The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
Vol.9 No. 43 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

China open to India Trumps deportation

joining NSG: Jaishankar
Beijing: China is open to India joining the
48member Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG), said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar
plan sparks fear
on Wednesday after holding strategic dia 8 300,000 undocumented Indians impacted
logue discussions with his Chinese coun
terpart, ANI reported.
Jaishankar said, "China said it had an 8 Trump envoy in Mexico to soothe tensions
open approach on India's membership, but
that there were issues of procedures and
processes, which they felt needed further
clarification and discussions. So, they were
not in a position to bring it to a finite con
clusion. At the same time, they maintained
they had an open mind about Indias appli
cation."
He said that the NSG membership was
one of the key aspects of the dialogue with
Executive ViceMinister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar with
Zhang Yesui and State Counsellor Yang Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in
Jiechi. Last month, New Delhi had taken
Beijing on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)
umbrage over Beijing suggesting that out spokesman of the Indian External Affairs
going US President Barack Obama was try Ministry, Vikas Swarup, had then said,
ing to give membership of the NSG to India "India is not seeking NSG membership as a
as a "parting gift" because of its outstand gift. India is seeking it on its nonprolifera
ing nonproliferat ion record. T he tion record." In an Continued on page 4

A protest in Los Angeles against Trumps policies to speed up deportations. (Photo : Reuters)
Pak accuses India Indian killed in New York: One man deported to the Mexico tion center against her will.
of using Afghan side reportedly jumped to his death from a While previous administrations focused

soil for attacks
Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday
said the enemy India was taking
advantage of the turmoil in
Afghanistan and using its soil to
orchestrate terrorist attacks in
possible hate
crime in Kansas
New York: An Indianorigin man was killed and another
injured by a former Navy serviceman who mistook
them for "Middle Easterners", officials said. The shooter
bridge couple of days ago. A 26yearold
Salvadoran woman being held by USICS at a
detention center complained of severe
headaches. Sent to a hospital in Texas, she
was diagnosed w ith brain tumor.
Discharged, she was taken to another deten
on undocumented immigrants convicted of
serious crimes, under the guide lines
released this week by the White House, fed
eral agents are to target anyone in the coun
try illegally with the exception of those
granted protection Continued on page 4

H1B visa: India begins

the country. also wounded a nonIndian who is hailed as a hero for
"Terrorism is a common enemy trying to protect the two during the attack on
of both Pakistan and Afghanistan Wednesday night in Olathe, Kansas State.

and both the countries would
need to work together to combat
terrorism," Foreign Of fice
spokesperson Nafees Zakaria
said. He said Pakistan remains
committed to peace and stability
in Afghanistan and emphasized
the need for ef fective border
management to stop crossbor
der movement of terrorists.
Meanwhile, Pakistan forces
have moved heavy artillery and
Continued on page 4
Srinivas Kuchibhotla died and Alok Madasani was
injured when Adam W. Purinton shot them at a bar
after telling them to "get out of my country", The
Kansas City Star quoted a witness as saying.
The Hindu American Foundation's (HAF) called the
attacks a hate crime. But officials were still investigat
ing the angle. Ian Grillot, 24, who came to their rescue,
and Madasani were in hospital recovering from their
injuries. Purinton was arrested in Clinton city of neigh
boring Missouri state when a bartender reported to
police about him saying that he had killed "two Middle
Eastern men", according to local police. According to
his profile on LinkedIn, Continued on page 4
dialogue with US
New Delhi: The Indian software services
companies will breathe a sigh of relief as
the Indian ministries, authorities and indus
try lobby had a dialogue with a visiting
eightmember US delegation headed by
Congressman Bob GoodLatte, on the ongo
ing concerns of H1B visa holders. After the
meeting with IT minister, Ravi Shankar
Prasad, GoodLatte, the chairman of house
judiciary committee Continued on page 4

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HAF concern over raids on
IndoCaribbeans in Queens
New York: The Hindu American
Foundation (HAF) has expressed
concern over recent raids by
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents in the
Richmond Hill neighborhood of
Queens targeting members of the
IndoCaribbean community, many
of whom are Hindu.
The raids targeted an area which
is home to a vibrant Guyanese and
Trinidadian population, causing
fear and concern among a tightly
knit community that has worked
hard to become part of the
American social fabric.
The borough of Queens is one of
the most ethnically and linguistical
ly diverse places on the planet; it is
fundamentally a community of
immigrants, said Mat McDermott,
NYC resident and HAF Director of
Communications, in a statement.
Both our Caribbean community
members, and all immigrants, need
to be aware of and informed about
Cuomo urges Brooklyn girl lands $600 K
Dems to ght deal on Shark Tank
Obamacare repeal
New York: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
on Wednesday urged congression
al Democrats to stand up and
fight against the Trump adminis
trations plans to repeal the
Af fordable Care Act, suggesting
they take a page from
Republican lawmakers who
blocked the Obama and Clinton
administrations major policy ini
tiatives.
At a rally in the Bronx, organized
by the local 1199 SEIU health care
workers union, Cuomo said he had
a message for Democrats in
Congress: Its not time to make a
deal. Its not time to get political.
Its time to get principled.
Democrats have to stand up
and learn from what the
Republicans did when they didnt
agree with something, Cuomo
said. The Republican Congress
fought Bill Clinton every step of
the way, and the Republican
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
The new White House deporta
tions policy and raids have
created a scare among all
immigrants, legal or illegal.
their rights, and we are willing to
help in any way we can to allay fur
ther fears and concerns. HAF
added in a statement: While HAF
recognizes the need for enforce
ment of immigration laws and that
ICE has conducted targeted enforce
ment for many years, the recent
aggressive nature of enforcement
activities is worrisome. Though the
stated intent of such raids is to tar
get undocumented immigrants with
New York State Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo
Congress fought Barack Obama
every step of the way, and these
Democrats have to take a page out
of their book, and say, Were not
going to let you take us back
wards.
criminal records, in casting so wide
a net as is being done, there is a
very real risk of sweeping up indi
viduals who, though they may have
entered the United States illegally,
have committed no other of fense
and pose no threat to their commu
nities nor American society more
broadly. Similarly, there is a risk of
those with legal status being
impacted by these types of raids.
HAF encourages everyone to
review our Know Your Rights guide,
as well as the American Civil Liberty
Unions guide on what to do if you
are stopped by police, the FBI, or
immigration authorities.
HAF also advised anybody seek
ing help to reach out also to the fol
lowing organizations provide
resources to help community mem
bers locally: Asian American Legal
Defense and Education Fund
(AALDEF), New York Civil Liberties
Union, and the Indo Caribbean
Alliance.
New York: Gauri Nanda, cofounder
of Toymail, bagged a $600,000
deal with Lori Greiner and Chris
Sacca on the Shark Tank episode
that aired February 17.
Toymail is a safe, screenfree
medium for kids to speak with
loves ones. With just a push of a
button on the toys look devices,
kids can connect to their parents,
other family members and friends
at any time, from anywhere. In turn,
parents use the Toymail app to
send messages and approve con
tacts.
A graduate from MIT's Media
Lab, Brooklyn based Nanda had
earlier invented Clocky, a traveling
alarm clock that became a fast hit.
Shed bootstrapped that company,
and expected to do the same with
Toymail, a company she cofounded
with Audry Hill in 2013. But as the
duo realized they wanted to move
beyond messaging to add cloud
based content, they knew they
needed to raise money. By the time
Nanda appeared on Shark Tank,
Toymail had already raised $1.5M
Feb 25-March 3, 2017
PM Modi clears Rs
17,000 crore air defense
missile deal with Israel
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has given the
greenlight to purchase an air
defense missile system from
Israel as part of a plan to pro
tect India from enemy aircraft.
India will acquire the Medium
Range Surface to Air Defence
Missile (MRSAM) system from
Israel at a cost of Rs 17,000
crore.
As part of the plan, the Army
will induct more than five regi
ments of MRSAM, which will
have around 40 firing units and
over 200 missiles.
"In a meeting of the cabinet
committee on security headed
by the Prime Minister, the pro
posal for procuring the MR
SAM air defense system for the
Army was approved," India
Today quoted an official as say
ing. The MRSAM system, joint
Gauri Nanda and her screenfree toys that let kids voicechat with family.
from Amazon, Verizon and Y
Combinator.
Even with her prior pitching
experience, telling Toymail's story
on national television felt "like
being in a dream state," says Nanda.
I was advised by my cofounder
not to watch too many of the
episodes before I went or it would
make me nervous, she says. I
knew my pitch, but I still felt that I
might forget it. Audry Hill could
3
ly deve loped by DRD O and
Israeli Aircraft Industry, report
edly can shoot down enemy air
craft between 50 to 70 km
range.
"The delivery of the first sys
tem for the Army units will
begin in 72 months of the sign
ing of the contract and they
would be ready for deployment
in fie ld areas by the year
2023," the report said citing
sources. India and Israel are
jointly developing similar sys
tems for the Air Force and the
Navy.
not make it to the West Coast from
their New Yorkbased operations.
Nanda accepted a combined offer
from Greiner and Sacca, who
invested $600,000 for 5%.
Nanda had earlier worked at
Apple in design and engineering
and as a researcher at the MIT
Media Lab. The entrepreneur is
also the founder and CEO of Nanda
Home, a collection of items for the
home, founded in 2004.
 4 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 TURN PAGE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Trumps deportation
Indo-American plan sparks fear
Continued from page 1
Press Club to induct from deportation under the
Deferred Action for Childhood
deportation will be on the crimi
nal element, all of this will be
done in close coordination with
Mexico." One point of con
tention is where to deport non
in detail w ith the US
Congressmen. Business always
flourishes in an environment of
certainty and transparency. So
even this visa related issue is an
China has repeatedly blocked
India's NSG membership bid
despite support from the majori
ty of NSG members, on the
grounds that New Delhi hasn't

new team March 4 Arrivals (DACA) program.

Hicksville, NY: The IndoAmerican Press Club
(IAPC) will induct its new executive commit
tee at a gala at Antuns by
Minar here on March 4
in the presence of a
many media personali
ties and community.
Prof. Indrajit Singh
Saluja, EditorPublisher of
The Indian Panorama, will
take over as President from Parveen Chopra,
Managing Editor of The South Asian Times.
The Chief Guest, Hon. George Maragos,
Comptroller of Nassau County, is set to
administer the oath of office to the 2017
officebearers including Eapen George as
General Secretary and Biju Chacko as
Treasurer. A highlight of the event will be
felicitating Mr H.R. Shah, Chairman and CEO
of TV Asia, a recipient of Padma Shri for year
2017. The keynote address will be given by
Jehangir Khattak, CoDirector, Center for
Community and Ethnic Media, CUNY
Graduate School of Journalism.
Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy
Consul General, New York will preside the
function. The roaster of entertainment
includes a skit by New Jersey street theater
group, Prayog. Kalpita Chakote, who has per
formed at the UN and at Metropolitan
Museum of Art, will present a classical dance.
St. John's College students will present
Bhangra. Surya Makkar will play the dhol.
Under founder and chairman, Ginsmon
Zacharia, IAPC has grown from strength to
strength. It has organized three successful
annual international conferences in New
Jersey, New York and Connecticut. A highlight
of the conference last year was a presidential
debate with representatives from Democratic
and Republican sides. IPAC also has six active
chapters in America and Canada. The Atlanta
chapter celebrated Indias Republic Day this
January in a big way. Last year, the Houston
chapter hosted a debate and discussion on the
presidential election to increase participation
of the Indian community in the political
process.
A nationwide surge in immi
gration raids has put the undoc
umented on edge. The New York
Times reports that, across the
country, many have gone into
hiding. Suddenly, there are more
empty seats in classrooms,
fewer day laborers are gathered
on street corners looking for
work, and restaurants that serve
large undocumented popula
tions have seen a sharp drop off
in Nearly 300,000 Indian
Americans are like ly to be
impacted by the Trump adminis
tration's sweeping plans that
put the nat ion's 11 million
undocumented immigrants at
risk of deportation.
"The Department no longer
will exempt classes or cate
gories of removable aliens from
potential enforcement," the
Department of Home land
Security (DHS) said in an
enforcement memo.
"Department personnel have
full authority to arrest or appre
hend an alien whom an immi
gration of ficer has probable
cause to believe is in violation of
the immigration laws," it said.
The emphasis is on criminal
aliens, though, but opens up the
door for others.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson arrived in
Mexico ahead of talks w ith
President Enrique Pena Nieto in
a bid to "soothe tensions"
between the two nat ions, a
media report said.
"Let me be clear, there will be
no mass deportations, every
thing we do in DHS will be done
legally," DHS Chief John Kelly
said during a press conference
follow ing meet ings w ith
Mexican officials. "The focus of
Mexican illegal immigrants who
come into the US crossing the
Mexican border.
H1B visa: India begins
dialogue with US
Continued from page 1
that plays an important role in
drawing policies around immi
gration and intellectual proper
ty, said, that it was up to
President Donald Trump to
reassess the situation on the
immigration policy.
To put things in perspective,
the Trump government has
started a clampdown on H1B
visa holders, who he believes
take away American jobs. The
Indian IT industry has thrived
over the of fshore business
model.
America accounts for 65% of
$155 billion Indian IT revenue.
However, according to a sen
ior government official who had
knowledge of the meeting said
that things looked positive. US
India has a good relationship
historically. India and US com
plement and supplement each
other in several areas especially
with Indian talent adding value
to US firms and the biggest
examples are Microsoft CEO
Satya Nadella and Google CEO
Sundar Pichai, he said.
T he source, who is hig hly
placed in the government, added
that nearly 75% of all Fortune
500 companies are serviced by
Indian IT firms, and that some of
the top IT firms doing business
in India are of American origin,
such as Cisco, Goog le and
Amazon.
Meanwhile, Nirmala
Sitharaman, minister of com
merce and industry, said that
the issue had been discussed
issue on which we would want
to have an air of certainty and
also transparency, she told
reporters on Tuesday.
Sitharaman added that the US
Congress is waiting for the new
administration to settle down,
and once that happens, the
Cong ressmen w ill play an
important role in coming out
with the rules. Indian IT sector,
contributes 9.3% to the coun
trys GDP, and employs of 3.7
million people. The uncertainty
has led to drop in value, and fall
in employment. A Seantor has
introduced the Lofgren Bill,
which proposes the minimum
wages being doubled to
$130,000. The current H1B
minimum wage of $60,000 was
fixed in 1989.
However, most H1B visa hold
ers get an average of $1,00,000,
according to consultancy firm,
Greyhound Research.
T he government source
added, The Indian government
has asked the visiting US law
makers to keep the Indian IT
firms contribut ion in mind
while the new government is
reassessing its policy on immi
gration.
To hold further discussions in
the matter, a Nasscom delega
tion from India will visit the US
for a weeklong trip.
China open to India
joining NSG: Jaishankar
Continued from page 1
obvious reference to Pakistan,
which is also seeking NSG mem
bership with China's backing,
Swarup said, "I, of course, can
not speak for other applicants,"
raising concerns over
Islamabad's questionable non
proliferation record.
signed the Nuclear Non
Proliferation Treaty (NNPT ).
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
is a group of nuclear supplier
countries that seek to prevent
nuclear proliferation by control
ling the export of materials,
equipment and technology that
can be used to manufacture
nuclear weapons.
Indian killed in possible
hate crime in Kansas
Continued from page 1
Kuchibhotla, 32, graduated from
the Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University in
Hyderabad in 2005 with an
electrical engineering degree.
He received a master's degree
from the University of Texas in
El Paso and was working as an
aviation programs manager
with Garmin, known for GPS
devices.
Madasani, 32, a graduate of
the Vasavi College of
Engineering in Hyderabad, was
also a manager at Garmin.
T he HAF condemned the
attacks describing the killings as
"the first reported biasmotivat
ed fatality in the US after the bit
ter presidential election".
Pak accuses India of
using Afghan soil for...
Continued from page 1
other military equipment closer
to the PakAfghan border to
counter terrorists posing a seri
ous threat to Pakistan.
Security has also been tight
ened at the border to strictly
monitor terrorist movement.
Borders with Afghanistan were
closed following a deadly sui
cide bombing at the shrine of
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in
Sehwan, Sindh last week.

