The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.11 No. 34 December 22-28, 2018 80 Cents
Trump blinks in government
shutdown showdown
Washington: White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders says the White House is
willing to work with Congress to
avert a partial government shut‑
down.
President Donald Trump has
been demanding $5 billion to
fund his long‑promised U.S.‑
Mexico border wall, but
Democrats have balked at giving
him any more than $1.6 billion
for border security. A shutdown
could happen at midnight Friday.
Sanders said on Fox News on
Tuesday there are "other ways
that we can get to that $5 bil‑
lion," including one bill she says
would provide $26 billion in bor‑
der security, including $1.6 bil‑
lion for the wall.
She added, "That's something
that we would be able to support"
US may link IMF’s Pakistan IPL auction:
bailout to terror, China debt Rookies turn
Washington: The US would like to
see progress in combating terror
financing and more cooperation
on Afghanistan as conditions
attached to the bailout package
Pakistan has sought from the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF), along with transparency
about its debts to China. Terror
financing and money laundering
under the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) is a multilateral con‑
cern aligned with IMFʼs mandate
and Pakistanʼs compliance is criti‑
cal for the IMF bailout it has
sought, a senior US official said on
condition of anonymity, Hindustan
Times has reported.
In June, the FATF, a secretive
watchdog, put Pakistan on its grey
list of countries it monitors closely
and works with to counter terror
DIPLOMACY 15 LIFESTYLE 18
i n j o u r n a l i s m
President Trump in an acrimonious meeting over funding
the border wall with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
in the Oval Office a week ago.
as long as it's coupled with other
funding, such as using defense
money on border security. At the
end of the day, we don't want to
financing and money laundering.
“Transparency” about money
Pakistan owes China will be a key
condition too, the official said,
reiterating the US position on the
issue. Other US officials have also
made clear the centrality of this
issue, vowing to prevent Pakistan
from using the bailout to pay off
Chinese debt.
Another official sought to link
the bailout to more cooperation
from Pakistan in the Afghan peace
Continued on page 4
SCITECH 24
New York Edition Follow us on
shut down the government. We
want to shut down the border
from illegal immigration."
Continued on page 4
overnight
millionaires
Jaipur: The 2019 Indian Premier
League auction on December 18
witnessed a new list of millionaires
as Varun Chakaravarthy and
Jaydev Unadkat topped the charts
among the
Indian players
w ith a he fty
purse of Rs
8.4 crore each,
w h i l e
Englishman
Sam Curran emerged as the high‑
est paid overseas player with a
price tag of Rs 7.2 crore. Varun, a
little known mystery bowler, was
purchased by the Kings XI Punjab
Continued on page 4
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Three Congress
CMs sworn in
Ashok Gehlot is back at the helm in Rajasthan.
Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh and
Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh were also sworn in CMs.
Ashok Gehlot taking the oath
of office as Rajasthan chief
minister for the third time.
Jaipur/Bhopal/Raipur: Congress
veterans Ashok Gehlot, Kamal
Nath and Bhupesh Baghel were
on Monday sworn in as new Chief
Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, ending
BJPʼs rule in the Hindi heartland.
The occasions were marked by
opposition bonhomie, with a host
of prominent opposition leaders
sharing the stage with Congress
President Rahul Gandhi.
Coming days after leaders of 21
opposition parties on December
10 resolved to work together to
"defeat the BJP‑RSS", the swear‑
ing‑in ceremonies turned into a
platform to showcase the opposi‑
tion unity ahead of the 2019 Lok
Sabha polls.
Gehlot, along with his deputy
Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan, Kamal
Nath in Madhya Pradesh and
Baghel in Chhattisgarh were
administered the oath of office
and secrecy by the Governors in
the presence of Rahul Gandhi, for‑
mer Prime Minister Manmohan
Kamal Nath, Madhya Pradesh
CM, seen with party President
Rahul Gandhi.
Singh and a number of opposition
leaders.
Congress General Secretary and
former Union Minister Gehlot
took over the reins of Rajasthan
for the third time, while Sachin,
who won his maiden Assembly
election, is Gehlot's "co‑pilot" after
being sworn in as the Deputy
Chief Minister.
In Bhopal, nine‑time MP and
former Union Minister Kamal
Nath became Madhya Pradesh's
18th Chief Minister, on a day the
Delhi High Court convicted
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in
the 1984 anti‑Sikh riots, prompt‑
ing attacks from the BJP which
alleges Kamal Nath's involvement
in the riots in the national capital.
In Raipur, state Congress
President Bhupesh Baghel, credit‑
ed for powering his party to a
landslide victory, became the
third Chief Minister of the tribal‑
dominated state.
DETAILED STORIES ON PG 12
excellence in journalism
 2 December 22-28, 2018
GOING RETRO: Noor and
Hussain Baqueri, in their dress
inspired by the 70ʼs disco
culture, were declared the
best couple of the evening.
In the best female category,
Maninder Kaur was the winner
for her actress Babita inspired
dress and hairdo.
Quddus Mohammed, walking with Dr Yashpal Arya, rocked the
runway dressed in bell‑bottoms and golden frilled shirt.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
RCHS HOSTS HOLIDAYS PARTY
IN 70’S BOLLYWOOD THEME
Hicksville, NY: The Rotary Club of
Hicksville South, a local chapter of
Rotary International, celebrated
their annual Holidays dinner and
dance in 70s Bollywood theme. A
number of community leaders,
Rotarians, supporters and their fam‑
ilies filled the hall with Holidays
cheers in flashy‑themed clothes and
festive moods.
The exclusive by‑invitation event
was an elaborate celebration where
guests were all dressed up as
Bollywood movie stars and danced
to the perfect playlist put together
from the blockbuster hits of the
1970ʼs era. Setting the scene,
Mukesh Modi, President Elect of
RCHS, gave a special performance,
while Sunny and Kajol Gill, a Long
Island based team, presented live
musical performances.
The high point of the evening
came as the bold and sparkling cou‑ with community leaders, business
ple Mrs. Noor and
Mr. Hussain
Baqueri, in their
dress inspired
by the 70ʼs
disco culture,
were declared
the best couple
of the evening.
In the best‑
dressed male
category,
Quddus
Mohammed
rocked the run‑
way dressed in
his bell‑bottoms
and golden
frilled shirt and
Daniel Tariq in
his jazzy disco‑
dancer costume. Setting the scene, Mukesh Modi,
In the best President‑Elect of RCHS, gave a winter coats in
female category, special performance.
Maninder Kaur
was the winner for her actress
Babita inspired dress and hairdo
and Tahira Sharif for her appear‑
ance reminiscent of Reena Roy in
the hit 1976 movie ʻKalicharanʼ.
Roopam Maini, President of
RCHS, greeted the guests, wishing
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Elegantly draped in a sari, Roopam Maini, President of RCHS, modeled her own style.
them the best for the Holiday sea‑
son. She pointed out that events
like this is just another opportunity
Rotary provides to meet and mingle
networking, promote understanding
and interfaith toler‑
ance. Fun and food,
thereʼs everything
to love about in
this festive winter
tradition of our
club, she added.
Kamlesh Mehta,
the founding
President of RCHS
and Past District
Governor, high‑
lighted Rotaryʼs
spirit of giving and
kindness, promot‑
ing compassion
and world peace.
RCHS kicked off
this festive season
by donating over Tahira Sharifʼs appearance was reminiscent of Reena Roy in 1976
300 brand new movie ʻKalicharanʼ. Daniel Tariq was in his jazzy disco‑dancer costume
November to chil‑
dren living in fos‑
ter homes and families in need on
Long Island. “We are committed to
giving, as the proceeds from
tonightʼs raffle will go for donation
of blankets donation,” he said. The
raffle prizes included gift items
such as an Apple 6th generation
IPad donated by HAB Bank,
Hicksville. The proud winning ticket
of IPad belonged to Mohinder
Singh.
Rotary International brings
together a global network of volun‑
teers dedicated to tackling the
worldʼs most pressing humanitarian
challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 mil‑
lion members of more than 35,000
Rotary clubs in over 200 countries
and regions. Their work improves
lives at both the local and interna‑
tional levels, from helping families
in need in their own communities to
working toward a polio‑free world.
For more information, visit The raffle prizes included gift items such as an
Apple 6th generation IPad, won by Mohinder Singh.
www.RotaryofHicksvilleSouth.com
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY December 22-28, 2018 3

HAF launches ʻI Am Hindu First Hindu American

Americanʼ campaign
New York: The Hindu American
Foundation (HAF) has launched a
new campaign – I Am Hindu
American – to improve awareness of
the Hindu religion and Hindu
Americans. The multi‑platform initia‑
tive includes a social‑media cam‑
paign, a 30‑second PSA (public serv‑
ice announcement), and a compan‑
ion website to provide valuable
resources about Hinduism and
Hindu Americans:
www.IAmHinduAmerican.org.
In collaboration with more than
300 community partners around the
country, the PSA is being distributed
through social media networks
nationwide to boost awareness and
clarify common stereotypes and mis‑
understandings about Hinduism. The
platform will be interactive, encour‑
aging Hindu Americans to upload a
photo of themselves and share how
Hinduism inspires them in their
everyday lives. There are many
Hindu contributions to our daily
lives: from yoga and meditation to
the decimal system as well as an
understanding of the law of cause
and effect known as karma.
Hindu American Foundationʼs
digital campaign aims to raise
awareness of Hindu Americansʼ
contributions to society and clarify
misperceptions about Hinduism.
“Our goal is to drive conversation
by putting a face on the Hindu
American community. Despite the
fact that Hindus are one of the most
successful minority communities,
knowledge about Hindus and
Hinduism is very low among the US
general public,” says Suhag Shukla,
executive director of HAF. “Our own
data shows that one in three Hindu‑
American students report being bul‑
lied for their religious beliefs. Most
of this is based on misperceptions
about Hindus and we want to
change that narrative.” Another goal
of the “I Am Hindu American” cam‑
paign is to educate about Hinduism
at a time when the country has seen
a rise in religious intolerance. Hate
crime incidents reported to the FBI
increased by about 17% last year
compared to 2016.
It is also an important time for
Hindus in America Congresswoman
Tulsi Gabbard (D‑Hawaii) is mulling
he presidential bid for 2020. She
would be the first Hindu candidate
ever from a major political party to
enter the race. "I am grateful to be a
part of this initiative featuring the
stories of Americans across the
country who are sharing how their
Hindu faith inspires them in their
everyday lives,” says Gabbard.
For the first time in history, US
Congress currently has four Hindu
members, making Hinduism the
third largest faith group represented
in Congress. There has been an
increase in the number of Hindus of
non‑Indian origin, who have been
drawn to the spiritual teachings and
traditions of Hinduism.
More at
www.IAmHinduAmerican.org
‘seriously’ considering
2020 run for White House
Washington: Tulsi
Gabbard, the first
Hindu lawmaker in
the US Congress, has
said that she was
"seriously" consider‑
ing running for the
W hite House in
2020.
T he four‑time
Democratic lawmak‑
er in the House of Tulsi Gabbard is very popular
Representatives
with Indian Americans
from Hawaii told
MSNBC News last Wednesday in Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran,
response to a question on her added. Before challenging
presidential aspirations: "I'm seri‑ President Trump in the November
ously considering it." 2020 elections, she would have to
If she announced her candida‑ beat her own Democratic party
ture, she would be the first Hindu contestants in primaries.
ever to run for the presidency in In the last few weeks, Ms
the United States. And if elected in Gabbard has been talking to her
2020, at age 39 she could be the party leaders and reaching out to
youngest ever and first woman to Indian‑Americans to get their feed‑
be elected to the most important back on the issue.
office in the world. Ms Gabbard, who converted to
"I'm concerned about the direc‑ Hinduism early in her life, is high‑
tion of our country. I'm thinking ly popular among Indian‑
through it very carefully," Americans.

Air Indiaʼs Maharaja – Nostalgia and Patriotism

Prem Bhandari, Chairman of Jaipur Foot USA, in conversation with Ashok Vyas of ITV
T
here has been a big demand
for a long time for a direct
flig ht from New York to
Mumbai. Air India listened and
took action. On December 7, Indiaʼs
national carrier celebrated the
beginning of a new flight from JFK
to Mumbai with an elegant func‑
tion at the airport.
Mrs Manisha Jhalani was the
first passenger in the first class of
the first direct flight from JFK to
Mumbai. She also happened to be
an honoree at the Diwali event
hosted by Rajasthan Association of
North America (RANA), where
Prem Bhandari was also recognized
for his contribution to the commu‑
nity. About Mr Bhandari, a little
later.
Mrs Bhuvana Rao, Air Indiaʼs
Regional Manager – Americas,
appreciated the community and
the media for their support. Deputy
New York and found him to be a
dedicated of ficer wanting to turn
around Air India. Bhandariʼs letter
to Mr Kharola with a request to
start a JFK‑Mumbai flight was also
cceed to the Civil Aviation Minister
and PMO. Prem Bhandari also con‑
veyed problems faced by NRIs with
respect to their travel to India. This
has resulted in a waiver by Air
India of penalties on postponing
return ticket due to emergencies.
Bhandari notched another victory
for NRIs through his ef forts: “If
someone applies for a visitor visa
Air Indiaʼs Mrs Bhuvana Rao (4th from left) with Ranju Batra, Ashok to USA in India, they need to show
Vyas, Prem Bhandari, Kamlesh Mehta, Rajeev Bhambri and Neeta
a confirmed air ticket but if the
Bhasin at the launch event of Air Indiaʼs direct JFK‑Mumbai flight.
visa is turned down, they end up
Consul General Shatrughan Sinha Mrs Prabha Golia to Bhuvana Raoʼs paying penalty for cancellation.
opined that Air India is second to predecessor Mrs Vandana Sharma. Now Air India has agreed to give
none. Prem Bhandari, Chairman of Jaipur due consideration to such cases as
The need for a direct flight con‑ Foot USA, followed up on this idea well as in the case of a passenger
necting financial capitals of the with Air India. He met with CMD of canceling the ticket due to hospi‑
two countries was conveyed by Air India Pradeep Singh Kharola in talization.” Prem Bhandari retains a
special sense of belongingness
with Bharat. Though he has lived in
New York for over 30 years, he has
not taken US citizenship.
As an entrepreneur in the hospi‑
tality industry, Bhandari has taken
upon himself to share his ideas for
the betterment of Air India with
appropriate authorities. He is
happy that a major hole resulting
in losses for Air India is irregular
upg rades and that is being
addressed. ʻNon‑serviceable seatsʼ
is another loss making area. He
appreciates CMD Kharola for intro‑
ducing ʻbid, win and flyʼ in Air
India. This would check unautho‑
rized upgrade of seats.
On his way to India this month,
he was eager to meet the con‑
cerned ministers and PM Modi to
convey his concerns with sugges‑
tions for helping Indiaʼs national
carrier.
 4 December 22-28, 2018
Oil prices
tumble amid
oversupply fears
New York: Oil prices dived, as mounting anxi‑
eties over supply surplus cast a pall over
investors across the board.
Oil prices plunged more than 7 percent to the
lowest level since August 2017, as global supply
continued piling up amid sagging demand due to
signs of slowing global growth, Xinhua news
agency reported on Tuesday.
Britain's largest oilfield Buzzard has resumed
operation following repairs on pipework, accord‑
ing to its operator Nexen. The top UK producing
field, pumping around 150,000 barrels per day,
provides the lion's share of the country's export
via the Forties pipeline. Worsening the situation,
investorsʼ confidence is further retreating amid
broad sell‑off in US stock markets.
An increasing number of investors expected
global economic growth to weaken over the next
year, marking "the worst outlook on the global
economy since October 2008," said an investor
survey in December by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch. The survey showed "the biggest ever one‑
month rotation" into bonds as investors fled
stocks amid sharp losses in global equity mar‑
kets, according to the survey.
Oil output from seven major U.S. shale basins
is forecast to record the biggest increase since
September of 134,000 barrels per day (bpd),
and to hit 8.166 million bpd in January next
year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
said in a report on Monday.
Adding to the worrying impact, oil stockpiles
at Cushing, Oklahoma, a delivery hub for U.S.
crude futures, rose over 1 million barrels
between Dec. 11 and Dec. 14, beyond investors'
expectation, according to U.S. energy data
provider Genscape.
The West Texas Intermediate for January
delivery plunged 3.64 U.S. dollars to settle at
46.24 dollars a barre l on the New York
Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for
February delivery slumped 3.35 dollars to close
at 56.26 dollars a barrel on the London ICE
Futures Exchange.
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TURN PAGE
Trump blinks in
government
shutdown showdown
Continued from page 1
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
have flatly refused Trumpʼs $ 5 billion
demand, instead floating two different
plans to Trump last week. One includes
appropriations bills for six agencies and a
yearlong continuing resolution to fund
DHS. The other would pass a continuing
resolution to keep all seven departments
running.
"President Trump should support one of
these options. ... Unfortunately, since our
meeting last Tuesday, Leader Pelosi and I
have still not heard from the White House
whether they will accept either of these
two options. Nor have we heard from our
Republican colleagues in the Senate or
House," Schumer, the Senate minority
leader, said Monday. He contended "no
threat or temper tantrum will get the pres‑
ident his wall."
US may link IMFʼs Pakistan
bailout to
terror, China debt
Continued from page 1
process, something President Trump per‑
sonally pitched for in a letter to Prime
Minister Imran Khan.
The list of proposed US conditions is
long, reflecting wariness about Pakistan,
which was once an ally against the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan but has been
hurtling from crisis to crisis for years.
Most tellingly, for the Americans, it has
become a near‑rogue state that has typi‑
cally not taken responsibility for its
actions.
“They have had 18 IMF bailouts thus
far,” said one of the two officials cited
above, expressing exasperation. Pakistan
has sought an IMF bailout of an estimated
$8 billion to $12 billion and a decision is
expected in January as negotiations are
underway.
The US accounts for 17% of the IMF
kitty of $475 billion, from which the
Pakistan bailout will come if agreed on by
all parties. As the top contributor, it can
dictate terms and conditions, experts
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra
P : 516.710.0508
parveen.chopra@gmail.com
Associate Editor
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
hiral@thesouthasiantimes.info
Contributing Editors: Prof. Shivaji
Sengupta, Surekha Vijh (Washington, DC),
Suchitra Srinivas (New Jersey),
Melvin Durai, Dr Prem Kumar Sharma,
Ashok Vyas, and Dr Akshat Jain
New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
agree.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, for
instance, made it clear in July when he
said Pakistan wonʼt be allowed to use the
bailout to pay off Chinese loans. This was
reiterated by David Malpass, a senior
treasury official, at a congressional hear‑
ing this past week.
Islamabad has accumulated a publicly
undisclosed amount of loans from Beijing
under the China‑Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), part of the controversial
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
IPL auction: Rookies turn
overnight millionaires
Continued from page 1
while Unadkat, the left‑arm quick, was
snapped up by his former franchise, the
Rajasthan Royals, who had released him
after a satisfactory stint last season.
Among other Indian players to breach
the five‑crore club are Axar Patel (Delhi
Capitals), Mohit Sharma (Chennai Super
Kings) and Shivam Dubey (Royal
Challengers Bangalore).
Besides Curran, the other sought after
overseas players were South African Colin
Ingram, bought by the Delhi Capitals for a
whopping Rs 6.4 crore, while West Indian
power‑hitter Carlos Brathwaite was
snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders
for Rs 5 crore.
But the major highlight of the day was
the emergence of lesser known Indian
players earning big in the auction. The
trend was initially set by the Punjab fran‑
chise, who went for leg‑spinner Varun
Chakaravarthy, before further bolstering
their bowling attack with the addition of
Curran, and India's pace spearhead
Mohammed Shami for Rs 4.8 crore.
The Punjab side also bought 17‑year‑old
wicket‑keeper Prabhsimran Singh for a
whopping Rs 4.8 crore while splurging Rs
4.2 crore for West Indian Nicolas Pooran
and Rs 1 crore for Australian all‑rounder
Moises Henriques.
RCB also invested in many lesser known
young faces like the uncapped Shivam,
West Indian Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 4.2
crore), Akshsdeep Nath (Rs 3.6 crore) and
Prayas Raj Barman (Rs 1.5 crore).
Delhi Capitals, formerly known as the
Jaipur Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Photographs
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah
Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan
Bharat Bhushan Chopra
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Delhi Daredevils, also strengthened their
middle‑order batting by investing a lion's
share on Ingram besides spending Rs 2
crore each to bag the services of all‑round‑
er Hanuma Vihari and Sherane
Rutherford. It also got veteran India pacer
and local boy Ishant Sharma for Rs 1.10
crore.
Coming to the Mumbai Indians, the side
bolstered its bowling attack by buying Sri
Lankan Lasith Malinga for Rs 2 crore
while splurging Rs 3.4 crore to buy India
discard Barinder Sran.
Another India discard Yuvraj Singh final‑
ly found a buyer in the Mumbai franchise,
who bought him for his base price of Rs 1
crore. Interestingly, the southpaw went
unsold in the first round.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad focused on
getting a wicketkeeper‑batsman to bal‑
ance their batting and in the process,
bagged the services of Englishman Jonny
Bairstow for Rs 2.2 crore and India Test
stumper Wriddhiman Saha for Rs 1.2
crore. It also got New Zealander Martin
Guptill for Rs 1 crore after the right‑han‑
der went unsold in the first round.
Having retained the bulk of their side,
defending champions Chennai Super
Kings hardly required any fresh faces after
regaining Mohit Sharma for Rs 5 crore.
The Dinesh Karthik‑led Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR) also kept their focus on a
number of rookies, besides splurging
crores on Brathwaite (Rs 5 crore) and
Lockie Ferguson (Rs 1.6 crore).
Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan
Royals got their main man back in the
form of Unadkat but despite that spent big
on bagging other quicks in Varun Aaron
(Rs 2.4 crore) and Oshane Thomas (Rs
1.10 crore).
Meanwhile, South African pace spear‑
head Dale Steyn was among some of the
biggest names to miss out even in the sec‑
ond and final round.
The other stars who went unsold are
India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara,
New Zealanders Brendon McCullum,
James Neesham and Corey Anderson,
Englishmen Chris Woakes, Alex Hales and
Chris Jordan, South Africans Hashim Amla
and Morne Morkel, and Sri Lanka's Angelo
Mathews and Kusal Perera.
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info
2 Indian‑American CEOs attend Indian tech talent leaving
White House summit for tech leaders Silicon Valley for Canada
By SATimes Team
Washington: Two Indian‑American
CEOs ‑ Satya Nadella of Microsoft
and Sundar Pichai of Google ‑ were
among a select group of CEOs
invited by the White House for a
technology summit on December 6
as part of the Trump administra‑
tion's move to ease its relationship,
which thus far has remained tense,
with the Silicon Valley.
"We had a productive and engag‑
ing discussion at the White House
today about America's leadership
in emerging technologies," Pichai
was quoted as saying by the Wall
Street Journal. President Donald
Trump made a brief appearance at
the summit organized by his
daughter Ivanka Trump.
Ginni Rometty (IBM) Safra Catz
(Oracle) and Steve Mollenkopf
(Qualcomm) were among those
who attended the White House
Tech Summit. US trade representa‑
tive Robert Lighthizer and former
secretary of state Henry Kissinger
NY Man charged with hate crime for
hitting Indian woman on subway
New York: A 54‑year old man has
been charged with hate crime for
assaulting an Indian‑origin woman
travelling in a subway and using
homophobic slurs against her.
Allasheed Allah was broug ht
before the court last Thursday and
charged with assault as a hate
crime and aggravated harassment
against Avneet Kaur, 20, for the
attack in New York City's Queens
borough last month.
According to the charges, Ms
Kaur was travelling in a subway
train in Manhattan when Allasheed
engaged her in a verbal dispute. He
then began making homophobic
slurs towards Ms Kaur and her
friend.
As the two women began to walk
away, Allasheed followed them and
attacked Ms Kaur in the back of
her head and then once on her
chest causing her to fall and strike
her head and neck on a pole before
hitting the floor.
According to the charges, Mr
Allasheed admitted that he used
homophobic language against Ms
Kaur and threatened her if she
kissed her friend, travelling with
Sundar Pichai of Google and Satya Nadella of Microsoft
also attended the summit which
was themed "Industries of the
Future". The tech summit was
intended to be a listening session
for tech leaders to share policy
ideas, a senior administration offi‑
cial said. Wall Street Journal added
that the summit was spurred by
the White House being wary of
future job losses even as tech lead‑
ers have been critical of Trumpʼs
Allasheed Allah has admitted to
using homophobic language
against the woman and threat‑
ening her on the subway in
Manhattan.
her on the subway, again.
Ms Kaur was immediately trans‑
ported to a local Queens hospital
where she underwent treatment
for a fractured spine.
If convicted, Mr Allasheed faces
three and one‑half to 15 years in
prison, Queens District Attorney
Richard Brown said. ‑ PTI
TRISTATE
immigration and climate change
policies since his 2016 election.
Intriguingly, three of the worldʼs
AI leaders̶Apple, Amazon and
Facebook̶werenʼt invited to the
event
No other details were immediate‑
ly available. CEOs who attended
the summit did not respond to
reporters' questions at the White
House.
India retains top aviation safety
category in US: FAA
New Delhi: Indiaʼs aviation safety
oversight will not be downgraded
and continue to retain its top
billing. T he American Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA),
which recently conducted an audit
of Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA), last Tuesday said
that India will remain in Category
1‑status of safety. The thumbs up
from the FAA means that Indian
carriers will not face hurdles while
expanding flights to the US.
Air India, the only Indian carrier
that flies to America, will not face
stringent checks on its aircraft
when they land there and the
Maharaja will be able to add fre‑
quencies on existing routes as well
as have new destinations there on
its network.
A senior DGCA official said, “FAA
conducted an audit of DGGA in July
2018 to confirm Indiaʼs adherence
to the standards laid down by ICAO
(UNʼs aviation arm International
Civil Aviation Organization) and
oversight of Indian airlines. During
consultations held with FAA in
early November, DGCA presented
December 22-28, 2018
Toronto: What
would induce a
software devel‑
oper to quit a
good job in
Silicon Valley
and trade
Californiaʼs sun‑
shine for
Torontoʼs wintry
skies? For Vikram Visual courtesy: The Economist
Rangnekar, born
in India and educated in
America, the triggers were the
restrictions placed on immi‑
grant tech workers holding an
H‑1b visa (starting companies
or taking long holidays is dis‑
couraged) and what looked like
a 20‑year wait to get the green
card he needed in order to settle in by countries such as Canada,
down. Rising anti‑immigrant
sentiment under President
Donald Trumpʼs administration
did not help. Two years later he
thinks he made the right choice.
“I didnʼt want to spend the best
years of my life on a restrictive
Air India, the only Indian carrier
that flies to America, will not
face stringent checks on its air‑
craft when they land here and
the Maharaja will be able to add
new destinations.
the actions taken to address the
findings of the July 2018 audit. On
Tuesday, FAA has formally commu‑
nicated that India is adhering to the
safety standards of ICAO and have
confirmed that Indiaʼs International
Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA)
rating remains Category 1.”
T he FAA had made about 30
observations earlier this July, all of
which were satisfactorily addressed
by the DGCA. “The biggest finding
in July was that some charter/pri‑
vate plane operators from India fly
to US using aircraft for which DGCA
does not have flight operations
5
visa.”
People like Rangnekar are
part of an exodus of tech work‑
ers from Silicon Valley, reports
The Economist. Pushed out by
the cost of living as well as by a
less welcoming American gov‑
ernment, they are being pulled
where tech vacancies are fore‑
cast to reach 200,000 by 2020.
Canada is gambling that by the
time America wakes up to the
cost of discouraging immigrants
its tech sector will have secured
some of the best talent.
inspectors type‑rated on those
planes. T hat issue has been
resolved,” said sources.
India, meanwhile, expects its
overall aviation safety score given
to dif ferent countries by ICAO to
also improve significantly.
Following an audit last year, the
United Nationʼs aviation arm had
lowered Indiaʼs “ef fective imple‑
mentation” (EI) from 65.82% to
57.44% against world average of
62% mainly due to the issue of air
traffic controllersʼ (ATCO) licensing.
An ICAO team again audited the
DGCA from November 12‑21 to see
if the shortcomings had been
addressed to make flying safer here
and told the Indian authorities that
the countryʼs EI score could rise to
74%.
The overall EI figure is calculated
after taking an aggregate of individ‑
ual scores in eight fields like legis‑
lation, organization, personnel
licensing and airworthiness of air‑
craft. This score gives an overall
picture of how a country is comply‑
ing with global aviation safety prac‑
tices under different heads.
6 December 22-28, 2018 TRISTATE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

