asian voice

24th September to 30th September 2011VOL 40. ISSUE 21 80pLet noble thoughts come to us from every side

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With mission of peace,harmony and unity instate, Gujarat chief minis-ter Narendra Modi under-took a three-day fast fromSaturday at GujaratUniversity ConventionCentre, Ahmedabad. Andhe had successfully com-pleted this “Sadbhavna”fast with a pledge to prop-agate harmony in thestate. On Monday eveningafter ending the fast hedeclared that “My fastends today but theSadbhavna mission willcontinue”. He announcedthat he would go for one -day fasts in every districtto strengthen the spirit ofunity and brotherhood.

Modi undertook the

fast for "harmony" after theSupreme Court referred toa lower court a case inwhich he was accused ofcomplicity in the 2002riots. Though Modi said

that his fast was for peaceand communal harmonymany people said that itwas aimed at improving hisimage that was hurt by the2002 Gujarat riots.

Surprisingly many Muslimswere present at the venueto support his fast.

Opposition Congressalso launched a counteroffensive fast with seniorleaders ShankersinhVaghela and ArjunModhvadia sitting on a par-allel fast on the pavementopposite the GandhiAshram on the same day.Their fast continued forthree more hours after Modiended his fast. Referring toModi’s expensive fast thathad wasted millions of pub-lic money, they said“Modi’s was a five-starfast” and added that “Modiwants to project himself as amessiah of the minorities by

Continued on page 24

Modi fasts for 'peace and unity'Opposition Congress party also launches counter offensive fast

A major earthquakemeasuring 6.8 on theRichter Scale rockedSikkim, West Bengal,Bihar, Nepal and Tibet onSunday evening resultingin the death of at least 82people and injuries to sev-eral others. The epicentreof the quake, Mangan inNorth Sikkim, was said tobe the worst hit.

Out of the 82 deaths,68 are in India, including53 in Sikkim, three in Biharand 12 in West Bengal andseven each in Nepal andTibet respectively.

More than 100,000houses have been dam-aged in Sikkim due to the

quake. Several people arestill feared trapped underthe debris in far-flung vil-lages, amidst reports offresh landslides atGailkhola, 55 km fromGangtok at NH-31A.

Continued on page 24

82 killed as quakejolts Sikkim, Bengal,

Nepal and Tibet

Various religious heads offer Narendra Modi lemon juice ashe breaks his three-day fast.

See Page 27 and 28for more details

This week the paidsubscribers of AsianVoice will receive a copyof our 11th AsianAchieversAwardsmagazinealong withtheirnewspaper.

London celebrates

Navratri

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 20112 UK

one to oneKeith Vaz MP with

Peter KingCongressman Peter King is the Republican

Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

He gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select

Committee in the UK Parliament, Chaired by

Keith Vaz MP last Tuesday 13th September on

the roots of radicalism. He is currently serving his

10th term in the US House of Representatives

and represents a district in New York. He has

extensive experience as a practicing attorney and

civic leader and prior to serving in the House of

Representative he was elected to three terms as

the Comptroller of Nassau County. He is a grad-

uate of St. Francis College, Brooklyn, and the

University of Notre Dame Law School. He is mar-

ried with two adult children and two grandchil-

dren and lives in NY Long Island in Nassau

County.

1) What inspired you tobegin your career in pol-itics?

My father was a NewYork City police officerand Army veteran, so Iwas raised to believe thatpublic service was some-thing to be proud of. Myparents were also alwaysinterested in and closelyfollowed politics. I thinkthat my own apprecia-

tion of public service andinterest in politics aredirectly attributable tomy parents.

2) What is the most sig-nificant homeland secu-rity issue facing theUnited States?

In part because of ourclose cooperation withallies such as the U.K.,the United States has

made great progress insecuring our homelandfrom Islamic terrorismover the past decade.Today, it would be verydifficult for al-Qaeda or its

affiliates to succeed inanother 9/11 style attack.These terrorist groups arenow working to recruitand radicalize individualswithin the Muslim-

American community.The ObamaAdministration, the 9/11Commissioners, and oth-ers recognize this as asignificant threat; yetmany CongressionalDemocrats and membersof the media have criti-cized my series of hear-ings to examine thethreat. I intend to con-tinue the hearings,because the threat is realand cannot be ignored.

3) Please tell us aboutyour current position?

For 19 years, I have hadthe honor of represent-ing New York’s 3rdCongressional District inthe U.S. House ofRepresentatives. WhenRepublicans regained themajority in the House inJanuary, I returned asChairman of theHomeland SecurityCommittee, after servingas the Ranking(Minority) Member forfour years of Democraticcontrol and as Chairmanfor a short while beforethat. As Chairman, Ilead the Committee. Inboth of these positions, Iwork to secure the U.S.homeland from terror-ism, including the NewYork City-Long Islandarea, which is the toptarget of al-Qaeda and itsaffiliates.

4) If you were President,what one thing wouldyou change?

If I were President, Iwould ensure that allenemy combatants in theWar on Terror are tried inthe military commissionsystem that the U.S. hasset up for this very pur-pose. The ObamaAdministration hadsought to try terroristenemy combatants infederal civilian court,including a plan to put9/11 mastermind KhalidSheikh Mohammed ontrial in New York City.Fortunately, otherMembers of Congressjoined me in successfullyworking to block this ill-conceived plan.

5) If you were maroonedon a desert island, whichhistorical figures wouldyou like to spend yourtime with and why?

I have many questions Iwould like to ask three ofthe greatest wartimeleaders of all time: 16thU.S. President AbrahamLincoln, British PrimeMinister Sir WinstonChurchill, and GeneralGeorge S. Patton. Iwould also enjoy spend-ing time talking withAlfred E. Smith, the for-mer governor of NewYork and a 1928 candi-date for President.

Seven people were arrest-ed in Birmingham onMonday after a series ofswoops by MI5 and anti-terror police. Officers heldsix men aged 25 to 32 anda 22-year-old woman in aninvestigation into suspect-ed Islamic extremism.The raids came just

hours after a spy planewas seen circling the city.The specially equippedplanes are used by securityforces to spot suspects,monitor phone calls anddetect computer traffic.The men were arrested

by unarmed officers at ornear their homes in theMoseley, Sparkbrook,Sparkhill, Ward End andBalsall Heath areas.They were being ques-

tioned on suspicion of the“commission, preparation

or instigation” of an act ofterrorism in the UK.The woman, from

Saltley, is suspected offailing to disclose informa-tion contrary to theTerrorism Act 2000.Police denied the oper-

ation was connected to al-Qaeda or a plot involvingthe Lib Dem conferencebeing staged at the city’sInternational ConventionCentre.One of the addresses –

in the Ward End area – islinked to MohammedIrfan, who was jailed in2008 for his part in a plotto kidnap a MuslimBritish soldier and beheadhim live on the internet.But Irfan, 34, who wasreleased after serving justtwo years is not believedto be among those arrest-

ed on Monday.Specialist teams were

searching the homes andvehicles of all seven arrest-ed. Officers are also inves-tigating seven other prop-erties – six homes and onebusiness premises.They include an end-

terrace in Turner Street,Sparkbrook, believed to beshared by three families.Local Labour MP

Khalid Mahmood said:“As far as I am led tobelieve there was a signifi-cant risk of a very seriousplot being hatched and thepolice decided to movewhen they did.“I must pay tribute to

the way the security serv-ices have acted, but it is amajor concern that thesethings are still going on inour community.”

Seven arrested in anti-terrorraids in Birmingham

Nearly 100,000 asylumseekers have been ‘lost’ bybungling immigration offi-cials, it was revealed lastweek. The 98,000 caseswere among nearly half amillion found abandonedin boxes at the HomeOffice in 2006 in a majorimmigration scandal.Of the total, 172,000

have been given the rightto stay in the country,

claim benefits and bring infamily members, or morethan one in three of thetotal. Only 37,500 – or lessthan one in ten – have beendeported or left voluntarily.Around 170,000 have beenwritten off as duplicates orerrors.Committee chairman

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MPalso criticised the agencyfor making overpayments

to both staff and asylumseekers totalling some£4million last year, and forpaying out £14million incompensation claims.A Border Agency

spokesman said: ‘We areimproving the asylum sys-tem across the board,clearing the backlog ofclaims, bringing downcosts and resolving casesmore quickly.’

98,000 asylum seekers 'lost' They have been the bane of postmen’slives for generations.But now expertshave found a way of dealing with thethreat of over-exuberant pet dogs – in theshape of an 8in plastic stick.Britain’s 70,000 postmen and women

are being offered the special gadget in abid to reduce the 5,000 attacks by dogsthey suffer each year.Posting Pegs are not intended to con-

trol unruly dogs in gardens. In these cir-cumstances staff are advised to avoid anyconfrontation and return the post to thesorting office.The Posting Pegs, which cost 30p

each, are made by Hull firm Lexiprint.

Saving postmen's lives

Tejas Dhimant demonstrates how the newPosting Peg works

A fifth man has beenarrested over the carjackkilling of garage ownerHarjinder Singh Bhurji.The 18-year-old is beingheld at an east Londonpolice station on suspicionof murder, Scotland Yardsaid.Mr Bhurji, 32, died in

a pool of blood after beingstabbed when he refusedto hand over the keys tohis black Mercedes CLKcoupe in Ilford, eastLondon. His death wascondemned by his familyas a 'senseless crime'.Since the attack three

men, aged 18, 19 and 20,and a 17-year-old boy havebeen bailed pending fur-ther inquiries, police said.Bachelor Mr Bhurji wassitting in his sports cartalking to a friend when arobber opened the passen-ger door and dragged thewoman from the car onTuesday.Mr Bhurji, who lived

in Ilford, initially tried tohide the car keys under his

seat but the robber threat-ened to harm his friend ifhe did not hand them over.He was stabbed as he

tried to retrieve the keysbefore the thief drove offwith the car. Mr Bhurjiwas pronounced dead atthe scene in StoneleighRoad, Ilford, after policewere called at 1.10am. Thecar, registration numberR4 JXW, was found aban-doned in Forest Glade,Chingford, east London,at 2.45am.Mr Bhurji's friend was

found at the scene unin-jured but suffering fromshock. His sister

Rasvinder Johal said:'The family are devas-tated. My mum is notcoping very well. Hewas her only son, hereldest son, he was thebreadwinner of thefamily.'Everyone is just

really in shock and dev-astated. We have justhad the wedding andour whole family camefrom across the world

for it.'I have just come back

from honeymoon two daysago. Everyone has recentlybeen together and nowthis.'She added: 'I want to

know the details. Ourwhole family just want toknow what happened tohim for our peace of mind.'Murder squad detec-

tives are appealing for wit-nesses who may have seenthe knifeman driving inthe early hours. Anyonewith information shouldcontact Crimestoppers on0800 555 111

Family devastated death over death of their 'only son'

Harjinder Singh Bhurji withsisters Jasmeet, right, and

Rasvinder at her wedding twoweeks ago

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 www.abplgroup.com 3

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Thought for the Week

India, America: The way forwardUS Republican Congressman, Adam Smith, rank-ing member of the House Armed ServicesCommittee, made a significant speech on “USCommitment to Asia”, hosted by the Centre forStrategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. In a question-and-answer sessionfollowing his address, Mr Smith, while approvingthe India-US civilian nuclear accord of 2008, whichwas drawn up on President George W. Bush'swatch, said it lacked a proper follow-up by thepresent administration, that US relations withIndia could have been better handled. “I don't think we handled that as well as we

should. I think we have to do a better job of main-taining and building up a stronger relationshipwith India. They're going to be an incredibly pow-erful regional and global power for a long time tocome,” said the Congressman. “I think we have apositive relationship. I don't think we do as muchwith India as we should. Diplomatically, military-to-military, in a variety of different ways, I thinkthere are enormous opportunities for us to build astronger relationship with India, They haven't beenregional....global, at this point: I mean China iseverywhere – Latin America, Africa. You know,India, while they have grown significantly econom-ically, they've kept it more internal. I think they'regoing to be an incredibly important player. Youknow, largest democracy in the world....we have alot in common, and I think we need to work hardto build up that relationship,” even as he acceptedthat hiccups in India-US relations had occurred asa result of events in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Congressman was refreshingly frank, and

India must also do her bit to take the relationshipforward. After all it takes two to tango.Going for-ward, India-US ties will surely be most productiveon an economic platform. The entrepreneurial spir-it and skills that drive both countries will become abedrock of mutual enterprise and opportunity.From this massive trunk will emerge sturdy branch-es in every field of endeavour. The latest 94-pagereport of the Congressional Research Service(CRS) has shown the way. It has highlightedNarendra Modi's Gujarat and Nitish Kumar's Biharas models of good governance and administration.

The CRS writes: “perhaps India's best example ofeffective governance and impressive developmentis found in Gujarat, where chief minister NarendraModi has streamlined economic processes, remov-ing red tape and curtailing corruption in ways thathave made the state a key driver of national eco-nomic growth.... Modi has overseen heavy invest-ment in in modern roads and power infrastructure,and annual growth of more than 11 per cent inrecent years.” The state had attracted major inter-national investors, such as General Motors andMitsubishi; with five per cent of India's popula-tion, Gujarat was now responsible for one-fifth ofthe country's exports, the report said.After Gujarat came Bihar in good governance.

The CRS says: “Another positive example in 2011has been Bihar, one of India's poorest states,where chief minister Nitish Kumar has wonnational attention through his considerable suc-cess in emphasising good governance over caste-based politics. He is credited with restoring lawand order across much of the state, as well as over-seeing infrastructure and educational improve-ments of direct benefit to common citizens proj-ects.”These CRS reports are issued periodically to

help US legislators make informed judgements onsubjects of public interest. Significantly, in thiscase, the report was released to the public by theFederation of American Scientists. The Bushadministration, it must be said, rushed to judg-ment, holding Mr Modi responsible for the com-munal riots of March 2002 and denying him a USvisa, for which he had never applied! Returning to the India-US relationship, this is

certain to develop and mature in every direction inthe fullness of time. It will have its special dynam-ic, with likeness to America's complex security tieswith Britain and Japan. India has opted for strate-gic autonomy since it became a sovereign polity inAugust 1947. This was what Non Alignment inessence was supposed to mean.If India's freedomof choice is respected, as it should be, there will beno limit to the durability, variety and reach of thecountry's ties with the United States. Imaginationand tact should be the watchwords.

Toxic banks need Cable's medicineBusiness Secretary Vince Cable is a no-nonsenseYorkshireman. He has a keen nose for wrongdoingin public life. He was not prepared to kowtow to theMurdoch media empire, nor afraid to question itsexcessive social reach unlike Tony Blair, GordonBrown and David Cameron before him. Mr Cable'sjudgement was spot on, as we now know. Goodbusiness, according to the Cable manual, was bestallied to honest practice in the maximisation oflegitimate profits. Not surprisingly, Mr Cable hasBritain's toxic banks in his crosshairs. It adds to hiscredibility as a senior Liberal Democrat member ofthe Coalition at a time when there is widespreaddissatisfaction among the faithful that the party'ssocial conscience is too finely tuned to the needs ofits Conservative allies and those of big business. The news that the Swiss UBS bank rogue trader

Kweku Adoboli had defrauded his employers ofsome $2 billion (￡1.3 billion) in speculative dealscame as a shock. Mr Adoboli thus joined Nick

Leeson, who worked for Barings in Singapore, andthe more recent rogue trader Jerome Kerviel at theSociete Generale in Paris. Their practices mirroredthe questionable ethics of their workplace. Thesight of senior bankers walking away from failedenterprises, pockets bulging with ill-gotten gainsfrom bonuses and the like, while most of the coun-try is on its knees as a result of the Chancellor'sstringent austerity measures does make the blood ofmany an honest John Citizen boil over. The Business Secretary has made his determina-

tion to find ways and means to curtail 'excessive'pay in the private sector by forcing banks and com-panies to publish 'pay ratios' revealing the gapbetween the highest and lowest paid employee.Name and shame may do the trick. It will bring intothe public space the malfeasance that has so faravoided public scrutiny. It is time someone spokeup for the common man and woman. Vince Cablehas set the ball rolling. More power to his elbow.

JLR reaches for the skiesJaguar Land Rover and Corus have driven the riseof Tata to Britain's largest manufacturer. TataConsultancy Services (TCS) has a significant nicheworldwide in the services sector. The companywhich has long been a household name in India,from where it has emerged in the wake of the coun-try's economic liberalisation, to bestride the worldis not yet a recognisable brand in the UK. But theseare early days, and as the Tata UK workforceexpands and its automobiles keep rolling out fasterto the showrooms brand recognition will surelycome.Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover will soon deliver

a major boost to the Government's plans to stimu-late the economy into sustainable growth: Tata hasconfirmed that it will build a ￡400 million engineplant in the Midlands that could lead to the creationof 2,000 jobs. The engine plant, it is understood,will be located at the 154 business park in

Wolverhampton, which is now dubbed an enterprisezone. The plant, which will take two years to build,has been promised ￡10 million of government sup-port. The car industry has been earmarked as a coresector in the revival of British manufacturing andexports. JLR's fortunes have been in the ascendant ever

since ownership of Jaguar and Land Rover passedfrom Ford to Tata Motors. In the year to March 31,JLR made a record pre-tax profit of ￡1.1 billion,with sales increasing by 26 per cent to 243, 621.Under the leadership of chief executive Ralf Spethand Tata chairman Ratan Tata, JLR is investing ￡1.5 billion a year in new products and has ambitionsto augment production in its three Midland plantsto 500,000 cars a year. To top it all, there are plansfor the Chinese and Indian markets for the Jaguarand Land Rover. Clearly, Tata Motors is on a globalroll.

COMMENT

Last week I joinedMPs from across thepolitical spectrum todebate human rightson the Indian sub-con-tinent. The debate wasclearly of interest to agreat many people, asthere was a largeturnout from MPs andthe public gallery ofthe Commons waspacked on a normallyquiet Thursday after-noon.For me, it was an

opportunity to reaffirmmy respect for India,as a beacon of peaceand democracy in asub-continent toooften dominated byconflict, tyranny andabuses of humanrights.India’s security sit-

uation is amongst themost grave of anycountry. The 2011Failed State Index listssix of India’s neigh-bours as beingamongst ’the mostfailed states in theworld’ includingPakistan, Myanmar,Bangladesh, Nepal, SriLanka, and Bhutan.Readers will know

the terrible toll thisinstability takes, withterror attacks onIndia’s cities at a fre-quency which isunimaginable to us inthe UK.The Indian Centre

for ConflictManagement hasindentified 168 terror-ist, insurgent andextremist groups cur-rently active in India.It states that “310 ofthe country’s 636Districts are currentlyafflicted by varyingintensities of chronicactivity, including sub-version, by insurgentand terrorist group-ings”.

We have seen in theUK that Governmentreactions to attackoften result in curbs tofreedoms and rights ofcitizens, yet astonish-ingly India’s commit-ment to democracy andits constitution isunmoved.The Indian

Constitution, thelongest and most farreaching in the world,includes a bill of rightswhich provides for theright to equality, theright to freedom ofspeech and assembly,the right to freedom ofconscience, and theright to education. India takes the ful-

filment of these consti-tutional rights incredi-bly seriously. TheNational HumanRights Commissionwas established toinvestigate suspectedviolations of humanrights in the country.In recent decisions theIndian Supreme Courtpassed orders for theright to food for all tobe fulfilled, andordered police reformin light of response tohuman rights con-cerns. For me it is essen-

tial that we emphasisethis context when wetalk about the future ofthe sub-continent. H e a r i n g

Parliamentary col-leagues talk of the hor-rors that friends andfamilies of their con-stituents have livedthrough in Sri Lanka,the same stories I haveheard from many of myown constituents,showed once againhow invaluable therespect for rightsshown by India reallyis in the context of thewider region.

Human rights on theIndian sub-continent

Barry Gardiner MP

Member of Parliamentfor Brent North,

Chair of Labour Friendsof India

The beautiful thing about learning

is that nobody can take it away

from you

- 'King of the blues' B B King

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 20114

In brief

Leicester Voice By Meera Majithia

Email: [email protected]

A delegation fromLeicester will address aCommonwealth seminarheld in India as part of anexchange project to tacklepoverty.

Assistant city mayorcouncillor Ted CassidyMBE will head the four-person delegation, whichalso includes the chair ofthe InternationalDevelopment WorkingParty, councillor CuldippBhatti MBE, waste mini-mization officer CrisCalleha and seniorEconomic RegenerationOfficer and ProjectManager, Mark Mizzen.

Representatives frommajor Indian cities includ-ing, Rajkot, Ludhiana andMumbai will also be pres-ent at the seminar beinghosted by the MunicipalCorporation ofAurangabad in India’sMaharashtra State on the22nd and 23rd September.

The programme,including the visit, is fund-

ed by the Government'sDepartment forI n t e r n a t i o n a lDevelopment, and man-aged by theCommonwealth LocalGovernment Forum(CLGF).

It aims to strengthenthe capacity of localauthorities in target coun-tries across theCommonwealth, such asIndia, South Africa,Jamaica, Ghana, SierraLeone and Pakistan. Italso supports technical

exchange projects,focused around specificthemes related to povertyreduction.

Leicester has beenworking on CLGFexchange projects withIndia for seven years, thefirst of which involved thelocal authority workingwith local communities toprovide better public serv-ices rather than relyingsolely on the private sec-tor.

The Leicester-Rajkotwork involved combiningpublic services and tryingto meet the socio-econom-ic needs of slum dwellers,using methods includingthe latest satellite tech-nologies.

This second event willdiscuss and share thegood practices identifiedas a result of a morerecent two-year CLGFprogramme on improvingservice delivery and com-munity engagement,which has brought togeth-

er local government part-ners from India and theircounterparts from the UK.

The visit will include ameeting in Ludhiana onthe invitation of the city'smayor to discuss progressmade on issues rangingfrom highway design,maintenance and trafficcontrol, to planning andenergy matters, and alsoto discuss closer linksbetween Ludhiana andLeicester.

Cllr Cassidy said: “Byusing our expertise andthe goodwill gained inworking with our sistercities in India over the lastseven years, this exchangegives us a tremendousopportunity to promoteLeicester on a worldstage.

"Leicester is a welcom-ing place to do businessparticularly in areas thatcan help reduce povertyand our carbon footprintboth abroad and athome.”

Go GreenThe Greener Leicester Awards are looking for organ-isations and individuals who have contributed tomaking Leicester a more environmentally friendlycity.

Formerly known as the Green Life Awards, theyare given in seven different categories: businesses,schools (primary), further education organisation,not for profit organisation, community organisation,major project and young person (aged 14-30). Theoverall winner will also receive the prestigiousGreener Leicester Award.

Winners will be announced at an awards eveninghosted by De Montfort University later this year,which will feature workshops, and a film screening byLeicester College students, as well as offering atten-dees the opportunity to learn about environmentalprojects from across the city.

Councillor Rory Palmer, deputy city mayorresponsible for climate change and transport, said:“This year the Greener Leicester Awards are going tobe bigger and better than ever. They provide a won-derful opportunity for us to celebrate what has beenachieved towards creating a low carbon city in thelast 12 months and will hopefully inspire others tostart their own initiatives and projects.”

The closing date for nominations is Wednesday,26th October. For more information visit www.onele-icester.com/greenerleicester/awards or [email protected].

Woman injured after ridebreaks down

A Leicester-womanfractured her neckafter a fairgroundride broke down inLincolnshire.

Nikita Patel, 20was trapped on theSurf Rider for 40minutes when it gotjammed in a verti-cal position at Botton’s Pleasure Beach in Skegness.

She suffered a broken bone in her neck and con-tinues to suffer flashbacks of the incident.

Twenty-two people were rescued from the rideand seven people were taken to hospital.

Service for Sewa DayVolunteers from across Leicester’s faith communitieswill be coming together as part of this years interna-tional Sewa Day to help members of the West Indiancommunity on Thursday, 22nd September between10am and 2pm.

St Philip’s Centre has teamed up to form a specialpartnership with Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh organisa-tions for a project titled ‘Talk over Tea’. The event willinvolve sharing food and socialising with the elderlyusers of the West Indian Senior Citizens Project inHighfields.

Buddhist and Hindu Temples, severalGurudwaras, Bobby’s Restaurant and individual vol-unteers from the Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh faithshave come together for the cause. Volunteers will beserving usual tea, coffee and cakes on the day in addi-tion to a variety of Indian snacks and sweets includ-ing samosas, onion bhaji’s and barfi.

A host of entertainment with musical instrumentssuch as the dhol and tabla will also be provided.

Riaz Ravat, from St Philip’s Centre, said: “Thispartnership is rooted in generosity and in the goodname of our city, brings together several major worldfaiths for Sewa Day for the first time. All our faithsteach us to honour and respect the elderly. This proj-ect will do just that and more.”

National Sewa Day falls on Sunday, 25thSeptember but activities can take place in the weekleading up to the day.

East Midlands forcescollaborate to fight crimeCriminals in the East Midlands will feel five times theforce with the creation of the country’s largest crimefighting alliances. From Monday, 12th September,Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire,Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire kick-startedthe largest collaboration of its kind, which couldpotentially save police forces in excess of £26m overa four-year period. The joint Major Crime facility willinvestigate murder, manslaughter, kidnap withdemands and extortion across the region, taking onother investigations through a central taskingprocess. It will provide access to a multi-millionpound shared asset.

Tackling poverty in India

TedCassidy

A jeweller on Melon Roadin Leicester fought of fourarmed robbers who forcedtheir way into his shop,and took off with thou-sands of pounds worth ofstock.

Rajesh Pattni, ofKampala Jewellers wasconfronted by the balacla-va-covered on Tuesday,13th September.

Armed with sledgehammers the mensmashed open displaycases containing goldbrackets and rings. In totalthey took around £30,000worth of jewellery before

Mr Pattni and his wifeDaksha activated securitysmoke and the shop’sshutters.

While Mrs Pattni hidin the shop’s panic roomand phoned police, herhusband chased thethieves out of the shop.Waiting for them outsidewas a blue Suzuki van andas the four men jumpedinto it Mr Pattni smashedthe windscreen and a pas-senger-side window with abaseball bat before theytook off towards TroonWay.

They later dumped the

van and set it alight onFerrous Close inNorthfields, before gettinginto a black Audi A4estate.

This was also laterfound in Avonside Road,where it is believed themen got into a white FordTransit van.

In 2009 Mr Pattnialong with his brotherAtul had chased thievesfrom his shop.

Investigating officer,Detective Inspector RobWiddowson, said:“Enquiries are in theirearly stages but we hope

that this appeal willencourage witnesses tocome forward and help uslocate those responsible assoon as possible.

“Thankfully no-onewas injured but the shopowners are understand-ably upset and annoyedthat their livelihood hasbeen targeted in such away. I would urge anyonewith information to call usas soon as they can whilethe memories are stillfresh in their heads.”

You can call the inves-tigating officers on 0116222 2222.

Robbery gang snatch £30,000 worth of jewellery

Over 1000 people were inattendance at the annualRaas Garba competitionorganised by the GujaratHindu Association onSaturday, 11th September.

Marking the celebra-tion of the festival ofNavratri, the event origi-nally started in the early1970’s and is now in its34th year.

Held at De MontfortHall in Leicester between4pm and 9pm, the eventwelcomed around 200 par-ticipants of mixed ageswho participated in theshow,.

Maganbhai Patel said:“The event was very suc-cessful. My aim was toteach the younger genera-tion about our culture. IStart planning the eventfrom January and Februaryonwards and begin toapproach the schools fortheir permission too.

“It’s a great way for thechildren to engage in the

community, get togetherand meet new people.”

A list of the winnerscan be found below:l Garba senior categorywinners; 1st - ShreeMandhata SamajSahayak, Leicester, 2nd -Shree Pancholi Samaj,Leicester, 3rd - ShreePrajapati Association,Leicester.l Raas senior category;1st - Maher CommunityAssociation, Leicester,2nd - Shree WanzaCommunity, Leicester, 3rd

- Shree PrajapatiAssociation, Leicester.l Senior garba costumes;1st - Shree MandhataSamaj Sahayak, Leicester,2nd - Shree PancholiSamaj, Leicester.l Senior raas costumes;1st - Maher CommunityAssociation, Leicester,2nd - Mandhata HinduSamaj, Preston.l Garba junior category;1st - Abbey PrimaryCommunity School,Leicester, 2nd - ShreeSanatan Mandir -

Shishukunj, Leicester.l Raas junior category;1st - Shree KrishnaMandir, West Bromwich,2nd - Shree SanatanMandir - Shishukunj,Leicester.l Junior garba costumes;1st - Sandfield ClosePrimary School, Leicester,2nd - Shree KrishnaMandir, West Bromwich.l Junior raas costumes;1st - Shree KrishnaMandir, West Bromwich,2nd - Sandfield ClosePrimary School, Leicester.

