30 vol 6 epaper
TRANSCRIPT
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The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalismArt & Film 18
Vol.6 No. 30 November 16-22, 2013 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Humor 28 Spiritual Awareness 30Op Ed 13
Playing with
a special
tricolor bat in
his last Test
match at his
home ground
in Mumbai,
and bucked
up by a
grateful
nation,
Sachin
Tendulkar
scored 74,
taking Indiawell beyond
West Indies
first innings
total.
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2 November 16-22, 2013 TRISTATE COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Hicksville, NY: The re-election of
Ed Magnano as Nassau County
Executive with a bigger mandate
was celebrated by the South Asian
community on November 11 at a
Gala Reception here.
Wholehearted support from the
community saw Hon. Mangano
cruise to victory against his
Democratic challenger Tom
Suozzi with a handsome 18 point
margin in the Nov 5 election.
The reception at Antuns by
Minar was attended by Hon.
Mangano and Chief Deputy
County Executive Rob Walkerand organized by The South Asian
Communities United Forum, an
initiative of Bobby KumarKalotee (Chairman, All American
Political Party) and Zahid Syed
(Chairman, Human Rights
Commission, Nassau) with sup-
po rt fr om Ka ml esh Me ht a
(Director, Nassau County Office
of Business & Economic
Development).
Over 300 guests -- a veritable
whos who of the South Asian
community were there to cheer
Mangano. Prominent among them
were: Purna Aramalla, Jerry
Kohli, Animesh Goenka, Haridas
Kotahwala, Habib Ahmed, Dr
Surinder Malhotra, Jagdish
Sewhani, Sazid Shah, RaviBhooplapur, Kamal Gupta, Zeb
Pirzada, Moh. Saleh, Kanwaljit
Chandi, Dr Shashi Shah, Kishore
Kuncham and Rizwan Qureshi.
Indu Jaiswal and BeenaSabhapati led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Zahid Syed welcomed the
guests and praised County
Executive for his great service to
the county. In his opening
remarks, he also thanked all sup-
porters of Mangano.
Kamlesh Mehta appreciated
Bobby Kumar and Zahid Syed for
their initiative of uniting the com-
munities and congratulated the
attendees on Manganos victory,
which he saw as the victory of
himself, everyone in the room and
1.3 million residents of Nassau
County. He called Ed Mangano agreat leader and friend of every-
one.
Harendra Singh, who has cher-
ished Manganos friendship for 20
years, called Ed the nicest human
being, and that he never had any
doubts about Manganos win.
Zahid Syed thanked the media
for their help and presence before
introducing Rob walker.Chief Deputy County Executive
Walker was honored for his piv-
otal role in Manganos re-election
campaign. He was presented a
plaque by Kamlesh Mehta, Bobby
Kumar and Zahid Syed.
Rob Walker appreciated Bobby
Kumar and Zahid Syed for their
support and mentioned bonding
with and friendship of Kamlesh
Mehta since 2008.
While introducing County
Executive Ed Mangano, Bobby
Kumar congratulated him for a
great victory. He also mentioned
his long standing cordial relation-
ship with Mr Mangano and his
family.
Ed Mangano thanked everyone
for their support and promised to
work steadfastly to make Nassau
County a better place to live, work
and raise a family. He called
Harendra Singh the dearest friend
and like a brother. He thankedBobby Kumar, Zahid Syed and
Jerry Kohli for their support. He
especially thanked and admired
the role and contribution of
Kamlesh Mehta during the elec-
tion, saying, "Kamlesh Mehta is
one of the most effective persons
in my team."
In his closing remarks, Kamlesh
Mehta named 12 people who gen-
erously contributed five digit
sums -- to the Mangano cam-
paign through him.
He also thanked Rasraj,
Rajbhog and Bengali Sweets for
their sponsorship, and DJ
Sharukh, DJ Lucky, as well as
Ni tu Sing h an d Ra j Ma in i of
Antun's.
Zahid Syed and Bobby Kumar welcoming Nassau County Ed Manganowith bouquets as Kamlesh Mehta looks on.,
The front-line supporters of Ed Mangano's re-election cam-paign: (from left) Jerry Kohli, Harendra Singh, Bobby Kumar,
Zahid Syed and Kamlesh Mehta.
Happiness all around for Manganos well deserved victory.
Photos: Sandeep G.
Chief Deputy County Executive Rob Walker was honored for his pivotal role in Manganos re-elec-tion campaign by Kamlesh Mehta, Bobby Kumar and Zahid Syed. (right) Rob Walker speaking.
Zahid Syed and Bobby Kumar speaking at the gala reception.
Ed Mangano thankedeveryone for their support in
his election.
South Asianscelebrate
Ed Manganosthumping win
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3November 16-22, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
By Arun Kumar
Washington: In a country where
baseball rules and few people know
of cricket and even fewer play
cricket, America's leading daily
New York Times has chosen to pay
rich tributes to India's "cricket
God" Sachin Tendulkar.
Taking note of Tendulkar's iconic
status in India, NYT carried two
OpEds on the day the maestro
played his 200th and last Test in
Mumbai saying the sense of loss
after his retirement will "scarcely
be any less in the rest of the crick-
eting world."
In an OpEd titled "Where the
Gods Live On ... and On", Tunku
Varadarajan, a research fellow at
the Hoover Institution, noted,
"Tendulkar, whom everyone calls
Sachin, is the most revered crick-eter in India."
"In fact, it would be entirely
accurate to describe him as the
most revered contemporary Indian,
or even, with only a pinch of
hyperbole, the most revered Indian
since Mahatma Gandhi held the
nation in thrall."
"Suspend your disbelief andthink of him as a cross between
Babe Ruth and Martin Luther
King," Varadarajan wrote compar-
ing Tendulkar to two American
icons - one in the sports arena and
other on the political field.
Ruth was a Major League
Baseball pitcher, nicknamed "the
Sultan of Swat" who played for 22seasons on three teams, from 1914
through 1935 and King was leader
of African-American civil rights
movement inspired by Mahatma
Gandhi.
"In a land of chronic inefficiency,
he was remorselessly efficient; in a
land with a global inferiority com-
plex, he was the best in the world;
in a land where public figures are
strutting peacocks, he was often a
pic ture of painful humili ty; in a
land that thirsts for self-respect,
Sachin spelled pride," he wrote.
However, in Varadarajan's view
"there has been an unlovely whiff
of selfishness in his reluctance to
give way to younger players, in his
limpetlike clinging to his place, and
in his relentless pursuit of mile-
stones."
"But we shouldn't blame Sachin,"
he added noting, "In any other land,
he would have aged, recognized the
limitations brought on by age ...
and moved on. India has not let
him do so. It is India, by its corro-
sive love, that has betrayed Sachin
Tendulkar."In a separate piece titled
"Tendulkar Stepping Away From
Cricket, but His Impact Remains"
Huw Richards wrote, "Sachin
Tendulkar's ability to generate
mind-numbing numbers has sur-
vived to the very end of his prodi-
gious career."
Much of Sachin's greatness
comes from the fact that he consis-
tently fulfilled the expectations he
carries in India and among the
Indian diaspora, he wrote noting,
"Few players have left so compre-
hensive or so potentially enduring a
mark in the record books."
"If there is a doubt where he
ranks historically, consider that
Tendulkar was the only active play-
er named by Wisden Cricketers'
Almanac to its all-time team last
month. The sport's leading chroni-
cler had 150 years of cricket to
choose from," Richards wrote.
"Records can be broken. South
Africa's Jacques Kallis or
England's Alastair Cook might
overtake his Test numbers, but
Tendulkar's impact will remain," hewrote.
"And if the sense of loss is most
intense in India this coming week,
it will scarcely be any less in the
rest of the cricketing world,"
Richards added.
From the land of baseball, tributes to India's 'cricket God'
In a land of chronic inefficiency, he was remorselessly efficient;in a land with a global inferiority complex, he was the best in
the world; in a land where public figures are strutting peacocks,he was often a picture of painful humility; in a land that thirsts
for self-respect, Sachin spelled pride.
UNSC reforms can't wait till cows come home: India New York opens first World Trade Centre towerNew York: Saying that the
credibility of the UN
Security Council is at stake,
India has sought a results-
based timeline for reforms in
the world organization's
supreme decision-makingbody to give it a more equi-
table representation globally.
"The exercise of UNSC
reforms cannot be seen to be
going on till the cows come
home!" India's Deputy
Permanent Representative
Manjeev Singh Puri told the
UN General Assembly last
week, participating in a
debate on increasing the
council's membership.