IN BRIEF

At the Human Rights Ripple Teen honored with NJ Governorʼs

of Hope Awards gala Environmental Excellence Award

DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe, First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy, Puja
Vengadasalam and NJIB Executive Director David Zimmer.

T
he winners of the 19th Annual
Governorʼs Environmental Excellence
Awards were honored in Trenton for
Former President Barack Obama was honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Human various areas of environmental stewardship,
Rightsʼ Ripple of Hope award on December 12 at a gala in New York. The award, from protecting water quality to improving
now in its 50th year, is presented to global leaders for “their exceptional work access to electric vehicle charging stations
toward a more just and peaceful world.” Kara Kennedy, the daughter of Robert and preserving natural resources, New
Kennedy and president of the organization, presented Obama the award. Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection Commissioner Catherine R.
(Right)New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also received the award. McCabe announced.
Meera Gandhi, Chairman Giving Back Foundation, posed at the Among the honorees recognized during the
Red carpet with the Governor. awards program luncheon at the New Jersey
(Photos: Mohammed Jaffer‑SnapsIndia) State Museum are an urban group that pro‑
motes use of electric vehicles and has put
charging stations in publicly accessible park‑
the educational approach of Science,
Technology, Engineering, the Arts and
Mathematics methods to focus on the envi‑
ronment through the concepts of workshop,
showcase and website. EcoCamp incorporat‑
ed “Eco” and “camp” elements with “Eco”
coming from “Ecology” and Camp being an
acronym for Crafts, Arts, Movies and Making
Pledges. The EcoCamp showcase gave partic‑
ipants a platform to demonstrate their
enhanced advocacy and communication
skills, and to meet decision‑makers such as
the mayor.
“This yearʼs winners exemplify New
Jerseyʼs strong commitment to protecting the

Hanukkah celebrated ing spots; an environmental organization that

works with partner agencies to restore water
quality and reduce flooding in highly devel‑
at the NY Consulate oped areas of the Barnegat Bay Watershed;
environment and following practices that will
help us fight climate change and sea‑level
rise, while also improving flooding resiliency
around the state,” Commissioner McCabe

T
he Consulate General of
India, New York in collabo‑
ration with Rego Park
Jewish Center and American
Jewish Committee (AJC) celebrat‑
ed Hanukkah in the Consulate on
Sunday, December 9, 2018.
Several eminent members of the
Indian, American and Israeli
Jewish community came together
for the occasion. Amongst the
notable guests present were
Congresswoman Grace Meng,
American and Israeli Jewish community
Assemblyman Raj Mukherji,
Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer, Brooke Knobel, Office of
Foreign Missions and Israel Nitzan, Deputy
Consul General of Israel. The evening
began with singing of the U.S, Israel and
Indian national anthems. On behalf of New
Jersey General Assembly, State of New
Jersey, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji present‑ York and nearby areas have been able to
ed a citation to Consul General
Chakravorty. Consul General Chakravorty,
while welcoming the guests spoke about
the importance of respecting different
faiths and recognizing that there are sever‑
al paths to the absolute truth. Israel
Nitzan, Deputy Consul General of Israel,
recalled the tragic terrorist attack in
Mumbai 10 years ago, and reinforced the
close ties between India and Israel in bio‑
technology, agriculture, hi‑tech, defense
and tourism. Rabbi Romiel Daniel of the
Eminent members of the Indian,
came together for the occasion.
Rego Park Jewish Center highlighted the
importance of freedom for all the worldʼs
faiths. Rabbi David Levy of AJC, New Jersey
while delivering the vote of thanks
remarked on the warmth that people
belonging to diverse communities of New
generate in the Consulate on the auspicious
occasion of Hanukkah.
Congresswoman Grace Meng highlighted
the diversity of her Congressional District
and the contribution of the Indian
American Community. Being the eighth day
of Hanukkah, all the eight candles, in typi‑
cal Indian diya style, were lighted by the
attendees amidst the singing of Maoz Tzur
and other Jewish Hanukkah melodies.
Nandini Chakravorty presented a scintillat‑
ing Bharatnatyam performance.
and a group that provides nonprofits with
leftover office supplies and furniture from
companies downsizing their space, instead of
sending the items to landfills. Among the
honorees was Puja Vengadasalam, now 16,
who created an EcoCamp project when 15, to
help teenagers become lifelong environmen‑
tal stewards by advocating for protection of
natural resources while developing commu‑
nication skills and meeting public officials.
The two‑week camp held in June at the South
Plainfield library in Middlesex County used
New business organization CJBO
to be launched in South Brunswick
T
he local business entrepreneurs and
mentors will have a kick‑off and web‑
site launch of their newly formed busi‑
ness organization in Central Jersey named as
“Central Jersey Business Organization, LLC –
CJBO” on Friday, December 21, 2018, from 7
– 9 p.m. at Ember Restaurant in South
Brunswick, NJ. This will be the first‑ever
business organization to bring all types of
business owners under one roof for network‑
ing, coaching, mentoring, education and other
business ideas and exchanges on an ongoing
basis. The CJBO is incorporated exclusively
to provide a platform to local businesses to
exchange ideas, discuss and resolve their
business issues, encourage innovation, doing
said. “Their fine work is an example to us all,
and I congratulate the winners for their out‑
standing achievements.” First Lady Tammy
Snyder Murphy spoke at the event and dis‑
tributed awards with Commissioner McCabe.
The Governorʼs Environmental Excellence
Awards are New Jerseyʼs premier environ‑
mental awards recognizing outstanding envi‑
ronmental performance, programs and proj‑
ects in the state.
The program has recognized 180 winners
since 2000.
business efficiently and ethically. The organi‑
zation will also provide education, ongoing
presentations, coaching and mentoring to
new and young business owners to make
them entrepreneurs and continue to promote
entrepreneurship by creating opportunities,
assisting businesses, and developing profes‑
sional growth via regular networking oppor‑
tunities in various areas of businesses.
Under the leadership of three successful
business entrepreneurs and founders ‑
Pinakin Pathak, Mahendra Z. Patel and
Hitesh Patel ‑ CJBO will offer membership at
a minimal annual fee to help connect with
other business owners and successful entre‑
preneurs and mentors.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL December 22-28, 2018 7

Indian Overseas Congress celebrates US Sikh community thanks

Congress wins in state polls
New York: After celebrating in
New Jersey the victory of the
Cong ress Party in Rajasthan,
Mad hya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh, the Indian Overseas
Congress, USA held its main cele‑
bration event in Queens, New
York on December 16, where over
150 people gathered to cheer on
Rahul Gandhi for leading the
party to an astounding victory.
Sam Pitro da, Chairman,
Overseas Congress Department of
the All India Congress Committee,
spoke to the group via Facebook
and said this victory is unique
because it comes at a time when
Rahul Gandhi finishes his one year
as the helm of the party and the
tide has turned and that this vic‑
tory adds to the energ y and
enthusiasm of the party. He
added that the real credit goes to
all the party workers in India and
to many of Indian Americans who
went to India to campaign. He
stated that the forthcoming Lok
Sabha elections would define the
India of tomorrow.
Harbachan Singh, Secretary‑
IOC leaders and supporters at the celebrations
in a Queens restaurant.
General of IOC, USA, led the toast
to Rahul Gandhi and the senior
leaders in New Delhi for the victo‑
ry. He thanked Sam Pitro da,
Himanshu Viyas and Mad hu
Yashki for galvanizing the Indian
Overseas Congress support glob‑
ally. George Abraham, IOC Vice
Chairman, urged everyone not to
be carried away with these victo‑
ries but focus their attention on
the bigger prize, that is the 2019
general election outcome.
Mohinder Sing h Gilzian,
President of IOC, USA, who had
himself recently canvassed in in
Rajasthan and Telangana, said he
had noticed a lot of support build‑
ing up in favor of the Congress
party during his visit to India.
PM Modi for Kartarpur
Corridor Project
Washington, DC: The American
Sikh community has expressed
g rat itude to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi following the lay‑
ing of the foundation stone for the
Kartarpur corridor in Punjab. "We
the Sikh diaspora are thankful to
Narendra Modi and his govern‑
ment for realizing the long‑cher‑
ished dream of Sikhs in India and
abroad and laying the foundation
stone for the Kartarpur corridor
on November 26, 2018," the 'Sikhs
of America' organization said in a
resolution addressed to the prime
minister.
"Since the foundation stone was
laid on the Pakistan side also,
Sikhs across the globe are looking
forward to the much‑anticipated
pilgrimage," said the resolution.
A copy of the resolution was pre‑
sented to senior of ficials of the
Indian Embassy in Washington at
an event organized by Sikhs of
America in the Maryland suburb of
Washington. The much‑awaited
corridor will connect Darbar Sahib
in Pakistan's Kartarpur ‑ the final
resting place of the Sikh faith's
founder Guru Nanak ‑ with Dera
Baba Nanak shrine in India's
Gurdaspur district and facilitate
visa‑free movement of Indian Sikh
pilgrims, who will only have to
obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur
Sahib, established in 1522 by Guru
Nanak.
"For the last few months, good
news has been coming for the Sikh
community in India and abroad,"
Jasdip Singh chairman of Sikhs of
America said as he praised the role
of the Indian government in bring‑
ing to justice some of the accused
involved in the 1984 anti‑Sikh
riots.
"We are seeing some light at the
end of the tunnel. However, there
is a lot to be done," Singh said,
hoping that in the coming weeks
and months other polit icians
involved in the 1984 anti‑Sikh
riots would also be brought to jus‑
tice. He said the government had
addressed most of their concerns
including removal of some Sikhs
from the visa blacklist. (PTI)

Anurima appointed to US Commission Shree Saini crowned Miss India Worldwide

for International Religious Freedom New York: Twenty‑two year old
Shree Saini was crowned Miss
duct national pageants in their
respective countries.
Washington, DC: Indian‑American USCIRF is currently headed by Tibetan‑ India Worldwide 2018 at a glitter‑ “During my reign as Miss India
Anurima Bhargava, a civil rights American Tenzin Dorjee. ing pageant held Dec 14 in Fords, USA, I have performed and spoken
lawyer, has been appointed as a Tenzin Dorjee commended House New Jersey. She won the crown hundreds of times in over 70
Commissioner to the US Commission Leader Nancy Pelosi for appointing from among entrants from 17 cities, 11 states and 5 countries,
for International Religious Bhargava as a USCIRF countries. while being a full‑time college stu‑
Freedom (USCIRF), an inde‑ Commissioner. While Saini won the crown, dent. I believe my work as Miss
pendent, bipartisan federal "With an impressive other winners in the Miss India India USA truly prepared me to be
government entity estab‑ background and a Wordwide category included an even stronger advocate for
lished by the US Congress to demonstrated commit‑ Sakshi Sinha from Australia ̶ 1st charitable causes and our organi‑
monitor, analyze and report ment to advocating for Runner Up, and Anusha Sareen of zation at the Miss India Worldwide
on threats to religious free‑ members of minority the United Kingdom ̶ 2nd competition,” she says.
dom abroad. communities in the Runner Up. Shree is an inspiration for all.
Born and raised in Chicago, United States and The pageant also included Mrs. She had to undergo an open‑heart
Bhargava is currently the abroad, Anurima India Worldwide 2018 contest‑ ning India pageant in USA for last surgery at age 12 to get a pace‑
founder and president of the Bhargava brings an ants. Mandeep Kaur Sandhu from 38 years. She was also voted “Miss maker. “I was told I could never
Anthem of Us, which important new per‑ India walked away with that Congeniality” at the contest. Miss dance again or live a normal life.
describes itself as "a strategic Anurima Bhargava spective that will crown. Jeya Priya Pandian of India Worldwide is a competition Because of my physical disability, I
advisory firm that works (Image : enhance the work of Malaysia won 1st Runner Up and organized by New York‑based had to practice extra hours daily
with educational institutions college.harvard.edu) the Commission, espe‑ Kavita Malhotra Pattani from the India Festival Committee led by for years in order to reach my life
and corporations to promote cially on democratic United States was the 2nd Runner chairman and founder Dharmatma goals. At age 15, I started my non‑
dignity and justice for all." India, with whom the United States has Up in this category. and Neelam Saran. This was the profit and been a published author
She has an extensive experience in a long and proud relationship," he said. Shreeʼs journey to Miss India 27th Miss India Worldwide pag‑ of over thousands of articles in
various roles advocating for members In addition to her work at the Worldwide began when she was eant dedicated to people of Indian USA newspapers. I also have stud‑
of under‑represented communities, Department of Justice and the LDF, crowned Miss India USA in origin in the diaspora. The IFC ied tirelessly to finally be accepted
including at the US Department of Bhargava served as a fellow at the December 2017, amongst hun‑ selects distinguished local organi‑ to Harvard University, Stanford
Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Open Society Foundations and at the dreds of girls from all over USA. zations in various parts of the University and Yale University,”
and Educational Fund (LDF). T he Harvard University. (PTI) Miss India USA is the longest run‑ world and authorizes them to con‑ she says.
 8 December 22-28, 2018 NATIONAL COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

AAPI's 37th annual convention to be held in Atlanta

Atlanta, GA: “The 37th Annual Partners will remain their priority

AAPI to launch a 9‑city Jai Ho

Convent ion and Scient ific
Assembly of American Association
of Physicians of Indian Origin
(AAPI) will be held at the fabu‑
lous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center
and Georg ia World Cong ress
Centre (GWCC) in Atlanta from
July 3 to 7, 2019,” Dr. Naresh
Parikh, President of AAP I,
announced here at a kick of f
meeting.
Attended by the members of
convention leadership and various
committee teams, the event on
Sunday, December 2nd, 2018 at
the Georg ia World Cong ress
Centre, showed the enthusiasm
and commitment of the AAPI lead‑
ership and the local organizing
committee headed by Dr. Sreeni
Gangasani, Vice Chair of AAPI
BOT and Convention Chair.
Other prominent leaders who
had attended the kick off meeting
included Dr. Sud hakar
Jonnalagadda, Vice President,
AAP I; Dr. Syamala Erramilli,
President of GAP I; Dr. Asha
Parikh, Chair of GAPI BOT; con‑
vent ion co‑chairs: Dr. Rag hu
Lolabattu, Dr. Piyush Patel, Dr.
Subodh Agrawal and several con‑
vention team members.
“Exhibitors and Corporate
as they work together to provide a
world class forum for increased
interactions between physicians,
sponsors, exhibitors,” said Dr.
Sreeni Gangasani. “The annual
convention this year is being
org anized by AAP Iʼs Georg ia
Chapter. A pool of dedicated AAPI
leaders are working hard to make
the convention a unique event for
all the participants.”
Dr. Asha Parikh said, “The 2019
AAP I Annual Convent ion &
Scientific Assembly of fers an
exciting venue to interact with
leading physicians, health profes‑
sionals, academicians, and scien‑
tists of Indian origin. Physicians
and healthcare professionals from
across the country will convene
and participate in the scholarly
exchange of medical advances, to
encourage legislative priorities
and to develop health policy agen‑
das in the coming year.”
“The AAPI Convention provides
an opportunity for delegates to
meet directly with these physi‑
cians who are leaders in their
fields and play an integral part in
the decision‑making pro cess
regarding new products and serv‑
ices,” said Dr. Sud hakar
Jonnalagadda. AAPI represents
Musical Dhamaka in May 2019
A
fter mesmerizing musical
lovers all across the world
with his enchanting voice,
Sukhwinder Singh, the top
Bollywood singer is now on AAPIʼs
Nine‑City Jai Ho Musical Dhamaka
next Spring, performing in thir‑
teen cities around the United
States. Organized by the American
Association of Physicians of Indian
origin (AAPI), the spectacular
musical program combined with
educational and networking
opportunities for AAPI members,
supporters and sponsors, is being
organized with the objective of
bringing CME and non‑CME spon‑
sored medical lectures, exhibits,
Gala Dinner, community outreach
talks and lively musical nite in
each of the 9 cities across the
country.
“Following the past successes of
multi‑city musical tours organized
the interests of 80,000 physicians
including 20,000 medical stu‑
dents, residents, and fellows. Over
Singer Sukhwinder Singh
by AAPI, I am inspired by the con‑
cept and how such events have
helped in strengthening the rela‑
tionship between the AAPI
Chapters and national office, in
addition to help raise funds for the
many noble programs for AAPI
and the local Chapters” says Dr.
Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI.
“The concept of this program to
bring together various local
Chapters closer has been in my
2,500 attendees along with guests
are expected to gather at the con‑
vention. For more details, and
mind for several months. National
coordinators of the program, Drs.
Narendra Kumar. Hemant
Dhingra, Raj Bhayani. Amit
Chkrabarty, Anjana Samadder, and
Gautam Samaddar, as well as the
entire AAPI team and leadership
enthusiastically received this idea
and the net result of our collabora‑
tion and dialogue is the 9‑city
grand mega concert.” Dr. Dhingra,
who has a close relationship with
the entertainment industry,
worked with Neha and her team to
present an evening of cultural
entertainment in each of these
thirteen cities.
The Cities where the mega
shows planned to be held include
Atlanta, San Francisco; Los
Angeles; New Jersey, Columbus,
OH, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston,
Washington, DC, Orlando,
Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston.
sponsorship opportunities, visit
www.aapiconvention.org and
www.aapiusa.org