Raas Garba competition in its 34th year

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 5UK

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Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO ofMitie, the first female AsianFTSE-250 CEO doesn't do fail-ure. She received the 'Women ofthe Year' award at the 11th AsianAchievers Awards for her contri-bution and inspiration as awoman in our community. Andof course there is no doubt, thatunder her guidance, Mitie is arecession success story!

On the other hand, Dr RamiRanger, OBE received theBusiness Person of the Yearaward at the 11th AAA, for hissuccess in every sense of theword and for demonstrating gen-uine passion for social issues.Managing Director of Sun MarkLtd, he is also the founder mem-ber of the Hindu Forum Britainand the Chairman of the BritishSikh Association.

While the Metropolitan

Police new head Mr BernardHogan-Howe is trying to have afirm policy and more imaginativeapproach to crime, Asian Voiceand Gujarat Samachar arealready ahead of the race,acknowledging the efforts madeby their community representa-tives in the police services, tocontrol crimes. Shindo Barquer,the Police Chief Inspector of

West Midlands police has had 24years of outstanding achieve-ments and been a ideal and men-tor to officers and communitymembers and was the winner forthe category of Uniformed andCivil Services.

There were many more suchprominent winners at the 11thAsian Achievers Awards, whichwas organised by Asian Voiceand Gujarat Samachar on 16thSeptember at the Great Hall,

Wembley Stadium. The awardsrecognised, rewarded and hon-oured high achievers amongstBritish Asians and was attendedby over 1000 people.

This year the Chief Guestwas Dr Vince Cable, Secretaryfor Business, Innovation andSkills and the comperes of theevening were Naynesh Desaiand Joti Patel and the entertain-ment was presented by NavinKundra, Shiamak Davar's dancetroupe and Sirish Kumar andClem Alford.

The Awards were presentedin the presence of an impressivearray of high net worth individu-als, industry captains, high leveldecision makers, parliamentari-ans, community leaders and sen-ior professionals.

CB Patel, Publisher/Editor,Asian Business Publication Ltdsaid, “It’s the only award whichpeople nominate and the inde-pendent panel of Judges decidethe short listed candidates andwinners...I know everyone can-not get wards or nominated butthere are so much potential inAsian community.”

Asian Achievers Awards isunique, in that readers andmembers of the public nominatecandidates and an independentpanel of judges selects the win-ner after much deliberation.Every year we receive a recordnumber of nominations and thecalibre of the candidates are veryimpressive.The grand dinner andceremony provided an opportu-nity for guests to donate gener-

ously to our charity of the year-SILVER STAR.

Shernaaz Engineer, Winnerof Business in Communityaward said, “I feel very elated. Ididn’t even know that I wasnominated until I was told that Iwas on the short-list and wasinvited to attend the event.”

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP said,“The Asian achievers awardsdemonstrate the fact that weneed to recognise the talent of allthe communities. CB Patel andGujarat Samachar and AsianVoice do it in such an outstand-ing way.”

Last year's chief guest wasLord McNally and the charity ofthe year 2010 was Oxfam andwe raised around £40,000 andmuch more was pledged later.

The winners of the AsianAchievers Awards 2011 are: DrRami Ranger OBE- Business

person of the year, ProfBhupendra Jasani - Professionalof the year, Mitesh Patel-YoungEntrepreneur of the year, MajorTikendra dal Dewan-Achievement in CommunityServices, Rajiv Ouseph - Sportspersonality of the year, BobbySingh Bansal-Achievement inMedia, Art & Culture, ShernazEngineer-Business inCommunity, Ruby McGregor-Smith- Women of the year,Shindo Barqer-Uniformed andCivil services.

The Editor's Award forVision and Enterprise wasawarded to Dinesh Patel fromCo-fresh and Editor's Award forResearch and Compilation wasawarded to Dr KusoomVadgama.

(Detailed report to follow inour post event magazine)

Creme de la creme of the community awarded at the Lycamobile 11th Asian Achievers Awards in Wembley Stadium

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, CB Patel and Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable withDr Kusoom Vadgama receiving the Editor’s Award.

Subashkaran Alirajah, Chairman of Lycamobile and Rt Hon Dr VinceCable with Dr Rami Ranger OBE receiving the Business Person of the

Year Award


The trio gave an electrifying perform-ance over the weekend at the RoyalAlbert Hall in London. Said to be therefirst performance in the UK, Shankar,Ehsaan & Loy did not even for amoment leave the audiences wonderingor bored or less enthusiastic. The crowddanced to the tunes of many of theirhits and cheered after every number.Ram Kumar, an Indian professional inLondon attended the show and could-n’t stop praising the performance. Hesaid, “It was fabulous, an electrifyingshow absolutely and the trio haveincomparable energy levels.”With soundtracks from Kal Ho Naa Hoto Dil Chahta Hai and My Name isKhan, the trio are one of the most pop-ular bollywood musicians of thisdecade. And just as their latest releaseZindagi Na Milegi Dobara goes beyondexpectations, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy(vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, guitaristEhsaan Noorani and keyboard playerLoy Mendonsa) made their stunningUK debut at the Royal Albert Hall inLondon.The show also featured Karan &KSPARK dancers from the Star Plusshow “Just Dance” along with a spe-cially-commissioned audiovisual pro-

duction of Rabindranath Tagore’sGitanjali – a new interpretation incor-porating music, poetry and dance tocelebrate the 150th anniversary ofTagore in 2011.Presented by Asian Music Circuit, theshow was worth the entire wait forLondoners.

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at [email protected]

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy hit it off

Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani

and Loy Mendonsa

By Spriha Srivastava

What do we mean aboutstriving for more trans-parency within publicauthorities? I considerthere are two kinds ofpublic authorities namelypure public authoritieswhich provide directpublic services such aslocal councils, theGreater LondonAssembly, police forcesand the like and second-ly, other organisationswith a remit of a publicnature such as an organi-sation, private or other-wise, which has beengranted a contract toundertake some form ofwork or service of a pub-lic nature. Regardless ofwhich category we areconsidering of the twowe live in an era wherethe public demand muchmore information.Freedom of InformationAct requests are nowcommon practice and inall but the exempted cat-egories such as in mat-ters of national securitythis information shouldbe forthcoming.

Most requests aregenuine with a residenthaving a general desirefor that informationwhere it meets criteriafor disclosure but sadlythere will alwaysundoubtedly be scope formischief too. It is fair tosay that with Freedom ofInformation Act requestsmuch time is taken bypaid civil servants tocomply with the regula-tions and to illicit the rel-evant information for theintended recipient whichwhilst promoting trans-parency is a cost burdento the public purse inrelation to the civil ser-vant’s time in compli-ance. Surely as a costsaving measure alone itmakes more sense to pro-vide as much informationas possible in the firstinstance to limit theamount of Freedom ofInformation requestsbeing made by individu-als?

Last year with thegeneral election in thiscountry resulting in ushaving a ConservativePrime Minister, theGovernment, listening tothe people, stressed itsresolve to push for moretransparency, not as acost saving measure as Ioutline above whichcould be considered a by-

product of the ultimateaim but, because theConservative Partyunderstood that moreinformation should bereadily available withoutthe public having tospend time looking for itwhether through exces-sive internet searching,at libraries or by havingto make requests forinformation for exampleand that this would helppeople to hold publicbodies to account.Communities Secretary,the Rt. Hon. Eric PicklesMP, was well ahead ofthe curve last summer forexample when he said"Getting council businessout in the open will revo-lutionise local govern-ment. Local peopleshould be able to holdpoliticians and publicbodies to account overhow their hard earnedcash is being spent anddecisions made on theirbehalf.

They can only do thateffectively if they havethe information theyneed at their fingertips.Throwing open the coun-cil books will open thedoor to new businessesand encourage greaterinnovation and entrepre-neurism. Organisationsthat might have beeneffectively locked outbefore, including volun-tary sector and smallbusiness, will be in amuch stronger positionto pitch for contracts andbring new ideas and solu-tions to the table."

This was a welcomepush for the public bene-fit and one which hasresulted in many councilsacross the countryalready publishing moreinformation on theirwebsites including butnot limited to details ofupcoming tenders andcontracts and lists ofcouncil expenditure overcertain limits such as£500 in some cases. It ispleasing to note that theGovernment’s vision ofmore transparency andopenness goes furtherthan just local councilsand to areas such as lawand order too.

Anyone who hasheard Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM speak sincebeing appointed as thenew Commissioner of theMetropolitan PoliceService last week will

have heard the words“more transparency” saidmore than a dozen timesin relation to his vision ofpolicing London andwhilst I congratulate himon his appointment Itrust that he will achievethat aim whilst maintain-ing an excellent workingrelationship with Mayorof London Boris Johnsonand the Rt. Hon. TheresaMay MP the HomeSecretary, both of whomhave done tremendousamounts of work toincrease police numbersand work to reduce thefear of crime.

We are also in an erawhere discussion is ensu-ing as to how muchcourtroom advocacy,deliberations and sen-tencing remarks shouldbe televised when beingmade public.

As a legal practitionerwith much trial experi-ence I declare an interestin this topic and urgecaution to be exercisedwhen both balancing theneeds of transparencyand openness for thepublic benefit whilstmaintaining good court-room etiquette coupledwith encouraging anenvironment where vic-tims of crime for examplefeel they can come toCourt to give evidencefreely and without unduehindrance, risk or pres-sure whereso applicableand with relevant safe-guards in place.

I personally look for-ward to the movementson this in relation to lawand to how far the open-ness and transparencyagenda can safely andproperly go.

Whilst just over oneyear on since the generalelection it appears thatthe Government’s visionof more openness andtransparency is gainingmuch steam as it pro-gresses across the wholerange of public bodiesand whilst the publicwatches this materialisefurther we can only hopethat this transformationagenda when completecan be a lasting legacy ofopportunity for all andwith an easier ability tomake comparisonsbetween organisationstoo to inform betterlearning for improvementin areas such as LocalGovernment spending.

Better learning for improvements

Cllr Sachin Rajput

Conservative Greater London Assembly CandidateFor Brent & Harrow

Yashraj’s latest flick –Mere Brother Ki Dulhan(MKBD) speaks theentire story for itself.Hearing the name of themovie can in short tellyou what the gist of theentire movie is.However, I won’t disappoint you bysaying that it’s just that. Like every bol-lywood film, there is some action, lot ofromance, some running around thetrees, a climax in the end and then ahappily ever after ending.

So, if that’s the case then whywatch this film? Watch it for Katarinaand Imran. While Katarina is truly astar in this movie, Imran Khan hasimproved a great deal in terms of hisacting skills. If you see Jaane tu, whichwas a brilliant movie and then watchMKBD, you will see that Imran hasbecome more matured in terms of hisacting skills.

Ali Zafar plays big brother to Kush(Imran Khan) and lives in London.After a break-up with his long-standinggirlfriend, he asks Kush to find a girl forhim. So younger brother Kush is out tofind a bride for his elder brother Luvand finally hits upon the perfect bridein the form of Dimple (Katrina Kaif).And there isn’t much of a story to tellafter this.

What follows on is a great Indianwedding promo with a big farm houseand tones of relatives. The charactersare cliché but the dialogues are niceand the slightly different treatment of

the much used screenplaymanages to provide us withquite a few laughs.

The screenplay alsoshifts a lot between the realand the impossible andwhile certain shifts areenjoyable some of them are

too tough to handle. The scene withKatarina making crowds crazy whilestrumming a guitar with no sound con-nections or logictics check was defi-nitely over the top. Forget about thefact that she somehow manages to startan entire concert at the Agra Fort withher entire band and without permis-sion.

So leaving all the fantasies apart,this story could have been better with alittle more innovation that the currentBollywood endeavours seem to be lack-ing. I guess Zafar was just followingthe crowd, only he didn’t say the wordremake.

The movie is definitely watchable ifyou leave your reasoning behind inyour closet at home. While there are afew scenes that will make you laugh,overall the movie has no storyline orscript. It’s high time hindi cinemastarts moving away from what hasalready been done and dusted. Themovie reminded me in many ways ofthe earlier film “Sorry Bhai” and alsomany resemblances with DilwaleDulhania Le Jayenge.

All in all even with an old story line,Katarina and Imran save the movie andmake it watchable.

MBKD – a not so new story

Queensbury Ward PCSOvisit SWO (UK) centerin Queensbury as part ofthe worship week. Theaim of the visit was tostrengthen the goodrelationship with com-munity group in

Queensbury and worktogether with residentsto keep the area safefrom crime.

Sargent SashiVagadia with his team ofofficers attended theweekly evening function

to brief resident onkeeping their homesecure and especiallyasking ladies not to weargold chains when theywalk in their local parks.He informed residentshis team of officers

would be happy to visitindividual homes toadvise them on how tosecure their homes. Thiswas followed by theopportunity for individ-ual’s discussion wherecrime prevention advice

was given and literatureavailable to take away.

Several youth mem-bers from the center andother community groupsin Queensbury hadattended the local policestation after the recent

summer riots. The aimof the visit was to get aninsight on the cause ofthe riots and see whatcan be done to getyouths engaged in sportsand local communitycenter activities.

Queensbury PCSO visit SWO (UK) Centre


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Last year in August /September I shared mythoughts, emotions andexperience of ‘GroundZero’ site visit during myholiday in New York.Leading up to theanniversary of 9/11 2001terrorist attack on groundzero (the former WorldTrade Buildings site) wasthe controversy aboutIslamic Centre with amosque planned twoblocks from the groundzero site. At the sametime I also wrote aboutthe ‘Preview Site’ adja-cent the Ground Zerosite which displayed anexhibition of the propos-als for a ‘NationalSeptember 11 Memorialand Museum’ designed todemonstrate, its vision toconvey “the conse-quences of terrorism…..and affirm a commitmentto the fundamental val-ues of human life”.

This year marked the10th anniversary of thegruesome act of terrorand destruction. It alsopresents us again individ-ually and as the worldcommunity anotheropportunity to reflect onthe incident and learnlessons for the future. OnSunday 11th Septemberthere were high- profilememorial commemora-tion services held world-wide. I joined London’smulti-faith representa-tives to remember andreflect, at a somber serv-ice held at St Paul’sCathedral, the tragic dayunder the banner of aptlyworded message“Remembering withhope”. The event at theCathedral also commem-orated the twentiethanniversary of theFirefighter’s MemorialTrust.

Addressing the con-gregation at the serviceRight Reverend GraemeKnowles, stated how peo-ple from many back-grounds had cometogether “to pray tributefor the future security ofthe world, for a spirit oftolerance and mutualrespect, for peace andfreedom, for justice andthe rule of law.” Thereflection rememberedwith gratitude the men

and women serving inEmergency Services likethe Police and Fire andtheir sacrifice to save usin dangers. The veryrecent example of thebravery of our Police andFirefighters was theirdedication and heroicbravery during the riotsin London and otherareas of Britain. AsLondon Assembly’s rep-resentative on LondonFire Emergency PlanningAuthority (LFEPA) I’mparticularly proud of thegreat role played by ourfire service in protectingLondon from fires andprotecting lives.

Together with repre-sentatives of InterfaithGroups, the congregationwas attended by Bob NeilMP, Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State forCommunities and LocalG o v e r n m e n t ,Honourable Louis B.Susman, Ambassador ofthe United States ofAmerica, CourtneyCowart Survivor of 9/11,London Fire Brigade andrepresentatives ofFirefighters’ MemorialTrust etc.

After the service,prayers were held at thememorial statue of fire-fighters, opposite theCathedral, led by theChaplain to theFirefighters MemorialTrust and NationalChairman of theAssociation of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women.

The moving experi-ence I witnessed at StPaul’s Cathedral broughtback to me the memoriesfrom my visit to GroundZero site and the mes-sage of harmony andhope conveyed throughthe proposed ‘NationalSeptember 11 Memorialand Museum’ on GroundZero Site; the prime mis-sion of the project is com-memoration and educa-tion. I’m pleased that the‘National September 11Memorial and Museum’is now open. It is for usto learn lessons from9/11 and all such darkdays in the history ofmankind and worktogether in the spirit ofhope for a peacefulworld.

“REMEMBERING WITH HOPE”9/11 Terrorist Attack

“Our London”

CIIr Navin Shah AMLondon Assembly Member for

Brent and Harrow

I write to you from Chennai. Sowhat is troubling India? Well onething is Narendrabhai Modi and theghosts of Godhra. Here are somethings you don’t hear.

The issue

Did the Chief Minister instruct policeofficials to hold off protection ofMuslims thereby being complicit intheir deaths? You don’t hear muchabout the issue. That is the issue.

Hindus died. That does notmean that Muslim deaths were jus-tified. It does not mean that when atrain of Hindus are burnt for theirreligious beliefs, due legal processshould be abstained and mob ruleovertake matters. But I don’t somuch hear that Hindus died. Ialmost get the impression frommedia coverage that Hindus onefine morning awoke and decided tokill them some Muslims.

That Muslims are a minority iseven more reason to ensure dueprocess and due recognition of theirdeaths, for those in the majorityand in power could easily be cor-rupted into protecting only thosewho share their faith. But Muslimsseem to have little to fear givenhow many Hindus are vocally pro-tecting their interests and present-ing law suits. I seriously don’t meanto make a sectarian, but only a seri-

ous point. Hindus standing up forMuslims reduces our worries abouta miniority without voice or supportfrom the majority.

We must recognise that forsome people justice equals themwinning and no judicial outcomewill satisfy them.

You don’t hear that, quitefrankly, the British government isafraid of muslims in Britain provid-ing a backlash if the diplomatic postin Ahmedabad is elevated to aDeputy High Commission which isjustified by the status of Gujarat’strading. Oh, Beijing can be anEmbassy, forget human rights, butGujarat cannot – to the detrimentof British trade, because successiveBritish Governments are afraid oftheir domestic muslim population.

You don’t hear that for somelosing in the ballet box, means try-ing to win through the legal system.It is how George W Bush beat AlGore. They couldn’t vote out Modi,so litigate him out.

You don’t hear, that the ambu-lance chasing litigators pursuingModi are actually more concernedabout keeping him out of office,than they are about the deaths ofmuslims.

You don’t hear liberal Delhi-itestalking much about how whenSikhs were massacred in 1984 inDelhi – not much was done – but

then again their ‘Gandhi dynasty’worship prohibited that. Well theyshould remember the real Gandhi,Mahatma Gandhi, not Indira orRajeev or Sonia, came from Gujarat– the last one didn’t even comefrom India, but the deity worship ofthe name goes on.

What you do hear: I do get a lotof feedback when I write on thisissue that ‘Narendrabhai Modi wascomplicit in genocide.’ Why? Did hedo it because he lives in a dictator-ship and needed to shore uppower? Did he do it because hewanted to kill his chances ofbecoming PM? Did he do it becausebloody rage and revenge overtookhis mind and senses? Did he do itbecause controlling the nationalmedia, no one would ever find out?Did he do it because there being nopolitical parties in Gujarat he didn’tneed to worry and did it because hecould?

You do hear that anyonedefending Modi is an RSS saffronwearing Hindu fanatic fundamen-talist. Hmmm….really? If the ChiefMinister did anything to knowingly,intentionally, hinder the protectionof guilty or innocent people – heshould be imprisoned. Not very saf-fron that statement is it? But theissue is did he? Why would he?

Alpesh B Patel

The Politics of Godhra

Political SketchbookAlpesh Patel’s

Tarlochan Singh, was ontrial this week atCoventry Crown Courtfor one charge of danger-ous driving. A jury of 10women and two mentook an hour and 40 min-utes to return a unani-mous guilty verdict.Sentencing is yet to takeplace.

The trial heard from11 witnesses whodescribed hearing theloud revving of the sportscar’s engine and seeingSingh driving at speedsof up to 30mph, wherethe limit is 5mph.

During cross exami-nation, Mr Singh, whosaid he worked as a taxidriver in the city, saidwitnesses had “fabricat-ed” the whole story.Sentencing for Mr Singhhas been postponed untilOctober for a report to beprepared by theProbation Office and heis currently on bail.

Ferrari driverfaces jail

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 20118 www.abplgroup.com

News in BriefMore kids means more cash from the taxpayerSeeking an affair

Sixteen per cent of people in the West Midlands areactively looking for affairs, a survey has found. Adultdating site www.MaritalAffair.co.uk found peoplelooking for affairs are most likely to be male, aged 46to 50, degree educated, married for up to seven years,with children.

NHS Trust AGMThe annual general meeting of Sandwell and WestBirmingham NHS Trust will take place at 6.30pm onSeptember 29 at Conference Suite, Thomas Suite,West Bromwich. Free to attend, all welcome.

Car dealer finedA car salesman who unwittingly sold a “death trap”to trading standards officers has been ordered to pay£12,000 in fines and costs. Chumack Singh Rangla,31, of Oxley, Wolverhampton, was caught posing as aprivate seller of cars that were “not only unroadwor-thy but actually dangerous”. The father-of-three, whohad been in debt, including owing the bank £105,000for loans taken on his house, pleaded guilty to eightcharges of engaging in unfair commercial practices.

Milan boss ‘stole 23k’Tarun Arora, a manager with Milan, the Birmingham-based Indian restaurant, has been arrested by WestMidlands Police over an allegation that he stole£23,000. Mr Arora, 33, has been charged with onecount of theft by an employee and was due to attenda plea and case management hearing at BirminghamCrown Court this Thursday (Sept 22). It is allegedthat Mr Arora pocketed the money by not processingcash payments from customers, as reported in theSunday Mercury. Milan, the popular vegetarianeaterie, is owned and run by a Patel family, originallyfrom Mombasa in East Africa.

IAB hosts Eid event Great event, yetagain, by theteam at theInstitute ofA s i a nBusinesses thistime to celebrateEid. Comperedby accountantSaqib Bhatti(pictured farright) one ofIAB’s younger committee members, the eventbrought together over 200 guests. Speakers includedLee Kilgour (pictured second from right) head ofAston University’s new Engineering Academy andCorrie Harris, head of employer services at CityCollege - led by Stuart Cutforth, one of the country’smost modest college principals and a real change-maker. It was good to see IAB’s new president, NasirAwan (pictured, centre) making an effort to introducehimself to attendees. In his opening remarks, hepaused for a few seconds after realising a page fromhis speech was missing, which prompted mass laugh-ter, but quickly resolved the embarrassing glitch. Liveentertainment by Fursaan, a Muslim boy band, wonrapturous applause for their outstanding perform-ance. Over and above, the round-table event wasenjoyed by all.

‘Mosque’ attackedA Birmingham college has been targeted by vandalsafter rumours led them to believe that a golden-cladpart of the building was a mosque. It is in fact a con-ference centre. The centre, which opened this month,is part of Bournville College in Longbridge which hashad a £66 million revamp. College Principal NormanCave said: “It doesn’t even look like a mosque so howpeople are jumping to this conclusion I don’t reallyknow.”

Karate coach ‘raped’ girl A karate instructor from Birminghamhas denied raping a schoolgirl whoattended his martial arts classes. AtGloucester Crown Court, Jaspal Riat, 48,of Handsworth Wood, denied twocharges of raping the girl when she wasaged 13 or 14. The jury heard how Riat,pictured, from the Koshin-Ryu Academyof Martial Arts, or KAMA, had “onenight, after a training session led her upsome stairs and kissed her with an open mouth. He thenkept sending her texts and even offered her privatekarate tuition in his home.” The girl has died since thealleged offences.

Jagdeep helps charity The coffers ofN e u r o m u s c u l a rCentre WestMidlands, a charity,got a boost of£904.02, thanks toJagdeep KaurSehmbi (pictured,centre) one of itstrustees, who hadorganised a charity event. The event featured Bhangratroupe Nachda Sansaar, henna artists Rinki Saggu andGurmit Bansal, Indian food and clothing stalls and more.The charity helps people with muscle disease. In the UK,over 60,000 people suffer from muscular dystrophy. Tofind out more visit www.nmcwestmids.co.uk

Organ donor waiting listThere are 1,016 patients in the West Midlands whoare in desperate need of a heart, lung, kidney or livertransplant. But the donor waiting list is like the lot-tery, it’s either win or lose, the latter being death insome cases. In the past five months, 13 patients wait-ing for a transplant have already died.

Holiday risks oninsurance

Almost a fifth of Brummies have admitted to havetaken the risk of going on holiday without travelinsurance. And almost 25% of Birmingham citizenshave said they buy travel insurance without evenchecking the policy to see if it covers their needs,according to new research by www.incahoot.com.

High-flier appointmentBirmingham Airport has appointed William Pearsonas its key sales representative. Dad-of-two MrPearson, 44, from Cheshire, is currently head of avia-tion sales at Manchester Airport. He will be spendinga great deal of time on the road and overseas, attend-ing the industry’s main global trade events.

MP spotted at Asda Tory MP Nadine Dorries, pictured,has been busier than usual. Lastweek, she did a three-hour stint in asupermarket to provide her daughterwith items for a first term at universi-ty. But, her daughter complained thateverything she was taking to universi-ty was labelled “Asda”. Oh dear.

Racist juniorsSchoolkids in Birmingham are the most racist andhomophobic in the country, according to a new reportby the Manifesto Club, the civil liberties group. Lastyear, more than 20,000 pupils aged 11 or youngerwere put on record for what were deemed ‘hate-crimes’. The records can be passed from primaries tosecondaries, or even handed to future employers oruniversities as part of a student reference.

Baroness ShreelaFlather, pictured,accused Pakistani andBangladeshi families inparticular of abusing thewelfare system. During adebate in the Lords lastTuesday on the WelfareReform Bill, the formerConservative peer, whonow sits as a cross-bencher, called for bene-fit cuts to discouragepeople from having extrachildren.“The minority com-

munities in this country,particularly thePakistanis and theBangladeshis, have verylarge numbers of chil-dren and the money thatfollows the child is anattraction. Nobody likesto accept that or talkabout it because it issupposed to be verypolitically incorrect.”“Well, I am politically

incorrect,” said the 67-year-old, “and there is

no doubt that six orseven children give you afar larger income thanthree or four. I think it isabout time that we stoppeople using children asa means of increasingthe amount of moneythat they receive.”The peer, born in

Lahore before the parti-tion of India, said theissue did not apply tofamilies of Indian origin.In addition, she claimedIndian families had a dif-ferent mentality toPakistani andBangladeshi communi-ties in the UK. “Indianshave fallen into the pat-tern here,” she toldpeers. “They do not havelarge families becausethey are like the Jews ofold. They want theirchildren to be educated.This is the other problem– there is no emphasison education in thePakistani and

Bangladeshi families.”Baroness Flather – the

great grand-daughter ofSir Ganga Ram, a notedengineer, philanthropistand agriculturalist inPunjab, India - called for agradual reduction in bene-fits in order to discouragelarge families and suggest-ed payments should bereduced after a couple’sfirst two children.The Welfare Reform

Bill is the biggest shake-up

of the benefits system for60 years. A universal pay-ment to replace 51income-related work-based benefits, such aschild tax credit, isplanned, as are stricterrules for people losingtheir benefits if they refusea job.In the UK, there are

1.5 million people whohave never worked. Threekey benefits – jobseekersallowance, housing bene-fit and income support –cost about £30 billion. TheBangladeshi population inBirmingham stands ataround 25,000 andPakistani, 200,000, thehighest of any localauthority in the UK. Inaddition, the Bangladeshisare the most likely Asiangroup to be renting fromBirmingham City Council– at about 22% - and hous-ing associations – at justover 14%.

People in some ethnic minority communities arehaving too many children in order to claim more ben-efits, the UK’s first female Asian peer has claimed.

Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or [email protected] Katwa

Midland Voice

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Charged with murderA suspect accused of the murder of RajkumarThurairajah from Nottingham, has appeared in court.Jure Slivnik, 30, was remanded in custody and willappear again on December 22. Mr Thurairajah, 45, wasfound with serious injuries at a flat in Radford lastWednesday. He was rushed to hospital but died laterfrom his wounds.

