India Herald July 16 2014

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By Padmashree RaoChinmaya Bala Vihar

teachers from several centers in North America assembled enthusiastically on the morning of June 28, at the Sarasvati Nilayam in Chinmaya Prabha, Houston.

The occasion was the much- anticipated, comprehensive curriculum training program by Acarya Darshana Nanavaty of Chinmaya Mission Houston.

After dedicating the day to Gurudev with a prayer, Acarya Darshanaben conducted an intensely thought-provoking training to a rapt audience for several hours.

Over a hundred and fi fty people – teachers with many years of experience, new entrants, and other volunteers interested in serving through Bala Vihar, became eager students delighting in

the expansive vision that unfolded in the presentation. The audience included teachers from other Hindu organizations, who came to learn about effective teaching methods.

As she began, Acarya Darshanaben invited everyone to join her in thinking about the main focus of Bala Vihar.

Just as every aspect of

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce(R), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs will be honored at a public meeting on Sunday, July 20, 2014, from 3: 30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Madras Pavilion in Sugar Land.

The Indo-American Com-munity is invited to this free event to appreciate and show its support to Chairman Royce.

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R), Sugar Land, will also be pres-ent.

The event is being supported by Indo-American Conserva-tives.

For more information, con-tact Ramana Bommareddy at 832-814-6610.

Royce is scheduled to meet with the Consul-General of In-dia, P. Harish and later, in the evening, he will attend a pri-vate reception.

Ed Royce became the Chair-man of the Committee on For-eign Affairs in January 2013. He is serving his 11th term in Congress, representing South-ern California’s 39th district.

Royce has been instrumen-tal in strengthening relations between the U.S. and India.

In the 107th session of Con-gress, Royce chaired the Con-

gressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Starting with only 8 mem-bers, Royce helped build the caucus to become one of the largest in the House, with over 180 members.

In the 112th Congress, Royce again assumed co-chair-manship of the caucus, a role he used to address the U.S.-India business relationship and the threat India faces from Is-lamist extremism.

As Chairman of Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Subcommittee, Royce held a hearing last September en-titled: “U.S.-India Counterter-rorism Cooperation: Deepen-ing the Partnership.”

Royce was designated by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to be an offi cial mem-ber of then-President Clinton’s historic delegation to India in 2000. He has traveled several more times to India.

Following the January 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, Royce led a Congressional Delegation to the ravaged area to help. As sister states, Gujarat and Cali-fornia both lie in earthquake prone areas.

Royce worked to help the two to share information on early warning systems.

In 2001, Royce led the effort to lift sanctions against India, co-authoring legislation to lift all sanctions and economic re-strictions imposed on India un-der the Clinton Administration.

One of Congress’s experts on India, Royce managed leg-islation on the House fl oor in July 2006 to pass the historic U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Co-operation Agreement, beat-ing back several “poison pill” amendments.

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce to address community meeting

Royce

Training teachers for a fulfi lling Bala Vihar at Chinmaya Mission

Acharya Darshana Nanavaty of Chinmaya Mission Houston conducts teacher’s training. Photo JAYESH MISTRY

See CHINMAYA, 1

India seems to have pleased neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian side with its stand of ‘equivalence’ over the confl ict in Gaza.

Speaking to The Hindu, Israel’s acting Ambassador Yahel Vilan said New Delhi should take a more “clear line between the aggressor and the defender in this situation.”

Saleh Fhied Mohammad, the Minister and spokesperson of the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi, said Palestine was disappointed at the comparison the Indian statement had sought to make and wished India had instead called “a spade a spade.”

In its statement of July 10, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed

Akbaruddin had said, “India is deeply concerned at the steep escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, particularly, heavy air strikes in Gaza, resulting in tragic loss of civilian lives and heavy damage to property. At the same time, India is alarmed at the cross-border provocations resulting from rocket attacks against targets in parts of Israel.”

Reacting to the statement, Mr. Vilan said, “This is not the statement we would have hoped for. We believe India and Israel share a common goal in combating terrorists. It should also be remembered that Israel has shown utmost restraint in our reaction to the killing of three young Israelis.”

The violence in Gaza was sparked by the kidnapping of three Jewish seminary students, whose bodies were found in West Bank on June 30. The Israelis blamed Hamas fi ghters for the killings.

When asked about the disparity and the use of disproportionate force, Mr. Vilan told The Hindu, “I don’t know what ‘proportionate’ force would be.

About 80 per cent of Israelis are under threat from rocket attacks and are protected only by the missile dome. We have asked Palestinian civilians to move to shelters, but Hamas wants to use them as human shields, so it doesn’t let them go.”

India’s stand leaves West Asian rivals disappointed

See INDIA, Page 7

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Houston was witness to a firstof its kind program to highlight in-accuracies in portrayals of Hindu-ism in High School textbooks.

The Indian History Awarenessand Reseach group of ArshaVidya Satsanga conducted an aca-demic meeting and a panel discus-sion on Sati at India House onJune 28.

The meeting was highlighted bythe presentations from three stu-dents - Rachana Kataram,Spandana Akkaraju, and SrihariAyyar.

Each of them talked movinglyof their personal experiences inschool and how they felt dimin-ished as Hindus as they wentthrough discussions on Hinduismin their history textbooks.

They were unequivocal inpointing out the lack of balance inpresentation of Hinduism and In-dian Civilization compared to otherreligions and civilizations.

Professor Chitra Divakarunidelivered the inaugural speechwhere she spoke of the need fordeveloping emic narratives of his-tory. Emic, in simple terms, meansthat the historian has to present asociety and its traditions in termsof its own culture, time and valuesystems.

She viewed the presentation ofthe textbook on Sati as lacking inproportion, context, and proper at-titude. Appreciating the quality ofthe program, Divakaruni sug-gested that the organizers can con-sider expanding the audience base

to non-Hindus, and engaging with educators more deeply.Dr. Bharat Srinivasan, Sanskrit Scholar, Technocrat and exemplar

of classical Vedic living, delivered a lecture on the traditional view ofSati. He explained that the textbook not only ignored the Indic view butalso discarded the cultural and philosophic perspectives of woman-hood that the ancient Indian women upheld.

His systematic presentation clarified that Vedas did not enjoin Satiand that major Smritis did not have prominent expositions on Sati, aninfrequent practice.

While Puranas did refer to incidents of Sati, these are descriptionsof events, not moral positions.

Prof. Sarath Menon, Sociology Professor at the University of Hous-ton, led the panel discussion.

Panelists appreciated the youth for sharing the negative impact thatcurrent narratives in the textbooks had on their classroom experiencesand how those experiences caused the youth to feel publicly singledout and shamed.

Dr.Anjali Pinjala referred to the problem that the youth faced inretaining their ethnic identity.

Dr. Subroto Gangopadhyay, another panelist, spoke of the failure ofthe textbook to distinguish between atma ahuti (self-sacrifice) and atmahatya (suicide).

Dr. Aparna Subrmaniam, a panelist and an exponent ofBharatanatyam, emphasized the perspectives of women in ancientIndia.

Panelists observed that considering the rarity of this voluntary prac-tice, its prominence in the textbook narrative was disproportionate.

Panel slams distortion of Hinduism in U.S.high school textbooks


TOPIC OF THE WEEK

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VOICES

THE LIGHTER SIDESee Page 8

A Reward for Amit ShahIn electing Amit Shah as its president, the Bharatiya Janata Party

seems to have lost sight of its special responsibilities as a ruling party atthe Centre. There are many sides to Shah, but the BJP Central Parlia-mentary Board chose not to look beyond his organisational skills, andhis success as the political strategist for Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 LokSabha election. An accused in the case of the extrajudicial killings ofSohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati, two persons who werefacing charges of extortion, Shah had a controversial tenure as HomeMinister in Gujarat under the chief ministership of Narendra Modi.During his term, there were allegations that the law and order machin-ery of the State was misused for political ends. Reports of his directinvolvement in a case of illegal surveillance of a woman also seriouslydented his political image, but both Modi and the previous BJP presi-dent, Rajnath Singh, thought his campaign management skills trumpedall the negatives. Obviously it was a reward to Shah for winning 71seats for the BJP from Uttar Pradesh. For the ruling party to have asits president, someone accused of engineering fake police encountersreflects poorly on the government it heads. Shah’s elevation will sendthe wrong signals to all levels in the Modi administration. And Shah,already known for his proximity to Prime Minister Modi, might emergeas an extra-constitutional authority in the government. — The Hindu

Why Just the Ganga?There can be nothing wrong with a serious program to clean up the

Ganga. But what was a little strange was the presence of spiritualleaders among academics, environmentalists, planners and politiciansat the ‘Ganga Manthan’, the daylong discussion arranged by theNarendra Modi government on plans to make the Ganga clean andfree-flowing. Freeing the Ganga of pollution has been on the agenda ofsuccessive governments, especially since the mid-1980s. Many croresof rupees later, there has been little noticeable improvement. Nowwith a ministry under Uma Bharti to look after it, maybe the new planswill be tighter, more focused, better coordinated between the statesand the Centre, and driven in a more cohesive way.

That is the hope, but this is where questions begin to pop up. TheNDA government promises there will be no lack of funds for theproject. But what is the Ganga being cleaned up for? Is the Gangabeing cleaned up because it is ‘holy’ or for ecological and environmen-tal reasons? If the latter, then certain decisions will have to be thoughtthrough. Free flow together with a gain in water resources can beachieved only if objective expertise is employed to plan it in detail,along with rigorous programs of removing all polluting industries fromthe banks and building enough sewage treatment plants that can siftout nutrients, manure and water for reuse while making sure that not adrop of sewage gets in the river. Will the river be used for travel? Fortourism? And why just the Ganga? There may be an unfortunate con-nection between holiness and pollution, but many other rivers are in abad way to. How can they be rescued and water utilized to the fullest?A few more manthans would not be a bad thing. — The Telegraph

Injudicious OpinionsJustice S Vaidyanathan of the Madras High Court last week la-

mented that it was “unfortunate” that India, unlike in Iran, did not have“laws to chop off hands and fingers” of fraudsters who forge propertydocuments. He added that if laws were “rigid and deterrent”, crimi-nals would not dare to indulge in illegal activities like the case at hand,wherein officials of a sub-registrar office teamed up with criminals tousurp and loot the properties of innocents. A few months ago Justice PDevadass of the Madras High Court said that mobiles were “highlyinflammable torches” and “open doors of danger” for youngsters. Whileone understands that these comments while trying but not managing tochange the way things are run in this country — the judges could haveavoided making such sweeping generalizations because they are theguardians of rational thought and logic. Such statements indicate amindset that gives expression to one’s own belief in what is perceivedto be right. Judicial observations can be ratio decidendi — pertainingto the issue and legally binding. Or they could be obiter dicta, mean-ing “observations used to expand the development of law”. Often,blunders happen because many judges have imperfect skills in writingjudgments and so prejudices seep in. Just as the judges have a reputa-tion to live up to, their views shape opinions, influence citizens andstrengthen discourses; such off hand comments are not just question-able but also show the judiciary in a poor light. — Hindustan Times

By K.P. NayarThe Telegraph

Washington is a city of frequentsurprises, but this latest one aboutBarack Obama and NarendraModi takes the cake. PresidentObama was at a fundraiser, a very,very exclusive one, to raise moneyfor Democrats in the Senate andin the House of Representativeswho are fighting the Novemberelection with their backs to thewall. There — predictably as In-dians in their current national moodare prone to assumptions — oneof the fat cat donors asked aboutIndia’s new prime minister.

Obama replied in his calm, no-nonsense style that he continuedto have concerns about Modi’spast. The reply shook up the smallaudience which was hanging onto every word that came out ofthe president.

It was a surprise because themedia coverage after Modi’s riseas the new star over the Indianpolitical horizon had created animpression that bygones are nowbygones in the Modi-Obamaequation, which the incumbentpresident, in any case, had inher-ited from his predecessor, GeorgeW. Bush.

The invitation to Modi to visitthe White House in September,rarely extended to leaders whotravel to New York for the annualUnited Nations General Assem-bly, had additionally been inter-preted — quite wrongly as it turnsout — that the United States ofAmerica had reversed course onits visa ban on the long-time formerchief minister of Gujarat.

One television station went sofar as to assert that the US haddone a U-turn on Modi. Nothingis farther from the truth.

Given such atmospherics, itwas only natural that Obama’sadmission that he continues tohave concerns about Modi’s pasttriggered a supplementary ques-tion to Obama as a follow-up.

The president was unflappable.He was a master of understate-ment. His reply was a classic.Once again, the answer vindicatedthe 2008 rhyming description ofhim during his first successfulpresidential campaign as “NoDrama Obama.”

“My name is Barack‘HUSSEIN’ Obama,” was all thathe said in a reply that was pithybut pregnant in its implications.

The president did not, of course,emphasize his Muslim middlename. The emphasis in the texthere is mine. He did not have to:because the self-sustaining em-phasis was not lost on anyonepresent at the fundraiser.

There was a brief, but stunned,silence as everyone who heard thepresident digested the import ofwhat Obama had said in six wordsthat were worth a thousand.

Ever since I first met Obamain 2004 when he was elected tothe Senate as one of its junior-mostmembers and easily accessiblethen, I have heard him use hismiddle name only twice.

At his inauguration on the stepsof the Capitol building in 2009 andagain in 2013. Those who follow

Obama closely agreed that thisfundraiser was probably the thirdtime he used his Muslim name andits significance cannot be over-looked.

On a visit to Washington lastweek, I was told this very reveal-ing anecdote on the strict under-standing that if I ever wrote aboutit I would leave no clues about thesource of my information, that Iwould be as vague as possibleabout this fundraiser and that Iwould also balance my accountof the incident against the realitythat notwithstanding thepresident’s personal concernsabout Modi, the Obama adminis-tration will leave no stoneunturned to work towards a thriv-ing relationship with the newBharatiya Janata Party-led gov-ernment in New Delhi.

Whatever maybe tugging at thepresident’s heartstrings and trig-gering his feelings about the manwho became India’s prime minis-ter over a month ago, it is a givencertainty that Modi will receive aspectacular red carpet welcomein the White House in September.

There will not even be a hintduring the visit of past baggage inModi’s equation with two succes-sive American administrations.

Every effort will be made to liveup to the prime minister’s expec-tation — which he has shared inthe last few weeks in more thanone private conversation — thathis September sojourn is to be themost important of his foreign vis-its in the immediate future.

More than most politicians else-where, the only times US presi-dents and presidential hopefulscome anywhere near telling thewhole truth is when they are atfundraisers.

Which is not surprising becausewithout fat cat donors, no publicservant seeking high elected of-fice has any chance of succeed-ing in America where money isthe pivot on which elections re-volve.

During the 2012 US presiden-tial campaign, with only sevenweeks to go before voting, theRepublican candidate, Mitt Rom-ney, was caught in a surreptitiouslytaped video as admitting at afundraiser that he did not careabout the kind of people who sup-port Obama because they take noresponsibility for their livelihoodsand think they are entitled to gov-ernment handouts.