Jaipur (India) Bureau IANS Newswire Services

Prakash Bhandari IANS Washington Bureau
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY Feb 25-March 3, 2017 5

Do not owe taxes to IRS, plan early

for retirement: Expert tells community
Special to South Asian Times
New York: IndianAmerican experts have
appealed to the community to take care of
their future by planning early and wisely for
their retirement.
They also urged Indians and other South
Asians in the US not to owe huge taxes to the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Shiva Bhashyam and Cecil Nazareth
addressed a seminar at the Kerala Center in
Queens last week convened by GOPIO.
Bhashyam, whose wealth management
organization sponsored the event, noted that
millions of people retire annually in the US.
Many of them are left with inadequate sums
of money when they enter their twilight
years.
Members of our community are not realis
tic as they tend to think, because of our cul
tures, it is the responsibility of children to
look after them when we grow old and are
unable to work, he said.
Bhashyam pointed out that there are no
joint families in the US and grownup chil
dren go away from their parents in search of
their livelihoods. According to him, such chil
dren cannot take care of their aging parents,
and one cannot blame them.
Contribute as much as you can to Social
Shiva Bhashyam, Cecil Nazareth (the speakers), with community leaders Bina Sabapathy,
Thomas Abraham and Lal Motwani at the tax seminar.
Security and 401(k), and go in for other sav
ings plans as that money will come handy
during retirement years which are becoming
longer because of the availability of better
health facilities, the expert pointed out.
Bhashyam works for Ameriprise Financial,
a company established more than a century
ago. It is involved in wealth management,
financial planning and related issues.
At Ameriprise, we believe that taking a dis
ciplined and integrated approach to planning
for your dreams and goals is the best way to
reach them, he noted.
Bhashyam has a bachelors degree in arts
from Tufts University. He earned his masters
from the London School of Economics.
Nazareth is a chartered accountant and
CPA (both from India and the US). He is an
authority on Indian and American tax issues.
Nazareth has earned his MBA in finance from
Fordham University, where he is a professor
in global accounting studies.
Keep your records clean with the IRS. If
you owe them more than $50,000, your
passport could be revoked, he cautioned the
community, asking it to start preparing for
tax returns right from December itself, and
not to wait till the deadline in midApril.
Nazareth who has held 500 taxinforma
tion sessions globally said those who have
more than $10,000 annual income in India
or other foreign countries should declare it.
The US government introduced this require
ment some five years to all those who file tax
returns following disclosures by HSBC Bank.
The requirement applies not only to US citi
zens, but also greencard holders and other
legal residents.
He advised senior citizens to gift their
grandchildren money right away. Give
$14,000 each to your grandkids now, instead
of waiting or dallying, Nazareth noted,
adding such money wont be taxed and the
relevant Form 3820 is available to file.
The February 18 lunch meeting was co
sponsored by the India Association of Long
Island and the Alliance of Global Sindhi
Associations.

Raj Shah blasts media for

hostility to Trump
Raj Shah, deputy communication director
in Trump administration
Washington, DC: A top Indian American White
House communications official has criticized
the media for attacking the president from
day one, rather than reporting "fair and
straight." Ruing that President Donald Trump
did not get the honeymoon period most new
presidents usually do, Raj Shah, a key behind
thescenes player in Trump's White House,
said, "There is a constant effort by the main
stream media to go after this president rather
than reporting fair and straight, adding,
"There's been a treatment of this president,
even from the campaign through the transi
tion into the inauguration and afterwards, that
has been hostile. There has been a very tough
treatment of the president by the media.
The 32yearold deputy communications
director told PTI: "The press jumps the story
line often irresponsibly... A lot of time (they)
do not have accountability. Shah, who sup
ports Trump's communications team shape
his media portrayal and narrative, admitted it
would be a big challenge for him given the
"hostile atmosphere" from the very first day
on Jan. 20, when Trump officially took over.
Trump has had several runins with the
press. He called The New York Times a "fail
ing" newspaper, denied credentials to The
Washington Post and termed CNN "Clinton
News Network. On Feb. 19, he demanded that
The Times and other media apologize to him
for "going crazy with conspiracy theories and
blind hatred" after reports emerged that sen
ior aides with his presidential campaign were
in contact with Russian officials.
His White House has vowed to fight the
news media "tooth and nail" over "unfair
attacks. The Trump administration has ques
tioned most of the news reports that have not
been favorable from the crowd estimates at
Trump's inauguration to his controversial
travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim
majority nations. And here Shah's role as part
of Trump's communications team becomes
important. "As deputy communications direc
tor, my job is to help press secretary Sean
Spicer articulate the president's message,
responding to the news of the day, the events
of the day, correcting the media portrayals
and narrative, inaccuracies, presenting new
information," he said. "It is about synthesizing
various elements and putting them together,
helping Sean prepare for the briefing, rolling
out decisions and actions being taken out by
the president," Shah, who begins his day at the
White House at 6:30 a.m., said.
6 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 TRISTATE COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

IN BRIEF

Memorial tributes paid to OHMKara to host Gujarati poetry

veteran journalists program in major US cities
O
HMKara will hold Gujarati litera

E
mbassy of India organized a Memo
rial ceremony on February 21 to
condole the passing away of two
stalwarts of IndiaUS journalism: Warren
Unna (former South Asia Bureau Chief of
Washington Post and longtime columnist
for the Statesman) and T.V. Parasuram
(veteran Press Trust of India/Indian Ex
press correspondent). The event saw par
ticipation of the families and close friends
of the departed souls, old India hands
among the media and members of the In
dianAmerican community.
Speaking on this occasion, Ambassador
of India to the United States Navtej Sarna
highlighted the stellar contributions of
Mr. Parasuram and Mr. Unna in the field
of journalism and promotion of greater
empathy and deeper mutual understand
ing between the people of India and the
world. Ambassador also drew attention to
the passing away of another legendary
journalist the night before Easwar Sagar
GOPIO-CT will serve as the voice
of Indian Americans in
Connecticut: Anita Bhat
GOPIOCT 2017 Team at the activities launch for this year
Ambassador Navtej Sarna highlighted
stellar contribution of the journalists
[senior correspondent for The Hindu in
the United States (196178)].
Condolence messages penned by Edi
tors of Press Trust of India and The
Statesman two organizations with which
Mr. Parasuram and Mr. Unna were close
ly associated, were also read out.
The event concluded with fond recollec
tions by families, friends and colleagues
of Mr. Unna and Mr. Parasuram.
ture and poetry program An
evening with Ankit Trivedi in ma
jor cities in the US from February 25 to
March 12.
This is the fourth consecutive year
where OHMKara will organize a Gujarati
literature and poetry program to contin
ue to promote Gujarati language, heritage
and culture outside of India. The shows
of Gujarati music concerts for the last
three years have been performed in
Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston,
Austin, Atlanta, New Jersey, New York,
Connecticut, Detroit and Maryland. More
than 15,000 Gujaratis enjoyed the musi
Poet and writer Ankit Trivedi
cal journey of OHMKara organized con
certs with renowned Bollywood singer tam Upadhyay and many renowned
Parthiv Gohil, two living legends of Gu young and versatile singers and musi
jarati music Gaurang Vyas and Purushot cians from India in the past three years.
Advisory to Indian students
interested in studying in USA
I
n view of the recent malpractices per 4. The complete visa process is ex
taining to admission of Indian students plained on the U.S. Embassy and/or con
to US Universities, the Consulate Gen
eral of India, New York recommends the
sulate websites in India. Website:
https://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/visas.ht
following to Indian students interested in ml
higher education in the USA. 5. For more information on education
1. Admission should be sought only at advising, fraud prevention hotlines, and
Universities/Institutions Accredited by other resources to help students avoid be
the United States Department of Educa coming victims of fraud, students are en
tion. couraged to visit: https://travel.state.gov
Links to the Website of the Department 6. It is also advised that the students af
of Education are placed below: ter registering at the US universities reg
http://www.ed.gov/accreditation ister their name, address and date of ar
http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ rival at the Indian Embassy/Consulate un
2. In order to understand the higher ed der whose jurisdiction the State of resi
ucation system and gain more informa dence in the USA falls through the web
tion about selecting a college or universi portal on the respective Mission/ Con

W
e lack a voice for Indian Amer
icans in Connecticut. We need
a stronger voice. And I want
GOPIOCT to be voice for all Indian
Americans in our state and beyond, de
clared Anita Bhat, who assumed charge
as the President of GOPIOCT during an
inaugural event of her new executive
team at the Hampton Inn, Stamford, CT
on Friday, February 10.
The executive committee consists of
Pradeep Govil, Exec. Vice President;
Bhavna Juneja, Vice President; Prasad
Chintalapudi, Secretary; Viresh Sharma,
Treasurer; and Shelly Nichani as
Immediate Past President
Board Members are: Meera Banta,
Louella DSilva, Ravi Dhingra, and Ritu
Johorey. The Scholarship Committee
has Shelly Nichani (Chair); Hari Srini
vasan, Tara Sharma, and Priya
Easwaran (Exec. Director) as its mem
bers. Board of Trustees are: Joe Simon
Chair; Dr. Thomas Abraham Secre
tary/Comptroller; Sanjay Santhnam;
Varghese Ninan, Santosh Gannu;
Shailesh Naik and Anita Bhat
ExOfficio.
ty in the United States, Indian students
and their families are advised to avail the
free service offered by the U.S. govern
ment, known as EducationUSA. For details
visit https://educationusa.state.gov/
3. The U.S.India Educational Founda
tion (USIEF) through its Educational Ad
vising Services (EAS) in New Delhi, Chen
nai, Kolkata and Mumbai provide college
information and counseling services to
students across India who are interested
in pursuing higher education in the U.S.
For more information visit
http://www.usief.org.in/
sulates website.
7.Indian Student Associations at Uni
versities provide a means of enabling new
students to connect with their peers from
India and provide assistance in the time of
need. It is recommended that all students
enroll with the Indian student bodies once
students arrive at their respective Univer
sities.
8. All queries may be addressed to Con
sul (Education), Consulate General of In
dia, 3 East 64th Street, New York, NY
10065. Email: edu@indiacgny.org / Tel:
2127740663
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY Feb 25-March 3, 2017 7