Why? Why? Why?Navaratri, the annual nine-night Indian festival beginsnext week. But why do Hindus celebrate this, and Diwalitoo? To find out, come to Shri Krishna Temple,Sparkbrook, Birmingham (B11 1JL) this Saturday (Sep24) at 6.30pm. The two-hour event will be hosted bypriest Rakeshbhai Bhatt. For more information, callorganiser Hemaben Chauhan on 07790 269833.


Ankur in Merseysideand Hindu CulturalOrganisation areorganising Navratri fes-tival in Liverpool.Navratri-is one of thegreatest Hindu festivalsCelebrated in manyforms. An ancientHindu festival originat-ing from Vedic times itcan be explained fromthe stories mentionedin the Hindu scriptures. Itsymbolises the triumph ofgood over evil. Navratri-meaning 'nine nights' inSanskrit ‘nava’ meansnine and ‘Ratri’ meaningnights. It coincides withthe harvest time, and goodharvest is celebrated byplanting nine differentkinds of food grains tooffer saplings in the puja.

The three goddess'sDurga, Laxshmi andSaraswati are worshippedas the manifestation ofshakti or cosmic energyand creative power. Thereis also the story of demonMahishasura and Durgamata, a battle for goodover evil which raged for 9nights, where eventuallythe good triumphed overevil. During Navratri thereis also the Durga puja,marks the occasion whenlord Shiva gave permis-sion to Durga to see hermother for nine days.

Shakti Vrund - a

Traditional Folk musicgroup will be performingauthentic Gujarati Garba-Rass-Ramjhaniyu-Sanedo-Hinch-Aarti-Stuti of ShriMaa Amba andRadhaKrishna. ShaktiVrund is led by RakeshJoshi, singer and compos-er based in Manchester.Group of ten musicianswill be performing joyfultraditional and SugamGujarati songs accompa-nied by Tabla, Dhol,Dholak, Bansuri,Harmonium, Keyboardand percussions. Pleasecome with your family andfriends to enjoy traditionalfolk music of the Gujaratand dance with the com-munity and students inLiverpool. The Navratrifestival will be celebratedevery night 8 pm till 11 pmfrom 28th September to5th October atRadhakrishna Temple, 235Edge Lane, Liverpool, L72PH.

Navratri 2011 inLiverpool

The British Indiancommunity in the UKcelebrated India'sIndependence Day atthe Indian GymkhanaClub in London onSunday 18thSeptember.

The celebrationwas organised by thecommunity, with thehelp of the IndianHigh Commission tothe UK, with a seriesof cultural pro-grammes includingone by students ofBharatiya VidyaBhavan, children'spainting competitionsand entertainmentprogrammes.

Addressing thegathering, Acting

Indian HighCommissioner to theUK Rajesh Prasadsaid he is happy thatthe Indian communitywas in the forefront inorganising the eventas a "community"event.

Describing Indiaas a diverse countrywith a large popula-tion, Prasad said, "weare proud that we arean open, free anddemocratic society". Referring to the vastprogress made byIndians in the UK, theActing HighCommissioner alsotold the Indian com-munity: "You havedone us proud".

British Indians in the UKcelebrates India's

Independence Day

An Al Qaeda fanatic whowas jailed for 10 years forhis part in a mass murderplot is back on the streetsafter just three yearsbehind bars.

Manchester taxi driverHabib Ahmed, now 32,was sentenced to 10 yearsin prison - nine for being amember of the terrorgroup and an additionalone year for possessing adocument for terror relat-ed purposes atManchester Crown Courtin 2008.

However, he has nowbeen freed on licence afterserving less than a third ofhis sentence and is livingin a bail hostel inManchester.

Habib, from northManchester, was caught inpossession of two diarieswhich had details of topAl-Qaeda operatives writ-ten in invisible ink -described in court as a ter-rorist's contact book.

The diaries were givento him by co-defendantRangzieb Ahmed, now 33,

also jailed for life, whoheaded a three-man alQaeda service cell whichwas preparing to committhe atrocities, the courtheard. Among the namesand phone numbers in thediaries were al Qaeda's

suspected former no 3,Hamza Rabia. Habib wasspotted leaving aManchester bail hostelthis weekend to visit hiswife, according to TheSun.

Habib Ahmed's wife,Mehreen Haji, 28, wascleared of two counts ofarranging funding for thepurposes of terrorism. TheNational OffenderManagement Service said:'Serious offenders onlicence are subject to strictconditions and controls.'

'Invisible ink' Al-Qaeda fanatic released

Habib Ahmed & Rangzieb Ahmed

Two brothers who made£995,915 in one of thebiggest ever "crash for cash"car insurance scams havebeen jailed.

Rezwan Javed, 34, andhis older brother Rehan, 36,who organised fraudulentclaims after bogus road acci-dents caused by other mem-bers of a crime group weresentenced to six and five

years at Minshull Streetcrown court, Manchester.They ran a company whichtook a cut of solicitors' refer-ral fees, courtesy car hire andthe cost of storage and recov-ery. In October 2008, anoth-er member of the gang,Mohammed Patel, was jailedafter admitting being thedriver in more than 90 colli-sions.

Brothers jailed over 'cashfor crash' insurance scam

A postman has been convict-ed for burning thousands ofitems of junk mail because itwas too heavy for him tocarry on deliveries.

Abdul Gafur objected toputting the 'bin fodder'through doors on his rounds,so he siphoned it out of hismail, burned some and keptpiles more in the garden of

his home. However, impos-ing a six month jail sentencesuspended for 18 monthsand ordering Gafur to carryout 120 hours of unpaidwork, Judge AnthonyGoldstaub QC said that theRoyal Mail was "a distin-guished British postal insti-tution renowned for its relia-bility."

Postman burned thousands of letters


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Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seenso euphoric on Monday morning, as theyexpected a couple of Oscars. British Indians inthe UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township ofMumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almostthe entire Bollywood waited in expectation,glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebra-tions as one by one, their heroes, the actors ofthe British Indian film and the music maestro, AR Rahman bagged the top awards in the worldof entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won theOscar after having missed it almost five timesearlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on acleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directedby American director Megan Mylan, won theOscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar

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On behalf of Arya Kanya GurukulPorbandar and Nanji Kalidas Mehta fam-ily, I sincerely express our deep sense ofgratitude for an excellent coverage of ourPlatinum Jubilee Celebration intimationin your editions of Asian Voice andGujarat Samachar.

The popularity of your well-readnewspapers is upto that extent a greatmore than 50 past student of ourGurukul had sent their emails asking fur-ther details of these milestone events.Many of them have read you paper inUSA through internet.

Congratulation for the worthiness ofGujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, afirst and foremost and English weekliesin Europe. we are indeed proud of you.

Suresh KothariPorbandar India

Arya Kanya Gurukul -Porbandar

It is reassuring that SC noticed trialby press and media, lying, cheating andbribery during 2002 riot trials, sufferingsof all accused and perversion of lawaffecting justice, decided not to issue ver-dict in Gujarat 2002 riots case.Disgruntled bigots are shamelesslydemonstrating against fasting by Modiji.

Spin doctors have started whisperingthat Modiji may be next prime minister.With many scandals that has embar-rassed UPA, this may snow-ball intoROAR, much to chagrin of anti Modi andfanatic communalists. Modiji’s may com-pete with other brilliant and intelligentcandidates e.g. Advaniji, Arun Jaitly,Jayalalitha, and Nitish. But inclusion ofRahul Gandhi as adversary is absurd.

America refused visa to Mr Modi nowpoints him as potential prime minister.Noting America’s quarrel with itsfavourite ally Pakistan and fate of formerallies Saddam Hussein and Osama binLaden, America’s praise of Modiji mustbe viewed with caution.

Rahul has no convincing experience,academic qualifications or credentialsexcept belonging to Nehru dynasty, but isdisplaying non Indian mentality inheritedfrom Italian mother. YET, Rahul mightbecome prime minister assisted byMuslim vote block and voting majoritywho are trapped in poverty, illiteracy,ignorance, may be bribed or bullied tovote for UPA.

Ramesh JhallaVia Email

SC reprieve for Modi in2002 Gujarat riot case A US congressional Research report

speculates that Narendara Modi could beBJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate in2014 Lok Sabha elections and he is verylikely face newly anointed congress secre-tary Rahul Gandhi.

The attempt by American congres-sional committee to project NarendraModi as the leader of the BJP is a delib-erate attempt to create disunity amongBJP leaders and allow Rahul Gandhi tobecome the Prime minster to continuedynastic rule. It is true that overseasGujaratis living in the UK and Americaare trying to project him as the futurePrime Minister of India.

There are several pitfalls if Modi isprojected as a future Prime Minister’scandidate. Gujarat is a middle size statein India with 60 million population. TheMuslim population in India is more than150 million. Modi is still unpopular withIndian Muslims especially living in theUK and America. The Indian Muslimsliving in Western countries succeeded inpersuading America and UK not to issuevisa to come to these countries. Modi isdenied visa in the name of personal secu-rity and the British labour party did notgrant a visa.

The regional parties in the South tendto support the Congress party and peoplein the North will not support Modibecause of the large number of Muslimsin Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal andAssam. It is true BJP needs a credibleleader to challenge Rahul Gandhi. BJPshould promote Sushma Swaraj, ShahNawaz Hussein, Ram Singh and Ravishanker Prasad. THE BJP has failed topromote young leaders and old leaderslike Advani is still in the limelight.

Arun VaidyanathanVia Email

Modi vs Rahul

It is the law of nature, higher onemay climb, spectacular is the fall. No fallcould be more total than the abject sur-render in the last four tests and the lossof ODI, an unparalleled whitewash in thehistory of Indian cricket. Dhoni and cohave not only let down their adoring fansbut dishonoured the country that hasgiven them untold riches and God likestature. In sports, it is but natural for oneside to lose. But this was gutless, prideless and shameful surrender worthy ofguillotine. Then the fault line is not withthe players alone but with BCCI whohave created IPL monster, the moneychurning but soul destroying machine. Inthe process they have not only margin-alised test match cricket but made playersso rich that there is no pride, no fight leftin them. They are more like pamperedBollywood stars than gusty cricketerswho could stand up to fast, rising ballsthat need courage and skill to play. Atleast in this department, Indian crick-eters are at the bottom of the league.

Dhoni, once a proud cricketer, a mas-ter batsman, is a pale shadow of his for-mer self, although his performance in thelast two ODI was on par. In India, it isnot how well you perform but who youknow dominates the selection process.

With Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman,Zahir Khan and perhaps Virendra Shevagon the verge of retirement, the future ofIndian cricket could not be bleaker.

Bhupendra M GandhiVia Email

India’s abject surrender

The recent riots that brought so muchmisery and shame to this country's repu-tation will soon be forgotten as otherevents take place in our fast moving dailylives. A possible radical cost effectivesolution for future riots could be triedand tested method used in India for othercountries.

Those convicted should be made toride on a donkey's back, with headshaven and walked through the local highstreet with 'brass bands' playing. Imaginethe novelty scene for the British publicand what a debate it will ignite.

I feel this will be very effective asthere is nothing worse even for a hardcore criminal to lose his/her dignity andpublicly humiliated.

Think about millions of pounds thatthe government will save from prosecu-tions, imprisonment and other costs.

And the cost of hiring donkeys couldbe a benefit for donkey sanctuaries. Onenever knows this form of punishment ifmade legal- can become international!!

Jagdish S VaghelaNeasden

Humiliation a deterrence

The Public and Commercial ServicesUnion announced that it will call anotherone-day national strike on 30 Novemberin protest at public-sector pensionchanges. The union, which represents280,000 civil servants, would be consult-ing with other unions about the possibil-ity of a coordinated walkout as part of itscampaign against the changes which willsee personal contributions increase by3% and a move from final salary to careeraverage pensions. Unison, Unite andGMB which represent teachers, nursesand firefighters will also join forces sothat there will be a concerted, coordinat-ed action the like of which has not beeseen here for 85 years.

As a retired Civil Servant, I haveevery sympathy with the civil and publicservants who will be striking against theproposals to make brutal changes in theirpensions. They have a valid grievance asthe expectations of their entire life are tobe taken away. People in the private sec-tor are envious of the people in the pub-lic sector but the huge amount of civilservants’ pensions quoted in the press areenjoyed by only the higher echelons ofthe service. The majority get only a pit-tance as the amounts are based on a for-mula of one eightieth of the number ofyears of service times the salary. So aclerical worker on say £15,000 pa will geta meagre £7,500 after serving a whopping40 years. The Government has alreadymade a switch in the rate at which pen-sion payments increase from the morefavourable retail price index (RPI) to theless generous consumer price index(CPI). This is fundamentally unfair.

Dinesh ShethNewbury Park, Ilford

Pensions Claw-back

In the history of mankind the date11th Sept., 2001 otherwise known as9/11 will go down as one of the mostcruel and barbaric acts that man has evercommitted against man. It will be remem-bered as the event when for the first timeever in the world history man has usedman as missiles to destroy life and prop-erty.

It is true Muslims were responsiblefor the attack on the World Trade Centre.It is obvious an action of this naturewould naturally invite a reaction.Unfortunately the reaction has cost evenmore lives and destroyed a huge numberof properties and industries causing mis-ery to millions of people. What is hap-pening is continuing acts of revenge andretribution derived from the concept of usand them or more appropriately usagainst them. It is a concept originatedfrom the Middle East, a concept that hasdivided the humanity into differentcamps with views and beliefs that natu-rally lead to conflict as is the case today.Could the reaction to the attack on theWTC be different to resolve the issue?

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Eye foran eye will make the whole world blind".He won the Indian independence for allIndians without firing a single shot. Buttoday while settling disagreementsrevenge and retribution have become thegeneral norm of human reaction. One cansee the reason why Gandhiji made such aprofound statement and in the context ofcontinuing international terrorism howvaluable is the meaning and substance ofsuch a statement.

Dr. Jatindra SahaVia email

Tenth anniversary of 9/11

I have attended AAA Event since last8 years on regular basis and have seenthis Award Event being improved andmanaged professionally each year.

Event on Friday 16th September 2011in my view was the best ever I haveattended and my compliments to entireteam of Asian Voice and GujaratSamachar.

I was impressed to see the awardsgoing to deserving candidates who werechosen by an independent jury consistingof eminent individuals not restricted toAsian Community only.

Words said at the award ceremonystill echoes in my ears – “Without CBthere would be no Asian Voice, NoGujarati Paper of high esteem and aboveall there would have been no AAACeremony. How true is this statement aswe accept such events without muchthough not realising that such mega –events are perception of an individualassisted by aspiring work force who arededicated to the cause to serve the read-ership and community it works for.

Words are not enough to express myappreciations.

CJ RabheruVia Email

AAA Event on Friday 16thSeptember 2011

DisclaimerAsian Business Publications Ltd

(ABPL) is not in any way responsiblefor the goods and services rendered byits advertisers. The ABPL managementaccepts all advertisements in good

faith and it is entirely up to readers toverify advertisers’ products and servic-es, should they feel the need to do so.

YOUR VOICE

More on page 13

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 1111EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

True Sewa occurs whenone carries out an actwithout expecting any-thing in return. Whilstdoing this, one is servingGod himself. Sewa is animportant aspect ofHindu Dharma and it isonly termed ‘selfless’ if itis performed solely in thetime of great need suchas feeding the homelessor reading to the blind.

An act of Sewa canbe big, small, long, short,quiet or even loud. It canvary from a hugefundraising event, clean-ing up a park, organisingbhajans at a mandir toserving food at a soupkitchen.

Keeping this in mindon the 25th September itis National Sewa Day, aday dedicated to sewaand everything it entails.Following the success ofNational Sewa Day lastyear where over a 100Sewa events were organ-ised across the UK withover 5000 people simul-taneously volunteering

their time and efforts torelieve poverty and hard-ship, an issue still promi-nent in today’s society,the initiative has nowgone global. This year, 10different countries willparticipate in the fulfill-ing act of Sewa, fromlocal communities touniversities across thenation.

We as the NationalHindu Students Forum(NHSF) UK are encour-aging all Hindu Societiesacross the UK to partakein an act of Sewa on thisday. NHSF Manchesterare planting a tree inWhitworth Park inManchester to symbolisethe new year ahead, andthey are also doing 12hours of continuousSewa including activitiessuch as painting, clothessorting and a soup run.NHSF Birmingham arevolunteering at AcornsChildren’s Hospicewhere they are aiming tomake the hospice a morepleasant environment for

the children by cleaningtoys, tidying the outdoorgarden area and otherhousekeeping jobs.NHSF Aston are lendinga helping hand by assist-ing new students moveinto their accommoda-tion. They are also aidinga local mandir with themaintenance of thepremises, helping withaarti and prasad prepara-tion as well as generalcleaning. NHSFSheffield are also helpingclean their local mandirand parking area. Theseare only a few of thegreat Sewa activities ourchapters are organising.

A small helping handmakes such a large differ-ence and can be an inspi-ration to thousands. IfYuvraj Singh can supportthe cause why can’t we.Go out there and make adifference.

www.sewaday.org.ukhttp://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=vp08mwVqQF4 (Yuvraj SinghSupporting Sewa Day)

By Parth Depala

Service to man is service to god

National Hindu StudentsForum (UK)

Education is the most importantthing that we can give to ourchildren and whilst in good trustwe give our children to‘strangers’ to teach them. Quitefrankly, good quality educationis rare and hard to come by as itinvolves many things. For me,quality education is concernedwith the development of themind and the intellect. It is anactivity whose main purpose isto enhance the student’s abilityto use their mind for own per-sonal pleasure or gain.

Good education, I believeshould be based on the ability ofthe student to understand the

subject taught and to build onthat foundation. An architectknows that the deeper the foun-dation the taller the building hecan build. At The Learning Hub,our tuition is aimed at childrenwith a focus on improving theirunderstanding. To us that is thefoundation from which the childcan grasp new concepts and top-ics quickly and talk to othersabout it confidently. We do thisby giving the child differentflavours of the same topic over aperiod of time. This gives thechild time to absorb the materialand relate it to everyday prob-lems.

Whilst this is ongoing,another facet we incorporateinto our teaching at TheLearning Hub is to encouragethe child to interact with theteacher, other members of thestaff and their fellow students todevelop good reciprocity andcooperation. This is important,for education to us also meansbuilding on the child’s social

skills with both the young andold to help improve their confi-dence and communication skills.

Therefore, good educationcomes from having good teach-ers, who are passionate aboutthe subject they are teaching andhave a degree of patience thatallows them to communicatethis to their students in a simpleand practical manner. Theyshould have a high level ofunderstanding and utilise a sys-tematic approach geared to thesuccess of the students.

At The Learning Hub, we area specialist centre for the allimportant 11plus exams takenby children for entrance to selec-tive schools i.e. Grammar andIndependent schools. If theseresults are to go by then TheLearning Hub has met its targetof becoming a Centre ofExcellence in what we do. For, inthe past 2 years we have suc-ceeded in helping to securemany places at these prestigiousschools. In brief, 9 children

have secured scholarships and atotal of 153 places have beenawarded to various Grammarand Independent schools.

Why Grammar schools? Wellsimply because they are highachieving academic schoolsdelivering results similar toIndependent fee paying schoolsbut without the fees. In this eco-nomic climate, this could mean asaving of about £100,000 overthe period of the secondary edu-cation received by the child anddoes not factor in the GCSE or‘A’ level qualifications obtained.Nor the ability to thereafter goand study at a top university andthe many economic rewards itbrings.

Learning for me is where thestudent is comfortable, enjoyingthe teaching and having fun.Whilst this may seem to contra-dict the traditional twentiethcentury view that it should com-prise of plain simple boring hardwork, quite frankly that is nega-tive to learning and may cause

problems later on in life. The type of work we cover

complements the national cur-riculum and also designed toaccelerate the child’s learningprogress so that they actually dostart to excel at their school. Tohelp this process of acceleratedlearning, we write our ownmaterial to compliment themany resources we have accessto.

All this is then wrapped in aseamless manner of regularassessment with an approachthat the child should be movedup to the next level in a system-atic and positive way.

I believe, good education isbrought about by good teachersworking to a successful method-ology where the success of thestudent is more important thananything else.

I hope the above has beeninformative but please feel freeto contact us via email at [email protected] for anyhelp or questions you may have.

Good education or Good teachersWhat do we really want for our child?

Website: www.tlhgroup.co.uk | Email: [email protected]

For: 11+, KS1, KS2, KS3 & GCSEs | Address: Vale Farm, Watford Road, North Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 3HG

Rakesh Joshi

A New magazine and web-site helping Indian andPakistani students settleinto British culture islaunched

The UK has been wel-coming students fromIndia and Pakistan forgenerations. Statisticsshow the number ofIndian students in GreatBritain has almost dou-bled in the past 12 yearsand the number ofPakistani students isgrowing year on year.

Both India andPakistan are part of thetop ten non-EU sendingcountries, with Indian stu-dents making up the sec-ond highest number ofinternational students inBritain.

The latest figures fromthe Higher EducationStatistics Agency (HESA)show there were 40,350Indian students and

10,400 Pakistani studentsin higher education (HE)institutions in 2009-10.Despite fears that strictervisa restrictions will causea downturn in the numberof international students,the British Council esti-

mates the demand forUK higher educationfrom overseas studentswill grow by eight percent a year.

However, the GBBag has found whilstIndian and Pakistanistudents excel in theirstudies, they find liv-ing in the UK a bit of aculture shock as it’s sodifferent to their ownculture.

S w a r n a l a t h aKanagala, fromMumbai studying foran MA in Marketingand Advertising atLeeds UniversityBusiness School said:“When I arrived in the

UK a year ago I hadabsolutely no knowledgeof British culture andwhilst the university pro-vided practical help it was-n’t able to help me adaptto my new surroundings.”

New magazine and website launchedto help overseas students settle better

Queen's Guard and GB Bag'sAlicia Liu at the stall in King's

College, Londonphoto courtesy: Stuart John Stafford

Hundreds of first-year stu-dents will be forced to live inmakeshift cabins as universi-ties scramble to find housingfor record-breaking numbers.At Lincoln University, 200freshers will be staying inportable buildings with elec-tric heating, a shower, toilet

and two single beds, reportedby the Daily Mail. Despitepaying fees of around ￡3,000 per year, the fresherswill spend several monthsliving in the hastily arrangedhousing, which is monitoredby CCTV cameras.

Lincoln has a record

3,000 students starting at theuniversity this week. Therehas been a rush to take upplaces at institutions acrossthe country because this isthe academic last year beforethe tuition fee hike brings theprice of studying up toaround £9,000 per year.

The first free school forMuslims in the countrywill open in Blackburn,Lancashire, next year.

The business case forTauheedul Islam Boys'School in Darwen hasbeen approved by theGovernment.

But opponents havedescribed the decision as'extremely bad news' forcommunity cohesion andclaim it will deprive stateschools of vital funds.

Tauheedul Islam Girls'School principal MuftiHamid Patel, who madethe application with gov-ernors, has vowed that theschool will be a beacon to

raise overall achievementsin all schools in Blackburnwith Darwen.

Mr Patel said he haddeveloped a curriculumwhere the school wouldplay an active role in allareas of the communityand also had visions toenrol students into univer-sity at 16.

The detailed planincludes all students com-pleting 500 hours of com-munity service throughouttheir school life, spe-cialisms in sport and theBig Society, outdoor pur-suits such as canoeing andmountain climbing morethan once a year and a fin-

ishing school.Non-pupils will be able

to study GCSE and A-levelrevision sessions in areassuch as Darwen andShadsworth. And aSports' Academy for pri-mary school children willbe created. Since the planwas first mooted around700 pre-registrationadmission forms havebeen submitted by parents- including from London,Birmingham, Liverpool,Dewsbury and Bolton - forthe first 150 places. Only50 per cent of the admis-sions will be allocated tomembers of the school'saffiliated mosques.

First free school for Muslims gets the go-ahead

Freshers forced to live in makeshift cabins

The Learning HubTel: 0208 908 0123


Scrutator’sBetter late than never. The US administration issued a state-ment describing the Indian Mujaheddin “as a global terroristorganisation with significant links to Pakistan,” according toChidanand Rajghatta, the Times of India's admirableWashington Correspondent (September 15). The US reactioncomes in the wake of the recent bombings in Mumbai andNew Delhi, for which the Mujaheddin claimed responsibility.The US State Department statement linked the Mujaheddin toPakistan terror groups such as the Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT)and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Harakat ul-Jihad-Islami(HUJI), the aim being to attack non-Muslims “in furtherance ofits ultimate objective – an Islamic Caliphate across South Asia.”Two Kashmiri youths had been arrested by the Indian policefor the New Delhi blast, said a BBC World Service report.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph's Ben Farmer (September16) described a fresh row between the US and Pakistan, withUS Defence Secretary Leon Panetta complaining that repeatedpleas to Islamabad to act against the the Haqqani network,which Washington believes was responsible for the recent ter-rorist attacks on Kabul, had brought no joy in the US capital.The Taliban-allied faction was operating from safe havens inPakistan, but US representations had “made very littleprogress.” Washington apparently was not going to take thislying down, with Mr Panetta telling reporters that Pakistanshould be aware “we're going to do everything we can todefend our forces.”

Ben Farmer: “Western intelligence officials believe Pakistanstill uses the [Haqqani] network , which is based in NorthWaziristan, as a strategic weapon to counter India inAfghanistan. This is denied by Pakistan.”

An increasingly exasperated Leon Panetta thundered:“Time and again we've urged the Pakistanis to exercise theirinfluence over these kinds of attacks from the Haqqanis. Andwe have made very little progress in that area.” They attackthe Americans and then “escape back into what is a safe havenin Pakistan.” Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman TehminaJanjua took exception to Mr Panetta's words, saying, “Webelieve these remarks are not in line with the co-operationthat exists between the two countries.” Pakistani PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gillani cancelled his forthcoming visit tothe US, citing the monsoon floods in the country's Sindhprovince. The plot thickens.

Tiger awakes

The Financial Times Defencesupplement (September 13) car-ried an obligatory piece byJames Lamont - “A tiger awakesto challenge Chinese military”.He appears to suggest that theIndian tiger's claws and teethwere not in the best shape to seeoff the dragon next door. Therewas the customary jibe at thequality of Russian aircraft, withcrocodile tears shed for the“brave Indian pilots”. But hisprimary concern was that Indiasettle for the Eurofighter air-craft, which is produced by aconsortium of Germany, Britain,Spain and Italy. India is soon tofinalise its long-awaited orderfor fourth-generation 126 medi-um-role aircraft, worth $11 bil-lion, as part of its military mod-ernisation. In these hard timethe deal could be a life-saver forhard pressed European andBritish companies. That said, Mr Lamont would

do well to ask why the US mili-tary had conducted more wargames with India's armed forcesthan with those of any othercountry. This includes its vaunt-ed Nato partners.

Sharp teeth

Read the following report byRetired Air Commodore JasjitSingh in the Indian Express(June 30 2004) and you'll soonsee why. Apropos of the out-come of the US-India simulatedair combat code-named 'CopeIndia' earlier that year, the Air

Commodore wrote that theUnited States Air Force was“shaken by the results, ” accord-ing to headlines in professionalmilitary publications abroad.The actual flight paths, tacticsand results were tracked by stateof the art electronic systems.According to the US AviationWeek & Space Technology, saidthe Air Commodore the ratio ofkills were 7 American planesshot down to 3 Indian, withIndia's Russian-built SU-30MKI'shooting down' all four of theUS F- 15C in one engagement.As if this wasn't bad enough the'venerable MiG-21 at which MrLamont had poked fun, got a'kill' of its own, shooting down aF-15C, a top US warplane as ithappens.