Romney acknowledged in theleaked video that such Obamasupporters account for “47 per-cent” of voters and that he, Rom-ney, does not “worry about thosepeople.”

Romney, according to opinionpolls then, had a reasonablechance of defeating Obama, butRomney’s true self that was re-vealed to donors in a purportedlysecret conversation severely dam-aged the Republicans and they didnot recover in that presidential pollcycle. Obama quickly pounced onRomney’s disparaging remarksabout nearly half of America’spopulation.

His campaign said, “the presi-dent certainly does not think thatmen and women on Social Secu-rity are irresponsible or victims,that students aren’t responsible orare victims…”

Politics in America is repletewith examples of truth havingbrought down aspirants for highoffice. In the 2006 Senate elec-tion season, a potential presiden-tial hopeful, Virginia SenatorGeorge Allen, was caught on videomaking racist comments about anIndian American student volunteerfor Democrats who was at hiscampaign event.

“This fellow here, over here withthe yellow shirt, macaca, or what-ever his name is. He is with myopponent. He is following usaround everywhere.” The leakedvideo did Allen in and he lost.

Wiser by such experiences,Obama’s fundraiser where heopened a small window to his truefeelings about Modi was carefullymanaged to avoid any faux pason account of leaks.

Video cameras were out ofquestion, of course. Donors hadto deposit their mobile phones out-side the venue, pens or even note-books were not allowed.

Every donor was then friskedto ensure that the president wouldnot have to confront the ghosts ofany of his truthful assertions to hismoneyed supporters.

But there is nothing to beat themost conventional method of pass-ing information which has stoodthe test of time: word of mouth. Ihave verified with a second donorwhat I was told by one donor aboutObama’s remarks referring to theprime minister.

The second donor, too, insistedon discretion, however, and pro-

Obama’s concerns regarding Narendra Modi


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Sunil Gulati, 55, is the presidentof the United States Soccer Fed-eration (USSF), who was electedto a four-year term on the FIFAExecutive Committee last year. InMarch 2014, he was unanimouslyre-elected to a record thirrd fouryear term as USSF president; hav-ing been elected initially in 2006and re-elected again in 2010.

Gulati is also a senior lecturerin the economics department ofColumbia University. He is theformer president of Kraft Soccerfor the New England Revolutionin Major League Soccer and is aspecial advisor to The Kraft Groupand the Kraft family.

The Allahabad-born Gulati’sfamily moved to Connecticutwhen he was five years old.

He grew up playing soccer inhigh school and graduated MagnaCum Laude from Bucknell Uni-versity and earned his M. A. andM. Phil. in economics at Colum-bia University. In 1991, he joinedthe World Bank through its YoungProfessionals Program and servedas country economist forMoldova.

Gulati is directly involved at thehighest level in the developmentof soccer in the United States.Former USSF president and Ma-jor League Soccer founder AlanRothenberg called Gulati “thesingle most important person in thedevelopment of soccer in thiscountry.”

Gulati served as USSF vicepresident for six years and played

US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati

a key role in major USSF deci-sions for many years prior to hiselection as president.

In February 2009, Gulatichaired the World Cup USA BidCommittee and visited 20 of the22 member voters on the FIFAExecutive Committee. The U. S.,however, was not selected as thehost nation for either of those twoWorld Cups. He was recognizedand awarded the 2011 TrailblazerAward from the Association ofSouth Asians in Media, Market-ing and Entertainment (SAMMA)for his outstanding contributions tothe world of U.S. sports.

In 2012, Sunil Gulati spear-headed the formation of a newprofessional women’s soccerleague in the U. S. The previoustwo attempts to form a women’sleague by the Women’s UnitedSoccer Association and Women’s

Professional Soccer folded inthree years. On October 21, 2012,the USSF, the Canadian SoccerAssociation, and the MexicanFootball Federation made a jointannouncement on the creation ofa new women’s soccer leaguewith clubs playing in Boston, Chi-cago, Kansas City, New Jersey,western New York, Portland, Se-attle, and Washington, D. C. Gulatiadvocated a “sustainable eco-nomic model,” with the new leaguehaving a unique feature of thethree federations paying the sala-ries of their national team playerswho play in this league.

Because the United States Soc-cer Federation has a full-time pro-fessional staff handling thefederation’s day-to-day business,Gulati is able to maintain a paral-lel, full-time career in academia.Gulati is a senior lecturer in eco-nomics at Columbia University,having also previously served onthe Columbia economics facultyfrom 1986 to 1990.

At Columbia, Gulati teachesprinciples of economics, globaleconomics, and sports economics.The sports economics class is of-ten heavily over-subscribed, withstudents known to camp out over-night to secure a place.

Gulati was elected to the FIFAExecutive Committee in 2013 in anarrow 18-17 vote over MexicanFederation of Association FootballPresident Justino Compeán at theCONCACAF Congress inPanama City, Panama.

Sunil Gulati

NEW YORK: An Indian-origin woman was found dead in a swim-ming pool of a house, where she was attending a party, and local policeare investigating the drowning incident.

The body of the victim, identified as Rajkumari Motwani, 55, wasfound at the bottom of the swimming pool when residents of a home inLong Island were cleaning up their backyard following a party on Sat-urday night.

They noticed a body in the deep end of the backyard pool. Policeofficers responded to a 911 call from the resident early Sunday morn-ing, July 13, and Motwani’s body was pulled out from the water, Suf-folk Police said in a statement.

Motwani’s body has been transported to the Suffolk County medicalexaminer’s office. She was a guest at the birthday party and waspronounced dead at the scene.

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigatingthe drowning death. Police have not found any criminality in relation toMotwani’s death following a preliminary investigation.

Detectives are seeking information from the public about the inci-dent. Residents of home and other party-goers, who have not beenidentified, are cooperating with the investigation.

A neighbour of the house where the party happened, said the partyended at about 11:30 pm local time.

She said two adult children live in the house that was once inhabitedby their parents, who moved to a different city two years ago.

Film producer, wife, daughter found dead in DubaiDUBAI: The decomposed bodies of a south Indian film producer,

his wife and daughter have been found in mysterious circumstances intheir flat here.

The deceased identified as Santhosh Kumar, who hails from Keralaowns a film production company Souparnika Films and was a co-producer of the hit Malayalam movie ‘Madambi’, the Khaleej Timesreported July 16.

Family sources said the bodies of Kumar, his wife Manju and daughterGouri bore multiple stab injuries.

The Dubai Police could not be reached for comments. It is alsolearnt that the case is being treated as a suicide pact involving thecouple and their daughter.

Some of the acquaintances suspected that Kumar had resorted tothe extreme step due to huge financial liabilities. However, the exactreason for the gruesome incident is yet to be ascertained, the dailyreported.

Woman found dead in swimming pool


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Hindu Mahasabha of America(HMSA) elelcted DrRudranathTalukdar as its president at a meet-ing of the Houston chapter mem-bers and its board of directors onJuly 13.

Talukdar was brought up in amiddle-class Indian householdwith all the baggage of colonial-ism it entails and is still learningabout his ancient heritage andshedding the vestiges of colonial-ism. For that he has to thank hisparents who showed by examplewhat truth and strength are andcan be, a press release fromHMSA said.

HMSA also thanked DilipMehta (ex-President) for his self-

less service in giving a strongvoice to the Hindu cause on a na-tional and global scale. Under hisleadership key programs like HinduMemorial Day and Hindu SportsDay were initiated and imple-mented. Mehta, who has an M.S.in Physics from NortheasternUniversity, Boston, was presidentof Hindu Mahasabha of Americaaka Hindu Congress of America(HMSA); he is an educator by pro-fession and former HoustonChapter president of the VIshwaHIndu Parishad of America(Houston chapter),, former gov-erning council member andfounder of VHPA Youth Camp inHouston. He has taken a lead in

correcting and educating newspapers when there are distortions ofHinduism and its value systems. Mehta started Hindu Club at Univer-sity of Kansas in 1966 and is one of the cofounders of ChinmayaMission –US.

Other office bearers elected were Gajanan Gaikwad, secretaryArunSinghal, media and PR director, and Pradip Parekh, global spokesper-son. For more info, visit www.hmsamerica.org or call832-800-HMSA.

Hindu Mahasabha of America elects Rudranath Talukdar as president

Dili Mehta, ex-president (left),Gajanan Gaikwad, secretary;Pradip Parekh, global spokes-person; Arun Singhal, mediaand PR director and RudranathTalukdar, president.

Plea to simplify OCI/PIO, visa processWASHINGTON: When any NRI becomes Citizen of any other

country he/she apply for Visa/OCI/POI from Indian Consulate of his/her jurisdiction of residence to visit India. Then the applicant need toproduce several documents to get this which are mandatory

In a letter sent to all MP from Punjab and Mrs Sushma SwarajExternal affair Minister Satnam Singh Chahal, Executive DirectorNorth American Punjabi Association (NAPA), has urged the simpli-fication of the process of getting a visa or an OCI/PIO card. Hepointed out that five years ago when someone applied for theseservices his/her Indian passport was cancelled and Indian Citizenshipwas surrendered without any charge. Now Indian Consulates arecharging $20 for this certificate and have made the certificate man-datory for getting any consular service for former Indian citizens.Chahal said that NRI who became citizen after June 2010 must pay$175 for this Surrender Certificate. Since these services are outsourcedto other agencies the charges double in addition to $50 for overnightdelivery.

Many India-born people don’t know how to apply online for theseservices and have to pay $100-500 to the agents for this certificate.Chahal urged Swaraj and all members of Parliament to eliminatesuch hurdles.

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India’s ‘even-handed’ approach is seen as a balancing act between traditional solidarity with the Palestinian cause and close ties with Israel, one of the few countries Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited and built economic relations with as the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Criticising the approach, Mr. Mohammad said, “India has been very friendly to Palestine, but it has been unfortunate that it is trying to compare the launch of air strikes by a nuclear power that has killed so many, to these rocket attacks in which not a single Israeli has died.”

The Israeli embassy in New Delhi has also faced groups of protestors who have marched to its fortifi ed building demanding an end to the air strikes. Mr. Vilan said they were in close touch with the police over security, even as investigations continue into gunshots being fi red near an Israeli diplomat’s home.

However, both Israel and Palestine hoped that the Hamas, whose militant arm the Al-Qassam Brigade is responsible for the continuing rocket attacks, will accept the ceasefi re proposed by Egypt.

Israel resumed air strikes after a brief ceasefi re on Tuesday, as it was rejected by the Hamas, on the ground that Israel was imposing conditions. “We have no interest in continuing the situation,” Mr. Vilan said, “But a ceasefi re won’t work until the Hamas loses access to arms and ammunition.”

IndiaFrom Page 1

A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman was arrested at an air-port in the US for abducting her son and taking him to India nearly eight years ago.

The mother, Padmashini Devi Drees, 38, was arrested at the Dallas-Fort Worth air-port. Her son Drew Dees, now 10, has been reunited with his father Dean Drees, the McKin-ney Courier-Gazette reported.

Padmashini is in Collin County jail on a $10,000 bail. Her inmate record lists Dean James Drees as her ex-hus-band. In addition to the child custody charge — a state jail felony — she is also on an im-migration hold.

Police said that Drew was two years old in late Decem-ber 2006 when Padmashini kidnapped him. The police had issued a warrant for her arrest for interference with child cus-tody.

The case remained open and investigators found out about Padmashini’s location. The investigators learned that she planned to return to the US

with her son and apprehended her at the airport.

McKinney police spokes-woman Sabrina Boston said in a release the agencies “com-bined resources and worked many long hours to bring about yesterday’s events and reunite the family”.

The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Chil-dren’s Family Advocacy Divi-sion is working to provide a “smooth transition” for Drew’s reunion with his father, police said.

Indian-origin woman arrested at airport after returning to US

with kidnapped son


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

Bhagwat Katha byAcharya Mridul

July 18 - 25Acharya Mridul Krishna

Goswami ji of Vrindavan, India,will narrate Shrimad BhagwatKatha att Shrinath Ji Haveli, 11715Bellfort Village Dr. Katha will startat 6 p.m. on Friday, July 18, withKalash Yatra. From 3:00 p.m. to6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sun-day and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. onweekdays. Dinner prasad dailyafter Katha. Sponsored by BankeBihari Pariwar of Houston. Forinfo, call 281-491-5814 or [email protected]

Grandparents’ DaySat., July 26 @ 9 a.m.A fun filled event for three gen-

erations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. atIndia House, 8888 West Bellfort.Games, face painting, door prizes.Mini Health Fair (ENT, dental,cholesterol and BP check, etc).Art supplies will be provided forthe grandchildren. Entry fee of $5without RSVP. Send RSVP withthe number and names of thepeople to [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Call Dr.Mahendra Jain at 713-504-5043or Ravi Arora at 832-443-0310.

I-Fest 2014Sat., Aug 16 @ 2 p.m.

ICC Houston celebrates IndiaFest 2014- India’s 68th Indepen-dence Day at the Stafford Cen-ter, Cash Rd. from 2 p.m. to 10p.m. Free event, free parking &musical concert. For info callEvent Chair 281-217-7330.

AIM for Sevaprogram

Sat., Sept 6 @ 5:30 p.m.Dance drama of Kalidasa’s

Meghadootam. At the StaffordCenter, 10505 Cash Rd. Music byBombay Jayashri. Script and cho-reography by Shijith Nambiar andParvathy Menon. Benefit programfor AIM for Seva.

For info, email Suma [email protected]

IA Chamber galaSat., Sept 27 @ 6 p.m.

Fifteenth annual gala of theIndo-American Chamber of Com-merce of Greater Houston. AtHilton Americas Hotel, 1600Lamar St. U.S. Senator JohnCornyn is the keynote speaker. Forinfo, call 713-624-7131 [email protected]

Arya Samaj SatsangWeekly Havan Satsang every

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10

COMMUNITY CALENDARa.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.

Chinmaya Mission -Summer scheduleOne Session from 6/15 to 8/24;

No classes in July. Sundaysatsanga for adults and Bala Vihar(PreK to Grade 11) from 10:50AM to 12:30 PM at ChinmayaPrabha, 10353 Synott Road, SugarLand, TX77498. Enrolling for newBala Vihar year. New membersvisit welcome desk 10:15-10:45a.m. Visit www.chinmayahouston.org or call Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233

Vedanta SocietyVedanta Society of Greater

Houston, 14809 Lindita Drive(77083) has classes every Sun-day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.on Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 1st& 3rd Sunday; Bhagavad Gita,2nd Sunday; on works of SwamiVivekananda, 4th Sunday; HolyMother Sarada’s Gospel, 5th Sun-day. Swamis of Ramakrishna Or-der visit to conduct retreats 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, 10555W. Airport Blvd., Stafford TX77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for atime of praise, worship and fel-lowship. Worship is in English.Call Chris Gantela 281-344-0707,or Rev. 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.