2nd Commonwealth Cricket brings Indian techie gets 9 years in

awareness about epilepsy jail for sex assault on plane
New Delhi: On the occasion of patient should be laid to the side Washington: An Indian techie from sexual act with a female, while she
National Epilepsy Day, Shivani so that there is no danger of Tamil Nadu was sentenced to nine was sleeping on a flight from Las
Wazir Pasrich, Chairperson of choking. The person will be fine years of imprisonment on Vegas to Detroit. Ramamoorthy
the Commonwealth Cultural once the seizure ceases.” Thursday on charges of a "brazen was seated along with his wife,
Forum, an organization which Amir Singh Pasrich sexual assault" against a fellow when he sexually assaulted his co‑
brings together people from (Chairperson, Law & Justice female passenger inside a commer‑ passenger. During the trial, the
53 countries through art, cul‑ Committee PHDCCI and cial airplane early this year. government admitted evidence
ture, cuisine and sport for a Managing Partner, ILA Pasrich Prabhu Ramamoorthy, 35, who demonstrating that Ramamoorthy
good cause and Dr. Manjari & Company) gave the legal per‑ came to the US on an H‑1B visa in had digitally penetrated the
Tripathi, President of spective with respect to Epilepsy 2015, will be deported after he woman sleeping next to him during
Ekatwam, a charity that helps and said, "Epilepsy is no longer serves his sentence, a federal court the overnight flight. The sexual
people with Epilepsy hosted considered a mental illness, it is in Detroit said as it sentenced the assault woke her up, she found her
Murali Kartik, Shivani Wazir Pasrich Indian national to nine years of pants unbuttoned and unzipped,
an event at La Opera at and Atul Wassan now described as a neurological
Bikaner house on Friday, disorder. This is a step in the imprisonment. Judge Terrence and sought help from the flight
November 16th, 2018, where they at work, know that this disease is right direction to remove the unfair Berge hoped it would be grave attendants. In recent years, a num‑
announced the 2nd Commonwealth curable and you can lead a normal stigma people with epilepsy face" enough to deter others from com‑ ber of Indian nationals have been
Cricket Cup, played in Hong Kong and very healthy life despite it.” High Commissioner of Ghana, mitting similar crimes. Federal arrested or charged with sexual
aimed to promote awareness on Atul Wassan said "It was wonder‑ Michael Aaron N. N. Oquaye said, prosecutors had sought 11 years of assaults inside a plane. The FBI
Epilepsy. The match held at the ful to be a part of the "Due to superstition in Africa too imprisonment for Ramamoorthy. says airplane sexual assault is a
Kowloon Cricket Club between six Commonwealth Cricket Cup. The people with Epilepsy suffer intense‑ "Everyone has the right to be serious offence that is on the rise.
consulates on November 23rd, bonhomie among the diplomats and ly." Shivani Wazir Pasrich said "With secure and safe when they travel FBI statistics indicate that investi‑
2018 had players from India, Cricketers was great. I hope a successful launch of the on airplanes. We will not tolerate gations of mid‑air sexual assaults
Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, through this goodwill game we Commonwealth Cricket Cup and the behavior of anyone, who takes increased by 66 per cent from
South Africa and Great Britain, were able to raise awareness about tremendous support from leg‑ advantage of victims who are in a 2014 to 2017. That was in part
including Anshuman Rath, Hong epilepsy and I commend and cheer endary cricket players like Bishan vulnerable position. We appreciate due to increasingly "cramped, con‑
Kong National Cricket Captain. the untiring warriors who are sensi‑ Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat the victim in this case for her fined spaces; alcohol and drugs;
Through an auction, resources were tizing people about the disorder and Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. courage to speak out," US Attorney fewer flight attendants; and dark
pooled to raise awareness about helping individuals and families T he Commonwealth Cultural Matthew Schneider said after the cabins on night flights" ‑‑ factors
epilepsy and fashionable safety hel‑ fight and overcome the issues." Forum is now taking the cup to sentencing was announced. that "likely embolden offenders" ‑‑
mets showcased for people with Dr. Sarat Chandra (Senior Hong Kong post which it is planned Ramamoorthy was convicted in the FBI said in a recent report.
epilepsy. Murali Kartik who cap‑ Professor Department of Neurology, in Kuala Lampur. We are keen to August after a five‑day trial that According to court papers,
tained the maiden Commonwealth AIIMS) said, "After a headache, travel to all the commonwealth was conducted before United Ramamoorthy is from Tamil Nadu,
Cricket Cup which was held in New Epilepsy is the next most common nations with the cup and this mix of States District Judge Terrence Berg. where he grew up. His parents are
Delhi in March 2018 said “Donʼt problem. Many donʼt seek medical sports and entertainment for a good According to the evidence present‑ farmers. He came to the US in July,
shun people with Epilepsy. Whether attention or even realize that it is cause brings out the commonwealth ed at the trial, on January 3, 2015 after his graduation to work
it is your family or friends or people curable. During a seizure, the spirit." Ramamoorthy had engaged in a as an IT professional.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA December 22-28, 2018 9

Malayali teen owns

software company in Dubai
Dubai: A 13‑year‑old
Indian boy in Dubai,
who deve loped his
first mobile applica‑
tion four years ago,
also owns a software
development compa‑
ny, a media report said
Sunday.
Aadithyan Rajesh, a
student from Kerala,
was only nine years
old when he developed
his first mobile appli‑
cation as a hobby to
beat boredom and also
has been designing
logos and websites for
clients.
The tech wizard, who
started using a com‑
Aadithyan Rajesh (seen here with family)developed his first
puter when he turned
mobile app at 9. (Image courtesy: sbs.com.au)
five, has finally
launched his own company 'Trinet total of three employees, who are friends
Solutions' at the age of 13, the Khaleej and students from Aadithyan's school.
Times reported. "I need to be over the age of 18 to actu‑
"I was born in Thiruvilla, Kerala, and my ally become an established company
family moved here when I was five. The owner. However, we function like a com‑
first website my dad showed me was BBC pany. We have worked with over 12
Typing, a website for kids where young clients, and have given them our design
students can learn typing," he told the and coding services entirely for free," he
Dubai‑based English daily. Trinet has a said. (PTI)

Woman in UK fakes brain cancer,

cons family for 250,000 pounds
London: An Indian‑ori‑
gin woman who admit‑
ted to lying to her fam‑
ily and friends about
suf fering from termi‑
nal brain cancer to con
them out of 250,000
pounds was sentenced
to four years in prison
by a UK court on
Friday.
In 2013, Jasmin
Mistry told her then
husband, Vijay
Katechia, that she had
cancer, along with a
Jasmin Mistry
supporting WhatsApp
(Image courtesy: thesun.co.uk)
message from what he
thought was her doctor. Investigations people, and when confronting her she
later revealed that the message had been admitted that she had lied. She was arrest‑
sent by her using a different SIM card. ed in 2017.
At the end of December 2014, she told It was found that 20 members of her
her ex‑husband that her severe brain can‑ extended family and eight others were
cer meant she had just six months to live, found to have given her money. The total
with further messages from another ficti‑ fraud amount was calculated as 253,122
tious doctor suggesting that it could be pounds.
treated in America ‑ at a cost of around Mistry, a medical secretary from
500,000 pounds. Loughborough town in the Midlands
Mistry's ex‑husband became suspicious region of England, was convicted of fraud
when a friend of his saw a picture of a by false representation and jailed for four
brain scan she had said was taken at one years at Snaresbrook Crown Court this
of her consultations. The plot was finally week.
unraveled after her ex‑husband showed a Described in court as a "pathological
"scan" to a doctor friend, who told him it liar", she created a fake online account of
had been lifted from Google. a fictitious doctor to message her husband
He also found SIM cards Mistry used to and also posted "Stand up to cancer" mes‑
send messages pretending to be other sages on social media.
 10 December 22-28, 2018 US AFFAIRS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Every part of Trump's life is under probe: AP Report

Washington DC: Less than two
years into Trump's presidency, his
business associates, political advis‑
ers and family members are being
probed, along with the practices of
his late father.
The first special counsel investi‑
gation against a sitting president
in 20 years hanging over Trump's
head, is spinning out charges and
strong‑arming guilty pleas from
underlings while keeping in sus‑
pense whether the president
"Individual 1" in prosecutor Robert
Mueller's coded legalese will end
up accused of criminal behavior
himself.
The scope of the scrutiny has
shaped Trump's presidency, prov‑
ing a steady distraction from his
governing agenda. So far, much of
it has been launched by federal
prosecutors and government
watchdogs that eschew partisan‑
ship.
T he intensity is certain to
increase next year when
Democrats assume control of the
House and the subpoena power
that comes with it.
Although Trump dismisses the
investigations as politically moti‑
vated "witch hunts," his high‑
octane Twitter account frequently
betrays just how consumed he is
by the scrutiny. He's also said to
watch hours of television coverage
on milestone days in the investiga‑
tions. Almost midway through his
term, Trump is struggling to deliv‑
er on his central campaign promis‑
attorneys general and other par‑ worry that the investigations will
ties tied mainly to Trump business‑ damage his re‑election prospects
es. and their own chances in 2020
At best, the investigations are House and Senate races.
overshadowing what has been pos‑ The federal campaign finance
itive economic news. At worst, the probe has put GOP lawmakers in a
probes are a threat to the presi‑ particularly awkward position.
dency, Trump's family and his Prosecutors as well as Trump's
business interests. longtime personal lawyer Michael
The deep diving will only grow Cohen and a tabloid company that
in the new year when Democrats has long been an ally assert that
take over the House. T hey are Trump directed hush payments to
expected to launch their own keep women quiet about alleged
investigations and could pursue affairs in the closing weeks of the
impeachment, though party lead‑ 2016 campaign. Such a payment
ers caution they could face a politi‑ would violate campaign finance
cal backlash by taking that step. laws. Cohen was sentenced to
Prosecutors as well as Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and
Even if Trump avoids impeach‑ three years in prison.
the owner of National Enquirer (David Pecker, long time Trump ally)
ment, the Democratic investiga‑ Five people in Trump's orbit
assert that Trump directed hush payments to keep women
t ions w ill create headaches. have pleaded guilty to charges in
quiet about alleged affairs in the closing weeks of the
2016 campaign. (Collage courtesy CNN) Administration officials will be the continuing Mueller probe.
called to testify before Congress Among them, Paul Manafort and
es. He may end the year without a Department driving at least three and lawmakers will seek a trove of Rick Gates were Nos 1 and 2,
Republican‑led Congress giving separate criminal investigations. documents, probably including respectively, for a time in Trump's
him the $ 5 billion he wants for a They are the Mueller probe look‑ Trump's tax returns, which he has presidential campaign.
border wall. And he's previewed ing into possible collusion, refused to make public. George Papadopoulos, a lower‑
few legislative priorities for 2019. obstruction of justice or other A bare‑bones White House staff level campaign adviser, was sen‑
Even if he had, it's unlikely the wrongdoing in contacts between may struggle to keep up. A tally by tenced to 14 days in prison and is
new Democratic House majority the Trump campaign and Russia; the Brookings Institution finds out. The others are Michael Flynn,
would have much incentive to help the New York campaign‑finance more than 60 per cent of Trump's who was Trump's first national
a president weakened by investiga‑ case involving hush money paid to top aides have left in the first two security adviser in office and is to
tions rack up wins as his own re‑ Trump's alleged lovers; and now a years, a turnover rate exceeding be sentenced Tuesday, and Cohen,
election campaign approaches. case from New York, first reported the previous five presidents. In who is expected to begin his sen‑
Perhaps not since Bill Clinton by The Wall Street Journal this addition, 10 Cabinet secretaries tence in March.
felt hounded by a "vast wing con‑ past week, examining the finances have departed, more than Barack In addition, the special counsel's
spiracy," as Hillary Clinton put it, and operations of Trump's inaugu‑ Obama, George W Bush and office says Flynn, in giving 19
has a president been under such ral committee and whether foreign Clinton lost in two years. interviews and turning over a
duress from investigation. interests made illegal payments to As the investigations mount, few mountain of documents, has assist‑
This jeopardy has come with it. Republicans have disso ciated ed in a criminal investigation that
Trump's party in control of Behind those matters is a battery themselves publicly from Trump. has yet to be revealed. In other
Cong ress and the Just ice of lawsuits or inquiries from state But privately, some lawmakers do words, there's no end in sight.

Trump names Mulvaney as TEXAS JUDGE RULES

acting White House chief of staff
Mick Mulvaney (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
Washington: President Trump on Friday
named budget director Mick Mulvaney as
act ing chie f of staf f, a wee k after he
announced John Kelly's scheduled departure.
"I am pleased to announce that Mick
Mulvaney, Director of the Of fice of
Management & Budget, will be named
Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing
General John Kelly, who has served our
Country with distinction," said Trump in a
tweet, Xinhua reported.
The president added that he looked for‑
ward to working with Mulvaney in the lat‑
ter's new capacity.
Mulvaney, 51, is a former Republican con‑
gressman from South Carolina. He has been
the budget director since Trump took office,
and was acting director of the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau between Nov.
25, 2017 and Dec. 11, 2018.
The latest announcement came as Trump
spent almost a week considering a nominee
to fill the vacancy left by Kelly, a retired US
Marine Corps general.
His previous candidates, including Vice
President Mike Pence's chief of staf f Nick
Ayers and former Governor of New Jersey
Chris Christie, refused to take the post.
OBAMACARE
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Houston: A US federal judge has ruled the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare as
unconstitutional due to a recent change in
federal tax law.
The ruling on Friday night by US District
Judge Reed O'Connor of Texas overturns all
of the 2010 healthcare law nationwide,
reports The Washington Post.
In his opinion, Judge O'Connor said:
"(The) individual mandate can no longer be
fairly read as an exercise of Congress's Tax
Power and is still impermissible under the
Interstate Commerce Clause‑meaning the
Individual Mandate is unconstitutional."
He also held that the individual mandate
is "essential to and inseverable from the
remainder of the ACA".
The ruling came on the eve of the dead‑
line for Americans to sign up for coverage
in the federal insurance exchange created
under the law.
A spokeswoman for California Attorney
General Xavier Becerra, who leads a group
of states opposing the lawsuit, said on
Saturday that the Democratic defenders of
the law were ready to challenge the ruling
Legal experts believe
that the law will remain
in effect for now.
in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th
Circuit, New Orleans.
Legal experts have said that the law will
remain in effect for now, but the invalida‑
tion of the landmark legislation throws into
doubt the future of health coverage for mil‑
lions of Americans on the Obamacare
exchanges and in Medicaid expansion, CNN
said. More than 4 million people have
already signed up for 2019 coverage on the
exchanges and millions were expected to
pick plans before open enrollment ends on
Saturday. The case against the ACA was
brought by 20 Republican state attorneys
general and governors, as well as two indi‑
viduals. It revolves around Congress effec‑
tively eliminating the individual mandate
penalty by reducing it to $0 as part of the
2017 tax cut bill.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS December 22-28, 2018 11

Trump advises Fed to Report in Senate shows scale of

hold interest rate hike
Washington: President Donald Trump
advised the Federal Reserve not to raise
interest rates at its meeting this week,
given the strength of the dollar and an
almost absence of inflation.
"It is incredible that with a very strong
dollar and virtually no inflation, the out‑
side world blowing up around us, Paris is
burning and China way down, the Fed is
even considering yet another interest rate
hike," EFE news quoted Trump as saying in
a tweet.
"Take the Victory!" he added.
Trump was attacking the US central bank
the day before its last meeting on mone‑
tary policy of the year, after which it is
expected to raise interest rates a quarter of
a percent from its current range of
Fed Chairman
Jerome Powell
has maintained
that economic
indices
recommend a
progressive
hike in interest
rates.
(Pic courtesy
money
control.com)
between 2 and 2.25 percent.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the grad‑
ual increase in interest rates pursued by
the Fed, led by Chairman Jerome Powell, as
a threat to US economic growth.
The President's criticism of the central
bank goes against the traditional respect
for the independence of monetary policy
from the White House.
For his part, Powell, a Trump appointee,
has avoided answering the President and
has held that the good economic times the
country is enjoying, with an unemploy‑
ment rate of 3.7 percent, and inflation
close to the annual goal of 2 percent, rec‑
ommend a progressive hike in interest
rates.
‑IANS
Russian misinformation campaign
Washington: Two outside research groups
used data obtained from Silicon Valley giants
by the Senate Intelligence Committee to
paint a sweeping picture of Russiaʼs online
disinformation efforts both before and after
the 2016 presidential election in reports
released Monday.
"We should certainly expect to see recruit‑
ment, manipulation, and influence attempts
targeting the 2020 election, including the
inauthentic amplification of otherwise legiti‑
mate American narratives," said researchers
from New Knowledge in the report they pro‑
vided to the panel.
The groupsʼ findings bolster the publicʼs
understanding of the Russian campaign and
provide new details on how it operated,
reports Axios:
* The Internet Research Agency troll farm
focused much of its attention on black audi‑
ences, creating "an expansive cross‑platform
media mirage targeting the Black communi‑
ty, which shared and cross‑promoted authen‑
tic Black media to create an immersive influ‑
ence ecosystem," per the New Knowledge
report. The groupʼs cultivation of sometimes‑
unsuspecting on‑the‑ground collaborators
was "substantially more pronounced on
Black‑targeted accounts."
* It engaged in voter suppression. New
Knowledge said that "the suppression narra‑
tives were targeted almost exclusively at the
Black community on Instagram and
Facebook" in the lead‑up to the 2016 elec‑
tion. The IRA simultaneously targeted right‑
leaning audiences with content raising fears
of voter fraud.
* The group's efforts didn't slow down
after they became clear to the public.
The researchers' findings don't necessarily
represent those of the Intelligence
Committee, which is in the midst of a lengthy
investigation into Russian interference. The
Oxford researchers also highlighted the ways
in which Facebook, Google and Twitter had
made it difficult for the Senate panel and
researchers to study the campaign.
New Knowledge added they expect Russian
efforts to use smaller social media platforms
and messaging services as the 2020 election
approaches. Senate Intel Chair Richard Burr
said in a statement, "This newly released data
demonstrates how aggressively Russia
sought to divide Americans by race, religion
and ideology, and how the IRA actively
worked to erode trust in our democratic
institutions. Most troublingly, it shows that
these activities have not stopped."
"This should stand as a wake up call to us
all that none of us are immune from this
threat, and it is time to get serious in
addressing this challenge," said Senate Intel
Vice Chairman Mark Warner in a statement.
"That is going to require some much‑needed
and long‑overdue guardrails when it comes
to social media."
 12 December 22-28, 2018
1984 riots: Sajjan Kumar jailed for life
New Delhi: Thirty‑four years after the
gruesome killings, the Delhi High Court on
Monday convicted Congress leader Sajjan
Kumar in an anti‑Sikh riot case of 1984
here and sentenced him to imprisonment
for the remainder of his natural life, hold‑
ing that the violence was a "crime against
humanity" engineered by politicians with
assistance from police. Setting aside the
acquittal of Sajjan Kumar, the court con‑
victed him and five others saying that the
"criminals" had escaped prosecution and
punishment for over two decades.
"This court is of the view that the mass
killings of Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in
November 1984 were in fact 'crimes
against humanity'. They will continue to
shock the collective conscience of society
for a long time to come," a bench of
Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Vinod
Goel said.
Sajjan Kumar, 73, was asked to surren‑
der by December 31 and directed not to
leave Delhi. "In the summer of 1947, dur‑
ing partition, this country witnessed hor‑
rific mass crimes where several lakhs of
civilians, including Sikhs, Muslims and
Hindus, were massacred," the bench said.
"Thirty‑seven years later, the country
was again witness to another enormous
human tragedy. Following the assassina‑
Congress Chief Ministers in Hindi heartland sworn-in
Jaipur/Bhopal/Raipur: Congress veterans
Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and Bhupesh
Baghel were on Monday sworn in as new
Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, ending BJPs
rule in the Hindi heartland.
The occasions were marked by opposi‑
tion bonhomie, with a host of prominent
opposition leaders sharing the stage with
Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Coming days after leaders of 21 opposi‑
tion parties on December 10 resolved to
work together to "defeat the BJP‑RSS", the
swearing‑in ceremonies turned into a plat‑
form to showcase the opposition unity
ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
However, Mayawati‑led Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) and the Akhilesh Yadav‑headed
Samajwadi Party ‑‑ both of which support‑
ed the Congress in government formation
in Madhya Pradesh ‑‑ were conspicuous by
their absence.
Gehlot, along with his deputy Sachin
Pilot in Rajasthan, Kamal Nath in Madhya
Pradesh and Baghel in Chhattisgarh were
administered the oath of office and secre‑
cy by the Governors in the presence of
Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and a number of opposi‑
tion leaders.
Among those present from the "anti‑BJP
camp" included NCP chief Sharad Pawar,
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP
chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, former Prime
Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve
Gowda, NC patriarch Farooq Abdullah, LJD
leader Sharad Yadav, and DMK leaders
M.K. Stalin and Kanimozhi.
The RJD was represented by Tejashwi
Yadav, Trinamool Congress by former
INDIA
Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.
tion of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime
Minister, on October 31, 1984, by two of
her Sikh bodyguards, a communal frenzy
was unleashed.
"For four days between November 1 to
November 4, all over Delhi, 2,733 Sikhs
were brutally murdered. Their houses
Congress veteran Kamal Nath.
Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi and
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha chief Babulal
Marandi as well as AAP leader Sanjay
Singh were among those present.
Congress General Secretary and former
Union Minister Gehlot took over the reins
of Rajasthan for the third time, while
Sachin, who won his maiden Assembly
elections, is Gehlot's "co‑pilot" after being
sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.
Riding on huge anti‑incumbency against
the Vasundhara Raje‑led Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) government, the Congress with
farm loan waiver as its major poll plank
came to power in the state winning 99 of
the 199 seats at stake.
In Bhopal, nine‑time MP and former
Union Minister Kamal Nath became
Madhya Pradesh's 18th Chief Minister, on
a day the Delhi High Court convicted
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984
anti‑Sikh riots, prompting attacks from the
BJP which alleges Kamal Nath's involve‑
Sajjan Kumar quits Congress
New Delhi: After being convicted and sen‑
tenced to life‑imprisonment in an 1984 anti‑
Sikh riot case, Sajjan Kumar on Tuesday
resigned from the primary membership of
the Congress.
The former Lok Sabha member in a letter
to Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he
was resigning from the party with immedi‑
ate effect, said party sources. Elected thrice
to the Lok Sabha from the Outer Delhi con‑
stituency, the latest being 2004, Kumar had
being sidelined by the party since 2009
when he was denied ticket to contest the
general elections following allegations of his
were destroyed. In the rest of the country
too, thousands of Sikhs were killed," the
bench observed in its 203‑page order.
The court said: "A majority of the perpe‑
trators of these horrific mass crimes
enjoyed political patronage and were
aided by an indif ferent law enforcement
agency."
The court convicted the Congress leader
under various counts of Indian Penal Code
(IPC) including murder, criminal conspira‑
cy, delivering provocative speeches insti‑
Ashok Gehlot takes oath as the 12th CM of Rajasthan. (Photo: Ravi Shankar Vyas/IANS)
ment in the riots in the national capital.
With the BJP and ally Shiromani Akali
Dal attacking the Congress for its choice in
Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath responded
to the charges alleging "politics" behind
the attacks.
"I took oath in 1991 and several times
after that, no one said anything. There is
no case, FIR, or charge‑sheet against me.
Today they are raking up this matter. You
can understand the politics behind this,"
said Kamal Nath.
Credited with steering the party to victo‑
ry in the saffron stronghold, Kamal Nath,
immediately after assuming power, cleared
files for waiving loans of farmers to the
tune of Rs 2 lakh each.
With this, the Congress which won won
114 seats in the 230‑member House,
delivered its pre‑poll promise of cancelling
farm loans within 10 days of coming to
power. In Raipur, state Congress President
Bhupesh Baghel, credited for powering his
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
involvement in the riots.
While Kumar on the day refused to inter‑
act with the media, his lawyers said they
were in process of approaching the Supreme
Court against the conviction by the Delhi
High Court.
Meanwhile, Gandhi who is said to have
accepted Kumar's resignation, refused to
comment on the convicted leader.
Barring Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh, who welcomed Kumar's conviction,
Congress leaders mostly have refrained
from commenting on the issue saying the
conviction should not be "politicised".
gating violence against Sikhs, mischief by
fire or explosive substance with intent to
destroy house and injuring or defiling
place of worship with intent to insult the
religion of any class.
Sajjan Kumar and the others were
charged with the killing of five Sikhs ‑‑
Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender
Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep
Singh, who were members from the same
family ‑‑ by a mob in Delhi Cantonment's
Raj Nagar area on October 31, 1984.
party to a landslide victory, became the
third Chief Minister of the tribal‑dominat‑
ed state
Baghel, who represents Patan Assembly
constituency in Durg district, was adminis‑
tered the oath of office and secrecy in the
presence of Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, for‑
mer Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister
Farooq Abdullah and a host of other top
Congress leaders.
Besides Baghel, Ambikapur MLA T.S.
Singh Deo and Durg Rural lawmaker
Tamradhwaj Sahu took oath as ministers.
After the swearing‑in ceremony, Gandhi
took to Twitter to thank the people of the
state and vowed to build a "new
Chhattisgarh".
Baghel, had taken over the reins of party
nearly a year‑and‑half after the top state
leadership was wiped out in a Maoist
attack in 2013, including the then state
unit chief Nand Kumar Patel and party vet‑
eran Vidya Charan Shukla.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA December 22-28, 2018 13

