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7th July to 13th July 201280p Let noble thoughts come to us from every sideVOL 41. ISSUE 10 First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

The London Olympics besides Mittaland Anish Kapoor has another promi-nent Indian in the team. Music Maestroand almost a 'guru' to Oscar winnerMusic composer A R Rahman,Ilaiyaraaja has received a rare honour.At this year's London Olympics, sched-uled to begin on 27 July, Ilaiyaraaja'ssong from the 1981 Kamal Haasan flick'Ram Lakshman' will be played alongwith a few other samples of world musicas part of the opening ceremony.The song is 'Nanthaan Ungappanda'

and this opening ceremony is going tobe conducted in a spectacular fashionby Danny Boyle, the director of'Slumdog Millionaire'.Ilaiyaraaja, an Indian Tamil by birth,

is said to have been quite surprised by

this decision, more so since the song isnot among his most popular ones. Hehas so far 307 hit songs, a record in theKollywood industry. The Olympic opening ceremony is

going to be unveiled at a cost of £27 mnand it is indeed a great honour to havesuch a great musician's compositionamongst the chosen scores.

Ilaiyaraaja's music chosen for London Olympics

Ilaiyaraaja

Home Secretary TheresaMay is on yet another'anti-immigrant' mission.She is reported to be plan-ning changes to the testtaken by foreign nationalswho wish to becomeBritish citizens. The cur-rent test, that could not beeven cleared by genera-tions of Britons born andbrought up in this country(in a recent documentaryby a popular tv channel),is now meant to be morecomplicated and difficultfor people who are regulartax payers and hard work-ing, proving to be assets tothis country- at least sofar. Moreover this test,

may how eliciting it is,cannot necessarily makepeople better Britons.History, anthem and fail-ing to adopt British waysof life are social engineer-ing issues and cannot log-ically have any direct rela-tion to how much onescores in a certain test.But May reportedly

suggested that immigrantswho want to settle inBritain will in future haveto learn aboutShakespeare, FlorenceNightingale and theBeatles.

A new cultural testwill ask these settlers toknow about historic fig-ures and to understandBritish achievements,including military victo-ries such as the Battle ofTrafalgar.It will ask immigrants

to learn by heart the firstverse of the nationalanthem – although no onewill be required to memo-rise the other three.The 45 mins test,

aimed at encouragingmigrants to integrate intosociety, will replace a citi-zenship exam introducedby Labour seven years agowhich asked for knowl-edge of human rights, theEU and how to claim ben-

Oops she did it again!Further changes made to immigration law stun the whole nation

efits.Instead of asking

about when women wonthe right to divorce or whogets free prescriptions, the‘Life in the UK’ test willnow demand knowledgeof artists, poets andauthors.In a section on culture,

immigrants will be told forthe first time that "histori-cally, the UK is a Christiannation" . In a section seenas an 'explicit attack onIslamic fundamentalism' ,

Continued on page 2 Theresa May, MP

A naturalisationceremony in the UK

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Ratan Tata getsLifetime

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India has decided to upthe ante on Lashkar-e-Toiba operative andMumbai attack handlerSyed Zabiuddin Ansarialias Abu Jundal in thetalks with Pakistan.According to ministry ofhome affairs officials,India has decided toshare a copy of Jundal'spassport and identitycard with Pakistani for-eign secretary JalilAbbas Jilani who arrivedin New Delhi for talks.A dossier on the

26/11 attacks handlerwill be given by India toPakistan ForeignSecretary during thetalks. This came hoursafter Jundal's passportrevealed his present andpermanent address inPakistan, making India'sclaim of Pakistani handin the 2008 Mumbaiattacks stronger.Continued on page 26

India seeks tonail Pak withJundal’s ID,

passport

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 20122 UK

one to oneKeith Vaz MP with

Dinesh Sharma, PhDDinesh Sharma, PhD, is a cultural psychologist andmarketing consultant with a doctorate from HarvardUniversity. His recent biography of President Obamawas rated as the Top Ten Black History Books for 2012by BookListOnline of the American Library Association.He also holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology.The author/editor of three previous books, he is acolumnist for Asia Times Online, writing on globaliza-tion, politics, terrorism, AfPak region, and India-USrelations, and his articles have appeared in othernewspapers and journals, including the Wall StreetJournal Online, Far Eastern Economic Review, and theMiddle East Times.

1) Please tell us aboutyour current positionand the book you havejust written?I have just published a“cultural biography” onthe 44th president of theUS, Barack Obama,which was rated as theTop 10 Black HistoryBooks by the AmericanLibrary Association. I

also write a regular col-umn for Asia TimesOnline, host and pro-duce a TV show con-cerned with US-Asiarelations onPrincetonTV and am asenior fellow at a thinktank in NYC.2) What is your proud-est achievement?Well, there have been

many but right now, I amfeeling high on complet-ing a book on a sittingpresident and feel that Ihave done somethingproductive that hasmade a difference.

3) What has been thebiggest obstacle in yourcareer?The challenge has beento integrate the varioustracks of my career –consulting in the privatesector, writer, academic,teacher and hosting amodest TV show. Now,the hurdle is to developit into a full platform.

4) Who has been thebiggest influence onyour career to date?I have been lucky tohave many good teach-ers, certainly my profes-sors at HarvardUniversity inspired megreatly, Indian psycho-analyst and writerSudhir Kakar has been aconstant influence, andnow the US presidentand his election in 2008was an inspiration.

5) What is the bestthing about your cur-rent role?

The current role allowsme to wear many hatsand apply my skills indifferent forms ofmedia.

6) And the worst?There is not enoughtime in the day! I needmore waking hours andto be able to sleep less.

7) If you were PrimeMinister what one thingwould you change? I would create more“innovation zones” inthis society and preparecitizens to embrace “thebrave new world” andnot be afraid of change.Change is good.

8) If you weremarooned on a desertisland, which historicalfigures would you liketo spend your time withand why?It would be a long list –Freud, Jung, Gandhi,Nehru, Churchill,Lincoln, Washington,Obama, Clinton, BillGates, Steve Jobs and soon. They wouldn’t allnecessarily get along butthe debates and argu-ments would be great tosee.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh, thenoted academician, visit-ed London School ofAccountancy andManagement, for aninformal meeting with itsSenior ManagementTeam and members of theAcademic Board.

The discussionstouched upon a numberof areas, including theeducational model of pri-vate sector colleges andLondonSAM’s variousinitiatives, the currentregulations for overseasstudents and strategiesfor British Private Sectorcolleges, growth opportu-nities in Indian HigherEducation sector andopportunities of engage-ment, whichLondonSAM is activelyseeking. Dr Teeranlall

Ramgopal, Chairman ofLondonSAM’s AcademicBoard, noted that thiswas a great occasion towelcome one of Britain’smost celebrated academi-cians in LondonSAM andhoped that the collegewould continue to receiveLord Parekh’s guidanceand advice, particularly inbuilding a strong academ-ic culture and developinga global outlook through

engagements with educa-tional institutions inIndia and elsewhere.Professor Stuart Wall,member of LondonSAM’sAcademic Board, com-mented on the economicimpact of the overseasstudents on the UK econ-omy and expressed hopethat the overseas stu-dents will continue tohave confidence in highstandards and greatprospects of UK HigherEducation despite thechanging visa regime. Dr Dak Patel,

Founder and Principal ofLondonSAM, thankedLord Parekh for the visitand hoped that the col-

lege executive team couldcontinue to draw uponhis wisdom and insights.Dr Patel also expressedhis keenness to engage insetting up an Educationestablishment in Gujarat,and sought Lord Parekh’sadvice on the same.

Harshad Kothari,Financial Controller ofLondonSAM, BrendaEade, Quality AssuranceAdvisor, ProfessorCharles Chatterjee,Academic Advisor, MikeLeeson, ManagingDirector, and SupriyoChaudhuri, Director ofHigher Education, alsoattended the meeting onbehalf of LondonSAM.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh visits LondonSAM

Mike Leeson, Prof. Stuart Wall, Supriyo Chaudhuri, Brenda Eade, Dr. Dak Patel, Lord Parekh,

Prof. Chatterjee, Dr. Teeranlall Ramgopal, Harshad Kothari

Oops she didit again!

Continued from page 1 the draft states there's

"no place in British socie-ty for extremism andintolerance" and providesa list of criminal offencesthat migrants will have tomemorize. However thisparticular part of theproposition has attractedscathing remarks fromsome followers of Islam,though it's expected thatHindus, Jains, Buddhistsand Sikhs may not haveanything to say, especiallywhen it comes to theirloyalty. The concept ofminority faith is mislead-ing in this light, since thecountry and its rulingpower has been toleranttowards all religions. However even before

the changes made, num-ber of people granted set-tlement has fallen sincethe Coalition came topower. In the 12 monthsto March this year therewas a 35 per cent fall insettlement grants, from226,478 to 148,144. Theabove suggested changesby May are meant to cutdown this number further,ensuring not the 'rightful'but only the 'merited' get achance to be citizen ofthis great nation.

The 'cheating' private doc-tors of Harley Street hasbeen recently attacked bythe Times newspaper. Themost jaw dropping issue,more than the articleitself, is a photograph inone corner of the wellarticulated article- a faceof an 'Asian' man in an OTmask. It is perhaps not asecret that many of thedoctors in the NHS oroutside are Asians by ori-gin, but when they arehighlighted in a newspa-per as widely distributedas Times under the 'greed-iest of all' bracket- it maynot be the right approachor publicity, especially in anation like ours! Asians are probably

not unable of any wrongdoing, but they do notdeserve the unwanted orspecial attention thisreport has fetched to theirskin colour.Moving on, the article

reports on the latestoffender Dr Aamer Khan,probably an Asian, and aHarley Street cosmeticsurgeon to the stars (hissupporters include PatsyKensit and StephanieBeacham), who hasrecently been found guilty

of misconduct for “pres-surising” patients intobuying his services � ie, heoffered three femalefriends a liposuction-styleprocedure at the knock-down price of £5,100each, but only as a grouprate.

Now, whether thishard sell is a bench markfor the definition of “pres-surising” is a moot point,but the author KevinMaher, seemed to havefaced the same sort ofalleged 'harassment' in adifferent area, which wasfixed in a blink at a muchcheaper and reasonablecost at some other doc-tor's in Rickmansworth. However, as apt as the

writer is about the grow-ing ' material greed'amongst many CentralLondon doctors and prob-ably many other profes-sionals, this articledeserved better of hisjudgement.

No, not all 'greedy privatedoctors' are Asian!

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Thought for the Week

COMMENT

A testing time for immigrantsThe Cameroon government is putting up every hurdlefor the immigrants to settle in UK. The latest additionis that immigrants wanting to live in the country willhave to learn the first verse of the National Anthem aspart of new citizenship tests. Most of the immigrantswon’t mind, but the question is whether the change inthe new rules is really necessary or beneficial. Theimmigrants will also be tested on their knowledge ofkey historical facts and characters, including theBeatles, William Shakespeare and FlorenceNightingale.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, plans to rewriteLabour party’s ‘Life in the UK’ handbook to replacesections on how to claim benefits and the merits ofthe Human Rights Act with questions about Britishinventions and discoveries, including television,radar, DNA and the internet, as well as cultural land-marks such as the publication of the King JamesBible.

The new guide is expected to describe Britain as a“fantastic place to live; a modern thriving society witha long and illustrious history.” It will also includequestions on topics such as Winston Churchill, theMagna Carta and the English Civil War, as well as sec-tions on the artists Gainsborough, Turner andConstable as well as writers such as Jane Austen andCharles Dickens. Poetry and historical battles, includ-ing Trafalgar, will also be mentioned. For the firsttime, immigrants will be told: "Historically, the UK isa Christian country." Learning the history of UK isokay, but the government has to see that these newlaws did not hurt the religious beliefs of minorities.You cannot impose your religion on people of other

faiths. The government thinks that the citizenshiptest will help ensure those permanently settling canunderstand British life, allowing them to properlyintegrate into their society. The question is whetherthis test will have the desired results. But the govern-ment will have spent a lot on printing this new hand-book. Is it worth the effort? Just by learning these his-torical facts you cannot expect to the new immigrantsto integrate into their society.

It is a time of globalisation, where one needs to beuniversally accepted. But in order to live in UK, oneneeds to do lot of needful that stands as biased. Andwhen the immigrant is new, you cannot expect him toact like British, but he needs to live in Britain, beforeyou can expect him to be like British.

Habib Rahman, chief executive of the JointCouncil for the Welfare of Immigrants, is not con-vinced that the test needs overhauling: "We would liketo see the evidence of the current test failing in itsstated aim to teach migrants the basics needed for lifein this country. Theresa May is once again raising thebar for settlement for New Britons.

"To make the test less practical and more histori-cal will give migrants an abundance of knowledgethey will not use. This is another measure to limitaccess to the UK. The home secretary needs to thinkagain." Yet that is not what newcomers want or need.Indeed, research from the Institute for Social &Economic Research shows that Pakistanis,Bangladeshis and Indians identify more strongly with“Britishness” than their indigenous counterparts.That identification is strongest with the children andgrandchildren of immigrants.

Tony Blair keeps his richness in closetTony Blair, the former prime minister, is quite affluent,in fact super rich with ownership of six or morehomes, an annual income of around £20 million a yearand he usually spent his time travelling the world byprivate jet. His secretive business empire declared a £12 million turnover, up from £8.5 million the yearbefore.

But he has kept his richness a secret by using a lit-tle -known loophole in UK company law. This is not arich-bashing thread, but just pointing out the sheerdisconnection of some politicians with the real world.They avoid following rules and law. To qualify beingrich, is not wrong but to hide your richness in order tosave yourself from heavy tax is surely wrong.

Yet this is potentially only the tip of the iceberg,since Mr Blair exploits a perfectly legal loophole tokeep his finances secret. The full extent of his incomeis cloaked in secrecy because he has constructed acomplex web of shadowy companies and partnershipswhich let him avoid publishing full accounts detailingall the money from his commercial ventures.

Blair would normally have to publish companyaccounts detailing the millions flowing into his vari-ous commercial ventures since he stepped down fromoffice in 2007. But he has set up a complicated artifi-cial structure which avoids the normal rule. In effect,he is getting the benefits of running a British compa-ny without the drawbacks of unwelcome publicity.His main vehicle is a so-called limited partnership,christened Windrush Ventures No 3 LP. Thanks to a

gap in the Whitehall regulations, this entity is notrequired to publish any accounts. Such partnershipsmust normally disclose figures, or face criminal penal-ties. Blair sidestepped the rules by inserting a secondpartnership as one of the notional partners, in a waythe regulations do not cover.

This second partnership, Windrush Ventures No 2LLP, is a so-called limited liability partnership, a type ofentity only invented in 2000, which the rules have notbeen updated to mention. The LLP in turn controlsBlair's operating company, called Windrush VenturesLtd, which runs his Mayfair office in Grosvenor Square.The perfectly legal structures Blair has set up to achievesecrecy are so complicated that they have previouslybaffled analysts. They involve 12 different entities, six inthe Windrush structure and another half-dozen in amore recent parallel structure called Firerush.

While the law requires Blair to publish limitedaccounts for parts of the Windrush entities, thefinances of the master-partnership remain a secret.More than £6 million can be seen to have cascadeddown from the partnership into other companies. Butdetails of the full revenues remain hidden. This givesBlair all the advantages of an offshore "secrecy juris-diction" while allowing him to state, correctly, that heremains a regular, onshore, British taxpayer. Blair maybe correct in the eye of laws, but is it not his moralduty as a former prime minister to disclose his fullearnings and pay tax for it so that the country and thecommon man can benefit from it?

The interest rate rigging by Barclays shows that thereis corruption at the heart of British banking system. Itcalls for urgent cleaning up operation. The admissionof systematically rigging financial markets between2005 and 2009 by the bank and the resignations ofchairman Marcus Agius and CEO Bob Diamond isnot sufficient. People who have lost money because ofthe artificially high interest rates on loans or mort-gages should be compensated. The bank was fined arecord £290 million by UK and US regulators forrepeatedly distorting basic financial data which areused to set interest rates on millions of loans andother transactions. This rigging shows that bankshave not learnt any lesson from the financial crisisthat is dogging it. The Government must now fasttrack plans to reform the industry and separate ordi-nary retail banking services from the toxic activities oftheir investment banking arms.

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced aparliamentary inquiry into the banking sector. Hetold the House of Commons that the manipulation ofthe Libor interest rates had been a "scandal". Thereview will run alongside an inquiry ordered into theLibor market. In addition, Barclays will conduct itsown "root and branch review." Mr Cameron said thereview should ensure the UK had the "toughest andmost transparent rules of any major financial sector."This rigging incident calls for a tougher regulatorywatchdog to stand up to the banks on behalf of con-

sumers. The Financial Services Authority should beopen and transparent about the cost to ordinary bor-rowers of these rigged interest rates, and if peoplehave lost out the banks should be forced to compen-sate borrowers.

It is sad that the British Bankers Association(BBA), which represents the banking industry,remains silent on the matter. The BBA should be sub-jected to scrutiny for its role in managing the Liborscheme. It is surely time for this crucial function to behanded to an accountable authority. Something wentvery wrong with the UK banking industry and weneed to put it right,” said Sir Mervyn King, governorof the Bank of England, listing excessive pay, “shoddytreatment of customers” and the “deceitful manipula-tion” of Libor among the failings. The banks mustkeep it in mind that the banking industry works ontrust of the people and if it lost that trust then itwould be very difficult for the bank to regain it. MrMervyn called on the government to legislate quicklyto create a greater gap between retail banks and theirinvestment banking arms. He also called for an end tothe current system of setting Libor based on estimatesprovided by banks rather than actual trades.

Just as the phone hacking scandals in the UnitedKingdom prompted judicial inquiries in bothAustralia and the United Kingdom into media ethics,there is a similar need to establish the parameters ofacceptable practice in banking.

Banking system needs cleaning up operation

Early this year I broughtto your attention a visitto Harrow by theMetropolitan PoliceCommissioner BernardHogan Howe. Herevealed the disturbingrise in crime and burgla-ry figures in the bor-oughs of Brent, Harrowand Barnet.Londonwide and locallyin Harrow and Brent thesituation has notimproved. If anythingthe problems of policingand crime have wors-ened. Since the GLAelections in May I havebecome a member of theLondon Assembly’sPolicing and CrimeCommittee which nowgives me the opportuni-ty to pursue issues inthis area from a Brentand Harrow perspective.

In his election cam-paign Mr Johnsonpledged to make ‘ourstreets and homes saferwith 100 more police onthe beat’, meaning 1,000more police by 2016(the end of the currentMayoral term). At theJune the Police andCrime Committeequizzed the Mayorabout this promise butthe response was moreor less to deny any suchcommitment. He failedto even acknowledgeofficial police figuresproduced by his own‘Mayor’s Office forPolicing and Crime’(MOPAC).

At the same Junemeeting I asked theMayor, “Do you agreethat in all boroughs, theSafer NeighbourhoodTeams (SNTs) are seri-ously depleted?”Further, I asked him,“What plans you have torestore those SNTS totheir full capacity?”Whilst the Mayoracknowledged that

“safer neighbourhoodteams have suffered”, hedid not give any indica-tion of the timetable forrestoring these teams. Iretorted with “People inmy constituency andothers want to knowhow long they’d have towait until they can havetheir SNTs fully opera-tional?” The Mayor paidtribute to the work ofHarrow’s police butagain evaded the ques-tion. It is frustrating tome and colleagues onthe Assembly, and unfairto Londoners, that theMayor continues toavoid answering legiti-mate questions.

Policing locally, inBrent and Harrow, is atcross roads due to huge-ly reduced police num-bers and the increase incrime. However, theviews of residents andthose of mine are notshared by the Borough’sPolice Commanders. Ata Brent resident associa-tion’s AGM the BoroughCommander talkedabout the ‘Pyramidstructure’ in Brentwhere the ‘customer’(resident) is at the topand the police providethe solid base. It is veryreassuring that the latestMet Police crime figuresshow a decrease inoffences related to guncrime, racist and reli-gious hate crime andhomophobic crime. But,there is worryingincrease in otheroffences - with residen-tial burglaries up 16%(overall 9% increase inall type of burglaries)and domestic crime up4%. Constituents areconcerned aboutupsurges in residentialburglaries, muggingsand traders in EalingRoad,

London’s ShamefulPolicing

Navin ShahGLA Member for Brent and Harrow

“Our London”

Continued on page 14

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot

do everything, but still I can do something;

and because I cannot do everything, I will

not refuse to do something that I can do

- Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 20124 LEICESTER VOICE

Leicester’s Shree SanatanMandir hosted the GoDharmic Mela with theHindu Forum of Britain,which saw over 1000 peo-ple attend and learn aboutthe importance of sup-porting organic dairyfarming for the Hinducommunity.Children who attended

the event wrote touchingmessages to the represen-tatives of the Hindu com-munity regarding theirfeelings about cows andthe importance of animalwelfare. Hundreds of people

took the pledge to useorganic milk instead ofconventional, and thisrepresents a clear signalthat Hindus in Britaincare about the importanceof the cow and the stanceagainst the increase inintensive farming.

Baroness SandipVerma, speaking to cam-paign manager HemalRanderwala said, “I thinkthere is a very big ethicalquestion that has beenposed today, and I mustsay, Hemal, since youposed that question to meI think I have looked athow milk is produced andsold in a completely differ-ent light, and I think actu-ally that illustration has

really made me rethinkabout what else is therethat I am buying that has abig ethical dilemma forme”.This week, Bollywood

actor Amir Khan also ded-icated a whole episode ofSatyamev Jayati to thecrucial importance oforganic farming saying, “I

personally feel we haveno option but to movegradually towardsorganic farming. Anduntil such time that weare fully organic, weneed a government reg-ulatory authoritywhich does monthlychecks on the foodcoming into ALL thevarious wholesale mar-kets all across the coun-

try in all the differentcities, and monitors theamount of pesticide in ourfood.”Hemal said, “The

same way we have seenthe UK unite and say no tobuying eggs from battery-caged hens, the Dharmiccommunity can go a longway to protecting natural

organic farming condi-tions. If we all take thepledge together, we canmake a difference.Otherwise, if we do noth-ing, the future looksbleak.”

A dangerous driver withan appalling motoringrecord led police on ahigh-speed chase throughthe streets.

Omar Khalifa, whohas previously caused thedeath of a pedestrian in ahit-and-run collision, wasjailed for 19 monthsMonday.The 28-year-old was

on licence from an earlierdangerous driving sen-tence and subject to afour-year driving banwhen police saw himbehind the wheel of hisformer partner'sMercedes. He was tryingto tow a broken-down van,on February 28.

Catherine Chasemore,prosecuting, told LeicesterCrown Court the van wascausing congestion inBurleys Way, Leicester citycentre, at 7.30pm.Khalifa became agitat-

ed when he saw police andquickly undid the towrope before driving off inthe Mercedes, with therope swinging behind.Miss Chasemore said:

"The pursuit lasted 4.4miles. He ignored thepolice car's siren andflashing lights as he wentover Belgrave Flyover at60mph in the 30 zone."Khalifa went through

numerous red trafficlights, and drove thewrong direction down sev-eral one-way streets, caus-ing some pedestrians tojump back in shock. Heovertook in the face ofoncoming cars, droveerratically with suddenbraking and did an illegalU-turn.Khalifa went the

wrong way alongMoorgate Street, scratch-ing an oncoming VauxhallVectra, knocked a wing

mirror off a Honda anddamaged the bumper of aToyota Corolla.In Gopsall Street,

Highfields, he abandonedthe car, jumping intochurch gardens and overan eight feet wall, beforebeing arrested.Khalifa, a father of

two, of Ashleigh Road,Leicester, admitted dan-gerous driving, drivingwhen disqualified andhaving no insurance. Itwas his seventh courtappearance for drivingoffences.In July 2000, when

aged 17, his vehicle skid-ded and mounted a kerb,hitting a woman. He ranoff, leaving the victimdying in the street. Khalifawas given a four-and-a-half year detention sen-tence for that offence.On Monday, Judge

Michael Pert QC said of

Khalifa's latest offence:"It's a bad case of danger-ous driving and aggravat-ed by your general disre-gard for motoring laws."Khalifa, who was

already banned from driv-ing until March 2015, wasgiven a concurrent two-year ban.

Jonathan Dunne, miti-gating, said Khalifa waspestered into helping afriend whose van had bro-ken down. He panickedwhen he saw the policebecause he was on licencefrom a 12-month sentence,imposed in February lastyear, for dangerous anddrink-driving.Mr Dunne said: "He

has a bad record and thiswas bad driving. He'dbeen asked by someoneelse to drive the vehicle.He thought he'd tow thevan away and chance hisarm."

Children taking part in the discussions

Swami Nirliptananda

Arjan Vekaria

Danger driver fled at speed

The University ofLeicester is asking staff toconsider taking voluntaryredundancy to try to saveit £2.5 million. Bosses saythey have to make cut-backs after receiving lessGovernment funding. It is asking all of its

staff to consider voluntaryredundancy – but says itexpects the actual numberwho will leave to be fewerthan 70. Recruitment has also

been frozen.In a letter to staff, vice-

chancellor, Professor Bob

Burgess said: "The highereducation sector faces aperiod of considerableuncertainty and change.We must take a number ofactions if we are to contin-ue to have a robust finan-cial performance anddevelop our strengths.Salary costs constitute theoverwhelming majority ofour expenditure. Ourassessment of the level ofsavings required is about£2.5 million by the end of2012/13 academic year."He said that £2.5 mil-

lion represented less than

two per cent of the univer-sity's salary budget. Theuniversity has 4,000 staffand about 23,000 stu-dents.Staff have until

October 31 to volunteerfor redundancy.A member of staff,

who did not wish to benamed, said: "The univer-sity continues to employconsultants from an exter-nal company at a cost ofthousands of pounds aday, with no indication ofhow long they'll be kept onthe books. They've been

tasked with carrying outdepartmental reviews toanalyse current workingmethods. Meanwhile,long-serving staff arebeing asked to volunteerthemselves for retirementto save money. Other staffare not being replaced andexisting staff are expectedto absorb extra work forno remuneration."A university

spokesman said thatLeicester's annual teach-ing, research and capitalfunding has been reducedby £31.5 million.

University staff face jobs threat

The many sets of trafficlights that clutter theGolden Mile could soonbe a thing of a past.Businesses and residentsalong Belgrave Road,Leicester, are being askedto consider a new schemewhich could see the lightsremoved and several zebracrossings installed.The changes are being

considered to help makelife easier for pedestriansby enabling them to stopvehicles whenever theywish to cross, slow downtraffic and improve thelook of the Golden Mile.The plan is being con-

sidered by the city coun-cil-led Golden MileRegeneration Group.Members of the group,who include residents andbusiness owners inBelgrave, will be visitingCoventry later this monthto see the scheme inaction.Golden Mile restaura-

teur Dharmesh Lakhani, aleading member of theregeneration group, said:"With the demolition ofthe Belgrave flyover, thecity council sees this as atime to make improve-ments in the area. We cer-tainly want to get thepavements widened andwe're going to Coventry tothink about how otherideas there might workhere. It would be very dif-ferent along the GoldenMile without traffic lights,but then you have to find a

way to slow the trafficdown. It's in the very earlystages."

Urmila Joshi, 51, wholives in Belgrave Road,welcomed the idea. Shesaid: "I think it would begood and I don't see why itwouldn't work. It's a verypopular area, but it is ahassle trying to cross theroad."

Mukesh Gosai, a part-ner at the Sharmileerestaurant, in BelgraveRoad, said: "The biggestproblem we've got here isthe parking – the trafficisn't so much of a worryright now. If they did do it,I think it might slow thetraffic down though."But Dinesh Kotecha,

owner of the Sheetalclothing shop, said he didnot think the schemewould work becauseAbbey Lane would not beable to cope with theinevitable extra traffic.

Traffic lights could go inlatest plans for Golden Mile

Dharmesh Lakhani

Hollywood gossipcolumns and websites arebuzzing with news thatLeicester actressParminder Nagra, pic-tured has been accused ofhiding her fortune fromthe husband she is said tobe divorcing.Photographer James

Stenson, fromNottingham, has reported-ly filed a lawsuit claimingdamages of £323,000 andhalf the value of threehouses.According to the

papers obtained bycelebrity website TMZ,Mr Stenson reportedlyclaims the three homeswere all purchasedthrough a shell corpora-tion set up in his wife'sname.Mr Stenson alleges

that before their marriagein 2009, the couple were"life partners" for six years– during which time theypromised to share theircombined wealth.Parminder, 36, who

grew up in Belgrave, gother breakthrough 10 yearsago when she starred asJasminder "Jess" Bhamraopposite Keira Knightleyin the film Bend it LikeBeckham before acting asDr Neela Rasgotra in ER,where she remained for

six years.According to website

RealBollywoodNews.com,Mr Stenson claims thatwhen Parminder landedthe role in ER, he agreedto give up his photograph-er's job to manage the cou-ple's life in America. Hesaid they made a pact toshare their combinedwealth during the sixyears they spent as lifepartners before formallytying the knot.At the time, it was

reported Mr Stenson, wholives in Los Angeles, wasearning nearly £200,000 ayear. When the drama wascancelled in 2009, sixyears after she first joined,she reportedly agreed totake time off to look aftertheir son, Kai, now three.

Parminder Nagra 'in cashrow with estranged

husband'

Dharmic gathering signals organic change for Hindu community

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 5UK

The UK's opposi-tion Labour partyhas lifted the sus-pension of LordNazir Ahmed whowas quoted by aPakistani newspa-per as offering a10-million-poundbounty onPresident BarackObama after theUS announced areward for informa-tion leading to LeTfounder Hafiz Saeed'sprosecution.Lord Ahmed, pictured,

who had denied offeringthe bounty, told the BBChe was delighted that a"fair" Labour investigation

led to lifting of the sus-pension. He was suspended

from the party after hisalleged remarks madeduring a visit to Pakistanin April were published inthe British news media.

A Muslim mother wasturned away from a par-ents' evening at a Britishcollege as she refused toremove her full-face veil,an incident that left herfeeling humiliated.Maroon Rafique, 40, wastold that for the securityand safety of children andteachers at the collegethere was a ban on anytype of face coverings.She was warned that

unless she removed herfull-face covering, known

as the niqab, she wouldnot be allowed into thecollege to attend the talkimportant for her son'seducation, the Daily Mailreported.In the end, a stunned

Rafique was forced to callher husband, who tookher place and went withtheir son Awais, 18.Rafique, who has worn theniqab for seven years said,"I'm born in this country.Why should what I wearoffend anyone?"

