The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
Vol.10 No. 30 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Endgame in Syrian war

Sochi, Russia: Russian President
Huge victory for
Putin
India as Justice
Vladimir Putin has sought
President Trumps broad
endorsement for his plan to bring briefs
the Syrian civil war to a close on
largely Russian and Iranian Trump
terms, after the defeat of Islamic
State and the repeated pushbacks
of Syrian rebels, reported The
Guardian of London.
on plan
to end
civil
Dalveer Bhandari
Putin briefed his American
counterpart on the phone for
more than an hour. Trump called
it a "great call" Tuesday after
noon as he left the White House
war
After meeting with Syrian President Bashar alAssad,
re-elected to ICJ
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans summit with leaders of
to spend Thanksgiving in Florida.
Turkey and Iran, bypassing UN. (Photo courtesy Reuters)
He said he and Putin spoke "very
strongly about bringing peace to Sochi with the leaders of Turkey Middle East, is expected to dis
Syria" and "very strongly about and Iran two other powers cuss Putins plans for fresh
North Korea." heavily involved in the conflict in deconfliction zones and a Syrian
Putin is preparing to host a Syria. The summit, a display of national dialogue to draw up a
summit in the Black Sea resort of Russias restored influence in the Continued on page 4

Summit is a testament Moody's upgrades

India's rating:
to strong IndiaUS Impact of reforms
friendship: Ivanka
Washington: The Global
Ivanka Trump
Entrepreneurship Summit 2017
is leading US
delegation to (GES) being hosted by India
the Global along with the US is a testament
Entrepreneur to the strong friendship
ship Summit between the two countries,
in Hyderabad, President Donald Trumps
November daughter and adviser Ivanka
2830. Trump said Tuesday.
(Photo: IANS) Ivanka, (36) is leading a high
powered US delegation of offi
cials, women entrepreneurs
and businessmen for the GES
in Hyderabad from November
2830. She would deliver the
keynote address at the sum
mit, which would be inaugu
rated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
For the first time, in its
eight editions, the summit
has been themed Women
Continued on page 4
New Delhi: Boosting investor senti
ments, US credit rating agency
Moody's upgraded India's sover
eign rating to Baa2 from its lowest
investment grade of Baa3 after 13
years, a development Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley said was "an
extremely encouraging" global
recognition of the structural
reforms of last three years. India
Inc too lauded it.
Maintaining that the upgrading
was based on New Delhi's "wide
ranging program of economic and
institutional reforms", Moody's
simultaneously changed the out
look for the country's rating to sta
ble from positive and upgraded
India's local and foreign currency
issuer rating to Baa2 from Baa3.
"The decision to upgrade the rat
ings is underpinned by Moody's
Continued on page 4
SEE DETAILED STORY
ON PAGE 21.
Justice Dalveer Bhandari (left), seen with Indias envoy to the UN,
Syed Akbaruddin, will serve on the International Court
of Justice till 2027. (Photo: IANS)
l By Arul Louis congratulated Bhandari on being
reelected to ICJ . His reelection
United Nations: In a major diplo is a proud moment for us, he said,
matic victory for India, Justice while also complimenting External
Dalveer Bhandari has been re Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
elected to the International Court and her departments untiring
of Justice (ICJ) after the General efforts for Indias win.
Assembly rallied behind him in a Sushma Swaraj in turn praised
show of strength that made Britain Huge efforts by Team MEA and
bow to the majority and withdraw specifically complimented Indias
its candidate Christopher Continued on page 4
Greenwood.
I am grateful to all the nations The South
who have supported me, Bhandari Asian Times
told IANS in the Assembly cham wishes
ber after the election on Monday. its readers
It was a big election as you know. HAPPY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi THANKSGIVING

OWN YOUR FUTURE

with a degree from SUNY Old Westbury
x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees
x Small classes with exceptional faculty
x A student-centered approach to learning
x Conveniently located in Nassau County
Contact us at: (516) 876-3200 or www.oldwestbury.edu

US AFFAIRS 10 LENS EYE 15 PARENTING 25 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30 excellence in journalism

TheSouthAsianTimes.info Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 3

Indian firms invested $18 billion to Radhika Jones to take

create 113K jobs in US: CII report
Washington: Indian companies have created
more than 113,000 jobs in the U.S. and
invested nearly $18 billion in the country,
according to a CII report.
The report, titled 'Indian Roots, American
Soil', which was released by Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII) last week, states that
Indian companies have also contributed
$147 million towards corporate social
responsibility and $588 million as R&D
expenditures in the US.
The annual report gives a statebystate
breakdown of the tangible investments
made and jobs created by 100 Indian firms
doing business in the country.
Together, 100 Indian companies employ
113,423 people across 50 states, the District
of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the report said,
adding that the total value of tangible invest
ments made by these companies exceeds
$17.9 billion.
The top five states in which Indian compa
nies have generated maximum employment
are New Jersey (8,572 jobs), Texas (7,271
jobs), California (6,749 jobs), New York
(5,135 jobs) and Georgia (4,554 jobs).
According to the report, the top five states
over Vanity Fair as editor
New York: Indian American Radhika Jones
in which Indian companies have contributed
has been named the next editorinchief of Indian
the highest FDI are New York ($1.57 billion), American
Vanity Fair, the company officially
New Jersey ($1.56 billion), Massachusetts Radhika Jones
announced on Monday.
($931 million), California ($542 million) and
Currently New York Times books editor,
Wyoming ($435 million).
Radhika will succeed Graydon Carter, who
The report noted that that 85 percent of
helmed the entertainment and celebrity
the companies plan to make more invest
focused magazine for 25 years.
ments in the U.S. And as many as 87 percent
I truly feel honored to be entrusted with
of the companies plan to hire more employ
this role, Radhika, 44, told the assembled
ees locally in the next five years.
staff members at the magazines New York
Indian industry and professionals are mak
headquarters, the publication said.
ing significant contributions to the U.S. econ
Radhika is the first female editor of
omy, said Indian Ambassador to the U.S. CEO of Cond Nast. Though Jones is a well
Vanity Fair since Tina Brown served as the
Navtej Sarna. known figure in the New York literary
magazines editor from 1984 until 1992.
"The presence and reach of Indian compa world, she is relatively unknown in
She was born in New York to an
nies continue to grow each year as they Hollywood. She was previously the deputy
American father and an Indian mother. She
invest billions of dollars and create jobs managing editor at Time magazine where
lives in Brooklyn with her husband and
across the United States," he said. she oversaw the Time 100 issue. She has
son. Radhika is an exceptionally talented
Chandrajit Banerjee, CII director general, also worked at the Paris Review, where she
editor who has the experience and insight
said the story of Indian investment in the was a managing editor. She holds degrees
to drive the cultural conversationbalanc
U.S. is one that showcases how intertwined from Harvard College and Columbia
ing distinctive journalism with culture and
the two countries are that contribute to each University.
humor, said Bob Sauerberg, president and
other's success. (PTI)

Indian American Republicans building political clout

High ranking New York State Republicans attended IARC annual dinner
1 2 3
White Plains, NY: The Indian
American Republican
Committee (IARC) held its
Annual Dinner on November
16 addressed by the high rank
ing leaders of the party.
Prominent Republicans from
the community were also hon
ored at the event here.
Edward F Cox, Chairman,
New York State GOP, said that
he was happy to note that the
IARC is a delta force, as pointed
out by Douglas Colety,
Westchester Republican
County Committee. Ed Cox
lauded the Indian ideals of fam
ily values, hard work, highest
education, and savings, which
are also the ideals of the (1) Dr Sampat Shivangi (right) with Ed Cox, Chairman, NY State GOP, and IARC Chair Thomas Koshy. (2) Attorney Anand Ahuja was honored
Republican Party. by Chairman Ed Cox, (3) Honoree Prof AD Amar, posing with Shalabh Kumar, founder of RHC.
IARC Chairman Thomas USA 63 years ago, there were no stepping stone to become President where Indian Americans have a stalwart from Mississippi, was also
Koshy pointed out that Indian Indian Americans, just some stu like George HW Bush did. sizeable population. honored. He is President of the
Americans have the highest educa dents from India. Even then, Dalip Parameswaran stated that the The IARC honored Shalabh Indian American Forum for Political
tion and income and that 20 Singh Saund was elected IARC is building political clout. It Kumar, founder of Republican Education. Two others honorees
Fortune 500 CEOs are Indian Congressman from southern Los has already started chapters in Hindu Coalition. Kumar, a staunch were attorney Anand Ahuja from
Americans. Angeles. Because he was able to Long Island, headed by Anand supporter of President Trump, stat Hicksville, NY, and Prof. A.D. Amar
Dr. Priscilla Parameswaran, IARC influence the voters. Same way, Ahuja, Esq, and in Staten Island by ed the US economy under Trump is of Seton Hall University, NJ. The
founder, emceed the evening. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley got Thomas Thomas. By the midterm very robust and the GDP will easily two had cofounded the PAC, Indian
Ven Parameswaran, Sr. Vice elected state governors. Nikki Haley elections in 2018, the IARC would register a growth of 4%. Americans for Trump, before the
Chairman, said when he came to the is now our ambassador to the UN, a have opened chapters in all states Dr. Sampat Shivangi, a Republican 2016 election.
 4 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 TURN PAGE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Justice Dalveer Bhandari being felicitated on Tuesday by Brahmrishi
Ashram, New York, on his reelection to International Court of Justice.
(from left) Chandra Bhansali, Justice Bhandari, Abe Nassi, Prabha
Bhandari, and Ashok Sancheti. (Photo: Arvind Bhandari)
Huge victory for India as
Justice Dalveer Bhandari
reelected to ICJ
Continued from page 1
Permanent Representative in the
UN, Syed Akbaruddin. Ambassador
Akbaruddin told The South Asian
Times that the reelection of Judge
Bhandari to the world court is a
reflection of the changing contours
of multilateralism, along with the
acknowledgement that India needs
greater space on the high table in
the multilateral fora. He termed
Indias big victory as a culmination
of a team effort led by our political
leadership and coordinated by
diplomatic missions all across the
globe."
Bhandari, 70, will start his nine
year term from February 2018.
The withdrawal of its candidate
by Britain, which had the backing of
its fellow Permanent Members, was
a setback for the UN Security
Council that had been locked in a
test of wills with the General
Assembly. A candidate has to win a
majority in both the chambers.
Bhandari won majorities in the
Assembly in the first 11 rounds of
voting over two meetings while the
Council blocked his election by giv
ing majorities to Greenwood in the
10 rounds of balloting it held.
The British ultimately had to
bow down to the will of the majori
ty, a diplomat said. The Indians
stared them down.
The Councils permanent mem
bers have traditionally had a judge
in the ICJ, assuming it to be a mat
ter of right. This time the 193
member Assembly asserted itself,
forcing the Council to back down.
India hammered home the repre
sentative character of the Assembly
compared to the Council and insist
ed that the UN members follow
democratic principles and reelect
Bhandari by accepting the global
majority he has received in the
Assembly.
In the last round of voting on
November 13, Bhandari received
121 votes, just short of a twothirds
majority in the 193member
Assembly, while Greenwood
received nine in the Council.
The precedent is clear, Amb.
Akbaruddin said at a reception for
Bhandari attended by representa
tives of over 160 countries on
Thursday. As is expected in the
21st century, the candidate who
enjoys overwhelming support of
the General Assembly membership
can be the only legitimate candi
date to go through. IANS
Endgame in Syrian war
Continued from page 1
new Syrian constitution that would
leave President Bashar alAssad
entrenched and entitled to stand for
election again.
Moscow said Putin, in his talks
with Trump, conveyed the message
of the necessity to keep the sover
eignty, independence and territorial
integrity of Syria, and to reach a
political settlement based on princi
pals to be worked out in a fullscale
negotiation process in Syria.
Increasingly confident that he has
marginalized both pluralist and
Islamist groups still holding out
against Assad, Putin plans to hold a
Syrian national dialogue in early
December to which he will invite
hundreds of Syrian groups that
have reached reconciliation agree
ments with Assad.
Western diplomats fear Putin has
decided in effect to bypass the
deadlocked UN Syrian peace
process in Geneva, which is due to
restart on 28 November, and will
instead oversee a parallel peace
track. Western diplomats are urg
ing Putin to recognize that an
imposed settlement that leaves dis
sidents excluded will only lead to
further bloodshed, and a European
refusal to provide reconstruction
funds. In the runup to the trilateral
summit, Putin hosted Assad in Sochi
for four hours of talks on Monday,
where they asserted that the mili
tary stage of the conflict was com
ing to an end. The talks were not
disclosed until Assad had returned
to Damascus.
Hackers stole data of 57 mn Uber customers, drivers in 2016
San Francisco: In a startling rev
elation, ridehailing platform
Uber has disclosed that two
hackers "inappropriately
accessed" in 2016 names, email
addresses and phone numbers of
57 million customers and driv
ers, and the license numbers of
around 600,000 drivers. In a
blog post on Wednesday, Uber
In the meeting, Putin told Assad,
according to the Kremlin: Were
still a long way off fully defeating
terrorism. But as far as concerns
our work on Syrian territory, the
military operation is coming to an
end. Now the most important
thing, of course, is to move on to
the political questions, and I note
with satisfaction your readiness to
work with all those who want peace
and a solution to the conflict.
Summit is a testament to
strong IndiaUS
friendship: Ivanka
Continued from page 1
First and Prosperity for All, which
demonstrates the administrations
commitment to the principle that
when women are economically
empowered, their communities and
countries thrive, Ivanka said in a
preview of her India trip.
The summit, to be attended by
1,500 entrepreneurs from 170
countries, would have around 350
participants from the US, a large
number of whom are Indian
Americans.
Among prominent members of
the administration joining her on
the trip are US Treasurer Jovita
Carranza, administrator of the
Of fice of Information and
Regulatory Af fairs Neomi Rao,
USAID administrator Mark Green,
and Overseas Private Investment
Corporation president and CEO Ray
Washburne.
Women will represent 52.5% of
the entrepreneurs, investors and
ecosystem supporters at the GES
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
revealed that the company has
learned that in late 2016, it
became aware that two individu
als outside the company had
inappropriately accessed user
data stored on a thirdparty
cloudbased service that it uses.
"The incident did not breach
our corporate systems or infra
2017. In fact, more than 10 coun
tries including Afghanistan, Saudi
Arabia and Israel will be represent
ed by an allwomen delegation, the
State Department said. Ivnaka said
she very much looks forward to
her visit. India, she said, is a great
friend and partner in the US. The
goal of the collaboration is to grow
the shared economic and security
partnership, she said.
According to the officials, during
her India visit, Ms. Trump is likely
to spend some time on sightseeing,
including a possible stop at the
Charminar. She will be participating
in two panels: The plenary session :
Be the Change Womens
Entrepreneurial Leadership, on
Tuesday evening and on
Wednesday morning a breakout
session : We Can Do It! Innovations
in Workforce Development and
Skills Training. PTI
Moody's upgrades India's
rating: Impact of reforms
Continued from page 1
expectation that continued
progress on economic and institu
tional reforms will, over time,
enhance India's high growth poten
tial and its large and stable financ
ing base for government debt, and
will likely contribute to a gradual
decline in the general government
debt burden over the medium
term," a Moody's Investor Service
release said. "Moody's believes that
the reforms put in place have
reduced the risk of a sharp increase
in debt, even in potential downside
scenarios."
structure. However, the individu
als were able to download files
containing a significant amount
of other information," he posted.
The breach included the names
and driver's license numbers of
around 600,000 drivers in the
US and some personal informa
tion of 57 million Uber users
around the world.

New Delhi Bureau Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra

Meenakshi Iyer News Service: HT Media Ltd.
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info IANS Newswire Services
Jaipur (India) Bureau IANS Washington Bureau
Chairman and Co-Founder Associate Editor: Prakash Bhandari Arun Kumar
Kamlesh C. Mehta Hiral Dholakia-Dave Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info arun.kumar@ians,in

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull Contributing Editors: Surekha Vijh Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/ Printing: Five Star Printing, NY
(Washington DC), Suchitra Srinivas (New masalajunction.com.
President: Arjit Mehta Jersey), Shivaji Sengupta, Nilima Madan, Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com Contacts
Melvin Durai, Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Chief Operating Officer: Ashok Vyas, Dr Akshat Jain, Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra Subscribe@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Ginsmon P. Zacharia and Ashok Ojha.
P: 516 776 7061 Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah Advertisements
ginsmon@hotmail.com West Coast Correspondent Advertise@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Pooja Jain, Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan P : 516.390.7847, F : 516.465.1343
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info Vladimir Tomovski
P : 516.710.0508 Bhagwati Creations, Website:
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info www.TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Printed Every Saturday by: Forsythe Media Group, LLC, ISSN 1941-9333, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801 P: 516.390.7847
Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily
Notice: The South Asian Times is published weekly by The Forsythe Media Group, LLC. POSTMASTER: Send all address notices, subscription orders/payments and other inquiries to The South Asian
Times, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Copyright and all other rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be reprinted without the consent of the publisher. The
views expressed on the opinion pages and in the letters to the editor pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of The South Asian Times. The editor/publisher does not warrant accuracy
and cannot be held responsible for the content of the advertisements placed in the publication and/or inaccurate claims, if any, made by the advertisers. Advertisements of business or facilities included in this
publication do not imply connection or endorsement of these businesses. All rights reserved.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 5

President Donald Trump not General Human Outreach

antiimmigrant, says Raj Shah
Washington, DC: A prominent
IndianAmerican, who holds a
key position in the White House,
has refuted the notion that US
President Donald Trump is anti
immigrant. First of all, I dont
think that the rhetoric is anti
immigrant. I think its antiillegal
immigration, W hite House
Principal Deputy Press Secretary
Raj Shah said.
Shahs comments come days
after a key Congressional com
mittee passed a legislation that
proposes to increase the mini
mum salary of H1B visa holders
from $60,0000 to $90,000 and
imposes a number of restrictions
on the work visa that is popular
among Indian IT professionals.
The bill prohibits H1B depend
ent employers from replacing
American workers with H1B
employees, there are no longer
any exceptions. It also lengthens
the nolayof f policy for H1B
dependent employers and their
client companies for as long an
H1B employee works at the
company, which means they can
not layoff equivalent US workers.
Shah said Trump was only trying
to make immigration more
"To ask for immigration to
are coming here to be
think it's a very big leap. I
meritbased and reform
the legal system regarding it.
President Trump has put for
ward a pretty serious set of pro
posals on immigration; not just
on enforcement but also about
reforming the legal system to
make it more meritbased right
with ideas that work for the US
economy and for the American
worker, he said. To ask for
immigration to support the US
economy, for asking for people
who are coming here to be vet
ted for public safety or security
threats, I dont think its a very
big leap. I think its very reason
able. The public supports that,
he added. Shah slammed the
mainstream media for the
support the US economy,
for asking for people who
vetted for public safety or
security threats, I don't
think it's very reasonable.
The public supports that
-Raj Shah
unfair coverage on the issue,
which sometimes leaves the
White House frustrated.
Theres a tone in the media on
this issue which is not fair. The
mainstream media is just not
paying attention to and is not
focused and not giving kind of
credit where its due, he rued,
asserting that in todays modern
age, the president has many
ways to get his message out.
He uses it very ef fectively
with Twitter and other social
media. He uses it very effectively
with public speaking and when
he does a question and answer
session we always say look the
president is his own best mes
senger, he said.
honors Dr. Neeta Jain
New York: Democratic District Leader Dr.
Neeta Jain was honored by the General
Human Outreach (GHO) which celebrat
ed its 25th anniversary with a Diversity
New York Gala Dinner at Terrace On
The Park in Queens on November 15.
GHO is unique as a human services non
profit agency, having been founded by an
original Case Worker, Jane Ning Kuo in
1992, and keeping a special, culturally
competent focus on the underserved
Asian American population in the New
York City area. For over 25 years, GHO
has served individuals with intellectual
or developmental disabilities by provid
ing them with service coordination;
Individualized Residential Alternative
(IRA) housing, day habilitation centers;
community inclusion support; employ
ment preparation, training and place
ment; and Korean American support
services in addition to longstanding
Chinese American programs.
GHO intends to extend their services to
South Asian communities as well.
The theme Diversity New York was
chosen for the gala because of the signifi
cant contribution that GHO continues to
make serving individuals throughout this
diverse city. The gala was attended by
elected officials including NYC Public
Advocate Letitia James and
Assemblyman elect Daniel Rosenthal.
GHO honored its founder as well as three
others Dr. Neeta Jain, Dr. Young Seh
Democratic District Leader Dr. Neeta
Jain (center) honored for her
contributions working with the
special needs population
Bae and Pauline YeungHa, Esq for
their dedicated efforts and contribution
working with the special needs popula
tion. Dr. Jain is an accomplished profes
sional with a focus on services and sup
port for individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities, as well as an
educator and civic and community
leader. Dr. Jain has been serving the com
munity for more than 20 years by coordi
nating faithbased, cultural, social and
fundraising events and by being actively
involved in both social and political
fields.She is now the recently swornin
Democratic District Leader, Assembly
District 25 Part B, Queens, NY and the
only Indian female elected as this
Democratic District Leader. She is the
President, CEO and Founder of the
International Ahimsa Foundation Inc.
which promotes nonviolence and peace
in school going children.

