India Herald

India HeraldWeb: www.india-herald.com • Email: [email protected] • Tel: 281-980-6746

VOL . 20 NO. 11 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 • P.O. BOX 623 • SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017-699 25 Cents

713-789-GOLD (4653)6655 Harwin Dr Ste A101 Houston, TX 77036

Come see our large collection of gold, diamond, ruby,pearl and emerald jewelry in latest, attractive designs.

All of this in our new spacious showroom

Kirti Jewelers &K.V. DiamondsRONNIE PATEL, MBA, CPA, LUTCF CFPTM

INSURANCE AGENCY5901 Hillcroft Ste D4 • Houston, TX 7703616126 SW Frwy Ste 120 • Sugar Land, TX 77479

AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS • HEALTH

Tel: 281-752-8000Fax: 281-752-8008

ABLE MORTGAGE

Offi ce: 281-242-8500, Cell: 281-733-4242

IN TEXASWe will pay your closing

costs Up to 3% of your New Home Price With combined

Real Estateand Mortgage Services

NATIONAL REALTY281-242-4005

TX Real Estate Lic. #397210

REFINANCE, PURCHASE & CASH OUTOver $400 Million Mortgage FinancedA low cost broker – Since 2001TX, NY, NJ, CA, CO & FL - call for State License updatesCalifornia Finance Lenders Law Lic. #603J747Email: [email protected] Mortgage Company ID: 264912MLO James Joseph Oolut – NMLS ID: 307384Web: www.ablemortgage.co

Pre-approve your mortgage in minutes over phone or email13401 S. W. Freeway #201, Sugar Land, TX 77478

Need Mortgage Loan Offi -cers in all licensed states - No experience needed - Attractive compensation.

5901 Hillcroft Ste. D4, Houston, TX 77036

IAA opens season with

Zakir HussainIndo-American Association

(IAA) opens its 2014 season with a magnifi cent concert, Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion, on Tuesday, March 18. For tickets visit www.iaahouston.com or call 281-648-0422. See Page 6.

Sophia Hoffman, 11, right, and Kush Sharma, 13, faced each other for another round of spelling madness Saturday at the Kansas City Central Library after the Jackson County Spelling Bee judges ran out of words (to ask) for the pair on Feb. 22. Story on Page 7.

A family performs Ksirabhiseka (showering with milk) to the Utsava Linga of Lord Siva on the occasion of Mahasivaratri on Feb. 27 at Saumyakasi Sivalaya at Chinmaya Mission Houston. All the devotees had an opportunity to offer abhisekam with milk to the Utsava Linga. Story on 4.

Divena Donthi explains her exhibit “Lord Ram’s sweet 16 qualities” at the India exhibit presentation competition, during the third annual Vedic Fair organized by Ashirwad — A Blessing at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy on March 1. Divena was the winner in the 10 and above category and Anika Ravishankar was the runner-up. Story on Page 10.

Ashirwad’s Vedic Fair“Chai Pe Charcha,” chatting over a cup of tea, is not a storm

in a tea cup, but it is causing a political storm all over India and abroad.

A former tea vendor, now Gujarat chief minister and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has turned the conventional campaign style upside down by hosting several tea parties using satellites, internet and smart phones.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, Modi from Delhi answered questions on empowerment of women, from women in 1,500 locations across 300 cities in India and in 15 overseas locations, including one in Washington D.C. Houston has been chosen as the venue for the next Chai session on March 20.

That Modi would reach an estimated 20 million people during this campaign in tea stall setting using the latest communication technology may become a Guinness book record for political campaign strategy. The subliminal message could be that even a tea vendor can become the prime minister.

Interestingly, the “NaMo” (Narendra Modi) campaign fever in the U.S., relying on the digital technology, originated in Houston, with the establishment of Global Indians for Bharat Vikas (http://www.gibv.org/) and its “Reference Calling” project, where expatriate Indian volunteers from the U.S. would call potential voters in India and campaign for Modi.

The key fi gure spearheading the Namo campaign and, a prime source of inspiration for Mission 2014, making Modi India’s next PM, is noted entrepreneur and philanthropist Ramesh Bhutada of Houston. In a personal interview with Seshadri Kumar, Bhutada explains why he chose to take active interest in Indian politics now and how and why should people of Indian origin living in the U.S. should care bout Indian elections. See Page 12.

Chai chat to transform Indian politics

• INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

Chaitri Navaratri - Ashtami Pooja & Havan of Mataji Shree Durga

& Bahucharaji

Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston Inc. 6640 Harwin Dr, Houston, TX 77036

A Hearty Invitation to all Hindu Devotees on the occasion of the celebration of Chaitri Navaratri Mataji’s Pooja & Havan

Sanatan Shiv Shakthi Mandir is located at 6640 Harwin Dr. Please Note we do not have any other Temple at 5645 Hillcroft Ste: 701

Monday, April 7, 2014Pooja Starts at 1.00 PM. Havan Starts at 4.00 PM, Purnahuti at 5.30 PM (Nariyel O ering) Arti at 7.00 PM** Garba from 8 to 10 p.m. Mahaprasad will be served after Aarti

Devotees willing to sit in Havan & Pooja may give their names to our

Priest Shri Hardik RavalTel: 361-243-6539 or 713-278-9099

Kirti Jewelers & K.V. DiamondsExquisite Gold and Diamond Jewelry for all festive occasions

The largest and most pleasing selection of gold and diamond necklaces, rings, bangles, ear rings, bracelets and much, much more.

Pamper yourself with the most well-crafted, traditional, modern or fashion jewelry in eye-catching designs... A truly charmed collection that will enhance your personality!6655 Harwin Drive Ste A101 • Houston, TX 77036

Tel: 713-789-GOLD (4653)

Buy with confi dence. Check out our superb collection of fi ne jewelry.

Custom-made diamond engagement and wedding rings

Your Designs! Our Workmanship!!

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 • PAGE 3

We provide Turn-key Services including: • Payroll • Accounts Payable • Accounts Receivable • Inventory • Job Costing • Financial Planning • Tax Preparation & Planning • Loan Packages • Traditional Bookkeeping

Succeed In Your BusinessGet rid of your staffi ng problems and spend more time on sales.

Good Numbers = Good DecisionsImplement The “Three D” Principle

Delegate • Dirty • Details

3300 S Gessner Ste 249 • Houston, TX 77063 713-785-3900

Comprehensive Paperless Bookkeeping. How It Works:

BEL

TWAY

8

WESTHEIMER

MEADOWGLEN

RICHMOND

S. G

ESSN

ER

Visit us at www.comprehensivepaperless.com or call:

Atul B. KothariMS, MBA, CPA, CFP

Rimple Mashruwala, CPA

GetOrganized

Now

Just dump your paper on to the fax or scanner

It all lands on our secure servers

We HAND read every single page, then name it, code it,

index and store the page.

A system to assign tasks and track

work fl ow


India HeraldIndia Herald (USPS 017-699) is published every Wednesday (for a

subscription rate of $25 per year) by India Herald Inc, 13643 La Concha Lane,Houston TX 77083-3438. Tel: 281-980-6746. Periodical postage paid at Houston,Texas and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toIndia Herald, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487.India Herald welcomes articles, letters for publication. Website: www.india-

herald.com Email: [email protected]: Seshadri Kumar. Executive Editor: Rajeev V. Gadgil.c India Herald. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any

material herein, without permission, is prohibited. India Herald assumes noliability resulting from action taken based on the information included herein.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

THE LIGHTER SIDE

VOICES

The T

imes

of I

ndia

By Rahul Pandita

It has been a common sight inKashmir Valley since the ’90s:thousands of people accompany-ing the body of a terrorist killed inan encounter with securityforces. Women wail and beat theirchests, men shout pro-freedomslogans. Candy and coins arethrown over the bier. Many suchdead terrorists happen to be for-eigners, especially Pakistani na-tionals. In the last few years,though, the number of mournershas dwindled. Instead of thou-sands, the crowd now runs intohundreds.

Thousands or hundreds, whatthe rest of India sees in the mediais grieving over the body of an in-truder. This is what an old man inMeerut, whose son might be in theArmy and involved in counter-in-surgency operations in Kashmir,sees on his TV screen. That is theimpression he has of Kashmir.What he won’t see, as a journal-ist friend from Kashmir says, isthe number of people in villagesand towns across Kashmir whosilently pass on information aboutterrorist movement in their area,enabling security forces to elimi-nate them. Those details will re-main buried in some file in an armygarrison somewhere.

For an average Indian, aKashmiri was the quintessentialshawl seller who would come vis-iting their colony in winters. “Thisis pure Pashmina,” he would tellthem. Sometimes it wouldn’t turnout to be so. They would thencurse him and call him a swindler.But that was all right. The aver-age Indian was used to gettingswindled by many others. Feelingswindled is a national sentiment,and the ability to swindle our na-tional pride. In this we were al-ways one — from Kashmir toKanyakumari. When a couplefrom Indore went to Kashmir fortheir honeymoon, they wouldsometimes feel perturbed when apony handler in Gulmarg askedthem whether they were from“Hindustan.”

So how does a “Hindustani”reconcile with the news of a bunchof Kashmiri boys studying in aninstitute named after SwamiVivekananda, cheering on thePakistani cricket team during anIndia-Pakistan match and thenshouting pro-Pakistan slogans?

Someone in the Uttar Pradeshpolice went overboard to the ex-tent of booking the boys oncharges of sedition — especiallywhen, in neighboring Muzaffar-nagar, rapists and arsonists namedby their victims are roaming free.

But how would an institute thatadmitted about 150 Kashmiri stu-dents have acted differently thansuspending students whosesloganeering led to violence?

According to the privateuniversity’s vice-chancellor,Manzoor Ahmed, there wasstrong resentment against theKashmiri students who shouted“anti-national and pro-Pakistanslogans.”

Should he have waited for thesituation to become worse whichin turn might have resulted in more

serious violence, evendeath?

We cannot takecricket rivalry seri-ously given that Indiaand Pakistan have farmore crucial issues totackle. After theMeerut incident, manyhave said that cheer-ing a particular cricketteam or a player play-ing against one’s coun-try is no big deal. Theyare right. It is not. It isall right, during an In-dia-England match, tocheer for Alistair

Kashmiris should learn to live in “Hindustan”

Cook, for example. But to then go on and shout “Hail Queen Victoria!”— well, that would be outright silly, or depending on who you performthis stunt in front of, outrageous.

It is also true that in matters like these, India or Indians should act ina more mature manner. After all, like a friend commented on twitter,Britain ignores its nationals of Indian or Pakistani origin when theycheer for their country of origin during a cricket match.

That is how developed nations are supposed to behave. But imag-ine during the 2011 Cricket World Cup, in which Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien smashed a century just off 50 balls to lead his country to aspectacular victory against England, someone getting up next to aBriton from Bishopgate and shouting: “Long live Gerry Adams!”

This is one lesson Kashmiris ought to learn quickly. Their angeragainst the Indian state is legitimate. But shouting pro-Pakistan slo-gans in Meerut is not going to alter New Delhi’s Kashmir policy in anyway. The best chance Kashmiris have for redressing their grievancesis to take along the ‘aam aadmi’ in the rest of India. The old man inMeerut should rather know the humiliation of sitting on one’s haunchesthe whole day during an Army crackdown. He should know howpassports are being denied to young men and women because in the’70s, their grandfathers believed in a particular ideology. He shouldknow what it is to be caught in the middle of a stone-pelting episodeand getting hit in the eye by a pellet.

Kashmiris should not give a chance to rogue elements in Indiansecurity agencies to justify false implication of scores of innocentKashmiri youth in cases of terrorism. But sadly, that is exactly whatwill happen in the wake of paranoia created after incidents such as theone in Meerut. The ripples of Meerut are already being felt in otherparts. More Kashmiris are going to find it difficult to find landlordswilling to take them as tenants. There will be companies reluctant tohire them; there will be institutes reluctant to grant them admission.

India ought to create a lot more opportunities for young Kashmiristo make them stakeholders in her success. But young Kashmiris mustalso come forward and participate in the Indian story. Many Kashmirishave. One just needs to look around. But there is still a vast enablingspace available for many more.

The rise of Islamist extremism in Kashmir was followed by the riseof the militant right in India. In the early ’90s, when L.K. Advanidecided to march to Srinagar to unfurl the Indian national flag, thestudent wing of his party created a slogan: “Doodh maangoge to kheerdenge, Kashmir maangoge to cheer denge” (Ask for milk, we’ll giveyou milk pudding; ask for Kashmir, we will rip you apart). That sloganturned into an overarching sentiment for the average Indian; it be-came the whole essence of patriotism.

That idea still holds. That is why even a radical political party likethe Aam Aadmi Party tends to tread cautiously on matters relating toKashmir.

It would augur well for Kashmiris if they start asking not for milkbut a share of their milk pudding. Maybe when they do, there will beno need to demand Kashmir. — The Hindu

A protest against the expulsion of the studentsfrom the Swami Vivekanand Subharti University.

2014 Elections and Social MediaThis Lok Sabha election has been pitched as the first in which

social media will make a significant difference, with studies sayingthat social media interventions could potentially tip results in severalurban constituencies. While much of this is hype, it is also undeniablethat ideas expressed on Facebook and Twitter can ripple outwards togreater effect.

The use of these digital tools is only likely to increase and evolve.While the BJP and AAP have been early adopters, most parties havenow actively embraced the possibilities of the medium to put out infor-mation, showcase leaders, puncture damaging claims, shape the dis-course and get out the vote. Even the CPM has an active Twitterpresence, and Mamata Banerjee has ordered her party’s leaders toengage in daily social media interactions.

The Election Commission now worries that a surreptitious shadowbattle is being fought online, as parties throw big money at click farmsand online volunteers, moulding public opinion without disclosing theiragendas. In other words, there is a lot of political information out there,with nothing in the fine print informing you about the motives or inter-ests of those putting it out. Parties and their PR agencies manipulatesocial media, and their needs align perfectly with the incentives ofplatforms like YouTube and Facebook that seek shared content anduser interaction.

The EC’s concern is understandable. Just as it regulates politicaladvertising in traditional media, like print, radio and TV, to ensure alevel field for all parties, it wants to extend its oversight to the onlinesphere. But this is an uphill challenge, and one that the commissionshould be cautious of venturing into. In the US, the Federal ElectionCommission continues to treat social media as a separate realm, onlyregulating online ads and messages that appear on the sites of politicalorganizations. This is a matter of practicality rather than principle.While those who attempt to buy advertising on Facebook, Twitter etc,should be asked to disclose their activity, these rules are not easy toapply to a personal blog, for example. What’s more, it is difficult to tellthe difference between a paid campaign and the activism of an ardentsupporter without serious costs in privacy terms.

The EC has indicated that it will consult the ministry of communica-tions and IT to figure out ways to identify hired campaigners, but itshould be wary of inhibiting political expression and persuasion, whichis a citizen’s democratic right. — Indian Express

Family Feuds May Play SpoilerWhen Raj and Uddhav met at Bal Thackeray's funeral, it raised

expectations that these warring cousins would bury the hatchet aheadof Lok Sabha elections. Narendra Modi and Nitish Gadkari madeconcerted efforts to engineer this rapprochement. But Uddhav wasn'tbiting BJP making happy with his cousin. So while BJP has indeedpersuaded MNS to support Modi's prime ministership and largely avoidfielding candidates against BJP, Raj will still be going head to headwith Shiv Sena. This feud fed a resounding defeat for BJP inMaharashtra in 2009, and it may again play spoiler in some importantseats.

