Vol 7 Issue 34 - Dec 20-26, 2014

The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.7 No. 34 December 20-26, 2014 60 Cents
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World condemns Peshawar school carnage,

looks to Pak to combat terror
New Delhi/Peshawar: World leaders from
UN chief to President Obama, from Russian
President Putin to Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi have strongly condemned the
barbaric and senseless massacre of over 140
students and teachers at the army school in
Peshawar by Pakistan Taliban on Tuesday.
For Pakistan it is a national tragedy and
signs are seen of a new resolve and consensus emerging to finally take terrorism headon. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said no
more distinguishing between good Taliban
(used tactically to counter Indian influence in
Afghanistan) and bad Taliban. The countrys army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif tweeted
on Wednesday, "Asked PM Nawaz Sharif to
hang all terrorists. More than 3,000 terrorists
should be hanged in next 48 hours." The
army said they have killed many militants in
fresh strikes since Peshawar attack.
Unfortunately, a day later, Lashkar-e-Taiba's

commander Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi, mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, was
let out on bail. Inevitably, a shocked India
shot back: Bail to Lakhvi is a mockery of
Pakistan's commitment to fight terror.
However, a Pakistani government prosecutor
said on Friday that the court order granting
bail to Lakhvi will be challenged.
General Raheel Sharif and the head of ISI
agency, Rizwan Akhtar flew to Afghanistan
on Wednesday to seek help in battling the terrorists behind the Peshawar carnage. "The
time has arrived for Afghanistan and Pakistan
to act together against terrorism and extremism with honesty
Continued on page 4
The heartbreaking scene of the
funeral of one of the victims
of the carnage in Peshawar.
Four honored at
AAPI-QLI gala
Dr J. Ganesh Bhat (left, seen with his wife

and Dr Ajay Lodha, AAPI-QLI President), was
one of the four prominent physicians recognized for their achievements and contributions at the 19th annual convention of
American Association of Physicians of
Indian Origin (AAPI)s Queens and Long
Island chapter in Melville last Saturday.
Detailed story on page >> 3.
BOLLYWOOD 18
SUBCONTINENT 20
Sant Chatwal is
spared jail term in
straw donors case
New York: Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh

Chatwal on Thursday avoided jail time and was
sentenced to three
years probation and a
$500,000 fine on
charges of illegally
donating thousands
of dollars to political
campaigns. Chatwal,
70, awarded Padma
Bhushan in India,
and a major fundraiser
for
Hillary
Clinton, had pleaded Hotelier Sant Chatwal
guilty in April this
has been closely
year to violating the
associated with
Federal Election
the Clintons
Campaign Act by
making more than $180,000 in campaign donations to three candidates through straw donors and
to witness tampering. He was sentenced on
Thursday by US District Judge I Leo Glasser in
the Eastern District of Continued on page 4
RELIGION 26
Related stories on
page >> 20-21
Dr Murthy makes history as first Indian

American to become Surgeon General
Washington: Dr Vivek Hallegere
Murthy has made history as the
youngest US Surgeon General
and the first of Indian descent
with his Senate confirmation in
the teeth of strong opposition of
powerful gun lobby.
The Democratic controlled
Senate voted Monday 51-43 to
confirm Murthy, 37, as
'America's doctor' more than a
year after his nomination with the
Republicans dead set against him
because of his support for gun
control and President Obama's
signature healthcare law.
Born in England, Murthy
moved with his Indian parents to
Miami when he was three.
He would become the leading
US spokesperson on matters of
public health.
He will also be the operational
head of the 6,500-strong US
Public
Health
Service
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Obamas pick for US Surgeon

General, Dr Vivek H. Murthy
has been confirmed by
the US Senate.
Commissioned Corps, one of the

seven uniformed services including army, navy, air force and
marines.
Murthy, a bachelor, has said he
Continued on page 4
excellence in journalism
December 20-26, 2014
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
AAPI-QLI honors 4 distinguished physicians at annual convention
(L to R) Judy Bosworth - Hempstead Town Supervisor; Mrs. Linda

Mangano, Dr Ravi Jahagirdar - President National AAPI; Nassau
County Executive Ed Mangano, Amb. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay; Dr
Ajay Lodha - President AAPI-QLI; Dr Shashi Shah, Chair, AAPI
Board of Trustees, Dr Madhu Korrapati - President Elect AAPIQLI.
Melville, NY: Nearly 700 people

from across the country came
together Dec 13 to celebrate the
contributions, achievements and
growth of the American
Association of Physicians of
Indian Origin (AAPI) of Queens
and Long Island at the 19th annual
convention here at the Hilton
Huntington. Entertainment, CME

lectures, Singles Speed Dating
event, Exhibition, Business
Forums, recognition of four distinguished physicians, etc made the
convention successful.
In his address, Dr. Ajay Lodha,
President of AAPI-QLI and Vice
President of national AAPI, gave
Honorees (from left): Dr Samin K. Sharma, Dr Ashok Shaha, and Dr Uma Mysorekar.
an overview of AAPIQLI and its

growth over the past 19 years to
become one of the most powerful
ethnic physicians organizations in
the country. AAPIQLI represents
more than 750 physicians serving
the community of New York and
its Counties. Dr. Lodha added that
these practicing physicians provide
highest quality of care to their
patients and many are serving in
prominent positions at medical
institutions they work for. As lead-
NJ residents fear more

robberies despite the arrests
By SATimes Team
New Jersey: Residents of Old Bridge, Edison
and Plaineld townships in New Jersey are
still living in fear despite the arrests in connection with ve home invasions of Indian
families.
All four suspects - Chaka Castro, 39, Juan
Olaya, 34, Octavius Scott, 22, and Johnisha
Williams, 19 - were arrested by Texas police.
They (two of them being women) were taken
into custody Dec. 7-Dec. 11 according to law
enforcement in two of the Dallas suburbs
where too similar crimes allegedly occurred.
The Middlesex County home invasions date
from Oct. 20 to Nov. 29: 3 in Old Bridge, one
each in Edison and South Plaineld.
Despite the arrests, the residents of these
townships fear more robberies. Said Old
Bridge resident Smita Shah (name changed,
We are still vulnerable as South Asians are
believed to have large amounts of cash and
jewelry at home. I have small children and I
am constantly worried about their safety.
Since the burglary in her area she has installed
additional doors for added safety, removed all
Indian decorations in front of her townhouse.
There is a big sigh of relief, said Satish
Poondi, the legal adviser for the Iselin-based
Indian Business Association (IBA). He however added, This is not the end. We need to be
more vigilant. Last month, the IBA organized

a seminar titled Securing Your Neighborhoods and Homes in light of the burglaries
featuring Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and police chiefs from Edison,
Old Bridge and Plaineld. There were two
panels - Law enforcement panel that discussed
the investigation and future course of action
and an experts panel of ofcials from bank,
security and home insurance companies who
discussed safe deposit boxes, security measures and liability issues and claims, said
Poondi.
The seminar laid out ve point agenda -support the victims, support crime stoppers
program, organize continued education seminars and encourage neighborhood watch program, push for more South Asians in law and
order, he added.
Peter Kothari, a community activist based in
Woodbridge, said he's grateful for law enforcement, but wants the prosecutor's ofce to
release more information about the case. "I
don't think the case is closed," Kothari said.
"It's just the beginning." Among the most
pressing questions: In which state will the suspects be tried? Should they be tried on hate
crimes charges? And will an additional suspect
be charged in connection with the incidents in
New Jersey? Those are all questions that even
the authorities are not prepared to answer.
ers, they make decisions about

medical and pharma products,
devices and equipment and practice related services at multiple
levels in hospitals, medical
schools, etc.
AAPI-QLI has been actively
involved in many charitable activities, Dr. Lodha said. With the
cooperation of Nassau County, we
are in the process of opening a
Charitable Health Clinic, he
announced to loud applause. This
year AAPI-QLI participated in the

Childhood Obesity Awareness
Program - generated by national
AAPI. We visited local schools to
educate the children directly about
obesity and its long-term effects,
Lodha said.
From the four honored by AAPIQLI at the gala, Dr. Ganesh Bhat is
currently serving as director on
Kidney Care Council, a
Washington D.C. based industry
Continued on page 4
IALI Home becoming a reality soon

Hicksville, NY: The Annual General Body Meeting of IALI (India Association of Long Island) has endorsed the decision of the Executive Council to buy a property for
IALI Home / India Community
Center. The contract to buy the
property has been signed and closing is set to take place next week,
according to a press release.
As the elections were avoided
this year, most of the executive
council members remain the same
going into 2015. President remains
Satnam Singh Parhar; Vice President: Bina Sabapathy; Secretary:
Rekha Valliappan; and Treasurer:
Satnam Singh Parhar, IALI President for
Gunjan Rastogi. They all took the
second term, speaking at the AGM.
oath of ofce at the meeting attended by about 200 members at Cotillion dent IALI and Chairperson of IALI Home /
India Community Center, gave a detailed
restaurant in Jericho on Dec 14.
Mr Parhar in his speech stated that 2014 presentation about the property (92 East Old
turned out to be a good year for IALI, de- Country Road), along with Prasad Kambspite the tragedy in his family of untimely hampathy (nance chair). Besides ofce,
death of his son Dr. Romeo. He thanked his the place can also be used to host small proexecutive council for their hard work for the grams like Senior Forum, Sangeet Forum.
success of IALI programs such as Holi, Youth Forum, Yoga classes, Hindi classes
Asian American Festival, Gala Fundraiser for children, English and computer classes.
Mr. Munjal appealed to IALI members to
Lunch, and Diwali.
Parhar justied the idea of buying a small give generously towards the IALI Home.
property for IALI Home to start with to t The Treasurer, Ms. Gunjan Rastogi anour budget in terms of price and its mainte- nounced that IALI has $350,000 as of
nance. he said. Gobind Munjal, past presi- Nov 2014.
World condemns Peshawar..

Continued from page 1
and effectiveness," Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani said in a
statement. Pakistan said it had
shared intelligence with Ghani.
Pakistan-Afghanistan relations
have been tense for years, each
accusing the other of backing antigovernment militants.
Meanwhile, experts now assert
that America will have to get more
embroiled in Pakistans war on terror, a country which, ironically, has
been supporting Americas war on
terror. Meanwhile, Islamic militancy
keeps heaping horror over horror on
the world.
In Iraq, the Islamic State (also
known as ISIS) group conducted a
mass execution of women in
Fallujah, according to a statement
issued by the Iraqi government. A
man identified as Abu Anas al-Libi
killed more than 150 women and
girls, some of whom were pregnant,
because they refused to accept the
jihad al-nikah [sexual jihad] that
ISIS is enforcing in Fallujah." Some
reports said these women were of
Yezdi tribe who have been the ISIS
target. On Thursday reports came
that armed men suspected to be
members of the deadly Boko Haram
group have killed 32 people and
abducted 185 others in Gumsuri village in northeast Nigeria's Borno
state. Among those abducted were
married women, girls and boys.
Sant Chatwal is spared jail..
New York federal court here.
Chatwal was accompanied by his
wife and son Vikram along with
several friends and family members.
He repeatedly apologized to the
judge for his mistakes and said he
had been humbled by the experience. The judge said Chatwal should
also continue doing the community
service that his friends and family
have detailed in nearly 300 letters of
support to the court (those who
TURN PAGE
wrote the letters of support included

former Indian Prime Minister Dr
Manmohan Singh, Deepak Chopra,
former Csul Feneral in New York,
Prabhu Dayal). After the sentencing
Chatwal told PTI that he is very
happy with the verdict. "The judicial
system in this country is very fair,"
he said adding that he has worked to
strengthen India-US relations and
people-to-people contact and will
continue to do so. Ahead of the sentencing, Chatwal's lawyers had submitted a memorandum seeking
leniency, urging the court to weigh
Chatwal's age and "lifetime of contribution" to others and the impact
imprisonment would have on his
family and community in sentencing
him. They asked the court to recognize that he is a "good man, albeit
one who erred, whose life has been
distinguished by a devotion to this
country his adopted home and
a commitment to protecting and
uplifting others".
Prosecutors however asked the
court to reject Chatwal's plea for
leniency saying that he should be
sentenced to 46-57 months as set
forth in the plea agreement he
entered with the government, saying
that he knowingly sought to "undermine" the American government's
transparent electoral system and the
criminal justice system.
While the charges carried a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, a
plea deal with the government
ensured Chatwal's prison term
would be less than five years. He
had also agreed to forfeit US $1 million to the US government.
According to court filings, from
2007 to 2011, Chatwal used his
employees, business associates and
contractors who performed work on
his hotels to solicit campaign contributions on Chatwal's behalf in support of various candidates for federal office and political action committees, collect these contributions,
and pay reimbursements for these
contributions.
Dr Murthy makes history as...

will focus on preventing chronic
diseases, efforts to curb smoking,
and programs to improve diets and
combat obesity.
Applauding the Senate for confirming Murthy, Obama said "as
'America's Doctor,' Vivek will hit
the ground running to make sure
every American has the information
they need to keep themselves and
their families safe."
"He'll bring his lifetime of experience promoting public health to bear
on priorities ranging from stopping
new diseases to helping our kids
grow up healthy and strong,"
Obama said in a statement.
"Vivek will also help us build on
the progress we've made combating
Ebola, both in our country and at its
source," Obama said.
A physician with the Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston and an
instructor at Harvard Medical
School, Dr Murthy co-founded an
advocacy group in 2008 called
Doctors for Obama, a national
organization of 16,000 doctors and
medical students. It later became
Doctors for America and promoted
the Affordable Care Act nicknamed
Obamacare.
Murthy has also founded two
other organizations. Visions
Worldwide focuses on rural health
in India and on HIV/AIDS education in India and the US, while
TrialNetworks is a software company focused on making drug development and clinical trials more efficient.
Joseph Crowley, Democratic CoChair of Congressional Caucus on
India and Indian-Americans, said
"the confirmation of the first surgeon general of Indian descent is a
victory for the entire IndianAmerican community, whose young
children will grow up knowing that
anything is within their reach."
Dr Ravi Batra, eminent New York
attorney, said in a statement, That
he is an Indian-American doctor,
while ethnically satisfying to some,
is really irrelevant except for one
issue: proof positive of America's
merit-based generous soul that is at
its core color-blind even as everyone's blood is red. Vivek will be
judged not for his tan, height or
plentiful hair - but can he make
America healthier and drive down
systemic health care costs driven by
bad behavior and bad food; as health
care costs are crippling our economy and we need to get in shape to
compete with the three mandate-rich
countries: China, India and now
Japan."
AAPI-QLI honors 4...
group working with the government
to improve quality of care for dialysis patients. He is also Chancellor of
Xavier University School of
Medicine, Aruba and has served on
the prestigious New York State
Public Health Council.
Dr. Uma Mysorekar, a retired
obstetrician/gynecologist serving as
the President of the Hindu Temple
Society of North America in
Flushing, NY, was honored for her
dedication to the Indian American
community.
Dr. Samin K. Sharma, who performs over 1,500 complex coronary
interventions annually with minimal
complication rate, was honored for

his excellence in the medical field.
Dr. Ashok Shaha, an attending
surgeon on the Head and Neck
Service at Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center, is currently serving as the Jatin P. Shah Chair
in Head and Neck Surgery, and
Professor of Surgery at Cornell
University.
Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, President of
national AAPI, in his address highlighted AAPIs role in shaping legislation in complex challenges confronting the healthcare system and
the initiatives AAPI leadership took
with key Senators to have Dr. Vivek
Murthys confirmation as the next
US Surgeon General.
Amb Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay,
Indian Consul General in New York,
lauded the contributions of AAPI,
urging it to have an upgraded
role. Nassau County Executive,
Edward P. Mangano, in his felicitation address, said, Indian American
physicians have earned the admiration and respect of those in their
community, working diligently to
provide vital programs and services
that contribute to the quality of life
in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk
counties in New York.
The event came to a close with
sumptuous dinner and a live musical
performance by Bappi Lahiri and
his team.
Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last

Rome: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said he realizes that he may be the last to hold the title. But he told the BBC it
would be better that the centuries-old tradition ceased "at the time of a
popular Dalai Lama".Appearing on the BBC's Newsnight program during a visit to Rome for the 14th World Summit of Nobel Laureates, the
79-year-old spiritual leader conceded that he may not have a successor.
Whether another Dalai Lama came after him would depend on the
circumstances after his death and was "up to the Tibetan people", he
said. He pointed out that the role no longer included political responsibilities; in 2011 the Dalai Lama handed these to an elected leader of the
Tibetan government in exile, Lobsang Sangay. The move was seen by
many as a way the Dalai Lama could ensure the Tibetan community
would have an elected leader in place outside the control of China.
China has said repeatedly that it will choose the next Dalai Lama.
New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

Bhagwati Creations,
Dhiraj Kumar
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
The undocumented flock to workshops for deportation relief

By Jinal Shah
New York: Eager to see if they
qualify for deportation relief, undocumented immigrants are flocking to amnesty workshops held by
community organizations, religious centers and legal associations. The Presidents recent announcement promising work permits and protection from deportation made a splash but lawyers and
immigration advocates say the sessions are crucial to dispel rumors
about eligibility, ward off fraud and
help immigrants determine what
they might need to apply.
Fahd Ahmad, executive director
of Desis Rising Up and Moving
(DRUM) told The South Asian
Times that they have been distributing flyers on streets and holding
information sessions to inform undocumented immigrants. We have
two components to our outreach
program information sessions
and community defence, he said
adding, The flyers were given to
cab drivers, women working in saree shops, restaurant workers and
other South Asian dominated pockets in Jackson Heights, Queens
area. The flyers simply state the
historical context of the information, status of the executive order,
information on who qualifies and
who doesnt, and where people can
get legal advice.
So far DRUM has organized two
such information sessions attended
by 25-30 people each time. The

numbers are low compared to the
number of undocumented immigrants in the area. However, Fahd
said it will rise once the full plan is
rolled out.
The other component to our program is community defense; it is
for those among seven million illegal immigrants who will not qualify for Obamas executive amnesty
and may run a high risk of deportation. We are encouraging them to
register with us so that we can raise
a collective voice.
Religious organizations such as
the Islamic Center in New York
and business associations such as
Indian Business Association in
New Jersey are holding informa-
tion sessions and expert panels to

discuss implications of the new
policy.
The expert panel will look at the
policy debate, the history of South
Asian immigration, and the legal
implication of the Presidents executive action, said Dhiren Amin,
president of IBA. The discussion
is about its implications for the
community, he added. Mahesh
Shah, an IBA trustee pointed out
that the Presidents announcement
will also impact many students.
Many have come here for advanced studies and entered into
various graduate programs.
Immigration advocates are also
warning the undocumented to
avoid various fraudulent schemes
floating around now, like people

charging exorbitant fees to fill out
applications for deportation relief.
As we see this plan come into
action, we want to make sure that
all consumers know their rights
and give people ability to find qualified lawyers to help with their legitimate claims. Sometimes these
folks are intimidated by the thought
of going to a lawyer or fear great
expense but there are certainly affordable legal services which are
safe and secure and we will be
working round the clock to make
sure people know these are available, said Neena Dutta, chair of
the New York Chapter of American
Immigration Lawyers Association
(AILA).
Roshni Media Group announces How the kids who swam to school in Gujarat were helped
Leadership Awards Gala
(L to R): New York Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay welcomes the guests; Shalley Pathak, Dr. Rashmee Sharma,
designer Bibhu Mohapatra and Mani Kamboj.
New York, NY: Roshni Media

Group, a multi-media platform
known for its award-winning coffee table books profiling accomplished global leaders from various
fields and industries, announced
this week that the organization will
be hosting its first-ever "Roshni
Media Awards Gala" in May of
2015 at the iconic Taj Pierre Hotel
in New York City.
Dr. Rashmee Sharma, founder of
Roshni Media, along with Partner/President Mani Kamboj, made
the announcement at a curtain raiser event hosted by New York Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay at
the Indian Consulate on December
5. "Over the past 10 years, we've

honored and interviewed so many
incredible and inspirational people
who serve as role models to the
younger generation. We want to
recognize them publicly for their
achievements and contributions, as
part of our mission to create global
diversity awareness," said Sharma.
Some elite New Yorkers who attended the cocktail reception included: Bibhu Mohapatra, Nandita
Bakhshi, H.R. Shah, Kamesh Nagarajan, Aroon Shivdasani, Farooq
Kathwari, Dr. Chitranjan Ranawat,
Martin Jeiven, Pooja Kumar Mathur, Poorva Bedi and Sheetal Sheth,
to name a few.
New York: Ratna Bhalla had set

aside her annual vacation from her
job at Nassau County, NY, where she
serves as Deputy Director of Emergency Housing, for a family trip to
Disney World in Florida. Instead,
she ended up in Sajanpura, a remote
tribal village in Gujarat.
A few weeks prior to that, her husband, Varinder Bhalla, a mechanical
engineer, came across a news report
about children from several tribal
villages in the Chhota Udepur district swimming across the Hiran River to reach school in Utavadi village;
some of them holding a big brass pot
to stay afloat. Contacting the villagers and the school authorities he
discussed possible solutions to the
students daily travail, finally settling
for transporting the students across
by an inflatable motor boat, we carried from New York with life jackets
and accessories, says Mr. Bhalla.
The Bhallas trained the village elders to safely navigate the boat. The
day the boat was launched, the kids
excitement knew no bounds. The villagers too heaved a sigh of relief as
they welcomed the Bhalla couple
with garlands. For me and my wife,
it was one of the most fulfilling days
of our lives, says Mr. Bhalla. It
was as good as going to Disney
World, chips in Ratna Bhalla.
The kids are dedicated to their
studies and determined to succeed.
They consider the gift of boat from
the Bhallas AWB Food Bank charity as a loan and are committed to return this debt when successful in life
The Bhallas (left) carried a motor boat from New York to give
and help the students.
by similarly helping others in need.

