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Vol.9 No. 10 July 2-8, 2016 80 Cents

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Istanbul airport attack

has hallmark of ISIS

Istanbul: Turkish of ficials have

strong evidence that ISIS leader
ship was involved in the planning
of the Istanbul airport terrorist
attack that killed at least 44 peo
ple, a senior government source
told CNN on Thursday.
Officials believe the three men
identified as being from Russia,
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
entered Turkey about a month
ago from the ISIS stronghold of
Raqqa in Syria, bringing with
them the suicide vests and bombs
used in the attack, the source
said.
The terrorists rented an apart
ment in the Fat ih district of
Istanbul, where one of the attack
ers left behind his passport, the
Turkish government source said.
The attack was "extremely well
planned with ISIS leadership

British PM David Cameron has

decided to step down.
(Photos: Courtesy Reuters)

Passengers embrace each other at the entrance to Istanbul's

Ataturk airport where three suicide bombers killed
at least 44 people. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
involved," the source said.
While no one has yet claimed
responsibility for the airport
assault, CNN contributor Michael

Weiss said the nat ionalit ies

revealed Thursday buttress the
claim of ISIS involvement. "One of

Continued on page 4

India in elite club that

controls missile tech export

Former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi

giving his victory speech Tuesday after winning the
Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional
district served by Rep. Steve Israel. In his speech,
he thanked the Indian community of Nassau county
for support. He now faces GOP candidate, state
Sen. Jack Martins, in the general election in
November. (Photo courtesy: Newsday)

New Delhi: Days after India failed to join NSG, the

government signed itself into a more exclusive non
proliferation regime,
Missile Technology
Control
Reg ime
(MTCR), joining an
exclusive club of
countries controlling
export of missile
technology. Foreign
secretary
S.
Made in India
Jaishankar signed the
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is
instrument of acces
being inducted into Air Force
sion to MTCR, aimed
at preventing unchecked proliferation of missiles and
their delivery systems. In a statement, MEA thanked
the other 34 members of the MTCR for supporting
India's inclusion into the group.
"India's entry into the regime as its thirtyfifth
member would be mutually beneficial in the further
ance of international nonproliferation objectives,"
the statement said. India applied to join MTCR in
Continued on page 4
2015, but its membership

Leading Brexit campaigner Boris

Johnson has taken himself
out of the leadership question.

Brexit uncertainty
will dampen global
growth: IMF
Brexit leaders fumble and Boris
Johnson bows out of PM race
Washington: The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday
warned that significant uncertain
ty over Britain' s vote to leave the
European Union (EU) is likely to
dampen economic g rowth in
Britain, Europe and the rest of the
world.
"I would say Brexit has created
significant uncertainty and we
believe this is likely to dampen
growth in the near term, particu
larly in Britain but with repercus
sions also for Europe and the glob
al economy," IMF spokesman
Gerry Rice said.
Rice said "one notable source of
this uncertainty" concerns the
terms of the future relationship
between the UK and the EU and
how the new relationship will
impact business. Following a deci

sion to exit the EU, Britain would

need to negotiate the terms of its
withdrawal and a new relationship
with the EU.
Stung by the political and eco
nomic turmoil postyes vote, Brexit
leaders have been busy walking
back promises they made during
the campaign and scaling back
expectations. The leadership ques
tion is up in the air after Prime
Minister
David
Cameron
announced his decision to step
down. Former London mayor and
leading Brexit campaigner Boris
Johnson has pulled out of the race
to become the next Conservative
leader and British prime minister.
He was done in by his former ally
Michael Gove who announced his
own candidacy earlier on
IANS
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July 2-8, 2016

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TRISTATE COMMUNITY

LIs India Day Parade set

for Aug 6 afternoon

Parade organizers and guests with Indian MP Udit Raj (fifth from left) at the kickoff event.
Hicksville, NY: The 5th India Day
Parade 2016 (IDP USA) will take
place in Hicksville, the heart of
Long Island, on August 6
(Saturday), it was announced at a
wellattended curtainraiser here
on Tuesday. Celebrating Indias
70th Independence Day, the
parade this time will be held from
3 PM onwards along South
Broadway, followed by cultural
entertainment, booths and more. It
is expected to attract 10,000 peo
ple and will also be live webcast
around the world. The parade

was initiated ve years ago by

some leading members of the
community who are currently on
the Advisory Board, including
Bobby K. Kalotee, Indu Jaiswal,
Kamlesh Mehta, Jagdish Sewhani,
Dr. Raj Bhayani, Peter Bheddah,
Dr. Bhavani Srinivasan and Dev
Ratnam.
The kickoff event was hosted by
Bobby K. Kalotee and Jagdish
Sewhani and was attended by sev
eral community leaders in the
presence of IDP President Beena
Kothari and her team, who all

Plainview gurdwara sues

Town over construction
Plainview, NY: The Plainview Sikh
congregation has led a federal law
suit against the Town of Oyster Bay
alleging that its civil rights were
violated when the town board halt
ed construction on the gurdwara
building in February.
The civil suit, led in U.S. Eastern
District Court, claims that the town
administration imposed burden
some, discriminatory, and unreason
able land use regulations when it
stopped the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh
Center from nishing the project,
reports Newsday.
Its in the best interest of the town
to settle this case and let the Sikh
community complete the temple
and let them continue to worship,
said the plaintif fs attorney Paul
Savad. Neighbors of the temple on
Old Country Road had complained

that the Sikh worshippers cars used

to clog their residential streets.
Town spokeswoman Marta Kane
said in a statement that the town
considers the congregation a val
ued neighbor and that ofcials
wish for an amicable resolution.
This is not a matter of religion,
Kane said. The towns highest pri
ority is insuring that there is ade
quate parking and that all relevant
environmental reviews are followed
so as to not disturb the surrounding
communitys peaceful enjoyment of
their neighborhood.
In court papers the plaintif fs
argued that an environmental
review now, after they demolished
their old temple on the site and
nearly nished their new $3 million
temple under an approved site plan,
Newsday
would be burdensome.

appealed for community support

for a bigger and better parade this
year. There will be 40 marching
groups, besides oats and a car
caravan. Invited guest Dr. Udit
Raj, Indian MP from Delhi, in his
speech, gave an update on the
progress of many developmental
programs initiated in India by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and exhorted NRIs to play their
part in developing their mother
land. Watch this space for the
names of Grand Marshal and other
celebs to march in the parade.

July 2-8, 2016

FeTNA to celebrate
Tamil culture & business
Trenton, NJ: The Federation of
Tamil Sangams of North America
(FeTNA) is holding its 29th annu
al convention from July 14 here
with a host of leading celebrities
from the elds of art, culture, lit
erature and entertainment in
Tamil Nadu.
T he mega event at Patriots
Theater at the War Memorial in
Trenton will also mark the cente
nary celebrations of the Tamil
language movement (1916
2016).
On July 2 a fullday Tamil
Entrepreneurs Forum (Tefcon)
has been organized. The session
will have keynote addresses,
panel discussions and inspiring
talks. The 25 speakers and pan
elists include Arvind Swamy,
famed actor of Roja fame and
entrepreneur, and leading Tamil
entrepreneurs. Inspiring speak
ers include the famed Dosa Man
Thiru Kumar. Some startups will
make a pitch to investors, who
would include N. Chandra of TCS,
and Jet Blues Eash Sundaram.
At the FeTNa meet, a host of
entertaining and enlightening
programs and events have been
planned. Noted Tamil Carnatic
singer T.M. Krishna will give a

Actorentrepreneur Arvind
Swamy is the star attraction at
the FeTNA convention and
Entrepreneur Forum this July 4
weekend in New Jersey.
concert. Playback singer Vijay
Prakash, Super Singer title win
ners Hari Priya and Jesica Jude
will be part of the light music
program. A dance drama on the
highly regarded Chozha King
Rajendra Chozhan will be pre
sented.
Kari Anandashankari, Canadian
MP, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, the
Democratic nominee for Illinois'
8th Congressional district, will
address the conference. Popular
Siddha doctor G. Sivaraman will
give a speech. Writer and profes
sor A. Ramasamy and G.
Balachandran IAS will speak on
literary topics.

Maharaja supermarket
comes to Hicksville
By Parveen Chopra
Hicksville, NY: Maharaja Farmers
Market opened to tumultuous
response June 30 here. With
20,000 sq ft retail space, this mas
sive supermarket is more than
thrice the size of their earlier
store in New Hyde Park, NY that
opened in 2015. Situated in the
Hicksvilles heart, Delco Plaza on
S. Broadway, Maharaja promises
to give a run for its money to
competition Patel Brothers (the
rst Indian g ro cery store in
Hicksville) and Apna Bazaar, with
jampacked shelves.
Asked by The South Asian Times
how they are different from Patel
or Apna Bazar, Maharaja owner
Amandeep Singh Tony said, We
have a live bakery and custom cut

Maharaja Farmers
Market owner
Amandeep Singh
Tony and (inset)
the store frontage

meats. And our customers come

from all communities not just
South Asian we also have well
sto cked
American
and
Mediterranean products.
Their opening sale is running
till July 17.

The store was formally inaugu

rated by Nassau County Deputy
Execut ive for Finance Eric C.
Naughton.
Maharaja iers also announce
another store opening in
Bellerose, NY in near future.

July 2-8, 2016

TURN PAGE

US not letting go of India's

NSG membership

Washington: The US has made it clear that it

will not let go of India`s membership in the
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an of ficial
said. "India has a strong record and we
believe it deserves to be included in the
NSG," US State Department spokesman John
Kirby said in a media briefing on Thursday.
The statement comes after China, at the
NSG plenary in Seoul in June, stymied inter
national consensus to include India in the
48member group on the ground that a

country needed to be a signatory to the Non

Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for this.
Kirby said that the US administration,
"including senior White House and State
Department of ficials, made a concerted
effort" to secure India`s membership in the
NSG plenary.
The spokesman was responding to a ques
tion on how China did not speak much
about India`s entry into the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR) earlier

Sharmila Tagore,
Freida Pinto among
Oscar academy's
new members
Los Angeles: Veteran actress
Sharmila Tagore, "Slumdog
Millionaire" star Freida Pinto
and director Deepa Mehta fea
ture among Indianorigin film
personalit ies invited by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences to be part of its
new class of members.
The Academy invited a record
683 new members 46 per cent
female and 41 per cent persons
of color as it aims to diversify
following criticism of its largely
white and male membership.
British filmmaker of Indian
orig in Asif Kapadia who
bagged the Best Documentary
Feature Oscar for "Amy", based
on the life of late singer Amy
Winehouse also features in
this year's class of new mem
bers.
T he diversity push was in

response to the #OscarsSoWhite

uproar that took place earlier
this year, when allwhite acting
nominees put a microscope on
the Academys largely white and
male membership.
On the Hollywood front, the
new members also include "Star
Wars" actor John Boyega, Idris
Elba and last years best actress
winner Brie Larson. Also invited
are Kate Beckinsale, "Creed"
director Ryan Coogler, Michael
B. Jordan and Emma Watson.
IANS

Modi likely to rejig

his cabinet

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected

to reshuf fle his cabinet reshuf fle as he reviewed the
performance this week of various
ministries in the last two years. It
is likely to happen before he goes
on an official visit to Africa in the
first week of July.
As Uttar Pradesh elections will
weigh heavily on his mind, the
PM could elevate Sanjeev Balyan,
MoS for Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, as minister with inde
pendent charge. Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel may also
be inducted as the party is focusing on nonYadav OBC
votes in the state. As per a report on CNN News 18, con
troversial Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath may also get
the nod.
The PM is unlikely to make changes in key ministries.
But Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers
Nihal Chand could be while Arjun Meghwal, another
senior leader from Rajasthan, could be inducted.
Other names doing the rounds as possible entrants
are Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh and Mangaldoi (Assam)
MP Raman De ka. BJP vicepresident Vinay
Sahasrabuddhe, who recently became Rajya Sabha
member from Maharashtra, is also being considered.
Some channels, including NDTV are reporting that
Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan may be elevat
ed to Cabinet rank. Minority Af fairs Minister Najma
Heptulla could be dropped.

Chairman and Co-Founder

Kamlesh C. Mehta

Associate Editors:
Hiral Dholakia-Dave

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha

President: Arjit Mehta

this week while opposing New Delhi`s bid

for the NSG membership.
"We`re obviously disappointed that India
was not admitted during this recent (NSG)
session, but I can tell you that we`re going
to continue to work constructively with
India and all the other NSG members on
India`s accession in the months ahead," he
said. "We`re not going to let that go. Okay?"
he added.
IANS

TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Istanbul airport attack has
hallmark of ISIS
Continued from page 1
the toughest battalions in ISIS is called the
Uzbek battalion," he said. "These were the
guys who were essentially on the front lines
guarding Falluja, the city they just lost in
Iraq."
CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen
said the revelation of the Istanbul attackers'
nationalities will serve to "open people's
eyes to the fact that there's a very substan
tial Russian, former Soviet Union, presence
within ISIS, both in terms of the foot soldiers
and the leaders."
The authorities have detained 22 people in
connection with the attack, according to a
Turkish official.
The terrorists stormed the airport Tuesday
night, opening fire and detonating explo
sives two of them at the international ter
minal building, and the third in a parking lot,
CNN
according to officials.

India in elite club that

controls missile tech export
Continued from page 1
was blocked by Italy on the issue of the
marines. Italy lifted its block after India
agreed to send the marines home.
Last week, India was kept out of NSG after
determined opposition by China. Unusually
for the Indian government, MEA actually
pointed fingers at Beijing. But MEA
spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India would
continue talking to China on NSG at multiple
levels. Significantly, China is not a member
of MTCR with its membership request pend
ing since 2004.
MTCR aims at restricting proliferation of
missiles, rocket systems, unmanned air vehi
cles and related technology for those sys
tems capable of carrying a 500 kg payload
for at least 300 km, as well as systems
intended for the delivery of weapons of mass
destruction.
Meanwhile, Indian Air Force will raise the
first squadron of homegrown Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) Tejas with the induction of
two aircraft into the force in Bengaluru on
Friday. Staterun Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) will hand over the first two
Tejas aircraft to the Air Force which will
make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45, the name
ToI
of the first squadron of the LCA.

Jaipur (India) Bureau

Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info

IANS Washington Bureau

Arun Kumar
arun.kumar@ians,in

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Pooja Jain,
Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info

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Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Sayfty: Protecting women

against violence
By Karishma Asoodani
New York: "A girls safety is not the problem of
only a handful, its a problem of the society,"
argues Dr. Shruti Kapoor, an economist by educa
tion and a crusader by heart who founded Sayfty
with a mission to help women protect themselves
against violence by equipping them with personal
safety products, information and awareness.
Now based in Brooklyn, NY Dr Kapoors own life
has not been an easy ride. Since her childhood in
India she had to struggle. Be it joining an all girls
college or moving around alone in cities. At every
step, someone whispered, some stared, some fol
lowed and some advised.
"I wish growing up things were safer for me and
every other girl in India. Unfortunately over the
past decade, when it comes to womens safety,
things have just deteriorated in India. Incidents of
violence against women have been consistently
rising. A woman is raped every 20 minutes in
India a fact that is so disturbing and so wrong.
In fact, the horrific gangrape incident in a Delhi
bus in 2012 shook me to the core. The brutality of
the event opened my eyes to how unsafe India has
become for girls and women," she says.
Shruti Kapoor first came to the US in 2000 for
her masters degree and ended up earning a Ph D
from University of California and worked as a con
sultant with the World Bank till 2010. Says she,
"As a woman I still have to look out for my safety,
be mindful when I am walking down a dark alley
in the city. I still have to be careful, but I dont live
with a constant fear. I am aware, educated and I
know what I need to do should danger strike.
Unfortunately, there are many parts of the world
where young women like me cannot even walk
the streets with a sense of security. Can you imag
ine what that must feel like?"
It is this thought process that propelled her in
2013 to start Sayfty, an organization that aims to
educate, equip and empower women through an

Shruti Kapoor, the Brooklyn based founder of

Sayfty, was invited to the United State of
Women summit convened by the
White House in Washington DC in midJune.
online awareness policy (and advocacy) dis
cussing evils like violence against women, domes
tic violence, marital rape, discussions on gender
awareness, feminism in general, and relevant
laws. Sayfty empowers women through conduct
ing selfdefense workshops, which includes work
ing with young girls and women. The organization
imparts tools (like pepper spray, keyring alarm,
lipstick spray) and techniques to help women pro
tect and secure themselves against violence.
One of the ways Sayfty is reaching out to people
is by organizing active Twitter chats where
women and men discuss issues from sensitive
ones like menstruation to domestic violence. The
key idea is to build up courage and confidence to
speak up about what's right and what's not.
An inspiration to many, entrepreneur Dr Kapoor
was awarded the third prize (10,000 euros) at
2015 Woman of the Year event by Regional
Council of Aosta Valley in Italy. She was also
invited last month to the United State of Women
summit in Washington DC convened by the White
House. For information, sayfty.com

US Supreme Court
okays reservations in
varsity admissions

Washington, DC: The United States

Supreme Court upheld on Thursday col
lege and university admission reserva
tion based on race in a verdict that could
adversely impact IndianAmericans.
In the longawaited verdict issued in
Washington on a case challenging
University of Texas using race as a crite
rion in admitting students, the judges
ruled, 43, that higher education institu
tions can implement such policies
known as af firmative action favoring
minorities like African Americans and
Latinos to promote diversity.
To get into elite universities, Indian
American and other AsianAmerican stu
dents have to outperform even white
students because of the use of race in
admissions to ensure diversity, commu
nity groups contend and have filed court
cases against it and complained to the
federal government. The Supreme Court
decision is likely impact these cases.
The university admissions case was
initiated by a white woman who was
denied admission to the University of
Texas. She challenged its af firmative
action program asserting that consider
ing race as a factor in admissions violat
ed the constitutional guarantee of equali
ty for all because it gave some races spe
cial preference.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the
majority opinion: "Considerable defer
ence is owed to a university in defining
those intangible characteristics, like stu
dent body diversity, that are central to
its identity and educational mission." To
ensure diversity, elite universities set

academic standards for Asian students

that are higher than that for even whites
to prevent highscoring Asians dominat
ing the universities. A study by a
Princeton University academic that
found AsianAmerican students had to
score 140 points more than whites in
the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a
common entrance exam.
Indian diaspora organizations, along
with other Asian groups, complained to
the federal government about what they
said was the discrimination faced by stu
dents from their communities in admis
sions to Harvard University.
The Federal Office of Civil Rights dis
missed the complaint pending the out
come of a federal case on similar
grounds was filed last year by another
group, Students for Fair Admissions
(SFFA), against Harvard and its outcome
will be binding. That group has also filed
a similar case against the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In the Harvard case, the university has
asked the court hearing the case against
it to delay the proceedings till the
Supreme Court decided the Texas
University case. The Supreme Court ver
dict will influence the outcome of the
court cases and the federal complaint.
Global Organization of Persons of
Indian Origin, National Federation of
IndianAmerican Associations, American
Society of Engineers of Indian Origin and
BITS Sindri Alumni Association of North
India were among the Asian community
groups that filed the federal complaint.
(IANS)

Air Indias new direct service from Newark to Ahmedabad starting Aug 15
New York, NY: Starting August 15, Air India
will begin service from Newark Liberty
International Airport to Ahmedabad, with a
stop in London. The flights will operate
three times a week Monday, Thursday, and
Friday with new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
In addition to its new onestop service
from Newark to Gujarats largest city, Air
India has convenient connecting service to
Ahmedabad at Mumbai for passengers on
their daily NewarkMumbai nonstops.
Connect ions are also available to
Ahmedabad at Delhi in conjunction with the
airlines nonstop flights from New Yorks
JFK, Chicago and San Francisco.
Newark passengers can also stop over
once in London en route to or from

Three weekly flights

via Boeing 787
Dreamliner with
stopover in London

Ahmedabad at no addit ional charge.

Similarly, Air India passengers traveling to
Delhi, Mumbai or other points in India can
take advantage of a free London stopover.
The new flights depart Newark at 10:30
pm on Mondays and Fridays, and arrive in
Ahmedabad at 2:00 AM Wednesday and
Sunday mornings, respectively. Departures
on Thursdays are at 12:20 am, and the
arrival time in Ahmedabad is 3:30 AM the
next day. Return flights leave Ahmedabad on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:00
AM and arrive in Newark, via London, at
3:30 PM the same day.
In addit ion to its new flig hts to
Ahmedabad, Air India has daily nonstop
service from Newark to Mumbai that will

continue to Delhi starting August 14th

providing onestop service from Newark to
Delhi, with customs and immigration for
malities at Delhi. Along with its current
daily nonstops to Delhi from JFK, the carri
er will be offering total of 17 flights to India
from the New York metropolitan area each
week. Commenting on the new direct flights
to Ahmedabad, Air Indias Reg ional
ManagerAmericas, Vandana Sharma, said,
The large NRI community in New Jersey
whose roots are in Gujarat, and who fly
there to visit family and friends on a regular
basis, constitutes a sizeable market. Our
new flights from Newark to Ahmedabad will
enable Air India to serve that market much
more efficiently.

July 2-8, 2016

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF
IndianAmerican museum
opens in Mahwah
new museum saluting the experiences of IndianAmericans
has opened at the Hindu Samaj Temple of Mahwah. The tem
ple celebrated a the grand opening of the 13,800squarefoot
cultural center on June 5. Built eight years ago beneath the temple,
the space once served as a multipurpose room for church activities,
but now will be used to document stories of Indian immigrants,
highlighting their achievements and struggles assimilating in dif
ferent fields, said Kalidas Kale, a temple spokesperson.
"This is our home," he said of the U.S., "but we still want to main
tain our heritage." Hanging over the entrance is an image of the In
dian flag with a human fingerprint superimposed over it, signifying
a sense of Indian identity. The room has a stage flanked by bronze
Indian statues, with a stateoftheart sound system with new light
ing, for musical programs.
The area also serves as a center for senior citizens and has class
rooms for childrens language, arts and Crafts and enrichment class
es and a facility for yoga, dance and music practice and recitals. Dec
orating the centers walls are collages of the four IndianAmerican
honorees who spoke at the center's grand opening: Vipp Jaswal,
head of International Affairs at Fox News; Rashmee Sharma, founder
of Roshni Media; Raju Sethi, founder, CEO and president of AVS; and
Dr. Sudhir Parikh, a physician and CEO of Parikh Worldwide Media.
All four were chosen for their contributions in news media.

Fulchandbhai
Shastry, a Jain
spiritual leader was
the guest of honor
at Jain Center of
Central Ohio during
the weekend of
June 2526.

