The South Asian Times dedicates this Issue to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam See pages 13-20.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Indian govt has many options to

perpetuate Kalam's memory
Thiruvananthapuram:
In the wake of demands
made from different quarters to name or rename
various institutions after
Bharat Ratna A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, there are many
options before the Indian
government to perpetuate
the memory of the late
former Indian president.
The central government
could consider renaming
the Indian Institute of
Space Science and
Technology (IISST), of
which he was a chancellor from day one. It could
also lend Kalam's name
to a next generation rocket or one of the centers of
the Indian space agency
to pay tributes to the
'People's President'.
India's space agency
ISRO could name/rename
an institute or a center
under its fold, a rocket
under development or a

Students pay tribute to APJ Abdul Kalam

in Agartala on July 29.

new satellite after the

'Missile Man'.
During his illustrious
career, Kalam had worked
at ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai
Space
Centre
in
Thiruvananthapuram in

Yakub Memon buried in Mumbai

No untoward incident yet after Mumbai
blasts convict hanged
Mumbai: Yakub Memon, the lone death row convict in
the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was hanged in the
Nagpur Central Jail early Thursday and later buried in
Mumabi without any untoward incident.
Memon was awarded the death penalty by a TADA
court for 13 serial blasts that rocked several parts of
Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 persons and
wounding 713 others.
His body was handed over to the family with stringent
pre-conditions and brought to Mumbai. Accompanied
by family members and a large posse of armed police,
the body was taken to the Bada Qabrastan near Marine
Lines in south Mumbai and buried with religious rites
next to the graves of his parents. A massive crowd gathered for Memon's funeral.
A huge media contingent was also present to cover the
funeral although because of a police gag order, they
were barred from either photographing or videographing the proceedings. There was tight security all over
Nagpur, Mumbai and sensitive pockets in the state,
besides keeping Quick Response Team and anti-riot
squads in full readiness. However, any untoward incident was reported from any part.
See detailed story on pg 10.

Kerala where he played a

major role in the development of Space Launch
Vehicle, a forerunner to the
PSLV, the most successful
Indian rocket. The government could also name a

next-generation GSLV
rocket after Kalam. ISRO
is in the process of developing GSLV-Mark III.
ISRO
Propulsion
Centre at Mahendragiri in
Tamil Nadu's Tirunelvelli
district could be renamed
after the former president
who was born in Tamil
Nadu's Rameswaram
town. Meanwhile, Kerala
Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy told IANS in
Kerala that a proposed
varsity, the Kerala
Technological University,
for the promotion of technical education will be
named after Kalam.
There is also a demand
from certain quarters for
designating October 15 Kalam's birthday - as
'National Students Day'.
Special section paying a
tribute to Dr Kalam
pages 13-20.

August 1-7, 2015

Arjun Rampal to be
Grand Marshal at
FIAs India Day Parade
New York: Bollywood
star Arjun Rampal will be
the Grand Marshal at the
35th India Day Parade to
be held in the city Aug 16
where the organizers will
try to create three
Guinness world records.
At the biggest such
parade outside India,
Rampal will be joined by
Indias ace cricketer
Virender Sehwag as
celebrity guest, as well
Bollywood star Arjun
as Shankar Mahadevan,
Rampal
Upen Patel, Karishma
Tanna, Aamir Ali, Sanjeeda and Jeffery Iqbal. The parade
which begins at noon from E 38th St. goes down Madison
Avenue to food booths and cultural programs at E. 27th,
which close at 6 p.m. The NYC calendar event attracts a
record number of people from the tristate each year.
The Federation of Indian Associations of NY-NJ-CT
hopes to create world records of the most different flags
flown at the same time, most people receiving henna tattoos,
and the most confetti raining down at an event.
Look for our India Day Special Issue dated August 15.

HAB Bank thanks loyal NJ customers at luncheon

Woodbridge, NJ: HAB Banks Iselin
branch hosted a luncheon here July 24 to
thank their New Jersey patrons. About
150 customers and their families attended.
Saleem Iqbal, President and CEO of the
community bank, thanked the invited
guests for their support and business. As
per the initial data, Iselin branch is likely to
become our best performing branch of
2015, he said.
The event saw businessmen, entrepreneurs and professionals, many of whom
have been associated with the New Jersey
branch since its inception.
We have selected our premier clients
out of our valued 3,000 customers to thank
them for being with us for many years, for
continuing to help us grow and thank them
for giving us a chance to help them grow
too, said Girish Vazirani, Iselin branch
manager.
HAB Chairman, A.G. Abbasi in his
speech emphasized the core principle of
the bank: "building relationships with the
customers." Sharing her experience with
the bank, Nalini Shah, Edison based client
for 10 years, said, They take extra efforts
to establish personal relationships with
their clients. They not only inform us about

Saleem Iqbal, President and CEO of

HAB BANK, speaking at the event

latest products, market situation, but also

go above and beyond banking relations.
Piscataway resident Bhavna Shah
echoed Nalini, They are flexible.
Depending on your portfolio they go out of
their way to help. Long their client,
Bhavna has roped in her family members
to open accounts at HAB.
Since it was founded in 1983, HAB
BANK has played a key role in nurturing
and strengthening the South Asian community with branch network in New York,
New Jersey and California. The bank has
kept evolving in response to needs of its
customers and continued to grow even dur-

ing the 2008 economic meltdown.

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that on an average US is losing one bank
or credit union per day due to changing
regulations. Most banks that have endured
the 2008 recession had to shrink to survive,
but HAB has a different story. HAB didnt
just survive it has thrived after the 2008
crash. We didnt just grow, we are one of
the few banks in the nation whose assets
have more than doubled after the recession, claimed Saleem Iqbal.
The bank, Iqbal added, achieved two
significant landmarks in March this year.
Our assets have crossed $1 billion, making
us the largest South Asian American bank
in the US. Bauer Financial, the largest
bank rating agency in the US, gave HAB
the highest, five star rating.
The Banks core products are
Commercial Real Estate Mortgages,
International Trade Services, US Small
Business Loans and a well-designed commercial banking products and services for
small to medium sized businesses. The
Bank also has a wide range of consumer
products and services including personal
checking, savings, CDs, and full-service
online banking.

TURN PAGE

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Debris washed up on island could be of

missing Malaysia Flight 370
Beijing: The cold case known as
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has
been jolted by a piece of flotsam
that washed ashore, and now
investigators are scrambling
again.
Authorities in France plan to
examine what appears to be part
of a wing that was found on a
beach on Reunion, an island in the
Indian Ocean, to see whether it
came from a plane that vanished
without a trace 16 months ago.
There is suddenly a new direction and a specific task in a longrunning investigation that has
been forced by a lack of physical
evidence to focus on satellite signals from the time of the disappearance and a slow, patient and
so-far fruitless sweep of remote
deep seas off Australia.

By Jinal Shah

The wreckage found on Reunion island in Indian Ocean

is thousands of miles away from the search area
off the coast of Australia.

Does a barnacle-encrusted piece

of debris lead back to the Boeing
777 that is at the heart of the case?
The object will be flown from

Reunion, a French territory about

2,800 miles from the search site,
to Toulouse in France for examination.

Church building to make way for

gurdwara in Illinois
Washington: In a historical
moment for the Sikh community in
the US, a foreclosed building that
used to be a Baptist church will be
renovated as the first Sikh temple
in Rockford, Illinois, media reported on Thursday.
The building on Kishwaukee
Street and 3rd Avenue in the Forest
City will be renamed as Nanaksar
Sikh Temple.
"There is no temple in Rockford.
This will be the first one. Some
people told me that there are no
Sikh temples here so we are doing
this for the Sikh community,"

MoMI to pay tribute to

Mani Ratnam

Wrex.com quoted Nanaksar Sikh

Temple supervisor Babaji as saying.
There are nearly 100 Sikh families in the area. Right now, they
drive all the way to Chicago,
Milwaukee or Madison for worship. However, the task of doing up
the foreclosed building is daunting
as $100,000 worth of renovation
work needs to be done. The temple
will have a grand opening in April
next year when renovations are
completed but the Sikh leaders
hope to start worship services in
September this year.

from July 31 to
August 2, how they
New York: The
are relevant even
Museum of the
today and his expeMoving
Image
rience working with
(MoMI) in Astoria is
music legend A.R.
set to present a speRahman, who made
cial tribute to leghis debut as a film
endary Indian film
composer in Roja.
director
Mani
When asked if he
Ratnam by featuring
had a trilogy in
him in person and
mind when he startshowcasing three of Mani Ratnams three ed shooting for
his
critically critically acclaimed Roja, Ratnam said,
films will be
acclaimed films as
I did not. It
screened from July
part of a series titled
(1990s) was a
31-Aug 2 at the
Politics
as
phase in India
Museum of the
Spectacle:
The
where the country
Moving Image in
Films of Mani
was going through a
New York.
Ratnam.
On
political turmoil. I
Wednesday the museum in asso- felt that it could be possible to
ciation with Indian Consulate address it in the mainstream cinorganized a press preview with ema to a wider audience.
the filmmaker himself.
Ratnam also discussed his
Mani Ratnam is a treasure, other groundbreaking movies at
and we are pleased to host him the preview.
in New York with three of his
Earlier in a press statement,
most significant and beloved Richard Pena, director emeritus,
films, said Christina Marodua, New York Film Festival and
MoMIs deputy director for Professor of Film Studies at
development and founder of the Columbia University, mentioned
Indian film festival in Los that a New York tribute to Mani
Angeles. This weekend tribute Ratnam is long overdue.
offers audiences, both devoted
The false dichotomies that
fans and new viewers, a rare are used to categorize films -opportunity to see his gorgeous art vs. commercial cinema,
films on the big screen, she entertainment vs. political filmadded. MoMIs special retro- making -- disappear when one
spective on Ratnam will have sees how easily Mani Ratnam is
three of his popular films, Roja, able to combine aspects of all of
Bombay and Dil Se on a big them into his work. A New York
screen in 35mm format.
tribute to this important filmAt the preview, he spoke about maker is long overdue, Pena
the three movies to be screened said.

New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

Call for designated prayer rooms New judge appointed in Aakash

for Hindus and Sikhs at JFK
Dalals firebombing trial
Bellerose, Queens: Hindus and Sikhs
should have designated prayer rooms at
John F. Kennedy International airport to
serve the airports large numbers of South
Asian employees and passengers, Satnam
Singh Parhar, candidate for City Council
from District 23 said.
The airport already has an Islamic center,
a Protestant chapel, a Roman Catholic
chapel and a synagogue. It is time that
the many Hindu and Sikh workers and
travelers at JFK have the same designated
places of worship offered to others,
Parhar said.
Parhar also urged the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey to include designated prayer rooms for Hindus, Muslims
and Sikhs in the plans for a new LaGuardia
Airport.
It is vitally important that the Port
Authority show the same level of respect
and courtesy to the South Asian population
that it extends to other workers and travel-

NY City Council candidate Satnam

Singh Parhar

ers at New York Citys airports, Parhar

said. Satnam Singh Parhar, a Democrat, is
running in the September 10, Democratic
primary to fill the City Council seat vacated by Mark Weprin. Located in North East
Queens, District 23 is the one of the most
diverse Council districts in the city, with
nearly 40 percent of the population South
Asian-American.

New Jersey: A new judge has been

appointed to oversee a case in which an
Indian American man was arrested for
plotting to firebomb Jewish facilities and
threaten the lives of judges and prosecutors in New Jersey, media reports said.
Aakash Dalal, 23, and co-defendant
Anthony Graziano, 23, are in prison for
the last three years.
In March 2013, Dalal was indicted on 29
counts in connection with the firebombings, arson and attempted murder of a
rabbi and his family. A second indictment
charged him with conspiracy to murder an
assistant prosecutor, conspiracy to possess
a firearm and making terror threats.
Recently, a new Superior Court judge
was assigned to the criminal division in
Bergen County to conduct the trial of
Dalal, northjersey.com quoted Chief
Justice Stuart Rabner as saying.
Earlier, Dalal had asked to change the
venue of the case noting that it would be

Aakash Dalal

impossible for him to get a fair trial in

Bergen County.
On July 10, it was decided to have an
outside judge preside over the case rather
than moving the venue of the case to a different county.

Raghunandan Yandamuri to Telugus in NJ cook for farmers' cause

represent self in double
murder case
Washington, DC: An Indian
American man, facing a death
penalty for a double murder, will
represent himself during an
appeal in the Pennsylvania State
Supreme Court, the media said
on Wednesday.
Raghunandan Yandamuri was
charged with killing an Indian
American 10-month-old girl and
her grandmother in their
Pennsylvania home three years
ago.
On November 20, 2014, he was
sentenced to death by lethal
injection.
A Montgomery county court
recently ruled that Yandamuri
could represent himself and
named two standby attorneys.
"As much as this court is reluctant to grant such relief, I feel I
am compelled to," India West
quoted the Montgomery county
court as saying.
Yandamuri, a software engineer, was in the US on an H-1B

Raghunandan Yandamuri

visa and tried to kidnap Saanvi to

get a $50,000 ransom from her
parents.
Hailing from Andhra Pradesh,
he was heavily in debt, largely
due to his gambling addiction.
He needed money to bear the
expenses for his pregnant wife's
treatment, the report added.

New Jersey: Telugu Association

of North America (TANA) conducted Vana Bhojanaalu, in association with i4Farmers on July
25th at Merrill Park, Iselin. This
year's event was with a unique
theme, 'Cook for a Cause' to highlight and celebrate farmers' cause.
Event was well attended by over
300 Telugus in New Jersey. As
part of this celebration, organizers
conducted a cooking competition,
asking people to cook their dish at
home and bring it to the competition.
Tremendous response was
received with 23 people participating in Appetizers, Main Course
and Dessert categories.
Event started off with all the
guests being served with variety of
Dosas. After that, organizers
explained guests about the Indian
farmers' issues currently going on,
and why it is important to remember them in our daily lives, farmers are the real people behind our
food, before it comes into our
plates. All the guests expressed
keen interest to know more about
farmers and what goes on in their
daily lives, also why they are committing suicides. Volunteers
explained how we, as individuals

Over 300 people attend the event. (Pic: telugupeople.com)

can contribute to the farmers'

cause. Also, requested all the
guests to speak to the farmers in
their villages and towns when they
visit India.
After the introduction, all the
guests were provided with tokens
to drop at their choice of dish in
three categories. Guests were
asked to taste the food brought by
individual participants of 'cook for
a cause' competition, and drop a
token at the dish of there. Two
winners from each category were
announced from the number of

tokens received at each dish. All

other participants were provided
with participant gifts.
Laxmi Devineni, TANA
Regional Coordinator for NJ and
NY, coordinated the event with
volunteers from TANA and
i4Farmers. Event was supported
by all local TANA leadership, and
attended by Ravi Potluri, NRC
Naidu, Srinivas Orguganti,
Nagaraju Narala and Raghu
Volunteers, Manasa and Sowjanya
arranged 'Mehendi' for women and
children to raise funds for farmers.

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

August 1-7, 2015

In six months over 400,000 New

Yorkers have IDNYC cards
New York, NY: Six months after
launch, Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Speaker Mark-Viverito announced
that over 400000 New Yorkers
have IDNYC cards. : Thank you.
It is now, by far, the nations
most ambitious municipal ID program launched just six months
ago, and having extraordinary results already, he said.
And its so important because
of all the ways that IDNYC benefit people. Beginning with those
who felt left out in our society,
who felt unrecognized, disrespected, in fact literally in the shadows
of our city they now have a
chance to belong further through

IDNYC. There are so many reasons it helps. It helps recognize all

of our people, regardless of gender
identity, regardless of immigration
status, regardless of economic status, he added.
As a result of this program already, over 30,000 cultural institution memberships have been
achieved in six months, 30,000
more memberships in cultural institutions 6,000 of which are at
the American Museum of Natural
History. Were also thrilled to
say that this excellent program has
won a lot of attention around the
country and a lot of our friends
all over the nation are working on

their own approaches. Now at

least 20 other major cities and
counties across the nation, including Chicago, Newark, and Hartford, are pursuing similar programs, he said.
Theres a lot to like about
whats happened. A lot of people
deserve credit. I want to thank
some of the members of my administration who worked so hard
not just to start IDNYC, but to
keep perfecting it. Theyre literally working month by month to
make it better all the time. Lets
thank our commissioner of immigrant affairs, Nisha Agarwal,
he added.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Indian American student

faces prison for online fraud
nishing victims of the scam with
replacement tickets, according to a
plea agreement signed by Kumar.
Had all tickets been sold, he
could have netted $279,949, the
report said. The attorney representing Kumar said many were involved in the scam and his client
got only a portion of the proceeds.
"Kumar now awaits his fate at
sentencing and hopes to be afforded the opportunity to finish his remaining semester of college and
move forward with his life," Kumar's attorney was quoted as saying. Kumar was to plead guilty in
February but was hospitalized after car a crash. He was told about
his imprisonment after he
recovered.

New York: An Indian American

student faces five years in jail for
his involvement in a scam about
selling fraudulent events tickets
over web sales platform StubHub
and making money out of it, media
reports said.
Sachin Kumar, 22, who is from
New York earned money by selling
fraudulent event tickets over StubHub, using accounts set up in fictitious name, Tampa Bay Times
newspaper reported.
Kumar, a pre-dental and biology
student at the University of Tampa,
Florida, has agreed to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on
restitution in the fraud.
He reportedly collected $49,121
and StubHub spent $172,047 fur-

Hinal Patel was to go to medical school

Teen World Golf Championship

14 year old Malini Rudra of Syosset placed top 15 in the Teen
World Golf Championship held at Pinehurst, North Carolina,
July 22-25.She tied for the 14th place in a field of
125 competitors, the top teen golfers from over
23 countries participated in the three day competition.

New York: New Jersey-based

Indian American woman emergency health worker, who died
when a car slammed into her ambulance on July 25, was all set to
go to medical school from July
27, media reports said.
Hinal Patel, 22, a medical student at Rutgers University, New
Jersey, was cremated on Tuesday.
Patel's family said she wanted
to be a doctor or a physician assistant and was set to go to medical school from July 27, Dayton
Daily News newspaper reported.
Patel's family and friends remembered her at the funeral in
New Brunswick attended by
emergency responders from
across the state.
"She was the most amazing
person I ever knew. She has
saved thousands and thousands
of people..I just wish someone
had a chance to help her," her
friend Bianca Patel was quoted
as saying.

Hinal's brother Neel said she

really loved medicine and was
truly passionate about the job.
"Patel and the her ambulance's
driver, Mark Seube, were responding to a call when they
came through the intersection
and were struck by a Toyota vehicle sending their spinning vehicle careening into another car,"
East Brunswick policeman Lt.
Kevin F. Zebro was quoted as
saying.
"This resulted in her death
while the drivers of the ambulance and Toyota vehicle sustained non-life threatening injuries," he added.
Police have not arrested or
charged anyone in the fatal accident. Patel was working as an
emergency health worker for the
North Stelton Volunteer Fire
Company since September 2012.
"Hinal was a very smart, dedicated member of our family and
she will be greatly missed," a
company statement read.

