Mahatma Gandhi once said - The South Asian Times

Fashion 18 Diaspora 19 Adventure Sports 25 Spiritual Awareness 30 

NEW YORK EDITION 

Vol.4 No.44 February 25-March 2, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info 

US airlines sue 

EximBank for loan 

guarantee to Air 

India 

IRS filing: Help 

on how income 

from India is to be 

taxed 

Taxation, 

Page 9 

Jeremy Lin: In a 

stratosphere above 

sports and race 

Sports, 

Page 14 

Afghan protests rage despite Obama 

apology for Quran burning 

Taliban eggs on protests as 2 NATO soldiers among killed. 

Kabul: President Barack Obama 

apologized Thursday for the accidental 

burning of Qurans by U.S. 

forces in Afghanistan as anti- 

American demonstrations raged 

for a third consecutive day, leaving 

two NATO troops and at least 

five Afghans dead and 26 wounded 

nationwide. 

At one such demonstration outside 

a U.S. base in Khogyani, in 

the eastern province of Nangarhar, 

a protester who was wearing an 

Afghan army uniform opened fire, 

killing the two soldiers with the 

Continued on page 4 

Afghans shout slogans during an anti-US demonstration in Jalalabad, 

Wednesday and carry an effigy depicting President Obama. 

Gift of Life India celebrates 

10 years of saving children’s lives 

Woodbury, NY: Gift of Life (India), a laudable project chaired by Rtn. Ravi Bhooplapur, Past Dist Governor 

7250, to perform life saving surgeries on children, raised $1,00,000 at a glittering Valentine Dinner Dance 

last Saturday on Long Island in the presence of Rotary International President Elect Sakuji Tanaka. Seen in 

the picture from left are Kamlesh C. Mehta, Chair of Host Committee; Rtn Sushil Gupta, Indian hotelier 

and Padma Shri, honored for his humanitarian work at the event attended by over 200 people, 

Sakuji Tanaka and Ravi Bhooplapur. (Photo: Xitij Joshi.) (More photos and story on pg 16-17) 

Bollywood should 

connect with West: 

Ashok Amritraj 

Bollywood, 

Page 26 

Zardari instructed 

Haqqani on memo: Ijaz 

Islamabad: Pakistani American 

businessman Mansoor Ijaz said 

Thursday that Husain Haqqani, 

Islamabad's former envoy to the 

US, had "directives" from 

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari 

on delivering a memo to 

Washington appealing for help in 

the wake of Al Qaeda leader 

Osama bin Laden's killing last 

year. 

"It was my understanding that 

Haqqani had directives from the 

Pakistani President," the Geo News 

quoted Ijaz as saying while recording 

his testimony before a judicial 

commission from the Pakistani 

High Commission in London. 

"Haqqani said (in the memo) that 

Washington: California Attorney 

General, Kamla Harris and 

Hollywood actor Kalpen Modi 

(better known as Kal Penn) have 

been roped in by President 

Barack Obama's re-election campaign. 

They are among 35 

Pakistani President 

Asif Ali Zardari 

the civilian government needs to be 

strengthened against the 'bad 

boys'", Ijaz added. 

The term "bad boys" refers to 

army chief (General Ashfaq 

Kayani) or ISI chief (Lt. Gen. 


Kamla Harris, Kal Penn 

national co-chairs for 

Obama’s re-election campaign 

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and 

Hollywood actor Kal Penn. 

Campaign national co-chairs who 

will act as key surrogates and 

ambassadors in the run up to the 

November presidential elections. 

A third Indian American on the 

panel is Sai Iyer, who served as a 

Continued on page 4

Tristate Community 3 

TheSouthAsianTimes.info February 25-March 2, 2012 

Wadhwa receives the Outstanding 

American by Choice award 

Bay Area, CA: Entrepreneur-turned-academic 

Vivek 

Wadhwa has been bestowed 

the Outstanding American by 

Choice award by U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration 

Services (USCIS) Wednesday 

here. The award recognizes 

the outstanding 

achievements of naturalized 

US citizens who “through 

civic participation, professional 

achievement, and responsible 

citizenship, have 

demonstrated their commitment 

to this country and to 

the common civic values that 

unite us as Americans”. 

Wadhwa is currently the 

Vice President of Academics 

and Innovation, Singularity 

University, a new institution 

in Mountain View, CA, 

which focuses on the impact 

and opportunities presented 

Google’s computer 

goggles to arrive this year 

New York: A number of anonymous 

Google employees are reporting 

that the company is currently 

developing Android-powered 

glasses that can provide a 

heads-up display to the wearer and 

connect over wireless data services. 

The glasses will purportedly 

work like a wearable version of the 

Google Goggles app, providing 

real time information on a user's location 

via GPS and motion sensors. 

"Google glasses" could even be 

available to the public by the end of 

this year. 

The Google glasses have apparently 

been in production for quite 

some time at Google's secretive 

Project X lab, where the company 

designs its more outlandish projects, 

such as robots, space elevators, 

and the like. Anonymous em- 

Vivek Wadhwa 

by exponentially advancing 

technologies. He has been a 

critic of American immigration 

system for keeping out 

the brains. The USCIS recognition, 

he says, “literally 

brought tears to my eyes. It 

also shows greatness of 

America: you question the 

norms/challenge authority, 

and they reward you.” He 

added, “My father, a retired 

Indian diplomat, called me 

ployees have indicated that this is 

strictly an experimental program 

from Google, though it may look 

into future business applications 

depending on how successful the 

product is. 

The glasses will feature a lowresolution 

camera on the front for 

gathering information to relay to a 

small screen built into one side of 

the lenses. The screen will not be 

transparent, but will be located to 

the side of the frame, so as not to 

obscure a person's view but still 

give an augmented reality feel. The 

camera will also be able to take pictures, 

and have a built-in flash. 

New York Times speculated that 

the new Google glasses are expected 

to be priced much like a 

current smartphone (in the 

US$250 to $600 range). 

on several occasions to plead 

that I tone down my criticism. 

He worried that I 

would anger US government 

officials and they would find 

some way to have me deported. 

Indeed, this would have 

been the case in many countries, 

where I could have ended 

up in a Gulag - or worse.” 

But what happens in America 

is praiseworthy. 

Wadhwa is Fellow, Arthur 

& Toni Rembe Rock Center 

for Corporate Governance, 

Stanford University, Director 

of Research, Center for Entrepreneurship 

and Research 

Commercialization and Exec 

in Residence, Pratt School of 

Engineering, Duke University, 

and Distinguished Visiting 

Scholar, Halle Institute of 

Global Learning, Emory 

University. 

US cracks down on phantom 

debt collectors from India 

Washington: US authorities have cracked 

down on a new scam in which so-called 

phantom debt collectors using call centers in 

India harassed Americans into paying bills 

running into millions of dollars. 

One scheme, which has bilked US consumers 

out of some $5 million so far, involved 

about eight million phone calls originating 

in India to American consumers over 

an eight-month period, the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) said Tuesday. 

A US district court judge in Chicago ordered 

a Villa Park, California operation to 

cease and froze the assets of American Credit 

Crunchers, an affiliated company called 

Ebeeze and their owner, Varang K. Thaker, 

according to Chicago Tribune. 

FTC alleged Thaker obtained information 

- often including Social Security or bank account 

numbers - about consumers who had 

inquired about or applied for online payday 

loans. 

Thaker used callers in India, who often 

posed as law enforcement officers or other 

government officials, to threaten people 

with arrest, a lawsuit or the loss of their job 

if they didn't repay online payday loans. 

Scammers, officials said, demanded payments 

of about $500, but as high as $2,000. 

Some consumers complied even when they 

knew they didn't owe money, just to avoid a 

potentially embarrassing situation or potential 

arrest, authorities said. 

So far, the FTC has received thousands of 

complaints from across the country about 

the scam. Said C. Steven Baker, director of 

the FTC's Midwest Region, based in Chicago, 

"Nobody actually owed them a dime." 

Phone calls were placed using Internetbased 

phone calling, which made the calls 

appear to caller-ID systems as if they were 

coming from within the US, he said. 

The scam had been ongoing since at least 

January 2010, officials said. 

The FTC has set up an informational Web 

page for consumers, called "Who's Calling? 

That Debt Collector Could be a Fake". It's at 

tinyurl.com/phantomdebt 

Schneiderman’s plan to address Rx drug 

crisis plaguing Long Island 

Mineola, NY: Amid Long Island’s 

growing prescription drug epidemic, 

a coalition of law enforcement, 

elected officials, medical professionals 

and community members 

joined forces to urge the passage of 

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s 

Internet System for Tracking 

Overprescribing (I-STOP) plan for 

an online database that enables doctors 

and pharmacists to report and 

track certain controlled substances 

in real time. The endorsement of I- 

STOP, announced at a press conference 

at the Long Island Council on 

Alcoholism & Drug Dependence in 

Mineola this week, follows the release 

of a recent report by the Attorney 

General detailing the growing 

prescription drug abuse crisis in 

every corner of New York State. 

Statewide, the number of prescriptions 

for all narcotic painkillers has 

increased by six million, from 16.6 

million in 2007 to nearly 22.5 million 

in 2010. 

“Long Island is at the center of the 

state’s prescription drug epidemic, 

and it’s time to take action before 

another tragedy strikes. The law enforcement 

officials, medical professionals 

and community members on 

the ground – who see the devastation 

of this crisis firsthand – stand 

united to protect our communities 

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman 

by supporting I-STOP,” said Attorney 

General Schneiderman. “Inaction 

is not an option. The time is 

now to streamline communication 

between health care providers and 

pharmacists to better serve patients, 

stop prescription drug trafficking, 

and provide treatment to those who 

need help.” 

According to the Attorney General’s 

recent report, the prescription 

drug crisis is particularly acute on 

Long Island where drug-related violent 

crimes – including the horrific 

pharmacy murders in Seaford and 

Medford in 2011, overdoses, and 

drug treatment admissions have in- 

creased at an alarming rate. 

Nassau County Executive Edward 

P. Mangano said, "Attorney General 

Schneiderman’s I-STOP plan gives 

stakeholders the tools necessary to 

protect the public from the growing 

epidemic of prescription drug abuse. 

Together, we can and will better coordinate 

health care services so that 

patients receive the medication they 

need and those who profit off of 

abuse receive the justice they deserve. 

This is the right solution to 

Long Island’s prescription drug epidemic, 

and Attorney General 

Schneiderman deserves credit for 

tackling this crisis head on."

4 Turn Page 

February 25-March 2, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 

UN panel indicts Syria for 

crimes against humanity 

London: A United Nations panel declared on 

Thursday that “gross human rights violations” 

had been ordered by the Syrian 

authorities as state policy at “the highest levels 

of the armed forces and the government,” 

amounting to crimes against humanity. 

The panel of three investigators did not 

release the names of the officials it had identified 

as bearing responsibility. Instead, they 

delivered the names in a sealed envelope to 

the United Nations’ top human rights official. 

The 72-page report by the panel said that 

the insurgent Free Syrian Army, made up of 

defectors from forces loyal to President 

Bashar al-Assad, had also committed abuses, 

but those were “not comparable in scale and 

organization to those carried out by the 

Afgan protests Story 

Continued from page 1 

U.S.-led NATO coalition, officials said. 

Adding to a chorus of profuse apologies 

from U.S. officials over the burning incident, 

Obama wrote a three-page letter to 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on bilateral 

relations that included "an expression of 

his regret and apologies for the inappropriate 

and inadvertent mishandling of religious 

materials," White House spokesman 

Jay Carney said. 

Karzai's office demanded that the coalition 

bring to justice as soon as possible 

those responsible for burning Qurans and 

other Islamic religious materials Monday 

at Bagram, a major air base north of Kabul 

used by American forces. The latest 

embarrassing incident to mar U.S. efforts 

to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, it 

has led to a series of demonstrations that 

could grow Friday, with large crowds 

expected to gather after weekly prayers. 

While the protests so far have appeared 

to be spontaneous outpourings of public 

anger, the Taliban ratcheted up their rheto- 

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The investigators said the report was based 

on 369 interviews with victims, witnesses, 

defectors and other people with “inside 

knowledge” of the situation in Syria. They 

also examined photographs, video recordings 

and satellite imagery to corroborate some 

witness accounts. The investigators said they 

were not allowed to enter Syria to conduct 

inquiries at first hand. 

The report, delivered to the UN Human 

Rights Council in Geneva, was published as 

security forces continued to bombard areas 

of Homs, a city in central Syria, for a 20th 

successive day on Thursday, despite a growing 

outcry and international calls for the creation 

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sick, the wounded and the frail. 

ric Thursday, issuing a statement that 

encouraged Afghans to kill foreign troops 

and not to rely on "mere protests and 

empty slogans." 

Some initial reports have suggested that 

a coalition commander ordered the Qurans 

and other materials destroyed because 

inmates at the Bagram detention facility 

were placing messages in them to one 

another, but coalition officials said the 

investigators hadn't confirmed that. 

Zardari Story 


Ahmad Shuja Pasha), said Ijaz. 

The Supreme Court-appointed commission 

is probing Ijaz's claim to have last 

year delivered a secret memo to then US 

joint chiefs chairman Admiral Mike 

Mullen at the behest of Haqqani and the 

Pakistani government. 

Kamla Harris, Kal Penn Story 


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Tristate Community 5 


India Semester organized at FDU in New Jersey 

Ashok Ojha/SATimes 

Morristown, NJ : As athletes 

played in the Soccer field and 

swimmers enjoyed the warm water 

of its indoor swimming pool, 

young Indian dancers fascinated a 

mixed crowd of students and faculty 

members of Fairleigh Dickinson 

University with their performance 

of Indian classical dances. The 

event was organized at Dryfuss 

auditorium of Farleigh Dickinson 

University campus in Florham, NJ 

as part of a semester long India 

focused program. 

FDU’s Florham College is currently 

celebrating the culture of 

India through a host of activities 

ranging from discussions on 

India’s economy and politics, 

music and fashion shows, visits to 

local Indian temples and shopping 

centers, celebrating Holi and 

screening of well known movies 

on Indian themes, such as, Mira 

Nair’s ‘Mississippi Masala’, 

‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘The 

Namesake’, Deepa Mehta’s 

‘Water’, and Gurinder Chadha’s 

‘Bent it Like Bekham’. The college 

launched its ‘India Celebrations’ 

Indian techies launch 

'My Innovation For Indians' 

competition 

Washington, DC: An organization 

of Indian techies in the Silicon 

Valley has launched a competition 

for IT professionals to encourage 

them to come out with a viable and 

sustainable technology plan for 

India. "My Innovation For Indians 

(MIFI)" competition was announced 

by the Silicon valley-based Global 

Indian Technology Professionals 

Association (GITPRO) at a conference 

in Palo Alto, California on 

Saturday. 

During the conference 'Emerging 

Technology & Opportunities', IT 

professionals also decided to pilot a 

project to improve a quality of new 

engineering graduates from third 

tier colleges. 

GITPRO, which now has seven 

chapters in the US and three in 

India, would also launched a firstever 

survey for professional life, 

family life and community involvement 

of Indian Professionals in the 

US, said Khanderao Kand, its 

Dr. Kenneth Green, Senior Vice Provost, FDU’s College at Florham 

with Dr. Kiron Sharma, who coordinated an India Semester during 

the spring 2012 at FDU’s Florham campus. 

program on February 15, 2012 

when its student community was 

invited to experience delicious 

North Indian cuisine and participate 

in Henna painting. A variety 

of activities are spread over the 

duration of the spring semester. 

“We are preparing our students to 

become global citizens. The 

semester long activities are focused 

to expose our student body to 

Indian culture and traditions,” said 

Dr. Kenneth Green, Senior Vice 

Provost, Government and 

founder and Convener of GITPRO 

World 2012. 

In his keynote address, Anand 

Deshpande, CEO of Persistent 

Systems, said that India Inc has 

evolved from offshore hub to a 

global player with global outlook. 

There lies a huge opportunity for 

innovation and startups in India for 

next five years mainly in the market 

of education, healthcare, biosciences, 

retail and mobile, he 

stressed. A legendary entrepreneurship 

coach teaching at Stanford and 

Berkley Universities, Steve Blank 

emphasized that entrepreneurs 

should avoid failures by getting out 

of offices to talk to customers for 

validating hypothesis and pivoting 

on idea or customer market as often 

and as early as possible. 

More than 400 Indian technology 

professionals from startups to 

prominent companies like Cisco, 

IBM, Oracle, ebay, HP and Apple 

attended the conference. 

Community Affairs, FDU’s 

College at Florham. “The theme 

semester is part of our strategic 

planning to expose our students to 

verities of global-education activities.” 

FDU partnered with 

Vidyalaya, a local voluntary organization 

which provided support for 

the cultural events, music and 

dance performances. “Vidyalaya’s 

primary objective is to educate students 

in Indian languages and culture,” 

said Dr. Kiron Sharma, one 

of the Directors of Vidyalaya and a 

Harvard Asian-American 

discrimination probe ends 

New York: According to a Washington Post report, 

Federal civil rights investigators have closed an 

investigation into whether Harvard and Princeton 

universities discriminate against Asian Americans in 

admissions because the complaint has been withdrawn. 

The short-lived probe began with a complaint 

from an Indian-American student in California who 

was rejected at both schools, despite sitting near the 

top of his high school class. 

The story went modestly viral; Harvard and 

Princeton have admission rates below 10 percent, 

and research suggests Asian-Americans must produce 

even higher grades and test scores to get in. 

professor of Computer Science at 

FDU. Sharma was the chief coordinator 

of the program. 

“India has made phenomenal 

growth after 1991 when its economy 

was opened for foreign investment 

and liberalization,” said 

Professor Ram Kishan of Oakland 

University, Rochester, Michigan, 

who spoke on the topic of ‘Rise of 

India and challenges she faced.’ 

In his balanced view of Indian 

politics and society Kishan highlighted 

India’s security problems 

Harvard’s Jeff Neal released this statement: “We 

are pleased that the complaint against Harvard has 

been withdrawn and that OCR has closed the case. 

Harvard College welcomes talented students from all 

backgrounds, including Asian Americans. Our 

review of every applicant’s file is highly individualized 

and holistic, as we give serious consideration to 

all of the information we receive and all of the ways 

in which the candidate might contribute to our 

vibrant educational environment and community.” 

Bloomberg, the source of the original story, was 

apparently unable to reach the California family to 

discern why the complaint was dropped. 

CafePress removes racist products from 

website after community protests 

New York: In a victory for civil rights, community 

uproar has led CafePress to remove racist t-shirt designs 

from its website. The t-shirts, which said, “No More 

Ragheads!” and “No More Towelheads!” prompted over 

4,000 people to sign a petition created by the Sikh 

Coalition calling for their removal. 

In addition to removing the t-shirts, CafePress issued 

a statement expressing "regret" for "any problems or 

concerns caused by the images in question." 

Professor Ram Kishan of Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, 

addressing students and faculty members at FDU at an event 

organized as a part of ‘India Semester’. (Photos by Ashok Ojha) 

and stiff competition it faces from 

China, another world power which 

dominates the region as well as the 

Indian Ocean. “China has established 

strategic military bases in 

India’s neighborhood bordering its 

Western, Southern and Eastern 

frontiers. China is also threatening 

India’s security from its Northern 

border. India’s security problems 

have been compounded by home 

grown violence perpetrated by terrorists 

and leftists Maoists,” he 

explained. 

The Sikh Coalition issued an open letter to CafePress 

CEO Bob Marino last Thursday, February 17. The 

Coalition's open letter also urged community members 

to sign an online petition which garnered 2,000 signatures 

in a day. By late Saturday morning, February 19, 

the racist images were removed from the CafePress 

website. The Coalition's open letter also called on 

CafePress to improve its internal controls to prevent 

hateful material from being sold on its site.

6 Tristate Community 


Chivukula participates in Open 

World Program 

Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D- 

17) spoke with a group of Armenian 

delegates visiting the United States as participants 

of Open World, a program designed 

to strengthen ties between America 

and select Eurasian countries. 

The delegation, which consisted of six 

Armenian Parliamentary staff members, 

spoke with the Assemblyman at Civic 

Square in New Brunswick for nearly two 

hours discussing ethics and public 

integrity. 

Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi opens at Asia Society 

New York: 'Princes and Painters in Mughal 

Delhi, 1707–1857' on view February 7 

through May 6, 2012 at Asia Society here 

brings together 100 masterpieces created during 

an artistically rich period in India’s history. 

This major international loan exhibition 

provides a new look at an era of significant 

change during which the Mughal capital in 

Delhi shifted from being the heart of the late 

Mughal Empire to becoming the jewel in the 

crown of the British Raj. 

The exhibition includes jewel-like portrait 

paintings, striking panoramas, and exquisite 

decorative arts crafted for Mughal emperors 

and European residents alike, as well as historical 

photographs. 

Curated by William Dalrymple and Yuthika 

Sharma, the exhibition is accompanied by a 

264-page illustrated book with essays by 

William Dalrymple, Yuthika Sharma, Jean 

Marie Lafont, Malini Roy, Sunil Sharma, and 

J.P. Losty, published by Asia Society Museum 

Through a Russian interpreter, Chivukula 

reviewed New Jersey’s strict ethics and 

campaign finance laws as well as provided 

a brief overview of the election process 

in the United States. 

Throughout the event, the delegation 

asked questions that gave them insight 

into the similarities and differences between 

the two governments. 

Chivukula was the final speaker on the 

Armenian’s tour, which lasted for eight 

days. 

BharatMatrimony to create 

the world’s largest wedding 

photo album 

Kick starting a two month long run-up 

to Matrimony Day (April 14th), 

BharatMatrimony.com has set the ball 

rolling on February 14th in an attempt to 

create two world records - Attempt a 

Guinness World Record in putting together 

the world’s largest wedding photo album; 

and Set a world record with 1 million 

wedding pictures online at www.millionweddingpics.com 

to create the largest 

collection of wedding pictures online. 

During the event, the ideal celebrity couple 

Kapil Dev & Romi Dev uploaded the 

first wedding pictures onto the website to 

officially launch www.millionwedding- 

pics.com. The website opens up an opportunity 

to all married couples to participate 

in this momentous occasion and create 

history. Speaking on this occasion, Murugavel 

Janakiraman, Founder & CEO, 

BharatMatrimony.com said, “This is an attempt 

to get all Indians to participate and 

share their wedding pictures and feature in 

a record making photo album. We hope to 

clinch the world record on the auspicious 

day of Matrimony Day on April 14th 

when we will unveil the album for verification.” 

