The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.11 No. 51 April 27-May 3, 2019 80 Cents
Mueller clears Trump
of collusion; puts Dems
in impeach dilemma
Washington: While Special
Counsel Robert Mueller cleared
President Trump of colluding
with Russians, he did not com‑
pletely exonerate him on
obstruction of justice charge, all
but leaving the question to
Congress.
Muellerʼs report provides fresh
evidence of Trumpʼs interference
in the Russia probe, challenging
lawmakers to respond.
“The responsibility now falls to
Congress,” said Rep. Jerrold
Nadler, the chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee,
which has the power to launch
impeachment proceedings.
How far lawmakers will go,
though, remains unclear.
Republicans are eager to push
past what Trump calls the “witch
ʻColumbusʼ
who brought
Jainism to USA
Gurudev Chitrabhanu Ji
(1922-April 19, 2019)
New York: For a Jain sadhu, it
was a tumultuous life journey:
Popularity in India, vehement
opposition when he decided to
travel abroad and got married.
Continued on page 4
TRIBUTE ON PAGES 18‐19‐20.
DIASPORA 9 BOLLYWOOD 16
i n
President Donald Trump has
been taking a victory lap.
(Photo Twitter)
hunt” that has overshadowed the
party and the presidency. And
while Democrats say Muellerʼs
findings are far more serious
than initially indicated in
Attorney General William Barrʼs
Continued on page 4
SEE DETAILED STORIES
ON PAGE 10.
BAPS does shilanyas of 1st
Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi: Creating history in the
UAE, the BAPS Hindu Mandirʼs
foundation stone laying ceremony
was held on April 20, led by H.H.
Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiri‑
tual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan
A model of the Mandir to come up in Abu Dhabi, and
H.H.Mahant Swami Maharaj and H.E. Dr Mugheer Khamis
Al Khaili,head of Abu Dhabi Deptt of Community
Development at the shilanyas ceremony.
IMMIGRATION 27
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition
Prime Minister Modi after
casting his ballot in Ahmedabad
on Tuesday. (Photo : Reuters)
66% voting
in 3rd phase
of peaceful
Indian election
New Delhi: A high voter turnout,
including over 80 per cent in
Assam, was recorded in the third
and largest phase of Lok Sabha
elections Tuesday covering 116
constituencies over 13 states & 2
Continued on page 4
SEE PAGE 12‐13 FOR DETAILS.
Sanstha.
This is the first BAPS temple in
the UAE. The organization has
1,100 mandirs worldwide, inlclud‑
ing 100 in North America.
See page 15 for details.
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Islamic State
claims Sri Lanka
carnage, toll 321
Sri Lanka's Maybe it was revenge
President announces for NZ mosque attack:
security shakeup Lankan minister
Security personnel in front of St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo
after a series of bomb blasts targeted churches and luxury hotels
in the country. (Photo courtesy AFP)
Colombo: The Islamic State on
Tuesday claimed responsibility for
"The perpetrators of the attack
that targeted nationals of the cru‑
the horrific Easter Sunday suicide sader alliance (anti‑IS US‑led coali‑
bombings in Sri Lanka as the death tion) and Christians in Sri Lanka
toll in the carnage climbed to 321, were Islamic State fighters," the
including 10 Indians, with Prime brief message said.
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Wickremesinghe on Tuesday
warning of more explosives and also acknowledged there was a
militants "out there" and that the prior warning of the attacks and
Indian Embassy was also a "possi‑ said some of ficials would likely
ble target". lose their jobs over intelligence
The Islamic State's claim came as lapses.
Sri Lankans started to bury the Sri Lankan authorities were mak‑
dead from the string of bombings. ing progress in identifying the cul‑
Tuesday was declared a national prits and evidence had been found
day of mourning and white flags on foreign links of the attacks, he
were hung from buildings across added.
Colombo About the Islamic State's claim,
An Arabic language statement on the Prime Minister said: "We will
the Islamic State group's of ficial be following up on IS claims. We
al‑Amaq news agency made the believe there may be links."
claim on an encrypted messaging Earlier in the day, De fence
app, saying the suicide bombers Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said
were "fighters of the Islamic State". Continued on page 4
excellence in journalism
TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 27-May 3, 2019
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY April 27-May 3, 2019 3

Mallika's production enthralls Trumpʼs first state

New York audience
New York: The Indo‑American Arts
Council (IAAC) presented an
enchanting evening of Indian dance
on April 17 with Mallika Sarabhai's
ʻThe Colors of Her Heartʼ, a spell‑
binding, dance‑theatre‑multimedia
production. It was presented at The
Ailey Citigroup Theatre in New
York City to a full house.
Choreographed and directed by
Mallika Sarabhai with the visual
imagery and story creating skills of
Yadavan Chandran, it incorporated
the haunting lyrics of British musi‑
cian Samia Malik who sang live on
stage. Six women told their
poignant stories bringing aware‑
ness into the issue of gender
inequality and violence.
On stage, the performance moved
from powerfully spoken mono‑
logues sharing true stories of the
travails of women interspersed with
group and solo dances in different
techniques and formats. In the
backdrop, a projection screen drew
attention in parts to large silhou‑
ettes of the dancers and in parts to
powerful words and phrases that
ʻThe Colors of Her Heartʼ, Mallika Sarabhaiʼs dance‑theatre show to create
awareness about gender inequality and violence, has been touring America.
women encounter in our society.
With the music moving from the
fast tempo of rap to soulful ghazals,
the audience was taken on a hard
hitting and emotional journey.
The show closed to tremendous
applause from the crowd. The emo‑
tive pieces moved the audience to
tears as many re lated or
empathized to the stories being told
on stage. Mallika Sarabhai said,
"Men weeping as much as women
because it touches something that
visit to UK in June
Washington: President
Trump and First Lady
Melania Trump are
headed overseas,
where they are expect‑
ed to meet with Queen
Elizabeth II in the U.K.
and later mark D‑Day
in France. The White
House said in a state‑
ment that the
President accepted an
This will be President Trumpʼs second
invitation for a state
meeting with the Queen. (Photo : Vanity Fair)
visit to the UK from
June 3‑5, an honor he has been battles within her own party
denied until now. over Brexit. The President's lat‑
all of us have hidden from our own
It will be the President's sec‑ est visit to England will likely be
conscious minds because we need
ond meeting with the Queen met with protests again like last
to get on with it. We are saying, you
after the first took place last year.
can deal with it and still get on with
summer. While in the U.K., the Trumps
it, still better."
"This state visit will reaffirm will attend a ceremony in
Earlier, IAAC Chairman Dr. Nirmal
the steadfast and special rela‑ Portsmouth to commemorate the
Mattoo spoke about the IAAC team
tionship between the United 75th anniversary of D‑Day. Later
working diligently to achieve their
States and the United Kingdom," they will travel to Normandy,
goals with a great slate of events
the White House said. France, where the President will
across all Indian art forms. He also
Trump will also meet Prime meet with French President
complimented Mallika Sarabhai's
Minister Theresa May in London Emmanuel Macron to participate
dance innovations and here social
even as she is battling ongoing in more anniversary events.
activism.

Imran panned at home Vaisakhi mela to be held in

for saying terrorists used
Pak soil against Iran Hicksville on May 19
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Minister's statement is against the By The
Imran Khan on Tuesday came under national security as for the first time SATimes Team
attack by his country's opposition for he has admitted the use of (the coun‑
acknowledging in Tehran that in the try's) soil for terrorism in Iran." Hicksville, NY: T he
past terrorists had used his country's Pakistan Peoples Party legislator and first Vaisakhi mela in
soil to carry out attacks former foreign minister Hicksville, or so the
in Iran. Addressing a Hina Rabbani Khar said, organizers claim, will
joint press conference "We are worried for the be he ld on East
with Iranian President country after seeing it Barclay street here
Hassan Rouhani at the continually become a near the Sikh gurd‑
end of his two‑day trip laug hing sto ck". She wara and Hindu tem‑
(from left) Rajeev Maini, Deepak Bansal, Singer Harman Chahal, Onkar Singh,
to Tehran, Khan had said that the prime min‑ ple on Sunday, May
Jasbir Jay Singh, Kawal Sahni, Mohinder Miglani, Jay Sharma, Pupul Chopra
said, "I know Iran has ister had publicly spo‑ 19. It day‑long af fair
suffered from terrorism ken about the use of will not only be entertaining it Hicksville mela be construed as ers listed in the mela flyer
(perpetrated) by groups Pakistani territory is also meant to expose the a rival for the well‑established include Harman Chahal (who
operat ing from against Iran in the past populace, part icularly the Vaisakhi me la he ld in Glen was present at the kickof f ),
Pakistan. We (need to) also, but others who youngsters, to Punjabi culture Cove gurdwara. But then the Mannat Noor, Gurmeet Singh
have trust in each other Pakistan's PM had said much less and way of life. Best of all, it is argument of the growing South and Gagan Kokri. Bhangra and
that both countries will
Imran Khan was in severe things were oust‑ free, even the rides for kids will Asian population in Hicksville gidda? You got it. Makki ki roti
Tehran from April 21‑22. be free. At a kickof f meeting‑ area won. ‑ sarson ka saag? You got it,
not allow any terrorist ed from the country and
activity from their soil. We hope this cases were filed against them and cum‑press conference organ‑ The organizers who spoke at among many food stalls as well
will build confidence between us". their right to be elected was taken ized at Antunʼs on April 17, the the April 17 meeting included as bargain shopping, face paint‑
During a discussion on Khan's visit away. organizers provided details of Onkar Singh, Rajeev Maini, ing and mehendi stalls. As at
to Iran in Nat ional Assembly, Defending Imran Khan, his cabinet what to expect. They also con‑ Kawal Sahni, Pinky Jaggi, and the Glen Cove fair, the Grand
Pakistan Muslim League‑Nawaz colleague Shireen Mazari said, "He fessed that they were a little the program was moderated by Prize in the raf fle (tickets at
leader Khurrum Dastigir said, "Prime was quoted out of context". apprehensive initially lest the Jasbir Jai Singh. The perform‑ $20) will be a car.
 4 April 27-May 3, 2019
Mahendra Shahʼs paintings
at show in Millburn, NJ
Pittsburgh, PA: A few paintings by
Mahendra Shah, artist and The South
Asian Times cartoonist for almost 10
years, are among those of 10 featured
artists in AACʼs Points of Origin Show at
Millburn Library Gallery in Millburn, NJ
from May 1‑28th. His ʻFive Sistersʼ paint‑
ing was picked up for the show
announcement flyer. Shah told SATimes
that this painting is inspired by the 5 sis‑
ters he has had (one passed away). Shah
is an architect by education, entrepre‑
neur by profession, artist and cartoonist
by hobby. He has been recording the
plight of the immigrant Indians for the
past many year in his cartoons. Hailing
from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
US top court conservatives
signal possible support for
census citizenship question
Washington: The Supreme Courtʼs
conservative justices signaled possi‑
ble support Tuesday for the Trump
administrationʼs bid to ask about citi‑
zenship on the 2020 census, during a
high‑stakes argument where partisan
lines were quickly drawn.
While the liberal justice peppered
the government with questions about
the plan, the conservative justices
were mostly silent during arguments,
in a sign the conservat ive
majority could hold in the adminis‑
tration's favor in the closely watched
case.
At issue is the level of discretion
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross ‑
Chairman and Co-Founder
Kamlesh C. Mehta
Kamlesh@thesouthasiantimes.info
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ʻFive Sistersʼ painting by Mahendra Shah
‑ who oversees the U.S. Census
Bureau ‑‑ has to change information
contained in the once‑a‑decade popu‑
lation count.
Three federal courts have blocked
the Commerce Department from
adding the citizenship question, rul‑
ing that Ross violated federal law in
the way he went about trying to
include the question for the first time
since 1950.
Critics say adding the question
would discourage many immigrants
from being counted. How the justices
rule could af fect how many seats
states have in the House of
Representatives and their share of
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra
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New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
TURN PAGE
federal dollars over the next 10
years.
T he 85‑minute oral argument
Tuesday grew testy at times, with
several on the bench interrupting
counsel repeatedly, and others offer‑
ing lengthy explanations of their
legal positions.
T he four le ft‑leaning just ices
pressed the solicitor general for the
Justice Department to explain the
reasoning behind the citizenship
quest ion, not ing experts at the
Census Bureau have said the citizen‑
ship question could lead to an under‑
count of as many as 6.5 million, espe‑
cially in urban areas.
Jaipur Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Photographs
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah
Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan
Bharat Bhushan Chopra
Senior Designer: Vladimir Tomovski
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Islamic State claims
Sri Lanka carnage, toll 321
Continued from page 1
that Easter attacks were a "retaliation" for last month's
Christchurch mosque shootings that left 50 Muslims dead
and were blamed on a white supermacist from Australia
Authorities have so far named a Sri Lankan Muslim
group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NJT), for the
Sunday bombings which left over 500 injured.
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena said on
Tuesday that he would move quickly to restructure coun‑
try's intelligence and security apparatus in response to a
failure to act on warnings received ahead of the Easter
Sunday attacks.
"I will completely restructure the police and security
forces in the coming weeks. I expect to change the heads
of defense establishments within next 24 hours," Sirisena
said in a televised speech,.
Mueller clears Trump of collusion; puts
Dems in impeach dilemma
Continued from page 1
four‑page summary, theyʼve been hesitant to pursue the
ultimate step, impeachment proceedings, despite pres‑
sure from the left flank of the party to begin efforts to try
to remove the president from office.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Democrats to hold
off impeaching the president, though she denounced
what she called his "highly unethical and unscrupulous
behavior." The question has divided the party, with some
2020 contenders ̶ such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and
Kamala Harris ̶ saying impeachment is worth the politi‑
cal costs.
66% voting in 3rd phase of
peaceful Indian election
Continued from page 1
Union Territories amid some complaints of EVM malfunc‑
tioning. Unfazed by the summer heat, voters turned out in
large numbers in West Bengal, Tripura, Goa, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, and the Union Territories of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi cast his ballot in his home state of Gujarat
and again underlined his focus on combating terrorism.
ʻColumbusʼ who brought Jainism to USA
Continued from page 1
Then, based in New York, he became like the Pope of
Jainism, instrumental in setting up many Jain centers. In
his later years, he extended the message of ahimsa to veg‑
anism. The South Asian Times pays a tribute to Gurudev
Chitrabhanu Ji in the words of those who had long associ‑
ation with him.
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Updated Daily
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE April 27-May 3, 2019 5

Asia Society names Discover, BuzzFeed, KPMG best

employers for Asian Pacific Americans in 2019
New York: Asia Society has named
Discover Financial Services, Inc. as
the “Overall Best Employer” for
their ef forts in promoting and
developing Asian Pacific American
(APA) talent, with recognition for
“distinguished performance” given
to the leading independent digital
media company BuzzFeed and pro‑
fessional services firm KPMG LLP.
Asia Society will present the
awards to all the winning employ‑
ers on May 15 in New York City at
the 2019 Best Companies for Asian
Pacific Americans Awards
Ceremony and Dinner, held in con‑
junction with Asia Societyʼs 2019
Diversity & Marketing Leadership
Summit. Previously known as the
Diversity Leadership Forum (DLF),
the Summit has expanded to a two‑
day conference that looks at
unleashing innovation and captur‑
ing market opportunities through
powering Asian talent, consumers,
and investors in the US and Asia.
"We launched this summit a
decade ago to shine a light on the
challenges and opportunities Asian
Pacific Americans face in the work‑
place,” said Tom Nagorski, Asia
Societyʼs Executive Vice President.
“While challenges for APA employ‑
ees persist, weʼve also seen real
progress being made by Fortune
500 and other multinational com‑
panies, both in creating an inclu‑
sive workplace for APA employees,
as well as providing opportunities
for APAs to advance into leadership
positions. Asia Society commends
all of this yearʼs winners for their
commitment in these areas, and we
hope that others will follow their
lead."
The “Overall Best Employer for
Asian Pacific Americans” award
recognizes companies that exhibit
excellence in all of the other award
areas.
“At Discover, we are passionate
about fostering a collaborative and
high‑performing work environment
for all our employees, and believe
diversity and inclusion leads to
stronger innovation, growth, and
success,” said Sara Breyfogle, exec‑
utive sponsor of the Asian
Professionals employee resource
group at Discover.
Both BuzzFeed and KPMG are
once again recognized this year.
Having only joined the survey last
year, BuzzFeed is again commend‑
ed for their work, especially for
promoting APAs into leadership
positions. Meanwhile, KPMG is also
named the best employer for spon‑
sorship and the development of
workforce skills for Asian Pacific
Americans. KPMG has been recog‑
nized as an award winner in each
of the last eight years.
AT&T and PepsiCo were noted
for demonstrating innovative prac‑
tices in a new category that was
added to the awards process this
year: Best Company Marketing to
Asian Pacific American Consumers
and Investors.
“We are again thrilled and hon‑
ored to be recognized by Asia
Society, especially in this new mar‑
keting category,” said Corey
Anthony, SVP‑HR and chief diversi‑
ty officer at AT&T. “We appreciate
the individuality, culture, and her‑
itage of each of our customer seg‑
ments and try to reflect that in our
advertising, marketing and spon‑
sorships throughout the year.”
“PepsiCo is committed to creating
smiles for our consumers and cus‑
tomers by of fering them unique
moments. Delighting different con‑
sumer cohorts such as Asian Pacific
Americans with our products and
making their lives more enjoyable
through every sip and bite is our
aim,” said Umran Beba, Chief
Global Diversity & Engagement
Officer at PepsiCo.

