India Herald 010715

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NEW DELHI: A day before the Pravasi Bharatiya meet opens in Gujarat, the President is said to have cleared an ordinance amending the Indian Citizenship Act to merge the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes. This will ensure life-long Indian visa to PIOs, besides exempting them from police reporting.

The President has signed the Citizenship Ordinance, President’s press secretary Venu Rajamony was on Tuesday quoted by the agencies as saying. Home ministry offi cials contacted by TOI too confi rmed the development.

The amendments to the Citizenship Act will benefi t PIOs and will give them benefi ts like life-long visa and

exemption from registering with the FRO/FRRO if their stay here exceeds six months. This is in line with an Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance to the Indian diaspora at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he announced life-time visas for PIOs as well as merger of the PIO and OCI schemes.

The decision to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 was taken after large number of representations were received from PIOs, complaining about police reporting required beyond 180 days of stay. Also, PIO cardholders were eligible for only 15-year visas, as against lifelong visas provided to those OCI card-holders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at New

York’s Madison Square Garden had announced PIOs will get lifelong Indian visa.

The ordinance rolling PIO and OCI schemes into a single Indian Overseas Cardholder scheme will drop the clause requiring foreigners married toIndian citizens to continuously stay in the country for a period of one year before they can apply for Indian citizenship.The amendment will allow foreigners breaks not exceeding30 days, to travel abroad duringthe mandatory one-year stay inIndia.

The Pravasi Bharatiya meet is being held in Gandhinagar,Gujarat, from January 7 to 9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session on January 8.

MUMBAIThe ground breaking 9th

annual Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) 2015 organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) concluded here on January 4 with the pledge by Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan committing to be the Ambassador of AAPI’s campaigns to create awareness on Head Injury, Trauma, and Hepatitis In India.

In this three day conference, the fi rst day was marked by top political leaders addressing the international delegates, the second day was marked by

top notch medical curriculum which extended to the third day.

There was a concurrent forum devoted to Healthcare and Hospital CEOs where over fi fty of the top echelon in the health industry had a brain storming session.

Research and Poster Presentations and ECFMG/Visa seminar was held the KEM Hospital, Parel Mumbai

In his welcome address, Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, President of AAPI, gave a brief introduction into the making of the Global Healthcare Summit.

“Global Healthcare Summit

On New Year Day, at Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Sam Kannappan, center, was appointed Honorary President, Dr. G. S. Goplakrishna, Honorary Vice President, and Dr. S.G. Appan as Honorary Trustee of Sri Meenakhsi Temple Society. Dr. P. Vaduganathan, far right, chairman of MTS is seen with former chairman Tupil Narasimhan and other board and Council members. See 1.

AAPI names Amitabh Bhachhan ambassador for awareness campaign

Amitabh Bachchan, Chief Guest at the GHS 2015 in Mumbai, expressing his wholehearted support to AAPI’s campaigns to create awareness about Hepatitis and Head Injury and Trauma.

See AAPI, Page 10

Ordinance to merge PIO and OCI

New Year at Meenakshi Temple

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 • PAGE 3

INDIANS ABROAD

NEW DELHI: Free-market economist and Columbia Uni-versity professor Arvind Pa-nagariya, who on Monday be-came the fi rst vice-chairman of the newly formed Niti Aayog (which replaces the Planning Commission), has been one of the most vocal supporters of ‘Gujarat model of growth’.

The new body - the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog - will be headed by the Prime Minister, and comprises a vice-chairper-son, besides full-time and part-time members. Bibek Debroy and VK Saraswat are full-time members. As vice-chairman, Panagariya, 62, will have a piv-otal role in framing economic strategy and will hold Cabinet rank.

Panagariya is professor of economics at Columbia Uni-versity. He has earlier been the chief economist of the Asian Development Bank and a professor of economics and co-director, Center for Interna-tional Economics, University of Maryland at College Park.

3. Panagariya, who has a PhD degree in Economics from Princeton University, has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in various roles.

His market-friendly, pro-growth economics has helped shape Narendra Modi’s outlook and is seen by many as a Mar-garet Thatcher-like attack on overbearing labour regulations

Columbia Professor Arvind Panagariya named vice chairman of Niti Aayog

and state-run companies. How-ever, Panagariya told Reuters last year that he did not sup-port a Thatcherite agenda, say-ing India should give markets a freer rein but that it still needed growth in social spending in a country that has about a third of the world’s extremely poor.

“Here, in India, we are trying to give back markets the space that belonged to them in the fi rst place and was usurped by overactive regulations,” he said in an email interview, given in his capacity as an adviser to Rajasthan.

Panagariya has previously advocated a loosening of fi scal defi cit targets that he said were stifl ing growth to allow for more capital spending.

That view is shared by Arvind Subramanian, another heavy-weight economist brought in from the United States last year to advise the fi nance ministry. In a December economic re-port Subramanian advocated

higher infrastructure spending by the government to kick-start stagnant private investment.Panagariya, mentored by trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati, is one of the main brains behind the recent labor reforms in Ra-jasthan. He was vice-chairman of Rajasthan chief minister’s economic advisory council.

Panagariya and Bhagwati, in a book co-authored by them

and named India’s Tryst with Destiny: Debunking Myths that Undermine Progress and Ad-dressing New Challenges, used ‘Gujarat Model’ as a metaphor for development primarily driv-en by growth and private entre-preneurship. On the other hand, they used the ‘Kerala Model’ as a metaphor for primarily redistribution and state-driven development. During the last

Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Modi’s ‘Gujarat Model’ was one of the main poll planks of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Panagariya is a graduate of Rajasthan University and has authored over 15 books, in-cluding, Why Growth Matters, (with Jagdish Bhagwati). The government had earlier hon-ored Panagariya with a Padma Bhushan award.


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TOPIC OF THE WEEK

THE LIGHTER SIDE

VOICES

Scientific temperWhen he took office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to put

his shoulder behind the space programme, taking the trouble to bepresent at important launches, applauding milestones. Now, with hisaddress to the Indian Science Congress, he may have begun to lay outa national vision for science and technology. His colleagues in theSangh Parivar, who have been making some absurd claims about theantiquity of Indian science, should listen to him. Nurturing the scientifictemper would result in accelerated development. Foisting science uponantiquity would only create a false sense of pride.

Significantly, the PM has elevated internet access to the level of abasic right, on par with the right to education. Other ideas includechannelling corporate social responsibility funds to research, and rec-ognition of the importance of innovation: “science is universal, but tech-nology can be local”. The PM has also proposed a regulatory frame-work for biotechnology, nanotechnology, agricultural and clinical re-search. Without quite using the word, he has also talked of the need formultidisciplinary work, which promises high return on investment.

For now, though, this is only a collection of good ideas. There arecontradictions that will demand resolution. For instance, the PM stressesthe need for R&D, which can be rapidly encashed for development,and also speaks of the need for fundamental research, which is a long-term investment. How are their competing claims on budgets to beaccommodated? Serious tensions could be created by the vision itself.If science and technology are to be harnessed to the objective of na-tional development, room must also be made for the disinterested re-search and academic autonomy from which most great scientific break-throughs stem.

And Modi’s proposal to recapture the romance of science and tech-nology by making it the theme of the Republic Day parade could turnout to be dreadfully Soviet. Yet, having said that, the PM has used theoccasion of the Indian Science Congress to push forward some wor-thy ideas that deserve attention. Now, if only he could get sections ofthe Sangh Parivar, which have delusions of ancient grandeur, to listento him. — Indian Express

The Accidental Chief MinisterJitan Ram Manjhi became the Chief Minister of Bihar in unusual

circumstances. As he himself never tires of saying, he owed his posi-tion not to the support of his followers but to the backing of his leader,his predecessor and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar. A memberof the backward Dalit community of Mahadalit, Manjhi is now busybuilding his political constituency, even if it be at the expense of Kumar’sown vote base. The Bihar Chief Minister won new followers in hiscommunity with his assertive speeches, even if, in the process, he lostsome of the goodwill of his leader.

From the very outset he seemed to know what he did not want tobe: a political tool in the hands of Kumar, who stepped down as ChiefMinister only to lessen the degree of criticism of his political decisionsthat led to the drubbing that the JD (U) received in the Lok Sabhaelection. With his latest statement, during an interview to The Hindu,that a Mahadalit should be the Chief Minister of Bihar after the As-sembly election later this year, Manjhi not only succeeded in irritatingKumar further but also ensured that Kumar could remove him asChief Minister only at great political cost.

If Kumar thought that in Manjhi he would have a loyalist who wouldkeep the Chief Minister’s chair warm for him till the Assembly elec-tion, he was clearly mistaken. Even when he stepped down as ChiefMinister, the JD (U) had indicated that Kumar would indeed lead theparty in the next Assembly election.

But the Mahadalit leader, who began his political career with theCongress and moved to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, seems ever-readyto outmanoeuvre his own party leadership. While he does not havemuch to show in terms of governance during his seven months inpower, Manjhi demonstrated political tact and cunning in carving outan independent political space in the caste-dominated politics of Bihar.The JD (U) is now in the process of merging with the SamajwadiParty, the RJD, the Janata Dal (Secular) and others in a coming to-gether of the Janata Parivar, and there is no guarantee that Kumar willbe the automatic choice as Chief Minister if the combination comes topower. But whatever the changes in the political equations, Manjhi willbe a factor in everyone’s political calculations. And that is no smallachievement for this accidental Chief Minister. — The Hindu

By Swapan Dasgupta

The past fortnight has witnesseda spirited and even unruly debateover religious rights in India.

Before probing this lofty ques-tion, it is instructive to recognise abanality that underpins all concernsover religion: the undeniable factthat for an overwhelming major-ity of people, religious identity is amatter of inheritance.

Most people belong to a faithbecause they were born into it. Itis only a very small minority thatdeviate from a formal commit-ment to identities that were deter-mined by their parents, if not fore-fathers.

Recognising this simple truthdoes not in any way underminethe reality that individuals deter-mine how this inheritance is playedout in their own lives. This is par-ticularly true of the large body ofbeliefs that have been artificiallydescribed as ‘Hinduism’ but towhich the term sanatan dharmais more appropriate.

A man or woman may havebeen born in a family that per-ceived itself as, say, Shaivite orwhere the principal commitmentwas to the rites and rituals associ-ated with a kul devata (ancestralGod). In the course of life, theymay come into contact with a guruwho would have steered them intoa very different theological orien-tation and form of worship.

Alternatively, they may chooseto become completely irreligiousor even experiment with traditionsthat have no roots in India.

Would they be regarded as con-verts?

The answer is an emphatic nofor a variety of reasons. First, it ismore than likely that in their mod-est engagement with officialdom— such as filling a form or an-swering the Census enumerator— they would still declare them-selves Hindu. By this they are as-serting their Hindutva in terms ofeither faith or culture, or both.

Secondly, the belief structuresof the sanatan dharma are numer-ous, inconsistent and even contra-dictory. Even atheism can be ac-commodated under the umbrellaof the eternal way. Finally, and thisis important, the absence of codi-fication or even a desire to attemptit has meant that an individual caneffortlessly and without qualmspossess multiple faiths.

I have cousins who are practi-tioners of Soka Gakkai, apparentlya derivative of Buddhism thatoriginated in Japan. At the sametime they are not lacking in theircommitment to the Durga Puja thatis conducted in the ancestral vil-lage. The Western tradition ofcodification to suit a statistical pur-pose can’t cope with the complexi-ties of faith in the Indic tradition.

Theologically speaking, thismuddle can perhaps be explainedby the absence of the notion of ajealous god from Indic traditions.Indians, by and large, have a looseattachment to the sacred that cutsacross denominational boundaries.

The average puja altar of an In-dian, for example, contains a mixof gods, goddesses, portraits ofgurus and even deceased mem-

Why riddle promotion of faith with hate?

If ghar vapsi reconnects people to their history and inheritance,it is a positive step. But it would be retrograde if it becameinextricably linked to changes in belief and forms of worship.bers of the family. This mix of symbols of sacredness and venerationwould undoubtedly argue against the traditions of the Reformation inEurope where icons and sacred relics were brushed aside for oneaustere symbol of one god.

The emotional and political upheavals these caused in the 16th and17th centuries have now largely been forgotten. But recalling history isimportant insofar as it informs us that there was a time when Europe-ans too had their own eternal way that was snuffed out over time byforce. The debate over conversions wouldn’t have triggered eitheremotional outbursts or a political storm had the issue been one of anaddition to the pantheon of sacredness and changes in the forms ofworship. Unfortunately, conversion has become a volatile issue onaccount of the intolerance that is often seen to accompany it. To beginwith, there is the inflammatory rhetoric of religious preachers. Preach-ing the virtues of one tradition and one god is entirely legitimate.

However, when it is accompanied by fierce and often tasteless de-bunking of existing patterns of belief and worship — the condemna-tion of ‘false gods’ and the accompanying threats of hell fire and eter-nal damnation — preaching also become riddled with hate. This wasquite pronounced between the 18th and early-20th centuries whenevangelism seemed to have the backing of state power.

The writings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekanandaand Mahatma Gandhi resonate with distaste over the insensitive andintemperate rhetoric of European missionaries. In today’s India, thereis profound anger — particularly in southern India — at the hatefulpropaganda of preachers who draw their inspiration (and, often, theirresources) from evangelists based in the US. Their advocacy of faithis often plain expressions of hate.

