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A three-year lawsuit between Citizens Medical Center and three cardiologists was dismissed after both sides reached a negotiated settlement. The specifi c terms of the settlement include the hospital and the hospital’s insurance company paying $8 million to the cardiologists. In addition, the three doctors will resign their privileges to practice medicine at the hospital, 2701 Hospital Drive, effective immediately.

Citizens, Doctors End Lawsuit

Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Pages 25-35

P16

P4

India Gang Rape Victim Cremated

Hindi Welcomed in Texas School District

P9

347th BirthdaySpecial


2 January 04, 2013


3 January 04, 2013 3January 04, 2013 COMMUNITY

Indo American News (ISSN 887-5936) is published weekly every Friday (for a sub-scription of $40 per year) by IndoAmerican News Inc.,

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HGH Announces an Advisory Board and Activities for 2013

From left: Dev Mahajan, Gaurang Nanavati, Sharad Amin(HGH President), Ramesh Bhutada, Beth Kulkarni and PC Sharma

ICC Houston will celebrate India Fair- 64th Republic Day celebrations on Saturday, January 26 at Bayou City Center, 9401 Knight Rd, Houston TX 77047. Free Entrance, Free Parking. Highlights include Cultural, Parade, Booths, Awards and Flag Honoring. For more information call Devesh at 832-419-7576.

Announcement

HGH workers at HGH December 2012 meeting

HOUSTON: Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH) took a major step in consolidating its status as an organization which speaks for all Hindus in the region by naming an Board of Advisors comprised of activists with solid credentials of community service and a stellar track record of leadership within their organiza tions.

The announcement was made at a meeting held at the Keshav Smruti on Saturday, December 8 attended by over representatives of most of the 28 Hindu temples and organizations in the Greater Houston area (representatives of six organizations were unable to attend).

The new Board of Advisors are Ramesh Bhutada of the Hin-du Swayamsevak Sangh; Beth Kulkarni representing the Amer-ican-Hindu community and the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands; Devinder Mahajan of the Arya Samaj of Greater Houston; Jugal Malani of India House; Gaurang Nanavaty of the Chinmaya Mis-sion of Houston; P.C. Sharma of the Hindu Worship Society and Dr. Gopal Krishna of the Sri Meenak-shi Temple Society.

The meeting also recognized the pioneers of the communitywide Janmashtami celebration - Raj Syal, Prabhat Chandra Sharma, Padmakant Khambati, Beth Kulkarni, Hari Kewalramani, Sharad Amin, and Dilip Mehta. The celebration started in 1989 as a brainchild of Syal and has now grown into a signature event for the legacy organization, Hindus of Greater Houston was said he was very happy with the progress made by its members.

”It is time to rethink our iden-tity as Hindu Americans. Our next generation may not be able to identify themselves with India, yet the Hindu heritage will stick with them throughout their lives,” said Ramesh Bhutada. “The more we are united, the better we will be able to inculcate our culture on our children.” He said he was pleased to see so many Hindu organiza-

tions actively engage our youths. Gaurang Nanavaty said the vari-

ous organizations are like flowers in a garden - each one beautiful with its distinct color and fra-grance and lauded the work of HGH. P.C. Sharma suggested that Hindus should consider a com-munitywide celebration of Diwali along the lines of the Janmashtami event.

Dev Mahajan said Hindus were doing well “within their cocoon” but needed to reach out to the mainstream to ensure that Hindu-

ism is understood correctly. He gave the example of the recent incident of bullying of two Hindu boys (because of their religion) in Humble ISD and said HGH worked with the school district to resolve the issue.

Beth Kulkarni said she was for-tunate to be accepted by the Hindu community and her example often makes Hindu youth consider the merits of their heritage and show an interest in it.

The meeting began with the recitation of the Bhagavad Gita

Dhayana Shloka and Guru Vandana by three young children - Amogha, Vidya and Vedant - of the Arsha Vidya Satsangh. Shar-ad Amin, President of HGH welcomed everyone by empha-sizing that the goal of HGH was to unite all Hindu organizations and to raise good Hin-du Americans descen-dants India, the Carib-bean, Bhutan, Nepal and other countries who were knowledge-able and proud of their heritage.

Thara Narasimhan introduced repre-sentatives of various Hindu organizations

— Ashirwad A Bless-ing, Arsha Vidya Gu-rukulam, Sri Sitaram Foundation, Arya Sa-maj of Greater Hous-ton, Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, Patanjali Yo-gpeeth, Chinmaya Mis-sion, Gujarati Samaj of Houston, Hindu Tem-ple of The Woodlands, Indo-American Cultur-al Heritage Foundation, BAPS Swami Narayan Temple, Isha Founda-tion, Sri Meenakishi Temple, Naamdwar (Global Organization of Divinity), Sanatan

Hindu Center, Govindaji Gaudiya Math, Hindu Worship Society, Hin-du Students Association, Sringeri Vidyabharati Foundation and the Lakshminarayan Temple, which has a congregation of Hindus from the Caribbean, Nepali Hindu orga-nization, Swamahiman, Udipi Sri Krishna Temple and Bhutan Vedic Seva Samiti.

Each representative spoke brief-ly on one signature event that was coming up for his/her organization. This was indeed an eye opener for many to take note of the various

activities that the organizations were involved in.

The past events of 2012 and grand 25th year celebration of Jan-mashtami in 2014 was covered by Partha Krishnaswamy, Vice President of HGH. Youth awards on behalf of Richa Dixit was con-veyed by Thara Narasimhan who pointed out that the youth formed an integral part of our Hindu or-ganizations and recognizing them not only encourages them to do more but also be proud of our heritage. She also recognized the younger members of HGH board Vinod Mantri, Sanjay Jajoo, Richa Dixit and Dharminder Dargan. The website update, Hindu Jew-ish meeting on Jan 6 and Calendar of events 2013 was discussed by Dharminder Dargan and media, publicity highlights and public re-lations work were showcased by Vijay Pallod who was the main coordinator of this event. HGH introduced their latest coordina-tor. Desh Kapoor who has taken the initiative to start a Hindu blog with Houston Chronicle.

Hindus of Greater Houston partnerships and affiliated orga-nizations presented their special events – Manoj Rathi from Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh spoke about SV150 event highlighting Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth An-niversary; Ruchita Naik, President of the Hindu Students Association at University of Houston talked about their activities and programs; Chaya Timmaraju elaborated on the activities associated with Swa-mi Vivekananda and Youth Con-vention happening January 12, 2013; Girish Naik former HGH President spoke about the Kite festival by the Vishwa Hindu Pari-shad America; Kriti Dogra from Sewa International emphasized the community outreach program and Sushma Mahajan reiterated the importance of Inter Faith Dia-logue and associated activities in the Greater Houston area.

For more information about HGH, visit . www.hindusofhous-ton.org


January 04, 20134 January 04, 20134

VICTORIA: Federal Dis-trict Judge Gregg Costa on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 signed the order to dismiss a three-year lawsuit between Citizens Medi-cal Center and three car-diologists after both sides reached a negotiated settle-ment.

The specific terms of the settlement include the hospital and the hospital’s insurance company paying $8 million to the cardiolo-gists. In addition, the three doctors will resign their privileges to practice medi-cine at the hospital, effec-tive immediately.

On Monday, December 3, the lawyer for the three car-diologists filed a request to dismiss the case in federal court - a motion that was unopposed by Citizens Medical Center.

Donald Day, chairman of Citizens Medical Center’s board of directors, said Wednesday that he signed the settlement agreement and described it as a new chapter for the hos-pital.

The plaintiffs in the case - Drs. Dakshesh Kumar Parikh, Harish Chandna and Ajay Gaalla - released a statement acknowledg-ing the case was over.

“As it stands, CMC has asked us to re-sign and relinquish our privileges to prac-tice at the hospital immediately,” the state-ment said. “However, whenever the Board

of Managers of Citizens Medical Center is willing to grant us our privileges, we will be ready and available to serve the patients and this community at our county hospital.”

The end of the three-year lawsuit comes about 2 1/2 weeks shy of the Jan. 7 trial date. The doctors sued in March 2010 after Citi-zens revoked their privileges to work at the hospital. The cardiologists claimed racke-teering, conspiracy and discrimination. Citi-zens officials contended in court filings that they acted in the best business interests of the hospital. (Courtesy Victoria Advocate)

In the lawsuit, the cardiologists had

claimed that there was a they were subjected to a steady pattern of racial slurs that created a hostile environment and discrimination to deliberately kept them out of leadership roles on committees and laboratory posts and diminish their professional standing in the hospital and the small town of Victoria where the three have practiced for over 15 years.

According to comments left on the Victo-ria Advocate website, many patients have openly expressed their support for the doc-tors and disgust at the actions of the CMC Board and some have even asked for the

Citizens, Victoria Doctors End Lawsuit with an $8 Million Settlementtrict Judge Gregg Costa on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 signed the order to dismiss a three-year lawsuit between Citizens Medi-cal Center and three car-diologists after both sides reached a negotiated settle-

The specific terms of the settlement include the hospital and the hospital’s insurance company paying $8 million to the cardiolo-gists. In addition, the three doctors will resign their privileges to practice medi-cine at the hospital, effec-

On Monday, December 3, the lawyer for the three car-diologists filed a request to dismiss the case in federal

resignation of Citizens CEO David Brown who had used derogatory slurs, jokes, ridi-cule and epithets in dealing not just with these cardiolo-gists and other Indian physi-cians but also other minorities, a fact that is common knowl-edge among the medical com-munity in Victoria.

Many comments on the website express disbelief that these cardiologists are being asked to relinquish privileges at the hospital, calling the set-tlement “an embarrassment”; others plainly express their confidence in the abilities of the cardiologists and their in-tention to continue to see them for treatment.

The Houston Indo-American community had shown soli-darity with the cardiologists as their lawsuit made its way

to trial. Just a week before the settlement, community leaders had collected hundreds of signatures in support of the doctors and the local community media (see IAN, No-vember 30, 2012) had highlighted the shoddy way in which the doctors had been treated by Citizens.

The settlement and the ensuing galvaniz-ing support appears to have boosted the confidence of the local community to har-ness their strength in numbers and logistics to fight discrimination and other cases that can impede the upward mobility and prog-ress of its members. (Jawahar Malhotra)

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Yoga Class Draws a Religious ProtestBY WILL CARLESS

(NYT) ENCINITAS, CA: By 9:30am. at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, tiny feet were shifting from downward dog pose to chair pose to warrior pose in surprising-ly swift, accurate movements. A circle of 6- and 7-year-olds contorted their frames, making monkey noises and repeating con-fidence-boosting mantras.

Jackie Bergeron’s first-grade yoga class was in full swing.

“Inhale. Exhale. Peekaboo!” Bergeron said from the front of the class. “Now, war-rior pose. I am strong! I am brave!”

Though the yoga class had a notably calm-ing effect on the children, things were far from placid outside the gymnasium.

A small but vocal group of parents, spurred on by the head of a local conservative ad-vocacy group, has likened these 30-minute yoga classes to religious indoctrination. They say the classes — part of a compre-hensive program offered to all public school students in this affluent suburb north of San Diego — represent a violation of the First Amendment.

After the classes prompted discussion in local evangelical churches, parents said they were concerned that the exercises might nudge their children closer to ancient Hindu beliefs.

Mary Eady, the parent of a first grader, said the classes were rooted in the deeply re-ligious practice of Ashtanga yoga, in which

physical actions are inextricable from the spiritual beliefs underlying them.

“They’re not just teaching physical pos-es, they’re teaching children how to think and how to make decisions,” Eady said. “They’re teaching children how to medi-tate and how to look within for peace and for comfort. They’re using this as a tool for many things beyond just stretching.”

Eady and a few dozen other parents say a

public school system should not be leading students down any particular religious path. Teaching children how to engage in spiritual exercises like meditation familiarizes young minds with certain religious viewpoints and practices, they say, and a public classroom is no place for that.

Underlying the controversy is the source of the program’s financing. The pilot proj-ect is supported by the Jois Foundation, a

nonprofit organization founded in memory of Krishna Pattabhi Jois, who is considered the father of Ashtanga yoga.

Dean Broyles, the president and chief counsel of the National Center for Law and Policy, a nonprofit law firm that champi-ons religious freedom and traditional mar-riage, according to its Web site, has dug up quotes from Jois Foundation leaders, who talk about the inseparability of the physical act of yoga from a broader spiritual quest. Broyles argued that such quotes betrayed the group’s broader evangelistic purpose.

“There is a transparent promotion of Hindu religious beliefs and practices in the public schools through this Ashtanga yoga program,” he said.

“The analog would be if we substituted for this program a charismatic Christian praise and worship physical education program,” he said.

The battle over yoga in schools has been raging for years across the country but has typically focused on charter schools, which receive public financing but set their own curriculums.

The move by the Encinitas Union School District to mandate yoga classes for all stu-dents who do not opt out has elevated the discussion. And it has split an already di-vided community.