Mahwah Hindu Samaj Mandir Emirates to expand reach in India

priest assaulted in hate crime with SpiceJet codeshare partnership
Mahwah, NJ: Hindu Samaj Mandir
priest Pandit Devendra Shukla was
harassed and assaulted in the park‑
ing lot of Interstate Shopping center
in Ramsey, NJ on April 3, 2019 at
7:24 pm. Ramsey Police was called in
and Pandit Shukla was transported
to the hospital, treated and released.
The matter is under Investigation.
Priest Shukla was attacked and
assaulted without any provocation
by one Nicholas J Dow in presence of
his six year old daughter who was
traumatized with what happened to
her father. Priest Shukla is a passive
gentle person and has worked at the
Temple for about 8 years.
“Priest Shukla was frightened,
shaken, hurt and bleeding when he
made his initial statement to Ramsey
Police.
His daughter who was in the car
was crying as the police interviewed
him at the site of incidence.
His daughter verified what hap‑
pened to her father asking police
again and again why?? Why did he
hit my papa? ? Paramedics in an
ambulance responded and took him
to the hospital for evaluation of his
injuries and were concerned that his
blood pressure had shot up after the
attack. His daughter was picked up
by her older brother Nitin, from the
place of incidence,” said Dr Dinesh
Mahwah Hindu Samaj Mandir
Khosla, Founder Trustee of Hindu
Samaj Temple and Founding
Professor of Law, CUNY School of
Law, NY in an email to The South
Asian Times.
Ramsey police tracked Dow to his
residence in Mahwah. He was
charged with assault and burglary.
Priest Shukla was in the hospital for
nearly two hours. Dow had allegedly
cursed him and called him a ʻdirty
Indian.ʼ Meanwhile the complaint
Shukla filed with the Marwah Police
has apparently been “misfiled.”
Also a plea deal of 2 yearsʼ proba‑
tion has been of fered to Dow, the
community has strongly objected to
which. A pet it ion too has been
launched on change.org demanding
the county prosecutor not to offer a
plea deal and engage in criminal trial
asking for maximum punishment.
The temple authorities are also
awaiting communication from the
Bias Crime Unit of the police.
From the facility being vandalized
with eggs and beer bottles thrown in,
exterior lights broken with baseball
bats, racial slurs hurled at priests,
offensive flyers left on cars in park‑
ing lot to hostile attitude of neigh‑
bors towards Indian families ‑ this is
not the first instance of the temple or
the Indian community residing in the
area being targeted racially.
Six Indian cities served by SpiceJet will join the Emirates network
Mumbai: Emirates and SpiceJet have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enter into a
reciprocal codeshare agreement, which is set to open
new routes and destinations for passengers traveling
between India and popular destinations across Africa,
America, Europe and the Middle East.
Subject to necessary government approvals, the part‑
nership will enable Emiratesʼ passengers to enjoy
seamless connectivity on flights to India, leveraging
SpiceJetʼs strong domestic presence and adding six
new destinations: Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore,
Madurai and Calicut ‑ to the nine existing cities in India
served by Emirates. This will bolster Emiratesʼ already‑
extensive network adding a total of 67 weekly connec‑
tions between Emiratesʼ hub in Dubai to these six fast
growing destinations in India. This includes increased
domestic connectivity from Emiratesʼ nine Indian gate‑
ways to points such as Goa, Hubli, Guwahati,
Vishakhapatnam and Tuticorin which would allow for a
greater variety of travel options between both
Emirates and SpiceJet flights.
“Our journey in India has been defined by progres‑
sive investment, partnership and growth. We constant‑
ly try to improve and provide our customers with
greater flexibility and travel choices. This partnership
with SpiceJet and the mutual expansion of our network
will go a long way in further enhancing the travel expe‑
rience of our customers in India as well as those head‑
ing into India, benefiting travelers and businesses
alike,” said Adnan Kazim, Emiratesʼ Divisional Senior
Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue
Optimization and Aeropolitical affairs.
Passengers traveling from India will have more
choice to travel seamlessly with minimum connection
times, when flying to destinations in Emirates' Europe
network such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Manchester
and Amsterdam. The codeshare agreement will also
open up flights for Indian travelers to North and South
American destinations such as New York, Washington,
Toronto, and Sao Paulo as well as Middle Eastern desti‑
nations such as Jeddah, Kuwait and Amman, operated
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh and Emiratesʼ divisional
senior VP Adnan Kazim after signing the MoU.
by Emirates.
SpiceJet passengers travelling from Delhi, Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Kochi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore,
Madurai, Kozhikode and 41 other domestic destina‑
tions that the airline operates to, will be able to access
Emiratesʼ expansive network across the globe.
Optimized scheduling will allow for minimal transit
times between India and these global destinations and
travelers on these codeshare routes will be able to
book connecting flights using a single reservation.
“I am delighted to announce that as part of
SpiceJetʼs international expansion strategy, we have
signed a MoU for a codeshare agreement with
Emirates. This new partnership should immensely ben‑
efit passengers traveling on both airlines. While
SpiceJet passengers from across India will be able to
enjoy seamless connectivity leveraging Emirates vast
network across Europe, Africa, America and the Middle
East those traveling to India on Emirates will be able to
travel to 51 destinations across our domestic network,”
said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director,
SpiceJet. SpiceJet is Indiaʼs second‑largest airline in
terms of domestic market share. Founded in 2005, it
now serves 51 cities in India and nine international
destinations.
 6 April 27-May 3, 2019
US warns 'India‑based call center scam industry'
New York: The US government is
taking aim at the "India‑based call
center scam industry", Assistant
Attorney General Brian
Benczkowski has warned while
announcing the extradition of an
Indian citizen from Singapore
allegedly involved in a multi‑mil‑
lion dollar racket.
Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 42,
who operated the HGlobal call
center in Ahmedabad, was extra‑
dited to face trial on charges
relating to the scam that allegedly
ripped of f thousands of
Americans of millions of dollars
using people in call centers
impersonating US government
officials, the Justice Department
said Friday.
Patel was arrested and pro‑
duced on Friday in a federal court
in Houston, Texas, where
Mag istrate Judge Peter Bray
remanded him to custody, accord‑
Hoboken Mayor Ravinder S Bhalla, NJ AG
Gurbir S Grewal honored at SALDEF Gala
New York: T he Sikh American
Legal Defense and Education Fund
celebrated the achievements of
New Jerseyʼs Indian American
Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal
and Hoboken, N.J., Mayor
Ravinder S. Bhalla at its annual
national gala that was held April 6
at the Sheraton in Tysons Virginia.
At the gala that was attended by
over 350 guests from across the
nat ion, Bhallaʼs act ivist w ife,
Navneet Kaur Bhalla, was also hon‑
ored.
Grewal, who was awarded the
ʻ2019 Public Service Award,ʼ said:
“More work needs to be done to
preserve the American dream and
our Sikhi.”
Bhalla and his wife, Navneet
Kaur Bhalla, a prominent human
rights advocate and lawyer and
the executive director of Manavi, a
New Jersey‑based womenʼs rights
organization, were honored with
the ʻ2019 Sikh Image Award.ʼ
“It is absolutely imperative that
ing to a court document obtained
by IANS. He is to appear in court
again on Wednesday. "This extra‑
dition once again demonstrates
the (Justice) Department's unwa‑
vering commitment to disrupt and
dismantle the India‑based call
center scam industry and to work
with our foreign partners to hold
accountable those who perpetrate
schemes that defraud our citi‑
zens," Benczkowski said.
He added that "Patel operated a
call centre that allegedly preyed
upon vulnerable US citizens as
part of a massive fraud scheme."
After Patel flew from India to
Singapore, he was arrested there
on September 21, 2018, at the
request of the US, and Singapore
Law Minister K Shanmug am
issued a warrant on March 25 to
hand him over to America, the
Justice Department said.
"This historic extradition should
men in our community speak
against gender inequality,” she
said.
SALDEF also intro duced the
Volunteer Award which was given
to Rajvir S. Goomer, who has been
volunteering for the organization
for over six years.
T he g alaʼs theme was
ʻCommitment, Hope and Renewalʼ
and these words echoed through‑
out the nig ht in speeches by
awardees, staf f and board mem‑
bers.
The night was opened by new
executive director Kiran Kaur Gill,
who said, “Imagine a world where
Sikhs are seen as changemakers
and inspirational figures. Where
Sikhs are recognized for their dis‑
proportionate contributions to
American society. Where a man in
a turban or woman with long hair
represents trusted leadership and
resource for those in need. Where
when the average American thinks
about a Sikh, they think of their
TRISTATE
serve as notice to transnational
criminal organizations of the
lengths DHS (Department of
Homeland Security) is willing to
go to arrest those who would
enrich themselves by extorting
the most vulnerable in our socie‑
ty," said David Green, the Special
Agent in charge of the DHS
Houston Field Office.
He warned of g lobal action
against the owners, managers and
employees of overseas call cen‑
ters, saying: "Our pursuit of jus‑
tice for victims of their scams
does not stop at the water's edge."
Patel was charged in 2016 along
with 55 people, most of them of
Indian descent, and five compa‑
nies in the alleged massive scam.
T he India‑based call centers
allegedly impersonated tax or
immigration officials and called
people in the US and threatened
them with arrest or deportation if
Mayor Ravinder
Singh Bhalla
(2nd from
right), wife
Navneet Kaur
(3rd from right)
receiving their
awards
Sherif f, an Academy Award win‑
ner, NBA player, governor, con‑
gressman, senator or even presi‑
dent.”
One of the highlights of the
night, said the press release, was
the speech given by Kirandeep
Kaur from Jackson, Mississippi.
“T he 21‑year‑old moved to
Mississippi five years ago and dur‑
ing that t ime there had been
roughly three murders of Sikh
Americans that were not investi‑
gated by local law enforcement.
SALDEF community relations man‑
ager Satnam Sing h went to
Mississippi to host a Know your
Rights forum knowing that these
murders had occurred. He con‑
nected the lo cal Sang at to
resources in Mississippi and soon
after the Sangat received answers.
The heartwarming speech high‑
lighted the importance of commu‑
nity and connectedness through‑
out the nation,” the press released
added.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
they did not pay what they
claimed were back taxes or fines,
according to the chargesheet filed
against them.
When their victims agreed to
pay, the people at the call center
arranged for payments to be col‑
lected in the form of store cards
or wire transfers by their co‑con‑
spirators in the US, who cashed
them often using stolen identities
and laundered the money, accord‑
ing to the charges. In other
instances, they of fered people
fake loans and collected fees for
the lending that never material‑
ized.
Since 2013, the tax official
impersonation scam "has been on
a relentless path, claiming more
than 15,000 victims who have
collectively suf fered over $75
million in losses", said Treasury
Inspector General J Russe ll
George. Federal agencies have
Indian entertainment
company Shemaroo
enters US market
"ShemarooMe" video streaming service
will bring 2500 titles across Bollywood,
regional, other genres to consumers
Hoboken, NJ: Shemaroo
Entertainment Limited
(Shemaroo), one of India's lead‑
ing integrated media content
houses, enters the US market
with the launch of its over‑the‑
top (OTT) video streaming serv‑
ice, ShemarooMe, in the US.
Building on its vast content
library and expertise gained
over the past 57 years and in
more than 30 countries,
ShemarooMe will give Indian
American audiences on‑the‑go
access to the company's exclu‑
sive portfolio of Bollywood,
regional language, devotional
and children's content.
Shemaroo originally unveiled
the streaming service in India
earlier this year, leveraging the
country's online video market
valued at over $700 million.
However, Indian American view‑
ership has equally driven the
demand for culturally niche,
cross generational video content
abroad. As the second largest
group within the Asian
American population that has
the highest household income as
well, Indian American audiences
will remain a sizeable growth
opportunity for digital entertain‑
ment companies.
Though most streaming serv‑
ices increasingly focus on glob‑
alized original programming,
identified 140 scammers, includ‑
ing Patel, "who have preyed upon
taxpayers", he added. The fraud
calls originating from India that
are received by millions of
Americans are hurting the coun‑
try's reputation as a hub for back
office, tech support and call cen‑
tre operations.
In recent weeks, at least three
persons of Indian descent have
been sentenced to prison terms in
cases of tax official imperson‑
ation.
A federal court in Florida sen‑
tenced an Indian on Thursday to
eight and a half years in prison
and last month another person of
Indian origin to eight years and
nine months.
In a separate case, Indian was
sentenced to 16 months in prison
by a federal judge in Atlanta earli‑
er this month.
(IANS)
ShemarooMe capitalizes on its
curated library of contemporary
and classic film titles secured
over five decades. "As a compa‑
ny we've always understood the
pulse of our diverse audiences,
and our history is a testimony to
that. Today, we are excited to
extend our content offerings to
loyal fans of Indian entertain‑
ment in the US with a host of
integrated features such as lin‑
ear channels, live streams and
video‑on‑demand services. With
this launch, we look to further
build strategic partnerships in
the world's leading OTT mar‑
ket," said Shemaroo CEO Hiren
Gada. Indian American con‑
sumers can choose from seven
distinct content categories:
Bollywood Plus, Bollywood
Classic, Gujarati, Punjabi,
Marathi, Kids and Bhakti (devo‑
tional) through subscription
options. The ShemarooMe OTT
app can be downloaded through
Google Play, the iOS App store
or online at http://shema‑
roome.com/, and will soon be
available on Amazon Fire TV
Stick, Apple TV and Roku.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL April 27-May 3, 2019 7

Gabbard outraises Harris

among Indian-American donors
Washington, DC: Tulsi Gabbard, the first
Hindu US Congresswoman and Democratic
2020 presidential candidate, has vastly out‑
raised Senator Kamala Harris of Indian and
Jamaican descent among Indian‑American
donors in the 2020 presidential fundraising
derby so far.
Gabbard, who is a Hindu American but not
Indian‑American, has raised more than
$237,000, from the community. In compari‑
son, Harris, daughter of an Indian American
mother and Jamaican American father, has
so far raised only $72,606 from the commu‑
nity, according to AAPI Data, which publish‑
es data and policy research on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders.
In a clear sign that Harris, one of the
strongest contenders in the crowded 2020
Demo crat ic fie ld, has not been fully
embraced by the community, the Senator
even trails New Jersey's Corey Booker
among Indian‑Americans, according to a
media report.
Booker has raised more than $131,000
from Indian Americans. A big reason for that
is New Jersey is home to nearly 370,000
Indian Americans.
But Harris' home state of California has
the largest Indian American population in
the country ‑ more than 712,000. Yet, her
campaign hasn't received traction among
Indian American campaign donors, the AAPI
Data research reveals.
The Senator, however, received an impor‑
tant endorsement when the influential
Indian‑American Impact Fund announced
that it is backing her earlier this week.
Tulsi Gabbard has raised more than
$237,00 from community
Harris, unlike Gabbard, has not made any
attempts to reach out to the Indian‑
American community so far, even though
she has repeatedly cited her Indian identity
and her mother's influence on her.
On the other hand, Gabbard, an Iraq war
veteran and the first Hindu candidate to get
elected to US Congress, has a huge grass‑
roots following among right‑leaning Hindu
Americans, having closely aligned with them
right from the beginning of her congression‑
al career.
Historically, Indian Americans have donat‑
ed huge amounts to congressional and
gubernatorial candidates from the commu‑
nity. However, their track record in
bankrolling candidates from the community
so far is spotty.
In the last presidential election cycle, the
campaign of former Louisiana Governor
Bobby Jindal attracted only lukewarm sup‑
port of the community. (IANS)

Indian‑American PAC
endorses Harris for President
Washington, DC: An Indian‑American politi‑
cal action committee (PAC) has endorsed
Democratic presidential candidate Senator
Kamala Harris of Indian and Jamaican
descent for the US presidential race.
"In such a critically important election,
one that will shape policy and politics for
generations to come, Indian Americans
can't af ford to stay on the sidelines," the
Indian American Impact Fund's co‑founder
Raj Goyle said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Goyle, also a former Kansas state lawmak‑
If elected Kamala Harris will become the
er, said it was for that reason that the
first woman, the first Indian American, the
organization chose to be "the first Indian‑
first Asian American, and the first African
American or Asian‑American political American woman to serve as President.
organization to endorse" Harris, whose
mother was from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Impact Fund Executive Director and former
"In the coming months, we look forward Maryland state delegate Aruna Miller said
to mobilizing our network of resources to her group was "proud to endorse" Harris.
ensure Senator Harris secures the "She is a tested leader who has demonstrat‑
Democratic nomination and is elected the ed, throughout her career, a strong commit‑
next President of the US," Goyle said. ment to our community's progressive and
Harris thanked the Impact Fund for the pluralistic values," Miller said.
endorsement. "This endorsement and the Harris, one of the first Democrats to
support of the Indian American Impact launch the presidential campaign in this
Fund and its members means so much to election cycle, is also one of the front‑run‑
me," she said in a statement on Wednesday. ners at the moment. If elected, she will
"Together, we will fight for an America that become the first woman, the first Indian
restores the values of truth and justice and American, the first Asian American, and the
works for working people, from raising first African American woman to serve as
incomes to expanding health care." The President. (IANS)
 8 April 27-May 3, 2019 NATIONAL COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Trudeau walks in Vaisakhi parade Tesla slams Indian American

after government removes critic with restraining order
San Francisco: Electric vehicle Now in compliance with the

reference to Sikh extremism (EV)‑maker Tesla has slammed

Vancouver: Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau touted the strength and
contributions of Canadaʼs Sikh
community as he celebrated the
religionʼs holy day of Vaisakhi in
Vancouver.
“As we celebrate Vaisakhi, let us
also celebrate all the incredible
contributions of this community,”
he said in a speech after he walked
in a parade Saturday organized by
the Khalsa Diwan Society.
Trudeau joined other politicians
and community members in walk‑
ing amongst floats and performers.
On the sidelines, people handed
out free food along the route,
including snacks and full meals to
passers by. Sikhs have helped to
build Canada for more than 120
years, Trudeau said, adding there
are now Sikh entrepreneurs, politi‑
cians, artists and true leaders in
every field.
He said the values celebrated
during the holy day, like equality
and social justice, are values that
make Canada stronger.
Before the parade, Trudeau visit‑
ed one of the largest Sikh temples
in the country, Vancouverʼs Ross
'Sikhs have helped to build Canada for more than 120 years' ‑
PM Justin Trudeau (Image courtesy: theprovince.com)
Street Gurdwara, where he deliv‑
ered a speech with similar senti‑
ments. Defence Minister Harjit
Sajjan also attended the festivities.
His morning speech came just
hours after the federal government
agreed to remove a reference to
Sikh extremism from a report on
terrorism.
The language was changed late
Friday to remove any mention of
religion, instead discussing the
threat posed by “extremists who
support violent means to establish
an independent state within India.”
The 2018 Public Report on the
Terrorism Threat to Canada drew
the ire of the Sikh community
when it was released in December.
For the first time, the report list‑
ed Sikh extremism as one of the
top five extremist threats in
Canada.
(Source: theprovince.com)
Randeep Hothi ‑‑ one of the
short‑sellers of the company and
also its prominent Twitter critic ‑
‑ with a restraining order on
charges of stalking, harassing
and endangering company
employees.
In its complaint, Tesla claimed
that three of its employees who
were driving a 'Model 3' car on a
Bay Area highway last week
were pursued by the California
resident for about 35 minutes
where he drove ahead of, beside
and behind the car, swerving
dangerously close to the vehicle,
The Verge reported on Saturday.
The company also claimed that
Hothi even swerved so close to
the car that its crash avoidance
safety feature was triggered.
While Hothi, under the user‑
name @skabooshka, published
images of the 'Model 3' car on
Twitter earlier on April 18, con‑
firming his presence at the
scene.
He claimed he saw the car vio‑
late speed limits, and noted it
performed simple tasks like lane
changes, implying Tesla might
misrepresent the footage later.
restraining order, Hothi is
required to stay at least 100
yards away from Tesla's
Fremont factory in California as
well as its employees.
In addition, he also has to stay
10 yards away from any Tesla
vehicle with manufacturer plates
within five miles of the factory.
The restraining order is effec‑
tive until May 7, when a hearing
is scheduled.
Tesla also took the opportuni‑
ty to note that Hothi "has a his‑
tory of trespassing at Tesla's
facilities". The company said one
time Hothi "unlawfully" took
photos and videos of Tesla facili‑
t ies and uploaded them on
Twitter.
The car‑maker also claimed
that, in February, Hothi struck
one of its employees while tres‑
passing and surveilling the com‑
pany's Fremont factory and "fled
the scene", the report added.
Later on Saturday, Hothi took
to Tw itter and wrote to his
6,800 followers ‑ "I will not rest.
This is my promise. Tesla is a
zero. @e lonmusk w ill go to
prison."
(IANS)

American ASC conveys concerns over Kartarpur Sahib

activists' stories in
Bharatnatyam form
San Francisco: A popular California‑
based South Indian classical dance
group will tell the stories of American
activists Rosa Parks and Martin Luther
King by employing the stylistic vocabu‑
lary of the Bharatnatyam dance form.
The Abhinaya Dance Company of San
Jose will perform "I Have A Dream:
Stories of Rosa Parks and Mart in
Luther King", Jr." in Oakland on April
27.
"I Have A Dream: Stories of Rosa
Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr." is a
re‑staging of excerpts from Abhinaya's
performance "Stories of Justice", pre‑
sented last November in San Jose, and
features an opening number titled
"Gandhi's Inspiration."
The show is directed by artistic direc‑
tor Mythili Kumar and the performance
depicts the non‑violent resistance
strategies of King and seeks to demon‑
strate that the fight for social justice is
ongoing and that past struggles pro‑
vide lessons that enable us to confront
our current problems.
Abhinaya dancers will dramatically
portray key protests in King's life,
where he emphasized the principle of
non‑violence, deriving inspiration from
Mahatma Gandhi's resistance move‑
ment against the British in India.
Acclaimed choreographer and dancer
Rasika Kumar will present her solo on
Parks' life. (IANS)
heritage destruction to Pakistan governor
Toronto: A Sikh delegation representing the
American Sikh Council (ASC) met with
Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar of
Punjab, Pakistan and his staff to share their
concerns over the destruction of the Sikh
heritage due to new construction over the
fields and forests at Kartarpur Sahib, associ‑
ated with Baba Guru Nanak and seek his
intervention. Gurmeet Kaur, a U.S. based
community activist led the ASC's heritage
committee and presented its concerns and
requests to the Pakistan Government
regarding Kartarpur Sahib in particular and
the Sikh heritage in general.
Gurmeet Kaur started with discussing the
currently proposed plans to cater to an
S.Gurmeet Kaur with S.T.Sher Singh while Governor Sarwar goes through the petition
onslaught of expected visitors and how it that this campaign has a backing of over cluded the delegationʼs concerns by saying
would destroy the 500 years old heritage by 17,000 petitioners worldwide, the ASC rep‑ that the onus of preserving the Sikh her‑
doing an irreversible damage to the sacred resenting 74 gurdwaras in the USA, the itage in Pakistan was on the Pakistan gov‑
fields of Baba Nanak where he farmed with Global Sikh Council (GSC), the Supreme Sikh ernment. He said that this heritage is an
his own two hands for 18 long years. Council of Australia, Navjot Singh Sidhu asset to Pakistan and by utilizing foresight‑
“Constructing on this acreage destroys the (Minister ‑ East Punjab), other organizations edness and keen judgment they may make
sanctity, the spirit of the sacred site and any and individuals including the Pakistan PTI Sikhs who already love this land, their
chances of archeological revival of the lost MPA Momina Waheed. friends forever. The Governor said that he
heritage associated with Baba Nanak," she Ripsodak Singh the Principal of the Khalsa shared the concerns but since he was
stated. Community School said, “We are asking that brought in very late to preside over the
She then mentioned of the voices against Kartarpur be setup as an ecological heritage work in Kartarpur, was unable to alter the
this destruction and how they have been village of Baba Nanak and all new construc‑ plans in prog ress and would have to
try ing to reach out to the Pakistan tion be done at least a kilometer away from approach the Prime Minister in this matter.
Government at all levels from the Prime current Gurdwara, outside of Baba Jiʼs fields On reminding that the Prime Minister has
Minister to the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara and align with the Guru period architecture forwarded their correspondence to the
Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) via written and not be in the form of modern, unsightly Governor, he said he will arrange a meeting
correspondence, personal meetings with the hotels and shopping malls that destroy the with the Prime Minister immediately upon
Pakistan Embassy, High Commission and spirit of the space.” his return. The ASC delegation thanked the
via press for four months. She mentioned Sher Singh a renowned Sikh writer con‑ Governor and hopes he keeps his promise.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA April 27-May 3, 2019 9

Canada's move on Khalistanis Sushma Swaraj asks

a threat to India: Amarinder
Chandigarh: Accusing the government of Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada of "suc‑
cumbing to domestic political pressure to
remove all references to Khalistani extremism
in its 2018 report on terrorist threats", Punjab
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the move
was a threat to Indian and global security.
Amarinder Singh expressed shock at the rul‑
ing Canadian Liberal Party's "knee‑jerk deci‑
sion that was clearly aimed at protecting its
political interests in an election year", saying it
could have serious consequences for India‑
Canadian relations in the long run.
"Trudeau is playing with fire with his deci‑
sion to assuage inflamed domestic passions
through this ill‑considered move," Amarinder
Singh said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that he him‑
self had given proof to the Canadian Prime
Minister, during the latter's India visit in
February last year, of Canada's soil being used
to spread the separatist Khalistani ideology
against a friendly country.
"Trudeau had been informed of Khalistani
activists being involved in financing terror
activities in India from Canada," the Chief
Minister said.
"Pointing to the well‑known fact that
Trudeau's party was inundated by such
activists and separatists, the Chief Minister
dubbed the erasure of the various references to
Khalistan and Khalistani organizations from
the latest threat report as an unpardonable act
in the eyes of the peace‑loving global commu‑
nity," Amarinder Singh's spokesman said.
"Such an act amounted to endorsement of
the terror activities and de facto promotion of
extremism," the Chief Minister added, con‑
demning outright the selective changes made
by the Canadian government in its report on
threats.
Only references with respect to Khalistan
and related terms have been targeted by the
Trudeau administration, he pointed out, adding
that it appeared to be a clear case of the
Canadian government giving in to political
compulsions.
"It is obvious that Trudeau had played safe in
view of the upcoming elections in Canada, giv‑
ing in to pressure within his country. He has
quite blatantly ignored the adverse impact this
could have not only on Canada's relations with
India but also on geopolitical stability," he
added.
Amarinder Singh warned the Canadian gov‑
ernment against encouraging hardliners
through such actions, which he said were detri‑
mental to the interest of both India and Canada
as well as the global community.
"The world cannot afford to fan extremism in
any form, which is what the Trudeau govern‑
ment was ef fectively doing with such ill‑
thought moves," he said. (IANS)
over 500 Indians in Libya
to "leave immediately"
New Delhi: As Libya's capital Tripoli contin‑
ues to be hit by violence, External Af fairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said that
over 500 Indians are stuck there and suggest‑
ed that they leave the city immediately.
The minister said that if the Indians strand‑
ed in the Libyan capital do not leave immedi‑
ately, then it may not be possible to evacuate
them later. Over 200 people were killed in
Tripoli in the last two weeks since renegade
Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar's
troops launched a strike to oust UN‑backed
Prime Minister Fayez al‑Sarraj from power.
Swaraj tweeted, "Even after massive evacua‑
tion from Libya and the travel ban, there are
over 500 Indian nationals in Tripoli. The situ‑
ation in Tripoli is deteriorating fast.
Presently, flights are operational.
"Pls ask your relatives and friends to leave
Tripoli immediately. We will not be able to
evacuate them later," she said on her Twitter
handle. (PTI)

9-year Indian girl wins Indians in Lagos run in support

$1 million in Dubai raffle of PM Modiʼs re‑election
Dubai: A nine‑year‑old Indian girl on won a luxury car in 2013. Eliza M. is

