The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
Vol.11 No. 33 December 15-21, 2018 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
TheSouthAsianTimes.info December 15-21, 2018
 The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
Vol.11 No. 33 December 15-21, 2018 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Trump spars with Chuck

& Nancy, threatens
govt shutdown
The heated meeting in the Oval Office was to discuss funding for
the border wall with Mexico. (Photo courtesy AP)
Washington: President Donald
Trump on Tuesday said that he
would be "proud to shut down
the government for border secu‑
rity" during a heated meeting
with Democratic congressional
leaders inside the White House.
Trump's meeting with Senate
Congress pips BJP
in MP, Rajasthan,
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
Chhattisgarh polls
and House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi was meant to pre‑
8 Regional parties triumph in Telangana and Mizoram
vent a potential government 8 PM Modi, Amit Shah failed to beat anti-incumbency
shutdown later this month, but
"has spiraled downwards," Pelosi Rahul makes Modi’s return
said.
Continued on page 4
as Prime Minister in 2019 difficult
New Delhi: The Congress on tle that went to the wire on Patel to be invited to form the next

Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton Wednesday emerged as the largest

party in Madhya Pradesh and
Tuesday. The Congress has been
assured support by the two‑seat
government in the state.
Likewise, in the 200‑member

among guests at Ambani

Rajasthan, but missed securing the
absolute majority in both the
states. In Chhatisgarh, however,
daughter wedding the party won with a landslide.
According to the Election
Commission, the final tally for the
230‑seat Madhya Pradesh
Assembly showed Congress win‑
ning 114 seats, while the ruling
BJP came close with 109 in a bat‑
winner BSP of Mayawati, which
contested on its own, and the
Samajwadi Party, which bagged
one seat, to cross the e halfway
mark of 116 seats. The Congress
might also approach four
Independent candidates, most of
whom are Congress rebels.
The party late on Tuesday wrote
a letter to Governor Anandiben
Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress
bagged 99 seats, while its pre‑poll
ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won
one. The BJP was far behind with
73 seats. The Congress will need
the support of the six‑seat winner
BSP or the 13 Independent candi‑
Continued on page 4
DETAILED STORIES ON PG 12

Brexit chaos: May seeks EU lifeline

London: British Prime Minister
Theresa May abruptly postponed
the scheduled Parliament vote on
her Brexit deal on Monday, con‑
The bride Isha Ambani, Hillary Clinton and Nita Ambani at
ceding that the proposal was head‑
a pre‑wedding event in Udaipur on Dec 9. (Photo: IANS)
ed for defeat.
Udaipur: The most lavish Indian to tie the knot with Anand The vote will now be held before
wedding of the year is underway Piramal, 33‑year‑old executive January 21, according to her
here as 27‑year‑old Isha Ambani ‑‑ director of Piramal Group. The spokesperson. Itʼs likely that the
daughter of Mukesh Ambani, pair won't officially wed until a vote will be pushed into January,
Indiaʼs wealthiest man ‑‑ prepares Continued on page 4 inching closer to the Brexit dead‑
line of March 29, 2019.
May and the EU do have a Brexit
divorce deal. But the terms of the
withdrawal agreement are deeply
unpopular among members of
Parliament, from both hardline
Brexiteers, who want a more deci‑
sive split with the EU, and more
pro‑Europe members whoʼd prefer
Brexit never happened.
As the debate continued in
British Parliament, May headed to
Europe in hopes of convincing
leaders to tweak the Brexit deal to
make it a little more palatable at
home. EU leaders seemed sympa‑
thetic to Mayʼs dilemma, but they
arenʼt likely to offer major conces‑
sions that would dramatically
change the deal. This means that
Mayʼs pilgrimage to Brussels prob‑
ably wonʼt accomplish much.

AIA GOLDEN JUBILEE 15 HISTORY 18 EDUCATION 19 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30 excellence in journalism

 4 December 15-21, 2018 TURN PAGE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Congress pips BJP “because people of this country

Indian Overseas Congress, USA applauds in MP, Rajasthan,

Chhattisgarh polls
don't want criminals and people
that have lots of problems and

party’s triumph in state elections Continued from page 3

New York: “People of India have spo‑
ken once again through the ballot
box, and the message has been sent
loud and clear that they are unhap‑
py with the direction of the country
under Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. He has become a man of hol‑
low promises, and unfulfilled
pledges to the people of India,” said
George Abraham, Vice‑Chairman of
the Indian Overseas Congress, USA.
IOC has congratulated Rahul
Gandhi for his stellar leadership and
round the clock campaigning that
has made an enormous difference in
the outcome of the state elections in
MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Abraham contended that over four
Abraham, however, cautioned that years of the Modi rule, the country
Congress Party should not read too has gone through a disastrous
much into these results considering demonetization process, a messy
the anti‑incumbency factor. GST implementation, corruption at
Nonetheless, these victories would the highest levels and crony capital‑
undoubtedly rejuvenate the ism in its worst form. The institu‑
Congress loyalists at the grassroots tions which guarded the democracy
level for the upcoming national elec‑ and freedom since independence for
tion in 2019. As Rahul Gandhi said its citizens are under assault and in
at the post‑election press confer‑ steep decline. The recent develop‑
ence, it is a victory for the Congress ments with the RBI and the CBI
worker who has neither given up on speak a volume of government inter‑
the values and principles of the ference that may have undermined
party nor lost hope on the the independence of these revered
Nehruvian vision for the country. Institutions.
'Fearless Girl' statue
relocated to NY Stock
Exchange
The popular bronze statue of the
"Fearless Girl" that had been facing Wall
Street's iconic "Charging Bull" for the
past 18 months, was moved to its new
and permanent location in front of the
New York Stock Exchange.
dates, most of whom are again
Congress rebels, to cross the
halfway mark of 101 in Rajasthan
as well.
In Chhattisgarh, where the BJP
ruled for 15 years, the Congress
has swept a clear two‑third major‑
ity with 68 seats, against the half‑
way mark of 46. While the BJP
emerged as the second largest
party with only 15 seats.
Telangana, India's newest state,
voted back K Chandrashekar
Rao's TRS and in Mizoram, the
Congress was ousted by the tribal
Mizo National Front (MNF).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
tweeted that his party accepts the
assembly defeats with humility.
Anti‑incumbency factor is being
cited for BJP losing power in
Hindi heartland states. Finance
Minsiter Arun Jaitley disagreed
that the assembly poll results will
have an adverse affect on the
partyʼs chances of returning to
power after the 2019 parliamen‑
tary elections.
The Congress scored its best
election results in years on a day
it marked a year since Rahul
drugs pouring into our country."
Trump has asked for at least $5
billion to be allocated for the con‑
struction of the wall, something
congressional Democrats have
rejected. Schumer and Pelosi
urged Trump to find other solu‑
tions to avoid a partial govern‑
ment shutdown after December
21, when funding for a number of
federal agencies is set to expire.
"One thing that I think we can
agree on is we shouldn't shut
down the government over a dis‑
pute, and you want to shut it
down," Schumer told Trump.
Schumer told reporters outside
the White House after the meet‑
ing, “We want border security. We
offered him border security. But
Americans know that the wall, not
paid for by Mexico anymore, is
not the way to border security."
He was referring to the $1.3 bil‑
lion the Democrats agreed to
offer for fencing and other border
security measures.
Beyoncé, Hillary
Clinton among guests
at Ambani
daughter wedding

Bomb threat in Facebook campus, Gandhi's takeover. The party

hopes the state election gains will
Continued from page 3
Wednesday ceremony at the
bride's family residence in

Buildings evacuated
consolidate its chief's role in
opposition efforts to form a grand
alliance to take on PM Modi in
Los Angeles: Several buildings in next year's polls. Accusing PM
the Facebook campus located in Modi of letting down voters and
Menlo Park in California were evac‑ not delivering on his promises,
uated following a bomb threat here Rahul Gandhi said, "Mr Modi has
on Tuesday evening. CNN quoted a taught me what not to do...
management analyst for the Menlo Arrogance is fatal for a politician".
Park Police Department Nicole
Acker as saying that the San Mateo Trump spars with Chuck
bomb unit has responded to the & Nancy, threatens
matter. A spokesperson of the social govt shutdown
media giant confirmed that police Continued from page 3
evacuated a few buildings and the The sticking point is the funding
matter is being investigated adding for a wall on the US‑Mexico bor‑
that everyone was safe der that Trump has promised
Mumbai. But celebrations kicked
off over the weekend at Udaipur's
City Palace.
Celebrities who arrived for the
wedding including Beyoncé, for‑
mer US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, Arianna Huffington and
recently married Priynaka Chopra
and Nick Jonas as well as a host
of Bollywood stars.
At one of the parties, Shah Rukh
Khan and his wife Gauri Khan
stole the show with their dance
performance and so did Abhishek
Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan.

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Diplomats honored with
Diwali 'Power of One' awards
By Arul Louis
United Nations: Six veteran inter‑
national diplomats have been hon‑
ored with the Diwali "Power of One
Award" for their work at the global
organization for "a more perfect,
peaceful and secure world for all".
The awards were presented on
Tuesday here at an event that also
commemorated the issuance of
Diwali stamps by the UN Postal
Administration in October and by
the US Postal Service in 2016.
India's Permanent
Representative Syed Akbaruddin,
who called it an "ode to diversity
and multiculturalism", said the
work of the honorees reflected the
UN's collective determination to
promote peace.
The awards were co‑sponsored
by 26 UN missions, the Observer
of Palestine and the International
Atomic Energy Agency and the
event was co‑hosted by the mis‑
sions of India, Belarus and
Georgia, and the Diwali
Foundation USA.
Vietnam's Deputy Foreign
Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga, who
had earlier served as her country's
permanent representative at the
UN, was among the awardees from
three continents. The award
announcement said that along
with her, the nation of Vietnam
was also being honored for the
Haridas Kotahwala elected
as RANA President
New York: In a tight and prestigious Vice President, Rajeev Pandya ‑
fig ht, eminent jewe ler
and chairman of Navika
Group Haridas Kotahwala
was elected President of
Rajasthan Association of
North America (RANA).
Kotahwala, a senior
member of Rajasthani
community and lifetime
Patron of RANA, has
served earlier also as
Eminent jeweler and
President. His 2‑year
chairman of Navika Group
tenure starts from
Haridas Kotahwala
January 1, 2019
The new executive Board of RANA Dr. Ajey Jain have been past presidents
2019‑2020 includes Dashrath Dugar ‑ of RANA.
(From left) Permanent Representatives to UN Valentin Rybakov
(Belarus), Kaha Imnadze (Georgia), Syed Akbaruddin (India), Chair of
Diwali Foundation USA, Ranju Batra, & eminent attorney Ravi Batra
at the lamp lighting ceremony.
rapprochement with the US
brought about by the late US
Senator John McCain in the after‑
math of the war between the two
countries. The chair of the Diwali
Foundation USA, Ranju Batra, dedi‑
cated the ceremony to late US
President George H.W. Bush, who
died last month.
In promoting volunteerism, Bush
spoke of a "thousand points of
light", she recalled and added that
this makes for "Diwali everyday".
Belarus Permanent Representative
Valentin Rybakov said that Diwali's
spirit of peace and charity was in
"lockstep with the ideals" of the
UN. Thailand's US Ambassador
Virachai Plasai was honored for
his leadership while he was at the
Secretary, Chandra
Sukhwal – Treasurer, Anu
Jain ‑ Joint Treasurer, and
Dr. Shashi Shah‑
Immediate Past
President,.
RANA was founded in
1999, and has life‑mem‑
bership of over 300 fami‑
lies in the tristate area.
Anand Nahar, KK Mehta,
Naveen Shah, Dr. Ajay
Lodha, Rajeev Garg, Dr.
Narendra Hadpawat, and
TRISTATE December 15-21, 2018 5
Alok Kumar elected
FIA President
New York: The Federation of Indiaʼs Independence Day (now a
Indian Associations (FIA‑Tristate) tradition and its 6th year) as well
at its annual general body meet‑ the historic Diwali Day Lighting of
ing on Dec. 5 announced its new the iconic building in the colors of
executive team for 2019 headed a diya besides the successful 38th
by Alok Kumar as President. India Day Parade in NYC on Aug.
Alok Kumar was Executive Vice 19, led by Grand Marshal Kamal
President in the current President Hassan. FIA Chairman Ramesh
Srujal Parikhʼs team. He hails from Patel applauded Parikh for his
Darbhanga, Bihar, and is an IT leadership and service to the
professional. In his 2019 execu‑ organization and pointed to the
tive committee are Himanshu newly elected team as a transition
Bhatia as executive vice president, of FIA leadership in the hands of
Saurin Parikh as vice president, the second generation of volun‑
Amit Yadav as general secretary, teers. During the meeting, the
Mardari Patel as joint secretary, organization inducted two new
Amit Ringasia as treasurer and trustees to the board for the first
Srujal Parikh as the immediate time since it was established in
past president. 1970. They include Jayesh Patel,
UN of the Group of 77 that repre‑
In his speech, Srujal Parikh who was the president of the
sents developing countries and is
reounted FIAʼs highlights during organization in 2005, and Ankur
the largest bloc there.
his term, including the Lighting Vaidya, a two‑term FIA president
The other awardees were Andrej
of the Empire State Building for in 2014 and 2015.
Logar, the State Secretary of
Slovenia, former Permanent
Representatives Catherine Boura
of Greece, Agshin Mehdiyev of
Azerbaijan and Permanent
Representative Mohamed Khaled
Khiari of Tunisia.
A glaring omission from the list
of recipients of the award that
honours former or "soon to be
'former' permanent representa‑
tives" was Nikki Haley of the US
who will leave her post at the end
of the year. She is the first person
of Indian descent to hold the post FIAʼs new team: Amit Ringasia, Himanshu Bhatia, Srujal Parikh, Alok
and to serve in the US cabinet. Kumar (President), Amit Yadav & Saureen Parikh. (Photo : Paresh Gandhi)
TCS wins class action
lawsuit in US
New Delhi: India's largest software firm TCS The success of TCS rests on the talents,
Thursday said that its employee hiring and expertise and deep industry knowledge of its
retention practices are based purely on capabil‑ employees, who help customers in growth and
ities, "irrespective" of background or national transformation journeys, the spokesperson
origin, as a US jury ruled in favor of the compa‑ added.
ny in a case involving charges of discrimination. The company asserted it will continue to
A California jury said Tata Consultancy invest in its people, impart digital training and
Services did not discriminate against non‑south empower them to succeed at TCS and enable
Asian workers in the US as alleged in the law‑ customers' success, "irrespective of their back‑
suit, marking a significant win for the Indian IT ground or national origin".
outsourcing industry. The verdict came after one day of delibera‑
"We have always maintained, the claims made tions, ending a trial that began on November 5
in this case were baseless and we are gratified over a class action lawsuit brought by three for‑
that the jury agreed...So the decisions we make mer TCS employees, Christopher Slaight, Seyed
about the hiring and retention of employees are Amir Masoudi and Nobel Mandili, who claimed
based purely on their capabilities and fit in in the suit that they received fewer work oppor‑
serving our customers' business needs," a TCS tunities and were eventually fired because of
spokesperson said in a statement in Delhi. their races and national origins.
6 December 15-21, 2018
Dignitaries lighting the
ceremonial lamp
C
onsul Jaideep Chola inaugu‑
rated and attended the three
days long Hindi Manch
Rashtriya Mahotsav, organized by
New England Hindi Manch from
Nov.30 to Dec.2, 2018 in Boston,
Massachusetts. The event was kick‑
started by a musical play on the life of
Rani Lakshmibai and Kavi Sammelan,
which was attended by renowned poet
The Chatwal Lodge commences
construction in Bethel, NY
Sant Chatwal, chairman, Dream Hotel Group at the groundbreaking ceremony of $100
Million plus Chatwal Lodge five star luxury retreat in Sullivan County upstate New York
on December 5th. In the photo Sant Chatwal with his executives and guests.
Bethel, NY: Developed by Dream Hotel
Group and designed by Nunzio Marc
DeSantis Architects, The Chatwal Lodge will
be a driving force in the ongoing restoration
and revitalization of New Yorkʼs famed
Catskill Mountains. Nestled among 26 acres
along the wooded shores of the 1,000‑acre
Toronto Reservoir, the five‑star luxury
retreat is expected to open in spring 2020
with 34 private villas and suite accommoda‑
tions, refined rustic design and world‑class,
farm‑to‑table culinary experiences by
DUCASSE Paris, founded by multi‑Michelin‑
starred chef Alain Ducasse.
The groundbreaking ceremony for this
exciting development took place December
5th and featured New York State Assembly
Member Aileen M. Gunther and Bethel Town
Supervisor Dan Sturm as keynote speakers,
leading members of the Dream Hotel Group
team: Chairman Sant Singh Chatwal, CEO
TRISTATE
IN BRIEF
Actress Deepti Naval presenting
her poems
Aalok Srivastava and veteran actress
Deepti Naval, who recited some of her
poems from the collection Lamha
Lamha. Various cultural activities,
including plays, singing competitions
were organized in the next two days.
The event was well attended by more
than 3000 people of Indian origin,
including some prominent Hindi
scholars.
Jay Stein, and Vice President of Operations,
Luxury Division Ashish Verma, as well as
Chapin Estate Developer Steve Dubrovsky,
Architect Nunzio DeSantis, and Granite
Associates Chairman & CEO Alan Gerry,
among others.
“Weʼre grateful for Mr. Sant Chatwal and
his Dream Hotel Group team bringing The
Chatwal Lodge to the region. The caliber of
this project is remarkable, and, once open,
will become a world‑class destination and an
extraordinary addition to both New York
State and Sullivan County,” said New York
State Assembly Member Aileen M. Gunther.
“The Chatwal Lodge will bring full‑ and
part‑time jobs, both during construction and
after it opens,” said Bethel Town Supervisor
Dan Sturm. “The new tourists and visitors
that will come to Bethel will also bring new
commerce and better economic opportunity
for all the businesses already located here.”
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Inauguration ceremony of Air Indiaʼs nonstop flight
from John F Kennedy Airport, New York to Mumbai.
Nassau County felicitates
Jericho Robotic teams
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Deputy Director Minority Affairs Nassau
County Farrah Mozawalla, Community activist Lael Daniel, Team TechnoQueens,
Team RoboFalcons, coach Rohit Bhatia
New York: To commemorate the accom‑ volunteer coach over the 6+ years jour‑
plishments of Jericho‑resident young ney and how much these kids have
girlʼsʼ and boyʼs FIRST Robotics teams learned and matured over years – work‑
TechnoQueens and RoboFalcons, an ing out of his home basement. Rohit
event was held at Nassau County Bhatia emphasized on future innovation
Ceremonial Hall in Mineola on Dec 5th. and how some of the best ideas have
Citation & awards were presented by been formed out of basements, garages –
Nassau County Chief Executive Laura and the hope that these young kids could
Curran. Deputy Director of Minority go on to invent something bigger in life
Affairs Farrah Mozawalla facilitated the as they take this journey forward. Coach
entire event and welcomed the kids and also appreciated Laura Curranʼs efforts
their families. County Executive Laura being the first woman executive of the
Curran highlighted the importance of Nassau County and how the young
STEM at an early age and how the expo‑ TechnoQueens could draw inspiration
sure to Science & Engineering platforms from the same. Farrah Mozawalla com‑
could be so critical to our future. Laura plemented the kids and their families for
Curran invited kids to talk about their supporting the community causes and
experiences and hearing the journey it their efforts to raise awareness about
has been for these young girls and boys clean water and helping global fundrais‑
from Jericho Elementary, Middle and ing. Community activist Lael Daniel com‑
High schools. She was keen to hear from plemented Laura Curran and Farrah
the coach of both teams, Rohit Bhatia, Mozawalla for having the opportunity to
how this has influenced the kids and invite the teams over for recognition. It
community. was an event filled with gratitude and a
Coach Rohit Bhatia was presented a positive message for young kids to
citation for his selfless efforts of being a embark on a further successful journey.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL December 15-21, 2018 7

Professor Achuta Kadambi named TOP INDIAN‑AMERICAN

to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science
Prof Achuta
Kadambiʼs
research
group aims
to give gift of
sight to
robots
Washington, DC: Professor Achuta
Kadambi of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department at
UCLA has been named to Forbes maga‑
zineʼs 30 under 30 list for Science
2019. The list highlights up‑and‑com‑
ing visionaries who display noteworthy
ambition and inspiration. Professor
Kadambi recently received his doctor‑
ate from MIT and joined UCLA as an
Assistant Professor in the Electrical
and Computer Engineering Department
in 2018.
Professor Kadambi heads the Visual
Machines Group, whose research aims
to give the gift of sight to robots. The
group specializes in unconventional
imaging systems that tightly couple
optical hardware and computer algo‑
rithms, topics usually studied separate‑
ly. Professor Kadambiʼs inventive cam‑
eras enable new capabilities for robots.
Examples include deploying drones
that can image survivors in a natural
disaster, or autonomous cars with spe‑
cialized LIDAR systems that operate in
fog. Such examples underscore
Professor Kadambiʼs determination to
realize the social impact of his groupʼs
inventions. In the future, Professor
Kadambi envisions cameras moving
away from simulating the human eye,
and instead adopting more exotic
designs in complex visual systems. The
systems would provide new sensory
data that would allow robots to see
what would be invisible to the human
eye. (Source: ee.ucla.edu)
MICROSOFT AI EXECUTIVE
SIROSH JOINS COMPASS
San Francisco: Microsoft's
Indian‑orig in Chie f
Technology Of ficer for
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Joseph Sirosh has joined
Compass, a New York‑
based real estate tech
company which is making
e f forts to simplify the
home buying and selling
process with the use of
cutting‑edge technology.
In a tweet on
Wednesday, Sirosh said he
was "super excited" to join
Compass as CTO. Joseph Sirosh (Image courtesy: zdnet.com)
"It (Compass) is bring‑
ing agents and technology to empower us Global Inventory Platform, Geekwire.com
in one of the most stressful and conse‑ reported.
quential transactions of our lives ‑‑ buying Compass announced the appointment of
or selling a home," he said. Sirosh in a tweet.
"One of the fastest growing platforms "He will lead our engineering team as
that I know, and an inspiring and diverse we develop new AI‑powered products for
leadership," Sirosh added. our real estate ecosystem," Compass said.
Before joining Compass, Sirosh spent In an interview to IANS earlier this year,
five years at Microsoft leading its AI Sirosh said that while (AI) was making its
efforts. Sirosh also worked on the compa‑ presence felt across the spectrum global‑
ny's Cloud, data and Machine Learning ly, India needs to prioritise AI‑based pre‑
projects. dictive analysis to improve outcomes in
Prior to Microsoft, he spent close to three core areas ‑‑ agriculture, healthcare
nine years at Amazon as a VP in multiple and education, a top Microsoft executive
parts of the company, most recently the has emphasized. (IANS)

