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SPORTS 24

Islamabad/United Nations:Pakistan is banking on good friendChina to blockI n d i a ' schances ofmaking it tothe covetedN u c l e a rS u p p l i e r sGroup (NSG),a formerP a k i s t a n idiplomat hassaid, addingthat "chances of India gainingentry into NSG are virtually nil".

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's formerpermanent representative at theUN in Geneva and envoy at theConference on Disarmament, saidon Wednesday that China wouldnot allow India to enter the NSGbecause this would af fect itsnuclear cooperation with Pakistan,

SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30

China will not allowIndia into NSG: former Pak diplomat

Continued on page 4

New Delhi: India and the UnitedStates have agreed in principle toshare military logistics, the coun‑tries' defense ministers said onTuesday, as both sides seek tocounter the growing maritimeassertiveness of China.

Washington has for years urgedNew Delhi to sign a LogisticsSupport Agreement that allowsthe two militaries to use eachother's land, air and naval basesfor resupplies, repair and rest.

India has had concerns that alogistics agreement would com‑mit it to hosting US troops at itsbases, or draw it into a militaryalliance with the US and under‑mine its traditional autonomy.

But after years of delays, the

two sides said an agreement wasin hand, although not yet readyfor signing. "We have agreed inprinciple that all the issues are

resolved," Defense SecretaryAshton Carter told reporters in

Washington: Democratic front‑runner Hillary Clinton leads herprimary opponent, VermontSenator Bernie Sanders, by double‑digits in New York andPennsylvania, according to thepolls released last Sunday by FoxNews.

Presidential candidate DonaldTrump is also leading his rivals forthe Republican nomination byover 20 points in the primary con‑tests in the two blue states. TheNew York primaries are scheduledfor April 19 and Pennsylvania onApril 26. Nationally, Trump still

has a double digit lead over hisnearest competitor Ted Cruz, buthis margin over Cruz hasdecreased. Now, 42 percent ofRepublican primary voters nation‑ally would like to see DonaldTrump as the Republican Party'snominee, while 29 percent supportTed Cruz, and 18 percent backJohn Kasich. Last month, Trump'slead over Cruz was 20 points, butnow it's dropped to 13 points.

While both Clinton and Trumpare playing up their home stateties ahead of the New York

India, US deependefense ties

On a visit to Jackson Diner, Hillary Clinton posed with Karamjit SinghDhaliwal, President of Malwa Brothers. Dhaliwal said that President BillClinton had opened doors for India and was always helpful to Indians.

Now time has come for Indians in America to help get Mrs HillaryClinton elected President of the country. Queens Democratic

leader Gurdip Singh Narula is also seen in the photo taken by Congressman Joseph Crowley.

India slams China's 'hidden

veto' on MasoodAzhar at UN

Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton looks unconvinced by herhusband Prince William's attempts to fire his bow and arrow on

their visit to the Bhutan National Stadium on April 14. The youngroyal couple have been on a week‑long tour of India and Bhutan

and given a warm reception everywhere. (Photo: SplashNews)

Continued on page 4

US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter with his Indian counterpart,Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)

Hillary, Trumplead big in NewYork: Polls

A ROYAL TREAT

Continued on page 4More coverage on page 23.

See page >>16‑17 for more pix and stories.

Democrat and Republican primaries on April 19 in the state.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 16-22, 2016

3April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info T R I S T A T E C O M M U N I T Y

Washington: US President BarackObama has profusely praised twoIndian‑American science whiz kidsfor their innovative ideas andgroundbreaking thinking, whichhe said would help serve the glob‑al community.

Maya Varma from Californiaand Anurudh Ganesan fromMaryland won various sciencecompetitions, thus qualifying forthe sixth White House ScienceFair. "All of you are showing therest of us that it's never too earlyin life to make a dif ference,"Obama said in his remarks afterinteracting with the students whohad come from across the coun‑try.

"You teach us about the powerof reason and logic, and tryingthings and figuring out whetherthey work, and if they don't, learn‑ing from that and trying some‑

thing new. And you remind usthat, together, through science, wecan tackle some of the biggestchallenges that we face," said theUS President as he singled several

of these whiz kids, two of themwere Indian‑American. "We've gotMaya Varma, who is a senior fromSan Jose, California."

Maya's (literally) breathtaking

invention earned her a slot as a2016 Intel STS finalist, where herspirometer was selected as one ofthe top 40 projects in the nation."Maya is using a low‑cost micro‑controller, software freely avail‑able on the Internet, and a smart‑phone, and she designed a toolthat allows people with asthmaand other lung diseases to diag‑nose and monitor their own symp‑toms," he said.

Obama also narrated the storyof Anurudh Ganesan, 16. "Sowhen Anarudh was little, hisgrandparents walked him 10miles to a remote clinic in hisnative India for vaccinations, onlyto find out that the vaccines hadspoiled in the heat," he told theaudience. "Though he eventuallygot the shots that he needed, hethought, well, this is a problem,and wanted to prevent other chil‑

dren from facing the same risk."So he developed what he calls

the VAXXWAGON, and it 's arefrigerator on wheels that trans‑ports vaccines to remote destina‑tions. That's the kind of innova‑tion and compassion that we'reseeing from so many of theseyoung people," Obama said.Anarudh's project made him afinalist in the 2015 GoogleScience Fair.

Obama also had a presentationfrom Sanjana Rane, 18, fromKentucky, who helped discoverhow a particular protein could beused to detect and treat renalfibrosis. "This is just a small sam‑ple of the incredible talent that ison display at this science fair. Wecouldn't be prouder. To all the stu‑dents, to all the young people, wecould not be prouder of you,"Obama said. (PTI)

Mumbai: TIMES NOW, Indiaʼs No. 1news channel, and ICICI Bank,India's largest private sector bank,hosted the third edition of ʻNRI ofthe Year Awardsʼ on April 11 here torecognize and salute the spirit of theGlobal Indian.

Tennis star Sania Mirza was con‑ferred Indiaʼs Global Icon award andBollywood actress Aishwarya RaiBachchan was honored as GlobalIndian of the Year in the presence ofIndian Minister Piyush Goyal, andChanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICIBank.

Also awarded were 17 individualsunder categories includingEntrepreneur, Professional,Academics, Arts & Culture,Philanthropy, and Special JuryAward. Powered by Global IndianInternational School (GIIS), theseawards recognize the outstandingachievements of the Indian diasporaglobally. The awards this year wereopen to any NRI, OCI and PIO livingin USA, Canada, UK, Middle East,Singapore, Australia and NewZealand. From the US, VirendraChopra was honored in the categoryof Entrepreneur, and Riju Agarwalas (Profressional). Nikesh Arora,President and COO of SoftBank Corp,bagged Special Jury Award. The jury

comprised of eminent leaders suchas Suhel Seth, Partha Sinha, AnuragBatra, P.R. Chakravarty and SudhirDhar. Said Naveen Chandra, Head ‑International Business, TIMESNetwork, “The NRI of the Yearawards is the most distinctiveawards for Indians globally and wehave received an overwhelming25,000 registrations online and themultiple Jury rounds have ensuredthat the winners are of high quality.Among the winners this year areaccomplished Neurologists,Oncologists, CEOs of global busi‑nesses and a former white houseintern.” The awards will air onTIMES NOW on 23rd April, 2016.

Washington: FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley hasraised the issue of hike inthe US visa fee for Indiantechnology professionals,which he said was target‑ed largely at the IndianIT (information technolo‑gy) companies.

“The finance ministerheld a bilateral meetingwith United States TradeR e p r e s e n t a t i v eAmbassador MichaelFroman expressingIndiaʼs concern over thehike in the H‑1B and L1 visa feewhich is discriminatory and ineffect, largely targeted at Indian ITcompanies,” the union finance min‑istry said in a statement. Jaitley iscurrently on a 7‑day official tour toWashington DC to attend theSpring Meetings of IMF and the

World Bank and otherassociated meetings.Jaitley is accompaniedby RBI GovernorRaghuram Rajan,Secretary EconomicAffairs Shaktikanta Das,and Chief EconomicAdviser ArvindSubramanian.

Jaitley also empha‑sized upon Indiaʼs keen‑ness for early conclu‑sion of a TotalizationAgreement with the US,to avoid double taxa‑

tion of incomes with respect tosocial security taxes. “As per indus‑try estimates, Indian professionalshave contributed more than $25billion to the US social securityduring the last decade, withoutbeing able to retrieve their contri‑butions,” the statement said. (IANS)

KNOW INDIA PROGRAM IN MAYThe 35th Know India Programme (KIP) is scheduled from 5th May to29th May, 2016 to familiarize Indian Diaspora youth with India's cul‑ture, heritage and also with contemporary India. Guidelines and appli‑cation form for K.I.P may be accessed through Ministry of ExternalAffairs website: http://www.mea.gov.in/know‑india‑programme.htm.The New York Consulate is currently accepting application. For moreinfo, contact: press@indiacgny.org

Obama praises Indian whiz kids at science fair

3rd NRI of the Year Awardsheld in Mumbai

Jaitley raises issue of hike inUS visa fee for Indian techies

Maya Varma has designed a toolthat allows people with asthmaand other lung diseases to diag‑

nose and monitor their ownsymptoms.

Anurudh Ganeshan has developed what he calls the VAXXWAGON, which is like a

refrigerator on wheels that trans‑ports vaccines to remote destina‑

tions so they donʼt go bad.

Finance MinisterArun Jaitley is inthe US to attend

the SpringMeetings of IMF &

World Bank.

MK Anand ‑ MD and CEO, TIMES Network, Indian Minister Piyush Goyal,actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with her award, and Chanda Kochhar,

MD and CEO, ICICI Bank, at the event. (Photos: IANS)

Sania Mirza was conferred GlobalIcon award

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Hillary, Trump lead big in New York: PollsContinued from page 1primary, the former New Yorksenator would trounce the realestate developer by 16 points ina general election match‑up,according to the poll.

On Monday, Hillary Clintontook t ime of f of her battleagainst Sen. Bernie Sanders toblast the third hometown candi‑date for president ̶ DonaldTrump ̶ for his degrading com‑ments about women and minori‑ties.

She bashed the brash Donaldfor what she called his “danger‑ous” and “divisive” behaviorwhile on a visit to Jackson Dinerin Queens, where the real estatemogul was born and raised.

“People around the world, aswell as our country are hearingthis, and theyʼre wondering,whatʼs happening in America?”Clinton said at a campaign stopat a Jackson Heights diner.

India, US deepen defense tiesContinued from page 1New Delhi after talks with hisIndian counterpart, ManoharParrikar.

The two sides would finalizethe text of an agreement in com‑ing weeks, Carter said.

Prime Minister NarendraModi's administration, faced withan assertive China expanding itsinfluence in the South China Seaand into the Indian Ocean, hassignaled its desire to draw closerto the United States. China is alsoa close ally of India's arch rival,Pakistan.

Modi is also keen to access UStechnology for his "Make inIndia" plans to build a domesticindustrial base and cut expensivearms imports.

The U.S. military has madeclear it wants to do more withIndia, especially in countering

China. Carter is on his secondvisit to India in less than a year,aimed at cementing defensecooperation in the final monthsof Barack Obama's presidency.

China will not allow Indiainto NSG: former PakdiplomatContinued from page 1according to Dawn online. Akramsaid China is committed to ensur‑ing that both India and Pakistangain membership to the 48‑nation NSG at the same time.

Besides China, there are somecountries that are upset by the"double standards" being shownin India's case, and are calling foran approach based on criteria, headded.

Akram was speaking at a con‑ference on the InternationalNuclear Order, organized by theStrategic Vision Institute (SVI)and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Discussing the global nuclearorder, Akram said it had beendestabilized by factors includingthe world powers' double stan‑dards and discriminatory exemp‑tions granted to India.

Meanwhile, days after Chinablocked its bid at the UN to banJeM chief Masood Azhar, Indiaon Thursday slammed use of"hidden veto" and demandedaccountability, saying the worldbody's general members arenever informed of the reason fornot acceding to requests forsanctioning terrorists.

"The procedures of unanimityand anonymity of the al Qaeda,Taliban and ISIS SanctionsCommittees need to be revisited.The procedures of unanimity andanonymity result in a lack ofaccountability," India'sPermanent Representative to theUN, Amb. Syed Akbaruddin toldthe UN Security Council in anopen debate on 'Threats toInternational Peace and SecurityCaused by Terrorist Acts'.

Washington: Democratic presiden‑tial candidate Bernie Sanders haswon the TIME 100 reader poll, top‑ping not just rival Hillary Clintonbut also a host of world leaders thatinclude President Barack Obamaand Myanmar democracy iconAung San Suu Kyi.

Sanders finished with 3.3 percentof the total 'yes' votes when the pollclosed at midnight on Thursday,bagging more than three times asmany votes as former US Secretaryof State Clinton.

South Korean boy band Big Bangcame at second spot with 2.9 per‑cent votes, while Suu Kyi was thirdwith 2.2 percent, and Obama fourthwith 2 percent.

Pakistani rights activist MalalaYousafzai, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift,US First Lady Michelle Obama,Pope Francis and Leonardo

DiCaprio round out the top 10. Clinton, who is leading the

Democrat race and is Sandersʼopponent for the Democratic Partynomination, finished with one per‑cent of the 'yes' votes.

The list comprises names that"TIME readers think should appearon our annual list of the most influ‑ential people in the world".

Sanders, who has long benefitedfrom digitally active supporters, ledthe reader poll from the start.While he badly lags Clinton in win‑ning the delegates needed to cap‑ture the presidential nomination,his populist rhetoric and emphasison income inequality has allowedhim to sustain a stronger‑than‑expected challenge to Clinton whilealso helping frame the debate inthe Democratic contest, says TIME.

Bollywood‑Hollywood actressPriyanka Chopra garnered morevotes than Prime Minister NarendraModi in the poll. She got 0.8 per‑cent of ʻyesʼ votes compared to 0.7per cent for Modi. She was alsoahead of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, French PresidentFrancoise Hollande and DavidCameron in popularity among read‑ers and online vote casters.

New York: Democrat front‑runnerHillary Clinton and her rival BernieSanders aggressively challengedeach other on Thursday night'sDemocratic debate in Brooklyn, NY,sparring over issues like how highto raise the minimum wage andgun control.

The debate was hosted by CNNand NY1 News and comes only afew days before New York's criticalprimary on April 19.

In his opening statement, Sanderssaid he started in the race 70 per‑centage points behind Clinton andreferred to two recent polls thathad him slightly ahead in theDemocratic race. He noted that ofthe last nine caucuses and primar‑ies, he won eight of them by land‑slides. Clinton touted her eightyears as a US senator representingNew York from 2001 until 2009.

She praised the state's recoveryafter 9‑11 attacks and took a swipeat Texas Senator and Republicancandidate Ted Cruz who hasmocked "New York values".

When asked Clinton if she wasseriously blaming Vermont for NewYork's gun violence in a recentstatement, she said "no" andSanders started to laugh.

She said this is "not a laughingmatter" and said 90 people a dayare killed as a result of gun vio‑lence as well as 33,000 people peryear. "We need a president who willstand up against the gun lobby,"Clinton said. The candidates alsosparred over raising the federalminimum wage, with Sandersexpressing surprise as Clintonvoiced support for efforts to set thehourly pay rate at $15, the level hehas long backed.

Islamic countries urgedto unite against terror

Istanbul: Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan on Thursday calledon Islamic countries to stand unit‑ed against terrorism and violence,the most fundamental problemsfacing the Muslim world."We should be unifying and not adivider. We should strengthenalliances and not the controver‑sies," Erdogan said in his openingspeech at the 13th summit of theOrganization of IslamicCooperation (OIC) that groups 57member states, reports Xinhuanews agency.

He announced that an Islamiccooperation and police coordina‑tion centre would be established inIstanbul to conduct an ef fectivestruggle against terrorism.

(Source: IANS)

Sanders tops TIME 100 pollof most influential person

Bernie Sanders (Photo: AP)

Hillary, Bernie spar in Brooklyn debate

5April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info T R I S T A T E C O M M U N I T Y

New York, NY: Battery Dance, NewYork City's dance ambassador tothe world, announced its 40thanniversary season lineup, featur‑ing the world premiere of "TheDurga Project," an original workcreated by founder and artisticdirector Jonathan Hollander thatweaves together the movementvocabularies, sonorities and aes‑thetics of the U.S. and India into achoreographic fantasy of 30 min‑utes in length.

The program will be complement‑ed by works commissioned byEuropean and African choreogra‑phers: “Inter/Ago,” created in 2015by Tadej Brdnik, the recentlyretired Martha Graham principaldancer and choreographer, who hasdanced with Battery Dance since1998; and “Observatory,” created in2014 by Theo Ndindwa, founder ofSouth Africaʼs iKapa Dance Theatre,and since performed in tours ofSouth America, Europe, Asia and atthe first Cape Town InternationalDance Festival in December, 2015.

Founded in New Yorkʼs financialdistrict in 1976, Battery Dance hashad signature performances in 65countries across six continents.This year, the Company celebratesits 40th anniversary season with adiverse array of performances in

New York, Texas, South Korea,Germany, India and e lsewherearound the globe.

"With its beautiful images andsoulful music, The Durga Projectevokes the sentiment of Bhakti(devotional love of the Goddess),"said Indian dance historian and crit‑ic Sunil Kothari. "The choreographyis excellent, drawing inspirationfrom Indian classical dances andmusic. The human chain performedin the beginning withBharatanatyam dancer Unnath H.R.gradually gathers momentum,resolving into the pas de deuxwhich offer imaginatively sugges‑tive and iconic poses of Goddess

Durga in motion. Hollander and hisdancers from the U.S. and Indiahave captured the essence ofShakti, the female principle ofdivine energy, in a meaningful man‑ner." The Battery Dance Companywill have two events in lowerManhattan: NY Season performanc‑es at The Schimmel Center for theArts at Pace University on May11th at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and May12th at 7 p.m., followed by a VIPgala reception; 35th annual BatteryDance Festival in Battery Park Cityfrom August 14th to the 19th, witha grand finale at Schimmel Centeron the 20th (performances at 6:30pm – schedule to be released soon).

New York: A 21‑year‑oldIndian‑origin student atRutgers University was killedand his roommate seriouslyinjured in a shooting incident attheir apartment near theschool's campus in New Jersey.

Shani Patel, a junior econom‑ics major at the university, wasshot and killed on Sunday at anoff‑campus apartment buildingin Newark, a spokeswoman forthe Essex County Prosecutor'sOffice as saying.

Patel 's roommate, whoseidentity was not released, wasseriously injured in the shoot‑ing, authorities said.

The Rutgers PoliceDepartment said the shootingwas not random and that thedowntown campus, whichserves about 12,000 students,was not under threat, The NewYork Times reported.Authorities are investigatingthe incident.

Essex County Prosecutor'sof fice and Newark PublicSafety Director said in a state‑

ment that no suspects havebeen identified so far and noarrests have been made. Theinvestigation "is active andongoing", they said.

In a letter to the RutgersUniversity's Newark communi‑ty, Chancellor Nancy Cantorexpressed shock and sadness atPatel's death.

"While law enforcement isst il l investigating and weunderstand that it was not arandom act that led to Shani'sdeath, it is a shock to lose amember of our communityunder any circumstances," MsCantor said.

"Our deepest condolences goout to Shani's family and to allwho knew him as a student, col‑league, or friend," she added.

The Rutgers police said in astatement issued to the Newarkcampus that the shootingoccurred inside a private resi‑dence. Two assailants, bothbelieved to be in their early tomid‑20s, fled the scene.

(PTI)

New York: A team led by anIndian‑origin professor atColumbia University has createda novel sheet camera that can bewrapped around everydayobjects to capture images thatcannot be taken with one or moreconventional cameras.

"Cameras today capture theworld from essentially a singlepoint in space. While the cameraindustry has made remarkableprogress in shrinking the camerato a tiny device with ever increas‑ing imaging quality, we areexploring a radically dif ferentapproach to imaging," said ShreeK Nayar, computer science pro‑fessor at Columbia University.

"We believe there are numer‑ous applications for cameras that

are large in format but very thinand highly flexible," added Nayarwho graduated from the BirlaInstitute of Technology, Ranchi,in 1984.

Nayar's team designed and fab‑ricated a flexible lens array thatadapts its optical propertieswhen the sheet camera is bent.This optical adaptation enablesthe device to produce high quali‑ty images over a wide range ofsheet deformations. If such animaging system could be manu‑factured cheaply ‑‑ like a roll ofplastic or fabric ‑‑ it could bewrapped around all kinds ofthings, from street poles to furni‑ture, cars, and even people'sclothing, to capture wide, seam‑less images with unusual fields of

view. "The adaptive lens array wehave developed is an importantstep towards making the conceptof flexible sheet cameras viable,"Nayar noted.

"The next step will be to devel‑op large‑format detector arraysto go with the deformable lensarray. The amalgamation of thetwo technologies will lay thefoundation for a new class ofcameras that expand the range ofapplications that benefit fromimaging," he said.

The novel technology is set tobe presented at the internationalconference on computationalphotography (ICCP) atNorthwestern University, inIllinois from May 13 to 15.

(IANS)

"The Durga Project," by artistic director Jonathan Hollander. (L to R): SeanScantelbury, Bethany Mitchell, Clement Mensah, Mira Cook, Robin

Cantrell and Unnath H.R. (Photo Credit: Darial Sneed)

The novel sheet camera that can be wrappedaround everyday objects to capture imagesthat cannot be taken with one or more con‑ventional cameras. (inset) Prof Shree Nayar.