The district serves the liberal beach neigh-borhoods of Encinitas, including Leucadia, where Paul Ecke Central Elementary is, as

Jackie Bergeron teaching a fi rst-grade yoga class at Paul Ecke Central Elemen-tary. Photos: T. Lynne Pixley

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Grand Srimad Bhagavata Mahotsavam Celebrated at NamadwaarMANVEL, TX: For eight whole days,

devotees at Namadwaar in Manvel, TX were lost in a completely different world of singing and celebrating Lord Sri Krishna, totally oblivious of the rest of the world. Sri-mad Bhagavata Saptaha Mahotsavam 2012, held from Dec 21 to 28, was indeed a grand celebration and an experience that will be cherished deeply for years to come by all who attended the event.

Organized by Global Organization for Di-vinity USA (G.O.D.) under the guidance of Sri Ramanujam ji, disciple of His Holiness Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji of Chennai, In-dia, the event was really a “Mahotsavam” with so many activities taking place simul-taneously, each of them geared towards immersing all in joyful smaranam and cel-ebration of the Lord. Almost a 100 devotees from all across the USA visited Houston for the event, including from Atlanta, Califor-nia, Chicago, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Flori-da, Indiana, Minneapolis, Michigan, Seattle and Virginia.

Each day of the utsav began early at 5:30 am with prabodhanam (waking up the Lord with kirtans) and was followed by the sing-ing of Tiruppavai and commencement of Srimad Bhagavata parayanam for the day (which was done every day, thus complet-ing the reading of the entire Srimad Bhaga-vatam in 7 days). Unchavruthi (offering of rice by householders to a bhaagavata as sampradaya bhajans were sung) was also performed every morning.

The Lord was taken in a palanquin on a procession around Namadwaar every morn-ing as beautiful kirtans glorifying Him were sung in unison by devotees. Every after-noon, sampradaya bhajans and Ashtapathis

days included a Garuda Vahanam proces-sion, 24-hour Akhanda Mahamantra sankir-tan and Divya Nama Sankirtan on Vaikunta Ekadasi, Dec 23rd; 108 Hanuman Chalisa chanting, Bhagavad Gita parayanam and a grand Radha Kalyanam Utsav celebration on Dec 27.

Every evening, Sri Ramanujamji dis-coursed in detail on Srimad Bhagavata Purana at Sri Meenakshi Temple. This se-ries of lectures, which was a joint presenta-tion of Sri Meenakshi Temple Society and Global Organization for Divinity, was very well attended and appreciated by numerous Houstonites.

Every day, before Sri Ramanujamji’s dis-course, several local artistes and students sang and danced to the kirtans of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. The schools and artistes who performed included students of Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat’s Krishna Gana Sudha Music Academy, Divya Unni and her students from Sreepadam School of Arts, Surabi Veeraraghavan, Students of Anjali Center for Performing Arts, Manjula Palivela and her students, and children of G.O.D.’s Gopa Kuteeram Kids’ Program.

(Sri Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam songs) were sung.

Apart from the daily events during the Mahotsavam, other special events on certain


7 January 04, 2013 7January 04, 2013 COMMUNITYVedic Day Care Center in Chicago

Celebrates Christmas and Gita Jayanti

BY NAND KAPOOR

IAN CHICAGO CORRESPONDENTCHICAGO: Chicago based one of its kind

Vedic Day Care Center celebrated its annual Christmas function last week. About 100 people attended the function.

The occasion was celebrated with vari-ous performances by the children of the day care. The children sang devotional songs, Christmas carols, and performed a drama about the birth of Christ. The children ex-changed gifts amongst themselves, which brought them joy.

Also, with the Christmas program, the cen-ter celebrated Gita Jayanti. Bhagavad Gita books were distributed amongst the parents and teachers. The celebration was joined by

friends and family. The finale of the day was a Christmas lunch. It was a day to celebrate with excitement and was enjoyed by the people that attended the program. Through-out the years it has determined that the Ve-dic Day Care celebrates each occasion with great enthusiasm, which brings enjoyment to the children.

Vedic Day Cacre Center is a well known school in Chicago. The director, Vrashbha Das thanked Dr. Modi, Kal Patel, and Dr. Mehta for their financial support and Swati restaurant and Jay Hind restaurant for pro-viding the prashad.

For further information, call Vrashbha Das at 773-761-0522.

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COMMUNITYIndian’s Subway Killing: A Hate Crime

BY CHIDANAND RAJGHATTAWASHINGTON (TOI): As he peered at

the approaching metro train standing on the edge of platform on 40th and Lowery street station in Queens, Sunando Sen didn’t see or hear the footsteps of death behind his back, much less realize it was racist and hate-filled.

This was New York, the most racially and ethnically diverse city on the planet, where the immigrant from Kolkota had lived com-fortably for nearly two decades and was on the threshold of entrepreneurial success.

Mumbling incoherently, Erika Menendez had stood up from a bench she was sitting on, walked up behind Sen, 46, and shoved him in the path of the oncoming train even as a few horrified witnesses saw the 8 pm incident, which was also captured in the

station’s videocams in grainy footage. She then bolted from the station , causing a city-wide hunt.

She pushed Sen, the 32-year old Menen-dez later told police when she was appre-hended following a tip-off after a public sighting, because she hates Hindus and Muslims , who in her view brought down the city’s World Trade Center twin towers on 9/11. She was arrested and charged with second degree murder.

Menendez is expected to be arraigned by Sunday morning . If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. By charging her with murder as a hate crime, the possible minimum sentence she faced would be extended to 20 years from 15 years, according to prosecutors.

The incident has stunned New York City, not the least because it is the second episode in a month of someone being shoved in the path of an oncoming train in a subway sys-tem that is more than 100 years old. Even in the troubled days after 9/11 such hate crimes were rare in NYC.

And ironically, the woman who harboured

such racist sentiment and con-flated Muslim and Hindu faith was herself Hispanic. Queens district attorney Richard Brown told the New York media that Menendez told the police she be-lieved she had pushed a Muslim man off the platform “because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up”.

“Beyond that, the hateful re-marks allegedly made by the de-fendant and which precipitated the defendant’s actions should never be tolerated by a civilized

society,” Brown said, adding that he had no information on the defendant’s criminal or mental history and it will be up to the court to determine if she is fit to stand trial.

In an earlier incident on December 3, a Korean-American man died after he was shoved on to the path of an oncoming train in Queens by a homeless person, allegedly after an altercation. Deaths in New York subway is not unusual (there were 47 deaths in 2011), but they are mostly accidents and suicides, seldom homicides.

New Yorkers meanwhile mourned Sen, who came to city after enrolling at NYU in the early 1990s to study graphic design. He had only recently started a small print-ing business with financial backing from a college friend, and was working seven days a week to make it a success.

“I didn’t know anything about the busi-ness,” his friend and business partner San-jeeb Das said about Sen, who was single. “He knew everything . We were close like brothers,” said Das, who shared a placed with Sen from 1998 to 2005 before moving out to get married.

The woman, Erika Menendez, selected her victim because she believed him to be a Muslim or a Hindu, Richard A. Brown, the Queens district at-torney, said.

Sunando Sen, 46 immigrated to US 20 years ago from Calcutta, India.


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BY SURI SWAMYCHICAGO: Indian Americans

in Texas and across USA have expressed joy and happiness that a school in Texas has announced plans to introduce teaching of Hindi language in its curriculum and they hope that this serves as a model example for many other schools in the country to follow.

Hurst-Euless-Bedford Indepen-dent School District (HEBISD) headquartered in Bedford (Texas, USA) is introducing Hindi, offi-cial language of India, for its stu-dents. Seventh, eighth and ninth

graders will be in a position to take Hindi classes. These courses are part of the district’s International Business Initiative, which will set students on a course to success in college and in the workforce, HE-BISD states.

Welcoming the news, Nand Kapoor, a former president of As-sociation of Indian Americans, said that the next step should be to offer other languages of India - languages like Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, etc.,- to the aspiring students as that would improve the under-standing to multi cultural and multi-linguist Indian society to the bastion of Western world.

Rajan Zed, the Chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Con-federation, commended HEBISD for offering Hindi and observed

besides learning the rich languag-es and culture of India, it would also make a good business sense to open-up the American children to India which is on a track to be-come a global power. Moreover, USA being a culturally diverse society, introducing languages of India would bring more cohesive-ness and harmony in the com-munities. In addition, American children of India-descent would be able to keep their languages, tradi-tions and culture alive and intact, Rajan added.

Congratulatiing the HEBISD

school management on its bold move, to take this step of intro-ducing the Indian national in the school curriculum, Gurbachan Kaur Neelam, president of newly set up Hindi Lovers Club in Chi-cago, observed that “this could be just the beginning. Once students and parents will see the advan-tages of knowing Hindi In abroad and India, other schools in differ-ent States will introduce Hindi in their schools. It’s really a proud moment of all of us at Hindi Lov-ers Club of Illinois.”

Sudakash Kapor, a front ranking member of Hindi Lovers Club, said that language is the soul of one’s cultural identity and sometimes it is sad that many in India are rush-ing to get their children learn Eng-lish at the expense of Hini or other Indian language. “The report that a School in Texas has taken initia-

tive to teach Hindi to its students should be n eye opener for many not only in this country but also in India,” she said.

“Today, China and India are powerful players in the global economy…Students in HEB ISD can get the competitive advantage by enrolling in Hindi or Mandarin Chinese classes”, district website states and lists Hindi among lan-guages “essential to success in a global marketplace”.

Hindustani is reportedly the fourth highly spoken language in the world after Chinese, Spanish and English and has more speak-ers than Arabic, Portuguese, Rus-sian, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, etc.

HEBISD, a K-12 public school district founded in 1958, has about 21 thousand students in its 26 schools spread in seven cities. It has sister schools in China and India, its pupils reportedly speak 72 languages, and about 51% of its students are economically dis-advantaged. Faye Beaulieu and Ellen Jones are President and Vice President respectively of HEBISD Board of Trustees while Dr. Gene Buinger is the Superintendent.

Indo-Americans Welcome Hindi in Texas School District



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Many Facets of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary

Youth Convention

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Seminar 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Facilitator Pravrajika Sitaprana,Vedanta Society of Southern California Santa Barbara Convent

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ouston Tollway

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Talks delivered by eminent Houstonians

2:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Vivekananda’s Message to the West Science and Technology in the Light of Vedanta Vivekananda’s Teachings Inspiring Today’s Youth Harmony of Religions Vivekananda's Idea of Service Role of Women in Society

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Lunch - 12:30 -1:30 pm

President: Swapna Chaudhuri For event details contactChaya Timmaraju 832 594 [email protected]

Register online by January 3, 2013 to participate in the Youth ConventionClick on the link provided on http:///www.houstonvedanta.org/

The Youth Convention is open to registered delegates 18+ in ageinterested in engaging in discussions on the above-mentioned topics

Join us in celebrating

Ayati Ghosh 713 623 [email protected]

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"My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like lions."..... Swami Vivekananda

Indian Scientist Missing in US: Says Mother

HYDERABAD (TOI): A woman in Andhra Pradesh has written to the ministry of external affairs for help in tracing her sci-entist son in the US who has not contacted her for nine years.

Orre Ramaswamy from Karimnagar dis-trict in Andhra Pradesh had gone to the US about 30 years ago. His mother Mallavya has written to the ministry of external af-fairs.

According to Mallavya, her son has not contacted her for the last nine years. The old woman also said that unable to bear the shock, her husband Rajaiah died a couple of years ago.

Hailing from Morapalli village of Jagityal ‘mandal’ (block), Ramaswamy visited his native village only thrice in three decades.

During his last visit, Ramaswamy had re-portedly shown the photograph of a woman from Chennai to his mother, stating that he was in love with her and was going to marry.

After doing his masters in science in 1971, Ramaswamy worked as scientist in various organisations at Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The scientist’s address in the US and other details were not available with the mother.


11 January 04, 2013 11January 04, 2013COMMUNITY

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well as more conservative inland communities. On the coast, bumper stickers reading “Keep Leucadia Funky” are borne proud-ly. Farther inland, cars are more likely to feature the Christian fish symbol, and large evangelical congre-gations play an important role in shaping local phi-losophy.

Opponents of the yoga classes have started an on-line petition to remove the course from the district’s curriculum. They have shown up at school board meetings to denounce the program, and Broyles has threatened to sue if the board does not address their concerns.

The district has stood firm. Tim Baird, the schools superintendent, has defended the yoga classes as merely another element of a broad-er program designed to promote children’s physical and mental well-being. The notion that yoga teachers have designs on convert-ing tender young minds to Hindu-ism is incorrect, he said.

“That’s why we have an opt-out clause,” Baird said. “If your faith

is such that you believe that simply by doing the gorilla pose, you’re invoking the Hindu gods, then by all means your child can be doing something else.”