Evangelism also has socially disruptive consequences. It is under-standable that faiths often seek to create a community of believers.However, when this is accompanied by a conscious determination tostand aloof, rebuff and view with disdain the traditions of the commu-nity and their own ancestors, social tensions are inevitable. The warn-ings against changes of faith being accompanied by a change in na-tionality weren’t a piece of Savarkar-ite propaganda.

No less a person than Mahatma Gandhi, whose deep religiosity wasplural and non-exclusive, expressed his concern over the detachmentfrom the wider community that evangelists often promoted.

To the extent that ghar vapsi reconnects people to their history andinheritance, it is a positive step. But it would be retrograde if it becameinextricably linked to changes in belief and forms of worship.

The right to preach and propagate one’s faith is among the largerfreedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. However, just as an indi-vidual has a complete right to change his form of worship and evenconnect with a different God, there should be an equal freedom toretain one’s faith. This is as much a fundamental human right as theright to convert. The rights that accrue to minorities cannot be deniedto the majority. — The Pioneer


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PASADENA, CA: Every yearon New Year's Day the PasadenaRose Parade hits the streets toshowcase the history and cultureof Southern California and thecountry at large. This year, for thefirst time ever, the parade hosteda float that celebrated the impor-tant and little-known history ofSikhs in America -- and it couldn'thave come at a better time.

In the midst of hate crimes andverbal attacks, the float told an-other side of the roughly 125-yearhistory of Sikhs in America. A col-laboration of United Sikh Mission,SikhLens, Khalsa Care Founda-tion, SALDEF and a team of dedi-cated Sikhs around the country, thefloat aimed to raise awarenessabout Sikhism in America, bothpast and present.

“The theme of this year’s RoseParade is inspiring American sto-ries," Rashpal Dhindsa, founder ofUnited Sikh Mission told theHuffington Post. "That is why theSikh American story was such agreat fit for the parade organizersthis year.”

The float was modeled after the Stockton Gurdwara, the first Sikhhouse of worship established in the United States 102 years ago, theSikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) said ina press release. Also included in the design was a cornucopia and alocomotive to represent Sikh laborers and farmers like Didar SinghBains, known as the ‘Peach King of California’ for growing the largestnumber of peaches in the country.

Twelve community members, including members of California-basedpolice forces, the national Army, a film student and civil rights advo-cates, were also featured on the float to display the diversity and val-ues of the Sikh community.

The float arrives at a time when misperceptions and antagonism runhigh against Sikhs in the United States. In 2013, SALDEF teamed upwith researchers from Stanford University to conduct the first publicperception assessment of Sikh Americans -- entitled Turban Myths -- which revealed that 70% of Americans could not identify a fellowSikh American and one out of every five Americans experienced an-ger or apprehension when they saw a Sikh stranger with a turban andbeard.

Here is a brief timeline of Sikh American history, provided bySALDEF:

1899-1917: Sikhs begin to migrate to California working as labor-ers and farmers; migration was severely curtailed by Immigration Actof 1917 (a.k.a. Asiatic Barred Zone Act). Legal migration from Asiaended with the National Origins Act of 1924.

September 4, 1907: A lynch mob of several hundred attack androb the homes of Sikh millworkers in Bellingham, Washington.

October 24, 1912: The first Sikh American Gurdwara is foundedin Stockton, California. See Page 8

Historic first: Sikh float in Rose Parade


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WASHINGTON, DC: Con-gresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) recently returned from a verysuccessful tour of India, whichwas prompted by a personal invi-tation from India’s Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi during his visitto the U.S. in September 2014.

During nearly three weeks ofmeetings with India’s top govern-ment, military, and business lead-ers, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sought to“introduce the people of India toHawaii—to share with them thealoha spirit and plant seeds forcloser cultural and economic tiesbetween the people of India andHawaii.”

“I feel this trip was a great suc-cess,” said Gabbard. “I went toIndia hoping to introduce and fa-miliarize people with Hawaii, andto help warm the relationship be-tween our two countries. I thinkwe accomplished both goals, andI am optimistic that there will beincreased collaboration betweenthe world’s oldest democracy andthe world’s largest democracy.”

Visiting seven major cities, Rep.Gabbard was warmly received byseveral high-level Indian officialsand the country’s most respectedand progressive leaders. Duringher tour of India, the congress-woman:

• Met again with Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi to further ex-plore topics of mutual interest toAmerica and India, focusing onenhanced cooperation in the fightagainst Islamic terrorism, workingtogether to protect the environ-

Tulsi Gabbard returns from 3-week visit to India

ment, and maximizing economic opportunities between India and USA.• Met separately with India’s Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley, Min-

ister of Defense Manohar Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, andMinister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to discuss the challengesfacing the international community with the aim of improving coopera-tion between the U.S. and India, particularly in the areas of commerce,security, and defense.

• Met with General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Indian Army (COAS).Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Captain in the Hawaii Army Na-tional Guard, discussed with Singh the need for the U.S. and India toincrease collaboration in the fight against terrorists and the importanceof partner-building military-to-military engagements between the U.S.Pacific Command and the Indian military.

• Met with India’s Minister for Tourism, Mahesh Chandra Sharma,to discuss strengthening tourism and cultural exchange opportunitiesbetween the U.S. and India.

• Met with Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (IC) of Com-merce and Industry, to discuss ideas to increase commerce betweenIndia and the U.S. and minimize barriers to greater foreign investment.

• Met with Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and GovernorMridula Sinha to discuss establishing a “sister state” relationship be-tween Hawaii and Goa, India’s most popular beach tourism destina-tion, with the aim of increasing economic and cultural exchanges be-

tween Goa and Hawaii, as well as promoting tourism.• Delivered keynote address to the prestigious India Ideas Con-

clave, stressing the importance of having leaders who embrace thealoha spirit and work for the welfare of others as servant leaders.

• Met with several prominent figures in the India film industry toencourage increased cross-collaboration between those in the film in-dustry in India and in Hawaii.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard with General Dalbir Singh, Chief of theIndian Army

Surplus from Madison Square Gardenreception for toilet building in India

CHICAGO: The surplus funds left with the organisers of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s public rally at Madison Square Garden inNew York in September last year — about $3,00,000 or Rs. 1.8 crore— will be used for building toilets in rural India. Modi has made sani-tation and cleanliness part of his governance agenda.

Chicago-based oncologist Bharat Barai, who led the organising com-mittee, told The Hindu that Modi had given directions to that effect.“We asked for his directions as the money was raised in his name,”said Dr. Barai, who met Modi on Monday.

The organisers had raised $1.86 million and the expenses totalled$1.56 million. Most of the money was raised through individual contri-butions of $10,000 while a handful of people contributed $50,000 each.

Dr. Barai said the Indian community that organised the receptionfor Mr. Modi has plans to make it an annual affair, taking the functionto different cities each year.

Modi will visit the U.S. most years to attend the U.N. General As-sembly in September. “For next year, we are proposing Silicon Valley,Chicago and some other cities. Depending on directions from the PM,we will proceed,” Dr. Barai said.

Harsh Vardhan urges NRIs to return to IndiaGANDHINAGAR: Assuring a better future with scientific and

technological facilities, Union minister of science and technology HarshVardhan on Wednesday, Jan 7, asked the vast diaspora engaged incutting-edge research and innovation to return and contribute for India'sprogress.

"I would like to appeal to people like you and through you, our youthwhose intellectual acumen is spread all over the world, to think ofcoming back to India. I can assure you that we have better scientificand technological facilities here now and a better future," Vardhansaid addressing the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here.

The minister, a doctor by education, said the Organisation for Eco-nomic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are strug-gling to keep pace on innovation front, while in the USA, there was adearth in the emergence of innovation-fuelled start-ups.

Visit www. India-

herald.com.

email: editor@

india-herald.

com

COMMUNITY NEWS INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 • PAGE 7

A 24-year-old Indian stu-dent has been deported from the US after he was convict-ed of cyberstalking for post-ing threatening comments on social media to carry out a campus shooting.

Keshav Mukund Bhide, a former student at the University of Washington (UW), cannot return to the US for ten years.

Bhide was arrested in June after he threatened women at the university in the com-ments section on YouTube.

He also defended the ac-tions of Elliot Rodger, a col-lege student who killed six people at the University of California, Santa Barbara in

May and then killed himself too.

Some of Bhide’s com-ments were posted only a few days after the June 5 shootings at Seattle Pacifi c University that left one stu-dent dead and two wounded.

In postings under the Google username ‘Foss Dark’, Bhide defended Rod-ger’s actions, and in one comment on June 9 said, “I live in Seattle and go to UW, that’s all ill give u. Ill make sure I kill only women, and many more than Elliot ac-complished (sic).” The FBI and University of Washing-ton police began investigat-ing Bhide after the June 9

post. During an interview after

his arrest, Bhide told agents he sympathised with Rod-ger and that he thought it was unfair for creators of the videos to judge Rodger’s actions, according to court documents.

He told agents that he, like Rodger, had few friends and diffi culty socialising.

Bhide, who was deported late last month, was charged in King County Superior Court, where he was con-victed of cyberstalking De-cember 11 and sentenced to a six-month suspended term, Immigration and Cus-toms Enforcement said in a

statement. In an agreement with fed-

eral prosecutors, a federal indictment charging Bhide with interstate threats will be dismissed after his depar-ture from the United States, the statement said.

In October, UW notifi ed Homeland Security Inves-tigation’s Student and Ex-change Visitor Programme that Bhide’s student status had been terminated.

If Bhide re-enters the US in the next ten years, or at-tempts to do so, federal prosecutors may re-fi le the federal charges against him, according to the news re-lease.

Indian student deported after cyberstalking conviction

NEW YORK: The family of a 25-year-old Indian-American yoga instructor, who was found dead in central Mexico during a hike in the rugged mountains, is working on legalities to bring his remains back to Virginia, where a memorial service will be held in his memory.

Hari Simran Singh Khalsa had gone missing on December 30 while hiking in the moun-tains of Tepoztlan in Mexico.

The search for Khalsa ended tragically on January 2, when his body was found in one of the small ravines that criss-crossed the mountains of Tepoztlan.

Khalsa had fallen while hik-ing, sustaining multiple frac-tures to his skull and dying in-stantly.

Tepoztlan, a popular tourist destination near Mexico City, is known for its mountain peaks and the towering cliffs.

His family is now dealing with the legal aspect of bring-ing his remains back to Virginia to be cremated, according to in-formation on the website ‘fi nd-harisimran.com’ that was set up after the young yoga instructor went missing.

The memorial service would be held at a Gurdwara in Ster-ling, Virginia and Khalsa’s family plans to create a founda-tion in his honour, “dedicated to his spirit of service and in-spiration.”

Vigils were held last week in cities in Virginia, New York, California and New Mexico as well as among communities in Europe, Latin America and China.

A remembrance from mem-bers of the Occupy Wall Street movement was held over the weekend here.

Khalsa was infl uential in establishing and leading the ‘Occupy Yoga NY’ movement, which brought meditation and yoga into the heart of the pro-tests against social and eco-nomic inequality.

Khalsa was a member of the Sikh-American commu-nity who originally hailed from Brooklyn and had been running a Yoga center in Virginia along with his wife.

He was a long-time practitio-ner of the Kundalini yoga and had taught the yoga form and meditation to activists during the Occupy Wall Street cam-paign in 2011.

He is survived by his wife and parents.

Family tries to bring

back ashes


COMMUNITY CALENDAR

or call for info.(713) 665-4665

Chandra & David Courtney Tabla and Vocal

Classes in Houston,Mission Bend,& Sugar Land

Visit www.chandrakantha.com

Classesnow ongoing

COMMUNITY CALENDARMakar Sankranti

Sun., Jan 18 @ 10 a.m.Annual celebration of Makar

Sankranti and SwamiVivekananda’s birthday. Picnicsponsored by VHP America(Houston), Gujarati Samaj, EkalVidyalaya and other organizations.At George Bush Park, 16756Westheimer Pkwy (offWestheimer, west of Hwy 6).From 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Kiteflying and other sports. For moreinfo call Girish Naik 281-851-6866or Sharad Patel 713-261-9400.

Republic Day FestSat., Jan 31 @ 3 p.m.

ICC Houston celebrates India's66th Republic Day celebrations atthe Stafford Center on SaturdayJanuary 31st between 3pm to10pm. Cultural program, booths,food court, musical program arethe highlights. More informationcall Falguni 281-844-4604 or visitwww.icchouston.org

Arya Samaj SatsangWeekly Havan Satsang every

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindiand Naitik Shiksha classes. DAVMontessori School for ages 2 to 7years. Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat.Sanskrit & Upanishad classesTue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 SchillerRd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire offHwy 6). 281-752-0100.

Chinmaya MissionSunday satsangs for adults,

youth, and children. A unique BalaVihar program for each grade,from PreK to Grade 12. Satsangs

77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for atime of praise, worship and fellow-ship. Worship is in English. CallChris Gantela 281-344-0707, orRev. V. Gurrala 281-997-0757.

‘The Universe Within’Sahaj Marg is a natural and

simple system of heart-centeredmeditation and spiritual practicethat helps one realize the utimatepotential within oneself. The medi-tation is available to anyone whowishes to practice. Weekly medi-tation sessions held throughout theHouston area. Web: www.sahajmarg.org Email: [email protected].