(Credit: Columbia Computer Vision Laboratory,2016/Columbia Engineering).

Columbia researcher Shree Nayar led team creates novel flexible camera

Battery Dance unveils world premiere ofʻThe Durga Project' on 40th anniversary

Rutgers studentShani Patel killed inshooting incident

6 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoT R I S T A T E C O M M U N I T Y

United Nations: A special eventto commemorate the 125thBirth Anniversary of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar was organized by thePermanent Mission of India inNew York at the United Nationsheadquarter here April 13th.This was the first such com‑memoration of Dr. Ambedkar atthe UNHQ.

Foundation for Human Hori‑zon (US‑based NGO withECOSOC consultative status) andKalpana Saroj Foundation (In‑dia‑based NGO by Kalpana Saroj,a Padmashree) were co‑hosts ofthe event.

Helen Clark, Administrator ofUNDP in the keynote addressspoke on the legacy of Dr. B.RAmbedkar. She said that “Dr.Ambedkar understood that in‑equalities pose fundamentalchallenges to well‑being.”

Speaker of Punjab LegislativeAssembly, Charanjit Singh Atwal(Chief Patron of Forum for SC

and ST Legislators and Parlia‑mentarians) delivered special re‑marks. Deelip Mhaske of Foun‑dation for Human Horizon andKalpana Saroj also addressedthe gathering. The event alsofeatured a Panel Discussion onthe theme “Combating inequali‑ties for the achievement of Sus‑tainable Development Goals.”

The Panelist included Profes‑sor Stan Kachnowsky, ColombiaUniversity and Chair, HITLAB;Anupama Rao, Associate Profes‑sor, Colombia University and;Christopher Queen, lecturerHarvard University.

Prof Stan Kanchowsky spokeon influence of Dr.Ambedkarʼsvision on healthcare equity andthe resulting rise of mobilehealth in India.

Christopher Queen drew par‑allels between the lives ofAmbedkar and Martin L. King,Jr. in their attempt to create so‑cieties based on equality, free‑

dom and brotherhood and toovercome barriers of class,caste, race, and religion to forgealliances for peace and justice.

Rao spoke about the impedi‑ments of inequalities includingcaste and the need for social jus‑tice to achieve sustainable de‑velopment through the imple‑mentation of 2030 Agenda. Shealso highlighted Dr. Ambedkaras an important thinker relevantto both 20th and 21st century.

A movie clip (a short version ofthe Films Divisionʼs documen‑tary edited by PMI) wasscreened on the occasion.

There was on overwhelmingresponse with over 550 people,many from India and variousparts of the world attended theevent. Diplomats, UN senior offi‑cials, state government officialsfrom India, students, civil socie‑ty, private sector representativesand academia were also presentat the special event.

Warren, NJ: Based on analyticsperformed by Indian‑Americansfor Trump 2016 on the data sup‑plied by TV Asia, Indian‑Ameri‑cans are converging on Donald JTrump for the US president. Theresults are based on 212 randomcalls‑in from March 9 to April 6,2016 at a TV Asia show “Race forthe Presidency: Your Perspec‑tive” hosted by Rohit Vyas.

Voters in this survey came fromArizona, California, Connecticut,Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Mas‑sachusetts, Michigan, New Jer‑sey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylva‑nia, Texas, Virginia, Washington,D.C., among others.

Trump voters, 42% of the total,took over Clinton voters, whichwere 28%, on April 6, 2016.

While there had been a steadydecline in support for Clinton,the gain, since the last threeweeks, has been mainly forTrump. Based on this, if electionwere held today, Trump wouldget 42% of the Indian‑Americanvotes, a press‑release from Indi‑

an Americans for Trump 2016said. ʻIf we take Clinton andSanders together as Indian‑Amer‑ican Democrat vote, Trump hasstolen 26% Indian‑Americansfrom the Democratic Party sinceObamaʼs election to White House,who had gotten 84% of the Indi‑an‑American votes,ʼ Trump sup‑porters said in the press release.According to a 2012 study byPew Research Center, only 18%Indian‑Americans were Republi‑can, in fact, the smallest percent‑age of all Asian‑American ethnicgroups. Trumpʼs TV Asia votedata indicates that trump hasbrought in 26 percentage pointsof new Indian‑Americans to theRepublican Party.

PMI hosts event marking Dr. Ambedkarʼs 125th

birth anniversary at UN

Data hints at Indian‑Americansʼ growingsupport for Trump

New York: The meteoric rise and anequally dramatic fall of Rajat Gupta ̶the former head of McKinsey who wascharged in the largest insider tradingcase in the U.S. ̶ will be captured in amemoir to be published by JuggernautBooks. “Candid, compelling andpoignant, Guptaʼs book promises to bean extraordinary human story ̶ of aman who had it all before he lost every‑thing,” the publishing house said in astatement about the top corporate advi‑sor, who was released last month afterserving 19 months in U.S. prisons.

“His memoir tells the story of his me‑teoric rise, and an equally dramatic falland the lessons he learned from thisjourney ̶ from the hardships of hischildhood to his unprecedented success

in corporate America and his years inprison,” the statement said.

Gupta, now living in his Manhattanhome, himself recollected what he wentthrough.

“My life has had many ups and downsand in this book I want to talk about mystruggles and how Iʼve found solace,strength. How do you act without at‑tachment.

Help others without expectation. Andforgive without bitterness,” he was quot‑ed as saying in the statement.

“How do you maintain peace and dig‑nity in the most difficult circumstances.These questions permeate all of ourlives. I hope the youth in particular willbenefit from the learning in my jour‑ney,” he said rather candidly.

Rajat Gupta’s memoirs promised in candid, compelling book

Trump’s TV Asia vote data indicates that trump hasbrought in 26 percentagepoints of new Indian-Americansto the Republican Party.

NJ regional of MoneyGram Cricket Bee announced (L to R): Lael Daniel, ManagerSales, MoneyGram; Debi Prasad Mohapatra of Stamford, CT ‑First Runner up; Indrajit

Sanyal of Piscataway NJ‑Regional Champ; Sandeep Shrivastava of Somerset, NJ‒Second Runner Up along with Rahul Walia, Founder of the Cricket Bee.

7April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info N A T I O N A L C O M M U N I T Y

Washington, DC: The US will takeaction against over 300 Indian stu‑dents caught in a sting operationfor allegedly trying to extend theirstay in the country illegitimately, atop State Department official saidtoday.

"For the most part, they all cameon legitimate student visas. It wasactually when they were in countrythat some of them sought to extendtheir stay in the United States is myunderstanding," Mark Toner, StateDepartment Deputy Spokesman,said.

These students numbering 306were caught in a sting operationconducted by Department ofHomeland Security andImmigration and CustomsEnforcement.

As many as 21 brokers and mid‑dle men including 11 people ofIndian‑origin were arrested lastweek as a result of the sting opera‑tion.

Toner said only those Indian stu‑

dents who tried to extend their stayin the US illegitimately will be takento task and no genuine student willbe harassed.

"These individuals who came hereon a student visa did come either towork or to study legitimately. Theydid qualify for student visas. Theymet the qualifications. They wereissued student visas," Toner said.

"It was only after living here,attending university or whatever,that they then decided to againallegedly seek out the assistance ofthis criminal organisation to extendtheir stay in the United States.That's an important clarification,"he said.

Responding to a question, Tonersaid these Indian students wereissued visas by US diplomatic mis‑sions in India to study in well recog‑nised American educational institu‑tions and not the fake universitycreated by Department ofHomeland Security as part of thesting operation. (PTI)

Houston: A 16‑year‑old Indian‑American boy has created a low‑cost hearing aid to help thosewho cannot af ford expensivedevices. The aid costs $60.

Mukund Venkatakrishnan ofKentucky worked on the devicefor two years and presented it atthe Jef ferson County PublicSchools Idea Fest. He also wonfirst place at the Kentucky StateScience and Engineering Fair.

The device, which can be usedwith even the cheapest set ofheadphones, first tests the per‑son's hearing by playing severaldifferent sounds at seven differ‑ent frequencies through head‑phones. It then programs itself tobe a hearing aid, amplifying vol‑ume based on the test results.

"It eliminates the need for adoctor altogether. It is really, inessence, just amplifiers, justincrease the volume based onhow much hearing loss you haveand it is crazy that they cost US$1,500 each, when you can do itfor $60," said Mukund, a student

of DuPont Manual High School.He said the processor responsi‑

ble for amplification by increas‑ing the volume of an incomingsignal, was the most expensivepart ‑ about $45. Other parts costabout $15. Mukund was inspiredto invent the aid during a visit tohis grandparents in India twoyears ago. He was tasked withgetting his grandfather testedand fitted for a hearing aid. Hesaw that it was a costly and diffi‑

cult process and resolved to findan alternative. "Since audiologistsare specialists, even finding andgetting an appointment with onein India was really hard. And thenwe got ripped off," he said.

He said they spent about $400‑$500 on doctor's appointmentsand about $1,900 on the hearingaid itself. He realized that hearingis a luxury many people in devel‑oping countries cannot af ford."In India, the median household

income is $616 a year. If some‑one in India saves all year with‑out spending a penny, they stillcannot afford a hearing aid," hesaid

Talking about his invention, hesaid that if the ear piece of theaid gets damaged, it is not costlyto replace‑it only requires buyinganother set of ear buds. In its cur‑rent form, the device is about twoinches long and looks like a com‑puter processor.

He envisions the device, whichhas a standard headphone port,fitting into someone's pocket. Hisgoal is to distribute the device topeople with hearing loss who cannot afford a $1,000 hearing aid.Various foundations are reachingout to Mukund to help mass pro‑duce and distribute it.

Mukund said that he hopes tovisit his grandfather in Bangalorethis summer to deliver the hear‑ing aid. (PTI)

Washington, DC: TheUS received over2,36,000 H‑1B peti‑tions in just five days ofopening up the processearly this month for themost sought‑after workvisa for IT profession‑als, including fromIndia, and has complet‑ed the computerizeddraw of lots.

This is more thanthrice the Congressionally‑man‑dated cap of 65,000 in the gener‑al category for the work visas forhighly‑skilled workers in the gen‑eral category for Financial Year2017. The US Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS) yes‑terday announced it also receivedmore than the limit of 20,000 H‑1B petitions by those foreign stu‑dents who completed their higherstudies from a US academic insti‑tute in subjects if science, technol‑ogy, engineering and mathemat‑

ics (STEM). USCIS received over2,36,000 H‑1B petitions duringthe filing period, which beganApril 1, including petitions filedfor the advanced degree exemp‑tion, a media statement said.

It said it has completed thecomputerized draw of lots thatwould determine the successfulapplicants. On April 9, USCIS useda computer‑generated randomselection process, or lottery, toselect enough petitions to meetthe 65,000 general‑category cap

and the 20,000 capunder the advanceddegree exemption,also known as themaster's cap.

The agency con‑ducted the selectionprocess for theadvanced degreeexemption first. Allunselected advanceddegree petit ionsthen became part of

the random selection process forthe 65,000 limit, it added.

USCIS will reject and return allunselected petitions with their fil‑ing fees, unless the petition isfound to be a duplicate filing, itsaid. As announced on March 16this year, USCIS will begin premi‑um processing for H‑1B cap casesno later than May 16.

It would continue to accept andprocess petitions that are other‑wise exempt from the cap.

(PTI)

US to take action against300 Indian students for

extending stay

US RECEIVED 236K H-1B APPLICATIONS, COMPLETES LOTTERY

Mukund was inspired to invent theaid during a visit to his grandpar-ents in India two years ago. Hewas tasked with helping his grand-father get tested and fitted for ahearing aid. He saw that it was acostly and difficult process andresolved to find an alternative.Hishearing aid costs $60.

Indian‑American teen invents low‑cost hearing aid

(Image courtesy:money.cnn.com)

New York: Four Indian Americans ̶ AnjanChakravartty, Neil Garg, Amitava Kumarand Rajesh Rao ̶are among a group of178 who have been named John SimonGuggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowsin the prestigious program.

The foundation's board of trustees madethe announcement for the 92nd annualFellowship program, which includes schol‑ars, artists and scientists, April 5.

The candidates were chosen from a groupof roughly 3,000 applicants based on priorachievement and exceptional promise,according to a foundation news release, andinclude three joint Fellowships.

Chakravartty was named a Fellow in thediscipline of philosophy. He is a professorand director at the John J. Reilly Center forScience, Technology and Values at theUniversity of Notre Dame. Additionally, heserves as the editor in chief of the journal,Studies in History and Philosophy ofScience.

Chakravartty intends to use the fellow‑ship grant to pursue a project that he hascalled “The Epistemology of ScientificDisagreement.”

Garg was chosen as a Fellow in the chem‑istry discipline. Born to parents who emi‑

grated to the U.S. from India in the 1970s,Garg earned his bachelorʼs degree in chem‑istry from New York University and his doc‑torate from the California Institute ofTechnology.

Garg is a professor in the department ofchemistry and biochemistry at UCLA. Hepreviously spent two years as an NIHPathway to Independence Fellow with U.C.Irvine professor Larry Overman beforebeginning his independent career at UCLAin 2007.

Kumar was named a Fellow in the generalnonfiction discipline. He is the Helen D.Lockwood professor of English at VassarCollege. During his Guggenheim Fellowshipterm, Kumar will be working on a project onwriting and academic style, Every Day IWrite the Book.

Rao received the Guggenheim Fellowshipfor his work in neuroscience. He is thedirector of the Center for SensorimotorNeural Engineering and professor of com‑puter science and engineering at theUniversity of Washington in Seattle. Hereceived his Ph.D. from the University ofRochester and was a postdoctoral Fellow atthe Salk Institute for Biological Studiesbefore joining UW.

New York: The 18th annual Paul andDaisy Soros Fellowships for NewAmericans were announced April 12 andincluded six Indian Americans and twoSouth Asians among the 30 recipients.

Jambulapati is the daughter of Indianimmigrants who came to the U.S. in searchof educational opportunities for their chil‑dren. While at Stanford University, shementored high school youth with theircollege applications, created awareness oncampus about immigrant human rightsand researched the civil rights abuses ofimmigration enforcement programs.Now,Jambulapati is pursuing a juris doctorateat U.C. Berkeley School of Law.

Patel and his family moved to the U.S. inthe early 1990s for better opportunities.Though he was not even 2 when theyarrived, he didn't earn his citizenship untilhe was 23.

Patel founded Aspiring Americans inOklahoma City as part of his honorsresearch project at OU to assist otherundocumented students in Oklahoma,which has raised over $200,000 in grants,scholarships and in‑kind resources.

Rao was born in Massachusetts. Withboth his parents chemists turned software

engineers, Rao grew up immersed in sci‑ence. He is currently pursuing his medicaland doctorate degrees at StanfordUniversity's School of Medicine.

Shakir, a native of Oklahoma City, Okla.,is a first year medical student at Harvard.He hopes to improve health systems at thecity, state and national level, bringing amore equitable health system and justsociety, the Soros bio said.

Sridharan, born and raised in southernIndia, moved to New Jersey at the age ofnine. He is pursuing his medical degree inthe Harvard‑MIT Health Sciences andTechnology program, as well as his M.B.A.at Harvard Business School. His goal is todevelop translational therapeutics in thelab, bring them to market and make a dif‑ference in cancer care among under‑served communities, the bio added.

Thakral was born in Illinois. Currently,Thakral is a medical and doctorate stu‑dent in the laboratory of Richard Lifton ingenetics at Yale.

She hopes to take advantage of the vastand growing power of molecular medicinein her work to improve the human condi‑tion and empower others to pursue theirdreams.

8 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoN A T I O N A L C O M M U N I T Y

New York: An Indian‑origin scientist's pro‑posal has been selected for NASA'sInnovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) pro‑gram ‑‑ an initiative that invests in trans‑formative architectures through the devel‑opment of pioneering technologies.

Ratnakumar Bugga from NASA's JetPropulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,California, is among 13 other researcherswho will be awarded nearly $100,000 fornine months to support the initial defini‑tion and analysis of their concepts, the USspace agency said in a statement onSaturday.

If the basic feasibility studies are suc‑cessful, awardees can apply for phase‑twoawards, valued up to $500,000 for twoadditional years of concept development.

Bugga's concept is titled "Venus InteriorProbe Using In‑situ Power andPropulsion."

The India‑born scientist who has PhD inelectrochemistry from the Indian Instituteof Science, Bengaluru, is currentlyinvolved in the development of low tem‑perature lithium‑ion rechargeable batter‑ies and in the ultra‑low temperature Li pri‑mary batteries for Mars probes.

He leads a task force responsible fordemonstrating the technology readinessof lithium‑ion batteries for Mars missions.

Bugga was the task manager for theMars Exploration Rover Thermal, Roverand Lander batteries.

Other selected concepts include a pro‑posal for reprogramming micro‑organismsthat could use the Martian environment torecycle and print electronics and a two‑dimensional spacecraft with ultra‑thinsubsystems that may wrap around spacedebris to enable de‑orbiting. (IANS)

Ratnakumar Bugga(Image courtesy: mars.nasa.gov)

Indian‑origin scientist selectedfor NASA's pioneering program

Four Indian Americans namedGuggenheim Fellows for 2016

Dallas, TX: With thebeautifully‑lit Dallas sky‑line as the backdrop,more than 300 of Dallasʼcreme‑de‑la‑crème, frombusinessmen to finan‑ciers to fashionistas,packed the d.e.c. onDragon in downtownThursday evening andraised more than$85,000 for Mahila, anorganization comprisedof powerful female com‑munity leaders: attorneyBina Palnitkar Patel,architect Purva Jain,media guru Priya Bhola Rathod, cultural advo‑cate Preeta Monga and social entrepreneurAmi Doshi. “This was our very first fundraiser,and Iʼm quite pleased at the turnout,” saidfounding member Monga.

All the proceeds raised will directly benefitstruggling, low‑income village women in Indiawho have a dream of starting their own busi‑ness through Milaap USA, the beneficiary ofthe fundraiser. The non‑profit strives to pro‑vide low‑cost microloans to the working poor

to empower them to live dignified, self‑suffi‑cient and healthy lives. “We are so humbledand honored that Mahila picked us as theircharity of choice for their inaugural fundrais‑er,” said Paulomi "Polo" Patel, ExecutiveDirector of Milaap USA.

To support the cause, ʻReal Housewives ofDallasʼ star LeeAnne Locken and Satnam Singh,the first player from India to be drafted into theNBA by the Dallas Mavericks, also attended theevent and walked the red carpet.

Six Indian Americans namedSoros Fellows for 2016

From L to R: Bina Palnitkar Patel, Ami Doshi, LeeAnne Locken,Satnam Singh, Priya Bhola Rathod, Preeta Monga and Purva Jain

(Photo: Shana Anderson)

‘Mahila’ mobilizes Dallas communityto raise $85K for needy women in India

9April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S A F F A I R S

Washington: Republican presiden‑tial candidate Ted Cruz is close toensuring that Donald Trump can‑not win the GOP nomination on asecond ballot at the party's Julyconvention in Cleveland, scoopingup scores of delegates who havepledged to vote for him instead ofthe front‑runner if given thechance.

The push by Cruz means that itis more essential than ever forTrump to clinch the nomination bywinning a majority of delegates toavoid a contested and drawn‑outconvention fight, which Trumpseems almost certain to lose, TheWashington Post reported.

The GOP race now rests on twoclif fhangers: Can Trump lock upthe nomination before Cleveland?And if not, can Cruz cobble togeth‑er enough delegates to win a sec‑ond convention vote if Trump failsin the first?

Trump's path to amassing the1,237 delegates he needs to winoutright has only gotten narrowerafter losing to Cruz in Wisconsinand other recent contests, andwould require him to perform bet‑ter in the remaining states than hehas to this point. In addition, basedon the delegate selections made bystates and territories, Cruz ispoised to pick up at least 130more votes on a second ballot,

according to a Washington Postanalysis. That is why the race cen‑ters on the fevered hunt for dele‑gates across the country.

Cruz's chances rest on exploitinga wrinkle in the GOP rule book:that delegates assigned to vote forTrump at the convention do notactually have to be Trump support‑ers. Cruz is particularly focused ongetting loyalists elected to dele‑gate positions even in states thatthe senator from Texas lost.

Cruz said this week that hethinks the odds of a contested con‑vention are "very high".

"In Cleveland, I believe we willhave an enormous advantage," hetold radio talk‑show host Glenn

Beck. Trump has a commandinglead in total delegates and theoverall vote total, but has com‑plained that Republican leadersare conspiring against him in a bidto silence his supporters.

When the presidential nomina‑tion vote is held at the convention,95 percent of the delegates will bebound to the results in their statesfor the first vote, giving Trump hisbest shot at securing a majority.

But if Trump falls short, the con‑vention will cast a second ballot inwhich more than 1,800 delegatesfrom 31 states ‑‑ nearly 60 percentof the total ‑‑ will be unbound andallowed to vote however theywant.

New York: A New Jerseyjudge has declared Sen. TedCruz is constitutionally eli‑gible to be president of theUnited States.

