TheSouthAsianTimes.infoVol. 4 | No.10 | June 25 - July 1, 2011 | 60 Cents

The South Asian TimesUS Affairs 10 Subcontinent 14 Spiritual Awareness 30Op Ed 22

NEW YORK EDITION Excellence In Journalism

AoL’s World Culture Festival in Berlin on July 2-3

Culture, Page 18

Vivek Kundra leaving White House for Harvard fellowship

National Community, Page 7

IIFA Awards: Bollywood takes over Toronto

IIFA Toronto, page 15

Indian origin grocer in fray for Cambridge U Chancellor

Diaspora, Page 9

India unhappy with US response to troubles of Indian diplomats

New Delhi: Reacting to the forced labor suit brought against Indian consul general in New York, Amb. Prabhu Dayal, the Indian govern-ment here protested against what it called the targeting of the country’s diplomats in the US, subtly caution-ing that it could sour public opinion and have repercussions for ties.

Trashing as “motivated and baseless” the charge that Dayal forced his Indian domestic help to

work like a slave, the for-eign ministry said, “We are disappointed and deeply concerned that In-dian diplomats and their family members should be targeted in such a man-ner in a friendly country like the US.”

It added, “Such actions impede the ability of the individuals in question to discharge their official

responsibilities as well as cause untold mental harassment and an-guish. These incidents cannot be dismissed lightly.”

Sounding a subtle note of cau-tion, the ministry said, “The treat-ment being meted out to Indian diplomats or their family mem-bers has resulted in negative pub-lic perceptions in India with atten-dant implications.” Prabhu Dayal continued on page 4

India-Pak talks begin: Focus on Kashmir

CBMs, terror

Harry Anand re-elected Mayor of Laurel Hollow

Obama for ‘good’ Taliban, no to safe havens in

PakistanNirupama Rao to be next envoy to US

Islamabad: With “optimism” and “an open mind,” the Indian and Paki-stani foreign secretaries Thursday began two-day talks here to bridge the trust deficit, which touched a new low after the 26/11 Mumbai attack, by focusing on peace and security and confidence-building measures (CBMs) on Kashmir.

The talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pak-istani counterpart Salman Bashir have been divided into three segments.

The two top diplomats Thursday held discussions on peace and se-curity and CBMs across the Line of Control in Kashmir. The second and third round of talks on Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchang-es will take place here Friday.

Hicksville, NY: Mayor Harry Anand was re-elected for a third term as the Mayor of Laurel Hollow on June 21. Mayor Anand thanked his board members and residents of Laurel Hollow for the support and appreciation they have shown for his performance as the Mayor.

“In the last four years, I along with my board have worked dili-gently to provide good municipal services, and maintain high stan-dards of quality of life in Laurel Hollow; which is recognized as one of the premier waterfront com-munities on Long Island. We have run our village in a fiscally respon-sible way by keeping a tight control

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is set to be the next Indian ambassador to the US, offi-cial sources said here Wednesday.

Rao, 60, will be demitting office July 31 at the end of her two-year term.

The government has decided to appoint Rao as the next envoy in Washington, replacing Meera Shan-kar, who has held the post since 2009.

An announcement of her new posting is expected from the gov-ernment soon, along with that of the next foreign secretary.

Washington: The US will join efforts to reconcile with the Tali-ban, President Barack Obama has said, as he announced a pullout of American forces from Afghanistan. But he warned that terrorist havens in Pakistan won’t be tolerated.

“We will work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keep its commitments,” Obama said in a nationally tele-vised address Wednesday from the White House.

Obama continued on page 4

on expenses and passing balanced budgets,” Mayor Anand stated. Mayor Anand also wishes for more and more South Asians to get in-volved in the political process.Mayor Anand continued on page 4

Both Rao and Bashir struck notes of cautious optimism as they first held restricted talks before they were joined by their delegations.

Welcoming the Indian side, Bashir stressed that they were approaching

Indian Consul General in New York, Amb. Prabhu Dayal

the talks with a “great sense of confi-dence, optimism and determination.” “We wish to engage with you in not only walking the trajectory but also ex-ploring new avenues further,” he said.

India-Pak continues on page 4

Community 15

TheSouthAsianTimes.info May 14-20, 2011

PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore celebrates diamond jubilee in New Jersey

The Diamond JubileeCelebrations of PSGCollege of Technology,

Coimbatore, India was held atChutney Mary restaurant inMonmouth Junction, New Jerseyon Saturday May 7, 2011. Thegathering was attended by 50alumni from various fields of PSGCollege of Technology. The alumnicame from Boston, Virginia,Pennsylvania, New York and NewJersey. Included were, the oldestgraduate Mr. Shanmugam from1959 batch and the youngest grad-uate from 2010 batch.

The meeting was presided by

visiting dignitaries of PSGManagement Mr. G. Rangaswamy-Managing Trustee, Mr. C.R.Swaminathan - the ChiefExecutive, Dr. R. Rudramoorthy –Principal PSGCT, Dr P.Radhakrishnan - Director,PSGIAS, Dr. R. Nandagopal –Director, PGSIM, Dr. G.Ranganathan - President, AlumniAssociation, Dr R. Nadarajan,Head/Maths & ComputerApplications, PSGCT, Dr A.Kandaswamy, Head/BiomedicalEngineering, PSGCT.

The slide show presentationhighlighted various departments in

PSG College of Technology and itsgrowth into an University accredi-tation which will be honored uponPSG next year. It emphasized theimportance of PSG Tech CorpusFund, which will help in educationof 200 deserving students everyyear. The PSG Trust already helps250 students each year for theireducation.

Some of the alumni honored byMr. Rangaswamy were - Mr. JackPoola for his donations to PSGTech, Mr. SampathKumar, Mr.Marthuchala Moorthy, Mr. Selvamand Mr. Vijay for planning themeeting in New Jersey.

The college's Managing Trustee Mr Rangswamy presenting a plaqueto Jack Poola (left) in recognition of his donation to PSG Tech.

Mr C R Swaminathan Chief Executieve (in white) and Dr Radhakrishnan Past Principal (in blue) with students

Mg Trustee Mr Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to Sampath Kumar, organizer of the event

Mg. Trustee Mr. Rangaswamy presenting a plaque toSelvam, master of ceremony

Dr Rudramurthy, Principal, speaking. Mg Trustee andSelvam are also seen in the picture. The alumni at the eventMayor Harvinder (Harry) Anand

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will replace Meera Shankar as

India’s ambassador in Washington.

Tristate Community 3

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

New York/Washington: The Indi-

an Consul General in New York,

Prabhu Dayal, has dismissed as

“mischievous” and “complete non-

sense” charges by a former house-

keeper that she was treated like a

slave while working for him and his

family at the consulate in Manhat-

tan.

“These are mischievous and mali-

cious lies. Complete nonsense,”

Dayal said reacting to a forced-la-

bor suit filed against him by San-

tosh Bhardwaj, 45, in a Manhattan

federal court Monday.

The housekeeper has alleged that

Dayal promised her $10 an hour,

plus overtime, to cook and clean for

him and his wife after he was ap-

pointed to his post in 2008, accord-

ing to the New York Post. But after

arriving in the US Dayal confiscat-

ed her passport and paid her only

$300 a month to sleep in a storage

closet and toil 15-plus hours a day,

seven days a week, she alleged in

the lawsuit. She is seeking unspeci-

fied damages and the return of her

passport. She said she escaped last

year by slipping out of the Indian

consulate building on East 64th

Street while Dayal was out at a

meeting and his wife was in her

room with the door closed.

The newspaper said the Indian

consulate didn’t return a call seek-

ing comment.

Rejecting her charges, Dayal said:

“The allegations made by Santosh

Bhardwaj against me are totally

baseless. She was in my employ-

ment in Delhi for one year, in Mo-

rocco for four years and in New

York for 11 months from February

2009 to Jan 28, 2010.

“She wanted to work part time

outside to earn more money but I re-

fused permission as she was on an

official passport and her visa did not

allow her to work anywhere expect

in my home,” Dayal said.

“Thereafter, she absconded on

28th Jan, 2010, and it is surprising

that she has filed this case one and a

half years after leaving my employ-

ment.” “She was paid her full emol-

uments as per my obligation, and

she had saved a lot of money. With-

out these savings she would not

have been able to meet her living

costs in New York from January

2010 when she left me till June

2011,” Dayal said.

“She left my employment as she

wanted to do moon-lighting by

earning more money by working

outside. She was refused this per-

mission and decided to leave my

employment. The matter was re-

ported straightaway to the local au-

thorities as well as to the Ministry of

External Affairs. The charges lev-

eled by her are totally false and

baseless.”

Dayal claims that she violated the

terms of her visa by quitting her

post to work for someone else.

Dayal's lawyer, Ravi Batra said,

"She has betrayed the trust of the

Dayal family, India and the US with

her illegal abandonment of employ-

ment in favor of illegal higher pay

from illegal employers." Batra

added she was given a contract in

2009 that guaranteed her $10 per

hour for 40 hours of service per

week. "This fraudster of a woman,

seeing dollar signs, has hit on a 'get

rich quick' scheme after a year and

a half of illegally staying and work-

ing in New York," Batra said.

Dayal also rejected as an “insinu-

ation” charges that he had asked the

housekeeper “for a massage, which

she interpreted as a sexual ad-

vance”, saying he never asked for a

massage.

New York: The Xavier Universi-

ty School of Medicine (XUSOM),

Aruba, has announced new schol-

arships for the basic sciences to

reward the hard work and

achievements of eligible candi-

dates.

Those students with MCAT

(Medical College Admission Test)

score of 35 or more are eligible for

$3,250 per semester scholarship;

those in the 30-34 score range can

get $2,000 per semester, and the

ones in the 25-39 range $1,500 per

semester. Even students with GPA

of 3.5 and up qualify for $1500

per semester.

XUSOM is the only medical

school of its kind offering such

scholarships.

Renewal of the scholarship is on

a semester by semester basis for

which the candidates must main-

tain Honors status. Scholarships

are available starting September

2011. Eligibility ends upon com-

pletion of the Basic Science se-

mesters MD1, MD2, MD3 and

MD4.

MCAT, however, is not required

for admission to the school which

has campus on Aruba island, in

the Caribbean, and admissions of-

fice in Westbury, NY.

XUSOM is currently accepting

applications for Fall 2011 and

Spring 2012 semesters.

For more details www.XU-

SOM.com

Amb. Dayal dismisses slavery charges afterdomestic help files suit

In a first, Xavier medical school offers scholarships

Ambassador Prabhu Dayal,India’s Consul General

in New York

CG Dayal’s Rebuttal of accusations bySantosh Bhardwaj

“I have seen media

reports about a

suit filed by Mrs.

Santosh Bhardwaj, my

former domestic assis-

tant. Let me categori-

cally state that all the

charges made by her

are completely base-

less and false.

“She has alleged that

she was made to sleep

in a storage closet.

This is completely un-

true as she was occu-

pying a one-room apartment on

the 5th floor of our Consulate

building (in Manhattan). The

room has an attached bathroom

and it was equipped with central

heating, an air conditioner, a tele-

vision, a telephone and all the fur-

niture that she needed. The room

had a separate entrance so she

could come and go as

she pleased.

“She has alleged

that she was forced to

work for 15 hours a

day, 7 times a week.

This again is com-

pletely false. She

worked 8 hours a day,

5 times a week.

Whenever she was re-

quired to cook for my

parties, extra money

was given to her.

“She has alleged

that I asked her to give me a mas-

sage, and that this was a sexual ad-

vance. This allegation is prepos-

terous for I never asked her to give

me a massage.

“She has alleged that she was

not paid her full salary. This is

completely false as she was paid

her full salary as per agreement.”

Santosh Bhardwajformer domestic help

with the CG.

Question ofDiplomatic Immunity

After the Krittika Biswas

arrest case, the suit

against the CG is likely to

spark debate about diplomatic im-

munity. Vishnu Prakash, a

spokesman for the external affairs

ministry in Delhi, believes Amb.

Dayal is covered by immunity un-

der the Vienna Convention on

Consular Relations of 1963. That

means that he should be protected

from such suits as his maid filed.

But, a spokesman for the US

embassy in New Delhi, Unni

Menon, has argued that immunity

for consular employees does not

“apply in respect of a civil action

either:

a) arising out of a contract con-

cluded by a consular officer or a

consular employee in which he did

not contract expressly or implied-

ly as an agent of the sending State;

or

b) by a third party for damage

arising from an accident in the re-

ceiving State caused by a vehicle,

vessel or aircraft.”

India - Pak continued from page 1Rao agreed, saying this was an “apt” statement.Bashir added that this was an important point

in the relationship and will also help the two sides prepare the agenda for the meeting of the two foreign ministers in the near future.

Rao, on her part, said that “we have a clear agenda in front of us for discussions” and noted that there have been good meetings in the past few months. “We are approaching these talks with an open and constructive mind,” she said.

The talks took place on a day US President Barack Obama announced an initial withdraw-al of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan, the violence-torn country that has emerged as an arena of rivalry between India and Pakistan.

During her three-day stay to Islamabad, Rao will call on Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Rao is expected to convey India’s disap-pointment with the slow progress in the trial in Pakistan of those suspected to be behind the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed the lives of 166 people, including some for-eigners. Latest intelligence inputs suggest that the infrastructure of anti-India terrorist groups still operates on Pakistani soil.

The two sides are also expected to dis-cuss nuclear CBMs, an issue that has gained greater salience in view of reports about the danger of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hand of terrorists.

This is the first high-level engagement be-tween the two estranged neighbours since In-dian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at the World Cup semifinal in Mohali March 30.

Parbhul Dayal continued from page 1While the suit against Dayal, described by

the ministry as “a senior diplomat of impec-cable personal and professional integrity”, has been filed in a Manhattan federal court, the strong statement is seen as reflecting the as-sessment of the government that US authori-ties have not been helpful to the diplomats facing harassment. In an earlier instance, Krit-tika Biswas, daughter of the Indian vice con-sul in New York, was imprisoned for a day on a charge which was found to be baseless. The government is appreciative of the fact that US

of our community and we will see South Asians getting elected to other positions on Long Island. Unfortunately we are still lacking participation in the political process in spite of growth in numbers and prosperity among our community on Long Island.”

Laurel Hollow is one of the premier com-munities on the North Shore of Long Island.

Mayor Anand has a Chemical Engineering degree from Panjab University, India. He is the President of Royce International, involved in manufacture and distribution of industrial.

Fugitive Barsana Dham guru ‘fled to Mexico’

June 25 - July 1, 2010

judiciary is fiercely independent and brooks little interference from the executive, but its grouse is that US government’s approach on such issues has been excessively legalistic and does not take into account the needs and privileges diplomats have.

Krishna Bharadwaj, Dayal’s domestic assis-tant, has accused the diplomat of treating her like a slave and harassing her sexually.

Refuting the charge in his communication to the government here, Dayal pointed out that Bharadwaj had worked for him in Morocco when he was posted as India’s ambassador. She “willingly and voluntarily” accompanied the diplomat when he moved to New York in Febru-ary 2009 to take up his current assignment.

Dayal also pointed out that Bharadwaj was paid as per the arrangement with her – Rs 14,000 per month was credited into her bank account in India while the rest of the amount was paid to her in US dollars in cash.

Dayal said Bharadwaj disappeared in the US when he wanted to relieve her, and concocted the charge when he moved for the revocation of her official passport.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has ordered a review of the policy of sending do-mestic helps abroad, it was reported. The gov-ernment will look at the policies other countries have in this regard.

Obama continued from page 1“For there should be no doubt that so long as

I am president, the US will never tolerate a safe haven for those who aim to kill us: they cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve.

“No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region,” he said.

Announcing that all the 33,000 US forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 would be home in the next 15 months, Obama said 10,000 of the so-called “surge” forces would withdraw by the end of this year.

The other 23,000 would leave Afghanistan by September 2012.

Obama said the military campaign was “meet-ing our goals” in Afghanistan and thedrawdown would begin “from a position of strength”.

New York: Swami Prakashanand Saras-wati, who led one of the top Hindu temples in the US until a jury convicted him of molest-ing children, has fled to Mexico to avoid jail term, reports The Daily Beast.

The site said the Indian origin founder of Barsana Dham in Texas slipped across the border near Nuevo Laredo on March 6 night. The local police have said they would pros-ecute anyone in the ashram who helped the swami flee the country.

Saraswati was accused in 2008 by three women of molesting them as children. In early March 2011, a Hays County jury con-victed him of all 20 counts of indecency

The president admitted that peace cannot come to Afghanistan without a political settlement.

“So as we strengthen the Afghan govern-ment and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban.

The Taliban has repeatedly refused to make up with the Karzai regime in Kabul and the US.

Mayor Anand continued from page 1“When I was first elected as Mayor in 2007,

I expected that it would inspire other members

Swami Prakashanand Saraswati

Gurmeet Sodhiinvited to WhiteHouse reception

828 K

Asamai Hindu Temple in Hicksville, NY, honored Rajan Zed for his leadership role inHinduism and promotion of interfaith dialogue on June 12. Temple priest MadanKumar Jha presented Zed, who is President of the Universal Society of Hinduism,

with a religious scarf on June 12 even as temple leaders Radhu Bathija and GobindBathija looked on. The same day he was honored by the Hicksville gurdwara with a

siropa. Based in Reno, Nevada, Zed was visiting the Tristate area to participate in the"Religious Leadership in an Interfaith World" seminar of prestigious Hartford

Seminary (Connecticut) from June 6 to 10.

Lok pal story Continued from page 1

which controls every activ-ity relating to the govern-ment,” HRD MinisterKapil Sibal, one of the fiveministers in the Lokpalpanel, told a news confer-ence.

“You cannot threaten anegotiation process,” hesaid, with cabinet col-leagues P. Chidambaramand Salman Khursheedflanking him. “You can-not threaten us and thennegotiate with us. This isnot the way forward.”

Sibal also underlined thatHazare and his representa-

tives did not represent the1.2 billion people of India.

Home MinisterChidambaram said thegovernment was deter-mined to “draft a strongand sound Lokpal bill”before the mutually agreeddeadline of June 30 andpresent it to parliament.

Meeting journalists a lit-tle while earlier, Hazareand his confidant ArvindKejriwal lashed out at thegovernment.

“Now that the govern-ment is turning its back onits promise, I will fastagain from Aug 16,”Hazare said.

Kejriwal said the govern-

ment was neither seriousabout the Lokpal bill norabout fighting corruption.

“The government hasfrittered away a hugeopportunity to provide agood legislation to thecountry… The govern-ment’s Lokpal bill is ajokepal bill.”

The government does notagree with the civil soci-ety’s demands that theprime minister and thehigher judiciary should bebrought within the ambit ofthe Lokpal. There are alsofundamental differencesabout the structure of theLokpal institution — andhow it should function.

IIFA storyContinued from page 1

who is also a Canadian citizen and runsa dance school here, will be the officialchoreographer of the IIFA Awards.

According to organizers, more than22,000 people are expected to attendthe IIFA Awards which will be beamedinternationally to over 700 mill ionpeople.

Twenty Bollywood films are beingscreened in Toronto and its sister citiesof Brampton , Miss i ssauga andMarkham as part of the IIFA Awards.These include Chak De India, HeraPheri, Dabangg and Dil To Pagal Hai.

Interestingly, the Indian-dominatedcity of Brampton on the outskirts ofToronto will name a street Raj KapoorCrescent a f te r the legendary RajKapoor during the IIFA Awards.

The South Asian Times team will bethere to cover Toronto IIFA.

New York: Gurmeet K. Sodhi has been invit-ed by the President Barack Obama and FirstLady to attend the Asian American PacificIslanders Commission reception at the WhiteHouse on June 22—a first for an Indian TalkShow Host. With almost a decade of experi-ence as a talk show host, Gurmeet Sodhi isknown as one of the most influential womenin the South Asian media community.

Her talk show – GS with GS (Gup Shupwith Gurmeet Sodhi) on Jus Punjabi haskicked-off its third successful season on April1st, 2011. Her invitation to the White Housewas initiated by Mr. Amardeep Singh whoserves as a Commissioner on the White HouseCommission on Asian Americans and PacificIslanders, appointed by President Obama. Mr.Singh is the first Sikh ever to serve on thiscommission.

4 Community

June 18-24, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Salman Khan’s ‘Chillar Party’ will openIIFA ’11.

with a child by sexual contact. He skipped court on the day of his sentencing. Subse-quently, the District Judge issued an arrest warrant against him and revoked his $ 1 million bond.

Auspicious start to

Maha Kumbhabhishekam

4

Tristate Community 5

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Indian music band “Charanams”wins the Battle of the Boroughs!

New York:

Charanams, Queens-

based carnatic jazz

band, won the

Ultimate Battle

of the Boroughs

contest on June 17,

2011 to become the

best music band of

New York City.

Charanams was the

one and only Indian

band featured in this

fierce New York

music contest that

started off with 524

submissions from

bands of all genres.

About 8 to 10 bands

from each borough,

selected by a panel of

judges, performed

live at The Jerome L.

Greene Performing

Space in New York

in five borough-wide

contests in various

dates.

Charanams, which

was among 9 bands

selected from Queens,

won the borough-

round of the contest

in March this year

and represented

Queens in the final

round of contest on

June 17.

The Ultimate Battle

of the Boroughs fea-

tured the top 5 bands

of New York City –

Charanams (Queens),

The Soulfolk

E x p e r i e n c e

(Brooklyn),Finotee

(Bronx), Joan Caddell

& the Midnight Choir

(Staten Island) and

Andy Suzuki & the

Method (Manhattan).

The bands performed

for in-house audience

of over 300 music

lovers and a panel of

5 musician-judges.

The live webcast of

the event was also

watched by thousands

of fans world over.

As the winner of the

Battle of the

Boroughs, Charanams

will perform an

exclusive concert at

the Summerstage con-

cert series this year

and will also perform

a concert at The

Greene Space

Theater.

Houston: Indian American organizations across

North America are mobilizing for a day of silent

protest at the Indian Embassy and Consulates on

June 25, 2011. Thousands have signed a petition

to the President of India against police brutality

and beating of sleeping, fasting protesters on

midnight of June 4 in New Delhi. Online

forums, social networking sites and emails of

Indian Americans have been abuzz with pictures

of sleeping protestors against corruption

Satyagraha led by Swami Ramdev who were

roused with kicking, baton beating and tear gas

on June 4.There is widespread consternation and

anger among Indian Americans who have taken

pride among American migrants as representa-

tives of a peaceful and democratic country in a

time of violent uprising, dictatorships and

extremism. Support for Swami Ramdev cuts

across religious and regional lines of Indian

Americans as hundreds of community centers,

temples, Gurudwaras from Texas to Michigan

and California to New York held vigils during

his fast. “It will be a silent protest, like the silent

protest of hunger of thousands of old people,

women and children who were attacked by

Indian police,” says organizer Shekhar Agrawal,

General Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman

Overseas.