Crossing the river with the help of
a brass pot was fearful and it would
take almost 45 minutes and then
many of us sat in class in drenched
clothes, Piyush Kumar Kanubhai
recounts the experience of over 100
teens from 16 tribal villages such as
Sajanpura, Chamarwada, Angadi,
Kukreli, Nandpur, Sitaphali and
Dharmapura. Now with the motor
boat, we cross the river easily in a
couple of minutes. We reach the
school on time and can better concentrate on our studies.
Narpat Singh Chauhan, an elder
from the Sewada village, is grateful
to the Bhallas for helping our
teenage kids who for years were going through a life threatening ordeal
to reach school.
Besides the motor boat, the Bhallas also gifted life jackets and raincoats for the boat journey and bicycles for those who had to walk to
school after crossing the river.
Thanks to the boat donation by
the NRIs, kids are now reaching
school in time, in dry clothes, having
done their homework, says Kantibhai Baria, Principal of the Sri Mastram Vinay Vidya Mandir, the school
attended by the village kids.
In this project, the Bhallas were
joined by volunteers of Bhagwan
Shree Lakshmi Narayan Dham, a
charitable and spiritual organization,
which donated a battery for the motor boat as it could not be carried
from New York on the aircraft. Then,
Inphynyt, Indias leading manufacturer of automotive and industrial
batteries, donated a costly marine
battery.
On why the Gujarat government
could not remedy the situation, Mr.
Bhalla says, No government in the
world should be expected to solve all
problems of the society. We need to
inculcate the spirit of volunteerism
in India so that people blessed with
success and financial resources
come forward and solve such
problems.
The Bhallas are back in New York
but keep in touch with the villagers
and the children they helped in
Gujarat.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Upset Hindus urge withdrawal of

Kali mural from Brooklyn Museum
indus are upset over inappropriate portrayal of Hindu goddess
Kali in a mural at Brooklyn Museum. This 60-foot mixed-media goddess
Kali wall mural is part of recently opened
Eyes of Time exhibition at Brooklyn
Museum which is scheduled till July 12.
It shows Kali with three legs, three breasts
and six arms. Its face is a clock with no
actual time.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a press
statement said that goddess Kali was
highly revered in Hinduism and was
meant to worshiped in temples or home
shrines and not to be thrown around
loosely in reimagined versions for dramatic effects on museum walls. Such absurd depiction of goddess Kali with no
scriptural backing was hurtful to the devotees.
Such trivialization of goddess Kali was
disturbing to the devotees world over,
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stated and urged Brooklyn Museum to withdraw it. Zed also
asked Museums Director Arnold L.
Pranathy Gangaraju crowned

Miss India USA 2014
Lehman to tender a formal public apology. Rajan Zed stressed that Hindus were
for free speech as much as anybody else if
not more. But faith was something sacred
and attempts at belittling it hurt the devotees. Museums should be more sensitive
while handling faith related subjects, Zed
added. Goddess Kali, who personifies
Shakti or divine energy and considered
the goddess of time and change, is widely
worshiped in Hinduism.
Honors student Rwanda-bound

to study genocide aftermath
wenty years afvant to what I want to
do.
ter the genocide
there claimed
Through workshops,
site visits, advocacy
more than 800,000
meetings and volunteer
lives, Suprita Datta, a
City College of New
service with
grassroots NGOs, the
York
undergraduate
travels to Rwanda DeGYC delegation will
learn and act on numercember 26 to study how
ous key human rights ispost-conflict societies
sues in Rwanda.
develop.
In addition, Datta, a
A junior in the
Macaulay Honors ColColin Powell Fellow, will
lege at CCNY majoring
also examine the roots of
in international studies,
the 1994 Rwandan genoSuprita Datta
cide, and see how its
Datta is one of five stulegacy has impacted the
dents and professionals
from the United States selected by Glob- country and its people, particularly
al Youth Connect (GYC) for the two- Rwandan youth. Last spring, Datta reweek trip. This gives me a chance to do ceived a William R. Kenan Scholarship
what I want to do outside the classroom, from the Macaulay Honors College for
said Ms. Datta, whose concentration is demonstrated commitment to service and
conflict stabilization. This is really rele- civic engagement.
Chairman and founder of IFC Dharmatma Saran with the winners
n a glittering function organized on

December 14 at the Royal Alberts
Palace, Fords, New Jersey, Pranathy
Gangaraju of Georgia was crowned Miss
India USA 2014. Miss India USA is the
oldest running Indian pageant outside of
India.
The thirty third annual pageant was organized by the New York-based IFC,
headed by Dharmatma Saran, Founder
and the Chief Organizer of the Pageant.
Riya Kaur from New Jersey was
crowned Miss Teen India USA and Na-
10 indicted in $1 M India travel scam

our Pakistani citizens were among
the 10 travel agents indicted for running a fraudulent business and stealing over a million dollar from nearly 200
India-bound travelers, who were left
stranded in the US.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus
Vance announced the indictment of the 10
individuals connected to a commercial
travel scam in which the agents, using
credit card information obtained illegally,

were able to steal more than a million dollars from the 200 victims.
The defendants placed advertisements in
Indian-American publications throughout
the US that offered competitively priced
tickets to and from popular destinations in
India.
The fraudulent activity disrupted many
victims' long- planned international travel
mita Dodwadkar of Massachuseets was

also crowned the First Ever Mrs. India
USA in the same pageant.
Pranathy, 19, is a student majoring in
Film Acting and Production. She will represent USA in the Twenty Fourth Annual
Miss India Worldwide Pageant, also organized by IFC, to be held in Goa, India
in June of 2016.
The First Ever Mrs. India USA Namita
Dodwadkar, 28, is a Senior Scientist at
Novartis and holds a Ph. D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Former TOI editor Gautam Adhikari

joins CAP as Senior Fellow
ormer Times of India Executive Editor Gautam Adhikari will join Center
for American Progresss National Security and International Policy team as a
Senior Fellow. He will work with other researchers and policy experts to provide expert insight into U.S.-India relations and
CAPs work with progressives around the
world.
Gautam has been a strong voice for progressive policies and values and a strong advocate of the U.S.-India relationship since
the 1990s, said CAP Vice President for National Security and International Policy
Vikram Singh. We could not be more
pleased to have Gautam contributing to our
India: 2020 program and our Global
Progress initiative.
Adhikari joins CAPs India: 2020 project,

an initiative focused on elevating the foreign
policy debates in South Asia by looking at
the short- and long-term U.S. policy priorities and analyzing the gap that exists between the current realities and hopes for the
U.S.-India relationship. He is the founding
editor of Mumbais Daily News & Analysis,
or DNA, and has held several academic and
public policy fellowships, including serving
as a resident fellow and adjunct lecturer in
public policy at the Shorenstein Center on
Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard
University, a J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro
fellow at George Washington University and
senior resident fellow at the International
Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy.
and prosecutors said victims of the travel

scam included a woman who was sevenmonths-pregnant and was unable to complete a leg of her scheduled trip, family
members who were not able to attend a
relative's wedding and an individual who
was prevented from visiting a sick father
in India. The defendants, four of whom
live in Pakistan, are each charged in an indictment in New York State Supreme
Court on varying counts of grand larceny,
identity theft and scheme to defraud.
The agents indicted are Sadaqat Ali of
Bronx, Sumit Chawla, Shah Nawaz Kiani,
Muhammad Asif and Rana Muhammad

Tariq of Pakistan, Zubair Dar, Sarfraz
Khan and Manjeet Singh of Queens and
Muhammad Arif of Brooklyn.
According to the indictment, between
June 2012 and November 2014, the agents
operated a business involving multiple incorporated travel agencies--including
Bombay Travel and Tours, Raj Travel,
Gandhi Travel, Patel Travel and Maha
Guru Travel--and several bank accounts
that were fraudulently opened in the name
of the travel agencies, using falsified passports and licenses.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Ami Bera, George Holding are new Vivek Murthys appointment

is a huge victory for us: AAPI
co-chairs of India caucus
Washington, DC: Ami Bera,
the lone Indian-American US
House member, a Democrat,
and Republican George
Holding will serve as the new
co-chairs of the Congressional
Caucus on India and Indian
Americans in the new
Congress.
Their appointment was
announced Thursday by the
outgoing co-chairs Democrat
Joseph
Crowley
and
Republican Peter Roskam,
ahead of the first session of
the Congress starting January
6. Bera's "passion for the
issues is impressive, and there
is no question the Caucus will
be in excellent hands," Crowley
said.
"The Indian-American community has a wonderful partner
in Ami Bera, and I look forward
to working with him, and the
entire India Caucus, as we continue our efforts to strengthen
relations between the US and
India," he said. "As the only
Indian American serving in
Dr Ami Bera
Congress," Bera said he was

"excited to take on this new role
at a critical time for the partnership between the US and India."
Building on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's visit to the US
in September and President
Barack Obama's upcoming trip
to India, he looked forward to
working with the Caucus members "to continue to grow the
economic and strategic relationship between our countries and to advocate for the
Indian American community."
"As Republican Chair of the
India Caucus, George will
focus in on growing the relationship between our two
democracies, emphasizing our
nations' shared interests from
global security to trade and
international prosperity," said
Roskam.
The US-India bilateral relationship "can be one of the
defining partnerships of this
century," Holding said.
He too looked to advancing
the efforts of the Caucus as
"With a shifting geopolitical situation in Asia, unwavering
cooperation between the US and
India is essential to promoting
peace and stability."
Formed in 1993, the 180
member India Caucus is a bipartisan group of members dedicated to championing strong ties
between the US and India and
supporting the Indian-American
Rajiv Shah to step down as USAID

Administrator in Feb 2015
Washington, DC: Indian"Raj has been an outstanding
American Rajiv Shah, a trained
Administrator, a creative innovamedical doctor and health econotor, and a dynamic leader. After
mist, Wednesday announced his
five years, he absolutely deserves
decision to step down as
this transition, and he leaves
Administrator of the United States
USAID after making a dramatic
Agency for International
mark transforming this instiDevelopment (USAID) in midtution into one that's more entreFebruary 2015 after serving in the
preneurial, more modern, and
high-profile assignment for a little
more nimble, while promoting
Rajiv Shah to step resilient democracies and batover five years.
US President Barack Obama down after serving tling extreme poverty across the
had appointed Dr Shah to the in the high-profile globe," Mr Kerry said in a stateassignment for a
position on November 10, 2009.
ment. "... for these last two years
little
over five years as Secretary of State, Ive
Dr Shah was serving as Under
Secretary for Research, Education
enjoyed the chance to work with
and Economics and Chief Scientist at the US Raj daily, and Ive been impressed by his
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
fresh thinking and his ability to come inside
"I want to thank President Obama for the government and remain a change agent, parhonor of serving our country these past five ticularly in driving a paradigm shift towards a
years as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for new model of innovation, investment, and
International Development. Thanks to his partnerships," he said.
leadership and the extraordinary commitment
"Raj will be known not just as USAIDs
of our nations development experts, America 16th Administrator, but as the Administrator
is the unquestioned leader in eliminating the who reached up, and reached out, bringing a
scourges of extreme poverty, hunger, and whole new set of stakeholders to the table,
child death worldwide," he said.
enlisting the help of non-governmental differDr Shah said that it was with mixed emo- ence makers including corporations, foundations that he had informed Mr Obama and tions, advocacy groups, and faith-based comSecretary of State John Kerry today that he munities.
would step down as Administrator in mid"Those partnerships are essential to creating
February 2015.
the kind of sustainable change that builds
He dwelt at length on the achievements of from generation to generation, ending cycles
the agency across the world in the past five of poverty and bringing societies to new levyears and said it was today better positioned els of social and economic development. And
than at any other time in its 53-year history to those are the partnerships that Raj built. What
solve the greatest challenges facing humanity. a legacy," he added.
Washington, DC: On Tuesday,

Vivek Murthy was confirmed as
the Surgeon General of America
by US Senate. Feeling proud in
this victory is the American
Indian Origin (AAPI). The
Senate confirmation of Vivek
Murthy as Surgeon General is a
"huge victory" for the IndianAmerican doctors as it reaffirmed
that a man of impeccable credentials cannot be kept down for too
long, community members and
US lawmakers have said.
"It is a huge victory for the citizens of USA, physicians and as
Indian Americans" an elated
president
of
American
Indian Origin (AAPI) Ravi
Jahagirdar said on Monday.
He said for the past several
months AAPI leadership had
taken it as a challenge to seek
justice denied for over a year to a
doctor with impeccable credentials. Jahagirdar said AAPI members got active from the grass
roots level all the way to the top
leadership. They not only called
their local Senators, sent letters

and emails, but the entire AAPI
Executive Committee was on the
Capitol Hill repeatedly in the
past several months educating
Senators of the need to appoint a
"top doc" to lead the nation, and
to confirm the nomination of
Murthy, he said. "Our role was
educational and advocacy.
During the Ebola crisis you could
see that the health department
had no direction and was a sorry
spectacle." Jahagirdar said. Even
on Monday, the day of voting,
AAPI ran television ads urging
Indian Americans to call their
Senators to support Murthy.
The appointment only reaffirmed the old American adage
"you cannot keep a good man
down"! he said. Senator Dianne
Feinstein said the Senate put
public health over special interests by voting to confirm Vivek
Murthy to be the next surgeon
general. "The United States faces
serious public health challenges
and we need a top doctor on the
job to help address them,"
she said.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
US firm replicates India model to create IT jobs for women

Washington, DC: An information
technology services company is using a program developed in India to
create jobs worldwide and train and
place minority women in highquality IT jobs in ten cities across
America.
After its "impressive work" in India and Mexico, the Aliso Viejo,
Calif.-based UST Global is planning to launch additional programs
in Africa in 2015, according to its
Indian American CEO Sajan Pillai.
"UST Global has successfully
trained over 20,000 college graduates throughout the world, including approximately 15,000 in India
alone," and is currently deploying
in Spain, Malaysia and the Philippines, among others, says Pillai.
For over 14 years, UST Global
has refined its training program to
equip associates with the necessary
skills required to be successful in
providing technology services, he
said.
"We aim for this to be a global occurrence where we continue to create jobs for people and countries in
need," said Pillai, a computer sci-
UST Global CEO Sajan Pillai welcomes Vice President Joe Biden
at its STEM Initiative Step IT Up in Detroit
ence and engineering graduate

from the College of Engineering at
Thiruvananthapuram in India.
"In large part due to our reputation and success in India, the government of Mexico invited UST
Global to establish a Center of Excellence, in partnership with former
president Vicente Fox, to train
Akshaya Patra raises $247,000

at SF Bay Area Gala
Milpitas, CA: Akshaya Patra,
the worlds largest NGO serving
daily midday meals to children
in India, raised over $247,000 at
their annual Food for Education
Benefit Gala on Dec. 6 at the
India Community Center, India
West reported.
A crowd of more than 250 philanthropists, business, and government leaders was welcomed
by the foundation.
Barbara Kinney, award-winning photojournalist and White
House photographer to President
Bill Clinton, was the evenings
keynote speaker. She spoke
about her travels and showed
pictures of the Bill Clinton
Foundations trip to Akshaya
Patra schools and kitchens last
July in Jaipur and Lucknow.
Visiting the kitchens was a
very eye-opening experience,
Kinney told India-West. I loved
seeing the smiling kids and
was amazed at how much of an

impact a meal can make in helping kids pursue their dreams.
Gururaj Desh Deshpande,
Indian American philanthropist,
entrepreneur, and chairman of
Akshaya Patra USA, noted the
organizations goals to feed five
million children daily by 2020
and welcomed all event attendees.
The event also featured
Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka as the
guest of honor, who spoke about
the importance of meeting the
primal need for food to prepare
for the world of tomorrow.
The CEO of Akshaya Patra
USA, Emily Rosenbaum, told
personal anecdotes about her
travels to India, and talked about
Akshaya Patras impact on eradicating poverty and malnourishment in ten states, 24 kitchens,
and 10,601 schools throughout
India.
30,000 students," he said. Ten thousand of these will be employed by

UST Global, Pillai said. As of October this year over 900 Mexican
university graduates have completed the training program and about
600 are now working for UST
Global.
In the U.S., UST Global's Step IT
Up America program has already

graduated over 200 women in six
different cities and all are currently
employed by UST Global, said Pillai, co-founder of Softek Systems
in India. New York was the latest
city to join the program. The grand
vision of the program is to create
5000 new jobs for minority women
to enter tech careers by 2020, Pillai
said. Asked how the model has
been adapted for the U.S., he said:
"After seeing the success and how
societies transformed in Mexico,
India, and other parts of the world,
there was no doubt we would be
able to do the same thing in the
US."
To refine the material for the Step
IT Up America students, UST
Global is working in conjunction
with Mentor Global, an international technology training company.
"These formulas are different, but
the end goal is always the same. We
aim to transform lives through
technology," Pillai said. Information technology and other Science,
Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) occupations
Sikh Float to make history

with Rose Parade debut
California: In celebration of its 125year history, the Sikh American community will have its own float in the
2015 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
on New Years Day, marking the first
time the Indian American community
will be represented in the annual parade
of flowers, music and sports.
With the theme A Sikh American
Journey, the historic float will focus on
the values of Sikh Americans and their
contributions to American society. The
float, which is currently under construction, will chronicle the history of Sikhs
in America, from their early pioneering
days in the late 1800s to the present day,
where they hold important roles in all
walks of life. The Rose Parade float is
the brainchild of United Sikh Mission
president and chairman Rashpal Singh
Dhindsa. He began spearheading the
movement for participation in the
parade in early 2010 and after a series
of meetings and presentations, secured
the float for the 2015 parade. Funds for
the float have been raised within the
Sikh American community. Visit
sikhfloat.com for more information.
are the largest and fastest-growing

career sectors worldwide, especially in the US, he said.
Yet the number of trained people
required to fill technology jobs always falls short.
Along with this talent gap, the
technology industry's biggest challenge is severe under-representation of women and minorities in the
fields of STEM.
Some 27 percent of the U.S.
workforce is made up of minorities
and women; yet only three percent
of STEM jobs are held by minorities, Pillai noted.
"We aim to move the needle of
this issue through our nationwide
initiative, Step IT Up America," he
said, "as we continue our launches
in other cities in the U.S."
So far, the majority of SIUA's
students have been of African
American and Latina ethnicities,
said Pillai, who was recently chosen as one of the elite 100 CEO
leaders in STEM by STEMConnector. But the program remains open
to all minority women residing in
ten cities across the U.S., he said.
The Indus Entrepreneurs

honors three Indian-Americans
Washington, DC: Three Indian-American entrepreneurs
have been felicitated by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) with
its annual legend awards in recognition of their risk-taking,
mentoring of young entrepreneurs, philanthropy and years of
dedication to the local community. The awards were presented to Ken Bajaj, Frank Islam and Sharad Tak at the annual
gala of TiE DC attended by top Indian-American entrepreneurs from Maryland, Virgina and Washington DC.
Bajaj founded AppNet, a Web design and e-commerce integration firm, which grew to be the fourth largest interactive
media services company in the US.
AppNet was sold to Commerce One in 2000 for $2 billion.
Islam founded IT company, the QSS Group in 1994, and
built it to 2,000 employees before selling it to Perot Systems
in 2007. He is known for his philanthropist activities.
Tak is an entrepreneur in the fields of computer systems,
telecommunications, broadcasting, and power plant development.
In his remarks, Islam urged young entrepreneurs not to
waste time in trying to emulate someone else's business.
"Don't be a 'me too business'. Don't be a clone. Find your
inner entrepreneur. Create a mission, vision and set of values
that are unique to your enterprise. Be the best you can be.
Make it your journey. Stay true to you," Islam said.
Addressing young Indian-Americans, Tak told them that
entrepreneurship is in their genes.
US AFFAIRS
Race to 2016
Third Bush getting ready to run

