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Istanbul Tensions in the MiddleEast rose Wednesday, a day afterTurkey shot down a Russian war‑plane, with the Turkish Presidentaccusing Russia of deceit and

Russia announcing it would deployanti‑aircraft missiles to Syria.Russian Defense Minister Sergey

Shoygu said on his ministry'sTwitter feed that the country

would deploy S‑400 defense mis‑sile systems to its Hmeymim airbase near Latakia, on Syria'sMediterranean coast.

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

excellence in journalism SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30US AFFAIRS 9 CINEMA 18 FOOD 24

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Washington Pledging solidarity after the Paris attacks,President Barack Obama promised Tuesday to workwith France and other allies to intensify the U.S.‑ledcampaign against the Islamic State, saying Americawould not be cowed by the scourge of terrorism. To thispoint, Obama said, Russia is an "outlier" in the fight.

"We cannot succumb to fear," Obama said, standingalongside French President Francois Hollande afterthey met at the White House to discuss the anti‑ISISmission. "Make no mistake, we will win, and groups likeISIL will lose." Hollande's trip to Washington was partof a diplomatic push to get the U.S. and other nations tobolster efforts to destroy

PM returns home after 4-day visit toMalaysia and Singapore amid opposition

clamor on rising intolerance.

Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian fighter jet after Ankara says the plane violatedits airspace on the border with Syria (Inset: Approximate area of the crash).

President Barack Obama meeting with his French coun‑terpart Francois Hollande in White House Tuesday.

Russia sendinganti-aircraftmissiles to Syria

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4Modiʼs visit to Malaysia & Singapore ‑ page 12

New Delhi Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will intervene in arare parliamentary debate to com‑memorate the Constitution, anoccasion he may use to speak onintolerance in India with theOpposition waiting to target himon the issue inside the House.

To placate opposition parties,parliamentary affairs ministerVenkaiah Naidu announced at anall‑party meeting on Wednesdaythat the government was ready fora separate discussion in

Parliament on the raging issue,accepting their clamorousdemand.

The government was also willingto accommodate the Oppositionʼsconcerns over intolerance in a

House resolution on Friday tocommemorate the making of theIndian Constitution, reflecting itskeenness to reach out to rivalsahead of the crucial winter session.

Modi, who joined the meetingmidway, said, “If Venkaiahji is say‑ing everything is alright thensomething good has happenedtoday.”

Several opposition partiesannounced they would press fordebates on the burning issue withthe Left and JD(U) even demand‑

ing a Sense of the House resolu‑tion̶to reflect wider supportacross the political spectrumagainst what they allege is mount‑ing intolerance in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Gurbani Recital on Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 25.

Modi may leadintolerance debatein Parliament

Continued on page 4

Obama, Hollande vow to escalatecampaign against ISIS

Putin

angrywithTurkey

forshootingwarplane

astensions

rise.

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3November 28-December 4, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info T R I S T AT E C O M M U N I T Y

Washington From Maryland where shelived, to Massachusetts where she was born,

to New Jersey in between, where she stud‑ied, leaders, associates, and friends mournedthe death of the Indian‑American aid workerAnita Datar, whose life exemplied the risksand sacrices of NGO professionals whostrive to give others a better life.

So loved and popular was the 41‑year‑oldsingle mother that states and statesmenclaimed her legacy and friendship last weekas news spread in the US of her death at thehands of terrorists in the siege on a Malihotel.

The headlines in Boston media describedher as a Massachusetts native because shewas born there; local TV stations in the DC‑Maryland area ran multiple stories on thecourageous mom describing her a ''local''

who lived just outside the capital in a liberalenclave famous for its bleeding heart poli‑tics; and the press in New Jersey and NewYork cottoned on to her high school and uni‑

versity (Rutgers and Columbia University)afliations. But it was Former First Lady, for‑mer Secretary of State, and putative presi‑dent Hillary Clinton who gave one of themore intimate insights into the life of amuch‑loved mom and aid worker.

''I knew Anita as the loving mother of a

wonderful seven‑year old boy and the for‑mer partner of David Garten, one of my sen‑ior policy advisors in the Senate,'' Clintonsaid in a statement. ''My prayers are with

the Datar and Garten families, especiallyAnita and David's son.''

''My heart breaks thinking of the burdenhe will now bear on his small shoulders andthe courage he will have to show in the daysahead,'' she added about Rohan, the son.

In Takoma Park, a tight‑knit, family andchild‑friendly suburb in Maryland justbeyond the Washington DC border, friendsand neighbors stepped forward to help thefamily, offering friendship, food, playdatesand even a scholarship fund for the youngboy who cannot possibly comprehend thathis mother will not be taking him to schoolanymore. The local Takoma ParkElementary School, where he studies, saidthat a social services committee will talk tothe school counselor about ways the schooland Takoma Park community can show their

support. Grief counseling was also planned.At a broader level, Clinton said Anita Datar

''represented the best of America's generousspirit'' and her murder had thrown up a

choice for Americans between fear andresolve.

''As I said this week, America must wageand win an immediate battle against ISIS, alQaeda, and other terrorist networks, as wellas a generational struggle against radical

jihadism,'' she said, adding, ''Anita's murdershould deepen our resolve. American mustlead the world to meet this threat.''

In New Jersey, whose Governor andPresidential aspirant Chris Christie also sentout condolences, Datar's school and collegefriends recalled an ever‑smiling girl whosometimes laughed so hard that she cried.She played the ute in the marching band,chaired the prom committee and, like mostevery other teen from Flanders, hung out atRockaway Mall.

For her senior yearbook, reported the

website nj.com, Datar wrote that her petpeeves included ignorance and lack of com‑munication ‑‑ perhaps the dening qualitiesof the terrorists who killed her.

Toronto A Canadian university hasbanned a free weekly yoga classafter the varsity staff claimed theancient Indian meditative practicewas a form of “cultural appropria‑tion”. The decision to cancel the

classes was made by the Universityof Ottawaʼs Student Federation, thevarsityʼs independent studentbody.

Jenn ifer Scharf, a yoga pra cti‑tioner who has offered free weeklysessions to students at theUniversity of Ottawa since 2008,said she was shocked when shelearnt her free weekly classes weresuspended because staff said theancient discipline is a form of ʻcul‑tural appropriationʼ. “There arecultural issues of implicationinvolved in the practice. Yoga hasbeen under a lot of controversylately due to how it is being prac‑tised”, and which cultures thosepractices “are being taken from,”staff from the Centre for Studentswith Disabilities, where the classeswere held for students of all abili‑ties, wrote in an email.

The email further says thatbecause many of those cultures“have experienced oppression, cul‑

tural genocide and diasporas dueto colonialism and Westernsupremacy.. We need to be mindfulof this and how we express our‑

selves while practising yoga,”Ottawa Sun reported. Scharf saidthe complaint that killed the pro‑gram came from a “social justicewarrior” with “fainting heart ide‑ologies” in search of a cause cele‑bre. Scharf said she suggested acompromise by changing the nameof the classes to suggest “mindful

stretching”, but was rejected.Noting that there has been noresponse from the university,Sharaf said she, however, remains

optimistic that the institution willsupport her. “Itʼs crazy that some‑one would nd yoga offensive inthe way we teach it. If you look athow, historically yoga has been sonon‑controversial, itʼs a wondernobodyʼs taking offence with kick‑boxing or spin class instead,”Sharaf added

Yoga class banned over 'culturalappropriation' in Canada

There has also been criticism of commercialization and distortion of the Indian yogic system in the West, that Hindu American Foundation

had to resort to ʻtake back yogaʼ campaign.

Indian‑American aid worker Anita Datarwho died in terror attack at Mali hotel.

Anita Datar 'represented the best of America's generous spirit': Hillary Clinton

New York The festival of Diwaliwas celebrated in full force atthe iconic Metropolitan Museumof Art on Nov 15, bringingtogether people from all agesand walks of life. The Met hostedan immersive and interactiveevent, which included lantern‑

making, the story of Diwali storytime for children, the Ram Leelathrough the dance form of Kathak, the amazing South Asiaexhibit, and a 3 hour perform‑ance and dance workshop by theNartan Rang Dance Academy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Showing different styles of dance including a Maharashtrianfolk dance & Bollywood num‑bers, the junior students of theAcademy showcased both theirskill and stamina during theirencore performances.

The students and assistantstaught over 200 adults and chil‑

dren how to move and shake tothe musical stylings of India,while allowing the audience thechance to immerse themselves inan important part of Indian cul‑ture.

Led by creative director SwatiVaishnav, Nartan Rang has been

a longtime supporter of and par‑ticipant in bringing a greaterawareness and knowledge of Indian heritage and tradition to

the mainstream, and makingsure that the current generationis able to connect with theirroots in a deeper manner.Nartan Rang holds classes in twoLong Island locations, with aManhattan location beginningmid‑January 20

Nartan Rang Dance AcademyʼsSwati Vaishnav with her students

at the Met Diwali celebration.

Diwali @ the Met

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Russia sending anti‑aircraft ...Continued from pageThe missiles have a range of 155 miles, and the Turkishborder is less than 30 miles away. And ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov told Russian TV on Wednesdaythat Russia has "serious doubts" that Turkey's downingof its warplane Tuesday was "an unpremeditated act."