Eady is not convinced.“Yoga poses are representative

of Hindu deities and Hindu stories about the actions and interactions of those deities with humans,” she said. “There’s content even in the movement, just as with baptism

Miriam Ruiz during a yoga class at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Encinitas, Calif. A few dozen parents are protesting that the program amounts to religious indoctrination.

there’s content in the movement.”Russell Case, a representative of

the Jois Foundation, said the par-ents’ fears were misguided.

“They’re concerned that we’re putting our God before their God,” Case said. “They’re worried about competition. But we’re much clos-er to them than they think. We’re good Christians that just like to do yoga because it helps us to be bet-ter people.”

School Yoga Class Draws Religious ProtestCONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

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The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi is brought to you courtesy Mahatma Gandhi Library. www.gandhilibrary.org

Gandhi Fights British Attempt to Divide HindusThe story thus far…Early

in 1932 Gandhi wanted to meet the new Viceroy, Lord Willlingdon, but the Viceroy made it clear that the days of negotiations were over. Gan-dhi informed the authorities that he was again starting a civil disobedience movement. The Viceroy thought it was a threat and had Gandhi arrest-ed and lodged in Yeravada Central Jail. Several other leaders and many followers of Gandhi were also arrested and jailed.

At home Gandhi found that the Government had returned to the policy of repression. Therewere widespread ar-rests and the Government seized the properties and bank balances of people and organizations who were hostile to their interests.

Early in 1932 Gandhi wanted to meet the new Viceroy, Lord Will-ingdon, but the Viceroy made it clear that the days of negotiation were over.

Gandhi informed the authorities that he was again starting a civil disobedience campaign.

The Viceroy thought it was a threat. He had Gandhi arrested and imprisoned in Yeravda Cen-tral Jail. Several other leaders and many of Gandhi’s followers were also arrested and sent to jail.

In March the struggle entered a new phase. Gandhi had always in-sisted that the untouchables were a part of the Hindus and must be treated as Hindus. Now, however, it was announced that the British proposed to set up separate voting for the untouchables.

That meant that untouchables could vote only for members of their own caste.

Gandhi regarded the Hindu reli-gion as one and indivisible. He saw the game the British were playing. It was an attempt to weaken Hindu society.

“Separate treatment of untouch-ables cannot be allowed,” Gandhi declared.

“Here is an attempt to make untouchability last forever. Un-less untouchability is destroyed we shall never have self-govern-ment.”

“But what can you do about this election law now?” asked a friend. “I can die,” was his prompt reply.

“I will resist this evil provision with my life.” Gandhi announced that he would soon start a fast unto death unless the plan for separate electorates was changed. The pub-lic announcement of his intention threw the country into panic.

The Indian leaders were shocked at Gandhi’s decision. Even Jawa-harlal Nehru thought that Gandhi was taking a drastic step on a side issue.

During the time between the announcement and the day when Gandhi’s fast was to begin, streams

of visitors arrived at Yeravada jail. The authorities, anxious to avoid any tragedy, allowed everyone to have free access to Gandhi. But all efforts to dissuade him from fast-ing unto death were of no avail. The die was cast.

Gandhi was going to fast. Rabin-dranath Tagore sent a telegram: “It is worth sacrificing precious life for the sake of India’s unity and her social integrity. Our sorrowing hearts will follow your sublime penance with reverence and love.”

Gandhi started his fast on Sep-tember 20, 1932. The first day of the fast was observed all over In-dia as a day of prayer and fasting. Many temples were opened to un-touchables and meetings were held all over India urging them removal of untouchability.

Outside the jail political activity came to a boil. Leaders of upper case Hindus and untouchables met and discussed various measures to try to arrive at a compromise that would satisfy Gandhi. Proposals and counterproposals were made

and considered.Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the most

powerful leader of the untouch-ables, met Gandhi and assured him that he would try his best to find a just solution. On the third day of the fast, Gandhi’s condition caused anxiety to all his friends. He was very weak and had to be carried to bathroom on a stretcher. His voice was feeble, his blood pressure was rising. The authorities grew pan-icky. They sent for Kasturba and allowed all his friends and follow-ers to be with him in jail.

On the fifth day of the fast, Hindu leaders finally reached an agreement and signed a pact that would do away with the separate electorates.

Gandhi, however, would not ac-cept the pact unless it had been ratified by the British rulers.

News came that the British had approved the pact; but still Gandhi

would not break his fast until he had seen the text of the approval.

The official document of the Brit-ish government’s approval to the pact came and Gandhi accepted it. Gandhi was released from prison in early 1933. Shortly thereafter he suspended the mass civil disobedi-ence movement but sanctioned in-dividual civil resistance resistance to the government’s policy of re-pression.

For the next seven years, Gan-dhi worked hard for the social and spiritual awakening of the people. Many leaders, including Nehru, did not approve of many of Gan-dhi’s activities. “But,” said Nehru, “how can I presume to advise a magician?”

Sabarmati Ashram had been seized by the government during the salt satyagraha. So Gandhi established a little retreat at Seva-gram near Wardha in Maharashtra. This became his headquarters.

New reforms sponsored by the government got little support from the people. However, many peo-ple, including Congress workers, wanted to try them out as a means of furthering the Swaraj move-ment.

In 1939, the Second World War broke out. England and France de-clared was on Nazi Germany.

Without consulting Indian lead-ers, Britain declared India also to be at war on the side of the allies.

Though Gandhi’s sympathies lay with the British, he believed that all violence was evil and therefore he would have nothing to do with the war effort. The Indian National Congress wanted to help Britain and fight on the side of the allies, but only as a free nation. But to grant India independence seemed ridiculous to Prime Minister Win-ston Churchill and his government. They had no intention of letting In-dia go by default.

Britain refused to accept the co-operation offered by the Congress.

As a protest, all the Congress ministries in the provinces re-signed. The government took over the administration and they too all measures that would help the was effort. Acting on the goodwill and restraint taught by Gandhi, the In-dian leaders showed no reaction.

However, events in Europe were having repercussions in India.

The Congress Working Commit-tee found itself unable to accept in its entirety Gandhi’s attitude to the war. In particular, they would not accept his view that the defence of India should not depend on the armed forces.

Congress leaders met several times in Gandhi’s room at Seva-gram and talked of their desire to start some action. Finally a pro-posal was put forward that all pro-vincial governments should join with the British authorities in the defence of India, but the British re-jected the offer.

To be continued


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HOUSTON: On December 31, Gujarati Samaj of Houston (GSH) had their New Year Eve party at Brenda’s Reception Hall on Beechnut. More than 200 people attended this New Year Dhamaka celebration, which had from 1 year old to Senior citizens dancing to the live band from India named Music Masti.

This year’s ticket price was only $35 that included dinner, live music including liquor and soft drinks.”We always keep the prices low, so that everyone can afford to attend and enjoy the event”, said GSH President Nisha Mirani.

People started to arrive at around 8pm and were greeted at the door by GSH committee members and ushered in the hall. The appetizers, fresh chat and chicken tikka made by Standard Sweets were served.

The program started with Nisha Mirani welcoming the guests. Then the performers of Music Masti took in charge of the stage and entertained the audience with foot tapping msic.

Hot and delicious Dinner pre-pared by Standard Sweets Restau-rant was served with hot Nan be-ing made at the premises. As the midnight was approaching, every-one was on the dance floor, party favors were given to each attend-ees and chilled champagne was ready to welcome the year 2013. At stroke of midnight everyone on the dance floor greeted the year

Gujarati Samaj of Houston Celebrates New Year

2013 with the best wishes and hugs and kisses to each other.This event was a team work of GSH committee members that include

Ajit Patel, Sapna Shah, Sanjay Chauhan, Niketan Pandya, Amrish Patel, Kalpesh Rana, Bharat Thakkar, Pares Patel and Rakesh Shah. The liquor was provided at no cost by Karnik Vyas of Hearts Liquor.

For complements or complaints, email [email protected]

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Name Change


15 January 04, 2013 15January 04, 2013

What’s Wrong with Indian Men?BY KALPANA SHARMA

NEW DELHI (The Hindu) Another hor-ror; another rape. This time in a moving bus; at a time of the night when people are still on the roads in Delhi; in a populated area and not some remote jungle. Each time you read news like that of the bestial gang rape of a 23-year-old para-medical student in Delhi, your senses are numbed. What is happening to us? What is this brutality we witness all so frequently now? Can it ever stop?

I doubt if we will find a satisfactory an-swer in the short run. But it is a question that more people need to talk about and de-bate and not be satisfied with the clichés, the usual solutions or even some unusual ones.

I spent last weekend in my old school, a place where I had five happy years before completing my schooling. It is an all-girls residential school with a substantial propor-tion of day students. Our memories of our school days, when some of us met again after many decades, were those of the fun times, the carefree years, of a place where we felt safe and were not inhibited from ex-pressing our views. Of course, the very fact of a compulsory school uniform imposed a level of conformism but even within that girls found ways to assert individual person-alities — a tuck here, a stitch there. And hair always remained the ultimate expression of rebelliousness — refusing to be neat was the preferred statement of individualism.

All these years later, the girls in that school still wear the same school uniform but they have changed, as has the world

around them. They exude the same confi-dence some of us did. I want to be a Cordon Bleu chef, one girl told me. Another said she wants to be a lawyer — but with the army. Another became really excited when I men-tioned I was a journalist. Clearly, for these girls no career is out of reach.

Yet, reading about the Delhi incident, I thought about these young women who are on the verge of stepping out into another world, away from the relatively safe envi-ronment of an all-girls school. With modern communication and social networking, they are not as secluded as perhaps we were in our days when even contact with the boys in the school across the boundary wall was frowned upon. Today, girls have Facebook friends and are daring enough to meet them even if all they know about them is what these young men choose to put on their “profile”. I am told that often it is girls from

the most conserva-tive homes who take such bold chances and end up in all kinds of trouble.

Yet, whether it was our generation jump-ing the boundary wall to meet boys or this lot setting up meet-ings through social networking sites, the compulsions are the same. But is the world a more dangerous place today for young women than it was in

our days? If so, how does one prepare them for it?

The predictable formula is to urge them always to be vigilant, to be careful, not to take unnecessary chances. Against the back-ground of the recent spate of sexual crimes against women in Mumbai, the Joint Com-missioner of Police (Crime) in Mumbai, Himanshu Roy, had this to say: “The most obvious method of preventing such crimes is that women should be aware of their en-vironment. This does not mean that they should be suspicious of all their male rela-tives, friends or colleagues, but it would be wrong to assume that none of these will ever harm them.” In effect, he was suggesting that the onus of preventing the crimes is re-ally on women. Roy needs to be reminded that the job of the police and law enforce-ment is not to tell women what they should do, but to do their own job more effectively.

At the same time, many believe the prob-lem will be tackled if the government, law enforcement and society at large figure out how to “protect” these girls from violence. The courts have suggested more policing, asking for plainclothes women police in malls, cinema halls and public places, with closed circuit cameras. But are women safer in a police state? Can we really “protect” women in a society where they can experi-ence the worst forms of sexual violence in-side their homes?

Furthermore, even if there are men who genuinely try and “protect” women and in-tervene, they do not succeed. In the Delhi incident, the girl’s male companion was mercilessly beaten and thrown out of the bus. In Mumbai, men who tried to intervene were murdered. So who will “protect” the protectors?

A male reader of these columns sug-gested that we should not focus exclusively on women and instead we needed to make more of an effort to understand men and what drives them to such violence. Without justifying the violence, he felt it was a com-bination of repression and suppression that drove Indian men to such levels of violence. He might have a point. We have not looked at Indian men, at what is happening to them, what is turning some of them into people who would be better off caged.

These are troubling questions. There are no easy answers. We can begin by debat-ing and discussing this issue much more than we do, in our schools and colleges, in the columns of our newspapers, and in our families.

OPINION


January 04, 201316 January 04, 201316 INDIABY RAJ KANWAR

IAN INDIA CORRESPONDENT“What is a rape, Mummy?”, a 6-year

old girl asks of her mother. What reply would you give if you were the mother or grandmother? I kept on pondering on this dilemma. What reply would I give if my granddaughter were to ask me such a blunt question? Unfortunately, the R-word has today become a staple diet of newspapers and news channels in India. Unhappily, the ‘balatkar’ is now one of the most discussed about and commented upon topics. On the ticker tape of a reputed Hindi news chan-nel on Tuesday, five out of 10 top headlines related to rape. In my long and somewhat chequered 60-year plus career as a journal-ist, with a 30-year hiatus as businessman, I had never even once covered a rape occur-rence. To tell the truth, I don’t remember if the incidents of rapes used to occur in those early days. If at all there were some, those were hardly ever covered in newspapers, and even perhaps the unfortunate victims even did not lodge a police report, possibly due to the stigma that it would bring. I won’t sit on judgement if that was a good or bad thing. The sum and substance, however, is that the R-word, if at all then known, was unmentionable like the F-word.