Heritage ClassesAshirwad’s Heritage Classes in

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

Hare Krishna DhamHouston’s original Vedic temple,

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

Gandhi LibraryMahatma Gandhi Library Book

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

Saumyakasi SivalayaSri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is lo-

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

Veerashaiva SamajaVSNA Houston is a group of

families who believe in Veera-shaiva dharma (Basava dharma).Monthly Mahamane program forprayer and discussion on VachanaSahitya followed by Prasada. Con-tact: [email protected] orJagadeesh Halyal 832-744-4166.

Shiv Shakti MandirSanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir,

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

Houston NamadwaarA prayer house where the Hare

Rama Hare Krishna Maha-man-tra is continuously chanted. Week-ends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Week-days: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly“Gopa Kuteeram” children’s heri-tage classes and SrimadBhagavatam classes. Call 281-402-6585; visit www.godivinity.org(Global Organization for Divinity).

Mar Thoma ChurchTrinity Mar Thoma Church ev-

ery Sunday at 5810 Almeda GenoaRd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m.Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bibleclass at 9:30 a.m. English serviceat 10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sun-day. Call 713-991-1557 or 281-261-4603.

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

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

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

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

and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. Locatedat 14102 Schiller Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire and Westpark - 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.

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

Louetta Rd, Houston, TX 77070, South Houston: 246 Fluor DanielDrive, Sugarland, TX, 77479) from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Sai SpiritualEducation classes for children; study circle for adults. Service pro-grams - food distribution & food drives; nursing home visits, tutoringat schools etc. Contact Sanjay Gupta (North) 832-687-6766 or SondipMathur (South) 832-215-8675 www.sairegion10.org.

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

tection of his identity because this US administration is seen in Wash-ington as the most unforgiving in recent years, where those who failtests of loyalty to the White House are treated as no less than apos-tates. Yet it is a tribute to the perennial concessions that Americamakes to its larger interests and an example of its diversity of Statemachinery that work has already begun in earnest in Washington toguarantee that Modi’s first visit to the city as prime minister will be amilestone to remember in Indo-US relations. Like all successes, theperceived transformation of Modi from persona non grata into awelcome friend in the White House is a success that has many claim-ants for its fatherhood.

However, two names deserve mention: Frank Wisner, former USambassador in New Delhi, and Ron Somers, who recently resignedas president of the US-India Business Council. These two men took itupon themselves while the Lok Sabha election campaign was underway to mobilize America’s business community as the vanguard of achange in attitude towards Modi.

Contrary to the impression in India, there is no evidence to supportany claim that the US has changed its policy on a visa for Modi. Hisnew job as head of India’s national government entitles him to an A-1visa. As chief minister, he was not entitled to this visa and he wasdenied a visa in the category that he was eligible for as Gujarat’s topofficial. What the campaign by Wisner and Somers achieved was tocover up this zone of discomfort and provide respectability to the pro-cess of inviting Modi to Washington.

From Page 4Obama and Modi

Urban Outfitters urged to recall LordGanesha Duvet Cover

Hindu activists have urged for the immediate withdrawal of Duvetcover carrying image of Lord Ganesha sold by Philadelphia-basedUrban Outfitters (UO), Inc., calling it totally inappropriate.

Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a state-ment in Nevada, said that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hindu-ism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines andnot to be slept upon. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or conceptsfor commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed also urged Richard A. Hayne and Tedford Marlow; Presidentof Urban Outfitters, Inc., and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Out-fitters Group respectively; to offer an apology.

Zed said that such trivialization of Lord Ganesha was disturbing tothe Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression andspeech as much as anybody else, but faith was something sacred andattempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Duvet cover is claimed to be Made in the USA UO website de-scribes it as “UO Exclusive” and “topped with a standout illustrationby the talented Valentina Ramos”.


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FORTELAZA, Brazil: PrimeMinister Narendra Modi has fa-vored broadening of strategic part-nership with Russia in nuclear,defence and energy sectors andinvited President Vladimir Putinto visit Kudankulam atomic powerproject during his trip in Decem-ber for his annual summit.

The two leaders met for 40minutes on the sidelines of theBRICS summit in Fortaleza lateon Tuesday night, July 15, aftertheir Monday meeting was de-ferred because of Putin’s engage-ments in capital Brasilia.

Modi, who has met Putin in2001 in Moscow, said that India-

Modi invites Putin to visitKudankulam project

Modi suggested that PresidentPutin should travel outside Delhiwhen he comes for the annualsummit dialogue in December andvisit a nuclear construction site, anapparent reference to theKudankulam II project. Putinresponded saying “it is a goodidea.”

Russia relationship is a time-testedone and appreciates that it hasbeen so since early independence.Speaking in Hindi, he remarked,“Even a child in India if asked tosay who is India’s best friend willreply it is Russia because Russiahas been with India in times ofcrisis.”

He said India is committed totaking the relationship forward andthe focus is to broaden the strate-gic partnership in nuclear, defenceand energy sectors besides step-ping up people-to-people contacts.

Modi said there was need tolook at a liberal visa regime, es-pecially for students going forstudies. Putin acknowledged thatthere was a case for looking at it,MEA spokesman SyedAkbaruddin said.

Putin said Russia places its re-lations with India high enough inthe strategic framework. Nuclearpower project has been a symbolof India-Russia relations.

BRICS form $100 billion bankFORTALEZA, Brazil: Leaders of the BRICS emerging market

nations launched a $100 billion development bank and a currency re-serve pool on Tuesday in their first concrete step toward reshaping thewestern-dominated international financial system.

The bank aimed at funding infrastructure projects in developingnations will be based in Shanghai, and India will preside over its opera-tions for the first five years, followed by Brazil and then Russia, lead-ers of the five-country group announced at a summit.

They also set up a $100 billion currency reserves pool to help coun-tries forestall short-term liquidity pressures.

The long-awaited bank will be called the New Development Bank.It is the first major achievement of the BRICS countries — Brazil,

Russia, India, China and South Africa — since they got together in2009 to press for a bigger say in the global financial order.

“It will help contain the volatility faced by diverse economies as aresult of the tapering of the United States’ policy of monetary expan-sion,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said. “It is a sign of thetimes, which demand reform of the IMF,” she told reporters.

The bank will begin with a subscribed capital of $50 billion dividedequally between its five founders, with an initial total of $10 billion incash put in over seven years and $40 billion in guarantees. It is sched-uled to start lending in 2016 and be open to membership by othercountries, but the capital share of the BRICS cannot drop below 55percent. China, holder of the world’s largest foreign exchange re-serves, will contribute the bulk of the contingency currency pool, or$41 billion. Brazil, India and Russia will chip in $18 billion each andSouth Africa $5 billion.

FORTENZA, Brazil: China’sPresident Xi Jinping on Tuesdayinvited Prime Minister NarendraModi to visit China in Novemberand called for a “negotiated reso-lution” to the boundary dispute “atan early date”, as the two leadersheld their first ever meeting inBrazil.

Modi and Xi met for 80 min-utes – extending beyond thescheduled 40 minutes – in whatwas described as a frank and can-did discussion covering a range ofissues. Xi said he was looking for-ward to his September visit to In-

dia, and also welcomed Modi tovisit China this year.

Indian officials in Fortaleza toldthe Press Trust of India that Chinahad invited Modi to attend theAPEC leaders’ meeting in Beijingin November.

However, Indian officials werequoted as saying that with sched-uled SAARC and G20 meetingsthat same month, the visit maytake place at a later date. It ispossible that Modi will visit in De-cember.

In the meeting, Xi called for a“negotiated solution to the border

issues at an early date”, the offi-cial Xinhua news agency quotedthe Chinese leader as saying.

The Prime Minister said Indiawas willing to peacefully settle theboundary issue through negotia-tions. He also stressed the grow-ing economic ties between the twocountries and underlined hisgovernment’s willingness to wel-come Chinese investment in infra-structure and industrial parks.

Both sides recently signed afirst ever MoU on setting upChina-dedicated industrial parkswith four such parks being con-sidered, as Commerce MinisterNirmala Sitharaman held talkswith her counterpart GaoHucheng in Beijing last month,during the Vice President’s visit.

Modi also referred to India andChina’s common civilizationalheritage, and links through Bud-dhism, and called for both coun-tries to do more together to tackletheir common challenge of fight-ing terrorism.

Modi suggested the setting upof an additional route for theKailash Mansarovar yatra in Ti-bet, as he pointed out that he hadalso undertaken the pilgrimage onthe challenging current route. Xiassured Modi that this would beconsidered.

The Chinese President said hewanted both countries to launch“a batch of exemplary projects”in infrastructure, such as railwayconstruction, to enable more bal-anced and sustainable trade. Therising trade deficit in China’sfavour, reaching $ 29 billion lastyear, was raised by Modi.

Xi also said China welcomedIndia to join its initiative to set up anew Asian Infrastructure Invest-ment Bank as a founding mem-ber, the official Xinhua newsagency reported.

Xi Jinping invites Modi to visit China

Dhoti-clad Judge denied entry to TNCAA sitting judge of the Madras High Court, a senior advocate prac-

tising in the same court and a lawyer from Madurai were on Fridaydenied entry into the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) Club,venue of a book release function, in Chennai for having come in ‘dhoti.’

Confirming the news over phone, Justice D. Hariparanthamanwondered how a club could prescribe a dress code even for publicfunctions. “The British rulers prescribed dress codes in the clubs startedby them. It is very unfortunate that even after Independence, the samedress code is continued in the present clubs and our traditional Indiandress is prohibited,” he said


“44 Years and Counting,

Providing Services To Generations

of Businesses and Professionals

Around The World”

1970 - 2014

INDIA

India’s new government introduced a reform-minded budget Thursday, July 10, telegraphing a contentious overhaul of populist subsidies and vowing to lift economic growth to rates of 7-8 percent by spending billions of dollars on infrastructure.

The budget for the fi scal year ending March 2015 was closely watched as an indica-tor of whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will act quickly to will deliver on promises to revive stalled economic growth.

The government also an-nounced plans to ease limits on foreign investment in defense and insurance businesses.

Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley outlined the 18 trillion rupee ($301 billion) budget, which he said would be a de-parture from the “mere popu-lism and wasteful expenditure” that has dragged down Asia’s third-largest economy.

India’s economic growth has slowed to less than 5 percent for the last two years after a de-cade of expanding by an aver-age of 8 percent, which is the minimum the government says is necessary to provide jobs for the 13 million young Indians who enter the workforce each year.

Big spending on subsidies has limited the government’s ability to use its budget to make productive investments that could boost the economy’s productivity in the long run.

Jaitley, however, maintained

the previous government’s tar-get for a budget defi cit of 4.1 percent of gross domestic prod-uct and also said it would be “daunting” to meet that goal. He said the defi cit might end up at 4.5 percent. In the two subsequent years, he forecast the defi cit to fall to 3.6 percent and 3 percent of GDP respec-tively.

He indicated those reduc-tions would involve overhaul-ing expensive subsidies for food, fuel and fertilizer that cost India’s government some $40 billion a year. He gave no details other than saying the subsidies would be “more tar-geted.”

In some quarters there was disappointment that the gov-ernment held back from an im-mediate and radical slashing of the previous government’s populist policies, which pro-vide a social safety net but also swell the budget defi cit.

“There was a sense that this budget would an opportunity for the government to break away from the principles, the world views of the previ-ous government. It did not do that,” said Jahangir Aziz, head of Asian emerging markets for JP Morgan Chase.

Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in May after the most decisive election victory India has witnessed in three decades, ousting the long-dominant Congress party. Voters were fed up with Congress’ failure to curb runaway infl ation and the

wilting of economic growth.Investors initially welcomed

the budget with the Sensex stock index rising 1.6 percent before losing ground and fi n-ishing the day down 0.3 per-cent. Expectations for a pro-growth budget were high and the index hit a series of record highs in the weeks before the budget.

Jaitley said the government could not rely only on spend-ing cuts to reduce the budget defi cit and should also work to spur economic growth back to 7-8 percent, which would re-sult in higher tax revenue.

He said that a revival of manufacturing and building of new infrastructure are ways to provide jobs. He announced 500 billion rupees ($8.3 bil-lion) in projects to expand and improve roads, ports and elec-tricity plus tax exemptions to promote investment in small- and medium-sized factories.

Jaitley also announced that the caps on foreign investment in the defense and insurance industries would be raised to 49 percent from 26 percent.

The combination of infra-structure spending and relax-ation of foreign investment curbs helped soften the disap-pointment that the government did not slash food and fuel sub-sidies in its inaugural budget. That’s likely because a weak start to the annual monsoon season is likely to reduce har-vests this year and drive food prices up further, which would make cutting subsidies even

New government presents reform-minded budgetmore diffi cult and a burden on the poor.

The targets for reducing the budget defi cit also could in-dicate the Modi government plans to generate revenue by

selling shares in state-owned businesses, said Sumesh Sawh-ney of Jones Day, a law fi rm that works with investors in India.

Based on the proposals made by India’s fi nance minister, I wondered the sops were many, the growth allocations were nec-essary and in the right direction. But what about the revenues, where would they come from? The Part B of the Budget which deals with Direct and Indirect taxation raised some excise and customs duty on tobacco, aer-ated beverages and certain other items.

The Finance Ministers’ major infl ow would be coming from disinvestment in Defense and Insurance. The broadening of tax base through Service Tax on certain sectors and evolution of Goods and Service Tax in part-nership with the States by year end, will bring its results. The continuous stress of the Finance Minister on PPP ( Public Private Partnership) is the model which has brought growth in Gujarat and the same is anticipated at na-tional level.

In my view, the bitter pill which was supposed to be swal-lowed by the Indian masses and was highlighted by the media never happened. The NDA Gov-ernment has continued the path of disinvestment, PPP, infra-structure development and mod-est growth by curbing infl ation.

One area related to subsidies was left untouched.

Maybe because of the severe drought conditions expected in some States, the FM did not ad-dress this. Another item which I thought was relevant was about Black Money and corruption, on which there were speculations and something would come up in the FM speech. But no Amnesty scheme was announced.

No doubt, the state of econo-my which the NDA Government inherited requires a lot of effort on all the fronts. This is the fi rst Interim Budget and we shall be looking forward keenly in Febru-ary 2015 when the full budget is presented by the FM. The litmus test is the implementation of all the schemes proposed by the FM and making sure that every Ru-pee allocation goes to the project or masses to whom it has been assigned.

I would remember what the FM said “I hope the investor community both within India and abroad will repose confi -dence on our stated position and participate in the Indian growth story with renewed vigor and of-fering a stable & predictable tax regime” Swapan Dhairyawan, CPAHouston

Local CPA reacts to the Indian budget


COMMUNITY NEWS

Nature fi nds fulfi llment in a picturesque whole, so too will Bala Vihar be a path to fulfi llment of both the teachers and the children, she explained. Drawing attention to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual personalities embedded in each person, the Acarya emphasized, “Integrate your personality.” Through ‘mindful’ integration, the whole would certainly exceed the mere sum of its parts.