Tuesday won a $1 million jackpot in
Dubai Duty‑Free's Millennium
Millionaire, six years after she had
won a luxury car McLaren Coupe in
the same raffle. Eliza M's lucky tick‑
et was purchased by her father,
identified as M. The draw took place
at the Dubai International Airport.
Reacting to the win, the girl's
father, a Mumbaikar residing in
Dubai for 19 years, said he was a
regular participant in the Dubai
Duty Free Millennium Millionaire
promotion since 2004.
According to the Khaleej Times,
the girl is no newcomer to winning
Dubai Duty‑Free promotions as she
NRIs from Frankfurt, Germany on way to India to vote for PM Modi
in ongoing general elections. (Source: NRI4Namo/Facebook)
the 140th Indian national to win a
million dollars in the Dubai Duty‑
Free Millennium Millionaire promo‑
tion since its inception in 1999, the
report said. Following the draw, two
more winners, including another
Indian, were announced in Dubai
Duty‑Free's Finest Surprise
Promotion. They won luxury motor‑
bike each. Indian national
Mohammad Haneef Adam, a resi‑
dent of Dubai for 20 years, won an
Indian Scout Bobber motorbike. "I
am thrilled to have won such a
beautiful motorbike. I can't wait to
get my hands on this," he said.
(IANS)
N
o fewer than 700 Indians
resident in Lagos on Sunday
held a run session in solidar‑
ity and support for Indiaʼs incumbent
Prime Minister, Narendra Modiʼs re‑
election. The News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) reported that the run session
was held at the Tafawa Balewa
Square, Lagos. Sanjay Srivastava, the
organiser and president of Overseas
Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party
(OFBJP), Nigeria Chapter said the
run session was a global movement
practiced every weekend across the
globe. OFBJP is a non‑governmental
organization involved in community
development in Nigeria and promot‑
ing Indiansʼ common cause.
Srivastava said Modi had engaged
in transparent governance which
was corruption‑free in the last five
years of his administration.
According to him, his developmen‑
tal projects extend to villages in
India where they benefit from free
electricity, gas distribution and other
amenities which they had been
deprived of for long.
“This is a global movement to
enable Modi to continue as Indiaʼs
Prime Minister so that the develop‑
ment experienced in India does not
stop. “There is presently a coalition
of other parties contesting against
Modi but we have witnessed 70
years of backwardness and stagna‑
tion in all aspects of our economy
before Modi came into power.
“Presently we have reduced cor‑
ruption cases and our Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) keeps
improving; these and more positive
developments we want to continue
in India. Vijay Singh said that Modi
should be re‑elected because he had
achieved remarkable development in
the areas of banking, infrastructure
and industry expansion in the last
five years of his tenure.
“India as a country has experi‑
enced sporadic development since
The run
session was
part of global
movement in
support of PM
Modi in
run‑up to the
general
elections.
(Image :
thenewsnige‑
ria.com)
Modiʼs assumption of office.
“We were confronted with nepo‑
tism, religious bias and lots of prob‑
lems separate us but since he was
elected five years ago, we have wit‑
nessed a beautiful transformation.
“We want him back because we
want to continue to experience a
peaceful society without discrimina‑
tion,” he said.
Another speaker, Mrs. Anusdha
Jindall, said that Modi had shown a
great sense of responsibility and self‑
lessness over the years and should
be given a second chance to move
the nation forward.
"Modi is hard‑working, a man with‑
out sentiment and selfless, that is the
kind of leader we need,” she said.
 10 April 27-May 3, 2019
Muller report clears Trump on collusion
but undecided on obstruction
New York: Special Counsel Robert
Mueller's report did not establish
that members of the Trump cam‑
paign conspired or coordinated
with the Russian government in its
US election interference activities,
but left enough ammunition for
Democrats to pursue charges that
the president tried to interfere with
the probe.
The 448‑page, two‑volume report
prepared after 22 months of inves‑
tigations by Mueller was sent last
Thursday to Congress and released
to public.
While it may have quelled allega‑
tions of Russian, the report said
that it could neither confirm nor
rule out "that no criminal conduct
occurred" on the obstruction of jus‑
tice allegations, explicitly acknowl‑
edging that Congress could have
jurisdiction over the matter.
The report said that Trump had
phoned then‑White House counsel
Don McGahn and asked him to tell
Deputy Attorney General Ro d
Rosenstein that Mueller was con‑
flicted and should be removed. It
added, however, that McGahn
refused to do that.
Democrats vowed to pursue the
obstructions allegations. House
Judicial Committee Chairman Jerry
Nadler, said he would order
Mueller himself to appear before
his panel before May 23 to explain
his findings.
On the focus of the probe, the
report said: "While the investiga‑
Trump sues to block
Democrats from seeking
info into his finances
Washington: President Trump and
his business filed suit ag ainst
Demo crat ic House Oversig ht
Committee Chairman Elijah
Cummings on Monday to block a
subpoena sent last week seeking
information about the presidentʼs
finances.
In the complaint filed in
Washington, D.C., federal court
Monday morning, Trumpʼs lawyers
said that Democrats have “declared
all‑out political war” against him.
“Subpoenas are their weapon of
choice,” the filing states.
Last week, the House Oversight
and Government Re form
Committee subpoenaed Mazars, an
accounting firm that Trump had
used to prepare several years of
financial statements, according to
the lawmakersʼ document.
The subpoena requested a slew of
financial documents and related
materials from Trump, his trust, the
Taking a victory lap and borrowing from 'Game of Thrones'
theme, President Trump tweeted this image.
tion identified numerous links
between individuals with ties to the
Russian government and individu‑
als associated with the Trump
Campaign, the evidence was not
suf ficient to support criminal
charges. "But the evidence does
indicate that a thorough FBI inves‑
tigation would uncover facts about
the campaign and the President
personally that the President could
have understood to be crimes or
that would give rise to personal and
political concerns". This seemed to
be mainly about the business deal‑
ings Trump had in Russia.
The report detailed Russian mili‑
tary intelligence agency GRU's
hacking of e‑mails of Democratic
Party and it leaders, which were
leaked to WikiLeaks and sowed dis‑
sensions within the party.
It also blamed a Russian company
with close ties to Kremlin for sow‑
Trump Organization, the Trump
Corporation, Trumpʼs holdings
company, the Trump Foundation
and the Trump International Hotel
in Washington. Mazars told the
committee that it would not be able
to comply with demands for those
documents without a subpoena,
according to Cummings.
Trumpʼs lawyer in the lawsuit,
William Consovoy, said in a state‑
ment that the attempt by
Cummingsʼ committee to “obtain
yearsʼ worth of confidential infor‑
mation from their accountants
lacks any legitimate legislative pur‑
pose, is an abuse of power, and is
just another example of overreach
by the presidentʼs political oppo‑
nents.”
T he presidentʼs counse l, Jay
Sekulow, told NBC News: “We will
not allow Cong ressional
Presidential harassment to go
unanswered.”
US AFFAIRS
ing social discord among American
voters through disinformation and
social media operations.
The report also gave an inside
look at the Trump's inner circle
gleaned from of ficials it inter‑
viewed with juicy tidbits like Trump
exclaiming after the Mue ller
inquiry was established, "This is the
end of my Presidency. I'm (exple‑
tive)". It enumerated ten instances
where Trump could have potential‑
ly interfered with the Mue ller
probe through intimidation in the
media or attempts to end it or pres‑
suring officials.
Before releasing the redacted
report, US Attorney General
William Barr told reporters that "all
Americans can and should be grate‑
ful to have confirmed" through
Mueller's investigation that the
Russian "schemes did not have the
cooperation of President Trump or
Leader of militia arrested for
detaining migrant families at border
Washington: T he FBI on
Saturday arrested the leader of a
rig ht‑w ing milit ia that was
detaining migrant families at
gunpoint near the border in
southern New Mexico, as the
group faced a torrent of criticism
for its tactics. Hector Balderas,
New Mexicoʼs attorney general,
said federal agents had arrested
the leader, Larry Mitche ll
Hopkins, who had been operat‑
ing under the alias Johnny
Horton Jr. Balderas said in a
statement that Hopkins was
arrested on charges of firearms
possession by a felon.
“This is a dangerous felon who
should not have weapons around
children and families,” Mr
Balderas said. “Todayʼs arrest by
the FBI indicates clearly that the
rule of law should be in the
hands of trained law enforce‑
ment of ficials, not armed vigi‑
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Dems’ dilemma on
impeachment after report
H
ouse Democrats were
discussing Mueller's
damning findings on
the president's efforts to
obstruct his investigation after
days of skirting questions
about impeaching President
Donald Trump. On Sunday, top
Democrats seesawed between
describing Trump's conduct, as
detailed by Mueller, in grave
terms and insisting impeach‑
ment is not an immediate con‑
sideration. "We may get to that.
We may not. As I've said before,
it is our job to go through all
the evidence, all the informa‑
tion we can get," said Rep.
Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee,
which is where any impeach‑
the Trump campaign ‑‑ or the
knowing assistance of any other
Americans for that matter".
Demanding the release of the
report in full, Democratic Senator
Kamala Harris tweeted: "Americans
deserve the unvarnished truth".
"The American people deserve
the truth, not a sanitized version of
the Mueller Report approved by the
Trump Admin", Speaker Nancy
Pelosi tweeted from Ireland, where
she is on a visit. In his theatrical
Larry Mitchell Hopkins, leader of
United Constitutional Patriots,
was arrested.
lantes.” T he firearms charge
against Hopkins is relatively
minor. But it is likely the start of
a deeper investigation into his
activities and those of the militia,
and opens the way for the
ment proceedings would begin.
Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of
the House Intelligence
Committee, laid out the political
calculus Democrats must make,
knowing a Republican Senate is
almost certain to derail
impeachment, regardless of
Mueller's obstruction evidence.
House Majority Leader Steny
Hoyer doused talk of impeach‑
ment last week, shortly after
the Mueller report was made
public, saying he didn't think
the process was "worthwhile."
Instead, Democrats have
demanded more hearings on
Trump's conduct and to hear
from AG Barr. They also want to
bring Mueller in to testify next
month.
style, Trump reacted with tweet of a
picture of him like a movie poster
proclaiming, "No Collusion. No
obstruction. For the haters and the
radical left Democrats a Game
over", and tweeted on Thursday
morning his consistent position on
the inquiry: "The Witch Hunt has
been a total fraud on your
President and the American people!
It was brought to you by Dirty
Cops, Crooked Hillary and the DNC
(Democratic National Committee)".
authorities to bring more serious
charges like kidnapping and
impersonating a police officer or
an employee of the United States.
T he org anizat ion led by
Hopkins, the United
Constitutional Patriots, recently
uploaded videos of armed mem‑
bers detaining children and their
parents in a stretch of the New
Mexico desert near El Paso,
Texas, be fore handing the
mig rants over to the Border
Patrol.
New Mexicoʼs Demo crat ic
Governor Miche lle Lujan
Grisham said that any mistreat‑
ment of asylum‑seekers on the
border was “unacceptable.”
The American Civil Liberties
Union denounced the militiaʼs
actions in a letter Thursday, say‑
ing the actions amounted to kid‑
napping by “racist and armed
vigilantes.”
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA NEWS April 27-May 3, 2019 11

India to deal with US move to

New Delhi: India on Tuesday said it
is "adequately prepared" to deal
with the impact of the US decision
to end waiver for importing oil
from Iran and that it will continue
to work with Washington and other
partner countries to find "all possi‑
ble ways" to protect its energy and
economic security interests.
"Government has noted the
announcement by the US govern‑
ment to discontinue the Significant
Reduction Exemption to all pur‑
chasers of crude oil from Iran,"
External Af fairs Ministry
spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said
in a statement here, a day after the
US announced the decision.
"We are adequately prepared to
deal with the impact of this deci‑
sion. Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas has already issued a
statement in this regard," he said.
Earlier, the Petroleum Ministry
said the government has "put in
place a robust plan" to ensure that
there is adequate supply of crude
end waiver on Iran oil
oil to Indian oil refineries from May
2019 onwards.
"There will be additional supplies
from other major oil producing
countries from dif ferent parts of
the world," the Petroleum Ministry
statement said, adding "The Indian
refineries are fully prepared with‑
out any problem to meet the
national demand for petrol, diesel
and other petroleum products in
the country."
The US on Monday announced
that sanction waivers for India,
China, Japan, South Korea and
Turkey would not be renewed
when they expire on May 2. The
decision is intended to deny Iran its
principal source of revenue.
In November, the US reimposed
sanctions on exports of Iranian oil
after President Donald Trump with‑
drew from a 2015 nuclear accord
between Iran and six world powers.
The External Af fairs Ministry
spokesman added that the govern‑
ment "will continue to work with
partner nations, including with the
US, to find all possible ways to pro‑
tect India's energy and economic
security interests."
India imports close to 10 per cent
of its domestic oil requirement
from Iran. Though the imports fell
slightly in 2018‑2019 following
the US sanctions, it is still signifi‑
cant at close to 20 million tonnes
per annum. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

CJI TRASHES SEXUAL India shares 'all

HARASSMENT CHARGE
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Ranjan
Gogoi rubbished an allegation of sexual
harassment against him, saying there
was a "larger conspiracy" to destabilize
the independence of the judiciary,
which, he said, is "under very serious
threat".
After the allegation leveled by a for‑
mer employee of the Supreme Court
was reported by a section of the media,
a three‑member bench of the apex
court, headed by the Chief Justice and
including Justice Arun Mishra and
Justice Sanjeev Khanna, held an urgent
hearing this morning ‑‑ a holiday ‑‑ over
the matter. The bench said the judiciary
"cannot be made a scapegoat" and that
the media should not publish the
woman's complaint without verifying its
truth.
T he Chief Justice said the sexual
harassment charge ag ainst him is
"unbelievable" and he would "not stoop
too low even to deny these allegations."
He said the issue has been brought
out days before a bench headed by him
is scheduled to hear "many, many sensi‑
tive cases". This is also the month of the
Lok Sabha elections in the country, he
noted.
"I don't think it's just a plot of a junior
court assistant. There is a larger design.
Someone wants to deactivate the office
of the CJI. My bench is set to hear some
SC notice to advocate alleging
conspiracy against CJI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to advocate Utsav
Bains who has alleged that there is a conspiracy to frame Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi in a sexual harassment case.
The bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, while directing the presence of
Bains on Wednesday in the court, asked him to produce evidence in support
of paras 17 and 20 of his affidavit filed in the apex court. The court has
taken suo motu cognizance of his affidavit.
important cases next week, and this
could be an attempt to dissuade me
from hearing these matters," Justice
Gogoi said.
"There has to be a bigger force behind
this. There are two offices ‑‑ one of the
Prime Minister and one of the CJI. They
want to deactivate the office of the CJI,"
he said.
"I will sit on this bench and discharge
my duties without fear and favour till
my tenure is over. This is the reward a
CJI gets after 20 years of service," he
said.Justice Gogoi, who assumed the
of fice of the CJI on October 3, 2018,
will retire on November 17 this year.
Contending that "there is a larger con‑
spiracy to destabilise the judiciary
which has remained independent," the
Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
(File Photo: IANS)
Chief Justice asked, "In view of such
baseless charges, why would any person
want to become a judge as reputation is
all that the judges have, and that too,
under attack?"
The Chief Justice requested Justice
Mishra to take a call on passing a judi‑
cial order.
Anguished over the charges, the Chief
Justice said, "The judiciary of this coun‑
try is under very serious threat. We will
not allow this to happen...Nobody can
catch me on money. People have to find
something and they have found this."
He said he has a bank balance of Rs
6.80 lakh and Rs 40 lakh in provident
fund, after being in the judiciary for
around two decades.
The Secretary General said the com‑
plainant worked as a part of the home
office of Chief Justice only for a short
period, and given the nature of her
duties, she had no occasion to interact
directly with the Chief Justice.
And, she was dismissed from service
as per procedure for inappropriate con‑
duct, he added.
The Secretary General said a criminal
case is pending against the complainant
for allegedly taking bribe to promise
employment in the Supreme Court.
evidences' on JeM,
Azhar with China
New Delhi: India has shared with China "all evi‑
dences" of the terrorist activities of Pakistan‑based
Jaish‑e‑Mohammad (JeM) and its chief Masood
Azhar, the External Affairs Ministry said here on
Monday as Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale held
talks with the Chinese leadership in Beijing.
Gokhale was on a two‑day visit to Beijing where
he held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang
Yi.
"We have shared with China all evidences of ter‑
rorist activities of Jaish‑e‑Mohammad and its
leader Masood Azhar. It is now for the 1267
Sanctions Committee (of the UN Security Council)
and other authorized bodies of the UN to take a
decision on listing of Masood Azhar (as interna‑
tional terrorist)," External Af fairs Ministry
spokesperson said here.
He was responding to queries on discussions
that the Foreign Secretary held in Beijing with
regard to proscribing of Azhar.
China has been blocking India's move, which is
supported by countries like the US, UK and France,
at the UN Security Council to enlist Azhar as an
international terrorist.
Last month, Beijing placed a latest "technical
hold", for the fourth time, on a US‑sponsored reso‑
lution against Azhar, a move that India called "dis‑
appointing".
"India will continue to pursue all available
avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are
involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are
brought to justice," the MEA spokesperson said.
JeM has been responsible for a number of terror
attacks in India over the last two decades, includ‑
ing the one on Parliament on December 13, 2001.
There has been an increased pitch for proscrib‑
ing Azhar in the aftermath of the ghastly Pulwama
terror attack on February 14, which was claimed
by JeM.
"We will work together with the Chinese side to
deepen mutual understanding, strengthen mutual
trust to implements the decisions that are taken
by the leaders and do it in a manner where we are
sensitive to each other's concerns," Gokhale said.
 12 April 27-May 3, 2019
MAHA KUMBH
OF DEMOCRACY
New Delhi: Millions of people came
out to vote as over 50 per cent
voter turnout was recorded till 3
p.m. on Tuesday cross 117 Lok
Sabha constituencies for the third
phase of Lok Sabha elections spread
over 13 states and 2 Union
Territories.
Unfazed by the summer heat, vot‑
ers turned out in large numbers in
West Bengal, Tripura, Goa, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Maharashtra records
57.01% voting
While Kolhapur recorded
the highest at 65.70 per
cent, the lowest was in
neighboring Pune at 43.63
per cent. (Photo: AISN)
Mumbai: Maharashtra recorded a
moderate 57.01 per cent voting till
5 p.m for the 14 Lok Sabha con‑
stituencies in Maharashtra which
polled in third phase on Tuesday,
election officials said here.
Voting was underway in Jalgaon,
Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Raigad,
Pune, Baramati, Ahmednagar,
Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri‑
Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and
Hathkanangale constituencies.
While Kolhapur recorded the
highest at 65.70 per cent, the low‑
est was in neighboring Pune at
43.63 per cent.
The other constituencies on the
higher side include Hatkanangale
(64.79 per cent), Jalna (59.92),
Sangli (59.39), Aurangabad (58.52),
Ahmednagar (57.75), Ratnagiri‑
Sindhudurg (57.63).
Low voting was recorded in Raver
(56.98 per cent), Madha (56.41),
Raigad (56.14), Baramati (55.84),
Satara (55.40) and Jalgaon (52.28).
Since voting would continue
beyond 6 p.m, the EC of ficials
expect that the tentative estimates
could be around 60 per cent of the
approximately 2 crore electorate
Lok Sabha elections:
Over 50% polling in phase 3
Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
and the Union Territories of Dadra
and Nagar Haveli and Daman and
Diu.
However, voting was dull in
Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag
Lok Sabha constituency where
polling is being held in three legs
amid tight security measures. The
turnout was only 10.64 per cent till
3 p.m.
Voting began at 7 a.m. as the
third, and the largest, phase of the
staggered seven‑phase electoral
exercise kicked off on Tuesday.
As per the latest figures received
till 3 p.m., West Bengal recorded the
highest turnout with 67.52 per cent
of the eligible voters casting their
votes. It was closely followed by
Tripura, where voting is happening
only in one constituency, with
who exercised their franchise in the
14 seats. The fate of 249 candi‑
dates including several political
stalwarts, scions, royals and rebels
including Shiv Sena Union Minister
Anant Geete, state Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) President Raosaheb
Danve‑Patil and big political clans
like the Pawars and Vikhe‑Patils
will be decided by the voters.
The main contests are between
the ruling BJP‑Shiv Sena and the
opposition Congress‑Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP), besides the
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi ( VBA)
Dalit‑Muslim front comprising
Prakash Ambedkar's Bharipa
Bahujan Mahasangh and Owaisi
brothers' All India Majlis‑e‑Ittehadul
Muslimeen (MIM), and some
local/regional parties.
There are several key contests
among these 14 seats, nine of
which are held by the BJP‑Shiv
Sena, while four are with the NCP,
and one with the Shetkari
Swabhimani Sanghatana (SSS).
The fourth and final phase of
polling for the remaining 17 Lok
Sabha seats of the total 48 in the
state shall be held on April 29.
INDIA NEWS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi after casting his vote in
Ahmedabad on April 23. (Photo: PIB/IANS)
67.08 per cent turnout.
Voting in the Tripura East seat
was slated in the second phase of
polling on April 18 but was
EC bars Sidhu from campaigning for 3 days
New Delhi: T he Election
Commission has barred Punjab
Minister and Congress leader
Navjot Singh Sidhu from campaign‑
ing for three days after it found him
guilty of violating the Model Code
of Conduct (MCC) with his allegedly
communal remarks.
It said he would be barred from
holding any public meeting, proces‑
sion, rally, road show, interviews or
make any public utterances in
media in connection with the ongo‑
ing elections for 72 hours starting
10 am on Tuesday.
The poll panel had on Saturday
It's grand fight of grandsons in Haryana's Hisar
Hisar (Haryana): In the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections, Hisar gave the
country its youngest‑ever Member
of Parliament (MP) in Dushyant
Chautala. He was only 26 years and
one‑month old at that time. This
time, the Hisar Lok Sabha seat is wit‑
nessing the grand fight of two great
grandsons and one grandson of
three political dynasties in the state.
Dushyant, the great grandson of
former Deputy Prime Minister Devi
Lal, faces tough competition from
former IAS of ficer Bijendra Singh,
the great grandson of popular peas‑
ant leader Sir Chhotu Ram, and the
grandson of former Chief Minister
Bhajan Lal, Bhavya Bishnoi. All three
candidates are multi‑millionaires as
per the assets declared by them in
their respective affidavits.
While Bijendra Singh, a senior
Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer, who resigned recently from
service, has been fielded by the rul‑
ing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
and Bhavya Bishnoi by the Congress.
Bijendra's father, Birender Singh,
is the Union Minister for Steel in the
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
deferred by the Election
Commission to the third phase on
security concerns.
Voting was also brisk in Assam
Punjab Minister and Congress
leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.
(Photo: IANS)
issued a notice to the cricketer‑
turned‑politician for violating MCC
during an election rally in Bihar's
Katihar where he urged Muslims to
Narendra Modi government and a
Rajya Sabha MP. His mother, Prem
Lata, is a sitting BJP legislator in
Haryana.
Dushyant, who won the previous
election as the Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) candidate, is now repre‑
senting the newly formed Jannayak
Janata Party (JJP) which has an
alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) for the Lok Sabha polls. He
parted ways with the INLD in
December last year after a bitter
split in the party and the Chautala
family.
Dushyant's father, Ajay Singh
Chautala, is the elder son of INLD
president and former Chief Minister
Om Prakash Chautala.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls,
Dushyant had defeated Bhavya's
father, Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had
contested as a candidate of the
Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC‑BL)
party, by a margin of over 31,800
votes.
Among the main contenders this
time on this seat, Bijendra Singh is
46 years old, Dushyant 31 years
(62.13 per cent) and Goa (58.93 per
cent). In Chhattisgarh, 55.29 per
cent of the electors cast their votes
till 3 p.m.
Karnataka, where the remaining
14 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats are
going to the polls in the third phase,
saw around 50 per cent voting till 3
p.m. Kerala, where polling is being
held in all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in
the state, witnessed a turnout of 56
per cent.
Voting was moderate in Gujarat,
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra. In Gujarat, 50.35 per
cent of the eligible voters had exer‑
cised their franchise till 3 p.m. while
in Bihar, it was 47 per cent.
Dadra and Nagar Have li saw
56.81 per cent voting while Daman
and Diu witnessed 54.84 per cent
polling till 3 p.m.
not split their votes.
The Commission said it amounted
to making use of religion while
appealing voters to support
Congress candidate from Katihar,
Tariq Anwar.
In the notice, the EC had said that
the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar
had forwarded it a video clip show‑
ing Sidhu asking voters from the
"minority community" to prevent
any split of their votes.
He also asked them to do mass
voting for the Congress so as to
throw Prime Minister Narendra
Modi out of power.
Dushyant Chautala.
(File Photo: IANS)
now and Bhavya is only 26 years
old.
Bhavya holds a Master of Science
degree in Contemporary India from
St. Antony College, University of
Oxford.
Bijendra Singh is a product of New
Delhi's Modern School (Barakhamba
Road) and St. Stephen's College. He
did his Master of Arts (History) from
the Jawaharlal Nehru University in
New De lhi in 1994. He did his
Master of Science (Public Policy and
Management) from Kings College,
London in 2018.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA NEWS April 27-May 3, 2019 13

MAHA KUMBH
OF DEMOCRACY
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Tuesday issued a notice of crimi‑
nal contempt to Cong ress
President Rahul Gandhi while
rejecting a plea for closing the
matter related to his "chowkidar
chor hai" remarks incorrectly
attributed to the top court.
SC notice to Rahul in 'chowkidar' issue
T he court asked Gand hi to
explain by next Tuesday why con‑
tempt proceedings should not be
initiated against him for suggest‑
ing that the court had endorsed
his polit ical attack on Prime
Minister Narendra Modi amid the
ongoing polls.
T he apex court, however,
exempted the Congress chief
from personal appearance.
It will hear the matter on April
30 along with the review peti‑
tions related to the Rafale fighter
deal.
The notice was issued a day
after Gandhi expressed regret to
the Supreme Court for his com‑
ments over which BJP MP
Meenakshi Lekhi had moved a
contempt petition.
The Congress President had
Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses a public rally in
Dungarpur, Rajasthan on April 23. (Photo: IANS)
made the controversial comment
after the top court on April 10,
while agreeing to hear review
pet it ions in the Rafale case,
rejected the government con‑
tention that classified documents
accessed by the media cannot be
considered as evidence.
Gandhi had claimed that the
Supreme Court had acknowl‑
edged that "chowkidar chor hai",
a slogan he uses to target Modi in
the context of Rafale deal.
The BJP took objection to this
and Lekhi moved a contempt of
court petition in the apex court.
While hearing the petition, a
three‑member bench, headed by
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had
taken strong except ion to
Gandhi's comment, saying he had
"incorrectly attributed" the
remarks to the top court.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi,
appearing for Lekhi, said Gandhi's
affidavit was just lip service and
that he has expressed no apology.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu
Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi,
requested the court to close the
case ag ainst the Cong ress
President.