The participation is free and open to all 

married couples. 

in association with Yale University Press, 

New Haven and London. 

“Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 

1707–1857 is a reappraisal of a transitional 

era in India that provided unprecedented 

impetus for artistic innovation and experimentation,” 

says Melissa Chiu, Asia Society 

Museum Director and Vice President for 

Global Art Programs. “We’re pleased to be 

taking a new approach to this magnificent and 

vibrant work with notable author William 

Dalrymple and art historian Yuthika Sharma 

as curators.” 

The exhibition focuses on the reigns of the 

last four Mughal emperors: Muhammad Shah 

(reigned 1719–1748), Shah Alam II (reigned 

1759–1806), Akbar Shah II (reigned 

1806–1837) and Bahadur Shah II Zafar 

(reigned 1837–1857). 

Having lost military, political and economic 

power to the newly-arrived British in 

Calcutta, Delhi continued to maintain its 

IN BRIEF 

Cross Island Y launches Strong 

Kids Campaign 

The Cross Island YMCA launched the 

Strong Kids Campaign, its annual community 

support campaign that works to create 

stronger, closer families; healthier, more involved 

kids; and enriched and revitalized communities. 

According to the U.S. Centers for the 

Disease Control and Prevention, while nearly 

all kids in the U.S. play computers or handheld 

games only 38 percent participate in regular organized 

physical activity. Even more sobering, 

50 percent of family member meals are eaten 

away from home. Sobering statistics like those 

can lead one to ask, “What’s happened to our 

sense of community and how can we get it 

back?” 

Every day, the Cross Island Y serves as a vital 

gathering place for the community. Kids 

pour through our doors after school to play, do 

homework, and get involved in their communities. 

Seniors meet for coffee, group activities, 

and to connect with one another. The Strong 

Kids Campaign ensures that the Y can contin- 

First Veda Sammelanam in North 

America on April 14 

Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation Inc. 

USA, is the first overseas affiliate of the 

ancient Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, India. 

It is situated at the lush green mountains of the 

Poconos in Stroudsburg, PA. 

The Foundation has planned to conduct the 

first ever Veda Sammelan in North America at 

the Sringeri Sadhana Center in Stroudsburg, 

PA on Saturday, April 14. Hundreds of Vedic 

Scholars and Agama/Sastra pundits from 

extraordinary cultural, literary, and artistic 

patronage networks. Artists were supported by 

ue to provide Queens with these and other lifeenhancing 

services. 

The Strong Kids Campaign funds given from 

individuals in Queens go back to support 

Queens. Campaign leadership is made up of a 

group of outstanding YMCA volunteers from 

throughout Queens. This year, Mel Walker, 

Pfizer is working with the Cross Island Y to 

meet its Strong Kids Campaign goal of raising 

$221,000. “The Y is a fixture in Queens and a 

beacon of hope to many. The Strong Kids 

Campaign helps provide families and kids in 

our community with the support they need to 

overcome adversity and to thrive” said Walker. 

“Please join us as we work together and support 

one another to make our home stronger.” 

“With the Strong Kids Campaign, we want 

more people to understand that we are more 

than where to go to exercise or swim – and that 

we rely on their financial support to do our vital 

work.” Dana Feinberg, Executive Director 

of the Cross Island Y. 

USA and Canada will participate in this the 

one-day event. 

The program includes a ceremonious procession 

of the scriptures, recitation of all four 

Vedas, special Vedic offerings to Sharadamba, 

a lecture-cum-demonstration of various 

recitation practices. Registration for the Sammelan 

is free and all participating scholars are 

required to register through the Foundation’s 

website at www.svbf.orgon-line or by mail. 

the Mughal court in Delhi and the city’s 

ascendant European residents, creating an 

environment of extraordinary interaction and 

influence between them and the new world of 

the British East India Company. 

Exhibition-related programs include a lecture 

with co-curator William Dalrymple on the 

artistic and political complexities of art created 

for the Indian court and European patrons 

in Delhi and an evening of celebrating the era 

of India’s last Mughals featuring a reading by 

William Dalrymple and a performance by 

North Indian vocalist Vidya Shah. In addition, 

AsiaStore will feature a series of artisan 

demonstrations including: block printing by 

Mahesh Jain, Zardozi embroidery by Shyam 

Prasad and Kundan Jewelry by Asif Khan. 

One of the displays - Bahadur Shah I 

with his sons handing a sarpech to 

a grandson, ca. 1710. Opaque 

watercolor and gold on paper.

National Community 7 


US airlines sue EximBank 

for giving loan guarantee 

to AirIndia 

Washington, DC: The US 

airline industry has sued the 

Export Import Bank (Exim) 

alleging that its financial support 

to Indian national carrier 

Air India, which itself is in 

deep red, will harm the 

American airlines. 

In a revised complaint filed 

before a US court on Friday 

last week, the Air Transport 

Association of America, 

Delta Air Line and Air Line 

Pilots Association 

International, alleged that 

Exim Bank's decision to provide 

a loan guarantee of USD 

3.4 billion to Air India, to 

help it buy 30 aircraft from 

Boeing, would badly affect 

several US airlines, the Delta 

in particular. 

Arguing that without the 

financial support from Exim 

Bank, Air India, which in 

itself is in deep red, would 

not have purchased these aircraft 

and thus would deploy 

them on those routes where it 

gives a tough competition to 

US airlines. "The Bank's support 

for foreign carriers puts 

ATA's operator members, 

including Delta, at a competitive 

disadvantage because, 

among other things, the 

Bank's foreign beneficiaries 

have access to cheaper capital 

to finance their aircraft purchases," 

the complaint said. 

"Delta's experience is illustrative. 

In 2006, Delta offered 

nonstop service between New 

York and Mumbai. Between 

2006 and 2009, the Bank 

gave Air India loan guarantees 

totalling approximately 

USD 3.3 billion. 

"Those guarantees allowed 

Air India to flood the US- 

India market with extra 

capacity and crowd out competitors 

like Delta. Delta 

stopped flying from New 

York to Mumbai in October 

of 2008 due to the Bank's 

loan guarantees to Air India," 

the court affidavit said. 

The Exim Bank's subsidies 

to foreign carriers have forced 

US airlines to cut between 

4,100 and 7,500 jobs. The 

loss of those jobs has led to 

USD 372 million to USD 684 

million in lost employee 

income, it alleged. 

Obama ropes in 3 Indian Americans 

for presidential campaign 

Washington, DC: Three well-known Indianorigin 

Americans, actor Kalpen Modi, 

California Attorney General, Kamla Harris 

and Sai Iyer, who served as a White House 

intern in 2011, were appointed Wednesday to 

the 35-member national co-chairs of the 

Obama Campaign. 

In all, the Obama Campaign released a list 

of 35 campaign co-chairs who will act as key 

surrogates and ambassadors in the run up to 

the November presidential elections in which 

incumbent Barack Obama is seeking re-election. 

"The president's national co-chairs will 

be tremendous assets on the ground as we 

build the biggest grassroots campaign in history," 

Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina 

said in a statement. 

"They each share the President's vision for a 

future where every American can have a fair 

shot at success, where hard work pays off and 

responsibility is rewarded," Messina said. 

Sai Iyer is a senior at Virginia 

Commonwealth University. 

Indian American doctors win 

racial discrimination case 

Houston: Three Indian-American doctors, 

who were derogatorily called "the 

Indians" and treated as "second-class citizens" 

by the CEO of a medical center, 

have won a racial discrimination case in a 

Texas court. The US Fifth Circuit Court 

of Appeals found that Citizens Medical 

Center in Victoria had violated the equal 

protection rights of the doctors. 

The court ruled in favour of Ajay 

Gaalla, Harish Chandna and Dakshesh 

Parikh, the Victoria Advocate reported. 

In February 2010, the medical center 

filed a resolution that would allow only 

cardiologists with contracts at the hospital 

to exercise clinical privileges in the 

cardiology department or part of the hospital's 

heart program. 

The cardiologists fought back with a 

lawsuit stating they were being barred 

from practicing not based on their merit 

and expertise but because of economical 

and racial reasons. 

This not only affected them but their 

patients who were denied the right to see 

the physician of their choice, according 

to the court documents. 

The three doctors said they were consistently 

treated like second-class citizens, 

removed from committees and 

pushed out of laboratory posts arbitrarily, 

or overlooked in favor of "less-qualified" 

cardiologists CMC hired. 

For now, the case is in stay, or on hold, 

according to Monte James, the lead attorney 

for the cardiologists. 

He expects the federal court will take it 

off hold and it will proceed to trial. 

Neha Patel charged with 

infant son's murder 

Florida: Tampa 

International Airport police 

captured Indian American 

woman Neha Patel suspected 

of killing her one-yearold 

son. 

According to Polk 

County Sheriff Grady Judd, 

her husband Rashesh Patel, 

came home on last 

Thursday to discover wife, 

Neha Patel, 32, and their 

son missing. 

He tried to locate her and, 

at one point, was contacted 

by a credit card company 

who told him his card had 

been used in the Ocala 

area. He drove to Ocala but 

was unsuccessful in finding 

his wife. 

He returned to his Polk 

County home and contacted 

authorities on Thursday 

evening. 

Early the next morning, 

the woman came home 

with the baby, Ishan, 

wrapped in a blanket. 

Rashesh took the blanket 

and saw the child's lifeless 

body. Judd said she told her 

Patel suffered from post partum depression. 

(right). Baby Ishan. 

husband, "I killed him and 

I'll be dead tomorrow." 

After Rashesh contacted 

Neha's father, she ran out of 

the house and drove away. 

Judd said officers tracked 

Neha Patel's vehicle to 

Tampa International 

Airport. But then she left 

and filled up her car at a 7- 

Eleven Thursday evening. 

Judd said the woman suffers 

from postpartum 

depression and has said in 

the past that she wanted to 

die in the Smoky 

Mountains. 

Just before 7:30 Friday 

morning, Polk County officials 

notified airport police 

that Neha Patel, 32, had 

used her credit card at the 

TIA economy parking 

garage. Patel's vehicle was 

seen driving into the airport's 

long-term parking 

garage just after 1:00 p.m. 

The woman was apprehended 

and taken to an airport 

holding cell.

8 National Community 


Kamal Bawa wins award for 

sustainability work 

Kamal Bawa, an Indian-born 

professor of biology at the University 

of Massachusetts Boston, is 

the 2012 winner of the Gunnerus 

Sustainability Award, the world's 

first major international award for 

work on sustainability. 

Bawa will receive the Gunnerus 

Gold Medal and the award of 1 million 

Norwegian Kronor (about 

$190,000) at a ceremony in Trondheim, 

Norway, the university said 

citing a Royal Norwegian Society 

of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) announcement. 

Bawa, also a faculty fellow at the Centre for 

Governance and Sustainability, home of the 

Global Environmental Governance Project, is 

known for his research on population biology in 

Comcast enhances Internet Essentials' program 

New York: Almost six months 

ago, Comcast launched an ambitious 

broadband adoption program, 

Internet Essentials, with a focus on 

closing the digital divide and getting 

more low-income Americans 

connected to the Internet. Its 

progress report highlights successes 

and achievements and shares 

some of the lessons learned as well 

as the new enhancements it will be 

making to the program in the year 

ahead. 

Internet Essentials grew out of a 

multi-year internal project that had 

identified low-income broadband 

adoption as Comcast’s most 

rainforest areas. His span of work includes 

biological discoveries made 

in Central America, the Western 

Ghats, and the Himalayas in India. 

He is also noted for founding, and 

serving as president, of the Ashoka 

Trust for Research in Ecology and 

the Environment (ATREE), a nonprofit 

conservation and development 

research think tank in Bangalore. 

The Gunnerus award is the first 

major international prize for outstanding 

scientific work that promotes 

sustainable development globally, and 

will be awarded every two years. 

The award is named after DKNVS' founder, 

Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), and 

is the result of collaboration between DKNVS, 

Sparebank1, SMN, and the society Technoport. 

Kamala Harris to join likes of Angelina 

Jolie, Leymah Gbowee at NYC Summit 

Next month, inspiring women leaders and 

activists from around the globe—including 

Nobel winner Leymah Gbowee, Angelina 

Jolie, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Meryl 

Streep, Madeleine Albright, IMF chief 

Christine Lagarde, California Attorney 

General Kamala Harris, Israeli opposition 

leader Tzipi Livni, The New York Times’s Jill 

Abramson, president of Kosovo Atifete 

Jahjaga, Nancy Pelosi, and many more—will 

convene in New York City for Newsweek and 

The Daily Beast's third annual Women in the 

World Summit. Housed at Lincoln Center, the 

three-day event will spotlight the urgent chal- 

Kamal Bawa 

lenges facing women today. From a Pakistani 

bride who fled the prospect of a cruel enforced 

marriage to crusade for marital rights to soapopera 

writers transforming sexist societies; 

from female powerhouses in national security 

to the Egyptian blogger who’s covered a year 

of dashed hopes and turmoil for the women of 

Tahrir Square, the summit showcases women 

who are battling the status quo, picking up the 

pieces in the aftermath of war and shattering 

glass ceilings. The event will also feature performances 

by the star of Broadway’s Evita 

revival and a closing presentation by Oscar 

nominee Streep. 

Teenager wows judges on ‘The Voice’ 

n 18-year-old Indian American 

tion of Adam Levine, Cee Lo and 

teenager from Dallas stole the 

Blake Shelton. All three judges 

show at the fourth round of blind 

clearly saw star power in the sassy 

auditions on the Feb. 20 episode of 

and confident youth, and weren’t 

NBC’s The Voice. Sharon Mathai 

about to give her up without a fight. 

gave up medical school for a career 

She finally settled on Adam. While 

in music, so she had a lot riding on 

her voice could use some work, 

her audition. She capped off the 

night with a performance of Sharon Mathai 

there’s no denying she has the “it 

factor” that could take her all the 

Adele‘s “Rumor Has It” that caught the atten- way in this competition! 

important community-investment 

strategy and priority. 

Internet Essentials has achieved 

a number of key accomplishments 

and met several milestones after 

only a few months of the program. 

They include: Publicized the program 

across more than 4,000 

school districts and over 30,000 

schools, which have approximately 

3.5 million National School Lunch 

Program (NSLP) families, of 

which 2 million qualify for free 

meals under the NSLP and, therefore, 

are eligible for Internet 

Essentials; Worked with more than 

3,000 partners, including governors; 

mayors; local, state, and federal 

legislators, and communitybased 

organizations, including 

churches, libraries, and PTAs, to 

promote Internet Essentials and 

engage eligible families in their 

IN BRIEF 

communities; By the end of 2011, 

over 10,000 individuals and organizations 

had registered for the 

Partner Portal, the portal had experienced 

over 100,000 unique visits, 

and partners had requested 11.5 

million pieces of promotional col- 

lateral – all at no charge to the 

partner organizations. Offered 

approximately 300 in-person digital 

literacy training sessions with 

more than 1,250 individual attendees; 

Empowered nearly 100,000 

Comcast employees to directly 

connect eligible families in their 

communities; Connected over 

41,000 families (an estimated 

160,000 Americans) to the power 

Student wins top achievers award 

An Indian-American Student has won 

Siemens Awards For Advanced 

Placement, America's top achievers honor 

for her achievements in science and mathematics. 

Ramya Rangan, along with another student 

Albert Wu, two seniors at The Harker 

School in San Jose, California, became the 

nation's top achievers in Advanced 

Placement science and mathematics courses 

when they were recognized as winners 

of the 2011 Siemens Awards for Advanced 

Placement. 

Each will receive a USD 5,000 college 

scholarship. This year, 101 high school 

students in 50 states –including 96 seniors, 

4 juniors and 1 sophomore – were 

recognized. 

Established in 1998, the Siemens 

Awards for Advanced Placement is a signature 

program of the Siemens 

Foundation and is administered by the 

College Board. Ramya Rangan's interest 

in math and science originated over a 

decade ago when she began completing 

Kumon math problem sets. 

In high school, she found that other sci- 

of the Internet in their homes, 

some for the very first time; and 

distributed over 5,500 computers 

at less than $150 each. 

Also six key enhancements to 

Internet Essentials have been 

announced : First, it will expand 

the eligibility criteria. Previously, 

Internet Essentials was available to 

families with children eligible to 

receive free school lunches as part 

of the NSLP. In the second quarter, 

it will extend eligibility to families 

with children eligible to receive 

reduced price school lunches as 

well. Second, also during the second 

quarter, it will double the 

speed of the broadband connection 

Ramya Rangan 

ences posed similarly intriguing problems. 

She took her first AP class – AP 

Calculus BC – in the eighth grade. 

"AP courses gave me a chance to 

acquire more in-depth knowledge of various 

fields, and to learn with gifted peers 

from incredible teachers", she said. 

Ramya considers AP Physics C her 

favorite AP class to date, because it 

exposed her to interesting physics problems 

and gave her experience with lab 

work. 

Akshay Desai appointed to key 

Republican post 

Indian-American Akshay 

Desai has been appointed to 

a key Republican post in 

Florida, making him responsible 

for the party’s finances in 

this election year. 

“In this election year we 

need the resources for victory, 

and Dr. Desai’s long history of 

work for the state and our party 

make him a proven leader,” 

Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) 

chairman Lenny Curry said in a statement. 

Bottom of Form 

Dr. Desai has been appointed to serve as 

the chairman of Finance Committee of the 

Republican Party of Florida. 

Dr. Desai is currently the Chairman of 

the Board, President and CEO of 

Meets several milestones in 

just six months of its launch 

Universal Health Care Group, 

Inc and serves the health care 

community through several 

associations. 

“A K Desai is a tireless advocate 

for Florida and for our 

Republican party. 

RPOF will be well served by 

his dedication and experience,” 

said the Florida Governor Rick 

Dr Akshay Desai 

Scott. 

A member of the Florida State Board of 

Education since 2007, Dr. Desai previously 

served as a Member of Florida State 

Board of Governors from 2005-2007 and 

as Commissioner and Chairman of the 

Health Committee on the White House 

Commission on Asian Americans & 

Pacific Islanders from 2005-2008. 

provided with Internet Essentials 

to up to 3 Mbps downstream and 

up to 768 Kbps upstream, helping 

to make the service even more 

attractive. Third, during the first 

quarter it will give communitybased 

organization partners the 

ability to purchase Internet 

Essentials in bulk to help reach 

more eligible households with a 

streamlined and more customerfriendly 

process. 

Fourth, effective immediately it 

will further streamline the 

approval process by providing an 

instant approval process for all students 

who attend those schools 

with the highest percentage of 

NSLP participation, including 

Provision 2 schools. Fifth, it will 

continue to expand and enrich its 

online and in-person digital literacy 

training efforts.

Taxation 9 


IRS filing: Help on how your income in India is taxed 

As we approach the last 

date - 17th April 2012 - 

for filing tax returns for 

the year 2011, here's some help 

for Indian Americans on how their 

income from India – if any - gets 

taxed. 

Tax on global income 

If you are a US resident or US 

citizen (NRI, PIO or OCI), you 

must pay taxes in the US on your 

global income. A person is said to 

be a US resident if he must have 

been physically present in the 

country on at least 31 days during 

the current year, and 183 days 

during the 3 year period that 

includes the current year and the 

two years immediately before. To 

satisfy the 183 days requirement, 

count all of the days you were 

present in the current year, and 

one-third of the days you were 

present in the last year and onesixth 

of the days you were present 

in the year before last. 

If you are a green card holder 

(or a US citizen), you are considered 

a US resident for tax purposes 

irrespective of where you actually 

live. 

How are various incomes 

taxed? 

Let us look at the various 

incomes in India and the tax 

implications on your US tax 

returns. While we are explaining 

the broad contours of the law, we 

strongly recommend that you read 

the relevant sections in the 

income tax act of both countries, 

the DTAA and also consult an 

expert for your specific case. 

Salary 

If you are a resident of the US 

but earned a part of your salary in 

India, then you would have to pay 

tax on your India income in the 

US. Is the payer in India subject 

to deduct tax at source in India? 

Not really. Article 16 of the 

DTAA states that salaries earned 

by a person who resides and 

works in another country shall be 

taxed 'only' in the country of residence. 

However, it might happen that 

you earned salary in India before 

you became a resident of the US 

and tax was deducted at source on 

that income in India. In such 

cases, you can claim a credit of 

the taxes paid in India in the US. 

Rajesh Vaidya, who is a member 

of the American Institute of 

CPAs and works in Florida, says, 

"A grey area here is that in India, 

various components of the salary 

package are taxed differently. For 

instance, reimbursements and certain 

allowances are tax-free. In 

the US however, there is no such 

distinction; any payment received 

from your employer is taxable. 

Now your form 16 reports only 

the taxable components of your 

salary. Ideally, when you file your 

income tax return in the US, you 

must disclose all the tax-free components 

of your Indian salary and 

pay tax in the US on those components 

too." 

How to report: You must 

include your salary income from 

India in the tax return Form 1040. 

In case of tax credit, also fill up 

Form 1116. Remember that the 

US follows the calendar year for 

tax purposes while India follows 

the fiscal year. You must pro-rate 

your income according to the relevant 

years. 

There is an exception to Article 

16 which states that in case the 

employment is exercised in the 

other country, that is, in India, tax 

will be deducted at source. But 

this exception would apply mainly 

to green card holders and US 

citizens. 

Income from contracts, freelance 

If you are a consultant working 

in the US but receiving income 

from an Indian company, you 

would have to pay tax on that 

income in the US. This is irrespective 

of whether you receive 

the income in a bank account in 

the US or in India. 

Article 15 of the DTAA says 

that in such cases, if a person is 

resident of one country and earning 

income from a source in 

another country, then that income 

would be taxed 'only' in the country 

of his or her residence. 

In this case, you would have to 

inform your Indian payer not to 

deduct taxes at source from your 

income by submitting a Tax 

Residency Certificate, issued by 

the IRS to the payer in India. In 

case you do not submit the certificate 

and your payer in India 

deducted tax at source, you can 

claim a credit of that on your US 

tax return. 