Trump: Nikki Haley doing Raja Krishnamoorthi seeks probe

'awfully' good job for us into FlynnRussia interactions
Washington, DC: US President
Donald Trump has praised Indian
American Nikki Haley, the United
States Ambassador to the United
Nations, saying that she is doing
an "awfully" good job.
Haley is the rst Indian
American to hold the Cabinet
level position and served as the
116th governor of South Carolina
from January 2011 to January
2017.
"I want to also thank your for
mer governor, Nikki Haley, who is
doing an awfully good job for us, "
Trump said to a crowd during a
visit to Charleston, South
Carolina.
"She's representing America
very well as our ambassador to
the United Nations. She is doing a
spectacular job. It's early, but she
has just been really great," he
Nikki Haley
(Image courtesy: huffpost.com)
added. Trump comments came as
he was attending the unveiling of
the new Boeing 78710
Dreamliner, a new commercial
aircraft designed to carry over
300 passengers and manufac
tured at the US company's plant
in South Carolina. (IANS)
Washington, DC: Indian
American Cong ressman Raja
Krishnamoorthi has called for a
full and open investigation into
former National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn and the Trump
Administration's interactions
with the Russian government.
"In light of these revelations,
I'm calling for a full investigation
into General Flynn and the
Trump Administration's interac
tions with Russian intelligence
services," Representat ive
Krishnamoorthi said in an ofcial
statement on his website.
"More than half the country
already has serious concerns
about the relationship between
the Trump Administration and
the Russian government.
Fundamental national security
questions remain unanswered,
including whether General Flynn
went rogue in discussing sanc
tions with Russian agents, or
whether he was directed to," he
said. "We need to know what was
discussed, what the Russians
learned, and what they may have
offered in return. The American
people deserve answers,"
Krishnamoorthi added.
US President Donald Trump
had asked for Flynn's resignation
after reports surfaced that the
latter had misled VicePresident
Mike Pence about his interaction
with Russian Ambassador to the
US, Sergey Kislyak, during the
transition period prior to the
mogul's inauguration and even
before the November 8 election. Raja Krishnamoorthi
(IANS) (Image courtesy: dailyherald.com)

South-Asian body against
Trumps immigration policies
New York: A SouthAsian rights
group has opposed the Trump
administrations immigration
plans, claiming that over
450,000 illegal Indian immi
grants who are living in the US
could be targeted by authorities.
The group said the undocument
ed Indian populat ion is the
fourth such largest in the US after
Mexico, El Salvador and
Guatemala. A day after the
Department of Home land
Security issued two detailed
memos to implement the execu
tive orders issued by President
Donald Trump on illegal immi
g rants, the South Asian
Americans Leading Together
(SAALT) said that these memos
further relegate South Asian and
all immigrant communities to
secondclass citizenship, ques
tioning Americas very place in
the quintessential nation of immi
grants.
The scale of the Presidents
ant iimmig rant policies is
extreme, and the new administra
tion appears hellbent on target
ing and demonizing immigrant
communities through orders that
actively undermine safety and
public trust in law enforcement,
said Suman Raghunathan, execu
tive director of SAALT.
Shortcircuiting due process is
not a crackdown on crime, but a
crackdown on rights and our
very founding values as a nation,
and these measures must be
opposed by all communities of
color, Raghunathan said.
SAALT said Trumps policies
deeply af fect the South Asian
American community, the most
rapidly growing demographic
group in the United States with a
population of over 4.3 million.
India is the country of origin
with the greatest increase in
unauthorized immigrants to the
United States with a 914 percent
increase since 1990, it claimed.
Currently there are 450,000
undocumented IndianAmericans
in the US alone, making India the
fourthhighest sending country
for undocumented immigrants
after Mexico, El Salvador, and
Guatemala, it added.
T he g roup alleged that the
presidents draconian policies
will force vulnerable communi
ties to turn inward based upon
their fear of proling and depor
tation at the hands of the authori
ties. Overall public safety will
likely plunge as a result, as entire
communities continue to lose
trust in the very law enforcement
professionals tasked with keep
ing them safe.
As such, public safety does not
increase, but instead cripples
under the weight of these short
sighted antiimmigrant policies,
SAALT said.
According to SAALT, the new
policies of the Trump
Administration massively expand
and accelerate detentions and
deportations, trample upon due
process by in many cases remov
ing the requirement for hearings
and convictions prior to deporta
tion. It also deputises local law
enforcement to serve as immigra
tion enforcement authorities, and
increase the proling and target
ing of immigrant communities
already under siege in the wake
of recent and controversial exec
utive orders re leased by this
administration, the group said.
(PTI)
Trump's immigration
plans could impact
3 lakh Indian-Americans
Washington: Nearly 300,000
IndianAmericans are likely to be
impacted by the Trump administra
tion's sweeping plans that put the
nation's 11 million undocumented
immigrants at risk of deportation.
President Donald Trump has laid
the groundwork for potentially
deporting millions of undocument
ed immigrants by issuing new
guidance that drastically broadens
the ways in which federal immigra
tion laws should be enforced.
"The Department no longer will
exempt classes or categories of
removable aliens from potential
enforcement," the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) said in
an enforcement memo.
"Department personnel have full
authority to arrest or apprehend
an alien whom an immigration of
cer has probable cause to believe is
in violation of the immigration
laws," it said.
The Department of Homeland
Security has issued two enforce
ment memos, which among other
things, tightens deportation of ille
gal immigrants. The emphasis is on
criminal aliens, though, but opens
up the door for others too.
IndianAmericans as per unof
cial gures account for nearly
300,000 illegal aliens.
According to the memo, the DHS
Secretary has the authority to
apply expedited removal provi
sions to aliens who have not been
admitted or paroled into the US,
who are inadmissible, and who
have not been continuously physi
cally present in the US for the two
year period immediately prior to
the determination of their inadmis
sibility, so that such aliens are
immediately removed unless the
alien is an unaccompanied minor,
intends to apply for asylum or has
a fear of persecution or torture in
their home country, or claims to
have lawful immigration status.
The memorandum said when ille
gal aliens apprehended do not pose
a risk of a subsequent illegal entry,
returning them to the foreign con
tiguous territory from which they
arrived, pending the outcome of
removal proceedings, saves the
government detention and adjudi
cation resources for other priority
aliens. (PTI)
 8 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
Shivani Siroya led Tala raises $30 million in
series B for microloans via smartphone
Shivani Siroya
(Image courtesy: Twitter)
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani
Mission concludes
30th eye camp in India
New York: February 2017 marked
the 30thEye Camp organized by
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission
(SKRM). This medical camp, held
twice a year, provides free
cataract surgeries to patients who
would otherwise not be able to
af ford the expenses of such an
operation. Expert eye surgeons
from the United States typically
volunteer their premier high quali
ty technical skills and time to pro
vide surgeries to help make the
camp a success. The eye camps
are conducted as part of both the
International Human Unity
Conference (held in February each
year) and the Global Conference
on Mysticism (held in September
each year)organized by SKRM at
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Dham,
Burari. More than ten thousand
individuals have beneted from
free cataract surgeries since the
launch of SKRMs eye camp in
February 2002.
Patients attending the eye
camps are rst screened by a med
ical team. Selected patients, based
on medical eligibility, are then
transported to ICARE hospital,
Noida, where they undergo sur
gery with the help of stateofthe
art equipment, to remove the
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
New York: Tala, a startup that
makes microloans to entrepre
neurs in the developing world via
smartphone app, has raised a $30
million Series B round as it
expands into new geographical
markets.
T he round marks the largest
Series B raised by a woman
founder in recent memory; in
2016, cult beauty brand Glossier
raised $24 million. This infusion of
capital brings Tala's total fundrais
ing to over $44 million since 2012.
The veyearold company, for have been used for small business
merly called InVenture, allows
underbanked people in emerging
markets to both obtain a credit
US doctors worked with
ICARE hospital team to
render volunteer service
cataracts. All patients benet from
follow up visits and are prescribed
eye drops for several weeks fol
lowing the operation, so they can
receive maximum benet from the
surgery.
This voluntary service to the
community has had a signicant
impact to the vision and quality of
patients lives. The US clinical
team worked in collaboration with
doctors at ICARE hospital, one of
Indias top eye hospitals. All serv
ices were rendered free of charge,
and in a spirit of seless service to
humanity.
score and secure a small loan of
between $10 and $500 using only
an Android smartphone app.
Tala's technology aggregates
more than 10,000 data points on
each customer's phone, from nan
cial transactions to daily move
ment via GPS. It then builds a cus
tomized credit score based on
these habits and of fers loans to
those who qualify. T he ent ire
process, from app download to
approval, takes about ve minutes.
To date, 66% of its 30day loans
South Asia and Latin America, with
es. Of its borrowers, 36% have
been women a signicant chunk evaluating opportunities in other
given the status quo in some devel
All India Inter Darshan
Academy Sports Meet 2017
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
and Mata Rita Ji with winners
New Delhi: Darshan Education
Foundation, Delhi organized IIIrd
All India Inter Darshan Academy
Sports Meet 2017 from 16th to
18th February. More than 350 stu
dents from sixteen schools across
India participated in a number of
sports and games events with great
enthusiasm and grace.
Darshan Academy is run under
the aegis of Darshan Education
Foundation. The main aim of the
Foundation is to impart holistic
education for body, mind and soul
under the guidance of Sant Rajinder
Singh Ji Maharaj, Founder
Chairman and Head, Science of
Spirituality. The foundation not
only provides specialized coaching
in different sports but also encour
ages sports talents with scholar
ships. The Meet commenced with
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
oping countries. "When you look at
emerg ing markets around the
world, only 7% of women small
business owners actually get
access to capital," founder and CEO
Shivani Siroya said. Tala's loans
average $50, with an interest rate
of 11% and repayment rate of over
90%.
So far, Tala operates in East
Africa and Southeast Asia, in coun
tries like Kenya, Tanzania, and the
Philippines. With its $30 million
Series B, it'll expand further into
of micronance on entrepreneurs
Siroya and her 75strong team
markets. "Even in the U.S. there are
More than 350 students from 16 schools
across India participated
the grand opening ceremony on
16th February. Preliminary matches
of all the schools took place at the
regional level in ve regions, i.e.,
De lhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, and Maharashtra. T he
nals were played on initial two
days on 16th and 17th February at
the Delhi school at ve dif ferent
venues in its premises.
The main ceremony of all athlet
ics events was organized at
Chhatrasal stadium on 18th
February which began with a proud
March Past by Darshan Academy
Delhi contingent displaying perfect
ly synchronized movements win
ning over the hearts of the audi
ence. After the oath ceremony, H.H.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj lit
the torch and declared the Meet
open. Other guests of honor sharing
about 70 million individuals who
are undeserved by nancial institu
tions," she said.
Siroya got her start in equity
research at UBS, becoming interest
ed in micronance. She went back
to school, getting a master's in pub
lic health from Columbia
University. She then spent two and
a half years on the ground in West
and SubSaharan Africa and Asia,
working for the United Nations'
Populat ion Fund on a project
aimed at understanding the effects
in developing economies.
(News Source: Forbes.com)
the stage with Maharaj Ji were Mr.
Christian, USA Table Tennis
National Coach; Mr. Anil Khanna,
Honorary President, Asian Tennis
Federation; Mr. Varun Singh Bhati,
Paralympian Bronze Medalist; Mr.
Bhupender Dhawan, Dronacharya
Awardee; Mr. Mukesh Singh Gehlot,
four times Mr. India and World
Weightlifting Champion 2016; and
Mr. Amit Saroha, Paralympian Arjun
Awardee.
In his inspiring speech, Maharaj Ji
encouraged all the students who
had come to participate in the
Sports Meet from different Darshan
Academy schools in India, and high
lighted that by meditating daily,
they can increase their concentra
tion levels and attain holistic suc
cess in the physical, mental, emo
tional, and spiritual spheres of life.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS Feb 25-March 3, 2017 9

Trump team sets stage for mass deportations

Washington: US President Donald tions: to publicize crimes by undocument committed a crime, will be the first to go,"
Trump has directed his adminis ed immigrants, strip such immigrants of he added.
tration to enforce the nation's privacy protection, enlist local police offi Major steps outlined in the papers
immigration laws more cers as enforcers, erect new detention included hiring more Customs and
aggressively, unleashing facilities, discourage asylum seekers and, Border Protection agents, expanding a
the full force of the fed ultimately, speed up deportations, the program that gives DHS Secretary John
eral government to find, New York Times reported. Kelly more power in directing field opera
arrest and deport those Undocumented immigrants arrested for tions, initiating a wall along the US
in the country illegally, traf fic violations or shoplifting will be Mexican border, and stepping up the
regardless of whether they targeted along with those convicted of ef fort to "return aliens to contiguous
have committed serious more serious crimes. countries".
crimes. The memos do not alter US immigration T he guide lines revealed sweeping
Do cuments by laws, but take a much tougher approach changes from the approach taken by for
the Department towards enforcing existing measures. mer President Obama. The only Obama
of Home land There are an estimated 11 million ille policy that survived was Deferred Action
Security gal immigrants in the US. for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program
( D H S ) White House Press Secretary Sean that allowed people who entered the
revealed the Spicer said the new guidelines would not country illegally as children to stay, usu
broad scope usher in mass deportations, but were ally for work or school, the Hill magazine
of the designed to empower agents to enforce reported.
President's laws already on the books. But the White House said that even
ambi "The President wanted to take the DACA could be ultimately eliminated as
shackles of f individuals in these Trump seeks a tough approach.
agencies," Spicer said. Meanwhile, a banner reading "Refugees
"T he message from this Welcome" was unfurled atop the pedestal
W hite House and the of the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday, after
Department of Homeland the DHS announced expanded immigra
Security is that those peo tion enforcement policies.
ple who are in this coun National park police of ficers were
Undocumented immigrants arrested for traffic violations or shoplifting will be targeted try, who pose a threat to investigating how the banner got on, NBC
along with those convicted of more serious crimes. our safety, or who have News reported.