'Didi' dreams of PM post by Hans Raj Hans makes foray

fighting few LS seats
Asansol (West Bengal): In a
scathing attack on West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Tuesday accused her of
"dreaming" about becoming the
next Prime Minister by fighting
only in a handful of Lok Sabha
seats.
He also said that if the Prime
Minister's post was ever put up
on auct ion, both she and
Congress President Rahul Gandhi
would have spent all the money
they have "looted" to win it.
"Didi (Banerjee) is dreaming Narendra Modi also hit out at Mamata Banerjee for
about becoming the Prime questioning the success of the Balakot air strike.
Minister by fighting only a hand‑
ful of seats. If the post of Prime Minister
would have been auctioned, then Congress
and Didi would have spent all the money
they have looted, in that auction," Modi
said at an election rally here for BJP candi‑
date and Union Minister Babul Supriyo.
"Didi, the Prime Minister's post cannot be
auctioned. It cannot be bought with the
money of Saradha chit fund or Narada
scam. One needs the blessings of 130 crore
Indians to get hold of it," he said.
He also hit out at Banerjee for question‑
ing the success of the Balakot air strike,
carried out by the Indian Air Force in the
aftermath of Pulwama terror attack.
"You (Banerjee) should clarify how will
you build up the bilateral relationship with
Pakistan? Will Pakistan accept you just by
seeing the flowers of Rose Valley? Will you
seek evidences of terrorism from the ter‑
rorists as well?" he said, referring to anoth‑
er ponzi scam in the state.
"The people of Bengal want to know why
you shed tears in favour of Pakistan after
the air strike in Balakot or the surgical
strikes. Is that your policy? It is the elec‑
tion to decide the fate of 130 crore Indians.
So the issues of nation's security are very
important. That's why Mamata didi must
answer these questions," he said.
Telangana farmers may
contest against Modi
Hyderabad: Fifty turmeric farmers from
Nizamabad district of Telangana plan to
contest the e lect ion ag ainst Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi Lok
Sabha constituency to highlight their
problems.
After making their presence felt in
Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in
April 11 election, a group of farmers on
Tuesday announced their decision to take
on Modi, who is seeking re‑election from
Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
However, none of the 178 farmers who
contested from Nizamabad will be filing
their nominations in the Prime Minister's
constituency.
T he All India Turmeric Farmers'
Association president Daivasigamani said
50 farmers, majority of them from the
scheduled castes and women, would
undertake "Chalo Varanasi" program to
file their nominations.
They plan to file their nominations on
April 28, two days after Modi files his
papers. Polling in Varanasi is scheduled in
the last phase on May 19.
into electoral politics
New Delhi: After winning millions of hearts
by giving out peppy Punjabi numbers, it is a
new innings for popular singer Hans Raj
Hans as he entered the electoral fray on
Tuesday. Hans is a BJP candidate from
North West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency
and replaces the sitting MP Udit Raj.
T he 57‑year‑old, who earned fame
through singing, has been in politics for
over a decade during which he had stints
with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the
Popular singer Hans Raj Hans.
Congress before joining the BJP three years
back. tumba" and "Tote tote ho gaya" ‑‑ which was
"I will be honest and do my best to hon‑ recreated as "Chhote chhote peg" in "Sonu
our my services to the people of the nation Ke Titu Ki Sweety".
under the guidance of shri @narendramodi
@AmitShah ji. @BJP4India @BJP4Delhi," he Cong., BJP candidates
tweeted after filing his nomination papers,
just before the deadline ended.
file nominations in
Hans, who has made people dance to his Delhi
peppy numbers, celebrated the spirit of
New Delhi: All the seven Congress candi‑
Sufism through his melodies and even made
dates and four from the Bharatiya Janata
people cry, now has the challenge to retain
Party (BJP) contesting the Lok Sabha
the seat for the BJP. Born in Shafipur village
elections from the national capital filed
near Jalandhar in Punjab, Hans started his
their nominations on Tuesday.
musical journey by singing Punjabi folk,
The seven Lok Sabha constituencies in
devotional and Sufi music. His tryst with
Delhi go to the polls in the sixth phase on
music started at an early age as he started
May 12. Former Chief Minister and Delhi
singing since the age of 5.
Congress President Sheila Dikshit on
The house he grew up in, his village, reli‑
Tuesday filed her nomination from North
gious places in his village and people he
East De lhi. In North West De lhi,
met ‑‑ turned out to be his early musical
Congress' Rajesh Lilothia filed his nomi‑
influences. He drew inspiration from a
nation while the BJP's Hans Raj Hans,
street singer ‑‑ who used to come near his
who replaced the incumbent MP Udit
house every day and sing Punjabi devotion‑
Raj, too filed his papers.
al songs. Famous for his long curly hair and
Former international cricketer Gautam
classical variations in singing, he watched
Gambhir filed his nomination from East
and learnt Sufi music by listening to the
Delhi on a BJP ticket while sitting BJP
people in a dargah in his village.
MPs, Meenakshi Lekhi and Ramesh
Ustad Puran Shah Koti trained him in Sufi
Bidhuri, filed their papers from New
singing. The name ʻHans' was reportedly
Delhi and South Delhi, respectively.
given to him by his guru.
Congress candidates J.P. Agarwal,
He gained popularity for reviving Punjabi
Arvinder Singh Lovely, Ajay Maken,
folk songs while retaining rustic touch with
Mahabal Mishra and Olympic medal‑win‑
songs like "Ni vanjaaran kuriey", "Nit khair
ning boxer Vijender Singh filed their
manga" and "Haal ve rabba". His last album
nominations from Chandni Chowk, East
"Mundeh Punjabi" was released in 2017.
Delhi, New Delhi, West Delhi and South
Some of the popular Bollywood tracks
Delhi, respectively.
include: "Saiyyan", "Ik tu hi tu hi", "Tumba
 14 April 27-May 3, 2019 OP-ED TheSouthAsianTimes.info

What if there is a hung Parliament in India?

By Amulya Ganguli he appears to have decided to Janshakti Party.
keep his lines open for both the How will the national opposi‑

C
onventional wisdom has
it that the current elec‑
tions will not produce a
clear‑cut result as in 2014. The
reason is that there is no definite
trend for or against any party at
the national level although such
tendencies are there in some
states such as Tamil Nadu.
However, in the absence of an
all‑India "wave", neither of the
two main groups of protagonists
‑ the Nat ional Demo crat ic
Alliance (NDA) led by the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and
the parties in the "secular" camp
‑ is expected easily to cross the
half‑way mark of 272 seats in
the Lok Sabha.
The general assumption is that
the NDA may barely cross the
finishing line or just fall short
while the BJP w ill not get a
majority of its own although it is
likely to emerge as the largest
party. In that event, there is
every possibility of the BJP being
given the first chance by the
President to form a government.
Furthermore, there will be no dif‑
ficulty for it if the NDA has a
majority.
However, the thinness of the
NDA's lead over the other parties
can pose a problem. For instance,
BJP and the Congress. tion fare in these circumstances?
Another party whose name has For a start, it will have to accept
figured in the speculation is that the inconvenient truth about
of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), a itself that an inability to get its
one‑time ally of the BJP which is act together to stand united
now engaged in trying to main‑ against the BJP made it lose the
tain its dominance in Odisha race. Moreover, the ego hassles
against a combative BJP which among its senior leaders which
has replaced the Congress as the scuttled the earlier talks about
BJD's main opponent in the state. forming a mahagathbandhan
At the all‑India level, the BJD's (grand alliance) with a single
position is for maintaining equi‑ opposition candidate against the
distance from both the BJP and BJP in every constituency will
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Union
the Congress. However, Chief continue to help the BJP retain
Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, state's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil
Kumar Modi and Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai during Minister Naveen Patnaik is of the its hold on power.
a public rally in Araria, Bihar. (Photo: IANS) view that he will go with that The only card which the oppo‑
party at the center which will sition can play even in its frac‑
the critics are bound to interpret names are already in the air, show special consideration for tured state is to assert that the
the NDA's slender majority as a such as those of Telangana Chief the state. 2014 outcome was an aberration
virtual rejection by the voters of Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao It doesn't take much perspicaci‑ caused up by two factors ‑ the
its legitimacy in view of the fall and the rising Andhra Pradesh ty to believe that if push comes unexpected rise of Narendra
in its seats from the present 336. leader Jag an Mohan Reddy, to shove for the BJP, struggling Modi as a popular leader and the
There is a political need, there‑ although both have been critical to maintain the NDA's majority in equally unexpected collapse of
fore, for the BJP to repeat its of the BJP. the Lok Sabha, it will listen to the Congress because of corrup‑
2014 performance if the party Rao, for instance, had once Odisha's plea for he lp w ith tion ‑ an old malady ‑ and policy
wants to persist with its current taken the initiative to constitute greater sympathy. Given such paralysis, a new affliction.
dominance. a non‑BJP, non‑Congress federal possibilities, it is obvious that the In the absence of either one or
The scene will obviously be front in Mamata Banerjee's com‑ BJP will not be able to display the other of these two factors,
even worse for the BJP if the pany, but the project went the kind of chutzpah that it does the scene would have been dif‑
NDA is unable to get a majority nowhere. at present. It is bound to be far ferent. In a way, this is what
and there is a hung parliament. It Reddy is at present too focused more subdued, a posture it appears to be happening at pres‑
has been suggested that it will on his battles w ith And hra adopted recently when conclud‑ ent, with the BJP losing some of
then have to look for potential Pradesh Chie f Minister N. ing pre‑poll seat arrangements its earlier momentum and the
allies to cross the magical figure Chandrababu Naidu to pay much with the Shiv Sena, the Janata Congress partly recovering its
of 272. In this context, several attention to national politics. But Dal (United) and the Lok old self under a new leadership.

On Pragya Thakur, some questions for the BJP

By Harinder Baweja by a terrorist who had taken the sea route
from Pakistan?

T
errorism is a serious charge even if
you have not been convicted for it.
The fact of the matter is that the
courts refused to let the 2008 Malegaon
blasts accused Pragya Thakur off the hook.
Her motorcycle was allegedly used to
transport explosives and for a blast that
killed six people. It is not enough for the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to put out the
narrative that the “Sadhvi” was implicated
by an overzealous United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) keen on coining the adage
of ʻsaffron terror.ʼ
The BJP has many uncomfortable ques‑
tions to answer for why it got a terror sus‑
pect to join the ranks of the party
overnight. The party might think it was a
political masterstroke to field her against
the Congressʼs Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal,
but what stands out instead is the fact that
the ruling party is unwilling to pay heed to
terror charges. What message is the gov‑
ernment sending not just to investigating
agencies but to the courts still hearing a
case involving an act of terror? Will they
proceed against her if she gets elected and
finds a seat in the august house of
Parliamentarians?
What, indeed, do the BJP leaders have to
BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur addressing party workers in Bhopal. (Photo: IANS)
say to her now that she believes she cursed
Hemant Karkare to death? Karkare was the
head of Maharashtraʼs anti‑terrorism
squad and was probing charges against
her. He was shot dead in Mumbai in 2008
by Ajmal Kasab, one of ten terrorists, who
held Indiaʼs financial nerve center to ran‑
som for close to 72 hours.
Is it the BJPʼs case that “martyrs” should
be differentiated on the basis of the work
they were doing? The ruling party, led by
its two stalwarts ‑‑ Narendra Modi and
Amit Shah – are running the fight for
2019ʼs big electoral battle on the issue of
nationalism and in the name of the 40
Central Reserve Police Force troopers who
were killed in a deadly blast in Kashmirʼs
Pulwama in February. How is their “mar‑
tyrdom” at the hands of a human bomb
less or more than Karkareʼs who was killed
“India first, self last” is what BJP leaders
never tire of saying. How is Thakurʼs entry
into the electoral fray in Indiaʼs interest?
Former chief minister of Jammu and
Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, is not wrong
when she says, “Imagine the anger if Iʼd
fie lded a terror accused. Channe ls
wouldʼve gone berserk by now trending a
mehboobaterrorist hashtag! According to
these guys terror has no religion when it
comes to saffron fanatics but otherwise all
Muslims are terrorists. Guilty until proven
innocent.” There are some who believe
Pragya Thakur is innocent until proven
guilty but many would dif fer with that
view. At the end of the day, she is a terror
suspect and if she is so politically valuable,
the BJP could have waited for the court
case to conclude. It is not only the “liber‑
als” (this one has been coined by the right‑
wing as an insult) who are gobsmacked by
T hakurʼs political debut. Her calling
Karkare an “ant i‑nat ional” who died
because she cursed him is a bit too much
for many to stomach.
W ho is ant i‑nat ional? T hakur or
Karkare? No jury is needed to answer that
one.
(The article appeared in The Hindustan Times)

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info RELIGION April 27-May 3, 2019 15

BAPS Mandir
foundation
stone laid,
underlining
UAE’s
commitment to
social harmony
and spiritual
tolerance.

His Holiness Mahant Swami

Maharaj addresses the
assembly with a projection
of the temple model in
the background.