CUNY JSchool awarded $1m to train

community & ethnic journalists

ulie Menin, the commissioner of the Mayors Office of Media

and Entertainment (MOME) and Sarah Bartlett, dean of the
CUNY Graduate School of Journalism announced on June 27
that MOME was awarding a grant of $1 million to the JSchool to
create new programs to help New York Citys community and eth
nic media outlets stay competitive in the current media landscape.
The Center for Community and Ethnic Media will work in collabo
ration with CUNY J+, the schools professional development pro
gram, to develop workshops and training modules. In addition, the
JSchools broadcast facilities are being officially renamed the
Made in NY Broadcast Center.

Sikh Photo Exhibit in NYC

o fight the bigotry experienced by Sikhs in the U.S., and edu

cate the public on the religion, the Sikh Coalition will present
an exhibit in New York around Sept. 11 this year. U.K.based
photographers Amit and Naroop will take photos of Sikh Americans
as part of The Sikh Project, which follows their successful exhibit
of the same subject in the U.K. The photography exhibit, which ex
plores the beauty, style and symbolism of the Sikh articles of faith,
will include both turbaned men and women and feature a combina
tion of iconic Sikh Americans and a few selected winners.

Bangladeshi and Hindu organizations protested outside the

United Nations to highlight the ongoing and increasing killings
of minority nonMuslims and secularists in Bangladesh, as well as
the infiltration of ISIS elements into the nation.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

United against hate

By Karishma Asoodani
Jackson Heights, NY: Chhaya CDC and
community partners stood #United
Against Hate in a large community
event in collaboration with the Queens
Museum to protest heightened political
rhetoric and hate crimes against the
Muslim, Arab and South Asian commu
nities (MASA) and other marginalized
groups such as the LGBTQs. The event
named An Evening of Rights and Re
flections was held in the immigrant
dense neighborhood of Jackson
Heights, in Diversity Plaza on 25th
June.
"Lately we have been surrounded by
signals of hate, be it on media or what
happened in Orlando. But this is not
new, it's been happening. Our commu
nity members today realize that "we be
long", this is our country too", Annetta
Seecharram, Interim Executive Director
of Chhaya CDC, said.
The well attended event brought to
gether activists who shared their expe
riences with discrimination through
spoken word , personal reflections and
a community art project. Aniqa Nawabi,
director of development and communi

Aniqa Nawabi (right) of Chaya, and

Jaspreet Kaur of United Sikhs
cations at Chhaya, shared her views
with The South Asian Times: "We are
conducting this event to combat dis
crimination and racism that has been
clouding the political climate in this
country. And as a united community of
Sikhs, Muslims, Arabs and everybody,
we will not tolerate it. Its very danger
ous when presidential candidates say,
all Muslims should be banned and that
they are bad."
Chhaya and United Sikhs, non profits

Slice of Hope for

homeless shelters
nationwide
Local pizzerias, individual and shelters
participate in annual pizza party initiative
New York, NY: A
Slice of Hope, a na
tional
hunger
awareness advoca
cy organization,
held its 10 th an
nual Slice of Hope
week. In 27 states
across the country,
homeless shelters
and soup kitchens
had pizza parties
Slice of Hopes Ambassador, Indian movie star Pooja
with live music to
Kumar at one such event
uplift, encourage
and support the struggle of home als seeking a better life, said Kad
less shelter guests as they rebuild wani. Every week should be
their lives. A Slice of Hope is a non Hunger Awareness Week until
profit founded and led by New we finally reach the week where no
Yorkbased Bollywood actor and one in America goes hungry!
Participating pizzerias include
television personality Obaid Kad
wani that organizes volunteerled Pats Pizza, Paxtons Pizza, Piz
parties of hope at homeless shel zanista, Otto Portland and local
ters and food banks in conjunction Dominos.
Slice of Hopes Ambassador, Indi
with local pizzeria operators
across the country. This years an movie star Pooja Kumar, has be
Slice of Hope Week ran from June gun a Crowdrise fundraising drive
1925 in cities across the country, urging her fans to help. I went to
with PMQ Pizza Magazine as a two Parties of Hope. I was in tears
at the determination and drive of
partner in the cause.
A Slice of Hope seeks to feed the all these people in the shelters. I
body and the soul by creating an was inspired by how grateful they
uplifting celebration and motiva were for the support and the love.
For a complete list of A Slice of
tion; of fering not just a hot meal,
but entertainment, information, Hopes Parties of Hope, visit
and emotional support to individu www.asliceof hope.org

serving the south Asian community in

NYC, also conducted a joint, "Know
Your Rights" workshop that informed
participants of their rights as citizens
and how to address racial and religious
discrimination. Community partners
were also onsite to connect people to
resources including legal aid represen
tatives and counseling services.
Keynote speaker Deepa Iyer, author of
"We Too Sing America, discussed com
bating religious and racial discrimina
tion with local community activists.
The number of documented hate
crimes in recent years has increased.
More distressing is that many more
acts of discrimination against individu
als from marginalized communities go
unreported.
The June 25 event was critical in
bringing all marginalized communities
together in solidarity. Attendees were
invited to join in a collaborative art
project to symbolically pledge their
commitment to come together in the
face of hate and discrimination. Partic
ipants from diverse religious, racial and
ethnic backgrounds came together, and
included local Council member, Daniel
Dromm.

Couple face
30-year jail in
multi-million
dollar fraud
Washington, DC: An IndianAmerican
couple has been indicted in a multi
million financial fraud and faces up to
30 years in prison and a $1 million
fine.
Pethinaidu Veluchamy, 70 and his
65yearold
wife
Parameswari
Veluchamy, who owned First Mutual
Bancorp in Illinois, intentionally hid
cash and assets from creditors after
defaulting on $40 million in personal
and corporate loans, according to the
indictment.
They were the principal sharehold
ers of First Mutual Bancorp of Illinois
Inc., a holding company for Mutual
Bank.
In June 2009, according to the in
dictment, the couple defaulted on per
sonal and corporate loans totaling
$40 million.
The following month, Mutual Bank
was shut down by federal regulators.
Prior to the shutdown and continu
ing until at least November 2015, the
couple hid millions of dollars in assets
by falsifying documents, moving mon
ey into domestic and foreign bank ac
counts, and directing employees to de
stroy financial records, the indictment
states, the Justice Department said in
a press release.
The couple also transferred cash to
their two adult children, with nearly
$8.5 million going to one and more
than $10.1 million to the other, ac
cording to the indictment.
(PTI)

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Physicist Mani Bhaumik

donates $11 million to UCLA
Washington, DC: An Indian
American physicist has donated
USD 11 million to University of
California to establish a center
devoted to advancing knowledge
of the basic laws of nature, the
largest donation in the history of
the varsity.
"I thank Mani Bhaumik for his
philanthropic leadership and for
believing in UCLA," said UCLA
Chancellor Gene Block.
The Mani L Bhaumik Institute
for Theoretical Physics is intended
to become a worldleading center
for theoretical physics research
and intellectual inquiry, the univer
sity said in a statement. T he
Bhaumik Institute will host visiting
scholars, organize seminars and
conferences for the academic com
munity, and begin a public out
reach program to teach the com
munity about scientic advances
made by UCLA physicists. "It's very
difcult to raise funds for this area,
because people don't understand
what theoretical physicists do. But
physics holds the answers to the
most fundamental questions of our

July 2-8, 2016

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Dr Mani Bhaumik
(Image courtesy: ucla.edu)
very existence.Imagine what could
be solved right here at UCLA," he
said. Bhaumik rose from poverty
to become an eminent scientist
who played a key role in develop
ing the laser technology that paved
the way for Lasik eye surgery.
He was born in a remote village
in West Bengal, and as a child slept
on rags in the thatchedroof mud
hut he shared with his parents and
six siblings. "I didn't own a pair of
shoes until I was 16 and walked
four miles to school and back in

my bare feet," he added in the

UCLA statement.
Studying under renowned physi
cist Satyendra Bose, he earned a
master's degree at the University
of Calcutta. In 1958, Bhaumik
became the rst student to earn a
doctorate, also in physics, from the
Indian Institute of Technology
Kharag pur. Bhaumik came to
UCLA in 1959 "with $3 in my
po cket", he said on a Sloan
Foundation postdoctoral fellow
ship. T he people of his village
raised the money for his airfare,
the statement said.
In 1961, Bhaumik joined Xerox
ElectroOptical Systems as a laser
scientist. He later served as direc
tor of the laser technology labora
tory at Northrop's corporate
research laboratory.
In 1973, he announced the con
clusive demonstrat ion of the
world's rst efcient excimer laser,
a form of ultraviolet laser now
commonly used for highprecision
machining and for cutting biologi
cal tissue cleanly without damag
(PTI)
ing surrounding tissue.

Sunder Pichai among 4

IndianAmericans honored
with Great Immigrants award
Washington, DC: Indianorigin
Google CEO Sunder Pichai and
three other IndianAmericans are
among the 42 US nationals hon
ored with this years prestigious
"Great Immigrants: The Pride of
America" award.
T he other three Indian
Americans are Hari Sreenivasan,
anchor and senior correspondent,
PBS NewsHour, Vikram Malhotra
Chairman of the Americas,
McKinsey & Company and
Bharati Mukherjee National Book
Critics Circle Awardwinning
author.
T he annual award of the
Carnegie Corporation would be
presented to them at an event in
New York on June 30, a state
ment said on Tuesday.
For 2016, the Corporation
named 42 honorees, who repre
sent some 30 different countries
of origin, a wide range of person
al immigration stories, and inspir
ing professional accomplish
ments. "T hese accomplished
Americans are immigrants like

Google CEO Sunder Pichai

(Image : businessinsider.com)

our forefathers, who founded this

nation of nations," said Vartan
Gregorian, President of Carnegie
Corporation of New York.
They are representative of the
millions of immigrants who have
come to the United States for eco
nomic opportunity, education,
political or religious asylum,
security, or reunication with
families and relatives. They, like
all Americans, share a common
faith in this country," he said.
Pakistani American Shaiza
Rizavi partner, Gilder, Gagnon,
Howe & Co is also among the list
(PTI)
of awardees.

Sampat Shivangi elected

US Senator seeks to end issuing
delegate to GOP convention
visas to India, 22 others
Washington, DC: A top American Senator
has asked the Obama Administration to
discontinue issuing immigrant and non
immigrant visas to citizens from 23 coun
tries, including India and China, while
alleging them of being noncooperative in
taking back illeg al immig rants from
the US.
"Dangerous criminals, including murder
ers, are being released every day because
their home countries will not cooperate in
taking them back," Republican Senator
Senate Chuck Grassley said in a letter to
the Homeland Security Secretary Jeh
Johnson.
In scal year 2015 alone, 2,166 individu
als were released in the US because of this
decision and the noncooperation from
recalcitrant countries; more than 6,100
were released in the preceding two years,
Grassley, who is the Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman, said.
Currently, 23 countries are labelled by
the US as uncooperative, with the top ve

most recalcitrant countries being Cuba,

China, Somalia, India, and Ghana, Grassley
said.
In addit ion, US Immig rat ions and
Customs Enforcement is monitoring anoth
er 62 nat ions where cooperat ion is
strained, but which are not yet deemed
recalcitrant.
In the letter to Johnson, Grassley remind
ed him that, Congress addressed this prob
lem when it enacted section 243(d) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
"Under section 243(d), the Secretary of
State is required to discontinue granting
immigrant or nonimmigrant visas to a
country upon receiving notice from you
that the country has denied or is unreason
ably delaying accepting a citizen, subject,
national or resident of that country," he
said. "This tool has been used only once, in
the case of Guyana in 2001, where it had
an immediate effect, resulting in obtaining
cooperation from Guyana within two
months," Grassley said.

Washington,DC:
An
nominate President
IndianAmerican has been
George W Bush.
elected as a Republican
Thereafter, he was
de leg ate for a record
elected as the nation
fourth consecutive term to
al delegate in 2008
the party's July convention
at Minneapolis to
in Cleveland which would
nominate
John
formally nominate real
McCain and in 2012
estate tycoon Donald
at Tampa, to nomi
Trump as its presidential
nate Mitt Romney.
candidate.
"I feel this will be a
Sampat Shivang i, the
great political specta
nat ional president of
cle of our times and I
IndianAmerican Forum for
am fortunate enough
Political Education and a
to witness and partic
longt ime Republican
ipate," he said in a
Sampat Shivangi
leader, was recently elect
statement.
T he
(Image courtesy:
ed as national delegate for
I
n
d
i
a
n

A
m
e
r
i
c
an
gannettcdn.com)
the fourth consecut ive
Forum for Political
term a record for the community.
Education,along with Ohio Community
T he Republican convent ion in leaders and with FIA, AAPI will be host
Cleveland is scheduled to be held from ing a reception on the sidelines of the
July 17 to July 22. Shivangi was rst Convention to honor the Indian ambassa
elected as a delegate at the Republican dor to the US Arun Kumar Singh on July
convention in New York City in 2004, to 19, a media release said.

July 2-8 2016

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

GOPIO seeks voting rights and

Rajya Sabha seats for NRIs
Washington: An international con
vention of people of Indianorigin
in the US has demanded voting
rights for Indian citizens living out
side India and Rajya Sabha seats for
NRIs.
"T he Election Commission of
India should finalize the procedure
for electronic voting before the
next general election in India takes
place," the Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
said in a resolution passed during
its annual convention in New York
over the weekend.
There are 10 million NRIs who
are citizens of India, have no repre
sentation in the decision making
process of the country of their citi
zenship, it said.
"We urge the Government of
India to nominate a few prominent

GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham addressng the audience while

Consul General Riva Ganguly Das is on the dais.
NRIs as members of the Rajya
Sabha (the Upper House of
Parliament) so as to reinforce and
further integ rate the bonds
between India and the overseas
Indian community," GOPIO said.
Over 200 de leg ates from 20

Aziz Ansari slams Trump

over proposed Muslim ban
Washington, DC: Indian
American actor Aziz Ansari
slammed Republican US presi
dential candidate Donald Trump
for 'spewing hate speech' and
'prejudice' against immigrants,
specifically Muslim Americans.
In a column for New York
Times, Ansari voiced his opinion
saying: "It's visceral, and scary,
and it af fects how people live,
work and pray. It makes me
afraid for my family. It also
makes no sense."
T he actor also took to his
Twitter account and posted:
'Trump wants to ban Muslim
immigrants like my parents. I
wrote a piece for New York
Times telling him to go f*** him
self.' Referring to the Orlando
attacks, Ansari wrote about the
Muslim American community's
struggle to distance itself from
terrorists and constantly ward
of f Islamophobia. He quoted
Trump who said on the cam
paign trail that Muslims 'know
who the bad ones are.'
"The overwhelming number of
Muslim Americans have as much
in common with that monster in

Aziz Ansari
(Photo courtesy: ew.com)
Orlando as any white person has
with any of the white terrorists
who shoot up movie theatres or
schools or abortion clinics,"
Ansari wrote.
In the piece, Ansari also calls
for gun control and expresses
frustration about what he per
ceives as contradictory safety
precautions.
"Despite sitins and filibusters,
our lawmakers are failing us on
this front and choose instead to
side with the National Rifle
Association. Suspected terrorists
can buy assault rifles, but we're
still carrying tiny bottles of
shampoo to the airport." (IANS)

countries participated in the annual

GOPIO convention.
Noting that many NRIs want to
support their alma maters; set up
schools and colleges in their vil
lages and towns, and support social
and environmental causes, GOPIO

said however, they face major hur

dles.
"The clearance process through
the Home Ministry is very time con
suming and needs to be stream
lined and made more ef ficient," it
said.
"We want the government to
enact legislation to designate Fast
Track Courts for NRIs/PIOs for the
speedy settlement of their property,
business, inheritance and other
legal issues in India," it said.
"We call upon the Government of
India to enact another legislation to
provide Title Insurance to ensure
that their ownership in real estate
is protected against forged signa
tures on the deed and for any such
fraudulent transfer of their proper
ties," GOPIO said.
In its resolution, GOPIO asked the

Indian government to implement

uniform entrance fee throughout
India including monuments under
the jurisdiction of the states.
Many NRIs/PIOs are moving back
to India to be closer to their fami
lies, GOPIO said.
Once they settle back in India,
their social security benefits (which
are generally tax free in the devel
oped countries (income comes
below the tax bracket) are taxed
according to the Indian tax rules.
"We strongly feel that those who
are getting their social security
benefits from outside India should
receive tax parity similar to Indian
retirees and request the Finance
Ministry to change the rules. Of
course, such person's Indian
income must be taxed as per the
(PTI)
rules," it said.

Tata Trusts, Chicago univ tie up to work

on Indian development challenges
Chicago: A new initiative between
Tata Trusts aand the University of
Chicago will collaborate in ideation
and solutionseeking to complex
developmental challenges in crucial
areas like sanitation, energy and
the environment, an Indian
American, who heads the venture
said. "We are planning a threeyear
pilot of a new integrated approach
to development work. We will work
in a few verticals to start health,
water and sanitation and energy
and the environment," Anup Malani,
faculty director of the newlycreat
ed Tata Centre for Development at
the University of Chicago
(UChicago), told IANS in an inter
view.
The health vertical will examine
healthcare access through insur
ance with projects in Karnataka and

The new initiative will

collaborate in ideation
and solution-seeking to
complex developmental
challenges in crucial areas
like sanitation, energy
and the environment
Andra Pradesh. The water and sani
tation vertical will begin a major
project on decentralized irrigation
with water tanks in Telangana. The
energy and environment vertical
will examine projects to improve
reporting of emissions by plants in
Gujarat and Maharashtra, to pro
vide rural electrical power via solar
microgrids in Bihar, and to encour
age individuals to pay for better
electricity supply in Bihar.

How did the TCD, which will be

based at the UChicago Center in
New Delhi, come about?
"The IIC program was already
operating in India. However, we
wanted to verify the government
projects IIC helps implement. At the
same time we wanted to ensure that
impact evaluations UChicago was
conducting in India had an impact
on policy and implementation.
"To address both problems, we
proposed the TCD, which combines
research (impact evaluation) and
implementation (mainly through
IIC). In addition, we folded in train
ing component for government offi
cials and NGO leaders because we
felt they were the primary change
agents in India and could best help
scale impactful interventions,"
Malani said.

INDIAN-AMERICAN LED BANK BAGS TOP RATING FROM BAUERFINANCIAL AGAIN

Irvine, CA: Commercial Bank of California (CBC) has been

recognized as a fivestar Superior Bank for the second
quarter this year by research firm BauerFinancial, Inc.
Following a perfect score in the first quarter of the year,
this latest recognition solidifies CBCs status as among
the most financially stable banks in Southern California.
This is the highest rating that BauerFinancial assigns,

and is based on financial data provided to the federal

government reflecting the health of each institution. We
are gratified that we have maintained our perfect score
with BauerFinancial. We work very hard to ensure that
we are wellcapitalized and provide our clients with the
best banking services possible, said Ash Patel, president
and CEO of Irvinebased CBC.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

US AFFAIRS

Trump promises to trash trade deals

Monessen, PA: Donald Trump on Tuesday
trashed US trade policies that he said have
encouraged globalization and wiped out
American manufacturing jobs in a speech in
which he promised to herald a U.S. econom
ic resurgence.
Speaking before a colorful backdrop of
crushed aluminum cans, Trump pitched
himse lf at a factory in Rust Be lt
Pennsylvania as a change agent who would
bring back manufacturing jobs and end the
"rigged system," which he argued presump
tive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton
represents.
Trump promised sweeping changes if
elected including killing the TransPacific
Partnership (TPP) trade deal and renegoti
ating the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and urged voters to
be wary of a "campaign of fear and intimi
dation" aimed at swaying them away from
his populist message.
"Our politicians have aggressively pur
sued a policy of globalization moving our
jobs, our wealth and our factories to Mexico
and overseas," he said, reading from pre
pared remarks and using teleprompters.
"Globalization has made the financial elite
who donate to polit icians very, very
wealthy. Hate to say it, but I used to be one

Donald Trump speaking before a colorful backdrop of crushed aluminum

cans at a factory in Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy: AP)
of them." Trump repeatedly slammed
Clinton for supporting free trade agree
ments and argued that under a Clinton
presidency "nothing is going to change."
"The inner cities will remain poor. The
factories will remain closed," Trump said at
Alumisource, a raw material producer for

the aluminum and stee l industries in

Monessen, Pennsylvania, an hour south of
Pittsburgh. "T he special interests will
remain firmly in control."
Echoing Clinton's chief rival for the
Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen.
Bernie Sanders, Trump also argued that

Poll shows Clinton leads in

battleground states
Washington: Hillary Clinton leads
Donald Trump across the board
in a new poll of battleground
states.
According to Ballotpedia's bat
tleground poll, Clinton leads
Trump:
451% to 37% in Florida
445% to 41% in Iowa
450% to 33% in Michigan
448% to 38% in North Carolina
446% to 37% in Ohio
449% to 35% in Pennsylvania
445% to 38% in Virginia
Her leads held at nearly the
same margins when Libertarian
Party nominee Gary Johnson was
included in the poll. And Clinton
led Trump 48% to 37% when all
states were factored together.
With Johnson included, Clinton
led Trump 44% to 34%, with
Johnson at 13%.
Amid longshot ef forts by a
handful of delegates to name
someone other than Trump as the
GOP nominee, Ballotpedia also
polled Clinton against Ohio Gov.
John Kasich and House Speaker
Paul Ryan. Kasich had a slight
lead on Clinton and Ryan polled
neckandneck.
Separate polling in three battle
g round states, conducted by
Quinnipiac University, found a
much tighter race: Clinton up 8
points in Florida, but only 1 point
in Pennsylvania and a tie in

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leader of the party's progressive wing

and a potential vice presidential pick, launched a sharp attack on
Donald Trump on Monday during her first campaign appearance
with Hillary Clinton in Cincinnati,Ohio, calling him an "insecure
money grubber" who is driven by greed and hate.
(Photo courtesy Reuters)
Ohio. Each of the seven states
surveyed is seen as a swing state
where either party is normally
seen as relatively competitive in
presidential elections, though
Michigan has gone Democratic in
most recent presidential elec
t ions. Ballotpedia surveyed
roughly 600 voters in each of the
states between June 1022 for
the poll and each survey has a
margin of error of plus or minus

4 percentage points. A Quinnipiac

University national poll released
Wednesday shows Hillary Clinton
leading Trump by just two points,
42% to 40%, a much closer race
than other recent surveys have
shown. With thirdparty candi
dates included, Clinton leads 39%
to 37%, with Libertarian Party
nominee Gary Johnson at 8% and
Green Party candidate Jill Stein at
4%.
CNN

Clinton has "voted for virtually every trade

agreement" and accused her of supporting
trade deals that have hurt U.S. workers.
Trump's speech drew a swift rebuke
Tuesday from opposing ends of the political
spectrum.
The Chamber of Commerce, the big busi
ness lobby that tradit ionally backs
Republicans, issued a swift statement warn
ing that Trump's proposed policies would
herald another U.S. recession.
"Under Trump's trade plans, we would see
higher prices, fewer jobs, and a weaker
economy," the group tweeted, linking to a
lengthier article warning that a recession
would hit the U.S. "within the first year" of a
Trump presidency.
The Clinton campaign also tweeted a
photo of a shirt from Trump's clothing col
lection that is made in Bangladesh.
Most Trumpbranded clothing is made
outside the U.S., including in China and
Mexico.
The de facto GOP nominee also promised
to instruct his treasury secretary to "label
China a currency manipulator" and to order
the U.S. trade representative to bring law
suits against China at WTO and in U.S.
courts to combat what he characterized as
CNN
unfair trade policies.