After considering thearguments of various schol‑ars, Judge Jef f S. Masinwrote in his opinionTuesday that while therecan be no certainty as towhat the founders meant by“natural born citizen,” heconcluded “that the morepersuasive legal analysis isthat such a child, born of acitizen‑father, citizen‑moth‑er, or both, is indeed a ʻnat‑ural born Citizenʼ within thecontemplation of theConstitution.”

Cruz was born in Canada to aCuban father and an Americanmother.

New Jersey Republican Lt.Gov. Kim Guadagno, the secre‑tary of state, can accept, rejector modify Masinʼs ruling.

A Washington‑area law profes‑sor, Victor Williams, challengedCruzʼs candidacy, claiming Cruzfiled a false certificate of eligibil‑ity to put his name on the NewJersey ballot.

Will iams charged Cruzʼs

Canadian birth certificate onpublic record “incontrovertiblyproves, that he was, and is, anatural‑born Canadian.”

“It is simply a physical impos‑sibility for him to be both a nat‑ural‑born Canadian and a natu‑ral‑born American,” he asserted.

But the GOP candidateʼslawyers argued itʼs “inconceiv‑able that the Framers intendedto exclude a U.S. citizen at birthfrom holding the office of presi‑dent, simply because of wherehe or she happened to be born.”

Washington: The RepublicanNational Committee's (RNC) chair‑man fired back at Donald Trumplate Tuesday after the billionaireWhite House hopeful claimed theparty's process for selecting apresidential candidate was"stacked against me."

Trump has been outmaneuveredby rival Ted Cruz in a series ofrecent state meetings to selectnational convention delegates,and says the process was set up toprotect party insiders and shutout insurgent candidates.

At a CNN town hall on Tuesdaynight, Trump launched yet anoth‑er attack on the RNC.

"I know the rules very well, but Iknow it's stacked against me bythe establishment," the GOP fron‑trunner said. But RNC chairmanReince Priebus battled backagainst Trump's criticism.

"Nomination process known fora year + beyond. It's the responsi‑bility of the campaigns to under‑stand it. Complaints now? Give usall a break," he tweeted.

Earlier, Trump alleged the GOP'sselection process was "absolutelyrigged ... a phony deal" after Cruz

swept Colorado's 34 delegatesover the weekend.

"The Republican NationalCommittee, they should beashamed of themselves for allow‑ing this to kind of crap to happen.The rules are no good when theydon't count your vote ... like inColorado," he said on Tuesday at arally in Rome, New York. "Therules are no good when you haveto play dirty tricks to pick up dele‑gates." And on Sunday, Trumptweeted: "I win a state in votes andthen get non‑representative dele‑gates because they are offered allsorts of goodies by Cruz cam‑paign. Bad system!"

Cruz's campaign won each ofColorado's GOP delegates at itsstate and congressional districtconventions after a similarlystrong outcome in North Dakotathe week prior. In states that havealready held their primaries orcaucuses ̶ like Tennessee,Arizona and Iowa ̶ the Cruz cam‑paign has ef fectively positionedits own supporters as Trump dele‑gates in preparation for a secondor third ballot that would allowthem to vote for Cruz.

Washington: US House SpeakerPaul Ryan on Tuesday definitivelyruled out a bid for president thisyear, insisting that the RepublicanParty's choice should emerge fromthe group of candidates who pur‑sued the nomination.

"Count me out," the 2012 vice‑presidential candidate toldreporters.

In a statement at the RepublicanNational Committee headquarters,the Wisconsin Republican soughtto calm rampant speculation thathe would emerge as the nomineefrom a potentially contested con‑vention. Many in the party areworried that frontrunner DonaldTrump becoming the nomineecould mean losing the generale lection in November to theDemocrats.

"We have too much work to do inthe House to allow this speculationto swirl or have my motivationsquestioned," said Ryan. "Let me beclear: I do not want, nor will Iaccept the Republican nomina‑tion." Ryan's comments come as acontested convention looks morelikely by the day. Ryan and his

aides have continually denied thespeaker has presidential ambitionsthis year.

Ryan also denied he wanted tobe House speaker last year afterthen‑speaker John Boehnerannounced his resignation, butended up with the job anyway.

Tuesday's appearance may notbe enough to quiet the talk aboutRyan, given the unpredictabletwists of the Republican presiden‑

tial primary. "So let me speakdirectly to the delegates on this: Ifno candidate has a majority on thefirst ballot, I believe you shouldonly choose a person who actuallyparticipated in the primary. Countme out," Ryan said. "I simplybelieve that if you want to be thenominee, to be the president, youshould actually run for it. I chosenot to. Therefore, I should not beconsidered. Period."

Trump looks unlikely to accumu‑late the necessary delegates toclinch the nomination ahead of theJuly convention. That would allowhis lead challenger, Texas senatorTed Cruz, to make a play for thepart. Party leaders fear neitherTrump nor Cruz could beat likelyDemocratic nominee HillaryClinton in November. They alsofear the Republicans won't be ableto hold onto control of the Senatewith Trump or Cruz at the top ofthe ticket. If neither candidate canget the delegate votes necessary asballoting progresses in the partyconvention, chaos could result andother Republicans who aren't cur‑rently running could emerge.

RNC Chairman to Trump:'Give us all a break'

NJ court declares Cruz eligible for

White House

House Speaker Paul Ryan, Photo courtesy: WTMJ.

A child, born of a citizen‑father, citizen‑mother, or both, is indeed a ʻnatural

born Citizenʼ within the contemplationof the Constitution, the court ruled. Ted Cruz was born in Canada to a

Cuban father and an American mother.

Donald Trump. Photo courtesy: Scott Bixby/Mic

Cruz to block Trump on secondballot at GOP convention

Speaker Paul Ryan rules outpresidential bid

By Praveen Davar

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar,whose 125th birth anniver‑sary falls on April 14, has

emerged as one of India's mostrevered leader especially duringthe last two decades. No politicalparty can af ford to ignore himthough the reasons for doing soare more electoral than emotional.

Independent India's first cabinetof Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru had only 14 members withB.R. Ambedkar as law minister list‑ed at No.11 in the order of prece‑dence, below Jagjivan Ram butabove Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjiof the Hindu Mahasabha (later theJan Sangh founder). MahatmaGandhi had prevailed upon Nehruand Sardar Patel to include non‑Congressmen as well because inde‑pendence had come for the wholecountry ‑ and not only for thosewho led the freedom movement.

It was only four years later, onSeptember 27, 1951 afterAmbedkar quit the Nehru cabinetthat it became known that one ofthe causes for his doing so wasthat he was not given the portfolioof his choice: ministry of planning.However, the prime reason for hisresigning was over the govern‑ment's failure to pass the HinduCode Bill, faulting Nehru with "lackof determination" to get the meas‑ure through.

Suf fering from many ailments,

including diabetes, rheumatismand high blood pressure contract‑ed in a life full of relentless strug‑gles, Ambedkar died in December1956 after turning 65. Only twomonths earlier, he had formallyembraced Buddhism and convert‑ed lakhs of his followers to his newfaith. It was a culmination of a long

process spanning nearly 50 years.But it was really after independ‑ence that Ambedkar made up hismind to adopt Buddhism, a reli‑gion he saw as a liberating forcefor the entire country.

Even though he had ceasedbeing a minister, the governmentallowed him to retain his bungalow

where he spent the final years ofhis l ife focused on studyingBuddhism. He also began to learnPali and translated Buddhist textsinto Gujarati and Marathi. In 1954,during a trip to Burma, Ambedkarmade a proposal for sponsoring acampaign for Buddhist conversionin India, arguing that Buddhismwas a religion for the whole world.

At a dhammadikha ceremonyheld in Nagpur, attended by nearly500,000 people, Ambedkar and hisfollowers converted to Buddhism.Besides dedicating them to socialservice and eradication ofcasteism, Ambedkar adminstered21 vows to his followers, whichincluded renunciation of allaspects of 'Brahmanic Hinduism'.The neo‑Buddhists took a vowagainst worshipping Hindu godsand goddesses and not to performshraddh ceremonies or worshipthe cow.

As Ambedkar will be remem‑bered most by posterity for hismonumental contribution to themaking of India's constitution it isappropriate to quote from his lastspeech in the ConstituentAssembly on November 25, 1949,the eve of the statute being adopt‑ed the following day:

"On January 26, 1950, we aregoing to enter into a life of contra‑dictions. In politics we will haveequality and in social and econom‑ic life we will have inequality. Inpolitics we will be reorganizing the

principle of one man one vote andone vote one value. In our socialand economic life, we shall, by rea‑son of our social and economicstructure, continue to deny theprinciple of one man one value.How long shall we continue to livethis life of contradictions? Howlong shall we continue to denyequality in our social and econom‑ic life? If we continue to deny it forlong, we will do so only by puttingour political democracy in peril.We must remove this contradictionat the earliest possible moment orelse those who suf fer frominequality will blow up the struc‑ture of political democracy whichthis Assembly has so laboriouslybuilt up."

But Ambedkar was much morethan the architect of India's consti‑tution and a Dalit leader whotoday towers above others of hisilk. He was an educationist, econo‑mist, anthropologist, sociologist,journalist, jurist and, above all, agreat parliamentarian and socialreformer who devoted his wholelife for the uplift of the weakestand most vulnerable sections ofIndian society.

This much and, more, will beremembered, and said, aboutAmbedkar during the year of his125th birth anniversary celebra‑tions.

Praveen Davar, an ex‑army offi‑cer, is a member of the NationalCommission for Minorities.

By Manupriya

There are more environmental conflictsin India than any other country, andmore clashes are over water (27%)

than any other cause, according to therecently released Global EnvironmentalJustice Atlas (EJAtlas).

India has 222 listed conflicts ‑ in propor‑tion to population, there are many more ‑followed by Colombia and Nigeria with 116and 71 conflicts, respectively, according tothe EJAtlas, an interactive map of 1,703global ecological conflicts, categorized bycause, such as water management, wastemanagement, fossil fuels and climate justice,and biodiversity conservation.

With India currently facing the worst cri‑sis in a decade and on course to becoming"water‑scarce" within nine years, asIndiaSpend reported last month, the scale ofthe conflicts listed in the Atlas further indi‑cate a worsening situation.

The conflicts over water are most evidentin Himachal Pradesh, and most are relatedto hydroelectric projects, often plannedwithout considering the needs and consentof local communities.

Similar conflicts have been recorded inJ&K, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa

and Sikkim.There are other kinds of water‑manage‑

ment conflicts. In Khandwa, MadhyaPradesh, locals objected to a municipal cor‑poration partnership with a private compa‑ny to build a pipeline and augment watersupply, because prices were to be decided bythe company. Another example involves useof groundwater by Coca‑Cola, involved infive conflicts with local communitiesprotesting bottling plants (one each inJaipur, Dehradun and Plachimada (Kerala),and two in Mehdiganj, near Varanasi.

Dams are persistent sites of conflicts,especially when they are being built andcommissioned, said Sailen Routray, an inde‑pendent researcher based in Bhubaneswar.

Most Indian conflicts listed in the EJAtlasappear to be a consequence of the country'sexpanding economy. For example, the ragingunderground fires in the Jharia coal minesin Jharkhand ‑ an exclusive storehouse ofprime coking coal ‑ were first seen a centuryago, started spreading in the 1970s and,currently, more than 70 mine fires areunderway, polluting the air, water and landand devastating the health of the locals.

Several conflicts center around garbagedumping sites, such as Deonar in Mumbai,Sultanpur and Bandhwari villages near

Delhi, Eloor in Kerala and villages aroundBangalore. Across India, more than threemillion truckloads of garbage is dumpedwithout being treated, a manifestation ofgrowing urbanization.

Conflicts have also erupted at constructionsites of new airports, seaports and other biginfrastructure projects. The common themerunning through most conflicts is loss ofright to land or l ive lihoods of local communities.

Although the EJAtlas lists 220 environ‑mental conflicts in India, there are manymore.

"You should realize that 220 is in propor‑tion to population," said Joan Martinez‑Alier,Professor of Economics and EconomicHistory at the Autonomous University ofBarcelona and director of the EJAtlas proj‑ect. "India has more cases than any othercountry because good work has been doneon the EJAtlas by our partners at JNU andalso obviously because India is the countrywith the largest population in the world."

He attributed conflicts to a growth in"social metabolism", prompted by economicexpansion. "Materials and energy areextracted from new places and transportedfar away. Mining expands and reaches newfrontiers. Hydroelectricity expands and

reaches villages in the Himalaya," saidMartinez‑Alier.

Environmental conflicts are global, butIndia dif fers from other developing coun‑tries in South America or Africa on one cru‑cial point: India does not import or exporttoo much. Most of the extraction of materi‑als here is for internal consumption. Butthere are conflicts between states.Sometimes, about water rights. And, some‑times because some states (like Odisha,Jharkhand) become providers of raw materi‑als for the rest of the country at very highinternal social and environmental costs.

In recognition of rising environmental dis‑putes, the government established aNational Green Tribunal in 2010 to serve asa fast‑track court for such disputes, but thetide of environmental conflicts is not ebbing.In fact, despite NGT's intervention and risingparticipation from affected locals, environ‑mental injustice in India is on the rise.

The question, however, is not how to avoidthe conflicts, said Martinez‑Alier, but how toprofit from the awareness of so many con‑flicts‑"in order to move to an economy whichis more sustainable and also more sociallyjust".

In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org(Source: IANS)

10 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoCOMMENT

B.R. Ambedkar was much more than the architect of India's constitution. He was a

Dalit leader who devoted his life for the upliftof the weakest and most vulnerable sections

of Indian society. At a Nagpur ceremony,attended by 500,000 people, Ambedkar and

his followers converted to Buddhism.

Ambedkar, an icon no party can afford to ignore

More clashes are over water (27%) than any other cause.

INDIA LEADS WORLD IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS

11April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA

Srinagar: Curfew was clampedagain in parts of a tense KashmirValley amid simmering anger overthe death of four civilians, killedin alleged firing and tear gasshelling by security forces in thelast two days.

As a precautionary measure andto prevent trouble‑mongers fromspreading rumors, authorities alsosnapped cellphone internet forthe time being.

A senior police told IANS that“restrictions will continue” inparts of old Srinagar city.Restrictions were also imposed inthe main business hub of LalChowk, amid a valley‑wide shut‑down call by separatist groups inprotest against the civilian deaths.

Curfew was also enforced in thenorth Kashmir Handwara townand parts of the border district ofKupwara.

Three civilian were killed inHandwara on Tuesday whenpolice fired at an angry mobprotesting against the allegedmolestation of a teenage girl byan army man. The army has, how‑ever, dismissed the allegation as a

rumour to malign the force.A day later, people in Kupwara

took to the streets to protest theHandwara deaths. A burning teargas canister fired by police hit a25‑year‑old man on his head. Theman later succumbed to theinjury. The police officer said theauthorities had made adequatesecurity arrangements in othertowns in south and north Kashmir“to ensure that miscreants areprevented from creating any lawand order problem”.

Separatist leaders, includingSyed Ali Shah Geelani, MirwaizUmer Farooq and Yasin Malik,have been placed under house‑arrest as they had appealed topeople to observe a protest shut‑down against the killings.

There was a near‑total responseto the shutdown call as shops,schools, colleges, of fices andother businesses in areas whererestrict ions have not beenimposed remained closed. Publictransport was also off the roads inthe valley.

Separatists have also called forpost‑prayer protests on Friday.

New Delhi: India announced anincrease in its tiger population ‑‑with 2,500 tigers in the wild from2,226 in 2014, while the globaltiger population has risen from3,200 to 3,890. EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekhar saidthis at the Third Asia MinisterialConference on Tiger Conservation,adding that India has zero toler‑ance towards wildlife crime.

The census was based on datafed by 49 tiger reserves acrossIndia. However, the region‑wisehike was not disclosed.

The numbers also did not incor‑porate around 90 tiger deathssince 2015, of which 51 deaths

were due to poaching and seizures.The survey was conducted byWildlife Protection Society of India.

"It (poaching) has not hiked thatmuch. If 2,500 is our tiger popula‑tion today, then around 8‑10 casesof poaching are reported in a year.But we are also controlling thatand arresting the of fenders,"Javadekar told IANS.

He said India was close to achiev‑ing the resolution to double thetiger population by 22, which wasadopted by 13 tiger range coun‑tries in 2010 at the "Global TigerSummit" at St. Petersburg, Russia.

"I am quite positive that we willachieve that target. In 2014, the

tiger population was 2,226 whileour today's estimate is 2,500,which is commendable. It would besoon proved that we will doublethe tiger population," he said.

An of ficial from the NationalTiger Conservation Authority, ofwhich Javadekar is the chairper‑son, said the new census was basedon phase‑4 estimation conductedacross India, especiallyMaharashtra, where data was fedusing new camera traps and othersophisticated equipment.

Three new tiger reserves inAssam, Maharashtra andUttarakhand also improved thecensus, the official said.

Kolkata: Braving the swelteringheat and oppressive humidity, peo‑ple turned out in huge numbers onMonday to exercise their right tofranchise in the West Bengal assem‑bly polls in 31 constituencies, amidreports of sporadic violence andintimidation. The opposition partiesaccused the ruling TrinamoolCongress of resorting to widespreadviolence during the day, when thesecond part of the first phase of theassembly election took place cover‑ing 13 constituencies in WestMidnapore and nine each inBankura and Burdwan districts.

According to Election Commissionofficials, between 75 and close to85 percent polling was seen in thethree districts till 5 p.m. However,till 8 p.m., the of ficials could not

provide the final overall percentage."In West Midnapore, the percent‑

age was 84.71, Bankura recorded78.87, and Burdwan 75.12," theof ficials said. A polling of ficial,Parimal Barui, deputed to a booth inPandabeshwar of Burdwan district,fell ill on Sunday night and died onMonday, the EC said.

At least 13 people were injured ina clash between political rivals atJamuria of Burdwan district. "Three‑four people have been detained,"said a police officer.

An Election Commission of ficialsaid in Delhi that orders have beengiven for lodging an FIR againstTrinamool legislator MohammedSohrab Ali, for entering a pollingbooth. The presiding of ficer wasalso removed.

Ali was not nominated by theTrinamool as a candidate this time,as he was given a two‑year jail termby a court last year in a theft case.

An EC of ficial here said no onewas arrested anywhere for any poll‑related offences, and there were noincidents of booth capturing. "Wehave also not received complaintsof any serious offences," the officialsaid. But the Left Front, Congressand the Bharatiya Janata Partyalleged that the polls were far frompeaceful and fair.

Several crude bombs kept in a bagwere seized from about 50 metresfrom a booth in Jamuria, while aCommunist Party of India‑Marxistpolling agent had to be hospitalisedafter he was attacked at a pollingbooth in Chandrakona.

Kol lam/Thiruvananthapuram:Three people injured in the deadlyfireworks show at a temple inKollam died, taking the toll to 112,even as the Kerala High Courtpulled up police for not preventingthe horrific tragedy.

Surendran, 67, who had the con‑tract for the fireworks display atthe Putt ingal Devi temple inParavur town, succumbed to hisinjuries at the Medical CollegeHospital in Thiruvananthapuram,two days after he was admittedwith 90 percent burn injuries.

The first to die was Sathyan, 55,who too passed away at the sameThiruvananthapuram hospital. Latein the evening, a 14‑year‑old boy,Sabari, also succumbed to his 90percent burn injuries. The teenagerhad been on ventilator support.

An apparently illegal fireworksdisplay set off huge explosions anda massive fire at the temple justbefore dawn before dawn onSunday, raining death and destruc‑tion in the area.

More than 350 people were badly

injured, suffering burns and otherinjuries. Doctors said that whilemost were responding to treatment,four people inThiruvananthapuram and 20 inKollam remained serious.

Thirteen bodies were yet to beidentified, of ficials said, while 21people remained unaccounted forsince Sunday morning.

Surendran had been named anaccused by police. His son Umesh,who suf fered 50 percent burninjuries, is undergoing treatment atthe hospital . Temple of ficialsarrested for the tragedy told policethat Surendran was given Rs.7 lakhto conduct the fireworks display.

Five temple of ficials who fledafter the tragedy surrendered topolice on Monday night. A sixthwas arrested on Tuesday, DeputySuperintendent of PoliceRadhakrishnan Pillai said.

Earlier, police had detained fiveworkers of the now dead contractorSurendran.

In Kochi, the Kerala High Courtordered a ban on exploding high

decibel firecrackers at night.Firework shows during the day tooshould not exceed the decibel levelsof 125‑145.

A division bench of JusticeThottathil B. Radhakrishnan andJustice Anu Sivaraman came downheavily on Kerala Police for notpreventing the Kollam deaths.

The judges asked if the probe bythe Crime Branch into the incidentwas enough or whether the Central

Bureau of Investigation should beroped in. The judges demanded toknow if "anti‑national forces" wereinvolved with the Sunday explosions.

Authorities in Kollam on Tuesdaytook steps to conduct DNA tests onunclaimed bodies. Of ficials saidfamily members of those missing toreach Kollam on Wednesday withidentity proof of the missing ones.

The Kerala government has,

meanwhile, called an all‑partymeeting on Thursday to see if aconsensus can be reached on totalor partial ban on firecrackers,Home Minister RameshChennithala said.

There had been suggestions thatfireworks which give more promi‑nence to visual treats must betaken up and sound levels bebrought to the minimum, like in theUAE and Singapore, he said.

Police have been asked to con‑duct raids across Kerala to seizeexplosive materials possessedeither illegally or in excess of per‑mitted quantities, he said.