Charnams group posing

Mangano announces lease agreement fora new sports entertainment arena

Uniondale, NY: Nassau County

Executive Edward P. Mangano

announced an important step in cre-

ating a state-of-the-art sports-enter-

tainment destination center at the

Hub in Nassau County. Joined by

New York Islanders owner Charles

Wang, Mangano announced that the

County has reached a lease agree-

ment that retains Long Island’s only

major professional sports team in

Nassau County through 2045 should

residents approve building a new

arena at the site of Nassau Veterans

Memorial Coliseum. According to

an independent economic impact

analysis conducted by Camoin

Associates, a nationally recognized

firm in public and private sector eco-

nomic development, the agreement

will generate $1.2 billion. This rev-

enue will be used to pay off the $350

million in construction costs associ-

ated with the new arena, $433 mil-

lion in debt service payments and

provide an additional $403 million

for the County to hold the line on

property taxes. Furthermore,

Camoin Associates estimates the cre-

ation of 1,515 new jobs during the

arena construction phase and the cre-

ation of 3,040 permanent jobs begin-

ning in the first year the arena is

operational.

“This historic agreement retains

our New York Islanders while ensur-

ing that residents earn dividends

should they vote to invest in Nassau

County’s future,” said County

Executive Mangano. “From Islander

tickets to concert tickets, pretzels to

hotdogs, Nassau County will share

in a portion of dollars spent at the

new arena that residents will own.

The construction of a new arena will

retain and create thousands of jobs

and be a catalyst to generate the rev-

enue needed to hold the line on prop-

erty taxes. Today’s agreement is a

giant step forward for Nassau’s

economy. Sadly, in past years

Nassau took too many steps back-

ward with the loss of Canon USA,

Grumman, Avis, OSI

Pharmaceuticals, the Nets and the

Jets. This agreement reverses that

trend.” NY Islanders owner Charles

Wang stated, “With this unprece-

dented agreement, we are paying for

this state-of-the-art sports-entertain-

ment destination while creating thou-

sands of jobs and new revenues

streams that benefit Nassau County

homeowners and businesses.

The Islanders were born on Long

Island, won four Stanley Cups for

Long Island and want to call Long

Island home for decades to come.”

The construction of a new arena

will retain and create significant

employment opportunities for the

residents of Nassau County.

According to the independent report

issued by Camoin Associates, the

project will create a total of 1,515

construction jobs and generate $121

million in wage earnings during the

construction phase.

After the construction phase, it is

estimated that 3,040

permanent jobs will

be created with

$138.8 million in

new wage earnings.

Nassau County ExecutiveEdward P. Mangano

Independent Economist

Projects Deal will generate

$1.2 billion for county; $350

million to build a New

Arena, $433 million in debt

service payments & $403

million to hold the line on

property taxes, 3,040

permanent jobs & 1,515 new

construction jobs projected

Protests planned against police actionon Ramdev supporters

Houston: At the forthcoming JAINA conven-

tion in Houston on July 1-4, 2011, the JAINA”s

Academic Liaison Committee (ALC) will be

holding a 2 hour long informational seminar on

“Jain Academic Studies; Strategies for

Growth”. This seminar is multidisciplinary and

several eminent academics and community

activist will share latest information about the

need, status and future steps to promote Jain

Academic education in the universities of the

world. Following academicians and community

leaders will make their presentations which will

be followed by panel discussions: Prof. Gary

Francione (Rutgers University) will Chair the

seminar. He will make introductory remarks

about Jain Academic Education and will then

introduce the next speaker. After each speaker,

Prof. Francione will present in brief written

suggestions/feedbacks received from Prof. John

Cort (Ohio), Prof. Peter Flugel (London) and

Dr. Nathan Loewen (Montreal, Canada), Dr.

Sulekh Jain, Houston; Current status of Jain

Academic Education, Dr. Bipin Doshi,

Bombay, Roadblocks to Jain Academic

Education, Dilip Shah, Philadelphia , ISJS

(International school for Jain Studies), Prof.

Nathan Katz, Miami, FL, Jain Studies at

Florida International University, Dr. Geeta

Mehta; Bombay, Jain Studies at Somaiya

Vidyavihar, Dr. Natubhai Shah, London, Jain

studies in Europe, Ms. Kathleen Awahoshi

Kavan, Honolulu, My experiences and impres-

sions about ISJS as an alumnus Dr. Neeta Jain,

New York, Opportunities for teaching Jainism

in Unites Nations School systems, Dr. Subhash

Jain, Iowa City, Iowa.

Education seminars at JAINAConvention in Texas on July 3

6 Tristate Community

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New York: A former expert-network consult-

ant, who allegedly leaked information to an

Indian-American hedge fund manager, has

been found guilty of insider trading.

The conviction of Winfred Jiau Monday is

the latest development in an ongoing investi-

gation into insider trading by the US

Attorney's office in Manhattan, which has

resulted in over 40 convictions of hedge fund

managers and others since August 2009.

According to the prosecution, Jiau had con-

versations with Indian-American Samir Barai

and Noah Freeman, two hedge fund managers

who pleaded guilty to insider trading in

February, in which she leaked information on

a quarterly statement from Marvel Technology

Group in 2008.

Barai then used that information, which Jiau

allegedly obtained from an employee at the

media firm, to make $820,000 in illicit gains

by trading the company's stock, CNN report-

ed. During the two-week trial, prosecutors

played recordings of phone calls between Jiau

and her co-conspirators in which she dis-

cussed inside information on companies using

code words such as 'recipes,' 'cooks' and 'sug-

ar.' Prosecutors said Jiau, 43, obtained inside

information on publicly traded companies

from 2006 to 2008 as an employee of an

expert networking firm, which is a business

that helps connect investors with consultants

who have knowledge of specific companies.

She then shared that information with hedge

fund traders who used it to make trades in the

stock market. In exchange, Jiau was paid more

than $200,000 over the two-year period,

according to prosecutors.'Wini Jiau gave new

meaning to the concept of social networking,'

said Preet Bharara, the Manhattan US

Attorney, in a statement. 'She used and

exploited friends at public companies for the

purpose of obtaining, and then selling, inside

information.'

Jiau's attorney, Joanna Hendon, was quoted

as saying she plans to appeal the conviction.

'We're disappointed in the verdict and look

forward to appealing it after sentencing,' said

Hendon.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in

September and remains in custody.

Indian-American's tipster convictedof insider trading

New York, NY: Hindu

American Seva (service)

Charities (HASC), a non-profit

organizat ion based on the

Dharmic philosophy of “ser-

vice” to fel low mankind, is

sponsoring a two-day event,

with a briefing at the White

House, focused on enhancing

seva through sustainable com-

munity based seva centers to

address domestic concerns and

encouraging interfaith partner-

ships. The theme of the event is

“Energizing Dharmic Seva:

Impacting Change in America

and Abroad,” and the confer-

ence is designed to inspire all

towards community service.

The event opens with a briefing

at the White House on July 29,

2011 and the conference contin-

ues at Georgetown University

on July 30th and 31st as

Festivals of Service.

In addition, HASC is partner-

ing with the President’s Council

on Fitness, Sports , and

Nutrition, to launch a National

Yoga Challenge to motivate

individuals across the country

to participate in yoga and pro-

mote a healthy l i festyle.

Starting August 1st, 2011, the

program will encourage partici-

pants to record the number of

hours they devote to the prac-

tice of yoga for a six-week peri-

od. This ini t iat ive wil l be

launched during the conference.

To impact change and encour-

age new service ideas, HASC

sponsored a civic and service

part icipat ion essay contest ,

aimed primarily at the youth.

Winners will be felicitated at

the conference. “With your

Seva Plan you can become

change makers,” says Anju

Bhargava, Founder of Hindu

American Seva Charities. “You

can be part of the ongoing seva

movement. You can play a role

in America valuing the talents

of its diverse faiths, its pluralis-

tic multicultural communities,

the New Americans. Interfaith

cooperation and community

service is an important way to

build understanding between

different communities and con-

tribute to the common good.”

To support the organization

and the cause, celebrity chef

and philanthropist Vikas

Khanna, Executive Chef at

Junoon Restaurant is hosting a

lunch fundraiser on Monday,

June 20 from noon to 2 p.m. at

Junoon Restaurant (27 W. 24

thSt.).

Tickets are $25 for a three-

course meal prepared by Chef

Khanna himself, and they can

be purchased at the event itself.

“It’s so important for all of us to

do our part to make this world a

better place,” says Khanna.

“My documentary series, Holy

Kitchens, thoroughly explores

this concept of ‘seva’ and how

it manifests itself through the

service of food in various reli-

gions.”

HASC meet on interfaithpartnerships through

seva centersTakes off with a briefing at the

White House

New York: An Indian-

American couple owning a

New Jersey company have

been charged with raking in

more than $460 million in

crooked cash through New

York’s scandal-scarred

CityTime payroll project.

The New York Post citing

court papers said Reddy and

Dr. Padma Allen secured a

lucrative, no-bid subcon-

tract that made it look like

their firm, TechnoDyne,

was “a successful and fast-

growing company.”

But the “engine of its

growth” was actually an

over-billing scam in which

the Reddys paid millions in

kickbacks and hired a bevy

of crooked sub-subcontrac-

tors, the daily said citing an

indictment unsealed in

Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors said brazen

corruption was part of a

“massive and elaborate

scheme” involving high-

ranking execs at prime con-

tractor Science Applications

International Corp.(SAIC)

that drove up the enormous

bills for CityTime, which

was initially budgeted at

$63 million but has cost

more than $720 million to

date.

“As a result, virtually the

entirety of the well over

$600 million that the city

paid to SAIC on the

CityTime project was taint-

ed, directly or indirectly, by

fraud,” the indictment said.

Manhattan’s Indian

American US Attorney

Preet Bharara called the

scam “truly jaw-dropping”

and “epic in duration, mag-

nitude and scope.”

Bharara was quoted as

saying an ongoing investi-

gation showed that

CityTime was “corrupted to

to core” through contract

changes engineered by

supervising consultant

Mark Mazer-who was bust-

ed last year-after which the

fraud “metastasized over

time,”

The Reddys, who face

charges including conspira-

cy to defraud New York

City, remain at large, hav-

ing fled to India in February

after getting slapped with

grand-jury subpoenas, the

indictment says.

The Post cited Bharara as

saying his office was seek-

ing to have the couple

extradited to face prosecu-

tion.

Indian-American couplescammed $460M from NY project

Ekal Vidyalaya NJ chapter raises $320,000for schools in India’s tribal areas

New Jersey: Ekal Vidyalaya

Foundation's (E.V.F.) benefit con-

cert on Saturday, June 4 by

Bollywood singer and SA RE GA

MA PA sensation ‘Manoj Mishra

& Nirupama Dey Group’ at

"Vrundavan Temple Auditorium"

in Edison, N.J., was a smashing

success. The enchanting musical

duo not only took the audience

down the memory lane by singing

nostalgic melodies of ‘Kishore

Kumar, Mukesh, MannaDey,

Lata, Asha, and legendary 'Saigal',

but also kept the listeners spell-

bound by their rendering. Prajna

Khisti, President of NJ-Ekal

Chapter, set the tone for the

evening by quantifying illiteracy

in modern India and the efforts

needed to eradicate it, during her

flawless PowerPoint presentation

about "Ekal Vidyalaya Project"

(one-teacher school). Explaining

the vicious cycle of illiteracy,

poverty and exploitation, Dr.

Yogendra Patel, demonstrated to

the capacity crowd, how educa-

tion could lead to empowerment

and better quality life. By

evening's conclusion, approx

$150,000 were raised for "E.V.F."

bringing New Jersey's total fund-

raising efforts for the week to

over $320,000. For $365/yr (dol-

lar-a-day), an "Ekal Vidyalaya

School" provides non-formal

basic education and hygiene train-

ing to a group of 30 to 40 under-

privileged children in tribal,

remote-area villages of India,

where many times there are no

approachable roads or basic facili-

ties.

Dr Umesh Shukla, Regional

V.P. for "Ekal" informed the gath-

ering that, " 'Ekal Vidyalaya' is

not only the LARGEST literacy

movement undertaken by the

Indians and NRIs, but also a

recipient of the 'Best NGO

Organization' Award' recently for

its transparency and administra-

tion". He further elaborated that,"

there are over 34,000 "Ekal

Schools" in operation in tribal-

remote areas throughout India,

including Jammu-Kashmir &

Himachal Pradesh, where educa-

tion is being rendered without

consideration to caste, creed, lan-

guage etc". Brahm Sharma, in an

emotional appeal said,"Our suc-

cess in this country is due to our

education back home which was

heavily subsidized. In other

words, unknown to us, someone

else paid for it. Now, by recipro-

cating the same gesture to the

needy children of India, we are

only seeking our own salvation in

small way."

During the program, as a small

departure from previous years,

instead of honoring only generous

donors, the committee this year

chose to felicitate three 'volun-

teer-families' with a 'Plaque', for

being role models for selfless

service to the society and their

dedication to Ekal's literacy cause.

The recipients of this honor were

Arvind & Pratibha Sant, Prakash

& Neela Waghmare and

Makarand & Suniti Abhyankar.

Several hundred yoga enthusiasts from all walks of life gathered at theTimes Square Tuesday morning to celebrate the first day of summer.The free early morning session was organized by the Times Square

Alliance. Instructor Nicole Nichols, who goes by the name “Narayani”led the crowds which packed the plazas between West 45th and West

47th streets. The yoga event seems to have become an annual feature.

‘Manoj Mishra & Nirupama Deygroup’ entertained crowd

at benefit concert

National Community 7

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Washington, DC: An Indian-American doc-

tor couple from New Jersey were killed

when their single-engine plane crashed into

an Ohio cornfield and burst into flames

shortly after takeoff on Sunday.

Viswanathan Rajaraman , the 54-year-old

pilot, and Mary J Sundaram, his 50-year-old

wife and the only passenger, were attempting

to take off from Rickenbacker International

Airport in Columbus when the incident hap-

pened just before 9 am, n.j.com reported cit-

ing Ohio State Highway Patrol.

They were parents of Kaavya Viswanathan

made news in 2006 as a Harvard undergrad-

uate when she published the novel "How

Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a

Life," a story she wrote in high school. The

book made the New York Times bestsellers

list. But she was accused of plagiarism short-

ly after publication and copies of her book

were pulled from stores and destroyed by her

publisher.

Rajaraman, a leading New Jersey neuro-

surgeon and his wife were returning to Essex

County Airport in Fairfield, which they flew

out of on Friday afternoon, according to the

aviation website Flight Aware. It was not

clear why they were in Ohio for the week-

end. The cause of Sunday's plane crash is

still under investigation. The Federal

Aviation Administration sent investigators to

the scene, but the National Transportation

Safety Board will be heading up the probe,

nj.com said citing said Tony Molinaro, an

FAA spokesman.

Rajaraman, one of the top doctors in New

Jersey, specialising in brain and spine cancer,

was co-chief of neuro-oncology at

Hackensack University Medical Centre's

cancer centre. Sundaram was reportedly also

a physician, but stopped practicing to raise

the couple's daughter, Kaavya Viswanathan,

now 24.

Originally from Chennai, the family

moved around the world. They spent some

time in the United Kingdom before moving

to the United States in the mid-1990s.

Kaavya Vishwanathan’s parents killedin Ohio plane crash

Kaavya’sNYT bestseller was pulled from stores after it got mired in plagiarism controversy

Chicago: FBI has

launched a nation-

wide manhunt and

alerted Interpol to

locate one of its

most-wanted fugi-

tives, Indian-origin

doctor Gautam

Gupta whose ads

promising weight

loss are well-known,

for allegedly

defrauding US insur-

ance companies of

$25 million over the last

decade. An FBI complaint

alleges that Gupta received

almost $25 million over the last

decade when he submitted

claims to Blue Cross/Blue

Shield of Illinois and Illinois

Medicaid for servic-

es that were not

medically necessary

or, in some cases,

were never per-

formed, according to

the Chicago Tribune.

Medicaid is a US

health programme

for citizens from low

family incomes and

resources, funded by

the federal and state

governments and is

managed by the state.

According to the complaint,

FBI agents and Illinois State

Police used interviews with cur-

rent and former employees and

patients of 57-year-old Gupta to

build the case against him.

Washington, DC: Indian-American chef

Floyd Cardoz, the man behind New York's

now-closed Danny Meyer Indian restaurant

Tabla, has taken home the $100,000 top prize

in the third season of Top Chef Masters with

a simple upma dish.

Mumbai-born Cardoz, who beat out

California luminaries Traci Des Jardins and

Mary Sue Milliken for first place, is donating

his winnings to the Young Scientists Cancer

Research Fund at New York's Mount Sinai

School of Medicine, in memory of his father,

who died of cancer.

Cardoz divided the judges with his inclu-

sion of the popular Indian breakfast dish

Upma in his meal, but "in the end, (he)

impressed because of the spice and passion

that infused his final meal of the season,"

said The Wall Street Journal.

"The three-course feast also featured a rice-

crusted snapper in a fennel-laced broth and a

reinterpreted version of a Malaysian beef

stew. Our guess is that Cardoz won by doing

exactly what he does at Tabla-that is, honour-

ing his Indian gastronomic roots and finding

a way to reinvent his native cuisine at the

same time," it said.

By winning, Cardoz joins the ranks of bet-

ter-known chefs Rick Bayless, of Frontera

Grill in Chicago, and Marcus Samuelsson, of

Red Rooster and formerly Aquavit, both in

New York, who won second and third season

respectively, the Huffington Post reported

Next, Cardoz will head another Danny

Meyer production, North End American Grill

in Battery Park City, New York, it said.

The restaurant, which is calling its cuisine

"roof-to-table," marks a departure for the

chef, who focused on high-end Indian cuisine

throughout his tenure at Tabla, the Post said.

Dr.Gautam Gupta onFBI's list of most-wanted

Upma dish winsIndian-Americanchef $100,000

top prize

Vivek Kundra to leave WhiteHouse for Harvard fellowship

Washington, DC: President

Barack Obama's tech guru Vivek

Kundra, who spearheaded his

administration's effort to stream-

line the federal government's mas-

sive IT infrastructure is leaving in

August for a fellowship at

Harvard.

New Delhi born Kundra, 36,

who has worked for two and a half

years as the first federal chief

information officer, oversees $80

billion in federal information tech-

nology projects and led a push for

more cloud computing.

In his new endeavour, Kundra

will split his time in a joint fellow-

ship between the Shorenstein

Centre on the press, politics and

public policy and the Berkman

Centre for Internet and Society,

Center executive director Urs

Gasser said in a news release on

Thursday.

"We look forward to working

closely with him on cutting-edge

issues where the complexities of

cloud computing intersect with

law, institutions and data,"

Berkman said.

Kundra occupied one of three

tech-focused posts that the Obama

White House created to overhaul

the government's use of technolo-

gy. Another Indian-American

Aneesh Chopra is the chief tech-

nology officer, while Jeffrey

Zients serves as chief performance

officer.

"The work that I dedicated

myself to while serving as the fed-

eral CIO - in cutting waste,

strengthening cybersecurity and

building an open and transparent

government through technology

will also drive my research inter-

ests on both the national and inter-

national levels" at his new job,

Kundra said in the release.

Kundra spearheaded a number of

initiatives to try to make the gov-

ernment's complex technology sys-

tems more efficient and less costly.

Democratic senator. Tom Carper,

who heads the subcommittee that

oversees federal IT issues, credited

Kundra with saving the govern-

ment $3 billion in efficiencies.

One of his primary accomplish-

ments was introducing "cloud

computing" into the government

IT lexicon. Kundra has also

pushed consumer-focused compa-

nies such as Google, Microsoft and

Amazon to get into the govern-

ment game.

Kavya’s father, Dr. VishwanathanRajaraman was a leading neurosurgeon

Vivek Kundra was appointed asfirst federal chief information

officer

Weight lossspecialist Dr

Gautam Gupta hasallegedly committed

$25million fraud

8 National Community

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

California: It all runs in the fam-

ily. Following the footsteps of

legal eagle Preet S Bharara, the

US attorney in Manhattan, his

younger brother Vinnie Bharara

has created waves in his chosen

field of profession. He is co-

founder of a company recently

sold to Amazon.com for more

than half a billion dollars.

Preet and Vinnie grew up in

Eatontown, N.J. While Preet, 42,

graduated from Harvard College;

Vinnie, 39, from the University of

Pennsylvania.They both received

a law degree from Columbia. The

brothers have worked with big

law firms: Preet with Gibson

Dunn, while Vinnie worked at

Cahill Gordon. They have also

worked at smaller firms.

Later with a shift in the career,

Preet became a federal prosecutor

in Manhattan and later served as

chief counsel to Senator Charles

E. Schumer, Democrat of New

York. Vinnie left law for more

entrepreneurial pursuits.

He started with an internet busi-

ness with a childhood friend

called the Pit, which concentrated

on an online sports card

exchange.

Preet Bharara was selected by

the White House as the United

States attorney in Manhattan,

among the highest-profile prose-

cutor posts in the country. Vinnie,

who had indulged into a new

business of selling diapers on

internet, sold the parent company

of diapers.com and soap.com to

Amazon.com for $ 540 million.

The other Bhararabrother has also risen

Vinnie Bharara sold parent company of diapers.com andsoap.com to Amazon.com for

$540 million

Virginia: A Hinduism Summit

held on June 18, 2011 by

Forum for Hindu Awakening

(FHA) and Durga Mandir of

Virginia brought to attention

the issues faced by Hindus in

America and provided unique,

practical solutions to the Hindu

community.

Maya Jairam, a native of Fort

Collins, Colorado, opened the

presentations with a firsthand

account of growing up in

America and embracing Hindu

spir i tual i ty. Coming from a

non-religious childhood and

being used to a nonvegetarian

diet, she found the answers to

her spir i tual quest in

Hinduism’s spiritual science

and the vegetarian, Hindu way

of life.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, a Hindu

activist who had come from

Chennai, India, brought to light

the inaccurate and negative

depict ion of Hinduism in

school textbooks and higher

academia. He also proposed

erect ing a museum as a

reminder of the contributions of

the Hindu community in

America, to gain a voice for

Hindus in America.

Mrs. Shi lpa Kudtarkar of

Spir i tual Science Research

Foundation (SSRF) shared the

importance of spiritual practice

and healing measures to suc-

cessfully overcome the issues

faced by the Hindu community,

as she explained how these

issues have an underlying spiri-

tual component.