Washington: Jeb Bushs announcement
Tuesday that he is actively exploring a 2016
presidential run scrambles the large Republican field, thrusting him to the front of the pack
and locking up a huge swath of longtime party fundraisers being wooed by other candidates, reports Washington Post.
Bush, the 61-year-old son of one president
and the brother of another, declared in a Facebook post Tuesday that he intends to set up a
leadership PAC in January to discuss the
most critical challenges facing our exceptional nation.
His potential candidacy raises the prospect
that the upcoming White House race will be a
dynastic match between Bush and former
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who is the heavy favorite for the Democratic
nomination if she chooses to run.
But first, Bush would have to get through
the GOP primaries, where his conservative
credentials are likely to be challenged by activists on the right who scorn his support for
immigration and education reform.
For now, the early move by the former
Florida governor is expected to severely undercut the financial backing for other possible
2016 contenders especially New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Gov. Rick Perry
and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.).
Jeb Bush, who favors immigration

reform and common core, is seen as a
centrist in the GOP.
Bushs declared interest also punctures the

rationale for a candidacy by Mitt Romney, the
2012 GOP nominee who occupies a similar
space within the party establishment.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday found Bush with a narrow
edge over a crowded field of potential GOP
contenders if Romney were not in the race.
Bush garners 15 percent support among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents,
with Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Rep. Paul Ryan
(Wis.) each netting 11 percent.
Fed confident on growth, opens

door wider to rate hike
Washington: The Federal Reserve on
Wednesday offered a strong signal that it
was on track to raise interest rates sometime next year, altering a pledge to keep
rates near zero for a "considerable time" in
a show of confidence in the U.S. economy.
Closing out a two-day meeting against a
backdrop of solid domestic growth but
trouble overseas, the U.S. central bank said
it would take a "patient" approach in deciding when to bump borrowing costs
higher.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a news conference that "patient" meant the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee was
unlikely to hike rates for "at least a couple
of meetings," meaning April of next year at

the earliest.
U.S. stock markets and bond yields rose
as investors digested a statement that
evinced faith in the economy while still
projecting a slow-going approach to rate
hikes. The dollar rallied broadly against
major currencies.
After some initial volatility, futures markets continued to point to a rate rise in September, while 13 of 19 big Wall Street
firms polled by Reuters said they expected
an increase by June, in line with results
from a November survey.
The Fed has held benchmark overnight
rates near zero since December 2008.
Effort to draft Warren

for 2016 kicks off
Washington: The effort
draft Warren, presumably
to draft Massachusetts
to run against likely DemDemocratic Sen. Elizaocratic
frontrunner
beth Warren into the 2016
Hillary Clinton. The
presidential race officialgroup said it is is going
ly kicked off Wednesday
all in on the Warren efevening in a Des Moines,
fort, and committed
Iowa coffee shop, and the
$250,000 to the campaign
campaign is at least a
Wednesday.
quarter-million dollars
Move On pledged $1
richer than it was just a
million last week. Our
few hours earlier. Three
job is to make the grassliberal groups involved in
roots Run Warren Run
the effort to push Warren
movement
so
loud
to run joined together for
thatshe feels the need
the launch event in the
to answer her nations call
key presidential state, into serve. And thats exactcluding
MoveOn.org,
ly what were going to do
which threw its support Left leaning Dems are salivating together, said Annie
behind the effort last at the prospect of a presidential Weinberg, Democracy for
week; the super PAC run by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Americas electoral direcReady for Warren; and which will, at the minimum, shake tor. The groups will work
up the inevitable candidate
Democracy for America
together to open offices in
Hillary Clinton.
(DFA), which grew out of
key states like Iowa and
Howard Deans 2004
New Hampshire, recruit
presidential campaign, reports NPR.
volunteers, find small-dollar donors and create
DFA said last week that it intended to join ads to promote the draft campaign. Dean is
the pro-Warren campaign, but wanted ap- supporting Clinton in the 2016 race, even
proval from its members first. The members though the organization built from his camhave now spoken, and a whopping 87.6% said paign and run by his brother supports
the group should move ahead with the plan to Warren.
Cuomo to ban fracking

in upstate NY
New York: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Wednesday
he will block drilling for natural gas using a technique
called horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,
which environmentalists have warned is a threat to
public health, but upstate New York residents saw as
a much-needed boost to the economy.
State officials concluded that fracking, as the
method is known, could contaminate the air and water and pose inestimable dangers to public health.
That conclusion was delivered during a year-end
cabinet meeting convened by Cuomo in Albany. It
came amid increased calls by environmentalists to ban
fracking, which uses water and chemicals to release
natural gas trapped in deeply buried shale deposits.
Even the Obamas have faced racism

Michelle
Obama was
mistreated
at a Target
store in
suburban
Washington
in 2011.
Washington: President and

Michelle Obama personally
identify with everyday experiences of racial bias in America
that have underpinned recent
protests across the country, they
told People magazine in an interview released this week.
Barack Obama was a black
man that lived on the South Side
of Chicago, who had his share of
troubles
catching
cabs,"
Michelle Obama told the maga-
zine. On one occasion, she said,

her husband was wearing a
tuxedo at a black-tie dinner, and
somebody asked him to get coffee. President Obama said he's
even been mistakenly treated as
a valet.
Theres no black male my
age, whos a professional, who
hasnt come out of a restaurant
and is waiting for their car and
somebody didnt hand them
their car keys," he said.
The first lady also described

being mistreated at a Target
store in suburban Washington,
during a shopping trip she took
in 2011.
"Even as the first lady," she
told the magazine, "during the
wonderfully publicized trip I
took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who
came up to me in the store was a
woman who asked me to help
her take something off a shelf."
10
INDIA
Conversion row stalls Upper House Don't cross 'Lakshman rekha',

Modi tells party MPs
Saffron organizations in the past few days have intensified their the home coming
program in states after Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi: The uproar over reported religious conversion and comments by members
from the ruling BJP continued to rock the
Rajya Sabha this week, forcing several
adjournments and stalling proceedings.
The government, however, managed to
introduce in the house a bill to make stringent
laws on hijacking, even as opposition members raised slogans.
The upper house, where the government is
in minority, earlier lost nearly five days of
government business over a row on minister
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's comments, and is lagging far behind the Lok Sabha in transacting
government business.
The session had just four working days left.
Congress leader Anand Sharma made it
clear that the party will not let the house function unless Prime Minister Narendra Modi
comes.
The opposition was also upset that the prime
minister made a comment on the issue at a
meeting of the BJP's parliamentary board, but
did not come to the house.
"Does the prime minister need a visa to
come to this house?" asked Trinamool
Congress member Derek O'Brien.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called the comment
"unacceptable".
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said:
"When the prime minister is in parliament,
why not accept the opposition's demand and
come to the house?"
The house saw repeated adjournments and
angry exchanges, as both the ruling and the
opposition parties blamed each other for the
disruptions.
Chairman Hamid Ansari suspended
Congress member V. Hanumantha Rao for the
day as he went up to his podium and raised
slogans.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)
leader Sitaram Yechury also raised the issue,
saying he wanted to raise a "point of disorder". Anand Sharma complained that the
opposition members were not being allowed
to speak.
As opposition members raised the pitch
demanding Modi's presence, treasury benches
members too added to the din.
Outside the house as well, the government
and the opposition blamed each other for the
disruptions.
in parliament should reach peoNew Delhi: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi again warned
ple. "Our party agenda is develBJP MPs against crossing the
opment and good governance
"Lakshman Rekha" (limits) by
and we should not dither from it.
making controversial statements,
We will not allow dilution or
party sources said.
deviation from our commitment," he said.
In his speech at the BJP parliaThe sources said that the ruling
mentary party meeting, Modi
said that the party will not allow
party feels that controversial
any deviation from government's
comments were "derailing the
development and good goverdevelopment agenda" of the govMinister Sadhvi
ernment and is uniting the opponance agenda.
Niranjan Jyoti
sition against it. This is the secOn party membership, he said
that every booth in the country should have at ond time the prime minister has warned MPs
least 10 primary members and party activities against making communal remarks in the
should be given utmost priority.
meeting of parliamentary party, held every
According to sources, Modi also said that Tuesday.
Earlier, following controversial comments
development work undertaken by the party's
MPs must be "visible and not just on paper" by minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Modi had
and the government's work and performance cautioned MPs to avoid such comments.
VHP to organise 'ghar wapasi' in

Sonia Gandhi's constituency
Lucknow: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) announced its plan to organize a 'Ghar
Wapasi' (home coming) program in Rae
Bareli, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's
parliamentary constituency.
VHP's Rae Bareli district unit chief Harish
Chandra Sharma said the saffron group has
identified 60 families who were ready for
'home coming'. There was no allurement or
coercion in the process, Sharma added.
He also said some "pseudo-secular" parties
and politicians were trying to give "ghar
wapasi" a communal colour though it was a
simple and consistent work done by the VHP
and its affiliates.

The VHP leader said the group plans to conduct "ghar wapasi" of about 100 families and
as soon as this target is met, a date would be
announced for the re-conversion to Hinduism.
The district administration, however, said
the state government has made it clear that
such events cannot be allowed. "So far, we are
not aware of any such move, in case something comes to our notice, we will act," a district official told IANS.Saffron organizations
in the past few days have intensified their the
"home coming" program, specially after a successful mass conversion in Agra.
The oldest press printing Hindu religious books shuts shop

Lucknow: India'a most authentic,
biggest, trusted and sustained connect for the Hindu devout with its
rich past of religious literature is
faced with a strike and indefinite
closure. Headquartered in eastern
Uttar Pradesh and publishing religious works since 1923, the Gita
Press has shut down indefinitely
owing to labor unrest.
The indefinite closure comes at a
time when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has been gifting
the Gita to foreign leaders and
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj has pitched for declaring it
a "national scripture".
Gita Press, a unit of Gobind
Bhawan Karyalaya registered
under the Societies Registration
Act of 1860 (presently governed
by the West Bengal Societies Act,
1960) began as an initiative to
"promote and spread the principles
of Sanatana Dharma, the Hindu
religion among the general public
by publishing the Gita, Ramayana,
The Gita Press has shut down indefinitely owing to labor unrest.
Upanishads, Puranas, discourses

of eminent Saints and other character-building books and magazines and marketing them at highly subsidized prices," a member of
the management told IANS,
speaking on condition of
anonymity.
Ruing the decision to close

down the press, located in
Gorakhpur district, the official
said three employees - Virendra
Singh, Ram Jeevan Sharma and
Munivar Mishra - have also been
dismissed for instigating fellow
employees.
"Information about the dismissal

of these employees and of the
indefinite closure has been communicated to the district administration, the police and the state's
labour department" the official
further informed.
Over the years, the institution
has made available more than 370
million copies of the Gita,
Ramayan, Bhagvat, Durga
Saptashati, Puranas, Upanishads,
Bhakta-Gathas and other character-building books in Sanskrit,
Hindi, English, Gujarati, Tamil,
Marathi, Bangla, Oriya, Telugu,
Kannada, and other Indian regional languages at low cost.
"Kalyan" in Hindi, with 300,000
subscribers and "KalyanaKalpataru" in English, the monthly
publications of the institution, are
counted among the country's most
subscribed religious magazines
and are preserved for their rich
content.
Shrimad Bhagvad Gita in differ-
ent editions has sold nearly 115

million
copies,
Shri
Ramcharitamanas and other works
by Goswami Tulsidas 92.2 million, Puranas, Upanishads and
ancient scriptures 22.7 million,
small books especially for women
and children 105.5 million and
books on Bhakta-Gathas (biographies of saints) and Bhajans
(devotional songs) 124.4 million.
Overall, 582.5 million copies of
Gita Press publications have so far
come out.
An employee leader, while
pointing out that to go on strike
was a painful decision, accused
the management of being autocratic and indifferent to their
demands.
"We demanded a 10 percent hike
in our wages every year, 30 days
of paid leave and 20 percent house
rent allowance," the leader said,
adding that the workers had struck
work in 1982 and the standoff continued for 44 days.
INDIA
Supreme Court extends

Jayalalithaa's bail
New Delhi: The Supreme Court extended
the bail of former Tamil Nadu chief minister
J. Jayalalithaa by another four months as it
asked the Karnataka high court to decide on
her appeal challenging her conviction in disproportionate assets case within three
months.
Noting that Jayalalithaa had complied with
its Oct 17 order of ling her appeal in the
high court along with all the documents, an
apex court bench headed by Chief Justice
H.L. Dattu asked the chief justice of the
Karnataka high court to constitute a special
bench that will hear the appeal on a day-today basis and complete the hearing within
three months from Thursday.
Jayalalithaa has challenged her conviction
in the case along with three others by a
Bangalore court.
The apex court had granted bail to
Jayalalithaa and the three others Oct 17 on
the condition that she le her appeal along-
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister

J. Jayalalithaa
with all other accompanying documents

before the high court on or before Dec 18.
Appearing for Jayalalithaa, senior counsel
K.T.S. Tulsi told the court that all the papers
running into 177 volumes have alrady been
led before the high court.
Government pushing bills without following norms: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress accused the government of pushing through bills without following established norms.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the government was
bringing in bills without discussing them in the business advisory committee.
The committee is headed by the speaker. "We have no issues with their passage but they
should have been discussed," he said. He said the government is bulldozing the bills on the
strength of its majority in the Lok Sabha it but should be respectful of procedures.
Kharge was supported by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and
Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy. This prompted Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to assure the
leaders that she would look into the issue.
Pak court grants bail to

India's most wanted
Islamabad: India is
Agency) prosecutor
working with its misdisagreed with the bail
sion in Pakistan to prerequest,
however,
pare a strong response
advocate
Rizwan
against granting of bail
Abbasi, the lawyer repto LeT commander
resenting Lakhvi stood
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi,
before the court as the
one of the masterminds
bail was approved, the
of the 2008 terror
Dawn reported.
attack.
The seven accused
Within hours of an
Lakhvi, Abdul
Anti-Terrorism Court in
Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal,
Rawalpindi granting
Hamad Amin Sadiq,
bail to Lakhvi, one the
Shahid Jameel Riaz,
seven Pakistani nationJamil Ahmed and
als accused of planning
Younis Anjum are
and
abetting
the
facing trial at the
Mumbai terror attacks,
Adiala
Jail
in
LeT commander Zakiur
sources said the govern- Rehman Lakhvi is one of the Rawalpindi.
ment here started workLakhvi, who was the
masterminds of the
ing along with its misoperational
head of the
26/11 terror attack.
sion in Islamabad on a
banned Laskhar-estrong response against the court verdict. Taiba, was one of the key planners of the
Lakhvi and six others had led bail Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.
applications even as lawyers were
His release from jail comes a day after
observing a strike to condemn the terror- Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
ist attack on an army-run school in pledged to announce a "national plan" to
Peshawar that left 148 people, mostly tackle terrorism within a week, saying
children, dead.
"this entire region" should be cleansed
The FIA (Federal Investigation of terrorism.
Bird flu:
Chandigarh's Sukhna Lake cordoned off

Chandigarh: The famous Sukhna Lake was
cordoned off after a sample from a dead duck
tested positive for the H5N1 (avian or bird flu)
virus.
Police and paramilitary personnel with
masks on their faces were stationed at the lake
complex since early Thursday to cordon off
the entire area.
Scores of morning walkers who throng to
the lake every day and other visitors were kept
away from the lake complex.
Police officials at the lake told IANS that
the complex would remain out of bounds for
all visitors for at least two to three days.
Wildlife and animal husbandry department
officials are likely to start culling of the ducks
and geese at the lake to curb an outbreak of
bird flu in the city.
Over 30 ducks and geese at the lake had
died under mysterious circumstances in recent
days. The Sukhna lake has nearly 250 ducks
and geese which are a star attraction for visitors. The presence of the H5N1 virus was confirmed in a sample from one dead duck by the
Bhopal-based National Institute of High
Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD)
Wednesday.
Ducks and geese have been dying for the
past 10 days and officials initially thought the
deaths could be due to food poisoning or overfeeding. "At present, there is no assessment
regarding any outbreak of bird flu in
Chandigarh's Sukhna Lake
Chandigarh. The situation is, however, being

very closely monitored," a spokesman of the
Chandigarh Administration said.
While claiming that there was "no alarm or
alert issued for the general public", the authorities ordered the lake area where the ducks and
geese reside to be fenced.
"The movement of the ducks and geese has
been restricted," the spokesman said.
"The public are requested not to panic and
cooperate with the administration," the
spokesman added.
The Sukhna Lake is in an upscale, highsecurity area of Chandigarh - the joint capital
of Punjab and Haryana and a union territory.
The residences of the Haryana and Punjab
Governors, senior officers and other influential people are located close to the lake
complex.
11
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718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
12
INDIA
India successfully test fires its heaviest rocket