SARI celebrates Vin Gopals victory

New Jersey: An evening to celebrate
Monmouth County smallbusiness
owner and newly elected youngest
state senator Vin Gopal was held on
November 17th. Organized by
South Asian Registration Initiatives
(SARI) and led by prominent and
successful business entrepreneur
Ritesh Shah at Monroe Adult Day
Care Center in Millstone Township
here, the event was attended by
more than 200 supporters, volun
teers and community leaders.
Senatorelect Vin Gopal won by
more than 4,000 votes defeating
longtime incumbent politician
Jennifer Beck. Born in Neptune
Township and raised in Freehold
Township, Gopal will be the first
IndianAmerican senator to be
elected as a state senator in New
Jersey. It is time for new leader
ship to tackle New Jersey's grave
fiscal problems to help small busi
property taxes, one who will work
constantly to eliminate the red tape
imposed on small businesses and
fight against raising minimum wage
increase which will destroy small
business owners in NJ, said
Senatorelect Gopal. He also added
that we needed a Senator who is
going to do whats right in funding
womens health care policies, not
use the Senate to fulfill their own
personal wishes and ambitions. As
your Senator, I will spend every day
fighting against Trenton insiders
and fighting for the needs of work
ing people. That is my pledge to the
The event was attended by more than 200 volunteers, supporters and
community leaders. (Photo: Chirag Patel, Universal Photography) residents of Monmouth County."
NJs 11th Legislative Districts re
ness owners and hardworking mid added that Monmouth County elected officials Assemblyman Eric
dle class families, said Senator needs a Senator who will battle with Houghtaling and Assemblywoman
elect Gopal in his appreciation the insiders in Trenton, not just Joann Downey and NJs 33rd
address to his volunteers, communi show up and work only for few peo Legislative Districts third time
ty supporters, business owners and ple. I will be your Senator who will elected Assemblyman Raj Mukherji
prominent community leaders. He spend every day fighting to lower were among the many local public
officials who addressed the audi
ence and thanked everyone for
their contributions in electing Vin
Gopal and urged everyone to stay
engaged in the future to fight
against discrimination and help
elected more South Asians at all lev
els. Edison Township Councilman
Ajay Patil, Passaic County
Freeholder John Bartlett and South
Brunswick Board of Education re
elected member Deven Patel were
amongst the local elected officials
to attend the evening to be a part of
victory celebration. Ritesh Shah,
SARI chair welcomed everyone and
stated that South Asian communi
ties in Monmouth County voted
three times more than previous
election years to elect Vin Gopal
and broke the barrier and myth of
Asian communities not getting
involved in elections or political
process.
 6 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
The Problem With Apu premieres in NYC Indiandescent dad
n November 14, awardwinning
O comedian Hari Kondabolu
creator and star of truTVs The
Problem With Apu attended the
DOC NYC World Premiere of the
film, alongside Director Michael
Melamedoff and special guests
Whoopi Goldberg, Utkarsh
Ambudkar and Aparna Nancherla.
Stars and key executives celebrated
with a reception at NYCs RAHI
restaurant.
Stars and key executives who
attended include Samrat
Chakrabarti (Vishwaroopam),
Nimesh Patel (Saturday Night Live
Writer), Sheetal Sheth (I Cant
Think Straight), Krishna Andavolu
(Weediquette), Michelle Buteau
(Big Morning Buzz), Chris Gethard
(The Chris Gethard Show) and
more. The Problem with Apu will
premiere on truTV Sunday,
November 19 at 10PM ET/PT and
will be available on all platforms
the following day.
In this highlypersonal, insightful
and timely exploration of minority
media representation, Kondabolu
speaks with prominent South Asian
actors about the damaging legacy
Drug firm founder pleads not
guilty to Opioid bribe scam
ndianAmerican pharmaceuti
I cal billionaire John Kapoor,
accused of bribing doctors in the
US to overprescribe a powerful
opioid to patients, has pleaded
not guilty and asked the court to
remove his GPS monitoring
bracelet.
Kapoor, founder of Arizona
based drug company Insys
Therapeutics Inc that manufac
tures a fentanyl spray approved
only for extreme cancer pain,
was arrested by the FBI from his
home last month.
During his appearance in the
court Kapoor urged the judge to
cut off his GPS monitoring
bracelet, which his attorney said
is burdensome to the 74yearold
jogger, the WCVB news channel
reported.
"He definitely would have fled
by now if he wanted to," Kapoor's
attorney, Brian Kelly, said outside
the federal court in Boston.
Kapoor pleaded not guilty to
five charges, including racketeer
TRISTATE COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info
shot protecting son
from robbers in NY
n Indiandescent father was have ended if anyone touched
A shot and injured while try my kid." he added.
ing to protect his son from rob Persaud had succeeded in
bers who tried to force their throwing the man toward the
way into his home here, accord street, when that man and
ing to media reports. another fired weapons, WPIX
On Sunday a man came to the quoted police. Persaud was hit
home of Thakur Persaud in the once in the thigh and hospi
Queens district of the city and talised in stable condition.
when his 13yerold son The three intruders then fled.
answered the door he claimed Persaud's son told WABC that
Hari Kondabolu, Michael Melamedoff, Whoopi Goldberg and Utkarsh to have a package for delivery. there were several children in
Ambudkar at the screening of Kondabolus "The Problem With Apu". Two other men who were hid the house at that time, but they
(Photo courtesy: truTV) ing behind a fence came up and were in the basement.
one of them tried to force their A neighbor told the TV that
of Apu an animated character broader questions about the come
way into the house, WPIX TV several homes in the area have
voiced by a white actor with a heav dy and representation he evokes.
reported. been victims of "home invasion"
ily exaggerated, stereotypical With additional interviews with
"The guy tried to push me in robbery recently and Persaud's
Indian accent. Aziz Ansari, Kal EGOTwinner Whoopi Goldberg, W.
the house I tried to push him house had been hit before.
Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minjaj, Kamau Bell, Surgeon General Vivek
out, behind him another guy Persaud's son didn't think it was
Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Murthy, Mallika Rao, and many
was coming and he had some a random attack, telling the sta
Nancherla, Russell Peters, Sakina more, The Problem with Apu takes
thing in his hand," Persaud told tion "Nothing is random around
Jaffrey and Maulik Pancholy share a humorous look at how even a
the station. here."
poignant stories about their own beloved television series can have a
"I don't know how it would (IANS)
experiences with Apu and the blind spot.
IHCNJ holds 13th annual health fair at
Shree Swaminarayan Temple
n November 12th, a health screen
ing conspiracy.
O ing and disease awareness and
The US attorney alleged that
prevention fair was held at Shree
Swaminarayan Temple in Secaucus, NJ.
Kapoor and six other executives
The health fair was organized by the
were running a bribery and kick
Indian Health Camp of New Jersey in
back scheme, paying prescribers
collaboration with Secaucus Temple.
for a sham speaking program
Indian Health Camp of New Jersey, a
and deceiving insurance compa
nonprofit organization under tax
nies to sell the drug to people
exempt code 501 (3) held this annual
who don't have cancer.
fair for the 13th consecutive year at
"He's got nothing to do with
this location to benefit needy people in
that," Kelly said. "They made alle
the South Asian community.
gations about different market
The health fair was open to all pre
ing and sales techniques by the
registered participants above the age
company... He wasn't involved in
of 40 without any medical insurance More than 300 people received comprehensive health care services;
that." With a fortune estimated at
or people who are underinsured with more than 50 women received mammogram and more than
$2 billion, prosecutors fear he
high deductible to receive preventive 125 received flu vaccine
could flee on a private plane. But
screening, education and counseling disorders and mental health disorders. tional specialist, pharmacist, phle
Kapoor's attorney says he
on medical, dental and mental health Many other ancillary screening and botomists, EKG techs, medical assis
shouldn't be punished for his
disorders.The comprehensive health counseling were also provided to tants, nurses, social workers and med
wealth.
screening included blood test, EKG, include dietary counseling, medication ical students provided their services on
"He's not a flight risk. He's
vision screening for glaucoma and dia management counseling and physical this day to screen and educate patients
known about this case for more
betic retinopathy, physical examina therapy counseling from various on diabetes, hypertension, cardiac dis
than a year," Kelly said. "They
tion, dental screening, cardiology and providers. The physicians, dentists, eases, high cholesterol, prostate, cervi
referred to him as a co conspira
physical therapy counseling, various mental health providers and other cal, colorectal and breast cancer
tor as recently as two months
types of cancer screening and preven allied health care professionals from screening and education and other
ago. He knew about this investi
tion education, women disorders, various specialties of internal medi chronic debilitating diseases specifical
gation. He wants to stand and
chronic diseases screening for dia cine, dental, cardiology, ophthalmolo ly targeted to the South Asian popula
fight."
betes, hypertension, cardiovascular gy, physical therapy, dietary and nutri tion.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Dr. Nori has
also been
awarded the
Padma Shri,
one of
Indias
highest civil
awards for
his
contribu
tions to
medicine in
India and in
the U.S
Indian Cancer Congress
confers highest award to
Dr Dattatreyudu Nori
New York: The Indian Cancer
Congress held in Bangalore from
Nov 812 honored Dr
Dattatreyudu Nori with their high
est award "Living legend in
Oncology."
This conference is held once in
four years. All oncology societies
surgical, radiation, and medical
oncology join together in this
congress. Over 3000 oncologists
from US, UK ,India and Australia
participated in the congress.
Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori is current
ly Professor and Chairman,
Department of Radiation
Oncology, New York
Presbyterian/Queens and
Executive ViceDirector of the
Cancer Center at NewYork
Presbyterian/Queens of Cornell
University.
He has an international reputa
tion as a pioneer and authority in
the eld of cancer and the presti
gious New England Journal of
Medicine of the Harvard
University quoted him as
Recognized Leader in his
Specialty. Over the last four
decades Dr. Nori has tirelessly
devoted himself to improving can
cer care of patients in the U.S.
After receiving his postgraduate
medical degree in India, Dr. Nori
joined the world renowned
Memorial SloanKettering Cancer
Center in the U.S. in 1976.
Dr. Noris distinguished and
exceptional achievements in oncol
ogy research resulted in the
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
American Cancer Society bestow
ing him with their most presti
gious Tribute to Life award and
Memorial SloanKettering Cancer
Center honored him with the
Most Distinguished Physician
Award. Dr. Noris pioneering can
cer research to improve outcomes
in various cancers, resulted in his
selection as one of the Top Doctors
for Cancer in the U.S. and Top
Doctors for Womens Cancers in
the U.S. over the last decade by his
peers consisting of 100,000
Oncologists. Dr. Nori introduced
many innovative cancer treatment
programs for lung, gynecological
and genitourinary cancers which
are currently considered as the
standard of care by Oncologists all
over the world.
Working as a Principle
Investigator for the National
Cancer Institute in the United
States, he has conducted several
studies to standardize Radiation
Oncology practice across the U.S.
and many other countries.
In 2014, Dr. Nori was honored
with the highest civilian award in
the U.S., the Ellis Island Medal of
Honor.
Dr. Nori is a Consultant to the
United Nations International
Atomic Energy Agency, advising
on the formulation of guidelines
for the treatment of cancer in
developing countries. He has
helped to upgrade cancer pro
grams in India, Israel, Brazil and
Argentina.
Tulsi Gabbard named Chairperson of
World Hindu Congress 2018
Washington, DC: Tulsi Gabbard,
the first Hindu lawmaker in
Congress, has been named chair
person of the World Hindu
Congress to be held in Chicago
next year, organizers of the mega
event announced Nov. 9.
Held once every four years, the
WHC is a global platform for
Hindus to connect, share ideas,
inspire one another and impact the
common good.
Organized by the World Hindu
Foundation, the first Congress was
held in New Delhi in 2014. The
second WHC will take place in
Chicago, Ill., Sept. 79 next year.
Hindus from across the world
"would be able to come together,
share ideas and inspire one anoth
er as we seek ways to positively
Indian student shot dead at grocery store in California
Washington, DC: An Indian student
was shot dead allegedly by two
armed robbers, including one of
Indianorigin, at a grocery store in
the California.
The incident happened in the
night of Nov 13th when
Dharampreet Singh Jassar, 20, was
on duty at the Tackle Box store
next to a gas station in Madera
city. The suspects barged into the
store to loot and one of them red
several shots at Jassar, who report
edly tried to hide behind the cash
counter, The Fresno Bee reported.
They later ed the scene with
cash and a few big boxes of ciga
rettes, the police said. The incident
was reported to the police by a
customer who found Jasser's body
on the oor next day, the report
said. Jasser hailed from Punjab
and was a student of accounting.
He had gone to the US around
Foster mother arrested in death of 3-year-old Indian girl in US
Washington, DC: The foster moth
er of Sherin Mathews, a threeyear
old Indian girl who was found
dead in a ditch last month in the
US states of Texas, has been arrest
ed on the charge of child endan
germent. Police said Sini Mathews
and her husband Wesley Mathews
left the child home alone while
they went to dinner on October 6,
the night before she was reported
missing by her foster father.
Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
impact the communities around us
and the world, Gabbard, 36, said.
The threeterm Democratic
Congresswoman from Hawaii is
currently the cochair of the House
Congressional Caucus.
"With all that's happening in the
world, the universal message of
aloha love, peace, respect and
unity is so needed. I am looking
forward to working with you and
seeing you soon," Gabbard said in a
video message to the organizers.
Abhaya Asthana, coordinator of
WHC, said that the organizing
committee was looking for a recog
nized leader who is courageous,
bold, principled, progressive,
accomplished, articulate and above
all a practicing Hindu.
"Undoubtedly, she brings with
Dharampreet Jassar (left), Amritraj
Athwal (Photo : dailybhaskar)
three years ago on a student visa.
Police arrested 21yearold
Armitraj Singh Athwal, an Indian
origin man, believed to be one of
the two robbers who red multiple
shots at Jasser.
Authorities said a Fresno County
Sheriff's deputy saw media cover
age of the incident and recognised
similarities between the suspects
from the incident and Athwal.
Sini Mathews, 35, surrendered to
the Richardson police on Thursday
and was being held on $250,000
bond in the state jail on the felony
charge, the US media reported.
In a statement, Richardson police
said detectives learned Sini and
Wesley Mathews took their 3year
old biological daughter to dinner
and left their adopted daughter,
Sherin, alone at home, placing her
in "imminent danger of death, bod
7
Tulsi Gabbard
her all these attributes and more,"
Asthana said.
"We are thrilled to have her on
the team and look forward to
working with her for a successful
World Hindu Congress 2018,"
Asthana said. (PTI)
Madera Sheriff's detectives were
contacted and determined that
Athwal is the likely suspect in the
shooting.
During a search of Athwal's vehi
cle, the police discovered an unreg
istered .38caliber revolver, a .22
caliber assault pistol that had been
reported stolen, drugs and a blue
bandana noticeable in the surveil
lance footage of the robbery at the
store. Athwal's vehicle was also
registered in another name.
"Dharampreet was a completely
innocent victim, just doing his job,
when he was senselessly killed
during this robbery," Madera
Sheriff Jay Varney said. Athwal
faces robbery and murder charges.
He does not appear to have a
lengthy criminal history, Varney
said. His bail is set at $1 million.
Detectives continue to search for
the second suspect. (IANS)
ily injury, or physical or mental
impairment." According to an
arrest warrant afdavit, detectives
used cellphone records to show
that the couple went to a North
Garland restaurant on the evening
of October 6.
A receipt obtained by police
showed the couple purchased only
one child's meal in addition to
their individual meals, NBC 5
DallasFort Worth reported.
 8 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 NATIONAL COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

AAPIs annual Global Healthcare Summit in Kolkata in Dec

New York, NY: The 11th annual Global
Healthcare Summit (GHS) organized by
the Association of American Physicians of
Indian Origin (AAPI) in collaboration with
the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs &
Indian Ministry of Health and the govern
ment of West Bengal, with participation
of over 50 world renowned speakers from
India, US and from around the world, and
industry leaders will be held at JW
Marriott, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
from December 28th to 31st, 2017.
With over 200 physicians from the
United States, the Summit is expected to
be attended by nearly 1,000 delegates
from around the world. President of AAPI
Dr. Gautam Samadder says, To be held
for the rst time in Kolkata, this year,
AAPI Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) will
have many new initiatives and also will be
carrying the torch of ongoing projects
undertaken by AAPIs past leaders. In
addition, several prominent leaders both
from India and abroad will be addressing
the Summit, including the President of
India and the Chief Minister of West
Bengal.
Dr. Naresh Parekh, PresidentElect of
AAPI, Many of the physicians who will
attend this convention have excelled in
different specialties and subspecialties
and occupy high positions as faculty
members of medical schools, heads of
departments, and executives of hospital
staff. The GHS offers an opportunity to
meet directly with these physicians who
are leaders in their elds and play an inte
gral part in the decisionmaking process
regarding new products and services, he
said.
The Summit will also result in the inau
guration of the rst ever free AAPI spon
sored health clinic in the state of West
Bengal, serving thousands of people from
the north eastern region of India.
Dr. Ashok Jain, Chair of BOT, AAPI, said,
The Summit will also feature a CEO
Forum focusing on the changing trends in
the healthcare sector and its impact on
the providers, hospitals and corporations
as well as the patients. With the changing
trends and statistics in healthcare, both in
India and US, we are refocusing our mis
sion and vision, AAPI would like to make
a positive meaningful impact on the
healthcare delivery system both in the US
and in India.
According to Dr. Suresh Reddy, Vice
President of AAPI, The essence of AAPI is
educational. That translates into numer
ous Continuing Medical Education and
nonCME seminars by experts in their
elds.
Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Secretary
of AAPI, pointed out some of the major
highlights of the Summit: Other high
lights of the Global Healthcare Summit
include interactive roundtables, clinical
practice workshops, scientic
poster/research session and meetthe
expert sessions, he said.
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Treasurer of
AAPI, said, The much anticipated
Women's Leadership Forum scheduled for
Dec 30, 2017 is designed to conduct a
Town Hall session. The theme for the
forum is Women Empowerment in the
21st century, with the speakers planned
to be discussing the role and opportunity
for Women to address a major challenge
presented by high rates of infant and
maternal mortality, areas around public
awareness, education and access to
healthcare.
The Young Physicians Research Forum
will be held on Dec. 28th at the oldest
medical college of Asia, Calcutta Medical
College.

