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Vol.9 No. 7 June 11-17, 2016 80 Cents
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8 standing ovations,
68 clappings
After Hillary Clinton clinched the partys nomination for
President earlier this week, the party prevailed upon her
primary rival Bernie Sanders to fall in line. (Photo : AP)
A day after his fruitful meeting with President Obama in the Oval
Office, Prime Minister Narendra Modis address to the US Congress
impressed all, even winning over some of his critics on Capitol Hill.
Obama endorses
Hillary, Sanders T
to bow out
By Parveen Chopra
in Washington, DC
Washington: In wellchore
ographed moves Thursday,
the Demo crat ic party
closed ranks to prop up the
presumptive presidential
nominee Hillary Clinton.
Even as President Obama
of fered a we b video
endorsement of his former
Secretary of State, her pri
mary rival Bernie Sanders
met him in White House
and vowed to prevent
Republican Donald Trump
from becoming the US pres
ident. Sanders said he and
Hillary Clinton would speak
soon about how to "work
together" to defeat Trump.
T houg h he has not yet
endorsed Hillary, who
amassed enough delegates
to clinch the nomination, he
may of ficially concede the
race at a rally planned in
Washington DC, where the
last Democratic primary is
scheduled for Tuesday.
As the primary season
was all but over, the notion
of party unity had become
Even as Obama gets ready

to campaign for Hillary,
the unity in Democratic
party is in sharp contrast
to the disarray in GOP,
where many leaders feel
alienated by Trumps
controversial policies
or remarks.
a crucial topic in the
Democratic field. The party
establishment finally pre
vailed. This was in sharp
contrast to the disarray in
GOP, where many leaders
are looking in dismay at
Trumps antics, the most
recent being his asking
Mexican heritage judge to
recuse himself from hear
ing the case of Trump
University because the
Republican presumptive
nominee is building a wall
on Americas border on the
south.
More Hillary, Trump stories

on pages 910.
Continued on page 4
More stories on Modi in
Washington, pages 1517
Narendra Modi became the fifth Indian prime minister to address the US Congress.
By SATimes Team
o the press persons like our

team from The South Asian
Times, a copy was given in
advance of Prime Minister
Narendra Modis speech to the
joint meeting of the Senate and
House of Representatives in the
Capitol on Wednesday. But it was
onceinalifetime experience of lis
tening to him in person in the
august hall as he addressed the
most powerful group of people on
earth. We could spot many famil
iar faces and boldface names.
Besides Vice President Joe Biden
and Speaker Paul Ryan sitting
After Modis speech, many US lawmakers swarmed

around the leader of the largest democracy in the world.
Meeting Tuesday in White House, President
Obama and PM Modi agreed to work together 8
for world peace and security. (Photos: PIB)
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June 11-17, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
June 11-17, 2016
Harris wins primary for Senate; Ami

Bera, Ro Khanna lead in House races
New York: Indian American
California Attorney General
Kamala Harris emerged victori
ous on primary election night
June 7 in her race to capture
Californias open U.S. Senate
seat, winning 40 percent of the
vote in a race crowded with 36
contenders.
Harriss strongest opponent
L o r e t t a S a n ch e z , a l s o a
Democrat captured 16 percent
of the vote with 100 percent of
ballots counted. Californias sys
tem allows the toptwo vote get
ters in the primary election to
capture a spot for the general
election on Nov. 8.
One of the hottest contested
seats was in Californias 17th
Congressional District, with Ro
Khanna in his second run for the
seat against incumbent Mike
Honda. With all ballots counted,
Khanna emerged with a 186
vote lead over Honda, capturing
38.3 percent of the vote to
PM Modi paying homage at Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial

at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington on June 6.
IndianAmerican astronaut Kalpana Chawla perished in the shuttle
crash in 2003. Modi interacted with families of Chawla
and astronaut Sunita Williams.(Photo: Twitter)
Mexico backs India on NSG
Kamala Harris is standing for US Senator California Ami Bera,

sitting Congressman, and Ro Khanna are vying for US House seats
from California. (File photos)
Hondas
38.1
percent.
Californias 7th Congressional
district seat, where Rep. Ami
Bera, a Democrat is seeking his
third term in of fice, faced of f
against Sacramento Sherif f
Scott Jones, a Republican.

Bera prevailed in the June 7
primary, capturing 53 percent
of the vote. He and Jones will
both advance to the Nov. 8 elec
tion.
Mexico City/New Delhi: India's diplomatic efforts to gain entry to the exclu
sive Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) appear to be gaining traction after it
bagged crucial support from Switzerland and Mexico, two countries that had
reservations on India's membership to the 48member club.
The support from Mexico came on Wednesday during PM Narendra Modi's
vehour working visit to Mexico City during which President Enrique Pea
Nieto extended his country's support, saying Mexico supports "positively and
constructively India's membership of the NSG". The backing from Switzerland
came on June 6, during Modi's stopover in Geneva. The two approvals, in tan
dem with the US' strong backing, appear to have strengthened India's bid for
membership to the bloc that regulates global nuclear commerce.
USbased Indian researchers shocked by UCLA shooting

Los Angeles: Shocked
at the shooting inci
dent in the prestigious
University
of
California
Los
Angeles (UCLA), some
Indian researchers in
the US have said they
were "discomted" to
learn Indian doctoral
student Mainak Sarkar
was identied as the
killer of a professor,
and his own wife.
Researcher Sohini
Ray who was in "lock
Besides his professor at UCLA, Mainak Sarkar also killed his
down" for around two
estranged wife, Ashley Hasti. (Facebook picture)
hours along with her
lab mates in a UCLA building said taking academic community.
"It was shocking to learn that something
someone's life was not justiable.
"It's a very sad affair. We do not know of that sort had happened in an education
what transpired internally but taking al institution. I felt a bit discomted to
someone's life is not just iable and learn he was an Indian," Gangopadhyay
whether the person had tried to solve the said.
Sarkar, 38, an IIT Kharagpur graduate,
problem through another method before
fatally shot engineering professor William
taking the drastic step is not clear.
Not just as a Bengali but as an Indian, I Klug, 39, in his ofce at the UCLA campus
last week. Before killing Klug, Sarkar also
feel sad," Ray told a local TV channel.
According to Sriparna Gangopadhyay, a killed his wife Ashley Hasti, who was
scientist at the University of California, found dead in Brooklyn Park, in
IANS
the report sent shock waves through the Minnesota.
PhD scene not so grim

First Person
By Rinki Kapoor
fter the horrible details emerged of
Mainak Sarkar being the UCLA shoot
er, a section of the media took the
opportunity to paint a gloomy picture of
Indian scholars pursuing higher studies in
America, but that is an old fashioned, stereo
typical impression about Indians doing PhD
here. There certainly are students, mainly
engineers, from small towns in India all
they do is work really long hours, and hang
out with bunch of other Indian guys.
However, in top universities, life is not as
grim. Also, one article in a leading Indian
daily wrote that PhD students start looking
for jobs in their third year. That is not cor
rect, as we all know nishing PhD takes ve
years at least.
Given the interminable problems Sarkar
had with his adviser whom he killed, I agree
that it is very rare to have a good student
PhD mentor relationship or one which could
be considered optimum by both parties. I
personally didn't have a good advisor, but
then you make the best of what you have
and learn from that. I came to the US almost

10 years ago to pursue my PhD in
Chemistry from Northwestern University.
The journey was exciting, challenging, and
intimidating at times. I was fortunate to n
ish my PhD in less than 5 years in spite of
changing from Northwestern to Stanford
University and changing three departments
Chemistry to Chemical and Systems
Biology to Biophysics. These moves were
denitely not something I was expecting
when I moved to the US from India, and cer
tainly the process at times was disturbing
and nerveracking. Nevertheless, it made me
a stronger person and a better scientist.
I was fortunate to be around people who
were great mentors and my selfmotivation
led me into a job as a scientist in a medical
diagnostics company within ve years of
moving to the US. Other than some ups and
downs, which most students face during
their PhD program, my experience was posi
tive as studying at Stanford I got a platform
to explore mediums outside my specializa
tion, which were not accessible during my
bache lors and masters degree at St
Stephen's in India.
The writer did her PhD from Stanford.
June 11-17, 2016
TURN PAGE
Modi's address on Capitol Hill

impresses Congressmen, critics
Washington: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his over
fourhour visit to the US Capitol,
established personal rapport with
top lawmakers and seems to have
won over some of his critics with
his speech to the joint meeting of
the US Congress.
"With your sense of humor and
the way you delivered that speech, I
think really identifies why we have
such close ties," Senator Bob
Corker, Chairman of the powerful
Senate Foreign Relations commit
tee, said as he welcomed Modi dur
ing a Congressional reception host
ed in his honor.
"The fact is that our political,
strategic and economic ties are bet
ter than they have ever been. We
know that these are going to be
even greater. While our ties are

with the people of India, we know
that with you as their leader the
possibilities are an alltime high,"
Corker said.
Less than a month ago, Corker
during a Congressional hearing was
highly critical over the pace of
Indias economic reforms, human
rights situation and religious free
dom, and slammed Obama
Administration for not being "bru
tally honest" in its conversation
with Modis government.
Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking
Member of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, who for the
past two weeks has been raising the
issue of human rights and slavery in
India, said that Modi has now
"gained a lot of friends" in the
Congress.
Referring to Modi's call for India
and the US working together for the
benefit of the world, Cardin said
this was a very powerful message.
"His presence, the amount of time
he spent and his own personality is
very helpful in getting friends here
in America," he told PTI.
The Speaker of the US House of
Representative Paul Ryan and sev
eral top Congressional leaders
received Modi in the Capitol.
"He (Modi) spoke e loquently
about the importance of a strong
USIndia relationship to promoting
peace and freedom around the
globe," Ryan said in a statement.
"We understand that India is in a
tough neighborhood, but we also
understand that with your words
here today, that you have, with that

symphony that you spoke of, set a
new note," said Congressman Ed
Royce, Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee.
Congressman Elliot Enge l,
Ranking Member of the House
Foreign Af fairs Committee, said,
"The IndianAmerican community
has brought such incredible energy
to this relationship. It's the secret
weapon for both countries, driving
stronger engagement and helping
keep things on track during chal
lenging times.
"So Mr. Prime Minister, your visit
will energize this work even further.
And I'm confident that Congress
will remain focused on India as an
anchor of stability in the region and
a key American partner in Asia."
USINPAC celebrates Modis visit Many yoga events planned for New York
Washington: With the Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
visiting the US capital this week,
USINPAC (US India Polit ical
Action Committee) organized a
series of events to celebrate the
success of years of advocacy by
Indian Americans and Members
of Congress in strengthening ties
between the worlds largest
democracies.
A community reception was
held on June 8 at the Rayburn
House Office building, where key
personalities were felicitated, who
were vital in boosting economic
and strategic relations between
the two nat ions in the past
decade.
The reception was attended by
many prominent Members of the
US Congress and leading Indian
Americans. To hig hlig ht the

progress in USIndia relations,
USINPAC partnered with NewsX
(Indias leading 24hour English
News Channel) to host interviews
pertaining to the remarkable
progress between the two nations.
In the midst of bilateral bon
homie Sanjay Puri, Chairman of
USINPAC remarked, I look for
ward with confidence. We have
tremendous energy going into
this new phase. India and the US
together will make the world
safer and more prosperous."
USINPAC works on issues that
concern the Indian community. It
supports candidates for local,
state and federal of fice and
encourages political participation
by the Indian American
community.
New York: To mark the Second International Day of Yoga on June 21, in
association with the local Indian community and associations, the
Consulate General of India would be organizing a series of Yoga related
events in and around New York from 10th 28th June, it was announced
at aa press conference on Wednesday.
The Consulate will be partnering with more than 25 organizations/
associations to arrange these events. Details of the events are given in
the IDY brochures as well as on Consulate's website. Our main partners
for the events are Queens Museum, Mallakhamb Federation USA, The
Art of Living Foundation, Hindu Swayam Sevak (HSS), Federation of
Indian Association (FIA) Ohio, Indian Cultural Association of North
America, Sahaja Yoga, The Hindu Temple of North America, World Yoga
Community Inc., New England International Day of Yoga, Times Square,
Indian American Association of Westchester, EWR International Airport,
JFK International Airport, South Asian Art Council and Sahaja Yoga
Pennsylvania Chapter, the press relase from the consulate read. The
Government of India has adopted IDY Logos and a Common Yoga
Protocol, a booklet intended to give a brief overview about Yoga and
Yogic practices in order to orient the readers towards comprehensive
health for an individual and the community. The details are available on
www.indiacgny.org.
Chairman and Co-Founder

Kamlesh C. Mehta
Associate Editors:
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull
Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
President: Arjit Mehta
8 standing ovations,
68 clappings
Continued from page 1
behind Modi on the rostrum, we
could spot Ted Cruz, Nancy Pelosi,
Harry Reid, Ami Bera, Tulsi
Gabbard, and many senators and
Congressmen from New York.
In his 45minute speech, deliv
ered confidently in English, Modi
went over the upsw ing in the
IndiaUS relations, and made a
case for building still stronger
cooperation on defense and trade.
"Many of you also believe that a
stronger and prosperous India is in
America's strategic interest," he
said.
What came as a surprise to us
initially was that Modi had barely
started when the first applause
came. Then another, and another.
Keeping a count, we noted 8 stand
ing ovations and 68 clappings
from the august audience. Feeling
a surge of emotion a couple of
times, for example when Modi
complimented Indian American
CEOs (Indra Nooyi and Ajay Banga
were in the visitors gallery), and
Spelling Bee champions (the cur
rent cochampions too were there),
I had to stop myself from applaud
ing too because those in the press
gallery were expressly told not to
clap. After Mo dis memorable
speech, which impressed even
some of his critics among US law
makers, many Senators and
Congressmen swarmed around the
Indian PM who was wearing his
trademark kurtachooridar and
jacket. Some were seeking auto
graphs and selfies, others content
with shaking hands with the leader
of the largest democracy in the
world. On conspicuous omission in
Modis over 3000word speech was
names of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira
Gandhi and Rajiv and their contri
butions to India even as he referred
to Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma
Gandhi and Ambedkar in the con
text of IndiaUS relations and the
Indias march of modernity.
Jaipur (India) Bureau

Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
IANS Washington Bureau

Arun Kumar
arun.kumar@ians,in
Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Printing: Five Star Printing, NY
Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra

Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah
Chief Operating Officer:

Ginsmon P. Zacharia
P: 516 776 7061
ginsmon@hotmail.com
West Coast Correspondent

Pooja Jain,
Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

Bhagwati Creations,
Dhiraj Kumar
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

P : 516.710.0508
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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US returns over 200 artifacts worth

more than $100 million to India
Washington, DC: The US returned over

200 cultural artifacts estimated at $100
million to India at a ceremony, attended
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at
Washington DC.
For some, these artifacts may be meas
ured in monetary terms but for us this is
beyond that. Its a part of our culture and
heritage, the Prime Minister said at the
ceremony held at the Blair House.
Items returned included religious stat
ues, bronzes and terra cotta pieces, some
dating back 2,000 years, looted from
some of Indias most treasured religious
sites.
Among the pieces returned is a statue of
Saint Manikkavichavakar, a Hindu mystic
and poet from the Chola period (circa
850 AD to 1250 AD) stolen from the
Sivan Temple in Chennai, which is valued
at $1.5 million.
Also included in the collection is a
bronze sculpture of the Hindu go d
Ganesh estimated to be 1,000yearold.
T he artifacts that speak to Indias
astounding history and beautiful culture
are beginning their journey home, US
Attorney General Loretta E Lynch said.
It is my hope and the hope of the
American people that this repatriation
will serve as a sign of our great respect
for Indias culture; our deep admiration
for its people; and our sincere apprecia
June 11-17, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
US Attorney General Loretta E Lynch seen

with Prime Minister Modi at the ceremony
held at Blair House, Washington DC.
(Photo: PIB)
tion for the ties between our nations, she
said.
Protecting the cultural heritage of our
global community is important work and
we are committed to identifying and
returning these priceless items to their
countries of origin and rightful owners,
said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh
Johnson said in a statement.
Its the responsibility of law enforce
ment worldwide to ensure criminal smug
gling organizations do not profit from the
theft of these culturally and historically
valuable items, he said.
The majority of the pieces repatriated in

the ceremony were seized during
Operation Hidden Idol, an investigation
that began in 2007 after Home land
Security Investigations (HIS) special
agents received a tip about a shipment of
seven crates destined for the US manifest
ed as marble garden table sets.
Examination of the shipment in ques
tion revealed numerous antiquities. This
shipment was imported by Subhash
Kapoor, owner of Art of the Past Gallery,
who awaits trial in India.
HSIs Operation Hidden Idol focused on
the activities of former New Yorkbased
art dealer Kapoor, currently in custody in
India awaiting trial for allegedly looting
tens of millions of dollars worth of rare
antiquities from several nations, a media
release said.
Art ifacts were also found in the
Honolulu Museum and Peabody Essex,
who promptly partnered with HSI to sur
render illicit cultural property stemming
from Kapoor.
HSI special agents have executed a
series of search warrants target ing
Kapoors New York City gallery, along
with warehouses and storage facilities
linked to the dealer.
Additionally, five individuals have been
arrested in the US for their role in the
scheme, a media release said.
NJ Education Board
includes 19 Hindu
festivals in holiday list
New Jersey: In its recently adopted resolu
tion"T he List of Re ligious Holidays
Permitting Student Absence from School"
New Jersey State Board of Education (NJSBE)
has listed 19 Hindu festivals.
It included four festivals in October itself,
including Navaratri, which alone is listed for
ten days.
This list of religious holidays on which it
shall be mandatory to excuse a student
includes the Hindu festivals of Guru Purnima,
Naga Panchami, Raksha Bandhan, Krishna
Janmashtami, Ganesha Chaturthi, Onam,
Navaratri, Duserra, Diwali, Goverdhan Puja,
Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Vasant Panchami,
Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Chandramana Yugadi,
Souramana Yugadi, Ramnavami and Hanuman
Jayanti.
According to the NJSBE resolution: Any stu
dent absent from school because of a religious
holiday may not be deprived of any award or of
eligibility or opportunity to compete for any
award because of such absence, Students who
miss a test or examination because of absence
on a religious holiday must be given the right
to take an alternate test or examination,
Boards of education, at their discretion, may
add other days to the list for the schools of
their districts, and Any absence because of a
religious holiday must be recordedas an
excused absence.
Charles B. Wang Community Health Center to host

family and wellness fair for Flushing community
Quality health care is now closer to home for Flushing residents.