Acarya Darshanaben pointed out Bala Vihar as that special place where children learned through ‘integration.’ She called Bala Vihar as a “gym for the young minds.” It would be the happy responsibility of every teacher to help tone the muscles of the mind and intellect while connecting with each child through love and understanding.

Decades of experience in designing the worldwide Bala Vihar curriculum and bringing out the teachers’ handbooks for all grades made Acarya Darshanaben’s training valuable to every listener. Reminding all about Gurudev’s vision to “Tell, Never Teach,” she outlined how to inspire children to refl ect as they grow and make knowledge their own.

Even as Acarya Darshanaben provided an insightful

overview of the scriptures-based curriculum from kindergarten to 12th grade, she demonstrated some key instruction techniques to the audience using teachers from the Houston team. Entertaining and engaging with ideas for games and activities, she clarifi ed how learning should be interactive and appealing to children of all grade levels.

Throughout the training, Acarya Darshanaben described how the Bala Vihar books were structured around Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy, the theory of educational psychology used in schools countrywide. Every aspect of each book aimed to make the children remember, understand, apply, and analyze all scriptural concepts as they grow. Finally, the children would evaluate how far they have imbibed the knowledge and create their own integrated, wholesome lives.

Everyone who attended the training then toured the classrooms in Chinmaya Amrta Balamandira where the child-friendly board displays brought alive what Acarya Darshanaben talked about. The Acarya also addressed the challenges that Bala Vihar teachers had to overcome. She said that teachers should fi rst be good students of the scriptures and worthy role models who lived what they taught. Only then would the Bala Vihar classes everywhere continue to grow

in strength and spirit.The visiting teachers

attended Bala Vihar in Houston on Sunday, June 29th, after Acarya Darshanaben completed the fi nal session of training on Sunday morning. Her main message was that every Bala Vihar teacher must aspire to “be His instrument,” with the conviction that each of them can pass the scriptural wisdom to eternity. When the teachers bowed in gratitude before Gurudev, they received a sweetly signifi cant yajna prasada – a key ring holding together the sixteen steps of a puja (puja vidhi). It was a gentle reminder to invoke and worship Knowledge through

every step of Bala Vihar seva. Then, Acarya Gaurangbhai

Nanavaty reinforced the greatness of teacher in a satsanga where he spoke about Sage Vyasa. He led a meditation session to demonstrate the importance of memory and refl ection for spiritual progress.

The weekend of training in Houston was the culmination of deeply caring efforts that began many months before. Acarya Darshanaben acknowledged the help of many teachers who had been instrumental in assisting her with the acclaimed Bala Vihar books and the training preparations. She thanked everyone, from the room parents and the kitchen

team who fed the attendees of the training to every volunteer who served Gurudev’s mission in Houston.

Everyone who attended the weekend training was fi lled with gratitude for Acarya Darshana Nanavaty’s untiring and loving guidance. The lessons from this training will go far and beyond, to hold high Pujya Gurudeva Swami Chinmayananda’s vision for Chinmaya Bala Vihar. Hari Om!

For more information on Chinmaya Mission Houston visit www.chinmayahouston.org or Jay Deshmukh 832 541 0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233.

ChinmayaPage 1


COMMUNITY NEWS

Sita SwayamvaramCullen Theater, Wortham Center

Kalakshetra Dance Ensemble, India in one of its most famous productions

choreographed by its late legendary founder-director, Rukmini Devi Arundale

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presents

Friday, August 29, 2014 8:00pm

Fundraising for Gautier’s history museum project

Hindu Mahasabha of Amer-ica hosted a presentation on the construction of a museum at Pune to honor Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj. The presentation was giv-

en by Francois Gautier, a re-nowned journalist and writer

who has been covering events in India since 1970.

Gautier discussed the rich history of Indian culture with

special emphasis on the tough time India had to go through to protect its identity, culture and Hindu religion against Islamic, British colonists and other for-eign invaders since the 12th century.

He stressed that vast efforts needed done not only to keep Hindu culture protected but also to show to future genera-tions how several generations of Indian freedom fi ghters fought against the invaders.

One way to accomplish such a goal is by constructing museums to honor each great personality of the past who protected Hindu religion and Indian identity.

Gautier discussed in detail, one such museum, which he is trying to construct in Pune to honor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who fought in 1600s to protect Hindus and Hindu

Dharma. Gautier also pointed out that

such projects require fundrais-ing events since it carries a huge cost.

Hindu Mahasabha of Ameri-ca (HMSA) supports this noble cause and seeks active partici-pation of all its members and community to donate money for the project.

During this two-day pro-gram, $12,000 was raised for the Shivaji Maharaj Museum dedicated to Hindu holocaust. Gautier’s program was held at Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir (Hillcroft), the Hindu Temple of Woodlands (Spring) and Bhojan Restaurant (Hillcroft).

For more information on Chatrapati Shivaji museum please visit below web links. www.factusa.org or francois-gautier.com or fact-india.com

Arun Singhal, Gajanan Gaikwad, Francois Gautier, Rahul Chandra, Dhaval Joshipura and other volunteers at Hindu Temple of The Woodlands.

Osmania Unversity, Hyderabad, India recently recognized the Consul General of India in Houston, Paravathaneni Harish, who is an alumnus of the university. Harish took his engineering de-gree from the College of Engineering of Osmania University.

Honoring him for his accomplishments, the Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, Prof. S. Satyanarayana presented him with a Distinguished Alumnus Commendation.

The founders of Osmania University Alumni Association (OUAU) here in Houston presented the Consul General with the memento on July 1, in his offi ce. Harinath Medi, president of OUAU, made the presentation to the Consul General, along with the co founders of OUAU, Virender Kumar, Mahendra Korivi and Showri Nandagiri.

Harish spoke of his recent experience of visiting the College of Engineering and stressed the need for the alumni to go and teach at the University as there is a dire need for good teachers. He thanked the organizers for bringing the memento from the Vice Chancellor to be presented to him.

Osmania University honors Consul-General

OUAA president Harinath Medi , second from left, presents the memento to Consul-General P. Harish with Mahendra Korivi, Showri Nandagiri and Virender Kumar.


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LOS ANGELES: Dis-ney has found its Mowgli in 10-year-old Indian-Amer-ican Neel Sethi for its live-action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale about a boy who is raised by animals in ‘The Jungle Book’.

New York-born Sethi will be the only actor to ap-pear onscreen in the project which is a combination of live-action and animation, said the Hollywood Report-er.

Sethi was chosen from among thousands of kids who auditioned for the role in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Canada.

Jon Favreau is directing the fi lm from a script by Jus-tin Marks for a release in 3D on October 9, 2015.

While Mowgli’s jungle family will be created with the help of CGI, the voice cast boasts Idris Elba as the villain Shere Khan, Ben Kingsley will voice beloved panther Bagheera while Scarlett Johansson and Lu-pita Nyong’o are also in talks for Disney’s take on voice parts.

Favreau said it was im-portant to cast the right face for Mowgli. He is confi dent Neel will be able to handle the role.

“Casting is the most im-portant element of any fi lm and fi nding the right kid to play Mowgli was impera-tive,” Favreau said in a state-ment. “Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confi dent he can handle it.”

Casting director Sarah Finn described Sethi as em-bodying “the heart, humor, and daring of the character. He’s warm and accessible, yet also has an intelligence well beyond his years and impressed us all with his ability to hold his own in any situation. Even though he has no professional acting experience, his natural cha-risma and instincts jumped out at us.”

Disney fi nds its Mowgli in NewYork’s Neel Sethi

Neel Sethi


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during daytime a donation of $21.00 is appreciated. • Please bring Milk for Abhishek & Prasad is welcome. • Shravan Maas starts from Sunday, July, 27, 2014 and ends on Som-

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A poet-nationalist, a revolution-ary and a mathematician.Bharathi, Periyar and SrinivasaRamanujan, the three subjects onwhom former IAS officer GnanaRajasekaran has made biopicscan’t be more diverse. But, thedirector says they have a shared

Rajasekaran: Biopic specialist

Gnana Rajasekaran. (Left)A stilll from Bharathitreat geniuses. “We cel-ebrate mediocrity.”

For each film,Rajasekaran picked acertain peg so that itresonates with the audi-ence. For Bharathi, itwas the fact that only 14people turned up for thefuneral of a man whoroused patriotic fervorwith his fiery verses.Likewise, the transfor-mation of Ramasamy,

who hailed from a zamindar fam-ily, to Periyar, who heralded so-cial reform, was fascinating. ForRamanujan, the focus is more onthe plight of a genius rather thanhis theorems.

Though the movies are the re-sult of extensive reading and fond-

Reading about them is like a les-son for life.”

Casting is one area whereRajasekaran has scored, withSayaji Shinde as Bharathi andSathyaraj as Periyar. “They needto be credible. I need range, notjust a good-looking actor. Bharathiwas a poet, a philosopher, a politi-cian, a freedom fighter and an in-tense man. I needed an actor whocould portray that streak of mad-ness. As for Periyar, Sathyarajportrayed him so convincingly. InAbhinay Vaddi, I saw Ramanujanas I envisaged him,” he says.

Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home declarednational heritage site in Pakistan

Dilip Kumar with wife Saira Banu

There’s a mood of cel-ebration in the Pali Hill bun-galow of Saira Banu andDilip Kumar, following thePakistani government’s dec-laration of his ancestralPeshawar home as a nationalheritage site. The “wonder-ful news” was conveyed tothe nonagenarian by his wifeSaira Banu. “It is the high-est tribute, a reward for hiswork. He was very happy,and his broad smile showedhis gratitude. I could see thetears of joy,” said Saira.

Apparently this is an effort by Pakistan to strengthen cultural rela-tions with India, and the government is planning to invite ‘Bollywood’sfirst couple’ to Pakistan.

Naturally, the duo is eager to undertake the trip. “We shall go if theoccasion arises, Inshallah; it’s a huge honor for Sahab, and he shouldbe there personally. There are so many memories attached with thathouse,” Saira adds.

Reportedly, an event is also being planned in Peshawar, whereinDilip Kumar’s journey from there to Bollywood will be showcased.“No one has approached us yet, but we would extend our help ifneeded,” Saira says.

The veteran actor has visited Pakistan only twice since leaving thecountry as a child. “The first time was when former President Zia-Ul-Haque had invited Sahab as a state guest, and the next time, when hegot Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Nishaan-e-Pakistan, in 1998. Thatwas also when we visited his ancestral home,” Saira says, adding that,every year, people there celebrate his birthday: “Every year, his birth-day is celebrated in that house by thousands of his well-wishers, andSahab talks to them on phone. They also visit us in India with storiesfrom his birthplace. Those are his only connects with his childhood.”

Yet, Saira says there have been fights between caretakers claimingrights to the house: “This is the right direction for the house. Noweverything will be cleared out,” she adds. “It’d be wonderful if ourgovernment, too, would acknowledge his contributions,” she adds, hintingdismay that Dilip Kumar has not been conferred the Bharat Ratna.

Raging Bulbul!

Praise for Priyanka Chopracontinues to pour in, hours aftershe revealed the first look fromher maiden biopic Mary Kom.Twitter’s too on fire withBollywood biggies reacting to thefierce look Priyanka has pulled offin the posters.

Actor Ranveer called Priyanka“Raging Bulbul”, while hisGunday co-star Arjun Kapoorsays she could be the third Gundain Gunday!

Ranveer Singh tweeted, Look!It’s the Raging Bulbul! MaryKomFirstLook. She has nailed it...noone’s ever messing with thisbeauty from Bareilly after the wayshe packs a punch.

Bipasha Basu was alsomesmerised by the first poster ofMary Kom, wished Chopra well,tweeting, “Priyanka looks seri-ously awesome. Loved it.”

Preity Zinta too joined othercelebs from the industry congratu-lating Priyanka on the film. Shetweeted, “PC, loved the newposter of MaryKom. So proud ofyou! Hard works always pays.Look forward to seeing it soon.”

history. They all were contempo-raries for a brief while.

Rajasekaran, one of the fewfilmmakers in the country whohas opted to make biopics, saysnone of these movies was inten-tional. “In fact, both Bharathi andPeriyar were the result of audi-ence demand. When I was work-ing in Kerala, a youth asked mewhy no movie has been made onBharathiyar. That very week, Iwent to Coimbatore, picked upabout 20 books on the poet, andre-read his life. Soon after themovie released, so many peopletold me Periyar was my nextmovie, they never asked me if itwill be my next movie. So, I justhad to do it,” he says.

A movie on Ramanujan, themathematician who died at 32, istimely, he says, because educa-tion has become big business nowand we still don’t know how to

ness for the subject, Rajasekaransays that once he starts scripting,he writes from the perspective ofan outsider. “Only then will the filmappeal to all.”

Ramanujan, he says, focuseson the defects of a society thatreduces geniuses to ordinarypeople. “We get them married to‘cure’ them, don’t allow them tobe themselves, don’t tolerate theiridiosyncrasies…the West allowsthem that. That’s why they shonethere,” says Rajasekaran.

The three movies also called forextensive research. But,Ramanujan was the most diffi-cult, he says. “We had enoughwritten material on both Periyarand Bharathi. It was a challengeto recreate Ramanujan’s life.”

But these three movies on “realheroes” have enriched the direc-tor. “It’s a sort of distilled wisdom.

A still from Ramanujan

Director Kabir Khan is all setto team up with Salman Khanonce again (after the box officeblockbuster Ek Tha Tiger) for hisnext film title Bajrangi Bhaijaan.Kabir tweeted about the film andadded that Kareena KapoorKhan will star opposite theDabangg star. Kabir Khan wroteon Twitter, “SalmanKhan asBajrangi Bhaijaan is going to bevery special... Both of us are veryexcited to start this journey...”

Khan’s title for the movie hasgenerated a lot of interest. Thedirector tweeted, “It is interest-ing to see people react to a film’s

title. Got similar reactions to EkTha Tiger. Now wait for BajrangiBhaijaan. I love it.” The film isslated for an Eid 2015 release.

Kareena and Salman together again


REVIEW/PREVIEW

Cast: Varun Dhawan, AliaBhatt, Ashutosh Rana,Siddharth Shukla. Director:Shashank Khaitan

Raj told Simran that being aHindustani boy he wouldn’t dothat to a Hindustani girl… aftermessing with her the morning af-ter when she wakes up and findsherself wearing his shirt.

When Humpty enacts thesame scene after a night of drink-ing, Kavya punches him. She saysshe was only drunk and didn’t suf-fer from memory loss.

If Simran went to Europe onthat one big holiday before thewedding, Kavya is in Delhi to buythe designer lehenga for her wed-ding when she meets Hindi filmfanboy Humpty.

The boy falls head over heelsin love with her and does every-thing it takes to get her that de-signer lehenga, even if it meanstaking the money his dad set asidefor buying a car — not just be-cause he promised her but be-cause he wants her to have whatshe wants.