NFIA meet: Need for more women leaders
Amdex Corporation President and CEO Devinder Kaur, chief guest, at the opening of the conference
By Surekha Vijh
Washington DC: There is a great need for women
leaders, women role models in the US and around the
world, as women and girls have been denied their
rightful leadership roles in the society. This was
underlined at the Empowering Women and Girls
Conference. A signature event of the National
Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA),
the meet last month brought together many distin
guished speakers and guests from various back
grounds, all asserting that women need to have equal
opportunities to succeed and rise in the society.
Women have not made as much progress globally
as they should have, though they have been moving
up rapidly in various elds, said Angela Anand, Vice
President of NFIA. They have not been achieving
their full potential, she added.
Melanie Bixby, Sr Coordinator in the Ofce of
Global Womens Issues at the State Department,
highlighted the close ties between the US and India.
Over the past few decades our cooperation has
grown steadily across the security, economic and
global leadership arenas, she said.
It has also grown in the area of womens empow
erment, Bixby added.
In the context, she mentioned the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit, cohosted by India and
the US, scheduled for November 2830, in
Hyderabad. It is the ninth Summit sponsored by the
US and the rst time it is partnering with India.
President Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump is leading
the US delegation. This years theme, selected by the
White House is Women First, Prosperity for all.
Maryland Delegate Aruna Miller, a Democrat who
is running for US Congress, presented a Citation
from the Maryland General Assembly to NFIA for
promoting the culture, values and inuence of peo
ple of Indian origin to advance the greater good of
America. She asked women to run for political ofce
and expressed that empowerment of women and girl
was very important. That is why it is incumbent for
everyone to be engaged particularly the Indian
American community, particularly women, she
added. We are going to be the 51 percent minority
when it comes to our social, economic, legal, political
and reproductive rights.
In her keynote address, Devinder Kaur Singh,
President and CEO of Amdex Corporation, talked
about her personal experience, recounting rising
from the depths of despair to the dizzy heights of
fame and fortune. She migrated to the US from
Chandigarh in 1977, and now heads one of the
largest IT services rms based in Silver Spring, MD.
Do not make emotional decisions; make logical
decisions, she said. Empowerment comes with lead
ership which comes to those who take it. Leadership
starts with you. We must dene ourselves. Do not let
others dene you. Our life is a story. Empower your
self to write your own story, she added.
Poojah Ganesh, Miss IndiaDC 2017, spoke about
her journey and experience with the pageant, now in
its 23rd year. This was NFIAs sixth womens confer
ence held at the Marriott in Tysons Corner.
IndianAmericans host lunch
for people with special needs
Houston: IndianAmericans here cele
brated Thanksgiving Day with people
with special needs and disability, an
effort seen to further integrate the
next generation of the community
with the mainstream Americans and
their traditions.
The Consulate General of India, Indi
anAmerican Youth of Greater Hous
ton, 'Do Your Bit' Foundation and Vol
unteers of America got together for
this initiative and hosted Thanksgiving
lunch on Friday by serving hot sump
tuous traditional lunch to over 50 peo
ple with special needs.Lunch was
sponsored by second generation youth
of Indianorigin led by 'Do Your Bit'
foundation of Rahul and Varun Agarw
al and hosted by Volunteers of Ameri
ca.Everyone enjoyed traditional
Turkey, Pumpkin Pie and very ethnic
popular entree Chola Bhatura.
Rahul and Varun raised funds for
this lunch by bringing high school
youth together and organizing basket
ball games/leagues.
Many people with disabilities got
emotional, hugged and thanked mem
The Consulate General of India, IndianAmerican Youth of Greater Houston, 'Do Your Bit'
Foundation and Volunteers of America got together for this initiative
(Image courtesy: India in USA/Houston Facebook page)
bers of IndianAmerican community
for such a warm gesture.
Prominent IndianAmerican commu
nity leaders, Consul General of India
Dr Anupam Ray, Consular Staff, State
Representative Kevin Roberts were
present at the occasion.
"IndianAmerican community of
Greater Houston is very progressive
and they know how to give back to the
community. Giving is an essence of be
ing an Indian," Ray told PTI. "Young
generation is setting examples for gen
erations to come on how to be innova
tive, how to be compassionate and
how to be so giving to the communi
ty," he said.
"This is another significant step in
bringing next generation of Indian
Americans in Houston to integrate
well with the mainstream America and
its traditions," Ray said.
"Seeing the leadership of youth, I am
assured of America's bright future.
Nothing can be better than it," said
Kevin Roberts, State Representative
from Houston and now a congression
al candidate in 2018.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Congressional Committee votes to raise
minimum salary of H1B visa holders
Washington, DC: A key US
Congressional committee on
Wednesday voted to pass a legis
lation that proposes to increase
the minimum salary of H1B visa
holders from $60,000 to $90,000
and imposes a number of restric
tions on the work visa popular
among IT professionals from
India.
The Protect and Grow American
Jobs Act (HR 170) introduced by
Courts, Intellectual Property and
the Internet Subcommittee
Chairman Darrell Issa, was passed
by the House Judiciary Committee
during a markup hearing on
Wednesday morning.
The bill now heads to the full
House for necessary action.
A similar version of the bill
needs to be passed by the Senate
before it can be sent to the White
House for US President Donald
Trump to be signed into law.
Given the sharp differences that
Democratic and Republican law
makers and the White House have
on various aspects of immigration
NATIONAL COMMUNITY Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 9
impose an extraordinary amount es and create new jobs here in
The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act of bureaucratic red tape on a pro America," Issa said.
gram that contributes greatly to Congressman Bon Goodlatte,
(HR 170) proposes to increase the US prosperity. Chairman of the House Judiciary
minimum salary of H-1B visa holders from "It also could disrupt the mar Committee, said the immigration
ketplace, threaten thousands of programmes must put American
$60,000 to $90,000 and imposes a number US jobs, and stifle US innovation workers and nation's interests
of restrictions on the work visa popular by unfairly and arbitrarily target first, and "unfortunately" that is
ing a handful of companies who not the case currently with the H
among IT professionals from India used just 16 per cent of the new 1B visa program. "The Protect and
H1B visas in Financial Year 2016 Grow American Jobs Act makes
reforms including the H1B visa, ment that US workers be recruited while imposing no new require muchneeded reforms to the H1B
the Congressional passage of the first, the Protect and Grow ments on the vast majority of programme to curtail abuse of the
bill and its becoming a law as of American Jobs Act dramatically companies that use the visas to do system and protect American
now appears to be a tall order. increases the salary requirements the same exact same things," workers," he said.
The bill prohibits H1B depend for H1B workers. Chandrashekhar said. NASSCOM strongly disagrees
ent employers from replacing "They must pay the lower of Defending the passage of the with the US
American workers with H1B $135,000 which is indexed for bill, Congressman Issa said law lawmakers."Unfortunately, this
employees, there are no longer inflation or the average wage for makers have a responsibility to legislation is being driven by
any exceptions. the occupation in the area of ensure that the H1B visa is not myths, not reality. US government
It also lengthens the nolayoff employment, but with a floor of abused by those misusing it to data show very significant short
policy for H1B dependent $90,000," said a media release outsource jobs and undercut ages of high skill talent around
employers and their client compa issued by the House Judiciary American workers."The Protect the country. The data show that
nies for as long an H1B employee Committee. and Grow American Jobs Act is a the high skill visa programs are
works at the company, which NASSCOM president R commonsense update that will go not a major cause of US unem
means they cannot layoff equiva Chandrashekhar in a statement a long way to protecting American ployment, and IT specialists work
lent US workers. said that HR 170, as adopted by workers while helping companies ing on temporary visas are not
For H1B dependent employers the House Judiciary Committee, have better access to the talent cheap labour," said
to be exempted from the require would harm US businesses and they need to grow their business Chandrashekhar. (PTI)
 10 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
GOP Tax Reform is actually Tax Reform
The party that controls the Presidency and the Congress pretty much dictates
tax policies. What the Republicans are calling reform are a series of taxing
policy they want to usher in that will benefit primarily big business.
Op-Ed by Shivaji Sengupta
ast week the House passed a
L TaxReform Bill, which,
according to Speaker Paul
Ryan, is the most significant tax
reform in a generation. We are all
waiting now for the Senate to pass
its tax proposal. The two will then
have to agree on one Bill which is
to be sent to President Trump for
his signature to become the New
Tax Law. The last such tax over
haul, it is said, was made during
the Reagan presidency in the
1980s. The interesting adjective is
the word, reform. Exactly what is
being reformed?
First thing to understand is that
taxes in this country are integrally
connected to the two major par
ties philosophies. The party that
controls the Presidency and the
Congress pretty much dictates tax
policies.
The Republicans, long believing
in individual liberty and freedom,
extend them to include business
and entrepreneurism. Not that the
Democrats dont believe in these
things. The differences lie in their
interpretation of the words liber
ty, and freedom. To Republicans, the whole country to benefit finan
to be really free, there must be no
intervention, even positive ones,
from the government, especially in
matters of business and finance.
An individual intending to amass
wealth needs to be given not the
opportunity to do so but the free
dom of opportunity. Let him or
her spend capital with the mini
mum of governmental interven
Hillary blasts Trump, Moore over sexual misconduct allegations
Washington DC: Former US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
has slammed President Trump
and Republican Senate candi
date Roy Moore over their
alleged sexual misconduct, criti
cizing them for not "accepting
responsibility" for their reported
transgressions as Democratic
Senator Al Franken did in the
face of recent sexual allegations
against him.
She said Franken's request to
have the Senate ethics panel
investigate his sexual miscon
duct "is the kind of accountabili
ty I'm talking about".
"I don't hear that from Roy
Moore or Donald Trump," she
added during an interview with
New York's WABC radio.
Clinton's comments came a
New York State Reps in Congress, both Republican and Democrat,
have voted against the House Tax proposal because it eliminates the
State Standard Deduction, which in New York and California is much
larger than most other states.
tion, taxes being its most signifi
cant form.
Thus, historically, Republicans
try to reduce taxes of the wealthy
because, they believe in and
respect their ability to create
wealth. Less taxes will free more of
their wealth to make more money.
When that money is put to work in
terms of jobs and investments, the
ordinary people also benefit by
getting jobs which, in turn, make
more money and more taxes, for
more or less equal opportunity to
cially. Incidentally, in this round of
debates on taxes in 2017, an inter
esting distinction is being made
between the wealthy and the busi
ness wealthy. The latter are busi
ness people and entrepreneurs.
The reduction of the 35% taxes to
20% applies to them, and not for
those who get astronomical corpo
rate salaries to become wealthy.
day after Leeann Tweeden, a Los
Angeles morning show host,
accused Franken of kissing her
without her consent and groping
her breasts while she was asleep
in 2006. Franken apologized for
US AFFAIRS
One suspects this has been intro
duced because we have a real
estate magnate for president who
would (naturally) favor his own
class. The Republicans are happy
to assist him for the reasons
explained above.
Democrats beg to differ. To
them, no one group may be trusted
to selflessly amass wealth for the
good of the country. Furthermore,
they believe in level playing fields
where everybody should get
Representatives in Congress, both
succeed, not just in business, but in
whatever enterprise: education,
health, performance arts and so
on. To the Democrats, government
can best assure this to a maximum
number of people. It follows that to
do this, the government has to be
huge, spend copiously, and there
fore, tax prodigiously. But govern
ment, by virtue of having direct,
his behavior.
Moore, who is running to fill
the Senate seat vacated by
Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
has faced accusations over the
past week that he pursued sexu
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
firsthand knowledge of the whole requirement. This is because those
country, having access to its best individuals, under the present law,
expertise is in the best position to who cannot afford mandatory
improve its economy, not the busi
nessmen, say the Democrats.
Thus, some presidents of this
health insurance, receive a govern
ment subsidy to pay for it. With
the trillions of dollars that it is
country, such as Teddy Roosevelt, going to cost the United States to
Ronald Reagan, and now, Donald give wealthy business people the
Trump, have been staunch believ tax breaks they have proposed, the
ers of individual freedom and government will need money from
responsibility in improving the other sources: let Health Care be
American economy. Others, such the casualty! The problem with
as Franklin D. Roosevelt, John cutting Health Care, quite apart
Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and from an issue for national health,
Barack Obama expect a major role is that those who do not pay health
for the government for the U.S.A.s insurance, go to public hospitals
economic advancement. for treatment, and many dont pay
Thus it seems that what the what they owe them. This in turn
Republicans are calling reform increases State and Federal subsi
are a series of taxing policy they dies to the hospitals, which comes
want to usher in, in 2018, that will out of increasing our taxes.
benefit primarily big business. To I am a committed Democrat.
sweeten the deal, they are calling it Quite possibly, what I have written
a Middle Class Tax Break, and, this about Republican tax policies can
they want to bring about by dou be challenged. Nevertheless, I do
bling the Federal Standard want to go on record by saying
Deduction for everybody which, up that I have a fundamental respect
to 2017, has been $6,000 per cou for the classical Republican posi
ple. But they also want to eliminate tions on liberty and freedom, and
the State Standard Deduction, even for the extensions of these
which actually is much less than beliefs to money and finance. But
the Federal. New York State Republicans did not always think
of TAX as a threeletter dirty word:
Republicans and Democrats, have Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, George
voted against the House Tax pro Herbert Walker Bush, none of
posal because New York and these presidents have the negative
California, two of the largest states attitudes about taxes that pure
in the US., have larger Standard businessminded political people
Deductions than most other States. have these days.
What is personally most trou The present Congress is not
bling to me is that the new Tax about Tax Reform. It is about Tax
Laws will remove the individual Reform.
mandatory health insurance And the reformation is not good.
'Crooked' Hillary worst loser of all time: Trump
P
resident Trump on Saturday, while attacking his former
Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, has challenged
her to run against him again in the 2020 US presidential
election. "Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser
of all time. She just can't stop, which is so good for the Republican
Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three
years!" Trump said in a tweet.
al and romantic relationships the Washington Post released a
with teenage girls while he was 2005 recording, in which Trump
in his 30s. The Alabama Senate could be heard boasting about
candidate has denied the allega groping and kissing women
tions of impropriety and has so without their consent.
far resisted calls to withdraw Numerous women had accused
from the race. him of sexual assault or harass
Trump has long faced allega ment. He apologized for his lan
tions of sexual impropriety. In guage on the video but denied
2016, just weeks before the the other allegations, accusing
November presidential election, the women of lying.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 11

WHITE HOUSE SIDING Justice Department sues AT&T to

WITH MOORE FOR HIS
VOTE ON TAX REFORM
Washington: President Trump has yet to for
mally endorse Roy Moore for Senate, but his
aides are hinting that he is coming around
to accepting his candidacy.
On Monday, White House press secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the press
briefing, "The president wants people in the
House and Senate who support his agenda."
The subtext, said CNBC: Given the choice
between Moore and his opponent, Democrat
Doug Jones, Trump "wants people" who are
Republicans.
Sanders' message was a departure from
the administration's previous talking points
on Moore, released soon after the first wave
of allegations against were published on
Nov. 9. They included a statement which
read in part, "The president believes that if
these allegations are true, Judge Moore will
do the right thing and step aside."
In the nearly two weeks since the White
House put out this statement, five more
women have come forward with allegations
against Moore.
But Moore shows no signs of stepping
aside.
White House communications aide
Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox News
Roy Moore candidacy for Senate from
Alabama has been racked by
inappropriate sexual behavior
and child molestation allegations.
Channel, where she, too, refused to endorse
Moore by name. Still, when it comes to the
Alabama Senate election, Conway said, the
White House wants "the votes in the Senate
to get [GOP tax reform legislation] through."
block merger with Time Warner
Critics wonder if the motive is forcing
sale of CNN, called fake news by Trump
Washington: The Justice Department filed
a lawsuit Monday to block the AT&TTime
Warner merger, amid a growing political
storm over whether the administration has
tried to use its review of the $85 billion
deal to force the sale of CNN, a frequent
target of President Trump's media criti
cism.
A DOJ official told reporters Monday that
the agency is concerned the combined
company will charge competitors hefty fees
to distribute Time Warner content, provid
ing an unfair advantage to AT&Towned
DirecTV. Such an arrangement would have
a negative impact on American TV viewers,
said the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss the litigation.
"We believe, and our investigation has
found, the merger would harm competi
tion, resulting in higher bills and less inno
vation for millions of American con
sumers," the official said, adding that the
agency made a "good faith effort" to
resolve the conflict through negotiations.
The official denied that ownership of
CNN was a factor in the DOJ's thinking and
said the Trump White House had no influ
ence over the decision to challenge the
merger in court.
AT&T meanwhile blasted the govern
ment's move, with the company's general
counsel David McAtee calling the lawsuit a
"radical and inexplicable departure from
decades of antitrust precedent." "Vertical
mergers like this one are routinely
approved because they benefit consumers
without removing any competitor from the
market," McAtee said in a statement.
Sources familiar with the deal told
POLITICO earlier this month that the DOJ
gave the companies an ultimatum to either
sell Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting,
which includes CNN or shed satellite televi
sion provider DirecTV.
Trump on Nov. 11 sought to distance
himself from DOJ's handling of the review.
Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One
en route to Hanoi, Vietnam, about whether
he wants AT&T to sell CNN, Trump cut off
the question, saying, "Well, I didn't make
the decision." He later said the situation
will "probably end up being maybe litiga
tion, maybe not. We'll see how it all
plays out."

Sanders asks WH 2nd woman accuses Sen.

reporters to say what Franken of harassment
they're thankful for Washington: A second woman has accused Democratic
Senator Al Franken of sex harassment, saying he put his
hand on her bottom as they posed for a picture in a
state fair in 2010.
Lindsay Menz, 33, who now lives in Frisco, Texas, told
White House CNN in a program broadcast on Monday that she felt
Press Secretary "gross" at the time and immediately told her husband,
Sarah Xinhua news agency reported.
Huckabee The Senator, aged 66, said he did not remember tak
Sanders ing the photo with Menz, but felt badly that she felt dis
respected.
The new accuser has come forward within days of
Los Angeles local radio news anchor, Leeann Tweeden,
claiming that Franken forcibly kissed her and groped
Senator Al Franken has apologized and agreed to an
her in 2006 when he was a comedian. ethics inquiry but not offered to resign.

Charlie Rose dropped by CBS,

Washington: White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders asked reporters to say
what they were thankful for
before asking questions during
Monday's press briefing.
"T his will be our last press
briefing before the Thanksgiving
holiday in this room so I want to
share a few things that I'm thank
ful for," Sanders said at the
beginning of the briefing.
"And I think it would be nice
for you guys to do so as well
before asking your questions."
Sanders then listed what she is
thankful for, including her fami
ly, her faith and members of the
military. "And I'm certainly
thankful for the incredible privi
lege of serving this President and
the American people," she said.
Multiple reporters said what
they were thankful for before
asking their questions during the
press briefing, listing things
including their families and
members of the military.
ABC News reporter Cecilia
Veg a said be fore asking her
question that she is thankful for
the "First Amendment."
"I think we all are," Sanders
said in response.
PBS after sex allegations
B
roadcast icon Charlie Rose
was suspended from CBS,
PBS and Bloomberg on
Monday after eight women came
forward with disturbing allega
tions that he exposed himself to
them and groped their breasts,
buttocks and genitals.
In extensive interviews with the
Washington Post, the women
recounted how Rose made
unwanted sexual advances while
they worked or hoped to work on
his namesake PBS show, dating
back to the late 1990s and span
Charlie Rose
ning until as recently as 2011.
Ranging in age from 21 to 37, a
number of the accusers spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of
retaliation from the veteran TV
host. The women's allegations
share striking similarities, describ
ing how Rose switched between
anger and flattery as he made the
predatory advances.
Rose, who also cohosts "CBS
This Morning" and contributes to
"60 Minutes," apologized for his
"inappropriate behavior" but
insisted he was under the impres
sion that the incidents were con
sensual.
 12 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 INDIA TheSouthAsianTimes.info

and along with JD(U) and RJD in

Rahul's elevation to Congress Bihar in 2015. T he JDURJD

Congress alliance has since come
apart after JD(U) broke ranks and
tied up with BJP once again to

President set in motion continue in power.

New Delhi: The Congress Working
Committee has approved the road
map for what looks like an unop
posed e levat ion of its Vice
President, Rahul Gandhi, as party
President, barring an unexpected
contest, enabling the passing of
the mantle from his mother, who
was at the helm for 19 years.
It would be clear on December
11 whether there would be a con
test for the top party post. The
last date for filing nominations
has been set as December 4, and
scrut iny w ill be done on
December 5, Mullapally
Ramachandran, Chairman of the
Central Election Authority said
after a CWC meeting that cleared
the schedule. The last date for
w ithdraw ing nominat ions is
December 11 and the date of poll,
"if necessary", would be December
16. Counting of votes will be done
on December 19.
In finalizing the poll schedule,
the top policy making body of the
Congress has kept the option
open for Rahul Gandhi's elevation
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi
and other leaders during a Congress Working Committee meeting
in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)
either before or after the out
come of the Assembly polls in
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh
that will be out on December 18.
Asked about whether Sonia has
appealed to party leaders to
actively participate in the the poll
process because on earlier occa
sions whoever had chosen to con
test had his career finished, chief
spokesman Randeep Surjewala
said the Congress has had a histo
ry of contests.
"Cong ress is the only party
which protects democracy in the
country and within the party. This
has been going on since Mahatma
Gandhi's time. Even Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose had fought against
a candidate fielded by Gandhiji.
But their affection for each other
had never come down."
Party sources pointed out that
two senior leaders Jitendra
Prasada and Rajesh Pilot had con
tested against Sonia Gandhi and
Sitaram Kesri respectively. But the
party still gave them respect and
positions, he said adding their
sons were ministers in Manmohan
Singh's government.
47yearold Rahul Gandhi's ele
vation will come more than three
years after Congress was battered
in the 2014 elections when it
sunk to an all time low of 44 seats
in the Lok Sabha. Ever since it has
been struggling to revive itself
and by and large it has tasted
defeat in the successive Assembly
barring in Punjab earlier this year
Sonia, who is all set to hand over
the baton to her son, has been
keeping indif ferent health in the
last few years and has not been
actively participating in party
af fairs as well as in the current
round of election campaign.
The longestserving President,
Sonia became President in 1998.
She had taken the primary mem
bership in 1997.
In the face of poll debacles after
2014, Rahul has been seeking to
revive the party organization and
workers' morale. He has been very
critical of the Modi government
on its economic polices, especially
demonetization and the "hasty"
implementation of the GST. In
recent weeks, a debate has begun
over his "new avatar" marked by a
rise in popularity and his follow
ings on social media.
Rahul Gand hi, an MP from
Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, was
named General Secretary of the
Congress in charge of the youth
and student organizations of the
Party in 2007. In January 2013,
he assumed of fice as Vice
President of the party.