This is just one example of how family feuds will play a key role inshaping the new Lok Sabha. Of course India's electoral landscapefrom north to south, east to west shows that dynastic politics onceepitomised by Congress has taken bloom in many parties. But man-agement of dynasty — as opposed to managing a modern party whereheads are directly elected by members — can be problematic. Theexample of the Bal Thackeray clan is particularly poignant becausehe derived so much political capital from attacking Congress's dynas-tic politics. Yet Bal instituted dynastic politics within his own party,leading to a piquant Mahabharata-like situation between Shiv Senaand its clone.

A similar drama is playing out in Bihar. LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswanhas dished out half his party's seats to his family. RJD's Lalu Prasadhas served the prime Pataliputra seat to his daughter even at the costof fatally alienating an established leader, who now rues that this partytoo has slipped into the mould of parivarik nyay (family justice) fromsamajik nyay (social justice). Over in Tamil Nadu DMK now seemsless a standard bearer of backward castes than of the Karunanidhifamily, with inheritance battles on full display.

All these internecine feuds may prove costly at the polls. It is ironi-cally Congress that is holding up better. Over the years there havebeen vociferous demands for Priyanka to front the party instead ofRahul, but these siblings have always put up a united public front.Others seem to be playing out the coarsest scenes from Mahabharata,where family routed family till many, many lay wounded and dead.

— The Times of India


GUARANTEE

OF

PASSING

testmastersPROFESSIONAL EXAM PREPARATION

Houston • Dallas • Corpus • Austin • San AntonioHouston • Dallas • Corpus • Austin • San AntonioHouston • Dallas • Corpus • Austin • San AntonioHouston • Dallas • Corpus • Austin • San AntonioHouston • Dallas • Corpus • Austin • San Antonio

EIT & PE

300 POINT

SCORE

INCREASE

GUARANTEE

SAT & PSAT

Exams for Prof. Engineering Licensing

Exams for College Admissions

MONEY

BACK

GUARANTEE

GMAT & GREExams for Grad School Admissions

Visit us online at www.testmasters.com

Phone:Phone:Phone:Phone:Phone: 281-564-7700 (Houston)281-564-7700 (Houston)281-564-7700 (Houston)281-564-7700 (Houston)281-564-7700 (Houston)

972-931-1600 (Dallas)972-931-1600 (Dallas)972-931-1600 (Dallas)972-931-1600 (Dallas)972-931-1600 (Dallas)

1-800-910-EXAM (3926)1-800-910-EXAM (3926)1-800-910-EXAM (3926)1-800-910-EXAM (3926)1-800-910-EXAM (3926)

Phone: (Houston)281-276-7777

Toll Free - 1-800-910-3926

SANJEEV KUMAR

Your realtor for life.

Cell Phone

832-689-1819

Email: [email protected]

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

Office: 713-722-8870

Fax: 713-779-4656

SELL OLD NEWBUY

WE DEAL IN Houses,

Gas Stations, Motels

and Farm & Ranch.

Apartment Complex

Available!! Call Now

WE DEAL IN

Houses, Gas

Stations, Motels

and Farm & Ranch

properties

281-497-7000

281-497-7007

COMMUNITY NEWS

Indian Music Society of Houston Presents

SAT, April 5 @ 5 p.m. Jones Hall, Univ of St. Thomas

Ticket: $25 3901 YOAKUM Blvd

Accompanied By:Anirudha Deshpande on Tabla;Umesh Purohit on Harmonium

A 501 ©(3) Organization Promoting Hindustani Classical Music

Hindustani Vocal Concert

Programs are subject to change for reasons beyond the control of Indian Music Societyof Houston. IMS Programs are partially funded by a grant from Houston Arts Alliance.

For tickets: Govind 713-922-2501Suresh 281-935-4653 orwww.tickets2events.com

Rajendra Kandalgaonkar(Disciple of Late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi)

Rajendra Kandalgaonkar is one of the most popular exponents of HindustaniClassical music. He has received wide acclaim for his innovative techniquesand dexterity. He has established himself firmly both in quality-consciousinternational music lovers and in the highly demanding, critical Indian musicconnoisseurs.Kandalgaonkar has been trained by some of the most renowned Gurus. At theyoung age of 7 he began his basic training in vocal music from Pandit VishnuA Ghag of the Gwalior Gharana. This spanned an intensive 18 years, from1967 to ’84. He then moved on to train under none other than the maestrohimself, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi of Kirana Gharana.Kandalgaonkar is also reputed teacher of music. He has performed at manywell known concerts all over India, along with regular performances onDoordarshan (Indian Television) and AIR (All India Radio).

Fund-raiser for Swati Dandekar of Iowa on March 22

SALES HELP WANTEDWell-known Houston jewelry store is looking for saleswomenavailabe to start immediately. Must be able to speak English

and Hindi well. Call 713-789-775

Swati Dandekar of Marion,Iowa, who will make a run for theU.S. House of Representativesfrom Iowa’s 1st District, will be inHouston for a reception hosted bythe Hindu American Political Ac-tion Committee and the IndianAmerican Political Action Com-mittee of Greater Houston.

The event will take place atMadras Pavilion in Sugar Land onSaturday, March 22, from 4 p.m.to 6 p.m.

Dandekar, a Democrat, isamong a dozen or so IndianAmerican candidates acrossAmerica making a run for the highoffice. She is one of five candi-dates for the Democratic nomina-tion for the open seat. Four Re-publicans also are running in the20-county district. The primary willbe held in June.

Dandekar has several years’experience as a lawmaker inIowa. She was first elected to theIowa House of Representatives in2002. She served the Marion, Iowaarea in that capacity until she waselected to represent them in theIowa Senate in 2009.

Before her election to the IowaGeneral Assembly, Dandekar wasa two-term member of the Linn-Mar Community School DistrictBoard from 1996 to 2002. Duringthat time, Governor Tom Vilsackappointed her to the Vision IowaBoard, a post she held from 2000to 2002.

She was the chair of the Sen-ate Commerce Committee, vicechair of the Economic Develop-

ment Budget subcommittee, andwas elected President of the Na-tional Foundation of Women Leg-islators in 2011.

In 2011 Dandekar was ap-pointed as the Democratic mem-ber of the Iowa Utilities Board.Until her resignation from theBoard she was a member of theNational Association of RegulatoryUtility Commissioners (NARUC)and served on the NARUC Com-mittee on Telecommunications andthe Committee on InternationalRelations. Dandekar was also amember of the Mid-AmericanRegulatory Conference and

served on the Advisory Council ofthe Iowa Energy Center in Ames.In addition, she serves on the ad-visory board of the National Sci-ence Foundation’s ExperimentalProgram to Stimulate CompetitiveResearch and is a member of theFederal-State Joint Conference onAdvance TelecommunicationsServices and on the board of theSmart Grid Interoperability Panel.

Dandekar holds a bachelor’sdegree in biology and chemistryfrom Nagpur University and a postgraduate diploma in dietetics fromBombay University in India. Shehas served on the U.S. Center forCitizen Diplomacy, Iowa Math andScience Coalition, Greater CedarRapids Foundation, Belin-BlankInternational Center for Gifted andTalented, Iowa Innovation Coun-cil, and Iowa Public Health Com-mission.

Honors bestowed uponDandekar include the 2000 J.C.Penney Education Golden RuleAward, India Abroad 2002 Per-son of the Year, 2003 Pillar of theCommunity Award fromWaypoint, Asian Alliance of Iowa2003 Person of the Year, 2004Flemming Institute Fellow, Iowa’s2006 Passport to ProsperityAward, and Asian Week’s 2008Asia Pacific American Person ofthe Year.


COMMUNITY NEWS

By Manu Shah

"We cannot educatetomorrow’s students usingyesterday’s tools"

Pravasi Bharatiya Sammanawardee and Outstanding Ameri-can by Choice, Dr. Renu Khator’sclosing statement speaks volumesabout her steely resolve to prepareevery freshman entering the Uni-versity of Houston to graduate notjust with a degree but with skillsand practical knowhow that willhelp the community.

The first guest in the series ofDistinguished Lectures organizedby Indo-American Chamber ofCommerce of Greater Houston,and sponsored by Shell, Dr. Khatoris best known as "the Chancellorwho made UH a Tier 1 univer-sity". She’s pretty, charming andas IACCGH PresidentRamabhadran put it "a rock staron the campus and beyond".

It was no surprise that the eventheld on March 5 was filled to ca-pacity.

Chamber Executive DirectorJagdip Ahluwalia welcomed thegathering that included ConsulGeneral Parvathaneni Harish,Founding President DurgaAgarwal, members Gopal Savjani,Juuhi Ahuja and Dr. StephenKlineberg. He also outlined the ob-jectives of IACCGH – providingnetworking opportunities for en-trepreneurs, professionals andbusinessmen.

Ramabhadran recognized the

Education must be relevant, says Dr. Khator

growing trade between theGreater Houston region and In-dia as well as the Chamber beingthe voice of the Indo Americanbusiness community. Apart fromseveral initiatives to encouragenetworking, he outlinedIACCGH’s latest effort – aPower Breakfast Dialogue wherea business leader would talk to asmall group of people to facilitatebetter interaction within businesssectors.

The focus of the lecture oneducation, he said, was recogni-tion of the fact that Houston’s fu-ture is inextricably linked to theability of the education system –early childhood to university edu-cation, to touch everyone in thisdiverse city.

Dr. Khator asked the gather-ing to raise their hands if theywere Cougars, have children whoare Cougars and employ Cougars.She was delighted with the re-sponse. Her two and a half yearold grandson got her thinking aboutwhat higher education will be likein 15 years. She believed therewere three scenarios being playedout in the present college educa-tion system:

1) Unaffordable tuition com-bined with budget cuts in Univer-sity funding.

2) Online courses will makeuniversities which are "the cre-ators, hoarders, distributors andfacilitators of knowledge" rel-egated to being simply facilitators.

3) Only those who reshape

their agenda and offer a niche willsurvive.

According to Dr. Khator, thejury is still out on the efficacy ofonline courses as researchshowed that only 5% of the stu-dents ended up taking all theclasses. She also cited Boeing’spolicy of not hiring online gradu-ates as they did not come with therequired skills or knowledge.

So what is UH doing to ensurethat it won’t just survive but thrive?Dr. Khator’s mantra was clear.UH would offer programs thatwere relevant to the communityand fulfill the needs of the energy,medical, science and arts indus-tries which are the backbone ofHouston’s economy. It would of-fer a beautiful campus, affordableeducation, residential quarterswhere "teenagers could have ameal at 2 am if they were hun-gry."

It would also encourage entre-preneurship and offer free edu-cation to deserving students whohad a "fire in their belly" and hailedfrom households where the in-come was less than $45,000.

With justifiable pride Dr. Khatoralso mentioned the novel solutionUH hit upon for revenue genera-tion. The technical research car-ried out by the faculty over theyears was dusted off the shelvesand is being marketed. It netted awhopping $17 million from li-censes just last year alone!

The talk concluded with oneclear message. UH was gearingup to tackle the challenges thenext decade would bring and withDr. Khator at the helm, no one inthe audience was left in any doubtof that!

Dr. Klineberg took the podiumbriefly to state the seats of learn-ing will witness a sea change inthe next three decades not seenin the last 900 years.

Shell is the sponsor of the Dis-tinguished Lecture series and VPof Human Resources, Ken Coon,was present to show his support.Shell has several financial, energyand resource interests in India andaccording to VP Coon, the wealthof technological capability thatIndians possess is "truly phenom-enal." Continuing along the samelines, he quipped "Indian engineersmaybe stereotypes but it fits."

The chamber’s next event willbe held on March 27 on Alterna-tive Investments by Jay Kabad ofJayKay Wealth Advisors, Inc.

UH Chancellor Dr Renu Khator (3rd from right) with Shell and Chamber officials Dacun Li, Ken Coon,Mubarik Choudry, Joya Shukla and Sudini Padmasiri. Photo: Bijay Dixit

Indo-American Association(IAA) opens its 2014 season witha magnificent concert, ZakirHussain and Masters of Percus-sion, on Tuesday, March 18 atJones Hall- the home of HoustonSymphony. Houstonians will betreated to a spectacular collageof rhythm, melody and dance byan ensemble of incredibly giftedartists.

The internationally renownedpercussion phenomenon, ZakirHussain, leads the ensemble.Other featured percussionists are:V. Selvaganesh on Kanjira andClaypot; Steve Smith on WesternDrums; Vijay Chauhan on Dholki;and Deepak Bhatt on Dhol. Themelody segment features the sen-sational Sitar player Niladri Kumarand the Sarangi player DilshadKhan. Last, but not the least,Antonia Minnecola, a famous ex-ponent of Kathak and a highlyaccomplished disciple of SitaraDevi, is the featured dancer.

Now, here is a trivia. AntoniaMinnecola, dearly called Toni, isthe wife of Zakir Hussain. IAA isproud to bring to Houston for the

IAA season opens with Zakir Hussain’sultimate rhythm, melody & dance concert

first time ever Toni’s Kathakdance performance to the accom-paniment of Zakir Hussain onTabla and Dilshad Kkan onSarangi.

Zakir Hussain is known for pro-ducing his shows to ultimate per-fection and painstaking attentionto technical details. This produc-tion lives up to Zakir’s stringentstandards; a team of sound andlight personnel are traveling withthe group. Add to that the ambi-ence and the superior acousticsof Jones Hall apt for an entire sym-phony, what you get is a memo-rable concert not to be missed!

In an effort to promote India’scultural arts in the American con-text, IAA reasonably prices con-cert tickets. Zakir concert ticketsare priced from $32 to $92. And,to encourage student participation,IAA is offering 50% discount toall students in all price categories.Tickets to the March 18 concertare available online atwww.iaahouston.com or by phoneat 281-648-0422; and at Maha-rani Music on Hillcroft-Harwin(713-782-6553).

Karat 22 robber sentenced to life in prisonA man on trial after surveillance cameras captured him robbing

local jewelry stores, melting down gold and selling it for cash has beenconvicted. It only took the jury about 30 minutes to reach the guiltyverdict Wednesday afternoon, March 5. He was awarded life impris-onment in sentencing on Thursday.

Kelvin O'Brien is accused of one of the biggest jewelry heists. OnWednesday afternoon he represented himself in closing arguments ofhis own trial.

O'Brien and a few other men are accused of pulling off a profes-sional-style burglary at the southwest Houston jewelry store, Karat22, on Hillcroft back in 2011.

Prosecutors say O'Brien and others broke into the roof, managedto cut through a vault inside and get away with more than $6 million injewelry.

"The people that money, that gold jewelry was stolen from... it's abig deal to them. It's a big deal to the Patel family that was insidewatching today because they lost millions of dollars and they lost jew-elry that's been in the family for generations and can't be replaced,"said prosecutor John Brewer.

After the burglary, prosecutors say those involved, including O'Brien,who ended up firing his attorney and representing himself, melted thegold down then sold it for cash.

O'Brien is accused of using the cash to buy a Mercedez, a RangeRover, a boat and a home.

Eminent Kathak exponent Antonia Minnecola will also perform alongwith husband Zakir Hussain and other percussionists at the Jones Hall

on Tuesday, March 18 at IAA’s season opener.

INDIANS ABROAD

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPENI welcome the opportunity to learn about your unique goals and needs. Together we can create a strategy designed to help guide you along the path to financial well-being. Call to schedule a consultation today.