How to report: Report your 

income on Schedule C of the 

1040. You can claim all expenses 

incurred such as office expenses, 

depreciation of computer, mileage 

etc. In case you have to claim tax 

credit in the US for taxes paid or 

deducted in India, you must report 

the same on form 1116. 

Rent 

If you own a property in India 

and have given it out on rent, the 

income from rent will be taxed in 

the US. Will you have to pay tax 

on this in India or US? 

Article 6 of the DTAA provides 

that rent from immovable property 

'maybe' taxed in the country in 

which the property is situated. So 

NRIs would first pay tax on rental 

income in India. While you would 

still have to declare that income 

while filing your tax returns in the 

US, you would get a credit for 

taxes paid in India. 

Thus, both countries will have 

the right to tax the rent income. 

However, the country in which 

the property is situated has the 

first right. After paying that as per 

tax slab, you must declare the 

rental income in the US and calculate 

tax on total income based 

on tax slab in the US. You can 

take credit in the US on taxes paid 

in India. 

How to report: Fill up Schedule 

E of the 1040 in your tax return. 

While in India, a flat 30% expenses 

are allowed as deduction from 

rental income, in the US only 

actual expenses maybe deducted. 

So you would need to deduct 

expenses such as repairs, maintenance 

etc on Schedule E. In order 

to claim tax credit, you would 

need to fill up form 1116. 

Capital gains 

Capital gains are the gains you 

make on sale of assets like property, 

land, financial assets like 

shares, mutual funds etc. In India, 

here is how capital gains are 

taxed: 

Land, property and other physical 

assets: Gains on sale after 3 

years of purchase are taxed as 

long term capital gains at the rate 

of 20%. Sale within 3 years is 

taxed as short term capital gains 

and included in your total income 

and taxed at your overall tax slab. 

Mutual funds, shares and other 

financial assets: Gains from equity 

shares and mutual funds sold 

after 1 year are tax free. If you 

sell within a year, the tax is 15% 

of the capital gain. 

In case of debt instruments like 

debt mutual funds, debentures, 

gains on sale after 1 year are 

taxed as long term capital gains. 

The tax rate is 20% with indexation 

or 10% without indexation. 

Sale within 1 year is taxed as 

short term capital gains and 

included in your total income and 

taxed at your overall tax slab. 

According to the US law, the 

time period for long term is 1 year 

for all assets. Long term capital 

gains are generally taxed at the 

rate of 15% while short term 

gains are added to your total 

income. 

Here's what the DTAA says in 

terms of capital gains: each 

Contracting State may tax capital 

gain in accordance with the provisions 

of its domestic law. 

So if you have capital gains in 

India, you would first have to pay 

tax in India on those gains as per 

the rules in India. You would then 

have to declare the capital gains 

in your US tax return and calculate 

taxes as per US law. Credit of 

taxes paid in India would be 

available in the US. 

How to report: Fill up Schedule 

D of 1040. Form 1116 will allow 

you to claim foreign tax credit 

paid, if any. 

Interest and dividends 

In India, interest income is 

added to your total income and 

taxed according to your overall 

tax slab. 

In the US too, interest is added 

to your total income and taxed 

thereon. 

What DTAA says: Interest arising 

in a Contracting State and 

paid to a resident of the other 

Contracting State 'maybe' taxed in 

that other State. However, such 

interest may also be taxed in the 

Contracting State in which it arises 

and accordingly to the law of 

that State, provided that where the 

resident of the other Contracting 

State is the beneficial owner of 

the interest the tax so charged 

shall not exceed 15 per cent of the 

gross amount of the interest. 

It means that if the interest is 

earned by an NRI out of deposits 

in India, TDS will be deducted on 

the same in India at the lower rate 

of 15 per cent (as against TDS 

rate of 30 per cent in absence of 

any DTAA). 

In the US, you would have to 

add this interest income in your 

total income and calculate tax 

thereon. You can claim credit for 

any taxes paid in India on this 

income. 

Dividends in India are tax free 

but in the US, dividends are added 

to your total income and taxed. 

How to report: "\Interest and 

dividends are reported on 

Schedule B of 1040. Foreign tax 

credits are reported on form 1116. 

Agricultural income 

Agricultural income in India is 

tax free but taxed in the US. What 

this means is that any agricultural 

income, whether revenue income 

or capital income such as gains 

from sale of agricultural land in 

India will have to be added to 

your total income in the US and 

tax paid thereon.

10 US Affairs 


Bloomberg 

defends police 

monitoring Muslim 

student websites 

New York: Mayor Michael R. 

Bloomberg on Tuesday defended 

the New York Police 

Department’s monitoring of the 

Web sites of Muslim student 

groups at more than a dozen universities 

across the Northeast, 

framing the effort as one way to 

guard against the threat of terrorism. 

“The Police Department goes 

where there are allegations, and 

they look to see whether those 

allegations are true,” Bloomberg 

said at an appearance at the 

Brooklyn Public Library. “That’s 

what you would expect them to 

do. That’s what you would want 

them to.” 

The mayor’s support of the 

department’s intelligence-gathering 

came as officials at several 

universities expressed deep concern 

over what they called a manner 

of police activity that they had 

been in the dark about for years. 

Yale University’s president, 

Richard C. Levin, said in an email 

on Sunday to students and 

faculty and staff members, “I am 

writing to state, in the strongest 

possible terms, that police surveillance 

based on religion, nationality 

or peacefully expressed political 

opinion is antithetical to the 

values of Yale, the academic community 

and the United States.” 

Levin added: “The Yale Muslim 

Students Association has been an 

important source of support for 

Yale students during a period 

when Muslims and Islam itself 

have too often been the target of 

thoughtless stereotyping, misplaced 

fear and bigotry.” 

According to an internal Police 

Department report from Nov. 22, 

2006, an officer from the Cyber 

Intelligence Unit had the “daily 

routine” of monitoring the Web 

sites, blogs and forums of Muslim 

student groups at 16 universities, 

including several in New York 

City and across the state, as well 

as Ivy League colleges. 

Washington: Mitt Romney has 

regained the lead in Arizona but is 

locked in a tie with rival Rick 

Santorum as primary day looms 

less than a week away, according 

to a pair of new polls released 

Wednesday. 

The polls suggest Romney’s 

message is resonating with more 

pragmatic voters who are focused 

on finding a candidate who can 

beat President Obama in a general 

election. 

An NBC/Marist poll of likely 

Republican primary voters in 

Arizona shows Romney leading 

US worries Iran sanctions will fail, 

making military action likely 

Washington: Officials in key parts 

of the Obama administration are 

increasingly convinced that sanctions 

will not deter Tehran from pursuing 

its nuclear program, and 

believe that the US will be left with 

no option but to launch an attack on 

Iran or watch Israel do so. 

The president has made clear in 

public, and in private to Israel, that 

he is determined to give sufficient 

time for recent measures, such as 

the financial blockade and the looming 

European oil embargo, to bite 

deeper into Iran's already battered 

economy before retreating from its 

principal strategy to pressure 

Tehran. 

But there is a strong current of 

opinion within the administration 

including in the Pentagon and the 

State Department that believes 

sanctions are doomed to fail, and 

that their principal use now is in 

delaying Israeli military action, as 

well as reassuring Europe that an 

attack will only come after other 

Hillary wants US to focus on business 

abroad - like India, China 

Washington: Suggesting that rising 

powers like India, China and Brazil 

were putting economics at the centre 

of their foreign policies, Secretary 

of State Hillary Clinton advocates 

Economic Statecraft to champion 

US businesses abroad."America's 

economic strength and our global 

leadership are a package deal. 

You're not going to have one without 

the other," she said in a keynote 

at a State Department Global 

Business Conference here Tuesday. 

"Rising powers like China, India, 

and Brazil understand this as well, 

and we can't sit on the sidelines 

while they put economics at the centre 

of their foreign policies," she 

said."We fundamentally believe that 

increasing trade and growing prosperity 

will benefit not just our own 

people, but people everywhere," she 

said."Our economies are interdependent 

as never before, and so are our 

fates. America's economic renewal 

depends to a large degree on the 

the pack with 43%, a 16 percentage 

point lead over Santorum, 

who has 27%. Newt Gingrich 

ranks third with 16%, followed by 

Ron Paul with 11%. 

The race appears to be tighter in 

Michigan, according to an 

Any Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear installations would involve crossing 

another country's airspace. Its success is unsure, and it is likely to 

provoke retribution, maybe a pre-emptive strike by Iran. 

means have been tested. 

“The White House wants to see 

sanctions work. This is not the Bush 

White House. It does not need 

another conflict,” said an official. 

“Its problem is that the guys in 

Tehran are behaving like sanctions 

don't matter, like their economy isn't 

Hillary Clinton addressing 

State Department Global 

Business Conference. 

strength of the global economy, and 

the global economy depends on the 

strength of America," Clinton said. 

Meanwhile, US Commerce 

Secretary, John Bryson, plans to 

lead an infrastructure focused trade 

mission to India next month. 

"I will personally be leading an 

infrastructure-focused mission to 

India next month," Bryson said at 

the conference. He would be traveling 

to New Delhi, Jaipur and 

Mumbai, to corner a larger share of 

NBC/Marist poll of likely 

Republican primary voters there. 

Romney, with 37%, and 

Santorum, with 35%, are essentially 

tied in Michigan, the state 

where Romney was born and 

where his father, George Romney, 

served as governor in the 1960s. 

In both states, Romney holds 

solid leads among voters who 

have already cast their ballots. He 

also leads among those who are 

not supporters of the "tea party" 

movement. 

The Arizona poll suggests that 

electability has been a key factor 

collapsing, like Israel isn't going to 

do anything. 

“Sanctions are all we've got to 

throw at the problem. If they fail 

then it's hard to see how we don't 

move to the 'in extremis' option.” 

The White House has said repeatedly 

that all options are on the table, 

the estimated $1 trillion investment 

that India is seeking in the 

infrastructure sector. 

Obama seeks corporate 

tax rate cut to 28% 

Washington: President Obama is 

proposing to cut the corporate tax 

rate from 35 percent to 28 percent 

and wants an even lower effective 

rate for manufacturers, a senior 

administration official says, as the 

White House lays down an electionyear 

marker in the debate over tax 

policy. In turn, corporations would 

have to give up dozens of loopholes 

and subsidies that they now enjoy. 

Corporations with overseas operations 

would also face a minimum tax 

on their foreign earnings.Treasury 

Secretary Timothy Geithner on 

Wednesday was to detail aspects of 

Obama's proposed overhaul of the 

corporate tax system, a plan the president 

outlined in general terms in his 

State of the Union speech last month. 

Romney leads in Arizona, tied with Santorum in Michigan 

for voters there. Sixty-three percent 

say it’s more important to 

choose a candidate who can beat 

President Obama in a general 

election, while 29% say they prefer 

to choose a candidate who is a 

true conservative. Fifty-seven 

percent view Romney as the most 

electable candidate in the race, 

compared with 17% for 

Santorum. 

In Michigan, a slightly smaller 

portion – 51% -- view Romney as 

the most electable candidate, 

while 24% say Santorum is most 

electable. 

including the use of force to stop 

Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, but 

that for now the emphasis is firmly 

on diplomacy and sanctions. 

If Obama were to conclude that 

there is no choice but to attack Iran, 

he is unlikely to order it before the 

presidential election in November 

unless there is an urgent reason to 

do so. 

The question is whether the 

Israelis will hold back that long. 

Earlier this month, the US defence 

secretary, Leon Panetta, told the 

Washington Post that he thought the 

window for an Israeli attack on Iran 

is between April and June. But other 

official analysts working on Iran 

have identified what one described 

as a “sweet spot“, where the mix of 

diplomacy, political timetables and 

practical issues come together to 

suggest that if Israel launches a unilateral 

assault it is more likely in 

September or October, although 

they describe that as a “best guess“. 

India, China boom 

led to higher 

gas prices: 

White House 

Washington: The White 

House has attributed the rising 

fuel prices in America partly to 

the economic boom in countries 

like India and China and 

unrest in other parts of the 

world. 

"The rise in gas prices is 

clearly the effect of a variety of 

factors on the global price of 

oil. They include unrest in certain 

regions of the world. They 

include growth in areas like 

China and India," White House 

Press Secretary Jay Carney told 

reporters Tuesday. 

The hike in global oil prices 

underscores the need to 

improve upon the alternate 

sources of energy and putting 

into place a comprehensive 

energy policy, he said when 

asked about a comment by 

Republic presidential candidate 

Newt Gingrich that Obama 

wants more expensive gas. 

"We can reduce our reliance 

on foreign sources of energy if 

we expand in every direction 

… to dramatically reduce our 

consumption of oil and save 

Americans $1.7 trillion in 

costs," he added. 

Gas prices are averaging 

$3.59 a gallon currently. In 

some places, consumers are 

already seeing gas prices over 

$4. Tuesday’s weekly gas 

price average was up 40 cents 

from a year ago, and up by 

seven cents from last week.

India-State Elections 11 


Government 

denies plans 

to curb poll 

panel 

New Delhi: Stung by attacks 

from the opposition, the government 

denied it planned to 

curb the Election 

Commission's powers to 

implement the model code of 

conduct during elections. 

A Group of Ministers (GoM) 

on corruption was only considering 

"state funding of elections", 

an official statement 

said. 

"The GoM has not made any 

recommendation to make the 

model mode of conduct statutory 

or to take it outside the 

purview of the election commission," 

the statement from 

the department of personnel, 

public grievances and pensions 


UP elections: Rahul woos first-time voters 

Shamli (Uttar Pradesh): 

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader 

Jayant Chaudhary and Congress 

leader Rahul Gandhi joined hands 

in this newly-formed district headquarters 

to woo first-time voters 

and youth ahead of the penultimate 

round of the Uttar Pradesh assembly 

polls. 

The young leaders, Chaudhary, 

33, grandson of former prime minister 

Charan Singh and Gandhi, 41, 

grandson of late prime minister 

Indira Gandhi and son of former 

prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, are 

prominent youth leaders of their 

parties, which have tied-up for the 

state polls. 

"All those who are voting for the 

first time raise your hands," said 

Gandhi at the meeting and hundreds 

of youngsters, some of them 

standing on boundary walls and 

roofs, raised their hands in 

response. 

"You, people have a special 

opportunity and responsibility. You 

can bring development to Uttar 

Pradesh," he said to sustained 

Phoolan Devi's controversial 

legacy alive 

Late Phoolan Devi, the bandit queen-turned-MP. 

Kanpur: A huge colored photograph of 

Phoolan Devi, the bandit queen-turned-MP 

who was shot dead 11 years ago in New 

Delhi, adorns the wall of the first floor 

office of a shoe showroom. 

"She was my 'Behenji' (sister). I will 

always remember and respect her," said 

Mohammed Asim, 44, owner of the showroom 

in Harjinder Nagar locality, who is 

also an independent candidate from 

Maharajpur constituency of Kanpur district 

in the Uttar Pradesh assembly poll. 

Asim came into contact with Phoolan 

soon after she entered politics and joined 

the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the mid- 

1990s. "I always felt she was a person from 

the lower caste who was severely wronged 

and persecuted. Her violent actions may 

have been a reaction," said Asim. 

A number of other politicians and former 

colleagues of Phoolan still praise her. 

Phoolan's dacoit gang earned notoriety for 

shooting dead 22 men, mostly upper caste 

Thakurs, in Behmai village, about 60 km 

from Kanpur, in 1981. Phoolan, belonging 

to the low caste Mallah community - of 

fishermen and boatmen - was barely 18 

years old then. 

Her supporters claim that Phoolan 

ordered her gang members to go on the 

shooting spree to take revenge on upper 

caste members in the village who had 

humiliated and gangraped her after being 

kidnapped by a rival gang. 

Not all agree. Local lawyer Vijay Narain 

Singh Sengar has been pleading the cases 

for the Behmai widows and victims for 

several years. 

"There is a halo built around Phoolan by 

the media and some politicians. That is not 

the truth," Sengar said. 

Though Phoolan is dead - she was killed 

in 2001 at the age of 38 - Sengar said he 

was still pursuing the cases against her 

other gang members. And the Supreme 

Court had given him permission to pursue 

the cases, he added. 

However, in adjoining Mirzapur, from 

where Phoolan was elected as a Lok Sabha 

member twice in the 1990s, and in other 

districts of central Uttar Pradesh, many 

politicians still have words of praise for 

her. She herself hailed from the Chambal 

region close to Kanpur. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on UP election trail. 

applause from thousands of people 

who packed the local Vaish 

College grounds in this town, 100 

km from Delhi. 

"Feb 28 is going to be a day 

which will mark a new history in a 

new direction for the youth and the 

people at large," Chuadhary told 

the audience, hinting at the polling 

day in the western parts of ther 

state. 

The meeting had another youth 

icon, former cricketer-turned-MP, 

Mohammed Azharuddin, who 

hailed Gandhi's consistent work for 

development of Uttar Pradesh and 

appealed for support. 

"I understand there are 135 seats 

in western Uttar Pradesh. If not a 

century, the Congress-RLD should 

at least score 99," said the former 

Indian team captain. 

Pointing out the work done by 

Congress governments, Congress 

MP Deepender Singh Hooda, son 

of Haryana Chief Minister 

Bhupinder Hooda, pointed out that 

diesel was supplied to farmers in 

the neighouring Haryana at lower 

rates than Uttar Pradesh and the 

old-age pension was nearly double 

in the state. 

Gandhi repeated his popular 

campaign theme that a "magic elephant", 

referring to the symbol of 

the Bahujan Samaj Party, had been 

eating the funds provided by the 

central government while the people 

of the state were engaged in 

minor jobs in Mumbai and other 

cities. "I told (US President 

Barack) Obama that India will 

arise when the people of Uttar 

Pradesh awake," Gandhi said about 

Obama's observation during his 

visit that Indians were overtaking 

Amercians in several fields. 

Political circles here said that the 

developmental theme of the duo 

with a focus on the youth was well 

received in this RLD-stronghold. 

Maya stokes Jat fire 

in west UP 

Bulandshahr: Uttar Pradesh 

Chief Minister Mayawati 

blamed the Congress-led central 

government for dilly-dallying 

on the issue of reservation 

for Jats. 

Addressing a massive rally 

in the heart of this Jat dominated 

belt, she said: "I took 

the lead by urging the centre 

to include Jats in the OBC list 

for providing reservation to 

them. But the centre has not 

cared to even reply to my letter." 

Mayawati's particular reference 

to the issue is seen as a 

sequel to the sudden focus by 

Jat pressure groups in bordering 

Haryana, where they took 

to streets Monday, for grant 

of reservation to the community 

in central government 

jobs. 

The Congress-Rashtriya 

Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) 

again highlighted the importance of Goa's 

Christian population in the March 3 assembly 

polls. 

"Ever since I took over as secretary in 

charge of Goa, our main focus was to reach 

out to the 23 percent vibrant Christian community 

here. 

It was my endeavor to meet fathers 

(Catholic priests) and teachers and members 

of the community all over Goa during my 

visits here," party secretary Aarti Mehra 

Uttar Pradesh Chief MInister Mayawati after casting vote 

during the fourth phase of UP elections. 

Lok Dak combine is busy trying 

to woo the Jats in western 

Uttar Pradesh. 

"The Congress has been 

misleading both Jats and 

Muslims on the issue of reser- 

vation," said Mayawati, while 

pointing out how some 

Congress leaders had gone 

about "promising 9 percent 

reservation to Muslims out of 

the 27 percent OBC quota". 

BJP reaching out to 

Christian voters in Goa 


Mehra was quick to add that the effort was 

aimed at dispelling the doubts Christians in 

Goa had about the BJP. 

Mehra said that the proof of BJP's commitment 

to the minority community was the 

direct and in some cases indirect support of 

the party to eight Catholic candidates in the 

forthcoming assembly polls. 

The BJP is taking on the combine of the 

Congress and Nationalist Congress Party 

(NCP) coalition.

12 India 


Avalanches kill 11 

army personnel in J&K 

Srinagar: Eleven army personnel 

were killed and eight are 

missing in two overnight avalanches 

in Jammu and Kashmir, 

an army official said on 

Thursday. While eight were 

killed in Bandipora district, 

another three were buried under 

the avalanche in Ganderbal district, 

the official said. Both the 

areas are in north Kashmir. 

Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, spokesman 

of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, 

said: "Eight army troopers were 

killed and eight are still missing 

while 13 have been rescued from 

the avalanche that struck the 

brigade headquarters in Dawar 

village of Gurez subdivision of 

Bandipora Wednesday night." 

"Operations are still on to rescue 

the eight buried under the 

avalanche," he said. Gurez is 

located 109 km from here. 

"Three soldiers of the 

Territorial Army, including a junior 

commissioned officer, were 

killed in another avalanche that 

struck an army camp late 

Wednesday night in Sonmarg 

resort in Ganderbal," he added. 

Ganderbal is 87 km from 

Srinagar. 

New Delhi: Janata Party chief 

Subramanian Swamy has moved the 

Supreme Court challenging the trial 

court order which had held that 

home minister P Chidmbaram did 

not indulge in any criminal conspiracy 

in the 2G case and refused to 

make him an accused in it. 

Swamy has alleged that 

Chidambaram was equally culpable 

like former telecom minister A Raja 

as he also had a role in deciding the 

spectrum pricing and allowing telecom 

companies to off-load shares to 

foreign firms. 

He had said that the evidence 

brought before the trial court was 

sufficient to show that 

Chidambaram, as the then finance 

minister, had prima facie committed 

Spreading peace and harmony, 

via teachers 

Athree-day international seminar 

on 'Teacher Education for Peace 

and Harmony' was organised at 

Gandhi Darshan, Raj Ghat, in New Delhi 

from February 11-13. 

The seminar was organised by the 

Institute of Advanced Studies in 

Education and Gandhi Vidya Mandir, 

with support of Global Harmony 

Association, Russia completed with great 

success. 

Kanak Mal Dugar, Vice Chancellor, 

IASE, addressed the delegates, saying the 

media should play an important role in 

Gay sex immoral, Centre tells 

Supreme Court 

New Delhi: The Indian government 

has opposed dilution of 

Section 377 of the Indian Penal 

Code (IPC) by Delhi high court, 

which decriminalized sexual acts, 

in private, between consenting 

adults of the same sex and urged 

the Supreme Court to reverse the 

landmark ruling. The UPA government 

told the Supreme Court that 

the HC had erred because a vast 

section of the Indian society still 

considered homosexuality 

immoral. 