CMs Shivraj, Amarinder jump on Modi lauds MEA

anti'Padmavati' wagon
The comments come a day after "Padmavati" release was "voluntar
ily" deferred from its scheduled date of December 1.
New Delhi: Even as the release
of "Padmavat i" has been
deferred, three Chief Ministers
jumped into the controversy
with Madhya Pradesh's Shivraj
Singh Chouhan announcing a
ban on the film in his state,
while his Punjab counterpart
Amarinder Singh backed the
Rajput community in its
protests against Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's historical drama that
is mired in controversy.
However, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee
described the controversy as
"unfortunate" and a "calculated
plan" to destroy freedom of
expression.
In Jammu and Kashmir, sen
ior National Conference (NC)
leader and MLA Devender Rana
urged Chief Minister Mehbooba
Mufti to ban the re lease of
"Padmavati" in the state.
T he three chief minister's
waded into the controversy
after Uttar Pradesh Chie f
Minister Yogi Aditynath and his
Rajasthan counterpart opposed
the release of the film citing
threat of serious law and order
problem.
The film has been mired in
controversy over conjectures
that it "distorts history" regard
ing Rajput queen Padmavati, a
contention that Bhansali has
repeatedly denied.
Chouhan announced in
Bhopal after a meeting with
Rajput groups that the film has
"distorted history" and thus
cannot be allowed for "release"
in his state.
"If historical facts are distort
ed, and if anything is shown or
said in the movie against the
respect of the country's mother
Padmavatiji, then that movie
cannot be allowed to release in
the land of Madhya Pradesh,"
Chouhan said, eliciting a rous
ing applause from the audience.
"And I am saying this because
people of the country and
Madhya Pradesh cannot accept
disrespect of their pride," the
BJP leader added.
"The insult will not be tolerat
ed," Chouhan said.
He said even if the movie is
passed by the Censor Board for
release in the country, it won't
make it to the screens in the
state.
Amarinder Singh, in his com
ments said: "Anything that is
historical event... no one will
object. But here they are dis
torting history," Singh told
reporters.
"I have also gone to Chittor
and returned and seen all
things there... So, this is distor
tion of history and no one will
accept it."
"And if communit ies are
objecting to it then it is their
right to object," the Punjab
Chief Minister added.
Nat ional Conference (NC)
MLA Devender Rana urged
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
to ban the re lease of
'Padmavat i' in Jammu and
Kashmir, whenever it gets the
goahead from the CBFC.
In a letter addressed to
Mehbooba Mufti, Rana said:
"The release of Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's 'Padmavati' is likely
to hurt the sentiments of a par
ticular community/religion and
thus holds the potential to dis
rupt peace in Jammu region."
He said he was for a ban on
the movie in the state as many
delegations from across Jammu
region had approached him on
the issue in the last couple of
days.The comments come a day
after the release of "Padmavati"
was "voluntarily" de ferred
from its scheduled date of
December 1.
for Bhandari's ICJ
re-election
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi congratulated External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and her
department for Justice Dalveer
Bhandari's reelection to the
International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"Congratulations to Sushma Swaraj
and her entire team at MEA (Ministry
of External Affairs) and diplomatic
missions for their untiring efforts
that have led to India's reelection to
ICJ," the Prime Minister tweeted.
He also thanked the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) and the
United Nations Security Council
(UNSC). "Our deep gratitude to all the
members of UNGA as well as UNSC
for their support and trust in India,"
he wrote on Twitter.
In another tweet, he wished
Bhandari for the achievement. "I con
gratulate Justice Dalveer Bhandari
on being reelected to the
International Court of Justice. His re
election is a proud moment for us,"
he said.
Bhandari was reelected to the ICJ
on Monday as the General Assembly
rallied behind him in a show of
strength that made Britain bow to
the majority and withdraw its candi
date Christopher Greenwood.
Bhandari will start his term from
February 2018.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 13

Ivanka's India schedule Sonia hits out at Modi New Delhi: Hitting

under tight wraps out at Prime

Hyderabad: The threat perception to US
President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka
Trump, who is visiting India this month, is
very high and the US government has
requested the authorities not to disclose
even the slightest piece of information
about her schedule, a senior official said.
Ivanka Trump, along with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, will be addressing the
inaugural session of Global
Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) here on
November 28. The threeday event is being
cohosted by the US and India.
Ivanka Trump, who is also the advisor to
the White House, will be making her first
trip to Asia and "that too completely on her
own" and the US feels that the threat per
ception to her is "very high", said the offi
cial.
Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, Information
Technology and Commerce, Telangana
government, told reporters that if US offi
cials feel that too much information about
her movements has gone out and her secu
rity is threatened, they may even cancel
the visit.
"We ourselves don't have complete infor
mation about her visit," said the official
while terming as "rumors" reports in a sec
tion of media about the time of her arrival
and the places she will visit.
Ivanka Trump will speak at the inaugural
session of Global Entrepreneurship
Summit (GES) in Hyderabad on
November 28. .
Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao will be the other two
speakers at the inaugural plenary. There
will also be an audiovisual presentation
highlighting great innovations from India.
Former British Prime Minister Tony
Blair's wife Cherie Blair, ICICI Bank's CEO
Chanda Kochhar and Telangana's IT
Minister K.T. Rama Rao will be the other
speakers at the session.
Minister Narendra
Modi for delaying
the Winter Session
of Parliament on
"flimsy grounds",
Congress President
Sonia Gand hi
warned the NDA
regime that it can
not escape constitu
tional accountabili
ty by "locking the
temple of democra
Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
cy".
Addressing the Cong ress Working about corruption in high places, conflict of
Committee, which met here to finalize the interest of serving Ministers and dubious
schedule for the e lect ion of the next defense deals.
Congress chief, Gandhi said that despite "Government will be obliged to answer
Modi's failure to adhere to the promises these questions, but in order to avoid the
made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he questions and answers ahead of Gujarat
elections, the government has taken the
continues making "false promises".
"The Modi government in its arrogance extraordinary step of not holding a Winter
has cast a dark shadow on India's Session when it should be held," she said.
Parliamentary democracy by sabotaging the Gandhi said the Prime Minister had the
Winter Session of Parliament on flimsy "audacity to hold a midnight celebration in
grounds. The government is mistaken if it Parliament to launch an illprepared and
thinks that by locking the temple of democ flawed GST but he lacks the courage to face
racy, it will escape constitutional accounta Parliament".
bility ahead of the assembly elections in Training her guns on the Prime Minister
Gujarat," Gand hi said in her opening over his poll promises and claims on the
remarks. economic front, Gandhi accused the govern
She said that Parliament is the forum in ment of "building the fortunes of a handful
which questions should be asked questions while destroying the future of the poor".

OBITUARY

Dasmunsi rose during golden hour of student politics

Kolkata: Articulate and multifac
eted, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was a
master in political manoeuvring
and the topmost leader of the
youth brigade that took West
Bengal by storm in the late 1960s,
to sideline the Communists and
bring back the Congress to power
in 1972.
It was a time when the Maoist
movement went from strength to
strength in the state, with bright
youngsters leaving schools, col
leges and universities to follow
Charu Majumdar's doctrine of
annihilating 'class enemies', that
virtually saw a bloodbath over the
years.
Dasmunsi was then the magnet
for those young men and women,
who disagreed with the Communist
Party of IndiaMarxist (CPIM)
the main force of the two United
Front governments in the state in
1967 and 1969 as also the poli
cy of the bullets espoused by the
Maoists.
First as a student leader in the
Calcutta University, and then as a
brilliant Youth Congress organizer,
Dasmunsi was a major draw with
his fiery oratory and many of his
proteges like Subrata Mukherjee
and Sougata Roy went on to occu
py key positions in the govern
He led a highquality student
movement under the banner of the
Chhatra Parishad. It was because of
him that the Left led United Front
lost power, and S.S. Ray became
chief minister".
Dasmunsi's talent saw his mete
oric rise in the 1970s in the
Congress, then led by Indira
Gandhi. He became an All India
Congress Committee member in
1970, was made the state youth
Congress chief the same year, and
entered the Lok Sabha from the
then South Calcutta seat in 1971,
at the young age of 26.
As early as 1971, he was elected
president of All India Youth
Congress leader and former Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi. Congress, a position he held till
(File Photo: IANS)
1975, when Sanjay Gandhi
ment, state Congress, and in later Left Front government that removed him to anoint his
years, to the breakaway Trinamool remained in power for 34 years till (Gandhi's) favorite, Ambika Soni, to
Congress. The student and youth 2011, when Mamata Banerjee's the post. Dasmunsi did not take the
movements, militant, but pacifist Trinamool Congress combined snub kindly, and left the Congress
compared to the Maoist line, with the Congress to take over in 1979, when the party split after Dinajpur district) and repeated his
enabled Siddhartha Shankar Ray to power. it lost power at the center in 1977
become the chief minister at the A grieving Mukherjee recalled at the height of the antiEmergency
head of a Congress government. At the turbulent 60s and 70s. "I have wave. Dasmunsi joined the
the same time it gave birth to bitter become fatherless again. In my pol Congress (Socialist), became its
factional fights in the state party, itics, as also at a personal level, I West Bengal president and is said
which continue to this day. had only Priyada. We were a pair. to have commented in public meet
Groupism and lobby politics have Everybody used to say Priya ings that he would rather change
often been cited as key reasons for Subrata. We lived together in a his religion or eat cowdung than
the Congress singlehandedly fail commune. We studied in Calcutta return to the parent party.
ing to dislodge the communistled University. He even cooked for me. But that he did after the
Congress rode back to power in
1980, though Indira Gandhi never
forgave him for turning against her
during her difficult days.
In 1984, Dasmunsi returned to
the Lok Saba from Howrah con
stituency by exploiting the senti
ments of the jobless youths in the
area. In meeting after meeting, he
displayed a key and declared: "This
is the key to open all closed facto
ries and industries."
In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi inducted Dasmunsi in his
council of ministers as Minister of
State for Commerce. Subsequently,
he was also made president of the
state Congress, but the party lost
badly to the LF in the 1987 state
assembly polls despite Gandhi's
vigorous campaign.
In 1999, Dasmunsi successfully
fought the Lok Sabha elections
from Raiganj (now under Uttar
success in 2004.
Dasmunsi also served as Minister
of Information and Broadcasting
and Parliamentary Affairs in Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's cabi
net from 2004 to 2008, when he
suffered a paralytic stroke, lost his
power of speech and went into a
coma from which he never came
out.
 14 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
Climate progress in India
brightens hopes for Bonn
l By Frances Beinecke
ust a few years ago, India relied
J almost exclusively on coal to
fuel its rapid development, open
ing new coalburning power plants
and increasing coal mining and
imports. This year, however, in a
remarkable turnaround, India can
celled plans for an additional 14
g ig awatts of coal power and
announced that it won't build any
new coal plants for at least a
decade thanks to a rapid rise in
renewable energy.
India is one of several standouts
in the global emissions picture.
This nation of 1.3 billion people,
the thirdlargest emitter of climate
pollution, is on track to meet and
exceed its Paris commitments. But
the challenges India faces as it
seeks to lift hundreds of millions
out of poverty while tackling cli
mate change are immense. The
world needs to be invested in
India's climate progress.
The need to scale up climate
solutions in India is clear. In New
Delhi, citizens suf fered through
toxic smog that closed schools,
Indiras fearlessness brought out the best in her
l By Suman Dubey
o past Prime Minister of India
N evokes as much passion as
Indira Gandhi. Her admirers believe
she could do no wrong and was the
messianic leader India needed in
her time; her detractors hold her
responsible for creating a personali
ty cult, encouraging dynastic poli
tics and weakening the institutions
of democracy. As in the case of any
leader with a long tenure and an
enduring impact, her legacy is one
that will be debated long into the
future, when today's politicians and
journalists, who tend to make snap
judgments, have given way to histo
rians and analysts with a longer and
more discerning perspective.
The conventional way of looking
back at the Indira Gandhi era is to
do an accounting of her policies
and programs, their successes and
failures. Such an approach yields
broad areas of convergence as
much as sharp divergences. Few
dispute the success of the Green
Revolution, but not all agree that
the decision to devalue the rupee in
1966 was beneficial or necessary.
There is nearunanimity that the
1971 war was the unmatched high
cancelled trains and suspended
flights. Air pollution, much of it
from dirty energy used in vehicles
and coalfired power plants, was
linked to the deaths of 1.6 million
people last year. Heat waves in
India are becoming more severe
and deadly as global temperatures
rise, killing thousands. And climate
change is boosting the intensity of
seasonal monsoon rains. Last year
1,200 people across South
Asia died in massive flooding,
including 500 in the Indian state
of Bihar.
Clean energy holds tremendous
promise to meet India's complex
challenges, and solar development
in particular is surging forward. In
just a few years, India installed
nearly as much solar capacity as
the three top US states
California, New Jersey and
Massachusetts combined. India
is now home to the world's largest
solar park, with a bigger one in the
works. In Paris, India committed to
40 percent nonfossil energy by
2030, and will likely hit this target
by 2022 eight years ahead of
schedule.
A wreath being laid at the statue of Former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi on her death anniversary, in Kolkata. (Photo: IANS)
of her years in of fice but there
are those who see the Simla agree
ment that followed as having left
the whole business with Pakistan
unfortunately unfinished.
Her economic policies the
nationalization of banks and the
grain trade, the high taxes, the
emphasis on the public sector
against the private sector all have
their supporters and denigrators.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
OP-ED
The 3.5mw solar power plant at
HAL airport in Bengaluru.
(Photo: IANS)
Even on a more individual scale,
solar energy is making a huge dif
ference in people's lives. I have
seen how solar energy has empow
ered rural women in the salt flats
of Gujarat. Through the partner
ship w ith NRD C (Natural
Resources Defence Council), SEWA
(Se lfEmployed Women's
Association) now has a loan pro
gramme that replaces fuelhungry,
ine f ficient diese l pumps w ith
solarpowered water pumps to use
in the salt flats.
In addit ion to deve loping a
Yet there is nearunanimous admi from all over the country, for whom
ration for her space and nuclear
programmes, and gathering respect
for her championship of nature and
the environment, manifested in
ways that no other leader in this
country has remotely approached.
The imposing of the Emergency
(197577) and the rise to political
prominence of her younger son,
Sanjay, have few defenders; but her
cleaner energy supply, India is
working to reduce energy demand
from appliances and buildings. The
government just launched a new
energyefficient buildings program
that will support investment in
about 10 million LED lights, 1.5
million energyef ficient ceiling
fans, and 150,000 energyefficient
air conditioners.
A new Energ y Conservat ion
Building Code, which NRDC is
working to implement with part
ners, has been adopted by eight
states, with 15 more to follow. This
restoration of the democratic
process in lifting the Emergency
and calling for elections is grudg
ingly acknowledged. There is wide
spread admiration for the way she
battled her way back to of fice in
just three years and restored the
Congress party to preeminence.
Her handling of the Punjab and
some other domestic issues is criti
cised, in contrast with her sweeping
success on the global stage which
she strode with confidence, whether
dealing with the two superpowers
and the Western world or leading
the NonAligned Movement and the
developing world.
But in the end, the best way to
assess the impact of Indira Gandhi
is to witness the thousands who
visit her memorial at 1 Safdarjung
Road every day, ordinary people
the journey is almost a pilgrimage
to the sanctum of one with whom
they still connect, 33 years after her
assassination. The Indira Gandhi
they see and take away is more
than the embodiment of programs
and policies which if they weren't
necessitated by emerging circum
stances sprang from her deeply
held beliefs and values. The image
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
widespread adoption would make
90 percent of India's infrastruc
ture development more energy
efficient.
Leveraging India's limited gov
ernment funds to bring in more
private and international invest
ment will be the key and NRDC is
working with experts in India to
unlock more investment in clean
energy. Green bonds dedicated to
clean energy could be one way to
attract private capital.
India has made solid progress on
its Paris climate commitments. But
developing its economy while com
bating climate change, air pollu
tion and extreme poverty is an
enormous undertaking. No nation
can make this uphill climb alone.
In today's world, countries, cities,
states and regions need to work
together across borders to support
climate solutions and protect peo
ple worldwide from the worst
impacts of climate change.
Only by accelerating climate
action worldwide will we close the
emissions gap and achieve the
promise of Paris a safer climate
future for us all.
of Indira Gandhi they experience
and cherish in memory is shaped by
the character and qualities that dic
tated her actions.
Foremost among them must sure
ly be her fierce pride in her country.
"I cannot understand," she wrote,
"how anyone can be Indian and not
be proud." Whether dealing with
the likes of US President Richard
Nixon, or cementing friendships
that would give India an advantage,
or handling probing questions dur
ing interviews, the strength of her
conviction and confidence shines
through the years leading up to the
liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.
Her staunch independence, her
determination to act in what she
saw to be the national interest, was
the rock on which she stood
through all her dealings with the
outside world.
Indira Gandhi's compassion and
concern for the people whom she
governed manifested itse lf in
diverse ways. She was at her best in
the midst of India's ordinary
women, men and children talking
to them, listening to them, sharing
their happiness and their woes, in
what was an almost familial rela
tionship.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info LENS EYE Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 15

An exhibition in London charts the technological and cultural development of the medium in
India, examining photographys changing role in reflecting the recent history of the country

By SATimes Team image makers such as Sohrab

Illuminating India: Photography
1857 2017, is an ambitious
look at the technological and cul
tural development of the medium
in India, examining photogra
phys changing role in charting
the recent history of the country.
It is part of Illuminating India,
a season of exhibitions and
events at the Science Museum in
London to celebrate Indias con
tribution to science, technology
and mathematic. The other simul
taneous exhibition 5000 Years of
Science and Innovation is run
ning till end March.
Illuminating India commemo
rates 70 years of Indias
Independence and is part of the
British Councils UK/India Year of
Culture.
Pandit Nehru announces Mahatma Gandhis assassination to a crying crowd, Birla House, Delhi. 1948 The photography exhibition
Henri CartierBresson/Magnum Photos features contemporary work by
Hura, Olivia Arthur, and Vasantha
Yogananthan, as well as archive
images dating back to the 1850s,
highlighting the history of the
medium and the country.
It includes images by Indias
first known photographer Ahmad
Ali Khan, pioneering art photog
rapher Maharaja Ram Singh II,
the countrys first female photo
journalist, Homai Vyarawalla,
and, course the legendary Henri
CartierBresson.
Shortly after its invention in
Britain in 1839, photography
arrived in India. It was used by
the British as a tool to document
and exert power over the people,
architecture and landscapes of
the subcontinent but it also
became a medium for Indians
themselves to express their
unique experiences of the coun
try.

Lonavla, Meghraj Cabaret, Bombay 1984 Mitch Epstein, The Mystic Sign from the Art Studies album ca 1890, by Shapoor N Bhedwar
courtesy Galerie Thomas Zander, Kln Alkazi Foundation for the Arts

Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur (18491930) cs 1876

Bara Imambara after the Indian Mutiny, Lucknow, 1900, shot by Bourne & Shepherd, photographers to H.E.
ca 1850, by Felice Beato Victoria & Albert Museum From Sweet Life series Sohrab Hura The Viceroy, Calcutta Alkazi Foundation for the Arts
 16 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
The first Miss World crown was won for India by Reita Faria
in 1943, followed by Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden
(1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000).
India's Manushi Chhillar
wins Miss World crown
I
ndia's Manushi Chhillar won the coveted
"Miss World 2017" title at a glittering
event in Sanya, China, ending 16 years of
drought for India at the international pag
eant.
Manushi is the sixth Indian to win the title
and the first since Priyanka Chopra won the
crown in 2000.
"The feeling is still sinking in and I am
very excited to make India proud too. I'm
also looking forward to the year ahead,"
Manushi said in a statement after the win.
All of 21, Manushi was born to doctor par
ents in Haryana, which once ranked the
worst among all states in sex ratio in India.
"My parents have always been my pillar of
support and having them here tonight by
my side has only brought me more strength
and joy.
"My final answer also came to me by hav
ing them here with me in front of me," said
Manushi, whose family members, including
a brother and a sister, were present at the
gala.
In the questionandanswer round after
she was shortlisted among the top five,
Manushi was asked: "Which profession
deserves the highest salary and why?"
She said a mother deserves it most.
Manushi was ecstatic and emotional when
she was announced the winner from among
contestants from 108 countries. She was
crowned by Miss World 2016 winner,
Puerto Rico's Stephanie Del Valle.
Miss Mexico Andrea Meza was announced
the first runner up, while Miss England
Stephanie Hill was declared the second run
THE SECRET OF MISS WORLDS PERFECT BODY
o you turn green with envy
D when you see newly
crowned Miss Worlds
hourglass figure? Here's a diet
chart and workout regime that
you must follow to attain that
perfect figure.
Arushi Verma, CoFounder,
FITPASS, and celebrity nutrition
ist Nmami Agarwal, who is the
fitness guru of Manushi Chhillar,
suggest how to have a fit body:
l Don't skip breakfast: Skipping
breakfast increases hunger
pangs by the end of the day.
l Eat regular meals and use
smaller plates: Eating regular
meals helps to reduce the temp
tation to snack on food that is
high in fat and sugar.
l Avoid sugar, especially refined
sugar. Miss World Manushi
While travelling, make healthy followed a strict diet and body warmup, core twisting is
diet choices. Order foods such as a workout regime.
grilled chicken or fish and avoid having a
creamy sauce along with it. Instead of a main
course, opt for an appetizer. Always order a
salad along with your meal, but choose only
low fat dressings.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD TheSouthAsianTimes.info
ner up at the event, held at Sanya City Area.
Apart from the main title, Manushi also
won the "Beauty with Purpose" award.
Soon after, congratulatory messages
poured in.
Priyanka was joyous about having a "suc
cessor".
"And we have a successor!
Congratulations Manushi Chhillar on
becoming Miss World 2017. Cherish and
learn, and most importantly enjoy it. Bravo,"
she tweeted.
Former Miss World Sushmita Sen wrote:
"India wins Miss World 2017!
Congratulations Manushi Chhillar. Yipeeeee,
about time! Super proud! Jai Hind."
Neha Dhupia, a former beauty queen and
who mentored India's Miss India pageant
contestants this year, tweeted:
"Congratulations Manushi Chhillar. We
knew you had all the qualities to conquer
the world ever since we met you for the first
time! You go girl!"
Manushi did her schooling in the national
capital Delhi and became a student of medi
cine in Sonepat.
In an interview during her grooming, she
said: "The only thing I believe is certain in
life is uncertainty, and this is what is amaz
ing about the pageant."
She was always confident about winning
the crown.
The first Miss World crown was won for
India by Reita Faria in 1943, followed which
Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden
(1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and
Priyanka Chopra (2000). Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Indian to win the coveted title.
l Practise yoga regularly: Yoga
is a great form of exercise to
maintain correct body posture
and keep muscles toned. Apart
A file photo
of Haryana
from providing a slim figure, CM
yoga is also beneficial for Manohar
increasing flexibility and core Lal Khattar
strength of your body. with
l Squats: This is one exercise Manushi
which should be part of every Chhillar.
one's workout routine regard
less of age, gender or fitness
goals. They're not just for legs;
they benefit the whole body in
a multitude of ways. Apart from
toning and maintaining thigh
and bottom muscles, squats PM, President, Haryana CM
also help in increasing entire
body strength and muscle,
improving circulation, getting
congratulate Chhillar
resident Ram Nath Kovind congratu "Congratulations Manushi Chhillar! India is
P
rid of cellulite etc.
l Twisting: For an overall lated Manushi Chhillar for winning proud of your accomplishment."
the coveted "Miss World 2017" title. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal
the most effective exercise to "Best wishes to Manushi Chhillar for win Khattar said that by winning the coveted
lengthen, strengthen, detox and tone your ning the Miss World title. May this inspire crown of Miss World 16 years after
entire body. Being an effective cardio workout, every young woman in our country to Priyanka Chopra won the title in 2000,
core twisting also helps to eliminate pain, achieve her dreams, in whichever field she Manushi, "the daughter of Haryana", had
inflammation and internal scar tissue forma chooses," Kovind tweeted. made the country and the state proud.
tion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted:
TheSouthAsianTimes.info ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 17