Pramila Jayapal recruits former Author inspires donation to

Indian‑American Obama aide encourage studying abroad in India
Washington, DC: A former Indian
American White House official has
been recruited by Congresswoman
Pramila Jayapal as her Chief of Staff.
Gautam Raghavan used to be the
White House liaison to the LGBTQ
community as well as the Asian
American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)
community during former President
Barack Obama's time. He has also
been the founding Executive Director
of Indian American Impact Project
and Fund that supports Indian
Americans in politics. He has also
served as the White House Liaison
and Deputy White House Liaison in
the Department of Defence.
A first‑generation immigrant,
Raghavan was born in India, raised
in Seattle area and graduated from
the Stanford University.
Pramila Jayapal appointed
Gautam Raghavan as her Chief of
Staff (Image : metroweekly.com)
Under Obama, Raghavan also man‑
aged White House and inter‑agency
policy working groups and directed
the administration's rollout and
implementation of landmark accom‑
plishments including the executive
order prohibiting LGBTQ discrimina‑
tion in federal contracting and mar‑
Washington, DC: After being gy, energy, education, and business,
riage equality among other things.
inspired by author Alyssa Ayresʼ it becomes vitally important for
"It's a whole new part of the govern‑
presentation at Virginia Tech on the Virginia Tech students to have an
ment, and I'm obviously excited to
role of science and technology in understanding of the country and
work with Congresswoman Jayapal.
U.S.‑India relations, a faculty mem‑ its people,” said Guru Ghosh, vice
I've known her practically my whole
ber has donated $10,000 to the president for Outreach and
life, being from Seattle, Washington,"
Global Education Office. International Af fairs. “This contri‑
Raghavan said.
Wanting to encourage students to bution and the establishment of the
"I have watched her establish her‑
consider programs in India, the U.S.‑India Study Abroad scholarship
self as a bold, national presence,
donor, who wishes to remain will positively impact student lives
right from 9/11. She is certainly a
unnamed, specified that funds be for years to come.”
very visible presence. She is not
used for scholarships to study Students of any major are eligible
afraid to speak up," Raghavan said.
abroad in the country. Similar to for the scholarships. Applicants
Jayapal is the first Indian‑
national trends, most Virginia Tech must be U.S. citizens or permanent
American woman in the US House of
students tend to study abroad in residents. The donor drew further
Representatives. She has been a
European countries. Of 1,467 stu‑ inspiration from Ayresʼ 2018 book,
longtime immigration rights leader
dents who studied abroad last year, “Our Time Has Come: How India is
and founded Hate Free Zone ‑‑ later
52 went to India. Virginia Tech fac‑ Making Its Place in the World.” The
renamed OneAmerica ‑‑ dedicated to
ulty currently offer five India study book considers the growing role
advocacy work including registering
abroad programs. India plays internationally and the
new immigrants to vote and lobby‑
“As India continues to rapidly implications its rise will have on
ing for immigration reform. (IANS)
progress in areas such as technolo‑ other countries.
8 December 15-21, 2018
Indian girl wins the Washington
State Ms Asia Pageant 2018 in Seattle
I
ndian origin Neha Krishna won the cov‑
eted Washington State Ms Asia pageant
on Nov 18th held at Hyatt Renton,
Seattle WA. Ms. Krishna, a Google
recruiter, was also a runner‑up at the Ms
India Washington State 2016 pageant.
Neha represents beauty with brains, and
has held positions in the HR department of
major technology companies such as
Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook and now
works as an engineering campus recruiter
for Google. “It is a dream come true to rep‑
resent the women of today. In today's
times, women not only care about being
beautiful and glamorous but also about
being a professional and having a career,”
said Neha when asked of her decision to
participate in both the Ms India
Washington, and the Ms Asia pageants.
She plans to work alongside women repre‑
sentatives of other minority groups in the
United States to bring awareness to the
unique challenges that women of these
segments face on a day to day basis.
“I want the women of today to know that
they can have it all. We are in a world
where you can dream to be the CEO of the
largest corporation of the world, become a
great politician, diplomat or athlete, and
yet be glamorous and feminine. This is
what Neha told me when she came to reg‑
400+ attend IHCNJʼs 20th
gala fundraising dinner
I
ndian Health Camp of New Jersey
(IHCNJ), a 501© 3, nonprofit organiza‑
tion in New Jersey organized a success‑
ful fund‑raising Gala for their 20th anniver‑
sary on December 1st at Balaji Temple audi‑
torium in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
More than 400 people attended the event
to include the local and state government
officials, prominent business entrepreneurs,
community leaders, media and other invited
guests from various professions and dedi‑
cated volunteers. The afternoon started
with delicious Indian dinner from Rajbhog
Foods and presentations and recognitions
followed by two and half hours of non‑stop
Bollywood Musical Extravaganza with
renowned Indian Idol Finalist Omkar
Deshpande and Vidya Shivling with their
orchestra Panorama Entertainment from
India which lasted until 10 p.m. where audi‑
ence danced on the floor with some new
and old melodies. The program started
with prayers from singers followed by a
welcome speech from Kiran Kothari, one of
the trustees of IHCNJ and master of ceremo‑
ny for the evening. A small video of 20 glo‑
rious years of community volunteer service
of IHCNJ history was displayed followed by
plaque presentations to sponsors. The
event sponsor Thomas Coughlin, CEO of
BCB Indus American Bank was presented
with a plaque by the Guest of Honor Joann
Downey, Assemblywoman 11th Legislative
District, Ritesh Shah, Executive Committee
Member and President Dr. Tushar Patel for
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Neha Krishna
ister with Ravishing Women” said Menka
Soni, CEO of Ravishing Women, the non‑
profit organization that organized the pag‑
eant. “Her immense positive energy and
constant zeal to make a difference are
what set Neha apart and I am confident
she will make a positive difference to our
community,” said Shivani Singh, who is
associated with Ravishing Women as the
Director of Ms Asia pageant.
The Senate and General Assembly
Joint Legislative Resolution from
Assemblywoman Downey was accepted
by IHCNJ President Dr. Tushar Patel
and Ritesh Shah on behalf of
the organization.
their generous support for 20th
Anniversary Gala. The Senate and General
Assembly Joint Legislative Resolution from
Assemblywoman Downey was accepted by
IHCNJ President Dr. Tushar Patel and Ritesh
Shah on behalf of the organization.
Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, NJʼs 18th
District, John Bartlett, Passaic County
Freeholder, Shanti Narra, Middlesex County
Freeholder and Azra Baig, South Brunswick
School Board member were among the
other elected officials who attended the
event and extended their support to IHCNJ.
The 20th‑anniversary event was to cele‑
brate the selfless and dedicated services
provided by all the volunteers and also
aimed at helping the organization move up
to the next level of activities.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Royal Air Maroc to join oneworld
R
oyal Air Maroc is to join oneworld®,
adding one of Africaʼs leading and
fastest growing airlines to the
worldʼs premier airline alliance.
Its election as a oneworld member desig‑
nate was announced as the Chief Executives
of the allianceʼs 13 current member airlines
gathered in New York for their year‑end
Governing Board meeting, just weeks before
the alliance celebrates the 20th anniversary member airlines. While Southern Africaʼs
of its launch. Comair, which flies as a franchisee of British
Royal Air Maroc is expected to be imple‑ Airways, has been a oneworld affiliate mem‑
mented into oneworld in mid‑2020, when it ber since the alliance launched in February
will start flying alongside some of the 1999, Royal Air Maroc will be oneworldʼs
biggest and best brands in the airline busi‑ first full member from Africa – the only con‑
ness. Its regional subsidiary Royal Air tinent, apart from Antarctica, where the
Maroc Express will join as a oneworld affili‑ alliance has, until now, had no full member.
ate member at the same time. oneworld Governing Board Chairman Alan
From then, the recruits will offer the full Joyce, Group CEO of Qantas, said: “Weʼre
range of oneworld customer services and pleased to welcome Royal Air Maroc to
benefits, with the one million plus members oneworld. Africa is the last major region
of Royal Air Marocʼs Safar Flyer loyalty pro‑ where oneworld does not have a full mem‑
gram able to earn and redeem rewards on ber airline ‑ and has one of the fastest pre‑
all oneworld member airlines, and with its dicted air travel growth rates over the next
top tier members able to use the allianceʼs few decades. Royal Air Maroc will deliver
more than 650 airport lounges worldwide. greater value for more customers world‑
Until then, it is business as usual for Royal wide as we expand our alliance network to a
Air Maroc and oneworld and its existing new region.”
Hunger, malnutrition issues in
India can't be solved overnight:
Chef Vikas Khanna
M
ichelin star chef Vikas
Khanna, who features in
a digital film which cap‑
tures a social experiment to high‑
light the issue of hunger amongst
children, says everyone needs to
come forward to help battle the
hunger and malnutrition problems
faced by the underprivileged in the
country.
"The problem of hunger and
malnutrition in India cannot be
solved overnight. If each of us take
a step forward to help the under‑
privileged children, I believe we
can take a big leap towards ensur‑
ing no child goes to bed hungry,"
Khanna said in a statement.
Also a filmmaker himself,
Khanna is in support of the Quaker
Feed a Child initiative, and he is
happy to "raise awareness for this Chef Vikas Khanna at launch of Quaker
important and heart‑wrenching Feed a Child initiative
issue." (Image courtesy: ritchsyles.com)
To this end, Quaker India has
released digital film "The Last Meal" pro‑ digital platform Being Indian, ends
duced in association with Culture Machine. poignantly with some of the children
It shows a real‑life social experiment con‑ requesting for a meal as they are hungry.
ducted on the streets of Mumbai, wherein Khanna makes a call to action to all view‑
people talk about their love for food and yet ers to make their New Year special by feed‑
struggling to remember their most recent ing a hungry child.
meal, and in contrast, there are children According to Nobel Dhingra, Brand head ‑
from underprivileged backgrounds immedi‑ Quaker, PepsiCo India, the idea behind the
ately recalling their last meal, with some initiative is based on a thought that urges
even stating that they hadn't eaten any‑ people to make every festival or occasion
thing. more meaningful by simply pledging a fist‑
The film, available on Culture Machine's ful of nutrition to feed a child.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Diaspora should act as
India's ambassadors: Rijiju
Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju interacting with the
participants of Know India Programme
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for
Home Kiren Rijiju on Saturday told a visit‑
ing group of 40 Indian Diaspora youths to
act as ambassadors of India's growth story
and spread the good word about their expe‑
rience in this country on their return.
The group from eight countries is in India
as part of a 25‑day visit under the 49th
'Know India Programme' (KIP) being organ‑
ized by the Ministry of External Affairs in
partnership with the Andhra Pradesh gov‑
ernment.
The KIP is an initiative to engage young
Indian Diaspora in the age group of 18 to
30 years and make them feel a sense of
connect with their motherland.
Interacting with the participants from Fiji
(11), Guyana (6), Myanmar (6), Trinidad
and Tobago (6), South Africa (6), Suriname
(3), the Netherlands (1) and Sri Lanka (1)
here, Rijiju said: "The government recog‑
Report calls for action against Pak
groups targeting British Sikh girls
London: British Sikh girls being targeted by
Pakistan‑origin grooming gangs for sexual
abuse and exploitation over the years have
not received the full attention of the authori‑
ties due to political correctness, claims a new
report.
T he 'Re ligiously Aggravated Sexual
Exploitation of Young Sikh Women Across the
UK' report, collated by the Sikh Mediation
And Rehabilitation Team (SMART) and Sikh
Youth UK, received the backing of parliamen‑
tarians as it called for an investigation into
the pattern of abuse dating back decades.
"Since the early nineteen‑eighties, evidence
collated by British Sikh organizations has
recorded cases of sexual abuse and exploita‑
tion against young Sikh females by grooming
gangs populated by perpetrators of primarily
Pakistani or Muslim heritage," the report
noted.
"Although not exclusively, offenses are doc‑
umented as regularly being committed within
the structure of networks, including the
nuclear and extended family members of
offenders. This has, in turn, prompted ques‑
tions surrounding whether young Sikh
females are victims of opportunists or being
targeted due to their religious heritage," it
said. The researchers are keen to highlight
that the study was not undertaken as a
"witch‑hunt against any individual, communi‑
ty, culture or faith" but as a means to provide
some "clear understanding and acceptance"
DIASPORA December 15-21, 2018 9
nizes the importance of the Indian Diaspora
and has a well laid down policy for engag‑
ing with the Diaspora community."
Rijiju invited the Indian Diaspora youths
to avail scholarship programme GIAN
(Global Initiative for Academic Network),
VAJRA Faculty Scheme which aims to bring
a strong international connect to the R&D
ecosystem of India, Mission Shodh GANGA
(Global Alliance for New Generat ion
Acceleration), Scholarship Programme for
Diaspora Children (SPDC) and Indian
Technical and Economic Cooperation
(ITEC).
Besides Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, the
25‑day tour will also take them to Agra.
They will also meet senior functionaries in
the Central and state governments.
Since 2004, the MEA has conducted 48
editions of KIP with the participation of
1,612 overseas Indian youths. (IANS)
of key factors contributing to the risk.
Among the factors influencing the trend,
the report flagged that some early Sikh
migrants claim the organized targeting of
Sikh females was conducted, in part, as "retal‑
iation" for the involvement of Sikh soldiers in
the Indo‑Pakistani War of 1971.
It also documents a string of recent high‑
profile prosecutions of Pakistani‑origin
grooming gangs who targeted white British
schoolgirls in areas such as Rochdale and
Rotherham.
Veteran Indian‑origin Labour Party MP
Virendra Sharma welcomed the findings that
would help tackle the wider issue of child
abuse by ensuring that while police are sensi‑
tive, they act "ef fectively" to prevent any
immediate risk.
"Steps to end the stigma of reporting abuse
and end the culture of silence, referred to in
the report, are key but will require many
years of dif ficult intervention. I will be
pleased to support steps to end any systemat‑
ic targeting and this report is a key step in
that fight," said Sharma, who represents the
west London constituency of Ealing Southall
with a large British Sikh population.
His views were echoed by fellow Labour
Party MP Sarah Champion, who has been very
vocal over the issue of child sexual grooming
as many Pakistani‑origin men from her con‑
stituency of Rotherham were jailed for sexual
abuse and rape of schoolgirls.
 10 December 15-21, 2018 US AFFAIRS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Cohen was directed by Trump when Trump concerned about

he broke law: Prosecutors being impeached, sees
New York: US prosecutors
have said that Michae l
years‑long willingness to break
the law.
it as 'real possibility'
Cohen, Donald Trump's for‑ "He was motivated to do so by Washington: US President In the filing, prosecutors
mer attorney, acted at the personal greed, and repeatedly Donald Trump has directly alleged for the first
President's direction when used his power and influence expressed concern that he time that Cohen was being
he committed two election‑ for deceptive ends." could be impeached when directed by Trump when
related crimes during the In August, Cohen pleaded Democrats take over the he broke the law during
2016 president ial cam‑ guilty to eight federal crimes House and saw it as a "real the 2016 presidential cam‑
paign. after being charged by the possibility", a source close paign.
The revelations came in a Manhattan federal prosecutors. to him told CNN. Democrats were suggest‑
set of court filings on The crimes included tax fraud, But Trump isn't certain it ing that Trump committed
Friday in which the prose‑ making false statements to a would happen, the source an impeachable of fence
cutors in New York said bank and campaign‑finance vio‑ said on Monday night. and could be sent to prison
Cohen should receive a lations tied to his work for A separate source close when his term in the White
"substantial" prison sen‑ Trump, including payments to the White House told House is over.
President Trump has called hush payments to CNN that aides inside the The incoming chairman
tence of roughly four years Cohen made or helped orches‑
two women made by Michael Cohen, his former West Wing believe "the of the House Judiciary
for tax fraud and cam‑ trate that were designed to
attorney, as private transaction. only issue that may stick" Committee, Representative
paign‑finance crimes, and silence women who claimed
as Special Counsel Robert views of Cohen's utility to the federal af fairs with the then‑presiden‑ in the impeachment Jerry Nadler, said on
Mue ller's office accused the investigations ahead of his scheduled tial candidate. process is the campaign Sunday the allegations, if
President's former attorney of lying sentencing on December 12. Trump has denied those claims, finance violations tied to proven, would constitute
about his contacts with Russia, CNN "In particular, and as Cohen himself CNN reported. the President's former per‑ "impeachable offences".
reported. has now admitted, with respect to Cohen was subsequently charged sonal lawyer Michae l Demo crat ic Senator
Mueller's disclosures also exposed both payments, he acted in coordina‑ last week by Mueller's office with Cohen's payouts to Stormy Chris Coons said earlier on
deeper entanglements than previous‑ tion with and at the direction of one count of lying to Congress about Danie ls and Karen Monday that Trump could
ly known between Trump, his cam‑ Individual‑1," the prosecutors from the Moscow project. McDougal, both women be indicted after he leaves
paign apparatus and the Russian the Manhattan US attorney's office He pleaded guilty, disclosing that have alleged to have office.
government, including that a Russian said. talks about the effort in Moscow had af fairs w ith Trump. White House officials, at
national who claimed to be well‑con‑ Individual‑1 is the term prosecu‑ extended through June 2016, after Impeachment talk has the moment, still do not
nected in Moscow spoke with Cohen tors have been using to refer to the Trump had become the presumptive ratcheted up in recent days be lieve that Special
in 2015 and offered "political syner‑ President. Republican nominee for President, following a blockbuster fil‑ Counsel Robert Mueller's
gy" with the Trump campaign. In their filing, they kno cked and that both Trump and his family ing from prosecutors in investigation into possible
The pair of memos from two sets of Cohen's "rose‑colored view of the members had been briefed on the the Southern District of collusion w ill result in
prosecutors reflected competing seriousness of his crimes", noting his discussions. New York. impeachment.

Kushner continued talks with Saudi Crown Trump again attacks Paris climate
Prince after Khashoggi's death: NYT deal, cites protests in France
New York: Jared Kushner, US
President Donald Trump's Washington: US President Donald Trump on fuel tax hikes vindicated his decision to dump
son‑in‑law and senior advi‑ Saturday once again attacked the Paris agree‑ the climate deal. Trump has long said he dis‑
sor, continued talks with ment on fighting climate change, citing ongo‑ trusts the consensus by nearly all the worldʼs
Saudi Crown Prince ing protests in the French capital as proof respected climate scientists on the link
Mohammed bin Salman even that he was right to reject the pact. His tweets between human activity and rising tempera‑
after the October 2 killing of came in the middle of UN climate talks in tures, as well as other damaging climate
journalist Jamal Khashoggi Poland, where nearly 200 nations have gath‑ change phenomena.
who was ambushed and dis‑ ered to agree on a universal rulebook to make Since becoming president in January 2017,
membered by Saudi agents good on promises they signed up to in the he has pulled the United States out of the
in Istanbul, The New York 2015 Paris climate deal to cap global warm‑ Paris Agreement and torn up a raft of envi‑
Times said in a report. ing at well under two degrees Celsius. ronmental protection laws, saying the US
As the killing set of f a “Very sad day & night in Paris,” he said on economy needs the boost.
President Trumpʼs son‑in‑law and senior
firestorm around the Twitter, after demonstrators
advisor Jared Kushner and Saudi Crown
world and American intel‑ clashed with riot police in the
Prince Mohammed bin Salman
ligence agencies conclud‑ French capital. “Maybe itʼs time to
ed that it was ordered by Prince with foreign leaders. end the ridiculous and extremely
Mohammed, Kushner became the Prince's But even with the restrictions in place, expensive Paris Agreement and
most important defender inside the White Kushner and Prince Mohammed kept return money back to the people in
House, T he Times quoted informed speaking, according to the officials. the form of lower taxes? The US
sources as saying in the report issued on In fact, they said, the two men were on a was way ahead of the curve on that
Saturday. first‑name basis, calling each other Jared and the only major country where
Since the early months of the Trump and Mohammed in text messages and emissions went down last year!”
administration, Kushner had been having phone calls. In a statement to The New Trumpʼs comments were not the
private, informal conversations with the York Times, a White House spokesman first time he had used the “yellow
Prince. said: "Jared has always meticulously fol‑ vest” protests ̶ which began on
Given Kushner's political inexperience, lowed protocols and guidelines regarding November 17 with road blockades
the private exchanges could make him the relationship with the Crown Prince against fuel prices but have since
susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said and all of the other foreign officials with ballooned into a mass movement
three former White House officials. whom he interacts." White House officials against French President
In an ef fort to tighten practices at the declined to explain those protocols and Emmanuel Macron ̶ to criticize
White House, a new Chief of Staff tried to guidelines, and declined to comment on the climate deal.
reimpose longstanding procedures stipu‑ Kushner's one‑on‑one communications On Tuesday, he called the Paris
lating that National Security Council staff with Prince Mohammed since the killing agreement “fatally flawed” and said
members should participate in all calls of Khashoggi. Macronʼs decision to suspend the
TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS December 15-21, 2018 11