First Hindu temple

to come up in Abu Dhabi’
Abu Dhabi: Marking a significant
moment in the history of the UAE,
around 5,000 devotees and well‑
wishers witnessed on April 20 the
BAPS Hindu Mandirʼs shilanyas cer‑
emony, a Vedic ritual performed to
sanctify the main foundation
stones, heralding the construction
to begin. The Vedic ceremony was
performed by H.H. Mahant Swami
Maharaj, the spiritual leader of
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Gracing with their presence were
H.E. Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili,
Chairman of the Department of
Community Development, H.E. Dr
r sadhus and
Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, senio
holy watersinto the foundation.
of Environment, and H.E. Dr Ahmad distinguished guests pour
Bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al
Falasi, Minister of State for Higher from Prime Minister Narendra of tolerance.”
Brahmavihari
Education as well as Indian Modi: “When complete, this Mandir HH Mahant Swami Maharaj HH Mahant Swami Maharaj, accompanied by Pujya
eeing the const ruction of the temp le, pours
will symbolize the universal human blessed the assembly, “We cannot Swami who is overs
Ambassador to UAE, Navdeep Suri.
into the found ation at the Shilan yas cerem ony.
cement
Water from the three main holy values, and spiritual ethos that form buy peace with money or intelli‑
rivers of India was showered on the a shared heritage of both India and gence. Peace comes to those who and well‑wishers from India and BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a
foundation stones by His Holiness UAE.... UAE is celebrating the Year love peace. May goodness and many countries. spiritual, volunteer‑driven organiza‑
and distinguished guests. HH of Tolerance. This Mandir is an peace spread further from here.” The temple is being built by tion dedicated to improving society
Mahant Swami Maharaj and the expression by the UAE, of their love, After the event, over 17,000 devo‑ Mandir Limited, a non‑profit through individual growth by fos‑
Ministers then unveiled a Gift of friendship and faith in India and the tees and well‑wishers from organi‑ authorized by the UAE Ministry of tering the Hindu ideals of faith,
Gratitude, an intricate piece of art‑ Indian community.” zations like Art of Living, Chinmaya Community Development to collect, unity, and selfless service. HH
work comprising a base made of Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili told Mission, Jain Samaj, Dubai manage and disburse funds for the Mahant Swami Maharaj is the sixth
pink sandstone – the stone that will the gathering: “Our presence here Gurudwara, Brahma Kumaris, construction and management of and present spiritual guru of the
be used for building the Mandir and today shows the really strong rela‑ Iskcon, and Tamil Samaj visited the the Mandir in Abu Dhabi. Sanstha.
metal fins of various sizes forming tionship between the two nations. venue. This historic event was
an image of. Sheikh Zayed bin This Mandir reflects the greatness attended by devotees, volunteers
Sultan Al Nahyan, the earlier ruler
of Abu Dhabi. The artwork is a gift
to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi,
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on behalf of
the Indian community in apprecia‑
tion of the support of the rulers and
people of the UAE.
Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, a sen‑
ior BAPS sadhu overseeing the con‑
struction of the temple, stated
thanked the King HH Khalifa Bin
Zayad Al Nahyan and the Crown
Prince and others “who have shown
Khamis Al Khaili, H.E
so much love and extended their HH Mahant Swami Maharaj, H.E. Dr Mugheer
llah Humaid Belho ul Al Falasi and H.E. Dr Members of the community participate
complete support”. Dr Ahmad bin Abdu
Gratitude. in the Shilanyas ceremony
Ambassador Suri read out a letter Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi unveil the Gift of
 16 April 27-May 3, 2019
Multi-starrer movies: An
evergreen money-making trend
By Natalia
Ningthoujam
K
alankʼ, starring actors like
Madhuri Dixit Nene, Alia
Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and
Sanjay Dutt, minted Rs 21.60
crore on its first day, making it
the highest opener of 2019 so far.
With more all‑star cast movies
lined up this year, a trade expert
says most filmmakers tend to
adopt the hit formula as it's one
of the ways to pull audiences
from their palms and laptops into
the theatres.
"Multi‑starrers have always
drawn in audiences. It is not a
recent trend though. I remember
films like 'Shaan' and 'Naseeb'
were also multi‑starrers. But now,
audiences have a lot of options
for entertainment. They don't just
have the option of going to cine‑
ma but can also watch films on
phones. So, to lure audiences to
the big screen, multi‑starrer films
come quite handy," film and trade
expert Girish Johar told IANS.
With the presence of stars, the
scale of a film rises.
The box office performance, he
felt, also depends on how they are
made and when they are released.
Can't believe I haven't Meghan Markle's
been to India: Downey Jr sari‑clad image goes viral
H D
ollywood's 'Iron Man'
Robert Downey Jr, who
video conferenced with
Indian fans across four cities in
a one‑of‑a‑kind fan event, was
humbled and overwhelmed by
the "incredible" love. He says he
can't believe he hasn't visited
the country and promised he
will be there soon.
The actor has been aggres‑
sively promoting the forthcom‑
ing ʻAvengers: Endgameʼ, which
is a culmination of over 20
Marvel movies, and wraps up
10 years of storytelling.
Ahead of its release in India
on April 26 in English, Hindi,
Tamil and Telugu, Downey Jr
connected with fans across
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Bengaluru through a live video
conference.
Fans cheered 'RDJ' for him
and danced for him while he
responded with flying kisses
and with his arms wide open
for all the love he received.
"Wow... I can't believe it...
This is incredible," said Downey
Jr. "I am humbled. I am going to bow in front as he stood up to take a bow when fans
of you... This is deeply appreciative," he said danced away in unison.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Multi‑starrer ʻTotal Dhamaalʼ raked in Rs 16.50 crore this year.
For instance, two single hero
films this year, ʻKesariʼ and ʻGully
Boyʼ, raked in Rs 21.06 crore and
Rs 19.40 crore on the opening
day, while multi‑starrer ʻTotal
Dhamaalʼ brought in Rs 16.50
crore.
Some of the upcoming all‑star
cast films include Salman Khan,
Katrina Kaif and Tabu's ʻBharatʼ;
ʻMission Mangalʼ, ʻGood Newsʼ;
Anurag Basu's untitled film with
Rajkummar Rao, Abhishe k
Bachchan, Fatima Sana Shaikh;
ʻHousefull 4ʼ and Anees Bazmee's
ʻPag alpant iʼ, starring John
Abraham, Anil Kapoor and Arshad
Warsi.
Actor Robert Downey Jr has been
aggressively promoting ʻAvengers: Endgameʼ.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Netflix amps up India slate
with 10 new original films
C
ontinuing its investment
in Indian content, global
streaming giant Netflix
announced a slate of 10 new
original films, across a range of
genres and subjects.
With these additions, a total of
15 new original Indian films ‑‑ The films will be available to
including previously announced Netflix users by the end of 2020.
titles ʻMusic Teacherʼ, ʻCobalt
Blueʼ, ʻChopsticksʼ, ʻUpstartsʼ and Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag
ʻBulbulʼ ‑‑ will be available to Kashyap after "Lust Stories" to
Netflix users around the world by tell spine‑chilling tales. This will
the end of 2020. be produced by Ronnie
"When Netflix launched in Screwvala's RSVP and Ashi Dua.
India, we changed the way Indian Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies
audiences enjoy their films," Entertainment is producing ʻClass
Srishti Behl Arya, Director ‑ of 83ʼ. Directed by Atul
Actor Kunal Kemmu has been a
International Original Film, India, Sabharwal, it explores the story
part of filmmaker Rohit Shetty's
Netflix, said in a statement. of an upright policeman‑turned‑
ʻGolmaalʼ franchise for a while
"Given our diversity, history trainer whose students grapple
now.
and culture, India is home to with the complexities of honor,
He has also been part "Go Goa
powerful stories waiting to be morals and devotion to the
Gone" and "Kalank". Asked what
told to audiences around the nation. ʻGuiltyʼ, produced by
he liked about being a part of
world. The depth of talent and Dharmatic and directed by Ruchi
multi‑starrer movies, Kemmu told
vision of our creators is enabling Narain, explores the versions of
IANS: "The most important reason
us to create films our members truth that emerge when a small
is that it's not on your shoulders."
will love. We want to be a home town girl accuses the college
But that's not the only reason.
for India's finest filmmakers heartthrob of rape. Karan Johar,
"It's the story that always
where their stories travel to more who has produced ʻGuiltyʼ, said:
attracts me. A film like 'Golmaal'
people than ever before," Arya "Today a filmmaker with an inter‑
only works because of all of us. It
added. As part of the new slate, esting idea has so many avenues
is as much Ajay's (Devgn) film as
viewers can expect ʻGhost to connect with the audience... As
it is mine or Arshad's (Warsi) or
Storiesʼ, which will reunite direc‑ a content creator, there has never
Tusshar's (Kapoor). These are the
tors Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, been a better time to tell stories."
stories of the gang," Kunal said.
uchess of Sussex Meghan
Markle sported a sari and
embraced tradit ional
Indian culture, it has emerged in a
never‑before‑seen footage of a trip
she made back in January 2017.
The 37‑year‑old travelled to New
Delhi and Mumbai shortly after
her romance with Prince Harry
went public as part of her work
with the charity World Vision,
reports dailymail.co.uk.
She was keen to highlight issues
of gender equality and girls' limit‑
ed access to education in the coun‑
try. At the time of her trip, news of
her romance with Prince Harry
had only just emerged.
During the trip, Markle visited
schools and he lped to paint a
mural and plant a flower in the
gardens.
She wore a sari with shades of
blue and green and also sported a
traditional tilak on her forehead.
While on a visit to the school,
Markle said: "What we found is
that the enrolment at this school
went up three times once the
latrines were built so that girls had
access to clean hygiene and bath‑
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle wore a sari
room facilities while they're at
when she visited India in 2017.
school."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Marvel films might have 'AndhaDhun' crosses Rs
superheroes in different sizes 200 crore mark in China
M
arvel Studios want their films to
"reflect audiences all over the
globe that are cheering" their
work. Though they are going big on diversi‑
ty, they are yet to have a plus‑size superhero
or someone who doesn't have an envious
physique. But this might change "sooner
than you think", says Marvel Studios
President Kevin Feige.
Chris Hemsworth, Brie Larson and Chris
Evans are some of the Hollywood stars who
have donned the superhero costume for
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It's not
just their special skills or superpowers that
fans across the world are in love with, but
also their jaw‑dropping figures.
When IANS asked would Marvel like to
introduce superheroes who don't possess
the "perfect figure", Feige said here with a
laugh: "Yes, I would because then maybe I
can be a superhero." Superheroes generally
come in figure‑enhancing tights. Doesn't he
feel they are being stereotyped?
"Traditionally, if you look at the way they
are drawn in the comics, they go to very
iconic mythic proportions. We happen to
have many actors and actresses who have
mythic proportions themselves for real but I
will just say yes and perhaps sooner than
you think," he said during a group interview.
'Kalank': First‑class Kangana vs Alia: Family
performances save film joins the war of words
By Troy Ribeiro
S
et in the pre‑Independence era, in
Husnabad in undivided India,
director Abhishek Verman's
ʻKalankʼ is a saga of love, where all the six
pivotal characters crave for love and yet,
have to let go of it.
Roop (Alia Bhatt) agrees to marry Dev
Chowdhary (Aditya Roy Kapur) whose
wife, Satya (Sonakshi Sinha) is terminally
ill. In a loveless marriage, Roop falls in
love with Ironsmith Zafar (Varun
Dhawan), an illegitimate Muslim boy.
This tale of love and stigma seemed to
have many possibilities, but alas the treat‑
ment and story takes a clichéd and over
dramatic path that mars the viewing expe‑
rience.
The film, except for the climax, fails to
engage and involve you. The pathos in the
climax with each one losing their love is
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Actress Brie Larson in a still from
ʻCaptain Marvelʼ.
Is India part of the diversity plan?
"There is no official update but we want
our films to reflect the world, to reflect audi‑
ences all over the globe that are cheering
for our films. We want them to see them‑
selves up there.
"In our comic books, there are a lot of
characters and opportunities to do that."
As of now, all eyes are on the highly antici‑
pated film "Avengers: Endgame", MCU's
22nd film.
Actor
Madhuri
Dixit in a
still from
the film.
palpable, as is the pain of Partition.
While the first half establishes the char‑
acters and their lives and how those are
intertwined, it drags and there are abun‑
dant uncalled for scenes like the lengthy
bull‑fight with Zafar or Bahaar Begum's
(Madhuri Dixit) dance.
The performances are what elevate this
narrative. The film is Alia Bhatt's canvas
and she delivers a stellar performance yet
again and is convincing as Roop, the
lovelorn girl trapped in a loveless mar‑
riage.
Varun Dhawan as Zafar is his usual
filmy self with his customary swag, but
performs well in the second half as the
transition of his character is evident, from
the embittered and angry man to some‑
one who has been conquered by love.
Sonakshi Sinha is wasted as Satya, and
Madhuri Dixit as Bahar Begum disap‑
points.
ʻAndhaDhunʼ stars actor Ayushmann Khurrana in a lead role.
A
ctor Ayushmann Khurrana's
"AndhaDhun" has registered busi‑
ness of over Rs 200 crore in
China since its release on April 3, making
its way into the top five grossing Hindi
films in the country.
Sriram Raghavan's "AndhaDhun", fea‑
turing Ayushmann as a blind man, was
widely appreciated in India. Produced by
Viacom18 Motion Pictures and
I
f actress Kangana Ranaut's
tirade against Alia Bhatt
wasn't enough, the former's
sister Rangoli Chandel entered
the 'war of words' zone, as did
the ʻRaaziʼ actress' mother Soni
Razdan.
Kangana has been calling out
Alia since earlier this year for
not supporting her film
ʻManikarnika: The Queen of
Jhansiʼ, and had claimed this
was all a part of a "strange sort
of racket" in a section of the
film industry.
Ever since, Kangana has made
several references regarding
Alia, the latest being over her "mediocre"
performance in the otherwise widely
lauded ʻGully Boyʼ.
The controversy took a different turn
with Kangana's sister hitting out at Alia
and her mother Soni Razdan, calling them
"non Indians who are living off this land,
using and abusing its people and its
resources, lying about intolerance and
spreading hatred".
"Time to think about their agenda and
not to get carried away with their provo‑
cations," Rangoli had tweeted recently,
referring to an article about the mother‑
daughter duo's British passports.
Soni finally broke her silence over the
issue.
In a now‑deleted tweet, she wrote:
"Mahesh Bhatt is the man who has given
her a break...She goes on to attack his
wife and daughter. Daughter over and
April 27-May 3, 2019 17
Matchbox Pictures, it released as the
'Piano Player' in China.
According to a statement from the
makers, the film, also starring Tabu and
Radhika Apte, has earned over Rs 200
crore in just 13 days.
The film also received a standing ova‑
tion as the opening film at the Indian
Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA)
recently.
Actors Kangana Ranaut and Alia Bhatt.
over again. What is left to be said then
about abusing and hatred I wonder. Apart
from character of course. Agenda. What's
hers?"
Rangoli had a response soon after.
"Dear Soniji, Mahesh Bhatt never gave
her a break, Anurag Basu did. Mahesh
Bhatt ji works as a creative director in his
brother's production house. Please note
that he doesn't own that production
house. After 'Woh Lamhe' when Kangana
refused to do a film written by him called
ʻDhokha' where he wanted her to play a
suicide bomber, he got so upset that he
not only shouted at her in his office, but
later when she went for 'Woh Lamhe' pre‑
view to a theatre, he threw a chappal on
her.
"He didn't allow her to see her own film.
She cried the whole night, and she was
just 19 years old."
 18 April 27-May 3, 2019
The legacy Chitrabhanu Ji left
For a Jain sadhu, it was a tumultuous life journey: Popularity in India, vehement opposition when he decided to
travel abroad and got married. Then, based in New York, he became like the Pope of Jainism, instrumental in
setting up many Jain centers. In his later years, he extended the message of ahimsa to veganism. We pay a
tribute to Gurudev Chitrabhanu Ji (1922‐April 19, 2019) in the words of those who had long association with him.
By Dilip V Shah
Author of book ʻChitrabhanu:
Man of the Millenniumʼ
I
t was the year 1970 and Shri
Chitrabhanu Ji, then called a
Muni (monk), was enjoying
the zenith of popularity in
Mumbai not only in Jain circles
but also among the general pub‑
lic. It was his personality, youth‑
ful appearance, powerful oratory
and deep knowledge of Jainism
and other religions that drew
masses to wherever he spoke.
His Mahavir Jayanti lectures on
Chowpatty beach drew unprece‑
dented crowds where govern‑
ment ministers also attended. He
was also attracting attention of
many westerners who wanted to
learn meditation from him and
learn about Jainism.
But the Munishri was not con‑
tent in the strictures of monk‑
hood and traditions of a particu‑
lar sect he was representing. He
wanted to fully expound
Mahavirʼs humanitarian message
– of service to the sick and the
poor. He led many relief opera‑
tions for those who suffered nat‑
ural calamities. He did not wish
to be preaching to only those
who came to the Upashrays but
wanted to spread Mahavirʼs mes‑
sage universally. He was con‑
stantly getting invitations to
speak at Jain Sanghs and multi‑
faith forums from Africa, Europe
and America. It was the invita‑
tion from the 2nd Spiritual
Summit in Geneva organized by
the Temple of Understanding in
USA that finally persuaded him
to travel overseas.
As a Jain sadhu who had
always walked barefoot, the idea
of flying overseas on a plane for
hin was revolutionary albeit con‑
troversial. But in the end he
decided to follow in the footsteps
of his hero – Virchand Raghavji
Gandhi who introduced Jainism
to the western world almost 100
years earlier. So, on the night of
March 29, 1970 amid loud
protests from the traditionlists,
he took a historic flight to go to
Geneva.
Munishreeʼs message to the
delegates of the Geneva Summit
was a mixture of hope for the
humanity and the need for the
leaders of different religions to
unite and create a common pro‑
gram that can bring amity world‑
wide. He talked about how Jain
ideas of Nayas, Syadvad and
For a Jain muni to leave monkhood and get married in 1971 (to
Pramoadaben) became explosive news for the Jain samaj at the time.
Ahimsa can contribute to the
common goals for humanity and
counter the curse of wars,
hunger and poverty.
Making
New York home
Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji vis‑
ited many European cities and
America in this historic journey.
He also traveled to Africa to
speak at Jain centers in many
cities where local Jains had
never seen a Jain monk. From
there he went to America to
attend the Third Spiritual
Summit held at Harvard Divinity
School University. His speech in
front of leaders of 40 different
religions earned him the title of
“Hit speaker of the Day” in the
local Boston newspaper.
Numerous speaking engagement
requests followed. Chitrabhanuji
decided to settle in the US. He
chose New York as his home.
In New York, he taught medita‑
tion at various colleges, and
within two years of his penniless
arrival in the US, he opened Jain
Meditation International Center
JAINISM
with the money he had saved
from teaching. Almost all of his
students were American but
gradually, Jains of New York
started visiting the center. The
center obtained a small marble
murti of Mahavir swami and it
became the first Jain place of
worship in the US.
Chitrabhanu Ji visiting the Jain center in Los Angeles in 2008. (Photo Sailes Jain)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
As the years went by,
Chitrabhanuji contributed enor‑
mously to organizing Jain com‑
munities in US and Canada. His
organizing principle was that of
unity – all the Jains together
without any distinctions of sect,
language or the region of India
they came from. He, along with a
Sthanakwasi Muni Sushil
Kumarji inspired the formation
of JAINA – the largest organiza‑
tion of Jains outside India.
Because of his fluency in
English, Chitrabhanuji became
darling of the Jain youngsters,
many of whom stayed vegetarian
under his influence. He helped
form more than 40 Jain centers
in the US and Canada. He also
regularly visited Jain communi‑
ties in the UK, Singapore and of
course India, organizing a dozen
annual pilgrimages to Palitana
and Shikharji. There is a large
group of Americans at Lake
Whitmore in Michigan who have
chosen Chitrabhanuji as their
leader and have their own
church called the Light House
Center named after a popular
book by Chitrabhanuji titled “The
Beacon”.
In 1981, Chitrabhanuji moved
back to India with his family but
continued to visit US for half the
year every year. Only in 2016 he
stopped coming to America due
to his advanced age.
Hailed back
home
Returning to India was like a
homecoming. When people
learned that he had inspired for‑
mation of scores of Jain centers
in the US and around the world
and converted hundreds of
Americans to become vegetarian,
he regained his popularity with
the Jain community as if he had
never left India. In 1983,
Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji
formed “Vegetarian Society” in
Mumbai. In coining the phrase
“Reverence for Life” for this
organization, he was signaling to
the world that Ahimsa can not be
limited to “not killing” but should
also mean unconditional love,
respect and friendship to all liv‑
ing beings. Our treatment of fel‑
low humans, animals, plants and
the environment must all be
directed by that understanding
of Ahimsa. Our own self‑worth
cannot be measured by our phys‑
ical possessions but by the num‑
ber of blessings we collect from
all living beings. This was the
message Chitrabhanuji preached
to hundreds of thousands.
But one day in the early 1990s,
a group of young Americans con‑
fronted Gurudev in Las Vegas,
questioning him how could he,
an apostle of non‑violence, con‑
sume dairy? They brought up
the gross cruelty visited upon
dairy cows and not just on the
day they are slaughtered for
meat and leather. Gurudev
researched the subject and con‑
sulted leaders of the vegan
movement in America – people
like Ingrid Newkirk of PETA and
Dr. Neal Bernard of PCRM
(Physicians Committee of
Responsible Medicine).
Continued on page 19
TheSouthAsianTimes.info JAINISM April 27-May 3, 2019 19

Continued from page 18...

Apostle of Veganism
Learning the horrors of milk
production, both Chitrabhanuji
and his wife, Pramodaben,
became completely vegan, giving
up all dairy products, leather,
silk, wool or pearls. Also, they
joined in the campaigns of vegan
advocacy. In his public speeches,
Chitrabhanuji stopped talking
about Syadvad, Gandharvad or
Anekant and began talking about
the virtues of veganism. His cam‑
paign for veganism is nothing
short of advocating another rev‑ As Muni, Chitrabhanu Ji used to draw huge crowds in Bombay, Jains and non‑Jain alike.
olution just like the first one flawlessly memorized the previ‑
when he decided to leave monk‑ ous gatha. “Why would I waste
hood and travel by airplane. my breath teaching something
Gurudev Chitrabhanuji was the new until they learn (implement)
first Jain leader to take up the the current (vegan) lesson?”
cause of veganism. He urged boy‑ It is impossible to visualize how
cott of milk and ghee even in Jain community in America
temple rituals. He sighted pas‑ would look like today had he not
sages from Jain Agamas that con‑ set foot on American soil. He
demn use of dairy. But his con‑ became the first Asian leader of a
stant talk of veganism annoyed religious community in America
some Jains who refused to take a to be invited to offer a prayer in
critical look at the reality of mod‑ the House of Representatives. He
ern milk production practices. received many honors from uni‑
Once told that his veganism versities, cities, states and NGOs
refrain had become tiresome to for his message of peace and
many of his listeners, non‑violence.
Chitrabhanuji laughed and ref‑
erenced the way we were taught The Jain Meditation
in Pathshalas when we were International Center, founded by
young. The Pathshala teacher Gurudev in 1971 in Manhattan,
never gave a fresh gatha of any was the first Jain center in
given Sutra till the student had America.

ʻColumbusʼ who brought Jainism to USA

By Arvind Vora came to New York City on September 11, Jain vegetarian dinner. It was a traumatic
Jain representative to many forums 1971 ….” Needless to say, it was a yearlong time right after 9/11, and to show our sup‑