For all of us in India, it has been soul-searching and emotionally surcharged of a fortnight following the gang rape on 16 December in New Delhi of a 23-year old woman. She was not only brutally raped but also mercilessly beaten up by half a dozen ‘hoodlums’ in a moving bus; her male-companion too was severely assaulted when he had courageously protested against the

criminal high-handedness of the gang. The two were then thrown out of a running bus on that cold wintry night, left to die.

For the following 10 days this nameless and faceless young woman bravely wrestled against a looming death, first in the Saf-darjung Hospital and later in Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital; but despite the best medical attention and treatment by some of the reputed doctors in India and Singapore, she lost the battle of life. For her hapless and helpless parents, it had been an agonizing fortnight; their trauma and suffer-ing were very heart-wrenching. All this trag-edy was too much for the mother who had, in fact, put all of her hopes and expectations in her young and brilliant daughter; the wail-ing mother collapsed and fell unconscious on Saturday more than once and had had to be shifted to a hospital in Delhi from where she was discharged later that evening. What adds more pathos to this tragedy is the fact that her brave daughter had almost graduated in physiotherapy from a Dehra Dun institute and had even secured a job in Delhi. She had

even planned to marry the young man who was her brave companion on the bus on that fateful night.

What really surprised the few onlookers was the unexpected presence of Prime Min-ister, Manmohan Singh with his entourage and UPA’s chairperson Sonia Gandhi at that unearthly hour at Indira Gandhi International Airport when the chartered aircraft carrying her mortal remains from Singapore landed at 3.30 am. The whole scene looked bizarre, to say the least. The UPA top leaders were mistaken if they had thought that their mere presence at the airport would earn them some brownie points. On the contrary, their so-called gesture of support and sympathy to the bereaved family was too little too late.

Her cremation in Dwarka, a Delhi neigh-borhood, was a hush-hush affair. The admin-istration unnecessarily panicked and wanted to cremate the woman even before the sun rose. Her relatives protested saying that cre-mation should not take place before sun rise. Eventually, the pyre was lit by her father at 7.30 a.m. A large number of policemen and members of the Rapid Action Force in anti-riot gear guarded the area and kept a close vigil. No outsiders and private individuals were allowed in. The entire cremation rituals were watched by the parents, relatives and some close friends of the deceased besides of course Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dixit, minister of state for home RPN Singh and surprisingly by the president of BJP’s Delhi state unit.

Many touching and emotional scenes were witnessed at the New Delhi’s historic Jantar Mantar monument on Saturday. The day-night non-stop long vigil with lit candles by

Mass Grief Grips India as Delhi Gang Rape Victim Diesthousands of young and not so young men and women on that cold December night was symbolic of their protest; they prayed for the young woman who was fighting a losing battle in the famed Singapore Hospital. The images of that vigil on news channels ap-peared somewhat skewed; police barricades were turned into makeshift beds. There was a hushed silence when the news of the death of the rape victim came in those early hours of Sunday. The mass of protestors turned into devout mourners; black bands covered their mouths in silence grief. Strangely, the collective silence of that mass of spontane-ous gathering sounded so very deafening. The images on the news channels of those grief stricken mourners at Jantar Mantar looked really weird.

The mass anger amply manifested at the Jantar Mantar and elsewhere could not have been generated by that isolated tragic gang rape on that fateful night of 16 December. Rape is a recurring crime in most parts of India and thousands of trials of their perpe-trators have been going on in Indian courts at snail pace, with most of the accused either getting acquitted or getting away cheaply. All this shows that the laws against rape are not so deterrent. Then why such mas-sive protests against this particular incident? Perhaps, this tsunami of helpless rage and anger was the cumulative effect of and out-pourings against the callous and effeminate attitude of the successive governments at the Centre and in the states. This grotesque incident on the night of 16 December was perhaps like the last straw that broke the camel’s back and led to unprecedented mass rage and spontaneous protests.

R-word has now become staple diet of Indian media

Indian protesters hold banners and wear black ribbons during a rally following the cremation of a gang-raped victim.


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BY JESSE MCKINLEYAnyone who has seen Ayad Akhtar’s

drama “Disgraced,” at the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center knows the Big Scene: an explosive dinner party featuring a rainbow of character types — a Muslim, a white woman, a Jew-ish man, his African-American wife — whose verbal combat can make even starving audience members lose their appetite. At the center of the ac-tion is Aasif Mandvi as Amir, a suc-cessful Pakistani-American lawyer whose ethnic background has sud-denly caused problems at work.

Mandvi — the 46-year-old actor, writer and comedic correspondent on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” — has earned fi ne reviews for his performance, which comes 14 years after he made a splash in “Sakina’s Restaurant,” a one-man show that won him an Obie award. Like Amir, Mandvi — who was born in Mumbai and raised in England — is a Mus-lim, though he says that similarities between him and his character basi-cally end there. (“I’m not a lawyer in a Jewish law fi rm,” he said.)

Mandvi discussed the reactions his charged performance elicits, his own feelings about America’s understand-ing of Islam, and the compromises that sometimes come with being “a brown actor.” These are excerpts from the conversation.

What’s it like to stand on stage during the dinner party scene? Do you hear people gasp?

What I love about the play is its bravery. I haven’t seen a play take on these issues, with such muscularity, and what’s wonderful about it is that you start the show some nights, and it’s like a Neil Simon play. People are just waiting to laugh. But by the time the play gets to the meat of it, you kind of always end up in the same place, with this kind of uncomfortableness, because the audience is not ever allowed to settle into a comfortable place where they understand who the good people are and who the bad people are, who they agree with and who they don’t agree with. They constantly are forced to shift those alliances.

Have you ever been to a dinner party like that?

Thank God, I have not.Do you ever get angry reactions

from audience members?What I found mostly is that people’s

reactions tell them more about them-selves than it does about the play. I mean, I had a Muslim friend say to me one time that the Jewish character on stage was the only one telling the truth. And I had a Jewish friend say to me that the Muslim character on stage was the only one telling the truth. And I had a friend of mine, a producer from “The Daily Show,” a Jewish guy, come to me and say, I identify with your character in the play and his tribal identity because I have that same reaction when I walk around New York at Christmastime as a Jew.

Why did you decide to do the play?

I got this script two years ago — Ayad sent it to me, and he said, “Look, I’ve written this play and I want you to read it and tell me what you think.” He partly sent it to me because he was interested in me doing the role and I think he partly sent it to me as a fellow Muslim-American and some-body who understood the character of Amir in a way that other people might not. When I read it, I called him back and said: “This is tremendous. And really brave and really scary to put this kind of character on stage.”

It’s also rare as — to be honest — as a brown actor in America, whether you are in Hollywood or whether you are in New York, it’s very rare to fi nd a role that has this much sophistication and nuance.

Wasn’t there a play called “Saki-na’s Restaurant” that had a bunch of South Asian characters in it?

Right, exactly. I was going to say the last time I read a role this interest-ing for a brown actor I had written it for myself (Laughs).

That was 1998. What’s different now?

Back then, Americans really didn’t

know what a Muslim was. I made a joke actually in “Sakina’s Restaurant” that one of the characters con-fuses Muslim with muslin and thinks that a Muslim is a type of cloth. That has changed — I’m not saying that Americans are any more educated about Islam. I think they are equally as igno-rant, but they are defi nitely more aware of the Muslim world and the belief and the geopolitics of that part of the world in relation to America.

How similar are you and Amir, your character?

He comes from a much more traditional fundamen-tal conservative family than I or even Ayad Ahktar does. But I do identify with the disassociation from one’s culture.

How so?It’s not that I cover up

cultural identity, but it is true that I avoid conversations about Israel and Palestine, you know? And there is a

sense of, like every South Asian immigrant actor can tell you, that on some level in the course of my career you have

compromised the integrity of your ethnicity in some way to get ahead. I have put on the accent and nodded my head side to side and played a stupid cabdriver or deli owner or something. I think that Amir — in a different life, in a different career — has kind of played along with the game, too.

Do you think your success — and the play — will lead to other Muslim-American performers and writers getting a shot in the mainstream?

I hope so because what’s wonderful about this play is that it is a play about today. It’s a play about the conversa-tion that people are having behind closed doors in the world today. One of the big things the Republicans learned from the 2012 election is that America is not a homogenized coun-try. It is a country of Muslims, Jews, gays, blacks, Latinos, immigrants, whatever. This play shows that iden-tity and is refreshing to see.

It’s a similar sort of thing that maybe “Death of a Salesman” did in the ’50s, where it’s like: This is America now. And I feel like this play does that in a way. This is America in 2012.

‘This is America Now’: Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi stars as Amir in “Disgraced” by Ayad Akhtar, at the Claire Tow Theater. Photo: Sara Krulwich

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January 04, 201318

®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: [email protected], website: indoamerican-news.com

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January 04, 201318 EDITORIALHouston Indian community’s social calendar began on a lavish

scale on the night of December 31 with the wedding reception for Nikita Malani and Atman Shukla. More than 1,100 of Houston’s India glitterati were there to see and be seen for the reception hosted by the bride’s parents Jugal and Raj Malani, the co-owners of Unique Industrial Product Company in Sugar Land.

The guests enjoyed the great hospitality, delightful banquet food and zestful music to usher in the new year. The platinum nuptial was a shot in the arm for the local wedding industry from the hotel to the planners, caterers, fl orists, DJs, photographers and videographers.

The Malanis are great patrons of the community and eagerly support a vast range of charitable causes, religious festivities and creative arts programs. Notable among them is India House com-munity center. Many are endowed with wealth, but few have the generosity to share their good fortune with their community.

BY INDRAJIT HAZRAThe horror that one human can

unleash on another is sometimes impossible to gauge. The usual tools of measurement—descriptions, sta-tistics, comparisons, reactions—fail. All one is left with is an anti-exagger-ation of not only how much a human can suffer at a very individual level, but also how much a human is capable of causing incredible suffering.

‘Rape’, or ‘gang rape’ with its de-scription of a venal ‘pack’ mindset, doesn’t come anywhere close to de-scribing the hell that descended on the 23-year-old woman on the evening of December 16 in Delhi. The hell that descended on the victim’s male friend, who was also attacked by the six maniacs and was made to witness the brutal assault on the woman, is of a different order. But if the victim’s pain is incomprehensible to us, her friend’s emotion is somewhat more palpable. It is of helpless, rageful impotence.

Since the media started covering the news, we have followed all pos-sible narratives that have sprung out of this single source of horror - from the blame-game between the Delhi Police and the Delhi government, the death of a police constable in the clashes with the ‘anti-rape’ mob, to the victim being fl own to Singapore to save her life and the ensuing debate about whether only medical reasons led to the decision. One narrative is glaring in its absence: the statutory announcement of a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on sexual crimes.

The police take sexual violence as seriously as drivers across India take zebra crossings. FIRs are routinely discouraged, evidence is destroyed crippling most cases even before they go to trial, and victims are given the short-shrift at police stations - that is, if they aren’t shooed away. A 17-year-old rape victim in Patiala who killed herself last week after running from pillar to post to seek justice since November, faced policemen who not only tried to dismiss her case, but also humiliated her by calling her at the police station at nights and asking her pointlessly suggestive questions. And if a victim is from below a certain socio-economic class, the police are sure to, at best, treat her complaint as a waste of time, or, at worst, humiliate

her further. We live in a country where a ‘Vande

Mataram’ mother-devotion fetish covers up a cult of misogyny. The belief that ‘the woman asked for it’ is hardwired not only in men but also in women. Mothers refuse to hear their daughters complain about any family member abusing them. Instead, the girls are taught to ‘adjust’ by shutting up as if nothing happened. If a woman was drinking and was out ‘late’, that becomes an ‘invitation’ for sex. If she’s wearing ‘revealing clothes’, that’s as good as consent. The truth is, far too many men and women think that ‘women ask for it’ by simply be-ing women. So, women, not brutish torturers, ‘cause’ rape.

What Next?Super ShadiLast week, in another state with

a woman chief minister, a theatre personality insisted that the February rape case in Kolkata shouldn’t be seen in the same light as the Delhi rape. “The girl in the Park Street case got into a car on her own accord at mid-night. In Delhi, the incident took place in a public vehicle (sic) at 9.30,” she said. When did consent to travel with anyone at a late hour become a good enough reason to be raped?

This is a country where the Ra-mayan story of Sita’s agni pariksha (fi re purifi cation test) to prove that she wasn’t ‘tainted’ teaches us to see even the perceived victim as the source of the problem. Ravan, even if he had ‘touched’ Sita, would have just been one more example of ‘boys being boys’. Sita would have ended up being a fallen woman.

Sexual violence is unleashed on faceless women by faceless men regularly. We won’t ever know how most recorded cases rank in the hier-archy of horrors. The rape of a Dalit woman, or of a girl in a city slum, or of a child inside a home is, alas, a standard event in a standard clichè. But the Delhi rape (its victim could have been you or your loved one) has the power of using its visibility and the way its brutality has scared, enraged and shamed us, to force the law to take the complaint of every victim seriously.