Trump names Pichai denies Googleʼs Trump in ʻNo

William Barr political bias to Congress Rushʼ to fill chief
for AG post Washington: Google CEO Sundar
Pichai on Tuesday denied that the of staff job
tech giant favors the more progres‑ Washington: President Trump said Tuesday
Washington: President Donald Trump last
sive political currents, in contrast he is no rush to name his new chief of staff to
Friday said he would nominate William Barr
to what some legislators and media succeed John F. Kelly after his top candidate
to be attor‑
outlets have claimed, in his first for the posi‑
ney general
appearance be fore the US tion, Nick
after Jeff
Congress. Ayers, Vice
Sessions'
"I lead this company without President
ousting.
political bias and work to ensure Mike
Barr, 68,
that our products continue to oper‑ Penceʼs chief
is an experi‑ Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
ate that way. To do otherw ise of staff,
enced (Photo courtesy AP)
would go against our core princi‑ declined to
Republican
ples and our business interests. We makers, among other controversies. agree to the
lawyer who
are a company that provides plat‑ Another basic question being terms of the
served as
forms for diverse perspectives and handled in these hearings has been job that the
attorney
opinions ‑ and we have no shortage the ability of the tech companies to president
general
of them among our own employ‑ deal with foreign interference in US requested.
under
ees," Pichai told the Senate elections. “We have a
William Barr served as attorney President Judiciary Committee. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and lot of peo‑
general under President George John F. Kelly served as White
The Google CEO said that Google Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg ple that House chief of staff for
George H.W. Bush. H.W. Bush.
does "want to allow for diverse per‑ told the Senate in September that want the one and a half years.
Top
spectives and opinions, but we have their firms are now "better pre‑ job of chief
administration officials had reportedly urged
rules of the road. When we find vio‑ pared" to combat those type of of staff,” Trump told reporters in the Oval
Trump to nominate Barr.
lat ions on our policies, we do attacks. Office.
Trump tweeted, "As the former AG for
remove those videos (from In April, Facebook CEO Mark Mr. Trump added that it would take another
George H.W. Bush and one of the most highly
YouTube)," Efe reported. Zuckerberg also faced lawmakers' “week or two” to make a decision, citing a
respected lawyers and legal minds in the
In recent months, the committee questions, although on that occa‑ period of time he often invokes but almost
Country, he will be a great addition to our
headed by Republican Sen. Bob sion they focused on the scandal never sticks to.
team. I look forward to having him join our
Goodlatte has held hearings focus‑ involving Cambridge Analytica, a Kellyʼs departure after serving as White
very successful Administration!" The
ing on whether big tech firms dis‑ political consulting firm that gained House chief of staff for one and a half years
attorney general position requires Senate
play any kind of anti‑conservative unauthorized access to 87 million was announced by the President.
confirmation.
bias against such policies or law‑ Facebook user accounts.
 12 December 15-21, 2018
Congress bags Chhattisgarh, suspense in MP
Congress ahead in
Rajasthan as the ruling
Telangana Rashtra
Samithi (TRS) swept
Telangana
New Delhi: T he Congress on
Tuesday was set to return to power
in Chhattisgarh, was ahead of the
BJP in Rajasthan and locked in a
neck‑and‑neck fight in Madhya
Pradesh but it was mauled in
Telangana and Mizoram in critical
Assembly elections held ahead of
next year's Lok Sabha battle.
Exit polls held at the end of stag‑
gered voting were proved right in
Chhattisgarh, where the Congress,
despite not having an alliance with
the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh‑
BSP combine was set to win hand‑
some ly, ending 15 years of
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule.
Congress candidates were set to
bag 60 of the 90 seats, an increase
of 24 seats, leaving the BJP gasping
at 23 seats. The BSP‑Janta Congress
Chhattisgarh alliance of former
Chief Minister Ajit Jogi got five
seats.
But in contrast to the initial signs
of a clear victory in Rajasthan,
India's largest state which has not
re‑e lected a ruling party in 20
years, the Congress was within
shaking hands of the half‑way mark
but short of it by a couple of seats,
counting trends showed.
As Election Commission of ficials
gave the Congress the lead in 101
of the 199 seats and put the BJP
ahead in 71, Congress leader and
former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
said that his party was confident of
forming a government with help
from independents.
Rahul steers Congress to a good show in three states
New Delhi: Exactly a year after he
was elected Congress President,
Rahul Gandhi has steered his
party to election victories in
Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and
possibly in Mad hya Pradesh
where the party was in neck‑and‑
neck race with the ruling BJP
throughout the day.
After the disastrous loss in the
2014 Lok Sabha polls and the
series of defeats in subsequent
Assembly elections, the current
results will be the first outright
victory for the Congress in a
direct contest against the BJP
and is expected to be a morale
booster for the party as it gears
up to take on the BJP‑led
National Democratic Alliance in
next year's general elections.
Gandhi was elected Congress
President unopposed last year on
December 11 at the culmination
of party's organisational elec‑
tions. He took over from his
INDIA TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot being greeted by Congress workers celebrate outside the party office
party workers outside his residence in Jaipur. in Raipur, Madhya Pradesh. (Photos: IANS)
exciting see‑saw battle was on in
MNF chief stakes claim to form Madhya Pradesh, which too the BJP
has ruled for 15 long years, with
government in Mizoram trends from counting centres at
times putting the Congress in the
Aizawl: After handing down a humiliating defeat to the ruling lead and at times behind the ruling
Congress, MNF supremo Zoramthanga met Governor Kummanam party, keeping everyone guessing.
Rajasekhar on Tuesday evening and staked claim to form the govern‑ Congress and BJP candidates
ment in Mizoram, after a decade. were each leading in 110 of the 230
"MNF President Zoramthang a met Governor Kummanam constituencies. Chief Minister
Rajasekhar this evening (Tuesday) and staked claim to form govern‑ Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was
ment in Mizoram," a Raj Bhavan official said. sure the BJP would retain power in
He said that the time and date of the swearing‑in ceremony of the the state despite being hit hard in
new Council of Ministers headed by Zoramthanga would be decided more than 50 seats which they won
soon in consultation with all stakeholders. five years ago.
A former Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, 74, was elected for a fifth The Congress loss of face was
term from Aizawl East‑I seat, defeating Independent candidate K. stark in Telangana, where the ruling
Sapdanga by a margin of 2,504 votes. The MNF, which got only five Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS),
seats in the 2013 Assembly polls, secured 26 seats this time, while which went for early elections,
the ruling Congress won only five seats. crushed the Congress‑led combine
which included the Telugu Desam
Wild ce lebrations erupted in a victory. Party to sweep the elections.
Jaipur outside the Congress office In contrast, Chief Minister TRS activists danced on the
and the residences of Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje refused to speak streets to drum beat, exploded fire‑
state Congress President Sachin to the media while the BJP office in crackers and distributed sweets as
Pilot, who was equally confident of Jaipur gave a desolate look. An the TRS was set to win 85 of the
been vo ciferously taking up
issues against the Narendra Modi
government and immediately
reacts to issues.
Gand hi has also been cam‑
paigning extensively in election
bound states, holding rallies,
road shows and press confer‑
ences. He has also been making
regular tweets in which he
sharply attacks Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on a range of
issues including alleged corrup‑
tion, jobs, demonetisation and
Goods and Services Tax.
Cong ress' Rajasthan chie f
Sachin Pilot recalled that Rahul
Gandhi was elected party chief
Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses a press on the day the party is poised to
conference in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS) snatch three Hindi heartland
states from the Bharatiya Janata
mother Sonia Gandhi who had way it approached election cam‑ Party.
helmed the country's oldest party paigns. The party's outreach now "Today is a decisive day and
for 19 long years. combines conventional way of Rahul Gandhi became Congress
Gandhi has ef fected changes campaign with an active pres‑ chief on the same day last year.
both organisationally and in the ence on the social media. It has And what can be a better gift
119 seats. The Congress alliance
was way behind at 23, prompting a
Congress leader to allege that the
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
had undone the party.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar
Rao's daughter K. Kavitha, an MP,
told the media: "Our hard work in
four‑and‑a‑half years has paid of f.
Nobody knows Telangana like KCR."
The Congress also lost Mizoram,
the last state in the northeast where
it was in power. T he MNF was
expected to win 26 of the 40 seats,
leaving the Congress way behind in
six seats, a sharp decline of 27
seats.
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla lost
both the constituencies he contest‑
ed.
T he five‑state e lections were
dubbed a "semi final" ahead of the
2019 Lok Sabha polls and will be
the last popularity test before the
country plunges into a nationwide
electoral battle.
than the party forming its gov‑
ernments in three BJP‑ruled
states," Pilot said.
The latest Election Commission
figures show that Congress was
poised to register a comprehen‑
sive victory in Chhattisgarh, lead‑
ing in 66 constituencies in a
House of 90.
It is poised to win 101 seats in
Rajasthan and cross the half‑way
mark.
In Madhya Pradesh, it is lead‑
ing in 115 constituencies com‑
pared to 106 by the ruling BJP.
The BJP has been ruling both
Mad hya Pradesh and
Chaatt isg arh for the last 15
years.
The Congress could not per‑
form to its expectat ions in
Te lang ana, where the ruling
Te lang ana Rashtra Samit i is
poised to register a handsome
victory. Congress has also been
voted out of power in Mizoram.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA December 15-21, 2018 13

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor

Urjit Patel resigned with immediate effect, cit‑
ing "personal reasons", setting of a major cri‑
sis in India's politico‑economic sphere, even as
his various predecessors hinted that the move
was rooted in the recent controversy involving
the government and the central bank.
Patel's resignation comes in the backdrop of
the ongoing tiff between the government and
the central bank over the liquidity and credit
crunch in the economy that provoked an
extraordinary meeting of the RBI board on
November 19.
"On account of personal reasons, I have
decided to step down from my current posi‑
tion ef fective immediately," Patel said in a
brief statement released by the RBI.
Patel had taken charge as Governor on
September 4, 2016, for a three‑year term, fol‑
lowing Raghuram Rajan's decision not to seek
a second term which had almost become the
norm with earlier Governors.
The historic tensions in government‑central
bank relations were reignited in October
when, in a public lecture, RBI Deputy Governor
Viral Acharya talked about the independence
of the Reserve Bank, arguing that any compro‑
mise could be "potentially catastrophic" for
the economy. The government responded with
the Finance Ministry seeking discussions with
the central bank under the never‑used‑before
Section 7 of the RBI Act which empowers the
government to issue directions to the RBI
Governor, who then summoned a meeting of
the bank board. The government's differences
with the RBI centres on four issues ‑ it wanted
liquidity support to head off any risk of a cred‑
it freeze, a relaxation in capital requirements
for lenders, relaxing the prompt corrective
action (PCA) rules for banks struggling with
accumulated non‑performing assets (NPAs or
bad loans) and support for micro, small and
medium enterprises.
Central to the liquidity issue was the govern‑
ment's demand that the RBI hand over its sur‑
Urjit Patel quits as RBI Governor
Urjit Patel's resignation comes in the
backdrop of the ongoing tiff between
the government and the Reserve
Bank of India.
plus reserves by amending its "economic capi‑
tal framework". Analysts noted that the gov‑
ernment's demand came in the face of a huge
fiscal deficit and the need to boost the econo‑
my in an election year. The RBI's central board
has 18 members, which includes the Governor
and his four deputies as full‑time of ficial
directors, while the rest have been nominated
by the government, including the Economic
Affairs and Financial Services Secretaries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with
Patel before the board meeting and what
emerged on November 19 was seen as settling
the debate on the central bank's autonomy
and clearly establishing the government as a
stakeholder in policy making.
On the issue of reserves, the RBI board
decided to form an expert committee to exam‑
ine its economic capital framework, which will
decide the amount of reserves it can maintain,
handing over the balance to the government.
Shaktikanta Das appointed new RBI Governor
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday
appointed Shaktikanta Das, who as
Economic Affairs Secretary steered the mon‑
etary situation post‑demonetisation, as the
new RBI Governor, a day after Urjit Patel
resigned amidst a tiff with the government
on the RBI's autonomy. "The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet has approved the
appointment of Shaktikanta Das, former
Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,
as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) for a period of three years," an official
order said.
Das' appointment comes at a time when
the government and the RBI are engaged in
a tussle over several issues including trans‑
fer of the central bank's reserves, over
which Patel had reservations after the gov‑
ernment hinted at forcing him using provi‑
sions of the RBI Act.
The order comes three days prior to the
On the matter of relaxing the PCA norms for
banks with bad loans, it decided that the issue
will be examined by the RBI's Board for
Financial Supervision.
Eleven of the 21 state‑run banks are under
the PCA framework, while NPAs accumulated
in the Indian banking system have touched a
staggering Rs 12 lakh crore.
"The RBI‑government fight has been pushed
down, abated for now and postponed, but the
NPAs issue continues to remain," Sudipto
Mundle on the Board of Governors of the
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
had said following the RBI board meeting.
Describing Patel's resignation as a statement
of protest, former RBI Governor Raghuram
next RBI Board meeting on December 14,
which is likely to take up all contentious
issues on which truce seemed to have been
reached in the last meeting in November
before the unexpected exit of Patel. The
meeting could also be postponed to give the
new incumbent some time at Mint Street.
Das, a retired 1980‑batch IAS officer from
the Tamil Nadu cadre, was a member of the
15th Finance Commission of India and
India's Sherpa to G20. Having a master's
degree from St. Stephen's College, he earlier
served as Joint Secretary in the Expenditure
Department of the Finance Ministry.
In a development that came as an embar‑
rassment for the government, Patel resigned
on Monday citing "personal reasons" even
as his various predecessors hinted that the
decision was rooted in the recent controver‑
sy involving the government and the central
bank.
Rajan said the government needs to under‑
stand what prompted the exit.
"It's probably only the second resignation in
RBI's history, may be the first explicit resigna‑
tion, and therefore we have to look at the cir‑
cumstances that have led to it. It's a statement
of dissent and the government has to be very
careful in dealing with it...so that the autono‑
my of the institution as well as the credibility
is preserved," Rajan told a news channel.
He said the act of resignation is the "ulti‑
mate weapon" in a government appointee's
portfolio and they do not exercise it lightly.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi said
Patel's quitting is a sign that the government
is getting increasingly desperate.

Court extends Christian Modi seeks cooperation for winter session

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised by political parties.

Michel's CBI custody has sought cooperation of opposition parties

in smooth running of the winter session of
The government agenda for the session,
which is the last full session before the Lok
New Delhi: A Delhi Parliament as the Congress sought a JPC Sabha elections next year, has 46 items
court extended by probe into Rafale deal, discussion on "mis‑ including 45 bills.
another five days the use" of EVMs and discussion on problems Talking to the media after the meeting,
CBI custody of British concerning farmers. Parliamentary Af fairs Minister Narendra
nat ional Christ ian Modi, who took part in an all‑party meeting Singh Tomar said Modi underlined that in a
Michel, the middle‑ convened by the Parliamentary Af fairs democracy both the government and the
man accused in the Ministry ahead of the winter session, said the opposition share their inputs for ef ficient
Rs 3,600‑crore government is always receptive to issues governance.
AgustaWestland
VVIP chopper deal
case.
Special Judge
Arvind Kumar
allowed the Central
Bureau of British national Christian Michel.
Investigation (CBI) to
quiz the middleman till December 15. politicians.
The CBI had sought nine days custody Michel was presented in the court
of Michel. after a five‑day CBI custody. He was
Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh extradited to India on December 4 from
told the court that documents have the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
been received from five countries pur‑ Miche l's de fense counse l Aljo K.
suant to the Letter of Rogatory sent to Joseph and Vishnu Sankar opposed the
these countries and there was incrimi‑ CBI plea and said there was no incrimi‑
nating material which the CBI needed to nating material against the accused and
confront him with. that the Italian court had found nothing
The prosecutor added that the agency wrong against James.
needed to confront him with some wit‑ The CBI also filed an application seek‑
nesses to ident ify his accomplice ing direction to Michel for giving his
including IAF officials, bureaucrats and specimen signatures.
 14 December 15-21, 2018
By Amulya Ganguli
T
he Congress deserves two
cheers for recovering from
being down in the dumps in
2014 to a position where it is
believed to be posing a credible
challenge to the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) in Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Earlier, the Congress had won
several by‑elections in Karnataka,
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to
show that it has been able to pick
itself up from the floor. Its success
in forming a coalition government
in Karnataka, although the BJP
emerged as the sing le‑largest
party, is also a feather in its cap.
What is intriguing about these
outcomes is that there has been no
evidence that the Congress has
succeeded in rejuvenating its cus‑
tomarily lethargic organisational
structure or that its leaders have
been able to present themselves as
genuine hopes for the future.
Neither Rahul Gandhi nor the
party's leaders in Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
Karnataka are seen by the average
voter as being capable of ushering
in a new era of progress and pros‑
Kartarpur: What went before it and what might follow
By Saeed Naqvi
T
he controversy surrounding
Navjot Singh Siddhus pil‑
grimage to Kartarpur Sahib
must have amused President Ram
Nath Kovind whose visit to Pakistan
in August 2003 as part of a 30‑
member delegation of political lead‑
ers and journalists was one of the
most high profile visits in the histo‑
ry of exchanges between the two
countries.
Kovinds fellow BJP comrade in
the delegation was Balbir Punj,
whose sense of wonder at the
warmth and hospitality from the
official to the street level was one of
the features I remember.
Restaurants would offer food gratis,
shops would not accept payments
from "our guests from India".
Even though the delegation had
been invited by the South Asia Free
Media Association, President Pervez
Musharraf 's Foreign Minister
Khurshid Mohammad Kasuri was
the unmentioned behind the scenes.
From the Indian side, the All Party
Goodwill delegation was part of
Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee's push towards tranquiliz‑
ing the Line of Control in Kashmir.
That was the period when the two
countries moved towards the only
feasible arrangement ‑‑ territorial
status quo but movement of people
and goods across the line.
The "goodwill" part of the visit
was boosted sky high by the sheer
presence of Lalu Prasad in the dele‑
Congress needs to position
itself differently from BJP
Neither Rahul Gandhi nor the party's leaders are seen
by the average voter as being capable of ushering in a
new era of progress and prosperity.
perity. All that they have been able
to do is to present themselves as
alternatives to the present ruling
dispensation in Karnataka and the
three northern states. Yet, that
achievement has been enough to
Punjab Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu returns back to India after
attending ground‑breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor. (Photo: IANS)
gation. It became something of a
mobile comedy from the moment
Lalu was mobbed as soon as he
crossed Wagah. Which other leader
would create a traf fic jam in the
middle of a vegetable market com‑
paring prices of potatoes, onions,
radish, etc, on both sides of the bor‑
der ‑‑ and with complete authority
of the rural economy. With his lilt‑
ing Bihari speech and folksy
humour Yadav monopolised prime
time TV across the board and front
pages of all newspapers without
exception.
The BJP duet coped with the Lalu
show in ample humour, but the
Congress MP from Karnataka,
Margaret Alva, was livid. When
President Musharraf, fascinated by
the Lalu circus, seated him on his
right at the banquet, Alva threw a
fit. She represented a party with
110 seats, she declared for every‑
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
OP-ED
make the Congress more confident
than before.
The apparent reason for the self‑
assurance probably has less to do
with wide popular approval for the
Congress than with the af fliction
one to hear. "And you have promot‑
ed in the seating order the leader of
a party with only seven seats in
Parliament?" Alva's tandav caught
everyone by surprised. Lalu saved
the situation by exchanging seats
with her. T his dramatic act of
humility became a cause celebre.
Alva's tantrum and Lalu's humility
became prime time fare all over
again.
The delegation's visit, a huge pub‑
lic relations success, was followed
up in January 2004 by Vajpayee
himself. Yashwant Sinha, as Foreign
Minister was able to issue, not an
agreement but only a press state‑
ment which contained the crucial
commitment: "President Musharraf
reassured Prime Minister Vajpayee
that he will not permit any territory
under Pakistan's control to be used
to support terrorism in any man‑
ner…" The contents of the press
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
of the anti‑incumbency factor for
the BJP. If the Congress is benefit‑
ting from the BJP's discomfiture, it
means that the party has been
largely able to overcome the dam‑
aging taint on its reputation as a
result of the multiple scams and
the government's policy paralysis
which brought it crashing down
four years ago.
It is not that public memory is
short, but the experience of some
of the governmentʼs present inade‑
quacies is stronger. Among them is
the continuing joblessness, whose
impact is perhaps all the greater
because it was the promise of a
buoyant economy fostering
employment which was behind the
BJP's success in the last general
election. Along with unemploy‑
ment, it is possible that the dismay
among the middle‑class caused by
the troubles affecting well‑regard‑
note had to be tentative in nature.
The Pakistan bureaucrat, receiving
impulses from Army Headquarters,
was aware of the gamble involved.
General elections were round the
corner in India. Pakistan's hesita‑
tions would in retrospect appear to
be justified: Vajpayee lost the elec‑
tion. As a great symbolic gesture of
embracing the idea of Pakistan,
Vajpayee even visited Minar‑e‑
Pakistan. Jamaat volunteers washed
the Minar that afternoon. The offi‑
cial banquet at the Lahore Fort was
delayed by hours because demon‑
strators disrupted the traffic.
There will be great willingness in
the present mood in India to blame
the disastrous visit on the persistent
anti‑Indian venom in the Pakistan
psyche even at the street level. It
would be a flawed conclusion. The
moral of the story is that Vajpayee
turned up in Lahore with Indian
ed institutions like the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
been damaging for the BJP.
The realisation that the BJP is no
longer on as strong a wicket as
before appears to have made the
Hindutva camp led by the
Rashtriya Swayamsevek Sangh
(RSS) revive the temple movement
and even assert that it will not hes‑
itate to start the kind of agitation
which marked the movement in
1992‑93 if construction work does
not immediately begin on the tem‑
ple.
Unless the Congress marks itself
out as completely dif ferent from
the BJP, it will be difficult for the
party to project a clear alternative
to the BJP's quasi‑religious politics
with is focus on widening the
Hindu‑Muslim divide and the ero‑
sion of institutional autonomy.
intelligence not having it ears close
to the ground on how divided the
Pakistan establishment was on the
Lahore visit. T he visit was in
February; Kargil happened in May.
Musharraf, the author of Kargil,
later had a change of heart. How
else does one explain his fruitless
visit to Agra in July 2001?
Vajpayee's visit in 2004 did not set
the Ravi on fire because the hosts
knew that Indian elections were due
in few months. Islamabad did not
quite swallow the "Shining India"
pitch. Vajpayee's visit as External
Af fairs Minister to China in
February 1979 was likewise a casu‑
alty of South Block not having heed‑
ed words of caution from the
embassy in Beijing. When China
decided to teach Hanoi "a lesson"
and initiated a war without as much
as a hint to the Indian External
Af fairs Minister who happened to
be their guest. The next morning
the Indian delegation, their faces in
the lower mould, caught the pas‑
sage to Hong Kong and thence to
New Delhi. Kartarpur Sahib was not
by any stretch of the imagination a
comparable diplomatic initiative.
But it does give clues to a post‑elec‑
tion look at possibilities that one or
other of the coalitions in New Delhi
might be tempted to explore. It
makes logical sense that the one
party habit of looking at Indo‑Pak
tension as a useful ploy for vote
consolidation would be a matter of
the past in the expected era of bal‑
ancing coalitions.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info COMMUNITY December 15-21, 2018 15