In one of the largest raidsby UK immigration offi-cials in recent months, 36Indian nationals havebeen arrested following anoperation to crack downon illegal working inSouthall. Acting on intel-ligence, and with assis-tance from theMetropolitan Police, theUK Border Agency target-ed individuals who gatherdaily in the King Streetarea looking for casuallabour, official sourcessaid.Thirty-six Indian

males aged between 23and 56 were arrested for avariety of immigrationoffences, 16 of whom hadoverstayed their visas,

including several stu-dents, the sources added. Thirty-four of the 36

arrested are currently inimmigration detentionawaiting removal from thecountry. Two have beenreleased on immigrationbail.One of those arrested

for immigration offencesis wanted by police onsuspicion of money laun-dering and is now inpolice custody.

Harpal Johal, from theUK Border Agency, toldan Indian newspaper:"This operation was verysuccessful and shows thefruits of working withother agencies like theMetropolitan Police."

In a bold move, BritishPrime Minister DavidCameron tabled a bill toreform the 700-year-oldHouse of Lords so thatmembers of the chamberare mostly elected ratherthan being based on fam-ily inheritance.Moving the politically

contentious reform bill inthe House of Commons,Cameron said it was"time to make progress"after 100 years ofattempts to reform theunelected upper cham-ber. The plans likely toface much oppositionfrom nearly 100Conservative MPsinclude 80% of the housemembership to be chosen

by voters, and reducingthe membership of thechamber to 450 from thecurrent 800.The opposition

Labour party is support-ing the reform, but is alsofacing opposition fromsome of its MPs. The first elections to

the new House of Lords,which could be called theSenate, could be held in2015 if the bill goesthrough. The reformincludes the removalfrom the house of theremaining hereditarypeers and a 15-year termlimits on those elected.Members of the

House of Lords are cur-rently appointed for life.

House of Lords set for reform?

UK college bars Muslim woman36 Indians arrested

Labour lifts peer's suspension

Racial discrimination isboth illegal andimmoral. But perhapsnot in the advertisingworld. "To let" adver-tisements specifying aparticular race or reli-gion are visible innewsagents windows inmany areas of London,as reported by the BBC.Newsagents in differentareas of London accord-ing to a report by BBCcarry adverts saying:l "Double bedroomavailable… Asian only"l "Double room to letGujarati (Indian) only"l "Close to the stationand bus stops (Filipinoonly)"l "Professional singlelady or Sri Lanka pro-fessional couple"l "House for rent…only Asian families"The Equality Act

2010 aims to protectpeople from discrimina-tion, harassment or vic-timisation on the basisof age, disability, race,sex and other "protectedgrounds". Equality lawapplies to any person ororganisation providinggoods, facilities or serv-ices to the public.Most people under-

stand that racial dis-crimination in jobs oreducation is both unac-ceptable and illegal. It'sa position reinforced by

the 2010 Equality Act,covering England, Walesand Scotland, whichdefines race in terms ofboth ethnicity andnationality. The sameapplies to religion -"Christian only" or"Muslim only" are bothunacceptable.Landlords who spec-

ify a certain race arebreaking the law, legalexperts say. When con-tacted by the BBC,advertisers were takenaback to hear theymight be breaking thelaw. A woman whoplaced a "Filipino only"advert in a newsagent inGolders Green, northLondon, explains: "I'msorry about that. All thepeople here are Filipinoso we need Filipinos."An advertiser in

Tooting, south London,seeking a "Muslim fami-ly" is disappointed thatthe law may not allowfor religious preference."We are Muslim and it'sa flatshare. What can Isay? Everyone has hisown preferences. OK?"Diet is a commonly

cited reason. Theauthor of a "Gujarati(Indian) only" ad says:"I'm a vegetarian and Idon't like meat in thekitchen."An advertiser in

Perry Bar, Birmingham,

Flat adverts, are theybreaking the law?

who put an ad onGumtree for a "studentroom (Asian femalesonly)" defends thewording: "We have donethat because we are

Asians and live in."A number of those

contacted by BBCrefused to discuss thewording of theiradverts.


The London India FilmFestival brought back thetrend of parallel cinemato viewers. The two weeklong event screened anumber of films thatmight have a simplestory line but dug deeperinto various aspects ofthe multicultural societythat we live in.After a long time, I

spent some time watch-ing meaningfuland brilliantcinema. Myfavourite how-ever remainsGangs ofWasseypur – afilm that spokeof brilliant per-formances inevery scene,every frame andby every charac-ter. combinesclever filmmak-ing with a pow-erful, high-con-cept and enter-taining plot,with revenge atits core.Accentuated bystrong perform-ances by a tal-ented and eclec-tic cast com-prisiang ofHindi cinemasfinest, ManojB a j p a y e e ,N awa z u d d i nSiddiqui andRicha Chadda, the film iscleverly told in two parts.Gangs Of Wasseypurrepresents the brave newIndian cinema breakingthe cliches and conven-tions, something whichAnurag Kashyap hascome to be known for.Anurag Kashyap,

who is celebrated for hiseffort in generating aposition in Indian cine-ma's forward-thinkingspace, narrates a classicaccount of two disputingfamilies set against themilieu of the coal mininggroups in Dhanbad.Heightened by strongacts by a gifted andassorted cast, the film isingeniously narrated andhas several power-packed sequences thatrender you speechless. In the film, Manoj

Bajpai plays a roguenamed Sardar Khan. Forthe background, Sardar’sserves as a henchman tothe powerful local politi-cian Ramadhir Singh(Tigmanshu Dhulia).However, like manyhindi movies the politi-cian gets the father killedand Sardar Khan growsup becoming a revenge-seeking man whose soleaim in life is to see the

politician dead. Sardar's character in

Gangs Of Wasseypur isboth serious and humor-ous. His hands does notshake a bit while killingsomeone, but the sameSardar gets beaten up byhis wife at home. He hastwo women in his life -The foul mouthedNagma (Richa Chadha)and the coy Durga

(Reema Sen). These twowomen are the only oneswho can control Sardar.Sardar has four sons

from Nagma and onefrom Durga. Each sonhas a different storyapportioned tothem. Sardar's oldest sonDanish Khan takes therein over from his father.Faizal Khan(Nawazuddin Siddiqui),who is a useless drugaddict, gets a suddentransformation from adie hard film fan and apot smoking idler to aresponsible familyman. Faizal falls forMohsina (HumaQuraishi), and thisromantic track gives themovie a refreshingchange. There’s never a bor-

ing or a tedious momentthroughout the film.However you need tohave a strong stomach toabsorb gruesome vio-lence and generous usageof abusive language thatcome as part and parcelof the entire film. Thebackground narration byPiyush Mishra establish-es the scene of actionright from the pre-inde-pendence times to thetimes of Shahid Khan to

the following decades.The backdrop of the coalmafia adds a relevant his-torical subtext. The coalmining mafia rules thescene all along. This nar-ration is tough to followbecause just too muchinformation is crammedin.The soundtrack of

Gangs Of Wasseypur iscomposed by Sneha

Khanwalkar.There are nolip-sync in them o v i e .However, thesongs arecatchy, enjoy-able and areplaced strate-gically andaccording tothe situation.Though hardto decidewhich is thebest one, 'OWo m a n i y a 'and 'Jiya HoBihar Ke Lala'certainly standout, 'KehkeLunga' is alsoa good num-ber.

Gangs OfWasseypur ismade in twoparts. Whilethe first partexplores thisrevenge saga,the second

part will deal with themoney squandering lob-byists, turning into fool-hardy gangs overnight.Some reports suggest

that the filming styleadopted by AnuragKashyap in Gangs ofWasseypur bears a strik-ing similarity to thestyles of Sergio Leoneand Sam Peckinpah. Thescenes are short inlength, several in numberand often a series ofmontages take the storyforward. AnuragKashyap never has toresort to extraneous ele-ments like stylizedentries, editing patternsor camera motions toadd to the effect becausethe story has an intrinsicimpact of its own.However the film doesn'tfall short of any technicalfinesse. There'sunabashed blood, goreand abuse wherever thescene demands.The film ended

abruptly making way forthe second part.Audiences now awaitAugust 10, when part 2will be released. WillWasseypur be the same?Will Ramadhir Singh bestill alive? We will haveto wait to find out.

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at [email protected]

Gangs of Wasseypur does itBy Spriha Srivastava

On the 9th July 2012 theGovernment will begin to introducechanges to immigration laws which willrestrict the number of people who areable to come to this country. There aretwo main changes; they will begin toabolish the right of appeal for familyvisitors applying for a visa to visit theUnited Kingdom; and they will intro-duce minimum income requirement forpersons wishing to sponsor a familyimmigration application.

These changes will have a pro-foundly negative impact on many of ourreaders, on our grandparents our hus-bands and wives, our aunties anduncles and cousins. We as a newspaperfeel it is only right to launch a campaignagainst the changes that is why we urgeyou to join our community campaignfor families against the proposals.

Main changes at a glanceChanges to family migration routes:l Will introduce a new minimumincome requirement for persons wish-ing to sponsor an application for a non-EEA national partnerl Will have to demonstrate a minimumgross annual income of £18,600l The minimum threshold increases ifthe applicant has children; £22,400 forone child and an additional £2,400 foreach childl Previously there was no minimum-income requirementl Allowing adult and elderly to settle inthe UK only where they can demon-strate as a result of age, illness or dis-ability, they require a level of long-term

personal care that can only be providedby a relative in the UKl Will extend the minimum probation-ary period for settlement from two yearsto five years

Right of appeal against visa decisions:l Uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces andfirst cousins will no longer be consid-ered to be family visitors for appealspurposesl They will no longer be able to appealagainst family visitor visa refusal deci-sionsl The government intends to eventual-ly completely remove the right to appealto any visa application

What we are doingWe are writing to all MPs to urge themto join our campaign against theGovernment’s proposalsWe are writing to Ministers at the

Home Office to ask them to review thedecision

How you can help

You can write to your MP to raiseawareness about the issue here:http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/take-action/family-migration

Sign up to our petition calling forthe Government to urgently review thechanges online:www.ipetitions.com/petition/asianvoiceor by post to: Petition AgainstGovernment’s Immigration LawChanges, Asian Business PublicationsLtd, Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW.

In the last 2 years the British Government has tried innumerable ways to tar-get the immigrants. It has resulted into endless confusion with hardly muchof a difference in the numbers. Asian Voice has run several stories raisingissues that affect immigrants directly and indirectly. In the 16th June issue(page 1) we spoke about a 'future' campaign and invited our dear readersto write to us about their feeling regarding the upcoming laws to beenforced on immigrants who want to settle here with their families.

This week we have launched the campaign formally and we want moreof you, in fact all of you to support us to make our government realise Britainis a multicultural country, where every tradition and faith should be given itsdue credit. The upcoming changes are to directly and severely affect our cul-ture, age old traditions and our ways of life. We need the government giveus our due 'right to equality and life'. Read on to know more about our cam-paign and the ways you can support this campaign.

Asian Voice launches community campaign against

changes to UK immigration laws

When Sharan Pasricha setup Ennismore Capital in2010, he identified hospi-tality, lifestyle and proper-ty as the three areas hewould be targeting, report-ed a recent daily newspa-per. His first investment,'The Hoxton hotel' inShoreditch, takes thefledgeling private equitygroup into all three areasand his plans to turn itinto an international chainlooks likely to take upmost of the Indian-bornentrepreneur’s time for theforeseeable future. Havingacquired the hotel for anestimated £65 million, MrPasricha is to refinance itbefore expanding the con-cept, which he describesas “luxury where it mat-ters and budget where itcounts”, further afield.He said his first move

would be “to do one ortwo more in London thenturn to New York” before

examining opportunitiesin Berlin, Paris andAmsterdam. “It’s like aHoliday Inn on steroids,”he said. “You could seeone of these in every gate-way city.”Like the Hoxton, the

typical location for newprojects will be in “sec-ondary but upcomingareas” and he estimatedthe cost of acquiring anddeveloping a freehold siteat about £40 million. Hesaid he was keen to repli-

cate the “hustle of thepublic spaces” at theShoreditch property, withhigh ceilings, brick wallsand fireplaces, to create a“centre for culture, thearts and food”.Mr Pasricha, pictured,

who will become a fatherin November, also hopesto repeat the success ofthe hotel’s restaurant,Hoxton Grill, which is runby the Soho House Groupunder a turnover-relatedagreement. The foodie and travel

enthusiast, who has anMBA from the LondonBusiness School, set upEnnismore after spendinga year at Jon Moulton’sBetter Capital. He co-founded and later soldRush Media, the mediaagency aimed at the stu-dent market, and tookover and turned around afamily clothes factory inDelhi that he still owns.

Meet the man behind 'true hospitality'

Sharan Pasricha


As Hindus, Indians andAsians more generally, wehave always seen the valueof having “joint” families. Idefine this in its broadestsense – starting from as lit-tle as a set of parents andover-eighteen offspring liv-ing under the same roof.We have seen economies ofscale where others haven’t– someone cooks, someonebrings income, someonemows the lawn, someonelooks after the social side.Let’s even pretend that thechildren have value-add.

Yet, when it comes tous as peoples, the samephilosophy doesn’t appearto filter through. We insiston dividing ourselves uponman-made boundariessuch as country/state oforigin, language, and anoutdated caste and sectsystem. Man-made,because God certainly did-n’t create such boundaries– and that holds whetheryou believe in evolution,Adam and Eve, MaaShakti, or Brahma.

On a less mythologicaland more spiritual plane,advaita vendantis fromShankaracharya toChinmaya-swami wouldargue that we (and God)are all one and connectedjust as waves are to themighty oceans. Therefore,one set of waves holdinggrievances against anotherset is petty at best and dis-ruptive to the overall causeat worst.

I am not completelyagainst micro-communities

(Lohanas, Iyers, Kohlis,etc.). They do have a partin life. One which unites,serves towards bringingpeople together, doingsocial work, forming net-works and social bonds.We need it as social beingsas well as to get ahead inlife at times. But thatshould be its extent – aninclusive social network,which works as a unit forthe greater good of itsmembers but most impor-tantly, society as a whole.

Unfortunately, overtime these networks havebecome exclusive. Theyhave created an “us” and“them” mentality in quite anegative context. “Wedon’t eat meat; they do.”“We don’t drink; they do.”“We are respectful; they areoutgoing.” So what? Howabout a “We are honest,loving, generous people; soare they”? Why do wefocus on man-made socialdevelopments throughtime (often for political /divide-and-rule reasons, bythe way), rather than whatGod created in andamongst all of us – attrib-utes such as love, good-ness, generosity and for-giveness?

One way to think aboutit is that each of thesemicro-communities orsects is a finger, with indi-viduals as its various con-stituents. The fingertip hasa role within the index fin-ger, as the index fingerdoes within the hand. Butwhat use are these roles if

they are not used, at theend of the day, to feed thebody? If the index fingerfights with the ring fingerover which one is longerfor a week, it’s the wholebody (and in turn the fin-gers themselves) which getworn out. The bigger pic-ture of the body must mat-ter more than the individ-ual constituents, while alsoappreciating the diversityand richness that each ofthe constituents bring –after all, it’s the sum of theparts that make the whole.

The obvious next ques-tion is, where do we drawthe line? Should communi-ties be working towardsthe greater Hindu good,Asian good, or Britishgood? Or indeed even big-ger than that? The answeris a little like the vegetari-anism debate aboutwhether to draw the line atanimals, eggs or plants. Inthat case, many propo-nents will argue that “thenarrower you can get, thebetter”. Here, I argue “thebroader the better”.

Going back to theexample of the parts of thebody, if you see yourself asan individual fingertip, itdoesn’t really matterwhether you identify mostwith the tip (an individ-ual), the finger (your sector town), the hand (yourlanguage or county), theforearm (your caste orcountry), the arm (yourreligion or continent).Work towards what is mostabsorbable and least

abstract for you, as an indi-vidual. However, be con-stantly conscious that youshould continually beworking for the benefit ofthe body, mind, intellectand soul (society in itsbroadest sense or the uni-verse as a whole).

The ultimate outcomeshould be what the econo-mists amongst you wouldcall “Pareto Efficiency” – aposition whereby societyas a whole is in the bestposition that it can get towithout making any partic-ular sect significantlyworse off. This may requiresome compromise, selfless-ness and forward-thinkingbehaviour from the highestpowers at each of the sects.And the triggers for suchbehaviours must comefrom you, the reader, theindividual. At the risk ofsounding Uncle Sam-esqe,the question should alwaysbe “what are we doing forthose less privileged thanus and society as awhole?”, not “what are wedoing for us?”

Tarang Katira is theCommunity lead in theCHN. The CHN is aLondon-based organisa-tion firmly rooted in pro-gressive Hindu philosophyincluding education, sewaand community solidarity.You can sign up to be amember or find out moreabout the CHN atwww.cityhindusnetwork.org.uk.

The Hindu way:Joint families but unjoint communities

Tarang Katira

By Byron Mahoney

Tucked just off the NorthEnd Road in WestKensington is a small yetmotivated venue forBritish Asians to preserveand nourish the perform-ing arts associated withindian culture; TheBharariya Vidya Bhavanwas the natural venue,with hosts Connect India,for the last performance ofan international and mostsuccessful tour of Ekatva(meaning “Oneness”).The performers, nearly allthe children were foundand chosen from theslums of Ahmedabad.

The performance wasin essence a ‘eurythmicplay ‘. A series of narratedstories of Gandhi’s lifeand philosophical senti-ments interpreted withskilfully choreography andimaginative costumery.The children all dancedtirelessly and with greatcommitment. At times oneforgot their age as theirexpressions could easilybe associated with theexperience and skills of

those beyond their tenderyears. Each scene in theplay was punctuated by anintermezzo dance of thechildren playing “catch”with “Earth” - a largeinflatable beach ball plan-et. The moral of eachstory reinforcing harmonyand community coopera-tion, and the decrying ofall violence and ignorance.

The sagacity and shar-ing of “oneness” the chil-dren gave their audiencewas inspiring and touch-ing. One hopes the goodkarma set up by the kind-ness and principles ofManav Sadhna bank inthe 1990’s continues to bean example in assemblingfurther such positivehuman aspirations andmany more children aregiven the opportunity tostep out of their previous-ly impoverished upbring-ing to be taught, exploreand express themselves inthe form of dance and the-atre – a liberating and nur-turing of a Gandhian ener-gy which connects allhumanity and iteratedinto the spiritual.

Ektava Tour

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 20128 www.abplgroup.com

News in BriefDebate on Future of the MediaGPs must learn about TB

A retired GP from Birmingham isurging all doctors to educate them-selves on the classical symptoms oftuberculosis. Dr Surinder SinghBakshi, from Handsworth Wood,said that during his 30 years in theNHS Public Health Department, “Inever ever saw a case of TB spreadfrom one person to another”. Hiscomments come following theuntimely death of TB victim Alina Sarag, pictured,the 15-year-old schoolgirl whose legal saga continues.

BOPA ConferenceAn inaugural conference which aims to promote com-munity cohesion and economic prosperity in theMidlands is being held in Coventry this Friday (Jul 6).Delegates will hear from the Bishop of Coventry andLord Tarsem King, as well as from representatives ofthe local authority and Jaguar Land Rover. Theevening event has been organised by the BritishOrganisation for People of Asian-origin, or BOPA.Eagle-eyed readers may have already noticed: ‘Indian’has been replaced with ‘Asian’.

Sikh Channel’s bid for TV licence A Sikh community broadcasting channel has enteredthe Birmingham TV consortium contest. The Aston-based Sikh Channel, owned by Davinder Singh Bal, isbidding for the new government-backed televisionlicence. Prejal Shah of the Sikh Channel said:“Birmingham is bursting with potential; it needs alocal channel to show just what it’s got.” Other rivalsfor the station are YourTV and CityTV. IfBirmingham’s TV bid is accepted by regulator Ofcom,16 hours of local programming will be available to cityviewers. Winning applications will be announced inthe autumn.

Eid Festival Committee to bedisbanded

A group of Muslim leaders who havebeen part of Birmingham City Council’sEid Mela organising committee for morethan ten years are to be replaced by acommittee of seven city councillors.Former committee member Safdar Mirdescribed the decision as “draconian”and said the community representativeswere left outraged after receiving a four line emailfrom Cllr Majid Mahmood, pictured, the new com-mittee chairman, telling them they were no longerneeded. The family event, which receives £20,000 incouncil sponsorship, and is designed to promoteIslamic culture and heritage, is being held in CannonHill Park on September 2.

Spiritual Weekend Bhajan enthusiastsfrom the Midlands andacross the UK willdescend in Luton thisweekend for GuruPurnima, an annualIndian festival devotedto teachers. The round-the-clock event will fea-ture dandiya-raas, dis-courses, food, as well assingers and musicians,male and female, oldand young. Once again,Pragjibhai Ladva, pic-tured, the veteran guruof traditional Gujarati bhajans, and his pharmacistgrandson Kabir, and chorus will lead the programme,which will take place at the Hindu Mandir (LU4 0PS)in Lewsey Farm this Saturday (Jul 7) from 6pmonwards. Local Labour MP, Kelvin Hopkins, said hewas “delighted” this event has been taking place inLuton for so many years.

Enter the Business Awards

Nominations for the Midlands Business Awards 2013are now open. The deadline for submissions of entriesis July 31, 2012, and the independent judging panelwill choose five finalists from each category to be invit-ed to a rigorous interview as part of the evaluationprocess. The awards ceremony will take place onFebruary 1, 2013 at the NEC Metropole Hilton Hotel.To find out more visitwww.midlandsbusinessawards.com

Call for court cashWalsall South MP Valerie Vaz (Lab) has called for morefunding for tennis, in a Commons motion pointing outthat Walsall Tennis Club has only seven years left on itslease. Tennis Clubs need protecting if Britain is to pro-duce Wimbledon champions in future years, she said.

Tweetathon on organdonation

Readers are invited to take part in a cyber chat aboutorgan donation. Dr Julian Hull is hosting a tweetathonon social networking site twitter, as part of NationalTransplant Week. More than 10,000 patients in the UKcurrently need a transplant. And although 90% of peo-ple say they support organ donation, only 29% havejoined the organ donation register. To be part of thetweetathon, visit Twitter account@heartofengland.

Crackdown on sex inpublic

Drunken couples caught having sex in a Birminghamgraveyard have been issued with a Section 222 order,which means anyone found committing acts of inde-cency in public could be fast tracked to jail. Fed-upMoseley residents had battled with the issue for over10 years and the injunction was brought in after thecouncil collected 28 witness statements.

New kids menu at hospital A new children’s menu has beenintroduced at Heartlands Hospital,Birmingham. Among the first tosample the food, which includesvegetarian and halal, were studentsfrom Alstom Primary and BordesleyGreen Primary Schools. The newmenu was designed based on feed-back from the hospital’s youngerpatients and their families. Photo: Apupil tastes the food.

It’s no contestMotorists in the Midlands are least likely to challengeunfair speeding fines than drivers in any other UKregion, a survey says. Just 20% of Midlanders polledby YouGov said they’d contest a speeding fine.

Dimple weds MineshCongratulations to Dimple, daughter of Dayalalbhaiand Shobnaben Dusara, who tied the knot to Minesh,son of Jayprakashbhai and Dakshaben Solanki, in agrand ceremony attended by around a thousandguests at Leicester’s Maher Centre last Sunday. Bestwishes to the newly-weds from the team at AsianVoice and Gujarat Samachar.

New role for Paul Singh The Midlands Co-operative Society hasannounced its new president – PaulSingh. Mr Singh, 62, takes over fromFrank Croft. He started his career in theSociety’s Dairy operation in 1969, retir-ing as site manager of Central Dairies in2003. He was first elected as a regionalcommittee member in 1994 and appointed to theboard in 2005. Mr Singh, pictured, was appointed asa magistrate in 2001 and is a member of theStaffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust. Hedescribed being selected as president “a great person-al honour”. Mr Singh has four children and sevengrandchildren and lives in Great Barr, Birmingham.

Speaking at a ‘Meet theMedia’ event inBirmingham, MsDavies, chief executiveof City TV Broadcasting,said it was time localand national mediaengaged actively withdiverse media and com-munities to reflect andserve the fast-changingdemographics of thecity.She paid tribute to

Asian Voice for its“quality journalism” andsaid that “sharingsources, stories, contentand contacts” would be“cost-effective, efficientand rewarding allround.”The panel comprised

of four white men – amedia tutor HuwMeads, editors SteveDyson and Andy Coyneand BBC WM presenterPete Morgan.“Where’s the gender,

ethnic diversity,” askedMs Davies, who is urg-ing readers to supporther bid for a local televi-

sion licence. In an hour-long meeting with me afew weeks ago, MsDavies assured me ofher “genuine desire andcommitment” to engage

with, and promote, onmerit, the talents of peo-ple from all back-grounds.

Roshan Doug, a poetand lecturer, said therewere more right, thanleft-wing media outlets,to which there weremixed reactions.Entrepreneur DanielBridgewater said: “Themedia needs to workmore with younger peo-ple.” ITV Central veter-an presenter Bob

Warman highlighted the“serious democraticdeficit” in Walsall.“There is not one singleworking journalist inWalsall, a town with a250,000 population.What is actually goingon in our communities?”he said.

One attendee asked:“Are journalists the newcoalminers?” Concernswere also shared aboutjob cuts and redundan-cies. Also how old-fash-ioned journalism wherereal stories were “sniffedand hunted out” hadalmost been replaced by“churnalism”, storiestaken directly from pressreleases.

Some attendeespointed out that editori-al content influenced by

advertorial, was a trendthat had grown in thesetimes of austerity, onewhich was also of majorconcern.

On the LevesonEnquiry, almost 90% ofthe 100-plus attendeesvoted it was a “tremen-dous waste of taxpayers’

money”.The event was organ-

ised by BirminghamPress Club, which pro-motes itself as theworld’s oldest, yet doesnot, still, reflect the mul-ticultural mosaic of thisgreat city. It has 14Board members: 10 men,four women, all white.

Given the event washeld at BournvilleCollege, it was ironicthat not a single studentwas present.

More collaboration between mainstream British andethnic media should be encouraged, according toDebra Davis, an influential Midland media guru

Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or [email protected] Katwa

Participants: (From left) Debra Davis, Roshan Doug, Steve Dyson, Andy Coyne, Pete Morgan

Midland Voice


Q Tell me about yourfamily background andwhere you were born.

A We’re hill people.My Dad is fromHimachal Pradesh andmy parents were amongthe Indian doctors whocame to the South WalesValleys to work in thelate 1970s. I was born inNeath in 1980.

Q You worked in theMiddle East on the eveof the Iraq invasion.What was that like?

A Living in Cairo wasutterly affecting. I wentto the Middle East with acertain idea of how free itwould be and wasshocked by the scale ofofficial repression. Arabculture is vibrant andwonderful, and livingthrough the response to9/11 and the Iraq inva-sion raised huge ques-tions for me about howlittle the West under-stood the region and itspolitics.

Q In 2003 you madea film with an interestingtheme. Why did youchoose it?

A “CaptiveAudience” was my firstpiece of full length docu-mentary making andlaunched my career. Welooked at Saudi spon-sored evangelism inAmerican prisons. Wechose it as a way of get-ting under the skin–using real journalism –of the changes happeningsince 2001, and it wasinspiring to work withMuhammad Athar Lila,the brave presenter whois now ABC South Asia

correspondent.

Q You worked forthree years onPanorama. What was itlike and what was yourrole? Is it really thetoughest BBC CurrentAffairs programme to

work on?A I was an assistant

producer. It was reallyhard work on Panorama– lots of late-night take-aways at the office! -- butit was also a greatapprenticeship in inves-tigative journalism withsome of the very bestpractitioners of the craft.

Q Why did youswitch to radio?

A Radio is a wonder-fully vivid medium forthe documentary maker.You can be a lot moreindependent than in tele-vision, because the teamsare much smaller. WithRadio 4 and WorldService, there’s moreroom for internationalaffairs and ideas, whichare my passions.

Q You have present-ed from the Arab villagesof Israel and from theslopes of your hometown in South Wales.You famously reportedon Mumbai’s plan todemolish the Dharavislum in Mumbai andwere recognized in 2009

when, together withCrossing Continents pro-ducer John Murphy, youwon the prestigious OneWorld Media Award.When you were inDharavi, where did yousleep and eat?

A Annapa Konchikor,one of the Dharavi slumresidents we were profil-ing, very kindly invitedus to sleep at his homeand in typical Indianstyle gave up his bed. It’sa basic, tough place butI’ve never been in aneighbourhood that feltmore alive. Plus hepoured us a glass of thelocal Indian “scotch” atnight....

Q What stories areyou looking to cover infuture?

A China is a new pas-sion of mine, and after acouple of years ofMandarin classes I’mslowly beginning to getthe place – having maderadio docs and filmsthere recently. Everytime I go, I can’t resistcomparing it to India andlooking at how the twocountries are developingdifferently. I’ve looked atthis theme before and amhoping to return to itsoon.

Leading Lightsby Rani SinghSpecial Assignments Editor

Mukul Devichand, 32

Mukul Devichand

Mukul Devichand is a journalist at BBC Radio Current Affairs. He appears regularlyon Radio 4 and has reported for BBC 2’s Newsnight, presenting documentaries fromaround the world. He also produces Analysis, the BBC documentary series aboutideas. He is one of the youngest voices on the flagship radio series and also workson Crossing Continents and The Report.

Mukul went to university at the London School of Economics, where he took anLLB Law in 2001. He then read for a Masters of Journalism at Columbia University(2003) where he studied on a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2002 he spent a year work-ing for Al-Ahram Weekly in Cairo. From 2004, he worked on Panorama on BBC 1and he began presenting and producing radio documentaries in 2007. He interviewedBritish National Party leader Nick Griffin for The Report before the Europeans elec-tions. Mukul also spent six months in the BBC’s South Asia bureau. Mukul likes work-ing with the intimacy of the radio world as for him; it brings stories alive in a way ina way that other media does not. He says that working in radio is “a journalist’sdream.” The producer- presenter lives in London.