Bhavna Shinde Hurley,

Hinduism Educat ion

Coordinator of Durga Mandir

and Spokesperson of FHA,

drew attention to various issues

facing Hindus that are not com-

monly known, such as Hindu

youth increasingly converting

out of Hinduism, and trivializa-

t ion of Hindu Dei t ies in

American entertainment, art

and advertizing industries.

The speakers and Mr. Sant

Gupta, former President of

Durga Mandir, were honored

for their selfless service to the

cause of Hinduism. Dr. S.

Kalyanaraman was awarded the

Vishwa Hindu Ratna for his

research on the roots of Hindu

(Sarasvat i) c ivi l izat ion and

efforts to stop the destruction

of Rama Sethu.

Hinduism Summit highlightsissues and unique solutions

Congresswoman Bean supportsRaja's candidacy

Chicago: For much of the last

decade, Congresswoman

Melissa Bean represented the

8th Congressional District with

distinction in Washington DC,

and she was known for her

candor, hard work, intelli-

gence, and common-sense

approach to the issues.

Supporting Indian American

candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi

for the 8th Congressional

District of Illinois, she issued

the following statement:

"Raja's priorities are well

aligned with the families and

businesses of Illinois' 8th

Congressional District. He and

his wife have been raising their

two sons in Hoffman Estates,

so they know the challenges

that families here are facing

and are invested personally in

the success of suburban public

schools. As president of a

small business, he also recog-

nizes that greater innovation is

critical to our economic

strength. His candidacy brings

extensive public sector experi-

ence, an impressive academic

background, and a Midwest

work ethic to the race."

The Chicago Sun-Times

wrote on June 8, 2011 that

Krishnamoorthi, 37, president

of a successful suburban high-

tech business,“has been busy

locking up endorsements from

the lion’s share of local

Democrats. Five of the six

Cook County Democratic

committeemen in the district

are on board. The DuPage

County Democratic township

leaders and the Democratic

chairs of DuPage and Kane

County have endorsed him.

Cook County Board President

Toni Preckwinkle is a

supporter.”

Harish Jajoo wins city council seat in TexasHouston: An Indian-American has edged past

a candidate of Pakistani origin to win a city

council seat in Sugar Land, Texas.In unofficial

results, Harish Jajoo edged Pakistani-American

attorney and investment manager Farha Ahmed

on June 11 in the runoff election for the city

council seat in District 4 in Sugar Land. Jajoo

secured 1,473 or 52.38 per cent of the total

votes, while 1,340 or 47.62 per cent polled for

Ahmed. Jajoo had a 915-724 advantage in pre-

election day balloting, while Ahmed polled bet-

ter on voting day, getting 616 votes to 559 for

her opponent

The tight contest was marred by a flier, circu-

lated before the election and quoting a

Pakistani newspaper, erroneously insinuated

that Ahmed would represent Afia Sidique, a

woman dubbed as "Lady al-Qaida," in a crimi-

nal case. Siddiqui is a US-educated Pakistani

neuroscientist who was sentenced to 86 years

in prison in a New York District Court in 2010

for trying to shoot US soldiers at a police sta-

tion in Afghanistan in 2008. She was shown on

the flier in two grainy mug shots along with

Ahmed's photo. Ahmed issued a statement say-

ing she is a civil litigation attorney and could

not represent Siddiqui in a criminal case.

Ahmed did say, however, that she was

approached a few years ago "by attorneys and

human rights groups to help gather information

to find two missing American children who

were believed to have been kidnapped over-

seas." Ahmed did not issue any further clarifi-

cation to indicate if this work involved Siddiqui

or her children. Jajoo, through a statement said

that, "I want to assure you that my campaign

had nothing to do with this mailer, and I do not

condone this type of tactic. I also believe that

the voters deserve to hear from my opponent

on this issue as well."

(L to R) Speakers Maya Jairam, Shilpa Kudtarkar, S Kalyanraman andBhavana Shinde Hurley

Diaspora 9

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Indian origin grocer in fray forCambridge top job

London: Abdul Arain, a Nairobi born

owner of a local convenience store is run-

ning for the post of chancellor of the presti-

gious Cambridge university. The 46-year-

old, whose father was born in Jalandhar, is

bitterly opposed to one of the four con-

tenders for the post Lord Sainsbury's plans

to open a superstore close to his Al-Amin

food store in a multicultural part of the uni-

versity town.

Arain has sparked off an unusual contest

for a very English job.

Sainsbury is in pole position but there are

two other famous contenders — maverick

actor Brian Blessed and radical barrister

Michael Mansfield. The winner will suc-

ceed British monarch Queen Elizabeth II's

husband Prince Philip, who retires at the

end of June after holding the job for 35

years.

Arain, who has been the toast of the

British media, threw his hat in the ring on

Friday, having secured the 50 nominations

needed to become chancellor of the 802-

year-old university. The shopkeeper's main

motive is to save Cambridge from becom-

ing a "clone town" like the hundreds of

English urban centres dominated by super-

market chains.

And he doesn't mind whom he takes on.

“When you look at Prince Philip, he is

removed from the reality of local life.I

believe that bringing that touch back with,

what I would call, a normal individual,

would make Cambridge more accessible.”

Voting by an electorate consisting of

Senate members holding a MA or PhD

higher degree from Cambridge will take

place on October 14 and 15. Is he daunted

by his famous rivals? "Not really," said

Arain. "Barack Obama was also an outsider

and he is President today."

Ottawa: Hyderabad-born Indian-

Canadian techie Sreedhar Natarajan

has announced to donate $1.5 mil-

lion to the Canada-India Center for

Excellence in Science, Technology,

Trade and Policy at Carleton

University based in Ottawa.

He has become the second Indian

techie within two weeks to make a

huge donation to a Canadian univer-

sity. Just last week, another Indian

techie, Vasudev Chanchalani, had

donated $1 million to Canada's

University of Waterloo to launch the

Chanchlani India Policy Center

exclusively devoted to 'the Canada-

India corridor'

Carleton is the only university in

the world to have a full-fledged

India-centric Centre of Excellence

in Science, Technology, Trade and

Policy. Set up last year with Indian

assistance, the Center of Excellence

aims to raise awareness about bilat-

eral studies and public diplomacy,

and develop initiatives to build a

better understanding of both coun-

tries.

As this world-famous Canadian

university hosts two India-centric

Education and Innovation Summits

from this week, Ottawa-based

Natarajan has announced to give

$1.5 million to its Center of

Excellence focused on India.

The donation will permanently

endow the research and policy activ-

ities of the center.

The 41-year-old India techie, who

came to Ottawa in 2002 after the

dotcom bust, said Thursday, 'I do a

lot of work in Asia and can see a

great need for a Canada-India

Center which holistically looks at

technology and policy issues. I

made this donation because I want

future generations of students to

learn more about today's global

business realities.''

To thank the multi-millionaire

Indian techie, Carleton University

has announced to name the three-

storey glass atrium of the Canada-

India Center after him.

Natarajan came to the US as a stu-

dent to get his masters degree in

computer engineering from the

University of Louisiana. He worked

with companies like Texas

Instruments before moving to

Canada in 2002 to join Ottawa-

based Atmos Semiconductor.

After losing a couple of jobs, he

started his own Emerging Memory

Technologies Inc. in 2004. He sold

it in 2007 to Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing Corp. - which is the

global leader in made-to-order com-

puter chips needed in computers,

smart phones and other telecom

equipment.

Two-day global meet of Non-ResidentBiharis next year

Indian engineer turns big farmer in Ghana

Yet another Indian techiedonates $1.5 million to

Canadian varsity Patna: Hundreds of Non-

Resident Biharis (NRBs) from

across the world will gather here

early next year to share their

views on the state and its devel-

opment, officials said Sunday.

The Bihar Foundation is organ-

izing the two-day global meet of

NRBs Feb 18-19, 2012.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil

Kumar Modi, who is the chair-

man of the foundation, said they

have started disseminating infor-

mation about the meeting in

advance to ensure that a large

number of NRBs participate in

the event.

'NRBs from across the world

who have excelled in their fields

and made a difference towards

development would be invited to

share their views regarding the

state and its development,' Modi

said.

Indian Administrative Service

officer K.P. Ramaiah, who is the

CEO of Bihar Foundation, said it

was a 'single window system of

the state government to interact

with NRBs around the world'.

He also said that all the Bihar

Foundation chapters in the US,

Britain, Australia, Canada, South

Korea and Qatar have began

preparations to invite NRBs for

the meet.

Accra: Perhaps India's agricultur-

al prowess inspired him.

Prabhpreet Khinda, an engineer

by training, arrived in Ghana in

2009 after he was devastated by

the effects of the 2008 global

financial meltdown. Twists and

turns later, the 38-year-old from

Punjab is today one of the big

farmers in the West African coun-

try. His original plan was to use

the country as a base in order to

be close to Liberia, where he had

a mining project but that has

changed as he now tends land to

produce food in anticipation of a

global food shortage.

His company, Resources Africa,

has a 2,200- hectare farm at

Dzigbe, near Kpandu in the Volta

region and is planning to acquire

2,000 hectares more for an inte-

grated farming project.

The company has become a

major food producer, exporting

about one and a half tonnes of

vegetables every week. Ghana, a

country of 24 million people, is

known for cocoa exports.

The man who describes himself

as an investment entrepreneur is

clearly preparing himself for the

future. 'It is projected that the

world is heading towards a food

shortage and some of us are just

getting ready to cater to that,'

Khinda said.

Apart from making money on

his investments, he said,

Resources Africa is contributing

to Ghana's development in its own

small way.

'Our exports alone are a major

source of earning foreign

exchange for the country,' he said.

'I was inspired by the work of

some other Indians who were

already engaged in farming in

Ghana and this urged me on.'

Child abduction by parents amongIndian diaspora raises concern

New Delhi: Increasing number of child

abductions by parents among the Indian dias-

pora has become a cause of concern as India

is yet to join the international convention on

the issue, a British minister has said.

"The cases where a parent abducts their

child and takes it away to India are problem-

atic because India does not have laws to deal

with parental child abduction," British

Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone

said here.

The minister urged the Indian government

to accede to the UN Convention on the Civil

Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The British minister was here on a three-

day visit to India June 15-17 to seek greater

collaboration between the two countries on

the issue of violence against women and

gender equality issues.

According to Featherstone, the UK gov-

ernment receives at least one complaint per

month of alleged abduction of a child by a

parent of Indian origin. There are about eight

such cases currently being investigated, the

minister said.

The children were abducted by one of the

parents and brought to India in order to gain

the advantage in matrimonial and child cus-

tody disputes.

Child abduction cases by parents are high

in countries which have a large population of

people of Indian origin such as the UK, the

US and Canada.

About 70 children were abducted by par-

ents of Indian origin in the UK in the past

eight years, according to a report.

The US State Department's Office of Child

Issues, which helps in child abduction cases,

is currently working on more than 100 cases

of children taken to India without the con-

sent of the parent left behind. The State

Department has said that there are few reme-

dies if a child is abducted to India.

There are more unresolved cases of

parental child abduction from the US to

India than any other country with the excep-

tion of Mexico.

About 85 countries have ratified the 1980

Hague Convention on Parental Child

Abduction. Under the convention, member

countries undertake to return children

abducted by a parent to their homes under

the jurisdiction of the courts in the home

country.

Nairobi-born Abdul Arain’s father hailsfrom Jalandhar

Shreedhar Natarajan, 41 donated to Canada-India

Center for Excellence

Truck-load of water melons produced on Resource Africa's farm forsale on the the Ghanaian market

10 US Affairs

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New York: In New York State, it

would take lenders 62 years at their

current pace, the longest time

frame in the nation, to repossess

the 213,000 houses now in severe

default or foreclosure, according to

calculations by LPS Applied

Analytics, a prominent real estate

data firm. Clearing the pipeline in

New Jersey, which like New York

handles foreclosures through the

courts, would take 49 years. In

Florida, Massachusetts and Illinois,

it would take a decade, reports

New York Times.

In the 27 states where the courts

play no role in foreclosures, the

pace is much more brisk — three

years in California, two years in

Nevada and Colorado — but the

dynamic is the same: the foreclo-

sure system is bogged down by the

volume of cases, borrowers are

fighting to keep their houses and

many lenders seem to be in no

hurry to add repossessed houses to

their books.

“If you were in foreclosure four

years ago, you were biting your

nails, asking yourself, ‘When is the

sheriff going to show up and put

me on the street?’ ” said Herb

Blecher, an LPS senior vice presi-

dent. “Now you’re probably not

losing any sleep.”

When major banks acknowl-

edged last fall that they had been

illegally processing foreclosures by

filing false court documents, they

said that any pause in reposses-

sions and evictions would be brief.

All of the major servicers agreed to

institute reforms in their foreclo-

sure procedures. In April, the

Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency and other regulators gave

the banks 60 days to draw up a

plan to do so.

But nothing is happening quick-

ly. When the comptroller’s dead-

line was reached last week, it was

extended another month.

New foreclosure cases and repos-

sessions are down nationally by

about a third since last fall, LPS

said. In New York, foreclosure fil-

ings are down 85 percent since

September, according to the New

York State Unified Court System.

Mark Stopa, a St. Petersburg,

Fla., specialist in foreclosure

defense, has 1,275 clients, up from

350 a year ago. About 75 clients

have won modifications, dismissals

or sold their properties for less than

they owed. All the other cases are

pending.

“Banks aren’t even trying to

win,” said Mr. Stopa, who charges

his clients an annual fee of $1,500.

J. Thomas McGrady, the chief

judge of Florida’s Sixth Circuit,

which includes St. Petersburg,

agreed. “We’re here to do what

we’re asked to do. But you’ve got

to ask. And the banks aren’t ask-

ing,” he said.

A spokesman for Bank of

America said, “Any suggestion that

we have a strategy to delay foreclo-

sures is baseless.” A Wells Fargo

spokeswoman blamed changes in

state laws governing foreclosure

for any slowdown. A GMAC

spokeswoman said it was follow-

ing “regulatory and investor expec-

tations.” JPMorgan Chase declined

to comment. Servicers said some of

the decline in foreclosures could be

traced to an improved economy.

Backlog of cases gives a reprieve on foreclosures

Washington: The U.S. Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) on

Tuesday unveiled nine graphic cig-

arette warning labels that highlight

the dangers of smoking, in an effort

to help prevent children from

smoking, encourage adults who do

to quit.

The warnings represent the most

significant changes to cigarette

labels in more than 25 years and

will affect everything from packag-

ing to advertisements and are

required to be placed on all ciga-

rette packs, cartons and ads no later

than September 2012.

"These labels are frank, honest

and powerful depictions of the

health risks of smoking and they

will help encourage smokers to

quit, and prevent children from

smoking," said Health and Human

Services Secretary Kathleen

Sebelius in a statement. "President

Obama wants to make tobacco-

related death and disease part of

the nation's past, and not our

future."

Tobacco use is the leading cause

of premature and preventable death

in the United States, responsible

for 443,000 deaths each year,

according to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention,

and costs the economy nearly 200

billion U.S. dollars every year in

medical costs and lost productivity.

These warnings, which were pro-

posed in November 2010, were

required under the Family

Smoking Prevention and Tobacco

Control Act which was passed with

broad bipartisan support in

Congress and signed into law by

Obama on June 22, 2009.

The FDA selected nine images

from the originally proposed 36

after reviewing the relevant scien-

tific literature, analyzing the results

from an 18,000 person study and

considering more than 1, 700 com-

ments from a variety of groups.

Juneau, Alaska: Sarah Palin is dis-

puting online reports that she has

canceled her bus tour of historic

American sites, saying in a

Facebook posting that her schedule

will be tight the next few weeks

because she's been called for jury

duty. Palin said Wednesday that her

"One Nation" bus tour would

resume "when the time comes."

She added that she's looking for-

ward "to hitting the open road

again."

The 2008 vice presidential candi-

date traveled from Washington,

D.C. to New England by bus in

May in a trip that generated intense

interest and fueled speculation

about her national ambitions.

Palin is among the top tier of

potential 2012 presidential candi-

dates in polls of Republican voters.

She has said she plans to visit

Iowa, where the state's caucuses

begin the nominating season next

year.

Palin shoots down reports she's canceling bus tour

Miami: Dozens of people who

were mistakenly told they had won

a spot to apply for a US visa

through the annual visa lottery sys-

tem are suing the US government.

French native Armande Gil is a

psychologist in Miami who is

among those seeking class action

status for a federal lawsuit filed

last week in Washington. Gil said

Tuesday she spent time and money

preparing for her new life and was

devastated to learn it was just a

bureaucratic snafu.

She and others want to be rein-

stated as lottery winners.

Roughly 22,000 individuals were

told in May they had been selected

though they would still have to

pass background checks. Then

immigration officials discovered

the supposedly random selection

was skewed due to a computer

glitch. A new lottery is set for July

15.

The drawing, which the State

Department calls the Diversity

Visa Lottery, is an annual free-for-

all established by Congress in

1994 to increase the number of

immigrants from the developing

world and from countries with tra-

ditionally low rates of immigration

to the U.S. Applicants do not have

to have the usual family or

employer sponsor.

The lottery selects 90,000 names

from a pool of online entrants.

That number is winnowed to

50,000 winners through attrition,

interviews and educational and

occupational rules.

For visas to be awarded in 2012,

applicants had to submit entries

between Oct. 5 and Nov. 3, 2010.

The glitch meant that among 14.7

million entries, about 90 percent of

the people picked to move on to

the next step came from applica-

tions submitted the first two days.

Dozens sue US over visa lottery glitchAbout 22,000 people were mistakenly told they'd won spot to apply

Sarah Palin launched the "One Nation" bus tour on May 29, fuelingspeculation of a possible presidential bid.

Washington: Former US vice presi-

dent and environmental activist Al

Gore has accused President Barack

Obama of failing to lead on climate

change, warning that the very sur-

vival of civilization was at stake.

In an impassioned essay in

Rolling Stone magazine, Gore sym-

pathized with the challenges facing

his fellow Democrat and lambasted

big business, political donors, the

media and Congress for their role on

climate change.

Gore credited the administration

with moving the United States

"slightly" forward on the issue but

said Obama "has thus far failed to

use the bully pulpit to make the case

for bold action on climate change."

"President Obama has never pre-

sented to the American people the

magnitude of the climate crisis,"

wrote Gore, who narrowly lost the

2000 presidential election and won

the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his

advocacy on climate change.

"Here is the core of it: we are

destroying the climate balance that

is essential to the survival of our

civilization. This is not a distant or

abstract threat; it is happening now,"

Gore wrote.

"The United States is the only

nation that can rally a global effort

to save our future. And the president

is the only person who can rally the

United States," he said.

Gore lashed out at those who ask

if human-made climate change is

real, noting that nine of the hottest

years in recorded history were in the

last 13 years.

Obama has failed to lead on climate: Al Gore

FDA unveils horrific cigarette warning

labels

Former US vice president andenvironmental activist Al Gore

India Newswire 11

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Lokpal: Hazare-govt meet hits logjamNew Delhi: The government will

convene an all-party meet on July

3 to discuss the two versions of

the Lokpal bill, even as Gandhian

Anna Hazare slammed the UPA

government for not being serious

about tackling corruption and

reiterated he would go on another

hunger strike from August 16

over the issue.

Undeterred by Hazare's call,

the Congress warned him not to

fast again else he may get the

"same treatment" as yoga guru

Baba Ramdev, who along with

his supporters had to face a

police crackdown in New Delhi.

But Hazare hit back, saying that

he was "ready" for "everything" -

even batons.

The United Progressive

Alliance (UPA) government had

on Tuesday decided to hold dis-

cussions with all political parties

on the draft of the bill - a move

taken after civil society mem-

bers, headed by Hazare, and gov-

ernment met for the last time.

The two sides submitted their

versions of the draft, which are to

be given to the cabinet which

will approve a final version. The

two sides failed to arrive at a

consensus over the draft bill pro-

visions.

"We have an Election

Commission and the government

can't interfere in its function. We

have the Supreme Court and the

Right to Information (RTI) Act

which they cannot interfere in,"

Hazare said here.

"Just like them, the Lokpal

should also be beyond govern-

ment's interference," he said,

adding the government's claims

were an attempt to "mislead the

people".

After Tuesday's last meeting

between them, Human Resource

Development Minister Kapil

Sibal had said that while the gov-

ernment wanted a strong Lokpal,

"we cannot have a parallel gov-

ernment".

"The government is trying to

create misunderstanding in the

minds of the people before our

fast", Hazare said, and likened it

to a "second struggle for free-

dom".

Hazare said it was also impor-

tant to bring the Central Bureau

of Investigation (CBI) under the

Lokpal to uproot corruption in

the country.

However, Congress general

secretary Digvijay Singh warned

Hazare not to fast again else he

may get the "same treatment" as

yoga guru Baba Ramdev got

recently.

"Anna saheb says he will again

sit on fast. If he does so, he may

get the same treatment as the

other (Baba Ramdev) got

recently."

Anna Hazare, lawyer Shanti Bhushan and activist Arvind Kejriwal ontheir way to attend a meeting at the North Block in New Delhi.

Lokpal: A turbulent journeyApril 9: Joint drafting commit-

tee is formed following the

hunger strike by Gandhian

Anna Hazare that attracted

country-wide support.

April 16: The first meeting of

the joint committee was cordial,

with both sides exchanging

drafts. The civil society mem-

bers had even modified their

version, the Janlokpal Bill.

May 2: Second meeting was

announced to be "very good"

and with "no difference of

opinion" by Kapil Sibal. Civil

society members said the meet-

ing discussed the basic princi-

ples of the act and it was "con-

ducive".

June 6 : Scheduled a day after

the crackdown against yoga

guru Baba Ramdev's fast in

Ramlila ground of Delhi, civil

society members boycotted the

meeting. Government represen-

tatives attended the meeting.

June 15: Meeting saw major

differences. While the civil-

society members said that the

government was trying to kill

the bill before it was even

formed, government members

alleged that the civil society's

version will create a structure

superseding parliament.

Consensus could not be

reached on inclusion of prime

minister and Supreme and high

court judges.

June 21: The last meeting of

the committee ended with the

two sides exchanging drafts

while agreeing that "differences

exist". Sibal said six points of

differences existed between the

groups.

12 India Newswire

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington: Finance Minister

Pranab Mukherjee and US

Treasury Secretary Timothy

Geithner will lead a high-level

economic dialogue here next

week aimed at seeking to tap vast

opportunities offered by one of

the fastest-growing economies in

the world.

The second annual meeting of

the US-India Economic and

Financial Partnership will focus

on infrastructure development,

capital markets reforms, coopera-

tion on the Group of 20 efforts to

reduce trade imbalances, and

efforts to combat money launder-

ing, a senior US Treasury official

said.