"It looks very much like a planned provocation,"Lavrov said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogancondemned what he said was the violation of airspace

by Russian warplanes, calling the incident an infringe‑ment of his country's sovereignty.

He charged Russia with propping up the Syrianregime of Bashar al‑Assad ‑‑ a regime he said wasinflicting terrorism on its own people. His remarkscame a day after Russian President Vladimir Putinaccused Turkey of being "the terrorists' accomplices"for shooting down a plane he claimed was on an anti‑terrorism mission.

Erdogan disputed that claim in a speech."There is no Daesh" in the area where the Russian

planes were flying, Erdogan said, using another namefor ISIS. "Do not deceive us! We know the locations of Daesh." And experts agreed.

"None of the targets that ... the Russians were goingafter had anything to do with ISIS. Those were all thoseTurkmen groups," said CNN military analyst CedricLeighton, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel.

The Turkmen minority in that part of northern Syriahas strong ties to the Turkish government, which wantsto afford them a degree of protection. Anyone whobombs that area attacks "our brothers and sisters ‑‑Turkmen," Erdogan said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said hiscountry doesn't want to "drive a wedge" into its rela‑tionship with Russia, according to the semiofficialAnadolu news agency. And the foreign ministers of these two nations have already spoken by phone andplan to meet in person over the coming days, the newsagency also reported, citing Turkish Foreign Ministryspokesman Tanju Bilgic.

The stakes are high in Syria, where the United States,Russia and a swarm of other global, regional and localforces are entangled in the civil war.

Obama, Hollande vow to escalate ...Continued from pagethe militant group that has claimed responsibility forthe Paris attacks. Hollande emerged from his meetingwith Obama saying that France and the US had agreedto step up a "joint response," including new efforts totarget terrorists' financial networks, take back IS‑con‑trolled territory, scale up efforts in Syria and Iraq and

increase intelligence sharing. The U.S. and France"share the determination to fight terrorism anywhere,"Hollande said, through a translator.

The French president had planned to urge Obama towork with Russia to build a new coalition to fight theextremists. But Hollande's mission quickly becameentangled with the fallout from a Russian militaryplane downed by Turkey ‑ an incident with echoes of the Cold War. The shootdown underscored what somesee as a need for better coordination among the sprawl‑

ing cast of interests engaged on the battlefields and inthe skies above Iraq and Syria. At the same time, con‑flicting accounts and rising tensions stood to make anycloser contact between interests more difficult.

U.S. forces were not involved in the air incident,according to an American military official.

Obama cautioned that information about the incidentwas still emerging and he discouraged escalation. Headded that Turkey had a "right to defend its territoryand its airspace."

Hollande is slated to travel to Moscow later in theweek for meetings with Putin.

Modi may lead intolerance debate ...Continued from page

“We are going to raise the issue of intolerance. Whatis happening in the country is disturbing and the Prime

Minister is silent,” Congress vice‑president RahulGandhi said in Bengaluru.

Indicating that the ruling party would not be on thedefensive, Naidu said at the meeting, “The governmentdoes not share the perception that intolerance is on therise. Some stray incidents that happened are in thedomain of responsibility of state governments. We arewise enough to appreciate that development is possibleonly in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.”

The winter session, from November 26 to December23, is expected to see fireworks as wel l as intense back‑channel negotiations between the Opposition and thegovernment that has limited time for its heavy legisla‑tive agenda comprising 38 bills to be passed.

But opposition parties are adamant on discussing awide range of subjects like drought, price rise, decliningindustrial production and exports, Centre‑state rela‑tions including extending financial support to statesand the Supreme Court striking down the National

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.“People have great expectations and that is why

Parliament should function and be productive,” Modisaid at the meet. The government faced a near washoutin the previous parliamentary session as the Congress‑led Opposition demanded resignations of senior BJPministers mired in controversies.

New Orleans In a stunning electionresult Nov 21, Louisiana, among the

reddest of all American states,became the first in the deep Southto elect a Democratic governor inmore than a decade .

John Bel Edwards, a little‑knownstate representative from a ruralarea, positively thumped his GOPopponent, Senator David Vitter. Hismargin of victory was 56‑44, alandslide by most definitions. Butthe major story line of this electionwas the epic crash‑and‑burn of Vitter, once the stateʼs dominantRepublican, who mere months ago,appeared a potent political force.

Vitterʼs obvious Achilles heel wasthe prostitution scandal that

emerged in 2007, when his tele‑phone number came up repeatedlyin the records of the infamous “D.C.Madam.” Edwards ran as a proud

Democrat who supported Obama in2008 and 2012. That the two‑termgovernor Bobby Jindal was veering

extreme right to bolster his fledg‑ling presidential campaign mayhave also turned the voters theother way.

N e w D e l h i ArjunTendulkar, son of cricket great SachinTendulkar, madeheadlines for the sec‑ond day in a rowclaiming four wicketsfor his side, SunilGavaskar XI,Wednesday after hit‑ting a century (106 off 156balls) on Tuesday against RohitSharma XI in the MumbaiCricket Associat ion U‑16Payyade Trophy encounter atthe Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana.

The left‑arm bowler took four

for 73 on the sec‑ond day of thematch. The tourna‑ment acts as a selec‑tion trial for U‑16cricketers inMumbai. Arjunwent on to score 40runs in the secondinnings and his cen‑

tury knock was his first in three years.

After his good performanceboth with the bat and ball, it didnot take the twitterverse muchtime to acknowledge the feat of the 16‑year‑old.

John Bel Edwards will take overfrom Bobby Jindal who has

served two terms asLouisiana Governor.

After Jindal, Louisianaelects Democrat governor,

first in a decade!

After smashing ton, Arjun Tendulkarshines with the ball in U‑16 tourney

Arjun Tendulkar

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5November 28-December 4, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info T R I S T AT E C O M M U N I T Y

Toronto Manmeet Bhullar, a former minis‑ter in Canada's Alberta province who atthe age of 28 became the youngest IndianCanadian to get elected as an MLA, waskilled in a road accident near Red Deercity.

Bhullar, 35, who was a sitting Calgary

MLA, died when he was hit by a vehicle onQueen Elizabeth II Highway on Monday.He was on his way from Calgary toEdmonton.

According to reports, Bhullar and anoth‑er vehicle stopped on the highway nearRed Deer to help passengers of a vehiclethat had skidded off the icy highway androlled into the median.

Bhullar was standing outside his vehiclewhen another passing vehicle lost controland struck the median and hit him.

Bhullar was rushed to a hospital wherehe succumbed to his injuries.

Mourning his death, Alberta PremierRachel Notley said: "We have lost our col‑

league, Calgary‑Greenway has lost a friendand effective voice in the legislature, andmost of all, we have all lost a passionateadvocate for Alberta."

"All Albertans should be proud of his sig‑nificant contributions to public life," hesaid. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said

he was "utterly gutted" by the news.In a statement, Nenshi said: "He was a

powerful community advocate from a young age and first elected to the Albertalegislature at 28. He was brave and unre‑lenting in his role, particularly when itcame to forcefully advocating for childrenin care ‑‑ the least powerful people in oursociety."

New York The SouthAsian Council for

Social Services hon‑ored Nisha Agarwal,New York CityCommissioner of Immigrant Affairs,Nov. 8 as it celebrat‑ed its 15thAnniversary with agala at UtsavRestaurant inManhattan.

Agarwal was feted,among others for herefforts to empowerthe disadvantaged.

Agarwal congratulated SACSS for15‑years of working to ensure South

Asians were represented and makingaccess to healthcare possible inimmigrant communities. Also hon‑ored was H. R. Shah, chairman andCEO TV Asia for what the organizerssaid was “providing visibility” to theproblems faced by South Asianthrough the channelʼs strong mediapresence. Present at the event werethe consuls general of India,Bangladesh and Nepal.

Delivering the keynote address,Raja Rajeswari, the first India‑bornwoman to be appointed a judge inNew York in April this year, byMayor Bill de Blasio, congratulatedSACSS on completing 15‑years of service to the community. She saidSouth Asians were among the fastest‑growing immigrant community andthat while they are known for theircontributions to the fields of medi‑cine, business and engineeringamong others, “now it was time forthe community to make itself knownin the legal and political sphere.”

Speaking about SACSSʼ journey,growth and forthcoming challenges,Sudha Acharya, executive director of

SACSS, said, “With the fast‑growingpopulation, it is imperative that weare ready to respond to their grow‑ing needs. We have been advocatingon issues crucial to the wellbeing of South Asians such as culturally com‑petent and linguistically appropriateservices, healthcare access for allNew Yorkers, keeping families safeand together, economic stability forall and increased civic participation”.

After receiving the award, Agarwalcongratulated “SACSS for 15‑years of “working tirelessly” to ensure SouthAsians were represented and makingaccess to healthcare possible inimmigrant communities.

Echoing her thoughts Shah con‑gratulated SACSS and specificallyapplauded SACSSʼ work with taxidrivers in New York City. “Havingfirst‑hand knowledge of the numer‑ous stressors that affect taxi driversit was great that SACSS was advocat‑ing for the needs of taxi drivers,” hesaid.