Four Hollywood & Bollywood producers to attend

Miss India America 2015 & The Elite Awards
Los Angeles, CA: Miss India America 2015 beauty pageant will be held
on August 8th at the LAX Renaissance hotel here. The year marks the
23rd anniversary of the beauty pageant founded in 1992 by Jinnder
Chohaan. Mr. & Miss India America
2015 is presented by South Asia Magazine,
Wells
Fargo,
and
JINmodels.com.
Creator Jinnder Chohaan says,
Bollywood filmmaker Anil Sharma
of hit films: Gadar, Veer & Apne
will be one of the official judges at

Mr. & Miss India America. We are

also honored to have Hollywood producer Sunil Perkash of hits: Salt
with Angelina Jolie and Premonition with Sandra Bullock joining us
at our pageant."
The Elite Awards 2015 will honor
top Hollywood producers: Randall
Emmett and Adi Shankar. Having
worked with top A-listers in Hollywood, Randall Emmett's blockbuster
hits included: 2 Guns w/ Denzel
Washingon, Empire State w/ Liam
Hemsworth, Escape Plan w/

Sylvester Stallone, 16 Blocks w/

Bruce Willis, and Rambo w/
Sylvester Stallone. Adi Shankar's
blockbusters include: Lone Survivor
w/ Mark Wahlberg, Killing Them
Softly w/ Brad Pit, Broken City w/
Russell, and The Grey w/ Liam Neeson. Many of the pageants past winners are making it in Hollywood
Melanie Kannokada, former Miss India America, can be seen on HBOs
The Brink with Jack Black and Tim
Robbins, and soon on CBS new TV
Series Code Black in September.

Emergency health worker Hinal

was responding to a call when a
car hit her ambulance
leading to her death

Lord Venkateswara Temple

to be built in Columbus
New York : A state-of-the-art Sri
Venkateswara Temple with an
eight-feet granite statue of Lord
Venkateswara will be constructed
in Columbus, Ohio state, a media
report said.
It will be the second temple after
the Bharatiya Hindu Temple that
opened in the area in 1994, the
Columbus Dispatch daily reported.
It will be "a state of the art temple,
spread over at least 20,000 square
feet with a capacity to accommodate at least 1,000 worshippers",
said Ganesh Vathyam, a spokesperson of the temple committee. It will

include an ornate, colorful towering entrance called "gopuram" and

a brass or copper covered flagstaff
called a "dwajasthambam", he
added. The committee is also planning to bring sculptors from India
to build the temple and early projections put the cost at about $3
million. "Our goal is to introduce
this culture not only to our kids -because the reason we build temples is to let our future generations
know the significance of the temple and the heritage -- but also to
introduce it to the other side of the
world," Vathyam said.

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

Vikram David Amar named dean at University of Illinois College of Law

New York: An Indian American
law professor is moving to the
Midwest after being named the
next dean of the University of
Illinois College of Law.
Vikram David Amar will assume
the new post, as well as Iwan
Foundation professor of law, on
Aug. 16.
Ilesanmi Adesida, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and
provost of the universitys Urbana
campus, said in a statement that
Amar was the clear choice to lead
the College of Law here at
Illinois, after a nationwide
search.
Adesida cited Amars vision for
its cutting-edge scholarship and
for close connections to the profession and society in which its
graduates will serve, as the rea-

Vikram David Amar

soning behind his selection.

Amar, according to the university statement, has been impressed
by the College of Laws faculty,
staff and student body, as well as

Indian-American
digitizes arts education
New York: An Indian-American
music professor has created an
online education platform offering inexpensive creative arts
courses from some of the
world's leading institutions,
including Stanford University
and Princeton University.
Created by Ajay Kapur, 35,
associate dean of digital arts at
the California Institute of Arts in
Valencia, the website called
Kadenze has drawn 30 additional institutions besides the original 18 which are interested in
offering courses, India West
reported.
Currently, the site is offering
24 foundation courses with more
planned for the future.
Some of the courses being
offered include project management for designers, sound production for musicians and artists
and introduction to graphic illustration.
Users can either have limited
access to the courses for free or
pay $7 per month for full access.
The full access includes graded assignments that contribute to
the student's portfolio, a statement of accomplishment, and
class rankings indicating if the
student is within the top 10, ve
or one percent of students.

the alumni base.

Chicago is among the biggest,
most sophisticated and most
diverse of legal markets, and
Springeld, Ill., has helped produce both Barack Obama and
Abraham Lincoln, the greatest
lawyers in American history,
Amar said in a statement.
My time at Illinois will be
guided by the twin values that
dened Mr. Lincolns career
lawyerly excellence in private and
public practice, and a commitment
to the highest professional and
ethical values, he added.
Previously, Amar spent seven
years as senior associate dean for
academic affairs and a professor
of law at the U.C. Davis School of
Law, during which he was
involved in faculty hiring, tenure

and promotions, clinical programming, admissions, career services

and curricular development.
He has also been a professor of
law at U.C. Hastings and a visiting
professor of law at U.C. Berkeley
and UCLA.
Amar is a national authority on
constitutional law, federal courts
and civil procedure.
Amar earned his bachelor s
degree from U.C. Berkeley and his
juris doctor degree from Yale Law
School. While at Yale, he was an
editor for the Yale Law Journal.
At Illinois, Amar intends to
increase engagement between the
legal academy, the legal and business professions and the public, as
well as continue Illinois commitment to educational affordability.
Illinois produces a lot of inno-

vative scholarship, much of it

interdisciplinary, but we have to
be more energetic in highlighting
and explaining what practitioners
can learn from law professors
and vice versa, Amar said in the
statement.
Another priority is to begin to
restore affordability to legal education True, great law schools
require great personnel and programs, both of which cost money.
But those of us privileged to serve
in our great law schools must be
ever vigilant to keep these schools
within the reach of all persons of
ability, especially the younger
generations gifted aspirants who
come from modest backgrounds,
the next generations Abe Lincolns
and Barack Obamas, Amar
added.

Indian students get $100,000 funding for startup

Washington, DC: A startup founded by three Indians and a German
student at the Mississippi State
University (MSU) has received
$100,000, setting a record for private investment in a student-run
startup at the university, a media
report said.
CampusKnot, founded by Rahul
Gopal, Hiten Patel, Perceus Mody
and Katja Walter, is an online educational hub designed to increase
collaboration among faculty and
students, the Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported. "We're excited, but

we're scared at the same time," said

Gopal, a senior aerospace engineering major at MSU. "It's funny, I
guess, how I feel about it, but I'm
looking forward to continuing to
grow the company." CampusKnot,
which is free to users, seeks to serve
as a single website for students at
MSU and other colleges and universities to easily reach teachers and
classmates, besides offering space
for faculty to post course syllabi and
related academic material. "The faculty will be the celebrities of this
site," Gopal said. "They can post

access to knowledge for their 'fans'."

CampusKnot debuted in 2013.
Since then, creators spent two years
rening their project at MSU's
Center for Entrepreneurship and
Innovation in the College of
Business. They won second-place in
the center's 2013 startup competition and, in December, earned a
$2,500-startup grant.
CampusKnot has moved into its
rst ofce within the Thad Cochran
Research,
Technology
and
Economic Development Park's business incubator in Starkville city.

Ajay Kapur

"The price of going to college

is getting completely out of control. For creative people and
people studying the arts, that is
insane. The only thing it will
accomplish is that you will not
be an artist," Kapur was quoted
as saying.
With partnerships from a publisher and software companies
like Adobe and Ableton,
Kadenze also offers its premium
students discounts in supplies
and materials needed for the
courses.
Students who want to take the
courses for credit can upgrade
for $300 per credit.
"Instead of spending $20,000
to $30,000 per semester, which
is what it's costing, on Kadenze,
you will be able to do a semester
in $4,500," Kapur said.

Three controversial Indian films to be screened in San Francisco

Mumbai: While many lms in
India face obstacles due to its content, lm festivals overseas provide
an ideal platform for them to be
showcased. One such initiative is
the Festival of Globe Silicon
Valley (FOGSV) & San Francisco
Movie Fest that is scheduled to be
held 7-16 August. The festival committee is currently in the process of
short listing 30 lms to be screened,
and have announced the three particular lms that will represent India
- 19th January, Unfreedom and
Oass.
These lms have strong content,
storylines and messages that would
possibility face censorship and communal issues in India. Each lm is
selected through a strict screening
process by a panel of passionate

Actor and Festival

Ambassador Prashantt Guptha

jury members. 19th January is a lm

about the 1990 riots between
Kashmiri Pundits and Muslims and
is directed by Sanjay Amar.
Unfreedom, based on LGBT issues,
is a lm that has been released in
various parts of the world except

India directed by Raj Amit Kumar.

Abhinav Tiwaris Oass, starring
Yashpal Sharma is a gruesome
depiction of child trafcking seen
through the eyes of a little girl.
Speaking about the selection
actress Preeti Gupta of UNFREEDOM said, "I'm very delighted that
my lm is screening in San
Francisco and it's a great honor.
Actor and Festival Ambassador
Prashantt Guptha said, I have yet to
see what controversy unfolds with
my lm 19th January, as it hasnt
yet released, or banned. But how
sad are the state of our affairs that
the one most powerful medium of
entertainment and information gets
so limited due to cultural hypocrisy
or various insecurities and
political/religious ideologies.

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

August 1-7, 2015

Nikhil Dhurandhar gets $3 million

grant for treatment of diabetes
Houston:
An
Indian-American
scientist has been
awarded a $3 million
grant for working on
treatment of diabetes
by using a virus that
can reduce glucose
level in blood.
The research is
based on human adenovirus 36, which
causes obesity in
humans and animals
but also reduces
blood sugar.
"It's a little paraDr Nikhil Dhurandhar
doxical, because you
have an agent that is making an ble for reducing blood sugar
animal fatter, so you would and tested it on diabetic cells
expect their glucose levels to and animals. The experiment
deteriorate," said Dr Nikhil showed the protein improved
Dhurandhar, a professor and diabetes.
The next step for Dhurandhar
chairman of the Department of
Nutritional Sciences at Texas was to develop a drug that
could be tested on humans and
Tech.
Dhurandhar received almost could be used to treat diabetes.
Dhurandhar, who is president
$3 million from Vital Health
Interventions. Dhurandhar said of the Obesity Society, has been
that he first noticed this phe- studying viral obesity for years,
nomenon years ago in rodents which he started when he was a
while researching how the virus physician in India focusing on
patients with obesity.
causes obesity.
He holds a number of patents
Dhurandhar isolated a protein
from the virus that is responsi- for his work on adenovirus 36.

Indian-American woman announces

her Congressional bid
Washington, DC: Indian-American
Mary Thomas, a government attorney in Florida, has said that she will
run for the US Congressional elections in November 2016.
If elected, Thomas, whose parents
arrived in American from India in
1972, would be the first woman
Indian-American lawmaker to be a
member of the US House of
Representatives.
Born in Charleston, South
Carolina, 37-year-old Thomas is a
Republican. She is pitted against
incumbent Gwen Graham of the
Democratic Party, who wrested the
Second Congressional District of
Florida from Republican Steve
Southerland in 2014.
Thomas, a personal friend of
Florida Governor Rick Scott, told
local media that she is hoping to
create history by becoming the first
Indian-American woman to be
elected to the US Congress.
So far only three IndianAmericans elected to the US
Congress are Dalip Singh Saundh,
Bobby Jindal and Ami Bera. From
California, Bera is the only Indian
American in the current Congress.
"I'm a conservative Republican, a
Christian, a wife, mother, and a
lawyer. If elected, I would be the
first Indian- American woman ever

Indians in St Louis organize chariot

festival after ve years
New York: For the first time in five years,
people of Indian-origin organized a Rath
Yatra with bhajans and dancing that reverberated through the streets in St. Louis
County, Missouri, a media report said.
On Sunday morning, hundreds of devotees pulled a chariot carrying the statues of
three deities from the Krishna Balaram
Temple at St. Louis to Queeny Park area,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported.
"One of the things this event represents
is that deities, instead of staying in temple,
are taken out in public for the purpose of
everyone and anyone being able to see
them," Yamuna Jivana Das, one of the
event organisers, was quoted as saying.
"We repeat the God's name with music
and dancing so that we can immerse into
his heart, so that you don't think of anything else -- complete devotion, you

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Chariot carrying the statues

of three deities

know," added Nina Desai, a follower from

Chesterfield area.
Many of the devotees attended the
prayers at the Krishna Balaram Temple
that espouses a "Krishna Consciousness"
mantra.

Attorney Mary Thomas

elected to Congress. This would

truly be a historic event," Thomas
said during her campaign announcement in Florida last week.
Thomas's parents, Tom and Annie
Thomas are physicians who immigrated from India in 1972. This is
why she has such strong opposition
to undocumented immigration. She
said the issue of illegal immigration
is "deeply personal to me and my
family."
"My family story is a shining
example of the American dream,"
she said. The Indian-American
attorney works as general counsel
for the Florida Department of Elder

Affairs. She plans to step down from

the post to campaign full time. A
graduate of the Florida State
University College of Law, she also
holds a Masters of Law from the
University of Miami and a
Bachelors degree from the
University of South Florida.
Thomas has been a member of
Governor
Rick
Scott's
Administration since he was sworn
into office in January 2011. She currently serves as the General Counsel
at the Department of Elder Affairs
where she manages and oversees the
legal department of an agency that
administers a $900 million budget.

Priya Gopal-Walker to represent

Washington in Miss Teen pageant
report said.
Washington, DC: IndianAmerican Priya Gopal-Walker,
The beauty queen said she
would like to use her title to
a survivor of child abuse, will
represent Washington in the
spread awareness on domestic
violence.
2015 Miss Teen USA Pageant
"I knew I needed time to
to be held in Bahamas.
Gopal-Walker, 17, will comemotionally heal from what I
had gone through," Gopalpete with contestants from all
over from the US at the pagWalker was quoted as saying
by the portal.
eant on August 21-22. She
"Taking the time to get my
made her entry to the pageant
after winning the Miss
life restored, I believe, is part
of the reason I won this year. I
Washington Teen USA crown,
India West portal reported.
have a strong message of hope
for those children who may
Gopal-Walker, who is of half
Indian and half American her- Priya Gopal-Walker feel there is no hope or way to
get out of their fearful situaitage, is a student at the
tion," she said.
Academy of Arts and Sciences in Seattle.
She was to compete in 2012, but had to
"I now live with foster parents who love
pull out of the competition as she was fac- me as though I am their own," Gopaling physical and emotional abuse, the Walker added.

US AFFAIRS

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Outside lawyers to review Sandra 35 women

Bland custody suicide case accuse Cosby
Waller, TX: A Texas prosecutor
on Monday announced a committee of outside attorneys who will
investigate the death of Sandra
Bland, who allegedly committed
suicide in a jail cell following a
traffic stop.
The group will "review evidence
as it comes in" on both Bland's
initial arrest and her untimely
death, Waller County District
Attorney Elton Mathis said at a
news conference. Mathis said the
committee would help his office to
answer the remaining questions
circulating around the case. The
committee will be led by former
prosecutors and defense attorneys
Lewis White and Darrell Jordan.
Bland's initial toxicology report
indicated that she had marijuana in
her system at the time of her
death. Mathis said the investigation into Bland's death would likely go to the county grand jury

of sexual assault

hirty-five women who say

they were victims of sexual
abuse at the hands of comedian Bill Cosby gave details of their
accusations in the latest edition of
New York Magazine, published earlier this week. The women's blackand-white photos of them seated in
similar poses - and next to a vacant
chair representing others who have
not been able to make their accusations public - appear on the magazine's cover.

Sandra Bland was found dead

in her jail cell three days after
arrest over not failin g to
signal while changing lanes

sometime in August.
Sandra Bland, 28, died in the
Waller County Jail after a traffic
stop in Prairie View, Texas, escalated into a physical confrontation.
Her death has sparked intense
speculation on social media, with
many questioning how Bland
died.

Obama warns African Presidents who cling to power

August 1-7, 2015

Boy Scouts of America

allows gay leaders
Washington DC: The governing
body of the Boy Scouts of America
voted Monday to end its decadeslong ban on gay scout leaders.
The organization's national executive board, meeting in Texas, concluded that the policy of excluding
gay adults "was no longer legally
defensible." The decision was
approved by 79 percent of the
board.
While the national ban is gone,
effective immediately, local scouting units retain the ability to reject
gay applicants for leadership positions if hiring them would violate
the unit's religious beliefs.
The Boy Scouts national organization said it would defend any
local scouting group's "good faith
refusal" to admit a scouting leader
based upon the group's religious
principles.
"For far too long this issue has
divided and distracted us," former
Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
Scouting's current president, said
in a statement. "Now it's time to
unite behind our shared belief in
the extraordinary power of scouting to be a force for good in a community and in the lives of its youth
members." Protesting the new poli-

Founded in 1910, Boy Scouts

of America boasts 2.4 million
youth members and one
million adult volunteers.

cy, the Mormon Church said it

might leave the organization. Its
stance surprised many and raised
questions about whether other conservative sponsors, including the
Roman Catholic Church, might
follow suit.
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by todays vote, said a statement issued by the church
moments after the Scouts
announced the new policy.

President
Obama
speaking
to African
Union on
Tuesday.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: President Barack

Obama brought to Africa a frank message on
democracy, corruption and security that could
perhaps be delivered only by a Western
leader viewed in Africa as a local son. "The
future of Africa is up to Africans," Obama
said during a trip to Kenya and Ethiopia that
concluded Tuesday. "For too long, I think
that many looked to the outside for salvation
and focused on somebody else being at fault
for the problems of the continent."
And with high-level African officials in the
audience for his remarks at African Union

headquarters, he launched a blistering and

sometimes sarcastic takedown of leaders who
refuse to leave office when their terms end.
"Let me be honest with you I just don't
understand this," he said, drawing cheers
from many in the crowd. "I actually think I'm
a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I
could win. But I can't."
Obama's predecessors have also pushed for
good governance and respect for human
rights in Africa. But none had the instant
credibility African leaders confer on Obama,
whose visit was heralded as a homecoming.

American castigated for killing lion in Africa

Harare: Wildlife officials on Tuesday
accused an American hunter of killing
Cecil, one of the oldest and most famous
lions in Zimbabwe, without a permit, after
paying $50,000 to two people who lured
the beast to its death.
The lion was lured out of Hwange
National Park using a bait and was shot by
Walter James Palmer, Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) said.
LionAid, a conservation group, said
Cecil was wounded with a bow and arrow,
and not shot dead until 40 hours later.
Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota who
received widespread criticism on social
media for killing Cecil, said on Tuesday he

Cecil was one of the oldest and most

famous lions in Zimbabwe

had hired several professional guides who

secured permits for his bow hunting trip
and deeply regretted taking the lion.