The girl is immensely moved.

A moment later, shekisses him on im-pulse. And they dowhat Raj and Simranshied away from,even with the “Badebade deshon mainchotti chottibaatein” licence.

It is these smalltwists (progressiveupdates rather) tothe plot that makeHumpty Sharma KiDulhania an abso-lutely entertainingwatch, especiallywith Varun Dhawanusing the opportunityto show us he can beShah Rukh andSalman rolled intoone, given the right

role. And Alia Bhatt once againshows us what a cracker of anactress she can be even if she justneeds to play the type — feistyspunky Punjabi heroine who lovesher Amrish Puri type Bauji.

But full points to ShashankKhaitan for being self-aware andin on the joke. The director heremakes no bones about staying loyalto the framework of that cult filmthat has been named too manytimes, but he plays with the spe-cifics and the little details.

There are some scenes heplays out as they were, some hesubverts, some he pokes fun atand some he tweaks just enoughto break the predictability, and it isthis smart shuffling of his choicesthat makes Humpty Sharma notjust another rip-off/tribute to thenineties film of manufacturing pa-rental consent.

Tribute is such an abused wordand it takes absolutely no talent todo that. What’s commendablehere is that Khaitan knows he isdealing with a film we all love andmakes up for the borrowing byadding a lot of witty touches and

subtly changing everything thatdoesn’t work today.

The girl, for example, is morethan willing to elope today andsays she is not going to let some-one else decide what she has todo with her life. Khaitan allowsher to make that point beforeheading back to the framework ofthe original.

The exchanges betweenHumpty and his friends Shontyand Poplu (Sahil Vaid is hilarious)are a blast. And Ashutosh Ranamakes a mean Bauji here.

Humpty wants to be in that filmhe loves, and when he does hefinds that he cannot fight a villainif there’s none. The boy whoKavya is engaged to is a good guy.The best there is. This is not tosay Humpty’s world falls withinthe realm of the real. This ishardcore filmi too — filmi in de-nial of being larger than life — butwe don’t mind that because thisis a celebration of that genre.

Humpty Sharma shows whythere is very little (except badchoice of films) that can stopVarun Dhawan from being thesuperstar of the near future.

He is like a Ranbir who coulddrop his shirt and IQ for themasses, and his chemistry withAlia is so crackling that you wantto see these two fine young ac-tors together more often.

The songs, though shot asshowcases for Varun and Alia,seem a little too generic and thisis where we wish we had seen abit of Jatin-Lalit flavor.

Can you imagine a Beatles trib-ute film with hip-hop?

Cast: Nandha,Ananya, NikeshRam. Director:Bharathan

If Aamir and TheMan Who Knew TooMuch hooked up in aseedy motel and had ababy, that would beAthithi. Mathiazhagan(Nandha) and Vasuki(Ananya) are a happycouple. At least, theythink they’re happy.

Atithi: Mysteriously mediocre

He’s a project manager with a real-estate firm. Big bucks. Big house.Big car. And then, when his daughter is held hostage, he discovershow small his world really is. Under instructions from a pitiless mys-tery man (Nikesh Ram), who seems to enjoy toying with them,Mathiazhagan is compelled to cross over to the other side of the tracks.What would it be like if the one per cent traded lives with the ninetynine per cent?

It’s a solid backbone for a thriller — except that Athithi, after awhile, abandons this angle and drifts into a more personal zone. Theselatter portions aren’t bad — our sympathies shift slowly, and there’s agood scene with a sex worker — though to get there we have to wadethrough Thambi Ramaiah’s tone-deaf comedy track and a generallyunder-whelming cast. The bigger problem with Athithi, which is di-rected by Bharathan, is that the writing is all over the place.

You know how desperate a film is when we see a man lurking inthe dark, with a knife in his hand and a jangling music score behind,and it turns out he’s bought his wife a birthday cake.

Saivam: Something to crow aboutCast: Nasser,

Sara. Director:Vijay

Saivam openswith vendors hawk-ing fish, chicken,crab in a village mar-ket. The matriarchof a household(Kausal), accompa-nied by a servant(Malathi), makesher way through the rows of stalls. She cannot decide what to buy, soshe has the servant call her husband (Kathiresan, played by Nasser).Thus far, it’s an unremarkable scene. They’re just shopping for food.

After they return, the servant inadvertently lets loose the animals inthe house. Cattle and fowl scatter on the roads, and members of thehousehold go chasing after them. The animals are caught. They’rebrought back. The matriarch, now, does an inspection, and here’s howshe does it: she doesn’t count heads; instead, she calls out names. It’sthe smallest of ironies. This woman who, just a while ago, was buyingmeat, is referring to each creature by name, as if they were family.

That’s the problem facing young Thamizh (Sara), when Kathiresanannounces that their rooster will soon be sacrificed to the local deity.

A little later, the bird goes missing. Will it be found? Will it be inhu-manely slaughtered? This, ostensibly, is what Saivam is about – eventhat title, designed with the restaurant-menu symbol espouses veg-etarianism. And it is enough to send a chill down the spine.

Saivam is directed by Vijay (Madrasapattinam, DeivaThirumagal), and nothing in his career prepares you for the delicacyof his writing and filmmaking. Even a major accident, which wouldhave had another director salivating at the possibility of staging anemotion-filled flashback, is very simply alluded to, by just the sounds ofthe collision.

The story of the girl and her rooster is a bit of a red herring (as is the‘vegetarianism’ angle), for Saivam is really about family dynamics.The ‘plot’ – if you want to call it that – is about the various little thingsthat happen between sisters and brothers and cousins and aunts anduncles. Imagine one of those Fazil movies where the clan gathers inthe ancestral manse peel away the melodrama, flavour with liberalsprinklings of wry, understated humour, and you have this toothsomelittle fable.

There’s another eye-opener in the fact that Thamizh is quite con-versant in English, despite studying in a government school in a village.But these aren’t allowed to become neon-lit ‘aha!’ moments, and nei-ther are the city-dwellers lampooned for deserting their ‘culture’.

In one of the film’s best scenes – though there are so many, it’shard to pick one – an aunt (Usha, played by Suchitra) asks Thamizh ifshe remembers her. The girl just stands there, bewildered. And Usha’smother, the matriarch, chides her – how will this little girl rememberyou if you never visit? Usha’s face falls, and then her mother asks – infront of everyone – if there’s any news about children. Usha repliesthat they’ve been undergoing fertility treatments and nothing hasworked. Then she adds that this question is why she never visits. Abroad city-versus-village scenario is skirted, and we’re left with anintimate mother-versus-daughter scene. It’s wonderful.

As is the cast, on the whole. It’s been a while since we saw suchterrific ensemble acting – led by Nasser at his stateliest – and it helpsthat most of the actors are relatively new. They don’t bring with thembad habits from TV serials or the movies – there’s none of the gestur-ing we usually see, and we are spared those horrible reaction shots.The parts are small, but they’re so well-written that we take thesecharacters to heart. The teenager (Baasha) with the guitar who’s alittle too anxious to meet his aunt. The chubby kid (Ray Paul) with thepermanent scowl. They’re all flawed, funny people.

Only Thamizh comes across as a tad too ideal, a little too self-possessed for a girl so young. But when she’s made to voice the film’s(minor) thesis points – Why does God demand the sacrifice of therooster? – or when she does things like rescuing Usha from an em-barrassing situation, we get a whiff of the melodrama that’s lurking atthe corners. But Vijay never lets it seep into the material, except in amiscalculated scene where the servant’s husband (George) lets looseone of those tearful ‘Tamil-film speeches’ to unite the bickering brood.

It’s a measure of how good the film is – and how well-crafted it is(apart from the exquisite framing, note, for instance, how the camerashudders all around a brawl, before falling on a drunk) – that the res-ervations are almost non-existent. Maybe a handful of lines are a littletoo insistent. Maybe the score could have been mellower. Maybe thebits with the rooster thief and the seer (Shanmugarajan) could havebeen trimmed.

But these niggles hardly matter in view of the larger achievement,which is a film that infuses artistry into a generally light-hearted enter-tainment. You can sense that Saivam is an all-round labour of love.There isn’t an iota of cynical calculation in it.

I keep returning to the writing, but it’s really very good. The way itis revealed that the school peon is a bigamist; the way three separatedisputes come to a head around interval point; the way the family isunited in a lie; and the way Nasser smiles, finally, when he gets whathe wants. That smile says it all. — Baradwaj Rangan

Humpty Sharma ki Dilwali Dulhania!

Kangna Ranaut’scontinuing education

Kangna Ranaut, who had takena break from films in January thisyear to pursue a film-making andscreenplay-writing course at theNew York Film Academy, is donewith her education and has re-turned back to India.

We have been told that beforeleaving for Mumbai, Kanganatook all her batchmates and pro-fessors for a dinner. “That washer way of expressing gratitudeto her friends and teachers, whohelped her during the course,”says a source close to the actor.

Apparently, Kangna’s profes-sors appreciated her for her dedi-cation. “She was surprised whenshe was praised for her hard work.Post the dinner, the director of thecourse presented her the coursecompletion certificate,” adds thesource.

Sharing her experience,Kangna says, “Going to a filmschool was like a dream come trueand my class clapped for my finalpresentation.”


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SPORTThe Story of Mahatma Gandhi - V

Gandhi Jayanti 2014Gandhi Jayanti, cel-

ebrated as 1000 Lights ForPeace. Saturday, October 4,2014 at Jones Plaza Down-town – Free Parking* Edu-cate your children aboutGandhi ji by having themparticipate in Speech, Essay,Poster or Multi-media con-tests. To register for thesecontests and more informa-tion visit www.gandhilibrary.org

The Natal Indians drew up apetition to Lord Ripon, Secre-tary of State for the Colonies,which was signed by more thanten thousand Indians, to protestthe Franchise Bill. Copies of thepetition were circulated in SouthAfrica, England, and India.

There was much sympathyfor the Natal Indians’ plight, butthe campaign had started toolate to stop the bill becominglaw. However, the campaignmade the people of India awareof the conditions in Natal. Nowread on:

The Natal Indians pressedGandhi to remain and guide themfor a little longer.

Gandhi told them that he wasprepared to stay on if the Indiancommunity would provide himwith sufficient legal work. Theygladly agreed to do this. Twentymerchants turned over all theirlegal business to him. WhenGandhi applied for enrolment asan attorney to argue cases incourt, the entire bar, composed ofwhite lawyers, strongly opposedhim.

The Supreme Court of Nataloverruled the objection, however,and he was allowed to practise.

Soon Gandhi became one ofthe busiest lawyers in Durban; butto him law was a subordinate oc-cupation. His main interest washis public work. He felt thatmerely sending in petitions andprotests would not help the Indi-ans much. A sustained agitationwas necessary. So he proposedthe formation of a permanent or-ganization to safeguard the inter-ests of Indians.

A meeting was called to dis-cuss this matter. The spacious hallin Dada Abdulla’s house waspacked to the full. It was there,on that occasion, that the NatalIndian Congress was formed. In1894 the Natal Governmentsought to impose an annual polltaxon the indentured Indians.

These were laborers who hadbeen recruited from India on afive-year contract, but on starva-tion wages. Under the contractthey could not leave their em-ployer. They were treated practi-cally as slaves. These men hadbeen taken to South Africa to helpthe white colonizers in agriculturalwork. The Indians did more thanhad been expected of them.

They worked hard, purchasedland, and started cultivating theirown fields. Their enterprise didnot end there. They soon builthouses and raised themselves farabove the status of laborers.

The white people did not likethis. They wanted the Indian

workers to return to In-dia at the end of the con-tract period. To makethings much harder forthem, the Governmentnow imposed an annualpoll-tax of £25.

The Natal Indian Con-gress started a strongagitation against this.Later, at the interventionof Lord Elgin, then Vice-roy of India, the tax wasreduced to £3. StillGandhi considered it an

that he could look forward to sixmonths’ leave.

In the middle of 1896 Gandhisailed for India, and aftertwentyfour days landed atCalcutta. From there he went toRajkot. It was a happy family re-union when Kasturbai welcomedhim with their two sons. But theplight of the Indians in South Af-rica was so much on his mind thathe could not be content to enjoydomestic bliss in peace.

He therefore launched a cam-paign to acquaint the people ofIndia with the real condition of theIndians in South Africa. He metthe editors of influential newspa-pers and important Indian leaders,including Lokamanya B. G. Tilak,the hero of Maharashtra, andGopal Krishna Gokhale who, likeGandhi, was already famous at theage of 27.

Wherever Gandhi went, hetried to make the people aware ofthe lot of their compatriots inSouth Africa. Many newspaperspublished his views and stronglysupported his case. Summaries ofthese newspaper reports and com-ments reached South Africa longbefore Gandhi returned there.Meanwhile, plague broke out inBombay and threatened to spreadto neighboring areas.

In Rajkot Gandhi volunteeredto join a group who tried to edu-cate the people about the need for

sanitation and other measures toprevent the spread of the disease.

At the end of November, how-ever, Gandhi received an urgentmessage from Natal asking himto return immediately. There weresome developments which re-quired his presence there. SoGandhi set sail for South Africaonce more, taking with himKasturbai and their two sons andalso the only son of his widowedsister.

However, a message reachedGandhi advising him not to landwith the others but to wait untilevening, as there was an angrymob of whites at the dock.

Kasturbai and the childrenwere sent to the house ofGandhi’s Parsee friend, Rustomji.Later, accompanied by JasonLaughton, the legal adviser ofDada, Abdulla & Co., Gandhiwent ashore. The scene lookedpeaceful, but some youths recog-nized him and shouted, “Look,there goes Gandhi.”

Soon there was a rush andmuch shouting. As Gandhi and hisfriends proceeded, the crowd be-gan to swell until it was impos-sible to go any further. SuddenlyLaughton was pushed aside andthe mob set upon Gandhi.

They pelted him with stones,sticks, bricks, and rotten eggs.Someone snatched away his tur-ban, others kicked him until thefrail figure collapsed. He clung tothe railing of a house. The fury ofthe white

mob was unabated and theycontinued to beat him and kickhim. “Stop, you cowards,” cried afeminine voice. “Stop attacking thepoor man.”

It was the wife of the Superin-tendent of police. She came upand opened her parasol and heldit between Gandhi and the crowd.This checked the mob. Soon thepolice arrived and dispersed thecrowd.

Gandhi was rescued from abloodthirsty mob by the Durbanpolice. He was escorted by thepolice to Rustomji’s house, wherea doctor attended to his injuries.“They are sure to calm downwhen they realize their mistake,”he said. Late in the evening, an-other mob of white people sur-rounded the house.

“We must have Gandhi,” an-gry voices demanded. The mobwas getting more and more threat-ening. “Give us Gandhi or we willbum down the house,” theyshouted. Gandhi knew that theymight carry out their threat. Tosave his friend’s house, he slippedout in disguise, eluding the crowd.