New York Vegetarian Vision, anorganization promoting vegetarianway of life under the leadership of Chairman & Founder H.K. Shah andMalati Shah hosted its ThanksgivingDinner event with the objective of promoting happy healthy foodhabits.

Chairman H.K. Shah announcedbig celebrations of UpcomingVegetarian Vision Silver Jubilee Yearin 2017, intending to promote vege‑tarianism across various other com‑munities. He urged for organizationand community support and volun‑teers to make this a grand success.

President Chandra Mehta said in her inspiringspeech emphasizing the benefits to become veg‑etarian. She said human being by nature is vege‑tarian and veggie diets are healthy and environ‑ment friendly. Production of non‑vegetarianfood has direct effect on global warming.

Mrs. Mehta created beautiful pumpkin decora‑tions making event's center of attraction. Sheinformed the community about upcomingevents including the vegetarian pageant inspring of 2016 and encouraged everybody toparticipate and be a member.

Overall event was co‑ordinated and emceed byFlora Parekh (Vice President) and Vinod Shah(Director) with the help of the entire executivecommittee and volunteers. Parekh also urged allinterested volunteers to sign in / donatethrough website at www.vegetarianvision.orgfor upcoming Silver Jubilee Celebrations in2017.

A cardiologist Vegan from Michigan, Dr. JoelKahn was the esteemed speaker at thisThanksgiving Dinner and spoke on best hearthealthy diets and vegetarian dietary patternsand mortality inspiring people to live a happy

healthy vegetarian life. Several doctors in atten‑dance had an informative question /answer ses‑sion providing immense wealth of knowledge toattendees.

Vegetarian Vision conducted its kids annualEssay competition in February coordinated byNivea Kothari, Youth Chair. All 4 Essay competi‑tion winners were felicitated with cash checksand certificates. Amongst the winners wereAneesh Sabarad (1st Prize) IS237 School,Priyansh Raval (2nd Prize), Grade 10 HicksvilleHigh School, Prisha Arora (3rd Prize) HBThompson Middle School and Rishi Rakesh Shah(Prize 4th) Southwoods Middle School.

H.K. Shah's generous donation of $125,000included $25,000 for the current year and$100,000 for the upcoming Silver Jubillee cele‑brations, was very motivating to the community.

The organization also announced its Mr. andMS. Vegetarian Pageant next year.

Member Kanak Golia and many organizationheads were in attendance. Entire executive com‑mittee and volunteerʼs hard work made theevent flow seamless and highly successful withan attendance of over 400 guests. The eventended with sumptuous vegetarian dinner.

Vegetarian Vision Executive Committee

SACSS honors prominent IndianAmericans in NYC at gala

Community mourns Canadian Sikh MLA Manmeet Bhullarʼs death

Manmeet Bhullar

Consul General Dhyaneshwar Mulay, Raja Rajeswariand Runi Ratnam of SACSS

Bhullar stopped onthe road side to

help a motorist andwas killed by a car

Vegetarian Vision hosts

Thanksgiving Dinner

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6 November 28-December 4, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info T R I S T AT E C O M M U N I T Y

By Jinal Shah

Armed with a degree from NYUʼs SternSchool of Business, Pooja Bavishi choseto start her own small business ratherthan join a corporate giant. She decided tomake ice‑cream albeit with Indian avorsof saffron, masala, cardamom, fennel androse water, seasoning that permeated thecooking of her Gujarati mother. She start‑ed selling her ice cream at the HesterStreet Fair and now sells containers andpops of masala chai, ginger root, Turkishcoffee and several others, online atmalai.co. The ice creams, made withouteggs, are delectably creamy yet light.

The South Asian Times What inspired you to start an ice cream company?

Pooja Bavishi Since I was a child, I knewthat I wanted my own dessert business. Ialways had a passion for making sweetsand wanted to turn it into a career. I start‑ed making ice creams about two years ago.Utilizing ice creamʼs blank palate to myadvantage, I started experimenting withthe strongly avored spices of my child‑hood. The end result was something thatwas unique and delicious. After graduatingfrom Stern School of Business, I knew that

I was ready to pursue an ice cream busi‑ness.

SATimes What is it about the ice‑creambusiness that youʼre passionate about?

Pooja Baivshi There are so many possi‑bilities with ice cream, and thatʼs whythere can be so many players in this indus‑try. There is room for all kinds of ideasand avors, all of which Iʼm sure will beenjoyed. I love that about the ice creambusiness!

SATimes Starting a business is challeng‑ing, let alone a food business. What are thechallenges you faced in starting this com‑pany?

Pooja Baivshi I think that anyone enter‑ing a completely new eld has a steeplearning curve, and experiences some

growing pains. But I have found thatthose I have encountered in the foodindustry thus far are extremely kind, gen‑erous and supportive. It makes me feel apart of a great enterprising food communi‑ty.

SATimes How did you come up with thename “Malai”? Is it exclusively Indian?

Pooja Baivshi I knew I wanted to createa name that was reminiscent of easternculture, as well as something that soundsluxurious. The name “malai” came out of abrainstorming session.

SATimes How is Malai rising above thefray?

Pooja Baivshi Malai offers a super‑pre‑mium ice cream in specialized avors.Moreover, the ice cream is made withoutthe use of eggs, creating a uniquely lightand creamy texture. This, combined withrobustly avored spices, is one of a kind,and differentiates itself from other brandsthat are currently on the market.

SATimes How do you plan to expand your business?

Pooja Baivshi For the short term, we areworking to get Malai more readily avail‑able outside the New York area as well asmake it more available for catering events.

N e w Yo r k : DrAkshat Jain , divi‑sion head of glob‑

al pediatric hema‑tology oncologyat the NorthShore LIJ HealthSystem was invit‑ed to deliver theprestigious invit‑ed international lecture at the largest children'shospital in Rajasthan ,India on the 20th of thismonth .Dr Jain spoke to the august audience of pediatric specialists, super specialists , hematol‑ogists oncologists and stem cell transplantersat the JK Lone Hospital of the SMS Medical col‑lege. The lecture titled "Emergencies inPediatric Hematology Oncology and transfusionmedicine " was extremely well attended andreceived due to its interactive case based clinical

content inviting enthusiastic participation fromthe listeners. Dr Jain was in town as an interna‑tional invitee to the Resurgent RajasthanSummit hosted by the chief ministerVasundhara Raje Scindia to discuss collaborativeglobal initiatives between the US and India .

Bringing Indian avors to ice cream NY doctor invited fortalk at premier children'shospital in India

Pooja Bavishi

Westbury NY:Students and staff at Spanish All Year pre‑schoolrecently had the opportunity tolearn and celebrate Diwali.

Spanish All Year is a Spanish FullImmersion Preschool for three andfour year olds located in Westbury.Recent t ransplants fromManhattan to Westbury, 3‑year oldAvana Grace Sharma and her momGeeta Citygirl‑Chopra were happyto have this opportunity to share abit of their heritage with theschool. And director Ms. MariaIsabel Martinez was equally happyto bring this festival (for the rsttime) into the school for all toenjoy. It was an opportunity tolearn about culture and to cele‑brate the many similarities wehave. Earlier in the week, the stu‑dents created rangoli artwork touse as decoration at the entranceof every classroom.

“My focus as a parent of Indianorigin is to share the things we cel‑ebrate and appreciate about ourheritage,” said Ms. Citygirl‑Chopra.

Class began with hearing aboutthe festival/holiday, setting up an

altar, while vedic chants sung bychildren in India played in thebackground. There were manybooks, deities, lights, incense, bells,and other items for the children toexplore. Flashcards with key words

were created in Spanish to helpkeep things easy and accessible tothe students.

Both the Nursery and Pre‑K class‑es made coconut ladoos and mangolassi in their cooking class. In art

class, they painted diyas and usedcolored tissue papers to create theame. The students particularlyenjoyed watching their teachersget “wrapped” in a traditionalIndian sari.

Children took part in Diwali dance Geeta Citygirl‑Chopra introduced children to Diwali festivities

Diwali celebrat ed a t Westb ury Spanish pre school

Dr Akshat Jain (left)

Diwali celebra ted wi th pomp at P arsippa ny BAPS Shr i Swam inarayan Ma ndirDevotees at the BAPS ShriSwaminarayan Mandir inParsippany organized various events toshare in ancient traditions with the localcommunity as a part of Diwali festivi‑ties. Across North America, thousands of volunteers begin preparations monthsin advance of the festivities ‑ from deco‑ration design and creation to foodpreparation for the annakut (offering of vegetarian dishes to Bhagwan).

This year, BAPS Mandirs across North

America marked the auspicious festivalof Diwali with reworks and culturalexhibitions so visitors would nd theirexperiences both entertaining and edu‑cational.

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Wa s h i n g t o n D C : Indian‑Americans celebrated the festivalof Chhath on the banks of the his‑toric Potomac River here as sev‑eral women attired in colorfultraditional saree worshiped therising sun. The Chhath celebra‑tions spread over three days inVirginia saw participation of some 250 Indian‑Americans,many of whom drove a few hun‑dred kilometres to attend thispopular festival of Bihar.