Modi hints at GST concessions, warns bank defaulters

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Tuesday said the government is aiming to
bring 99 per cent of items below the 18 per
cent GST slab and warned of stringent
action against defaulters of bank loan and
fugitives.
"Before GST, registered enterprises num‑
bered 65 lakh, which has now increased by
55 lakh. Today, the GST system has been
established to a large extent and we are
working towards a position where 99 per
cent items can be brought in the sub‑18 per
cent slab," said Modi.
In a stern warning, he said economic fugi‑
tives and defaulters of bank loans would
not be spared, and re ferred to the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016
(IBC), the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act,
2018 and other changes that were helping
prosecute those who earlier escaped the
law.
"Who would have thought four years ago
that the main suspect of the
(AgustaWestland)helicopter scam, Christian
Michel, would be brought to India?
Earlier, when companies used to be
unable to repay loans, nothing used to hap‑
pen... they had a 'suraksha kavach' (protec‑
tive shield) from the 'khaas parivar' (privi‑
leged family)... This has ended with the
IBC," Modi asserted in his address to the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Republic TV's" Surging India Economic
Summit here.
Modi also highlighted in detail India's
achievements in the past nearly five years
and said the nation has taken the first steps
towards joining the $5 trillion economy
club.
He discussed the strides made in the
economy across major sectors, ranging
from waterways to aviation, in its path to
development that catapulted India to com‑
pete at the global level.
"Surging India ‑ the two words are the
expression of 130 crore Indians. These are
the feelings, vibrations which the world is
witnessing. In the global society, India's
growth is moving ahead in a very fast man‑
ner. India's image before the world is get‑
ting better with each passing day," he said.
"Four years ago, did anyone think that
within no time India will take its step for‑
ward to join the Five Trillion Dollar
Economies Club, or that in the Ease of
Doing Business rankings the country would
move from 142 to 77th position?
"India is taking rapid actions to come in
the Top 50," Modi said.
He said that nobody could have thought
that people who travel in air‑conditioned
trains will soon travel in helicopters. India's
aviation sector has soared to such heights
that there is need to order 1,000 new chop‑
pers. In this context, Modi pointed out that
since Independence, the country had only
450 helicopters in the public and private
sectors.
He added that autodrivers, vegetable ven‑
dors and tea‑sellers now use the BHIM App
and keep debit cards in their pockets. The
country has already tested a Made In India
engine‑less train running at 180 kmph,
while the National Waterways has become
a reality with a ship sailing from Bengal on
River Ganga to Varanasi.
"Did anyone think that India will launch
100 satellites at one go, and was moving
ahead with the Gaganyaan Mission," Modi
asked. T he Gaganyaan Mission of the
Indain Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
is intended to take an Indian astronaut into
space by 2022.
T he summit also witnessed debates
between top political personalities.

Won't let Modi sleep till he Triple Talaq bill tabled,

waives farm loans: Rahul
New Delhi: Bolstered by the victory
in the just‑concluded Assembly
e lections, Congress President
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday warned
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
that the Congress and other oppo‑
sition parties will not allow him to
sleep but force him to waive the
loans of farmers across the coun‑
try.
"I want to say that Congress and
other opposit ion part ies w ill
together force Modi to waive farm‑
ers' debt. We will stand, fight, not
budge an inch. We will not let him
sleep at night till the time he
waives the loan of farmers. I want‑
ed to give you this message, tell
this to the farmers," he said.
"I want to tell the poor farmers
that this is your country. It is not
of 15‑20 industrialists. Injustice is
being meted out to you. You (farm‑
ers) work day and night and pro‑
vide food to the country and your
voice is never heard. We are ensur‑
ing that your voice is heard.
We have done it in three states
and you remember we will pres‑
surise Narendra Modi ji to do it,"
he said during an interaction with
the media in Parliament House
complex.
He said Modi in his over four
years in of fice has not waived a
single rupee of farmers' loans but
had written of f Rs 3.5 lakh crore
loans of 15‑20 big industrialists
Congress party President Rahul Gandhi.
using people's money.
He said Modi had the choice in
the last four years to execute farm
loan waiver or go for demonetiza‑
t ion and "g ive money to his
friends."
"And he decided that he does not
want to waive farmer loans. Now
we w ill put such pressure on
Narendra Modi. Not only Congress
but every farmer of the country,
we will take you all and get loans
waived. Congress will stand with
you. All opposition parties will
stand with you. Do not be afraid,
not be scared. Your work is going
to be done," he said.
Gandhi said on one side there
are small businessmen, laborers
and farmers, and on the other side,
there are 15‑20 big industrialists.
"In the last four years, Modiji
took your money and put 3.5 lakh
crore in the pocket of those 15‑20
industrialists. He creates two
Indias ‑ one of 15‑20 people, loan
waiver, private jets and the other
of small businessmen, shops,
laborers and farmers."
Gandhi said the party had prom‑
ised that it will start the work of
loan waiver in 10 days. "In two
states it did not take six hours and
it is going to be done in the third
state."
Accusing Mo di of show ing
favoritism in the Rafale deal, he
said it will be inquired into and
there will be a joint parliamentary
committee.
transgender bill gets nod
New Delhi: After a com‑
plete washout of the first
week of the winter ses‑
sion of Parliament, the
Lok Sabha on Monday
witnessed little business
although it passed the
Transgender Persons Rights
Bill and introduced the Triple
Talaq Bill amid din.
T hroug hout the day, the
Congress, the AIADMK and the
Te lugu Desam Party ( TDP)
members protested near the
Speaker's podium over dif fer‑
ent issues and forced three
adjournments before the pas‑
sage of the Transgender
Persons (Protection of Rights)
Bill, 2016.
Soon after the House met for
the day and then reassembled
at noon after the first adjourn‑
ment and during the post‑lunch
session, the Cong ress, the
AIADMK and TDP members
were on their feet.
The Congress members were
demanding a Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC)
probe into the Rafale jet fighter
deal with France while accus‑
ing the government of lying
before the Supreme Court.
The AIADMK members want‑
ed Karnataka to take back its
proposal to construct a dam
across the Cauvery river at
Mekadatu, while the TDP mem‑
bers raised several issues relat‑
ed to special status to Andhra
Pradesh.
In the noon, Union Law
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
introduced the Muslim Women
(Protect ion of Rig hts on
Marriage) Bill, 2018, common‑
ly known as the Triple Talaq
Bill amid a ruckus and despite
opposition from the Congress.
As the din continued, Prasad
sought permission from the
Chair to introduce the Bill.
Cong ress member Shashi
Tharoor opposed it claiming it
was targeted at a particular
religion and hence unconstitu‑
tional.
"The bill was based on the
ground of a specific religion
and it was violation of Sections
14 and 21 of the Constitution.
This is a misconceived bill," he
said.
The government could not
pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha
during the previous monsoon
session. Later it issued an ordi‑
nance on September 19 mak‑
ing Triple Talaq a criminal
offence.
 14 December 22-28, 2018 OP-ED TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Can Rahul's Hinduism succeed

where bogus secularism failed?
By Saeed Naqvi Rajiv promised "Ram Rajya" while inaugurat‑ Pakistan was one step in that direction. Just
ing the 1989 election from Ayodhya. He as the neighbour was called Pakistan, could

I
t will be impossible to resist the tempta‑
tion of attributing Congress gains in the
three northern states to Rahul Gandhi's
demonstrative adoption of Hinduism. In
some measure, that is. There are two ways
of looking at it. It is a trick which worked. Or
is it the enunciation of a line which has to be
developed?
So effective has been the Bharatiya Janata
Party's (BJP) saf fronisation of the atmos‑
phere that even Communists shy away from
discussing minorities. West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to
build 10 Sun temples. Samajwadi Party's
Akhilesh Yadav will build a Vishnu temple.
There is, of course, the biggest temple of all
to be built in Ayodhya.
If Rahul places his new‑found religiosity
on a creative track, he can trump the BJP on
that count too. Absurd though it may sound,
he can, under certain circumstances, bring
Muslims around to the idea that the ailing
Lucknow cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq has
been consistently propagating. Even if the
Supreme Court verdict goes in their favour,
Muslims should, in an act of magnanimity,
help build the Ram temple. This cannot be
expected of a community which sees itself as
an object of hate. But if Rahul's is an all‑
inclusive Hinduism where all are equal, well,
the terms of endearment can change.
Rahul's father, Rajiv Gandhi, after all, had
the Ayodhya temple locks opened, an act
which facilitated the temple movement.
allowed the bricklaying ceremony of the
Ram temple on disputed land but asked offi‑
cials to look the other way. He fell between
stools. Gingerly flirting with Hinduism
proved counter‑productive. Rahul has come
out overtly, causing some of us to smirk.
How far will it go?
The Congress, as Rahul must know, was
implacably opposed to the "Two Nation" the‑
ory ‑‑ i.e., Hindus and Muslims constitute
two dist inct nat ions. Maulana Azad,
President of the Congress from 1939 to
1945, had arrived at an agreement for an
undivided India with the Cabinet Mission.
He was unequivocal. "Partitioned India will
be unadulterated Hindu Raj."
It may have sounded rhetorical in the ear‑
lier years but where we have arrived is
exactly what Azad had predicted. T he
Congress Working Committee meeting of
June 3, 1947, accepted Mountbatten's
Partition plan. Why was Maulana Azad the
only leader to have had serious misgiving?
Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
wept. "You have thrown us to the wolves."
Only these two Doubting Thomases? All the
others swallowed Partition hook, line and
sinker? With some re luctance, even
Mahatma Gandhi accepted Partition. At least
this is what Azad writes in "India Wins
Freedom".
An endorsement of Mountbatten's plan to
divide India implied that the two‑nation the‑
ory had been accepted. The creation of
we not have been named Hindustan? In real‑
ity, we glided seamlessly from British Raj to
Hindu Raj but, ridden by a guilty conscience,
hesitated to spell it out. It is this hesitation
which created room for the BJP to step in
and grow.
If I were a Hindu, I would ask, as the late
Vinod Mehta, my friend of 60 years, asked
me in his Nizamuddin apartment: "800 years
of Muslim rule, 200 years of the British and
next door there is now a Muslim state.
Against this backdrop, would you grudge me
a Hindu state?"
Volumes would have to be written to focus
on the nuances embedded in Vinod's query
but for purposes of a quick column this may
be the appropriate moment to touch on
issues now that the Indian Nat ional
Congress has, with unprecedented honesty,
embraced its Hindu credentials. And on cur‑
rent showing, the switch has been accepted
by the people.
Nehru would have been uncomfortable
with "Hindu Raj" for a variety of reasons, but
the overriding reason for keeping aside
"Hindu Raj" was realpolitik: What principle
would then be cited to keep Kashmir?
When the founding fathers charted a
course of neutrality, tolerance, respect for
all religions without priviledging any one of
them, they had probably not taken into
account the crucial reality: A multi‑religious,
multi‑ethnic, multi‑lingual society frozen for
centuries in a caste system, suddenly
The results from the three northern states
will serve as a balm for Congress. Let
Rahul Gandhi build upon it.
exposed to notions of democracy, upward
mobility eg alitarianism would create
upheavals. A society inherently unequal was
being set on a path of equality. The way
ahead had to be unspeakably turbulent.
Add to this the following: The world's
largest minority and third‑largest Muslim
population which had no role in the creation
of Pakistan found itself unable to produce
that certificate of nationalism which is not
available without a compulsive hatred for
Pakistan. This hatred, tied with the televised
image of Kashmiris as terrorists and Indian
Muslims as a potential fifth column is a
lethal mix, custom‑made for a societal
wreck, which is what we are today.
How can Rahul calm this cauldron ‑‑ by
deftly upping the ante for the BJP? While
the Hindutva brigade is busy changing
names of lanes and culverts, should he sail
above the BJP? Should he insert in the
Congress manifesto "Hindustan" as the offi‑
cial name to replace the ambivalence of
"India that is Bharat"?
The results from the three northern states
will serve as a balm. Let Rahul build upon it.

How the Indian voter has changed in recent years

By Neelanjan Sircar and This trend is likely to become
Rahul Verma more apparent as the size of urban
and middle‑class population

I
n the aftermath of the election
results, much of the analysis has
focused on trying to understand
the nature of the verdict in five
states and its implications for the
upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elec‑
tions.
The big question on everyoneʼs
mind is: Which way will the Indian
voter swing and what will drive
their choices? In recent years, the
Indian voter has flummoxed poll‑
sters, journalists, and even the most
seasoned political observers.
First and foremost, Indian voters
are turning out to vote in larger
numbers than ever before. Not only
has the gender gap in turnout
declined, there is enough evidence
to suggest that most social groups
are turning out in equal propor‑
tions. The turnout gap between
reserved and unreserved con‑
stituencies has become virtually
non‑existent.
Lower turnout in metropolitan
areas still remains a concern, but
compared to most democracies
Voters in a queue to cast their vote for Rajasthan Assembly elections in Newai Tehsil in Tonk.
around the world, voter turnout in
India remains fairly high. The con‑
certed ef fort of the Election
Commission of India in this regard
through various voter awareness
programmes must be duly acknowl‑
edged.
Second, it is now becoming
increasingly evident that voters are
holding their leaders accountable
(File Photo: IANS/PIB)
for economic performance. Despite
a popular narrative that paints the
Indian voter as largely driven by
identity issues, field reports consis‑
tently showed that voters were
most concerned about agricultural
prices, delivery of public goods,
jobs, and corruption ̶ all issues
that can be associated with incum‑
bent government performance.
Emerging research in this area
has not only demonstrated a posi‑
tive re lationship between the
incumbent governmentʼs electoral
outcomes and economic growth at
the state level, but also a positive
correlation between votersʼ assess‑
ment of their own economic condi‑
tion (pocket‑book voting) as well as
the health of the national economy.
increases further.
Third, the Indian voter is more
informed than ever before. As cam‑
paigns are becoming increasingly
sophisticated in reaching the voter
̶ through W hatsApp and
Facebook for instance ̶ so too has
the Indian voter diversified her
sources of political information.
When there is a political misstep, be
it the Mandsaur firing in Madhya
Pradesh or an incendiary remark,
the voter is sure to find out.
Fourth, emerging research sug‑
gests that women voters are dis‑
playing independent political pref‑
erences that defy basic stereotypes
and may shift electoral outcomes.
Politicians across the board are
making great ef forts to court the
female constituency.
Understanding Indiaʼs changing
voter is key to understanding the
countryʼs democratic trajectory in
the long term.
(The article appeared in The
Hindustan Times)

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross addressing the gathering during the farewell
reception of Ambassador Navtej Sarna at the Embassy Residence on December 11.
Indo-US ties extolled at farewell
for Amb. Navtej Sarna
Washington DC: At a farewell gala
held Dec. 13 for the Indian
Ambassador to US Navtej Sarna,
diplomats from both countries
praised the Trump administration
and the state of bilateral relations.
To showcase the warmth and
strength of the bilateral relations,
the farewell was hosted by the
State Department at Blair House
(bang opposite the White House),
a residence meant for heads of
state during visits to this country.
Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for South and
Central Asia Alice Wells told the
gathering President Trump calls
India a “true friend,” and pointed
to the two years during which the
Consulate donates ‘India Corner' book collection to Rutgers
New Brunswick, NJ: Sandeep
Chakravorty, Consul General of
India in New York, and Shatrughan
Sinha, Deputy Consul General of
India, visited Rutgers University last
month to celebrate the dedication of
“India Corner” at the Archibald S.
Alexander Library.
The “India Corner” is a book col‑
lection donated by the Indian
Consulate to Rutgers University
Libraries in New Brunswick. The
titles in the collection̶from
Gandhiʼs autobiography to Durga
Das Basuʼs commentary on the
Constitution of India; from Sufi
lyrics to Santal folk tales̶represent
Indiaʼs rich history and culture, and
cover the countryʼs linguistic and
geographical diversity.
Rutgers is the fourth US university
to be gifted such a book collection;
the University of Buffalo, the
University of Pittsburgh, and
Syracuse University each have their
own “India Corner” at their libraries.
The “India Corner” book exhibit
also included a selection of publica‑
tions by Rutgersʼ own faculty curat‑
ed by the South Asia Librarian
Triveni Kuchi.
“Indo‑Pacific” region was renamed.
And Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo “has characterized the
U.S.‑India bilateral relationship as
one deeply bound by our shared
values,” Wells said at the event
attended by top White House and
State Department officials.
Sarna, who was posted as
Ambassador to the US in
November 2016, ends an illustri‑
ous 38‑year foreign service career
with his prestigious posting in
Washington. Both Wells and Sarna
dwelt on the accomplishments of
the past two years, the highlight of
which was the state visit of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi as well as
the inauguration of the new 2+2
During their visit to Rutgers, Sandeep Chakravorty,
Consul General of India in New York, and Shatrughan Sinha, Deputy
Consul General, met with graduate students conducting
research in South Asian Studies as well as officials .
The “India Corner” book collection
will be a valuable resource to
Rutgers faculty and students who
are interested in learning more
about the history, literature, and
philosophical traditions of India.
Rutgers is home to more than 650
undergraduate and graduate stu‑
dents from India, as well as over 75
faculty and thousands of students of
Indian origin. There are more than
70 courses taught at Rutgers with a
direct focus on South Asia; this
DIPLOMACY
Ambassador Navtej Sarna chairing the Consul Generals conference at the Embassy of India
in Washington DC on December 12. (Photos: Indian Embassy)
Dialogue on security and strategic
priorities
“Under your leadership in our
countries have negotiated and
finalized a landmark communica‑
tions compatibility and security
agreement, which makes our mili‑
tary cooperation more profound
and advanced. We have also taken
significant steps to build on Indiaʼs
status as a US major defense part‑
ner, including elevating India to
strategic trade authorization, tier
one status,” Wells is quoted as say‑
ing in a Financial Express news
report. She also praised Sarna for
engaging the 3‑million strong
Indian‑American community in the
U.S., to strengthen relations. Sarna
semester, 22 courses are being
offered on topics ranging from
Bollywood to Hindu philosophy to
Sanskrit.
During their visit, Chakravorty
and Shatrughna met with graduate
students from various doctoral pro‑
grams who are conducting research
in South Asian Studies. They also
met with a number of Rutgers lead‑
ers, including Christopher Molloy,
Interim Chancellor of Rutgers
University–New Brunswick; Eric
December 22-28, 2018 15
Ambassador Navtej Sarna addressing the gathering at his farewell
organized by U.S. Department of State at Blair House on December 13.
noted that the “personal chem‑ autonomy, for the needs of our
istry” between Modi and President economy, for our role, for our tak‑
Trump was very strong and evi‑ ing into account our art history
dent, resulting in the joint state‑ and our regional position vis a vis
ment which would set the chart for several other countries,” Sarna
bilateral relations in coming said, adding that the two countries
months. “We have found a huge had found ways to serve their own
amount of understanding for our national interests and still grow
political space, for our strategic the relationship.
The book collection represents Indiaʼs rich history and culture and cov‑
ers the countryʼs linguistic and geographical diversity.
Garfunkel, Vice President for Global grant of approximately $250,000
Affairs; Dee Magnoni, Assistant Vice from President Barack Obama and
President for Information Services Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as
and Director of the New Brunswick part of the Obama‑Singh 21st
Libraries; Asher Ghertner, Director Century Knowledge Initiative
of the South Asian Studies Program; (OSKI). Rutgers has also partnered
and Rick Lee, Director of Global with ICCR to fund a Chair of
Programs and Partnerships at Contemporary Indian Studies at the
Rutgers Global. university. Several Rutgers units
Rutgers is committed to promot‑ have active partnership agreements
ing research and other initiatives with higher education institutions in
that advance the universityʼs rela‑ India, including Amity University
tionship with India and Indian insti‑ Gurgaon and Era University
tutions. In 2012, Rutgers was one of (Rutgers Biomedical and Health
four U.S. institutions to receive a Sciences).
 16 December 22-28, 2018
T
op Indian and international
personalities, film and sports
icons, business tycoons, politi‑
cal heavyweights, celebrities and a
host of others attended what was
described as "a royal wedding" for
the scions of two top business
conglomerates ‑ Isha
Ambani and Anand
Piramal – in
Mumbai.
The celebrations
started in the after‑
noon with the tradi‑
tionally attired
groom, Anand,
arriving on a mare
at the head of a
wedding proces‑
sion (baraat) at
the Ambani's
towering Antilia
residence.
The 27‑storied
Antilia, said to be
one of the most
expensive pri‑
vate residences
in the world, itself has been decked
up like a bride, and the entire stretch
from the main road to the building
has been decorated since the past
few days with multi‑hued fresh flow‑
ers, colourful lights and festoons to
commemorate one of the most antic‑
ipated weddings in the country's
commercial capital in recent times.
The grand wedding saw the par‑
ents ‑ industrialist Mukesh Ambani
and his wife Nita, tycoons Ajay
I'm not going to tone down just
because I'm married: Ranveer
A
ctor Ranveer Singh will not
change his personality after
his marriage to Deepika
Padukone, and says he doesn't
want his wife and actress to change
herself either. "Marriage is like the
best thing that has ever happened
to me. I feel some kind of magic,
some kind of power, it's like I'm
invincible. You know in those
superhero movies, you know that
moment when the suit comes on. I
feel like marriage has done that to
me," Ranveer said during a session
at Times Network's India Economic
Conclave 2018.
He says getting married makes
him feel "grounded, feel secure".
"I'm really loving it. It has only
been about 10‑15 days now but it's
so nice, it's so lovely. I would highly
recommend it to the entire young
population of the country. Take it
from me, it's great," added the
actor, who was present at the fifth
edition of the conclave to talk
about new age role models.
He says he has not toned down.
Piramal and his wife Swati ‑ and oth‑
ers wel‑
com‑
ing
the
high‑
profile celebrity guests.
Former President Pranab
Mukherjee was warmly received by
business magnate Anil Ambani, the
bride's uncle, while other top celebs
like former US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Praful Patel also
made their presence felt.
Prominent invitees included
Bollywood actors like Rajinikanth,
Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan,
Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan,
"Did you see what I was wearing
for my wedding? I was wearing a
leopard on my shoulder for one of
the events. A leopard who had
green lasers coming out of his eyes!
How is that toned down? It was hot
pink. Manish Arora made it espe‑
cially for me. He is my spirit design‑
er, and he's really out there.
"I don't think I'm going to tone
down or change who I am just
because now I'm married which
leads me into the next part of my
answer that if it happens, I'm not
going to filter it. I'm just going to
allow it to happen if it happens nat‑
urally."
BOLLYWOOD TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Aamir Khan and Kiran, Shah Rukh
Khan and Gauri, Salman Khan,
Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and
her husband Nick Jonas, Deepika
Padukone and Ranveer Singh,
Hritik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty
and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
et al.
Besides, Sachin
Tendulkar and
other sports
personalities,
top business
honchos
included K.V.
Kamath,
Sanjiv
Goenka,
Deepak
Parekh,
Sashi and
Anshuman
Ruia, Adi
Godej, Rahul
Bajaj and
Harsh
Mariwala
were also
seen at the wedding.
The grand wedding festivities had
started several days earlier in
Udaipur, Rajasthan which witnessed
a performance by Grammy award
winning singer Beyonce Knowles, a
four‑day special 'Anna Seva' and an
expo on traditional Indian handi‑
crafts, besides other events for the
guests that included many of the
biggest names from politics, busi‑ Corporate scions Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal; Actors Rekha,
ness and Bollywood.
Aamir Khan, Kareena and Saif Ali Khan at the wedding.
Vikas Khanna's directorial
debut film to premiere in US
elebrity chef Vikas Khannas
C
directorial debut feature
film "The Last Color", star‑
Actors Ranveer ring Neena Gupta, will have its
Singh and world premiere at the prestigious
Deepika 30th Annual Palm Springs
Padukone got International Film Festival 2019.
married in Italy The film will be screened thrice
Chef Vikas Khannaʼs film is
last month during the festival being held
based on his bestselling book
from January 3‑14, 2019. The
ʻThe Last Colorʼ.
film is under the competition cat‑
egory ‑ New Voices New Vision. inspired by the real‑life experi‑
Marriage is one beautiful The movie, which marks Vikas' ences observed by Vikas while
debut as a director and screen‑ researching around food and cul‑
celebration: Deepika
N
writer, is based on his bestselling ture for his books and TV shows.
ewly‑wed Deepika Padukone
book by the same name. He was shooting for Holi for his
has said that marriage itself
"The Last Color" is the story of book "Utsav: A Culinary Epic of
is a beautiful celebration.
Chhoti (Aqsa Siddiqui) ‑ a nine‑ Indian Festivals" in Vrindavan
The actress was interacting with the
year‑old flower seller and when he witnessed a desolate
media at Nicklodean Kids Choice
tightrope walker who befriends sight ‑ everyone was playing with
Awards 2018. When asked whether
Noor (Neena Gupta), a 70‑year‑ colors during the festival except
celebrations have finally come to an
old widow living a life of com‑ for the widows who were dressed
end, she said: "I think marriage itself
plete abstinence. in white and watching the cele‑
is the beautiful celebration and liter‑
The teaser of the film was brations from their balconies and
al celebrations are done at least from
unveiled at the Cannes Film terraces. "This is a story that had
our end. "But December anyway, I
Festival earlier this year and to be told and I am glad that I am
think is very festive time and as a
marked Vikas' fourth appearance finally getting an opportunity
newlywed, the celebration continues
at the fest. "The Last Color" is to do so.
for a while."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info BOLLYWOOD December 22-28, 2018 17