Dow surges 200 points Wednesday

as Brexit shock recedes
New York: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 200
points Wednesday as a rally in crudeoil prices and a retrenchment in
Brexit fears put stocks on track to log a second straight day of sharp
gains. A U.S. Energy Information Administration report showing a
sharp drop in domestic crude supplies CLQ6, +2.38% sent oil prices
soaring, which carried energy and materials shares higher.
Inventories have been falling for months, but so far the U.S. hasnt
seen a corresponding rise in active oil rigs, which bodes well for the
price of oiland by extension, energy and materials stocks.
We could see supplies continue to draw down and oil remain rela
tively high compared with its recent price, said Paul Nolte, portfolio
manager at Kingsview Asset Management.
The Dow DJIA, +1.32% climbed 214 points, or 1.2%, to 17,622, as
nearly all 30 of the bluechip gauges components trading in positive
territory, led by a 2.5% gain in Chevron Corp. The S&P 500 SPX,
+1.42% rose 26 points, or 1.3%, to 2,062, with all 10 of its sectors
trading higher, led by a sharp 2.1% jump in energy shares and a 1.5%
rise in materials. Meanwhile, the techheavy Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP, +1.60% jumped 72 points, or 1.5%, to 4,763.
U.S. equities followed Asian ADOW, +1.86% and European SXXP,
+3.09% stock markets higher.

US customs may ask for your social media accounts

Washington: The US government is proposing making social media
accounts part of the visa screening process for entry into the country.
US Customs and Border Protections proposed change would add a line
on both the online and paper forms of the visa application form that
visitors to the US must fill out if they do not have a visa and are plan
ning on staying for up to 90 days.
The following question would be added to both the Electronic System
for Travel Authorization (Esta) and I94W forms: Please enter infor
mation associated with your online presenceProvider/Platform
Social media identifier.
The information will be optional, for now, but the proposed change
published by the US Federal Register states that collecting social
media data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) greater clarity and visibility
to possible nefarious activity and connections by providing an addi
tional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better ana
lyze and investigate the case.

10

July 2-8, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

US AFFAIRS

UNDECIDED ON BACKING
TRUMP AT CONVENTION

The writer is a delegate to GOPs nominating convention in Cleveland

By Dr Sampat Shivangi
am grateful that my state, the State of
Mississippi, e lected me ag ain as a
Delegate for the upcoming National
Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, scheduled for
July 1722. I am elected as a delegate for
the fourth time. I am not aware of any other
Asian American being a de leg ate for
decades. I feel this reflects the changing
trend in the New South (southern part of
USA), which is known for its political con
servative values and masked racial labeling
of the yester years.
As we may recall, both the Indian
American governors were elected from the
South Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, and
Nicky Haley in South Carolina. I have always
enjoyed political discourse and interactions
with the politically like minded and I feel at
home that I am respected and wanted by the
elected officials of the state and party. I was
first elected as a delegate in the year 2004
to nominate President George W. Bush in
NYC, 2008 at Minneapolis, MN to nominate
Sen. John McCain, 2012 to nominate Gov.
Mitt Romney in Tampa, FL.
Now a little background on the Trump
controversy. Governor Phil Bryant is not
only the head of the state of Mississippi but
he is also the head of State GOP. He had
endorsed Senator Ted Cruz as a presidential
candidate, but Ted Cruz did not w in
Mississippi primary and Donald Trump won
with a big margin and later Senator Cruz
withdrew from the race. Gov Bryant later
endorsed Trump, who was declared the

Dr. Sampat Shivangi with former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and RNC
Chair Reince Priebus.

EXCLUSIVE
partys presumptive nominee by the RNC
Chairman Reince Priebus. Trumps state
office tried to woo all the possible delegates
to their side but they were not successful.
All the elected delegates are not commit
ted yet because of Trump's views on racism,
on immigration, and Islamophobia are unac
ceptable to many of the de leg ates.
Reluctantly they may support Trump think
ing he is a lesser evil than Hilary Clinton. I
am as much disappointed with his recent
statements. Occasionally he has raised his
antiIndia tirade on H1visas to Indian tech
nology hires.
I have not made up my mind as yet on
supporting Trump as a delegate as we have

several meetings and discussions scheduled

in the next few days on this issue. I am going
to the nominating convention with an open
mind to assess and reassess the situation
and decide. I have been briefed by the high
er ups in the RNC that Trump has shown his
willingness to change in the next few weeks.
We will wait and look for a changed Trump
in the coming days. Speaker Paul Ryan held
back his endorsement for a while, but he
had to accept the mandate and will of the
people in a democracy and ultimate ly
endorsed him.
A majority of the Americans are tired of
Democratic party leadership. They feel that
America has lost the respect as Superpower
and leader of the free world and they want
their glory back. Trump is using the rhetoric
to win these voters and they in turn believe

Outrage over 'Make America

White Again' billboard
Chicago: A US congressional can
didate has sparked outrage by
plastering white supremacist
billboards in Tennessee includ
ing one saying, 'Make America
White Again' a racist spin on
Donald Trump's campaign slo
gan.
T he 'Make America W hite
Again' sign was posted by Rick
Tyler, an independent candidate
in the race for Tennessee's 3rd
congressional district seat, cur
rently held by Republican Chuck
Fleischmann. Another billboard
depicted the White House ringed
with Confederate flags, with the
statement, "I Have a Dream", a
take off from the famous Martin
Luther King Jr speech, WRCBTV
reported.
Tyler's billboard, saying 'Make
America W hite Again' is an
overtly white supremacist spin
on Trump's slogan 'Make
America Great Again'. His views

The billboards
have been
traced to Rick
Tyler, an
independent
candidate for
Congressional
seat from
Tennessee.
on the presumptive Republican
presidential nominee, however,
seem conflicting. In blog posts
on his website, Tyler calls Trump
"latest stalking horse entity to be
foisted upon the American elec
torate'' but also an inspiration.
"His (Trump's) advocacy of a
'temporary ban' on Muslim
immigration and the construc
tion of a wall on the Southern
border have created a climate
conducive to conversation? rela
tive to the elephant in the living
room no one wants to talk about

Dr. Shivangi with Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant

... namely, the urgent and vital

subject of race,'' Tyler wrote.
By Thursday the offending bill
boards located near Benton,
Tennessee, were taken down
after outraged residents com
plained, NBC News reported.
Asked if he feared for his safe
ty or backlash over his campaign
signs, Tyler was quoted as say
ing, "I don't fear it. I welcome it,
and I will respond with the appli
cation of truth." He said he had
been receiving death threats.
PTI

that Trump can do it. They want a change

and Trump is feeding the frenzy. I hope and
pray that in the coming days he will heed
the advice of party leaders and become a
more realistic and moderate candidate.
One thing is sure, the Cleveland conven
tion will be historic, one way or another,
with so much hype and hysteria going
around.
I also believe that this convention will be a
great spectacle of political maneuvering of
our times.

Dr Sampat Shivangi is a Delegate at

Republican nominating convention 2016 in
Cleveland, National President, Indian
American Forum; Chair, Mississippi State
Board of Mental Health. He can be contacted
at drssshivangi@aol.com

Women celebrate US Supreme

Court ruling on abortion rights

Washington: Thousands of women cel

ebrated the verdict of the US Supreme
Court against a controversial Texas
abortion law as the greatest victory in
the past three decades.
"Today (Monday), women across the
nation have had their constitutional
rig hts vindicated," said Nancy
Northup, president of the Centre for
Reproductive Rights, a lawyer repre
senting the clinics affected by restrict
ed abortion law in Texas.
The waiting before the doors of the
Supreme Court turned into a party on
Monday for abortionrights advocates
who sang Madonna's "Like a virgin"
and Queen's "We are the champions".
The Texas law, which became uncon
stitutional, demanded abortion clinics
to meet hospitallike surgical stan
dards and that their patients have
admitting privileges to be transferred
to hospitals within 48 km away if nec
essary. As a result, women had to trav
el to another state where abortion is
permitted, which involves incurring

expenses and absence from work,

something that working class women
could not afford.
"Every day, our team at W hole
Woman's Health treats our patients
with compassion, respect, and dignity
and today the Supreme Court did the
same," acknowledged Miller, CEO of
Whole Woman's Health.
However, in front of the Supreme
Court, there was another group of
abortion opponents dressed in black,
who considered the decision a defeat.
"Today the Supreme Court put poli
tics over the health and safety of
women in our country. They told our
states that they don't have the right to
protect half of their citizens," accord
ing to Students for Life of America
president Kristan Hawkins who
believes that the requirements of the
law are "common sense".
In the US, the society is divided over
abortion, an issue that continues to
st ir controversy in conservat ive
IANS
sectors.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

INDIA

11

NIA busts 'IS module' in Hyderabad, arrests five

Hyderabad/New Delhi: T he
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) busted an alleged Islamic
State (IS) terror mo dule in
Hyderabad by arresting five sus
pected sympathizers and detain
ing six others.
The 'IS sympathisers' arrested
during raids across the city were
Mohammed alias Yazdani, 24; his
brother Mohammed Ibrahim, 29,
of
Aman
Nag ar;
Habib
Mohammed, 32, of Barkas;
Mohammed Irfan alias Yaqais, 26,
of Chatta Bazaar; and Abdullah
Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi alias Fahad,
30, of Charminar.
T hose detained are Syed
Naimath Ullah Hussaini, 42, of
Moghalpura; Muzaf far Hussain
Rizwan, 29, of Talab Katta;
Mohammed Ataullah Rehman, 30,
of Bandlaguda; Abdul alias Al
Jee lani Abdul Qadir Mohsin
Mahmood, 32, of Yusuf Gulshan
colony; A.M. Azhar, 20 of Talab

The suspects were caught by various NIA teams which conducted

raids at 10 locations.
Katta; and Mohammed Arbaz
Ahmed, 21, of Chandrayan Gutta.
One airgun, two .9 mm pistols,
nails, two airgun target boards
and other material like chemicals
used for making explosives and
Improvised Explosive Devises
(IEDs) were seized during the

raids.
The suspects aged between 20
and 42 were allegedly plotting
bomb attacks and indiscriminate
firing at shopping malls and
crowded places in the city, NIA
sources said.
The suspects were caught by

various NIA teams which conduct

ed raids at 10 locations across the
city in coordination with Andhra
Pradesh Police.
The sources said most of the
places raided fall within the juris
dict ion of Mog hulpura, Meer
Chowk and Bhawani Nagar police
stations of Hyderabad.
Cash totalling Rs 15 lakh, 23
mobile phones, three laptops and
seven pen drives were also seized.
T he NIA said the suspects
included five persons against
whom the antiterror agency had
registered a First Information
Report on June 22 with regard to
an emerg ing fundamentalist
group affiliated to the IS.
The case was registered under
Sections 121 (waging war against
the government), 121A (conspir
ing to commit certain of fences
against the state) and 122 (col
lecting arms and ammunition with
the intent ion of wag ing war

against the government) of the

Indian Penal Code.
Sect ions 4 and 5 of the
Explosive Substances Act and
Sections 18B (conspiracy), 38
(part of terrorist organisation), 39
(supporting terrorist organisa
tion) of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act were also added
to the FIR.
Some of the arrested youth were
pract icing w ith airguns in
Bandlaguda and Chandrayangutta
areas, the NIA source said.
An NIA official said Mohammed
Ibrahim and Habib Mohammed
were identified as the main sus
pects.
Ibrahim, through his Facebook
accounts, was allegedly trying to
recruit youth for the IS by using
internet and other modes of com
munication.
NIA of ficials were questioning
the accused at an undisclosed
location to unravel the entire plot.

CJI Thakur to decide on Yechury warns against 'fascistic

fresh plea challenging
Hindu Rashtra'
gay sex ban
New Delhi: A twojudge
Supreme Court bench has
declined to hear a fresh petition
by high profile celebrities chal
lenging criminalization of con
sensual gay and lesbian sex and
the matter was referred to Chief
Justice T.S. Thakur.
T he petitioners have chal
lenged the constitutional validi
ty of Section 377 of IPC.
Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice
Ashok Bhushan said the peti
tion by Sangeet Natak Akademi
awardee Navtej Singh Johar and
ce le brity che f Ritu Dalmia
should be placed before the
Chief Justice to decide if it can
be heard along with a batch of
curative petitions on the same
issue pending before the court.
Besides Johar and Dalmia,
other pet it ioners are Sunil
Mehra, Aman Nath and Ayesha
Kapur.
The curative petitions seeking
to cure "gross miscarriage of
just ice" by top court in its
December 12, 2013 judgment

and rejection of the review peti

tion on January 28, 2014 were
referred to a fivejudge consti
tution bench on February 2,
2016.
The top court by its December
12, 2013 verdict had upheld
the validity of Section 377.
Referring the curative peti
tions to the constitution bench
on February 2, the bench of
Chief Justice Thakur, Justice
Anil R. Dave and Justice Jagdish
Singh Khehar had said that
since several constitutional
issues were to be agitated in
these pet it ions, the matter
should be heard by the five
judge bench.
Senior counsel Arvind Datar
told the court that the earlier
petitions challenging the validi
ty of Section 377 were filed by
NGOs. But it was the first time
that lesbian, gay and bisexual
cit izens had filed a writ
seeking to quash the colonial
era law that criminalises
homosexuality.

Kolkata: Drawing a parallel between Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and the RSS with Hitler and his idea of
nationalism, CPIM General Secretary Sitaram
Yechury warned against the metamorphosis of a "sec
ular democratic republic of India into a rabidly intol
erant fascistic Hindu Rashtra".
De livering a lecture on 'Neoliberalism,
Communalism and Intellectual Resistance' at the 77th
Foundation Day of the National Book Agency here,
Yechury cited the Jawaharlal Nehru University contro
versy as well as "Love Jihad" and "Ghar Wapasi" as a
bid by the BJP and the RSS "to replace India's inclu
siveness with the exclusive concept of Hindu Rashtra".
"In a chilling similarity to Hitler's concept of 'purify
ing' the German nation, the RSS's ideology involves
replacing nationalism of Indian inclusiveness to the
exclusive concept of Hindu Rashtra, where Hindus
and Hindus alone are the true inhabitants of the coun
try," Yechury said.
"Anybody else who practices any other religion or
refuses to get subsumed under the Hindu way of life,
are but foreigners and antinationals," he said.
Accusing the Modi government of juggling statistics
to paint a rosy picture of the Indian economy which
actually was "sluggish", Yechury also lambasted the
Centre over Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
"Much like they found a messiah in Hitler, national
and international corporates were looking for a mes
siah in India who will deliver for them and allow the
opportunity for profit maximisation."
"That is exactly what Modi did in his visit to the US,
where he signed all the instruments for opening
everything to FDI, including the defence sector," he

CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury

said. Yechury called for building "intellectual resist
ance against the fast approaching fascism".
"What we are having in the country today is not yet
fascism. Fascism means replacement of parliament
democracy by a naked terrorist dictatorship. We have
not yet allowed them to jettison parliamentary
democracy." "But efforts are on to jettison democra
cy," the Marxist veteran said, pointing to the imposi
tion of President's Rule in Uttarakhand.
"It is not that we wait for fascism to arrive and then
fight because there will be very few to fight," he said.
"Fascism will succeed only if they succeed to replace
Indian history with Hindu mythology, replace Indian
philosophy by Hindu theocracy.""That is why building
up intellectual resistance holds the significance. It's
the battle of reason against unreason.
We need to strengthen reason so that it triumphs
over the unreason," he added.

12

July 2-8, 2016

INDIA

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

KEJRIWAL CANCELS VISIT,

AAP locks horns with Gujarat government

Surat: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal won't visit Gujarat on
July 910, the Aam Aadmi Party
said, accusing the state's BJP gov
ernment of forcing a Surat univer
sity to cancel the booking of a hall
where he was to attend an event.
The Aam Aadmi Party said this
forced Kejriwal to axe his twoday
visit to Gujarat during which he
was also scheduled to visit
Somnath in Saurashtra region.
AAP leader and Delhi legislator
Gulab Yadav and state party presi
dent Kanu Kalsaria said the
Gujarat Chief Minister's Of fice
directed the Veer Narmad South
Gujarat University in Surat to can
cel the booking of the hall on the
campus.
Alleging "this is nothing but
political vendetta", Yadav told the
media that Kejriwal was to be the

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

chief guest at the July 19 event,
which was not an AAP function.
The AAP said Kejriwal was invit
ed by some leading businessmen
in Surat to attend a function of
traders from across the state.

Parliament's monsoon
session from July 18,
GST tops agenda

New Delhi: With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on top of the gov
ernment's agenda, Parliament's monsoon session will be held from
July 18 to August 12, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah
Naidu announced here.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on
Parliamentary Af fairs, attended among others by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
At the meeting External Af fairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said if
members raise issues concerning the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
and matters concerning foreign trips of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and others, she is willing to make a statement, Naidu informed.
"The session will begin from July 18... There will be 20 working
days," Naidu told reporters.
Naidu said that there are 11 Bills pending in Lok Sabha and 45 Bills
pending in Rajya Sabha.
He said that the Ministers have been asked to take necessary action
in respect of the pending and new Bills to be introduced by the third
of next month so as to ensure that about 20 to 25 Bills could be taken
up for introduction, consideration and passing.
The 11 Bills pending in Lok Sabha include Factories (Amendment)
Bill,2014, Electricity (Amendment) Bill,2014, Lok Pal and Lokayuktas
and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill,2014, Merchant Shipping
(Amendment) Bill,2015, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development (Amendment) Bill,2015, Consumer Protection
Bill,2015, and Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment
Bill,2015.
Some of the 45 Bills pending in Rajya Sabha include Indian Medical
Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987, Whistle Blowers Protection
(Amendment) Bill,2015, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016
and Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill,2016.

"It also shows how much they

fear Arvind Kejriwal," Gulab Yadav
said. He added this was "cheap
political tactics" and it would not
deter Ke jriwal from visit ing
Gujarat any time during the next

two months. Confirming the

development, Surat Vividh Vepari
Mahamandal (Federat ion of
Various Trader Bodies) President
Jay Lal told IANS: "Yes, we had
invited Kejriwal to be the chief
guest at an allGujarat traders
meet here on July 10 but now the
event has been postponed and not
cancelled."
Jay Lal said: "We were not ade
quately prepared for the meet and
so we had to put off the function.
The university authorities have
been intimated in writing about it
and asked to refund the deposit
for the hall."
Asked why there was such a
tearing hurry to cancel the book
ing, as was evident from the way
the letter to the university was
written, he said: "I know what you
are driving at. I will not make any

comment on politics. Our even

was nonpolitical."
Lal said local rules barred goods
trucks older than 15 years from
entering Delhi because of air pol
lution.
"So I took up the matter with
Kejriwal who agreed to meet us
and promised to personally come
to Gujarat to meet us. He was very
cooperative. So,m we organised
the traders meet."
Meanwhile, state BJP President
Vijay Rupani ridiculed the AAP's
claims that the ruling party had
got the programme cancelled.
"The fact is they are trying to
rustle up something here but soon
realized this is Gujarat when they
didn't get any support," he said.
"This is nothing but a stunt for
which AAP and its leader are
known for."

Salman's reply irks central,

state women's panels
New
Delhi/Mumbai:
Bollywoo d actor Salman
Khan's reply to notices by
women's pane ls over his
"raped woman" comment has
not gone down we ll w ith
either
the
Nat ional
Commission for Women
(NCW ) or the Maharashtra
State Women's Commission
(MSWC).
W hile
the
NCW
on
Wednesday said it was
mulling further action against
Salman Khan as the commis
sion was not satisfied with his
reply, the state women's panel
has summoned him in person
on July 7. "Salman Khan has
replied to our notice. We are
not going to reveal the contents of
the letter; it would suffice to say
that the letter does not sound
apologetic," NCW Chairperson
Lalitha Kumaramangalam told
IANS. We are see king leg al
advice for further action as we are
not satisfied with his reply. We
hope to finalise it by tomorrow,
she added.
According to sources, the NCW
did not like the tone and tenor of
Salman's letter.
The Maharashtra commission
rejected Salman's contention
submitted through his lawyer
that since the matter is already
be fore the nat ional pane l, it
should not be pursued by the
MSWC to avoid duplication. "We
have concurrent powers just the

Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

way the NCW has. This matter can
be heard at the state level too.
Therefore, his version is invalid,"
MSWC Chairperson Vijaya
Rahatkar said.
She said the actor has been
summoned on July 7 at the MSWC
office along with his lawyers.
"We have asked him to put forth
his views in an af fidavit,"
Rahatkar added.
During a media interaction last
week, Salman said he "felt like a
raped woman" after shooting for a
gruelling wrestling sequence for
his upcoming film 'Sultan'. He
plays a wrestler in the film.
When Salman was asked how
difficult it was to shoot wrestling
scenes for the movie, he said:
"While shooting during those six

hours, there was so much of lift

ing and thrusting that it was
unbelievable. If I was lifting a 120
kg person and dropping him
down, I had to do it 10 times."
"(I did it) 10 times from five dif
ferent angles. So, sixandhalf or
seven hours. Either, I was picking
him and throwing (him) or else, he
was picking me up and throwing
me... so it was like the most diffi
cult thing."
"When I used to walk out of the
ring, I used to feel actually like a
raped woman walking out... I
couldn't take steps," he added.
Women's groups protested the
remark and demanded an apolo
gy. The actor's father, Salim Khan,
has apologised on behalf of his
son.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Bikram Vohra

July 2-8, 2016

OP-ED

13

Race is back on the front

burner after Brexit

ritish pride won the day. But

is there a fall round the cor
ner, one predicated on isola
tion and a loss of 350 billion
pounds (around $475 billion) in
potential ties to the European
Union (EU)?
It was an exciting journey and
now that the train has chugged
into the platform, a divided nation
has to stiffen that upper lip, put
its sharpest ever controversy into
the sheath and move on.
Let this vote not become a splin
ter in the side.
Colonial arrogance did play a
part and much of the United
Kingdom that voted to 'Leave'
have done so because they feel
they are being robbed, in many
ways, by the migrants and, after
the pound stops spinning, the
flinty finger of accusation for all
its ills will be pointed at the Asian
and African migrant masses that
have made UK their home.
It may not be another Brixton,
but racial hooliganism has been
given an encouragement and it
will be a worrying factor. Race is
back on the front burner. The

The empire is dead. Britain is a small nation and an island cannot

afford to be one politically or economically.
unof ficial referendum clearly
reflects the British state of mind
and its exhaustion with being just
another cog in a broken EU wheel.
The grandiose idea of an econom
ic club has pretty much collapsed.
New age politics seem to hinge on
more parochial values and deeper
identity with the shrill national
ism. Emot ion seems to have
leaked into the political packag
ing and all the pundits underesti
mated that quotient in their esti
mates. Britons want Britain for
the Brits. If there is a price to pay,

they seem ready to go

Churchillian once again and fight
in the streets (one hopes not liter
ally) and will take it on the chin so
long as they 'get back' their coun
try. It is not xenophobic to recog
nize that the high level of toler
ance that Britain usually shows
has been whittled to the bone and
the 'friggin' furriner' is now a
legitimate target. That immacu
late patience has drained away.
The borders will close.
Ironically and sadly this has
happened against the expected

run of play at a time when Donald

Trump is singing much the same
tune from across the pond. The
same day Obama has lost the
immigration Bill on a tied vote
that af fects 11 million illegal
immigrants in the US. In India we
have also found nationalism and
its antithesis as powerful cards to
play.
This British referendum, to a
large extent, is a racial one and
while we might all put the 350
billion pound spin on it and play
let's pretend it is really a vote for
underscoring the 'them' and' us'
factor.
Remember two e lements.
Scotland and Ireland have their
own agendas and have voted to
stay in the EU because that's the
logical step towards independ
ence. Take them out of the vote
pattern and if you look at the map
you w ill not ice that short of
London the semiurban popula
tion has opted out because it fears
an increase in the invasion from
outsiders. This is pure circling of
the wagons stuff and fighting for
God and country and bangers and
mash and no more nice and curry.
You don't like it, that's the chalk

on the menu.
It is all very romantic to think
you have won back the country
but harsh reality will set in when
the EU hits back. There is always
the irony that after this slap in the
face, the 27 member EU might
rework its parameters and actual
ly become an effective body.
Truth be told, the UK was
always a sulky member and never
quite in the tent. Its departure
also heralds the end of the several
concessions David Cameron had
armtwisted out of the EU recently
and was hoping for a major eco
nomic continental revival.
The empire is dead. Britain is a
small nation and an island cannot
afford to be one politically or eco
nomically. Immigration cannot be
the core issue or else England
risks falling into insular chaos.
Either way there is nothing yet to
ce le brate because to mix a
metaphor, you have to catch the
ducks to put them in a row and
one does not see that happening.