Radio is a

wonderfully vivid

medium for the

documentary

maker

In the prestigious sur-rounding of the MusicRoom at London’s RitzHotel, prominent BritishPunjabis congregated,last Saturday June 16th2012, to celebrate theDiamond Jubilee of HerMajesty the Queen, at aDinner graced by thepresence of MaharaniPreneet Kaur,Honourable Minister ofExternal Affairs, theGovernment of India.

Dr M S Lamba,General Secretary,opened the evening, andto mark this special occa-sion, the NationalAnthems of the UnitedKingdom and that ofIndia were played, fol-lowed by a toast to HerMajesty, and thePresident of India.

Following a sumptu-ous meal, Ranjit SinghBaxi, President of theWorld PunjabiOrganisation (EuropeanDivision) welcomedeveryone and congratu-lated Her Majesty on herglorious achievement ofbeing our Monarch forover 60 years.

Mr. Baxi was alsopleased to welcome anumber of SpecialGuests, including Mr.Sukhdev Singh Sidhu,Minister Co ordination atthe High Commission ofIndia, London, as well as3 Peers, Lord Dholakia,Lord Loomba, & LordIndarjit Singh.

In recognising thewonderful work that HerMajesty has carried outfor our nation, Mr. Baxireferred to how she epito-

mises the modern Diverse& Innovative nation thatmakes United Kingdomgreat. Welcoming theHonourable Minister, Mr.Baxi commented uponher humanitarian work,highlighting some notablecases where, globally, herinvolvement had broughtgreat comfort to many.

Mr. Baxi was alsopleased to acknowledgethe presence of the Houseof Lords’ first turbanedSikh, Lord Indarjit Singh.Lord Singh is a promi-nent member of the Sikhcommunity, across theUK, and is also anAdviser to the WPO.

Finally, Mr. Baxi wel-comed other guests andthanked his committeefor arranging the galaevening.

In response,Honourable MinisterPreneet Kaur acknowl-edged the Queen as Headof the Commonwealth,and referred to her manyachievements in thiscapacity.

She also added herown congratulation toLord Indarjit Singh, say-ing how proud she was ofthe achievements of theIndian diaspora and howpleased she was to windup her visit to the UK,amongst fellow Indianscelebrating the DiamondJubilee.

Dr. M S Duggal,Senior vice-president,adding his own personalwelcome invited MrsHarvinder Kaur Baxi topresent a bouquet to theHonourable Minster.

Joining in with the

congratulatory mood atLord Indarjit Singh’sennoblement, Dr. Duggalinvited Sampuran Duggalto make a presentation toLord & Lady Singh.

Lord Singh thankedWPO for honouring himin this way, and added hisown congratulations toHer Majesty on theDiamond Jubilee. He alsoreferred to the wonderfulwork Her Majesty hasundertaken across allfaiths.

He continued by say-ing he has been writingabout the teachings of theSikh Gurus and conclud-ed by saying how impor-tant it is for all of us tolearn & appreciate ourculture and our heritage.

Lord Dholakia remi-nisced, by remindingthose present who camefrom Africa, how HerMajesty had come toKenya a Princess, and(rather sadly) left as aQueen. He also said hownice it was to celebrate inthe presence of our own“royalty”, MaharaniPreneet Kaur, and fin-ished by referring to thegreat charity work thatNRIs are renowned for.

The evening drew to aclose with Satbir Chawla,Social & CulturalSecretary inviting MrsKandola & Mrs Walia, tomake floral presentationsto Lady Dholakia & LadyLoomba, followed by Mr.G Oppal WPO vice-presi-dent who proposed a voteof thanks and acknowl-edged the support of ZeeTV as well as thankingthe staff of the Ritz Hotel.

World Punjabi Organisationcelebrates Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Mrs Preneet Kaur (Minister of State External Affairs, Govt. India) with (from L to R) R S Baxi, Dr. M Duggal, Mr. Jaspal Singh, Dr M Lamba & Mr. K Sinha

Redbridge has set a recordfor business registrations,with more than 300 inMay alone, according to acompany formation firmas reported by IlfordRecorder.

Entrepreneurs formed325 new companies in themonth in postcodes IG1to 6, said Duport. The fig-ure was up 50 per centfrom last year - beatingthe borough’s previousrecord month. Councilleader Keith Prince saidhe wasn’t surprised by the

good news. He added:“We work very hard withlocal businesses in orderto encourage them togrow.

Chairman of the Ilfordbusiness improvementdistrict (BID) MarcMyers was “absolutelydelighted”. Companiesregistered in May report-edly include BrainiacsTechnologies, BalvirSingh Chandi Buildersand Medine Kebab.

A Duport spokesmantold the local newspaper

that companies may regis-ter for many reasons. Hesaid: “The company isn’tnecessarily a shop, it canbe an IT company or any-thing.

“It could be an officeor it could just be the offi-cial address for paper-work.”

The listed companiesare all limited, meaningthe members are protect-ed by shares or a guaran-tee. Duport calculated therise using figures fromCompanies House.

‘Entrepreneurial spirit’ sparks business record in Redbridge

Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Choprameet Mr Khalid and his family at the Chak 89 restaurant

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201210

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In a rare gesture, China’stop leadership hosted hisdelegation at Great Hallof People and had a freeand frank discussion andexchange of ideas on arange of subjects includ-ing trade, industry, socio-economic development,investment, and prevail-ing global economic sce-nario. Modi emphasizedabout the shared heritageof India and China, andcommon vision forimproved quality of livesof their people.

In his meeting withthe Mr Wang Gang, ViceChairman of the ChinaPeople’s Political

Consultative Conference,(and a member of thepolitburo of CommunistParty of China), Modishowcased Gujarat as adestination with a con-ducive environment toinvest and work. He alsoexplained Gujarat becom-ing a major tourist desti-nation. He brought outthe richness of Buddhistculture in Gujarat whichsolicited very keen inter-est among Chinese leader-ship. He also dwelledupon the ancient Indianand Chinese ethos, rela-tionship, friendship, cul-tural and business ties.

While showcasing

Brand ‘Gujarat’ – which isequated with Guangdongof China, he invitedChinese business commu-nity and public enterpris-es to participate in theVibrant Gujarat GlobalInvestors’ Summit- 2013.

He highlightsGujarat’s special invest-ment regions as areaswhere Chinese companiescould invest. He called onChina to invest in infra-structure and power proj-ects in the state, wooingpotential investors with asales pitch that show-cased Gujarat as a statewith levels of “gover-nance, transparency andstability” that they couldnot find elsewhere inIndia. He declared that“the two great countrieswill make Asia the centre-stage of the global econo-my.”

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The cancellation of 80 flights in the pastcouple of days left thousands of passen-gers in the lurch prompting theDirectorate General of Civil Aviation todemand an explanation from Kingfisher.

The cash-strapped airline claimedthat it had to drop flights as the compa-ny was trying to reconfigure its aircraft.There was chaos at several airports afterpassengers complained that they werenot intimated about the Kingfisher can-cellations.

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��#��&"��""��&��%�"!�*�� !'&�%��"!�A new theory saysthat any physicalactivity for 15 min-utes every day is agood insuranceagainst a plethora ofhealth problems, beit related to theheart, the brain oreven cancer.

A study published inThe Lancet, a Britishmedical journal, saidthat just a quarter-hourof physical exertion aday could reduce a per-son's risk of death by14% and increase lifeexpectancy by threeyears compared to inac-tive people.

Incidentally, anothertheory published in a dif-ferent British journalsaid daily TV-viewing forsix hours could take

away five years fromyour life.

Adding and subtract-ing years from your lifehas never before beenquantified in such med-ical terms, say doctors.The 15-minute short-cutto good health, in fact,changes the most funda-mental rule that wasapproved by the WorldHealth Organization-that 150 minutes ofactivity a week is neededto stay healthy.

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India’s economic woesgrow further

India’s economic decline caused bylocal and global factors, began in 1990swith ascent via deregulation, globalisa-tion and foreign direct investment;earned envy by weathering recession,high returns for local investors and racewith China. It attracted evil eye ofmalafide agents and indigenous traitorswho corroded India by underminingeconomy under excuse of recession.Pranab Mukherjee, not able to controldescent, is now being removed with gold-en handshake to become President ofIndia.

Foreigners’ failure to loot India, viaIndian ban on 51% investment in retailmarket, investing in insurance and air-lines, India getting fighter planes fromFrance etc, has resulted in revenge tac-tics, without bullets, bloodshed or coups,causing rapid devaluation of rupee.

It is repetition of history; coveting ofKamdhenu cow by Vishwamitra, temple

Complain and becompensated

With rapid decline in honesty, com-passion and eradication of the ability todistinguish what is morally right orwrong, we are living in a dangerousworld, especially for those who are elder-ly, disable, dysfunctional or simply tootrusting with dyed-in-the-wool attitude.

No wonder parents would not allowtheir children to talk to strangers and wewould not open our doors to strangerseither, even if it happens to be a dame indistress!

Although dishonesty, cheating andcrookedness is spreading like wild fire, inmany ways, ours is still a civilized socie-ty, although I can not help but wonderhow long we could sustain this civilitywith mass unemployment, family break-down and higher need to move with thetimes, keep up with your neighbour Tom,Dick and Harry!

Recently I read a beautifully writtenarticle in a national newspaper under theheading “A Champion Complainer” theauthor being a solicitor who is addictedto complaining, writing more than twen-ty such letters every week!

He explained in detail how to startand end such a letter. The letter shouldalways be polite, apologetic, to the pointand end with a sentence like “I am surethis is an extraordinary departure fromyour usual high standard and I would liketo remain your loyal customer if you candemonstrate to me that you are still asgood as I know you used to be.”

Writing such letters has work won-ders for us and we have always received apolite, courteous apology and so oftenaccompanied by a cheque as compensa-tion. But we only write when we have agenuine cause to complain. So pick upyour pen and start writing!

Bhupendra M GandhiVia Email

The Big Waffle

The Archbishop of Canterbury,Rowan Williams, has dismissed DavidCameron’s initiative of the Big Society as“aspirational waffle” meaning it is ver-bose or ignorant or aimless talk. He saidthat the idea was “designed to conceal adeeply damaging withdrawal of the statefrom its responsibilities to the most vul-nerable” The Archbishop has denouncedDavid Cameron’s concept of the big soci-ety as designed to cover up the cutswhich are in the pipeline – eg the with-drawal of housing benefits for young peo-ple under the age of 25 who should livewith their parents if they cannot afford tobuy or rent their own property.

The Big Society is a general phrasedescribing the shift of power from centralgovernment to communities and to vol-unteers, and is also said to include chari-ties or non-profit groups taking over run-ning of some public services. In the bigsociety, people would come together tosolve problems without state interven-tion.

The PM is right to a certain extent. Inour culture, the parents would supporttheir children until they are capable ofstanding on their own two feet and inreturn, the children would look after theirparents in their old age. The PM’s idea isprobably taking a leaf out of the book ofthe villages in India or other so calleddeveloping countries. In rural India, thisis exactly what is happening. People helpeach other in their time of need. Thereare no state handouts. The Big Societyconcept is in effect going back to the oldways or our ancestors and should becommended.

Dinesh ShethNewbury Park, Ilford

Money in bank

With the problems in the Eurozone,you might be wondering if your money issafe in the bank. The good news is thatthe Government has made all British reg-istered banks participate in a scheme tosafeguard the first £85,000 of savings thatyou have in case your bank goes bust.

From September, British registeredbanks will be obliged to display postersand stickers letting customers know theyare insured if their bank goes bust andgiving details of the Financial ServicesCompensation Scheme (FSCS).

All British banks that are legal sub-sidiaries in this country are covered bythis scheme. It also covers savers puttingmoney in authorised branches of foreign,non-European banks. But due to EU law,it does not cover European banks thatoperate as branches in the UK ratherthan as registered subsidiaries.

If you are unsure, ask your bank man-ager if your savings are covered by thisscheme or write to me at and I can pro-vide more information about the schemeand your bank’s participation in it.

Syed KamallConservative MEP for London

Hindu free school

Strange that Councillor Susan Hall,the leader of the opposition Conservativegroup in Harrow, opposes the Hindu freeschool at the Teachers Centre in Harrow(Harrow Observer, June 21).

Harrow East Conservative MP BobBlackman in a Common’s debate on10/11/11 said, “will you join me in wel-coming the decision of the Departmentfor Education to grant initial approval toa new Hindu free school for the boroughof Harrow”.

According to the Harrow Councildocuments, Teachers Centre, a previousschool and now an active base for theeducation services, is the only buildingmarked for a new school in Harrow.Therefore, the Council officers rightlyhelped the free school to open at theTeachers Centre as the school needs tostart in September this year and no otheraccommodation is possible at this stage.

As usual Cllr Hall has failed to sug-gest an alternative, in this case a place toaccommodate this free school which hasbeen approved by her government’sdepartment.

Furthermore, it is highly irresponsibleof Cllr Hall and her associates to refer tothe ‘prevalence of localised gang andcriminal activity’ in describing the impactof the Hindu school on the locality. TheHindu community needs an apology.

One wonders why any proposals fordiversity-specific places of worship andeducation out rightly attract such hostili-ty.

Jaiya Shah�Chairman, Harrow Council for Justice

Indian political scenario

It has been reported in Indian news-paper a war has been broken out amongthe NDA partners who should be nomi-nated for the future Prime Minister can-didate. The Parliamentary general elec-tion in India is going to take place in2014. After Gujarat riots which was verybadly handled by the NDA governmentunder Vajpayee, the NDA is reduced to acoalition of small number of partiesexcept JD(U).

There is no need to nominate theNDA candidate in advance, when morethan two years are left for the election.The BJP has failed to nominate anacceptable candidate to all parties inNDA in advance for the Presidential elec-tion.There are already some parties JD(U) and Shiv Sena in NDA are not sup-porting Sangma which leaves less than 30per cent of the electorate support for BJPbacked candidate. Some members of theBJP are also supporting the congress can-didate. There is no unity among NDAgroup.

The infighting between BJP andJD(U) is taking place when value of therupee is going down, Indian banks aredown graded and Indian economy is fal-tering. Some sections of the BJP support-ers abroad are promoting Narendra Modias the BJP Prime Minister Candidatewithout understanding the political situa-tion in India.

The Congress party has adopted coali-tion dharma, since the a party under-stands that it cannot come to power onits own. The BJP should realise that itshould depend on other small and region-al parties to come to power. It is essentialit adopts a secular policy based on Hinduvalues. Narendra Modi claims Gujarat isshinning which is not true. It is the richcapitalists like Tatas are benefited by theeconomic development. Gujarat does noteven provide free education up to the ageof 12 and free medical on demand to allsections of the population of Gujarat.

Arun VaidyanathanVia Email

Marks & Spencer & HSBClink up to open retail banks

Recently I received an annual loanstatement from Marks & Spencer Money:opening balance, the 12 repayments andclosing balance; no entries for annualinterest charged except to state APR 6%.

In this country, it seems anythinggoes: start selling clothes, then get intogroceries; credit cards; lending and nowbanking. It is becoming like a bankingjungle supported by bank bailouts.

What is needed is a new model inretail banking; not more of the same bytoday’s money-hungry financial institu-tions. Founder Arkadi Kuhlmann andBrand Consultant Bruce Philip found anew model in 1996 by setting up exclu-sive online banking. Today it is a globalenterprise with over 20 million customersin nine countries. It is called ING Direct.

Time is ripe to set up a retail bankingmodel that serves only employees and/orself-employed whose income and/or rev-enue is up to a maximum of the nationalaverage that can move every year. Eachcountry would have their national mov-ing average.

“The reasonable man adapts himselfto the world; the unreasonable one per-sists in trying to adapt the world to him-self. Therefore, all progress depends onthe unreasonable man” [George BernardShaw].

Nagindas KhajuriaVia Email

wealth attracting barbarians from Asia,England entering India as merchants andstaying for 150 years, downfall of Russiaand UK’s police slogan “display and pay.”

In time scale of history this is a blip ofbust after boom, which India should beable to survive. But having fallen prey toclutches of borrow, spend and tax ethos,generated by brown sahibs fed onCambridge/ Oxford/ Harvard/ Yale fod-der making India cash cow to be suckedby international vultures.

Ramesh JhallaVia Email

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YOUR VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 1111EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

On Tuesday 19th June2012, I boarded a spa-cious, friendly and tech-nologically advancedNorwegian Airline totransport me to the Araband European DialogueSummit. It wasn’t until Iarrived at Oslo Airportand spent £45 on a smallpizza that I realised I hadentered one of theworld’s most expensivecountries. Having digest-ed every last crumb of mypizza to make the most ofmy rather steep invest-ment, it was clear thatthis was going to be anextraordinary trip.

The Arab andEuropean DialogueSummit took place in the1994 Olympic City ofLillehammer and wasattended by 40 partici-pants, representing 7faiths from over 21 differ-ent countries. The pur-pose of the Summit wasto bring different faithsfrom around the worldtogether to discuss thecurrent challenges in theworld today includinginter-religious tensions,the Arab Spring and theEconomic crisis. The truevalue of such exerciseswere to understand thekey issues in the worldfrom people who actuallylive in affected countriessuch as Bosnia, Israel,Spain and Egypt ratherthan merely relying onthe media.

Further, it was sur-prising that over half ofall those who attendedthe Summit had nevermet a Hindu before, eventhough they were familiar

with the religion.Admittedly, I felt like a bitof super star answeringquestion after questionabout Hinduism in gener-al and articulating theHindu view of varioustopical issues.

Prior to the Summit, Ihad been rather scepticalabout the notion of reli-gious dialogue. My mainconcern with the practiceof inter-religious dialoguewas that it turns intonothing more than a talk-ing shop that attractsonly the moderates of areligion and does notreach out to religiousmembers with moreextreme views and there-fore lacks effectiveness.

Nevertheless, havinglearnt more about the dif-ferent methods of dia-logue, I found that it con-sists of a great deal morethan merely sitting in aroom trying to learn moreabout each other’s reli-gions. ‘Dialogue’ is actu-ally a way of living, talk-ing, listening and engag-ing with others. It doesnot necessarily need toinvolve talking at all andmay well include partak-ing in a selfless activitysuch as on Sewa Day orSports competitions. Ihave always wanted afind a quick solution toconflict and tensions,which is why I initiallyfound dialogue ratherlong and frustrating.Nevertheless, theSummit made me realisethat conflicts and dis-putes may not have aquick fire solution andthe method of dialogue

can only be effective ifyou have patience anddetermination forchange.

Within the UK, itseems that as well asbringing their familieswith them; ethnic minori-ties have also importedtheir discriminations,stereotypical views andmisconceptions –whether this is in relationto other religions, sects,caste, race and nationali-ties. The Summit, aimedto influence delegates toreturn back to theirrespective countries andcreate platforms in which‘dialogue’ can occur tocreate a more unitary wayof living rather than adivided and segmentedsociety.

This aspiration is atthe heart of HinduDharma as nicely demon-strated by the phraseVasudhaiva Kutumbakam– ‘the whole world is onefamily’. As a religion,Hinduism celebratesbroadness and universalacceptance of all religionsand strives for globalpeace.

Within the HinduCommunity internally aswell as the relationsbetween Hindus in theUK and other communi-ties there is a need tomaintain this ambitionfor peace and harmony.There is certainly roomfor greater cohesive coop-eration. It is suggestedthat inter community andinter religious dialogue isa good step in the rightdirection to reach suchambitions.

By Pranav Bhanot President NHSF (UK)

NHSF (UK) attend the Arab and EuropeanDialogue Summit 2012, Norway

National Hindu Students Forum(UK)

Plans for new primaryschool grammar tests inEngland will hold a "gun tothe head" of teachers,experts say.

The NationalAssociation for theTeaching of English says a

revised focus on spelling,grammar and punctuationwill "impoverish" teaching.

Its chairman, Dr SimonGibbons, says the reformsare based on ministers'"diminishing memories oftheir own grammar- and

public-school educations".The government says it

wants higher standards inEnglish. But Dr Gibbons,chairman of the associa-tion and expert in Englisheducation at King'sCollege, London, warns

that such an approach willturn pupils off the subject.

In a speech to his asso-ciation's annual conferencein York on Friday, he saysteachers have been "pre-sented with a reductive pri-mary curriculum dominat-

ed by phonics, spelling,grammar and standardEnglish."

The test, which will besat for the first time bypupils next summer, meas-ures children's ability to"demonstrate their knowl-

edge of grammatical tests",he said.

The Department forEducation said a focus onspelling and grammarwould be at the heart of thenew primary school cur-riculum.

New grammar tests will 'impoverish English teaching'

Universities MinisterDavid Willetts has warneduniversities not to sacri-fice standards in the huntfor foreign students andthe fees they pay. It fol-lows reports in the DailyTelegraph newspaper thatstudents from China arebeing offered places at UKuniversities with lowergrades than home stu-dents.

Mr Willetts said homestudents were not beingdisplaced by those fromoverseas.

UK universities saythey are recruiting themaximum number of stu-dents allowed.

This cap on home stu-

dents is set by the UK gov-ernment - but studentsfrom outside the EU, whoself-fund, are recruitedseparately and can becharged an unlimited fee.

Mr Willetts' commentscome after Telegraphreporters filmed staff at anagency in China saying itcould help a student getinto certain UK universi-ties with three C or Bgrades at A-level. This isbelow the entry require-ment for most leading UKinstitutions.

Universities men-tioned in the report saythey are investigating thereports, but insist they aimto recruit the brightest

students and that agentsare not empowered tomake offers on theirbehalf.

Writing in theTelegraph afterWednesday's report, MrWilletts described the alle-gations as "salutary".

He said: "If our world-class institutions admitpeople who cannot copeor who slow down theirfellow students, theirleague table positions willslip. This is in no-one'sinterest."

But he warned againstdrawing false conclusionsfrom the investigationsthat home students werebeing displaced as a result.

Willetts warns universities overforeign student grades

EDUCATION NEWS

Fury as council allowsbungalow to be used as an

'illegal' mosqueA council has come underfire after an Islamic groupextended a tiny two-bed-room bungalow to turn itinto an 'illegal' mosque for200 worshippers.

Residents are furiousafter being forced toendure noise at all hoursof the day, congestion andbin bags strewn across thefront garden.

Crowds of between 50and 120 people gather atthe mosque three timeseach week - and for bigcelebrations such as Eidthere are several hundred.

The group bought theproperty in Westcliff,Essex, three years ago andextended it without plan-ning permission and turn-ing it into a mosque.

Despite hundreds ofcomplaints to SouthendCouncil, officers allowed

the cramped property tobe used as a place of wor-ship 'illegally' after beingtold it was a family homeused to host the odd com-munity meeting.

But despite the officialdenials, the group hadeven posted YouTube

videos of a large group ofpeople chanting and wor-shipping inside the prop-erty.

A council worker whovisited spotted 40 bin bagsstacked up outside theproperty just beforeChristmas last year.

Islamic centre: The tiny two-bedroom property which hasbeen used as a mosque 'illegally' for the last two yearsdespite objections from neighbours in Westcliff, Essex

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Scrutator’sPranbab Mukherjee resigned as India’s finance minister, and

his membership of the Congress party. He served his country

and his party well in a long political career. He earned the plau-

dits of many on the opposition benches, among them BJP lead-

ers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Jaitley. But Mr Mukherjee’s final

year of his last three years in office was disappointing. The

economy stalled and his attempts to revive it were unsuccess-

ful. The global downturn and the Eurozone crisis didn’t help,

but more could have been done domestically. The substantive

reforms desired by the market and industry were repeatedly

shelved for political considerations.. One cannot always be all

things to all men. Mr Mukherjee remained wedded to noble

intent. Word was never transformed into flesh as it must be,

now that he has gone and the road ahead is clear.

If, as seems likely, Mr Mukherjee is elected India’s next

President, his understanding of the political system and its

workings, and his tested ability to find common ground amidst

seemingly intractable problems should stand him in good

stead. We wish him well (The Times of India, The Economic

Times, The Hindu, The Telegraph June 10-27).

Symbols of confidence

Moody’s, the international rat-ing agency, has retained its sta-ble status for India, despite theeconomic slowdown and thehigh inflation, saying that thesehad been factored into theirassessment. Present woes, saidMoody’s, were “unlikely to bepermanent or medium-term fea-tures of the Indian economy.” Meanwhile, General Electric

Vice Chairman John Rice hassaid that India’s 6 per cent GDPwas creditable in the context ofthe global economic crisis. MrRice was in Pune to open GE’snewest facility in India. Heemphasized GE’s continuingfaith in the country, which,“along with China and the USwill be among the top fiveeconomies in the world. BesidesIndia and China will be able tocontribute shareholder valuethat is equivalent to the rest ofthe world. As for (India’s) policy

paralysis, a lot of countries needto take decisions on reforms,”said Mr Rice (The TelegraphJune 27, Times of India June28).

Truths of Bill Gates

Bill Gates, entrepreneur andphilanthropist extraordinary, inan interview telecast on NDTV(June 20), shared his thoughtson India, a country he knowswell through his companyMicrosoft, his numerous chari-ties and through frequent visits,the last made recently. Digest his

words: “India’s progress overthe past 20 years has been phe-nomenal. It deserves recogni-tion…..India still faces manychallenges. More than 400 mil-lion Indians live in extremepoverty. The country is home tohalf of all the world’s malnour-ished and underweight childrenand one fourth of the world’stuberculosis…..The country hasa lot of talented people. The uni-versities are improving.Government spending is goingup because of the nation’s eco-nomic strength. Some reformsare needed, and that’s progress-ing, gradually.”

Innovation on view

Said Mr Gates: “A lot progresshas come from the nation’s cul-ture of innovation, which hasproduced some really originaland creative solutions…..Duringmy recent visit, I had a chance tosee the latest progress on things

that matter a lot to us: on eradi-cating polio and curtailing thespread of infectious diseases likeHIV/AIDS and tuberculosis….India has become a world leaderin the development of high-qual-ity, low-cost vaccines and otherbio-pharmaceuticals, which areplaying a huge role in improvinghealth not only in South Asiabut also in Africa and else-where.”

Polio tackled

Bill Gates recounted the story ofpolio eradication in India, which

three years ago was more proneto the disease than any countryin the world. “India is veryproud of this achievement, andrightly so. It’s a direct result ofpolitical will, dedicatedresources, and rigorous manage-ment and accountability,” saidMr Gates.

Unique brain surgery

Bill Gates referred to India’scapacity for innovation, ofwhich is the following example.Moubani Karmakar, an 18-year-old Kolkata girl, suffered fre-quent seizures, the cause ofwhich was diagnosed as atumour of the brain. The lesionwas critically close to the areathat controls speech, explainedneurosurgeon AmitabhaChanda. Doctors had warnedthat the application of normalanaesthesia carried a high risk ofparalysis leading, possibly, toimpaired speech. It was decidedthat the best way forward was tooperate under local anaesthesiaand sedation so that the patientwas able to talk to the surgicalteam throughout the procedure. “It sounds odd that some-

body’s head is being opened upand the surgeon is fiddling in thebrain while the patient is awake.But that was the need of thehour,” said Mr Chanda. If, dur-ing the operation, Moubani feltany discomfort, she could tellthe surgeon and he would imme-diately know that he was closeto the brain tissue. The four-hour procedure went perfectly.Moubani Karmarkar is now fullyrecovered (The Telegraph).

Solar physicistwins US prize

Another instance of Indian tal-ent is Dibyendu Nandi of theIndian Institute of ScienceEducation and Research,Kolkata, who has been awardedthe prestigious Karen HarveyPrize for 2012 by the AmericanAstronomical Society (AAS). Dr Nandi, who did his Ph.D

from the Indian Institute ofScience, Bangalore, has pub-lished a series of papers on solaractivity, including one thatexplained for the first time thedisappearance of sunspots. He ispart of the Indian Space andResearch Organization (ISRO)team’s Aditya mission to the sundue for lift-off later this year orearly in 2013 (The Telegraph)

Terror suspect arrested

It must come as something of ashock to the mummified mindsof India’s special pleaders – ine-briated denizens of Delhi’s cock-tail circuit - of brotherly love andpeace with Pakistan, thatZabiuddin Ansari alias AbuJindal, one of the principal cho-reographers of the 26/11 terror-ist attack on Mumbai, has beenarrested by the Delhi police. AbuJindal, to use his more pro-nounceable name, is an Indianfrom Maharashtra, who trav-elled to Pakistan on a jehadienterprise, where he teamed upwith Laskar-i-Toiba to train thePakistani hit squad in the Hindilanguage and much else besides.

He instructed its members,along with his Pakistani col-leagues, through a satellitephone from their Karachi hide-out, on each and every move inand around the Indian metropo-lis. The ensuing bloodbathclaimed 167 innocent lives.Excellent police work

tracked Jindal down to SaudiArabia (from where he wasdeported). Saudi cooperation,with the US as catalyzing agent,was exemplary, the kingdomhaving understood belatedlythat al Qaeda-linked terrorgroups also had its ruling Royalhouse in their sights. Saudi tieswith India have reached a level

of warmth that must cause anxi-ety in Islamabad, which has longbeen Riyadh’s closest ally in theregion and beyond.

State hand

Indian Home Minister P.Chidambaram announced, onthe basis of Abu Jindal’s interro-gation, that the previously heldbelief of the terror attack onMumbai being the work of non-state bodies was incorrect.“There was state support,” hesaid. He stated further: “Wetracked Jindal down, found himand apprehended him. We aretracking all 26 masterminds ofthe 26/11 attacks. Pakistancomes out poorly….” According to Abu Jindal’s

testimony, Laskar supremoHafiz Saeed, is given 24 hourprotection by the Pakistan Armyand the Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) agency (TheTimes of India June 30).

Pakistan’s Senior AdviserInterior Minister Rehman Malikcharged Mr Chidambaram ofconducting a “propaganda cam-paign” against the ISI, of whomall Pakistanis, he claimed, wereproud (The Hindu June 28).

Information in the offing

Abu Jindal scouted for Indianrecruits from his Saudi Arabianbase. Indian intelligence sourcessay Jindal’s disclosures pointedto his Indian Mujahidin (IM)links. Jindal’s arrest is expectedto open a Pandora’s box of infor-mation on Lashkar and IM oper-atives and sleeper cells acrossIndia (Times of India June 29,Economic Times June 30).