Feel fortunate for everything What is Mrs Nick Jonas

I've gone through: Katrina planning after marriage?
A
ctress Katrina Kaif, looking forward to the release
of her forthcoming film "Zero", says she consid‑ By Subhash K Jha

H
ers herself really fortunate for everything that
she has gone through in her film career. ere is what our desi bride,
Katrina was interacting with the media at the Indiaʼs glamor and pride, is plan‑
launch of the song "Husn parcham" from "Zero", ning – she will spend even more
along with film's director Aanand L Rai, music com‑ time in the US. There is more reason for
poser duo Ajay‑Atul, lyricist Irshad Kamil, choreog‑ her to do so. She will, of course, keep
rapher Bosco Martis and T‑Series honcho Bhushan popping in and out of Mumbai. But
Kumar in Mumbai. career‑wise (and boy, is she wise about
Katrina Kaif made her Hindi film debut with her career) there is not much for her left
Kaizad Gustad's "Boom" in 2003, and in 2018 she to do in Bollywood.
completed 15 years in the film industry. She has played a gamut of roles that
Looking back at her journey, she said: "I feel Bollywood has to offer. She cannot be
very fortunate. I feel that I have experienced paired with any of the A‑list heroes, for
and seen so many beautiful things in the a variety of reasons. Suffice it to say
last few years. I have seen ups and that she is several sizes larger in stature
downs. I have seen the worst and high‑ now than Bollywood can accommodate.
est of times but I just feel really fortu‑ Here is where Priyanka will achieve
nate for everything that I have gone that diasporic crossover in the truest
through. sense. She will form a business partner‑
"I feel fortunate today to be work‑ ship with her husband that will extend
ing in a film like this, to be part of the the spectrum of her creative activities
film with the kind of talent that we and give her new avenues to explore. I
have ‑‑ from Aanand sir, to Shah suspect acting won't be a primary con‑
Rukh (Khan) and to Anushka (Sharma). cern at the moment. Music may perhaps
Actress Katrina Kaifʼs ʻZeroʼ is
I think as long as I am getting the take a more prominent position in her
set for a December 21 release.
opportunity to showcase, learn and career than movies, as both Jonas and
take my art forward with the best people that we have today in the film industry, I am Chopra are into music and singing.
Actress Priyanka Chopra won't waste her
really grateful. "As long as I am learning something ‑‑ even if it is a little bit every day ‑‑ as In an informal chat with me, Priyanka
time in looking around for opportunities.
long as I feel that I am adding and improving in my craft and giving my audience some‑ once talked about what she wanted from
thing new, then I feel quite happy." "Zero" is a romantic drama film written by Himanshu the West. "It needn't be what the West "nowhere" quality in her personality to get
Sharma and directed by Rai. It releases on December 21. wants from me. I don't want to do what is somewhere specific in her career. It seems
expected in the West from Indian and Asian Nick and Priyanka are planning to set up a
actors‑musicians." business empire devoted to generating and

Every student, parent must watch Sure enough, "Quantico", or for that mat‑
ter her brief role in the Hollywood produc‑
tion "A Kid Like Jake", does not put too fine
marketing entertainment software. Rest
assured, the newly‑wedded Mrs Jonas won't
waste a moment of her time in looking

'Cheat India': Emraan Hashmi a point on the color of her skin. Nor did she
have to speak brown‑memsaab English in a
around for opportunities. For her, they are
there for asking. She will play a global part

A
singsong voice to earn brownie points from in the American entertainment industry in
ctor Emraan Hashmi, who is
the West, the way Hollywood expects Indian the way Anupam Kher never can. She need‑
gearing up for his forth‑
actors to speak. (Here we will not even go n't play "Ms India" to pander to the Western
coming release "Cheat
into her disastrous Hollywood debut in need for Oriental obliqueness. She will ride
India", has said every student and
"Baywatch" where she hammed so badly, it the waves of her egalitarian cosmopoli‑
parent must watch it as it brings to
made us cringe.) Priyanka is just plain tanism without ever losing sight of her desi
the fore the irregularities present
darned sexy in a very cultural‑unspecific roots. Go forth, Mrs Jonas. Everyone is
in our education system.
way. I think she will now tap into that watching you.
Emraan was interacting with the
media during the promotion of the

Say no when required: Malaika

film, when he said everyone should
know what is "happening in our
system. It is our plea as the makers
of the film that, we bring about
changes in our education system as
Arora on her personal life
S
soon as possible so that, we can he is one of the fittest celebrities in The grapevine has been abuzz that
have a progressive outlook." Bollywood and is currently in the Malaika is currently dating actor Arjun
"It is based on our faulty and news more for her personal rela‑ Kapoor and that they may soon tie the
fractured education system and we tionship, but Malaika Arora says knot. However, neither of them have
all have been affected by that, be it that it comes with the territo‑ either confirmed or denied this.
our parents or me, as I am parent ry. She feels one needs to In 2016, Malaika split
of a child. strike the right balance from actor Arbaaz Khan,
"In this education system, we and say "no" when whom she got married
emphasize a lot on rote learning required. to in 1998. They have
which doesn't have any benefit in "It comes with the a son together.
real and practical world. territory. You have Malaika was one of
"Apart from that our education to be able to strike the judges for the
system is being weakened by lot of the right balance auditions of models
middlemen, scamsters and fraud‑ and say 'no' when for the forthcoming
sters." required. It comes edition of Lakme
"Cheat India" is written and with the business," Fashion Week (LFW)
directed by Soumik Sen. It features the actress told IANS in Summer/Resort 2019.
Emraan Hashmi and Shreya an email from Mumbai,
Dhanwanthary in the lead roles. when asked how more Bollywood celebrity
The film is scheduled for a January focus on her personal life over and reality show judge
25, 2019 release. Actor Emraan Hashmiʼs film is based Malaika Arora.
professional life affects her as a person.
on Indian education system.
 18 December 22-28, 2018 LIFESTYLE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

to being rich in antioxidants,

the benefits are endless,
which makes tea extremely
appealing to the current
mindset of consumers. It is
quite interesting to note how
trends dictate the evolution
of any industry, for that mat‑
ter.
Looking at the current
December 15 was International Tea Day course of the tea industry,
with innovation being the
By Karan Shah The tea aficionados are trying out newer flavors. key criteria, there are quite a

I
few interesting trends to
ndia has been dancing to the look out for in 2019:
beat of "Cha‑Cha‑Cha" with * Veggie Tea Mixes: Given
every cup of tea consumed and the rise of vegetarianism and
every soul comforted by the veganism across the globe, a
taste of brewed magic, be lot of people want their teas
it regular or masala. to have vegetables in the
History suggests tea‑ composition, some of which
drinking commenced include onions, tomatoes,
around 750 BC, but the potatoes and more.
origin of tea in India, in * Power Teas: Although
terms of commercialization, several teas provide energy
bev‑
goes back to the pre‑ naturally, power teas com‑
erage
Independence years, when the British bining vitamins and herbs is
that for‑ From chai on the roadside to high tea in diplomacy,
initiated tea cultivation and consumption a new trend to look out for,
eigners the brew is part of Indian culture.
in the country to challenge the Chinese considering the "quick‑fix"
drink when
monopoly in the tea industry. or cakes. In fact, it still a tradition in a lot of patterns of people due to the fast pace of
they come to
What began as a business goal soon Indian societies. life.
our country isn't
became a household habit, with almost A basic cup of tea has undergone major * Probiotic Teas: Probiotic teas are those
their regular beer or whisky, it is tea.
everyone orchestrating their days to the changes across the years. From regular and which go through microbial fermentation,
That itself speaks a lot about the syn‑
tune of their tea‑cups. After Assam and masala, to elaichi, ginger, lemon and more ‑ which is said to work wonders for one's
onymy of India with chai.
Darjeeling proved to be successful spots for ‑ one thing has, however, remained the immune system as well as improve diges‑
Early advertising of tea positioned it as an
cultivation, mountainous areas like same: People like to play around and get tion and help with weight management.
accompaniment for snacks, be it for the
Kumaon, Dehradun and the Nilgiris were innovative with their steaming cups of On International Tea Day, it's interesting
family or for guests. In an attempt to bridge
inspired to also do so. invigorating chai. to note how tea has changed over the years,
a consumer need and turn it into a prof‑
The impactful response made India initi‑ Today, tea consumption is at its highest with further innovations to come. Needless
itable venture, tea stalls started popping up
ate trade and exports to other countries, with newer variants being introduced for to say, these warm cups of delight are here
around offices for those who couldn't go
hence spreading the magic of Indian tea the health‑conscious generation. Green Tea, to stay and make our lives more beau'tea'‑
home to have their daily dose of chai. High‑
across the globe. The import‑export busi‑ Herbal Tea and Chamomile Tea are three of ful.
tea sessions gained momentum, wherein
ness began to put India on the map for the most consumed beverages by Indians
people would gather at each other's homes
being synonymous with tea and if one has because of the magic that they do for one's Karan Shah is the fourth‑generation
and socialise with cups of tea and biscuits
to gauge its resonance, even today, the first immune system. Right from weight control Director of Society Tea, founded in 1933.

Indian chef stirs up regional cuisine

on international cruise liners
By Vishnu Makhijani regional in outlook but also have a
global impact and are part of a global

H
e's cooked in the natural way in
the hot desert sands of
Rajasthan, hosted innumerable
TV shows, was a judge on MasterChef
India, was featured among the Top 50
Chefs in the Indian Culinary Forum Book,
has opened fine diners in the US and
Canada ‑‑ as also Mumbai ‑‑ and is now
on a new high as he curates gourmet
Indian food on two Royal Caribbean
cruise liners on their Singapore sailings.
"The biggest challenge of being a
celebrity chef on a cruise liner, or rather
for any chef, is that we are used to not
being limited by process or ingredients.
We create a dish first. But on a cruise
liner, we are not cooking for a few peo‑
ple, but for all the 5,000 guests on‑board
and multiple courses at that," noted Chef
Ranveer Brar. "So, everything needs to fit
into a certain process, be it the process
of pre‑production, production, or the
process of serving. One has to align one's
creativity with that process and that, I
feel, is going to be a fun challenge," Brar,
Celebrity chef Ranveer Brarʼs offerings will feature on Royal Caribbeansʼ cruise liners Voyager cooking done up close, they are able to
of the Seas (pictured) and Quantum of the Seas on their Singapore sailings.
whose association with the company
began in October and will run till August
2020, told IANS in an email interview.
Brar's offerings will feature on two
award‑winning cruise liners ‑‑ Voyager of
the Seas and Quantum of the Seas.
"With the double‑digit annual growth
of Indian cruisers for its Singapore sail‑
ings, the association with Chef Ranveer
Brar is a strong commitment by Royal
Caribbean towards the Indian source
market," said Varun Chadha of Tirun
Travels, the Indian representative of
Royal Caribbean.
How does this work on the ground?
"We are starting new live counters, new and discovery as well. The future of this
stations and a Ranveer Brar selection of
dishes on the current Indian offering. We with the future of Indian food globally.
have created dishes like amla chole and
gongura chicken. We are also doing a
Bengali jhalmuri counter.
"Basically, there are dishes that are
conversation," Brar explained.
"The idea of doing live counters and
demos is to interact with the con‑
sumers and have a participative envi‑
ronment when it comes to cooking. I
strongly believe that food is a uniting
factor and something that excites
young and old alike to be hands‑on.
"In that aspect I feel demos and
workshops work brilliantly because
people get to co‑create food. When
they do it themselves or they see the
build a better relationship with food in
general and that recipe in particular,"
Brar said.
What of the future?
"The future, I feel, lies with innovation
association, in particular runs parallel
People are looking at discovering Indian
food more and also looking at innovation
in the existing repertoire of Indian food,"
Brar said.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED December 22-28, 2018 19

How real is the 'TruModi' bromance?

By Arun Kumar While US‑India relations have been on an
Open Embrace: upward trajectory since the lifting of post‑

D
onald Trump's "America First" poli‑
tics with its anti‑Islamism focus and
Narendra Modi's nationalist agenda
forged by the so‑called "Hindutva Strategic
Doctrine" make the two so dissimilar world
leaders "natural allies".
That's the premise on which Varghese
George, US correspondent for The Hindu,
has tailored his book to suggest that the
Modi‑Trump brand of politics would likely
continue to shape India and America and
their relations long after they have gone.
Like a lawyer's brief, he has marshaled
arguments with painstaking research to
back his theory. But in the absence of count‑
er‑arguments, it often seems a stretch.
For instance, Trump, he suggests, has
sought to make a critical change to the
racial politics of America, somewhat like
what Modi has done to caste politics in
India. And both are also clear about a "glob‑
al civilizational alliance".
While previous Indian Prime Ministers,
including the BJPʼs Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
sought to package changes in Indian foreign
policy directions as improvements, both
Modi and Trump keep projecting themselves
as changers even when nothing changes.
But unlike Trump, who has spawned
"resistance" at home, this prospect of change
seen in Modi's speech to US Congress about
US and India overcoming "hesitations of his‑
tory" has united lovers and haters of Obama
India‑US ties in the Age of
Modi and Trump
By Varghese K. George;
Penguin Random
House India.
and Trump in fractious Washington in
admiring Modi.
If the Modi‑Obama hugs fostered a joint
strategic vision to challenge China in the
Indo‑Pacific and the Indian Ocean region,
his bonhomie with Trump was seen in
America as an "open embrace" for resisting
"China and setting the global agenda", says
George.
But unlike "greenhorn" Trump, who has no
ideological moorings, Modi's world view
must be influenced by what George calls a
Hindutva Strategic Doctrine.
This doctrine, according to George, imag‑
ines India to be a natural homeland of all
Hindus with refugees from other religions
seen as "infiltrators". Trump too has sought
to make a similar distinction between
Christian and Muslim refugees seeking asy‑
lum in the US.
nuclear test sanctions, George suggests
Trump and Modi are likely to build a rela‑
tionship that will bring India and America
too close for comfort.
The author also makes a very valid point
that the charge of a Russian hand in getting
Trump elected has not only undermined his
authority, but an anti‑Russian hysteria,
fueled by the mainstream media, has also
gripped the American traditional strategic
community.
Trump and the American establishment
undermine each other on relations with
Russia and Iran, cumulatively weakening
America's position in Afghanistan as well, he
suggests. This has also af fected India‑US
relations.
Interestingly, George recalls how after
touring across the US, he and another Indian
journalist chose to go to the Trump election
headquarters on election day when poll‑
sters, pundits and the press were predicting
a Hillary Clinton win.
Apparently, sometimes it takes an outsider
to see clearly.
Arun Kumar was till recently the
Washington correspondent of IANS.

Opposition unity in Indian politics – then & now

By Surekha Vijh
The South Asian Times

I
ndiaʼs politics is fascinating, and
its elections are always colorful.
It is the most vibrant democracy
as it is the largest democracy in the
world. It is also the most diverse
democracy because of the huge pop‑
ulation, large number of political
parties and diverse spectrum based
on language, caste and religion. It
can be loud, creative as well as mag‑
ical.
After BJPʼs overwhelming victory
in 2014, the opposition has been
trying to come together to defeat
the ruling party in the next election
in 2019. It seems the normally
divided opposition has found a new
way to counter Prime Minister
Narendra Modiʼs regime: bringing
national and regional rivals together
to forge a front to take him on.
Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats
that will be up for grabs in 2019,
the opposition parties have identi‑
fied 400 seats where it wants to pin
the BJP down in one‑on‑one con‑
tests.
Most of the non‑BJP parties have
decided that it is in their best inter‑
est to come together burying their
differences. And these include rivals
Mayawatiʼs BSP and Akhilesh
Yadavʼs SP. West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee is sug‑
gesting the one‑on‑one fight concept
across the country. With 34 seats in
the Lok Sabha, her Trinamool
Congress has just 11 seats fewer
In 1977, opposition parties united against Congress; in 2018 they are coming together to take on BJP and the Modi regime.
than the Congress in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress leaders are hoping
the Grand Old Party would be the
pivot for the 2019
Mahagathbandhan (the grand
alliance), as they are negotiating
hard after winning the assembly
elections in Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The bat‑
tle of opposition coming together is
to keep BJP out.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in
Delhi is also in the picture. As is for‑
mer Jammu and Kashmir chief min‑
ister Mehbooba Muftiʼs PDP, which
had an alliance with the BJP but is
now open to an alliance with
Congress. Earlier this year when
Janata Dal (S)ʼs H.D. Kumaraswamy
was sworn in as Chief Minister of
Karnataka, many leaders of anti‑BJP
parties were there to cheer him on,
forgetting their rivalries and diverse
politics. The Kumarswamy swear‑
ing‑in became a showcase for the
new found unity. The whoʼs who of
top non‑BJP leaders who hotfooted
to Bangalore included: Sonia Gandhi,
Rahul Gandhi; Mamata Banerjee; N.
Chandrababu Naidu, CM of Andhra
Pradesh; Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala
CM; BSP supremo Mayawati;
Akhilesh Yadav; Sharad Pawar, NCP
chief; Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader;
Sitaram Yechury of CPI‑M; and
Sharad Yadav, socialist leader. That
show of opposition unity and
strength became a platform for a
larger anti‑BJP coalition on a nation‑
al scale. Although coalition politics
is nothing new in India, such
arrangements of convenience can
also be awkward with the sole aim
of coming to power.
Whenever a party in recent years
supported BJP, it has been for shar‑
ing of power like Janata Dal or
Telugu Desam (now estranged), and
Ram Vilas Paswan. Only Shiv Sena
and to some extent Akali Dal are
BJP's natural allies.
Another reason for attempts to
forge an anti‑BJP alliance could be
that all parties are wary of BJPʼs
Hindutva ideology. Moreover,
national parties like Janata Dal and
Communists have become sub‑
regional entities as the latter are not
in the race anywhere except in
Kerala. There is precedence for what
is happening now. Opposition par‑
ties came together in protest
against the draconian Emergency
(1975‑77) imposed by Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata
Party that was born was an amal‑
gam of political parties including
the Jan Sangh, the earlier avatar of
BJP. During the Emergency, stalwart
opposition leaders like Biju Patnaik,
Jayaprakash Narayan, Raj Narain, J.
Kripalani, and Morarji Desai were
imprisoned, along with thousands of
political activists. Indira Gandhi
revoked the emergency on 18
January 1977 and announced elec‑
tions. The Janata Party, a vehicle for
the broad range of the opposition to
Indira Gandhi, was formed under
JP's guidance. The party was voted
into power and became the first
non‑Congress party to form a gov‑
ernment at the Centre under Prime
Minister Morarji Desai.
Later in 1980, Indira Gandhiʼs
new Congress (I) party won the gen‑
eral election. And Janata Party frag‑
mented and dissolved. Political par‑
ties have continued to invoke its
legacy from time to time. In 2013,
the party merged with BJP.
We know that opposition to Indira
Gandhiʼs rule was the glue that
bound the opposition parties togeth‑
er in 1977. What could be the real
motive behind the opposition par‑
ties including national and regional
parties joining hands now in
Mahagathbandhan?
Power and politics go hand in
hand. It seems pursuit of power is
the driving force for the opposition
parties in India to join hands for the
general election in 2019.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
 20 December 22-28, 2018 SUBCONTINENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Pakistan rejects listing as violator Robert Williams named US

of religious freedom by US
Islamabad: As Washington
announced that Pakistan had
been added to a list of violators of
religious freedoms, Islamabad
rejected the "unilateral and politi‑
cally motivated pronouncement".
"Pakistan re jects the State
Department's unilateral and polit‑
ically mot ivated pronounce‑
ment... Besides the clear biases
reflected from these designa‑
tions, there are serious questions
over the credentials and impar‑
tiality of the self‑proclaimed jury
involved in this unwarranted
exercise," Dawn news quoted a
Foreign Office (FO) statement as
saying. The FO explained meas‑
ures that the government had
taken to safeguard the rights of
its citizens, including legal and
administrative mechanisms.
"Pakistan does not need coun‑
sel by any individual country how
to protect the rights of its minori‑
ties," the statement said.
The FO suggested that honest
introspection on Washington's
part would have been a timely
move in order to ascertain the
causes behind the exponential
rise in Islamophobia and anti‑
Semitism in the US.
"Sadly, the proponents of
human rights worldwide close
their eyes to the systematic per‑
point person for South Asia
Washington: US President at the Nat ional Inte lligence
Donald Trump said that he Council and defence intelligence
intends to name an experienced officer for South Asia at DIA.
intelligence of ficer as the assis‑ Williams has also been an
tant secretary of state for South adjunct associate professor at
Asian affairs. Georgetown University's School
In a statement issued by the of Foreign Service since 2017,
White House, Trump said that and was previously a senior
Robert Williams, for more than adjunct professorial lecturer at
20 years, "has specialized in American University's School of
South Asia and Afg hanistan International Service from 2013
affairs as an analyst and intelli‑ to 2016.
gence officer." He earned his B.A. at the
According to the statement, University of Pennsylvania in
Williams, since 2017, has served 1993 and M.A. at the George
at the De fence Inte lligence Washington University in 1996.
Agency (DIA) in Washington DC, T he Trump administrat ion
as associate deputy director for unveiled its South Asia strategy
Intelligence and Directorate for last year. However, the strategy
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Operations, Xinhua news agency has been tested by US continuous
reported. strained ties with Pakistan, and
US PRAISES PAKISTAN FOR Previously, he was the national
intelligence officer for South Asia
the frequent casualt ies in
Afghanistan.
PROMOTING AFGHAN TALKS
The US has said that it welcomes Pakistanʼs efforts to promote peace
talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, a media
report said. The acknowledgement came a day after Prime Minister
Imran Khan announced that Pakistan had arranged another round of
talks between the US and Taliban officials but he did not say when
and where, the Dawn report said. "The US welcomes any actions by
the Pakistani government to promote greater cooperation, including
fostering negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government,
and other Afghans," a US embassy spokesperson in Kabul told Voice
Of America.
secution of minorities subjected o ccupat ion...," the statement A White House statement said Robert Williams has
to alien domination and foreign added. over 20 years of experience in South Asia.