(Bikram Vohra is the Editorial

Director of Londonbased Asian
Lite. The views expressed are per
sonal.)

India seen to grow faster than emerging market peers

By Amit Kapoor

he Indian economy is at an
interesting inflection point.
With RBI Governor Raghuram
Rajan announcing his plans to
return to academia and the referen
dum in Britain voting to leave the
EU, the world, it seems, has become
more uncertain and riskprone.
These events could make global
recovery even more tepid. At pres
ent, a lot is happening in the world
economy that has a bearing on the
Indian economy. Amid all the uncer
tainty and developments, the World
Bank has recently released the
Global Economic Prospects (GEP).
The GEP was first published around
the time of India's economic
reforms in 1991 and has some
interesting insights in its June 2016
report about the world economy in
general and about emerging and
developing economies in particular.
The first of these deals with the
growth forecasts about the world
economy and the emerging market
economies. The world economy is
forecast to grow at 2.4 percent in
2016 the same as the previous year.
The growth primarily is driven by
emerging economies with a growth

RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan.
(File photo)

forecast of 3.5 percent up from an

estimated 3.4 percent in 2015.
The advanced economies, similar
ly, are forecast to grow by a tepid
1.7 percent in 2016 down from the
estimated 1.8 percent in 2015.
South Asia, as a region, seems to be
doing well amid the slow recovery
globally post the global financial
crisis. South Asia's growth rate is
forecast at 7.1 percent in 2016, up
from seven percent in 2015.
T his brings us to the second
important point, which is about

commodity
exporters
and
importers. The commodityexport
ing emerging and deve loping
economies (EMDEs), especially the
energy exporters, are struggling at
present and have a marginally bet
ter growth rate of 0.4 percent, up
from an estimated 0.2 percent in
2015.
In contrast to this, the growth has
been steady at around 5.8 percent
in the commodity importing coun
tries and is expected to accelerate
shortly. This is important as China

rebalances away from an invest

ment to a consumptiondriven econ
omy in the coming future.
The third important point relates
to the second issue and concerns
credit in both commodityexporting
and
commodityimporting
economies. What has been observed
is that post the global financial cri
sis, credit growth has been most
rapid in commodity exporting
EMDEs, although they have had
modest credit to GDP ratios.
Finally, with respect to economic
regions and individual country fore
casts, the report has interesting per
spectives to of fer on the South
Asian and Indian economy. The for
mer has done well due to a host of
factors like lower commodity
prices, domestic demand momen
tum and steady remittance flows.
Monetary policies in the individual
countries have been accommoda
tive, which has been to the benefit
of countries.
The risks and weakness in some
of the economies have been due to a
weak external demand, a challeng
ing business environment, fiscal
pressures and poor weather condi
tions. India's growth has picked up
to 7.6 percent, a 0.4 percentage

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

point increase over 201516. India's

push to draw more FDI is also seen
to be a positive step. Also, business
sentiment is up in India with many
startups commencing operations in
2015. More public investment in
infrastructure is also seen as a posi
tive which could reduce supplyside
restraints.
On the flip side, credit growth to
corporates remained sluggish
despite five rate cuts since 2015.
Also, the decline in exports for the
past 15 months is seen as a nega
tive amid a harsh global macroeco
nomic environment.
Despite this, the report explicitly
mentions South Asia and India to
grow substantially in the near
future. In particular, India will grow
faster than its emerging market
peers. If the monsoons tend to be
normal India may see rising rural
demand which may fuel domestic
momentum. Considerable chal
lenges on the trade front and bank
ing with stressed assets are some of
the risks facing the Indian economy
at present.
The future months will be impor
tant from the viewpoint of seeing
how strongly can and does the
growth rebound.

14

July 2-8, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

DIASPORA

First project on Jain art history and religion

enriches German Research Center
Bochum, Germany: Every year internation
ally renowned scholars from broad range of
fields within humanities are invited to con
duct their research at one of the ten inter
national Kaete Hamburger Centers in
Germany. Funded by the German govern
ment, these centers give them the opportu
nity to spend time on a single research proj
ect for a prolonged period as visiting
research fellows. Among these institutes is
the Kaete Hamburger Kolleg at Ruhr
Universitt Bochum. It focuses on the
dynamics in the history of re lig ions
between Asia and Europe.
For the first t ime, Bo chums Kaete
Hamburger Kolleg has included a project on
Jain religion into its portfolio. Dr.Patrick
Krueger, a scholar in Jainology and South

Asian art history from Leipzig University,

was invited this year to start a research
project on Jain art history and religion,
entitled The Visualization of the Dharma
New Perspectives of the Origin and the
Meaning of the Jina Image and the
Beginning of Jain Image Worshiping.
Dr.Krueger broaches the issue of visual
ization in ancient Jainism, which formed
the Jain ritual culture in an exceptional
manner. As it is generally known, visualiza
tion, i.e. the sight of the sacred or the deity,
has an important place in all religions
derived on the Indian subcontinent. It is,
however, absolutely astonishing that espe
cially Jainism deve loped any kind of
images, even if it was said to be an ascetic
order, whose members refused any kind of

possessions. The creation of both the Jina

image, which was presumably adopted by
the Buddhists, and an own Jain art trans
formed the Jainism. By both developments
the orally transmitted doctrine of the asce
tics became visible to the lay devotees.
Thus, the Jain religion was enlarged from a
pure audible doctrine to a highly visible
cult. Words became images, or were at least
accompanied by them. Hence, the begin
ning of Jain ritual culture, including the
meaning of the earliest Jina images, cannot
be understood only through textual tradi
tion. These sources only deal with the
monastic life of the ascetics, where objects
of worshiping and even rituals were not
assured. The research project therefore
intends to investigate the origin of the Jina

image and the worshiping of the Jain image

from a new perspective. It is primarily
based on the nontextual traditions of the
ancient lay communities, which were later
adopted by the learned Jain monks of the
medieval times. It were these monks, which,
on the other hand, formed the modern
Jainism, where visualization and sight of
both, the Trthakara and his eternal reli
gious law, is of special importance.
The Kaete Hamburger Kolleg 'Dynamics
in the History of Religions between Asia
and Europe' commenced its research activi
ties under the direction of Prof. Dr.Volkhard
Krech in April 2008 and is incorporated in
the Center for Religious Studies, an inde
pendent academic unit of RuhrUniversitt
Bochum.

In Vancouver, Punjabi language NRI-owned LuLu Group opens

first hypermarket in Malaysia
becomes a jobgetter
By Gurmukh Singh
Vancouver: When you land here at
the end of the world, Punjabi signs
greet you at the airport: Ji Aayan
Nu. If you speak only Punjabi, there
are Punjabispeaking airport staf f
to guide you.
It is not uncommon to see street
and market names in Punjabi in
Vancouver and surrounding cities
of Surrey, Richmond, Delta and
Abbotsford.
Go to government offices, banks,
city hall, hospitals or any public
service place, and you invariably
see a Punjabi signboard, saying: Asi
Punjabi Bolde Haan ( We speak
Punjabi).
Welcome to Punjab away from
Punjab.
As per the 2011 Canadian cen
sus, Punjabi is the third largest spo
ken language after English and
French. In fact, Surrey which has
a population of about 500,000
has the largest concentration of
Punjabispeaking people outside
Punjab.
The 2016 census will show even
more Punjabispeaking people in
Canada, says Balwant Sanghera,
president of the Punjabi Language
Education Association based on
Richmond on the outskirts of

Members of Punjabi Language Education Association which has

played a major role in promoting Punjabi in Canada.
(Image courtesy: newseastwest.com)
Vancouver. Sanghera adds, There
are three Punjabs Indian Punjab,
Pakistani Punjab and NRI Punjab.
We are the NRI Punjab, and we are
doing more than the two other
Punjabs to promote the Punjabi
language. In the NRI Punjab
which is spread in Canada, the UK,
Australia, New Zealand, Europe and
the US we Punjabis in British
Columbia are in the forefront of
promoting Punjabi.
Forget the high and elementary
schools which offer Punjabi classes.
Even all the universities here the
University of British Columbia, the
University of the Fraser Valley,
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
and Simon Fraser University offer
Punjabi courses. Indeed, the roots
of the Punjabi language run deep in

Vancouver because it was here that

the first Punjabi immigrants settled
in the 1890s. It was here that the
first Punjabi classes started in
1908 at Vancouvers first Khalsa
Diwan Society gurdwara. It was
here that Canadas first Punjabi
newspaper Swadesh Sewak
came out in 1910.
Because of our joint family sys
tem, three generations of our peo
ple have stayed under roof. The
e lders, who could speak only
Punjabi, forced their grandkids to
learn this language. Thats how
Punjabi got perpetuated and new
generations know Punjabi so well,
says folklore writer and actor
Gurcharan Talewalia who came to
Canada in 1970.
(newseastwest.com)

Kuala Lumpur: NRIowned LuLu

Group, one of the largest retail
chains in the Middle East, has
opened its first hypermarket in
Malaysia as part of its plan to
invest $300 million in the
Southeast Asian country.
"With an initial investment of
$300 million in the first phase,
we plan to open 10 hypermar
kets by end2021 and a central
logistics and warehousing facili
ty in Malaysia. These projects
are likely to generate more than
5,000 job opportunities for
Malaysians," said LuLu Group
chairman Yusuf f Ali MA. Ali is
an Indian businessman from
Kerala. "We also plan to set up
contract farming to ensure con
tinuous supply of high quality
products and to support the
Malaysian agriculture sector."
T he 250,000 square feet
hypermarket was inaugurated
by Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak in the presence of
his deputy Ahmed Zahid
Hamidi, Ambassador of the UAE
and High Commissioner of India
T S Tirumurti and other digni
taries, the company said.
T he new hypermarket is
expected to attract large seg
ment of population from all
walks of life. It is spread over

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib

Abdul Razak speaking to LULU
group chairman Yusuff Ali MA
(L) on the local produce while
visiting Lulu Hypermarket
(Image courtesy: thesundaily.my)
three levels and combines gro
cery and supermarket products
with fashion, household and lat
est electronics and gadgets.
The group intends to set up
10 hypermarkets in Malaysia in
the next five years.
Apart from the 10 hypermar
kets which are already planned,
Ali has also announced the
group's plan to invest another
$500 million to set up the
largest shopping mall in
Malaysia.
The LuLu Group is one of the
largest retail chains in the
Middle East. It currently oper
ates 126 stores across the Gulf
Cooperation Council (Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia and the UAE), Egypt,
India, Indonesia.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

ART

15

Maura Moynihan:
Indias cultural ambassador

By Parveen Chopra

s ambassador to India
(197375), Senator Daniel
Patrick Moynihan was the
progenitor of the warm ties we
behold today between India and
the US, as well as an initiator of
cultural exchanges. His lone
daughter, Maura Moynihan, who
as a teenager accompanied him to
India, has grown into an unofficial
cultural ambassador of India in
America. Her writings, paintings
and life philosophy are all inspired
by India that she passionately fell
in love with on first landing in
India in 1973.
Some 30 of Mauras paintings
inspired by Indian mythology and
gods and goddesses have been on
display (June 23July 5) at the
Kapoor Galleries in Manhattan
alongside their gallerys unique
collection of Indian and Tibetan
statuary. At the opening reception
for the show she gave a brief talk
about how India influenced her art
and life: I draw my inspiration
from India. T he themes, the
mythology, Indian art imparts
wonder Adbhuta, ignites trans
mission, educates, dazzles,
enchants everywhere I follow
seeds of India that fert ilized
Buddhism and Hindu mythology
into Asias rich and varied soils.
Maura has worked on the
Smithsonians Festivals of India
and is an advisor to the Asian
Heritage Foundation in New Delhi.
She was a consultant to the Rubin
Museum of Art in NYC, which is
dedicated to the arts of the
Himalayas and of South Asia.

Excerpts from an einterview

Maura gave to The South Asian
Times:
Please tell us about your art
exhibition Tara the Protector.
Maura Moynihan: In 2013 I
made a vow to paint the 21 Taras.
I studied the iconography and leg
ends of the 21 Taras and painted
each Tara according to the Indian
texts from the Gupta period, then
added my own style.
You have exhibited at many gal
leries
MM: My favorite show was at the
Siddhartha Gallery in Kathmandu.
We had a magical evening where I
read my poetry and sang in the
Vedic tradition all arts must be
studied and mastered in India
and Nepal, versatility is appreciat
ed. As measured by culture, philos
ophy, complexity and longevity,
India is the worlds g reatest

Maura Moynihan states that Adbhuta Amazement, Wonder the supreme Rasa,
dominates her work. Her paintings are on show in a Manhattan gallery.
civilization.
Which is your favorite medium
as an artist?
MM: I like watercolors, they dry
quickly, suitable for traveling. I
studied both European and Indian
painting techniques, to interpret
Indian deit ies and themes, to
merge technique with tradition.
Contemporary Indian artists don't
paint like you, so isn't your work
an anachronism?
MM: I am an American artist
whose source of inspiration is
India. I have been a student of
Indian civilization since I was 15
when we moved to New Delhi, I
remain possessed, fascinated,
enriched by my love for India I
can never get enough of India.
Thats why I have devoted so much
time and effort to painting Indian
themes and deities to immerse
myse lf in Indias w isdom and
magic. In the Natya Shastras it is
written
that
Adbhuta

Amazement, Wonder is the

supreme Rasa, that all 9 Rasas rise
from Adbhuta. That is the Rasa
which dominates my work.
You approve of India's march of
modernity, but modern India and
Indians seem to be slowly shed
ding some of their heritage, art,
religion, philosophy, spirituality?
MM: I like to see India as a
strong, powerful, influential world
power. India has been cultural
superpower for centuries. Indians
are so sophisticated and talented. I
do miss the Gandhian state of my
childhood, when Swadeshi princi
ples were strong, when multina
tionals were held at bay, when we
all wore khadi and made pilgrim
ages to the Gandhi ashram. I wish
more young Indians would study
Gandhi and his critiques of colo

Chandra Kanti Tara This Tara

protects our life force and
bestows longevity. Watercolor
by Maura Moynihan, 2013
nialism and capitalism he was a
prophet who foresaw toadys envi
ronmental crisis. But I dont think
young Indians are discarding their
heritage. Last year I watched an
excellent new Mahabharata serial
produced by Star Plus, with cut
ting edge film techniques and ter
rific acting, it was a big hit and
once more, the Mahabharat was
transmitted to a new generation. I
g rew up w ith B.R. Chopras
Mahabharata, I still watch it on
YouTube all the time, it ranks as
the greatest TV serial of all time.
Besides a painter, you have also
been an author, actress, fashion
designer, music maker.... how do
you manage to pack in so much in
your life? And what is your sense
of identity, who are you?
MM: IIn my Indian childhood I
greatly admired the respect for
multiple skills and talents. In the
west, one is expected to specialize.
In India, the ideal artist is like
Satyajit Ray, writer, director,
painter, composer, he did it all. It

Black Tara She defeats curses, spells, hexes and

black magic. Watercolor by Maura Moynihan.

I painted this after many years of going on pilgrimage to Brindavan!

says the artist. Watercolor by Maura Moynihan 1993
takes time and effort, but again, I
have a singular focus, obsession
perhaps, with India, so all of my
work evolves from India. I have
put fiction aside for now, the inter
net has changed the book business
now I want to commit my time to
painting and music. My new CD
Bombay Superstar which can be
downloaded from CD Baby, is out,
where the title track is a love song
to Shah Rukh Khan, whom I adore.
Given your famous last name, did
n't you want to enter politics in the
US?

MM: I have no interest in run

ning for office in the US. But I am
committed to electing my friend
Peter Galbraith, son of the late
Ambassador Ken Galbraith, as
Governor of Vermont. He is run
ning in the Democratic primary
right now. I spent decades working
for HH the Dalai Lama and the
Tibet cause. But the West has
abandoned Tibet, India remains
Tibets only true protector. Tibet is
a one of the most important issues
in the world and vital to Indias
security.

16

July 2-8, 2016

INDEPENDENCE DAY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The hit Broadway musical Hamilton is

lionizing the life and legacy of Alexander
Hamilton, a founding father but who was
not elected as a governor, senator,
or president of America.
By Dr. Gary S. Smith
s we celebrate the 4th of July, Lin
Manue l Mirandas hit musical
Hamilton is lionizing the life and
legacy of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton
won 11 Tony Awards, including best musi
cal, a Grammy Award for best musical the
ater album, the Pulitzer Prize for drama,
and the Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired
by American History. Hamilton is likely to
become one of the biggest critical and
commercial hits in Broadway history and
w ill go on a nat ional tour in 2017.
Mirandas musical is inspired by his read
ing of Ron Chernows 2004 bestselling
book Alexander Hamilton.
Chernow declares: I think he has plucked
out the dramatic essence of the character
his vaulting ambition, his obsession with
his legacy, his driven nature, his roving eye,
his brilliant mind, [and] his faulty judg

ment. While many historians praise the

historical accuracy of Mirandas musical,
others accuse him of glorifying Hamilton
and downplaying the less savory aspects of
his life. Disputes about Hamiltons charac
ter and contributions are not new. During
his life and since his death in 1804, his per
sonal traits and actions have been fiercely
debated. Miranda argues that Thomas
Jef ferson, James Madison, James Monroe
and John Quincy Adams all hated
Hamilton, and did their best to both assas
sinate his character and to bury him by
omission.
Prior to the sensat ional success of
Mirandas musical, most Americans knew
very little about Hamilton, perhaps only
that he penned many of the Federalist
Papers, served as the first Secretary of the
Treasury (his picture is on the $10 bill),
and was killed in a duel by Vice President
Aaron Burr.

The first song of Mirandas musical asks:

How did a largely selftaught orphan rise
from a deprived childhood in the Caribbean
to become a celebrated founder who served
as an important aide to George Washington
during the Revolutionary War, wrote more
than half of the Federalist Papers, played
the central role in the creation of the new
nations financial system, and served as
the bane and bugbear of everyone from
Burr to Jefferson and Madison?
Hamiltons contributions to his fledgling
nation are indeed monumental. During the
Revolutionary War, he served as a senior
aide to CommanderinChie f George
Washington. His writings and actions
helped win ratification for the Constitution,
place the young country on a solid econom
ic basis, and establish one of the nations
original political partiesthe Federalists.
He also helped found the Bank of New
York, the U.S. Mint, the US Coast Guard, and

The New York Post newspaper.

Hamilton led the Annapolis Convention,
which convinced Congress to call a conven
tion in Philadelphia to create a new consti
tution. He actively participated in the dis
cussions at this convention, and, more
importantly, he helped persuade Americans
to ratify the Constitution by penning 51 of
the 85 Federalist Papers, which continue to
be the most important reference for
Constitutional interpretation.
As we sing patriotic songs, watch parades
and fireworks, and eat quintessentially
American cuisine on July 4th, let us remem
ber the role that Alexander Hamilton
played in procuring and ensuring our inde
pendence.

Dr. Gary Scott Smith chairs the history

department at Grove City College and is a
fellow for faith and politics with The Center
for Vision & Values.