New York, NY: T he Charles B. Wang
Community Health Center (CBWCHC) will
partner with Healthfirst Health Plan to host a
Family Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday,
June 18 from 11 a.m. 3 p.m. in the parking
lot of Martin Lande House, located at 13743
45th Avenue, Flushing, NY 11355.
This major outreach effort fulfills the Health
Centers larger mission of increasing aware
ness of good health and empowering commu
nity residents to lead healthy lifestyles.
Jane Eng, the Health Centers Chief
Executive Officer, states, We are so pleased to
open a new clinic at the Self help Senior
Housing building on 13743 45th Avenue.
The new clinic will offer internal medicine,
pediatrics, mental health and social work
assistance for patients. Todays health fair
seeks to introduce patients to the 45th
Avenue site, and to extend health screening
and education services to the community. We
are glad to partner with Selfhelp which pro
vides housing, home health care and social
services to seniors and other at risk groups.
We are so proud to partner with the
Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in
our newest Flushing housing site. Selfhelps
senior housing model provides for housing
with services, which allows for our Citys older

adults to age in their communities with access
to health, wellness, and social services on site
if and when needed. Having the health center
within our housing helps us guarantee that
our residents and the rest of Flushing will
have access to highquality and culturally
competent health services. Id like to thank
Jane and the rest of the Charles B. Wang staff
for their partnership and service to the
Flushing and New York City communities,
said Stuart C. Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer,
Selfhelp Community Services.
At this event, community members can
receive free preventative health screenings
such as blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pres
sure, etc., and information on health insur
ance, smoking cessation, voter registration
and healthrelated community resources.
Children and families can also take part in
face painting activities, meet clowns, take
home balloon animals, and enjoy taichi, music
and cultural performances.
Quality health care is now closer to home
for Flushing residents. Community members
can now receive healthcare services at two
locations in Flushing 13626 37th Avenue
and new site on13743 45th Avenue.
KNOW WHAT TO DO
Visit NYC.gov/knowyourzone or call 311 to nd
out what to do to prepare for hurricanes in NYC.
#knowyourzone
June 11-17, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Uplift Humanity celebrates six years

in India: Launches Mumbai
Darshan
Manghnani.
Lucite rings
(inset).
Indian designers
world debut of Lucite
rings showcased at
Manhattan Gallery
onceived in Italy, developed in India,

using Japanese materials and made
in New York City, multidisciplinary
designer Darshan Manghnanis 'wearable
art' collection, which comprises of origi
nal prints encompassed by genderneu
tral Lucite rings and pendants, made its
world debut at the "Real/Fake" art show
for emerging and established designers at
Anderson Contemporary Gallery in Man
hattan this month.
The collection is created by repurpos
ing remnant Lucite materials from the ad
vertising and product design industries
into a limited edition series of art decoin
spired, minimalist jewelry designs.
New York: Uplift Humanity, founded in

2010, is an organization that works towards
enabling American youth to empower juve
niles in India through education. Since UHIs
inception in 2010, they have launched pro
grams at three juvenile rehabilitation centers
throughout India: Gujarat, Hyderabad, and
the newest in Mumbai.
In the past six years, Uplift has successful
ly brought 250 students to India from the
United States and contributed approximate
ly 150,000 hours of volunteer work. Uplifts
rapid growth has enabled the organization to
educate more than 500 different juveniles
and orphans and donate in excess of Rs.
250,000 in scholarships funds to dozens of
children who are seeking higher education
or vocational studies.
Uplift Humanity, a passion project of
Founder Anish Patel, was started when he
took a trip to India with his family. Whilst de
layed in traffic on the roads of Vadodara, An
ish noticed a group of children playing be
hind the gates of a dilapidated juvenile de
tention facility. Anishs curiosity led him to
research the treatment of juvenile inmates
and orphans in India. He found that many of
these children committed crimes out of eco
nomic desperation, and would likely never
receive the education, or lifeskills training
necessary to secure a higher standard of liv
ing. And thus, Uplift Humanity India was
We're so excited to be in Mumbai

because its such a bustling city with so
much potential. What makes Mumbai even
more special for our team is that its the first
location that we're allowing non-Indians to
apply to our programs."
- Anish Patel, founder, Uplift Humanity
born. Anish believes that through crosscul
tural education, the relevant instructional
materials, and the right people, we can
change the way that education is delivered
across institutionalized facilities in India.
The two key platforms that contribute to
the success and growth of Uplift Humanity
are the organizations Academic Program
and their Annual Summer Program. The ac
ademic program is the most crucial element
of the onsite work done at juvenile centers
yearround, where local educators teach how
to read and write in English, and how to use
computer technology. The summer rehabili
tation program brings students from the
United States over to one of the three reha
bilitation facilities in India where the volun
teers teach orphans and juveniles life skills
such as moral decisionmaking, selfesteem
development, anger management, daily eti
quette, and public speaking. In June 2013,
Narendra Modi witnessed firsthand the im

pact of Uplift Humanitys work with juveniles
and orphans in India and invited the team to
discuss ways to increase education levels in
institutionalized facilities in India. This new
partnership allowed Uplift to strengthen
their impact in India. With the aid of local
and national governments, Uplift Humanity
was able to launch in Mumbai.
Uplift Humanity's expansion into Mumbai
shows our commitment to eradicate juvenile
recidivism throughout the Indian subconti
nent. We're so excited to be in Mumbai be
cause its such a bustling city with so much
potential. What makes Mumbai even more
special for our team is that its the first loca
tion that we're allowing nonIndians to apply
to our programs. Essentially, now any
teenager from any demographic can apply to
volunteer with our organization, says
Founder Anish Patel.
After I served my
country, I needed help
feeding my family,
SNAP HELPED.
- MIGUEL, U.S. NAVY VETERAN
The Bronx
WATCH OUR STORY AT FoodHelp.nyc
Indian National Overseas Congress, USA welcomed new Indian Consul General
Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das at a meeting on May 31st at the NY Consulate.
online at
a
itss easier to apply
Now it
Now
Dr Akshat Jain a hematologist oncologist and stem cell transplant specialist in New York
chosen by the American Society of hematology for the prestigious advocacy institute
award 2016. Seen here standing (fourth from right) with other colleagues and senior lead
ership at the Capitol Hill conference on June 6.
dHelp.nyc
Food
FoodHelp.nyc
Call 311 for more info

ACCESSNYC
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
MoU signed for hasslefree

entry of Indians into the US
Washington, DC: Aiming to facilitate
hasslefree entry of Indians into the
United States at selected airports,
the two countries have signed a
memorandum of understanding
providing for expedited security
clearances.
India is only the ninth country
with which the U.S. has entered into
this International Expedited
Traveler Initiative, also known as
the Global Entry Program, reective
of the growing re lationship
between the two largest democra
cies of the world.
T he move would take a few
months to implement and will pro
vide speedy security clearances for
preapproved, lowrisk Indian trav
elers upon arrival at select U.S. air
ports.
The MoU was signed between
Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Arun
K. Singh and deputy commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Kevin K. McAleenan.
After joint scrutiny and clearance
by both countries, the approved
Indian travelers will be extended
Ambassador Arun K. Singh signing the IndiaU.S. MoU for the

Development of an International Expedited Traveler Initiative (also
known as the Global Entry Program) with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan June 3.
(Indian Embassy/Facebook)
the facility of expedited entry into
the United States through automatic
kiosks at select airports, a release
said.
Expedited entry for the Indian
travelers under this program at the
U.S. airports will enable further eas
ing of travel environment, and will
have positive impact on all kinds of
peopletopeople exchange between
our two countries," Singh said at the
India to open new

consulate in Seattle:
S Jaishankar
Washington, DC: India will soon
open its sixth consulate in
Seattle to cater to the needs of
large number of Indian
Americans living in the north
western part of the United
States.
"We hope to open a new
Indian consulate in Seattle,"
Indian Foreign Secretary S
Jaishankar said after the conclu
sion of the talks between Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and US President Barack Obama
at the White House .
This was reected in a joint
statement issued after Modi
Obama talks.
"Both sides committed to open
additional consulates in each
other's country. India will be
opening a new consulate in
Seattle and the US will open a
new consulate at a mutually

agreed location in India," the
joint statement said.
Apart from its embassy in
Washington, India currently has
consulates in New York, San
Francisco, Chicago, Houston
and Atlanta .
In the joint statement the two
countries also announced a
series of measures to encourage
peopletopeople contacts.
Modi and Obama announced
that the United States and India
w ill be Trave l and Tourism
Partner Countries for 2017, and
committed to facilitate visas for
eachother's nationals.
According to a senior adminis
tration ofcial the US plans to
increase its number of people to
issue visas at its diplomatic mis
(PTI)
sions in India.
MoU signing ceremony.

He said strengthening peopleto
people ties between the two coun
tries has been at the very core of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
vision of India's bilateral relation
ship with the U.S.
The U.S. is home to more than 3
million Indian origin people who
continue to maintain deeprooted
(PTI)
links with India, he said.
June 11-17, 2016
Unable to write computer programs 25

Indian students asked to leave US university
Washington, DC: At least 25
Indian students in their rst
semester of computer sciences
program at Western Kentucky
University have been asked to
return to India or nd placement
in other schools because they did
not meet the admission standards
of the varsity, T he New York
Times said on Tuesday.
Some 60 Indian students were
enrolled for the program in
January and the university was
said to have used international
recruiters to enrol them.
James Gary, the chairman of
Western Kentucky's computer sci
ence program, told the Times that
"almost 40" of the students did
not meet the requirements of their
admissions, even though they
were offered remedial help by the
university. This means that 35
students may be allowed to con
tinue while 25 "must leave", the
newspaper said. Gary said permit
ting the students to continue in
the program would "be throwing
good money after bad" because
they were unable to write comput
er programs, a necessary part of

the curriculum and a skill that US
schools teach to undergraduates.
"If they come out of here with
out the ability to write programs,
that's embarrassing to my depart
ment," Gary said, explaining why
the university could not permit
them to continue.
The students had been admitted
after a recruitment campaign in
India where advertisements were
run of fering "spot admission" to
the university, as well as tuition
discounts.
The university Senate has now
endorsed a resolution expressing
concern about the recruitment
campaign which was part of the
university's ef forts to lift enrol
ment and revenue in the face of
deep state budget cuts, the news
paper said. The university, in a
statement, said it had altered its
international recruitment ef forts
in India. The school will also send
members of the computer science
faculty to India to meet with stu
dents before of fers of admission
(IANS)
are made in the future.
Amazon removes offensive doormats with

images of Hindu deities after protest
New York: Amazon.com, world's
leading online retailer, removed
the doormats carrying images of
various Hindu deities from its
website within 24 hours after
Hindus took to social media reg
istering their protest via tweets
and shares.
Over 60 doormats which were
available June 4 depicting images
of Hindu deitiesShiva, Vishnu,
Krishna, Ganesha, Venkateswara,
Saraswat i, Murug an, Durg a
Hanuman, Padmanabha; images
of Hindu temples and worship
placeSun Temple Modhera,
Akshardham Delhi, Bhuleshwar
Temple,
etc
and
Saint
Ragavendrawhich Hindu devo
tees found objectionable were
not seen on the Amazon.com
website when searched on June 5
morning.
Rajan Zed, President of
Universal Society of Hinduism,
stated that an ofcial apology
from Amazon.com and its
Screengrab of
Amazon
webpage
selling Ganesha
doormats which
went viral and
angered Hindus
worldwide.
(Image courtesy:
newscrunch.in)
President Jeffrey P. Bezos to the

upset Hindu community was still
due as it was their third incident
in the recent years trivializing
Hindu deities. After protests
spearheaded
by
Zed,
Amazon.com removed womens
leggings carrying images of vari
ous Hindu deities from its web
site in October 2014, while in
January 2014 it removed the
pants carrying image of Lord

Ganesha.
The doormats, some of which
could be used as bath/oor mat
or for living room, kitchen, bath
room, bedroom, hallway, etc and
some can be easily cleaned by
sweeping were sold from $14.49
to $25.74. Some of these clearly
mentioned Lord Ganesh as God of
Hindus on the website.
June 11-17 2016
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
US likely to approve
Naveen Jains
Moon mission
Washington, DC: In a first, the US is
poised to approve the first com
mercial space mission beyond the
Earth's orbit, paving the way for a
space startup cofounded by an
Indianorigin entrepreneur to go
ahead with its proposed Moon mis
sion, the Wall Street Journal has
reported.
The government's endorsement
would make way for Moon Express,
a relatively obscure space startup
cofounded by Naveen Jain, to land
a roughly ninekg package of scien
tific hardware on the Moon some
time next year, said the report.
The company appears close to
obtaining what it has called "mis
sion approval", the Wall Street
Journal reported late Sunday, citing
unnamed sources familiar with the
details. It could be first in an array
of forprofit ventures throughout
the solar system.
The decision is expected to set
important legal and diplomatic
precedents for how Washington
will ensure such nongovernmental
projects comply with longstanding
international space treaties. The
formal approval, which could be
months away, may also pave the
way for potential commercial space
tourism and asteroid mining ven
Naveen Jain, cofounder, Moon

Express (Photo: naveenjain.com)
tures. We've been a regulatory
pathfinder out of necessity,"
because up to now "only govern
ments have undertaken space mis
sions beyond Earth orbit," Moon
Express CEO and cofounder Bob
Richards told the Journal.
The proposed mission still poses
huge technical obstacles for Moon
Express, including the fact that the
rocket it wants to use has not yet
flown, the Journal said.
Moon Express was founded in
August 2010. T he company is
developing innovative, flexible and
scalable new robotic spacecraft
that will radically reduce the cost
of space exploration and unlock
the mysteries and resources of the
Moon, according to its official web
(IANS)
site.
Book Launch Politics of Migration:

Indian Emigration in a Globalised World
Washington, DC: The US launch of
Politics of Migration: Indian
Emigration in a Globalised World
a book authored by Dr A. Didar
Singh and S. Irudaya Rajan was
held May 10 at the World Bank
headquarters here.
Dr A Didar Singh, who launched
the book provided a comprehen
sive and very informative synop
sis and engaged in an interactive
session with the audience.
Dr. Didar Singh is currently
Secretary General of FICCI and
Chair of World Banks Banks
Global Knowledge Partnership on
Mig rat ion and Deve lopment
(KNOMAD) Thematic Working
Group on mobilizing Diaspora
Resources and previously
Secretary of Indias Ministry of
Indian Affairs.
The book presentation and sub
sequent panel discussions on
Emerg ing
Diaspora
Opportunities and Challenges
and Leveraging the Diaspora as a
Source of Innovation, Technology,
and Research was held in collab
oration with FICCI and the World
Banks KNOMAD. Speakers
included: Dr. Didar Singh; Dilip
Ratha (Head of World Banks
KNOMAD and Lead Economist,
Mig rat ion; Remittances Unit,
World Bank); Jacob Kirkegaard
(Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute
(L to R): Dr. A.
Didar Singh
(FICCI), Dr.
Renuka Misra
(Indian
Diaspora
Council),
Ashook
Ramsaran
(Indian
Diaspora
Council)
for International Economics); Dr.

Devesh Kapur (Director, Center
for the Advanced Study of India at
the University of Pennsylvania);
Satyam Priyadarshy (President,
TiE DC).
Politics of Migration: Indian
Emig rat ion in a Globalised
Worldstudies the politics sur
rounding Indian emigration from
the 19th century to the present
day. Bringing together data and
case studies from across five con
tinents, it moves beyond econom
ic and social movers of migration,
and explores the role of politics
both local and globalin shaping

diaspora at a deeper level.
Dr. Didar Singh spoke of immi
gration as a matter of immediate
importance and considerable con
tention. The issue of migration is
on the forefront of the American
public and political consciousness
as well. Presidential campaign
rhetoric has repeatedly highlight
ed concerns about refugees and
immig rat ion, while the US
Congress has held ongoing hear
ings on contentious migration
labor policy issues, such as the
(IANS)
H1B system.
UCLA shooter Mainak Sarkar planned Umesh Sachdev only Indian

in Time's nextgen leaders list
to kill another faculty member
Los Angeles: T he Indian
American gunman who shot dead
his former college professor in
California had also murdered his
wife and planned to kill another
faculty member, police said.
Local news reports said Mainak
Sarkar, 38, had killed his wife
Ashley Hasti at her Minnesota
home, be fore driving to Los
Angeles.
According to CBS Minneapolis,
they were married in 2011.
Sarkar shot his former profes
sor William Klug, 39, multiple
times at a small of fice in the
Eng ineering Building of the
University of California Los
Angeles on Wednesday, before
turning the gun on himself.
Los Angeles Police Department

Chief Charlie Beck said Sarkar
had plans to kill another UCLA
faculty member, but could not do
so as he was not able to find him.
T he faculty member, whose
name was not revealed by police,
is safe.
"We believe that he went to kill
two faculty from UCLA. He was
only able to locate one," Beck
said. He said police found an
extra box of ammunition in his
Minnesota home.
According to the LAPD chief,
Sarkar arrived at the UCLA cam
pus "heavily armed."
"He had a backpack, two semi
automatic pistols and extra mag
azines. It looks like he was cer
tainly prepared to engage multi

ple victims," Beck told reporters.
T he Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) is assisting
the
Los
Ange les
Police
Department in its investigation.
In a blog post, Sarkar, an IIT
Kharag pur g raduate, had
accused Klug of stealing his com
puter code and giving it to some
one else.
Klug
g raduated
from
Westmont in 1997 w ith a
Bachelor of Science in engineer
ing physics, completed a master's
degree at UCLA and a doctorate
at CalTech.
He was an associate professor
of mechanical and aerospace
engineering at UCLA.
New York: For building a phone

"that can understand almost any
language", an Indian software
engineer has found a place in
Time magazine's 2016 list of Next
Generation Leaders. He is Umesh
Sachdev.
His new telephone allows the
user to use internet almost in any
language. Thirtyyearold Sachdev
is cofounder and CEO of Uniphore
Software Systems since 2008. The
other cofounder is Ravi Saraogi.
The Chennaibased startup pro
duces software that allows people
to interact with their phones and
access services such as online
banking by communicating in
their native languages, Time said
in its profile on Sachdev.
"At last count, Uniphores prod
ucts, which include a virtual assis

tant able to process more than 25
global languages and 150 dialects,
were being used by over 5 million
people, mostly in India but alos
beyond, it added.
Prior to Uniphore, Umesh co
founded Singularis Technologies,
whose Mobile Theft Security prod
uct received global recognition.
In 2009, Umesh was identified
as an innovative entrepreneur by
the Ministry of Science and
Technologys Technopreneur
Promotion Programme ( TePP),
according to his profile in
Uniphore.
"Phones can help increase finan
cial inclusion or help a farmer get
weather information, Sachdev
said in the Time profile.
US AFFAIRS
Clinton is presumptive Democratic

nominee for President
New York: Former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday proclaimed
herself the victor of the Democratic pri
maries which were held over many
months as part of the electoral race for
the White House.
"For the first time in our history, a
woman will be chosen as presidential
candidate for a major political party,"
said Clinton at a rally in Brooklyn in
front of supporters.
"Thanks to you, we've reached a mile
stone," she said in a speech which
began with clear signs of emotion
tinged by the historical moment.
T he speech was delivered on the
same day that the primaries were held
in six states from New Jersey to
California with her number of accumu
lated delegates having significantly
surpassed those of her Democratic
rival Senator Bernie Sanders.
The confirmation of the nomination
for the presidential candidacy will be
made at the Democratic convention
scheduled to be held in Philadelphia
between July 25 and 28.
Clinton said her victory on Tuesday is
the result of "generations" who have
been fighting for progressive ideas in
the US and also highlighted the strug
History is made as a woman becomes

nominee of a major political party for
President for the first time.
(Photo: hillary/tumblr)
gle of women. She took the opportunity
to congratulate Sanders for his "extra
ordinary" campaign and for his "very
good" ideas that he has brought to the
Democratic Party and the US.
"We know that we are stronger
together," Clinton said in an attempt to
close the Democratic ranks as the inter
nal election process is coming to an
end.
Clinton said she will take a few days

to "absorb the history" that has been
done but said there were still more
important steps to "keep making histo
ry" in the country. She won the primar
ies in New Jersey and New Mexico and
California.
In her speech, the Democratic candi
date took the opportunity to criticize
the message of division promoted by
the presumptive Republican presiden
tial nominee Donald Trump, the only
remaining candidate of his party.
"The choice is clear," said Clinton, and
Trump "is temperamentally unfit to be
President".
Clinton intensified her assault on
Trump, laying out a case that his values
and rhetoric are incompatible with
American principles.
"He is not just trying to build a wall
between America and Mexico. He is try
ing to wall of Americans from each
other. W hen he says let's make
America great again, that is code for
let's take American backwards," she
said.
She hit Trump hard for his recent
attacks on a judge with Mexican ances
try along with mocking a disabled
reporter and "calling women pigs".
Four decades of public life
Hillary and Bill Clinton walking in the inaugural parade, 1993.

(Photo: William J. Clinton Presidential Library).
Washington: Presumptive Democratic nomi
nee for President, Hillary Clinton, a former
US Secretary of State and First Lady, enjoys
near universal name recognition after her
almost fourdecadelong public life.
Now 68, Hillary Clinton's debut as a politi
cal spouse started in 1979 when Bill Clinton
became the governor of Arkansas.
In 1992, when Bill Clinton campaigned for
the presidency, he once quipped that he was
offering voters two presidents "for the price
of one", Xinhua news agency reported on
Tuesday.
As First Lady in White House, Hillary
raised her profile in 1993 by aggressively
campaigning for universal healthcare for all
Americans, but in vain.
Between the mid1990s and the end of his
second term in of fice, Bill Clinton became
deeply involved in various scandals, includ
ing an investigation into a failed real estate
project in which the Clintons had invested
and his affair with a White House intern that
led to impeachment proceedings.

In 2000, Hillary successfully ran for sena
tor in New York State and easily won reelec
tion in 2006.
She launched her first White House run in
2008 and was immediately viewed by many
as the frontrunner in the Democratic field.
However, she was defeated by then firstterm
Senator Barack Obama in the nomination
race, who later won the general election and
became the first AfricanAmerican President.
Hillary Clinton was confirmed by the US
Senate as Secretary of State in January 2009.
She entered the 2016 presidential race
with strong momentum in April 2015.
But since then, her candidacy has been
dogged by controversy around her exclusive
use of a private email account and server
while helming the US State Department.
On Monday, Hillary Clinton reached the
number of delegates required to notch the
Democratic nomination, according to the
Associated Press' latest delegate count.
June 11-17, 2016
Hillary begins VP
search
Washington: Hillary Clinton has said she

would consider "the most qualified people" for
the vice president's position which would
include women.
Now that she has clinched the party's nomina
tion, Clinton on Wednesday told CNN that she
was turning her attention to selecting a run
ningmate ahead of the party's convention in
Philadelphia on July 25.
"I'm looking at the most qualified people, and
that includes women, of course, because I want
to be sure that whoever I pick could be presi
dent immediately if something were to happen
that's the most important qualification,"
Clinton said.
However, Clinton said she was not sure when
she'll name a vice presidential choice.
In the interview, Clinton also said she plans to
reach out to vanquished party rival Bernie
Sanders' supporters. Their unified opposition to
Republican Party's presumpt ive nominee
Donald Trump will help bridge the party's
divides, she said.
"Now we may have approached it somewhat
dif ferently, but our goals are the same. And
contrast that with Donald Trump, who set up a
fake university, Trump University, that commit
ted fraud on people," Clinton said.
"As we reach out and we talk about what's at
stake in this election," she said, adding "I really
believe a lot of Senator Sanders' supporters will
join us in making sure that Donald Trump does
n't get anywhere near the White House."
10
June 11-17, 2016
US AFFAIRS
Hillary at White House an extension

of Obama disaster: Trump
Threatens damaging revelations on Clintons deals
Washington: A W hite House
under Hillary Clinton would be an
extension of the Obama disaster,
Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump said Tuesday as he
criticized his Democratic rival,
Hillary Clinton.
Were broke. We owe $19 tril
lion dollars going quickly to $21
trillion. Our infrastructure is a dis
aster. Our schools are failing.
Crime is rising. People are scared.
The last thing we need is Hillary
Clinton in the White House or an
extension of the Obama disaster,
Trump said.
The Clintons have turned the
politics of personal enrichment
into an art form for themselves.
They have made hundreds of mil
lions of dollars selling access, sell
ing favors, selling government
contracts. Clinton even did all of
Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke

Tuesday at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff
Manor. It was an onmessage speech intended to calm down anger in
his own party over his comments on Mexican heritage judge.
(Photo courtesy AP)
the work on a totally illegal pri
vate server. Something about how
shes getting away with this, folks,

nobody understands, the New
Pilloried by GOP leaders,

Trump to move from
judge issue
By SATimes Team
Washington: As most top Republicans
disapproved of his continued criticism
of a Mexican heritage judge presiding
over the Trump University case, Donald
Trump issued a statement Tuesday say
ing his comments have been "miscon
strued." "I do not feel that ones heritage
makes them incapable of being impar
tial," Trump said in defense, "but, based
on the rulings that I have received in
the Trump University civil case, I feel
justified in questioning whether I am
receiving a fair trial."
The real state tycoon did not apolo
gize, using a 700word statement to
argue his side of the lawsuit. He ended
by noting that a trial is scheduled for
November, and "I do not intend to com
ment on this matter any further."
Though Bloomberg News scooped
that Trump had earlier told his surro
gates to double down on criticism of the
judge and on critics of that criticism,
the turnaround was forced by the scent
of a revolt by GOP lawmakers who
feared their presidential nominees
racially charged rhetoric will cost them
elections down the ballot.
One GOP Senator, Mark Kirk of
Illinois, became the first prominent law
maker to rescind his endorsement of
Trump on Tuesday, citing his attacks on
the ethnicity of Gonzalo Curiel, the fed
eral judge. The GOP nominee "has not
demonstrated the temperament neces
sary to assume the greatest office in the
world," said Kirk, who faces a tough re

election race in Illinois.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis., said
Trump's comments about Curiel's her
itage amount to "textbook" racism,
though he said he would continue to
support the businessman over
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
As of now, unless he changes signifi
cantly, I cant see myself voting for
Donald Trump, said Sen. Jeff Flake, R
Ariz., a longtime opponent of Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, RKy., said it's time for
Trump to stop attacking political rivals
and members of minority groups, and
get on message.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., calling
Trump's judicial attacks "the most un
American thing from a politician since
Joe McCarthy," told The New York
Times: If anybody was looking for an
offramp, this is probably it ... Therell
come a time when the love of country
will trump hatred of Hillary.
McCarthy, a U.S. senator from
Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957, led a
series of congressional hearings investi
gating suspected Communists in the
federal government. He was censured
by the Senate in 1954.Trump does have
defenders among Republicans. New
Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a potential
running mate for Trump, told reporters
that the businessman is not a racist.
Its refreshing to have somebody whos
willing to speak their mind and is not
reading from a script, Christie said.
Yorkbased real estate tycoon said.