'PADMAVATI' ROW: REVIEW

PROTESTERS THREATEN 'Tumhari Sulu':

TO CUT DEEPIKA'S NOSE.
T
he row over filmmaker Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's "Padmavati" intensified
after a Shri Rajput Karni Sena mem
ber threatened to chop off actress Deepika
Padukone's nose amid a call for "Bharat
Bandh" (shutdown) on December 1 when
the film is slated for panIndia release.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also
said in a letter to the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting to ensure
that the prospects of public outrage and
unrest over "Padmavati" are considered
owing to twisting of historical facts before
certification of the film by the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Earlier, Shri Rajput Karni Sena member
Mahipal Singh Makrana said in a selfmade
video that "Rajputs never raise a hand on
women but if need be, we will do to
Deepika what Lakshman did to
Shurpanakha".
Shri Rajput Karni Sena chief Lokendra
Singh Kalvi also said at a press conference
that they will call for a "Bharat bandh" on
December 1. During the shooting of the
film earlier this year, a few members of the
Shri Rajput Karni Sena had physically
assaulted Bhansali in Jaipur. The party
members also set fire to the film's set in
Maharashtra. On the other hand, Deepika in
an interview said nothing can stop the
release of the film. "It's appalling, it's
absolutely appalling. What have we gotten
ourselves into? And where have we reached
as a nation? We have regressed," Deepika
said. "The only people we are answerable to
is the censor board, and I know and I
The controversial film starring Deepika
Padukone is slated for Dec 1 release.
believe that nothing can stop the release of
this film," said the actress, adding that the
film industry's support symbolizes how
"this is not about 'Padmavati'... We're fight
ing a much bigger battle," she added.
"Padmavati", which also features Shahid
Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, is yet to be cer
tified by CBFC. However, the Rajput com
munity has demanded a special screening
of the film for them before it hits the
theatres.
Strong performances
elevate the film
umhari Sulu" is the story of
T Sulochana Dubey aka Sulu (Vidya
Balan), a middle class housewife with
an indefatigable spirit who is in the con
stant pursuit of excelling and winning con endearing with her simplicity and inno
tests and competitions, which give her
immense satisfaction. Perhaps subcon
sciously it stems from the fact that she is
Class 12 fail as her banker sisters and
father constantly remind her.
Sulu as she is fondly called, is always
eager to participate in contests and win
whether it is a night lamp or a pressure
cooker. Her enthusiasm and confidence
keep her going and her middleclass hum
drum life does not deter her from giving
these a shot.
It is on one such occasion that she
comes across the announcement for an
RJ hunt and sets about pursuing it.
How she becomes a popular RJ, on a
night show, tastes success and yet,
faces flak at home, forms the
crux of this tale.
Director Suresh Triveni man
ages to create the middle class
milieu complete with Sulu,
her husband Ashok (Manav
Kaul), a Manager in a
smalltime mill and their
11yearold son,
Pranav, to perfection.
Whether it is
Ashok's constant
bickering with
viewing. A lot of the situations seem forced
and trite, as if to create some drama.
Vidya Balan shines as the effervescent,
determined, yet vulnerable Sulu. She is
cence as a middle class housewife, who
unabashedly asks for a TV instead of a
pressure cooker as she has already got
one.
Ashok (Manav Kaul) excels as the loving
husband, who willingly plays second fiddle
to his wife, supporting her in her realizing
her dreams. A complete natural, he effort
lessly slips into the role of a middle class
husband and brings the right element of
subtlety to his character. All other actors
portray their roles with sincerity.
The music of the film is
melodious and "Ban Ja
Tu Meri Rani" is sweet
and wellpictured. It
brings out the chem
istry of the couple.
The film has mod
erate production
values but befitting
the strata of society
depicted.

ED SHEERAN LANDS IN MUMBAI, the TV compa

ny for having
sold him a

WELCOMED IN TRADITIONAL STYLE faulty piece

and thus

E
d Sheeran landed in Mumbai for his a hotel in south Mumbai for the singer and seeking
concert amid heavy security and much his entourage. replace
fanfare. The popular singer was wel As for the main act, fans can expect a set ment or
comed at the airport with a traditional wel list that encompasses all the major hits Sulu's fami
come ceremony with flowers, dancers and including "Eraser", "Perfect", "Hearts Don't ly giving her
dhols. Break Round Here", "New Man", "Dive", and, advice to leave
The singer was sporting his famous black of course, the uber catchy "Galway Girl" and the RJ job at night,
Tshirt, black jeans and hoodie and was soon crowd favorite "Shape of You". are all palpable
escorted to his hotel where he will prep for During his previous concert in Mumbai, instances that the
his tour. Ed, it is being reported, has always back in 2015, Ed had performed a mix of audience can fully
wanted to explore Mumbai and Indian cui numbers from his debut and sophomore relate to.
sine. Ed is accompanied by an entourage of albums "+" (Plus)" and "x" (Multiply), and a A performance
45 people and has been allotted a fleet of 20 few of those hits are bound to make an oriented light
luxury cars. Close to 60 rooms are booked at appearance at Sunday night's gig as well. hearted film,
the treatment
Most of the in some parts
songs by however is a
British singer tad amateurish.
Ed Sheeran While the first
have been half establishes
chartbusters. Sulu, her spirited
personality and
her secret long
ing to prove her
self, the second
half drags and at
times lays undue
emphasis on unnec
essary trivia, which
makes for tedious Vidya Balan shines as the effervescent,
yet vulnerable Sulu.
18 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 RELIGION TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The 150th birth anniversary of Shrimad Rajchandraji,

a great Indian saint known as Yugpurush and
spiritual mentor to Mahatma Gandhi, was celebrated
in Gujarat where his giant statue was unveiled.

T
he year 2017 marks the
150th Birth Anniversary of
Shrimad Rajchandraji
(18671901) a profound spiritu
Celebrating
Mahatmas
al luminary, poetphilosopher and
spiritual guide to Mahatma
Gandhi. Earlier this year, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi paid a

Mahatma
glorious tribute to the Mahatmas
Mahatma Shrimad Rajchandraji
by launching two commemora
tive coins and stamp bearing his
portrait. Numerous organizations and spiri
tual seekers worldwide are also celebrating
this monumental occasion.
Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur
(SRMD) hosted a 4day festival from
November 25 that venerated the revered
saint. Gracing the occasion were many
saints and dignitaries including
Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai founder of
SRMD, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Morari Bapu,
Viveksagar Swami, Swami Chidanand
Saraswati, Acharya Lokesh Muni, Ven.
Bhikkhu Sanghasenaji, and BK Didi Dr.
Nirmala. The thousands of spiritual aspi
rants had also converged at Shrimad
Rajchandra Ashram Dharampur in Valsad
district of Gujarat. Dharmapur is where
Shrimad Rajchandraji stayed for 35 days
during his final year.
DAY 1
A Shobha Yatra of 7,000 people kicked
off the celebrations on 2nd November. The
procession began with the freeing of 150
caged birds. Auspiciously decorated vehi
cles carried images of Lord Mahavira and
Shrimad Rajchandraji while elephants,
camels and horses added to the proceed
ings. Five stations along the route depicted
incidents from Shrimadjis life and engaged
the townspeople with activities and games
on the evenings of 30th Oct to 1st Nov.
Selected women in the procession carried
Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut, a com
pilation of Shrimadjis letters and works.
The women of Dharampur made ghauli
artwork from dry rice, while blazing drums,
a band and chants of Shrimad
Rajchandrajis pious name added to the ela
tion. The evening witnessed the unveiling
of the worlds tallest statue of Shrimad
Rajchandraji at the hands of Pujya
Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai and Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar. The statue in Lotus posture is 34
feettall, symbolizing the 34 uplifting years
of Shrimadjis life, and is surrounded by a
water body in an open air amphitheater.
Seekers then enjoyed an evening of devo
tional music with the popular composer
duo SachinJigar and artist Bhoomi Trivedi.
A special performance that mesmerized the
crowd was the yoga dance synchronized
with music.
DAY 2
On 3rd November there was a mahapu
jan of Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut
while the evening witnessed a grand func
tion to celebrate the milestones reached
by the play Yugpurush Mahatma ke
Mahatma. Produced by SRMD, Yugpurush
has had 1000 shows in over 290 cities
worldwide, reaching over 640,000 viewers
within one year. The Gujarati play is direct
ed by acclaimed director Rajesh Joshi of
Code Mantra fame, scripted by playwright
UttamGada and the music direction is by
SachinJigar. In order to cater to the huge
demand for the play, eight teams are now
performing Yugpurush simultaneously in
various cities globally. The play is currently
running in Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi,
Kannada, Bengali, Tamil & English.
DAY 3
The first Mahamastak Abhishek of the
statue of Shrimadji took place on the morn
ing of 4th Nov, where Pujya Gurudevshri
along with saints and devotees showered
five types of specially prepared holy water
Mahamastak Abhishek of Shrimad Rajchandrajis statue in Dharmapur,
Gujarat, to celebrate his 150th Birth Anniversary
on the statue. Next came the ground incep
tion of the Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital in
the presence of Gurudevshri and Morari
Bapu. This 200bed multispecialty charity
hospital with stateoftheart facilities will
cater to the economically underprivileged
in this belt of Southern Gujarat. In the
evening, Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai was
bestowed the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi
Seva Medal by Padma Shri S.P. Varmaji on
behalf of Gandhi Global Family, a United
Nations DPI accredited Peace NGO.
DAY 4
The final day of the Yugpurush Mahotsav
witnessed the uplifting Atmarpit diksha
ceremony, wherein 5 young devotees (two
males and three females) were initiated.
Atmarpits are a band of lifelong celibate
devotees who have chosen to lead a life of
sadhana and seva. Under the direction of
Gurudevshri, they are progressing on the
path of spirituality. Several highly qualified
individuals such as doctors, dentists and
engineers have chosen to be Atmarpits and
to use their lives towards a higher purpose.
All four days of the Mahotsav witnessed
discourses by Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai that
elicited reverberating applause from the
inspired audience. Other initiatives by
Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur
for Shrimadjis 150th Anniversary include:
Shrimad Rajchandra Educational Aids
Distribution giving notebooks and
stationery items at highly subsidized
rates to over 1.2 lakh rural families in
Gujarat.
Naming of roads and chowks in the
memory of Shrimad Rajchandraji
An engaging and interactive travelling
exhibition showcasing Shrimad
Rajchandraji's virtuous life, literary
compositions, and teachings.
More information: www.shrimadrajchan
dramission.org
For press queries please contact : +91
9322241513/ Email: publicrelations@shri
madrajchandramission.org

Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the unveiling of the Gurudevshri and other saints including Morari Bapu and Acharya Lokesh Muni perform
34feet statue of Shrimad Rajchandraji. the mahurat ceremony of the 200bed Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 19

IDC commemorates 157th Indian Consul General's

anniversary of Indian
arrival in South Africa
New York: The Indian Diaspora Council
(IDC) joins with its global affiliates and
membership in paying honored tribute
and expresses its gratitude to those who
made the first journeys as indentured
laborers from India to arriving in Natal,
South Africa on 16th November 1860.
Year 2017 marks the 157th anniversary
of arrival of the first indentured Indians,
an event with farreaching results for the
Colony of Natal. The descendants of
Indian Indentured laborers are now over
1,500,000 in South Africa and have pro
gressed in all segments of society.
The first ships arrived in November
1860 having left Madras and Calcutta the
previous month. The voyage, in a sailing
ship or paddlesteamer in those days took
an average of 45 days from Madras and
54 from Calcutta but a few decades later,
when steamers were used, the journey
became considerably shorter and 600
passengers could be transported in com
parison with the 300 or 350 that the
Truro, Belvidere, Lord George Bentinck
and Spirit of Trade carried in 1860.
Rita Abraham of South Africa Womens
Forte and Indian Diaspora Council stated:
Today 16th November marks 157 years
since Indians arrived in South Africa and
sowed the seeds that marked the birth of a
great community that has progressed and
prospered. We owe them a debt of grati
tude and honor them in our hearts and
minds.
IDC president Ashook Ramsaran stated:
We pay homage and commemorate an
historic event which took place 157 years
ago and recognize the journeys, hard
ships, travails and perseverance of a peo
ple while looking at today and tomorrow
which can take lessons from that history
of journeys not so long ago. While
acknowledging that past, we can triumph
by taking bold steps same as those who
came to South Africa and other lands with
just a promise, with lots of hope and
determination.
Their ancestors came here partially by
choice, many forced but resolved and per
severed under very difficult and harrow
ing conditions. That shared experience,
that saga of shared history, fostered an
unusual kindred spirit of resolve, togeth
erness and kinship a triumph over obsta
cles and difficulties with dreams and aspi
rations of a destiny intertwined by history
and fate.
family held hostage in
armed robbery in Durban
New Delhi/Johannesburg: The family of
India's Consul General in Durban, South
Africa was attacked by robbers and briefly
held hostage at their official residence there,
prompting India to raise the issue with
South African authorities.
The family of Consul General Shashank
Vikram, including his fiveyear old son,
domestic staff, and a visiting teacher were
reportedly held up during the armed intru
sion at their residence on Innes Road, on
Saturday.
"We have taken up the matter with the rel
evant authorities, and investigations are cur
rently ongoing. We expect that the intruders
will be arrested soon," ministry of external Consul General Shashank Vikrams family
affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. including fiveyearold son, domestic staff
and a visiting teacher were heldup
He said that ensuring the safety and secu
rity of Indian diplomats and officials posted brazen robberies in affluent suburbs north
abroad, along with their families, is a matter of Durban, the Independent Online reported.
of highest priority for the Indian govern "They (Vikram's family) are OK but they
ment. were obviously traumatized," consul SK
External Af fairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Pandey was quoted as saying. Nobody suf
has spoken to the Consul General and fered physical harm, he said, adding that
inquired about the well being of his family, they planned to attend counseling. He said a
Mr Kumar said. The robbers reportedly domestic worker's cellphone, which was also
gained entry by derailing the entrance gate, robbed, could provide clues to the incident.
a strategy used often in a spate of recent (PTI)

UAE students set world Punjab offers program to

record on Children's Day connect NRIs with their roots
Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet would be open to young boys and
Dubai: Students at an Indian
on Friday approved the "Connect girls in the age group of 1622,
school in the United Arab
with Your Roots" (CYR) program to and facilitate their learning of
Emirates (UAE) set a world record
reach out to youngsters of Punjabi their family background and the
on Tuesday by posing as a
origin settled in other countries. culture to which they belong, and
"human boat" to mark the 128th
The program, aimed at young also to build an emotional bonding
birth anniversary of India's first
NRIs, whose parents, grandparents with the country of their roots,"
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
or great grandparents are settled the spokesperson said.
the Gulf News reported.
abroad, will seek to connect them "The first group of such young
A total of 4,882 students from
with their ancestral roots and glo sters is expected around January
the India International School of
rious cultural heritage of Punjab, a 9, 2018, to coincide with the NRI
the Pace Education Group partici
spokesperson of the Chief Day and each group would com
pated in the event by wearing the
Minister's Office said here. prise 15 youths." The Chief
colors of the UAE National flag Kids posed as 'human boat' to mark Nehru's birthday and in national Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Minister said that following the
which are black, red, green and colors of UAE flag to mark soon approaching National Day of UAE. who had announced the program cabinet approval, he will now write
white at a sports complex in (Image courtesy: ndtv.com) during his recent visit to London, to the ambassadors and high com
Sharjah city.
from the Guinness World Records, bolic image, we chose the boat for briefed the Cabinet about the missioners of various countries,
T he children entered the
it said. "It is a great achievement this attempt." objective behind the scheme, including the UK, Australia and
Guinness Book of World Records
for our students. It is probably a Because the UAE National Day is aimed at creating awareness Canada, to apprise them about the
by forming the largest image com
onceinalifetime experience for approaching, Reji said the school among the NRI youth about the scheme and invite groups from
posed by humans which from the
them," said school principal decided to use the flag colors to real situation prevailing on the these nations. In the long run, the
bird's eye perspective looked like
Manju Reji. "Their life has to go a have a joint celebration of both ground in Punjab. program would enhance the
a boat in the colors of the Gulf
long way like a boat sailing in an the Children's Day Nehru's "The scheme, initiated by the engagement of NRIs, who could be
Arab country, the daily reported.
ocean. And the boat is a symbol of birthday and the UAE National NRIs Affairs Department on the a vital engine in Punjab's progress,
The students, from grade one to
the UAE's heritage too. As a sym Day. (IANS) directives of the Chief Minister, with the state.
eight, will receive a certificate
 20 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 SUBCONTINENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

'Special Terrorist Zones' for China proposes three-phase

LeT, JeM must end: India solution to Rakhine issue
United Nations: Declaring that
Afghanistan's stability and secu
rity was tied to that of the entire
region, India has demanded an
end to the "Special Terrorist
Zones" in Pakistan where mili
tant outfits, the LashkareTaiba
(LeT ) and JaisheMohammed
(JeM) are protected.
"It is imperative to address the
support that terrorist organisa
tions like the Taliban, Haqqani
Network, Islamic State (IS), Al
Oaeda and its designated af fili
ates such as the LeT and JeM
operating outside the fabric of
international law, draw from out
side Afghanistan," India's Deputy
Permanent Representat ive
Tanmaya Lal told the
General Assembly during a
debate on the situation in that
country.
"The Special Terrorist Zones,
safe havens and sanctuaries
beyond Afghanistan's border
must end," he added, without
naming Pakistan while the con
text made clear the country he
was referring to.
"Addressing global terrorism
needs a comprehensive, uncom
promising and a cohesive
response from the international
community.
"Afghanistan's security and sta
A photo shows the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.
(Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah/IANS)
bility is tied to that of the entire
region."
Lal criticised the UN for failing
to act adequately to fight terror
ism in the region.
"Even as this debate is going
on, we find the new threats being
posed by the IS in Afghanistan.
"While the cowardliness and
the frequency of terror attacks in
Afghanistan have reached new
heights, and the terrorists contin
ue to g ain territory and
resources of Afg han people,
unfortunately, here in this body,
we have w itnessed little
change.
"The Security Council is still
debating whether or not to desig
nate new leaders or to freeze the
assets of the slain leader of
Taliban," he added.
Afghanistan has asked the UN
to add the new Taliban leader
Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada
to the sanctions list.
He succeeded Akhtar
Mohammad Mansour, who was
killed in a US drone strike last
year.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the Rakhine
issue is complicated.
Nay Pyi Taw: China proposed a
threephase solution to help set
tle the issue in Myanmar's
Rakhine state, Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi said.
China believed that the
Rakhine issue can be addressed
by a solution acceptable to both
Myanmar and Bangladesh
through consultations between
the two neighboring countries,
Wang told a joint press confer
ence with Myanmar's State
Counselor and Foreign Minister
Aung San Suu Kyi, Xinhua news
agency reported. Wang said the
Rakhine issue is a complicated
one touching on history, ethnici
ty and religion, which calls for
both an urgent and longterm
solution.
Thus China proposes a three
phase solution, he said.
The first phase is to achieve a
ceasefire so that local residents
can no longer be displaced.
Through joint efforts, the cease
fire has been in place, Wang said.
Second, the international com
munity should encourage
Myanmar and Bangladesh to
keep communication in a bid to
find a feasible solution to the
issue, he said.
The third phase is to find a
longterm solution. Stressing that
poverty is the root cause of tur
bulence and conflict, the Chinese
Foreign Minister called on the
international community to sup
port poverty alleviation efforts
in Rakhine state.