"Recent developments
around the world have
increasingly put to question
not just the representative-
ness, but also the credibilityof the UNSC is at stake," he
said. "And the clarion call
for change is only growing
louder by the day."
"All these are important
tidings which cannot be
ignored in our collective
quest to achieve UNSC
reforms," said Puri, asserting
that a results-based time line
was needed.
He suggested that 2015,
marking the 70th anniver-
sary of the UN as well as 10
years following the 2005World Summit mandating
early reforms of the Security
Council, "will be an impor-
tant occasion to deliver 'con-
crete outcomes' on this most
pressing subject".
Puri hoped that the UN
"can collectively work
together in a constructive
and forward looking manner,
not just on the process but aswell as on the substance,
in the interim, so as to
deliver on this long due
mandate".
New York: The first new
office tower at New York
City's Ground Zero opened
Wednesday, marking a
rebirth of the Lower
Manhattan site where old
World Trade Centre towerswere destroyed in the Sep
11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The 72-story Four World
Trade Centre becomes the
first skyscraper that opens its
doors for business on the
original 16-acre site where
about 2,700 people were
killed in the terrorist attack
on Twin towers, Xinhua
reported. "Four World Trade
is the first building to be
completed within the borders
of the original World Trade
Centre, and is a testament to
the strength and resiliency of
New York er s, " MayorMichael Bloomberg said at a
ribbon-cutting ceremony for
the glass building.
Next ye ar, One Wor ld
Trade will follow, helping to
continue the revitalization of
Lower Manhattan and its
business community.
Manjeev Puri is new Indian envoyto Belgium, EU
One World Trade Centre tallestbuilding in the Americas
Manjeev Singh
Puri, India's
D e p u t y
Permanent Representative
to the United Nations, has
bee n app oin ted the nex t
ambassador to Belgium, it
was announced Tuesday.
An Indian Foreign
Service officer of the 1982
bat ch, Pur i wil l al so be
accredited as Indian ambas-
sador to the Council of the
European Union and The
European Commission.
The FreedomTower in New
York is the tallest
bu ildi ng in the
western hemi-
sphere at 542
meters, surpass-
ing Chicago's
Willis Tower, for-
merly the Sears
Tower, the
Council on Tall
Buildings and
Urban Habitat
(CTBUH) said
Tuesday.
The New York
edifice, whose
official name is
One World Trade Centre, takes the title as tallest after including
the spire installed this year, which raises it from 417 meters to
542 meters, leaving the 442 meters of the Chicago skyscraper
behind.
Once complete next year, the Freedom Tower will be the
third tallest building in the world, trailing only the Burj Khalifa
in Dubai and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, the CTBUH said.Manjeev Puri
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4 November 16-22, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE
Washington: President Obama is
nominating Dr. Vivek Murthy of
Harvard Medical School and
Brigham and Womens Hospital as
surgeon general of the United
States, the White House announced
Thursday. Murthy is a hospitalist atthe Brigham and is co-founder and
president of Doctors for America, a
Washington, D.C.-based group that
advocates for access to affordable,
high quality healthcare. When con-
firmed by the Senate, Murthy would
replace acting surgeon general Boris
Lushniak. The surgeon general
serves a four-year term and the post
is essentially a bully pulpit to speak
out on public health issues.
Dr. Murthy has served President
Obama on his advisory group on
Preventive Health Promotion and
integrative Public Health. Dr.
Murthy has MD and MBA from
Yale and undergraduate studies inBio Chemical Sciences from
Harvard.
Indian American Forum for
Political Education has welcomed
Dr. Murthys prestigious appoint-
ment, saying he represents the next
generation of Indian Americans.
and we look forward to his lead-
ership in changing the Face of
Health of the Country in coming . New York: The Association of
Indian Americans NY celebrated
Children's Diwali Program at the
Glen Oaks Branch of Queens Public
Library on Nov 8. The overflowing
audience was treated to cultural per-
formances by young students (age
3-12 years).Sunil Modi, president of AIA-NY,
explained the importance of Diwali.
Suvreen Kaur, Miss National
America Preteen, spoke to the chil-
dren about setting high standards
and goals in life. She also requested
the parents to help their children in
fulfilling the children's dream and
aspirations.
The audience also participated in
various crafts related to celebrating
Diwali and were treated to Indiansnacks.
This event was organized by Anita
Thakkar, wife of Harish Thakkar,
vice president of AIA-NY.
Mumbai: Indian shares rose 1
percent on Thursday, snapping a
seven-session losing streak as
lenders rallied after the central
bank governor anno unce d bond
purchases, easing some concerns
about losses in the sector tied to
their heavy debt holdings.
Shares also tracked a regional
rally after U.S. FederalReserve
Chairman nominee Janet Yellen
said the Fed has "more work to
do" to help the U.S. economy,
spurring hopes she would opt to
delay tapering of monetary stimu-
lus if her confirmation is approved
by the U.S. Congress.
With reporting of July-
September earnings results largely
over, traders said the focus will be
on a series of state polls this
month ahead of general elections
next year, and the Reserve Bank of
India's policy review next month.
Data on Thursday showed
India's headline inflation acceler-
ated to an eight-month high of 7.0
per cen t in Oct obe r, rai sin g the
pr os pe ct of a fr es h ra te hi ke
despite the central bank governor's
soothing words on Wednesday on
core retail inflation.
Colombo: Britain's Prince
Charles arrived in Sri Lanka
Thursday for the Commonwealth
meeting even as President
Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to
"look into" charges of human
rights abuses that have kept away
the prime ministers of India,
Canada and Mauritius from the
summit.
The prince will Friday represent
the Queen as Head of the
Commonwealth at the opening
ceremony, and will host other
Commonwealth events, including
a reception for business leadersand a dinner for heads of govern-
ment.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif too arrived here Thursday
for Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Amid a boycott by the PMs of
Canada and Mauritius who have
voiced concerns over human
rights violations in Sri Lanka, and
the absence of Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh,
Rajapaksa said he was willing to
"look into" human rights issues
surrounding the war that crushed
the Tamil Tigers in 2009.
Rajapaksa told a media confer-
ence that ending the three decade
old war had proved immensely
benefic ial for Sri Lanka, report s
Xinhua. He insisted that his gov-
ernment had established adequate
systems to tackle rights issues.
"We have suffered for the last 30
years. All people suffered, but no
one is getting killed in Sri Lanka
now."
Rajapaksa said he would be
willing to impartially investigate
allegations made against the mili-
tary.
The spotlight on Sri Lanka'shuman rights situation intensified
after Rajapaksa was given chair-
manship of the Commonwealth
till the end of 2014.
British Prime Minister David
Cameron has vowed to raise
accountability issues with
Rajapaksa.
Indian American named US Surgeon General
Dr. Vivek Murthy is based inBoston, MA.
As Prince Charles arrives for CHOGM,
Rajapaksa makes a promise
AIA holds Diwali event for kids
Indian shares snap 7-day losing streak;RBI policy, state polls in focus
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5November 16-22, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New York: Stephen Labate, a fi-
nancial advisor and Iraq War Vet-eran, has announced his candidacy
for Congress in New Yorks 3rd
Congressional District.
Citing stalled economic growth
and job creation, as well as the
failed Obamacare initiative, La-
bate lambasted the current stalled
Congress and its failures to set
aside partisan grandstanding as
driving factors in his decision to
run.
The status quo in Washington is
simply unacceptable. We need to
reign in wasteful spending, stimu-
late economic growth and work in
a bipartisan manner to create com-
mon sense solutions to our nation-
al issues.
As a soldier and a financial advi-
sor, I want to represent Long Is-
landers in the 3rd Congressional
District and challenge my fellow
representatives to uphold their
duty, Labate said.
Pointing to a distracted Steve Is-
rael as a slap in the face to the lo-
cal electorate Labate noted, as
Chairman of the Democratic Con-
gressional Campaign Committee,Steve Israel is more concerned
about electing candidates 3,000
miles away than with the issues
that are affecting constituents here
at home.
After 12 years in office, Steve Is-
rael has introduced 245 bills and
only two have become law and
they were for the renaming of post
offices.
That is a striking figure and begs
the question, after so many years,
what has Steve Israel ever really
accomplished to help his con-
stituents? It is for that reason I
have decided to answer the call of
duty in a new capacity so as to pro-vide the type of focused
leadership that Long Islanders
deserve. I am excited for this race
and look forward to an open dia-
logue; one that challenges the sta-
tus quo of how politics is
being done and to effectuate pos-
itive change within our communi-
ties in the 3rd Congressional Dis-
trict and across the country.