The US official said removal of

trade barriers to investment in

India, closer economic coopera-

tion and greater market accesswould help make it one of top-10

US trading partners. "Our partner-

ship seeks to unlock an enormous

untapped potential in our relation-

ship," he said.

"Given the relative size of our

two economies, we still have

major opportunities to expand our

trade and investment linkages to

the benefit of both countries," said

the official in a background brief-

ing.

Besides rampant corruption,

which was "an impediment to

investors looking to commit sub-

stantial sums of money", one of

the key challenges is encouraging

India to foster a more certain and

established regulatory and legal

structure that won't leave

investors guessing, the official

said.

Also on the agenda would be

terror-financing and trying to bet-

ter align economic policies in the

context of the Group of 20 nations

talks, he said.

One area for discussion will be

ways to open India's "relatively

closed" capital markets and bank-

ing sector to foreign investment,

the Treasury official said.

"It's an issue for India as it seeks

to maximise its growth potential.

It's clearly important for India to

develop long-term capital markets

to provide adequate financing for

infrastructure, which is a major

constraint to India's growth," he

said.

The biggest opportunity for US

companies is India's massive need

for infrastructure development,

where firms can provide expertise

in engineering, financing and the

capital equipment needed for the

ports, expressways, airports, rail-

ways and power grid that India

needs to improve the efficiency of

its economy, the official said.

New Delhi:

Despite the dis-

missal by

Finance Minister

P r a n a b

Mukherjee of

charges that his

office had been

bugged, rumors

continued to

swirl in the capi-

tal's political cor-

ridors of a major

security breach,

with the

Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) con-

tinuing to insist it

had the making

of "India's Watergate" and needed a

thorough probe.

"It's bogus. Don't waste your

time on this," a visibly irritated

Mukherjee told reporters outside

his North Block office, a day after

the Indian Express reported that the

minister told Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh about a "serious

breach of security" in his office last

year.

Mukherjee had reportedly

demanded a secret inquiry into the

alleged planting of "adhesives" at

16 key locations in his office, sug-

gesting that there was a possible

surveillance attempt. On Tuesday,

Mukherjee, the number two in the

government, had said that the

Intelligence Bureau had investigat-

ed the matter and "they found there

is nothing".

But the opposition was not satis-

fied. Calling it "India's Watergate",

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the

Intelligence Bureau's reported

argument that the adhesives found

in Mukherjee's office were chew-

ing gums was a joke and shocking.

In her tweet Tuesday night, she

said: "In either case it is a matter of

grave concern. It is India's

Watergate and needs to be thor-

oughly investigated."

She was referring to the

Watergate scandal, which unrav-

eled in early 1970 following a

break-in to plant bugs at the head-

quarters of the Democratic

National Committee, which gov-

erns the day-to-day working of the

Democratic party. The headquar-

ters were located in Watergate

building in the US capital

Washington. The Watergate scan-

dal ultimately led to the resignation

of president Richard Nixon.

"Is it that the government was

spying on its own finance minister?

Or is it a corporate house? The

finance minister may have his own

compulsions of playing it down,"

Sushma Swaraj said. "The chewing

gum theory is hard to digest."

The discovery of the adhesives

and grooves was first made by pri-

vate detectives summoned by the

Central Board of Direct Taxes,

which reports to the finance minis-

ter. According to the Indian

Express, Mukherjee wrote to the

prime minister in September last

year after the discoveries in his

office and in the adjoining offices

and conference rooms.

The Communist Party of India

(CPI) said the story read like "an

American thriller".

India-US economic dialogue next week

Pranab's office bugged?

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in office.

'Munde move not to affectsaffron alliance in Maharashtra'

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader

Gopinath Munde's plan to leave his party would not

affect the alliance of Shiv Sena-BJP-Republican

Party of India in Maharashtra, Sena chief Bal

Thackeray said here, ahead of Munde's announce-

ment to remain in his party.

"All rumors that I am leaving the BJP to join the

Congress are only false...I have always been with the

BJP and will remain with the party," Munde said in

New Delhi after meeting party leader Sushma

Swaraj.

Reacting to reports in the past few weeks that

Munde was planning to quit the BJP as he was feel-

ing sidelined, Thackeray sought to know how come

Munde realised this so late.

"How come he realized so late that he was being

humiliated in the BJP?" Thackeray asked, talking to

reporters at his residence.

Thackeray said this was the "internal" matter of the

BJP and he would not like to interfere in it in any

manner.

He brushed aside a question whether he would

speak to BJP leaders, including party chief Nitin

Gadkari and L.K. Advani, about Munde's grievances.

"Where is the need? I do not feel the need to speak

to any leader on this issue," he said.

Thackeray expressed his readiness to entertain

Munde if he wanted to speak to the Sena supremo

about his grievances.

"The doors of 'Matoshri' (Thackeray family's resi-

dence in north Mumbai's Bandra) are always open

for him. When he had differences in the past with the

BJP leadership, I had spoken to him and stopped

him. But now I will not stop him (from leaving the

BJP)," the Sena chief said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leaderGopinath Munde.

Consensus eludes women'sreservation bill

New Delhi: The women's reser-

vation bill that seeks to reserve

33 percent seats for women in

parliament and state legislatures

hit another roadblock with an all-

party meeting convened by

Speaker Meira Kumar, failing to

break the deadlock over its provi-

sions.

One of the bill's major oppo-

nent, the Samajwadi Party (SP),

stayed away as did the Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP) while its other

opponents stuck to their stand.

However, the speaker, talking

to reporters later, said, "We will

keep the effort going on".

"I will call the SP and the BSP

separately to discuss the issue...

Efforts will continue till consen-

sus is achieved," she said, adding

that another meeting would be

convened before the monsoon

session of parliament that begins

Aug 1.

The bill was passed by the

Rajya Sabha March 9 last year.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)

and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U)

are the other main opponents of

the bill.

They are demanding a quota

within a quota for women from

the other backward classes

(OBCs) to be included in the bill.

"Our stand has been the same

since day one, we want reserva-

tion for OBC women, and we

will stand by it," a RJD leader

said.

Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh

Prasad, who represented the party

at the meeting, demanded a

"quota within quota" for OBC

women.

The bill has been pending for

last 16 years with political parties

failing to agree on its provisions.

14 Subcontinent

June 25-July1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington: US President Barack

Obama has announced plans to

withdraw 10,000 American troops

from Afghanistan this year.

The first US soldiers will begin

returning home next month, in line

with the deadline set by Obama in

December 2009, when he author-

ized a surge of 33,000 US troops to

break the Taliban's control in

Afghanistan.

All the troops sent in the surge

will be pulled out by next summer,

Obama said in a televised speech.

"After this initial reduction, our

troops will continue coming home

at a steady pace as Afghan security

forces move into the lead," he said.

"Our mission will change from

combat to support. By 2014, this

process of transition will be com-

plete, and the Afghan people will

be responsible for their own securi-

ty," he said.

The US had made significant

progress on meeting its three goals

for the surge - denying Al Qaeda a

safe-haven, reversing the Taliban's

momentum and training the

Afghan security forces, the presi-

dent said.

According to US officials, up to

5,000 troops would leave the coun-

try next month, and another 5,000

soldiers would return home by the

end of the year.

Some 70,000 US servicemen will

stay in Afghanistan till the summer

of 2012.

The US has been the largest con-

tributor to the 48-nation

International Security Assistance

Force (ISAF), which currently has

more than 130,000 troops in

Afghanistan.

Obama announces Afghantroop pullout

According to US officials, up to 5,000 troops would leave the country next month, and another 5,000 soldiers would return

home by the end of the year.

Washington: Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger

threat than the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and disapprove

of the US military operation that killed Osama bin

Laden, according to a new poll.

Although Al Qaeda leader bin Laden has not been

well-liked in recent years, a majority of Pakistanis

describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14 percent say it

is a good thing, according to a latest poll by the Pew

Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin

Laden's hideout, which was located about 35 miles from

Islamabad, will have a negative impact on the already

strained relations between the US and their country.

The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis

about an extremist takeover and support for using mili-

tary force against extremist groups are slipping, but the

groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of

Al Qaeda, down from 18 percent in 2010. Only 12 per-

cent give the Taliban a favourable rating with both

Pakistan based Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban

getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based

Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008

Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27 percent have a pos-

itive opinion of the terror outfit. When asked which is

the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or

Al Qaeda, a majority of Pakistanis (57 percent) say

India, the poll noted. Similarly, Indians express negative

opinions of Pakistan; 65 percent have an unfavorable

view of their traditional rival and more name Pakistan as

India's biggest threat (45 percent) than name Lashkar-e-

Taiba (19 percent) or Naxalites (16 percent).

India bigger threat than Qaeda:Pakistanis

Jaya seeks PM's help tofree fishermen

A majority of Pakistanis describe Osama’s death a bad thing.

Yangon: India wrapped up its first high-level

engagement with Myanmar's new civilian

government after signing a slew of bilateral

agreements focusing on capacity building,

even as a top official met the country's democ-

racy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M.

Krishna, who was in Myanmar on a three-day

visit from Monday, met top figures in the

three-month-old civilian government to

explore possibilities of enhanced business and

security ties between the two countries.

China, which has well-entrenched economic

and bilateral ties with Myanmar, had taken the

lead in engaging the civilian government

when President Thein Sein went to Beijing on

his first state visit in May.

Utilizing well the opportunity provided by

Krishna's visit, India signed agreements to

build an 80-km road between Mizoram and

Chin states for $60-million, set up a vocation-

al skills centre for Myanmar's youth, provide

$10 million aid for buying agricultural imple-

ments and to set up a research centre in the

sector, apart from a promise to deploy the

Archaeological Survey of India to renovate a

12th century Hindu temple in Bagan division

of Mandalay.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who

accompanied Krishna, took time off the busy

bilateral meetings with the political leaders to

meet Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate and

leader of the new disbanded National League

for Democracy, when they discussed India's

aid to Myanmar's development.

Suu Kyi had been freed from 18-month

house arrest by the erstwhile military junta

soon after the first general elections in 20

years.

Krishna wraps up first-everMyanmar trip

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishnaalong with Foreign Secretary NirupamaRao during bilateral talks with Myanmar

counterparts.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.

Jayalalithaa has urged Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh to secure the early

release of the 23 fishermen from Tamil

Nadu taken into custody by the Sri

Lankan Navy.

The fishermen, from Rameswaram and

Mandapam, had set out in five boats and

were taken into custody for allegedly

intruding into Sri Lankan waters, accord-

ing to police.

The incident came to light when a fish-

erman escaped with his boat and

informed the authorities.

India, Pak for patienceahead of talks

New Delhi: India and Pakistan

underlined the need for

patience and sincerity ahead of

talks between their foreign sec-

retaries in Islamabad starting

June 23.

Indian Foreign Secretary

Nirupama Rao left for

Islamabad for two days of talks

with her Pakistani counterpart

Salman Bashir.

This will be followed by a

meeting of their foreign minis-

ters next month.

Aware of the many hiccups in

their relationship, New Delhi

and Islamabad are not trying to

raise hopes from the meeting,

which takes place soon after a

row involving an Indian and a

Pakistani warship.

Indian External Affairs

Minister S.M. Krishna has said

that in "the kind of talks we are

going to be involved with,

patience is something to be

called for".

Indian officials have said

they have "realistic expecta-

tions" from the meeting, given

the complexities of the bilater-

al relationship.

While India was expected to

raise the role of anti-India ter-

rorist groups based in Pakistan,

Islamabad said the Kashmir

dispute would be a core issue

on the agenda.

India has said it will raise the

revelations of Pakistani-

American terrorist operative

David Headley, who has

alleged a close nexus between

the Pakistan spy agency ISI

and the Laskar-e-Toiba terror-

ist group.

$99 mn WB aid for Indo-Nepalenergy pact

Kathmandu: The

World Bank has

approved a $99 million

package for an Indo-

Nepal cross-border

energy cooperation to

mitigate a nat ional

energy crisis in the

Himalayan republic.

The funding is meant

for the landmark Nepal-

India Electr ici ty

Transmission and Trade

Project (NIETTP) that

will provide Nepal with

at least 100 MW of

additional electricity, to

supplement its current

electricity generation

capacity of 698 MW

and help minimize

power blackouts.

The project will see

the establishment of

cross-border transmis-

sion capacity of about

1,000 MW.

It will also develop

key segments of the

backbone high voltage

system to help expand

access to electr ici ty

across Nepal.

IIFA Toronto 15

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Bollywood takes over TorontoToronto: Bollywood takes over

Toronto this weekend with music,

fashion, film and dance, culminating

in a star-studded awards bash

Saturday. The International Indian

Film Academy (IIFA) celebrations

are an annual touring event meant to

promote South Asian cinema and

stars.

The IIFA weekend is described as

India's biggest media event with the

marquee awards show considered

one of world's most-watched tele-

vised spectacles. Produced by the

Mumbai-based Wizcraft

International Entertainment, the

three-day party features a film festi-

val, business forum, fashion show

and awards gala.

The IIFA weekend honors Indian

pop culture, promotes Bollywood

stars abroad and gives fans a chance

to get close to the mostly Mumbai-

based celebs. The host city gets an

international spotlight to promote

tourism and trade.

Festivities include Thursday's

world premiere of the Bollywood

comedy "Double Dhamaal".

Friday's IIFA Rocks bash features

musicians and models in a couture

fashion show and concert; a music

workshop on Saturday is led by

Bollywood composers; while

Saturday's Floriana IIFA Awards

celebrates the Indian film industry’s

achievements with a performance-

laden show.

More than 200 filmmakers and

stars are expected from India and

overseas. They include famed

Kapoor family members Neetu, Raj,

Randhir and Rishi; brothers Bobby

and Sunny Deol and their legendary

father Dharmendra; as well as

Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra,

Karan Johar, Madhavan and Mallika

Sherawat. Others include Anil

Kapoor, best known for roles in

America for his "24" and "Slumdog

Millionaire," and Shilpa Shetty, the

actress and model who was

embroiled in a controversy on

Britain's "Celebrity Big Brother" in

2007. The first IIFA Awards were

held at the Millennium Dome in

London in 2000. Since then, cele-

brations have been held in Sun City,

Malaysia; Dubai; Amsterdam;

Singapore; Yorkshire, England;

Bangkok; Macau; Johannesburg;

and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Shah Rukh Khan has confirmedhe will perform at IIFA

The Indian Charlie Chaplin

King Khan to perform

Shah Rukh Khan cleared

the air about his perform-

ance at IIFA 2011, which

will be held this weekend in

Toronto, Canada. SRK, who is

suffering from a knee injury, will

be performing at the award cere-

mony.

The dance steps have been

made easier for him.

Tickets $1,000 apiece

Scalpers are taking advan-

tage of the high demand

for tickets to the star-stud-

ded IIFA awards ceremony,

pushing resale prices upwards of

$1,000.

IIFA ’11 to commemorateRaj Kapoor

Toronto: The legendary Raj

Kapoor is looming large over

Toronto in the Year of India in

Canada.

As the IIFA Weekend and

Awards come here next week, the

Toronto International Film

Festival (TIFF) has joined hands

with IIFA to commemorate the

first superstar of Indian cinema.

The main members of the

Kapoor clan - Karisma Kapoor,

Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor,

Rajiv Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor and

Ranbir Kapoor - will be present as

special guests at the June 26 event

to pay tributes to Raj Kapoor,

TIFF said.

Other Bollywood stars attending

the IIFA Awards will also attend

the tribute to the 'Charlie Chaplin

of Indian cinema', TIFF said.

Beginning next month, TIFF

will also present 'Raj Kapoor and

The Golden Age of Indian

Cinema Retrospective' running

here from July 1 to August 7.

In a statement Friday, TIFF said,

"One of the giants of Indian cine-

ma, actor, director, mogul and leg-

end Raj Kapoor is synonymous

with the rise of Bollywood.

"The highly influential Kapoor

is revered throughout India, the

former Soviet world, the Middle

East and beyond for the films he

made during the Golden Age of

Indian cinema. Running from July

1 to August 7, TIFF presents the

first major Kapoor retrospective

in North America in nearly three

decades - featuring a number of

newly struck 35mm prints - and

an exciting new installation from

acclaimed filmmaker Srinivas

Krishna.''

It said Raj Kapoor's directorial

debut, "Aag" (1949), his first

mega-hit "Barsaat" (1949),

"Awaara" (1961); record breaking

"Sangam" (1964) and major-hit

"Bobby" (1973) will be among the

films to be shown during the

Toronto retrospective.

Jackson bro to perform at ‘IIFA Rocks’with Sonu Nigam

In an international first, leg-

endary Indian playback singer

Sonu Nigam will team with

Grammy Award nominee and icon-

ic American popstar Jermaine

Jackson in a dazzling performance

at IIFA Rocks presented by The

Bay in tribute to his brother, the

late ‘King of Pop,’ Michael

Jackson.

IIFA Rocks is a dazzling event

that shines a spotlight on the world

of fashion, with live musical per-

formances from popular interna-

tionals artists in support of the

IIFA Foundation. The IIFA

Foundation supports families of

film industry workers who have

been adversely affected during the

production of films. This year,

IIFA Rocks will also announce the

12th Floriana IIFA Technical

Award winners and feature musical

performances by top stars and

international music artists, includ-

ing Neha Dupia, Dia Mirza,

Mallika Sherawat, the cast of

Double Dhamaal, Shankar-Eshaan-

Loy and is co-hosted by Anushka

Sharma and Karan Johar.

Jackson, the older brother of the

late Michael Jackson was a mem-

ber of one of the world’s most

beloved R&B groups – The

Jackson 5. Nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Male

R&B Vocal Performance for his

1980 album Let’s Get Serious,

Jackson has had numerous

Billboard Top 30 hits including

Daddy’s Home, That’s How Love

Goes and Let’s Get Serious. A duet

with his brother Michael, Tell Me

I’m Not Dreamin’ (Too Good to Be

True), hit #1 on the dance chart in

1984. Don’t Take It Personal, hit

#1 on the Billboard R&B singles

chart.

The event will feature fashion

from collections available at The

Bay, as well as renowned Indian

designers, Sabyasachi, Rajesh

Pratap Singh and Vikram Phadnis.

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee

is set to walk the ramp for designer

Rajesh Pratap Singh.

The nomineesBest film

Band Baaja Baaraat

Dabaang

My Name is Khan

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai

Raajneeti

Best Lead (Male)

Salman Khan - Dabaang

Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish

Shah Rukh Khan - My Name is

Khan

Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A

Time in Mumbaai

Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti

Best Lead (Female)

Anuksha Sharma - Band Baaja

Baaraat

Kareena Kapoor - Golmaal 3

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan -

Guzaarish

Vidya Balan - Ishqiya

Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti

Jermaine Jackson

Bipasha Basu, Nindy Kaur kick off fest

June 17-19 was the official

kick-off for IIFA in Toronto.

Bollywood's smash-hit sensa-

tion Nindy Kaur and international-

ly applauded musical group RDB

were named as the Brand

Ambassadors for IIFA Buzz

Brampton. To make the event more

of a hit, the group personally invit-

ed Bollywood bombshell Bipasha

Basu to attend, turning the week-

end’s festivities into a star-studded

gala.

Brampton's Mayor, Susan

Fennell, awarded Nindy Kaur with

a Walk Of Fame and a plaque for

the amazing job she did to bring

more awareness towards IIFA

Brampton Buzz. Brampton's main-

stream TV stations such as CBC,

City TV and ET Canada all cap-

tured Nindy Kaur on interview,

alongside RDB. During Saturday's

parade, Nindy Kaur, RDB &

Bipasha Basu all traveled on a

floating stage through the city of

Brampton. Fans were so excited to

see Kaur and Basu that the two had

to be escorted by police to a safer

area. On June 24th and 25th, Nindy

Kaur will be walking down the

green carpet for IIFA Rocks at

Rico Coliseum and the IIFA

Awards at the Rogers Centre.

Bipasha Basu and Nindy Kaur in Toronto

16 Ultimate Bollywood

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

He has devoted over four

decades to the film indus-

try, witnessing major

changes in content along the

years, but megastar Amitabh

Bachchan has always made it a

point to keep in sync with the

tastes of youth, who constitute

the bulk of the audience as, he

stresses, "you have to listen to

them".

The 68-year-old icon, whose

latest "Bbuddah...Hoga Tera

Baap" releases July 1, says while

he is happy with most of the

changes, he still has reservations

over the use of expletives and

doing explicit scenes in films.

He says youth will continue

steering changes in content -

from candyfloss romance dramas

to dark comedies, hardcore action

fights, and hard-hitting reality

films.

"Indian cinema will change

with every generation! When we

came in the 1970s and 1980s,

people, the old timers, didn't nec-

essarily agree with what we did.

They said, 'What is this man like?

In every film he has a frown on

his face, bashing up people!' The

old timers didn't like it.

But youth seemed to like it, and

so we went ahead," Amitabh was

quoted as saying. "The modern

generation now likes romantic

and young films and films that

show more stuff that is very

prevalent in youth today. I'm

happy that changes are taking

place in the industry," he added.

Amitabh, who still manages to

give stiff competition to younger

stars like Shah Rukh Khan,

Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan,

and even his son Abhishek, has

begun to feel a generation gap.

Nevertheless, he finds it pertinent

to keep a tab on the pulse of

youth to make films that are in

keeping with the audience's

tastes.

"I'd like to know what youth is

seeing, what is happening, how

are tastes changing.

I see many films, and when I

don't like certain films and hear

that it worked, I question 'Why

the hell did it work... because I

didn't find anything attractive?

And then when I like a film, I ask

myself... 'Hey this film didn't

work?

This is such a fantastic film!' So

there's obviously something

wrong with me!Amitabh's

"Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap"

releases July 1 and "Aarakshan"

will hit theaters on Aug 12.

Youth to drive content in cinema: Big B

Actor Saif Ali Khan has

denied reports that he and

his girlfriend Kareena

Kapoor are going through a rough

patch, saying they are happy

together.

"I would like to reassure our

fans and well-wishers that all is

well with Kareena and I...we are

working hard but we always make

time for each other. All these

rumors are disturbing and

untrue...especially when families

are brought into it in such bad

taste. I wouldn't like to say any-

more except we are very happy

together," Saif, 40, said in a press

statement.

Saif and Kareena, 30, who are

considered one of the hottest cou-

ples in Bollywood, are seeing

each other for the past four years.

And they even featured together

in films like "Tashan" and

"Kurbaan".

"The news has deeply disturbed

both the couple and their respec-

tive families. They have always

been open about their relationship

and are alarmed with these rumors

planted by people with vested

interests," said a source.

Saif denies Kareenabreak-up rumor

It's his belief in 'cinema with

power' that drives Prakash Jha

to bring political and socio-

political issues to celluloid. But

Jha, whose next "Aarakshan" is on

the reservation policy, doesn't

believe in igniting debate and

maintains that his cinema tries to

spread awareness in society.