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com

10

INDIA

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

1993 Mumbai blast accused Yakub Memon hanged

Nagpur/Mumbai: Yakub Abdul Razzak
Memon, convicted in the March 12, 1993
Mumbai serial blasts, was hanged till death at
Maharashtra's Nagpur Central Jail on July 30
morning, officials said.
He was sent to the gallows -- on his 54th
birthday -- after several of his court appeals
and clemency petitions were rejected by various courts, including the Bombay High Court,
the Supreme Court, the Maharashtra governor
and the president of India.
Memon was hanged at 6.35 a.m. A medical
team at the jail pronounced him dead a short
while later, at 7.01 a.m.
Later, his body was sent for an autopsy in
the jail hospital by a medical team from a
Nagpur government hospital, before being
cleared for the last rites.
Initially, the jail authorities were not
inclined to hand over the body and planned to
perform the last rites in an isolated spot in the
jail campus.
After the hanging, Memon's brother
Sulaiman submitted an application to the jail
authorities, demanding handing over of the
body to enable them perform the last rites in

A file photo of
Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon.

Mumbai.
The request was immediately processed and
permission - with stringent conditions - was
granted and the body handed over.
It was taken to Nagpur airport and flowing
in an air ambulance for the funeral rites scheduled on Thursday evening.

Mumbai police have deployed tight security

in Mahim area where the Memon's home is
located and at other sensitive places in the city
and the state.
Chief Minister Devednra Fadnavis will
make a statement in the Maharashtra
Legislature later in the day.
The legal battle continued till barely a few
hours before his hanging.
Memon was the first -- and only convict out
of 100 in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case - whose hanging was upheld by the Supreme
Court. The death sentence of 11 others was
commuted to life.
A Mumbai Special Court had sentenced him
to death in July 2007.
The death warrant was issued by a Special
TADA Court judge on April 29, scheduling
the execution for July 30.
Maharashtra had started preparations for the
noose for Memon almost three weeks ago.
Memon filed a fresh appeal in the Supreme
Court, followed by a clemency plea with the
Maharashtra governor, again a fresh plea in
the apex court and a final appeal with the
president of India.

Yakub's body handed

over to family
Nagpur: The body of Yakub Memon, the
Mumbai serial bomb blasts convict who
was hanged here, has been handed over to
his family, the authorities said.
Initially, the jail authorities were not
inclined to hand over the body and planned
to perform the last rites in an isolated spot
in the jail campus. After the hanging,
Memon's brother Sulaiman submitted an
application to the jail authorities, urging
the body be handed over to enable the family perform the last rites in Mumbai.
The request was immediately processed
and permission - with stringent conditions was granted and the body handed over.
It was taken to Nagpur airport and flown
in an air ambulance to Mumbai for the
funeral rites scheduled on Thursday
evening.
In 2013, the body of Afzal Guru, who
was hanged for his involvement in the
2001 parliament attack case, was not handed over to his family. His last rites were
performed in Delhi's Tihar jail.

Anshu Gupta, Sanjiv Chaturvedi win

Magsaysay awards
New Delhi: Social worker Anshu
Gupta and whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi won the
prestigious Ramon Magsaysay
awards for "enterprising leadership" and for exposing corruption.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award
Foundation said Gupta, 45, was
being recognized for "his creative vision in transforming the
culture of giving in India, his
enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor".
The award citation also credited Gupta with "reminding the
world that true giving always
respects and preserves human
dignity".
The
foundation
said
Chaturvedi, 40, was being recognized for "his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in
uncompromisingly exposing and
painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his
resolute crafting programmes
and system improvements to
ensure that government honourably serves the people of
India".
Established in 1957, the
Ramon Magsaysay Award is
Asia's highest honour and is
widely regarded as the region's
equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Chaturvedi, currently the
deputy secretary at the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS), told IANS: "Got the
award by God's grace. I did not

Indian author Anuradha Roy.

Social worker Anshu Gupta and

whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

give befitting reply to anyone,

God did."
Chaturvedi, a 2002-batch
Indian Forest Service officer,
exposed corruption as the Chief
Vigilance Officer (CVO) of
AIIMS. The union health ministry is yet to approve Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's
request to appoint him an Officer
on Special Duty (OSD) in the
Delhi government.
Gupta heads the NGO Goonj,
which believes in reusing clothes
and other material to turn into a
valuable resource, to create "a
parallel economy which is not
cash-based but trash-based".
An elated Gupta said: "I am
certainly very happy to receive
this award... Our work has been
recognized."

Other winners announced on

Wednesday are Kommaly
Chanthavong of Laos, Ligaya
Fernando-Amilbangsa of the
Philippines and Kyaw Thu from
Myanmar.
The Magsaysay awards celebrate the memory and leadership
example of the third Philippine
president after whom the award
is named.
It is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia
who manifest the same selfless
service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late
Filipino leader.
The five 2015 Magsaysay
awardees join the community of
307 other Magsaysay laureates
who have received the honour to
date.

Indian author in Man

Booker Prize longlist
London:
Indian
author
Anuradha Roy is among the 13
people longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize for
2015, it was announced this
week.
Roy was longlisted for her
book 'Sleeping on Jupiter'.
The 13 books in the longlist
included British author Tom
McCarthy's Satin Island, British
writer Andrew O'Hagan's The
Illuminations and Indian-origin

Sunjeev Sahota's The Year of the

Runaways, Xinhua reported.
These 13 works of fiction were
selected from 156 books for this
year's prize by a five-judge
panel. The shortlist of six books
will be announce in September
and this year's winner will be
announced on October 13.
Man Booker Prize, first awarded in 1969, is recognized as the
leading prize for high quality literary fiction written in English.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India will give

befitting reply to
terror: Rajnath
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh said
India will give a befitting reply to any terror activity launched in India from across the border.
"Any attempts to attack the unity and integrity
of India will get a befitting reply. We are dedicated to stopping all terror activities being done from
across the border," he said while making a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the terrorist attack in
Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district of Punjab
on July 27.
The home minister informed the Rajya Sabha
that the three terrorists might have infiltrated taking advantage of heavy rains and swollen 'nullahs'
along the India-Pakistan border.
In his statement made amid a din and anti-government slogans by the opposition, Rajnath Singh
also lauded the Punjab Police for neutralising the
three terrorists.
He said that information was being gathered
from the Global Positioning System device seized
from the terrorists who, he said, also had a night
vision device.
The union home minister said that the Border
Security Force was always on the alert though
some terrorist might have succeeded in infiltrating
due to heavy rains and swelling of rivers and nullahs on the border.

INDIA

August 1-7, 2015

11

Terror strikes Punjab after two decades

Dinanagar (Punjab): Three civilians and
four security personnel, including a superintendent of police, were killed when three
heavily-armed terrorists said to be from
Pakistan went on a killing spree here, shattering two decades of calm in Punjab and
sparking an 11-hour gun battle that left all
three attackers dead.
It took several hours for Punjab Police
commandos to eliminate the terrorists
who, in military fatigues, stormed a police
station complex in Dinanagar town in
Gurdaspur district, once a hotbed of militancy and adjoining Pakistan, taking security forces by surprise.
Dinanagar is located barely 15 km from
the Pakistan border. Punjab Director
General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini
told the media: We (Punjab Police)
engaged them and killed all three terrorists. We lost four security personnel. The
terrorists were well armed with good
firearms and good ammunition and were
carrying GPS sets."
Asked if there was a Pakistani hand in
the mayhem, he said: It is too early to say
from where they have come.
This was the first major terror attack in
Punjab after the assassination of then chief
minister Beant Singh on August 31, 1995
in Chandigarh, joint capital of Punjab and
Haryana.
The final assault by the SWAT (Special
Weapons and Tactics) team of Punjab
Police on the complex ended with inter-

Security personnel take positions outside Dinanagar police station, where

the heavily-armed terrorists were holed up.

mittent firing and grenade attacks from

both sides.
In an emotional outburst, locals raised
slogans hailing the Punjab Police.
Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh
succumbed to injuries suffered in the gun
battle between security forces and terrorists who were holed up in the complex,
officials said.
The dead included three civilians, one of
whom was shot dead in a bus stand and
two others who were killed in a hospital
near the police complex. Three Home
Guards in the complex were also killed.
Police officials admitted the complex

was a soft target. "We were hit by a burst

of gunfire. I was hit on the shoulder," said
a police sub-inspector in the morning as
he was taken to a hospital. "They are firing indiscriminately every five minutes."
The clearly well-planned attack took the
small town of Dinanagar by surprise.
Gurdaspur district borders Pakistan on one
side and Jammu and Kashmir on the other.
That the terror attack was multi-pronged
was evident from the recovery of five
bombs on the Amritsar-Pathankot rail
track. The discovery took place minutes
before a passenger train was to cross the
section.

12

OP-ED

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Doesn't Mr. Advani deserve better?

By Amitava Mukherjee

ery quietly, a very important thing happened in the

BJP on July 20 when L.K. Advani was not invited to
participate in the NDA meeting although he has
been its working chairman for a long time.
The cardinal mistake committed by Advani has been his
failure to go by the dictum that a person should quit when
others implore him not to quit. Instead he has willy nilly created a situation when many of his party members are wondering why he is not quitting.
At a BJP national executive meeting some time back,
Advani did not, or rather was not allowed to, speak. More
galling for the octogenarian leader was the BJP's decision
not to invite him at all to the foundation day celebration of
the party on April 3. Obviously, Advani would have done
better had he followed Atal Bihari Vajpayee's example of
voluntarily retiring from active politics at a much earlier
date.
However, as one of the founders of the BJP, Advani certainly deserves better treatment from not just his party colleagues but also the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
as he is perhaps the forerunner of much of the postulates on
which the BJP under Narendra Modi's leadership could
secure the thumping victory in the last Lok Sabha elections.
The real reason behind Advani becoming a fall guy in the
BJP is his ideological difference with the RSS, which he
first openly articulated by his praise of Mohammed Ali
Jinnah. It was certainly a calculated move to broaden the
BJP's political base. But the RSS had failed to pick up the
point and, living in the old world of its own, it immediately

set about isolating not only Advani but Jaswant Singh as

well who had also written in the same vein.
Advani's fate was further sealed when the BJP, under his
leadership, failed to capture power during the 2009 parliamentary elections. After that, and to stem the cacophony of
differences among the second-rung leadership of the BJP,
Advani had tendered his resignation as leader of opposition
in the Lok Sabha but again made the fatal mistake of withdrawing it. Had Advani stuck to his decision, his departure
would have been more graceful now.
In spite of the hard line Hindutva image which Advani has
acquired in his political career - first in the Jana Sangh and
then in the BJP - it should be admitted that he is basically a
secular man. It is true that his Rath Yatra in the 1990s and
his association with the chain of events leading to the
destruction of the Babri Masjid are two blots not only in his
political career but in his persona too. Still he has been
unable to efface them, although they gave his party rich
political dividends in elections. From two Lok Sabha seats
in 1984 the BJP became the single largest party in 1996 by
riding on the strident Hindutva hype which Advani had generated in the 1990s.
Today, with other backward class (OBC) people like
Narendra Modi as the prime minister and Shivraj Singh
Chouhan as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, the BJP's
Brahmin-Bania based former narrow social base stands
widely extended. But it would be a mistake if the party does
not acknowledge Advani's contribution to this.
(Amitava Mukherjee is a senior journalist and
commentator)

BJP veteran LK Advani was not invited to participate

in the NDA meeting although he has been its
working chairman for a long time.

Dont debate for debates sake, probe Sushma

By Sitaram Yechury

fundamental question regarding the

role of Parliament in our constitutional republic has come to the forefront in the background of the current disruptions. The issues under contention causing
these disruptions are the serious allegations
of misuse of office pertaining to the Union
minister for external affairs and the chief
minister of Rajasthan regarding the undue
favors they have shown to a fugitive from
Indian law.
It is alleged that their recommendations, as
leaders of the opposition in the then
Parliament and assembly respectively, facilitated this fugitives efforts to remain beyond
the jurisdiction of Indian law. It is alleged
that they facilitated the procuring of a legal
travel document for this fugitive from a foreign government.
The BJP, naturally, refuses to accept this
charge by saying that these actions were
prompted by feelings of humanism to help
the fugitive to attend to his ailing wife. Many
media reports have shown how this limited
objective could have been done ensuring the
return of the fugitive to be tried under Indian
law without recommending the issue of a
general travel document.
Parliamentary disruptions are also connected with the demand for action on serious
allegations against the Madhya Pradesh chief
minister in the Vyapam scam. This scam represents a deadly cocktail of crime and corruption that has claimed the lives of scores of
people, many outside the state.
Regarding the former, the BJP argues that
such recommendations do not constitute an

Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.

act of corruption. The Prevention of

Corruption Act 1988, Article 13 (1) (d) (iii)
states, while holding office as a public servant, obtains for any person any valuable
thing or pecuniary advantage without any
public interest. Surely, obtaining a travel
document from a foreign country when the
Indian passport of the fugitive is declared
invalid under law is a valuable thing.
This government charges the Opposition
with avoiding a discussion in Parliament
when they are prepared to allow one. The
Opposition correctly maintains that a parliamentary discussion cannot be a substitute for
an investigation. These are serious charges
that need to be investigated at the highest
level.
Much has appeared in the public domain

on the positions taken by the minister for

external affairs as the leader of Opposition in
the Lok Sabha and the union finance minister as the leader of the Opposition in the
Rajya Sabha when similar disruptions
rocked Parliament during the UPA governments tenure.
The eternal message is the sovereignty of
the people and its primacy in our
Constitutional system. The people exercise
this sovereignty through their elected parliamentarians who, in turn, are accountable to
the people by making the government
accountable to Parliament. The executive
and the legislature, given their responsibility
under the Constitution to manage public
affairs, are in the final analysis accountable
to the people. Accountability, in fact, differ-

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

entiates a democracy from other systems of

governance.
Parliament, thus, can only ensure executive
accountability through effective legislative
scrutiny, not through a debate but by pressurising the executive to order an investigation into the allegations. This BJP government is escaping being accountable behind
the veil of conducting a debate for debates
sake. It is this BJP government that is today,
thus, causing parliamentary disruptions.
Recollect how a modern western democracy deals with similar situations. The resignation of Peter Mandelson from the Tony Blair
government in Britain is appropriate. In early
2001, British media reported that Mandelson
had raised money for the millennium dome
from the Hinduja brothers, in return for a
favour of securing a passport for one of
them, Srichand.
The passport was delivered within six
months of applying against the average 20
months, in breach of the British Nationality
Act, 1981. There was a hue and cry in the
British Parliament. Mandelson had to resign
though Srichand Hinduja was not accused of
wrongdoings and was not a fugitive from
justice.
Also, the millennium dome was a national edifice. Further, there was no suggestion
of any cosy relationship between the two.
It was the sheer impropriety of the act of recommendation for which Mandelson had to
resign. Wither PM Modis good governance promises?
(Sitaram Yechury is general secretary of
the CPI(M) and a Rajya Sabha MP. The
views expressed are personal)

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

August 1-7, 2015

13

People's President
Kalam laid to rest
Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu): Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was laid to rest here
with full military honors in the presence of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several
other leaders.
The People's President's body, draped in the
Indian tricolor was brought to the burial site
at Pei Karumbu in a ower-bedecked gun carriage, escorted by columns of the three armed
services.
A gun salute was accorded to the former
supreme commander of the armed forces and
a military band played the haunting Last Post.
Modi, who arrived here on Thursday morn-

ing, paid his last respects to the country's

youth icon and most popular president by laying a wreath.
Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah, union
Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar
Parrikar and Pon Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu
ministers like O.Panneerselvam, Natham R.
Viswanathan and others also paid their last
respects to Kalam.
Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam, Kerala
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were also
present, as was Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and
other party leaders also paid their last respects
to Kalam - also known as India's Missile
Man. Earlier the mortal remains of Kalam
were taken to the family mosque for prayers.
His family members also reached here. "All
our relatives have also arrived to attend the
last rites," A.P.J.M.K. Sheik Saleem, the former president's brother's grandson, said.
The Tamil Nadu government declared a

No president was ever loved so

much like Kalam: Pranab
New Delhi: President
Pranab Mukherjee has
said no president was
ever loved so much like
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
was and the "people's
president's" demise
overwhelmed him with
a sense of tremendous
loss.
"No president was
ever loved so much...
Watching Kalam enjoy
the company of chil- President Pranab Mukherjee pays tribute to former president
dren and students, it
APJ Abdul Kalam at 10 Rajaji Marg in New Delhi.
seemed as if he was
(Jawaharlal) Nehru in another form," analysed it from the political angle," the
president said.
Mukherjee told media persons.
"I was defense minister in the UPA-I govThe president said he was shocked when
he heard the unexpected news of Kalam's ernment when he was the president and
demise. "A sense of tremendous loss over- supreme commander of the armed forces.
He asked me to support the Brahmos miswhelmed me," he said.
"Kalam was always jovial but carried his sile project. His direct encouragement
years lightly. His mind was ever agile. He resulted in the Brahmos being used by all
was humble but had a mighty mind. He was the three services," Mukherjee said.
"Kalam's contributions enhanced our
the people's president during his tenure as
president and will continue to remain so in defence capabilities," Mukherjee added.
"Kalam used to often write poetry.
the hearts of people after his demise,"
Sometimes, while paying respects to
Mukherjee said.
"I am deeply saddened by Kalam's unex- departed soldiers at 'Amar Jawan Jyoti', he
pected demise. He would have completed would compose a poem and quietly pass it
84 years in October. There is only a four on to me. I received two/three poems like
year difference between us. He was born in this," the president recalled.
Their friendship developed because they
October 1931 and I was born in December
had a common passion-books, he said.
1935," Mukherjee said.
"He loved books and lived amongst them.
"I, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and a
couple of others were present. The techni- Moreover, he was a prolic writer. This
cal aspects of the tests at Pokhran II was passion brought us together. When we met
explained by Kalam through an impressive and the few times he came to see me, we
presentation. (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji, would discuss books. What each one was
ministers and other political leaders reading or what he was writing...."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to the former President

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam at the burial site in Rameswaram.
public holiday under the Negotiable
Instruments Act. Banks, insurance companies, schools and colleges are closed through-

out the state. The government has also

ordered closure of liquor shops and bars
throughout the state.

Kalam endorsed nuclear deal:

Manmohan Singh
New Delhi: A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam backed the nuclear
deal India inked with the
United States in 2005 and
it is a "total canard" that
the then president (Kalam)
was reluctant to appoint
Sonia Gandhi as the prime
minister, former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh
has said. "This is a canard
being spread (about
Kalam's reluctance); there
is no truth in that," said
Manmohan Singh in his People pay tribute to former president APJ Abdul Kalam in
rst interview since demitRameswaram on July 29.
ting ofce to Karan Thapar
"I took caution of keeping the president
on India Today TV. "Kalam never questioned who will spearhead...that was a privi- fully in the picture (on the nuclear deal)," the
lege given under the constitution to the former prime minister said, adding he
party. Anything that is said on that area briefed Kalam on all developments with
would not be true," the former prime minis- regard to the deal.
"I was very happy when he endorsed what
ter said.
Manmohan Singh conrmed that Abdul we were doing," he said.
"When I faced a vote of condence, he
Kalam gave him great support during the
run-up to the Indo-US nuclear deal of 2005 was not the president but he still played an
and said he spoke to Samajwadi Party lead- important role..." the senior Congress leader
ers Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh to per- said.
He said the situation was difcult and he
suade them to support the deal rather than
discussed it with Samajwadi Party leaders
vote against it.
The former prime minister said he suggest- Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh.
"I was discussing these matters with Amar
ed to Mulayam Singh to go meet Kalam
who, Manmohan Singh added, "totally Singh ji, and Mulayam Singh ji...with great
difculty we managed to persuade them to
endorsed" the nuclear deal.
About his relations with Kalam, who relook at their stand. It occurred to me that
passed away on Monday, Manmohan Singh Mulayam Singh had great regard for
said: "I served him as the prime minister for Kalam..."
Singh said he then urged the SP leaders to
more than three years; he was the one who
administered oath of secrecy to me. My rela- meet Kalam.
"They went to see Abdul Kalam...he told
tionship with him was that of great friendship; he recognised the problems I had in them this deal is in national interest...and we
won the vote of condence."
managing a difcult coalition government."