Trump vs. Reagan: Unprincipled vs. Principled

By Dr. Paul Kengor

n a speech to CPAC, the

Conservative Political Action
Conference, from February 6,
1977, Ronald Reagan defined con
servatism. Among his crucial
points in that speecha point he
would reiterate for years to
comeis that conservatism was
an ideology of principle, grounded
in principles, and thus conserva
tives, too, must be grounded in
principle.
Looking to win the White House
for conservatism after the wilder
ness years of Nixon and Ford and
then amid what would be a disas
trous Jimmy Carter presidency,

Donald Trump fancies himself

to be another Reagan, but the
40th President was known to
have stuck to his principles.
Reagan said it was time at last for
a principled politics for conserva
tives. They needed to present a

prog ram of act ion, one that

included both social conservatism
and economic conservatism. They
needed to defend both the family
and limited government, both
faith and freedom, both the digni
ty of the human person and lower
taxes.
In numerous ways Reagan held
to that position as President, and
no one ever doubted his princi
ples as president. Both sides, from
left to right, knew where Reagan
stood on issues from limited gov
ernment to fighting the Soviets.
The reduction of the federal
income tax was the centerpiece of
Reag ans economic agenda.
Reagan secured a 25 percent

acrosstheboard reduction in tax

rates over a threeyear period
beg inning in October 1981.
Eventually, through these and
later cuts, the upper income mar
ginal tax rate was dropped from
70 percent to 28 percent by the
end of Reagans presidency.
Liberals today like to argue that
Reagan increased taxes. They
obfuscate the issue. Reag an
indeed occasionally compromised
with Democrats (who controlled
Congress) on tax increases in
order to pass a budget.
Significantly, however, these tax
increases did not involve income
taxes. But here is my point today:
T he pressure upon Reagan to

reverse course on cutting income

taxes when they initially seemed
to be working only very slowly at
best was immense. Still, Reagan
did not give in. Why? Because he
was principled. Because he was
devoted to a principled conserva
tive philosophy.
This brings me to Donald Trump
on cutting federal income taxes.
Again, this is a policy area where I
had believed that Reagan and
Trump share some commonality.
And yet, Trump a few weeks ago
was already reneging. In a matter
of minutes a few Sundays ago,
from ABC to NBC, Trump took
flight on taxes, soaring all over

Continued on page 17

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

INDEPENDENCE DAY

17

Indo-US relations may have become progressively warmer in the past couple of decades, but
how do ordinary people of Indian origin feel about living here? As a group that accounts for 1%
of the US population, Indian Americans are perhaps the most socio-economically successful
minority ethnic community. But how do the new arrivals feel about the prospects here? Is the
American Dream still alive? On the eve of Americas 240th birthday, The South Asian Times
asked a cross-section of young Indians studying and working here.

Compiled by
Karishma Asoodani

Megha Bhojwani
Student of communications from
Los Angeles, California
ithout a second thought I will
say, the United States is and
will always be the land of opportu
nities. It's just nonpareil. Issues like
immigration
policy, contro
versial presi
dential candi
dates, and ter
ror attacks
could
not
shake
the
nation's spirit!
Every country has problems and
has to cope with changes, but what
makes America special is that they
have the ability to deal with prob
lems unitedly! Something happens,
and everyone is there to help you. I
don't really know what would hap
pen if Donald Trump comes to
power. I confess I am ignorant in
that regard, but I can assure you

Trump vs. Reagan...

Continued from page 16
the studio, and seemingly reversing
himself, at least momentarily.
This was and remains immensely
frustrating, especially to Reagan
conservatives. We watched Reagan
spend eight years sticking to his
principles on income taxes. Here,
now, it isnt even the convention
yet, and the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee
seems to already be shifting on
taxes.
Frankly, I am hoping that as for
mer Reaganite advisers counsel
Trump on tax cuts, that they might
be able to hold him to some consis
tency and accountability if he

that this country will never get rid

of people who form the second
largest number of immigrants and
international students.
Look at H1B visas, a majority of
those are issued to Indians. That's
the American Dream alive and
kicking. This country has humon
gous opportunities you just have
to be at the right place at the right
time.
Of course, you will find some
people who can be judgmental
towards you, yet there's no country
as diverse as the United States.
Every culture is welcomed here. Go
to the streets, you'll find food/cul
ture/people from everywhere in
the world. Racist comments some
people make are purely because of
lack of knowledge. I wish people
invested some time in learning
about other cultures than share
hate speeches.

Asia, I can't wait to explore the

immense diversity that this country
offers. Well, absolutely who is not
excited about elections!
I do not know if America has
changed in recent years, and
whether that change is positive or
negative, but this country has
taught me a new culture and a new
lifestyle. It has taught me the
power of liberty and if America is
growing, then so am I. Besides, it
has a huge impact on nonimmi
grants on how to live life. I can say
I am already living the American
Dream!

to deport illegals and put brakes on

fresh immigration). He is also
against global trade. I am fearful of
what would happen economically
as India has many ties with the US.
When I first moved here I was
scared if I would be subject to
racism. Honestly I have never faced
it till date. My friends and profes
sors or even strangers have never
really singled me out for my differ
ent look.

Nageshwar

Graduate student of Computer

Science, Chicago
y first
semester
as a freshman
graduate stu
dent has been
great.
As
somebody
from South

Student, Florida
merica is a great country, but I
think politically its a little
shaky right now with the elections
on the hori
zon.
T he
American
Dream is over
rated. Theres
no way that
everybody will
get a job and
somehow be
financially stable. Donald Trumps
arrival on the scene does impact us
in many ways. On many occasions
he has hinted that he wants immi
grants to leave (he certainly wants

Tourist who is planning to study in

America
merica is a dreamland. Filled
with opportunities, elegance
and lessons at every step. New
York City
especially
inspires
you to re
imagine
and rein
vent every
single day.
I support
Dump the
Trump movement because Trump
is not just vicious towards immi
grants who come to America to
earn a decent living (which essen
tially is the American Dream), but
he is absolutely poisonous for
America per se.

Name changed to safeguard

identity as he is undocumented
f you are here for peace and love,
you will make it. Money and set
tling down here do not come that
easy.
It's been ten years since I am
here, but my heart says that I was
born and brought up here. I have
learnt so much, I follow news. I
heard my roommates saying that
the next year is going to be bad. If
Donald Trump becomes President,
we all (the undocumented) will
have to leave. I don't be lieve
because the charm of America is its
people, its freedom, it's us, every
one together. Without us, its magic
will be lost.
T his country has taught me
everything, it has taught me the
logic that a mathematician needs,
the practicality a scientist needs,
the comic element a fool needs and
the respect that every individual
here needs.
I predict, in the next 10 years,
this country is going to be richer in
its values and thoughts. Something
I really wish should change is the
immigration policy. It is the debate
over immigration that has brought
in racism even South Asians here
look at each other curiously
regarding their legal status.

became president. But alas, if they

do, such would be a testimony to
their commitment to principle, not
Trumps. That is because, again,
Trump lacks principles in a way
that Reagan never did. On this, lets
let him speak for himself:
About three weeks ago on Fox &
Friends, Trump said that every
thing he says is a suggestion. He
was pressed regarding his com
ments about temporarily banning
Muslims from entering the country,
which he qualified as having been
just a suggestion. Look, anything
I say right now, Im not the presi
dent. Everything is a suggestion.
His of ficial campaign, Paul
Manafort, quite amazingly, backed

his mans inability to stand firm:

Hes already started moderating
on that, said Manafort. He oper
ates by starting the conversation at
the outer edges and then brings it
back towards the middle. Within
his comfort zone, hell soften it
some more. Hell still end up out
side of the norm, but in line with
what the American people are
thinking.
Really? Well, sure. This is easy
for Trump to do because he is not a
conservative of principle, nor
someone running for office of any
clear discernible governing philos
ophy whatsoever. Donald Trump is
precisely the kind of unmoored
powerseeker that founders like

Jef ferson, Adams, Madison, and

Hamilton warned about.
More statements from Trump:
In February, Trump told Foxs
Greta Van Susteren that once the
original 17candidate GOP presi
dential field dwindled, he would be
changing very rapidly.
No wonder, sources from left to
right, from Salon to Mark Levin to
Glenn Beck, have described Trump
as a Chameleon.
This is now painfully obvious to
everyone, and should be even to
Trumps devoted followers. Some
saw it right away.
A forerunner was Rand Paul,
himself a man of strong principle.
Speaking a year ago (last summer),

Paul warned of Trump: I have no

idea if hes conservative. He is
such a chameleon that he has been
on every side of every issue. Wake
up, America!
T his lack of principles from
Trump should alarm those support
ing him who claim to be principled
conservatives. T his political
chameleon is one who ought to
give them pause. He is a political
animal who certainly bears no
comparison to Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of
political science and executive
director of The Center for Vision &
Values at Grove City College.
This article first appeared at
ConservativeReview.com.

Syed Jaffer Hussain

Meghana Sarvepelli

Pranati Goturi

18

July 2-8, 2016

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

uperstar Salman Khan, who is

here for a Bollywood extrava
ganza, chose to exercise cau
tion while addressing a gathering
and said it is better if he talks less.
He, however,
did not

Salman
cautious
about words post
'raped woman'
remark

extend any apology for his "raped

woman" comment which stirred up
a controversy.
At a press conference to mark
the opening of the 17th edition of
the International Indian Film
Academy (IIFA) Awards, the "Kick"
star took the stage to talk about
his association with the fourday
gala. The actor said: "I know it has
been a long evening, So I will make

The superstar was seen in his best

humorous side in Madrid.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

it short, quick."
His comment prompted a woman
from the audience to yell out a
"no", urging Salman to be on stage
for a bit longer.
The actor then said: "I have to
make it. The shorter I keep (the
speech), the better it is."
Salman courted controversy
after he said during a media inter
action that he felt like a "raped
woman" walking out of a ring
while shooting for his role as a
wrestler in his upcoming film

"Sultan". He later said, "I don't

think I should have" and explained
that he found it hard to walk. The
National Commission for Women
and the Shiv Sena have demanded
an apology from Salman for his
remark, but the actor has not
addressed the issue yet. However,
his father and veteran writer Salim
Khan came forward and apolo
gized on his behalf.
Salim Khan contended that
Salman meant no wrong when he
said he felt like a "raped woman".

Tusshar becomes
single father
through surrogacy
ctor Tushhar Kapoor, who is
sing le, was thrilled to
announce the arrival of his
son, born last week through IVF
and surrogacy. The baby has been
named Laksshya.
I am thrilled to be a father! The
paternal instincts in me have been
overpowering my heart and mind
for some time now. Therefore, I
am thrilled beyond words to have
Laksshya, now the greatest source
of joy in my life," Tusshar, son of
Bollywood veteran Jeetendra, said
in a statement.
"By the greatness of god and the
excellent medical team at Jaslok
(hospital), parenthood is an option
for many, who choose to be single
parents," added the actor, who has
been a part of Bollywood come
dies Kyaa Kool Hain Hum and
"Golmaal" franchise. Proud grand
parents, Shobha and Jeetendra,
are very happy.
We could not be more excited
to be grandparents to Laksshya,

Kareena shared her views about her life as a star.

I don't want to conquer

the world: Kareena
hile Bollywood actress
es like Priyanka Chopra
and Deepika Padukone
are making a splash in the West,
their contemporary Kareena
Kapoor Khan has no such ambi
tions.
The actress says she has no
ambition to go globetrotting
with her talent and is happy to
have a little place of her own.
My priorities are very differ
ent. The kind of work that these
girls have put in, you need to
have that kind of dedication of
wanting to achieve so much and
do it so wonderfully. I dont
want to conquer the world but I
dont mind having a little place
of my own. Its as simple as
that, said Kareena.
After creating waves with her
musical skills, Priyanka came

into the limelight with her TV

show Quantico and is in the
news for her muchanticipated
debut film Baywatch. Deepika
will be making her Hollywood
debut with xXx: The Return of
Xander Cage.
Kareena shared her views
about her life as a star, getting
associated with social causes
and what she regrets in an inter
view
by
writer
Naman
Ramachandran for the July
2016 issue of Vogue India. It
will be out on the stands on July
2, read a statement.
Kareena, who is married to
actor Saif Ali Khan, is a Unicef
ambassador but prefers to do
the work quietly.
The actress is currently riding
high on the success of her latest
release Udta Punjab.

and are completely support

ive of Tusshar's decision.
This is certainly a tremen
dous blessing, and an
exciting time in our lives.
"Tusshar is a wonder
ful son, and he has
proven with responsi
bility, independence,
and kindness that he
will be a great father to
Laksshya," they said in
a joint statement. The
IVF treatment was led
by Firuza Parikh,
Director of IVF and
Genetics at the Jaslok
Hospital and Research
Centre.
Appreciating
Tusshar's decision and
dedication, Parikh said:
I am impressed w ith
Tusshars determination to
be a father. He maintained a
keen interest in the babys health
at every stage. He will surely be a

Ranbir Kapoor is adorable:

Aishwarya
ishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was last seen in Sarbjit, is
looking forward to her
next, which is directed
by Karan Johar. The actor
says they intended to work
together on projects in the
past, but things didnt work
out. Karan often told me,
You are meant to be in my
film. It didnt happen all
these years. Finally, we are
working together, says
Aishwarya. The actor
reveals that Karan first
Aishwarya was glad to have
approached her with a role
Ranbir on the film sets.
while he was making his
debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). I couldnt do the movie
because I was shooting for Aa Ab Laut Chalen (AALC; 1999). I
was on a 40day schedule in the US. It was Chintu uncles (Rishi
Kapoor; actor) first film as a director. Im a fan of his, and I
looked up to him. I just couldnt mess things up with him, she
says. Karans film also stars Ranbir Kapoor, and Aishwarya was
happy to have him on the sets. I met Ranbir on the sets after
many years. He is adorable. He was assisting Chintu uncle on
AALC. Now we are working together.

Laksshya Kapoor was born

last week via IVF.
sensitive and nurturing parent.

Karisma Kapoor returns

onscreen as a sports coach?
Karisma
has been
in limelight
for her
messy
divorce
case with
Sunjay
Kapur.
arisma Kapoor, who was last seen in
the 2015 movie Dangerous Ishhq, is
reportedly eying a return to the lm
industry after settling her divorce with
businessman husband Sunjay Kapur.
According to SpotboyE.com, the 41year
old actress has been lending an ear to
quite a few story narrations, including one
where she has been offered to play a
sports coach. However, the 41yearold
actress has not accepted the part as she
feels that the movie project doesnt have a
strong commercial setup as most of the
cast comprises of newcomers.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

July 2-8, 2016

19

IIFA 2016: Ranveer, Deepika win top laurels

Bhatt slams Kamaal
Khan over lewd
remarks
ilmmaker Vikram Bhatt, Nargis Fakhri.
who recently filed a
"My defamation suit is sud
defamation case against denly not important. This fight
Kamaal R. Khan, slammed the has stopped being about me
actor for making
derogatory
remarks and
lewd
com
ments about
Bollywood
actresses on
social media.
He feels it's
time to fight
Khan's
com
ments to safe
guard the indus
try's women.
Bhatt recently
filed a defama
tion case against
Khan for saying
distasteful things
about him and
"1920 London"
actress Meera
Chopra.
He took to his
Facebook account
and
expressed
bed by
Bhatt said he was pertur
ns".
atio
anger at Khan for
inu
ins
d
sur
"ab
Khan's
disrespectful and
uninhibited com
now. The film fraternity has
ments regarding the industry's been a source of livelihood for
celebrities.
my family for generations. This
Time and again, Khan has is the least I can do to say,
tweeted about actresses like 'Thank you'," Bhatt posted.
Priyanka Chopra, Huma
Bhatt said he was perturbed
Qureshi, Madhuri Dixit Nene, by Khan's "absurd insinuations"
Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra, of calling him a "fraud, a pimp
Sunny Leone, Bipasha Basu and and other unsavory names".

"Bajirao Mastani" starring Ranveer and Deepika emerged as the big winner at IIFA.
ollywoo d stars Deepika
Padukone and Ranveer
Singh bagged the Best Actor
(Female) and Best Actor (Male)
trophy at the 17th IIFA extrava
ganza for their performance in
"Piku" and "Bajirao Mastani"
respectively.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali won the
Best Director for "Bajirao
Mastani" and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"
was named the Best Film at a glit
tering ceremony in Madrid.
The main awards night of the
Internat ional Indian Film
Academy (IIFA) celebrations saw
a mlange of tinsel town celebri
ties all decked up to soak in the
colors, magic and revelry that
Bollywood exudes. There were
performances, humorous acts and

an entertaining anchoring job by

Shahid Kapoor and Farhan
Akhtar, who made a quirky entry
on donkeys.
In the Best Actor in Supporting
Role category, Anil Kapoor won
the award among men for "Dil
Dhadakne Do", and Priyanka
Chopra among the women
clinched the honor for "Bajirao
Mastani".
Priyanka who has scaled
international presence with her
role in American TV series
"Quantico" and has also landed a
part
in
Hollywoo d
film
"Baywatch" was bestowed a
Special Award: Woman of the
Year.
The multitalented actress also
took to the stage and performed

here is something chillingly final and

fearsome about the complete ruina
tion of the moral order in "Raman
Raghav 2.0".
As many as 400 years ago,
William Shakespeare realized
there was a rotten core to
civilizat ion.
Anurag
Kashyap is the Bards
most unlikely disciple.
Portray ing a world
that is irreversibly
stripped of a moral
centre, Kashyap cre
ates a g rim bleak
repugnant but brilliant
picture of Mumbais
underbelly where rats and
pavement dwellers share the
same sleeping space.
There is no hero in "Raman Raghav". We
saw it coming. Weve seen the rapid evapo
ration of heroism from the cinema of

on songs that she has voiced her

self.
"Bajirao Mastani" emerged as
the big w inner. Apart from
Bhansali and Ranveer's accolades,
the
film
won
Best
Cinematog raphy
(Sudeep
Chatterjee), Best Pro duct ion
Design (Saloni Dhatrak, Sriram
Iyengar, Sujeet Sawant), Best
Choreography (Remo D'souza for
"Pinga"), Best Action (Shyam
Kaushal) and Best Sound Design
(Bishwadeep Chatterjee and Nihar
Ranjal Samal).
Among the debutants, Vicky
Kaushal took home the laurels for
"Masaan" and among the ladies,
Bhumi Pednekar won it for her
endearing performance in "Dum
Laga Ke Haisha".

Kashyap, to the point where now, in his lat

est and arguably his most accomplished
work, Raman and Raghav, as played with
virile adeptness by Nawazuddin Siddiqui
and Vicky Kaushal are the two faces
of redhot diabolism.
You see, they both kill for
pleasure. No, make that one
for pleasure. The other for
furious vindication for
crimes committed against
his self worth. The differ
ence is, one of them does
so in khaki. T he other
roams about with an iron
rod in hand smashing all
signposts of a moral order
that we grew up watching in
our films.
Be warned.
Scenes showing Nawazuddin prowling the
streets of Mumbai for prey will send a shiv
er up your spine. The comfort of knowing

'Raman
Raghav 2.0':
Nawazuddin
makes chilling
statement

that all will be well in our universe no mat

ter how bleak the prospects, is completely
snatched away in "Raman Raghav".
"Raman Raghav" is a chilling exposition
on evil. Its impossible to imagine any actor
except Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing the
shockingly unrepentant serial killer with
such flippant relish. The casualness with
which Nawazuddin attacks his victims and
bludgeons them with an iron rod is the
stuff that crime psychology would probably
study closely in the coming years to detect
signs of criminality in the actor.
Nawazuddin bridges the chasm between
actor and character to a level where the two
almost become one. This is the most con
vincing and disturbing portrait of evil Ive
seen in cinema of any language.
This is film that doesnt flinch from the
fearful ugliness of existence. Its also a bru
tal and haunting reminder of how rapidly
the lines dividing the lawmakers and law
breakers are disappearing.

"Raman Raghav"
is a chilling
exposition
on evil.

20

July 2-8, 2016

India stalling dialogue to avoid

negotiations on Kashmir: Aziz
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime
Ministers Adviser on Foreign
Af fairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday
accused India of avoiding a dia
logue with Pakistan as it would
mean having to negotiate issues
like Kashmir.
Contradict ing Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modis recent
statement in which he placed the
onus of the stalled bilateral talks
on Pakistan, Aziz asserted that
Pakistan was not refraining from
talks with its neighbor.
He said Pakistan had plans for
extensive talks with India on issues
such as Kashmir, Siachen, Sir
Creek, economic cooperation,
trade, visas and the detaining of
fishermen, among others.
According to a Radio Pakistan
report, Aziz went on to say that the
Indian Army had rejected an earli
er agreement regarding Siachen
between the two governments, as

they had stakes in the glacier.

The adviser had earlier said he
was doubtful of progress towards
normalization of ties, and suggest
ed that the situation be managed
to prevent tensions.
In a recent TV interview, Modi
had said that due to his diplomatic
ef forts, the world had seen that
India was not reluctant to engage
with Pakistan.
Our approach has created diffi
culties for Pakistan, and they find
it hard to respond on the matter in
the international community, said
Modi.
Modi claimed there are dif fer
ent types of forces operating in
Pakistan, and asked rhetorically if
one has to draw a line or set condi
tions for dialogue, will it be with
the elected government or other
actors?
After Modis surprise visit to
Pakistan in December last year, the

Sri Lanka's
parliament votes
in RTI bill

The RTI bill is expected to make changes in a moderate way to

uphold good governance.
Colombo: Sri Lanka's parliament
voted in favor of a Rig ht to
Information (RTI) bill which had
failed to get approval for several
years.
The RTI bill was unanimously
passed in parliament without a
vote being taken at the end of
the second day of a two day
debate, Xinhua reported.
The Parliament began debat
ing the bill which was submitted
after some amendments were
made from its original form.
Prime
Minister
Ranil
Wickremesing he said the
amended bill was submitted to
parliament after extensive dis
cussions with several political
parties and civil society.
He recalled that since 2004

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SUBCONTINENT

several attempts were made to

bring the RTI bill to parliament
but those attempts were unsuc
cessful.
The prime minister said that
right to information is a right of
the public and so the current
government took the initiative
to push for it.
"The failure to access informa
tion led to several issues over
the past 10 years," he said.
He said the presentation of the
bill in parliament was a historic
occasion for Sri Lanka and the
region.
The government said the RTI
bill is expected to make changes
in a moderate way to uphold
good governance and the state
functions.

Pakistani and Indian foreign secre

taries were scheduled to meet to
discuss modalities regarding the
Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.
The dialogue was to take on mat
ters related to peace and security,
Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar
Barrage, Tulbul Navigation Project,
economic and commercial cooper
ation, counterterrorism, narcotics
control and humanitarian issues,
people to people exchanges and
religious tourism.
However, an attack on the
Pathankot air force base in India
on January 2 by Pakistanbased
JaisheMohamed terrorists, in
which seven Indian security per
sonnel were killed, has led to the
talks seeing virtually no progress.
The two Foreign Secretaries met
in New Delhi in April on the side
lines of a Heart of Asia senior offi
cials meet, but nothing tangible
came out of it.

Pakistan cannot conquer Kashmir

through war: Hina Rabbani Khar
Islamabad: Pakistan
cannot "conquer
Kashmir through
war" and Islamabad
can progress on the
issue only in an envi
ronment of mutual
trust with New Delhi,
former
Foreign
Minister
Hina
Rabbani Khar has
said. "I believe that
Pakistan cannot con
Khar was Pakistan's Foreign Minister
quer Kashmir through
from 2011 to 2013.
war, and if we cannot
do that, the option we
ation of visa rules and by normaliz
are left with is dialogue; and dia ing trade ties, adding that the pres
logue can only proceed with a part ent Nawaz Sharif regime can do
ner with which we have normal rela much more as it enjoys majority.
tions and a certain level of mutual
"The issues between the two coun
trust," Khar said in an interview with tries cannot be resolved in a hostile
Geo News.
environment." Khar, who remained
She claimed that the earlier Pakistan's Foreign Minister from
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) gov 2011 to 2013, maintained that the
ernment, despite being a coalition Kashmir issue can be resolved "if we
government, tried its best to normal continue to talk on the issue, then
ize ties with India through relax we will reach somewhere".