"We are just trying our best tokeep our tradition alive, eventhough we are thousands of milesaway from the place of our birth,"said Kripa Shankar Singh, whohas been organizing the event forthe past eight years now.

A software engineer, Singh

comes from Patna."Now people call me from allover the country and ask detailsabout the Chhath pooja," he said.

This year, a few families evenbooked cottages on the banks of the Potomac River so that theycan participate in the festivitieson both the days.

"I am overwhelmed by theresponse," said Kumar Singh, aneminent Indian‑American com‑munity leader in GreaterWashington Metropolitan Area.

"Unlike other festivals, whichwe celebrate on weekends, this isthe only Indian festival we cele‑

brate on the actual day. Still itattracts a large number of people,many of whom take leave fromtheir work to come and attendChhath pooja on the Potomac,"

Singh said.Recounting how it all began,

Kripa Shankar Singh said abouteight years ago his mother askedhis wife Anita to take care of Chhath pooja to keep the familytradition of generations alive.

Singh said he inquired amonghis friends and other Indian‑American community leaders if anyone here performed theChhath pooja.

He found that people did itinside their homes or at the mostin a makeshift plastic tub full of water.

Singh and some of his friendsonce went for a picnic on thebanks of the Potomac River inLoudon County, a suburb of Washington.

The concrete boat ramp there,Singh said, gave him the idea thatthis place was good for perform‑ing Chhath pooja in the real waywith all the traditional and reli‑gious rituals.

Soon he approached theLoudon County Parks andRecreation Department with thedetails and sought permission todo the Chhath pooja on the riverbanks.

"Permission was granted," hesaid, adding that the Loudoncounty is enthusiastic about sup‑porting the Indian‑Americans inorganizing this rare festival out‑

side India. Chhath pooja entailsworship of Sun God, embodied incosmic energy, and is observedmainly by people from Bihar andeastern UP.

Indian Americanscelebrate Chhath pooja

on Potomac river

Washington DC: The Indus Entrepreneurs

and Confederation of Indian Industry havereleased a new book chronicling the successstories of Indian Americans in the SiliconValley area of California.

The book, titled “India Rising @ SiliconValley,” was unveiled Nov. 17 and providesinsights on many Indian American entrepre‑neursʼ success stories, as well as the impactthey have made on the world.

Among the entrepreneurs written aboutin the book are Microsoft chief executiveofficer Satya Nadella, Adobe president andCEO Shantanu Narayen, Google CEO SundarPichai, India Community Center co‑founderTalat Hasan, and SanDisk co‑founder andCEO Sanjay Mehrotra, among many others.

The book depicts the journey of the entre‑

preneurs – some of whom have gone on tobecome philanthropists, giving back toIndia and the community – providing per‑

sonal anecdotes giving the reader a glimpse

into their road to success.“The contributions of Indian Americansfrom Silicon Valley run both ways and thisbook is a small sample of their achieve‑ments,” CII director general ChandrajitBanerjee said in a statement. “We hope itwill inspire technology entrepreneurs inIndia to realize their aspirations for suc‑cess.”

Added TiE Silicon Valley presidentVenktesh Shukla, “I am very proud of TiEʼsrole in the enormous collective success of this group.

TiE was formed in 1992 primarily as away to network and foster entrepreneur‑ship. The principle of the organization wasthat successful people are obligated to help

the next generation of entrepreneurship.“We have succeeded beyond our wildestexpectations,” Shukla said.

L‑R) TiE Silicon Valley president Venktesh Shukla, Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs secretary A K Agarwal, and CII director generalChandrajit Banerjee unveil the new book, "India Rising @ Silicon Valley.” (TiE/CII photo)

TiE, CII release success book of SiliconValley Indian Americans

Los Angeles: Indian‑AmericanPixar artist and director SanjayPatel ' s animated short f i lm"Sanjay's Super Team" has beenshortlisted amongst 10 animatedshort films to advance in the vot‑ing process for the upcoming88th Academy Awards.

As many as 60 films had origi‑nally qualified in the categorybefore the list was narroweddown to 10. Short films and fea‑ture animation branch memberswill now select five nominees forthe final shortlist, read a state‑ment on the websi te of theAcademy of Motion Picture Artsand Sciences.

Screenings for the film will beheld in Los Angeles, London, New

York and San Francisco inDecember.

"Sanjay's Super Team", inspiredby Patel's own childhood when hefelt conflicted by the modernworld and Hindu traditions of hisfamily, follows the daydream of a

young Indian boy, bored with hisfather's religious meditation whoimagines Hindu gods as super‑heroes.

"Bear Story", "Carface", "If I WasGod...", "Love in the time of MarchMadness", "My Home", "An Objectat Rest", "Prologue", "We Can'tLive Without Cosmos", and"World of Tomorrow" are theother nine shortlisted titles.

New York An Indian‑origin student has been award‑ed a presidential scholarship in a US college for out‑standing academic merit and an exceptional com‑mitment to the field of culinary arts.

Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicagoawarded Aashrit Abhinav Sundar the scholarshiprecently following a final interview with collegepresident, Emily Williams Knight, a press releasesaid.

"Throughout his life, Aashrit has demonstrated apassion for the hospitality and culinary industry anda drive to build a remarkable career in the field of baking and pastry," Knight said.

"Having completed his hospitality managementdegree in India, Aashrit now wants to take his lovefor baking and pastry and attend one of the bestprograms in the US," she added.

Sundar began classes at the institution in October2015 and is pursuing an "Associate of AppliedScience in Baking and Pastry."

The scholarship will cover 50 percent of the pro‑gram's total cost.

"Aashrit is confident, driven, and passionate abouthis field of study," Knight noted. "It is clear that he isa leader and he is an example of the type of studentthat will thrive and lead the industry in the future."

“Sanjayʼs Super Team” isamongst 10 films to advance in

voting process

Sanjay Patelʼs short lm in Oscar race

Indian‑origin student awardedpresidential scholarship in US

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Rock Hill SC: As GOP candidate DonaldTrump doubles down on claims that he saw

Americans in New Jersey cheering on 9/11,his rival, Jeb Bush strongly denounced thosecomments today while campaigning inSouth Carolina.

"I donʼt recall that. There was no cheeringon any ‑‑ it would have been television, itwould have been recorded.” A memory Bushsaid he instead recalls is that of peacefulMuslim‑Americans.

“What I remember were a lot of peaceful

Muslims that were disheartened and grievedand sad and angry just as every other

American was as well,” he said.Trump defended comments he made

Saturday ‑‑ that he saw thousands of peoplein Jersey City, New Jersey cheering whenthe World Trade Center was destroyed onSept. 11, 2001.

"There were people that were cheering onthe other side of New Jersey where you havelarge Arab populations,” he told GeorgeStephanopoulos on ABCʼs “This Week.”

"They were cheering as the World TradeCenter came down. I know it might be not

politically correct for you to talk about it,but there were people cheering as thatbuilding came down ‑‑ as those buildingscame down, and that tells you something. Itwas well covered at the time.”

These claims have been widely debunked.ABC News, among many other news organi‑zations has investigated and no evidence of such cheering in Jersey City has been found.

While there were images of people cheer‑

ing the towersʼ collapse in parts of theMiddle East, there is no record of such cele‑brations in New Jersey. There were someInternet rumors of Muslims celebrating thetowersʼ fall in Paterson, New Jersey, butthose were discounted by local police at thetime.

Chicago Protesters took to thestreets in the wake of the releaseof dash cam footage showingpolice shooting a teen last year.

The dash cam video, released bypolice Tuesday a day ahead of acourt‑ordered deadline, showsofficers confronting 17‑year‑oldLaquan McDonald, who later diedat a hospital, as he walked downthe street on Oct. 20, 2014.

According to the AP, protestersblocked a police building in theSouth Loop, chanting "don't shootme". They also had a short stand‑off with cops elsewhere in thecity.

Chicago police officials said theywere responding to a report of aperson walking down the streetwith a knife and that McDonaldrefused to drop the knife when

ordered. The video shows puffs of smoke coming from the ground atsome points, which court docu‑ments said were caused by bullets.

A prosecutor at Officer JasonVan Dyke's hearing said thatMcDonald did not step towardsthe officer, butthe off icerallegedly took atleast one steptowards him.

Van Dyke wascharged with firstdegree murderand stripped of his pay and polic‑ing powers, policeoff icials saidtoday. He washeld withoutbond.

Minneapol i s Authori t ies onTuesday said they had three peo‑

ple in custody after someoneopened fire on people near a“Black Lives Matter” rally againsta recent pol ice ki l l ing of anunarmed black man, a day afterfive people were wounded in ashooting not far from a police

building that has been the epicen‑ter of protests here.

Protesters in Minneapolis werenot daunted by the previousnightʼs gunfire, and even as policesaid they were seeking threewhite suspects, demonstratorscontinued to gather at theMinneapolis Police Departmentʼs4th Precinct, as they have since24‑year‑old Jamar Clark was shotearlier this month.

Late on Monday night, policesaid they received multiple 911calls after gunfire that woundedfive people a block away from the4th Precinct. All five people, whohad been protesting at the policebuilding, suffered non‑life‑threat‑ening injuries, officials said.