14

August 1-7, 2015

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Bharats true ratna: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

uch before he became "a people's

President" in 2002, Avul Pakir
Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was
already a national icon as the "Missile Man of
India", an inspiration to children and scientists
around the country. Known more for his inspirational leadership with the scientists who
worked under him being ercely loyal, Kalam
was the brainchild behind the launch of the
country's indigenous integrated guided missile
development program (IGMDP) in 1983.
Incidentally, the defence minister at that time
was R Venkataraman, who too went on to
become the country's President.
Though dogged by time and cost overruns,
the IGMDP laid the foundations from which
India gate-crashed into the super-exclusive club
of nations that can now boast of being capable
of developing inter-continental ballistic missile
(ICBM), the over 5,000-km Agni-V missile,
which is capable of hitting even the northernmost part of China.
Kalam, as DRDO chief, and DAE director R
Chidambaram played a pivotal role in covertly
planning and organizing Pokhran-II nuclear
tests in the Thar Desert in 1998, successfully
managing to fool US satellites and other intelligence-gathering mechanisms. "In him (Kalam),
we found a perfect harmony between science
and spirituality," former Deputy Prime Minister
L K Advani.
Born on October 15, 1931, at Rameswaram
in Tamil Nadu, Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen
Abdul Kalam, specialized in aeronautical engi-

neering from Madras Institute of Technology.

Dr Kalam made signicant contribution as
project director to develop India's rst indigenous satellite launch vehicle (SLV-III) which
successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the
near earth orbit in 1980 & made India an exclusive member of Space Club.
As chairman of Technology Information,
Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
and as an eminent scientist, he led the country
with the help of 500 experts to arrive at
Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for
transforming India from the present developing
status to a developed nation.
Dr Kalam has served as the principal scientific advisor to the government of India, in the
rank of Cabinet minister, from November 1999
to November 2001 and was responsible for
evolving policies, strategies and missions for
many development applications. Dr Kalam was
also the chairman, ex-ofcio, of the scientic
advisory committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C)
and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020. Dr
Kalam took up academic pursuit as professor,
technology & societal transformation at Anna
University, Chennai from November 2001 and
was involved in teaching and research tasks.
Above all he took up a mission to ignite the
young minds for national development by
meeting high school students across the country. In his literary pursuit four of Dr Kalam's
books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision
for the New Millennium", "My journey" and
"Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within
India" have become household names in India
and among the Indian nationals abroad. These
books have been translated in many Indian languages.
Dr Kalam was one of the most distinguished
scientists of India with the unique honor of
receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He was awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981)
and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest
civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He was a
recipient of several other awards and fellow of
many professional institutions.
Dr Kalam became the 11th President of India
on July 25, 2002.

School students stand in missile formation to pay tribute to former president

APJ Abdul Kalam in Agartala, on July 28, 2015

Timeline

1931: Born Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam on October 15, in Rameswaram,
Tamil Nadu.
1954: Graduates in Physics from Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, in 1954.
1960: Gains degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology.
1969: Transferred to ISRO from the DRDO.
1980: India enters the space club by putting the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit
with the rst indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), developed under the stewardship of Dr. Kalam.
1980s-1990s: As the chief of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program, he
was responsible for the development and operationalization of AGNI and PRITHVI
Missiles.
1992-1999: works as Chief Scientic Advisor to the PM and Secretary of the DRDO.
1998: India conducts the Pokhran II nuclear tests in May with Dr. Kalam as the chief
project coordinator.
1999-2001: Principal Scientic Advisor to the Government of India.
2002-2007: President of India

Our Cartoonist Mahendra Shahs tribute to Dr. Kalam

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

15

The man who touched millions of lives

By Rajdeep Pathak
remember my rst stint as a book reviewer
for a journal was for the book "Ignited
Minds: Unleashing the Power Within
India". I was handed over that book by a common friend as a farewell gift. I had then never
realized that "Ignited Minds", the book by
former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam would
stay with me for long, before I again touched
upon his other books at a later stage. I must
admit that reviewing "Ignited Minds" was-

n't easy. I couldn't nish the book at one go.

Each chapter was so alluring, that I had to turn
the pages back again and again. The words
were simple, yet captivating. Each sentence
was thought provoking and compelled the
readers - at least me - to think about the next
step of my life. I too dreamt. That was the
year 2002, when Dr. Kalam assumed the
ofce of the president of India.
It was a pleasant moment when after almost
a gap of four years in 2006, that I happened to
meet the man, whose book had left me
awestruck. In the years that passed since 2002,
I had grown closer to Dr. Kalam because he
was more often in the news - he denitely
never wanted to be talked about - for many
silly issues concerning him such as who
would stitch the bandhgala for him or who
would be his hair dresser, or would he prefer
keeping his locks in the manner he always did
or style it otherwise, and so on.
There was also another reason for me - and
people of my age or younger to us - to get
closer to this president like never before. Here
was Dr. Kalam initiating his conversations
with youth on models of development, science

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam

delivering a lecture on `Liveable Planet`
at Indian Institute of ManagementShillong on July 27, where he died.
and technology for rural India, empowerment
of the girl child and so on. Here was again the
same man interacting with children in rural
villages, schools in far and wide in different
parts of the country in a manner that came as a
breath of fresh air to many of us who directly
or indirectly became part of such creatively
energetic conversations and interactions,
where a man in his mid seventies would

become a child with children and make them

his own. He became the 'Children's President'
or as someone in one of the television channels while paying his tributes to Dr. Kalam - it
was perhaps General Shankar Roychoudhury called him the 'eccentric grandfather'.
His building of a personal camaraderie with
men on duty at the border areas or at the base
camps won the heart of a nation of over a billion people. He became the 'People's
President'. Strangely in the afternoon of July
27th, some of us were discussing about how a
patriot and visionary like Dr. Kalam would be
an able statesman and a true visionary to take
India to the new millennium. But the evening
brought in a spell of darkness after hearing the
sudden demise of the 83-year-old dynamic
stalwart.There was though one satisfaction.
He was at the best place where he always
desired and deserved to be - talking to the
youth at an academic circle - the Indian
Institute of Management in the northeastern
state of Shillong, which also happens to be my
hometown.
(Rajdeep Pathak is program executive at
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti)

The girl behind 'Who is Kalam'?

By Preetha Nair
New Delhi: The book title "Who is Kalam?"
may be intriguing but has a heart-warming
story behind it -- of a teenaged schoolgirl who
asked the tough question to the former president and was in turn inspired by him and went
on to become a scientist.
It was in 2001, that Sudarkodi Sukumar, a
14-year-old from Tamil Nadu's Vellore district, sent a question to Kalam in a Tamil
monthly for children, with it never occurring
to her that she was going to inspire him to
name a book after her question. Her question

was: "Please rank yourself among the following: Scientist, Tamilian, Human Being and
Indian." Kalam's answer was: "One can nd
all three in a human being".
In 2003, Sukumar got an invitation to New
Delhi for the release of the book "Who is
Kalam? A Good Human Being", which was
dedicated to her. The book by Kalam's aide R.
Ramanathan, about the personal side of the
scientist-turned-Indian president, was released
by the then prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee. The next day, Sukumar, along with
her family, called on Kalam in the Rashtrapati
Bhavan and the meeting changed the course of

her life. "I realised that one has to pursue the

passion of one's life. I used to read all his writings when I was in school," she recalled.
The title "Who is Kalam?" was suggested by
the former president himself, according to
K.P.R. Nair, managing director of Konark
Publishers, who published the book. "Though
I suggested some titles for the book, Dr Kalam
himself came up with 'Who is Kalam'. The
question raised by the girl was etched in his
memory," Nair told IANS. The book was published in more than 12 languages. Meanwhile,
Sukumar, after pursuing B.Tech from Anna
University in Chennai, went to Singapore for

The title "Who is Kalam?" was suggested

by the former president Dr Kalam himself.
her PhD. Now a scientist with IIT Madras, she
feels that her encounter with Dr Kalam has
made her more responsible and condent in
life. Her aim in life is to become a teacher and
help people.

First Person Account

Walks to remember: Memories of Kalam

By Radhika Bhirani
New Delhi: "What would you
want to be when you grow up," he
asked. "Sir, I just hate maths and
science", I said. Telling this to
India's missile man and a science
genius elicited a raised eyebrow, a
heartwarming smile and words of
encouragement from A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam: "Do good in whatever you
choose to do".His sudden death
plunged me in nostalgia.
Early mornings were often eventful in school days. Especially the
wait for the school bus in Asiad
Village, south Delhi's clean and
green locality where Dr.Kalam
stayed at a Defence Research and
Development
Organization
(DRDO) guest house for years
before he became the president of
India. Oblivious of the attention he
so rightfully commanded, Dr.

Schoolchildren pay tributes to Dr Kalam in New Delhi.

Kalam would step out for a morning walk every now and then. Faint
memories of him -- passing a smile
or two, waving a hello or just stopping by for a casual chat with
school students scattered all along
his walkway -- rushed to my mind

when the news of his death came

out.
He remains a happy memory
from my days as a student.
Days before he was announced
as the new president of the country
in 2002, the security cover around

his guest house was beefed up. I

remember how on our way back
every afternoon, the school bus
was always interrupted by the
security barricade near his residence, and a group of us used to
fool around by shouting "Bomb,
bomb". We stopped when the
guards retorted with angry faces.
But Dr.Kalam, on his morning
walks, sometimes, evening walks
too, would always smile. When
people describe him as the 'people's president', I'm reminded how
he was rst a successful 'people's
person'.
A personal meeting with
Dr.Kalam as his personal volunteer
during his visit to my Alma Mater,
Bluebells School International
here, for the launch of our Science
Park, gave me a chance to present
him with a bouquet of owers, a
painting, and a treasured walk and

talk with him. It was one of those

which remains etched in my mind - one which came alive when the
news channels went into the
"breaking" mode with news that
he's dead.
What would you want to be
when you grow up," he asked. "Sir,
I just hate maths and science", I
said. He could have walked away
or said nothing. But what he said
was a sign of a good teacher -- "Do
good in whatever you choose to
do."
That's one me. Tough to imagine
the number of lives he touched
with his little ways throughout his
lifetime.
Today, when I look back, I know
-- he said it because the future was
always in his vision and making it
brighter for the people, country and
the world, his mission. From all of
us, it's fare-thee-well, Sir.

16

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Kalam's vision for nation was anchored in

freedom, development and strength: Modi

rime Minister Narendra Modi paid a

glowing tribute to former president APJ
Abdul Kalam in an article shared with
Hindustan Times calling him his 'marg darshak'(guide) who epitomized the values of
self-restraint, sacrice and compassion.
Read the full text of the article below.
BHARAT has lost a Ratna, but the light
from this jewel will guide us towards APJ
Abdul Kalam's dream-destination: India as a
knowledge superpower, in the rst rank of
nations. Our scientist-President -and one who
was genuinely loved and admired across the
masses - never measured success by material
possessions. For him, the counterpoint to
poverty was the wealth of knowledge, in both
its scientic and spiritual manifestations. As a
hero of our defence programme, he shifted
horizons; and as a seer of the spirit, he sought
to liberate doctrine from the narrow connes
of partisan tension to the transcendental space
of harmony.
Every great life is a prism, and we bathe in
those rays that nd their way to us. His profound idealism was secure because it rested
on a foundation of realism. Every child of
deprivation is a realist. Poverty does not
encourage illusions. Poverty is a terrible
inheritance; a child can be defeated even

before he or she has begun to dream. But

Kalamji refused to be defeated by circumstances. As a boy, he had to support his studies
by earning money as a newspaper vendor;
today, page after page of the same newspapers
are lled with his obituary notices. He said
that he would not be presumptuous enough to
say that his life could be a role model for anybody; but if some poor child living in an
obscure and underprivileged social setting
found some solace in the way his destiny had
been shaped, it could perhaps help such children liberate themselves from the bondage of
illusory backwardness and helplessness. He is
my marg darshak, as well as that of every such
child.
His character, commitment and inspirational
vision shine through his life. He was unencumbered by ego; attery left him cold. He
was equally at ease before an audience of
suave, globe-trotting ministers and a class of
young students. The rst thing that struck one
about him was that, uniquely, he combined the
honesty of a child with the energy of a teenager and the maturity of an adult. He took little
from the world, and gave all he could to society. A man of deep faith, he epitomized the
three great virtues of our civilization: dama,
self-restraint; dana, sacrice; and daya, compassion.
But this persona was powered by the re of
endeavor. His vision for the nation was
anchored in freedom, development and
strength. Given our history, freedom had a
political context of course; but it also included
freedom of the mind and expansion of intellectual space. He wanted India to leap out of
the under-developed trough, and eliminate the
curse of poverty through inclusive economic
growth. Wisely, he suggested that politicians

When Canadian Governor

General delayed his
oath-taking for Kalam
Toronto: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was so much respected
in Canada that the current Governor-General David
Johnston delayed his oath-taking in 2010 so that he
could personally - as president of the University of
Waterloo - confer an honorary doctorate on the former Indian president.
"David Johnston was appointed the Governor
General of Canada when he was the president of the
University of Waterloo in southern Ontario. But he
delayed his oath-taking for the sake that he (as university president) could personally honor Dr Kalam,"
says Chennai-born V.I. Lakshmanan, who is an internationally renowned scientist and innovator in green
technology.
A close friend of Kalam, Toronto-based
Lakshmanan was instrumental in bringing the late
president to Canada three times after he left
Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2007.
Lakshmanan said: "The current governor general of
Canada was so impressed by the credentials and
humility of Kalam that the University of Waterloo
where he was the president at that time decided to
confer an honorary doctor of engineering degree on
Kalam. David Johnston went with me to New Delhi
to meet Kalam and came back so impressed by the
late president that his University of Waterloo decided
to honour Kalam."

spend only 30% of their time on politics, and

70% on development; a suggestion which he
often followed up by calling in MPs from a
state and discussing the socio-economic issues
of their region with them. The third pillar,
strength, was not born of aggression, but of
understanding. An insecure nation will rarely
discover the route to prosperity. Strength
commands respect. His contributions in our
nuclear and space achievements have given
India the muscle to be condent of her place
in the region and the world.
His memory is best honored by the creation
of new institutions that nurture science and
technology, and enable us to nd a benecial
equation with the awesome power of nature.
Too often, greed makes us predators of our
environment. Kalamji saw poetry in a tree,
and energy that could be harnessed in water,
wind and sun. We should learn to look at our
world through his eyes, and with the same
missionary zeal. Human beings can shape

An advocate for stronger US-India

ties, says Obama on Kalam
Washington, DC:
U.S.
President
Barack Obama condoled the death of
former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam describing
him as an advocate
for stronger USIndia relations, and
who worked to deepen the two countries
space cooperation.
A scientist and
statesman, Kalam rose from humble beginnings to become one of
Indias most accomplished leaders, earning esteem at home and
abroad, he said in a statement on
Tuesday.
Extending his deepest condolences to the people of India on
behalf of the American people,
Mr. Obama noted Kalams tenure
as Indias 11th president witnessed
unprecedented growth in U.S.-

India ties.
An advocate for stronger U.S.India relations, Kalam worked to
deepen our space cooperation,
forging links with NASA during a
1962 visit to the United States, he
said.
Suitably named as the Peoples
President, his humility and dedication to public service served as an
inspiration to millions of Indians
and admirers around the world.

their lives through will, persistence, ability

and sheer courage. But we have not been
given the right to script where we are born, or
how and when we die. However, if Kalamji
had been offered an option, this is how he
would perhaps have chosen to say goodbye:
on his feet, and in front of a classroom of his
beloved students. As a bachelor, he was childless. But that is wrong. He was a father to
every Indian child, teaching, cajoling, urging,
exciting, clearing darkness wherever he found
it with the radiance of his vision and the passion of his involvement. He saw the future,
and showed the way.
As I entered the room where his body lay in
state, I noticed the painting at the entrance that
depicted a few lines from an inspirational
book he wrote for children, Ignited Minds.
The good that he did will not be interred with
his bones, because his children will preserve
his memory through their lives and work, and
gift it to their children.

Condolences pour in from world

leaders on Kalam's death
Washington, DC: Condolences poured in from many
world leaders on the death of former president A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message condoled the passing away of Kalam who he said
will be remembered as a consistent exponent of close
friendly India-Russia ties.
"In Russia, Abdul Kalam will be remembered as a consistent exponent of closer friendly relations between our
nations who has done a lot for cementing mutually benecial Russian-Indian cooperation," he said in a message.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd. Najib Tun Razak
tweeted: "Condolences to the friends and family of India's
former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. His passing is a
loss to the scientic community."
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted: "Saddened
by the death of Dr. Kalam. He was an inspirational gure
to millions of people including me. We have a lot to learn
from his life."
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a signed
tweet said: "Saddened to learn of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's
passing. My condolences to his family and the people of
India. - LHL."
In a signed Facebook post, Loong wrote a longer condolence message: "Saddened to learn of the passing of
India's former President Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen
Abdul Kalam. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Maithripala
Sirisena tweeted: "Dr. Abdul Kalam - the man who ushered India on a new journey has just nished his own. You
will continue to inspire us for centuries."

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

August 1-7, 2015

17

Remembering Dr.Kalam:
Of lives he touched

FAMOUS QUOTES FROM THE

MISSILE MAN OF INDIA
 We are all born with a divine fire in us.
Our efforts should be to give wings to
this fire and fill the world with the
glow of its goodness.
 Those who cannot work with their
hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all
around.
 Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity,
entrepreneurial and moral leadership
among students and become their role
model.
 Look at the sky. We are not alone. The
whole universe is friendly to us and
conspires only to give the best to those
who dream and work.
 If a country is to be corruption free and
become a nation of beautiful minds, I
strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother
and the teacher.
 You have to dream before your dreams
can come true.
 Excellence is a continuous process and
not an accident.
 Life is a difficult game. You can win it
only by retaining your birthright to be
a person.
 Man needs his difficulties because they
are necessary to enjoy success.
 We will be remembered only if we
give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of
economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.
 My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the
unexplored path, courage to discover
the impossible and to conquer the
problems and succeed.
 Dream, dream, dream! Conduct these
dreams into thought, and then transform them into action.
 Each setback teaches us a new facet of
life and something about our own personalities. When we tackle obstacles,
we find hidden reserves of courage and
resilience we did not know we had.
 I have seen both sides of the coin and
have learnt lifes toughest lessons
when I have stared into the pit of
despair that failure brings with it.
These lessons are well worth recounting and remembering, as they have
helped me work my way through many
difficult situations.