The 3rd Congressional District
encompasses parts of Nassau and
Suffolk Counties as well as
Queens, New York. Stephen La-
bate, a husband and father of two
young children, has been deployed
three times since the attacks of
September 11, 2001 and as a fi-
nancial advisor has earned the Cer-
tified Retirement Counselor Des-
ignation from the International
Foundation of Retirement Educa-
tion.
Labate will bring a disciplined
and thoughtful approach to gov-
erning that is sorely lacking today.
Stephen Labate announcesCongressional run
It has been brought to the notice of the
Consulate General of India, New York
that some of the applicants are asked to
pay fees which are in variance with the pre-scribed fees for various consular services.
The Consulate hereby clarifies that no one at
the Consulate or at the service provider,
through which the consular services have
been outsourced, asks for fees different than
the prescribed ones. The prescribed fees for
various consular services could be seen at
the websites of the Consulate(www.indi-
acgny.org) and the service provider
(http://www.blsindia-usa.com)
If there are any issues/enquiries with re-
gard to the consular services rendered by the
Consulate directly or through the serviceprovider kindly approach the Consulate
General of India, New York through follow-
ing email ids:
For Passport: [email protected]
For Visa: [email protected]
For OCI and PIO: [email protected]
For Attestation & other Misc. Services:
CONSULAR FEE NOTICE
T
he Consulate General of India, New
York has been receiving number of
complaints through e-mails, letters,
phones and blogs regarding the consularservices outsourced. We have taken note of
these complaints some of which are of fairly
serious nature. These concerns have been
communicated to the service provider who
has been asked to address them efficiently.
These issues have also been brought to the at-
tention of the concerned authorities. We are
hopeful that the situation will be sorted out
soon. Meanwhile the Consulate is trying to
assist those requiring emergency consular
services.
For issues or complaints with regard to theconsular services kindly approach the Con-
sulate General of India, New York through
official mail ids.
For Passport: [email protected]
For Attestation & other Misc. Services:
For Visa: [email protected]
For OCI and PIO: [email protected]
CONSULAR NOTICE
Stephen Labate
Washington,DC: Manhattan's In-
dian American US Attorney Preet
Bharara has brought down yet an-other insider trader with a former
Indian internet analyst Sandeep Ag-
garwal pleading guilty.
Aggarwal, who admitted to pro-
viding inside information about a
pending deal between Microsoft
and Yahoo to a portfolio manager at
SAC Capital, would be the 76th
person convicted in Bharara's four-
year insider trading crackdown.
Other prominent convictions ob-
tained by Bharara, dubbed "Sheriff
of Wall Street" by Time magazine,
include those of India-born former
Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gup-
ta and his Sri Lankan hedge fund
billionaire friend Raj Rajaratnam.The manager, Richard Lee, plead-
ed guilty to insider trading in July
and SAC this week agreed to plead
guilty to criminal charges and pay a
record $1.2 billion penalty.
Aggarwal, 40, a former analyst
for San Francisco-based Caris &
Co, who has residences in San Jose,
California, and in Gurgaon, in In-
dia's Haryana province, was ac-
cused of leveraging his tech indus-
try contacts for the alleged miscon-
duct in 2009.
Aggarwal is also founder and for-
mer CEO of ShopClues.com de-
scribed as India's first and largest
managed marketplace. Last month,
co-founder Sanjay Sethi took over
from Aggarwal as ShopClues CEO.
Aggarwal might face 25 years in
prison when he's sentenced and may
also be deported to India, although
he has apparently agreed to cooper-
ate with prosecutors in the hope of
receiving a lenient sentence.
FBI agents arrested Aggarwal last
July and charged him with one
count of conspiracy to commit se-
curities fraud and one count of con-
spiracy to commit wire fraud. A day
later, Aggarwal was, however, re-
leased on a $500,000 bond.
Harvard-educated Bharara, 45,
has vowed to keep up his crusade,saying he has the "greatest job in the
world" though he will "walk the
earth and get into adventures"
whenever he retires.
"I am going to do this job as long
as I can. I think I have the greatest
job not just in the country but in the
world. It has been four years and it
has been a lot of fun and I am going
to do this as long as I can," he said
at the New York Times' Dealbook
Conference in New York last week.
Bharara said he would continue
working on "those great and awe-
some prosecutorial tools" that have
helped his office charge some of the
most prominent and influential ex-
ecutives on Wall Street with insider
trading.
But when he does retire or gets
"kicked out" of his job, he would
want to travel the world and meet
people. "I'm going to walk the
earth," said Punjab-born Bharara,
quoting a dialogue from the movie
"Pulp Fiction".
Preet Bharara brings downShopClues' Indian founder
Preet Bharara
New Jersey: One of five teens
accused in the 2010 fatal beat-ing attack of a New Jersey pro-
fessor received a 15-year
prison sentence Nov. 12 in
New Brunswick Superior
Court.
Earlier this year, Julian Daley
pleaded guilty to a charge of
aggravated assault in the June
25, 2010 attack on Old Bridge,
New Jersey resident Divyendu
Sinha, 49 at the time of his
death.
Daley entered the guilty plea
with Middlesex County, New
Jersey prosecutors, agreeing to
testify against co-defendants
Cash Johnson and ChristianTinli in exchange for a lighter
sentence of 15 years. Had the
case gone to trial, Daley would
have likely received a 30-year
sentence. Daley must serve
seven and a half years of his
state prison sentence before he
is eligible for parole.
15 years in jail for
teen accused in
fatal attack on Prof
Divyendu Sinha
Julian Daley
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6 November 16-22, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Sureshchandra Bahadkar passes awayS
ureshchandra Bahad-
kar was born on May
28, 1940 in Mumbai,
India and passed on Novem-
ber 10, 2013 in Elmont, NY.
Suresh was a pure and in-
nocent soul and was happi-
est when surrounded by
family and friends. By
trade, Suresh was an ex-
porter/importer of fashion
textile until he retired in 2001. He was
passionate about fashion and the perform-
ing arts. In fact, while in India, Suresh
participated in numerous theatrical pro-
ductions.Suresh lived an altruistic life. He re-
ceived great joy and happiness by assisting
not only his family, but also others in
achieving great success. His concern for
the welfare of others was a deep rooted
part of what defined his char-
acter.
Suresh was an active mem-
ber of the Indian community.
Specifically, he volunteered
and assisted in the coordina-
tion of various events for The
Indian Association of Long
Island, India Home, and Indi-
an American Forum, Inc.
Suresh was recently honored
by India Home for his outstanding volun-
teering efforts.
Suresh is survived by his wife, Jaya Ba-
hadkar, his two children: Rahul Bahadkar
and Rakhi Bahadkar, his sister, PratimaChowdhari, and brother, Mohan Bahadkar.
He was also a proud grandfather of Asha
Bahadkar. A puja will be held at the Arya
Samaj in Hicksville on Friday, November
15, 2013 at 5:30pm.
IAAC to honor Salman Rushdie, Mira Nair &
Dr Manjula Bansal at 15th Gala
The Indo-American Arts Council
turns 15 this fall, and to celebrate the
non-profit organizations numerouscontributions of Indian performing, visual
and literary arts to New York Citys diverse
cultural landscape, the IAAC is hosting a
gala celebration at the Angel Orensanz
Foundation for the Performing Arts on
Thursday, November 21. The IAAC will
honour three outstanding Indian-Ameri-
cans, author Salman Rushdie, filmmaker
Mira Nair and Dr. Manjula Bansal, for their
commitment and contributions to the glob-
al artistic community. Headlining the en-
tertainment at the event is an Oscar-win-
ning duo: singer/songwriter/composer Paul
Williams (Oscar winner with Barbara
Streisand for Evergreen) with
pianist/composer Kenny Ascher, of Rain-
bow Connection (from The Muppet
Movie) fame. Additionally, Exclusively.In
will present a runway show featuring thecreativity of iconic Delhi-based designer
Manish Arora.
The emcee for the evening will be come-
dian Dan Nainan, and some of the celebri-
ties presenting awards and walking the red
carpet include: chef and author Madhur Jaf-
frey, actor Sarita Choudhury (Homeland),
writer and filmmaker Sabrina Dhawan, ac-
tor Sakina Jaffrey (House of Cards), author,
screenwriter, producer Tracey Jackson,
tabla artist and musician Suphala, Consul
General of India Dhyaneshwar Mulay, Am-
bassador Vijay Nambiar, Ambassador Man-
jeev Puri, actors Reshma Shetty (Royal
Pains) and Deep Katadare, just to name a
few.