KANSAS CITY, MO: At the end came a moment that ev-eryone watched, but only two could really share.

Kush Sharma, 13, and Sophia Hoffman, 11, faced each other for another round of spelling madness Saturday at the Kansas City Central Library after the Jackson County Spelling Bee judges ran out of words (to ask) for the pair on Feb. 22.

Coming back March 8, to pick up their marathon bout, So-phia, 11, a Lee’s Summit fi fth-grader, misspelled her word — “stifl ing” — in Round 28.

Kush Sharma and Sophia went over 90 rounds alone, spread over two weeks, after ev-eryone else fell out of the Jack-son County Spelling Bee..

After an appeal, a judges’ huddling to review a record-ing and then a break, Kush, 13, a seventh-grader from Kansas City, stepped to the microphone in the bone quiet of Helzberg Auditorium at the Kansas City Central Library.

He needed one word to win it all and a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Wash-ington, D.C. As soon as the pro-nouncer gave it to him, every-one knew it was over. But then a woman at the offi cials’ table broke in to say her audio equip-ment had stopped working. A technician hurried over.

It was during that little break that Kush, standing alone, turned to Sophia sitting behind him. They locked eyes, tears in hers, and she gave him a little smile.

After nailing earlier killer words like “hemerocallis” and “jacamar,” Kush spelled “defi -nition” — after fi rst, of course, asking for its defi nition. Be-hind him, Sophia was fi rst to clap, happy for the friend she got to know as they passed to the microphone back and forth through 75 rounds.

Kush, a polite young man, patiently gave the moderator a handshake before hurriedly go-ing to Sophia. They hugged.

Minutes later, Sophia said, “It was a great experience, and I’m happy for Kush.” She added she would be back next year.

News outlets all over the country and world had picked up on these two. They had trad-ed “madeleine” for “scherzo,” “mukhtar” for “bobbejaan,” and on and on for more than fi ve hours. They and their families traveled to New York on ABC’s dime to appear on “Good Morn-ing America,” a show widely watched that day at Sophia’s Highland Park Elementary in Lee’s Summit and Kush’s Fron-tier School of Innovation in Kansas City.

Scripps offi cials rejected a groundswell push on Twitter to “Send Them Both!” Both Kush and Sophia crammed for Sat-urday’s fi nale. Sophia got help from her sister, Jordan, 15, who won the bee three times from 2010 and 2012.

Kush Sharma wins bee after 90 rounds

Father A.K. Sharma worried his son didn’t get enough sleep the night before. “I told him he was supposed to be in bed at 10, but he wanted to stay up and watch the guy who took Jay Le-no’s place,” Sharma said.

Because of the unprecedented attention for the showdown, a large projection screen on the li-brary’s main fl oor enabled view-ing for an overfl ow crowd of more than a hundred.

Neither skipped a beat until Sophia’s miss in Round 28. Dur-ing the ensuing break, she gath-ered with her family. Kush saw Sophia crying.

He walked over and bent to her. “Stop crying, or you’re go-ing to make me cry,” he told her.

She looked up and laughed. Next year, they will probably

see each other again.

Mount Kailash at Sri Meenakshi Temple (decoration by temple staff and volunteers). More than 700 devotees attended the celebration marking the auspices night of Maha Sivaratri and worshipped of Lord Siva at Sri Meenakshi temple on Feb. 27. Some believe that Sivaratri marked the wedding day of Lord Siva and Parvathi, while others believe it is the night when Lord Siva performed the Tandava Nritya (the dance of primordial creation/preservation/ destruction).


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

Radhe..Radhe.. danceballet

Sat., March 15 @ 4:15 p.m.Bharatanatyam dance ballet

depicting the divine love of SriRadha Rani, at CA Nelson Audi-torium, 2337 N Galveston Ave,Pearland TX 77581.

Choreography direction, musicdirection, vocal and performancedone entirely by accomplishedyoung Houston artistes. Presentedby Global Organization for Divin-ity in commemoration ofNamadwaar Prayer House'sfourth anniversary. Tickets - $10and $25 - available online atevents.sulekha.com. To purchaseby phone, call 281-516-1596 or281-402-6585. For more info, visitwww.godivinity.org or look up theevent on Facebook.

Holi Pooja at RadhaKrishna Temple

Sun., Mar 16 @ 5 p.m.Holi Pooja and Shri Satya

Narayan Bhagwan Katha in theTemple starting at 5:00 p.m.

Holi Pujan and Holika Dahanstarting 7:15 p.m. (after Arti).Prasad will be served after HoliPooja. For further informationplease call temple at 281-933-8100or visit www.SRKT.Org. Templeis located 11625 Beechnut Street.

Swami MadhavanandSat., March 29 @ 4 p.m.Musical presentation and dis-

course of episodes of Ramayanin Marathi by SwamiMadhavanand. Singers areShreyas Bedekar, Ashwin Rodeand Atul and Tejashri Dixit. At theVedanta Society of Greater Hous-ton, 14809 Lindita Dr (77083).Admission is free. Call Anil Rode281-795-8934 for info. OnMarch 30 at 3:30 p.m. SwamiMadhavanand will give a dis-course in Marathi on the work andwritings of Gondavlekar Maharaj.At Harris County MUD #81, 805Hidden Canyon Rd, Katy, Texas77450. For info, call ShobhaKulkarni 281-575-0094 or NilimaMandke 281-395-4591.

Chinmaya MissionSunday satsangs for adults,

COMMUNITY NEWSyouth and children. Unique BalaVihar program for each grade,from PreK to Grade 12. Satsangsin two sessions between 8:35 a.m.to 10:15 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. -1p.m. Bala Vihar students cantake shloka, bhajan and orchestraclasses or classes for Hindi,Telugu, Marathi, and Gujarati. At10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land(77498) New members visit wel-come desk bet. 8 to 8:45 a.m. or10:15 to 11:30 a.m. Visit www.chinmayahouston.org or contactBharati Sutaria 281-933-0233.

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 classes Tue.6-8 p.m. At 14375 Schiller Rd. (betWestpark & Bellaire off Hwy 6).281-752-0100.

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 andtalks. www.houstonvedanta.orgor 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, 10555

W. Airport Blvd., Stafford TX77477 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.

Sahaj Marg MeditationSahaj Marg (Natural Path)

Meditation and Spirituality (www.sahajmarg.org) A natural, simplesystem of Raja Yoga meditationand spiritual practice. Weeklysatsangs held in the Houston area.Email Radheshyam Miryala, MDat meditate_ [email protected] or meditate.galveston@gmail. com.

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; 281-433-1635 orharekrishna [email protected]

Sathya Sai centersSathya Sai devotees meet on

Sundays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30p.m. at two locations in North andSouth Houston; Sai Spiritual Edu-cation classes for children, medi-tation, study circle, bhajans and ser-vice activities. Call Raghu Amara(North) 832-418-3842 or AjitParalkar (South) 281-788-4786.www.saicenterofhouston.

Heritage ClassesAshirwad’s Heritage

Classes in Katy, Cypress andSugar Land for kids 4 to 18 yrs -meditation, Yoga, slokas, storiesfrom scriptures, Vishnu Sahasra-nam, bhajans, competitions and funactivities. Adult meditation classesby appointment only. Register atwww.ashirwadable ssing.org orSri Ravula 281-995-0930.

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.For info 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. For more information Con-tact 281-568-1690 or JayDeshmukh at 832-541-0059 orvisit www.saumyakasi.org.

Veerashaiva SamajaVSNA Houston is a group of

families who believe in Veera-shaiva dharma (Basava dharma).Monthly Mahamane program forprayer and discussion on VachanaSahitya followed by Prasada. Con-tact: vsnahouston@gmail. com832-545-1185 (Jyoti Biradar).

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, engagement and other ceremonies. CallPandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 forpuja or other ceremonies.

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

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 and 3rd Sundays. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sundays. Call 713-991-1557 or 281-261-4603.

Arsha Vidya BharatiSanskrit classes and special worship sessions for all ages. At 2918

Renoir, Sugar Land, TX 77479.Call 281-606-5607 [email protected]. Web-site: https://sites.google.com/site/avbtexas/classes

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 ramolaj@ aol.com

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

and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. Newcenter is located at 14102 Schiller Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire andWestpark - 77082). Tel 281-596-9642.

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

Sanatana DharmaDiscussions on confusion between Sanatna Dharma and religion.

To protect, preserve and promote the wisdom of Dharma, the eternal,universal and natural tradition. Call 832 868 5656 (cell).

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

ton 77084 conducts weekly satsang every Sunday 5 to 7 pm. Pro-gram includes mantra meditation, kirtan and classes on SanatanDharma. Vedic Education and Hindi classes for kids 5yrs - 14 yrs.Gita classes noon - 1:30 pm Wednesdays. Hanuman Chalisa andRamcharit Manas on Tuesdays 7:30–8:30 p.m. info@sggm. org or281-499-3347

Vandana Singh to speak on “making Indiahunger-free by 2020”

Direct from the front lines of fighting hunger in India, several of thecountry’s humanitarian leaders will be in Houston for the H-E-B/GFNFood Bank Leadership Institute (FBLI) - March 17 -20.

Among them is Vandana Singh, CEO of the India Food BankingNetwork (IFBN) , the organization spearheading the development offood banks across India.

Working closely with food bank experts from The GlobalFoodBanking Network (GFN), the IFBN is working hard to reach thegovernment’s goal of “making India hunger-free by 2020.”

“The World’s Fare” will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 6-8PM atAsia Society Texas Center.

More than 60 hunger fighters direct from the front lines of fightinghunger in more than 30 countries are coming to Houston to power-upby attending the H-E-B/GFN Food Bank Leadership Institute (FBLI).FBLI is the flagship event of The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN)an organization that works to fight hunger and reduce food waste bycreating, supporting and strengthening food banks around the world.

The US has a strong food banking system, but in many other coun-tries the concept of food banking doesn’t exist. FBLI provides educa-tion, training and best practice sharing to promote the development offood banks around the world.

GFN has been working with social entrepreneurs in India since2008 to address the hunger issue. We helped IFBN launch The DelhiFood Bank (DFB) – India’s first food bank – in June 2012. Sincethen, food banking has been on an ambitious course with developmentin multiple communities and aggressive plans for the expansion overthe next decade. There are newly opened food banks in Gurgaon andNoida/Ghaziabad. Local leaders are in the preliminary stages of plan-ning for food banks in Mumbai, Jaipur, and the State of Orissa.


INDIA

IMMIGRAIMMIGRAIMMIGRAIMMIGRAIMMIGRATIONTIONTIONTIONTIONLAW OFFICES OF

DAKSHINI R. SEN, P.C.Attorneys at Law7100 Regency Square Blvd., Ste. #190

Houston, TX 77036

Tel: 713-278-1677Fax: 713-278-1656

New York Office:1123 Broadway, Ste. # 509

New York, NY 10010

Tel/Fax: (212) 242-1677Dakshini R. Senanayake, B.S., LL.M.Licensed by the Supreme Court of New York

Not Licensed in Texas nor certified by any

Board of Legal Specialization

Web: www.dakshinisen.com • Email: [email protected]

H-1B, L1, P3, TN, O1, R1 and other non immigrant visasGreen Card thru Employment: PERM / I-140

Green Card thru Family: I-130/I-485Citizenship

Sharma Tilal Senanayake, CPACertified Public Accountant

Off: 713-984-4852 • Cell: 832-283-1677• Fax: 713-278-1656Email: [email protected]: sharma-cpa.com

Sharma Tilal SenanayakeCPA, MA, FCA

7100 Regency Square Blvd Ste 230-7• Houston, TX 77036

* Business & Personal Tax Preparation* Maintain Books of Accounts for Businesses* Project Evaluations and Feasibility Studies* Payroll, Payroll Taxes and Statutory Filing

Email: [email protected]

In an unprecedented show ofenthusiasm to vote, one that couldhave far-reaching effects on thecoming Lok Sabha elections, over7.45 million people turned up toget themselves enrolled as votersat the one-day special camp or-ganized across the country by theElection Commission on Sunday,March 9. This, EC officials admit-ted, is the biggest turnout so faron a single day.

According to The Indian Ex-press, 7,456,367 people turned upat the 930,000 polling stationsacross the country on Sunday andfilled up Form 6 — the form re-

quired to apply for inclusion in theelectoral rolls.

Uttar Pradesh saw the highestturnout (1.54 millioin), followed byAndhra Pradesh (1.1 million),Tamil Nadu (990,000), Bihar(700,000), Maharashtra (470,000),Rajasthan (450,000), Gujarat(330,000) and Karnataka(300,000).

Whether they are enrolled asvoters or not will depend on a veri-fication process, said officials,adding that not many people areexpected to find their applicationsrejected. The names which arecleared will be added to the elec-

toral rolls before the last date ofnominations in their respectiveconstituencies.

While updating the electoral rollis an ongoing activity, the EC haddecided to hold a one-day pan-India special camp to allow peopleto visit their polling stations andcheck if their names figure in theelectoral rolls. If “left out for somereason” or “wrongly deleted”,they could apply afresh.

“Arguably, this is the highestever number of people that haveapplied on a single day to getthemselves enrolled as voters.This is also because of the factthat this one-day special campwas conducted simultaneously atall the polling stations across thecountry,” said an EC official, re-questing anonymity.

“We have held special campsin the past, but these were usuallyspread over two-three days andconducted on different dates indifferent states.

“But these many number ofpeople have never turned up on asingle day anywhere,” said theofficial, adding that the “over-whelming numbers” had even sur-prised many in the EC.

According to EC officials, a 10-day process has begun since Mon-day, during which these 74.5 lakhapplicants will be verified.

“The names of those who haveapplied will be displayed on lists intheir respective polling stations.Anybody who has any objectionto any name can register the ob-jection during a seven-day noticeperiod,” said an official.

An applicant’s name will beadded to the rolls once the elec-toral registration officer is satis-fied about the credentials. “Onceverified, an applicant’s name willbe finally added to an additionallist,” said the official.

Over 7 million register to vote in one day

Khobragade’s help Sangeeta files for divorceNEW YORK: In a new twist to the India-US row involving Indian

diplomat Devyani Khobragade, the domestic help, Sangeeta Richard,and her husband have filed for divorce citing differences betweenthem. Philip Richard, the husband, and their children were flown toNew York by the US Embassy in Delhi on trafficking visas days be-fore Khobragade was arrested on charges of visa fraud in December.

Richard told The Indian Express over phone, that he was disap-pointed with what he called the way his wife started to lie to him andthe couple decided to part ways. They filed for divorce in January, hesaid, but added that he would continue to defend his wife againstKhobragade’s allegations.

“She stopped telling me where she is going and with whom. Shestarted to lie. She said something and did just the opposite. But I stillsupport her in the case against Devyani as I know she is not at faultthere,” Richard said.

The Public Affairs Specialist at the US Attorney’s Office, JenniferQueliz, refused to comment when asked if the separation would im-pact the case against Khobragade and if the attorney’s office wasaware of the development.

Richard repeated the allegations that Sangeeta was ill-treated bythe diplomat and that she was forced to approach the immigrationoffice in the US for help after Khobragade barred her return to India.

He claimed Sangeeta’s grouse was never with her salary but withthe way she was being treated. “Sangeeta often called me complain-ing about it. It was not the money that she was upset about, but thetreatment she got there. Devyani made her work overtime, did notgive her enough time to sleep and never let her out of the house,” healleged.