Black Lives Matter Minneapolissaid in a post on Facebook that“white supremacists” attacked thegroup “in an act of domestic ter‑

rorism,” and the group vowed notto be intimidated.

Minneapolis pol ice saidTuesday that they had arrestedtwo men: A 23‑year‑old whiteman taken into custody inBloomington, a nearby city, and a32‑year‑old Hispanic man foundin Minneapolis. Authorities saidthey were still seeking additionalsuspects and did not identify themen in custody.

Later in the day, police said theyhad released the 32‑year‑oldHispanic man after it was deter‑mined he was not at the shootingscene.

They also said they had a totalof three white men in custody. Inaddition to the 23‑year‑old arrest‑ed in Bloomington, theMinneapolis police said a a 26‑

ye ar ‑ol d and a 21‑ ye ar ‑turnedthemselves into investigators.

Chicago protests followrelease of video of black

teen shot by police

3 in custody after shooting injuresfive near protests in Minneapolis

Washington Americans taking to theair and roads for Thanksgiving will bat‑tle both the crush of fellow travelers andsecurity hassles brought on by a StateDepartment global travel warning.

AAA, formerly known as the AmericanAutomobile Association, predicts that46.9 million Americans will travel morethan 50 miles from home this holiday,the largest number since 2007. Lowergas prices, spokeswoman Yolanda Cadesaid, are an "early holiday present" fordrivers.

Luke Jensen, who lives in the Des

Moines area, unwrapped that holidaypresent early: He and his fiancée packedtheir four kids into their new full‑sizeSUV on Friday and drove 16 hours toColorado for a ski vacation. The lowergas prices left more money in the Armyveteran's pocket, and Tuesday he tookthe family horseback riding with the

unexpected extra cash."We would have come out anyway, but

we wouldn't have done as much. That'sreally helping us," Jensen said. "The kidsare really excited."

About 25 million people will fly duringthe Thanksgiving holiday, and most willfly domestically, Airlines For America,which represents air carriers, said in astatement.

The State Department's worldwidetravel alert cast a shadow over air travelfor many Americans, further frayingtravel‑frazzled nerves.

The alert, in the wake of the attacksNov. 13 in Paris, warns that terroristsmay strike at sporting events, theatersand aviation services. The TSA declinedto specify what additional security stepsit had taken but acknowledged travelersmight see longer security screeninglines.

State Department terrorwarning casts shadow over

Thanksgiving travel ashington U.S. politicians condemnedPfizer Inc's deal with Allergan Plc as a taxdodge on Monday, bringing another round of hand‑wringing in Washington over the corpo‑rate tax code, though legislative action before2017 is unlikely. Democrats heaped the mostcriticism on the New York‑based drug maker,with Hillary Clinton accusing Pfizer of usinglegal loopholes to avoid its "fair share" of taxes in a deal that she said "will leave U.S.taxpayers holding the bag."

The front‑runner for the Democratic presi‑dential nomination in the November 2016election said she will propose steps to pre‑vent more inversions, but she did not providedetails. "We cannot delay in cracking downon inversions that erode our tax base," said

the ex‑U.S. secretary of state and former NewYork senator in a statement.Republican front‑runner Donald Trump,

who has called for a corporate tax overhaul,called the deal "disgusting" in a statement,saying "our politicians should be ashamed."

Pfizer is doing the largest inversion deal of all time. In a $160‑billion transaction, it plansto move its tax address from the United States

to Ireland, if only on paper, by buying andmerging into Allergan, a smaller, Dublin‑based competitor.

The combined company will be called Pfizerand will be run by Pfizer's CEO, with execu‑tive management staying in New York andextensive operations across the United States,but it will no longer be taxed as a U.S. compa‑ny. More than 50 similar deals have beendone over three decades by well‑known com‑panies such as Medtronic Plc, Fruit of theLoom and Ingersoll‑Rand Plc. Congressionalresearchers have estimated inversions, leftunchecked, will cost the U.S. Treasury nearly$20 billion in the next 10 years.

The White House declined to comment onPfizer's deal, but a spokesman told reporters

in a briefing that Congress should take actionto prevent more such transactions.The U.S. Treasury Department last week

unveiled new rules to clamp down on inver‑sions, its second attempt to do so since awave of deals peaked in September 2014. Butthe latest rules amounted to tweaks of exist‑ing law and will not impede the Pfizer‑Allergan transaction, tax experts said.

Jeb Bush Denounces DonaldTrumpʼs ʻCheering Muslimsʼ Claim

Even his own partymen are calling Donaldon Trumped up stories.

Politicians slam tax dodgePfizer Allergan deal

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Mumbai Launching another attackon Bollywood actor Aamir Khanfor alleging growing intolerance inthe country, the Shiv Sena haslabeled him a "self‑appointed mul‑lah". "In recent past, some individ‑uals have assumed the responsibil‑ity of judging whether India is a'tolerant' or 'intolerant' nation...Aamir Khan has joined this busi‑ness by becoming a self‑appointedmullah, which is sad for those wholove him," the Sena mouthpiece'Saamana' said.

It pointed out in an editorial howthe country had showered so muchlove, affection and respect onAamir, "who poked fun at Hindureligious sentiments through hisblockbuster movie PK". "After fill‑ing up his coffers, he speaks non‑sense in the name of freedom of

speech... Actually, such personsalready enjoy too much freedom."Referring to veteran actor Dilip

Kumar, whose real name is Yusuf Khan, the editorial said he wasconferred the highest civilianaward of Pakistan ‑ Nishan‑e‑Pakistan ‑ a few years ago and

encountered huge opposition."Dilip Kumar was born in

Pakistan and has love for his birth‑

place... But after the controversy,he never proclaimed he was scaredand wanted to leave the country.Then why do Aamir Khan andShah Rukh Khan talk like this?Aren't they aware that Muslims aresafer in India compared to evenMuslim countries?" the Sena said.

It said Muslims were unwelcomein countries like Japan while inChina they were barred from

sporting beards or buildingmosques."However, in India, Muslims

enjoy complete freedom to prac‑tice their religion and all theirdemands are fulfilled by govern‑ments ‑ yet Aamir's wife (KiranRao) finds this country 'intolerant'"

the editorial said."Today, the entire world is ter‑

rorised by the IS (Islamic State)

and Muslims from Syria and othercountries are fleeing... Instead of speaking up on these issues, Khanand other secularists point fingersat Hindus for 'intolerance'..."

It called upon the actor‑producerto leave behind "all the honoursand respect given by this country,

account for each rupee earnedhere" and then happily talk of leav‑ing India.

"We wonder where this 'IdiotRanchhoddas' will finally go...Pakistan, Afghanistan, Paris,Brussels or Mali ‑ make it clear...

"If he doesn't find this countrysafe, then he must stop emptyrants about 'Satyamev Jayate' andpatriotisim," it said.

Chandigarh Holiest of Sikh shrines'Harmandar Sahib ' , popularly

known as Golden Temple, inAmritsar and other gurdwaraselsewhere across Punjab andHaryana saw religious fervor as'Gurpurab', the birth anniversaryof Sikhism founder Guru NanakDev was celebrated.

Thousands of devout throngedthe Golden Temple complex inAmritsar from early morning tooffer prayers.

The shrine complex, which didnot see any celebrations earlierthis month on the occasion of Diwali and 'Bandi Chorr Diwas' dueto recent incidents of sacrilege of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib,

was illuminated on Tuesdayevening to mark Gurpurab eve.There was a security ring around

all leading Sikh shrines in Punjab.At gurdwaras across Punjab and

Haryana, devotees could be seenoffering prayers to mark the546th birth anniversary of the

Guru. Hymns were rendered at theholy shrine and hundreds of other

gurdwaras across the region tomark the occasion.'Langars' (community kitchen),

were arranged at several places inand around gurdwaras.

Over 2,000 devotees, mostlySikhs, have gone to neighboringPakistan to celebrate Gurpurab at

Nankana Sahib, 100 km fromLahore, at the birthplace of the

Guru Nanak Dev, who was bornthere in 1469.Punjab Chief Minister Parkash

Singh Badal greeted people on theoccasion of Gurpurab and urgedthem to follow the Guru's teach‑ings and to maintain peace andharmony.

New Delhi The BJP hoped that par‑liament's winter session beginningfrom Thursday will be constructiveand that the opposition will helppass crucial bills.

"We hope the winter session willbe a constructive, progressive andfulfilling one. We hope the opposi‑tion will support us on issues of development," Minister of State for

Parliamentary Affairs MukhtarAbbas Naqvi said. His remark cameahead of the National DemocraticAlliance's strategy meeting at UnionMinister for Urban Developmentand Parl iamentary Affairs M.Venkaiah Naidu's residence.

Naqvi said the bills pending to bepassed in parliament do not belongto any one particular party.

"These bills are for reforms in thecountry and for the development of all," he said. The government willpush for the Goods and Services Tax(GST) and Real Estate Regulationbills in the winter session.

"We are talking to everyone. Wewill work with cooperation, commu‑nication and coordination with theopposition.

The BJP workers demonstrate in Allahabad againstAamir Khaǹs remark on intolerance.

A view of the Golden temple on the eve of Guru Nanak Jayantiin Amritsar.