Changing the mindset of misogy-nistic India will take eons. And the angry mob will soon move on to something else that will disgust it. Which is why Sheila Dikshit must order a ‘zero tolerance’ policy and make an example of this case that’s sickened even this fatalistic nation. (Delhi also needs functioning street lighting, stretches of the city being covered in darkness, a preferred prop like dark screens on car windows for potential perpetrators. It also needs more public transport vehicles like autos willing to ferry stranded com-muters at night.)

But above all, we need law en-forcers who must be charged with criminal neglect if they fail to take effective action against rapists. For, it’s only by making the scum run scared that one can clean the scum off the streets. HT

We live in a country where a ‘Vande Mataram’ mother-devotion fetish covers up a cult of misogyny. The belief that ‘the woman asked for it’ is hardwired not only in men but also in women. Mothers refuse to hear their daughters complain about any family member abusing them. Instead, the girls are taught to ‘adjust’ by shutting up as if nothing happened.

Women in Our Lives As we mourn the demise of the young Delhi gang rape victim,

we can acknowledge the growing presence of women in all aspects of modern life from political to social and commercial. One of the last preserves of males is sports journalism. I note with pride two special journalists: Tania Ganguly is one of the sportswriters covering the Houston Texans NFL football team for The Houston Chronicle and Sharda Ugra, senior editor for ESPNCricinfo. Ugra has written a masterful analysis of the Indian cricket team during 2012 (see page 19).

It is all but impossible to explain the horrifi c actions of the Delhi rapists. But one wonders if there is one minor factor in the social segregation of young boys and girls in the lower classes. Some misfi ts grow up seeing women purely as objects of desire. If the boys and girls grow up getting to know each other as real human beings, discussing school topics, sports, etc., it may make a slight difference.

Another factor is group psyche. An individual will not dare embark on a anti-social or criminal course of action that he would readily join as part of a rowdy group. There is no easy solution for gang terror and the actions of deranged individuals.

The Delhi gang rape has been a catalyst for community action. A case in point:

GUWAHATI: A prominent Congress leader of lower Assam, who is the chief coordinator of the party in Bodoland Territorial Council area, has been accused by a woman of attempt to rape in her house at Salbari in Chirang district on Wednesday.

The accused politician Bikrmasingh Brahma was the Congress candidate from Sapaguri assembly constituency in Baksa district in the 2011 assembly election which he lost.

The villagers of Salbari beat up the politician before handing him over to police. Though he has not yet been arrested, but he is in police custody.

Jaya Bachchan wipes her tears during a candle light rally to pay tribute to the Delhi gangr rape victim.


19 January 04, 2013 19January 04, 2013SPORTS

BY SHARDA UGRA “There’s something

happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound ... Everybody look what’s going down”

-- “For What It’s Worth”, Buffalo Spring-fi eld, 1967

This is about Indian cricket in 2012, right? So who the blizzards is Buf-falo? How many Tests did he play? Between the entire band, zero. Their 45-year-old song, though, does talk about the environment around the Indian team in 2012.

The Test team’s results went dramatically south-wards in 2011, and defeat to England at home in 2012 was the denoue-ment no one was waiting for. This was India’s fi rst defeat in a home series in eight years, the fi rst time to England at home in 28.

In the shorter game, though, India at least won more than they lost. In ODIs, the record before the series against Pakistan was nine wins, six defeats in 16 matches. Fourteen T20 internationals yielded eight wins and six defeats.

In Tests, all numbers and hopes stood upended. Three wins, five losses, one draw from nine Tests. India’s year began with three straight defeats in Australia, was followed many months later with a 2-0 soft-focus victory over New Zealand, and ended with a 1-2 bucket of cold water over the head against England at home.

Through half of 2011 and most of 2012, the Test team suffered a cringe-inducing year-long denial disorder. The side’s virtues were rap-idly depleted due to a condition that has many euphemisms - transition, generational change, consolidation. The margins of defeat served as reminders of blunter truths - innings and 68, innings and 37, 298 runs, ten wickets, seven wickets. Still, captain Dhoni believes a Test series defeat

at home is “not even close” to being knocked out of the 2007 World Cup. The young players coming through into the Indian dressing room today deserve both extra attention and some sympathy.

From December 2009 to Septem-ber 2011, India loved being World No. 1 in Tests. They must now ac-cept the ICC’s current assessment that they are the No. 5 Test team in the world.

This ranking implies that India’s Test cricket can safely get them past West Indies and New Zealand in Tests at home. Send them away to Sri Lanka and who knows. They haven’t won a series there since 1993. There are only nine points between Nos. 5 and 6. Were the World Test championships already in place with the criteria that only the world’s top four nations can contest, India as they stand today would not make the cut.

The openers’ run of partnerships this year is: 0, 18, 4, 24, 26, 14 (in Aus-tralia), 49, 5, 77 (against New Zealand at home), 134, 4, 30, 47, 86 and 1 (against England at home.) With the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman (thank you, gentlemen), In-

dia’s Test middle order is now with-out two of the most experienced and successful players in its history. Its most prolifi c and most experienced run scorer, Sachin Tendulkar, is in the middle of a deep form funk. When up against batsmen of calibre, India’s spin-twins, Pragyan Ojha and R Ash-win, who took 73 wickets in their fi rst fi ve Tests together, struggled even at home against England. Zaheer Khan was sent back to fi rst-class cricket, but his replacements are dogged by injuries.

As an ODI team, India’s mettle out-side its comfort zone was tested once in 2012, when the world champions played the CB Series in Australia at the start of the year. Winners in 2008, they ended up with a 3-4 result from eight matches and missed out on the fi nal. In the subcontinent they scored a 4-1 series win over Sri Lanka and failed in their defence of the Asia Cup, winning two of three matches in Bangladesh but not making the fi nal. The next test of the depth and strength of the Indian ODI team will come only in the 2013 Champions Trophy, in England.

Two days before Christmas, Ten-

All Tunnel, No LightIn 2012, India sank to nadirs long unvisited, and the future doesn’t look much better than bleak either

dulkar announced his retirement from ODIs and gave the selectors a chance to get the team ready for the 2015 World Cup in Australia. Central to that team’s chances will be the growth of Virat Kohli, whose batting pro-duced sustained, consis-tent impact for India in 2012. Kohli scored 1026 runs from 17 ODIs in the year. Of these he was central to six successful run-chases in 11 matches when India batted second, hitting three of a total of fi ve 2012 centuries when batting second, at a strike rate above 98.

Given that T20 is held responsible for much of India’s other failings, In-dia’s current standing in T20 internationals can, at best, be called weak.

After winning the 2007 World Twenty20, they have not qualifi ed for the

semi-fi nals in the next three editions. Pakistan, whose players are stead-fastly held off from competing in the cash-dizzy IPL, have made all four semi-fi nals and two fi nals since 2007. Sri Lanka have fought their way into the last three semi-fi nals and played in two fi nals.

Overall these are skewed T20 re-sults for India, regardless of weather, the fates and other international con-spiracies that Prop-Comm may want dished out as reasons. In 2012, India tied three two-match T20 series, in Australia, and against England and Pakistan at home.

In 2012, India became somewhat precious in their cricket. They asked for too much - perfect wickets, per-fect umpiring, ideal weather, dream combinations, pliant opposition - and gave of themselves far too little.

When faced with adversity, the team’s approach had the strength and resolve of candyfl oss. When the list of conditions needed to win a match began to exceed the Indian team’s individual skills and its collective spirit, excuse replaced reason.

A review of India’s 2012 in Test

Symptomatic of the Indian team’s performance during 2012, MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 113 in sapping conditions in Chennai proved insuffi cient for India, as Pakistan registered a six-wicket win on Dec. 30.

cricket sounds much like the 2011 version. Same old same old. Except, in the year ahead, there won’t be much of the old to lean back on - ei-ther for runs or wickets and/or target practice.

High pointA head-scratcher. When any team

suffers an ear-splittingly loud bad time, it can result only in a desperate hunt for “positives”. In this case, for India it is the return of Cheteshwar Pujara: to international cricket, the playing XI, with quality and general composure on many burning decks. Three centuries in the year, two versus England, including a 24-carat 135 in Mumbai. Swann and Panesar were handled with a clear head and swift feet, and Pujara wasn’t easily sucked into a short-ball-pull-shot dismissal. Low point

The 1-2 to England, and particu-larly the defeat in Mumbai. It was preceded by a moaning about the Ahmedabad wicket not deserving an-other look. A fi rst-day jumping turner was duly produced and the toss won. But from then on, India were found fl at-footed.

By the England spin twins, Swann and Panesar, who picked up 17 of the 20 Indian wickets, and the deliberate tread of the England captain, Alastair Cook. Mumbai was distinctly starlit by Kevin Pietersen, who takes to the big stage like children do to Pokemon. It was the match that knocked the fi ght out of India. Said fi ght didn’t turn up until one day in dreary Nagpur.

What 2013 holdsThe dream of a turnaround against

Australia at home, if the selectors are able to give the team the shake-up it needs. The series could act as the mixing bowl needed before the right contenders are picked to head out to South Africa at the end of the year.

This could be a year of momentous departures too: the ultimate winding down of Tendulkar’s international career; and another hinted at by MS Dhoni, who said he might quit “one format at the end of 2013” to take the team to the 2015 World Cup. Well, well, well.

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo.


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BY JESSE MCKINLEYNEW DELHI (NYT) As a certifi ed

butler from the Taj Hotels training program in New Delhi, Anupam Guha says he has waited on all man-ner of esteemed personages, includ-ing the former British prime minister Tony Blair (“a dignifi ed man, ” he said, “with a very soft human heart”) and Aga Khan IV (a fan of sweets, to whom Guha served sugarcoated strawberries).

Of late, however, Guha has brought his remarkably servile skill set to the United States, as part of a new “royal attaché service” at the Pierre hotel on Fifth Avenue. The service, started in July, promises guests at the ho-tel’s 11 Grand Suites, which can run anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 a night, almost unlimited access to Guha and two other immaculately trained Indian associates, all of whom sport white gloves, perfect posture and clipped colonial accents.

“The main thing in our job is not to simply deliver something but how attractively we can deliver it,” Guha said. “It’s all about royalty.”

The regal treatment includes allevi-ating minor annoyances and prepping little perks — unpacking bags, fi xing a shoelace, delivering a smoothie — as well as providing more refi ned pleasures like a royal bath: precisely heated, expertly drawn, and fi lled with things like Pink Pepperpod bath gel and Celestial Maracuja Sugar Polish. (Note: the attachés prepare the bath but do not provide the scrub-bing.)

As the eldest of the three-man team, Guha. 29, said, he is fl uent in 22 subjects related to fi ve-star dot-ing, which include in-room dining, knowledge of international customs and, of course, complaint handling. His skills also extend to fi xing the remote, getting spots off the carpet and something called “power dress-ing.” Guha says that his primary role, however, is to act as a super-effi cient liaison between the guest and the hotel staff — part fi xer, part personal assistant, and all yes-man.

“I would never consider a request to be bizarre; we always say it’s chal-lenging,” Guha said. “I have always been taught that guest is god, and god cannot have a bizarre request.”

It’s a job that also includes being a “friend away from friends” for trav-elers, Guha said, albeit a friend who keeps an intricate in-house dossier on

everything from what kind of mat-tress you like to how you take your coffee. Indeed, part of the advertised appeal of the attachés is that “even unspoken wishes are intuited,” some-thing Guha said is accomplished by keen observation of the guests’ likes and dislikes.

“The royal attaché is not the person who is doing the thing but is main-taining the profi le of the guest,” he said. “We are multiskilled persons: detectives, doctors, engineers, you can call us anything. And we can be anything.”

And sure enough, it seems being a good butler can resemble being a really nice college roommate, right down to making late-night pizza runs — “Absolutely I would,” Guha said — as well as listening, discreetly, to worldly woes.

“If someone wants to share any-thing with you, his or her experiences with you, you should be a wall which doesn’t allow other people to hear it,” Guha said. “Once the royal attaché steps outside the suite, he is like a clean blackboard.”

And if there are tears, he said, he is ready with a hankie. “And if the handkerchief is too small,” he joked, “I can even open up my jacket. That’s why I have multiple uniforms.”

Such elegant obsequiousness is a staple of butler training in India, where the Pierre’s parent company —

Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces — is based, and where Guha, who hails from the eastern city of Jamshedpur, trained. Last year, he and his two fel-low attachés, Rishabh Jain, 22, and Sujoy Choudhury, 24, were selected to come to the United States from a pool of thousands of other candidates, and spent six months training for their New York debut.

Since arriving, they’ve been much in demand at the hotel, but have found some time for outside activi-ties. Jain, for example, has gone sky diving and is learning keyboard and Spanish. Choudhury, his roommate, has taken up playing pool on a down-town team. And Guha visited Niagara Falls, though he admits to missing his wife of four years, who is still living in India.