The Delhi high court on July 2, 

2009, had delivered a historic 

judgment to amend a 149-year-old 

colonial-era law - Section 377 of 

the IPC - and decriminalize private 

consensual sex between adults of 

the same sex. The judgment was 

seen as the biggest victory yet for 

gay rights. 

Gay sex "is highly immoral and 

against the social order," additional 

solicitor general PP Malhotra, who 

is representing the Centre, told the 

apex court. He added that it was 

"against nature and spreads HIV." 

The Centre said it favored the 

ban staying in place in order to 

offences under the Prevention of 

Corruption Act and other criminal 

spreading peace and harmony.' 

Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muniji, Swami 

Chidanand Muniji, Swami Sushilji 

Maharaj, Swami Mahamantraji, Md. 

Emam Umer Ilayasi, Dr. Charles 

Merceica, Dr. Leo Semasco, Dr. 

Samdhong Rimpoche etc. addressed various 

sessions during the seminar. 

Over 600 delegates from America, 

Russia, Switzerland, Romania, Spain, 

Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Africa 

participated in the event. The gathering 

included educationist, scholars, gurus, 

acharyas, critic and media personalities. 

The Delhi high court on July 2, 2009, had delivered a historic judgment 

to decriminalize private consensual sex between adults of the same sex. 

prevent child abuse and because 

Indian society was largely against 

homosexuality according to a survey 

by the Law Commission. 

"Laws can't run separately from 

society and the morals of the 

time," Malhotra said. 

When the Supreme Court asked 

who decided what was immoral, 

the Union government said society 

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy. 

laws. 

Swamy's plea was, however, 

did so and argued that the Indian 

laws could not but reflect the 

views of its society. The government 

said the HC considered only 

judgments of foreign countries 

where homosexuality may not be 

resented. 

"Our moral and social values are 

different from other countries and 

we cannot be guided by them,' the 

rejected on February 4, by the 

Special CBI Court, trying the 2G 

case, which had said Chidambaram 

did not indulge in any criminal conspiracy 

or derived any pecuniary 

advantage in the decisions taken 

with Raja. 

The trail court had said that 

Chidambaram, the finance minister 

at the time of controversial allocation 

of 2G spectrum in 2008, was 

only party to two decisions--keeping 

spectrum prices at 2001 level and 

dilution of equity by two companies--which 

was "not per se criminal". 

The Supreme Court had on 

February 2 left on the special court 

to decide the plea to try 

Chidambaram in the case. 

From left, Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muniji, Kanak Mal 

Dugar and Md. Emam Umer Ilayasi during the seminar. 

Centre told the court. 

Hence, it appealed that the provision 

be retained in full to reflect 

the society's views. Though the 

Centre had not appealed against 

the judgement, the ministry of 

Home affairs came out strongly 

against the dilution of Section 377. 

The Union home ministry, however, 

denied that it had taken any 

position on homosexuality. In a 

statement, the ministry said: "After 

the judgment of the High Court, 

Delhi, decriminalizing homosexuality, 

was delivered, the matter was 

considered by the Cabinet. The 

decision of the Cabinet was that 

the Central government may not 

file an appeal against the judgment 

in the Supreme Court; however, if 

any other party to the case prefers 

an appeal, the Attorney General 

may be requested to assist the 

Supreme Court to examine the 

matter and to decide the legal 

questions involved. Home ministry 

conveyed this decision to the AG." 

"The ministry has also not given 

any instruction apart from conveying 

the decision of the Cabinet," it 


2G: Swamy files plea in SC against Chidambaram Rajasthan to 

get new 

Governor post 

elections? 

By Prakash Bhandari 

Jaipur: The inordinate delay 

in appointing a state Governor 

here has left the ruling party as 

well as Opposition amused. 

Currently, Punjab Governor 

Shivraj Patil is holding an 

additional charge as Rajasthan 

Governor. The post fell vacant 

when Prabha Rau died on April 

23, 2010 and Patil was 

appointed an acting Governor 

of the state on April 28, 2010. 

Anshuman Singh, former 

Governor of Gujarat and 

Rajasthan, said the continuance 

of an acting Governor for 

such a long time is unheard of. 

It is learnt that important 

files and documents are either 

being sent through officials to 

Chandigarh or being dispatched 

through fax for his 

approval, hence delaying the 

clearance. 

Senior BJP leader 

Ghanshyam Tiwari said its 

unfortunate that one of the 

country's largest states is without 

a Governor. 

It is now learnt that once the 

assembly elections are over, 

Rajasthan can expect a fullfledged 

Governor.

India 13 


'Largest' immigration 

firm on police radar 

Chandigarh: Claiming to be the 

"world's largest immigration group", 

the multi-billion rupee WorldWide 

Immigration Consultancy Services 

(WWICS) here is under the police 

scanner after it was found the firm 

was dealing in work permit visas 

without having a license for it. 

Chandigarh police, which have a 

special investigation team (SIT) to 

probe the immigration fraud being 

played on youth by immigration firms 

in and around this city, have conducted 

raids on the sprawling headquarters 

of the WWICS in Mohali near here 

and other offices of the firm in recent 

days. 

Police claim to have found that 

WWICS had been running its business 

'illegally' since it had no licence 

from the Protector of Emigrants 

(POE) since 2008. 

But a WWICS spokesman said: 

"The services provided by WWICS 

are not under the ambit and not 

amenable to the provisions of The 

Emigration Act, 1983. We are working 

in a transparent manner since 1993 

and have built the trust and confidence 

of the people." 

The first raid on WWICS was at its 

office here in Sector 22 on Feb 2 

along with 19 other immigration firms 

in the city. The offices of all firms 

were sealed by police and documents 

and records taken away for investigations. 

"WWICS is a big name in this field. 

We did our complete homework 

before raiding their premises. Serious 

anomalies in their business were 

found during investigations. They 

have been fooling people for a long 

time. Investigations are still being 

made from their records and the people 

they have sent abroad without having 

the licence to do so," SIT head 

Anil Joshi said here. 

As per the WWICS website, "established 

in 1993, the WorldWide 

Immigration Consultancy Services is 

the world leader in providing Global 

Resettlement Solutions, which is 

vouched by more than 80,000 people 

who have happily settled in their 

dream destinations like Canada, USA, 

UK, Europe, Australia and New 

Zealand". 

WWICS is a family-run company, 

owned by B.S. Sandhu, a retired army 

officer who had himself migrated to 

Canada before coming back to India 

to start the immigration business here. 

His two sons, Devinder Sandhu and 

Parvinder Sandhu, are directors in the 

company. 

Ramlila crackdown: SC raps cops, Baba Ramdev 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court 

slammed Delhi Police for acting in 

an arbitrary manner and using excessive 

force in disbursing Baba 

Ramdev and his followers from the 

Ramlila ground here last year. It also 

pulled up the yoga guru for not 

cooperating with police. 

The court said what happened at 

the sprawling ground on the night of 

June 4-5, leading to the death of a 

woman, was a demonstration of the 

might of the state.Judges B.S. 

Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar 

pulled up Baba Ramdev for not 

cooperating with police and asking 

his followers to disburse only after 

The apex court pulled up Baba 

Ramdev for not cooperating 

with police. 

police imposed prohibitory orders 

banning the assembly of people. The 

court has awarded an ad hoc compensation 

of Rs.5 lakh to the next of 

kin of Haryana resident Rajbala who 

suffered spinal injuries and died. 

The court has also awarded compensation 

of Rs.50,000 to all those 

who suffered grievous injuries and 

Rs.25,000 to others injured that 

night. The court directed Baba 

Ramdev's trust to bear 25 percent 

cost of the compensation. In a concurring 

judgment, Justice Chauhan 

said the police action amounted to 

violation of fundamental and human 

rights.He said the essence of Section 

144 is to prevent breach of peace 

and not to breach the peace. He said 

the people at Ramlila ground were 

sleeping and they were not a violent 

crowd. 

Mahashivaratri celebrated across India 

Millions of Hindus thronged temples across the 

country to celebrate Mahashivaratri, with 

some shrines receiving as many as one hundred 

thousand devouts. It was the first time after 11 

years that the festival fell on a Monday, a day when 

devouts normally offer prayers to Lord Shiva. 

From the crack of dawn, huge crowds visited temples 

big and small all over the country. The biggest and better 

known Shiv temples naturally attracted more people. 

There were mammoth crowds at the 12 Jyotrilinga temples 

spread across the country including in Gujarat, 

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya 

Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

Over one lakh devotees visited the 11th century ancient 

Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar. 

There were mammoth crowds at the 12 Jyotrilinga 

temples spread across the country.

14 Sports 


JEREMY LIN 

By Vikas Girdhar 

Everyone loves a good story. It’s just 

human nature. Yet we like to pride 

ourselves on being skeptics, not easily 

entertained or captivated. However, every 

once in a while comes a story that we can’t 

help but follow. We find ourselves engulfed 

in its every development, just like the rest of 

the world. 

Such is the nature of the story of Jeremy 

Lin, satisfying so many different aspects of 

captivation that people don’t even have to be 

aware of what he does for a living to appreciate 

his passion and humility. Of course, we 

will discuss what he does. But more importantly, 

we will look at the magnitude of what 

he is doing right now as he single-handedly 

revolutionizes the culture of sports, entertainment, 

race and society. 

Lin fits the definition of the word “underdog” 

to a tee and so we follow his every 

move—to see if he continues his steep ascent 

or finally comes crashing back to Earth. So 

far, the doubts that he is a fluke or “one-hitwonder” 

are becoming weaker by the day. 

Meanwhile, Lin has already become a 

household name. On the surface, he is a professional 

basketball player. He is an Asian- 

American NBA star—not the first but definitely 

the most impactful, and that’s just after 

three weeks of sustained, amazing basketball 

as a testament to his years of hard training. 

Asians tend to be overlooked in sports, perhaps 

because of the stereotype that they 

aren’t as athletic as others. Lin stands 6’3 and 

weighs 200 pounds. His figurative force, 

however, is almost herculean. 

But first, a rundown of key NBA facts: the 

NBA is one of the three major American 

sports leagues, others being MLB (Major 

League Baseball) and NFL (National 

Football league). The season traditionally 

runs from November to June. Playoffs begin 

in April and end with the Finals in June-playoffs 

consist of three rounds before the 

championship round. Out of total 30 teams, 

the eight best from each conference (western 

and eastern) make the playoffs (16 teams 

total—the others qualify for lottery in the 

next year’s draft for younger and sought-after 

collegiate talent). 

Underdog’s breakout game 

The saga of the New York Knicks’ Jeremy 

Lin began ever-unsuspectingly on the night 

of Saturday, February 4. The setting was 

Madison Square Garden in New York, a 

venue that the legendary Michael Jordan 

himself dubbed “the Mecca of basketball.” 

NBA players have acknowledged MSG as the 

most special place to play in all of sports, and 

with good reason. The history of the building 

and the shimmering lights of Broadway illuminating 

what media moguls, fans, tourists 

and residents refer to as the “greatest city in 

the world” create an atmosphere unlike any 

other. 

But on this day, the MSG court was devoid 

of any energy as the “boos” rained down 

from the rafters in response to yet another 

hapless Knick performance against the lowly 

crosstown rival New Jersey Nets. The Knicks 

were mired in a horrible stretch of basketball 

in which they had lost 11 of their last 13 

games and were searching for an answer— 

any answer—to help salvage a season predicated 

on high expectations. Those expectations 

rested heavily on the shoulders of their 

two superstar players, Carmelo Anthony and 

Amare Stoudemire. On paper, the Knicks had 

looked like a team poised to contend for a 

championship but the city’s hopes were looking 

bleak and coach Mike D’Antoni would 

regularly hear over 19,000 fans chant in favor 

of his firing. 

It seemed as though the Knicks had hit 

rock-bottom. Here was D’Antoni’s system, 

known for being an offensive powerhouse, 

struggling to put up points against weak competition. 

The system required an adept pointguard—the 

position on the floor responsible 

for running the offense, calling plays and distributing 

the ball to players in their most 

prime scoring positions—and one the Knicks 

were sorely lacking. All hope for fulfillment 

of that position rested on the notion that veteran 

point guard Baron Davis could run the 

offense. His timetable for a return from a 

back injury, however, was uncertain and the 

Knicks were falling fast. 

Enter Jeremy Lin. The 2010 Harvard graduate 

and Economics major, born in California 

to Taiwanese parents who emigrated to the 

United States in the 1970’s, was often the last 

option and dead-last on the Knicks bench. 

The only time Lin would see playing time 

would be if the outcome of the game was 

determined and both teams emptied their 

benches so their stars could rest and not risk 

injury. He was undrafted and, until very 

recently, unnoticed. 

The only reason the Knicks had even decided 

to bring him on board was because of their 

desperation at the point guard position. Knick 

fans had only gotten glimpses of Lin in the 

past and none of those glimpses were pretty 

or noteworthy. In 23 games, Lin had played a 

total of 55 minutes—just seven more than 

one full game. Because he didn’t yet have a 

guaranteed contract from the Knicks and was 

slated to make $800,000 (not all guaranteed 

and low by NBA standards), Lin didn’t have 

a place of his own and would sleep on his 

brother Josh’s couch. Josh is an NYU graduate 

student. Even the night before his big 

break—he had slept on teammate Landry 

Fields’ couch. 

Lin had been cut by two teams, the Golden 

State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, 

prior to his Knicks career and had been sent 

to the NBA D-League (Development League) 

plenty of times in his first and now second 

season. The general consensus on Lin was 

that, like countless other players, there was 

raw talent that needed honing and when it 

reached full potential, he would be a decent 

player. No one could have predicted what 

happened on and after February 4. 

With just a couple of minutes left in the 

first quarter and the Knicks showing no signs 

of life, D’Antoni decided to insert Lin in the 

game. That decision would change not only 

the dynamic of that game, but it would go on 

to jumpstart the career of a player who never 

had an opportunity like this, save the coach’s 

job, electrify the atmosphere of MSG, and 

dominate New York, international and social 

media. 

With swift passing, uncanny speed and the 

ability to penetrate close to the basket and 

make snappy decisions, Lin brought the 

Knicks back and had the crowd chanting his 

name in a thrilling victory matched up 

against one of the elite point guards in the 

NBA, Deron Williams. Setting career highs 

Jeremy Lin is electrifying MSG, Knicks home ground, attracting growing audiences to 

Knicks’ games and telecasts, and boosting merchandise sales for NBA. 

in points (25), rebounds (5) and assists (7) 

that night, he had caught everyone including 

the coach off guard and set off rumors that 

the Knicks had found a hidden gem in the 

position they had yearned for so greatly. 

The legend of Lin continued to grow as the 

perfect storm developed. With the very next 

game against the Utah Jazz, Lin was assigned 

to start the game and play a significant 

amount of minutes—about 40 per game. With 

superstar teammates Anthony (groin injury) 

and Stoudemire (death in family) out, Lin 

was given full freedom and led the Knicks to 

seven straight victories. He was making the 

players around him play as a cohesive unit— 

something the Knicks had lacked all season. 

He was building his legend at an amazing 

pace. Just six days after the first game against 

the Nets, Lin showed a national audience 

how legitimate he was as he had his finest 

game to date, outscoring Kobe Bryant with 

38 masterful points and leading the Knicks to 

a win against the favored Lakers. Three days 

after that, Lin made a game-winning threepointer 

with the clock running down against 

the Toronto Raptors to cap what had been 

dubbed Va-LIN-tine’s Day. 

Icon and role model 

Seemingly overnight, Lin became an icon. 

He had already scored the most points by an 

NBA player in his first starts in 30 years. The 

world was talking about him and he was selling 

out merchandise everywhere. “Linsanity” 

memorabilia stocked shelves of sporting 

goods stores and was being sold out in record 

time. Brands have plans to try to capitalize on 

his marketability as well--his own brand 

value said to be a few million already. 

The one thing that didn’t change about him 

through all of this, however, is his humility 

and belief in and gratitude for God. 

Lin was asked in an interview with Rachel 


Lincredible Linsanity: The name and the 

phenomenon has been a headline writers’ 

delight with puns galore.

Sports 15 



Nichols of ESPN, what difference it can make 

to Asian-American children to see him succeeding. 

“Hopefully, it can be inspirational. I 

know what it’s like to just be in awe and want 

to follow in somebody’s footsteps. I want to 

make sure to use it the right way.” 

Lin also went on to say that he realizes “you 

can fall as fast as you rise.” He even turned 

down being on the cover of GQ so that he can 

stay focused on his true passion, the game of 

basketball. That has quickly been taken notice 

of. On “random-drop.com”, Optimus Cheung 

recently posted about the impact she feels Lin 

is having on the Asian American community. 

“Many Asian-Americans are deterred from 

pursuing athletics as a career and never go 

beyond the club, high school or collegiate 

ranks. It has been great to see Lin live out his 

dream and in essence live out the dreams of 

many Asian-Americans who want to but for a 

multitude of reasons, do not follow through 

with athletic careers. It does break the stereotype 

that Asian-Americans are not willing to 

compete in sports. 

“It is not a question of ability but of desire 

and drive. I hope that through Lin, many 

other Asians-Americans can strive to make the 

community more visible in athletics. They 

may not be able to be the next Michael Jordan, 

but they can hope to be the next Jeremy Lin. 

His story is still being written, and there’s 

no telling how long it will be. But for the 

moment, it’s a great one and one that will have 

quite a bit of shelf-life for generations of 

Asian-Americans.” 

By Jinal Shah 

The meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin, the 

New York Knicks’ Asian-American 

point guard phenom, has fuelled 

hopes among millions of Asian American 

athletes--and Indian Americans are no 

exception. His is not only a basketball 

story, but a story of perseverance and most 

importantly, breaking stereotypes. 

Even though the internationally reported 

fairy tale was played out on America’s 

biggest stage, is just three weeks old, it 

won’t be wrong to say that Linsanity has 

far reaching impact. He is smashing 

stereotypes and proving to the world that 

Asian kids are more than just geeks and 

computer wizards. In an incredibly short 

period, Lin has come to represent what we 

still have to fathom. An Asian American, a 

Taiwanese, a Harvard graduate, an underdog, 

a backup, a point guard, a game winner, 

legend-in-the-making, a believer. 

Lin’s story resonates deeply with many 

south Asian kids who are trying to break 

free from stereotypes both at home and on 

the field. Son of Taiwanese immigrants, 

his was not a struggle to make ends meet 

but to pursue his dream. There have been 

many success stories making it from the 

wrong side of life’s track, but Lin’s being 

from the right side (Harvard background) 

is considered an anomaly. Lin’s story is 

particularly appealing because he has 

brought together the two polarizing worlds 

of nerds and jocks together, which most 

Asian Americans fail to do. 

“Like parents in India, our parents too 

Breakout NBA star 

Jeremy Lin’s incredible 

story is still being written, 

and there’s no telling how 

long it will be. But for the 

moment, it’s deeply 

inspiring and one that will 

have quite a bit of shelf-life 

for generations of 

Asian-Americans. 

Budding Indian American athletes now 

have ‘Lin folklore’ to look up to 

emphasize more on studies and less on 

sports. As first generation Indian parents, 

they were not wrong as they didn’t have 

Jeremy Lin folklore to share with their 

children. But we do,” said Bhinish Shah, 

28, a real estate developer living in US for 

13 years now. Even though he was not an 

active player in his college days, he followed 

every basketball game passionately. 

Shah’s views were echoed in Akshat 

Tewary’s, an immigration lawyer who is 

also an active director of NY circuit of 

Indo Pak Basketball club and also a player. 

“As Asians living in the US, we can 

relate in more than one way to Lin: being 

Asian Americans and emphasis on studies.” 

Tewary is 6.5 feet tall and a 

Columbia graduate, is the director of the 

New York circuit of Indo-Pak Basketball, 

a self funded amateur club. This club hosts 

tournaments every 2-3 months and teams 

from all over North America - including 

Vancouver, Toronto, parts of California 

and New York participate. Each tournament 

ends up having 10 to 12 teams, and 

300 to 400 players. 

Both Shah and Tewary admit to an 

unconscious bias by coaches at school and 

college level against Asians, often due to 

their un-athletic look and hence can relate 

to Lin. Not all can emulate Yao Ming, a 

gargantuan 7 foot 6, first, now retired, 

Asian NBA superstar. 

Elaborates Tewary, “There is, in a very 

small amount, stereotyping even among 

coaches, which explains the absence of 

Indians in NBA. However times are 

changing, there are high profile Indian 

With swift passing, uncanny speed and the ability to penetrate close to 

the basket and make snappy decisions, Jeremy Lin has turned the 

fortunes of his team, the New York Knicks. 

American athletes playing top level division 

1 and it is only a matter of time that 

they will be picked up by NBA.” 

He even predicts that the next ‘Lin’ will 

come from India. His explanation: “There 

are more people to choose from with a 

population of over a billion. India also has 

the infrastructure and a pool of investment 

options. Media hype also plays a big role.” 

A prodigy from Punjab 

Tewary’s prediction may not be improbable. 

Many Indians are now pinning their 

hope on a 16-year-old basketball prodigy 

from Punjab. Satnam Singh Bharmara, 7 

feet tall and weighing 250 pounds, is 

already dubbed as India’s Yao Ming. After 

its runaway success in many countries, 

NBA turned its sight on India with its 

emerging middle class, rising disposable 

income and media-savvy youngsters. In 

Bharmara many Indians and even the 

NBA see the next basketball star. His is 

also a ‘Linderella story’ in the making. 

From a tiny village in Punjab to regional 

basketball academy where, over the last 

four years, he worked to develop skills to 

match his height, Bharamara finally is 

being trained at the IMG Basketball 

Academy in Florida. 

So far, no Indian has ever played in the 

NBA yet, although the league is now making 

inroads into cricket crazed India where 

basketball has a growing television audience. 

As part of an NBA-State Department 

soft power initiative to ramp up the sport 

in India, 14 coaches from India are here 

for a 10-day sports visitor program. The 

Hailing from a village in Punjab, Satnam 

Singh Bharmara, 7 feet tall and weighing 

250 pounds, is receiving training at the 

IMG Basketball Academy in Florida, and 

is dubbed the next Yao Ming, a retired 

Chinese NBA star who stood at 7 ft 6 inch 

and played for the Houston Rockets. 

group will meet with US basketball coaches 

in Washington DC and travel to 

Orlando, Florida to attend NBA coaching 

clinics and sessions surrounding NBA All- 

Star 2012.