Guest of Honor actor Anupam Kher posing for a picture with Gala Chair Ravishankar Bhooplapur,
AIA President Dr Urmilesh Arya, Gala Co‑Chairs Dr Buddhadev Manvar and Surinder Rametra,
and Dr Yashpal Arya, Chair of Journal Committee and Fundraising.
Dr Narinder Kukar, flanked by Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy,
was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement award for his dedicated contributions to AIA.
Garden City, NY: The Association of
Indians in America (AIA) celebrated
their 50th anniversary Golden
Jubilee Gala on December 1st at the
Garden City Hotel here. This was a
sold out black tie dinner event that
was attended by close to 400 people.
The gala was well organized and
coordinated by Chairman
Ravishankar Bhooplapur supported
by co‑chairs Dr Buddhadev Manvar
and Surinder Rametra as well as the
Banquet Committee. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi congratulated AIA
by sending a special message of
greetings for the occasion, applaud‑
ing the organization for “delivering a
pioneering role in the promotion of
the interests of the Indian communi‑
ty in America and in celebrating the
unique identity and culture of the
community.”
AIA National President Dr.
Urmilesh Arya in her address
focused on developing the organiza‑
tion and participating in many initia‑
tives both local and international.
Her main goal women empower‑
ment and to help the children of
India as well as supporting the vet‑
erans here in America. In her
informative speech, she outlined the
glorious 50‑year history of the
organization.
Dr. Narinder Kukar, a past presi‑
dent as well as trustee of AIA, was
recognized with the lifetime achieve‑
ment award for his dedicated and
untiring contributions to the organi‑
zation. In his presentation he lauded
AIAʼs growth in the past 50 years
with chapters from New York to
California. He highlighted the
groundbreaking work the organiza‑
tion has done, like lobbying to
The award for Dr. Arthur Klein, President of the Mount Sinai Health
Network, was accepted on his behalf by Sean Healy of the network.
Presenting the plaque are AIA National President Dr Urmilesh Arya and
chair of the board of trustees Dr Samin Sharma.
remove Indians to be labeled as current Indian origin Congress
“Caucasians” on the US Census, members on Capitol Hill. He hoped
which was accomplished in 1993. that in the coming years there will
AIA has also provided timely aid to be more Indian Americans in elected
victims of disasters anywhere in the office at various levels.
world. AIA hon‑ Congressman
ored Dr. Arthur Tom Suozzi
Klein, President of thanked AIA for
the Mount Sinai their contribu‑
Health Network in tions and the
New York, for being commitment
an outstanding they have
provider of health shown to the
care services. country. Guest
The plaque was of Honor
accepted on his Padma
behalf by Sean Bhushan
Healy of the net‑ Anupam Kher
work. Indian Consul in his moving
General Sandeep & empower‑
Chakravorty in his ing speech,
address highlighted Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy recounted
the strengthening urged Indian Americans to his struggle
relationship participate as much as possible in as an actor in
between India and the political process of the country. the 1980ʼs.
its diaspora in Sharing
America over the past decades. By memories of his parents, he talked
the year 2030 India will have the about how he struggled in school as
4th largest GDP, he said, and in a child and how he overcame that to
many sectors including IT, Medicine, become a successful actor. The
Research and Defense, India will evening entertainment was per‑
work hand in hand with the United formed by the Rudra Band and DJ
States. He noted the good days Kucha. AIA thanks all donors, partic‑
ahead for both countries and ipants and sponsors for the event
thanked the founding members of and for the evening, said Smiti
AIA. Congressman Raja Khanna, Chair, Media and Publicity,
Krishnamoorthy in his inspiring talk and Indu Jaiswal, Co‑Chair, Media
told the audience about his parents and Publicity, in a press release.
and his education. He urged Indian The South Asian Times published
Americans to participate as much as a Special Supplement last week to
possible in the political process of commemorate the Golden Jubilee of
the country and pointed to the four AIA.

L. Subramaniam celebrates Sri Chinmoy through music

New York: A new hour‑long film,
Eternal Journey, by Indiaʼs
renowned violinist Dr. L.
Subramaniam, premiered recently
at the Harbor Grand Studio here. In
this captivating film, across time
and space, Dr. Subramaniam and
the late spiritual guru Sri Chinmoy
engage in a profound musical con‑
versation. Sri Chinmoy and Dr.
Subramaniam had a close friendship
founded on their mutual love of
music. “We must play together,” Sri
Chinmoy remarked at what would
prove to be their last meeting
together in 2006. However, that
was not to transpire before Sri
Chinmoy passed away the following
year. Subramaniam did not forget
Sri Chinmoyʼs intriguing comment,
and it inspired him to put together a
cinematic and musical “Eternal
Journey”, taking video recordings
taken of Sri Chinmoy during his life‑
time, in which he plays on the esraj,
cello, vibraphone and Western flute,
ʻansweredʼ by himself on the violin.
In one remarkable section they
appear almost to be playing togeth‑
er, simultaneously.
Sri Chinmoy composed over
22,000 hauntingly soulful songs
and offered well over 700 Peace
Concerts at such venues as Londonʼs
Royal Albert Hall, New Yorkʼs
Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
“Through music individuals can
sometimes find something to share,
something in common, and thus
begin to build a feeling of oneness
in the heart and in the world,”
explained Sri Chinmoy.
 16 December 15-21, 2018 BOLLYWOOD TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Ambani wedding: Hillary Clinton,

B’wood stars in Udaipur
U
S former First Lady Hillary
Clinton and a slew of
Bollywood celebrities includ‑
ing newly‑wed Priyanka Chopra and
her American singer husband Nick
Jonas arrived in Udaipur for the pre‑
wedding celebrations of Isha Ambani
and Anand Piramal.
The Maharana Pratap Airport
buzzed with activity as the guests like
cricket star Sachin Tendulkar with
wife Anjali, Maharashtra Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis with
wife, Aamir Khan with wife Kiran
Glimpses of Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopraʼs 'mehendi' festivities. Rao, Abhishek Bachchan with mother Jaya, designer Tamara Ralph from Ralph and
wife Aishwarya and daughter Aaradhya, Russo, arrived.

Writer apologizes for calling Karan Johar, Salman Khan, Parineeti Chopra,
Anil Kapoor and wife Sunita, Boney Kapoor
with daughters Janhvi and Khushi,
Isha and Anand, scions of the Ambani and
Piramal business families respectively, will
wed as per Indian traditions, customs and

Priyanka Chopra 'scam artist' Siddharth Roy Kapur with wife Vidya Balan,
John Abraham with wife Priya Runchal,
culture at the Mumbai residence of the
Ambani family on December 12. But before

M
ariah Smith, the writer who called
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra a
"scam artist" in an article, has apol‑
ogized for the insinuations.
"I want to sincerely apologize to Priyanka
Chopra, Nick Jonas, and to the readers I
offended and hurt with my words. I do not
condone racism, xenophobia, or sexism. I
take full responsibility for what I wrote, and
I was wrong. I am truly sorry," Smith posted
on Twitter.
The apology was in reference to an article
she penned for The Cut following Priyanka's
wedding to American singer Nick Jonas in
India. In Smith's opinion, Priyanka "is a
modern‑day scam artist".
"Nicholas Jonas married into a fraudulent
relationship against his will this….
December the 1st, and I'll tell you why I
Ronnie Screwvala with wife Zarine, Karisma that a slew of events will be held in the city
think so...," the article read. Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Karan Tacker and of lakes amidst high security.
She further wrote: "Priyanka's indulgences
and what she views as necessities speak vol‑
umes to her personality and what she'll do,
or think she needs to do, for her career...."
Smith said the couple had a high profile
wedding just to make money. Mukesh and
"Priyanka and Nick are finding ways for Nita Ambani
their 'love' make them money ‑ circumvent‑ with Hillary
ing the methods used by the celebrities of Clinton;
yore, who stuck to selling their wedding or Ambaniʼs
baby photos to magazines," the article daughter Isha
added. Ambani and
The piece was heavily criticized by actors fiance Anand
from the Indian film fraternity. Names like
Piramal.
Sonam Kapoor and Swara Bhasker said it
reeked of envy, bitterness and racism.
The Cut withdrew the article before Smith
issued her public apology on social media.

'Kedarnath': Competently Diversity behind the Hollywood

crafted but lacks soul camera: Indian talent opens up
D
irector Abhishek Kapoor's By Sugandha Rawal

"Kedarnath" kind of wears
its premise on its title. It is
sensitive, competently crafted and
appears genuinely regional in fla‑
vor.
Wasting absolutely no time, the
director drops the viewers into the
picturesque pilgrim town of
Kedarnath and introduces us to the
harmonious lives of its residents
which consists of human‑porters
who are locally called "pithoo" and
the shop‑cum‑lodge owners and
tells us how their lives are depend‑
ent on the flow of the pilgrims.
Soon the narrative focuses on the
affable Mansoor (Sushant Singh
Rajput) a human‑porter and
Mandakini aka Muku (Sara Ali
Khan), the rebellious daughter of a
local business man. How romance
brews between the two of them
forms a major part of the narrative.
The plot is actually an interesting
one that feels both timeless and
current, in the way that it plays
with romance and a recent natural
Sushant Singh and Sara Ali Khanʼs on‑screen chemistry lacks charisma.
calamity. What holds your atten‑
tion is the cast. While Sushant
Singh Rajput delivers a sincere per‑
formance, all eyes are on Sara Ali
Khan who makes her debut with
this film. As the spunky Mandakini,
she reminds you of her mother
Amrita Singh in her debut "Betaab".
And, while Sushant and Sara
deliver their chops earnestly, their
on‑screen chemistry lacks charisma
and the fault lies not with them, but
the script.
Technically the film is astutely
B
e it actors, directors or pro‑
ducers ‑‑ people associated
with showbiz are pitching
for a diverse Hollywood, and things
are changing when it comes to rep‑
resentation in front of the camera.
A still from Walt Disneyʼs ʻRalp
But what about behind the camera? breaks the Internetʼ.
Avneet Kaur, who has been associ‑
ated with Walt Disney Animation world," added Kaur, who lent her
Studios for the past 14 years, feels creative inputs to "Ralph Breaks the
the topic of diversity is a relevant Internet" as a Simulation Technical
one. "It is not just Hollywood. I Director. According to UCLA's
would say, in throughout the world, 2018 report on diversity in
mounted. Cinematographer Tushar
the aspect of diversity and inclu‑ Hollywood, the entertainment
Kanti Ray uses the fluidity of the
sion is very relevant and impor‑ industry has been slow "to accept
hand‑held cameras in an attempt to
tant," Kaur told IANS over the the related truth that its success in
capture the freshness of a sponta‑
phone. providing today's (and tomorrow's)
neous experience. The action and
"Diversity is all about different audiences with what they crave
melodrama sequences too are com‑
points of view. It is not so much also hinges on the presence of
petently handled.
about ethnicity, gender and color, diverse talent behind the camera ‑
Overall the shift of tones while
as much it is about different point in the director's chair, in the writ‑
blending a fictional, inter‑faith
of views. I think that is very valu‑ ers' room, and in executive suites".
romance with a historical natural
able to have. It is now becoming But things are changing. Kaur, who
disaster, the film suffers to some
even more recognized and support‑ hails from India, pointed out how
degree from the maker's romantic
ed. "It is a very good thing not just Disney embraces diversity ‑‑ which
and idealistic ideas and thereby
in Hollywood but all around the in turn reflects in the characters.
leaves you unsatisfied.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Dharam's unfulfilled dream ‑ of Having a kid opened my eyes to
sharing screen space with Dilip Kumar a whole new world: Lisa Haydon
By Ali Peter John
T
wo days ago, Dharmendra was
in his bungalow in Juhu (these
days he spends most of his
time on his farm in Lonavala, where
he is busy writing poetry in Urdu)
and knowing that it was his 83rd
birthday on December 8 I asked him
if he had any one dream unfullfilled.
He grew extremely emotional and
said: "God has been very kind to the
poor driller from Sanival in Punjab
who had come to Bombay with the
dream of becoming an actor after I
had seen only one film of Yusuf
Sahaab… He had still not answered my ques‑
tion and I had to remind him about it in differ‑
ent ways. He finally answered and said it was
his only real dream to work in a film with Dilip
Kumar which sometimes almost became a real‑
ity, but some "jinx" came in the way and he
couldn't fullfill his dream of working with him.
Some time in the 1980s, he almost saw his
dream come true. B.R Chopra was planning a
film called "Chanakya Chandragupta" and had
cast Dilip Kumar as Chanakya and Dharmendra
as Chandragupta. Everything was finalized and
the film was about to go on the floor when the
producer faced a sudden financial crises and
had to shelve what could have been a memo‑
rable film. More than that, it could have been a
dream come true for Dharmendra, who still
An actor is more than his
ethnicity, religion: Diljit Dosanjh
A A
n actor is much more than his eth‑
nicity and his religion, says Sikh
singer‑actor Diljit Dosanjh, who
has found popularity in Indian showbiz
with his versatile roles in films like "Udta
Punjab", "Phillauri" and "Soorma", as well
as with his songs.
"An actor is more than his ethnicity and
his religion. A filmmaker, a director has to
be convinced and should be able to envi‑
sion someone in a role, regardless of Sikh
or not Sikh, if the filmmaker feels you suit
the role, then that's perfect," Diljit told
IANS over e‑mail.
However, the 34‑year‑old feels honored
to represent the Sikh community in main‑
stream Hindi cinema.
He said: "Actually a lot of people have
told me that I shouldn't be an actor.
People told me to get rid of my turban or
not become an actor. Back then, I knew
that I would be okay to give up films, but
not my turban."
Before venturing into Bollywood, Diljit
used to think that "sardar actors can't be
successful in Hindi cinema". But now look‑
ing at his fame and stardom, it would be
wrong to say that he is not successful.
Diljit made his acting debut in 2011
with "The Lion of Punjab" and stepped into
Bollywood in 2016 with "Udta Punjab". He
has been recognized for his acting, but it
was his singing which made him popular
first.
"Music will always be my life. It is who I
BOLLYWOOD
laments the loss of that "golden opportunity".
Dharam never stopped trying to be a part of
any film Dilip Kumar was doing, even if he
knew that the role that would be offered to
him would not be the role he would like to do.
He had come to Bombay (now Mumbai) with
the dream of "being another Dilip Kumar" but
his dream was still‑born.
And when he realized that Dilip Kumar had
fallen very sick and would never be able to
work again, he spent several days in a state of
near depression and even thought of giving up
working in films. Dharam however has always
been like a part of the Dilip Kumar and Saira
Banu house. He has always been the first to call
on Dilip Kumar on his birthday and their wed‑
ding anniversary in October.
Actor Diljit Dosanjh rose to
fame with ʻUdta Punjabʼ.
started as and it will always be my first love.
Acting happened by chance and I am glad it
did. But my main profession is music. I am a
musician first."
December 15-21, 2018 17
A
ctress‑model Lisa Haydon, who
became a mother in May 2017, says
having a child opened her eyes to a
whole new world and way of life. She also
says that now is the time when women
don't need to have career apprehensions
with regard to starting a family.
"I knew I wasn't going to have to choose
one or the other. Sure, having a kid opened
my eyes to a whole new world and way of
living and one's priorities may change. But
it's up to each individual and what they
want to make of it. "I was filming a web
series till I was five months pregnant. I did
the cover of Vogue India with Hrithik
(Roshan) when I was four months preg‑
nant... I believe that we are finally arriving
at a place where women don't need to have
career apprehensions towards starting a
family. You can have it all. You might have
to run a tight ship and have the occasional
meltdown but it's all good," Lisa told IANS
in an e‑mail.
She welcomed her first child ‑‑ son Zack
Lalvani ‑‑ with husband Dino Lalvani.
Lisa, who made her acting debut with a
supporting role in the 2010 film "Aisha",
and has also featured in "Housefull 3", has
also been appreciated for her role in films
like "Queen" and "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".
Actress Lisa Haydon at a
fashion show in Mumbai.
JANHVI KAPOOR TO GET
NORWEGIAN HONOR
ctress Janhvi Kapoor will be
awarded 'Arets Stjerneskudd' ris‑
ing talent of the year by the
Norwegian Consulate General in
Mumbai.
Janhvi, who made her debut with
"Dhadak", will be felicitated at an event
organized in association with theatre
chain INOX.
Janhvi is excited.
"I made my debut with 'Dhadak' this
year. Our film has been seen by audi‑
ences across the globe since it
released worldwide and many of
them including people staying in
Norway have seen the film and sent
their good wishes via social media.
This recognition is a pleasant sur‑
prise. I am happy to receive this
honour and humbled that they
chose me for this honour," she
said in a statement.
The evening will also see the
screening of two acclaimed
Norwegian films including "What
Will People Say", Norway's official
entry for the Academy Awards for
2019. The other is "The King's
Choice" ‑‑ a biographical war film
that was Norwegian entry for the
Academy Awards in 2016.
Actor Janhvi Kapoor made her
debut with ʻDhadakʼ this year.
 18 December 15-21, 2018 HISTORY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Saket Suman
1 2 3
B
illed as "a masterpiece in every sense
of the word", Rajmohan Gandhi's
upcoming book "Modern South India"
is promoted by its publisher Aleph as an
authoritative and magnificent work of history
about South India that will be read and
reflected upon for years to come.
"The sounds and flavors of the land south of
the Vindhyas ‑‑ temple bells, coffee and jas‑
mine, coconut and tamarind, delicious dosais
and appams ‑‑ are familiar to many, but its
history is relatively unknown," Gandhi writes
in "Modern South India: A History From the
17th Century to Our Times".
But why this historical amnesia?
"For one thing, the South is a large area,
where, dauntingly, a great deal happened dur‑
ing the 400 years covered in my study. (1) The sounds and flavors of the land south of the Vindhyas ‑‑ temple bells, coffee and jasmine, coconut and tamarind, deli‑
Secondly, while the story of each powerful cious dosais and appams ‑‑ are familiar to many, but its history is relatively unknown.( 2) "Modern South India: A History
culture within the South has been studied in From the 17th Century to Our Times" is an authoritative and magnificent work by Rajmohan Gandhi, a public intellectual. (3)
depth, few in either the South or the North The sounds and flavors of the land south of the Vindhyas ‑‑ temple bells, coffee and jasmine, coconut and tamarind,
have attempted an integrated view of the delicious dosais and appams ‑‑ are familiar to many, but its history is relatively unknown.
South as a whole. Thirdly, India's political

The history of South India is relatively

power has resided in the North, influencing
the focus of academia, not merely the media,"
the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has

unknown: Rajmohan Gandhi

taught political science and history in India
and the US, told IANS.
But South India is not the only major region
suffering from neglect, Gandhi maintained,
and asked: "Do we have many histories of
western or eastern India?" He pointed out
that the Maratha history is rich, so is the his‑
tory of Bengal, and likewise the histories of
Assam, Odisha and Gujarat, but there is a case
for broader histories of western and eastern
India. In the book, Gandhi tells the story of
four powerful cultures ‑‑ Kannada,
Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu ‑‑ as well as the
cultures Kodava, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya,
Tulu and indigenous that have influenced
them. Asked if there was a common thread
that binds them all together, he pointed to
three elements.
"One geographical and the other linguistic,
have given the South Indian peninsula its
unity and distinctiveness.
Because of the Arabian Sea and
the Bay of Bengal, European
countries like Portugal,
Holland, England and France
impacted the South in ways
not experienced by northern and central
India. Secondly, the South's major languages
have Dravidian rather than Sanskritic roots,
even though their vocabularies have been
enriched by borrowings from Sanskrit and
elsewhere. Thirdly, the Dravidian/Aryan ques‑
tion resonates, not necessarily divisively, in
many southern minds," he shared.
The 83‑year‑old public intellectual said that
while some may fear "a chasm" between "cul‑
tural" and "national" identities, others may
celebrate the Indian scene's variety and rich‑
ness. "Fascination with the history of one's
neighborhood can harmonize with interest in
the national story," maintained Gandhi, who
has also written books such as "Why Gandhi
Still Matters: An Appraisal of the Mahatma's
Legacy" and "Understanding the Founding
Fathers: An Enquiry Into the Indian Republic's
Beginnings".
One particular portion of the book that
arouses interest is related to Tipu Sultan,
who has been subject of much controversy in
recent times.
He writes: "The eighteenth century saw the
growth of the kingdom of Mysore, first under
Haidar Ali, a military leader who had briefly
served the Nawab of Arcot, and then under
his son Tipu Sultan, who annexed parts of
present‑day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. By now
the European presence was growing strong
and assertive. And with the fall of Tipu in the
Fourth Anglo‑Mysore War at the end of the
eighteenth century, the British East India
Company (now the sole European power in
South India) consolidated its holdings in the
South."
Asked about his findings on Tipu Sultan and
his take on the controversies, Gandhi said
that Tipu had to feature prominently in his
account.
"Not because of current controversies
around his rule ‑‑ today's headlines did not
guide my journey into the past. Tipu and his
father Haidar were central to the 18th centu‑
ry's second half. Between them they provided
a stable 38‑year‑rule that not only brought
economic progress to a large portion of
southern India, it almost foiled Britain's con‑
quest. Tipu had serious failings. Like most
rulers of his time he was tyrannical. His per‑
sonality included bigotry, which however was
mitigated by his remarkable support to the
Sringeri Sankaracharya," he said.
The historian‑biographer contended that
Tipu's fall in 1799 changed South India's
story.
"Though the following 10 years saw a
string of impassioned rebellions across the
South, including the Vellore Mutiny of 1806
and revolts in Kerala spearheaded by
Pazhassi Raja (killed in 1805) and Velu
Thampi (who killed himself in 1809), the East
India Company had conquered the South
when it defeated Tipu.
"Historical characters like Tipu, Pazhassi
Raja and Velu Thampi deserve a frank study
of their lives in their times, not labels handy
for squabbles in our times," he suggested.