Surjeet, for Sarabjit

Pakistan released Surjeet Singh,who was arrested as an Indianspy by a military court in Lahore

and sentenced to death in 1982,which was commuted to lifeimprisonment, the term expiringearlier in 2005. He was drivenin handcuffs to the Wagah bor-der post in Punjab and handedover to Indian officials and givenan enthusiastic welcome by hisfamily. Surjeet’s claim to be aRAW agent has been denied bythe government.Meanwhile, Sarabjit Singh

languishes on Pakistan’s deathrow for alleged terrorist activi-ties in the country, which he haslong denied. It was his name,not Surjeet’s, that appeared inthe media mix-up on the prison-er release (The Hindu, 27-29)

Cashing in politically

The opposition Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), in its bid for politi-cal mileage, has censured thegovernment for failing to adoptan “aggressive and offensiveposture toward Pakistan forSarabjit Singh’s release (TheHindu June 28). This is rich coming from a

party whose leaders, L.K.Advani and Jaswant Singh, areavowed admirers of Pakistan’sfounder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.The subcontinent’s Muslimhomeland, which Jinnah helpedcreate, was driven by an insen-sate and enduring hatred of‘Hindu’.India, whose defeat and

destruction have been, and con-tinues to be, Pakistan’s messian-ic obsession. Jinnah’s call for a Direct

Action Day in August 1946 ledto the Great Calcutta killingsorganized by the Quaid-e-Azam’s Muslim League ministryin Bengal. This, and kindredevents, define the historicalJinnah as man and politician,not his reported love of whiskyand bacon, of Saville Row suits,nor even his marital status asspouse to a Zoroastrian Parsiwife. Pakistan blighted birth has

left a bloody trail. Jinnah drewits politico-cultural fault-lineswhen, as the country’s GovernorGeneral on his first visit toDhaka, in February 1948, hedemanded that Bengali-speakingEast Pakistan (now Bangladesh)eschew its mother tongue for thedesirably Islamic Urdu. Pakistantoday is Jinnah’s truest monu-ment.

Sarabjit Singh

Foreign minister SM Krishna shakes hands with Microsoft founder BillGates at a meeting in New Delhi

Abu Jindal

MEDIA WATCH


I write to you from Hong Kong where Ihave delivered the following speech at theWorld Economic Hindu Forum.

“My dharma teaches me two things. Tobe truthful and to be fearless. Being truthfulis not a problem, well okay, sometimes it isbecause I used to be a lawyer, but fearless-ness is definitely not a problem – I hail fromKaramsad.

And I have to tell you fearlessly andtruthfully our dharma is under threat. It isunder threat because 2000 years ago, anymap of the world would have shown Bharatas the world’s largest economy. An alien vis-iting the planet in the year 1 AD and askedto select which civilisation will be the singlemost dominant on the planet over the sub-sequent 2000 years – would pointed to thecivilisation which resides in Bharat. He mayhave said China comes a close second, butcertainly not the Europeans who were busy-ing themselves in caves at the time, orIslam, because Islam did not exist at thetime, neither did the Americans.

So when I walked through Hong Kong, Iwept. I wept because I ask myself why ismy civilisation not this wealthy? What hasmy civilisation lacked that China has? Arewe less innovative? Are we less hard work-ing, are we any less ancient? Did we notgive the world astronomy, calculus, surgery,navigation and the give the ChineseBuddha? What have we done wrong so thata map of the world today reveals more peo-ple living on a mere $1 in the boundaries ofthe country of my ancestors than any other.Why should my faith have been the onewhose followers have destroyed morewealth in the past 2000 years than the fol-lowers of any other? Even when we blame

invaders, the fault is ours – why did we notsee it coming? Why had our dharma notprepared us? Why did the followers of everyother major faith increase in wealth overthe past two millennia – be they Jews, whotwo thousand years ago were slaves, bethey Christians or Muslims – not eventhought of two millennia ago?

Dharma protects those that protectDharma. My dharma is under threatbecause it has not been protected by wealthby my ancestors. Dharma is not underthreat for lack of swamis and mandirs -Bharat has enough of those. It also hasthose who know how to make wealth. It isunder threat because we do not know howto spread wealth.

Oscar Schindler, the businessman whosaved over a 1,000 Jews from exterminationin the second world war, said it best, ‘I wishI had made more money. If I had mademore money, I could have saved more peo-ple. This gold ring, this is worth two lives.’

When the Jews were on the brink ofannihilation, it was not a lack of money thatfailed them, but that the money was notspread among enough of them.

My dharma will not be exterminatedthus – although rich people do not convertout of their dharma, the poor do – and thatis a form of religious genocide in Bharattoday – because we do not spread wealth.

But to develop the Hindu economy, aswell as spreading wealth, we must spreadourselves. The West rose, the Jews rose,because they were nomads. They spreadaround the world. Hindus must flood theworld to follow the capital if the Hindu econ-omy (the wealth of Hindustan and of indi-vidual Hindus) is to grow. And the capital is

not in India, it is in Europe and America(they are and will remain the world’s twolargest economies In our lifetimes).

The other way to develop the Hindueconomy is for Hindu businesses to ownintellectual property. Wealth can no longerbe acquired by invading armies. The mod-ern day gun to the head, is the intellect.Point that at anyone and you can acquirewealth. It is no coincidence the richestcountries in the world spend the most onresearch and development. India does not.

It is no coincidence the iPhone has over300 patents and Apple is the world’s richestcompany. It is no coincidence that as longas Hindus invent for the owner of the inven-tion, their dharma will always be underthreat.

Finally, Bharat needs more entrepre-neurs if it wants to develop its economy.But these economic warriors need to flow towhere business is easiest to do – and justabout anywhere in the world is easier thanBharat to do business. But Bharat need notworry – once and Indian, always an Indian.

Lastly, to develop the Hindu economy –the attitude and culture of Hindus needs tochange. They must see their companieswith the shareholders being the HinduNation. So acquire wealth for your compa-ny, knowing that the ultimate owner is theHindu Nation – you are doing it for a greaterpurpose – to protect the Hindu Dharma.Because, to repeat, as the businessmanOscar Schindler said when they were anni-hilating the Jewish faith, ‘I wish I had mademore money. If I had made more money, Icould have saved more lives’. Createwealth, spread wealth. Spread yourselves.Save your threatened dharma.

Developing the Hindu Economy

Political SketchbookAlpesh Patel’swww.PoliticalAnimal.me

Romil Patel

Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)is set to generate up to 4,500 manu-facturing and engineering jobs in theUK over the next five years accordingto JLR Executive Director, MikeWright.

Speaking at the CII-CBI IndiaConference which addressed theIndia-UK partnership in reviving andrestoring economic growth lastThursday, Wright stated that “We areinvesting in products. In the next 5years, we will generate 2,500 manu-facturing jobs and 2,000 Engineeringjobs.”

Wright categorised JLR as theUK’s largest employer in the automo-tive sector and said that “our busi-ness plan is to grow significantly. Weare now a global player with 85% ofour revenue coming from exports.”

He recognised Germany as JLR’scompetitor and said that “we [JLR]have to have a talent pool with glob-al expertise and we have to concen-trate on innovation.”

The Indian High Commissionerto the United Kingdom, Dr JaiminiBhagwati declared that there are nottoo many destinations for investmentwhich are better than India.

Mr Bhagwati also responded toclaims that Indian immigrants aretaking jobs away from the local pop-ulation. “The amount of employmentgenerated by Indian companies arefar more than the jobs taken byIndian immigrants.”

Other participantsincluded Bharti Enterprises ViceChairman and Managing DirectorRakesh Bharti Mittal, NIITChairman Rajendra Pawar and HeroMotoCoro Joint Managing Director.

Jaguar-Land Rover set togenerate 4,500 jobs in UK

Uganda’s Golden Jubilee Independencecelebrations are being held this Octoberin Kampala, Uganda. 2012 also marks40 years since the decrees of Idi Aminforced many Ugandans to leave thecountry and created a large and diverseUgandan Diaspora in many parts of theworld.

To mark this auspicious occasion,The Indian Association of Uganda sup-ported by the Ruparelia Group and otherleading business-es and individu-als in Uganda areorganizing aReunion event tobe held from the11th to the 14thof October atSpeke ResortMunyonyo andE n t e b b eB o t a n i c a lGardens. Theevents have beenendorsed by thePresident ofUganda and arebeing whollysupported by the Government ofUganda.

The country has transformed a greatdeal since the horrifying events of 1972that saw many Ugandans especiallyAsians being forced to leave theirbeloved country of birth. Uganda’s econ-omy, although terribly hit by the knockon of effects of the time, has seen steadygrowth rising from -3.3% in 1980 to arespectable 5.18% in 2010. The econo-my is still growing with the focus being

on areas such as Agriculture, Tourism,Energy and the Oil and Gas sectors.

As part of the Reunion events, therewill be a two day Business Forumdesigned to create a platform where del-egates will be able to engage and discusspotential business opportunities withthe Uganda Investment Authority andUganda Tourism Board among others.The Core Committee, chaired by one ofUganda’s leadingand prominentbusinessmen, Dr.Sudhir Ruparelia,is estimating atleast 1,500 dele-gates to attendthe Reunion andapprox ima te l y25% whom theyhope will findworthwhile eco-nomic prospectsand invest in theircountry of birth.

The Reunionpresents anopportunity forthose who have

not been back to Uganda since the early70’s when they were forcefully sentaway. The four day event will be official-ly opened by Uganda’s President, YoweriMuseveni on the 12th of October atSpeke Resort Munyonyo. Other activi-ties include the Business Forum, aCultural evening and a Food Festival atthe Entebbe Botanical Gardens.

THE GOLDEN JUBILEE UGANDA REUNION 2012www.ugandareunion2012.com

UGANDA TO COMMEMORATE GOLDEN JUBILEE WITH REUNION OF UGANDAN ASIAN COMMUNITY

The international agents for theUganda Reunion are Citibond Traveland Travelpack in the UnitedKingdom and Mr. Amrat Tailor inCanada. Intending participants canvisit their nearest local agent or visitour website: www.ugandareunion2012.com andour group on Facebook.

Munyonyo Commonwealth Resorts


London’s Shameful PolicingContinued from page 3

in particular jewelers, being targeted for daring rob-beries.

Harrow’s Police Commander tells us how good thelocal policing is and how they are driving down localcrime. I agree that the latest Met Police crime figuresshow a decrease in offences related to gun crime, racistand religious hate crime, rape and homophobic crime.But, there is significant increase in other offences - withpersonal robbery up by 47% (overall a 44% increase inall type of robberies) and non-residential burglaries up14% and motor vehicle crime up 10%. My caseworkabout local crime and policing shows scathing com-plaints from individuals and resident associations.

Scrutiny of Harrow’s police and community engage-ment has received a devastating blow in the last fewmonths because of the totalitarian and bullying approachof MOPAC which has scrapped funding of Harrow PoliceCommunity Consultative Group (HPCCG). I’m not pre-pared to take this situation lying down and have takenthis matter up both at committee level as well as direct-ly with MOPAC so that Harrow’s residents are no longerdenied policing resources.

(In the last year the number of full- time police offi-cers has been cut from 31,947 to 31,825 and the num-ber of PCSOs has been cut from 3939 to 2661.)

The City Hindus Network(CHN), in partnershipwith Simmons &Simmons and UBS host-ed over 150 delegates atan evening reception withan esteemed panel ofleading British-Asian per-sonalities – amongst sub-jects discussed were cul-tural ethics vs. corporateprinciples, behaviouralshifts amongst genera-tions of British-Asians;drivers for success andmotivations for philan-thropy.

The collaboration,entitled ‘Further Journeysfor Change’, built on theCHN’s first ‘Journeys forChange’ event hosted incollaboration with StateStreet Bank Corporationin June 2011, whichattracted great member-ship interest and mediaattention.

Chair of the panel andTrainee Solicitor atSimmons & Simmons,Shruti Goel was accom-panied by the distin-guished panel, and said:“Simmons & Simmons isthrilled to have hostedtheir first collaborationwith UBS and the CHN –that too with such a cred-ible panel.”

Panelist GautamKumar, now MD andGlobal Head of SouthAsia and Asia Pacific atUBS WealthManagement, progressedhis career from a com-merce graduate in Delhiand tactically manoeu-vred his ethnicity to shinethrough Citibank’s NRIbusiness before progress-ing to UBS. He said: “It’sa pleasure and a privilegeto have participated as apanelist; the calibre ofattendees shows thebreadth of success-seek-ing British-Asians intelli-gence across the mostdynamic sectors.Diversity in ethnicity andperspective are advanta-geous and spark creativityfor progression.”

Fellow panellistSeema Malhotra, LabourMP for Heston and

St Luke’s biggestfundraising event of theyear, the ladies MidnightWalk went down a stormon Friday 29 June. Over1440 ladies registered totake part and over 200people volunteered onthe night. The ladiesenjoyed entertainmentfrom Patelelvis who didkaraoke, comedy andinteractive mayhem toprovide a tongue andcheek Bollywood tributeto the King. InternationalElectro soul pop artist,Krupa Pattni shared herpersonal experience ofwhen her sister wascared for by St Luke’sand held a minutessilence to remember theloved ones of all of ourwalkers.

Fitness instructor,Gary Zucker provided afun warm up to get theladies ready for their 9-mile walk challenge.Asad Shan who is aBritish model, Actor,filmmaker and currentlythe presenter for the TV

show, Zing which fea-tures on Asian networkchannel, Zee TV livenedthe crowd up at the startline and did the count-down to set the ladies offat the stroke of Midnight.

An outstanding ￡188,940 in sponsorshipwas pledged by our walk-ers on the night and weexpect further sponsor-ship money to come in. Ahuge thank you goes toeveryone who participat-ed on the night and thevolunteers who helped tomarshal, register walkers,work on stalls, providebreakfast and generalsupport at the event.

Asad Shan says,‘When I was contactedby Zee TV they said

there was this event forSt Luke’s and I said firstof all it was for charityand I would love to helpout wherever I can. Ithen did some researchinto the Hospice. Ithought it was incrediblewhen I entered that roomat the Midnight Walk andfound a really elderlycrowd and a really youngcrowd getting together inthe purest form and for

similar goals. In life ourmission is different foreach person but this isone cause that brings youtogether and if you havethat same goal to makingit better you can raisemore money for it and Ithink that is really impor-tant. It really was overwhelming walking in theroom and seeing all thosepurple t-shirts and think-ing wow, when seeing allthose people together. Iwould love to support StLuke’s in the future.’

Premila Vekariyalives in Pinner and wasthe first lady to completethe walk and she did it inunder 2 hours. Premilahad a friend who died of

cancer and says,‘This is one ofthe best eventsfor atmosphere,buzz and generalfeel good factor!All of the volun-teers and mar-shals do a fan-tastic job eachyear whichmakes this eventa huge success.Thank you to StLuke’s and welldone to all thosethat participat-ed.’

A group of17 ladies who

called themselves the‘Jubilee Ladies’ cametogether to walk for StLuke’s. Among the groupwas our youngest walker,Kia Gajparia who waswalking with her mother,Rina Gajparia. Rina says,‘My uncle passed away athome and St Luke’s werethere to support him.This is why we are doingthe Midnight Walk.’

A group of friends,Divya Asawala,Priya Mehtaand BhagwatiJetha took part.Priya says, ‘StLuke’s hasbeen amazing.They lookedafter Divya’snan for 9 daysand we nowwant to give asmuch supportas we can.’

St Luke’sDirector ofFundra i s ing ,Pam Russell

says, ‘It was a fantasti-cally moving experienceto see so many peoplefrom all sections of thecommunity comingtogether to supportpatients at St Luke’s.The evening had aunique atmospherewhich combined friend-ship, care, excitement,and an amazing sense ofachievement among thewalkers, volunteers,staff, entertainers, com-munity police, and allthose who came togetherto make the event such asuccess. I would like tosay a heartfelt thank youon behalf of all at StLuke’s to everyone whohelped to make the walkpossible.’

Midnight Walk ladies takeover Harrow for St Luke’s!

Success defined by the journey,not just the destination

Shreeraj Laturia (Director, UBS), Gautam Kumar (Head of Wealth Management Asia Pacific,UBS), Seema Malhotra MP, Rajay Naik (Director, Open University), Shruti Goel (Event

moderator, CHN; and Trainee Solicitor, Simmons & Simmons), Harin Thaker (Ex-Chairman,ex-Head of Real Estate Finance International at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank), Pratik Dattani

(Chairman, City Hindus Network), Manooj Mistry (Head of Equity ETF Structuring,Deutsche Bank)

Feltham, previously a spe-cial adviser to HarrietHarman, emphasised“I’m delighted to havehad the opportunity toconnect with and inspire,especially like-mindedfemale talent. This seg-ment is slowly earninggreater representation.”

Eqbal Samra, chair ofthe Cultural AwarenessNetwork, UBS said: “Wewere delighted to co-hostthe event and have suchan exceptional panel toshare their experiences.UBS provides equalemployment and advance-ment opportunities for allindividuals regardless ofrace / ethnicity, gender,national origin, age, dis-ability, sexual orientationor religion. UBS is com-mitted to developing andsustaining a diverse work-place.”

The consistent themeof the panel discussionand responses to ques-tions from the audienceprobed how the panelistscontinuously perseveredto achieve their goals, and

whether their spiritualphilosophies helped themremain resilient in theface of obstacles. Theother panellists wereManooj Mistry, Head ofEquity ETF Structuring atDeutsche Bank; HarinThaker, ex-Head of RealEstate FinanceInternational at DeutschePfandbriefbank; andRajay Naik, Director ofGovernment Relations atThe Open University, andformer Chairman of theBritish Youth Council.

Pratik Dattani, onbehalf of the CHN said:“We would like to extendsincere appreciation tothe 2011 and 2012 pan-elists for their continuedsupport and leading byexample. The energy,engagement and enthusi-asm this year, raised thebar. In an economic cli-mate whereby, uncertain-ty often remains the onlycertainty, our panelshowed that diversityblended with creativity,flexibility and agile-mindscan enable opportunity.”

Photo Courtesy: Raj Bakranis


Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to

share with us, please write to Shree at [email protected]

I’m back! I have a newhusband and lovely tanfrom long days on thewhite sandy beaches of afaraway island. My dayswere spent drinking allmanners of tropical cock-tails, staining my Kindlewith copious amount ofsuncream and not so hap-pily obsessing over theshape of my behind in allthe swimsuits I had pre-viously bought for a smallfortune. So I have neverbeen very in love withwith my body on a beach.As if just looking at myown tummy flab isn’tenough, I also have tolook at any number oflithe nubile nineteen yearolds in teensy bikinislooking all , well, unat-tainable. But while maynot have the favour ofage and resistance tojalebis, I do have thepower to dress camou-flage myself in very flat-tering fashion. So,armed with a lifetime ofbody insecurities andbeach holidays, hereare my two cents inhow not to burst outcrying when the onlyunoccupied sun-lounger is sitting nextto Gisele Bundchen’stwin.

Bit Of A Tummy:Can’t seem to kick thattiny bit of belly bulge atthe gym? Camouflage itat the beach by wearinga fashion-forward,ruched one-piece. Lookfor a suit with ruchedfabric or built-in con-trol panels, which willhelp disguise or suck inyour stomach for a slim-ming effect. If you'regoing for a two-pieceswimsuit, then checkouttankinis that are on thefashion scene today. Theycover just enough, but

you still have the freedomand hip factor of a bikini.

Short Legs or Torso:Play up your figure byfinding a suit that is cuthigh on the thigh. Thiswill make your leg lookmuch longer. If you havecurvy hips, then all thebetter. This cut willaccentuate your smallerwaist and give you a flirtylook. Wear a solid bottombikini with a printed top.This will draw the eyeupward and give you alonger look. Avoid boyshorts and skirted bikinisas they draw the eyedownward and can makeyou look shorter.

Tall and Lean:Clothes drape beautifullyon you and your legs goon and on. But, you doneed to make sure thatyou do not look like a

bean pole at the beach inyour swimsuit. You cango wild with the embell-ishments at the hips andbust line. Rings, jewels,ties and bows are all goodthings for you. You’ll looksmashing in those super

bright colors that are so,“in,” right now. Boyshorts are just the thingfor your slim hips. Oh,and those cute, ruffledskirts and cover-ups?They’re made just foryou!

Busty: If you’ve got asmall frame but are heavyupstairs, look for a topthat offers coverage and alittle lift. Plus, a foldedbottom forgives love han-dles. Underwire is keywhen it comes to sup-porting a big bust—espe-cially on the beach. Shopfor bikini tops like youwould for a bra.

Bigger Backside(bane of my existence):Want to draw less atten-tion to your bum? If it’snot your favorite asset,choose a dark-coloredsuit to downplay its size.Briefs or boy shorts are agood option if you havesome junk in the trunk,since they offer coveragewithout looking likeyou’re wearing grannypanties. But whateveryou do, do not even lookat those super frilly miniskirted creations. Theywill only serve to draweveryone’s eyes on yourbum.

That’s it! Time toplay! And be sensibleand wear sunscreen.

Swimwear for All Shapes

fashionistaby Debasree Ghoshfashionista

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The ladies fromBlackburn HinduCentre performed atraditional Indian folkdance in front of thou-sands of people gath-ered in front of theTown Hall, Blackburnwhen the OlympicTorch arrived on themorning of 23rd June.Their names are fromleft, Katy Jackson,Vijaya Sultanpur,Jaibharti Chudasama,Bharti Chohan, ShritiChohan and AsmitaChudasama.

The 'Olympic torch' visitsSheffield and Blackburn

Kumar (Krish) Raval car-ried the Olympic torch inHunters Bar, Sheffield onMonday 25 June. The 38year old corporate trainerand Chief Executive ofLearn to Lead was nomi-nated for his achievementsin the field of personaldevelopment workingwith people of all ages andalso delivering leadershiptraining. Hundreds of hisex-students travelled formiles to take part in theevent, were gathered alongboth sides of the road tocheer him. Throughoutthe race, happy andencouraging screams of 'Krish, Krish' by the excit-ed crowd was the onlysound that could be heard

for miles. Lord Sebastian Coe

the main promoter of theOlympics was present to

lead the torch relay. Theentire event was observedby the community withpride.

The actress ShobnaGulati’s bottom was lastweek named as the Rearof the Year, which isabsolutely not simply anexcuse to sell tight jeansor to ogle at women’sbacksides but in a veryreal sense, it is an artisticappreciation of the humanform. CongratulationShobna for thrashing usall with a perfect rear!

Gulati's 'hitbottom'

Hot Garam masala

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 1716 Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012

Dhanush starrer, “3” will be featured at theninth Indian film festival which begins on July18th at Stuttgart. Earlier, the film wasscreened at the New York Indian Film Festivaland Aishwarya Dhanush was named the Prideof Tamil Nadu at the event for her impressivedebut. Now Aishwarya is very excited as sheheads to Germany for the screening. On herreturn, she will begin work on her secondfilm. Word is that she wants to prove her ver-satility with her second film and it will be dif-ferent from “3” in every possible way.

The release of Rajnikanth's next film has been postponedto avert a showdown with Bollywood bigwigs on Diwali.Rajnikanth may be the boss of all, but it looks like thesuperstar is not willing to clash with Ajay Devgn and ShahRukh Khan at the box office. Buzz is that his next film, hisfirst release in two years and also his comeback projectpost his illness, will now be delayed to avoid a showdownwith Ajay’s magnum opus and Yash Chopra’s untitled thatstars Shah Rukh Khan. All the films were earlier slated tohave a Diwali release. Word was that theatres all overTamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of the Southwere already being booked in bulk for the film. However,

the delay that was kept under wraps to avoiddisappointing the superstar’s fans.

Lara Dutta, formerMiss Universe whomade her debut inTamil with the Arjunstarrer, “Arasatchi”is returning to Tamilafter a gap of nearly13 years. She will beseen in BejoyNambiar's “David”with Vikram and Jiivaand will appear in theTamil, Telugu andHindi versions. This isher comeback film asshe has just had a babygirl named Saira withTennis star, MaheshBhupathi. Lara askedthe makers to schedulethe shoot around herroutine with the baby asthe little one is only afew months old and thenew mommy is reluctantto leave her for longstretches. The producershave agreed so Lara hascome onboard for thisproject.

Dhanush to behonored in Germany

Rajnikanth not willingto clash with SRK

Lara Dutta returnsto Tamil with Vikram

Mallika Sherawat may have a pretty bold image in themedia, but word is that the lady is very scared ofghosts. And when the information reached the ears ofher co-star Vivek Oberoi, the actor decided to pull aprank on her. It was on a night shift that Vivek decid-ed to execute his plan of action. A source close to theactor says, “He started discussing the marriage ofKamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari in front of all. Hestarted narrating how Meena Kumari’s ghost is stillbelieved to roam through the halls of the studio andhow many people has spotted her spirit. Mallika gotreally scared.” Vivek even cooked up some story abouta haunted tree on the sets to scare Mallika even further.

Mallika spooked by

'Meena Kumari's ghost'

After playing a super-hot role in “The Dirty Picture,”Vidya Balan is all set to essay the part of a simplehousewife in her next film “Ghanchakkar.” However,one of the sequences in the Raj Kumar Gupta-direct-ed film is likely to see her in a sultry avatar again.Vidya will soon travel abroad to meet some makeupartistes for a special ‘look test’. “They want Vidya tobe sultry and completely dissimilar from what shelooked like in TDP,” says an insider. Gupta confirms,“Yes, Vidya will go to the US or the UK, we haven’tdecided the destination yet. As of now, I can onlyreveal that we are aiming for a different look for her.I can’t reveal anything else because we’re still work-ing on things. The audiences will be surprised.”

A new look for Vidya

Balan in ‘Ghanchakkar’

Actress Preity Zinta has finally found her junior ver-sion - a young girl with a dimpled right cheek to playher younger version in her debut production "IshqkIn Paris." "Thank you to all of you who sent kiddiephotos for the role of mini me (my childhood) in'Ishkq In Paris'! The role has been cast finally," tweet-ed Preity. The 37-year-old took to Twitter last monthto scout for a "four to seven-year-old girl who has onedimple on her right cheek and can play a younger mefor my film." She has been successful in her efforts."Ishkq In Paris," directed by Prem Soni, also featuresArjun Rampal.

Preity Zinta finds her

junior version

Veteran actors Hema Malini andDharmendra's daughter Esha Deol tiedthe knot with businessman BharatTakhtani in a traditional Hindu weddingceremony. The Bandra-based groomcame to the venue on a white horsebefore the couple took the marriagevows around a sacred fire. Wearing aKanjeevaram saree, Hema and her hus-band Dharmendra, looking dapper in asuit, welcomed the groom at the temple.Esha and Bharat got married in a southIndian style at the Iskcon temple inJuhu. Esha Deol was clad in a red andgold Kanjeevaram saree to whichdesigner Neeta Lulla had made somechanges. The couple had been dating forquite some time and had exchangedrings on February 12 this year.The wed-ding was the climax of the three-day fes-tivities that included a sangeet (music),haldi and mehndi ceremony.

Besides family members like sisterAhana, Abhay Deol, several B-towncelebrities were present at the occasion,including Amitabh Bachchan with son

Abhishek, Manoj Kumar, Vinod Khanna,Vyjayanthimala, Ramesh Sippy, Fardeen

Khan, Poonam Sinha, Madhoo, Anu Malik,designer Neeta Lulla and her daughter Nishka. "Iam very much happy for Esha...it is a very happyoccasion for all of us. I am happy that she is get-ting settled," Abhay Deol told reporters.

“It might be my millionth award but it isimportant to me as it shows that peoplestill think of me," said Madhuri DixitNene as she was honoured with the plat-inum diva award for excellence in thefield of acting.

The 45-year-old Bollywood diva,who has been in the industry for morethan two decades now, said she achievedthis position in the industry with a lot ofhard work and is happy that people stillthink of her as a great actress.

"Thank you for the honour. I am veryproud. This award proves that even todaypeople think of me as someone substan-tial and with integrity. I have been heredue to a lot of hard work and its wonder-ful to know that people see me in thatlight," said Madhuri to Planman Media'sPowerbrands Hall of Fame awards.

Actress Sushmita Sen was alsohonoured with the woman entrepre-neur award for running her beautypageant organisation, I Am She.

"This is the first time in 18 yearsin showbiz that I am getting anaward for being an entrepreneur. Iam very grateful. It has been a jour-ney for me. I won Miss Universe in1994, got to do my first film'Dastak' as an actor and now Ireceive my first entrepreneuraward," the 36-year-old said.

Dilip Kumar's biographyto be launched

A book chronicling the life of liv-ing legend Dilip Kumar and hisrise to stardom is to be launchedsoon coinciding with the 100year celebrations of Indian cine-ma. The 89-year-old actor hasnarrated his life's story to veter-an film journalist Uday TarraNayar, who has penned it in theform of a coffee table book beingprepared under the care andsupervision of Saira Banu. Inthe book the 'Madhumati' startraces the journey he undertookmore than eight decades ago as Yusuf Khan from Peshawar, his actingcareer, and his attaining a stature in Hindi cinema. The book recreatesthe Pathan neighbourhood of the actor's childhood with illustrationsand offers rare photographs of his family, the celebrated couple DilipKumar and Saira Banu, their friends and his many memorable films.

Even though Sonakshi Sinha has been spared of anything scandalousor overtly controversial, there have been times when there has been awhiff of a link up at a place or two. However, that hasn't sustainedbeyond a headline or two as such rumours have ended up dying theirnatural death. Still, one wonders whether the young girl finds it rathertough to take such speculations in her stride. "Well, one thing which Iknow about this world of glamour is that it is better to have peopletalking about you than not being talked at all", she smiles, "Also, I haverealised that since there are so many publications, TV channels, web-sites etc. in this industry that they in constant need of some kind offodder in order to reach out to the audience. In case there is no realnews, it is made up so that there is something that can be offered. It'sokay, they are doing their job; I would continue to do mine."

It is better to be talkedabout: Sonakshi Sinha

Madhuri Dixithonouredwith platinumdiva award

She may not be too impressed, but the actor report-edly did everything in wooing Kareena Kapoor tobe his leading lady. Kareena Kapoor may haverefused to sign on the dotted line for EktaKapoor-Karan Johar’s next, but that definitelyisn’t due to the lack of efforts made byEmraan Hashmi to woo her. Buzz is thatEmraan, who plays the male lead in the film,wanted Kareena to be his leading lady.

The makers of the film, to be direct-ed by Akshay Roy, were looking out foran actress to star opposite Emraan.Sources say, “Everyone thought Kareenawould fit the bill. She was sent the script,which she liked, but she wasn’t able to sort outher dates for the film. Finally, the role went toDeepika Padukone.’ In fact, word is thatEmraan went a step ahead and even arrangedfor a special screening of ‘Shanghai’ for Bebo.