Richard also denied claims that Sangeeta had gone missing fromKhobragade’s house in New York and surfaced a month later seekinga compromise. “She did not go missing. She just went to the immigra-tion office to seek assistance. She spoke to me a night before shewent to the immigration office; she said she wants to come back toher family but Devyani is not letting her go. Devyani told Sangeetathat she is bound by the three-year contract that she signed beforecoming here and cannot go anywhere till that expires. Sangeeta feltsuffocated there and had no choice but to sneak out from the house,”he said. “Money was never the issue. She could have earned thatmuch even working at a diplomat’s house in Delhi.”

Modi is #1 on social mediaNarendra Modi is al-

ways in the news and thatis not only because he is theBJP's prime ministerial can-didate. He has been domi-nating newsprint, airtimeand the digital media forquite some time now.

Modi's strategy of usingsocial media along with tra-ditional election campaign-ing tools to ensure that thecameras are always onhim. Here are some ofmodern-day tools that Modihas used to keep the spot-light firmly on him. Modiwas one of the first Indianpoliticians to reach out topeople in an organized manner on Twitter. It has paid off in a big way.@narendramodi joined Twitter in January 2009 and his number offollowers now stands at more than 3.5 million, way ahead of any otherleader.

Modi's official page on Facebook has 11,245,296 likes. His fanshave dedicated many pages to him on the social networking website,for instance 'I want Narendra Modi as Next PM of India', 'I SupportNarendra Modi' and 'Narendra Modi For PM'.

In December 2012, Modi addressed 53 locations across Gujaratsimultaneously. A 3D avatar stood in for him because he could not, ofcourse, be in all places at the same time. This way he pioneered anextensive tour of his state and got into the prestigious Guinness Bookof World Records.

Modi was the first Indian politician to use the Google+ Hangoutapplication for group video chats. In August 2012, he answered ques-tions from people across the world, with the live interaction broadcaston YouTube and Modi's Google+ page. Actor Ajay Devgn anchoredthe session with the Gujarat chief minister.

Through his blog, Modi has managed to offer his views and evenshare, for the first time, his feelings about the 2002 Gujarat riots underhis watch as CM. To make himself more approachable to the com-mon man, he has made efforts to speak their language and look likethem. When he addressed his first ever election rally in West Bengalin February, he spoke in Bangla.

The BJP's Chai pe Charcha campaign centred on Modi saw himinteracting live with people using internet and DTH technology. TheElection Commission, however, wasn't impressed; after the poll dateswere announced and the model code of conduct kicked in, it ruled thefree tea served to people at these events was against the rules.

VEDIC FAIR 2014PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

Ashirwad’s third Vedic Fair was held on Saturday Mar. 1, 2014 from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Cinco Ranch High School, in Katy.

Ashirwad’s Vedic Fair was invoked with Vedic chants in ‘Kool Kailash in Katy’ a di-orama of Kailash and a 15-foot make-believe Manasa Sarovar built in association with Indian American Culture & Heritage Foundation architects Sachin Sharma, Radha Sharma, Sukhi Kohli. A Ice Shiva Lingam was installed fl oating in the middle of the Manasa Sarovar which created a gracious ambience of Lord Shiva’s abode.

Visitors enjoyed capturing pictures with Live Lord Shiva & Parvati seated right in the middle of the kailash diorama. Vamshith Kundoor a young devotee shared her experience of visiting 18 shakthi peetas along with archana Kumkum (Vermillion) with many visi-tors.

At 4 p.m. India Exhibit Pre-sentation Competition began where 50 plus diverse pre-sentations on Gods, Temples, Places, Festivals, Lifestyle, Yoga, Health, Languges, Riv-ers, Dance, Music, Kings and Scientists were excellently pre-sented by young Indo-Ameri-cans.

Divena Donthi was winner and Anika Ravishankar was runner up in 10 & above cat-egory. Ruthvik Jonna & Vishnu Nataraja were winner & runner up in 9 & below category.

Cooking Competition win-ner was Manjari Guturu for her dishes: Cranberry Fiber Rice & Quinoa Veggie Delight (Salad)) & Renu Ahuja was runner up for her dish Dahi Gujia.

Workshops to learn for free Yoga & Meditation, Sanskrit, Rangoli, Indian Classical Dance, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Dandiya, Dhothi, Saree Styles, Indian Wedding were well at-tended. Vedic Bazaar the made up of 20 booth vendors was packed all the way till close.

At 6 p.m. the Vedic Fair 3 Talent Showcase started withSloka-thon recitation of Vish-nu sahasranama slokas by Ashirwad’s students Rhea Bhat,Shreya Sarathy, Pritam Hegdeand Saanika Halapeti. It was ollowed by classical music per-formance by Swarasudha Music Institute students & Flamboy-ant Bho Shambho dance per-formance by Abhinaya School of Performance Arts students choreographed by Guru Indra-ni Parthasarathy. At 6:30 p.m.Ashirwad’s Vedic Walk a col-orful show case of Shiva Puran Icons by 25 kids (4 to 10 years)was cheerfully applauded by the audiences.

I am Shiva - The Mahadev a two-hour spectacular playdirected by Ashirwad’s Chief Teacher Geetha Ravula de-picted important episodes of Lord Shiva that made him Ma-hadev. The colorful costumes and mesmerizing scenic settings took the audience to a differentworld. The play team included46 members.

The Vedic Fair 3 was a marked by high quality showcasing various diversities of Bharat which is relevant to the young Indo-American genera-tion to carry forward the torch of Indian heritage.

Geetha & Sri Ravula of Ashirwad A Blessing thankedAshirwad team and families,artists, performers, and Work-shop Experts. Sponsors & Sup-porters included IACHF (Sa-chin & Radha Sharma, Sukhi Kohli), Shri Sitaram Founda-tion, Hindus of Greater Hous-ton, Mandap Creations, Frontier Consulting, ISKCON, SanatanHindu Center, Katy Indian Cul-tural Association & Booth Ven-dors.

Ashirwad A Blessing an-nounced Lord Krishna’s abodeGOLOK & prime time play Krish – The Blue Man as high-lights for next Vedic Fair.

Visit FB page facebook.com/VedicFair or AshirwadABless-ing.org.

Vedi Fair organizers in front of “Kool Kailash” with an inviting ice Sivalinga.


IIFA Host Conceptualized & Produced byMedia PartnerHost Destination Partners Airport Partner

THE STARS ARE WAITING.WHY SHOULD YOU?Book IIFA Magic of the Moviesbefore anyone else.Now that you've already purchased your ticket for the IIFA awards, we're presenting you with an opportunity to beat the queue at the counter to purchase tickets for IIFA Magic of The Movies. A Bollywood extravaganza with dazzling performances from your favourite stars, such as, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Farhan Akhtar, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Pritam, & Vir Das. So prepare to get spellbound.

ticketmaster.comTickets now on sale at For enquiries on VIP Corporate Hospitality, contact us at

[email protected]: IIFAFIRST


Interview with Ramesh BhutadaSeshadri Kumar: What

made the 2014 general elec-tions in India different from others and why did you to en-ter politics now?

Ramesh Bhutada: I am not a politician. I have been more interested in yoga, meditation, youth activities and Indian heri-tage.

The last time I got involved in Indian political campaign was just after 1975. I was 29 years old. I very distinctly re-member the day. I was travel-ling with my wife Kiran from Houston to Colorado Springs, in a two-door Toyota when I heard on CBS Radio that Indira Gandhi had declared emergency in India. That almost shocked me. If nothing else India had something to show as a fl edg-ling democracy that someday would become a nation with en-lightened citizenry.

At that time Indians for De-mocracy was established. We did make our voices heard. We had great hopes about the Jana-ta Party, a ragtag coalition of elements who were against the Congress Party and Indira Gan-dhi during the emergency and won the elections. It turned out to be a big disaster. I got totally disillusioned with politics. I felt politics was not the medium to help improve public life. As a result I turned my attention to voluntary work.

India missed two great oppor-tunities — in 1947 and in 1979 — because of the lack of right leadership. The opportunity had to be seized to make progress, but it was wasted. Now, is a third opportunity for India to undergo a transformation.

Ten years ago India and Chi-na were considered as emerging superpowers. Today everyone talks about China but no one mentions India because of a pa-ralysis of poor leadership and governance along with monu-mental corruption scandals and lack of vision. Things have real-ly gone bad. A great nation like India deserves better.

In spite of lack of efforts by central government, whatever progress India has made in the last 10 years it is because of the efforts of professionals, entre-preneurs and various tech com-panies. If there is a strong lead-ership with vision, with a great track record, India can achieve great heights.

I believe this is a perfect op-portunity because a person like Narendra Modi has been nomi-nated a prime ministerial can-didate. The opportunity is not for the Bharatiya Janata Party or Narendra Modi, but for a strong, stable, secure and cor-ruption-free India which we all can be proud of.

The BJP and Narendra Modi are mere vehicles for the change. Based on performance of BJP led NDA central govern-ment from 1999 thru 2004 and by BJP ruled states like Gujarat, MP, Chattisgarh and Goa and in particular, Modi’s performance about development on all fronts over 12 years in Gujarat, we

can count on development of strong India. Modi has proved his administrative credentials with minimum government and maximum governance model.

Why should Indians in the U.S. care about Indian elec-tions? What is in it for us?

Bhutada: We have a direct stake in India and its political future that will have an impact on us. Our children and grand-children will relate to India only if India is stable and strong. They will cherish Indian heri-tage only if India is strong and they will have an incentive to be concerned about India. If India remains weak and poor, they would not care.

For reference calling, already 500 volunteers from Houston have signed up and the number will cross 1,000. That shows that people here are willing and they want to participate to help mobilize voters in India. There is a tremendous amount of en-thusiasm among people of In-dian origin. What surprised me is that during the weekly “Chai pe charcha” sessions, dozens of coordinators join and discuss how to mobilize voters for the BJP and Narendra Modi.

Even a bigger aspect that should motivate Indians abroad is that India has a great role to play on the global stage. To-day the world is unipolar with the only one superpower, the United States and that has its own downside. Another upcom-ing superpower China is not an open society like India, hence one cannot expect for the world at large anything great from them. There is a vacuum and India can fi ll that role because of its heritage, namely the Ve-dic saying that treats the entire world as one family. India can help build harmony in the world with its thoughts and principles immersed in universal brother-hood based on Dharma (laws of nature). That is a gift India can offer to the humanity.

Take terrorism for example. It can be tackled with two ini-tiatives – zero tolerance for ter-rorism coupled with inclusive development for all on all the fronts

In Gujarat, Modi has pre-cisely done that. In my opinion in India today, he is the man best suited to bridge the divide between Hindus and Muslims. Despite the political propagan-da against Modi, he had nothing to do with the 2002 Gujarat ri-ots, which followed a train fi re in Godhra. After 2002 incidence there has not been a single riot in Gujarat for the last 12 years. Show me a non BJP-ruled state where Hindu-Muslim riot has not taken place in the same pe-riod.

There is ample proof that Modi can bridge the divide be-cause six month after the riots, in the 2002 Gujarat election due to complete polarization BJP got no Muslim votes. Ten years later, in 2012, more than 30 per-cent of Muslims voted for BJP in Gujarat. The question is how could that happen unless Mus-lims are feeling secure under his

leadership. Modi could win the Muslims’ trust because of his inclusive development model, without recourse to vote bank politics and keeping in mind everyone’s progress. The need of the hour is to overcome the vote bank politics, scandals and corruption. “Appeasement for none and justice for all,” is the BJP slogan.

You need a strong leader who believes in India fi rst as his defi -nition of secularism.

If India can implement zero tolerance for terrorism and implement inclusive economic development that will set the model for the world to follow to combat terrorism, which lies in the minds of a few disgruntled people.

Do you believe NRIs can infl uence voters in India and why?

Bhutada: Indians living abroad have a leverage. When we call and talk to a friend or family member, and say that they should vote for the strong leadership of Modi, they will feel good because someone from halfway around the world feels for them and for India. Based upon our experience that inspiration motivate them to talk about that experience with their friends, relatives and thus a buzz is created.

Denial of U.S. visa to Modi has been a long standing con-troversy? Recently U.S. Am-bassador to India met Modi. What do you think of it?

Bhutada: The whole visa is-sue is non-consequential. In the scheme of things, Modi does not need a U.S. visa. He is not going to apply for one. In a quirk of circumstances denial of visa by the U.S. has helped him gain popularity in India. The day Modi becomes the prime minister, U.S. will give the visa to him on a silver plat-ter. The recent meeting of the American ambassador to India Nancy Powell with Modi is just a precursor to that. However, we should see here the role of anti-India lobby in the U.S with vested interests. The Indian community in the U.S. needs to be aware of it. Maybe even the Congress government in India was complicit in this.

Do you believe the recent emergence of Aam Admi Par-

ty in Delhi would hinder BJP’s vic-tory in the next elections?

Bhutada: I was really happy when the Aam Admi Party was suc-cessful in form-ing government in Delhi in a short span of time. I thought it was a golden opportu-nity for AAP and Arvind Kejriwal to demonstrate their good gover-nance for the next fi ve years. If at all, the AAP could have contested a few Lok Sabha

seats in and around Delhi. But, they have turned out to be a disappointment.

The Congress Party may not survive the 2014 elections. Re-gional parties are not strong enough to provide a stable gov-ernment at the center. Coali-tion of just regional parties is no answer for a stable govern-ment and leadership. If AAP would have performed well in Delhi, it possibly could have taken the place of Congress Party in the next 5 to 10 years. With the BJP as a right of center party and AAP as left of center, it would be good for a democ-racy. However AAP has really disappointed me. It seems their aim is not to win elections but stop Modi from becoming the PM and thus directly or indi-rectly, help the Congress Party. My bigger worry is that young-sters in India who got attracted to AAP because of its clean and corruption free politics promise, may be disappointed when they fi nd out the true nature of AAP. The young people are really in-terested in India and their faith should not be taken for granted. It took 35 years for me to get back into Indian politics. If the youngsters are disappointed they may not get back in to po-litical process and that would be a big national loss.

My appeal to AAP volunteers here and in India is to remain objective and open and remain in the political process to make India strong, irrespective of AAP’s future. It is a good sign that quite a few AAP supporters are now realizing AAP leader-ship’s true motives early on and now are supporting NAMO.

How optimistic are you about BJP’s victory and what more would you do to ensure its victory?

Bhutada: The prospect looks extremely good for the BJP led NDA come into power with out-right majority or may be shy of 10 to 20 seats. Due to the Modi wave sweeping the country I will not be surprised if BJP led NDA may win the elections with thumping majority.

Besides reference calling by volunteers all over USA, we are also planning to target 40 to 50 swing constituencies where a focused group of volunteers will call the potential volunteers

over there and inspire them to work extra mile for the Mission 2014. We are also encourag-ing NRIs who are interested in going to India to campaign to go to these chosen constituen-cies. Those interested in refer-ence calling or planning to go to India for campaigning can call Gitesh Desai, national co-ordinator at 281-300-7346 or Achalesh Amar Houston co-ordinator at 281-624-MODI. www. india272.com

How would you answer the critics of BJP’s association with the RSS?

Bhutada: Rashtriya Sway-amsevak Sangh, a social and cultural organization, does not get directly involved in politics, but RSS has stake in India’s fu-ture. RSS is a patriotic organi-zation and it believes in charac-ter building at individual level. It works for a strong and secure India, free of corruption.