Suu Kyi calls for establishing

federal union in Myanmar

Nay Pyi Taw: Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu

Kyi invited all nationalities residing in the country to
establish a genuine federal union, saying it is the sole
aim of the new government.
Meeting with a peace process leading group in Nay
Pyi Taw, Suu Kyi expressed belief that if working for
peace actively, the group would undoubtedly overcome
the matter of worry, inviting all stakeholders to help
establish the union with trust and respect, XInhua news
agency reported.
"Myanmar can only develop when there is peace and
it should explore a way of peace based on unity," she
said, adding that "the country will prosper only when
peace is achieved".
Present at the event were Border Affairs Minister Lt.
Gen. Ye Aung, Minister of the Of fice of the State
Counselor U Kyaw Tint Swe, and Chairman of the
Preparatory Committee for holding the 21st Century
Panglong Ethnic Conference Dr Tin Myo Win on the
government side, while the ethnic peace group included
seven armed groups led by Saw Mutu Sae Poe of the

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Kayin National Union.

According to U Hla Maung Shwe, secretary of the
Panglong Conference Preparatory Committee, both
sides proposed that the conference should start before
Augustend without delay, inclusive of nonceasefire
signatory armed groups.

Pakistan court sentences 2 Christians

to death for blasphemy
Islamabad: An AntiTerrorism
Court in Pakistans Punjab
province has sentenced two
Christians and a Muslim man to
death for blasphemy, the media
reported on Tuesday citing court
officials.
One Muslim and two Christian
prisoners were awarded death sen

tences by the AntiTerrorism Court

following the completion of argu
ments, Newsweek quoted a court
official as saying.
Christians Anjam Naz and Javed
Naz and Muslim Jafar Ali were
found guilty in the same blasphe
my case, he said, adding that 11
witnesses had recorded statements

against the accused.

Pakistan has extremely strict
laws against blasphemy, and rights
campaigners say they are often
used to settle personal disputes in
a country where 97 per cent of the
population is Muslim.
(Stories: IANS)

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

EU LEADERS MEET
WITHOUT CAMERON
OVER BREXIT VOTE
Brussels: Talks were underway for
the second day at the European
Union summit here over the UK's
decision to leave the bloc, but
without the presence of British
Prime Minister David Cameron.
The 27 other member states will
discuss plans for Britain's likely
EU exit, with the UK absent from
negotiations for the rst time in
40 years.
Arriving at the talks, Belgium
Prime Minister Charles Michel
told BBC Britain "cannot af ford
the luxury of having a longdrawn
out political crisis".
Michel said trying to reach an
agreement among all 27 countries
would create "immobility", and
suggested that a smaller, core
group of countries could "move
ahead more quickly, without the
others preventing them".
At the moment, the EU and
Britain are locked in a kind of
stalemate. EU leaders insist there
can be no negotiation before the
UK has formally invoked Article
50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which will
trigger the withdrawal talks.
David Cameron said Article 50
should be invoked by his succes
sor as Prime Minister, effectively
pushing the beginning of the
process back until at October at

British Prime Minister

David Cameron.
the very earliest.
The meeting in Brussels was
Cameron's nal EU summit, after
he announced his intention to
stand down by October.
In the meeting, Cameron said
the rest of the EU wanted to have
the "closest possible" relationship
with the UK after Brexit.
But he said immigration was a
"great concern" among UK voters
and squaring this with access to
the EU single market would be a
"huge challenge". On June 24,
Britain voted 52 percent to 48 per
cent for its exit from the EU, 43
years after becoming a member of
the bloc in 1973.

Ankara: At least 41 people, over

whelmingly Turks, were killed and
nearly 150 injured as three terror
ists opened fire at the international
airport here before blowing them
selves up among crowds of passen
gers, Turkish authorities said.
The gun and bomb attack at the
Ataturk International Airport, the
third busiest in Europe after
London Heathrow and Paris
Charles de Gaulle left behind a
bloody carnage for which Turkey
blamed the Islamic State.
"The terrorists came to the air
port in a taxi and then carried out
their attacks," Prime Minister Binali
Yildirin said.
"The fact that they were carrying
guns added to the toll. Preliminary
findings suggest all three attackers
first opened fire and then detonat
ed themselves."
Yildirin said all signs indicated
that the Islamic State was responsi
ble for the bloodbath.
The dead included at least six for
eigners four Saudis and one
Iranian and Ukranian each. The
nationality of the three terrorists
was not known. A video from inside
the terminal showed people fleeing
and a bright orange flash of fire
from one of the explosions. Many
victims staggered and some col
lapsed on the floor.
Another video showed a man

The Fallujah city of western Iraq's Anbar province

has been reduced to rubbles.
government compound in
Fallujah, around 50 km west of
the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
Government troops and allied
milit ias have currently been
fighting for months to reclaim
key cities and towns in Anbar

21

41 die as suicide bombers

target Istanbul airport

Iraqi military declares

liberation of Fallujah
from Islamic State
Baghdad: Iraqi military
declared full liberation of
Fallujah city from Islamic
State (IS) militants after about
a month of battles.
Iraqi troops entered Golan
district in northwestern
Fallujah which was the last
area to be freed from IS mili
tants in the city, Xinhua news
agency quoted Lieutenant
General AbdulWahab al
Saadi as saying.
Iraq's Joint Operat ions
Command confirmed Fallujah
was fully liberated and said
the paramilitary units,
known as Hashd Shaabi,
were conducting clearance
operations.
The operation to free the IS
strong hold in Fallujah was
launched on May 23, and Iraqi
Prime Minister Haider alAbadi
declared victory ag ainst the
group in the city on June 17 after
the security forces recaptured the

July 2-8, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

province from IS militants, who

attempted to approach Baghdad
after seizing most of the
province. Iraq has witnessed
intense violence since the IS con
trolled parts of its northern and
western regions in June of 2014.

Policemen stand guard at the entrance to

Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.
one of the terrorists walking with
a gun, which he drops when he was
apparently shot by a security offi
cer. He slumps to the ground and
the officer briefly stands over him
before running. About 10 seconds
later, there is a massive explosion.
In no time, bodies sprawled at the
terminal were covered in sheets,
with glass and abandoned luggage
littering the building, CNN report
ed. Panic gripped the airport. A
total of 147 people were wounded,
Turkey's Justice Minister Bekir
Bozdag said.
Swift messages of condemnation

followed from all across the world

including the US, Britain, France,
Belgium, where terrorists attacked
the Brusse ls airport in March,
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Istanbul airport was closed
for several hours and flights into
the airport were diverted to capital
Ankara and other cities. It reopened
at around 2 a.m.
Gun and bomb attacks over the
past two years in Turkey have been
blamed on both the Islamic State
militants and Kurdish separatists
such as the Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons.

Don't throw tantrum

after NSG setback
Beijing: A Chinese daily
urged India not to throw
tantrum after failing to join
the NSG and said Western
adulation had made New
Delhi "a bit smug in interna
tional affairs".
The Global Times said in a
hard hitting editorial that at
least 10 countries, not just
China, had opposed India's
attempt to become a mem
ber of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) at Seoul last
week. It said India wanted
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
to be the first exception to
"The US is not the whole world.
join the NSG without signing the
Its
endorsement does not mean
Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty
India
has won the backing of the
(NPT) and this was what China
and other countries did not agree world. This basic fact, however,
to. "However, Indian public opin has been ignored by India."
Saying some Indian accusa
ion has reacted quite strongly,"
said the Global Times, which is tions do not make any sense, it
known to reflect the views of the said New Delhi's reaction seemed
to indicate their national inter
Chinese Communist leadership.
"US backing adds the biggest ests can override principles rec
impetus to India's ambition. By ognized by the world.
"Recent years have seen the
cosy ing
up
to
India,
Washington's India policy actual Western world giving too many
ly serves the purpose of contain thumbs up to India, but thumbs
down to China. India is spoiled.
ing China," it said.

22 July 2-8, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

When In Need President, Ms Chetachi Ecton, holding a

child at a camp in Kunchingoro.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

When In Need medical team consisting of doctors, microbiologists, social service

professionals examining individuals for malaria parasites and other medical
conditions at the IDP Camp in Kunchingoro. (Photos: When In Need Foundation)

When In Need Mission of Mercy Foundation is saving the internally displaced at camps
in Nigeria. One million of the people now living in camps there have fled from the
monstrous onslaught of the Islamic terrorist killing machine Boko Haram.
By Robert Golomb
ngelina, who is a beautiful three year
old orphan, did not want to let go of my
hands as I held her, so I continued to
hold her until we finally had to go, said Ms.
Chetachi Ecton, founder in 2014 and CEO of
the W hen In Need Mission of Mercy
Foundation (WINMOM www.winfound.org)
told me during an interview I conducted in
her Queens, New York office.
Ms. Ecton, who along with the three mem
bers of the foundations board of directors,
met Angelina when they visited the Nigerian
Kunchingoro Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP) camp in the beginning part of a 20day
journey to that country, from April 19th thru
May 9th, 2016. At the camp, Ms. Ecton and
her group were joined by a team of Nigerian
volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, pharma
cists, lab technicians, nutritionists and young
volunteers carrying bundles of food all of
whom Ms. Ecton had previously made
arrangements through her New York office
with Nigerian of ficials to send. They had
much to do.
The people we met were deprived of
sound and regular meals, lived under
unspeakably poor sanitary conditions, lacked
basic medical care. And so many of them
were young, orphaned children. It was fortu
nate that our team was able to provide for all
of their essential human needs.
There are more than one and a half million
people living in the hundreds of camps like
the one in Kunchingoro, which are spread
throughout this West African nation of 170
million people. Approximately one million of
the people now living in these camps have
come over the past seven years fleeing for
their lives from the monstrous onslaught of
the Islamic terrorist killing machine Boko
Haram; hundreds of thousands of others
have been coming for decades fleeing a dif
ferent type of warfare: fierce internal ethnic,
religious and regional conflicts. Nature has
also played a cruel role in this tragedy: thou
sands more have been driven from their

homes to the camps by natural disasters

floods, droughts, volcanoes which have
plagued much of the continent of Africa
throughout recorded time. Adding to the
poignant depth of this tragedy: The over
whelming number of those one and a half
million living in the camps are either widows
or children, with a majority of the latter, like
Angelina in Kunchingoro, believed to be
orphans.
What dif ferentiates Kunchingoro from
many of the other IDP camps located in
Nigeria is that it is composed solely of those
who came fleeing Boko Haram. Which is one
of the reasons why Ms. Ecton chose to visit it.
The government of Nigeria was simply not
equipped to absorb the hundreds of thou
sands fleeing for their lives from the terror
ists, she lamented. And because they were
not ready, many camps in Nigeria were lack
ing suf ficient supplies of food, water and
basic medical care. Adding to the crisis, there
was also an insufficient supply of pesticides,
so many people had been stricken with
malaria.
This was the case in Kunchingoro, she
stated, so one of our priorities was to bring
appropriate, approved medicines to treat
those with the disease. And then she added
plaintively, There is so much more that must
be done. As you must know, there is such
enormous human suffering going on every
minute of every day in Nigeria. We can only
try to save a relatively small number of inno
cents. Of course, we have many allies, who
possess the resources to reach many more
than we do.
Thank God that is true. America, Britain
and France have together donated an esti
mated one billion dollars to Nigeria over the
past year, and the European Union has more
than doubled that amount. In addition, there
are dozens of nonprofit organizations, hun
dreds of times larger than WINMOM, includ
ing the Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre, the Christian Aid Society and Doctors
Without Borders, which have donated hun
dreds of millions of dollars and devoted

countless hours of human sweat and labor to

provide food, shelter, clothing and medical
care to those living in these camps.
However, unlike most of these foundations,
which have received the lions share of their
funds from private charities and public
grants, WINMOM is funded solely by its
founder. How Ms. Ecton achieved the finan
cial success that enabled her to do this is a
story that should make every American feel
proud.
To escape the poverty of Nigeria, Ms.
Ecton, upon her graduation from high
school, came to Dallas, Texas in 1986 at the
age of 17, beginning her life in America liv
ing with her mothers cousin who had previ
ously immigrated to America from Nigeria.
Two years later, she moved out on her own
to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she
worked her way through college, eventually
earning a B.S. in 1992, and soon after an
advanced degree in social work from
Widener University, located in the neighbor
ing city of Chester. Then, after working as a
social worker for almost ten years, she
founded what was to grow into a major
health care agency most of the income from
which she currently donates to her founda
tion.
I know what it is like to be poor, she
explained. And I also know what wisely
spent money can do to help the poor. So I
use much of the money God has allowed me
to earn to transform victims into survivors.
That philosophy was Ms. Ectons driving
force throughout her entire journey, which
after leaving Kunchingoro took her and her
WINMOM board members to villages that
included Obodo Ahiara Mbaise, where she
donated food and other vital supplies to a
Catholic school for the deaf and speech
impaired; to Ngor Okpala, where she assem
bled a team of engineers to install a running
water system for hundreds of villagers who
prior to that had to walk miles to gather
water from a distant stream; and to Owerri
where she gave hundreds of pairs of shoes
and hundreds of sets of school supplies to

impoverished students attending a local pri

mary school. She also visited the village of
Ntuoke, initiating a program to teach dozens
of selected villagers how to farm, and there
by, she told me, giving them the knowledge
to feed themselves and others in their village;
and, just as importantly she added, encourag
ing them to visit neighboring villages to
share their newly acquired knowledge of
farming with others. It is like the old saying
give a man a fish to eat, and he feeds himself
for one day, she said. Teach him to fish, and
he feeds himself for a lifetime. However, she
added, I would like to somewhat modify this
adage: teach a man how to fish, and he feeds
himself, his loved ones and friends for a life
time and, as a tremendous added benefit,
teach him how to fish, and he will teach oth
ers how to accomplish the same.
As she further reflected on her mission to
Nigeria, Ms. Ecton, the mother of three
young adult children, told me she realizes
how much it means to her to be able to help
others. It is a great feeling to be in a posi
tion to help people in need as we were able
to do throughout our trip. And all along the
way as we met people who needed our love
and support, we tried to abide by the words
of Mother Teresa who once said, Spread love
everywhere you go. Let no one ever leave
you without feeling happier. So the work of
our foundation will never end until every
man, woman and child that is in need can
become safe, well fed, healthy and happy.
At times while she spoke, I thought of the
adage, Some people live to work, and others
work to live, thinking that Ms. Ecton, whose
foundation has come to the assistance of
people in need in other countries, including
Chile, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay,
does not fit into either of those two cate
gories. Rather, it seems, she works so other
people can live.

Robert Golomb is a nationally and interna

tionally published columnist. Mail him at
MrBob347@aol.com and follow him on
Twitter@RobertGolomb

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

BUSINESS

23

'Achhe din' for government staff,

pensioners with massive hikes
New Delhi: A bonanza of 16 per
cent pay hike and 24 per cent
increase in pension, with arrears
from January this year, awaits 47
lakh serving central government
employees and 53 lakh pensioners
with the Union Cabinet giving its
approval to 7th Pay Commission
recommendations.
But the government was undecid
ed on giving the goahead to the
massive 63 per cent hike in
allowances which the pay panel had
recommended.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet,
presided over by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, gave its approval to
the proposals, the immediate
impact of which will be a whopping
Rs 1.02 lakh crore (or over $15 bil
lion) outgo from the government
treasury during the current scal

In monetary terms, the total outgo will comprise an estimated Rs

39,100 crore towards pay, Rs 29,300 crore in allowances
and Rs 33,700 crore towards pension.
year. "The government by and large
accepted recommendations of the
7th Pay Commission and arrears
will be paid this year," Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters

here at a brieng on the cabinet
decisions.
"Salaries have to be respectable in

Cabinet paves way for

restaurants, cinemas
to stay open 24/7
New Delhi: Emphasizing on the adage
that the consumer is king, people will
soon be able to shop, eat and watch
movies at their convenience even at
the most odd hours of the day as
shops, restaurants and cinemas will be
permitted to remain open 24X7.
The Model Shops and Establishment
(Regulat ion of Employment and
Condition of Services) Bill, 2016, to
give such establishments the exibility
to operate round the clo ck was
approved by the Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
here. "The motive of the bill was to
increase employment opportunities in
the country," Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley told reporters at a press brief
ing here on Wednesday.
As malls work all seven days late at
night, the small shops which have
more than 10 workers will be given
the exibility to decide the timings and
the days of work. The interest of the
workers in terms of mandatory weekly
holiday, number of working hours per
day, of course, have to be protected,
Jaitley said. The model bill allows

women to work at odd hours putting

an end to discrimination in the matters
of recruitment, training, transfer or
promotions.
Women will be allowed to work at
night also. So, the employment oppor
tunities for women will increase. But
there will be lot of conditions for shel
ter, ladies toilet, adequate protection
and transportation to be provided to
them, the Finance Minister said.
The bill will now be sent to states
and union territories to enable them to
modify their individual Acts, if they so
desire either by adopting the said bill
as it is or after modifying its provisions
as per their requirements, the state
ment said.
The model bill would bring about
uniformity in the legislative provisions,
making it easier for all the states to
adopt it and thereby ensuring uniform
working conditions across the country
and facilitate the ease of doing busi
ness and generate employment oppor
tunities, it said.
However, the model bill will not
cover manufacturing units.

order to attract the best talent,"

Jaitley said, terming the decision as
a "historic rise" in the earnings for
government employees.
The Finance Minister said salaries
of government employees were now
"distinctively higher" than private
sector workers. As recommended
by the pay panel, the minimum
monthly salary for a central govern
ment employee has been xed at Rs
18,000 from earlier Rs 7,000.
The maximum will now be Rs 2.5
lakh for the Cabinet Secretary,
which is more than double the cur
rent pay of Rs 90,000 a month for
the country's top bureaucrat. For
other ofcers in the top scale sec
retary or equivalent, the monthly
salary will now be around Rs
225,000.
The overall hike seen as having

a cascading ef fect on salaries

across the country, notably for
states is estimated at 23.55 per
cent: comprising an increase of 16
per cent in salary, 63 per cent in
allowances and 24 per cent in pen
sion, as recommended by the panel.
In monetary terms, the total
outgo will comprise an estimated Rs
39,100 crore towards pay, Rs
29,300 crore in allowances and Rs
33,700 crore towards pension.
This apart, the impact on the gen
eral budget and the rail budget is
estimated at Rs 73,650 crore and
Rs 28,450 crore respectively.
The Finance Minister said the
government has also doubled gratu
ity ceiling to Rs 20 lakh from the
existing Rs 10 lakh. Housing loan
allowance has been hiked to Rs 25
lakh from Rs 7.5 lakh.

Brexit has put European

integration on pause,
says Barack Obama
Britain's
unprecedented
decision to leave
the EU has caused
a furore across the
world, with stocks
plunging amid
financial and
political
uncertainty.

Washington: Britains decision to leave the EU has

put the project of full European integration on
pause, US President Barack Obama said.
Obama told American media organization NPR
that Brexit has led to an overreaction across the
globe.
There's been a little bit of hysteria postBrexit
vote, as if somehow NATO's gone, the trans
Atlantic alliance is dissolving, and every country is
rushing off to its own corner. That's not what's
happening, he said.
He added that he would not overstate this hys
teria.
I think that the best way to think about this is, a
pause button has been pressed on the project of

full European integration.

The US leader pointed at Norway, which is not
an EU member but remains on friendly terms with
the union.
If over the course of what is going to be at least
a twoyear negotiation between England and
Europe, Great Britain ends up being afliated to
Europe like Norway is, the average person is not
going to notice a big change."
Britain's unprecedented decision to leave the EU
has caused a furore across the world, with stocks
plunging amid nancial and political uncertainty.
In the June 23 referendum, at least 51.9 per cent
of Britain's people voted for the country to leave
the EU.

24 July 2-8, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SPORTS

With Kumble, cricket's golden

generation back at the helm
Kolkata: With Anil Kumble's selection as
the national team's head coach by three of
his celebrated peers, and another of their
fancied colleagues looking after the young
sters, the golden generation of Indian crick
et has again come together post retirement
to reshape the destiny of the game in the
country. While cricketing legend Rahul
Dravid is now the coach of the IndiaA and
Under19 sides, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav
Ganguly and V.V.S Laxman sat on the all
powerful advisory panel that selected the
bespectacled former leggie Kumble for the
hot seat last week.
The quintet, who shared the Indian dress
ing room for over a decade in the 1990s
and 2000s, are not only revered for their
onfield exploits and clean image but also
hailed for the laurels they helped the coun
try win on foreign soil as also across the
domestic grounds for years.
Tendulkar, rated by the g reat Don
Bradman as one who played like him, domi
nated World cricket for 24 years, pocketing
almost all batting records.
Kumble served the country for 17 years

between 1990 and 2007, picking up 956 into a tough fighting unit that consistently
international scalps, and is the highest
tasted success abroad. Laxman, a stylish
Indian w icket taker in both Test
batsman per exce llence, was
matches and OneDay Internationals.
known for his delectable wrist
Dravid, af fectionately called the
play and exquisite timing, but
Mr. Dependable of Indian batting,
never got to play the World
was known for his technical cor
Cup.
rectness and copybook cricket,
The early years of the mil
besides being acknowledged as one
lennium saw India attain suc
of the greatest willowers of all
cess aplenty. T hey
times.
gunned down
Ganguly, a talis
the allconquer
manic le fthand
ing Australian
batsman and one
team of Steve
of India's alltime
W a u g h ,
best captains,
almost won
was famous for
the World
his neversay
Cup
in
die attitude. He
2003 and
is regarded as
defeated
one
who
Pakistan
moulded the
i
n
team at
Pakistan.
the turn
When
Anil Kumble served the country for 17 years between 1990
of
the
India tri
and 2007, picking up 956 international wickets.
century
u m ph ed

Shastri living in a fool's

world, says Ganguly
Kolkata: A disappointed
Sourav Ganguly retaliated
to Ravi Shastri's barbs at
him by saying that the for
mer team director was liv
ing in a fool's world.
Shastri lashed out at the
former India skipper for
skipping his interview for
Team India head coach, and
accused the former skipper
of being disrespectful.
Reacting to the attack as
personal, Ganguly, one of
the members of the Cricket
Advisory Committee also
comprising
Sachin
Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman
and coordinator Sanjay
Jagdale, said it was a collec
tive decision of the commit
tee to appoint legendary
legspinner Anil Kumble as
the head coach. "I am
deeply saddened, disappointed. He
should have shown a bit more
maturity. These comments are
very personal," Ganguly told
reporters.
"If Shastri feels that I am respon
sible for him not being selected as
the head coach, he is living in a
fool's world." "It is disappointing
because being in such committees
for more than 10 years, he
(Shastri) should be aware," he said.
The 43yearold also said that
the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) was aware of his com
mitments w ith the Cricket
Association of Bengal where he

Ravi Shastri.
had to be present on the day to
chair the working committee
meeting as its president.
"The BCCI was aware of the CAB
working committee meeting. As a
president, I had to chair it. So, I
left the meeting at 5 (p.m.)", he
said.
Ganguly, who was advised by
Shastri to be present at such
important meetings, also said that
such important interviews are not
given on camera.
Shastri was not physically pres
ent during the interview process
as he was on a vacat ion in
Bangkok.

in the 2011 World Cup, captain M.S. Dhoni

readily acknowledged the contribution of
Tendulkar (who was part of the winning
team), Kumble, Ganguly and Dravid in
building the side.
"The best part is I have played with three
of them and also Rahul who is IndiaA and
Under19 coach; so it will be great to have
the five of us again, looking at how we can
get together to take Indian cricket for
ward," Kumble said in an interview after his
selection.
Ganguly is now also the president of the
Cricket Asso ciat ion of Beng al, while
Laxman is the side's batting consultant.
Former Indian skipper Kris Srikkanth
feels the legendary legspinner was the
right man to be selected for the job.
"It is a very good decision. He has got
experience, he is a former captain. He is an
all time great, so he knows the tactics.
Kumble knows how to communicate with
the players and most important thing is
that he has played in the recent past with
some of the players who are playing now,"
Srikkanth told IANS.