State BJP president KummanemRajasekheran said a total ban onfirecrackers may not be feasible."What Kerala needs is proper mech‑anisms," he said.

The temple tragedy has drawnglobal sympathy. China became thelatest country to offer condolences.Tibetan spiritual leader the DalaiLama on Tuesday announced Rs.10lakh for relief and rehabilitationwork.

India has 2,500 tigers, global population is 3,890: Minister

Amid violence, high polling in Bengal

Kerala temple toll 112, court pulls up police

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the hospital to meet the victimsof Paravur Puttingal temple accident. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Security personnel enforce curfew imposed in Handwara, Jammuand Kashmir's Kupwara district. (Photo: IANS)

Curfew in tense Kashmir

Mumbai: India, with a 7,500‑kmlong coastline, is set for a giganticleap in maritime sector with water‑based trade, commercial and trans‑port activit ies, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said.

Inaugurating the first MaritimeIndia Summit (MIS) 2016 here,Modi said it was the government'sendeavour to revive and restoreIndia's position of eminence in theglobal maritime sector with gen‑next infrastructure in ports, ship‑ping and allied sectors.

"I must mention that our vastcoastline of 7500 km offers a hugeinvestment opportunity. Apart fromthe length of the coastline, India'smaritime potential also lies in itsstrategic location on all major ship‑ping highways," Modi said.

BesidesIndia has an expansiveand productive hinterland throughwhich flows a network of mightyrivers. The country's maritime agen‑da will complement this ambitiousinfrastructure plan for the hinter‑land which is going on in parallel,he added.

Accordingly, the country has initi‑ated many measures under 'MakeIn India' to make the country aglobal manufacturing hub, correc‑tions in the Ease of Doing Business,simplifications in cross‑border tradeprocesses, and liberal licensingregimes including defence sectorand ship‑building.

The government has also taken60 percent of defence items out oflicensing process, most FDI sectorshave been put on automaticapproval route and shipyards havegot infrastructure status on parwith ports.

Additionally, rebate of service taxon coastal shipping has been hiked

to 70 percent and many exemptionshave been granted on customs andcentral excise duties on inputs usedin ship‑building.

Financial assistance has been pro‑vided to promote the sector, exemp‑tion in customs and central excisehas been given on bunker fuel forIndian flagged container ships, sea‑farers tax issues have been resolvedwhile the Indian Port Rail Corp willfocus on the last‑mile port connec‑tivity.

All these have led to FDI inflowsgoing up by 44 percent in past twoyears, with 2015‑16 seeing thehighest ever FDI inflow into India,Modi said.

The highest ever cargo quantityhandled by major ports was in2015, he said. Port ef ficiencyparameters had shown very goodimprovement and the fastest aver‑age turnaround time was notched in2015.

The Kandla Port in Gujaratbreached the 100 million traf ficlandmark with 20 percent improvedef ficiency, the Jawaharlal Nehru

Port Trust clocked a net profit ofRs.10 billion helped by a 12 percentincrease in ef ficiency, and theShipping Corp of India, DredgingCorp of India and Cochin ShipyardLtd had registered higher profitscompared to the previous year, hesaid.

In past two years, under theNational Perspective Plan ofSagarmala Programme, 56 newprojects worth Rs.250 billion wereawarded to create additional portcapacity of 317 million tonnes peryear.

"Our vision is to increase portcapacity from 1,400 million tonnesto 3,000 million tonnes by 2025.We want to mobilize an investmentof one lakh crore, or one trillionrupees, in the Port Sector to enablethis growth," Modi said.

Five new ports were planned tomeet the increasing demand of theExim trade which will rise in pro‑portion with the fast‑growingIndian economy, and new portswere also being developed by sever‑al coastal states.

United Nations: As the UN cele‑brated B.R. Ambedkar's 125thbirth anniversary by examiningthe relevance of his legacy to itsglobal development goals, theworld body heard a plea todeclare April 14, the birthday ofthe crusader against discrimina‑tion, as "International EqualityDay".

"I believe Baba Saheb's lifelongstruggle for equality was not onlyfor the people of India but forpeople around the globe," PunjabAssembly Speaker Charnjit SinghAtwal said at the AmbedkarJayanti ce lebration here onWednesday. Therefore, as his"true tribute and honour", he saidthat April 14 may be declared the"International Equality Day" bythe UN.

Former New Zealand primeminister Helen Clark, the keynotespeaker, said that Ambedkar'sideals were relevant today as theUN embarks on its ambitious pro‑gramme of sustainable develop‑ment goals (SDG).

"Ambedkar understood thatinequalities pose fundamentalchallenges to well‑being" and theUN had adopted the eliminationof inequality as its goal, she said.

Clark is now the head of the UNDevelopment Program and a can‑didate for Secretary General ofthe UN in the upcoming elections.

The theme of the celebrationsorganized for the first time by theIndian Mission to the UN alongwith the Kalpana SarojFoundation and the Foundationfor Human Horizon was"Combating inequalities for the

achievement of SDG" and includ‑ed a panel discussion on the rele‑vance of Ambedkar's message tothese goals.

India's PermanentRepresentative to the UN, SyedAkbaruddin, said: "Last year,when the UN adopted the univer‑sal and transformative Agenda2030 with its 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals and 169 tar‑gets, we, as Indians, noticedtraces of Ambedkar's vision in the'Sustainable Development Goals'."

These could be seen in the par‑allels between the SDG goals ofeliminating inequality and theConstitution that Ambedkardeveloped for India, enshriningthe principle of equaity, and theUN's goal of achieving genderequality and his commitment toaf firmatively empoweringwomen, he said.

More than 550 people ‑‑ diplo‑mats, international officials, aca‑demics, civil society activists andIndian residents from across theUS ‑‑ filled a UN conference roomfor the celebrations.

12 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoI ND IA

India poised for big splash in maritime sector: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the maritime exhibition inMumbai. (Photo: IANS)

New Delhi: President PranabMukherjee led the nation in pay‑ing tributes to Babasaheb BhimRao Ambedkar, principal archi‑tect of the Indian Constitution, onhis 125th birth anniversary.

Mukherjee paid tributes atAmbedkar's statue in ParliamentHouse lawns.

Vice President Hamid Ansari,union ministers, leaders of politi‑cal parties and people in largenumber also paid floral tributesto Ambedkar on the occasion.

Social Justice andEmpowerment Minister ThaawarChand Gehlot, among others, wasalso present during the function.

Prime Minister Narendra Modialso paid tributes to Ambedkar at

Mhow, his birth place in MadhyaPradesh.

Functions are being organizedall over the country to rememberthe contribution of Ambedkar inthe building of the nation. Theday was observed as "SocialHarmony Day", an official state‑ment said.

"Portraits of Ambedkar arebeing garlanded at vil lagePanchayats and literature abouthis life and work is being distrib‑uted. Discussions about his teach‑ing and work are also beingheld," it added.

Born on April 14, 1891 toBhimabai Sakpal and Ramji inMadhya Pradesh, Ambedkar diedon December 6, 1956.

DECLARE AMBEDKAR JAYANTI 'WORLD EQUALITY DAY'President, vice presidentpay tributes to Ambedkar

Diplomats during a program organized on the eve of 125th birthanniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar at United Nations in New York.

(Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/IANS)

New Delhi: Congress presidentSonia Gandhi greeted citizens onthe occasion of the 125th birthanniversary of B.R. Ambedkar,main architect of the IndianConstitution. She said that one ofthe greatest icons of modernIndia, Ambedkar's contributionspread across every field ofnational development.

"His faith in democracy, whichhe shared with Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Pateland other stalwarts of the free‑

dom movement, is one of hisproud legacies to our country,"she said, according to a state‑ment.

As Ambedkar said in the "lastsession of the constituent assem‑bly, our Constitution has givenus not just a political democracy,but also a social democracy,guaranteeing equality of all andempowerment of the weak andthe marginalized."

Gandhi said that the IndianConstitution, drafted by

Ambedkar, is a unique affirma‑t ion of fundamental humanrights and guarantees socialempowerment through constitu‑tional means.

Sonia pays tribute to Ambedkar

By Amit Kapoor

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on April5, released its first bi‑monthly mone‑tary policy statement and with it, the

monetary policy report for April 2016. Whilethe statement detailed some of the decisions,the policy report has an in‑depth assessmentof the current economic scenario and what toexpect in the months ahead.

The primary decision in the statement wasto reduce the repo rate by 25 basis pointsfrom 6.75 percent to 6.5 percent. The moveis seen as following the broad principles ofstabilisation within the economy and the RBIis accordingly seen as normalizing the policyrates to banks so that they can lend to pushfor growth.

The reverse repo was adjusted to six per‑cent, down 25 basis points. Apart from this,the minimum daily maintenance of cashreserve ratio (CRR) is also adjusted to 90 per‑cent from the present 95 percent. The RBIhas also indicated in the statement that afresh discussion paper would be put out onhow large borrowers are meeting a part oftheir funding requirements from markets byApril 30, 2016. Apart from this, a draft circu‑lar on large exposures framework will alsobe issued for public comments in June 2016.The underlying rationale for the decision hasbeen the contents of the monetary policy

report for April, which broadly speaking,looks at four factors the macroeconomic out‑look inflation and prices, aggregate demandand supply, financial markets and liquidityconditions and external environment.

On the macroeconomic front, the economyis expected to grow at 7.6 percent. Inflationhas been in check due to sound fiscal andmonetary policies. Apart from this, two otherdevelopments will have a bearing on target‑

ing inflation. One of these is the adoption ofthe flexible inflation targeting (FIT) frame‑work which positions maintaining inflationbetween 4 ± 2 percent. The other is theadoption of the monetary policy committeefor a decision on the monetary policy of thecountry which is at present taken by the RBIgovernor.

The outlook for growth remains upbeat butsome factors can impinge on growth. Theseinclude lower investment demands due tocorporate debts and tepid global output andtrade growth leading to a fall in exports. Onthe positive side, the RBI mentions the gov‑ernment's Start‑p initiative as well as strongcommitment to fiscal targets, and a thrust onboosting infrastructure which could brightenthe growth prospects going ahead.

On the aggregate demand and supplyfront, according to the report, domestic activ‑ity seems to have slowed in the second halfof 2015‑16. Aggregate demand wasrestrained due to a combination of stalling offixed investment, weak rural consumptionand ongoing fiscal consolidation. Aggregatesupply seems to have moderated with theimpact of deficient monsoon on agriculture.Similarly, GVA (gross value added) in indus‑try benefited from a decline in input costswhile the services sector remained in anexpansion mode.

Dif ferent markets experienced dif ferent

things ranging from insulation to bouts ofvolatility. Money, credit and bond marketswere relatively well‑insulated while foreignexchange and equity markets experiencedbouts of volatility. Liquidity conditions tight‑ened in the second half of the year. However,the flow of resources to the corporate sectorremained buoyant. The overall conditions inthe markets remained robust.

On the external environment front, thereport noted that global economic activityslackened further, and international traderemained subdued while downside risks haveincreased. Weak demand and low commodityprices have rekindled fears of deflation insome advanced economies which have led todivergence of policy stances. The emergingmarkets remain vulnerable to swings in sen‑timents and capital outflows going ahead.

What the report seems to be suggesting isthat the present economic situation of weakglobal growth with low global commodityprices and subdued trade growth is going topersist for some time in the future.

Overall, the statement and the report dowell to explain the global and Indian eco‑nomic scenario at present and the monetarypolicy response to the overall situation. Inthe coming months, all eyes will be on theglobal economy and the monetary policystances of various central banks across theworld.

13April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP - ED

By Kavita Bajeli-Datt

New Delhi : Prime MinisterNarendra Modiʼs Swachh BharatAbhiyan, a national initiative tokeep Indiaʼs cities and townsclean, is getting a diplomaticpush with 22 ambassadors fromacross continents coming togeth‑er to raise funds for making oneIndian village open‑defecationfree.

The idea to join the initiativeand make contribution for thecommunity occurred last yearwhen four ambassadors met overa routine tennis doubles tourna‑ment.

Serbian ambassador VladimirMaric took the lead and he wasjoined by his tennis mates andcounterpart from Bosnia SabitSubasic, Guatemalan envoyGeorges de La Roche Du Ronzetand Chile's mission head Andr©sBarb© Gonz¡lez.

They came up with the idea toraise funds by organising a char‑ity tennis match for building eco‑

logical toilet in an Indian village.The event would have also pro‑moted tennis as a sport in India.

Serbian envoy Maric, who initi‑ated the project, said, “An ideajust came while we were talkingand enjoying tennis. It took ustime, but now we are ready withTennis4Toilets. We want the par‑ticipants to play tennis and help

pay for ecological toilets.”The aim, he said, was to raise

enough money to make oneentire Indian village open‑defe‑cation free. "We are expectinggood participation both from pri‑vate companies and individuals,”Maric told IANS.

Initially there were just thefour of them. The others like

Morocco's ambassador LarbiReffouh later became part of theinitiative, given its altruisticappeal. Ref fouh told IANS:“Prime Minister Modiʼs vision togive importance to cleanlinessand health, particularly for therural population, is a project thateveryone would want to sup‑port.”

The two‑day doubles charitytennis tournament will be heldon April 16‑17. The first matchwill be at the R K Khanna TennisStadium and the second at theSerbian Embassy inChanakyapuri.

For their initiative, they havegot the full backing of the corpo‑rate world. From Tata to ITC, cor‑porates have come out to sup‑port this idea wholeheartedly.The organizers are expectingheads of diplomatic missions,international organizations, cor‑porates and staf f members tojoin the matches. For the charitymatch, they have got supportfrom the Ministry of External

Affairs and are partnering withthe All Indian Tennis Association,while the implementing agencyis Sulabh Sanitation MissionFoundation.

The winners will play an exhi‑bition match with Indian DavisCup Team members, Ref fouhadded.

Sulabh was roped in the ven‑ture as they are the pioneers inproviding sanitation solutions tothe poor and several ambassa‑dors, including US ambassadorto India Richard Verma, hasexpressed confidence over theexpertise of the organization inimproving sanitation in Indiaand several African countries.

The funds generated throughthe tennis tournament will alsobe used in improving sanitationfacilities in dif ferent places innear future.

The organizers are invitingpeople to send them mail at ten‑nis4toilets@gmail.com by April13 if they want to be part of thematches. ‑IANS

22 envoys join Modi's SwachhBharat campaign

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

PRESENT ECONOMIC SCENARIOTO PERSIST AWHILE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: IANS)

On the macroeconomic front, the economy is expected to grow at 7.6 percent. (File photo: IANS)

14 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoL E N S E Y E

By Mudita Girotra

New Delhi: For William Dalrymple,the author of books like "City ofDjiins", "In Xanadu" and "WhiteMughals", writing is an intellectu‑al art while photography is emo‑tional. The author, who recentlypublished his first book of photo‑graphs, "The Writer's Eye", saysthat it's a medium to expressbeauty.

"Photographs don't conveyideas, they express beauty.

Photography is visual not intellec‑tual. It comes from a dif ferentpart of the brain," Dalrymple,whose book is a collection ofblack and white photographstaken during his travels aroundthe world over the past 18months, told IANS in an interac‑tion. Dalrymple's photographshave received tremendous appre‑ciation, but he described writingas his first love, saying it is anintellectual exercise where para‑graphs are framed and words are

carefully chosen."Writing conveys ideas, every

word reflects an idea. Writing is ahighly inte llectual art ," saidDalrymple whose books have wonnumerous awards including theDuff Cooper Memorial Prize, theSunday Times Young Brit ishWriter of the Year Award and theHemingway Award.

Explaining why he took photo‑graphs from his cell phone andnot with a professional camera, hesaid: "Photography should always

be about the eye, not the equip‑ment".

"The Writer's Eye" is a compila‑tion of black and white imagesDalrymple took during treksthrough Ladakh, visits to Yazd,Pasargardae and the deserts ofwestern Iran, a journey along theGanges and the marshes andcauseways of coastal Northumbriaand the desert fringes of Idaho.

Dalrymple said that he neverplanned to publish his photo‑graphs, but writer Siddharth

Dhanvant Shanghvi, who lends anintroduction to the book, con‑vinced him to present the recordof his travels to the people.

Dalrymple's pictures redress theperception of black and white asunexciting and unemotional.

He himself challenged this per‑ception saying: "Black and whitehas the power that color cannever match. I love black andwhite as it has an ability to sur‑prise. Colored photographs areeverywhere."

Two photographs from William Dalrympleʼs first book of photographs, "The Writer's Eye".

When a famous writer takes to photography

New Delhi: When anybody men‑tions Rajasthan, what first comes tomind is a desert. In an attempt todispel this, photographer SudhirKasliwal shows his love for thestate by presenting distinctly dra‑matic and alluring shots of aRajasthan beyond the desert sands.

A collection of 65 photographsthat ce lebrate the light ofRajasthan and the visual elementswas put up at Bikaner House from

April 10 to 17."Looking at his work in books or

in his portfolio, one walks awayfrom his art carrying the seductiveinnocence of faces loved and leftbehind, faces that bring us back tohis beloved Rajasthan, its land‑scape and its walls with the patinaof history, states art historianAman Nath in a foreword to thecatalogue.

Kasliwal has travelled to the

heart of the desert, recording thelife and journeys of nomads, tracedthe remnants of forgotten traderoutes and marveled at the archi‑tectural brilliance of ancient edi‑fices.

Consequently, this body of workis at once a visual archive and anexamination of continuity andchange in a way of life that remainsoutside the realm of iconography.

Thematically, many of these pho‑

tographs remain distinctly dramat‑ic and full of allure.

Crimson veiled odhinis shinethrough as much as sunburnt skin,women washing at a pond withwater‑pots, magnificent forts andtemples are motifs of the visual cul‑ture that have been captured.

These images provide a breath‑taking view of the stunning, limit‑less landscape ‑ revealing thefrailty of human enterprise to mas‑

ter nature.But Kasliwal does not ignore the

ingenuity of humans to survive theharsh terrain. His studies thatblend building facades and individ‑uals seep through in the haunts ofhistory and candor.

The titles of his photographs toohave a sense of deepened distinc‑tions, while the show traversesboth geography as well as architec‑tural splendor. Source: IANS

RAJASTHAN BEYOND DESERTSCamel Country and (right) Power struggle, Pushkar: two of photographs by Sudhir Kasliwal on the desert state.

FASH ION 15April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New York: A taste to quench every appetite.Launched in August 2015, The Eat ThisCollection by PUNARVI has already beenworn by several celebrities in both the USand India. Stars like Parineeti Chopra, LucyHale, Bhumi Pednekar, Peyton List, and NinaDobrev have been seen wearing designs fromthis collection. It has also been featured onmany blogs and worn by top fashion direc‑tors such as Aya Kanai, Executive FashionDirector for Cosmopolitan and Seventeenmagazines in the US. Designer Punarvi Patelcreated elegant and premium quality t‑shirtsthat reflect her passion for cooking; the col‑lection features designs that give women asophisticated yet playful alternative to thebasic tee by using colorful embroideriesdepicting classic food items that are univer‑sally loved by women.

“It is so amazing to see the positive feed‑back from some of my favorite celebrities.They have such great taste and personalstyle and given all their resources, for themto wear a new brand like mine speaks vol‑umes about our appeal. I could not be morehumbled,” said Punarvi when speaking abouther success in dressing A‑listers.

PUNARVI will be debuting their next col‑lection on their website on April 22, 2016.

Punarvi Patel has a degree in fashiondesign from Los Angelesʼs acclaimed Fashion

Institute of Design & Merchandising. Upongraduating she went on to lead design andproduction roles at the fashion houses ofNaeem Khan and Oscar De La Renta in NewYork City. Armed with that invaluable experi‑ence and her innate creativity, she launchedher own clothing line. PUNARVI is designedto focus on individuality and ingenuity, witha perfect blend of style, creativity, and inno‑

vation enriched by superior craftsmanship.With an emphasis on quality, PUNARVI t‑shirts are made from 100% Supima cotton.PUNARVI has partnered with expert crafts‑men who are passionate about their workand are unrelenting in their desire to makesure every piece of clothing is impeccable.PUNARVI lives at the intersection of luxuryand playfulness, allowing the modern

woman to be uninhibited and free. PUNARVIcreates clothes that real women love to wear,as an expression of themselves, striving tomake getting dressed the most enjoyablepart of their day.For more information, please contact ArjitMehta at +1.844.PUNARVI or email atpress@punarvi.com. Website:www.punarvi.com.

Designer Punarvi Patel created Eat This Collection to reflect her passion for cooking.

Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra wearing a PUNARVI.PUNARVI sported by Aya Kanai, Executive Fashion Director

for Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines in the US. Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar in a PUNARVI.

Stars like Lucy Hale, Peyton List and Nina Dobrev have been seen wearing designs from East this Collection by Punarvi Patel.

April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTHE ROYAL VIS IT 17April 16-22, 2016THE ROYAL VIS ITTheSouthAsianTimes.info16

Prince William and wife Kate Middleton have been on a week‑long tour of India and Bhutan.

New Delhi/Mumbai: The Duke andDuchess of Cambridge, PrinceWilliam and Kate Middleton, on Mon‑day visited Gandhi Smriti at Tees Jan‑uary Marg in New Delhi and paid trib‑utes to Mahatma Gandhi who fell toan assassin's bullets there in 1948.Prince William later said Queen Eliza‑beth II was very fond of India and itwas "enormously important" to her.