After coming to USA, I learned a lot from the RSS. Lot of credit for our successful business, with 250 employees, should go to whatever little I learned from the RSS, regard-ing team building, delegation, importance of character, re-sponsibility and compassion for the fellow human beings. Similarly, Narendra Modi as an RSS full time worker gained his training and administrative skills through the organiza-tion. I can relate to that. In my opinion, his being a Swayam sevak, a product of the positive social movement, is a big plus for India. It is myth perpetuated by vested interests that RSS is against Muslims. RSS is not against any community or reli-gion. It believes in Hindu dhar-mic ethos as these are rooted in universal brotherhood for good of the humanity. RSS is for a strong and stable India. It is an organization which has swung into action to provide relief to all in every major natural disas-ter in India. Currently in India, there are more than 160,000 service projects inspired by RSS working for the benefi t of the society. In USA inspired by RSS philosophy, Hindu Sway-amsevak Sangh, USA (HSS) is doing a great job in providing the character and leadership building training to its members along with performing commu-nity service activities.

That people like Sri Sri Rav-ishankar, Baba Ramdev, for-mer IPS offi cer Kiran Bedi, a former Indian military general, General V. K. Singh, former in-telligence chief and well known senior bureaucrats are among the supporters of Narenda Modi means there is merit in looking forward to Modi’s leadership.

Have you personally met Modi and what you think of him as a person?

Bhutada: Yes, I have met him twice, once in USA and later in India. He was not a chief minister then. He is a very pleasant and easy person to in-teract with. Has tremendous depth to his personality and is very clear and honest about his opinions on any subject.

Ramesh Bhutada

From Page 1


COMMUNITY NEWS

Since 1997 our team of a orneys has served countless clients by making Since 1997 our team of a orneys has served countless clients by making complex immigration complex immigration SIMPLESIMPLE. Email us: [email protected]. Email us: [email protected]

H-1B, TN, L, E Visas, PERM Labor, EB-2, I-140, Green Card, Appeals, F-1, OPTH-1B, TN, L, E Visas, PERM Labor, EB-2, I-140, Green Card, Appeals, F-1, OPT

DALLAS OFFICE15950 N Dallas Pkwy Ste 400

Dallas, TX 75248214-281-8900

HOUSTON OFFICE11000 Richmond Ave Ste 300, Houston, TX 77042713-953-7787 www.rnlawgroup.com

Gourmet India

281-493-5435 • www.gourmetindiahouston.com

Dine-in Discount 15% off Lunch & Dinner

Reserve for Parties or Business Conference10-person Wine Cellar Room Available

Every Saturday & Sunday Chaat Corner & Pav Bhaji with Lunch Buffet

• Dine-in Capacity for 120 • Full Bar • Full Line 21-dishes Buffet • New Dishes Daily • Indo-Chinese Selection Available • Catering for All Occasions • Fresh, Authentic Taste

For Catering, Call:Mintu Khan 713-498-9719Amirul Haque 832-877-2810

13155 Westheimer @ Syno • Houston, TX 77077

Open 7

days

With coupon Gourmet India

Enjoy New Varieties 21 Dishes Daily!!

A Promise to be with YouEvery Step of the Way.Life insurance is more than a policy — it’s a gift of protection. Call me today.

Amiralli Dodhiya (AMIR)AgentNew York Life Insurance Company13135 Dairy Ashford Rd, Ste 550,Sugar Land, TX 77478Ph: [email protected]

(SMRU: 491820 11/1/2014)

By Padmashree Rao and Uma AggarwalPhotos by Jayesh Mistry and Rohith Kudrathaya

More than 5,000 devotees gathered over three days be-tween Feb.27 and March 2, 2014, to invoke the blessings of the Lord Siva Saumyakasi Sivalaya in Chinmaya Prabha, Houston on the occasion of Ma-hasivaratri.

The spirit of one of the holiest nights of the Hindu calendar be-came manifest in thought, word and action when the Chinmaya family of Houston welcomed

the community at large to pray together during Mahasivaratri. The events were planned with careful dedication to blend joyful celebrations, collective prayers, and silent hours of meditation.

Saumyakasi Sivalaya had the touch of the holy Mount Kailas as preparations began to pro-pitiate the perfect atmosphere for tuning to the Highest. Even the unseasonal chilly weather in Houston added to the feel-ing of being transported to the Himalayas. Somehow, the cold air only warmed the hearts of

the thousands who thronged to the temple to participate in the puja and abhishekam that start-ed on the morning of Thursday, Feb.27th.

Devotees felt blessed to do the Ksirabhiseka seva, to the Sivalinga, guided by Shri Ga-neshji, the temple priest. The Mahanyasam, meaning the great nyasa (purifi cation) is re-cited to purify the body, mind, and soul of all the impurities. Recited before performing the rudrabhisekam of Lord Siva, the ritual came alive as the linga was bathed in milk, water, yo-

gurt, and honey. All agitations of the mind and senses felt cooled further when the linga was adorned with turmeric, kumkum, chandan, and vibhuti. This sacredness echoed through the evening when devotees got the opportunity to repeat the Ksirabhisekam amid the inces-sant Vedic chanting..

To make worship more per-sonal, a beautiful lingam was created in a special altar under the Sivalaya where every dev-otee could do the abhisekam (pouring milk over the lingam).

It is said that the stars are most conducive for meditation on Mahasivaratri. Indeed, as Lord Siva is the greatest Yogi and Meditator in the Universe, ardent devotees found the right atmosphere for deep, silent meditation after a slow melo-dious chanting of “Om Namah Sivaya” subdued the mind. The intense prayers culminated in a Maha Arti at midnight on Thursday Feb 27th in the tem-ple.

On Friday Feb 28th, the Mahanyasa Purvaka Rudrab-hisekam was repeated, so that the devotees who missed it on Thursday had another chance to participate. Every year, the crowds increase at the Sivalaya, knowing that the vibrations of Sivaratri ring out strong in the festivities.

Finally, on Sunday March 2nd Mahasivaratri came to a beautiful culmination with the Maha Mrtunjaya Homa. The Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra is one of the most popular and

powerful mantra that is chant-ed for healing the body, mind, and soul and helping devotees to move from mortality to im-mortality. Acarya Gaurangbhai Nanavaty of Chinmaya Mis-sion Houston explained the sig-nifi cance of every word of the mantra and encouraged every-one to let the mantra soak into their consciousness during the ceremony.

With Sri Ganeshji of Sau-myakasi Sivalaya conduct-ing the homa and energizing it with his powerful chanting, each family was given their own plate with yantra and black sesame and fl at rice for offer-ings, so that each devotee could feel part of the homa. The 108 chants of the Mrtyunjaya man-tra infused great energy in the families who prayed, leaving no doubt in the power of selfl ess, collective prayers. Then, as the homa concluded, all of the puja offerings from the devotees were collected by the volun-teers and offered as Purnahuti at the main fi re altar on the stage.

Every Sivaratri at Saumyaka-si Sivalaya shines because of the incredible teamwork of the Chinmaya volunteers in The well-planned parking, the ar-rangements to accommodate the growing rush of devotees, and the careful attention to ev-ery detail in the festivities.

For more information, visit www.chinmayahouston.org, www.saumyakasi.org or call temple 281 568 1690 or Jay Deshmukh 832 541 0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233.

Saumyakasi Sivalaya shines during Mahasivaratri

The priest, Sri Ganesh, with Sri Harish and Sri Chandrasekharperformed the abhisekam of the glowing Sivalinga in complete harmony with his chanting of the Rudram.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 • PAGE 15Kevin Spacey to Join IIFA Master Class Panel in Tampa

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) announced that renowned actor, Kevin Spacey will join its IIFA Master Class Panel during the 15th Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend in Tampa Bay, Florida. The IIFA panel is one of the myriad sub-events that takes place during the main Weekend where keen participants attempt to delve into the minds of masters from world’s most fl our-ishing and prolifi c entertainment industries; Hollywood and Indian Film Industry.

For the panel, he will join other dignitaries from both fi lm fraterni-ties who will share their profound insights and valuable opinions on avariety of subjects relating to cinema. Vidya Balan, Indian cinema’spowerhouse of talent will preside over the informative session.

Andre Timmins, Director – Wizcraft International & IIFA said,“IIFA has always been viewed as a platform to bridge the gap betweenthe Indian fi lm industry and the international audience. It has beenour dream to be able to do this with the participation of Hollywoodartists being featured within our events and this year as we debut inAmerica we are proud to have achieved this with a Master Class Panelthat features Vidya Balan. This panel will be an enthralling event thatwill create a great platform for knowledge exchange in the world offi lm and media.”

Over the years, IIFA has been established as the most prestigiousand exalted platforms of appreciating talent and performances in theIndian Film Industry. Year on year, Indian cinema’s prominent namescongregate at the annual IIFA Weekend and Awards to celebrate thefi nest contribution made to the world of fi lms.

The 15th Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend and the Tata Motors IIFAAwards will be held from the 23rd – 26th of April in Tampa Bay, Flor-ida. This will be IIFA’s debut in the US.

In addition to his Academy Award win-ning performances in The Usual Sus-pects and American Beauty, as well as his most recent role as Francis Underwood in House of Cards, Spacey has a rich his-tory in the theater world and has been the Artistic Director of the Old Vic Theater Company in London for the last decade. Spacey was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to theatre and won the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his stage role in “The Iceman Cometh,” as well as a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yon-kers.”

The Election Commission is likely to appoint Bollywood actorAamir Khan and cricketer Virat Kohli as “national icons” who wouldencourage more and more people to vote in the general elections.

Aamir and Kohli are expected to join the league of four other “na-tional icons” - cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, boxer M.C. MaryKom, badminton ace Saina Nehwal and former president A.P.J AbdulKalam. Sources said the national icons will reach out to people throughprogrammes such as systematic voter education and electoral participa-

Aamir likely to be EC’s national icon

tion (SVEEP), which aims at increasing voter turnout as also quality of electoral participation in terms of informed and ethi-cal voting.

They said the poll panel has approached Aamir and Kohli and is likely to make an announcement about their inclusion as na-tional icons in the coming days.

Offi cials said there are several state-level icons, also referred to as brand ambassadors.

“It is for the fi rst time that there would be six na-tional icons to boost voter participation,” an offi cial, who did not wish to be identifi ed, said. He said the national icons were not only well-known people but had an appeal cutting across age groups.

“Over two crore (20 million) fi rst-time voters will be eligible to exercise their right to franchise in this elec-tion. The number of young voters will also be large. The national icons have a special appeal among the youth,” the offi cial said. Aamir, who has been pitching for better voter participation in his individual capacity, is now expected to do so on behalf of the poll panel.

During the launch of a TV show last month, Aamir said he has been approached by the poll panel to spread the message about the signifi cance of voting. Kohli was part of an awareness campaign for the Delhi as-sembly elections last year.

The national icons would also feature in print and electronic advertisements released by the Election Commission. Over 814 million people will be eligible to vote in the 2014 elections, the biggest Lok Sabha polls and the biggest democratic parliamentary elec-tions anywhere in the world.

Juhi’s brother Bobby diesActress Juhi Chawla’s brother Sanjeev (Bobby)

Chawla, who was in coma since 2010 at the JaslokHospital, died Sunday morning, March 9.

Bobby, whose condition was serious for a longtime, died at 7 a.m. He was in coma since April 2010after suffering a massive stroke while having a dinnerat a restaurant.

The funeral took place on Sunday evening in Mum-bai. The last rites were performed by Chawla’s wifeAnuradha at Malabar Hill’s Banganga Tank.

Juhi Chawla, brother-in-law Jay Mehta and otherfamily members paid their last respects.

Several B-town celebrities, including Shah RukhKhan and Deepika Padukone also attended the fu-neral on Sunday.

SRK and Padukone were in Chennai to attend theaudio launch of superstar Rajinikanth’s upcomingfi lm “Kochadaiiyaan.” After attending the event in themorning, the “Chennai Express” lead pair fl ew backto Mumbai to attend Chawla’s funeral.

Bobby was the former CEO of Shah Rukh Khan’sRed Chillies Entertainment.


REVIEW/PREVIEW SPORTGulab Gang: Watch it for Juhi

Saina loses in quarter final of All-England Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was outplayed by Chinese nem-

esis Shixian Wang in a lop-sided quarterfinal, bringing to an end India’scampaign in the All England Badminton Championship.

The world number 7 Indian lost 17-21 10-21 against fourth seedand world number 3 Shixian Wang in a duel which lasted 43 minutes.

In a one-sided contest, Wang, against whom Saina had a 4-2 overallrecord heading into the match, dominated all through to set up a clashagainst compatriot and second seed Yihan Wang.

Wang beat Korea’s Yeon Ju Bae 21-8 21-13 in her quarterfinalcontest. Wang is the reigning world champion besides being a silver-medallist at the World Championships.

Saina, who had lost to Shixian in their most recent encounter in theSwiss Open last year, was off-colour from the word go.

Her trademark smashes were nowhere to be seen and, in fact, theIndian, a semifinalist in the previous edition of the event, failed to pulloff even one of them in either of the two games.

Saina, who entered the tournament claiming that she was back toher best after clinching the Syed Modi Indian Open, fought for a whilein the opening game but collapsed completely in the second.

Saina was the only Indian left in the championships as World No.10 P V Sindhu found the going tough on her debut and lost to Sun Yu ofChina in the first round.

Sri Lanka are Asia Cup champs

It's incredible that with such asubject in hand, your main drawremains the star-power in the film.

It is truly undignified for thefilmmakers to not even acknowl-edge Sampat Pal, who startedGulabi Gang in Uttar Pradesh (aunique grassroots activist organi-zation known for its members don-ning pink sarees).

Despite naming the film afterher gang, copying their uniform ofpink sarees, and showing thegang's unconventional methods inaddressing women's issues—themakers claim there is no resem-

blance. (Inci-dentally, watchNishtha Jain'sdocumentary“Gulabi Gang”on Sampat Pal).

Here, we haveRajjo (MadhuriDixit), agrassroots activistwhose gang ad-dresses localgrievances rang-

two ladies meet, there's a struggle.Rajjo wants a girls school and

other amenities for the village,while Sumitra wants to cash in onRajjo's popularity to win the localelections. She wants to keep thingsquiet till the elections, such thatpaying off a victim raped by aparty official is no big deal.

The film delves into the rivalrybetween the two women, leadingto a disappointingly weak finale.

All the scenes with JuhiChawla are delicious. Who'd havethunk this '90s bubbly icon couldmake for such a chilling villain?Raising her voice at the right time,curbing an ironic laugh when herassociate gets beaten by thewomen, and ready to "give" thevillage's welfare in turn for Rajjo'spopular support - this villain hasno idea how dark she is.

Rajjo, on the other hand is prettyho-hum, and saddled with preachydialogue. If you see the documen-tary mentioned here, you'll realizethat Sampat Pal of the real GulabiGang is a charismatic woman ofwit, tenacity and determination indealing with the local cases. Thereel version is washed out andpredictable. Saddled with such aweak take on what-could-have-been a great character, MadhuriDixit is intermittently impressive.

ing from harassment of womento electricity. Their ways of tack-ling the issues are unique. In oneinstance, when requesting doesnot work, the Gang cuts off elec-tricity in the collector's office andlocks him in. In true Bollywoodstyle, the village gets its electricityinstantaneously.