Aamir Khan a self‑appointed mullah:Shiv Sena

Religious fervor marks Gurpurabin Punjab, Haryana

BJP hopes for constructive winter s

Sheena murder: PeterMukerjea brought to Delhi

New Delhi Former media tycoonPeter Mukerjea, arrested over hisinvolvement in the Sheena Boramurder, was brought fromMumbai and then taken to the CBIheadquarters in Delhi for furtherquestioning, sources said.

Peter was arrested three monthsafter the discovery of Sheena'sremains in a forest near Mumbai.

Sources said Peter, who wasfrom from Mumbai to Delhi earlyon Tuesday by a special team of the CBI, may undergo a lie detec‑tion test in the presence of foren‑sic experts at the Central ForensicScience Laboratory.

Officials in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Peter wasbrought to Delhi for further ques‑tioning under the supervision of senior officers including the probeagency's joint director, specialdirector and director.

"Peter has been inconsistentthroughout his questioning sincehis arrest. Considering a fair andfast probe, the agency took thestep to get him to Delhi on the

direction of senior CBI officials,"said sources.

Sources said the probe agencyhas come across certain docu‑ments of which Peter had exclu‑sive knowledge but he was notcooperating and was concealing

facts pertaining to the murder anddisposal of Sheena's body.However, the sources said, Peter

has revealed some investmentsrunning into crores of rupees infixed deposits and immovableproperties in Britain and India in2010‑2011, but has not disclosedthe source of the funds for thesame. The CBI is now probing afinancial dispute as the most likelyreason for the murder, in whichPeter, mastermind and Sheena'smother Indrani Mukherjea, herformer husband Sanjeev Khannaand driver Shyamvar Rai wereinvolved. The media tycoon's wife

Indrani was arrested in August,days after the crime surfaced, forallegedly killing her 24‑year‑olddaughter with the help of Khannaand Rai, who are also in jail.

Former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea

Government must talk to Aamir: Mulayam

New Delhi Samajwadi Partychief Mulayam Singh Yadavcame out in support of actorAamir Khan and said the gov‑ernment must talk to him andfind out why he feels hurt.

"He may have been hurtsomewhere," Mulayam Singhsaid, responding to AamirKhan's wife Kiran Rao's sugges‑tion that the couple must lookfor another place to live in view

of rising intolerance in India."The government should talk

to him and ask where he facedproblems.

It is the responsibility of thegovernment. He might havebeen hurt somewhere, he is abig artist.

We respect him," he said.Aamir Khan made the com‑ments at a journalism awardfunction here.

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Mumbai Trying to put to rest a huge rowover his comment on "growing despon‑dency", Bollywood actor‑producer AamirKhan said that he and his wife love Indiaand have no intention of leaving the coun‑try. Aamir said in a statement that whilehe stood by the interview, the avalancheof criticism directed at him and his wifeKiran Rao only proved what he had statedabout the situation in the country.

"First, let me state categorically that nei‑ther I nor my wife Kiran have any inten‑tion of leaving the country. We never did,and nor would we like to in the future," hesaid in a statement.

"Anyone implying the opposite haseither not seen my interview or is deliber‑ately trying to distort what I have said.

"India is my country, I love it, I feel for‑tunate for being born here, and this iswhere I am staying," said the 50‑year‑old,one of the top earning stars of Hindi film

industry."Secondly, I stand by everything that I

have said in my interview."To all those people who are calling me

anti‑national, I would like to say that I amproud to be Indian, and I do not need any‑one's permission or endorsement for that.

"To all the people shouting obscenitiesat me for speaking my heart out, it sad‑dens me to say you are only proving mypoint.

"To all the people who have stood by me,thank you. We have to protect what thisbeautiful and unique country of ours real‑ly stands for. We have to protect itsintegrity, diversity, inclusiveness, its manylanguages, its culture, its history, its toler‑ance, it's concept of 'anekantavada', itslove, sensi t ivi ty and i ts emotionalstrength."

The actor ended his statement by quot‑ing Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Where

the Mind is Without fear", calling it aprayer. He signed off with a "Jai Hind".

At an awards event in New Delhi onMonday, Aamir spoke of "growing despon‑dency" that he said he had felt in India forthe last six to eight months.

He had said: "When I sit at home andtalk to Kiran, for the first time she said,'Should we move out of India?' Now that'sa very disastrous and a big comment tomake to me."

The comment attracted widespread criti‑cism even as many defended him.

Aamir's clarification came on a daywhen the Shiv Sena made another attackon the actor, calling him a "self‑appointedmullah" who "poked fun at Hindu religioussentiments through his blockbuster movie'PK'". It said after making lots of money inIndia, Aamir "speaks nonsense in thename of freedom of speech... Actually suchpersons already enjoy too much freedom".Actor‑producer Aamir Khan

We love India, won't leave: Aamir Khan

N e w D e l h i Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has reached outto the opposition to let parlia‑ment function smoothly, even asthe Congress said it had an openmind on the contentious GSTbill.

Modi's appeal came at an all‑party meeting, a day ahead of the start of parliament's wintersession on Thursday. The rulingBJP‑led NDA reiterated theappeal at an evening meeting of the ruling alliance.

The prime minister made itclear that the government waskeen to pass the Goods andServices Tax (GST) bill, saying itwas in national interest.

National Democratic Alliance(NDA) is in majority in the LokSabha, it lacks the legislativemuscle to push through legisla‑tions in the Rajya Sabha wherethe opposition parties have thenumbers.

With the monsoon sessionwashed out due to acrimonybetween the treasury and oppo‑sition benches, the governmenton Wednesday sought coopera‑tion of all parties to ensure asmooth winter session of parlia‑ment.

Modi told the all‑party meetthat all political parties neededto work together to meet theexpectations of the people.

"(There is a) need for all par‑ties to work together to enablethe parliament to function to theexpectations of the people," aspokesperson quoted him as say‑

ing.Modi made a pitch for the GST,Parliamentary Affairs MinisterM. Venkaiah Naidu toldreporters.

Modi said Finance MinisterArun Jaitley would allay thedoubts on the GST legislation.

The prime minister made asimilar appeal in the evening ata meeting attended by leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party andits allies, and said the govern‑ment was ready to discuss allissues.

The Congress said it had anopen mind on GST.

"For us, each bill or legislationis important. With regard to GST,we have made it clear the GSTwas our bill... We are ready fordiscussion. We have genuineconcerns and that should betaken on board," party leaderGhulam Nabi Azad told themedia.

In Bengaluru, Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi said hisparty "strongly believed" in thebill and wanted the governmentto engage with the opposition.

"We strongly believe in GST.There are couple of things in

GST bill we want changed. Wewant a cap on amount of tax thatcan be charged.

"We are not trying to stall par‑liament to stall parliament. Wewant a GST that suits the coun‑try," he said.

Azad said the opposition alsowanted to discuss intolerance,price rise, farmers' plight, inci‑dents of communal disharmonyand drought, besides issues of women safety, corruption andchild labour.

"The opposition will be cooper‑ating with the government but itis for the government to accom‑modate the viewpoints of theopposition," he said.

CPI‑M leader Sitaram Yechurysaid Rajya Sabha ChairmanHamid Ansari had admitted amotion to discuss rising inci‑dents of religious intolerance inthe country.

Ja na ta Da l‑ Un it ed le ad erSharad Yadav vowed to raise theissue of India‑Nepal relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Minister for UrbanDevelopment, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Union Home Minister Rajnath

Singh during an all party meeting in New Delhi.

Modi appeals for smoothparliament session, bats for GST New Delhi India

has made it clearto the West that itwill be firm in itsnegotiations onclimate changebut will not becowed down byaggressive pos‑tures taken byanyone, includingthe United States.

"We are gearedup for the battleahead in Paris,and I want tomake it clear that India would notbe bullied into accepting the posi‑tion of the developed countries,"the Minister of Environment,Forests and Climate ChangePrakash Javadekar.

The minister was reacting tocomments by US Secretary of State

John Kerry that in climate changenegotiations in Paris, India wouldbe "a challenge" without explain‑ing what he meant.

Elaborating on earlier commentscalling Kerry's remarks as "unfairand unwarranted", Javadekar saidthat India's position had beenarrived at after extensive discus‑sions with at least 60 countriesand that it would stick to its stand.

"What we are asking for isabsolutely fair and the developedworld must recognise that theyhave to atone for the historical car‑bon emissions that they have beenputting out in the atmosphere forover 150 years in their search forprosperity."

He said what the developingcountries, including China, were

asking was that an "equitable and just" agreement be signed at Paristaking into account the need of thedeveloping countries to usher ineconomic growth.

Human induced carbon dioxideemissions, largely by use of fossilfuels, are said by the UnitedNations' Intergovermental Panelon Climate Change to be behindthe global warming trend seen inthe last few decades, when most of the economic growth in theWestern countries had taken place.