"I only strive to bring about

understanding. If changes happen

thanks to my films...it's fantastic!

But all I would like to tell is a good

story and give some understanding

to the viewers (about a subject),"

Jha said.

Be it bonded labor in "Damul",

gender injustice in "Mrityudand",

Bihar's kidnapping industry in

"Apaharan", India's corrupt police

force in "Gangaajal", political sce-

nario in "Raajneeti" and now caste-

based reservation in "Aarakshan",

Jha says he picked each subject to

analyze the impact of the country's

social, economic and governmental

policies.

"More than issues, I focus on the

changes caused by new policies. It

is my keenness that I understand

those changes in Indian society,

observe them, and when I feel that

I have understood the issues well, I

tell a story," said Jha who doesn't

believe in "igniting a debate

because the truth about society will

remain the truth - we can't change

it." "But we should try and under-

stand the in-depth impacts these

issues cause in society, the dispari-

ty they cause among people and

how it can be reduced... my cinema

is just an attempt to understand

that," he added.

In "Aarakshan", viewers must

not seek to find a solution to the

disparity caused by the reservation

issue, warned the critically

acclaimed and National award-

winning filmmaker.

"I'm just telling a story. I'm not

giving a solution. 'Aarakshan' is an

emotional story of a family that is

caught in the aftermath of the

reservation issue. It is a story of a

principal who is forced to take

sides or the stand of a society that

wakes up to a situation caused by

the reservation quota," he said.

The movie, which features

Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan,

Deepika Padukone, Manoj

Bajpayee and Prateik, will release

on Aug 12. Jha, who shot the film

in Bhopal in a 55-day schedule,

feels it's important for youth to

understand the subject for the bet-

terment of their future.

I strive to bring understanding,not change: Jha

Actors Saif Ali Khan with Kareena Kapoor. A scene from director Prakash Jha’s next film Aarakshan.

Amitabh Bachchan in a scene from Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap.

Every time Ash has put

on weight, specula-

tion has been rife

over whether she is going

the family way. Finally, the

rumors have been put to rest

by Amitabh Bachchan.

On June 21, Amitabh

Bachchan wrote on his

microblogging site:

"@SrBachchan: T 410 -

NEWS NEWS NEWS !! I

AM GOING TO BECOME

A GRANDFATHER ..

AISHWARYA EXPECTING

.. SO HAPPY AND

THRILLED!!!"

Bollywood too is equally

excited about the news. On

hearing the news, composer

Vishal Dadlani wrote:

"Thrilled for @junior-

bachchan, Ash,

@SrBachchan and Mrs B.

Some of the most wonderful

people I know! God bless

you ..."

Sophie Chowdhury wrote:

"Congrats to soon to be

dadaji @SrBachchan.

Thrilled for @junior-

bachchan and Ash. Much

love and happiness to u

all!!"

Koel Puri, on her part, has

wished the Bachchan parivar

and also said that Abhishek

and Ash will no doubt have

beautiful children.

I'm going to be agrandfather: Big B

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Ultimate Bollywood 17

Thesouthasiantimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

After having the audience in splits

with his 2007 hit film "Dhamaal",

the comical fivesome of Riteish

Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaffery, Arshad Warsi,

Ashish Chaudhary and Sanjay Dutt are

returning with a double dose of entertain-

ment in the sequel "Double Dhamaal.”

Directed by Indra Kumar, the movie, co-

produced by Reliance Entertainment and

Maruti International, has new additions to

the cast - Kangana Ranaut and Mallika

Sherawat.

The story of "Double Dhamaal" starts

where it ended in "Dhamaal", when they

donate all the money that they had

acquired. The four good for nothing jokers -

- Roy (Riteish ), Manav (Jaaved), Adi

(Arshad) and Boman (Aashish Chowdhary)

-- still dream of a good life where they

would get everything without doing any-

thing.

Enter their old arch-nemesis and corrupt

inspector Kabir (Sanjay), who is no longer

a cop and is now leading a luxurious life.

He drives a Mercedes, has a posh office andlives in a villa. After seeing all the comfort

and luxury in Kabir's life, Roy, Manav, Adi

and Boman feel jealous and decide come

what may, they will share his fortune.

However, they are unaware that their

quest to turn their dreams into a reality

would become a nightmare as Kabir has his

own agenda, only shared by his wife

Kamini (Mallika Sherawat) and his sister

Kiya (Kangana Ranaut).

Made at a budget of Rs.35 crore, the film

has been shot in Mauritius, Hong Kong and

Mumbai and promises to be a rib-tickling

comedy. Another highlight of the movie is

that after "Munni" and "Sheila", sultry

Mallika will be seen giving competition to

Malaika Arora Khan and Katrina Kaif as

Jalebi Bai with her item song.

The other highlight of the film is said to

be Ashish, who dons the garb of a woman

and even learnt how to behave like one for

the role. And it was Riteish, who demon-

strated catwalk skills to Ashish and gave

him a lot of tips which helped in his per-

formance. Riteish had played a woman in

"Apna Sapna Money Money".

Ashish will show his 'adaas' and 'nakhras'

as a girl while seducing Sanjay in the

movie.

Om Puri's marriage with

Nandita has already hit a

dead end and the only rea-

son that kept the duo connected

was their 13-year-old son Ishaan.

But after Nandita created a drama

at Seema Kapoor's residence, Puri

decided to break the silence on

their present state of relationship.

"We signed an MOU on August

10, 2010, with mutual consent. In

this, she wanted two years before

we get divorced.

There were certain other condi-

tions in the MOU, which were

related to property etc. I have a

son and it is my duty to secure his

future and that's why I did the

needful.

There were a couple of other

conditions, which state that

Nandita will accompany us on the

outstation trips that I go on with

my son. I agreed to it all," Puri

told Mumbai Mirror.

"The major reason is that our

lawyer suggested that the divorce

proceedings will be smooth, if we

have these two years of separa-

tion.

According to the MOU, I can

stay wherever I want and I am not

answerable to Nandita, so I fail to

understand the reason for creating

the ruckus that she did outside

Seema's building. We have

already crossed ten months, since

we signed the MOU," he added.

Om Puri to divorce wife Nandita

It’s almost a year since she

showed a keen interest in doing

a Bollywood film, but actor

Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabellahas

not been able to finalize her debut

film yet.Interestingly, Katrina too

confirmed sometime back that she

will not be producing the movie

that launches her sister.

“We are looking for a suitable

project to launch my sister. There’s

nothing to announce as of now. I

am not going to produce any film

for sure. She is going to do the

usual Bollywood rounds (meeting

filmmakers with her portfolio like

any newcomer),” Katrina said at an

event recently.

Sources say quite a few filmmak-

ers have sought meetings with

Isabella to launch her in their films,

but Katrina, who’s ambitious for

her sister, apparently does not want

to settle for anything less than a big

project.

So, what is delaying her

Bollywood debut? The same rea-

son that dogged Katrina for years

— her lack of command over

Hindi. Sources say that Isabella has

already got two Hindi diction

teachers and speech coaches to

learn the language.

Why no takers forKatrina’s sister?

Indian Bond fans might get a

chance to catch a glimpse of

Daniel Craig who will shoot

in the outskirts of Mumbai for

his next 007 movie soon. 1983

film Octopussy was the only

James Bond film shot in India.

The action movie will be shot

in Big ND Studio located in

Karjat in a three-week spell,

reportedly.

Oscar Award winning director

Sam Mendes and production

designer Terry Bamber had vis-

ited India some time this April

for a recce, reported Mid Day.

"The Hollywood movie would

star t off with an explosive

chase scene set in South

Mumbai.

In the ND Studio, South

Mumbai setting of the main

road with shops, bylanes and

the main traffic signal will be

expanded to include the historic

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Terminus and Crawford

Market, too," a source told the

tabloid. This is Daniel Craig's

third outing as James Bond.

James Bond back in Indiaafter 28 years

Om Puri with his wife Nandita Puri.

Katrina Kaif with her sisterIsabellahas.

Daniel Craig as James Bond.

The cast of 'Double Dhamaal'.

Sanjay, Arshad back in 'Double Dhamaal'

18 Culture

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Berlin: On July 2-3, Berlin’s Olympiastadion

will be transformed into a melting pot of

nations when 70,000 people from 151 coun-

tries come together to sing, dance, laugh, cele-

brate, enjoy culinary specialties and meditate

at The World Culture Festival.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, world renowned spiri-

tual guru and peace ambassador, launched the

international festival to the press last week at

the Indian Embassy in Berlin, which also

holds patronage for the event. Speakers at the

press conference included members of the

World Culture Festival reception committee:

Mrs Monika Griefahn, board member, Right

Livelihood Award, Prof. Peter Eigen, Founder

of Transparency International, Prof. Dr.

Gesine Schwan, founder of the Humboldt-

Viadrina School of Governance and Sudhir

Vyas, Ambassador of India to Germany.

“The Festival offers a platform for people to

get to know different cultures and celebrate

together in a joyful context,” said Sri Sri Ravi

Shankar, several times Nobel Peace Prize

nominee, “so that intercultural dialogue and

peace is supported in a non-bureaucratic

way”.

Four pavilions are planned, one for each

continent, where countries can display their

various cultures. The stadium green will be

transformed into Europe’s biggest participa-

tive Yoga Park.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “the

Olympiastadion Berlin was selected as the

venue for the festival due to the extraordinary

historical meaning of the city of Berlin, which

is located in the heart of Europe and the link

between East and West”.

Besides a unique programme with music,

dance, dialogue and encounters, senior gov-

ernmental representatives, business leaders,

academia, NGOs leaders, religious and spiri-

tual leaders, peacemakers and renowned per-

sonalities from across the globe will exchange

their views and spread the message of peace,

unity and harmony in diversity in a bid to pro-

mote peace and cultural togetherness.

The World Culture Festival will conclude

with a unique peace meditation and a peace

prayer, bringing together representatives from

different traditions to spread the message of

peace and intercultural harmony.

Organized by the international Art of Living

Foundation, a UN accredited humanitarian

NGO promoting peace and human values

through social and educational programmes.

The Art of Living Foundation was founded in

1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and is active in

151 countries.

Tickets are available on www.worldcul-turefestival.org.

Hundreds of veena players gave a concert at Art of Living’s 25th anniversary in Bangalore.This time a Grand Guitar Ensemble for Peace will see 2,000 guitarists, 30 pianos, and a choir

performance with 3,000 singers.

Members of the World Culture Festival reception committee including India’s ambassador toGermany, Sudhir Vyas, with Sri Sri.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living program and movement

World Culture Festivalon July 2-3 in Berlin

Berlin’s Olympic Stadium is the venue of the festival.

Numerous dance performances by groups fromacross the globe will be seen at the Festival.

70,000 people will come together to spread the message of peace and intercultural harmony under the aegis of

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

International 19

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Ban Ki-moon re-elected to top UN postUnited Nations: The UN Security

Council "adopted by acclamation"

a resolution to nominate incumbent

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon for a second five-year term,

the Council president told reporters

here.

Noel Nelson Messone, Gabon's

UN ambassador whose country

holds the rotating Council presiden-

cy for June, made the announce-

ment to the press here after the 15-

nation Security Council met behind

closed doors to consider the recom-

mendation for the appointment of

the UN secretary-general.

He said the Security Council rec-

ommended to the General

Assembly that Ban Ki-moon be

appointed UN secretary-general for

a second term from Jan 1, 2012 to

Dec 31, 2016.

Under the UN Charter, the secre-

tary-general is appointed by the UN

General Assembly upon the recom-

mendation of the Security Council.

The full UN General Assembly is

expected to hold a formal vote next

week, Xinhua reported quoting UN

officials.

Last week, Ban, a South Korean

national, put himself forward for

re-election as the secretary-general.

Ban's current term expires on

December 31, and he has no

declared rival for the post. The 67-

year-old former South Korean for-

eign minister succeeded Kofi

Annan in January 2007.

His re-election bid won support

from the five permanent members

of the 15-nation Security Council:

Britain, China, France, Russia and

the US, who have the veto power

on the UN body.

Ban Ki-moon's current termexpires on December 31, and he

has no declared rival for the post.

Internet to be thrown open to new names

Washington: The body that con-

trols internet domain names

agreed to open up the naming sys-

tem so that any organization with

enough cash can apply to create

own version of .com, .org or .gov.

The Los Angeles-based Internet

Corporation for Names and

Numbers (ICANN) has been plan-

ning the naming expansion for

sometime and approved it at a

board meeting in Singapore

Monday morning, the Los

Angeles Times reported.

This means that instead of going

to coke.com or nike.com, you

might be able to go to drink.coke

or justdoit.nike. Nonprofit groups

could reserve the .school domain

and cities could consolidate their

online presence at .nyc or .losan-

geles, the report said.

But this won't come cheap. The

price tag to get a new domain is

$185,000. Only "established pub-

lic or private organizations" can

apply, and all applications must

prove they have the technical

capability necessary to keep a

domain running, the report said.

Internet experts believe the ini-

tial expansion might bring 500

new options for site suffixes.

There are only 22 now, including

the original eight, .com, .edu,

.gov, .int, .mil, .net, .org and .arpa.

Russia opposes Libya-style UN action on SyriaMoscow: Moscow will veto any UN

Security Council that will seek to slap

Libya-type sanctions against Syria, Russian

President Dmitry Medvedev said, reports

RIA Novosti.

The US, France and Germany have called

on Russia to cooperate in preparing a reso-

lution on Syria for a vote at the UN

Security Council. "Russia will use its rights

as a permanent member of the Security

Council," Medvedev told the Financial

Times newspaper. But he indicated that

Russia was amenable to other ideas from

the West.

"What I will not support is a resolution

similar to 1973 on Libya, because I am con-

vinced that a good resolution has been

turned into a piece of paper to cover a

senseless military operation," the president

said. "If my colleagues asked me to abstain

from voting so that they could bomb targets

(in Libya), I would have certainly instruct-

ed (Russian) officials at the UN different-

ly," Medvedev said.

Syrian rights groups have estimated that

some 1,300 people have been killed and

more than 10,000 arrested in Syria since

protests demanding the end of President

Bashar al-Assad's rule broke out in mid-

March.

Some 10,000 people have fled to Turkey

as Syrian security forces have cracked

down on towns and villages at the Turkish-

Syrian border.

Moscow, which enjoys close ties with

Damascus, has called for a diplomatic solu-

tion to the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has insisted

that international forces will continue to

intensify military pressure on the Libyan

dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, despite a call

from Italy for a ceasefire.

The Italian foreign minister, Franco

Frattini, urged the "immediate suspension"

of hostilities in Libya to allow humanitarian

supplies to reach areas around the rebel-

held city of Misrata and Gaddafi's capital,

Tripoli.

Frattini told a parliamentary commission

in Rome that "the humanitarian end of mili-

tary operations is essential to allow for

immediate aid".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The RusAir jet was due to arrive inPetrozavodsk but crash landed on a highway.

44 die in Russian plane crash

Moscow: Forty-four people, includ-

ing eight foreigners, were killed

when a Tu-134 passenger aircraft

crashed in Russia's republic of

Karelia, an Emergency Situations

Ministry spokesman said.

The RusAir jet was due to arrive

in Petrozavodsk but crash landed on

a highway one kilometer from

Petrozavodsk airport, which was

shrouded in fog. The aircraft broke

up and burst into flames on impact.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry

said that among those killed in the

crash were four foreigners - one

Swedish and one Dutch citizen and

two Ukrainians - and a family of

four with dual Russian-US citizen-

ship.

Russian Investigative Committee

spokesman Vladimir Markin said

various possible causes for the acci-

dent are being studied, including

human error.

US, Japan for trilateraldialogue with India

Washington: Welcoming India

"as a strong and enduring Asia-

Pacific partner", the US and

Japan have said they would pro-

mote a trilateral dialogue among

the three nations.

The two sides "welcome India

as a strong and enduring Asia-

Pacific partner and encourage

India's growing engagement with

the region and participation in

regional architectures", said a

joint statement issued Tuesday

after the first US-Japan Security

Consultative Committee Meeting

held since 2007. They would also

"promote trilateral dialogue

among the United States, Japan,

and India", it said.

The statement was issued after

a meeting among US Secretary

of State Hillary Clinton and

Defense Secretary Robert M.

Gates and Japanese Foreign

Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and

Defense Minister Toshimi

Kitazawa.

Earlier, at a State Department

press conference, Clinton also

noted "we talked about our

efforts to improve regional coop-

eration in a variety of multilateral

forums and through a trilateral

dialogue with India".

20 Business

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Aditya Birla Group completesColumbian buy

Tatas to move court against Singur Act

India-Mauritiusresumes tax treaty talks

Mumbai: The Aditya Birla Group has completed the

acquisition of the Atlanta-based Columbian

Chemicals Company, after obtaining all regulatory

approvals in seven different jurisdictions .

The acquisition of Columbian Chemicals , which

was made at a price of $875 million ,catapults the

Aditya Birla Group to the world's No. 1 carbon black

producer.

The newly constituted board of directors for

Columbian Chemicals is chaired by Kumar

Mangalam Birla, the Aditya Birla Group chairman,

while other directors include Rajashree Birla ,Rajiv

Dube, Santrupt Misra , D.D. Rathi and Kevin Boyle ,

CEO, Columbian Chemicals .

"We view the carbon black business as a signifi-

cant global businessin our portfolio .

There is a lot to be derived from this coming

together of the two entities," Kumar Mangalam Birla

said .

Kolkata: Tata Motors were likely

to move court against the Singur

Land Rehabilitation and

Development Act, 2011, which

cancels the 997.17-acre land lease

given by the erstwhile Left Front

government to Tata Motors,

sources said. Barrister

Samaraditya Pal would represent

the automobile giant in court, the

sources said.

Amid a walkout by the opposi-

tion Left Front lawmakers, the

West Bengal assembly June 14

passed the Bill that was designed

to keep the Trinamool Congress

regime's pre-poll promise of

returning 400 acres to the farmers

from whom land had been

allegedly taken by the Left Front

government against their will for

setting up the now abandoned

Tata Motors small car factory in

Singur.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the AdityaBirla Group.

New Delhi: India has resumed

talks with Mauritius to revise the

existing tax treaty and have a dou-

ble taxation avoidance agreement

that will help track black money,

Finance Minister Pranab

Mukherjee said.

"For some time the talks were

suspended, now it has resumed,"

Mukherjee told reporters when

asked about the developments on

tax treaty with Mauritius that bat-

tered stocks.

The minister tried to downplay

the issue saying the two countries

had been negotiating the agree-

ment for the last few years but the

talks were suspended for some

time. "So far as the Mauritius

double taxation avoidance agree-

ment negotiations are concerned,

it is an old one," Mukherjee told

reporters on the sidelines of a

function here.

Indian equities markets slumped

on speculations that the two coun-

tries would soon have a new tax

treaty that might affect invest-

ments by foreign institutions in

India. The benchmark Sensex had

slumped 2 percent.

Market analysts fear that foreign

institutional investors would

offload even more from Indian

markets once the treaty becomes

operational.

India receives over 40 percent

of its foreign direct investment

through companies and funds reg-

istered in Mauritius. The tax

department is seeking to tax gains

made by companies registered in

Mauritius and operating in India.

India receives over 40 percent ofits foreign direct investment

through companies and fundsregistered in Mauritius.

India brings home Gold fromCannes Lions

Indian IT industry worried over globaleconomic crisis

BlackBerry continues to bleed

Cannes: After some bronze and

silver Lions, India has struck Gold

at Cannes Lions. In the Media

Lions category, Lodestar UM won

a Gold Lion for Garnier. Maxus

India won a Silver Lion for Tata

Sky in the same category.

In the Outdoor Lions category,

India picked up 3 metals—one sil-

ver and 2 bronze. Taproot India

picked up the Silver for Audio

Book India and the Bronze Lions

were picked by Sorento

Healthcare for its work on osteo-

porosis for Wockhardt and BBDO

India for the travel company

White Collar Hippies.

The grand prix in the media

lions category was won by Cheil

worldwide, Seoul for their work

done for Tesco retail chain (called

Homeplus in Korean market ).

"The Homeplus campaign worked

on some very interesting insights

and succeeded in changing the

waiting time to shopping time,

increasing the online sales by

130%," says Media Lions jury

president Francoli Plaza, Global

CEO, MPG. This year there were

2,895 entries submitted from over

67 countries—a northward trend

of nearly 35% and in all 84

medals given out. India had sent

in 103 entries, as against 98 last

year.

There were 1,363 entries in all,

from 53 countries, an increase of

10% over the last year, for the cat-

egory that was launched in 2005.

Interestingly South Africa had

sent in 133 entries this year, an

indication of the sheer muscle and

the evolution of the medium, in

the country.

Bangalore: The resurgent Indian IT industry has

expressed concern over the fragile global economy

plunging into crisis again due to sovereign debt

defaults in Europe, sluggish growth in the US and

emerging economies overheating.

"The economic crisis is not just in India, but the

world over. This is a period of concern. If the situa-

tion becomes worse, I don't think anybody can pre-

dict what will happen," a top industry executive said

here.

Though the Indian IT industry had not seen any

impact of the crisis brewing, especially in Europe,

Infosys chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan hoped

that the lessons learnt from the 2008 global financial

crisis would help in tackling the present crisis.

"I am hopeful that the coordinated efforts by the

European Economic Forum and the IMF

(International Monetary Fund) to address the debt-

ridden crisis would get a right response as they did

two years ago," Gopalakrishnan said on the margins

of an ICT function.

Admitting that the present crisis was a matter of

concern for everybody, including the Indian IT

industry, Gopalakrishnan said though economists

projected that the post-2008 recovery would be a

long drawn out downturn, the situation changed in a

short time for better, especially for the developing

countries.

Toronto: After its 21 percent plunge

last week, BlackBerry maker

Research In Motion (RIM) contin-

ued to bleed this week, with its

stock further diving almost seven

percent. At $25.41 now, RIM stock

is at its lowest since 2006.

Even as its fortunes plunged on

the market, the top Canadian com-

pany suffered another major setback

as its digital marketing head Brian

Wallace left for Samsung. This is

the third high-level exit from RIM

since February, making its loyal

investors even more jittery.

In yet another major blow to RIM,

third-party Twitter client Seesmic -

which builds applications to help

users build and manage their brands

online - abandoned the BlackBerry

maker in order to focus on Apple's

iOS, Google Android system and

Microsoft Windows Phone 7.

Discontinuing its support for

BlackBerry smart phones, Seesmic

said it only wants to "focus develop-

ment efforts on our most popular

mobile platforms: Android, iOS and

Windows Phone."

With its two co-CEOs Jim

Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis - who

own 10 percent stake in the compa-

ny - under increasing pressure for

changes in management, RIM share-

holders are voting next month on the

shared role of the two bosses.