But appropriately enough, he seems to keep a stiff upper lip. Asked what he would request if he were to stay in a Grand Suite, Guha seemed be-mused.

“I am the person who delivers,” Guha said with a laugh. “I am not the person who wishes. I have never thought on that: Who would be ask-ing me on my wish?”

Well, just what if?“My personal preferences are very

minimal,” he said. “You can give me hard mattress or soft mattress at the end of the day. I am tired, and I should be sleeping.”

Where an Attaché Comes With the Room

Butlers are now part of the Pierre’s luxury suites. From left, Anupam Guha, Sujoy Choudhury and Rishabh Jain. Photo: Librado Romero

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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes21January 04, 2013PUZZLES/RECIPES

Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dish-es made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young wom-an in her an-cestral home

in Lyallpur, India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition. People have often admired her cook-ing for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her mid-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable recipes.

KARELA KI SABZI (BITTER-MELON DISH-ES)

Here is a vegetable that originated in In-dia and was carried into China in the 14th century. Kar-ela (bittermelon or also bitter gourd) is found and cooked everywhere in India and there are many recipes for it. It is known to have many medicinal uses like treating stomach complaints to pre-venting malaria and fi ghting cancer due to the antioxidants in the vegetable.

One of the chief benefits to eating karela is that it can help to lower blood sugar and therefore help in fi ghting diabetes. It can also help those who want to lose weight.

Karela can be cooked many ways in the Punjab, each depending on the amount of time you want to spend and also the amount of bitterness that is to your taste. The recipes I usually make are for bharre karela (stuffed karela); karela chips; karela ki bhurji (scrambled karela) and rasbeena karela.

BHARRE KARELA (STUFFED KARELA) with or without salt

Ingredients: • Fresh karela. Choose the green

ones, not too yellow; not too fat either

• In a cup mix the following to taste:

• namak (salt), mirch (red pepper), haldi (turmeric), amchoor (mango powder) and sukha dhania powder (dried coriander seed powder)

• Two table spoons of vegetable or olive oil

• Half cup of plain dahi (yogurt)• Two table spoons of water• Several small peeled onions

For easier cooking use one large

onion, peeled and sliced instead of the small onions.

For those on salt restricted diets, the amchoor and dahi can substitute for the salt fl avor.

Directions:• Wash the karela well then dry

lightly.• Peel the karela and keep the peels

aside as we will use them for the kar-ela ki bhurji recipe (see next week).

• Rinse the peeled karela and then make a deep slit lengthwise down the middle, but do not cut all the way through.

• Pry the karela open and with a small teaspoon, stuff the masala mixture in the slit. A folk recipe is to tie the karelas with a short string to keep the masala in. Another variation is to brown the karelas fi rst without the masala, then slit then and fi ll them with the masala.

• Slit the onions crosswise and also stuff with the masala mixture.

• Heat the oil in a karahi (wok) and place the stuffed karelas in. Brown one side then the other, careful not to spill the masala. Now remove the string if you had used it.

• Pour in the yogurt and the wa-ter, stir and cover the wok for ten minutes.

• When the water has dried but there is still some yogurt left, add the onions, stir and cover again for 5 minutes. A variation is to brown the onions fi rst then place the karelas on top of the onions and then cover the wok until everything is tender.

• For best results, the karelas should be a little crispy on the outside, but be careful not to burn them. Enjoy with roti and some plain yogurt.

Next week: the three remaining karela dishes!


January 04, 201322 January 04, 201322

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Indo American News Fall 2012.indd 1 12/4/12 9:17 AM

SRINAGAR (Outlook India): Northern Railways today made history as the fi rst train chugged through India’s longest railway tun-nel through the Pir Panjal mountain range, connecting Kashmir Valley to Banihal town on Srinagar-Jammu National highway.

The train on a trial run, arrived at Banihal station from Qazigund in Anantnag district of Kashmir, was witnessed by hundreds of local resi-dents of this highway town.

The train chugged in at the station amidst thunderous applause from the people, who had assembled here to witness the historic achievement of Indian railways.

The trial run was scheduled to be conducted yesterday but had to be postponed following protests by residents of villages falling along Qazigund-Banihal railway link, who were demanding a one-minute halt station for the train at Hillad village.

The protesters, backed by a local politician, tried to block the track to-day again but were persuaded by the civil administration offi cials to allow the train to pass.

A P Mishra, member of the Railway Board, said the train services between Banihal and Kashmir Valley will start

Kashmir Valley Gets New Rail Connection

in February or March next year while the entire railway project connecting the Valley with the rest of the country will be completed by 2017.

While the Baramulla-Srinagar-Qazigund link is functional for the past four years, this was the fi rst time that a train has crossed the mighty Pir Panjal Mountain range.

The highlight of the Qazigund-Banihal link is the 11.21 km tunnel – the longest railway tunnel in India, which has reduced the distance be-tween the two towns by 50 per cent.

The tunnel, which was constructed by Hindustan Construction Corpora-tion, will reduce the travel distance between Qazigund and Banihal from

35 km (by road) to just 17.5 km.The Pir Panjal tunnel, which is

the second longest in Asia, is a vital link in the Railway dream project of connecting Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu region.

The tunnel is 8.40 metres wide with a height of 7.39 metres. There is a provision of a three metre wide road along the length of the tunnel for the purpose of maintenance and emergency relief.

The rail link will provide an alterna-tive link between Kashmir and rest of the country as Srinagar-Jammu National Highway gets blocked regu-larly due to heavy snowfall during winter months.

The Northen Railway train on a trial run, approaches Banihal station from Qazigund


23 January 04, 2013

IndoAmerican News

Friday, June 10, 2011 www.indoamerican-news.com

IndoAmerican News

Friday, June 10, 2011 www.indoamerican-news.com

Businesswww.indoamerican-news.com

IndoAmerican News

STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY

Friday January 04, 2013

127

An Idea Promised the Sky, but India is Still Waiting

A prototype tablet is assembled at a DataWind site in Montreal. The company’s plan to invigorate India’s electronics manufacturing by producing low-cost tablets for students has gone awry. Photo: Christinne Muschi

BY PAMPOSH RAINA, IAN AUSTEN & HEATHER TIMMONS

NEW DELHI (NYT): The idea was, and still is, captivating: in 2011, the Indian government and two Indi-an-born tech entrepreneurs unveiled a $50 tablet computer, to be built in India with Google’s free Android software. The government would buy the computers by the millions and give them to its schoolchildren.

Enthusiasts saw the plan as a way to bring modern touch-screen comput-ing to some of the world’s poorest people while seeding a technology manufacturing industry in India. Le-gions of customers placed advance orders for a commercial version of the tablet, thrilled at the prospect of owning tangible proof that India was a leader in “frugal innovation.”

Even the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, lav-ished praise on the audacious project, called Aakash, the Hindi word for sky. “India is a superpower on the information superhighway,” Mr. Ban said at a ceremony in November at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Stoking expectations was Suneet Singh Tuli, the charismatic C.E.O. of the small London-based company that won the bid. “I am creating a product at a lower price than anyone else in the world with the hope that it impacts people’s lives and I make money out of it,” he said in a recent interview.

But over the last few months, it has become increasingly evident that Mr. Tuli, 44, and his older brother, Raja Singh Tuli, 46, are unable to deliver on most of their ambitious promises.

The Tulis acknowledge that their company, DataWind, will not even come close to shipping the 100,000 tablets it has promised to India’s col-leges and universities before its year-end deadline. Most of the 10,000 or so tablets delivered through early De-

cember were made in China, despite the company’s early pledge to manu-facture in India. Financial statements fi led with British regulators show that the company is deeply in the red. And the project’s entire premise — that India can make a cheap tablet com-puter that will somehow make up for failures of the country’s crippled edu-cation system — is fundamentally fl awed, according to some experts in education and manufacturing.

Leigh L. Linden, an assistant pro-fessor of economics and public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied the use of technology in schools in India and other develop-ing countries, said that, at best, com-puters merely match the performance gains from far less costly projects that involve hiring additional teachers or teaching assistants.

“Based on the available research,” he said, “this would not be the most effective strategy for education in developing countries.”

The notion that India’s weak manu-facturing sector can catch up to China in advanced computer hardware also strikes some experts as far-fetched. “China became the manufacturing center of the world, and India missed that boat,” said Surjit S. Bhalla, an

economist and managing director of Oxus Investments. So far, the Indian government is standing fi rmly behind the project.

“All pathbreaking ideas do look too ambitious when conceived,” the Ministry of Human Resource Devel-opment, which oversees the Aakash project, said in an e-mailed statement. Aakash is “an all-encompassing proj-ect,” not just the creation of a tablet computer, the ministry said. With it, the government plans to create “an entire manufacturing ecosystem” in India.

Interviews with DataWind execu-tives, government offi cials, Chinese manufacturers, business partners and former and current employees paint a picture of a small family company that was overwhelmed by a complex project that even China’s cutthroat technology manufacturers would fi nd challenging to execute at the price expected by the government.

Leading a tour last month of the company’s small touch-screen fac-tory in downtown Montreal, Raja Tuli, DataWind’s co-chairman and chief technology offi cer, said he had initially opposed his brother’s desire to bid on the Aakash contract, and he expressed lingering regrets.

“We got stuck in it,” he said. “We’re doing our best.”

DataWind’s real goal, Mr. Tuli said, is to sell low-cost wireless Internet access for tablets in developing coun-tries like India. He said DataWind’s proprietary data compression tech-nology, which made its debut in Britain years ago with a device called the PocketSurfer, effi ciently delivers Web pages over older, slower cell-phone networks.

“Our biggest contribution is our software,” Mr. Tuli said. “The fact that we’re making the actual hard-ware is a sideline that we got into in the process. We never meant to do it, but here we are.”

For India’s government, the Aakash project was supposed to usher in a computer revolution. Although India pioneered the information technol-ogy outsourcing business, and still does much of the computing work for many big companies, only a small portion of the population has access to computers or the Internet.

Others had tried to bring cheap computing to developing countries like India — most notably the One Laptop Per Child project. Founded by Nicholas Negroponte of the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology and backed by a host of Western tech-nology companies, that effort aimed to bring $100 laptops to children around the world but faltered amid a host of technical, manufacturing and competitive challenges.

“This is our answer to M.I.T.’s $100 computer,” said Kapil Sibal, the minister of communications and information technology, when he an-nounced the Aakash project in 2010.

Suneet Tuli, whose family emi-grated from India to Canada when he was a boy, certainly bought into that vision. Just as the huge drop in the price of mobile calling prompted a communications revolution in India, a cheap tablet could transform India’s

classrooms and eventually all of the country’s poor, he said in an interview in October 2011. In India, “there are one billion people left out,” he said, “and the way to include them is lower the price.” But DataWind was in over its head from the start.

The government’s specifi cations were challenging, and none of India’s information technology giants, like HCL or Wipro, competed for the contract. DataWind made the lowest bid, promising to supply the tablets for 2,276 rupees, including delivery — about $50 at exchange rates at the time, and about $40 now.

In a recent interview, Suneet Tuli said DataWind fi gured that it could cut costs by improving on standard industry designs and by making touch screens itself, in Canada, at a lower price than it could buy them in China.

In a fateful decision, Tuli also prom-ised to build the tablet in India, even though the country’s manufacturers had no real experience in building such hardware. While not required by the government, the pledge added to the patriotic fervor surrounding the project and generated public-ity for DataWind’s plan to sell more expensive commercial tablets and $2-a-month wireless Internet service to the public.

During the November interview in Montreal, however, Raja Tuli de-scribed the diffi culties of manufac-turing in India, citing issues like prolonged border delays and poor infrastructure.

“Listen, it’s obviously easier in China just because the whole infra-structure is set up, capital is so much cheaper,” he said. “In India, it can be done but the process is longer.”

“We’re not going to give up be-cause of these little issues,” he said. “We’re committed to it. Always in life, it’s tougher than you think it was going to be.”


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Reinvent and be Aggressive, Ratan Tata Tells GroupIn a letter on his 75th birthday, Ratan Tata had some words of warning and advice to his successor and employees

AVEEK DATTAMUMBAI (Mint): Ratan Naval

Tata bid farewell on Friday to the Tata group with some words of warning, advice and encouragement to his successor Cyrus P. Mistry and the 456,000 employees of the conglom-erate he helmed for 21 years.

“There will be great pressure on Tata Group companies to reinvent themselves in terms of business pro-cesses and to dramatically reduce costs, to be more aggressive in the market place and to widen our prod-uct range to better address consumer needs,” Tata wrote in a farewell letter to employees on his 75th birthday.

In the letter, a copy of which was reviewed by Mint, he warned that the current diffi cult economic envi-ronment was likely to stretch into the new year, and constraints in consumer demand, over-capacity and increased competition from imports would con-tinue to test the group companies.

But Tata ended the letter on an upbeat note.

“This seemingly gloomy picture however will be a passing phase,” he wrote. “I feel confi dent that the robust growth that India has shown over the past several years will be re-established and the strong funda-mentals in the country will result in

India once again taking its place as one of the economic success stories of the region.”