The British royals also laid a wreathat the Amar Jawan Jyoti ‑‑ the eternalflame memorial dedicated to the 'Un‑known Soldier' ‑‑ at India Gate.

The royal couple later attended anofficial garden party reception at theBritish High Commissioner's officialresidence in the capital to celebratethe Queen's 90th birthday.

Prince William said India's contri‑bution to the Commonwealth was"enormously important" to the Queen.Speaking at the reception to mark the90th birthday of the Queen, hisgrandmother, Prince William said thequeen was very fond of India, thebiggest country in the Common‑wealth. He also read out a messagefrom the Queen in which she sent bestwishes to India.

"I have fond memories of our previ‑ous visits to India. This event today isa wonderful opportunity to celebratethe enduring friendship between ourtwo countries, our shared culture andthe business opportunities we cancreate together," the Queen was quot‑ed as saying in the message. On Sun‑

day, the royal couple attended a wel‑come charity dinner hosted by theBritish Deputy High Commission inMumbai. The high‑profile dinner wasattended by the Who's Who of Bolly‑wood, who rolled out the red carpetfor the royal couple. On Tuesday,Prime Minister Narendra Modi hostedlunch for the royal couple at the Hy‑derabad House in the capital, whichwas once a princely residence and de‑signed by British architect Sir EdwinLutyens. At the lunch, Rahul Sharmaplayed the santoor, rounding off hisperformance with the Beatles classic"Let It Be".

Kaziranga (Assam): Prince Williamand Kate Middleton, the Duke andDuchess of Cambridge, toured As‑sam's famed Kaziranga NationalPark on Wednesday and excitedlyclicked photographs when they spot‑ted one‑horned rhinos, elephants,swamp deer and other wild animalsduring their two‑hour safari.

The park, home to the rare one‑horned rhinos, is a Unesco WorldHeritage site.

"The prince and princess clickedphotographs with us inside thecamp. Our officers explained to themabout the geography of the park, itsflora and fauna, ecology and every‑thing related to the park. They lis‑tened to everything very carefully,"said a forest guard.

"They also enquired about themethods being adopted to reducethe man‑animal conflict along thefringe areas of the park, and listenedcarefully when officers of the parktold them about the methods em‑ployed to reduce such conflict," saidanother guard.

They also traveled on Wednesday

to the Kaziranga Discovery Centrebuilt by Elephant Family, a charityfounded by late Mark Shand, brotherof the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla,who is the second wife of Charles,Prince of Wales and father of PrinceWilliam. From there they take abreak for a trip to Bhutan, and returnto Agra to view the Taj Mahal

The Duchess of CambridgeKate Middleton wore the cre‑ation of Alexander McQueen

(red), Indian designer Anita Don‑gre's Mughal prints inspired tunic,British designer Jenny Packham'sroyal blue beaded gown and Emil‑ia Wickstea's cream dress too di‑verse events during her India visit.

Kate once again proved her fash‑

ion prowess by propelling a little‑known designer to the world stagein Mumbai.

At the Oval Maidan, where theroyal couple played cricket withlocal children and Indian celebritycricketers Sachin Tendulkar andDilip Vengsarkar, it was theDuchessʼ outfit, rather than herbatting skills, that caught the

worldʼs attention. The breezy bo‑hemian dress introduced AnitaDongre, who said her label “is asmall brand in India,” to the world.

Within hours of the cricketevent, Dongreʼs IT staff called herin panic to say that the websitehad crashed as hundreds of peo‑ple, presumably on a hunt for thedress, logged on.

Bollywood superstars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Shah Rukh Khan chatting with Duchess ofCambridge Kate Middleton at a charity event in Mumbai on April 10 as Madhuri Dixit looks on.

Prince William along with wife Kate Middleton scattered flower petals at Banganga WaterTank in Mumbai on April 10. The royal couple was welcomed with garlands

and a traditional Lavani dance.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton paid tribute to the victims of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai on April 10.

Kate Middleton played cricket with sports icon Sachin Tendulkar andunderprivileged children at the Oval Maidan in Mumbai on April 10.India important to Queen:

William & Kate

Prime Minister Narendra Modihosted a lunch for Prince Williamand Kate Middleton at Hyderabad

House in New Delhi on April 12. Kate mixes Brit chicwith desi prints

British royals go onKaziranga park safari

Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi on April 11 to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. (Photos: IANS & PTI)

Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton looks on as Prince William touches the creation of artist BulbulSharma with his brush at Kaziranga Discovery Park campus of Assam on April 13.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun

Gogoi and his wifeDolly Gogoi hostedthe royal couple at

a campfire celebration of Bihufestival at Tezur inAssam on April 12.

18 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoU L T I M A T E B O L L Y W O O D

Los Angeles: Director Neeraj Ghaywan's"Masaan" and Leena Yadav's "Parched"were awarded at the 14th annual IndianFilm Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA)here.

Actor Sanjay Mishra bagged the awardfor Best Actor for his work in "Masaan"under Grand Jury category and"Parched" won the award for BestFeature under Audience Choice Awardscategory, read a statement.

This year, the festival showcased near‑ly 30 films including features, documen‑taries, and shorts at ArcLight Hollywoodhere. It also featured the North Americanpremiere of Anu Menonʼs feature“Waiting” starring actress Kalki Koechlin,who was in attendance at the ceremony.The film also features actor NaseeruddinShah in a lead role.

While director Vetrimaaran's“Visaranai”, a Tamil thriller film based onthe novel "Lock Up" by M.Chandrakumar, received Grand JuryPrize for Best Feature, the Best Shortaward was bagged by “Playgrounds”.

The Best Actress award honouredactresses Tannishtha Chatterjee, RadhikaApte, Surveen Chawla and Lehar Khanfor their work in “Parched”.

Special jury mentions were made forboth “Masaan” and Hansal Mehta's“Aligarh”. Referring to the decision ofawarding “Visaranai”, the jury said: “This

film took us to a very specific time andplace while also shedding light on a uni‑

versal phenomena of displacement andvulnerability.”

Actress Richa Chadda and director Neeraj Ghaywan during a special screening of the film 'Masaan' in New Delhi.

MASAAN', 'PARCHED' AWARDED ATFILM FEST IN LOS ANGELES

'The JungleBook' shinesat Indian boxofficeMumbai: Filmmaker Jon Favreau's 3Dlive‑animation adventure fantasy film“The Jungle Book” has received anoverwhelming response at the boxoffice in India and raked in over Rs.20crore in just two days since its release.

The film, which collected Rs.10.09crore on its opening day in India onFriday, witnessed good growth onSaturday by collecting Rs.13.51 crore,thus taking its cumulative total toRs.23.6 crore, read a statement.

Released in India in four differentlanguages (English, Hindi, Tamil andTelugu), the film brings a storystraight from the enchanting forest ofIndia and presents a modern take onRudyard Kipling's timeless classic,originally published in 1894.

The film, with Indian‑American actorNeel Sethi as Mowgli, made its wayonto the screens in India a week aheadof its release in the US.

Along with Neel, the film is support‑ed by Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, IdrisElba, Lupita Nyong'o, ScarlettJohansson and Christopher Walken.

Bollywood stars likes Irrfan Khan,Priyanka Chopra, Nana Patekar,Shefali Shah and Om Puri have lenttheir voice for the Hindi version of“The Jungle Book”.

A scene from the “The Jungle Book”.

Chennai: Tamil superstar Vijay's forthcom‑ing actioner "Theri" will release in 144screens in the US with special premieres.

According to CineGalaxy Inc, the distrib‑utor of the film in North America, this istipped to be the biggest release for a Vijayfilm in recent years.

In an official statement, CineGalaxy Incconfirmed that the film will be released in144 screens across USA in places such asFremont, San Jose, Los Angeles, Dublin,Roseville, Manchester and Newark amongother locations.

Directed by Atlee, Vijay will be seen as apolice officer and a doting father in thefilm. "Theri", which has music by G.VPrakash Kumar, also stars Amy Jacksonand Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

New Delhi: Amid a lot of rib tickling humor,dancing and singing, ace comedian KapilSharma shot the first episode of his upcom‑ing comedy show "The Kapil Sharma Show"here at the Indira Gandhi Stadium onMonday. Bollywood superstar Shah RukhKhan was the first guest on the show.

The special episode, which will be aired onSony Entertainment Television on April 23,took the audience on a laughter ride andmade them recall all the fun and madnessthat Kapil and his team ‑‑ Sunil Grover, AliAsgar, Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravarti andChandan Prabhakar ‑‑ used to do earlier on"Comedy Nights with Kapil".

As expected, the show started with Kapilmaking a grand entry through the crowdsinging the popular song "Aankhon KeSaagar" while greeting his fans all the way tothe stage.

Kapil, who is making a comeback on TVwith "The Kapil Sharma Show" and his co‑stars were cheered by their fans, who cameto see the show and Shah Rukh in large num‑bers. While many were chanting names like"Gutthi", "Palak" and "Dadi" ‑‑ popular char‑acters from "Comedy Nights with Kapil" ‑‑the audience was in for a surprise whennone of the actors played any of their previ‑ous roles and came out with fresh new partsthat made them laugh throughout.

The only thing which did not look changed

at all was formercricketer and BJPleader Navjot SinghSidhu, who will appearas a permanent gueston this show as well.He was joined at thevenue by BCCI secre‑tary Anurag Thakur.

The enthusiasmamong the audiencewent to a dif ferentlevel when Shah Rukhmade his entry andstarted pulling Kapil'sleg.

Shah Rukh, whoappeared on the showfor the promotion of hisnew film "Fan", even hada funny chat with theaudience along withKapil wherein the duotook a dig at the Odd‑Even rule in Delhi.

t was followed by small acts of otheractors. While Ali appeared as a courtesanasking Shah Rukh for a kiss, Kiku came in asthe courtesan's husband and a nawab, andSunil was seen as a women Haryanvi policeof ficer. During the show, Shah Rukh evenshared some of his childhood memories and

talked about his love life with his wife GauriKhan. The biggest moment of the night waswhen Sunil changed his getup on stage andappeared as Gaurav, Shah Rukh's characterfrom "Fan". He started dancing on the song"Jabra Fan" and was joined by Shah Rukhand the audience.

The Kapil Sharma Show' kick‑starts with SRK

Stand‑up comedian Kapil Sharma during a press conference in New Delhi.

'Theri' to release in144 screens in US

TheSouthAsianTimes.info 19April 16-22, 2016U L T I M A T E B O L L Y W O O D

Bollywood superstar ShahRukh Khan, who has beenentertaining fans for over

25 years now, feels his life is notso interesting that a biopic canbe made on it.

Asked whether he would like tosee a biopic on his life just likeIndian cricketers SachinTendulkar and Mahendra SinghDhoni, Shah Rukh, who was pro‑moting his upcoming film 'Fan',quipped: "I would love SachinTendulkar to play my role". "Idon't know. I'm not good enoughI feel. All the names mentionedare wonderful, colorful lives. Ireally don't know if my life isinteresting like that to be madeinto a biopic," added the 50‑year‑old actor. "If you ask me who

should play my role, then youhave to ask the director whowishes to make a film on me. Ican't tell who could be a perfect.Though I feel AbRam and Aryan

could be a good choice," he said.'Fan', directed by ManeeshSharma, will feature Shah Rukhin a double role of a superstarand his obsessed fan.

The 50‑year‑old superstar is gearing up for the release of his film ʻFanʼ. (Photo: IANS)

MY LIFE NOT INTERESTINGENOUGH FOR BIOPIC: SRK

The packed Darbar Hall ofRashtrapati Bhavan reverber‑ated to applause when super‑

star Rajinikanth walked up toreceive the Padma Vibhushan fromPresident Pranab Mukherjee whoalso conferred Padma awards onactress Priyanka Chopra and ten‑nis player Sania Mirza.

The awards, conferred in threecategories ‑‑ Padma Vibhushan,Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri,were given away to prominent per‑sonalities from different walks oflife, as the assembled gathering,including relatives and friends ofthe awardees, kept on clappingand cheering.

Looking dapper in a beige churi‑dar kurta teamed with a greyNehru jacket, Rajinikanth acknowl‑edged the big round of applauseand cheering from those gatheredwith a big smile. His wife LathaRajinikanth was also among theinvitees.

The southern super star enjoys amassive fan following and isendearingly called 'Thalaivar' byhis well‑wishers. He has workedboth in Hindi and Southern films

over his three decade long journeyas an actor.

Priyanka Chopra, who has gar‑nered international acclaim withher stint in the American TV series"Quantico", came attired in a limegreen sari to receive her PadmaShri. She acknowledged the appre‑

ciation from the crowd but kepther eyes downwards while return‑ing to her seat.

Priyanka, who looked stunning,was being followed by admirersafter the function was over. In factsecurity persons had to escort herfrom the main hall to the other

room. The former Miss World hashit international headlines withher role of an FBI agent AlexParrish in "Quantico". The actress,who is currently riding high on thesuccess of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's"Bajirao Mastani", has even baggeda Hollywood film, "Baywatch",

alongside Dwayne Johnson andZac Efron.

The President presented fivePadma Vibhushan, 11 PadmaBhushan and 36 Padma Shriawards at the function. Three ofthe listed Padma Shri awardeescould not make it to the function.

An erotic thriller, ʻLove Gamesʼ is aboutlove, lust and frustrations in extramar‑ital affairs, and "survival of the cun‑

ning". The plot revolves around a nympho‑maniac widow, Ramona (Patralekha), her'toyboy' Sameer Saxena aka Sam (GauravArora), a businessman's son and his loveinterest Alisha Asthana, an abused wife of alawyer. High on drugs and to induce someexcitement into her sex life with Sam,Ramona devises a scheme based on a novelthat she had read, ʻLove Gamesʼ. The rules

are simple. At any party, they would have tospot a couple who are in love, then each oneof them must get close to the partner of theopposite sex and try to bed them. Whoeverseduces their target first, is the winner andthe loser will have to supply the winnerwith drugs for one year.

The games, which begin as an experimentfor exhilaration, gradually turn into danger‑ous liaisons of terrifying proportions, as therules too change in order to boost theadrenaline rush. While the premise of the

film is stimulating, the conniving plot iscomplex yet predictable and the direction isa tad tacky. The narration begins on a staiderotic note and the first two acts just drag.Just when you think the film is winding up,

it changes gear entering the thriller zoneand that's what elevates the viewing quo‑tient. The performances by the lead cast areby far good. Patralekha as Ramona nails hercharacter to perfection. With her poise,demeanor and defiance, she renders a zestyperformance with oodles of spontaneity andpanache. Portraying his angst and resent‑ment, in an understated manner, GauravArora as Sam, the guy torn between twowomen and with suicidal tendencies, is sin‑cere. Tara Alisha Berry as Alisha Asthana,the traumatized doctor wife of a leadingLawyer, living on painkillers is simplyappealing.

Rajini, Priyanka honored with Padma awards

Padma Awards are the most prestigious honors in the country. (Photos: IANS)

Delhi‑basedPriyadarshini

Chaterjee wasannounced asthe winner of

the FBB FeminaMiss India World2016 this week.

Bangalore‑based Sushruthi

Krishna andLucknow's

PankhuriGidwani were

named the firstand second run‑ners‑up. (Photo:

Courtesy, life‑andtrendz.com)

'LOVE GAMES': DANGEROUSLY MANIPULATIVE

The biggest drawback of the film is itswriting. (Photo: IANS)

Ottawa: Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeauannounced on Monday that hewill of fer a full apology for agovernment decision in 1914to deny entry of Sikhs in thecountry.

"As a nation, we should neverforget the prejudice suf feredby the Sikh community at thehands of the Canadian govern‑ment of the day. We should notand we will not," Xinhua quotedTrudeau as saying.

"That is why, next month, onMay 18, I will stand in theHouse of Commons and offer afull apology for the KomagataMaru incident," he said.

The chartered Japanese shipKomagata Maru sailed into theVancouver harbor on May 23,

1914, with 376 people fromPunjab. Most of them wereSikhs.

The Canadian governmentrefused to allow the passengersto disembark and KomagataMaru sat in the harbor for twomonths. On July 23, 1914, theKomagata Maru was escortedout to sea by a Canadian navalcruiser and returned to India,where 20 people were killed asthey tried to disembark and theothers were jailed.

Canadian Defense MinisterHarjit Sajjan, who was the firstSikh‑Canadian to command aCanadian army reserve regi‑ment, tweeted on Monday thathe is "truly honoured" byTrudeau's commitment to a for‑mal apology. (IANS)

New Delhi: Two Indian students at amedical college in Ukraine werestabbed to death while another sus‑tained injuries in the attack.

Those who died in the Sundayattack allegedly carried out by threeUkrainian nationals have been iden‑tified as Pranav Shaindilya fromMuzaf farnagar and Ankur Singhfrom Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Indrajeet Singh Chauhan, hailing from Agra, was also stabbedand was recuperating in a hospital.

"In an unfortunate event, threeIndian students in UzhgorodMedical College (Ukraine) were

stabbed by three Ukrainian nation‑als at around 3 am in the morningof Sunday, April 10," said ExternalAf fairs Ministry SpokespersonVikas Swarup.

Shaindilya was a third year stu‑dent while Mr Singh was a fourthyear student at the college."Basedon his (Chauhan) statement, thepolice apprehended the Ukrainiannationals who were trying to crossthe Ukrainian border.Passports/documents of the threeIndian students and blood‑stainedknife were reportedly recoveredfrom the Ukrainian nationals," the

MEA spokesman said.He said Indian Embassy in Kiev

was informed of the incident and ithas been trying to ascertain thefacts from the police, the Universityauthorities and other local contacts.

"The Embassy has spoken to thefamilies of the two deceased stu‑dents. All necessary actions arebeing taken to complete the formal‑ities for sending the two bodies toIndia. The Embassy is also taking upthe matter related to safety ofIndian students strongly with theForeign Of fice of Ukraine," saidSwarup. (PTI)

Johannesburg: Two brothers of South Africa's belea‑guered Gupta family have quietly left the country, amedia report said on Sunday, amid growing calls for aprobe into the Indian‑origin business barons' allegedinfluence over the government through President JacobZuma. With enough luggage for 20 people' Ajay andAtul Gupta left in their private jet from Lanseria airport,near here' around 11pm on Thursday, according to areport in City Press.

They left the country hours after.It has also been reported that their Saxonwold resi‑

dence in Johannesburg was deserted. Their third broth‑er Rajesh lives in Dubai.

The Dubai connection is linked to department of min‑eral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane and Des vanRooyen' who was appointed minister of finance afterPresident Zuma sacked Nhlanhla Nene. The newsspaperSunday Times reported that the two made mystery tripsto Dubai late last year while the Guptas were there.

Ajay and Atul were the co‑chairs of OakbayInvestments, while Atul was the chair of OakbayResources and Energy.

The three Gupta brothers ̶ Ajay, Atul and Rajesh ̶have been under immense pressure for the past fewmonths after several high‑ranking members of the rul‑ing African National Congress (ANC), including the cur‑

rent deputy minister of finance, claimed that the familyhad of fered them government positions, includingappointments as ministers.

The Guptas have denied these allegations, which havebeen termed as "state capture."

Zuma's son Duduzane held a directorship in the com‑pany after starting there as an intern a few years ago.He also resigned amid the political storm over the issue.

The Guptas had built up a huge empire with interestsin mining and media among others after settling inSouth Africa about two decades ago from their ances‑tral home in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, hoping to capi‑talize on the economic opportunities presented by thenew democratic government headed by NelsonMandela. (PTI)

London: An Indian‑origin man hasdied after his throat was slit at astreet near his home in westLondon as a result of what has beendescribed by some witnesses as a"petty row over a few pounds."

Sahil Roy, 28, was pronounceddead near his housing estate inIsleworth last evening after emer‑gency crew attempted to save hislife for over an hour.

A Metropolitan Police statementsaid: "A murder investigation hasbeen launched following the deathof a man in Isleworth. Police werecalled at 4:05 PM (UK time) onSunday to Summerwood Road inIsleworth following reports of mansuffering from a stab injury.

"Officers, the London AmbulanceService and London's AirAmbulance attended. The man,believed to be aged in his late 20s,was pronounced dead at the sceneat 5:18 PM.

"A post‑mortem examination willbe held in due course. Detectivesfrom the Homicide and Major Crime

Command (HMCC) are investigat‑ing."

A 22‑year‑old man has beenarrested on suspicion of murderand is being held at a south Londonpolice station, the police confirmed.

Roy is said to have been pushedto the ground and stabbed in theneck before his attackers fled.

Larissa Maher, a friend of Roy's,said: "He was an easily approach‑able person. He was really lovely.He wouldn't say boo to a ghost. Wehave a lot of bad people on theestate, but he wasn't one of themand you wouldn't expect it to behim.

"A lot of people on the estate arein tears. It's very hard for people. Alot of people came out to pay theirrespects which shows how muchpeople loved him.

"His brother came down and sawit as well, he must be going throughhell. You can't feel safe around here.People just need to not carry knivesaround." (IANS)

20 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoD IASPORA

Canadian PM to apologize for 1914

Komagatu Maru incident

2 Indian medical students stabbedto death in Ukraine, 1 injured

Brothers Ajay and Atul Gupta (Photo: mg.co.za)

Guptas leave South Africaamid furore over Zuma ties

Indian man's throat slitin London for row over

a few pounds

Embassy of India inHanoi, Vietnam

participated in thecultural functionorganized by theHanoi Union of

FriendshipOrganizations and

the VietnamBuddhist Sangha

on April 4.