Scaling back the outlook for the

iconic company, RBC Dominion

Securities of the top Royal Bank of

Canada (RBC) described the

BlackBerry maker as "bloody, but

not broken" yet.

At less than $14 billion today, the

BlackBerry company is not even

one-fifth of its market value of $80

billion in 2008.

RIM is fast losing smart phone

market share to Apple's iPhone and

Google Android devices. Poor

future prospects and its failure to

replace aging handsets have cast

doubts about its future.

At less than $14 billion today, the BlackBerry company is not evenone-fifth of its market value of $80 billion in 2008.

Sports 21

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

India sets West Indies 326 to win first testKingston (Jamaica): Rahul Dravid com-

piled an assured 112 to help India set the

West Indies a target of 326 to win in the

first test at Sabina Park.

India was bowled out on the stroke of

tea for 252 and the West Indies closed

day three at 131-3, still needing 195 for

victory.

Adrian Barath (38) and Lendl Simmons

(27) launched the chase in positive fash-

ion by adding 62 for the first wicket in 11

overs before India struck back strongly.

Ishant Sharma (2-41) and Praveen

Kumar (1-27) started the wobble before

an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 51

between Darren Bravo (30 not out) and

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24 not out)

boosted the West Indies chances.

Earl ier, the 38-year-old Dravid

anchored the visitors, his innings span-

ning 403 minutes and supplying a crucial

lead. The former captain was delighted

that his century set up the chance of a

victory.

"It was a satisfying one. Obviously, sat-

isfying in the context of the game,"

Dravid said of his fourth century against

the West Indies. "We needed to get a

decent score to put them under some

pressure."

Dravid, dropped on six the previous

evening at second slip by West Indies

captain Darren Sammy, cracked 10 fours

off 274 deliveries before he was last man

out. Sammy ended with the best figures

in the West Indies attack, claiming 4-52.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo took 4-65.

Dravid got good support from Amit

Mishra, whose adventurous 28 was the

next best score in India's innings. The

pair added 56 for the ninth wicket to lift

the visitors from the uncertainty of 183-8

just after lunch.

"Amit, I thought, showed a lot of char-

acter, a lot of guts today and really stuck

it out there with me," Dravid said, "That

was great."

And Dravid remained confident India

could secure victory on the fourth day. "I

think it's a good score.

Obviously this partnership is going to

be the one that we need to break early in

the morning. Chanderpaul is obviously a

good player, Darren Bravo can play," he

said. "There is still something in the

wicket."

The West Indies struck early on day

three when Dravid lost his overnight part-

ner Virat Kohli for 15 in the fourth over

to make the total 100-4.

I play for India, not for

captains: Yuvraj

Lankan cricket officials rush tomeet BCCI

Colombo: Sri Lankan cricket offi-

cials met Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI) bosses in

Mumbai to convince them to allow

Indian players to participate in the

forthcoming Sri Lanka Premier

League (SLPL).

Sports minister Mahindananda

Aluthgamage said he has asked Sri

Lanka Cricket (SLC) chairman

D.S. de Silva and secretary

Nishantha Ranatunga to sort out

with the BCCI the issue of partici-

pation of Indian players.

"I have instructed the chairman and the secretary to

rush to India and convince the Indian board officials

to allow their players to play in our tournament. The

chairman will be directly arriving from London,

where he has been with the Sri Lanka team and

Ranatunga will join him from Sri Lanka. We have

good rapport with the Indian board and I am sure the

issue will be sorted out amicably," Aluthgamage was

quoted as saying by The Daily

Mirror.

Last week, the BCCI declined to

give No-Objection Certificates

(NOC) to 12 Indian cricketers to

participate in the SLPL, pointing out

that the tournament is run by a pri-

vate body. SLC, however, said that

they own the tournament and the

Singapore-based Somerset

Entertainment Venture (SEV) only

has the logistical and the marketing

rights.

The BCCI reportedly fears that

suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) supremo

Lalit Modi, also a former Indian cricket board vice-

president, has close links with SEV.

Aluthgamage denied Modi's links with the SLPL.

"I can say with 100 percent assertion there is no role

of Lalit Modi in SLPL. I am unaware about his trip

to this country, if he had made some two months

ago," he said.

K o l k a t a :

Rubbishing rumors

that he refused to

play under the lead-

ership of co-player

Suresh Raina,

Indian cricketer

Yuvraj Singh said

he plays for India

and not for captains

of the cricket team.

"The question is

totally baseless. I

was badly ill. I

have started train-

ing. It is totally

baseless that I have

denied playing

under Suresh

Raina. I play for

India and my team,

and not for any

captain," said said

Yuvraj while

addressing a pro-

gram of 'Emotional

Atyachaar - Season

3' here.

After he was

dropped from the West Indies tour

on medical grounds, there has been

a buzz that Yuvraj has refused to

play under the leadership of Raina

who is junior to him in terms of

experience and years of interna-

tional cricket.

"I have played under Sourav,

M.S.Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir. I

have played under so many cap-

tains. And Gautam and MS came to

the team five years after I got

included in the team. There has

been no such thing. I play for my

country and not for captains," said

Yuvraj.

Yuvraj also expressed his disap-

pointment over being all alone dur-

ing the tough times of his interna-

tional career.

"In these ten years of internation-

al cricket, I have learnt many

things that when you are successful

and you are in limelight there are

many people beside you. But when

there are tough times, only near

and dear ones stand beside you,

otherwise you are all alone," said

Yuvraj.

Yuvraj Singh.

Wimbledon: Somdev in round twoLondon: India's Somdev

Devvarman entered the Wimbledon

men's singles second round after

Germany's Denis Gremelmayr

retired hurt. Somdev was leading

6-4, 4-2 when the German decided

to concede the match.

Sania Mirza, who made a first

round exit in women's singles

Tuesday, is doubtful for the dou-

bles owing to a painful left knee

injury. She will decide on her par-

ticipation after an ultrasound scan.

Somdev, ranked 68th, next plays

18th seed and World No.17

Mikhail Youzhny of Russia who

was stretched to five sets by Juan

Monaco of Argentina before win-

ning 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Younzy beat Somdev in straight

sets in their only meeting in the

Davis Cup World Group tie last

year at Moscow.

This is Somdev's maiden singles

appearance here. The only time the

26-year-old got past the first round

of a Grand Slam was when he

reached the US Open second round

in 2009.

Sania, who was already carrying

a niggling left knee problem,

"tweaked" it early in the first set of

her 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6 loss to France's

Virginie Razzano.

"I've had the same injury since

just before the French Open. I've

been playing a lot on it," Sania

said.

Sania along with Russia's Elena

Vesnina is seeded fourth in the

women's doubles and the two are

rated serious trophy contenders

after their final appearance in the

French Open earlier this month.

The Indian was also to play in the

mixed doubles.

Somdev Devvarman.

BACK IN GAME: Lalit Modi.

Rahul Dravid hits a six off West Indies' Devendra Bishoo in India’s second innings in the first Test against West Indies.

Is Pakistan set to implode in its exasper-

ating persistence to define itself in only

security terms vis-à-vis India as did the

Soviet Union with the US in a nuclear-

shadowed Cold War that lasted 40 years, a

numbing fear that consumed three genera-

tions, but ended in a barren inevitability 20

years ago of the former collapsing into 13

new countries?

Adnan Rehmat, a journalist, analyst and

media development specialist who heads

Intermedia, a Pakistani media support

NGO, says, “It seems more likely than not,

given the few signs that a fundamental re-

think is underway in Pakistan in determin-

ing what it stands for rather than what it

doesn’t stand for, which passes for its schiz-

ophrenic identity.”

Two specific WikiLeaks cables published

in Dawn in recent weeks reveal more than

just what is already known about Pakistan’s

paranoid obsession with India and the au-

thorship and control of the policy of para-

noia by the military establishment. In the

first, President Asif Zardari, the command-

er-in-chief of Pakistan’s armed forces,

counters the suggestion of Sen. John Kerry

that New Delhi is interested in pursuing

peace with Islamabad by arguing that India

has five times more tanks than Pakistan and

that these are Pakistan-specific because the

Sino-India border terrain cannot support a

tank battle.

In the second cable, severe civil-military

tensions are revealed over access to and

control of American aid flows to Pakistan

with the army insisting for, and getting, di-

rect aid and refusing to share details with

the elected government even during draft-

ing of the annual budgets. Rehmat argues,

“If Pakistan has to match India tank to tank,

plane to plane, soldier to soldier, frigate to

frigate and missile to missile before making

peace, then it’s a lost battle in perpetuity. If

matching military might was the precondi-

tion to peace then the world would have

been blown up 200 times over because the

unending Indo-Pak tensions and Indo-Pak

like wars would have been replicated on

every shared national border on the planet.

What use was there to acquire super-expen-

sive nuclear capability if it didn’t solve the

problem of imbalance in conventional mil-

itary capability”.

Dawn.com also contends that, “the farci-

cal civil-military equation in Pakistan that

has kept political forces emaciated and so-

cio-cultural progress stunted is insulting

enough it itself but for the military to have

its cake (of American aid) all these decades

and eat it too is going too far for even weak

states. The military is twice richer and the

elected governments twice the poorer when

it comes to foreign aid.”

Pakistan’s security obsession with India

and the skewed civil-military equation are

at the root of Pakistan’s sorry state. The

trust deficit between Washington and Is-

lamabad is so wide that despite being allies

the US had to invade Pakistan militarily to

eliminate bin Laden. This has thrown up for

public debate – and pressure on the military

– the need to define “sovereignty”, the con-

cept that the military has traditionally used

to reinforce its stranglehold over the na-

tional polity.

By Rinku Sen

The Supreme Court issued its

decision in the Dukes v.

Wal-Mart sex discrimina-

tion case, a frustrating ruling that

doesn’t challenge the existence of

bias, but that exempts the company

from accountability.

The case highlights the difficulty

of addressing discrimination at a

time when intentional bias is both

illegal and socially unacceptable,

and yet obvious gender and racial

gaps remain. If much, perhaps even

most, discrimination is uninten-

tional on a personal level, what re-

sponsibility do employers (or our

government, or each of us as indi-

viduals) have for addressing its in-

stitutional consequences?

The court decided 5-4 that up to

1.5 million female employees can-

not file suit together as a class. The

court’s conservative majority

raised questions not just about

whether the women were discrimi-

nated against through the same

mechanisms, but also about the va-

lidity of the plaintiffs’ central argu-

ment—that the combination of a

highly centralized corporate culture

and excessive discretion among

managers systematically disadvan-

taged women.

Wal-Mart’s numbers are not in

question. Women comprise more

than 65 percent of hourly employ-

ees, but only 34.5 percent of man-

agers. This is significantly different

from similar retail chains, in which

women hold 56.5 percent of man-

agement jobs. It takes women on

average 4.38 years to rise to a man-

agement post at Wal-Mart, but

takes men only 2.86 years. Of 41

Wal-Mart regional vice presidents,

only five are women, and only 9.8

percent of Wal-Mart’s district man-

agers are women. Wal-Mart’s inter-

nal documents acknowledge that

they are far behind the rest of their

field.

The plaintiffs in the case argued

that Wal-Mart’s corporate culture

invited managers to act on their

own worst instincts. They cited the

research of William Bielby, a soci-

ologist who posits that people nat-

urally hold stereotypes and biases,

often unconsciously, and we act on

them when we have the power to

do so and nothing stops us.

At Wal-Mart, male managers act-

ed on their bias against equitable

promotions and pay because the

company’s centralized practices

and policies give them huge

amounts of discretion in personnel

decisions. The discretion itself is

the policy, and it stands out in a

company whose corporate head-

quarters micromanages nearly

everything, down to choosing the

temperature and music in every

store. Sophisticated computer sys-

tems and dozens of daily reports let

headquarters know exactly what is

happening on an hourly basis. But

Wal-Mart’s top management chose

to let store-level managers keep on

discriminating…

Certainly, there has been some

blatantly sexist behavior among

Wal-Mart managers, such as man-

agement meetings in which men

called their female colleagues “lit-

tle Janie Qs.” But mostly, Wal-

Mart’s system runs on silence. Si-

lence about what exactly are the

criteria for management positions;

silence about the additional subjec-

tive criteria that individual man-

agers apply for promotion; silence

about the actual availability of

management positions; silence

about how you decide whether to

give an employee a raise of 10 or

25 cents per hour. Male managers

fill all that silence, the plaintiffs’

lawyers and expert witnesses said,

with subjective decisions that are

often influenced by stereotypes.

Our laws do not require discrim-

ination to be deliberate or even

conscious before they require a

remedy. So-called “disparate im-

pact” is supposed to be enough for

the law to step in. In this case, not

only was there obvious disparate

impact, but Wal-Mart’s knowledge

of the gap supports the charge of

knowing disparate treatment as

well. Unfortunately, conservative

members of the court ruled against

the notion that the company is re-

sponsible, saying that different

plaintiffs were discriminated

against in too many different ways

for the company to be systemati-

cally responsible. In the majority

opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia

writes that common elements tying

all these employment decisions to-

gether were “entirely absent” in

this case.

Americans will be tempted to

take this decision as proof that Wal-

Mart is not guilty of gender dis-

crimination, and employers will

take heart from the Supreme Court

turning a blind eye. If some bad

managers make sexist decisions,

companies will say, that can’t be

helped; gender stereotyping is an

intractable problem.

But the real lesson is that Amer-

icans can’t rely on the courts alone

to check all forms of bias, especial-

ly the kinds that don’t require ex-

plicit direction. Wal-Mart and oth-

er corporations need to hear from

everyone—consumers, workers,

and other employers who are build-

ing equitable workplaces. The mes-

sage we send has to go beyond fol-

lowing the letter of the law to chal-

lenge the social norms that keep

qualified people from getting the

jobs they deserve.

(The author is a longtime com-munity organizer, feminist activist,and president of the racial justicethink tank Applied Research Cen-ter.)

22 Op Ed

Time for Pak to try India as a friend?

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

A cricket fan has his face painted with the colors of the Pakistan and Indian national flagsahead of the ICC World Cup semifinal India and Pakistan.

The decade-old lawsuit against the United States' largest employerwas the largest class-action lawsuit ever filed in an employment

discrimination case.

A 5-4 majority of the US Supreme Court decided to shutthe door on a class-action sex discrimination suit onbehalf of 1.5 million women workers at Wal-Mart whoclaimed that sex discrimination pervaded the company'sculture from unfair pay to sexist comments by malesupervisors about the "Janie Q's" working for them.

‘Gender bias: Wal-Mart can’t be blamed’

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Heera Lal

With yoga guru Baba Ramdev ending

his seven-day fast over corruption

and black money and Team Anna

Hazare and the UPA government sitting to-

gether to settle disputes in the Lokpal (anti-cor-

ruption) bill, there is a sense of relief in the

Congress camp, though only for the time being.

It is a general perception that corruption and

black money are byproducts of Congress’ bad

governance, a party that has been at the helm of

affairs since independence, except a full

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) term under Atal

Bihari Vajpayee and a few intermittent prime

ministers in between.

Today, every Indian is asking one question:

How corruption and black money flourished af-

ter 1947 and who is responsible for it.

Corruption seeped slowly in our day-to-day

life. With the passage of time, it took a mam-

moth size and has now become unbearable for

a common man on the street. Indians, simmer-

ing with anger, are forced to take the routes like

Satyagraha once used against the British by

Mahatma Gandhi. The UPA government han-

dled Anna episode tactfully but failed as far as

Ramdev’s case is concerned. The forceful evic-

tion of Ramdev and his supporters in midnight

hours from Ramlila Ground in New Delhi left

the UPA government on the back foot and

pushed them in the corner.

Phase-1 of Team Anna and Team Ramdev’s

struggle has succeeded in making corruption a

focal issue in the Indian politics, which may

continue to haunt the government in coming

elections. Anna-Ramdev combination has

brought government to the table over an issue

that the previous regimes have being evading

for one reason or the other.

In the hindsight, UPA government can reap

the benefit of this corruption debate by adopt-

ing strong measures against the corrupted and

clean the rot.

Transparency is getting grip worldwide. It's

time for our politicians to see the big picture.

The author is an administrative officer (in therank of Additional District Magistrate) in theprovincial civil services cadre of UttarPradesh, India. He is currently in the USA, do-ing his Executive Master of Public Adminis-tration degree (Government-2) from MaxwellSchool of Citizenship and Public Affairs ofSyracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

By Robert O. Blake, Jr.

Ihave been privileged to help ad-

vance the US-India partnership

since I first started working in

India in 2003. I have seen first-

hand how committed government

leaders working hand-in-hand with

the business community and but-

tressed by strong people-to-people

ties can transform a bilateral rela-

tionship. Broad, bipartisan political

support in both countries has driv-

en our countries closer together

over the last decade, and ensures

that this relationship will continue

to be a mainstay of American and

Indian foreign policy, regardless of

who is in power.

The Indian economy of today is

the second fastest-growing in the

world – expanding at a rate of over

8 percent annually. The Indian

economy has produced some of the

world’s leading multinational cor-

porations, which create innovative

goods and services, and present

novel business models for the oth-

er countries.

The future of India’s economy

looks very bright—and very

young. For example, India will

likely have the world’s third largest

economy in the year 2030 and the

largest by 2050. India’s population

will become the largest by 2030 as

well. At a time when much of the

industrialized world is shrinking as

well as aging, half of India’s popu-

lation is under age 25. That large

and youthful work force is a grow-

ing strategic advantage, provided

these young people can get the 21st

century education they will need to

compete. According to one study,

India will have 25 percent of the

world’s workforce by 2025.

The incredible growth of India’s

economy has resulted in positive

spillover effects for the United

States. A quick look at the data re-

veals a trade relationship that is ac-

celerating, mutually beneficial, and

relatively balanced. Between 2002

and 2009, U.S. goods exports to In-

dia quadrupled, growing from $4.1

billion in 2002 to more than $16.4

billion in 2009, and U.S. services

exports to India more than tripled,

increasing from $3.2 billion in

2002 to more than $9.9 billion in

2009. U.S. exports to India have

grown faster than exports to practi-

cally all other countries in the

world.

2010 broke records for U.S.-In-

dia trade in goods with U.S. exports

to India up 17% and U.S. imports

from India up 40%. This surge of

nearly 30% to a high of $48.8 bil-

lion in goods trade moved India up

two notches to become our 12th

largest goods trading partner. This

positive trend continues, with two-

way goods trade up 19% in the first

quarter of 2011 over the same time

period last year. Our trade with In-

dia is also very much a two-way

exchange with mutual benefits to

both our countries.

India is also a growing source of

foreign direct investment into the

United States. The total stock of

FDI from India to the United States

stood at almost $5.5 billion at the

end of 2009. It has grown at a com-

pound annual growth rate of 35

percent during the 2004 to 2009

time period, making India the 7th

fastest-growing source of invest-

ment in the United States. Indian

companies invest heavily in many

U.S. industries such as energy and

information technology, and we ex-

pect their investments to increase.

The character of our trade with

India is also relatively balanced. In

a global economy where America’s

trade relations in some cases have a

balance favoring the other nation,

the fact that India’s exports to the

U.S. are relatively equal to its im-

ports is important to note. Our trade

with India also encompasses a

broad range of sectors. U.S. exports

to India include aircraft, electrical

machinery, chemicals, plastics,

pharmaceuticals, vehicles, railway

equipment, and steel.

Services trade is also significant.

In addition to the dynamic IT trade

investment, tourism is a little

known but growing service. Last

year 650,000 Indians visited the

U.S., an increase of 18%, making

India the 10th ranking source of

tourism to the U.S. So I urge you to

do your part and visit the U.S.—all

of our 50 states will be happy to

welcome you!

We in government are absolute-

ly committed to doing everything

we can to open new opportunities

for trade and investment. We have

a variety of mechanisms for doing

so. Finance Minister Pranab

Mukherjee will visit Washington at

the end of June to hold a round of

the U.S.-India Economic and Fi-

nancial Partnership with his coun-

terpart Treasury Secretary Geithn-

er.

The High Technology Coopera-

tion Group, which has enabled both

governments to significantly re-

duce barriers to trade in sensitive,

cutting-edge high technology, will

meet in mid-July in New Delhi.

Other ongoing forums include the

U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade

Policy Forum, which encompasses

a number of sector-specific dia-

logues; and the Department of

Commerce’s Commercial Dia-

logue, which facilitates an open di-

alogue about trade.

India’s market offers tremendous

opportunity to U.S. exporters of

goods and services. India has a

market of 1.2 billion of the world’s

consumers. These consumers have

growing aspirations, and the dis-

posable income to act on their aspi-

rations. This is a powerful combi-

nation.

According to a recent Wall Street

Journal article, the current internet

penetration in India is in the range

of only 80-100 million, less than 10

percent of the population. With the

advent of 3G and the ability of

more Indians to go online with their

mobile phones, the world of inter-

net access will be completely trans-

formed. Imagine more than half a

billion—and growing—people

chatting, Tweeting, connecting and

innovating from their phones!

American businesses see in India

a vibrant laboratory for research

and innovation that will produce

tomorrow’s goods and services.

The complex, multifaceted envi-

ronment in India allows companies

and entrepreneurs to test and vali-

date multiple strategies and solu-

tions. Increasingly, these solutions

will be applicable not just to India

or the U.S., but to the world at

large.

(Blake is Assistant Secretary, Bu-reau of South and Central Asian Af-fairs)

24 Op Ed

Time to learn from Hazare-Ramdev episode

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Hazare-Ramdev combination has brought government to the table over an issue that theprevious regimes have being evading for one reason or the other.

American businesses see in India a vibrant laboratory for researchand innovation that will produce tomorrow’s goods and services,

says Robert O. Blake, Jr

USIBC Leadership Summit

US-India business ties and future prospects

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Features 25

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Witch hunt made punishable crime in RajasthanBy Prakash Bhandari/SATimes

Jaipur: Witch hunt, one of the most brutal

deeds ever committed by humans since the

dawn of civilization, is to become punish-

able in Rajasthan.

In the newly proposed Rajasthan Women

(Prevention and Protection from Atrocities)

Bill, 2011, a major thrust has been given to

protecting women who are tortured and

even killed after being branded witches, an

evil tradition prevalent in rural areas of

Rajasthan.

According to the Bill, anyone accused or

defaming a woman by calling her "Dayan"

or "Dakan" or "Dakin", "Chudail" or

"Bhootni" or "Bhootdi" or "Chilavan" or

"Opri" or "Ranndkadi" (all local dialects)

will attract punishment.

The Bill provides that any other name or

symbol suggesting that a woman uses

witchcraft to harm others will be punish-

able. The punishment could be imprison-

ment up to a term of three years with a min-

imum fine of Rs1,000 and up to Rs 5,000.