16 Gift of Life event 


By Parveen Chopra 

Woodbury, NY: Gift of Life is a 

worldwide Rotary International 

Service Program responsible for 

saving the lives of over 2,500 children 

in some 30 countries through 

heart surgeries. In 2001, prompted 

by Dr Eileen Gentlecore, his friend 

and predecessor at Dist 7250, Rtn. 

Ravishankar Bhooplapur, Past Dist 

Governor 7250, took up the challenge 

to provide free critical heart 

surgeries for the children in India. 

As Chair of the Gift of Life (India), 

an independent project supported 

by the Rotary Foundation, Ravi has 

had the full support of Past RI 

Director Sushil Gupta, Dr Rajan 

Deshpande and many other devoted 

Rotarians and doctors at Escorts 

and National Heart Institute hospitals. 

They have saved the lives of 

over 1,000 children so far from the 

least served parts of India as well as 

Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

Gift of Life India celebrates 

10 years of saving children’s lives 

Gift of Life (India) project, initiated by Rtn. Ravi Bhooplapur, Past Dist Governor 7250, raised $1,00,000 

at Valentine Dinner Dance in the presence of Rotary International President Elect Sakuji Tanaka 

Kamal Gupta, Kamlesh C. Mehta, Sushil Gupta, Sakuji Tanaka, Ravi Bhooplapur and Dan Flynn at the 

event celebrating 10 years of Gift of Life India project. 

“Ordinary Rotarians can do 

extraordinary things,” says Ravi 

Bhooplapur, adding, “Rotary does 

what is needed not what is easy.” 

Gift of Life (India) raised 

$1,00,000 at the Valentine Dinner 

Dance on Feb 18 at Crest Hollow 

Country Club, Woodbury, a major 

chunk coming through a donor who 

wished to remain anonymous. 

Bhooplapur feels proud that Rotary 

President Elect Sakuji Tanaka could 

grace the occasion as Chief Guest. 

The Rotary International theme for 

the year 2012-13 under Tanaka’s 

presidentship will be ‘Peace 

through Service’. In his address, 

Tanaka, who has himself donated 

$2.5 M to Rotary, related the acute 

problems faced by people after the 

tsunami in his country Japan, and 

how they were mitigated by voluntary 

work and service groups. 

Two main honorees at the event 

chaired by Kamlesh Mehta, Charter 

President of Hicksville South Club, 

were Sushil Gupta and Kamal 

Jaya and Ravi Bhooplapur, honoree Kamal Gupta and his wife, Sakuji 

Tanaka and Mike McGowan. 

Gupta. 

Sushil Gupta, honored at the 

event for his humanitarian work, is 

a Padma Shri recipient in India and 

CMD of Asian Hotels (West) 

Limited, which owns Hyatt 

Regency in Mumbai and developing 

JW Marriott, Delhi. A Past 

Director of Rotary International, he 

is chair of Gift of Life (India) Trust. 

Syosset, NY based Kamal Gupta, 

and his Rotarian wife Bina Gupta, 

own large wine stores in Long 

Island as well as Denny’s franchise 

restaurants. They have supported 

Gift of Life and other Rotary projects 

for some years. 

Besides helming Gift of Life 

(India), Ravi Bhooplapur, Past Dist 

Governor 7250, is deeply involved 

in Rotary activities—he is currently 

Chairman of Future of Rotary 

Leaders Zone 32, and Member 

Bangkok Convention Promotion 

Committee 2012. He is also 

President of Xavier University 

School of Medicine (Aruba). 

(from left) Past District Governors Ed Monroe, Anthony Messineo, 

Dr Eileen Gentilcore, Rotary President Elect Sakuji Tanaka, 

Gift of Life Chairman Ravishankar Bhooplapur, Sammy Hsiao, 

Mario Moran. 

Photos: Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com 

Rotary President Elect Sakuji Tanaka honored Sushil Gupta, past RI 

Director who is steering Gift of Life project in India, for his 

Humanitarian work. Others in the picture: Ravishankar Bhooplapur, 

Kamal Gupta, and RI Trustee elect Mike McGowan. 

The event was hosted by Rotary 

Clubs of Gold Coast, Jericho 

Sunrise and Hicksville South. 

Major Supporters for the event 

included Mrs & Mr. Jagadeesan 

Poola, Mrs & Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, 

Mrs & Mr. Kamal Gupta, Atlantic 

Dialysis, Xavier University School 

of Medicine (Aruba), Mrs & Mr. 

Raja Amar, Mrs & Mr Jerry Kohli. 

Guests included: filmmaker 

Tirlok Malik, Haridas Kotahwala 

(RANA President), Dr. Bhupi Patel, 

Sher Singh Madra (Chairman 

Nargis Dutt Foundation), Harendra 

Singh (Chairman Raj Rajeshwari 

Foundation), Shudh Jasuja (Jasuja 

Foundation), Kanwal Sra CPA 

(Crystal Foundation), Naveen Shah 

of Navika Capital, and Jerry Kohli 

of AW Mobile. 

Event manager was Sunita 

Sadhnani of Bolly Arts and the souvenir 

was printed by Malak Design. 

Ladies of the Jericho Surnise Rotary Club, with their President Jaya Bhooplapur in the middle.

Gift of Life event 17 


Gift of Life India raises $1,00,000 at 

Valentine dance event on Long Island 

John Ryan 

(Emcee) 

Kamlesh C. Mehta 

(Chair, Host Committee) 

Ravi Bhooplapur 

(Chair Gift of Life, 

India Project) 

Taromi Music Group of young violin players giving a performance 

Event 

management 

and 

entertainment 

was 

provided by 

Sunita 

Sadhnani of 

Bolly Arts. 

A sterling example of ordinary Rotarians doing extraordinary things 

Touch of feminine, not mannequin: A lovely welcome awaited the 

attendees like Kamlesh and Nimmi Mehta. 

Kamal Gupta 

(Honoree for Major 

Support) 

Agroup of young students 

in Long Island have 

shown a way to use techtrash 

to bring change in the 

world. Karan Sikka and Sagar 

Rambhia started Project Milo last 

year. To impact health care, they 

would organize students to repair 

old computers as a service, and 

donate the proceeds to Gift of 

Life India, which supports lifesaving 

surgeries for children in 

India. They accept old computers 

as donations, and fix them for use 

in public schools that can't afford 

to purchase computers. 

By now a group of students 

from Syosset and Jericho High 

School have contributed over 

$1000 towards performing surgeries 

with the help of the Rotary 

Foundation. They have collected 

Sushil Gupta 

(Honoree for 

Humanitarian Service) 

Sakuji Tanaka (Chief 

Guest, President Elect 

Rotary International) 

more than 20 functional computers 

that will be used in underfunded 

public schools in New 

York. 

They plan to establish a computing 

center in Queens in 

March. 

Dan Flynn 

(President, Rotary Club 

Hicksville South) 

Gift of Life’s Valentine Day dance and dinner event was hosted at Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, NY 

Project Milo honored 

Project Milo was honored by 

the Gift of Life India and Rotary 

International’s incoming president, 

Sakuji Tanaka. The young 

men seen in the picture are Karan 

Sikka, Sagar Rambhia and 

Hunter Rosenblume.

18 Fashion 


Actor Nargis Fakhri in a creation 

by designer Sakshee Pradhan. 

New Delhi: The Wills Lifestyle India 

Fashion Week (WIFW) has been conceptualised 

as a business-to-business event, but 

the just-concluded autumn/winter edition 

focused more on exploring design, creativity 

and brand-building. 

Designer Kartikeya, who works with Isha 

for the label Dozakh, says the scenario has 

changed in last six years and there are other 

platforms to make profits. 

"Fashion weeks are more about brandbuilding 

and being creative rather then 

focusing on business as most of the designers 

today have their retail spaces from where 

they make profits," he said. 

"Six years back, designers were completely 

dependent on platforms like he fashion 

week to get orders, but things have changed 

now. Yes, fashion week is an ideal platform 

where everyone comes together and share 

their experiences," he added. 

The scale of the fashion event could be 

imagined from the fact that as many as 138 

designers showcased their collections on the 

ramp and the racks. 

Some of the established names who dazzled 

the ramp with their creations include 

Abraham and Thakore, Anand Kabra, Anju 

Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Meera and Muzaffar 

Ali, Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, Rocky 

S, Rohit Bal, Shantanu and Nikhil, Tarun 

Tahiliani, Abdul Halder and James Ferreira. 

Fashion is also about glitz and glamour and 

Bollywood stars added extra zing to the fest. 

If R. Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Kangana 

Ranaut, Govinda and Nargis Fakhri scorched 

the ramp, the guest 

gallery glittered with 

the presence of Dia 

Mirza, Sameera 

Reddy, Mahima 

Chaudhary, and 

Urmila Matondkar, 

among others. 

Designer Rahul 

Mishra says that this 

time it was all about 

discovering new 

options in design aesthetics. 

"My collection had 

received rave reviews 

from the delegates of 

different countries and 

I also believe that it 

was one of the best 

collection I ever showcased," 

said Mishra, 

known for his fascination 

for hand-woven 

technique. 

Tennis star Leander Peas at the WLIFW 2012 in New Delhi. 

WLIFW 2012: 

Creativiy succeeds 

business this time 

Actors Bipasha Basu and Madhavan with designer Rocky S. at the 

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week 2012 in New Delhi.. 

A model in a creation by designer 

Ravi Bajaj during a special 

show at WLIFW 2012.. 

He showcased an 

interesting tone of 

sportswear style 

mixed with handloom 

fabrics at the five-day 

event that concluded 

Sunday. 

"Business has 

always been there but 

it's the responsibility 

of designer to create 

new things with every 

season and I tried to 

set new benchmarks 

with this edition," 

said the designer also 

launched his accessory 

line at WIFW. 

Apart from established 

names, the season 

also witnessed 14 

new runway and stall 

designers. 

Accessory designer 

Pallavi Foley from 

Actor Kangana Ranaut in a 

creation by designer JJ Valaya 

at the Grand Finale. 

Bangalore, a first time participant, said: 

"This is the first time I am participating and 

the response is just amazing. My stall has 

been full of people and buyers loved my 3D 

concept in jewellery design." 

Lauding the creativity quotient at the 

event, Hibaal Ateeqi, a buyer from Kuwait, 

said: "Though I have been part of FDCI for 

long, this edition is good when it comes to 

creativity. Vineet Bahl and Tarun Tahiliani 

are some of the designers who took my 

breath away." 

Japanese designers, as a group, were invited 

for the first time to showcase their collections 

at the event. However, Japanese buyer 

Tomoko is a regular and said that this time, 

the event was high on creativity. 

"I thought that some of the shows showed 

great progress in terms of creativity. Anand 

Kabra's show was excellent. His prints and 

use of lotus motifs in an innovative technique 

were impressive," Tomoko said. 

Having said that, business was ripe with 

buyers from Kuwait and other Middle East 

nations, Australia, China and Singapore participating 

at the event and showing interest in 

the designs. 

"WIFW has always been known for creating 

landmarks in the fashion world. All the 

participating designers received accolades 

for their collections and they are taking 

orders from buyers from across the world. 

We have added buyers from different regions 

like Pakistan and Japan," said Sunil Sethi, 

president of event-organizer Fashion Design 

Council of India (FDCI). 

Actor Irrfan Khan in a creation by designer Meera Ali.

Op Ed 19 


Obama not abandoning 

Afghanistan to Taliban 

Whatever the US equation with Pakistan or the 

dialogue with Taliban, things will increasingly be 

settled on US terms rather than on Pakistan or 

Taliban terms. 

By Subhash Chopra 

As peace talks with Taliban and other players in 

the Afghan war gather pace, the US/NATO 

end-game on the warfront appears to be moving 

fast towards its core as peel after peel comes off 

the big onion. 

To some, it may look like a policy shift from battle 

surge to exit in haste; to others, it looks a continuation 

of the long-declared exit policy without abandoning 

the country to Taliban for a 1996-style re-takeover. 

Those who have predicted a Vietnam-style US flight 

from the Afghan battlefront may find it difficult to 

reconcile two new surprise strategies to achieve the 

same end. The first has come with the signal that the 

US forces could stay in the country beyond 2014, 

seemingly abandoning the earlier deadline agreed 

with allies, especially the United Kingdom, the second 

biggest contributor in the field. 

The second surprise has come in the shape of a plan 

to start part-exiting Afghanistan in 2013, well before 

the 2014 deadline. The double surprise, according to 

widely leaked Pentagon sources, dovetails into a credible 

single action plan that retains US presence in 

Afghanistan for a long enough period while the 

Afghan security forces increasingly take charge 

province by province with the US forces doing back 

seat driving. One such operation has already been 

launched (in February this year) in Helmand province, 

the hardcore Taliban country. 

The new double strategy envisages the deployment 

of the US Special operations forces, also known as 

Green Berets, who will focus on commando operations 

against insurgents whenever required, besides 

training Afghan national security forces. The US 

commandos would concentrate on engaging and 

flushing out residual terrorists lurking behind the lines 

while leaving the day to day responsibility for defense 

and law and order to the Afghan national forces. 

The strategy suits president Obama as the plan to 

retain US footprint in Afghanistan beyond 2014 would 

blunt the Republican hawks in the run-up to presiden- 

tial elections at home. At the same time, it would reassure 

the Afghan women’s rights and human rights 

activists in general that the US won’t be putting their 

in hopes and interests in jeopardy with a cynical withdrawal 

abrogating all moral considerations. 

Any betrayal of Afghan women’s rights could cost 

Obama a fair few votes in his own presidential race. 

Any departure in unfavorable conditions could also 

give a wrong signal to the non-Pashtun minority 

groups like the Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks who have 

successfully defied the Taliban regime even during its 

1996-2001 rule. After all the northern and western 

provinces of Afghanistan maintained their independence 

even during the worst period when Taliban, 

helped by Pakistan, held the sway. 

Obama’s Afghanistan exit plan is not similar to the 

departure from Iraq where his administration exited, 

rather completely and prematurely, as demanded by 

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, without resolving the 

central (Shia-Sunni) problem. 

In Afghanistan, President Karzai and others have 

other ideas that favor the US presence for a much 

longer period till the situation is stabilized or at least 

able to resist a takeover by the Taliban old guard. 

Unlike in the past, the US has a much clearer idea of 

its friends and foes, especially since its elimination of 

bin Laden in Abbotabad in May 2011. It’s no longer 

tied to the apron strings of Pakistan either in the conduct 

of war or dialogue with Taliban. In the talks with 

Taliban in Qatar, the US is making its own judgment 

about real Taliban capable of delivering any pact and 

fake Taliban, and even about good Taliban and not-sogood 

Taliban. Whatever and whenever a deal is struck 

with Taliban, it won’t be on surrender terms. 

Pakistan is no longer able to call the shots in 

Afghanistan. Elements in Pakistan establishment who 

used to consider, perhaps still do, Afghanistan almost 

as the fifth province of Pakistan - for strategic depth 

or otherwise - have to face the new reality. 

Faced with the new reality of its Pakistani ally’s 

capabilities to block transhipment of NATO’s supply 

of men and materials through its territory to 

Afghanistan, the US has already fortified its ‘northern’ 

route to meet more than 50 per cent of its requirement, 

albeit at much higher financial cost. 

Simultaneously, it continues to promise enough aid to 

Pakistan to meet its civil and security (military) needs. 

Chances of a fresh $2.3 billion aid package for 2013 

for Pakistan remain bright amid the worst of mutual 

suspicions, even recriminations. 

Whatever the US equation with Pakistan or the dialogue 

with Taliban, things will increasingly be settled 

on US terms rather than on Pakistan or Taliban terms. 

President Obama’s increasing confidence since the 

elimination of bin Laden and improving economy at 

home have emboldened him to take new initiatives 

without fear of annoying Pakistan or exploring the 

uncharted mindscape of Taliban. 

(Subhash Chopra is a freelance journalist and 

author of ‘Partition, Jihad & Peace – South Asia after 

bin Laden.’) 

Skipper Dhoni mirrors 

the crisis in cricket 

By Pradeep Magazine 

MS Dhoni, the quintessential 

one-day cricketer and 

its supreme leader, is also 

in many ways symptomatic of the 

crisis the game is facing today. 

It is a crisis which threatens Test 

cricket's appeal and popularity in the 

face of a massive invasion by the 

shorter version of the game. It may 

be no coincidence that the player, 

who possesses all the outstanding 

qualities that stand out in the shorter 

version of the game, lacks the skills 

and perhaps even motivation, to 

leave a lasting imprint on its fiveday 

format. 

It is not my case here to belittle or 

deride the man, whose intuitive 

mastery of the shorter format allows 

him to balance perfectly the staid 

and explosive spurts in his batting 

for the team's good. 

Nor am I in any way detracting 

anything from his assertive, firm yet 

calm leadership skills that speaks of 

a man in complete control of himself 

and his surroundings. It is a 

phenomenal achievement, something 

Dhoni, his admirers and the 

country should be proud of. Take the 

same man away from the one-day 

context and visualise him in the Test 

format and one finds a personality 

transformation beyond recognition. 

Gone are those sure steps, those 

subtle movements on the field and 

gestures that command respect of 

the opposition and loyalty from his 

own men. 

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

Do we need Dhoni, the bumbling, unsure Test cricketer or the Man who 

is the undisputed king of one-day cricket? 

The "captain cool" for his legion 

of admirers, is a man lost in a desert 

storm, not sure of where he stands 

and in which direction to move. One 

could put this loss of control to the 

collective and abject failure of his 

team, but what is a leader worth if 

he can't inspire his men when in 

retreat. In similar situations in a 

one-day game, Dhoni is a matchwinner, 

single-handedly fashioning 

a victory, where a defeat looks 

impending. 

What could be the reason? Are the 

skills required for the longer version 

of the game so different and 

demanding that they are difficult to 

surmount even for a man like 

Dhoni, who epitomises a superhuman 

fighting spirit and self-confidence 

when the time-span of the 

contest gets shrunk? 

Or is it that the man has no 

appetite for a long-drawn battle, 

where the final duel is won or lost 

on the strength of your staying 

power, sound technique and the 

ability to think ahead, not in terms 

of an hour but even days. 

Whatever the reasons may be, and 

there are better experts to dwell on 

that, the moot point is that Dhoni, 

the Test cricketer is not even a 

wounded shadow of the tiger he is 

of one-day cricket. Do we need 

Dhoni, the bumbling, unsure Test 

cricketer or the Man who is the 

undisputed king of one-day cricket? 

The answer I guess is simple, without 

letting emotions, semantics and 

sentimentality creep into this debate.

20 Diaspora 

February 25- March 2, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info 

'Ban Gita' court battle 

restarts in Russia 

Moscow/New Delhi: Hindus in 

Russia are bracing for a fresh court 

battle against attempts in the 

Siberian city of Tomsk to get their 

sacred 'Bhagavad Gita' branded as 

"extremist literature" and banned, 

after the state prosecutors filed an 

appeal against an earlier judgment 

in December last year throwing out 

their case. 

The state prosecutors have 

already filed their appeal in the 

Russian court, which has set March 

6 as the date of first hearing of the 

appeal, according to Krishna followers 

in Russia. 

Tomsk region prosecutor general 

Vasily Voikin, in his appeal, has 

demanded that a Russian comment 

included in 'Bhagavad Gita As It 

Is', the treatise on the Hindu sacred 

scripture by Iskcon founder A.C. 

Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami 

Prabhupada be banned, RIA 

Novosti quoted his deputy as saying. 

"The prosecutor has demanded 

that a Russian translation of a comment 

in this book, earlier published 

in English, be banned as extremist, 

not the canonical text of the scripture," 

Tomsk region deputy prosecutor 

general Ivan Semchishin 

said. "The bid to ban the Russian 

translation of the Bhagavad Gita 

has been misunderstood," Tomsk 

region prosecutor general 

Alexander Buksman said. 

Indian investors keen to 

revive Ghana’s sugar, fertil- 

Accra (Ghana): Indian investors 

are keen to invest as much as $36 

million in Ghana’s ailing sugar 

industry, Indian High Commissioner 

Rajinder Bhagat has said. Indian 

investors intend to revive Ghana’s 

sugar industry by investing in the 

establishment of a sugar processing 

plant. In addition, other Indian 

investors are also waiting to invest 

in a potato plantation,” said Bhagat 

here. He hoped that ties between 

Ghana and India would be strengthened 

with the investment and participation 

of Indian investors in the 

country’s economy. 

Speaking at a meeting with 

Ghana’s Vice-President John 

Dramani Mahama, the envoy said 

India was ready to set up a $1.3 billion 

fertilizer processing plant in 

Ghana. 

“India is ready with the technical 

plan and funds to start the project 

and is only waiting for the green 

light from the Ghanaian government.” 

Gas, a key component of the 

project, is yet to be processed in the 

country. The Ghanaian government 

izer industry 

Trinidad and Tobago observes 

Mahashivaratri 

Port of Spain: Hindus in the Caribbean 

island nation of Trinidad and Tobago led by 

Indian-origin Prime Minister Kamla 

Persad-Bissessar joined the rest of the 

Indian diaspora across the world to celebrate 

Mahashivaratri Monday. 

The festivities began from midnight of 

Feb 19. Mahashivaratri this year coincided 

with the annual Carnival that was celebrated 

here Feb 20-21. 

While non-Hindus opted to hit the fetes 

and parties, and danced to the gyrating 

music and songs of the steelpan, soca trucks 

and calypsoes, Hindus gathered in the more 

than 400 temples across the island to worship 

and conduct services to Lord Shiva. 

has secured a Chinese Development 

Bank loan to be used to finance a 

gas processing plant in the western 

region where oil production is taking 

place. Bhagat appealed to the 

Ghanaian government to beat down 

the gas price to facilitate the running 

of the project, adding that the Indian 

investors were ready to construct 

pipelines for drawing gas to support 

the fertilizer project. 

Vice-President Mahama said the 

Ghana National Gas Company 

(GNGC) was working to ensure the 

facility to process gas onshore was 

completed by the first quarter of 

next year. On completion, the gas 

would be used to power the country’s 

industries. 