Trump policies may lead US withdraws protections

to rate hike 'soon': Fed
Washington: The Federal Reserve said the economy's continued growth
might convince it to raise its benchmark interest rate "fairly soon" due to
for transgender students
the ambitious policies proposed by President Donald Trump that may
have unforeseen effects, the media reported. Washington: US President
The Federal Reserve made the statement on Wednesday after officials Donald Trump's administration
spent their meeting three weeks ago consumed with the changes revoked federal guidelines speci
brought on by a new administration in the White House, NBC News fying that transgender students
reported. The Federal Open Market Committee the central bank's poli have the rig ht to use public
cymaking arm discussed at length the impact from lower taxes and reg school restrooms that match
ulations and higher domestic spending under President Trump, accord their gender identity, a media
ing to minutes of the January 31 February 1 session. report said.
The meeting was the first since Trump took office on January 20. The Of ficials w ith the federal
President's name was never mentioned in the minutes, but the broad Education and Justice depart
brushes of his agenda show up often, according to sources. "Many partic ments notified the US Supreme
ipants expressed the view that it might be appropriate to raise the feder Court late Wednesday that the
al funds rate again fairly soon" if data on jobs and inflation are "in line administration is ordering the
with or stronger than their current expectations", or if the risk increased nation's schools to disregard
that the Fed might overshoot its goals, the meeting summary stated. Jobs memos the former President
numbers indeed have been solid and the Consumer Price Index inflation Barack Obama's administration
indicator is at its highest level in years, NBC News reported. issued during the past two years
regarding transgender student
rights, T he Washington Post
Trump's approval rating daily reported.
Those memos had stated that
Trump protesters take part in a rally in Los Angeles. (Xinhua/Yang Lei/IANS)

continues to dip: Poll prohibiting transgender students

from using facilities that align
Washington: US President Donald Trump's approval rating has contin with their gender identity vio
ued to drop over the last month, with a majority of American voters lates federal antidiscrimination
now disapproving of his job performance, a new poll has found. In a laws.
national survey released on Wednesday, Quinnipiac University found The twopage "Dear colleague"
that 38 per cent of American voters approve of Trump's job perform letter from the Trump adminis
ance, while 55 per cent disapproved, CNN reported. tration, which is set to go to the
A poll released earlier this month by Quinnipiac taken shortly after nation's public schools, does not
Trump's inauguration on January 20 found that 42 per cent of of fer any new guidance, instead
American voters approved of his job performance, while 51 per cent it says that the earlier directive
disapproved. Since then, Trump has instituted a variety of controversial needed to be withdrawn because
measures, including his executive order on immigration and new depor it lacked extensive legal analysis,
tation policies. Thirtyeight per cent of American voters said they trust did not go through a public vet
ed Trump to do the right thing "almost all of the time" or "most of the ting process, sowed confusion
time", while 61 per cent said they trust him to do what is right "some of and drew legal challenges.
the time" or "hardly ever", the poll showed. The administration said that it
would not rely on the prior inter
pretation of the law in the future.
The departments wrote that
the Trump administration wants
to "further and more completely
consider the leg al issues
involved," and said that there
must be "due regard for the pri
mary role of the states and local
school districts in establishing
educational policy," the daily
said.
Although it of fered no clarity
or direction to schools that have
transgender students, the letter
added that "schools must ensure
that all students, including LGBT
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen
der students, are able to learn
and thrive in a safe environ
ment."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
said that his department "has a
duty to enforce the law" and crit
icised the Obama administra
tion's guidance as lacking suf fi
cient legal basis.
Sessions wrote that the
Department of Justice remains
committed to the "proper inter
pretation" of the antidiscrimina
tion law known as Title IX but
said deference should be given to
lawmakers and localities.
The case is scheduled for oral
arguments be fore the US
Supreme Court next month.
 10 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
Catholics defending religious freedom for all
By Robert Golomb
W
hen Kathleen Sebelius
signed the abortion pill
mandate, the conscience
rights and religious freedom of
millions of Americans were egre
g iously denied, Barbara
Samue lls, cofounder and
President of Catholics for
Freedom of Re lig ion (CFFR;
www.cf for.org) told me in a
recent interview. Samuells was
referring to the Affordable Care
Acts Contraceptive Mandate,
signed by US Health and Human
Services Secretary, Kathleen
Sebelius, in early 2012. T his
mandate required that every
employer with over 50 employ
ees must include contraception,
sterilization and abortion induc
ing drugs in their employees
health care plan. Religious insti
tutions, charities, schools and
universities were included, with
only churches themselves being
exempt.
What made the mandate so
highly objectionable to Samuells
and millions of Catholics and
nonCatholics alike, she told me,
was that it did not provide
waivers to any religious based
organizations which view contra
ception and abortion inducing
drugs as antithetical to their \
principles and be lie fs. T he
Contraceptive Mandate violates
the freedom of religion that the
First Amendment guarantees for
all Americans, regardless of their
re lig ion, stated Samue lls, a
retired CPA and married mother
of two.
T hat the mandate exempts
Catholic and other Christian
churches themselves did not to
any degree mollify Samuells and
likeminded critics. It af fected
all Catholic and other Christian
service agencies and institutions,
which employ and provide serv
ices to people of all religions,
she stated. Under the mandate,
even the Little Sisters of the
Poor, an order of Catholic nuns
who dedicate their lives to the
care of the elderly poor of all
faiths, would be forced, against
the core teaching of their church
es and their own consciences, to
provide contraception coverage
to their employees. It also
af fected, she added, individual
Catholic {and other Christian}
business owners. As a Catholic
and an American citizen I felt
compelled to do something to
help defend religious freedom in
our great country.
Within days, after the mandate
was signed, Mrs. Samuells, who
worships at St. Matthews Church
in Dix Hills in Suf folk County,
took to that task. Working at first
alone, she wrote a manual con
Barbara Samuells leads a fight to overthrow
Obamacares Contraceptive Mandate.
taining specific examples of
attacks upon religious freedom
in America, and offering ideas on
how parishioners could work
together w ithin their own
churches to combat this attack
upon their religious rights. My
mission, she stated, was to use
the manual to empower these
worshippers to become informed
and ef fective in defending reli
gious liberty.
Mrs. Samuells was soon joined
in her mission by Eileen Wolf, a
parishioner at St. Aidans Parish
in neighboring Williston Park.
Together they approached Msgr.
James McDonald, the pastor of
St. Aidans, for starting a reli
g ious freedom g roup in his
church. With his support the first
CFRF was started. Msgr. Mc
Donalds inspiring spiritual guid
ance greatly encouraged our
work, she stated.
Soon expanding into parishes
across Long Island, Samuells
original mission evolved into
Catholics for Freedom of
Religion, which is a 501(c)(3)
charitable and educat ional
organization. Today there are
some 20 parishes throughout
Long Island that have active
CFFR chapters and about 15
more that are in the process of
starting ones of their own. Aided
by about 100 volunteers, CFFR
has also reached out to parishes
in other states, resulting in the
formation of chapters in Texas,
Florida and South Carolina.
It is wonderful that we have
grown so much. We are now able
to get our message out to more
and more concerned people of
faith every day. One way we
articulate that message is to sim
ply state, If we as Americans do
not understand, cherish and pro
tect our right to religious free
dom we can actually lose it, she
said.
Mrs. Samuells, who told me
that her nonsalaried position as
the foundat ions President
involves a very busy workweek,
described how CFFR can and can
not, communicate their message.
As a 501(c)(3) foundation we
are prohibited from advocating
for any political party or candi
date. That kind of partisanship
was never our goal. We seek to
defend and preserve religious
liberty through teaching the
source and facts of Americas
religious freedom and raising
awareness of cultural, legal and
political attacks on that free
dom. At first those educational
methods involved simply distrib
US AFFAIRS
Rabbi Aryeh Spero speaking at St.
Patrick's Church, Smithtown, NY
(Photo credit G. Colucci)
uting Mrs. Samuells original
manual to parishes throughout
Long Island. Over the past years
few years, CFFRs methods have
become far more comprehensive.
One method it now uses is to
invite leaders in the field of reli
gious freedom to be guest speak
ers at regular events, held mostly
in churches.
Among those guest speakers
have been Kris Ann Hall, a well
known constitutional attorney,
Betsy McCaughey, a writer, tele
vision and radio commentator
and former New York State
Lieutenant Governor, and Rabbi
Aryeh Spero, president of Caucus
for America and author of Push
Back: Reclaiming the Judeo
Christian Spirit. We regularly
have interested and concerned
audiences from 25 to 500 atten
dees. W hen our speakers
describe the restrictions becom
ing all too harsh and punitive
toward religious freedomwhen
we explain egregious denials of
religious liberty in schools, the
military, the community and the
workplace you can, as the saying
goes, hear a pin drop in the
room, she said.
Mrs. Samuells is grateful to and
highly appreciative of the work
of Rabbi Spero. The attacks on
religious freedom threaten peo
ple of all faiths. Rabbi Spero has
eloquently and forcefully spoken
and written on the need of
Christians and Jews to work
together as one to defend reli
gious freedom for all, she assert
ed. As a second tool, CFFR pro
duces a weekly bulletin dissemi
nated in parishes throughout and
even beyond Long Island. These
bulletins include selected quota
tions on the importance of reli
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Filming of Religious Freedom "Minutes" by Barbara Samuells, Rosemarie
Brady, Mary Ellen Walsh, Bill Lynch, Mary Malerba, Megan McCarthy at
Telecare TV Studios, Uniondale, NY (Photo: Barbara Samuells)
gious freedom; the quotes are
taken from the writ ings of
Americas founding fathers,
including, George Washington,
T homas Jef ferson and James
Madison, as well as many past
and present major religious lead
ers, including Pope Benedict,
Bishop William Murphy and
Archbishop Chaput. In addition,
the bulletin contains reports on
current litigation concerning reli
g ious discriminat ion and
describes the legal actions it has
taken to support its alleged vic
tims. One such example cited in a
recent bulletin occurred at a pub
licly funded state university in
Wisconsin. There were several
students who attended Planned
Parenthood presentations for
which they received community
service credits, she stated.
There were, however, several
other students who taught as vol
unteers in churches; incredibly,
they were denied such credits.
Mrs. Samuells elaborated that
the Alliance Defending Freedom,
a prominent religious rights law
firm, directed its attorneys to file
a legal brief on behalf of these
students, arguing that their First
Amendment Const itut ional
Rights had been violated. This is
clearly a case, she contended,
of these students being discrimi
nated against because they were
teaching Christian values and
beliefs. She added that, as with
similar past legal battles, she will
use her weekly bulletin to keep
her readers updated on this cur
rently ongoing appeal.
Thirdly, CFFR volunteers of fer
educational resources to Catholic
students in the form of a lesson
titled Free to Speak. Originally
compiled by the organization
Gateways to Better Education,
Free to Speak details in its
instructional pamphlets the con
stitutional rights of students to
express their religious beliefs in
public schools.
CFFR has also expanded this
pamphlet into a power point les
son with the help of Gateways to
Better Education. In addition,
CFFR has launched art and
speech contests predicated on
the theme of religious freedom,
with winning art exhibited and
winning speeches read by their
composers at various CFFR Long
Island events. These contests,
Mrs. Samuells stated, give chil
dren the opportunity to interact
with their parents about the
responsibility to defend religious
freedom. As for the HHS
Contraceptive Mandate, Mrs.
Samuells explained that due to
court challenges brought by law
firms which defend religious lib
erty, including Alliance
Defending Freedom, First Liberty
Institute, The Becket Fund and
Liberty Counsel, the mandate
has, with some exceptions, still
not been implemented. Good
people have fought in the court
of law and others have fought in
the court of public opinion to
repel this attack upon religious
freedom. It is our hope that in
the near future the mandate will
be totally rescinded.
Time will tell.
Robert Golomb is a nationally
published columnist. Mail him at
MrBob347@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter@
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Altright Breitbart editor
falls from grace for
defending pedophilia
Milo Yiannopoulos lost a book deal, was dropped from a speaking
opportunity at Conservative Political Action Conference, and
resigned from his job.
Washington: Milo Yiannopoulos
resigned from his position as
senior editor at Breitbart News
Fe bruary 21 after he was
accused of defending pedophilia
in a resurfaced video.
"I would be wrong to allow my
poor choice of words to detract
from my colleagues' important
reporting, so today I am resign
ing from Breitbart, ef fective
immediately. This decision is
mine alone," he continued.
The altright British journalist's
announcement came after a pair
of videos filmed last year sur
faced on February 19, in which
he appeared to defend sex with
young boys and joking about his
own underage sexual past with a
Catholic priest.
T he videos led the
Conservative Political Action
Conference to cancel a scheduled
speech by Yiannopoulos on
Fe bruary 20. T he same day,
Simon & Schuster pulled the plug
on the publication of his book,
Dangerous, which was scheduled
for a June release. Prior to the
cancelation, he had signed a
$250,000 deal for the book,
leading many readers to boycott
the publisher.
US AFFAIRS Feb 25-March 3, 2017 11
Obama ranked 12th best
US president by historians
Washington: Just weeks after leaving the White House,
former President Barack Obama ranks as the 12th best
US President overall in a new poll of historians conduct
ed by CSPAN.
It's the first time Obama was eligible for the
Presidential Historians Survey, which asked 91 histori
ans to rank all 43 former presidents across 10 cate
gories, USA Today reported recently.
The poll was conducted by CSPAN ahead of
President's Day. Those include "Pursued Equal Justice
for All," in which Obama ranked 3rd, to "Relations with
Congress," in which he ranked 39th.
Abraham Lincoln retained his top spot for the third
time in the poll, which debuted in 2000 and last took
place in 2009. Other consistently highranking presi
dents include George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Theodore Roosevelt, all of whom made the top five
overall in each survey.
Also notable George W. Bush bumped up three spots
to 33rd since the poll's 2009 edition, while Bill Clinton
stayed steady at 15th.
The biggest loser since the 2009 survey is Andrew
Jackson, the populist president whose portrait adorns
the wall of President Donald Trump's Oval Office.
Jackson dropped five spots, from 13th to 18th.
James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce
have taken the bottom three spots in each edition of the
poll, CSPAN noted, beneath even William Henry
Harrison, who held office for only one month.
A team of advisers, including professors from Rice
University and Howard University, guided all three of C
SPAN's surveys, approving criteria, assisting with partic
ipants and overseeing collection of the results. 43rd President Barack Obama
 12 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 INDIA TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SenaBJP tussle in Mumbai, Modi slams Akhilesh