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): India moved
forward in rocket technology with the successful flight testing of its heaviest next generation rocket and the crew module on
December 18.
The 630 tonne Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mark III)
standing 43.43 metre tall freed itself from the
second launch pad and with a reverberating
deep throated roar, rose into the sky.
With a thick orange flame at its tail, the
expendable rocket ascended towards the heavens with one way ticket as its design life span
is just around five minutes.
The Rs.155 crore mission has twin purposes. The main purpose is to test the rocket's
atmospheric flight stability with around four
tonne luggage.
The second and incidental objective is to
study the re-entry characteristics of the crew
module-called Crew Module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment - its aero braking and validation of its end-to-end parachute system.
According to an Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) official, it will be of the
size of a small bedroom and can accommodate two to three people.
Just over five minutes into the flight, the
rocket spat out the giant cup cake shaped 3.7tonne crew module at an altitude of 126 km.
The crew module then descended towards
Earth at a high speed. The speed was moderated remotely manipulating its on-board motors
till 80 km above the earth.
From here the ballistic re-entry into the
atmosphere began while the on-board
thrusters were shut down.
The crew module's heat shield was expected
to experience a heat of around 1,600 degrees
centigrade.
At an altitude of around 15 km, the module's
apex cover separated and the parachutes were
President, PM
congratulate
ISRO scientists
The GSLV-Mark III can lift off 630 tonnes.
deployed.
The module soft crashed in Bay of Bengal
near Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
From here, the crew modules multi-modal
and multi-state transport journey would begin.
A naval ship tracking the signals from the
module will pick up the module and deliver it
at the Ennore Port near Chennai in Tamil
Nadu. From there it will be brought to
Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and then it will
be taken to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,
Thiruvanthapuram in Kerala.
At the mission control centre there was no
control on ISRO's scientists happiness at the
success.
Speaking about the mission, ISRO's
Chairman K. Radhakrishan said: "India started development of the rocket a decade ago
and today completed the first experimental
Two Rajasthan sites

chosen to counter enemy
missiles
By Prakash Bhandari
Jaipur: Two sites in Rajasthan
have been selected by the
Ministry of Defences research
arm Defence Research and
Design Organisation (DRDO)
for installing radars to track
enemy missiles and storing
counter-attack projectiles.
The two locations will have
adequate stealth feature and protection against enemy sabotage.
Mumbai is one of the vital
metros in the country apart
from New Delhi that has been
chosen by the DRDO Ballistic
Missile Defence (BMD) System
that can be put in place at short
notice.
To ensure maximum protection
against air-borne threats, the
DRDO will put up a mix of
counter-attack missiles to shoot

down enemy missiles both within the earths atmosphere (endoatmospheric) and outside (exoatmospheric). The shield, developed by DRDO, has undergone a
series of successful tests. It can
destroy an incoming ballistic
missile with the range of up to
2,000 km.
The DRDO has chosen Khoa
in Alwar district and Roopnagar
in Pali district of Rajasthan for
installing radars that will protect
the two metros -Mumbai and
Delhi.
The BMD system will require
minimum human intervention
due to the complete automation
of tracking devices and countermeasures. Human intervention
will be required only to abort the
mission, the sources said.
flight.
S. Somanath, project director of GSLV
Mark III, said: "India now has a new launch
vehicle. The payload capability of the Indian
rocket has been enhanced significantly."
The mission success is sweet for the Indian
space fraternity as it comes after successful
launch of Mars Orbiter last year and older version of GSLV rocket powered by its own
cryogenic engine early this year.
A cryogenic engine is more efficient as it
provides more thrust for every kilogram of
propellant burnt.
This was the second mission of GSLV rocket during the last four years after two such
rockets failed in 2010.
The GSLV-Mark III is designed to be a three
stage/engine rocket with a lift off weight of
630 tonnes.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee

and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the successful launch
of its heaviest rocket, GSLV-Mark III.
In a message to K. Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO), Mukherjee said: "Please accept
my heartiest congratulations to your team
and you at the Indian Space Research
Organization for the successful launch of
India's latest generation rocketGeosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV-Mark III), carrying the 'Crew
Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment
(CARE)'."
He said the launch of GSLV-Mark III is
an "important landmark in our space program and demonstrates, yet again, India's
growing capabilities in space launch technology".
"Kindly convey my greetings to the
members of your team of scientists, engineers, technologists and all others
involved in this mission. I wish your
future endeavors continued success," he
added.
Congratulating the scientists, Modi in a
statement said: "Successful launch of
GSLV Mk-III is yet another triumph of
brilliance and hardwork of our scientists.
Congrats to them for the efforts."
India, US experts meet on

operationalization civil n-deal
New Delhi: An India-US contact group on civil
nuclear cooperation that met here held detailed talks
on a range of issues towards implementation of the
civil nuclear accord, including on liability, technical
issues and licensing to facilitate setting up of USdesigned nuclear power plants in India.
The meeting of the contact group comes ahead of
the visit to India next month of US President Barack
Obama to attend the Republic Day parade.
The India-US nuclear deal of 2008 has been stuck
due to India's liability laws.
"The contact group was established pursuant to the
decision of the Indian prime minister and the US
president as articulated in the joint statement of Sep
30, 2014 during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the
US, with a view to advance the implementation of
the India-US civil nuclear cooperation," said a statement.
"As mandated by the two leaders, the contact
group, which comprised relevant experts from both
sides, held detailed discussions on a range of implementation issues, including administrative issues,
liability, technical issues and licensing to facilitate
the establishment of US-designed nuclear power
plants in India.
"The discussions were positive and forward-looking and included representatives of nuclear industries from both sides - the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India (NPCIL) from the Indian side

and Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi from the US
side," it said..
OP-ED
13
Is BJP turning to polarization to serve its political ends?
By Sitaram Yechury
he current Rajya Sabha

impasse is a reflection of the
furious unfolding of the
Modi governments lethal cocktail selling grandiose illusions
of prosperity through development while unleashing rabid communal polarization. The balloons of
development released with great
fanfare, however, have been punctured by the ground reality of
falling GDP; negative industrial
and manufacturing growth; agrarian distress, resulting in declining
cultivated land, and the RBI governors prognosis that no economic
turnaround would be possible without expanding the purchasing
power of our own people our
domestic demand.
Inversely proportional to the
deteriorating livelihood conditions
of our people is the exponential
growth of frenzied communal
polarization, expressing itself in
myriad forms and attempting to
divert growing peoples discontent.
The latest are the campaigns of religious conversion. Declaring
Christmas as the day of good governance is targeting the Christian
minority when the Jharkhand elec-
Declaring Christmas as the day of good governance is targeting the Christian minority when the Jharkhand elections are on.
tions are on, in the way love jihad

was used against Muslims in Uttar
Pradesh the worst form of votebank politics.
Central to the success of such
diabolic campaigns yielding political results is the need to rewrite
Indian history. Such rewriting is
indispensable for the RSS/BJP not
to know how and from where our
current civilization arrived but to
justify such current campaigns on
the basis of what happened in the

past. Distorting history to establish
the wrongs of the past is the
essential prerequisite for justifying
the undoing of what happened in
the past. Among many who documented this rich history, hear what
Rabindranath Tagore had to say:
Aryans
and
non-Aryans,
Dravidians and Chinese, Scythians,
Huns, Pathans and Moghuls, all
have merged and lost themselves in
one body. And, this body is India

today. Four of the six major religious faiths of our people, apart
from Christianity and Islam
Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism,
Jainism, not to speak of the multiple animistic religions and atheism
(as old as Hinduism itself, ie charvaka) originated in these lands.
Hence emerged the collective wisdom that as different rivers through
different courses reach the oceans,
so do individuals live their faiths.
Even the Bhagawat Gita, which
the minister of external affairs
wants to be declared as our national
scripture, says: Whatever celestial
form a devotee seeks to worship
with faith, I stabilize the faith of
that particular devotee in that particular form [(Chapter VII (21)].
Such collective wisdom is reflected in our Constitution (Articles 25
& 26), which provides freedom of
conscience and free profession,
practice and propagation of religion and freedom to manage religious affairs. Further, the Indian
Penal Code (Section 153 A) classifies forcible attempts in the name
of religion as a criminal offense.
Hence, there is no need for any new
law for religious conversions that
the Modi government today speaks
of. Every Indian irrespective of

caste, creed or sex has the freedom
to choose his/her religious faith.
Any forcible attempt to infringe
upon this right is a crime punishable under law.
Are we to allow these forces to
destroy the grandness of Indias
civilisational evolution or pursue
Swami Vivekanandas dictum with
which he concluded his famous
address to the World Parliament of
Religions, Chicago, on September
11, 1893: If the Parliament of
Religions has shown anything to
the world it is this: that every
system has produced men and
women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if
anybody dreams of the exclusive
survival of his own religion and the
destruction of the others, I pity him
from the bottom of my heart, and
point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be
written, in spite of resistance: Help
and not Fight, Assimilation and not
Destruction, Harmony and Peace
and not Dissension.
This is the essence of the current
battle in the Rajya Sabha, and in the
country, today. Is there a choice?
(The views expressed by the
author are personal)
ShamiWitness Mehdi's arrest raises questions on online laws
N Madhavan
nyone who's been to Twitter or

Facebook knows that you can find any
type of people there: political
activists, entrepreneurs, social workers, feminists, education evangelists and religious
fanatics. The notable thing: some of them are
anonymous and merrily flout some laws including some they may not even know
exists or others that are controversial.
The arrest of 24-year-old Mehdi Masroor
Biswas in Bangalore, an alleged online
activist of the Islamic State who anonymously
used the handle @shamiwitness, throws up
new questions: Can Indian laws be convincingly invoked in a grey area where an Indian
citizen cheers a form of extremism without
actually being a physical participant in it?
Biswas was an ITC group employee by day
and an IS activist by night - a Digital Age case
of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, if you will. Was his
support for IS just a hobby of sorts for
Biswas? How does it affect Indian interests
and security? These issues will be debated in
The 24-yearold Mehdi

Masroor
Biswas was
arrested in
Bangalore.
the coming days, but two points are relevant.

One, legal provisions under which Biswas is
being charged (as per media reports) look controversial: One involves waging a war against
an Asiatic "ally" and the other under Section
66F of the Information Technology Act that
governs cyber terrorism, mainly through hacking or similar acts.

From current indications, Biswas did not
hack into any computer or network.
It is not clear if authorities are invoking
Section 66A of the same Act - opposed by free
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
speech activists - which targets those who use

information that is "grossly offensive or has a
menacing character" or causing hatred. From
early reports, this provision is not being
invoked for Biswas.
The more forceful provision being invoked
is of Section 39 of The Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967 which cracks down on
support given to a terrorist organisation.
Twitter has dozens of Indian handles spew
venom and hate. They make allegations and
use abusive language on well-known Indian
figures and also India's Constitution. Can they
be tracked down the way Biswas was tracked?
What will be the consequences? How does
that tally with even elected lawmakers in India
who question aspects of the republic or advocate violence or India having diplomatic relations with governments that it says harbours
terrorists?
Amid such a maze of questions, it is clear
that India needs to be proactive about a new
online global culture and evolve a new legal
framework that guards free speech while
ensuring security and responsibility.
14 December 20-26, 2014
Anerood Jugnauth named

Mauritius prime minister
Port Louis: Former President
and leader of the Alliance Lepep
party, Anerood Jugnauth, who is
of Indian origin, has been officially appointed Mauritius' new
prime minister, officials said
Monday.
The appointment came one
day after the resignation of former prime minister Navin
Ramgoolam who lost in the
polls, Xinhua reported.
Ramgoolam was serving his
third term as the prime minister
since 2005.
According to official data, of
the total of 62 parliamentary
seats, Lepep won 29, whereas
Ramgoolam's Labour Party
(PTR) won only 10.
Jugnauth was received at the
State House Sunday and was
handed the official letter from
President Kailash Purryag to
form his government.
Jugnauth, 84, served as the
president from 2003 to 2012,
and previously he was the prime
minister of Mauritius from 1982
to 1995 and again from 2000 to
Anerood Jugnauth
2003. About one million

Mauritians went to the polls
conducted last Wednesday.
People of Indian origin comprise around 68 percent of
Mauritius's total population of
over 1.3 million.
Most of them are descendants
of laborers who were brought in
the 19th century to the early
20th century to work in the sugarcane plantations here.
DIASPORA
Hindujas acquire Churchill's

iconic Old War Office
Mumbai: The Hinduja Group has
acquired a significant chunk of
world history -- the Old War Office
Building in London, once the hub
of British war time prime minister
Winston Churchill, the group said
Monday.
The acquisition of the heritage
structure was made by Hinduja
Group chairman S.P. Hinduja and
co-chairman G.P. Hinduja, in partnership with a Obrascon Huarte
Lain Desarrollos (OHLD), a
Spanish industrial company.
The landmark building, at 57
Whitehall in central London, will
now be restored and redeveloped
into a five-star hotel, residential
apartments with several private
function rooms, a spa and fitness
facility.
The new buyers have made a
commitment to grant access to the
building with an outdoor public
space as part of the redevelopment
plans.
Hinduja Group said the British
defence ministry had confirmed
the deal, in partnership with
The Old War Office Building was once the hub of British war
time PM Winston Churchill
OHLD.
The property, spread across
580,000 square feet, has been sold
on a 250-year lease to Hinduja
Group-OHLD for an undisclosed
amount following a competitive
bidding process, the ministry said.
"We will make every effort to
honor the heritage and restoration
of this national monument, elevate
its status and reconnect it with the
public," S.P. Hinduja and his brother G.P. Hinduja said of the prestigious deal.
"We will forge a new future for
the site, creating a vibrant and sustainable destination that retains and
enhances the historical importance
of the building," they said. "We are
proud to be playing such a crucial
role in this new chapter for the Old
War Office."
Shriti Vadera picked to chair Santander UK GOPIO and NISU (UK) collaborate for
London: Shriti Vadera, an
treasury advisor before
Indian-origin minister in
becoming a Labor peer,
former British Prime
the report said.
Minister Gordon Brown's
Vadera will be the first
government, has been
woman to chair a big bank
named by the Spanish
in Britain and one among
banking group Santander
a small number of female
to chair its British busichairpersons in large
ness.
British businesses. Just
Vadera was a minister in
three of the FTSE 100
the British government
firms have women as their
during the days of the
chair.
global financial crisis.
She
was
dubbed
She will replace Terence
"Gordon Brown's repreBurns in March, who had
sentative on Earth" for her
Shriti Vadera
announced his plan to
affinity with the then prime
leave the board of the company in January.
minister's politics. However, she left the govVadera was made a life peer in the British ernment in 2009 to take up a job with the
House of Lords in July 2007 when Gordon G20.
Brown became the country's prime minister,
She had also taken up non-executive roles
two months before the collapse of Lehman at BHP Billiton and AstraZeneca.
Brothers, which unleashed global financial
"We're proud and excited to welcome Shriti
turmoil, The Telegraph reported Friday.
Vadera to Santander," said Ana Botin, chairShe was moved subsequently from the person of the Santander Group, adding,
department for international development to "(Vadera's) deep expertise in Britain and
a business-focused cabinet post in 2008.
global economies as well as her banking
Vadera had spent 14 years at the Swiss experience add to her credentials as a strong,
investment bank UBS and eight years as a independent non-executive chairperson."
Indian diaspora students

London: The Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and the
National Indian Students Union UK
(NISU) have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to further the objectives of
GOPIO and NISU for the interests of students of the Indian diaspora, utilizing the
outreach and strengths of GOPIO and its
Youth Council in collaboration with the initiatives and advocacy of NISU.
GOPIO, established in 1989 with headquarters in the United States, is a global
non-profit advocacy organization in the
service of over 30 million Non Resident
Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian
Origin (PIOs) living outside of India.
NISU, with its headquarters in UK, is an
umbrella organization representing United
Kingdom (UK) university students and
alumni of Indian heritage. NISU has panUK presence, and its affiliate societies are
spread throughout the UK, including
Scotland and Wales. Since its inception in
2011, NISU has grown to establish excellent connections, visiting universities and
interacting with members, in line with

NISUs 2014-15 strategy of establishing
productive and progressive personal relationships with its members to further
strengthen its reach and engagement with
the young Indian diaspora in UK.
GOPIO and NISU recognize that there
are considerable scope and opportunities
for mutual cooperation to further their collaborative objectives and mandates. With
the intention of facilitating greater awareness of issues related to students and youth
in the Indian diaspora, their respective
countries of domicile and India, as well as
to increase engagement of Non-Resident
Indian (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin
(PIO) students of the Indian diaspora,
GOPIO and NISU seek to collaborate on
student and youth engagement and outreach to further these shared objectives of
mutual interests.
For more information contact GOPIO
International at +1-818-708-3885, Email:
GOPIO-Intl@sbcglobal.net.
JAN. 2015
18
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Aishwarya felicitated
at 'Miss World 2014'
Aishwarya Rai was felicitated by the Miss World Organization at
the 64th edition of the international beauty pageant in London for
her commitment to "beauty with a purpose" since winning the crown
two decades ago.
Described as embodiment of beauty with purpose, Aishwarya is
also seen as the most successful Miss World so far, a title that she
won in 1994. "I stand here overwhelmed by this honour. I thank
Miss World Organization for such an incredible honor that I have
received..." she said in her acceptance speech.
"To have the opportunity to hold the title, to wear the crown with
pride... that was my one time to go out there and experience beauty
with a purpose...," said the actress looking gorgeous in shimmery
gown.
The 41-year-old was accompanied by her mother Vrinda, husband
and actor Abhishek Bachchan and three-year-old daughter Aaradhya
on the stage. Having starred in movies like "Devdas" and "Hum Dil
De Chuke Sanam", she is now a regular at the prestigious Cannes
film festival. Meanwhile, Koyal Rana, Indias representative at the
Miss World this year, could only make it to the top 10. The crown
went to Miss South Africa.
Aishwarya Rai with husband-actor Abhishek Bachchan and

daughter Aaradhya at 'Miss World 2014'.
Aamir
was first
choice for
'PK', not for
'3 Idiots':
Hirani
Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma in a
scene from the film 'PK.'
Aamir Khan with Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra

at the poster launch of film 'PK.'
ilmmaker Rajkumar Hirani
says while Aamir Khan was
not the first choice for their
superhit film "3 Idiots", he had not
thought of any other name apart
from Aamir for their forthcoming
entertainer "PK".
"For '3 Idiots', Aamir wasn't the
first choice, but for 'PK' he was. I
had made Aamir listen to the basic
idea of this film during '3 Idiots'
itself," Hirani said. The ace direc-
'PK' best film by F

Aamir: Sachin
C
ricket
icon
Sachin
Tendulkar is floored by
Aamir Khan's performance
in the film "PK" and says it's the
best film that he has ever seen.
Sachin was present at a special
screening of the film hosted by
Aamir for him.
"The film is superb. I have promised Aamir so I won't disclose
much about the story. But I would
like to say that all of you please go
and watch this film as it is completely different. For me it's the
best film and best performance of
Aamir that I have ever seen,"
Sachin said.
"His role in the film is completely different. It is completely out-ofthe box film with a very strong
message. It is a must watch film.
Without any doubt it is his best per-
formance," he added.
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and
co-produced by Hirani and Vidhu
Vinod Chopra, "PK" will see
Aamir as an astronaut and
speaking Bhojpuri.
Further, the master
blaster praised
Anushka's performance as well
and
added:
"Aamir
and
Anushka's pair
was amazing.
It's a must
watch".
"PK" also features Sanjay Dutt,
Sushant Singh
Rajput and Saurabh
Shukla. It will hit the
screens this Friday.
tor has worked with actors as celebrated as Aamir, Sanjay Dutt,

Vidya Balan and Kareena Kapoor.
Asked why he always works with
stars, he said: "I wanted to work
with newcomers in '3 Idiots' and I
had even found three people. But
while each was good in isolation,
together they lacked chemistry.
Then Aamir called and said, 'I can
play the character' and we
changed the casting."
Sushant has a cameo in the

movie. Talking about him, Hirani
said: "We wanted a known face
for it, but no one was able to give
15 days for it. We thought of casting a newcomer for this small role
and went searching for one, but
didn't find anyone. "My casting
director asked me to see Sushant.
We liked his audition and signed
him. That's when he told me that
he was also doing 'Kai Po Che'."
nil Kapoor, who had earlier successfully

starred in and adapted the western television
sitcom "24" for the Indian audience will soon
be adapting yet another American show "Modern
Family", media reports said.The Emmy-winning
American sitcom which is currently in its sixth season in the US revolves around three different but
related families. Kapoor confirmed the news to
the media, saying negotiations are currently on for
adaptation after which the final call on the talent
will be taken. Further talking about the adaptation and on the chances of him featuring in the
same, Kapoor added that while he would love to be
part of the show's Indian version his previous commitment may cause date issues. Kapoor will soon be
seen in Anees Bazmee's "Welcome Back" and Zoya
Akhtar's "Dil Dhadakne Do."
Anil Kapoor
Anil
Kapoor to
adapt US
show 'Modern
Family' for
India
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
19
Would like to play iconic

role of Mogambo: Kher
A
ctor Anupam Kher, who
has played diverse roles
in his over three-decadelong career, doesn't like stepping
into someone else's shoes onscreen, but he would love to play
iconic villain Mogambo, if given
a chance.
The actor is not new to negative
roles - in the beginning of his
career he sent shivers down the
audience's spine as Dr. Dang in
"Karma".
When asked which of the iconic roles in Bollywood he would
like to portray, he said: "I am not
in favour of doing any role of
anybody on-screen again because

I think the roles I have played so
far were perfect, according to the
situation and the career that time.
"But if I get a chance and if
'Mr. India' is made again, then I
would like to do Mogambo's
role." "Mr. India", directed by
Shekhar Kapur, was not only a
hit but also had numerous hit
one-liners. This film is best
remembered for Amrish Puri's
portrayal of Mogambo and his
famous one liner - "Mogambo
khush hua".
A scene from 'Badlapur Boys'
'Badlapur Boys' - sincere

depiction of a kabaddi
team's journey Review
Actor Anupam Kher
hey are a bunch of losers.