Heritage ClassesAshirwad’s Heritage Classes in

Katy, Cypress and Sugar Land forkids 4 to 18 yrs - meditation, Yoga,slokas, stories from scriptures,Vishnu Sahasranam, bhajans, com-petitions and fun activities. Adultmeditation classes. Register atwww.ashirwada-blessing.org orSri Ravula 281-995-0930.

Hare Krishna DhamHouston’s original Vedic temple,

ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan& Arati Times: 4.30am, 7am,8.30am, 12noon, 4.30pm, 7pm,9pm. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to7.30 pm. Weekly Gita classes foradults; call 281-433-1635 orharekrishnadham @gmail.com

Gandhi LibraryMahatma Gandhi Library Book

Club: Meets 2nd Sunday of eachmonth; 12:30 PM at Arya SamajGreater Houston, 13475 SchillerRd. Join the discussion of the greatman’s autobiography – The Storyof My Experiments with Truth.Call Manish Wani 713-829-6979.

Saumyakasi SivalayaSri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is lo-

cated at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX77478. Temple timings: Monday toFriday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and5:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday and Sun-day: 8:30-2:00 PM and 5:00 - 8:00PM. Contact Bharti Sutaria 281-568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh 832-541-0059 or visit www.saumyakasi.org.

Veerashaiva SamajaVSNA Houston is a group of

families who believe inVeerashaiva dharma (Basavadharma). Monthly Mahamane pro-gram for prayer and discussion onVachana Sahitya followed byPrasada. Contact: [email protected] or JagadeeshHalyal 832-744-4166.

Shiv Shakti MandirSanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir,

6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m.to 8 p.m. All major festivals, as wellas birthdays, naam karan, engage-ment and other ceremonies. CallPandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 forpuja or other ceremonies.

Houston NamadwaarA prayer house where the Hare

Rama Hare Krishna Maha-man-tra is continuously chanted. Week-

ends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Weekdays: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly“Gopa Kuteeram” children’s heritage classes and Srimad Bhagavatamclasses. Call 281-402-6585; visit www.godivinity.org (Global Organi-zation for Divinity).

Mar Thoma ChurchTrinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa

Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281-261-4603.

Sri Guruvayurappan TempleHours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Week-

ends & Holidays: 6 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. BhajansSaturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas(weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids,Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620Ormandy St (77035) Tel: 713-729-8994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us

Preksha MeditationNew facilities of JVB Preksha Meditation Center. Classes for Yoga

and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. At 14102Schiller Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire and Westpark - 77082). Tel281-596-9642.

Patanjali YogpeethFree Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am to 9:30

a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281-537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000. Web:www.pyptusa.org and www.DivyaProducts.com.

Sadhu Vaswani CenterSadhu Vaswani Center of Houston holds regular Satsang on 3rd

Thursday of the month and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call 281-463-0379or e.mail [email protected]

Sathya Sai centersSunday program held at two locations (North Houston: 12127

Louetta Rd, Houston; South Houston: 246 Fluor Daniel Dr, Sugarland,TX, 77479) from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Sai Spiritual Education classesfor children; study circle for adults. Service programs - food distribu-tion & food drives; nursing home visits, tutoring at schools etc. Con-tact Sanjay Gupta (North) 832-687-6766 or Sondip Mathur (South)832-215-8675 www.sairegion10.org.

Gaudiya MathSri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd., Hous-

ton 77084. Satsang Sundays 5 to 7 pm. Mantra meditation, kirtan,Sanatan Dharma classes. Vedic Education and Hindi classes for kids.Gita classes noon - 1:30 pm Wed. Hanuman Chalisa and RamcharitManas on Tue. 7:30–8:30 p.m. [email protected] or 281-499-3347.

in two sessions between 8:35 a.m.- 10:15 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. -1p.m. Bala Vihar students cantake shloka, bhajan and orchestraclasses or language classes forHindi, Telugu, Marathi, andGujarati. Located at ChinmayaPrabha, 10353 Synott Road,Sugar Land, TX 77498. Newmembers may visit the welcomedesk between 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.or 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Visitwww.chin mayahouston.org orcall Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233.

Vedanta SocietyVedanta Society of Greater

Houston, 14809 Lindita Drive(77083) has classes every Sun-day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.on Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 1st& 3rd Sunday; Bhagavad Gita,2nd Sunday; on works of SwamiVivekananda, 4th Sunday; HolyMother Sarada’s Gospel, 5th Sun-day. Swamis of Ramakrishna Or-der visit to conduct retreats andlectures. www.houstonvedanta.org or 281-584-0488.

Durga Bari TempleDurga Bari temple is open from

9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mon.thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at 6:30p.m. Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sun-day special from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.Puja services - Priest BishnupadaGoswami 281-597-8100 Templeis located at 13944 Schiller Rd (offHwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark).Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541.

Telugu FellowshipTelugu Christian Fellowship

meets every third Saturday of themonth at Triumph Church, 10555W. Airport Blvd., Stafford TX

Open Forum Radio ProgramKGOL 1480 AM • Saturdays 4 to 6 p.m.

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1913: The Ghadar party—an independence movement from Britishcolonialism—was founded in Astoria, Oregon; California Alien LandLaw of 1913 bars South Asians and others from owning property.

1920: Sikhs march in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Paradewearing green turbans and carrying signs that read: “300,000,000 ofIndia with Ireland to the last” because “our cause is a common cause,”demanding unconditional independence for India and Ireland.

1923: In United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, the U.S. SupremeCourt rules that Thind — a U.S. Army veteran who sought natural-ization — was “not white” and could not become a U.S. citizen.Asians were barred from citizenship until the Luce-Celler Act of1946 is signed into law allowing Indians to become citizens.

January 3, 1957: Dalip Singh Saund from San Joaquin, Califor-nia (C.A.’s 29th Congressional District) becomes the first Sikh Ameri-can and APIA elected (in 1956) to the U.S. Congress.

1965: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 lifts restric-tions and exclusions, allowing Asians to immigrate more freely to theU.S.

1981: Sikhs are barred from serving with their articles of faith inthe U.S. Military — despite extensive participation of Sikhs in bothWorld Wars — ending a long-standing religious accommodation. Asof today, three Sikh American soldiers have been given exemptionsto serve with their articles of faith.

September 15, 2001: Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American gasstation owner, was shot five times and killed, becoming the first Ameri-can to lose their life as a result of a hate crime after September 11.

October 2008: Jaspreet Kaur Saini becomes the first Sikh Ameri-can female lawyer in the Armed Services (Navy JAG).

May 2012: Washington, D.C. becomes the first major city in theU.S. to allow Sikh American police officers to serve with their ar-ticles of faith.

August 5, 2012: A white supremacist gunman, Wade MichaelPage, attacked a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six SikhAmerican members, and injuring four others, in the deadliest attackon a place of worship since the Jim Crow Era.

Sikh float in Rose ParadeFrom Page 5


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Alert in Sriharikota for SIMI menNELLORE: The police on Wednesday, Jan 7, raised a terror alert

across Nellore district after information from their counterparts andintelligence agencies in Tamil Nadu that five activists of the StudentsIslamic Movement of India have entered Andhra Pradesh.

Security has since been tightened around Sriharikota and Sri Citywhile police intensified patrolling at all places, particularly in the vicin-ity of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

The police have taken up frisking and have been checking vehiclesat various places including the inter-State borders to trace the sus-pects, who are wanted in a bomb blast that took place in Chennai.Their names and photographs have been released by the T.N. police.

Checking has also been undertaken in neighbouring Chittoor districtwhere some terrorists of another banned outfit had been arrested in2014. A close watch has been kept in the coastal areas across theregion.

Meanwhile, the Australian government too has warned that terror-ists were planning attacks in India, and urged its citizens to “exercise ahigh degree of caution” while travelling through the country.

“We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacksin India and assess that attacks could occur anywhere at any timewith little or no warning, including in locations frequented by Austra-lians,” said a statement on smartraveller.gov.au, the Australiangovernment’s travel advisory site.

The advisory asked Australians to “exercise a high degree of cau-tion” in India. Australia’s department of foreign affairs and trade saidthe warning applied to all parts of India.

It pointed out that in mid-December 2014 Indian authorities increasedsecurity at Metro stations and other public spaces in New Delhi.

Australian women have been advised to take particular care in allparts of India and exercise caution even if they were travelling in agroup.

“There are several regions of India where we advise Australians toreconsider their need to travel, or avoid all travel,” said the statement.

Pak curbs on bus service to IndiaAMRITSAR: For the first time since the Pak-India Dosti bus

service was launched between New Delhi and Lahore, Pakistan hasrestricted its entry here and Nankana Sahib city, citing increased “ter-ror threats.”

The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation has said the Pak-India Dosti bus service will now on be operated only up to WagahBorder. “The PTDC has shifted the entire bus operation at its sub-office at Wagah. Passengers leaving for New Delhi and Amritsarfrom here will now have to catch the bus at Wagah.

Similarly, those arriving here from across the border by the servicewill disembark at Wagah too,” an official of PTDC told PTI.

He said the decision has been taken in the wake of growing terrorthreats. After the Taliban militants killed 150 people mostly children atan army-run school in Peshawar on December 16, the Nawaz Sharifgovernment is not taking chances with regard to security matters.

Earlier, police used to escort the buses from Wagah to Lahore’sGulberg and Nankana Sahib terminals. Similarly, the police used toprovide escort to the Dosti buses from Gulberg and Nankana Sahib toWagah.

“Although it will cause hassle for the passengers of the both sidesbut we have taken the steps for their security,” the official said, addingthe government might consider restoring the old terminals (Gulbergand Nankana Sahib) after reviewing the law and order situation.

The bus service between the two countries was started on March16, 1999 primarily to enhance people-to-people contact.

Shashi Tharoor says policepressuring aide

NEW DELHI: Infresh details emerging inthe death of SunandaPushkar, her husband andCongress MP ShashiTharoor had accusedDelhi Police of “repeat-edly physically assault-ing” and intimidating hisdomestic help into “con-fessing” that they bothmurdered her.

In a letter written toDelhi Police Commis-sioner B.S. Bassi on No-vember 12, 2014, he hadsaid that “such conduct” by one of the Delhi Police officer against hisdomestic help Narayan Singh was completely unacceptable and ille-gal. Tharoor said he and his staff had “cooperated fully” with thepolice probing the case.

“I was therefore shocked and appalled to learn that in the course ofthe 16-hour interrogation conducted by four Delhi Police officers onFriday (7/11/14) and again during the 14-hour interrogation on Satur-day (8/11/14), my domestic helper Narayan Singh was repeatedlyphysically assaulted by one of your officers.

“Worse, the officer used the traumatic physical assault to try andintimidate Narayan into ‘confessing’ that he and I murdered my wife,”Tharoor said in the letter. Tharoor also referred to his telephonic con-versation with Bassi on November 8, 2014 when he had expressed hisconcerns about the alleged police action.

“As you graciously agreed, such conduct is completely unaccept-able and illegal. It also amounts to the use of physical coercion in theattempt to frame an innocent man. I would request you to take imme-diate and appropriate action against such unlawful misconduct of theofficer concerned,” he said.

Delhi Police had on Tuesday registered a murder case intoPushkar’s death under section 302 of the IPC on the basis of an AIIMSmedical report. The report had concluded that her death was unnatu-ral and due to poisoning, but nobody has been named as a suspect asyet. The FIR was filed against unknown persons. Pushkar was founddead in a five-star hotel in the national capital on January 17, 2014.

AIIMS RESERVES COMMENTThe Department of Forensic, Medicine and Toxicology at the All

India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has in its latest viscerareport of Sunanda Pushkar submitted to the Delhi Police recently saidthat it is “reserving its comment on specific poison/chemical sincethere is a lot of limitations”.

It has, however, ended speculation about various ailments that shewas allegedly suffering from. Interpretation of the medical documentsof Ms. Pushkar, according to AIIMS doctors, has shown that she wasnot suffering from hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, and had nodisease that affected her brain, lung, liver or kidney.

“Listed among the possibility (of poison) is Polonium-210, a rareand highly radioactive isotope, which is hard to detect because all theradiation remains in the body. A lethal dose could be as little as a fewmilligrams, which could be administered as a powder or dissolved inliquid/drinks. Also heroin is very difficult to detect as it rapidly hydroly-ses,” said AIIMS report.

Tharoor and his late wife Sunanda Pushkar

A strike by millions of coal min-ers in India has entered its sec-ond day after talks with the gov-ernment failed.

The miners are striking for fivedays in protest at governmentmoves to open up the industry toprivate companies.

Reports say that 75% of India'sdaily coal production of 1.5 mil-lion tonnes had been affected bythe strike.

India is one of the largest pro-ducers of coal in the world andmore than half of its commercialenergy needs are met by coal.

The strike has been called byfive unions representing some 3.7million coal workers employedwith the state-run Coal India,which has a near monopoly overproduction.

"I can say that a nationwidestrike is on and this is the biggestone since 1977," Gurudas Das-gupta, a union leader, told the AFPnews agency after talks with thegovernment collapsed.

With a number of power plantsrunning low on coal supplies, thereare fears that a prolonged strikecould lead to widespread disrup-tion in power supplies.new BJPgovernment pledged in October toopen up the country's coal mineindustry to private players as partof reforms by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

The government has also ap-proved an ordinance allowing auc-tions of coal mines to private com-panies for their own use, as wellas allowing commercial mining inthe future.