Tech can help avoid destruction

of hidden archaeological sites
By Siddhi Jain Pointing to a birdʼs eye‑view map of the Unesco
world heritage site of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh

Urbanization has led to loss of 'potential' buried remains
around the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya.
E
ven after setting boundaries around
prominent heritage sites, buried archaeo‑
logical foundations in close proximity can
still go undetected ‑‑ something that can be
resolved through tech‑based interventions like
satellite imagery and remote sensing, landscape
archaeologist and geo‑spatial researcher, M.B.
Rajani said here.
"For buried remains, if you leave it, some
archaeologist will come and study and expose it,"
the researcher, who has worked in sites like
Nalanda Mahavihara, Bodh Gaya, Vijayanagara
and Srirangapatna told IANS on the sidelines of
the two‑day conference on "EU‑India Partnership
for Cultural Heritage Conservation" that conclud‑
ed last Wednesday at the National Museum in
New Delhi.
Gaya, the Bengaluru‑based National Institute of
Advanced Studies (NIAS) professor said a lot of
urbanization had occurred since 2002 ‑‑ the year
the heritage status was accorded ‑‑ leading to loss
of 'potential' buried remains surrounding the tem‑
ple. This, she said, is where boundaries come in.
Put simply, improper demarcation often leads to
burying of sites (under hotels and other support
for tourists) not detected and excavated yet ‑‑ a
threat that can be allayed using technology avail‑
able today.
To ensure that heritage sites do not fall victim to
their own heritage tag, it then becomes important
to demarcate using "geo‑spatial research, GPS,
new and old maps, and visits to the site" that
increases the chances of "having included more
remains" within the limits set.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info EDUCATION December 15-21, 2018 19

Indian varsities should consult industry on

courses to make students employable
By Amit Kapoor for developing new technologies, systems
and processes. Such innovation originating

E
ven though the idea of globalization
has come under fire in the last few
years, with increasing levels of dis‑
contentment over inequity in the distribution
of g ains, the bene fits that the world
economies have derived from it are often
overlooked.
One unmistakable benefit has been the
transfer of productivity‑enhancing technolo‑
gy between nations and diffusion of innova‑
tion worldwide. The International Monetary
Fund's World Economic Outlook released in
April this year also pointed out that global‑
ization has given a significant boost to the
dif fusion of knowledge and technology
across the world through free trade, higher
foreign direct investment and the interna‑
tional use of patents and copyrights.
Innovation has become the key to gaining
greater market share and more and more
countries are shifting their policy focus on
building their innovative capacities to
strengthen the competitiveness of their
economies. Competitiveness is defined as
"the ability of firms to compete, grow and be
profitable in the long run". Studies find an
unequivocal link between innovative capacity
and competitiveness of nations and regions.
In fact, it is almost next to impossible for
businesses to become competitive without
innovating in its products and operations.
With the world innovating at breakneck
speed, no country wants to be left in the
lurch. Most significantly, China has laid out a
plan to become an "innovative nation" by
2020 and an "international innovation
leader" by 2030 in its current Five‑Year Plan.
Even countries like Saudi Arabia that have
historically been heavily resource‑dependent
are making a conscious move towards higher
innovation. These countries are beginning to
recognize the fact that building a competitive
advantage based on factor endowments
(cheap labor in case of China and oil reserves
for Saudi Arabia) cannot be sustained over
the long run. A transition to a knowledge‑
based economy is imperative.
India can ill‑afford to find itself lagging on
the curve. The country had missed out on the
first industrial revolution on account of being
at the receiving end of colonial history. No
other phase of innovation in history has
transformed industry to such an extent. Only
the digital revolution at the end of the 20th
century came close. It is, therefore, a rare and
opportune time for India to accelerate its
development process and move into the next
stage of growth by focusing on strategies to
foster innovative capacity.
In recognition of the urgency to act, a
roundtable on "Innovation for Prosperity"
was org anized by NITI Aayog and the
Institute for Competitiveness last week to
draw actionable policy recommendations for
NITI Aayog to work upon to improve India's
innovation capacity. One of the most perti‑
nent issues raised at the roundtable was the
issue of industry‑academia linkage in the
Indian education system.
Around the world, universities are seen as
hubs of innovation where experts from var‑
ied fields come together to share their ideas
from universities usually attracts huge
demand from industry. This results in diversi‑
fied products and market development,
which leads to the nation gaining a competi‑
tive edge in the world markets.
Such industry‑academia linkages are miss‑
ing in the Indian economy. Universities are
meant to play a dual role of knowledge cre‑
ation and knowledge transfer. But the latter
is found wanting in the Indian context. The
problem resides in the abysmal quality of the
country's education system that focuses
more on quantity than quality from a very
early stage. For instance, the focus is always
on the number of hours taught rather than
the quality of education imparted in those
hours. One way to move away from the status
quo is to encourage universities to consult
industry while designing course curricula so
that the graduates are more employable and
innovative. The government can also play an
enabling role in facilitating higher collabora‑
tion. It can provide tax incentives or subsi‑
dize setting up of research infrastructure in
universities that can be used for industrial
innovation. The government could also push
for higher academic exchanges by funding
the transaction costs involved in the process,
which can particularly help in better under‑
standing of what industry requires from aca‑
demia.
Such initiatives hold the key to driving
India's innovative capacity forward and mak‑
ing the country more competitive.
The author is chair, Institute for
Competitiveness.

India's education crisis: India, Australia should forge knowledge partnership

By Amit Dasgupta increasing numbers of Indian stu‑ 2019 of which five are in the top
dents emigrate for higher studies. 50. Several Australian universities

I
ndia faces a critical challenge in
the education sector that has,
tragically, been of its own mak‑
ing. In each area, whether primary,
secondary or tertiary, supply and
resource constraints, infrastructural
inadequacies, lack of qualified per‑
sonnel, including faculty, are a com‑
mon complaint. This is a result of
seven decades of neglect and a lack
of forward‑planning.
Over the years, this led to a prolif‑
eration of private initiatives, several
of which are sub‑standard and sole‑
ly aimed at taking advantage of the
supply‑demand mismatch. While
private sector participation in edu‑
cation is to be welcomed, without
proper regulatory mechanisms in
place, a mushrooming of dodgy
institutions and informal parallel
service‑centers will only churn out
graduates who are not employable.
With almost half its population
under 25 years of age, India needs
to dramatically increase access to
quality education, so as to sustain
high economic growth and emerge
as a regional and global economic
power. The government has recog‑
President Ram Nath Kovind, seen with Scott Morrison, Prime
Minister of Australia, in Sydney last month, emphasized on
knowledge partnership to foster better Indo‑Oz ties. (Photo: UNI)
nized the compulsions of urgently
addressing the education crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
his party would, naturally, look for a
second term. For this, they would
focus on economic and social well‑
being as their principal electoral
plank. This, in fact, is a collective
aspiration shared by all political
parties. It is also a collective aspira‑
tion of all Indians.
At the same time, it is well‑estab‑
lished that such an end objective
would be elusive unless India recog‑
nizes the power of human capital.
This explains the current and signif‑
icant interest the government has
shown in education reforms and
investment, including in the higher
education space and, especially, in
research and foreign collaborations.
What is also noteworthy is that
India's corporate sector has started
taking greater interest in the quali‑
ty of education provided. Analysts,
however, suggest that India would
not be in a position to achieve its
objective on its own in the short or
medium term. We are already wit‑
nessing a strong push‑factor, where
Indian students have generally
opted for the US and the UK. There
were good reasons for this.
However, the situation has dramati‑
cally changed, thanks to policies
that governments in those countries
have adopted and, more critically,
the manner in which the Indian
rupee has devalued vis‑à‑vis the US
dollar. This is the new sweet‑spot
for Australian higher education
providers and might well emerge as
a win‑win situation that dramatical‑
ly and positively impacts bilateral
relations. As we have seen in the
case of the US and of the Colombo
Plan and Commonwealth
Fellowship students who had stud‑
ied abroad, those studying in
Australia could become lifetime
advocates and brand ambassadors
for India‑Oz relations.
However, Australian higher edu‑
cation facilities are not yet a well‑
known brand in India, essentially
because of the traditional and
strong pull of the US and the UK.
Few know, for instance, that out of
33 universities in Australia, seven
are in the top 100 QS rankings in
have now started setting up offices
in India and expanding staf f in
existing offices.
It is also worth mentioning that in
a number of areas of development
interest for India, leading‑edge
Australian research can provide
compatible design solutions. These
include energy ef ficiency, photo‑
voltaics, HIV/AIDS, optometry,
smart transport, sustainable hous‑
ing, cyber security, artificial intelli‑
gence, rooftop cooling, waste man‑
agement, water resources, quantum
computing and many others.
The robust manner in which the
inflow of high‑achieving Indian stu‑
dents to Australian universities has
increased in a short span of time is
testimony to the increasing aware‑
ness of the quality of learning and
living that Australia offers.
During President Ram Nath
Kovind's historic visit to Australia,
he emphasized how knowledge
partnership could contribute
towards crafting fostering better
Indo‑Oz relationship.
The author is a former Indian
diplomat.
 20 December 15-21, 2018 SUBCONTINENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

We're not your 'hired gun' anymore, Imran tells US

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran
Khan has accused the US of
"pushing Pakistan away" and
said he would never want to have
a re lat ion w ith Washington
where his country is treated like
a "hired gun".
"I would never want to have a
relationship where Pakistan is
treated like a hired gun ‑‑ given
money to fight someone else's
war," Khan said in an interview
with the Washington Post, refer‑
ring to the 1980s war against
the Soviet Union and the ongoing
war on terror.
"We should never put ourselves
in this position again. It not only
cost us human lives, devastation
of our tribal areas, but it also
cost us our dignity. We would
like a proper relationship with
the US," he said.
Asked to elaborate on the ideal
nature of relationship that he
would like to have with the US,
Khan said: "For instance, our
relationship with China is not
one‑dimensional. It's a trade rela‑
tionship between two countries.
Prime Minister Imran Khan denied that he is ʻanti‑Americanʼ.
We want a similar relationship
with the US."
He said Pakistan was not
"hedging" towards China, rather
it was Washington's attitude
which had brought a change in
the bilateral relationship. "The
US has basically pushed Pakistan
away."
Asked why he "harbored anti‑
US sentiments", Khan said dis‑
agreeing with Washington's poli‑
BJP has 'anti-Pakistan' approach: Imran
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that India's ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an "anti‑Muslim" and "anti‑
Pakistan" approach and claimed New Delhi rebuffed all his gestures
due to the upcoming general elections.
Khan made the remarks in an interview to the Washington Post.
Later, at an event in Islamabad, the Prime Minister said that "the
condition of Muslims in today's India proved that the demand for a
separate homeland was justified".
He claimed that India rejected his repeated calls for peace because
it has the general elections coming up in 2019. "India has elections
coming up. They rebuffed all my overtures."
cies did not make him "anti‑ then our ally did not trust us to
American". kill Bin Laden," he said, adding
"This is a very imperialistic that the US "should have tipped
approach. You are either with me off Pakistan".
or against me." "We did not know whether we
Khan condemned the 2011 US were a friend or a foe."
operation in Abbottabad that He also dismissed claims that
killed Osama bin Laden, saying there were safe havens for ter‑
that it was "humiliating" that rorists in Pakistan, saying that
Washington did not trust "there are no sanctuaries in
Pakistan to kill the terrorist. Pakistan".
"It was humiliating that we Re ferring to US President
were losing our soldiers and Donald Trump's South Asia poli‑
civilians and (suffering terrorist) cy, Khan said he was committed
bomb attacks because we were to having dialogue to achieve
participating in the US war, and peace in war‑torn Afghanistan.

BʼDESH BEGINS POLL Sri Lankan crisis will be

CAMPAIGNING AMID solved in a week: Sirisena
OPPOSITION CLAIMS Colombo: Sri Lankan President
Maithripala Sirisena said that the
on December 12.
"The current political crisis will

OF ARRESTS political crisis in the island coun‑

try will be resolved in seven
days.
be resolved in one week. It will
be completely resolved. This is
an effort I will make for the pub‑
Dhaka: Election cam‑ The assurance came after the lic, for you, for our motherland. I
paigning in new government appointed by extend the hand of peace to all
Bang ladesh beg an the President has been temporar‑ politicians and political parties,"
amid reports of arrests ily suspended by a Sri Lankan Sirisena said in a statement.
of hundreds of leaders court. Sri Lanka has been embroiled
and members of for‑ A Court of Appeal issued an in a polit ical turmoil since
mer Prime Minister interim order to prevent former Sirisena surprising ly sacked
Khaleda Zia's main strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa Prime Minister Ranil
opposition Bangladesh and his party members from act‑ Wickremesinghe late in October Sri Lanka has been in turmoil
Nat ionalist Party ing as Prime Minister and the and appointed former President ever since President Maithripala
(BNP). government till the case is heard Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.
Sirisena sacked the PM.
T he country w ill
hold general elections

Afghan poll watchdog invalidates

on December 30, pit‑
ting the BNP against Former PM and opposition Bangladesh
the ruling Awami Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia.

votes cast in Kabul constituency

League.
"BNP leaders and activists can‑ General Mahbubul Alam Hanif
not stay in their house, everyday said: "The election environment
the police is arresting our lead‑ is good. People are expecting Kabul: Afg hanistan's cited as say ing by
ers and party activists. It has that the election will be held in a Electoral Complaints Xinhua news agency.
become even dif ficult for us to festive atmosphere (...) all politi‑ Commission (ECC) has T he long‑de layed
keep the numbers. Many of our cal parties are contesting." invalidated all votes cast e lect ions for Wolesi
candidates are still in jail," Taiful The BNP and its allies boy‑ during the October 20 par‑ Jirga or lower house of
Islam Tipu, assistant office sec‑ cotted the 2014 elections after liamentary e lect ions in the Afghan Parliament
retary of BNP, told Efe news. the Awami League abolished the Kabul constituency, officials were held in October,
Tipu said that a fair election "caretaker government system" said. Alireza Rohani, with more than 2,500
was not possible as the Awami which required general elections spokesman and secretary of candidates vying for the
League had been campaigning to be overseen by non‑partisan ECC, told reporters here chamber's 249 seats.
every day. governments. T he Awami that widespread fraud and T he Elect ion
"They broke all electoral rules League of Prime Minister Sheikh vote rigging damaged the Commission of the
A woman casts her vote at a
but no action was taken against Hasina has allied itself with the transparency and credibility country has announced
polling center in Kabul.
them," he said. Jatiya Party, led by former mili‑ of polls in Kabul and led to the preliminary results
Deny ing the alleg at ions, tary dictator Hussain the invalidation of all votes cast complaints were registered in of many of the 33 constituencies
Awami League Joint Secretary Muhammad Ershad. in the constituency. About 2,767 Kabul after the polls, Rohani was so far.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INTERNATIONAL December 15-21, 2018 21

Extradite Mallya to India, 'I can't breathe',

says London court
London: Beleaguered industrialist
Vijay Mallya must be extradited
from the United Kingdom to India
to stand trial on charges of commit‑
ting huge bank frauds, a London
court ruled, saying there was no
evidence that the prosecution was
politically motivated.
"The criticism made of the possi‑
ble effect of the considerable media
attention which would attend a
prosecution of Mallya is not signifi‑
cant enough for this court to find
he would not have a fair trial,"
Westminster Magistrates' Court
Chief Magistrate Judge Emma
Arbuthnot said.
"There is insufficient evidence for
this court to find that he will not be
tried by a competent and fair
court," the court said.
The judge also noted that any
suggestion that the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) courts in
India were too "pliable" when it
came to CBI cases "is not borne out
by reliable evidence".
Arbuthnot, a senior district judge,
said she accepted the Indian gov‑
ernment's contention that because
Mallya had such a high profile, his
trial would be under great scrutiny.
Industrialist Vijay Mallya fled
India in March 2016.
"I find that Mallya will be able to
raise with the court any overly prej‑
udicial publicity... It will not be a
trial by politicians. Courts are used
to dealing with high profile cases
which are accompanied by often ill‑
advised political commentary.
"I do not accept that the courts in
India are there to do what the
politicians tell them to do. As I have
already said, the court will be under
great scrutiny. I do not find any
international consensus which
would enable me to find that the
judges in India are corrupt."
Referring to defense argument
that there was abuse of legal
process, the London judge said:
"There is no evidence that the pros‑
ecution is politically motivated... I
find no grounds for finding an
abuse of process."
The judge said she was sending
Mallya's case to the Home Secretary
of State for a decision to be taken
on whether to order his extradition.
Mallya fled India in March 2016
but he has repeatedly denied flee‑
ing the country and said he was
ready to pay back the money he
owed to Indian banks.
Welcoming the London court
decision, the CBI of ficials in New
Delhi hoped to bring Mallya back to
India soon and said that the agency
was always strong on facts and
legally it was confident while pursu‑
ing the extradition process.
Khashoggi's last words
Washington: "I can't breathe," were
the last words uttered by
Washington Post journalist Jamal
Khashoggi before he was killed by a
Saudi hit squad at the country's con‑
sulate in Istanbul in October, a CNN
report said.
An informed source, who has read
a translated transcript of an audio
recording of the journalist's painful
last moments, told CNN it was clear
that the killing on October 2 was no
botched rendition attempt, but the
execution of a premeditated plan to
murder Khashoggi.
Washington Post journalist
The transcript begins at the
Jamal Khashoggi.
moment Khashoggi enters the Saudi
consulate in a quiet residential dis‑ London, addresses him. "You are
trict of Istanbul at lunchtime on coming back," the man says.
October 2. Khashoggi thought he "You can't do that," Khashoggi
had made a routine appointment to replies. "People are waiting outside."
pick up papers that would allow him Without any further dialogue,
to marry his Turkish fiancee, Hatice according to the source, the tran‑
Cengiz, but he soon found out that script indicates that several people
something was wrong when he set upon Khashoggi.
recognised one of the men who Noises follow and very quickly
meets him. According to CNN's Khashoggi is fighting for air.
source, a voice identified in the tran‑ "I can't breathe," Khashoggi says. "I
script as Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a can't breathe. I can't breathe."
former Saudi diplomat and intelli‑ The transcript notes the sounds of
gence official working for Crown the journalist's body then being dis‑
Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and membered by a saw, as the alleged
known to Khashoggi from their time perpetrators were advised to listen
together at the Saudi Embassy in to music to block out the sound.

UK can unilaterally cancel

Brexit, rules EU top court
Brussels: The UK can unilaterally cancel
its withdrawal from the EU without the
permission of the other 27 bloc mem‑
bers, the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
ruled, a day ahead of a crucial vote in the
country's lower house of Parliament on
Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit
plan.
The ruling is likely to give fresh
impulse to calls for a second Brexit refer‑
endum before May submits her draft deal
to the House of Commons. The MPs are
widely expected to reject her proposal,
reports said. The court in a statement
“Yellow Vests" protesters shout slogans near the Arch of Triumph in Paris. said: "When a member state has notified
the European Council of its intention to
withdraw from the EU, as the UK has
French PM seeks 'unity' as done, that member state is free to revoke
unilaterally that notification."