And the film doesn't hesitate in portraying the losers in the most unflattering light.
The charm lies not in the sophistication of presentation(of which
there is nil), but in the way the
people in this small-village bighearted film respond to their rural
environment. When the villagers'
plea for a water dam falls on deaf
ears, the hero's father immolates
himself, leaving behind a son
Vijay (newcomer Nishan) who
would henceforth be called 'paagal baap ka beta'.
Remember that other towering
Vijay in "Deewaar" seething and
simmering with that tattoo 'mera
baap chor hai'?
This Vijay is far milder, almost
a lamb. The film reveals a
remarkably gentle and guileless
soul. Vijay and his kabaddi-playing friends seem to stuck in a
time-warp in their village in Uttar
Pradesh. They live, talk and
respond to the changes in the outside world with a disarming disregard for progress.
Interestingly, the romance that
grows between Vijay and Sapna
(Saranya Mohan), who has
Big B awarded International T

Icon of the Year
A
mitabh Bachchan was honored with
International Icon of the Year at the
Sansui COLORS Stardust Awards here.
Veteran actress Asha Parekh, on the other hand,
walked away with Lifetime Achievement award.
The star-studded award ceremony was co-hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Riteish
Deshmukh along with Cocktail star Saif Ali
Khan.
Queen and Highway dominated the winners list of searchlight awards (small budget, big
concept). Queen received best actress (Kangana
Ranaut), best film, and Vikas Bahl shared best
director award with Imtiaz Ali, who helmed
Highway.
Alis movie also won the best actor - male
award for Randeep Hooda, while his co-star Alia
Bhatt got the superstar of tomorrow - female trophy. Under the achievers of the year (rulers of box
office 2014) category, the film of the year went to
Happy New Year. Its director Farah Khan won
the dream director award, while the movies star
Shah Rukh Khan was honored with best actor thriller/action trophy.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan with the trophy.
played the same role earlier in

the Tamil and Telugu versions of
the story, is set in an annual village mela where they see each
other, fall in love without
exchanging words and then separate without exchanging names,
let alone numbers.
Does the phone even exist in
this archaic world? "Badlapur
Boys" takes us to a rural setting
that barely exists any more. But
exist, it does, though I don't see
audience identifying with the
characters and their uncomplicated personal and social needs -water in the village, victory in a
kabaddi match and another meeting with the girl that the hero
sees at the 'mela'.
The last, never happens. The
film comes to a rather unexpected finale. Like a good match of
kabaddi, the plot stays a step or
two ahead of us. There's never a
dull moment here.
"Badlapur Boys" mixes the
newly-revived thrill of the game
of kabaddi with an old fashioned
melodramatic plot. The authentic
locations and a deep affinity with
the grassroot level add to the
rugged sporting spirit.
Black day for humanity: Celebrities on Pak school attack

aliban gunmen attacked an armyrun school in north-west Pakistan
killing as many as 126 people,
most of them children, and celebrities
from India and across the border condemned the killings saying it's a "sick"
and "black" day for the human race.
Numbed and horrified by the assault,
celebrities from India and Pakistan took
to Twittter to condemn the gruesome
attack:
Akshay Kumar: Feeling numb hearing about d terrorist attack on innocent
children in Peshawar! May God give
strength to the victims families. RIP
humanity
Javed Akhtar: 104 innocent children
are killed by Talibans In Peshawar. A

black day for humanity.
Priyanka Chopra: Appalling! What
kind of wimps hurt kids! I send out a
prayer. Please god...in whichever form
and whatever name. Pls teach your children to value human life. I pray for
peace. Peshawar
Karan Johar: The Peshawar killing is
just heartbreaking...the death of humanity on every level....helplessness is the
only feeling.
Farhan Akhtar: My heart has broken.
The world failed those children in
Peshawar ... It's a sad sad day.
Salim Merchant: Very disturbed about
the terrorist attack in Peshawar army
school. 21 kids lose their lives and many

injured. When will this stuff stop?
Vivek Oberoi: Killing innocent
unarmed school children? This is not
war, this is not jihad, this is not Islam!
This is purely inhuman! -PeshawarAttack
Rahul Bose: Everyday reveals a new
face of evil. Courage, caring, hope, justice & love are never to be lost. We need
them now more than ever. Peshawar.
Sonu Nigam: Shocked to know what's
happened in Peshawar.. Gosh.. No access
to TV. Came on Twitter for d promised
chat for The Music Room.
Sonakshi Sinha: Oh god! What's happening in this world. Times like these
make you question humanity. Everyone
please pray for whats happening in

Peshawar.
Reema Kagti: The attack on school
kids is just horrific. Sad sad day. RIP
innocent children let down by a senseless, violent world.
Shafqat Amanat Ali: Lady Reading
Hospital in Peshawar appealing for blood
donation. Extreme shortage reported.
Friends in Peshawar please respond to
this call.
Veena Malik Khan: I strongly condemned horrific attack of utter barbarism
on innocent school children...shocked
and Heartbroken!
Ali Zafar: This is sad. Real sad!
Children:
20
SUBCONTINENT
September 20-26 2014
Taliban slaughtered kids in

Peshawar school, world mourns
In one of the worst acts of
human savagery ever perpetrated, the Pakistani
Taliban senselessly slaughtered 141 people, 132 of
them children, in a brazen
terror attack launched by
its heavily armed gunmen
and suicide bombers on an
army-run school in
Pakistan's Peshawar city in
retaliation to the army's
operation against extremists in North Waziristan.
Peshawar: The horrifying attack
on a Peshawar School that left 141
people, mostly schoolchildren
dead, was carried out by a group of
paramilitary uniform-wearing terrorists who stormed the Army
Public School complex in
Peshawar, the capital of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province bordering
Afghanistan, Pakistani media said.
The heartless attackers went on a
rampage, massacring the school
children, with many being shot in
the head and chest from point
blank range. The vicious terror
strike left 141 people, including
132 students, dead and more than
124 injured, Geo News reported.
The attack brought to mind
Russia's Beslan school tragedy in
which nearly 400 people were
killed in 2004 by Chechen extremists. Television footage showed the
surviving school children shocked
and in tears. Some of them had
blood on their faces. One of the
students was carried away on a
stretcher while another leaned onto
a security personnel who helped
him away.
Frightened and traumatized children recalled the horror. "We were
in the auditorium. Suddenly firing
started and our teacher asked us to
lie down. After one hour, the army
came for our rescue," a visibly
shaken student rasped.
A teacher said the firing started
from the back door of the auditorium. Soon after the terrorists struck,
a suicide bomber blew himself up
outside the school auditorium.
Another young student said: "It
was the fourth period. We were in
our classes. They (the terrorists)
were carrying guns in their hands."
"Our principal told our teacher
that the students have to be evacuated. Suddenly we saw army personnel arriving," he added.
The injured students writhed in
pain, with their white shirts and
green sweaters stained with blood.
A child who was swathed in bandages was in tears as he narrated the
terror attack. The Pakistani
The heartless attackers shot schoolchildren in the head and

chest from point blank range.
Obama condemns school attack

Washington: US President Barack Obama has condemned in the
strongest possible terms the attack on the Army Public School in
Peshawar, Pakistan, that claimed scores of lives, mostly those of children. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and
loved ones," he said in a statement Tuesday.
"By targeting students and teachers in this heinous attack, terrorists
have once again shown their depravity," he said. "We stand with the
people of Pakistan, and reiterate the commitment of the US to support
the government of Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism and
extremism and to promote peace and stability in the region."
Taliban, who had shot at Malala
Yousufzai who went on to share
the Nobel Peace Prize with India's
Kailash Satyarthi, claimed responsibility for the attack that left
Pakistan and the world numb with
grief.
The terror group called it a
"revenge attack" for army operations in North Waziristan.
The wounded and bloodied were
taken away to hospitals, that later
faced blood shortage, while anxious parents waited for news outside. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,
who flew down from Islamabad to
Peshawar, said that till terrorism is
not brought to an end in Pakistan,

this kind of terror act will continue
to happen. Army chief General
Raheel Sharif canceled his Quetta
trip and reached Peshawar. Many
of the children were sons and
daughters of army personnel.
The students were initially under
the impression that it was yet
another army drill and the horror
sank in only after they saw schoolmates being felled by bullets.
Some were able to flee soon after
the attack began at noon, while a
few others were taken to safety by
the security personnel who
responded promptly.
India stands firmly with Pakistan in fight against terror,

Narendra Modi told Nawaz Sharif.
Ready to provide all

assistance: Modi to Sharif
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi spoke with his
Pakistani counterpart Nawaz
Sharif over phone and offered
his deepest condolences for the
dastardly terror attack on a
school in Peshawar. He said
India was ready to provide all
assistance during this hour of
grief.
The prime minister spoke to
Sharif after the latter returned
from a visit to the school where
around 141 people, mostly children, were slaughtered by
Taliban gunmen.
"India stands firmly with
Pakistan in fight against terror.
Told PM Sharif we are ready to
provide all assistance during
this hour of grief," he tweeted.
External affairs spokesperson
Syed Akbaruddin in a tweet
posted the prime minister's
Security beefed up in India's schools

New Delhi: Security was beefed up in schools
across India, especially in the national capital,
and in shopping malls and other crowded
places, a day after a terror attack in a school in
Pakistan's Peshawar city left at least 148 people, mostly children, dead. The central government issued an advisory asking states to beef
up security, especially at educational institutions, following the terror attack, Home
Minister Rajnath Singh said. "I just want to say
that all state governments have been issued an
advisory by the home ministry," he told
reporters outside parliament on being asked
whether steps have been taken by the government to secure educational institutions.
Following the advisory, security in schools
was beefed up in many states in India.

Police armed with automatic weapons were
deployed at schools and the school administrations were instructed on how to protect children in case of an attack.
Some schools also held security drills to create awareness among the students.
The advisory said that in view of the terror
attack on the Pakistani school, and a terror
incident in Sydney and "heightened possibility
of a terrorist attack" in India in the light of the
upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama,
all states and other authorities concerned have
been told to remain alert. "The law enforcement agencies should take all measures
towards target hardening of vulnerable places
statement during his talk with

Sharif, which said Modi condemned in the strongest terms
the brutal terrorist attack in
Peshawar.
Modi said the "savage killing
of innocent children, who are
the epitome of the finest human
values, in a temple of learning
was not only an attack against
Pakistan, but an assault against
the entire humanity".
"At a time when the world is
getting disturbingly accustomed
to acts of terror, this terrible
tragedy has shaken the conscience of the world," he said.
Modi said the people of India
shared the heart rending pain
and sorrow of the bereaved
families and the people of
Pakistan and stood with them in
solidarity in this hour of
immeasurable grief.
The central
government
issued an
advisory
asking
states to
beef up
security.
and installations. This includes public places

with high footfall, public transport, including
railways, and schools in particular," the advisory said.
It also alerted against the Students Islamic
Movement of India (SIMI), Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) and the Islamic State (IS).
SUBCONTINENT
21
Pak to lift ban on execution in terror cases
Peshawar: After a horrendous

attack by the Taliban on an armyrun school left Pakistan numb
with grief, political parties cutting across all sections expressed
their resolve to stay united in the
ght against terrorism even as
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said
that the moratorium on death sentence will be lifted in terrorism
cases.
As cries of grief rent the air and
funeral prayers were offered in
the country, leaders of various
political parties gathered in
Peshawar for an all-party meet.
"It's a sad day in the history of
Pakistan," Sharif said. "We
should not let the sacrice of our
children go in vain. We will keep
all those pictures that came out of
the Peshawar siege in our mind
so that we remain upbeat to ght
terrorism. Talks with Taliban
have yielded no results," he said.
"Pakistan has been ghting terrorism since a long time which
has affected our economy as well.
Tuesday's tragic incident was an
Pakistan prepares to execute 55 death row inmates
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talks to a

Peshawar school attack victim.
eye-opener. We are ghting terrorism through operation Zarb-eAzb. We have been successful
and we have to cover very little
ground now to counter this menace," he added. Sharif also said
that the ban on capital punishment in terrorism cases would be
lifted, following which the terrorists facing death penalty could be
Terrorists using Afghan soil

against us: Pak army chief
executed. "Earlier, all-party meetings were futile exercises, but this

time we need to act by taking
some harsh steps against terrorism," the prime minister said.
The horric terror attack took
place Tuesday at the Army Public
School in Peshawar, capital of
Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
province.
Islamabad: Pakistan is preparing to execute 55 terrorist inmates on

death row after the country ended the moratorium on the extreme
penalty in terror-related cases. There are at least 522 criminals sentenced to death in terror and other cases related to serious crimes in
the country, including 11 who were convicted by a military court, the
News International reported.
Punjab province has the highest number of death row convicts with
465, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 30, Sindh with 14 and
Balochistan with 13.
Mercy appeals of 55 death row inmates have been dismissed by the
Supreme Court and President Mamnoon Hussain. Pakistan ended its
moratorium on the death penalty in terror-related cases Wednesday.
The decision to lift the ban was made following the savage Taliban
attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, which left nearly 150
people dead.
Following the all-party meeting, Sharif said that there would

be no distinction between good
and bad Taliban and expressed
his resolve to continue the war
against terrorism till the elimination of the last terrorist from the
countrys soil. The prime minister said the government would
present the national plan of action

before the nation after consultations with the military leadership.
Sharif said military operation
Zarb-e-Azb, launched in June,
was against all the terrorists without discrimination, adding that it
had dented the terrorists' network
and destroyed their hideouts.
UN chief strongly condemns

Pakistan school attack
United
Nations:
UN
Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has strongly condemned
the "bloodcurdling attack" on
a school in Peshawar,
Pakistan, in which 148 people,
including 132 students, were
killed.
"No cause can justify such
brutality. No grievance can
excuse such horror. It is an act
of horror and rank cowardice
to attack defenseless children
while they learn," Ban said at
the beginning of a Security
Council meeting Tuesday.

"The hearts of the world go
out to the parents and families
who have lost loved ones in
the horric attack," he said.
The Pakistani Taliban have
claimed responsibility for the
attack earlier in the day, in
which gunmen wearing army
uniforms stormed into the
army-run school in downtown
Peshawar and exchanged re
with the security forces.
At least 245 others were
injured in the attack and an
unknown number of students

and staff were held hostage by
the militants.
Addressing the Council, Ban
extended his deepest condolences to the people, government and particularly those
touched by Tuesday's tragedy,
according to Xinhua.
"Schools must be safe and
secure learning spaces.
Getting an education is every
child's right. Going to school
should not have to be an act of
bravery," he noted.
Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif.
Kabul/Islamabad: Pakistani
army chief General Raheel
Sharif said terrorists were using
Afghan soil to carry out attacks
in Pakistan.
The army chief shared classied intelligence details with the
Afghan ofcials. He also
briefed the Afghan leadership
that the mastermind behind the
Peshawar attack had been giving directives to the perpetrators
of the attack from Afghanistan.
Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani said Afghanistan stood
with the people of Pakistan in
their hour of grief.
The army chief also met
International
Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) com-
Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani said
Afghanistan stood with
the people of Pakistan
in their hour of grief.
mander
General
Joseph
Dunford. Dunford condemned
the attack on the Army Public
School in Peshawar and assured
General Raheel of complete
cooperation in countering terrorism and security related matters. The army chief also reiterated Pakistan's demand to Kabul
to hand over Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah
Fazlullah.
Tulsi Gabbard, Rajnath discuss

terrorism, cyber security
New Delhi: Tulsi Gabbard, the
rst Hindu American in the US
Congress, called on Home
Minister Rajnath Singh, with
whom she discussed various
issues including terrorism and
cyber security.
"Met US Congress member
@TulsiGabbard today. We discussed a range of issues including terrorism and cyber securi-
ty," the minister tweeted.

According to a home ministry
statement, "The sole Hindu
member of the US Congress and
a Democrat from Hawaii discussed broad range of issues
with the union home minister,
including terrorism and cyber
security."
"The two leaders jointly condemned the brutal killing of
school children in Peshawar,"

the statement said.
Gabbard informed Rajnath
Singh about the positive environment in the US for the new
government in India and mentioned that the two countries
have a "greater potential for
mutual cooperation in the eld
of security", the statement
added.
22
INTERNATIONAL
Obama announces new Cuba policy to normalize relations

Washington: US President Barack
Obama has announced a historical,
new policy toward Cuba, in a move
to normalize relations and end more
than five decades of estrangement
between the two countries.
"We will end an outdated
approach that for decades has failed
to advance our interests," Obama
said in an address at the White
House. "Instead we will begin to
normalize relations between our
two countries."
Obama said he had instructed
Secretary of State John Kerry to
initiate talks with Cuba on restoring
diplomatic relations with the island
country, and to review Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. He added that the US will
reestablish an embassy in Havana,
the Cuban capital, and high-ranking
officials will visit Cuba.
The US is also taking steps to
increase travel, commerce and the
flow of information to and from
Cuba, said Obama, adding that he
also looked forward to engaging
Congress in discussion about lifting
the embargo the US has imposed on
Cuba. These changes will "begin a
new chapter among the nations of
the Americas," and move beyond "a
rigid policy that is rooted in events
Republicans slam Obama for Cuba decision

Washington: The leading Republican in the US House of
Representatives slammed President Barack Obama's decision to
resume full diplomatic ties with Communist-ruled Cuba as a "mindless" concession to a dictatorship. Obama's decision to launch talks
aimed at restoring full relations that were severed in 1961 has sparked
outrage from House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican
members of Congress, which will be entirely GOP-controlled in
January. "Relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let
alone normalised, until the Cuban people enjoy freedom -- and not
one second sooner," Boehner said in a statement issued after Obama
announced the policy shift in an address Wednesday. "There is no
'new course' here, only another in a long line of mindless concessions
to a dictatorship that brutalises its people and schemes with our enemies," Boehner said.
President Barak Obama meets Cuban President Raul Castro.
that took place before most of us

were born," the US president said.
Wednesday's announcement came
after Obama spoke with Cuban
Rouble in free fall, Apple

suspends sales in Russia
London: US technology giant

Apple has said it has stopped
selling its products in Russia
online due to volatility in the
value of the rouble.
The company has stopped
sales of iPhones, iPads and other
products in the country after its
currency fell more than 20 percent this week, BBC reported.
The rouble has lost more than
20 percent this week, despite the
Russian government decision to
raise interest rates from 10.5 percent to 17 percent to contain the
free fall of the currency.
After the government intervention, the value of the rouble in
exchange market was flat with
one dollar for 68 roubles.