Almost 190 countries are meet‑ing in Paris from November 30 towork out an agreement to limitglobal warming to less than two

degrees celsius, which many scien‑tists say, would be the "upper limitof tolerance" that the Earth may beable to endure. Some have pointedto rising seas and increased fre‑quency of extreme weather events,including major droughts, if thelimit is breached. The temperaturerose 0.8 degree celsius in the lastcentury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill be going to Paris on November30 to address the climate changeconference and push for an agree‑ment on issues such as how to mit‑igate temperature rise and copewith it in case it does so. Modi is

likely to be in Paris for a couple of days, aiming to give impetus to thetalks along with around 50 headsof state or government who haveconfirmed their presence so far.

India won't be bullied into a pactat Paris climate talks: Javadekar

Minister of Environment, Forests and ClimateChange Prakash Javadekar.

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1 2 November 28-December 4, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info P M I N S O U T H E A S T A S I A

Singapore India and Singaporesigned a joint declaration onstrategic partnership and nineaccords, the concluding day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi'stwo‑day visit to this city state,when he called Singapore theAsia's lion.

Modi told the Indian diaspora ata gathering that development washis only task and pledged makingthe Indian tax regime more trans‑parent and predictable.

Modi's day began with a break‑fast meeting with Singaporeanleaders, met President Tony Tanand Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong. He witnessed the signingof the accords, attended a lunchhosted by Lee.

Modi laid a wreath at the INAmemorial marker, visited the

Institute of Technical Educationinvolved in skill development, andaddressed the India‑Singapore

Economic Convention.Modi briefly met select CEOs

and addressed the Indian diasporawhom he praised for building upIndia's image.

The Indian prime minister thenleft for home late in the night.Singapore was the second leg of

his visit that earlier took him toMalaysia for the Asean‑IndiaSummit and the East Asia Summit.

According to an official state‑ment, Modi and Lee signed the

joint declaration to elevate bilater‑al relations to a "strategic partner‑ship to deepen and broaden

engagement in existing areas of cooperation and catalyse newones ranging from poli t ical ,defence and security cooperationto economic, cultural and peopleto people contact".

Besides, two agreements ondefence cooperation and loan of artefacts from India to Singapore,two executive programme/opera‑tionalisation documents on artsand culture, and white‑shipping,and five memorandums of agree‑ment (MoUs) on cyber security,civil aviation, knowledgeexchange in the field of planning,urban planning, and combatingdrug trafficking were also signed.

The agreements were signedafter talks between the two primeministers here.

External affairs ministry

spokesperson Vikas Swarup latertweeted the two prime ministersnoted the importance of culture

between the two countries andencouraged more exhibitions,exchanges and interactions.

Modi and Lee noted their sharedinterest in furthering cooperationin the areas of science and tech‑nology, particularly in space, bio‑medicine and ayurveda, he aded.

The two prime ministers alsoreleased two postal stamps show‑ing Rashtrapat i Bhavan andIstana, the Singaporean presiden‑tial palace, marking 50 years of both countries' diplomatic rela‑tions. At lunch, Modi describedSingapore as Asia's economic lionthat has been a major partner inIndia's transformation.

"The Asiatic lion may now onlybe found in Gujarat. Asia's eco‑nomic lion is to be found here ‑ inSingapore," he said.

Lee said the diverse Indian com‑munity in Singapore has played alarge part in building the country.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with Narendra Modi at thesigning ceremony of a joint declaration on strategic partnership.

India, Singapore ink strategic partnership, nine deals

Singapore Prime Minister Narendra Modisought greater engagement of the diaspora inmaking the country strong, pointing to thelarge requirement of foreign direct invest‑ment and stating that his only task was devel‑opment that wipes tears from the eyes of thepoor.

Addressing a gathering of the Indian dias‑pora at the Singapore Expo here, Modi spokeof his government's goals of providing round‑the‑clock power by 2022, generating 40 per‑cent energy from non‑fossil sources by 2030and generating 175 GW of renewable energy.

The prime minister was greeted by slogansof "Modi, Modi" many times during hisspeech.

Wearing a kurta, churidar pyjama and alight‑blue half jacket, Modi spoke for over onehour in Hindi, drawing on the country's cul‑ture but also emphasising that it was impor‑tant to script history and not rest on the lau‑rels of the past.

Modi evoked smiles with some of hisremarks.

"India is a great country but it has a lot tolearn from Singapore. The diversity that is inIndia, it is in Singapore but everyone is aSingaporean and is working shoulder toshoulder to build the country. We have tolearn a lot from Singapore," he said.

Modi said he had started his journey withone task before him and needed the blessingsof Indians in the country and outside.

"I have to accomplish one task and that isdevelopment, development, developmentwhich wipes the tears of the poor, providesemployment to youth, prosperity to farmersand empowerment to women."

Referring to the positive image of the coun‑try in the world, Modi said the reason for itwas "not Modi but you, my brothers and sis‑ters living in foreign countries".

He said Indians assimilated well with thecountry they went to.

"They live by Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ‑‑the whole world is one family," Modi said.

Indians number about 350,000 inSingapore's population of about 5.5 million.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Indian community at Singapore Expo.

My only task is development:Modi tells diaspora

Kuala Lumpur India and Malaysia haveagreed to deepen defense and security coop‑eration and expand bilateral trade whilesigning three accords in the areas of cybersecurity, culture and infrastructure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on thethird and last day of his visit to Malysia thatmarked the beginning of the bilateral phase,

held delegation‑level talks with MalaysianPremier Najib Razak, following which thetwo leaders held a joint press conference.

“I am particularly grateful to you (Razak)for our security cooperation,” Modi said atthe press conference.

“It underlines our shared commitment todeal with our security challenges. We willcontinue to deepen our cooperation in thisarea,” he said. He said the recent spate of attacks in different countries, apart from the“ceaseless terrorist attempts against Indiaand Afghanistan”, were a reminder of theglobal nature of this threat.

“We will also make our defense coopera‑tion stronger, including for advancing mar‑itime security and strengthening disaster

response in our region,” the Indian primeminister said.

He also said that the agreement to cooper‑ate in cyber‑security between the two coun‑tries was very important.

“As our lives get more networked, this isemerging as one of the most serious con‑cerns of our age,” he stated.

The Indian prime minister also called forscaling up trade and investment relationswith Malaysia.

India, Malaysia to deepen defensecooperation, expand trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meetingJapanese PM Shinzo Abe in Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at theIndian National Army Memorial Marker in Singapore.

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

14 November 28-December 4, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info O P - E D

By Saeed Naqvi

The massacre in Paris is not just aFrench or a Western tragedy. It hascaused universal outrage. And yet the

global mediaʼs coverage of the horrortends to give the West a monopoly onpain.

Why, hours before the Paris attack, near‑ly 50 Shia Muslims were slaughtered bythe IS and over 200 injured in Beirut; 27members of a Shia leaderʼs funeral werebutchered in Baghdad which has lost countof such occurrences. And all of this on theheels of a Russian passenger aircraftbrought down over Sinai, killing all 224passengers, and the October massacre inAnkara, killing 102 and so on and so forthincluding the 141 school children slaugh‑tered in Peshawar at the hands of terror‑ists now wearing the IS garb.

Could all those smart anchors on thestreets of Paris not have reflected on thepain outside their immediate surround‑ings? This is the parochialism of the con‑temporary media, focused only on “us” and“our kind”. The larger humanity has to beleft as the business of bards and bohemianpoets with a leftist streak.

In the imperial global hierarchy, themedia covering such events and the onewhich is beamed worldwide happens to bein exclusive control of Washington andLondon. This mediaʼs perspectives are pri‑

oritized by Western interests.Whatever the explanation, the coverage

of an event like Paris divides the worldinto two sets of audiences.

Folks in the West, their anxieties height‑ened by the outrage, find comfort in theinternational community getting into ascrum on the issue in Vienna, Antalya …wherever. They find the coverage in tunewith their fears and concerns.

This powerful community is not evenaware of the popular Cairo blog whichasks the question:

“The International Community keeps

asking what the region is doing to stop thespread of the ISIS; the region keeps askingwhy ISIS is only a problem when it strikesWestern targets.” Millions in the ArabWorld ask such questions.

Social media in the region lampoons theWestʼs reactions. A cartoon shows twopatients in a hospital. One covered head totoe in bandages is named “Syria”. Theother, in the adjacent bed, with a bandagedfinger is called “Paris”. A man in a threepiece suit, labeled the “International com‑munity”, leans over to kiss the bandagedfinger.

Since there is in the Arab world (as inIndia) no media capable of live coverage of events like the attack in Paris, there isamong these populations an acute sense of helplessness. Each family is riveted on itsTV set which blares Muslim terror at thembut never dwells on Muslim pain. Iraq,Libya, Syria, three efficient dictatorshipshave all been destroyed. Nearly three mil‑lion have been killed by Western bombard‑ment, the IS, consequent civi l wars.Hundreds of thousands are on the marchtowards a Europe torn between hospitalityand its exact opposite.

These are the images which preoccupytheir brutalized lives. Self centered cover‑age by the Western media come across tothem as frames from which their continu‑ing tragedies are missing.

After the Paris attack, the media hasboosted the anti‑terror mood to the sort of pitch reminiscent of the first Gulf war. Thistime even Russia is part of the pack.

Incidentally, the media forgot to mentionthe first effect of the Paris attack ‑ cancel‑lat ion of Iranian President HassanRouhaniʼs visit to France, Italy and theVatican, an outcome that must havepleased Riyadh.