'yellow vest' arrests cross 1,700
Paris: French Prime Minister Edouard
Philippe vowed to "restore national unity"
after violence during the weekend forced
police to use tear gas and rubber bullets
against the "yellow vest" demonstrators,
who protested against fuel tax rises and
high living costs, leading to over 1,700
arrests. However, the violence that was the
fourth one was not on the same level as the
week earlier, the BBC reported.
Discussions with peaceful protesters
"must continue", Philippe said, adding "No
tax should jeopardize our national unity.
We must now rebuild that national unity
"That possibility exists for as long as a
withdrawal agreement concluded
between the EU and that member state
through dialogue, through work, and by
has not entered into force or, if no such
coming together."
agreement has been concluded, for as the
He said President Emmanuel Macron,
two‑year period from the date of the noti‑
who many protesters felt should stand British Prime Minister
fication of the intention to withdraw
down, would soon "put forward measures Theresa May.
from the EU, and any possible extension,
to foster dialogue".
has not expired," stated the ruling tweet‑ triggers a member state's departure from
During protests on December 1, 201 civil‑
ed by the court. the EU, could not be revoked unilaterally.
ians and 284 police personnel were injured
The judges ruled that this could be May, whose Conservative Party execu‑
amid scenes of urban guerrilla tactics.
done without altering the terms of tive wields a minority in the Commons,
Demonstrations by the Yellow Vests
Britain's membership. The court rejected enacted Article 50 on March 29, 2017,
movement began as a protest against
arguments from both the UK government meaning the UK is due to withdraw from
increased taxes on fuel planned for 2019, a
and the European Commission that the EU on March 29, 2019, with or with‑
ruling that was annulled this week by the
Article 50, the two‑year‑long process that out a deal.
government.
 22 December 15-21, 2018 BUSINESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Sensex nosedives over 700 points, DRT SERVES NOTICE

Nifty ends below 10,500 mark
Mumbai: The Indian equity
TO NIRAV MODI
Mumbai: The Debt Recovery Tribunal
market slumped around
two per cent on Monday, (DRT) has served notice to absconder dia‑
with the S&P BSE Sensex mantaire Nirav Modi, his family members
shedding over 700 points, and his companies to recover over Rs
tracking a similar sell‑of f 7,000 crore owed to the Punjab National
globally along with uncer‑ Bank (PNB). T he notice by the DRT‑1
tainties over the upcoming Registrar, A. Murali, came six months after
results of the recently held the beleaguered PNB had moved the tribu‑
state elections. nal in July to recover around Rs 7,029
T he Nifty50 on the crore. This includes the principal compo‑
National Stock Exchange nent of around Rs.6,800 crore plus interest.
fell below the 10,500 mark The accused‑defendents include seven
The Indian rupee weakened to 71.38 against the
and the Sensex ended individuals and nine group companies, and Nirav Modi.
US dollar from its previous close of 70.81.
below the psychologically all are barred from disposing off, transfer‑
significant level of 35,000 points. 10,488.45 points. ring, or entering into any transactions per‑ dations of the Indian banking sector.
On the domestic front, the results for the The barometer 30‑scrip Sensitive Index taining to the secured properties, the notice It revealed shocking details of how Nirav
recently held assembly elections of five states (Sensex), which opened at 35,204.66 points, said. They have been allowed time till Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, in con‑
would be out on Tuesday. Exits polls last closed at 34,959.72 points ‑‑ lower by 713.53 January 15, 2019, to reply to the notice, nivance with some bank of ficials had
week showed that the party in power ‑‑ the points or two per cent ‑‑ from its previous ses‑ failing which the PNB plea would be decid‑ duped the bank by issuing fraudulent
Bharatiya Janata Party ‑‑ is seen facing a sion's close of 35,673.25 points. ed ex‑parte. Besides Nirav Modi, the notice Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) for the huge
tough challenge which has raised concerns It touched an intra‑day high of 35,246.97 has been slapped on his wife Ami, their amount at PNB's flagship Brady House
among the investors. The elections are con‑ and a low of 34,915.77 points. children Rohin, Ananya and Apasha, his Branch in south Mumbai, since 2011.
sidered a crucial indicator of public mood "Our markets have fallen in line with other brothers Nehal Deepak Modi, Neeshal The bank's plea before the DRT Mumbai
before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. global markets which were down due to Deepak Modi, Deepak Keshavlal Modi and came shortly after the InterPol issued Red
In the global markets, crude oil prices rose resurgence of US‑China friction and rise in sister Purvi Mayank Mehta, at their last‑ Corner Notices (RCNs) against Nirav Modi
on Monday after the Org anizat ion of crude prices," HDFC Securit ies' Retail known Mumbai addresses. and other accused in the case.
Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia on Research Head Deepak Jasani told IANS. On In the notice, nine companies, among Later in August, a Special Court under the
Friday ag reed to reduce supplies from the currency front, the Indian rupee weak‑ them Stellar Diamonds, Solar Exports, Fugitive Economic Of fenders Act, issued
January 2019. ened to 71.38 against the US dollar from its Diamond RUS, Firestar International Ltd., summons to Nirav Modi and others in an
Further, there was a spike in trade war con‑ previous close of 70.81. Firestar Diamond International Pvt. Ltd., Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea.
cerns after China on Sunday summoned US "Dollar‑rupee opened higher, around 71.35 ANM Enterprises, NDM Enterprises, all T he ED and the Central Bureau of
Ambassador Terry Branstad over the US on spot, after exit polls suggested that BJP based in Mumbai, besides the branches of Investigation (CBI) have already raided 260
arrest warrant for Huawei's global CFO Meng may lose three major states," said Anindya some companies in Surat (Gujarat) and premises of the accused and non‑bailable
Wanzhou who was taken into custody in Banerjee, Deputy Vice President for Currency Japiur (Rajasthan) have been named. warrants of arrest are pending execution.
Canada last week. Index‑wise, wider Nifty50 and Interest Rates with Kotak Securities. In February, PNB had admitted to a mas‑ Barring some bank officials who have been
of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed "If exit polls are true, then it can increase sive fraud, which later climbed up to arrested, all the other accused are still at
lower by 205.25 points or 1.92 per cent to the political risk premium on the rupee." around Rs 13,600 crore, shaking the foun‑ large.

China demands release of Huawei WALMART INDIA

executive arrested in Canada APPOINTS NEW CHIEF
Ottawa: China has demanded the
immediate re lease of Meng
Wanzhou, the Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) of tech giant Huawei,
whose arrest could escalate into a
major diplomatic incident.
Calling Meng's detention a "rights
abuse", Beijing urged both Ottawa
and Washington to clarify their rea‑
sons for the action. She was arrest‑
ed in Vancouver on Saturday and
faces extradition to the US.
The row threatens to drive a fur‑
ther rift between the US and China
even as they begin three months of
negotiations aimed at de‑escalating
their bruising trade war. Canada
confirmed Meng's detention on
Wednesday night.
Details of the arrest were not
released but the US has been inves‑
tigating Huawei over possible viola‑
tion of sanctions against Iran,
reports say.
She was provisionally detained by
the Canadian Authorities on behalf
of the US, when she was transfer‑
ring flights in Canada, the BBC
reported. US stock futures and
Asian shares tumbled after Meng's
arrest. Fearing that a US‑China
Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of tech giant Huawei.
trade war truce was becoming unat‑
tainable, Europe's main stock
indices slumped to their lowest
point since December 2016 in
morning trading.
Also, indexes across Asia dropped
sharply following the arrest.
"The detention without giving any
reason violates a person's human
rights," said Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Geng
Shuang.
"We have made solemn represen‑
tations to Canada and the US,
demanding that both parties imme‑
diately clarify the reasons for the
detention, and immediately release
the detainee to protect the person's
legal rights."
He added that China had been
providing consular assistance to
Meng since learning of her arrest.
Earlier, the Chinese Embassy in
Ottawa also lodged its protest over
the arrest.
Huawei denied any wrongdoing
by its corporate CFO Meng. She has
sought a publication ban on the
details of the arrest, which has been
granted by the courts. Therefore,
the company said it had little infor‑
mation about the charges and was
"not aware of any wrongdoing by
Meng".
BUSINESS OFFICER
New Delhi: Walmart India on
Monday announced the appoint‑
ment of Sameer Aggarwal as its
Chief Business Of ficer with
immediate effect.
The company said in a state‑
ment that its Chief Operating
Of ficer Devendra Chawla has
resigned "to pursue other
opportunities outside Walmart
India".
Agg arwal is currently the
Chie f Strateg y and
Administrative Of ficer for the
company.
"In this expanded role, Sameer,
currently Chief Strategy and
Administrative Officer, will now
lead strategy, merchandising,
cost analy t ics, e‑commerce,
technolog y, market ing and
replenishment," Walmart India
said in a statement.
With this Aggarwal becomes
the first Chief Business Of ficer
of Walmart's India operations
and as per the statement he
would continue to report to
Krish Iyer, President and CEO,
Walmart India.
Meanwhile, Anuj Singh who
was previously the Business
Executive Of ficer of Nestle's
Food Services business in South
Asia has joined Walmart India
as the Head for Category
Merchandising, it said, adding
that Singh would report to the
newly appointed Chief Business
Officer Aggarwal.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
INDIA OVERCOME SPIRITED
AUSTRALIAN FIGHT, WIN 1ST TEST
Adelaide: India on Monday earned
a hard‑fought 1‑0 lead in the four‑
match Test series after beating
Australia by 31 runs in the open‑
ing cricket Test at the Adelaide
Oval here.
This is the sixth Test win for
India on Australian soil.
Interestingly, this is the first time
India have won the first Test
match of a series in Australia.
Chasing a massive 323,
Australia's lower middle order
gave a tough fight in their second
innings against an inspired Indian
bowling attack before being even‑
tually bundled out for 291 just
before tea on the final day.For the
tourists, pacers Jasprit Bumrah,
Mohammed Shami and of f‑spin‑
ner Ravichandran Ashw in
grabbed three wickets apiece
while veteran Ishant Sharma also
took a wicket.
Earlier, resuming the day at
104/4, the hosts soon lost
overnight batsman Travis Head
(14) with the scoreboard ticking
115/5.
Gambhir's retirement draws
curtains on glorious career
By Ajeyo Basu
New Delhi: T he high points of
Gautam Gambhir's career are a stuff
every aspiring cricketer dreams of.
Top scorer in two World Cups, win‑
ner of two IPL titles with Kolkata
Knight Riders (KKR), one of the most
prolific opening pairs in world crick‑
et alongside the great Virender
Sehwag. The list goes on and on. On
Sunday, the combative former Team
India player made his exit from the
game as the Ranji Trophy match
between his native Delhi and Andhra
drew to a close. The match ended in
a dull stalemate at the Feroz Shah
Kotla Stadium. The match itself how‑
ever, faded into inconsequence as
Gambhir was at the center of atten‑
tion of the spectators present in the
stadium. He made the occasion a
memorable one, top scoring with
112 in Delhi's first innings.
The 37‑year‑old has an enviable
record. He has played 58 Tests
(4154 runs), 147 One‑Day
Internationals (5238 runs) and 37
Twenty20 Internationals. He has
also played 197 first‑class matches.
But apart from the statistics, what
fans will remember most is his com‑
bative attitude, the never‑say‑die
spirit which stood out during those
nerve wracking run chases or when
the going became tough.
India celebrate the win over Austalia in Adelaide Test match.
Head fe ll to a short pitched
delivery from the experienced
Ishant that resulted in a simple
catch by Ajinkya Rahane at gully.
The hosts still had a ray of hope
with the other overnight batter
Gautam Gambhir.
These qualities were on full display
during two of the most memorable
occasions for Indian cricket since the
World Cup triumph in 1983 ‑‑ win‑
ning the 2007 World Twenty20 and
the 2011 ODI World Cup. He played
an integral part in India's wins in
both finals. At the the 2007 World
Twenty20 final against arch‑rivals
Pakistan, he top scored with 75 runs
from 54 balls.
He was the top scorer in the 2011
World Cup final as well with a com‑
posed 97 from 122 deliveries as
India pulled of f an exciting chase
against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Gambhir is also the lone Indian
and only one of four cricketers to
have scored hundreds in five consec‑
utive Test matches. He is the also the
only Indian batsman to score in
SPORTS
Shaun Marsh (60) and captain
Tim Paine (41) raising 41 runs for
the sixth wicket before Bumrah
packed away the former.
Bumrah jolted the Australians
once again just at the stroke of
excess of 300 runs in four consecu‑
tive Test series.
But even before he announced his
retirement earlier in the week, the
signs were there for the past couple
of years.
Gambhir did not exactly see eye to
eye with India captain Virat Kohli
which played a part in his exit from
the national squad. He also struggled
in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in
recent times and his last season after
returning to the Delhi Daredevils
was not a very memorable one. As
Gambhir walked of f the field and
into the sunset, the curtains came
down on a glorious career. Indian
fans, perhaps even several around
the cricketing world will miss one of
the most exciting and talented bats‑
men of his generation.
December 15-21, 2018
lunch by getting Paine caught
behind, leaving the hosts to the
tail to achieve the target.
It was always going to be a tall
ask for the tailenders to survive
two full sessions but the
Brampton to have Canada's first
world-class cricket stadium
Toronto: With its population of
cricket‑loving immigrants increas‑
ing rapidly, the Indian‑dominated
city of Brampton on the outskirts
of Toronto will soon build the first
world‑class cricket stadium in
Canada. Announcing this while
addressing members of the Indo‑
Canada Chamber of Commerce
here, Brampton's newly elected
Mayor Patrick Brown said cricket
is a passion in India as he has wit‑
nessed during his visits.
"T hat's why we will build a
world‑class cricket stadium in
Brampton during my term," so
that anyone coming from India to
do business or live in his city
doesn't miss what they love, the
Mayor told the Indo‑Canadian
gathering.
Known as a friend of India and
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
the Indo‑Canadian community
here, Brown, a former MP, has
been to India 18 times during the
past 11 years.
In fact, he started this year in
India by doing a puja in Varanasi
and of fering prayers at the
Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The Indo‑Canadian community
accounts for a huge portion of the
city's population of over 600,000,
with Punjabis alone making up
over 20 per cent of its population.
To make the huge Indian com‑
23
Australians ‑‑ Pat Cummins (28),
Mitchell Starc (28), Nathan Lyon
(38 not out) and Josh Hazlewood
(13) ‑‑ batted their skin out to
reduce the deficit to only 31 runs.
Needing three wickets for an
outright win, the Indian attack
seemed to be on a mission as
Shami started the post‑lunch ses‑
sion with the wicket of Starc after
the Aussie quick put on 59 runs
for the eighth wicket with fellow
pacer Cummins.
Starc's departure brought in
Lyon, who doubled his ef fort of
getting six wickets in India's sec‑
ond innings, with a solid 47‑ball
unbeaten 38 and more important‑
ly being involved in two crucial
stands.
Lyon first raised 31 runs for the
9th wicket with Cummins before
adding another 32 runs for the
final wicket with Hazlewood to
leave the Indians frustrat ing
before Ashwin managed to get
Hazlewood caught by Lokesh
Rahul to guide India to a fabulous
victory.
munity feel at home in his city,
the Mayor said: "We will also have
the first outdoor 'garba' this year
out on the streets."
He also mentioned that
Brampton already allows the
Indo‑Canadian community to cele‑
brate Diwali with fireworks.
The Mayor said that since creat‑
ing jobs tops his agenda, he would
take every step to make Brampton
attractive for businesses and
investors from anywhere, includ‑
ing India, by keeping the cost of
doing business in his city low.
"There won't be any tax increase
during my term," he said.
Describing Indian and other
diaspora communities of his city
as its biggest assets, the Mayor
said he would use the huge Indian
community to pitch his city to
businesses in India.
"The Indo‑Canada Chamber of
Commerce can open doors for
Brampton in India. I have been
India 18 times in 11 years and I
will do now as Mayor to pitch
Brampton to businesses in India,"
he said. Assuring the Indian‑
friendly Mayor of all support,
Indo‑Canada Chamber of
Commerce President Pramod
Goyal said the chamber has been
building business bridges between
the two countries for over 40
years and creating jobs.
 24 December 15-21, 2018 ENVIRONMENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Climate awareness on rise globally,

but actions still lacking: UN
Katowice, Poland: Climate consciousness
across the globe is on the rise, but there is
still a considerable gap between coun‑
tries' preparedness for climate change
and the actual measures, a UN report said
on Thursday.
"A considerable gap between countries'
preparedness for climate change and the
actual measures that should be put in
place to prepare communities for a future
of increasing climate risks," the fourth UN
Environment Adaptation Gap Report said.
The report came as world leaders gath‑
ered in this Polish city for the annual UN
climate negotiations (COP24).
Low and middle‑income countries have
shown consistent progress in bridging the
gap in adaptive capacity, it said.
The research particularly underscores a
growing divide between the estimated
annual costs of adaptation and the actual
global investments in resilience measures,
drawing a distinct connection between
our adaptation to climate change and sus‑
tainable development that results in
healthy communities and thriving
economies, according to the UN.
Climate change will have a significant
impact on human health over the next few
decades, and while progress has been
made in reducing climate‑change related
diseases and injuries, current adaptation
efforts are by no means sufficient to mini‑
mize future health impact of a changing
climate, it said.
The study highlighted that unless adap‑
tation efforts were strengthened consider‑
ably, heat and extreme event‑related mor‑
bidity and mortality will continue to rise.
Despite voicing considerable concern on
the divergence between the global goals
on adaptation and actual action being
taken at the national level, the report
shined a positive light on the growth in
national laws and policies that address
adaptation.
Studies show that at least 162 countries
explicitly address adaptation at a national
level, through a total of 110 laws and 330
policies. Looking at the commitment
countries made as part of the Paris
Agreement, only 40 developing countries
have quantifiable adaptation targets in
their current Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs), while 49 include
quantifiable targets in their national laws
and policies, according to the report.
The study said that low and middle‑
income countries showed consistent
progress. But it added that without signs
of acceleration, catching up with wealthi‑
er countries to bridge the gap in adaptive
capacity will take many decades under
current rates of improvement.
According to the report, political will,
necessary financial resources to imple‑
ment important actions related to climate
resilient health systems, early warning
systems and a broader development agen‑
da aimed at reducing vulnerability to cli‑
mate‑sensitive health risks were needed to
narrow the adaptation gap in health.

As solar industry booms, time to GUTERRES THANKS MODI FOR

RAISING INDIA'S CONTRIBUTION
start thinking about recycling TO CLIMATE CHANGE PACT
By Vishu Mishra & Dr International Renewable Energy billion new panels (630 GW of equiv‑
Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Abhijit Banerjee Agency (IRENA) points out that mul‑ alent installed capacity) by 2050.
Secretary‑General
tiple factors frequently contribute to India can learn from global best