He said the fertilizer project was 

very important to the government 

because it was expected to improve 

fertilizer supply in the country, 

Mahama said the government 

would make a case for the GNGC to 

fix favorable price for gas to enable 

the feasibility studies to start for the 

facility to be established by the 

Indian investors. 

For the past few weeks, Hindus have been 

abstaining from all forms of merriment, 

alcohol and other forms of worldly pleasures 

in preparation for the festival. 

The prime minister, who recently returned 

from her trip to India, observed 

Mahashivaratri in her constituency Siparia. 

Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash 

Ramadhar said the festival was an opportunity 

to rejuvenate oneself in an effort to 

enhance national development. 

Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran 

said Mahashivaratri was observed by 

Hindus with an overwhelming aura of spirituality, 

a feature which the world 

urgently needs. 

"It's important to discern gems 

from the chatter in this very case; 

the society's perception of this 

issue is that prosecutors are standing 

against the concepts of this religion 

(Hinduism). However, the 

problem is that the Russian translation 

has paragraphs that could be 

seen as promoting extremism; 

prosecutors started the case for that 

reason," Buksman said. 

"The prosecutor (Voikin) is now 

maintaining his claims in an appeal 

court for that very reason," 

Semchishin added. 

The initial court plea was filed in 

June 2011 and the trial prompted a 

flurry of highly critical publications 

in the international media. 

Maldives Museum reopens 

minus smashed Hindu images 

Male: The Maldives' national 

museum reopened Feb 14 without 

some of its most valuable exhibits 

a week after a mob of suspected 

religious extremists smashed 

images from the pre-Islamic era, 

the Associated Press reported. 

About 35 exhibits — mostly 

images of Buddha and Hindu 

gods — were destroyed. Some of 

the artifacts dated to the sixth 

century, museum director Ali 

Waheed said. 

Waheed says 99 percent of the 

Maldives' pre-Islamic artifacts 

from before the 12th century, 

when most inhabitants were 

Buddhists or Hindus, were 

destroyed. 

"Some of the pieces can be put 

together but mostly they are made 

of sandstone, coral and limestone 

and they are reduced to powder," 

he said. 

The mob of suspected Muslim 

extremists attacked the museum 

during the Maldives' political 

crisis. 

The attack was the latest blow 

Norway case: After three 

months, parents finally 

meet children 

Stavanger: After a three-month 

long wait, a non-resident Indian 

couple – Anurup and Sagarika 

Bhattacharya – finally met their 

children. 

According to media reports, 

the meeting lasted for approximately 

two hours. The parents, 

along with uncle Arunabhash 

met the children. 

The three-year-old Abhigyan 

and the one-year-old 

Aishwarya, children of the NRI 

couple living in Stavanger, 

Norway, were taken under protective 

care by Barnevarne 

(Norwegian Child Welfare 

Services) in May last year on 

to the island nation that is best 

known as a high-end tourist destination. 

"We are very sad. This is the 

physical and archaeological evidence 

of the country, we have 

nothing to show (of the pre- 

grounds that they were not 

looked after properly by their 

parents. 

Barnevarne had placed them 

in foster parental care as per the 

directive of the local 

Norwegian court, mandated 

under Norwegian laws. 

An agreement was struck 

recently between India and 

Norway under which the parents 

named Anurup’s brother 

Arunabhash Bhattacharya as the 

primary caretaker of the two 

children. Arunabhash is currently 

in Norway and is being 

looked after the Norwegian 

authorities. 

Islamic history)," Waheed said. 

The items had been preserved 

since the museum opened in 

1952. Police spokesman Ahmed 

Shyam said investigations are 

ongoing into the museum attack, 

but no one has been arrested. 

Indian in UK jailed for driving 

test offence 

London: An Indian citizen has been jailed for 

six months after pleading guilty to charges of 

getting someone else to appear for him in his 

driving theory test because he could not speak 

English. Sarbjit Singh, 35, who came to the UK 

a year ago and speaks only Punjabi, was also 

ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work and 

pay 85 pounds court fees. 

His six-month jail sentence has been suspended 

for 12 months by the Leicester 

Magistrates Court. 

Passing the theory test is one of the prerequisites 

of getting a driving licence in the UK. 

Singh, a machine operator, wanted to work 

for his brother’s courier company but had no 

driving licence, reports from Leicester said. 

He booked his driving theory test for June 16 

last year at a centre in the city centre. 

An entire collection of 12th century Buddhist and 

Hindu statues have been destroyed 

A man turned up claiming to be Sarbjit Singh, 

but staff became suspicious and asked for identification. 

He went to Singh’s home to get the 

identification but Singh’s brother then discovered 

what was happening and stopped the man 

from taking the test. 

Singh later discovered he could take the test 

in Punjabi but was arrested when he applied 

again. Bally Paul, lawyer defending Singh, said 

her client did not understand how seriously 

fraud was taken in the UK. She said: “His 

brother has been in this country for 10 years 

and runs a courier business. It was not until 

after this unknown person had returned to ask 

for identification that Singh’s brother intervened 

and told him not to go through with it, 

that it is very serious and you can’t get away 

with it like you perhaps could in India.”

Subcontinent 21 


Quran burning: US apology 

Kabul: Four people were shot 

dead and dozens wounded in 

protests in Afghanistan in several 

cities over the burning of copies 

of the Quran, Islam's holy book, at 

NATO's main base in the country. 

The American Embassy said its 

staff were in "lockdown" and travel 

had been suspended as thousands 

of people expressed fury 

over the burning, a public relations 

disaster for US-led NATO 

forces fighting Taliban militants 

ahead of the withdrawal of foreign 

combat troops by the end of 2014. 

The US government and the 

American commander of NATOled 

forces in Afghanistan apologized 

after Afghan laborers found 

charred copies of the Quran while 

collecting rubbish at the sprawling 

Bagram Airbase about an hour's 

drive north of Kabul. 

It failed to contain the fury. 

Thousands of Afghans took to the 

Memogate: 

Mansoor Ijaz 

submits proof 

Islamabad: Controversial Pakistani- 

American businessman Mansoor Ijaz 

submitted his BlackBerry phone and 

"other evidences" to a Pakistan judicial 

commission probing the memo 

scandal that shook the country's 

powerful military as well as political 

establishments. 

Ijaz, who had refused to travel to 

Pakistan to appear before the 

Supreme Court appointed panel citing 

security reasons, deposed via 

video link from London. The memo, 

that had sought US help to stave off a 

possible coup, had put the Pakistani 

government into a whirlpool and had 

led to speculation of a possible coup. 

The memo triggered a tense standoff 

and PM Yousaf Raza Gilani had 

criticized the handling of the memo 

issue by the army and ISI chiefs. Ijaz 

came to the Pakistan High 

Commission in London to record his 

statement through video conferencing 

while the three-judge commission 

conducted the proceedings from 

Islamabad. Ijaz submitted his 

BlackBerry phone and other evidences 

to the secretary of the judicial 

commission investigating the affair, 

the Dawn news network reported. He 

also provided details of his contacts 

with Pakistani leaders and ISI officials. 

Recounting his contacts with 

Pakistani leaders, Ijaz said he had 

met then ISI chief Gen Ehsan-ul-Haq 

in Brussels in 2003. He said he had 

met former military ruler Pervez 

Musharraf in London in 2005 and 

that he had last met president Asif 

Ali Zardari in 2009. Ijaz said he met 

current ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed 

Shuja Pasha in a London hotel 

last year. 

fails to ease anger 

Afghan laborers found charred copies of the Quran while collecting 

rubbish at the sprawling Bagram Airbase. 

streets again, chanting anti- 

American slogans. 

Winning the hearts and minds of 

Afghans is critical to efforts to 

defeat the Taliban. Similar inci- 

Gilani seeks result-oriented talks with India 

Islamabad: Seeking "sustainable 

and result- oriented" talks with 

India, Pakistan Premier Yousuf 

Raza Gilani said he had "great 

regard" for his counterpart 

Manmohan Singh who is a "sincere 

person" desirous of friendly 

and cooperative bilateral ties. 

Gilani made the remarks at a 

reception he hosted for visiting 

Indian parliamentary delegation 

led by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira 

Kumar. Pakistan is a peace loving 

country that wants good relations 

with all its neighbors, including 

India, he said. 

The premier said it was his cherished 

desire to have a construc- 

dents in the past have caused deep 

divisions and resentment among 

Afghans towards the tens of thousands 

of foreign troops in 

Afghanistan. 

Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani. 

tive? sustainable and result-oriented 

dialogue with India, state-run 

Nepal celebrates 

Mahashivaratri festival 

Kathmandu: 

Hindu devotees 

across Nepal cele 

b r a t e d 

Mahashivaratri 

festival with fervor 

by worshipping 

Lord Shiva 

at various temples, 

rivers and 

ponds. 

T h e 

Pashupatinath 

temple, situated 

in the heart of 

Hindu devotees at the Pashupatinath temple 

in Kathmandu. 

capital Kathmandu and regarded as one of the most revered and famous 

Shiva temples in the world, witnessed a high number of devotees, Xinhua 

reported. People thronged the temples since early morning for the 

Mahashivaratri that is celebrated on the 14th day of the lunar month of 

Falgun. In Nepal, the festival is regarded as a national festival. The occasion 

consists of "warming" Lord Shiva in the belief that the Lord also feels cold 

on this day and people organise bonfires at public squares, houses, temples 

and shrines and perform prayers to please Lord Shiva. 

Seven foreign UN workers were 

killed during protests that raged 

across Afghanistan for three days 

in April 2011 after a US pastor 

burned a Quran in Florida. 

In Parwan province, home to the 

sprawling Bagram airbase where 

the Quran burning incident 

occurred, two people were shot 

dead by Afghan police and 13 

wounded while attacking offices, 

provincial spokesman Roshan 

Khalid said. 

A protester was shot dead by 

police in Logar province, east of 

the capital, the governor's 

spokesman, Deen Mohammad 

Darwish, said. 

Afghan health ministry 

spokesman Ghulam Sakhi Kargar 

said one person also died in hospital 

in Kabul from gunshot wounds 

received during one of two shooting 

incidents at protests in at least 

four areas of the capital. 

Radio Pakistan reported on its 

website. 

Islamabad: After a six-year gap, a 

group of pilgrims from India celebrated 

Mahashivratri in a Hindu 

temple said to have been built 

more than 900 years ago. 

Fifty Hindus from India marked 

the festival at Katasraj in Punjab 

province, reported the Daily 

Times. 

The place is considered sacred 

due to a pond, which according to 

Hindu mythology was formed 

from Lord Shiva's tears. It is also 

said that the Pandava brothers 

stayed in the temple region for 

four out of the 14 years they spent 

in exile. 

The Indian delegation, which 

reached Lahore through the Wagah 

border, was met by Evacuee Trust 

Property Board Pakistan chairman 

Asif Hashmi. The delegation has 

Maldives sets up probe 

panel on power transfer 

Colombo: The Maldives government 

has appointed a commission to 

inquire into the controversial transfer 

of power which former president 

Mohamed Nasheed has termed a 

coup orchestrated by military and 

politicians who were then in the 

opposition, a Maldivian diplomat 

said.President Mohamed Waheed 

Hassan Manik has formed the 

Commission of National Inquiry, 

Xinhua quoted Maldivian High 

Commissioner to Sri Lanka Hussain 

Shihab as saying. The three-member 

commission is headed by former 

minister for defence and national 

security Ismail Shafeeu and 

includes the president of the first 

Human Rights Commission of 

Maldives, Ahmed Mujthaba. 

The US and the UN that rushed to 

the Maldives immediately after the 

power transfer had called for a 

national inquiry, claiming international 

interference would worsen 

the ongoing crisis.Waheed has 

asked the commission to carry out 

an independent and impartial investigation 

into events in the Maldives 

between Jan 14 and Feb 8, the 

Maldivian diplomat added. 

Such a dialogue will usher in 

development and prosperity in the 

region, he added. 

Gilani noted that the first round 

of the resumed dialogue between 

India and Pakistan was held last 

year and expressed the hope that 

the second round of talks this year 

would "bear fruits". 

He said he had "great regard" 

for his Indian counterpart 

Manmohan Singh, who accepted 

his initiative for dialogue. 

Kumar, who is the first Speaker 

of Indian Parliament to visit 

Pakistan, said India wished to see 

a stable, peaceful and prosperous 

Pakistan. 

Indians celebrate 

Mahashivratri in Pakistan 

The last delegation of Hindu 

pilgrims visited Pakistan in 2006. 

returned to India. 

The report said the last delegation 

of Hindus visited Pakistan in 

2006. In 2006-07, Pakistan decided 

to place idols of Hindu gods in 

the temples and restore them to 

their original state to attract Hindu 

visitors. 

"Minorities present here in 

Pakistan are given full freedom to 

celebrate their holy events," Hindu 

Welfare Council Chairman Shiv 

Pratap Raj was quoted as saying.

22 International 


Oz foreign minister 

resigns amid dispute 

Vienna: Yukiya Amano, 

Sydney: Australia's foreign 

minister resigned amid an 

ongoing leadership squabble, 

saying he could not 

continue in his role without 

the support of Prime 

Minister Julia Gillard. 

Foreign minister Kevin 

Rudd announced his resignation 

during an early 

morning news conference 

in Washington, where he is 

visiting on official business. 

The announcement comes 

amid relentless speculation 

that he planned to seize 

power from Gillard. 

Gillard came to power in 

an internal coup within her 

Labor Party that ousted 

Rudd in June 2010. 

She became only the third 

prime minister since World 

War II to gain power in this 

way. 

"I can only serve as foreign 

minister if I have the 

confidence of Prime 

Minister Gillard and her 

senior ministers," Rudd 

said. "I therefore believe 

the only honorable thing, 

Australian Foreign minister Kevin Rudd. 

and the only honorable 

course of action, is for me 

to resign." 

In recent days, speculation 

had been mounting that 

Rudd supporters were planning 

an attempt to restore 

him to power soon. That 

had become a distraction, 

Rudd said. 

"The truth is the 

Australian people regard 

this whole affair as little 

better than a soap opera and 

they are right," he said. 

"And under current circumstances, 

I won't be part of 

it." 

It was not immediately 

clear what Rudd's next 

move would be. 

He said he planned to fly 

back to Australia on 

Thursday to sort out his 

future. But in his resignation 

speech, he was highly 

critical of the Labor Party's 

decision to oust him. 

No agreement with Iran 

over N-issue: IAEA chief 

director of the International 

Atomic Energy Agency 

(IAEA), said no agreement 

was reached with Iran over 

its nuclear issue during the 

recent visit of the agency's 

team to Tehran. 

Amano made the remarks 

as an IAEA experts team 

returns from Iran after the 

two-day second round of 

talks with Iranian officials. 

The meeting followed previous 

talks held in late 

January, reported Xinhua. 

"Intensive efforts were 

made to reach agreement on 

a document facilitating the 

clarification of unresolved 

issues in connection with 

Iran's nuclear program, particularly 

those relating to 

possible military dimensions," 

Amano said in a 

statement Wednesday. 

"Unfortunately, agreement 

was not reached on this document," 

he added. 

"During both the first and 

second meetings, the 

agency team requested 

Rio 

dazzles 

in 

Carnival 

finale 

Yukiya Amano, director of the International Atomic 

Energy Agency. 

access to the military site at 

Parchin, but Iran did not 

grant the permission," 

according to the statement. 

Amano called Iran's 

refusal to permit the visit to 

Parchin as "disappointing." 

Box with above story 

Russia warns against 'catastrophic' 

attack on Iran 

Moscow: Russia warned 

against the use of force to 

solve the crisis over the 

Iranian nuclear program, 

saying an attack would have 

catastrophic consequences 

both for the region and 

global diplomacy. 

"The scenario of military 

action against Iran would be 

catastrophic for the region 

and possibily the whole system 

of international relations," 

Deputy Foreign 

Minister Gennady Gatilov 

told a news conference. 

With bursts of fireworks, high-decibel music and a kaleidoscope of colors, the city's top 13 samba 

schools treated a capacity crowd of 72,500 at the newly renovated Temple of Samba to stunning 

processions of exquisitely decorated floats. The night parades, which went on into the small hours 

of the morning, had it all: captivating samba beats, superb percussionists, imaginative choreography, 

masterful execution and the beguiling sex appeal of gorgeous samba queens wearing colorful 

feathers and little else. It is a holiday that provides a rare moment of national communion and 

over-the-top merry-making in this huge and racially diverse country of 191 million people.

Business 23 


State Bank of India to bail out Kingfisher: report 

Mumbai: The State Bank of India 

has decided on a Rs 16.5 billion 

loan package to help troubled 

Kingfisher Airlines overcome a 

cash crunch, the Hindustan Times 

newspaper reported. 

The newspaper quoted an 

unidentified source as saying the 

state-controlled bank had decided 

to extend a new line of credit, that 

included 7 billion rupees in shortterm 

working capital and 5 billion 

rupees in bank guarantees. 

It has also decided to extend the 

tenure of current loans to the airline 

worth about 2.5-3 billion 

rupees that would have been due 

next year, the newspaper said. 

State Bank or another government 

bank, Punjab National Bank 

(PNBK.NS), could offer bank 

guarantees of 1.6-2 billion rupees 

to tax authorities, it said. 

State Bank and Kingfisher offi- 

US pushing India to 

'wean' from Iran oil 

Washington: The United States 

continues to talk with India to 

encourage it to reduce its dependence 

on Iranian crude, but would 

not say what progress it has made 

so far. 

"We're talking to India, we're 

talking to China, we're talking to 

countries in Europe, we're talking 

to countries in Asia and Africa, et 

cetera," State Department 

spokesperson Victoria Nuland 

told reporters. 

"We are having talks with countries 

around the world about the 

implications of the legislation 

with regard to our expectation 

that countries will increasingly 

wean themselves of dependence 

on Iranian oil," she said. 

cials were not immediately available 

for comment. 

The airline has become one of 

Dow touches 13,000 

but can it hold on? 

New York: The Dow Jones 

Industrial Average climbed above 

13000 for the first time in almost 

four years, though it failed to 

hang onto the gains through the 

day's end.The Dow Jones 

Industrial Average pierced the 

13000 level for the first time in 

almost four years, but traded 

largely below the mark and ended 

the day in positive territory. 

Jonathan Cheng has details on 

The News Hub. Photo: Getty 

Images 

The Dow passed above 13000 a 

few times Tuesday, rising as high 

as 13005. It ended the day at 

12965.69, up 15.82 points, or 

0.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500stock 

index toyed with a milestone 

of its own, briefly surpassing 

its high reached last April 

before closing up 0.98 point, or 

0.1%, at 1362.21. The advance 

came after a long weekend that 

The airline has become one of the main casualties of high fuel costs. 

Mumbai: Nariman Point fell to 

the 15th place from its previous 

eighth position as the most expensive 

central business district 

(CBD) in the world, according to 

the annual report 'Office Space 

Across the World 2012' by 

Cushman & Wakefield. 

The report said this is also the 

first time in over six years that 

Mumbai has fallen out of the Top 

10 rent rankings. Hong Kong, 

London and Tokyo maintained 

their position as the top three on 

the annual chart; Beijing (5) and 

Sydney (7) entered the top ten list 

for the first time. 

The report said that Nariman 

Point saw a rental decline of 

approximately 8% in 2011, allowing 

it to slip in global ranking, 

largely due to diminishing interest 

saw progress on two worries that 

have dogged investors for 

months. 

The Dow's inability to finish 

above 13000 echoes the market's 

previous stalls at certain levels. 

While the vast majority of professional 

money managers and 

exchange-traded funds track the 

S&P 500, rather than the Dow, the 

long history of the blue-chip 

index makes it a key benchmark. 

Potential hurdles loom on the 

horizon. On Tuesday, crude-oil 

prices surged $2.60, or 2.5%, to 

$105.84, their highest level in 

more than nine months. Prices 

have surged 7.5% this month. 

While that has benefited oil companies—Chevron 

rose 1.6% and 

Exxon Mobil gained 1.1% on 

Tuesday—it has raised concerns 

about the impact of high gasoline 

prices on retail spending and 

stoked broader inflationary fears. 

the main casualties of high fuel 

costs and a fierce price war 

between a handful of budget carri- 

on account of higher prices, lower 

quality and age of construction 

and growing distances from resi- 

ers which, between them, have 

ordered hundreds of aircraft for 

delivery over the next decade in an 

ambitious bet on the future. 

Kingfisher shares plunged nearly 

20 percent in intra-day trade but 

dential hubs. In contrast to this, 

locations such as Bandra-Kurla 

Complex (BKC), Worli-Lower 

recovered to close 0.4 percent up 

as rumors of the bank bailout 

spread. India's aviation regulator 

said the airline had given an assurance 

that bank funding was on the 

way. 

Rentals: Nariman Point drops 7 places to 15th spot 

Hong Kong, London and Tokyo maintained their position as the top 

three on the annual chart. 

Metro to start international 

flight check-ins 

New Delhi: The high-speed 

Airport Metro will start international 

check-in facility at two 

Metro stations, an official said. 

"International fliers will be able 

to check in their baggage at the 

New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium 

stations from Thursday," said a 

spokesperson of Reliance 

Infrastructure, which operates the 

line. 

"Air India will begin check-in 

of passengers baggage from 

Thursday at the two stations 

while Jet and Kingfisher will follow," 

the spokesperson said. The 

spokesperson said talks were on 

with other airlines. 

"International flyers can collect 

boarding passes at the metro station 

and go for security check at 

the airport, totally hassle free," 

said Anil P. Gupta, president of 

Reliance Infrastructure. 

Parel and Andheri-Kurla Road 

offer larger floor plate and higher 

quality of construction whilst 

being closer to residential hubs. 

BKC has been inching up in terms 

of rental values (6%) owing to a 

steady demand. While locations 

such as Andheri-Kurla and western 

suburbs cater to back offices. 

Asia-Pacific recorded the steepest 

regional prime office rental 

increases in 2011 according to the 

report. 

"Overall, rents across the region 

increased by an average of 8%, 

with Beijing recording the highest 

jump in rents globally (75%). 

Hong Kong maintained its position 

as the most expensive office 

location in the world for the second 

year running, with Tokyo in 

the third," it said. 