“The Tata Group will undoubtedly play an important role in the contin-ued development of our country, pro-viding leadership in various indus-trial segments in which they operate and living by the value systems and ethical standards on which our Group was founded,” he wrote.

An emotional Tata recounted the “amazing spirit” and “dedication” of the people who, under his leadership, helped the Tata group achieve reve-

nue in excess of $100 billion (the fi rst Indian conglomerate to do so; around Rs.5.5 trillion today), an increase of 20 times in as many years.

Tata thanked employees for “the enormous support and faith reposed” in him, even as the group faced crises such as “adverse market conditions, natural calamities like earthquakes and tsunamis and gruesome acts of terrorism”.

The last was a reference to the November 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai by gunmen who targeted the Taj hotel run by the group, among

An emotional Ratan Tata recounted the “amazing spirit” and “dedication” of the people who, under his leadership, helped the Tata group achieve revenue in excess of $100 billion (the fi rst Indian conglomerate to do so; around `5.5 trillion today), an increase of 20 times in as many years. Photo: Mint

other city landmarks. While terrorists opened gunfi re at guests and bombed sections of the hotel, some of its em-ployees helped guests escape at the cost of their own lives and those of their family members.

“The memories of personal sacri-fi ces, loyalty and individual acts of heroism will always remain in my memory, to reinforce the great sense of pride I have in having been a mem-ber of this team,” Tata said.

Tata’s letter spoke of the present challenges facing the Tata group, some of which may not have been completely addressed during his time at Bombay House, the group’s head-quarters. “We will also need to con-tain our borrowings and work hard to retain our margins,” Tata said.

While the group has grown over the years through the acquisition route, snapping up large companies outside of India, its debt pile has also grown. It has debt of $26 billion (around Rs.1.4 trillion today). On the other hand, the 20 listed group companies have a combined net worth of Rs.1.43 trillion, and cash and cash equivalents of Rs.36,289.38 crore.

Tata requested employees to extend to his successor, the 44-year-old Mis-try, the same support, commitment and understanding he received from

them during his tenure. He signed off the letter: “Yours sincerely, Ratan N Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons.”

Tata stayed away from the limelight on Friday, his last day in offi ce, even though there was a large media pres-ence outside Bombay House on ex-pectations that he may arrive there.

For Tata, it’s a ritual to be in Pune every year on his birthday and spend the year-end there. Through a Twitter post late evening on Friday, Tata let the world know that he was spending the day with his shop fl oor colleagues at Tata Motors Ltd’s manufacturing facilities in Pune “to say farewell” to them. Tata Motors is a company very close to Tata’s heart. One of the largest innovations that Tata was involved with during his stint at the group was the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, developed for the mass market. One of the group’s more successful acqui-sitions in recent times has been the British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, which is a part of Tata Motors.

“We have been together in good times and bad and have gained a closeness based on mutual trust,” Tata said about Tata Motors’ employees on Twitter. “Going through the plants and receiving greetings from so many colleagues is a great emotional ex-perience.”

State Bank Launches Pre-paid Mobile WalletMUMBAI (The Hindu) State

Bank of India (SBI) has launched State Bank MobiCash Easy, a mo-bile wallet which offers facilities such as fund transfer, bill payment, balance inquiry, mini statement, mobile top-ups and DTH recharge to name a few.

It is a pre-paid account acces-sible over mobile phones, enabling consumers to send remittances to any bank account, transfer funds to other wallets issued by SBI. At present, money withdrawal is not allowed, and the customer is not required to fulfi l the KYC (know your customer) norm.

The service, initially launched in Mumbai and Delhi, is available over Wallet Application and plain

R. K. Saraf, Deputy Managing Director (CS&NB), State Bank of India, at a press conference in Mumbai. Photo: Shashi Ashiwal

text SMS. SBI has tied up with a private service provider Oxigen for round-the-clock money transfer and other services.

Targeted at migrant labourers who send money back home from SBI branches, the youth and those seeking to pay bills, SBI’s mobile wallet is easy to use and SBI’s customers and non-customers can use this facility.

The user needs to top up the wallet by depositing cash at any Oxigen

retail outlet and this facility is com-pletely risk-free, SBI offi cials said.

To start with Oxygen CSPs and retail outlets will be the cash in points and the location of this point can be obtained by sending an SMS <Find*Pincode> to 9870888888. The registration process is simple, and can be done over mobile phone.

“State Bank MobiCash Easy will contribute signifi cantly in increasing mobile payments which are at pres-

ent in a nascent stage. This service will also address the requirement of fi nancial inclusion as it enables us to extend fi nancial services to un-banked masses through the ubiq-uitous mobile phones,” said RK Saraf, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate Strategy & New Busi-nesses, SBI.

SBI customers have an addi-tional option of topping up the wallet using SBI’s mobile banking service.

Till March, the charge of top-ping up is waived and for remit-tances the customer need to pay a minimum of Rs.5 to a maximum of Rs.20. Up to Rs.5,000 remittance is allowed at a time. But customers with KYC have higher limits.


25 January 04, 2013

Guru Gobind Singh Sahib was born on January 5, 1666, in Patna, Bihar, India. He was the tenth and last of the ten human form Gurus of Sikhism. He became Guru on November 24, 1675 at the age of nine, following in the footsteps of his father Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib.

Before Guru Sahib left his mortal body for his heavenly abode, he nominated Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (SGGS) as the next perpetual Guru of the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh Sa-hib molded the Sikh religion into its present shape, with the formation of the Khalsa fraternity and completion of the Guru Granth Sahib as we fi nd it today, which some will say was his greatest act.

“If we consider the work which (Guru) Gobind (Singh) accomplished, both in reforming his religion and instituting a new code of law for his followers, his personal bravery under all circumstances; his persevering endurance amidst diffi culties, which would have disheartened others and overwhelmed them in inextricable

distress, and lastly his fi nal victory over his powerful enemies by the very men who had previously forsaken him, we need not be surprised that the Sikhs venerate his memory. He was undoubtedly a great man.” (W, L. McGregor)

It may not be out of context to say here that throughout the chronicles of human history, there was no other individual who could be more inspir-ing than Guru Gobind Singh.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji infused the spirit of both sainthood and soldier in the minds and hearts of his fol-lowers to fi ght oppression in order to restore justice, peace, righteousness (Dharma) and to uplift the down-trodden people in this world.

It is said that after the martyrdom of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the tenth Master declared that he would create such a Panth (community/society) which would challenge the tyrant rulers in every walk of life to restore justice, equality and peace for all of mankind. As a prophet, the Guru is unique.

His teachings are very scientifi c and most suitable for all times. He called all people the sons of God sharing His Kingdom equally. For himself he used the word ‘slave’ or servant of God.

Extracts from Guru Gobind Singh’s writings;

“God has no marks, no colour, no caste, and no ancestors, No form, no complexion, no outline, no costume and is indescribable.

He is fearless, luminous and mea-sureless in might. He is the king of kings, the Lord of the prophets.

He is the sovereign of the universe, gods, men and demons. The woods and dales sing the indescribable.

O Lord, none can tell Thy names. The wise count your blessings to coin your names.” (Jaap Sahib)

(Source: http://www.sikhiwiki.org)This pious Day is being celebrated

with great fervor, enthusiasm and devotion at the Sikh Center of Gulf Coast Area on Saturday January 5, 2013 the actual Gurpurab day and then on Sunday January 6, 2013.

To grace this auspicious occasion an eminent and learned Ex Hazoori Ragi Jatha of Sachkhand Sri Har-mandir Sahib, Amritsar, Bhai Gurmel Singh Ji is reaching Sikh Center on Friday January 4, 2013. The Jatha will perform Keertan from Friday Jan.4, 2013 evening onwards till Sunday Jan. 6, 2013.

Program details are given below:Friday January 4, 2013:• Start Sri Akhand Paath Sahib

10am (Seva by : S Jarnail Singh and family)

• Paath Rehras Sahib 6:45-7pm.

• Keertan Ragi Jatha Bhai Manjit Singh Ji 7-7:30pm

• Keertan Ragi Jatha Bh. Gurmel Singh Ji 7:30- 8.:30pm

• Samapti,Ardas,Hukamnama& Sukhasan 8.30pm onwards

Saturday January 5, 2013:• Asa Ki Vaar Keertan Bhai Gurmel

Singh Ji 7-9am• Paath Rehras Sahib

Celebrations of Aagman Purab of Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee at Sikh Center of Gulf Coast Area

Happy GurpurabJanuary 04, 2013

6:45 – 7pm • Keertan Ragi Jatha Bh. Manjit

Singh Ji 7-7:45pm• Keertan Ragi Jatha Bh. Gurmel

Singh Ji 7:45--8:45pm• Samapti, Ardas, Sukhasan & Lan-

gar 8:45pm onwards Sunday January 6, 2013:• Bhog Sri Akhand Paath Sahib

10am • Tea-Break 10-10:30am• Keertan Sangat Members

10:30-11:15am• Keertan Hazoori Ragi Jatha Bh.

Manjit Singh Ji 11:15-12:15pm• Keertan Ragi Jatha Bh. Gurmel

Singh Ji 12:15- 1:15pm• Words of thanks

1:15 - 1:30pm• Samapti-Ardas-Hukamnama

1:30 - 1:45pm• Guru Ka Langar

1:45pm onwards Note: Program Timings are subject

to slight change if need be

For more information, call 713-466-6538.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji Special

Best Wished to the Sikh Nation on Guru Gobind Singh Ji's 347th birthday celebrations January 5th 2013

12900 Cypress N. Houston, Cypress TX. 77429 Weekdays 8:00 am - 6:30 pm Saturdays 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Happy New Years 2013 From Galhotra Family Harjit, Seema, Ravi, Rupi, Balraj and Kulpreet


January 04, 201326 January 04, 201326

Harjit Singh Galhotra, one of the well known members of the Sikh community origi-nally hails from Ludhiana, Punjab. He is an engineer by profession but as job opportunities in India were not very promising, he decided to move to America to, as he says “fulfi ll the American Dream” in 1977. He joined Dresser Industries as an engineer and worked his way up to senior tool design engineer. However a better future beckoned and Harjit started his

HAPPY GURPURAB

Bhai Bhupinder Singhji Paras is the head priest at the Gurudwara in Sugarland, Houston. In 1984, he left Pagwada in Punjab and came to the Sikh Center, Houston and has since been singing kirtans for the community here. However, he not only sings kirtans but also teaches them to children and reads and explains the Guru Granth Sahib. He has learnt classical singing from great stalwarts like Ustad Bhai Pal Singh, Giani Darbara Singhji, Giani Gulzar Singhji and Ghulam Ali and has also been invited to several Sikh Religions forums and performed kirtans at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. Patiala Library also houses a book written on him titled “ Panth De Anmol Ratan” He has also released albums of Shabad Kirtan. He and his wife Gurdev Kaur have two sons and four daughters.

Bobby and Jasmeeta Singh. They make a striking couple – he’s suave and extremely articulate, she’s super talented and pretty as a picture. Bobby came to the US in high school. He went on to do his Business Administration from UT and shortly thereafter started his soft-ware consulting fi rm. A series of coincidences and relatives helped the couple tie the knot in 1989. Their three children – Japreena, Japraj and Navreena complete their circle of love.

Besides being a Medical technologist, Jas-meeta is also extremely talented. Her fi rst love is singing. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and would love to get back to painting some-day. She also fi nds time to teach kids Shabad or hymns at the Gurudwara. Bobby is an avid

Rupi holding Ravina, Seema. Back row: Ravi (left), Balraj and Harjit Galhotra

own automotive business, Galson’s in 1993. It started as a repair and main-tenance shop but in 1995 he ventured into the body work business. In 2000, son Ravi Inder graduated and evinced a keen interest in joining his father’s busi-ness. Since then, the father and son duo have carved out an enviable reputation for Galson’s.

Harjit’s other son, Balraj, is with New York Life and his wife Seema to whom he has been married for 36 years is also a partner in the business.

For the past few years Harjit has been involved in building the Sikh National Center, of which he is also the Secretary and Treasurer. However, he sounds

positively animated when he speaks of his 30 year old hobby where he has developed many articles like clocks, trophies or stained glass lights inspired by the Sikh symbol – Khanda. The stained glass lights will be used in the new Sikh National Center.

Does he have any fond memories of India? He misses his friends and the culture but after his recent trip back home, he has found that India has become very crowded and chaotic!

The simplicity and beauty of Sikhism left a lasting impact on Nobel laureate and Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was later inspired to write three beautiful poems titled ‘Gobind Guru’, ‘Veer Guru’ and ‘The Last Lesson’. In fact, Tagore also translated Guru Nanak’s ‘aarti’ ‘Gagan Mein Thal’ to Bengali.