SUBCONT INENT 21April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: India sought the "ear‑liest possible" repatriation of themortal remains of an Indian heldin a Pakistan prison who died thisweek.

“Our acting high commissionermet DG South Asia in the(Pakistan) ministry of foreignaffairs and asked for earliest pos‑sible repatriat ion of mortalremains,” external af fairs min‑istry spokesman Vikas Swaruptweeted. He said that, accordingto the Pakistan government,Kirpal Singh died on April 11 at2.55 p.m. following a heartattack.

"We await further details ,"Swarup stated.

Kirpal, 54, died at a hospital inPakistan's Kot Lakhpat Jail. Hewas alleged to have been involvedin a bombing at FaisalabadRailway Station in 1991 and sen‑

tenced to death for spying andterrorism in Pakistan.

He was transferred to a hospitalon Monday after his health dete‑riorated suddenly, jail officials

said. In 2013, an Indian deathrow convict Sarabjit Singh wasattacked by two other inmates atthe Kot Lakhpat Jail. He later suc‑cumbed to his wounds at the hos‑pital. On Tuesday, a sister ofKirpal protested at the Attari‑Wagah integrated checkpost onthe India‑Pakistan border over hisdeath.

"My brother Kirpal has beenmurdered just like Sarabjit wasearlier. The Pakistani jail authori‑ties are responsible for his death,"Jagir Kaur said during theprotest.

She was accompanied by manyother protestors, among themDalbir Kaur, the elder sister ofSarabjit. The family demandedthat Kirpal Singh's body be hand‑ed over to them for cremation athis native village in Punjab'sGurdaspur district.

Islamabad: Pakistan PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif left forLondon for a "personal andmedical checkup". Beforedeparting, Sharif held a meetingwith Interior Minister ChaudhryNisar Ali and Punjab ChiefMinister ‑‑ and his brother ‑‑Shahbaz Sharif as well as othersenior aides at Lahore's AllamaIqbal Airport.

Sharif discussed with theaides the implications of thePanama Papers scandal and thecurrent political situation in thecountry, Dawn online quotedsources as saying.

"It's just a personal visit andSharif will not hold politicalmeetings during his stay inLondon," said Asif Kirmani, theprime minister's political secre‑tary.

Sharif 's daughter Maryam

Nawaz, who is tipped to takeover the reins of the party in thefuture, posted a photo of theprime minister before leavingthe country.

"Nawaz will spend one weekin London and would also visitdoctors for medical treatment,"added Kirmani.

Meanwhile, PresidentMamnoon Hussain has left forIstanbul on a three‑day visit toattend an Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation conference.

New Delhi: Indiaand Sri Lankacould soon finalizean agreement forbuilding a bridgeconnecting boththe countries,union RoadT r a n s p o r t ,Highways andShipping MinisterNitin Gadkari said.

"The project isunder considera‑tion, it is under discussion. Butnothing has been finalised,"Gadkari told journalists at theForeign Correspondents Clubhere.

He said discussions have beenheld on the issue with SriLankan President MaithripalaSirisena and Prime MinisterRanil Wickremasinghe.

The Sri Lankan side is also"interested" in the project, hesaid, adding that even the AsianDevelopment Bank has made arecommendation to that effect.

Wickremasinghe said inColombo on March 23 that noformal talks between India andSri Lanka have started yet onthe project.

The issue had figured in SriLankan parliament as well.

"The Asian Development Bankis ready to fully finance abridge building project connect‑ing Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka.

The project wasalso discussed byPrime MinisterNarendra Modiwith his counter‑part during thelatter's recentvisit," Gadkari saidlast year.

Addressing cor‑respondents offoreign media andothers on Monday,Gadkari said the

first Maritime India Summit2016 to be inaugurated byModi in Mumbai on April 14will be a game changer in thedevelopment of India's coastaland port infrastructure.

The three‑day summit beingorganised in pursuance of thegovernment's policy of givingprime importance to develop‑ing infrastructure is aimed atattracting potential investors tothe vast opportunities in themaritime sector.

Representatives and expertsfrom 40 countries, in additionto India, will participate in thesummit, where South Korea isthe partner country, he said.

Gadkari , who had earlierfavoured the Sethu Samundranproject, declined to answer anyquestion on the same, sayingthe model code of conduct is inplace in Tamil Nadu in view ofthe assembly election.

New Delhi: US Defense SecretaryAshton Carter said the US hasgiven F‑16 fighter jets to Pakistanto fight terrorism and it approvedusing them in Pakistan's FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas wherethe Taliban have a strong foothold.

He also said the US takes "terror‑ism emanating from Pakistan veryseriously".

India has expressed its concernover the US decision to sell eight F‑16s to Pakistan, with DefenseMinister Manohar Parrikar con‑veying the government's concernsto Carter, who is presently visitingIndia.

At a joint press conference withParrikar, on being asked if the USwas trying to be a trusted ally ofIndia while supplying the F‑16fighters to Pakistan, Carter said:"We do try to be trusted partner ofIndia."

He said the US has given someunique technologies to India. "Wedon't have an agreement like thatwith other countries."

Asked about the same issue,Parrikar said he did express hisconcerns to Carter, and the USdefence secretary assured him thefighter jets would be used against

terror. Drawing a parallel withIndia's re lat ions with Russia,Carter said the US values its rela‑tion with Pakistan.

"India also has relation withother countries like Russia. Werespect that," he said.

"What we do in Pakistan isdirected towards counter terror‑ism. We too have suf fered fromterrorism emanating from the ter‑ritory, more specifically

Afghanistan," Carter said."Pakistan has used F‑16 in oper‑

ations in FATA (FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas). Wehave approved it. We take terror‑ism emanating from Pakistan veryseriously," Carter added.

The US in mid‑February con‑firmed about supplying Pakistaneight F‑16 fighter aircraft worth$699.04 million despite protestsfrom India.

Pak PM leaves for London,holds meeting with aides

Nitin Gadkari(File Photo)

Kirpal Singh. (File Photo: IANS)

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. (Photo: IANS)

India seeks early repatriationof prisoner's body from Pak

F16 supplied to Pakistanto fight terror: Carter

INDIA‑SRI LANKABRIDGE ON CARDS:

NITIN GADKARI

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter with Union Defense MinisterManohar Parrikar in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

I NTERNAT IONAL22 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Islamabad: The Pakistan government wasready to investigate 'Panama Papers' throughthe Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) andPakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaaf chairman ImranKhan can name any official to probe the mat‑ter, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar AliKhan said. 'Panama Papers' are an unprece‑dented leak of 11.5 million files from an off‑shore law firm Mossack Fonseca, based inPanama. Nisar Ali Khan made the statementat a press conference in Islamabad andoffered Imran Khan to name any FIA officialto head the investigation, Geo News reported.

"We should move forward from politics ofobjection, threats and rallies and shouldrather focus on the resolution of the issue,"Nisar Ali Khan said.

Imran Khan demanded that Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif should tender his resignationafter "losing moral authority" to keep thepost amid Panama Papers' revelations.

In an "address to the nation" from his BaniGala residence, Imran Khan said the govern‑ment should form an inquiry commission led

by the chief justice of Pakistan."The commission should also include

white‑collar crime experts and an audit firmthat follows the trail of money to determinewhere it leads," he said.

Imran Khan gave the government time tillApril 24 to take an appropriate action overthe issue, after which he added he willannounce a future course of action.

Leaked confidential documents, spanningover nearly 40 years that spell out the exten‑sive use of tax havens by politicians, worldleaders and celebrities to launder money andevade taxes through one of the most secre‑tive companies the Panamaian law firmMossack Fonseca, have taken the world bystorm. The documents identify manyPakistani business tycoons and politicians,including late two‑time Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto as well certain members ofSharif family (excluding Nawaz Sharif and hisbrother Chief Minister of Punjab ShahbazSharif) to have used tax havens to hide theirwealth.

Panama city: Police in Panamahave raided the headquarters ofthe law firm Mossack Fonseca atthe centre of a massive dataleaks dubbed as "PanamaPapers".

Prosecutors said the operationhad been carried out at theof fices of Mossack Fonseca inPanama city "without incident orinterference", BBC reported.

The leaked "Panama Papers"show how wealthy people useoffshore firms to evade tax andavoid sanctions.

The firm has denied wrongdo‑ing. It said it is the victim of ahack and that the information isbeing misrepresented.

Panamanian President JuanCarlos Varela has promised towork with other countries toimprove transparency in its off‑

shore financial industry.Police carried out the raid

along with of ficials from anorganised crime unit.

Of ficers set up a perimeteraround the headquarters while

prosecutors entered the officesto search for documents.

The attorney general's of ficesaid the aim had been "to obtaindocumentation linked to theinformation published in news

articles that establish the use ofthe firm in illicit activities".

The statement added thatsearches would also take place atsubsidiaries of the firm.

Panama government promisedan investigation soon after newsreports emerged more than aweek ago based on more than 11million documents from the firm.

The firm tweeted [in Spanish]that it "continues to co‑operatewith authorities in investigationsmade at our headquarters".

Many other countries wereprobing possible financial crimesby the rich and powerful peoplein the aftermath of the leak.

Mossack Fonseca partnerRamon Fonseca said the compa‑ny had been hacked by serversbased abroad and has filed acomplaint with the Panamanian

attorney general's office.Fonseca served as a minister in

Valera's government but steppedaside earlier this year after sepa‑rate allegations linked the firm tothe corruption scandal engulfingthe Brazilian state oil companyPetrobras.

The leaked documents werepassed to German newspaperSueddeutsche Zeitung, whichthen shared them with theInternational Consortium ofInvestigative Journalists.

The documents show how thecompany has helped clients laun‑der money, dodge sanctions andevade tax.

Mossack Fonseca said it hasoperated beyond reproach for 40years and never been accused orcharged with criminal wrongdo‑ing.

Ramon Fonseca Mora, partner of the lawyers office Mossack Fonseca,in Panama City.(Photo: Xinhua/IANS

Panama Papers: MossackFonseca headquarters raided

London: Tax avoidance by multinational cor‑porations will be forced into the open underproposals to be unveiled by European regula‑tors following the Panama Papers revela‑tions.

The European Commission will put for‑ward legislation requiring large multination‑als operating in Europe to disclose profitsearned and taxes paid in each of the EUʼs 28member states, as well as fiscal havens, TheGuardian reported.

All large companies trading in Europe,including subsidiaries of non‑European busi‑nesses, would have to publish how much taxthey pay outside the EU, including detailedcountry‑by‑country information on theirfinances in tax havens. The commission wasalready working on measures to force inter‑national companies to disclose their earningsand tax bills in the EU. Following the leak of11.5 million files exposing the tax secrets of

the global elite, officials have toughened uptheir plans to include tax havens.

Lord Hill, the European commissioner incharge of financial services, confirmed thatthe proposals were being extended to taxhavens, in response to the public outcry overthe revelations in the Panama papers.

The massive data leak had “shifted the pub‑lic mood” and it was sensible to reflect thatin the proposals, he said.

The original proposals were drawn up afterpublic outcry over large corporations, suchas Apple and Starbucks, paying little taxdespite earning healthy profits. The EU losesup to 70 billion euros a year through corpo‑rate tax avoidance, according to theEuropean parliament.

Under the plans all multinational compa‑nies with a turnover greater than 750 mil‑lion euros would be obliged to meet tougherstandards on public disclosure.

Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. (File Photo: IANS)

A protester throws an egg at the parliament building during a protest in Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. (Photo: Xinhua/IANS)

Pak ready to probe 'PanamaPapers', says minister

EU regulators demand tax transparency from multinationals

I NTERNAT IONAL 23April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington: US President Barack Obamapledged to keep up momentum in the fightagainst the Islamic State (IS), saying the 66‑member coalition of nations is "on theoffensive”.

"Today, on the ground in Syria and inIraq, IS is on the defensive," Obama toldreporters after meeting with his nationalsecurity team at the headquarters ofCentral Intelligence Agency. "We havemomentum, and we intend to keep thatmomentum."

Though the IS has managed to advance insome areas of Syria and Iraq, it has not hada successful major offensive operation onthe ground there since last summer, Obamasaid.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said the US‑led military operation against the IS hasentered its second phase with the aim todismantle the group, Xinhua news agencyreported. The first phase focused on stop‑ping IS militants from advancing and

squashing its ability to operate as a conven‑tional force, said Colonel Steve Warren, thespokesman for the US‑led coalition fightingthe IS.

At the CIA headquarters, Obama stressedthe importance of ending the Syrian civilwar, calling it the "only way to truly destroyISIL (IS)”.

"So we continue to work for a diplomaticend to this awful conflict," he said.

The UN special envoy for Syria Staffan deMistura said Wednesday that the secondround of proximity talks aimed at broker‑ing a political end to the Syrian crisis hadstarted. To date UN‑mediated talks havemade little progress to end the five‑yearwar which has killed over a quarter millionpeople and displaced millions of others.

On Wednesday, Obama also noted that asthe coalition has made it harder for foreignterrorists to reach Syria and Iraq there is an"uptick" in the number of IS fighters head‑ing to Libya.

Obama vows to keep momentum in fight against IS

New Delhi: The 'in principle' agreementbetween India and US to conclude an agree‑ment for providing military logistics mayprove beneficial for India as long as it is clearthat Americcan troops will not be stationedon Indian soil, experts say.

The announcement on a Logistics ExchangeMemorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) thatcame during US Defence Secretary AshtonCarter's just‑concluded India visit is alreadyfacing political skepticism, which was expect‑ed for the agreement that has been pendingfor 10 years, with the former Congress‑ledUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA) govern‑ment soft‑pedalling on it.

It also comes at a time when US has beenvocal about the growing Chinese activities inthe South China Sea and has repeatedly onstressed 'freedom of navigation'.

India on the other hand has been express‑ing concerns over terror emanating fromPakistan, with the proximity betweenPakistan and China being another issue.

The major concern expressed by differentpolitical parties for long remained that India,which had chosen to remain non‑aligned postindependence and through the Cold War peri‑od, must not enter the NATO block by sup‑porting US troops.

Former defence minister and Congressleader AK Antony went to the extent ofterming the agreement "disastrous", while theLeft has also opposed it.

However, as both sides ‑‑ Carter and hisIndian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar ‑‑ clari‑fied, the renamed agreement LEMOA (it waspreviously the Logistics Support Agreement)would not involve the presence of US troopsin India.

The agreement, according to availableinformation, will be country‑specific for Indiaand will focus on providing support that willprimarily include food, fuel and stores.

Former Indian Army chief General V.P.Malik said the agreement is likely to be bene‑ficial for India. "This agreement has been

floating around for ten years, but India hadreservations. Now that the two sides haveagreed, it is possible that the agreement hasbeen modified," General Malik, who was inof fice from 1997 to 2000, a period whichincluded the 1999 Kargil conflict, told IANS.

"The basic opposition was that we do notwant American troops to be stationed inIndia, nor do we want to support the processof the forces striking somewhere else," headded. "I feel the Indian and US governmentshave agreed on a draft that meets these tworequirements. It is a useful agreement as longas we are not seen to be supporting ameri‑cans fighting somewhere else," Gen. Maliknoted.

Congress opposeslogistics support

agreement with USNew Delhi: The Congress opposed the gov‑ernment's move to sign a military logisticssupport agreement with the US, saying theNarendra Modi government does not havethe mandate to push India into any mili‑tary alliance.

"Though America is India's strategicpartner, we have our strong reservationsand concerns against this agreement,"Deputy Leader of Opposition in the RajyaSabha Anand Sharma told reporters here.

Sharma added that India has strategicrelations with America and also withRussia, China, Japan and Indonesia.

He said that India had maintained bal‑ance among its various strategic partnersbut had never been part of a power bloc.

Sharma also said the Modi governmenthas not got the mandate to push India intoany military alliance which could provedetrimental to its interest in the long term.

Experts give thumbs up to India‑US logistics pact

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter calls on the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, in New Delhi. Photo: IANS/PIB)

Kolkata: Rohit Sharma's love af fair with EdenGardens continued as he smashed an unbeaten 84to power Mumbai Indians to a six‑wicket victoryover Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IndianPremier League (IPL) encounter here.

Jos Buttler with a quickfire 22‑ball 41 was theother major contributor.

For KKR, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla andKuldeep Yadav picked up a wicket each.

The defending champions started off at a briskpace chasing KKR's challenging 187/5 with Rohitand Parthiv Patel picking the gaps at will.

By the end of the powerplay, the score read53/1. But then Brad Hogg effected a brilliant run‑out and sent back Parthiv to the dugout much tothe delight of the 35,000‑odd fans in the stadium.

The wicket also helped KKR bring down the runrate.

Thereafter, some silly errors from wicket‑keeperRobin Uthappa helped the visitors. MumbaiIndians got to 87/1 at the end of 10 overs.

KKR then got rid of Hardik Pandya (9)andMitchell McClenaghan (20) in quick succession asthey tried to slowly crawl their way back into thecontest. However, Buttler and Rohit had otherideas. The England power‑hitter did not need asighter and tonked the hapless KKR bowlers tooall parts of the park. He also took on AndreRussell and clubbed him for 18 in an over.

The onslaught brought down the asking raterapidly and before long Mumbai were in touchingdistance of the KKR total.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Courtdirected the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) to shift allIndian Premier League (IPL)matches out of Maharashtra afterApril 30 in view of the severewater shortage in the state.

The matches scheduled untilApril 30 can, however, be held inthe state, the court said, addingthat it could not afford to ignorethe plight of people af fected bysevere drought.

The decision means that theBCCI will have to relocate 13 IPLmatches, including the final of thelucrative Twenty20 tournament.Maharashtra was originally sched‑uled to host 20 IPL matches inMumbai, Nagpur and Pune. Allthree cities are facing a severewater crisis at present.

Five matches will be played inMaharashtra this month. The 13matches that will have to bemoved out now include six thatwere to be played in Pune, four inMumbai and three in Nagpur.

A bench of Justice V.M. Kanadeand Justice M.S. Karnik handedout the verdict on a PIL by an NGOnamed Loksatta Movement, whichchallenged the use of large quanti‑ties of water in stadiums at a timewhen the state was reeling undersevere drought conditions.

"We cannot lose sight of theplight of millions of poor people,"the bench said.

The judges added that althoughshifting of IPL matches would notsolve the problem, water meantfor preparing cricket pitches

should be diverted to the affectedregions. "Shifting IPL matcheswon't solve the problem but ifwater is diverted to drought‑hitareas, problem can be solved tosome extent," the bench stated.

Reacting to the high court order,IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla ques‑t ioned the t iming of the PIL,asserting that concerns over thepossible wastage of water shouldhave been raised earlier.

"We will decide on the strategyof shifting the matches only whenwe get the order in writ ing.Shifting of matches will be a hugeproblem. Several events take placewhich require a lot of waterdespite the water crisis. Whyshould only the IPL be made tosuffer?" Shukla told India Today.

"It is not easy to organise theIPL. The preparations for the IPLwere going on for the last sixmonths. The concerns should have

been raised earlier, during thepreparation stage," he added.

"We have discussed giving helpto the villages most ef fected bythe drought. Our decision hasbeen put forward. The BCCI is nei‑ther using potable water norintends to do so," BCCI secretaryAnurag Thakur told reportersbefore the verdict was delivered.

"Cricket is so popular in ourcountry that people want to createcontroversy over it. I want to askhow many swimming pools in 5‑star hotels are being shut downbecause of drought. We are notusing potable water and we areready to help farmers too," headded.

The court had allowed the open‑ing match of this year's IPL onApril 9 to go ahead as originallyscheduled, ruling that the timingof the PIL did not allow sufficienttime to the BCCI to arrange for an

alternate venue.Earlier on Wednesday, the BCCI

made a series of ef forts to keepthe remaining 19 IPL matches inMaharashtra.

The board told the court that itwill not be feasible to shift IPLmatches out of the state as the twoMaharashtra based franchisesMumbai Indians and Rising PuneSupergiants had invested a lot ofmoney and relocating the matcheswill also adversely af fect their

support base.The BCCI also told the court that

the Maharashtra CricketAssociation (MCA) is ready to sup‑ply around 64 lakh litres of non‑potable water to drought‑hit areasof the state, and that the Mumbaiand Pune franchises will donateRs.5 crore towards drought reliefefforts.

The Mumbai and Pune franchis‑es, however, were not happy withthe court's verdict.

Thiruvananthapuram: Cricketbuffs in Kerala have no reasonto celebrate the Bombay HighCourt's order to move out ofdrought‑hit Maharashtra the 13Indian Premier League matchesallotted to the state after April30. Kerala Cricket Associationpresident T.C. Mathew toldIANS it was "unfortunate andsad" that Kerala will not get asingle match because there areno stadiums which can host theties.

"The only stadium now fit tostage international cricketmatches in Kerala is theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium inKochi, but a refurbishment iscurrently on to make it a likelyvenue for the 17th edition ofthe U‑17 FIFA World Cup thatIndia will host next year," he

said."Then there is the brand new,

world‑class Greenfield Stadiumhere, but there is no cricketpitch and laying a new one in afew weeks' time just cannothappen."

"So, Kerala will not be able tostage any IPL matches that aregoing to be moved out ofMaharashtra," said Mathew.