Trump claimed that recent polls
suggest he has been defeating
Clinton.
Now recent polls have shown
that Im beating Hillary Clinton
and with all of her many problems
and the tremendous mistakes that
shes made, we expect our lead to
continue to grow and grow sub
stantially, he said as he sought
the support of Bernie Sanders, 74,
who has lost Democratic primar
ies.
The terrible trade deals that
Bernie was so vehemently against
and hes right on that will be taken
care of far better than anyone ever
thought possible and thats what I
do. We are going to have fantastic
trade deals. Were going to start
making money and bringing in
jobs, Trump said.
Designed to keep her corrupt

dealings out of the public record,
putting the security of the entire
country at risk and a President in
a corrupt system is totally protect
ing her not right, he said.
We are going to be discussing
all of the things that have taken
place with the Clintons. I think
youre going to find it very inform
ative and very, very interesting,
he said.
Trump alleged that Clinton
turned the state department into
her private hedge fund.
The Russians, the Saudis, the
Chinese all gave money to Bill and
Hillary and got favourable treat
ment in return. Its a sad day in
America when foreign govern
ments with deep pockets have
more influence in our own country
than our great citizens, he added.
Obama endorses Hillary

Clinton for president, Sanders
hints at bowing out
President Obama wants a Democrat to succeed him

to preserve and further his legacy of 8 years.
Washington: President Barack Obama has formal
ly endorsed Hillary Clinton and called her the most
qualified candidate to seek the White House,
imploring Democrats to come together to elect her,
the media reported. In a video posted on Clinton's
Facebook page on Thursday, Obama said: "I'm
with her. I'm fired up and I cannot wait to get out
there and campaign with Hillary."
Obama's endorsement came just moments after
his meeting with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,
Clinton's primary rival in the nomination race, in
the White House. It was also announced that
Obama will make an appearance next week in
Wisconsin with Hillary on the campaign trail.
Clinton thanked Obama for his endorsement in a
tweet soon after: "Honored to have you with me,
@POTUS. I'm fired up and ready to go!" she wrote.
Obama's endorsement brings full circle a rela
tionship that began when the two were rivals in
the hardfought 2008 Democratic nominating con
test. He came on top and she endorsed him.
Clinton thanked Obama for his endorsement in a
tweet posted to her account Thursday.
Sanders won 22 states (record for a

second place finisher) & amassed
12 million votes. (Photo: AP)
"Honored to have you with me, @POTUS. I'm

fired up and ready to go!" she wrote, signing it
with 'H' to indicate the tweet was from the former
secretary of state personally.
Although he still declined to endorse Clinton at
the moment, Sanders told reporters after the meet
ing that he would do everything "to make sure
Donald Trump does not become president of the
United States."
Sanders and Hillary are expected to meet, most
likely after the Washington DC primary next
Tuesday, and chalk the way forward for party
unity. Obama, appearing on a TV show, praised
Sanders, "I thought that Bernie Sanders brought
enormous energy and new ideas. And he pushed
the party and challenged them."
That in turn helped the Democratic party and
made Hillary Clinton, the first woman to clinch the
bid for U.S. presidency, a better candidate.
My hope is that over the next couple of weeks
we are able to pull things together, said Obama,
who plans to meet with Sanders on Thursday
morning at the White House.
June 11-17, 2016
INDIA
Ban welcomes IndiaUS

commitment to climate pact
United Nations: Secretary General Ban Ki

moon has welcomed the commitment of
India and the United States to Paris
Agreement on Climate Change and their
mission to reduce greenhouse gases as a
sign of the growing global momentum for
implementing the pact.
Ban has commended "the joint state
ment on climate change made by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and President
Barack Obama, announcing their support
for early entry into force of the Paris
Ag reement," Ban's spokesperson
Stephane Dujarric said.
"The announcement is one of a number
of events that demonstrates the growing
momentum towards the rapid entry into force and
successful implementation of the Paris Agreement,"
Dujarric added.
In their joint statement Tuesday in Washington the
two leaders reiterated their nation's ratify the agree
ment, the US this year and India to start prepara
tions for it without a stated target date.
Obama is likely to bypass a hostile Senate and rati
fy it through an executive agreement. Modi does not
need parliamentary approval to ratify it. The ratifica
tion of both India and US would be likely be required
to reach the thresholds of the proportion of green
house gas emitters needed for the Paris Agreement
to come into force.
Secretary General Ban Kimoon.

Dujarric said Ban "is further encouraged by the
resolve of India and the United States to pursue low
greenhouse gas emission development strategies
and successful outcomes this year to reduce green
house gas emissions through the Montreal Protocol,
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Assembly, and the G20."
The Montreal Protocol provides for phasing out
substances that endanger the ozone layer like
hydrochlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators. The
ICAO pursues efforts to reduce greehouse emissions
by aircraft. G20, the group of major economies, is
committed to introduced heavyduty vehicle stan
dards and efficiency to reduce emissions.
11
President's historic
visit to Ghana,
Ivory Coast
New Delhi: President Pranab
Mukherjee's upcoming visit to
Ghana and Ivory Coast will be the
first by an Indian head of state
while the presidential visit to
Namibia comes after 21 years,
External Affairs Ministry said.
"It will be the first visit to Ghana
and Ivory Coast at the level of the
head of state. The Namibia visit
too is happening after 21 years,"
Ministry of External Af fairs
Secretary (ER) Amar Singh told
reporters here.
Mukherjee's threenation itiner
ary begins with the Ghana visit on
June 12. He will reach Ivory Coast
on June 14 afternoon. He will
visit Namibia on June 15 and will
be there till June 17.
"The visit is part of the outreach
to Africa which kicked of f with
the visit of the Vice President (M.
Hamid Ansari) to Morocco last
week. The President has taken on
the responsibility of visit to these

three countries," he said.
Giving details, Sinha said the
President will unveil a statue of
Mahatma Gandhi in Ghana.
He said a number of agreements
are slated to be signed during the
visit, which may include some on
visa waivers.
The President will be accompa
nied by a Minister of State, four
Members of Parliament, senior
officials and business and media
delegations.
During the visit, discussions will
be held on bilateral, regional and
multilateral issues of mutual
interest.
Mukherjee will also address a
joint session of Parliament of
Namibia, an IndiaNamibia busi
ness event, and speak at the
Namibian University of Science
and Technology, an official state
ment said.
Mathura will hurt Akhilesh in runup to 2017 elections

Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav, the 43yearold
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, has weathered
many a crisis on the family and political
fronts in the last four years. But the Mathura
carnage that claimed 29 lives could hurt him
the most in the runup to assembly polls in
the state early next year.
T he Mathura violence last week, even
Yadav's most ardent admirers admit in pri
vate, has "brought to his doorstep the biggest
challenge" to his fouryearold rule.
"From other small things to Muzaffarnagar
riots, Bhaiyyaji (as he is known) has faced a
lot, but Mathura seems to be the deepest
wound of all," a close aide told IANS, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
Pointing to the many developmental works
and projects being done in the state, he rued
that all has been undone by the violence at
Mathura's Jawaharbagh Park last week in
which two police bravehearts too died. While
Akhilesh was unusually quick to admit the
gaping holes in the state's intelligence setup,
which first let him down in Muzaf farnagar
and now in Mathura, the damage seem to has
been done.
Law and order in Uttar Pradesh has always
made the headlines for all the wrong reasons
but senior police of ficers have not only
defended the incidents that have rocked the

Samajwadi Party (SP) boat ever since it took
office in March 2012, but have also spoken
out openly of many "pathbreaking and trend
setter projects like the Dial100 being rolled
out under Akhilesh Yadav.
The barbaric attack on its men and their
deaths, however seem to have shaken the
police force completely and irreversibly. In
what were earlier murmurs, police of ficers
are now openly talking about how they are
paying with their lives while people like Ram
Briksha Yadav, the leader of the cult that
killed the policemen, were counting "political
brownies" by sheltering such blatantly anti
social elements.
And so, it is not surpring that Akhilesh has
been trolled on social networking sites like
never before, with people of the state and
even elsewhere trashing Yadav junior for the
"breakdown of law and order in the state".
The palpable anger in the force can be
gauged by the emotional outburst of a serv
ing police officer who narrated his bond with
the late Mathura Superintendent of Police
Mukul Dwivedi and ended up by stating: "Bye
Mukul, don't meet me ever again and one last
thing, never be born in place like this ever."
The state government's spin doctors con
Twentysix people died in Mathura vio

lence last week.
cede that "Mathura was an open wound which
will bleed much beyond the assembly polls".
"The perception of 'jungle raj' in the state
has got more credence and such talk is no
longer about political allegations of the oppo
sition. The world over has seen on television
how and what happened," a worried officer
told IANS.
The morale of both the police and the rul
ing party's cadre is at an ebb and even while
optimists publicly vouch for the 'netagiri' of
Akhilesh and say that "this too shall pass", in
private they are candid enough to admit that
"Mathura ki laptein, siyaasi taur par khatar
naak hain (The flames from Mathura are omi
nous for the state government)."

Politicaly, Mathura seems to be a perfect
narrative for the opposition parties to begin
their campaign for the 2017 polls. Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and fourtime UP
chief minister Mayawati, who is often remem
bered for good law and order during her gov
ernment, has sharpened her attack on the
arch rival Samajwadi Party and has sought
Akhilesh Yadav's resignation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), restless to
end its 14yearold 'van waas' (exile), is
already on the war path. National spokesman
Srikant Sharma, showing unusual alarcity,
rushed to Mathura and the party sent many
of its lawmakers, including local MP Hema
Malini, to the spot. Party president Amit Shah,
during his twoday tour over the weekend
openly targeted the Samajwadi Party and
went on to say that he had "no hesitation in
saying that crime was at its nadir in UP than
anywhere else in the country."
For some time now, Akhilesh Yadav has
been sporting grey hair on his sideburns.
Some thought it to be a fashion statement or
a willful attempt to break the youth image
and look mature. After the Mathura tragedy,
the greying hair might have a different story
to tell.
12
June 11-17, 2016
INDIA
Bollywood, Kejriwal slam

Nihalani over 'Udta Punjab'
Mumbai/New Delhi: The raging row
over "Udta Punjab" took a dramatic
turn when censor board chief sug
gested that Anurag Kashyap may
have made the movie after taking
money from the AAP, sparking a
stinging reaction from Bollywood
and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.
Leading Bollywood filmmakers
along with the "Udta Punjab" team
coproducers Kashyap and Ekta
Kapoor, actors Shahid Kapoor and
Alia Bhatt and director Abhishek
Chaubey addressed the media
where the Indian Film and
Television Directors Association
(IFTDA) sought an apology from
Nihalani.
Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, who is
also the President of the Film and
Television Producers Guild of India,
urged the government to sack
Nihalani as the head of the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The Aam Aadmi Party promptly
joined the fracas. De lhi Chief
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap addressing the media. (Photo: IANS)

Minister Kejriwal said Nihalani's
allegation against Kashyap proved
he had acted against "Udta Punjab"
which deals with the drug menace
in the state at the behest of the
BJP.
"Nihalani's statement makes it
amply clear he has stopped the film
on BJP's instructions." Kejriwal
added: "What else could one expect

in Modi regime." He added that the
truth about Punjab should become
public.
Indian Film and Te levision
Directors Association President
Ashoke Pandit said: "We condemn
the statement (by Nihalani). We
demand an apology... This is not
just an insult to Kashyap but to the

film industry." Pandit is also a mem
ber of the censor board which
Nihalani heads. Kashyap, who has
made movies like "Black Friday" and
who strongly believes the CBFC
should be for certification and not
for censorship, hit back.
"I really don't know how to react
to this. Of course, I have
not taken any money and I feel
ashamed that I have to defend
myself... I wish someone gives me
money as I have many ideas."
Kashyap earlier called Nihalani an
"oligarch" who has made the situa
tion in the film industry akin to
North Korea.
It all followed Nihalani's remarks
to TimesNow news channel: "I have
heard he (Kashyap) has taken
money from AAP... He is a sponsor
of AAP." Asked if he meant that
Kashyap had taken money to show
Punjab in poor light, Nihalani said:
"Yeah, that is what I have heard.
That talk is going on in the film

industry."
The AAP, which rules Delhi, is a
major contender for power in
Punjab where assembly elections
are due next year.
The censor board has sought 89
cuts in "Udta Punjab" deletions
which the producers say will virtu
ally kill the movie.
Mukesh Bhatt said: "We have
been making films for 40 years but
this has not happened before. I
appeal to the (Information and
Broadcasting) Ministry that Pahlaj
should be removed as he doesn't
deserve (the post)."
Kashyap has requested the
Congress, AAP and other parties to
stay out of his battle with the cen
sors. "Please don't colour my fight
with any political af filiation
because there is none."
"Udta Punjab" makers said they
were trying to release the film as
slated on June 17.
Kejriwal writes to
Sushil's Rio hopes dashed
Rajnath, takes on Modi
by Delhi High Court
New Delhi: Twotime medal
full flexibility and autonomy
list and India's most success
to WFI to decide the process
ful individual Olympian
of se lection and when to
Sushil Kumar's plea seeking
hold a trial, it noted that WFI
selection trials in the 74 kg
conducted a fair and trans
freestyle category for the Rio
parent selection trial prior to
Olympics was turned down
the qualification event. "In
by the De lhi High Court
international arena of sports,
which said that "last minute
medals are won not only by
challenge to selection can
'brawn' but also by 'brain'.
disturb the mental prepara
The last minute challenge to
tion of the selected" athlete
selection can disturb the
Olympian Sushil Kumar.
Narsingh Yadav.
mental preparation of the
Justice Manmohan accepted the Wrestling selected.
Federation of India's (WFI) submission that
"Consequently, a sportsperson innocently
the "consistent current form" of Narsingh was asking for 'just a trial' may be jeopardising
better than that of Sushil.
the chances of the selected candidate to win,
He also took note of the fact that Sushil having disastrous consequences for national
failed to take part in selection trials in 2014 interest. In the duel asked for, the country
and 2015 as we ll as in the National will be the loser," said the court.
Championship on December 31, 2015 and
Also due to the short time gap between the
January 1, 2016 and the Asian Championship event and the filing of the writ as well as high
held in February 2016.
probability of an injury in a trial, Sushil
The court said Sushil has not won any Kumar's prayer cannot be allowed, it said.
major national or international tournament
"It is not understood as to why Sushil
between September 2014 and now whereas Kumar has challenged Narsingh Yadav to a
Narsingh defeated Purvjav Unurbat of 'duel' only in the month of May, 2016 i.e.
Mongolia, the silver medallist in the with only two and a half months left for the
September 2015 World Championship, in the Olympics," the court said.
Pro Wrestling League in December last year.
"Sushil Kumar being a professional wrestler
Sushil's coach Satpal Singh reportedly said himself would know that any direction to
after the verdict that they are keeping open hold a trial at this stage would seriously jeop
the option of taking the issue to the Supreme ardise the chance of India winning a medal in
Court. On Sushil's contention that he was sent the Olympics inasmuch as Narsingh Yadav
to Georgia and Sonipat (Haryana) for training would have to halt his training midway and
in 2016, the court said it "does not mean that would have to lose his weight earlier than
it is mandatory to hold a trial today" and that scheduled," it added. Sushil, 32, missed the
too at a belated stage.
qualification for the Rio Olympics due to
Holding that the national sports code gives injury and Narsingh secured the berth.
Delhi Chief
Minister
Arvind
Kejriwal
with Home
Minister
Rajnath
Singh.
(Photo:
IANS)
New Delhi: In a fresh salvo against Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, De lhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Home
Minister Rajnath Singh to name consultants
hired by the Modi government since 2014.
In a hardhitting response after the home
ministry sought information about officials
and consultants with the Delhi government,
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader hoped
similar facts were also being sought from
other states.
"You have sought to know the number of
IAS posts now held by other officers. As per
my knowledge, there won't be more than two
or three such officers.
"I am confident that the central govern
ment would have also asked for this informa
tion from N. Chandrababu Naidu,
Vasundhara Raje, Devendra Fadnavis and
Shivraj Singh Chouhan as well," Kejriwal
wrote in a letter. The AAP leader said legal
experts had told him the central government
had no authority to seek this information
from him. Kejriwal remarked sarcastically
that he was happy Modi was taking so much
interest in the af fairs of the Delhi govern
ment. "The prime minister spends much of

his time abroad. But when he is in India,
much of his time is consumed on matters
related to the Delhi government."
Kejriwal then sought information about
the number of consultants hired by the Modi
government in the last two years.
He asked Rajnath Singh to tell him how
many of ficers not from the IAS held posts
meant for IAS officers in Uttar Pradesh when
he (Rajnath Singh) was its chief minister.
Kejriwal's letter came in response to a
home ministry letter of May seeking details
from the Delhi government about officers on
deputation.
Kejriwal also asked Rajnath Singh to detail
the steps taken by the central government to
contain what he said was the deteriorating
law and order situation in Delhi.
He said he was "worried" over rising inci
dents of crime in the capital.
Kejriwal and his government have been
feuding with the central government since
taking power in February 2015 over issues
of governance. Kejriwal is pushing for full
statehood for Delhi.
June 11-17, 2016
OP-ED
13
Will Modi bow to RSS on Raghuram Rajan?
By Amulya Ganguli
n addition to the NGOs, including

the one run by Teesta Setalvad,
the saf fron brotherhood's new
target is a formidable one RBI
Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Till now, the Hindutva camp had
n't trained its guns on one so high
who is not a politician. There is lit
tle doubt, however, that the Sangh
Parivar's motive is political.
T he attack on Rajan is not a
frontal one. It is a flanking move
ment with none other than the new
Rajya Sabha member of BJP, the
perennially combative Subramanian
Swamy, leading the charge.
It is not clear if the targeting of
Rajan has the approval of the BJP's
top brass, for there are conflicting
indications.
W hile Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley disapproves of the personal
nature of the attacks, he has been
silent on extending Rajan's term
beyond September, considering that
Swamy wants his immediate dis
missal.
However, the problem with
Swamy's offensive he has accused
Rajan of acting at the behest of US
multinationals to damage the Indian
small and medium industries is
that the voluble MP cannot always
If India Inc's blueeyed boy, RBI Governor Raguram Rajan, quits office,
the initial effect on the market will be worrisome, something Modi will
not appreciate. (Express Photo)
be taken seriously and trusted on
toeing the party line. As much is
clear from his earlier backing of the
disgraced godman, Asaram Bapu, to
the more recent call for building the
Ram temple by the yearend, about
which the BJP has been more than
circumspect.
Moreover, Swamy is supposed to
have been brought to parliament
only to needle the NehruGandhis,
and not open fire at random.
Swamy has been performing the
first task with considerable zeal,
pursuing the allegations against the

Congress's first family in the
National
Herald
and
AgustaWestland cases. More recent
ly, he has called upon the
Enforcement Directorate to probe
the supposed transgressions of the
business deals of Robert Vadra.
In the midst of these endeavors,
the sudden turning of his attention
to Rajan is surprising.
In view of the government's
eagerness to maintain friendly ties
with the corporate sector, the lat
ter's unfavorable reaction to