The executive order came af-ter India's Supreme Court last yearcancelled more than 200 coal min-ing licences awarded by succes-sive governments since 1993 in acorruption scandal which has costthe country several billion dollars.

Talks with coalminers fail


Suite 127

COMMUNITY NEWSSewaFrom Page 1

“Global Healthcare Summit held annually in India across the states in partnership with the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and Medical Council of India (MCI), with the cooperation from the Ministry of Health and Overseas Indian Affairs, has come to be recognized for the many initiatives it has given birth to and the numerous joint recommendations of the standard of care for major diseases affecting the people of India,” he said.

Earlier, Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, inaugurated the Summit attended by nearly 500 delegates from around the world and India with the lighting of the traditional lamp at the Trident Hotel, Nariman Point in Mumbai on Jan. 2.

In his inaugural address, the Governor applauded the achievements and contributions of Indian American physicians in the healthcare fi eld in the United States and for their love for their motherland, which has made them come back to make a positive difference in the healthcare delivery system in India.

“You are leading luminaries, excelling in the medical fi eld, contributing to make a positive impact in the healthcare sector through your dedication, commitment, knowledge and skills,” Jagat Prakash Nadda, India’s Minister For Health, told the international delegates.

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in his address promised whole-hearted support to the initiatives of AAPI in the state of Maharashtra and help AAPI set up an Offi ce in Mumbai.

“I pledge my support for these campaigns and commit myself towards the achievement of AAPI’s worthy goals. I am here with you for these campaigns and in any other campaign you might undertake and if my face and voice can be instrumental in

propagating these efforts, I would gladly lend the same” said Amitabh Bachchan, while declaring his whole hearted support to AAPI’s initiatives in these vial areas.

Expressing confi dence in the knowledge, skills and experiences of the Indian American physicians, the Bollywood Superstar said, “I am quite certain that with your expertise and the skills that you possess we shall be able to eradicate most of what you have come here for.”

During his nearly 30 minutes long address, Nadda presented an overview of the healthcare needs of the country and suggested four areas where AAPI could collaborate with the government of India: 1. In establishing Memorandum of Understanding with international organizations, which will support healthcare in India; 2. Transferring advanced research and experiences in the medical fi eld and enhance the quality of medical education in India; 3. Organizing healthcare/medical camps in rural and economically backward regions

won the 2nd place and the 3rd place went to Devang Odedra while the consolation prize was given to Disha Sharma. Dr. Gopal Batra, who chaired the committee that chose the winners among the dozens of submissions from around the world, announced the winners and gave away the Certifi cates.

The Summit was packed with seminars, workshops and symposiums on modern research and topics. The scientifi c program of GHS 2015 is developed by leading experts with the contributions of a stellar Scientifi c Advisory Board and International Scientifi c Committee, said, Dr. Ajay Lodha, Vice President of AAPI. The Summit also helped establish India-centric guidelines for management of head injury and trauma, said, Dr. Ajeet Singhvi, Chair of BOT, AAPI.

The scientifi c program developed by leading experts with the contributions of a Scientifi c Advisory Board and International Scientifi c Committee, had for the very fi rst time, live streaming of sessions, which were viewed live by physicians from around the world.

“While these networks educate AAPI leadership and member physicians on cutting edge disease topics and cutting edge intervention, through this work during GHS 2015, AAPI was able to showcase the full heights that Asian Indian physicians have reached, elevate educational quality, stimulate the AAPI general physician members, bring further recognition to these renowned physicians, and inspire our young physicians-in-training,” Dr. Jahagirdar explained.

Dr. Seema Jain, President-Elect of AAPI, while proposing vote of thanks, stated that “AAPI is taking on the many challenging issues and will work together and do all that we can to eradicate Hepatitis and create awareness about and ways to prevent head injury and trauma.”

She urged Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and all the delegates and guests to be part of the next Global Healthcare Summit to be held in New Delhi from January 1st to 4th, 2016. For additional information on the Healthcare Summit, visit: www.aapiusa.org; www.aapighsindia.org

Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, President of AAPI, delivering welcome address at the GHS 2015 inaugural event.

AAPI’s Global Healthcare Summit being inaugurated in Mumbai by Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, by the lighting of the traditional lamp.

of the nation; and 4. Addressing hygienic and preventive measures and enhancing the healthcare delivery in India.

Ayush Gupta won the fi rst prize that carried a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 in the Research and Poster Contest. Krutika Parasar


COMMUNITY NEWS

Several thousand devotees worshipped at Sri Meenakshi Tem-ple on New Year’s day praying for a happy year ahead.

The forecasters predicted a rainy and cold day, but this did not make any impact on the spirits and minds of the devotees – they came in large numbers from far and wide, from tiny tots to the elderly in display of their faith.

It is a very rare occurrence to have Vaikunda Ekadasi falling on January 1. The Laksharchana for Lord Venkateswara was conclud-ed with the participation of hundreds of devotees, while hundreds more lined up for the Vaikunda Swarga Dwara darshan outside the temple. This is the one time every year when the “Gates to Heaven” open symbolically and devotees have the blissful experi-ence of having darshan of Maha Vishnu in his abode in heaven.

As the doors opened at, there was rapturous chanting of Gov-inda Govinda and devotees entered the Lord’s abode. It was an indescribable sight to see the Lord with His consorts Bhoo Devi and Sri Devi adorned with dazzling alankarams seated on His Ga-ruda vahana. The Indian Consul General P. Harish with his wife was among the devotees.

The deities on the Garuda Vahanam (see above) were taken in a procession around the temple to the chanting of Purusha Sooktham and various other Vedic verses. There was a non-stop stream of ardent devotees walking through Swarga Dwaaram till late in the evening.

Later at 5 p.m., Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswara most beautifully decorated were taken in a procession around the temple on a pallakku (palanquin) by hundreds of devotees. The priests tirelessly performed the archanas non-stop all day and till late evening for all the deities.

This was also the day when Sam Kannappan, a founding mem-ber of the temple was appointed as the Honorary President and Dr. S.G. Appan, a long time highly respected member, as honorary trustee for a period of four years.

The whole atmosphere was very festive. The afternoon cultural program “ Dhasavathar” was organized by Mala Gopal. It consist of songs and dances from local dance schools followed by Car-natic music concert by Mrs. Shoba Ramesh, an All India Radio artist accompanied by Charan Rajan on Miruthangam and Divya Ramachandran on the violin.

And to make this even more authentic, local Indian restaurants brought the taste of India. Chairman Dr Vaduganathan summa-rized that this day has been the most unprecedented day in the temple history with an over 7500 people visiting the temple, that too in spite of inclement weather. MTS Joint secretary Murali Ravuri, the event coordinator was ably supported by the temple Board members, several volunteers with their spouses, their chil-dren, the temple staff, priests and shilpis by putting in hundreds of hours of hard work to make this all happen. This is indeed a great beginning to the New Year!

—M.K.Sriram and Akilan Gopal

Srinivas Rao, MD

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New Year & Vaikunda Ekadasi celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple

Shoba Ramesh, an All India Radio artist, accompanied by Charan Rajan on Mruthangam and Divya Ramachandran on the violin gave a concert on New Year Day at Sri Meenakhsi Temple. The artists were felicitated by MTS chairman Dr. Vadugantahan.

COMMUNITY NEWS PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

MANVEL, TEXAS. Dec 21 to 27, 2014 was a

joyous, blissful week in Hous-ton with the Srimad Bhagavata Mahotsava and Grand Madhu-ra Utsav spiritual and cultural celebration held at Houston Namadwaar.

Organized by Global Orga-nization for Divinity and Love to Share Foundation America, the event saw over 100 devo-tees from across the USA join Houston devotees for this unique celebration – from Or-lando, Richmond-VA, Raleigh-NC, Boston, New Hampshire, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Austin, Bay Area-CA, Redding-CA and other cities.

The days were packed with kirtanam and katha shravanam with little chance to think of anything other than Bhagavan. Every day began with Prabod-hanam and Tiruppavai recital at 6 am.

This was followed by the commencement of Srimad Bhagavata parayanam (18000 slokas in 7 days) which went on until about 1pm daily. Si-multaneously, in the mornings and afternoons there was either vahanam processions or Sam-pradaya bhajan with Sri Jay-adeva Ashtapadis and kirtans of numerous other mahatmas including Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Purandara Dasa, Sri Bhadra-chala Ramadasa, Sri Sri Mu-ralidhara Swamiji and Pan-duranga bhaktas’ abhangs.

Every evening was magical, as everyone was transported to Gokula and Brindavana through the wonderful exposi-tion of Sri Krishna Leela by Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, at Sri Meenakshi Temple. This discourse series was co-spon-sored by Meenakshi Temple Society.

Sri Ramanujamji delved to great depths into many of Sri Krishna’s bala leelas, bring-ing out and explaining many enjoyable points in the stories through the commentaries of various mahatmas.

It was truly an amazing dis-course series. On a couple of days, after the discourse, the day of Krishna Jananam and Rasa Leela, women devotees danced in joy and celebration,

Namadwaar celebrates 7th annual Srimad Bhagavata Mahotsava

Sri Ramanujamji delivering a discourse.Namadwaar children perform a street play.

See opposite page


COMMUNITY NEWS

Celebrates

Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday

Swami Sarvapriyananda

Belur Math, West Bengal

Jan. 18 – 20; Jan. 22 – Jan. 28, 2015

Swami Sarvapriyananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Math. He joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1994. Since then he has served the Ramakrishna Mission in various capacities including Principal of the Sikshana Mandira Teachers' Training

College at Belur Math. At present he is an acharya at the monastic probationers training centre at Belur Math. His interests are in the fields of spirituality, Indian philosophy and education. He has given talks on these subjects in various universities and colleges, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), in

India, and also several universities in Australia and New Zealand. Swami Sarvpriyananda has been selected by Belur Math to be the Assistant Minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood

VSGH is honored to sponsor Swami Sarvapriyanandaji’s visit to the USA.

For More Information: www.houstonvedanta.org Swapna: [email protected]

VEDANTA SOCIETY OF GREATER HOUSTON 14809 Lindita Drive, Houston, TX -77083

www.houstonvedanta.org

Worship – Sunday, January 18, 2015 Sw. Sarvapriyananda

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Youth Convention – Saturday, January 24, 2015 Guest – of – Honor: Sw. Sarvapriyananda

1:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Registration required for Youth Convention: donation $25

(Partly sponsored by the Hindus of Greater Houston)

Retreats & Lectures by Sw. Sarvapriyananda

Spiritualizing Everyday Life Practical Vedanta

Who Am I? Managing Stress

Retreat: Drg, Drsya, Viveka - 4 Sessions

around Bala Krishna and Sri Radha-Krishna respectively.

The discourse series was preceded daily by cultur-al dance performances by Houston dancers including students of Smt. Sravanthi Modali (Kuchipudi), Smt. Rathna Kumar/Sri Venugo-pal Josyula (Bharatanaty-am), Smt. Supradipta Datta (Odissi), Smt. Indrani Par-thasarathy (Bharatanatyam) and Smt. Padmini Chari/Kum. Surabi Veeraragavan (Bharatanatyam). On one day, children of G.O.D.’s Gopa Kuteeram heritage pro-gram from all across the USA presented a musical play de-picting all the Cantos of Sri-mad Bhagavatam, and on an-other, Gopa Kuteeram Youth presented a “Street Play” on how they follow Bhagavata Dharma. These cultural per-formances were conducted under the auspices of Love to Share Foundation America.

Other special events dur-ing the week-long utsav at Namadwaar included cel-ebration of Nandotsavam (with children dancing around baby Krishna), Go-vinda Pattabhishekam and Anna Koototsav, Radha Kalyanam (divine wedding of the divine couple), Mad-hura Gitam quiz (quiz on the compositions of HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji), beau-tiful Jhoola Seva at night amid diya lamps and Nikun-jotsavam with an extremely melodious vocal concert themed on Krishna Bhakti by Kum. Shilpa Sadagopan. Shilpa was accompanied by Smt. Deepa Ramachandran on violin and Sri Karun Sal-vady on mridangam.

Global Organization for Divinity and Love to Share Foundation express their heartfelt gratitude to the many restaurants and gro-cery establishments who came forward to sponsor din-ner prasad for the week-long event.

Children who participated in the Srimad Bhagavatam musical play.

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PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015


REVIEW/PREVIEW

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From the writer of the critically acclaimed fi lms, Saawariya and Guzaarish comes Hawaizaada, a story of dreams and aspirations inspired by true events.

Hawaizaada is a period drama set in the heart of Mumbai in Co-lonial India – 1895 – eight years before the Wright Brothers fl ew the fi rst plane. It is about a young man’s struggle against all odds —— his singular mission and dream of becoming the fi rst man to fl y a plane. A common man at-tempting to become a legend in Indian history and serve as an ex-ample to his countrymen who are struggling under British rule.

Starring Ayushman Khurana who plays Shivi Talpade, a school drop-out, yet genius, rebellious young man who is also a roman-tic at heart.

Shiv Talpade has the love of Sitara (played by Pallavi Sharda) but not the approval of his affl uent family. Sitara is popular Lavani dancer of her time, whom Shivi falls hopelessly in love with. She becomes the reason for his fall from grace and also his eventual rise.