The Jawaharlal NehruStadium was the home groundof the Kochi Tuskers, an IPLteam in 2011, but its franchisewas cancelled by the BCCI.

The Bombay High Court rul‑ing came following a publicinterest litigation that demand‑ed these matches should bemoved out of Maharashtra dueto severe water scarcity in someparts of the state.

A train with ten wagons carrying 50,000 liters of drinking water eachdeparts for drought‑affected Latur from Miraj, in Maharashtra. (Photo: IANS)

Maharashtra's loss won'tbe Kerala's gain

Move 13 IPL matches out of Maharashtra: Court

MUMBAI INDIANS CHEER 6‑WICKET WIN OVER KKR

IPL 20‑20

SPORTSApril 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info24

Rohit Sharma celebrating afterthe win. (Photo: IANS)

Ipoh (Malaysia): After defeatingPakistan 5‑1, India's hockeyteam lost 1‑2 to New Zealand toslide to the third spot in theSultan Azlan Shah Cup here.

After a slow beginning, KaneRussel gave the New Zealandersthe lead in the 29th minute froma penalty corner. Mandeep Singhequalised for India in the 36thminute but Nick Wilson (41st)struck his fourth goal of thetournament to clinch theencounter for the defendingchampions.

India failed to utilize threepenalty corners ‑‑ two in thefinal quarter ‑‑ in the match asthey searched for the equalizerand went down losing 1‑2.

Reflecting on the match, Indiahead coach Roelant Oltmanssaid: "We played a strong game,considering the conditions wemust consider ourselves a bitunlucky. Both the New Zealandgoalkeepers had a great game."

With this win, Colin Batch‑coached New Zealand moved to

the second position with 11points from six matches. Lastyear's bronze medalists India arethird with nine points from fivematches.

Reigning world championAustralia are on top of the poolwith four wins in as manymatches. They play later in theday against bottom‑placedJapan. Canada are fourth withfive points from five games.Malaysia and Pakistan ‑‑ whoplay the final game of the day ‑‑are fifth and sixth with five andthree points, respectively.

The top two teams will auto‑matically qualify for the final,while the third and fourthranked teams play the bronzemedal match after the conclu‑sion of the round‑robin competi‑tion. India can still play the final,if they beat hosts Malaysia intheir final pool game on Friday.

“We get another opportunityto get to the final though, andare focussed on winning ournext game against the hosts

Malaysia to get that spot,"Oltmans said.

The Indian team was expectedto play an aggressive game,especially after the 5‑1 triumph

over traditional rivals Pakistan.But it didn't turn out to be likethat. The match started on aslow note, with both the teamstrying to gauge each other's

weaknesses while denying anearly goal. The midfielders fromboth the side dictated the playas the first quarter didn't wit‑ness any clear‑cut chances.

Mohali: Debutants Gujarat Lions began theirIndian Premier League (IPL) journey with animpressive five‑wicket win over Kings XIPunjab at the Punjab Cricket Association's I.S.Bindra Stadium here.

Set a 162‑run target, Lions reached the markwith 14 balls to spare with Australian openerAaron Finch (74) scoring the majority of theruns. Dinesh Karthik (41 not out) was also achief contributor.

Their run chase stuttered early on when for‑mer New Zealand captain Brendon McCullumdeparted for a second ball duck, advancingdown the track to be smartly stumped byWriddhiman Saha off the bowling of SandeepSharma in the first over.

But Lions recovered from the loss, spear‑headed by skipper Suresh Raina (20) andFinch.

Raina guided the team past the 50‑run markin the sixth over with a big six over midwicket.But then he fell off the very next ball, foxed bya Marcus Stoinis slower delivery to offer a sim‑ple catch to mid on.

Finch remained unperturbed by Raina's dis‑missal and used all his experience to lead histeam's chase, bringing up his 50 in the eightover. He forged another 50‑run partnershipwith Karthik to bring up the 100 in the 11thover. Lions were costing at that point butFinch's sudden stumping in the 12th over, leav‑ing them 117/3, gave Punjab hopes of a turn‑around. Lions still needed 41 runs from 42balls. Ravindra Jadeja's (8) run out made thegame more interesting. But Karthik ensured

they crossed the line without any more hic‑cups.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab posted 161 for sixafter Gujarat captain Suresh Raina won thetoss and opted to field, opening batsmenMurali Vijay (42 off 34) and Manan Vohra (38in 23) provided a 78‑run stand in 8.2 overs.

Then Dwayne Bravo (4/22) and left‑armspinner Ravindra Jadeja (2/30) led Gujarat'sfightback as the hosts lost four wickets for 102runs in 12 overs.

Australian all‑rounder Marcus Stoinis (33 in22 balls) and wicket‑keeper Wriddhiman Saha(20) did the repair work and took the total to161/6. It seemed that Punjab will end up get‑ting 180, thanks to their sound start. Right‑handers Vijay and Vohra scored 53 runs with‑out any loss till the powerplay overs (6).

Vijay hit three fours and a six off left‑armmedium pacer Pradeep Sangwan, while Vohraalso made merry, hitting James Faulkner forthree fours in the fifth over.

The Punjab right‑hander was dropped at hispersonal score of eight by Bravo, who ran fromthe deep midwicket in the fifth over.

Captain Raina's third bowler, leg‑spinnerSarabjit Ladda also went for 21 runs in his twoovers. Then the captain turned to Indian left‑arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who broke thepartnership in his second over by trappingVohra in front of the stumps. Then the hosts'score reached 78 in 8.2 overs. Jadeja later alsocleaned up Vijay as the right‑hander opened upto create some room. He missed the ball andPunjab were 91/2 in 10.4 overs.

AZLAN SHAH CUP: India edged 1‑2 by New Zealand

New Delhi: Indian tennis star SaniaMirza was conferred with PadmaBhushan at a glittering investiture atRashtrapati Bhavan here for her contri‑bution to the game.

Sania and her partner Swiss legendMartina Hingis took the tennis worldby storm for much of last year with a41‑match winning streak which finallycame to an end with a shock loss at thequarter‑finals of the Qatar Open earlierthis year. The Indo‑Swiss pair won 10titles together, including nine consecu‑tive ones.

Had they managed to win a 10th con‑secutive t itle at Qatar, Sania andMartina would have tied Jana Novotnaand Helena Sukova for the longest win‑ning streak since 1990 at 44 matches.But they still would have a long way togo before catching up with MartinaNavratilova and Pam Shriver, whotogether put 109 straight wins between1983 and 1985.

The pair have won three Grand Slamtitles so far ‑‑ the Wimbledon and theUS Open in 2015 and the AustralianOpen in January this year.

Sania is the fourth Indian tennis play‑er to receive the Padma Bhushan. VijayAmritraj, Ramanathan Krishnan anddoubles legend Leander Paes had earli‑er been honoured with both Padma Shriand Padma Bhushan. Sania was con‑ferred with Padma Shri in 2006.

"Humbled. Honored. And truly thankful.. #PadmaBhushan," Sania tweeted later.

On Monday night, Sania was also hon‑oured at the NRI of the Year Award2016 where she was conferred with theGlobal Indian Icon of the year award.

SANIA HONORED WITHPADMA BHUSHAN

Gujarat Lions beat KingsXI Punjab on IPL debut

SPORTS 25April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info

President Pranab Mukherjee confersPadma Bhushan to tennis player Sania

Mirza at Rashtrapati Bhawan. (Photo: IANS)

India earlier crushed Pakistan 5‑1. (File Photo: IANS)

Mumbai: Forecast of above aver‑age monsoon rains, along withhealthy expansion in industrialproduction and a decline in retailinflation, sent the Indian equitymarkets soaring.

Further, positive global indicesand a rise in crude oil pricesunleashed fresh buying of equi‑ties. Consequently, the key indicescontinued to zoom and provision‑ally ended the day's trade on ahigher note.

The wider 50‑scrip Nifty of theNational Stock Exchange (NSE)closed the day's trade higher by137.10 points, or 1.78 percent, at7,846.05 points.

Similarly, the barometer 30‑scrip sensitive index (Sensex) ofthe BSE , which opened at25,358.42 points, provisionallyclosed at 25,626.75 points (at3.30 p.m.) ‑‑ up 481.16 points or1.91 percent from the previousclose at 25,145.59 points.

The Sensex touched a high of25,671.50 points and a low of25,358.42 points during theintra‑day trade.

The IMD said that after twostraight years of drought, India islikely to be showered with aboveaverage rains during the upcom‑ing monsoon season, with a prob‑ability of more than 94 percentprecipitation.

Then, after the closing bell,came the twin dose of positivenews from the Central Statistics

Office that India's factory outputfor February logged a growth oftwo percent after three straightmonths of decline, and annualretail inflation fell to 4.83 percentin March from 5.26 percent inFebruary. The equity markets willbe closed on account ofAmbedkar Jayanti on April 14and Ram Navami on April 15.

Washington: India's economicgrowth is expected to rise from7.5 percent in 2015‑16 to 7.7percent in the current fiscal onthe back of strong privateinvestment, more infrastruc‑ture spending, better invest‑ment climate and improvedcorporate balance sheets, pro‑pelling South Asia to becomingthe fastest‑growing regionglobally, the World Bank said.

In its latest South AsiaEconomic Focus reportreleased here, the multilaterallender projected economicgrowth of the region to gradu‑ally accelerate from 7.1 per‑cent in 2016 to 7.3 percent in2017, and said given India'sweight in the region, it sets thepace for the whole of SouthAsia. "South Asia has beenresilient to global turbulencedue to its limited exposure toslowdowns in other majoreconomies coupled with thetailwinds of favorable oil

prices, capital flows, and remit‑tances," said World Bank'sSouth Asia vice presidentAnnette Dixon.

The report said, of the region,that "fiscal and financial vul‑nerabilities remain and coun‑tries should strive to addressthem through generating rev‑enue and creating more fiscalspace". India's GDP growth willbe supported by a turnaroundin agriculture rebound in ruraldemand and stimulus from gov‑ernment pay reforms, it said.

However, delays in imple‑mentation of key reforms couldaf fect investor sentiment, itadded.

The World Bank also saidthat favorable economic trendsoverall mask important under‑lying divergences like betweenurban and agricultural house‑holds, domestic and externaldemand and between publicand private capital expenditure,which should be addressed.

San Francisco: Bringing chatbots to life,social networking giant Facebook haslaunched an artificial intelligence (AI)bots right into its popular messagingapp Messenger to allow users to interactwith businesses and get updates fromthem. The company also unveiled itsown 360‑degree stereoscopic 3D videocamera at its annual, two‑day F8 devel‑oper conference that kicked off at theFort Mason Centre in San Francisco,California.

With chatbots, an interactive softwarepowered by AI and with human help,Messenger users can send messages tobusinesses just like they do to theirfriends and get things done.

"To order flowers on 1‑800‑flowers,you never have to call 1‑800‑flowersagain," Facebook founder MarkZuckerburg was quoted as saying.

Messenger users now can try about ahalf dozen chatbots on this platform andmore are expected to come soon.

According to Facebook, there have

been more than 50 million businesseson Messenger, which boasts 900 millionmonthly active users. The company saidit is aiming to provide great valuableexperiences for users and added valuefor businesses.

The new 3D video camera called"Facebook Surround360" producessharp, truly spherical footage in 3D.

The system includes stitching technol‑ogy that seamlessly marries the videofrom 17 cameras, vastly reducing post‑production effort and time.

Facebook also launched "ProfileExpression Kit" where people can nowuse third‑party apps to create fun andpersonality‑infused profile videos withjust a few taps. The closed beta versionkicked of f with support for six apps ‑Boomerang by Instagram, Lollicam,BeautyPlus, Cinemagraph Pro by Flixel,MSQRD and Vine. Zuckerburg said thatFacebook will focus on connectivity,artificial intelligence and augmentedreality over the next 10 years.

Pune: Charging Western nations with adoptingdouble standards in their approach to climatechange, Power Minister Piyush Goyal has saidIndia will file 16 cases against the US for givingprotection to solar panel producers in violation ofWorld Trade Organization (WTO) norms.

"The US, which is articulating the inconvenienttruth, while India is doing convenient action, usesseven times more coal per capita than India. Evenon clean energy finance, the developed world hasspoken a lot and done zilch," Goyal said at a lec‑ture here jointly organized by the MahrattaChamber of Commerce and Pune InternationalCentre. "I am going to file 16 cases against the USfor their violation of the WTO norms. Our interna‑tional solar alliance rests on this. If a large countrylike India is subjected to this, then imagine whathappens to the country in the underdevelopedworld," he said.

Declaring that American obstruction and pres‑sures would not be acceptable to India, he said: "Itamazes me that a country which talks of encourag‑ing renewable energy goes to the WTO againstIndia and says why did you put up 400 MW ofdomestically produced panels.

"You should have allowed us to compete even inthose 400 MW, which India has domestically madeand put up. They go to the WTO, win a case andtom tom about it as a contribution to renewableenergy in the world," he said.

In the US, there are 16 programs in dif ferentstates giving protection to solar panel producers,which are completely in violation of WTO norms,Goyal added.

The IMD said that after two straight years of drought, India is likely tobe showered with above average rains during the upcoming

monsoon season. (Photo: IANS)

26 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoBUS INESS

Facebook unveils chatbots,360‑degree 3D video camera

Will file cases against US forWTO norms violation: Goyal

Monsoon forecast sendsIndia's equity indices soaring

India to grow at 7.7 percent in current fiscal: World Bank

Power Minister Piyush Goyal. (Photo: IANS)

27April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info

London: Money can buy happi‑ness, if those purchases fit yourpersonality, says a study, adding itmay be strongly linked to greaterlife satisfaction than your totalincome and total spending.

According to researchers,spending money on products thathelp us express who we are asindividuals could turn out to be asimportant to our well‑being asfinding the right job, the rightneighborhood or even the rightfriends and partners.

"Historically, studies had founda weak re lat ionship betweenmoney and overall well‑being,"said Joe Gladstone from theUniversity of Cambridge inBritain.

"Our study breaks new groundby mining actual bank‑transactiondata and demonstrating that

spending can increase our happi‑ness when it is spent on goodsand services that fit our personali‑ties and so meet our psychologicalneeds," Gladstone said in thestudy that published in the journalPsychological Science.

The study was conducted atCambridge Judge Business Schooland the Psychology Departmentof Cambridge University in collab‑oration with a Britain‑based multi‑national bank. It was based on76,863 transactions of 625 par‑ticipants over a six‑month period.

The study matched spendingcategories on the widely recog‑nized "Big Five" personality traits ‑‑ openness to experience (artisticversus traditional), conscientious‑ness (self‑controlled vs easygo‑ing), extraversion (outgoing vsreserved), agreeableness (compas‑

sionate vs competitive), and neu‑roticism (prone to stress vs sta‑ble).

The researchers then comparedthe participants' actual purchasesto their personalities using thisscale, and found that people gen‑erally spent more money on prod‑ucts that match their personality.

For instance, a highly extrovertperson will spent more on "pubnights" than an introvert.Similarly, a highly conscientiousperson will spent more on "healthand fitness" than a person low inconscientiousness.

The finding showed that thosewho bought products that moreclosely matched their personali‑ties reported higher satisfactionwith their lives, and this ef fectwas stronger than that of theirtotal income or total spending.

New Delhi: Preserve your silk saris by wrappingthem in a cotton cloth and keep changing the foldof the silk clothing to avoid permanent wrinkles,for increasing its longevity, suggests an expert.Here are some tips to preserve your silk as new asever, as suggested by Udyan Singh, founder, BankaSilk, a handloom brand from Bihar that is workingtowards the upliftment of the artisans of Bankadistrict in the state.

* Cotton wrap: Always wrap the sari in a cottoncloth to keep the charm alive and never hang themin metal hangers. Keep every sari separately inseparate covers.

* Sunlight: Silk is considered as a piece of art, sodon't let the saris feel left out. Always take thoseout at regular intervals and put them in sunlight.This will preserve the color and shine.

* Changing fold: We should rejoice every singlesecond of the ef forts that have been taken indeveloping each weave by the weaver, so keep

changing the folds of the sari; do not keep heavilyironed saris hanging in the cupboard.

* Protection: Use neem leaves to keep away thebugs. It is better than using naphthalene balls.Always air dry the saris after you wear them toavoid any kind of smell. Dry cleaning is the safestway to clean your silk.

Money can buy happiness if you spend it right

New York: Young smokersplease take note! Smokers facemore problems in finding a joband when they do find a job,they earn considerably less thantheir non‑smoker peers, says aninteresting study.

The findings showed that at 12months, only 27 percent ofsmokers had found jobs com‑pared with 56 percent of non‑smokers. Among those who hadfound jobs by 12 months, smok‑ers earned on average 5 dollarsless per hour than non‑smokers.

"We found that smokers had amuch harder time finding workthan non‑smokers," said leadstudy author Judith Prochaskafrom Stanford UniversityMedical Center.

The team surveyed 131 unem‑ployed smokers and 120 unem‑ployed non‑smokers at thebeginning of the study and thenat six and 12 months.

"The health harms of smokinghave been established for

decades and our study here pro‑vides insight into the financialharms of smoking both in termsof lower re‑employment successand lower wages," Prochaskaadded in a paper published inthe journal JAMA InternalMedicine. They used surveyquestions and a breath test forcarbon monoxide levels to classi‑fy job seekers into either dailysmokers or non‑smokers.

Smokers were on averageyounger, less educated and inpoorer health than non‑smok‑ers."Such dif ferences mightinfluence job seekers' ability tofind work," Prochaska stated.

After controlling for these vari‑ables, smokers still remained ata big disadvantage. After 12months, the re‑employment rateof smokers was 24 percentlower than that of non‑smokers.

Those who successfully quitsmoking will have an easier timegetting hired, the authors sug‑gested.

Smoking may hamper your job

prospects too

Increase life of your silks insimple ways

(Image courtesy: laenamine.com)

London: Turning traditional knowl‑edge onto its head when it comesto late pregnancy and associatedrisks, British researchers havefound that kids of older mothersare actually healthier, taller andhighly educated than kids ofyounger mothers.

The team from Max PlanckInstitute for DemographicResearch in Rostock, Germany,found that mothers who delayedchildbearing to older ages ‑‑ evenas old as 40 or older ‑‑ had chil‑dren who were taller, had bettergrades in high school and weremore likely to go to university.

The team analyzed over 1.5 mil‑lion participants ‑‑ born between1960 and 1991 ‑‑ to examine therelationship between maternal ageat the time of birth and height,

physical fitness, grades in highschool and educational attainmentof the children.

They compared siblings whoshare the same biological motherand father.

The findings, published in thejournal Population andDevelopment Review, indicate thatdue to urbanization of countries ‑‑educational opportunities areincreasing and people are gettinghealthier and, in other words, itpays off to be born later.

For instance, a woman born in1950 who had a child at age 20would have given birth in 1970. Ifthat same woman had a child at40, she would have given birth in1990. The child born in 1990, hada much higher probability of goingto a college or university than

somebody born 20 years earlier."Those 20 years make a huge dif‑ference," said lead study authorMikko Myrskyla.

Despite the risks associated withchildbearing at older ages, whichare attributable to ageing of thereproductive system, these risksare either counterbalanced or out‑weighed by the positive changes tothe environment in the period dur‑ing which the mother delayed herchildbearing, the authors stated.

"By comparing siblings whogrew up in the same family it waspossible for us to pinpoint theimportance of maternal age at thetime of birth independent of theinfluence of other factors thatmight bias the results," said co‑author Kieron Barclay fromLondon School of Economics.

Moms who delay pregnancy getsmarter, healthier kids: Study

L I F E STYLE

(Image credit: tribune.com.pk)

Humor with Melvin Durai

28 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

THE PLANE TRUTH ABOUT YOGA

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Yoga offers a number of benefits, includ‑ing stress reduction and improved fit‑ness. It may also reduce your risk for

heart disease, high blood pressure and otherconditions. Best of all, it allows you to twistyour body into various impressive positions,earning you admiration from your friendsand family, and perhaps even a recruitmentletter from the traveling circus.

One of the major advantages of yoga is thatyou donʼt need any equipment to do it. Thatmeans you can do yoga anywhere you go. Butplease resist the temptation.

Some places are just not meant for yoga.You probably shouldnʼt do yoga in a busyrestaurant, for example, even if youʼve beenwaiting too long for your food. A few breath‑ing exercises are fine, but unless youʼre eagerto get the waiterʼs attention, please keep yourfeet on the ground.

The same applies to a crowded bus, even ifputting one foot behind your head allows youto occupy less room. If the bus makes a sud‑den stop, you may hurt yourself or someoneelse. The paramedics may have trouble untan‑gling you from yourself.

Trains are also not ideal for yoga, unlessyou have a compartment to yourself. But eventhen, you need to be cautious, in case thetrain makes a sudden stop and sends you

rolling, all balled up, into the next life.Planes are usually too cramped for yoga

and your fellow passengers may look at youstrangely. Before you attempt anything,please ask the flight attendant if the airlinehas a policy about in‑flight yoga. It may notseem fair, but the in‑flight yoga policy is usu‑ally quite similar to the in‑flight golf and in‑flight soccer policies.

If youʼre really eager to do yoga while fly‑ing, feel free to start a petition. I know at leastone man whoʼd be willing to sign it. His name

is Hyongtae Pae and he recently tried to doyoga during a United Airlines flight fromHawaii to Japan.