Swamy's antics was only to be
expected. CII has already expressed
its displeasure.
None of this is unexpected, for
Rajan is known to be a favorite of
India Inc. and of the media, espe
cially the financial newspapers.
PM Modi's evasive statement on
the issue he told Wall Street
Journal that Rajan's tenure can be
of no interest to the media is
unlikely to clear the scene.
The hullabaloo created by Swamy
appears to have persuaded Rajan to
decide not to seek a second term
although he has described the con
troversy as evidence of a "noisy"
democracy and the "sign of its
vibrancy."
It is possible that Rajan's observa
tion about India being the king in a
land of the blind hasn't pleased the
BJP.
Besides, he is something of an odd
man out where the Hindutva camp
is concerned, being a typical repre
sentative of the urbane, English
speaking, secular establishment that
is vastly dif ferent from the Hindi
speaking, conservativeminded
presentday rulers.
It is not impossible, therefore, that
the RSS, the BJP's mentor, wants to
see the back of him.
After all, the RSS has succeeded in

placing its nominees in most of the
institutions the Indian Council of
Historical Research (ICHR), the
National Book Trust, the Film and
Television Institute, the Censor
Board, and so on.
The objective behind all these
appointments was, first, to find
sinecures for its followers and, sec
ondly, to peddle the proHindu
agenda. So, why should the RBI be
left in the hands of a purported sec
ularist?
It goes without saying, however,
that if India Inc's blueeyed boy
quits office, the initial effect on the
market will be worrisome. That is
not something Modi will appreciate.
But he has generally had to walk a
tight rope between the predilec
tions of the RSS and his own more
openminded attitude. In some mat
ters, Modi has had the upper hand
such as in persuading the saf fron
fundamentalists to go easy on their
ghar wapsi and love jihad cam
paigns. In others, he has given way
to the RSS as, for instance, in the
appointments of unworthy nomi
nees to the ICHR and other institu
tions. The Rajan af fair will be a
major test for Modi. Will he bow to
the RSS or will he allow his pro
business instincts to prevail?
Human rights abuses at home cast

shadow on Modi's travels abroad
By George Abraham
n the run up to Prime Minister Modis

fourth visit to the US in the last two
years, American lawmakers have
sharply criticized Indias human rights
record. In a speech in New De lhi, US
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (DMd), mem
ber of the Senate Foreign Re lat ions
Committee, called on India to do better to
address issues of violence against women,
government corruption, extrajudicial
killings, human traf ficking and outdated
anticonversion laws.
At a recent Congressional hearing, Bob
Corker (Chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee RTenn) and Timothy M. Kaine
(DVA) questioned State Department of fi
cials on Indias human rights issues, includ
ing its crackdown on NGOs receiving for
eign funding such as Greenpeace and Ford
Foundation, rising intolerance and Indias
recent decision to deny visas to the mem
bers of the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom.
Modi has faced similar criticism and faced
protests from one group or another every
time he has come to America.
Undoubtedly, the Indian American com
munity as a whole would like to see the US
India ties strengthened and the progress
achieved in the last decade or so to be con
solidated. However, a strategic alliance is a

partnership that would require mutual trust
and confidence for a long term value creat
ing relationship. Undoubtedly, both these
nations need each other in the new world
order. But, if the objective of the collabora
tive relationship is to achieve success for
both, how can one advance that notion
while justifying the denial of visas to a US
government body that monitors the core
tenets of a democracy: freedom and justice?
For those who are advocating more reli
able protection of religious freedom got a
boost recently when Congress upgraded the
Frank Wolf Internat ional Re lig ious
Freedom Act, giving Administration and the
State Department new political tools in
monitoring and creating watch lists.
President Obamas speech in New Delhi in
January, to a great discomfiture of Modi,
was a parting shot directed at his govern
ment to modify its behavior as regards
respecting the pluralistic legacy of the mod
ern India.
Of course, the US is dealing with a India
today that has gained stature as a growing
economic power and a global player that
has to be respected and may even be court
ed. A rising China has created new chal
lenges for the US and the world. Past
agreements like the IndoUS civil nuclear
deal points to a strategy of exploring ways
to sustain their global engagement capabili

ty. Also, a four million strong Indian immi
grant community in the US has become
vocal supporters of close collaboration
between these two countries, often lobby
ing with their Senators and Congressmen.
However, if India has to gain genuine
respect and to be able to operate from a
position of strength and moral clarity, it has
to start dealing with some of the issues the
US lawmakers have raised. Last two years
have witnessed a growing intolerance in the
country with attacks on places of worship
of minorities, the murder of secular advo
cates and harassment of liberal thinkers.
People are afraid that even their dietary
habits like eating beef could cost them their
lives. The HRD ministry has been converted
to become a vehicle to promote the
Hindutva ideology across campuses by
shutting down Dalit organizations and
applying sedition charges on students for
mere slog aneering. Mo di has a g reat
responsibility to set the right tone for the
country.
Indian diaspora in the US is much more a
diverse community representing dif ferent
regions, languages, cultures and faiths than
it is given credit for? According to latest
statistics, 51% of us are Hindus and the rest
Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, etc.
Indian diaspora is primarily taking the
shape of Hindu diaspora due to the cultural

identity, and most everybody accepts it as a
pract ical matter. However, Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS af filiate) is
becoming increasingly assertive in demand
ing unflinching patriotism and preservation
of Hindu culture and continuing with their
efforts to present a monolithic view of the
Indian diaspora to the American public.
RSS cadre are playing a prominent role in
many of Modis visits abroad, particularly
where there is a significant Indian commu
nity. It is only laudable that the diaspora is
enthusiastic and heartwarming towards any
visit of a Prime Minister from their mother
land. But not when Sangh organizations try
to reserve all 25 grounds on the Capitol Hill
on the day of Modis address to the US
Congress as a calculated maneuver to deny
any other group to gather near the venue
and air their dissenting point of view.
It is t ime for PM Mo di to be more
assertive in addressing these concerns at
home and abroad and speak out forcefully
when human rights violations occur in
India. Unless he can align the actions of the
radical elements of his party in line with his
lofty pronouncements abroad, the human
rights issue will continue to cast a shadow
on his trips abroad, especially to the US.
The writer is Chairman of the Indian
National Overseas Congress, USA.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
14
June 11-17, 2016
DIASPORA
UK PANEL EXPANDS
INQUIRY INTO INDIAN
STUDENT DEPORTATIONS
London: An influential British parlia
mentary committee has announced a
more detailed inquiry into the treat
ment of internat ional students,
majority of them Indian, who were
accused of cheating on English lan
guage tests and deported from the
UK.
T he House of Commons' home
af fairs select committee, chaired by
Indianorigin Labor MP Keith Vaz ,
had launched the inquiry into the UK
home office response to the cheating
scandal back in April.
In its report released on Friday, the
committee concluded that the issue
requires a more fuller inquiry into
the scandal, which involved hundreds
of dawn raids by UK Border Agency
officers and resulted in the deporta
tion of around 48,000 international
students, nearly 70 per cent of whom
were Indian, during the course of
2014. "We are deeply concerned with
the arrests, dawn raids and aggres

sive deportations of students from
outside the European Union (EU),
which have occurred following alle
gations of fraud at English language
testing centers," Vaz said in a state
ment today.
He further said: "The home of fice
appears not to have investigated
English language testing fraud allega
tions themselves before undertaking
heavyhanded action. Recent legal
cases, with their damming criticisms
from senior judges, have opened the
door to a mass of expensive and dam
aging litigation."
"An estimated 70 per cent of those
affected are of Indian nationality, and
this debacle comes at a time when
Indian student numbers in the UK are
declining. T he UK risks causing
extensive damage to its reputation as
a leading destination for internation
al study."
MP Priti Patel at center

of sexism row in UK
London: Britain's seniormost Indianorigin minis

ter, Priti Patel, was on Tuesday at the center of a
sexism row in relation to her stand in favor of the
country's exit from the European Union (EU).
The UK's employment minister and British Prime
Minister David Cameron's Indian Diaspora
Champion has been a very vocal supporter of
Brexit in the June 23 referendum, leading to a dis
paraging remark about her name by a trade union
chief in favor of remaining within the economic
bloc. "Priti Patel, surely a contradiction in her
name," said Tim Roache, head of the GMB union,
implying that Patel's stand was not "pretty."
Reacting to criticism of being sexist by MPs,
members of the public on social media and the
official "Britain Stronger in Europe" camp distanc
ing itself from his remarks as having "no place in
this campaign", he added: "Not sexist in the slight
est. Listen to the context. What she says and thinks
of workers and rights is not pretty." With just 15
days to go for the crucial vote, both camps are on
overdrive to win over those sitting on the fence
over which way to vote.
Cameron on Tuesday called an emergency press
conference in London to counter myths he said
have been put about by the Vote Leave campaign.
The Prime Minister said he was concerned at
seeing the misleading statements on the news the
Priti Patel
night before. "A Leave campaign resorting to total
untruths to con people into taking a leap in the
dark. It's irresponsible and it's wrong and it's time
that the Leave campaign was called out on the
nonsense that they are peddling," he said.
His comments came as he also made a last ditch
effort to get young and other unregistered voters
to signup for the referendum in time to meet the
Electoral Commission's deadline.
Australia slashes $190 m unpaid Goa-born Sayonara Luxton takes

charge as mayor of UK Royal Borough
tax claim for Indian couple
Melbourne: Australian tax
authorities today slashed the
claim of $190 million unpaid
tax bill to just $32 million for
an Indian billionaire couple
who has launched a $1.5 bil
lion dollars lawsuit against the
ANZ bank.
Pankaj and Radhika Oswal
are fighting the legal battle
ag ainst ANZ for allegedly
undervaluing shares of their
fertiliser company to recoup
millions in debts.
The couple, who returned
from Dubai in April this year,
was barred from leaving
Australia after a Departure
Prohibition Order was issued
due to Australian Taxation
Of fice's (ATO) $190 million
claim.
ATO reduced its claim
against Radhika Oswal to just
$32 million, 'Herald Sun'
reported, adding that it was
not yet clear if that order
would now be lifted. T he
Oswals had argued the claim

against them could only be for
$32 million and maintained
they owe nothing to ATO.
Responding to recent revela
tions about alleged "racist
remarks" by the ANZ top offi
cials in 2009 emails, Mrs
Oswal said that despite the
emails, she has never consid
ered Australia a racist country.
"Australians have been very
friendly to us. It is only the
banks, the receivers and there
business friends who have
caused us trouble," she said,
adding the family would even
consider a permanent return.
ANZ bank's senior of ficials
had described the Indian cou
ple as "two very unsavoury
characters" with "no moral
compass."
"We have to get through this
trial first. Everything depends
on that. Our daughters grew
up in Perth so they have a
strong connection," Mrs Oswal
said.
"My husband believes the
Australian resources and ener
gy sector is one of the greatest
opportunistic areas world
wide. I'm sure he would love to
invest in more downstream
industries here, if we are able
to get justice for the wrongs
that have been previously
inflicted upon us," she said.
Mr Oswal had earlier said
that he was prepared to spend
a long time in Australia and
was eager to "seek justice in
court."
The Oswals have sued ANZ
bank for $1.5 billion after it
allegedly seized and sold their
Western Australian fertiliser
company for $560 million
which the family claim was
worth $1.385 billion.
T he bank has denied the
claims and said the Oswals
misappropriated 150 million
dollars from their Burrup
Fertilisers for personal use.
London: Goaborn Sayonara

Luxton has taken charge as
the mayor of the Royal
Borough of Windsor and
Maidenhead in southeast
England.
Councillor Luxton, in her
60s, had been serving as
the deputy mayor of the
area for the past year and
was proposed to take over
by former mayor Councillor
Dee Quick.
"When I left Goa 40 years Sayonara Luxton with husband Ian moments
before she was elected as the new Royal
ago, I could not in my
Borough mayor. (Photo : windsorobserver.co.uk)
w ildest dreams have
dreamt that I could hold such a high Household Cavalry and also actively
office. I mean look at me, the may supports the War Horse Memorial,
oral robe was not designed for my which will be erected in Ascot and
stature, but I promise you that I hold will commemorate the 1 million
the heart and soul and I will give horses that lost their lives during
World War I.
everything," Ms Luxton said.
Luxton moved from Goa to Dubai
"I will be working on a special
project in Her Majesty's honor and at the age of 21 to join other mem
further details will be re leased bers of her family and had a suc
cessful career w ith Airbus
soon," she added.
The Conservative Party mayor's Industries. She is in her third term
chosen charity w ill be T he as Sunningdale Councillor.
MODI IN AMERICA
June 11-17, 2016
15
Together for global peace and security

Washington: Building on their close
personal bonding, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and US President
Barack Obama on Tuesday prom
ised to work together for the sake
of global peace and security and the
benefit of developing countries.
"India has made a name for itself
as the fastest growing economy in
the world," Modi said in a joint
address to the media with Obama
following bilateral talks in the Oval
Office of the White House.
"We (India and the US) will work
together for the world's peace and
security," he said.
The PM said the two sides dis
cussed a range of issues of coopera
tion from business and technology
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting President Barack Obama

in Oval Office, at White House in Washington DC on June 7. (Photo: PIB)
to governance. "In the last two
years, India and the US worked
shouldertoshoulder on issues like
nuclear security, global warming,
counterterrorism, and Paris (cli
mate) agreement," Modi said.
India, US ink 8 pacts,

to boost defense to
counter terror
ndia and the US inked eight agreements,

including in the sphere of defense and
energy cooperation and counterterrorism
after talks between PM Modi & President
Obama in the White House on Tuesday.
The first one is for exchange of terrorist
screening information between the Multi
Agency Centre/ Intelligence Bureau of India
and the Terrorist Screening Center of the US
under which the two sides shall "provide each
other access to terrorism screening informa
tion through the designated contact points,
subject to domestic laws and regulations".
The second is an MoU to enhance cooperation
on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate
Change through increased bilateral engage
ment and further joint initiatives for promot
ing sustainable growth.
Another MoU is to enhance cooperation in
Wildlife Conservation and Combating Wildlife
Trafficking in areas such as Wildlife Forensics
and Conservation Genetics; Natural World
Heritage Conservation and Nature
Interpretation; and Conservation Awareness.
Another MoU is between the Consular,
Passport and Visa Division of India's Ministry
of External Af fairs and US Customs and
Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security for the Development of an
International Expedited Traveler Initiative
the Global Entry Program, which is a US
Customs and Border Protection program.
T he fifth agreement is a Technical
Arrangement between the two that will allow
sharing of unclassified information on White
Shipping as permitted by respective national
laws, regulations and policies, and provides a
framework for mutually beneficial maritime
information. An MoU was inked between
India's Petroleum and Natural Gas ministry
and the Department of Energy of the US to
increase the understanding of the geologic
occurrence, distribution, and production of
natural gas hydrates along the continental
margin of India and in the US. In defense
cooperation, an Information Exchange Annex
(IEA) was held between the Ministry of
Defence and the US' Department of Defense
regarding Aircraft Carrier Technologies. The
IEA is aimed to enhance data and information
sharing specific to aircraft carriers between
India and the US, it said.
"Today, we discussed about taking

our economy to new heights and
about cyber security." The Prime
Minister described India as a young
country with 800 million people
under the age of 35. "India and the
US can work together to use this tal

ent and youth power for the welfare
of the world," he said.
He also stressed India and the US
have been cooperating on global
issues such as nuclear security,
g lobal warming and terrorism.
Modi also thanked Obama for his
support to India's membership in
the Missile Technology Control
Regime (MTCR) and the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG).
Obama said India and the US were
the largest democracies in the
world. "Our wider cooperation will
be helpful for developing countries
of the world. India is a young coun
try and we are aware of the talent it
has. We will continue to work
together in the future too," he said.

The President also said the two
sides discussed about the progress
made in the bilateral civilian
nuclear agreement and India's
membership of the NSG.
"We also discussed about nuclear
technology falling into wrong
hands," he said.
Obama later hosted a lunch in
honor of Modi. This was the sev
enth meeting between Modi and
Obama as Prime Minister and
President. He is visiting the US at
the invitation of Obama, who in the
last year of his presidency is invit
ing a few world leaders with whom
he shared a "close and productive
Continued on page 16
16
June 11-17, 2016
MODI IN AMERICA
USIBC member firms on track to invest $45 billion more

Washington, DC: Highlighting the
potential of the USIndia strategic
and commercial partnership, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi addressed
USIndia Business Councils 41st
Annual Leadership Summit on June
7.
Welcoming the PM to the Summit
were business leaders of top
American companies including:
USIBC Chairman John Chambers
(Executive Chairman, Cisco), Robert
Ford (Abbott), James Taiclet
(American Tower Corp), Marc Allen
(Boeing), David Cordani (Cigna),
Marillyn Hewson (Lockheed
Martin), Ajay Banga (MasterCard),
Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo) and David
Dvorak (Zimmer Biomet).
At USIBCs CEO Roundtable, Modi
met CEOs from both the US and
India to get an update on the
progress in the bilateral commercial
relationship. Also joining the CEO
Roundtable were the honorees for
USIBCs 2016 Global Leadership
Awards: Jef f Bezos (CEO and
Founder, Amazon) and Dilip
Shanghvi (Founder and MD, Sun
Pharmaceuticals). Both were hon
ored for their contributions and
commitment to integrating India
into the global economy. Bezos said,
We have already created some
A group photo of the CEO meet with Prime Minister Modi at the USIBC event June 7.
45,000 jobs in India and continue to
see huge potential in the Indian
economy. Speaking after the round
table, John Chambers spoke on the
substantial investment by USIBC
members. In September 2014,
USIBC member companies indicated
an investment number of $41 bil
lion that was likely to be invested by
members over a 23 year time peri
od. Today, I am happy to announce
that in less than two years, about 20
percent of USIBC member compa
nies have already invested $28 bil
lion. Over the next 23 years, we see
this pace accelerating, again with
about 20 percent of our member
companies reporting, indicating that
Washington: As President Obama got ready to

host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the
White House for the second time in as many
years, The New York Times tried to explain the
bond between the two.
"There are few relationships between Obama
and another world leader more unlikely than
the one he has with Modi," the daily wrote,
agreeing that the two largest democracies in
the world have "compelling reasons" to find
common cause.
The US is encouraging India's rise as a
regional giant for Obama's socalled "pivot to
Asia" policy and counter China's global eco
nomic and military superpower ambitions. For
India, the US bond is needed to "accelerate its
economy with an injection of investment from
American companies".
T he ModiObama bond Obama is still
"unlikely". Obama has made the protection of
minorities a central pillar of his life because he
believes that "criticism and dissent are core
tenets of democracy".
"But Modi, by contrast, spent much of his life
rising through the ranks of the RSS that cam
paigns forcefully for India's Hindu majority," it
said, recalling the Gujarat riots that saw some
1,000 people, most of them Muslims, killed in
2002 when Modi was the CM in the state. The
USIBC members are on track to

invest an additional $45 billion,
which is a conservative estimate.
Given Prime Minister Modis track
record towards implementing
Digital India and key economic
reforms, we are optimistic that this
number will be dramatically exceed
ed, perhaps even doubled. USIBC
President Mukesh Aghi said, Forty
five billion is a good starting point
for American companies to invest in
India and this number will only go
up in the future. This will translate
into increased technology transfers
and job creation. We are excited to
expand the potential opportunities
attached to this relationship.
Times, citing a Human Rights Watch report,

said the BJP government in India has "increas
ingly used the country's broad and vague laws
restricting free speech to stifle dissent".
The newspaper also raised the issue of shut
ting down NGOs, such as Greenpeace. On a
personal front, The Times said, both leaders
avoid the socializing common in their capi
tals. "Obama is a doting father and dutiful
husband who maintains close bonds with
his childhood friends...Modi abandoned his
arranged marriage decades ago and has no
children or any public friendships."
T he newspaper,
however, found
that both
men rose
f r o m
modest
circum
stances,
had dif
ficult rela
tionships
with
their
fathers and were widely
considered transformational figures when
elected. "Modi's humble origins, largely cor
ruptionfree government and intense focus on
Obama
Modis is
an unlikely
friendship':
NYT
US firm to start work on 6 nuclear power plants in India