Political impasse ends in Bangladesh opposition accuses

Lanka; Ranil sworn in as PM
PM Ranil Wickremesinghe takes the oath of office before
President Maithripala Sirisena (1st R) in Colombo.
Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,
sacked from the post in October,
was sworn in again by President
Maithripala Sirisena, a move that
ended a nearly two‑month political
impasse that erupted after his sur‑
prising dismissal.
Wickremesinghe, who is also the
leader of the ruling United
National Party (UNP), took his
oath of office at the Presidential
Secretariat here as hundreds of his
supporters massed outside,
reports Xinhua news agency.
UNP lawmakers told the media
that Wickremesinghe's appoint‑
ment "had restored democracy in
the country and the new govern‑
ment would now work towards
strengthening the economy and
unveiling new proposals".
The move comes after Mahinda
Rajapakse resigned as Prime
Minister, seven weeks after he was
appointed by Sirisena following
Wickremesinghe's dismissal on
October 26. A new caretaker gov‑
ernment was also sworn in after
the ouster. Earlier, the Parliament
passed a vote of confidence in
Wickremesinghe as Prime
Minister. The Supreme Court ruled
the next day that Sirisena had
acted illegally in November by dis‑
solving Parliament and calling
snap polls nearly two years ahead
of the next elections.
govt of pre‑election persecution
Dhaka: Bangladesh's main oppo‑
sition party has accused the gov‑
ernment of cracking down on its
workers to prevent them from
campaigning for the general elec‑
tion set to be held end of the
month.
T he Bang ladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP), which is contesting
the December 30 election, after
boycott ing the one in 2014,
alleged that in several parts of
the country its members were not
able to begin their campaign
because of police crackdown and
attacks by workers of the ruling
Former PM and chairperson of Bangladesh
Awami League party.
Nationalist Party Khaleda Zia.
"I don't know even who their
(BNP) candidate is. All I see here 2,546 were arrested, the report either," BNP spokesperson Ruhul
is just boat (the election symbol said. Since the start of the cam‑ Kabir Rizvi said.
of Awami League)," said a rick‑ paign on December 10, 556 "This election is unique in many
shaw‑puller Abdur Rahman. workers have been arrested. senses as first time all political
The BNP, in a statement cited Around 1,858 members of the parties are contesting the elec‑
by Efe news, claimed that its lead‑ Jamaat‑e‑Islami political party tion," said Ataur Rahman, presi‑
ers and members were attacked were also arrested between dent of Bang ladesh Polit ical
in at least 20 of the country's 64 November 1 and December 13, Scientists Association.
districts. non‑profit Human Rights Watch The fact that Prime Minister
Since the election schedule was said. "There is no environment Sheikh Hasina has had two terms
announced on November 8, a for free and fair election. The in power and opposition leader
total of 158 new cases were filed much‑talked about level playing Khaleda Zia is in prison, could
ag ainst BNP workers, while field, we don't see any sign of it affect outcomes, he said.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INTERNATIONAL December 22-28, 2018 21

World agrees on rules to Second Canadian may have

operationalize Paris accord been detained in China
Katowice (Poland): Nearly 200
nations have agreed to enforce
rules on implementing the land‑
mark 2015 Paris Climate Change
Agreement.
Negotiations at the UN Climate
Change Conference, also known as
COP24, dragged on into the final
hours, suffering some holdback due
to certain objections of Brazil and
Turkey.
The talks finally ended with the
133‑page Paris rulebook being
unanimously adopted in the Polish
city of Katowice.
The Paris deal will come into
force in 2020.
The guidelines, known as Paris
rulebook, will promote trust among
nations that all countries are play‑
ing their part in addressing the
challenge of climate change.
COP24 President Michal Kurtyka
of Poland said: "All nations have
worked tire lessly. All nations
showed their commitment. All
nations can leave Katowice with a
sense of pride, knowing that their
efforts have paid off."
"The guidelines contained in the
Katowice Climate Package provide
the basis for implementing the
agreement as of 2020," Kurtyka,
who opened the conference's clos‑
ing plenary meeting, which had
been postponed close to a dozen
times. Expressing reservation over
Delegates attend the closing meeting of the UN Climate Change
Conference in Katowice.
some issues in the agreement,
India's lead negotiator Ravi Shankar
Prasad said at the plenary that
"India wishes to express its strong
reservation regarding the treatment
of equity in the global stock‑take
decision".
"Equity is specifically mentioned
in Article 14 of the Paris
Agreement. It is the basic principle
of the convention and the Paris
Agreement. The entire global stock‑
take exercise will be lopsided if the
process, input, the technical assess‑
ment and output of the g lobal
stock‑take does not fully address
equity." The Paris guidelines will
promote trust among nations that
all countries are playing their part
in addressing the challenge of cli‑
mate change.
The Katowice package includes
guidelines that will operationalize
the transparency framework.
It sets out how countries will pro‑
vide information about their
Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) that describe
their domestic climate actions.
This information includes mitiga‑
tion and adaptation measures as
well as details of financial support
for climate action in developing
countries
Ottawa/Beijing: A sec‑
ond Canadian may have
been detained in China
in a potential act of ret‑
ribution that threatens
to intensify the diplo‑
matic row between
Washington, Beijing
and Ottawa following
the arrest of Huawei's
Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) in Vancouver.
The Canadian Foreign
Ministry identified the
national as Michael
The detained Canadian national has been
Spavor, the founder of
identified as Michael Spavor.
the Paektu Cultural
Exchange, a Canadian owned‑ authorities," Canadian govern‑
China based company that helps ment department Global Affairs
spokesman Guillaume Berube
to facilitate trips to North Korea.
He is said to have deep ties said. Spavor is based in Dandong,
with the Pyongyang government. near the Chinese border with
Spavor was "being investigat‑ North Korea and had previously
ed" on suspicion of "activities assisted in helping former NBA
that endangered China's national player Dennis Rodman travel to
security", CNN cited the informa‑ Pyongyang to meet Kim Jong‑un,
tion published by Chinese state the North Korean leader.
media and attributed to the State News of his disappearance
Security Bureau of Dandong, a came shortly after Canadian
city in the country's northeast. Foreign Minister Chrystia
Spavor, who has not been Freeland acknowledged that
heard from for 24 hours, had Chinese authorities had arrested
contacted Canadian consular Michael Kovrig, a former
officials in Beijing after being Canadian diplomat who current‑
questioned. "We have been ly works for the non‑profit
unable to make contact (with organization International Crisis
Spavor) since he let us know he Group as its northeast Asia sen‑
was being questioned by Chinese ior adviser.

N Korea slams US' new May condemns Blair's

sanctions on its officials new Brexit vote call
Pyongyang: A research institute under However, it added, over the past six London: British Prime
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of months, the US State Department and Minister Theresa May
North Korea criticized the US for the Treasury Department have carried has attacked one of
imposing sanctions out eight rounds of her predecessors,
against North Korean sanctions against accusing Tony Blair of
officials. North Korean compa‑ "undermining" the
A statement, con‑ nies, individuals and Brexit talks by calling
demning the US move, ships as well as other for another referen‑
was issued by the poli‑ third countries through dum.
cy research director of false pretexts. She called his com‑
the Institute for "Recently, the US is ments an "insult to the
American Studies of resorting to an anti‑ of fice he once held"
the Foreign Ministry, North Korean human and said MPs could
and released by North rights plot in such a not "abdicate responsi‑
Korea's official Korean way that it carries a bility" to deliver Brexit
Central News Agency deliberate provocation by holding a new poll,
(KCNA) without nam‑ by adding high‑ranking BBC reported.
ing the director, Xinhua government officials of In London last week,
reported. North Korea to its uni‑ Blair said MPs might
The statement said lateral sanctions list, back a new vote if
the top leaders of while taking issue with
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"none of the other
North Korea and the North Korean leader a non‑existent "human options work". ures are deeply uneasy about mer Labour prime minister
US committed them‑ Kim Jong‑un. rights issue", the state‑ In response to May, he insist‑ endorsing another referen‑ was striking for its anger.
selves to improving ment said. ed that a new referendum was dum. The Prime Minister said: "For
North Korea‑US relations at the his‑ Washington announced on December democratic. T he government is also Tony Blair to go to Brussels
toric North Korea‑US summit held in 10 that it would impose sanctions "Far from being anti‑demo‑ opposed to any further refer‑ and seek to undermine our
Singapore in June, and currently the against three North Korean officials cratic it would be the opposite, endum, saying the public made negotiations by advocating for
bilateral relations are advancing along for serious human rights abuses and as indeed many senior figures a clear choice when they voted a second referendum is an
the firm will of the two leaders to fol‑ censorship, and North Korea's state‑ in her party from past and in 2016 to leave by a margin insult to the of fice he once
low through their joint statement ment seems to be a semi‑official present have been saying," he of 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per held and the people he once
issued then. response to the US decision. said. Many senior Labour fig‑ cent. May's criticism of the for‑ served."
 22 December 22-28, 2018
India extends $1.4 billion assistance for Maldives
New Delhi: India and the Maldives
on Monday agreed to deepen
cooperation to maintain peace
and security in the Indian Ocean
region as New Delhi extended
lines of credit worth $1.4 billion
to the archipelago nation follow‑
ing delegation‑level talks between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and Maldives President Ibrahim
Mohamed Solih here.
The two sides also signed four
agreements, including on cultural
cooperation, IT and electronics
cooperation and on improving the
ecosystem for agribusiness.
"President Solih and I agree that
to maintain peace and security in
the Indian Ocean region, we need
to deepen our cooperation," Modi
said while jointly addressing the
media with Solih after the talks.
"Both India and the Maldives
share equal interest and stake in
the development and stability of
our region," he said.
Stating that the security inter‑
ests of the two countries are relat‑
ed to each other, Modi said that
there is also unanimity on the sus‑
Transfer of excess reserve to GOOGLE ANNOUNCES
government not good for RBI: Rajan $1 BILLION CAMPUS
New Delhi: Former RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan has cautioned that
transfer of excess reserve to the
government may bring down rating
of the central bank. Rating down‑
grade of the RBI from ʻAAAʼ would
make borrowing costlier for the
central bank and will have implica‑
tion for the entire economy.
Asked if the transfer of excess
reserve by the RBI to the govern‑
ment could lead to downgrade of
the rating, Rajan said: “It could...it
depends on how much. It may not
be an issue now...may be an issue at
some point of time. Thatʼs one con‑
cern”. This is something both the
government and RBI should discuss
before reaching some conclusion,
he told a news channel in an inter‑
view.
“We are ʻBaaʼ country. We are
barely investment grade. Sometime,
we need to undertake international
transactions which require really
high credit rating. For example
swap we did in 2013. So, for that
we need unimpeachable balance
sheet. Why donʼt we keep the RBI as
an unimpeachable balance sheet
with AAA credit rating that requires
certain amount of equity,” he said.
Highlighting that profit of the
central bank largely comes due to
devaluation of Indian currency,
Rajan said keeping a portion for the
contingency reserves, RBI usually
pays entire profit.
“RBI can pay profit and not what‑
ever it holds for contingency
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with newly‑elected Maldivian
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih at Hyderabad House in New
Delhi. (Photo: IANS/MEA)
tainability of this region and to be
conscious of each other's interests
and concerns.
"We will not allow the use of our
countries to harm each other," he
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
reserves for movement up and
down. For example, rupee that
depreciated could also strength‑
en...so we should accommodate for
that,” he said. There seems to be a
tussle going on between the RBI
and government over various
issues, including transfer of excess
capital of the apex bank.
Last month, the RBI board decided
to set up a high‑level committee
soon for examining the Economic
Capital Framework (ECF) to deter‑
mine the appropriate leve ls of
reserve the central bank should
hold. Asked whether he also faced
pressure when he was the governor,
he said there is always a pressure
on the central bank to pay the gov‑
ernment more.
“I had it as well. I wrote a letter to
BUSINESS
said.
"I want to work together with
President Solih for the bright
future of our region, and utilise all
possibilities in the relationship
the RBI when I was chief economic
advisor saying perhaps the RBI
should look at how much it needs to
hold. When I came to RBI as gover‑
nor I set up a committee which
essentially said we have enough
capital to pay out our entire profit.
“T he three years that I was
Governor, we paid the highest divi‑
dend in RBIʼs history to the govern‑
ment. The issue at stake is not that
anymore. The issue is more than
that. Itʼs not just the profit, they
want the excess. And the Malegam
Committee had opined that you can‑
not pay more than the profit,” he
said.
Rajan, who was RBI governor for
three years till September 2016, is
currently teaching at the Chicago
Booth School of Business.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
between India and Maldives."
Modi also said that India is
proud that the Maldives has
become a medium income country
from being a least deve loped
country.
"T he Maldives achieved this
despite facing the challenges of
sustainable development and cli‑
mate change," he said.
"In resolving these challenges,
and in the sustainable develop‑
ment of marine resources, the role
of Maldives will be important
throughout the world.
"Therefore, we agree to increase
mutual cooperation on the vari‑
ous aspects of maritime coopera‑
t ion between India and the
Maldives."
The Prime Minister said that
India will always with be the Solih
government in its efforts to carry
out ambitious plans for changing
the lives of the people of Maldives,
and to give a human face to devel‑
opment in the country.
"I am g lad that as a direct
expression of this commitment,
for the socio‑economic develop‑
IN NEW YORK
New York: Google
on Monday
announced to
invest $ 1 billion
to establish a new
campus in New
York City. The
1.7 million
square‑feet cam‑
pus called Google Hudson
Square will be the primary
location for the company's New
York‑based Global Business
Organisation.
According to Ruth Porat,
Senior Vice President and CFO
of Google and its parent com‑
pany Alphabet, it hopes to start
moving into the two Hudson
Street buildings by 2020, fol‑
lowed by 550 Washington
Street in 2022 once the build‑
ing is complete.
"When we came to New York
City almost two decades ago, it
was our first office outside of
California. It's now home to
more than 7,000 employees,
speaking 50 languages, work‑
ing on a broad range of teams
including Search, Ads, Maps,
YouTube, Cloud, Technical
Infrastructure, Sales,
Partnerships and Research,"
Porat said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Google
announced the $2.4 billion pur‑
ment of the Maldives, India will
extend budget support, currency
swap and concessional lines of
credit worth $ 1.4 billion," he said.
Modi also called for boosting
connectivity between India and
the Maldives saying that better
connectivity will lead to exchange
of goods and services, informa‑
tion, ideas, culture and people.
He assured Solih of strengthen‑
ing the two nations' partnership
in health, human resource devel‑
opment, infrastructure, agricul‑
ture, capacity building, ICT and
tourism. In this connection, Modi
of fered additonal 1,000 seats in
India for Maldivian nationals for
training and capacity building.
The Prime Minister also called
for boosting commercial relations
and bilateral trade.
"I welcome the growing oppor‑
tunities for investment by Indian
companies in the Maldives," he
said.
On his part, Solih said that dur‑
ing the discussions, both sides
reaf firmed their commitment to
democracy.
chase of the Manhattan
Chelsea Market and shared
plans to lease additional space
at Pier 57 in the city where it
came in the year 2000. Since
2011, Google has contributed
more than $150 million in
grants and employee‑matched
giving to New York non‑profit
institutions.
"With these most recent
investments in Google Chelsea
and Google Hudson Square, we
will have the capacity to more
than double the number of
Googlers in New York over the
next 10 years," said Porat.
Amazon last month
announced plans to split its
second headquarters between
Long Island City, Queens and
Virginia.
Apple last week announced it
would expand its presence in
several cities across the US,
including New York City. It also
revealed plans for a new $1 bil‑
lion campus in Austin, Texas.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Sindhu breaks jinx to win
World Tour Finals title
Guangzhou (China): India's P.V.
Sindhu became the first Indian to
win the season finale at the BWF
World Tour Finals 2018 bad‑
minton tournament here.
Sindhu defeated title favorite
Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21‑19,
21‑17 in the women's singles
final, reports Efe.
The straight games win is spe‑
cial for the star Indian shuttler,
who has won no title this year,
although she made it to the finals
of four tournaments, including the
BWF World Championships and
the Asian Games.
She finished runner‑up at the
2016 Rio Olympics, the 2017
World Championships and the
2017 World Superseries Finals.
She had also lost to Okuhara in
the epic World Championships
final in Glasgow last year.
However, on Sunday, Sindhu
held her attack and dominated the
game.
Okuhara won the very first point
of the match, but failed to secure a
lead again in the match.
"I got close to her in both games,
but I wasn't patient. She wasn't as
aggressive as she usually is, she
played at a slower pace. I tried to
play the longer rallies in the sec‑
ond game, but I couldn't recover
from my first game loss," Okuhara
said after the game.
"I'm really proud, the year has
ended on a beautiful note. People
have been asking me the same
question, I think the question
Mary Kom determined to win Olympic gold
By Ajeyo Basu
New Delhi: Having created history by
claiming a record sixth title at the
women's World Championships, leg‑
endary boxer M.C Mary Kom is
determined to fulfil a life long dream
by winning a gold at the 2020
Olympics.
"It has been my dream to win gold
at Olympics ever since I started box‑
ing. I have overcome many chal‑
lenges in my life to become a world
champion. I have already won gold
medals at Asian Games,
Commonwealth and multiple other
medals in other world champi‑
onships but now my vision is set at
winning the gold medal at Olympics,"
Mary Kom told IANS in an interview.
There has been speculation that
boxing may not feature at the 202
Tokyo Games since he International
Olympic Committe (IOC) is reported‑
ly unhappy with the way the spot is
being run by the International
PV Sindhu with the trophy after winning the BWF World
Tour Finals 2018 in Guangzhou, Guangdong
Province, China. (Photo : Xinhua/Deng Hua/IANS)
won't come again ‑ asking why I
always lose in the final. Now I can
say I won the gold and I'm proud
of it. It was good that people were
asking me about losing so many
finals, because I had to ask myself
why I was losing. Finally I got the
answer," Sindhu said after her
win.
"I got emotional because it's my
first gold in this tournament. I did‑
Boxer M.C. Mary Kom.
Boxing Association (AIBA).
Mary however, brushed aside such
concerns.
"For the last two years, we have
received immense support from BSI,
SAI and the ministry. We have full
faith in them and are sure that all the
three bodies clubbed with AIBA will
make the right decision for boxing,"
SPORTS
n't have anything in my mind. I
was on my knees. I wanted this
win very much."
Both players had advanced to
the final in straight games on
Saturday.
Okuhara had defeated compatri‑
ot and de fending champion,
Akane Yamaguchi, while Sindhu
beat T hailand's Ratchanok
Intanon.
the Manipuri icon asserted.
Mary Kom, who uses Nestlé
EVERYDAY while relaxing between
her hectic training schedules, fought
in her original 48 kilogram category
after a considerable gap since she
was concentrating on the 51kg divi‑
sion, since it is the lowest category at
the Olympics. "For the last three
December 22-28, 2018
Australia defeat India
in second Test
Perth: Australia defeated India
by 146 runs in the second Test
to level the four‑match series at
1‑1 here on Tuesday.
India were dismissed for 140
runs in their second innings on
the fifth and final day.
Starting the final day at the
overnight score of 112/5, the
visitors seemed over‑awed by
the daunting challenge of getting
170‑odd runs in difficult condi‑
tions against the formidable
Australian bowling.
The Indians needed at least
one big partnership but none of
their batsmen could stick around
for too long and were bundled
out pretty quickly.
Nathan Lyon and Mitche ll
Starc was the most successful
Indian captain Virat Kohli.
years, I was fighting under the 51Kg
category and it was only during this
World Championship that I returned
to my (48kg) category. It was a new
experience as I fought against new
opponents," she said.
"This World Championship gave
me a chance to assess the strengths
and weaknesses of opponents in the
48 Kg category which I had lost
track of since the past few years.
Overall, it was a great experience,"
she added.
"During the World Championships,
I have observed those who are fight‑
ing in the 51kg category. I have got
all the videos ready and will watch
videos of prospective rivals in the
51Kg weight category."
Winning six world titles and an
Olympic medal, that too in different
weight categories, is not an easy
task. But Mary has performed it with
consummate ease throughout her
illustrious career.
"Switching between weight cate‑
23
among the Australian bowlers
with three wickets each.
Although the pitch did not
have too much turn, Lyon did
well to outfox the Indian bats‑
men with his variations and rich‑
ly deserved his match haul of
eight wickets.
T he visitors lost their first
wicket of the day soon after the
start when Hanuma Vihari was
dismissed by Starc.
Pant was dismissed by Lyon a
short while later when he went
for a drive and the inside edge
went to Peter Handscomb on the
onside. The Indian tail did not
wag too much and the
Australians cleaned up the
remaining wickets to clinch a
well deserved victory.
gories is not a one day task, it is a
rigorous process but you learn to
manage it with experience. After
competing in both 51Kg and 48Kg, I
have learnt that the best way to beat
the weight challenge is to know and
understand the game of your oppo‑
nents as everyone has a dif ferent
style and technique. As per my oppo‑
nents game, I plan my game," she
said. Mary also asserted that better
infrastructure and financial support
is essential to improve India's per‑
formance at the world level.
"Indian sportspeople have huge
potential and talent but many sports‑
people are not able to start compet‑
ing while young due to the lack of
sporting infrastructure, except per‑
haps in a few metros," she said.
"But now that seems to be chang‑
ing, substantial cash incentives for
winning performances, besides sub‑
sidies for coaches, trainers and dieti‑
tians are all being involved in the
preparation of athletes."
 24 December 22-28, 2018
10 digital skills students need for today's education
By Beas Dev Ralhan and
Divya Jain
T
echnology today has
become a new way of living
and is entrenched in every
facet of modern human life. The
internet, mobile phones, computers
and various other tools of informa‑
tion management have completely
changed the way how people live,
learn, interact and work.
Youngsters today are already
exposed to various digital tools
and are driving innovation in the
technology sector. This has result‑
ed in a mindshift of sorts in the
education sector, with more and
more institutions around the world
realizing the importance of adopt‑
ing technology in the classroom. In
the last five years digital literacy
has risen beyond just being a buzz‑
word, emerging as one of most
important concepts in modern edu‑
cation.
Here's a checklist of what's
essential:
Terminology: Without the ability
to understand the relevant termi‑
nology, digital literacy can be a
daunting endeavor. When students
understand the various terms
related to technology, using it
becomes far more easier. It will
India to create innovative World Bank, Canada, Britain to
AI models for the world assist nations move away from coal
in 2019: IBM executive
New Delhi: India is at the fore‑
front of the Artificial Intelligence
(AI) surge and next year will see
more local innovations from the
country with broader adoptions
across various sectors globally, a
top IBM executive said on Friday.
According to Sriram Raghavan,
Vice President, IBM Research‑
India and Singapore, 2018 has
been an exciting year for IBM
Research India lab with some
path‑breaking work coming out
of it. "The team's contribution in
the area of trusted AI is now part
of IBM AI Open Scale and contin‑
ues to be the fo cus for IBM
research globally and in India,"
Raghavan said in a statement.
"Further, for next year, our col‑
laboration with IIT Delhi and IIT
Bombay will help us advance the
work in the area of casual rea‑
soning and trusted AI and further
contribute in making AI system
get trained with key traits like
reasoning, comprehension and
transparency," added Raghavan,
also the CTO, IBM India/South
Asia.
IBM on Friday released a 2018
retrospective on AI, stressing that
the technolog y has moved
also help them understand how
various apps, websites and infor‑
mation tools work
Using the internet: The stagger‑
ing vastness of the World Wide
Web can be both confusing and sti‑
fling for some students. So, it is
important to teach students how to
navigate the enormous landscape
of the Internet efficiently and find
the information they seek. The
right set of digital skills will help
students to use of technology
responsibly
Coding: The ability to apply com‑
putational thinking to solve prob‑
lems forms the basic premise of
coding. It encompasses functions
like understanding structures, vari‑
ables, sequential planning, learning
beyond the nascent stage.
According to Dario Gil, COO of
IBM Research, they are keeping
an eye on three trends in AI for
2019.
First is human intuition that
helps us understand cause/effect
presents an enormous obstacle to
machines.
"We'll see improvements in
'causal modelling' techniques
that will push AI from asking
'what happened' to asking 'what
would happen, based on possible
actions," Gil wrote in a blog post.
Secondly, trust and transparen‑
cy will continue to drive the AI‑
conversation.
"Thirdly, we'll see increased
research into how quantum com‑
puting may help scale AI models ‑
‑ a key area of exploration as we
continue to drive toward real‑
world use cases for quantum," he
noted.
SCI-TECH
the functions of various objects
and harnessing different methods
to complete tasks. Learning coding
also helps develop a deeper under‑
standing of concepts of science,
maths and linguistics
Creating multimedia projects:
The main objective of using multi‑
media is to communicate ideas
more creatively. Understanding
and learning skills like graphic
designing, and audio and video
editing . help students become cre‑
ators, instead of just being passive
receivers of information. Teaching
and learning is slowly shifting to
digital platforms since the last few
years. So, multimedia skills are of
crucial importance for students
Content creation and curation:
Katowice (Poland): The World Bank,
Canada and Britain on Thursday
announced financial, technical and
advisory support for developing
countries that have decided to tran‑
sition from coal and accelerate the
uptake of cleaner sources of ener‑
gy. T he Canadian government
pledged up to CAD$275 million to
fund the Energy Transition and
Coal Phase‑Out Programme. This
funding will help developing coun‑
tries in Asia to slow coal produc‑
tion, while scaling up energy effi‑
ciency and low‑carbon energy alter‑
natives.
At the same time, the British gov‑
ernment pledged 20 million pounds
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Using technological skills like cre‑
ating documents, spreadsheets,
PPTs and infographics; and video
and audio editing, have become an
important feature of modern class‑
rooms. Students should be able to
analyze, collect, collate and assess
various types of content using
technology as it is one of the most
important elements of digital liter‑
acy
Social media readiness: It is an
undisputed fact that social media
has thoroughly transformed how
we communicate and interact with
the world. The emergence of vari‑
ous social media platforms has
contributed to a seamless flow of
information between content cre‑
ators and consumers. It is helping
students to connect with peers
from across the world and share
knowledge
Collaborative skills: The digital
environment requires a collabora‑
tive approach for tasks like project
management. Skills like collabora‑
tion and communication across
multiple platforms, are key to
thrive in this scenario. Learning to
utilize various technology tools
allows students to experiment and
collaborate
Blogging: The advantages of
learning to blog are manifold.
to the World Bank's Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP), a global knowledge and
technical assistance program
administered by the World Bank to
help low and middle‑income coun‑
tries implement environmentally
sustainable energy solutions.
Both these programs will support
the deployment of solar and battery
storage, geothermal and of fshore
Blogging doesn't just help in
improving articulation and writing
skills but also helps in developing
creative thinking. In the context of
education, it helps in creative
expression of academic concepts
Understanding hardware: In
view of the our growing depend‑
ence on gadgets and various other
technology tools, it is important for
every student to understand the
basics of hardware and trou‑
bleshooting related to these gadg‑
ets and tools. This requires an in‑
depth understanding of the compo‑
nents of WiFi networks, comput‑
ers, processors and the like
Understanding copyright:
Students are often encouraged
these days by their educators to
use the internet for doing their
background research for projects
and other tasks that are part of
their curriculum. This exposes
young learners to a vast pool of
online resources from where they
can borrow information and ideas.
So educators need to guide stu‑
dents to prevent f plagiarism, edu‑
cating them on copyright and the
implication of its violation.
Beas Dev Ralhan is Co‑founder
and CEO Next Education India Pvt
Ltd; Divya Jain is Founder & CEO,
Safeducate.
wind development, coal plant clo‑
sure, and improvement in energy
efficiency, particularly in buildings
and cooling.
With the new financial support
from Canada and Britain, the World
Bank will also expand its work to
help countries that have made the
decision to transition away from
coal close mines and address the
resulting socioeconomic impacts on
workers and communities. This
means taking steps to protect jobs
and skills and preserve the environ‑
ment, including through strong
social safety nets for coal mine
workers and the reclamation and
re‑purposing of coal mine areas.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
On equality before God, Dalits
have progressed more than
women: Ramachandra Guha
Panaji: When it comes to equality
before God and in society, Dalits
in India have made more
progress than women, historian
Ramachandra Guha said on
Thursday, while speaking at the
Goa Literary and Arts Festival
held here.
Guha also said, that it was iron‑
ic that while Kerala was at the
forefront of a 1920s movement
for entry of Dalits to Hindu tem‑
ples, the same progressive south‑
ern state was at the centre of the
Sabrimala temple controversy
over entry of women to the
famous temple.
"When it comes to equality
before God, arguably I am sure
even in the Christian Church,
there is probably some Dalit
priest, maybe even a Dalit Bishop
or two. "I do not know, I have not
studied it properly. W hen it
comes to equality before God,
whether it is Hinduism or Islam
or Christianity, Dalits have made
Mankind has forgotten
art of living due to
technology: Life coach
Kolkata: Mankind
has forgotten the art
of living and feeling
successful in this era
of technological
boom, said a
renowned life coach.
"Mankind has seen
a lot of success but
now the pitiable situ‑
ation is that the peo‑
ple are swallowing
pills to sleep. The sta‑
ble peaceful mind of
a human being, a
basic need, has
become a luxury
today. Had money
been everything there would have been
no stress and depression," Gaur Gopal Das
said at the launch of his debut book,
"Life's Amazing Secrets ‑ How to Find
Balance and Purpose in Your Life."
In the book, Das delves into concepts
ranging from the human condition to
finding one's purpose in life and the key
to lasting happiness.
Das, an electrical engineering graduate
turned life coach, noted that India was a
fast‑growing economy.
"I see a civilization of living walking
corpses and zombies who can't feel, be
peaceful and experience joy. They are
running behind money, better cars, better
LIFE AND LETTERS December 22-28, 2018 25
Book Review
W
ritten by Daniel Smith,
who has previously
authored similar books
on the thought processes of
Steve Jobs, Sigmund Freud,
Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates,
"Gand hi and his colleague among others, "How to Think
Narayanguru in Kerala had start‑ Like Obama" gives a "unique
ed a temple entry movement in insight into the mind of one of
the 1920s. But the progress of the world's great influencers"
the temple entry movement was and the first African‑American
halt ing, interrupted and man to be the US President.
unequal," he said. Born to a black Kenyan father
"But with women there is all and white American mother,
kinds of curbs as you know, that raised in Hawaii and, briefly, in
particular prejudice which stops Indonesia, Barack Obama would
women between 15 and 45 from typically never have been tipped
entering at the Sabrimala, proba‑ for a future President of the Book:
bly also operates in other parts.
"And of course there are no
United States. With the price of How to Think Like
change being gritty negotiation
(image courtesy: thegoan.net)
women priests in any religion," and compromise, Obama evolved Obama
he added. the skills of a 21st century Author:
some more prog ress than "I am sure there are still parts President which belied his rela‑
women," Guha said in his lecture of India, where Dalits are exclud‑ tive inexperience to achieve the
Daniel Smith
at the festival which is underway ed from temples. There must be America that, as a young man, he Publisher: Hachette
near Panaji. some parts of remote and rural had dreamed of.
"As late as the 1960s, Dalits in India where caste prejudices are Pages: 224
The offering "reveals the moti‑
many parts of India could not extreme and where upper castes vations, inspirations and philoso‑ ing obstacles and fighting
enter temples. Badrinath for can identify which are the Dalit phies behind a man who broke inequality. Peppered with quotes
example. The first Dalits who hamlets and find ways of keep‑ the mould to challenge the status by and about him, it claims to
entered the temple was in the ing them out. quo" and carries his thoughts on teach you to think like Barack
early 1960s, we ll after "But this is in my view, relative‑ leadership, innovation, overcom‑ Obama.
Independence. ly limited," he said. (IANS)
Kumar Vishwas: Onus of
what to read should be left
to readers, not publishers
A
gainst the backdrop of
an increasing tendency
among the mainstream
Indian publishers to give pref‑
erence to what they feel will
sell more in the market, poet‑
politician Kumar Vishwas said
on Thursday that publishers
should confine themselves to
the management of the busi‑
ness instead of regulating
what needs to be read.
He was speaking in the con‑
text of several good authors
facing rejection as their work
did not appeal to a few who
stood in judgement at FICCI's
annual conference "PubliCon
Sandip Somany said that with the literacy
2018" on the theme "Publishing in Indian
rate at 74 per cent, India has more than 900
Languages."
phones and what not. They have mastered million readers permeating the whole gamut
Vishwas said that the readers were the link
the art of being successful but do not feel of languages and regions with disparate
between publishers and writers and the onus
it," he said. reading needs and aspirations.
of what is to be read should be left to the
He mentioned that the theme of his This, according to Somany, has opened up
judgement of the readers. He said that it was
book is not just based on being successful a wide opportunity for the publishing indus‑
the responsibility of publishers to seek out
but it teaches how to feel successful. try in India for content creation and dissemi‑
creative writers who deal with contemporary
"Being successful is about having and nation. The print and digital publishing will
issues. "Creativity is all pervasive and I firmly
feeling is about living. We are so carried both have to complement one another to
believe that there is still a great respect for
away about having that we forget living," meet the objectives of books and reading
the written word," he said.
he said. materials for all, he added.
He said that books and their authors bring
He urged people to live by the subjec‑ FICCI Publishing Committee Co‑Chair and
about a semblance of balance in the society
tive time (one's experience) as objective Westland Publisher Karthika V.K. said pub‑
which was being deluged with news and
time (number of hours) was the same for lishers did not want to be gatekeepers but
interpretation that swings from creating
everyone and one's experience deter‑ sought a role for themselves as facilitators.
hope to despair in the social order. Vishwas
mined happiness. Language, she said, was not a barrier any
also emphasised that reading is not fading in
(IANS) more. (Source: Mid‑day.com)
contemporary times. FICCI President‑Elect
 26 December 22-28, 2018 IMMIGRATION TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Inadmissibility under § 212(a)(2) of the