AIT to stream live telecast on internet
It was the night where all roads led to
Katra, the Moroccan-themed lounge
and restaurant on the Lower East side in
Manhattan. The glitterati, all dressed to
please, heralded an event that had an enor-
mous impact on the Indian entertainment
industry not only in America, but all over
the world. It was the dual launch of Awe-
some Internet Television(AIT) and 3rdRock International.
AIT is the brainchild of Ritesh Parikh and
Nutan Kalamdani. Entertainment in all its
forms is not at all new to both of the co-
owners. They have dabbled in producing
movies, television, event management, par-
ty promotions and talent management and
everything in between. Awesome Internet
Television is a 24-hour TV channel freely
available online that will telecast world-
class entertainment while investing in lead-
ing edge technologies and providing a plat-
form for advertising and marketing oppor-
tunities. AIT will be available on TV, lap-
top, tablet or cellphone for free.
AIT also boasts of an impressive Adviso-
ry Board consisting of veteran media per-
son John Perry, Shailesh Jhalani, Paul
Singh, Jeetender Singh, and Sunil Shah.
Finally, Aarnavv Shirsat of 3rd Rock En-tertainment and Director of India Opera-
tions for AIT, spoke a few words and intro-
duced his company with a small video pres-
entation. 3rd Rock launched its US division
in New York - 3rd Rock International
which will collaborate with Awesome Tel-
evision as its strategic partner on many up-
coming projects in the near future.
Awesome Internet Television will offi-
cially launch on the Thanksgiving Day -
Thursday, November 28th, 2013.
Free concert Ragas and Rhythms
C
haranams will present a free public
concert - "Ragas and Rhythms"on
Nov 16, 2 pm onwards, performingoriginal compositions of Nivedita Shivraj
based on carnatic ragas and carnatic rhythm
structures blended with different styles of
world music. It will be held at Langston
Hughes Community Library and Cultural
Center, 100-01, Northern Boulevard, NY
The concert features Nivedita ShivRaj onveena, Marcus Cummins on saxophone, Ja-
son Goldstein on guitar, Samyuktha Shiv-
Rajs vocals and Narendra Bhudhkar on
tabla.
AICI celebrates silver jubilee year
Dr. Avtar Singh Tinna completes 22 marathons
On Friday, November 8, Associa-
tion of Indians in Construction In-
dustry (AICI) had its annual Di-
wali gala celebrating 25th year of its glo-
rious service to New York Citys construc-
tion industry. Started as a networking plat-
form for Indian professionals, it has now
blossomed into one of the largest gather-
ing of its kind in New York City construc-
tion industry.
This year also, 400-plus professionals
from all walks of construction industry
gathered for this eagerly awaited black-tie
affair at Grand Hyatt Regency in NYC
where Indians have been consistently out-numbered by main stream Americans for
past 15 yrs. It was not only an evening of
cocktail, dinner and entertainment but also
an occasion to recognize outstanding pro-
fessionals, dispense scholarship and honor
one of organizations founding members
like Mr. Siraj Bora.
The support and patronage that AICI and
its members have received from the Con-
struction Industry over the years signifies
the bond that has been forged between the
Industry and Indian professionals. High-
lighting it, the evenings Chief Guest, Mr
Karl Anoushian, Senior V.P. of Structure
Tone, (the biggest Construction Compa-
ny in NYC), paid tribute to Indian profes-
sionals talent, skills and professionalism,
and lauded their contributions. Mr Vipul
Bhatt, the current President, in his speech
expressed gratitude to the Industry on
AICIs Silver Jubilee year and attributed
all its success to the teamwork of its mem-
bers.
Mr Mahesh Hemrajani, the out-going
Chairman welcomed the new Executive
Committee and expressed hope that it will
take the organization to new level of suc-
cess with innovative ideas.
On November 3, Dr. Avtar Singh Tin-
na ran his 22nd marathon. Since
1991, Dr. Tinna has been a regular in
the 26.2-mile New York City Marathon
running with his club Sikhs In America.
Donning their signature t-shirts labeled
Proud to be a Sikh the teammates run with
their saffron (kesri) turbans, attracting an
enormous crowd of spectators as they trek
through the citys five boroughs. This year,
in fact, a staggering 2 million spectators
watched the event along on the citys streets
and more than 315 million via international
live broadcast. A new addition this year to
Dr. Tinnas loud pageantry was the fact that
he ran the entire race while carrying a Nis-
han Sahib, the sacred flag of the Sikhs. Heran this year alongside his two friends (and
strong patrons of the community) Mr. Sat-
nam Singh Parhar and Dr. Ashok K. Dogra.
Dr. Tinna, a dentist by profession, main-
tains a practice in Queens, New York City.
He was born in Punjab, India in the village
of Seh Jhangi, Jalandhar. Having studied at
DAV College in Jalandhar and graduatingfrom Punjab Government Dental College
and Hospital in Amritsar, Dr. Tinna moved to
New York in 1980. He lives there today with
his wife and four children.
Dr.Avtar Singh Tinna at NYCMarathon 2013
Vipul Bhatt, Karl Anoushian,
Mahesh Hemrajani
The Mayapuris performing sacred bhajan at the Diwali at Chapel event inPrinceton University campus
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7November 16-22, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
New York: A mysterious India-
born investor is said to be among
the big winners from Twitter's ini-
tial public offering as its stockzoomed to $31.7 billion after its
first day on the stock market,
according to media reports.
Suhail R. Rizvi, 47, runs a pri-
vate investment company that is
the largest outside investor in
Twitter, with a 15.6 percent stake
worth $3.8 billion at the end of
trading Thursday, the New York
Times reported.
"Using a web of connections in
the tech industry and in finance,
as well as a hearty dose of good
timing, he brought many promi-
nent names in at the ground floor,
including the Saudi prince and
some of JPMorgan's wealthiestclients," the influential daily said.
"Rizvi's rise illustrates how a
new tech investor class with deep
Wall Street connections is carving
new paths into the unfamiliar and
insular terrain of Silicon Valley,"
it said. "His money and connec-
tions have also led to slices of
several other hot start-ups:
Flipboard, the social news app;Pinterest, an online pinboard;
Square, Jack Dorsey's payments
service; and Twitter, Dorsey's
other company," the Times said.
Rizvi was born in India and
raised in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and
although he is known as a quiet
man, he has built a powerful and
diverse group of friends from his
perch in Greenwich, Connecticut,
according to the Times.
Those in his circle include
Richard Branson, founder of the
Virgin Group, and Salar
Kamangar, chief executive of
YouTube. And Rizvi has been
seen partying atop Eric Schmidt'syacht, the Oasis, at Cannes, it
said.
According to a Forbes profile,
Rizvi has served as a member of
the US business magazine's Board
of Directors since April 2003.
Washington, DC: Braving subzero temperatures,
scores of Indian-Americans, some even driving a
few hundred miles, gathered on the banks of the his-
toric Potomac river in the suburb of the US capital
over the weekend to celebrate the ancient Hindu fes-
tival of Chhath.Into its fifth year, the celebration of Chhath, which
was initially started by a software engineer from
Patna, the annual Hindu festival dedicated to wor-
shipping the sun has now started attracting large
numbers of the Indian American community and also
from the small Nepali American community.
"It has been an overwhelming response and the
number of people coming to watch us performing
Chhath Puja has been increasing every passing year,"
said Kripa Shankar Singh, who has been single-
handedly organizing the annual event for the past
few years.
A few of the Indian Americans, he said, drove from
as far as Atlanta in Georgia, adding that there is
demand from the community members to make it a
larger event from next year.
Singh's wife Anita Singh was joined by Manisha
Singh, a Nepali-American, in performing the puja onthe bank of the Potomac river on Friday evening and
early Saturday morning when the weather was below
freezing. Still several of the devotees were seen
entering the chilly waters of the Potomac river to
perform the Chhath Puja in tradit ional style with
their early morning offerings to the Sun God.
A huge tent was erected by Singh on the banks
with bonfire and electric heaters being run through
portable generators to keep the scores of visitors
warm on the chilly morning.
It all started some six years ago, when Anita was
asked by her mother-in-law in Bihar to do Chhath
Puja come what may as this is something they could
not afford to miss.
Singh and some of his friends once went for a pic-
nic on the banks of the Potomac River in Loudon
County, a suburb of Washington DC.