BJP gains elsewhere
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena finished on
top of a hung BrihanMumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) but
the BJP said it could take control
of India's richest civic body with
the backing of independents.
Shiv Sena activists celebrated
earlier in the day as it appeared it
was set to take control of the BMC
but it finished with just 84 of the
227 seats. The BJP came close
with 81 seats.
Any party or combine will need
114 corporators for a simple
majority. Across Maharashtra,
however, the Bharatiya Janata
Party made major gains in elec
tions held for municipal bodies.
T he Shiv Sena victory came in
T hane. BJP Mumbai President
Ashish Shelar said the party had
bagged 81 seats in Mumbai and
had the support of four independ
ents and that it was in a position to
claim the crucial post of Mayor.
"This is a historic victory for the
BJP... We are only three seats less
The BJP got 81 seats.
than the Shiv Sena... The credit
goes to the development agenda of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,"
he said. An aggressive Shiv Sena
had snapped ties with the BJP
ahead of the municipal elections
and its leader Uddhav Thackeray
had expected the Sena to win at
least 100 seats, if not an outright
majority.
The BMC, which is also the coun
try's largest municipal body, had
an annual budget of Rs 37,000
crore in 201617. The Congress
trailed at a distant third in
Mumbai, forcing its city unit chief
Sanjay Nirupam to accept moral
responsibility. He told IANS that he
was ready to resign from the post.
T he Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) of Raj T hackeray,
Uddhav's estranged cousin, fin
ished w ith seven seats. T he
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
bagged nine seats and the
Hyderabadbased Majlise
for his 'donkey' jibe
Lucknow: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi returned fire to
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav on his "Gujarat
donkeys" jibe, saying there was
no need to be afraid of the ani
mal that lived thousands of kilo
metres away.
Speaking at an election rally in
Bahraich, Modi said Akhilesh
Yadav should worry about his
state where under his watch an
entire police force was pressed
into action to find a "lost" buffa
lo.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Modi was referring to state Akhilesh Yadav.
cabinet Minister M. Azam Khan's
lost buffalo, to track which spe Janata Party leaders who said
Ittehadul Muslimeen three.
cial police teams were constitut that faced with an imminent
The BJP's solid gains came in
ed. defeat at the hustings, Akhilesh
other major cities of Maharashtra.
The Prime Minister, in fact, Yadav was speaking "absurd".
The BJP raced towards victory in
went a step ahead as people T he Prime Minister on
the Pune Municipal Corporation,
cheered him on and said that he T hursday also targeted the
pushing the ruling NCP to a poor
himself drew a lot of inspiration Samajwadi Party government for
second spot. The Shiv Sena, MNS
from the Indian wild ass found in illegal mining, rising unemploy
and Congress fared poorly in the
the Little Rann of Kutch in his ment and poor law and order in
state's cultural and IT capital.
home state. the state.
The contest was close in Pimpri
Modi said: "The donkey does Slamming the SPCong ress
Chinchwad Municipal Corporation
not only work relentlessly with alliance, Modi said this was an
near Pune, with the ruling NCP
out a break, it also is very loyal "unholy nexus", which was
leading in 27 seats and the BJP at
to its 'maalik' (owner)." He was stitched up to make a lastminute
the second place with 21 seats.
obliquely referring to the people bid to stay in power.
The Shiv Sena was on way to
of India as his owner. "The people deserve a govern
retaining control over the 131seat
T he Uttar Pradesh Chie f ment which rings in allround
Thane Municipal Corporation.
Minister on Monday at his Rae development and not which has
Nagpur appeared to be going the
Bareli rally took a dig at Modi by let loose lumpen elements," he
BJP way, with the party leading in
asking meg astar Amitabh added.
70 of the civic body's 151 seats,
Bachchan to stop promoting The remarks came amid the
the Congress in 20 and the NCP
"donkeys of Gujarat" a sarcastic hotly contested and bitterly
and Shiv Sena in one seat each.
reference to a tourism promo on fought Uttar Pradesh elections
In Nashik, the BJP appeared set
w ild asses that features the that started on February 11, and
to bag the 112member civic body.
superstar. would complete in seven phases
T he BJP was faring we ll in
The statement invited sharp on March 8. The results will be
Amravati too, Election Commission
re buke from the Bharat iya out on March 11.
officials said.

Swaraj India Hundreds of thousands vote in UP

releases first Lucknow : Hundreds of thousands of peo

list for Delhi ple voted across 53 constituencies in the

fourth phase of assembly elections in Uttar The vote was
Pradesh, officials said.
municipal polls After a slow start, voting picked up in
constituency after constituency, Election
conducted
on 53
constituencies
New Delhi: Swaraj India, the newlyformed political
Commission officials said. in the fourth
party led by former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, phase of
An estimated one crore people are eligi
released its first list of candidates for the upcoming assembly
ble to vote on Thursday. Average voting in
municipal elections in Delhi. This will be the first elections in
the first four hours ranged from 23 per
time the party will fight an election. Uttar Pradesh.
cent at Kaushambi to 35 in Allahabad.
The first list of 25 candidates features 11 women
Other places which saw brisk or high
and five SC candidates.
voting included Mahoba, Jhansi,
While seven candidates are below the age of 35
Chitrakoot, Lalitpur and Rae Bareli, the Tripathi, BJP state chief Keshav Prasad alliance with the Samajwadi Party the
years, the average age of the 25 candidates is 38
Lok Sabha seat of Congress President Maurya, union minister Niranjan Jyoti, two parties are contesting 298 and 105
years, a party statement said.
Sonia Gandhi. Officials also reported long Congress leader Pramod Tiwari and his seats each. Electronic Voting Machines
The statement added that tickets have been given
queues of men and women voters in daughter Aradhana Mishra, the Congress developed snags in at least a dozen places,
to several activists from the Jan Lokpal movement.
Fatehpur, the Lok Sabha constituency of candidate from Rampur Khas in disrupting balloting.
Of the 25 candidates declared, 16 have been associ
union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Pratapgarh. Samajwadi Party candidate A total of 680 candidates are in the fray,
ated with India Against Corruption.
Jalaun and Hamirpur. Siddha Gopal Sahu's son was shot and seri including 61 women. But the main battle is
In the first list, the party has declared candidates
Skirmishes erupted in Pratapgarh ously injured at Mahoba. between the BJP, the BSP and the
for 10 seats of 104 seats in the North De lhi
between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and In Bundelkhand region, people boy Samajwadi PartyCongress alliance.
Municipal Corporation.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) activists and in cotted polling in some villages. The sevenphase Uttar Pradesh election
From 104 seats of South Delhi Corporation, names
Mahoba between workers of the ruling The fourth phase is especially significant began n February 11 and will end on
on 12 seats have been declared. And from 64seat
Samajwadi Party and the BSP. for the Congress as it won only six seats March 8. The results from the state as also
East Delhi Municipal Corporation, candidates for 3
Prominent among those who voted early from among these constituencies in 2012. Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur
seats have been declared.
were West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath This time, the Congress has struck an will be known on March 11. (IANS )
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA Feb 25-March 3, 2017 13