Eurozone reaches Greek 

bailout deal 

Brussels: Finance ministers from 

the eurozone reached a Greek 

bailout plan, agreeing on measures 

to reduce the country's debt level 

to 120.5 percent of its gross 

domestic product (GDP) by 2020. 

Under the rescue package, which 

was clinched after lengthy 12 

hours of talks, Greece will receive 

extra bailout loans of 130 billion 

euros ($170 billion) to avoid a debt 

default on a bond repayment in 

March, eurozone officials here 

said. Earlier, eurozone officials had 

indicated that they would approve 

a second bailout program for 

Greece after Athens had agreed to 

all the terms demanded by international 

creditors, reported Xinhua. 

"I would like to assume that we 

can reach final and concluding 

negotiations today (Monday)," 

Eurogroup head Jean-Claude 

Greece will receive extra bailout loans of 130 billion euros ($170 billion). 

Juncker said as he arrived for a 

meeting of eurozone finance ministers 

Monday. 

"The Greek side has fulfilled 

many preparatory efforts we had 

demanded. We have to conclude 

today, there's no more time to 

waste," Juncker, who is also 

Luxembourg's prime minister, told 

reporters. Nevertheless, the meeting 

was prolonged into the early 

hours of Tuesday.

24 Sports 


India fall 51 short of target 

set by Sri Lanka 

India ended up scoring 238 in 45.1 overs in response 

to Sri Lanka's 289 for six. 

Brisbane: India fell 51 runs short 

chasing 290, losing wickets at 

inopportune moments, against Sri 

Lanka in the eighth match of the 

cricket tri-series here. 

India ended up scoring 238 in 

45.1 overs in response to Sri 

Lanka's 289 for six as the efforts 

of Virat Kohli (66) and Irfan 

Pathan (47) failed to get the team 

past the line. Though Thisara 

Perera bagged four wickets, 

Nuwan Kulasekara (3-40)was the 

most impressive of Sri Lanka's 

bowlers after skipper Mahela 

Jayawardene (51) and Liharu 

Thiramanne (62) starred in an allround 

batting display. 

The second loss in a row has 

pushed India (10 points) to third 

place in the standings behind Sri 

Lanka (11) and leaders Australia 

(14). India lost both the matches at 

the Gabba, having been beaten by 

Australia Sunday. 

The first of the Indian wickets 

that fell at regular intervals was 

that of stand-in skipper Virender 

Sehwag (0) in the second ball of 

the innings. Predictably, he cut 

chasing a wide rising Lasith 

Malinga (2-55) delivery that flew 

straight to Kulasekara at third 

man. 

Tendulkar (22), who has not 

been amongst the runs in the 

series, looked in good touch before 

Kulasekara made him attempt a 

half-hearted heave, getting him 

bowled off an inside edge. 

Gautam Gambhir (29), Suresh 

Raina (32) were also dismissed 

after getting their eye in, leaving 

India at 146 for four in the 31st 

over, needing another 144 off 117 

balls. 

Olympic hockey qualifiers: 

India thrash France 6-2 

New Delhi: The Indian men's hockey team thrashed 

France 6-2 while the women got the better of Poland 3-0 

in the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers at the Major 

Dhyan Chand National Stadium. 

The men's team continued their dominating performance 

and lived up to the reputation of being the highestranked 

team in the tournament at World No.10. 

Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was again the star of 

the night slamming in three goals (9th, 30th and 37th), 

two from penalty corners. Sandeep is also the leading 

goal scorer in the tournament with seven goals from 

three matches. Shivendra Singh (4th), S.V.Sunil (39th) 

and Tushar Khandekar (62nd) also added to their tally. 

France managed two consolation goals from penalty 

corners with Lucas Sevestre and Fabien Magner converting 

in the 35th and 56th minute. 

The French, however, were no match for the eighttime 

Olympic champions' pace and aggression and their 

defense caved in under relentless attack from the Indian 

forwards. 

Sydney: Former Australian captain 

Ricky Ponting retired from 

ODIs, a day after he was dropped 

from the squad for the rest of the 

Commonwealth Bank Series, but 

will continue to play Test matches. 

The 37-year-old, who led 

Australia to two World Cup titles 

in 2003 and 2007, said he took the 

decision after national selector 

John Inverarity indicated to him 

that he doesn't figure in their 

plans. 

Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was again the 

star of the night slamming in three goals. 

Earlier, the women hockey team's unbeaten run continued 

with a 3-0 win over Poland. 

Ponting retires from ODIs 

Former Australian captain 

Ricky Ponting. 

"It's a little bit hard to come here 

today and say I'm retiring when 

I've already been left out of the 

side. 

I don't expect to play one-day 

international cricket for Australia 

any more and I'm pretty sure the 

selectors don't expect to pick me 

either. 

"John made it very clear to me 

yesterday the direction that they're 

heading with the one-day team 

and that I'm not part of their 

plans," he said.

Adventure Sports 25 


Indian army creates world record 

in harness hang gliding 

NAIB SUBEDAR PARAMJEET SINGH OF INDIAN ARMY, WHO HAS CREATED A WORLD 

RECORD IN HANG GLIDING AT SANDERAV NEAR JODHPUR IN RAJASTHAN. 

By Prakash Bhandari/ 

SATimes 

Jaipur: The ace trainer Naib 

Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who 

belongs to the village Sangatpura 

near Jagraon in Ludhiana, in 

Punjab had no words to express his 

feelings when he broke the 33 

years old British world record in 

powered hang gliding by covering a 

distance of 380 km between 

Sriganganagar and Sanderav in 

Pali district near Jodhpur in 

Rajasthan. 

Paramjeet broke the invalidated 

distance record of 325 km by 

British pilot Gerry Breen set in 

By Santosh Rao 

Manali: Winter sports is no longer 

confined to the breathtaking locales 

of Jammu and Kashmir. Solang 

Valley in Himachal Pradesh is fast 

turning into a popular destination for 

skiers and comes alive when much of 

northern India retreats into the 

warmth of well-heated homes. 

Foreigners and locals throng the 

snow-capped slopes of the picturesque 

valley snuggled between the 

Beas Kund and Solang village for 

skiing, snowboarding and sliding. It 

is located 13 km northwest of the hill 

resort of Manali at an altitude of 

8,000 ft. 

The valley played host to a first-ofits-kind 

skiing event, the Alpine 

Premier League, this month. Over 

350 participants showcased their 

skills in a bid to be anointed the king 

of mountains. 

The Feb 5-9 competition also saw 

state teams from Uttarakhand and 

Jammu and Kashmir, besides Indian 

army skiers who dominated both the 

men's and women's fields. Twentyfour 

competitors from overseas came 

to slide down the slopes of Solang. 

The daunting Himalayas and the 

fresh powdery snow provide the perfect 

setting for an adventure sport 

1979 (London-Paris). He told the 

South Asian Times, “I have no 

words to describe my feelings for 

the achievement for which I was 

preparing for a long time.” 

He broke the world record on the 

second day of the expedition. The 

expedition was 700 km long from 

Sriganganagar to Udaipur. 

Paramjeet Singh, who actually 

belongs to the 76 Field Regiment, 

was posted as an instructor in the 

aeronautical wing in the Deolali 

based School of Artillery. He has an 

experience of 836 hours and 35 

minutes of hang gliding during his 

21 years stint there. 

Col. SD Goswami, spokesman of 

the defense ministry, said that he 

enthusiast to freak out. 

Still regarded as an elitist sport 

because of the expensive equipment, 

the locals are getting adequate help 

from the Directorate of 

Mountaineering and Allied Sports in 

Manali and private companies like 

Ski Himalayas to provide skiing 

equipment free for training. 

Shiva Kesavan, who created history 

by winning India's first gold in an 

international winter sports event at 

the Asia Cup in Nagano, Japan, in 

December, sees Solang as a huge 

step forward for the sport. 

Kesavan, born in Vashist near 

Manali, is a four-time winter sport 

Olympian. Highly respected and 

admired among the winter sport 

community, Kesavan feels Himachal 

has a lot to offer to adventure sports. 

"Conditions here are perfect for 

winter sports; Himachal is fast 

becoming the hub for adventure sport 

in the country. However, the work is 

still in progress. There needs to be 

dedicated space for different events, 

the slopes are still a little bumpy but 

the standards will improve gradually," 

he said. 

Youngsters in Solang seem to be 

taking to skiing like duck to water. 

Enthusiastic boys keenly wait for 

their turn to enter the Gondola, a sort 

of cable car, to take them to the high- 

was proud that the Indian army has 

broken the world record in hang 

gliding. A British pilot Gerry Breen 

had on May 7, 1979 created the 

world record by gliding 325 km 

from Wales to Norwich. 

The three-day, first of its kind 

expedition has been organized by 

the Indian Army Adventure Nodal 

Centre (AANC) and 10 soldiers 

were flying with powered harness 

hang gliders. Paramjeet flew gliders 

powered with 120 cc 15 HP 

motor and a carbon-graphite propeller 

attached to it. 

The harness gives the glider pilot 

the ability to take off from any 

small clear patch of ground and 

cruise at a speed of up to 70 kmph 

est point of the slope so that they can 

blaze a trail down. 

Kesavan feels these are encouraging 

signs and the government should 

take notice and provide support. 

"Youngsters here are taking to the 

sport in a big way - this is great 

news. The Indian government needs 

for several hours depending on the 

wind direction, said Goswami. 

Soaring high in the skies is every 

person's dream. But one needs an 

Eagle's heart to scale new highs, 

ride on the air current and most 

importantly, stay there for long 

hours. There's only one kind of 

people that are able to achieve such 

feats professionally and with great 

ease, they are the Gunner Dare 

Devils.Led by Colonel Sanjeev 

to start a comprehensive training program 

so that these guys can make it 

to the international stage," he said. 

Peter Tobler, a snowboard instructor 

in Switzerland, first came to 

Manali 16 years ago. Since then the 

Durham-born Englishman has been a 

regular here and feels it is one of the 

Jarial, the expedition took off from 

Sri Ganganagar to Bikaner 

and the fliers created a history 

when they landed at Sanderav 

(Pali) from Bikaner. “The aim of 

this expedition is publicizing the 

adventurous lifestyle in the Army, 

connecting with youth and children 

to inspire them to join the Armed 

Forces and giving a wide exposure 

to the distinctive sport of Hang- 

Gliding” said Col Goswami. 

Solang Valley, 

new adventure 

sports hub 

India's popular adventure sports destination at Solang Valley near Manali in Himachal Pradesh. 

best places in the world to snowboard. 

"Snow conditions here are fantastic; 

the slope is a great challenge. 

Solang is a paradise for winter sport. 

The valley has great potential and is 

as good a place as any in the world," 

Peter said.

26 Ultimate Bollywood 


Indira Gandhi 

biopic on Vidya's 

wish list 

Vidya Balan came out 

of her comfort zone 

and delivered a 

blockbuster like "The Dirty 

Picture". And now the actress 

is keen to do a film on extra 

marital affairs or a biopic on 

late prime minister Indira 

Gandhi. 

Talking about her choice of 

scripts, she said: "Action is 

not something I would want 

to do. I want to do a nice 

'Arth' kind of a film on extra 

marital affair which these 

days we often get to hear or 

maybe a biopic on Indira 

Gandhi." 

Post the success of "The 

Dirty Picture", every director 

is keen to work with Vidya, 

but when asked which director 

she would want to work 

with, she said: "I want to 

work with Gulzar." 

For Indian films to break out 

internationally, what was 

needed were original stories 

with an Indian feel that Western 

viewers can connect, says 

Hollywood producer Ashok 

Amritraj. 

"For me it's all about stories and 

starting stories. The question is 

what the ideas are?" Amritraj, who 

is bringing his 3D venture ‘Ghost 

TV, movies, 

website - Madhuri 

has lots to do 

There's a lot happening 

on dancing 

diva Madhuri 

Dixit's career front -and 

she is making special 

efforts to keep her 

fans informed. The 

actor, who is excited to 

go to London for the 

unveiling of her wax 

statue, has brought 

together a team of people 

who will manage her 

online social networking. 

"Hey Peeps, wazzup? 

Lots shaking on my 

side... Website coming 

together... should have 

almost live coverage 

blogzine online soon. 

Will link with my twitter 

and Facebook feeds," 

Madhuri posted on her 

Twitter page. 

"My Facebook site 

will be managed by my 

website team with close 

inputs from me and 

hopefully all of you. So 

let's get together. 

"Goal is to get tight with my 

peeps. Thank you for all the love 

and appreciation! Great things 

coming," added the actress, who 

has been confirmed as one of the 

judges for the fifth season of 

dance reality show "Jhalak 

Connect with the West, Ashok Amritraj 

tells Indian film makers 

A scene from the 3D film ‘Ghost Rider Spirit Of Vengeance. 

(Inset) Producer Ashok Amritraj. 

Madhuri Dixit. 

Dikhhla Jaa". 

Madhuri is known for hits like 

"Tezaab", "Ram Lakhan", 

"Sajan", "Beta", "Dil", "Hum 

Aapke Hain Koun!", "Dil Toh 

Pagal Hai" and "Devdas". The 

actress had shifted to the US after 

her marriage 12 years ago. 

Rider Spirit Of Vengeance’ to 

India, said. 

"It always has to be something 

that could break out internationally. 

So far, there have been two movies 

that have broken out internationally 

- "Gandhi" and "Slumdog 

Millionaire"...I would look for stories 

that our Western viewers get 

connected to," he said. 

"There are movies made around 

the world and the audiences connect 

to it. It doesn't matter where it 

is made and what language, people 

connect to the story. So the question 

is to find screenplays or stories 

that have an Indian feel to it but 

can move across the Western 

world. I'm not making it just for 

India," he added. 

In his 31-year-long stint in 

Hollywood, he has produced more 

than 100 films under his banner 

Hyde Park Entertainment and collaborated 

with big names like 

Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, 

Angelina Jolie and Robert DeNiro. 

He is open to co-production with 

Indian studios, but said: "It's a 

question of finding interesting stories. 

In India, we have so many, but 

working it in a way that can give it 

a larger market." 

Indian filmmakers recently got 

into experimenting mode, but 

Hollywood has been focusing on it 

for years, Amritraj points out. 

"The great thing about 

Hollywood is that they always 

made different kinds of movies - 

Vidya Balan's baby 

bump? 

you had 'Lawrence of Arabia', 'The 

Sound of Music', and also have 

'Chariots of Fire', 'Gandhi' and 

'Forrest Gump' - it's one of the 

things that has always excited me. 

In the last two years, we had 'Black 

Swan', 'The King's Speech' and this 

year you had 'The Descendants'. 

"It's nice to see that Indian filmmakers 

are making different kinds 

of movies which means that the 

audience is growing and they are 

getting used to the changes." 

Asked why Indian moviemakers 

fail to make a mark in the Western 

world, he said: "I think a lot of it is 

an original story...something that 

needs to be worked on. The most 

important person should be the 

writer. 

His "Ghost Rider Spirit Of 

Vengeance" is releasing in India on 

March 17 and talking about Indian 

market, he said: "India is not the 

biggest market for Hollywood 

films. India is clearly dominated by 

Indian films...but on the other hand 

it has grown significantly in last 10 

years." 

Big B shows satisfactory 

progress 

Amitabh Bachchan's health has shown considerable 

improvement after abdominal surgeries 

earlier this month. The megastar's 

post-surgery pain has reduced and doctors, satisfied 

with his progress, have allowed him to take a bath 

and have a better intake of food. 

"The meetings of the morning with the team of 

doctors can be the most trying for the patient... But 

happy to note that they seemed satisfied with the 

progress and after a few closed-door discussions, 

came back with a few points that would bring relief 

to any sufferer," Amitabh posted on his blog 

bigb.bigadda.com. 

The 69-year-old veteran is admitted to the Seven 

Hills Hospital here since on Feb 11. He underwent 

two abdominal surgeries, following which he com- 

If you spot Vidya Balan with a 

baby bump at any market or 

local place, don't be surprised 

by the sudden change. The actress 

is sporting this new look for the 

promotions of her forthcoming 

film. 

Vidya Balan is on a mission and 

her mission is now to promote her 

next film Kahaani. After bagging 

awards and compliments for The 

Dirty Picture, Vidya is all set for 

Sujoy Ghosh's forthcoming film 

Kahaani. 

We heard the actress will be 

seen in her character avatar of a 

plained of acute 

pain, forcing 

doctors to keep 

him under 

observation 

ever since. 

pregnant woman everywhere during 

the promotions. Makers of 

Kahaani have come up with this 

new promotional tactic where the 

actress will visit cities in her 

Kahaani avatar. Vidya will be 

seen at local places of different 

cities. 

Apart from that she is making 

cameos in tele-soaps and shows 

where she flaunts her baby bump. 

It can be recalled that before this 

Vidya sported her onscreen look 

of Ishqiya, Paa and The Dirty 

Pictures to promote her respective 

films. 

Amitabh Bachchan. 

Vidya Balan’s mission is now to 

promote her next film Kahaani.

Ultimate Bollywood 27 


Showbiz beckons children of politicos 

Politics could be a predictable 

career option for 

the progeny of politicians, 

but showbiz seems to be the new 

choice. Defence Minister A.K. 

Antony's son Ajith's entry into 

Malayalam films just goes to 

strengthen this trend in the flourishing 

$2 billion Indian movie 

industry. 

Showbiz has lured many 

youngsters from political families 

- Riteish Deshmukh, Arunoday 

Singh, Chirag Paswan and Rahul 

Mahajan to name some - and they 

are trying to carve a niche for 

themselves in a world very different 

from the one they grew up in. 

Now Ajith Antony is reportedly 

set for his silver screen debut 

with director Aji John's "Oberoi", 

for which the 22-year-old has 

also penned the screenplay. 

Riteish, the son of former 

Maharashtra chief minister 

Vilasrao Deshmukh, is so far the 

most popular among the lot. He 

embarked on his showbiz journey 

in 2003 with "Tujhe Meri 

Kasam" and has gradually grown 

to be one of the most sought after 

actors in tinsel town today. A 

variety of films like "Heyy 

Babyy", "Dhamaal", "Rann" and 

"Housefull", have cemented his 

position in the film industry. 

Arunoday, the grandson of late 

Congress veteran Arjun Singh, 

has always chosen to be unconventional. 

Despite his political 

lineage, he delved into cinema 

and his films - "Sikandar", 

"Aisha", "Mirch" and "Yeh Saali 

Zindagi" - also reflect his distinct 

choices. 

His family was perhaps as supportive 

of his decision to enter 

the film world, as was the case 

Julia amazed at the 

way time flies! 

Julia Roberts. 

If God lies in the details then 

"Ek Deewana Tha", Tamil- 

Telugu director Gautham 

Menon's first Hindi film in 11 

years, makes it all the way to the 

church. 

But hang on with those bells. 

Indeed courtship is treated as a religion 

in this intense take on that 

thing called love. The romantic situations 

though weather-beaten and 

seen in scores of films, exudes a 

sincerity and a freshness, thanks to 

the locations. And we don't mean 

just the mesmeric backwaters of 

Kerala and the leafy bylanes of 

suburban Mumbai. 

A master storyteller, Gautham 

Menon locates his story right in his 

leading man Prateik's heart. The 

gentle actor carries off the role of 

the love-struck adamant Romeo 

Actor Julia Roberts says she cannot 

believe that time has gone by so 

quickly - she is amazed to see that 

the remake of her 1990 movie "Flatliners" 

is already in the pipeline. 

"I heard there is going to be a remake of 

'Flatliners'. 

I was shocked. Already? It seems really 

quick! Didn't we just make that movie? 

That does seem quick," showbizspy.com 

quoted Roberts as saying. 

Directed by Joel Schumacher, the movie 

featured Roberts along with Kiefer 

Sutherland and Kevin Bacon. 

"The passage of time is something that is 

just so mysterious though. It just goes 

faster and faster, I just wish it would all 

slow down so I can take it all in, it is all 

going so fast," said the 44-year-old, a 

mother of three children. 

Ajith Antony, son of Indian Defense Minister AK Antony, is reportedly 

set for his silver screen debut. 

with Chirag, son of Lok Janshakti 

Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan. 

The entry into the electoral battlefield 

could have been a cake- 

with a more than a fair amount of 

earnest passion, bringing to his 

character a landscape of longing 

desire bitterness and finally satisfaction 

in love. 

The initial scenes where the modern-day 

Romeo Sachin (Prateik) 

tails his landlord's daughter (stilted 

newcomer Amy Jackson) radiate an 

ambrosial amour. The mo'bike, the 

furtive glances, the movie sneaked 

together…it's all done with a warm 

splendor that covers a range from 

the sly to the tender. 

A.R. Rahman's music is used for 

a number of dance pieces where 

Prateik uses his newly-enhanced 

body language to show us what 

love can do to an ordinary regular 

guy aspiring to be a filmmaker 

walk for the young boy, but 

Chirag, who feels he would eventually 

enter politics, decided to 

challenge himself in showbiz 

first. 

Another name one can't miss is 

Rahul Mahajan. The son of late 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 

leader Pramod Mahajan, Rahul 

may have made news for all the 

wrong reasons, but his entertainer 

streak hasn't gone unnoticed. 

His brush with controversial 

reality show "Bigg Boss 2" in 

2008 won him more popularity in 

households than his chequered 

past, which included allegations 

of beating his ex-wife, a drug 

abuse case in 2006, and an 

alleged affair with actress Payal 

Rohatgi. 

In "Bigg Boss", he came into 

the limelight for flirting with coparticipant 

Monica Bedi. 

Prateik shines in 'Ekk Deewana Tha' 

Prateik with Amy in a scene from ‘Ekk Deewana Tha.’ 

Douglas to present 

award at Oscars 

London: Veteran actor 

Michael Douglas, who is 

recovering from throat 

cancer, has been added to 

the list of presenters at the 

Oscar ceremony. 

The 67-year-old is tipped 

to announce the best picture 

award at the Sunday 

ceremony. 

He will join the likes of 

Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, 

Bradley Cooper, Tom 

Cruise, Penelope Cruz, 

Cameron Diaz, Tom Hanks 

and Angelina Jolie who 

will present awards to the 

winners. 

Douglas is no stranger to 

the Academy Awards. He 

won best actor for his per- 

formance in "Wall Street" 

in 1987 and his production 

venture "One Flew Over 

REVIEW 

Michael Douglas. 