COURT DECISION CAN'T India wants Jadhav's mother

WEAKEN MY RELATION
WITH PEOPLE: SHARIF
Islamabad: Kicking off
his ruling partys mass
contact campaign, dis
qualified Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif said that no
decision of the court
can weaken his rela
tionship with the mass
es.
"The (large) number
of people gathered
here, and their support
proves that no decision
of the court can sepa
rate me and the peo
ple," he told supporters
while addressing a
rally in Abbottabad.
The people, he added, The Supreme Court disqualified Pakistan
expressed the same
support for him in the
2013 general elections. "If
someone thinks I will be defeat LeagueNawaz (PMLN) drive to
ed, then they are wrong," the
former Prime Minister main
tained. "I'm not one who is
going to be defeated here." The
deposed Prime Minister has
PM Nawaz Sharif on July 28 this year.
kicked off his Pakistan Muslim
New Delhi earlier this year.
reach out to the masses. Sharif
was disqualified by the
Supreme Court on July 28 fol
lowing its landmark verdict in
the Panama Papers case.
to be allowed to meet him first
Islamabad: Pakistan said it has
received India's reply to its offer
to allow the w ife of alleged
Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav,
who has been sentenced to death
here, to meet his wife. According
to sources, India has requested
that Jadhav's mother be allowed
to meet him first.
"India's reply to Pakistan's
humanitarian of fer for
Commander Jadhav received and
is being considered," Pakistan
Foreign Of fice spokesperson
Mohammad Faisal tweeted.
According to a Foreign Of fice
source, India has sought an addi
Alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has been sentenced to death by a
t ional visa for Kulbhushan
Pakistani military court.
Jadhav's mother, Avanti Jadhav,
and permission for her to meet processed. India maintains that told reporters.
her son. Jadhav's mother has a right to It is not clear what prompted
Jadhav's mother had filed a meet her son. Islamabad to allow Jadhav's wife
visa applicat ion w ith the In a sudden move, Pakistan had to meet him in Pakistan. There
Pakistan High Commission in last week informed India that it were rumors that the two coun
would be willing to allow a meet tries discussed the issue at a
The source said that India has ing between the "selfconfessed recent meeting between Indian
expressed reluctance in sending spy" and his wife "on humanitari External Affairs Minister Sushma
Jadhav's wife alone to Pakistan an grounds". The meeting would Swaraj and the newlyappointed
and insisted that his mother's take place on Pakistani soil, the Pakistani High Commissioner to
applicat ion should also be Foreign Of fice spokesman had New Delhi Sohail Mahmood.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INTERNATIONAL Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 21

Mugabe agrees to step down 'Russian Twitter

as Zimbabwean President
Harare: Robert Mugabe has agreed
to stand down as Zimbabwean
President following a military
takeover earlier this week.
A source close to the ailing leader
quoted by the Independent online
said he was reportedly working on
his resignation statement ahead of a
live address to the nation which is
due to be te levised later this
evening.
The ZBC state broadcaster con
firmed that Mugabe would address
the nation shortly from his official
State House of fice in the capital
Harare.
The 93yearold had previously
refused to step down despite being
under house arrest after the mili
tary launched a takeover.
Earlier, the ruling party, ZanuPF,
held a meeting of its central com
mittee where they removed him as
the head of the party and warned
that he must resign or face
impeachment. It also appointed his
former Vice President Emmerson
Mnangagwa as the new leader.
Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa as
Vice President two weeks ago had
prompted an extraordinary chain of
events as the military intervened to
block the 93yearold President
from installing his wife Grace in his
place. The President was due to
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's downfall is likely to send
shockwaves across Africa.
meet the Army commanders who
took power last week, a statement
broadcast by the staterun TV chan
ne l said. Tens of thousands of
Zimbabweans attended street
protests to demonstrate against the
Mugabes.
Mugabe's downfall is likely to
send shockwaves across Africa,
where a number of entrenched
autocratic leaders, from Uganda's
Yoweri Museveni to the Democratic
Republic of Congo's Joseph Kabila,
are facing pressure to step aside.
accounts meddled
in 2016 Brexit vote'
London: In a startling revela
tion, a group of data scientists
has found 156,252 Russian
accounts on Twitter which
mentioned #Brexit and posted
over 45,000 messages related
to the EU referendum in the 48
hours around the vote.
According to a report in The
Times, "Russian Twitter
accounts posted more than
45,000 messages about Brexit
in 48 hours during last year's
referendum in an apparently
coordinated attempt to sow
discord". According to data sci
entists from Swansea
University in Wales and the
University of California,
Berkeley, over 150,000 Russian
accounts who were posting
about the Ukrainian conflict
swiftly started tweeting about
Brexit in days leading up to the
2016 vote.
"From posting fewer than
1,000 tweets a day before June
13, the accounts many of
which are virulently proPutin datasets of tweets to analyze
posted 39,000 tweets on June
A research looked at over
150,000 Russian accounts that
mentioned #Brexit.
2324," the report said.
Tho Pham, one of the report
authors, confirmed to
TechCrunch that the majority of
those Brexit tweets were posted
on June 24, 2016, the day after
the vote.
"During the Referendum day,
there is a sign that bots
attempted to spread more leave
messages with positive senti
ment as the number of leave
tweets with positive sentiment
increased dramatically on that
day," the research said.
The data scientists used
Twitter's API to obtain relevant
and reach the conclusion.

Germany in political crisis Hariri will return to

as coalition talks collapse
Berlin: Threeparty exploratory talks to
form Germanys next coalition govern
ment collapsed after the probusiness
Free Democratic Party (FDP) walked out
of marathon negotiations, the media
reported.
"The four discussion partners have no
common vision for modernization of the
country or common basis of trust," FDP
leader, Christian Lindner, announced
shortly after the four parties involved
missed several selfprescribed deadlines
to resolve differences on migration and
energy policy.
"It is better not to govern than to gov
ern badly... Goodbye," the Guardian quot
ed Lindner as saying.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has been
trying to forge a coalition between her
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its
Bavarian sister party the Christian Social
Union (CSU), the FDP and the Green
party, following federal elections in
September.
Announcing the collapse of the talks as
an "almost historic day", Merkel insisted
that the parties would have been capable
of reaching a compromise even in spite
of their polarized views on migrations,
and described the FDP's walkout as
"regrettable".
"It is a day of deep reflection on how to
go forward in Germany. "As chancellor, I
Minister Saad Hariri met French
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
puts a brave face after talks fail.
will do everything to ensure that this
country is well managed in the difficult
weeks to come," Merkel said.
The outcome of the collapse remains
unknown but Merkel is due to meet
President FrankWalter Steinmeier, who
has the power to call snap elections,
reports the BBC.
Lebanon on Nov 22
Beirut/Paris: Le banese Prime
President Emmanuel Macron after
he arrived here from Saudi Arabia
for talks on a crisis sparked by his
resignation earlier this month.
Macron welcomed Hariri and his
family at the Elysee Palace. The
meeting came hours after a phone
call between the French President
and his Lebanese counterpart
Michel Aoun.
The Lebanese President's office
said that Aoun had thanked
Macron for "France's actions in
favor of Lebanon" and confirmed
that Hariri would be in Beirut for
Lebanon's Independence Day cele
brations on November 22.
Hariri announced on November
4 from the Saudi Arabia capital
Lebanese PM Saad Hariri with French President
Riyad h that he was stepping
Emmanuel Macron.
down as Le banon's Prime
Minister. He accused Iran of sowing "dis The Saudis as well as Hariri denied this.
cord, devastation and destruction" in the But he has not publicly explained the
region and said he feared there was an nature or length of his stay in Saudi
assassination plot against him. Arabia, the BBC reported.
He spent two weeks in Saudi Arabia, a With European diplomats scrambling to
stay that sparked speculation that he was defuse the crisis, France seized the role of
being held against his will. mediator. Five days after Hariri resigned,
Aoun refused to accept Hariri's resigna Macron made an unscheduled trip to
tion, accusing the Saudis of holding him. Riyadh to meet him and Saudi officials.
 22 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 CLIMATE CONFERENCE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nearly 200 nations pledge climate action

Bonn: Amid the shadow of the US
decision to pull out of the Paris
Climate Change Agreement, near
ly 200 nations have pledged to
launch a process next year to start
reviewing existing plans to limit
greenhouse gas emissions.
A set of decisions to accelerate
actions to minimize emissions
ahead of 2020 included allocation
of finance by the developed world
and adopting climate adaptation
policies.
Stepping up climate risk insur
ance, Germany pledged additional
$125 million to support provision
of insurance to 400 more million
poor and vulnerable people by
2020, in addition to the climate
adaptation fund Germany's fur
ther contribution of 50 million
euros.
Climate experts told IANS the
design for the 'Talanoa Dialogue',
a process to take stock and test
options for enhanced ambition
during 2018, was one of the
major outcome at the twoweek
negotiations that saw assembly of
and low carbon opportunities
have grown, the demand for cli
mate act ion has deepened.
Creating space for this important
discussion has been a crucial trust
building process and bodes well
for securing robust Paris rules by
COP24 next year," the expert
added.
The common message from all
sides at this conference has been
that act ion to get on track
towards the objectives of the Paris
Ag reement and to ult imate ly
achieve the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals is urgent, the
United Nat ions Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Secretariat said.
The closing session of the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany. Pledging to continue with its
(Xinhua/Shan Yuqi/IANS) commitments to minimize emis
sions, it said: "Time is really run
197 country delegates. 'Talanoa dialogue', which will help ning out and everyone simply
Talanoa is the Pacific tradition countries and nonstate actors must do much better together to
of decisionmaking based on push new boundaries for enhanc drive climate action further and
respect and understanding to a ing climate action, said an expert. faster ahead now."
negotiating process that has often "Countries also came together "Above all, this means rapidly
lacked both. on urgent action, pre2020 ambi raising the current global ambi
T he countries endorsed the tion. As impacts have intensified tion to act on climate change that
is captured in the full set of
national climate action plans
(NDCs) which sits at the heart of
the Agreement."
T he twoweek negotiations
were aimed to take a number of
decisions necessary to bring the
2015 Paris Agreement to life,
including meaningful progress on
the ag reement to implement
guidelines to keep global warming
within 1.5 degrees Celsius with an
aim to cut greenhouse gases from
burning fossil fuels.
According to recent estimates,
only about 100 million people in
developing countries and emerg
ing economies are currently cov
ered by climate risk insurance.
Likewise, the climate adaptation
fund exceeded its target with
Germany's contribution of 50 mil
lion euros and Italy's contribution
of seven million euros, which
means the fund has now sur
passed its 2017 target by over
$13 million and stands at the
equivalent of $93.3 million dol
lars.

India among 19 nations CLIMATE FINANCE ROW PERSISTS

joining hands for FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS
Bonn: At the twoweeklong UN Climate ation of forest and tree cover.