INLD activists drive SBI ATM dispenses fake

towards Punjab for
SYL digging
The NH1 is taken daily by thousands of motorists to commute
between Punjab and Delhi through Haryana.
Chandigarh: As authorit ies in
Punjab and Haryana sealed the
interstate border, thousands of
INLD supporters headed from
Haryana's Ambala city towards the
border to dig the SYL canal at the
party's call.
Riding tractortrolleys, mini
trucks and other vehicles, the sup
porters of the Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) the opposition party
in Haryana headed towards the
Shambhu border between Haryana
and Punjab, about 10 km from
Ambala.
INLD's Haryana unit President
Ashok Arora drove one of the trac
tortrolleys carry ing INLD
Secretary General Abhay Chautala,
who had given the call for the dig
ging the SutlejYamuna Link (SYL)
canal.
At the Shambhu barrier, the
crossborder point between Punjab
and Haryana, hundreds of police of
both Punjab and Haryana and
paramilitary forces remained on
high alert to stop the INLD sup
porters from entering Punjab.
Security forces donned antiriot
gear and were equipped with riot
control vehicles and other equip
ment.
The entire stretch of National
Highway No.1 between Ambala in
Haryana and Rajpura in Punjab
was sealed by security forces in
both the states since morning in
the wake of the INLD protest.
Thousands of people, especially
motorists, moving interstate faced
inconvenience on T hursday
because the busy highway that
links De lhi with Amritsar was
sealed. Traf fic was diverted via
other routes, a Punjab Police offi
cer said.
The NH1 is taken daily by thou Ranjan Singh told IANS that the
sands of motorists to commute
between Punjab and Delhi through
Haryana.
"I have already walked for three
km to proceed to Ambala. I don't
know if we will get any transport
ahead," said Surjit Kaur, who works
in Ambala and travels from her vil
lage near Rajpura town in Punjab.
Border areas in Ambala and
Patiala districts, in Haryana and
Punjab respectively, were on high
alert.
"We have made adequate securi
ty arrangements. No activists will
be allowed to enter Punjab,"
Patiala Range Deputy Inspector
General Ashish Chaudhary said at
the Shambhu barrier.
The situation along the border
was also being kept under a watch
from the air by a Punjab govern
ment he licopter and several
drones.
The INLD activists and leaders
had earlier gathered at the Subzi
Mandi Ground in Ambala before
moving towards Punjab.
Haryana Director General of
Police K.P. Singh said the state
police were prepared to handle the
situation.
Rs 2,000 notes
New Delhi: An SBI ATM here dis
pensed fake Rs 2,000 notes
with "Children Bank of India"
printed in place of Reserve Bank
of India and other glaring dis
crepancies. Police said they have
identified the culprits, while the
SBI said it suspected the involve
ment of some miscreants with
mischievous intent in the inci
dent.
The incident was reported in
south Delhi where a State Bank
of India ATM dispensed the fake
notes on February 6.
Besides "Children Bank of
India" printed in place of Reserve
Bank of India, the notes also had
numerous glaring discrepancies
including the words "Churan
lable", a "PK" logo and "000000"
serial number, according to the
FIR accessed by IANS.
It also read "Guaranteed by the
Children's Government" printed
in place of "Guaranteed by the
Central Government".
Addit ional Deputy
Commissioner of Police Rajiv
try? He has reduced the whole
vendor who supplied the cash to
the ATM and the persons who
inserted the fake notes had been
identified.
The officer put the number of
fake notes dispensed by the ATM
at three.
Blast near Indian eatery kills
eight in Lahore
Lahore: At least eight persons
were killed when a powerful
explosion took place near a
restaurant serving Indian cui
sine in the Pakistani city Lahore,
police said.
Punjab Law Minister Rana
Sanaullah said 21 people were
injured and were shifted to the
General Hospital where
four were in crit ical
condition, Xinhua news agency
reported.
Police spokesman Nayab
Haider said the blast was trig
gered by detonation of explo
sive materials in Defence area.
The note has "Children Bank of India" printed in place of Reserve
Bank of India and other glaring discrepancies.
Asked why no arrest had been
made so far, Singh said: "The
case is still a matter of investiga
tion. The moment everything is
done, arrests shall take place."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Ke jriwal slammed Prime
Minister Narendra Modi for the
fake currency."A Prime Minister
who can't even print notes prop
erly; how can he run the coun
the ATM which too turned out to
nation into a laughing stock," the
Aam Aadmi Party leader tweeted.
Rohit, a customer care execu
tive who got the notes, reported
the matter to the police.
In his complaint, Rohit said he
tried to withdraw Rs 8,000 at
The bomb disposal squad said
a timer device was used to carry
out the explosion and that eight
to 10 kg of explosives were
used in the attack.
T he blast o ccurred in an
underconstruction building,
located right next to Bombay
Chowpatty, a restaurant that
serves Indian cuisine.
At least four vehicles and 12
motorbikes were destroyed in
the explosion. Four nearby
building were also damaged.
Heavy contingents of police,
army and people from intelli
gence agencies reached at the
around 7.45 p.m. from the ATM
at the TPoint at Tigri in Sangam
Vihar but all the four 2,000
rupee notes turned out to be
fake.
After informing the ATM guard
posted there, he made an official
complaint to the police which
sent a subinspector to the ATM.
The subinspector withdrew
another 2,000 rupee note from
be similarly fake, after which the
police registered an FIR.
The State Bank of India (SBI),
however, said "no fake note is
likely to be dispensed through its
ATMs at any time" as it has state
oftheart note sorting machines.
blast site and cordoned it of f,
Xinhua reported.
The army vacated all the near
by buildings in the market and
launched a rescue and search
operation.
A few days ago, the same mar
ket was evacuated and checked
by law enforcement agencies
after receiving a bomb threat by
some outlawed group.
No group has claimed respon
sibility for Thursday's attack.
Officials, however, denied that
a second blast took place in
Lahore, the capital of Punjab
province.
14 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
It's rightists vs leftliberals in media slugfest
By Amulya Ganguli
major reason the media is
A being targeted by rightwing
establishments in both India
and the US is the belief among the
"official" ideologues that large sec
tions of the newspapers, maga
zines and TV channels are domi
nated by leftliberals, a legacy of
Nehruvian times.
Hence, the derogatory terms of
"presstitudes" and media workers
(apropos of sex workers) coined by
the saf fron brotherhoo d to
describe journalists and the
charges of dishonesty and fake
news leve led by US President
Donald Trump against the scribes
in America.
T he media is certainly not
blameless, depending as it often
does on sensationalism to outdo
rivals while the TV "debates" are
marked more by rancor than rea
son. But since it has rarely been
under such sustained attacks as
now, it must have touched a raw
nerve among presentday politi
cians.
It is no secret that a longstand
ing grouse of the Hindutva Parivar
in India has been that the years of
dominance by the secular, leftof
centre Congress led to the projec
tion of these ideologies as the only
legitimate objectives for the coun
By K.S. Jayaraman
ewspaper headlines last
N week screamed that India's
polar satellite launch vehi
cle (PSLV) created history by lob
bing 104 satellites in a single
mission, shattering the Russian
record of 37. What was missed
out was the intricacy required to
do so.
While the numbers no doubt
heightened the morale of scien
tists of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), some of
them take pains to point out that
setting a world record was really
not the primary objective of the
launch though, justifiably, the
event boosted the national pride.
"Frankly ISRO does not claim it
wanted to set any record," K.
Sivan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre ( VSSC),
T hiruvananthapuram, which
makes the PSLV and all other
rockets for ISRO, told this corre
spondent on the phone.
Space scientists note that the
number of satellites launched by
a rocket in one mission is not
comparable to scoring runs in
cricket. They say that smaller
and lightweight satellites like
the ones launched in last week's
mission have made it possible
for rockets to carry several of
Little wonder that Prime Minister Narendra Modi once advised the
judges to be wary of "fivestar activists".
try. The political slant represented
by the ruling party at the Centre
from 1947 to the 1980s influ
enced both the academia and the
press. In contrast, the rig ht
remained on the side lines for
decades, its marginalization being
reinforced by its association with
Gandhi's assassination. As a result,
being a rightwing politician was
not quite respectable.
But the times have changed. The
ascendancy of the Bharat iya
Janata Party (BJP), based on what
Vice President Hamid Ansari has
called "religious majoritarianism",
from the 1990s, has disassociated
rig htw ing polit ics from the
unwashed masses and made it
'PSLV LAUNCH WAS NOT
AIMED TO SET ANY RECORD'
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifts off successfully from Sriharikota
them, their number limited only
by the space available in the
rocket and its carrying capacity.
But what is required is a lot of
eng ineering innovat ions for
stacking the tiny satellites in the
available space and ejecting them
sequentially in the desired orbits
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
OP-ED
acceptable on the cocktail circuit,
especially in the Lutyens power
zone in Delhi.
The BJP has also taken advan
tage of its position in the corridors
of power to plant saf fron ideo
logues in the groves of academe
even if they are reg arded as
unworthy of the posts by the leftist
intelligentsia. However, even as the
right has now captured the high
ground of politics and the acade
mia, the media has evaded its
grasp. Not only that, rightist politi
cal views the economy is another
matter are still not accorded the instance, in the case of a
respect which is given to more
holistic presentations in line with
the "idea of India" representing
with a record 104 satellites. (Photo: IANS)
without colliding with each other.
T his is the achievement of
ISRO's launch vehicle team that
calls for celebration, the scien
tists noted.
"Each mission of ISRO has a dif
ferent kind of challenge and we
gain confidence by meeting the
inclusive pluralism. The right has
had to depend, therefore, on the
trolls in the social media even if
their abuses point to a sense of
inferiority complex.
The BJP must have been discon
certed, however, by the fact that
for all the shrill support which it
receives from the saffron netizens,
the party's electoral performance
has been quite dismal in the last
two years when it lost in Delhi,
Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil
Nadu and Puduchery. The BJP's
only success was in distant Assam.
Since the mainstream media
remains one of the last bastions of
the leftliberals, it is not surprising
that the saffron lobby in India and
the Trump acolytes in the US lose
no opportunity to lambast the
"presstitudes" and purveyors of
"fake" news. But, for them, there is
one more hurdle. It is the judiciary.
As the outlawing of Trump's travel
bans on immigrants from seven
Muslimmajority countries by the
judges in the US has shown, the
right is not having all in its own
way.
In India, too, judges have set up
roadblocks to stop the government
from act ing arbitrarily. For
Greenpeace activist who was taken
of f a Londonbound plane by the
police, the Delhi High Court said
challenge," Sivan explained.
For instance, a mission in 2001
required two satellites one of
them belonging to an overseas
customer to be placed in differ
ent orbits. This was something
ISRO had not done before, but its
scientists took up the challenge
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
that "criticism by an individual
may not be palatable; even so, it
cannot be muzzled".
In a case concerning human
rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who
is known for her humanitarian role
during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the
Supreme Court, rejecting a plea by
the government counsel for her
arrest, asked: "Can the liberty of a
person be put on a ventilator?"
Little wonder that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi once
advised the judges to be wary of
"fivestar activists".
However, the right in India is a
great deal more moderate than
Trump, not to mention the altright
in Europe such as Marine Le Pen's
National Party in France or Geert
Wilders' Party for Freedom in the
Netherlands or Norbert Hofer's
Austrian Freedom Party.
Besides, Modi has made a con
scious attempt to rein in some of
the BJP hardliners. As a result,
there are no more reports of cam
paigns like ghar wapsi, which "per
suaded" Muslims to reconvert to
Hinduism, or about the vigilantism
of gau rakshaks, the selfappointed
protectors of cows.
It is not impossible that the
European far right and the pro
Trump Republicans will realize
sooner or later the value of accom
modation and compassion.
and found a way out.
Sivan said last week's mission
posed ISRO engineers the techni
cal challenge to deve lop the
mechanism for enabling the rock
et to release, in about 10 min
utes, a flock of 101 tiny satellites
at the right place and time. The
successful mission proved ISRO
scientists' competence in execut
ing this difficult task, Sivan said.
"T hat ISRO created a world
record by scoring a century in
space is a hype invented by the
media," Y.S.Rajan, a distinguished
professor in ISRO, told this corre
spondent over phone.
Rajan who was a close associ
ate of late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the
renowned space scientist and
India's former President, pointed
out that ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran
Kumar himself has not claimed
what the media played up.
In fact, in his postlaunch
address, the chairman tempered
jubilation with sound reasoning
by saying that the launch was not
undertaken to set any new
"record".
He said that the PSLV, after
accommodating India's three
satellites, had the capacity to
spare for another 101 satellites
from abroad. The money earned
by carrying them almost halved
the launch cost of the PSLV.

Like Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, this huge statue of Adiyogi (Shiva) in the Velliangiri mountains is awe-inspiring.
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi was set
to unveil a 112-ft tall face of Lord Shi-
va or Adiyogi at Isha Foundation in Coim-
batore on Mahashivaratri, February 24.
In a statement Isha Foundation said that
the face against the background of the Vel-
liangiri Foothills will be largest such on the
planet, recognizing the first yogis unparal-
leled contribution to humanity.
This iconic face symbolizes liberation,
representing the 112 ways in which one
can attain the ultimate through the science
of yoga, the statement said.
According to the Foundation, Modi will
light the sacred fire to commence the
Maha Yoga Yagna across the world when
one million people will take oath to teach a
simple form of yoga to at least 100 persons
each in the coming year. Over 1 lakh devo-
tees are set to attend the ceremony.
For the first time in the history of human-
Sadhguru consecrated
Tennessee Adiyogi in 2015
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev had conducted
the consecration of the Adiyogi (the first
yogi, Shiva) statue at The Abode of Yoga in
Tennessee in September 2015.
Besides the 21-foot tall metal statue of a
meditative Adiyogi, the Isha Yoga founder
also consecrated a copper linga. Thousands
of participants became part of the ceremo-
nies as Sadhguru led them through intense
processes.
Nestled on a breathtaking mountaintop
in the beautiful Cumberland Plateau of
Tennessee, Isha Institute of Inner-scienc-
es is a visually striking, $8 million, 30,000
SPIRITUALITY Feb 25-March 3, 2017 15
The smaller Adiyogi statue in the Tennessee
center of Isha Yoga is made of metal.
PM Modi to unveil 112-ft
Shiva idol in Coimbatore
This is not a deity, this is not a temple of some kind, this is an iconic
inspiration for people, said Isha Yoga founder Sadhguru about the statue.
ity, Adiyogi introduced the idea that the sim- not believers. As philosophies, ideology, be- ration for people. He also mentioned plans
ple laws of nature are not permanent restric- lief systems that dont stand the test of logic for similar statues in other parts of India.
tions. If one is willing to strive, one can go and the scientific verification will naturally For the past 30 years, the Isha Foundation
beyond all limitations and attain liberation, collapse in coming decades, you will see the has been a leader in providing classical yoga
moving humanity from assumed stagnation longing for liberation will rise. When that and meditation based programs for individu-
to conscious evolution, Isha Yoga founder longing rises, Adiyogi and the science of al inner wellbeing. As a premier internation-
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said in the statement. Yoga will become very important. al yoga organization, Isha Foundation has
Describing the significance of Adiyogi, Earlier in an Isha Yoga blogspot, Sadhgu- touched the lives of 7 million people from all
Sadhguru said: It is essential that the com- ru had said, This is not a deity, this is not a walks of life worldwide with over 3 million
ing generations on this planet are seekers, temple of some kind, this is an iconic inspi- volunteers and in over 200 city centers.
Sadhguru Jaggi
Vasudev is a
mystic and founder
of Isha Yoga, with
headquarters in
Coimbatore.
square foot Abode housing several unique
spaces for yoga and meditation.
The Institute is free from dogma and
religious philosophies and is dedicated to
those seeking ultimate wellbeing through
the science of yoga.
The Institute offers a variety of programs,
including meditation and Hatha yoga, that
provide methods for anyone to attain physi-
cal, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.
For decades, Americans have traveled to
India to imbibe energized spaces and authen-
tic methods of self-transformation, Sadhguru
has transported the opportunity to the West.
 16 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 BOLLYwOOD

Malayalam actress Irrfan Khans No Bed of

kidnapped, released Roses banned in Bangladesh
No Bed of Roses, a film said to be loosely
based on late Bangladeshi writer and film-
maker Humayun Ahmed, starring and co-
produced by Indian actor Irrfan Khan, has
been banned in Bangaldesh. The filmmaker
says the action is against freedom of expres-
sion, while Irrfan hopes the ban is lifted soon.
Im surprised with this decision. It is a story
of emotions between a man and woman. How
can it cause any harm to the society? I hope
that the ban is lifted and the audiences can
see the film soon, Irrfan said in a statement.
The actor is acclaimed for his work in In-
dian films like The Lunchbox, Paan Singh
Tomar and Piku and known in Holly-
wood for being a part of movies like Juras-
sic World and Inferno. He plays the lead
Bhavana was held hostage for two hours. role in No Bed of Roses, a co-production
between Bangladeshs Jaaz Multimedia and
tificate had been cancelled due to a letter
from the Bangladesh Information Ministry.
Farooki, who is known in Bangladeshi
cinema for works like Television and Ant
Story, is now taking the matter to court.
We have been blocked at the first gate,
said Farooki.
As the order does not explain any reason,
I dont know why they thought screening
of the film would be inappropriate. Yes, my
film handles a so-called taboo subject but it
doesnt show anything explicit and hence
doesnt violate any censor code. This goes
against the freedom of expression, he added.

P opular Malayalam film actress Bha-

vana was abducted for a while on her
way from Thrissur to Kochi by some peo-
ple, who reportedly took pictures of her to
blackmail her, police said.
Her former driver is a suspect in the case
and has been taken into custody, police said.
While the victims statement has now
been recorded before a magistrate, the
police probe team has zeroed down on
six others who were in the gang, of which
three have been already identified, while
three others are yet to be identified.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Police chief
Loknath Behra said they have identified those
behind the kidnap of Bhavana near Kochi.
Speaking to the media in the state capi-
tal, Behra said that a joint investigation
team has been formed to track down those
behind the crime.
We know who are behind this and we
will very quickly arrest all of them and get
ADGP B. Sandhya, with IG of Police Dhinen-
dra Kashyap as the key investigation officer.
Nedumbassery police have registered a
case relevant sections for kidnapping and
molestation. According to police, her for-
mer driver is believed to be part of a gang
of six behind the incident.
The hugely popular actress after a shoot
was on way from Thrissur to Kochi to take
part in the dubbing of her new film direct-
ed by director and actor Lal.
The gang behind the incident is from
the film industry and involved in various
production jobs, police said.
Police, after tracing the call list, have
zeroed down on the actress former driv-
er, who was thrown out after she came to
know of his criminal background. He is be-
lieved to be the main culprit.
The actress for some time was not hav-
ing the best of relations with a group in
the Malayalam film industry, and the group
Indias Eskay Movies with Irrfans IK Com-
pany as co-producer.
Helmed by Bangladeshi filmmaker Mo-
stofa Sarwar Farooki, the movie is said to
be about Ahmed, who divorced his wife of
27 years and married an actress 33 years
his junior. But the filmmaker has denied
that its a biopic.
According to variety.com, the Bangladesh
Film Development Corporations (BFDC)
Joint Venture Preview Committee approved
the script of the movie on March 8, 2016,
after which the film went into production.
The completed film was previewed for the
BFDC on February 12, 2017 and received
a No Objection Certificate on February 15.
But just a day later, the BFDC sent the
production a letter stating that the cer- Irrfan K. plays the main lead in the film.
S a i f A l i K h a n

Would love Sara to be

to the bottom of the truth, said Behra. had scuttled a few good roles that she was
The probe team is being supervised led by offered, according to reports.

