 Chick Hearn Ct, Los AngelesTime: 8pmContact: (213) 763-6020
Sat Feb 6,13,20 and 27• Reservoir Bitches," a staged version
of Quentin Tarantino's classicVenue: The Next Stage Theatre in Hollywood, 1523 N. LABrea Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028Time: 8pmTickets: $25 @ the door, $20 if you reserved a ticket, $15if you buy them prior
Wed Feb 10• Inner EngineeringVenue: Renaissance Agoura Hills Hotel, 30100 AgouraRoad, Agoura Hills, CaliforniaContact: 866-424-ISHA
Tues Feb 9
• A Spiritual EveningVenue: Devon Community Bank - Lower Level, 6445 NorthWestern Avenue, Chicago, IllinoisTime: 7pm to 9pmContact: 630-788-2593
Sat Feb 13• Valentine PartyVenue: The Best Westren Hotel, 5105 S. Howell AvenueAirport, Milwaukee, WisconsinTime: 8:30pm to 1amContact: 414-336-5982
Wed Feb 17• Festival OfferVenue: Chantilly, 42856 Golf View Dr, Chantilly, IllinoisContact: 703-340-6222
Fri Feb 19• Rasa: Heart and SoulVenue: Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne,Chicago, IllinoisTime: 7:30pmContact: 773-363-9303
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Upcoming
Sat Feb 6• Thyagaraja AradhanaVenue: Ps 115, 8051 261st St, Floral Park, New YorkTime: 3pmContact: [email protected]: This will consist of group singing of thePancharatna Krithis, followed by three one hour concertsby our local artists Smt. Saavitri Ramanand, Smt. MeenaMalladi and Smt. Shobana Raghavan. They will also beaccompanied by local artists Sri.Balaskandan on the vio-lin, Sri. Murali Balachandran on mridangam andSri.Balaganesh on the morsing.
Thurs Feb 11• Valentine Salon PartyVenue: Kush, 191 Chrystie, New York City, New YorkContact: (212) 677-7328
Fri Feb 12• Sri Sri Yoga CourseVenue : Sari's Residence, 171 Lawrence Avenue,Eastchester, New YorkTime: 6:30pmContact: 914-482-1834
Sat Feb 13• The PADLOCK & KEY Singles PartyVenue: KISS & FLY, 409 West 13th Street, Between 9thAve & Washington, New YorkTime: 7pm to 11:30pmContact: 973-650-2172
Sat Feb 27• Mohamana (Infatuated Love)Venue: Simple Studios, 134 West 29th street, NYCTime: 7pmContact: (800) 838-3006
Sat March 6• Bharata Natyam Student Recital 2010Venue: City Center Studios, 130 West 56th street, studio#3, NYCContact: (917) 214-6466
Sat May 1• Dancing STAR ka DamakaVenue: Shreenath Enterprise Inc, 220-15, 92 ave queensvillage, New YorkTime: 7pmContact: 347-513-8526
Sat Feb 6• Bengali Samaj Cultural ProgramVenue: Hindu Temple, Virginia Beach, Virginia, WDCTime: 4pm to 10pmContact: 757-382-7777
Fri Feb 12• Maha ShivratriVenue: Shri Mangal Mandir, 17110 New HampshireAvenue, Silver Spring, MarylandContact: (301) 421-0985
Sat Feb 13• Bollywood 2 Night *Valentines Edition*Venue: Panache, 1725 DeSales St NW - Washington DCTime: 10pm to 3amContact: 202-403-4343
Wed Feb 17• Festival OfferVenue: Chantilly, 42856 Golf View Dr, Chantilly, Districtof ColumbiaContact: 703-340-6222
WASHINGTON DC
Upcoming
Fri Feb 4• Young Audiences School
Demonstration/PerformanceVenue: Santa Rita School, 700 Los Altos Avenue, LA, CATime: 10:30amContact: (408) 871-5959
Sat Feb 6• Bollywood BerkeleyVenue: Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley,CaliforniaContact: (949) 439-5365
Sun Feb 7• Thyagaraja Aradhana DayVenue: India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St,Milpitas, CaliforniaTime: 8:30amContact: (408) 300-0189
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India Post 49February 5, 2010
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I have nothing new to teachthe world. Truth and Nonvio-lence are as old as the hills. All
I have done is to try experimentsin both on as vast a scale as I could.In doing so I have sometimes erredand learnt by my errors. Life andits problems have thus become tome so many experiments in thepractice of truth and nonviolence.
As a Jain muni once rightlysaid, I was not so much a votaryof ahimsa as I was of truth, and Iput the latter in the first place andthe former in the second. For, ashe put it, I was capable of sacrific-ing nonviolence for the sake ofTruth. In fact it was in the courseof my pursuit of truth that I dis-covered nonviolence.