APJ Abdul Kalam with Indira Gandhi

Dr Kalam with Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Satish Dhawan.

(Image courtesy: PIB India via twitter)

Former PM P V Narsimha Rao congratulating

APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr Kalam with school students

Dr Kalam enjoyed playing Veena

With revered spiritual leader Dalai Lama

Dr Kalam turns pilot, flies

the SU-30 MKI Flanker
Dr.Kalam with the Indian cricket team

18

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The slum boy to whom

Kalam gave wings

New Delhi: Harsh Mayar grew up in a Delhi

slum, dreaming of becoming an actor. And
when he nally got his place under the spotlight, Harsh also found the man who gave
wings to his dreams.
Harsh played the main role in the criticallyacclaimed movie I Am Kalam which portrayed the story of a youngster inspired by the
former president and Indias missile man APJ
Abdul Kalam, who passed away on Monday
at the age of 83. It was during a meeting with
the former president after the release of the
lm that Harsh found what he calls the true
calling of his life, the actor told HT on phone

from Mumbai where he is based now.

He told me, keep chasing your dreams,
my boy. It was then that the Kalam sir gave
me the true mission for my life, said Harsh,
17, on Tuesday.
Nobody knew me till then (when the lm
was made). I was just another boy who had a
passion for theatre, said Harsh, adding that
the lm made him what he is today.
Ever since the news broke about the demise
of Kalam, Harshs phone hasnt stopped ringing. And he has been giving interviews ceaselessly since then. Like the entire country,
Harsh said he too was in shock over the sudden demise of his role-model.
I am in a shock. I still cant believe that he
is no more But I believe he will always
remain in our hearts because there is a
Kalam in each of us.
The actor also said it was now his responsibility to carry forward Kalams legacy.
No matter how big an actor I become in
future, I will always like to be known by the
name Kalam, a name that changed many lives
and mine too, he added.

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam with I Am Kalam actor Harsh Mayar (right).

'Funny guy! Are you doing well?'

- Kalam's final words to adviser
Former president A.P.J Abdul Kalam collapsed during
a lecture at the IIM-Shillong.

Kalams passing away brings

global note for Shillong
New Delhi: What Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Nath Tagore could
not do for Shillong also known
as the Scotland of the East for
almost a century, the Missile
Man of India, A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, did to the capital of
Meghalaya with his last visit.
Although Tagore wrote his most
famous novel Shesher Kabita
Last Poem in Shillong, it hardly
brought the abode of clouds the
kind of recognition in the country
that it deserved.
Kalams demise during his visit
last one to Shillong to deliver a
lecture on the topic Creating a
more liveable planet at the Indian
Institute of Management (IIM) has
actually catapulted the hill station
to prominence and put it on the
search engine sites. Patricia
Mukhim, editor of The Shillong
Times, aptly put it in her article on
The Wire. Shillong will no longer

be mispronounced or misspelt.
Thank you, Dr A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam. May you continue to teach
us through your wonderful books
and memorable speeches. There
is a lot of ignorance about the
whole region outside northeast
India. Tagores work in Shillong is
not known to many outside the
Bengali community. Also, since
Shesher Kabita was written in a
different era, many people are not
aware of it. Kalam is the Man of
the Nation and entire Shillong is
mourning his death. A pall of
gloom has descended here,
Mukhim said. Many children and
their parents were in tears yesterday (Tuesday) after they learnt
about the sudden demise of
Kalam. It was a very emotional
moment for us. Well be holding a
condolence meeting at the State
Library auditorium in Shillong to
pay tribute to him, she said.

New Delhi: "Funny guy! Are you

doing well?" were the last words of
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to his adviser
Srijan Pal Singh, who was with him
on the stage at IIM-Shillong when
the former president collapsed and
was rushed to hospital on Monday.
Singh, in a touching tribute on
Facebook, recounted his last few
hours with the former president.
He said that as they reached the
Indian Institute of ManagementShillong, Kalam was keen not to be
late for the lecture.
"Students should never be made to
wait," he always said. Singh set up
Kalam's microphone, and took position on the computer.
"As I pinned his mike, he smiled
and said, 'Funny guy! Are you doing
well?'
"'Funny guy', when said by
Kalam, could mean a variety of
things, depending on the tone and
your own assessment. It could

mean,
you
have
done
well, you have
messed
up
something,
you should listen to him or
just that you
have
been
plain naive or
he was just
being jovial.
"Over six Srijan Pal Singh with former president Abdul Kalam.
years, I had
learnt to interpret 'Funny Guy' like we tried whatever we could. I will
the back of my palm. This time it never forget the look in his threequarter closed eyes and I held his
was the last case," said Singh.
"'Funny guy! Are you doing well?' head with one hand and tried revivhe said. I smiled back, 'Yes'. Those ing with whatever I could. His
were the last words he said. Two hands clenched, curled onto my nminutes into the speech, sitting ger. There was stillness on his face
behind him, I heard a long pause and those wise eyes were motionafter completing one sentence. I lessly radiating wisdom. He never
looked at him, he fell down. "We said a word. He did not show pain,
picked him up. As the doctor rushed, only purpose was visible."

Kalams Twitter account to remain alive

Kolkata: Although former
President A P J Abdul Kalam is no
more, but his Twitter account will
continue to be active in a new form.
A team of his close associates has
decided to run his ofcial Twitter
account which has now been
renamed as In memory of Dr
Kalam. Dedicated 2 immortal
memories of Dr Kalam. this account
wil nw reect his thoughts, his lessons & missions. Miss you sir!

(sic), Kalams close aide Srijan Pal

Singh said in a tweet. Singh would
now act as the administrator of his
Twitter account and will keep sharing inspirational quotes from an
innumerable number of speeches
made by Kalam and his books like
Wings of Fire, India 2020 and
Ignited Minds. Another book
Advantage India, co-authored by
Kalam and Singh, is due to release
later the year.

Kalams Twitter account has

now been renamed as
In memory of Dr Kalam.'

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

19

Effusive praise from the

Indian American community
he passing away of Indias former
president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on July
27 has evoked fond memories and
elicited unalloyed praise from the Indian
American community and the various
organizations.
FIA - Federation of Indian Associations in
New York stated it mourns the loss of our
beloved and eminent scientist, Dr. Abdul
Kalam, who was an irreplaceable role
model for the young and passionate of
India. His contributions to our great motherland are invaluable.
His simplicity, humility, and inspiring
personality endeared him to all and he is the
most popular president of India in recent
times. He inspired millions of children and
youth of the nation and gave motivational
speeches across the country, Overseas
Friends of BJP-U.S. president Chandra
Patel said.
The organization India House released a
statement stating Kalam was (the) peoples

Inspirational voice
for India
ndia has indeed lost one of the iconic
leaders of all time and the passing
away of former President Dr. A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam has left a tremendous
void. In a
sea
of
anguish,
s u ff e r i n g s
and disappointments,
he was truly
an inspirational voice
that provided positive
energy to
the common
man especially the
youth. His contribution to the scientic
advancement of India is quite unparalleled. He will be remembered forever as
a noble soul who had dedicated his life
moving India forward not only in the
eld of science and technology but also
as someone who lived a life as an example to everyone around him. As
Chairman of the reception committee
that hosted him in New York, I had the
fortune to interact with him at a personal
level and I will cherish those memories
for ever.
George Abraham
Chairman, Indian National
Overseas Congress, USA

president during his lifetime and shall

remain so even after his passing away. He
was a source of inspiration for the whole
country, particularly the youth. It also held
a Shraddanjali Sabha (prayer meeting) at
India House in Houston, July 29.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation remembered Kalams visit in June 2003 to
Bengaluru, where he helped serve the midday meal to beneciaries and enjoyed a
meal with the students, according to a statement. With his guidance, the organization
launched its Vidya Akshaya Patra Program,
an initiative focused on promoting education in government schools across India.
Dr. Kalam had a special relationship
with the Telugu land, spending a major portion of his life here, said the Telugu
Association of North America in a statement. TANA was a supporter of Kalams
Lead India 2020 movement.

US media comments
Describing him as one of the most exuberant boosters of Indias nuclear capabilities, the US media highlighted the contribution of Kalam to the countrys atomic and
space program.
For him, it was a point of pride that India
had developed its bomb without much help
from foreign powers. And he described
himself as thoroughly Indian, wrote the

He gave Wings of
Fire to me too
his is my belief: that through difculties and problems God gives us the
opportunity to grow. So when your
hopes and dreams and goals are dashed,
search among the
wreckage, you may
nd a golden opportunity hidden in the
ruins'. APJ
There is only one
name with 3 initials
that I have made an
effort to memorize
APJ for Avul
Pakir Jainulabdeen
- in the last 20 years of my conscious memory. His was the name that I read on a borrowed book as a 2nd year medical student. A
book that changed my life!
Nine years later, in a land continents away I
had the honor of meeting the man who wrote
those words that spoke to me. The words that
embodied spirituality as much as science in
them something I could understand and
relate to.
I was seeking the answers to the quintessential existential questions of Who we are?,
What is our purpose here?, What happens
to us after we die?, What matters in life?.
His book didnt answer any one those questions directly, but bypassed them to make me
realize one true reality. Hard work paves the
way for right knowledge and with right
knowledge comes right wisdom. Once you
get the wisdom, everything else becomes
immaterial, all questions are answered and

The Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, North America held a candlelight
vigil to honor the memory of former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at
its headquarters in Secaucus, NJ, July 27.
New York Times. Kalam has been credited
with helping develop his countrys rst
space satellites. In the 1980s, he helped
design the nuclear-capable Prithvi and
Agni ballistic missiles, The Washington
Post stated.
He played a crucial role when India tested its nuclear weapons in 1998. The test
resulted in sanctions against the country, but

helped elevate Mr. Kalam to the status of

folk hero in his country, the Post stated in
its obituary. The Wall Street Journal reported that the missile man, who was born into
a poor Muslim family in Tamil Nadu, was at
the forefront of the countrys efforts to
develop a space program and a strong advocate for Indias self-reliance in defense
technologies.

every soul seeking for its purpose realizes it.

Going to medical school in America, I wasnt sure how to handle competition, internal
politics and system based pride that was
inicted upon me. My teachers and parents
pushed me for excellence and as a byproduct
came success. In time, success became
essential as it started dening me. And I lost
sight of what was important the bigger picture. Reading Dr Kalams Wings of Fire
brought that perspective. This book is an
account of his humble beginnings and his
encounters with failure that only pushed him
higher. I felt the pain, I felt his exhilaration
and I was shown how to be relentless. In the
truest and simplest form he showed me the
gist of Gita:

Rich legacy for

India and the world

Dont let the fruit be the driver for your

actions. Let your actions ow, ow like a
river, and gems will ow along!!! Dr Kalam
taught by example, his was the religion of
humanity and his actions spoke for himself.
He brought the India as we know of today
immense joy of advancing light years ahead
of its neighbors and peers to a point that we
are exporters of rockets and rocket based
technology to the rest of the world. He made
us self-sufcient. And all he wanted to do as a
child was to y and ew he did and took
along the entire country with him on his
wings, to the horizon, towards the future.
Salute to the 11th president of India and my
true hero. I devote my gold medals to you,
APJ, the ones I was awarded for excellence in
medicine after reading your book.
-Dr Akshat Jain
Hematologist oncologist at Hofstra
NorthShore LIJ School of Medicine, NY.

.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th

President of India, a pioneer of
India's space and missile initiatives -- was heavily decorated and
awarded -- has left a rich legacy to the
people of
India and an
even richer
legacy to the
w o r l d .
President
Kalam was a
man for all
seasons and
a lover of all
knowledge.
He was a
Trekkie infact by seeking to do in
real life what Captain Kirk did in
Hollywood's Star Trek. His love of
nation and peaceful celebratory co-existence of multiple faiths are an enduring
lesson of humility while the world today
stumbles towards a religion-based conagration. From the individual-extraordinary to the majestic-individual
President Kalam served the public good
and showed the hubris-laden world
humility is better. He was awarded the
Bharat Ratna in 1997 and the Padma
Vibhushan in 1990.
Ravi Batra
Eminent attorney

20

August 1-7, 2015

TRIBUTE TO DR. KALAM

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Enlightening meeting
with Dr Kalam

October 11, 2005, Rashtrapati Bhavan

y bus we went to Rashtrapati Bhavan
in New Delhi. After the security check
we were taken to an exhibition that
showed President APJ Abdul Kalams wish to
promote achievements of youths. He generally doesnt accept or encourage gifts from anyone, except children, students, and guests of
the Government of India. His love, admiration, and hope for India is reected in his faith
in youngsters. This special wing consists of
hundreds and hundreds of innovative paintings, write-ups, and cute items from students
and children.
The much awaited moment came when we
were escorted to a Presidential Meeting
Room. With invited guests (from four continents, 16 countries and almost every religions
representative) and local Brahma Kumaris,
our group was 50 strong. The President met
practically each one individually to greet and
shake hands. He opened the discussion with
brief remarks about problems faced by us in
this world the need for peace, etc., and
requested audience opinions and thoughts,

Dr Kalam recounts his journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan

On August 15, 2010, Dr. Abdul Kalam appeared as a guest on the Independence Day Special hosted by Riti Sunshine Bhalla, then a high school teenager of Long Island. Excerpts from the interview:

Riti Bhalla: Did you ever think that you could someday
become the President of India?
Dr Kalam: My younger age dream was to y, as inspired
by my primary school teacher, Subramaniam Iyer Sir. One
day, he taught us how a bird ies. The way he taught us how
a bird ies led me to like something to do with ight. Of
course, he injected in me an ambition that I must y in life. Dr. Kalam appeared on Riti
After my aeronautical degree, it was a disappointment that I Bhallas Independence Day
was not selected for Air Force. But then, I was fortunate Special from his residence at
that space program got started by the visionary Dr. Vikram 10 Raja Ji Marg in New Delhi.
Sarabhai then, and I was entrusted with the project for the
design and development of the rst satellite launch vehicle for the country. That led me to my
initiation into integrated missile development program. Both these programs gave me insight
on putting technology, people under organization together for realization of complex missions.
I was also getting exposed to some societal needs, particularly through integration of medical
and engineering disciplines. Then came the exciting experience of evolving India Mission 2020
with the help of great team. That led me to a life of lifetime passion of interacting with the
youth. I took up a teaching assignment at Anna University on Technology for Societal
Transformations. At that time, the nation offered me the opportunity of serving as the President
of India. I saw in this call a duty, call of duty, for me to spread the message of vision 2020 for
an economically developed nation.
Riti Bhalla: What advice would you give to NRIs in relation to their country of birth and
their country of adoption?
Dr Kalam: My advice to NRIs is that they should all contribute their best for the welfare of
that country where they are living. Regarding their nation of origin, NRIs can share their
knowledge and experience of success in life. Wherever you are you can contribute to peace and
prosperity of humanity as a whole, which will lead to global happiness.
I used to hear a hymn in my country,
Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character,
Where there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home,
Where there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation,
Where there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.

By Arvind Vora & Erik Larson

particularly to eliminate violence and promote

peace. I (Arvind Vora) raised my hand rst. I
pointed out that in Jainism, Ahimsa is the
highest religion. If everyone practices nonviolence in its multiple forms (thoughts,
actions, deeds) we will have very few problems. President Kalam commented that all
religions talk about peace and non-violence.
After almost more than half an hour of comments by several participants, he requested Dr.
L.M. Singhvi (who was invited as Guest
Speaker in the morning session). Dr Singhvi
briey and eloquently summarized the need
for a dialogue among people of different
faiths.
The President articulated the challenge of
India by stating that more than 300 million
people in India are below the age of 20 and
desperately in need of proper training/thinking
through education. Coming back to his own
question of what can be done to promote
peace and non-violence, he narrated a true
story of cooperation between science and spirituality.
The President said his boss, mentor, and
brilliant scientist, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was on
a mission to acquire 300 acres of land for scientic research. Dr. Sarabhai had visualized
the need for cosmic waves/rays research and
pinpointed land in Thumba, near Trivandrum
in Kerala. He met many local ofcials, etc,
but failed in his quest to acquire land that
would be extremely helpful for the scientic
progress of India. He was frustrated but never
lost his smile. Then, it was suggested to him
to see the local priest. As asked by the priest,
he went to attend the Sunday mass, where the
priest explained to his congregants about the
presence of the scientist, his plans, and his

For great men, religion is a way of making friends;

small people make religion a fighting tool.
Dr. Kalam

Arvind Vora (on the mike) making a point at a dialogue of religious dignitaries
with President Kalam in 2005. There were 26 invitees from 13 countries
covering each continent.
need for their houses, their school, their
church, and almost 300 acres of land so that
India could progress. The priest relayed the
promise of the young scientist that their houses, school and church will be rebuilt within
18-24 months. The story ended with a message that both the priest and the scientist,
despite differences and difculties, were talking and smiling.
A fusion of spirituality and science made it
possible for the establishment of Thumba
Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, the rst
of its kind in India, that enabled India to send
satellites into space for weather, communications, and geological/mining, etc, purposes.
The President thanked Dr. Sarabhais presentations and the priests cooperation for contributing to our scientic progress.
Dr. Kalam knew the value of science and

spirituality. There is a ne invisible line

between being a physicist and priest. To make
India great he tried his best to bring religions
as a tool for progress. His humility is beyond
comprehension as evident in his desire to
accommodate Jain priestly scholars, who do
not use mechanized forms of transportation.
* As a president he insisted to seek blessing
of Acharya Mahapragya, who was in New
Delhi area, four days after our dialogue since
it would be too much for a Jain monk to walk
to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
* He held all religious leaders conference in
Surat to accommodate Acharya Mahapragya
instead of at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Arvind Vora is Chairman of Long Island
Multi Faith Forum, and Eric Larson is
Director-Coordinator at Global Harmony
House/ Brahma Kumaris.