Kareena loved Shanghai and was interestedin working with Emraan. But she couldn’t arrangeher dates alongside Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next.Post her wedding in October, she will start shootingfor the second schedule of the film.”

Emraan fails towoo Kareena to behis leading lady

By his own admission, John Abraham is a changed man now. He is talk-ing more, dancing more and is certainly more visible than ever before.With a number of films in his kitty, Bollywood’s quintessential handsomehunk hopes to find “inspired living”. “I think I have let myself go. I haveopened up and let my hair down gradually. So the change is evident,both in my personal as well as professional life,” John said.

The 38-year-old who split from his girlfriend of eightyears, actress Bipasha Basu, earlier this year, was quitereticent earlier. But thanks to movie promotions,which required him to be in the limelight as well asmeet and greet fans and mediapersons, John hascome out of his shell.

Recently he had few releases – “7 Khoon Maaf”,“Force” and “Desi Boyz”. If “7 Khoon Maaf” won crit-ical appreciation, the other two faired well atthe box office. In fact, “Force” is beingconsidered one of John’s biggest releas-es so far in his eight-year-old actingcareer, which kick started with “Jism.” “I,Me Aur Main,” “Housefull 2,″ “Race 2″ and“Shootout At Wadala” also lined up.

“I am happy. This is the best phase of mycareer so far. But you never know how longthis lasts! With my present slate of films, Ican look forward to ups and downs, butI would like to believe that I have asafe set of projects in mykitty,” said John.

I’ve letmyself go:JohnAbraham

Esha Deol-BharatTakhtani tie theknot in south-Indian style

18 Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012

Bob Diamond, the chiefexecutive of Barclays, hasfinally quit his job withimmediate effect followingthe Libor interest rate-rig-ging scandal. He is under-stood to have taken thedecision after ChancellorGeorge Osborneannounced a parliamen-tary inquiry into the futureof banking.

A Barclays insidersaid: “He felt that he hadbecome a lightning rod forthe [banking] industryand that the bank wouldhave no voice because thefocus remained on him. Itwas his decision. Heretained the full support ofthe board and sharehold-ers. It was Bob’s decisionand Bob’s alone.”

George Osborne saidhe had been informed ofthe decision by MarcusAgius, the bank’s outgoingchairman. “He said theboard had come to viewthat that was the rightdecision and Mr Diamond

had come to that view,” hesaid. “I think and I hopethat it is the first steptowards a new culture ofresponsibility in Britishbanking. But I think it isthe right decision forBarclays, I think it is theright decision for thecountry.”

The Chancellor deniedthat ministers wereresponsible for MrDiamond falling on hissword: “Obviously wehave had conversationsover the last few days withBarclays Bank. But this is,as I say, ultimately a deci-

sion for their board.”In the latest develop-

ment, Jerry del Missier, thechief operating officer ofBarclays, is expected toannounce his resignation.He was a key lieutenant ofMr Diamond and only lastweek left his role as co-head of Barclays’ invest-ment bank to move to hisnew role as COO.

Barclays penalised formanipulating Libor,

Euribor ratesEarlier, Barclays has

agreed to pay 290 millionpounds (USD 451 million)worth penalties to the USand the UK authoritiestowards settling charges ofattempting to manipulat-ing Libor and Euriborrates, the global bench-mark rates for lending.

The British bankingmajor would pay penaltiesof 290 million pounds aspart of settlement agree-ment with the UK'sFinancial ServicesAuthority (FSA) and the

US Department of Justice(DOJ). The entity said ithas also entered into apact with the USCommodity FuturesTrading Commission(CFTC). Out of the totalamount, Barclays wouldshell out 200 millionpounds to CFTC and 59.5million pounds to FSA.

CFTC in a separatestatement said thatBarclays had attempted tomanipulate and made falsereports concerning twoglobal benchmark interestrates - Libor and Euribor –on numerous occasion andsometimes on a daily basisbetween 2005 and 2009.The regulator pointed outthat Barclays' senior man-agement and multipletraders were involved inthe matter and that theyalso coordinated withtraders at other banks tomake false reports concern-ing both benchmark inter-est rates to benefit deriva-tives trading positions.

World's largest mobilephone company, VodafoneGroup, has shaved 1 billionpounds, and possibly more,off the taxes its UK operat-ing unit might have paid inthe past decade, thanks toaccounting factors not seenat other European units.

An examination ofstatutory filings made byVodafone across Europeover the past 16 yearsshows the UK taxman hasoften gone empty handed,while tax authorities inGermany, Spain and else-where have raked in bil-lions of euros. Rather thanincurring UK tax in recentyears, Vodafone hasracked up tax credits suchthat it may not have to payany tax on its UK opera-tions for the foreseeablefuture. Vodafone's low UKtax bill is in spite of soar-ing revenues here and thefact that CEO VittorioColao has repeatedly toldinvestors that Britain wasone of the group's strongerperforming markets.

"This is yet another taxscandal," said Member ofParliament Margaret

Hodge, chair of the parlia-mentary Public AccountsCommittee, which scruti-nizes public expenditureand revenue-raising. "Itmay be legal, but it's com-pletely immoral. Theymake money out of Britain,and they should put moneyback into Britain."

Vodafone declined toanswer most questionsabout its accounts, citingcommercial sensitivity. Itsaid it was committed toacting with integrity andtransparency in all tax mat-ters, while also having aresponsibility to sharehold-ers to control tax costs.

There is no suggestionthe company has behavedunlawfully, and arrangingits affairs in a tax-efficientmanner within the law isstandard business practice.

"Paying more than wasrequired would be a dere-liction of duty to share-holders," said RobinBienenstock, research ana-lyst at Sanford CBernstein in London.

Vodafone's auditorDeloitte said it could notcomment on individual

companies' tax affairs.How do they do it?Between 1998 and 2003,Vodafone's UK unit,Vodafone, made annualprofits of around 530 mil-lion pounds and paid taxesof around 170 million eachyear, its accounts show.

While revenues havesoared since 2003, report-ed profits have plunged. Inthe past three years, theUK unit has racked uplosses in excess of 100 mil-lion pounds each year.

The profit collapse istied to two factors, theaccounts show.

In 2001, Vodafonebegan making large inter-est payments on money itborrowed from companieswithin the Vodafonegroup. In the 10 mostrecent years for whichaccounts have been pub-lished, Vodafone paidassociated companies 3.3billion pounds in interest.This reduced the UK unit'staxable profits by a com-mensurate amountbecause interest paymentsare tax deductible.

Using the prevailing

corporation tax rates atthe time, this translated tosavings worth 961 millionpounds to Vodafone,either in reduced taxes, orby generating tax creditsthat could be used to offsetfuture profits.

Tax experts say therehave been cases where UKcompanies have establishedunits in Luxembourg,which then lend the moneyback to UK units, as a taxavoidance mechanism. Thisreduces profit in the UK,where corporate profits aretaxed at 24% - down from30% a few years ago - whilegenerating profits inLuxembourg, where finan-cial profits can be taxed atrates under 1%.

Vodafone has aLuxembourg-based unit,Vodafone InvestmentsLuxembourg. Aspokesman said VodafoneLimited's interest pay-ments were to other UK-based units of Vodafonebut declined to saywhether these units had inturn borrowed the moneyfrom VodafoneInvestments Luxembourg.

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

I write to you having just returned from India. I cantell you that the forecasts from Goldman Sachs aboutIndia and the resurgence of the Empire and BRIC dom-ination are overdone. Her growth has sputtered andhalved from the vaulted target she sought to have of10% per annum. Critical to the reason for this is thepolitical freezing at the centre. India will have pocketsof wealth. It will by sheer numbers have some who willbe billionaires based on their grandparent’s early starts,and others who for their billions will have their busi-nesses bailed, like Mr Mallya, and the masses who willgo from scooters to cars. But I was not surprised tomeet Indian returning to the UK.

Returning because quite frankly there is moremoney and a better lifestyle here for many of them.Earning in Rupees is fine, but putting up with the cor-ruption is not. This may surprise those who’ve rushed toget overly excited about India. It should not. Whilst it isa positive story, rather like Facebook, it is not all posi-tive. There remain huge gaps in wealth creation.Overnight successes take a lot longer.

And statistics mislead too. So whilst India may pro-duce thousands of engineers annually – how good arethey? Are they MIT, Imperial? Some are. Some are thebest in the world. But not thousands. And the wealth ofa nation is measured by the patents it files – India hasyet to respect intellectual property the way theAmericans do. There is a correlation between thewealth of nations and the patents their corporations file.You can no longer mine wealth from natural resources– but you can harvest wealth from human intellectualresources. You see, cheap money from overseas canflood a market and cause a stock market rally, but reallong-term sustainable wealth comes from economic andpolitical culture. Britain has it, tiny little 60m personisland. The US was born with it.

India’s political culture is definitely not global busi-ness minded. What in India’s history was global? It’shistory has never been to set sail and discover newlands – for better or for worse – the consequences arethat discovery, and creation of wealth from it remainlimited. For sure, India has the great thinkers and math-ematicians – but the exploiters of intellectual property –that make a nation rich – the inventors – where arethey? If only the copyright on the number zero couldbring royalties – but it doesn’t and couldn’t.

So yes, India will continue to moderately grow andget wealthier but as I look at my invitation from Edmundde Rothschild to discuss their investment objectives – Iknow India is not where old European money – anddespite Greece there is trillions of it – puts its money.

Until an entrepreneurial economic and political cul-ture encouraging enterprise without obstacle or corrup-tion lasts three generations, India will remain a small tomid-size economy – from whom the foreign investorswill make the best returns as they have the best expert-ise on return on capital.

Alpesh Patel ([email protected])www.InvestingBetterBlog.com & www.alpeshpatel.com

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Barclays boss Bob Diamond quits

£1bn tax 'scandal' rocks Vodafone in UK

Partial amnesty for middle class taxpayersThe British government has announced a partial amnestyscheme for the middle class tax payers. They will be giventhree months to declare untaxed income earned before2010. Those coming forward will face reduced penalties of£200 plus a fine equivalent to 10 per cent of the unpaidtax. The fines are normally up to 100 per cent of unpaidtax and spot fines of more than £1,000. Taxpayers refus-ing the “last chance” offer will face aggressive criminalprosecutions. Ministers hope that the initiative, based onprevious amnesty schemes, could help to raise hundredsof millions of pounds in unpaid tax. HM Revenue andCustoms is writing to anyone who should be paying tax at40 per cent or 50 per cent but has failed to comply with arequest to fill in a self-assessment tax return for the taxyear 2009-10 or earlier.

Cairn UK Holdings, tillrecently the promoters ofCairn India, is selling 67 mil-lion shares of the company,translating to about 3.5% ofthe company, for about Rs21 billion ($370 million).The stake sale, throughaccelerated book buildingprocess and at a price ofbetween Rs 307.5 and Rs317 per share, is being han-dled by Citigroup’s securi-ties arm in India.

The sale of the blockcould be completed asearly, market sources said.Cairn India shares closedat Rs 328, up a marginal0.5% on the day. TillDecember 2011, Cairn UKwas the main promoter ofCairn India when it sold a

majority stake in the oilexploration company toAnil Agarwal-controlledVedanta group in a dealworth about $6.5 billion.However, after a 15-monthwait, the governmentallowed Vedanta toacquire only about 40.4%from the UK company.

Vedanta had picked upanother 15% stake inCairn India fromMalaysian energy giantPetronas, which was aninitial strategic investor inthe company. At the con-clusion of the deal, the UKcompany was left withabout 22% in Cairn India,part of which is being soldthrough this deal. If thedeal is executed that

would be the third suchdeal in the Indian marketthis week. HSBC’sMauritius arm, registeredas an FII here, sold itsnearly 5% stake in twobanks each, Axis Bankand Yes Bank, togetherworth about Rs 24 billion($425 million). The deal ismost likely to be one ofCairn UK’s series of dealsto sell its residual stake inthe Indian companybecause it needs money todevelop oil fields in someother parts of the world.Since it can not sell theresidual stake to Vedantaor its associate companies,so it is being forced to lookat other buyers, institu-tional players said.

Cairn UK to sell 3.5% in Cairn IndiaIndia’s steel minister BeniPrasad Verma said NRIbillionaire LN Mittalshould stop “maligning”India and its government,asking why the steel baronwas not setting up hisplants in the country.

Mittal, chairman andCEO of world’s largeststeel company,ArcelorMittal, had said inNew York on June 19:“Industrialisation is animportant part of everymajor economy’s develop-ment and by riskingprogress... India is poten-tially condemning hun-dreds of millions to remainin poverty longer than pre-viously anticipated.”

Don’t malign India,

minister tells Mittal

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 19FINANCIAL VOICE

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap

A Property Investment

CompanyThe reason why this price was accepted was because of twofactors. One was the structure of the deal , the other was thetime.

For this simple reason, it cannot be a genuine discount ifeveryone is getting the same price!

l Always enquire as to why someone isselling a property. Reasons like movingabroad, getting divorced or going bankruptwill need a quick sale, which is when you aremore likely to get a good price.

l The speed with which you make decisionsand commit to them will ensure you getdeals time and time again.

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Tips of the Week

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Last week Friday we completed on a property in 40A WestbourneTerrace W2. The property is on a lovely tree lined road starting fromHyde Park, and going up to the A40. The properties on this road areset back from the main road by an extra road lined with trees, thisgives much needed privacy and quietness in this central location.The property was 1,819 Sq Ft, it came with Share of Freehold, a rar-ity in this location. It consisted of three bedrooms and three bath-rooms and was in great condition. We sold the property for £1.23m alot less than what it was worth. There is a direct comparable on the same road at no. 50A which

is slightly more towards the A40 but leasehold and only 1,600Sq Ft,this was sold by Hamptons at £1.55m and in worse condition thanours.

The property was purchased with a three month completion for£1.050m, with only a 5% exchange amount. This equates to £52,500.The idea was always to sell the property on prior to completion hencethe low exchange money. The completion deadline was 30th June2012. Using this structure our investor made £180,000 with a£52,500 investment. A 342% return within a three month time frame.If he had completed then he would have made £113,000 with a£420,000 investment which is a 27% return over a longer time frame.Hence structure and timing is everything.We had an issue selling this property. Though the location was

superb and the flat was in a great condition, it was a lower groundproperty hence had a stigma attached to it. Lower ground propertyhas a reputation for damp and security, though this is not always jus-tified. This coupled with the quite time of the year when the marketis a little slack meant we could not resell as quickly and for more thanwe expected, but nonetheless given the way we structured the deal wecould get away with selling for a lot less as we wouldn’t have theexpanse of completing this transaction. Ordinarily the stamp duty onthis property would incur another £50,000, hence reducing the prof-it margin. The buyer was someone who lived on this road in a lower ground

property and was upgrading. Having lived in a lower ground proper-ty they were comfortable and familiar with this type of property. In these situations it is always prudent to prepare for the worst

case scenario. In our case it was having the funds to complete. Hencethe mortgage offer was in place and we even had a structure in placeto mitigate the stamp duty.

In this situation we were arranging a 60% loan to value mortgagewhich would have reduced our deposit to £420,000 as opposed to the

full amount. We chose this product because of the low set up fees andredemption penalties given our aim was to resell shortly. The redemp-tion on this product was only 1% for two years, which is very lowcompared to the other products on the market. There was a timewhen you could get a fees free product with no penalties too, this wasin the pre credit crunch good days. There is another more clever way of arranging the mortgage on

this property. Given this property is easily worth in excess of £1.6m,the idea would be to arrange a mortgage on the amount of £1.6musing another buyer. This would mean we put only £90,000 into thedeal, so another £40,000 on top of the deposit already paid. Thiswould allow us to use our funds elsewhere. Again in pre credit crunch times you could buy this property not

just for free (i.e no money stuck), but with some pocket money! If itwas structured in the right way. It worked like this: you would nothave applied for a mortgage, you would have applied for a remortgagebased on a valuation not the purchase price. Let’s assume we get a70% LTV remortgage on £1.6m, not an unreasonable scenario given,assuming the valuation is correct you would get a remortgage offer for£1.12m. This offer would be valid between three to six months. Theissue is you haven’t bought the property yet and this is only to drawmoney down, on the assumption you own it. You go to a bridgingcompany, show them the offer and borrow the money from them forone day to purchase the property and then refinance it the next day.This means though you have bought the property for £1.050m youhave borrowed funds of £1.12m against the property and you will geta cashback of £70,000 and a ‘free’ property! This type of purchasing was very prevalent amongst ‘wanna be’

landlords who had no money. This concept was taught for a fat fee bymany property companies, who then went on to provide the relevantsolicitors, bridging companies and properties. The properties werenormally new builds, hence it was doomed to fail.

The value of a property is what someone is prepared to pay for it.Often in the past, in the case of new builds, the valuation would beinflated as at that time you could choose the valuation firm and if thefirm knows it will be getting hundreds of instructions if it gives theright value, it will ask you what you would like the value to be! Giventhese were new build flats there would be no direct comparables.This of course has now all changed and we are in a very different mar-ket now, where it cannot be certain whether property prices will evenrise in many parts of the UK. One needs to invest carefully to get themost out of your investment.These are tricks you could have used historically and cannot repli-

cate in the current environment. The environment has changed dra-matically now, but there are still ways in which deals can be struc-tured to maximise your investment.

Timing is everything

Although it may be a completely unnecessary expense and in this case it was, it canbe thought of more as an insurance policy to avoid stress later down the line. It’s asmall price to pay for the peace of mind.

It’s rare to get deals given on a plate

20% discount off market price

Worth £300,000 but we have agreed this at£250,000

Only 1% Stamp Duty

Minutes away from West Kensington andBarons Ct stations

Share of freehold, minimal service chargepa £300pa

Call us now to view !!!

The Real Deal

Unusual Deal in West Kensington

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201220 financial VOICE

There is a myth about ayoung Dutch boy who waswalking home from schoolwhen he noticed a smallhole in a dyke. Being a lowlying country, Hollandrelies on dykes to preventthe seawater floodingfarmland. He realised thatif the hole was not pluggedquickly, it would soon growand eventually the wholedyke would collapse andcause wide scale destruc-tion. He immediately puthis finger in the hole andsat there until someonecame to help. This is not atrue story, but the moral isvery apt – first limit thedamage and then fix theproblem before it becomesuncontrollable.

The root cause of thecredit crunch is said to bethe banks who were givingaway ridiculously cheaploans to home buyerswithout carrying out anydue diligence on their abil-ity to pay the money back.One might say that this isunderstandable given thatdue diligence is not some-thing the Banking industryis renowned for.

This was followed byrevelations that theBanking industry has been

guilty of miss-selling prod-ucts, hiding huge losses instock market trading byfalse accounting and pay-ing exorbitant bonuseswhich were linked to justturning up to work ratherthan meeting performancetargets.

The Prime Minister’sposition on all of this issomewhat perplexing. Onthe one hand he says,"…the governor is infavour of changing cultureat the banks and so am I."On the other hand, whencalled upon to set up apublic inquiry into the cul-ture and practices of theBanking industry, thePrime Minister says thatthe government should notrush into things and need-ed to consider everythingvery carefully. The PrimeMinister does not want tobe hasty on this issue butwe know that historicallythis is not somethingwhich comes naturally tohim - the changes to theNHS being a prime exam-ple. So why the initialreluctance? He thenannounces that there willbe a Government enquiryled by a minister, but stopsshort of agreeing to an

‘impartial’ Public enquiry. Another hint of unwill-

ingness? Are the politicianscloser to the bankers thanthey are to the press?Every Government, pastand present have knownabout these holes inBritain’s economic dykespringing open from timeto time. And whenever thisdid happen they patchedup the holes but never gottheir hands dirty to fix theroot problem. Until nowDavid Cameron has beenable to blame GordonBrown for the mess, buteveryone knows what hethinks is the cause. Peoplewant to know what he isgoing to do to fix it. Theproblem is there are nowmore holes than he hasfingers.

Amit Patel has over 15years experience in the fieldof Personal Developmentand Human ResourceManagement. He has deliv-ered speeches on PeopleManagement andDevelopment throughoutEurope, North America, andAsia. To contact Amit, emailamitpatelmail @gmail.com

By Amit Patel

Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field ofLeadership and Human Resource Management

Plugging the Holes

Around 17 countries,including Japan, theNetherlands and Iraq, haveevinced interest in import-ing wheat from India, theworld's second biggest pro-ducer, a top governmentofficial said.

At present, the govern-ment is grappling with theproblem of aplenty due torecord production in recentyears. Its godowns are over-flowing with a record 82million tonnes of rice andwheat, against the storingcapacity of only 64 milliontonnes. Representatives ofvarious countries had ameeting with the officials ofexternal affairs ministry,the official said.

"It was a preliminarymeeting. The representa-tives of countries enquiredabout the quality of wheatand modalities of shipmentamong other issues," theofficial said. The govern-ment had lifted ban onwheat exports inSeptember 2011 but the

shipments have not beenpicked up so far. Over onemillion tonnes of wheathave been shipped throughprivate trade sinceSeptember 2011.

The country is facingstorage crisis and wants toclear wheat stock, especial-ly that of 6.6 million tonneslying open in unscientificway before monsoon picksup in the coming weeks.India is also in talks withsanction-hit Iran for exportof wheat and is resolvingthe quality issues.

Experts said that India isin a better position to exportas the CIF (Cost, Insuranceand Freight) of wheat grownin Australia and the US isclose to $315 per tonne. Thecountry's godowns are fullwith rice and wheat stocksdue to record procurementand production in the lastfew years. Wheat produc-tion is estimated to bebumper 90.75 milliontonnes in 2011-12 crop year(July-June).

The government of Indiaindicated that it is “goingslow” on the move to raisea fresh tax demand onVodafone but moved inswiftly to issue draftnorms on the controversialGeneral Anti-AvoidanceRules (GAAR) that willkick in from next April.The draft, issued by thefinance ministry, hassought to build in mecha-nisms to check againstmisuse of the provisionsby tax authorities. Butwhat may draw investorire is the proposal to sub-ject foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) using dou-ble tax avoidance agree-ments (DTAA) to invest inthe country. While theseentities will be subjectedto tax, a safeguard hasbeen built against the useof the provisions againstthe clients of FIIs. Butthose FIIs that opt to paytaxes in India would beoutside the ambit ofGAAR, the draft said.

The clarification onkeeping non-residentclients outside the scope

of GAAR is in line withformer finance ministerPranab Mukherjee’sassurance that participa-tory notes would be keptout. Participatory notesare derivative instrumentsused by investors to parkmoney in Indian marketsand have often beendubbed opaque. The draftnorms have also sought tocheck indiscriminate useof GAAR. To provide com-fort to small taxpayers,the finance ministry hasproposed a monetarythreshold for invoking theprovisions, although it hasnot been spelt out yet.Further, it has suggestedthat the rules can only beinvoked after an assessingofficer refers the case to acommissioner rank officerwho, in turn, would needto send the case to a three-member panel with a sen-ior officer from law min-istry as a nominee. Inaddition, a time-boundprocess and cut-off datefor invoking the provi-sions has been suggested.The draft also clarified

that GAAR would notapply retrospectively andwill come into force fromApril 2013. The twinmoves from North Blockcame a day after PrimeMinister ManmohanSingh took charge of thefinance ministry.

The Vodafone tax issuehas emerged as a test casefor the new team that hastaken over the reins inNorth Block. A sectionwithin the governmentwas against raising a freshtax demand on the tele-com operator after theSupreme Court ruled thatthe transaction was off-shore and not liable to taxin India. The move to ret-rospectively tax foreignmerger and acquisitiondeals involving domesticassets had drawn blister-ing criticism from govern-ments across the worldand scared foreigninvestors. Asked about theVodafone tax issue,finance secretary R SGujral said “these thingstake time,” without elabo-rating further.

17 nations keen toimport wheat from India

[email protected] Fernandes

The new rules for theentry of family mem-

bers applicable on or afterthe 9th July are not whatthey seem and need to becarefully considered beforeapplications are made.

The sting in the tailapplies to the financialrequirements. Those whowish to bring a spousemust earn a gross salary of£18600. This is the mini-mum income that must beearned. Thereafter thefirst child is worth a fur-ther £3800 and any subse-quent children will qualifyby showing an additional£2400 each. Third partiescannot promise to providesupport although there isno restriction on themproviding funds as a gift.

Where a person doesnot meet the incomethreshold the Sponsor musthave £16000 in cash sav-ings for at least 6 months.Any sum above this (impor-tant) can be countedagainst any shortfall.

The complicationsarise in the rise of amountsthat need to be shown if aperson does not earn theminimum required. A per-son in this situation would

have to show £16000 (insavings) plus the shortfallmultiplied by 2.5. So takefor example an applicanton a salary of £15000 perannum. He would beshort of £3600. He wouldhave to show savings of£16000 plus £3600x 2.5for each 30 month periodi.e £25000. And a personwithout a job would haveto show £62500 in savings.

The salary has to beearned with the sameemployer for a minimumperiod of 6 months. Wherethere is a change ofemployment the period of 6months has to be restarted.

In other areas, whenassessing genuineness ofmarriages, various factorswill be taken into account.For example a publicstatement by either heapplicant or sponsor willbe enough reason torefuse the application.Where marriages endbadly a letter to theUKBA, whether true ornot, can trigger a refusalmuch more easily.

Elsewhere with regardto children, the 7 yearrule, whereby childrenwere allowed to remain if

they had been resident for7 years which was discon-tinued a few years hasbeen re-introduced.

Finally the UKBA haveattempted to define or setlimits on the applicationof Article 8. It alsoattempts to put suchapplicants on the longtrack to settlement requir-ing them to spend 10 yearsin this category from 6years. It is likely to be thearea where the most litiga-tion will take place.

And for a snippet ofgood news. Applicants whocurrently leave the UKbeyond 28 days are usuallybanned from travel for peri-ods of 12 months, 5 yearsor 10 years. 28 days hasbeen replaced by 90 days.The purpose of the rulechange is to “incentivise”voluntary departure.

Maria Fernandes hasbeen in practiceexclusively in immigrationfor the past 25 years.Fernandes Vaz is based at87 Wembley Hill RoadWembley in Wembley andcan be contacted bytelephone on02087330123, by email [email protected].

The pitfalls of the new restrictions

Tata Sons Chairman RatanTata has been awarded aLifetime AchievementAward by the prestigiousRockefeller Foundation forinnovation in philanthro-py. The Foundation, cele-brating 100 years of globalinnovation, honouredindividuals and institu-tions with its secondannual Innovation Awardsin New York last week.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mr Tata said business-es should be sensitive to thefact that they are making adifference in places wherethey operate and they haveto do things to help thecommunity prosper. “Thisis all the more evident inthe developing world wheredisparities are so huge,” MrTata said.

Indian may go slow on Voda tax case

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Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 21financial VOICE

GBP - INR = 85.93

USD - INR = 54.80

EUR - INR = 68.98

GBP - USD = 1.57

GBP - EUR = 1.25

EUR - USD = 1.26

GBP - AED = 4.62

GBP - CAD = 1.59

GBP - NZD = 1.95

GBP - AUD = 1.53

GBP - ZAR = 12.72

GBP - HUF = 355.35

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WeeklyCurrenciesAs of Tuesday

3rd Julys 2012 @ 11.30am

Markets cheered after Eurozoneleaders agreed at the EU Summitheld on Friday to let their rescuefund inject aid directly intostricken banks and intervene onbond markets to support trou-bled members. They also took astep towards banking union bypledging to create a single bank-ing supervisor.

Reports highlighted earliertoday that according to a Greekgovernment official Greece hasreceived 1 billion euros onMonday, which is said to be theremaining amount from the EUbailout. The money, the payoutEU finance ministers approvedin May, was paid out by theEuropean Financial StabilityFacility (EFSF). The EuropeanCentral Bank (ECB) ExecutiveBoard Jörg Asmussen who hasemphasized the debt riddencountry should strictly carry outthe program of reforms requiredby the Troika rather than con-centrate on renegotiation ofbailout conditions.

The European summit agree-ment triggered a rally in Spanishand Italian government bondsand sent the Euro soaring some1.7 % on Friday, its biggest one-

day percentage gain since lastOctober. This was howevershort-lived as the Euro dippedduring the early hours ofMonday, giving up some groundafter its biggest one-day rally ineight months. While some mar-ket players have suggested thatthe Euro's rally may continue fora while longer, others have ques-tioned its sustainability.

Also featuring this week is ameeting to be held by theEuropean Central Bank; manyexpect the ECB to cut interestrates by a quarter points. If wesee a rate cut on Thursday, thismove is certainly going to be

negative for the Euro. There isalso growing speculation thatthe central bank will embark onmore quantitative easing as thesovereign debt crisis continuesto dampen the fundamental out-look for the region.

Meanwhile, it has been welldocumented that the Bank ofEngland is likely to take addi-tional steps to shield the U.K.economy by expanding its bondbuying program. As the U.K.remains in a technical recession,fears of a prolonged economicdownturn may prompt addition-al support for further easing.

United Kingdom’s manufac-

turing sector con-tracted for the sec-ond straight monthin June as neworders continued tofall, a survey showedon Monday, cement-ing expectations thatthe Bank of Englandwill pump more cashinto the recession-hiteconomy. The coun-try fell back intorecession around theturn of the year anda string of weak eco-

nomic data has pointed toanother quarter of contractionbetween April and June, puttingpressure on the central bankand the government to boostgrowth.

Among the usual risk-orien-tated themes guiding the U.Sdollar, the week ahead will seemarket participants look to theJune jobs report as a barometerof how the U.S economy is trav-elling. The U.S economy isexpected to have created 90,000jobs in June from a previous69,000, with the official unem-ployment rate to remainunchanged at 8.2 percent.

Eurozone breathe a sigh of relieffollowing recent EU summit

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX,

Currency Specialists.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201222 PakISTan-BangLadeSh-SrI Lanka

Islamabad: Piling up pressureon new Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf, PakistanSupreme Court asked him torespond by July 12 to itsorder to reopen graft cases inSwitzerland againstPresident Asif Ali Zardari, anissue that had cost his prede-cessor his job.

A three-judge benchheaded by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk reminded AttorneyGeneral Irfan Qadir that for-mer Premier Yousuf RazaGilani had been convicted forcontempt and sentenced forrefusing to act on the apexcourt's orders to revive thecorruption cases.