He is guided by his mentor, Shastri, but doesn’t have the mon-ey to experiment with scientifi c methods to reach his goals. The British do not want him to get the credit for fl ying the fi rst plane and become a hero to his people. The odds are stacked against him.

Shivi, driven by incredible grit, wills an impossible dream to come true.

The ordinary young man be-comes a hero to his friends and well wishers but in a dramatic turn of events remains an unsung hero in Indian history.

Hawaizaada is directed by Vib-

hu Puri, an FTII graduate, whose initial work was as interesting as the recent ones. His diploma fi lm titled “Chabiwali Pocket Watch” was India’s entry to the student Oscars.

From assisting on projects like The Blue Umbrella, to writing for fi lms like Saawariya and Gu-zaarish, Vibhu Puri continues to break moulds by multitasking as a lyricist, screenplay & dialogue writer, associate director and even choreographer. Hawaizaada is his fi rst directorial feature. The fi lm releases on Friday, Jan 30.

Hawaizaada — India’s aviation pioneerA Shyamgopal Varma Film

Cast: Shafi , Zoya Khan. Direction: Rakesh Srinivas A superfi cial satire on Ram Gopal Verma’s idiosyncrasies,

this fi lm is about a director Shyamgopal Varma (SGV) who churns out fi lm after fi lm, recycles the stories and when he runs out of ideas, banks on making crazy statements and sequels to get publicity. On one such outing, while making Raktaniki Raktam on faction feuds, he rubs a factionist the wrong way. Consequently he is thrown into an isolated house and left to die. He escapes with great diffi culty and decides to make a fi lm based on his days in captivity.

While this is just an insipid fulcrum, the director surrounds it with all the big and small details of SGV, obviously picked with the least effort from Ram Gopal Varma’s interviews and micro blogging sites and the way he conducts himself in public. That is the only funny and bold part of the fi lm and at the same time irritating.

The fi lm begins with the director stating that he thinks of fi lms 24x7; little does he realise that he would one day be caught in a precarious situation. While he is kidnapped, chained and locked in a house somewhere, a fl ashback shows his life as a director. There is a starlet dancing in skimpy cos-tumes and SGV in front of the monitor announces ‘cut’, only to order a layer of her costume peeled and thrown away (just to show the director’s penchant for scantily clad women).

Urmila becomes Sharmila, Rangeela turns Jangrila, Chota K Naidu is Bada K Naidu, there are wannabes from his com-munity hailing from Bheemavaram and turning to SGV with recommendation letters. The sequels are Dee, DD, DDD.

Shafi does a very good job, striking a fi ne balance between the real person and SGV without over dramatising.

Avoid this fi lm, for all you know the producer, director and RGV could probability have connived to fool the public once again.

Actor Rekha Rana will be the protagonist of a fi lm that will tell the real life story of Ameena, a 12-year-old from the Old City, who was sold to an Arab by her parents in the early 1990s. Ameena was rescued and brought home after a fl ight attendant, who saw her weeping on the plane, raised an alert.

Rekha, who is here for a pro-motional event, said she planned to meet Ameena, who lives in the Old City.

The fi lm, Yahan Ameena Bikti Hain, will be shot in Togo, Dubai, Mumbai and Hydera-bad. Rekha has won acclaim for her role in Tara: The Journey

Story of child bride Ameena

of Love and Passion, a fi lm is by Kumar Raj Productions, which is now fi lming Ameena’s story. Tara has been nominated for the Oscars 2015 in the Best Foreign Language Film category.


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LAUGH IT OFF

Sangakkara closes in onBradman’s double ton record

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkarascored his 11th Test double cen-tury to move one behind Australialegend Don Bradman's all-timerecord.

He made 203 on day two ofthe second Test against NewZealand to help his side to 356 allout, a lead of 135.

Sangakkara, 37, will quit one-day international cricket after theWorld Cup, which starts in Feb-ruary. But he said he will "seewhether there is a few moremonths of cricket in me Test-wise".

Sangakkara, who spent the firstthird of his Test career keepingwicket - claiming 178 catches and20 stumpings before giving up thegloves - also became the fastestplayer to reach 12,000 Test runson day one.

"It just depends on how every-thing pans out after this WorldCup," added the former law stu-dent.

"It's really hard to predict whatwill happen and what my thoughts

will be at the end of the World Cupabout my future."

Day two in Wellington endedwith the Kiwis 22-0 in their sec-ond innings.

Sri Lanka need to win the Testto level the two-match series af-ter an eight-wicket loss inChristchurch.

Leading double centurions in Test cricket12 - D Bradman (Australia);11 - K Sangakkara (Sri Lanka);9 - B Lara (West Indies);7 - W Hammond (England), M Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)6 - M Atapattu (Sri Lanka), V Sehwag (India), J Miandad (Paki-

stan), R Ponting (Australia), S Tendulkar (India)

Yuvraj not in Indian squad for World CupMUMBAI: Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, still recovering from a

shoulder injury, and young left-arm spinner Akshar Patel were on Tues-day included in India's 15-member squad for the cricket World Cup tobe held in Australia and New Zealand from next month. Yuvraj Singh,though has been left out.

India World Cup Squad: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Shikhar Dhawan,Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, AmbatiRayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav.

Allrounder Stuart Binny also made the cut while there was no placefor Murali Vijay and Robin Uthappa in the squad announced by BCCIsecretary Sanjay Patel after a selection committee meeting here.

The squad has five batsmen, two wicketkeeper-batsmen, threeallrounders - two left-arm spinners, one medium-pacer - four seamersand one specialist spinner. In addition to the 15 selected for the WorldCup, seamers Mohit Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni were chosen totravel to Australia for the one-day tri-series that follows the Tests.

The five-man selection panel, however, ignored Yuvraj Singh, whowas not in the list of the 30-member probables but had come intoreckoning after three back-to-back centuries in the Ranji Trophy.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled in the ongoing Test seriesagainst Australia, has also been retained in the squad for the high-profile event to be held from February 14 to March 29.

India in for hugerun chase

SYDNEY: Captain StevenSmith continued his dream run bynotching up his fourth century ofthe series as Australia piled up amammoth 572 for seven declaredto put themselves firmly in thedriver’s seat in the final Testagainst India.

The young Australian captain,who has been in stupendous form,scored 117 to record his eighthTest ton and put Australia in acommanding position with usefulcontributions from Shane Watson(81), Shaun Marsh (73) and JoeBurns (58) on yet another disap-pointing day for the visitors.

In reply, India lost openerMurali Vijay for a nought only torecover and end the second dayon 71 for one. The visitors trail by501 runs with Lokesh Rahul (31not out) and Rohit Sharma (40 notout) fighting on.

On day one, opener DavidWarner scored a century as Aus-tralia dominated India. He sharedan opening stand of 200 with ChrisRogers (95) in Australia's 348-2.

It was Warner's 12th Test cen-tury and third of the series withthe 28-year-old needing just 108balls to reach the milestone.

The opening partnership wasended when Warner was caughtin the gully by Murali Vijay off thebowling of Ravichandran Ashwin.

In the next over Rogerschopped a Mohammed Shami de-livery onto his stumps to departfive runs short of his hundred, butstand-in captain Steve Smith (82not out) and Shane Watson (61 notout) guided Australia to 348-2 atthe close.

On day two, Watson was outfor 81 and Smith went on to recordhis fourth century of the series,scoring 117. Smith and Watsonadded 196 runs for the thirdwicket.

India left out Shikhar Dhawanwho was replaced by RohitShrama, while Bhuvanesh Kumarcame in lace of Ishant Sharma.

Sports Ministry pushes Saina’sname for Padma Bhushan

NEW DELHI: Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal’s name hasbeen recommended for Padma Bhushan award, reports said on Mon-day, Jan 5.

Television reports said that the Union sports ministry made the rec-ommendation following Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s assur-ance a day earlier that he would look into the matter.

He said that the ministry had received her application only on Sat-urday, but promised to reconsider her case anyway.

Earlier, the Badminton Association of India president Akhilesh DasGupta backed Saina and maintained she deserved to be recommendedfor the country’s third highest civilian award. He claimed they hadsent the application to the ministry on August 9 and were in possessionof the acknowledgment receipt.

Sonowal said BAI’s letter had reached him only on Saturday. “ Onascertaining the facts, I have come to know that Sports Ministry hadnot received any nomination from the Badminton Association of Indiaprior to January 3, 2015,” Sonowal said on Sunday.

“A packet containing a letter, dated August 9, 2014, nominating MsSaina Nehwal for the Padma Bhushan award was received by thestaff at my residence on January 3, 2015,” he said.

Sonowal, however, had said the ministry will reconsider Saina’sapplication on Monday and see if her name can be recommended tothe home ministry for the award.

“I would also like to categorically state that Ms Saina Nehwal hasmade every Indian proud and I sincerely hope she will continue tobring laurels to Indian sports. I would like to assure everyone that myministry would examine the possibility of recommending her nameseparately,” he said.

Das Gupta said he does not want to blame anyone for overlookingSaina’s name, but would request the government to consider her forthe award. “She has waited five years for the award and in the inter-vening period she has achieved so much. She is a deserving candidateand the government should look into her case,” Das Gupta told MailToday from Singapore.

One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash hissweat-shirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, heshouted to me, "What setting do I use on the washing machine?""It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?"He yelled back, "University of Oklahoma."And they say blondes are dumb...*** A couple is lying in bed. The man says, "I am going to make you

the happiest woman in the world."The woman replies, "I'll miss you..."*** "It's just too hot to wear clothes today," Jack says as he stepped

out of the shower. “Honey, what do you think the neighbors wouldthink if I mowed the lawn like this?"

"Probably that I married you for your money," she replied.*** He said, “Shall we try swapping positions tonight?”She said “That's a good idea... you stand by the ironing boardwhile I sit on the sofa and fart.”*** Q: What do you call an intelligent, good looking, sensitive man?A: A rumor*** A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their

40th wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came tothem and said that because they had been so good that each one ofthem could have one wish.

The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband.Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger...Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!!Gotta love that fairy!*** Dear Lord,I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him; And

Patience for his moods. Because, Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll beathim to death.

AMEN

Sohail recalled in PakWorld Cup squad

Pakistan has recalled fastbowler Sohail Khan, 30, while in-cluding Mohammad Hafeez as aspecialist opening batsman in its15-man Cricket World Cup squadon Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Khan was notamong the 30-man preliminarysquad, but forced his way backinto the team after four years withhis recent form in domesticmatches. The selectors have alsoincluded legspinner Yasir Shah asbackup to Shahid Afridi, while

middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood returns after recovering froma hand injury. The team, led by Misbah-ul-Haq, includes two openingbatsmen, five middle-order batsmen, five fast bowlers, two spinners,and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. The squad:

Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed, YounisKhan, Harris Sohail, Misbah ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Maqsood,Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Ehsan Adil,Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz

RELIGION/ SPIRITUALITYINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 • PAGE 17

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Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir

By Anup Taneja

Paramhansa Yogananda in hiswork titled ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’,says that esoteric meditation --one-pointed concentration on theinner Self to the exclusion of allother thoughts -- is the highestform of human activity and is thebest method to get connected withthe Supreme Spirit.

On the one side the higherpower is pulling us towards thedomain of eternal Consciousnessand, on the other, the power ofmaya or delusion is pulling us to-wards the artificial glitter of thephysical universe.

In order to ensure that theseeker does not get bogged downin maya, Yogananda recommendsthe practice of meditation on aregular basis supplemented bythree techniques that could helpthe seeker delve deep into the in-nermost recesses of his being andexperience the supra-causal stateof consciousness.

Pray and chant before medi-tation: Before starting your medi-tation, preferably in the early hoursof the morning, pray for a fewminutes and chant the DivineName with deep feelings of de-votion. Repetition of the DivineName can be truly effective onlyif it is accompanied by spiritualfervour and intense yearning forGod-realisation.

Mere mechanical repetition andlip service to the Supreme will notyield the desired results.

Cry to the Almighty as youwould cry to your mother and,with all the love you can muster,tear at the veils of silence againand again and express your de-votional feelings with the words:“God, I cannot live without you.You are the Power behind myconsciousness. I love you. Mustyou remain hidden? Reveal your-self to me”.

If you constantly invoke Divin-ity, you are bound to achieveprogress in the spiritual sphere.

Concentrate on the Christ orKutastha Centre: Seekers oftencomplain that while in meditation,they find it extremely difficult tosubdue the turbulent mind full ofdistracting thoughts.

Yogananda suggests that by fo-cusing attention on the Christ orKutasth Centre -- the point be-tween the eyebrows -- in medita-tion, you can gradually succeed inharnessing scattered thoughts andgiving them a new, inward direc-tion. In yogic terminology, this cen-tre is called the ajna chakra, whichis the seat of the mind.

There are two petals, yoganadis, on each side of the ajnachakra and the spiritual vibrations

Paramhamsa Yogananda on meditationthat emanate from these subtle nadis correspond to Sanskrit lettersthat mean ‘Soham’ (I Am That). This is also called the Third Eye ofShiva; by concentrating on this centre, the seeker gets connected tothe constantly blazing flame, the ‘divya jyoti’, which bestows on theseeker great power of concentration.

Pranayama or breath control: Through the practice of the kriyayoga technique of pranayama the seeker endeavours to control thelife-force in the body by making pranic energy revolve upward anddownward, around the six spinal centres situated in the sushumna,namely, muladhara, swadhishthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddha andajna. This technique hastens the process of spiritual evolution, purgingthe seeker of all sorts of impurities.