Lead India 2020 USA works on Kalams vision

Edison, NJ: The sudden
demise of the former President
of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
is a major loss to India,
Harikishan Eppanapally,
Chairman of the board for
Lead India 2020 Foundation
(USA) said here Monday.
Dr. Kalam was a rocket scientist who served as President
The Indian community felicitated Dr Kalam at a
of India and created a roadmap
reception in New York on March 25, 2008.
for Indias development called
Vision 2020. He worked relentlessly with a attend and share their experiences and work
focus to Provide Urban Amenities in Rural towards realizing his dreams, said
Areas (PURA) to develop the nation holisti- Eppanapally.
cally and reduce the migration of rural population to urban areas. He selessly worked
for the development of the country by inspiring millions of children and youth by travelling extensively even after his tenure as president of India ended.
Dr. Kalam was the Chief Mentor for the
Lead India 2020 Movement with a focus on
transforming the youth of India into responsible citizens and engage them in development
of the nation. Lead Indias US chapter team
will continue its efforts to make his dreams
into a reality, Eppanapally said, who worked
very closely with Dr. Kalam.
Lead India 2020 (USA) will hold a
Lead India 2020 (USA) will hold a prayer
Shraddhanjali
meeting on Aug 02 in
meeting for Dr. Kalam at TV Asia Studios in
Edison, NJ.
Edison, NJ, on Aug 2. All are welcome to

DIASPORA

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

21

Four Indian-origin kids enter Return Kohinoor to India, UK MP Keith Vaz says
Australian spelling bee final
Sydney: Four Indian-origin children, including a pair of twins,
are among 50 kids who have
reached the finals of the Great
Australian Spelling Bee contest,
media reported on Monday.
Scheduled to be aired on
Channel 10 from August 3, the
Great Australian Spelling Bee
contest chose the finalists from
over 3,000 children across
Australia.
"These kids are the brightest in
their schools, classes and
States," The West Australian
quoted show host Grant Denyer
as saying.
Anirudh Kathirvel, twins
Harpita and Harpith and Tej - all
passed the three stages to reach
the finals.
In the first stage, the participants appeared for three online
tests -- spelling, grammar and
comprehension. The second
stage included a Skype interview
and spelling test. In the third

stage, the students were tested on

the bases of a live audition and
spelling test.
The students said they did not
take any special training for the
competition. Harpita's favorite
word to spell was Cafune, a
word of Brazilian Portuguese
origin which means act of running fingers through a loved
one's hair.
Harpith's favorite word was
'Floccinaucinihilipilification';
one of the longest words in the
English language it means the
action or habit of estimating
something as worthless.
The Great Australian Spelling
Bee witnesses children aged
from eight to 13 compete in a
series of word-related games and
challenges. To advance, each
speller must display a combination of speed, skill and smartness
to deconstruct words they may
never have heard before, let
alone spelt.

London: Indian-origin British MP Keith Vaz on

Tuesday called for the world-famous Kohinoor diamond to be returned to India during Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's UK visit in November.
Vaz's comments came in response to Congress MP
Shashi Tharoor's recent stirring speech at the Oxford
Union calling for Britain to pay reparations to India
for 200 years of its brutal colonial rule.
"I welcome Dr Tharoor's speech and the endorsement of its message by Prime Minister Modi. I share
their views. These are genuine grievances which must
be addressed. Pursuing monetary reparations is complex, time consuming and potentially fruitless, but
there is no excuse for not returning precious items
such as the Kohinoor diamond, a campaign I have
backed for many years," said Vaz, the longest serving
British MP of Asian descent.
Modi is due to arrive in the UK in November, and
Prime Minister David Cameron has gone out of his
way to maintain a strong bilateral relationship. "What
a wonderful moment it would be, if and when Prime
Minister Modi finishes his visit, which is much overdue, he returns to India with the promise of the diamond's return," Vaz said.
The Kohinoor was mined in medieval times in the
Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district. At
one time it was considered the largest diamond in the
world. The diamond was originally owned by the
Kakatiya Dynasty, which had installed it in a temple of
a Hindu goddess as her eye. It passed through the

MP Keith Vaz, Kohinoor (inset) was at one time

considered largest diamond.

hands of various invaders and was finally appropriated

by the British during the Raj.
Today the diamond is a part of the Crown of Queen
Elizabeth II.
However, till now Britain has refused demands to
return the diamond to its country of origin.

Indian-origin man writes British PM's speech Former PIO minister, MP, musician
London: A writer of Indian-origin
wrote the speech on tackling
Islamic extremism and "the failures
of integration" that British Prime
Minister David Cameron delivered
recently.
Ameet Gill, 32, has now become
one of Cameron's most trusted advisors since joining his team nine
years ago, the Daily Mail reported
on Tuesday.
His induction gave him daily
access to the prime minister, making him the most influential figure
from an ethnic minority background
in British politics.
Gill admits struggling with his
own ethnic identity in the past and
recalls the hardships he faced while
growing up with dual identities as a
second-generation migrant Briton.
"Sometimes you feel British,
sometimes you feel Indian, sometimes you feel nothing, and if there
was an ideology such as Islamic
State around for others like me
when I was a teenager, I have no
doubt that some of my friends
might have been attracted to it,"
Gill was quoted as saying.
Cameron's speech last week

inducted in T&T Hall of Pioneers

Ameet Gill seen here with PM David Cameron

spoke about how terrorists could

offer "a sense of belonging" that
some young people lack at home,
leaving them susceptible to violence. Having seen the struggles of
his own family, Gill was also
behind Cameron's speech last
month attacking the ridiculous
merry-go-round of taxing low-earners, then giving them money back
in benefits. Gill's parents arrived in
Britain as impoverished teenage

migrants from rural India. He grew

up in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Gill studied history on a scholarship at Oxford University and
worked as a researcher for television. His parents wanted him to be a
doctor or engineer but Gill started
out as a Labor party supporter.
Although now on the Liberal
wing of Britain's Tory Party, he was
among the first in Cameron's circle
to flag up the issue of immigration.

Port-of-Spain: Eleven persons of

Indian origin (PIOs), including a
former minister, the youngest MP in
the Commonwealth and a musician,
have been inducted in the Hall of
Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago's
National Council of Indian
Culture(NCIC) here to serve as an
inspiration to future generations.
These 11 join 80 others who have
been inducted in the seven previous
editions of the program and are
"models whom all of us and particularly our youth should try to emulate," NCIC president Deokienanan
Sharma said at a ceremony at Divali
Nagar, Endeavour, over the weekend.
"They have come up through
humble beginnings as you would
later hear and also read in their
biographies which we have distributed. Success for them came
through hard work, honest application of effort and perseverance in
whatever they undertook to do," he
added. Those inducted are: Brinsley
Samaroo (historian/professor/former
minister),
Hansley

Hanoomansingh (broadcaster/businessman/former MP who became

the youngest parliamentarian in the
Commonwealth at the age of 24), Jit
Samaroo (steelband pannist), Helen
Bhagwansingh (philanthropist/businesswoman), Sam Boodram (classical Indian singer/musician), Henry
Tooloom Dindial (classical Indian
singer/musician), Amral Khan(cultural/business pioneer), Muhammad
Khan (scouts) Seereeram Maharaj
Pandey(businessman/entrepreneur),
Ajeet Praimsingh (cultural icon/promoter)
and
Ramdeen
Ramjattan(comedian)
The Hall of Pioneers is aimed at
providing a forum "where future
generations can come and read and
learn about their contributions to
nation building", Sharma noted.
The NCIC was formed on July 19,
1964, to place Indo-Trinidadian culture on a solid footing but faced a
number of hiccups, Sharma said,
adding that these had been gradually
ironed out over the years. Now, it
was the leading Indian cultural
body.

22

SUBCONTINENT

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mullah Omar dead, says Kabul; Taliban denies IS planning to attack India: Report
Kabul: Reclusive, one-eyed
Taliban leader Mullah Omar is
dead, an Afghan official has said.
The Taliban promptly denied it.
An Afghan official on the condition of anonymity confirmed
about Mullah Omar's death.
However, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the
report as baseless, saying Mullah
is "alive".
He died two to three years ago,
BBC quoted Afghan government
and intelligence sources as saying.
There have been several reports
of Mullah Omar's death in the
past.The US had announced a
$10 million award for the rebel's
capture or death. Mullah Omar,
who was Afghanistan's de facto

head of state when the Taliban

was in power from 1996 to 2001,
had earlier disappeared from
Pakistan's Quetta city.
Mullah Omar's Taliban regime
in Afghanistan had sheltered Al
Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in
the years prior to the September
11 attack on the US.
That prompted the US to
declare war on the Taliban and
overthrow its regime with the
help of the anti-Taliban Northern
Alliance in Afghanistan.
Taliban fighters then fled to
Pakistan in large numbers to
regroup.
Mullah Omar was earlier widely said to be living in hiding in
Quetta, a Pakistani city close to
the Afghan border.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Washington: Terror outfit IS is

preparing to attack India to provoke a confrontation with the US,
the US media reported citing an
internal recruitment document of
the group.
The document also seeks to
unite the Pakistani and Afghan
Taliban into a single army of terror, the Daily Mail reported.
The document, passed to the
American Media Institute by a
Pakistani citizen connected to the
Taliban, reveals the scale of the
ambition of IS, including targeting
India.
"Accept the fact that this
caliphate will survive and prosper
until it takes over the entire world
and beheads every last person that
rebels against Allah," the docu-

ment read.
Preparations for an attack on
India are underway, it adds, which
the IS hopes will end with a war
with the US.
"Even if the US tries to attack
with all its allies, which undoubtedly it will, the ummah (world's
global community) will be united,
resulting in the final battle," it
added.
The document outlines a plan to
target the US soldiers as they pull
out from Afghanistan, kill
American diplomats and attack
Pakistani officials.
The US intelligence officials
have reviewed the document and
say they believe it is authentic,
based on the language used and a
series of 'unique' markings.

Animal sacrifice banned in Nepal festival Pak must help India probe
New Delhi: In a move that will spare
the lives of millions of animals, animal sacrifice has been banned indefinitely at Nepal's Gadhimai festival, a
rights group said.
The Gadhimai festival in Bara district, about 160 km from Kathmandu,
witnesses the world's biggest animal
sacrifice event held every five years -for the last 300 years.

The decision announced by the

Nepal temple trust follows rigorous
negotiations and campaigning by
Animal Welfare Network Nepal and
Humane Society International of
India (HSI), the latter said in a statement.
Gauri Maulekhi of HSI said: "This
is a tremendous victory for compassion that will save the lives of count-

less animals... We commend the temple committee but acknowledge that a

huge task lies ahead of us in educating the public so that they are fully
aware."
HSI said it will spend the next
three-and-a-half years till the next
Gadhimai, educating devotees in
Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal on the temple trusts'
decision not to sacrifice
animals. "Animal sacrifice is a highly regressive
practice and no nation in
the modern world should
entertain it," Maulekhi
said in a statement.
Activists had petitioned India's Supreme
Court against the movement of animals from
India to the Gadhimai
festival.
Earlier this month, the
Supreme Court issued
directions to states to set
up mechanisms to prevent animals from being
taken to Gadhimai in
future and create awareness against animal sacrifice. Gadhimai Temple
Trust chairman Ram
Chandra Shah said: "For
generations, pilgrims
have sacrificed animals
to goddess Gadhimai, in
the hope of a better life.
"For every life taken,
our heart is heavy. The
time has come to transform an old tradition.
The time has come to
replace killing and violence with peaceful worship and celebration."
According to HSI, it is
estimated that more than
500,000 buffaloes, goats,
chicken and other animals were decapitated at
Gadhimai in 2009. In
2014 the numbers had
reduced by 70 percent.

Punjab attack: daily

Three terrorists believed to have come from Pakistan

shot dead seven people.

Islamabad: A newspaper
urged Pakistan to extend "full
cooperation" to India's probe
into Punjab's terror attack "if
facts point to a role of elements
operating from Pakistani soil".
The Dawn said in an editorial
that some of the public mistrust
in both countries could have
been curbed if only India and
Pakistan had followed up the
decision their prime ministers
took at Ufa, Russia.If the
National Security Advisers of
the two countries had met and
worked out an arrangement on
how to address real-time incidents, the fallout of Monday's
terror attack in Gurdaspur district would have been different.
Three terrorists believed to
have come from Pakistan shot
dead seven people, including a
superintendent of police, in
Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur,
a district bordering Pakistan,
before they were shot dead.
Indian police officials have
suggested that the way the
attack was carried out was
unlike the modus operandi of
now vanquished Sikh militants
and the weapons and equipment the attackers had suggest

a Pakistani link. The Dawn

said the terror attack "almost
immediately became about
Pakistan and the ever-present
tensions between the two countries".
But it noted that fortunately
"only some Indian officials
began to blame Pakistan and
the ISI" for the attack.
"Of course, if caution and
common sense do not prevail
often enough in India, neither
do they in Pakistan," it added.
The daily noted that it was
left to Pakistan's foreign office
to condemn the Gurdaspur
killings and "express sympathy
for the victims and their families". "Already, the prime ministerial meeting in Ufa, Russia,
appears to have been eclipsed,"
it said, referring to the meeting
between Nawaz Sharif and
Narendra Modi this month.
"But all is not lost yet," it
said.
"As the facts from Gurdaspur
emerge in the days ahead,
Pakistan could extend its full
cooperation in the investigation
-- if the facts do point to a role
in Gurdaspur of elements operating from Pakistani soil."

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

BUSINESS

August 1-7, 2015

23

Microsoft rolls out Windows 10 Forced labor India's largest

operating system
trafficking problem: US report
Tokyo: Microsoft Corporation
began rolling out its new operating
Windows 10 system in Japan this
week.
It has began with members here
registering with its "Insider" program among the rst to receive the
free upgrade.
Replete with a redesigned web
browser called Edge and Cortana,
a Siri-like voice activated assisThe company said that it had retained, fused and
tant, Microsoft is looking to
improved upon the best features from its more
recapture some of the market
successful Windows 7 and Windows 8 installments.
share lost to rivals Apple and
Google and lay to rest the ghosts associated tive 'live tiles', Microsoft has upped its game
by following its consumers' recommendations
with its 2012 Windows 8 system.
Microsoft, while retaining some of the fea- to bring pack the iconic 'Start' menu, after the
tures of its unpopular Windows 8, such as company dropped it from its previous
"live tiles" for touch-based computing, the upgrade.
The software update will be free for one
company decided to forego the release of a 9th
version and jumped straight to the release of year, the company has conrmed, a move
10.The company said that it had retained, market insiders believe is a bid to better comfused and improved upon the best features pete with Google and Apple, particularly in
from its more successful Windows 7 and the burgeoning phone market.
The package is available as free upgrade for
Windows 8 installments.
It also said that its latest operating system those currently using Windows 7 and
had been designed to work across different Windows 8.1. Those using older versions will
hardware platforms, including personal com- rst have to rst upgrade to 8.1 to get the free
puters, tablets and smartphones, its Xbox update. Those not eligible will be required to
games console and HoloLens -- Microsoft's pay around $119 for Windows 10 Home and
holographic headset. Along with the innova- $199 for Windows 10 Pro.

Washington: Saying that forced labor constitutes India's largest trafcking problem,
the US State Department placed it in the
second best category of Tier 2 countries for
the fth year in a row.
"India is a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafcking," it
said in the Congressionally mandated
Trafcking in Persons Report 2015.
Tier 2 ranking is given to countries that
do not fully comply with the US Trafcking
Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimum
standards, but were making signicant
efforts to bring themselves into compliance
with those standards.
Suggesting that forced labor constitutes
India's largest trafcking problem, the
report said: "Men, women, and children in
debt bondage, sometimes inherited from
previous generations, are forced to work in
industries such as brick kilns, rice mills,
agriculture, and embroidery factories."
"Ninety percent of India's trafcking
problem is internal, and those from the most
disadvantaged social strata -- lowest caste
Dalits, members of tribal communities, religious minorities, and women and girls from
excluded groups -- are most vulnerable," it
said. Trafcking within India continues to

rise due to increased mobility and growth in

industries utilizing forced labor, said the
report released by Secretary of State John
Kerry.
Highlighting the hidden risks that workers
may encounter when seeking employment,
he said: "This year's report places a special
emphasis on human trafcking in the global
marketplace."
In India, the report said thousands of
unregulated work placement agencies
reportedly lure adults and children for sex
trafcking or forced labour, including
domestic servitude, under false promises of
employment. Begging ring leaders sometimes maim children to earn more money, it
said. Children, reportedly as young as six,
are forcibly removed from their families
and used by terrorist groups such as
Maoists in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Odisha to
act as spies and couriers, plant improvised
explosive devices, and ght against the
government, the report said.
Boys from Bihar are subjected to forced
labour in embroidery factories in Nepal, it
said.
Experts estimate millions of women and
children are victims of sex trafcking in
India.

General Motors InFocus ties up with Foxconn, eyes $1 bn by 2016

to invest $1 bn
in India
New Delhi: American automobile manufacturer General
Motors (GM) said it will invest
around $1
billion in
India.
" T h e
Chevrolet
brand is
committed to India for the longterm. We will be investing
about $1 billion into India in the
next ve years," GM's chief
executive Mary Barra said.
"This investment will help
augmenting production capacity
and creating 12,000 new jobs
for GM India and its suppliers,"
she said.

New Delhi: US technology firm

InFocus' India arm has revealed
that it was tying up with Foxconn
to produce phones and TVs in
India and was also looking to
become a $1 billion company by
2016.
"We are tying up with Taiwanbased manufacturer Foxconn to
produce phones and TVs for the
Indian market. All our phones
will come from Foxconn's Andhra
plant and our TVs from its
Chennai plant," said InFocus'
India chief Sachin Thapar.
Also optimistic about the company's growth, he said: "India was
a good market to enter as people
here are always ready to test new
brands." InFocus has sold nearly
250,000 phones till date and aims
to sell around one million handsets by the end of the year.
Explaining India's importance,
Thapar said: "India is a very
important market and the only

market that the company has chosen outside US. We want to take
'the consumer is king' attitude to
become the best tech brand that
offers value products at affordable prices."
The US-based company has
also plans to invest around $30
million for marketing activities

over period of next 6-8 months.

Infocus is also expanding its after
sales service centres from 101 to
150 by the end of this year.
"Besides physical centres, we
have tied up with Snapdeal and
Amazon to help us pick product
in case there is any defect,"
Thapar said.

SpiceJet in talks with

Airbus, Boeing to
acquire over 100 planes
Mumbai : SpiceJet is is in talks
with Boeing and Airbus to
acquire 80-120 planes in eight
years. The airline has a fleet of 34
aircraft 18 Boeing 737s, two
wet-leased Airbus A319s, and 14
Bombardier Q400 turboprops. It
hopes to expand its Boeing 737
fleet to 26 by the end of the year.
It has on order 42 Boeing 737
Max jets valued at $4.4 billion in
list price that are due for delivery
from 2018.
SpiceJet needs to expand its
fleet expansion because leases of
its current Boeing 737s will
expire over the next four years.
The airline plans to induct four
or five Boeing 737 Max aircraft
each year from 2018. By 2018,
IndiGo which has 96 Airbus
A320 aircraft now, expects its
fleet to grow to 137 A320s.

24

INTERNATIONAL

August 1-7, 2015

US calls reports of Mullah

Omar's death 'credible'
Washington: President Barack
Obama's administration has called
reports about the death of Taliban
leader Mullah Omar "credible".
We do believe the reports of his
death are credible," assistant
White House spokesman Eric
Schultz said at a press conference.
He said US intelligence agencies
are currently reviewing those
reports and the circumstances in
which the Taliban leader died.
According to Schultz, the US
government is still not in a position to confirm when Mullah
Omar died.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
tweeted that his government,
based on credible information,
confirmed that Mullah Omar died
in April 2013 in Pakistan.
The
spokesman
for
Afghanistan's National Directorate
of Security, Abdul Hassib Sediqi,
told EFE that the death of the
insurgent leader occurred in a
Karachi hospital.
"Mullah Omar was sick and was
hospitalized two years and four
months ago in a hospital near the
city of Karachi. He died in the

Reports about the Mullah

Omar's death have been
multiplying over the past
few months.

hospital, but we don't know if he

died from an illness or from some
other cause," Sediqi said.
"We've had this information for
two years, but now it's more reliable," added the spokesman, who
announced that more information
about the Taliban leader's death
will be provided in the coming
days.
Reports about the Mullah
Omar's death have been multiplying over the past few months.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington DC sinking fast,

threat looms of sea-level
rise: Study
Washington: The land under the
Chesapeake Bay - the largest estuary in the
US - is sinking rapidly and Washington DC
could drop by six or more inches in the next
century, adding to the problems of sea-level
rise, researchers from University of Vermont
have warned.
The first-ever detailed estimate from geological drilling in the coastal plain of
Maryland shows that the US capital faces
half-foot drop by 2100.
This falling land will exacerbate the flooding that the nation's capital faces from rising
ocean waters due to a warming climate and
melting ice sheets - accelerating the threat to
the region's monuments, roads, wildlife
refuges and military installations.
It is a bit like sitting on one side of a
water bed filled with very thick honey," said
lead researcher Ben DeJong.
For sixty years, tide gauges have shown
that sea level in the Chesapeake is rising at
twice the global average rate and faster than
elsewhere on the East Coast.
Geologists have hypothesised for several
decades that land in this area, pushed up by
the weight of a pre-historic ice sheet to the
north, has been settling back down since the
ice melted.The new study confirms this
hypothesis and provides a firm estimate of
how quickly this drop is happening.