O
ne of the few encouraging
trends in the global efforts
on mitigating climate
change is the rapid adoption of solar
energy across the world. T his
change is driven by a combination of
government policies and declining
costs. The International Energy
Agency (IEA) reported that the glob‑
al solar photovoltaic (PV) installed
capacity is expected to increase
beyond 1,600 Gigawatts (GW) by
2030. India has set an ambitious tar‑
get of 100 GW of solar capacity by
2022, with one‑fifth of that already
installed. However, it is important to
be foresighted about potential future
problems. PV panels, the most com‑
monly deployed solar application,
will inevitably pile up as waste at the
end of their useful lives and create
challenges in the absence of an
effective plan to deal with them.
Why should we worry now when
the potential problems are decades
away? Consider the case of electron‑
ic waste (e‑waste). With the explo‑
sive growth in the adoption of com‑
puters and consumer electronics
over the last two decades, India is
one of the worst affected countries
by e‑waste, according to the United
Nations Environment (UNEP). Only
recently has the Indian government
started to address the crisis. Since
waste management and recycling
systems take a long time to evolve,
India must start planning now to
avoid a similar situation with solar
PV. Although the theoretical lifespan
of PV panels is 25‑30 years, the
the early retirement of panels. These
include improper installation, minor
manufacturing defects, poor mainte‑
nance and soiling, and unfavourable
climatic conditions. Many of us have
come across defunct solar street
lights which demonstrate this unfor‑
tunate reality.
Generation of waste panels under
regular and early loss scenarios in
both India and the world, as calculat‑
ed by IRENA are:
For India: Under regular loss sce‑
nario, 0.05 and 0.325 million tonnes
by 2030 and 2050. Under the early
loss scenario, the figures climb to
4.4 and 7.5 million tonnes by 2030
and 2050.
For the World, the figures are 1.7‑60
million tonnes and 8 and 78 million
tonnes under the two scenarios.
State‑of‑the‑art recycling process‑
es can recover up to 90 per cent of
the clean glass and 95 per cent of
the semiconductor materials from a
retired module.
The major components recover‑
able from PV waste include glass,
aluminium, silicon, copper, polymers
and other minor metals. Recycling
not only prevents wastage of
resources and leaching of pollutants
from waste, but is also a significant
economic opportunity.
IRENA estimates that PV recycling
will become a $15 billion industry
globally by 2050; the potential for
secondary raw material recovery
equates to about 60 million new
panels (18 GW of equivalent
installed capacity) by 2030 and 2
Antonio Guterres has
practices in solar PV recycling. For
thanked Prime Minister
example, the European Unionʼs
Narendra Modi for
Waste Electrical and Electronic
increasing India's contri‑
Equipment ( WEEE) directives
bution to the Paris
impose recycling requirements on
Agreement for reducing
solar panel manufacturers and man‑
greenhouse emissions
date the fabrication of new panels
and fighting climate
using recycled components. UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres and
change, according to a
However, the Indian E‑Waste Rules Prime Minister Narendra Modi
UN spokesperson.
of 2016 do not include solar PV pan‑
When they met on Thursday night in has committed itself to reducing its
els, which means that retired panels
Buenos Aires, "they discussed the greenhouse gas emissions intensity
are dealt with by the unorganized
upcoming UN climate change confer‑ of gross domestic product (EIGDP)
sector with poor recovery rates and
ence (COP24) and the importance of by 33 per cent to 35 per cent below
associated pollution. To establish a
the completion of the Paris the 2005 levels by 2030, according
formal recycling ecosystem, a pro‑
Agreement Work Programme, its to the UN Environment Programme
ducer‑financed compliance fee or
transparency framework and climate (UNEP). EIGDP is the amount of
consumer‑financed end‑of‑life fee
finance," Guterres's Spokesperson greenhouse gas emissions created by
can be used to create a viable finan‑
Stephane Dujarric told reporters on a unit of GDP.
cial model. This model will impose
Friday. "The Secretary‑General also A UNEP report last month said that
Extended Producer Responsibility
thanked Mr. Modi for his commit‑ India was on its way to meeting its
(EPR) on manufacturers, similar to
ment to increase India's nationally target and was projected to be even
the approach being followed for e‑
determined contributions to the more than 10 per cent below its tar‑
waste. –IANS
Paris Agreement," he added. India get of greenhouse gas emissions.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
South African Indians are slowly coming
to terms with their Indian identity: Author
By Saket Suman
New Delhi: In her recent book, "What
Gandhi Didn't See: Being Indian In South
Africa", author Zainab Priya Dala looks
back from the vantage point of her own
personal history ‑‑ a fourth‑generation
South African‑Indian of mixed lineage ‑‑
and recalls that, as a child, she was hesi‑
tant about accepting her Indian identity,
but contends that she has now come to
terms with it.
She has shared memories of her grow‑
ing up in South Africa in the 1980s ‑‑ a
time of the State of Emergency, the atro‑
cious Tricameral System advocated and
supported by many South African‑Indians,
and the heightened efforts to have Nelson
Mandela released from prison and finally
usher in a democratic government.
"The largest challenge I think I faced
was negotiating the apparent and false
safety of being an Indian rather than a
Black child, and watching many of my
DHARMENDRA: THE MAN
WHO SAW TOMORROW
H
ad his dreams remained just dreams,
Dharmendra could well have been driv‑
ing a tractor in the verdant fields of
Punjab all through the years during which he
was, instead, one of the biggest stars of Hindi cin‑
ema. Born Dharminder Singh Deol on 8
December 1935 in Nasrali, a peaceful village in
Ludhiana district, Punjab, to schoolteacher Kewal
Kishan Singh and Satwant Kaur, his family had its
roots in the nearby less‑than‑a‑dot‑on‑the‑map
village of Dangon, near Pakhowal,
Ludhiana.
Dharminder Singh spent his early life
in the village of Sahnewal and studied
at Government Senior Secondary
School at Lalton Kalan in Ludhiana dis‑
trict, where his father was the head‑
master. He later did his Intermediate
from Ramgarhia College, Phagwara, in
1952. This multitude of places associ‑
ated with him, as he grew into his
teenage years, became the raison dʼetre for the
many differences of views about his roots. Never
mind if, today, Dharminder Singh, known to the
world as Dharmendra (meaning the God of reli‑
gion), belongs to not just the entire country, but
perhaps, to the globe. Wherever Indian cinema is
watched and cherished, he is, simply, one of the
biggest and longest‑lasting stellar entities,
belonging to what is now the biggest film indus‑
try in the world...
Dharmendra spoke to me about his early ambi‑
tions during our first interview meeting in 2011.
Since he was a simple boy from Punjab who
wanted to set out to enter the big, bad world of
films, how had his family reacted?
The actor told me, ʻMy father wasnʼt happy
because he was not too sure of the outcome, and
of what would happen if I met with failure. My
mother, however, was always supportive.ʼ So the
obvious question that comes to mind is: Why did
the young Dharam have stardust in his eyes?
Candidly, he said, ʻI was in awe of the stars like
Dilip (Kumar) saab, Raj (Kapoor) saab and even
BOOKS
community accept the Tricameral System,
which was a means devised by the ruling
White government to give a place in
Parliament to Indians," Dala, who has writ‑
ten two previous novels and has won
accolades for her short stories, told IANS
in an email from Durban in South Africa.
She said she could see that the Indian
community were being given more privi‑
leges and access to basic human needs as
compared to the Black community, and
this unfairness went against her formative
ideas of democracy.
"It irked me that many Indian people
benefited and lapped up these handouts
and enriched themselves on a false sense
of fairness.
I felt that we were betraying Nelson
Mandela by our complicit acceptance of
this better life, and when he was released,
I hoped that the playing fields would be
leveled. But, the further challenge then
came for me when I saw that unfairness
seemed to again rear its head in that,
heroines like Nargis, Madhubala and
Vyjayanthimala. But my ambitions were quite
restricted! My big dream and my simple prayer
to God was my pictures being present every‑
where, just like those of my idols.ʼ
A naive and simple Dharmendra was not at all
bothered whether he earned no money, a little
money, or a lot! He said: ʻMy goal was very sim‑
ple ‑‑ one flat and one Fiat (car)! When I came to
Bombay ‑‑ thatʼs what Mumbai was known as
then ‑‑ I only had my dreams. I was an
untutored villager, with no idea of act‑
ing. I wasnʼt even aware [that] I was
good‑looking until I began getting
movie offers because of my good
looks. When I arrived here, I was in
fact shocked by the lifestyles of the
stars ‑‑ it was far different from what I
had imagined back in Punjab!ʼ
So, what had actually stirred the pot
and made the lad wish to get into
films? What was, so to speak, the churning
point? The answer to this was as simple as the
man himself: Years ago, he had gone with his
uncle for a relativeʼs wedding to a nearby town.
He was about twelve or thirteen years old at the
time, studying in Class Eight, when he got to
watch (the result of a promise made by the uncle
as an incentive to attend the wedding) a film
called “Shaheed” at the Minerva cinema in
Ludhiana. And that did it!
Suddenly, life changed for the young boy. The
images from the film began to haunt him.
Nothing else was of any interest. His mother con‑
tinued to tell the boy fairy tales and inspirational
stories; the grocer in the village continued his
spell of ghost stories, but young Dharam was no
longer the avid listener. He believed in the boy
Ram from the film, who grew up to be a freedom
fighter enacted by the famous Dilip Kumar. He
felt Ram and he were brothers.
(Extracted from “Dharmendra, Not Just A He‑
Man: A Biography” by Rajiv Vijayakar, with per‑
mission from Rupa Publications)
December 15-21, 2018
again, every Indian was being painted
with the same brush and looked at by the
Black community as opportunists and sell‑
outs," she recalled.
She goes on to mention in her book that
the truth is "I am South African", explain‑
ing that she relates more to a Black
woman than a woman from India. But
then she also states that all racial groups
in the country are now searching for their
defining roots.
She said South African‑Indians today are
very mutable, according to the environ‑
ment. They have always managed to main‑
tain a cultural identity that is strongly
Indian, and with that comes religion. She
explained that most South African‑Indians
have held onto their religious beliefs, but
in doing so they have also appropriated
the language and culture of the Afrikaner,
the Blacks, and all others in between.
"What Gandhi Didn't See: Being Indian
In South Africa" is published by Speaking
Tiger. (IANS)
Congress, Communists instigated judges to
criticize CJI, says laudatory book on Modi
New Delhi: Congress and Communist par‑
ties instigated some apex court judges to
openly criticise the then Chief Justice of
India, claims a new book about Prime
Minister Narendra Modi as it seeks to
knock down the so‑called "ruckus" about
intolerance, stating that a majority of
those in the forefront of the intolerance
protest were "Congress retainers and Left‑
oriented darbaris (courtiers)."
Clearly a hagiography about the Prime
Minister, the book, 'Narendra Modi:
Creative Disruptor ‑ the Maker of New
India' by political analyst R. Balashankar,
says that Modi as Chief Minister of
Gujarat was convinced that only he could
bring about a "tectonic shift in the polity"
and a great opportunity would be lost if
he was not chosen as the party's Prime
Ministerial candidate. As expected from a
former national convenor of the Bharatiya
Janata Party and a self‑confessed follower
of saffron politics, Balashankar says that
Modi has a chance of creating history and
establishing India as an economic super‑
power of the 21st century if he wins the
2019 Lok Sabha election and his policy
initiatives deliver the projected benefits.
"Non‑NDA parties, particularly the
Congress and Communists, have been cre‑
ating such a ruckus about intolerance
under the Narendra Modi government.
They even targeted the Supreme Court
and wanted to move an impeachment
motion against the Chief Justice of India,
which was unprecedented. They could not
succeed because they did not have the
numbers in Parliament," he says.
The author, without any evidence, says
the Congress and the Communists "insti‑
gated some apex court judges to openly
criticize the Chief Justice of India and
these four judges held a press conference
25
to make their differences public, which
again was a first in the apex court's histo‑
ry", says the book. Four Supreme Court
judges ‑ Justice Jasti Chelameswar (since
retired), Justice Rajan Gogoi (now Chief
Justice of India), Justice Madan B. Lokur
and Justice Kurian Joseph (since retired) ‑
had held a press conference on January
12 this year in which they aired their
grievances over the roster system and
allocation of cases in the apex court.
The book says that if one were to recol‑
lect the incidents over which the intoler‑
ance debate occurred, it would be "laugh‑
able" because none of these were happen‑
ing in India for the first time, nor the last.
"Murders of writers, the so‑called pro‑
gressive thinkers, robberies in churches,
killing of a man from the minority com‑
munity and burning of the hut of a Dalit‑
these and much worse have happened
during six decades of Congress rule.
"With regular frequency, Hindu‑Muslim
riots have happened all over the country,
with the majority community taking the
brunt of the attack. People have been
butchered worse than cattle and yet none
had spoken up. If one were to go into the
details of each of these incidents, it would
be clear that stray, concocted events were
joined together to create a mirage, whose
only purpose was to tarnish the image of
the Modi government," says the book.
No criticism of Modi can be found in the
book, which seeks to imbue the Prime
Minister with abilities and powers that are
extraordinary. There is no word on how
over one thousand Muslims could have
died in communal attacks in 2002 ‑‑ while
Modi was the Chief Minister. The book
has been published by Konark Publishers.
(IANS)
 26 December 15-21, 2018 IMMIGRATION TheSouthAsianTimes.info

I‑751: Waiver of joint filing

By Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq.
& Michael Phulwani, Esq.

I
f an individual applied for a
green card based on their mar‑
riage to a U.S. citizen, they will
receive a “conditional” green card
that is only valid for two years if
they were married for less than
under extreme hardship guage that is spoken in their After the whole I‑751 packet is the whole I‑751 packet it will

VISA
two years on the date the green home country; filed, the conditional permanent determine if the conditional per‑
card is granted. Before the two‑ * They have custody of their resident will receive a receipt manent resident qualifies for a
year mark is completed, the cou‑

ple must file an I‑751 form to
remove the conditions on the for‑
eign nationalʼs green card. If the
conditions on their green card are
not removed, then the green card
and their status and right to stay
in the U.S. will terminate at the
end of two years.
Normally to remove the condi‑
tions on a green card, the green
card holder and their spouse
would jointly file I‑751 Petition.
There are a few circumstances
where a spouse cannot jointly file
Form I‑751, such as divorce, sepa‑
ration, death, or imminent harm.
In this circumstance the green
card hold must apply for a waiver
of the joint filing requirement.
One such option is to apply for
the waiver of joint filing based on
“extreme hardship.”
When applying for a waiver of
the joint filing requirement based
TALK
on extreme hardship the appli‑
cant must provide USCIS with evi‑
dence showing that if they return
to their former country they
would suffer extreme hardship.
The relief of filing jointly is a dis‑
cretionary relief and the hardship
requirement may be difficult to
prove. USCIS will only look at evi‑
dence of events that occurred
while the green card holder lived
in the U.S. as a conditional perma‑
nent resident. A conditional per‑
manent resident may qualify for a
waiver of joint filing under
extreme hardship if they can
show the following circum‑
stances:
* They have lived in the U.S.
for an extended period of time;
* They do not speak the lan‑
U.S. citizen children and they
would need to leave the U.S. as
well;
* They have family living in
the U.S. who are financially
dependent on them and would
suffer without their financial sup‑
port;
* They would not be able to
find work outside the U.S;
* They have a medical con‑
dition that cannot be treated
properly abroad;
* They would face persecu‑
tion or discrimination in their
home country;
* They are unable to receive
a divorce or annulment because
of religious or cultural belief;
* Their spouse was at fault
for the breakdown of their rela‑
tionship;
* They are unable to find
their spouse in order to file joint‑
ly.
notice. waiver of joint filing and send a
The conditional permanent resi‑ letter to the applicant with their
dent is allowed to continue to live decision or, in most waiver cases,
and work in the U.S. and travel they will schedule the applicant
abroad and return to the U.S., for an interview with an immigra‑
while their case is being tion office to determine eligibility.
processed. If USCIS needs more The removal of condition is the
evidence to show extreme hard‑ only pathway to becoming a full‑
ship they will send a request for fledged permanent resident, and
evidence, which must be timely US citizen if status was granted
answered. Once USCIS reviews conditionally.
Dev Banad Viswanath is the Principal Attorney of
The Banad Law Offices PC in the United States,
and Banad Immigration in India for which
Attorney Michael Phulwani is also affiliated as Of
Counsel. With Offices in Manhattan, Queens,
Bangalore, and Mumbai, the firm is able to assist
clients with all facets of the immigration process,
including Employment Visas, Consular Visa
Assistance, Student Visas, Removal &
Deportation, US Citizenship and Green Card
Applications based on Family or Employment.
Dev B. Viswanath can be reached at
Dev@Banadlaw.com and 718‑361‑5999.

Design

Don't design to accommodate only

disability, design to accommodate all
Facilities for people with disabilities in India often suffer from two defects: Providing what is not required, and not providing what is.
By Arman Ali People with disabilities are rou‑ cule population. There is no them
tinely stigmatized and their rights and us in disability. No one can

T
hey say Newton adored his
cat and her kitten. To make
it easy for them to enter his
house, he made two holes ‑‑ a
small one for the kitten, and a big‑
ger one for the cat. Just perfect, he
thought, till he saw the cat entered
through the larger hole, and the
little one used the same. That's
when it hit him ‑‑ like an apple had
fallen on his head ‑‑ that he needn't
have made the smaller hole after
all. One entrance suitable for his
cats of whatever sizes ‑ now, that
would have been perfect.
It's something the disability sec‑
tor calls universal design. Design
things and places that all can use ‑‑
and you won't need to make "spe‑
cial" things for the "specially‑
abled", or "different" things for the
"differently abled", or whatever
other proper but pointless labels
are created to refer to persons
with disabilities.
Facilities for people with disabili‑
ties in India often suffer from two
defects: Providing what is not
required, and not providing what
is. Take ramps. Ramps are made to
enable mobility, but too many
ramps resemble slides in a chil‑
dren's playground. Not only does it
not facilitate a wheelchair user's
mobility, s/he would likely need
two people to push her up the
mighty slope. This is not only a
waste of financial resources, it is
clearly a violation of the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (RPWD)
Act, 2016.
The RPWD Act mandates inclu‑
sion. There should be no segrega‑
tion of people with disabilities. It is
the core principle of India's
Constitution ‑‑ we are equal citi‑
zens, with the right not to be dis‑
criminated against. But from very
early in life, a person with disabili‑
ty is excluded. Both the RPWD Act
and the Right to Education Act
stress on inclusive education, and
the need to treat each child with
dignity. Schools should cater to all
children. So that children with dis‑
abilities can study with those with‑
out. And yet 90 per cent of chil‑
dren with disabilities worldwide
do not attend school. And out of
the 12 million children with dis‑
abilities in India, only one per cent
have access to a school.
violated almost from the word go.
And if, against all odds, they some‑
how wriggle through the system
and complete high school or col‑
lege, they then become eligible for
the grand prize of a disability pen‑
sion – Rs 500 per month. Most
have to be content with this.
Because when they apply for jobs,
what precedes their CV is societal
bias: The belief that disabled peo‑
ple are "becharas" who can't really
be expected to work productively.
This bias, like all biases, is flawed
because it focuses on the one or
two disabilities that people may
have, completely ignoring their
abilities.
Why is it so easy to ignore the
disabled? Why do we restrict our‑
selves to only majoritarian con‑
cerns ‑‑ and plan for only 80 per
cent of the population? Why not
for all? When we design to accom‑
modate disability, we design to
accommodate all. Besides, it's not
as though disability is some freak
thing that happens to some minus‑
ever say that s/he will be never be
affected by disability.
As a country, we seem to system‑
atically and systemically ignore
the disabled. We have not even
started to recognize it as relevant.
Why is it still so difficult to insert
questions on disability when we
are doing NSSO surveys/
SDGs/audits/data collection? Why
is there hardly any data on the liv‑
ing challenges of people with dis‑
abilities?
The answer is not a flattering
one. As a society we are used to
looking upon disability with either
pity or revulsion. Let us make the
effort to see the humanity of each
person, and not be blinded by prej‑
udice and stereotypes. People with
disability are not objects of pity.
They do not deserve to be shunned
or treated as helpless creatures in
need of our charity.
(Arman Ali is Executive Director
of the National Centre for
Promotion of Employment for
Disabled People)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info HUMOR December 15-21, 2018 27

Humor with Melvin Durai

Help! Weʼve got teenagers in the house!

A
bout a decade ago, when my three children were all
under 5, taking care of them seemed to be a constant
challenge. We had to change diapers, survive countless
tantrums, and struggle at the dining table to get them to eat
anything healthful. When we complained to other parents,
they expressed their sympathy with these soothing words:
“Wait until you get to the teen years! Thatʼs when it really gets
hard.”
Well, the teen years are here and let me tell you, it hasnʼt
been that bad. I still have a few strands of hair on my head.
It helps, of course, that Iʼve been preparing myself for the
teen years as a soldier prepares for war. Iʼve been keeping
myself in shape – doing push‑ups and sit‑ups – because of the
advice I heard from an Army general: “Never let the enemy
think youʼre weak.” The enemy is always looking for any kind
of weakness that they can exploit.
For example, my 13‑year‑old daughter, Divya, knows that
the best time to ask my wife, Malathi, for permission to do
something is when Malathi is absorbed in Facebook. So Divya
just stood behind Malathi one evening and said something like
this: “Mommy, I want to go to my friendʼs house for a sleep‑
over. I know youʼre busy, so if you just hit ʻlikeʼ on the next
post, Iʼll take that as a ʻyes.'” And Malathi, of course, just kept
hitting ʻlike” on various posts and we didnʼt see our daughter
for the next month.
Thatʼs why Malathi has been off Facebook. And thatʼs why
itʼs important to prepare for the teen years – so you donʼt get
blindsided. Teenagers are much smarter than you think. While
youʼre reading books titled “Surviving the Teen Years” and
“How to Give Your Teenagers a Great Foundation for Life,”
theyʼre reading books such as “Surviving the Parenting Years”
and “How to Give Your Parents Intense Migraines for Life.”
Aside from reading books, getting advice from other parents
is a good way to prepare for the teen years. Just make sure
you find parents who look like theyʼve survived something
awful, such as an earthquake, hurricane, or visit to the
Embassy of India. Avoid getting advice from parents who look
like theyʼve just returned from a cruise to Jamaica. Such par‑
ents probably have teenagers who are extremely well‑behaved
and extremely responsible, the type of kids whom other teens
would describe as “extremely abnormal.”
My wife and I have two teenagers in our household, Divya
and her 15‑year‑old sister, Lekha, and we are dreading the day
when our son, Rahul, turns into a teenager. Thankfully, thatʼs
almost two years away, but the thought of having three teens
under the same roof scares the living daylights out of me. Iʼve
considered sending one or two of them away to boarding
school, but it would be easier on my kidsʼ emotions and con‑
siderably less expensive if I just moved away.
Perhaps I could do something far less stressful for a few
years, such as becoming a prison guard. At least the inmates
will listen when I tell them to turn the lights out and get in
bed. If I seem overly stressed about the teen years, just imag‑
ine how Iʼd feel if we were raising teenagers a few decades
ago (like my mom did). A recently published study in the jour‑
nal “Child Development” shows that todayʼs teenagers, com‑
pared to teens in previous generations, are less eager to turn
into adults. Fewer of them are participating in adult activities
such as drinking, dating, having sex, and driving. In other
words, theyʼre not growing up as quickly as they used to. A
15‑year‑old today acts like a 12‑year‑old in 1980 (but still
frowns when I play the Bee Gees).
So I need to be thankful that Divya is more obsessed with
her cellphone than with boys, Lekha hasnʼt yet asked about
driving lessons, and both of them are still willing, now and
then, to be seen in public with me.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422‑S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
By Mahendra Shah
516‑827‑1010
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 car-
toons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
28 December 15-21, 2018 ASTROLOGY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

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

DECEMBER 15‑21, 2018

ARIES: A situation developing at work
needs to be tackled urgently. You are
likely to score on the academic front
with your innovative ideas. Becoming the
favourite of senior is likely to give some a
new high. You will be able to benefit some
family youngster by your experience and
contacts. Sharing and caring will make the
romantic front most fulfilling. Possibility of
travelling to a distant place looks real.
Someone may recommend your name for an
event or competition.
TAURUS: Hectic time is foreseen, as
much is expected out of you. Some of
you are likely to add to your skills. A
chance to travel on an official tour will mate‑
rialise for some. Good returns are foreseen
on an investment. You will have the money
to do up your home. Some of you can get
romantically involved. Lending a helping
hand to someone will be appreciated. You
are likely to opt for health foods. House
hunting may prove frustrating.
GEMINI: There are times when you
need to take things in your stride. You
will be able to come to terms with
someone close. A worrying situation on the
work front is successfully resolved. You can
go ahead with a venture which is likely to
become profitable soon. Your love life prom‑
ises to cruise along smoothly. Financial sta‑
bility is likely to be achieved. Students will
find peer support encouraging. Travel by
road will be comfortable.
CANCER: You may be tasked for a
job you are not too confident about.
A pat on the back can be expected
by some at work. Issue of your promotion or
raise is likely to be taken up by superiors. A
change in lifestyle will do a whale of a good
to your health. You can get a bit concerned
for a family member settled out of town.
Nearness to the one you love will keep your
spirits high.
LEO: This is a great time, when you
will get to meet your near and dear
ones.
A family member may prove a big support
for you. You will succeed in covering up
someoneʼs mistakes at work. Marital life will
prove most fulfilling, as loving bonds
strengthen. You remain comfortable on the
monetary front.
Health will remain good and keep you alert
and energetic this week. Love beckons those
looking for it. You remain strong on the aca‑
demic front.
VIRGO: Someone may try to contact
you for a specific purpose that may
benefit you. Focussing on family is
likely to give you good emotional returns.
Meeting an old flame is set to brighten up
the romantic front for some. You can lag
behind at work due to avoidable distrac‑
tions. Your request for a raise is likely to fall
on deaf ears.
Be certain of the financial viability of a proj‑
ect before putting it in action.
LIBRA: Keep superiors informed of
all your actions to remain on a safe
wicket. Happiness prevails on the
work front as you gel well with co‑workers.
Common interest can get you together with
like‑minded friends. Someone from abroad
or out of town is likely to brighten the
domestic horizon.
You get the chance you had been waiting for
on the romantic front. Some of you can opt
for a family package tour to go on a
vacation.
SCORPIO: There is a good chance of
getting a break in a field that you are
passionate about. You can be vindic‑
tive when you want to, but your actions are
likely to have an equal and opposite reac‑
tion this week. Some of you are likely to get
worried about your advancing age. A trusted
employee may break your trust. Financial
worries can force you to go on a corner‑cut‑
ting spree. Spouse may appear at his or her
complaining best.
SAGITTARIUS: A good break on the
job front is expected. You feel young
and energetic this week. Your effi‑
ciency at work will be appreciated by all.
Not succumbing to impulse buying will save
you a lot. A pleasant surprise awaits some
on the domestic front. Your love life promis‑
es to be immensely satisfying. Urge to travel
can get the better of you, so plan out a vaca‑
tion. Donʼt get involved in any property deal
this week. Those needing help can rest easy.
CAPRICORN: A personal issue may
put you in two minds, so listen to
your heart to follow the correct path.
Your reputation is likely to soar both on the
personal and professional fronts. Rising
standard of living is likely to make you rub
shoulders with the cream. You are likely to
get a lucky break on the financial front. This
is the right time to attract someone you
have fascination for. Efficiency will be the
keyword for homemakers.
AQUARIUS: This is a good time to
force an issue hanging fire for long
in your professional sphere. You are
likely to have your hands full on the domes‑
tic front with the arrival of guests. A good
professional opportunity threatens to slip
out of your hands if you are not quick
enough. Non‑payment of a previous amount
is likely to worry you. A current situation
can force you to keep romance on the back‑
burner. Health remains satisfactory.
PISCES : You may be included in an
on‑going project at work. Forcing
someone to do your bidding will only
frustrate you. You may fail in defusing an
explosive situation at work. Differences on
the marital front threaten to lead some
towards separation. Expenses rise, bank bal‑
ance gets depleted, but back payments may
still not be received. Lovers tif f is on the
cards for some and can continue for some
time. Going someplace far will help you
unwind. Health needs care.