Washington: The civilian nuclear agreement signed between India
and the US over a decade ago has finally borne fruit with the two
sides deciding to start preparatory work on six nuclear power plants
in India following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Modi and
President Obama. The US also recognized India as a major defense
partner. "Culminating a decade of partnership on civil nuclear
issues, the leaders welcomed the start of preparatory work on site in
India for six AP 1000 reactors to be built by Westinghouse and
noted the intention of India and the US ExportImport Bank to work
together toward a competitive financing package for the project," a
joint statement issued following Tuesday's talks between the two
leaders said. "Once completed, the project would be among the
largest of its kind, fulfilling the promise of the USIndia civil nuclear
agreement and demonstrating a shared commitment to meet India's
growing energy needs while reducing reliance on fossil fuels."
winning foreign
investment are
sharp breaks from
his predeces
sor,"
it
said.
President Obama welcomed PM Modi

with a hug in White House June 7.
Ashley J Tellis, a senior associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
told The Times that both men "are remarkably
warm and have a personal graciousness about
them that is very evident in personal
encounters".
Together for global

peace and security
Continued from page 15
working relationship". After
arriving in Washignton on
Monday, Mo di visited the
Arlington National Cemetery and
laid wreaths at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier and the Space
Shuttle Columbia Memorial. He
then attended a meeting with
heads of US think tanks. Modi
later took part in function in
which some valuable Indian arti
facts were repatriated.
"We are very grateful for gov
ernment of the US and the
President for returning a part of
our culture. T his heritage
inspires us for the future," he
said. During her address at cere
mony of Repatriation of Cultural
Property, US Attorney General
Loretta E. Lynch said: "Today
(Monday) we begin the process
of returning more than 200
stolen cultural objects back to
IANS
India."
MODI IN AMERICA
June 11-17, 2016
17
India could be an ideal partner for US businesses searching for new areas of
economic growth Modi said in his address to US Congress
Washington: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Wednesday
described the US as an "indis
pensable partner" of India and
stated that a strong India is in
the strategic interest of the US.
"In every sector of India's for
ward march, I see the US as an
indispensable partner," Modi
said in his wellreceived speech
at a joint sitt ing of the US
Congress.
"Many of you also believe that
a stronger and prosperous India
is in America's strategic inter
est," he said.
Modi is the fifth Indian Prime
Minister to address the US
Congress after Rajiv Gandhi, P.V.
Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.
He said India could be an ideal
partner for US businesses
searching "for new areas of eco
nomic growth, markets for their
goo ds, a pool of skilled
resources, and global locations
to produce and manufacture".
"India's strong economy, and
growth rate of 7.6 per cent per
annum, is creating new opportu
nities for our mutual prosperity,"
the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi with a group of lawmakers at the Congressional Reception

hosted jointly by the Foreign Relation Committees and India Caucus of
both houses in Washington DC. (Photos PIB)
India, US should become forces of good

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given the honor of addressing a joint
sitting of the two Houses in the US Capitol in Washington DC on June 8.
Turning to the Indian econo
my, he said that his todo list by
2022, the 75th anniversary of
India's independence was ambi
tious. "It includes a vibrant rural
economy with robust farm sec
tor; a roof over each head and
electricity to all households; to
skill millions of our youth; build
100 smart cities; have a broad
band for a billion, and connect
our villages to the digital world;
and create a 21st century rail,
road and port infrastructure,"
Modi said. He also sought coop
eration in the fight against ter

rorism and w ithout naming
Pakistan, said the scourge was
"incubated in India's neighbor
hood". He urged the members of
the US Congress to send a clear
message to those who preach
and practice terrorism for politi
cal gains. Alluding to the US
Congress holding back part of
the US aid to Pakistan, Modi said,
"Refusing to reward them is the
first step towards holding them
accountable for their actions."
IANS
Modi said that the IndiaUS relations have gone way beyond diplo
macy where the two countries can be forces of good for the world.
"The US was first curious about India but now our shared values
have led us to think together about what we can do for the world,"
he said. "I want the combined power of India and US to become a
force for the good in the world," he said.
The prime minister said the opportunity given to him to address
the joint sitting at the invitation of House Speaker Paul Ryan was not
an honor only for him, but also for 1.25 billion Indians and
expressed his heartfelt gratitude. That Modi was not lacking in
humor became evident when he compared the functioning of the US
Congress with the chaos in the Indian Parliament.
"I am informed that the working of the US Congress is harmo
nious," he said much to everybody's laughter. "I am also told that
you are wellknown for your bipartisanship," he said. "Well, you are
not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in
the Indian Parliament, especially in our Upper House."
Modi praises Indian Americans
Separatist Khalistanis held a protest near the US Capitol timed with Prime
Ministers address to US Congress. A group of Indian American Christians
also held a prayer vigil a few blocks away to protest what they called a
pattern of abuse against religious minorities in India. (Photo: SATimes)
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra

Modi in his address to the US Congress
also praised the manifold contributions
of the Indian community to America.
Connecting our two nations is also a
unique and dynamic bridge of three
million Indian Americans, Modi said.
They are among your best CEOs, aca
demics, scientists, economics, doctors,
even spelling bee champions, he said
eliciting standing ovation from the US
lawmakers.
He also mentioned the burgeoning
popularity of yoga in America and said,
with a touch of humor, India has not
PM Modi posing with the people of Indian community at the
yet claimed intellectual property rights
Congressional Reception hosted jointly by the Foreign Relation
for yoga. This comment too generated
Committees and India Caucus of both houses in Washington DC on June 8.
applause.
18
June 11-17, 2016
MODI'S TRAVEL OVERSEAS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving the Guard of Honor at the

ceremonial welcome at Emiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar on June 5.
Herat (Afghanistan): Marking

another major success in India's
reconstruct ion
e f forts
in
Afg hanistan, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi along with Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani on
Saturday jointly inaugurated the
AfghanIndia Friendship Dam,
earlier known as Salma Dam, built
with Indian aid.
Speaking at the inauguration
ceremony, Ghani said that with
India's help a longstanding dream
of Afghanistan has been realized
after 40 years.
The assistance of the people
and the government of India in
constructing this splendid dam
reinstitutes the ancient ties of
Herat and India, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Indian origin children

in Doha, Qatar during his visit there.
PM Modi being conferred the highest civilian honor of Afghanistan

(Amir Amanullah Khan Award) by the Afghan President,
Md. Ashraf Ghani in Herat on June 4.
T his dam w ill chart a new

course of cooperation and pros
perity, the Afghan President stat
ed. Our people identify India
with roads, dams and over 200
small developmental projects.
Originally constructed in 1976,
the Salma Dam suffered extensive
damage during the Afghan civil
war. It was built at a cost of
approximately Rs 1,700 crore by
1,500 Indian and Afghan engi
neers, technocrats and other pro
fessionals.
Three turbines on the dam will
produce 42 MW of electricity and
the water will irrigate around
75,000 hectares of land.
The AfghanIndia Friendship
Dam is a landmark infrastructure
project undertaken by the Indian

government on river Chiste
Sharif in Herat province of
Afghanistan.
The gross capacity of the dam is
633 million cubic metres. The
dam is 104.3 metres high, 540
metres long and 450 metres wide
at the bottom.
In December last year, Modi
and Ghani jointly inaugurated a
new building of the Afghan parlia
ment in Kabul built with Indian
aid.
Last month, India, Iran and
Afghanistan signed a trilateral
agreement for the development of
the Chabahar port in the Gulf of
Oman for transport and transit
corridor.
INDIA SECURES SWISS SUPPORT FOR NSG MEMBERSHIP

Geneva: In a strong boost to its bid, India on
Monday secured the support of Switzerland
for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG).
"Switzerland welcomes India's contribu
tions to nonproliferation of nuclear arms,"
Switzerland President Johann Schneider
Ammann said at a joint address to the media
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi follow
ing delegation level talks between the two
sides. "We promised India support in its
ef forts to become a member of the
NSGroup," SchneiderAmmann said.
Stating that Switzerland was interested in
India's membership of the NSG, he said that
the "process has started and we will share
and contribute actively". On his part, Modi
said he was "thankful to the President for
Switzerland's understanding and support for
India's membership of the NSG".
Switzerland is an important member of the
NSG and its support is crucial for India's
membership in the 48member group.
India has already formally applied for
membership in the group. The US, Russia

and Britain have extended support to India's
membership. However, China has maintained
that, to be a member of the NSG, the country
should be a signatory to the Non
Proliferation Treaty (NPT ). Modi, who
arrived here from Qatar on Sunday night on
the third leg of his fivenation tour, said that
India and Switzerland also shared a commit
ment to reform international institutions in
line with current global realities. "We have
both agreed to support each other for our
respective bids for the nonpermanent mem
bership of the UN Security Council," he said.
As was expected, the issue of black money
also figured in Monday's bilateral talks.
"Combating the menace of 'black money'
and tax evasion is also our shared priority,"
Modi said.
"We discussed the need for an early and
expeditious exchange of information to bring
to justice the tax offenders," he said.
"An early start to negotiations on the
Agreement on Automatic Exchange of
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi

with the President of the Swiss
Confederation, Mr. Johann Schneider
Ammann, in Geneva on June 6.
Information would be important in this
respect." The Swiss strong suits of vocational
education and renewable energy too figured
in the talks. "President and I agreed to build
on the Swiss Vocational and Educational
Training system suited to India's needs," the
Prime Minister said. SchneiderAmmann said
that the two sides discussed clean technolo

gy, energy security, clean air and sustainable
development. Ahead of the delegation level
talks, Modi and SchneiderAmmann had a
restricted meeting.
After the talks, Modi attended a business
meeting in which he invited a galaxy of Swiss
business leaders to invest in India.
"Within my country I need to create two or
three Switzerlands. So scope for partnership
is immense," Modi told a gathering of heads
of companies like ABB, Lafarge, Novartis and
Nestle. "We want to have manufacturing of
global standards. Hence, Swiss model of skill
development is very relevant for us," the
prime minister said.
"India is not just a market of 1.25 billion.
We have skills and a government open to
business," he added.
Later, Modi also interacted with a group of
Indian students and scientists from CERN,
the European Organization for Nuclear
Research, that operates the largest particle
physics laboratory in the world.
SUBCONTINENT
June 11-17, 2016
19
Pak will take all measures to

Indian couple sets
increase defense capability: Aziz record by conquering
Islamabad: In the backdrop of
recent testfiring by India of its
supersonic interceptor missile, a
top Pakistani foreign adviser
informed the country's Senate that
Pakistan would take all possible
measures to augment its defense
capability.
Adviser to Prime Minister on
Foreign Af fairs Sartaj Aziz said
Pakistan was not oblivious to its
defense requirements and was
upgrading its capabilities through
suitable technologies without
entering into an arms race.
He said: Our ef forts for peace
and friendship must not be inter
preted as our weakness. We are
fully capable to defend our people
and territory.
The adviser said Pakistani scien
tists and experts constantly moni
tored and evaluated the strategic
threats that Indian nuclear doc
trine posed to Pakistan's security.
Despite limited resources,
Pakistan had developed a robust
nuclear deterrent system whose
safety and security was acknowl
Will not allow any

consular access
for Jadhav: Pakistan
Islamabad: Pakistan has officially

turned down India's request for
consular access to alleged RAW
agent Kulbushan Jadhav now
under its arrest, a media report
said. "Jadhav will not be granted
consular access," Interior
Minister Chaudhry Nisar said,
alleging that Jadhav had entered
the Pakistan territory for some
special objectives, Geo TV
reported. The Pakistani security
forces had arrested Jadhav from
Balochistan in March and alleged
that he was a serving officer in
the Indian Navy and deputed to
the Indian intelligence agency
Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW). Jadhav has been accused
by Pakistan of planning "subver
sive activities" in the country.
Earlier, India's External Af fairs
Ministry had said that Jadhav for
merly worked for the Indian Navy
and said its high commission in
Islamabad was seeking consular
access to him.
Everest together
Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

edged (by the world), he said.
On the diplomatic front, he said,
Pakistan was planning to highlight
at all relevant international fora
"the dangerous implications of
India's plan to nuclearise the
Indian Ocean".
One specific proposal under
consideration was to move a reso
lution in the next session of the UN
General Assembly to declare the
Indian Ocean a nuclearfree zone.
He said Pakistan would approach
other countries as well to cospon
sor this resolution.

About the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) membership, the
adviser said Pakistan had under
taken a proactive diplomatic offen
sive in all the member countries of
the group. Our ef forts towards
nondiscriminatory approach will
pay off, he said.
He said Pakistan's lobbying in
the US was quite active. We have
shortlisted lobbying firms. Our
missions are also very active to
protect the country's interests.
Hindu priest murdered in Bangladesh

Dhaka: A Hindu priest was killed
this week in a suspected militant
attack in Bangladesh Jhenidah
district, police said.
Gopinath Kanjilal, the district's
Assistant Superintendent of
Police, told journalists that three
assailants riding a motorcycle
murdered Ananda Kumar
Ganguly, 66.
T he assailants, armed with
sharp weapons, slit Ganguly's
throat while he was going to the
temple to of fer puja, Xinhua
news agency quoted the of ficer
as saying.
The incident took place in a
rice field some 180 km west of
Dhaka. Doctors declared him
dead when he was rushed to a
hospital. The motive behind the
killing was not known.
Unidentified attackers on April
30 also hacked a Hindu person
to death in Bangladesh's central
Tangail district, 97 km away
from Dhaka.
In the wake of militant attacks,
the Bangladeshi government has
banned motorcyclists from car
rying more than one passenger

until further notice. T he ban
came a day after spouse of a top
police of ficer was shot dead by
suspected
militants
at
Chittagong, 240 km southeast of
Dhaka. Another police of ficer,
Ahsan Azizur Rahman, said they
had not found any witnesses.
"Ganguly was the priest of an
ancient temple," he told Efe news
agency.
The priest had not received
any death threats in the past,
Rahman said.
"This this is the second such
incident in the area this year. In
January, a Christian convert was
stabbed some 20 km away," the
officer said.
Eleven people have been killed
in similar manner in various
parts of Bangladesh since April.
The victims include a secular
activist, a professor accused of
atheism, two gay activists, two
Hindu merchants, a Sufi spiritual
leader and a homeopathic doctor
accused
of
promot ing
Christianity.
Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod.

(Photo: Courtesy, www.setopati.net)
Kathmandu: Right from when
they got married in 2008, this
couple, both in the Maharashtra
Police, dreamt of together
ascending Mt. Everest, the tallest
peak in the world, and even
delayed becoming parents till
they achieved their aim which
nally happened on May 23.
Dinesh and Tarakeshwari
Rathod, both Maharashtra Police
constables, also became the rst
couple to reach the summit of
Everest a feat they accom
plished a few days after consta
ble Raq Shaikh, of Aurangabad,
became the rst Maharashtra
policeman to reach the top of
the world.
Addressing a press conference
to apprise media of their feat,
the two, known as the "adven
ture couple" in Maharashtra
Police, said that they became the
rst Indian couple and rst secu
rity personnel couple to reach
the top of Mt Everest.
Our dreams have come true,
said the couple who tied the
knot in 2008 and added that this
was the dream they had since
then.
"We committed that we will
not give birth to a child until we
climb Mt Everest, said Rathod,
adding that they were immense
ly pleased to achieve their goal
and happy to share the news
w ith the rest of the world.
Tarakeshwari also said that they
had even put of f their plan to

become parents. "With pride
now, we want to become par
ents," she said, and cited their
"love and dedication afforded by
my husband" for accomplishing
their cherished goal. Rathod
however said that they were
really saddened after hearing
that three Indian nationals lost
their lives in the climb, but once
they reached at the top them
selves, they were overjoyed.
T hree Indian nationals from
West Bengal were killed during
their attempt to ascend the
Everest this season.
The Rathods, both aged 30
years old, entered in police serv
ice in 2006. Before this, they
had climbed the highest peak of
Australia and other peaks and
conducted several adventure sky
diving and other mountain relat
ed expeditions.
Along with the Indian couple,
two Nepali Sherpas, Furba and
Fushemba, also reached the top
of Everest. The trip was organ
ised by Makalu Adventure.
Over 70 Indian nationals have
successfully climbed Mt Everest
this season. Mohan Lamsal of
Makalu Adventure said that such
kind of attempts will help trust
between the people of Nepal and
India. The couple took permis
sion to climb Everest in 2015
but due to the earthquake, post
poned their plan.
20 June 11-17, 2016
INTERNATIONAL
Global threat from Islamic Belgium to hold International

Day of Yoga on June 19
States remains high: UN chief
United Nations: The global threat
emanating from Islamic State (IS)
remains high, UN SecretaryGeneral
Ban Kimoon has said in a report.
The continued military pressure
exerted in Iraq and Syria by interna
tional coalition forces has led to
serious military setbacks for IS,
Xinhua quoted Ban as saying in the
report. "However, even though the
territorial expansion of IS in both
states (Syria and Iraq) has been
halted and, in part reversed over
recent months, many (UN) member
states have noted that IS is not yet
strategically and irreversibly weak
ened." "A worrying factor is that no
member state has reported that IS
is short on, or lacks, arms or ammu
nition," he said.
Over the past six months alone,
"Islamic State has carried out,
inspired, or claimed responsibility
for, terrorist attacks in Bangladesh,
Belgium, Egypt, France, Germany,
Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation, Turkey and the
US," he said.
"The attacks have killed more
than 500 individuals and injured
hundreds more." National law
enforcement agencies continue to
investigate those attacks, but it is
already clear that they were coordi
nated by foreign terrorist fighters
UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Kimoon.

who had returned to Europe from
ISheld territory in Syria, Ban noted.
"This demonstrates the ability of
IS returnees to quickly link up and
draw on the support of established
radical networks and supporters of
AlQaeda and thereby enhance their
newly acquired terrorism skills with
local knowledge and support," he
said. The secretarygeneral also
said: "Significant numbers of for
eign terrorist fighters continue to
travel from states around the world
to join IS in Iraq and Syria."
He said this while citing a report
from a member state saying that
around 38,000 individuals may
have attempted to travel to the
region in the past few years.

"Countermeasures taken by states
to detect and deter foreign terrorist
fighters, and increased controls at
the borders of Iraq and the Syrian
Arab Republic, may be affecting the
numbers of such fighters able to
join IS."
T he UN Security Council has
maintained that IS, also known as
Daesh, poses a threat to internation
al peace and security, calling upon
all UN member states to fight the
terrorist group, including making
the joint efforts to cut off funds for
it. Ban called for strengthened inter
national cooperation to fight IS and
other terrorist groups in the world.
Brussels: A number of yoga federations, yoga teachers and yoga

schools are coming together to organize the second edition of the
grand Yoga session in Brussels on June 19, India's ambassador to
Belgium and the EU Manjeev Singh Puri announced here.
"The second International Day of Yoga would not only carry forward
the accomplishment of the First International Day of Yoga last year,
but would be a manifestation of our strong will, positivity and unde
terred unity to combat the global evil forces through the message of
love and, above all, serenity contained in Yoga," he told a press confer
ence at the Indian embassy.
"I am particularly delighted that we are going to have a large partici
pation in Brussels which is the heart of Europe," he said.
Also on June 21, many Yoga events will be held around the EU insti
tutions. June 21, was designated as the International Day of Yoga by
the UN General Assembly in December 2014. The resolution was driv
en by India and cosponsored by a record of 177 MemberStates of the
UN, including Belgium.
Syria's Assad pledges to keep

fighting terror
Damascus: Syrian President Bashar alAssad has pledged to continue
the war on terrorist groups until fully eradicating them, noting that
any political process that doesn't share the same goal is "meaning
less". Addressing the People Assembly, Assad said the war on Syria
was imposed by external powers in coordination and cooperation with
the opposition forces on ground.
"I can assure you that our war against terror is ongoing, not because
we love war, but because they have imposed war on us, but the blood
letting will not stop until we eradicate terrorism from its roots wher
ever located and whatever mask it was under," the president said, as
his administration has been engaged in fighting ultraradical groups,
including the Islamic State (IS) group and the alQaedalinked Nusra
Front in several areas across the country.
Kerry decries human Netanyahu in Moscow for

rights abuse in China
talks with Putin
US
Secretary
of State
John Kerry.
Beijing: US Secretary of State John

Kerry denounced human rights
violations in China and expressed
concern over the country's
recentlyapproved law on foreign
nonprofits.
During his speech at the closing
ceremony of the ChinaUS
Strategic and Economic Dialogue
in Beijing, Kerry said he had put
forward "international concern"
over the infringements of the
freedoms of expression and reli
gion in China and remonstrated
ag ainst the persecut ion of
lawyers, religious heads and civil
society leaders, EFE news report
ed. Kerry also crit icised the
Foreign NGO Management Law
passed by the Chinese Legislature
in April, set to enter into force in

2017, and which has triggered an
international outcry due to the
widespread perception it will
make the work of such groups in
the country more difficult.
Kerry stressed again the impor
tance of allowing such organisa
tions to continue functioning
effectively, adding they are work
ing to build understanding
between the two countries.
Chinese State advisor Yang
Jiechi responded to the criticisms
on the same platform saying that
the "progress" in human rights in
China has been widely acknowl
edged and that the country's citi
zens enjoy freedom in matters of
both expression and religion.
Moscow: Israel's Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in
Russia this week for talks with
President Vladimir Putin. The lead
ers reportedly plan to discuss the
conflict in Syria and the prospects
for settling the IsraeliPalestinian
conflict.
Netanyahu, accompanied by his
wife Sara, is on second visit to
Moscow this year, which marks the
25th anniversary of the resump
t ion of diplomat ic re lat ions
between Israel and Russia. The
previous Israeli visit to the Russian
capital took place in April.
Netanyahu, according to RT
online, plans to discuss the imple
mentation of positions agreed on
during Netanyahus last visit to
Moscow, placing a particular focus
on coordinat ion between the
Israeli military and Russian forces.
Both sides are eager to abide by
a socalled deconflicting mecha
nism put in place to assure that
Russian jets can freely operate in
Syrian airspace near Israels bor
ders.
They will also discuss various
regional issues including the glob
al fight against terrorism, the situ
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ation in and around Syria and the
diplomatic horizon between Israel
and the Palestinians, as well as
bilateral economic and trade coop
eration and the strengthening of
cultural and humanitarian ties,
the Prime Ministers Office said in
a statement.
Israeli and Russian leaders will
discuss ef forts to maintain the
Syrian cease fire brokered by
Washington and Moscow in
February. The two leaders will also
touch base on the Israe li

Palestinian peace process, in addi
tion to IsraeliRussian trade coop
eration and cultural ties.
To mark the 25th anniversary of
the resumption of diplomatic rela
tions, Israel's delegation will inau
gurate a PR campaign titled "Open
the door to Israel," designed to
exhibit Israels achievements in
education, technology and culture,
a large part of which can be attrib
utable to Soviet or Russian Jews.
Amazon to invest another

$3 bn in India: Jeff Bezos
Washington: The USbased global
ecommerce major Amazon.com
had pledged another $3 billion
investment in India as it bets big
on the $14 billion eretail space in
the country that's projected to
grow to $55 billion by 2018.
"We have already created some
45,000 jobs in India and continue
to see huge potential in the Indian
economy," said Jeff Bezos, Founder
and CEO of Amazon.com at an gala
hosted by the USIndia Business
council for visiting Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi here.
"Our Amazon.in team is surpass
ing even our most ambit ious
planned milestones, and I'm
pleased to announce today that
we'll invest an additional $3 billion
on top of the $2 billion that we
announced in 2014, bringing our
total investment in India to over
$5 billion."
Bezos was also presented with
the Global Leadership Awards by
Prime Minister Modi, along with
Jeff Bezos with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dilip Shang hvi, Founder and
Manag ing Director of Sun
Pharmaceuticals. Both were hon
Indian digital commerce

to reach Rs 2.11 lakh cr
by December: Report
New Delhi: Indian digital com
m e r c e i s p o i s ed t o r e a ch R s
2,11,005 crore by December
2016, after growing at a CAGR
o f 3 0 p e r c e n t b e t w ee n
D ec e m b e r 2 0 1 1 D ec e m b e r
2015, said a report by Internet
and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI) and market research
firm IMRB.
T he entire gamut of digital
commerce amounting to Rs
1,25,732 crore by December
2015 was further divided into
Online Travel and Online Non
Travel categories, with Online
Travel accounting for the lion's
share of transactions worth Rs
7 6 , 3 9 6 c r o r e, f o l l o w ed b y
Online NonTravel at Rs 49,336
crore, said the report released
here.
"Online travel industry contin
ues to grow strongly with 61
per cent share while share of
online nontravel has improved
over the previous year to reach
June 11-17, 2016
BUSINESS
39 per cent," said the report.