Enter politician Sumitra (JuhiChawla), whose gentle face be-lies her darkness. A simple lackof bending in salutation before hercould get a cop dismissed; callingher by her name has bigger re-percussions. Now when these

Total SiyapaaIt's the boy meets girl's family

situation. Aman (Ali Zafar) ismeeting girlfriend Asha’s (YaamiGautam) family for the first time.He’s Pakistani; she’s Indian(Aman-Asha, gettit?)

The meeting is a mess from theword go. The family doesn’twarm up to him, and he is disori-ented by them. The film, a remakeof Only Human (SeresQueridos) , a Spanish film, tries touse this unsettled milieu to bringon the laughs.

And the potential was there, butsomehow the film is not as funnyas it should be. Kirron Kher’sPunjabi mom tadka is the film’sonly gag. But how many times canyou laugh on “phitte mooh” andother such?

Asha’s mother (Kirron Kher)is on anti-depressants, and claimsher family is responsible. The fa-ther (Anupam Kher) is demotedat work, and rarely comes home.Asha’s brother is the kind thathates Pakistanis and happily beatsanyone who crosses his path. Thegrandfather walks around with aknife in the house; that's when hecan't find the gun.

When the meeting happens, themother tries hard to hide her dis-appointment beneath overtlycheerful smiles. The grandfatherasks him, “Guitar to main bhibajaata hoon. Lekin karte kya ho?"And "Tum army mein kyun nahingaye?" The married sister flirtsunabashedly. The brother openlycriticizes Pakistanis.

You see, in this minefield, Ashahas hidden his nationality from herfamily. The Pandora's Box openswhen Asha announces that Amanis a Pakistani.

The lead actors -- Ali Zafar andYaami Gautam don't have theelectric chemistry that makes rom-coms come alive. Individually theygive competent performances (al-though both actors have been

Rani (Kangna Ranaut) is the quintessential “good girl” studyingHome Science (naturally), saying things like “mummy-daddy ki kasam”,and thrilled about going to a foreign country for her honeymoon.

So when her fiancé (Rajkummar Rao) cancels the wedding last-minute, she coops herself in a room, sobbing. The next morning, hav-ing partially recoveredthanks to some kick-ass advice by her grand-mother, she decides to go on the honeymoon by herself.

Used to taking her little brother along everywhere as chaperone,Rani now has to navigate her way through the most romantic of cities– Paris.

The first few days in Paris make her want to run back home, butthen something happens. She finally begins to have some fun, andstarts the journey of re-discovering herself.

The film makes several important statements. It's a progressivefilm that humanizes everyone breaking race, gender and geographicallimitations. It's incredible how director Vikas Bahl (Chillar Party).The only place where it falters is its flitting between extremes. So theonly two lives offered are a typical life where you join your mother-in-law's kitty party after marriage, or get drunk and dance on the road.

Then, we're shown the disparity between being a hesitant womanfrom an over-protective background to a wild child who believes infree sex, doing drugs and living it up. Surely there are people that fallin the middle ground—but the film believes only in black and whiteportrayals. The central character has more grey shades thankfully.She's one of those innately wise, non-judgmental people who just didn'tget a chance to flourish. And then they do, the transformation is quickand sure-footed.

Ranaut is a fearless performer—completely uninhibited and raw.Her performance will have you thinking back to the astute comic tim-ing of Sridevi in films such as Mr. India and Chaalbaaz. (interestingly,the film reminds you of Sridevi's English Vinglish as well.)

From the scenes where she's hopelessly in love, to her wide-eyedtransition, and the finale— Kangana's priceless!

And then there's Rajkummar Rao who plays the Delhi brat su-perbly. Lisa Haydon as the wild child deserves mention for under-standing her character, and therefore giving a very thorough perfor-mance (even if the accent keeps shifting). Performances by the restof the cast particularly those playing Rani's family and new-foundfriends are superb!

One thanks Bahl for giving us this richly textured, endearing char-acter and for Ranauat and for bringing it alive with humour and heart.

A true coming-of-age-story…no cop-out. Now that's a rareBollywood gem. Do Not Miss!

Queen: A rare Bollywood gem

much better in their other films), but there’s no sizzle as a pair.Director E Niwas (Shool, ) gives us a film devoid of conviction. The

film had potential to be poignant, funny and romantic, but sadly it’s justa little of all three. Even at its short running length, the film looked likeit had run out of a story in the second half.

DHAKA: SriLanka regained theAsia Cup trophywith a comfortablefive-wicket victoryover defendingchampions Paki-stan, riding onLasith Malinga’sfive-wicket haul andopener LahiruThrimanne’s fluentcentury.

Sri Lanka wereclinical as they re-stricted Pakistan toa modest 260 forfive and then overhauled the target with 22 balls to spare to lift theirfifth Asia Cup title. The last time they won the regional championshipwas in 2008.

Malinga pegged Pakistan back as he demolished the rival top orderwith his fierce pace and it was Fawad Alam’s magnificent unbeaten114 that guided the holders to a decent total after deciding to bat.Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq (65) and Umar Akmal (59) too battedwith determination with fighting half-centuries as none of other Lankanbowlers could take a wicket.

Alam added 122 runs for the fourth wicket with Misbah and 115with Akmal for the fifth at Shere Bangla stadium.

The Island nation had started brilliantly but spinner Saeed Ajmalremoved Kusla Perera (42) and Kumar Sangakkara (0) off succes-sive balls in the 11th over to take the fight to the rival camp.

However, Mahela Jayawardene (75) perfectly timed his return toform as he joined Thirimanne at the crease and added 156 runs for thethird wicket in 27 overs. The partnership pushed Sri Lanka close towin. Thirimanne scored 101 runs, his third ODI century, and faced108 balls in his innings which was laced with 13 fours.

The left-handed batsman was bowled by Ajmal when Sri Lankawere just 14 runs away from the win. Bowling his final over, Ajmalbeat the defense of Thirimanne with a ‘doosra’.

For Jayawardene, it was his first notable contribution for Sri Lankain this tournament and it could not have come at a better time. He wasdropped on 52 by Mohammed Hafeez off Umar Gul but was dis-missed when he attempted a big shot off Mohammad Talha and foundSharjeel Khan.

His 75-run knock came off 93 balls with 10 boundaries including asix while Thrimanne.

The Lankan openers, Thirimanne and Perera, ensured that gavethem a decent start, putting on 56 runs in 10 overs.

Ajmal briefly turned the match around for Pakistan when he hadPerera stumped and trapped the in-form Sangakkara with a doosra inthe next ball to bring on an out-of-form Jayawardene.

The former Lankan captain, who had 36 runs from his last fourinnings, lived up to the team’s faith as he calmly went about the chasewith Thirimanne playing the lead role.

Luck too aided the Lankans when Thriminnne was dropped on 36by wicketkeeper Akmal while Jaywardene’s appeal was turned downby umpire Bruce Oxenford in the same 20th over.

Pakistan260 for 5 in 50 overs (Fawad 114, U. Akmal 59, Misbah65; Malinga 5 for 56) Sri Lanka 261 for 5 in 46.2 overs (Perera 42,Thirimanne 101, M Jayawardene 75; Ajmal 3 for 26)

Lahiru Thrimanne

RELIGION / SPIRITUALITYINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 • PAGE 17

UH scholar strengthens linkbetween Quran and Bible

HOUSTON: By researching the Quran in Arabic and the fourGospels of the Bible in Aramaic, a language common to most of theMiddle East in the 7th century A.D., a University of Houston (UH)professor says he has established links between the Quran and theBible.

“The Quran is part of a larger discussion, it’s not just a holy book.It’s a book of world heritage and world history,” said Emran El-Badawi,director of the Arab Studies Program and assistant professor of Ara-bic language and literature at UH. “It’s the first book of Arabic litera-ture. It’s written in language that is formulaic and poetic. It’s almostlike reading one giant but diversely constructed poem. You can com-pare reading the Quran to reading the Iliad or the Odyssey from aliterary perspective, rather than the Bible, which has was written bymany authors and hosts different narratives.”

El-Badawi spent four years researching books and manuscripts innumerous languages, visiting the Corpus Coranicum in Berlin (a cen-tral repository drawing on some of the earliest Qurans known in exist-ence) and meeting with experts in Cairo and Damascus. He reviewedarchaeological epigraphic evidence, Christian literature, later Islamicliterature in Arabic, non-Muslim literature in dialects of Aramaic, He-brew, Greek and Ethiopic, and the world around the Quran to analyzethe depth of the relationships between the Quran and the Bible.

“Much of the recent scholarship on the Quran looks at Christianliterature in the Aramaic language. We are learning now that part ofthe reason the origins of early Islamic history and the Quran are somysterious is because we’ve not always been looking in the right places;we should be looking, in fact, at Aramaic,” said El-Badawi.

The Quran taps into a reservoir of language and late antique Ara-maic literature. He notes many of the Aramaic speakers at the timewere Christian; most notably, Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic. Arabic andAramaic are both Semitic languages and are closely related. The dif-ferent communities that spoke Aramaic and Arabic were trading witheach other and intermarrying. He refers to Aramaic in the 7th centuryas the common language, “… it was the ‘English’ of the Middle East.”

Many Christians are surprised to learn the Garden of Eden, Noah’sflood, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, the Disciples, Ezekiel, and Jonasare all referenced in the Quran. He points out that there is a well-developed familiarity with the Bible in the region by the time the Qurancomes into existence.

“The references in the Quran to figures in the Bible must not beunderstood as copying; rather, the Quran builds up on the theologypresented in the Gospels and marks a theological shift in the relation-ship between God and man,” said El-Badawi.

“There was a new worldview, and the author of the Quran and theaudience of the Quran knew the Bible fluently. The Quran informs its7th century audience that there are notions in the Bible that the authoraccepts and there are some things the author does not accept. What Iargue is that this process took a long time, maybe centuries, to accountfor this inheritance; and so the Quran’s inheritance of biblical materialspans a time period much longer than one author – even lifetimes orgenerations.”

An example El-Badawi gives where the Quran inherits a story andmakes a change is in the Gospel of John. The text says that, “In thebeginning was the word and the word was with God.” Then it contin-ues stating that Jesus is the light of the world. In chapter 24 of theQuran, the text indicates a theological change to the Gospel of John,stating God is the light of the heavens and the earth.

“This example tells me that in the Gospels, the relationship betweenman and God is very close. They can touch, so to speak. They canmerge. In the Quran, they have been completely separated. TheQuran goes out of its way to unlock the two, to dislodge that relation-ship and say the world of man and God are separated,” said El-Badawi.

El-Badawi’s long-term goal for his research is for people to under-stand the Quran as important for literary and historical reasons. “Myhope is to bring some sobriety, mutual understanding and peace to theworld through a literary and academic approach.”

El-Badawi is the author of a new book, The Qur’an and the Ara-maic Gospel Traditions, and is newly appointed executive directorof the International Qur’anic Studies Associations. He completed hisdoctoral degree with distinction from the department of Near EasternLanguages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.

There’s so much to be grateful forBy Dada J P Vaswani

Why should I be grateful? Being grateful makes us positive, happyand optimistic; it helps us see the bright side of life. It teaches us the artof appreciation. Some believe that we lack in spirit of gratitude be-cause we take things for granted.

The street urchin into whose hands you drop a packet of biscuitslooks up at you with gratitude and smiles happily.

He has known what it is to be hungry, to go without food oftentimes. He knows the value of those biscuits which may not be daintyenough for our palates.

What do we do? Someone takes the trouble to shop and plan andcook and clean, so that a plate of hot food is put before us at regularintervals; we make faces and complain that the dish is either too spicyor not spicy enough; that it is boring; that it not our favorite recipe thathas been served; and that the vegetables on the plate are not the oneswe like.

May be we need to go without the things we take for granted, to beable to appreciate what we have.

When you become aware of all that you have to be grateful for,when you actually begin to count your blessings, you will be over-whelmed with gratitude for all that has been bestowed on youunstintingly. Your sleep, your friends, your good health which you failto appreciate until you fall ill, the fresh air and sunlight around you, themarvels of technology which have made your life so easy, your societyand community – where would you be without them all?

Many think that if they had a little more of this or that, a little morethan what they now have, they would indeed be very happy, satisfiedand thankful: they are quite mistaken. If we are not satisfied with whatwe have, we are not likely to be satisfied even if it were increasedmany times.

What you feel strongly about happens to you. It is thought powerthat makes things happen. If you feel grateful for what you have, youwill attract many more things to be grateful for. Gratitude is the verybasis of the abundant law of attraction.

I often urge my dissatisfied friends to actually put down in black andwhite, all the things for which they are truly grateful: they are in ablack mood while they struggle to think of the first two or three; andthen, the joy of discovering gratitude carries them forward, and theysimply don’t want to stop. Their very attitude changes for the betterand they find a new perspective.

Being alive, being free to do what you care about, being literate,being with people – these are privileges which we enjoy and take forgranted. Be grateful for them.

Gratitude is not an attitude to yourself; it should be an attitude to life,an attitude which you show to others.

Gratitude is most beautiful when it is expressed, and not just when itis felt. When we show gratitude, we are sharing our joy and happinesswith others.

In the Hindu way of prayer, we light agarbattis or offer incense toshow our gratitude to God; the fragrance from the incense spreads allaround, making others happy. So it is with gratitude: it blesses bothgiver and receiver. It strengthens their faith in life, and teaches them toshow their gratitude to others.

Subscription/Renewal RequestPlease enter my subscription $25 for one year (52 issues) $250 Lifetime Subscription

Name___________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________

City_______________________State____Zip code_______________

Tel:___________________Email_____________________________

Please make check or money order payable to India HeraldP.O. Box 623 • Sugar Land, TX 77487

The path to perfectionBy Jaya Row

Ancient seers conceived of perfection, explored avenues, achievedperfection and prescribed the route to it. The Bhagwad Gita expoundson perfection in the midst of human frailty. The world is full of chal-lenges. This is portrayed by the battlefield in which Arjuna, the indi-vidual, was placed. When the Pandavas and Kauravas assembled onthe battlefield Arjuna, the commander of the Pandava army askedKrishna, his charioteer, to drive him between the two armies for a lastminute reconnaissance. There he saw his beloved patriarch Bhishma,his revered guru Dronacharya, and many family members arrayed inthe opposing army. His resolve to fight the battle was shaken andoverwhelmed Arjuna.

Many of us find ourselves in this predicament. The student all setfor the exam is rattled by last minute nerves; the job aspirant withdream qualifications fails the interview, and a CEO bungles at thecrucial moment. Faced with inevitable challenges, you flounder, be-come incapacitated and fail. The Gita rehabilitates, rejuvenates, re-constructs your personality and empowers you with the technique ofliving. With this knowledge Arjuna was able to lift himself up and gainvictory. And so can you. You cannot stop the waves in the ocean oflife, but you can learn to ride them and emerge triumphant.

In Chapter 2 Arjuna asks Krishna, “Who is a perfect person? Whatis his inner nature and how does he interact with the world of fini-tude?” Krishna’s reply serves as guide to humanity for all times.

Krishna defines a perfect person as one who has completely aban-doned all desires as a result of being fulfilled in the Self by the Self. Itis desire that takes away your might and power. Desire comes in theway of success. Unfulfilled desire agitates the mind and causes stress.Desire enslaves and weakens you. To regain perfection you need todrop desire. However desire cannot just be wished away. You canonly take up a higher desire that is more gratifying. The lower fascina-

tions drop of their own accord.Go back to your own life. As a

child you were captivated withtoys. Today you have no desirefor toys. How did the desire goaway? You just moved on to moresatisfying things, and the desire fortoys dropped. As a spiritual childyou are now stuck with physicaland material playthings. Move toemotional joys and material pre-occupations no longer have a gripover you. Pick up an intellectualideal and the emotional loses itscharm. Take the final plunge tothe spiritual and nothing will holdyou back. All desires drop. Youregain your immortal stature.