Earlier, the currency saw an
all-time low with one dollar buying as many as 79 roubles.
Apple last month increased its
prices in Russia by 20 percent
after the weakening rouble left
products in the country cheaper
than in the rest of Europe.
Russia had spent almost $2 billion intervening in the currency
market Monday, the country's
central bank said.
It has spent around $80 billion
trying to prop up its rouble this
year, but despite that the currency has lost more than half its
value against the dollar since
January.
leader Raul Castro by telephone

Tuesday, the first direct contact
between the leaders of the two
nations in more than 50 years.
Earlier, Cuba released Alan Gross,

an American subcontractor it had
held in captivity in five years on
humanitarian grounds. Obama said
Gross's imprisonment had been the
obstacle for the US to make major
policy changes toward Cuba.
Gross's release was the result of
months' discussion between the two
governments, said Obama, adding
that Pope Francis issued a personal
appeal urging leaders of the two
countries to resolve the case. Cuba
also released an important US intelligence agent who has been imprisoned for 20 years.
In the address, Obama admitted

that more than 50 years of isolation
policy on Cuba "has not worked,"
saying that "it's time for a new
approach".
"Today, America chooses to cut
loose the shackles of the past so as
to reach for a better future," he
added. Cuban President Raul
Castro said the two countries have
agreed to the "re-establishment of
diplomatic relations," which were
broken in 1961, and have made a
commitment to "take mutual measures to improve the bilateral climate," EFE reported.
Sydney hostage crisis ends, both Indians escape

Sydney: A 16-hour hostage crisis -the first terror attack in Australia -ended after police stormed a cafe in
the heart of Sydney where an Iranborn cleric took some 30 people
hostage and made several demands,
sending shockwaves across the
country. As police stormed Lindt
Chocolate Cafe using flash grenades
and firing dozens of gunshots, several hostages -- panic writ large on
their faces -- fled with their hands
raised past advancing heavily armed
policemen.
One of them was Ankireddy
Vishwakant, an employee of software major Infosys who hailed from
Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and was
recently granted Australian citizenship.
"Thank God! This is a big relief
for us," said Ankireddy's father
Ishwar Reddy at his house in Guntur
town, about 300 km from
Hyderabad. Media reports identified
the second Indian as Pushpendu
Ghosh. The Australian media said
two people may have been killed in
An Iran-born cleric took some 30 people hostage at Lindt

Chocolate Cafe in the heart of the city.
the police operation, and one of

them could be the hostage taker,
Man Haron Monis, a 50-year-old
who had been granted asylum in
Australia in 1996.
TV clips showed him as a bearded
man with a white headgear who had
been previously charged with sexually attacking seven women and trying to kill his former wife. The chilling incident took place in Sydney's
central business district and barely
400 meters from the Indian
Consulate, which was promptly
evacuated. Also located in the vicinity are the offices of India Tourism,
State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda
and New India Insurance. The anxious hostages were earlier seen
standing with their hands raised at
the expansive French windows of
Lindt Chocolate Cafe at Martin
Place. A black and white apparently
jihadi flag was held up in one window. Five hostages fled in the early
part of the saga, and their desperate
dash to freedom was caught live on
camera.
Terror: UN secretary general calls for mobilization

United Nations: UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon has called for
mobilizing all resources and political will to fight terrorism in the
wake of the massacre of 132 school
children in Pakistan and said he will
consider measures to help that country combat extremism.
Answering a reporter's question at
his year-end press conference here

Wednesday about the attack, Ban
said that terrorism was a problem
spreading to several countries and
those affected by it needed help.
It was "most important" that "the
international community must
mobilize all resources and political
will and help the capacity-building
of those countries affected to

address this extremism and terrorism", he said. "The international
community has been troubled by all
this spread [of] terrorism and
extremism," he said. "We have seen
so many such things, in Pakistan, in
Afghanistan and Nigeria and
Somalia and elsewhere."
BUSINESS
First grounded, SpiceJet's flights to resume

New Delhi: Offering respite to
hundreds of SpiceJet passengers
stranded across India, the company's management said it will
resume operations as an understanding was reached with the oil
companies over the supply of jet
fuel to its aircraft.
"Flights will depart. We apologize again for the disruptions,"
said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief operating officer of SpiceJet.
"Spicejet apologizes for disruption and pain caused to passengers
due to stoppage of fuelling for our
flights by the oil companies. We
are working to resolve the issue."
Kapoor's assurance comes after
a re-run of a Kingfisher-type fiasco which resulted in passengers
being stranded across the country
as all SpiceJet flight operations
were grounded.
The operations were grounded
after oil marketing companies
(OMCs) refused to provide
SpiceJet with credit to buy jet fuel
over the issue of non-payment of
dues.
The company currently has
around 250 departures per day
with maximum operations being
carried out from Delhi and
Mumbai.
The OMCs had placed the budget airline in the cash-and-carry
mode under which the company
23
Reliance Capital to sell Big Cinemas

The
Reliance
Group
has some
250 Big
Cinemas
screens
across
India.
The operations were grounded after oil marketing companies

refused to provide SpiceJet with credit to buy jet fuel.
has to make spot payments for

buying fuel.
Sources in the airline said the
order by the civil aviation ministry
giving it interim relief in terms of
payment of dues is being studied
by the OMCs and that they might
restart supply by the afternoon.
On Tuesday, SpiceJet was given
an interim relief, even as its promoters were told to infuse fresh
equity. The ministry had said that
it will request OMCs to give credit
to the airline for 15 more days.
The airline is current under cashand-carry mode with OMCs,
which mandates that it has to
make spot payments for buying

fuel. The daily fuel cost of the airline is about Rs.5 crore, while it
has dues totalling Rs.14 crore
pending with the OMCs.
The ministry had said that banks
may also be approached to give
some working capital as loans.
"Based on the assurances by the
promoters, the financial institutions would be requested to lend
up to Rs.600 crore. This should be
paid immediately after securing
the long-term investment which
will take around eight weeks to
consummate," the ministry said in
a statement.
Mumbai: Anil Ambani-led

Reliance Capital said it is selling
its multiplex business to the hospitality-to-realty major Carnival
Cinemas in a transaction that will
reduce its overall debt by around
Rs.700 crore.
The deal will also catapult
Carnival Cinemas, which has
more than 50 screens with plans
for 75 more in the country in the
next two months, as the third top
multiplex player in the country, a
statement by Reliance Capital
said. The Reliance Group, which
has some 250 "Big Cinemas"
screens across India under its
entertainment arm Reliance
MediaWorks, has the option to
acquire a minority stake in
Carnival Cinemas at a discount,
prior to an initial public offer by
the company. The deal excludes
the real estate owned by Reliance

MediaWorks at various locations
and the group intends to leverage
them separately to monetise them
at an approximate value of
Rs.200 crore, the statement
added.
"The transaction is in furtherance of Reliance Capital's stated
objective of focusing purely on
its core financial services businesses, significantly reducing
exposures to non-core investments in media and entertainment sector," CEO Sam Ghosh
said. Carnival Group chairman
Shrikant Bhasi, a first-generation
entrepreneur based out of this
commercial and entertainment
capital of India, said his group
was targeting some 1,000 screens
by 2017 and will work with
Reliance Group in this regard.
Asia to become world's largest

e-commerce market: Report
'Alibaba founder Jack Ma biggest billionaire gainer of 2014'
Beijing: Asia is set to surpass North

America to become the world's largest ecommerce market this year, according to
the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
According to a report in Beijing by the
EIU, an advisory company under the
Economist magazine group, it is estimated
that retail sales in Asia will grow by an
average 4.6 per cent on a volume basis to
USD 7.6 trillion, compared with 2.5 per
cent in North America and 0.8 per cent in
Europe in 2015. Report editor Laurel West
said the Asian consumer market was
largely driven by the rising independence
and economic power of Asia's women,
and female consumers in Asia are showing
an unprecedented enthusiasm for online
shopping, the state-run Xinhua news
agency reported. The report comes in the
backdrop of huge demand for e-commerce
generated in China by platforms like
Alibaba which is picking up at a rapid
pace in India.
The two countries together account for
about three billion people.
New Delhi: Alibaba founder and executive

chairman Jack Ma is this year's biggest financial gainer as the billionaire entrepreneur's
fortune has swelled by a whopping USD 18.5
billion this year to USD 29.2 billion, a report
says. According to private wealth consultancy, Wealth-X, the former English teacherturned billionaire entrepreneur is the biggest
gainer of this year as his fortune increased
173 per cent, largely due to Alibaba's blockbuster IPO in September and the subsequent
strong performance of the company's stock.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett stood at
second place on the Wealth-X list of this
year's top gainers.
The Berkshire Hathaway chairman raked in
USD 13.5 billion in 2014, a 23 per cent
increase from last year, to push his fortune to
USD 72.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the world's richest man, Bill
Gates, saw his net worth grow by USD 10.5
billion in 2014 to reach USD 83.1 billion,
earning him third place on the Wealth-X ranking of this year's biggest gainers.
The top five biggest gainers of this year also
include, Mark Zuckerberg,

ranked fourth on the list as his
fortune rose by USD 8.4 billion to USD 33.1 billion, followed by telecommunications
company Altice's founder
Patrick Drahi whose fortune
increased by USD 5.1 billion
to USD 12.9 billion.
The individual who lost the
most money this year is
Russian energy tycoon Leonid
Mikhelson. Mikhelson's fortune now stands at USD 10
billion, Wealth-X said.
The biggest shareholder of
Alibaba founder and executive chairman Jack Ma.
natural gas producer Novatek
lost USD 7 billion, or 41 per cent of his billion this year, followed by Lui Chee Woo
wealth, in 2014, due to the plummeting who suffered a loss of USD 5.5 billion in his
Russian currency, weak oil prices and eco- fortune which stood at USD 14.1 billion in
nomic sanctions imposed by the West over the 2014. Amazon's Jeff Bezos' fortune eroded by
USD 5.5 billion to USD 28.9 billion in 2014,
Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The top five losers of 2014 include while Sheldon Adelson lost USD 5.2 billion
Masayoshi Son (CEO, Softbank) whose net of his wealth which now stands at USD 30.1
worth eroded by USD 5.9 billion to USD 13.2 billion, Wealth-X said.
24
SPORTS
Boxer Sarita Devi banned for a

year, India seeks review
New Delhi: Indian female boxer
L. Sarita Devi was banned for
one year and fined Swiss francs
1,000 by the AIBA for refusing
to accept her 2014 Asiad bronze
medal, a verdict that evoked an
immediate concern from the
Indian government, who had
supported the troubled pugilist's
plea of leniency.
The International Boxing
Association (AIBA) also handed
down two-year bans, ending Oct
1, 2016, to the 29-year-old
boxer's husband Thoiba Singh
and coach B.I. Fernandez, and
barred her coach Lenin Meitei
for one year ending Oct 1, 2015.
Fernandez was also fined Swiss
francs 2,000 and Meitei Swiss
francs 1,000.
The AIBA, however, relieved
Indian boxing chief coach G.S.
Sandhu from all charges of misdemeanor. "The Disciplinary
Commission Chair rules that
Laishram Sarita Devi is suspended from any activity at the
National, Confederation and
International levels for a period
of one year starting from the
2014 Asian Games medal ceremony (Oct 1)," an AIBA statement said.
"Devi shall pay a fine of Swiss
francs 1,000. Devi's suspension
shall end Oct 1, 2015, provided
that all fines have been paid and
The duration provides her an opportunity to represent the

country in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
no additional rulings have been

rendered against her."
Speculation was rife that the
AIBA will impose a ban for life
on the former world champion.
The Indian government had, earlier, earnestly appealed for consideration of her humble background and controversy-free
image to spare her a career-ending ban.
The duration of the ban provides her an opportunity to represent the country in the 2016
Rio Olympic Games.
Expressing her views on the
verdict, Sarita Devi said in a
ECB proposes Lord's as venue

for 2019 world cup final
London: Lord's Cricket Ground in
London has been proposed as the
venue for the ICC Cricket World
Cup final when the tournament is
staged in England and Wales in
2019.
The venue will also host the ICC
Women's World Cup final in 2017.
The England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) will also recommend
to the ICC that the semi-finals in
the 2019 World Cup should be
allocated to Old Trafford,
Manchester and Warwickshire's
home of Edgbaston, with the opening game being staged at The
Oval.
The tournament should also see
Taunton host international men's
cricket in 2019 for the first time
since the 1999 World Cup, when
two matches were played at the
County Ground, an ECB release
said Wednesday.
There will also be proposed
group matches for Durham, Leeds,
Nottingham, Cardiff, Bristol and
Southampton. All venue allocations are subject to approval by the
ICC. Lord's staged the first three

ICC Cricket World Cup finals in
1975, 1979 and 1983.
The West Indies won the first
two finals - their only World Cup
successes - while India recorded
the first of their two World Cup
triumphs in 1983.
In 1999, Australia won the first
of their three consecutive World
Cups in the fourth final to be
staged at Lord's. ECB head of
global events Steve Elworthy said:
"The format of the tournament is
also widely considered to be the
most exciting with all teams playing each other in a 10-team group
which will be followed by two
semi-finals and a final at the iconic
Lord's ground.
"It is also fitting that Lord's
should be proposed to host the
ICC Women's World Cup final in
2017." Lord's staged a Women's
World Cup final in 1993 when
England beat New Zealand by 67
runs but this was before the tournament came under the auspices of
the ICC.
release: "I am hugely relieved

and would like to thank the boxing fraternity and Boxing India
for helping me sail through these
difficult times."
"I will now be able to participate in the Games and will work
harder to bring laurels to the
nation." The Indian government,
however, was not amused by the
decision.
Sports Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal, in a statement, said
that the ban aroused a feeling of
concern in the sporting community, a move that would demoralize the boxer.
USA to bid for

2024 Olympic,
Paralympic Games
New York: The United States
Olympic Committee (USOC) has
decided to bid for the 2024
Olympic and Paralympic Games,
choosing the host city from
either Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco or Washington.
The International Olympic
Committee's deadline for applicants is September 15, 2015,
with a decision due in 2017.
"An entire generation of
Americans has not had the
opportunity to witness the amazing spectacle of an Olympic and
Paralympic Games on home
soil," USOC CEO Scott
Blackmun was quoted as saying
by the BBC.
"We believe it's important to
bring the Games back to the
United States to ensure the lasting strength of the movements."
The US is the third country
after Germany and Italy to officially launch a bidding process.
The last time the USA hosted a
summer Olympics was in Atlanta
in 1996.
Australia Test: India

bowled out for 408
Brisbane: A fifer for debutant pacer Josh Hazlewood
helped Australia bowl out
India for 408 at lunch on
day two of the second Test
at the Gabba here.
India, who were in the
driver's seat at stumps on
day one, added 97 runs
more runs to their
overnight score but lost six
wickets in the process.
The visitors were put on
the back foot almost immediately with Ajinkya
Rahane (81) being dismissed in the third over of
the day. His overnight partner Rohit Sharma (32) didn't survive much longer
either and was sent packing
six overs later.
After adding just 17 runs,
India had lost both their
overnight batsmen and had
relinquished their strong
position.
A 57-run partnership for
Murali Vijay made a stylish 144.
the seventh wicket between
captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni keeper Brad Haddin while trying
(33) and Ravichandran Ashwin to leave the ball. India's tail failed
(35) stabilised the situation for to put up a fight and fell without
India. But Ashwin's wicket once much trouble for the Australian
again opened the floodgates as bowlers. Hazlewood bowled
the visitors surrendered rather quite beautifully to finish with a
meekly in the end. Dhoni looked five-for, and he looked like taking
good for a while but edged a wickets whenever he hit the right
Hazlewood delivery to wicket- length.
SC reserves verdict on
Srinivasan's ouster from BCCI
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court reserved its verdict on
the plea for barring N.
Srinivasan from seeking reelection the Indian cricket
board president and for terminating IPL franchisee
Chennai Super Kings (CSK),
owned by his company India
Cements Limited, on the
grounds of conflict of interest.
The petitioner Cricket
Association of Bihar (CAB)
sought the ouster of
Srinivasan from the Board of
Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) on the grounds that
he was placed in a "conflict
of interest" situation on
account of his duties as the head of
the apex cricketing body of the
country and his interest as owner of
CSK.
Srinivasan is the vice-chairman
and managing director of India
Cements Limited that owns IPL
franchisee Chennai Super Kings.
The petitioner has also sought the
termination of CSK following the
N. Srinivasan
indictment of Srinivasan's son-inlaw and team official Gurunath

Meiyappan for betting in the IPL
2013.
The CAB had also challenged the
amendment to the BCCI Rule 6.2.4
that permitted Srinivasan to have
IPL franchisee CSK without attracting the provision of "conflict of
interest".
HEALTH
25
Love of yoga fuels a $27 bn industry across America

Washington, DC: From tired
housewives to stressed executives,
Hollywood stars to US First Lady
Michelle Obama, they all do it,
with yoga studios mushrooming in
every large city from San
Francisco to New York and capital
Washington.
With the world recognizing the
health benefits of yoga, the ancient
Indian art of keeping fit is going
places fueling a $27 billion industry in America where some 20 million people practice it.
Yoga sessions have become a
part of Michelle Obamas Let's
Move! campaign to end childhood
obesity in the US and a regular
feature of the traditional White
House Easter Egg Roll, the largest
annual public event at the White
House.
And when a fasting Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
came calling last September after
urging the UN to declare June 21
as International Day of Yoga,
President Barack Obama too wondered how his guest kept such a
rigorous schedule on just warm
Yoga at Times Square as a part of summer solstice
water and yoga.

There are yoga clubs, yoga magazines and yoga sites all over
North America. "Yoga is arguably
the most widespread and influential Eastern spiritual practice to
spread outside the Indian subcontinent," as the Huffington Post
noted in a recent article.
A Toronto based international
yoga chain which has 64 Modo
UN Yoga Day result of Indian

diplomatic efforts: Sushma Swaraj
New Delhi: The adoption of June
21 as the International Yoga Day
by the United Nations signifies
the support that recent diplomatic
endeavors of the government
have evoked on the world stage,
India's External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj said Monday.
"In the history of the United
Nations, this is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any
resolution of this nature," Sushma
Swaraj said in a suo motu statement on the issue in the Lok
Sabha. The United Nations last
week adopted June 21 as the
International Yoga Day.
The proposal was made by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during his address to the United
Nations General Assembly in
September.
Sushma Swaraj said: "While on
one hand, we consistently advocate a proactive and innovative
approach for making India and
the greater South Asian region
more prosperous, at the same
time, we are thinking and acting
on new measures to project
India's soft power- the unparalleled cultural richness, diversity
and uniqueness of India and its
people."
She said an unprecedented 177
out of the total 193 member states
of the United Nations co-sponsored
a
resolution
on
International Yoga Day. "The
India's External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj
sheer number of supporters as

well as the smooth adoption also
symbolizes the strong international support that the recent diplomatic endeavors of our government have evoked on the world
stage," she added.
"I would term these as a critical
part of a new India's breakthrough diplomacy. From Make
in India to Swachh Bharat and
now International Yoga Day they
are all small steps in our journey
to ensure a vibrant, happy and
prosperous India, whose imprint
and influence are felt far beyond
our own shores," the external
affairs minister said.
Prior to this, United Nations, in
2007, had adopted India's resolution to observe Oct 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi as the
International Day of NonViolence.
Yoga studios worldwide is set to

open a new 5,000-square-foot studio in Austin, Texas, its ninth in
the US, on Jan 1, according to
Austin Business Journal. The
American College of Sports
Medicine supports the integration
of yoga into the exercise regimens
of healthy individuals.
And Yoga Across America is
embarked on a mission to bring
yoga to "schools, military bases,

parks, low-income communities,
homeless shelters, children's hospitals and many other locations
where people don't have access to
the practice, or can't afford it."
Meanwhile, according to a
report in The Dallas Morning
News Anne Anderson, a ski
instructor and Kripalu yoga
teacher at the Connecticut ski
resort Mohawk Mountain
launched a snow sports-yoga
hybrid called Snowga in 2012.
She is planning to launch this
"revolutionary concept in snow
sports education" in Colorado's
Rocky Mountains this winter.
Sunshine Village, a restorative
mountain yoga retreat near Banff,
Alberta, and Fernie Alpine Resort,
in Fernie, British Columbia, in
Canada also have outdoor winter
yoga programs.
Heli-skiing companies, such as
Canadian Mountain Holidays and
Island Lake Lodge, have used
yoga postures in their warm-ups
and after-ski stretching programs
to combat the extreme exertion of
powder skiing, the Morning News

said.
The 2012 Yoga in America
study released by San Francisco's
Yoga Journal indicates that some
20 million people practice yoga,
compared to 15.8 million from a
2008 study, an increase of 29 percent.
The growth in the yoga market
is reflected in the growth of the
Journal itself. Founded in 1975, it
now has 10 international editions.
Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa, a lawyer
turned Kundalini yoga teacher
who set up a yoga studio in
Brooklyn's Boerum Hill in 1971,
has seen yoga in America evolve
from a niche activity to part of the
cultural mainstream.
Dozens of yoga variations can
be found within a one-mile radius
of his studio in Manhattan's
Flatiron District, from Equinox
power yoga to yogalates to "zen
bootcamp," he told The
Huffington Post last year. As
Khalsa told the newspaper, "The
love of yoga is out there and the
time is right for yoga."
World hails UN's move on International

Yoga Day, praises PM Modi
New Delhi: Yoga experts around
India -- its birthplace -- Friday hailed
the UN decision to declare June 21
as the International Yoga Day, saying
it would greatly boost the ancient
Indian science.
Several experts and yoga practitioners also praised Prime Minister
Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to persuade the international
body to embrace yoga.
"We are very excited and happy. It
will help in the promotion of yoga
within India in a big way," said
Pratibha Agarwal, one of India's few
teachers registered by Yoga Alliance,