The Cuckoo's Nest" won 

the best picture award in 

1975. 

under the tutelage of, ahem, 

Ramesh Sippy who at some point 

spews this wisdom on the lovelorn 

Sachin: "First solve your heart 

problem then get back to work." 

The trouble with this elegantlypackaged 

but somewhat selfidulgently-edited 

love story is that it 

takes a very long to get to the point. 

Like many notable love stories 

directed by South Indian directors 

the aaj ka Romeo must prove his 

love by traveling through various 

cities and emotional levels 

before…well, getting there. 

The journey in "Ek Deewana 

Tha" is not as bracing as in K. 

Balachander's "Ek Duuje Ke Liye" 

or Mani Ratnam's "Saathiya". But 

there are many nerve-points in the 

storytelling that pinches the pulse 

of the core emotion.

28 Humor 


Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 

Diamond Jubilee, receiving congratulatory 

messages from all over the world 

for her great achievement of spending 60 

years on the throne. It's a tough job -- living in 

that cramped old palace with a staff of only 250 

to take care of your needs, sometimes having to 

butter your crumpets all by yourself. 

Most people would have quit by now. It's no 

wonder that the Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated 

throughout the British Commonwealth, 

particularly in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, 

Jamaica and a dozen other sovereign states 

where the Queen is still considered Head of 

State, with the constitutional authority to make 

important decisions, such as whether to allow 

Justin Bieber to sing within 1,000 miles of her. 

In just four years, when she's 89, she'll pass 

Queen Victoria for the longest reign of a British 

monarch -- and if she lives to be 108, she'll pass 

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland for the longest 

verifiable reign in history. And her eldest son, 

Prince Charles, will set a record for the longest 

wait in history. The current record of 75 years 

is held by David Neevadock, who's been waiting 

to see a doctor at Toronto General Hospital. 

If you haven't followed the Queen's reign 

closely, here are some facts that may surprise 

you: 

---She married Prince Philip on Nov. 20, 

Humor with Melvin Durai 

Sixty years and counting for the Queen 

1947 -- not long after 

World War II. She had fallen 

in love with him when 

she was 13 and he was 18. 

The tabloids promptly 

dubbed them "Philizabeth." 

---She took her vows as 

Queen on June 2, 1953. A 

televised recording of her 

coronation was watched by 

100 million people in North 

America. Soon after that, 

the remote control was 

invented. 

---In 1945, she received 

training as a driver and mechanic after joining 

the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. Her 

knowledge came in handy in 1949 when her 

car broke down and poor Philip looked in the 

trunk for the carburetor. 

---In 2010, Forbes magazine estimated her 

net worth to be $450 million. But that was 

before she invested heavily in the website 

MarryPrinceHarry.com. 

---It's customary to address her initially as 

"Your Majesty" and thereafter as "Ma'am." 

Calling her "girl" or "babe" is acceptable only 

if you don't mind having a handbag print on 

your forehead. 

---The Queen travels freely around the world 

without a passport. Only one airport security 

officer has ever tried to frisk her. God rest his 

soul. 

---She has bestowed almost 400,000 titles 

and awards during her reign. She has conferred 

a knighthood on acclaimed author Salman 

Rushdie, appointed singer Kylie Minogue as an 

officer in the Order of the British Empire 

(OBE), and honored President Robert Mugabe 

of Zimbabwe with an IBE: "Idiot of the British 

Empire." 

---The Queen has donned more than 5,000 

hats over the decades. Her hat closet is so large, 

by Mahendra Shah 

Tech Life 

someone once got lost in there. Thankfully, a 

crack squad from London Police Service, using 

GPS devices and a pair of sniffer dogs, was 

able to locate Prince Philip. 

---After completing 250 official visits to 129 

countries, the Queen gained a spot in the 

Guinness World Records for the "Most 

Traveled Monarch" -- the only human in 

Guinness history to ever displace a butterfly. 

---The Queen speaks both English and 

French fluently. Her knowledge of Hindi is limited 

to the phrase "topi mere saiz ka milegaa?" 

(Do you have this hat in my size?) 

Laughter is the Best Medicine 

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. 

National Geographic to develop 

talking dictionaries 

Washington, DC: To save the more than 

7,000 languages spoken on our planet today 

from going in to oblivion by the end of this 

century, Linguists from the National 

Geographic's 'Enduring voices' have come 

up with the idea of 'walking dictionaries'. 

National Geographic Fellows K. David 

Harrison and Gregory Anderson, the linguists 

who are creating them, say that in 

some cases it is for the first time that the language 

has been recorded or written anywhere, 

according to a National Geographic 

statement. 

Harrison, associate professor of linguistics 

at Swarthmore College, and Anderson, president 

of the Living Tongues Institute for 

Endangered Languages, have travelled to 

some of earth's remotest corners, visiting 

language hotspots and seeking out the last 

speakers of vanishing languages. 

Harrison unveiled eight new talking dictionaries. 

They contain more than 32,000 

word entries in eight endangered languages, 

more than 24,000 audio recordings of native 

speakers pronouncing words and sentences, 

and photographs of cultural objects. 

"Endangered language communities are 

adopting digital technology to aid their survival 

and to make their voices heard around 

the world," Harrison said. "This is a positive 

effect of globalization." 

These findings were presented at the annual 

meeting of the American Association for 

the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 

Vancouver, British Columbia on Friday. 

The AAAS meeting featured a panel on 

using digital tools to save languages that 

included Alfred "Bud" Lane, among the last 

known fluent speakers of the Native 

American language known as 'Siletz Dee-ni', 

spoken in Oregon.

Aries: Stabilization in your relationship 

with your family members seems certain 

if you are willing to compromise on certain 

fronts. Professional gains for some bring gains 

and prosperity. Your new ideas and technical 

knowledge will make a good impression on others. 

Residential moves and renovation during 

this period will prove auspicious. Outdoor sports 

events and entertainment programme will help 

you keep relaxed. 

Taurus: This is a period to invest with 

extreme precaution and care. Past investments 

need another reexamination. If you're 

planning on investing in a new venture then you 

better take small factors into consideration. Your 

ability to charm others will put you in the limelight. 

Property or vehicle transactions seem quite 

likely. Children will cause some dissatisfaction 

but spouse remains quite cooperative. 

Gemini: Your optimism will push your 

career to new heights. Put some of your 

innovative ideas into your work to reap longterm 

benefits. The next few days will see pressure 

on your work front arise giving you little 

time for recreational and other activities. Gifts 

and presents will be plenty from visiting guests. 

Avoid standing for surety of any one to avoid 

unnecessary complications in the coming period. 

Family members will be supportive and caring. 

Cancer: This is an excellent time for 

professional advancements, promotions 

and recognition. At work you will be in the good 

books of your seniors and you will also benefit 

monetarily. Romance is in the air, so make the 

best of it and avoid any arguments with your 

lover. Opportunities to go out with friends will 

be informative and pleasurable. You need to do 

more things that you enjoy in order to relax. 

Foreign transaction or overseas journey will 

prove to be highly beneficial. 

Leo: You will be in a commanding position 

as your confidence and enthusiasm 

will be high. Important messages should be 

attended to immediately. You will make financial 

gains if you get involved in speculation. A spiritual 

person’s blessings give comfort and relief. 

New relations and attachments will develop as a 

result of vacation and other recreational activities. 

Get involved in activities that will help you 

keep in perfect shape. 

Virgo: Financial matters demand more 

attention. You should cut down your 

expenses on entertainment and shopping. 

Financial difficulty will even effect your health. 

Stay focused on your goals, but take necessary 

precautions. For some, a change of residence or 

a new construction will prove highly auspicious. 

Your erratic behaviour will raise emotions at 

home. Don’t take criticism too seriously. Travel 

will be highly exciting but expensive. 

Libra: Some challenging project will see 

you express your skills in a very different 

way. New approach will give you new confidence 

on which you will build future hopes and 

dreams. Businessmen and investors will see past 

investments reaping profits. Relations with 

somebody close might get strained over petty 

issues. Good week to call important people over 

to your place. Spouse will be highly supportive 

and shower you with love and affection. Legal 

affairs will create a state of nervousness. 

Scorpio: Your present health condition 

will be primarily because of the work 

pressure that you carry on your mind. You need 

to take time out with your friends will help you 

relax and regain your energy. Relationships with 

your clients will strengthen and you can accomplish 

a lot through smart negotiation and diplomacy. 

This week you should meet people who 

can further improve your career goals. Take care 

while driving, especially during the nights. 

Sagittarius: This week you will focus on 

domestic issues and should think about 

the immediate needs of your family members. 

Spouse and children will be a source of immense 

happiness. Guests and visitors bring you gifts in 

cash and kind. Going out with friends will be 

exciting and you will learn new and different 

skills. A good diet, coupled with fitness program 

will make you feel better. 

Capricorn: Work will suffer this week as 

romance clouds your mind. You will find 

it difficult in concentrating on your jobs and getting 

favours from others. Keep your focus clear 

on your goals to reap professional benefits. 

Pleasure trips for some will be educating. Little 

time for meditation and yoga will be important 

for mental as well as physical gains. Group 

involvement will entertertaining, but expensive 

if you don’t learn to say no. 

Aquarius: You will meet interesting people 

at social functions that you attend this 

week. Your ability to stand out in the crowd will 

bring you popularity and recognition. Your creative 

ability will surface, bringing you good 

ideas to make extra money. Great period to go 

out shopping for expensive items and jewelry. 

Spend some time with the one you love. Travel 

will be highly educating. 

Pisces: Money making efforts will be 

profitable provided you work on new 

ideas and plans. This seems to be an excellent 

time for you to do things that will keep you 

relaxed and entertained. This period seems 

exceptionally good to take time out for hobbies, 

or take an adventure trip or go out on a short 

vacation. 

Friends and family members will seek your 

advice. Wonderful week to look into new courses 

that interest you. 

February: 25 

Your Ruling Influences : No 7 and the planets 

Neptune and Mercury 

Your Traits : You are honest faithful and good-natured. 

You have the ability of taking charge over a 

difficult situation. You have the ability to control 

your emotions. You can hide your thoughts and feelings 

no matter how upset you are. 

You Should Guard Against : Your fickle-minded 

nature and inconsistency 

Profession and Finances : Those of you in the field 

of writing and oratory can expect to achieve success, 

in their professional field, in the year ahead of 

you. You should use your extensive memory, to 

your advantage 

Travel : The coming year will see you travel a lot. 

Visits to foreign countries is also possible 

Domestic Front : In love matters, you will be careful, 

and will not take the first step, if you are not 

sure of a positive response. 

Significant months : June and September 

February: 26 

Your Ruling Influences : No. 8 and the planet Saturn. 

You are also dominated by the planet Mercury 

Your Traits: Neatness is a passion for you. The opposite 

sex will be attracted to your neat and perfect 

sense of dressing. 

You Should Guard Against: Your restless nature 

and expecting things to happen in the shortest possible 

time. Indiscretion in matters relating to love. 

Proceed only when you are sure of a positive response 

Profession and Finances : The coming year will 

see you executing big projects into action. This will 

not only bring you success, but will also give you a 

sense of satisfaction. You will also be lucky in financial 

matters, in the year ahead of you 

Travel : Most of you will travel a lot in the coming 

year. Pleasure trips with friends are foreseen 

Significant months : May, October and November 

February: 27 

Your Ruling Influences : No. 9 and the planet 

Mars. You are also influenced by the planet Mercury 

Your Traits : Sacrifice and care for the needy, is 

what gives you ultimate satisfaction. You will be involved 

in voluntary work, which will help the handicapped 

and you will be appreciated for your good 

deeds, in the year ahead of you. Your personality 

will attract the opposite sex. You do not like many 

people around you. But you will be able to make 

few but good friends, in the coming year. You will 

be prepared to do your best for your friends and 

loved ones. 

You Should Guard Against : Your dogmatic views 

and ideas and losing sleep over trivial issues. Learn 

to relax and let small matters sort themselves out on 

their own. This will keep you away from stress and 

strain 

Significant months : July, September and November 

February: 28 

Your Ruling Influences : No. 1 and the Sun. You 

are also dominated by the planet Mercury 

Your Traits : By nature you are serious and are very 

protective about your privacy You enjoy being alone 

Astrology 29 


By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma 

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

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899 

psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com 

Stars Foretell: February 25-March 2, 2012 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week 

Before you consult... 

i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date, 

Time and Place of birth is accurate. 

ii) Careful: Did you check background of the 

astrologer before disclosing your secrets. 

iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel 

shy. It’s his business. 

iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the outcome 

is not as desired, never give up. 

v) Consult: Take second opinion before 

spending thousands on cure/remedies. 

and like to keep busy, in your own work. You cannot 

tolerate to see the miseries of those who are 

physically handicapped. In the coming year, you 

will be spending a lot of your time in doing social 

work for hospitals and charitable institutions. This 

will not only, give you a sense of satisfaction, but 

also bring you fame and recognition. 

You Should Guard Against : Lending money if 

you are not sure about getting it back 

Profession and Finances: You can expect to see, 

changes both professionally and at the domestic 

front, in the year ahead of you. Some of you might 

lose money through speculation. Your independent 

nature, will allow you to take your own decisions in 

the year ahead of you.. 

Significant months : February, June and October 

March: 1 

Number 1 and the Sun will eclipse you and the effect 

will be increased by the collaboration of the 

planet Moon. The upcoming time have good fortune 

plus achievable task for you. Fine judgment and focused 

vision will help you to tackle the difficult assignments 

easily eventually bestow you with loads 

of celebrity and identification. The big bucks will 

accumulate in your bank account removing all your 

succeeding worries and tensions. Customs and irrational 

beliefs will never entice you on the contrary 

the diversion is towards spiritual phase. Lovely 

merchandise attracts you and you will be forced by 

your inner instinct to buy them for your bedroom 

decoration. This will finally increase the quality of 

products around you. Fresh talents will undoubtedly 

upgrade your grade in front of your bosses and 

will spellbound each and everyone be them in your 

office or at abode. The following piles of month will 

bring new contacts, fun and frolic in your life. July, 

October and January will support you by all means. 

March: 2 

Planet Moon will supersede you and number 2 will 

guide you. Smashing progress is your motto of life 

all the time. You always usher with full vigor to get 

the desired name and fame. Your trust is their confidence 

that puts you in unmanageable task. They 

bank upon you from the core of their heart. You always 

tend to be among the first off the block which 

you created by yourself and it will brings fireworks 

to your life also. You also need to set off your tyrannic 

trait. The celebration has already begun for 

shedding off your bossy attribute. Time zone has 

changed and now each and every minute will make 

everyone to dance on your tone. You have leadership 

qualities too. But at times this may warn you of 

taking away other’s freedom. The God creativity 

will make you unrest and will tempt you. The energy 

and drive would be at its peak and the necessary 

thrust will be provided by the scenic beauty which 

surrounds you. June, September and December will 

be fruitful and creates associations. 

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The South Asian Times

30 Spiritual Awareness 


By Sant Rajinder Singh 

Ji Maharaj 

Sharing the divine honey 

There is a story of a beautiful 

queen who loved to sit under 

the trees and enjoy the beauty 

of nature. One day, as she looked 

up, she noticed a bee flying around 

a honeycomb. As she sat there, 

some liquid dripped onto her face. 

When some dripped onto her lips, 

she accidentally licked them and 

was surprised by its sweetness. 

She thought, “This liquid dripping 

out is sweet. This would be 

great to add to tea and give it a 

sweeter flavor.” 

She asked her attendants to collect 

some of this liquid and bring it 

to the palace. She took this sweet 

substance and experimented by flavoring 

different foods with it. She 

had discovered honey for the first 

time and learned how the bees 

made it. She continued to experiment 

with it to learn how it could 

improve the taste of food and beverages. 

Over time, she taught the people 

in her kingdom how to cook with 

honey. This new type of flavoring 

became popular throughout her 

kingdom. No other country had 

ever seen it or heard of it before. 

Over the years, word spread about 

this special flavoring that was 

being made in her kingdom. The 

queen told the people of her kingdom 

to keep the information on 

how honey was made a secret. 

Although people heard of the 

honey, no one from her kingdom 

would divulge the method of how 

it was made. 

Years later, the queen’s daughter, 

the princess, was invited to visit 

another country to visit the emperor. 

It was traditional to bring a gift 

when visiting the emperor of 

another country. She thought 

deeply about what would be special 

to bring to him. She asked her 

father, the king, what to bring. 

Whenever one had a problem, one 

would ask the wise men for a solution. 

The king sent for the wisest 

men in the land to find out what 

would be the most special gift that 

the princess could bring with her 

for theemperor. 

The princess asked, “What do 

you think would be the most valuable 

gift that I could bring the 

emperor?” 

The wise men thought about it 

for a while and told her, “The 

secret of making honey is the most 

valuable gift you could bring him.” 

The princess did not know what 

to do. It was forbidden to share the 

secret of making honey with anyone 

outside of her kingdom. How 

could she bring the gift without her 

mother, the queen, finding out? 

She decided the best way to bring 

this gift was to bring to the emperor 

some of the bees that made the 

honey. The princess asked one of 

her attendants to put her hair up 

into an elaborate hair style. She hid 

the eggs of the bees in the folds of 

her hair. Then she set off for the 

other country. Since no one could 

see the eggs in her hair she was 

able to transport them from her 

kingdom. 

When she reached the distant 

kingdom, she took care of the eggs 

until they hatched. She then let 

them grow into bees that produced 

the honey. She presented the honey 

to the emperor. He greatly appreciated 

the valuable gift she had 

brought. She then taught the 

emperor the secret of how bees 

make honey. 

The emperor took care of the 

bees which laid more eggs. Over 

time they multiplied. They continued 

to thrive in his country. Soon 

there were thousands of bees. The 

honey they produced was used by 

the people of his land. Unlike the 

queen who discovered the honey, 

the emperor did not keep the information 

on how honey was made a 

secret. As a result, not only people 

of his country, but people throughout 

the world were taught the 

secret of honey. Before long, 

everyone around the world knew 

the secret of honey. 

This imaginary tale is a beautiful 

analogy to describe the role of the 

Masters and saints. The secret they 

share with the whole world is not 

physical honey, but the sweet nec- 

tar of the Divine. They share with 

suffering humanity the secret of 

how to find the sweet nectar of the 

Divine that leads the soul back to 

God. 

Throughout the ages, saints and 

Masters have blessed this earth 

with their spiritual teachings. 

Through their grace, suffering 

souls are able to find a way to 

reunite with God. 

Just like the queen who wanted 

to keep knowledge of honey a 

secret, so does Kal, the sustaining 

power, want to keep it secret that 

God exists and that we can reunite 

with God. We are kept in ignorance 

of the most valuable gift of all, 

experiencing our soul and God. We 

are in the dark about the fact that 

there is God, the soul is a part of 

God, and we can reunite the soul 

with God. The honeyed divine nectar 

that connects us with God is 

called the holy Naam, Shabd, or 

the Light and Sound of God. We 

have forgotten who we are as soul 

and are ignorant of reuniting our 

soul with the Creator. 

The Masters are like the princess 

who was able to bring the honey 

out of the kingdom to impart it to 

the whole world. Just as the 

princess was able to find a way to 

bring the honey out of her country 

even though the queen tried to keep 

it there, so do Masters find a way 

to bring us knowledge of the divine 

honey. They are able to put people 

How can we be a model to others? Mahatma Gandhi 

once said, “Be the change that you want to see 

in others.” This profound statement holds the key to 

how we can inspire others to taste of the divine 

Nectar that has transformed our lives. 

“ 

” 

in touch with the divine nectar that 

reconnects our soul with God. 

How do they do it? They teach 

people through the process of initiation 

how to find the spiritual 

honey within. At the time of holy 

initiation, they open our third or 

single eye so we can contact the 

holy Naam within. They open our 

inner eye to see the Light of God, 

and they open our inner ear to hear 

the Celestial Music, or Sound of 

God. They teach us a method of 

meditation by which we can 

become absorbed into the inner 

Light and inner Sound within. 

Once we connect with the inner 

Light, we see inner vistas unfold 

for us. We think that honey is delicious. 

But tastier than outer honey 

is the honey within. This inner nectar 

also radiates with divine Light 

and sings with divine Music. We 

see Light of various colors and 

radiant inner stars, moon, and sun. 

We come to the most beautiful 

manifestation of all, the ethereal or 

radiant form of the Master. This 

form serves as our inner guide on 

the further journey within. 

The Master takes us to even more 

beautiful realms, from the astral to 

the causal and supracausal realms 

until we reach the soul’s eternal 

Home, Sach Khand. There, our 

soul merges back in God. 

There is no more valuable gift 

that can be brought to humanity 

than contact with the inner Light 

and Sound. Just as the princess 

brought the most valuable gift her 

kingdom had to offer, which was 

the secret of making honey, the 

Masters bring from God to humanity 

the most valuable gift, the secret 

of contacting the inner nectar of the 

Light and Sound within us. 

The Masters are selfless and 

sharing. Unlike the queen who 

wanted to keep the secret for herself, 

the Masters want to share their 

gift with all humanity. They are 

generous and want to make sure 

the whole world avails itself of this 

blessing. They make their gift 

known to all sincere seekers after 

truth. They bring this gift to people 

of all countries. 

They share the gift with people 

of all religions. They share it with 

people of all walks of life, from the 

rich to the poor, from those who 

are highly literate to those who are 

illiterate. They share it with people 

of all cultures. Just as the princess 

gave the honey to the emperor 

freely, and he, in turn, freely shared 

the knowledge of it with the rest of 

the world, so do the Masters share 

the gift of Naam with the world. 

They do not hold back the secret 

from anyone. 

How can we share the divine 

honey within? How can we be like 

the princess who shared the secrets 

so the whole world can benefit? 

The best way we can share the 

gift of what we receive with others 

is to be a model to inspire others to 

want to partake of this divine 

honey. 

How can we be a model to others? 

Mahatma Gandhi once said, 

“Be the change that you want to 

see in others.” This profound statement 

holds the key to how we can 

inspire others to taste of the divine 

Nectar that has transformed our 

lives. 

Rather than telling other people 

what they should and should not 

do, we can become an example of 

what we want others to try. When 

they see us living up to that example, 

they, on their own, will be 

inspired to undergo the same transformation. 

To be continued...

Mahatma Gandhi once said - The South Asian Times

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