J
ains all over the world are saddened
by the news of their spiritual leader
Shri Chitrabhanu Ji leaving his mortal
body on April 19 in Mumbai. His contribu‑
tions are immense to Jain community, more
specifically to those who left India to live in
Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North
America over the last several decades.
Since 1972, Chitrabhanu Ji had made New
York City his base while staying in Mumbai
during winter months. For those of us who
came to the US earlier than him, it was a fas‑
cinating time for several reasons. His aban‑
donment of Jain asceticʼs vows, travelling
overseas and getting married was for Jains
as explosive a news as was man going to the
moon for humanity. Many Jains consider
him as ʻColumbusʼ who brought Jainism to
USA.
Personally, three events were significant
for my association with him.
1. At a JAINA (Federation of Jain
Associations in North America) meeting in
1995 at Siddhachalam in NJ, I indicated that
1996 will be an auspicious year for us since
it will be the 25th Anniversary of the arrival
of Gurudev Chitrabhanu Ji in USA as well his
75th birth anniversary. The JAINA Board
assigned me the responsibility of the cele‑
bration at various Jain centers. In my letter
to Jains and Jain institutions I wrote:
“If we were to ask a simple question,
Gurudev Chitrabhanu ji in later
years at his New York home.
(Photo : Bakul Matalia)
ʻWho is the single most significant Jain in
North America?ʼ the obvious answer would
be: Gurudev Chitrabhanu. Because he did
more for Jains, Jainism and Jain institutions
than almost anyone we can think of in
North America.8
8 Only he had a vision when he made up
his mind to go outside India
8 Only he knew what would lie ahead
8 Only he knew the rewards for every‑
one in spite of risks for himself
8 Only he knew the sufferings and agony
of painful decisions
He made that monumental decision and
celebration and I accompanied Chitrabhanu
Ji to many centers in USA when resources of
newly arrived immigrants like myself were
scarce and family responsibilities of young
children of great importance.
2. Year 2002 was the 2600th Birth
Anniversary of Mahavir Swami, the 24th
and last Jain Tirthankara. Understandably
every Jain would like a magnificent celebra‑
tion in NYC befitting its status as a world
capital. The Jain Center in NJ with Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan had planned a week‑long cel‑
ebration in NJ but NY like most other cen‑
ters was in the same mode as any yearly cel‑
ebration of Mahavir Jayanti. Not too
pleased, towars the end of 2001,
Chitrabhanu Ji instructed the local Jain cen‑
ter leaders to have the celebration at the
United Nations and advised them to contact
me. It was a catch‑22 for me ‑‑ I canʼt disre‑
spect Gurudevʼs wishes but then there was‑
nʼt enough time. December, January and
February are winter months and the cele‑
bration must take place on the exact date of
April 25, 2002. The only concession I was
able to get was to schedule the event for the
evening since it was Thursday, a working
day. It was a joint collaborative celebration
by Jain Center of America (JCA), JAINA,
Long Island Multi Faith Forum (LIMFF) and
Temple of Understanding (TOU). Thirty
items were part of the two‑hour event
attended by a capacity audience followed by
port a donation check was presented to the
Uniformed Firefighters Association for
Widows and Children Fund. Gurudev
Chitrabhanu offered his blessing as a con‑
cluding remark followed by Maitri Bhav Nu
Pavitra Zarnu sung by Pramodaben
Chitrabhanu.
3. Many visitors including VIPs
approached me to have a Darshan of
Gurudev. I needed to be careful who I take
to his home, but end results were always
pleasant. First, I used to reach out to his
assistant Mamata Yagala, an unwavering
supporter of Gurudev who was a school
teacher in NYC, and upon her passing to
Pramodaben to secure an appointment.
Followed by visitors, Gurudev would first
pay respect to Tirthankaras in his temple,
then would bless visitors with Vakshep
(scented and purified sandalwood dust). He
would show them a framed photo of the first
Tithankara – Shri Rishabhdev ‑‑ and a very
pious image of the last Tirthankara, Mahavir
Swami. Last several years were difficult due
to his health. I must have almost 40 books
written by him or about him. He would
invariably give me at least one book every
time I visited him at his home, what I call a
gift of Gyan
He, like a shining star, showered his light
on many, enlightened many. True to his
vision, I am sure he will never cease his mis‑
sion no matter where his soul resides.
 20 April 27-May 3, 2019
Gurudev Chitrabhanu Ji
The Jain yogi I came to know
By Dr. Sulekh C. Jain
Past President JAINA
G
urudev Chitrabhanu ji was my
guide and a mentor. I had a long
and personal relationship with
him. Many a t ime he and his w ife,
Pramodaben, stayed at our house.
Maitri Bhavnu song at JAINA
meet in Atlanta
At the 2015 JAINA (umbrella body of
Jain organizations) convention in Atlanta,
GA, during the opening ceremony before
paying tributes to the founder of JAINA,
Gurudev Chitrabhanu, his famous song of
universal friendship “Maitri Bhavnoo
Pavitra Jharnooʼ was played. For nearly
45 years I have known this song, but
never before I felt so much emotion and
energy as I did that time. I was really
moved.
My first phone introduction
The year was 1971. I was sitting in my
office in Boston area and my eyes moved
to a news item in a weekly news bulletin
from the Indian Embassy in Washington
D.C. It noted the arrival of the Jain monk
Chitrabhanu to the US after weathering
many odds and demonstrations against
his travel by traditionalist Jains. Though
Muni Chitrabhanu Ji was well‑known in
Bombay and Gujarat area, I being from
Delhi had never heard of him. I immedi‑
ately contacted him on the the phone. He
came on the line himself. I said, “Vandana,
namaskar Muni ji” and introduced myself.
He stopped me, saying he is no longer a
Jain muni and hence w ill like to be
addressed simply as as Chitrabhanu. His
honesty and frankness touched my heart. I
told him that for me he was still a Jain
scholar in different robes and I would like
Torch‑bearer for
Jainism in the West
By Hasendra Shah
Jain Center of Southern California
M
y personal experience as a
President of Jain Center of
Southern California in the mid‑
90s with Chitrabhanu ji provided me a
unique window to his openness and frank‑
ness. His humility was perceived by many
as arrogance. His happy family life was the
subject of gossip among people. His com‑
monly known name as Gurudev
Chitrabhanu irked many as to them he was
not a monk anymore. Yet, he loved all Jains
unconditionally and that was his Maitri‑
bhav. He lived in the true spirit of his eter‑
nal poem “Maitri Bhavanu PavitraZaranu”.
JAINISM
to address him as Gurudev
Chitrabhanu ji. He agreed. Thus
started an enriching relationships
that spanned 48 years.
Jain community in
USA then and now
In 1971 when Chitrabhanu Ji
arrived in USA, there was only the
Jain Center of America in New
York, no Jain temple, bare ly
1,000 Jains in whole of North
America, and hardly anyone knew
about Jain Dharma. Gurudev was
a big and important part of all the
growth since then and I salute
him for his steadfast and untiring
contributions. He was the most
important figure in American
Jainism. We all Jains owe him a
debt of sincere gratitude.
I have had many opportunities
of working with Gurudev in cities
such as Boston, Houston,
Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus.
We talked, shared ideas and way
to go. During my eight years in
JAINA, first four as Secretary and
then as its President, he was my
mentor and constantly my marg
darshak. Though he himself was a
Shwetambar Moort ipujak, he
always preached and stood for
unity among all Jains.
Chitrabhanu Ji was a part of the
Pictorial tribute to Chitrabhanuji by
emergence of Jain presence out‑
Mahendra Shah, who has been contributing
side India: in UK, Belgium, Kenya
cartoons to The South Asian Times almost
and Africa in general, but on
American soil in particular. He con‑
secrated dozens of Jain temples here yet
never let his name be engraved in any
temple. He graced practically every JAINA
and YJA (Young Jains of America) conven‑
tions. We also went to US Congress for the had written about 25 books in English,
Jain prayer.
Our Jain center held a special place in
Chitrabhanujiʼs heart, as he felt he always
got a warm welcome whenever he visited
us. He was instrumental in bringing Jains
together to form a community here and he
encouraged them to have a Bhagvan
Mahavir temple. The initial Pratishtha of
the three idols in the very first newly built
temple in the Los Angeles area in 1988 was
done by Chitrabhanuji. He also was instru‑
mental in helping us procure the carved
teakwood temple for the Jain Center from
Las Vegas.
Jain Center of Southern California is eter‑
nally grateful to Pujya Chitrabhanuji for his
love and guidance to this community.
since the beginning.
Great visionary
thinker and author
He was a great orator and an author and
which deal with the topic of self‑realiza‑
tion. He inspired many Jains and non‑
Jains and changed their ways of life. He
enjoyed the company of scholars and
thinkers and inspired them to think of
compassion and ahimsa rationally and
critically. About 20 years ago, author,
ecologist, filmmaker Michae l Tobias
recorded Gurudevʼs life story and in 2012,
his interview of Gurudev was published by
Forbes magazine.
Conqueror of ego
He never built any institution named
after him and except being called Gurudev
he never succumbed to the temptation of
adding long titles and degrees to his
name. He never raised funds for his needs
and projects here or in India.
In 2011, Pramoda Chitrabhanu behn did
the mangalacharan and sang Maitri‑
bhavnu at the inauguration of the first
Jain Studies prog ram in America at
Claremont Lincoln University, CA (starting
to this benediction, now we have Jain aca‑
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
demic centers and presence in nearly 20
universities). Afterwards, they donated
$15,000 to fund an Internat ional
Conference on Jainism and Bioethics at
Claremont, a first. They walked their talk.
A crusader against
animal suffering
After seeing the cruelty to and suffering
of animals, particularly cows and calves,
he adopted veganism (pure ahimsak) as
his own lifestyle first and then vigorously
preached it. He vehemently opposed the
use of any dairy products for food, wor‑
ship as well as use of all animal products
for clothing, jewelry, auto accessories or
home decoration. Inspired, I have been
practicing veganism for at least 30 years.
It is due to him that vegan food is now
regularly offered at JAINA, YJA and many
other events.
I call him Charitra‑bhanu
In an article in 1979, the Harvard
Crimson wrote, “What sets Gurudev Shree
Chitrabhanu apart from many gurus in the
West is that he sees the guru as but a
means to find one's inner guru. ʻHe is like
an ice cube in a cooling drink. He cools
your consciousness and then disappears,ʼ
Chitrabhanu writes. One's devot ion
belongs to oneself, not to any teacher.
Gurus‑‑the word means "dispeller of igno‑
rance and bringer of light"‑‑can be anyone,
regardless of race or sex, who helps one
dispel the darkness and ignorance of his
life. Faced with fast‑paced technologically‑
oriented lives, Westerners were thirsting
for the rest and calmness of the East,
Chitrabhanu says: ʻIf they take the time to
understand the inside life as they have
understood the phenomena of the outside,
it will be a blessing for mankind.ʼ It is just
this Eastern calm and self‑awareness that
Chitrabhanu is trying to instill.”
A disciple, Michael Finn has this to say:
“Chitrabahnu, whom I met in 1972, was
the first and only guru I ever followed in
my life. He was virtually ego‑less, caring
and very gentle. When he spoke, it was
poetry. He would say: ʻYour ego can be a
good servant, but always will be a poor
masterʼ. He gave me a great deal and
asked for nothing in return, except to try
very hard to find my true Higher Self ‑ the
God within.”
To end, a quote from
Gurudev himself:
“How much beauty goes unnoticed by a
man who has been blinded by the fury of
hate and prejudice? If only he was able to
shut out the noise and emotional discor‑
dance in order to find peaceful harmony
within himself, what beautiful music of
amity he would feel and hear!”
Dr. Sulekh C. Jain is Past President
JAINA who now lives in Las Vegas,
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Colombo: With the death toll in the
deadly Easter Sunday suicide
bombings in Sri Lanka increasing
to 290, police spokesman Ruwan
Gunasekera confirmed that 24
people have been arrested for their
involvement in the island's bloodi‑
est attacks in a decade.
Gunasekera confirmed the toll
and the arrests to the media here.
He also added that 500 people
were injured.
Gunasekara said that the police
has seized a van and its driver who
is suspected of transporting the
suspects into Colombo and also
raided a safe house used by the
attackers.
No group has yet claimed direct
responsibility for the eight bomb‑
ings that ripped through churches
and hotels, mostly in the capital
Colombo.
Sri Lanka declared a nationwide
curfew and placed curbs on social
media to kill fake news after sui‑
cide bombers carried out a string
of well‑planned explosions target‑
ing luxury hotels and Catholic
churches in Colombo and else‑
where, triggering international
outrage.
The first of the eight blasts took
place in the morning in three luxu‑
THAWHEED JAMAAT
BLAMED FOR LANKA
BLASTS: REPORT
A blast victim being taken for treatment in Colombo.
New Delhi: Thawheed Jammat, an
Islamist hardline group with sig‑
nificant presence in India's Tamil
Nadu state, is reportedly being
considered as the prime suspect
behind the Sri Lankan blasts,
according to a Times of India
report.
The Wahhabi‑aligned Sri Lanka
T hawheed Jamaat (SLTJ ) has
found traction in the countryʼs
eastern province and has been
pushing Sharia law with burqas
for women and building mosques
to disseminate radical messages.
BLOODBATH IN SRI LANKA
EASTER BOMBINGS: Death toll
mounts to 290; 24 arrested
Series of blasts ripped apart St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade and Shangri‑La hotel in Colombo.
ry hotels in the heart of Colombo
and in a church each in Colombo,
Negombo, 30 km from here, and in
the Tamil‑majority Batticaloa town
in the island's east that was once a
Tamil Tiger stronghold.
In the afternoon, another blast
hit a guest house near the zoo in
As per the report, the initial
assessment is that the attack was
likely to be carried out by local Sri
Lankan Muslims. However, count‑
er‑intelligence experts said that it
would not have been possible to
carry out attacks of such magni‑
tude without any external terror
force.
Activities of SLTJ have triggered
a Buddhist backlash in Sri Lanka
resulting in some tension between
Buddhists and Muslims, including
recent attacks against Lord
Buddha's statues in the country.
SUBCONTINENT
Dehiwala in Colombo, killing two
persons, and a housing complex at
Dematogoda in the city leaving
three policemen dead.
A total of 27 foreigners, includ‑
ing people from India, Turkey, the
US, Britain, the Netherlands,
Portugal and China, perished in
5 INDIANS AMONG
290 DEAD IN SRI
LANKA BOMBINGS
New Delhi: Five Indians are among
the 290 people who have been con‑
firmed dead
in the deadly
Easter
Sunday sui‑
cide bomb‑
ings in Sri
Lanka, while
many others,
including a
Indiaʼs External
leading Affairs Minister
Tamil Sushma Swaraj.
actress, had a
narrow escape. External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj quoted the
Indian High Commission as saying
that it had been informed by the
National Hospital in Colombo about
the death of three Indian nationals ‑‑
Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar,
Ramesh. "We are ascertaining fur‑
ther details," the Minister said.
A fourth casualty was reported by
authorities in Kerala, who said that a
woman hailing from the state was
killed in Colombo where she was hol‑
idaying. Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan expressed condo‑
lences over the death of 58‑year‑old
P.S. Raseena, who arrived in the Sri
Lankan capital along with her hus‑
band to meet their relatives engaged
in business in Colombo. Meanwhile,
noted Indian Tamil actress Radikaa
Sarathkumar had left one of the
three hotels in Colombo just before
it was bombed.
April 27-May 3, 2019
the mayhem.
Officials and survivors painted a
horrific picture of what happened.
Kieran Arasaratnam, who was
staying in the Shangri‑La, one of
the three hotels, said he heard
what sounded like a "thunder",
forcing him to sprint all the way
World condemns multiple
blasts in Sri Lanka
Security staff on guard outside St Anthony's Church in Sri Lanka.
Colombo: The international commu‑
nity has strongly condemned the
multiple blasts at different loca‑
tions in Sri Lanka, mostly in capital
Colombo. UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres expressed outrage
over the Easter bombings of church‑
es and hotels in Sri Lanka and
called for "swift justice" to the per‑
petrators. "The Secretary General
reiterates the support and solidarity
of the United Nations with the peo‑
ple and the Government of Sri
Lanka in this difficult moment for
the nation", Guterres's
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
said. India strongly condemned the
serial blasts with President Ram
Nath Kovind and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi saying that New
Delhi stood in solidarity with the
island nation. The United States
denounced the Easter bombings in
21
down from the 17th floor, BBC
reported. The bloodbath started
around 8.30 am at the St
Anthony's Shrine at Kochchikade
in Colombo during Easter Mass
where one man said he heard a
booming explosion and saw virtu‑
ally the whole roof come crashing
down. "We just ran," he told the
media. Minister of Economic
Reforms Harsha de Silva described
the carnage. "Horrible scenes. I
saw many body parts strewn all
over," he said.
Sri Lankan Police chief Pujuth
Jayasundara had issued a nation‑
wide alert 10 days ago warning
that suicide bombers planned to
hit prominent Catholic churches.
Although Christians form only
around 7 per cent of the Sri
Lanka's mainly Buddhist popula‑
tion, they are found both in the
majority Sinhalese and minority
Tamil communities.
Sri Lanka as an affront to universal
values and confirmed that many of
its citizens were among the victims.
President Donald Trump tweeted:
"We stand ready to help" Sri Lanka.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran
Khan said in a series of tweets that
his country "stood in complete soli‑
darity with Sri Lanka in its hour of
grief".
"My profound condolences go to
our Sri Lankan brethren. Pakistan
stands in complete solidarity with
Sri Lanka in their hour of grief,"
Khan tweeted.
British Prime Minister Theresa
May and the leader of the opposi‑
tion Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn,
too have condemned the attacks.
European Commission President
Jean‑Claude Juncker expressed
"horror and sadness" over the string
of blasts in the island nation.
 22 April 27-May 3, 2019 INTERNATIONAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky Putin, Kim to discuss ties,

wins presidency in Ukraine denuclearization: Kremlin
Kiev: Comedian snap vote after former
ing states with an extensive joint bor‑
Volodymyr Zelensky, pro‑Russian President
der," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
whose only previous Viktor Yanukovych
Peskov told reporters.
political role was play‑ was toppled in the
"There is no doubt that Russia will be
ing the president in a Fe bruary 2014
ready to do everything to promote the
TV show, won a land‑ Maidan Revolut ion,
process of denuclearization of the
slide victory in which was followed by
Korean Peninsula to the best of its abil‑
Ukraine's presidential Moscow's annexation
ities," he added.
election. He trounced of Crimea and insur‑
Peskov said that the non‑disclosure
incumbent Petro gency in eastern
of information about the place and
Poroshenko by taking Ukraine.
date of their meeting was related to
73 percent of the vote, The next president
security concerns but added it will take
according to part ial w ill inherit a dead‑
place in Russia.
official results. lo cked conflict N Koreaʼs denuclearization will Speculation has grown that the meet‑
Zelensky, 41, who is between Ukrainian be high on Russian President
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has ing could take place in the Russian Far
best known for starring troops and Russian‑ Vladimir Putinʼs agenda.
no previous political experience. East city of Vladivostok.
in a political satirical backed separatists in
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir When asked if Russia and the US con‑
drama called "Servant of the People", won the the east, while Ukraine strives to fulfil EU
Putin and North Korean leader Kim tacted each other on the problems of
first round on March 31 with more than 30 requirements for closer economic ties.
Jong‑un will discuss bilateral relations, the Korean Peninsula, Peskov said a
per cent of the vote, almost double what Poroshenko garnered just 24 percent, losing
denuclearizat ion of the Korean "certain exchange of views is under‑
Poroshenko got when he finished in second to the 41‑year‑old comedian and actor across
Peninsula and regional cooperation in way", but it was impossible to talk
place with 15.95 per cent. the country, with 42 percent of ballots count‑
their first meeting later this month, the about some kind of close coordination
With no previous political experience, ed. Observers say Ukraine's new leader may
Kremlin said. on this issue.
Zelensky's campaign has focused on his differ‑ seek to use his outsider status to try to
"The baggage for discussion is very Kim has met US President Donald
ence to others rather than on any concrete pol‑ improve ties with Moscow.
extensive. Here we must still remember Trump twice. They ended their latest
icy ideas. Ze lensky said he wanted to "re boot"
first of all that we are talking about summit in Vietnam's Hanoi on
The 53‑year‑old incumbent president, one of Western‑brokered peace talks that have so far
negotiations of the heads of neighbor‑ February 28 without an agreement.
Ukraine's wealthiest oligarchs, was elected in a failed to end the conflict.

EU foreign chief Runaway Saudi sisters 'treated

urges Libyans to like slaves'; seek help
re-start dialogue
European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
Strasbourg (France): Amid a
deadly military escalation in
Libya's capital this month, the
European Union's foreign poli‑
cy chief Federica Mogherini
called for the country's warring
factions to swiftly resume talks.
"A rapid return to the negoti‑
ating table is essential and is
still possible," Mogherini said in
an address at the European
Parliament here.
"We believe more than ever
that the United Nations and the
(planned) National Conference
track are the only real opportu‑
nities for a peaceful solution,"
she added.
Mogherini warned against
"the multiplication and prolifer‑
ation of various initiatives"
aimed at ending the chaos that
has gripped Libya since late
dictator Muammar Gaddafi was
toppled in 2011.
Over 170 people have been
killed and 750 have been
injured in fighting between
eastern strongman Khalifa
Haftar's forces and those loyal
to the United Nations backed
government since Haftar
ordered an assault on the capi‑
tal nearly two weeks ago, while
some 18,000 have fled their
homes, according to the UN.
Tbilisi: In the latest case of Saudi women fleeing the
ultra‑conservative kingdom, two sisters are seeking
international help and have urged the UN to help them
get to a "safe" country.
The sisters ‑‑ Wafa, 25, and Maha al‑Subaie, 28, ‑‑ are
currently in Georgia and under state protection in a
shelter. But they say they don't feel safe here because
"it would be easy for their male relatives to find them",
the BBC reported.
"We have to cover our face, we have to cook... like
slaves (in Saudi Arabia). We don't want this, we want
real life, our life," said Wafa.
"Georgia is a small country and anyone from our
family can come and track us down. We want a coun‑
try that will welcome us and protect our rights."
The women have made their case for international
help on Twitter, under the account @GeorgiaSisters
and appealed to the UN to help them get to a "third,
safe country".
They traveled to Georgia as Saudis do not require
entry visas. Looking distressed and terrified, the Saudi
sisters arrived at Georgia's migration department
accompanied by immigration authorities.
Asked why they felt threatened in Saudi Arabia, Wafa
said it is "because we are women". In Saudi Arabia,
women are forced to obtain the permission of their
In Saudi Arabia, women have to seek
male guardians if they want to work or travel.
permission from men if they want to work
"Our family threatens us every day in our country,"
or travel (represntational image).
she said, while her sister Maha said they had proof of
this. "In Saudi Arabia men control women's lives from
In a similar case this year, Saudi teenager Rahaf birth until death under the male guardianship system,"
Mohammed al‑Qanun made international headlines in said Human Rights Watch Middle East Director Sarah
January after she flew to Thailand and barricaded her‑ Leah Whitson.
self in a hotel while appealing on Twitter for help to "The Georgian authorities have said they will respect
avoid deportation. the sisters' right to claim asylum, which is the appro‑
She has since been granted asylum in Canada. priate and welcome response. The real focus now
And in March, two other Saudi sisters who spent six should be on removing the systematic discrimination
months hiding in Hong Kong were granted humanitari‑ that women face in Saudi Arabia and providing mean‑
an visas after fleeing to escape lives of "violence and ingful and effective assistance to Saudi women subject‑
oppression". ed to abuse," she added.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi: As they explore ways to
recover debt, lenders of Jet Airways
are in favor of a resolution outside
the insolvency law framework in
case the ongoing bidding process
fails to take off, sources said.
Running into debt of more than
Rs 8,500 crore, Jet Airways has shut
down operations temporarily after
lenders decided against extending
emergency funds for its survival.
SBI, the lead lender of the seven‑
member consortium of domestic
banks that have extended loans to
the airline, has started the bidding
process for stake sale in the carrier
and clarity about potential bidders
would emerge next month.
While lenders are "reasonably
hopeful" of a successful bidding
process, sources said banks are
working on a plan B in case things
don't progress as expected.
If the bidding process fails,
lenders would favor a resolution for
the debt‑ridden Jet Airways outside
the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC) framework, sources said.
Recovery on the basis of existing
security and tangible assets would
be a preferred option, they added.
Under the Code, the National
Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT)
approval is required for initiating
GARMIN BULLISH ON Fake review factories fooling
INDIAN LUXURY online Amazon shoppers: Report
WEARABLE MARKET
New Delhi: Bullish on the Indian
luxury smartwatches market, US‑
based wearable major Garmin is
set to introduce its super premium
'MARQ' line‑up of smartwatches in
the third quarter of 2019.
Smart watches grew 54.3 per‑
cent and accounted for
29.8 percent of all wear‑
able device shipments in
2018 says a recent
report by the
International Data
Corporation (IDC).
In the fourth
quarter of 2018,
the worldwide mar‑
ket for wearable
devices grew 31.4 per‑
cent, reaching a new high
of 59.3 million units.
New products from play‑
ers like Garmin, Fitbit and Huawei
helped the basic wearables catego‑
ry return to growth during the
third quarter of 2018.
"Garmin will soon come up with
a new product called "MARQ"
which is in the ultra‑premium cate‑
gory. The price range of these will
be close to Rs 2 lakh. After wit‑
nessing our growth last year, we
see that India has a great potential
in all price categories," Ali Rizvi,
National Sales Manager‑Garmin
India, told IANS.
The Kansas‑headquartered com‑
pany, which also produces con‑
sumer, professional aviation and
Jet Airways crisis: Lenders keen on
non‑IBC resolution if bidding fails
Hundreds of Jet Airways employees held a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi
the process, wherein the resolution
would be market‑linked and time‑
bound.
Outside the NCLT would be a bet‑
ter option as far as plan B is con‑
marine devices that make use of
the Global Positioning System
(GPS) for navigational assistance,
would unveil five watch variants in
the luxury segment.
The five variants in the "MARQ"
line‑up would include the Garmin
MARQ Driver, MARQ
Aviator, MARQ Captain,
MARQ Expedition and
MARQ Athlete.
T he company,
which also pro‑
vides GPS solu‑
tions to the Indian
Army, said it would
intro duce the
smart watches
after all the govern‑
ment regulations are
met with.
According to
CyberMedia Research (CMR),
Garmin will see tough competition
from luxe brands including the
likes of Tag Heuer, Brietling and
Omega. However, aspirational
users are likely to drive its sales in
the country.
"With rising af fluence in the
country, the market is now home
to aspirational customers who
seek premium, uber‑luxe devices.
T his breed of customers care
about their appearances and are
willing to spend more on luxury
brands," Prabhu Ram, Head,
Industry Intelligence Group (IIG),
CMR, told IANS.
BUSINESS
cerned, sources said, adding that
then banks would realize better
value from the aircraft and other
tangible assets owned by Jet
Airways. Four entities ‑‑ Etihad
San Francisco: Amazonʼs online
shoppers are being fooled by fake
review factories running on multi‑
ple Facebook groups. The scam is
supported by several large and
small companies as well as by
entrepreneurs who depend on
Face book to spread posit ive
reviews about their products list‑
ed on Amazon to its 2.6 billion
users globally. Fake reviewers,
backed by Amazon sellers, post
details about the products on
Facebook Groups to influence
consumers, the Guardian reported
on Saturday.
Since the reviewers have to real‑
ly pay for the items, Amazon is
fooled into believing that the
buyer is genuine but after leaving
a glowing review, the product
manufacturing company refunds
the purchase price and sometimes
April 27-May 3, 2019
Airways, TPG Capital, Indigo
Partners and National Investment
and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) ‑‑ are
learned to have shown interest in
picking up stake in Jet Airways. The
also pays an extra fee.
“Which?,” a brand name used by
UK‑based Consumersʼ Association,
said that “nearly all” of the
Facebook groups it uncovered last
autumn were st ill act ive, the
report said.
Earlier this wee k “W hich?”
claimed that Amazonʼs system
was being undermined by a flood
of fake five‑star reviews for unfa‑
miliar brands.
“Researchers analyzed listings
of hundreds of popular tech prod‑
ucts and found top‑rated items
were dominated by brands with
names such as Itshiny, Vogek and
Aitalk, many with thousands of
unverified reviews,” the report
added. In October 2018, “Which?”
said two large Facebook groups,
plus some smaller groups, may
between them have up to 87,000
23
details of initial bidders are expect‑
ed to be known on May 10.
As they wait for the completion of
the bidding process, the lenders are
also looking at options to raise
funds from the carrier's available
assets, including utilizing Jet
Airways' 16 own planes.
On Friday, sources said that
lenders have been proactive and
cannot be blamed for the current
situation at the airline. "T hey
(lenders) have been actively engag‑
ing with the company for almost
nine months ever since the airline
started incurring cash losses and
have been urging the management
to come forward with a definite
plan for resolution."
"Unfortunately, the management
and the promoter delayed in taking
a decision leading to the present sit‑
uation. The lenders continued to
support the airline during this peri‑
od," one of the sources had said.
(PTI)
members potentially engaged in
writing fake reviews. “We donʼt
allow people to facilitate or
encourage the trade of fake user
reviews. The groups brought to
our attent ion have now been
removed for violating our poli‑
cies,” the report quoted Facebook
as telling “Which?”
“We urge people to continue to
use our reporting tools to flag
content they think breaks our
rules.” On the other hand, Amazon
claimed it invests “significant
resources” to protect the integrity
of reviews on its site, the report
said.
“We have clear participation
guidelines for both reviewers and
selling partners, and we suspend,
ban and take legal action on those
who violate our policies,” the
report quoted Amazon as saying.
 24 April 27-May 3, 2019 SPORTS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Here's why Dhoni refused singles in 19th over

Bengaluru: M.S. Dhoni was at his
menacing best during his
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) nar‑
row one‑run loss against the
Royal Challengers Bangalore
(RCB), here at the Chinnaswamy.
By play ing a vintage 84‑run
knock, which just came of 48
deliveries, Dhoni almost pulled
of f a miraculous chase on
Sunday.
Chasing 162, CSK managed to
score 160/8 in their stipulated
20 overs, thus succumbing to
their second consecutive loss in
the ongoing edition of the Indian
Premier League (IPL).
The visitors, during the chase,
were at one stage reeling at 28/4.
That's when Dhoni came to his
team's rescue and almost man‑
aged to snatch away victory.
With 66 runs needed in the
final two overs, the 37‑year‑old
took the matters in his own
hands and got CSK over the line
by smashing 24 runs in the first
five balls of Umesh Yadav's final
over. With two needed of the final
ball, Dhoni played and missed it
which saw Parthiv Patel score a
direct hit to run out Shardul
Thakur to seal RCB's win.
During the course of the chase,
the former India skipper had cat‑
egorically declined taking singles
off three balls in the penultimate
over when they needed 36 runs,
preferring to keep strike than
Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni in action at
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. (Photo: IANS)
passing it on to new batsman
Dwayne Bravo, who was at the
other end.
Questioned about his decision,
Dhoni said, "As I had played so
many deliveries, I could afford to
take that risk because a lot of
runs were needed. I think in 10
or 12 de liveries, we needed
something close to 40 runs or 36
runs or something like that,
which meant a lot of boundaries
were needed."
"So yes, right now you can cal‑
culate, two runs over there, one
run over there, and we are
through, because we lost by one
run, but at the same time what
you have to see is what if there
were a few dot balls, whether we
could have got those extra
boundaries or not," he added.
The CSK skipper further said
that Dwayne Bravo would have
found it dif ficult to connect on
the "spungy" track. "It was still
difficult at the end. It was slightly
spungy (the pitch) and the new
batsmen found it dif ficult.
Boundaries were needed and yes
we have lost by one run but at
the same time we have to see
what if there were few dot balls
and whether we could have got
those extra boundaries or not."
CSK's head coach Stephen
Fleming also did not question
Dhoni's decision, saying the wick‑
IPL final in Hyderabad
on May 12
New Delhi: The final of the 12th
edition of the Indian Premier
League will be played at the
Rajiv Gand hi Internat ional
Stadium in Hyderabad on May
12 after the Tamil Nadu Cricket
Asso ciat ion ( TNCA) wasn't
g iven permission to open
stands I, J and K. Chennai will
now host Qualifier 1 while
Vizag will host the Eliminator
and Qualifier 2.
While the playoffs are gener‑
ally hosted in the venues of the
winners and runners‑up, certain
challenges has seen the Board
of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) face this issue wherein
they had to bring in Vizag in the
picture. Qualifier 1 w ill be
played on May 7 in Chennai.
etkeeper‑batsman was the best to
judge the situation.
"I think more the reason was
that Dhoni fe lt he was best
equipped to hit those sixes. The
way he calculates the last few
overs based on his power, he
would have looked at it saying 'I
need four‑five sixes to win the
game'. As it panned out it was
pretty close. He's so calculative, I
would never question the last
Hyderabad was expected to
host the Eliminator and
Qualifier 2, but due to local
elections scheduled on May 6,
10 and 14, that will not be pos‑
sible as the police will not be in
a posit ion to provide the
required security and permis‑
sions.
Vizag was kept as back‑up
and w ill now host the
Eliminator on May 8 and
Qualifier 2 on May 10. Jaipur
will host all the four women's
matches. While the first match
on May 6 is clashing with elec‑
tions, RCA has got the required
clearance.
The three women's teams will
be Trailblazers, Supernovas and
Velocity.
part of an innings w ith MS,"
Fleming said in the post‑match
press conference.
Dhoni, however, was critical of
his top‑order batsman while chas‑
ing a "below‑par total". "It's just
that batting, once you go in and
that's the time you need to think
as an individual what really is
needed for the team as of now
whether it's a partnership needed
or few big shots," Dhoni said.