— To be Continued

Gandhi rises in stature in South Africa

atrocious tax, unknown anywhereelse in the world.

The Natal Indian Congresscontinued its agitation, but it was20 years before the poll-tax wasfinally withdrawn. In three yearsin South Africa, Gandhi had be-come a well-known figure. Andhis practice was well established.

He realized that he was in fora long stay. He knew that thepeople there wanted him withthem, so in 1896 he asked theirpermission to go home and bringhis wife and children to South Af-rica. Besides, a visit to India wouldbe useful in gaining more supportfor the Indians in South Africa.He had arranged his work so well

England-India test drawnafter big scores

Hashim Amla took the field inGalle, Sri Lanka, as SouthAfrica’s first permanent non-white skipper, helming a teamin transition after the retire-ments of Test greats GraemeSmith and Jacques Kallis.

NOTTINGHAM: Indiasurvived a scare to draw thefirst Test at Trent Bridge andextend England’s winless runto nine matches.

England raised their hopesof victory by taking threequick wickets on the finalmorning to reduce India to184-6 - a lead of just 145.

But debutant StuartBinny’s composed 78steered the tourists awayfrom danger, withBhuvneshwar Kumar (63not out) and Ravindra Jadeja(31) also making key contri-butions as India reached 391-9 declared - 252 in front.

As Alastair Cook rotatedhis part-time bowlers in thefinal hour, the game ended in

Joe Root and James Anderson added 198for the last wicket at Trent Bridge. Suchmassive stands have hurt M.S. Dhoni’smen thrice over the last eight months.

comical scenes as the captainclaimed his first Test wicket byhaving Ishant Sharma caughtdown the leg side before wheel-ing off in celebration.

England’s run without a win -dating back to the draw at TheOval in the final Ashes Test in Au-gust 2013 - is their longest since1992-93, while India have nowgone 15 away Tests without vic-tory.

However, beleaguered captainCook will take comfort from theway his team recovered theirpoise to give themselves an out-side chance of victory on a largelylifeless pitch.

Ex-England batsman GeoffreyBoycott on Test Match Special

“I’ve always tried to say topeople that we have a responsi-bility to play decent cricket, butwe’re always dependent on the22 yards. How do you think theywould play tennis at Wimbledon ifthe court was bumpy? This wasn’ta contest. There wasn’t much init for any of the bowlers.”

In a match that featured twocentury partnerships for the finalwicket for the first time, India heldthe upper hand when they reducedEngland to 202-7 on day three inreply to 457.

But an astonishing Test recordstand of 198 between Joe Rootand James Anderson gave En-gland an unlikely lead and pro-vided a platform for the hosts toput India under pressure on thefinal day.

Resuming on 167-3 on Sunday,128 ahead, India were put underpressure as Anderson and Broadfound some reverse swing on anovercast morning.

Broad trapped Virat Kohli lbwfor eight with a full, inswinging de-livery in the second over of the

day, and struck again in his nextover when he drew a nick fromAjinkya Rahane through towicketkeeper Matt Prior.

A pitch that for four days haddone nothing to assist the bowlerssuddenly appeared a minefield: theball fizzing and spitting at anglesand beating the bat regularly.

India 1st innings 457 all out(M. Vijay 146, Pujara 38, Rahane32, Dhoni 82, Jadeja 25,Bhuvanesh 58, Shami 51; Ander-son 3 for 123, Broad 2 for 53,Stokes 2 for 81) and 2nd innings391 for 9 (Vijay 52, Dhawan 29,Pujara 55, Rahane 24, Dhoni 11,Jadeja 31, Binny 78, Bhuvanesh63 n/o; Moeen 3 for 105, Broadand Plunkett 2 wickets each)

England 1st innings 496 allout (Root 154 n/o, Cook 5, Robson59, Ballance 71, Broad 47, Ander-son 81; Bhuvanesh 5 for 82, Shami2 for 128, I Sharma 3 for 150).

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NEW DELHI: The govern-ment on Tuesday, July 15, stronglydisapproved of the meeting thatan Indian journalist had with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed andsaid it has sought a report fromthe Indian high commission inIslamabad about whether theywere aware of this.

“The government of India to-tally disapproves of this meetingof Ved Pratap Vaidik... The gov-ernment condemns this meetingwith the chief accused of Mumbaiterror attack,” external affairsminister Sushma Swaraj told theRajya Sabha.

She insisted the governmenthas nothing to do with it and “noth-ing to hide”. A full report has beensought from the Indian high com-mission in Pakistan and it will beshared with the house, she said.

Earlier in the day, the govern-ment and the Congress sparredover the meeting Vaidik with Saeedstalling Parliament for the secondconsecutive day.

According to reports, VedPratap Vaidik, a freelance journal-ist, had met the Jamaat-ud-Dawachief in Lahore on July 2 whiletouring Pakistan along with agroup of journalists and politiciansinvited by a peace research insti-tute. The Congress party, includ-ing its vice-president RahulGandhi, described Vaidik as an“RSS man” and asked if the In-dian High Commission inIslamabad had facilitated themeeting.

The government asserted it hasnothing to do with the meeting andtermed it as a “diplomatic misad-venture of a private individual”.

And Ram Madhav - who re-cently joined the BJP from theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) - asserted that Vaidik hasno ties with the RSS.

“Vaidik saab, who roamsaround with Mani Shankar Aiyerand Salman Khurshid, is not fromthe RSS,” he said. “In any caseHafiz Saeed is a terrorist. With

regard to India he is a criminal.Whenever he comes to India, hewill be brought as a criminal un-der Indian law,” Madhav said.

On Vaidik’s remark on integrat-ing Pakistan Occupied Kashmirand Kashmir into one country,Madhav said, “Crores of peoplein this country might have croresof opinions. PoK area is a part ofIndia. It’s Pakistan’s illegal and un-constitutional occupation. To freeit is one and the only resolution ofthe Indian Parliament. That‘sankalp’ (commitment) has to befulfilled.”

Both Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha saw disruptions as soon asthe two Houses met for the day,with Congress seeking suspensionof Question Hour to get thegovernment’s response over the“serious” matter.

Vaidik has accepted that hemet Saeed in Lahore, and criti-cized the Congress for giving itan unnecessary political twist toput Prime Minister Narendra Modiand his government in the dock.

He said he met Saeed througha Pakistani journalist and in hiscapacity as a journalist.“I feel badabout this because I have workedwith the Congress, they are mypeople,” he said. “I have beentraveling to foreign nations for thepast 40 years. Does the embassyfacilitate all those travels? I meeteveryone directly?”

He said that he is ready toshare all the records of his meet-ings in Pakistan.

Row over journalist’s meetingwith Hafiz Saeed

Ved Pratap Vaidik

DNA deletes articlecritical of Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: On July 9,2014, the DNA newspaper pub-lished a hard-hitting opinion pieceon BJP president Amit Shah titled‘A new low in Indian politics’ byjournalist Rana Ayyub on itswebsite.

On Friday, Ayyub, who hasbeen critical of the newly-electedNarendra Modi government,tweeted that her opinion piece hadbeen taken down from thenewspaper’s website.

Rana, who has been writing forthe newspaper since April 2014,told Times of India that she hasnot been given any justification byDNA for the removal of herarticle.However, she admitted thataccording to some of thenewspaper’s employees, whoshall remain unnamed, the articlewas taken down by the top man-agement for being too ‘harsh’.

DNA’s decision to take downAyyub’s article ignited outrage onsocial media with netizens ex-pressing concern about the free-dom of speech in this country.

4 from Mumbai fighting for ISIS?MUMBAI: Ejaz Badruddin Majeed, a quiet, greying doctor, talks

about a handwritten letter his son, an engineering student, wrote andleft behind at home saying “fighting has been enjoined upon you” andtelling his mother that the “angel of death” will ask him why he didn’tmigrate to “Allah’s land.” In the letter, the son tells his family, “Maywe all meet in Paradise.”

Arif is believed to be fighting with Sunni insurgents of the IslamicState of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) along with Thane residents Fahad TanvirSheikh, Aman Naim Tandel and Shaheen Farooqi Tanki — all youngmen in their twenties, with no known past involvement in radical Is-lamist politics. Like Ejaz Majeed, parents of these three men havefiled missing persons complaints with the Kalyan police, The IndianExpress reported. Arif’s father has also handed over a copy of hisson’s “farewell letter” to the police.

Fahad Sheikh, a student of engineering, is, like Arif Majeed, the sonof another Kalyan-based doctor, Maqbool Ahmad Sheikh. Aman Tandel,son of Nayeem Ismail Sheikh who works with a private firm, was alsoan engineering student in Navi Mumbai. Shaheen Tanki was workingat a call centre. Iraq’s intelligence services have told Indian officialsthese men had joined ISIS but don’t know where they might be.

Four other young Thane men living in the United Arab Emirates,sources told The Indian Express, are also suspected to have volun-teered to fight with ISIS. Three of these men are believed to havereturned to their homes, while a fourth is thought to have been killed incombat. “I want to meet (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swarajor (Home Minister) Rajnath Singh”, Arif’s father Ejaz Majeed toldThe Indian Express, “and ask them to punish the people who seducedour children to participate in this madness.”

Goa school expels 13HIV+ orphans

PANAJI: Thirteen HIV-posi-tive children, all orphans living ina children’s home called NityaSeva Niketan, were expelled froma school in Rivona village in SouthGoa following protests by parentsof other students. The school isnow under pressure to expel 23other orphans living in the samechildren’s home, although they arenot HIV-positive.

Meanwhile, the first group of13 children, aged between 6 and15 years, have been moved to aschool in North Goa.

Speaking to The IndianExpresss, Sister AlphonsaPorathur, in charge of the church-run Nitya Seva Niketan, said al-though the HIV-positive childrenwere enrolled at Our Lady ofFatima High School in Rivona lastyear, they did not attend classes.“We conducted their classes at thechildren’s home itself. They onlyappeared for the school exams andgot their marksheets from theschool,” she said.

It was not just this school whichshowed them the door. After theirexpulsion, Porathur approached aboarding school run by Salesianpriests in Sulcorna, 12 km fromRivona, on June 6. But after sixdays, this school too askedPorathur to withdraw the children,saying they were facing problemsfrom some parents.

“We then discussed the matterwith our church and decided toshift the 13 children to a school inNorth Goa. We decided not to dis-close the name of the school. Theremaining 23 non-HIV studentsremained at Our Lady of FatimaHigh School,” said Porathur.

But when these children startedattending classes, the parents ofother students protested. Theydemanded that these children tooshould be expelled, claiming thatthey could put their wards at risk.The parents of four students evensought to withdraw their wardsfrom the school. When contacted,these parents refused to comment.

Signals of a BJP-TMC thawKOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Monday strongly sup-

ported the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) amend-ment Bill, helping the government keep the Prime Minister’s chosenman, Nripendra Misra, in his job. But this wasn’t the plan initially.

The TMC’s Saugata Roy had opposed the Bill only two days ear-lier, and Item No. 9 in Monday’s list of business in the Lok Sabha saidRoy and the Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury would lead a Houseresolution disapproving the TRAI ordinance.

The TMC’s volte-face — which saw Roy skipping the House andparliamentary party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay arguing that the PMshould be able to appoint “whomsoever he deemed fit” — came afterTMC chief Mamata Banerjee issued specific orders that the Bill shouldnot be opposed. MPs were told that the appointment of officials wasthe PM’s prerogative. In the morning, therefore, Bandopadhyay metParliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu and reportedly toldhim that the TMC would back the amendment.

Roy subsequently said that his strong opposition to the Bill at thetime of its introduction in the House had been his personal view. OnTuesday, he told The Indian Express he had nothing more to say onthe matter. Rajya Sabha too passed the Bill on Tuesday.

Senior Trinamool leaders who spoke anonymously said the partyleadership was yet to define its position towards the Narendra Modigovernment. Initiatives from both the TMC and BJP since the elec-tions indicate a blow hot-blow cold strategy, aimed at negotiating aworking relationship that is beneficial to both sides.

Several ministers in Mamata Banerjee’s government said that theCM was likely to have remembered that she too has strong personalpreferences, and likes to pick her bureaucrats carefully.

“It would be an understatement to say that she picks and choosesher bureaucrats… She cares little about seniority and hierarchies,” atop bureaucrat said. “Her chief secretary, Sanjay Mitra, supersededsix IAS officers senior to him. Didi bulldozed all reservations.”


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NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra government to pay Rs. 50,000each to the two Palghar girls who were detained by the police inNovember 2012 for making comments on Facebook after the deathof Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray.

Their arrest, the Commission observed, was a serious violation ofhuman rights. “The Commission has also observed that every citizencan interpret these comments as per his/her thoughts. However, thesedid not have any contents to attract provisions of the Information Tech-nology Act, 2000. As per Article 19 of the Constitution of India, everyindividual has a right to freedom of expression, which is a Fundamen-tal Right and therefore, their arrest was a serious violation of humanrights.”

Having received no response to its notice and reminders to showcause why monetary relief should not be paid to the victims of humanrights violation, the Commission, in its latest direction, asked the ChiefSecretary of the State to submit the compliance report along with theproof of payment within four weeks failing which, it may be con-strained to take recourse to coercive process under Section 13 of theProtection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

Shaheen Dhada, 23, and 22-year-old Renu Srinivasan from Palgharin the neighbouring Thane district, were detained by the police afterShiv Sena activists in Palghar objected to their posts on the socialmedia site criticising bandhs called after Mr Thackeray’s demise. Af-ter being illegally detained for nearly 10 days, they were formally ar-rested and immediately released on bail of Rs. 15,000.

“The Commission has held that their detention was in violation offreedom of speech and expression of views guaranteed in the Consti-tution of India,” the press release stated.

NHRC orders payment to girls detained forcriticizing bandh after Thackeray’s death

India wins case against U.S. at WTONEW DELHI: A World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Panel

has ruled that the imposition of Countervailing Duty (CVD) by theUnited States Department of Commerce (US DOC) on India’s ex-ports of hot-rolled carbon steel flat products is inconsistent with thelaw on subsidies.

The ruling was circulated on Monday. India has now said that it isevaluating all other products of Indian origin on which the U.S. hasapplied the same provisions. This provision has been in existence inthe U.S. for many years and India is the first country to successfullychallenge it, according to a release from the Commerce Ministry.

The measures continue to be in force and adversely impact theIndian exports, the release said. India had challenged the determina-tions made by the US DOC in various investigations and reviews,contending that its programmes do not confer any subsidy on the In-dian exporters. The provisions under challenge were that of US TariffAct and the Code of Federal Regulations as being inconsistent withthe provisions of the WTO Subsidy Agreement (ASCM).

MUMBAI: Seated in her of-fice near the Worli-Sea face inMumbai with a currency notespread across her left palm,Nirmala Nimbalkar uses the fin-gers of her right hand to delicatelygauge the note’s length. Her fin-gers then roll on the surface ofthe crispy note as she tries to esti-mate the width. A few secondsof silence and she blurts out: “[Rs.]500!” Correct.