This, in turn, brings about ‘interiorisation’ of consciousness that en-ables the seeker to penetrate the darkness behind the closed eyes andgain access to the endless region which is referred to by Yoganandaas ‘Darkless dark and lightless light’. In this boundless stretch of eter-nity, the Supreme Being alone abides in the form of pure, undifferen-tiated consciousness.

Thus, in the esoteric activity of meditation, says Yogananda, “youhave the solution to the mystery of knowing God”. (January 5 wasParamhansa Yogananda’s birth anniversary).

Live in the present, free of egoBy Seema Burman

A colleague went to Andaman & Nicobar on holiday with his wifeand child. Next day his wife died of a heart condition. When I phonedhim to console him, his first sentence was, ‘There is no God’, followedby, ‘It’s my fault’.

In extreme pain faith gets shaken and we take the entire burden ofblame on ourselves. I too had chosen to sleep at night when my fatherwas coughing incessantly while my mother took him to the hospitaland soon i received the devastating call saying he had left us. Yearshave passed but whenever I recall this i blame myself. I could notforgive myself. I tried immersing myself in rituals, meditation, pilgrim-ages, worship, but the only place i found answers was in the Gita.

When Krishna tells Arjuna, “All actions are done by the qualities ofnature only, He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks: 'I am thedoer'” (3.27), it comes as a big relief.

‘I am the doer’ is like confessing to a crime which can either pro-duce guilt or pride and will certainly reinforce the idea that ‘I am thebody ‘and crush us in the wheel of birth and death. Krishna wants usto see that actions and thoughts are influenced by Nature.

Nature works through three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas --which sway our actions and thoughts.

Gunas come to us due to our samskaras, consistent habits, and ifwe do not make the effort to uplift them to saatvik level they becomepart of our personality and we consider them natural.

So either we can change them by selfless action, meditation, wor-ship, positive thinking and living in the present or by completely surren-dering all actions to Krishna with love. Krishna means the SupremeSelf, the eternal Divine.

Ego of doer-ship strengthens identification with body, mind and senseswhich leads to accepting its good and bad results, too.

Identifying with body, mind and senses is ignorance as it takes awayattention from soul and brings with it ego, desires, depression, mentalweakness and ultimately our downfall.

Krishna says, ‘Renouncing all actions in Me, with the mind centredin the Self, free from hope and egoism, and from (mental) fever, doyou fight’ (3.30).

Renunciation is giving up fruits of actions, with mind immersed in-wardly in remembering the Eternal, free from hope of future and egoof past, without mental weaknesses, performing righteous actions.

One way of surrendering is by offering all actions to the Supremeby saying, ‘Sri Krishna arpanamastu,’ while another way is to let theego be proud that it now belongs to the Lord, ‘Asa abhimaan jaayenahi bhore, Mein sewak, Raghupati pati more’(Sri Ramacharitmanas).

Rama’s devotee Suteekshana admits that the ego is like a serpentwhich will raise its poisonous head so why not teach it to be proud ofbeing the Lord’s humble servant? Thus ego’s taamsik guna of pridebecomes saatvik, as positive pride. An intimate relationship of theseeker with God is built which is saatvik and will not result in bondageas desires are removed.

Wise is he, who, disconnecting himself from body, mind and sense

organs, identifying himself with Atman, sees that senses are function-ing according to gunas while the Self is action-less, and escapes theburden of karmas. Unwise is he who imagines that he is doing theaction.

In life, usually the scene is tough to handle but being instruments ofGod we have no choice but to participate in this big cosmic drama.Thankfully, free will means we can progress from taamsik to saatvik.

Feel the joy of being aliveBy Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Sadhguru, I see many people who are cynical, bitter, andfrustrated with life. They feel life has defeated them, and theyresign. How do we avoid becoming like that, especially lateron in life?

Being cynical, being depressed, and losing interest in what happensaround them – these things largely occur because they have failed atsomething. And it is very easy to fail in the current social pattern. Ifyou look at life in any economically developed country, a normal per-son cannot succeed – you must be quite insane to do so. This is notexactly the case yet in India, but we are going in that direction. Theeconomy is a process of sustenance for human beings. But today,commercial forces have created a situation where economy is themost important thing in your life.

There was a time when, suppose there was an economic slow-down in a society or a nation, everyone was advised to save, not tospend too much. But today, governments advise you to spend – get aloan and do shopping. You cannot spend what you do not have, butmost modern societies do not understand this. People have six creditcards and think they can use all of them as much as they want beforelife catches up with them. As students, they already have a quartermillion student loan. Then immediately, they must buy a car – theyhave a car loan. Then they have to get a house – 30-year mortgage. Ifyou mortgage your life for 30 years, you have no sense about life.

When human beings were hunters and gatherers, they were com-pletely free. If they made a kill on one day, the next 15 days, they atefrom it and just lived – maybe beat a drum that was made out of theskin of the animal and danced around a fire, or used their hands tocreate something else. But food was insecure then – these wild ani-mals are quick. Many times, they did not get a kill and everyone wenthungry. So people developed agriculture. In agriculture, you have todo certain things on a particular day, not two days later. Some compul-sions came with that, but it was still okay.

In India, depending upon what food grains you grew – I am nottalking about cash crops – you worked hard for 50 to 100 days in ayear, and the rest of the time was a series of festivals. Every villagehad its own festivals to which people from the surrounding villagescame. Every wedding was at least five days of celebration. Work forsustenance was only 50 to 100 days in a year. Today, once you have a30-year mortgage, it is almost 365 days. Whether you like it or not, youhave to go, and not everyone is geared up for this – they will lose theirmind after sometime.

Now, they also have to pay health insurance and grave insurance.When they are alive and healthy, people are paying in installments fortheir funeral. Why are you bothered about how your funeral will behandled? I understand and appreciate if you do not want to be a nui-sance to someone else, but what does it matter how they will bury orburn you or feed you to the dogs?

Another aspect is that you constantly have to do things like a ma-chine, not out of passion. The whole society expects you to be a ma-chine. You are not waking up in the morning because you want tomake a difference in something today – it is all about making a living.Making a living takes very little. It only becomes a problem when youwant to live like someone else. If you just want to live, it is very simple– every human being is capable of this.

Making a living only becomes complicated when you want to livelike someone else, when you want to have the things that your neigh-bor has. Today, the whole economic model on the planet is just aboutthat, and this keeps increasing the suicide rates, the numbers of cyni-cal, frustrated people, and the numbers of broken minds. That is be-cause there is no ease in life – you always have to do something. Ifyou do not go to school, if you do not go to work, something bad willhappen. And you cannot suddenly change the course of your life anddo something else. Everyone is trying to compel you to do the samethings all through your life. Affluence is not going to bring freedom topeople – it is going to tie them up in knots.


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Spurt in alerts ahead of Obama visitNEW DELHI: A flurry of intelligence alerts have been flowing

from foreign agencies to their Indian counterparts in recent weeks,according to sources in the security establishment.

The most noticeable trend in recent weeks is the sudden spurt inintelligence sharing by US agencies. Most of it has to do with a rangeof possible terror threats to India. Some officials believe that this sud-den surge in foreign inputs started after President Barack Obama'strip to India as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January26 was announced in November. Prime Minister Narendra Modi for-mally announced the invitation to Obama on November 21.

The latest US alert was about the possible hijack, or an explosionaboard an Air India flight between Delhi and Kabul. The input did notspecify when this terror act could happen. Indian security agencieswent on a high alert on Monday in the wake of it.

A few days ago, the American agencies had warned that the searoute will be used to target an Indian port, probably on the southerncoast. This would have been carried out by Pakistan-based terroristgroups or the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency.

It is not clear yet if the inputs for the Coast Guard operation inwhich a fishing boat from Pakistan went up in flames, killing fourpeople on board, in the early hours of January 1 also came from for-eign agencies. The specific alert came to the Coast Guard from theNTRO (National Technical Research Organization). There are con-flicting versions about where NTRO developed the intelligence on thePakistan trawler. The input was very sharp.

There have also been several other alerts from foreign agenciescoming to their Indian counterparts in recent weeks. A few weeksago, the American contacts cautioned their Indian counterparts thatthere would be attempt along the Jammu & Kashmir border to infil-trate terrorists to target Delhi and other cities.

HYDERABAD: Takingstrong objection to the recentmock anti-terror drill in which "ter-rorists" were made to wear skullcaps and shout pro-Islamic slo-gans organized by the Gujaratpolice, Asaduddin Owaisi, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM)chief and Member of Parliament,said that deliberate attempts werebeing made to link terrorism withIslam.

Addressing a well-attendedgathering on eve of Milad-un-Nabiat the vast grounds of party head-quarters in Darussalaam, Owaisisaid: "The Gujarat police think thatwe should be afraid of practicingour faith. Why are you linking ter-rorism with Islam? But the truthis Islam and Prophet Muhammadcame to finish off terrorism. Andas much as we are proud of ourfaith, we are proud of being In-dian. There is an investment sum-mit in Gujarat and they want toshow that there is a war on terrorin progress. But let it be clear, wehave nothing to do with terrorism."

Owaisi said that though theparty has severe political differ-ences with the Bharatiya JanataParty and Rashtriya Swayam-sevak Sangh, this does not implythat the MIM would differ withthem if the country's sovereigntyis threatened. "We will speak inone voice indeed and fight for theborders of our country. But it isnot in the interest of the countrythat Islam be vilified," Owaisi said.

Taking a dig at the ghar wapsicampaign, Owaisi said the realhomecoming was to return to thefold of Islam and invited the RSSand VHP to it. "We cannot offeryou money as we have nothing.But we promise you success inthis life and the thereafter," he said.

Buttressing his point using awidely held Islamic belief, thatevery person is born Muslim,Owaisi said, "Every person whoenters this world is Muslim. Cir-cumstances and parents mouldhim into other faiths. You (SanghParivar) are free to disagree as

Islam denounces the use of force,"he said.

Ridiculing the ghar wapsi con-version rate card of Rs 5 lakh forMuslims and Rs 2 lakh for Chris-tians Owaisi exclaimed, "Only Rs5 lakh? What a joke! ProphetMuhammad said that a breeze isblowing from India. We are Indi-ans by birth and by choice. Wewill not leave our faith even if theworld were thrown at our feet!"

Owaisi lashed out at MehdiMasroor Biswas, the Bengaluru-based Islamic State supporter, formisrepresenting Islam and de-manded that the "old man" HafizSaeed be arrested. "He has killedinnocent Muslims. He is an en-emy of the country," Owaisi said.

Owaisi says everyone is born Muslim

Asaduddin Owaisi

NEW DELHI: The Modi gov-ernment on Monday, Jan 5, saidthe rogue Pakistani fishing boat,which sank after being interceptedby the Coast Guard in the Ara-bian Sea in the early hours ofJanuary 1, had “suspected terrorlinks” and dismissed the “smug-glers at sea” theory.

“I think they were suspectedterrorists (the four persons onboard the fishing vessel) as theycommitted suicide. A normal boatcarrying drugs would have surren-dered. Why would smugglerskeep in touch with Pakistan mari-time authorities?” said defenceminister Manohar Parrikar onMonday morning.

The minister lauded the CoastGuard for doing "the right thing atthe right time" based on "clear,specific Indian intelligence" by in-tercepting the boat around 365kmfrom Porbander just within India'sexclusive economic zone in theintervening night of December 31-January 1.

The boat, which began its jour-ney from Keti Bandar nearKarachi, was kept under surveil-lance for over 12 hours and wasintercepted at a location which isnot the normal sea route taken ei-ther by fishermen or smugglers."If they were smugglers, whywould they commit suicide? Iwould categorise them as sus-pected terrorists," said Parrikar.

Parrikar, however, refused to"speculate" on the exact nature ofthe cargo on the mysterious boat,which is now resting on the sea-bed, even though his ministry hadearlier stated the vessel was car-rying explosives. "I am not specu-lating that it had explosives. Buttheir activities to my mind do notfit the description of smugglers.Circumstantial evidence points tosuspected terror links," he said.

While the dots behind the en-tire conspiracy are yet to be fullyconnected, wireless intercepts byNational Technical ResearchOrganisation (NTRO) have heldthat the intercepted Pakistani fish-ing boat, and another vessel whichcould not be traced, was in regu-lar touch with a "contact" in Paki-stan, who in turn was in commu-nication with Pakistan Army, Mari-time Security Agency and evensomeone in Thailand.

Suspected Pak terror boat blows upIt was around 8.30am on De-

cember 31, that the Coast Guardreceived the first intercept abouttwo "suspicious boats" headed to-wards Indian waters from KetiBandar near Karachi.

The Coast Guard then launcheda Dornier reconnaissance aircraft,apart from diverting patrol vesselICGS Rajratan towards the area.

However, amid the storm, backpatting and loud media congratu-latory messages, later reports hademerged that the boat may nothave posed a threat to India at all.

Doubts are also being raised onthe ministry's version of events,such as the location in which theincident is said to have taken place,the way intelligence reports aboutthe vessel were interpreted, aswell as details of the pursuit.