15th December, 2018
Traits in you: Venus being your rul‑
ing planet of fers you with a charis‑
matic personality and intelligence.
You will always find peace of mind.
Health this year: You may find
blessings of a sacred person to
remain physically and mentally
healthy.
Finance this year: You may find
your friends helpful enough to sup‑
port you financially. You may get
influence from one of your female
friends, which will bring new dimen‑
sions to your life. You have to ignore
them who approach you for loans and
financial assistance.
Career this year: As a vivid learner,
you will get the chance to move ahead
of others when it comes to new tech‑
nology. However, you have to work on
your nature of being lazy, moody. You
should control yourself from interfer‑
ing in the affairs of others.
Romance this year: Your partner
will be with you in every situation
you are in. You will be relieved with
the helping hand of your partner.
16th December, 2018
Traits in you: Your ruling planet
Neptune makes you full of energy,
ambition, and honesty. You like to
enjoy independence in your life to the
maximum. You have a sharp memory
to memorize whatever you study.
Being innovative and born talented,
you have all the capabilities to
impress others. However, you need
work on your nature of behaving
impatient and unpredictable.
Health this year: You may need to
take extra care of your health as the
movement of your planet may make
you fall sick throughout this year. It
is advised to practice yoga and medi‑
tation in a regular basis. It will not
only improve your mental health but
also make you physically fit.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
Finance this year: If you are into
business, this year will prove to be
very lucky for you as you will expand
your business by launching new and
profitable ideas. You will gain enough
money if you invest in stocks.
Career this year: You have the best
time to take important decisions for
your professional life this year. It is
advisable for you to gather knowl‑
edge and information on various top‑
ics. You need to make new and long
lasting contacts to get help in future.
You will try your level best to achieve
your desired goals.
Romance this year: Your romantic
affiliation with your partner may
make your bond more stronger. You
may plan to get married this year.
17th December, 2018
Traits in you: You are bestowed
with the characteristics such as ener‑
getic, realistic, dependable, hardwork‑
ing, and highly disciplined. Your
duties and responsibilities bear the
most value than anything else in your
life. However, you have to look after
your nature of behaving stubborn and
showing jealousy at wrong situations.
Health this year: You will enjoy a
sound health. However, you may suf‑
fere from minor backaches due to sit‑
ting more time in work.
Finance this year: Though there
will be an improvement in your finan‑
cial status this year, you will end up
increasing your expenses as well. If
your decision of investing comes cor‑
rect, you may be benefited or else you
may lose your money. Many of your
friend and relatives may visit you this
year. They may bring you gifts in
form of money.
Career this year: You need to con‑
centrate on projects that would bring
long term gains rather than bother‑
ing about small projects. Some of you
may get opportunities to get new
employments.
Romance this year: You may find
this year romantic enough to make
your year pleasing and happy.
18th December, 2018
Traits in you: Being under the influ‑
ence of Mars, you are blessed with dig‑
nity, sensitiveness, courage, confidence
and diplomacy. You are born simple
and helpful. You need to work on your
nature of becoming impatient.
Health this year: You will take help
of spirituality later this year for the
betterment of your mental health.
However, you will remain healthy
physically.
Finance this year: You should not
spend too much money to buy luxury.
This may land you in financial crisis
later in the year. The peace at your
home may get ruined to financial cri‑
sis and health issues. Though you
may face a difficult time regarding to
money earlier this year, you will find
a solution or a new source of income
later, which would solve your finan‑
cial problems.
Career this year: You may bring
huge changes in your professional
life this year. You may expect a trans‑
fer or promotion in the middle of this
year. Those who are on a foreign trip
in the second half of the year will find
the trip enjoyable and exciting.
Romance this year: You will be
enjoying a disturbed relationship
with your partner as you would not
be able to show required care and
concern. If you are unmarried, you
may decide to remain so for at least
two years.
19th December, 2018
Traits in you: Your star Sun makes
you active, dynamic, confident,
responsible and a talented. You have
the scope to learn new things and
create new ideas. However, you have
to take care of your nature of behav‑
ing improvident and dominating.
Health this year: You will remain
healthy provided you get your check‑
up done regularly.
Finance this year: You will find new
money making opportunities pretty
result oriented if you concentrate on
you work and give your best. Your
assumptions on pretty things may not
help you gain anything rather it
would make you feel miserable later.
You may invest on land or house for
better returns.
Career this year: You will not take
enough time to complete your pend‑
ing tasks this year. You will find your
job interesting enough. You may
excel in your domain and get appreci‑
ated from your higher management
with a better salary hike.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a
very good relationship with your
spouse this year. Your romantic rela‑
tionships will be strengthened this
year.
20th December, 2018
Traits in you: As you are ruled by
Moon, you are blessed with charac‑
teristics such as imaginative, smart,
trustworthy, generous and authorita‑
tive person.
Health this year: You may go for a
pilgrimage to attain peace and mental
comfort. This year you will suf fer
from various minor health issues and
this will keep you disturbed.
Finance this year: This year will
bring you job security and financial
stability. You need to deal with your
money carefully to avoid loss. Your
assumptions in taking hasty decisions
may cause financial loss to you. If you
are a businessman, you may get into
new contracts to enhance your busi‑
ness. If you get into any overseas ven‑
ture, you may be befitted financially
from it.
Career this year: Being an excellent
professional, you will be recognized
as a very efficient resource and peo‑
ple may seek your advice and sup‑
port. However, you have to avoid
being selfish and moody.
Romance this year: This year is the
perfect time for you to be in an emo‑
tional relationship or you may get
married.
21st December, 2018
Traits in you: By your inborn
nature, you are intellectual, distin‑
guished, cheerful, kind and optimistic.
Health this year: You need to take
more care of your health to avoid
future complicacy.
Finance this year: Your business
may earn you a lot of money if you
plan your budget intelligently. You
need to have a trustworthy plan in
place before you implement your
budget in the business. You should
not go beyond your budget if you do
not want to be in loss. Your past
investments will earn you money this
year and make you financially sound.
You may find the property or legal
dispute settlement satisfactory.
Career this year: Being good at
your work, you get lot of appreciation
and respect from others. Your good
work pays of f with rewards.
However, you should not behave
dominating and arrogant. You may
find this year promising enough
when growth is concerned.
Romance this year: You may plan
an overseas trip with your beloved to
spend quality time. Your relationship
will grow more strong with lots of
love and care.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Savvy Tips for Your Holiday Spending
W
e are in the midst of the holiday
season, and if you are like many
people, youʼve probably already
spent more than you anticipat‑
ed.
More consumers are
looking to use a credit card
this season to pay for gifts,
and they plan to take
longer to pay it off than in
previous years, according
to a recent NerdWallet sur‑
vey. In fact, more than 39
million Americans are still
carrying some of last yearʼs
holiday balance on their
cards today.
While credit card use is
common during the holidays,
the key is making sure you
use the right card, are aware
of common fraud tactics and
have a plan to pay off debt
quickly. Here are some helpful tips:
4 Pick the right card. The average
Keeping Your Health on Track
During the Indulgent Holiday Season
T W
he holiday season can be an indul‑
gent one, full of cookies, can‑
dies, heavy meals and
eggnog. While no one wants
to rein in the fun during the
merriest time of year,
there are simple ways to
keep your health on
track during this indul‑
gent holiday season.
4 Stick to Routines. To
the best of your ability
during this hectic time of
year, attempt to stick to rou‑
tines that promote wellness. Set
a bedtime and honor it. Hit the gym.
Meditate. Do whatever it is that keeps
you grounded and feeling your best.
4 Drink Up. Many people associate dehy‑
dration with the warmer months. But in
winter weather it can be especially easy to
forget to stay well‑hydrated, especially
when youʼre indulging in alcoholic bever‑
ages at all those holiday parties.
Remember, water doesnʼt need to be the
only source of hydration you think about
this season. Soups and purees made from
hearty winter vegetables, as well as citrus
fruits do the trick, too, and their nutrition‑
al properties can help keep you healthy in
winter.
4 Keep Things Organically Sweet.
Staying on track doesnʼt mean you canʼt
enjoy the sweetness of the season.
Instantly boost the flavor of your favorite
meals with organic honey. One great
option is Organic Honey In The Raw. USDA
Organic Certified and Non‑GMO Project
Verified, itʼs made from pure nectar col‑
lected from exotic wildflowers found in the
remote Caatinga region of northeast
Brazil. The hand‑harvested, sustainable
honey is raw (never heated above 117
degrees) and unfiltered, so it retains the
benefits of bee pollen.
HOLIDAYS
American has 2‑3 credit cards. During the
holidays, make sure you use those cards
that wonʼt leave you with financial
regret afterward. Balance the benefits of
reward points, zero percent APRs, or spe‑
cial deals, with the long‑term cost of bor‑
rowing money. For example, store credit
And
just one
tablespoon of organic raw honey provides
the right amount of sweetness and flavor
for any dish or drink, including year‑round
staples like oatmeal, yogurt, tea, and more.
You can also consider giving a honey
makeover to all your favorite holiday
recipes, including glazes and sauces for
meat and poultry, cocktail recipes, and of
course baked treats.
4 Make Substitutions. Other healthful
substitutions you can make this holiday
season include topping pies with Greek
yogurt instead of cream, using apple sauce
in place of oil and nut flour instead of
white flour in baking, and serving veg‑
etable mash as an alternative to mashed
potatoes.
4 Be Mindful. The holiday party circuit
can be dangerous when it comes to mak‑
ing nutritious choices. When you enter a
party with a buffet set‑up, it can be tempt‑
ing to reach for the richest foods first.
Before indulging in the canapes and
Swedish meatballs, try filling up a plate
with crudité first. While youʼre doing so,
get a good look at all the options available.
This way, youʼll be more likely to savor
choice items youʼll truly enjoy.
December 15-21, 2018 29
cards give exciting discounts at the time sharing your logon information over the
of purchase but often charge higher APRs phone or clicking on random links in
than a card you already emails from unknown sources, such as
have in your wallet. “track your package,” “open your holiday
Take a moment to think greeting” or “free gift card.” Fraudsters
about how you will pay often impersonate credible companies to
after the fun of holiday get you to share your logon information
spending is over, and or click links.
donʼt forget to review Now is also a great time to consider
the fine print associat‑ changing your account passwords and
ed with making big enrolling in multifactor authentication
purchases. (MFA) where available. Using MFA, creat‑
4 Be smart and ing unique passwords, responding to
safe. If you are shop‑ fraud alerts and monitoring your accounts
ping online, make sure are critical steps during the holiday sea‑
the website starts son.
with ʻhttps://ʼ to • Start planning to pay it off now. Be
ensure itʼs a credible sure to keep track of your spending so
site before making a there are no surprises in the new year.
purchase, and be sure Decide when you want to have your card
to turn off Wi‑Fi auto‑ paid off, and calculate the best plan of
connect and Bluetooth when youʼre out action based on your lifestyle and
and about this holiday season. Connecting finances. Utilize your bank and credit card
to public Wi‑Fi is dangerous and less companiesʼ resources to create a realistic
secure than connecting to your mobile timeline that still allows for your everyday
network. In addition, think twice before and monthly expenses.
10 Doctor‑Recommended
New Yearʼs Resolutions
ith the New Year upon us,
you may be looking for
resolutions that will help
to keep you and your loved ones
healthy and happy in the year
ahead.
“This is the perfect time of year
to consider your personal goals,
and how you can make positive
health choices in the coming
year,” says American Medical
ance is a serious public health problem
Association (AMA) President Barbara L.
and antibiotics will not make you feel bet‑
McAneny, M.D. “Small lifestyle changes
ter if you have a virus, such as a cold or
today can have a lasting effect in improv‑
flu.
ing your health.”
6. If consuming alcohol, do so in moder‑
To help you start the year off on the
ation as defined by the U.S. Dietary
right foot, Dr. McAneny and the experts at
Guidelines for Americans ‑‑ up to one
the AMA are offering 10 recommenda‑
drink per day for women and two drinks
tions to help you determine where you
per day for men, and only by adults of
can make the most impactful, long‑lasting
legal drinking age.
improvements to your health.
7. Talk with your doctor about tobacco
1. Learn your risk for type 2 diabetes by
and nicotine use and quit. Declare your
taking the self‑screening test at
home and car smoke‑free to eliminate
DoIHavePrediabetes.org. Steps you take
exposure to secondhand smoke.
now can help prevent or delay the onset
8. Pain medication is personal. If you
of type 2 diabetes.
are taking prescription opioids, follow
2. Be more physically active. Adults
your doctorʼs instructions, store them
should do at least 150 minutes a week of
safely to prevent diversion or misuse, and
moderate‑intensity activity, or 75 minutes
properly dispose of any leftover medica‑
a week of vigorous‑intensity activity.
tion.
3. Know your blood pressure numbers.
9. Make sure your family is up‑to‑date
Visit LowerYourHBP.org to better under‑
on their vaccines, including the annual
stand your numbers and take necessary
influenza vaccine for everyone age six
steps to get your high blood pressure ‑‑
months or older.
also known as hypertension ‑‑ under con‑
10. Manage stress. A good diet and daily
trol. Doing so will reduce your risk of
exercise are key ingredients to maintain‑
heart attack or stroke.
ing and improving your mental health, but
4. Reduce your intake of processed
donʼt hesitate to ask for help from a friend
foods, especially those with added sodium
or mental health professional when you
and sugar. Also reduce your consumption
need it.
of sugar‑sweetened beverages and drink
The lifestyle choices you make now will
more water instead.
have long‑lasting impacts. So, this new
5. If your health care professional deter‑
year, prioritize your long‑term health by
mines that you need antibiotics, take them
forming great habits.
exactly as prescribed. Antibiotic resist‑
StatePoint
 30 December 15-21, 2018
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
L
ife on earth, as we have it,
has a tremendous bearing in
building the body and mind.
We must therefore strive to
simplify
life and learn to live truly. It is
true living on which everything
else depends, even the search for
one self. The
importance of true living cannot
be over emphasized. It is rightly
said, "Truth is higher than every‑
thing, but higher still is true living."
The problem of personal conduct
of man as an individual is one of
prime importance for success in
spiritual path. In order to progress
in spiritual path, we need to devel‑
op right understanding so that we
can have right thoughts, right
words and right deeds.
Each day we have so many short‑
comings in leading an ethical life.
We have so many failures in the
areas of non‑violence, truthfulness,
humility, selfless service and
chastity.
Unfortunately, we have devel‑
oped ugly blemishes and are cov‑
ered with the dirt and dust of sins
we have accumulated while pass‑
ing through the wheel of life. How
many times we have gone wrong in
matters of non‑violence?
BEING ACTIVE AND BEING STILL
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
F
rom childhood, our life is a
series of activities that occu‑
py our time. Parents create a
schedule for their infants and tod‑
dlers. As children, our life becomes
a regiment of one activity after
another. In school, we rush about to
reach classes on our schedule.
When we graduate, we take a job
and we have a list of tasks to do. It
seems our whole life is occupied in
one activity after another. Thus,
when we try to meditate, we find it
almost unnatural to sit still and still
our mind.
As a society we seem to value
activity. T he more we are seen
doing, the better it looks. Few peo‑
ple value sitting in silence. We think
that if we sit still, we are not doing
anything. We fear being labeled as
lazy or incompetent. However, each
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
TRUTH IS HIGH, TRUE LIVING IS HIGHER
Nonviolence has several aspects.
It involves non‑injury in thought,
word and deed. We know that we
should not kill or hit anyone but
still we are violent to some. We
may be able to develop control
over ourselves so that we do not
physically harm anyone, but we are
quite careless when it comes to
non‑violence in words and
thoughts.
We injure the feelings of so many
people, we think ill of so many oth‑
ers. And because of our grievous
lack of patience, we are prone to
speak harshly. We must weigh our
words carefully. If we can keep
control on our tongue, we will find
that our issues will be resolved lov‑
ingly and we will not injure or be
injured in the process.
For those treading the spiritual
path, truthfulness is one of ethical
virtues we need to inculcate.
Failures in truthfulness can
be broken down into categories
of falsehood, deceit, hypocrisy and
illegal gain. Some failures under
these headings are quite obvious,
such as telling a lie or stealing.
People can lie in thought, word or
deed. It basically means they are
hiding the truth. We need to realize
that while we may sometimes hide
the truth from others but we can‑
not hide it from God. He is all
knowing and He is watching us all
the times, so our thoughts, words
and deeds should be above board.
Next comes humility. Humility
means treating every human being
as equal and speaking to each one
in a humble tone, with
a sweet voice. But in reality each
person thinks that he or she all
powerful, all‑knowing and
endowed with the greatest of
qualities. We are filled with ego.
person needs to take time from all
their busy activities and be still.
Being still has many purposes. It
is in stillness that we come up with
creative ideas. It is in stillness that
we solve a difficult problem. It is in
stillness that we have revelations.
Scientists, musicians, artists, poets,
writers, philosophers, and inventors
often came up with masterpieces by
sitting in stillness. From the still‑
ness arose new ideas that revolu‑
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
In order to progress in spiritual path, we
need to develop right understanding so
that we can have right thoughts, right
words and right deeds. Each day we have
so many shortcomings in leading an
ethical life. We have so many failures in
the areas of non-violence, truthfulness,
humility, selfless service and chastity.
Ego manifests in different forms ego, the more God's grace can
i.e. ego based on knowledge, wealth enter into us.
and power. We try to Then we lack compassion. Man
flaunt our knowledge. We try to was created to have sympathy for
overawe others with our power his fellow beings, to share the pain,
and we try to prove our superiority the trials and tribulations of others.
to others on the basis of the riches We should share the sorrows and
we possess. afflictions of our fellows, as well as
We should have love for all the of entire creation. How many
people, regardless of their social opportunities for
status and position in life. The selfless service, we take advan‑
more we empty ourselves of our tage of? By serving selflessly, we
sit in silence. Yet to solve a problem
or create something new, we need
to take time from our busy schedule
to tap into our inner resources.
Similarly, to achieve self‑knowledge
and God‑realization we need to
learn to sit in stillness.
When we sit in stillness it may
look to others as if we are not doing
anything. Yet, in stillness we are
doing the most important activity in
life̶finding our soul and God. Few
people attain God in life. Why? They
tionized the world. do not know how to do nothing. If
they would learn to sit and do noth‑
Similarly, stillness is where we ing, they would find everything.
find our soul and God. God cannot It may be good for each of us to
be found by outer activity; God can set aside some time daily to practice
only be found within. Meditation sitting in stillness. At our jobs, we
requires stillness for attaining spiri‑ can spend some time thinking
tual results. about whether we are doing our
Our life is like a train rushing work in the best possible manner
along tracks of busyness. We are so and if not, how to make improve‑
used to being busy that it feels ments. We may come up with a new
unnatural to stop our activities to and better way of doing things at
expand our hearts from our self to
our family, to community, our
country, the world and ultimately
the cosmos.
Selfless service comes from an
understanding that we are all
members of one large family of
God. To truly perform selfless serv‑
ice, we must act without any desire
for a reward or recognition. It is
one of the goals of spirituality to
help all humanity develop the qual‑
ity of love and service to all.
Chastity is the most important
part of spiritual life. Spirituality
cannot dawn on a mind which is
driven or attracted through the
outgoing faculties to the outward
enjoyment. Out of five outgoing
faculties of eyes, ears, nose, touch
and taste, three are
most powerful. Lust attacks us
eighty percent through eyes, four‑
teen percent through ears and six
percent through touch. So how
should we maintain chastity? We
have to just control our attention.
If our attention is riveted at the
centre of the soul in the body, we
will not be affected by what we see
or hear. We should observe chasti‑
ty in thoughts, words and deeds. To
be pure is the ground on which
God manifests. Christ said, "Blessed
are pure in heart, for they shall see
God."
As a result of failure in leading
ethical life, our soul continues to
come again and again to this cre‑
ation, without hope of
returning to its source. The only
way to become purified is to take
shelter under a Living Master. The
Master through meditation process
helps us to lead an ethical life. He
has treatment for all our ailments.
He is yearning and longing to come
and bestow His love on us.
work. If we run a household, we can
spend some time sitting in stillness
to reflect on how we can solve our
family problems or make life for
our family better. If we are involved
in the arts, the stillness can help us
tap into our creativity.
If we learn the art of sitting in
silence, even for our worldly work,
we will be able to transfer that abili‑
ty to sitting in silence for medita‑
tion. We will find we are less jumpy
and restless. We can develop the
ability to sit still for the longest pos‑
sible time. We will be used to stop‑
ping our mind, to let our soul have
its voice. When all is still, we find
the soulʼs voice is calling for us to
find God. If we are still, we can hear
the Voice of God, or the Music of
the Spheres, the Celestial Harmony,
or the holy Word.
We can balance our activities with
times in which we are still. In this
way we can improve our medita‑
tions. By sitting still in meditation
we will find that we can be the most
productive, because we can attain
the state of finding God.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info December 15-21, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info December 15-21, 2018