Ahimsa and Truth are so inter-twined that it is practically impos-
The whole of the spirituallife is a gradual refine-ment or purification andeducation of the entirehuman nature so that itloses its movement in allother directions andstarts taking on an as-cending vertical direction.Once the human natureis given an upward turn,one simultaneously startsawakening the sleepingDivinity with the help of allone's spiritual practices.-Swami Chidananda
All progress is precari-ous, and the solution ofone problem brings usface to face with an-other problem.
-Martin LutherKing, Jr.
Meditat ion dependsupon the strength ofmind. It must be un-ceasing even whenone is engaged in work.Particular time for it ismeant for novices.
-Sri RamanaMaharshi
One person who hasmastered life is betterthan a thousand per-sons who have mas-tered only the contentsof books, but no onecan get anything out oflife without God.
-Meister Eckhart
A table, a chair, a bowlof fruit and a violin;what else does a manneed to be happy?
-Albert Einstein
Have compassion foral l beings, r ich andpoor alike; each hastheir suffering. Somesuffer too much, otherstoo little.
-Buddha
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Philosophy
DR KRISHNA BHATTA
(Cont'd from last week)
Thoughts or events that leadto generation of thoughtsare generally neutral. We
provide them energy (negative orpositive) to go further. It is alsoimportant to remember that posi-tive things generally happenaround positive people. It is notthat negative things do not hap-pen to such people. The incidenceof negative phenomenon aroundsuch people is less.
ExampleLet us take a simple example. You
are playing golf and you hit a ball.The ball slices and disappears in thewoods. You are frustrated. Howcould this have happened to you?You throw your clubs and startswearing. You take a drop and hitthe next ball. This one goes astrayas well. You have lost your center.You are still in an upset mode. Youare not back to your happy point.
The same event could be pro-
cessed in a positive fashion. Theball has gone to the woods. Howdo I recover from it? I should getmy next shot right. A good friend ofmine, Brian Jumper, plays good golf.I asked him for some tips and hesaid, "It is all mental." He knows itis not all mental but what he is try-ing to tell is that mind plays a greatrole in the game of golf.
RealizationIt is important to realize that the
processing of thoughts should beperformed without letting thethought getting attached to you.You need to pick up any randomthought that comes to your mindand process it.
Processing requires energy fromyou. Prior to processing, it was justa thought. It is like a wild beautifulflower in a jungle. It just exists.Once a man comes near the flower,a new poetry arises.
Making of a poem howevernatural, requires energy. Anotherman may want to dig the flowerplant and destroy nature in the pro-
cess. And yet another man maysmoke his cigarette and throw care-lessly in the wild forest which mightstart a wild fire. That wild fire maycause destruction and also costmoney and lives in the process.
What is the point?The point I am trying to make
here is the kind of energy you pro-vide in the processing the
thoughts is important. Positiveenergy is what you need to use inprocessing these thoughts inthese exercises. Since these exer-cises are meditative exercises,there may be inadvertent material-ization of your thought processes.
Therefore it is important thatyou do not provide negative en-ergy to any thoughts during theseexercises. Otherwise, you mightcause the wild fire effect in someform or the other.
Also, since you will be work-ing on certain thoughts intenselyfor approximately 5-10 minutes,you might also affect or pollute theuniversal thought pool if you im-
Processing of thoughtswith positive energy
speech are in proper co-ordina-tion. But it is always a case ofintense mental struggle.
Having flung aside the sword,there is nothing except the cupof love which I can offer to thosewho oppose me. It is by offeringthat cup that I expect to drawthem close to me.
I cannot think of permanentenmity between man and man andbelieving as I do in the theory ofrebirth, I live in the hope that, ifnot in this birth, in some otherbirth, I shall be able to hug all hu-manity in friendly embrace.
This is the path of ahimsa. Itmay entail continuous sufferingand the cultivating of endless pa-tience. Thus step by step welearn how to make friends withall the world; we realize the great-ness of God-or Truth.
Our peace of mind increasesin spite of suffering; we becomebraver and more enterprising; weunderstand more clearly the dif-ference between what is everlast-ing and what is not; we learnhow to distinguish between whatis our duty and what is not.
Complied from writings ofMahatma Gandhi whose 62nddeath anniversary was ob-served on January 30.
Truth, Ahimsatwo sides ofsame coin
MAHATMA GANDHI
sible to disentangle and separatethem. They are like the two sides ofa coin, or rather a smooth unstampedmetallic disc. Who can say, which isthe obverse, and which the reverse?
Nevertheless, ahimsa is themeans; Truth is the end. Meansto be means must always be withinour reach, and so ahimsa is oursupreme duty. If we take care of
the means, we are bound to reachthe end sooner or later. When oncewe have grasped this point, finalvictory is beyond question.