sustainable biofuels Change negotiations, climate experts quar

Prime Minister of Fiji and President of the
23rd Conference of Parties (COP 23) Frank
Bainimarama delivering a speech in Bonn.
(Xinhua/Shan Yuqi/IANS)
Bonn: In a major breakthrough for sustain
able biofuels, India and 18 other countries
representing half of the global population and
37 per cent of the global economy have
launched a platform that aims to scale up low
carbon bioeconomy. The declaration was
adopted at the UN Climate Change
Conference named COP23 in Bonn by
member countries of the Biofuture Platform.
They are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China,
Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the
Netherlands, Paraguay, the Philippines,
Sweden, Britain and Uruguay.
The decision is set out in a declaration
released by the Biofuture Platform members,
"Scaling Up the Low Carbon Bioeconomy".
It is a major step for sustainable biofuels
and the broader bioeconomy, which will now
become a key component of the global solu
tion to climate change.
"The declaration is the culmination of nine
months of negotiations and is the first time
countries and other stakeholders have formal
ly agreed to develop targets for biofuels and
the bioeconomy and construct an action plan
to achieve them," an official statement said.
"What we have just accomplished here with
the endorsement of this statement is quite
remarkable," the statement quoting Brazil's
Minister of the Environment Jose Sarney
Filho as saying.
"The technology and the awareness of the
need for biobased solutions are finally com
ing together." The decisions announced have
been informed by mode lling from the
International Energy Agency (IEA) and the
International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) both partners in the Biofuture
Platform concluding that the 2030 temper
ature goals adopted in the 2015 Paris
Agreement cannot be reached without a
major increase in the production and use of
sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.
The IEA and IRENA believe in order to limit
the increase in global average temperature to
well below two degrees Celsius above pre
industrial levels and pursue efforts to reach
1.5 degrees, bioenergy and biofuels' share in
the global energy matrix must be accelerated
to achieve at least a doubling in the next 10
years.
reled over the flow of climate finance from
the developed to the developing world.
"How much money will rich nations give
to poor nations under the Paris Climate
Agreement is a big question. The more
important is time. When," a negotiator rep
resenting a developing nation told IANS.
He said these are the fundamental ques
tions with which negotiators from 197 gov
ernments were grappling with as the con
ference is close to its scheduled culmina
tion.
At Bonn, India reiterated provisions for
finance both for adaptation and mitiga
tion, technology transfer for climate actions
from the developed nations.
A day after a major victory for India and
developing countries on climate action
before 2020 that the developed world
agreed to discuss in subsequent two years,
India's Minister of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change Harsh Vardhan said provi
sions for finance, technology transfer and
capacity building support to developing
nations are critical.
Stressing that this Conference of Parties
(COP23) is crucial as it would set the stage
for the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, acceler
ate pre2020 action and firm up the modali
ties for implementing the 2015 Paris
Agreement, he said India has undertaken
ambitious mitigation and adaptation action.
The action is in the fields of clean energy,
especially renewable energy; enhancement
of energy efficiency; development of less
carbonintensive and resilient urban cen
ters; and promotion of wastetowealth and
efforts to enhance carbon sink through cre
On the demand of BASIC countries
(Brazil, South Africa, India and China), Fiji,
which is presiding over the conference, has
also been asked to send letters to all the
countries which are yet to ratify the Doha
amendments to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997
to do so "as soon as possible".
The developed countries have also been
asked to give information by May 1 next
year on the progress they have made on
pre2020 action that relates to their obliga
tions under the Kyoto Protocol that includes
reduction of emissions and transfer of tech
nology and finance.
India had been demanding since the start
of the climate summit on November 6 that
pre2020 climate action be included in the
formal agenda of the negotiations.
The developed world had so far been
resisting this.
The BASIC countries also emphasised the
need for openness, transparency and the
countrydriven nature of negotiations at the
annual summit.
In addition to the commitment to discuss
how to scale up climate action, countries
made modest progress in developing a
negotiating text for "the Paris Rulebook"
comprising the guidelines needed for the
implementation of the Paris Agreement.
In reaction to progress of the talks,
Director of Climate Action Network (CAN)
Europe, Wendel Trio, said: "Limited
progress has been made on the tangible
issues related to climate finance and how to
deal with the catastrophic impacts of cli
mate change, such as those that a number of
vulnerable countries have witnessed in the
previous months."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Moody's upgrades India's rating, boosts sentiments
New Delhi: Boosting investor sen
timents, US credit rating agency
Moody's upgraded India's sover
eign rating to Baa2 from its low
est investment grade of Baa3
after 13 years, a development
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said
was "an extremely encouraging"
global recognition of the structur
al reforms of last three years.
India Inc too lauded it.
Maintaining that the upgrading
was based on New Delhi's "wide
ranging program of economic and
institutional reforms", Moody's
simultaneously changed the out
look for the country's rating to
stable from positive and upgrad
ed India's local and foreign cur
rency issuer rating to Baa2 from
Baa3.
"The decision to upgrade the
rat ings is underpinned by
Moody's expectation that contin
ued progress on economic and
institutional reforms will, over
time, enhance India's high growth
potential and its large and stable
financing base for government
debt, and will likely contribute to
a gradual decline in the general
government debt burden over the
medium term," a Moo dy's
Investor Service release said.
"Moo dy's be lieves that the
reforms put in place have reduced
the risk of a sharp increase in
debt, even in potential downside
scenarios."
The revision of the sovereign
rating of India a notch above
investment g rade also lifted
investors' sent iments at the
Indian equity markets. The S&P
BSE Sensex closed the day's trade
235.98 points up and NSE
Nifty50 68.85 points up.
Foreign investors put $2 bn in Indian equities in November
Mumbai: Foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) have invested a
staggering over $2 billion in the
Indian equity markets this month
t ill the wee k ending Friday,
according to domestic depository
data.
T he FP Is directed a total
amount Rs 14,348 crore ($2.2 bil
lion) into equit ies during
November 117, Nat ional
Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL)
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses a press conference
on Moody's Sovereign Credit Rating of India, in New Delhi. Also seen
is Finance Secretary, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
"Those (reforms) implemented
to date will advance the govern
ment's objective of improving the
business climate, enhancing pro
ductivity, stimulating foreign and
domestic investment and ulti
mately fostering strong and sus
tainable growth," the agency said.
But Moody's lowered India's
growth projection for the current
fiscal because of the impact of
demonetization and the Goods
and Services Tax (GST).
"Reforms such as the GST and
demonetization have undermined
growth over the near term," the
agency said, adding that it
expects real GDP growth to mod
erate to 6.7 per cent in the fiscal
year ending in March 2018.
However, as disruption fades,
assisted by recent government
measures to support small indus
tries and exporters on GST, real
GDP growth will rise to 7.5 per
cent next year, with similarly
robust levels of growth from fis
cal 2019.
According to Moody's, though
the hig h Indian de bt burden
remains a constraint on the coun
data showed.
During the same period, howev
er, the FPIs also withdrew Rs
1,287 crore from the Indian debt
market.
This follows a net inflow of over
Rs 3,000 crore into stock markets
in October.
During the current fiscal, FPIs
have invested Rs 51,756 crore in
equities and another Rs 1.45 lakh
crore in the domestic debt mar
BUSINESS
try's credit profile, its longer term
growth potential is significantly
higher than most other Baarated
sovereigns. React ing to the
upgrade, Jaitley told reporters: "It
is a belated recognition of all the
positive steps taken in the last
few years. It is a recognition and
an endorsement of the process
that India has undergone in the
last threefour years where a
number of structural reforms
have placed India on a higher
growth trajectory."
He said the government had
shown fiscal prudence through a
series of steps in the last few
years like demonetization, intro
duction of Aadhaar, Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code, recapital
ization of public sector banks and
smooth transition to the GST that
have led to better economic situa
tion.
Jaitely said: "Smooth transition
of GST is universally recognised
as a landmark reform in Indian
tax structure. All these steps
which constituted major reforms
are directional in nature. All steps
taken in the last few years had a
kets.
Market analysts attribute the
recent inflow to improvement in
global sentiment as well as the
government's recent announce
ment on recapitalizing staterun
banks.
In a stimulus package aimed to
boost flagging economic growth,
create jobs and increase credit
flow, the union cabinet last month
approved a Rs 2.11 lakh crore
Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
Future growth will cut
Indian government
debt: Moody's
New Delhi: India's
sovereign credit rat
ing upgrade by
Moody's has been
based on the belief
that the recent eco
nomic reform meas
ures will bolster the
country's growth
potential leading to a
decline in government debt, the
US ratings agency said.
"In the medium term, we see
sustained high growth resulting
in a reduction in government
debt," Moody's Senior Vice
President Marie Diron told BTVi
in an interview.
"In the short term, we have
lowered India's growth projec
tion for the current fiscal to 6.7
per cent on account of the slow
down caused by demonetization
and implementing the GST," she
said. "Next year, we are looking
at a growth of 7.5 per cent and,
thereafter, sutained growth to
sustain in the following years,"
she added. Regarding upgrade of
the outlook to stable from Baa3
roadmap. "It is extremely encour
aging that there is an internation
al recognition... This is not some
thing that is happening in isola
tion.
"For three years we were doing
recapitalization plan for staterun
banks and massive road infra
structure investment of nearly Rs
7 lakh crore over five years.
Of the support to banks, Rs 1.35
lakh crore will be raised through
recapitalization bonds and the
remaining sum through budget
ary support and market borrow
ings.
The foreign investor inflow was
further triggered by news earlier
23
positive, Diron said: "The stable
outlook communicates that the
risks are broadly balanced and
that we do not expect this rating
to change in the foreseeable
future."
"Moody's believes that the
reforms put in place have
reduced the risk of a sharp
increase in debt, even in poten
tial downside scenarios," a
release from the American
agency said earlier on Friday.
Noting that Indian fiscal deficit
and government debt have tradi
tionally been bigger than "other
Baa3 rated sovereigns", Diron
said "Indian budget deficits had
narrowed significantly over
time".
a lot of structural reforms. Even
we have moved up 30 places in
World Bank's Ease of Doing
Business. Now after a long spell
of 13 years, India gets rating
upgradation," he added.
this month of India rising 30
places in the World Bank's latest
'Ease of Doing Business' report.
For the first time, India moved
into the top 100 in the rankings
from its 130th position last year,
riding on sustained government
reforms which include making tax
payments easier.
There was also a record foreign
direct investment (FDI) inflow of
$60 billion during 201617.
24 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
India narrowly miss splendid win vs Sri Lanka
Kolkata: Riding skipper Virat
Kohli's superlative 50th interna
tional hundred, India came tanta
lisingly close to a victory but
lack of time forced them to finish
three wickets short and share the
spoils w ith Sri Lanka on an
eventful final day of the first Test
at the Eden Gardens here.
Reply ing to India's second
innings score of 352/8 declared,
the visitors were reeling at 75/7
chasing 231, when umpires
Nige l Llong and Joe l Wilson
decided there was not enough
light to continue the game.
There were still 5.3 overs to be
bowled before the mandatory
overs could begin.
Kohli led from the front on the
final day with an unbeaten 104
of f 119 balls that included 12
fours and two sixes to help India
take a 230 run lead after initial
jitters.
It was the talismanic bats
man's 50th international hun
dred 18th in Tests, 11th as
skipper, and the first at the hal
lowed ground.
Following up, Bhuvneshwar
Kumar (4/8) and Mohammed
Shami (2/34) bowled superbly to
drag the islanders to the cusp of
defeat.
Coming to the crease at a time
the hosts were struggling in the
first session courtesy Suranga
Lakmal's devastating spell of
swing bowling,
Kohli held fort at one end milk
Former Wimbledon champ
Jana Novotna passes away
Prague: Former
Wimbledon cham
pion Jana
Novotna passed
away at her home
in the Czech
Republic follow
ing a long battle
with cancer. She
was 49.
Novotna won
the 1998
women's singles
at Wimbledon, beating
Nathalie Tauziat in the final, to
then become the oldest first
time Grand Slam champion in
the Open era.
A statement from the
Women's Tennis Association
(WTA) read: "After a long bat
tle with cancer, Jana died
peacefully, surrounded by her
family in her native Czech
Republic, aged 49."
She also won all four Grand
Slams in the doubles competi
tion. She won the Australian
Virat Kohli led from the front
with an unbeaten 104 off
119 balls. It was his 50th
international hundred.
ing all the bowlers around the
park with equal severity.
For Sri Lanka, Lakmal (3/93)
and Dasun Shanaka (3/76) were
the pick of the bowlers.
Kohli was circumspect with
Jana Novotna
reached No.2 in
the singles
rankings.
Open doubles crown twice,
while she had a hattrick of
French Open and US Open dou
bles titles to her name too.
She was a silver medalist in
doubles at the 1988 Seoul
Olympics and 1996 Atlanta
Games. She also won the
bronze in singles in the 1996
Olympics.
Novotna also reached No.2 in
the singles rankings, and No.1
in doubles and retired in 1999
before being inducted into the
Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
SPORTS
Lakmal, who took his wicket in
the first innings, initially before
hitting the same bowler for a six
to bring up his ton, and equal
Gavaskar's feat of 11 Test cen
turies as skipper.
Paris 2024 unveils
2018 Olympic
Week dates
Paris: Paris 2024 has unveiled the
dates of the 2018 Olympic and
Paralympic Week for youngsters,
the first major event of formal
Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.
T he 2018 Olympic and
Paralympic Week will run between
January 27 and February 3, fol
lowing a successful inaugural edi
tion in 2017, it was announced on
Friday.
For children of all ages across
France, the Week invites them to
try out new sports, engage with
athletes, and understand the val
ues of Olympism, reports Xinhua
news agency.
"A major legacy of the bidding
phase, the Olympic and Paralympic
Week of fers the opportunity for
young people to discover
Olympism, to change their percep
tion of disability, and to discover
new skills," said Tony Estanguet,
President of Paris 2024.
The Week will also be the first
major event implemented by the
future Paris 2024 Organizing
Committee likely to be founded in
January, 2018.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
The righthander was given out
lbw when he was batting on 72
of f a Lakmal delivery but he
asked for a review which showed
bat first.
At the other end, Ravichandran
Ashwin (7), Wriddhiman Saha (5)
and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8)
could not add much to the total.
Shanaka accounted for Ashwin
and Saha while Lahiru Gamage
(1/97) packed Bhuvneshwar
back to the hut.
The tourists started of f disas
trously, losing their top four
batsmen for just 22 runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed
opener Sadeera
Samarawickrama for a duck with
Dimuth Karunaratne (1) follow
ing suit soon after, dragging a
Mohammed Shami ball onto his
stumps.
First innings half centurion
Lahiru Thirimanne (7) was taken
at gully by Ajinkya Rahane of f
Bhuvneshwar's delivery.
Angelo Mathews (12), who also
batted well in the first innings
scoring 52, did not survive a
review after umpire Llong initial
ly put his finger up to a lbw deci
sion. Umesh Yadav was the
bowler.
Visit ing captain Dinesh
Chandimal (20 off 33; 3x4) and
wicketkeeperbatsman Niroshan
Dickwella (27) tried to stem the
rot by stitching together a 47
run stand for the fifth wicket
before Chandimal was castled by
Should have left US basketball
players in Chinese jail: Trump
Washington: Lashing out at the
father of one of the three UCLA
basketball players freed earlier
this month after being arrested in
China for theft, US President
Donald Trump said that he should
have left them in jail.
Trump responded to the father
of LiAngelo Ball, who downplayed
the importance of the role Trump
played in obtaining the release of
the three players after one of
them shoplifted a pricey pair of
sunglasses from a store near their
hotel, Efe news reported.
"Now that the three basketball
players are out of China and
saved from years in jail, LaVar
Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is
unaccepting of what I did for his
son and that shoplifting is no big
deal. I should have left them in
jail!" Trump tweeted.
Trump on November 15
claimed credit for the release of
the three players, saying that it
was thanks to his intervention
with Chinese President Xi Jinping
that they avoided "10 years in
jail" in the Asian nation. The three
players with the UCLA Bruins,
a 144 kmph Shami ripper.
Dickwella's outside edge flew
to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman
Saha off Bhuvneshwar's delivery
and the Bengal stumper claimed
the catch only for action replays
to show the ball did not carry to
him.
Dickwella survived once more
after umpire Llong adjudjed him
out lbw only for the review to
turn the decision down.
With Sri Lanka under great
pressure, Lokesh Rahul and Kohli
tried some sledg ing on
Dickwe lla, but umpire Llong
intervened in time.
It was finally curtains for the
Sri Lankan wicketkeeper bats
man when Bhuvneshwar got one
to come back from the good
length spot and wrap him on the
pad. It was the 24th over, and
the tourists were 69 for 6.
Bhuvneshwar made it 75 for 7
in his next over as he bowled a
shorter of a delivery that angled
in from wide off the crease, beat
Dilruwan
Perera's bat and sent his leg
stump cart wheeling.
Bhuvneshwar's eightwicket
haul earned him the Player of
the Match award.
Another highlight of the final
daw was Pujara's feat of becom
ing only the third Indian crick
eter, after head coach Ravi
Shastri and M.L. Jaisimha to have
batted on all five days of a Test
match.
LiAngelo Ball.
arrived back in Los Angeles on
November 14, about a week after
being arrested and accused of
stealing the sunglasses in the city
of Hangzhou.
Trump, who returned from his
13day Asian tour this past week,
visited Beijing shortly after the
young athletes were arrested and
spoke with Xi about the situation.
UCLA has suspended the three
players indefinitely.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
An Indianborn, UKbased authors quest to solve the toughest task
How to raise our kids in the West
l By Surekha Vijh
in Washington
C
an you raise kids in the West and keep
them Desi? This has been a battle with
many Indian parents here in the US,
where they try to inculcate Indian value in
their children, who either take some of their
advice or totally reject or rebel against
them.
Many parents feel it is the toughest job
because the society and peer pressure
makes the children grow to be dif ferent
than they hope or expect them to be.
What is it like to raise two Indian kids in
England? A former journalistturnedwriter,
Vinati Sukhdev, settled in London, first
began asking this question to herself. With
two grownup daughters, it seemed like a
defining moment in her life to look back at
how difficult parenting had been.
Her new book East or West: An NRI
Mother's Manual On How To Bring Up Desi
Children Overseas (Westland) was born out
of these musings.
The book deals with a range of NRI prob
lems, including food, peer pressure, racism,
marrying foreigners, and explores how
Indian born parents deal with their NRI chil
dren on whom 'Indianness' is often thrust.
Speaking at the Meet the Writer event at
the Indian Embassy on November 9, Vinati
Sukhdev, who helms the UK arm of the well
known NGO, Pratham, said she tried to bring
about the basic things about raising kids in
the West in her book.
"Since I never had any help or advice when
raising my kids abroad, I thought this book
would be a good reference point for other
NRI parents," she said to a curious crowd,
who wanted to know if there was a magic
wand. She said there were ways parents
could use in raising kids outside India.
Vinati felt there were many aspects of
everyday Indian life history, culture, lan
guage, family relationships and marriage
that we in India tend to take for granted are
often key issues of contention for NRIs liv
ing overseas. There are more than 30 mil
lion Indian origin young people spread
across 150 countries. Even as they go on
with their lives in different countries, there
is always an underlying desire in parents to
inculcate many "Desi" aspects into the lives
and habits of their children.
Indian Ambassador, Navtej Sarna, who is a
Vinati believes that
"old-fashioned
immigrants" who foist
Indian-ness on their
children are wrong in
being strict and
inflexible; parents who
go to the other extreme
and keep their children
aloof from India and its
culture are wrong too.
PARENTING Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 25
cious and balanced and in the process,
allowing the children to discover rather than
forcing their Indian identity unto them.
Vinati said there were a few things impor
tant for parents to te ll their children.
Although each set of parents would have a
different approach, many NRI children often
grow up without much knowledge of India's
art, history and culture. "This is a shame,
because this is India's strength and we
should take pride in it."
From cultural immersions with the help of
likeminded Indian parents and Indian lan
guage and music classes to casual dinner
table conversations and car pooling with
other Indian families, the book opens an
entire panorama of suggestions that those
facing difficulties in the upbringing of their
children abroad may find helpful.
Vinati started as a journalist, meandered
into copywriting, moved to foreign lands
and strange territory, which included mar
Vinati Sukhdev, who helms the UK arm of the well known NGO, Pratham, was invited riage and children. Currently, she heads
to Meet the Writer program at the Indian embassy in Washington DC. Pratham UK the fundraising arm of India's
largest education NGO, which is a daily
writer himself, said while introducing Vinati their children of "an authentic and sponta reminder that while we NRIs grapple with
that diplomats have even tougher problem neous experience of their mother country" first world problems like the ones described
raising kids desi, because they keep mov and thus leave a gaping hole in their identity in the book, there are many other issues
ing from country to country. kit. worthy of thought and action. The author's
Answering questions from the audience, Being a mother, she said, I found the solu royalty from this book will go towards pro
Vinati said she faced dif ficulty in selling tion somewhere in between, by being judi viding a better future to Pratham children.
"India" to her children, and her book serves
to be an apt manual on the upbringing of
Indian diaspora children.
The book, East or West is an interest
ing commentary, where Vinati opens with an
elaborate explanation on the concept of
what goes into making us Indian, which she
finds hard to define specifically.
She feels that meaningful family relation
ships, hard work leading to material success,
being tolerant of others and being spiritual
are some visible examples that the author
relates to as hallmarks of Indian ethos. Yet,
she says, that "being Indian" means counting
on all such positive values and ensuring that
children growing up in a foreign ecosystem
are exposed to them.
Vinati read a chapter from her book say
ing that nothing comes easy, because most
children growing up outside India are likely
to rebel at what they may consider "foreign
and strange requests" from their parents.
The peer pressure that kids are subjected to
may further strengthen this resentment.
She invited a young student to read anoth
er chapter from her book and said the par
ents should appreciate every baby step that
their children take towards discovering
India and thus enjoy the process and jour
ney, realizing that their children will never
be as Indian as they are.
The book has ten chapters including, The
Last Word, in which her daughters have
contributed their take on being raised in the
West by Indian parents.
Vinati pointed out that "oldfashioned
immigrants," who foist an Indian identity on
their children, are wrong in being strict and
inflexible.
Parents who go to the other extreme and
keep their children completely aloof from
India and its culture, according to the
author, are wrong too as they are depriving
26 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
Indian scientist creates
liver friendly alcohol
New York: While most of us turn to the tip
ple occasionally to celebrate or drown our
sorrows, it is not secret that alcohol is not
good for the health, especially for the liver.
Indian researcher Harsha Chigurupati
developed a compound purported to help
protect against liver and DNA damage
caused by consuming alcohol called NTX
'notox.' In a study founded by Chigurupati,
biomarkers that indicate liver damage were
93 percent lower for people who drank
NTXinfused vodka as compared to those
who consumed the regular variety. Later
studies showed that NTXinfused vodka
reduced DNA damage caused by drinking
regular alcohol.
While Chigurupati is currently battling
with regulators to acknowledge the com
pound's health claims, New Jersey based
spirits brand Bellion already sells NTX
infused vodka in bars and restaurants in 11
states, with plans for a broader rollout in
2018. According to a report in the Wall
Street Journal, NTX contains three basic
ingredients, potassium sorbate, a food pre
servative and antioxidant, glycyrrhizin, an
antiinflammatory derived from the licorice
root, and mannitol, a diuretic that causes
the body to lose water.
While human trials for NTX began in
2013, the agency that regulates such claims
in the US, the Alcohol and Tobacco ax and
Trade Bureau (TTB), denied Chigurupati's
petition, despite him coming prepared with
HEALTH
Harsha Chirugupati has developed a
compound which helps protect liver
against damage due to alcohol
consumption
his own research and more than 100 inde
pendent articles and studies by researchers
showing that the key ingredients in NTX
mitigate liver damage and oxidative stress.
TTB's rejection was based on its concern
that Americans might confuse NTX with
Naltrexone, which can be used to treat alco
hol dependence. While Chigurupati contest
ed the decisions and despite conducting
more research with other researchers to
prepare a new petition for eight health
claims, the TTB rejected Chigurupati again
in May on the basis that 'the proposed
labeling and advertising statements create
a misleading impression.
South Asian doctors five year
long national study proves
safety of silicone implants
Washington, DC:
Washingtonian Plastic
Surgery (WPS) announced
promising results of a long
term silicone implant safety
study, cowritten by WPS
CEO and founder Dr. Navin
Singh, M.D., M.B.A. (lead
author) and published in the
most recent issue of the
peerreviewed journal
Plastic and Reconstructive
Dr Navin Singh
Surgery, the official journal
of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The study follows 55,279 female patients
receiving primary augmentation, revision
augmentation, primary reconstruction or
revisionreconstruction using Natrelle round
silicone breast implants. Over a fiveyear
period, researchers compared these womens
results with national norms and outcomes
for patients with saline implants, including
any adverse effects that may have been
found during postoperative followup care.
Although silicone implants were approved by breast implants.
the FDA in 2006, concerns about their safety
have persisted among patients after a scare
in the 1990s that proved to be scientifically
unsound, according to Dr. Singh. His report
marks the halfway point of a planned ten
year followup evaluation of the patient sam
ple. The FDA requires each manufacturer of
breast implant products to conduct such
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
studies. Dr. Singh is the head
of the data safety monitor
ing board (DSMB) that con
tributed to the design of the
study. The longitudinal,
thorough evaluation is
intended to find complica
tions, including exceedingly
rare complications, making
it necessary for researchers
to follow a large sample of
women who had breast
implantation surgery for a
variety of reasons. The results at the five
year point are optimistic. None of the target
ed adverse outcomes, including cancers, con
nective tissue diseases, neurologic diseases
or suicides and suicide attempts occurred at
significantly higher rates in women with sili
cone implants compared with national norms
and women with saline implants, the
authors state. These findings add to the
growing body of evidence confirming the
positive longterm safety profile of silicone
Dr. Navin Singh is a double BoardCertified
plastic surgeon in private practice and an
Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
He is also a clinical assistant professor of
Neurosurgery as well as Gynecology because
of his extensive experience in reconstruction
of neurologic and gynecologic structures.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info BOOKS Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 27

ExRBI Governor at Readers without borders

center of a thriller
New Delhi: Former Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Governor Raghuram
Rajan may have stopped making
headlines every other day but his
tenure is enough inspiration for
leading thriller writer Ravi
Subramanian to pen a novel with
RBI governor at its center and
demonetization perhaps its climax.
"Don't Tell The Governor" will be
published by HarperCollins India.
According to a statement released
by the publisher, the novel appears
to be set in the backdrop of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's
announcement of demonetization,
the first anniversary of which was
recently met with mixed reactions.
"When the Prime Minister
declares demonetization at 8 pm on
8th November, it leaves the nation
stunned. But the Governor, who
should have ideally been a party to
the decision, is at a crossroads. He
has just carried out the most brazen
act in his life yet, it looks like it
might also be his most foolish.
"Will he be able to pull himself
out of the mess he has got into or
will he be condemned for life? Will
he manage to retain his autonomy
or meekly surrender to the forces
behind the massive scam? Or is he
going to be the victim of a very sin
ister plot? Running desperately out
of time, the Governor has one week
to set things right," the statement
says on the book.
Diya Kar Hazra, Publisher Fiction
at HarperCollins India, refers to
Subramanian as "a master story
teller" and said that it is a terrific
novel that will have the readers on
the edge of their seats. He also says
that the novel has a very inventive
and original plot one that only bing you I begin to twist and turn
Subramanian could have come up
with. "The world of finance has
always intrigued me. Bankers are
grey. And where there are grey
humans, there will be stories wait
ing to be told. I am delighted to be
publishing my next book, Don't Tell
Raghuram
Rajan has
inspired
Ravi
Subramanians
novel
Dont Tell the
Governor
the Governor, with HarperCollins.
This will be my most ambitious
financial thriller yet," said
Subramanian, himself a banker.
Subramanian also believes that a
thriller is an overall experience. A
reader would not want to finish it in
20 days; he wants to read it immedi
ately and would be happy to finish
more chapters in a day.
"I can come and kill you but that
is not enough. What if after stab
the dagger inside your body? It is
the final twist which makes a
thriller 'Oh damn! What a book',"
he had said in an interview to IANS.
And the timely plot of his novel
provides enough reasons to believe
that he sticks to his rules.
are future of the world:
Writer Preti Taneja
New Delhi: Her first novel is an
adaptation of Shakespeares King
Lear told as a devastating com
mentary on contemporary India
and was welcomed with rave
reviews in the UK. Now Preti
Tanejas We That Are Young is me that. Literary or popular
out in India but will it make a
mark in a market driven largely by
light and popular reads, one that is
moving far from Shakespeare as
well as literary novels?
The author, in an email interview
from London, told IANS that it took
a long time for her to find a pub
lisher in the UK as well. In fact, it
was rejected by all mainstream
London publishing houses.
It takes brave, avantgarde edi
tors who are politically engaged,
who want to take risks and set
trends, not follow them, who see
the value (beyond the economic) in
writing that breaks forms and
experiments with language. Most
importantly, it takes editors who
believe in and trust their readers,
Taneja said. Taneja insisted that
such editors do exist and books
have to find them. It may take a
lot of persistence, as in her case,
but ultimately it does happen.
One look at the strength of
some in the current generation:
Their resilience, their awesome
creativity, their commitment to
speaking truth to power in the
times we are living through tells
both can be revolutionary for
me, readers without borders are
the future of the world, she
quipped. Taneja wanted to write
about India and explore the colo
nial legacies of language and cul
ture between India and England.
King Lear was the right lens, she
said, to examine what has come
out of that, for good and bad; to
think politically about the ways
cultures shape each other and
how ideas of the other are a two
way street.
Setting King Lear in India was a
way of thinking about the fact that
the world is messy, and formed by
miscegenation. Its not that people
have double identities; it is more
that we are forced to navigate dual
realities. Fiction can reflect that, it
can sound a warning to inspire
action; by reflecting the worst, it
can ignite hope for what we can
make come next, she reflected.