Has Messi turned his back

on Argentina for good?
Buenos Aires: As Lionel Messi col
lapsed to his knees and planted his
forehead into the MetLife Stadium
turf, it was hard not to feel some
compassion for the Argentine for
ward.
Minutes earlier, the 29yearold
had missed a penalty in the
shootout defeat to Chile in the
Copa America Centenario final.
Despite Messi's obvious anguish,
nothing could prepare the football
world for what was to follow when
he emerged from the dressing
rooms to speak to a clamouring
media throng.
"For me, the national team is
over," Messi said, head bowed. "I've
done all I can. It hurts not to be a
champion."
This was a reminder that for all
his seemingly superhuman quali
ties on a football pitch, the
Barcelona talisman is in fact a
mortal being.
The difference for Messi is that
pressure means carrying the
hopes of a nation of 41 million
people, and that criticism is strewn
relentlessly across news portals
and social media feeds, or shouted
at him whenever he steps out in
public.
Messi's decision to quit interna
tional football is probably the
result of several factors that have
made playing for Argentina too
stressful to bear.
For a start, this was Argentina's

A dejected
Lionel Messi
after Argentina
lost to Chile in
Copa America
finals.
third defeat in a final of a major
competition in as many years. In
addition to last year's Copa
America misadventure when
they also lost in a penalty shootout
to Chile in the final the
'Albiceleste' fell to Germany in the
2014 World Cup final after an
extratime goal from Mario Gotze.
Moreover, Messi is still yet to
win a major international tourna
ment for Argentina, notwithstand
ing the 2008 Olympic Games. The
'Albiceleste's' own title drought
dates back to 1993.
There is also the simmering row
between Argentina's players and
the country's football association
(AFA), which has been wracked by
internal power strugg les and
financial difficulties.
During the Copa America
Centenario, Argentina's squad
reportedly encountered regular
travel delays, hotels that weren't
ready to receive them, longhaul
flights without meals and a lack of

gym equipment, among other

issues.
Two days before Sunday's final
in New Jersey, the normally taci
turn Messi was sufficiently riled to
post a message on Instagram in
which he described the AFA as a
"disaster".
In addition, Messi has had to
endure constant and unfair com
parisons with Argentina legend
Diego Maradona, who recently
said the Barcelona forward did
"not have the personality to be a
leader."
In his brief exchange with jour
nalists, Messi hinted that
Maradona's comments had con
tributed to his decision.
"I think there's a lot of people
who want this, who obviously are
not satisfied, as we are not satis
fied reaching a final and not win
ning it," Messi said.
But is it fair to label Messi a
choker? That would seem harsh in
the extreme.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016

SELF HELP

25

5 ways to better market yourself Keys to overcoming adversity

A
to land your dream job
mployers report a lack of
skilled talent as one of the
biggest threats to meeting
business objectives in 2016. Job
seekers who take note of what
skills and characteristics compa
nies are seeking could have a com
petitive advantage.
With companies reporting job
vacancies that are threatening pro
ductivity levels, candidates have a
tremendous opportunity to land
their dream job, says Jim Link,
chief human resources of ficer,
Randstad North America, one of the
largest HR services and staf fing
companies in the U.S.
T he 2016 Workplace Trends
Guide by Randstad US reveals how
employees can better position
themselves for success during their
job search. W hether youre an
active or passive job seeker today,
here are the top five considera
tions:
1. Use staffing/recruiting firms to
maximize your chances. As the
most ef fective method to recruit
fulltime and contract workers, job
seekers should take advantage of
staf fing firms to gain access to a
wide range of opportunities at no
cost. Working through a staffing or
recruitment firm is oftentimes the
best entry point for some of the
countrys most desirable employ
ers.
2. Market skills based on desired
assets. As companies move beyond
recession recovery and enter
growth mode, their ability to hire
great talent is arguably the most
important driver for success and

profitability. Do the necessary

research to understand the skills
and expertise companies in your
industry are looking for and take
every step to market yourself with
those desired job requirements in
mind.
3. Use multiple sources to find
available positions. On average, the
companies surveyed report they
are currently understaf fed by 10
percent with an average of 137
open jobs. Hiring decisionmakers
report using a w ider range of
recruitment metho ds, which
include social media, digital net
working, as well as working with
local universities and colleges.
4. Dont rule out the importance
of work ethic and soft skills.
Decisionmakers cite work ethic
(36 percent) and soft skills (33 per
cent) as two of the top areas candi
dates are lacking. Dont leave any
question in the hiring managers
mind about your willingness to
work hard. During interviews, make

eye contact, communicate ef fec

tively and demonstrate your ability
to adapt to any work environment.
5. Dont rule out contract work.
Ondemand talent is needed. More
workers are choosing contingent or
temporary work as the economy
embraces an ondemand work
force. In fact, its estimated that
more than 40 percent of the U.S.
workforce will be contingent by the
year 2020. Sixtyeight percent of
companies surveyed believe a vari
able workforce model with a mix of
temporary and permanent employ
ees allow for more agility to meet
customer demands. This can mean
increased benefits for jobseekers,
including broader job opportuni
ties, flexible work schedules and
greater income potential.
For an inside perspective of what
companies are looking for and how
they go about searching for talent,
access the Randstad 2016
Workplace Trends Guide at
RandstadUSA.com/workforce360.

dversity naturally
sounds like a bad
thing, but an
opportunity to over
come a dif ficult situa
tion can actually be a
valuable gift, say
experts. Times of
adversity are simply
steppingstones to live a
better life, says Coach
Michael Taylor, author of the new
book, Adversity is Your Greatest
Ally. Theyre neither good nor bad
until you choose to label them.
Born in the projects, a victim of
child abuse and a high school
dropout, Taylor was wellacquaint
ed with hardship in childhood, and
has been no stranger to it in adult
hood. His new book details his jour
ney to success and happiness, offer
ing advice to others seeking to do
the same. While Taylor cites suc
cess stories of notable scientists,
artists and entertainers like Albert
Einstein, Jay Z and Oprah Winfrey
as examples of those who sur
mounted lifes hurdles, he firmly
believes that anyone with the right
attitude and habits can make an
upward leap. Here, Taylor offers a
few keys he says are needed to
overcome adversity.
4 You must be willing to take
responsibility for your life: You
cant blame your parents, where
you were born, or the color of your
skin. You cant blame lack of educa
tion, an exspouse, or your age.
Decide that youre going to take
100 percent responsibility for your
life and make it happen.
4 You must be willing to leave
your comfort zone: Fear is a choice.
You can choose to let it keep you
from accomplishing your goals, or

you can feel the fear and do it any

way. Learn to become comfortable
with being uncomfortable if you
truly want to accomplish extraordi
nary things.
4 You must commit to growth:
Upgrading your inner software
means that youre willing to look at
the subconscious beliefs that may
be limiting your potential. Read
books and take classes that provide
you with the knowledge and sup
port to accomplish goals and feel
better about yourself. The key is
committing to neverending
improvement.
4 You must develop a positive
attitude: If youre truly committed
to turning your adversities into
allies, it is necessary to develop a
positive attitude. A negative attitude
makes lifes challenges more diffi
cult to overcome.
4 You must discover your unique
gifts: Everyone has special gifts and
talents. When expressed, you will
find your true purpose in life. If
youve forgotten what yours are or
have given up on sharing them with
the world, rest assured they are
within you. Gifts are not necessarily
something you do; they are primari
ly about who you are. For example,
being loving and caring is a gift.
Being intelligent and analytical is
also a gift.

Tips to get more cash out of your rental property

f you own a small rental property now,

more than ever its good to be you. For
the better part of a decade, a robust mul
tifamily market has delivered low vacancies
and higher rents. Apartment values are up
more than 120 percent since the end of
2009, according to Moodys. Experts say that
of fers a great opportunity for owners of
small apartment communities.
Now is a great time to refinance, especial
ly if your loan originated in more dif ficult
economic times, says David Brickman,
Freddie Mac Multifamily executive vice pres
ident. Multifamily market growth is ongoing
and rates are still near historic lows. Without
the right preparation, though, you could find
yourself shortchanged. To put the most
cash in your pocket, consider these five tips
from the experts at Freddie Mac Multifamily:
4 Aim for accuracy: Keep accurate finan
cial statements for your property. If your
records are spotty, its difficult for lenders to
accurately size a loan, which could reduce
the cash you take away from the deal. To get
the most bang for your buck, make sure you
have at least three years of historical annual

operating financial statements and monthly

rent rolls. Include explanations on your
statements for any past capital improve
ments.
4 Show your property some love: Long
term ownership and regular property main
tenance demonstrate commitment and pride
of ownership. It also goes a long way
towards getting you the best loan terms pos
sible. A lender looks for clean, wellmain

tained communities. Overdue maintenance

issues could mean your lender may require
you to escrow a portion of your proceeds to
cover repairs, reducing your cash inhand
after closing.
4 Strive for stability: Volatility in expens
es, income or occupancy makes it dif ficult
for lenders to project underwritten income.
Strive for consistent operations. If you do
have an isolated spike in expenses or a dip in

occupancy, be sure you can provide a justifi

cation.
4 Dont count out affordable properties:
Some lenders might shy away from cashouts
on older properties with lower than market
rents. Look for a lender who does not. For
example, with Freddie Macs Small Balance
Loan program, a cashout refinance is possi
ble as long as the property is safe, provides a
stable cash flow, is wellmaintained and the
owner has sufficient net worth, liquidity and
a proven track record. This mortgage offers
flexibility, with a choice of fixedrate and
hybrid adjustable rate mortgages available.
4 Take a Fresh Look. Even if you already
have a goto source for financing, now is a
good time to evaluate alternatives, especially
if you have owned your property for at least
three years and it has experienced rent
growth, or you have made improvements to
boost rent potential.
To learn more about growing your rental
portfolio, improving returns on existing
assets, or meeting other financial goals, visit
FreddieMac.com.
(Text and pix: StatePoint)

26

July 2-8, 2016

New Chinese system named

world's top supercomputer
London: A new Chinese computer
system that can make 93
quadrillions calculations a second
has claimed the top spot on the
list of the world's most powerful
supercomputers.
The computer called Sunway
TaihuLig ht deve loped by the
Nat ional Research Centre of
Parallel Computer Engineering
and Technology is built entirely
using processors designed and
made in China.
The supercomputer installed at
the National Supercomputing
Centre in China displaced Tianhe
2, an Intelbased Chinese super
computer that has claimed the
top 1 spot on the past six
TOP500 lists.
T he close ly watched list is
issued twice a year.
Sunway TaihuLight is twice as
fast and three times as ef ficient
as Tianhe2, which posted a per
formance of 33.86 quadrillions of
calculations per second.
Titan, a Cray X40 system
installed at the US Department of
Energ y's Oak Ridge Nat ional
Laboratory, is now at the third
position, with 17.59 quadrillions
of calculations per second.
Sequoia, an IBM BlueGene/Q

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SCI-TECH

Sunway TaihuLight is twice as fast and three times as efficient as

Tianhe2 (photo courtesy: apdnews.com)
system installed at D OE's
Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory and Fujitsu's K com
puter installed at the RIKEN
Advanced
Inst itute
for
Computational Science in Japan
are at the fourth and fifth posi
tions respectively.
Other systems in the top ten
include a BlueGene/Q system
called Mira in the US, a Cray X40
system known as Trinity, and the
most powerful system in Europe
a Cray XC30 system called Piz
Daint at the Sw iss Nat ional
Supercomputing Center.
Hazel Hen installed at High
Performance Computing Center

Stuttg art in Germany and

Shaheen II in King Abdullah
University of Science and
Technology in Saudi Arabia, both
Cray XC40 systems, are at the
ninth and tenth positions.
The latest list marks the first
time since the inception of the
TOP500 that the US is not home
to the largest number of systems.
With a surge in industrial and
research installations registered
over the last few years, China
leads with 167 systems and the
US is second with 165.
China also leads the perform
ance category, thanks to the top
two systems on the list.

New technology
developed to create
clean hydrogen fuel
New York: With an aim to tackle one of
the world's biggest energy challenges
clean fue l for transportation,
researchers in the US have developed a
new technology to make clean hydrogen
fuel.
Unlike gasolinepowered vehicles,
which emit carbon dioxide (CO2), cars
using hydrogen are emissionfree.
However, making hydrogen fue l
involves burning natural gas that releas
es CO2 into the atmosphere.
To address this challenge, researchers
at Stanford University focused on an
emerging technology called photovoltaic
watersplitting.
It consists of a solarpowered elec
trode immersed in water. When sunlight
hits the electrode, it generates an elec
tric current that splits the water into its
constituent parts, hydrogen and oxygen.
But conventional solar electrodes
made of silicon quickly corrode when
exposed to oxygen a key byproduct of
watersplitting.
The team used bismuth vanadate
an inexpensive compound that absorbs
sunlight and generates modest amounts
of electricity to overcome this prob
lem, according to the study published
recently in the journal Science
Advances.

"Bismuth vanadate has been widely

regarded as a promising material for
photoelectrochemical water splitting, in
part because of its low cost and high sta
bility against corrosion," said Yi Cui of
Stanford University.
Bismuth vanadate absorbs light but is
a poor conductor of electricity. To carry
a current, a solar cell made of bismuth
vanadate must be sliced very thin, 200
nanometers or less, making it virtually
transparent. As a result, visible light that
could be used to generate electricity
simply passes through the cell.
To capture sunlight before it escapes,
Cui's team turned to nanotechnology.
The researchers created microscopic
arrays containing thousands of silicon
nanocones, each about 600 nanometers
tall.
In an experiment, the team deposited
the nanocone arrays on a thin film of
bismuth vanadate. Both layers were then
placed on a solar cell made of per
ovskite, another promising photovoltaic
material.
When submerged, the threelayer tan
dem device immediately began splitting
water at a solartohydrogen conversion
efficiency of 6.2%, already matching the
theoretical maximum rate for a bismuth
vanadate cell.

Your smartphone
loses half of its value
in a month
London: Planning to buy
a new smartphone?
Remember that the
device may lose half of
its value in a month
which is even faster than
your car, says an inter
esting study.
While cars typically
lost 20% of their value a
year after being driven
of f, moneydraining
(photo courtesy: eblogfa.com)
smartphones went down
up to 65% of their value in just a ket.
That's nearly a 300 loss off its
month of being re leased,
musicMagpie.co.uk reported on original selling price of 579, the
study said.
Thursday.
While the iPhone 4 continues to
HTC One M9 has suf fered the
retain 39% of its value even five
years after its launch, the iPhone worst in the android sector. It was
6 (16 GB) has managed to keep sold for 579 British pounds when
50% of its 539 British pounds released in March 2015 but lost a
market value a year after its staggering 65% of its value in just
a month.
release.
Phones go down in value
However, iPhone 5 showed a
significant depreciation, losing because better, faster and techno
66% of its value after eight logically superior models replace
them.
months, the report stated.
Demand for a certain phone
The highly anticipated Samsung
Galaxy S4, which released in 2014 model can also affect its populari
lost half of its value within two ty and consequently depreciate its
months of appearing on the mar value, the report concluded.

Indianorigin researcher develops

phonebased eyetracking system
New York: Researchers led by an Indianorigin
scientist have developed a software that can
turn any smartphone into an eyetracking
device, a discovery that can help in psychologi
cal experiments and marketing research.
In addition to making existing applications of
eyetracking technology more accessible, the
system could enable new computer interfaces
or help detect signs of incipient neurological
disease or mental illness. Since few people have
the external devices, there's no big incentive to
develop applications for them.
"Since there are no applications, there's no
incentive for people to buy the devices. We
thought we should break this circle and try to
make an eye tracker that works on a single
mobile device, using just your frontfacing cam
era," explained Aditya Khosla, graduate student
in electrical engineering and computer science
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Khosla and his colleagues from MIT and
University of Georgia built their eye tracker
using machine learning, a technique in which
computers learn to perform tasks by looking
for patterns in large sets of training examples.
Currently, Khosla says, their training set
includes examples of gaze patterns from 1,500
mobiledevice users.
Previously, the largest data sets used to train
experimental eyetracking systems had topped
out at about 50 users.
To assemble data sets, "most other groups
tend to call people into the lab," Khosla says.
"It's really hard to scale that up. Calling 50

(Photo courtesy: yourstory.com)

people in itself is already a fairly tedious
process. But we realized we could do this
through crowdsourcing," he added.
In the paper, the researchers report an initial
round of experiments, using training data
drawn from 800 mobiledevice users.
On that basis, they were able to get the sys
tem's margin of error down to 1.5 centimetres,
a twofold improvement over previous experi
mental systems.
The researchers recruited application users
through Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowd
sourcing site and paid them a small fee for each
successfully executed tap. The data set con
tains, on average, 1,600 images for each user.
The team from MIT's Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the
University of Georgia described their new sys
tem in a paper set to presented at the
"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"
conference in Las Vegas on June 28.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Man ties the knot with

smartphone in Las Vegas
Los Angeles: A man in the US has
taken his love for smartness to a
whole new level by marrying it
in a Las Vegas ceremony, media
reports said.
The wedding looked like a typi
cal Las Vegas wedding, except for
one deviation. The groom, Aaron
Chervenak, wore a tux. The bride
wore a protective case, Las Vegas
ReviewJournal reported on
Monday.
Chervenak said "I do," when the
of ficiant at T he Little Vegas
Chapel asked, "Do you, Aaron,
take this smartphone to be your
lawfully wedded wife, and do you
also promise to love her, honor
her, comfort and keep her, and
be faithful to her?"
"At first it was like what?" The
Little Las Vegas Chapel owner
Michael Kelly was quoted as say
ing by www.ktnv.com
"And then I was like... Alright
let's do it," Kelly said.
The symbolic gesture to marry
his smartphone appears to be a
move
by
art istdirector
Chervenak to send a message to
society, according to Kelly.
"People are so connected to

July 2-8, 2016

LIFESTYLE

(Image courtesy: techeblog.com)

their phones and they live with
them all the time," Kelly said.
And that sounds almost like

Kate Moss saves

clothes for daughter
Los
Angeles:
Supermo de l Kate
Moss saves all of her
favorite clothes to
give to her 14year
old daug hter Lila
Grace.
T he 42yearold
supermodel gets to
keep many of the
high fashion pieces
she wears for shoots
and in the past she
would let her friends
have the items they
liked.
But now when
Grace is 14 years old
and interested in
fashion, Moss keeps
the garments for her
to wear, reports
femalefirst.co.uk.
Speaking to LOOK
magazine, she said:
"Most of it I do
(keep). I lost a lot on
(Image courtesy: vistelacalle.com)
my travels. But now
I've learnt! I used to give away father is the catwalk beauty's
pieces to friends who said they expartner Je f ferson Hack,
liked it, but now I keep the makeup and beauty t ips
accrued from her fourdecade
good bits for my daughter."
Moss also gives Grace, whose modelling career.

marriage. The marriage is not

legally recognized by the State of
Nevada,the KTNV report said.

27

Living near nature

may cut aggressive
behavior in teenagers
New York: Adolescents living in
neighborhoods with more green
ery may exhibit less aggressive
behavior, finds a new study. The
findings showed that increasing
greenery levels like parks, golf
courses or fields, might lead to a
12 per cent decrease in clinical
cases of aggressive behavior.
"Our study provides new evi
dence that increasing neighbor
hood greenery may be an ef fec
tive alternative intervention strat
egy for an environmental public
health approach that has not been
considered yet," said Diana
Younan, doctoral student, at the
University of California.
Nine to 18yearolds who lived
in places with more greenery had
significantly less agg ressive
behavior than those living in
neig hborhoo ds
w ith
less
greenery.
Both shortterm (one to six
months) and longterm (one to
three years) exposure to green
spaces within 1,000 meters of
residences were associated with
reduced aggressive behavior.
The behavioral benefit of green

spaces equated to approximately

two to twoandahalf years of
adolescent maturation.
In addition, these benefits exist
ed for both boys and girls of all
ages and races/ethnicities, and
across populations with different
socioeconomic backgrounds and
living in communities with differ
ent neighborhood quality.
"It is important that we target
agg ressive behaviors early.
Identifying effective measures to
reduce aggressive and violent
behaviors in adolescents is a
pressing issue facing societies
worldwide," Younan added.
Factors such as age, gender,
race/ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, parents' educational back
ground, occupation, income level,
or marital status and whether
their mother smoked while preg
nant or was depressed did not
affect the findings.
For the study, the team followed
1,287 adolescents from Southern
California who were aged nine to
18 years to see whether greenery
surrounding the home could
reduce aggressive behavior.