The concrete boat ramp there, Singh said, gave him
the idea that the place was good for performing
Chhath Pooja in the real way with all the traditionaland religious rituals.
Soon he approached the Loudon County Parks and
Recreation Department with the details and sought
permission to do the Chhath Puja on the river banks.
"Permission was granted," he said, adding that the
Loudon county is enthusiastic about supporting the
Indian-Americans in organizing this rare festival out-
side India.
Chhath Puja celebrated in US
Seven Indian-origin managementgurus among Thinkers50
Washington, DC: Seven Indian-ori-
gin academics figure among
Thinkers50, described as the Oscars
of management thinking published
every two years with Indian-born
thinker Vijay Govindarajan, known
as VG, ranked fifth.Pankaj Ghemawat (11), Nirmalya
Kumar (20), Nitin Nohria (21),
Subir Chowdhury (40), Anil K.
Gupta (44) and Rakesh Khurana
(46) are the six other Indian-origin
management gurus figuring in the
rankings announced Monday in
London.
"Management thinking is no
longer the preserve of the West,"
said Thinkers50 co-founder Stuart
Crainer. "The last few rankings have
seen an Asian invasion with the
arrival of the Indian thinkers."
Govindarajan, Earl C. Daum 1924
professor of international business
at the Tuck School of Business atDartmouth College in New
Hampshire, is described as "one of
the world's leading experts on strate-
gy and innovation".
With co-author Chris Trimble, he
coined the phrase "Reverse
Innovation" to describe products
and services designed for emerging
markets and then imported into
western economies.
Govindarajan is also responsible
for posing the question that sparked
a global challenge to build a $300
house, which earned him the
Thinkers50 CK Prahalad
Breakthrough Idea Award in 2011.
In 2013, he was shortlisted for the
Thinkers50 Innovation Award.No mi na ted fo r the 20 13
Thinkers50 Global Solutions Award
for his Global Connectedness Index,
Ghemawat (11) is based at New
York's Stern school and IESE
Business School in Spain. Prior to
that he was the youngest full profes-
sor at Harvard Business School. His
2011 book "World 3.0" won the
Thinkers50 Book Award.
Ni rm alya Ku ma r (2 0) is the
recently appointed director of strate-
gy at Tata Group. He was previously
profe ssor of marketing at London
Business School and is the author ofPrivate Label Strategy and India
Inside, among others.
"Prolific and insightful" Nitin
Nohria (21), is the dean of Harvard
Business School. His books include
"Driven: How Human Nature
Shapes our Choices" (2001); "The
Arc of Ambition" (with Jim
Champy, 2000.
Subir Chowdhury (40) is chair-
man and CEO of ASI Consulting
Group. Tagged "The Quality
Prophet" by Business Week,
Chowdhury is author of "The Power
of Six Sigma: An Inspiring Tale of
How Six Sigma is Transforming the
Way We Work" (2001), and, mostrecently, of "The Power of LEO:
The Revolutionary Process for
Achieving Extraordinary Business
Results" (2011).
Anil K. Gupta (44) is the Michael
D. Dingman Chair in Strategy and
Entrepreneurship at the Smith
School of Business, the University
of Maryland and a visiting professor
at INSEAD.
He is also chief advisor to the
China India Institute, a Washington
D.C.-based research and consulting
firm. Rakesh Khurana (46), the
Marvin Bower professor of leader-
ship development at Harvard
Business School, Khurana is proba-
bly best known for "Searching for aCorporate Savior: The Irrational
Quest for Charismatic CEOs"
(2002) and his 2007 book "From
Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The
Social Transformation of American
Business Schools and the
"Unfulfilled Promise of
Management as a Profession".
Prof VijayGovindarajanranked fifth onthe list
Washington: A popular bas-
ketball team has launched
Hindi version of its website as
part of its effort to reach out to
the large Hindi-speaking audi-
ence in India and in turn popu-
larize the game in the country.
The Hindi-edition of the
website for Sacramento Kings
has been launched a few
months after Indian American
Vivek Ranadive acquired
majority ownership in the
team.
Ranadive said this this is
part of his goal to make the
Kings and NBA basketball a
major attraction in India and
in other Asian countries. "Akey facet of our ownership
group's vision is for the Kings
to become India's home team,"
Kings president Chris Granger
said.
Mysterious India-born investorearns big from Twitter: reports
SacramentoKings launch
website in Hindi
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8 November 16-22, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoUS AFFAIRS
New York: Twice as many
Americans will be eligible
for cholesterol-lowering
drugs, based on controver-
sial new heart guidelines
from two of the USA's lead-
ing cardiovascular associa-
tions.
The number of adults con-
sidered likely to benefit
from statins will rise from
about 15.5% today to 31%,
according to the new crite-
ria, developed by theAmerican College of
Cardiology and the
American Heart Association,
in collaboration with the
Nat iona l Hea rt, Lung and
Blood Institute. While
statins have been widely
prescribed to reduce the risk
of heart attacks, the new
guidelines recommend that
they also be considered for
people at high risk of stroke.
The guidelines also call
for doctors to work closely
with patients to improve
their diets and increase exer-
cise. Rita Redberg, a profes-
sor at the University ofCalifornia-San Francisco,
says she is concerned about
exposing more patients to
statins' side effects, which
include an increased risk of
diabetes, as well as muscle
pain.
The average patient is
likely to notice two major
changes in the way that doc-
tors manage their choles-
terol, experts say.
For years, doctors often
prescribed statins based on
patients' cholesterol levels,
especially their LDL, known
as "bad" cholesterol. The
new guidelines advise doc-tors to base their decisions
on a patient's overall risk,
rather than just their
cholesterol.
New heart guidelines could putmore Americans on statins
Washington: Planting a paltry number on a
national disappointment, the Obama adminis-
tration revealed Wednesday that just 26,794
people enrolled for health insurance during
the first, flawed month of operations for the
federal Obamacare website.
Adding in enrollment of more than 79,000
in the 14 states with their own websites, the
nationwide number of 106,000 October sign-
ups was barely one-fifth of what officials had
projected and a small fraction of the mil-
lions who have received widely publicized
private coverage cancellations as a result of
the federal law.
The White House raced to reassure anxious
Democrats who are worried about the contro-
versial program, which they voted into exis-
tence three years ago and which seems sure to
be a major issue in next years election cam-
paigns. The administration, trying to regain
the initiative, for the first time indicated a
willingness to consider legislation to stave off
the wave of cancellations thats compounding
the website technology problems.
Some Democrats are seeking changes inObamas signature program, and key
Republicans, many pressing for repeal, said
that even Wednesdays feeble sign-up figures
appeared to be pumped up. Administration
officials and senior congressional Democrats
expressed confidence in the programs future.
We expect enrollment will grow substantial-
ly throughout the next five months, said
Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius.
Even with the issues we've had, the mar-
ketplace is working and people are enrolling,
Sebelius said.
The administration said an additional 1 mil-
lion individuals have been found eligible to
buy coverage on the markets, with about one-
third qualifying for tax credits to reduce their
premiums. Another 396,000 have been found
eligible for Medicaid, the safety-net program
that is shaping up as the health care laws
early success story.
For many Democrats, concerns over the cas-
cade of website problems has been com-
pounded by the focus on Obamas misleadingpromise that Americans who liked their health
insurance plans could keep them under the
overhaul. But millions of people are receiving
cancellation notices. They have plans that for
various reasons dont qualify for the laws
grandfather clause protection against can-
cellations. Obama has said hes sorry that peo-
ple are losing their coverage and has vowed to
find ways to address holes and gaps in the
law. Advisers originally said the White House
was considering administrative fixes, not leg-
islative options.
Obamacare sign-ups fall far short of goal
Washington: Congressional budget negotia-
tors tasked with avoiding another govern-
ment shutdown met in public for a secondtime Wednesday but reported little progress
toward an agreement.
Were trying to find common ground, but
were not there yet, House Budget
Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R) said as
he opened the meeting. The hard part is fig-
uring out where we agree.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty
Murray, the lead Democratic negotiator,
expressed more optimism, saying she and
Ryan have had a number of private discus-
sions about the parameters of a potential
agreement.
Im very encouraged, Murray said,
adding: Im hopeful we will get to a biparti-
san compromise very soon.
At the very least, both sides hope to agreeon a plan to replace sharp automatic cuts to
agency spending known as the sequester
with more considered reductions to other
parts of the federal budget. That would per-
mit Congress to set a funding level for feder-
al agencies in the fiscal year that began Oct.
1 and keep the government open past a Jan.