As you rise above desire, ob-jects of desire come to you,unsought. The way to gain theworld is to escalate to higherrealms. You will obtain the lowereffortlessly. Thus you becomesuccessful, happy and grow toyour Divine potential.

Krishna underscores the im-portance of sense control whichrequires a strong and alert intel-lect. With a powerful intellect thatkeeps the senses and mind sub-dued you take off into higherrealms. He concludes with thedefinition of happiness. We allseek happiness but are cluelessabout where it lies or how to ob-tain it. Here is a clear indicationthat you can follow to rise tohigher levels of happiness until youattain infinite happiness. Thereaf-ter nothing in the world will im-pact your bliss.

Krishna concludes, “This is thestate of Brahmn. Having attainedit one is not deluded again. Beingestablished in it one attains unionwith Brahmn even after death”.

Love liberatesLove is the firstborn, loftier

than the gods, fathers and men.You, O Love, are the eldest of

all, altogether mighty.To you we pay homage!— Atharva Veda

True lovers are those who areforever absorbed in the Beloved.

— Adi Granth, Asa-ki-Var

O Beloved,take me.Liberate my soul.Fill me with your love andrelease me from the two

worlds.If I set my heart on anything

but youlet fire burn me from inside.— Jalaluddin Rumi

If you love, you cannot be theego because the ego will not al-low love. — Osho

INDIAPAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

RAJARAJARAJARAJARAJAINDIAN RESTINDIAN RESTINDIAN RESTINDIAN RESTINDIAN RESTAURANTAURANTAURANTAURANTAURANT

PROUDLY SERVING THE HOUSTON

COMMUNITY FOR OVER 25 YEARS

We Bring India to You!To serve you the best is our

journey, not our destination

SERVINGSERVINGSERVINGSERVINGSERVINGLUNCH & DINNERLUNCH & DINNERLUNCH & DINNERLUNCH & DINNERLUNCH & DINNER

Low Cholesterol & High FiberAll Dinners Served with Salad & Pickle

Chana BhaturaChana BhaturaChana BhaturaChana BhaturaChana Bhatura(As low as $5.50)

VVVVVegeegeegeegeegetable Plattable Plattable Plattable Plattable Plate & Ricee & Ricee & Ricee & Ricee & Rice(As low as $6.00)

Goat Meat & RiceGoat Meat & RiceGoat Meat & RiceGoat Meat & RiceGoat Meat & Rice(As low as $9.50)

Butter Chicken PlatterButter Chicken PlatterButter Chicken PlatterButter Chicken PlatterButter Chicken Platter(As low as $8.00)

Authentic Indian Snacks & SweetsAuthentic Indian Snacks & SweetsAuthentic Indian Snacks & SweetsAuthentic Indian Snacks & SweetsAuthentic Indian Snacks & Sweets

(As low as $2.50 a plate)

CofCofCofCofCoffffffee, Tee, Tee, Tee, Tee, Tea, Sofea, Sofea, Sofea, Sofea, Soft Drinkst Drinkst Drinkst Drinkst Drinks

We Cater for Parties •• Fast Food Take-out

713-782-5667

5667 Hillcroft @ Harwin •• Houston, TX 77036

Your Satisfaction is Our Business

Nobody Goes Hungry at RAJA

Visit www.raja-sweets.com

NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi,Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha SpeakerMeira Kumar, IT expert NandanNilekani, cricketer Mohd Kaif andseveral union ministers figure inCongress's first list of 194 candi-dates for Lok Sabha elections re-leased on Saturday, March 8.

Party sources said 35% of thecandidates are under the age of50. Sonia and Rahul will seek re-election from Rae Bareli andAmethi. The first list includesmore than 60 sitting membersfrom Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam,West Bengal, Gujarat,Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Punjab,Rajashtan, Karnataka and somenorth eastern states.

Among the union ministers fig-uring in the list are SushilumarShinde from Solapur, SalmanKhurshid from Farrukhabad,Sriprakash Jaiswal from Kanpur,Beni Prasad Verma from Gonda,

Nilekani, Kaif Rahul, Sonia in Congress first list

Cricketer Kaif, IT expert Nilekani

(all in Uttar Prdesh),Kamal Nath fromChhindwara andJyotiraditya Scindia fromGuna in Madhya Pradesh,Adhir Ranjan Chow-dhary from Behrampur(West Bengal), ParneetKaur from Patiala(Punjab), Girija Vyas fromChittorgarh (Rajasthan),

K H Muniyappa from Kolar andMallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga(Karnataka).

Lok Sabha Speaker MeiraKumar has been renominatedfrom Sasaram and former IPS of-ficer Nikhil Kumar, who resignedas Kerala Governor just two daysago, was fielded from Aurangabadin Bihar, from where Congresshas declared candidates for 10 ofthe 12 seats it got in alliance withLalu Prasad's RJD.

Kaif is the Congress candidatefrom Phulpur, Karuna Shuklafrom Bilaspur in Chhattisgarhwhile justice Hanuman-thappafrom Bellary in Karnataka.

Gujarat CLP leaderShankersinh Vaghela has beenfielded from Sabarkantha, UnionMinister Bharatbhai Solanki fromAnand and Tushar Chaudharyfrom Bardoli; party general sec-retaries Mukul Wasnik, GurudasKamat, AICC secretary Priya

Candidate in M.P. deserts Congress aftergetting party ticket, joins BJP

NEW DELHI: Congress was left red-faced when its candidatefrom Bhind, Bhagirath Prasad, crossed over to BJP barely hours afterhis name was announced in the first list of party nominees on Satur-day, March 8.

Prasad, a retired IAS officer who contested the seat unsuccess-fully in 2009, joined the rival tent in Bhopal and criticized the Congressin Madhya Pradesh for being a divided house.

Prasad's desertion has compounded the embarrassment caused bythe defection of Congress's Odisha legislature party leader BhupinderSingh. He joined rival Chief Minister Biju Pattnaik’s ruling Biju JanataDal on Saturday. Congress managers are silent over the move, blam-ing the AICC in-charge for the handling of state affairs. Along withBhupinder Singh, Congress legislature party secretary Anup Sai toojoined Patnaik.

AICC general secretary and former MP chief minister DigvijaySingh said Prasad's act was 'unpardonable'. The PR coup for BJPwas evident in the way Prasad criticized Congress and praised ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. A senior AICC leader said Prasad'sname was announced on Saturday after intense lobbying; the localparty unit and the AICC general secretary were totally unaware ofhis plans. Though defections ahead of big elections are not uncom-mon, especially in states with strong rival governments like Patnaik'sor Chouhan's, it is the seniority of leaders like Singh in Odisha thatwould rankle the Congress.

Dutt have been renominated fromtheir seats in Maharashtra.

Bhojpuri films star Ravi Kishen,Oriya actors Aparajita Mohantyand Bijay Mohanty, Atal BihariVajpayee's niece Karuna Shuklaand Justice N Y Hanumanthappaare among the nominees.

This is for the first time in sev-eral years that Congress has fi-nalized so many candidates forgeneral elections soon after an-nouncement of the poll schedule.

Bhausaheb Walchaure, a sittingmember of Shiv Sena from Shirdiin Maharashtra who joined Con-gress last month, has been fieldedby the party from the same seat.

Seven-time MP Vilas Muttem-war will take on former BJP chiefNitin Gadkari from Nagpur. AmitaSingh, wife of outgoing MP fromSultanpur Sanjay Singh, has beenfielded from the seat. SanjaySingh was recently brought toRajya Sabha from Assam afterreports of his warming up to BJP.

Former AICC secretary BholaPandey, who had lost three elec-tions, has been renominated fromSalempur. Annu Tandon is renomi-nated from Unnao and PraveenSingh Aroan from Bareli in UP.

DMK ticket: A. Raja gets it, Alagiri doesn’tCHENNAI: Closing the doors for Congress, barring a last-minute

u-turn, the DMK on Monday, March 10, announced candidates forthe 35 seats it would contest in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Naduand Puducherry, denying ticket to party supremo’s son M K Alagiriwhile renominating 2G scam accused A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran.

Sending a strong signal that the party would quell rebellion with astrong hand, the party refused nomination of ten sitting MPs, includinga former Minister of State S S Palanimanickam, while renominating 8MPs, including T R Baalu.

Releasing the list at a hurriedly-convened press conference, DMKPresident M Karunanidhi said said the remaining five seats have beenallocated to its allies VCK, IUML, MMK and PT. While Tamil Naduhas 39 Lok Sabha seats, Puducherry has one.

By naming candidates for all the 35 seats in Tamil Nadu andPuducherry, DMK has clearly signalled that it has shut its doors to theCongress, its former ally, with which it had snapped ties in March lastyear over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

There has been speculation lately that DMK might get Congressback into his alliance in view of the fact that BJP was on the verge oftying up a formidable alliance. An isolated Congress may have to fightthe poll all alone with none of the Dravidian or local outfits comingforward to forge a poll truck with it.

Tickets: AAP menspar with KejriwalNEW DELHI: Disgruntled

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) work-ers on Sunday protested outsideparty national convenor ArvindKejriwal’s residence here, shout-ing slogans against the selectionof some AAP candidates for theLok Sabha polls and said the partyleadership was inaccessible.

The protest, by a group ofaround 20 AAP workers, coin-cided with Kejriwal leaving for arally in Mathura. The protestersalleged when they confrontedKejriwal, he told them that “theywould not get tickets”.

“He said loudly in front of themedia that the party would notgive us tickets. But that is not whywe are here for. He is trying tomislead people,” AshwiniUpadhyaya, one of the ‘foundermembers’ of the party, said.

“We came to meet Kejriwal.The main issue is how tickets arebeing ‘doled out’ in the party.Those who have just entered theparty are being given tickets, andno explanations are being given bythe party. Only four or five lead-ers are privy to these decisions.The AAP talks of swaraj, butdoesn’t implement it within theparty,” he said.

When Kejriwal emerged fromhis residence to leave for hisscheduled rally in Mathura around11 am, he was greeted by loud slo-gans by the protesters.

Some of them even shouted,“Kejriwal is a liar.”

A protester said, “The partyused to say that there would be acooling-off period for every per-son. This meant that once theybecame a general member, theywould have to work for four tosix months before they could be-come active members. But peoplelike Rajmohan Gandhi andAshutosh have been parachutedin,” he said.

Joshi downplays row over Modi from VaranasiBreaking his silence over the reported

row in BJP over a move to field NarendraModi from Varanasi, the party’s seniorleader, Murli Manohar Joshi, said he wouldaccept any decision the party takes like a"disciplined soldier" and hoped it wouldneither dent the PM candidate's prestigenor hurt party's electoral chances.

Joshi, who had won from Varanasi lasttime, said the party's Central Election Com-mittee would take a decision on March 13and rejected reports of a poster war be-tween supporters of Modi and him in theconstituency as the "mental fiction" of media. "The decision will betaken by Parliamentary Board. A meeting (of CEC) is taking place onMarch 13," he told reporters.

Asked if he would accept a decision to field Modi from the presti-gious eastern UP seat, he shot back, "Every disciplined soldier ac-cepts" party's decision. "I don't talk about such issues outside. What-ever I say is within the party," he said to repeated questions over hisstand on the row. "The party would take a decision which will neitherdent the prestige of our PM candidate nor compromise party's win-ning chances," he said.

Joshi is understood to have expressed his unhappiness in the CECmeeting on March 7 over reports that Modi will be fielded from Varanasiand sought clarification from the leadership. He is said to be unwillingto shift from the seat. Many within the party believe that Modi's pres-ence could galvanise the party's base in the crucial region of easternUP and maximise its winning chances in UP. On Saturday, there wasno Varanasi in the second list of 52 Lok Sabha candidates announcedby the BJP. If that wasn't enough, senior leader Sushma Swaraj fol-lowed up by expressing her anguish at some of the alliances the partyhas forged for Mission 272. And then she walked out.


INDIA

Naxalites kill 11 policemen in ChhattisgarhRAIPUR: Maoist rebels have killed at least 16 policemen n Tues-

day, March 11, in Chhattisgarh, police said.The patrol was on its way to provide security to workers building a

road in Sukma district when rebels fired at them, officials said.Twenty-five policemen were injured in the attack, senior police of-

ficer Mukesh Gupta told BBC Hindi.Chhattisgarh is a stronghold of the rebels who say they are fighting

for the rights of the poor.The Maoists are active in more than a third of India's 600 districts

and control large areas of several states in a "red corridor" stretchingfrom north-east to central India.

Tuesday's ambush happened in the Tongpal area of Sukma.It is not clear whether the rebels suffered any casualties.Last May, rebels attacked a convoy carrying state Congress lead-

ers and party workers in Sukma, killing 27 people, including some topstate politicians.

And in April 2012, rebels kidnapped a senior government official inthe district, which is part of the Maoist-dominated Bastar region. AlexPaul Menon was freed after 12 days in captivity.

Wedding canceled over chicken biryaniBANGALORE: A heated argument over food sent to the groom’s

side by the bride’s family led to the wedding being called off on Mon-day, March 10. It all started when the girl’s family prepared 30 kg ofchicken biryani and sent it to the groom’s side. The groom’s familywas upset as they do not eat chicken. The issue was resolved soon.However, it was brought up again at the wedding on Sunday nightwhere it got blown out of proportion.

Seeing how events were unfolding, the bride refused to get hitched,police said. Seeing the groom’s family’s behavior prior to the wedding,she wondered how she would be treated after marriage, they added.

The groom’s family decided not to mend fences and took back themehar that had been given to the bride, police said. The girl’s familyfiled a complaint with the KG Halli police. Both families live on Tan-nery Road. The boy works in Dubai. The marriage was scheduled forMarch 9 and 10.

Dine with Kerjiwal for Rs. 20,000BANGALORE:

Fending off criticismabout its “Rs 20,000per person” dinnerwith Arvind Kejriwal,Aam Aadmi Party onTuesday, March 11,claimed it was atransparent way ofraising money, unlikethe mainstream par-ties where 75 percent of funding camefrom “unknown”sources.

“We are raisingmoney for fightingelection in an open

AAP candidates V Balakrishna and Naina P Nayakat the launch of their poll strategy in Bangalore

and transparent way,” former Infosys Board Member and AAP can-didate from Bangalore Central V Balakrishnan, who is said to be co-ordinating the event, told reporters here. The fund raising dinner, inwhich people could participate after paying Rs 20,000 per person, isscheduled for March 15 when Kejriwal will hold roadshow in andaround the city, followed by a public rally the next day.

“We are asking people to come there, interact with Arvind, under-stand his ideas and if they can contribute minimum Rs 20,000, that willhelp us in fighting election in more honest way,” Balakrishnan said. Healleged 75 per cent of funding for mainstream political parties comefrom unknown sources. “Raising money from unknown sources iswhere the corruption starts, it is like promoting crony capitalism. Wewill put all the names on the web,” he said, adding AAP’s approachwould bring a big change.