Most visually challenged peoplelike Nirmala devise a system forkeeping track of paper currency.They fold denominations differentways, or separate them into pock-ets or parts of a wallet or purse.However, identifying the denomi-nation of currency often provesarduous.

“With habit we do learn tocope. But since there is just toomuch dependence on strangersand sighted people we never knowwhen they will cheat us,” saysNirmala, who reads text at theBraille press at the National As-sociation for the Blind (NAB).

It’s for this reason that shewelcomes, with hope, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley’s proposal toprint currency notes with Braillesigns. Nirmala lost her sight whenshe was one-year-old as a side-effect of measles.

Braille currency would help theblind easily identify a note’s de-nomination, saving them time andproviding accuracy. The blind areoften prone to confusion or evenlosses in case of hurried transac-tions. During business, a blind per-son transferring a note customar-ily identifies the denomination be-fore releasing it to the receiver.The difficulty, however, ariseswhile accepting the currency asthey are not aware of the authen-

Blind get a feel for the money

ticity or source of the note. Doing a full check each time “you receivemoney from an autorickshaw driver or a shopkeeper is inconvenientand often embarrassing,” says K. Raman Shankar, president, NAB,and himself partially-blind.

The Braille currency is expected to serve over 5 million visuallychallenged people. The government plans to set up 15 new Braillepresses while upgrading 10 existing ones. However, only a small sec-tion of the blind community in India is trained in Braille and many ofthe Braille printing units are defunct. “Only those who are born blindor lose eyesight very early and have had the advantage of learning canfollow the Braille,” says blind activist Sriram Patankar.

Nirmala Nimbalkar, who reads text at the NAB Braille Press,identifies a 500-rupee note.

Akali Dal seeks centre’s interventionCHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal legislative party, on

Tuesday, July 15, sought immediate intervention of the Union govern-ment to check the “unconstitutional and anti-Sikh move” of the Haryanagovernment which had legislated constitution of a separate committeeto manage the gurdwaras in the State.

The meeting of Punjab’s ruling party MLAs, chaired by Chief Min-ister Parkash Singh Badal, said that the step of the Congress wasaimed at creating fissures in the Sikh Panth by weakening its religiousand political power.

An official release said that by passing the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara(Management) Bill 2014, the Haryana government had breached theConstitution as the matter was under the ambit of Punjab Re-organi-zation Act 1966 and only Parliament was authorised to take any ac-tion, it said.

The Akali MLAs cautioned that the action of the Haryana govern-ment posed a serious challenge to the communal harmony, peace andamity in the region.


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5 asylum leaders kept in custodyGALLE: A Sri Lankan court on Monday ordered that five sus-

pected ringleaders of a people-smuggling operation remain in custodyfor two more weeks, in a case that has fuelled controversy overAustralia’s tough line on immigration.

The five were among 41 Sri Lankan asylum seekers sent home byAustralia after their refugee boat was intercepted. Immigration Minis-ter Scott Morrison has denied that the operation violated internationalconventions.

The men have not been charged but their detention was extendedto July 28 by a magistrate in Galle, a port on Sri Lanka’s southwesterncoast, pending a ruling on whether they can be charged.

A lawyer acting for two of the detainees questioned the jurisdictionof the Sri Lankan courts, as they had been arrested in internationalwaters. “We said they were remanded by the Australian border pro-tection authority, and not by Sri Lankan police in international waters,”lawyer Lakshan Dias said. “So they should be charged in Australia oraccording to international law.”

The actions of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government have stirredcontroversy, with human rights groups arguing that the asylum seekers- some from Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil community - are fleeing per-secution at home. “Both my clients are not organisers, but passengers.They were under persecution in Sri Lanka. That’s why they left thecountry,” added Dias.

A second boat carrying 153 Sri Lankan asylum seekers remains inlegal limbo as the Australian High Court considers whether its inter-ception by border authorities was legal or not.

GALLE: Sri Lanka are hop-ing to give former captain MahelaJayawardene a memorable fare-well by winning the last four testsof his career against South Africaand Pakistan, skipper AngeloMathews said on Tuesday.

“We sent both Sanga (KumarSangakkara) and Mahela off(from the Twenty20 format) in amagnificent way in Bangladesh bywinning the World Twenty20 so ifwe can send Mahela off by win-ning all four tests it will be great,”Mathews said ahead ofWednesday’s first test againstSouth Africa in Galle.

South Africa are due to playtwo tests in the series with thesecond in Colombo from July 24-28. The series will be followed bytwo tests against Pakistan at Gallefrom Aug. 6-10 and in Colombofrom Aug. 14-18.

“When I walked into the na-tional team he was my first cap-tain and I learnt a lot by looking athim by what he is doing on andoff the field and the way hehandles situations,” the 27-year-old all-rounder added.

On Monday, the 37-year-oldJayawardene announced hewould be retiring from test cricketat the end of the Pakistan series.

“Mahela made his decision acouple of days ago and he had achat with me as well. Every goodthing comes to an end and it’s go-ing to be a massive loss,” Mathewssaid.

“He’s been tremendous for usin the past 15 years or so scoringa lot of runs, his contribution to theteam is unbelievable.

Sri Lanka plans winning farewell for Jayawardene“He’s decided that he is going

to quit so we got to respect it andmove on.

“It’s going to be a big loss andto fill his shoes is going to be atough challenge for all of us.”

This will be the first series forSouth Africa without their long-standing captain Graeme Smith,who has retired, but Mathews feltit would not make much differ-ence for the visitors.

In 145 Tests, Jayawardene hasscored 11,493 runs with 33 centu-ries (ave 50.18); he has scored11,679 runs from 419 one-dayinternationals

Disaster factory owner chargedDHAKA: Bangladesh’s anti-graft agency said Tuesday it would

press charges against the owner of a collapsed factory complex for hisrole in the disaster that killed more than 1,100 people last year.

The decision marked a u-turn by the Anti-Corruption Commission(ACC), which last month filed cases against 17 others for “illegally”transforming a planned six-storey shopping mall into the nine-storeygarment factory complex.

The Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka col-lapsed on April 24 last year, killing 1,138 people, injuring more than2,000 and highlighting appalling safety problems in Bangladesh’s $22billion garment industry.

Sohel Rana, one of the building’s owners who is facing murdercharges, was left out of the ACC’s preliminary charges, triggeringhuge outrage amongst rights groups and labour unions.

But ACC spokesman Pranab Bhattacharjee said that decision hadbeen reversed following “further investigation into the case”.

“We’ve now got evidences that Sohel Rana was involved in thecrime,” Bhattacharjee told AFP.

A charge sheet naming Rana will be submitted to an anti-graft courtnext week ahead of a trial, Bhattacharjee said.

Rana and the 17 others accused now face a maximum seven yearsin jail for violating the construction code and “abusing power” to ap-prove the building illegally, Bhattacharjee said.

The ACC said Rana was left off the list last month as his name didnot appear in any of the papers related to the building’s ownership orits construction approval. His parents, who are the co-owners of thebuilding, were instead charged as their names were found in the legaldocuments.

Clerics force closure of oldest brothelDHAKA: Bangladesh’s oldest brothel has been shut down follow-

ing pressure from local clerics and politicians amid rising conservatismin the Muslim-majority country, police said Monday.

More than 750 prostitutes in Tangail city were forced out of a clus-ter of houses that made up the 200-year-old Kandapara brothel onSunday after the dwelling’s owners ordered them shut, an officer said.

District police chief Saleh Mohammad Tanvir said the owners madethe decision after Muslim clerics and civil activists staged a march lastweek demanding the eviction of the sex workers. “On Sunday, thehouse owners of the brothel issued a notice ordering all the sex work-ers to leave the brothel. They left without any protest,” Tanvir said.

Islamists and other activists, bolstered by a conservative upsurge,have shut down about a dozen brothels across the country in recentyears including the largest at Tanbazar, outside the capital of Dhaka.

Prostitution is illegal in Bangladesh but the government has histori-cally tolerated some brothels operating in the country.

PAKISTANINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014 • PAGE 21

Kabaddi players in Indian teams

ISLAMABAD: As many as six national kabaddi players will leavefor India next week to represent various franchises in India’s first prokabaddi league.

The mega event among eight teams from India will take place indifferent cities from July 25 to Sept 1, in which a number of interna-tional players besides players from India and Pakistan participate. Theseplayers were selected on the pattern of Indian Premier League (IPL).

The teams are owned by various celebrities including renownedfilm star Abhishek Bachchan, who owns Jaipur Pink Panthers, sportscommentator Charu Sharma and India’s top industrialists.

Pakistan Kabaddi Federation’s secretary Mohammad Sarwar toldDawn that four Pakistan players have won handsome package dealswhich range from 800,000 to one million Indian rupees.

Two players will be there as standby and will strike a deal with anyteam on the spot.

He hoped that Pakistani players will show their best in India. Sarwarsaid the league enjoyed full recognition of the Indian sport ministry. Toa query about visas, he said the players have applied for visas throughthe Pakistan Kabaddi Federation.

“I think there will be no visa issue and players will leave for Indianext week,” he said.

Pakistani players: Nasir Ali, Wajid Ali, Waseem Sajad, KashifRazzaq, Hasan Raza, Atif Waheed.

Pakistan’s top tax payersPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif awarded ‘privilege and honour cards’

to about 200 top taxpayers on Tuesday. The cards will entitle them tospecial services.

The Federal Board of Revenue has identified 400 top taxpayers —100 each in four categories of salaried individuals, non-salaried indi-viduals, association of persons and companies for awarding the cards.

The FBR published a provisional list of such taxpayers in February,inviting the taxpayers to file any representation or objection.

The list of salaried individuals shows that three brothers are amongthe top 10 taxpayers.

Tariq Nisar, who topped the list, paid Rs189 million as income tax,Sohail Nisar was 6th with income tax payment of Rs105.6m and AnjumNisar got the 8th position with a payment of Rs80.9m.

Five members of a family who have majority shares in Allied Bankand Ibrahim Fibre are also on the list. Three of them are among thetop 10 taxpayers.

They are Muhammad Naeem Mu-khtar at 2nd, MuhammadWaseem Mukhtar 3rd and Sheikh Mukhtar Ahmad 5th, Faisal Mukhtar17th and Fawad Ahmad Mukhtar at 39th position.

Five members of the Mansha family are among the top 100 taxpay-ers. They are Hasan Mansha (4th), Umer Mansha (11th), Raza Mansha(28th) and Naz Mansha (59th). Ammil Raza Mansha was awardedfor being 59th in the non-salaried category.

Three Lakhani family members are in the top 100 list. They areIqbal Ali Lakhani (38th) and Amin Mohammad Lakhani (41st).

And Ronaq Iqbal Ali Lakhani at 92nd is among top 100 non-sala-ried taxpayers.

From the Hashwani group, only two persons are on the top taxpay-ers list, with Amin A Hashwani at 70th. Abdullah A. Hashwani stood6th among the top 100 non-salaried individuals.

Four employees of Tapal Tea are among the top 100 taxpayerswith Aftab Faizullah Tapal, Kumail Aftab Tapal at 68th, Mehvish ATapal at 71st and Rashida Tapal at 47th.

There are some prominent individuals like Arif Habib at 9th, WaqarA. Malik at 20th, Shuaib Anwer Malik at 18th and Muhammad AliTabba at 69th among the top taxpayers who worked in different posi-tions or owned businesses.

There is no current parliamentarian among the top taxpayers. How-ever, a former caretaker finance minister Syed Baber Ali stood at21st, former commerce minister Razak Dawood at 92nd and formerminister for industries Jehangir Khan Tareen at 84th.

In the category of non-salaried 100 top taxpayers, Irfan Usmanstood first, Ali Jehangir Siddiqui 24th, Muhammad Aneeq Siddi-qui30th, Shahid Majid 82nd and Jehangir Siddiqui 86th.

Imran Maqbool, President and CEO of MCB Bank, was awardedan Honour Card for being No. 6 in the ‘Company Category’.

Imran’s Azadi Marchtermed a ‘drama’

PESHAWAR: Veteran leaderof Awami National Party andMNA from Peshawar HajiGhulam Ahmed Bilour on Tues-day termed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’sAzadi March a drama, saying thatthe PTI’s agitation would not servethe democratic institutions and thenation.

Speaking at a press conferenceat Peshawar Press Club, Biloursaid that Khan dreams of becom-ing prime minister though hisparty’s government in KhyberPakhtunkhwa had miserablyfailed to deliver.

The people would not let Khanderail democracy, which had beenrestored after a lot of sacrificesby politicians, civil society andmedia, he said.

Bilour asked why the PTI-ledprovincial government was nottaking measures to curb the in-creasing incidents of lawlessness,kidnapping for ransom, extortion,and price hike in Peshawar andacross the province.

KARACHI: In an apparentalignment with the military offen-sive in North Waziristan, theRangers-led operation launched inthe city to alleviate the fears ofthe business community hasshifted its focus from hit men andextortionists to the more demand-ing threat from militants.

Since the launch of Zarb-i-Azb,Karachi’s law enforcement agen-cies (LEAs) claim to have killedover 30 men allegedly affiliatedwith the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in separate ‘en-counters’ in Sohrab Goth,Mauripur, Musharraf Colony,Usmanabad, Steel Town,Sultanabad, Orangi Town andManghopir.

In a conversation with Dawn,DIG-South Abdul Khaliq Shaikh

Zarb-i-Azb: Karachi operation sees tactical swing

acknowledged that the Karachioperation had been readjusted totackle the militant threat.

“Obviously, the focus hasshifted in a way — the biggestthreat today is from the Taliban,especially in the aftermath of theKarachi airport attack,” he said.“We were targeting the Talibanearlier as well, but now there isan imminent threat. We areaware that there may be retalia-tory attacks in Karachi due to theoperation in North Waziristan.”

The decision is to be proactive,he added, “to get them before theyget us.”

DIG Shaikh said that whileLEAs had ‘preventive’ duties toprotect sensitive installations andairports, on the ‘operative’ sidethey were closing in on areas

where they perceived that threatsfrom militants were emanating.Gadap, Sultanabad, Gulshan-i-Buner and Manghopir were ar-eas where the militant presencewas likely, he said.

He explained the rearrange-ment of the Karachi operation’s‘priorities’ as an efficient distribu-tion of security personnel to ar-eas where they were neededmost. When it was announced lastyear in September, the Karachioperation’s primary goal was tocurb targeted killing, extortion andkidnapping for ransom as escalat-ing criminal activities plagued thedaily lives of many businessmen.

Although Shaikh says LEAshave worked effectively to curbcrime and violence in the city, theMuttahida Qaumi Movement hasrepeatedly accused the authoritiesof carrying out extra-judicial kill-ings. In recent months, the partyhas vehemently protested what itsays is the illegal detention, tor-ture and murder of its workers.Shaikh rejected any allegation ofextra-judicial killings.