"Domestic air ticket and rail
ways booking continue to be
among top contributors to the
online travel spends. These were
the segments that were the top
contributors in previous year
also," it said.
Hotel bookings contributed Rs
5,200 crore while online train
ticketing rose by 34 percent to
Rs 21,708 crore.
etail (Rs 37,689 crore),
Financial Services (Rs 5,231),
Matrimony and Classified (Rs
2,592) and Other Online service
(Rs 3,823) accounted for the Rs
49,336 crore worth of digital
commerce under Online Non
Travel category.
Mobile phones and accessories
occupied the top spot under e
commerce with a transactional
value of Rs 14,109 crore while
cameras and camera accessories
stood at the bottom with Rs 803
crore.
oured for their contributions and

commitment to integrating India
into the global economy.
21
World Bank cuts 2016 global

growth forecast to 2.4 pc
Washington: The World Bank has
lowered its forecast for the global
growth in 2016 to 2.4 per cent,
saying that the world economy is
facing stronger headwinds.
In its Global Economic
Prospects
Report,
the
Washingtonbased institution
expected the world economy to
grow 2.4 per cent in 2016, 0.5
percentage point lower than the
bank's forecast in January,
Xinhua news agency reported.
"Although the global nancial
crisis is now seven years behind
us, the world economy is still
struggling to regain momentum,"
said Kaushik Basu, chief econo
mist at the World Bank.
Growth continues to falter in
advanced economies, while there
is considerable divergence of per
formance across emerging mar
ket and developing economies,
and their overall growth remains
below potential, said Basu.
According to the report, devel
oping economies are forecast to
expand by 3.5 per cent in 2016,

0.6 percentage point lower than
its January's projection; advanced
economies are expected to grow
1.7 per cent this year, 0.5 lower
than its January's forecast.
Among major emerging market
economies, China is forecast to
grow at 6.7 per cent this year,
India is expected to grow at a
robust pace of 7.6 per cent, while
Brazil and Russia will see their
economies fall by 4 per cent and
1.2 per cent respectively, further
down from the World Bank's
January's forecasts.
In a weak growth environment,
the global economy is facing
increasingly pronounced down
side risks, including a further
slowdown in major emerging
markets, sharp changes in nan
cial market sentiment, stagnation
in advanced economies, a longer
thanexpected period of low com
modity prices, and heightened
policy and geopolitical uncertain
ties, said the report.
Key Indian equity indices

surge after RBI's policy meet
Mumbai: T he accommo dat ing
monetary policy stance of the
Reserve Bank of India despite a
status quo on lending rates lifted
the investors' mood and boosted
key equity market indices.
T he 30scrip Sensitive Index
( S e n s e x ) of t h e B S E t o u ch ed
26,902.61 points as soon as the
policy was announced and after
that it maintained a constant
upward movement.
The Sensex was trading 257.99
points or 0.96 per cent higher
during the afternoon session.
The wider 51scrip Nifty of the
National Stock Exchange (NSE)
was also trading 75.60 points or
0.92 per cent higher at 8,276.65
points.
The RBI on Tuesday left its key
policy rates and reserve ratios
unchanged, concerned over the
slight rise in inflation and some
domestic and global upside risks
that have sprung up since April.
The decision was taken at the
RBI Governor
Raghuram
Rajan.
(File photo:
IANS)
second bimonthly policy review

for the current fiscal by RBI
Governor Raghuram Rajan at its
headquarters here.
Reacting to the policy update,
M a r i e D i r o n , S e n i o r Vi c e
President for the Sovereign Risk
G r o u p a t M o o d y ' s I nve s t o r s
S e r v i c e, s a i d n o s i g n i f i c a n t
changes in the monetary policy
stance was expected in the near
futher. "Rather, the transmission
of monetary policy will influence
India's economic developments
and credit profile," Diron said,
adding that factors that will con
tribute towards
these are cleanup of bank bal
ance sheets, implementation of
the bankruptcy law and inflation
control.
The Sensex of the BSE, which
opened at 26,833.54 points, was
trading at 27,035.44 points (at
02.25 p.m.) in the afternoon ses
sion, higher 257.99 points or
0.96 per cent from the previous
day's close at 26,777.45 points.
The Sensex touched a high of
27,082.63 points and a low of
26,829.53 points in the trade so
far.
22 June 11-17, 2016
SPORTS
MUHAMMAD ALI: A LEGEND NO MORE
Los Angeles: Legendary boxer Muhammad

Ali, regarded as the greatest of all time by
many and an inspiration for millions across
the world, passed away at the age of 74.
Ali was not a mere boxer, he was much
more. Adored by millions around the globe,
he was not loved for his amazing boxing skills
alone, more for his beliefs.
His fearlessness gave the blacks the confi
dence to fight for their rights.
Born on January 17, 1942 Cassius
Marcellus Clay in Louisville, a small town in
Kentucky alongside the Ohio River, Ali was
the first to win the world heavyweight title
three times.
Brash and witty, Ali had the unique ability
and towering selfbelief to back his words
with his deeds. His pugilistic might was
spread over three different decades and his
record of 565 with 37 knockouts tells it all.
Ali, known as Cassius Clay before he con
verted to Islam, first shot to global fame by
winning the lightheavyweight gold at the
1960 Rome Olympics.
Ali became world champion at 22 by defeat
ing the seemingly unbeatable Sonny Liston.
But one of the most defining moments of Ali's
life came in 1967 when his Muslim faith and
his strong conviction to stand up for his
beliefs cost him dearly when he refused con
scription to join the US Army during the
Vietnam War.
He was stripped of his title and his boxing
license was also suspended by the state of
endeared him to millions across the world

and made him an iconic figure.
As news of his death spread, tributes flowed
in from all over the world. Celebrities in
sports took to Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook to pay their tributes to the leg
endary boxer.
"God came for his champion. So long great
one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP," for
mer world heavyweight champion Mike
Tyson tweeted.
Former World champion Lennox Lewis
tweeted, "A giant among men, Ali displayed a
greatness in talent, courage & conviction, that
most of us will ever be able to truly compre
hend. #RIPAli"
Recalling his playing days, former Olympic
gold medallist and twotime world heavy
weight champion George Foreman, who lost
to Ali in the famous 'Rumble in the Jungle' in
Already suffering from Parkinsons Disease,

Ali lit the Olympic flame at the 1996
Games in Atlanta.
New York. He was convicted of draft evasion
and sentenced to five years in prison and a
$10,000 fine. He paid a bond and remained
free while the verdict was being appealed.
Denied a boxing license in every state and
stripped of his passport, Ali did not fight
when he was in the prime of his physical
power from age 25 to almost 29.
However, his opposition to the Vietnam war
and his antiracism stance eventually
Zaire, said, "Ralph Ali, Frazier & Foreman we

were 1 guy. A part of me slipped away, 'The
greatest piece'."
Former world champion boxer Manny
Pacquiao
tweeted,
"Please
keep
@MuhammadAli in your thoughts and
prayers. With God, all things are possible."
Finally allowed to continue his boxing
career in 1970, Ali was beaten for the first
time in his professional career by the leg
endary Joe Frazier in 1971 in what was
termed as the 'Fight of the Century' in New
York. However, Ali bounced back from that
defeat and regained the world championship
title with an eighth round knockout of reign
ing champion George Foreman.
Ali retired in 1981 and soon found signs of
sluggishness and neurological damage. He
thereafter received treatment for Parkinson's
disease.
Don't want a repeat of

2012 selection mess: Paes
Leander Paes.
New Delhi: With the All India Tennis
Association (AITA) selection committee set
to announce the squad for Rio Olympics
on June 11, veteran doubles specialist
Leander Paes said he does not want a
repeat of the 2012 fiasco when Rohan
Bopanna refused to partner him.
Paes, who recently completed a career
Grand Slam, by winning the French Open
mixed doubles with Swiss great Martina
Hingis, however said he had complete
faith on AITA president Anil Khanna and
the selectors.
"I am fully confident that the AITA will
send the best team in doubles for Rio. I
have complete faith on the selection com
mittee particularly Anil Khanna that they
will select the best medal prospects," Paes
said at a press conference here.
"Selection is always done on merit, and I
am sure it will be done again this time
too," he added.
It will be Paes' recordsetting seventh
appearance at the mega event for his
country. But his dream has seen a poten
tial roadblock after falling down the men's
doubles rankings in recent times.
He moved up five spots to 46 in the lat
est men's rankings but that wasn't enough
to get a direct qualification berth for Rio.
Bopanna grabbed that berth after gain
ing a place in the top 10 rankings and has
the luxury of choosing his partner from
among Paes, Purav Raja (103), Divij
Sharan (114), Saketh Myneni (125),
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (134) and
Mahesh Bhupathi (164)

for the Rio Games. But
Paes felt that his part
nership with Bopanna
will be India's best bet
for a medal at Rio.
"Without a shadow of
doubt, Rohan and me
are the best team for a
medal at Rio. Rohan and
myself had some con
versat ion but it all
depends on the rank
ings. He has been play
ing well for quite sometime and there is
no doubt about that," he said.
"I definitely do not want a repeat of
what happened four years ago," he added.
Bopanna has a history of bitter relations
with Paes after refusing to partner him
during the London 2012 Games. Paes'
relationship with Bopanna and Bhupathi
has been a longstanding issue for Indian
tennis.
India's doubles star Bopanna however
says the bitterness that had developed
between him and Paes in the buildup to
the 2012 London Games is "long gone and
over" and he was not averse to playing
with the Kolkatan again for the sake of the
country.
Paes, however, has failed to keep the
momentum of mixed doubles in men's
doubles as he lost in the quarterfinals at
Rolland Garros.
The righthander, however, remains pos
itive in his approach and said his firstever
French Open mixed doubles win was a
career highlight and showed he has still
got it.
"This French Open trophy is very spe
cial, we have shown the world that Indians
can be world beaters.
"It feels special...such a humbling feeling
to be one out of the only three men in the
history of the sport to have more Grand
Slams," he said.
The 42yearold once again reiterated
that age is just a number for him as he
revealed some of his fitness secrets.
SPORTS
Maria Sharapova
banned for two years
London: Russian star Maria
Sharapova was banned for two
years by the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) after a failed drugs
test. The 29yearold was provision
ally banned in March after testing
positive for banned substance
Meldonium at Australian Open in
January. Meldonium was banned on
January 1 this year. She said she
has been taking since 2006 for
health issues. The fivetime Grand
Slam winner said she will appeals
against the decision.
"An Independent Tribunal
appointed under Article 8.1 of the
2016
Tennis
AntiDoping
Programme has found that Maria
Sharapova committed an Anti
Doping Rule Violation under Article
2.1 of the program and as a conse
quence has disqualified the affected
results and imposed a period of
ineligibility of two years, commenc
ing on 26 January 2016," ITF said
in a statement.
"Sharapova, a 29yearold player
from Russia, provided a urine sam
ple on January 26 2016, after her
quarterfinal match at the 2016
Australian Open in Melbourne,
Russian star Maria Sharapova.

Australia." Sharapova has been
included in Russia's Olympic squad.
It wasn't immendiately clear what
her fate would be regarding her
participation in the quadrennial
mega event. "Today with their deci
sion of a two year suspension, the
ITF tribunal unanimously concluded
that what I did was not intentional.
The tribunal found that I did not
seek treatment from my doctor for
the purpose of obtaining a perform
ance enhancing substance,"
Sharapova said in a statement post
ed on Facebook. "You need to know
that the ITF asked the tribunal to

suspend me for four years the
required suspension for an inten
tional violation and the tribunal
rejected the ITF's position."
"While the tribunal concluded
correctly that I did not intentionally
violate the antidoping rules, I can
not accept an unfairly harsh two
year suspension." "The tribunal,
whose members were selected by
the ITF, agreed that I did not do
anything intentionally wrong, yet
they seek to keep me from playing
tennis for two years
Saina, Srikanth advance in

Australian Open
Sydney: Indian stars Saina Nehwal and
Kidambi Srikanth registered comprehensive
wins to advance to the second round, while
P.V. Sindhu suffered an opening round upset
at the $750,000 Australian Badminton Open
Superseries here. Apart from Srikanth, World
No.37 Sameer Verma also advanced to the
next round but qualifier R.M.V. Gurusaidutt
failed to cross the first round hurdle.
Seventh seed Saina dominated the proceed
ings from the start as she thrashed local chal
lenger Joy Lai 2110, 2114 in just 29 min
utes. World No.8 Saina, who had won the
Australian Open in 2014, will take on
Malaysia's Jin Wei Goh in the second round.
But it was curtains for World No.10 Sindhu,
who lost to World No.40 Kim Hyo Min from
South Korea 1521, 1921 after a 55minute
battle. Youngster Tanvi Lad came back from a
game down to sail into the second round.
Tanvi set up a faceof f with fourthseeded
Yihan Wang after registering a brilliant 18

21, 2114, 2111 comeback win over qualifi
er Tiffany Ho of Australia in 52 minutes.
Other big names in the women's singles
draw, Li Xuerui of China, Ratchanok Intanon
of Thailand and Chinese Taipei's Tai Yzu Ying
also moved into the second round.
In men's singles, World No.12 Srikanth took
just 32 minutes to register a 2116, 2112
comfortable win over World No. 11 NG Ka
Long Angus of Hong Kong.
But Verma had a tough contest against
Indonesia's Ihsan Maulana Mustofa before
winning 2220, 1521 2115 in a 53minute
contest. Srikanth and Verma will now face
Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Anthony
Sinisuka Ginting in their second round match
es respectively. While Kuncoro upset Chinese
sixth seed Tian Houwei 2116, 2112,
Indonesia's Ginting stunned Chinese Taipei's
seventh seed Chou Tien Chen 218, 2112.
Sorting out batting order will be a challenge: Dhoni

Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will
lead a second string India team for the limited
overs tour to Zimbabwe, said that his first
challenge will be to get the batting order
right. Ahead of the team's departure on
Tuesday, Dhoni, while addressing the press
here, said India cannot afford to be compla
cent and the African minnows can pose a chal
lenge for his rookie side.
"Zimbabwe can be challenging at times, our
challenge will be slot placing in the batting
order. It will be a different experience, will be
playing with many players for the first time,"
Dhoni said here.

India will take on the hosts in three OneDay
Internationals (ODI) and as many Twenty20
Internationals at the Harare Sports Club with
the first match to be played on June 11.
Dhoni, however, put the ball on the Board of
Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) court
when he was asked to comment on former
team director Ravi Shastri's statement to ele
vate Test skipper Virat Kohli as captain in all
the formats.
"I enjoy my game, captaincy decision will be
taken by BCCI," he said.
June 11-17, 2016
23
Riobound shooter
Heena's training
costs hiked
New Delhi: T he Sports
Ministry hiked the finan
cial assistance for Rio
bound shooter Heena
Sidhu from Rs 75 lakh to
Rs one crore under the
Target Olympic Podium
(TOP) scheme for training
and other support till the
quadrennial extravaganza.
The ministry has also
approved the release of 90
per cent of total estimated
cost for her training, which
is scheduled from June to
August.
The 26yearold earned
her Rio berth in 10 metre
air pistol at the Asia
Olympic Qualifiers in
January
where
she
Riobound shooter
clinched the gold medal.
Heena Sidhu. (Photo: IANS)
"Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports has approved the 2016," the ministry said in a state
enhancement of budget for Heena ment.
"It has also approved release of
Sidhu from Rs 75 lakh to Rs one
crore under TOP Scheme for train advance for her training during
ing and other support till Olympics JuneAugust, 2016."
24
June 11-17, 2016
ilmmaker Anurag Kashyap,

who has helmed hardhit
t ing films like "Black
Friday" and "Gangs of
Wasseypur", fee ls that the
Hindi film industry needs to
pull up its socks as regional cin
ema is "threatening" the indus
try and even Hollywood may
"take over" the national market
with its dubbed version of films.
"The more regional cinema
will threaten us, Bollywood will
work harder. We are threatened
from everywhere because we
are more mediocre as com
pared to everybody else. We
have to get rid of our medioc
rity and pull up our socks and
make better films," Kashyap
said.
"Apart from regional films,
Hollywood will definitely take
over because they have started
dubbing everything. We have to
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Disneys Jungle Book starring Indian American Neel Sethi has

become Indias highestgrossing Hollywood film, minting
Rs. 164 crore in its 24 dayru, beating Bollywood films like Airlift.
start making better content," he
added.
Regional cinema, which has
always been high on content,
has also now started to be a
Mona Singh keen

on season two of
'Jassi Jaissi Koi
Nahin'
ctress Mona Singh , who became

popular as the desi 'Ugly Betty'
for essaying the lead role in the
2003 show "Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin",
says she is keen to be
a part of the sec
ond season of
the show if it
ever hap
pens.
Asked if
she would
like to star
in a reboot
of "Jassi
Jaissi Koi
Nahin", Mona
told IANS: "Of course. I
loved the show. It gave me all I want
ed. If there is a season two, I would
jump at it." The 34yearold actress
says that there is a time for every kind
of show.
"I think there is a time for every
kind of show. Like 'Bade Achhe Lagte
Hain', 'Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, 'Kyunki
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' had a phase.
I don't know how it will be accepted
now. Maybe it will be a risk," she said.
Mona will now soon be seen in the
upcoming supernatural TV show "
Kawach ...Kaali Shaktiyon Se", a finite
series for Colors channel.
"Kawach...Kaali Shaktiyon Se", which
will air from June 11, also features
Vivek Dahiya and Maheck Chahal.
IANS
money spinner at the box

of fice. With films like "Sairat"
(Marathi), "Thithi" (Kannada)
and "Kammatt i Paadam"
(Malayalam) among others, it is
coming into spotlight in a big

way.
Kashyap also believes that
unlike Hollywood, Bollywood is
a
stardriven
market.
"Sometimes you need stars in
the west... (But) when the idea
is bigger, you go for a newcom
er. In Hollywood, they will go
for a newcomer because they
believe in the idea. Here, when
the idea is bigger, they go for
the star because they don't
believe in the idea... It's a star
driven market," he said.
He is currently busy promot
ing his film "Raman Raghav
2.0", which narrates the story of
serial killer Raman Raghav, who
went on a murder spree in
Mumbai in the 1960s. It fea
tures Nawazuddin Siddiqui as
the notorious serialkiller
alongside Vicky Kaushal, who
plays a police officer.
Emraans book
about his sons
cancer to come out
in Hindi and Marathi
Emraan Hashmi with his son
ctor Emraan Hashmi's book

on his son Ayaan's battle and
victory over cancer, "The Kiss
Of Life", will be released in Marathi
and Hindi this month, Emraan said
at the launch earlier of the English
language book in Mumbai.
About his experience of reliving
his stress for his son's illness,
Emraan said, "When we thought
that this is going to be documented
in this book, I thought it's going to
be an extremely painful journey to
relive all of that once again."
"In some ways, moments brought
about nostalgia because the book is
not just about the episode of can
cer, it's about retracing how I was
in college, school, my grandmother,
my father and everyone from the
family."
The book has been cowritten by
21yearold writer Bilal Siddiqi.
Popular crime writer S Hussain
Zaidi who has penned books which
have been adapted into films such
as "Black Friday", "Phantom",
"Shootout At Wadala", had pushed
Emraan to write the book so that it
could make a difference in the lives
of other families facing similar situ
ations.
"I think it was very therapeutic,
it's like counseling, there are feel
ings, you've been through them, but
the moment you talk about them or
pen them down, it finds some kind
of a closure."
Ayaan was diagnosed with cancer,
where a tumor of the size of a sea
son ball was formed near his kid
ney, in 2014 when he was three
andhalf years old. He was then
treated in Canada, and has com
pletely recovered now.
Why did 'Raman Raghav 2.0' A