It's time to put a little truth

in children's literature
l By Paro Anand And this trend has continued unabated. Fest sees huge numbers of school stu
The growing number of foreign publish dents flocking there looking to meet and

I
grew up in a house of books and read
ing. Every evening, we had what was
called a "quiet time", when we sat
together just before dinner, listening to
classical music and reading our own
books.. I resented being made to sit still
and quiet. But my parents and sisters
were avid readers; so I just had to fall in
line.
I started reading whatever my sister
seemed to enjoy. So at the age of 12 or
so, I began reading "Great American
Plays" and German poet Bertolt Brecht. It
did me more good than harm to be read
ing way beyond my years. There didn't
seem to be much distinction between lit
erature for children and adults. And there
was no parental interference, we were
free to pick any book off our parent's
shelves.
The biggest change from my growing
up years to my children's is that there
were practically no Indian books to
choose from other than the usual mythol
ogy and folktales. Later came books that
lay within India. Besides Ruskin Bond and
R.K. Narayan, there was also "Target"
magazine which showcased some won
derful new writers like Sigrun Srivastava,
Anupa Lal, Subhadra Sengupta and Deepa
Agarwal.
Childrens Book Trust and National
Book Trust were also bringing out excit
ing new writings like Arup Kumar Datta's
"The Kaziranga Trail", which remains one
of my alltime favorites along with Sigrun
Srivastava's "A Moment of Truth".
ers coming into India and then starting a
children's imprint supports this. Of
course, Penguin's Puffin has been around
for a long time, but they are bringing out
exciting books that break new ground.
Even Indian publishers like Duckbill,
which is dedicated to young literature,
Speaking Tiger launching Talking Cub,
Rupa launching Red Turtle and Full
Circle's Tota Books are all important
moves in the right direction.
Scholastic, the biggest children's pub
lisher worldwide, has been very success
ful in India, holding book fairs in schools.
Schools themselves hold Book Weeks and
book events where authors are invited.
The problem, I feel, is really one of
access. While more and more schools are
putting in a lot of effort to get books to
their students, once that push is over and
children have got excited by reading,
where do they go? Where do they get
more information about new releases and
new authors? Media and bookseller sup
port is a must. The growing trend of local
literary festivals that has been sparked by
the tremendous success of the Jaipur Lit
hear authors and buy copies.
Now as I proudly receive my Sahitya
Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar Award, I
am humbled as I see how far we have
come in the journey of winning a deserv
ing status for children's literature. There
are now wonderful writers writing about
real issues, real life the lives that young
people are grappling with every day, such
as "Unbroken" by Nandhika Nambi
(Duckbill) and "Slightly Burnt" by Payal
Dhar (Bloomsbury).
Yes, there is a place for mythology and
folk tales. There is room for monsters
and rakshasas, but there is also room for
the monsters that inhabit our real world.
The issues of dichotomy and prejudice.
There is space for children to read about
the issues that are already impacting
them on an everyday basis as well as
issues that they should know about.
There is a time for fantasy and there is a
time for truth.
Paro Anand is author of 18 books for
children and young adults who headed
the National Centre for Children's
Literature, National Book Trust.
28 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

Getting away
with crimes
few days ago, this columnist was

A using an ATM machine while travel

ing and it warned me to "beware of
robbery attempts" while simultaneously
stealing my money through ridiculous
bank fees.
It inspired me to call my network for a
crime stories roundup.
Who took the toilets? The Patel family of
Amarpur, a village near Bilaspur in
BEST Chhattisgarh, central India, recently regis
tered a case of stolen lavatories with police.
RATE "It's shocking what people will take these
days," said M. Yadav, who sent the story.
FOR A China correspondent said toilet theft
must sometimes happen in her country,
INDIA too. Hotels in the West have an inroom
price so they can charge guests who take
AND bathrobes, but the Guangdong hotel price
lists sometimes include toilets, sinks and
PAKISTAN TVs. "Apparently some hotel users carry
serious plumbing gear with them," she
said.
Something about the missing toilet story
New York Head Quarter
rang a bell. Some time ago, this columnist (Image courtesy: truelook.com)
422S Broadway was tippedof f about a man in India who
HICKSVILLE reported a stolen hole in the ground. One what really happened. The man got a grant
day the hole was there and the next day it to dig a well but spent the cash on other
NY 11801 wasn't, he said. Showing people his hole things. So he had decided to complain that
5168271010 free land, he displayed a letter certifying wicked thieves had run off with his hole in
that he had been given a grant to dig a well the hope of getting a victimofcrime cash
and a police report confirming the well had payment. His first mistake had been to fail
been inspected. Now villains had taken it to realize that you can't really steal a hole
and he wanted compensation. and the second was the lack of motive.
That story came from reader K. Sriram, Robbers are busy, financially savvy people.
who told me that police soon worked out They don't have time to steal holes in the
ground.

Laughter is the Best Medicine In the current missing toilets case, the
police theory is that a grant was issued to
officials to finance the building of toilets,
but someone pocketed the money and filed
"work completed" paperwork, leaving the
By
family with no recourse but to file a multi
Mahendra ple toilet theft case.
Shah This appears to be "noncrime crimes
month" as far as the universe is concerned.
Mahendra Shah
This columnist's US correspondent said a
is an architect
woman was recently charged with stealing
by education,
paving stones from outside the home of a
entrepreneur by
neighbor in Port Richey, Florida. "She hurt
profession,
her back moving the 42 heavy stones and
artist and
threatened to take out a criminal lawsuit
humorist, against the owner," she said. This proves
cartoonist and my theory that the main dif ference
writer by hobby. between humans and other organisms is
He has been excessive chutzpah.
recording the But maybe not just us. In Japan, police
plight of the reported an attempted murder case after
immigrant an old lady was found with nasty cuts. But
Indians for the there were no signs of any breakin at her
past many apartment in Mifune. The mystery was
years in his car- solved as a neighbor spotted the blood
toons. stained villain lurking in the neighborhood:
Hailing from A grumpy, meanlooking cat. "The cat can
Gujarat, he not be charged with attempted murder
lives in because he is a cat," said our tipster.
Pittsburgh, So once more, the real villains, such as
Pennsylvania. that cat and my bank, get away with their
crimes. Grrrr.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
NOVEMBER 25DECEMBER 1, 2017
ARIES: Auspicious week to start a new
venture. An important development at
personal front brings jubilation for
entire family. Longterm investment would
enable to make substantial gains. You enjoy a
memorable time with partner to cement the
lovely bond. A benecial week to work on
things that will improve your health. Dreaming
of traveling is good, but if possible than plan a
trip. You might be purchasing a refrigerator or
any other gadget for your house. You nd
yourself having a desire to do something cre
ative.
TAURUS: You need a careful planning
and will have to chalk out new strate
gies at professional front. Parental
guidance in your decision would immensely
help. Your brilliant ideas would help in bring
ing nancial gains. Love life brings immense
romantic pleasure. A cheerful state of mind
brings mental peace. Great time for perfect
family vacation to an exciting destination.
Investing residentially is one thing you can
rely on. Your highly developed intuition would
act as a guide to lead in a positive direction.
GEMINI: Pending proposals will get
implemented with the help of seniors.
The company of family friends will
keep you in a happy & relaxed mood. You
seem to know exactly what people need and
want from you, but dont try to be too lavish in
your spending. Romantic vibrations from
someone unknown would lift your spirits tak
ing imaginations to scaling heights. Mental
alertness would enable to solve a tricky prob
lem. Take a trip, as there is some place waiting
for you. Deals on commercial property can
tend to be at full boom. Turning thoughts
towards love and fun would immensely bene
t.
CANCER: Subordinates/coworkers
would be very helpful. Believe it or
not someone in the family is watching
you closely and considers you a role model. An
improvement in monetary position makes it
convenient to purchase essential items. You
are likely to get a new friendship opportunity
in the evening. A pleasure trip gives the much
needed tonic to health. You will discover travel
destinations that are unique and magical. Time
to spend money on your homely accommoda
tions. Adhering to your priorities would be
gainful in the long term.
LEO: Mental clarity would remove past
business confusions. You will be the
star of attraction of familys gettogeth
er. You succeed in making some extra cash on
playing your cards well. Your wit & charm
would help in catching the attention of oppo
site sex. Charity work undertaken will bring
mental peace & comfort. Your journey might
be affected when you begin to yearn for your
work. Time to plan a gift for your parents may
be their dream home. Some of you plan to go
on an adventure to broaden horizons.
VIRGO: Good week for implementing
new plans and ventures. A week when
misunderstandings at family front are
sorted out with ease. A promising week to earn
prots in real estate and nancial transactions.
Traveling proves a blessing in disguise by
bringing a love in your life. Good time to divert
attention to spirituality to enhance mental
toughness.
Travel opportunities full of challenges are
often the beginning of great enterprises.
Investment on overseas property has to be
considered seriously. Changing attitude and
prioritising things would help in managing
everything.
ASTROLOGY
LIBRA: Traveling brings new overseas
business opportunities. Dont forget to
spend quality time in the company of
family friends you care. You are likely to make
good money, but the rise in expenses could
make it difcult to save. New romance that
some of you are going to experience would
take the worries off mind. Cutting down the
number of parties and pleasure jaunts would
help in keeping in good mood. A trip that is
unconventional and adventurous will be
favourable enjoy every minute of it. A good
week to make some investment on kitchen
items. Your convictions give you the courage
to stand up for justice, values and priorities.
SCORPIO: Professional attitude at work
brings success. A happy time in the
company of friends and relatives as
they do many favours to you. Financial hassles
will be eased out with the help of your friends.
Your condence and energy will be high in this
week. Take some time to travel with your
spouse for romance and seduction. Purchasing
of electrical appliances can be done. You try to
take some time to pursue hobbies to keep
yourself busy.
SAGITTARIUS: Learn from past mis
takes and keep longterm interest in
mind at professional front. Shopping
with family members will be highly pleasurable
and exciting. Speculations are likely to bring
monetary prots. Your charm & generosity
bring new romantic opportunities for you. If
possible try to make your life a tree, giving
shade to others while personally enduring the
scorching heat. Success would bring unlimited
joy. Spiritual vacation is a quest for life, plan it
and enjoy it with your family. Time to make
investments on farmlands. You nd yourself in
search of creative pursuits to make life joyous
& fullling.
CAPRICORN: Your efforts to put your
self in a strong position at workplace
are not likely to materialise. Enjoying
the company of close relatives will brighten
your evening. Certain important plans will be
executed, bringing fresh nancial gains. Warm
romantic thoughts occupy mind. A week when
smile will perpetually be on your face and
strangers will seem familiar. You can make
your vacation extra special by planning it with
your family and friends. A good deal for resi
dential property is ahead. You learn a lesson
from negative experiences and get on with life.
AQUARIUS: Hard work & dedication
would win the trust of seniors at
work. If possible share the company
of close relatives who understand your feelings
and needs. Hard work of previous days brings
good fortune enabling to fulll monetary prom
ises. Dont give into unnecessary demands of
romantic partner. Positive outlook impresses
those around you besides keeping you t &
ne. Traveling on your own, with a friend or
with the whole family will be exciting and com
fortable too. Your girlfriends desire for an
apartment might lead to its destination. Group
activity is likely to bring a lot of happiness.
PISCES: Seniors colleagues are likely
to lend a helping hand. You will be at
the limelight in a social gathering pro
vided you attend. Monetary position is likely to
improve later in the week. Love life brightens
your week. Your energy level will be high.
Better to channelize it in a positive direction.
Vacation full of beauty and history as well as
exciting is waiting for you. Your investment
plans are at full boom and you might succeed
in them. Your relations with friends will be full
of warmth, sharing and caring.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
25th November, 2017
Influenced by number 7 and the planet
Neptune, you are active, friendly, ambitious,
independent, honest and possess a sharp
memory. You are an optimistic person who
possesses many inbuilt talents to impress
others, but you need to control your tendency
to behave impatient and erratic at times.
This year you should move very cautiously
especially when it comes to handling
finances. Although period will be overall good
and support from people will be there, but
thoughtless or hasty decisions will only result
in losses. Distant traveling will be on your
mind. Seeking blessing from a spiritual per
son during this period will bring mental
peace and comfort. Job opportunity in the
field of sales and marketing will prove prom
ising. Matrimonial alliance for those seeking a
life partner. Proper and timely diet will be
essential for chronic patients. The months of
October, December, March and August will
prove to be highly eventful.
26th November, 2017
Ruled by number 8 and the planet Saturn,
you are independent, practical, responsible,
simple, intelligent and a highly disciplined
individual. People admire you for your ability
to handle responsibilities with sincerity and
dedication, but you need to check your ten
dency to behave stubborn and jealous at
times.
This year you are likely to receive major
gains and recognition, as favorable stars
move on your side. You'll find it easy to
achieve your goals and live up to others
expectations. Working on new projects will
ensure long term gains. Some of you will also
acquire ancestral wealth. Domestic front will
require you to be tactful and diplomatic.
Being stubborn will only backfire and compli
cate issues. Children will perform well in aca
demics and sports. Distant journey later in
the year for pleasure cannot be ruled out. The
months of November, February, March and
July will bring happiness and prosperity.
27th November, 2017
Governed by number 9 and the planet
Mars. You are smart, confident, sensitive,
courageous and highly diplomatic person.
You are simple and go out of the way to help
others, but you need to control your tendency
to behave impatient, shorttempered and
moody at times.
This year information will be the backbone
to your success. Your confidence and morale
will be high during this period and success
and gains will be with you. You will be in a
good position to seek favours, raise funds and
lead others. Financial gains are certain but do
not be lavish in your spending. Traveling will
be highly exciting and educating. Spiritual
gains for some later in the year. The months
of December, May, July and September will be
highly important.
28th November, 2017
Influenced by number 1 and the Sun. You
are active, energetic, authoritative, sober, bril
liant, systematic and a talented person. You
are a simple person and do not believe in
exhibiting your wealth and style, but you
need to check your tendency to behave
spendthrift, jealous and erratic at times.
This year will see a rise in your selfconfi
dence. You will be involved in activities that
will secure your future and help you improve
your lifestyle. New contacts that you develop
Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017 29
will bring you brilliant opportunity for busi
ness and growth. Strong romantic feelings
from a member of the opposite sex will bring
new excitement in your life. You will be in a
commanding position at work, and lots will
depend on your shoulders. Exercise and prop
er dietary habit will be important to stay in
perfect shape. The months of November,
January, May and July will be important.
29th November, 2017
Ruled by number 2 and the Moon. You are
highly creative, smart, simple, trustworthy,
generous and possess a sharp memory. You
have excellent leadership qualities and you
can easily handle any difficult situation, but
you need to check your tendency to behave
selfish, moody and hypocrite at times.
This year life will to be a mixture of good
and the not so good. You will make good
financial gains, but money will slip through
your fingers rather easily. Speculation and
hasty decisions should be avoided and money
transaction needs to be made very carefully.
Family members will be caring but behave
highly possessive and demanding. This will
be the perfect year for matters relating to
your heart and forming a matrimonial
alliance. Overseas journey for some cannot be
ruled out. The months of December, March
and May will be productive.
30th November, 2017
Influenced by number 3 and the planet
Jupiter. You are authoritative, dynamic, philo
sophical, independent and intelligent person.
Your outgoing personality and willingness to
adopt new ideas keeps you ahead of others,
but you need to check your tendency to
behave reckless, spendthrift and selfish at
times.
This year you will benefit from contacts
that you have made recently. Your vast busi
ness knowledge will help you venture into
lucrative fields and you will improve your
presence in the market. Financial gains are
certain, but unexpected losses are also fore
seen. Property/legal disputes will prove
expensive and time consuming. Health defi
nitely needs more attention, especially for
those suf fering from chronic ailments.
Meditation and Yoga should be practiced for
spiritual as we ll as physical gains. T he
months of November, April, May and
September will be eventful.
1st December, 2017
Influenced by number 1 and the Sun, you
are energetic, practical, dignified, brilliant
and highly sensitive person. You have a good
temperament and are very tactful, but you
need to check your tendency to behave
spendthrift, fickle minded and restless at
times.
This year you will develop better rapport
with colleagues, clients and coworkers if you
socialize with them after work. A brilliant
period which will help you improve your
name and position in your respective field.
Investments will reach new heights and
improved finances will make you spend more
on luxuries and other comforts. Romantic
entanglement will be pleasant and chances to
enter into a matrimonial alliance will be
strong. Religious function/ Hawans/ cere
monies will be performed at home. Guest will
be regular and bring you lots of gifts in cash
and kind. The months of December, April,
August and September w ill be very
significant.
30 Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
o be a leader requires knowing
T what to do, and why to do it.
Enthusiasm, motivation, skill, and
knowing how to do things right is
not enough. We have to know
whether it is the right thing to do.
For that, moral leadership is
required. Moral leadership has
two central aspects: understand
ing our true self and serving oth
ers. True leaders need knowledge
of the self that gives access to an
inner moral compass that guides
our activities and gives direction
for those who follow us. A clear
and simple directive has come to
us throug h the ages:Know
Thyself.
Leadership is about who we
are , and what we do.Along
Mysticism, the science that injects life with peace and joy
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
M
ysticism, rightly under
stood, is the most univer
sal and fundamental
approach to achieving an integrat
ed and fulfilling life. In a world that
has made such remarkable scientif
ic and material progress, the chal
lenge before us, individually and
collectively, is to make similarly
spectacular progress in the spiritu
al sphere.
Each of us is allotted a limited
amount of time on earth. During
this time we have a unique oppor
tunity to investigate the purpose
for which we were born and try to
understand the meaning of life
itself.
The desire to know and under
stand things seems to be innate in
human beings.
Scientists are engaged in this
pursuit, but the tools they use are
limited to those that are physical
and intellectual. Over the years,
saints and mystics have unraveled
the mysteries of life and death and
have discovered that complete
understanding could only be
gained at the spiritual leve l.
Because the spiritual pursuit deals
with realms of experience that ulti
mately transcend that which is
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Moral dimensions of leadership
with learning to act as a leader, we
must possess the characteristics,
behavior and habits of mind and
heart of true leaders. True leaders
have the courage to confront the
meaning of existence. They have
the courage to live in a manner
that of fer meaning to others, By
their example, they inspire hope in
others that they too can become
one of Gods noble works. Such
leadership transcends organiza
tional leadership and also moral
leadership. It is life leadership.
Such leaders enter within their
own hearts and souls, engage in
selfanalysis, and connect with the
spiritual force within themselves.
They become connected to the
limitless spiritual power within
and radiate unmatched strength of
character and will. Yet they are the
most humble and compassionate
of leaders. True leadership is not
acting a certain way; it is a reflec
tion of who we are within.
Many focus on the routines of
life, such as waking up, getting
dressed, eating, driving, working
to earn a living, coming home, and
repeating the cycle the
following day. We go through
life growing up, having a job, rais
ing a family, retiring, and then
passing away. We wonder if that is spiritual power, we connect with
physical and mental, it seems mys
terious. That is why this approach
came to be known as mysticism.
Mysticism, however, is a science
that injects life with understanding,
joy, peace, and love. It is a practical
approach to living that enriches
our inner life and enriches our rela
tionships with others. The basic
premise of mysticism is that each
of us, in reality, is a soul inhabiting
a physical body for a rather short
period of time. It may be twenty,
forty, sixty, eighty, or even a hun
dred years, but in the not too dis
tant future, each of us will die and
leave this world.
Where did our soul come from
before we entered this world?
Where will it go after we leave
here? What is the purpose of this
world, and of life itself? These
questions are fundamental to
understanding our human exis
tence.
The mystics are those enlight
ened individuals who have
searched and found the answers to
these questions. They tell us that
the purpose of our life is to reunite
our soul with its Creator, and they
of fer to teach us a method by
which we can do so. Throughout
the ages many methods have been
taught to achieve this union, but in
our contemporary world, we need
Great moral leaders of history have said that serv
ice before self was the key to a full and rewarding
life. A leader must be a servant first. It is by serving
others that we earn the right to lead them.
all there is to human existence.
Those who raise this question can
not rest until they find answers.
They conclude that there is a high
er power within that guides us.
That inner spiritual power is the
source of morals, virtues, power,
and life. It does not matter what
name we call it whether God,
consciousness, soul that power is
within, enlivening each of us.
Once we contact the eternal
lead them. We may act as leaders ,
an approach that takes into
account the realities of modern life.
Such an approach to mysticism
offers unlimited opportunities for
improving our lives and improving
the lives of people throughout the
globe.
The beginning of our souls jour
ney is the contact with the Light
and Sound of God. The Light and
Sound current flows out from God,
but it also flows back to God.
We can catch this current at the
point of the third or single eye.
T hat is the connecting point
between our soul in the body and
the Light and Sound current ema
nating from the Creator. If we can
concentrate our attention at that
point, we can soar on it back
through the higher regions of exis
tence. The current will ultimately
lead us to our primary Source, back
to the Lord.
The method is simple. As we gaze
within, we transcend awareness of
bodyconsciousness into realms of
Light and Sound within. As we con
tinue this process we will prove to
ourselves that there is Light and
Sound beyond, that we can exist
separately from the physical body,
and that there are higher realms of
divine consciousness. The test is to
prove it to ourselves. Those who
spend time daily in this process
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
but we must be servants to lead
meaningfully. How is it possible?
Those who are spiritually aware
see the same power enlivening all
creation. A life of service is based
on deep spiritual and moral princi
ples that are understoo d and
internalized when we contact the
Truth within. Intellectually under
standing service does not provide
the conviction we need when we
are tested, as we most certainly be,
by people and circumstances.
Becoming a true leader is about
becoming a true human being.
Leadership is a product of deep,
ongoing selfanalysis. It is about
choosing a life committed to spiri
tual growth and service. If we tap
into spiritual sources within, we
will become leaders whose lives
will inspire others to follow and
the source of the qualities of true who will be a blessing to those we
leaders. We automatically and meet.
ef fortlessly inculcate the virtues We need dedication and perse
and characteristics associated with verance to achieve anything. For
great leaders. those who turn towards spiritual
The second aspect of leadership path, moral leadership will come
is service. Great moral leaders of without fail. We do not need to act
history have said that service or pose. Our moral leadership and
before self was the key to a full spiritual strength will flow from
and rewarding life. A leader must our words and actions and will
be a servant first. It is by serving reach the hearts of others as natu
others that we earn the right to rally and inevitably as a stream
flows towards its source.
Where did our soul come from before we entered this
world? Where will it go after we leave here? What is the
purpose of this world, and of life itself? These questions
are fundamental to understanding our human existence.
have had success in proving the that we so desperately seek, and
hypothesis that there is an exis we can be a part of an everincreas
tence beyond this world. ing group of people who are
Through meditation on the inner spreading peace and human unity
Light and Sound we can achieve throughout the world.
the peace, harmony, love, and bliss (For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info Nov 25-Dec 1, 2017