Ahmedabad firm launches portable hotel rooms

Ahmedabad: Ushering in what has
been claimed to be an innovative
idea, Beetle Smartotels, the first
portable concept hotel built com
pletely using shipping containers,
opens this month in the Mundra
SEZ in Gujarat.
Young hote l entrepreneur
Tanmay Bathwal, who runs the
Ahmedabadbased
Hirise
Hospitality Pvt Ltd, is promoting
this venture to cater to the soaring
demand for hasslefree movable
rooms ideal for remote locations,
industry clusters and venues hold
ing bigticket cultural conventions.
"Contrary to the traditional brick
andmortar hotels which take a
minimum of three to four years to
get rolling, a Smartotel could be
built in just three months," Bathwal

(Image courtesy:
indianeagles.com)
said. "These moving hotels use the
concept of recycling and are envi
ronmentally conducive. They are
built out of unused or discarded
containers, ensuring speedy con
struction without compromising the
quality," he added.
According to Bathwal, the rooms
would have plush interiors and
decor along with top security mech

anisms and safe deposit lockers. It

is capable of meeting demandand
supply with ease.
"With Beetle Smartotels, we are
stepping into a domain where no
one has treaded before and have
tasted success. We are successfully
bridging the gap in availability of
temporary, yet quality accommoda
tion, in a record time," he said,
adding that the facilities required
for these portable hotels were being
manufactured in Ahmedabad.
Hirise Hospitality Pvt Ltd aims to
add 2,000 portable hotel rooms
across the country by 2018. Beetle
Smartotels are also being built with
options to choose between a
portable service apartment and
rooms ideal for single business
travelers.

Fight laziness with quick bites

New Delhi: Besides following a
hydrating and high fibre diet that
will help to stay cool, also indulge
in powerpacked foods to stay
energized, says an expert.
Dolly Kumar, health expert,
founder and Director at health
brand GAIA, shares how:
4Most of us like to enjoy light
and healthy meals during summer
since they are easy to digest and
don't leave us feeling bloated,

uncomfortable and lazy. A healthy

quick fix is to start the day with
muesli along with skimmed milk
and fresh fruits for breakfast. Rich
in dietary fibre, proteins, iron and
antioxidants, this powerfood is
extremely healthy.
4Summer is also the time to
indulge in cooling beverages
which keep us energized and
refreshed all day. Green tea is a
wonderful beverage to drink early

in the morning or even late

evenings. Green tea is packed with
antioxidants and is known to
strengthen the immune system
and improve memory. Along with
its aroma and pleasant taste, your
body is bound to stay hydrated
and fresh all summer. Add a dash
of honey and squeeze a lemon in
your cup of green tea and add
some tanginess and zest to your
day.

28

July 2-8, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

HUMOR

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

The day 16 women escaped their marriages

IFE: The house is on fire! Get the kids

out first!
ME (Stuf fing Star Wars figurines collec
tion into pockets): Im on it! Really soon!
Almost immediately!
***
Fortunately, it turned out to be a dream
or rather a nightmare.
No husband/ father should ever be forced
to make an impossible moral choice like
that.
***
The challenges of being a family man were
on my mind when I got to the of fice that
same morning to find a reader had sent me
an extraordinary news story about mar
riages.
Sixteen women in a single village went
shopping one morning, and none of them
came back. It is already being called The
Great Marriage Escape. Some were preg
nant.
That village main street is now full of
dazed, stunned men trying to work out what
happened to their lives, i.e., just like every
other married man on Earth.
***
The strange tale started last year when a
matchmaker turned up at Zhanzhi, a farm
town in Chinas Fujian province, and said

she had a supply of marriageready plug

andplay brides from Vietnam at just
60,000 yuan (US$9,200) each.
Women are so rare in parts of China that
males form obsessive relationships with
badly drawn female anime characters. No,
wait, that happens everywhere.
***
Anyway, one farmer said yes, was deliv
ered a pleasant, charming woman, and start
ed a stampede by lonely men clutching ban
knotes.
Zhanzhi village became the happiest, most
romantic place on earth until a chilly
Tuesday in midFebruary.
The wives went out shopping and none
returned. The matchmaker disappeared too.
T he longest marriage had lasted six
months and the shortest three days.
***
The curious thing is that people to whom I
showed the tale of the Great Marriage
Escape had very different responses.
Married guy: Why do some men have all
the luck?
Single guy: Can this format be standard
ized for all marriages?
Single woman: Did the girls get to keep
the money?
The one married woman present just

looked thoughtful and left the room quietly,

possibly to make Group Escape Plans with
her friends.
***
Not that everyone is so cynical about mar
riage.
One female friend always says: Its fine as
long as women go into marriage thinking of
it as a form of adoption, only you get a very
large child.
***
I contacted the original source of the
story, a China watcher in Beijing, to ask him
to identify the signs of a societys wives
planning to depart en masse.
In each case, the woman said she was
going shopping that day for clothing and or
food, he said. Thats probably not very use

ful, is it?
***
True. On the other hand, most married
men I know HATE it when women say Im
popping out to do a little shopping, because
we are misers, and now we have an addition
al reason to be suspicious of it.
***
A colleague has just pointed out that even
the most shoppingphobic male in the world
must at some time enter a retail establish
ment.
Not necessarily.
We might order everything through the
Internet, and even then, we ONLY purchase
vital household essentials, such as col
lectible Star Wars figurines.
One must have priorities.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801

5168271010

by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

ASTROLOGY

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

July 2-8, 2016

29

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

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

JULY 28, 2016

ARIES: Your greatest gains will come
through your creative ideas at profes
sional front. A happy time in the compa
ny of friends and relatives as they do many
favours to you. A sudden inflow of funds will
take care of your bills and immediate expens
es. Love companion will be eager to meet you
this week. Inexhaustible energy enables to
participate in outdoor activities. Af fordable
luxury vacation will explore your desires.
Looking to buy property, then go for commer
cial one. Political and social reputation is like
ly to increase.
TAURUS: Success is certain provided
you work as a team. Enjoying the com
pany of close relatives will brighten
your evening.
Monetary position is likely to improve on
recovering of delayed payments. Proposing
might benefit, as chances of succeeding in
love are high. You attain a bloom in health on
sharing happiness with others. Perfect get
away time for you and your partner. Good
time to purchase a property. You find develop
ing an interest in social servicing.
GEMINI: You will be on the seventh
heaven when you receive recognition
for your achievements at work.
Shopping with family members will be highly
pleasurable and exciting. Investment in
antiques & jewelry brings monetary gains and
improvement in financial position. Search for
a true romantic friend might end this week. A
cheerful state of mind would allow enjoying
the perfect health.
A group of friends or your partner is looking
forward for a vacation with you. A good deal
for your new property is ready to be made. A
week when your actions will be backed by
your luck.

CANCER: Your creativity will amaze

people around you besides enhancing
career prospects. You will be at the
limelight in a social gathering provided you
attend. Long pending arrears and dues will
finally be recovered. Blossoming love life
brings happiness. Divine knowledge from a
saintly person provides solace & comfort. A
leisure trip will prove to be a premium time
for you. Buying overseas property will be ben
eficiary for you. You successfully solve your
old disputes and landrelated problems.
LEO: New job opportunities for some
will be better than expected. You will
be the star of attraction of familys get
together this week. this week investment con
cerning residence will be profitable. Romance
is likely to intensify through recreational
activities & entertainment. Meditation and
yoga prove beneficial for spiritual as well as
physical gains. You might get a chance for
business trip, which will help you in new con
nections. You can apply for your home loan.
Personal efforts would greatly help in increas
ing influence in social & political fields.
VIRGO: At work you are likely to win
appreciation and awards for past
ef forts. Help from family members
would take care of your needs. Financial has
sles seem to get over as someone lends a time
ly helping hand. Romantic opportunity comes
your way as your sparkling sunshine smile
injures a lively & tender heart. A very healthy
week when your cheerfulness gives the
desired tonic and confidence. Traveling over
seas would be an experience full of spark that
enlightens your imagination. Your search for a
house is towards its final destination. this
week you will be able to increase your con
tacts with intellectuals.

LIBRA: Timely and swift action would

give an edge over others at profes
sional front. You will enjoy the time
spent with family members and friends.
Promising week to invest surplus money in
real estate. Romance touches new heights, as
partner positively responds. You are likely to
maintain good health that would also give you
success. Travel plans for better communica
tion will be helpful for new horizons. Your
personal loan plans for property could be in
prog ress. Your opponents find you a
headache.
SCORPIO: Colleagues and subordinates
will lend a helping hand enabling to
complete the work on time. Your gener
ous behaviour would enable to enjoy some
lovely moments with family. A sound financial
health would enable to invest on lucrative
schemes. You are likely to find someone with
whom you will enjoy the ecstasies of love. A
continuous positive thinking gets rewarded as
you succeed in whatever you do this week.
Business or vacation traveling is what you
needed right now. Your dream for new house
might be full filed now. Recognition and influ
ence would increase in social field.
SAGITTARIUS: Success in completing
dif ficult assignments brings a lot of
laurels at work. Friends and family
members would lend a helping hand. Your
brilliant ideas would help in bringing financial
gains. Love comes your way as friendship
turns into romance.
Creative hobbies are like ly to keep you
relaxed. Implementation of new ideas to travel
will be beneficiary for you on work front.
Getting your dream home will be the greatest
pleasure for you. Legal problem will be solved
with the timely help of friends.

CAPRICORN: Selfconfident would

enable to convey your point of view
with ease a workplace. An unexpected
message from a distant relative brings happy
news for the entire family. A promising week
to earn profits in real estate and financial
transactions. You are likely find comfort in the
arms of romantic partner. With a positive out
look & confidence, you succeed in impressing
people around you. Travel plans for ambitions
are in full bloom. Selling a plot might be prof
itable as property rates tend to rise sooner.
Unexpected accolades bring happiness. Better
to share them with close friends to double the
joy.
AQUARIUS: Mental clarity gives a
decisive edge over all competitors at
professional front. Relatives are likely
to give some valuable advice regarding per
sonal life. An improvement in monetary posi
tion makes it convenient to purchase essential
items. Love and romantic encounter will this
week keep you in a cheerful state. Mental
alertness would enable to solve a tricky prob
lem. A beckon destination sounds tempting to
you. Lifestyle home is what you are looking
for? Your innovative style & creativity will
come as a pleasant relief to people.
PISCES: Calculated risks would enables
to complete the project on time. You
receive care and affection from family
members. This week longterm investment
would enable to make substantial gains.
Sudden romantic encounter is foreseen this
week. A cheerful state of mind brings mental
peace. Planning a trip for your love will
embrace you and your spouse. Deals on com
mercial property can tend to be at full boom.
You succeed in convincing people that colours
have spiritual and symbolic values.

ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

2nd July, 2016
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet Moon
makes you simple, dynamic, charismatic, creative, reli
able and focused. You need to control your frequent
mood swings and stubbornness to become a better indi
vidual.
Health this year: You will enjoy an overall good health
this year though you may go through minor health issues
throughout the year. You should practice yoga and medi
tation for better result. Your parents may fall sick and
this might make you tensed. Take special care of your
spouses health. Take a normal diet and medicines to
remain healthy.
Finance this year: Your past investments may yield a lot
of money for you this year. You need to be extra cautions
while investing huge amounts as it is a bit risky to put
money on unpredictable things. Overall, you will enjoy a
strong financial condition.
Career this year: You will enjoy a great professional
career this year. If you are involved in arts or creative
field, this year will be very good for you. You will reach
new heights in your career and you will gain enough
recognition. You may seek help from an experienced per
son to succeed in your career.
Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with
your spouse. If you are unmarried, you may get into a
matrimonial relationship towards the end of this year.
3rd July, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: As your governing planet is Jupiter, you
are intelligent, dignified, dynamic, simple, ambitious, and
optimistic.You are very whimsical towards your work.
However, you need to eradicate few negative characteris
tics such as jealousy, rude, irresponsibility.
Health this year: You will be going through a not so very
good health this year around. You might need to take
proper care of your health by frequently visiting your doc
tor for medical checkups. You need to adhere to the med
ications prescribed by the doctors for your betterment.
Finance this year: You may be in a very good financial
groove this year as you will find profit everywhere you
go for investment. You may start few new ventures if you
are into hardcore business. You might have to take few
important decisions to go for the opportunities provided.
You may invest on real estate and stocks this year.
Career this year: If you are a very keen learner, then you
may get the chance to prove yourself at a higher level.
You will enhance your skills and impress your employer
to get better professional benefits. You may get a good
performance appraisal or a promotion, which will
encourage you to work even hard.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a marital rela

tionship, there is a healthy chance for you to get into one.

Your romantic life may take a leap this year if you are
married. You should not get involved in any kind of con
frontation or argument with your beloved as it may
weaken your relationship.
4th July, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: With the influence of Uranus, you are born
active and lucky. By nature you are dynamic, reliable,
honorable, dignified, enthusiastic, decisive, and very
cooperative. However, you need to work on your stub
bornness and frequent mood swings.
Health this year: You would not remain satisfied as far
your health is concerned as minor illness may disturb you
throughout this year. To avoid these health issues, you
need to take care of your health by taking healthy food &
medicines at time. You may go for yoga and meditation.
Finance this year: You will be among ample financial ben
efits throughout this year. You will find new source of
income and it will bring you lot of money and scope to
expand your business. You may try your hands in various
investment plans as you may get enough returns due to
your favoring star movement.
Career this year: You are destined to get plenty of good
fortune and fame. Your dedication towards your work
and efficiency may bring you exceptional success. You
may get promoted to a managerial position and that will
of course result in a handsome hike in your salary.
Romance this year: You may get into matrimonial
alliance towards the last few months of the year. If you
are married, you will enjoy a blissful romantic relation
ship with your partner. You should plan for surprise out
ings to make your relationship grow stronger.
5th July, 2016
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As your ruling planet is the Mercury, you
are born realistic, intelligent, simple, focused, caring,
determined, & courageous. As you are very helpful, people
trust you very soon and you enjoy a good impression in
your friends circle. However, you need to work on your
stubbornness and jealousy to become a better individual.
Health this year: Your health may remain the same as it
was during the last year. You may improve a bit with
medication and diet control. You may practice meditation
and yoga for better results. Do not neglect the health of
your family members as well as they may fall ill frequent
ly this year and you may remain bothered for the same.
Finance this year: You may find yourself in financial bene
fits. However, you need to take enough toil to make this
happen. You may go for various new proposals and
assignments, which would improve your income and pros
perity. There may be a huge rise in expenses, but you will
be able to meet those with your increased earnings.

Career this year: You will be successful in every project

you take up this year. You may be adjudged the best
employee by your higher management because of your
efficiency, hard work, and timely delivery. You may need
to negotiate with different types of customer and learn a
lot about handling a project independently.
Romance this year: Your marital relationship will move
on smoothly. If you are yet to marry, you may fall into a
romantic relationship this year. You may get into a mari
tal alliance if you are already into a relationship. You will
be leading a blissful romantic life with your spouse or
partner with lots of love, care, and concern.
6th July, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are simple,
generous, cheerful, friendly, humble, honest and peace
loving. You are pretty interested to stay in harmony with
each and everyone in your surroundings. You need to
work on your nature of being restless and pessimistic.
Health this year: Your health would be moderate this
time. You may not have the privilege to take the diet of
your wish as the doctor would prescribe to avoid that.
You may practice yoga and meditation along with your
prescribed medicines for better results.
Finance this year: Your expectations for financial gains
may not convert to reality as you have to spend a moderate
financial life this year. Do not invest huge amount on any
thing as you may go in loss. You should wait for the right
time to invest on anything. You should not lend money to
anyone as it may create financial crisis for yourself.
Career this year: As far as your professional life is con
cerned, you are expected to get a lot of opportunities
throughout this year. However, you have to work hard
and efficiently to convert those opportunities. Being a
quick decision maker, you may have to decide on many
critical matters in your professional circle.
Romance this year: You may try and convert your long
time romantic relationship to a married one. You will be
enjoying a great life with your spouse with lots of under
standing, love, and care. You need not get into any kind of
argument with your beloved this year.
7th July, 2016
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Neptune makes you intel
ligent, adaptable, charming, independent, humble, decisive,
courteous, and courageous. Along with many positive char
acters, you also have few negatives. You need to work on
your carefree and dominating attitude towards others to
get respect and attention in your friend circle.
Health this year: You need to take an appropriate care of
your health. You may fall sick in the middle months of
the year though those will not be serious. If you are a
sportsperson, you need to be very careful for your diet

and nutrition to perform better in your sporting events.

Finance this year: You will be financially profited from
you long term past investments. Your legal issues will be
solved to give you a huge amount of money. You may end
up spending a lot of money on your family members this
year though you will earn a handsome amount. You may
go for investments to get benefited in future.
Career this year: Professionally, you are a very smart and
efficient worker. So you may need to clarify doubts and
help you peers and juniors in their work. People in your
professional circuit will seek your help at every crucial
situation. You may get promoted as a result of your spec
tacular performance throughout the year. You may be
assigned a new responsibility this year. You may go for a
job change as well as there will be plenty of opportuni
ties available.
Romance this year: You will be spending a peaceful and
content life with your beloved. During the last few
months of the year, you may have few misunderstand
ings, which can be cleared and sorted out if you both sit
and try to listen each other.
8th July, 2016
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: The influence of the planet Saturn makes
you creative, realistic, helpful, thoughtful, enthusiastic,
and optimistic. You should take care of your impatience
and jealousy to excel as an individual.
Health this year: You may fall sick often this year if you
do not take required preventive measures. You should
see your doctor once a month to check your health condi
tions and supplements if required. You should also take
care of the health of your family members by providing
them medical attention.
Finance this year: You may prosper financially with the
opportunity to earn as much as possible with new
sources of income. You may go for long distance business
trips if you want success in your business. Be aware of
fraud investment agencies as you may end up losing a
huge amount of money. You are advised not to lend
money this year.
Career this year: Your hard work, dedication, and efforts
in your work will get reflected in your professional hier
archy as you may go a step further towards your promo
tion. You will be admired by your peers and seniors this
year for your performance and decision making capabili
ties. Treat your ordinates respectfully and try to help
them in difficult situation as it would help you in getting
a better appraisal towards the end of the year.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your partner
may reach to new heights this year as your love, trust,
care and concern will develop towards your beloved. You
may get married towards the end of this year if you are
yet to marry.

30

July 2-8, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SPIRITUAL AWARENESS

How God helps us in our lives

By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
any times we may think
that God is enjoying the
heavenly regions with
out knowing what dif ficulty we
are having on earth. Little do we
know that God wants to help
each one of us.
We might think that God is not
aware of what is happening with
us, but God is aware of each
action that occurs in our lives. If
we know that God is aware of
everything that happens to us
then the next question that arises
is, "If God knows what is happen
ing, why is God making us suf
fer? Why do we have problems in
this world? If God can do any
thing, why doesn't God take all
the problems away?" There is an
interesting story that helps to

explain God's predicament.

There was a grandfather who
went to visit his daughter and his
grandchild. Grandparents have
great affinity for their grandchil
dren. W hen he went to his
daughter's house, he saw that the
grandchild was kept in a playpen.
As soon as the grandchild saw
the g rand father he said,
"Grandfather. Grandfather! Get
me out of this. I want to play
with you. All grandchildren love
their grandparents, so the grand
child wanted to get out of the
playpen, but just as the grandfa
ther reached his hand toward the
child, his daughter said, "Don't
touch the child. He did some
thing very wrong, and he is being
punished."
Althoug h the g rand father
wanted to pick up the child, his
daughter told him not to, so what
is the grandfather supposed to
do? The grandfather could rule
over his daughter and say, "No.
no. no, I am picking up my
grandchild anyway," and have
dif ficulties in that arena. The
other option is that he could turn
around, walk out of the house,
and leave, but then the grand
child would be devastated. So the
grandfather came up with a solu
tion. He climbed into the playpen

By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
wealthy person was working with
his lawyer in preparing his will.
The lawyer was impressed with
both the amount of money the man had
accumulated and the number of servants
he had. The man had many people to
attend to his every need, including driv
ers, butlers, house cleaners, and garden
ers to tend to his estate. The man was
proud of how many people he employed
to serve him. He felt it was a sign of suc
cess in life.
When the man finally passed on, he
waited for his judgment. He felt he would
receive a good placement in heaven
because he had been so successful in life.
When his turn came to be judged, the
angel looked over his records and reflect
ed on what he had accomplished in life.
After looking through the entire record
of this man, she declared that he did not
merit time in heaven.
"W hat do you mean?" the man
exclaimed. "Didn't you see how success
ful I was and how many people served
me?
The angel replied, "For entry into heav
en, we do not keep records of how many
people served you. For entry into heaven,
we only record how many people you
served. Unfortunately, your entry into
heaven is denied, because in your life,
you only served yourself."
This story illustrates a powerful lesson.

If we look back at our own lives,

we will find that God's hand has
always been there to support us.

himse lf and played w ith the

child.
Similarly, this is what God does
for us.
If we look back at history,
saints have come in all traditions,
all cultures, all times, and all
walks of life. They have always
come to help the people in those
times. They are the ones who are
compassionate. This is why many
saints have suffered for each one
of us. This is why many religions
talk about the founders suffering
for our sins. What are our sins?
Our sins arise from our breaking
the spiritual laws, from not living
according to the highest ethical
principles.
If we look back at our own
lives, we will find that God's hand
has always been there to support
us. Many times we do not appre
ciate or see God's help in our
lives because we are unable to
gravitate to that level where we
experience that God is with every
one of us at each moment. lf we
were able to sit quietly and focus
within through meditation, we
would then come into contact
with the True Reality. We would
connect to the divine Light with
in and begin to perceive how God
is working for our benefit at
every moment of our lives.

ENTRY INTO HEAVEN

scan the pages of history, we find we do
not remember or honor the emperors
and kings who lived during the time of
Jesus Christ. Such kings may have had
large numbers of slaves and servants
catering to them, yet we remember Jesus
Christ because he was one who served
others. His life was one of sacrifice and
service to the suffering souls of his time.
Into which category do we wish to fall
when our life is reviewed at its end? Do
we wish to go into the spiritual realms
after this life ends with an empty list of
those we served because we were more
concerned with having other people
serve us?
Selfless service opens our heart to love
and helping others. It makes us an instru
ment of God's love by providing for all of
God's creation, whether other people,
animals, or the planet.
In serving, we develop qualities of giv
ing, caring, and loving. Serving selflessly
he lps to e liminate our ego and our
selfishness.

Many people focus on amassing their

own empires and estates, thinking this is
the true purpose in life. Yet, they disre
gard the purpose for which God made
humanity.
True human beings live for others.
Some scriptures say that if God wanted
only devotion, the angels were there for
that purpose. God wanted to create

beings that would serve others, and thus

God created humans. It is clear from the
story that service to others rather than
service to ourselves paves the way for
our return to God.
Consider which people from history
humanity best remembers. Are they the
people who had others serve them, or are
they the ones who served others? If we

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is an

internationally recognized spiritual leader
and Master of Jyoti Meditation who
affirms the transcendent oneness at the
heart of all religions and mystic traditions, emphasizing ethical living and meditation as building blocks for achieving
inner and outer peace. www.sos.org.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

July 2-8, 2016