leave Nawazuddin disturbed?
The poster of
'Raman Raghav 2.0'
awazuddin Siddiqui is earning plaudits

for his act as a notorious serial killer in
"Raman Raghav 2.0", but getting into
the skin of the character was not an easy task
for the actor.
The actor says it was a 'disturbing' experi
ence for him as there was a time while shoot
ing for the movie when lines between right
and wrong got blurred.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's "Raman
Raghav 2.0" narrates the story of the serial
killer Raman Raghav, who went on a murder
spree in Mumbai in the 1960s. It features
Nawazuddin as the serialkiller, who was
known by the name Psycho Raman, alongside
Vicky Kaushal, who plays a police officer.
The actor, who carved a place for himself
in the land of glitz and glamour with films
like "The Lunchbox", "Gangs of Wasseypur",
"Miss Lovely" and "Liar's Dice", says some
roles live with you despite the completion of
the film, and Raman Raghav was such a proj
ect. Asked about the impact of playing the

role of a serial killer had in his life,
Nawazuddin said: "Of course it has an impact
especially when it is such a kind of role then
the magnitude of the impact is greater".
The actor, who also has "TE3N" ready for
release, said of Raman Raghav 2.0: "It is a dif
ferent role because it is not a normal charac
ter. He has a different thought, different phi
losophy and when you essaying that charac
ter then you need to feel his thought then
only you will be able to do justice to it. If you
see the role with a normal life perception
then it is very disturbing. He is not at all nor
mal."
The film was applauded at the 69th Cannes
Film Festival with hollywoodreporter.com
stating that "Siddiqui's demented serial killer
ups the scare ante" and variety.com com
menting that "the verve and nerve of
Kashyap's filmmaking continues to excite."
The film is slated for June 24 release.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
June 11-17, 2016
25
Support pours in for 'Udta Punjab'

he
censor
board is in the
eye of the
storm yet again for
suggesting a whop
ping 89 cuts and
removing any refer
ence to Punjab in the
upcoming film Udta
Punjab that is based
on the drug menace
in the state.
However, the film's
coproducer Anurag
Kashyap, whose films
have ruffled the feath
ers of the censor
board on many occa
sions in the past has
declared an all out war
against the countrys
cinema watchdog and
took to Twitter to vent his ire.
As Punjab goes to polls next
year and the film can negatively
impact the prospects of the ruling
Akali Dal BJP government, it
wasnt surprising to see political
parties like the Congress and AAP
jump into the fray and accuse the
state government of trying to sup
press the truth.
However, Kashyap polite ly
urged the leaders to stay out of
his battle.
Meanwhile, support for the film
and its makers poured in abun
orn 90 years ago, she still is

among the world's most cel
ebrated actresses, sex and
beauty symbol, and popular cul
ture icon, while her name and
image is even now used to sell
brands from perfumes to paint.
But Marilyn Monroe also repre
sents the limitations of fame and
glamour in ensuring happiness
and a sense of belonging.
On the other hand, her life, both
personal and professional, has
also ensured a legacy of her com
monly figuring in discussions on
gender and feminism as well as
on mass media and consumer cul
ture. Marilyn has hundreds of
books on her, from 'definitive
biographies' to more academic
interpretations, and has been the
subject of films, plays, operas,
paintings (by the likes of Andy
Warhol and Salvador Dali) and is
referenced in songs by Madonna
to Def Leppard and David Bowie
to Lady Gaga.
All this comes even after in her
roughly 15yearlong Hollywood
career, she only spent only a
decade as a topbilled actress and
has only a handful of enduring
films, spanning 1953 crime noir
"Niagara" to 1961 drama "The
Misfits" in which she managed
to fulfill her childhood dream of
acting with Clark Gable but was
Virat Kohli to sing

Premier Futsal anthem
for AR Rahman
remier Futsal
unveiled
musical
maestro AR
Rahman as the
composer of the
leagues official
anthem, to be sung
by India Test cap
tain Virat Kohli at
an event in
Chennai ahead of
Indian cricket star Virat Kohli and music
its inaugural sea
composer AR Rahman during a Premier
son. This is the
Futsal League promotional program in
first time that the
Mumbai June 6. (Photo: IANS)
Oscar Awardwin
initiative from Premier Futsal,
ning Rahman is lending his
promoted by Xavier Britto of
musical genius to a franchise
Indev Group, is aimed at creating
based sports league in the coun
awareness for the sport of Futsal
try. Kohli, league ambassador,
Premier Futsal, said, I have been and promoting the league ahead
of its launch on July 15.
a fan of AR Rahman for years. It
Futsal, a 5aside shorter vari
will be a personal achievement
ant of Soccer with two halves of
and also a privilege to share the
20 minutes each, is governed by
screen with him and lend my
Futsal Association of India (FAI)
voice to the anthem of Premier
with accreditation from the
Futsal.
international governing body.
This high decibel marketing
jab which highlights the

Shahid Kapoor in Udta Pun
te.
drugs problem in the sta
dance from the film fraternity and
others. Directorproducer Karan
Johar wrote, "#UdtaPunjab speaks
of the reality of our times....cen
soring reality amounts to delu
sion.....the fraternity has to stand
by what's right!!" Actress Soha Ali
Khan posted, "Anyone who says
that drugs are not a problem in
Punjab is either unaware, com
plicit or has malafide intention
#UdtaPunjab."
On a funny note, director
Shirish Kunder tweeted, "After
removing
Punjab
from
#UdtaPunjab, Censor Board to

remove Daro from #MohenjoDaro
in all dry states like Gujarat and
Bihar." Journalist Shekhar Gupta
posted, "May be Pahlaj Nihalani &
CBFC are right. Untruthful to
name the film #UdtaPunjab. It
should be renamed Doobta
Punjab instead."
Udta Punjab is slated to be
released on June 17 and stars
Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt,
Kareena Kapoor Khan and
Punjabi actor and singer Diljit
Dosanjh.
to move on with her life, most

other films like "Gentlemen
Pre fer
Blondes"
(1953), "There's
No Business
Like Show
Business"
(1954),
" T h e
Seven
Y e a r
I t c h "
(1955)
w ith its
iconic
s c e n e
where her
dress billows
up as she stands
on a subway g rate,
have her as a dumb, disingenuous
but alluring blonde. This is the
image the world has come to
associate with her. But it is true?
Well, for starts, Marilyn was not
even originally a blonde.
Behind all the glamour and
popularity was a tragic story of a
troubled life, stemming from an
uncertain and unstable child
hood, a lifelong search for profes
sional respect, and her untimely
and lonely death which attract
ed a bevy of conspiracy theories.
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson
in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926
she was the third child of Gladys
The
mystique
of Marilyn
Monroe
and the
reality
The iconic scene in "The Seven Year Itch". Is her image of a dumb,
disingenuous but alluring blonde true?
sadly the last film for both of
them. Save these, where she is
respectively, a femme fatale and a

recentlydivorced woman trying
Pearl Monro, who had married

twice and separated from her sec
ond husband even before becom
ing pregnant again. A recent biog
raphy (J. Randy Taraborrelli's
"T he Secret Life of Marilyn
Monroe" holds that she "was a
woman more troubled than most
people knew. Though she would
try to hide it from the world with
her seamless portrayal of style
and wit, those closest to her were
privy to her deepest, darkest
secret: She feared for her sanity".
Her problems are also sought
to be explained by her quest for
perfect ionism, her low se lf
esteem, stage fright, and increas
ing use of barbiturates, ampheta
mines and alcohol which would
go on to make her ill, and ulti
mately take her life in August
1962.
It is against this backdrop we
can understand Marilyn's string
of brief, unsuccessful marriages
three, though the first one was
only to keep her from going back
to an orphanage, and then to
baseball star Joe DiMaggio and
playwright Arthur Miller, and
many af fairs, including w ith
Frank Sinatra and rumored ones
with President John F. Kennedy
(and his brother Robert). But
none of them could ensure any
sense of stability for her.
26
June 11-17, 2016
YOGA
Yoga News
Training programs for
IDY being held in India
Hatha Yoga
In Sanskrit, HA means sun,
THA means moon. Hatha yoga,
in this day and age is mainly
practiced for health, vigor and
vitality. For a desire to stay fit,
Hatha Yoga is widely practiced
across the world and is the most
common and the most widely
accepted form of Yoga.
Its a remarkable form of exer
cising, stretching, and freeing
the body so it can be a healthy,
longlived, and vital instrument
of the mind and soul, thus bring
ing about health and happiness
to a Hatha Yoga practitioner.
Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini literally means
"coiled" and is represented by a
metaphorical coiled snake at the
base of your spine. Relatively
new to the Western Hemisphere,
Kundalini, "the yoga of aware
ness," opens your heart, builds
strength and releases the energy
located at the base of your spine.
Kundalini is one of the more
spiritual styles of yoga.
Kundalini yoga focuses on
breath and movement. It further
challenges its practitioners both
physically and mentally.
Kundalini is one of the oldest
forms of yoga it has been men
tioned in the Upanishads in
India since 500 B.C. Mastering
the practice at sixteen, Yogi
Bhajan brought Kundalini to the
West in 1969. Initially, it was
never taught publicly until
Bhajan challenged its secrecy
and taught Kundalini openly to
the public and consequently
established the 3HO, which
stands for "Healthy, Happy, Holy
Organization."
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga, or devotional
yoga, is the most natural path
for those who are dominantly
seeking emotional fulfillment
and well being.
The "bhakta" devotee usually
practices meditation by visualiz
ing, thinking and feeling the
divine presence around him. The
bhakta pours out his hearts
love, adoration, and shares his
deepest thoughts and concerns
with the Lord until a continual
flow of awareness moves
between devotee and his or her
beloved Lord. This continuous
flow of love and life force brings

about a super conscious state of
awareness which is generally
called a mood, or bhava.
Karma Yoga
Karma means 'to do.' Karma
refers to the universal principle
of cause and effect.
For every ef fect theres a
cause, and the devotee realizes
that he, in his present life situa
tion, is experiencing the effects
owing to a number of causes
which are actioned and enacted.
He recognizes that for a finer,
more fulfilling life he has to
change his thoughts and feelings
and so express himself through
his actions in such a manner
that new causes supplant old
habits and attitudes. Through
establishing new causes, he is
confident of more beneficial and
successful ef fects occurring to
him and his loved ones in life.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana means wisdom or dis
cernment. Jnana yoga is thus the
path of wisdom and jnana medi
tation is manyfaceted.
The main purpose of jnana
meditation is to withdraw the
mind and emotions from per
ceiving life with a myopic view
and to behold and live with
Reality, or Spirit.
One principal way that the
"jnani," the yogi of discernment,
meditates is to patiently release
or put aside all thoughts and
feelings until the luminous glow
of the soul dawns in the mind
and heart and is allowed to do a
work on transformation and
enlightenment within the rapt
meditator.
Raja Yoga
Raja means royal or kingly.
Raja yoga meditation is general
ly based on directing ones life
force to bring the mind and
emotions into balance. This is
done to ensure that the atten
tion may be easily focused on
the object of meditation, or the
Lord directly.
Generally, life force is directed
to move up and down the spine
until it is balanced and the mind
Yoga Day may become

public holiday in India
YUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik on Wednesday said he

will urge the government to make International Yoga Day a
public holiday in India, if there is a demand from the pub
lic. Addressing the media on the agenda of the IDY 2016, for
which teh flagship event is in Chandigarh on June 21, Naik said:
"If there is a demand to make International Yoga Day a holiday,
then we will take up the issue with the government and try to do
it. However, currently we have no such plan."
The Chandigarh event will be attended by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi . At least 30,000 people are expected at the
venue of the main event, while over 20,000 people will be doing
yoga in parks, different school grounds of the city.
and emotions are serenely con
tent. Then awareness is general
ly directed to move forward to a
point in the center of the lower
forehead. The meditation point,
which is about half an inch
above the point where the eye
brows meet, is called ajna, or the
third eye.
Mantra Yoga
Mantras (or mantrams) are
words, phrases, or syllables
which are chanted thoughtfully
and with growing attention.
Mantra yoga meditation
involves chanting a word or
phrase until the mind and emo
tions are transcended and the
super conscious is clearly
revealed and experienced.
Since the mind wanders often,
the rhythm of the mantra easily
rescues the mind and brings it
back to the object of ones medi
tation.
Tantra Yoga
T he word tantra literally
means "expansion." A tantra
yogi concentrates on expanding
all levels of his or her conscious
ness to unveil and realize the
Supreme Reality. Tantra focuses
on the dynamic aspect of divini
ty called Shakti, or "the Cosmic
Mother."
The tantric devotee strives to
attune with the spiritual dynam
ic energy in order to transform
personal limitations and release
subconscious blockages.
True tantra yoga is a pure
path, but it has been abused by

some selfproclaimed adherents.
The goal of tantra yoga is to
awaken and harmonize the male
and female aspects within each
person in order to spiritually
awaken and realize the whole
universe as an expression of the
Cosmic Mother, the divine life
force, or Spirit.
Kriya Yoga
Fundamentally, kriya means
internal action. When you do
inner action, it does not involve
the body and the mind because
both the body and the mind are
still external to you. When you
have a certain mastery to do
action with your energy, then it
is a kriya.
Today your thoughts may go
in one direction. Tomorrow if
another person comes and influ
ences you, they will go another
way. Similarly, your body is well
today so it likes asanas.
Tomorrow morning if your body
is stif f, you will hate asanas.
Your emotions are not at all reli
able. At any moment they can
shift from this to that. But your
energies are different. Once we
start working with the energy in
a certain way, it has a different
kind of depth to life. Suddenly,
there is a different dimension to
every aspect of your life because
your energies have been
touched and activated in a com
plete ly dif ferent way.
Sadhguru
New Delhi: Eminent yoga institutions are

conducting training programs for train
ers from central government offices
across the country to ensure the success
of the second International Yoga Day on
June 21. The celebration of
International Day of Yoga would involve
an elaborate training program on com
mon yoga protocol for mass yoga per
formance as well as discourses, lectures
and talks by eminent yoga experts.
Various reputed and eminent yoga insti
tutions have agreed to support the
efforts of the government by providing
training to trainers and other expert
advice in celebration of International
Day of Yoga, 2016, a letter issued to all
secretaries of central government min
istries said.
The secretaries have been asked to
issue necessary instructions to all offi
cers of their ministries, departments,
attached and subordinate offices located
in different parts of the country to pre
pare a detailed action plan for celebrat
ing the 2n IDY.
Most departments have sent the action
plans to the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga
and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy (Ayush) in this regard, a
senior government official said. He said
the participation of employees in yoga
day celebrations is voluntary and they
have been asked to follow the common
yoga protocols in case they plan to
attend it.
The government of India has decided
to take forward the momentum created
by International Day of Yoga, 2015 with
greater and more active participation of
youth during the current year celebra
tions. The main programme would be
the mass yoga demonstrations from 7
AM to 8 AM by following the common
yoga protocol at the state, district, block
and panchayat levels, the letter reads. All
ministries have also been asked to
organise events like yoga fests, seminars,
workshops and musical and cultural pro
gram based on yoga.
In a first, India has decided to give
tourist visa and etourist visa to foreign
ers willing to undergo short term course
in yoga in its bid to popularize the
ancient discipline for physical, mental
and spiritual wellbeing globally.
Yoga Events
In Hicksville
The Arya Samaj of Long Island has invit
ed Sangeeta Gupta, trained Yoga Master
from New York, to conduct Yoga and
Meditation session at Arya Samaj Bhavan,
319 Jerusalem Ave, Hicksville, NY on
June 21 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. All are
welcome to join the spirited event to cele
brate International Day of Yoga.
LIFESTYLE
Now a website that serves religious tourism

New Delhi: A new web platform has
introduced integrated traveling
services for devotees, tourists and
seasoned travelers who desire to
travel to any religious destination
in India. Re ligiousTrip.com is
designed to provide customers with
an organized spiritual travel solu
tion that can be customized, based
on the needs, questions and satis
faction of a traveler, managing
every step of their travel plan.
Jatin Arora, Cofounder and
Director of Religious Trip, said in a
statement: "Traveling makes people
see things in a new light or from a
new perspective. W hile some
choose to travel to exotic locations,
there's another group who may
choose to go on a pilgrimage or
visit a religious place either to
restore their beliefs or find spiritual

peace." "Thus, to enable better trav
eling solutions specifically for the
latter, we decided to incept
ReligiousTrip.com which could
cater to their needs and further rev
olutionize the religious tourism
industry in India." The idea, Arora
said, is to make it a onestop shop

for religious travel within India for
both national and international
travelers. "We intend to provide a
hasslefree and comfortable travel
experience pan India for all our
revered customers at af fordable
prices," he added.
Loneliness can affect your wisdom

Toronto: Factors such as whether
you are alone or with friends can
affect how wisely you reason, says a
study that suggests that our level of
wisdom varies depending on the sit
uation. The study defines wise rea
soning as a combination of such abil
ities as intellectual humility, consid
eration of others' perspective and
looking for compromise. "T his
research does not dismiss that there
is a personality component to wis

dom, but that's not the whole pic
ture," said lead author of the study
Igor Grossmann, Professor at the
University of Waterloo in Canada.
"Situations in daily life affect our
personality and ability to reason
wisely," Grossmann said.
The observation that wise reason
ing varies dramatically across situa
tions in daily life suggests that while
it fluctuates, wisdom may not be as

rare as we think.
Further, for different individuals,
only certain situations may promote
this quality. "There are many exam
ples where people known for their
critical acumen or expertise in ethics
seem to fall prey to lack of such acu
men or morals. The present findings
suggest that those examples are not
an anomaly," Grossmann said.
June 11-17, 2016
27
Loud music ups permanent

hearing damages in teenagers
Toronto: Exposure to
loud
music
has
increased the number
of teenagers suffering
from hearing defects
as well as heightened
their risk of deafness
in adulthood, finds a
new research.
T he
findings
revealed that young
people engage in
"risky listening habits"
at parties, clubs and on personal
listening devices.
Also, more than a quarter of
them are already experiencing
persistent tinnitus a ringing or
buzzing in the ears that more typi
cally affects people over 50.
"It's a growing problem and I
think it's going to get worse," said
Larry Roberts from McMaster
University in Canada.
Teenagers who experienced tin
nitus were more likely to have a
significantly reduced tolerance for
loud noise which is a sign of hid
den damage to the nerves that are
used in processing sound.
When the auditory nerves are
damaged, the brain cells increase
their sensitivity to their remaining
(Photo courtesy: medicinenet.com)
inputs, which can make ordinary

sounds seem louder. Perception of
increased loudness is an indication
of nerve injury that cannot be
detected by the audiogram the
standard clinical test for hearing
ability. Such "hidden hearing loss"
caused by exposure to loud sounds
in the early years deepens over the
life span, worsening one's hearing
ability later in life, the researchers
explained in the paper published
in the journal Scientific Reports.
"It's common after listening to
loud music to experience a ringing
in the ears for the next day or so,"
Roberts added, warning that this
brief tinnitus is an early warning
sign of vulnerability to the injuri
ous effects of noise exposure.
28
June 11-17, 2016
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
Differences between Westerners & Easterners

A
sia contains literally four bil

lion people. So its kind of
weird that every time I visit
the West, people say: Youre from
Asia? I met a guy from there once;
I wonder if you know him?
Whats even more weird is that I
usually do.
***
At a writers festival in Singapore
recently, the authors panel and
audience were given five minutes
to answer a question: What topics
should NEVER be covered in chil
drens books?
T he Westerners in the room
gave identical answers: Nothing
should be banned! All censorship
is evil! FREEEEEEDDDOMMM!!!
T he Easterners in the room
wrote long lists of unmentionables
including cannibalism, violence,
politics, re ligion, sex, kissing,
underpants, democracy, feelings,
and so on. I wanted a second sheet
of paper to list individuals and
inappropriate vegetables.
***
East and West are SO different.
A couple of days later, a reader
sent me a viral Instagram video of

a man in Sydney who spontaneous
ly tried to run up an escalator
which was moving down at a high
speed. The crowd, most of whom
were using the escalator at the
time, raucously cheered him on as
he risked their safety.
In Asia, he would have been
severely tuttutted by observers
and arrested by the authorities,
possibly even facing the death
penalty for Incitement to Commit
Emotions.
***
Further evidence of an EastWest
divide came from the announce
ment that the US national spelling
contest was won by two boys,
Nihar and Jairam, whose names
are added to the winners list:
Gokul, Vanya, Ansun, Sriram,
Arvind, Snigd ha, Sukanya,
Anamika etc. Families with Indian
roots make up less than one per
cent of the US population but win
the spelling contests every year.
As a South Asian, I can EXCLU
SIVELY reveal that were good at
spelling because of our unspellable
names. Our version of Scrabble

says that if your tiles cannot make
a word, you can still get 50 bonus
points if you use the letters to
name your child. How else do you
think we end up with names like
Snigdha?
***
At the same
t ime, Goog le
revealed that
the
most
searched for how to spell request

in the US state of Massachusetts
was Massachusetts. Internet con
versations must go something like
this:
ASIAN: Hi, where are you from?
MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT:
Hang on, let me just Google that.
***
Not that Westerners arent
smart: they are far ahead of
Easterners in cultural mores. A hot