New women hockey Team Pld Won Lost Tied Pts

players very talented: Indian CSK 9 7 2 0 14

MI 10 6 4 0 12
Rani Rampal Premier DC 10 6 4 0 12
New Delhi: Rani Rampal, Indian women's
SRH 9 5 4 0 10
hockey captain, believes the women hockey
scenario has changed in the recent past and
the interest being shown by the new gener‑
Indian
hockey
player
League KXIP 10 5 5 0 8
ation will further help in development of
the game in the country.
Rani
Rampal.
(File
Standings KKR
RR
10
9
4
3
6
6
0
0
8
6
Talking to IANS, she said, "The scenario
Photo:
has transformed in the past couple of years. RCB 10 2 7 0 6
IANS)
T he 2016 World Cup was a defining
moment, which brought women's hockey
the much‑needed limelight."
Praising new players, Rani said they were
extremely talented and refreshing, and
ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Bajrang, Sakshi to lead India
many things could be learnt from them.
experience and helped us lift our game," the
"With women's hockey progressing and
24‑year‑old said. Speaking on her journey
entering its next phase of growth, new
so far and leading the national team, Rani
avenues have been created for individuals New Delhi: Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik and
said, "I always loved playing hockey, but
interested in pursuing the sport at a profes‑ World No 1 Bajrang Punia will spearhead Indiaʼs cam‑
never imagined that I would get the oppor‑
sional level," she said. paign at the Asian Wrestling Championships starting
tunity to represent India and make such a
On the recently concluded Malaysia tour, Tuesday.
fulfilling career out of it. I started playing
Rani said the series helped her side gain a Besides Sakshi and Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat is another
professionally at the age of 14. Since then,
lot of experience, which could bear fruit in big names who would be vying for top honors during
every moment when I was able to make my
the future. the mega‑event. Sakshi, the bronze winner at the Rio
country proud has been very special to me."
"I was delighted to see the number of Olympics, also settled for a silver, in womenʼs 65kg,
The skipper also praised companies like
matches my team won in this tour. Our while Pooja Dhanda won the bronze metal in womenʼs
Welspun India, a Mumbai‑based textile
coach led the team to victory by motivating 59kg category.
company, for supporting players like her
players at every step. Playing at an interna‑ At the Asian Championships, Sakshi will go back to
and helping in nurturing talent that will
tional level has helped the team learn sever‑ her 62kg category, while Navjot Kaur will represent
help India in improving its rank, not just in Olympic bronze medalist
al things. This tour was definitely a great India in womenʼs 65kg. Sakshi Malik.
hockey but in other sports as well.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info BOOKS April 27-May 3, 2019 25

Tim Cook proves he's better Apple CEO than Steve Jobs
By Nishant Arora and streamlined the production iOS devices," Cook stressed when
process, overhauling the entire the FBI came knocking at Apple's

T
he death of Apple's co‑
founder Steve Job on
October 5, 2011 shook the
world. Critics predicted that the
Cupertino, CA‑based iPhone maker
is doomed and would only survive
for two to four more years at the
most.
Timothy Donald Cook (known as
Tim Cook by the world and "Tim
Apple" by President Donald Trump)
has proved them wrong.
Considered a "colorless, unimag‑
inable drone," Cook who joined
Apple at age 37 in 1998 had none
of the charisma and driving per‑
sonality of his former boss who
was beloved and immortalized.
Journalist Leander Kahney, in his
biography of Tim Cook, takes a
deep dive into how Cook turned a
company that was near bankruptcy
amid low employee morale into the
world's first firm that touched $1‑
trillion mark last year.
Born in 1960, Cook made this
possible with his unique set of
strengths, which Jobs identified
and made him the Apple CEO on
August 24, 2011.
Why did Jobs pick Cook over
more popular names around for
the CEO job ‑‑ like Apple Chief
Designer Jony Ive or Scott Forstall,
Senior Vice President of iOS soft‑
ware? It was Cook's uncanny abili‑
ty to go in details while remaining
calm, his vast know ledge of
streamlining operations and impec‑
cable work ethic that won Jobs'
heart. In fact, after a long stint at
IBM and later Compaq, "Cook him‑
self turned down Apple recruiters
multiple times".
His meeting with Jobs in 1998
convinced him that working with a
Silicon Valley legend who created
iconic iMac, iPhone, iPod and iPad
line‑up would be "a privilege of a
lifetime".
Jobs hired Cook as Senior Vice
President of worldwide operations,
with a base salary of $400,000 and
a $500,000 signing bonus.
"It was one of the best hires Jobs
ever made". Apple was bleeding
then, production lines were in a
mess and the supply chain ecosys‑
Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took
Apple to the Next Level; by
Leander Kahney; Penguin
Business
tem needed a fresh lease of life.
"Cook fixed Apple supply chain
operations," writes Kahney.
In a September 2014 interview
with TV talk show host Charlie
Rose, Cook said he desperately
wanted to continue Job's legacy
and "pour every ounce that I had in
myself into the company," but he
never had the objective of bring
the same as Jobs.
Tim Cook's first keynote after
Jobs' death where he introduced
the iPad 3 and an updated Apple
TV in March 2012 lacked charis‑
ma. But Cook was up to something
really big ‑‑ taking manufacturing
out from the US to Chinese facto‑
ries.
"Hon Hai Precision Industry
Company Limited, better known as
Foxconn, came to define manufac‑
turing in the Cook era," says the
author.
Apple Watch was the first major
product under Cook's direction
with no inputs from Jobs, which
became an instant hit.
Cook always took a strong posi‑
tion on privacy which made him a
darling among the Apple users.
"Apple does not want your data.
Apple does not want to read your
emails or sell your personal infor‑
mation to third parties or advertis‑
ers, nor would provide backdoor to
government agencies to hack into
doors, asking the company to
unlock an iPhone belonging to one
of the terrorists in the 2015 San
Bernardino shooting in California.
On personal front, the Apple
CEO's decision to come out as the
first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO
made him the "role model for the
LGBTQ community.
Religious to the core, Cook said:
"I consider being gay among the
greatest gifts God had given me".
Being born and raised in
Alabama where racism is still alive,
Cook saw worst behavior in terms
of discrimination that "literally
made him sick".
Today, he has made Apple a more
inclusive and diverse place to work.
"Under his leadership, Apple has
hired a g reater proport ion of
minority workers than many of its
Silicon Valley peers and given gen‑
erous grants to historically black
colleges and charities," writes
Kahney. Under Cook, Apple has
done great job at the front of
accessibility, diversity at work,
environment and improving work‑
ers' conditions at its suppliers' end.
Humble and soft‑spoken, Cook is
pushing Apple and the entire tech
industry forward, creating an ethi‑
cal transformation. Other brands
are now following Apple.

A look at the Holocaust through Anne Frank's eyes

By Sidhi Jain Netherlands Embassy in India, Anneke
Adema, spoke of Anne's life and the trag‑

T
he diary of Anne Frank, a young
chronicler of the horrors of the
Nazis' genocide of the Jews, offers
a beacon of hope ‑ and humanity ‑ to the
millions who read her thoughts, written
while hiding with her family for two
years before being betrayed and sent to
the death camps. Reflecting on her life
75 years after her arrest, and death, is a
trave lling exhibition that has come
briefly to Delhi.
"Anne Frank: A History for Today", an
exhibition of photographs and archival
information, takes visitors to Nazi‑occu‑
pied Europe during the Second World
War as it follows Anne's journey from
Germany to the promise of a refuge in
the Netherlands, but back to a German
concentration camp.
Born in 1929, she moved to
Amsterdam with her family to escape the
g row ing vict imizat ion of Jews in
Germany after Adolf Hitler came to
power in 1933. However, things did not
go well for the Franks after Germany
invaded the Netherlands in 1940, and
Jews began to be rounded up.
In the exhibition's photographs, a
young Anne and her sister Margot are
seen growing up from childhood to
teenage. Happy family photographs and
images taken at school, soon gave way to
a dark place in their factory ‑‑ the secret
"Anne Frank: A History for Today" is a traveling exhibition, currently in Delhi.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” is easily one of the most popular books among
generations of readers since World War II.
annex where the Franks went into hiding.
But after being caught, they were sent
to the dreaded Auschwitz from where
Anne and her sister were sent to the
equally infamous Bergen‑Belsen camp
where they died in February‑March
1945, after having contracted typhus.
Their father, Otto, was the only survivor.
Recorded are quotations from her
diary, a small, red‑checkered notebook
that went on to contain her vivid obser‑
vations and experiences, and eventually
become one of the world's most popular‑
ly‑read personal accounts of the
Holocaust. It is titled sim0ply “The Diary
of Anne Frank”.
During a walkthrough of the well‑curat‑
ed exhibition, the Deputy Head of the
ic experience she had.
"There are messages from her life that
are still very valid today: the importance
of tolerance, non‑discrimination and
hope. We have a tendency to forget histo‑
ry, and people should see these pictures ‑
‑ of Auschwitz, for instance,” Adema said.
With the focus on educating school and
university children about the brutality of
the Second World War and the Nazis'
cruelties, the diplomat also invited about
50 students to the exhibition.
Adema stressed on telling children that
"they are living in India, the biggest
democracy in the world, and how valu‑
able that is". A few of Anne's heart‑break‑
ing last words in the diary, written before
the arrest, remind us of the hope she car‑
ried with herself: "I see the world being
slowly transformed into a wilderness, I
hear the approaching thunder that, one
day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffer‑
ing of millions. And yet, when I look up at
the sky, I somehow feel that everything
will change for the better, that this cruel‑
ty too shall end, that peace and tranquili‑
ty will return once more."
"Anne Frank: A History for Today" is
open for public at the India International
Centre here till April 29. It is organized
by the T he Anne Frank House,
Peace Works and Embassies of the
Netherlands and Israel.
 26 April 27-May 3, 2019
Is your data safe? New trends to watch out for
K
eeping data secure is becoming more
challenging, as the methods
employed by cybercriminals grow
more sophisticated every year.
Globally, cyberattacks were up in 2018
over the previous year, according to a new
report from SonicWall, which offers breach
detection and prevention solutions to small‑
and medium‑size businesses, enterprises
and government agencies. The company
logged 10.52 billion malware attacks in
2018, the most ever on record, representing
a 22 percent increase over the previous
year.
“Those who want to protect their data and
that of the people they do business with,
should be aware of cybercrime trends and
seek out smart solutions that evolve as new
threats emerge,” says Bill Conner, president
and CEO of SonicWall.
The report highlights some recent trends
that individuals, businesses and organiza‑
tions should keep in mind.
What every family should know
about childhood development
A M
s a parent, you are probably track‑
ing every move your young child
makes, paying special attention to
developmental milestones such as sitting,
standing and talking.
“While the pace of development does
vary from child to child, parents should
pay attention when things seem amiss.
Sometimes the cause of a delay is a med‑
ical problem, and in many cases, early
intervention is important,” says Dr. Garey
H. Noritz, a pediatrician who cares for chil‑
dren with disabilities, and who authored
an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
clinical report on motor delays. “You are
the best expert on your child, so if you
have any concerns, you should address
them with your pediatrician.”
For parents of young children who have
concerns about their childʼs intellectual or
physical development, Dr. Noritz offers the
following advice:
4Make an appointment: Donʼt wait
until your next scheduled appointment to
speak with your pediatrician about your
concerns. Make an appointment as soon
as possible.
4 Use free resources: Online resources
can help parents prepare for their pedia‑
trician visit. One such tool, “Physical
Developmental Delays: What to Look For,”
an AAP online checklist available at
healthychildren.org/motordelay, is a good
resource for parents and caregivers of
children under 5. Available in English and
Spanish, the interactive tool is designed to
improve the early identification and care
of motor developmental delay. Through
on‑screen guidance, parents can identify
topics to discuss with their childʼs pediatri‑
cian.
4 Request genetic testing when a
developmental problem is confirmed:
When it comes to intellectual delays and
disabilities, having a correct diagnosis by
SELF HELP
One is that criminals are increasingly
using PDF and Office files to spread mal‑
ware. In 2018, SonicWall Capture Advanced
Threat Protection, a multi‑engine, cloud‑
based sandbox service, found malware hid‑
den in 47,073 PDFs and 50,817 Office files.
Whatʼs more is that criminals are using non‑
standard ports for attacks at a growing rate.
a medical professional helps families get
the support and information they need to
manage their childʼs health care and help
them reach their full potential.
Pediatricians can play a critical role in
working with parents to identify intellec‑
tual delays.
One of the more common inherited caus‑
es of intellectual disability, Fragile X syn‑
drome (FXS), can only be confirmed with
the FMR1 DNA Test for Fragile X.
“All children with developmental delays,
intellectual disability or autism spectrum
disorder should be considered for a genet‑
ic evaluation,” says Dr. Robert A. Saul, a
pediatrician and medical geneticist who is
a member of the AAP. “While therapeutic
interventions are vitally important, a diag‑
nostic genetic evaluation is equally so.
Although there is no cure for FXS, with a
diagnosis, we can offer important support‑
ive treatments and take educational and
therapeutic approaches. Having a reason
for a childʼs intellectual disabilities and
behavior problems can be reassuring for
families, and a diagnosis enables families
to receive counseling for family planning,
participate in clinical research if desired,
and connect with support groups.”
Remember, there are many ways you
can be proactive about your childʼs early
motor and intellectual development. If you
have any concerns, seek out tools,
resources and the advice of your pediatri‑
cian as early as possible.
Based on a sampling of more than 700 mil‑
lion malware attacks, SonicWall found that
19.2 percent came across non‑standard
ports in 2018, an 8.7 percent year‑over‑year
increase.
Have you outfitted your home with smart
tech? Keep in mind that the Internet of
Things (IoT) is also growing more vulnera‑
Tips to manage asthma
and avoid your triggers
ore than 26 million Americans
are living with asthma, including
6.2 million children. While there
is no cure, asthma can be managed and
treated so that those with the condition
can live normal, healthy lives ‑‑ indoors as
well as outdoors.
May is Asthma Awareness Month and a
great opportunity to learn more about
common triggers ‑‑ which include respira‑
tory infections, allergens, irritants, exer‑
cise and emotions ‑‑ as well as better
understand what causes your symptoms.
To get started, the American Lung
Association is offering the following tips.
1. Combat indoor allergens. Animal dan‑
der, dust mites and mold are common
allergens found indoors that can cause
asthma symptoms. Keeping a clean home
can help keep the presence of such aller‑
gens in check. For allergen‑specific clean‑
ing tips, as well as strategies for reducing
the growth of mold and dust mites in your
home, visit Lung.org/asthma‑triggers. Be
forewarned, cleaning supplies that have
odors and fragrances can cause asthma
symptoms to flare. Check the label and
stick to safe, asthma‑friendly products.
2. Avoid smoke and tobacco. Any kind
of smoke, including tobacco smoke as well
as smoke from e‑ciga‑
rettes or “vaping,” are
known to irritate the
airways of the lung. If
you have asthma, donʼt
smoke and avoid being
around people who do.
If you need help quit‑
ting, visit Lung.org/ffs.
3. Stay weather‑
aware. Climate change
increases the risk that
air pollution will wors‑
en. Be aware that
extreme weather
events, such as
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
ble. SonicWall recorded 32.7 million IoT
attacks in 2018, a 217.5 percent increase
over the 10.3 million IoT attacks the compa‑
ny logged in 2017.
And while there is growth in the use of
encrypted traffic, suggesting that organiza‑
tions and businesses are taking security
seriously, it coincides with more attacks
being cloaked by TLS/SSL encryption.
Indeed, more than 2.8 million attacks were
encrypted in 2018, a 27 percent increase
over 2017.
But thereʼs some good news as well. In
2018, cryptojacking vanished nearly as fast
is it appeared. The volume peaked in
September with 13.1 million recorded
attacks, but has been on a steady decline
since. The report suggests that worldwide
phishing attacks are also in decline. In 2018,
SonicWall recorded 26 million phishing
attacks worldwide, a 4.1 percent drop from
2017. The average SonicWall customer
faced 5,488 phishing attacks in 2018.
drought, floods, wildfires and tornados,
can create airborne irritants and allergens
for individuals with asthma. Use the Air
Quality Index found on the American Lung
Association site to stay aware of current
conditions and help protect yourself from
outdoor air pollution. People with asthma
will want to avoid being outside on days
when the air quality index value is above
100, or in the orange, red, purple or
maroon categories.
4. Know your own triggers. Avoiding
and controlling your asthma triggers all
begins with identifying them. Work with
your doctor to find out what allergens or
irritants may be causing your asthma
symptoms; an allergy test can help.
Together you and your doctor can create
an Asthma Action Plan that includes find‑
ing simple solutions to reduce your expo‑
sure to your asthma triggers and make
breathing easier. You can learn more about
your asthma and how to manage triggers
at Lung.org/asthma, and through a free
one‑hour, interactive online course at
Lung.org/asthma‑basics. If you suffer from
asthma or love someone who does, take
steps to better understand the condition
and reduce the presence of common trig‑
gers in your everyday life.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info IMMIGRATION April 27-May 3, 2019 27

By Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq.

& Michael Phulwani, Esq.

Found the Love of Life, but want to get

A
fiancé(e) K‑1 visa is a nonim‑

married in America: The K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa

migrant visa for foreign citi‑
zens whose fiancé(e) is a U.S.
citizen and they wish to get married
in the United States. This visa allows
the final decision as to whether the days of the green cardʼs expiration. should apply for a green card at the

VISA
the foreign citizen fiancé(e) to enter
the United States and marry his/her individualʼs fiancé(e) would be Dependents of K‑1 nonimmi‑ same time as the K‑1 visa holder. In
U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days allowed to enter the United States. grants, unmarried children under the order to qualify for a green card, the

of arrival and then file for adjust‑
ment of status while in the U.S. So
while it is a non immigrant visa, it is
the only non immigrant visa for the
visa holder is not only expected to
apply for permanent residence, but
he/she is obligated to do so.
For an individual to be allowed to
bring their fiancé(e) to the United
States on a K‑1 visa the following
requirements must be met:
8 The petitioning individual must
be a U.S. citizen;
8 The individual and their foreign
fiancé(e) plan to get married to one
another within 90 days of their
fiancé(e)ʼs entrance to the U.S.;
8 The individual and their for‑
eign fiancé(e) are legally allowed to
get married, meaning they are of age
to get married and any previous mar‑
riages were legally terminated; and
8 The individual and their foreign
fiancé(e) had met each other in per‑
son at least once within the 2‑year
period before the visa petition was
filed.
8 This requirement can be
waived if the U.S. citizen can show
TALK
that they will suffer extreme hard‑
ship or that the strict culture or
social practices of the foreign coun‑
try make it difficult for the couple to
meet.
The first step in the K‑1 visa
process is for the U.S. citizen (peti‑
tioning individual) to file Form I‑
129F, Petition For Alien Fiancé(e)
along with any supporting docu‑
ments. Then, once the Form I‑129F
is approved the National Visa Center
(NVC) forwards the petition to the
U.S. Embassy or consulate where the
individualʼs fiancé(e) lives. That is
also the consulate or embassy where
the fiancé(e) will have to go for their
visa interview. During the visa inter‑
view a Department of State consular
officer determines whether the K‑1
visa should be granted. A K‑1 visa is
valid for up to 6 months for a single
entry. After the consular officer
grants the K‑1 visa, a Customs and
Border Patrol (CBP) officer makes
This decision is made at a U.S. port of
entry. If admission as a K‑1 nonimmi‑
grant is granted an individual and
their fiancé(e) have up to 90 days to
get married and then file for adjust‑
ment of status.. A K‑1 visa holder is
allowed to work but must re‑apply
for work authorization after they are
married and are applying a for green
card.
After the U.S. citizen and their for‑
eign fiancé(e) get married, they may
apply for a green card by filling out
Form I‑485, Application to Register
Permanent Residence or Adjust
Status. This form allows the foreign
citizen spouse to now apply for a
green card. If the couple was mar‑
ried for less than two years at the
time the Form I‑485 was approved,
the foreign citizen will be granted
conditional permanent resident sta‑
tus and receive a green card that is
valid for two years only. After two
years, the U.S. citizen spouse will
need to remove the conditions on the
foreign citizenʼs green card by filing
Form I‑751, Petition to Remove
Conditions on Residence, within 90
age of 21, may be eligible for a K‑2 K‑2 visa holder must remain unmar‑
nonimmigrant visa. The names of the ried.
dependents must be included on the If the U.S. citizen and their foreign
fiancé(e)ʼs Form I‑129F and they citizen fiancé(e) do not get married
must stay unmarried and be under within the 90‑day period, the
the age of 21 in order to be allowed fiancé(e) and any dependents must
to enter the United States at the port leave the United States. If they do not
of entry. They do not have to come leave at the end of the 90‑day period,
to the U.S. at the same time as the K‑ then they will be in violation of their
1 visa holder but they are not immigration status and this may
allowed to come to the U.S. before effect their future eligibility to enter
the K‑1 visa holder. K‑2 visa holders the United States.
Dev Banad Viswanath is the Principal Attorney of
The Banad Law Offices PC in the United States,
and Banad Immigration in India for which
Attorney Michael Phulwani is also affiliated as Of
Counsel. With Offices in Manhattan, Queens,
Bangalore, and Mumbai, the firm is able to assist
clients with all facets of the immigration process,
including Employment Visas, Consular Visa
Assistance, Student Visas, Removal &
Deportation, US Citizenship and Green Card
Applications based on Family or Employment.
Dev B. Viswanath can be reached at
Dev@Banadlaw.com and 718‑361‑5999.
He will be in India from April 21 through
May 10 and able to meet people for
personal consultations.