‘New security law to boostconfidence’

With the passage of the far-reaching Pakistan Protection Act(PPA) 2014, LEAs now have le-gal cover to enter and search anypremises without warrant as wellas detain and fire at “enemy aliens/militants” whom they reasonablybelieve will commit an offence.

“The PPA gives powers of de-tention and firing, but this is hap-pening anyway,” said Shaikh.However, he said that the legisla-tion now provides legal protection.“If a security official has firedaccording to the law, he can makea case for himself under this act.”

While the DIG said the PPAwill increase the confidence ofLEAs, he felt the police neededmore operational autonomy. “Weneed to make the police force astronger institution and this willonly happen when transfers aremade on merit.”

Karachi’s Rangers-led operation had been readjusted to tackle the militantthreat instead of focusing on hit-men and extortionists.

Pakistani women enslaved inDubai sex trade

FAISALABAD: Shumaila (name changed) once dreamed of be-coming a computer engineer. Instead, aged 16, the bright-eyed Paki-stani girl was tricked into prostitution in UAE, beginning a four-yearnightmare of cruelty, violence and rape.

Pakistan has long been an important source of cheap labour for theGulf state, particularly its booming construction sector.

But campaigners and officials say hundreds of young Pakistaniwomen are also trafficked every year to supply the thriving sex tradein the brothels and nightclubs of Dubai.

Shumaila and her sister Rabia (name changed) were two of them.More than a year after she escaped, Shumaila’s pain is still etched

into her stumbling, hesitant voice — and also into her body, whichbears the marks of countless beatings. Vivid, angry scars run the lengthof her legs from ankle to hip, reminders of a botched operation aftershe was shot three times by the gang who trafficked her.

Shumaila and Rabia managed to escape their tormentors in 2013but still live, hiding in a two-room house in a slum, fearing revengeattacks. Their full names and precise whereabouts were withheld fortheir safety. Eventually in March 2013 the sisters plucked up the cour-age to share their ordeal with their elder sister Qamar, who eventuallyobtained their freedom — but at a cost.

“Ayesha’s brother and the younger brother of her husband came toour house. They fired three shots which hit me,” Shumaila said. “Inhospital, she sent policemen who harassed me and asked me to startwalking despite the fact that my leg had undergone surgery.”

The family fled from the hospital and went into hiding because theirneighbors also started abusing them for being “prostitutes”.

Shumaila’s family approached a court to try to crack the traffickingring run by Ayesha and her husband Ashfaq.

The court ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to actbut the case has since made little progress. Lawyer Zulfiqar Ali Bhutta,who is fighting Shumaila’s case, says the trafficking gangs often haveinfluential connections to politicians and the police. “Several gangssmuggle dozens of young girls from Pakistan to Dubai for prostitutionevery week. Nobody takes action against them,” Bhutta said.

“The main accused in this case, Ashfaq, fled from the court in frontof FIA officials. They did not arrest him despite the court cancellinghis bail,” he said. A recent US State Department report on humantrafficking said the UAE government was making significant effortsto tackle sex trafficking, pointing to prosecutions and protection of-fered to victims. In 2013, the US report said, the UAE governmentidentified 40 victims and referred them to state-funded shelters.

RELIGION / SPIRITUALITYPAGE 22 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014

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By Jug Suraiya

I’ve just finished readingGalsworthy’s novel The Man OfProperty, the first part of the tril-ogy The Forsyte Saga. The firsttime I read it, more than 30 yearsago, I took it to be a study of thesocial manners and mores of theBritish upper middle class at theend of the 19th century.

This time round, however, I dis-covered in the novel, which helpedthe author win the Nobel prize forliterature, an allegory that depictstwo very different modes of con-sciousness: the consciousnesswhich is obsessed with posses-sions, and the consciousnesswhich rejoices in the contempla-tion of pure being, unensnared bythe desire to possess.

The man of property of the titleis Soames Forsyte, a member ofthe prosperous, London-basedForsyte family.

As their name — which is apun on the word ‘foresight’ —suggests, the Forsytes are conser-vative and prudent about socialand financial matters, and placegreat stock on the ownership ofproperty of all kinds.

In this regard, Soames is thearchetypal Forsyte, with a beliefin the paramount right of owner-ship which he has exalted to thestatus of a secular religion.

Soames measures himself andhis life by what he owns: his house,his investments, his collection ofpaintings. But his most prized —and most elusive — possession ishis beautiful wife, Irene, whom hemanaged to wed after a long anddoggedly determined courtship.

Irene is the epitome ofbeauty,and Soames loves her withthe desperation that a man dyingof thirst yearns for water. But hisall-consuming desire to possessher, body and soul, repels and dis-gusts Irene.

The more he seeks to own her— the way he owns his other pos-sessions — the more she seeksto escape him.

Soames’s obsessive love of hiswife is contrasted by the very dif-ferent kind of love that the 70-year-old Jolyon Forsyte, his uncle,also has for Irene.

In the winter of his life, Jolyonwarms his hands in the radiantglow of Irene’s beauty, withoutany desire to possess her, physi-cally, emotionally or spiritually.

He feels a joyous exaltation inher presence, which enables himto transcend the frailties of ageand the certitude of mortality.

When he is with her, he expe-riences a sense of pure being, ofconsciousness untrammelled by

the ego’s compulsion to have and to hold all that it believes it owns,starting with itself.

Irene’s beauty inspires in Jolyon the passionless ecstasy of a wor-shipper whose devotion is freely reciprocated by the one who is idol-ized. That same beauty ends up destroying Soames who wants to putit under safe lock and key, along with all the other possessions, all theother properties, he takes such pride in owning.

The point that Galsworthy seems to make in his novel is also madeby William Blake in four lines of poetry:

He who bends to himself a joyDoes the winged life destroyBut he who kisses the joy as it fliesLives in eternity’s sunrise.The ceaseless quest for beauty — which is only another word for

goodliness, or godliness — is an imperative of life; it is what makes liferise above brute existence and gives it meaning. But if the pursuit ofbeauty, of the good, begins and ends in a desire to entrap it, put it in thecage of possession, it defeats and destroys itself.

Difference between having and being

By Pranav Khullar

The Mundaka Upanishadopens with the searching questionof Saunaka to his Guru: “Rever-end Sir, what is that, knowingwhich, everything becomesknown?”

Touched by the sincerity of hisdisciple-seeker, Angiras tells himthat experiential knowledge of theBrahmn, with the guidance of arealised guru alone can open thefinite mind to its own cosmic ex-panse.

Expanding on this notion ofrealisation, Angiras draws a dis-tinction between acquired knowl-edge — intellectually grasped orritualistically gathered — and in-tuitive form of knowledge, thespiritual experience itself, beyondthe web of the mind.

He goes on to differentiate be-tween the transitory character ofthe materialistic path and its fleet-ing benefits, and the permanentnature of the path of renunciationwhich the sage saw as a prereq-uisite to attain real happiness. Thisdistinction between dharma andjnana lies at the very heart of theMundaka Upanishad.

In three evocative similies, GuruAngiras posits the intricate rela-tionship between the universe andSelf: “As a spider throws afar itsweb and gathers in as well, asplants sprout on earth, as hairgrows on the human body, so doesthe universe emerge from the im-perishable Self”.

The cause-effect similies pointto the underlying origin of all pro-jected things which though are realfrom our time-space continuum,are also finite and limited in na-ture. This leads to a metaphysicalrhapsody about the all-encompass-ing nature of Virat, the Absolute,and Angiras draws another fa-mous allegorical parallel. “… Twobirds living together, each the

friend of the other, on the sametree ….one eats the sweet fruitof the tree and the other simplylooks on”. The first bird is thejivatma, the finite self, eating andthereby experiencing both plea-sure and pain, part of the inexo-rable cycle of desire and karma.

The observer bird is the realSelf witness to the turbulencealongside, quietly nudging us backto the “real-reality”, as we tumblealong in our search for the elusivemusk fragrance.

Angiras lays down the processfor disciplining and purifying thefinite self, a four-fold measurewhich the great sage saw as car-dinal to the spiritual quest: first andforemost was Truth, by whichwas meant a measure which wasuniversally good.

Second was tapa or austeritiesto focus on something higher thanoutward distractions. Third waswisdom which could be seen as ameasure of discrimination.

The last was chastity whichAngiras felt was necessary totransform the dross of the basicinstincts in man, though he held itup only as a prerequisite forSannyas.

Angiras then declares“Satyamave Jayate … (Truthalone triumphs), the cardinal prin-ciple of Truth, to be practised as astriving towards perfection, wherethe finite self would expand andmerge into a universal conscious-ness. Angiras expounds his con-cept of jnana in the central wordof the Upanishad itself ‘mundaka’,which etymologically refers to aperson who has shaved the hairoff his head.

In the larger sense, GuruAngiras meant that munda, theshaving off, symbolises the shav-ing off of the layers of ignorancewhich cover us all , to enable usto see ourselves as one with theuniversal Self .

Shave off your ignorance

Finding a GuruGuru is not the goal. Guru is like a boat for crossing the river. It is

important to have a good boat and it is very dangerous to have a boatthat is leaking. The boat brings you across the river.When the river iscrossed the boat is no longer necessary. — Swami Rama

The guru is the means of realisation; he imparts knowledge as teacher.— Swami VivekanandaLend a helping hand to those in grief and thus light lamps of kind-

ness and compassion. — Mata AmritanandamayiTo cultivate the mood of surrender you need a guru.— Bhakti Charu SwamiThe guru reveals this truth and encourages you to progress towards

it. However, you must have the yearning, the seeking intelligence anda feeling of surrender. — Sathya Sai Baba

English poetry & Advaita VedantaBy Alka Nigam

Literature is also philosophy. Though some critics differ, there areinnumerable literary examples of visionary poets revealing primevaltruths. These poetic revelations are universal spiritual truths to whichno one person, age or religion can lay exclusive claim. Of a radicallydifferent milieu and conviction, in their attempt to unravel the mysteryof life and death, poets secure the same rapport with the central spiri-tual reality, as could sages.

Tennyson acknowledges that intellect is not potent enough to realiseultimate reality — it only “stirs the surface-shadow” but never “hathdipt into …/ The abysm of all abysms”. Vedic scriptures declare theillusory dualistic veil or surface-shadow as ‘maya’. This is somethingwe need to overcome.

Mystics perceive reality through Self-realisation and poets and think-ers perceive it through transcendental imagination. Once they experi-ence out-of-body consciousness, poets reach the realm of pure con-sciousness and the self seems “to dissolve and fade away into bound-less being; and this is not a confused state, but the clearest of theclearest… the loss of personality (if so it were) seeming not extinctionbut the only true life.”Tennyson here conveys the essence of advaitavedanta, the cardinal tenet of which is the same. Brahmn alone is real.The universe is unreal, and the individual soul is none other than theuniversal soul.

In ‘Memoirs’ Tennyson informs Mrs Bradley: “There are momentswhen this flesh is nothing to me, when I feel and know the flesh to bethe vision, God and the spiritual the only real and true.” On the deathof Keats, Shelley knew: “He hath awakened from the dream of life.”Wordsworth feels the same state when the “breath of this corporealframe” is “almost suspended” and then, “we are laid asleep in body,and become a living soul.” D H Lawrence is overjoyed at the pros-pect of discarding his flesh “Like luggage of some departed traveller”.

A parallel is found in the autobiography of Sri Yogananda: “Theflesh was as though dead, yet in my intense awareness I knew thatnever before had I been fully alive. My sense of identity was no longernarrowly confined to a body but embraced the circumambient atoms….An oceanic joy broke upon calm endless shores of my soul. The spiritof God, I realised, is exhaustless Bliss.”

Evidently this state is not confined to sages. Plato regarded thisdivine madness to be a divine blessing granted to man. Saint Paul andFrancis of Assisi are reported to have fallen into the same ecstatictrance. The poet William Blake confidently said: “I am in God’s pres-ence night and day.” In this mystical trance, which is seeing the soulwith bodily eyes closed, is when we receive the highest kind of intui-tive knowledge.

In the Kathopanishad, Yama tells Nachiketa that the supreme per-son, the size of a thumb, dwells forever in the hearts of all beings.Krishna assures us in the Gita that He is seated in the heart of allbeings. Christ knew that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us.Vivekananda said: “After long searches here and there, in templesand churches…at last you come back completing the circle from whereyou started, to your own soul and find that He …is nearest of the near,in your own Self.”

Poets are born, not made. Socrates says what poets compose theycompose not by wisdom but because they are inspired. The purestcreative moments of their inspiration have filled literature with puremagic. Entirely different from the tradition of mystics, their vision nev-ertheless contributes to our spiritual heritage.


is pleased to welcome

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce(R), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Aff airs

and honor him at a public meeting on Sunday, July 20, 2014, from 3: 30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

at Madras Pavilion in Sugar Land.

The Indo-American Community is invited to this

free event

to appreciate and show its support to Chairman Royce.

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R), Sugar Land will also be present.

For more information, contact Ramana Bommareddy at 832-814-6610.

Indo American Conservatives

Ed Royce became the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Aff airs in January 2013. He is serving his 11th term in Congress, representing Southern California’s 39th district.Royce has been instrumental in strengthening relations between the U.S. and India. Since 1993, Royce has been a member of the House Foreign Aff airs Committee and is cur-

rently the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Aff airs. In the 107th session of Congress, Royce chaired the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Starting with only 8 members, Royce helped build the caucus to become one of the largest in the House, with over 180 members.

In the 112th Congress, Royce again assumed co-chairmanship of the caucus, a role he used to address the U.S.-India business relationship and the threat India faces from Islamist extremism. As Chairman of Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Subcommittee, Royce held a hearing last September entitled: “U.S.-India Counterterrorism Coop-eration: Deepening the Partnership.”

Royce was designated by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to be an offi cial member of then-President Clinton’s historic delegation to India in 2000. He has traveled several more times to India.

Following the January 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, Royce led a Congressional Delegation to the ravaged area to help. As sister states, Gujarat and California both lie in earth-quake prone areas. Royce worked to help the two to share information on early warning systems.

In 2001, Royce led the eff ort to lift sanctions against India, co-authoring legislation to lift all sanctions and economic restrictions imposed on India under the Clinton Admin-istration. With this groundwork laid, the Administration moved to remove the sanctions on India in 2001.

One of Congress’s experts on India, Royce managed legislation on the House fl oor in July 2006 to pass the historic U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, beating back several “poison pill” amendments.

In November 2008, Royce actively supported a resolution in condemning the horrifi c terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai. Commenting on the attacks on the House fl oor, Royce stated: “What is clear is that Pakistan and South Asia is at a crossroads. Pakistanis have to make the fundamental decision to turn their backs on the culture of jihad. For if they don’t, the future of their country, the region, and security in the world will be in peril.” With Royce’s support, the resolution passed last December.

Ed Royce

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India Herald July 16 2014

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Transcript of India Herald July 16 2014