Spellbound Americans

There followed a similar exercisethe next year (2005). Shiv Aroorcovered the event for the IndianExpress (November 18, 2005),in which he quoted the USPacific Force's Lt General DaveDeptulah as saying: “I havenever seen a better executedexercise in my 29 years of serv-ice with the USAF......Every sin-gle objective of this exercise hasbeen met....It was an exercise onhow to operate together.....Wewill now be prepared if calledupon in the future for a contin-gency, unnamed and unknown.We will be in a position torespond. We can get onto thetask of resolving crisis situationstogether without wasting time.”Enough said

Pipavav-Mazgaontie-up for warships

The Economic Times(September 15) reported the tie-up between Pipavav Defenceand Offshore EngineeringCompany and state-ownedMazgaon Dock is the first pri-vate-public partnership in theconstruction of warships for theIndian Navy. The joint venture,named Mazagaon Dock PipavavLtd. Has been listed on theBombay Stock Exchange. Pipavav, in Gujarat, has been

on an expansion drive followingthe government's clearance lastMarch permitting the companyto build warships, submarinesand other vessels for the navy.The company has won substan-tial orders for the design andconstruction of five offshorenaval patrol vessels. It has ropedin prominent foreign partnerssuch as America's NorthropGrumman and the UK'sBabcock Group. Pipavav hasalso signed a protocol withRussia's state-owned RosoboronExport for defence co-operationin foreign markets. Pipavav hasthe most up to date productionfacilities at its shipyards.

Trials commencefor stealth frigate

A Press Trust of India (PTI)report (September 1) tells of thecommencement of sea trials ofthe Indian Navy's first of threeadvanced stealth frigates beingbuilt by Russia. 'Teg', is the frigate of Project

11356, also known as TalwarClass. The two warships of thesame class are Tarkash' and'Trikand' are in various stages ofconstruction at the Yantar ship-yard in Russia's Baltic enclave ofKaliningrad. The new frigatesworth $1.5 billion, will beequipped with the force multipli-er BrahMos supersonic cruisemissiles. Teg will be delivered tothe Indian Navy early in 2012,the Tarkash will follow later inthe year, while the Trikand'sdelivery is expected in 2013. Another Russian shipyard

has already delivered INSTalwar, INS Trishul and INS

Tabar, all stealth frigatesequipped with the most lethalweapon systems.

First batch for spacevarsity

The Hindu newspaper(September 10) reported thegraduation of the first batch ofstudents from India's first uni-versity devoted exclusively to

space science and technology. Atone stroke the 117 studentsfilled the Indian Space ResearchOrganisation's filled almost halfISRO's annual recruitmentneeds. And they have kept theagency's talent pool alive and ingood order, said ISRO scientists.The Indian Institute of Space

Science and Technology wasestablished in September 2007,the brainchild of the ISROChairman at the time G.Madhavan Nair who was con-cerned at the loss of staff fromISRO's eight centres to theindustrial sector. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh lent a sympa-thetic ear to Dr Nair's proposalfor an exclusive centre for spacescience. Theinstitution wasestablished ona 55 acre siteas a matter ofnational prior-ity, thanks theefforts of thetwo men. Nowthe tide isturning. IISTDirector, DrK . S. D a s g u p t a ,said: “AtISRO, our stu-dents start outwith a packageof Rs 40,000 (a month)......Thereare many hidden benefits suchas staff quarters, loans, medicaldisbursement, besides overseastrips.” According to DrDasgupta, youngsters now do

not think twice about joining thespace agency. This year theThiruvananthapuram- basedinstitute received 93,000 appli-cations for 150 seats comparedto around 80,000 last year. The four-year course is state-

funded. Tuition is free, so areboard and lodging and books.“More than meeting meeting ourown requirements, we mean tocatch young minds and groom

them for ISRO,” said DrDasgupta. The IIST Chancelloris Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, formerPresident of India and a distin-guished rocket scientist.Similar organistions such as

HAL, DRDO etc also need largenumbers of aerospace engineers.They, too, may embark on simi-lar educational ventures of theirown to attract the country'shomegrown talent.

Indian help for Africa

India has pledged $8 million toAfrican countries stricken bydrought and famine, such asSomalia, Kenya. Ethiopia andDjibouti. The assistance, which

will be channelled through theWorld Food Programme. Indiahas also contributed $1.5 millionto the African Union Trust Fundand $0.5 million to the UN TrustFund (Business Line,September 14).

Vietnam, India ties

The French monthly Le Mondediplomatique (August 2011)published a thoughtful analysison the close India-Vietnam rela-tionship by Saurav Jha. It isfounded on close geopoliticalinterests, with both countriesalert to China's increasinglyaggressive behavior overBeijing's strident claims to theSouth China Sea. India'sForeign Minister is to visitHanoi shortly, Beijing haswarned New Delhi against join-ing Vietnam in exploring itswaters for oil and gas since thiswas disputed territory. But sowas Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,where Beijing was involved ininfrastructure projects. What issauce for the goose must besauce for the gander, countersNew Delhi. The regional bullyhas to be faced down. Watch thisspace.

African countries stricken by drought and famine

Russia starts sea trials of Indian Navy’s Stealth Frigate Teg

Students taking their degrees at the Space Science and Technology University

MEDIA WATCH


Widely acknowledged as being one of the UK’sleading law firms specialising in national and regionalresidential and commercial property development,Harold Benjamin Solicitors has grown steadily overrecent years to incorporate additional specialistdepartments in dispute resolution and litigation,corporate and commercial, private client, family andemployment.

Today, we offer a full range of specialist skills toboth individuals as well as businesses in areasincluding Commercial and Residential PropertyDevelopment, Planning, Commercial Leasing,Corporate, Commercial, Information Technology,Commercial and Property Litigation, CommercialProperty Investment, Landlord and Tenant,Employment, Private Client, Family, Wills andProbate.

Spotlight on COMMERCIAL PROPERTYINVESTMENT

Each month we will be taking an in-depth look at oneof the services offered by the team of lawyers atHarold Benjamin. This month we turn the spotlighton the firm’s Commercial Property Investmentdepartment.

Headed by Vijay Parikh and supported by partnerVarsha Sood and associate solicitor Milli Shah, thespecialist property investment service was set up lastyear to target the sub-continent and India.

Complementing the already well-established andhighly-regarded real estate funding and propertydevelopment departments, Vijay and his teamspecialise in servicing inward investment from Indiainto London and the south east commercial propertymarket as well as outward investment from the UK.

Offering clients a fully-integrated service to meettheir individual commercial objectives, the team hasparticular expertise in investment, acquisitions anddisposals and is frequently involved in handlingmulti-million pound transactions of large commercialunits including warehouses, shopping centres andretail park units.

In addition to high net worth individuals, privateand public companies and LLPs, the team has a wideand diverse range of clients drawn from the Indianand Asian communities both in London and on thesub-continent as well as east Africa. The departmentalso has strong connections in India with largecorporate organisations and high net worthindividuals.

The team is highly successful and efficient in allaspects of commercial investment. Within less than ayear the team has concluded in excess of £60millionof commercial property transactions.

Hill House, 67-71, Lowlands RoadHarrow, Middlesex HA1 3EQ

Tel: 020 8422 5678

[email protected]

www.haroldbenjamin.com

ASK HAROLD BENJAMIN

Each month we are inviting our readers to send inany questions they may have relating to that month’s‘Spotlight’ feature. If you have any questions thatyou would like to put to Vijay and his team, pleaseemail your question together with your name andcontact details, to: [email protected], you can write to Vijay Parikh at theaddress below or email [email protected]

All questions submitted will be treated as strictlyconfidential.

Varsha Sood, Vijay Parikh and Milli Shah

Over the past 14 years, my view has not changed thatUK should join the Euro currency and abandon thePound Sterling. In 2000, the Sterling exchange rate was120 compared to 100 in 2005 and 80 in 2010 when val-ued against the Euro. 60% of our import export businessis with Europe.

Thus in 2000 our export prices were 20% higher than2005 and import prices 20% lower. In 2010, our exportprices were 20% lower and import prices were higher.With such fluctuations in prices both ways, for the pastdecade we have never figured out in which productsand/or services we are “competitive” with Europeanprices and in which ones we are not with our main part-ner.

Hence we in the UK do not really know in whichdirection and in what industry sectors we should investmore so that we could export more and in what industrysectors we should disinvest. If there is price transparen-cy on a minute by minute business between UK pricesand EU prices, and that is only possible if we had thesame currency, we may gradually start producing theright goods and the right services at the right prices andbecome a major exporter like Germany worldwide.

All the current ideas for economic growth I hear andread about from all the three political parties such asdropping the 50% tax rate, or printing money, or lowinterest rate, or cracking down on tax evasion, or cuttingbureaucracy and waste, or enterprise zones, or lendingmore to small businesses, or slowing the rate at whichpublic sector spending is being cut, etc. are tinkering onthe edges and not taking the bull by its horns.

Nagindas KhajuriaVia Email

Is UK serious about economic growth?

I was a subscriber to AV and GS in the past.However the inclusion of advertisements by babas,tantrics, palmists etc, made me believe that the manage-ment had financial interests at heart at the risk of plac-ing the vulnerable and gullible readers at the mercy ofthe advertisers.

I had stopped my subscription within one year. However, recently I decided to restart the subscrip-

tion. I was delighted to see that such unsavoury adver-tisements had disappeared. Mr C B Patel’s public renun-ciation of these advertisements needed much courageand determination at the prospect of losing lucrativeadvertisement revenue. All I can say here is that ABPLGroup made the right decision for the good of the com-munity.

The publication with interesting articles, news andcomments not only from India but also around the worldis a welcoming change. Every week I eagerly look for-ward to the range and the depth of the published mate-rial.

Added to this pioneering step change in publication,ABPL has also led on public events and celebrations.This has forged a sense of identity, well being and pridenot only amongst the fortunate enough to attend butalso to the ones reading about them post event.

Another mark of progress is the publications relatingto the other Asian Communities like Tamils, Punjabisand target topic magazines etc. This shows that theABPL from its origins of a Gujarati Community publish-ing house has moved onto a true Asian identity. I wouldlove to see articles on other Asian communities startingfrom Muslims, Dalits, Adivaasi etc., communities ofIndia. Our younger generation needs to be informed ofand the elders need to be reminded of our roots

I should not forget to mention the deep desire andambition Mr C B Patel fosters of encouraging and sup-porting the young Asian generation in the UnitedKingdom. It is very heart warming to see young staff

Advertisements by babas, tantrics,palmists and healers

YOUR VOICE

playing a key role and contributing to the growth of theABPL Group.

I must congratulate the ABPL Group for providingall this for a mere £30.00 annual subscription for AsianVoice and Gujarat Samachar. No household should bewithout a subscription.

May the ABPL Group continue its golden marchtowards the betterment of the community in UK. It is nolonger an ethnic publishing house but a true communityspirit forging publication leading from the front.

Manji KaraHarrow

Despite optimistic predictions back in March for a‘scorching’ August, the reality is that summer 2011 hasbeen a cold, damp and disappointing wash out. Althoughthis has been unwelcome news for stay-cationers and

Rise in seasonal sales ofIndian Food

tourists, Indian foodbrand Patak’s has beenmaking the most of thecool summer.

MET office figuresshow that the UK’s aver-age temperature fromJune 1 to August 15 wasonly 57F (13.9C) – thelowest for 13 years. Interms of unit sales, sum-mer 2011 saw a leap ofone million units (5.4m)compared to summer2010 (4.4m).

Nic Yates, MarketingController for Patak’ssaid: “Summer 2011 hasseen a significant year onyear increase in summersales for Patak’s products.We attribute this uplift toour recent advertisingcampaign highlighting theversatility of Patak’spastes in recipes through-out the year, and appro-priate in-store promotion-al activity, combining withthe cooler weather.”

Patak’s will be spon-soring this year’s NationalCurry Week (9th – 15thOctober) for the firsttime. For more informa-tion on how you can getinvolved, visitwww.pataks.co.uk

Anjali Patak

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 201114 COMMUNITY/ART

Q & A: Visa to IndiaWhat is Renunciation/Surrender of IndianPassports

Under the Indian law, peo-ple of Indian origin, who haveacquired foreign nationality,are required to surrender theirIndian passport (nationality)to the High Commission ofIndia in London or at therespective Indian consulatesat Birmingham andEdinburgh before submittingtheir visa applications.

What documents do I need to surrender my IndianPassport

Documents Required for Surrender of IndianPassports

Duly filled application form Original Indian Passport (Last/Valid Indian pass-

port at the time of Naturalization)Self attested photocopy of Indian passport (Used

Visa Pages)Self attested photocopy of British / Foreign

PassportSelf attested photocopy of British / Foreign

Naturalisation certificateProcessing time would be a minimum of 13-14

working days; it may take longer in certain cases. Alldecisions are at sole discretion of the HighCommission of India, London and its Consulates inthe United Kingdom.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and doesnot guarantee a Surrender Certificate. The HighCommission of India or its Consulates reserve theright to ask for additional documents if required.What is the fee for Surrendering my Indian Passport?

Mode of payment could be Cash, Debit or CreditCard (except American Express Card), Postal Order orBank Draft payable to “VF Services UK Ltd”

The Government of India has fixed a fee forrenouncing the Indian Citizenship / Surrender OfIndian Passport based on the date, the Person ofIndian Origin, has acquired British/ForeignCitizenship. The fee has been fixed w.e.f. 01.06.2010 asunder:-

*The fee in the table is inclusive of the £2 ConsularSurcharge.

Can I post my Indian Passport SurrenderApplication?

Applications can also be sent by post to our cen-tralised postal processing centre at the address listedbelow. Postal applications require a minimum of 10-14working days to be processed. This does not includethe period when applications are in transit to and fromthe High Commission of India or its ConsulateGeneral of India in United Kingdom.

India Visa Application Centre1-3, Canalside, Uxbridge RoadHayes, Middlesex, UB4 0JN

For further information please visit our websitein.vfsglobal.co.uk

For more information regarding any quires about

Indian Visa please contact by email or post:


Customer Relations Department.

India Visa Application Center,

60-62 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

Connect

India Connect - your questions answeredon India visas” a service offered by

India

Jiten Vyas, VFS Global

Special Edition - October 2011Festival of light

DiwaliDear Readers,

Diwali is a month away. The New Year is knocking at the doorwaiting to bring in colours and light to our lives with fervour of joyand ever lasting happiness. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar asevery year will be publishing the ‘Diwali Special’ Magazine for ourfabulous and supportive readers like yourself. If you think you would like to contribute to our unique Diwali issue, why don't youwrite in English on either of the following topics:1. One of your favourite childhood Diwali memories or2. A particular charity you have supported in cash or kind or3. Your first Diwali in the UK and how you spent it

Please note that your articles must not be more than 500 words and should beemailed to Aveditorial along with your full name and contact details [email protected]. Last day of entry is Sunday 9th October 2011.

- Asian Voice

An event to promote andcelebrate South Asiandance forms is takingplace in Leicester nextmonth (October). TheNational Symposium forSouth Asian Dance will beheld at the Curve Theatrein Leicester City Centreon Friday 28th October.Organisers at the Centrefor Indian Classical Danceand associate partners andsupporters hope that theevent will enable SouthAsian dance to reach awider national audience.

The symposium is expect-ed to attract potential

dance artists, agencies,promoters, educational-ists, organisations, artsofficers and dance aca-demics from across theUK.

The Centre for IndianClassical dance is basedin the East Midlands andworks with students,dancers and arts organi-sations across the UK.Set up in 1981, the centrehas charitable status andaims to promote knowl-edge, understanding andappreciation of Indian

dance and culture withinthe diverse culture ofBritain.

National symposium planned topromote South Asian Dance in the UK

Shoppers at Asda super-stores across the UK havehelped British charityMuslim Aid raise over£11,000 towards tacklingglobal poverty thisRamadan.

Muslim Aid volunteersvisited Asda stores inLondon, Manchester,Birmingham, Leicesterand Nottingham thisAugust during the Muslimholy month of Ramadan.Volunteers helped Asdacustomers pack theirshopping and collecteddonations for the charity’sRamadan campaign.

To mark the end of theRamadan campaign andjoin customers in cele-brating Eid, five Asdasuperstores in London

and Birmingham held spe-cial Eid parties onSaturday 3 September.Activities at the Asda Eidcelebrations included face

painting, henna artistesand special Eid gift boxesfor children. Customerswere also treated to spe-cial recitals by interna-tionally renowned IslamicNasheed singers from thegroup Labbayk.

Donations from cus-tomers will go towardssaving lives and alleviat-ing the suffering of thou-sands of men, women andchildren affected by thedroughts in East Africa.Muslim Aid is continuingits fundraising efforts tohelp tackle the deepeningcrisis and restore stability.

Asda customers help Muslim Aid

By Rudy Otter

Office talk filled the air atEarls Court but it had noth-ing to do with gossipingaround the water cooler.This was the second annualexhibition of an impressiveevent called "office" whichended its two-day run on16th September, havingenlightened personal andexecutive assistants andoffice managers on all thelatest developments to helpthem do a better job andprogress their careers.

More than 5000 visitorsinteracted with 175exhibitors to learn moreabout how to make the bestof their office routines withseminars and talks given byexperts ranging from "look-ing good, feeling good" to"how to get the recognitionyou deserve" and "winningpeople over".

Among the Asians I metwere Jayna Patel, confer-ence and events sales man-ager of One Great GeorgeStreet, Westminster, anaward-winning venue offer-ing office personnel 19meeting rooms and cateringfor "anything from six to600 people," Jayna told me.She, like the other Asians Ispoke to, were there toenhance office life in everyway with a variety of prod-ucts and services.

Imran Malik, LondonCity's district key accountexecutive of Shred-it.Manchester, told me thecompany provides a "secureinformation destructionservice" to security-con-scious organisations, oper-ating from more than 140

How to go up the office ladderbranches in 16 countries.

Sabrina Aziz, accountmanager for the Life inMotion group in centralLondon, provides a "one-stop shop" for travel, event-arranging, accommodationand concierge services"

Swati Bhargava gave upher investment banking jobto start Pouring Pounds, acash back website thatoffers office managers, per-sonal assistants and othersthe opportunity to earn dis-counts if they make theirbookings for everythingfrom travel and hotelaccommodation to shop-ping via her site. "Earningcash backs every time youshop at more than 2,300top brands always comes asa welcome surprise," shesaid.

Harriet Harman QC MPaddressed a dinner tolaunch the campaign of DrOnkar Sahota, LabourGLA candidate for Ealingand Hillingdon at TheCrown ConferenceCentre, South Ruislip onFriday 9th September2011. Around four hun-dred community represen-tatives and Labour Partymembers and supporters

attended the event includ-ing local GLA AssemblyMembers Murad Qureshiand Navin Shah, LondonMEP Claude Moraes,local Labour MPs StevePound, Virendra Sharmaand John McDonnell andEaling Council LeaderJulian Bell and council-lors from Ealing andHillingdon.

Harriet Harman addresses Dr OnkarSahota’s GLA Campaign Launch


This story starts, as do all,with a mighty King, invited to a ball,

His biggest worry though, was to have his importance grow.

And the only way he knew how to dothat,

was to have a new wardrobe, stat.So he sent far and wide,

and weavers from all across theKingdom tried.

They wove, they stitched and theysewed,

but none could please the King, withtheir show.

'T was then that two weavers appeared,Tiny lot and generally weird.

'We shall weave you a suit, Sire,''That shall be mightier that all your

attire.''You see, this suit shall remain invisible,'

'To all but the wisest possible,''Anyone who cannot see the suit,'

'Is unfit for office and should get theboot.'

The King was ecstatic, he danced forjoy.

Now he would see the simpletons in hisemploy.

'You go ahead. You weave that suit,''And I shall cover you head to toe in

loot.'The weavers grinned, Oh did they wink,This King was not as wise as he would

think.They asked for silk, thread and tools of

gold,All these went to the market to be sold,Oh, a huge profit did the weavers make,With the King's treasury at their stake.

Finally, came the day of the ball,

And the weavers arrived, in their handwas the shawl,

The King gaped and he stared,He could not see the shawl, he

declared.'Ah! Then you are a simpleton, my King''You are not fit for this gorgeous thing.''No, No. That is not true,' the King said,

'I was only joking and admiring thethread.'

Promptly did the King then wear,the suit and set about combing his hair.

In his new suit, he strutted, for all tosee,

his procession, marching as quick ascan be.

'How beautiful are your clothes, King,'the crowd, as one voice did sing.

'But he has nothing on at all,'screamed a child, not two feet tall.The King was shocked and knew,himself a fool and his clothes see

through.The procession must go on, the King did

feign,But since that day he was never seen

again.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Short Story by Neha GargBe a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style

to share with us, please write to Shree at [email protected]

Lately there are moredesigner collaborationson the high street thanyou can shake a stick at. Ican’t even count howmany of them werelaunched last year, andsome were far morememorable than others;but I still find it hard notto get excited every timea Roksanda Illincic forWhistles, or Preen forTopshop is announced.How else will a cash-strapped girl acquire alabel that’s eluded herwardrobe so far?

My first attempt tobuy something high onthe low, started withMatthew Williamson atH&M. And it was quitethe experience. I wasn’tmad enough to queue upfor two days before thelaunch. I was being sensi-ble and only ventured onday Four, only to findthat it was a warzone in-store; I being the kind ofgirl who would ratherbuy an item untried (onecan always return it)rather than brave thethirty-deep dressing-room queues. This timehowever, I soldiered on,but despite the persist-ence, I found that notonly were all the greatpieces gone, but even thecrappy ones weren’tavailable in my size any-more. All it did for mewas to push me a littlefurther into the bottom-less chasm that is inter-net shopping. Hard tobeat whittling away mymoney while lying thesofa and the dog warmingmy feet; and there isnext-day-delivery.

Easier said than done.As millions of womenwisen up to the comfortsof click n’ buy, you haveto be a dart off a bow-string to score anything‘limited edition’. Theonly time I managed waswhen Prabal Gurunglaunched his capsule col-lection for J. Crew. Ofcourse, there is alwaysEbay and it only takes acouple of hours for thedesigner pieces to start

showing up. But theyalways go at three ormore times higher thanthe original price. Notvery much High-Streetabout a £400 dress.Perhaps the most talked-about collaboration ofrecent times was theLanvin for H&M collec-tion. Such was the reachof it’s hype that I remem-ber a friend fromAustralia, asking herFacebook friends inEurope and NorthAmerica to ship the stuffover to her.

It’s easy to lose one’sfooting and one’s purse-strings in the marketingblitz and the hype, butnot all designer-store col-laboration are worththeir trend-setting salt.As with almost every-thing in life, it is worthconsidering these collec-tions on a case by casebasis. They vary enor-mously in terms of quali-ty, price and demonstra-tion of the designer’s sig-nature style. Take forexample, Cavalli forH&M – leopard printsare hard to pull off at thebest of times, but printthem on cheapish fabricsand it screams tacky.Also, Valentino forGap...ruffles have theirplace and time, but a pairof chinos is not it.

Kate Moss for

Topshop, onthe otherhand, hasdone much toglamourise thestore’s profile.In the cash-s t r a p p e de c o n om i e s ,these collabo-rations aremoney-spin-ners for thedesigners andthe retailersa l i k e .Although Ican’t help butwonder some-times, thatwith themlaughing all

the way to thebanks, are we

the customers proving tobe the proverbial ‘suck-ers’? Maybe all theseclothes really aren’t muchbetter quality than regu-lar high-street clothing,their only appeal beingthe tag that hangs withthem? Also, much likethe sale, these mass-hys-teria fuelled shoppingfrenzies have the poten-tial to make fools ofsmart women, makingthem buy things that theywould never have boughtin regular circumstances.

I’d however, like tothink that designer-highstreet collaborations,along with being cleverbusiness strategies, arealso a fantastic way ofmaking extraordinarydesigns available to themasses. While much hasbeen said about priceylabels losing their sheenand exclusivity, I tend todisagree. Very few amongregular high-street shop-pers are those who neveraspire to own a piece ofwearable art, or, very fewwomen with the meansfor it only clad them-selves in designer togs.Jimmy Choos with a Zaradress is not uncommonby any standards. Theidea is to mix high streetwith high end...both in-store and in aesthetics.Next up, Versace forH&M.

Fashion’s New Power Couplings

fashionistaby Shreefashionista

Disclaimer: This puzzle is created solely by Radha abw with the help of a pen and paper, understanding thebasics of the subject at hand, and any resemblance to a similar puzzle is purely unintended and coinciden-tal.

This is a 9x9grid, 3x3(boxes)Sudokupuzzle. Makesure that eachand every row,column andregion/boxcontains thenumber 1 to 9once.

Sudoku

Radha Abw

For more stories visit www.scribbledesk.com

Level: II (Medium)

Prabal Gurung with models wearing hiscollection

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Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 17BoLLywooD

It looks like the Munni songin “Vosthi,” the remake of“Dabangg,” will be sung byKamal Haasan’s daughter,Shruti Haasan. Thoughdirector Dharani did notconfirm this news, he saysthe song is yet to be recordedand shot. Mallika Sherawathas been signed on for thismuch-hyped number. Saysan industry source, "Shruti is

keen on singing for films andthey think she would be aperfect fit for this. Plus, thesong requires a slightly dif-ferent kind of voice and itwent to be a superhit inHindi." Apparently, Simbuhas excelled with his danc-ing skills in a song titledDamaal Doomeel. This songwas picturised at a policestation, adds the source.

Following criticism fromthe film industry, theKannada Film ProducersAssociation has lifted itsthree-year-old ban onmulti-lingual actressNikhita Thukral, saying itsaction against her was“foolish.” The Associationalso tendered an apologyto the actress, admittingthat the decision was takenin “haste”, four days afterit slapped the ban, holdingMs. Nikhita responsiblefor the matrimonial dis-

cord in the family of popu-lar actor Darshan and hiswife Vijayalakshmi.Speaking to reporters,association chiefMuniratna Naidu said,“We admit that it was ahasty decision. ActorNikhita has a blemish lessrecord and is of a goodcharacter. She is free to goanywhere in Karnatakaand act in Kannada films.We have decided againstresorting to ban on actorshereafter”.

Divya Dutta bags two Hollywood films

Ajay Devgn who made his debut with “PhoolAur Kaante” in 1991, has been charging Rs 60to 80 million for his films. After the success of“Singham,” the actor has finally decided to hikehis price. For Vashu Bhagnani's next project,the remake of 1983 superhit “Himmatwala,”Devgn has been paid Rs 180 million, more thandouble his usual fee. Devgn is one of the mostbankable stars in the industry today. In the lastcouple of years he has given many hits like“Golmaal 3,” “All The Best,” “Atithi Tum KabJaoge,” “Rajneeti” and “Once Upon A Time InMumbai.” But it is only after “Singham” thatAjay has decided to hike his price. After all,Singham earned a profit of over Rs I billion.

Ajay Devgn hikes his price

Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchanfell from a rickshaw while shooting inJaipur for a sequence of his upcomingfilm “Bol Bachchan.” The shootingwas called off after the accident. Theactor reportedly injured his hand. It'snot the first time Abhishek Bachchanhas hurt himself. He sprained his backbadly while shooting for “Dum MaaroDum.” But the actor continued toshoot despite the injury. But this timethe shooting was cancelled for good.

Abhishek injured during film shoot

Minissha Lamba had donned the two-piece in asteamy song in 'Kidnap' (2007), but the actress hasput her foot down saying she wouldn't wear a bikiniin 'Hum Tum Shabana', even though the scriptdemanded it.

Her character in the film is a participant in a beau-ty pageant and even though the original script includ-ed a swimsuit round, the 26-year-old actress tolddirector Sagar Bellary that she wouldn't do the film ifshe had to wear a bikini.

"It is obvious that a beauty pageant will have aswimsuit round. But I said I won't do the film if I hadto wear a bikini. But Sagar was kind enough toaccommodate me, so we don't have a swimsuit roundnow in the film," said Minissha.

The reason why the actress refused to comply isthat she doesn't want a bikini-scene to become a"necessity" in every other film of hers.

"I have done it in Kidnap and that's exactly why Iam not doing it now. Every film I take up can't beabout wearing a bikini, because then such a thingbecomes a necessity in every script. I have done itonce, doesn't mean I am going to do it in every otherfilm," she said.

John Abraham revealed about his relationship status, chiselled body and of course his lovefor motorbikes and women in an interview.

“After Dhoom, I haven't done any action film. People asked me why you haven't attempt-ed any action film when you have the physique and the body for it. ‘Force’ is my answer toa lot of people out there who finally want to see the action hero. The film has great content,song, dialogues and screenplay.

Stallone inspiration: I have undertaken special training for this film. When we finalisedthe film, my director Nishikanth Kamath told me you have 8 months to build up a body thatlooks international, like a machine, like Sylvester Stallone. So with ‘Force,’ we have tried tocreate a look that is unbelievable in terms of physique.