15 deadline.
But the parties disagree about how to
replace the sequester, which is set to reduce
agency budgets by about $109 billion a year
through 2021. Soaring health spending is an
obvious target, but Democrats say they will
take steps to reduce federal health benefits
only if Republicans agree to close a few of
the hundreds of loopholes that litter the tax
code, reducing federal revenue by more than
$1 trillion a year.Senior Republicans say they would rather
live with the sequester despite an addi-
tional $20 billion cut scheduled to hit the
Pentagon in January than agree to replace
existing spending cuts with potential tax
increases. Tax loopholes should be eliminat-
ed, they say, but the savings should be
returned to taxpayers in the form of lower
rates as part of a comprehensive overhaul of
the federal tax code, not used to increase
government spending.
These days, annual deficits are shrinking,
and the debt is growing much more slowly.
Lawmakers in both parties have grown
weary of the partisan confrontations thathave rattled consumer confidence and weak-
ened an economy struggling to fully recover
from the 2007 recession most recently by
shutting down the government for 16 days.
Though both sides say they are powerfully
motivated to cut a deal and avoid another
showdown, evidence of compromise was
scarce Wednesday. One panelist, Sen.
Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), even ques-
tioned the need to replace the sequester,
arguing that sequestration is working to
ease Americas indebtedness.
Republicans in the House who worry about
scheduled cuts to the Defense Department
are shortsighted, Grassley said, adding:
The economic strength of our nation is a
necessary precondition of our military
strength.Panelists from both parties who serve on
the House Appropriations Committee plead-
ed with their colleagues to set aside their dif-
ferences and settle on a spending level for
fiscal 2014 that would get rid of at least a
portion of the seques ter and let them pass
appropriations bills for most agencies.
Democrats and Republicans are only
about $90 billion apart. Thats not that big a
deal in a budget of $3.5 trillion, said Rep.
Tom Cole (R-Okla).
Few signs of progress on a budgetdeal to avoid another shutdown
The model Adriana has asked for herface to be removed from the home pageof the much-maligned Obamacare web-
site after she was cyber bullied.
House Budget Committee ChairmanRep. Paul Ryan (R) speaks with Senate
Budget Committee Chair Sen. PattyMurray ( D) on Capitol Hill at the startof a Congressional Budget Conference.
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9November 16-22, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
Over 2,900 candidates filenominations in Rajasthan
Jaipur: Over 2,900 candidates
filed nominations seeking peo-
ple's mandate in the Rajasthan
state assembly elections, sched-
uled to take place Dec 1, offi-
cials said.
"A total of over 2,900 candi-
dates have filed over 3,900 nom-inations for 200 assembly seats
since Nov 5 as per the informa-
tion available till 8 p.m. from
across the state Tuesday," the
officer added.
He said maximum number of
nominations were filed Nov 9
and Nov 11. As per the Hindu
calendar, aspirants considered
the two dates auspicious for fil-
ing nominations.
State Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot and Pradesh Congress
Committee president
Chandrabhan were among the
861 candidates who filed their
nomination papers Monday.Former chief minister of
Rajasthan and state Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) president
Vasundhara Raje also filed her
nomination from Jhalawar dis-
trict's Jhalrapatan constituency
Monday.
Accompanied by a crowd of
supporters, Raje, while filing the
nomination, vowed to change the
"pathetic" present state of
Rajasthan if BJP came to power.Scrutiny of papers will take
place Nov 13 and candidates can
withdraw nomination by Nov 16.
"The fight is mainly between
the Congress and the BJP, how-
ever NPP may hurt the prospects
of both the political parties in at
least 20-30 constituencies," said
Vijay Sharma, a keen political
watcher. Sharma said besides
NPP, rebel factor may also hurt
both the main political parties.
"Rebel factor may hurt both
the parties, but it might hurt BJP
more as at least in 50-60 odd
constituencies the party is facing
prob lems ," he said adding theparty has already started to hold
talks with these disgruntled lead-
ers and picture would be clear
after the withdrawals.
2 million defy Maoists, vote in ChhattisgarhRaipur: More than two million
voters - or 67 percent of the elec-
torate - defied Maoists to vote in
the first phase of Chhattisgarh's
assembly elections that marked
the start of the biggest popularity
contest ahead of the Lok Sabha
polls . Spora dic vio len ce lef t a
trooper dead.
All through the day, men and
women from the predominantly
tribal belt of the sprawling Bastar
region and Rajnandgaon district
queued up to vote in an election in
which the Congress is determined
to end 10 years of reign by the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
After Maoists called for a boy-
cott of the exercise, ballotting
began on a dull note -- at 7 a.m. in
all 12 constituencies of Bastar and
one in Rajnandgaon and an hour
later in the remaining five seats in
Rajnandgaon.Polling rapidly picked up as the
day progressed. About 30-35 per-
cent had voted by afternoon. By
the time curtains came down, 67
percent of the 2.9 million voters
involved in Monday's voting had
exercised their franchise.
A total of 143 candidates were
in the fray in the 18 constituen-
cies.
"The poll process was marked
by vi si bl e en th us ia sm. It was
largely peaceful. There were spo-
radic incidents of firing," Deputy
Election Commissioner R.
Balakrishnan said in New Delhi.
Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) trooper V.C. Joseph, from
the 186th battalion, was killed in a
gun battle with Maoists at
Dantewada.
A Border Security Force (BSF)
trooper was injured in a bombblas t in Kanker dist rict while a
bomb weighing some 10 kg was
recovered in Bijapur, police said.
To scare away voters, Maoists
triggered multiple blasts in polling
booths located in forested areas in
Konta, Dantewada, Bijapur,
Kanker, Antagarh, Bhanupratapur
and Narayanpur areas.
Balloting for the 90-member
assembly in Chhattisgarh are
being held in two phases Nov 11
and 19.
The sprawling region where vot-
ing took place includes Bastar,
which with around 40,000 sq km
is bigger than the size of Kerala.Bastar accounts for 12 assembly
constituencies and Rajnandgaon
six. Together, this mineral rich
area -- with dense forests and
Maoist hideouts -- is infamously
known as the red zone.There was tight security at all
4,142 polling booths. Among
these, 1,311 were declared "hyper-
sensitive" and 1,517 "sensitive" --
official euphemism to mean they
were prone to violence.
Director General of Police
Ramnivas said 15 Improvised
Explosive Devices or IEDs were
recovered from different parts of
Bastar.
Chief Minister Raman Singh
said the high percentage of voting
revealed "enthusiasm" among vot-
ers which he added was a "good
sign for the BJP".
The `None of The Above'(NOTA) option, widely called the
Right to Reject, made its debut in
India in the polls.
The `None of The Above' (NOTA) option, widely called the Right toReject, made its debut in India in the elections
AAP's foreign funding beingprobed: Shinde
New Delhi: The government is
probing the source of foreign fund-
ing to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shindesaid. The AAP hit back, demanding
a probe into the funding of the BJP
and the Congress too.
"We have got complaints about
foreign funding to AAP and are
probing the matter. Investigations
take time, and we are looking for the
source behind the funding," Shinde
said. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) also said that foreign funding,
if any, needed to be probed.
"Foreign funding of a political party
is not allowed, it should be probed,"
BJP's Ravishankar Prasad said.
AAP founder leader Arvind
Kejriwal said he was ready for any
investigation but a similar yardstickshould also be applied to the BJP
and Congress.
"They can probe us but they
should also investigate the funding
of the BJP and Congress. The home
minister should reveal the source of
the Congress party's funding too,"said Kejriwal. "We don't have for-
eign funding, we have NRI donors.
We have put up details of all donors
and audit report on our web site."
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas chal-
lenged the government to prove
them guilty.
"There's no point in making alle-
gations against us. I challenge both
the Congress and the BJP to prove
us guilty. We receive all our funds in
a transparent manner," he said.
"Both the parties are sacred of us,"
he added. A statement from the
party later quoted the Association of
Democratic Reforms (ADR) as say-
ing that two-thirds of funding forpo li ti ca l pa rt ie s li ke the BJ P,
Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party
is from unknown sources.
AAP founder leader Arvind Kejriwal said similar yardstick shouldalso be applied to the BJP and Congress.
BJP, Congress in close fight in Delhi: SurveyNew Delhi: The BJP may get 25
seats, the Congress 24 and the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 18 in
the Delhi assembly polls, says a
Times Now-CVoters survey.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is
the most popular figure for chief
minister's post with 34 percent
pe op le ch oo si ng hi m ag ai ns t
incumbent Sheila Dikshit (31
percent ) and Bha ratiy a Janat a
Party's (BJP) Harsh Vardhan (24
percent).