LAW

Legal lane of Global Village with Divya Suwasini

By Ashok Vyas Legal Eagle from the point of view of an entre‑ specific state, such as Delaware
insight4creativity@gmail.com preneur, Divya says, “I think the General Corporate Law or New
Divya Suwasini biggest difference between the two York Consolidated Partnership

P
resident of India awarded
gold medal to Divya
Suwasini as she passed law
with flying colors from NALSAR
(National Academy of Legal
Studies and Research) University,
Hyderabad in India. One of the
three daughters of encouraging
parents, Divya had decided to
study law as there was no lawyer
in her family. She became the only
law student selected as the ʻYoung
South Asian Scholarʼ by the South
Asian Research Network, in con‑
junction with IHD, New Delhi, UN‑
ESCAP, SSWA office, and UN
International Labor Organization.
She got a clear idea through SAR‑
NET training program about how
she could contribute to the growth
of the Indian corporate sector.
The understanding of laws of dif‑
ferent countries is the need of the
hour in the context of rapidly
changing, globalizing world.
Divyaʼs selection to represent her
law school at Radzyner Law School
in Israel opened for her a world of
new opportunities. She recalls, “I
interacted with world renowned
legal minds such as Prof. Paul
Stephen (University of Virginia
School of Law), Carl Weisbrod (ex‑
Planning Commissioner of NYC). I
went on to assist Prof Erik
Vermeulen with innovative
research in Indian venture capital
funds and startups.”
Now in the US, she has recently
completed her training at the New
York office of Israelʼs top law firm ‑
Shiboleth LLP. The American Bar
Associationʼs Section of
International Lawʼs International
Legal Exchange Training Program,
through its affiliation with U.S.
Department of State, sponsored
her training program.
While comparing India and USA
countries lies in the different
avenues for raising capital. The US
is much more investor‑friendly and
the financial markets are mature
to sometimes weed out schemes or
business plans which do not add
value in the long term. The Indian
markets are relatively younger and
there are fewer legislations allow‑
ing investors to raise capital. This
feeds into the entrepreneurial spir‑
it of the investors.” Divya feels that
legal research is a pervasive tool
for bringing about amendments to
laws. The first article she wrote
dealt with the issue of enforcing
foreign arbitral awards in India. It
was about a critical issue, that
Indian courts overstep their
authority and interpret domestic
legislations to favor Indian parties,
which results in investors shying
away from investing in India. Her
research work was cited by several
periodicals in articles discussing
arbitration in Iran and in the con‑
struction industry
Hasnʼt the Modi government
encouraged startups and what is
the major difference in the busi‑
ness environment for startups in
Divya Suwasini receiving gold
medal from the then Indiaʼs
President Pranab Mukherjee at
NALSAR University in 2014.
India and USA? According to Divya,
“A majority of startups in India are
structured as a private limited
company. The Companies Act
2013 regulates the formation of a
private limited company. It enables
a founder to register as a private
limited company with the flexibili‑
ty of having 2 to 200 shareholders
and founding the business with as
little as Rs 100,000 as the mini‑
mum paid up capital. In contrast,
here startups are formed in the US
state where the founder is based or
where the startup business is
based. A US startup can be formed
as a corporation, limited liability
company (llc) or limited partner‑
ship governed by the laws of that
Laws. In the US, there is no statuto‑
ry mandatory minimum paid‑up
capital requirement. This allows
founders to initiate their startup
with very little money, sometimes
even from the comfort of their
garage (the way Apple was
formed).”
What has helped India move up
on the ʻease of doing businessʼ
index? Divya explains that the
push towards Insolvency Laws and
having a Foreign Investment
Facilitation Portal are some key
features contributing to economic
growth of the country. She also
gives credit to Modi government
for recognizing the stalled technol‑
ogy in the railway sector and open‑
ing this sector for foreign direct
investment. When you talk to
Divya Suwasini, her genuine love
for complex legal knowledge and
its applications makes conversa‑
tion about law appear as interest‑
ing interaction for a layperson.
In the changing world with digi‑
tal revolution, there will be more
transparency. We will need global
legal minds to smoothly usher in
global village on legal lanes.
28 April 27-May 3, 2019 HUMOR
Humor with Melvin Durai
Good parenting means
teaching important lessons
I
ʼve been a parent for more than
16 years and let me tell you, it
isnʼt easy. Every stage of a childʼs
life unleashes new challenges on a
parent. When I hear that a group of
kids has committed a misdeed of
some sort, Iʼm not quick to blame
poor parenting. I know from experi‑
ence that itʼs not wise to judge other
parents until youʼve determined,
beyond any doubt, that one of your
kids wasnʼt involved.
BEST But even if my kids werenʼt
involved (theyʼre good kids), Iʼm not
RATE quick to judge the parents because I know
that every parent has unique circumstances
FOR and unique challenges. If one of my kids
does something terrible, I donʼt want to be
INDIA blamed for it. And if one of my kids does
something terrific, such as win the Nobel
AND Prize, I donʼt want to take the credit for it. I
just want to take the prize money. (Well, not
PAKISTAN all of it. Just enough to pay for the ambu‑
lance Iʼd have to call when their mother
faints upon hearing the news.)
People often think that a successful parent
New York Head Quarter is one whose children have achieved great
422‑S Broadway academic and career success. We admire
parents whose children have become doc‑
HICKSVILLE
tors or engineers or any type of high‑earn‑
NY 11801 ing professional. All parents want their chil‑
dren to be successful in their careers, but is
516‑827‑1010 that really enough?
Imagine that your child becomes the presi‑
dent of a country – any country around the
world – but lacks integrity and is disrespect‑
ful toward political opponents, journalists
and others? I know itʼs hard to imagine such
Laughter is the Best Medicine
By Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist,
cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the
past many year in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
a president, but letʼs stretch our imagina‑
tions for a moment. Would you feel proud if
your child became a president, but was
boastful and ill‑mannered, always belittling
people on social media? I wouldnʼt. Iʼd want
to grab a slipper and chase him or her
around, at least until the bodyguards stop
me. Whether my kids become doctors,
lawyers, flight attendants or store clerks, Iʼd
first want them to be caring, considerate and
conscientious adults. Iʼd rather picture my
son as a courteous waiter at a restaurant
than a rude billionaire at a beach club.
Itʼs up to parents to teach their children
important values. Here are just a few of the
lessons Iʼd want my kids to learn:
1. Be honest. Lying, cheating and stealing
are examples of dishonest behavior.
Children learn at an early age whatʼs accept‑
able and what they can get away with. I
never let my kids get away with lying, except
when theyʼre telling me that Iʼm the greatest
dad in the world. Fatherʼs Day lies are gener‑
ally okay – and so is telling me that Iʼm in
great shape and donʼt need to go on a diet,
or that my hair isnʼt falling out – my scalp is
just asserting itself.
2. Be respectful. I want my kids to be
respectful to their elders, as well as every‑
one else. Itʼs easy to show respect to people
in equal or superior positions, but how you
treat the disadvantaged and underprivileged
reveals your true character. All humans
deserve respect, even the ones who are
crazy enough to vote for the other party.
(Iʼm speaking, of course, about the
Libertarian Party.)
3. Be humble. I want my kids to do well in
life, but I donʼt want them to be boastful
about their achievements. I donʼt want them
to think that theyʼre better than others, just
because those other people werenʼt lucky
enough to have the greatest dad in the
world.
4. Be kind. Itʼs important to be kind to oth‑
ers and not just your own kind. I hope to
teach my kids to be kind in many different
ways, including opening doors for strangers,
helping old people cross busy roads, and
handing the remote control to their father
when the football game is about to start.
5. Be generous. I want my kids to be gen‑
erous with their time and money. I want
them to be especially generous when a per‑
son holds his hand out and asks for money. I
donʼt want them to say something rude, such
as, “Get lost, Dad!”
TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY April 27-May 3, 2019 29

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

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; w.premastrologer.com

APRIL 27‑MAY 3, 2019

Aries: Those posted out of town may
find it difficult to get leave to spend
time with family. Donʼt leave anything
to chance on the professional front, as you
can find yourself at the receiving end.
Stress‑induced fluctuating moods may
prove detrimental for your love life.
Remaining well prepared at all times will
help in sidestepping disaster on the aca‑
demic front.
Taurus: Curb your tendency of not
eating right to avoid ill health. Your
expectations from someone in the
family may be dashed by his or her nega‑
tive response. Frustrations and disappoint‑
ments in your current relationship cannot
be ruled out and may even make you look
outwards. Clearing a tough competition or
examination is possible for some on the
academic front.
Gemini: Keeping excellent health will
not pose much difficulty for those
suf fering from a lifestyle disease.
Someone you are attracted to may make the
first move, so expect a whirlwind romance
to sweep you of f your feet the coming
week! Keep your speed in check on the
road. Be prompt in discharging whatever
responsibility is given to you on the profes‑
sional front.
Cancer: Donʼt take it easy on the
academic front, as you can easily
spoil your chances. . Something that
has been bugging you on the professional
front is likely to get resolved. Some compli‑
cations are foreseen in matters related to
property. Getting into a romantic mood
may be difficult, as you have too many
things on your mind. Taking up a workout
routine will be in your interest.
Leo: A trip abroad may be delayed
due to some unforeseen reasons.
Students will be able to seek guid‑
ance to overcome academic difficulties.
Some new procedures instituted at work
may prove a hindrance rather than a help.
You are on the path to achieving financial
security by switching to saving mode.
Someone is likely to steal the limelight from
you on the social front.
Virgo: You may take the initiative of
discussing your future with the one
you love. Your monetary situation
may get shaky, as you make it a habit of
overstepping the budget. Attempts to
appease a superior at work may prove
counterproductive.
Joining a gym or starting an exercise
regime is indicated for some and will help
bring them back in shape.
Libra: Things brighten up on the
romantic front, as someone catches
your fancy.
Financially, things may not look too bright
as expenses rise. There is a risk of things
coming to a standstill on the professional
front, but you will find a way to get started
once ag ain. Some more hard work is
required for achieving what you have set
out for on the academic front.
Scorpio: Tone down your expecta‑
tions from others as you may not be
on their priority list. An of f mood
lover will need your loving care to be
brought into mood. Pressure from the sen‑
ior may press your domestic commitments.
Something just doesnʼt seem right at the
present moment, so take the next step only
once you are satisfied. Spend some time on
the treadmill to shed your extra calories.
Sagittarius: T hings may not be
going your way on the social front,
so donʼt press your luck.
Not much headway is likely to be made at
work for those involved in a time consum‑
ing project. Expressing your inner feelings
is likely to create a special bond with lover.
Solutions offered for a health problem may
not prove effective; a doctorʼs guidance is
must.
Capricorn: Too much work and little
rest may play havo c w ith your
health. Donʼt take hasty decisions on
the financial front that might leave you
regretting later on. Try being satisfied with
your current profile as a job switch now
isnʼt a good idea. Suitable returns can be
expected in a property transaction. A fit‑
ness tip given by someone can benefit you,
only if you adhere to it.
Aquarius:Finding a superior in good
mood can encourage you to project
your request. Money given in good
faith will be returned with interest. It is best
to steer clear of gossip mongers, as you can
end up getting mired in a controversy on
the family front. Good preparation blended
with luck may find you sailing smoothly on
the academic front the coming week.
Pisces: You may find spouse a bit
overbearing, but he or she will have
a reason for it. You may be called
upon to undertake a task which will raise
your image on the social front. Carrying on
with the task entrusted to you at work will
not pose much difficulty. Some of you may
get involved in preparing for something
important on the academic front. Improper
handling of funds needs to be guarded
against.

27 April, 2019 be plenty but working under

Influenced by number 9 and
the planet Mars, you are dynam‑
ic, courageous, energetic, warm
hearted and a religious person.
You are a great admirer of music
and literature. You are research
oriented and have a strong deter‑
mination, but you need to check
your tendency to behave jealous,
lazy and erratic at times.
T his year investments w ill
bring you fresh gains and you
will spend more on luxuries and
other comforts. Romantic entan‑
glement will be pleasant and
chances to enter into a matrimo‑
nial alliance will be very strong.
Religious feelings will arise mak‑
ing you embark on a pilgrimage
later in the year. Expect gifts and
goodies both in cash and kind,
but some unexpected expenses
will take you by surprise. The
months of January, April, July
and September will especially be
significant.
28 April, 2019
Governed by number 1, and the
Sun, you are original, active,
responsible, trustworthy and a
very simple person. You are high‑
ly talented and fond of accepting
challenges, but you need to con‑
trol your tendency to dominate,
overspend and behave destruc‑
tive at times.
T his year you should plan
things well in advance to reap
benefits. Efforts that you put dur‑
ing this period will bring desired
results in the long run.
Favourable period for property
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
investment. Romance will be on
top of your list. There seem to be
chances too of a new arrival as
well. Your financial condition will
improve as you pickup job
involving higher responsibility
and position. Some exhilarating
news from distant relations will
boost up the spirits of the entire
family. Travel and journey will
be pleasurable. The months of
January, May, July and October
will be significant for you.
29 April, 2019
Ruled by number 2 and the
Moon. You are highly active, reli‑
able, methodical, imaginative,
trustworthy and warm‑hearted
person. You do not have any hesi‑
tation in spending your time and
money for others. You are very
fond of making new friends, but
you need to check your tendency
to behave restless, stubborn, lazy
and careless at times.
This year long awaited promo‑
tions and monetary benefits will
finally be yours. Financially you
will face some problems initially,
but things will become better
later in the year. This is an excel‑
lent period to develop new con‑
tacts and revive old ones.
Traveling will be undertaken for
attending auspicious events.
Avoid entering into any financial
joint ventures and stay away
from speculation. Wedding bells
w ill ring for those e lig ible
towards the end of the year. The
months of November, February,
March and September will be
highly important.
30 April, 2019
Dominated by number 3 and
the planet Jupiter. You are cre‑
ative, simple, courageous, digni‑
fied and original person. You pos‑
sess an outstanding character,
which makes you are highly sym‑
pathetic, helpful and generous.
You love peace and harmony and
you dislike arguments and con‑
frontat ions, but you need to
check your tendency to behave
moody, timid and spendthrift at
times.
This year brings in apprecia‑
t ion and rewards that you
deserve. Investments in real
estate during this year will prove
hig hly rewarding. However
indulging in speculation will be
detrimental and should be avoid‑
ed. Legal disputes, which have
been bothering your mind, will
settle amicably to your satisfac‑
tion. Children will be a major
source of happiness and spouse
will keep you happy. Health of
your parents will suf fer due to
stress, and rise in family medical
expenses will bother your mind.
The months of December, April,
June and October will be highly
important and eventful.
1 May, 2019
Governed by number 1 and the
Sun. You are active, assertive,
original, authoritative, brilliant
and a talented person. You
always welcome new ideas and
thoughts, but you need to check
your tendency to behave extrava‑
gant, stubborn and vindictive at
times.
This year you would change
plans more often than usual. You
would be working closely with
known people who would influ‑
ence your decisions. Both your
earnings and your expenses
would be high. It is a period to
spend as per your budget.
Frequent and fruitful journeys
are likely to keep you on the
move. Later in the year, influence
of a spiritual person would be a
source of inspiration in your life.
Health would definitely need
more attention, especially for
those suf fering from asthma,
bronchitis and high blood pres‑
sure. The months of December,
April and July will prove to be
significant.
2 May, 2019
Ruled by number 2 and the
Moon. You are simple, friendly,
cooperative and love peace and
harmony. You are full of new and
innovative ideas and simply a
perfectionist in whatever work
you decide to do, but you need to
control your tendency to be
moody, jealous and fickle‑minded
at times.
This year you would be able to
make your point heard without
being pushy or forceful. Financial
gains and other rewards would
extreme stress levels would show
on your health. Children would
be interesting and a major source
of your happiness. For those who
have been unsuccessful in find‑
ing a life partner till now should
rejoice, as a matrimonial wedlock
seems later in the year. T he
months of November, February
and May will prove to be event‑
ful.
3 May, 2019
Ruled by number 3 and the
planet Jupiter. You are ambitious,
dignified, confident, helpful, hard
working and systematic. You are
blessed with remarkable imagi‑
nation and strong intuition, but
you shouldnʼt behave restless,
vindictive and dominating at
times.
This year lady luck is definitely
on your side. Pending assign‑
ments and jobs will be complet‑
ed. Investors who speculate in
the stock market will benefit
financially. Important decisions
that you will take during this
phase will enhance your prosper‑
ity and security in years to come.
Sportsmen need to take extra
care of their health. T hose
involved in art and other creative
profession will receive recogni‑
tion and monetary gains. Your
spouse in a loving and caring
mood will provide immense sup‑
port. Children will demand more
attention. Pilgrimage or journey
will be high on your cards. The
months of November, March and
July will prove to be highly sig‑
nificant.
30 April 27-April 3, 2019
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
P
eople are happy on their
birthdays; their faces
beam with happiness on
their special day. But we should
consider every day as our birth‑
day. When we go to sleep at night,
no one knows if they will awaken
the next morning. When we do
get up the next morning, we
should consider that new day to
be our birthday.
This means living each day as if
it were the most special day of
our lives.
What can we do to make that
day special? We can celebrate
each day as our true birthday.
How do many people spend their
day? They wake up, shower or
bathe, get dressed, have breakfast,
and either take care of their fami‑
ly or go to a job, often fighting
traffic to get to work. They spend
By Sant Rajinder
Singh Ji Maharaj
B
eing recept ive is like
being an empty cup. This
describes the attitude we
should adopt in meditation and
in our spiritual life. In medita‑
tion, pitchers of divine wine of
spiritual love cascade into us
from God. If we meditate like an
empty cup, we can receive per‑
petually wine of ecstasy.
Meditation should be an effort‑
less ef fort. We close our eyes
and simply gaze at what lies in
front of us, without any thought
of what will or should appear.
The sooner we sit in that state,
the sooner we will have inner
progress. It is for God to decide
what to give us within. For exam‑
ple, sometimes when meditating,
we get distracted by thoughts
such as wanting to see a particu‑
lar colored light or inner experi‑
ence. Our mind becomes so
determined to see what it wants
to see that it distracts us from
our concentration. In meditation,
we should not be disturbed by
thoughts generated from our
mind. Even sitting with a precon‑
ceived idea of what we should
see is considered a distraction of
thought. If our mind is constantly
thinking of what it wants to
receive in meditation, it is block‑
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
OF OUR BIRTHDAYS
most of the day earning a living,
then fighting the traffic to return
home, eating dinner, entertaining
themselves, and going to bed. A
majority of that time is spent in
taking care of the needs of the
physical body. Yet, there is more
to life than just the upkeep of our
physical body. We have a spiritual
side. To celebrate each day as our
birthday, we can devote equal
effort, if not more effort, to find‑
ing the Divine within us.
How then should we spend our
day to make it a true birthday so
Most people devote the entire gift
of the human form to feeding it,
reproducing, and keeping it alive.
We are in the most precious form
one can have. We should earn the
spiritual capital for which we
received this body—knowing
ourselves and knowing God.
Receptivity: Being the empty cup
Meditation with the attitude that
we are an empty cup is the highest
state of prayer. It means that we do
not even ask for anything but just
wait lovingly and devotedly for
whatever God wants to give. It is a
prayer in which we know that God
will give us what is best for us.
ing the way for the divine grace
to enter. It is like a friend is
knocking at our door, but he or
she cannot enter because we are
standing in the doorway. The
very thought of what we expect
to see in our meditation is an
obstacle for it keeps our mind
active and we cannot focus our
attention on the inner light. We
merely have to sit at the door
and wait. God will fill us with
that our lives are really worthy of
celebration?
We can celebrate each day with
gratitude that we were born as a
human being. Our human birth
should not be taken for granted.
Any other life form lacks the fac‑
ulty by which they can know
themselves and know God. As we
lead our lives in the human form,
we can realize that it is our turn
to know God. Will we make the
best use of that opportunity or
squander it? God has given us this
body to use to earn the spiritual
more grace and blessings than
we could ever have dreamed of.
If we sit in humility and keep our
hearts open for whatever God
wants to give us, pitchers upon
pitchers of the sweet waters of
life will pour into us. The divine
wine of the light and sound will
flow through us and around us,
and we will be satiated with bliss
and inebriated with the wine of
spiritual love.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
wealth that will take us back to
God. However, what do we do?
We live out our lives meeting the
same needs of survival as all other
species of life. Most people devote
the entire gift of the human form
to feeding it, reproducing, and
keeping it alive. We are in the
most precious form one can have.
We should earn the spiritual capi‑
tal for which we received this
body̶knowing ourselves and
knowing God.
Our spark is lit by a spiritual
Master at the time of initiation
into the inner light and sound.
Next, we maintain the flame
when we learn to meditate, lead
an ethical life, become a vegetari‑
an and avoid alcohol and intoxi‑
cating or hallucinogenic drugs,
perform selfless service, and by
attending satsang. Finally, we
merge our individual spark into
the dazzling Eternal Flame illumi‑
For us, the day dawns when we
make a connection with the inner
Light and can drink from that
fountain of light at anytime. It is a
time of celebration, for we receive
the key to the inner kingdom. We
have the meditation technique by
which we can go within anytime
we want. It is now up to us to
make use of the gift by putting in
time for meditation so we can go
back to God in this lifetime.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
nating our soul and spreading
light to the whole world. We can
reach this ultimate stage when
we further ignite our spark by
developing receptivity, a ruling
passion, gratitude, and love.
Receptivity is an openness to
receive the light, love, and bliss
of the Eternal Flame. It involves
keeping our floodgates open to
receive all the treasures of the
Divine.
Meditation with the attitude
that we are an empty cup is the
highest state of prayer. It means
that we do not even ask for any‑
thing but just wait lovingly and
devotedly for whatever Go d
wants to give. It is a prayer in
which we know that God will give
us what is best for us.
To derive the greatest benefit
from the blessings bestowed by
God, we should adopt this hum‑
ble attitude of the empty vessel.
Our mind will be emptied of its
ceaseless desires and distrac‑
tions. We will instead be open to
receive wave after wave, pitcher
after pitcher, of sweet grace. We
will find ourse lves attaining
union with God in the shortest
possible time.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 27-May 3, 2019
TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 27-May 3, 2019