Lifting a heavy bike: It was just a 110-120 kilos bike very honestly. ACP Yashwardhan issupposed to be like a machine,very powerful who can lift andbreak anything. That's my char-acter in the film. That's why Ihad to lift the bike. You needcables to balance it but finallyyou need your strength to lift thebike and throw it. So yeah, Ihave thrown the bike.

Bikes or ladies: I love motor-cycles but not more than women.Women are the most beautifulcreation of mankind.

Enjoying singledom: I amhappy that I have time by myself.When I get married, it'll be dif-ferent. Hopefully I'll get marriedsomeday. Till then, I'm enjoyingmy space and time.

Kollywood stars Bharath,Simbu, Arya, Sneha,Santhanam, Shriya andMadhu Shalini are set toperform live in London onSept 25. All are excited toperform and they are busypreparing for it. They willbe leaving Chennai onSeptember 23. “I'm look-

ing forward to meetingKollywood fans there,"says Bharath, who waslast seen in “YuvanYuvathi.” "After KandeinKadhalai, I play an urbanguy in love in this film. I'mvery happy with theresponse the film hasreceived," he says.

Actor Divya Dutta has her kitty full with bothBollywood as well as Hollywood assignments.The actress is looking forward to her roles inMadhur Bhandarkar's "Heroine", Sanjay LeelaBhansali's "My Friend Pinto", Dev Anand's"Chargesheet" and Vinod Bachchan's "ZillaGhaziabad". One of her Hollywood films,"Heart Land" directed by Fred Holmes releasesthis year, while she begins work on two morenext March. "I can't talk much about theHollywood films, but I can definitely say thatit has opened a world of opportunities for me,"enthuses the National Award winning actor.

Shahid Kapoor is flying high...literally. After all, he is play-ing an Indian Army pilot in his father Pankaj Kapoor'sdirectorial debut film “Mausam.” In an interview he talksabout his views on a host of subjects. When asked abouthis views on his co-star Sonam Kapoor in Mausam, hesaid, "Sonam talks a lot; I actually had to ask her to keepher mouth shut. However, I must say she has a greatunderstanding of fashion, in fact every time I am out forMausam promotion, I need to take an approval from her formy attire."

Confessing his mistake, Shahid shared, "I have to startdoing 3 movies per year. Bahut galti kar di. Itna choosy honeke baad bhi kitni filme nahi chali, to phir kya point hai."

On the film Mausam being written and directedby his father Pankaj Kapoor, he said, "two years back,dad gifted me Mausam’s script on my birthday. I wasvery nervous initially, as I had to act in front of Dadwhom I consider to be one of the finest actors in thecountry."

The movie consumed almost 2 years of Shahid'slife and now when the movie is on the verge ofrelease, Shahid shared, "I can't sit still these days."

Finally speaking on his current relationship withlong time rumored girlfriend Priyanka Chopra,Shahid stated, "I won't say anything until I findsomebody with whom I want to spend my life. Ihaven't found that person so far."

I love bikes, but not more thanwomen: John Abraham

Playboy cover girl,Bollywood's latest import

Luck works wonders for me: Kareena

Sayali Bhagat is allset to don a sizzlinghot orange bikini inher next - TinuVerma's actionthriller oppositemodel turned actorRajneesh Duggal.While mostBollywood heroinesrefuse to expose,

former beauty queen Sayali Bhagat wants tosteam it up on the silver screen. She is candidenough to admit she doesn't mind exposing onscreen. "I work out regularly and have one of thehottest bodies in B-town. I am fed up of playingthe good girl on screen. Now I am looking for achange of image and would love to do sexy roleslike Bipasha in Dhoom 2. I don't understand allthis talk about girls refusing to sport a bikini inDhoom 3. I'd gladly do it and look super hot too.But sadly, I am only getting performance-orient-ed roles, ” she added.

Sayali Bhagat keen towear a bikini

The 27-year-old South African modelCandice Boucher sizzled on the coverof the April issue of Playboy magazinelast year. In an open-front shirt anddenim jeans, the Durban-born beautypouted her way into the entertain-ment industry. She later created quitea stir with her see-through gown, atthe red carpet of the Cannes FilmFestival this year. She is B-Town's lat-est firang import. She'll be seen oppo-site debutant actor Sachiin Joshi inthe thriller “Azaan.” Before you getexcited, let’s clarify that she has avery sober role in this film and thereis no skin-show.

I haven't found mylife partner yet:Shahid Kapoor

16 Asian Voice Saturday 24th September 2011

Shilpa Shetty has called it quits after the film “TheDesire.” "I had taken a break and after this film I havedecided that I won't do any movies because my priori-ties have changed and I want to concentrate on myself,travel, concentrate on my business. So I have decidednot to take up any work," Shilpa said in an interview.

"This is not a comeback. Actually this film gotdelayed; so it seems I am coming back after a longtime," added the actress. Shilpa, who got married toUK-based Indian businessman Raj Kundra in 2009,wants to focus on her personal life and business, whichincludes a spa chain. "This is going to be the last filmaudiences are going to see me in for some time. So, outof choice I am not going to work for another couple ofyears. I think if people want to see whatever little I havedone, they should go and watch the movie. Marriage isa full-time job...I'll keep doing ads, appearances and tel-evision but along with my business," she said.

Shilpa plans to produce movies, but direction is noton the cards. "I haven't thought of it (direction), but Iwould be definitely producing films, she said." Shilpa ispaired with Chinese actor Xia Yu in "The Desire",directed by journalist-turned-national award-winningMalayalam film director R. Sarath.

‘The Desire’to be my last film:Shilpa Shetty

Minissha Lambarefuses to dona bikini again

Ban onactorNikhitalifted

Actress Kareena Kapoor, who scored a hit with SalmanKhan starrer 'Bodyguard', says there is no mantrabehind her success as luck has been working wondersfor her."I have no success mantra. There is no partic-ular calculation or anything of that sort. I just havebeen lucky with some good films, good directors andgood scripts," Kareena told reporters here after themusic launch of her forthcoming film 'Ra.One'.

'Bodyguard' has surpassed all boxoffice records while her previous filmslike '3 Idiots' with Aamir Khanand 'Golmaal 3' were also box-office hits.Kareena would beseen next in Shah RukhKhan starrer 'Ra.One', ascience-fiction film, whichwill hits cinema houses onOctober 26. It will be fol-lowed by 'Agent Vinod', an action-thriller withher beau Saif Ali Khan that will release onDecember 9."Shah Rukh has given me such a won-derful film and I am looking forward to my nextfestive release which is 'Ra.One' which I believe,will be one of the biggest hits," Kareena said.

ShrutiHaasan tocroon forMallika

Kollywood stars toperform in London

ShrutiHaasan tocroon forMallika

18 Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011

Tata-owned luxury car-maker Jaguar Land Rover(JLR) is planning to builda major new engine plantin the West Midlands areaof the United Kingdom.

The development,which is expected to takeup to two years, will be onthe i54 business park inWolverhampton, con-firmed as one of severalnew enterprise zones inJuly.

Jaguar Land Rover waspreviously believed to beconsidering sites in southWales and India.

It is believed theengine plant will employhundreds of people as ithas financial support from

the government. The busi-ness park is part of a 120-hectare site in Darlastonand WolverhamptonNorth, in the BlackCountry.

Ford currently suppliesengines to Jaguar LandRover from sites includingBridgend and Dagenham.The i54 site is seen as oneof the best places to putthe plant logistically.

Jaguar Land Rovercurrently has factories inthe West Midlands and onMerseyside.

JLR wins awardsMeanwhile, Tata

Motors said it had baggedtwo awards for Jaguar

and Land Rover fromAutoweek at theFrankfurt Motor Show.

Jaguar C-X16 wasselected as "Best inShow" winner and theLand Rover DefenderConcept 100 Sport as"Best Concept" byAutoweek, the companysaid in statement.

"Winning two of thetop media awards in ourindustry at the Frankfurt

Motor Show is a tremen-dous achievement for theJaguar and Land Roverbrands," Jaguar LandRover Global Head(Communications) FrankKlaas said.

"The C-X16 is ourcompelling vision for a21st century Jaguarsports car. It embodiesthe established Jaguarstrengths of sensualdesign and inspirationalperformance and com-bines these with attrib-utes that set us on acourse to create sustain-able sports cars of thefuture," Jaguar CarsGlobal Brand DirectorAdrian Hallmark said.

Jaguar Land Rover to build major engine plant in UK

Asian Development Bank(ADB) has trimmedgrowth forecast for Indiato 7.9% for the current fis-cal, from 8.2%, in thewake of subdued growth ofmajor world economiesand rising crude oil prices.The ADB's 'AsianDevelopment Outlook2011 Update', which wasreleased last week, hasalso raised the March 2012inflation forecast to 8.5%,from 7.8% earlier.

ADB's growth projec-tion is lower than that ofIndian government, whichexpects GDP to expand at

8.5%. The revision in theforecast comes within fivemonths of the AsianDevelopment Outlook(ADO) 2011 in Aprilwhich projected India'sgrowth at 8.2% this fiscal.

Even as, outlook reportprojects, Asia's emergingeconomies will grow

robustly into 2012, ledonce again by China, thetroubles in the UnitedStates, Europe and Japanwill clip their momentum.The resilience of theregion, which has led theworld since the 2008/09global financial crisis,means policymakers can-not relax in the fightagainst inflation even asglobal growth concernsovertake price pressures asthe dominant economicrisk.

That will keepinvestors edgy and capitalflows in Asia volatile -

both inflows on theregion's out performanceand the chance of a sud-den withdrawal if riskappetite is pared, the ADBsaid in its Update.

Despite global woes,growth will be healthyacross the region, the ADBsaid. Developing Asia -made up of 45 countries inCentral Asia, East Asia,South Asia, SoutheastAsia and the Pacific - isexpected to grow 7.5% in2011 and 2012, down fromApril forecasts of 7.8 and7.7% respectively, andgrowth of 9% in 2010.

With jet fuel prices hikedby 2.5%, Jet Airways onFriday increased fuel sur-charge on its tickets by Rs200 with effect fromSaturday, raising airfares.

Other airlines likeKingfisher and Air Indiaare yet to take a decisionin the matter, their offi-cials said.

Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF) price at Delhi's T3airport was hiked by Rs1,429 per kilolitre (kl), or2.5 per cent, to Rs 57,689per kl with effect fromFriday. ATF prices varyfrom airport to airport,depending on the localsales tax or VAT.

A Jet spokespersonsaid, "With the recent hikein ATF prices, Jet Airwayshas decided to increase itsfuel surcharge by Rs 200per domestic sector.

"This will be applicableon all flights of JetAirways, Jet AirwaysKonnect and JetLite, forsale and travel effectiveSeptember 17, 2011", thespokesperson said.

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Suzuki Motor is most likelylocate a planned new $1.3billion passenger car facto-ry in Gujarat, Japan'sKyodo news agency saidlast week. The report cametwo days after the companysaid it wanted to end itsalliance with Volkswagen, atie-up that had been expect-ed to help Europe's biggestcarmaker expand on theIndian subcontinent.

"We haven't come to adecision yet. We plan toannounce the location ofthe plant by the end ofOctober," Suzukispokesman Ei Mochizukisaid. He added, however,that the automaker's chair-man and CEO, OsamuSuzuki, visited Gujarat

last week. Suzuki controlsabout half the Indian carmarket through majority-owned unit MarutiSuzuki.

But Maruti Suzukisaid last month it expectedto post single-digit salesgrowth this fiscal year, afar cry from its 25-per centclimb in 2010, as risinginterest rates and prices inAsia's third largest econo-my force consumers totighten their purse strings.

Car sales in India, theworld's second-fastestgrowing major auto mar-ket after China, fell 16 percent in July, their first dropin two-and-half years, afterrising a breakneck 30 percent in 2010.

Suzuki to pick Gujarat fornew $1.3 bn plant: report

Asian Development Bank cuts India'sgrowth forecast to 7.9% for '11-12

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

I write to you having finished travel…for 3 weeksanyway. I started in the States (downgraded by creditrating agency), then Italy (downgraded by credit ratingagency) then India (not likely to be downgraded). AndI am hearing from a lot of people they want to take uptrading full time. So let me give you some advice.

If you need £30,000 per annum to live on, andthink you are nearly as good as Warren Buffett soshould make 20% per annum in profits, then you needto have £150,000 cash to trade with. We’ll ignore taxfor now. Of course some years you will not make 20%and you will have to go a whole year without food andwater.

To make life easier you may try to achieve 10% on£300,000. But most don’t have £300,000 speculativemoney hanging around. Then you read somewherethat 90% of private investors lose money trading themarkets. True of course. But you reckon you are in thetop 10%.

Next comes time. How are you going to generatethat return. You could spend every second trading.Maybe 10 trades a day. Maybe they cost you £10 each.That’s £100 in commissions or other costs. That is £500a week, or £2000 per month or £24,000 a year. So youneed actually to make not 20% on £150,000, but actu-ally closer to 40% on £150,000.

Or you may say you want to reduce those costs bytrading less frequently but still look to make 15% say.This is more realistic. You would look to pick a basketof stocks expecting a 15% rise over 12 months. Thatseems to put less strain on your time and limited skillsand experience.

But how many stocks? Which ones? The numbershould be manageable. So let’s say 15. Any fewer andif one does poorly it will have a heavy impact on yourwhole portfolio. Any more and if one does very well itwon’t have enough of a positive impact.

Of course they should not all be in the same sector,or even geography, otherwise it’s really one stock dis-guised as 15.

But which ones? What moves? What does under-valued mean and where do you find it? Online web-sites? Magazines? The pub? You can start with maga-zines dedicated to investments from your localnewsagents. Look for reasoning of the commentator.Look to see if it is speculative or safer. For instance arethey talking about the hope of discovering gold (spec-ulative) or Apple?

Stories told by stock commentators can be seduc-tive and attractive and alluring – about prospect of dis-covery. Remember not to be greedy and lured into suchfantasies. Go for solid analysis not hope. Learn whatprice-earnings ratios are and why they are important.

Do all of the above, aim with a portfolio of 15 stocksaiming for 15% (once they hit your target decidewhether another 15% is likely over another year) andif they drop 25% sell them no matter what excuses andyou might just get out alive.

Jet Airwaysraises airfares

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 19FINANCIAL VOICE

Over the last week we have had three deals complete, requests weremade in all cases regarding the time of exchange and completion - allinfluenced by Astrology. This promoted me to write something on thissubject as it seems to permeate the way Gujaratis transact.The common thread seems to be the client speaks to a

Brahmin/Maharaj which his family uses, he is advised on the opti-mum days to exchange and complete, if the property does not com-plete or exchange on those days the clients get distressed and there isa fear something will go wrong if not now then most definitely in thefuture. One client set up simultaneous completion and exchange together

on the opportune date and was most disappointed when the otherside sent a letter that same day to say they were not ready to complete.It threw everything in the air and another auspicious date had to besought immediately.

Luckily the solici tor we use is Jewish and is used to thisidea as Jews also fol low the principle of not only consid-ering what they do but when they do it and try and con-duct their business on certain favourable periods .

For example amongst the Jews following the death of someoneclose there is a period of mourning for seven days known, interest-ingly enough, as the Shiva. During this period no business is con-ducted. They have other period likes this scattered throughout theyear. As this race is a dominant force in the market, auctions are nor-mally held on days where it is not forbidden for Jews to trade. The other main variable, is not just when the deals are done but

the number on the property, which is a science based on the westernequivalent of numerology.

I had a client who would not purchase a property with the num-ber 8 on there. They had lived in a property with the number 8 and ithadn’t been a good period for them, the Maharaj then duly confirmedthis to them. In stark contrast for a Chinaman this is a most auspicious number.

The main reason has to do with the pronunciation of the word forthe number 8 in China. It is pronounced "ba" and sounds like the wordfor prosperity which is pronounced "fa". Another reason why the num-ber 8 could be considered lucky is because it is a perfect symmetricalshape. You can cut the number 8 in half vertically or horizontally, andboth halves mirror themselves perfectly. Perfect symmetry lends itselfto perfect balance. In Chinese astrology perfect balance is consideredthe ideal. It is also the symbol for infinity should you flip the digit onits side.Many years ago I also had a client for whom we were endeavour-

ing to do a mortgage for who try as he may could not purchase a prop-erty no matter what, something or another always went wrong in thetransaction. This happened in about three deals in succession whichwas very frustrating both for us and him.

The principle this science or belief relies upon, is that we are notfully independent to make our own decisions. Man and universe isinterdependent, when we go according to these currents things flowsmoothly and when we go against them we end up banging our headson a brick wall. It is also known that Financial Astrology has been used to predict

stock market movement. In researching Financial Astrology I cameacross a character called W.D.Gann who was born in Texas in 1878.He was regarded as the patron saint of Financial Astrology and made$50m from his predictive skills. Staring from 1st October 1909 over a25 day period he made 286 trades in front of witnesses and 254 where

profitable - this gave him a 92% success rate. This was a well publi-cised and documented event.I’m no expert in this science, I have simply narrated my experience

in the property field. However logic tells you there must be somethingto this. Even looking at the physical gravitational effect of the moonin controlling the tides means there must be some influence on thehuman psyche as 70% of our bodies are made of water. Interestinglythe word lunatic comes from the word lunar meaning moon.I thought it best to get the view point of somebody actually in the

field of astrology. In the words of someone who is a practising astrologer: “This is a

very complicated science. Unfortunately nowadays there are few andfar between knowledgeable astrologers who can help and advise onchoosing good Muhurats, whether for a wedding or for a propertydeal! It is not helped by the aspirants who want the "best muhurat"but then they want the job done in 2 weeks! So people start to com-promise and the unscrupulous astrologer will give any nearby date toplease the client and get the money..... and then later when things gowrong... well it's is blamed on God or astrology. Astrology is not an absolute science as not all is known in kaliyu-

ga, lots of knowledge being lost over the ages. However it is prettyreliable, though the same cannot be said of the astrologer who ishuman after all and prone to making errors now and then”. Interestingly in his opinion it wasn’t the completion of a property

purchase which was the main crux it was agreeing the deal:“With regards to the property muhurat specifically, the time of

completion is not as crucial actually as the time of first agreeing/sign-ing/or paying deposit for the deal. Just in the same way as all farmersknow that WHEN to plant / sow the SEED is more important thanwhen to REAP/ eat the fruit it bears. Sowing at the ripe/opportunemoment will promise a more favourable outcome bearing a ripe andsweet fruit. But sown at the wrong time/inclement weather conditionsthen the fruit may still grow .... but may not be optimal in shape, sizeor taste!”According to him it is the sowing which is important and NOT the

time of completion. This is NOT the way most implement this science. In summary it seems there are two main points, one is the knowl-

edge of astrology and the other its implementation. As with most things in this age it seems as if the knowledge has

been diluted by ulterior motivations of the practitioner and so to finda true source is not so easy.

Suresh Vagjiani

Managing Director

Sow & Reap

A Property Investment &

Financing company.

Auspicious or Suspicious?

For Chinese the number 8 is considered lucky. Therefore, it should come as no sur-prise that the Olympic games in China start on August 8, 2008 or 08/08/08. In Chinayou have to pay extra to have the number 8 in your phone number or license plate.In addition, home and business owners like to have the number 8 in their address.

On a trip to India he was referred to a highly esteemed astrologer and he was advisednot to purchase in that period and wait until another period which would be con-ducive to his desire to purchase the property. He followed the advice and lo andbehold things fell into place and he finally completed on a property.

l Rather than making a bad decision mostpeople suffer from indecision &procrastination, which can sometimes beworse.

l The biggest block to investing in propertyis not a logical or even astrological one, itsone driven by our own fears

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Tips of the Week

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323

Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Specialists in:

l Property Sourcing

l Mortgages

l Commercial Finance

l India Properties

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 201120 financial voiCe

[email protected] Fernandes

The Migration AdvisoryCommittee (MAC) wereasked to review the short-age occupation list andconsider whether itwould be sensible toretain those positions byemploying labour fromoutside the EuropeanEconomic Area. . MACmakes these recommen-dations to theGovernment who willthen decide whether ornot to accept these rec-ommendations. So far allthe recommendationsmade by MAC have beenaccepted.

For an occupation orjob title to be placed onthe shortage occupationlist for the UK andScotland it must passthree tests:

• first, whether jobsare sufficiently skilled tobe included on the short-age occupation lists;

• second, we considerwhether there is a short-age of labour and

• finally, whether it issensible for immigrantlabour from outside theEuropean Economic Area(EEA) to be employed.

MAC relied on a num-ber of indicators and con-sidered evidence fromthese sectors. Some ofthe evidence was robustand properly evidencedand merited inclusion on

the shortage occupationlist.

Among those whoremain on the list are:

Neurologists becausethe current focus onimproving stroke carerepresents a major driverfor neurological inputparticularly as there is anageing population creat-ing significant demandpressures on neurology.

Others include audio-logical consultants, nonconsultant posts whichdeliver acute care servic-es, theatre nurses,physics and chemistryteachers, ballet andskilled contemporarydancers, video games andvisual effects posts, socialworkers, actuaries andsleep physiologists.

Skilled chefsremained on the list fol-lowing a tightening of theregulations and some evi-dence that efforts werebeing made to upskill thissector. However a warn-ing was issued that theevidence provided wasweaker than in the past.This is an indication ofthe lack of co-ordinationby this industry to mar-shall its arguments andevidence coherentlyrather than the fact thatthe shortage is beginningto lift. As the reportrightly acknowledges

there is evidence thatemployers are poachingstaff from other restau-rants.

The ones that havebeen removed include:

Consultants in obstet-rics and gynaecology andpediatric surgery, phar-macists, and biologyteachers.

Some posts whichwere unsuccessful intheir attempts to enterthe list were Thai spatherapists and nursesworking in the care sec-tor.

MAC believes there isa strong case for cross-government engagementwith the relevant sectorsto fully understand whythese occupations andjobs require ongoingaccess to migrants. And,where appropriate, topromote further initia-tives to cut such depend-ence. This must surelyinclude financial invest-ment into initiatives toupskill.

Maria Fernandes hasbeen in practice exclu-sively in immigration forthe past 25 years.Fernandes Vaz is based at87 Wembley Hill RoadWembley in Wembley andcan be contacted by tele-phone on 02087330123,by email on [email protected].

The Shortage OccupationList Revisited

Mr Kweku Adoboli, thetrader of Swiss investmentbank UBS, the 31 year-oldwas earning a six-figuresalary and spent his sparetime travelling the world,building up his collectionof Argentine boutiquewines. But his fantasticlife came to a halt when hewas arrested by detectiveswho suspect him of carry-ing out the largest singlefraud by a London-basedtrader, accused of coveringup a loss of £1.3 billion,dwarfing the £827 millionlost by Nick Leeson whenhe brought down BaringsBank in 1995.

Until now, his life was along success story, startingin Tema, near the Ghanaiancapital. As the son of aGhanaian United Nationsworker, Mr Adoboli wasborn into a life of privilege,his journey started withboarding school inEngland, from there hewent on to study for a BScin Computing and BusinessManagement atNottingham University. Hiscomputing skills earnedhim a graduate job at UBS,where he started in a backoffice before being trans-ferred to a trading desk.People were a little sur-prised when he turned upon the trading desk becausehe didn’t have a tradingbackground. After startinghis trading career in 2006,he proved sufficiently adeptto be moved on to the DeltaOne trading desk.

Until four months ago,he lived in a 3,000 sq ftopen-plan apartment in

the city, paying £1,000 perweek rent. His neighbourshad no complaints, he wassupposed to be vibrant,hardworking and one hav-ing girlfriends.

He said his former ten-ant used to talk about hisAfrican background andmade regular trips back toGhana to see his parentsand extended family. But atsome point over the pastyear, it is alleged, thingsstarted to go wrong at MrAdoboli’s trading desk. Itremains unclear by exactlywhat means he is alleged tohave lost £1.3 billion. Onetheory is that the bank’slosses were related to thedevaluation of the SwissFranc on Sept 6. If thebank, or one of its employ-ees, was trading in foreigncurrency the sudden deval-uation could have had a dis-astrous impact on any trad-ing that relied on a highervaluation. In recent monthsMr Adoboli had been work-ing exceptionally longhours, according to neigh-bours at the apartmentcomplex in Whitechapel,east London, to which herecently moved. The firstsign of trouble came whenMr Adoboli updated hisFacebook page to say: “Ineed a miracle.”

It is often said that youdon’t get anything fornothing. Have you evernoticed that when you areout shopping and you seethe ‘buy one get one freeoffer’, we immediately seethe ‘free’? Despite thefact that the ‘buy’ is moredemanding than the‘free’. How often do webuy things, not becausewe actually need them,but because we feel weare getting a really good,once in a lifetime deal?

While I am not famil-iar with the technicalterm used by salesman, itis however, very muchlike the carrot and stickapproach used by manybusinesses to get theirstaff to work harder.Dangle the carrot just farenough that it is seemsreachable but is still justout of their grasp.

So when theChancellor of theExchequer tells us thatthe government need toreview the 50p tax limitbecause it is actuallyhurting the economy, ishe really putting money

back into the pockets ofthe rich, or is he actuallydangling a carrot. He issaying to the wealthy,come to the UK, invest inour businesses and wewill make sure that youcan keep a bit more ofyour earnings for yourselfso that you can spendthat here too.

Labour propose toleave the 50p tax in placeto generate more revenueto spend on social assis-tance (welfare) programsto help the poor developtheir skills and improvetheir quality of life. Sothey too are resorting tocarrot and stick tactics.In effect, they are promis-ing the carrot of a better,cheaper life in return forpeople’s votes.

Before we label themall as manipulators con-sider this - There hasnever been a leader youhas not offered a carrot.Victoria offered domin-ions and power;Roosevelt offered theAmerican Dream duringthe Great depression;even Mugabe offered the

land owned by the whitefarmers to the poor farmworkers for their support– each were successful inmaking their carrotappealing enough to getpeople to follow them.And herein lays the key totheir success. It is notabout what is right orwrong, or even aboutwhat is affordable orpractical. It is only aboutoffering the carrot thatpeople want.

This can sound cyni-cal and indeed some lead-ers offer material rewardssuch as land or wealth (orbonuses) in order toachieve their materialaims. But it can also beinspirational - great lead-ers offer freedom, nottheirs but ours; freedomto think, to speak andmost importantly to grow.

What kind of leaderwould you be? Theanswer to that can befound by knowing whattype of carrot would youreach for?

By Amit Patel

Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field ofLeadership and Human Resource Management

In what is being describedas a milestone for bothIndia’s indigenous civilaviation and the public-private partnership pro-grammes, the Mahindragroup in collaborationwith CSIR NationalAerospace Laboratorieshas successfully test-flowna five-seater aircraft. Theproject, which took threeyears to move from thedrawing board to theskies, is billed to revolu-tionize Indian transporta-tion over the next decade.

The aircraft has com-pleted five tests in the last10 days and it could takesix months or more beforeit gets the FAR 23 certifi-cation, which guaranteesthe highest standards ofsafety. It could then go forcommercial development.Once ready, each aircraftis expected to cost around$400,000 and would alsobe the first such commer-cial aircraft in the worldwhich offers a five seatconfiguration. For theMahindra group, it is thesecond leap into aviationafter it acquired theAustralia-based aircraftmaker Gippsland Aviationabout two years ago.

“It may not have thesex appeal of jets but itwould open up areaswhich were virtually notaccessible earlier and avia-tion would become analternate mode of trans-port to connect suchremote locations,” a visi-bly excited AnandMahindra said describingthe reach and potential ofthe initiative.

Mahindras taketo skies with

5-seater aircraft

As a setback to exporters,shipments of 1,100 itemswill be entitled to lower taxrefunds from October 1when curtains draw on thepopular DEPB scheme,government of Indiaannounced last week.

On export of theseitems, the tax refundswould be reduced by 1-3 percent, finance secretary R SGujral said while unveilingthe transitory scheme forthe Duty Entitlement PassBook (DEPB) scheme. "Asa transitory arrangement,these items will suffer amodest reduction in theexisting DEPB rate to theextent of 1-3 per cent..." hesaid. Industry sources saidthe reduction amounts towithdrawal of the stimuluspackage given in 2008-09after the global financialcrisis. The DEPB rateswere revised upward as astimulus, they said.