The bench said in a brieforder that it expected thenew Premier would act onthe court's directives. The

judges asked the AttorneyGeneral to consult the PrimeMinister and inform the courtof his stance at the next hear-ing on July 12.

Ashraf, a close aide of theruling PPP chief Zardari,became Prime Minister afterGilani was disqualified by theapex court on June 19 follow-ing his conviction for con-tempt. Gilani had been con-

victed and given a symbolicsentence on April 26 after herefused to act on the apexcourt's repeated orders toapproach Swiss authorities toreopen the corruption casesagainst Zardari. Gilani hadcontended that the govern-ment could not act as thePresident enjoyed immunityin Pakistan and abroad.Shortly after assuming office,Ashraf said that the PPP hadmade it clear that it wouldnot write a letter to Swissauthorities to reopen thecases against Zardari. Hesaid there was no differencebetween him and Gilani onthis issue.

Ashraf had further said thathis government did not wantany confrontation with otherstate institutions and would

work in accordance with theConstitution and the law.

The Supreme Court hasbeen pressuring the govern-ment to revive the casesagainst the President sinceDecember 2009, when itannulled an amnesty issuedby former military ruler.Pervez Musharraf that hadbenefited Zardari and over8,000 others.

The PPP has claimed thatthe judiciary, especially theChief Justice, has not beenimpartial in cases involving theruling party and its leaders.

The crusading top judgetoo has come under a cloudafter real estate tycoon MalikRiaz Hussain claimed that hehad paid over Rs 342 million tothe Chief Justice's son to influ-ence cases in the apex court.

Three British soldiers shotdead in AfghanistanLondon: A man wearing Afghan police uni-form shot dead three British soldiers at acheckpoint in Afghanistan. The soldiers wereserving with an Afghan police advisory teamand were killed after a meeting at the check-point at Nahr-e-Saraj in southern Helmandprovince. The assailant was injured anddetained. Their deaths take to 422 the num-ber of British military personnel killed inAfghanistan since operations began in 2001.NATO-led forces have suffered a string ofattacks by members of Afghanistan's securi-ty services on foreign troops and their men-tors, adding to pressure on some countriesto withdraw. Britain has about 9,500 troops inAfghanistan and is due to withdraw 500 bythe end of the year. It plans to bring home allits combat troops by the end of 2014. Two ofthe soldiers killed were from the 1st BattalionWelsh Guards and one was with the RoyalCorps of Signals.

World Bank cancels $1.2bnloan for Bangladesh bridgeWashington: The World Bank cancelled a$1.2 billion loan for Bangladesh's Padmabridge project, saying the government hadnot cooperated in investigating "high level"corruption in the project. "The World Bankprovided evidence from two investigationsto the prime minister, as well as the ministerof finance and the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh inSeptember 2011 and April 2012," it said in astatement. "We urged the authorities ofBangladesh to investigate this matter fullyand, where justified, prosecute thoseresponsible for corruption."

Pak, US hold talks over Nato routesIslamabad: Pakistan and the US onMonday held crucial talks on ending a sixmonth blockade of supplies to foreigntroops in Afghanistan but failed to take afinal decision on reopening the supply linesclosed after a Nato attack. Foreign officespokesman Moazzam Khan was quoted bystate-run media as saying that a final deci-sion had not been made. Khan said talksbetween Pakistan and the US on the issuewill continue. The Pakistani delegation wasled by foreign minister Hina Rabbani Kharwhile deputy secretary of State ThomasNides headed the US team. The Americanteam has held talks with Pakistan's militaryand political leadership on various issues,including the Nato supply routes,spokesman Khan said.

Pak in hot water after India's refusal to provide dam water dataLahore: India's refusal to provide Pakistandata about water levels in its dams andexpected rains could spell grave danger forPakistan in the wake of the approachingmonsoons and resultant floods. Accordingto water and power department officials, thePakistan High Commission had soughtfrom India forecast data about water flowfrom dams built on Ravi, Sutlej and Bias,but India declined this request. WithoutIndia's assistance, it would become evenmore difficult for the Pakistani authorities totake flood-management measures, theysaid. The National Disaster ManagementAuthority held an emergency meeting in thisregard and expressed concern over thedevelopment. After India's refusal, Pakistanwill be totally depending on its radarsinstalled in Sialkot, Lahore and Mangla forrain and flood assessment and to prepareplans to face any critical situation.

Bangladesh landslide tollgoes up to 106Dhaka: With the recovery of 15 bodies thathad buried under mud and debris, the floodand landslide toll in Bangladesh has risento 106. The landslides occurred mainly inremote villages with poor roads, makingrescue work more difficult, and the floodingwas disrupting communications. About 500houses were washed away. More peoplemay be missing, but officials said they don’tknow how many. At least 41 died in Cox’sBazar, 41 in neighbouring Bandarban andanother 24 in Chittagong.

In Focus

Lahore: A new Shia partylaunched in Pakistan haswarned that it willbesiege the army'sGeneral Headquartersand the residences of thepresident and premier ifkillings of members ofthe minority sect contin-ue.

The Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen held a rallyat the Minar-e-Pakistanin Lahore announced plansfor protests if the killings ofShias continued. Leaderssaid at least 60 Shias havebeen killed during the pastthree months, mostly in therestive Balochistan province.

They said they wouldbesiege the army's GeneralHeadquarters and the resi-dences of the president andpremier if violence againstthem was not contained.Addressing the gathering, thenew party's head, AllamaNasir Abbas Jafri, said theShias of Pakistan had now

converged on one platformfor their religious and politi-cal rights. They will counterterrorists and killers them-selves if security agenciesfailed to act against such ele-ments, he warned. Jafrialleged that the US Embassyand consulates were the realcentres of terrorism inPakistan.

As long as they are notclosed down, terrorism andtarget killings will continuein Pakistan, he claimed. "Ifthe rulers do not expelAmericans from Pakistan,

then the Shias will dothis job themselves," Jafrisaid. He contended thatShias had defeated theUS and Israel in Iran,Lebanon, Iraq and Syria,and now they would doso in Pakistan.

The rally was the sec-ond largest gathering ofShias at the Minar-e-Pakistan ground, since agathering chaired in 1987

by Allama Arif Hussain AlHussaini, who was shot deadthe following year.

The charged crowd ofmen, women and children,who had come from all partsof the country, displayed rarediscipline by sitting in thescorching temperature of 45degrees Celsius all day long.

He warned all politicalparties, including the rulingPakistan People's Party, thatthey should not deceive theShias anymore. Every partyhad cheated Shias after seek-ing their votes, he alleged.

Largest gathering of PakShias sends out warning

Houston: Former Pakistaniminister Shaikh Rashid,known for his pro-LeT lean-ings, was detained atHouston airport last week onarrival for his possible linkswith the terror group'sfounder Hafiz Saeed, themastermind of the Mumbaiattacks. The 61-year-oldRashid, leader of the AwamiMuslim League of Pakistan,was detained soon after hearrived by an Emirates flightand was freed after five hoursof interrogation.

Sources said Rashid wasdetained for his possible linkswith Saeed. It is understoodthat he was scheduled to attenda fundraiser and meetings withhis supporters in the US.

According to Pakistan'sGeo News channel, the for-mer minister was releasedafter Pakistan's ambassadorto the US, Sherry Rehman,asked the Pakistani consulateto help him out. Followingher directives, Pakistan's con-sul general in Houston, Aqil

Nadeem, reached the airportto talk to the immigrationauthorities following whichthe former minister wasallowed to leave the airportafter five hours of interroga-tion, it said.

Rashid had in recent pastactively attended the ralliesand meetings organised byDefa-e Pakistan Council, analliance of extremist and hard-line groups formed by JuDchief Saeed. He had accompa-nied Saeed to the rallies andpress conferences where theyboth made statements againstIndia and the US. Rashid hadserved as the federal ministerfor railways in Pakistan from2006 to 2008.

Former Pak ministerdetained at US airport

Washington: Almost six outof ten Pakistanis considerIndia to be a bigger threat totheir country than theTaliban or Al -Qaeda, a newsurvey has revealed.

The survey, conducted bythe Pew Research Centre'sGlobal Attitudes Project,notes that Pakistanis havinga favourable view of India hasslightly improved from 14 percent in 2011 to 22 per cent in2012, reports The News.

Pakistanis have consistent-ly identified India as the topthreat since the question wasfirst asked in 2009, it noted.

Despite these negativesentiments, 62% ofPakistanis say it is importantto improve relations withIndia, the survey found.

Most Indians also want bet-ter relations, more trade, andfurther talks between the twonations, Pew reported. Still,Indian attitudes towardPakistan remain largely nega-

tive. Roughly six-in-ten Indians(59%) express an unfavourableopinion of Pakistan, althoughthis is down slightly from 65%in 2011.

The survey also foundthat following a year of ten-sions between their countryand the United States,Pakistanis continue to holdhighly unfavourable views ofthe U.S. and offer bleakassessments of the relation-ship between the two nations.

Roughly three out of fourPakistanis consider the U.S.an enemy, and PresidentBarack Obama is held inexceedingly low regard.

The survey was conduct-ed from March 28 to April 13,2012 by 1,206 face-to-faceinterviews of adults.

Six in ten Pakistanisconsider India 'biggerthreat' than Taliban

Islamabad: Pakistan willrelease 315 Indian fishermenat the Wagah land bordercrossing very soon. The fish-ermen are currently beingheld at a jail in Karachi, andthey will be freed and sent toLahore to be handed over toIndian authorities. Pakistanand India arrest scores offishermen every year oncharges of violating territorialwaters. Pakistani officials sayover 150 Pakistani fishermenare currently in Indian pris-ons. Since India and Pakistanresumed their peace processlast year after a gap of overtwo years after the 2008Mumbai attacks, the twosides have taken several stepsto speed up the release ofprisoners held in each other'sprisoners. The two countrieshave released scores of pris-oners, a majority of themfishermen. The two sides areworking on an arrangementfor the speedy repatriation offishermen detained for inad-vertently crossing the mar-itime boundary.

Pakistan torelease 315

Indian fishermen

Pak SC asks PM to reopen Zardari graft case

Cairo: Mohamed Morsiwas sworn in Saturdaybefore Egypt’s highestcourt as the country’s firstfreely elected President,succeeding HosniMubarak who was ousted16 months ago.

Mr Morsi promised a“new Egypt” as he was inau-gurated as the Arab world’sfirst freely elected Islamistpresident and Egypt’s fifthhead of state since the over-throw of the monarchysome 60 years ago.

“We aspire to a bettertomorrow, a new Egyptand a second republic,”Mr Morsi told the judgesof the court during asolemn ceremony shown

live on state television.“Today, the Egyptian

people laid the foundationof a new life absolute free-dom, a genuine democracyand stability,” said Mr.Morsi, a 60-year-old U.S.-trained engineer.

Mr Morsi earlier took asymbolic oath on Friday inTahrir Square, birthplaceof the uprising that ended

Mubarak’s authoritarianrule last year, and vowedto reclaim presidentialpowers stripped from hisoffice by the military coun-cil that took over from theousted leader.

But by agreeing to takethe oath before the court,rather than beforeParliament as is custom-ary, he is bowing to themilitary’s will in an indica-tion that the contest forpower will continue.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 23world

Indian couple gets$36m in damagesWashington: An Indiancouple, who sustainedserious injuries in an acci-dent in the US in 2010, hasbeen awarded a $36.48million as compensation bya California court. ARiverside County SuperiorCourt jury awarded $36.48million to Prakash Sheth,64, and his wife, JashireeSheth, 58, from Mumbai,whose car was struck by abig-rig on Interstate 10 inBeaumont two years ago.At the time of the accident, the Sheths were visitingthe US from India andwere on their way to an air-port in Orange County for afamily vacation in Hawaii.

Attacks on Kenyanchurches kill 17Nairobi: Maskedassailants launched simul-taneous gun and grenaderaids on two churches in aKenyan town, killing at least17 people in the worstattack in the country sinceKenya sent troops intoSomalia to crush alShabaab militants. Morethan 60 people werewounded in the attacks inGarissa, the north Kenyatown which has been usedas a base for operationsagainst al Qaeda-linkedinsurgents in Somalia. "Thisis the worst single attacksince October, when ourtroops went into Somalia,"national police spokesmanEric Kiraithe had said.

Bombs kill 44 in IraqDiwaniya (Iraq): Bombskilled at least 44 people atmarkets in Iraq onTuesday, and authoritiessaid they bore the hall-marks of sectarian attackson Shi'ite Muslims by alQaeda Sunni militants. Abomb in a small truckexploded in a market inthe city of Diwaniya,killing 40 people, andother blasts killed fourmore near the city ofKerbala, police and offi-cials said. The Diwaniyabombing was near aShi'ite mosque where pil-grims gather on their wayto Kerbala to celebratethe birthday of one of theirmost important imams, al-Mahdi, this week.

Suu Kyi told not tocall country 'Burma'Yangon (Myanmar):Myanmar has changeddramatically over the lastyear, but one thing won'tchange anytime soon: thecountry's name. Authoritiesin the Southeast Asiannation sternly warnedopposition leader AungSan Suu Kyi to stop callingthe country "Burma." Theysaid she should use theconstitutionally decreedtitle, the Republic of theUnion of Myanmar. Itsthen-military rulerschanged the English namefrom Burma to Myanmar in1989, ostensibly to betterreflect the country's ethnicdiversity. The term Burmaconnotes Burman, thedominant ethnic group inthe country.

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Washington: In a setbackto 1984 Bhopal gastragedy victims, a UScourt has held that neitherUnion Carbide nor its for-mer chairman WarrenAnderson were liable forenvironmental remedia-tion or pollution-relatedclaims at the firm's formerchemical plant in Bhopal.

US district judge JohnKeena in Manhattan dis-missed a lawsuit accusingthe company of causingsoil and water pollutionaround the Bhopal plantdue to the disaster, andruled that Union CarbideCorporation (UCC) andAnderson were not liablefor remediation or pollu-tion-related claims. Thecourt ruled that it wasUnion Carbide India Ltd,and not its parent compa-ny UCC that was responsi-ble for the generation and

disposal of the waste thatpolluted drinking water,and the liability rests withthe state government.Plaintiffs Janki Bai Sahuand others had allegedthat "toxic substancesseeped into a groundaquifer, polluting the soiland drinking water supplyin residential communitiessurrounding the formerBhopal Plant site".

They alleged that expo-sure to soil and drinkingwater polluted by haz-ardous waste producedUnion Carbine India Ltdcaused injuries. "The sum-mary judgment record cer-

tainly indicates that UCILconsulted with UCC aboutits waste disposal plansand on non-environmentalbusiness matter like itsstrategic plan. However,nothing in the evidencesuggests the necessity ofUCC's approval for theactions about which plain-tiffs complain," the courtsaid in its order.

"Moreover, there is noevidence in this extensiverecord indicating that UCILmanufactured pesticides onUCC's behalf, entered intocontracts or other businessdealings on UCC's behalf,or otherwise acted in UCC'sname," it said.

The industrial acci-dent, the worst in Indianhistory, led to the leak ofpoisonous methyl iso-cyanate, claiming thou-sands of lives in theMadhya Pradesh capital.

Washington: SouthCarolina's Indian-American Governor NikkiHaley has been cleared ofany wrongdoing by anethics committee whichprobed allegations that shelobbied on behalf of heremployers when she was alegislator, a ruling thathanded her a major politi-cal victory.

"We turned over everystone that we could to findevidence that would make adifferent decision. It's over.It's been dismissed," saidState lawmaker J RolandSmith, Chairman of theHouse Ethics Committeewhich conducted the inves-tigation against Haley, aRepublican. The 40-year-oldHaley had created historylast year by becoming thefirst Indian-Americanwoman Governor of a USState. She is also the firstnon-white and womanGovernor of SouthCarolina. Soon after thepanel cleared her of wrong-doing giving her a majorpolitical victory last evening,Haley wrote on herFacebook page: "It's MyLife.... Bon Jovi. Great song!'You better stand tall. Whenthey're calling you out. Don'tbend, don't break. Baby,don't back down'".

A day earlier, testifyingbefore the EthicsCommittee, Haley called heraccuser, Republicanfundraiser John Rainey, "a

racist, sexist bigot who hastried everything in his powerto hurt me and my family."

Born to immigrantsfrom Punjab, Haley, whowas a state representativefrom 2005-2010, wasaccused of using her officeto illegally lobby on behalfof her two employers - theLexington Medical CenterFoundation, where shewas a USD 110,000-a-yearfundraiser, and theColumbia-based WilburSmith and Associatesengineering firm, whereshe was paid USD 42,500as a consultant.

The committee carriedthe investigation, the firstfor a South CarolinaGovernor, after Raineyalleged that she used herlegislative influence to getstate approval for the hos-pital to build a heart cen-ter and for the engineeringfirm to settle a disputeover its plan to build astate farmers' market.

"The Ethics Committeedid its job thoroughly, pro-fessionally and well. It'sjust a shame that our judi-cial and legislative bodieshave had to waste so muchof their time on phonypolitical charges thatnever had any evidencebehind them or any basisin fact," Haley said in astatement. The membersof the committee ought tobe ashamed of them-selves," he alleged.

Haley cleared of wrongdoing by ethics committee

Bhopal gas tragedy: US court absolves Union Carbide of liability

Morsi sworn in Egypt President

Beijing: China is building awide range of infrastructureto increase the flow of Indianpilgrims visiting Mansarovarin Tibet. This is the impres-sion of Indian ambassador inBeijing, S Jaishankar, thefirst envoy to visit Tibet inthe past decade.

Once the planned facili-ties are created, the numberof pilgrims and visitors fromIndia to Tibet is expected torise from the 14,000 seenlast year. Jaishankar'sMansarovar journey is pos-sibly the biggest exposure tothe changing situation inTibet for Indian diplomatssince the visit of ShivShankar Menon, the cur-rent National SecurityAdvisor, as the ambassadorin Beijing in 2002.

China has indicated itwill improve traditional restplaces, which are viewed bysome pilgrims as old Hindutemples, in Kailash area.The government is alsoplanning to upgrade exist-ing guest-houses intohotels, improve road andtransportation facilities inboth the Kailash andMansarovar areas.

It may also relax visaand permit controls toallow more visitors toMansarovar other placesin Tibet. The foreign min-istries of the two nationsagreed on a quota forallowing 800 pilgrims tovisit Mansarovar last year.But China issued permitsallowing a total of 14,000pilgrims last year.

China builds infrastructurefor Mansarovar pilgrims

In a major crackdown byCRPF, at least 20 Naxalites,including a woman, werekilled in a fierce overnightencounter in the dense jun-gles of Dantewada inChhattisgarh that left sixjawans wounded.

The encounter, whichtook place in the forests ofSilger, an unchartedMaoist zone between theNaxalite hotbed ofJagargunda and Basagudain Bijapur district ofBastar region, waslaunched in a joint opera-tion by over 300 CRPFand state police personnelfrom three directions.Seventeen bodies of theultras have been recoveredfrom the spot,Chhattisgarh ADG (NaxalOperations) Ram Nivassaid, adding the combingoperations were underwayand the toll may rise.

There were reports ofthree more Naxalites beingkilled. Two Maoists, whowere injured in theencounter, were appre-hended and have been air-lifted for medical treat-ment to state capitalRaipur, a senior CRPF offi-cial said. This is thebiggest offensive by thesecurity agencies in theNaxalite stronghold inChhattisgarh this year, theofficial said. CRPF offi-

cials said two "prominent"Naxalites, operating in theBijapur-Dantewada axis,were also killed in theencounter. Six CRPF men,including two CoBRAcommandos, sustainedbullet injuries and havebeen air-lifted for medicalaid to Raipur. Two of themare critical, he said.

This is the same area,close to Chintalnar, whereNaxalites had carried outan audacious attack onsecurity forces killing 75CRPF men and one statepolice personnel in April2010. Keeping in view thetough terrain and presenceof a big Naxalite squad inmind, the CRPF haddeputed a deputy inspec-tor general (DIG) and twocommandant rank officers,

supported by an additionalSP of state police, to leadthe operation. The CRPFhas mobilised three unitsof commandos and regulartroops, aided by two heli-copters for the encounterfrom three directions--Jagargunda, Chintalnarand Basaguda. Heavyexchange of gunfire tookplace between the twosides which continued tillearly morning, sourcessaid. The encounter comesover a month after Maoistshad abducted and subse-quently released theCollector of Sukma dis-trict--Alex Paul Menon, inBastar region. The CRPFhas deployed about 20 bat-talions (20,000 personnel)for undertaking anti-naxaloperations in the state.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201224 INDIA

In divine lightBy Rajen Vakil

Sri Ram was the son ofKing Dashratha;Dashratha means the tenchariots. These are thefive sense organs and fiveorgans of action. Rammeans the one who plays.The field of his play isDasharatha or the body-brain system. That ele-ment which does not allowus to play is our load ofpersonal suffering and cry-ing. The word Ravanacomes from ‘Rud’ meaningto cry; this crying is repre-sented by the ten headswhich in turn signify thecauses of all suffering.They are the five Klesas,i.e. Avidya, Asmita, Raga,Dvesa and Abhinivesh.Their 5 vikaras are Lobh,Kama, Krodha, Moha andMatsa. All of these arecontrolled by Mada orRavana. The Ramayana isthe story of our inner play-fulness overcoming theseeds of suffering whereinwe become a part of thecosmic play of life. WhenRam plays in the tenorgans, the result is happi-ness or Sita. Ram weddedto Sita signifies this unionof happiness that comeswith playfulness.

In this victory over theseeds of suffering, Ram ishelped by Hanuman whichcomes from wordHanumant, the one who

has a strong jaw. Thisstrong jaw represents thepower to chew and digestsuffering which allowsRama victory over Ravana.Breaking down the wordHanuman, it comes from‘Han’ + ‘Mat’. Han meansto kill and Mat meansintelligence. Hanumanttherefore means to kill,but in the light of intelli-gence. Hence, the energyand intelligence thatdestroys inner negativity isHanuman. It is this ele-ment which allows Ramvictory over suffering.

We do not realize thatit is our own negativitywhich sows seeds thatinvite suffering into ourlives. It is these very seedsthat cause the suffering

that Hanuman burns.Sita is the daughter of

the earth. Sita also meansa line, or a furrow. KingJanaka found her in one ofthe planted lines in thefield and so was namedSita. The earth element isthe source of all vibrationsof happiness. The symbol-ogy being that Sita or hap-piness is born when oneploughs the field of thebody-brain system, alongwith its ten organs ofsense and action, andplants the right seeds infurrows.

Hanuman recounts thisstory to Bhima and tellshim that he is his elderbrother. In life there isalways a higher force look-ing after us. This higherforce is represented byelder brother. Here,Hanuman reinforces thisby telling Bhima how hewill look after both, Bhimaand Arjuna, in the GreatWar.

Bhima is our vital ener-gy which becomes sexenergy at a certain age.This meeting withHanuman signifies thetransformation of sexenergy and the awakeningof Kundalini.

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessedfrom http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

Commentary on the story ofHanuman and Bhima

20 Naxalites killed in encounterwith CRPF in Chhattisgarh

India’s minister of statefor external affairs PreneetKaur last week requestedthe Pakistan Governmentto release death row pris-oner Sarabjit Singh onhumanitarian grounds.

"We welcome therelease of Surjeet, but it isa great disappointment forthe family, for the peopleof Punjab and India thatthe hopes that Sarabjithad been released havebeen dashed. But wewould appeal to thehumanitarian side of thePakistani Government andthe President following therelease of Surjeet that theywould also show the sameclemency to Sarabjit,"Kaur said.

"There seems to besome miscommunicationand really my heart goesout to Sarabjeet's family,who must have rejoicedand now might be veryupset and depressed. I amsorry that this did not takeplace, but we hope thatPakistan President and thegovernment will on ahumanitarian groundshow clemency towardsSarabjit," she added.

External affairs minis-ter S.M. Krishna earliersaid that he welcomesIslamabad's decision torelease Surjeet Singh, butadded that New Delhi hasconsistently urged theGovernment of Pakistanon several occasions to

take a sympathetic andhumanitarian view in thecase of Sarabjit Singh.

Krishna also made anappeal to the PakistaniGovernment to release allIndian nationals, who havecompleted their prisonterm or are serving jail sen-tences. Hours after reportsemerged that Pakistan wasto free Sarabjit Singh, thepresidential spokesmanclarified that the authori-ties had taken steps for therelease of another Indianprisoner named SurjeetSingh.

Surjeet Singh had beenin Pakistani captivity forover 30 years. He was cap-tured near the border withIndia on charges of spyingduring the era of militaryruler Zia-ul-Haq.Salman Khan bats forSarabjit's release:Bollywod actor SalmanKhan has come forward inseeking support ofPakistani people and themedia for Sarabjit Singh'srelease, who has been ondeath row in a Lahore jailsince 1990. "Requestingthe people of Pakistan tosupport me to help freeSarabjit who has been inprison since 30 years.Please. Allah ka vasta,"Salman wrote on twitter."Request the 'awam' ofPakistan, members of thepress, government ofPakistan, PresidentZardari, a humble request.

India asks Pakistan torelease Sarabjit on

humanitarian grounds

Gir lions will roar on NewJersey streets, which willalso reverberate with thesounds of Amdavadiautorickshaws andSaurashtra chhakdasrevving up. This may seemlike a paradox but it isgoing to be a reality whenGujaratis living in NorthAmerica experience ‘realGujarat’ during a three-day extravaganza ChaaloGujarat - World GujaratiConference.

The event, starting onAugust 31, will be held atRaritan Expo Centre, NewJersey. After a gap of fouryears, the Association ofIndian Americans inNorth America (AIANA)will hold its third event atwhich 45,000 Gujaratisfrom across the world areexpected to relive Gujaratin New Jersey. “This is aneffort to showcase Gujaratand its glorious past,enterprising present andbright future to the peopleliving away from home,”said AIANA presidentSunil Nayak addressingthe media. “Our motiva-tion is to give the youth,who are cut off from theirroots, a glimpse of theirrich cultural heritage.”Nayak added that theevent would bridge the gap

between Gujarat and theGujaratis there.

“Chaalo Gujarat is aneffort to keep Gujaratalive,” said MP ParimalNathwani, who was pres-ent at the event. “Lot ofhard work is required toorganize an event of thisscope. The sense of ourrich heritage should bekept alive, especiallyamong the youth livingabroad.” The highlight ofthe event is that for thefirst time more than10,000 people will watch a3D film on Gujarat inGujarati on a giant screen.

Other attractions are aspiritual discourse byMorari Bapu, seminars,dayro, sugam sangeet,Miss Gujarati USA pag-eant, and not to forget,mouth-watering Gujaraticuisine. “We will ship 15rickshaws from the roadsof Ahmedabad and 15chhakdas from Saurashtrato New Jersey,” Nayak

said. “These will ferry peo-ple from the parking areato the main concourse andthere will be vendors sell-ing chana in newspaperson the stretch.” Besides,the famous pol areas ofAmdavad will be recreatedat the venue along a 30-feet wooden charkha.There will be a huge kalei-doscope showing imagesof Gujarat.

The event will com-prise a trade show, interna-tional property show forwhich Gujarati realtorswill be invited, exhibitions,business meets, a youthfestival, a Bollywoodevening and cultural pro-grammes. The venue willalso feature life-size stat-ues of Mahatma Gandhiand Sardar Patel, whichwill be specially designedby a Chinese company onthe lines of the creations atMadame Tussauds.

Modi to be invited:Chief minister NarendraModi will be invited to thevibrant Gujarat ofAmerica. During the lastevent, held in 2008, Modihad interacted with peoplethrough video-conferenc-ing. This year, AIANA ishoping that Modi will beable to make it to the eventpersonally.

Gir lions, Amdavadi autos to roarin New Jersey Gujarat fest

Agitating Air India pilotson Tuesday told the DelhiHigh Court that they willcall off their 58-day-longstrike with immediateeffect. The pilots also toldJustice Reva Khetrapalthrough their counselGeeta Luthra that theywill join duty in 48 hoursby giving joining reports,whereas those pilotswhose services were ter-minated during the strikewould submit reportsexpressing their willing-ness to join duty.

The pilots decided tocall off their strike afterthe Air India manage-ment assured the courtthat it would consider thegrievances of the pilots“sympathetically”.

“Serious efforts havebeen made to settle dis-pute and the counsel forthe parties have assuredthe court that theirrespective clients will beextending full coopera-tion in this regard.

“The senior counsel(Ms. Luthra) appearingfor the pilots has saidthat her clients wouldimmediately call off thestrike and join theirduties in 48 hours, bygiving joining reports orthe report expressingtheir willingness to jointhe duty.

The AI managementshall sympatheticallyconsider the grievancesof the pilots including theaspect of reinstatementof those pilots who wereterminated as a conse-quence to their strike.

Air India pilots tocall off strike

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 25INDIA

By Dr Cyriac Maprayil

India has had some out-standing Presidents. Ithas also had a fewPresidents whom it can besaid did not live up to theexpectations. But allPresidents were decent,honourable people whoserved the world’s largestdemocracy most consci-entiously.

One of the most illus-trious Presidents was ProfS a r v a p a l l iRadhakrishnan, a worldrenowned academic andp h i l o s o p h e r .Radhakrishnan, a closefriend of JawaharlalNehru, was also an edu-cationalist who played amajor role in the creationof the new education sys-tem that incorporatedmany of our ancientlearning features while atthe same time blendingharmoniously with mod-ern requirements. Today,India is one of the mostscientifically, technologi-cally and culturallyadvanced nations in theworld, overwhelminglythe product of a visionaryand foresighted educa-tional system bequeathedto the nation by India’sfirst independent govern-ment. Like Nehru,Radhakrishnan was asocialist, both embracingthe doctrine of non-align-ment and secularism.

Pranab Mukherjeewho grew up in Nehru erawas greatly inspired byperhaps the most idealis-tic government in Indianhistory. From very earlyhe championed socialism,non-alignment andIndia’s bold stand againstcolonial oppression.Today the fight againstimperialism is virtuallyhistory but in Pranab’syouth it was a potent fac-tor. India, too, had suf-fered the depredations ofthe vile creed of imperial-ism but thanks to theheroic resolve of theIndian people.