Western resolve to fight terror will be ontest in Africa where the entire belt fromNigeria right upto Somalia is in the line of fire of IS look‑alikes like Boko Haram andAl Shabab.

After the Paris attack, the media has boosted the anti‑terror mood to thesort of pitch reminiscent of the first Gulf war.

After Paris attacks, Western media as arbiter

Bihar 'gathbandhan' a one‑time exceptionBy Amulya Ganguli

It will be a mistake to see thecongregation of various leadersopposed to the Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) at Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar's swearing‑in cere‑mony as the beginning of a 'maha‑gathbandhan' or a grand alliance atthe national level.

Not only are their bases confinedto different parts of the country,their respective provincial egosand ambitions are exacerbated byovert enmity as between theTrinamool Congress and the com‑munists. If any reminder was need‑ed about their lack of commonalityapart from their dislike of the BJP,it was Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav's decision to stayaway. On the other hand, the ShivSena's presence underlined theself‑contradictory nature of thegathering.

The concept of a mahagathband‑han gained in importance after thesuccess of the experiment in Bihar.But Bihar was a one‑time affair. Inany case, the idea is no more than arehash of the united or third frontswhich were favoured earlier. Thedifference is that while thosegroups were directed against theCongress, the target of the latestone is the BJP, which has replaced

the tattered Grand Old Party as thenumero uno in Indian politics.

However, as the back‑and‑forthstatements of Akhilesh Yadav onthe subject, and his absenteeism inPatna, show, there isn't muchchance of such an alliance takingshape in his state prior to the 2017elections. Even if similar alliancesare set up in West Bengal andTamil Nadu, which go to the pollsnext year, they will be too ricketyto replicate the Bihar experimentagainst the powerful regional lead‑ers of the two states. Besides, theBJP is of hardly any importance inthese states.

It's different in Assam, but there

isn't much chance of an anti‑BJPalliance unless the Congress, in itsdesperation over losing sitting leg‑islators to the BJP, teams up withperfume baron Badruddin Ajmal of the United Democratic Front.

What such speculation indicatesis that there are far too many divi‑sions among the anti‑BJP partiesfor them to come together. Biharwas an exception because the twoformer foes, and current friends,Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad,demonstrated remarkable maturityto forge the unity of their parties,the Janata Dal‑United and theRashtriya Janata Dal. Few wouldhave thought it possible and, even

today, it is believed that theircamaraderie is too fragile to last.

Arguably, it is some kind of amessage which the two leadersreceived from the ground level,combined with their intense politi‑cal antipathy towards NarendraModi, which cemented theiralliance.

In Uttar Pradesh, however, thefact that Mulayam Singh Yadav isfar less antagonistic towards Modihas long been evident. After walk‑ing out of the Janata Dal (United)‑RJD‑Congress alliance in Bihar,which also spelt doom for the pro‑posed Janata parivar, MulayamSingh predicted the BJP's victory inthe state. The suspicion is that thereason why Maulana Mulayam, asthe BJP called him during theRamjanmabhoomi movement, hasmoved closer to Modi is to savehimself from too intrusive a probeby the Central Bureau of Investigation into the dispropor‑tionate assets case against him.

In any case, the relationsbetween the big guns of UttarPradesh politics ‑ the SamajwadiParty (SP) and the Bahujan SamajParty ‑ are too strained to be easilyrepaired. The two together hadbeaten the BJP in the aftermath of the Babri masjid demolition tocome to power in 1993. But the

threat to her life which the BSPczarina, Mayawati, felt from the SP"goons" in 1995 led to a permanentbreach between the two parties.

Moreover, Mayawati is unlikelyto have any interest in reviving thealliance since she believes that shehas a fair chance of returning topower by benefitting from the anti‑incumbency sentiments affectingthe SP. If Akhilesh Yadav has at allspoken of an alliance ‑ which henow denies ‑ without taking per‑mission from his domineeringfather, the apparent reason is thathe, too, has sensed the prevailinganti‑SP mood.

In the midst of these permuta‑tions and combinations, what isnoteworthy is the sorry state of theCongress. As in Bihar, it will bringup the rear in Uttar Pradesh as thetop positions go to the big regionalplayers. It cannot even be too cer‑tain of success in Assam. Only inKerala, it can expect to hold on topower as leader of the UnitedDemocratic Front.

However, the BJP will look withsome satisfaction at the motleynature of the gathering in Patna.The mere presence of several chief ministers, a former prime ministerand a prime minister wannabe(Rahul Gandhi) do not make a gath‑bandhan.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his swearing‑in ceremony withalliance partner Laloo Prasad Yadav.

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16 November 28-December 4, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info U LT I M AT E B O L LY W O O D

New Delhi Mumb ai:Bollywood superstarAamir Khan found himself in the vortex of a

political storm over his remarks on intoler‑ance, with the BJP sharply criticizing himand the Congress stoutly defending him.

The actor‑producer's candidremarks at an awards event in NewDelhi on Monday set Twitter abuzzand left the film fraternity divided.

Aamir, 50, had said: "For the lastsix to eight months, there has beena growing despondency I would say.Kiran (wife Kiran Rao) and I havelived all our life in India.When I sit at home andtalk to Kiran, for thefirst time she said,

'Should we moveout of India?'Now that's avery disastrousand a big com‑ment to maketo me."

Union MinisterKiren Rijiju contra‑dicted Aamir's sugges‑tion and said: "Therecord shows thatthe number of inci‑dents of communalviolence in countryhave come downsince NDA came to

power. Just to make a blatant statementthat during NDA rule the country hasbecome intolerant, it unnecessarily tarnish‑es the image of the country."

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohliadded: "Some isolated examples,however extreme, are exceptionsto India's inherent tolerant

nature. It would be unfortunateto let isolated examples be

taken as a norm that definesIndia..."

The Congress, however, sup‑ported Aamir, with party

vice president RahulGandhi suggest‑

ing that the

NarendraModi govern‑ment shouldreach outto the peo‑ple toknow

about thereason they

felt disturbed. Rahul Gandhi tweeted:"Instead of branding all those who questionthe government and Modiji ‑ as unpatriotic,anti‑national or 'motivated', the govern‑ment would do better to reach out to peo‑ple to understand what's disturbing them."

"That's the way to solve problems in India‑ not by bullying, threatening and abusing!"

In a quick rebuttal, the BJP said thatRahul Gandhi supporting Aamir's commentonly reeks of a conspiracy to defame thenation. A police complaint was lodgedagainst the "PK" star by short filmmakerUllhas PR with Delhi Police over theremarks. During the event, the actor alsosaid that Kiran "fears for her child, she fearsfor the atmosphere around us, she feels

scared to open the newspapers every day.That indicates there is a sense of growingdisquiet, despondency apart from alarm".

He added that "one part is alarm, anotherpart is that you feel depressed, you feellow...you feel why is this happening. So, thatsense does exist in me, to be quite honest."D elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sup‑ported the actor, and tweeted: "BJP shouldstop silencing voices through abuses andthreats. It's high time that central govern‑ment took concrete steps to instill a senseof security amongst people."

Some film fraternity members, includingAnupam Kher, Ram Gopal Varma andAshoke Pandit, slammed Aamir, saying thathe must spread hope and not fear.

M u m b a i

Actress Richa Chadha, who is gearing up toattend the 15th edition of the MarrakechInternational Film Festival, says she wants to

hold a special screening of her international‑ly acclaimed film “Masaan” for Oscar‑win‑ning Hollywood filmmaker Francis FordCoppola.

Coppola, best known for directing filmslike “The Godfather” trilogy and “ApocalypseNow”, will be heading the festival's jury this

year that also includes the “Fukrey” actress.Richa, a huge fan of Coppolaʼs work, wants

to capitalise this opportunity to hold a spe‑cial screening of her film.

“I'm really looking forward to theMarrakech International Film Festival. I'mpassionate about cinema and to get thechance to watch amazing movies and inter‑act with the other jury members and filmpeople from all over the world is exciting,”

Richa said in a statement.“'Masaan' is a very special film for me. I

would love to show it to Coppola, because itwas truly world cinema,” she added.

Actress RichaChadha.

M u m b a i Bollywood megastarAmitabh Bachchan made a star‑tling revelation about survivingonly on 25 per cent of his liverhaving lost the rest 75 percent tothe deadly Hepatitis B virus.

Speaking at the launch of mediacampaign for on Hepatitis,Amitabh Bachchan recollected howhe contracted the disease.

“Hepatitis B came to me acciden‑tally. After my accident on the setsof Coolie, I was infused with theblood of about 200 donors and 60bottles of blood were injected intomy system,” he said.

“The Australian antigenHepatitis B had only been detectedthree months ago and it was very

new for being detected also amongvarious tests needed to be carriedout before giving blood to anotherpatient. One of my blood donorswas carrying Hepatitis B virus

which went into my system.”“I continued to function normal‑

ly till year 2000 and almost 18 years after the accident, during avery normal medical checkup, Iwas told that my liver was infectedand I had lost 75 per cent of myliver. So, if I am standing heretoday, you are looking at a personwho is surving with 25 per cent of liver. That is the ba