Since tax incentivesfor these goods will nowbe available under theDuty Drawback Scheme(DDS), the total numberof items under the DDSwould increase to about4,000 from present 2,835.

Indian govtslashes sops on

exports; 1100items to be hit

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd,controlled by liquor baronVijay Mallya, needs toinfuse required funds tocontinue as a "going con-cern", its auditor has said,raising concerns about thefuture of the loss-makingcarrier. The loss-makingairline said also that it hasraised nearly 5 billionrupees ($105 million) vialoans since January to con-tinue operations and that itis exploring mobilizing cap-ital either via global deposi-tary receipts or through arights issue or a follow-onshare sale locally.

The statement cameafter a local media reportsaid that Kingfisher's audi-tor has raised doubtsabout its survival, butIndia's second-biggest air-line by market share saidthe report was "incorrect."Shares of Kingfisher fell asmuch as 5.3% followingthe auditor's remarks.They closed 3.4% lower at25.25 rupees in a Mumbaimarket that rose 1.0%.Last year, the airline nar-rowed its net loss to 10.27billion rupees from 16.47

billion rupees. Net lossduring April-June 2011,however, widened to 2.64billion rupees from 1.87billion rupees a year earli-er. Kingfisher this yearrecast its debt by convert-ing about 30% of its loansto shares and issuing themto lenders and foundercompanies. The recasthelped the airline trim itsdebt to 60.07 billionrupees in January from76.51 billion rupees. Theairline, which has a fleet of66 planes, has also beentrying to raise funds to cutdebt. It previouslyannounced plans to raise$250 million via a GDRissue. And in August,Kingfisher said its boardhas approved raising up to20 billion rupees through arights issue.

The Carrot and Stick Approach

Loss-making KingfisherAirlines needs funds toremain afloat: auditor

The rise and fall of atrader of Swiss bank UBS

Kweku Adoboli

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 21FINANCIAL VOICE

GBP - INR = 75.39

USD - INR = 47.96

EUR - INR = 65.74

GBP - USD = 1.57

GBP - EUR = 1.15

EUR - USD = 1.37

GBP - AED = 5.77

GBP - CAD = 1.55

GBP - NZD = 1.91

GBP - AUD = 1.53

GBP - ZAR = 11.99

GBP - HUF = 334.64

www.rationalfx.com

Foreign Exchange

Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail [email protected]

Information provided by RationalFX.

None of the information on this page

constitutes, nor should be construed

as financial advice. The exchange

rates used are the commercial foreign

exchange rates provided by

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out more about how RationalFX can

help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

WeeklyCurrenciesAs of Tuesday

20th September 2011 @ 11amWe are continuing to see moreproblems emerge from Europe.A major question that nowkeeps appearing is ‘what are theEuropean finance ministers andleaders really doing about it?’ Ibelieve it was Emperor Nerowho carried on playing the fiddlewhilst Rome burnt, if I recallrightly, and this seems to be thesame scenario that EuropeanFinance Ministers and Leaderswould appear to be taking intheir handling of the EurozoneSovereign debt crisis.

Markets are disappointedand becoming more skeptical asto whether there actually is asolution to the debt crisis inEurope – we seem to be on thebrink of witnessing a major dis-aster! It has almost becomeinevitable that Greece willdefault; maybe something that

might have already occurred bythe time you read this article!Investors are more interested inhow this default will be handledand if the situation will be con-tagious. Pressure could be further

mounting on GermanChancellor Angela Merkel, youonly have to look at this week-end’s latest regional poll resultsin Berlin, as she attempts to getthrough the Bundestag plans toboost the Eurozone’s rescuefund (EFSF) and to approve thesecond bail-out package toGreece. Greece is still in a posi-tion of uncertainty for the futuredespite Prime MinisterPapandreou calling off a trip tothe US to primarily concentrateon further austerity measuresensuring that Greece meets thedemands of its lenders for thefirst bail-out package. Let’s not be under any illu-

sion that the UK will not beaffected if the problems inEurope escalate. In fact therumor is that if problems in Italywere to escalate this could affectUK Banks negatively to the tuneof £80 Billion! Not that the UKdoesn’t have its own issues –Even with all the austerity meas-ures, we are being told that anew £12 Billion black hole hasappeared! With all the unpopu-

lar decisions … we could easilysee the austerity measurespassed on to the next parliamentand inherit the same issues asthe current one!Is it all doom and gloom?

Well I attended the 12th yearAsian Achievers Awards onFriday the 19th September; andin talking to the Asian businesseconomy, it seems we are stillseeing growth and prosperity.There are new opportunitiesopening up for the cash rich andcreative ideas being deliveredfrom up and coming entrepre-

neurs… it is in these times whenthe new Donald Trump’s are cre-ated and Richard Branson’sborn!The best thing about this

event is where we see Asianbusinesses pull together andprovide support for each other –We work with several largeAsian businesses and I can safe-ly say that they the most astutewhen it comes to ensuring theyare getting the best exchangerates and service; this would bethe right time to say… I am veryhappy that we are able to deliver.

Pressure Mounting on Euro


In focUS8 killed as bomber targets top Pak copKarachi: A Taliban suicide bomber detonated a vehiclepacked with explosives outside the home of a seniorpolice officer Chaudhry Aslam tasked with crackingdown on militants in Pakistan's largest city Karachi.The blast killed at least eight people, including sixpolicemen, who were guarding Aslam’s home, policesaid. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility forthe attack. The target of the bombing, Chaudhry Aslam,escaped unscathed and said he would not be cowed bythe attack. "This is a cowardly act," Aslam told local tel-evision. "I'm not scared. I will not spare them."

20-hour Kabul siege ends, 27 killedKabul: The 20-hour insurgent assault on the Afghancapital left 27 dead - including police, civilians andattackers - when fighting finally ended last week, offi-cials said. Eleven Afghan civilians were killed, more thanhalf of them children, said US Marine Corps Gen JohnAllen. Five Afghan police officers also died, he said. Atotal of 11 insurgents were also killed in the fighting,seven of them as Nato and Afghan forces launched anoperation to clear the attackers out of a half-built con-crete high-rise near the US embassy and a Nato com-pound where they were holed up for the assault.

New Libyan rulers warn PakistanIslamabad: Libya's National Transitional Council(NTC) will not revalidate residential visas of Pakistanidiplomats in Tripoli, if Islamabad does not recognise thenew administration soon, according to a newspaperreport attributed to official sources. The Libyan ForeignMinistry summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires inTripoli to inform him of the decision, The ExpressTribune reports. According to the NTC, Tripoli will notrevalidate residential visas issued by former Libyanleader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi to the diplomats ofall those countries that do not recognise the new Libyanauthority as a legitimate representative of the people.

Al-Qaeda operations chief killed in PakWashington: Al-Shari, the Al-Qaeda operations chief inPakistan, was killed in Waziristan, according to asource. While there was no explanation how he waskilled, it is known armed predator drones have beenused to kill suspected terrorist. 'The loss of their chiefof operations in Pakistan, an individual who played akey operational and administrative role for the group,will pose a challenge for top Al- Qaeda leader Aymanal-Zawahiri, an unnamed official was quoted as saying.

Death toll in Pak suicide bombing rises to 34Peshawar: The death toll from a suicide bombing thattargeted members of an anti-Taliban militia attendingfuneral prayers in Pakistan's northwestern region hasrisen to 34. The bomber blew himself up as mournersgathered on open ground in Jandol town in the district ofLower Dir, 100 km from the once Taliban-infested SwatValley. Bombings blamed on Taliban and al-Qaida-linkednetworks have killed more than 4,630 people in Pakistansince 2007, destabilising the nuclear-armed state.

Snakes, hunger stalk Pak flood victimsBadin: Pakistani flood victims are crowding hospitalsand camping out near inundated fields as the govern-ment struggles to deliver relief supplies. Floods haveravaged Sindh province since early last month, killingmore than 220 people and damaging or destroyingaround 665,000 homes. Ameer Zadi said she carriedher younger sister, Begum, on her back through thewaist-high waters after she was bitten by a snake.Sindh saw similar scenes during last year's floods,which at their peak affected all four of the country'sprovinces. While some districts have been flooded outtwice, many of the hardest-hit towns and villages thistime around were unaffected in 2010.

Buddhist monks destroy Muslim shrine in LankaColombo: A crowd led by Buddhist monks demolisheda Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura, an ancient Buddhistcity and Unesco world heritage site, last week. Themonk who led the group said he did it because theshrine was on land that was given to SinhaleseBuddhists 2,000 years ago.But a Muslim leader in thearea said he was very sad and the sentiment was sharedby many Sinhalese too.Local government officialsarrived and said they would remove the shrine withinthree days, but the crowd said "we cannot wait" andproceeded to tear down the structure.

US urges Lanka to probe war crimesColombo:A top US official has urged Sri Lanka to addressallegations of war crimes in a report on its civil war due tobe released this year. The call from US Assistant Secretaryof State Robert O Blake comes just days after UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a expert report to theUN Human Rights Council that concluded that tens ofthousands of people were killed in the last five months ofthe war, primarily by government troops.

Washington: The chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff,expressing "deep concerns"about violent attacksmounted by the Haqqaniinsurgent network, hasagain pressed the Pakistanimilitary to take actionagainst militant havens,US officials said.

The chairman, AdmMike Mullen, held a two-hour private meeting withhis Pakistani counterpart,Gen Ashfaq ParvezKayani, during a militaryconference in Seville,Spain, where the two dis-cussed their nations' com-

plicated relationship. "Admiral Mullen con-

veyed his deep concernsabout the increasing - and

increasingly brazen - activ-ities of the Haqqani net-work and restated hisstrong desire to see thePakistani military takeaction against them andtheir safe havens in NorthWaziristan," said CaptJohn Kirby, the chairman'sspecial assistant for publicaffairs.

American officialshave said they have com-pelling evidence thatHaqqani fighters havereceived support anddirection from Pakistan'sISI. Admiral Mullen hassought to improve ties

with Pakistan's militaryleadership, and on manybilateral issues he hasserved as the UnitedStates government's lead-ing interlocutor withPakistan.

During the recentmeeting in Spain betweenAdmiral Mullen andGeneral Kayani, the two"agreed that the relation-ship between our twocountries remained vital tothe region and that bothsides had taken positivesteps to improve that rela-tionship over the past fewmonths."

Islamabad: Pakistan hasrefused to hand over aretired general, who head-ed the spy agency ISI, toan international tribunalinvestigating war crimes inBosnia, according to amedia report. ThePakistan government citedmedical grounds as its rea-son for not handing overformer Inter-ServicesIntelligence chief Lt Gen(retired) Javed Nasir to theInternational Tribunal ofHague, official sourceswere quoted as saying byThe Express Tribunenewspaper. The tribunalhad demanded custody ofNasir for his alleged sup-port to Bosnian Muslimfighters despite an embar-

go by the United Nations.The Bosnian Muslimswere fighting against theSerbian army in the 1990s.

Pakistan has informedthe international courtthat Nasir "lost his memo-ry" following a recent roadaccident and was unableto face any investigationinto the issue.

Nasir himself wasunavailable for comment.His son, Omer Javed, saidthe former general was notin service during theBosnian war of 1993-95 ashe had been "removedfrom the army" by then.

The summons forNasir came when Serbianarmy officials were put ontrial by the international

tribunal for war crimesand crimes againsthumanity in Bosnia.

It was then revealedthat Nasir was activelyinvolved in the war andhad supported and provid-ed arms to the BosnianMuslim resistance.

The case was built on a"confessional statement"that Nasir made in a peti-tion filed by his lawyeragainst an English dailyafter it published a reportof his alleged involvementin embezzlement.

In the petition filed inan anti-terrorism court inLahore on October 23,2002, Nasir disclosed that"despite the UN ban onsupply of arms to thebesieged Bosnians, he suc-cessfully airlifted sophisti-cated anti-tank guidedmissiles, which turned thetide in favour of BosnianMuslims and forced theSerbs to lift the siege,much to the annoyance ofthe US government".

PakIStan-BagladeSh-SrI lanka

Islamabad: PakistanPremier Yousuf RazaGilani called off at theeleventh hour his plannedvisit to the US afterPresident Barack Obamarefused to meet him on thesidelines of the UNGeneral Assembly session.

The prime minister'shouse announced thatGilani had called off hisvisit as he intended to per-sonally supervise reliefoperations in flood-hitareas of Sindh, but theDawn newspaper quotedits sources as saying thatone reason for the movewas the US president's"refusal to meet" Gilani onthe sidelines of the UNsession in New York.

Gilani has now direct-

ed foreign minister HinaRabbani Khar to representPakistan at the UNGeneral Assembly session.

There were indicationsthat the strained relationsbetween Pakistan and theUS had led to Gilani can-celling his trip to America,where he was to addressthe UN General Assemblysession, the daily reported.

The Pakistan embassyin Washington and theConsulate General in NewYork had "tried hard toarrange a meeting betweenGilani and Obama butfailed," the report said.

The visit was cancelledat the "eleventh hour" and"all arrangements relatedto the trip, such asissuance of tickets tomembers of the delegationand their hotel bookings inNew York, had beenfinalised," the report said.

"Supervision of floodrelief efforts is an excuse,because only this week theprime minister had a cou-ple of days' trip to Iran," ajournalist, who was toaccompany Gilani to NewYork, was quoted as saying.

Lahore: The Lahore HighCourt has directedPakistani authorities toblock access to all web-sites, including Facebook,that are involved in"spreading religious hatred"and to submit a compliancereport by October 6.

In an order issued onMonday, Justice SheikhAzmat Saeed directed theinformation technologyministry to "deny access toall websites in Pakistaninvolved in spreading reli-gious hatred". However,the judge directed the min-istry that access to Googleor other search enginesshould not be denied.

The judge issued theorder in response to a peti-tion seeking a permanentban on US-basedFacebook for hosting acompetition on blasphe-mous caricatures ofProphet Mohammed.

Lawyer MuhammadAzhar Siddique, who hadfiled the petition, saidIslamic values were beinginsulted in the name ofaccess to information andthis was hurting the feel-ing of billions of Muslimsacross the world.

Despite an earlier orderof the high court, the infor-mation technology min-istry had not blocked web-

sites spreading religioushatred, Siddique claimed.

Siddique also asked thecourt to direct the federalgovernment to stop thedisplay of material consid-ered blasphemous by anyreligion or insulting to theProphet Mohammed on allwebsites in Pakistan.

He said the governmentshould be directed to estab-lish a permanent authoritywith legal status, whichcould monitor such "objec-tionable activities" acrossthe world. Pakistaniauthorities had brieflybarred access to Facebooklast year on the orders ofthe Lahore High Court.

Sirajuddin Haqqani

Beijing: Chinese DefenseMinister Liang Guangliepromised all form of assis-tance to the Bangladeshmilitary in order toadvance bilateral and mili-tary relationship.

"China is willing toenhance interactions withBangladesh in all fieldsand at all levels to advancebilateral and military rela-tions and make contribu-tions to safeguardingregional peace and stabili-ty," Chinese DefenseMinister Liang Guanglietold the visitingBangladesh army chiefMuhammad AbdulMubeen.

Mubeen's visit toBeijing comes within daysof his army and govern-ment participating in anagreement for settling theIndia-Bangladesh borderdispute during the recentvisit of Indian prime min-ister Manmohan Singh toDhaka.

The official Xinhuanews agency quotedMubeen as saying that thegovernment and militaryof Bangladesh attach greatimportance to developingrelations with China.Bangladesh is willing towork with China toenhance cooperation andfurther promote military-to-military relations, hesaid.

Liang responded bysaying that it was China'sestablished policy tostrengthen friendly coop-eration with Bangladesh.

China offersmilitary help to

Bangla army chief

Pakistan court asks govt to block Facebook

Pak refuses to hand over ex-ISI chief to Bosnia tribunal

Rein in Haqqani men, US asks Pakistan

Javed Nasir

Pak PM Gilani calls off US

visit after Obama snub

Yousuf Raza Gilani

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 23world

In FocusNevada (US): Hindus areconcerned at the play"Ganesh Versus the ThirdReich", which is having aworld premiere atMelbourne Festival inAustralia on September 29.

Acclaimed Hindustatesman Rajan Zed, in astatement in Nevada(USA), said that LordGanesh was meant to beworshipped in temples andhomes and not to be madea laughing stock on the-atre stages.

Zed, who is presidentof Universal Society ofHinduism, argued thatLord Ganesh was divineand theater/film/art werewelcome to create projects

about/around him show-ing his true depiction asmentioned in the scrip-tures. Creating irrelevantimaginary imagery, likereportedly depicting himbeing tortured and interro-gated by Nazi SS, hurt thedevotees.

Its creator, internation-ally acclaimed "Back toBack Theatre", itself callsit a "strange" fable, "ram-bunctious". Describing theplay, media release of co-presenter MalthouseTheatre says that Ganesh"seeks to go one-on-onewith Hitler". It is alsodescribed by some as"wildly inventive ridethrough history, where

sacred icons and ritualsbecome weapons" and"brimming with humour".

Rajan Zed argued thattaxpayer funded organiza-tions like Australia Councilfor the Arts, Arts Victoria,and City of Melbourne;which supported this play;should be more vigilant intheir selections.

Zed further pointedout that we needed to bemore sensitive about thefeelings of "others".Recently, depiction ofHindu Goddess Lakshmion swimwear at a fashionevent held in Sydney(Australia) resulted inworldwide protests.Popular radio host Kyle

Sandilands recently madederogatory remarks, ridi-culing Hindus' holy riverGanga, on Sydney's hitmusic station. Australianswimwear company,Sandilands and his radiostation later apologizedafter the protests.

Bruce Galdwin direct-ed "Ganesh Versus theThird Reich", will beshown at Merlyn Theatre(The Malthouse) inSouthbank (Victoria,Australia) from September29 to October 9. Ticketprices are up to $58. It isalso scheduled to be exhib-ited at the "5th WorldSummit on Arts andCulture" on October 4.

Ganesh vs Hitler play in Melbourne Festival worries Hindus

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Washington: One in sixAmericans are now liv-ing below poverty line,the Census Bureau saidin a report, reflectingthe adverse impact ofeconomic crisis oncommon man.

"The nation's offi-cial poverty rate in2010 was 15.1 per cent,up from 14.3 per cent in2009 - the third consecu-tive annual increase in thepoverty rate," CensusBureau said in its report.

"There were 46.2 mil-lion people in poverty in2010, up from 43.6 millionin 2009 - the fourth consec-utive annual increase andthe largest number in the

52 years for which povertyestimates have been pub-lished," it said. These find-ings are contained in thereport 'Income, Poverty,and Health InsuranceCoverage in the UnitedStates: 2010.'

The governmentdefines the poverty line asincome of $ 22,314 a year

for a family of four and$ 11,139 for individual.

Census Bureausaid, the number ofpeople without healthinsurance coveragerose from 49.0 millionin 2009 to 49.9 millionin 2010, while the per-centage without cover-age - 16.3 per cent -

was not statistically differ-ent from the rate in 2009.

Since 2007, the yearbefore the most recentrecession, real medianhousehold income hasdeclined 6.4 per cent and is7.1 per cent below themedian household incomepeak that occurred prior tothe 2001 recession in 1999.

1 in 6 Americans living below poverty line

New Delhi: As Indianprime minister ManmohanSingh prepares for his visitto the 66th session of theUN General Assembly,India has announced sup-port for Libya’s TransitionalNational Council in theUN. The government saidin a statement that it sup-ported the acceptance ofcredentials of the delega-tion of the TNC, led by itsPresident Mustafa AbdelJalil, to attend the forth-coming UNGA session inNew York. “India will alsobe participating in the highlevel meeting on Libyascheduled to be held in themargins of the UNGA.

India backsLibya’s NationalCouncil in UN

Denmark gets first woman PMCopenhagen: Denmark's centre-left was celebrating vic-tory after narrowly winning a general election to end adecade in opposition, ushering in the nation's firstwoman prime minister. “We made history today,” addedthe Social Democratic leader destined to becomeDenmark's first woman head of government. After 99.6per cent of votes had been counted, it was clear the cen-tre-left bloc headed by Thorning-Schmidt had taken 89seats in Denmark's 179-seat parliament against 86 forexiting Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen's centreright government and parliamentary supporters.

Nepal PM travels in economy class to UN

Kathmandu: Nepal's new Prime Minister Dr BaburamBhattarai headed for New York leading a 13-member del-egation to attend the 66th UN General Assembly. Whatmakes the very start of the journey comment-worthy isthat the former finance minister, who revived Nepal'sflagging economy two years ago, has now chosen to trav-el economy. A media report last week quoted Bhattarai,born to a poor farming family in western Nepal, as sayingthat since he was a farmer's son, he would fly as ordinarypeople did - by economy class.

No pat-downs for kids at US airportsWashington: Children under 12 may soon be spared pat-downs and taking off their shoes as the US begins toimplement new airport security screening procedures,homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said. "Andwe hope, over the coming weeks and months to be ableto begin rolling that out." "Today, 14 million passengersfly to, from and within the United States each week and100% of them are screened against government watchlists, Napolitano said. More than 52,000 TSA personnelserve at over 450 US airports. Thousands of these TSAofficers will require additional training to incorporatethe shifts in strategy,” Napolitano said.

Obama support slips; Hillary Clinton most popular

Washington: As new polls suggested that PresidentBarack Obama's support is eroding among elements ofhis base, he claimed that his odds of being re-elected in2012 are 'much higher' than they were in 2008.Meanwhile, another poll suggested over a third ofAmericans believe the US would be better off now if his2008 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton were president.

Continued from page 1

Some students are trappedin Rabengla in WestSikkim where aerial recceeis being carried out.

General OfficerCommanding, EasternCommand, Lt GeneralBikram Singh said thatarmy had lost five jawansdue to the quake andadded that the roadsbeyond Mangan are com-pletely blocked and willtake 25 to 30 days to clear.

Though electricity hasbeen restored in parts ofSikkim's capital Gangtok,rescue operations havebeen slow due to bad

weather. Nine helicoptershave been mobilised and10 doctors have been air-lifted to Chungthang inNorth Sikkim which is stillwithout power supply.

The army has alsodeployed 10 medical unitsin the quake-affected areas.

National Highway 55which connects Bagdograto Darjeeling has nowbeen restored while theGangtok Nathu LaHighway, known asJawaharlal Nehru Marg, isexpected to be clearedsoon. More than 5,000jawans are carrying outrescue and relief opera-tions in the area.

One way traffic isbeing allowed on NationalHighway 31A, linkingGangtok to Bagdograwhich was partly openedon Monday. Sikkim ChiefMinister Pawan Chamlinheld a high level meetingto review the situation.

Meanwhile, aerial rec-cee and damage assess-ment were still on of worstaffected areas likeSintham, Pegong,Chunthang. Food packetswere also being dropped inseveral places.

Looking dangerous,one side of Sikkim's Paljorstadium is tilted andthreatening to toppledown. The state's DeputyDirector of Sports andYouth Affairs ThuptenBhutia has taken stock ofthe devastation.

Mandeep Singh, SP,East Sikkim, said thatmost of the rescue opera-tions have been finished asfar as east district is con-cerned and most of thetourists stuck in Gangtokhave left the state.

Guj offers help toquake-hit states

Gujarat has extendedhelp to northern parts ofthe country hit by earth-quake on Sunday. Chiefminister Narendra Modi,while conveying sympathytowards the quake-affectedstates and its people,expressed readiness tosend trained rescue teamsof Gujarat State DisasterManagement Authority (GSDMA). Gujarat hadreceived help from variousparts of the country andthe world during the devas-tating earthquake of 2002.

Since the incident, thestate has developed a spe-cial mechanism to handlerescue operations duringthe incidents like earth-quake and other naturalcalamities.

Continued from page 1

undertaking such a fastand wants to show that heis their protector."

Despite criticism frompublic and oppositionparty, Modi remainedundisturbed and continuedwhat he intended. At theend of the fast, he gave aspeech, exhorting India to“dream like Gujarat” andpledged his “life, mind,body and heart” to the serv-ice of the country.

“It is often said thatIndia does not dream bigand that is the root causeof all our problems. Whycan’t we dream like China,Europe or America?Sapne hi nahin hain tosankalp kaise hoga, aursankalp nahin to jodne kiichchha kaise hogi? (Howcan there be resolve with-out dreams, and fromwhere will the impetus forunity come withoutresolve?)” Modi asked.

The country needs todream like GujaratHe wanted Gujarat to

develop for the sake ofIndia’s development, thechief minister said. “I amnot satisfied yet... I wantto take Gujarat to newer

heights... I wish to showthe world the strength thatdrives Gujarat.”

“Rashtraneeti”, Modisaid, is above “rajneeti” -“We wasted 60 years dur-ing which nearly everygovernment worked withthe objective of winningthe next election... Gujarathas come out of this in the

last decade.”His government, Modi

said, did nothing specifi-cally for either the majori-ty or the minority - italways worked for the peo-ple of Gujarat. “TheSachar Commission askedme, ‘What do you do forthe minorities?’ I said‘Nothing. Nor do I do any-thing for the majority.Whatever I do is for thepeople of the state; Ibelieve in equal develop-

ment for all. Many peoplefelt that his fast was asmart move by Mr Modi topropel himself for theprime ministership in thenext general election.

Maintaining that hisfast was not against any-body, he said, “I don't wantto speak about anybody.Gujarat wants to move for-ward. We want to be inservice of India. We want tomove together andSadhbhavna (harmony)will be our strength.Development is our onlymotto. We will be a modelfor the world on how devel-opment can be achievedwith peace, harmony andbrotherhood," Modi said.

Among the prominentBJP leaders, who visitedModi during the fast wereveteran leader L K Advani,Sushma Swaraj, VenkaiahNaidu, Hema Malini,Arun Jaitely, Smriti Iraniand Punjab chief ministerParkash Singh Badal BJPspokesperson NirmalaSitaraman andMaharashtra NavnirmanSeva (MNS) chief RajThackeray. Tamil Naduchief minister Jayalaathiaalso send emissaries torepresent her.

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 201124 INDIA

(Courtesy: The Times of India)

In divine lightBy Rajen Vakil

Today, we revisit storieswithin the Mahabharataduring the Pandavaprinces’ exile. Then, RishiLomesh had taken themon a long tour of all theholy places in Bharata.

The rishi then tellsYudhisthira, “O king weare now in the part of thecountry called Kalinga.This is the river Vaitarni.Dharma, the lord ofdeath, performed a greatyagna on the northernshore of this river nearthese foothills. Since thenmany rishis have doneyagnas here, this place isalways full of Brahminsperforming austerities andreciting verses from theVedas. For those tapasviswho wish to reach swargaor heaven, the road isfrom the southern to thenorthern banks of thisriver. Once, the gods alsodecided to perform a bigyagna here. They forgotto keep a share of theyagna for Lord Shiva. Inthe midst of the yagna,Lord Shiva, in his form ofRudra, came and tookaway the sacrificial ani-mal. The yagna beingincomplete, the devasstarted fearing the conse-quences. The devas thenprayed to Lord Shiva,praising him in beautifulverses. They requestedhim not to destroy theiryagna and give them backthe sacrificial animal. LordShiva was pleased and thedevas got the animalback. They finished the

sacrifice and gave a prop-er share to Rudra. It has,since, been the customthat in any yagna the firstfruit is offered to LordShiva.” Here, Rishi Vyasasays that whoever recitesthe verses the devas recit-ed for Rudra to be happywill see the pathway toparadise.

The Pandavas, then,bathed in the river. It issaid that after a persondies, he has to cross theVaitarni. A dip in this rivergives one remission fromsins. The word Vaitarnicomes from “vitru” or tocross over and also from“vitaran” or to distribute. Itmeans that at the point ofdeath we have one morechance to be free, and thisis by crossing this river. Tocross over, we must dis-tribute or give away allthat we hold on to.

Shiva came in theform of Rudra. This comes

from the root “rodayati”or to cry. To perform ayagna we must first befree of crying or complain-ing. We complain abouteverything in our lives andbecause of complaining,we never get the fruits ofour actions. All of us havean animal within us andbefore death we have totransform this animalnature. The first step is tobe free of complainingand the second to per-form actions with an atti-tude of prayer. This isdepicted by the beautifulverses sung by the devasto get back the sacrificialanimal.