USA. "Any initiative taken to promote yoga is a very big step. Better
late than never," she added.
Keshava Taylor of Ananda Sangha,
a Canadian who has taught Kriya
Yoga in India since 2003, says:
"With the science of yoga and selfrealization, India has made the greatest contribution to mankind's evolution. It is indeed gratifying to see
such widespread acknowledgement
of her gift. "In the practice of yoga,
and especially meditation, lie the
solutions to our world's greatest
problems. Change in society starts

with transforming ourselves from
within. Yoga shows the way."
It is a point Modi too made after
175 out of 193 members of the UN
agreed Wednesday to declare the
International Yoga Day, saying practicing yoga would benefit people's
health. An elated Modi said: "This
will inspire many more people
towards yoga. Yoga has the power to
bring the entire humankind together.
It beautifully combines Gyan
(knowledge), Karm (work) and
Bhakti (devotion)."
Let's spread yoga from classrooms: Ravi Shankar

New Delhi: Spiritual guru Ravi
Shankar Friday hailed Prime
Minister Narendra Modi after the
UN declared June 21 the
International Yoga Day, and said the
time had come to take yoga to
school classrooms. "I congratulate
Modi... It is very difficult for any
philosophy, religion or culture to
survive without state patronage.
Yoga has existed so far almost like
an orphan," the Art of Living
founder said. "Now, official recognition by the UN would further
spread the benefit of yoga to the
entire world." Ravi Shankar added:
"India is the land where yoga was
born and (it) must finally take the
responsibility to spread it everywhere, starting from classrooms.
This will help young people to
"India is the land where yoga was born and

(it) must finally take the responsibility to
spread it everywhere, starting from
classrooms. This will help young people to
move away from gun culture and violence."
move away from gun culture and
violence." He said yoga was a
lifestyle and should not be mistaken
only as 'asanas'. "A disease-free
body, quiver-free breath, stress-free
mind, inhibition-free intellect,
obsession-free memory, ego that
includes all, and soul which is free
from sorrow are the signs of a perfect yogi." Ravi Shankar said when
The Art of Living program started in
the early 80s, yoga was seen as
being practiced by freaks and
Himalayan yogis standing upside
down or on one leg. "That is one of
the reasons why we called our program The Art of Living, a generic
term that people could relate to
across race, religion and culture.
"It was Paramhansa Yogananda
and then Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
who brought respectability to yoga
in the West." He said in the last
three decades, the Art of Living had
taken yoga to 152 countries and had
26,000 yoga teachers worldwide.
26
RELIGION
THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS
Humility and peace to humanity

Though Christianity is presumed to be western now, Jesus Christ was born in the
East and He is a product of the East! The Christmas images, symbols, and the
simple ways of living are all common to the people of the East.
By Rev. Wilson Jose
hristianity is presumed as a Western
religion in modern times. Christmas
with all its celebration with snow
flakes, trees and bells makes it seem as if it
happened two thousand years ago in some
corner of Western Europe. But the fact of the
matter is that Jesus Christ was born in the
East and He is a product of the East! The
Christmas images, symbols, and the simple
ways of living are all common to the people
of the East. The nativity scenes with the
manger, the shepherds in open fields and the
wise men guided by the stars are clearly
more eastern in nature than western. Even
though Christmas has its origin in the East,
its appeal is universal!
In "Christmas" we see the infinite becoming the finite, the God of all creation becoming human, the heavenly becoming the earthly, the most highest becoming the lowest and
the infinitely rich becoming the poorest!
This truth is embodied in the words of the
celebrated Indian sage Swami Vivekananda.
He said, "If you ask me, is there a God? and
I say yes, you immediately will ask my
grounds for saying so and poor me has to
exercise all my powers to provide with some

reason. If you had come to Christ and asked
is there any God? He would have said yes. If
you have said is there any proof, He would
have replied "behold your Lord".
Christmas conveys the messages of humility and peace to humanity. Concerning the
truth of Christmas St. Paul writes, "Have this
attitude in yourselves which was also in
Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men, and
being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to
the point of death, even death on a cross"
(Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus Christ is the embodiment of humility! Pride is the opposite of humility. The reason for all personal, national and international conflict is basically "pride". If the "spirit
of Christ" which is the "spirit of humility"
takes a hold on humanity all personal,
national and international conflicts will
come to an end! There will be peace!
Humility is the prelude to peace. True
humility makes us eager to bring reconcilia-
tion with those with whom we are in conflict. In "Christmas" we see God humbling
Himself by becoming a human being to reconcile the hostile estranged humanity back to
Himself! So in Christ we can experience
"peace with God" which will lead us to the
"peace of God". May the "spirit of Christ"
prevail within us during this Christmas season and in the New Year that our world
which is steeply immersed in chaos, conflicts, wars, hatred and terrorism shall experience true peace, love and harmony! May
the proclamation of the angels from the
heavenly places at the birth of Christ "Glory
Hanukkah Jewish festival of lights

anukkah, the Jewish
Festival of Lights, is celebrated for eight days, starting with Dec 16 this year.
Hanukkah, or Chanukah, commemorates the rededication of the
Second Temple in Jerusalem in the
second century B.C.E. during the
Maccabean revolt against oppressive Greek rulers. Jews celebrate the
holiday by lighting a nine-branch
candelabrum, commonly called a
menorah. (Technically, the candelabrum for Hanukkah is called a
hanukkiah to distinguish itself from
the seven-branch menorah used in
the Temple and described in Exodus
25.)
The story of Hanukkah is one of
revolution and miracles: Greek
influence over the Jews in the Land
of Israel had become an affront to
Jewish culture and ritual. Antiochus,
the Greek ruler, forbade Jewish religious practice, so a small group of
Jews, the Maccabees, revolted.
These Jews eventually prevailed
and, as a first order of business,
restored the Holy Temple, which
had been desecrated. The menorah
in the Temple needed to be re-lit
because, according to tradition, it
should burn continuously. The
Temple liberators found one vial of
olive oil, enough for one day of
light. Miraculously, the oil lasted for
eight days. Today, Jews everywhere
sing an algorithm for

automatically decomposing a three dimensional object into what are
called
pyramidal
parts,
researchers have revealed how
to print a 3D Christmas tree
efficiently and with zero
material waste.
A pyramidal part has a
flat base with the remainder of the shape forming
upwards over the base
with no overhangs,
much like a pyramid.
"Coming up with
a practical algorithm to decompose 3D objects
into the smallest
possible number
of pyramidal
parts was quite
a challenge,"
said Richard
Zhang, professor
at
Simon Fraser University in
Canada.
In 3D printing, the printer
deposits melted plastic layer by
layer in a bottom-up fashion. If
the shape has an overhang,
light menorahs on each night of

Hanukkah. Traditionally, one candle
or flame is lit for each night until the
eighth night, when all eight lights
shine together. The menorah has a
ninth "helper" flame -- known as the
shamash -- used to light the other
candles. This is necessary because
in Jewish law the Hanukkah lights'
only purpose is to visually proclaim
the miracle of the holiday.
Gift giving is now a common
practice on Hanukkah, and it is

therefore a beloved time for many
Jewish children. Fried potato pancakes (latkes) and doughnuts (sufganiyot) are traditional fare, and a
spinning top (dreidel) with four
Hebrew letters has become synonymous with the holiday. The letters -nun, gimel, hei, shin -- form an
acronym for the message of
Hanukkah: A great miracle happened there.
Rev. Wilson
Jose, a native of
India, has been
pastor of Grace
International
Assembly of
God
in
Mineola, New
York, for 30
years.
Gift your loved ones a

3D Christmas tree
Jews celebrate the holiday by lighting a nine-branch candelabrum, commonly called a menorah.
to God in the highest and on earth peace

among men with whom He is pleased "
become a reality!
such as a tree branch, extra

material has to be printed
beneath it as support.
This extra plastic is a waste
material and must be removed,
which can be time consuming
and difficult.
Removing waste material that
supports an object's hollow
interior or tiny fragile parts,
like the star atop a
Christmas tree can be
almost impossible without causing breakage.
The new algorithm
partitions the object
into a small number
of nearly pyramidal
parts that can be
3D-printed with
little or no material waste.
These printed
parts can then
be glued together to form the finished object. The
Christmas tree, for example, is divided in half for fabrication and then glued together.
The study was published in
the journal ACM Transaction on
Graphics.
SELF HELP
Food and wine pairing tips

for the holiday season
ne of the most important aspects of
holiday entertaining is sometimes
overlooked -- proper pairing of the
food and wine. Even if you have a bottle of
top quality wine and an amazing chefinspired dish, without considering how the
food and drink combine, you can ruin the
taste of both, say experts.
One commonly mismatched wine is
Cabernet Sauvignon.
I have a simple goal with food and wine
pairings: dont mess with the taste of the
wine, says Dean Busquaert, a wine educator
at Sequoia Grove Winery, a pioneering
Cabernet Sauvignon producer in the heart of
Rutherford in Napa Valley.
Bold, full-flavored reds like Cabernet
Sauvignon will overpower light dishes, but
are excellent when served with rich meats like
a roast, making them perfect for the holidays.
Busquaert, who often shares his pairing wisdom at the Sequoia Grove tasting room, offers
some invaluable pairing tips for home cooks
planning to serve a Cabernet Sauvignon at
their festivities.
The number one thing to avoid pairing
with Cabernet Sauvignon is sugar, which will
throw off the tannin balance of the wine and
make it seem astringent and bitter. For example, many people think chocolates pair well
with red wine. However, they don`t -- unless
it is a port which has residual sugar.
Sugar content, whether it comes from fruits
like grapes or apples, or honey and chocolate,
is simply not a good choice for Cabernet
Sauvignon.
To make a Cabernet Sauvignon taste
more velvety, pair it to dishes high in acidity.
For example, adding a splash of lemon to a
27
Tips to update your

homes technology
hen thinking
about home
updates, our
attention so often turns to
a fresh coat of paint or
new dcor, but some of
the most practical, meaningful changes you can
make to your home will
truly modernize the way
you live. Here are a few
key tech updates to fully

bring your home into the
21st century.
dish can smooth out a big and structured

Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dont be fooled by conventional wisdom.
Some rules do not apply across the board.
Most people think red wine always goes
with red meat, only to discover a dish like
beef teriyaki, which contains sugar, can make
a beautiful Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
seem undrinkable, says Busquaert.
Use salt liberally to bring out the full flavor in foods, without throwing off the flavors
of your wine.
Food pairings are an essential ingredient to
a successful holiday party. Dont overlook
this important element when planning your
menu.
Modernize Your
Landline
As our mobile phones
functionality expands with each generation,
dont leave your home phone in the dark
ages. You can now link your mobile phone
calls to your home phone. For example, with
a Panasonic Link2Cell handset, you can link
up to two smartphones to make and receive
calls, as well as receive talking ID alerts so
you never miss a text. You dont even need a
separate landline to use these features.
Other technology highlights include
Enhanced Noise Reduction that allows you
to suppress background noise around callers
while simultaneously enhancing their voices, and a powerful battery back-up system
that keeps you connected when the power
goes out.
Home Theater
Bring the theater experience home by giving your living room or den a tech
makeover. A smart home theater system will
sync with your devices so you can enjoy

music wirelessly or access an external or
network drive for media content. Dont forget the surround sound, as well as a lighting
scheme that optimizes your audiovisual
experience.
Programmable Thermostat
Going green and being comfortable can
now go hand in hand. Improve your homes
energy efficiency and well-being at the same
time by investing in a programmable thermostat. Look for a user-friendly, intuitive
thermostat that automatically turns itself
down when you are not home and that can
also be programmed remotely from a laptop,
tablet or smartphone.
Even if you have all the latest mobile
gadgets, theres no guarantee your home life
matches your techy on-the-go lifestyle. Take
steps to bring your home up to speed.
Move from STEM to STEAM, adding A as in arts How to dress for success in the New Year
TEM
(Science,
Te c h n o l o g y,
Engineering
and
Math) has been the buzz
phrase for educators for
some time. But, with many
school districts eliminating
art, music and other humanities classes, there has been a
recent push by educators to
change the focus from
STEM to STEAM, and add
arts back into the mix for a
more well-rounded education.
Many experts agree that STEAM
education is a great way to engage
children of all ages in creative play,
discovery and learning, says Dr.
Eric Klopfer, Platform Learning
Expert and member of the Expert
Panel at VTech, a world leader in
age-appropriate and developmental
stage-based electronic learning
products for children.
Whatever the present academic
focus of your local school district
is, you can help support a more
comprehensive education for your
children at home, while making it
fun. Heres how to incorporate
STEAM learning into your childrens playtime:
Art Time
The school day may not offer
daily opportunities for creativity to

flourish, but you can turn the playroom at home into an artists studio.
Keep on hand arts and crafts supplies such as glue, construction
paper, glitter, scissors, string and
paint. Take a trip to a museum or
gallery and learn about different
artists and styles to get kids
inspired.
New Technologies
Handing over your expensive,
breakable mobile technology to
your young children may not sound
ideal for on-the-go learning, but
there are durable tablets built for
children that support learning apps
combining STEM subjects with the
arts. For example, InnoTab MAX,
VTechs most powerful and versatile 7-inch tablet, features access to
more than 650 educator-supported
apps, including hand-picked

Android learning games and
age-appropriate learning software and content through
VTechs Learning Lodge, as
well as creative onboard apps
such as Movie Maker and Art
Studio. The apps feature a
wide curriculum of language
arts and reading, math, science, social studies, problem
solving and creativity, that
have been reviewed by a
panel of education and child development experts.
Music
Participation in music education
has been proven to improve grades
in STEM subjects. Not only that,
its a ton of fun.If your school offers
opportunities such as band or chorus, encourage your kids to get
involved. If arts programs are
scarce, invest in a keyboard or guitar for the home. Even if private
music lessons are out of the budget,
there are plenty of online tutorials
that can help with the basics. While
theres no doubt that math and science comprehension are critical,
education experts advise parents to
support an interdisciplinary
approach to learning that incorporates the arts as well.
StatePoint
hen
it
comes to
professional
success, the way you
present yourself in the
workplace should
complement the quality of your work.
Whether youre looking to advance your
career or simply make
a great impression, a
useful New Years resolution is to refine
your office look and style -- take
everything into account, your
wardrobe, your accessories and your
workspace.
You may not have the top job yet,
but the old adage holds true -- dress
for the job you want, not the one
you have. If budget is an issue,
dont sweat it. Online coupons can
help you score great deals at mass
market retailers. Additionally, discount department stores often sell
designer labels at a fraction of the
cost. Be sure to iron your clothes
even if your office is business casual. Invest in an iron and give yourself a few extra minutes in the
morning to ensure clothes are wrinkle-free. Every season, go through
your closet and set aside clothes that
no longer fit, are worn

out, faded or out of
style. Donate these
clothes and make
room for new ones.
Rocking the basics
can make a great
impression at meetings, conventions and
other professional
events. Show employers, colleagues and
clients organization is
important to you by
carrying a planner and business
notebook. Take ownership of your
workspace. Your desk, cubicle or
office is visible round-the-clock,
even when you are off-the-clock, so
make sure it makes a great impression. A few personal items are welcome in most workplaces. Just be
sure any personal photos of friends
and family that you display are
tasteful and appropriate.
Lastly, display a stylish wall calendar on your cubicle or office wall
to keep important dates in view. Or
if you prefer, a desk pad calendar
gives you the same view of your
busy month ahead. You want colleagues to know that not only do
you have a full plate, you know
whats on it.
28
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
How typos get people into serious trouble

M
Y MOST HATED computer error
message is: Warning: Keyboard
not found. Press enter to continue. Seeing this causes me to give a visual
lesson to my workmates on the true definition of the word Hardware: The parts of
a computer which can be kicked, thumped,
screamed at and jumped on.
But computers are EVEN MORE maddening when they dare to edit what we,
their Lords and Masters, are writing.
Professional journalists still shudder at
the memory of the infamous Reuters article
in which a computer corrected a feature
on Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement
to be about the Muttonhead Quail
Movement. Wars have started for less.
That same news agency's spell-check also
changed the Queen into Queen
Elizabeth, causing a 2006 feature on beekeeping to tell the world:
Queen Elizabeth has 10 times the lifespan of workers and lays up to 2,000 eggs a
day.
Her Majesty fortunately chose to take it
as a compliment.
In days of yore, whenever those were,
that would have been a head- lopping, for
sure.
***
I mention these matters in preface to sharing an important news item: A long-running

Facebook puzzle has just been solved.
For years, thousands of people around the
world have been getting messages signed:
Grandpa and Grandmaster Flash.
It was a puzzle. Why were so many
grandfathers sending out joint announcements with a 1980s hip-hop star?
Techies found Facebook computers were
automatically correcting Grandma to
Grandmaster Flash and disabled the function.
Of course, this is probably causing great
annoyance to elderly men who DO want to
send out joint messages with the aging hiphopper.
***
Regarding old music, a reader sent me a
report from Foreign Policy magazine about
intelligence experts who recently found a
Dell laptop in a Syrian safe house used by
top terrorist gang ISIS.
They found the computer contained a
recipe for banana mousse and a Celine
Dion song collection. This is not a joke.
Man, I thought terrorists were evil before,
but now I know that they are truly subhuman. I mean, banana mousse: Who would
do that to an innocent banana and a carton

of whipped cream?
***
What should the agents do with the laptop?
Whenever I am placed in possession of a
friend's computer, I call up the auto-correct
dictionary and add new commands. Change
"you" to "thou," "the" to "ye oldde," "okay"
to "verily," all "-n" endings to "-nst," etc.
Then I give it back. Your friend will find
himself/herself
writing
perfect
Shakespearian English. Its like a miracle.
I strongly recommend doing this when he
or she is up against a tight deadline to produce a piece of extremely important work.
Oh, how your friend will laugh!
***
This same trick is particularly amusing of

you do it on computers used for live subtitling of TV news broadcasts.
Prime Minister: You can rely on the
promises your party makes.
Subtitles: Thou canst rely on ye oldde
promises thy party maketh.
***
In the meantime, be aware that autocorrect can cause you to declare that you have
committed major crimes.
Such as the young lady called Lauren
who was waiting for the bar to open and
wrote to her friends:
We are around the corner killing Tim.
***
Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

ARIES: Journey undertaken for business purpose might fail to bring expected results. Friends and family members
would lend a helping hand. Your brilliant ideas
would help in bringing financial gains.
Proposing might benefit, as chances of succeeding in love are high. Inexhaustible energy
enables to participate in outdoor activities.
Vacation full of beauty and history as well as
exciting is waiting for you. Purchasing official
accessories can lead to improve growth of your
office. Failures are likely to be stepping stones
for success.
TAURUS: It would require some
urgent & quick decisions to turn the tide
in your favour at professional front. An
unexpected message from a distant relative
brings happy news for the entire family. A
promising week to earn profits in real estate
and financial transactions. You need to make a
proper planning before embarking on love
journey. You attain a bloom in health on sharing happiness with others. Traveling on your
own, with a friend or with the whole family
will be exciting and comfortable too. Inheriting
property from your relatives seems to be ahead.
You will devote time to improve behaviour and
learn new things.
GEMINI: Colleagues and subordinates
will lend a helping hand enabling to
complete the work on time. Relatives
are likely to give some valuable advice regarding personal life. An improvement in monetary
position makes it convenient to purchase essential items. Avoid raising controversial issues in
love rather enjoy the company. A cheerful state
of mind would allow enjoying the perfect
health. Travel in comfort with kids to an adventurous place might be possible. Your income
can be doubled by renting your house or a part
of your house. Planning to visit a pilgrimage is
on the cards.
CANCER: Success in completing difficult assignments brings a lot of laurels at work. You receive care and
affection from family members. Long-term
investment would enable to make substantial
gains. Search for a true romantic friend might
end in this week. Divine knowledge from a
saintly person provides solace & comfort. A
trip that stimulates and gives opportunity for
work is coming ahead. It would be beneficial if
you plan to buy a small property. You are likely
to learn the benefit of being enthusiastic.
LEO: Self-confident would enable to
convey your point of view with ease a
workplace. Matrimonial alliance for eligible bachelor in family brings joy to all. You
will make good money in this week, but dont
let it slip through your fingers. Blossoming
love life brings happiness. Meditation and yoga
prove beneficial for spiritual as well as physical gains. A luxurious getaway type vacation
with your spouse waiting for you. Real estate is
one thing on which you can rely on to invest. If
possible, avoid compromising with principles
and values of life at any cost.
VIRGO: Mental clarity gives a decisive
edge over all competitors at professional front. Do not share personal matters
with casual acquaintances otherwise it will disappoint family members. Financial hassles will
be eased out with the help of your friends.
Romance is likely to intensify through recreational activities & entertainment. A very
healthy week when your cheerfulness gives the
desired tonic and confidence. Thrilling experience is on your way, as your trip is full of
excitement Investment on construction business would flourish your income. Efforts on the
path of progress would keep stagnation away.