Whatever difficulties we en-counter, whatever apparent re-verses we sustain, we may notgive up the quest for Truth whichalone is, being God Himself.
The path of Truth is as narrowas it is straight. Even so is that ofahimsa. It is like balancing oneself
on the edge of a sword. By con-centration an acrobat can walk ona rope. But the concentration re-quired to tread the path of Truthand ahimsa is far greater.
The slightest inattention bringsone tumbling to the ground. Onecan realize Truth and ahimsa onlyby ceaseless striving.
It takes a fairly strenuous course
of training to attain to a mental stateof nonviolence. In daily life it hasto be a course of discipline thoughone may not like it, like for instance,the life of a soldier.
But I agree that unless there ishearty cooperation of the mind,the mere outward observance willbe simply a mask, harmful both tothe man himself and others.
The perfect state is reachedonly when mind and body and
part lots of negative energy to thatparticular thought.
Positive ThinkingMost people understand what
positive thinking is. They all wantto bring this to their lives, but arenot able to do it when they wantto. The reason is that they are notused to doing so. Exercise one ismeant to help you know what kind
of thoughts you currently haveand how you currently processyour thoughts.
This is how you have been do-ing it all your life. Any change takestime and practice. These half-hourexercises are going to provide youa platform for positive thinking. Ifyou practice half-hour for severalmonths, you walk around with posi-tive energy and that is what you willhave whenever any thought or eventhappens around you.
Even negative thoughts can bepracticed in a positive fashion.There is no thought or event thatdoes not have a positive side to it.
(To be continued)
If you practice half-hour for several months, youwalk around with positive energy and that iswhat you will have whenever any thought orevent happens around you
Whatever difficultieswe encounter,whatever apparentreverses we sustain,we may not give upthe quest for Truth
50 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com
February 5, 2010India Post
India Post
Facing up to India's 'twofront' dilemma
FIRDAUS AHMED
The parade down theRajpath on India's sixtiethRepublic Day showcased
its growing power, signified bestby the replica of INS Arihant, thethird leg of its 'triad' launched bythe Prime Minister in the preced-ing year. While operationalizationwill take up to mid-decade, by thenIndia would have acquired Agnimissiles with reach enough to 'takeout' cities on China's eastern seaboard perhaps with H-Bombs, de-spite questions over the existenceof these last year.
With the mountain 'strike corps'being raising having stabilized bythen, India would be in a positionto parlay with China from a posi-tion of symmetry. The expectationis that this would give it the confi-
dence to enter into the necessary'give and take' that negotiationsimply. Presently, it does not havethe internal political capital.
However, consequential for theinterim is its relationship with Pa-kistan, presently on 'pause'. India'sstrategy dating to the 1980s of hik-ing the defense imbalance in itsfavor to such an extent that Paki-stan falls off as a challenger hasnot met with success so far.
The economic problems of the90s set back the endeavor by adecade. But at the start of this de-cade, India has the requisite eco-nomic ballast to push this strat-egy; de-hyphenation already hav-ing taken place over the last one.
The current stridency inPakistan's view of India seeminglyindicates increasing success forthis strategy. The expectation isthat eventually the Pakistan Army,attuned to the power imbalance,would acknowledge it and realis-tically 'throw in the towel'.
In the coming decade securityis to be so managed as to material-ize this outcome on both fronts.The reference to 'two front' warcan be explained as India's attempt
at arriving at conventional deter-rence capabilities, placing it in aposition of strength in the 'worstcase' scenario. Pakistan's utility asa surrogate for China would end.This may open up future possi-bilities by end decade in whichSouth Asia as a unified, if not uni-tary, strategic entity balancesChina, with or without ballast ofan external power.
There are two problems withthis grand strategy. One is its over-reliance on power and second isthat it does not take into accountseveral problem areas that couldderail it.
It amounts to a truism that powerunder grids the world order. Thisreliance on power is therefore ex-plicable. The paradox is that
though the utility of power is indeterrence, it nevertheless ends upbeing used. Just as in the early partof last century, in this century toothe argument persists that global-ization induced thicker economicrelations would help prevent war.The expectation was belied by theFirst World War. That too was aperiod of rising new powers.
Learning would have it thatavoiding a like eventuality entailsdeparting from over-reliance onpower. The irony is that the eco-nomic underpinning of power is it-self endangered. Finally when In-dia has much to lose, it is all beingplaced at stake in a power gamble.
Though a globalized world, itremains very much a nuclear onetoo. Therefore, more needs doingwith more imagination and ur-gency along other planes such asinstitutionalizing inter-relation-ships and Asian security architec-tures.