The river is in Kalinga.This comes from the root“kal” or strife or quarrel.Before we die, we want todrop all the strife we areholding on to and this isdone by crossing the river.We then stand on theother shore, pure and free.

All past articles on the Mahabharata can beaccessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

A report on India by theCongressional ResearchService (CRS), a biparti-san and independentresearch wing of the USCongress, finds Modi astrong prime ministerialcandidate for the opposi-tion BJP in 2014, while atthe same time discussingthe prospect of theCongress putting up RahulGandhi for the position.

The US’s obsessionwith Modi, despite its pub-lic stance, is evident fromthe fact that of all theleaked cables, RahulGandhi is mentioned in120 Wikileaks cables, andModi is mentioned in 91.

Interestingly, a cablewith subject ‘CongressVersus Modzilla InGujarat’ from US con-sulate in Mumbai, datedMay 13, 2009, says:

“There is no one elsein the BJP who comes closeto matching him (Modi) instar power.” It goes on tosay, “Several contacts referto 2009 election as a ‘semi-final’, with the ‘final’ as ashowdown between the

presumed Congress leaderRahul Gandhi and Modifor Prime Minister, perhapsas soon as the next mid-term elections.”

As the debate on poten-tial prime ministerial con-tenders for the 2014 elec-tions picks up in India, a USCongressional report says itmight just turn out to be adirect contest betweenModi and Rahul Gandhi.

However, the reportwhich gives a detailedaccount of internationalpolitical dimensions ofIndia, does not clearlystate it would be a Modi vsGandhi affair in 2014.

Party chief and UPAchair, Sonia Gandhi is seento wield considerable influ-ence over the coalition's pol-icy making process, it said.

"Her foreign originshave presented an obstacleand likely was a major fac-tor in her surprising 2004decision to decline theprime ministership," thereport said, adding thatRahul is widely seen as themost likely heir toCongress leadership.

US sees Rahul vs Modi fight forprime ministership in 2014 polls

Yagna and Freedom

Modi fasts for 'peace and unity'

82 killed as quake jolts Sikkim, Bengal, Nepal and Tibet

Kabul: Former AfghanPresident BurhanuddinRabbani, who headed a gov-ernment peace council setup to facilitate contacts withTaliban insurgents, wasassassinated om Tuesday bya suicide bomber concealingexplosives in his turban,officials said. Four ofRabbani's bodyguards alsodied and a key presidentialadviser was wounded.

President HamidKarzai cut short a visit tothe U.S. over the attack,which dealt a harsh blowto peace efforts after adecade of war. The turbanbomber entered Rabbani'shouse in the capital Kabulon Tuesday evening andblew himself up inside,said Mohammad Zahir, thechief of criminal investiga-tion for the Kabul police.

Rabbani headed thecountry's High PeaceCouncil, which was set upby the Afghan governmentto work toward a politicalsolution to the decade-long war. However, it hadmade little headway sinceit was formed a year ago.

Suicide bomberkills ex-Afghan

President Rabbani

Cong leaders ShankarsinhWaghela and Arjun Modhwadia

ending their fast.

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 25INDIA

Anti-corruption crusaderAnna Hazare last weekruled out joining politicsor his movement taking apolitical turn.

"Absolutely not. I amtaking extreme care tokeep the anti-corruptionmovement free of politics.There is absolutely nosuch possibility," the 74-year-old activist said.

He was replying to aquestion whether hismovement against corrup-tion for a Jan Lokpal Billcould slowly take politicalhues following the recentannouncement of TeamAnna asking people to voteout MPs opposed to theirversion of the law in thenext Parliament elections.

Hazare, however,minced no words in brand-ing the proposed anti-cor-ruption "yatra" beinglaunched by senior BJPleader L K Advani as theone designed to derivepolitical mileage.

"If this yatra is aimed atrooting out corruption ,why do not they oppose theruling party and bring theJan Lokpal bill? "If they aresincere in their fight againstcorruption why can't theyset up 'Lokayukta' in BJP-ruled states? We suspect apolitical motive in thisyatra", he said reacting toAdvani's announcement onembarking on a country-wide yatra against corrup-tion. Asked aboutCongress general secretaryRahul Gandhi's statementthat Lokpal should haveConstitutional status onthe lines of ElectionCommission, Hazare said,

"both Lokpal and ElectionCommissioner would havethe autonomous statuswithout government inter-ference in their function-ing".

Hazare also stronglyrefuted the allegation ofCongress leader DigvijaySingh that his anti-corrup-tion movement was basedon the support from RSSand the claim by VHPleader Ashok Singhal thathis organisation hadbacked it.

"Our movement hasnothing to do with RSS orVHP. All this is beingtalked to mislead the peo-ple," he said.

On the anti-corruptioninitiatives by Ramdev,Hazare said he did notdoubt the yoga guru'scommitment to the causeof eradication of corrup-tion from public life.

"But on his dais sitthose who carry a stamp.Our support to him is lim-ited only to the anti-cor-ruption aspect. We will notshare his platform and hewill not share our dais. Wewill support each other inseparate ways to fight cor-ruption," he said.

Elaborating on theissues he wanted to beincluded in the resolutionadopted by Parliament tobreak the deadlock overhis recent fast, he said, "wewanted these three pointsto be adopted to createconfidence among peopleabout the Bill's scopewhich should ultimatelybring Prime Minister, judi-ciary and MPs in its ambitafter due deliberations."

Anna Hazare rules out joining politics

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Soon after India announcedits decision to go aheadwith oil exploration inSouth China Sea withVietnam, China said itwould expand its explo-ration of 10,000 sq km ofseabed in southwest IndianOcean. This wasannounced as part of its2011-2015 oceanic develop-ment policy.

Xinhua, China's staterun news agency, quotedChina's head of oceanicdevelopment Liu Cigui assaying, "We will expand thedepths and scope of oceanicresearch and improve ourunderstanding of the ocean,with special focuses on thepolar regions and deep seaenvironments." Liu, head ofthe State OceanicAdministration (SOA),made the comments at ameeting on oceanic technol-ogy in Beijing.

The Chinese intentwould have security impli-cations. India's NavalHydrography Department,one of the best in the world,has done extensive work,mapping the bottom of theIndian Ocean. Sources saidIndian hydrographers, withskills developed over theyears, have perhaps the bestknowledge in the world ofthe bottom of the ocean --which would not only helpmariners, but are invaluableresources for India's defenceand strategic planning.

On July 11, theInternational Seabed

Authority (ISA) allowedexploration for polymetallicsulphides by China OceanMinerals ResourcesResearch and DevelopmentAssociation (COMRA). Thedevelopment sent shock-waves across the Indiangovernment. The thing is,India could have done anynumber of such exploratoryactivities. India has receivedexploratory rights by theISA for a large number ofblocks. But Indian inactionhas meant that a number ofthese blocks have had to besurrendered to the ISA.India still retains a numberof blocks in the IndianOcean. India cannot objectto China obtaining miningrights in the Indian Ocean,particularly as India hasitself neglected its conces-sions.

Obviously, keeping inmind China's swift movesinto the Indian Ocean, thegovernment last monthreleased its surveys of thesea-bed on Indian territorialwaters. The surveys by theGeological Survey of India(GSI) shows the presenceof heavy deposits ofilmenite, rutile, zircon, silli-manite, monazite and gar-net off the east coast, aswell as off Kerala and TamilNadu. The GSI has alsoconducted reconnaissancesurveys to identify potentialareas for Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC)off Andaman and NicobarIslands.

India, China squareoff for sea fight


Jammu and Kashmir andhas been for years andremains a subject forregional dispute. OnThursday, the House ofCommons held its firstdebate for many years onthe position of humanrights in the Indian subcontinent. Much of thedebate, however, centredon the issue of allegedhuman rights violations inIndian controlledKashmir. Emotive speech-es were made on the sub-ject and calls were madefor the UK to play agreater part in trying toresolve this long-standingregional dispute.

Chairman of HurriyatConference (M) MirwaizUmar Farooq also came toLondon to attend this par-liamentary debate, aspokesman of the con-glomerate said in a state-ment.

The British MPs fromacross the political spec-trum urged the Britishgovernment to interveneand seek a commitmentfrom India that it woulddo everything possible toprotect the rights of thepeople of Kashmir.

However their effortsvirtually fell flat as thedebate on the issue drewfew takers. There was novote on it and less than 30members of the 640-strongHouse of Commonsattended the debate.

The British govern-ment also asserted that itwas for India and Pakistanto resolve the problembilaterally. Britain'sParliamentary Under-Secretary of State forForeign andCommonwealth AffairsAlistair Burt said, "Nomatter how well inten-tioned, any attempts bythe UK or other third par-ties to mediate or pre-scribe solutions (toKashmir issue) would hin-der progress."

Speaking during adebate called by theConservative MP StevenBaker, whose constituen-cy has a large number of

people of Pakistani originfrom Mirpur, membersreferred to an AmnestyInternational report alleg-ing widespread abuse ofhuman rights in Kashmirand called for an inde-pendent commission to besent to the region to inves-tigate the allegations.

Mr. Baker said thatIndian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh hadrecently assured that noviolation of human rightswould be tolerated.

Another Tory member,Jason McCartney,demanded a repeal of theJammu and KashmirPublic Safety Act and an“independent and impar-tial'' inquiry into allegedrights abuses.

Labour's DenisMacShane, a formerMinister, describedKashmir as a “forgottentragedy'' and urged theglobal community tobreak its “silence.”

His party colleagueBarry Gardiner highlight-ed the Pakistan-sponsoredterror attacks on Indiaand said that the situationin Kashmir must be seenin the context of terrorismpromoted from across theborder (see page 3).

The debate raised eye-brows in Indian diplomat-ic circles with sourcesdescribing it as “not veryunhelpful” in advancingIndia-U.K. relations.

Labour MP VirendraSharma, who called it aroutine debate said, “Weare not making it an Indiaissue or see it as an attackon India."

Bob Blackman MP(Harrow East,Conservative) said,"Having grown up withIndians over many years,I have debated and talkedabout this issue for some25 to 30 years...It is oftenforgotten that there aremore Muslims in Indiathan in the whole ofPakistan and Bangladeshcombined; it is a trulysecular state, whichoffers equal opportunityto people of all religions.It has also been the sub-ject of many terroristatrocities, most of which,it is claimed, emanatefrom the state ofPakistan. Naturally there-fore, the IndianGovernment are con-cerned about whetherPakistan can be trust-ed...Jammu and Kashmirhad the opportunity ofjoining either India orPakistan. While it deliber-ated, Pakistan invaded.There is an illegally occu-pied area of Kashmir,therefore: the area that isPakistani-controlled. Thearea that is administeredby India represents whatwas wanted by the peopleof Jammu and Kashmir atthe time of secession. Allthe atrocities that havetaken place on both sidesof the dividing lineshould be investigated,and both sides should beheld to account.

Let us compare thetwo states in their currentforms, however. InInd i an - adm in i s t e redJammu and Kashmir, allpolitical parties can

debate and stand for elec-tions. In fact, there wasan 85% turnout for thisyear’s local elections inJammu and Kashmir. AllMembers of this Housewould like to see such aturnout for a general, letalone a local election. Bycontrast, in Pakistani-administered Kashmirpolitical parties areallowed to form and agi-tate only provided theyaccept Pakistan’s right torule Kashmir� that is noteven-handed in anyextreme. We must seek toeven out the position andmake sure that peopleunderstand that the cur-rent position is noteven...”

Rickie Sehgal, chair-man of the BACL com-mented: "The BACL rep-resents the new multicul-tural face of British poli-tics. We can assist inhelping politicians andthe public understandboth matters which con-cern Asians in the UK butalso those in their respec-tive homelands...

BACL will lend itsconstructive support toall sides in the interests offairness. Only if there isthis fairness, I believe,can both India andPakistan resolve this mat-ter. Britain is a valuableally to both countries.More positive and con-structive energy shouldbe devoted to buildingtrust and commercialbridges with India andPakistan as the commer-cial centre of gravitymoves to the East."

UK Parliament discusses Kashmirissues, but finds no takers

Rickie Sehgal Virendra SharmaBob Blackman

Indian doctors are helpingunscrupulous tourists with aninsurance fraud that costs mil-lions as reported by The SundayTimes.

An investigation by TheSunday Times exposed the illicittrade in fake medical reports anddeath certificates sold by corruptforeign doctors to unscrupulousBritish holidaymakers seeking tomake false insurance claims.Their undercover reporter washanded a series of falsified docu-ments by doctors and medicalofficials in India that wronglystated he had been treated fordengue fever, heart problems anda stomach complaint while onholiday. Each would have enabledhim to make claims for thousandsof pounds on his health insurance

by submitting the fake bills. Evenmore lucrative are death certifi-cates that can be obtained for aslittle as ￡800.

One, bearing the name of thereporter and apparently stampedby a registrar from the northIndian state of Uttar Pradesh,could have been used to claimhundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Sunday Times launchedits investigation after being tippedoff about the secret trade by awhistleblower. Insurers detectedfalse claims worth ￡6m last year,yet experts say this representsonly a fraction of the total.

Even when false claims arediscovered, the insurers aredeterred from pursuing prosecu-tions because of the time and costinvolved.

Fake death certificates netmillions for tourist

Kapil’s

KHICHADI

by Kapil Dudakia - email: [email protected]

No doubt the headlineabove must have caughtyour eye. Let meexplain, on 15thSeptember 2011 theBritish Parliamentallowed a debate on amotion titled: ‘Generaldebate on human rightsin the Indian sub-conti-nent.’ The motion tabledby the Conservative MPSteve Baker, along withfour other MPs appearsto have been created forthe sole purpose of talk-ing about the situation inKashmir, and to under-mine the IndianGovernment. The debatewas a humiliating failureand showed the stupidityof some of the MPs.

It does however begthe question, why didthey not cover issuessuch as the following?1. The role ofPakistan and its statesponsored cross borderterrorism over manydecades?2. Why since theindependence ofPakistan, people fromfaiths other than Islamhave been wiped outalmost totally? Whathappened to their humanrights?3. What about theplight of the KashmiriPandits (the true custo-dians of the area overmany millennia) whohave lost 100’s of thou-sands, with many mil-lions displaced fromtheir homeland as aresult of Pakistani spon-sored cross border ter-rorism?

The list is notexhaustive but suffice tosay, the ‘root’ cause ofthis evil stems fromacross the border. Don’ttake my word for it, evenCameron Munter the USambassador to Pakistansaid last week that thereis evidence linking theHaqqani militant net-work to the Pakistanigovernment.

When BenazirBhutto said, ‘Democracyis necessary to peace andto undermining theforces of terrorism,’those same forces of ter-ror in Pakistan assassi-nated her – lest the sup-porters of these crazyband of evil forget.

Interestingly, in whatcould have been anorchestration, the galleryoverseeing the debatewas full of people whowere on the side ofPakistan. Regrettably,there was a glaringabsence of anyone fromany of the Indian repre-sentative bodies tocounter this overtexpression of thecaliphate.

I am glad to say thatthere were some MPswho showed intelligenceand pointed out theother side of the argu-ment. Barry Gardinerwas one such MP whoplaced on record issuesmissing from the debate.Barry and MP’s of his ilkhave to be commendedfor they have not soldout to supporters of dic-tators and terrorists.

We must questionwhy MPs of Indian ori-gin (on all sides) werenot taking part in thedebate? We have to askour national organisa-tions, where were all ofyou whilst this was hap-pening on your watch?We have to ask those inour community who wel-come honours and peer-ages – yet are not seenwhen such atrocitiesoccur in our Parliament?

Indians (of all faiths)must recognise the sys-tematic attacks beingperpetrated by thosewho follow the path ofextremism and terrorism.They have the backing ofdictators with their bil-lions who use any and allmeans to further theirunacceptable marchagainst democracy.

Twitter: @kdudakia

Terrorist Sympathisers inBritish Parliament?

Bernard Hogan-Howe, the newPolice Commissioner hasemphasised that family valuesare the most importantaspect in preventingcrime- the 'values' thatare strongly upheld byAsian communities.

Mr Hogan-Howetold the LondonEvening Standard that,despite being broughtup by an "unmarriedmum" and only seeinghis father "about 10 times in mylife", he believed that family val-ues were the most importantaspect of society in preventingcrime.

In his first interview sincebeing given the job on Monday,

Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "Idon't think we are here to besocial workers, to run schools."

Policing hasbeen distractedfrom fighting crimehead on by commu-nity projects andneeds to refocus onits core role, thenewly appointedMetropolitan PoliceCommissioner hassaid.

The 53-year-old confirmedhis feeling that the sentencingof rioters and looters was nottoo harsh, but said that hismain concern now was toensure the London Olympicspassed smoothly next summer.

The former Chief Constableof Merseyside Police officiallytakes charge of the UK's biggestforce on 26 September, afterwhich he wants the Met tospend a couple of days everymonth cracking down on spe-cific crimes.

"Take two out of 28 days,the whole organisation will con-centrate on principal things.One day it might be about bailhoppers, another day aboutdrug warrants," he explained."Instead of squeezing the prob-lem from one place to the nextright across London you cansee an impact."

(A more detailed report willbe published in the comingissues of Asian Voice)

Family values: Answer to Britain’s crime

Bernard Hogan-Howe

asian voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 27feSTivAl / TrAvEL

Purvi’s travel bagBy Purvi Apurva Shah

Sasan Gir - The only placehaving Asiatic lions

A visit to Sasan GirNational Park is an amaz-ing experience. It can bescary and at the sametime exciting to see theKing of Beasts prowlingthrough the dense decidu-ous forests and crisscross-ing streams.

This rugged terrain ofGujarat- Sasan Gir- is thehome of Asiatic lions, theonly one in Asia. While vis-iting the jungle, there isno guarantee that you willspot one despite roamingfor the whole day in thejungle.

But there are alsochances that you will sur-prisingly see a large prideof lions moving freely allaround you. Since you arein a turbo, you are safe.But any pranks with themand you know what canhappen. There is no needfor tension as one guide isconstantly with you spot-ting the sensitive placelikely for lions visit.Usually early mornings ormid-nights are ideal timeto see lions as they are

out to find their food. They are very smart to

find their prey - they takeadvantage of factors thatreduce visibility; many killstake place near some formof cover or at night. Theysneak up to the victimuntil they reach a distanceof around 30 metres.Typically, several lionesses

work together and encir-cle the herd from differentpoints.

The national park andits forests are also hometo a wide variety of floraand fauna and visiting it isan interesting experience.The park is home toaround 2,375 differentspecies of fauna including

mammals, insects, reptilesand birds. Some of theanimals that can be seenin the park are lions, leop-ards, chinkaras,antelopes, sloth bears,hyenas, jungle cats andthe ever elusive rustyspotted cats. Asiatic Lionwas counted at 411 a few

years back.The lions of Sasan Gir

almost went into extinctiondue to hunting and the firstpreservation steps weretaken by the Nawab ofJunagadh. Established in1965, with a total area of1,412 km, the park is locat-ed 65 km to the south-eastof Junagadh and 60 km to

south west of Amreli.The closest domestic

airport is located at aplace called Keshod whichis situated around 90 kmfrom the place. The otheroption for those who arearriving by air is the DiuAirport and this is situatedaround 100 km from theGir Sanctuary.

At Sasan Gir, there aremany hotels in form ofluxurious lodges, somevery close to the jungle,some sides being open,many tourists have seenlions strolling around theirhotel. There are caseswhere tourists have beensurrounded by lions. Dayby day lions were gettingless in number and thegovernment is takingsteps to see that this rarebreed do not perish andeven breeding is encour-aged to increase them.

The Somnath Templeis also quite popularamongst the tourists. It issituated at 46 km fromSasan-Gir and is one ofthe most popular andancient Hindu religioustemples of India. It alsohas many nearby attrac-tions like Somnath beach,Somnath museum,Junagadh gate, BhaikaTeertha, Jama Masjid,Ahilyabai Temple, BhidiyoPagoda and Mai Puri.

Girnar Mountain ismainly famous for theancient Jain temples pres-ent on its hill top.

Navratri, the festival ofnine nights is dedicated toGoddess Durga and hernine forms. According tothe Hindu calendar,Navratri begins from thefirst day of the bright fort-night of Ashwin whichusually coincides with the

end of the rainy season.Navratri starts on 28thSept of this year.

The nine days havegreat religious signifi-cance as Goddess Durgahad destroyed the evilforce (in the form of thedemon Mahisashura) dur-ing this period.

The festival is cele-brated with true devotionand purity all over thecountry. People from vari-ous sections of the societyirrespective of caste andcreed celebrate this festi-val by visiting templesand offering pujas at theMother’s feet.

In some places specialpuja samarohas are alsoheld by setting the imagesof Mother Durga on beau-tifully decorated pandals.Temples dedicated toShakti also make arrange-ment for pujas and vratasto mark these nine days astrue symbols of devotionand adoration towards thedivine Mother.Garba-Raas-Dandiya: InGujarat, Navratri is acommunity event, wherepeople sing devotionalsongs and perform dancesthat are popularly knownas 'Dandiya Raas' and'Garba Raas', and observeJaagran (waking throughthe night), to please theGoddess. Amba MataTemple at Junagadh,Gujarat, is a favorite pil-grim for devotees, duringNavratri. Here, paintedearthen pots are used torepresent the Goddessand Garba dances are per-formed by the Gujaratiwomen around thosepots, in circles. The potsare valued as the abode ofthe Goddess. The Rasahas its origin in the lifescenes of Lord Krishnaand is associated with theagricultural rites, whileGarba is performed onlyby men and is related withthe agricultural fertility.

The garba effect hasmade today’s youth excit-ed to celebrate navratri.Today’s youngsters playdifferent varities of garba,raas and dandiya. Thestyle and variations differ

in every city of Gujaratand every state of India.Like in Ahmedabad it is“Popatiyu”, Vadodara it is“Dodiyu,” Rajkot it is“Chalti”. There is more ofdandiya trend in Mumbai.This festival is celebratedin all parts of India.

Navratri Customs: Thecelebrations of the festivalinclude fasts, strictly vege-tarian diet, japa (chantingmantras in honor of theGoddess Shakti) andrecitation of religioushymns, prayer, meditationand reading of sacred textsrelated to Goddess Durga.Navratri is celebratedtwice a year - once in themonth of Chaitra (April-May) and again in themonth of Ashwin(September-October). Onboth the occasions, ninedifferent forms of GoddessDurga are worshipped. Inthe September-Octobercelebrations, the main rit-ual consists of placingimages of the Goddess inhomes and temples. Onthe tenth day, the idol isimmersed in water.Numerous other celebra-tions are also associatedwith Navratri festival.Customs & Rituals ofNavratri:

• The main ritual ofNavratri, celebrated inSeptember-October, con-sists of placing images ofGoddess Durga, in homes

and temples. The devo-tees offer fruits and flow-ers to the Goddess. Theyalso sing bhajans in herhonor.

• The first three daysof Navratri are devotedexclusively to the worshipof Goddess Durga, whenher energy and power areworshipped. Each day isdedicated to a differentappearance of Durga,namely Kumari, Parvatiand Kali.

• There is also a cus-tom of planting barleyseeds in a small bed ofmud on the first day ofpuja. The shoots, whengrown, are given to theattendees, as a blessingfrom Goddess, after thepuja ceremony.

• These fourth, fifthand sixth days of Navratriare dedicated to GoddessLakshmi, the Goddess ofwealth & prosperity.Goddess Saraswati is alsoprayed to, on the fifth day,which is known as LalitaPanchami.

• The seventh day isdedicated to GoddessSaraswati, while theGoddess of Art andKnowledge is worshippedon the eight day and ayagna is also performed.

• The ninth day is thefinal day of Navratri cele-brations, which is alsoknown as 'Mahanavami'.On this day, Kanya puja isperformed, where nineyoung, who have not yetreached the stage ofpuberty, are worshipped.Each of these nine girlssymbolizes one of thenine forms of GoddessDurga. The feet of thegirls are washed, to wel-come the goddess andshow respect to her.Thereafter, the girls areoffered food and a set ofnew clothes, as a gift fromthe devotees.

• The nine-dayNavratra celebrations,which fall in September-October, come to an endwith the immersion of theidols of Goddess Durga inwater.

• Dandiya and Garbaare the featured dancesperformed on theevenings of Navratri,mainly in Gujarat. Garbais performed before the'aarti', as devotional per-formance in the honor ofthe Goddess, while

Dandiya is performedafter it, as a part of thecelebrations.

• In case ofS e p t e m b e r - O c t o b e rNavratri celebrations, thetenth day is celebrated asDussehra. On this day,devotees perform'Saraswati Puja', for bless-ings of knowledge andmental peace. On the day,the burning of the dummyof demon king Ravanaalso takes place.

Navratri- a time toworship Goddess Durga

and her nine avatars

As the Sun transits yourseventh house, you have a

greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The empha-sis is on "us" rather than "me". Social interactions of a per-sonal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extreme-ly busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in yourdealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over con-fident and egotistical.

The Sun transits yoursolar sixth house and highlights your health and also

makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, youshould enhance your skills, get organized and take up ahealth regime for your wellbeing. This transit highlights theneed for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new

and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

After a period of relativeinactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to performand to express yourself creatively. This is a very progressiveperiod of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. Youtake more pride in your your love affairs, your children, andyour hobbies and are generally very sociable and makefriends easily.

With the Sun transitingyour solar fourth house of family and home, these areas

are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of prop-erty or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind asyou will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It isalso a time when family life will be charged with emotionsso be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

You are exploring andsearching now, making connections, and paying atten-

tion to your immediate environment. Socially you are verypopular and your communications strengthen your connec-tions. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls,and light socializing. Siblings, neighbours, close relatives,friends, and co-workers may play a more important role

than usual in your life during this period.

The Sun highlights yoursecond house of finance, and your focus is on material

affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan yourfuture investments carefully to maximise your profits. Iftravelling make sure you keep your documents safe as thereis a possibility of misplacing them. Some of you mightchange your travel itinerary which could create upheavals at

the last minute.

The Sun transits yourfirst house and this affects your personal identity, appear-ance, outward behavior, and self-expression. This marks thepeak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the positionto make an impression on others, and to assert your per-sonal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling ofconfidence is with you now, so take advantage of yourcharisma to achieve your goals.

The Sun travels throughyour twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and

regeneration. This also heralds a time for research andunfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which havedragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and putto rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlighten-ment and take up yoga and meditation.

The Sun illuminatesyour sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities.You will be in constant demand and will be in a position tonetwork with new-found friends who will promote yourcause. Personal relationships are also to the fore and someof you might even find true love. This is a time to follow yourdreams and ideals, and to plant a seed in the form of a wishfor the future.

More than any othertime of the year, your

focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society.This is the time when you are more interested in, andfocused on, accomplishing something important. Contactwith authority figures is more likely during this period.Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it ornot, and the responsibility that goes with it.

You are feeling mostadventurous and willing to

achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth. This is agood time to broaden your horizons through travel andhigher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pur-suit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourselffrom the mundane grind of life and take on something whichis more meaningful for your inner growth.

The Sun energizes yoursector of change, transforma-

tion and regeneration. On a more practical level, you maybe dealing with joint finances and shared resources nowmore than usual. You should also make sure that your taxaffairs are in order along with your investments. You aremore willing than usual to explore and delve deeper intolife's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

This week in CB Live watch the launch of the much

awaited 2012 Hindu Pilgrimage brochure by Skylink

Travel of Wembley with Gurudev Dr Rajeshji from

International Siddhashram Shakti Centre. The discount

travel structure for Kailash- Mansarovar, Chardham

and other yatras, visit to Shree Krishna Temples and

Shree Ram temples- is meant especially for devotees.


ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

UK

For more information e-mail: [email protected]

CB Live is only a Gujarati programme in UK on MATV SKY 793

7pm to 8pmIf you do not have a SKY, go to www.tvunetworks.com and

watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

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Coming Eventsl Gandhi Jayanti, Monday 26th September, 6pmonwards, Kadva Patidar Centre, HA3 8LU.Contact: Mahatma Gandhi Foundation(UK) - 020 8863 2376l The Northwick Park Institute for MedicalResearch, organised Walk for Heart and Stroke,Saturday, 24th September 2011 from 10.30am.Register- http://heartandstrokeresearch.org/walk-2011-registration-form.l Mr. Ashok Kumar Verma, President of GlobalPunjabi Society (UK) Chapter announces GPS'sAward Nite and Diwali Dinner and Dance, 7pm onSaturday 29th October 2011 at the LiecesterStage Hotel, Wigston Fields, Leicester LE18 1JW.Contact: [email protected]/ 07710 433 964.l 20 Gret Human Values- from Bhagavad Gita,Monday 3 Oct- Wed 5th Oct, 7-8:30pm. ConwayHall, London WC1R 4RL, Free admission.l Asia House, 3 New Cavendish Street, London W1G7LP - Film Screening: Everywhere and Nowhere withpost-screening talk with Director Menhaj Huda,Friday 30 Sep, 2011 6:45 PMl Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street. London W1K 1HF.23rd September, 6:30pm: Urdu solo Play by Tom Alter: Maulana AzadSeptember 27, 2011; 7pm to 8pm. Poetry :Shabdanjali – A Bouquet of Words, Manjit SinghChatrik

Navratri Speciall Aden Mitra Mandal celebrates Navratri, 28th ofSep to the 6th of Oct, and follow up the sharadpurnima garba on the 11th of Oct at AlpertonCommunity School, HA0 4PW.l Surrey Gujarati Hindu Society celebratesNavratri festival, Kingsley Junior School ,ChapmanRoad,Croydon,CR0 3JT, 28th September to 5thOctober. Sharad punam, Tuesday 11th October2011 with music. 7.30-11.00pm. Admission Free.Contact: Ghanshyam Patel on 0208 773 1828.l Anandmilan’s celebrates Navratri, GuildfordCommunity Centre, Leapale Lane, Guildford,Surrey, GU1 4LY, 28th Sept to 6th Oct, 8pm to11pm. Entry is Free to members and, in 2011,membership to Anandmilan is also Free.l Kingston Navratri Festival: 28th September tillThursday 6th October at the TolworthRecreational Centre, Fullers Way North, KT6 7LQfrom 8.30pm till late. Sharad Poonam-11thOctober with 'Rangeela Orchestra'. Entry Free forall children under 14 years and paid members.

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Contact: Mahendra Thakar 07508 346810l LCEL celebrates Navratri, from Wednesday 28th September 2011 and Sharad Poonam, 11thOctober 2011, Oasis Banqueting Hall, 6 Thames Road, Barking, Ilford: IG11 0HZl Hari Aum Arts and Cultural Association PresentsNavratri Festival, Hindu Cultural Society3 Lyndhurst Avenue (Entrance), London N12 0NE,28th September 2011 To 6th October 2011Poonam Celebration On Saturday 8th Ocober 2011,8.00pm Till late. Free. Contact: Suresh H Depala-020 8446 5057l Navratri Garba at Jalaram Jyot, Repton Avenue,Sudbury, Wembley, Middx HA0 3DW daily from8.00pm from Wednesday 28th September tillThursday 6th October. Free entry. Interestedsponsor-Contact: Usha Purohit - 07894 858 566l Shree Jalaram Mandir Greenford - Navratri Festival: Wednesday 28th September toThursday 6th October 2011 from 8pm to 10pm- Durga ashtami havan: Tuesday 4th October 2011from 11am to 4pm Contact: 0208 578 8088, ShreeJalaram Mandir, 39-45 Oldfield Lane South,Greenford, Middlesex UB6 9LB

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Laughter is indeed thebest medicine. Scientistsscientifically backed theage-old adage, “don’tworry, be happy,” report-ing patients withcardiovasculardisease, who suf-fer fits of angercould be vulner-able to recurrentheart attacks.However, whenpeople laughedtheir majorblood vesselsdilated, improv-ing blood flow.This is a majormarker for areduced risk of cardiacevents. The research car-ried out by the Institute ofClinical Physiology inPisa, Italy, and presentedat the ongoing EuropeanSociety of Cardiologymeeting in Paris was car-ried out for over 10 years.As many as 78.5% ofpatients with cardiovascu-lar disease, who did notindicate an angry person-ality profile, had “infarc-tion free-survival” com-pared to 57.4% patients,who exhibited anger pro-files, said FrancoBonaguidi from theInstitute.

Michael Miller fromthe University of Marylandin Baltimore, in a separate

study, said when peoplelaughed their major bloodvessels dilated, allowingfor easier blood flow. Bothresearchers confirmed

how psychological well-ness directly influencescardiac-related outcomes.

And the difference ofconstriction of arteriescould be as much as 30%to 50% in diameterbetween the two cate-gories of people. Reactingto the study, chairman ofthe Escorts HeartResearch Institute DrAshok Seth, said,“Numerous Bollywoodmovies have shown how about of anger leads to anactor’s heart attack. It hasnow been scientificallyproven. Anger releasesadrenergic and rasocon-strictor hormones, whichdecrease blood supply tothe heart and also increas-

es blood clotting.” Headded, “Happy people, onthe other hand, have anattitude of mental relax-ation, which is already

been shown todilate arteries.”

For theanger study,228 patientswere recruited -200 of whomwere men. Overthe course ofthe study, 51people sufferedcoronary events- 28 deaths and23 heartattacks. .

Survival of the heartiest

Group of researchersfrom Pisa, Italy, find78.5% of heart patients,without angry profile,have ‘infarction free-sur-vival’ 57.4% of ‘angry’heart patients sufferinfarctions leading toattacks Anger triggersrelease of stress hormonecortisol that hikes bloodsugar causing cardiovascu-lar disease.

Lemon juice has more ben-efits that you'd ever imag-ine. Lemons have five percent of citric acid, whichgives it its unique taste.Rich in vitamin C, it alsohas vitamin B, calcium,phosphorus, magnesium,proteins and carbohydrates.Here are some benefits.

• Suffer from indiges-tion? Mix a few drops oflemon juice with warm

water and sip on it. This isuseful for treating nausea,heartburn, diarrhoea,bloating and burping.

• Since lemon is a nat-ural antiseptic, it is greatto cure skin problems. Itclears your skin and alsoacts as an anti-ageingagent by eliminating wrin-kles and blackheads.

• Have a toothache?Apply fresh lemon juicewhere it hurts. If you havebleeding gums, applyinglemon juice can curb thebleeding and stop badbreath.

• A sore throat can becured by gargling withlemon juice and water reg-ularly.

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 29HealtH WATcH

Practice yoga twice a weekfor eight weeks to reducechronic pain and mentalstress in women. This wasrevealed by a study thatlooked at the effects ofyoga on levels of the hor-mone cortisol in womenwho are suffering fromfibromyalgia. The condi-tion, which predominantlyaffects women, is associat-ed with chronic pain andfatigue, and symptomssuch as muscle stiffness,sleep disturbances anddepression.

Previous research hasfound that women withfibromyalgia have lower-

than-average cortisol lev-els, which can contributeto pain, fatigue, and stresssensitivity, according tothe researchers. In the newstudy, participants’ salivarevealed enhanced cortisollevels following a programof 75 minutes of Hathayoga twice a week, overthe course of eight weeks.Also, patients reported sig-nificant reductions in theirpain levels, as well as amental boost from theyoga practice.

“Ideally, our cortisollevels peak about 30-40minutes after we get up inthe morning and decline

throughout the day untilwe’re ready to go to sleep,”said the study’s leadauthor, Kathryn Curtis, aPhD student at YorkUniversity in Canada.“The secretion of the hor-mone, cortisol, is dysregu-lated in women withfibromyalgia.”

The study, published inthe Journal of PainResearch, follows anotherpublished report earlierthis year that found thatpatients with rheumatoidarthritis, who practicedyoga, showed significantimprovements in theirsymptoms.

Earlier this year, astudy was published in theJournal of Neurosciencethat found that meditationalso delivered powerfulpain-relieving effects tothe brain with even just 80minutes training in anexercise called focusedattention. In the study, thesubjects each took four20-minute sessions tolearn how to control theirbreathing and put asidetheir.

Now, laugh your way to good health

Drink lemon juice for good health

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Parents with toddlers willrelate to reading Ofstedratings for their localschools. Do you judge aschool by its Ofsted rat-ing? For those not famil-iar with Oftsed, it is theofficial body that inspectsschools and provides astandards based indica-tion of how poor or well-performing a school is incomparison to its peers.Although the system hasbeen simplified down to 4categories from the previ-ous 27, the jury is still outon whether an ofsted rat-ing should be a leadingindicator in making thiscrucial decision.

Like us, many parentswill be reviewing theseratings and talking toother parents to decidewhich school to send theirchildren to. It is a painfuldecision that will have asignificant impact on Riasfuture so it is not a deci-sion to be taken lightly. Inmy opinion, a school hasto offer much more than agood standard of educa-tion and a safe surround-ing. It has to be a homeaway from home wherethe values that we teachRia at home are mirroredat school. It has to reflectthe diversity of the realworld whilst honouringour cultural preferences.

Although most schools doan amazing job to caterfor these preferences, it ishard to judge which onesdo it well simply based onan ‘ofsted rating’.

I am a firm believer injudging for myself yet it isdifficult subconsciouslynot to pay homage toofsted ratings as a goodplace to start the selectionprocess. After all, there isprobably no smoke with-out fire and as a newcom-er on the scene, guidanceis helpful. So, in the end,I succumb to listing ourlocal schools and lookingup their ofsted reports asa starter. A friend of minewho is a teacher put mestraight by telling me tojust visit the school andjudge for myself. Her‘honest insider view’ isthat ofsted inspections arelike a house viewing. Thestate of our house on anormal day vs whensomeone is coming to seeit can vary greatly.Enough said.

We are fortunate tohave choice in our area ofsome very good state andprivate schools but it willbe the one that I canimagine Ria in that willtake preference. If I con-tinue the analogy, somehouses give you goodvibes and you can just

imagine living there.Others on the other hand,rightly or wrongly ‘feel’wrong. I felt the samevibes as I carried outtours of the local schools.I realised that a simple‘outstanding’ scoring wasnot going to persuade meto send Ria to the estab-lishment. I think schoolsshould also recognise thatgetting the best gradesout of their studentsshould not become a pri-mary focus. The wellbe-ing of the children and thesmiles on their faces havesome bearing for parentslike me who want theirchildren to treat school asa home away from homeand not a ‘business’whose objective it is tochurn out As by drivingtheir pupils hard.

So, I have learnt mylesson. In business, Iwouldn’t judge a companypurely on its stock price.In my personal life, Iwouldn’t judge a personsimply by the letters aftertheir name or book a hotelor restaurant based onthe number of stars it has.So, why would I judge aschool by its rating? It isthe overall experiencethat counts afterall.Quote:“Dont judge a book by itscover” – Edwin Rolfe

Is rating everything?

By Radhika Madlani

Should you have any comments or want to get in touch with me you can email on [email protected]

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Yoga canreduce

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Former Indian cricket icon, FarokhEngineer, penned a dirge in the Timesto the Indian team's woeful tour ofEngland. The title of the piece - “Indiamust never be allowed to plumb thesedepths of humiliation again” - said itall. The final ODI of the series atCardiff provided a faint glimmer ofhope, for the beleaguered tourists andtheir legions of disappointed fans, thatIndia would come good with a flourishat the last time of asking. As usual theyflattered to deceive. With 304 for 6 onthe board it was surely time to graspthat elusive victory. The batsmen werein prime form: Rahul Dravid in hisfarewell one-day international made anelegant 69, the youthful Virat Kohlilived up to his promise with a splendid107 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni tastedthe last of the summer wine with anunbeaten 50 drilled from 26 deliveries.

But this is a team game, as captainDhoni ruefully reminded his audienceat the post-match press briefing.Bowlers, too, had to do their bit. Theydidn't and it never looked as if theywould. With the inclement weather andfrequent rain interruptions the Englandinnings was reduced to 34 overs andthe victory target to 241 runs. Yorkshiredebutant Jonny Bairstow, whose latefather played for the county andEngland, smashed the pie-throwers ofIndia to every corner of the ground andbeyond for a devastating 41 not out,while his partner Ravi Bopara playedjoyous second fiddle with an unbeaten37. Under the Duckworth-Lewis rules,England cantered home to a deserved 6wicket win in 32.2 overs. India shouldhave disappeared in sackcloth andashes. Perhaps they have appeared inthis salutary garb when their planetouched down in Mumbai.

Farokh Engineer castigated India'scricket administrators for the ham-fist-ed schedule: players wandering in likecows from the Caribbean, others doingmuch the same from India itself withbarely a care in the world. Many wereout of condition, none except the hero-ic Rahul Dravid had the stomach for afight.

Engineer lamented the absence ofleft-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha andpaceman Varon Aron, whose case forselection was obvious to all except thedumb-witted, toxic Indian selectorsand their partners in crime in the crick-et board. Ojha has just helped Surrey,to whom he was strongly recommendedby Anil Kumble, to promotion to divi-sion 1 in the county league. He

crowned his season with match figuresof 10 for 90 against Derbyshire. Notthat the brazen KrishnamachariSrikkanth would have noticed.

A fresh ODI series in India, withEngland again as opponents, is due tocommence on October 14. Be preparedfor the worst. Whither Dhoni? You maywell ask. The scale of India's drubbingwould have meant curtains on hiscareer as India's captain. There beingno obvious successor, he might earn areprieve. He could well repeat withHamlet: “Who would fardels bear,/Togrunt and sweat under a wearylife,/But that the dread of somethingafter death, / The undiscovered countryfrom whose bourn no travellerreturns....” Enough said.

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 201130 Sport

Critics have ripped himapart in recent times forhis poor form but anundeterred HarbhajanSingh says having a clearconscience and perform-ing the role assigned tohim by the team is whatmatters the most.

Harbhajan, who isnow fit to play afterbeing ruled out of theEngland series due to anabdominal musclestrain, insists he couldnot have taken over 400Test wickets if he wasnot good enough at thehighest level. "All these

years, I have maintained one thing. After a hardday's play, I go back to my hotel room and lookat myself in the mirror. If I know that I havegiven my 100 per cent, that's what matters tome", Harbhajan said in an interview. "More thanwhat people believe, an individual is the bestjudge and I can't fool myself," said the 31-year-old off-spinner.

Harbhajan came back after the second Testmatch in England because of a Grade I abdomi-nal muscle strain and had to undergo intenserehabilitation programme at the NationalCricket Academy in Bangalore.

Rahul Dravid who played his last one - dayinternational at Cardiff, England said that hehad a satisfying ODI career.

Talking to the media, Dravid didn't soundemotional about his retirement because he hashardly played ODIs in recent years: "I am notreally emotional. It does not feel like I am fin-ishing in some ways or retiring since I would beplaying Test cricket. Obviously, I won't be play-ing anymore one-day cricket, which I thought Iwon't be even two years ago. But it's a nice toreflect back on what I think was a pretty pleas-ing and satisfying one-day career."

Did it help his Test career when he was notbeing considered for the ODI team on a regularbasis?

"It did in some ways. Initially I found it a bitdifficult adjusting from being someone who wasplaying continuously to one who was not play-ing one-days. I found that the gaps in betweenthe Tests were as big as nearly six months. Itused to become slightly difficult to get straightinto Tests especially nowadays when there arenot a lot of side games on international tours.

"With time I have learned to manage andadjust. I started enjoying the breaks as thathelped met get a lot fitter because I got to spenda lot more time on my fitness and my training.It also helped me iron out flaws in my game andwork on it and helped me spend more time withmy family. So all in all it has worked out quitewell for me."

Talking more about his career in both formsof the game, Dravid said, "I have had some highsand lows in both forms of the game. That is life,that is cricket and it has taught me a lot aboutmyself as a person and how to deal with a lot ofthings. I have absolutely no regrets. I do notdread the day at all. Retiring from this form of thegame is not going to bring very different changeto my life over what it has been in the last two-and-a-half years. Obviously when I retire fromTest cricket I would have a lot more spare time tothink about stuff to do and what to do but Iwould think about that when I get there."

Before signing off, he said he would miss theintensity with which he uses to prepare formatches once he retired from Tests as well.

"Growing up you didn't do certain thingsthat you normally would have done in college orwith your friends. We just didn't have time orenergy to do all that stuff because you are sobusy playing cricket. But it's something I'vealways loved and enjoyed doing. Obviously yougot to be careful as you get older, as you keepplaying cricket you got to ensure and watchthings like fitness, diet and practice."

I do not dread the day at all. Retiring fromthis form of the game is not going to bring verydifferent change to my life over what it has beenin the last two-and-a-half years".

I am now fit to play any form of cricket: Harbhajan

Injury played huge part in England debacle: DhoniIndia suffered a humiliatingwhitewash in both Test andone-day series in their disas-trous England tour but cap-tain Mahendra Singh Dhonisaid that injury to several keyteam members played a hugepart in the debacle.

"I have not seen so manyinjuries in the last five years.To see 9-11 players get injuredin one series has been shock-ing. In the ODI series we alsodid not have luck," he said atthe press conference afterIndia lost the fifth and finalODI by six wickets.

"If you look at the first twoTests, we were left with threebowlers. If your bowling startslooking weak, the pressurepiles up on batsmen. You can-not carry a team consistentlyon just one department.

"If Zaheer was there in thefirst Test and we could havepressed advantage in the sec-ond innings instead of relyingon part-timers. It could havelooked different. But it's impor-tant what we did. There is nopoint in sulking," Dhoni said.

Dhoni, however, said thathis side would not be thinkingfor revenge when Englandtour India next month to playfive one-day matches.

"You should not have sucha feeling. If you have revengein your mind, you become

desperate and start puttingpressure on the whole side.It's better to stick to basics,"he said.

"We also would have tosee how many of the 9-11players who are injured arenow fit and have played somematches. We have to see whoall are available for selection."

Asked if he thoughtinjured players shouldstraightaway be allowed toget back into the side withouthaving a few matches undertheir belt, he said, "It's tough.We have to exactly see whatkind of injury it is.

"It is good if someone hassome matches under his belt.But it's difficult because youneed experience in a line-up.You try to balance it. Youdon't want your bowlingdepartment to look complete-

ly fresh." Dhoni blamed the condi-

tions and injury to MunafPatel as the reason for India'ssix-wicket defeat in the fifthand final match here.

"To have Munaf injuredafter four overs, broke therhythm of our bowling. Theball was also getting very wet.This was the fifth time we lostthe toss and it became verydifficult for spinners," he rea-soned.

The Indian captain under-lined the point that the prac-tice games should not be anofficial fixture where only 11players can play. Flexibilitywith numbers of players whocan play is important for prac-tice games.

"We were not able to usepractice games in best possiblemanner. The first game was

official and we could not playmore than 11 players. Justbefore a Test match, the play-ers had to be on the field for 90overs. The second practicegame was the same," he said.

"We will make sure thereis an MoU in place that prac-tice games should be justpractice games. You should beable to play more than 12players. If I am asked to playan official game, I would pre-fer playing a Test match thanthese practice games," headded.

Dhoni held a high view ofthe present England side butwas not prepared to concedethey were the current bestside in the world.

"England are a very goodside, irrespective of the for-mat they are playing. As theyplay more and more cricket,they would get only better.But it's difficult to say if theyare the best side. The top 3-4sides are all good. They areamong the best sides.

"In sub-continent, it mightbe different but they can stillget the reverse swing to con-trol the batsmen. England'sbatting line up also looks set-tled. Broad and Bresnan cannot only bowl fast and quickbut they can also bat whichmeans England bats verydeep," he said.

I had a satisfying ODIcareer: Rahul Dravid Miserable summer

crowned with misery

Rahul Dravid leaving the field to a standing ovation after playing his final ODI innings

Asian Voice - Saturday 24th September 2011 31Sport woRLd

After claiming to be innocent for long,banned Pakistan pacer MohammadAamer has reportedly confessed to hisinvolvement in the spot-fixing scandalthat shook the core of internationalcricket last year.

According to 'The NewsInternational', Aamer "submitted hiswritten confession during a hearing atthe Southwark Crown Court inLondon."

The 19-year-old was found guilty ofspot-fixing and banned along with thethen Test captain Salman Butt andpacer Mohammad Asif after it came tolight that the trio conspired to bowldeliberate no balls during the Lord'sTest against England on the instruc-tions of a Britain-based bookmakerMazhar Majeed.

The daily reported that Majeed has"also submitted his written confession

at the London court." "'The News' has learnt through reli-

able sources that in his written confes-sion, Aamer has claimed that he wasforced to deliver the no-balls in theLord's Test. Sources said that Aamerhas tried to dispel the impression thathe bowled the no-balls in return of

money," the newspaper reported. "However, it is not clear whether

Aamer has accused Salman Butt, whowas Pakistan's captain at that time orthe player has blamed any external fac-tors for the no-balls he bowled duringthe Test," the daily said.

"Sources said that Aamer submittedhis confession in the court through hisBritish lawyer Gareth Pierce's legal firmBirnberg Peirce and Partners."

A court hearing regarding the spot-fixing case is set to take place onOctober 4 in London.

The daily said that Aamer has beentold to plead guilty by his lawyers asthey believe it would help him get alenient view from the judges because ofhis young age.

Aamer was banned for five years,Butt for 10 years while Asif was hand-ed a seven-year ban.

Japan stormed back into theDavis Cup World Group forthe first time in nearly threedecades on Sunday after KeiNishikori defeated VishnuVardhan to give the hosts aninsurmountable lead overIndia.

Nishikori, ranked 55th inthe world against Vardhan's456th, coasted to a straight-forward 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victoryto put the tie beyond doubtat 3-1.

In the last, dead rubber,Rohan Bopanna quit thematch at 5-4 up in the first setto give Go Soeda a win andJapan a 4-1 overall score line.

Japan, who had onlythree wins and 18 defeatsagainst India previously,have not played in the WorldGroup since 1985. Theyadvanced to the play-off by

beating Uzbekistan 4-1 inJuly.

On Friday, Japan's YuichiSugita upset higher-rankedSomdev Devvarman 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and Nishikori chalkedup a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victoryover Bopanna to give Japana commanding lead.

India stayed in the tieafter Mahesh Bhupathiteamed up with Bopanna inthe doubles to keep India'shopes alive, beating TatsumaIto and Sugita 7-5, 3-6, 6-3,7-6 (7/4). Debutant VishnuVardhan might have lost hismatch against Kei Nishikoriof Japan but he earnedpraise from his teammatesand the rival camp for hiscourageous show in thefourth rubber of the DavisCup World Group play-offtie in Tokyo.

Davis Cup: Indiaout of world groupJapan beat visitors 4-1 to make it to elite

group for the first time since 1985

Controversy-ridden IPLfranchise Kochi TuskersKerala was slapped with asuspension notice for non-payment of bank guaranteeby the BCCI at its AnnualGeneral Meeting onMonday. The consortium,which was mired in a bitterownership dispute after itsvery inception, defaultedon Rs 1.56 billion annualpayment it was to make asbank guarantee despitereported reminders fromthe IPL authorities.

According to BCCIsources, the franchise hasbeen asked to make thepayment within a stipulat-ed timeframe failing whichKochi's participation in theIPL would be terminated.

The franchise, whichwas bought for Rs 15.50billion, is supposed tomake the yearly paymentfor the next 10 years.

The team made itsdebut only last year andwas among the laggards inthe league.

Led by MahelaJayawardene, the side hasalso been hitting the head-lines due to its owners'reported desire to shift theteam's base to Ahmedabad.

Kochi had faced theprospect of being axedeven last year when theBCCI questioned its share-holding but the matter wassettled after agreementbetween the various own-ers.

Kochi Tuskers suspended fromIPL for defaulting on payment

N Srinivasan takes over as BCCI presidentRaising the ante against thecontroversial DecisionReview System in the after-math of the incidents on therecent England tour, theCricket Board decided tooppose the 'Hot Spot' tech-nology too along with theball tracking system whichit has consistently beenagainst.

"We were extremelyreluctant to implement theDRS and had no belief inthe ball tracking system.BCCI is not averse to tech-nology and agreed to a min-imum usage of DRS includ-ing 'Hot Spot' at the lastICC meeting in HongKong," said N Srinivasanafter taking over the reins ofthe BCCI from ShashankManohar on Monday.

"We were under the

impression that 'Hot Spot'was very good. It is not nec-essary for me to dwell onthe accuracy of 'Hot Spot".It was there for everybodyto see.

"The BCCI will raise thisissue at the next ICC meet-ing. We want to revisit it aswe feel 'Hot Spot' is insuffi-cient technology and there-

fore we would request(ICC) that it be revised.This is the position we willtake", said Srinivasan at themedia conference after theBoard's 82nd AGM wherehe took over as its presi-dent.

At the AGM, SanjayJagdale of MPCA, HimachalPradesh's Anurag Thakurand Maharashtra's AjayShirke were elected unop-posed as secretary, joint sec-retary and treasurer respec-tively of the country's rich-est sports body.

Two new vice presidents- Chitrak Mitra and SudhirDabir representing East andCentral zones - were alsoelected without any fightalong with Arun Jaitley(North), Shivlal Yadav(South) and Niranjan Shah

(West). The senior selection

panel was also recast with1983 World Cup heroMohinder Amarnath beingthe lone new face in thefive-man committee replac-ing Yashpal Sharma fromNorth Zone.

K r i s h n a m a c h a r iSrikkanth, of South, wouldcontinue to be its chairmanwhile three other committeemembers - Surendra Bhave(West), Narendra Hirwani(Central) and Raja Venkat(East) were also re-appoint-ed for one more year.

The indications are thatAmarnath would take overas the chairman of the panelwhen Srikkanth's term endsnext September along withthose of the other threepanel members.

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamerconfesses to involvement in spot-fixing

Australia won the three-match test seriesagainst Sri Lanka 1-0 after captain MichaelClarke and Phil Hughes scored centuries toforce a draw on Tuesday in the third test.Australia was dismissed for 488 in its secondinnings after erasing a 157-run deficit. SpinnerRangana Herath returned a career-best sevenwickets for 157 and recorded his 100th testwicket. Sri Lanka was set an impossible 331 towin in less than a session and batted for twoovers, scoring seven without loss, before thecaptains decided to call off play.

Clarke hit 112 and shared a record 176-runpartnership for the fifth wicket with MikeHussey, who was out for 93. Hughes was earli-er dismissed for 126. Hussey was named playerof the series after scoring two centuries and twohalf-centuries in five innings. Sri Lanka enteredthe final day hoping for quick wickets in itssearch for a series-leveling victory. Herathstruck in his first over when he had Hughescaught by Lahiru Thirimanne, but Clarke andHussey combined to frustrate the bowlers, shar-ing the best fifth-wicket partnership in testcricket between the two nations.

India hockey team rejectsRs 25,000 prize money

Indian hockey players who won the AsianChampionship refused to accept Rs 25, 000cash reward offered to them by Hockey India.

The winning national hockey team feltinsulted on being offered the meagre cashreward by sports minister Ajay Maken duringtheir felicitation ceremony.

Hockey team captain Rajpal Singh said thattheir feat of beating arch-rivals Pakistan in thefinals of the prestigious event was not rewardedwell, and added that his team was disappointedby Maken's hollow claims of reviving the nation-al sport in the country. Singh further said anycash reward should be motivational for the play-ers, both now and in the future.

He urged other sports federation to take aleaf out of the BCCI's working and awarding ofplayers to motivate them for better results. Indiadefeated Pakistan 4-2 in the Asian ChampionsTrophy finals last week in Ordos, China.

Govt hikes reward

After the rejection of the reward by the play-ers, the government of India assured the teamthat each player would get Rs 1,50,000 asreward. Maken said this was de rigueur - thatthe champs would have got this money anywayunder a government rewards scheme. That theCentre just did not see reason to make a songand dance about the cash award since it waspublic knowledge anyway. He was also at painsto point out that the paltry sum of Rs 25,000that was offered to the players was HockeyIndia's doing. Not the Centre's.

"Rs 25,000 cash award was not announcedby Govt but by the Hockey India. Govt. spendsall the money on training, coaching & foreignexposure," Mr Maken posted on his Twitteraccount. Mr Maken backed players' decision torefuse the amount. "Players were right in refus-ing the money. It was an insult to the players,"he said at the press conference. Mr Maken'sclarification came close on the heels of thePunjab government's announcement that itwould give an award of Rs 2500,000 to team.Mr Badal, while announcing the ShiromaniAkali Dal government's more generous cashprize, also asked the UPA government at theCentre to apologise to the members of the hock-ey team for them being offered so paltry a sum.

Australia win test seriesagainst Sri Lanka

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