For Rajasthan, the survey says
the BJP will gain seven percent
vote share and get 112 seats. The
Congress' tally is likely to come
down to 65.
Vasundhara Raje emerges pop-
ular with 58 percent voters
choosing her compared to 24 per-
cent opting for present Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot.
In both Chhattisgarh and
Madhya Pradesh, the Congress isseeing an upswing, but not
enough to emerge the winner at
the polls.
In Chhattisgarh, the survey
says, the Congress may gain
three seats in the tribal belt.
While the BJP has been fore-
cast to come down to 40 seatsfrom the present 50, it will still
hold majority in the state assem-
bly. In Madhya Pradesh, accord-
ing to the survey, the BJP will get
126 seats, down from the present
143, and the Congress will get
88, up from 71.
A total of 58 percent voterschose Shivraj Singh Chouhan as
the chief minister compared to 23
pe rc en t wh o op te d fo r
Jyotiraditya Scindia.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is the most popular figurefor chief minister's post
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10 November 16-22, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA
New Delhi: Acting on a complaint
by the Congress , the Elec ti on
Commission issued notice to BJP'spr ime mi ni st er ia l cand idate
Narendra Modi over his "kho oni
panja" (bloodied paw) remark at a
rally in Chhattisgarh, a reference to
the Congress election symbol. The
remark was made last week at an
election rally at Dongargarh.
Modi has also used the term "jalim
haath" (cruel hand) to describe the
Congress symbol. The Election
Commission asked Modi to explain
by 5 p.m. of Nov 16 why act ion
should not be initiated against him
for alleged violation of the model
code of conduct
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
however, maintained there was no
violation of the election code of con-
duct."The Election Commissionnotice has reached us. We will go
through the details and respond,"
BJP spokesperson Nirmala
Sitharaman said. She said she
wished to clarify that there was "no
violation of the code of conduct in
his (Modi's) statement". The
Congress complained to the Election
Commission that Modi's comment
was "intemperate, malicious and
defamatory"."The use of the expres-
sion 'khooni panja' is extremely sig-
nificant and deplorable and has an
effect of terrorising the public at
large against the Congress," the
Congress said in its petition.
EC notice to Modi over 'khoonipanja' remark New Delhi: Congress vice presi-dent Rahul Gandhi faced the dis-
pl ea su re of th e El ec ti on
Commission over the "tone, tenor
and content" of portions of his
two election speeches and wasasked to be more circumspect in
his public utterances in the future.
The commission in its order
took exception to portions of
Gandhi's speeches last month at
Churu in Rajasthan and Indore in
Madhya Pradesh. The panel said it
was not satisfied with the expla-
nation given in Gandhi's reply.
"Having regard to the totality of
facts and circumstances of the
case and submissions and con-
tentions made by you (Rahul
Gandhi) in your reply under refer-
ence, the commission conveys its
displeasure and advises you to be
more circumspect in your public
utterances during election cam-
paigns ," the commiss ion said in
its order.
"While the commission
acknowledges the underlying
intention and spirit of your
impugned speeches to foster and
promote communal harmony, it
takes exception to the tone, tenor
and content of the impugned por-
tions of your speeches (extracted
in the commission's notice) which
are part of your said speeches,"
the commission said.
"The commission considers that
the aforesaid portions of your
speeches were not in consonance
with the letter and spirit of the
Model Code of Conduct which
prohibits any speeches or state-
ments which may tend to aggra-
vate differences between different
religious communities and which
also prohibits criticism of other
poli tica l part ies on the basi s of
unverified allegations," the poll
panel said in its five-page order.
Gandhi was served notice by the
poll panel on Oct 31 for violating
the model code of conduct over
his remarks made in Churu Oct 23
and in Indore Oct 24 in which he
had charged the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) with instigating riots.
He also said Pakistan's Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) was
trying to be in touch with riot vic-
tims in Muzaffarnagar.
The BJP had complained to the
poll panel over Gandhi's speeches.
The panel said it had carefully
considered Gandhi's reply Nov 8
and duly analysed his submis-
sions. Gandhi had denied violat-
ing the model code of conduct and
had sought to justify his remarks
during election speeches, saying
he had only criticized the policies
and programs of BJP.
EC unhappy with tone of Rahul's speeches
Rahul Gandhi has been served notice by the poll panel for violat-
ing the model code of conduct
Washington: Describing Bharatiya Janata Party's
prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as the
"poster child for India's failure to punish the violent",
two US officials have wondered which India would
prevail in 2014 elections.
There are "two faces of India" suggested Katrina
Lantos Swett, Vice Chairwoman of the US
Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF), an independent commission created by
an act of US Congress, and Mary Ann Glendon a
USCIRF Commissioner in an OpEd published in the
CNN website.
The annual commemoration of end-of-year holydays from Diwali to the Islamic New Year to
Christians "are a testament to India's remarkable reli-
gious diversity, they wrote. "Yet on the ground, in a
number of key areas across the country, there exists a
second, markedly less benign India."
"Indeed, the governments and societies of several
Indian states display unmistakable hostility to free-
dom of conscience and religion, especially for reli-
gious minorities," Swett and Glendon wrote noting
"Over the past decade, hostility has often devolved
into violence."
"At least two factors have fueled the bloodshed -
anti-conversion laws and a failure to bring perpetra-
tors to justice," the officials wrote.
"But the poster child for India's failure to punish
the violent remains Narendra Modi, who is Gujarat's
chief minister - a post he held during the 2002 riots,"
they wrote noting in 2005 the US State Department
had revoked Modi's visa at USCIRF's recommenda-
tion.
The officials acknowledged that in April 2012, the
Indian Supreme court's Special Investigative Team
had failed to prove guilt against Modi and others in a
case involving the deaths of nearly 70 people.
"But he remains implicated in other Gujarat-asso-
ciated cases that have yet to be investigated or adju-
dicated. That is why, more recently, 65 members of
India's parliament wrote to President Barack Obama,
requesting that he not issue Modi a visa," they said.
"Sadly, despite all this, Gujarat's most controver-
sial resident is the main opposition Bharatiya Janata
Party candidate in India's 2014 prime ministerial
election," the two officials wrote.
Noting " It was another son of Gujarat, Mahatma
Gandhi, who once offered a broad, tolerant vision for
the country and its multi-religious society," they
wondered, "So, as 2014 draws nigh, whose vision
will be embraced?"
"Which India will prevail - that of religious free-
dom or religious intolerance? Time will tell," the
officials wrote.
Modi or Mahatma, who would prevail in 2014?
Which India will prevail - that of religiousfreedom or religious intolerance?
Narendra Modi has also used the term"jalim haath" (cruel hand) to describe the Congress symbol
New Delhi: In an
apparent suggestion to
Na rendra Modi and
Rahul Gandhi following
their speech controver-
sy, Home Minister
Sushilkumar Shinde
said remarks on sensi-
tive issues should bemade with caution.
Speaking to reporters
here, Shinde said one
should not make anti-law
remarks. "One has to make such
statements carefully. One should not
say those things which do not fall
under the ambit of law," Shinde said
in response to a question about con-
troversial remarks made by Modi
and Gandhi.
Both Gandhi and Modi landed in
controversy over their election rally
speeches.
Gandhi was served a notice by the
Election Commission on a Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) complaint over
his rallies in Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh. Gandhi replied to the notice
last week.
The BJP had told the poll panel
that Gandhi violated the model code
by accusing it of instigating commu-
nal riots. Gandhi also said Pakistan's
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was
trying to reach out to Muslims
affected by September's
Muzaffarnagar riots.
The Congress also moved the
commission last week demanding
stern action against Modi over his
"khooni panja" (bloody hand) barb
at a rally in poll-bound Chhattisgarh.
Shinde did not answer a specific
query about Gandhi's remarks about
ISI trying to get in touch with someMuzaffarnagar riot victims.
"I have said on a number of occa-
sions that I have nothing to say on
this," he said.
Shinde for caution afterRahul, Modi speech row
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde
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New Delhi:The number of internetusers in India is expected to rise
18.53% in the coming eight months
to reach 24.3 crore by June 2014, on
the back of higher adoption of
mobiles as a means to access the
internet, a report said.
India is also expected to overtake
the US as the second largest internet
base in the world by the same time.
"The report estimates that by June
2014, India will have 243 million
internet users, at which point of
time, it is expected to overtake the
US as the second largest internet
base in the world," the I-Cube 2013
report, released by the Internet and
Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI) and IMRB International
said.