Rather than stay in his seat during mealtime, the 72‑year‑old retired farmer fromSouth Korea decided to go to the back of theplane to do yoga and meditate. (This is nottoo surprising. Most people would rather doyoga than eat airline food.)

When members of the flight crew told Paeto return to his seat, he grew violent, accord‑ing to an Associated Press report. He alleged‑ly pushed his wife and tried to head‑butt andbite some military personnel (U.S. Marines onthe flight) who joined the effort to get himback to his seat.

Yes, he was very determined to do yoga. Notmany people would fight off the Marines todo yoga, but Pae was ready to take on theentire U.S. armed forces if need be. “I want doyoga! You no stop me do yoga!”

Pae also allegedly threatened to kill his fel‑low passengers while yelling that God doesnʼtexist. The pilot, concerned about safety, hadno choice but to turn the plane around andreturn to Hawaii. “Request to land! Request toland!” he radioed the Honolulu airport. “Wehave a yoga emergency!”

Pae soon found himself in jail, with enoughtime and space to do as much yoga as hisheart desired.

Prisoners, incidentally, can benefitimmensely from yoga. It calms their mindsand reduces their stress. But more important‑ly than that, it greatly enhances their flexibili‑ty, allowing them to squeeze through smallopenings.

According to his attorney, Pae started doingyoga recently to help him deal with anxiety.He was probably feeling a little anxious onthe flight – thatʼs why he wanted to do yoga.But a plane, like a bus, train or car, isnʼt anideal place for yoga. Pae should have perhapsdone his yoga and meditation in the airport,before boarding the plane.

Airports usually have plenty of space foryoga. But please be cautious. Even if you havegood balance, you probably should stay offthe baggage carousel. You never know whomight claim you.

Airports also have travelers taking naps inall sorts of unusual positions, so itʼs easy toblend into the crowd. Just close your eyes,assume a yoga position, and no one will raisean eyebrow.

But if you happen to be doing yoga withyour limbs bent awkwardly, donʼt be sur‑prised if a rich traveler tosses a few coins atyou.

Itʼs yet another benefit of doing yoga.

by Mahendra Shah

Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist andhumorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,

he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

New York Head Quarter

422‑S Broadway

HICKSVILLE

NY 11801

516‑827‑1010

BESTRATEFORINDIAANDPAKISTAN

16th April, 2016Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7Traits in you: Your ruling planet Neptune makesyou full of energy, ambition, and honesty. You liketo enjoy independence in your life to the maximum.You have a sharp memory to memorize whateveryou study. Being innovative and born talented, youhave all the capabilities to impress others. However,you need work on your nature of behaving impa‑tient and unpredictable. Health this year: You may need to take extra care ofyour health as the movement of your planet maymake you fall sick throughout this year. It is advisedto practice yoga and meditation in a regular basis. Itwill not only improve your mental health but alsomake you physically fit. Finance this year: If you are into business, this yearwill prove to be very lucky for you as you willexpand your business by launching new and prof‑itable ideas. You will gain enough money if youinvest in stocks. Career this year: You have the best time to takeimportant decisions for your professional life thisyear. It is advisable for you to gather knowledgeand information on various topics. You need tomake new and long lasting contacts to get help infuture. You will try your level best to achieve yourdesired goals. Romance this year: Your romantic af filiationwith your partner may make your bond morestronger. You may plan to get married this year. Lucky month: May, September and November

17th April, 2016Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8Traits in you: You are bestowed with the character‑istics such as energetic, realistic, dependable, hard‑working, and highly disciplined. Your duties andresponsibilities bear the most value than anythingelse in your life. However, you have to look afteryour nature of behaving stubborn and showing jeal‑ousy at wrong situations. Health this year: You will enjoy a sound health.However, you may suf fer from minor backachesdue to sitting more time in work. Finance this year: Though there will be an improve‑ment in your financial status this year, you will endup increasing your expenses as well. If your deci‑sion of investing comes correct, you may be benefit‑ed or else you may lose your money. Many of yourfriend and relatives may visit you this year. They

may bring you gifts in form of money. Career this year: You need to concentrate on proj‑ects that would bring long term gains rather thanbothering about small projects. Some of you mayget opportunities to get new employments. Romance this year: You may find this year romanticenough to make your year pleasing and happy. Lucky month: May, July and November

18th April, 2016Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9Traits in you: Being under the influence of Mars,you are blessed with dignity, sensitiveness, courage,confidence and diplomacy. You are born simple andhelpful. You need to work on your nature of becom‑ing impatient. Health this year: You will take help of spiritualitylater this year for the betterment of your mentalhealth. However, you will remain healthy physically. Finance this year: You should not spend too muchmoney to buy luxury. This may land you in financialcrisis later in the year. The peace at your home mayget ruined to financial crisis and health issues.Though you may face a difficult time regarding tomoney earlier this year, you will find a solution or anew source of income later, which would solve yourfinancial problems. Career this year: You may bring huge changes inyour professional life this year. You may expect atransfer or promotion in the middle of this year.Those who are on a foreign trip in the second halfof the year will find the trip enjoyable and exciting. Romance this year: You will be enjoying a dis‑turbed relationship with your partner as you wouldnot be able to show required care and concern. Ifyou are unmarried, you may decide to remain so forat least two years. Lucky month: August , September, October

19th April, 2016Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1Traits in you: Your star Sun makes you active,dynamic, confident, responsible and a talented. Youhave the scope to learn new things and create newideas. However, you have to take care of yournature of behaving improvident and dominating. Health this year: You will remain healthy providedyou get your checkup done regularly. Finance this year You will find new money mak‑ing opportunities pretty result oriented if you con‑centrate on you work and give your best. Your

assumptions on pretty things may not help you gainanything rather it would make you feel miserablelater. You may invest on land or house for betterreturns. Career this year: You will not take enough time tocomplete your pending tasks this year. You willfind your job interesting enough. You may excel inyour domain and get appreciated from your highermanagement with a better salary hike. Romance this year: You will enjoy a very goodrelationship with your spouse this year. Yourromantic relationships will be strengthened thisyear. Lucky month: May , June and September

20th April, 2016Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2Traits in you: As you are ruled by Moon, you areblessed with characteristics such as imaginative,smart, trustworthy, generous and authoritative person. Health this year: You may go for a pilgrimage toattain peace and mental comfort. This year you willsuffer from various minor health issues and thiswill keep you disturbed. Finance this year: This year will bring you job secu‑rity and financial stability. You need to deal withyour money carefully to avoid loss. Your assump‑tions in taking hasty decisions may cause financialloss to you. If you are a businessman, you may getinto new contracts to enhance your business. If youget into any overseas venture, you may be befittedfinancially from it. Career this year: Being an excellent professional,you will be recognized as a very efficient resourceand people may seek your advice and support.However, you have to avoid being selfish andmoody. Romance this year: This year is the perfect timefor you to be in an emotional relationship or youmay get married. Lucky month: May, July and September

21st April, 2016Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3Traits in you: By your inborn nature, you are intel‑lectual, distinguished, cheerful, kind and optimistic. Health this year: You need to take more care ofyour health to avoid future complicacy. Finance this year: Your business may earn you a lotof money if you plan your budget intelligently. You

need to have a trustworthy plan in place before youimplement your budget in the business. You shouldnot go beyond your budget if you do not want to bein loss. Your past investments will earn you moneythis year and make you financially sound. You mayfind the property or legal dispute settlement satis‑factory. Career this year: Being good at your work, you getlot of appreciation and respect from others. Yourgood work pays of f with rewards. However, youshould not behave dominating and arrogant. Youmay find this year promising enough when growthis concerned. Romance this year: You may plan an overseastrip with your beloved to spend quality time. Yourrelationship will grow more strong with lots of loveand care. Lucky month: June , August and November

22nd April, 2016Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4Traits in you: By inborn characteristics, you areactive, disciplined, and efficient. You are the masterof an appealing personality. You are highly social andhelpful. However, you should work on your nature ofbeing jealous, self‑centered, and destructive. Health this year: You will be in good healththroughout this year. To maintain your good health,you need to practice exercise or yoga. Finance this year: You will be financially benefitedfrom different sources of income. You will acquirenew projects and that will improve your financialcondition. If you are travelling for business purpose,it will yield positive results for you and you will besuccessful in your business trips this year. You mayinvest in buying house or stocks. However, it is rec‑ommended to have a good research on the stockbefore you invest. You may feel restless due to theabrupt expenses for the health issues of your familymembers. You may end up spending a lot of moneyto settle down your legal issues. You might decideto buy property or vehicles this year. Career this year: You will be rewarded for yourwork this year. You will gain enough professionalrecognition for your knowledge, skills, and efficien‑cy. The ongoing projects may get a continuation. Romance this year: You will enjoy a betterromantic life as compared to the last year. You willbe understood by your partner and get enough sup‑port in everything you do. Lucky month: July , August and December

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

APRIL 16‑22, 2016

ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

29

ARIES: Your greatest gains will comethrough your creative ideas at profes‑sional front. Charming nature and pleas‑

ant personality would make you the attractionof family function this week. Investment madethis week would enhance prosperity andfinancial security. Your generous attitudewould contribute much in your love life thisweek. Pleasure trip would help in maintainingsound health this week. Enjoy your holidaywith love of your life. Your loan proceduresfor pursuing a plot will be in process. thisweek many good things are likely to happento you at a same time.

TAURUS : Success is certain providedyou work as a team. Family membersappreciate the changes made in &

around the house. An improvement in financialposition would enable to make important pur‑chases. Extremely supportive & loving partnerwould help in withering away your troubles.Yoga and meditation would help in keeping inshape and mentally agile. Romantic destina‑tions seems appealing to you. Investment inhotel industry can be the right choice to bemade. You succeed in maintaining a distancefrom affairs not concerning you at all.

GEMINI: You will be on the seventhheaven when you receive recognitionfor your achievements at work. Friends

and family members would encourage to workharder. You are likely to earn monetary profitsthrough most unexpected sources. Romanticvibrations from someone unknown would liftyour spirits taking imaginations to scalingheights. Blessings of a saintly person givepeace of mind. Investment on constructionbusiness might give fruitful results. Wit &repartee will immensely help in developinghealthy relations with others.

CANCER: Your creativity will amazepeople around you besides enhancingcareer prospects. You are likely to

hear a good news from close relatives. A sud‑den inflow of funds will take care of your billsand immediate expenses. Love life bringsimmense romantic pleasure. Chances of recov‑ering from physical ailment are high. Smalljourney with your of fice colleagues will beinteresting. Investing on a ship or a cruise isan exciting venture to be made. You are likelyto benefit provided pay heed to others guid‑ance.

LEO: New job opportunities for somewill be better than expected. An oldfriend makes a pleasant visit later in

the week. Monetary position is likely toimprove on recovering of delayed payments.Traveling proves a blessing in disguise bybringing a love in your life. Inexhaustibleenergy enables to participate in outdoor activ‑ities. Your boss may ask you for your companyto a friendʼs party. The best ideas for invest‑ment are to on invest on real estate business.Personal interaction with others will be signif‑icant.

VIRGO: At work you are likely to winappreciation and awards for pastef forts. Evening enjoyed with family

and close relatives brings immense pleasure.Investment in antiques & jewelry brings mon‑etary gains and improvement in financial posi‑tion. You are likely to get a new friendshipopportunity in the evening. You attain a bloomin health on sharing happiness with others.Travel plan with a colleague might lead to anew relationship. Are you longing to buy a farmhouse, try for it?Guidance would help youngsters to realisetheir dreams.

LIBRA: Timely and swift action wouldgive an edge over others at profes‑sional front. You are likely to plan a

short trip with family. Long pending arrearsand dues will finally be recovered. Newromance that some of you are going to experi‑ence would take the worries off mind. A cheer‑ful state of mind would allow enjoying the per‑fect health. Small picnic organized by yourcompany is good to change your mood. If youwant to invest on property, then go for resi‑dential one. You are likely to realise theimportance of reaching out to people.

SCORPIO: Colleagues and subordinateswill lend a helping hand enabling tocomplete the work on time. Unexpected

visit by old friend could give you a pleasantsurprise. this week investment concerning res‑idence will be profitable. You enjoy a memo‑rable time with partner to cement the lovelybond. Divine knowledge from a saintly personprovides solace & comfort. Official journeysprove to be more fruitful for you. Selling yourhome privately can be an excellent way of sav‑ing on costs. Temptation of any kind will notbe able to allure you.

SAGITTARIUS: Success in completingdif ficult assignments brings a lot oflaurels at work. Good advice from fam‑

ily members will help in reducing mental ten‑sion/pressure. Financial hassles seem to getover as someone lends a timely helping hand.You will be attracted to someone special.Meditation and yoga prove beneficial for spiri‑tual as well as physical gains. Fly away withyour dreams, new business horizons are readyto explore. Of f‑plan property investment isone of the easiest & most profitable methodsto maximize gains in the real estate market.You are likely to devote time to help others.

CAPRICORN : Self‑confident wouldenable to convey your point of viewwith ease a workplace. Sudden good

news in the evening will bring cheers for theentire family. Promising week to invest sur‑plus money in real estate. Warm romanticthoughts occupy mind. A very healthy weekwhen your cheerfulness gives the desiredtonic and confidence. A fun‑ filled holiday atan amusement and theme park with your fam‑ily is there. Your property prices will boost inthe coming period. Sense of humour will helpin developing healthy relations with others.

AQUARIUS: Mental clarity gives adecisive edge over all competitors atprofessional front. Your efforts bring

success & happiness at family front. A soundfinancial health would enable to invest onlucrative schemes. Your charm & generosity bring new romanticopportunities for you. You are likely to main‑tain good health that would also give you suc‑cess. An interesting cruise ship is next placefor your vacation. Buying property can lead togains as property prices continue to increase.Tough situations will be handled easily withfriends help.

PISCES: Calculated risks wouldenables to complete the project ontime. You achieve success in personal

work with the timely help & support providedby family members. Your brilliant ideas wouldhelp in bringing financial gains. Love lifebrightens your week. A continuous positivethinking gets rewarded as you succeed inwhatever you do this week. Breathtakingbeautiful site scenes are your loverʼs desire.You could buy the property that you are look‑ing for. You are likely to spellbind others bywit & repartee.

April 16-22, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

30 April 16-22, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPIRITUAL AWARENESS

Spirituality is not only devel‑oped in one place l ike amonastery, or on the banks of

a river, or in the wilderness. If wewant spirituality, it can be devel‑oped in any place. We can recog‑nize our spirituality in whateverculture, region, or religion we areborn and in whatever activities weare involved.

Although in some forms of mysti‑cism people try to negate life andeverything else just to concentrateon their spiritual journey, we needto become complete human beings.

We need to develop physically,mentally, emotionally, and spiritu‑ally. Actually, on the health of the

spirit depends the health of thebody, mind, and intellect.

In the East it is said that whenthe peacock dances in the jungle orforest and nobody sees it, whatgood is it? Just like a flower thatblooms and gives fragrance to oth‑ers, so should we. Hence, we shouldremain in our outer societies andnot negate that part of our life.

Once we recognize that we aresoul, we need to spend time inenhancing our spiritual capabili‑ties. To do so, we need to set spiri‑tual goals. If, on the other hand, wespend our time haphazardly, with‑out knowing where we are going,then we will have a hard timereaching our aspirations. In thespiritual arena, our goals consist ofspending time in meditation and inimproving our ethical life.

On the spiritual path we need torealize what is important, set ourgoals, and do whatever makessense to take us in a direction toreach those goals. It is essential torealize that there are certain fac‑tors that will help us in our spiritu‑al progress.

The key is to still the mind. If wedo not still the mind, we will not beable to recognize ourselves spiritu‑ally. Therefore, leading an ethicall ife in which we cult ivate thevirtues of truthfulness, nonvio‑lence, humility, purity, and selfless‑ness will aid us on the spiritualpath. When we lead virtuous lives,our mind is calmer, and once ourbody and mind are stilled, we canconnect with the divinity within.This is why the mind, which is thesource of all desires, must bestilled.

Keeping the mind focused on Godhelps us in this process. That iswhere the principle of simrancomes into play. Simran keeps themind occupied by the repetition ofthe names of God. If the mind isempty, thoughts will come in, andas soon as a thought enters̶whether it is a good or badthought̶it distracts us in ourmeditation. Once we learn how tostill our mind, we automatically getcloser to a state of having nodesires. If we want spirituality, itcan be developed in any place. It

does help when we live in a peace‑ful environment where there is lit‑tle or no commotion around us. Itdefinitely helps when there ispeace, calm, and quiet. That is whywe find a quiet place to meditate,but when we reach a certain levelin our spiritual growth, none ofthese outer things bother us.

There is a story of Isaac Newtonwho was sitting by a roadside, lostin thought.

He was so absorbed that he didnot notice a band passing by.Similarly, when someoneʼs atten‑

tion is focused on the divine within,nothing in the outside surround‑ings bothers him or her. It takes along time to get to that state, butwe can improve spiritually wherev‑er we are and in whatever environ‑ment we live.

In order to reach our spiritualgoals, we need to evaluate our pri‑orities so that our desires do notmake us attached to the objects oractivities of the world. Instead,when we are detached, our atten‑tion will automatically focus on theDivine.

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

During the t ime of GuruGobind Singh, there was agreat rishi who gave up

everything to go to a forest to med‑itate. There was also a king whohad already conquered many otherterritories and their people. Oneday, the king set his ambition onconquering the rishi to make himobey his

commands. People thought itwas strange that the king wouldfocus on conquering a rishi whohad no property, kingdom, orwealth. But it turned out that therishi had previously been a kingbefore giving up his kingdom forthe spiritual life. This made thepresent king have an obsessionwith wanting to conquer the rishi.So the king gathered his entirearmy to prepare for battle.

The army marched into the deepforest. The army finally reachedthe rishi, who was sitting in thewoods, deep in meditation.

The king waited for the rishi tocome out of meditation, but hekept on sitting there. Finally, theking became restless and shook therishi out of meditation. The kingshouted, “Prepare for a fight. I havecome to do battle with you.”

The rishi surveyed the scenecalmly. He saw the great army and

said, “Fight! I ran away from myworldly life for fear of my onegreat enemy. I came here to hide inthe woods from this enemy. Mysoul shudders in fear when I hearthe sound of my enemyʼs name.Just to think of this enemyʼs namecauses my heart to quiver.”

The king listened carefully asthe rishi continued to describe hisfeared enemy. Finally, the kingbecame angry and shouted, “Isyour enemy stronger than me?”

The rishi replied, “Even thethought of this enemy destroys mysoul. I left everything to escapefrom this enemy.”

The king said, “Tell me the name

of this enemy of yours.”The rishi said, “There is no use in

telling you who it is. You will neverbe able to conquer him.” The kingreplied, “If I cannot conquer him, Iwill consider myself a failure.” Therishi then told him, “This greatenemy of whom I am speaking isthe mind.”

From that day on, the king triedeverything to overcome the mind.He tried all kinds of techniques togain control over his own mind.Years passed and still he could notconquer the mind. Finally, the kinghad to admit that he had failed andthat the mind is truly the strongestenemy. The mind is powerful and

will try every means possible togain control over our soul.

Many yogis and rishis have triedto gain control over their mindsbut failed. If such is the fate ofthose who have given up the worldto conquer their own mind, thenwhat is the fate of the rest of uswho are immersed in the world?

The mind is the obstacle our soulmust deal with to return to God.The mind is like a soccer goalie,guarding the goal. It will try every‑thing to keep the ball from reach‑ing the goal. If even devoted rishishad trouble overcoming the mind,how can we do it?

The fact is that we cannot con‑quer the mind on our own. Theonly way to conquer the mind andstill it is through the help of some‑one who has conquered the mind.Such enlightened beings give us alift to contact the Light and Soundwithin us. The Light and Soundhelp uplift our soul beyond therealm of mind.

The rishi found that doing spiri‑tual practices alone in the jungledid not help him overcome themind. The mind still tempted himwith the countless desires of theworld.

The mind knows that contactwith the soul will render it harm‑

less. Thus, the mind will find allkinds of excuses to keep us frommeditation. It will make us think ofthe past. It will make us think ofthe future. It will make us wigglearound instead of sitting still. Itwill make us feel sleepy just whenwe sit to meditate.

It will make us feel hungry. Itwill make us feel jealous.

It will make us feel depressed. Itwill make us feel like doing workinstead of meditating. It will find amillion excuses.

How do we overcome the mindʼstendencies to distract us? We mustuse the tendency of the mind toform positive habits. The mindlikes habits. If we tell our mind thatwe need to sit for meditation eachday at the same time and place, ahabit will form. Soon we will findourselves compelled to sit for med‑itation at that time each day. If willmiss meditation, we will start tofeel like something is amiss. Soonwe will find ourselves meditatingregularly.

When we learn to concentratefully, wholly, and solely into theLight and Sound, we will experi‑ence bliss, peace, and joy. We willwant to repeat meditation againand again because of the wonder‑ful experience we receive.

Setting Spiritual Goals within theContext of our Lives

THE STRONGEST ENEMYBy Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

When we learn toconcentrate fully,wholly, & solely intothe Light and Sound,we will experiencebliss, peace, and joy.We will want torepeat meditation again & again becauseof the wonderful experience we receive.

This article has been selected and reprinted from Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj’s book, Spiritual Pearls for

Enlightened Living (Radiance Publishers) an inspirational collection of stories from the world’s great wisdom traditions.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 16-22, 2016