Prithvi Reddy, AAP’s national executive member, said that for thefirst time in this country, AAP was approaching people telling thatclean politics requires clean money. “Lot of people have tried to attackus saying that you are charging Rs 20,000 to have a meal with Kejriwal;…that’s not true, Kejriwal certainly is not interested in charging Rs20,000, nobody is coming there for a meal.

“As a donation to the party we have requested that they give us(money), this is a ticketed event where we are charging a minimum ofRs 20,000,” he added. The party had on Monday announced 3 candi-dates out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.

In Nagpur, AAP supporters are likely to dole out between Rs 8,000and Rs 25,000, and the amount may touch Rs 1 lakh. The minimumwas yet to be decided until Monday evening. The ‘Dinner with Kejriwal’in Nagpur is likely to be held on March 13 and in Bangalore on March15. Over 200 have already signed up in Bangalore. Some 300 peopledrawn largely from AAP support base in the IT sector are a keysource of funding for AAP candidates in Bangalore. The group, theWell Wishers of AAP forum, was founded to organize funds for theDelhi assembly elections, a member of the group said.

NEW DELHI: In the comingLok Sabha election, Abid, a 21-year-old fruit vendor, wants tomake amends for the opportunityhe “lost” during the Delhi Assem-bly polls. He voted for the Con-gress after he was told by “someprominent people” at JamiaNagar, the Muslim dominated sub-urb here, that the Aam AadmiParty was not a “serious con-tender” and voting for the AAPwould go “waste.”

Abid’s support to the ArvindKejriwal-led party reflects agrowing enthusiasm and emerg-ing support for it among Muslimshere ahead of the Lok Sabha elec-tion. This enthusiasm is in contrastwith the times when the Kejriwal-led anti-corruption movementalienated Muslims by using theimage of Bharat Mata (MotherIndia) and use of the VandeMataram slogans to work upcrowds, which they found to beimages of Hindu nationalism. TheAAP’s deliberate attempt to wooMuslims was reflected when Mr.Kejriwal recently said communal-ism was a bigger threat than cor-ruption.

Referring to Muslims’ disen-chantment with the Congress and

AAP leader Ashutosh cam-paigning in the Jama Masjid areain Old Delhi on Tuesday.

Muslim voters warm up to Aam Aadmi Party

the AAP taking on BJP prime min-isterial candidate Narendra Modi,Mohammad Reyaz, a doctoralcandidate of International Rela-tions at Jamia Millia Islamia,pointed out that a large section ofthe minority community believesthat the AAP had managed toemerge as a “formidable and cred-ible” challenge to Mr. Modi. In-terestingly, the AAP’s list of 61general election candidates has 11Muslims. “The fact that the AAPhas taken on Mr. Modi has en-hanced its brand value among thecommunity,” he said.

Another reason for growingattraction for the AAP, especiallyin the age group of 20-40, is its‘different’ approach towardsMuslims. Irfanullah, AAP leaderwho is leading the party’s cam-paign among Muslims, said: “In-stead of repeatedly invoking emo-tive issues like communal riots, theAAP’s campaign among Muslimshas largely been focused on de-velopmental issues, a welcomechange from the Congress treat-ment of Muslims.”

The irony, in Delhi at least, isthat by rejecting the Congress forthe AAP, for a large section ofMuslim the Congress has become

the “vote catua [a party that splitsvotes]” in the two way contestbetween the BJP and the AAP.

The rethink by Muslim groupson AAP has only boosted its pros-pects in the general election. TheJamaat-e-Islami Hind, one of theinfluential minority groups with asubstantial following, for instance,used to support the Congress ear-lier. But after the rookie party’sstunning electoral debut, it did aU-turn and extended its supportearlier this year.

The “emerging popularity” ofthe AAP among Muslims may begood news for the party here, butit may not necessarily be of greathelp in other States.

AAP candidate Ashutosh campaigns in the Jama Masjid area of Delhi

Appointment ofDikshit questionedNEW DELHI: Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) leader M.Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday saidthat if the National DemocraticAlliance forms the government atthe Centre, then it will review all“last-hour” decisions taken by theUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) government, including theappointment of the former DelhiChief Minister Sheila Dikshit asKerala Governor.

Naidu said that the appointmentof Ms. Dikshit, close to the dateof announcement of poll dates,was nothing but an act of despera-tion to protect her from the Com-monwealth Games scam trials.The Congress, which, accordingto him, has realised that the peoplewill not return it to be at the helmof affairs again, has been “misus-ing power”.

Rahul comparesModi to Hitler

BALASINOR: Congressvice-president Rahul Gandhi, with-out naming Gujarat Chief Minis-ter Narendra Modi, launched ablistering attack, comparing Modito Adolf Hitler and mocking himby saying the country does notneed a chowkidar (watchman).

Speaking at public meeting hereon Tuesday, the Congress leaderhinted at Modi when he said:“Adolf Hitler thought people hadno knowledge and he himselfknew everything.” Hitler was an-other leader who only spoke ofhimself and made tall claims, Mr.Gandhi said.

“A true leader does not lecturehis people but goes among themand listens to them. A true leader,like Mahatma Gandhi, does nothave any ghamand (arrogance),”he said.

Lambasting the BJP leader, hesaid what was happening inGujarat was chori as land belong-ing to farmers were beingsnatched for select industrialhouses. Gandhi said tall claimswere being made about Gujarat’sdevelopment and asked “what isshining here?”

Amid loud applause, he said,“What is shining are the bunga-lows of some industrialists, theiraircraft, their cars, not the lives ofcommon people.”

Fertile lands of farmers werebeing taken away to distributeamong select industries. “You callthis chowkidari? This is chori.”

Congress can’t find cure for Modi-feverNEW DELHI: Having won the last Lok Sabha encounter hands

down, according prime challenger status to BJP and its PM candidateNarendra Modi does not seem easy for Congress.

Despite signs that the 2014 odds might be different, Congress re-mains cagey while taking on the Gujarat CM who loses no opportunityto lash out at the Congress leadership.

As Modi steadily built up a frontrunner's position over the pastmonths, Congress switched between ignoring the saffron strongmanand criticizing his failure to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots.

PM Manmohan Singh's "Modi will be a disaster for India as PM"indictment seems one-off while Digvijaya Singh's taunt over the CM'smarital status or foreign minister Salman Khurshid's "impotent" dighighlight the inconsistency.

Rahul Gandhi has restricted himself to criticizing Modi for being a'one-man show' while reserving sharper comments for the RSS, whichhe said was complicit in Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

Even after several backroom strategy sessions, Congress has notquite closed in on Modi who derisively runs down Rahul as "shehzada"and urges the BJP cadre to keep anti-Congress sentiments inflamedtill voting day. The thinking in Congress circles seems to be that de-spite the crowds and media attention, BJP's prospects are restrictedto a clutch of states where the saffron party hopes to do well. The restis hype, due for a reality check.

There are no easy answers to Congress's dilemma as attackingModi over alleged complicity in the 2002 riots has proved counterpro-ductive in the past and lack of court strictures has emboldened hissupporters. Some Congress leaders feel 2002 is Modi's weakest linkwhile others have sporadically sought to undercut his developmentrecord as oversold. But here too the "feku" line seems to have beenjunked somewhere alng the way. Manmohan Singh attacks Modi for"killing of innocents", but Cong does not consistently stick to the re-frain. Some leaders criticize Modi for 2002 but the effort is sporadic.Sonia has used the "khoon ki kheti" metaphor and Rahul has said BJPpractises "khoon ki rajniti.” Congress leaders have dug up stats toargue that Gujarat is not shining, human indicators are poor. Modi hascountered that with his claim of 24x7 power and farm growth.

PAKISTANPAGE 20 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

Deepa A. ThakurAttorney at Law

[email protected]

• Immigration: Business and Family, Citizenship

• Planning and Formation: Of Corporations, LLC’s, and Partnerships For Professionals and Businesses

• Wills and Trusts

6565 West Loop South, Suite 850 - Bellaire, Texas 77401 6565 West Loop South, Suite 850 - Bellaire, Texas 77401

1970 - 2014

44

Musharraf told to bein court on Mar 14ISLAMABAD: The Special

Court seized with the high trea-son trial of former president re-tired General Pervez Musharrafordered him on Tuesday, March11, to appear in the court on Fri-day for indictment.

This is the sixth time that thethree-judge court has summonedGen Musharraf for indictmentsince the proceedings in the trea-son case began on Dec 13.

Taking cognizance of threats tothe life of the former army chief,the court directed Interior Secre-tary Shahid Khan Shahid Khan tomake necessary arrangementsfor escorting Gen Musharraf dur-ing his movement between theArmed Forces Institute of Cardi-ology and the court.

The secretary told the court thatsecurity had been beefed up fol-lowing a recent security alert inwhich an intelligence agency hadwarned that Al Qaeda andTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan couldcarry out an attack on GenMusharraf.

He said that 1,600 people hadbeen deployed for GenMusharraf’s security during histravel between the court and thehospital. “Security guards detailedfor his inner cordon and cavalcadehave been replaced with a heavycontingent duly screened by thedepartment concerned,” he said.

But Justice Faisal Arab of SindhHigh Court, who heads the Spe-cial Court, directed him to takeadequate measures by Fridaywhen the court would read outcharges against Gen Musharraf.

CII says marriage age laws arenot Islamic

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has ruledthat laws setting the minimum age of marriage are un-Islamic and saidthat an adolescent of any age can be married on attaining puberty.

The council’s chairman, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani, alsoruled at the conclusion of the CII’s two-day meeting here on Tuesday,March 11, that the laws were unfair because no age could be set formarriage.

“Nikah of even minors can be solemnised, but only with the consentof their guardians and ‘rukhsati’ can take place only after the minorsattain puberty,” he said.

The age of puberty, he said, varied from person to person and itwas the responsibility of guardians to arrange rukhsati soon after mi-nors attained puberty. “Laws limiting the age of marriage for bothbride and groom are un-Islamic and should be rectified,” he added.

Officials told Dawn that members of the council had cited historicalreferences and said that girls reached puberty at different ages.

When asked if the CII ruling would violate international conven-tions signed by Pakistan, the officials said the conventions could not beviolative of the Constitution or Islam and some clauses did not apply toPakistan.

The CII called upon the government to prescribe some qualificationmandatory for registrars solemnising nikah.

“Not everyone should be allowed to become a nikah registrar,”Maulana Sheerani said. He called for doing away with the fee forregistration of nikahnama.

The CII, in its previous day’s meeting, had asked the government tochange a provision in the Muslim marriage laws requiring Muslim mento seek permission of their wives for contracting another marriage.

Meanwhile, the PPP Human Rights Cell has expressed concernover the CII rulings.

“Why is the council concerned with men’s four marriages and whyhave they done nothing to ensure that women get their property asenshrined in the Islamic Law? Or why have they failed to stop prac-tices such as vani, swara and karo kari?

“Or stop rape, and acid crimes against women?” wondered DrNafisa Shah, coordinator of the PPP Human Rights Cell.

“Unfortunately Islam has been misinterpreted over time by a mindsetand a particular school of thought. Islam and modernism are compat-ible provided progressive scholars interpret the religion.” she added.

The PPP’s cell called upon the government to include progressiveIslamic scholars in the council so that women’s rights and the rights ofeveryone were protected.

TTP says govt violating truceISLAMABAD: Security forces continue operations, arrests and

torture of Taliban members despite the announcement of a ceasefire,Shahidullah Shahid, the spokesman of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan,claimed in a statement issued to the press.

The statement added that raids, arrests and torture of prisonerswas a violation of the ceasefire.

Giving details of the claims, the statement said that search opera-tions and mortar shelling continued in Mohmand tribal region whereasseveral members of the banned outfit were arrested in Karachi, Swabi,Charsadda and Peshawar.

The spokesperson further said that the TTP had no link with theAhrarul Hind and Jundullah militant organisations.

He added that there were several elements withing the govern-ment ranks which were affecting dialogue process.

The TTP, an umbrella group of several militant factions, has wageda bloody seven-year war against the Pakistani state, leaving thou-sands dead in the violence.

Prime Minister had announced the initiative of holding peace talkswith the Taliban earlier in January this year.

Peace talks between the government and Taliban struck an im-passe last month after the Taliban-linked militants murdered 23 kid-napped Pakistani soldiers.

The killings resulted in multiple targeted airstrikes by the militaryagainst suspected hideouts in the tribal northwest.

The Taliban then announced a one-month ceasefire which wasreciprocated by the government which halted its airstrikes targetingmilitants and their hideouts.

The talks process has entered its decisive stage now with the gov-ernment announcing the formation of a new committee to mediatewith the Taliban's negotiating committee.

Woman pilot of PIA alleges harassmentThe Supreme Court on Monday ordered the government and na-

tional airline to explain why they have failed to take action over thesexual harassment of a senior female pilot.

Captain Rifat Haye, who joined Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)in 1990, said in a petition to the court that she had been subjected to“severe intimidation and harassment” by male colleagues since theearly years of her career.

Frustrated by the lack of action from her superiors over her com-plaints, Haye went to the National Assembly's Standing Committee onWomen's Development in 2010.

The committee found that two of Haye's superiors had harassedher and other female employees of the beleaguered flag-carrier, Haye'slawyer Jawad Hassan said in his submission.

5704 Richmond Ave(Between Fountainview and Chimney Rock)Houston, TX 77057Tel: 713-266-0131Fax: 713-266-0135www.indiasrestauranthouston.com

15% OFFYour total food bill, with this coupon.

Excludes drinks and beverages.Dine-in only. Not valid on lunch buffet.

Expires MARCH 31, 2014 IH

Winner ofMarvin Zindler’s

Blue Ribbon AwardFour Years in a Row

INDIA’S RESTAURANT

Celebrate an Occasion, Strike a Business Deal,Impress a Special Friend While Enjoying Delectable

Food in the Beautiful Ambience of


At INDIA’S, history repeats itself in avery pleasing way. Yes, we have wonthe BLUE RIBBON AWARD for2006, duplicating our performanceof 2003, 2004 and 2005 !!


PAULINE APPLEBAUM*OF COUNSEL

We have moved, see our new address below

56 Sugar Creek Center Blvd., Suite 100, Sugar Land, TX 77478

PAULINE APPELBAUMOF COUNSEL

Home of Genuine Diamond & 22 Karat Gold Jewelry ... Our Service & Quality Sparkle

India Jewelers .... jewelry for all generationsOlympic Centre • 6638 SW Frwy@ Hillcroft • Houston, Tx 77074713-789-7575 Email: [email protected]


Spring BranchFamily Dentistry,P.A.

1111, Gessner, Suite BHouston, Texas 77055

(713) 461-8050(713) 461-4747

We speak English & Gujarati

Darshani Patel, D.D.S Sanjeev Khosla, D.D.S

CONVENIENT HOURS

Monday: 9 am – 6 pm

Tuesday: 9 am – 7 pm

Wednesday: 9 am – 6 pm

Thursday: 9 am – 7 pm

Friday: 9 am – 4 pm

Saturday: 9 am – 4 pm

(Closed one Saturday a month)

$$$$$6565656565 Exp. 09/30/2011 Exp. 09/30/2011Exp. 09/30/2011

We Speak English, Hindi & Gujarati

FLUORIDE TREATMENT (A $125 VALUE)

Exp. 03/31/2014 Exp. 03/31/2014 Exp. 03/31/2014

3rd Molar (Wisdom Teeth) Extraction

$$$$$8585858585

To All OurFriends &Patrons

India Herald

Documents

Transcript of India Herald