Immigration and Nationality Act
By Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq. tutes within the past ten years, or mission of Form I‑192 along with exercise favorable discretion in
& Michael Phulwani, Esq.
VISA seeks to take part in prostitution
will be inadmissible under INA §
the appropriate filing fee.
An immigrant who is found to be
their case.
3. Battered Spouse Waiver: If an

A TALK
n individual who would like
to enter the United States
must not be found inadmis‑
sible for any reason. Section 212
(a) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA) lists most of
the grounds of inadmissibility such
as health related grounds, criminal
grounds, economic grounds, illegal
entrants and immigration viola‑
tors, improper documentation
grounds, and foreign nationals
who have previously been
removed. In this article we will be
discussing inadmissibility for crim‑
inal grounds, INA § 212(a)(2), and
then describing available waivers
for immigrants and nonimmi‑
grants.
An individual will be inadmissi‑
ble to the U.S. if they have been
convicted, or who admit having
committed, or who admit commit‑
ting acts which comprise of the
essential elements of either (1) a
crime involving moral turpitude
(CIMT); or (2) an offense relating
to a controlled substance. CIMT
does not have a clear definition
under the INA but some courts
have issued precedential decisions
that are used to guide Immigration
Judges and Immigration officers of
when a crime falls under a CIMT.
Some examples of CIMTs are mur‑
der, rape, arson, robbery, theft, lar‑
ceny, and fraud. There is a limited
exception for some crimes that
occurred while the person was a
juvenile.
There is also an exception for
petty offenses where inadmissibili‑
ty under CIMT will not apply if the
maximum penalty available does
not exceed imprisonment for one
year, and if the foreign individual
was convicted of such crime, they
are not sentenced to serve more
than six months in prison.
A foreign individual who was
convicted of two or more offenses
for which the total sentence of
imprisonment was five years or
more is inadmissible under INA §
212(a)(2)(B). A foreign individual
who is reasonably believed to be a
trafficker of any controlled sub‑
stance, or has been known as an
aider, assister, abettor, conspirator,
or colluder with others in the illicit
trafficking of any controlled sub‑
stance will be inadmissible under
INA § 212(a)(2)(C). A foreign indi‑
vidual who prostitutes, or who was
engaged in or tried to engage in
prostitution, or to obtain prosti‑
212(a)(2)(D). Foreign individuals
will be inadmissible is they commit
or conspire to commit any human
trafficking offenses in the U.S. or
outside of the U.S. under INA §
212(a)(2)(H). There is an exception
to § 212(a)(2)(H) if the offense
involves sons or daughters. Any
individuals known or suspected to
have engaged, is engaging, or
seeks to enter the U.S. to engage in
money laundering are inadmissible
under INA § 212(a)(2)(I), this
includes knowing aiders, abettors,
assisters, conspirators, or collud‑
ers.
Individuals who are found inad‑
missible under INA § 212(a)(2)
may be able to apply for a waiver
under either INA § 212(h) for
immigrants or under INA
212(d)(3) for nonimmigrants.
Section 212(d)(3) of the INA allows
for a nonimmigrant waiver of
almost all grounds of inadmissibili‑
ty to the U.S. Nonimmigrant
waivers under INA § 212(d)(3)
are decided by the Admissibility
Review Office (ARO), which is a
sub‑office of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP). Waiver
application can be filed at a U.S.
Consulate abroad or at a U.S. Port
of Entry. Only waivers applied for
at a Port of Entry require the sub‑
inadmissible may be eligible for immigrantʼs spouse is a U.S. cit‑
one of the three types of waivers izen or green card holder and
under 212(h). they were battered or subject‑
1. 15‑ Year Waiver: the immi‑ ed to extreme cruelty by their
grant must show that the spouse, they may file a VAWA
offense for which they are battered spouse petition. This
inadmissible occurred more applies to a battered child as
than 15 years ago; that their well. Applying for a 212(h)
admission would not be con‑ waiver is an extremely com‑
trary to the national welfare, plex process and therefore an
safety, or security of the US individual should seek the
and 3) that they have been assistance of counsel when fil‑
rehabilitated. ing a VAWA battered spouse
2. Extreme Hardship Waiver: the petition.
immigrant must show that if As you can see there are some
they were denied admission, options that may be available for
their U.S. citizen or green card someone who is found inadmissi‑
holder spouse, parent, son or ble under the above grounds. If
daughter would suffer extreme you would like to know more,
hardship; and (2) USCIS or the please contact an experienced
Immigration Judge should lawyer to discuss your concerns.
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.

Nicotine vaping on rise among US teenagers: Survey

New York: While tobacco use has
been effectively controlled among
US teenagers, nicotine vaping has
almost doubled among high school
students from 11 per cent in 2017
to 20.9 in 2018 leading a large
number back to nicotine use and
addiction, a survey has found.
"Vaping is reversing hard‑fought
declines in the number of adoles‑
cents who use nicotine," said lead
author Richard Miech, from the
university's Institute for Social
Research.
"These results suggest that vap‑
ing is leading youth into nicotine
use and nicotine addiction, not
away from it," Miech added.
The annual Monitoring the
Future survey, by a team of
researchers at the University of
Michigan, showed that the increas‑
es in adolescent vaping from 2017
to 2018 have been the highest
ever in the past 43 years for any
substance use in the US.
The percentage of Class 12 stu‑
dents who reported use of nicotine
in the past 30 days significantly
increased to 28.5 in 2018 from
23.7 in 2017.
Nicotine use is indicated by any
use of cigarettes, large cigars, fla‑
vored or regular small cigars,
hookah, smokeless tobacco, or a
vaping device with nicotine.
Marijuana vaping also increased
in 2018 ‑‑ 13.1 per cent for 12th
graders, up from 9.5 per cent last
year.
"Vaping is making substantial
inroads among adolescents, no
matter the substance vaped," said
Miech, adding "In 2018 we saw
substantial increases in vaping
across all substances, including
nicotine, marijuana, and adoles‑
cents who reported vaping 'just
flavoring.'
The survey showed that factors
that make vaping so attractive to
youth include its novelty and the
easy concealability of the latest
vaping devices, which better
allows youth to vape without
adults knowing about it.
"If we want to prevent youth
from using drugs, including nico‑
tine, vaping will warrant special
attention in terms of policy, educa‑
tion campaigns, and prevention
programs in the coming years,"
Miech suggested.
The study covered 44,482 stu‑
dents from 392 public and private
schools in the US.
Interestingly, regular tobacco
use remained at its lowest point
with only 3.6 per cent of high
school seniors smoking daily, com‑
pared to 22.4 per cent two
decades ago.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info HUMOR December 22-28, 2018 27

Humor with Melvin Durai

Please get some

work done
To: All staff
From: Company president
Subject: Low productivity

I
t has come to my attention that pro‑
ductivity has dropped drastically. Iʼm
not sure whatʼs going on, but please be
assured that Iʼm monitoring the situation

BEST closely and will suspend or terminate

employees who arenʼt pulling their own

RATE weight. For the company to be successful,

itʼs important for all of us to work hard.