India population to outnumber

China's in 2022: UN
United Nations: There will
be more Indians than
Chinese by 2022 when both
Asian giants will have 1.4
billion people each and
India's population will grow
at a faster pace, according to
the UN.
A report from the UN
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs said that in
seven years, "India's population is projected to continue
growing for several decades
to 1.5 billion in 2030 and 1.7
billion in 2050, while the
population of China is
expected to remain fairly
constant until the 2030s, after
which it is expected to slightly decrease".
A similar UN report two
years ago had projected that
the population of each of the
two countries would reach
1.45 billion in 2028 when
India's would start to grow at
a faster pace than China's.
The report issued periodi-

cally to update population

project and the latest is called
"World Population Prospects:
The 2015 Revision".
It projects world's population current population of
7.349 billion to grow by over
a billion to 8.5 billion over
the next 15 years and reach
9.725 billion by 2050.
India's bigger population
initially gives it the economic advantage of a demographic dividend or benefit
from the increased productivity of the youth, but it will
also put a greater stress on
the resources of India's area
of 3.288 million sq kilometres compared to China's
9.597 million sq kilometres.
India will also have to rev
up its economy to create jobs
for millions more and, therefore, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's has set a
target of creating 100 million
jobs by 2022 and emphasizing the manufacturing.

Sports

Indian archers have

mixed day at Worlds
Copenhagen:
Indians had a
mixed day in individual recurve
events
with
women archers
Laxmirani Majhi
and
Deepika
Kumari advancing to the last 16
and only Mangal
Singh Champia
replicating the
Archer Deepika Kumari
same among the
men
at
the
World of 48 and 24, overcoming hurdles posed by French Thomas
Championships here.
Meanwhile, Rimil Buriuly Solenne and Italian Natalia
(women's), Jayanta Talukdar Valeeva, respectively. Against
and Rahul Banerjee (men's) lost Solenne, Laxmirani clinched the
their respective first round out- game 9-8 in the tie-breaker after
being locked at 5-5.
ings.
The Indian took the first two
All Indians who have reached
sets
27-24, 29-25 but then lost
the pre-quarters will next take
the field at Sundby Idrtspark. two consecutive sets 26-28, 24A total of two points are award- 30. She held her nerve to have a
tied fifth set at 25-25. Winning
ed for clinching a set.
Former World No.1 Deepika the tie-breaker helped her clinch
was awarded a bye for being in the game with the final score
the top eight and has earned a reading 6-5.
The Indian women's recurve
direct entry into the Round of 16
where she will face Yuhong Qi archery team made a strong
comeback to book a place in the
of China.
Laxmirani, on the other hand, 2016 Rio Olympics and later
had tough games in both Rounds qualified for the final.

Parents have tears of joy as Sreesanth is exonerated

Kochi/New Delhi: Parents of
former cricketer S. Sreesanth had
tears of joy in their eyes as TV
channels announced their son had
been exonerated of all charges.
There were some anxious
moments at home as Delhi's
Patiala House court was supposed
to take up the case in the morning
but the decision was put off to 2
p.m and then to 4 p.m.
Just as the news began to come
in that all charges against
Sreesanth were being dropped, his
parents stood up with folded
hands before the media to thank
everybody.
A beaming Sreesanth told
reporters soon after coming out of
the court: "I want to play cricket
again and I wish that the BCCI
gives me permission to use the
facility to get fit again. I went
through a lot of troubles. I am just
waiting
to
bowl
those
outswingers."
"Thanks to all and this is a reply
to all those who made fun of me,"
he remarked.
"Thanks to all and my wife and
our child came as an angel. I just
want to start again and am just
waiting to run on the ground," he
said.
Sreesanth's cricketing career
took a nosedive after he was
arrested on May 16, 2013 and sent

Former cricketer S. Sreesanth.

to jail till June 11 in the wake of

his alleged involvement in the

match- fixing. He was served a

life term ban from the game.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

26

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Bollywood bids 'salaam' to 'true Bharat Ratna' Kalam

F
or some, it was his child-like
demeanor which made him affable
and for some, it was his inspirational
vision and work in the field of science
which made A.P.J. Abdul Kalam a "universally-loved" Bharat Ratna, who managed to
be in politics without being a "politician".
Bollywood celebrities paid heartfelt tributes to the former president, who suddenly
passed away in Shillong. Several names
from the Hindi film industry took to Twitter
to remember their moments with Kalam,
and to bid their 'aakhri salaam'.
Here's what they tweeted:

Amitabh Bachchan: A brilliant mind, a

child like demeanour, simple caring and
loved by all .. ex POI passes away ..
PRAYERS.
Shah Rukh Khan: So sad to hear about
the Gurdaspur terror attack & now the news
of Dr. Kalam's demise. May Allah bring
peace upon all.
Salman Khan: Never had the opportunity to meet Kalam saab but always loved
and respected him. As scientist and as president, Kalam saab was a true inspiration for
many generations of Indians. When your
heart says you should meet someone, don't

delay. I always wanted to meet Kalam saab

and I should have made the effort. My loss.
I will miss Kalam saab. India will miss
him.
Priyanka Chopra: "They say Good &
Great are seldom in the same man. Dr
Kalam was the epitome of both. A big loss
for India. May his beautiful soul Rest in
Peace."

A.R. Rahman: Dr. Kalam, when you

became the president, you gave the word
'hope' a new meaning for Indians... Today,
we have lost a great leader who inspired
our young minds to feel that we live in the
greatest nation on the Earth and that each
one of them can achieve great things... May
the creator lead you to heaven.
Anupam Kher: Thank you Dr. Kalam
for your wisdom, for your inspirational life,
for your generosity, for your patriotism &
for your teachings. #MyHero
Abhishek Bachchan: RIP Dr. Kalam.
Huge loss to us all.
Manoj Bajpayee: His contribution in
putting India on top has been immense
incomparable. We bow down to true son of
this nation. RIP Kalam sahib!

APJ Abdul Kalam giving a lifetime achievement award to Dev Anand

during the 50th National film awards ceremony in New Delhi.

'Masaan': An emotionally engaging tale Bobbi Kristina Brown's autopsy

showed
'no
significant
injuries'
Review
n Indo-French co-production, "Masaan" is a
poignant tale of two
young couples, whose lives are
intertwined by fate, set against
the backdrop of a crematorium
on the ghats of the river Ganges
in Benares.
Educated and fairly independent, Devi Pathak -- although living in a small town -- is unconventional, experimental and
unapologetic about her life.
While the unexpected death of
her lover Piyush has her internalizing her traumatic loss, she
simultaneously balances to
maintain truce with her father
Vidyadhar Pathak (Sanjay
Mishra), a former Sanskrit
teacher, now selling knickknacks on the bank of the
Ganges. She is in disagreement
with her father who is forced to
shell out a hefty bribe to the
police inspector in order to keep
her "shame" under wraps.
On the other hand, Deepak's
tale is a tragic romance of a
promising engineering student
born into the family of corpseburners. He falls in love with an
upper-caste girl, Shalu Gupta,
who is willing to elope if her
family opposes their alliance.
For a maiden venture,
Ghaywan's "Masaan", is a sen-

he
postm o r t e m
examination
of late singer
Whitney Houston's
22-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina
Brown's body has
revealed no significant injuries.
In a statement, the
Fulton
County
Medical Examiner's
Office said: "The
initial portion of the
autopsy has been
completed. The
autopsy does not Late singer Whitney Houston's 22-yearshow an obvious
old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.
underlying cause of
death and no significant funeral will be the "Sweet 16
she never had".
injuries were noted.
Friends and family are
"No previously unknown
medical conditions that could reportedly planning to make
have contributed to death were the memorial service a celeidentified. Additional labora- bration of her short life and as
tory testing will be performed. she never went to the prom or
Subpoenas have been issued to had a Sweet 16 birthday party,
obtain needed documentary the funeral is expected to take
inspiration from the latter, a
information.
"We do not plan to complete source told Entertainment
reports
the death certificate or deter- Tonight,
mine a cause and manner of femalefirst.co.uk. The funeral
death until all test results are is expected to take place this
completed and all investiga- week in Atlanta before Bobbi
tive, medical, and other docu- Kristina's body is brought to
mentary records are received New Jersey to be buried with
and thoroughly reviewed." her mother Whitney, who died
Meanwhile, Bobbi Kristina's in 2012.

A scene from the film 'Masaan.'

sitively handled, honest film

with some intrepid truths about
small towns in India, giving you
an insight into the mind of the
internet-savvy youth. These are
adroitly woven into the narrative. Varun Grover's layered
script, with a seemingly complex screenplay, oscillates
between romance and melodrama. The screenplay unlocks
simply, through the realistic
lives of the characters, bringing
to the fore, societal taboos like
morality, sexual exploration and
romance in a caste-driven society. Every character is intricately

well-etched and the actors leave

an indelible mark with their
powerful but natural performances.
Richa Chadda with a stoically
glum and a stubborn demeanor
as Devi, borders on being a
rebel without a cause.
Plagued by the thought of the
ignominy he will bring to his
family, Saurabh Chadhary as
Piyush, in a small but significant role, is convincing.
Overall, "Masaan" keeps you
riveted emotionally and haunts
you long after you leave the
theater.

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

27

'Bajrangi Bhaijaan': Triumph of brotherhood across borders

S
After uproar, Salman apologizes
for Yakub-Tiger tweets
trained diplomatic ties between India and
Pakistan are back in focus only days after leaders of both the nations discussed how to defuse
tension. But the unanimous success of Eid release
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" - a Salman Khan starrer that propagates a positive message of peace, unity and brotherhood - on both sides of the border is proving there's a
strong force in the soft power of Bollywood.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in the Russian city
of Ufa earlier this month in an effort towards restoring
cordiality in ties - but the situation was back to square
one when a top Pakistani diplomat said that no dialogue process will take place with India sans the
Kashmir issue.
It only seems more symbolic then that the movie too
doesn't miss Kashmir - neither in its visual treat of the
picturesque Valley nor when a Muslim character tells a
Hindu man on a lighter vein: "Thoda (Kashmir)
hamaare paas bhi hai."
Largely, cinema can play a "big part in changing the
bitterness of our history into a sweet future for our
children", concedes Fakhr-e-Alam, chairman of
Pakistan's Central Board of Film Censors.
"Films are a great way to bring people closer or to
make people understand each other better. It's a great
tool for propaganda and awareness. If used wisely like
in 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'PK', it can connect people
the world over, create a better understanding for each
other, increase tolerance, open minds and connect
hearts," Alam, who courted "life threats" for giving a
green signal to the Salman Khan starrer and was
trolled on Twitter for being a "traitor", told IANS in an
email from Karachi.
Alam - the same person who banned Akshay
Kumar's "Baby" in his nation for being a "a poor propoganda (sic) film basically saying all muslims r terrorists & Pakistan harbors them" - however, went on
record on social media to convey "'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'
is the most positive film for Pakistan that Bollywood
has produced in a long time".
Ali Murtaza of Shiny Toy Guns, currently producing

Actor Salman Khan, filmmaker Kabir Khan

with child artist Harshaali Malhotra from
'Bajrangi Bhaijaan.'

the upcoming Pakistani romantic comedy "Dekh

Magar Pyaar Say", said that he saw the movie in a
"packed show" on the fourth day of Eid. He describes
it as a "brilliant and breathtaking" story, with special
praise for the director's attention to detail.
Having released in 47 screens with over 74 screenings on July 17 - a day before the holy Eid celebrations - "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" has enjoyed a decent run
over one week in Pakistan, despite clashing with two
awaited Pakistani movies "Bin Roye" and "Wrong
No.", as well as Hollywood movies like "Ant-Man"
and "Terminator Genisys".
The gross billing for Pakistan territory for the first
seven days turned out to be $1.2 million, said Satish
Anand, head honcho of Eveready Group of
Companies, which distributed "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" in
the nation - primarily in Karachi, Lahore and
Islamabad, which are key centres for films.

Mumbai blasts. And I have

repeatedly said the loss of
(even) one innocent life is equal
to the loss of all humanity.
"My dad ... said I should
retract my tweets as they have
the potential to create misunderstanding. I hereby retract
them.
"I would like to unconditionally apologize for any misunderstanding I may have created
unintentionally.
"I also strongly condemn
those who are claiming my
tweets are anti-religious. I have
always said I respect all faiths
and I always will," the actor
tweeted.

irector Kabir Khan got

into a heated argument
with a journalist, "offended" by certain comments of his, at
the trailer launch of Saif Ali Khan
and
Katrina
Kaif-starrer
"Phantom" here on Saturday.
Kabir expressed unhappiness
with the mindset here that terrorists are directly coming from
Pakistan and said this was not
true. "People to people friendship
can't happen as long as these
extremist elements exist in either
country.
And these elements have to be
eliminated for both the countries
to get along peacefully."
A journalist took exception to
this statement and shouted at
Kabir, who shouted back at the
journalist.
"First do not talk to me like that.
I do not appreciate it. Come over
here, let me see your face and
have a normal conversation. Do
not get into all these talks.

Actress Sunny Leone.

Actor Salman Khan

Kabir Khan, journalist fight at

'Phantom' trailer launch

Sunny
Leone
wants to
don superhero's
avatar
ctress Sunny
Leone has expressed her
desire to play a superhero
in a movie. The former IndoCanadian adult film star was
asked by one of her fans on
Twitter about her dream role.
The user asked: Sunny which
is your dream role in your career?
Playing a superwomans character #EqualPartnerships.

Mumbai: After tweets that

triggered a volley of protests,
Bollywood superstar Salman
Khan apologized for saying that
the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict
Yakub Memon should not hang
but his brother Tiger Memon
should.
While standing by what he
said overnight, Salman said his
father Salim Khan wanted him
to retract his tweets "as they
have the potential to create misunderstanding". And he
promptly deleted the earlier
tweets.
In his latest tweet, the 49year-old actor he never sought
to imply that Yakub Memon,
who is set to hang in the
Nagpur jail on July 30, was not
involved in the deadly 1993
blasts that left 257 people dead
and over 700 injured in what
was then the world's worst
urban terror attack.
"What I said is that Yakub
Memon should not hang for
him (Tiger). I have not said or
implied that Yakub Memon is
innocent. I have complete faith
in the judicial system of our
country.
"Many lives were lost in the

To which Sunny replied: "Yes i

want to play a superhero."
nny is known for her bold
image in the industry thanks to
movies like "Jism 2" and "Ragini
MMS 2". She was also seen in
Ek Paheli Leela, a thriller
drama film.
She will be soon seen in the
upcoming sex comedy film
Mastizaade.

A scene from the film 'Phantom.'

"If you're getting into screaming, shouting and frothing, then

I'm not going to get into this discussion," he said.
The director however cooled

down more and said: "If you make

this discourse a bit more civil,
then I'm ready to talk to you. Why
are you screaming like that. Calm
down, have some water."

28

HUMOR

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

Honesty, Karma and 4 dumb criminal tales

ow much are you worth in
onions? You dont know, right?
The exciting news is that supermarkets IN YOUR TOWN are getting self-service counters where you
can scan an items bar code and then
jump up and sit on the weighing
scales yourself.
After learning my value in onions
(more than US$130!), I was planning to work through a wide range
of supermarket items (just think
what it does to your self-esteem to
know your worth in chocolate or
floor mops).
But I had to leave, as my embarrassed children had run off, shouting: Hes not with us.
(Children have NO respect these
days.)
***

That was in Britain. The good

news for those of us who are intellectually curious (pains-in-the-bottom) is that do-it-yourself supermarket checkouts are coming to
Asia.
They are initially being tested at a
new zero-staff, honesty-based store

in China. That should be interesting,

as the food sector in that country is
not exactly famed for its integrity.
Comrade! We sold every item in
the supermarket on the first day! We
got a dollar fifty!
***
Yet the people selling be-yourown-cashier stations insist that
humans have a natural sense of
morality.
If thats true, its buried pretty
deep.
Just last week I overheard a pregnant colleague saying that her husband spent the whole weekend
babyproofing their house.
I was shocked and plan to tell her
that if the kid cant get in, she can
leave it with me.
***
But it did occur to me that maybe
places with low crime rates, such as
Japan, are possible evidence of natural morality.
Remember the inexperienced guy
who tried to rob the Saitama Resona
Bank in Kumagaya some years

back?
Any idea how you rob a bank?
the man, armed with a knife, politely asked counter staff.
They equally politely responded
that they did not, and suggested he
leave.
He accidentally cut himself with
his knife on the way out, but police
kindly got his wound seen to.
I love Japan.
***
Still, natural morality makes sense
to me, as I TOTALLY believe in
karma.
Ill never forget the nice dog-lover
named Chen who took her pet for a
walk near her home in Chinas
Laohekou city in Hubei.
A horrible pair of snatch thieves
on a motorbike grabbed the parcel
she was carrying and sped off with
it.
They got clean away with a large
portion of fresh, warm dog poo.
Nice one, karma.
***
Stop press: a reader just sent me a

recent news item that might be relevant.

A pair of drug-pushers in the US
sampled their own stock and
became woozy and paranoid.
They convinced themselves that
they were being pursued by law
enforcement agents (which was not
the case) and so gave themselves up
to police.
Did their subconscious sense of
morality cause them to have themselves arrested?
Or is there another word for it,
such as stupidity?
***

I was still puzzling this out when

another crime story arrived from my
eagle-eyed readers. A red-bearded
bank robber in the US city of
Pittsburgh raided four banks.
On his fifth and sixth, he wore a
disguise: a fake red beard, carefully
balanced over his real red beard.
Is this madness or genius?
***
There is a very thin line between
acts of idiocy and acts of brilliance.
Now I just need someone would
explain that to my children.
***

Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, 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.