Writing for the Indian Ex-press, Praveen Swami claims that"Highly-placed governmentsources, said the intelligence hadno link to terrorism, and made noreference to any threat to India.Instead, the sources said, theNTRO had intercepted mobilephone traffic involving small-timesmugglers operating out of thefishing port of Keti Bandar, nearKarachi.

Swami added that theMaharashtra unit of the CoastGuard never got a message on 31December that a maritime opera-tion of this nature was under way,which was surprising, given thatthe "the state has several landingpoints and jetties that could be usedby a boat carrying explosives toIndia’s western seaboard."

On Monday, protesters sport-ing saffron scarves burnt photosof Praveen Swami, outside theIndian Express New Delhi office.

An ANI report on Mondayquoted a protester as saying, "Howcan he say something like that?He is talking like one of the peoplefrom other side of the border. Youlive in India and write against it;we are not going to tolerate that.We will teach him a lesson."

Defense Minister Parrikar

DEMAND FOR MONEYIntercepts by the NTRO showthat the crew of the suspiciousPakistani boat were negotiating

the monetary terms of themission they were to undertake.

Members of the crew wereheard talking to their ‘handlers’ inKarachi, discussing a ‘certaintransaction,’ a senior Defence of-ficial told The Hindu.

“Chaar lakh nahi, isske liye 10lakh chahiye (Not 4 lakhs, wewant 10 lakhs for this)” one crewmember was heard saying. Theagency suspects this could eitherbe a code or a demand by thecrew for ferrying the ‘illicit cargo.’

After the intercept, a secondboat was seen approaching thefirst one, which was seen ‘disem-barking some suspicious objects’and it later changed course to-wards Thailand.

The suspicious vessel, however,started moving towards Indianwaters.

Defence sources have told TheHindu that both the Western Na-val Command and the West Re-gion Command of the CoastGuard were kept in the loop bythe Coast Guard Commander.

Top security cover forNiranjan Jyoti

NEW DELHI: Union minis-ter Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, whosehate speech kicked up a politicalstorm and stalled Parliament, hasbeen given VIP security.

Jyoti, 47, who is a minister ofstate in food processing ministry,will now have 11 para-militarypersonnel guarding her round-the-clock, official sources said onTuesday, Jan 6.

Under this security categoriza-tion, the minister, who hails fromUttar Pradesh, will be providedwith a armed security cover bycommandos during her visits toher state and the New Delhi area.

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Real-time monitoring of toilet useNEW DELHI: The Indian government announced a nationwide

scheme to check whether people are using toilets as part of a cleanli-ness drive championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Since October the government has provided 503,142 new house-hold latrines. But experts say most of these end up being used asstorerooms since many people consider toilets unhygienic and preferto squat in the open, believing it cleaner to defecate far from home.

Sanitary inspectors will go door-to-door to "check and verify theuse of toilets" and upload the results with mobile phones, tablets oriPads onto a website in "real time", a government press release said.

"Earlier, the monitoring was done only about the construction oftoilets, but now the actual use of toilets will be ascertained," it said.

Modi announced the cleanliness drive in his Independence Dayspeech in August, pledging a toilet in every household by 2019.

UNICEF estimates that almost 594 million people -- or nearly 50percent of India's population -- defecate in the open, with the situationworst in dirt-poor rural areas.

Lack of toilets and other sanitation problems costs India nearly $54billion annually through illnesses such as diarrhoea and lower produc-tivity, a 2012 World Bank study found. "Sanitation is a mindset issue.(The aim is to) create demand by triggering behaviour change," thegovernment statement said.

Akal Takhat rejects re-conversionsAMRITSAR: The highest temporal authority of the Sikhs, the Akal

Takhat, has rejected the recent “re-conversion” of 128 persons backinto the faith, ordaining that the accepted procedure for such actionwas not followed. “Ghar wapsi” would not be acceptable unless theSikh tenets were followed, it has said handing out a warning againstany such attempts in the future.

The Takhat Jathdedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, said that accordingto accepted practice, before being accepting to be reconverted toSikhism, the persons should have approached the Akal Takhat for re-pentance. The five Singh Sahibs would have pronounced “tankah”(religious service) and laid down the procedure to be followed.

The Jathedar said that Dharam Jagran Manch, which is seen asfrontal organization of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, was notauthorized to undertake any kind of conversion of anybody into Sikhism.He said that in 2004, the Akal Takhat had issued an edict to the Sikhcommunity to stay away from the activities of another RSS offshoot,the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat.

The Akal Takhat was not involved or informed about the ceremonyat Baba Jeevan Singh Gurdwara of Guru ki Wadali village nearChheharta in Amritsar, the Jathedar said, and ordered a probe into theincident. The Jathedar said that Sikhism was against use of any allure-ment or coercion to effect any conversion. He said that Guru TeghBahadur had sacrificed his life to oppose the forcible conversions ofHindus into Islam under Mughal rule.

Maoist who surrendered killed in ChhatisgarhRANCHI: A heavily armed group of Maoists on Thursday killed a

former intelligence unit chief of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)who had surrendered before police in 2012.

Shivaji Korsa was working as a “Gopaniya Sainik” (secret agent)for Chhattisgarh police and was shot in his head from a close range bythe Maoists. They also slit his throat, police sources said.

He was killed near village Kottapal, a few kilometers from Bijapurdistrict headquarters where Korsa and his friends had gathered for anew year party.

Furore over ‘Muslim terror drill’

AHMEDABAD: Police in Gujarat faced widespread criticismThursday, Jan 1, after staging an anti-terrorism exercise featuring “mili-tants” dressed up as Muslims.

A video of the drill, which was broadcast on Indian media websites,shows five policemen capturing and then pinning down three men inwhite knitted skullcaps before bundling them into jeeps.

The exercise earlier this week was in preparation for a January 11-13 investment summit in Gujarat, whose speakers will include US Sec-retary of State John Kerry as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kamal Faruqui of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board termedthe mock drill “atrocious and highly condemnable.”

“It is profiling the Muslim community which is very bad. They shouldapologise, otherwise they should be taken to the court,” Faruqui toldNDTV news channel.

The former ruling Congress party called the incident an act of reli-gious intolerance by a “failed administration”.

Police initially tried to brush off the criticism, saying the skullcapswere used “to give them a different look”. But they later apologisedfor an “avoidable situation”.

“This was a mistake and should not have happened,” local policechief Pradeep Sejul told AFP, adding that an inquiry had been ordered.

Kiss against Fascism, the third edition of Kerala’s “Kiss of Love”protest against moral policing and cultural fascism, ended before itstarted at Alappuzha beach on Sunday afternoon, Jan 4, with the po-lice arresting the activists fearing law and order problems as “moral-ists” gathered in large numbers to protest against the program.

Over 1,000 police personnel headed by Inspector General M.R.Ajithkumar had been deployed in Alappuzha town and at the beach onintelligence reports about possibility of large-scale violence. Kiss ofLove protests at Kochi in November and Kozhikode last month hadended in tension and violence as “moralists” attacked kissers. Thepolice took the kissers into custody despite the permission they them-selves had given for the programme to be held for two hours starting 2pm on Sunday. Ajithkumar said the police arrested the kissers as wellas the protesting “moralists” as there was real fear that the situationcould go out of control any moment.

The Kiss against Fascism organizers, supported by about ten pro-Left outfits including the Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, had planned anopen forum to discuss moral policing, dances, songs and kissing andhugging as part of the program but none of this took place as the policeremoved the activists just after 3:00 p.m.

Only a very small number of kiss protesters had arrived at Alappuzhabeach when the police intervened. However, Kiss of Love activistsmanaged to hold kiss-and-hug protest at Kidungamparambu inAlappuzha town, some five km away, as the police kept themselvesbusy at the beach.

Police foil ‘Kiss of Love’ 3.0 protest

Brewery apologisesover Gandhi beerAn American brewery has

apologized for putting a picture ofMahatma Gandhi on its beercans, reports say.

New England BrewingCompany’s move came after apetition was filed in an Indian courtsaying that the move had "in-sulted" the leader.

The brand carrying the imageof the leader is called Gandhi-Bot,which is an India Pale Ale.

The company says on itswebsite that the beer is an "idealaid for self-purification and theseeking of truth and love".

A lawyer filed a petition in acourt in Hyderabad, India, alleg-ing that carrying Gandhi's imageon alcohol cans was "condem-nable" and punishable under In-dian laws. The company said itapologised if any sentiments hadbeen hurt. There was no indica-tion if it would withdraw the beer.

"We do apologise if the goodpeople of India find our Gandhi-Bot label offensive. Our intent isnot to offend anyone but ratherpay homage and celebrate a greatman who we respect greatly,"Matt Westfall, head brewer andpartner at the Connecticut-basedcompany said in an email to thePress Trust of India news agency.

He said he hoped the productinspired people "to learn moreabout Mahatma Gandhi and hisnon-violent methods of civil dis-obedience. So many Indian peoplehere in American love our tributeto the great man."

Westfall said Gandhi's "grand-daughter and grandson have seenthe label and have expressed theiradmiration". It was unclear towhich relatives the firm was re-ferring. "We hope that you under-stand our true intent and respectthe method and the freedom wehave to show our reverence forGandhi," the company said.

Birth rate shrinksIndia's birth rate declined dra-

matically in the last two decadesdue in part to rising female literacy,a new study shows, but expertswarned against complacency.

The Total Fertility Rate -- thenumber of children the averagewoman will have in her lifetimebased on current trends -- fell tojust 2.3 last year from 3.6 in 1991,according to official figures re-leased on Monday. Improve-ments in female literacy werehaving "a direct impact on fertil-ity", said the report called theSample Registration Survey.


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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka'smain opposition presidential can-didate narrowly escaped a ston-ing by suspected pro-governmentactivists at a rally Friday, Jan 2,but at least 20 of his supporterswere seriously injured in the at-tack days ahead of the vote.

In another attack on Saturday,gunmen opened fire at MaithripalaSirisena’s rally in his home con-stituency of Polonnaruwa district,his office said. It marked an es-calation of violence ahead of nextweek's crucial presidential elec-tions, party officials and policesaid.

Unidentified attackers firedfrom a jeep as Sirisena was leav-ing the meeting.

On Friday, rocks and stoneswere hurled into the crowd ofsome 20,000 people during aspeech by Sirisena. Mobile phonefootage of the rally shared on so-cial media showed people tryingto cover their heads and duckstones thrown from a nearby multi-story building. Several victimswere seen in blood-splatteredclothing and being helped into ve-hicles to be taken to hospital.

The assault came as the Euro-pean Union urged Sri Lankan au-thorities to ensure a peaceful cam-paign and a fair election, whilemonitors warned of an escalation

Sirisena escapes unhurt in attack on rallyof violence.

Sirisena said attackerstargeted him as he ad-dressed a rally atPelmadulla, 120 kmsouth-east of the capitalColombo. "This attackdemonstrates thepresidency's democracy,good governance andhow he protects electionlaws," Sirisena told re-porters.

He blamed pro-gov-ernment elements for unleashingthe attack.

Sirisena said he was whiskedaway to safety by his bodyguards,but at least 20 people were injuredin the incident.

It was not immediately clearhow many were involved in theattack, but police said an investi-gation was underway and arrestswere yet to be made.

The attack came hours after SriLanka's External Affairs ministrywarned the European Union notto be "prescriptive" about nextweek's elections after Colombo-based ambassadors urged the gov-ernment to ensure a peaceful poll.

The ministry was responding toa statement issued earlier Fridayby ambassadors that Sri Lankansshould be "free to choose theirleaders without violence or fear".

"Domestic elections are not forforeign government representa-tives to be prescriptive about, thattoo, a few days ahead of the polls,"the ministry said in a terse state-ment. It accused the diplomats ofcommenting "on an issue of astrictly domestic nature" andadded that Sri Lanka was capableof holding free and fair elections.

Almost all recent electionshave been marred by allegationsof voter intimidation, abuse of stateresources and other electoral mal-

Maithripala Sirisena

practice.The EU statement came a day

after Sirisena told foreign envoysthat he feared the governmentmay deploy troops to block minor-ity Tamils voting againstRajapakse, who came to powerin 2005 and is South Asia's long-est-ruling leader.

Rajapakse is despised by manyTamils after overseeing the crush-ing end to a 37-year separatist re-bellion in 2009 which sparked ac-cusations of rights abuses.

Sirisena left the Rajapakse ad-ministration in November to be-come the main opposition candi-date at the January 8 vote.

He has been endorsed by theTamils' largest political party,which accuses the incumbent offailing to pursue reconciliation inthe wake of the conflict againstthe Tamil Tiger rebels which leftsome 100,000 dead.

Sirisena also has the support ofMuslims, the second-largest reli-gious majority in the country, andrepresents a serious threat toRajapakse, who called the elec-tion two years ahead of schedule.

This week, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the Sri Lankan gov-ernment to ensure the electionsare peaceful and that minorities,including Tamils and Muslims, areable to vote without fear.

The ruling party's vote sank 21points at a local election in Sep-tember, suggesting that thepresident's own popularity may bewaning five years after he wascredited with ending the long andbloody separatist war.

Canberra watchingAustralian officials are carefully

watching Sri Lanka's surprisinglyclose presidential election, uneasyabout how a change of govern-ment might affect joint action tostop asylum seekers' boats.

But human rights advocateshave urged the Abbott govern-ment to cease its "unquestioning"support for President Rajapaksaand push for an international probeinto claims of war crimes duringthe country's civil war.