FOR We need to learn from the examples set

by the following managers, whom Iʼm
INDIA pleased to recognize.
John Tembo, Human Resources
AND Manager: I was walking past Johnʼs office
and heard him and several employees
PAKISTAN shouting “Goal! Goal! Goal!” W hen I
knocked on the door, John told me they
were watching a training video to help
them achieve company goals. I have nomi‑
New York Head Quarter
nated each of them for our Employee of every four years. As you can imagine, I
422‑S Broadway the Month Award. Itʼs important for all of was rather shocked and saddened. I won‑
HICKSVILLE us to fo cus on goals. As John said, dered how we could manage without
NY 11801 “Without goals, our team will lose.” Carlos for so long. Perhaps Carlos read
Carlos Mendez, Sales and Distribution my mind, for he immediately put me at
516‑827‑1010 Manager: Carlos called me on Friday ease. “Iʼll come to work, boss,” he said.
morning to say he was ill and couldnʼt “The illness isnʼt contagious. I just need to
come to work. His doctor had diagnosed return home to get 90 minutes of rest a
him with a rare illness called socceritis. few times a day.” What an example Carlos
The illness affects patients for at least a is setting for all of us. I am nominating
month and thereʼs a chance of relapse him for our Courage and Inspiration
Award.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Ravi Narayanan, Pro duct Design
Manager: As of June 15, Ravi is testing an
innovative program he developed called
WHFH ( Work Hard From Home). He
believes it will not only increase produc‑
tivity in his department but also lower
costs considerably, particularly the cost of
buying coffee and doughnuts. Ravi came
to work briefly today and I overheard him
saying to another manager, “Croatia 2,
Iceland 1.” I asked him about it and he
said, “Thatʼs the number of customers we
have in each country.” I was extremely
pleased. I didnʼt realize we had a cus‑
tomer in Iceland. I am nominating Ravi
for our Innovative Spirit Award.
Hans Mueller, Advertising Manager:
Hans, as you know, is always looking for
new ways to advertise, new ways to reach
potential customers. Since Friday, he has
been personally manning an information
booth at Tony's Sports Bar & Grill. I paid a
surprise visit to the bar and heard Hans
talking to an employee about something
called “World Cup.” He told me itʼs an
By Mahendra Shah acronym heʼs using to motivate employ‑
ees: WORLDCUP ( Working Overtime
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and
Results in Less Disappointment, Creates
writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many year
Upsurge in Productivity.) I am nominating
in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Hans for the High Motivation Award.
28 December 22-28, 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 22‑28, 2018

ARIES: A tough situation on the family
front may be faced and get you all
worked up. Something unfavourable
may happen to you on the professional front.
You may find it difficult to break free from a
manipulator trying to take advantage of you.
An invitation to some unique event is likely
to warm the cockles of your heart. Looks and
charm may draw you towards someone on
the romantic front. A chance to travel may
come your way.
TAURUS: You remain in the prime of
your health. Shifting base is indicated
and is set to give you a joyous time
with people you love. Something planned
meticulously on the professional front will
go perfectly well. You may find spouse sup‑
portive in your endeavours. Attending a fam‑
ily function is on the cards and may prove
favourable for the eligible. Those travelling
alone may find some interesting company.
Correct judgement of a situation will keep
your interests safe.
GEMINI: You may have to reach out to
someone, if you want him or her to
become interested in what you are
doing.
Higher ups are certain to favour you on the
professional front. Those pursuing academ‑
ics are likely to excel. Socially, you are likely
to boost your image. Chances of someone
coming into your life on the romantic front
cannot be ruled out. Health remains
satisfactory.
CANCER: A working relationship will
need to be formed with someone for
smooth functioning. You will have
the money to invest it in a lucrative scheme.
Remaining regular in your daily fitness rou‑
tine will find you in excellent health and ail‑
ment‑free.
Your idea of doing something new on the
professional front will get the green signal
from higher ups. An exciting time is foreseen
on the social front. Taking a break from
daily routine is likely for homemakers.
LEO: Options to buy something you
want may not materialise soon. There
are too many imponderables in a
project that you are keen upon, so review it
if you donʼt want to face failure. Lending
money to someone is fraught with risk, so
try to wriggle out of the situation diplomati‑
cally. Someone is likely to give you a treat.
Spouse may seem too happy, find out why.
Spending time with lover is possible. Health
remains satisfactory.
VIRGO: You may have to hurry a proj‑
ect to meet the deadline. This is a
good time to travel, so make plans for
a short vacation. Some of you may possess a
flat soon.
A major project may become a financial
drain on you, but you will manage it. Health
foods and drinks will lure some, but may not
be as effective as advertised. Donʼt pick up
an argument at workplace as it can go
against you.
LIBRA: This is a good time to hone
your skills, as they may be required at
a later date. You will need to see the
bigger picture and get rid of the pettiness that
has besieged you. Someone may reluctant to
approach you for a favour, so give whatever
guidance you can and leave the options to him
or her. You may have to wait for some more
time to get an additional source of income
going. Planning something with the family will
be more work, than enjoyment. Be adequately
prepared before setting out on a journey.
SCORPIO: Difficulties encountered on
the academic front will be overcome.
You will remain focussed on whatever
you have set out to accomplish this week on
the professional front. Incurring a heavy
expenditure is not likely to deter you as you
are confident of filling up your coffers once
again. If property is on your mind, then
chances of getting a good bargain cannot be
ruled out. Those in love get to enjoy this week
in a most romantic way!
SAGITTARIUS: You may have to go the
extra mile for completing something
that you have started. Health worries
become a thing of the past as you move
towards total fitness. It is better to come in
the saving mode on the financial front as a
cash crunch is likely. You may have to cater to
loverʼs moods on the romantic front. Some
family problems may keep you engaged.
Alertness on the road is most essential this
weekend.
CAPRICORN: A change of scene will
prove most refreshing and rejuvenat‑
ing. You are likely to move ahead on
the professional front in leaps and bounds. A
relaxing time is foreseen at home in the com‑
pany of your near and dear ones. You will be
able to spare money for something essential
and remain confident of earning it back! Self‑
discipline on the dietary front will find you
much fitter than before. Expect a positive
response from someone you are interested in.
AQUARIUS: Donʼt keep something
important pending, as you may get
hauled up for it. You will be able to
initiate a repair job to your residential build‑
ing and get rid of the problem. An excellent
family time is in store for you as you take time
out from work. You continue to perform well
on the professional front and manage to take
a step nearer to becoming indispensable for
the organisation. Financially, you may get
motivated to earn more. Promises need to be
kept on the romantic front.
PISCES: Someone may expect you to
go out of your way to lend a helping
hand, so donʼt disappoint. Working out
in a group has its benefit and you are likely to
realise it soon on the health front. Some of
you are likely to overstep the domestic budget
by overspending. Be careful of someone who
purports to be your friend, but may actually
be working against your interests. You will be
able to resurrect your love life and keep the
flames of passion alive on the romantic front.

22 December, 2018
Traits in you: By inborn characteris‑
tics, you are active, disciplined, and
efficient. You are the master of an
appealing personality. You are highly
social and helpful. However, you
should work on your nature of being
jealous, self‑centered, and destructive.
Health this year: You will be in good
health throughout this year. To main‑
tain your ggod health, you need to
practice exercise or yoga.
Finance this year: You will be finan‑
cially benefited from different sources
of income. You will acquire new proj‑
ects and that will improve your finan‑
cial condition. If you are travelling for
business purpose, it will yield positive
results for you and you will be suc‑
cessful in your business trips this year.
You may invest in buying house or
stocks. However, it is recommended to
have a good research on the stock
before you invest. You may feel rest‑
less due to the abrupt expenses for the
health issues of your family members.
Career this year: You will be rewarded
for your work this year. You will gain
enough professional recognition for
your knowledge, skills, and efficiency.
The ongoing projects may get a con‑
tinuation.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a
better romantic a life as compared to
the last year. You will be understood
by your partner and get enough sup‑
port in everything you do.
23 December, 2018
Traits in you: Your ruling planet
Mercury makes you an active, practi‑
cal, sensible, systematic and highly
diplomatic person. You need to be a bit
careful and remove stubbornness from
your nature.
Health this year: If you are a chronic
patient, you have to take extra care for
your health to avoid grievances in
future.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
Finance this year: You might sell
your property in a good price, which
would help you enhance your financial
stance. You may schedule your travel
to maintain distant relationships and
gain some financial support. Some of
you may get the opportunity to travel
abroad for business purpose. You
should avoid lending and borrowing
money to stay financially stable.
Career this year: You love music and
literature and want to pursue your
career in those fields. You will be able
to improve your confidence level as
you may find a lot of opportunities to
be grabbed.
Romance this year: Some of you also
may get your marriage fixed this year.
Your romance life would get to its peak.
24 December, 2018
Traits in you: Your planet Venus
makes you kind, realistic, helpful, and
adaptable. You are very simple as a
person who believes in high thinking.
You are hardworking and sincere,
which helps you get appreciation from
others. However, you need to check
your nature of being rude and interfer‑
ing in the affairs of others. If you do
not work on your behavior, you may
end up criticized badly.
Health this year: You will enjoy a
better health this year as compared to
last year. You may suffer from some
minor health issues such as joint
aches, back pain, headache and so on.
Finance this year: You will enjoy
financial prosperity and a good health
throughout this year. If you are a busi‑
nessman, you will get ample opportu‑
nities to expand your business by
investing in more profitable areas.
Career this year: If your profession
is associated with creativity, such as
artists, media professionals, and adver‑
tising professionals, you may gain
popularity, appreciation, and fame. If
you want to create professional and
social contacts, you have to achieve it
through frequent get‑togethers and
travelling. You may receive some help
from your near and dear ones, which
may prove to be instrumental in
improving your confidence in your
professional life.
Romance this year: You will find
your spouse to be very cooperative
this year. You will find your required
emotional support from your spouse
through love, care and concern even if
you find it difficult to understand your
partner. If you are unmarried, you may
find your romance interest this year.
25 December, 2018
Traits in you: Being dominated by
Neptune, you are adorned with charac‑
teristics such as responsibility, affec‑
tion, creativity, simplicity and emo‑
tions.
Health this year: Your spouse may
suf fer from stress related health
issues, which may lead to roaming in
the premises of a hospital.
Finance this year: You are supposed
to be benefited financially from your
assumptions while investing money.
However, that does not mean you will
invest blindly.
Career this year: As you are commit‑
ted towards your undertaken works,
you are appreciated and awarded con‑
sistently. However, you have to work
on your nature of being fickle minded
and careless always. You may realize
your ideas and plans this year. You will
be able to execute your plans efficient‑
ly. You will get plenty of support from
your partners and colleagues to
improve your morale and confidence.
Romance this year: You will be in a
blissful romantic relationship with
your partner this year.
26 December, 2018
Traits in you: Under the influence of
Neptune you will develop your charac‑
teristics to be a dynamic, reliable,
organized, sober and disciplined per‑
son. You are a born fighter.
Health this year: You will have few
minor health issues this year, which
can be cured by regular medication.
Finance this year: If you have made
any investments in real estate or
stocks, you will be hugely benefited
this year. You may have a foreign trip
for business purpose.
Career this year: You would never
fidget in adverse situations and fight
back all the problems in your life.
However, your stubbornness may make
you lag behind others so it will be bet‑
ter for you to take others opinion.
Romance this year: You will find lot
of love and care from your spouse. You
may think the last quarter of the year
to be idle for you wedding. Some of
you may get involved in romantic rela‑
tionships, which you help you enjoy
your life the most.
27 December, 2018
Traits in you: The vigor of you ruling
planet, Mars blesses you with energy.
You are charismatic, courageous,
enthusiastic, and intellectual. You will
be a crowd puller as you have the
characteristics of intellectuality. You
will impress people with your person‑
ality and talks. However, you should
not behave aggressive and short tem‑
pered. This may ruin your image in
front of others.
Health this year: The last quarter of
the year will make you seek help from
a spiritual person to attain peace of
mind. You may go through minor
health related problems due to stress.
Finance this year: You will earn
excellent returns if you had invested in
past. Your legal issues will be settled in
your favor this year. You may receive
money unexpectedly from friends and
relatives throughout the year. Your
business trips will be successful this
year and you will receive earning
opportunities from your trips.
Career this year: This year is the
best time to go back to your old con‑
tacts and create new contacts to
receive help to make yourself better in
professional life.
Romance this year: You may get
involved in a romantic relationship
this year, which may get converted to
marriage later on.
28 December, 2018
Traits in you: Being ruled by Sun, you
will be creative by nature. Your other
characteristics include smartness, intel‑
ligence, and dignity and so on.
Health this year: Your younger sib‑
lings may have some health issues,
which will put you in immense pres‑
sure.
Finance this year: You may go ahead
creating new contacts and casual rela‑
tionships this year. If you are a busi‑
nessperson, there are huge opportuni‑
ties for you to start new ventures and
earn lot of money as you will be suc‑
cessful whatever initiative you take
this year. Your assumptions of
investing will prove to be highly
beneficial.
Career this year: Art and literature
are your area of interest and you want
to contribute to these fields. However,
you need to be sober and down to
earth to create a good impression. If
you are a scientist or a lawyer, you
may find this year to be rewarding for
you. Women professionals in advertis‑
ing and media will also be rewarded
for their good work.
Romance this year: If you are
unmarried, this year may bring
romance in your lonely life.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
How to Create a
Holiday Atmosphere
at Home
C
reating festive cheer at home for
the holidays is easy and fun. Here
are some great ways to transform
your space into a winter wonderland.
GET COZY
During the chilly holiday season, deco‑
rate with comfort in mind. Light the fire‑
place. Add throw pillows to sofas. Turn off
overhead lamps and use soft lighting
instead. Consider how texture and warmth
can contribute to your holiday decorating
scheme.
SCREEN FESTIVE FLICKS
From “Itʼs a Wonderful Life to “Home
Alone,” keep your favorite holiday films
playing all the time to create a festive holi‑
day atmosphere, or host a special movie
night and select a few classics. With the
right projector, you can turn any room of
the house into a home theater experience.
Select a portable projector for the holiday
season that will sense ambient light in the
room and automatically adjust the projec‑
tion accordingly, so you wonʼt need to
blow out candles or unplug holiday lights.
CHOOSING HOLIDAY GIFTS
FOR YOUR CO‑WORKERS
L
ooking for that special holiday
present for your employees or your
team? Instead of regifting that
impenetrable fruit cake, try giving gifts
based on individual working styles.
“By observing how individuals prefer to
work, you can find inspiration for gifts
that complement their ʻBusiness
Chemistry,ʼ” suggests Suzanne Vickberg,
Ph.D., and research lead for Deloitteʼs
Business Chemistry, and co‑author of the
new book, “Practical Magic for Crafting
Powerful Work Relationships.”
Here are the different types youʼre like‑
ly working with and some gift options
that might appeal to them:
8 Pioneers are adventurous, energetic
and imaginative. They likely cherish cre‑
ative or out‑of‑the‑box gifts. For this
employee, think memorable concerts or
performances, improvisation classes or
unique experiences like a bull‑riding
class.
8 Guardians are practical and reserved,
and they care about the details. They may
discourage you from making too much of
a fuss. So, shop for gifts that allow them
to relax and enjoy their time off during
the seasonʼs festivities. Noise‑cancelling
headphones, a monthly book subscrip‑
tion, or a coffee shop gift card could be a
hit.
8 Drivers are logical, competitive and
curious. They like to set goals and track
their progress, so they might value wear‑
able technology or other gadgets that
HOLIDAYS
Those from Casioʼs SLIM Series are light‑
weight and portable, combining a laser
and LED light source to create a high‑
brightness mercury‑free projector that
uses half the amount of power per unit
than its traditional lamp‑based counter‑
parts.
FIRE UP THE OVEN
Thereʼs no better time of year to roll up
your sleeves and knead out some dough.
One of the best ways to create a holiday
atmosphere is with scent, and the aroma
of baking cookies, cakes and other holiday
desserts will do the trick. If youʼre worried
about having all those extra sweet treats
around the house just before kicking off
your New Yearʼs resolutions, consider vol‑
unteering to bring dessert to potluck and
parties you attend this season or donating
the product of your labors to a holiday
bake sale raising money for a charitable
cause.
MAKE MUSIC
Get the holiday cheer going in your
home by making music. Now you can get
help them jump‑start their 2019 ambi‑
tions. They also like a challenge, so mind‑
bender, strategy or construction games
might appeal to them as well.
8 Integrators are empathic and rela‑
tionship‑oriented, and they love bringing
people together. They may particularly
cherish gifts that help brighten their
social gatherings and the memories that
go along with them. Delight this coworker
with an interesting food basket, or a gift
certificate for a custom photobook. Or,
consider a gift that brings them enjoy‑
ment through helping others, such as a
charitable donation in their name.
More tips about using “Business
Chemistry” to guide interactions with
employees and teams are available in the
new book, “Business Chemistry: Practical
Magic for Crafting Powerful Work
Relationships.”
Of course, no gift‑giving strategy is fool‑
proof, but reflecting on individual work‑
ing styles may help you avoid gift‑giving
pitfalls this holiday season and help keep
the peace around the office.
December 22-28, 2018 29
the sound of a 9‑foot concert grand piano the halls with traditional holiday plants
with the Privia PX‑160, a portable digital adds color and vitality to side tables, man‑
piano, making it easy to gather round for tels, dining areas and staircases and more.
a sing‑a‑long of all your favorite seasonal Those with pets and small children should
tunes in any room of the house. Its 88‑key take heed, as certain plant species are
Tri‑Sensor Scaled Hammer Action key‑ toxic ‑‑ so avoid these plants or be sure
board simulates ebony and ivory‑textured they are displayed well out of reach of
keys and its speaker system opens to the curious children and animals.
front but is also ported to the back, to Preparing your home for the holiday
deliver a big projected sound to all your season takes a little thought and energy,
holiday celebrants. but the end result is a cheerful and warm
atmosphere to make memories while
ADD SOME FLORA spending time with loved ones.
Holly, poinsettias, mistletoe ‑‑ decking
W
ant to give back this holiday sea‑
son? There are many ways to get
into the charitable spirit. And if
you need some inspiration for how to go
about benefitting those in your local and
global community, consider the following
ideas.
SERVE A HOLIDAY MEAL
Food is one of the most fundamental ways
to show you care, and, delicious food
Helping to reduce plastic waste by
and the holidays go hand‑in‑hand.
Consider serving a warm holi‑ 3 providing an alternative to sin‑
gle‑use bottles, youʼll be mak‑
day meal to someone who
needs it.
There are many ways to
WAYS TO ing a global difference.
Whatʼs more, for every
LifeStraw product pur‑
do this, such as preparing
a meal at home and deliv‑
GIVE BACK chased, including
LifeStraw Go 2‑Stage
ering it to a sick or elderly
neighbor, inviting a col‑ THIS HOLIDAY Special Edition, LifeStraw
Universal and LifeStraw
league or friend who doesnʼt
have family in the area to your SEASON Play, one child in a communi‑
ty in need receives safe drinking
home for a holiday meal, or vol‑
water for an entire school year.
unteering in a food pantry to serve a
meal to other members of your community. GIVE LIFE
If these efforts are not possible, look for a
canned food drive near you and pick up Did you know that the simple act of donat‑
some extra groceries to donate when shop‑ ing blood can save a life? Indeed, one pint of
ping. blood is all thatʼs needed to save three lives,
according to Americaʼs Blood Centers. Make
GIVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER an appointment at a local blood bank. It
takes just about 10 minutes, and afterwards
Give a gift to a loved one this season thatʼs
you can feel good about the potential differ‑
not only thoughtful for him or her, but also
ence youʼve made.
benefits the community at large. One great
Another way you can be a life saver is by
way to do that is through the gift of water.
ensuring you are a registered organ donor.
Due to microplastics and other common
Use the holiday season as an opportunity to
water contaminants, safe drinking water is
add your name to the National Donate Life
not necessarily a given these days. However,
Registry.
you can provide someone you love with at‑
Before stringing lights or adding tinsel to
home and on‑the‑go access to safe drinking
the tree, you can truly get into the holiday
water with a LifeStraw water filtration prod‑
spirit by finding meaningful ways to give
uct.
back. ‑StatePoint
 30 December 22-28, 2018
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
T
hink about how a computer
works. A computer starts
out as a basic hardware. On
its own it can do nothing. To oper‑
ate, software programs have to be
downloaded to it. These software
programs carry out different tasks
and functions. Although all com‑
puters are basically the same, they
operate differently based on the
software downloaded into it.
Human beings are like basic
computer hardware. We are born
with the same basic operating
equipment. We have a physical
body, bodily systems, and the
brain with its system of taking
information from the body and
senses. What makes us different is
the kind of input that is download‑
ing into our self over the course of
our lives. We all download differ‑
ent types of input from the world.
Most people only download infor‑
mation into themselves that comes
from their body, their senses, and
the outer world.
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
T
he perfect balance of nature
which has maintained life on
our planet for millions of
years is being threatened by the
technology that has transformed
the modern world. Every day the
media reports new threats to the
environment. The air we breathe,
the water we drink and the land
from which we derive our food are
all progressively polluted. Concern
for ecology has become one of the
main preoccupations of the world.
We may divide this study into
four areas: understanding the cycles
of the nature, becoming aware of
the ef fects of pollution, learning
how to restore nature to its pristine
beauty, and putting into practice
methods to preserve the purity of
nature.
I would like to examine the ʻecolo‑
gy of the soul.ʼ There are fundamen‑
tal laws and cycles that apply to the
spirit just as to nature. We can gain
awareness of how pollution affects
us within as well as how it affects
the world around us. The same four
areas of study apply to inner and
outer ecology. There is a perfect
design in nature. The ecological sys‑
tem which got created on our Earth
is so unique that ours is the only
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Downloading God
Unfortunately instead of down‑
loading God, we are downloading
the world into ourselves. If we
identify our true self, the soul we
will find that downloading this
world doesn't fulfill us. The soul is
not interested in downloading the
world with its enjoyments and
entertainments. It wants to down‑
ECOLOGY OF THE PLANET AND SOUL
habitable planet.
Like natural cycles such as the
water cycle, the plant cycle, and the
fossil fuel cycle‑ there is also a cycle
of the soul. T he soulʼs journey
began within the creation of uni‑
verse, and it has been in motion
ever since. The soul is a spark of
Divine, the enlivening soul within
us. Like a diamond buried deep
within the earth, or the layers of
rich oil lying far below the earthʼs
surface, our most precious riches,
the soul, lies buried beneath layers
of mind, matter, and illusion.
load the Divine and its bliss, love,
and ecstasy. The soul is only nour‑
ished by the love and light of the
Divine.
To be truly fulfilled, we need to
download God. How can we do
that?
Meditation is the process of
downloading God. However, what
(Image courtesy: ayurvedanextdoor.com)
As long as the soul inhabits the
body, the body is alive. When the
soul departs a body, the body dies.
When God created the universes,
He separated souls from Himself to
inhabit the worlds. Thus began the
cycle of the soul. God, while sepa‑
rating the souls from Himself, has
also provided a way for the souls to
return to Him. This way back is
through the Naam or Word.
T he next aspect of inner and
outer ecology is Pollution. Like air
and water, the soul has an innate
beauty of its own. For millions of
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
do most of us do in meditation?
After stilling our body, instead of
also stilling the mind, we continue
downloading the world. This is
where the problem begins. We are
downloading our past. We are
downloading our wishes for the
future. We are downloading our
thoughts of anger, lust, greed,
years, our Earth has had clean air
and fresh flowing water.
Exploitation of the planet has sul‑
lied these natural resources.
Similarly, our insatiable appetite for
gratifying our senses has also pol‑
luted the natural purity of the soul.
The soul has been lead by the mind
and has been caught in the sensory
impressions of the world. Worldly
desires and sensuous pleasures set‑
tle like dust on the pure soul.
The third aspect of inner and
outer ecology is restoring the beau‑
ty of the soul. Ecologists who clean
attachment, and ego. We are down‑
loading the desires of our senses.
Meditation should be an effort‑
less effort. We close our eyes and
simply gaze at what lies in front of
us. The sooner we sit in that state,
the sooner we will have inner
progress. In meditation, we should‑
n't be disturbed by thoughts gener‑
ated from our mind.
To download God, we need to
keep our mind still. When we are
not thinking, but keeping our mind
still, we are able to download God.
When we meditate and are dis‑
tracted by thoughts, we can stop
our thoughts in their tracks and
ask, “Do I want to download world‑
ly thoughts, or do I want to medi‑
tate?” This simple reminder can
get us back on track to focusing
our attention within. If we can
train ourselves to do this, we will
form a habit. That habit will be
that the mind remains stilled dur‑
ing meditation time. Then, we will
see rapid results in our meditation
and will swim in the ocean of love
and bliss.
When we download God into our
system, we are actually merging
our real nature back into our
Source. We then tap into eternal
wisdom, immortality, bliss, happi‑
ness, peace and divine love. We
experience the ecstasy and love
unknown to us in this physical
world. Our soul is only fulfilled by
union with God. It is not satisfied
by anything of this world.
Being like a computer that down‑
loads God‑ opens us up to receive
the eternal treasures of God, and
helps us swim in the ocean of love,
peace, joy, and bliss.
our polluted air and water and free
animals trapped are the environ‑
mental heroes of our times. There
are also ecologists of the soul.
These beings have realized the pris‑
tine beauty of the spirit and are
aware of the pollutants that cover it
with layers of dirt and filth. These
divine ecologists are better known
as saints, mystics, and spiritual mas‑
ters who have become pure and
free of all that pollutes the soul.
A spiritual master shows us our
true nature. He teaches us how to
analyze ourselves so that we can
separate our souls from the layers
of the mind, matter, and illusion.
The fourth aspect of inner and
outer ecology is preserving the nat‑
ural beauty of the soul. Dedicated
ecologists feel the sense of duty to
preserve the purity of the environ‑
ment. Ecologists are sensitive and
avoid altering anything that would
upset the balance of nature.
Similarly, when we advance
spiritually, we move through life
with sensitivity, imperfections and
pollutants covering us fall away and
we are restored to our original
purity.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info December 22-28, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info December 22-28 2018