ASTROLOGY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015

29

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

August 1-7, 2015

ARIES: This is the week to let your hair
down and enjoy. A pat on the back on the
professional front will get you in an upbeat
mood. A deal promises to bring you into big
money. Those aiming for something expensive
will be able to raise a loan with least hassle. An
outdoor party or function can get you happily
involved. Sticking to a regular routine will have
positive fallout on your health. Doing something
common with partner will enhance the feeling of
love and togetherness. Students can get recognized for their writing or debating skills.
TAURUS: You are likely to create a niche
for yourself on the professional or academic front. Interest and eagerness will be
most palpable both in your speech and actions.
Sharing your knowledge with others and intellectual discussions can keep you gainfully occupied this
week. You are level-headed where finances are
concerned. This will help you in saving for the
rainy week. A bevy of admirers from the opposite
gender will help boost your self-esteem. Your selfcontrol will ensure that you remain hale and hearty.
This is an excellent time to travel for fun or business. Dont take tension on somebodys behalf.
GEMINI: It is difficult for you to remain
down and out. Those feeling down in the
dumps for sometime are likely to bounce
back strongly to conquer the professional front.
Some excellent opportunities will come your way
at work. Wealth is likely to come to you from
more than one source. Those trying to make a venture profitable will succeed. Your standing on the
family front is likely to receive a boost. Getting rid
of moodiness and irritability will help you gain
positivity. You will be ready to make any compromise just to go steady with the one you like.

CANCER: This is the time of your life

when you feel really fit and nice. It may
be because of your resolve to remain in
top physical condition. You have the ability to not
get stagnated in whatever job you are in. Your
diverse interests are enough to make life motivating for you. A slight improvement on the financial
front is likely, but will be way below your own
expectations. Rejecting spouses suggestion out of
hand on something important may not be in your
best interest. You lead a satisfying love life, but
may still choose to rev it up with experimentation!
LEO: Money will be the highlight of the
week as you earn handsomely. Those in
the professional field will manage to win
the trust of some new clients. In-house problems
can make you take a drastic step. You can inexplicably turn cold towards your lover who has been
showering love and affection on you. If planning
to buy a vehicle choose the model correctly, lest
you regret it later. Someone can dupe you on the
property front, so remain vigilant. Self-discipline
will be the key to your good health and your firm
resolve will ensure it.
VIRGO: Someones arrival at home will
make the week interesting. Hosting a
party or a function cannot be ruled out for
some. Meeting someone from the opposite camp
with a similar mindset can signal the onset of a
budding romance. A countryside trip or a short
vacation by road will prove both exciting and
rejuvenating. Some of you are likely to discharge
multiple duties at work. Take your time in making
important decisions. Some of you will need to
redraw the domestic budget due to changed circumstances on the price front. You can get in two
minds regarding your exercise regimen.

LIBRA: In your eagerness to please a

senior, you can bite more than you can
chew and suffer the consequences. Bad
mood of a family member can spoil the domestic
environment. Moneywise you remain strong, but
it will be prudent on your part not to spend on
inessential things. Some of you can focus on your
appearance and may even go in for an image
makeover. A good time is foreseen on the romantic front as you are likely to share quality time
with lover. Going out and meeting people is on
the cards for some.
SCORPIO: If you have any apprehensions about something not turning right on
the professional front, you can lay them to
rest. You will simply be brilliant in whatever you
undertake! If fame comes to you can wealth be far
behind? Expect a windfall soon! You will do
much to bring peace and harmony at home. There
is not much point in keeping a close watch on a
family youngster. It is best to let him or her be.
Overall prosperity is likely to brighten up your
love life. Finding a soul mate cannot be ruled out
for some.
SAGITTARIUS: You will be able to win
over someone who has been cold towards
you.
Happiness in the domestic sphere will only come
with a changed mind set. You may find it difficult
to call a spade a spade, even at the cost of the
truth. But, doing so can be your key to getting
respect and adulation. An old flame can once
again pull at your heart strings. Your intrinsic
desire to become the centre of attraction is likely
to be fulfilled in a family get-together. Praise is in
store for some at work for their recent
achievements.

CAPRICORN: Things are going fine

and to your liking on both the personal
and professional fronts. This is the time to
ensure that they remain so. You will have to give
breathing space to someone who has become your
favourite punching bag! Saving money can be on
the top of your agenda, but doing so should not
rub others the wrong way. You may provide emotional support to someone close. A result of something important can take its own sweet time to be
announced. You are beginning to take charge of
your love life, so expect good times ahead!
AQUARIUS: Whatever is happening is
happening for your own good. If you are
feeling a bit frustrated with the pace of
things, it is best to match the speed, rather than
get agitated. Health-wise things look up, especially for those who have been ailing for long. At
work, you will be able to deliver and even be
ready to take on some more. Your loving and caring nature will keep the spouse and family in a
happy state of mind. Good financial prospects are
in the pipeline for some. Some of you can pursue
a sporting activity or a hobby.
PISCES: Things begin to happen to your
liking on both the personal and professional fronts.
A new addition in the form of an asset is likely to
be acquired. Desire to prove a point to someone
may become all consuming for some. Keeping to
yourself and not interfering in the affairs of others
will maintain domestic calm. Your love life is
poised to take a turn for the better. Professional
front will remain busy, but tension free. It is best
not to take risks of any kind at work. Financially,
it will be a satisfying week. Health poses no
problems.

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

1st August, 2015
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: Due to the positive effects of your ruling
planet Sun, you will have the characteristics of a good human being. By nature, you are accountable, unique, courageous, committed, competitive, coordinated and intelligent.
You should work on your negative personality traits such as
selfishness, dependency and pessimism.
Health this year: You need to take an appropriate care of
your health. You may fall sick in the middle months of the
year though those will not be serious. If you are a sportsperson, you need to be very careful for your diet and nutrition
to perform better in your sporting events.
Finance this year: If you have planned to invest in the
stock markets, better to go for it this year as you will be
hugely benefited. You will gain ample amount of money
from your decisions regarding finances this year.
Career this year: You may get the chance to complete all
your previous assignments and this will enhance your respect
as a brilliant performer in your professional circuit. If you are
into a profession that demands creativity, then you will be
very successful this year as far as your career is concerned.
Romance this year: You will share a better relationship
with your spouse or partner this year as compared to the previous year. You will find your partner supportive enough in
every challenge you face. If you are not married yet, this
year may prove to be the ideal year for you to get married.
Lucky month: Sep, Nov and January
2nd August, 2015
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: Your ruler, the Moon makes you a very
friendly individual. You are simple, confident, realistic, sincere, and optimistic. You are very innovative and try to perform your work in a different and efficient way. You need to
work hard on your characteristics of being jealous and insensitive at times.
Health this year: You will enjoy a normal health this year.
However, you need to be in regular contact with your doctor to remain healthy. If you face some minor health issues,
you should take prescribed medication without neglecting.
Finance this year: You will be able to stabilize your financial condition by reaping profits from your past investments. You may also plan for new investments this year.
You will find enough new opportunities to start up a new
business that would yield money for you. You should invest
in real estate or stock market for better returns.
Career this year: You will reach new heights in your profession as you would be appreciated by your colleagues and
seniors for better productivity. Your decision making capabilities would make you popular among your co-workers.
Your profession related trips would become more success-

ful than
Romance this year: You may find yourself among the wedding bells if you are eligible. Your love life with your partner will flourish with the love, care, and support of your
partner.
Lucky month: October, December, February, June
3rd August, 2015
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: Being ruled by Jupiter, you are courteous,
courageous, decisive, ambitious, disciplined, and realistic.
You are gifted with high imagination power, optimism, and
enthusiasm. However, behaving restless and dominating
may hamper your characteristics at times. You need to work
on your personality to make yourself better as an individual.
Health this year: You may go through few minor health issues, which will create unwanted tensions for you throughout the year. To avoid falling sick frequently, you need to get
your medical checkup done periodically.
Finance this year: You will be fortunate enough this year
to be among financial gains. All you need to do is to grab
opportunities to earn money. You will find plenty of earning
opportunities around you. However, you have to work hard
to gain that money. Overall, this year will give you financial
stability and security.
Career this year: As far as your professional life is concerned you may find your job a bit monotonous. You need
to go for innovative ideas to get better in your profession.
Your decision making capacity may make you the favorite
to win an award in your professional circuit.
Romance this year: You may get engaged to your love this
year. You will enjoy a great marital life with your beloved.
You will find your partner supportive enough in every situation. You should try and maintain a better relationship with
your partner to enjoy a better family life.
Lucky month: August, September and January
4th August, 2015
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: Uranus, being your dominating planet helps
you become dynamic and creative. You are positive, realistic, responsive, and sincere. You need to work and overcome
the weaknesses in your personality to attract more people
towards you.
Health this year: As far your health is concerned, you will
be lucky enough to enjoy a good health. However, you need
to take proper medication to retain your health. You should
leave bad habits of smoking and alcohol to get a good health
this year.
Finance this year: You may get your pending works done,
which will yield enough financial benefits for you. You
should invest in share market or real estate to get better ben-

efits. You need not borrow or lend money as it may create

disturbances in your personal life.
Career this year: You may get your expected promotion this
year. You will get a better performance appraisal as compared
to the previous year and it will encourage you to work hard.
You may touch new heights in your profession. Try and help
your colleagues as it will earn you enough respect.
Romance this year: If you are unmarried, you may get
married towards the end months of the year. You will enjoy
a better relationship with your partner throughout this year.
You should not involve yourself in any kind of argument
with your beloved as it may disturb your relationship.
Lucky month: October, December and February
5th August, 2015
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mercury makes you realistic, reliable, sincere, and optimistic. You are the master of
an excellent memory power and charismatic characteristics.
You need not get nervous at tough time as it may create a
question mark on your capabilities.
Health this year: You will go through minor health issues
this year. You have to take regular advice from the doctor
and practice healthy nutrition and diet to remain healthy.
Meditation and yoga may help you in retaining a perfect
health throughout the year.
Finance this year: You should invest in real estate to get
better benefits. Your legal matters will settle down and provide you with the flow of the blocked money. You need to
decisive enough before investing on something else but real
estate as there are chances of loss.
Career this year: Being an efficient professional, you are
highly respected in your professional circuit. Your ordinates
and seniors may take advice from you. You may get your
long expected promotion this year. Salary hike is also likely to happen.
Romance this year: The emotional attachment with your
spouse or partner may blossom this year with lot of love,
care, and concern. If you are not married, then you may go
for a romantic relationship. You will enjoy a very blissful
time with your beloved.
Lucky month: September, November, March and July
6th August, 2015
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Venus makes optimistic,
ambitious, caring, aspiring, and determined. You are very social and love to make new friends and get into new relationships. You are a huge follower of intelligence and education.
Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this year as
compared to last year. However, the health of an aged family member may deteriorate and that will make you both-

ered. You may end up spending lot of money for the health
issues of your family members.
Finance this year: You will get financial benefits if you
have invested in past. For future financial gains, you may
invest on real estate and stock market. You should study the
market well before investing on anything. Do not be in a
hurry to invest as it may go in loss.
Career this year: You will get enough opportunities in your
professional life to prove yourself. You will create a better
impression on your seniors or higher management, which
may result in promotion. You should work efficiently to
maintain your respect at your workspace.
Romance this year: As far as your relationships are concerned, you will enjoy a good time this year. You will find
your spouse or partner supportive enough in your difficult
time. You will be able to solve any problem that comes in
your way to achieve something. If you are unmarried, there
is a healthy chance for you getting married this year.
Lucky month: August, October, November and April
7th August, 2015
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: As you are governed by planet Neptune, you
are blessed with various positive characters. You are confident, decisive, generous, humorous, honest, modest and optimistic. You are not an admirer of arguments or silly fights.
You should work on your nature of being selfish, pessimistic, and arrogant.
Health this year: You may suffer some minor injuries due
to vehicle accidents. However, it will not be critical. You
may go through minor health issues during the initial
months of the year. Moreover, you will enjoy a sound health
throughout the year with proper medical checkups and medications.
Finance this year: This year may bring you huge financial
benefits. You will enjoy the returns of your investments. If
you want to gain financial profits, you have to work hard.
You may invest in various profitable businesses. However,
you should not start new partnerships or trust new friends.
Career this year: Being friendly and quick in decision
making, you will create many admirers for yourself in your
professional circuit. Your juniors may seek your advice in
critical times to deliver efficient work. It is advisable for
you not to get involved in office politics. You should handle
official matters diplomatically.
Romance this year: You need to spend more time with
your partner for the betterment of your marital relationship.
If you are not married, you may need to take care of the
emotional outburst of your beloved. You may get involved
in a marital life later this year. Moreover, you will enjoy a
healthy romantic life this year.
Lucky month: July, October, December and January

30

SPIRITUAL AWARENESS

August 1-7, 2015

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Setting Spiritual Goals within

the Context of our Lives
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
pirituality is not only developed in one place like a
monastery, or on the banks of
a river, or in the wilderness. If we
want spirituality, it can be developed in any place. We can recognize our spirituality in whatever
culture, region, or religion we are
born and in whatever activities we
are involved.
Although in some forms of mysticism people try to negate life and
everything else just to concentrate
on their spiritual journey, we need
to become complete human beings.
We need to develop physically,
mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Actually, on the health of the
spirit depends the health of the

body, mind, and intellect.

In the East it is said that when the
peacock dances in the jungle or forest and nobody sees it, what good is
it? Just like a flower that blooms
and gives fragrance to others, so
should we. Hence, we should
remain in our outer societies and
not negate that part of our life.
Once we recognize that we are
soul, we need to spend time in
enhancing our spiritual capabilities.
To do so, we need to set spiritual
goals. If, on the other hand, we
spend our time haphazardly, without knowing where we are going,
then we will have a hard time
reaching our aspirations. In the
spiritual arena, our goals consist of
spending time in meditation and in
improving our ethical life.
On the spiritual path we need to
realize what is important, set our
goals, and do whatever makes
sense to take us in a direction to
reach those goals. It is essential to
realize that there are certain factors
that will help us in our spiritual
progress.
The key is to still the mind. If we
do not still the mind, we will not be

able to recognize ourselves spiritually. Therefore, leading an ethical

life in which we cultivate the
virtues of truthfulness, nonviolence, humility, purity, and selflessness will aid us on the spiritual
path. When we lead virtuous lives,

God helps us in this process. That is

where the principle of simran
comes into play. Simran keeps the
mind occupied by the repetition of
the names of God. If the mind is
empty, thoughts will come in, and
as soon as a thought enters

our mind is calmer, and once our

body and mind are stilled, we can
connect with the divinity within.
This is why the mind, which is the
source of all desires, must be
stilled.
Keeping the mind focused on

whether it is a good or bad

thoughtit distracts us in our meditation. Once we learn how to still
our mind, we automatically get
closer to a state of having no
desires.
If we want spirituality, it can be

developed in any place. It does help

when we live in a peaceful environment where there is little or no
commotion around us. It definitely
helps when there is peace, calm,
and quiet. That is why we find a
quiet place to meditate, but when
we reach a certain level in our spiritual growth, none of these outer
things bother us.
There is a story of Isaac Newton
who was sitting by a roadside, lost
in thought.
He was so absorbed that he did
not notice a band passing by.
Similarly, when someones attention is focused on the divine within,
nothing in the outside surroundings
bothers him or her. It takes a long
time to get to that state, but we can
improve spiritually wherever we
are and in whatever environment
we live.
In order to reach our spiritual
goals, we need to evaluate our priorities so that our desires do not
make us attached to the objects or
activities of the world. Instead,
when we are detached, our attention will automatically focus on the
Divine.

The Strongest Enemy

By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj

This article has been selected and reprinted from Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajs book, Spiritual Pearls for Enlightened
Living (Radiance Publishers) an inspirational collection of stories from the worlds great wisdom traditions.
uring the time of Guru
Gobind Singh, there was a
great rishi who gave up
everything to go to a forest to meditate. There was also a king who
had already conquered many other
territories and their people. One
day, the king set his ambition on
conquering the rishi to make him
obey his
commands. People thought it was
strange that the king would focus
on conquering a rishi who had no
property, kingdom, or wealth. But
it turned out that the rishi had previously been a king before giving
up his kingdom for the spiritual
life. This made the present king
have an obsession with wanting to
conquer the rishi. So the king gathered his entire army to prepare for
battle.
The army marched into the deep
forest. The army finally reached the
rishi, who was sitting in the woods,
deep in meditation.
The king waited for the rishi to
come out of meditation, but he kept
on sitting there.
Finally, the king became restless
and shook the rishi out of meditation. The king shouted, Prepare
for a fight. I have come to do battle
with you.
The rishi surveyed the scene

When we learn to
concentrate fully,
wholly, & solely into
the Light and Sound,
we will experience
bliss, peace, and joy.
We will want to
repeat meditation again & again because
of the wonderful experience we receive.
calmly. He saw the great army and
said, Fight! I ran away from my
worldly life for fear of my one
great enemy. I came here to hide in
the woods from this enemy. My
soul shudders in fear when I hear
the sound of my enemys name.
Just to think of this enemys name
causes my heart to quiver.
The king listened carefully as the
rishi continued to describe his
feared enemy. Finally, the king
became angry and shouted, Is
your enemy stronger than me?
The rishi replied, Even the
thought of this enemy destroys my
soul. I left everything to escape
from 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 never
be able to conquer him. The king
replied, If I cannot conquer him, I
will consider myself a failure.
The rishi then told him, This
great enemy of whom I am speaking is the mind.
From that day on, the king tried
everything to overcome the mind.
He tried all kinds of techniques to
gain control over his own mind.
Years passed and still he could not
conquer the mind. Finally, the king
had to admit that he had failed and
that the mind is truly the strongest

enemy. The mind is powerful and

will try every means possible to
gain control over our soul.
Many yogis and rishis have tried
to gain control over their minds but
failed. If such is the fate of those
who have given up the world to
conquer their own mind, then what
is the fate of the rest of us who are
immersed in the world?
The mind is the obstacle our soul
must deal with to return to God.
The mind is like a soccer goalie,
guarding the goal. It will try everything to keep the ball from reaching
the goal. If even devoted rishis had
trouble overcoming the mind, how
can we do it?
The fact is that we cannot conquer the mind on our own. The
only way to conquer the mind and
still it is through the help of someone who has conquered the mind.
Such enlightened beings give us a
lift to contact the Light and Sound
within us. The Light and Sound
help uplift our soul beyond the
realm of mind.
The rishi found that doing spiritual practices alone in the jungle did
not help him overcome the mind.
The mind still tempted him with
the countless desires of the world.
The mind knows that contact
with the soul will render it harm-

less. Thus, the mind will find all

kinds of excuses to keep us from
meditation. It will make us think of
the past. It will make us think of
the future. It will make us wiggle
around instead of sitting still. It will
make us feel sleepy just when we
sit to meditate.
It will make us feel hungry. It
will make us feel jealous.
It will make us feel depressed. It
will make us feel like doing work
instead of meditating. It will find a
million excuses.
How do we overcome the minds
tendencies to distract us? We must
use the tendency of the mind to
form positive habits. The mind
likes habits. If we tell our mind that
we need to sit for meditation each
day at the same time and place, a
habit will form. Soon we will find
ourselves compelled to sit for meditation at that time each day. If will
miss meditation, we will start to
feel like something is amiss. Soon
we will find ourselves meditating
regularly.
When we learn to concentrate
fully, wholly, and solely into the
Light and Sound, we will experience bliss, peace, and joy. We will
want to repeat meditation again and
again because of the wonderful
experience we receive.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

August 1-7, 2015