launched by Karan Johar

Expecting Rangoon to be
B ollywood star Saif Ali Khan

film of the year: Kareena

says he would love his
daughter Sara Ali Khan to be
launched as an actress in the film

A ctress Kareena Kapoor Khan is expect-

ing Rangoon, which features her hus-
band Saif Ali Khan, to become one of the
best films of this year.
Kareena, who attended the screening of
the Vishal Bhardwaj directorial, said: I am
expecting Rangoon to be the film of the
year because it is directed by one of my
favorite directors, Vishal Bhardwaj. I have
worked in Omkara with him. I think people
are also expecting a lot from this film.
I am also excited about Saif because he
was so good as Langda Tyagi (in Omkara).
It is one of his iconic roles. In Rangoon,
his character is very striking. For the first
time, he is playing a Parsi film producer.
Kareena, 36, said she normally doesnt
like to attend a films screening.
Saif was surprised to see that I am going
to the trial. I had to come because it is an
emotional film because of Saif, Vishal and
Sajid (Nadiadwala) with whom Ive worked
previously, she added.
The period drama also features Kareenas
former beau Shahid Kapoor and actress
Kangana Ranaut. It is releasing on Feb 24.
industry by filmmaker Karan Jo-
har, whom he considers one of
the best in Bollywood.
Saif said in a statement: I would
love Sara to be launched by Karan
Johar. He is one of the best that
we have. I keep reading various
reports where I am supposedly
averse to her getting launched by
Karan because she will apparently
become another Alia Bhatt.
I would just like to say that
if Sara becomes as successful as
Alia is, then it will be a matter of
pride and happiness for all of us.
The grapevine has it that Sara,
who is Saif s daughter with his
former wife Amrita Singh, will
make her foray into Bollywood
with Karans Student Of The
Year sequel.
Student Of The Year launched
the careers of actors Alia Bhatt,
Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Mal-
The period drama features Kareenas hotra, who are doing well in their Sara is Saifs daughter with his
husband Saif Ali Khan. careers. former wife Amrita Singh.
 BOLLYwOOD Feb 25-March 3, 2017 17

Im hale and hearty:

R e v i e w

The Ghazi Attack: Farida Jalal on death hoax

Submerged in mediocrity
The 67 year-old
actress will be seen
in upcoming film
Sargoshiyan.

On the performance front, Rana Daggubati is strictly mediocre.

P urportedly an underwater war film set

in 1971, The Ghazi Attack is the story
of the triumph of Indias submarine S-21
over Pakistans PNS Ghazi, a submarine set
out to destroy INS Vikrant.
On the face of it an interesting premise,
it could have been an engaging film, replete
with drama, action and patriotic fervor. In-
stead, it is a forced attempt at including all
these ingredients in a mediocre fare that
makes for tedious viewing sans any enter-
tainment quotient.
Captain Ranvijay Singh (Kay Kay Menon),
a hot-headed and nationalistic commander,
spearheads the submarine S-21 along with
a specially appointed officer named Arjun
(Rana Daggubati) and second officer, the
loyal and subservient Devaraj (Atul Kulkar-
ni), when it sets out on a mission to combat
Pakistans PNS Ghazi led by a clever com-
mander Razaak Khan (Rahul Singh).
The two-hour film is set in the interiors
of the submarine and the manner in which
the trio fight obstacles, overcome differ-
ences and lead India to victory forms the
crux of this tale.
The deliberate inclusion of action, melo-
drama and even patriotism, appears cli-
chd. It reeks of a poorly written script
and screenplay. At no instance is the film
thrilling or even remotely intriguing. The
entire narrative drags at an even keel, with
no emotional chord that tugs at your heart
as the viewer feels distanced from the un-
real characters.
On the performance front, Rana Daggu-
bati is strictly mediocre, but the fault lies
with the poor script and not his abilities.
He delivers what is expected of him, al-
though unconvincingly. Kay Kay Menon is
equally a victim of a badly crafted charac-
ter and appears lopsided. Add to that is his
forced Punjabi accent which is jarring and
inadvertently elicits a chuckle.
Atul Kulkarni is sincere and by far the
most realistic, both in terms of the character
as well as portrayal. Taapsee Pannu is wast-
ed, and so is the late veteran actor Om Puri.
V eteran actress Farida Jalal says she is
hale and hearty -- killing a death hoax
in her name.
I am hale and hearty, Farida said in a
statement, following the rumors that went
viral on social networking sites.
The 67-year-old actress wonders why
people spread such rumors.
Short film Aaba wins interna-
tional jury award at Berlinale
A mar Kaushiks Aaba, the sole Indian film
in competition at the 67th Berlin Interna-
tional Film Festival, won the Special Prize of
Generation Kplus International Jury for Best
Short Film, an official announcement read.
The festival concluded on Feb 19.
The 22-minute film, shot entirely against
Arunachal Pradesh background, revolves
around a girl and her grandfather reaching
the terminal stages of lung cancer.
Producer Guneet Monga posted on Face-
book: And then, this one makes us specially
I dont know from where these baseless
rumors are coming from. Initially I laughed,
but... My phones have been constantly ring-
ing and everybody is asking the same ques-
tion. Its a bit irritating, I wonder why peo-
ple spread such rumors, she added.
The actress will next play Kashmiri woman
in Imran Khans upcoming film Sargoshiyan.
proud! Congratulations Amar Kaushik on
winning the Special Prize for the Best Short
Film for Aaba in the Generation section at
Berlin International Film Festival! Congrats
also to Raj Kumar Gupta and Onir for pro-
ducing this gem. Big big hug everyone.
Starring Sunku Dani, Randa Dani and
Chuniya Dani, the films story has been
written by Amars mother Shashi.
The film marks his directorial debut. He had
previously worked as an associate director
on the 2011 thriller No One Killed Jessica.