NEW difference concerns gender.
Asians think folk should use the
toilets that match their biological
gender, whereas my Western
friends think thats an outrageous
demand. For example, fouryear
olds at a school in the British city
of Brighton are told that they are
not boys or girls but can CHOOSE
their gender.
This strikes me as risky, as small
children change their minds all the
time.
9:00:05 Do you need to use the
toilet, son? No, Dad.
9:00: 25 [dancing as we get on
the bus] DAD! I need to wee!
NOW! And Im a girl!
***
But I quite like the idea of being
genderfluid.
For example, its well known that
lightning kills six times as many
males as females. Thunderbolts
seems to seek out males.
If all guys dressed as women on
rainy days, many lives would be
saved. I might write a childrens
book about it: T he Day Mr
Lightning Found No One to Fry.
But as it would contain cross
dressing I would have to ban it
from my home.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
June 11-17, 2016
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
JUNE 1117, 2016

ARIES: Selfconfidence would immense
ly help in achieving good results at pro
fessional front. A new outlook will be
the source of laughter at family front this
week. A sound financial health would enable
to invest on lucrative schemes. Enjoying the
company of partner in a lively restaurant
would bring immense romantic pleasure.
Pleasure trip would help in maintaining sound
health this week. Time for a vacation, sit back
and relax. Buying cheap property in the right
location can provide you triple gain annually.
TAURUS : The efforts of people aspir
ing to join interior designing course are
likely to be handsomely rewarded.
Enjoying a picnic with family will not only
bring joy but also help in clearing misunder
standings. Your brilliant ideas would help in
bringing financial gains. The presence of love
would make you feel life meaningful. Yoga and
meditation would help in keeping in shape and
mentally agile. If you are thinking of escaping
from the hectic daily routine plan a trip.
Investing in property business sounds very
appealing. You share happiness with close
friends to double the joy.
GEMINI: Leadership qualities and ability
to understand people would benefit at
work. Charming nature and pleasant
personality would make you the attraction of
family function this week. A promising week to
earn profits in real estate and financial transac
tions. Love life brings some memorable
moments that you could cherish rest of your life.
Blessings of a saintly person give peace of mind.
Your travel experience is going to be an extent
of sharing your knowledge and communication.
Banks love to finance those, who invest in prop
erties which are underdevelopment. Unexpected
accolades bring unlimited joy to you.
CANCER: At work you will be perfect

in whatever you do this week. Family
members appreciate the changes
made in & around the house. An improve
ment in monetary position makes it conven
ient to purchase essential items. Your flash
ing smile would work as the best antidote for
romantic partners unhappiness. Chances of
recovering from physical ailment are high. Its
time for a vacation after a long and hard year
at work. A good deal on commercial property
might occur. You dont allow success going in
your head.
LEO: Support and appreciation from
seniors would raise your morale and
confidence. Friends and family mem
bers would encourage to work harder. This
week longterm investment would enable to
make substantial gains. Sharing candyfloss
and toffees with lover/beloved would bring
unlimited joy.
Inexhaustible energy enables to participate
in outdoor activities. Time to relax and
unwind for few weeks. Their might be a
chance of acquiring a plot from your closed
relative. You strive to make accolades a regu
lar feature.
VIRGO: A very good week to apply for
overseas job. You are likely to hear a
goo d news from close re lat ives.
Financial hassles will be eased out with the
help of your friends.
Company of love partner would inspire to
take initiatives this week. You attain a bloom
in health on sharing happiness with others.
Weekend getaway to enjoy pubs and clubs is
on your way. You might deal in some ances
tral property or any other parental property.
Discussing future goals with experienced per
sons benefit.
LIBRA: Promotions and monetary

benefits for dedicated professionals.
An old friend makes a pleasant visit
later in the week. Certain important plans
will be executed, bringing fresh financial
gains. Love works like a panacea as you find
sanity. A cheerful state of mind would allow
enjoying the perfect health. A short trip with
lavishing experiences is the right thing for
you. A deal regarding residential property
can start moving on its right path. You make
a resolve to avoid criticising others.
SCORPIO: Pending proposals will get
implemented with the help of seniors.
Evening enjoyed with family and close
re lat ives brings immense pleasure.
Speculations are likely to bring monetary
profits. Love partner touches soul that would
take imagination to unlimited heights. Divine
knowledge from a saintly person provides
solace & comfort. Pack your bags and be
ready for an amazing holiday. Discussing
property matters with parents can help for
better innovations. You continue to be
resourceful and capable of achieving person
al goals.
SAGITTARIUS: Good week for imple
menting new plans and ventures. You
are likely to plan a short trip with
family. Monetary position is likely to improve
later in the week. Someones timely help
would enable visualizing succeeding in love.
Meditation and yoga prove beneficial for
spiritual as well as physical gains. Just take a
walk in the countryside and experience new
things.
Planning a property might explore new hori
zons for you and your family. Teamingup
with ambitious people would augur well for
future.
CAPRICORN: Subordinates/cowork
ers would be very he lpful.
Unexpected visit by old friend could
give you a pleasant surprise. Hard work of
previous weeks brings good fortune enabling
to fulfill monetary promises. Romantic imagi
nation would keep you in a jovial & cheerful
mood. A very healthy week when your cheer
fulness gives the desired tonic and confi
dence. Time to go for a memorable trip. Your
friends and family will be of great support if
you are trying for an office. You succeed in
cast ing aside bad habits and neg at ive
thinking.
AQUARIUS: Traveling brings new
overseas business opportunities.
Good advice from family members
will help in reducing mental tension/pres
sure. You succeed in making some extra cash
on playing your cards well. The company of
love partner makes you forget about the
work. You are likely to maintain good health
that would also give you success. Time to
spend money on not a vacation but a luxury
vacation. Its time to make some property
investments for your kids. Selfdiscipline
enables easily managing emotions.
PISCES: Auspicious week to start a new
venture. Sudden good news in the
evening will bring cheers for the entire
family. An auspicious week to invest money on
items that would grow in value. Sudden
romantic encounter will lift your spirits. A con
tinuous positive thinking gets rewarded as you
succeed in whatever you do this week. If
adventure is your style of holidaying, then
plan it and move around. Purchasing official
accessories can lead to improve growth of
your of fice. Learning the art of life would
make life easier and peaceful.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

11th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are governed by the planet
Moon, you hold the traits such as honesty, sensitivi
ty, emotions and intelligence. You are respected
among your know circle for your wit and decision
making capabilities. Your charismatic personality
and knowledge wins you admiration in your profes
sional and personal friend circle. You are blessed
with patriotism and you are pretty religious.
However, you have many negative traits that make
you lag behind others as an individual.
Health this year: You may remain worried for your
health throughout the year.
Finance this year: You will have a fluctuating income
this year. You will receive financial support during
crucial times from your friends and relatives. You
need to perform on every opportunity you get as it
will stabilize your financial condition. If you can
realize your plans into actions, then you may get
benefits straightaway.
Career this year: You may take various crucial deci
sions to grow professionally but you would not get
enough support from your family.
Romance this year: You will be enjoying love, care,
and support from your spouse or partner through
out the year. If you have become eligible for mar
riage, you will receive many marriage proposals this
year.
Lucky month: December, March and April
12th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Jupiter makes you
audacious, courteous, ambitious, dignified, and
devoted towards your work. You love music very
much and you want to be a musician always. Your
personal traits display that you are an independence
loving individual and you like to take your own deci
sions without anyones interference.
Health this year: You may have to visit distant pil
grimages to attain mental peace. You will enjoy a
sound health but one of your aged family members
health may degrade and put you in immense stress.
Finance this year: You are not advised to get
involved in any financial deals or partnerships this
year as it may end up in your loss. You may invest in
real estate business this year as you will be benefit
ed in future from these investments.
Career this year: Your commitment and enthusiasm
towards your work win admiration from your col
leagues and seniors. Your stubbornness may create

problems for you in future. You will be able to face
your challenges bravely this year and expectedly,
you will solve them all to perfection. If you are a
sportsperson or artist, you will receive awards,
rewards, and appreciations from all around the
world.
Lucky month: October, November and May
13th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Uranus allows you
to showcase your vibrant nature and win many
hearts with you enthusiasm and simplicity. By
nature you are smart, dynamic, realistic, daring and
religious. You never lose your composure on tough
times and solve every problem with equal efficiency.
You are well aware of the rules of life and consider
each and everything in a realistic view. However,
you nature of behaving restless may hamper your
personality and impression.
Health this year: You should go for regular medical
checkups this year as there are chances of degrada
tion of your health conditions.
Finance this year: You will settle your property relat
ed legal matters to your satisfaction and the settle
ment will bring you mental peace.
Career this year: You will be hugely benefited in
your professional career this year. You will develop
a very good relationship with your colleagues. This
may help you grow in your profession. However,
you will find your seniors to be too tough to
appease.
Romance this year: Your love life will be strength
ened by the trust and love of your partner. You may
receive lots of gifts from your partner, which will
make your love stronger than ever. You should give
enough time and take care of the elders and chil
dren in the family.
Lucky month: July , August , September and
December
14th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you have the ruling planet Mercury,
you are born smart, sentimental, sharp, practical,
dignified, and unique. You have a charismatic per
sonality, which attracts people towards you. You can
make friends easily as you are trustworthy. You
need to work on your characteristics of being impa
tient and possessive at times.
Health this year: Your health will remain good pro

vided you take a good care of your health. You may
consult doctor to take preventive vaccines and medi
cines to remain healthy.
Finance this year: You may go for selling your prop
erty this year. You may let your house for rent and
this will bring you monetary gains. Your dividends
and interests may pay of f this year. You should
invest on ornaments or antique items as this seems
to be very profitable for you.
Career this year: This year may prove to be very
rewarding for you. You will be hugely benefited in
your profession as a result of your improved person
ality and confidence. You will be appreciated and
admired by your colleagues and employer as you
will be able to showcase your talent and skills.
Romance this year: Your romantic life would be
extra ordinary this year. You will not find your
spouse to be supportive enough. You may suffer a
lot in your personal life as well.
Lucky month: November, December and April
15th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: You being guided by Venus are
dynamic, creative, honest, joyful, and charming. Your
carefree nature can influence people to lead their
lives the way you do. This may help them heal them
emotionally. You need to control your mood swings.
However, your laziness may make you lag behind
others though you are more deserving than they are.
Health this year: You should start practicing Yoga
and meditation to keep yourself mentally and physi
cally fit.
Finance this year: Your management skills will
enhance, which will help you invest your money in a
right way. If you are into business, you should enter
into some computer related business as this will be a
highly rewarding business this year
Career this year: You are expected to gain fame and
good luck throughout this year. To get new heights
in your profession, you need to be more knowledge
able and you should create new contacts.
Romance this year: You will be deeply involved in
the romantic relationship you are currently in. You
may decide to get married this year.
Lucky month: October, January and March
16th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: Your dominating planet Neptune
makes you realistic, optimistic, reliable, creative, and

a simple individual. Though you take a lot of time to
trust someone, it last forever once you start trusting
someone. You believe in being a methodical person.
However, you have to work on your nature of behav
ing arrogant and dominating at times.
Health this year: You need to take more care of your
health by going through regular medical checkups.
Finance this year: Business trips may keep you trav
elling frequently throughout this year. You will be
able to get success by cracking overseas business,
which will bring you foreign currency.
Career this year: Your pending works may gain
momentum and get completed by the end of this
year. Though you will be ahead of others regarding
to efficiency, you would not be able to earn much.
Romance this year: Your romantic life may get dis
turbed due to your frequent business outings. You
need to spend extra time with your partner to make
up the loss of time you are expected to spend
together. Keep yourself away from any nasty argu
ments with your partner as it may make your rela
tionship weak.
Lucky month: July , August , September and
December
17th June, 2016
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Saturn being your ruling planet
makes you ambitious, dynamic, creative, sober and
practical. You are the owner of a dynamic and
charismatic personality, which dif ferentiates you
from others. Your stubbornness and selfishness
might stop you being a better individual. So you
need to work on your nature to make it better.
Health this year: Some young family member may
fall sick and you may feel stresses and concerned for
the same.
Finance this year: You may consider investing in
shares and real estates as it might give you the high
est returns for a long term. You may have to travel
to a distant place for business purpose towards the
end of the year.
Career this year: You may be benefited in your pro
fessional life by working on the current projects.
Romance this year: Your romantic life will flourish
this year with lots of love, care, and concern from
your partner. You will gain immense confidence
from the trust of your partner and you will succeed
in your new ventures.
Lucky month: December, January , February, May
June 11-17, 2016
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
THE POWER OF ATTENTION
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
soul is sent to a life in the

human body for a certain
period of time. During that
time the soul is confined in the
human form like a prison cell.
When the soul inhabits a body, the
soul is still a part of God and is still
one with God. The soul, however,
is now overpowered by some very
powerful forces, such as the mind,
the body, and the outer world,
which cause the soul, over time, to
forget itse lf. T he soul slow ly
begins to identify itself with the
body and mind and world outside.
It suddenly begins to think that it
can only receive information from
the outer world through the sens
es. T hus, the soul has become
attuned to only one channelthe
channel of the world.
If we think about our life as
watching a television program, we
have multiple choices as to what to
watch. Just as there are a dozen
network stations and then dozens
if not hundreds of cable stations
from which to choose, so, too,
there are many activities in this
world that we can engage in.
Now, let us take a look at the
other choices available to us. This
physical planet is not a separate
of fshoot from all of creation and
God. Most religions believe that

there are higher regions of exis
tence to which the soul goes after
it dies. Scientists and doctors have
tried to verify this by documenting
accounts of people who were
declared clinically dead but had
neardeath experiences and
described something beyond this
world. The question is, where are
these realms? They are not zones
in outer space delineated by bor
ders. All these realms exist concur
rently with this one. The reason
we are not aware of them is
because they operate on a differ
ent frequency or vibration.
The hookup to God is not hard.

It is just a matter of making the
choice that this is what we want to
do. The steps to do this are simple.
Step one is to stop identifying with
the body, mind, and world outside,
and identify with the soul. Step
two requires that when we identify
with our soul that we shift our
attention to the frequency of the
higher realms and ultimately to
God. That is all we must do. God
did not make it hard for us to
become aware of our true Home. It
is we who have made it complicat
ed. So how do we accomplish step
one and step two? To accomplish
consciousness of the spiritual

realms.
Once someone asked the great
saint, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji
Maharaj, how long it took to get
from here (the physical region) to
Sach Khand (the highest spiritual
region). Hazur closed his eyes, and
then opened them. He told them, I
have just been there and back. He
was showing that the shift of
attention from the physical realm
to Sach Khand could be done in
the twinkling of an eye. Why?
Because we are not going any
where physically. We are merely
shifting our attention from one
step one, we must withdraw our

attention from our body, mind, and
the world outside. We must decide
to turn off the outer programming.
When that programming is in the
of f mode, then in the silence we
will experience ourselves as soul.
That is the step that we call self
knowledge. Once we identify with
the soul, we will be able to pick up
frequencies that the soul is capa
ble of receiving. We can do a grad
ual shift in which we go from the
consciousness of one region to
state of consciousness to the other.

The other state of consciousness
does not exist in time or space.
They are operating concurrently.
We are simultaneously in the
other realms and in God at the
same time but we are not aware of
it because our attention is only
focused on one regionthe physi
cal.
So, for step one, the Masters who
have learned to be attuned to the
realm of God, teach us that we can
withdraw our attention from the
If we meditate
accurately we will
experience ourselves
as soul. Once we
identify with the soul,
then we will also be
aware of the inner
Light and Sound that
is the radiance and
vibratory sound of
God within us.
The saints and mystics tell us
that we have the choice to either
stay tuned to this physical world,
or to tune into the channels of
God. God wants us to watch Gods
programming. God is available
twentyfour hours of the day, three
hundred sixtyfive days a year.
Gods programming does not turn
of f at three a.m. like some net
works do. It is a free station broad
casting all the time without any
cable fees. We only need to know
how to tune into Gods station.
Lifes awakening
moments
n each persons life a moment comes

when we have a transcendent experi
ence or a reve lat ion in which we
become aware that we have a higher pur

pose in this world. Suddenly, amidst the
daily rituals of waking up, getting dressed,
going to work, eating, and sleeping, we get
a glimpse that there is something more to
this life. That moment may come when we
are a child. It may come to us while a
teenager, or it may come in adult life.
Some may have it when they are young
adults, and some have it in their senior
years of life. Whenever it comes, it leaves
us transformed. Suddenly, we begin to

question who we are, why we are here,
where we go when we die, and what our
purpose in life is.
Read about the life of any of the great
saints and mystics and you will find some
lifetransforming experience that awak
ened their quest. Once these burning ques
tions arise, there is no turning back. We
are restless until we find the solution.
Before our awakening, it is like we are
sleeping. Our soul has been asleep for
aeons. We started out in the lap of God but
became lost in the attractions of the world.
We have forgotten our true Home. We are
in a state of slumber or forgetfulness that
we are souls, a part of God. We think we
are the mind and the body and have for
gotten our true essence as soul, as a part
of the Creator.
Sant Mat
ant Mat, the Path of the Saints,
reflects the core teachings of saints
and mystics through the ages. People
new to this path often say they are attract
ed by its simplicity, integrity, and ef fec

tiveness in fostering spiritual growth.
Although Sant Mat was born centuries ago
in India, it is in many ways ideal for the
modern seeker. Followed under the guid
ance of a living spiritual Master, these
teachings couple meditation on the inner
Light and Sound with an inclusive, positive
way of living.
At the heart of Sant Mat are these simple
principles: There is one God of all creation,
though people worship the Lord by differ
ent names and through dif ferent prac
tices. While Sant Mat respects all faiths, it
stresses that religion has two dimen
sionsouter and inner. Sant Mat focuses
on the inner dimensionthe deep spiritu
al essence known as mysticism. Mysticism
looks beyond rites, rituals, and scriptural
knowledge and pursues spirituality as a
matter of personal inner experience.
Sant Mat expresses the deepest values of
every great spiritual traditionlove for
God, compassion for Gods creation, and a
daily life grounded in ethical values. Sant
Mats unique contribution is distilling
world, the body, and the mind by

sitting in meditation. If we medi
tate accurately we will experience
ourselves as soul. Once we identify
with the soul, then we will also be
aware of the inner Lig ht and
Sound that is the radiance and
vibratory sound of God within us.
If we absorb ourselves in the Light
and Sound within, we can then
attain step two. We can shift our
attention into the Light and Sound,
which attracts our soul to higher
levels of vibration.
The Light and Sound function at
different vibratory rates in the dif
ferent regions. As we shift our
attention we find ourselves con
scious of being in the dif ferent
regions. Ultimately, the Light and
Sound function at their highest
vibratory rate, which is the power
of God itself. When we shift our
attention to that, we have come to
the state of consciousness where
we are at one with God and merge
with God.
It is simply a matter of choosing
where we want to put our atten
tion. That is the true meaning of
the anecdote about Bulleh Shah
and Inayat Shah. When Bulleh
Shah asked his Master, Inayat Shah
(who was a gardener by profes
sion), How can I find God? Inayat
Shah pulled up a plant and
replanted it in another place.
When Bulleh Shah questioned
what that demonstration meant,
Inayat Shah said, To find God it is
merely uprooting your attention
from one place and planting it in
another place. That is the simplic
ity of spirituality. God did not
make things complicated. It is sim
ple. It is only we who have to
choose to transplant the flower of
our attention from the world into
Gods garden.
these noble ideals into a simple, universal

spiritual path and then providing the tools
and techniques to make them a personal
reality.
Sant Mat does not demand that we
renounce our families or societies. Instead,
we can pursue our spiritual goals while
leading normal lives.
The need for a living

master
competent teacher speeds our
progress. It's a common sense prin
ciple of life: studying with one who
has mastered the subject we wish to learn
accelerates our learning. That's why seek
ers throughout history have turned to
spiritual Masters. By virtue of their own
inner awakening, these Masters awaken
others. As much as we revere Masters of
the past, Sant Mat stresses the importance
of a living guide.
-Sant Rajinder Singh Ji

Maharaj
June 11-17, 2016

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The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 7 June 11-17, 2016 80 Cents

New York Edition

Even as Obama gets ready

More Hillary, Trump stories

o the press persons like our

After Modis speech, many US lawmakers swarmed

OWN YOUR FUTURE

x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees

MODI IN AMERICA 15-17

June 11-17, 2016

June 11-17, 2016

Harris wins primary for Senate; Ami

PM Modi paying homage at Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial

Mexico backs India on NSG

Kamala Harris is standing for US Senator California Ami Bera,

Scott Jones, a Republican.

USbased Indian researchers shocked by UCLA shooting

PhD scene not so grim

and learn from that. I came to the US almost

June 11-17, 2016

Modi's address on Capitol Hill

even greater. While our ties are

here today, that you have, with that

Americans. To hig hlig ht the

Chairman and Co-Founder

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

President: Arjit Mehta

Jaipur (India) Bureau

IANS Washington Bureau

Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra

Chief Operating Officer:

West Coast Correspondent

Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

New Delhi Bureau

Web Editor: B.B.Chopra

US returns over 200 artifacts worth

Washington, DC: The US returned over

June 11-17, 2016

US Attorney General Loretta E Lynch seen

The majority of the pieces repatriated in

Charles B. Wang Community Health Center to host

Quality health care is now closer to home for Flushing residents.

with services, which allows for our Citys older

June 11-17, 2016

Uplift Humanity celebrates six years

onceived in Italy, developed in India,

New York: Uplift Humanity, founded in

We're so excited to be in Mumbai

Narendra Modi witnessed firsthand the im

Call 311 for more info

MoU signed for hasslefree

Ambassador Arun K. Singh signing the IndiaU.S. MoU for the

India to open new

new consulate at a mutually

MoU signing ceremony.

June 11-17, 2016

Unable to write computer programs 25