LIBRA: Calculated risks would
enables to complete the project on
time. Avoid sharing family secrets with
casual acquaintances. Certain important plans
will be executed, bringing fresh financial gains.
Romantic opportunity comes your way as your
sparkling sunshine smile injures a lively & tender heart. You are likely to maintain good
health that would also give you success.
Planning a vacation, keep an eye on your
expenditure before you travel. Dealings for
older properties can be in process. You are likely to spellbind others by wit & repartee.
SCORPIO: A firm commitment will
not only enable to achieve professional
targets but also to realise your dreams. A
new outlook will be the source of laughter at
family front in this week. Speculations are likely to bring monetary profits. Romance touches
new heights, as partner positively responds. A
continuous positive thinking gets rewarded as
you succeed in whatever you do in this week.
Pack your bags as a happy, fun-filled holiweek
is looking forward. Your possession for acquiring a plot might be achieved. Others are likely
to feel the fragrance of your personality.
SAGITTARIUS: Cooperative nature
brings desired results at professional
front. Enjoying a picnic with family
will not only bring joy but also help in clearing
misunderstandings. Monetary position is likely
to improve later in the week. You are likely to
find someone with whom you will enjoy the
ecstasies of love. Creative hobbies are likely to
keep you relaxed. Your travel plans are smooth,
but the toughest part is that your partner doesnt have time. If you invest on smaller properties then it can be beneficiary for future investments. You are likely to start a new construction work during this week.
CAPRICORN: For some change of job
would bring mental satisfaction.
Charming nature and pleasant personality would make you the attraction of family
function. Hard work of previous days brings
good fortune enabling to fulfill monetary promises. Love comes your way as friendship turns
into romance. With a positive outlook & confidence, you succeed in impressing people
around you. An enriching vacation full of fun is
what you need. Your plan to own a house is
ought to be in the right way. Long pending legal
battle is likely to settle to your satisfaction.
AQUARIUS: Your inner values coupled with a positive attitude will bring
success at work. Family members
appreciate the changes made in & around the
house. You succeed in making some extra cash
on playing your cards well. Make sure you dont
surrender yourself under physical passions to
save romantic bond. Mental alertness would
enable to solve a tricky problem. Time to make
your vacation a dream come true. Plan to invest
in cafeteria or a bakery shop; it might create
new opportunities for you. Decent manners and
intellectual talk would catch others attention.
PISCES:Responding positively &
quickly to new ideas in business will go
in your favour. You need to be patient
with children because they are less experienced
than you. Put your extra money at a safer place
promising to return you on time. You are likely
find comfort in the arms of romantic partner. A
cheerful state of mind brings mental peace.
Affordable luxury vacation will explore your
desires. Being an opportunity seeker is not
good for you, as you want be getting the correct value for your property. You are likely to
join a humanitarian group to enjoy peace.
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

20th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are influenced by the Moon, you are
confident, emotional, imaginative, simple, creative, courteous, and warm hearted. You can easily make friends because of your nature so you enjoy enormous respect
amongst your friends. You should control your mood
swings and you should not be lazy.
Health this year: As far as your health is concerned this
year, you may frequently fall sick. You need to undergo regular medical checkups and take your prescribed medicines
on time. Join a gym and try practicing meditation to retain
your fitness.
Finance this year: You would not be able to save any money for future this year as your earnings will be spent for
something or the other. You may face unexpected expenses,
which would make you a bit financially weak. You may go
for new business ventures but need not get involved in any
partnerships.
Career this year: You will be given more responsibility
this year as you have proved yourself to be an efficient resource for your employer. You may expect a promotion or
salary hike later this year. You should guide your ordinates
to perform better and bring unexpected results for your organization.
Romance this year: Your marital relationship will move
forward with lot of mutual love, care, respect and admiration. You should not get into any kind of argument with your
spouse as it may disturb your peaceful personal life. You
should get married this year if you are yet to marry.
Lucky month: April, August and November
21st December, 2014
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: As you are ruled by the Jupiter, you are energetic, ambitious, dignified, realistic, optimistic, reliable,
and very kindhearted. You have the skills of a good listener
so you can perform well in any field. You should learn handling tough situations calmly and efficiently.
Health this year: You will enjoy a moderate health this
year. You need to take preventive medicines for weather
changes as it may hamper your health conditions. Do not
neglect your health if you feel uneasy. Consult doctor regularly and practice Yoga for better results.
Finance this year: You will be in huge monetary benefits
this year as you are going to get many contracts if you are
in business. You may travel abroad to for business purpose
and that would be very successful in establishing your business. You need to create new contacts to get more business.
You should not invest in share market this time though you
may go for real estate.
Career this year: You will be highly appreciated by your
employer for your excellent performance. With the increased workload, you may also be offered an increased
salary. You should learn to handle pressure situations from
your seniors. You may go for a job change later this year.
Romance this year: You may go through minor personal
disturbances and these could be solved by talking more to
your partner. Do not let the distance grow. Get some time to
talk to your spouse. You may plan a long trip with your partner to strengthen your relationship.
Lucky month: June, September and October.
22nd December, 2014
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no :4
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet Uranus
makes you active, practical, enthusiastic, courageous, ambitious, and highly philosophical. You are very proud of
your traditions, culture and rituals. You are highly religious
and have a very sharp mind. However, you need to work on
your impatient and stubborn behavior.
Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good health this
year though you may go through few minor diseases. Go for
regular medical checkups to retain your good health. Take
care of the health of your family members. Do not ignore
any health related issue as it may lead to further disturbances.
Finance this year: You will be able to earn more money.
However, you may end up spending a lot of money on luxury and comfort. You may go for new business or investments this year as the movement of planets ensures you
good monetary benefits.
Career this year: You will get new heights in your profession because of your excellent communication skills. Your
employer would be very impressed and will admire you.
You may get few extra responsibilities and salary will also
increase. You will get expert in your domain and you must
go for learning new things in your profession.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a relationship,
this year is the ideal time to find a partner. You will get ample support from your spouse in any critical decision you
have to take. You should show your love to your partner as
it strengthens your relationship.
Lucky month: January, March and November.
23rd December, 2014
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no :5
Traits in you: As you are influenced by your ruling planet
Mercury, you are intelligent, unique, sensible, business oriented, dignified, optimistic and charismatic. You are also
pretty warmhearted and friendly. However, you need not be
restless and impatient always to get your things done.
Health this year: Your health will remain good throughout
the year. You need to take utmost care of your health to
maintain it and remain fit. The health of your family members might be a concern for you this year. Try and avoid
your bad habits and start practicing yoga for the betterment
of your health.
Finance this year: You will earn a lot of money from your
past investment this year. However, you should invest your
money after going through the market thoroughly. Do not
lend or money this year. You may spend a lot of money on
buying comfort and luxury for your family members.
Career this year: You will gain a lot of professional knowledge this year. You may think for a job change this year. You
may not get the job satisfaction in the organization you currently work for. You may not get the expected appraisal,
which would urge you to switch to another company.
Romance this year: You should avoid any kind of conflict
with your beloved. Plan a long holiday with your spouse to
make your relationship stronger. If you are unmarried, you
should not get to a marital relationship this year as the
movement of your stars is not favorable for marriage.
Lucky month: April, June and August.
24th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no :6
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Venus makes optimistic,
ambitious, caring, aspiring, and determined. You are very
social and love to make new friends and get into new relationships. You are a huge follower of intelligence and education.
Health this year: You need to focus on your health a little
more as you may fall sick frequently this year. You should
go for regular medical checkups to maintain a healthy life.
Your parents may fall sick towards the end of the year and
it will put you in immense pressure.
Finance this year: Your innovative ideas to earn money
may not meet your expectations. However, you need to
keep trying until you succeed. You will find it tough to
make money this year. You may go for investments in various sectors like shares, gold, land and so on.
Career this year: You will get enough opportunities in your
professional life to prove yourself. You will create a better
impression on your seniors or higher management, which
may result in promotion. You should work efficiently to
maintain your respect at your workspace.
Romance this year: You will share a blissful romantic relationship with your spouse or partner. Your marriage is on
cards if you are yet to marry. You will find your partner supportive enough in every crucial situation.
Lucky month: February, May and July.
25th December, 2014
Ruled planet: 7 Ruled by no :Neptune
Traits in you: By nature you are sober, courteous, unique,
honest and courageous as you are ruled by the powerful
planet Neptune. Your charming nature attracts people towards you. You love to face challenges and you fight them
pretty well by executing perfection. You need to check for
your impatience, rudeness, and frequent mood swings.
Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this year as
compared to last year. However, the health of an aged family member may deteriorate and that will make you bothered. You may end up spending lot of money for the health
issues of your family members.
Finance this year: This year may bring you huge financial
benefits. You will enjoy the returns of your investments. If
you want to gain financial profits, you have to work hard.
You may invest in various profitable businesses. However,
you should not start new partnerships or trust new friends.
Career this year: This year you will reach to the peak of
your professional career and it will offer you huge financial
benefits. This year will be pretty rewarding for female employees. You may get a better performance appraisal as well
as salary hike as compared to your expectations.
Romance this year: The emotional attachment with your
spouse or partner may blossom this year with lot of love,
care, and concern. If you are not married, then you may go
for a romantic relationship. You will enjoy a very blissful
time with your beloved.
Lucky month: July, August and December
26th December, 2014
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Saturn makes you humble, honest, focused, practical, realistic and enthusiastic.
You are blessed with enormous talent and imagination.
Along with the positive characters in you, there are some
negative aspects in your nature. You need to work on your
nature of being envious, unreliable, and indiscipline.
Health this year: Though you would not face any major
health related issues, you should take extra care of your
health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your health in
stake. Go for regular medical checkups.
Finance this year: As far as your financial condition is considered, you will enjoy a better status as compared to the
last year. You will get enough benefits from your previous
investments. You may plan for new investments. You may
go for partnerships to start new ventures. Domestic as well
as overseas ventures will be successful this year. You need
to create new contacts for the growth in your business as it
will earn you more projects and money.
Career this year: Professionally you will enjoy a smooth
life. You may get recognition in your professional circuit as
a result of your hard work and dedication. Your promotion
is on cards. You should take help of your seniors to learn
quickly and perform exceptionally well as it would help you
grow professionally.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse or
partner will blossom this year. If you are not married, you
may have to wait for few more years though you are eligible for marriage.
Lucky month: January, May and October
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Jyoti Meditation Instructions:
An Introductory Meditation Technique
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
yoti Meditation (light meditation) is an introductory practice used in Science of
SpiritualitySawan
Kirpal
Ruhani Mission that anyone of
any age can try on your own. The
full meditation technique used in
Science of Spirituality, which
leads to inner experiences of spiritual realms of light within, is
called Shabd Meditation or Surat
Shabd Yoga as is practiced by people all over the world.
A good analogy to understand
the joy of meditation can be found
in the reports of those having a
near-death experience, or NDE. In
such experiences, someone who
underwent a physical trauma or
accident may have undergone clinical death. As doctors and medical
practitioners worked on their
body, the patients experienced
floating above their body and
watching the procedure being
done on them. Some floated
through walls to witness friends
and relatives in other rooms, what
they were doing, wearing, or saying, and later, when the patient
was revived, what they saw and
heard were borne out to

be true. At some point,
those describing the
experience
report
going through a dark
tunnel to emerge in a
world of light. There,
they met a being of
Light who embraced
them with more love
than any they ever
experienced in their
physical life. The joy
they felt in this world
of light was so tremendous many did not
want to return to life.
During this time, they
no longer felt any pain.
The light was bright
and intense but not
scorching. This experience was so
loving it transformed their lives
and they realized how important it
is to be loving. They returned to
their body as it was not their time
to die, but they were transformed
by the experience. They no longer
feared death and knew that there
was more to life than their physical body. They knew they could
exist beyond this body.
According to a Gallup Poll, over
thirteen million people reported
this near-death experience. The
good news is that people can experience the realms of inner light
through mediation without the
trauma of a near-death experience.
This bliss and love can be ours
any time we want through meditation. When we tap into this place
of peace and calm, we naturally
are beyond the reaches of stress
and anger. We are in a place of joy
and bliss that lasts with us even
when we come out of meditation.
To get started with the Jyoti
Meditation practice, which anyone
can try on your own at home or
anywhere you like, sit in a comfortable pose, most convenient to
you, in which you can sit still for
the longest possible time. While
meditating, it is not necessary to
hold hands or touch anyone else,
as any movement brings your
attention back down into the body,
distracting from concentration at
the seat of the soul, also called the
third eye, single eye,

shiv netra, divya chakshu, ajna or aggya charka, tenth door, or daswan
dwar (located between
and behind the two eyebrows).
Close your eyes, gently, as you do when we
go to sleep, but remain
wide awake. Closing
your eyes keeps you
from being distracted by
the outer sights of the
physical world. With
closed eyes, focus your
attention in front of you.
Do not put pressure on
your eyes. Also, do not
raise your eyes upwards
towards the direction of
the eyebrows as that puts pressure
on your eyes and forehead and can
result in a headache. Rather, keep
your eyes focused gently in front
of you and look into the middle of
what appears within. Keep gazing
horizontally, focusing about eight
to ten inches in front of you with
closed eyes.
Look lovingly into the middle of
what appears in front of you. At
first, you may see either darkness
or light, sparks of light, pinpoints
of light, flashes of light, circles of
light, or light of any color, such as
red, orange, yellow, blue, green,
purple, violet, white, or golden
color. No matter what you see,
continue to gaze into the middle of
what appears. You may see inner

vistas such as an inner sky, clouds,
stars, a moon, or a sun.
While gazing into the middle of
what appears, you may notice that
your mind distracts you with
thoughts. You may find that the
thoughts distract you from gazing
within. You may find that you cannot silence your mind to continue
meditating. To help keep your
mind from distracting you, you
can mentally and silently repeat
any Name of God with which you
feel comfortable. This repetition
should go on mentally, and not
aloud, as you continue to gaze.
This silent repetition gives the
mind something to do so that it
does not send thoughts to you that
can distract you from meditating.
As your attention converges at the
third or single eye, you may then
see inner lights. These lights are a
reflection of the lights of the inner
realms. By gazing deeper into the
middle of that light, you can tap
into the spiritual treasures within
and enjoy the profound peace, joy,
bliss, and happiness unlike any
found in this world. Those who
meditate are permeated with a
divine love that engulfs and fulfills them. The beauty of meditation is that this joy can remain
with you even after you resume
your daily activities.
May you find this meditation
helpful in improving the health of
your body, mind, and soul.
Is Spirituality in your Daily Budget?
Those on the spiritual path have set self-knowledge and

realization of the Divine as a goal within this very lifetime.
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
s people around the world
focus on the economy and
in budgeting their finances
to make ends meet, there is another
budget that each of us can consider.
Besides what we amass in this physical world, we also are given a certain number of breaths by God to
use in our physical existence. We
analyze how we are budgeting the
use of our finances, but how often
do we look at how we are budgeting
the capital of our lifes breaths given

to us as a gift of the Divine?
This is a good time to analyze
how we have been spending our precious breaths and time, and whether
we can make better use of them. Are
we spending our time haphazardly
and wastefully, or are we spending it
with purpose?
How can we make best use of our
time?
We have twenty-four hours in the
day to budget to our lifes purpose.
Just as some of our finances go to
the necessities of life such as food,
clothing, and shelter, so do some of
our breaths go into activities relevant to our physical survival. We

have to spend time taking care of
the body, such as in eating, bathing,
dressing, sleeping, and other bodily
activities. We also need to spend
time earning a living to pay for the
necessities of life. We have to go to
school or college or get training for
our jobs as well. If we have a family, we need to take care of them. We
also want to be a contributing member of our community and be of
service to others. Beyond this, we
are left with time we can spend any
way we like. How can we budget
that time to make the best use of it?
Those on the spiritual path have
set self-knowledge and realization
of the Divine as a goal within this
very lifetime. Saints and spiritual
Masters teach that we do not have to
wait until this life ends to discover
what lies beyond. We can witness
the realms beyond in this lifetime by
sitting in silence, focusing our attention within, and exploring the inner
spiritual treasures. This involves
spending time in meditation where-
by we invert our attention to find the

Divine within us. Do we budget
enough time for this?
Caring for the soul
Meditation takes practice, whereby we can connect with the divine
Light and Sound within and soar on
it to explore realms beyond. The
practice of concentrating within
takes repetition to become adept at
it. As in all tasks in life, daily practice will help us achieve success. In
planning our spiritual budgetthe
capital of our lifes breaths to
achieve the goal of union with the
Divinewe need to allocate some
time daily for meditation. Just as we
want a balanced financial budget,
we also want a balanced budget of
our time. Balancing our time means
spending time developing our physical, mental, and spiritual side of life.
While attending to our responsibilities of taking care of our body and
mind, we also need to care for our
soul.
As we look ahead to 2013, let us
spend time analyzing how we want
to budget our time. We can make a
chart of how much time we need to

spend in the various activities necessary for our life to survive in this
physical world and how much time
we need to put into our spiritual
practices. Mostly, we allocate everything on our to-do list first and then
put in the time for meditation last.
This year, we can try allocating our
time for meditation first, and then fit
in all the other responsibilities we
have. In this way, we can ensure that
our meditation is not an afterthought, but as important a part of
our day as our other duties.
Some people find that meditating
in the beginning of the day, right
after we awaken, ensures that we
always get that meditation time in
and do not leave it for last, when
other responsibilities may take so
long we never get to our spiritual
practices. If we make meditation an
essential part of the day, we will
find it becomes a habit. We will be
making the best use of our time and
find that the spiritual gains we
achieve will enrich all aspects of our
lives.

Vol 7 Issue 34 - Dec 20-26, 2014

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The South Asian Times

Vol.7 No. 34 December 20-26, 2014 60 Cents

New York Edition

World condemns Peshawar school carnage,

Unfortunately, a day later, Lashkar-e-Taiba's

Dr J. Ganesh Bhat (left, seen with his wife

Detailed story on page >> 3.

New York: Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh

Dr Murthy makes history as first Indian

Obamas pick for US Surgeon

Commissioned Corps, one of the

December 20-26, 2014

December 20-26, 2014

AAPI-QLI honors 4 distinguished physicians at annual convention

(L to R) Judy Bosworth - Hempstead Town Supervisor; Mrs. Linda

Melville, NY: Nearly 700 people

Huntington. Entertainment, CME

an overview of AAPIQLI and its

NJ residents fear more

more vigilant. Last month, the IBA organized

ers, they make decisions about

year AAPI-QLI participated in the

IALI Home becoming a reality soon

December 20-26, 2014

World condemns Peshawar..

wrote the letters of support included

Dr Murthy makes history as...

complication rate, was honored for

Dalai Lama concedes he may be the last

New Delhi Bureau

Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski

Printed Every Saturday by

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

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IANS Washington Bureau

Chairman and Co-Founder

Contributing Editors: Melvin Durai,

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News Service: HT Media Ltd.

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

December 20-26, 2014

The undocumented flock to workshops for deportation relief

by 25-30 people each time. The

tion sessions and expert panels to

floating around now, like people

New York, NY: Roshni Media

5. "Over the past 10 years, we've

New York: Ratna Bhalla had set

by similarly helping others in need.

December 20-26, 2014

Upset Hindus urge withdrawal of

Pranathy Gangaraju crowned

Honors student Rwanda-bound

Chairman and founder of IFC Dharmatma Saran with the winners

n a glittering function organized on

10 indicted in $1 M India travel scam

credit card information obtained illegally,

mita Dodwadkar of Massachuseets was

Former TOI editor Gautam Adhikari

Adhikari joins CAPs India: 2020 project,