Australia has forged close tieswith the Rajapaksa governmentsince 2009, when hundreds of eth-nic Tamils fled Sri Lanka by boat,amid estimates the fighting killedas many as 40,000 people. TheAbbott government and its Laborpredecessor have both praised SriLanka for its cooperation in stop-ping people smugglers, increasingties between immigration officialsand police and donating the coun-try navy vessels.

Australia also sided with SriLanka in March against setting upa United Nations inquiry into alle-gations of war crimes in the lastmonths of the civil war.

Phil Lynch from the Geneva-based International Service forHuman Rights said Australia hadtaken a "misguided approach to'stopping the boats', which actu-ally involved close cooperationwith alleged war criminals". Hesaid whatever the composition ofthe next Sri Lankan government,Australia should be guided by acommitment to human rights andthe rule of law.

Bangladesh picks 15-member squadDHAKA: Bangladesh named a 15-member squad for this year's

cricket World Cup Sunday, leaving out experienced left-arm spinnerAbdur Razzak.

Pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza missed the last World Cupdue to injury but this time will lead the side. All-rounder Shakib AlHasan will act as his deputy. Just five players — Tamim Iqbal,Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah and Rubel Hossain— have survived from the 2011 World Cup squad.

Bangladesh has been drawn in Pool A, along with Afghanistan, hostsAustralia and New Zealand, England, Scotland and Sri Lanka.

It will open its tournament against Afghanistan on Feb. 18 atCanberra. The squad:

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan (Vice Captain),Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Mominul Hoque, Mushfiqur Rahim,Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Soumya Sarkar, RubelHossain, Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Arafat Sunny.

Khaleda Zia defiant despite siege

DHAKA: Bangladesh's besieged opposition leader accused PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina Monday, Jan 5, of trying to cling on to powerby force, as police clamped down on protests on the first anniversaryof Hasina's re-election.

Riot police are confining Khaleda Zia, firebrand leader of the mainopposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, to her office to stop her lead-ing rallies in protest at alleged vote-rigging a year ago.

"Not only am I prisoner, but the whole of the country is being heldcaptive. What kind of country are we living in?" said Zia.

At least four people were killed in clashes between followers ofZia's BNP, police and the ruling Awami League, highlighting the pre-vailing instability in a country that has seen around a dozen coups in itsshort history.

The siege intensified on Monday as security forces parked a con-voy of trucks laden with sand and bricks outside the office compound.They then padlocked the gates to prevent Zia from leading protestsdesigned to force fresh elections.

When dozens of her supporters tried to break the siege, riot policefired pepper spray at them. Television footage showed BNP memberswiping away tears after they tried to prise open the compound gates.

Zia could be seen sitting in her car, with the engine revving. Shelater spoke to journalists who managed to sneak over the wall.

"This government is illegal because it was not elected by the people.They sprayed pepper at us. It is not a normal situation. Is the countryfacing a war?" said the two-time former prime minister, calling thegovernment "illegal" and urging people to join protests.

"The protests will continue... No dictator can cling onto power likethis," she added despite her apparent failure to break the blockade ofthe compound in Dhaka's upmarket Ghulshan district.

Zia's confinement evoked memories of voting day on January 5,2014, when she was prevented by riot police from leaving the com-pound. The BNP was one of 20 opposition parties which boycottedlast year's election, claiming that the outcome would be rigged.

Hasina, in power since 2009, had refused to step down before theelection so the poll could be organized by a neutral caretaker adminis-tration.

The boycott meant most members in the 300-seat parliament werereturned unopposed, handing Hasina another five years in power.

Voting was overshadowed by firebomb attacks on polling boothsand clashes which left around 25 people dead.

Twelve months on, there were similar scenes in cities and townsaround the country.

Police in the northern district of Rajshahi fired live rounds at hun-dreds of protesters after they attacked them with firearms, petrol bombsand rocks, said local police chief Alamgir Kabir.

"One person was killed in the firing," he told AFP.In Dhaka hundreds of pro-opposition lawyers joined the protests at

the sprawling complex which houses the supreme court, where theywaved black flags to signal the death of democracy. Clashes alsoerupted at the national press club where the BNP's deputy leaderspoke at a rally.

The election day violence last year was the culmination of the bloodiestyear of political unrest in Bangladesh's short history, with tensions alsoheightened by the death sentences passed on leading Islamists overtheir role in the 1971 independence war from Pakistan.

More than 500 people were killed in political violence in 2013.

Khaleda Zia talks to reporters outside her house

PAKISTANINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 • PAGE 21

Taseer’s memorial vigil attackedISLAMABAD: Security

agencies have warned the govern-ment due to his links with knownmilitant groups and his anti-govern-ment rhetoric that the resurgenceof Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Azizposes a security threat to the lawand order situation in the capital.

They also stressed the need fora check on the growing numberof madressahs in Rawalpindi andIslamabad who also have overt andcovert links with militant groups.

A report entitled ‘Activities ofMaulana Abdul Aziz’, forwardedto the interior ministry by thecountry’s primary intelligenceagency, says that the “Lal Masjidmafia” has links with militantgroups and land grabbers and iscurrently reorganising the GhaziForce militant group spawned byhis own followers after the LalMasjid operation.

“Activities of Maulana AbdulAziz and Lal Masjid administra-tion, if not checked / contained cansubsequently create [a] seriouslaw and order situation in [the] twincities,” the report said.

The report, a copy of which isavailable with Dawn, highlights thelinks between the Taliban and theLal Masjid cleric, stressing theimportance of the Taliban choos-ing Maulana Abdul Aziz as a rep-resentative on the committeeformed to negotiate with the gov-ernment on their behalf.

The report names “notoriousland grabber” Taji Khokhar assomeone who has been arrangingland for the construction of semi-naries, funded by the Lal Masjidadministration, and also assiststhem with their court cases. Thereport also names property tycoonMalik Riaz and former MNA ShahAbdul Aziz of Karak as the con-troversial cleric’s “sympathizers”.

The report says that Riaz is “fi-nancially supporting the [seminar-ies] of Maulana Abdul Aziz forpayment of utility bills and sup-ported the cleric in building amosque in Bahria Town that hasbeen renamed Jami Hafsa.

The former MNA Shah Abdul

Aziz was arrested in 2009 for al-legedly helping a Taliban militantescape from Islamabad. The manwas said to be hiding in MaulanaAbdul Aziz’s G-6 residence.

The report points out that asmall all-girls seminary – theJamia Syeda Summaya in SectorG-7/3 – is managed by the LalMasjid administration and has al-ready been renamed JamiaHafsa. “They are reportedlyplanning to grab Al-Falah Mosque,located adjacent to this seminary,as the management of Al-FalahMosque has resisted and filed acase against them in court.”Maulana Abdul Aziz is currentlyresiding in the same Jamia Hafsa.

Similarly, the report refers tothe construction of another JamiaHafsa branch in the Mal Pur vil-lage, against the wishes of localresidents.

Residents of Mal Pur hadlodged a complaint with theIslamabad deputy commissioner,signed by 181 locals, saying thatthe Lal Masjid management weretrying to disrupt the peaceful at-mosphere of their village.

The complaint by the localssaid, “First, they tried to grabJamia Masjid Quba Ghausia,[but] as a result the mosque wassealed by the administration.”

“Barelvis and Shias have beenliving here in peace for centuries,but the first thing they did was tocreate differences among ourcommunities with the help of out-siders,” said Sibtul Hassan

Bukhari, a local political activist.“What can we do except file com-plaints with the authorities,” heasked, rhetorically.

On the other hand, the authori-ties seem to prefer sticking to theirtraditional blame game, instead ofacting as the situation demands.ICT administration officials toldDawn that the issues such as theillegal expansion of madressahs ormosques in G-7 and other sectorsis the purview of the Capital De-velopment Authority (CDA).

A CDA spokesperson toldDawn that all encroachments arecleared with the help of ICT ad-ministration and police.

Meanwhile, a former commis-sioner of Islamabad said that thesituation has changed and the LalMasjid cleric no longer enjoyedpublic sympathy.

On Friday, Jan 2, MaulanaAbdul Aziz returned to lead theFriday congregation at the LalMasjid and delivered a sermondemanding implementation ofSharia in the country.

With a heavy contingent of po-lice and rangers personnel postedoutside, Abdul Aziz presented acharter of demands, calling for theimplementation of Sharia law inthe country, the establishment ofa strong committee of senior cler-ics to ‘Islamise’ existing laws ofcountry and abolishing of tradi-tions which were un-Islamic.

Concern raised over activities of Maulana Aziz

Terror boat charge‘preposterous’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan onTuesday strongly rejected Indianallegations of the so-called “ter-ror boat” and termed reports al-leging that the Pakistani boat wason a terror mission "baseless andpreposterous".

"Pakistan is opposed to terror-ism in all forms and manifestationand has been the biggest victimof terrorism," Foreign Office (FO)spokesperson Tasneem Aslamsaid in a statement. "The peopleand government of Pakistan aredetermined to eradicate this men-ace from our territory.”

A suspected Pakistani boatclaimed by India to be on a terrormission exploded in the ArabianSea on New Year’s eve after achase. Aslam said Indan allega-tions of the ‘citing’ of Punjabi/Urdu-speaking terrorists in Af-ghanistan as "baseless and mali-cious".

Imran Khan to confirm marriage soonLONDON: Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Khan on Tuesday con-

gratulated via Twitter the PTI leader on, "this new phase of his life,"alluding to his reported marriage to broadcast journalist Reham Khan.

Imran Khan and Jemima had tied the knot in 1995 and stayed to-gether for nine years, during which they had two sons together.

The marriage was described as ‘tough’, ending in a divorce afternine years in June 2004 as Jemima was allegedly unable to adapt toPakistani culture.

Earlier today, the former cricketer hinted that an official announce-ment is in the offing.

Speculations about Imran Khan’s alleged marriage to Reham Khanhave been widely reported in recent days.

Reham Khan is a British Pakistani journalist who started her careerin the BBC as a weather forecaster. Later she worked for the net-work as a broadcast journalist.

She joined Pakistani news channel News One in 2013 and is cur-rently working as an anchor at DawnNews.

In another development, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) dissidenthas announced that she is launching her own party to make a ‘new’Pakistan. Hina Manzoor, former Punjab north secretary general andPTI candidate for NA-54 in the 2013 elections, claimed that manyother dissidents would be joining her party, Front National.

Manzoor resigned from the post after Imran Khan suspended 10office-bearers from Punjab north and Rawalpindi district for beatinghis nephew Ahmed Niazi during the sit-in outside Parliament House inNovember.

She said corrupt politicians had also joined the PTI and detracted itfrom its ideology.

LAHORE: Unidentified miscreants attacked a candlelight vigilorganised to mark death anniversary of former Punjab governor SalmanTaseer who was murdered by his own security guard Mumtaz Qadrifor demanding reforms in Pakistan’s blasphemy laws in 2011.

The attack was carried out when members of civil society gath-ered at Liberty Chowk to light candles in the slain politician’s memory.

Qadri, who was Taseer's bodyguard, shot him dead on January 4,2011 at Kohsar Market in Islamabad over the politician's call for blas-phemy laws to be reformed.

An anti-terrorism court had awarded death penalty to Mumtaz Qadriin October the same year.

Qadri was feted as a hero by a wide section of the public, includinglawyers, and was even showered with rose petals as he arrived atcourt for a trial hearing.

The baton wielding miscreants tore apart banners and posters asthey attacked members of civil society. Several people were injured inthe sudden attack. The attackers, however, managed to flee beforepolice arrived at the scene.

Civil society activists said that a candlelight vigil has been organisedin Taseer’s memory for the last four year, but this was the first time itwas attacked. DCO Captain (retd) Mohammad Usman has orderedswift arrest of the culprits behind the attack. Other police officials toldthe media later that the eye witness accounts have been recorded andvowed that the culprits would soon be brought to justice.

KP offers Rs 10mln bounty for Mullah FazlullahISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Mon-

day announced a bounty worth Rs10 million rupees ($100,000) forinformation leading to the arrest or death of the Tehreek-i-TalibanPakistan (TTP) chief, Mullah Fazlullah, officials said.

“The provincial government has set a bounty of Rs10 million forany information/help that can lead to the arrest or killing of TTP chiefMullah Fazlullah,” a senior official in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gov-ernment told AFP, requesting anonymity.

He said that the KP government had prepared a list of 615 highprofile militants and was offering a combined bounty of Rs760 million($7.5 million). The official said the list also includes Mangal Bagh,chief of Lashkar-i-Islam, a Taliban-linked militant group operating inthe Khyber tribal district.

Mushtaq Ghani, the provincial information minister confirmed thebounty offer.

Maulana Aziz

Parliament okays military courts setupISLAMABAD: Parliament on Tuesday adopted the 21st Consti-

tutional Amendment Bill and the The Pakistan Army (Amendment)Bill, 2015 unopposed after 247 Members of National Assembly alongwith the Senate voted in favour of the laws aimed to set up constitu-tionally protected military courts to try civilian terrorism suspects.

Members of the National Assembly belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami(JI) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) abstained from voting.

Speaking in the Senate, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke as towhy it was necessary to pass the amendment bill.

"This bill is about military courts trying hardcore terrorists who killPakistanis...this is an important day for Pakistan when the nation de-cided that terrorists will be taken out from the roots," he said.


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