At present, China leads with more
than 300 million internet users
while the US has an estimated 207
million internet users.The report said the number of
internet users in India has reached
20.5 crore as of October this year,
registering a year-on-year growth of
40% over last year and by
December 2013, it is expected to
reach 21.3 crore.
"The internet in India took more
than a decade to move from 10 mil-
lion to 100 million and only 3 years
from 100 to 200 million. From here
on, we can hope to develop a robust
internet ecosystem with a multitude
of local and global players and a
thriving Internet economy," said
IAMAI chairman Rajan Anandan.
The report said internet access
from mobile devices will see huge
growth in the coming years.
"Mobile internet is going to be the
next game changer for internet in
India." it added.
India to beat US in number of Internet usersMars Orbiter raisedto over 1 lakh km
Chennai: India's Mars Orbiter was
successfully raised to over 100,000
km apogee (farthest point from
earth) this week, the space agency
said.
In a statement issued, the Indian
Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) said: "Fourth supplemen-
tary orbit raising maneuverer of
Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at
05:03:50 hrs (IST) Nov 12, 2013,
with a burn Time of 303.8 seconds
has been successfully completed.
The observed change in apogee is
from 78,276 km to 118,642 km."
The velocity added to the Mars
Orbiter was 124.9 metres per sec-
ond.
The activity was additional one
against ISRO's plans of having only
six manoeuvres since a hitch was
faced during the orbit raising activi-
ty Monday morning.
The Mars Orbiter was not able to
be rai sed to
the required
l e v e l
M o n d a y
morning as
the fuel to
the motorss t o p p e d
when the
systems were
operated.
11November 16-22, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
India is also expected to overtake the US as the second largestinternet base in the world by the same time.
Tendulkar walks out to bat in his final Test
New Delhi: Former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi wanted
commission paid by defense sup-
pliers to be used exclusively for
the purpose of meeting expenses
of running the Congress, a former
CBI director has claimed in his
autobiography.
"Such a step would largely pre-vent the collusive nexus between
the middlemen, ministers, bureau-
crats and that such a step could
enable the government to do away
with the quid pro quo relationship
with some unscrupulous business-
men and equally unscrupulous
po li ti ci an s an d bu re aucr at s, "
writes Dr A P Mukherjee who was
the CBI director in 1989-90.
Mukherjee said Gandhi
explained his position in a meet-
ing on June 19, 1989, during a
meeting between the two at the
Prime Minister's residence. In
1987, Gandhi got embroiled in the
Bofors scandal, in which people
close to him where accused oftaking kickbacks from the
Swedish artillery gun manufactur-
er for an Indian Army contract
signed in 1986.
Mukherjee says Gandhi came to
know towards the end of 1984
that some "senior officers of the
armed forces had been surrepti-
tiously collecting huge amounts
of money as 'commissions' in
respect of most of the defencepurchases, quite of ten in con-
nivance with some ministers, mid-
dlemen and civilian officers as
well".
New Delhi: British Prime
Minister David Cameron is open to
meeting Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi and said he will do
so in time while his government
goes ahead with steps to engage
with him and his government.
"We have started a proper
engagement with Gujarat and with
the first (Chief) minister there. Our
foreign office minister has met
with him... The connection is there,
the engagement is there. I think the
engagement should continue," he
said at an interaction with Indian
businessmen here on Thursday.Cameron, on a short visit to India
ahead of the CHOGM meeting in
Colombo, also met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and held consul-
tations with him on improving
bilateral and trade ties between the
two nations.
Asked if he would like to meet
Modi in the near future, Cameron
said, "In time, yes. It's good to
meet. We have an approach of
meeting all politicians and leaders.
In the end, it will be for the people
of India whom to elect. But I'm
open to meeting elected leaders."
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar
kept his emotions in check
and showed his genius for
one last time in front of ador-
ing fans with an unbeaten 38
as India seized early control
of his 200th and final Test
against the West Indies after a
disciplined bowling display
on Thursday.
The 40-year-old maestro
walked in to the middle amid
thundering applause from the
crowd and a guard of honor
from his West Indies rivals as
he showed glimpses of his
vintage form to remainunconquered at close of an
eventful opening day of his
last Test.
At stumps, India were com-
fortably placed at 157 for two
after bundling out the hapless
West Indies for a meagre 182
by tea, riding on le ft -a rm
spinner Pragyan Ojha's five-
wicket haul.
While Ojha (5/40) grabbed
the spotlight in the first half
of the day, it was the retiring
legend, who held center stage
in the last session with his
entire family and childhood
coach Ramakant Achrekar
watching from the stands.
For India, openers Murali
Vijay (43) and Shikhar
Dhawan (33) posted 77 runs
in quick time. The two were
sent back by Shane
Shillingford before Tendulkar
and Cheteshwar Pujara (34)
took control of the proceed-
ings. India, leading 1-0 after
winning the first Test in
Kolkata inside three days,
were just 25 runs behind
West Indies at close of play
raising doubts whether thematch will go the full dis-
tance.
Call him a picture of confi-
dence or an epitome of con-
centration, Tendulkar was
everything during his unde-
feated stay at the crease in
which he faced 73 balls hit-
ting six boundaries.
No t on ly di d he lo ok in
control but also helped Pujara
(34 batting) gain in confi-
dence as they added 80 runs
in an unbroken third wicket
stand. At exactly 3:33 pm,
India's most loved sportsman
walked down the staircase of
the pavilion to the deafening
applause from the near-
packed Wankhede sta dium
with spectators on their feet
after the fall of Vijay's wicket
to welcome the legendary
player.
He acknowledged the
'Guard of Honour' from the
West Indian cricketers, shook
hands with rival captain
Darren Sammy and umpire
Nigel Llong and did what no
one ever saw him do during a
match. He touched the 22-yard strip which has given
him everything and sought its
ble ssin gs, as mother Rajni
Tendulkar, immediate family
members and Achrekar
watched from President's
Box.
A mistimed slog sweep got
him off the mark and when
Shillingford offered width, he
rocked back to cut it past
po in t fo r a boun dary.
Shillingford tried a doosra
but Tendulkar read it early to
hit that signature cover drive.
'Rajiv wanted Boforsmoney to run Congress'
British PMopen to
meeting Modi
Unbeaten Sachin takes India to 157/2,
Day 1, 2nd Test
Former prime ministerRajiv Gandhi
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12 November 16-22, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA TOURISM
Patna: Airports, railway stations and bus termi-
nuses have been packed with milling crowds as
hundreds of thousands of migrants from Bihar,
who work all over the country and abroad, have
returned to their homes in Bihar to celebrate and
infuse "new life" to the four-day Chhath festival,
the state's biggest community celebration.
The returnees also give a huge boost to the
rural economy.
A group of factory workers - Lakhender Rai,Suresh Choudhary, Raju Paswan, Maheshwar
Singh and Saryu Yadav - who reached Patna rail-
way station Wednesday from Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh were happy to be back. "Now, I
will leave for my village in Vaishali district. For
this day I have worked hard for months...
Finally, I will be with my family and friends to
celebrate Chhath," said Lakhender Rai, in his
mid 40s, who works in Coimbatore in Tamil
Nadu. Maheshwar Singh, in his early 30s, too
was upbeat.
"I am really lucky to be with my family in
Arwal district nearly after a year to celebrate
Chhath. There is nothing like this," Singh who
works in a factory near Hyderabad, said.
They are just two of hundreds of thousands of
migrant workers who plan to enjoy a few days intheir villages before returning to earn their liveli-
hood.
According to police officials, more than two
million migrant workers have already reached
their homes. The four-day Chhath festival is cel-
ebrated six days after Diwali.
Millions of people, most of them married
women, throng the river banks in the morning to
bathe before preparing traditional food.
Chhath is dedicated to Surya, the Sun god.
During the festival, married women observe a
fast for 36 hours. Devotees offer wheat, milk,
sugarcane, bananas and coconuts to the gods.
The main ritual is known as arghya -- when
devotees stand waist-deep in water and offer
prayers to the Sun god on the banks of rivers.
This is the season when Biharis insist on being
in Bihar.
"Thanks to the coming of migrant workers in
Bihar, mostly in rural areas, for Chhath, it has
added a new life to the festival and given freshoxygen to socio-economic activities. Each
migrant worker brings some (money) that
increases the purchasing power and boosts econ-
omy during and after Chhath...," said Ranjeev,
an activist who is associated with the flood-
prone Kosi belt of no