Secondly, Pakistan has man-aged to under-cut the Indian strat-egy for the past three decades.Over the 80s and 90s, it lent itselfto US purposes in Afghanistan. Inthe 90s, India was restricted by the
shift to liberalization and by proxywar. Pakistan has managed to check-mate Indian rise, manifest in theconventional plane, on the sub-conventional and nuclear planes.
How its counter plays out thisdecade would determine whetherIndia reaches decade end asplanned. Pakistan will lend itselfto the Chinese game plan keepingalive India's 'two front' dilemma.Creating the ability to cope doesnot help India transcend it, butmaterializes it instead.
Underlying grand strategy isthe assumption that India's grow-ing proximity with the US wouldhelp. To close the military gap withChina, K Subrahmanyam advo-cates, "India is seen as one of thekey partners for the US to reshape
the 21st century. The US hasagreed to sell high technologydefense equipment to India whileit is not likely to sell them to China,its main rival in the coming de-cades."
With respect to Pakistan, India'sactions, at variance with what itprofesses, seem to indicate a per-verse hope of the situation in AfPakdeteriorating to the extent that theUS requires Indian assistance,thereby raising its profile, indis-pensability and bargaining power.
A conclusion from this briefsurvey is that India is honing itspower capacities hoping to makeup any short fall by leaning on theUS. This would render it vulner-able to shocks as the internationalorder transits decisively away fromthe post Cold War unipolar mo-ment.
Success in this requires deftfootwork. Commentary on the re-cent changeover of the NSA doesnot infuse confidence that Indiacan manage this. With institutionaland internal incapacities remain-ing, India requires postponing itstryst by another decade.
INS Arihant
Security threats
The celebrations for the 61st Republic Day of India were heldamid great concern for security. There have been a numberof intelligence inputs and alerts indicating that the next ter-
rorist attack from across the border is imminent. A memo from Cen-ter for Preventive Action Contingency Planning in Washingtonsays the "immediate risk of terrorism may actually increase if NewDelhi and Islamabad make progress on resolving their differencesor if Pakistan-based terrorists are effectively backed into a corner."US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was on a visit to NewDelhi, while commending India's restraint after the 26/11 Mumbaiattacks, observed that Indian patience will be limited if there was tobe another attack.
If there has not been another attack since 26/11, it has to beattributed to chance, says India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram,whose ministry has tightened up internal security with some strongmeasures. It may not have been for want of trying. The terrorist hasto succeed only once, he said. The terrorist also has the advantageof knowing when the security is tight and he waits for the momentwhen it is lax.
Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express says if there has not been an-other attack, it is because someone in Pakistan has put a foot on thevalve considering the unfavorable international reputation of thatcountry. But this has hardly fazed the rulers of Pakistan. PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilani brazenly told Robert Gates that hisgovernment could not prevent another 26/11 on Indian soil. Heannounced rather proudly that if Pakistan could not prevent terrorattacks on its own soil, how could it guarantee such tragedies won'trecur on Indian territory!
In any other country such admission of inability to govern wouldhave earned an immediate sack. To be unable to govern properly isone thing but to declare it in the tone of a triumph can happen only inPakistan. And not a voice has been raised against such culpability.
Poor governance is an issue in India also. But it is acknowl-edged as such and there are demands that the politicians under-stand that their business is to govern and not merely to stick totheir chairs. In an article on the occasion of Republic Day, historianRamchandra Guha has compared the present state of the nationwith that in 1950 when the Constitution came into effect. He says,"In 1947, when the nation was born, civil society was weak and theprivate sector risk-averse. The centre held, and a democratic con-stitution came into being, only because the energy and capabilityof the state compensated for the limitations of the other two sec-tors. Now 60 years later, we have a dynamic private sector and anenergetic civil society. It is the state that is wanting."
However, the state of Pakistan seems to revel in its lack of com-petence to govern. This topsy turvy situation is the nightmare ofthe world, including that of the US which finds itself in a bind whiledealing with Pakistan. Our neighbor seems to function on the prin-ciple that "if we are insecure because of terrorism, we shall see thatyou also feel equally, if not more, insecure."
The issue of security underlies the omission of Pakistani cricketplayers from the recent IPL auction also. Chidambaram has criti-cized the IPL for doing a "disservice to cricket" by excluding Paki-stani players and if the belated moves of IPL commissioner workout, a few Pakistani players may still be accommodated. This mightassuage the terrorists bent on disrupting all international events inIndia and they may desist for a while. But Chidambaram himself willbe on test ensuring security for these Pakistanis in this vitiatedatmosphere.
Though a globalizedworld, it remains verymuch a nuclear onetoo. Therefore, moreneeds doing withmore imaginationand urgency alongother planes such asinstitutionalizing inter-relationships andAsian securityarchitectures