Mukherjee read wide-ly – a habit that persists tothis day – and acquired agood, all round educationbefore he entered thepolitical arena. Even inhis early days as a workerfor the Congress Party hefirmly rejected the notionthat politics was all aboutsuperficial agitation. Heinsisted that one musthave a solid educationalbackground which com-

bined with an analyticalmind is indispensable forpolitical success. Thataccounts for his unstop-pable rise from his begin-nings in West Bengal leg-islature to his very highpositions successivelyholding the key portfolios,including those of exter-nal affairs and finance inthe Government. Pranabhas always seen politicsas an instrument tochange the lives of hispeople and he is as pas-sionate about this missionas was his former leader,Indira Gandhi.

His incisive politicaland economic analysishas won him many admir-ers from the media, hisown party and even somemembers of the opposi-tion. He is also highlyregarded internationally,particularly governmentsin the US, London, Berlinand Moscow. DrManmohan Singh, theIndian Prime Minister,himself a formidableeconomist thinks highlyof Pranab Mukherjee.

Although integrityand incorruptibility areconsidered to be in shortsupply in Indian politics,Pranab with “his unblem-ished record in publiclife” for almost half a cen-tury has the cleanesthands in Indian politics.He dislikes controversy,prefers negotiations toconfrontations and is oneof the finest speakers inthe Lok Sabha.

Some commentatorsin Britain and Indiabelieve that he is beingoffered the Presidency todeny him the post ofPrime Minister for whichhe is also eminently qual-ified. But never underesti-mate Pranab – he will notbe just a glamorousCeremonial Figureheadbut with his sharp mind,his vast knowledge, hisboundless energy and hisstrong commitment tomaking India fair, equi-table and just, will be themost enlightened Head ofState beneficial not justfor India but the world asa whole.(Dr Cyriac Maprayil, his-torian, author and theExecutive Director of theV K Krishna MenonInstitute, is the ViceChairman of The IndiaLeague (UK) andLiterary Editor ofNewWorld Weekly,London)

Pranab Mukherjee:A man for all Seasons

and all ReasonsGujarat Samachar andAsian Voice had organiseda summer fair, viz. Anand-mela along with Vadilotsav-2012, a seminar on seniorcitizens’ health-care andwelfare benefits. It tookplace on 9-10th June atHarrow Leisure Centre.The seminar was inMasefield suite, wheremore than 50 senior citi-zens had enthusiasticallytaken part; they had attend-ed series of 6 seminars thatinformed about the differ-ent types of welfare benefitsand health-care of seniors.

The health seminar wasstarted on 9th June, at 2O’clock noon, Saturday,when everyone was given awarm welcome by CBPatel, Editor-Publisher ofGujarat Samachar-AsianVoice. He informed andinspired the audience aboutthe good cause of organis-ing such events, and how‘Vadilotsav’ will be helpfulto the seniors of our society.The keen need and useful-ness of Vadilotsav was latertalked about by NewsEditor Kamal Rao.

Seminar was initiatedby Jaishriben Shah,fundraiser of NorthwickPark Medical Institute forresearch and well-knownGP Anujaben Shah who isserving for the last 14years at Luton. Theirdetailed information onthe care & precautions toavoid heart stroke, exer-cise and lifestyle changesto be adopted had broughta new wave of energyamong the listeners.

In the next session, DrHarish Parmar, expert doc-tor of Spire Bushey hospi-tal, informed the audienceregarding the knee-prob-lems and knee-replace-ments. He demonstratedwith audio-visual film,slide-show and alsoshowed few models to givea better idea of the subject.It was found that the sim-ple deficiency of Vitamin Dcan also cause some severeproblems. Dr Parmar useda very simple language inorder to make seniorsclearly understand theproblems that are faced byknee-problems, he alsoexplained how they can besolved with the knee-replacements, for this healso cited few examples. Inthis way the heath semi-nars proved to be veryinformative for seniors, itstood them a chance tosolve their health queries.

On 10th June, at about11 O’ clock in morning, CBPatel shared the objectivesof such seminars, after thatthe seminar was followedby Kantibhai Nagda, Senioradvisor of Sangat Centrewho gave very detailedinformation about the dif-ferent benefits of seniors,like pension, housing bene-fits, council tax, volunteer-ing and benefits in certainservices, Hitting allowance,income support, disabilityliving allowance, job seek-ers allowance etc such mat-ters were also discussed.

Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice organise seminar on senior citizens’ health care and welfare benefits

Kantibhai encouraged sen-iors mainly for giving vol-untary services and askedthem that they should try togive quality time to the newgeneration. Such inspira-tional talks were highlycherished by the audience.

The next seminarinformed about the will-writing, how important itis and the uses of writingthe will were also put for-ward. Bhaviniben Kalaria,involved with will-writingservices explained thelegal and technical hasslesof will.

VFS Global’s SandeepRana (Head of Operation,UK), India visa and IndianPassport surrender servic-es and Minaben Patel(Visa Submission Officer)enlightened the audiencewith very important infor-mation regarding Indiavisa. How easy it is to fillup the two page form and

also informed about theenquiry counter, differentcategories of visas, Tatkalbusiness visa, Tatkal visarelated to visit the sick rel-ative or sudden death. Healso explained the formali-ties regarding the surren-der of Indian passport aftergetting British citizenship.In fact, he helped in clear-ing few myths. People onsix month tourist visa, hasalready visited India once,then he cannot visit Indiaagain before two months.Meenaben cleared every-one’s queries.

CEO AvnibenModasiya from side of AJUK, Harrow, gave a verygood guideline regardingthe old-age health-problemsand its care to cure. Shetalked about the food nutri-tion, exercises and the artto live a healthy life. Oneshould not live life just forheck of it but give meaning

to its life and take everyeffort to improve one’s liv-ing. She encouraged theseniors to stop being lazyand remain active in life.Avniben also introducedNeem tree care home’sRupen Patel, and talkedabout the facilities providedby care home and informa-tion regarding the fund thatis given by Government.

Powar’s ArunabenPatel and advocateAmitbhai Mistri’s talk wasabout the Gujarati andAsian origin seniors goingthrough problems in hos-pitals, GP surgeries and atother places. PowarCharity serves and helpthe senior patients in tak-ing hospital appointments,arrangement of vegetarianfood, and do the needfulcorrespondence and com-munication regarding theother problems also. Thisinformation given byArunaben proved to bevery useful; in fact therewere many who were notaware of it.

On both the days, pub-lic was encouraged to dis-cuss and solve their queriesat the seminars. Seniorsand readers had personallygone to stalls of VFSGlobal, Age UK Harrow,NPMIR, Spier Bushi andhad taken the requiredinformation. Overall, theseminars proved to be veryknowledgeable and seniorswere happy to attend it.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201226 INDIA

Hillary apologizes to Pakistan,

Islamabad to open Nato supply routesWashington: The Obama administration saysPakistan is reopening supply lines into Afghanistanafter the US issued an apology for the November killingof 24 Pakistani troops in a Nato air strike. Secretary ofstate Hillary Rodham Clinton says she told Pakistan'sforeign minister in a telephone conversation that theUS is "sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani mil-itary.'' She says both sides acknowledged mistakes thatresulted in deaths. The incident badly damagedalready strained relations between the two countriesand forced the US and its allies to send supplies viacostlier northern routes into Afghanistan. Clinton saidKhar informed her that the Pakistani-Afghan supplylines are opening. She said Pakistan won't charge anytransit fee, the subject of an earlier negotiation.

Astronaut Sunita Williams to adoptGujarati girlDuring her last visit to Gujarat in September 2007, astro-naut Sunita Williams had expressed shock over femalefeticide in the state. "Why should you allow the society tolimit you by the virtue of your sex. Limitations are only inyour mind," she had told a gathering of girls in Kadi town.She plans to make her next visit to Gujarat - after shecompletes her space expedition - more meaningful.Family members say Sunita has made up her mind toadopt a girl from Ahmedabad. The American-Indian astro-naut's sister, Dina, has already started the process toadopt a daughter from an Ahmedabad-based organisa-tion. "Like her sister, Sunita too has expressed her wishto adopt a child, preferably a girl. We will start the spade-work soon. She will start formalities after she returns fromthe expedition," says her Ahmedabad-based cousinDinesh Rawal. His father Mr Pandya, a doctor, told overtelephone from the US. Sunita will take off on July 14from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month space expedition, her second.

2 Gujarati diamond traders held in AntwerpFour persons, including two Gujarati diamond traders,have been arrested in Antwerp for facilitating highergrading of low-quality diamonds by bribing graders.The traders, whose names have not been disclosed,allegedly bribed those working in the Belgium-basedHRD Gemological Laboratory. According to IDEXOnline, a global polished diamond trading platform, twotraders, a former employee for the laboratory and a‘facilitator’, were arrested as suspects in the miscon-duct case last week.

Vice Presidential elections on Aug 7The election to the post of Vice President of India willbe held on August 7 and the results will be declared thesame day, the Election Commission (EC) announcedon Tuesday. Pronouncing the poll schedule, theElection Commission, after its meeting, decided that itwill issue the notification on Friday, which will set theelection process in motion. The last date for filing nom-inations is July 20, and the candidatures could be with-drawn latest by July 23.

Manmohan announces `5 bn aid forflood-hit AssamIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced anaid package of `5 billion for Assam, which has beenseverely hit by floods. The announcement came afterthe prime minister and Congress president SoniaGandhi undertook an aerial survey of some flood affect-ed districts of the state. "The `5 billion crore is sanc-tioned for immediate relief of the state. A central teamwill start assessing the total damage of the floods in thestate and all the required financial assistance will beextended to the state government based on the assess-ment of the central team," said the prime minister.

In Focus

Continued from page 1

India has cited details ofJundal's passport to but-tress its claims that heenjoyed the support ofPakistan’s state institu-tions. One of the mediaagencies has accessedJundal's Pakistani passportwhich he had used to trav-el to Saudi Arabia and ithas also learnt that aPakistani ID card wasissued to him in the nameof Riyasat Ali while he wasstaying in Pakistan. Thepassport spells out hispresent and permanentaddress in Pakistan asMuridke near Lahore. Hisvisa for Saudi Arabia hadbeen issued on thePakistani passport.

However, PakistanInterior Minister RehmanMalik had called Jundal'spassport fake. Earlier,sources say Jundal wasplanning to attack theNashik Police Academy inMaharashtra. Sources saidthat Jundal was preparing aplan to launch a majorattack on the police acade-my following the successfulstrike on the Lahore PoliceAcademy in Pakistanallegedly by the Taliban onMarch 30, 2009.

Jundal and his associ-ates in Pakistan studied

the Lahore PoliceAcademy attack and thendecided to stage a similarattack in India. The planwas to wear police uni-forms and infiltrate theNashik Police Academy.Sources say the planningwas still on but suffered asetback after the arrests inthe Pune German Bakeryblast case in February2010. But Jundal hasallegedly confessed thatthe plans were still on. TheDelhi police have gotJundal's custody till July 5and investigators are ques-tioning him on the 26/11attacks conspiracy. He hasreportedly confessed ofmeeting several Lashkarleaders including its chiefHafiz Saeed and opera-tional commander ZakiurRehman Lakhvi. Jundalhas tutored the 10Pakistani terrorists whoattacked Mumbai inNovember 2008. However,Pakistan has been denyingabout its involvement inthe Mumbai attacks, say-ing that Jundal had used afake Pakistani report.

Jindal confessed he wasin the ‘control room’Jundal, has confessed

he was in the "controlroom" talking the terror-ists by satellite phone.They believe that, along-

side him there, was HafizSaeed, founder of theLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ter-rorist group whose emer-gence the ISI nurtured inthe 1990s as a proxy tofight Indian forces in thedisputed Himalayan terri-tory of Kashmir.

A quiet and shy boyJundal was born 30

years ago in India, andbrought up in a village nearthe dusty town of Beed,some 350 km east ofMumbai. When he wasabout 15, his family movedto a Muslim-dominatedneighbourhood in Beedtown. Locals say thatJundal was a timid andquiet boy, coming off worstwhen there were streetbrawls and barely making amark at school. "None ofthe teachers rememberteaching him," said BharatSonavane, principal atBeed's Balbhim College forArt, Science andCommerce, where Jundalwas a student.

"One night he just lefthome and we didn't hearfrom him for almost sixyears. No phone call, noletter," said his mother.

Jundal names same Pak army officers as Headley did

The statements ofAmerican jihadi DavidHeadley and Jundal

match in one key respect:they have both named thesame three Pakistani offi-cials as being involved inthe planning and execu-tion of the 26/11 attacks.Jundal has named MajorIqbal, Major Sameer Aliand Colonel Shah of thePakistani army. Jundal isbelieved to have told inter-rogators that Major Iqbalprovided Rs 2500,000 forthe boat that was initiallypurchased for the 2008attacks. However, the ter-rorists' first attempt toreach Mumbai by sea wasthwarted due to badweather. "Prior toNovember 2008, the ISIhad sailed a weapons-laden boat towardsMumbai, but the boatrammed into rocks and theattack was postponed.40 Indians helped 26/11

attacks: Pakistan"Our information is

that there were at least 40Indian nationals whohelped the attackers. Wewant India to come cleanon this," an unnamed offi-cial of Pakistan's foreignoffice was quoted as say-ing. Pakistan had beensaying that the Mumbaiattacks would not havebeen possible without helpfrom Indian nationals, heclaimed.

India seeks to nail Pak with Jundal’s ID, passport

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The attempt to scuttlePranab Mukherjee's presi-dential bid failed onTuesday with the returningofficer rejecting the objec-tion of his opponent P ASangma who had raked upthe issue of office of profit.

With this, Mukherjeeand Sangma, whose nom-ination papers werefound to be in order willfight it out in a directcontest in the poll sched-uled for July 19.

Rajya Sabha secretarygeneral V K Agnihotri,who is the returning offi-

cer for the election,accepted the argumentson behalf of Mukherjeethat he had resigned thepost of chairman of theIndian Statistical Institute(ISI) on June 20, eightdays before he filed hisnomination.

Parliamentary affairsminister P K Bansal, whoappeared as Mukherjee'srepresentative along withhome minister PChidambaram before thereturning officer, toldreporters later thatAgnihotri accepted the

argument that the resigna-tion was forwarded to thepresident of the institute.

The RO ruled in favourof Mukherjee and accept-ed his nomination papers,Bansal said.

During scrutiny,Sangma had filed a peti-tion demanding rejectionof Mukherjee's nomina-tion contending that hesuffered disqualificationbecause he held an officeof profit by remaining asthe chairman of the ISI atthe time of filing of nomi-nations.

Presidential poll: nominations ofMukherjee, Sangma accepted

Indian PrimeMinister DrM a n m o h a nSingh, hastaken chargeof the FinanceMinistry after

Pranab Mukherjeeresigned to contest thepresidential poll. PresidentPratibha Devisingh Patil,who has acceptedMukherjee's resignationfrom the Union Council ofMinisters, as advised bythe government has direct-ed that the Prime Ministerwill look after the work ofthe Ministry of Finance.

The Prime Ministerhad expressed his govern-ment's gratitude to PranabMukherjee for his invalu-able contribution to itswork over the last eightyears, and expressed hopeof seeing him becomeIndia's next President.

Manmohan takesadditional charge

of finance ministry

The Indian governmentand the family of HermannKallenbach have struck adeal for papers relating tothe German-Jewish archi-tect’s correspondence withMahatma Gandhi overthree decades, some 13days before the historicalarchive was to go underthe hammer in London.

The conclusion of tor-tuous negotiations withKallenbach’s descendents,who bargained hard bydemanding $1 million, $3million and even $5 mil-lion for the papers at vari-ous stages, will mean thecorrespondence will soonbe handed over to India.

The papers were in thenews with a book byPulitzer winning authorJoseph Lelyveld suggestingthe Kallenbach-Gandhirelationship could have

had homosexual over-tones. The controversyadded to the interest aboutGandhi’s letters to thearchitect-body builder.

It took four years for adeal on the Kallenbach-Gandhi documents tofructify and the approach-ing auction promptedIndia to quicken negotia-tions with auctioneerSotheby’s and theKallenbach family inSouth Africa. Sources saidthe decision to secure thepapers was taken at thehighest level in the UPAafter a story detailed how

the London-based auctionhouse was going to dis-pose of the archive.

Those familiar with thenegotiations said Eli Sarid,son of Kallenbach’s grand-niece Isa Sarid, drove ahard bargain. Earlier thisyear, he broke off talks,apparently upset that thegovernment was draggingits feet. He then reportedlysought $5 million insteadof $1 million being consid-ered. The figure was then“reduced” to $3 million.

The final price, sealedin a deal that took fourdays, is believed to bemuch less than that soughtby the Sarids. A team com-prising historians MushirulHasan and MaheshRangarajan and senior offi-cials from the culture min-istry is in London to securethe documents.

India to acquire Kallenbach-Gandhi letters

By AV Correspondent

An auto rickshaw ride changed the dreamof IIM Ahmedabad graduate NirmalKumar. Nirmal, like other IIM grads,dreamed of taking up a lucrative job aftercompleting the study. Nirmal, a physicallyhandicapped person, took an auto to visitthe walled city of Ahmedabad. Thoughthe charges for the to and fro journeyshould be same, but he was charged dif-ferently on both the occasions. Thisopened the eyes of Nirmal about the tac-tics adopted by different auto drivers tofleece the customers. This one auto ridechanged his dream and he knew what hewanted to do after he graduated from theB school. Nirmal, who graduated in 2007,then started off with the idea ofGujarat Auto (G- Auto) where the pas-senger would not be fleeced by theauto drivers, they would get to readnewspapers and at the same time alsoget to know about the city from trainedand well behaved drivers. He wrote tothe Gujarat chief minister about hisconcept who readily agreed with himand assured Nirmal of help in startinghis G -Auto.

G -Auto is an initiative and part ofNirmal Foundation, a public charitabletrust. Nirmal is the founder and man-aging trustee of the Foundation. TheFoundation organizes auto driversunder a social umbrella called G-Auto.At present there are 10,000 G-Autos inAhmedabad, Gandhinagar andVadodara and is expected to grow to atleast 50,000 in by the end of 2012. “Wehave plans to replicate the conceptacross major cities of India to serve asmany as 10,00,000 auto drivers by2020,’’ said Nirmal. “G-Auto hasbrought revolution in the transportsystem in term of safety and comfort ofpassengers, income and job satisfac-tion to G-Pilots.” In a G-Auto, one canread newspapers, charge mobiles, getdrinking water, make phone callsthrough a PCO on-board, and use acity-map among other things,’’ saidNirmal. He said that the ‘pilots’ ordrivers are insured for up to Rs200,000 and can avail educationalallowance for children besides gettingpension and credit facilities. "Ourincomes have gone up by 20% and weget quite a pleasant response from cus-tomers," says M Siddique, a driver.Nirmal is planning to foray into otherstates as well. In just one year, thegroup earned revenue of Rs 17.5 mil-lion of which Rs 2000,000 is profit."We should do business of Rs 40 mil-

lion by next fiscal," he says. G-Autos will soon start courier servic-

es, school pick-ups and retailing. Verysoon, a heritage rickshaw, decorated withvibrant colours and traditional images,would welcome foreigners into the cityand drive them around with English-speaking pilots.

G- Auto has a counter in the airportand has now got the permission in settingup a counter at the railway station.“When a passenger goes to these countershe will be given an estimate of the expect-ed fair to his destination,” said Normal.Nirmal visualises that these autos wouldnot only be in major cities but also in semiurban areas. “Any auto driver can becomea part of this umbrella organization by fill-

ing up a registration form of Rs 100, giv-ing their family details, RC book andother valid details,’’ said Nirmal.

This initiative of Nirmal has beenselected among top 15 entries for an inter-national award called 'SMART MobilityEnterPrize Award'. The award is institut-ed by the University of Michigan'sSMART initiative with support from the

Rockefeller Foundation. The award,which is also known as 'Mobi Award', rec-ognizes enterprises that demonstrateinnovative and replicable solutions tolocal and global transportation chal-lenges.

Speaking about the success of thisconcept, Nirmal said that the RajkotMunicipal Corporation has already initi-ated the process of 'auto-on-call' service inthe city to enhance transport facilities inthe city, and G- Auto would be the answerto RMC’s request. Hailing from Risaura, asmall village in Bihar with no electricityor proper hospitals, Nirmal went to amunicipal school and later completed hisB Tech in agriculture from NG Ranga AgriUniversity in Hyderabad.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 27

12th Asian Achievers Awards14th September 2012 NOMINATION FORM

Application Form

Sports Personality of the Year............................................Awarded for excellence in sports.

Business Person of the Year ..............................................Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense ofthe word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for socialissues.

Professional of the Year ......................................................Professionals in the field of medicine, law, education, banking,finance and others, who have scaled the heights of their chosenprofession.

Achievement in Community Service................................In recognition for an individuals service to community.

Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture ....................Someone who has made a mark in media including print andbroadcast media; cinema, art and culture.

Award for Entertainment ....................................................For outstanding performance by Asians in the field of Dance andMusic.

Woman of the Year ................................................................The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made asignificant mark in any chosen field.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year ......................................Awarded to an young entrepreneur (less than 35 years) with aproven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Uniformed and Civil Services ............................................For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services orcontribution to the community through any of the above services.

International Personality of the Year ............................Awarded to those who have acclaimed popularity internationallyfor his/her contribution in any particular sector and is recognisedfor their timeless philanthropic activities.Lifetime Achievement Award ............................................To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have madeimmense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individ-ual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

Please tick the appropriate category

� Name of the Nominee: ___________________________________________________________________________________

� Contact Details of the Nominee (Tel & email): _______________________________________________________________

� Present Occupation of the Nominee: _______________________________________________________________________

� Please attach the Nominees's CV which includes the following information (Please do not exceed a limit of 1000 words)(1) Personal background(2) Most important career achievements till date.(3) Nominee's contribution to the community and nation.(4) Any notable obstacles in the Nominee's career that has helped him/her to reach where they are today.(5) Future Plans, ambitions and visions.

� Summary- (Please include a summary in not more than 150 words why the nominee is worthy of winning the particular award in a separate sheet)

� Nominators name and contact details: _____________________________________________________________________

� Nominators current Occupation/Company: __________________________________________________________________

� Tel/Mobile: _________________________________ � Email: __________________________________________________NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

� This is a unique event where readers nominate and an independent panel of judges comprising of eminent personalities selects the winner. ��Judges’ decision is final. ABPL Group will not entertainany dialogue with members of the public regarding the judging process. ��In order to ensure a high degree of transparency and fairness, the management and members of the staff of Asian Voice andGujarat Samachar will play no role in the nomination or judging process. � You may use an additional sheet if the space provided is insufficient. ��The winners will be announced at the AAA Awards cer-emony in 14th September, 2012. ��Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar will publish the names of the short listed candidates and winners after the event. The winners names will also appear in our e-editionwww.abplgroup.com ��You can nominate yourself if you wish to. ��Nominations and entries must follow the prescribed format. ��All nomination forms must reach our offices on or before 12th July, 2012

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INDIA

Assam MLA and hersecond husband

beaten upAssam Congress MLA Rumi Nath andher second husband Jaki Jakir, whomshe married without divorcing her firsthusband, were beaten up and injuredby a mob at Karimganj town, policesaid. "Nath and Jaki Jakir were beatenup by a mob of more than 200 peopleat a hotel in the town where they werestaying", superintendent of police said.

The mob was angry at the secondmarriage of Nath to Jakir last month,police sources said. Nath, who is preg-nant, and Jakir were severely injuredand profusely bleeding before theywere whisked away by police immedi-ately after the incident, the sourcessaid.

The duo, after medical treatment, isbeing escorted to the state capitalGuwahati. Nath, representingBorkhola assembly constituency inBarak Valley, had created a furore byannouncing her marriage with Jakirwithout divorcing her first husband.

Her first husband Rakesh Singh,with whom she has a two-year-olddaughter, had filed an FIR that his wifewas missing last month.

An auto ride changed the dream of this IIMA graduate

A schoolgirl, accused ofbeing talkative in the class,was forced to stand for overfive hours outside the class-room after her lips weresealed with an adhesivetape, in a private school inHyderabad last week.

Syeda Sadar Fatima,studying in Class 9 at SamBritish School, rushedhome weeping and report-ed the matter to her par-ents. Her father SyedMujtaba Hussain lodged acomplaint with the policewho registered a case ofvoluntarily causing hurtand wrongful restraintagainst the principal and ateacher. No arrests havebeen made so far. MsFatima said that when theprincipal walked into theclassroom she was talkingto other students. Then“the principal called ourteacher Mrs Sajida andasked her to put an adhe-sive tape on my lips. I wasordered to stand outsidethe classroom for thewhole day. I could not eat.I was just talking to myfriend when the teacherdecided to punish.”

Distressed by thedevelopments, MrHussain rushed to theschool and confronted thePrincipal. “They were notapologetic. In turn, theythreatened me with direconsequences. They toldme ‘do whatever youlike’,” alleged Mr Hussain.He later approached theDabirpura police with awritten complaint. When

contacted, the school offi-cials denied the chargethat the girl’s lips wereplastered. They said theschool did not practisecorporal punishment andthat the student was only

chided for being talkative.“We are running theschool with 400 students.We are not that irresponsi-ble. No punishment wasgiven,” claimed MazharAli, husband of Principal.

‘Talkative’ girl gagged with tape

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201228 tRavel & women

By AV Correspondent

Saroop Dhruv is aGujarati poet, playwrightand cultural activist,based in Ahmedabad.Dedicated to the cause ofwomen, minorities, dalitsand tribals, she hasworked over the years as alecturer, essayist, languageteacher and freelancewriter for the audio-visualmedia. She has four col-lections of poetry to hercredit. Her poetry hasbeen translated into vari-ous languages, includingHindi, Punjabi andEnglish, and featured inanthologies of modernist,feminist and politicallyengaged literature inGujarati and English.

Dhruv’s first poemwas written in response tothe communal riots inAhmedabad in 1969. AMuslim family behind herhome received threatsfrom an enraged mob -threats that their homewould be torched and theywould be butchered if theydid not evacuate theirpremises. Deeply dis-turbed by that event,Dhruv’s poem addressedthat livid mob.

She began writingpoetry in a more sustained

fashion around 1971 whenshe received a scholarshipto work on her doctoratein Gujarati folk literature.Her work was influencedby a family backgroundthat had exposed her to arich variety of literatures:from Sanskrit, medievaland folk Gujarati to mod-ern English and American.She was also influencedby the poetry of eminentmodern Gujarati writers,such as SitanshuYashashchandra andLabhshanker Thaker.

She grew increasinglyinvolved with non-govern-ment agencies and Jesuitgroups working with dalit,adivasi and underprivi-leged Muslim sections ofsociety in Gujarat. Thisheightened her awarenessof the ways in which gen-der, caste and class mouldlanguage. While she waspreviously sceptical of thenotion of a “woman’s sen-sibility,” she now began todescribe herself as femi-nist. Since 1984, she hasalso been actively engagedin producing issue-basedplays and songs for vari-ous forums. She is one ofthe founders of‘Samvedan SanskriticManch’, a cultural groupfor social change, and

‘Darshan,’ a media organi-sation committed to socialchange. In 2000, shebecame one of the found-ing members of ‘Kalam’, aforum for women writers.

H a s t a k s h e p(Intervention), a recentbook of poems, is an affir-mation that a fearlesswriter can make a differ-ence. This edition featuresthree of her poems, one ofwhich was written afterthe communal violence inGujarat in 2002.

Dhruv’s interventionis not entirely through theconduit of literature. Inthe aftermath of the riots,she worked closely withsurvivors, bringing reliefsupplies, recording andregistering cases and co-authoring a street play,Dilma Chhe Ek Ash (TheHeart Remains Hopeful),which was staged in reliefcamps. She received the2008 Hellman/HammettAward for courageouswriting by Human RightsWatch. She is a member ofWomen’s WORLD(India), a national net-work of over 200 womenwriters dealing with cen-sorship. Women’sWORLD (International)had nominated her for theHellman award.

Saroop Dhruv - a poet,feminist working for a cause

women achievers

Ingredients: 900gmSmall Baigan (brinjal) ,4gm panch phoran(Bengal spices) , 2gmamchur, 2gm red chillipowder, 2gm corianderpowder, 2gm turmeric,2gm garam masala pow-der, 25ml oil,

Garnishes: 3gm gin-ger julienne, 5gmchopped coriander

Preparation: Slit thebrinjal into quarterslength wise. Roast thepanch phoran (cumin,saunf, kalonji, methidana, rai. 2:1:1:1:1) andpowder. Mix with all theother spices and fill inthe brinjal. Heat the oiland saute the brinjaluntil done. Garnish withginger juliennes andchopped corrianderbefore serving.

Health benefits: Insouthern India, brinjalsare used to protectagainst chicken pox, so if

a member of the familyhas the virus, others eataubergines (cooked overa flame) with onions,chillies, salt and rice toprevent the disease. InAyurvedic medicine theyare cooked and mashedwith garlic and asafoetida(heng) or devil’s dung,for flatulence and to getrid of congestion andphlegm. Aubergines arerich in minerals and thepurple skin containsmany phenolic flavonoidssuch as anthocyaninswhich help fight againstcancer, aging, inflamma-tion and neurological dis-eases it is believed.

Baingan Kalonjee

If you have dreamed of visiting thefamous Egyptian Pyramids and cruisingon the River Nile, then you must bookyour next holiday there now as there areamazing summer packages available.

The Best of Nile Cruise offered byBrightsun Travel will whisk you away for7 days, starting off in Cairo to visit one ofthe ancient wonders of the world, thePyramids of Giza. Up close, your breathwill be taken away as you imagine the con-struction of these colossal tombs built bytens of thousands of men over four thou-sand years ago. You will then be taken tovisit the famous Sphinx, where you will betreated to a spectacular laser showexplaining the history of these relics.

You’ll have the next day at leisure toexplore Cairo. A major hotspot is theEgyptian museum where you can see thetomb of King Tutankhamun. For shopa-holics, there are many wonderful marketsto explore where you can haggle for pres-ents, jewellery, and local crafts and thereare numerous restaurants and cafes toenjoy an Egyptian or international meal.

The next day you’ll fly from Cairo toAswan, where you will board the luxuri-ous 5* cruise boat which will take you onan unforgettable tour of Egypt. You’llvisit the High Dam, UnfinishedObelisque and Philae Temple. You’llalways be escorted by an English-speak-ing tour guide, fluent in English, Egypt’sancient history and able to teach youabout ancient Hieroglyphic symbolswhich adorn the temples and ruins.