“This Bill once becomes an Act would

also give big relief to such women who

are punished illegally by the khap pan-

chayat for marrying outside the caste or

within the gotra. Under this Act action

would be taken against the khap Panchayat

or by any other organization which is not

empowered to do so. The authority con-

cerned shall take cognizance of the matter

and shall immediately take measures to pre-

vent such occurrence, and in case any ille-

gal order has been passed or executed by

the organization, shall take action as per the

law for the time being in force.” said Sudhir

Kumar, a consultant to the Rajasthan gov-

ernment.

Kumar said its an Act which provides

for the relief to the aggrieved women.

However, there are still various situations

encountered by women wherein they are

subjected to torture and atrocities. Many

girls face acid attacks which result into dis-

figurement of their face and thebody. In

certain areas women are accused of per-

forming witchcraft and unnecessarily being

harassed. Sometimes women are also

forced to parade naked in the village and

are subjected to derogatory situation and

words. by the people of the backward com-

munities. For some time, the need was felt

to introduce a legislation wherein the situa-

tions not already covered under various leg-

islations could be addressed and suitable

compensation provided to the victims.

‘The Rajasthan Women (Prevention &

Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011’

would broadly benefit the women from var-

ious atrocities, hoped Kumar.

Any person in the name of performing

witchcraft or her being ‘possessed one’,

uses criminal force against a woman or

instigates others in doing so with intent to

harm or to displace her from the house,

place or the property of which she is a

rightful resident or a visitor, shall be pun-

ishable with imprisonment of a term which

may extend to seven years and with fine

which may extend to Rs. 20,000.

Besides, whoever intimidates a woman,

calling her a witch and accusing her of

practising witchcraft, to the extent the

woman is forced to commit suicide shall be

punishable with imprisonment or a term of

five years which may extend to 10 years

with minimum fine of Rs 25,000 which

may extend to Rs 50,000.

The Bill makes the provision of prosecut-

ing those who assault or uses criminal force

or causes assault or to use criminal force

against a woman, accusing her to be a

witch, resulting in her death, under Section

302 of IPC (Central Act 45 of 1860). The

bill proposes if quacks known as ‘ojha’ or

‘tantrik’ or ‘baba’ declare any woman as a

‘possessed’ and perform any ritual to free

the woman from the evil spirit or entices a

woman or any person on her behalf with a

promise to bless the woman with a child or

performs any ritual on behalf of any person

with intention to harm the woman, and

whoever promotes, helps organize and per-

forming such rituals or associates oneself

with such rituals shall be punishable with

imprisonment of a term of one year which

may extend to five years with a fine of Rs

10,000. Whoever, assaults or uses criminal

force against a woman to remove or cause

to remove clothes from her body and

parades her naked shall be punished with

imprisonment of five years which may

extend to 10 years with minimum fine of

Rs 10,000 which may extend to Rs 50,000.

For 50-year-old Jadau Devi life has

become hell ever since the villagers of

Rampura under Masuda tehsil in Ajmer dis-

trict started branding her as witch and was

accused of performing witchcraft. She was

tortured all these years and was even forced

to leave her village after she was branded a

witch (dayan) and an evil spirit that haunt-

ed the villagers. Her own relations wanted

to grab her property, but Jadau Devi stood

like a rock and refused to be identified as a

witch.

The Rampura police arrested five persons

Kalu Singh, Rang Lal, Sanwat Singh,

Bhanwar Singh and Kailash who forced

Jadau Devi to perform the witch craft to

cure Seema, 20 the ailing daughter of Kalu

Singh. Kalu Singh and Jadau Devi belong

to the same Rawat community and Kalu

Singh and his accomplice thought that

Jadau Devi wields enormous power as a

witch and she only could cure his daughter

who has not been keeping good health.

They asked her to do the “tona-tokna” and

drive away the evil spirit from Seema’s

person and make her normal.

The police chief of Ajmer district, Vipin

Pandey said in her complaint to the police,

Jadau Devi had said that she was forced to

perform witchcraft, but she refused to do it

as she was a normal woman and knew

nothing about witchcraft. She said she leads

a normal life and harmed none, but still

people who wanted to grab her property

dubbed her as a witch and forced her to act

as a witch. She was made an outcaste and

was not allowed to fetch water from the vil-

lage water pump. “We have arrested five

persons and booked them under section 191

of Cr PC as the Rajasthan Women

(Prevention & Protection From Atrocities)

Act is yet to comeme into being. But once

such Act is enforced it would be easier to

punish such people who commit atrocities

on women,” said Pandey.

Fashion collection inspired by Lord Krishna New Delhi: Delhi-based designer

Sunil Mehra’s latest collection is

inspired from Lord Krishna’s life

and mythology and features con-

temporary ethnic chic embellished

with motifs of Krishna, the pea-

cock feather and flute, associated

with the popular god.

“The collection will be a jour-

ney of Lord Krishna’s Madhurya-

rasa and imparts the same feel, the

way Krishna used to stand and

play the flute. The garments pres-

ent a range of contemporary eth-

nic separates with a relaxed feel,”

said Mehra.

The line is divided into three

segments - formal, fusion and tra-

ditional wears. The entire collec-

tion will illustrate an array of

men’s wear like kurta with polo

trousers, short kurtas with ciga-

rette pants teamed with waist

coats, white tuxedos in linen silk

fabric, and summer suits with spe-

cial four pockets, both for formal

and casual look.

“The motifs of Krishna, Mor

Pankh and Bansuri will be the

high point of the collection and

will attract those fashion-forward

males who want to mix style and

ethnicity in the look,” Mehra said.

A special collection of short

sherwanis has also been intro-

duced by the designer for sum-

mer. The fabric used is a blend of

both linen and silk on the color

palette, which varies from cream,

white and beige, with hints of

gold.

Whether it be special jacquard

weaves with the peacock feather

motif, Sanskrit lettering in minia-

ture embroideries, the colors

turmeric and saffron, or hand

painted scenes in linings - all the

garments bear a direct or an indi-

rect relevance to Lord Krishna or

Vrindavan.

The collection is available at the

designer’s store in the capital.

Designer Sunil's Mehra of Sunil's Study

Sunil Mehra - Spring / Autumn 2011 collection.

26 Lifestyle

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Being stably married or gaining a part-

ner is associated with better sleep in

women than being unmarried or los-

ing a partner, according to a research abstract

that will be presented on Wednesday, June

10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual

Meeting of the Associated Professional

Sleep Societies. Results show that women

who were stably married or who had gained

a partner during the eight years of the study

had better sleep than women who were

unmarried or who had lost a partner over the

course of the study follow-up.

According to the study's lead author,

Wendy Troxel, PhD, Assistant Professor at

the University of Pittsburgh School of

Medicine, women who were stably married

had the highest quality sleep measured

objectively and subjectively, and these

results persisted even after controlling for

other known risk factors for sleep, including

age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and

depressive symptoms.

"Women who had 'gained' a partner over

the eight years of the study had similar sub-

jective sleep quality as compared to the sta-

bly married women; however, after looking

at specific objective sleep measurements we

discovered that these women had more rest-

less sleep than the always married women,"

said Troxel. "We speculate that these find-

ings may reflect a 'newlywed effect' or sim-

ply the fact that these women may be less

adjusted to sleeping with their partner than

the 'stably married' women."

The study gathered data from 360 middle-

aged African American, Caucasian, and

Chinese women drawn from the Study of

Women's Health Across the Nation, with a

mean age of 51 years.

Participants reported their current relation-

ship status at annual visits. In-home

polysomnographic (PSG) sleep studies were

conducted over three successive nights 6 to 8

years after baseline. Subjects also wore wrist

activity monitors, which provide a behav-

ioral measure of sleep-wake patterns, for

approximately one month. Researchers

examined the association between women's

relationship histories and their sleep by ana-

lyzing the sleep differences between women

who were stably married, stably unmarried,

or those who experienced a relationship tran-

sition (gaining or losing a partner) over the

study follow-up period.

Stable marriage is linked withbetter sleep in womenC

hoosing lipstick color

is an important step.

You must always select

right lip color as it may affect

your overall appearance. There

are a few basic points to keep

in mind in choosing a lip color.

Women must be mindful of

their skin's natural undertones.

What's the difference

between:

Matte Lipsticks: These lip-

sticks usually contain kaolin as

a primary ingredient for stay-

ing power and give lipsticks a

no shine, no grease texture.

These lipsticks tend to be dry-

ing, but if you're looking for

staying power, matte is a good

option.

Long-wearing Lipsticks:These are the lipsticks that

claim to stay all day through

the kisses and everyday wear.

If you've used one of these you

know that's not the case. Don't

waste your money. See below

for tips on making lipstick last.

Sheer/Stain Lipsticks: The

pigmentation of sheers and

stains is not very high. They

tend to be more moisturizing

then other types of

lipsticks.They also tend to

wear easy but leave a nice hint

of color.

Moisturizing Lipsticks:These contain lots of condi-

tioning ingredients such as

shea butter. These lipsticks

tend to wear off easy due to the

moisturizing ingredients in

them but if you have dry lips,

then go for these.

Choosing the shade of lip-

stick for your skin tone:

When choosing the correct

shade of lipstick you must look

at your complexion:

If you have fair skin deep,

plum reds, berry, wine reds

with a blue undertone look

best. Browns -light medium

browns or beige's with pink

undertones flatter fair skins.

Pink undertone lipsticks com-

pliment fair skin very nicely.

However, stay away from

those bright, loud pink lip-

sticks. Olive/Yellow skin

should choose rich, deep

brown reds and deep, dark

berry shades. Stay away from

orange/reds and pink/reds, they

can bring out the yellow under-

tones in your skin. Try to avoid

pink lipstick at all costs.

Medium skin should use

rich, deep pinks, deep reds,

rich caramel shades, medium

brown with yellow or pink

undertones, and creamy coffee

colored brown lipsticks. Stay

away from browns that are

very pale. They can make

medium skins look ashy and

washed out.

Dark skin should try reds

with blue undertones. Also,

mahogany, deep plums, wine

reds, almost any shade of

brown, rich, dark, coffee

browns flatter the skin. Avoid

orange undertones in lipsticks.

Choosing the right lip color

The human eye is one of our

most valuable instruments,

but also one of the most

vulnerable. We often place our

eyes under unnecessary stress, and

eye injuries occur every day at

work and home. We cannot pre-

pare for and avoid every incident,

but we can make adjustments to

how we perform some daily activi-

ties in order to reduce the strain on

our eyes and the risk of injury.

Screens at Work and Home

Although certainly not danger-

ous, excessive television viewing

does put a great strain on our eyes.

The eyes are forced to constantly

adjust to different colors and sizes

of objects at a close distance.

While you need not sit a mile

away, you should avoid sitting too

close to the television. Forcing

yourself to try to blink naturally

and taking occasional breaks are

good ways to help to relieve the

strain on your eyes.

Between work and home, we are

increasing the hours we spend in

front of computer screens. This

can lead to dry eyes since we blink

less while looking at the screen. To

relieve your eyes, you can occa-

sionally close them for a few sec-

onds and open them slowly.

Other ways to reduce the strain

on your eyes while working on the

computer include: having anti-

glare screens put in and ensuring

that images are clear and do not

flicker, increasing the font size on

your screen, making sure the

screen is at eye level. and using a

larger monitor.

Lighting should also be adjusted

so that it is neither too bright nor

too dim. A soft desk light on the

side may help reduce stress on the

eyes. In some cases, people need

different glasses for computer

work, so ask your eye care profes-

sional if you experience any diffi-

culty or discomfort when looking

at the computer screen.

D-I-Y and Sports

Do-It-Yourself projects at home

can lead to a great sense of accom-

plishment, but also to eye injuries

if you are not properly equipped.

Before mowing your lawn, inspect

it for any debris. You may even

want to wear goggles to be on the

safe side.

Eye protection should also be

worn when sawing, sanding,

drilling etc. Fine particles can

cause irritation, while large parti-

cles may cause serious damage. If

an object does become embedded

in your eye, do not rub your eye as

this may cause further damage. If

you cannot wash it out, seek pro-

fessional assistance.

When handling paints and chem-

icals, make sure you read the

instructions beforehand to know if

you need eye protection. In addi-

tion, always make sure aerosols

are pointing away from your face

before spraying. In the case of eye

contact, flush your eyes out imme-

diately for 15 minutes and consult

a medical professional if irritation

persists.

Wearing the appropriate eye pro-

tection is advisable when partici-

pating in many sports. Swimming

and skiing both require specific

goggles. Any racquet sport where a

small ball is used also poses a par-

ticular danger of eye injury and

eye protection should be used. If

you have had any eye problems in

the past, in particular one requiring

surgery, you should consult an eye

professional before participating in

any contact sport.

Tips to protect eyes

Personal Growth 27

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

Panna Lal and Mishri Devi work

together in a software company.

Seemingly, they are friends, but in

reality they hardly know each other. Based

on their perceptions, they have formed

images of each other in their minds.

Panna Lal relates to his image of Mishri

Devi and she relates to her image of Panna

Lal. Panna Lal has no inkling of who the

real Mishri Devi is. Mishri Devi has no

inkling of who the real Panna Lal is.

They also constantly try to embellish

their images in each other’s mind through

wearing masks, as they are afraid of show-

ing their true faces.

The two of them go on a work trip

together. On their way back their flight is

delayed by several hours and they have to

wait at the airport.

They sit in the waiting area sipping cups

of tea. They have never had so much time

at hand, not to speak of being with each

other for so long. To while away time,

Mishri Devi starts telling Panna Lal all

about herself.

Generally Panna Lal’s attention span is

very short and he is a bad listener. But

since he has nothing else to do today, he

listens to Mishri Devi to understand her.

There is something about the quality of his

listening that makes Mishri Devi go on and

on, sharing everything about her life.

As he peeps into her world, his percep-

tion of Mishri Devi changes completely.

He comes to know about her grit, her

determination and her sense of caring –

qualities that were totally opaque to him

until now.

It is a whole new Mishri Devi he has

come to know today. Why, she almost

comes across as some kind of a super-

woman to him. He is able to look at Mishri

Devi from her point of view, recognizing

her for who she is. He is mesmerized by

her inner beauty and positivity!

At some point, Panna Lal finds himself

telling his life story to her. Mishri Devi lis-

tens to Panna Lal as attentively as he lis-

tened to her a while ago, without making

any comment.

In the process, her perception of Panna

Lal changes too, as she is now able to look

at him from his point of view. Now he

almost comes across as some kind of a

superman to her.

***

Until now, Panna Lal had never listened

to anyone so attentively. Nor did he ever

bother to express his innermost thoughts to

anyone. When Mishri Devi spoke, he lis-

tened. When he spoke, she listened.

He has realized that he has never been

able to connect with another person

because he hardly listens to her. He just

goes through the motions of listening

while his mind is elsewhere. He is so sure

in advance what the other person is going

to say that he only listens to what he has

decided she is going to say. He twists the

message to make her mean what he wants

her to mean.

Secondly, he is habitually judgmental.

As he does not give another person any

space, she has her guard up. Another rea-

son he can’t connect with others is his ten-

dency to prove himself right and justify his

actions.

It was probably due to tiredness or

maybe it was just a happy accident that he

not only turned non-judgmental but also

came out of the I-am-right mode when he

happened to have a forced date with

Mishri Devi.

For the first time in his life he listened to

the person and not just to the words. As a

result, Mishri Devi too opened up and felt

no need to wear a mask.

Having come to know what it is to be

Mishri Devi, Panna Lal can almost see

himself in her. Having come to know what

it is to be Panna Lal, Mishri Devi can

almost see herself in him.

Both of them feel some kind of inner

warmth as they touch each other in a spe-

cial way. The other person is simply

‘unothered’, so to speak. In the process,

they build an empathic relationship.

While reaching out and being receptive

facilitate the process of building an

empathic relationship, being judgmental

and having a self-serving bias act as barri-

ers to empathy.

In varying degrees, we are all judgmen-

tal. Habitually, we give names and labels

to people. We form images of people and

then relate to their images and not to the

real people.

In varying degrees, we all have self-

serving biases, considering ourselves right

and letting all communication be guided

by this assumption.

Panna Lal recollects that once he was

late for a meeting with his boss by 15 min-

utes. The boss commented later that a few

things could not be discussed because the

meeting started half hour late. The same

day Panna Lal mentioned to someone that

he was able to cover all the points in the

meeting even though he was late by five

minutes.

When the boss exaggerated Panna Lal’s

lapse, it was a reflection of his self-serving

bias. When Panna Lal played down his

own lapse, it was a reflection of his self-

serving bias. Such biases and being judg-

mental are so deeply ingrained that they

show up almost unconsciously in our

behavior. That is all the more reason for

Panna Lal to guard against them.

The Mirror Effect

Panna Lal considered his name to be a

little un-smart. Whenever he had to intro-

duce himself he used to tell his name in a

low voice. Nobody seemed to like his

name.

One day his mother told him the signifi-

cance of his name. When he learnt that he

was given this name because he was the

most precious thing for his parents, he felt

very proud. Then onwards he started

telling his name to others in a firm, confi-

dent voice. Now everyone seemed to like

his name.

When we are not okay with some aspect

of ours, it seems that others are not okay

with it too. Probably we telegraph our

thoughts to others and they seem to think

the same way. They simply respond to the

stimulus we give out.

The vibes that we receive from others

are a reflection of the vibes that we send.

That is the mirror effect in action.

No wonder, our impatience about people

not being the way we want them to be trig-

gers defensive behavior and hidden agen-

das in them, making us even more impa-

tient. If others are not open and positive, it

is probably because we have a grudge

against them that they are not open and

positive. If our boss doesn’t like us, it is

probably a reflection of the fact that we

don’t like the boss.

The other person seems to have a self-

serving bias exactly to the degree we have

and she is critical of us exactly to the

extent we are critical of her. When we

blame others, we in effect invite blame.

Reacting to each other, we get into the infi-

nitely regressive loop of reacting to each

other’s reaction.

When we speak from the heart, the other

person listens with the heart. When we lis-

ten with the heart, the other person speaks

from the heart.

When we understand others, we are

understood. When we are loving, we

become lovable. When we are perceived as

persuadable, we acquire the magical power

of persuading others.

Whenever we hurt others, we are likely

to get hurt as a natural consequence of our

action. So not hurting others is one safe-

guard against getting hurt by them.

Our expectations, negative or positive,

affect other people’s behavior.

Interestingly, whether we have positive

expectations from others or negative ones

has a lot to do with our self-image.

With a positive self-image, we have pos-

itive expectations from others. With a neg-

ative self-image, we have negative expec-

tations from others.

Breakthroughs in relationships happen

when we examine the stimuli we give out

to others instead of complaining about

their responses.

The awareness of the mirror effect and

the reflection that is created is the ultimate

secret of building empathic relationships.

***

Having connected with Mishri Devi at a

deeper level, Panna Lal has now devel-

oped the knack of connecting with every-

one.

He no longer forms quick opinions

about others and is able to see everyone’s

inherent positivity. People, in turn, consid-

er him to be the most positive person they

know, holding him in high esteem.

The other day his assistant, Moti Lal,

did a shoddy job of a report that he was

assigned. Instead of criticizing him, Panna

Lal said, “Moti Lal, I am sure you are

capable of doing much better.”

The fellow was energized because he

was appreciated as a person. He went back

to his work station and redid the job to per-

fection. To his pleasant surprise, Panna

Lal no longer dislikes his boss as much as

he used to. For no reason at all he finds

himself bubbling over with good feelings

for everyone. Panna Lal is now able to

connect with everyone because he has

come to know in his bones that everyone is

essentially the same.

The best of leaders, counsellors and

debate moderators are good at what they

do because they are able to connect with

people at the level of the heart.

With empathic relationships, we experi-

ence joy, personal growth and a sense of

fulfillment.

“The Fine Print of Life: How PannaLal Found Happiness, Wisdom andMishri Devi” by P.S. Wasu; 177 pages,Rs. 195; HarperCollins Publishers India.

To buy the book, go to h t t p : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c o m / g p /product/8172237510?ie=UTF8&tag=w w w t i c k l e d b y l -20&l ink_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=8172237510 or to www.pswasu.com.

at heart level

Connectingwith people

An excerpt from ‘The Fine Print of Life’by PS Wasu, a motivational guru and

author based in Mumbai.

Have you ever noticed there are

more idiots on the highway

than anywhere else?

I don't mean this in a bad way. I've

just heard many motorists refer to

other drivers as "idiots."

"Look at that idiot," they say. "His

turn signal has been on for 20 min-

utes."

Someone who runs a red light is

almost certainly an idiot. Perhaps even

a stupid idiot (as opposed to a smart

idiot). Someone who drives faster than

about 85 miles per hour is also an

idiot. So is someone who drives under

the speed limit.

Somehow, no matter how hard you

look on the highway, you'll never find

a genius. With so many idiots out

there, you'd expect to find at least one

genius. But I have yet to see a cop

pulling over a perfect driver to shake

her hand. I have yet to hear a motorist

say, "Did you see that guy? He just

made a perfect turn. He's a genius."

Even if a woman drives her entire

life without a single traffic violation,

no one will bring it up at her funeral.

No one will say, "Helga was such a

good driver. The highway will never

be the same."

Unfortunately, the highway has only

two types of drivers: normal drivers

and idiots. Once you're an idiot, it's

tough to become a normal driver.

Especially if your insurance compa-

ny has moved you to the idiot class.

You make one mistake, cause one

accident, and suddenly you're paying

much more for car insurance than rent.

To save you some trouble, the insur-

ance company asks you to mail your

paycheck directly to them. "We can

spend it more wisely," they say.

"You're an idiot."

Realizing you can't afford to have

another accident,you decide to be

extra-cautious on the road. You hesi-

tate when merging with traffic. You

resist passing an Amish buggy. You

even stop at a yellow light.

Guess what? You're an idiot again.

The driver behind you is certain of

this. He honks and yells, "Go, you

idiot.

What are you stopping for?"

Before long, you forget all about

your accident -- you're only human --

and you turn into Mario Andretti

again.

You drive so fast, you even manage

to pass a tractor-trailer. But your luck

runs out again and a cop pulls you

over. He listens to your excuse: "I'm

sorry, officer. I'm an idiot."

The cop has no sympathy. He has

already ticketed 89 other idiots. Some

thought the speed limit was only for

people with cheap cars. Others were

trying to save gas.

A few were certifiable idiots: They

were in a hurry to get to their in-laws.

Your insurance company gets word

of your ticket and cancels your policy.

They'd rather insure Mike Tyson.

Now you're stuck being an idiot.

Everyone sees you thumbing a ride.

And drivers like me just smile.