Bobby and Jasmeeta Singh’s daughter, Japreena Kaur came up with a novel idea of decorating a Christmas tree by hang-ing pictures of the ten Gurus to celebrate Guru Gobind Singhji birthday. She did this by putting their pictures in tiny frames and articles/symbols which represent Sikhism like Khanda at the top and Ek Onkar( right in the middle) which means God is One and several more symbols all over the tree.sports fan and has even run a marathon! A com-mon interest that they both share is a deep and abiding involvement in community activities and service.

Despite living in the US for so many years, Jasmeeta still misses the food, the warmth and informality that people in India emanate.

Best Wishes To All On The

Occasion Of

GURPURAB

Bobby & Jasmeeta Singh


27 January 04, 2013

BY BHUPINDER SINGHBhai Daya Singh was the fi rst to offer his

head when Guru Gobind Singh Ji asked for a head on the momentous occasion of the creation of Khalsa during the Baisakhi of 1699. While others were scared, shocked and surprised, he had the fortitude to offer his head. Since that time he has been with Guru Ji for the rest of his life. He was with Guru Ji during the siege of Anandpur fort which started on 3th May, 1704. He evacuated Anandpur fort with Guru Ji on the fateful chilly wintry night of 20 Decem-ber, 1704. In fact he was with Guru Ji for the most trying period after the evacuation from Anandpur fort, till the time Guru Ji left for his heavenly abode in Nanded. He was the leader of Punj Pyaras who issued an edict to Guru Ji to leave Chamkaur garhi on the fateful night of 22 December, 1704. He was also designated by the Sikhs to accompany Guru Ji during the evacuation of Anandpur fort.

During the barefoot escape from Chamkaur in the pitch darkness of a cold winter night, Guru Ji was separated from Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh and Bhai Man Singh but they were reunited on 25 December, 1704 in Machiwara. From there, the whole group moved to Dina. At Dina, when a devoted Sikh, Rama, presented Guru Gobind Singh Ji with an excellent horse for his personal use, Guru Ji gave his former horse to Bhai Daya Singh for his use. It was from Dina that Guru Ji dispatched Bhai Daya Singh to deliver the Zafarnama - the epistle of victory to Emperor Aurangzeb in Deccan, South India. Because of the sudden demise of Aurangzeb, the Zafarnama could not be personally delivered to him and Bhai Daya Singh decided to return to Punjab. On his return journey, he met Guru Ji at Narainpur in Rajasthan. As Guru Ji was proceeding towards

Deccan, Bhai Daya Singh rejoined Guru Ji’s team heading south again.

In July 1708, Guru Ji came to Nanded, which is on the banks of river Godavari and decided to camp there. One day, Guru Ji picked up a rock, tossed it in his hands from left to right and suddenly hurled it into the majestically fl owing river Godavari where it sank. Then, Guru Ji turned to Bhai Daya Singh and asked him as to why the rock sank? His reply was that it sank because it left your hand, your care and protec-tion. This is an interesting response to a question where a rational mind would have justifi ed it with the principle of gravity. What Bhai Daya Singh has said really refl ects the essence of Guru Ji’s teachings. Guru Nanak Dev Ji has said the following words in form of a prayer:

“dieAw krhu ikCu imhr aupwvhu fubdy pQr qwry ]”

“Dayaa karahu kichh mehar oupaavahu dubadhae pathhar taarae.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 156)

Meaning: Please, shower me with Your Mercy, and take pity upon me. I am a sinking stone - please carry me across.

Bhai Daya Singh understood the principle very clearly - how a life which is rocklike can be saved from sinking in water. His name was Daya and he understood the signifi cance of daya or mercy to cross the ocean of life. It is precisely for this reason alone that he was the fi rst to offer his head to Guru Ji during the historic Baisakhi of 1699 of the creation of Khalsa. He wanted to be under the grace of Guru Ji. Similar sentiments of prayer were also expressed by Namdev Ji when he asked the Lord to save him.

“mo kau qwir ly rwmw qwir ly ] mY Ajwnu jnu qirby n jwnau bwp bITulw bwh dy ]”

“Mo ko taar lae raama taar lae. Mai ajaan jan tarbae na jaano baap beethla baah dae.”

(SGGS, Pg. No. 873) Meaning: Carry me across, O Lord, carry

me across. I am ignorant, and I do not know how to swim. O my Beloved Father, please give me Your arm.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji also prays in a similar vein in the following lines:

“kir ikrpw fubdw pQru lIjY ]”“Kar kirpaa dubadhaa pathhar leejai.”

(SGGS, Pg. No. 103)Meaning: Please bless me with Your Mercy,

and save this sinking stone.Now let us understand how Guru can help

carry us (the stones) across. Guru Ji has pro-vided the answer in these words:

“ik®pw ik®pw kir gurU imlwey hm pwhn sbid gur qwry ]”

“Kirpaa kirpaa kar guru milaaeae ham paa-han shabad gur taarae.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 981)

Meaning: The Merciful Lord, in His Mercy, has led me to meet the Guru; through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, this stone is carried across.

When there is grace from God, only then does one meet the Guru and with the holy Word or teachings, a sinking stone like human life can be saved. Let us now go back to the answer provided by Bhai Daya Singh and we can see that if the rock had been in the hand of Guru Ji, it would not sink. This reply by Bhai Daya Singh educates us of the following:

Llife is a journey and its purpose is to cross the worldly ocean.

Guru is the guide who can ferry us across so that we don’t sink.

We need to understand the game purpose behind life and have faith in the Guru and follow the Guru’s teachings so that we can be successful.

Bhai Daya Singh not just un-derstood this fact alone but put it into practice in his life and in the process he become closest to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He was one of the fi ve beloved and yet he was fi rst among equals in every respect. From the time he offered his head in Anandpur, he was with Guru ji till Guru Ji left for his heavenly abode on 7 Oc-tober 1708 in Nanded. After Guru ji’s demise, Bhai Daya Singh stayed back in Nanded and was the chosen leader of the Sikhs, providing strength and a rallying point. When his time to leave this world came, he left his body very close to the site of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s angeetha. Today, an angeetha memorial in his loving memory exists next to Takht Shri Hazoor Sahib. His life was spent in the company of Guru Ji and even in death his companionship of Guru Ji is eternal. This memorial which is next to Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s memorial is a reminder of the faith of the Sikh in his Guru and how that can ferry a Sikh across the ocean of life. This shrine is not just a pinnacle of full-fl edged faith but also an inspiration for coming generations. Every time one visits Takht Shri Hazoor Sahib, a visit to this site inside the complex inspires us and reminds us of the quality of faith that needs to be cultivated. For those of us who have not visited this site, the remembrance is in our daily prayer, where we all remember the fi ve beloved after remembering the Gurus. Bhai Daya Singh is thus a true role model and an ideal Sikh worthy of our emulation. Let us take the fi rst step and ask Guru Sahib for the grace so that we can be ferried across.

Bhai Daya Singh: An Inspiring Life Journey27January 04, 2013HAPPY GURPURAB

Beat the Heat! Turn your Hot Summer Into a Cool Experience!

Best Wishes on the occasion of Gurpurab to

the Communityfrom all of us at

United Air Conditioning Supply

T: 713-952-5191 F: 713-952-51939920 Westpark, Houston, TX 77063

Contact: Mr. K.M. Khetpal

Website: www.unitedacsupply.comE-mail: [email protected]


January 04, 201328 January 04, 201328 HAPPY GURPURAB

Col. Raj Bhalla: It’s safe to say that Col. Raj Bhalla is one of the most familiar and recognizable faces in Houston’s Indian scene. And there’s a good reason for that. He’s passionately active and involved in community activities serving as President of the India Culture Center and presently as Director of various foundations and organizations.

Col. Bhalla traces his roots to Ferozepur in Punjab. After a distinguished career in the Indian Army as a Veterinarian, he opted for early retirement with the rank of Colonel. He was soon recruited by Charles River Labs and moved to New York in 1976 to work in one of the Company’s subsidiaries. It wasn’t long before he was made

Col. Raj Bhalla (Fourth from right) with wife Kanwal, sons Gurpreet and Narinder, daughters in law Jyotish and Tracy, grandchildren Ravi, Sonya and Ashton

President and helped the Company achieve record revenues. When the Company’s subsidiary moved to Houston, Col. Bhalla also moved and this time the move was a permanent one. He retired in 2006 at the age of 76 after 30 years of service.

His elegant wife, Kanwal and he have been married for 55 years and are proud parents of their two physician sons, their wives and three beautiful grandchildren.

He and his wife love playing tourists and claim that there isn’t much of the world that they haven’t seen! What about India? Col. Bhalla does acknowledge that he misses his family, friends and the army life.

Happy Gurpurab to the entire

Community !

Sukhwinder Singh Shah & family

Church’s Chicken of Houston


29 January 04, 2013 29January 04, 2013HAPPY GURPURAB

vwhu vwhu goibMd isMG Awpy guru cylw Thou're the great,Thou're the masterAnd thou yourself the disciple

The Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708)

Best wishes to the Sikh Nation on Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s

347th birthday celebrations January 5th 2012

Sikh National Center. (Gurdwara Building). Under construction now Design Architect: Mandeep Singh Kohli (India).Architects of Record: P.G.A.L (Houston, TX). Area: 38,000 Sq. Feet Location:7500 N Sam Houston Pkwy W.281-894-8484www.sikhnationalcenter.org
















Congratulations to the Sikh Community

on this auspicious day

FOR TIRE DEALERSPlease e-mail to [email protected]



Restaurant

“The passage to Culinary Delight”

Best Wishes to Everyone on the Occasion of Gurpurab!!The people of a world-renowned chain of fine Indian Restaurants,

who gave the most consistent and best Indian food in town for

over 21 years

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13155 Westheimer Road @ Synott,Houston, TX 77077

(One Block East of Eldridge)

“Successfully serving Houston for Seven wonderful years”

Happy Gurpurab !

Aman Singh Sidhu & family

Congratulati ons to the Punjabi Society of Houston on another great celebrati on!

and our gas stati ons across the Houston area


31 January 04, 2013

NEONATAL CONSULTANTS, LLPH.S. Bedi, M.D., F.A.A.P

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281-929-4438

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Best Wishes To All On The Occasion Of Gurpurab From

31January 04, 2013HAPPY GURPURAB

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9050 Mills Road, FM 1960 and Mills Road, Houston, TX 77070Phone: 281-477-8000

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Best Wishes To All On The Occasion Of

Gurpurabfrom

Anup Singh

www.wingatehotels.com/hotels/12089



Happy Gurpurab !

Gurminder Singh Padda & familyKamaljit Singh Rai & family

Houston, Texas

May the teaching of the Guru reflect

goodness and compassion in you

And bring into your life, the glow of

happiness & prosperity.

Best Wishes from

Lubeena & Witty Bindra

Karah Parshada Recipe

Ingredients:5 Cups Rava or Coarsely Ground Wheat Flour or Mixture of Both5 Cups Ghee5 Cups Sugar

Method:Heat ghee and add the rava or the fl our. Fry, stirring constantly, till each grain

is brown. Add sugar little by little and continue cooking till ghee separates and the sugar is blended well. No fl avoring must be added. Serve hot.

All recipes: Shemrock.com


33 January 04, 2013 33January 04, 2013HAPPY GURPURAB

Heartiest Gurpurab Greetings on the 346th Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji

From The Arora Family ( Harvinder, Ranjit, Tanya and Anisha).

May Guru Gobind Singh Ji inspire you to achieve all

your goalsAnd may his blessings be with

you in whatever you do.

Best Wishes from Col. Raj Bhalla and Kanwal Bhalla

Langhar Ki Dal

Ingredients:2 Cups Whole Black Gram (Urad) Soaked In Water For 6 Hours2 Tsps. Cumin Seeds2 Tsps. Turmeric Powder2 Tsps. Garam Masala4 Onions, Chopped Fine2 Tbsps. Ginger-Garlic Paste1 Cup GheeSalt To Taste

Method:Put all the ingredients (with 5 cups water) except ghee in a pressure

cooker and cook till soft and blended. Pour hot ghee and serve with hot Tandoori Rotis or chapattis.

Aalu Gobi Ki Sabzi

Ingredients:500 Gms. Caulifl ower, Cut Into Large Pieces6 Potatoes, Peeled And Quartered1 Tbsp. Grated Ginger1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic3 Onions, Chopped Fine3 Tomatoes, Chopped1 Tbsp. Garam Masala Powder1 Tsp. Turmeric Powder ½ Tsp. Cumin Seeds2 Tbsps. Coriander Leaves, Chopped Fine¾ Cup OilSalt To Taste

Method:Heat oil and fry cumin seeds and onion till golden. Add ginger, garlic,

tomatoes and cook till blended. Add caulifl ower, peas and a little water. Add turmeric, Garam Masala, salt and cook covered on a slow fi re till vegetables are done. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.


3 January 04, 2013 35January 04, 2013 35

Gurpurab Greetings

Indo-American Newswith Best Compliments From


January 04, 201336 January 04, 201336

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