Once you board the cruise, the rest ofyour holiday is on an all-inclusive basiswhere you will enjoy a variety of cuisinesboth as buffets and a la carte. Oneevening will include a hosted Egyptianparty where you can dress up as Pharoahsor Egyptian Queens and enjoy a range ofentertainment! The sleeping cabins onoffer are a home away from home,equipped with comfortable double beds,TV, en suite bathroom and a living area.

The next day takes you to visit manysights including Kom Ombo temple andEdfu temples before sailing overnight toLuxor. There you will visit the famousValley of the Queens where this necropo-lis is said to house more than 70 tombs ofwives of the Pharoahs, which were lav-ishly decorated as per ancient Egyptiancustoms. Another major sight to visit isthe Colossi of Memnon, two massivestone statues of Pharoah Amenhotep theThird, built in the 14th century BC, andthe Karnak Temple where you’ll see manybeautiful examples of hieroglyphics. Thiscomplex is a vast open-air museum andthe largest ancient religious site in theworld. The next day will be your last onboard where after a leisurely breakfast,you’ll be taken to Luxor airport to trans-fer back to Cairo and then onto to yourhomeward destination.

To arrange your unforgettable RiverNile Cruise holiday, book with BrightsunTravel, who offer a complete holiday serv-ice with helpful and experienced consult-ants. Brightsun have special summeroffers on several luxury cruises with theBest of Nile Cruise from only £655 perperson for 7 days incl. flights, accommo-dation, most meals and transfers.Brightsun Travel offers a price matchpromise on worldwide flights and holidaysso you will get the best deal. To book thisdream holiday, visit www.brightsun.co.ukor call Brightsun Travel on 0208 819 0486.

Cruise theRiver Nile

When laughter is shared, itbinds people together andincreases happiness andintimacy. Laughter alsotriggers healthy physi-cal changes in thebody. Humor andlaughter strengthenyour immune sys-tem, boost yourenergy, diminishpain, and protect youfrom the damagingeffects of stress.

Laughter is a power-ful antidote to stress, pain,and conflict. Nothingworks faster or moredependably to bring yourmind and body back intobalance than a good laugh.Humor lightens your bur-dens, inspires hopes, con-nects you to others, andkeeps you grounded,focused and alert.

With so much power toheal and renew, the abilityto laugh easily and fre-quently is a tremendousresource for surmountingproblems, enhancing yourrelationships, and sup-

porting both physical andemotional health.

Laughter relaxes thewhole body: A good,hearty laugh relieves phys-ical tension and stress,leaving your musclesrelaxed for up to 45 min-utes after. Laughter booststhe immune system.Laughter decreases stresshormones and increasesimmune cells and infec-tion-fighting antibodies,thus improving your

resistance to disease.Laughter triggers the

release of endorphins, thebody’s natural feel-good

chemicals. Endorphinspromote an overallsense of well-beingand can even tem-porarily relieve pain.

Laughter pro-tects the heart:Laughter improves

the function of bloodvessels and increases

blood flow, which canhelp protect you against aheart attack and other car-diovascular problems.

The Benefits ofLaughter - PhysicalHealth Benefits: Boostsimmunity, lowers stresshormones, decreases pain,relaxes your muscles andprevents heart disease.

Mental HealthBenefits: Ads joy and zestto life, eases anxiety andfear, relieves stress,improves mood andenhances resilience.

Social Benefits:Strengthens relationships,attracts others to us,enhances teamwork, helpsdefuse conflict and pro-motes group bonding.

Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 29

Does long-term intake of aspecial form of insulin pre-vent diabetes and heartproblems, but cause can-cer? The debate has beenraging in medical circlesfor long. Now, an interna-tional study involving12,000 pre-diabetics set-tles two parts of it, butleaves the other open forfurther research.

Results of ORIGIN(Outcome Reduction withInitial GlargineIntervention) study pre-sented at the annual meet-ing of the AmericanDiabetes Associationfound basal insulin (knownby brand name Lantus) oromega-3 fatty acid (fish oil)did not lower risks of car-diovascular disorders, butdelayed the onset of dia-betes by 31%. The delaying

effect, however, remainsopen to scientific debate assome experts say it couldbe because of the goodsugar control the pre-dia-betics had during the study.The researchers debunkedfears that the insulin cancause cancer.

The study put to testglargine insulin, a long-acting drug given once aday to help diabetics keepsugar level under control.Unlike normal insulin,glargine has microcrystalsthat slowly release insulinand hence reduces the riskof low sugar levels. Thisinsulin is nearly threetimes more expensive thanthe normal insulin and isused by less than 10 percent of insulin users inIndia. In 2009, a studyfrom Sweden had linked

glargine with increasedchances of cancer.

The six-year ORIGINtrial involving more than12,000 early diabetics andpre-diabetics -- including400 from India - challengedthis theory. Nearly half ofthe patients receivedinsulin glargine or Lantusto achieve normal fastingglucose levels and the oth-ers went through standardcare, which includedinsulin towards later partof the study. Prinicipalinvestigator of the study DrHertzel Gerstien confirmedthat the study shows thatthat long-term use ofinsulin does not causeheart diseases. The studyconcluded that the group ofpeople who were givenglargine had similar cardio-vascular events compared

to the group given standardtherapy.

Glargine given once aday could maintain normalblood glucose levels for upto 6.5 years without anyharmful effects, saidChennai-based diabetolo-gist Dr A Ramachandran,the principal investigatorfor India. "There was amodest risk of hypo-glycemia and increase inbody weight in patientswho took this insulin whencompared to those who didnot, but there was no riskof cancer. The study givesdoctors confidence to initi-ate patients with glargineearly in the course of dia-betes or pre-diabetics with-out any reservations," DrRamachandran said.

The use of basalinsulin in pre-diabetes for

6.5 years significantlyreduced the incidence ofdiabetes or preventedonset of diabetes by 31%.While some doctors said itwas best to start pre-dia-betics on insulin to pre-vent diabetes, others say itwouldn't be wise to con-clude the benefits of earlyintroduction of insulin forp r e v e n t i o n .Endocrinologist Dr NihalThomas of ChristianMedical College, who waspart of the study, said thegroup of subjects onglargine was predeter-mined to have tighter

sugar control right fromthe beginning. "Tightercontrol of sugar protectsbeta-cell function and canprevent onset of diabetes.It is not necessarily aglargine-associated phe-nomenon. It could be dueto the fact that they have atight control of sugarearly," he said.

The second part of thestudy was to test if fish oilcapsules (omega 3 fattyacids) could reduce car-diovascular events in dia-betics and pre-diabetics.This showed there was nobenefit.

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Why we shouldeat mangoes

Summer is the season offleshy and juicy mangoes,the king of fruits. Apartfrom the fact that it tastessweet, mangoes are loadedwith nutrients. Mangofruit is rich in pre-bioticdietary fibre, vitamins,minerals, and has antioxi-dant compounds. It is ben-eficial for digestion too.

According to a newresearch, mangoes havebeen found to protectagainst colon, breast andprostate cancers. Freshmango is a rich source ofpotassium, which is animportant component ofcell and body fluids thathelps to control heart rateand blood pressure.

Vitamin E, which isabundantly present inmangoes, helps to regu-late sex hormones andboosts sex drive.

Mango helps to clearclogged pores that causeacne. Just slice a mango

into thin pieces and keepthem on your face for 10to 15 minutes and thentake bath or wash yourface and see the results.

It's a known fact thatmangoes are rich in Iron.People who suffer fromanaemia can take man-goes regularly along withtheir dinner. It is espe-cially good for womenafter menopause.

High level of solubledietary fibre, Pectin andVitamin C present inmangoes helps to lowerserum cholesterol levels.A recent study showsthat not only the flesh ofa mango but the leavescan fight diabetes.

Health tip: Beforegoing to bed put some 10or 15 mango leaves inwarm water and close itwith lid. The next daymorning filter the waterand drink it in emptystomach. Do this regularly.

Health benefits of humour & laughterSimply a glass of watercould be the key to examsuccess, say Britishresearchers. Students whotook a drink into the examhall did up to 10 per centbetter than those who didnot.

Although it is unclearwhy a drink should help,one theory is that informa-tion flows more freelybetween brain cells whenthey are well hydrated.Researchers said thatdrinking water may alsocalm nerves, while thosewho became thirsty duringtest time could be moreeasily distracted.

The study, whichlooked at hundreds of uni-versity students, comparedwhether they took a drink- such as water, coffee orcola - into the exam withtheir final marks.

Glass of water keyto exam success?

Whether you’re single orattached you’ll have to go

through a lot, as deep psychological transformations aretaking place in all types of relationships. No matter whatyour chosen path is, you’ll be recognised and rewarded forit. Don’t be afraid to experiment, trust your hunches, gowith your gut feeling. Solutions to minor problems shouldbe considered very carefully if cash is involved.

You have been goingthrough major changes in your relationships, as a result ofyour own radical personal transformation. Your ideas aboutlove and partnership are changing daily. As with mostthings, your health waxes and wanes. You might even findthe energy to keep up with your projected gym schedule.No matter how hard you are working, try to make time for

relaxation.

Expansive Jupiter inyour Solar 1st house is going to play a great part for someof you, who are widening their horizons. An important timeto build too, regardless of the limits, you have the capacityto turn the course of your life in a more fulfilling direction.Some of you will be getting married.

This is a good time toappreciate what you have already created in your life.

Of course, there are still challenging issues on both a per-sonal and practical level. It's a time of slow and steadyprogress that can set the stage for a long time to come. Toget here you may have overcome obstacles by makingimportant decision and choices that set the direction ofyour life.

Anything or anyone thatdrains your time and energy should be re-evaluated. It’stime to use that creative imagination of yours to creategrandeur in your life. Jupiter, the planet of expansion inyour Solar 11th house is creating a lot of opportunities foryou. Don't get too carried away and lose sight of little

things that mean a lot to you.

Responsibility is yourkey word, especially at work. Set your own goals, ratherthan trying to meet those set by someone else. You willachieve a lot more, especially when you're motivated byyour own desires. Your ability to manage what you have onyour plate earns respect from others around you. You willbenefit in every way if you learn to self-discipline and paceyourself wisely.

Relationships are likelyto widen your horizons, but exercise caution, because

some opportunities won't prove quite as amazing as theyfirst seem. Saturn in Libra, the sign of diplomacy, will helpyou organize your priorities and systematically put theminto practice. People entering your life now will encourageyou to move beyond your established boundaries of safety.

At work sometimes a lit-tle upheaval and chaos is exactly what you need to set

things right again. There’s no need to be complacent: thetime is now. you’ll have no qualms about deciding what youwant and going after it with total devotion. Unpredictableenergies continue to influence your health sector. The key

for you as always is to remain calm and collected.

You know you haveno choice but to streamline and reassess your prioritiesbefore haphazardly saying yes to everything that smells likea potential opportunity. Try to create a balance betweenexpansion and conservation. Jupiter in your opposite signmakes you feel invincible, but the way to utilise this transit

is to sift through all the opportunities that come yourway.

If you are your own boss, then you can look forward toa fairly good week. Capricornians who face a strict schedulemay find the next seven days a little frustrating, becausethis is a week where you will need a certain amount of per-sonal space. You may be absorbing new ideas about howto create financial independence. Others may not under-stand, so you may have to keep your ideas to yourself.

If your ambitions havebeen undefined, don't worry as from now on, you under-stand exactly what kind of impact you need to make on theworld. Sun in your work sector rules your daily life. Allthose little details should run perfectly, without you con-stantly worrying. Health-wise you will be feeling fit andrelaxed.

It’s all about communica-tions, as they take centre stage this week. You’ll have to

openly speak up about your wants and needs without fear.Regarding love there will be a struggle between devotionand freedom. You need to feel completely consumed by thepassion of your lover, and yet you need personal space toexplore your own thing.


ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

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31Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 2012 SPorT woRlD

Aleem Dar honoured for

officiating in 150 ODIsElite Panel umpireAleem Dar has beenhonoured by the ICCfor becoming onlythe seventh man toofficiate in 150 ODIs,a feat he achievedwhen he took thefield for the first one-dayer between England and Australia. Tomark the achievement, Javagal Srinath ofthe Elite Panel of ICC match referees, pre-sented a memento to Dar at the post-matchpresentation ceremony at the Lord's. The44-year-old, who won the David ShepherdTrophy for the third successive year by win-ning the ICC Umpire of the Year award atthe LG ICC Awards in London in 2011, madehis umpiring debut in February 2000 whenhe officiated in an ODI between Pakistanand Sri Lanka in Gujranwala.

3rd ODI washed out, India 'A'-

West Indies 'A' series ends 1-1The third and final unofficial one-dayerbetween India 'A' and the West Indies 'A' hadto be called off without a ball being bowleddue to rain, leaving the series tied 1-1.Overnight rain continued well into the after-noon and umpires were left with little choicebut to abandon the match. The series fin-ished tied 1-1 after West Indies A won the firstmatch by two wickets last Wednesday andIndia clinched the second by 108 runs twodays later. With this, India A's tour of theCaribbean came to an end with the teamachieving modest results. The two teams hadearlier tied 1-1 in the couple of Twenty20s,while the hosts had claimed the three-matchunofficial four-day Test series. India's bats-men, including established names such asRohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan struggledon the tour, but a few youngsters such as all-rounder Jalaj Saxena made an impressionwith gritty performances in the low-scoringaffairs on the bouncy tracks.

Sehwag, Zaheer set to return

for Sri Lanka tourThe fit-again duoof opening bats-man VirenderSehwag andpacer ZaheerKhan is all set toreturn to the Indiansquad after miss-ing the Asia Cupwhen the selectorsmeet to choose the side for the upcomingcricket tour of Sri Lanka. The duo, along withZaheer's pace understudy Umesh Yadav, satout of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in Marchon fitness grounds. They were also not part ofthe squad for the one-off Twenty 20International in South Africa on March 30which was India's last international engage-ment. With these three players expected tobe available for selection, the squad for theLanka tour - comprising only one-day inter-nationals and Twenty20 ties - is set to seesome changes from the side which flopped inthe Asia Cup and lost the rain-hit T20 matchto the hosts in Johannesburg by D/L method.

Blake beats Bolt again to

secure Jamaican sprint doubleYohan Blake set himselfup as the man to beat inLondon with a stunning200 meters victory, beat-ing world record holderUsain Bolt for a secondtime in three days tobring the Jamaican Olympic trials to an explo-sive conclusion. Blake, who shocked Boltwith an emphatic win in the 100m, followed itup with an even more impressive perform-ance in the 200, catching the triple Olympicgold medallist down the stretch before hold-ing him off in the closing meters. The winnerclocked a time 19.80 seconds to a massiveroar from a frenzied crowd at the NationalStadium. Bolt secured his Olympic spot bytaking second in 19.83, grinning as hehugged his training partner in the finish area.

Action at a Glance

India’s Leander Paes has con-firmed he will compete in hissixth Olympics in London,saying his job was to playsports and not politics. Paeshad threatened to opt of outthe London Games after theAll Indian Tennis Association(AITA) decided to pair himwith the young VishnuPardhan following MaheshBhupathi and RohanBopanna's refusal to playalongside country's highestranked player.

Paes was biding his timeto speak on the issue untilThursday last when he saidhe was ready to ignore "pettypolitics" in the sport and rep-resent India at July 27-August12 event. "I am here to playsport and not politics," Paessaid following his men's dou-bles first round win at theWimbledon with Czech part-ner Radek Stepanek.

"Unfortunately, I see thegames being played withingames. Though it is very dis-heartening, I am looking for-ward to my sixth Olympics as Ihave played for 22 years for thepeople and the flag." TheAtlanta Games bronze medal-list asserted he was ready topartner anyone AITA hasselected. Asked about 300thranked singles player, Vardhan,Paes said: "I don't even know ifhe has a grass-court shoe. So itis a bit of a tough one. But he

is a really good kid."Whatever the obstacles

are, which I see are going tobe many - he has never beento Wimbledon before - what-ever I can do as an experi-enced professional athlete tohelp my partners out, I woulddo," he said.

It’s humiliating to be usedas a bait, says Sania

Sania Mirza, who receiveda wildcard for the Olympicshit out at the Indian tennissystem, saying that it was“humiliating” to be used as a“bait to try and pacify one ofthe disgruntled stalwarts ofIndian tennis”. “While I feelhonoured and privileged tohave been chosen to partnerLeander Paes, the manner andtiming of the announcementwreaks (sic) of male chauvin-ism where a two-time GrandSlam champion, who has been

India's number one women'stennis player for almost adecade in singles and doublesis offered in compensation topartner one of the feudingchampions purely in order tolure him into accepting to playwith a men's player he doesnot wish to play with! “Thiskind of blatant humiliation ofIndian womanhood needs tobe condemned even if itcomes from the highest con-trolling body of tennis in ourcountry,” she said.

Indian business enterprisesshowed keen interest in theinaugural edition of the SriLanka Premier League andbought all the seven contest-ing franchises on offer, evenas the BCCI decided not toallow its players to partici-pate in the Twenty 20 league.

The IndianCricket Board(BCCI) had evenlast year prohibitedits players from par-ticipating in theleague, whichforced the SriLanka Cricket (SLC) to abortthe opening season of theSLPL.

While WadhawanHoldings shelled out thehighest bid - $ 5.02 million -for Wayamba, Number OneSports Consulting offered abid of $ 4.98 million forKandurata. The Uva andRuhuna went to SuccessSports and Pearl Overseas

respectively for an amount of$ 4.6 million. Basnahira wasbought by Indian CricketDundee at $ 4.33 million,while Uthura at $ 3.4 millionwent to Rudra Sports. VarunBeverages, meanwhile, spent$ 3.22 million forNagenahira. The debut edi-

tion of the SLPL isscheduled to com-mence from August10, with the final tobe held on August31.

The matches willbe played at capital

city Colombo and the centralprovince's Pallekele. Thefranchises will be allowed amaximum of 18 players,including six foreign crick-eters, for registration.However, a team can playonly two foreigners in theplaying eleven. The value ofeach player will be decided bySLC in the player draft to beheld on July 5 and 6.

Indian business houses buyall seven Sri Lanka Premier

League franchiseesCricket's latest bid to makedecision review technologymandatory for all Tests andone-day internationals hasbeen swiftly quashed afteropposition from powerfulIndia, a report said.

The recommendation bychief executives was not putto a vote and "came and wentwithout a murmur" at theInternational CricketCouncil's (ICC) board meet-ing in Kuala Lumpur, lastweek. The board meeting waschaired by India's SharadPawar, who is the ICC presi-dent. India was the onlycountry to object to themeasure, a website said. Thereport comes after India pub-licly rejected the new recom-mendation for mandatory useof the Decision ReviewSystem (DRS), whichemploys ball-tracking andthermal-imaging technologyto check whether batsmenshould be given out.

"The BCCI continues to

believe that the system is notfoolproof," the Board ofControl for Cricket in Indiasaid. India, including starbatsman Sachin Tendulkar,have been deeply suspiciousof DRS since a number ofreviews went against them intheir 2008 Test series with SriLanka, when the technologywas on trial.New Zealander Isaac takes

over as ICC chiefNew Zealander Alan Isaacsucceeded Sharad Pawar asthe new ICC president.Former South Africa wicket-keeper David Richardson wasconfirmed as the new ICCchief executive at the end ofcompatriot Haroon Lorgat'sfour-year term. "I believe thatthe challenges ahead are noless daunting than those wehave faced in the last twoyears if we are to maintainthe vibrancy and viability ofthe three formats of thesport," Isaac said in a state-ment.

ICC bid to introduce DRS'quashed' after India object

Tony Greig urges India to put cricket before cashFormer England captain TonyGreig has urged India toaccept that "spirit of cricket ismore important than generat-ing billions of dollars." Indiais cricket's economic power-house, driving the finance ofthe global game through thesponsorship and broadcastdeals that derive from thesport's huge popularity in theworld's second most popu-lous nation.

The Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) alsooversees the lucrativeTwenty20 Indian PremierLeague franchise tournament.However, many observersbelieve the BCCI has used itshuge influence for its owninterests rather than those ofthe global game and that, as aresult, the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) is notfunctioning properly. They citeas evidence the BCCI's ongo-ing refusal to accept the televi-sion replay Decision ReviewSystem (DRS), despite repeat-ed calls for its universal imple-mentation by senior ICC com-mittees. South Africa-born

Greig, 65, giving the 2012MCC Spirit of CricketCowdrey Lecture, named afterhis late former England team-mate Colin Cowdrey, at Lord'ssaid: "Much of the game iscontrolled by the BCCIbecause it controls enoughvotes to block any proposalput forward at the ICC boardmeetings.

"The reason for this issome countries would notsurvive without the financialopportunities India pro-vides." Greig, who called forthe IPL to be expanded intoan Asian league, backed for-

mer Australia captain SteveWaugh's suggestion for play-ers to take lie detector testsin a bid to root out corrup-tion from cricket. But thethrust of his speech wasaimed at the BCCI, withGreig saying India couldsolve most of the sport'sexisting problems "if itembraces the spirit of cricketand leads for world cricket,not just India".

However, he also said theBCCI's financial focus hadled to a lopsided internation-al calendar. "The net result isTest cricket is suffering; someplayers appear not to havethe same feeling for Testmatches as their predeces-sors; there are more and moremeaningless ODIs (one-dayinternational matches)."

The former all-roundercontinued: "This situationcan only be resolved by Indiaaccepting the spirit of cricketis more important than gen-erating billions of dollars; it'smore important than turningout multi-millionaire players;and it's more important than

getting square with Australiaand England for their bully-boy tactics towards Indiaover the years."

Greig was himself accusedof denigrating Test cricket byacting as the 'recruiting ser-geant' for Kerry Packer'sWorld Series Cricket, whichlured players away from offi-cial matches with improvedsalaries. Greig, explainingwhy he'd "sacrificed" theEngland captaincy to becomeinvolved with "an Australiantelevision tycoon", pointed toquotes from a transcript of hismeeting with Packer soonafter he had led England inthe Centenary Test againstAustralia in Melbourne in1977. "Kerry, money is not mymajor concern. I'm nearly 31-years-old. I'm probably two orthree Test failures from beingdropped from the Englandteam. I don't want to finish upin a mundane job when theydrop me. I'm not trained to doanything. I am at the stage inmy life where my family'sfuture is more important thananything else.”

Paes confirms participation at London Olympics

��Asian Voice - Saturday 7th July 201232

Majestic Spain took theirplace among the game'sgreats by thrashing Italy 4-0 to retain their Europeantitle on Sunday, thebiggest victory margin in aWorld Cup or Euro final -and all without a recog-nised striker. Their successrewrote the tactical hand-book and the record booksafter goals from DavidSilva, Jordi Alba and latesubstitutes FernandoTorres and Juan Mata gavethe world champions anultimately easy victoryover an Italian team downto 10 men through injuryfor the last half-hour.

"It was a great matchfor our players, they con-trolled the game," Spaincoach Vicente Del Bosquetold reporters. "But thereis not one football, theimportant thing is to scoregoals. We have strikers butwe decided to play withplayers who went betterwith our style." Italy coachCesare Prandelli added:"They made history anddeservedly - they have alot of players who are triedand tested at this level andeven though they don'tplay with a classic strikerthey certainly cause you

plenty of problems." While Spain's brilliant

performance brought thema fully deserved success,what they achieved needsto be placed in some histor-ical perspective, if onlybecause their tiki-takashort-passing style has beencriticised during the tour-nament. Spain havebecome the first nationalside to win three majortournaments in the modernera after their Euro 2008success and World Cup vic-tory two years ago and haveequalled Germany's recordof three European titles.

Records tumbleSunday's win also beat

the victory margin HelmutSchoen's West Germanyside recorded for a Eurofinal with their 3-0 win overthe Soviet Union in 1972.

Two years later Schoenled West Germany to aWorld Cup triumph, aunique double success for acoach until Del Bosquematched it on Sunday.Torres became the firstplayer to score in two Eurofinals and, together withhis Chelsea club mate andfellow scoring substituteMata, became one of ahandful of players to win

the Champions League andEuropean Championshipin the same season. Otherrecords were eclipsed tooas the Spaniards redefinedwhat it takes to be success-ful at the elite level of thegame in the modern age.Starting without a recog-nised striker because DavidVilla was unfit for the tour-nament and Torres's formhas been erratic, DelBosque put his faith inmidfield magicians likeCesc Fabregas, AndresIniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso

and the uncompromisingSergio Busquets.

They created thechances for themselves andthey knew how to takethem too. Spain's secondgoal came from left backJordi Alba, who burstthrough a static defencelike a midfielder, picking upthe ball from Xavi's passlike Usain Bolt collecting abaton in a relay before slot-ting home. Four-timesworld champions Italy werein danger of losing from asearly as the 14th minute

when Spain took the leadthrough a rare header fromthe diminutive Silva.

Impossible taskItaly responded before

halftime with eight goalattempts but, when theywent in trailing 2-0 at thebreak and with their strik-er Mario Balotelli havingan off night, the tasklooked beyond them. Theirmidfield playmaker AndreaPirlo, so impressive in theearlier rounds, was alsoeclipsed and looked on intears as Spain collected the

trophy at the end.Cruelly for Italy, their

plight was not helpedwhen their third substituteThiago Motta limped offwith a hamstring injuryjust four minutes aftercoming on, leaving themwith just 10 men for thelast 30 minutes. Italy hadmore possession thanSpain in the opening halfbut when they did have asniff of goal, Iker Casillasmaintained his astonishingrecord of not conceding agoal in the knockout stageof a tournament for the10th successive match.The Spain goalkeeper alsoreached another milestonewith a record 100th win forhis country. The only otherteam to claim three succes-sive major titles wasArgentina who lifted theCopa America in 1945,1946 and 1947 when thetournament was heldannually. However, thatfeat pales into insignifi-cance compared to Spain'sachievement such is thepace and the demands ofthe modern game.Somehow Spain have notonly been able to cope withthose demands but haverisen way above them.

Action at a Glance

Record-breaking Spain rewrite the rule book

Torres wins Euro 2012 Golden BootFernando Torres won the GoldenBoot as Euro 2012 top-scorerthanks to a goal and an assist inthe final eight minutes of Spain’s4-0 victory over Italy in Sunday’sfinal. Torres finished with threegoals and an assist along withGermany striker Mario Gomez,but played less minutes than hisrival, which is the tiebreak criteria

of the ruling body UEFA. The Chelsea striker Torresscored in the 84th minute of the final and fed Juan Matain the 88th. His earlier two goals came in the other 4-0win over Ireland in the group stage.

Iniesta named Euro 2012's best playerAndres Iniesta of Spain wasnamed the best player at thetournament on Monday.Iniesta played a central role forSpain’s 4-0 win over Italy. AndyRoxburgh, the head of UEFA'stechnical group, told reporters:"Andrea Pirlo was magnificentfor Italy, Xavi won it last timeand could have won it again.Xabi Alonso was magnificentbut Iniesta sends a message about creative and incisivefootball and was superb throughout."

Former England captainDavid Beckham revealedhe had not been picked forGreat Britain's Olympicfootball squad. Beckham,regarded as a potentialskipper of the side, con-firmed in a statement hehad not made the final 18-man squad as one of coachStuart Pearce's three over-age players.

Pearce had travelled tothe United States to assessBeckham's form last weekbefore making his deci-sion. "Everyone knowshow much playing for mycountry has always meantto me," Beckham said in astatement. "So I would

have been honored to havebeen part of this uniqueTeam GB squad."Naturally I am very disap-pointed, but there will beno bigger supporter of theteam than me. And likeeveryone, I will be hopingthey can win the gold."

Beckham, 37, had spo-ken repeatedly of his desireto play in an Olympicsstaged in his hometown.The former ManchesterUnited and Real Madridwas widely expected to begranted a place in thesquad as reward for hisrole in helping London winthe Olympics at the 2005International OlympicCommittee vote inSingapore. The footballsuperstar's presence on thecampaign trail inSingapore is often creditedas being one of the key fac-tors in tipping the vote inLondon's favour during thefinal few days of lobbying.

David Beckham fails to makeBritain's Olympic squad

Cracking the whip onIndian cricketers caught inthe IPL spot-fixing scan-dal, the BCCI on Saturdayslapped a life ban on pacerT P Sudhindra and handedlighter punishments tofour other players whowere also exposed in a TVsting operation.

The decision to ban theplayers for varying degreeswas taken by the BCCI’sdisciplinary committee,headed by President NSrinivasan, which met todiscuss the report submit-ted by the Board’s Ant-Corruption Unit chief Ravi

S a w a n ion thematter.

Whi lethe 28-y e a r - o l dSudhindrawas the worst hit as hiscareer seems all but over,Shalabh Srivastava wasbanned for five years.Mohnish Mishra, AmitYadav and Abhinav Baliwere banned for a year each.

“The Committee heldSudhindra guilty of actual-ly receiving a considera-tion to spot-fix in a domes-tic cricket match, and

hence imposed exemplarypenalty on him. Sudhindrahas been debarred for life,from playing any cricketmatches conducted orauthorised by the ICC orBCCI, or any affiliatedunit of the BCCI,” theBoard said in a statement.

Sudhindra will not beentitled to the monthlygratis, benevolent fund,benefit match or any otherfacility offered to players bythe BCCI. He also cannothold any position in anycricket association affiliat-ed to the BCCI for life.

“Shalabh Srivastava

was held guilty of agreeingto fix a match and negotiateterms for the same, eventhough no actual match-fix-ing or spot fixing tookplace,” the Board stated.

“He has been debarredfor a period of five years,from playing any cricketmatches conducted orauthorised by the ICC orBCCI, or any affiliated unitof the BCCI,” it added.

Like Sudhindra, hewill also not be entitled tothe monthly gratis, benev-olent fund, benefit match-es or any other facility,during this period.

IPL spot-fixing: BCCI bans 5 players

W o r l dnumber 2R a f a e lN a d a lcrashed tohis worstG r a n dSlam defeat in seven yearswhen Czech journeymanLukas Rosol, the worldnumber 100, pulled off oneof the greatest upsets inWimbledon history. Rosol,whose previous five visitsto Wimbledon had endedin first round losses inqualifying, stunned the2008 and 2010 champion,and 11-time Grand Slamtitle winner Nadal, 6-7(9/11), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 inthe second round.

Rafael Nadalsuffers shock

Wimbledon defeat

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