I know what it's like to be an idiot. I

once ran a red light by accident. My

Mazda was struck by a mini-van and

spun into another car. A cop arrived at

the scene in an instant, popping out of

the car I had just dented.

This accident almost put me in the

Idiot Hall of Shame. But the selection

committee decided to save room for

Halle Berry.

Considering how many idiots are on

the highway, it's a wonder normal peo-

ple drive with them. It's almost like

handing out guns at the post office.

It would make more sense to erect

new signs on the highway: "Left lane

reserved for idiots."

The left lane would be packed, leav-

ing the right lane safe for your great-

grandmother.

Of course, some people shouldn't be

allowed to drive -- the ones who drink

and drive. These people are guilty of

driving while D.U.I. (Definitely

Ultimate Idiots).

They get an automatic entry into the

Hall of Shame. For at least five years,

these people should be forced to hitch-

hike and drink nothing but prune

juice. Some might consider this cruel

and unusual punishment.

As for me, I'd rather keep the roads

safe. Besides, the prune industry could

use a boost.

28 Humor

June 25-July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Too many idiots on the highway

Tech Life

Humor with Melvin Durai

by Mahendra ShahMahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession,

artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recordingthe plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

LONDON: Imagine plugging your

mobile into your T-shirt to charge its

battery. It may sound a bit utopian but

it's now a reality, thanks to scientists

who've developed such a garment

which uses loud music to power up a

cell phone.

A team at telecoms giant Orange has

unveiled the new T-shirt that charges

mobiles while one watches musical

bands in action; users just have to plug

their phones into the T- shirt for a quick

top-up charge whenever they need it.

The futuristic garment works by

using noise-responsive technology --

simply, the louder the music, then the

quicker the phone charges, say its

developers.

It uses an A4-size piece of piezoelec-

tric film in a T-shirt to absorb pressure

from sound waves. It converts these

into an electrical charge, which it then

transfers from its battery into a lead

that fits most phones.

Orange will be conducting live test-

ing of the gadget on site at the

Glastonbury musical festival in Britain

to see which acts are the "best to charge

to" around the Spirit Of 71 stage, the

'Daily Mail' reported. Tony Andrews,

co-producer of the Spirit Of 71, said:

"Sound vibrations, particularly bass

frequencies, will create enough shaking

to produce electricity from a material

as simple as piezoelectric film.

"It looks like it could provide a real

solution to mobile charging and I'm

interested to see how the Orange Sound

Charge performs in live testing envi-

ronment like Glastonbury."

WASHINGTON: Hackers are tar-

geting virtual currency Bitcoin,

penetrating computers and swiping

their digital wallets, according to

computer security firm Symantec.

"Malware authors move fast,"

Symantec's Stephen Doherty said

in a blog post about digital pick-

pockets targeting Bitcoin, which

was created two years ago.

"We have seen a recent Trojan in

the wild targeting Bitcoin wallets"

in computers running various ver-

sions of Windows, Doherty said.

"It has one motive: to locate

your Bitcoin wallet.dat file and

email it to the attacker," Doherty

said. "This is not surprising con-

sidering the potential values in a

Bitcoin wallet."

Bitcoins are digital currency that

are accepted by a few online mer-

chants. They can be traded at

online currency exchanges such as

Mtgox.com for real dollars.

Doherty said Bitcoin users

should consider encrypting their

wallet files.

"If you use Bitcoins, you have

the option to encrypt your wallet

and we recommend that you

choose a strong password for this

in the event that an attacker is

attempting to brute-force your

wallet open," he said.

Earlier this week, a Bitcoin user

going by the handle of "allinvain"

claimed on a public Bitcoin forum

that his computer had been hacked

and 25,000 Bitcoins worth

$500,000 stolen.

Bitcoins have drawn the atten-

tion of members of the US Senate

recently following a report that

they have been used to purchase

prescription drugs, cocaine, LSD

and heroin at an online network

called Silk Road.

Senator Joe Manchin, a

Democrat from West Virginia, and

Senator Charles Schumer, a

Democrat from New York, wrote a

letter to the US Attorney General

and the Drug Enforcement Agency

asking for the immediate shut-

down of Silk Road.

"After purchasing Bitcoins

through an exchange, a user can

create an account on Silk Road

and start purchasing illegal drugs

from individuals around the world

and have them delivered to their

homes within days," they said.

Now, T-shirts to charge yourcellphones

'Virtual money is not safe'

Aries: Interference in others work will not

help in any way, it will only bring you

criticism. You need to check your financial posi-

tion and control your excessive spending.

Although you have a good chance to bring your

creative ideas to use, your colleagues and

coworkers are not likely to extend much support.

You could have a hard time convincing people

who will be slow to catch on your plans.

Contribute generously to social organizations.

Taurus: This week spend time with fam-

ily members and friends. It promises to

be a special week, when loved ones bring you

gifts and presents. You will find yourself bub-

bling with loads of energy and your intuition will

be helpful in making crucial decisions.

You will definitely pick up valuable suggestion if

you listen properly. Love and romance will dom-

inate your week as you go out of the way to

please your beloved.

Gemini: This week you will feel some-

what let down by people you trust. Don’t

allow people to take undue advantage of you. Be

patient, not stubborn and control your emotions.

Take time to think before you speak. Meditation

and yoga will bring you spiritual as well physical

benefits. A small pleasure jaunt towards the

weekend will be good for lifting your spirits.

Financial gains will be slow but certain.

Cancer: This week your profile will be

positive and you will work on projects,

which would have tremendous effect on your

life. Your artistic abilities and hard work will

bring you recognition and fame, but make sure

that you don't compromise on your principles in

the process of glamour and finances that seem to

come your way. Attending social functions will

ensure you meet someone who will help you

come closer to your goals.

Leo: This week you will benefit from

your leadership strength. You would take

charge of important work and gain additional

respect from people in your group. Your ability

to negotiate important deals, make plans, and

carry them to perfection will help you stay ahead

of others. Elders and family members provide

you with necessary love and care. You will also

find sufficient time with the one you love, so

don’t shy away from expressing your true feel-

ings.

Virgo:This week be extra cautious how

you deal with your colleagues and

employers. Although you will be in a special

position to express your ideas, too much interfer-

ence in the affairs of others will only bring

unnecessary tensions. Relatives and friends will

make demand, which you will find difficult to

keep. Real estate investment will pay off well in

the long run. Spiritual gains likely for some.

Libra: If you have a new idea, which

you feel could bring you major recogni-

tion and monetary gains, then you should put

your sincere efforts to convert it into concrete

form. You will win support from family mem-

bers and friends on your new project. If you are

planning to travel abroad during this week, then

this trip will be a major success. You will find

members of the opposite sex very appealing, but

try not to annoy someone you really care.

Scorpio: New projects will be alluring

and hard hour will ensure outstanding

gains in the long run. You'll attract more respect

and honor from people young as well as old.

Financial gains are also certain, but if you have

been ignoring your health lately, then you will

feel tired, weak and might require some medica-

tion. Extra rest, proper diet and little exercise

will be important to regain your strength and

spirits. Although a favorable period but don’t be

afraid to speak in your defense if you feel others

are trying to suppress you or ignore your opin-

ion.

Sagittarius: This week some memories

or unresolved issues come to the surface,

bringing you lot of tension and stress. If you

thought you had these problems resolved for

good, then you will be surprised that they appear

once again. Frustration will engulf you. Unless

you deal with these problems with proper advice

and some help, you will find it extremely diffi-

cult to resolve this issue and concentrate on other

work. Message from overseas will bring happi-

ness.

Capricorn: There will be many social

activities this week, including few family

gathering where you will get to spend some spe-

cial moments with people you haven’t seen for a

long time. You will be the center of attention,

and you should not waste these opportunities to

revive lost contacts. At office your efforts will

bring desired results. You will accomplish jobs at

a speed that usually seems impossible. New job

opportunities for some seem later in the week.

Aquarius: This week you should set new

goals for yourself. You will have a vision

and determination, which will bring you, gains

much beyond your expectations. Elders will join

you in your efforts and provide support whenev-

er needed. Sudden romantic encounter with

someone you have secretly admired will make

your head spin. A wonderful week to spend with

children, friends and relatives. Look for some-

thing to do together towards the weekend.

Pisces: This week it doesn’t matter if you

are the guest or the host because you will

be at the center of attention.

Your observation and creativity will help you

meet new and fascinating people, bringing you

new opportunities. Unusual circumstances will

involve legal matters and prove financially

expensive. You might also need to seek favours

from an influential person to sort the issue. Later

in the week, a spiritual person gives blessings

and good wishes.

June 25:

Dominated by number 7 and the planet Neptune, you

are responsible, affectionate, creative, simple and a

research oriented person. You possess many talents,

which make you popular amongst your friends, but

you need to check your tendency to behave jealous,

introvert and hypocrite at times. The year is perfect

to undertake important changes and make strong de-

cisions. Matters related to property, partnerships and

new ventures will get resolved. Concentrate on your

efforts and growth and prosperity will follow by

themselves. The latter half of the year will bring in

opportunities to travel overseas for business as well

as pleasure. Selective speculation will bring gains.

Some good news can be expected from children to-

wards the last quarter of the year. Renovation, con-

struction and socializing will be major highlight of

this year. The months of September, November, Jan-

uary and May will prove to be highly significant.

June 26:

Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn. You

are ambitious, energetic, authoritative, systematic,

and a sober person. You possess remarkable talent

and conviction to fight against any adverse condi-

tions with courage, but you need to check your ten-

dency to behave highly stubborn and jealous at

times. Your coming year promises financial pros-

perity and good health. Businessmen will invest in

more profitable ventures. Promising contacts will

build through social get-togethers and traveling. Un-

expected help from a distant relative will give a ma-

jor boost to your career. Your spouse will be quite co-

operative and shower her full love and affection upon

you despite your erratic behavior towards her. An in-

fatuation within the group will keep you in high spir-

its for some time but it will not be long lasting. The

months of August, December, March and April will

prove to be highly significant.

June 27:

Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are in-

telligent, dashing, courageous, enthusiastic and a bril-

liant individual. In any crowd, you can easily draw at-

tention because of your humble outlook and intellec-

tual talks, but you need to check your tendencies to-

wards aggressiveness and short-temper at times. The

coming year sees new ideas and plans materializing.

Perfect year that will improve your earning power and

let you establish important relationships. Support

from your seniors and colleagues, will boost your

morale and generate new confidence. Overseas as-

signments for some will be lucrative. Spouse will pro-

vide love and care, but behave highly possessive and

unpredictable. A journey preferably to a distant loca-

tion towards the yearend cannot be ruled out. The

month of September, November, January and May

will prove to be highly result oriented.

June 28:

Dominated by number 1 and the Sun. You are smart,

intelligent, energetic, friendly and highly dignified

person. You are a great admirer of art and literature,

but you need to control your tendency to behave

stubborn, timid and careless at times. This year you

will make good financial gains, provided you take

advantage of the opportunities being provided to

you. Your charisma and outgoing personality will

bring you popularity and win you favors. Home front

will be peaceful with family members extending all

possible help and cooperation. Spouse and children

will look after you well, but be highly demanding at

times. Wedding bells for some in the last quarter of

the year while others will find romance to keep them

in the right spirit and good mood. The months of Oc-

tober, February and June will prove to be important

and eventful.

June 29:

Governed by number 2 and the Moon. You are imag-

inative, honest, sensitive, emotional and a simple in-

dividual. You willingly help those in distress with

cash and kind, but your tendency to behave introvert

and shy needs to be checked at times. This year you

should complete pending jobs before starting any-

thing new. Promotions and transfers for some govt.

employees cannot be ruled out. Distant travel for

business as well as pleasure seems almost certain

during middle of the year. Health of your parents will

cause stress and anxiety. Rise in medical expenses

will definitely bother your mind. Avoid any financial

dealing/ partnerships with casual friends or relatives

to avoid future complications. Dabbling in specula-

tion and transaction in property during this period

will bring financial gains. The months of August, Oc-

tober, March and April will prove to be eventful.

June 30:

Dominated by number 3 and the planet Jupiter. You

are ambitious, courageous, dignified, aggressive and

friendly. You are independent by nature and thought

and you avoid any interference in your work, but you

also become a subject of immense criticism because

of your tendency to behave stubborn and hot-tem-

pered at times. This year gains from past invest-

ments will see your financial position improve. New

alliances and projects would lift your confidence.

Bold decisions would be essential at workplace. De-

spite minor disagreements at times with your seniors

and colleagues your professional graph would grow

with success and achievements. Expenditure on the

renovation or beautification of the house or on pur-

chase of luxuries seems high later in the year. Prop-

erty related matters need to be dealt with extreme

caution. Your spouse would be supportive to your

concerns and provide you with love and affection.

Health definitely would require more attention, es-

pecially for those suffering from chronic ailments.

Some auspicious ceremonies and functions are like-

ly to be performed in the family. The months of Au-

gust, November and March seem to be significant.

July 01:

Governed by number 1, and the Sun, you are origi-

nal, active, responsible and a talented person. You are

highly skillful and fond of accepting challenges, but

you need to control your tendency to dominate, over-

spend and behave destructive at times. You need to

take stronger decisions to reap benefits. Challenges

that you accept during this phase would bring over-

whelming results in the long run. Your financial con-

dition would improve later in the year, as you would

pickup jobs involving higher responsibility and posi-

tion. A sudden influence of a spiritual person would

have a remarkable influence on your personality and

thoughts. Students would excel in their academic

performance. Some exhilarating news from your

overseas relations will boost up the spirits of the en-

tire family. Travel and journey will be pleasurable.

The months of January, April, May and July will be

significant for you.

Astrology 29

TheSouthAsianTimes.info June 25-July 1, 2011

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898,2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: June 25-July 1, 2011 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date,

Time and Place of birth is accurate.

ii) Careful: Did you check background of the

astrologer before disclosing your secrets.

iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel

shy. It’s his business.

iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the out-

come is not as desired, never give up.

v) Consult: Take second opinion before

spending thousands on cure/remedies.

Learn about the fair value of diamonds & precious stones.

To the readers of The South Asian Times

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email consult.gems@gmail.com

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30 Spiritual Awareness

June 25 - July 1, 2011 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

True peace lies in uncovering

the mysteries of life and

death. At some point in our

life we become restless to know the

answers to questions such as: Why

am I here? What is my purpose in

life? Where did I come from?

Where will I go when I die? Is there

God? Is there soul? Once these

questions stir within us, we cannot

rest until we find the answers.

There is an anecdote from the

life of the Arabian king, Abou ben

Adham (known as Ebrahim ibn

Adham), who ruled the Balkh.

While sitting on his throne with his

ministers on either side, he gave

audience to the masses. Suddenly, a

man approached him. He had such

a terrifying expression that even the

king’s ministers did not want to

look at this stranger.

“What do you want?” asked

Abou.

“I am only stopping off at this

inn,” replied the stranger.

“This is not an inn. This is a

palace. You must be a madman,”

replied the king.

“Who owned this palace before

you?” asked the man.

“My father,” said Abou.

“And who owned it before him?”

asked the man.

“My grandfather,” responded

Abou. The dialogue proceeded fur-

ther with the stranger continuing to

ask who owned the palace prior to

the last one mentioned.

Finally, the stranger said, “To

where have all these owners depart-

ed?”

“They are all dead,” said Abou.

“Then,” concluded the stranger,

“is this not an inn in which one per-

son enters and another leaves?”

With this statement, the stranger

disappeared. This exchange started

Abou ben Adham on his search for

God. The saints tell us that what

dies is the physical body, which is

made of matter. Being made of

matter, it deteriorates, it decays,

and is finally destroyed. But our

true self, which is our spirit or soul,

is eternal. It lives on and on and on.

What we call death in this world of

ours is only a physical death. For

the soul, it is just the changing of a

vesture. Therefore, the first thing to

understand is that our soul is ever-

lasting. It existed in the beginning,

it exists now, and it will always

exist. There is no question of the

destruction of the soul; it is eternal.

If we can realize this for ourselves,

one of the greatest fears of our life,

the unknown nature of death, will

be eliminated.

Saints, who have seen past this

physical world, have uttered state-

ments about their views on death. It

is not something to fear, they say,

but something to embrace. Kabir

Sahib has said, “The death of which

other people are afraid is a source

of happiness for me. It is only with

death that I attain everlasting bliss.”

Science, in its attempt to explore

the farthest reaches of space, is

looking for answers to the origin of

creation. In their quest, scientists

inevitably have had to cross the

barriers of science and enter a

realm previously reserved for only

mystics, philosophers, and saints.

Many physicists have turned to the

East to explore the possibilities of

realms of existence beyond the

physical universe. A look at physics

reveals a generation of scientists

who are exploring the possibility

that there really are universes exist-

ing concurrently with ours.

While these ideas may seem far-

fetched to hard-core skeptics,

increasing numbers of people have

opened their minds to the possibili-

ty that there is more going on in

creation than what meets the physi-

cal eye.

While science is delving into

what happens after this life there is

another field of science also being

researched which is investigating

whether higher regions of existence

can be tapped during this current

lifetime. Through the science of

spirituality people are actively

engaged in exploring other realms

of existence. Spiritual teachers,

saints, and mystics have developed

a meditation technique by which

one can transcend the physical limi-

tations of this universe to discover

higher realms of consciousness.

When they refer to higher realms of

consciousness they are not referring

to brain wave states of alpha, beta,

or theta; they are not referring to

altered states of consciousness

which can be induced by mind-

altering drugs; they are referring to

actual places and regions to which

we can travel by transcending this

restricted physical plane through a

process known as Shabd medita-

tion. Through this meditation, one

can explore higher planes and veri-

fy the truth of their existence for

ourselves.

Through meditation we can go

beyond the door of death to meet

the bliss and beauty that awaits us

beyond. Death no longer holds a

sword of fear over us, for in our

very lifetime we can see the place

where we will go after our body

breathes its last. We can finally

understand the true meaning of

Psalm 23: “Yea, though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of

death, I will fear no evil for Thou

art with me.” We, too, can exclaim,

as did St. Paul in these timeless

words,

Oh death, where is thy sting? O

grave, where is thy victory?

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajis the head of Sawan Kirpal RuhaniMission / Science of Spiritualitywith international headquarters inDelhi, India.

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

In the East, people believe that we have

three aspects to be developed: intellectual,

physical, and spiritual. Although we have

developed our intellect and physical bodies,

we have forgotten our spiritual side.

Ethical values were once a part of the educa-

tional system in ancient cultures. Students

were given a well-rounded training to develop

physically, intellectually, and spiritually—

which included ethical and moral instruction.

In the last century, however, we have wit-

nessed a decline in the teaching of ethical

virtues in our schools throughout the world.

The emphasis has been on academic develop-

ment. As a result, we have been witnessing a

generation of people who are growing up with

a lack of moral and

ethical values. Crime in the streets, violence

among children and teens, reliance on drugs

and alcohol for pleasure, and senseless crimes

all point to a lack of ethical training in the

moral fiber of our young people. The only

way to bring about peace—at the individual

and global levels—is to start with educating

students from an early age. By helping them

discriminate right from wrong, they may grow

up to be individuals who make better and safer

choices for themselves and for society.

In this regard we need to provide students

with a balanced education. Many of the edu-

cational systems around the world spend time

developing the students’ physical and mental

attributes. Physical education includes fitness

programs and classes about health, safety, and

nutrition. Academic education comprises a

large part of the educational programs by

training students in science, math, reading,

writing, social sciences, language and litera-

ture. Students are also enriched aesthetically

by learning the arts and music. On the other

hand, in many schools throughout the world,

spiritual and ethical instruction are missing,

and yet it is imperative for the future of our

children that we balance our educational pro-

grams by providing training in spiritual and

ethical values.

Ethical development means learning about

being loving, kind, truthful, helpful, caring

and humble human beings. Students need

exposure to adults who are examples of these

traits so that they can imbibe these qualities.

For this reason, I have established fifteen

schools called “Darshan Academies” –with

grades ranging from pre-K through high

school—which provide a period each day for

spiritual and ethical training. Students also

learn about people of various countries and

study comparative religions so that they can

learn to appreciate the unity in diversity. They

also are given time to sit in silent meditation

within the stillness of their own selves.

Meditation is a nonsectarian process where-

in students learn that no matter to what coun-

try or to what religion they belong, they can

meditate together. In this silent meditation

period, the goal is for students to discover the

spiritual wealth they have within themselves.

They already are fully aware of their body and

mind.

However, meditation helps them become

aware of their true self within. They also learn

the values of nonviolence, truthfulness, humil-

ity, purity, compassion for all and performing

selfless service. By coming in contact with

their own spiritual nature, students find that

all people are made of the same Light and

love of God. This realization leads to toler-

ance and love for all people, a recognition that

within our diverse outer forms we are all made

of the same Light. This understanding helps to

develop love for all people. When we have

love and respect for others, we will naturally

be peaceful and nonviolent. When we consid-

er all people as part of one human family, we

will naturally be kind and caring to them. We

would never dream of hurting a member of

our own family. Thus, students brought up

with ethical values would no longer wish to

harm a member of the human family.

For anyone practicing meditation—whether

students, teachers or anyone else—besides

realizing oneself and connecting with the cre-

ative power within, meditation provides many

other benefits. During meditation, when clos-

ing our eyes and gazing within, we are con-

centrating our attention. If we can learn to still

our mind through concentration, we can use

that technique in day-to-day life. The result is

that we understand more of what we read and

we complete our work faster. Besides improv-

ing our intellectual abilities through medita-

tion, we feel better physically because we are

relaxed; we do not become overly agitated and

are more able to cope with the difficulties and

tensions that arise in life. Therefore, if the

techniques for meditation and concentration

are taught to students at an early age, they will

grow up to be fully developed physically,

intellectually, and spiritually. They will see the

Light of God in every human being and form

of creation. They will have love and compas-

sion for humanity.

If we include meditation and a nonsectarian

spiritual curriculum in our educational sys-

tems throughout the world, then fifteen, twen-

ty, or twenty-five years from now, we would

turn out human beings who have love and

compassion.

This would bring about an era in which peo-

ple help each other rather than spending their

time accumulating as much as they can for

themselves.

We would enter a golden age of concern

about the welfare of our neighbors, our socie-

ty, and all life on a global level. If, along with

intellectual and physical qualities, spiritual

values are taught to children, this world would

become a haven of joy and peace.

Unlock the Mystery

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

There is no question of thedestruction of thesoul; it is eternal. Ifwe can realize thisfor ourselves, oneof the greatestfears of our life,the unknownnature of death,will be eliminated.

The only way to bring aboutpeace—at the individual andglobal levels—is to start witheducating students from anearly age. By helping themdiscriminate right fromwrong, they may grow up tobe individuals who make bet-ter and safer choices forthemselves and for society.

Spirituality and education