Jolie addresses her

d i f f i c u lt
split from Brad Pitt
A ctress-filmmaker Angelina Jolie has
opened up about her split from actor-
producer Brad Pitt for the first time since
filing for divorce last year.
In an interview with BBC World News in
Cambodia, Jolie was asked about the split.
She said that it had been a difficult time
for her family, reports people.com.
I dont want to say very much about
that, except to say it was a very difficult
time and... and we are a family and we will
always be a family, and we will get through
this time and hopefully be a stronger fam-
ily for it, she said. Jolie, 41, was in Cam-
bodia to promote her new directorial First
They Killed My Father.
The mother of six said she was coping
by maintaining a focus on her children:
Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh,
10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8.
Since her divorce filing from Pitt, Jolie
revealed that her children and pets have
been trying to find a normal rhythm.
Its been a difficult few months. Right
now, Im going through a moment when
just everybodys in my room, she said.
Two dogs, two hamsters and two chil-
dren at the moment. Its wonderful. But,
usually, I just wake up trying to figure out
whos going to get (the) dog out, whos go-
ing to start the pancakes and did anybody
brush their teeth. A still from the 22-minute film Aaba.
 18 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
Fashion is passion for me
Special to South Asian Times
New York: Indian-American fashion de-
signer Premal Badiani believes there is a
need for designing and manufacturing fab-
rics that are environment-friendly to help
protect the nature.
Premal Badiani and Ambassador Riva
Ganguly Das at the consulate reception.
(Photos: Jay Mandal/On Assignment)
Badiani, based in Chartlotte, North Caro-
lina, took part of the New York Fashion Week
earlier this month. She was among a handful
of desi designers featured in the prestigious
fashion week albeit in a virtual presentation.
Premal Badiani with Mani
Kamboj, COO of Roshni Media,
at New York Fashion Week.
Flanked by Meghna Joshi, Mrs India International,
and Dr. Swetha Reddy, co-founder of Indiaspopup.com,
Premal Badiani at a press conference at the Indian consulate.
Fashion
The London-born, India-bred designer
Designer Premal Badiani presented her collection at the
spoke at a reception for her at the Indian
Consulate on February 15. Fashion has New York Fashion Week. She advocates sustainable
been a passion for me since long, she told fashion, she said at a reception for her at the consulate.
this writer in a brief interview afterward.
Badianis designs and fabrics cater to
middle- and high-class fashionistas. My
clothes cost from $1,000 upwards, she
noted. The earthy undertones of her fab-
rics are complemented with the green-
and-gold embroidery that endorses green
awareness, but gives a luxurious look.
Root Cause, her collection which Badiani
presented on February 14 at the New York
Fashion Week, was to bring awareness of the
human impact on the environment and to
promote social responsibility by adopting a
sustainable fashion as a lifestyle choice. The
primary fabric used for all her outfits is Liva,
which is made of natural fibers and produced
from wood pulp, a renewable resource.
Badiani founded her Poshaac brand in the
US five years ago after arriving in the coun-
try four years prior to that. Previously she
had stints in India and the UK. Khadi and jute
materials have also been used in her designs.
This highlights our brands philosophy
of environmental awareness that believes
caring about the planet is not a seasonal
choice but needs to be a year-round effort,
she pointed out. Through the collection,
the brands are to promote sustainable
fashion in the luxury market.
Badiani has joined hands with nongov-
ernmental organization Hearts@Work led
by entrepreneur Viral Desai, who has been
persistently making efforts with his initia-
tives in the field of environmental aware-
ness. The Badiani brand is a part of the
Clean India and Green India initiative.
North Carolina based fashion designer Premal Badiani
At the consulate event, the Root Cause
with her collection of evening gowns at New York Fashion Week.
collection was showcased by New York-
based Indiaspopup.com, which promotes ogy powerhouse, but in other fields as well. proposed a vote of thanks. He pointed out
Indian designers by showcasing their work We should make a beginning to promote lux- that he has covered the consulate for 35
on an international level. They call them- ury tourism and fashion apparel, she noted. years and this was the first time he spoke
selves an online destination for luxury Veteran news photographer Jay Mandal from the podium.
fashion and fine jewelry.
Swetha Reddy, founder of Indiaspopup,
was optimistic about her effort. We are very
proud of the craftsmanship and creativity of
our Indian designers and hope to make a ma-
jor dent in the global fashion market, she said.
Besides Badiani, the Indiaspopup platform
features such designers as Falguni & Shane
Peacock, Rohit Ghandi, Rahul Khanna, Varun
Bahl, Anupama Dayal and Gaurav Gupta.
In her remarks, Consul General Riva Gan-
guly Das said the community should help
make India not just an information technol-
The intricate work on Badianis collection caught the eye of the cognoscenti.
(Picture courtesy: Instagram/belsisjewelry)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Offroading costs a bomb,
but for fans passion counts
By Tajinder Bains
Ropar, Punjab: Of froading is slowly but
surely catching up among the young as also
the notsoyoung from diverse walks of life
with a healthy appetite for highadrenaline
adventure, and deep pockets.
All of froaders, coming all the way from
places as far as Arunachal Pradesh and
Kerala at the Kikar Lodge, about 35 km from
here to participate in the 3day February 17
19 "JK Tyre Xtreme 4Play 2017", were unani
mous that this sport is clearly not for an aver
age Joe. It is a passion and so money is just
not a consideration, they averred.
How can one put money over the pleasure
and thrill of driving on rough terrains like dry
river beds, almost vertical climbs of hillocks,
in the wilderness, and across semiarid and
dusty deserted landscape?
The adventure of of froading is certainly
catching the imagination of the extreme sport
enthusiasts across the country, though their
numbers are still small.
And those who go all the way to pursue
their love for the sport are not the superrich
brats, as many may tend to believe, but seri
ous sport enthusiasts like businessmen, doc
tors, dentists, lawyers and army officers.
7 Earthlike
planets found
orbiting nearby star
Washington: At least seven Earthlike planets
orbiting the same star 40 lightyears away and
each may contain liquid water and be able to
sustain life, astronomers announced at a news
conference at NASA Headquarters here.
A Belgianled team was able to spy these
planets using space and groundbased tele
scopes as they passed in front of their host, a
red dwarf star known as TRAPPIST1, NBC
News reported. "This is an amazing planetary
system, not only because we have found so
many planets, but because they are all surpris
ingly similar in size to Earth," said Michal
Gillon, astronomer from the University of
Liege in Belgium and lead author of the paper
about the discovery published in the journal
Nature. All seven planets that surround TRAP
PIST1 which has only about 8 per cent the
mass of sun orbit more tightly to their host
than any of the planets in our system are to
the sun. The inner six exoplanets are in such
tight orbit that they have temperatures com
parable to those on Earth, Mercury, and Venus,
astronomers said.
The scientists observations suggest the
inner six exoplanets also have a rocky makeup
with icy surfaces and atmospheres, and that
such a tightlywound configuration is neces
sary for there to be surface water that could
sustain life on these exoplanets.
The researchers are also searching for simi
lar star systems to conduct more atmospheric
research. Four telescopes named SPECULOOS
(Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra
cOOl Stars) based in Chile will survey the
southern sky for this purpose, CNN reported.
INDIA FEATURES
Driving on rough terrains has emerged as an adventure sport in India.
Naveen, a team member of KTM Jeepers
from Kerala pointed out that a set of five
tyres alone costs about Rs 1.25 lakh, while
suspension costs between Rs 20,000 and Rs
2 lakh.
Expenses to ready an offroader vehicle are
anywhere between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 13 lakh.
"Once your participate in an of froading
event, you end up with broken, twisted and
eToilets: Transforming sanitation
By Akanki Sharma
New Delhi: Using the toilet in school was
an ordeal for 15yearold Vineetha two
years ago because of poor sanitation and
cleanliness. A class 10 student at ZPHS
Kodurupadu School in Nellore district,
Andhra Pradesh, the ordeal is now over
with eToilets being installed in the premis
es.
"Earlier, we didn't have proper toilet
facilities to relieve ourselves since the
facility was not properly maintained and
was unhygienic. Many of us would bunk
school owing to this. But the installation of
eToilets brought us huge relief. Initially,
we had some apprehensions on using
them but soon we got used to it," Vineetha
told IANS in an email interview.
eToilets are unmanned toilets which
work on an indigenous technology and are
placed on a cement or metal base. On the
roof is a 225litrecapacity water tank con
nected to the three flushes (preflush/plat
form washing/afteruse flush).
"On entering the eToilet, the indoor light
switches on automatically and the pre
flush system wets the closet. Even if a user
forgets to flush after using the eToilet, the
system automatically flushes after the
user exits. An automatic floorcleaning
mechanism is also provided through
which the floor gets cleaned," Bincy Baby,
Director, Eram Scientific Solutions, that
developed the facility, said.
There are different variants of eToilets,
starting from the Rs 1 lakh school model
damaged parts, which are costly and need to
be replaced before the vehicle is battleready
again," he said in a matteroffact manner.
Naveen pointed out that one of the team
mates, Dr. Mohame Fahed V.P., is an Ayurveda
practitioner back in Kerala.
Chow Ujjal Namshum, the 37yearold tea
planter from Arunachal, said the modification
of the two vehicles they have brought to the
student in Kannadiparamba Hig her
eToilets are unmanned toilets which work
on an indigenous technology and are
placed on a cement or metal base
to the Rs 4 lakh public model.
A total of 2,000 eToilets have currently
been installed in 20 states including
Assam, And hra Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand.
"T he largest deployment of school
eToilets was done as part of a TCS initia
Feb 25-March 3, 2017 19
competition, cost them Rs 12 lakh to Rs 13
lakh each.
Gurmeet Singh, a member of "Gerrari
Offroaders" club based in Chandigarh, said
they got into offroading initially just for fun.
"Now, we have 60 active members who go
of froading near Chandigarh regularly on
vehicles fit enough to take the rough with the
smooth on dirt tracks, dry river beds and
hillocks."
He pointed out that the members of Gerrari
Of froaders club include businessmen, two
doctors, two lawyers and one dentist. "We
prefer not to allow entry of unknown persons
in our club, since we take along family mem
bers, including women, too during our off
roadings."
Asked how they took off and formed the
club, his teammate Kabir, 34, a businessman
like Gurmeet, said: "There were only 78 of us
in the beginning. We did of froading for
around two years in 200607 before we
formed our own club Gerrari Offroaders
in 2009."
Gurmeet was the overall champion at the
Rain Forest Challenge, an of froader event
held in Goa in 2016 on the lines of RFC event
in Malaysia, while Kabir came third. Gurmeet
is also a champion of froader of the
Malaysian RFC in the Diesel Vehicle category.
"Each of our vehicles costs around Rs 12
lakh to Rs 15 lakh to make them capable of
tackling the inhospitable terrain," Kabir said.
These include independent suspensions, com
mercial winches and broad tyres, among sev
eral other attachments and fittings.
So, for offroaders, the motto is simple: You
don't weigh a lifelong passion for something
against the money spent.
tive. We have deployed automated and
selfcleaning eToilets in 411 government
schools in Nellore as part of the CSR initia
tives of TCS. In total, 600 etoilets were
deployed across Andhra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu," Baby added.
An eToilet mobile app launched last year
is also available on the Google Play Store.
The app helps people locate the nearest
eToilets via maps and address listings,
understand the mode of operations, mode
of access and information on facilities
such as napkinvending machine, incinera
tor and sharing feedback, among others.
"T he most amazing thing about the
eToilet setup in our school is that it is very
hygienic and userfriendly. Accessories
like napkinvending machine and napkin
incinerator are very useful and a boon to
us. It would be really good if all schools
have these automated and electronically
operated toilets," said Dhanya, a class 12
Secondary School in Kannur, Kerala.
Through the app, people can suggest
new places where e Toilets can be
installed. As of now, about 2,000 people
mostly travelers have downloaded the
app. These ecofriendly toilets are quite
convenient to track as well as hygienic.
Keeping Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission in mind,
Baby said that Eram is also planning to tie
up with the 100 Smart Cities project
where eToilets can play a crucial role in
providing seamless, sustainable sanitation
solutions.
 20 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
Bank of England meets Hindu Council members
over beef tallow in 5 pound note
London: The Bank of England
invited members of the Hindu
Council UK for a meeting over
concerns that the new 5 pound
polymer currency note contains
traces of beef tallow an issue
that has led to anger among veg
ans, Hindus, Sikhs and other com
munities in Britain.
The Hindu Council UK represen
tat ives Chairman Umesh C.
Sharma JP, Director of Interfaith
Relations, Anil Bhanot OBE and
Director of Hindu Temple
Engagement, Arun Thakur were
personally invited to a meeting
with The Chief Cashier of the
Bank of EnglandVictoria Cleland
at its headquarters in
Threadneedle Street on February
8. In late November 2016, the
Bank of England announced that
it had been informed that small
traces of animalderived products
were used by a supplier in the
manufacture of the new polymer
pound 5 notes. Tallow is a hard,
Jaipur-foot camp to rehabilitate 300 in Myanmar Man branded 'liar', faces 1 m
Yangon: A monthlong Jaipur Foot
on the spot fitment camp of Jaipur
based Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang
Sahayata Samity will rehabilitate
300 handicapped persons with arti
ficial limbs that would enable them
to walk with dignity. The camp was
inaugurated in the presence of
Indias ambassador to Myanmar
Vikram Misri, the founder and the
chief patron of the BMVSS D .R.
Mehta , Buddhist high priest
Tipitaka Dara Dhamma Bandar
Karika Badhanta Ashin
Thilakkhanda Hi Wun Tha, chair
person of the U Nu Daw Mya Yi
Foundation Than Than Nu and the
elites of the Yangon society includ
ing persons of the Indian origin liv
ing in the Myanmars capital
Yangon.
The camp has been organized
jointly by the Indian embassy, U Nu
Daw Mya Yi Foundation and the
BMVSS.
Indian ambassador Vikram Misri
said that the Indian government has
supported the artificial limb fitment
camp to enable rehabilitate the
handicapped persons. He said the
BMVSS team of 10 members would
(Image courtesy: metro.co.uk)
fatty substance made from ren
dered animal fat. It is commonly
used to make soap and candle.
The new polymer note uses beef
tallow made from suet, which is
hard fat found around the ani
mal's kidneys, stomach and other
organs. The new pound 5 notes
(and the pound 10 notes) contain
animal fat in the form of tallow.
This is unacceptable to millions of
veg ans, vegetarians, Hindus,
Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK,
the Hindu Council UK said in a
pounds legal fees for forgery
D R Mehta, the founder and the chief patron of the BMVSS (with the
microphone) said over a thousand handicapped persons who require
artificial limb have been identified who would be rehabilitated in sub
sequent camps in the future.
provide the handicapped persons
with one of the most dependable
artificial limbs Jaipur Foot which
has its presence in 29 countries and
has over 1.6 million beneficiaries.
Ambassador Misri said as Indias
deputy high commissioner in Sri
Lanka he conducted camps for the
Sri Lankan amputees and over
2500 Sri Lankans benefited in the
camp. Misri said it would be the
endeavour of the Indian govern
ment to hold such a camp every
year and help the handicapped peo
ple walk again. The high priest
Tipitaka Dara Dhamma Bandar
DIASPORA
symbol of the earth, the ever giv
statement. As soon as this
announcement was made, the
Hindu Council UK together with a
number of individuals and repre
sentatives of certain communities
and organisations had publically
expressed concerns about this.
The Hindu Council UK represen
tat ives informed the Bank of
England that it had received many
calls from various Temples across
the UK who had banned the use
of the new pound 5 note as dona
tions and offering to deities with
Karika Badhanta said that he was
happy that an Indian organization
felt the problems of the people of
Myanmar and had come all the way
from Jaipur to help them.
D R Mehta, the founder and the
chief patron of the BMVSS said over
a thousand handicapped persons
who require artificial limb have
been identified who would be reha
bilitated in subsequent camps in the
future.
T he camp is being he ld here
under the leadership of Dr P K Jain,
a veteran and experienced
orthopaedic.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
in the sanctuary of the temple
environment. Hindus respect,
honor and have a special af fec
tion for the cow as it represents
life and the sustenance of life, the
ing, undemanding provider for
mankind. As a consequence of not
allowing the pound 5 notes in the
Temple environment, many of the
temples had seen a huge decrease
in their Temple economy, which
relies totally on donations in
order to operate, the statement
said.
"T he Hindu Council UK is
pleased that the Bank of England
have listened to our concerns and
halted the issuing of the new
pound 20 notes until a full con
sultation has been done. In addi
tion, the Bank of England has
assured us that they are working
with polymer suppliers to investi
gate alternatives (including some
that are plantbased) for the
future," it said. T he Bank of
London: An Indianorigin man has
been branded a "liar" and faces a
bill of over 1 million pounds in legal
fees after a UK court ruled that he
had forged his mother's will.
Londonbased Girish Dahyabhai had
used a sheet of paper with his
deceased mother's signature and
printed a document around it claim
ing she had left him a 40million
pound stake in the family's 160mil
lionpound palm oil plantation busi
ness in Malaysia.
The 62yearold's claim was chal
lenged in court by his brother,
Yashwant, and detailed forensic
analysis revealed the document was
a forgery, 'Evening Standard'
reported. "Girish is a selfconfessed
liar...I find that there were available
to Girish blank papers presigned
by the deceased which enabled him
to forge the will, utilizing a genuine
but old signature of the deceased,"
said High Court Judge Andrew
Simmonds in his ruling this week.
"Regrettably, I have reached the
conclusion that, despite his profes
England said that it will not with
draw the current pound 5 poly
mer banknotes from circulation
and will go ahead with plans to
withdraw legal tender status of
the pound 5 paper bank notes on
May 5, 2017. The Bank will also
cont inue w ith the proposed
launch of the new pound 10 poly
mer banknotes in September
2017, using the existing polymer
substrate.
The new polymer five pound
note, which features a portrait of
Winston Churchill, is the first of
the Bank of England's notes not to
be printed on paper. The new
flexible plastic notes are designed
to be cleaner, more secure and
stronger.
Production of the new pound
10 notes began in August last
year and are planned to be
re leased into circulat ion in
September this year. The new
pound 10 plastic notes will fea
ture author Jane Austen. (IANS)
sional and business achievements,
the truth is a flexible concept for
Girish, to be fashioned according to
his own interests and require
ments," he said.
The original will, made in 1986,
now stands which means Yashwant
Dahyabhai inherits everything from
Prabhavati Dahyabhai Patel, who
had died aged 88 in September
2011. The brothers had fallen out
in 2009 over the family's Malaysian
empire and after their mother's
death, New Yorkbased Yashwant
had produced his will.
Girish, an accountant, launched a
bid to overturn it with a will he
claimed had been signed by his
mother in 2005, on a visit to
London from her home in
Singapore. However, his account
was dismissed by the court after it
emerged the signature came before
the rest of the text in the docu
ment.Girish has agreed to pay
450,000 pounds of his brother's
legal costs, and his own are estimat
ed at up to 750,000 pounds. (PTI)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info SUBCONTINENT Feb 25-March 3, 2017 21

Stop crossborder attacks, Hafiz Saeed listed in

find solution: Kabul to Pak
Kabul/Islamabad: Reacting angrily to cross
border rocket attacks by Pakistani forces on
Afghan soil, Kabul called for finding a diplo
matic solution to the vexed issues between
the two neighbors. Afghanistan's Foreign
Ministry in a statement in Kabul said it
would use "all its power in response to
Pakistan if it did not stop rocket attacks on
Afghan soil", Tolo News reported.
"We hope that Pakistan stops the attacks
and that the relationship between the two
countries will return to normal. If not,
Afghanistan will not sit silent, but will use
its internal, regional and international
power in response to Pakistan's actions,"
Faramarz Tamana, Director of Strategic
Studies at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.
In response to the recent terror wave
across the country, Pakistani forces have
been shelling camps of the banned Tehreek
eTaliban Pakistan and its splinter faction
JamaatulAhrar (JuA) near the Pakistan
Afghan border. According to a military
spokesperson in Islamabad, nearly a dozen
training camps and hideouts have been
destroyed and over a dozen terrorists
including a top trainer of suicide bombers
A Pakistani soldier guards the
Friendship Gate along the
PakistanAfghanistan border in Chaman.
have been killed in two days of artillery
shelling. In a separate statement in Kabul,
the office of Afghanistan's Chief Executive
Abdullah Abdullah said the country's
national interests are a priority of its for
eign policy.
"Afghanistan's national interests are the
most important thing for our people. We
will act and go ahead based on our national
interests," said Jawid Faisal, the Chief
Executive's deputy spokesman.
Pak's AntiTerror Act
Islamabad: Over two weeks
after placing Jamaatud Dawa
(JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed under
house arrest, Pakistan has
included the name of the
Mumbai attacks mastermind
in the Fourth Schedule of the
AntiTerrorism Act (ATA).
The Punjab government has
listed Saeed and his close aide
Qazi Kashif's name under the
ATA, Dawn online quoted an
official as saying.
Abdullah Obaid from
The JuD chief is under UN sanctions and carries a
Faisalabad, Zafar Iqbal and
bounty of $10 million on his head.
Abdur Rehman Abid from
Muridke were also added to the list. country's Interior Ministry.
The JuD chief's name has also been put Listing of Saeed in the fourth schedule
on the exit control list and barred from shows he is involved in terror activities.
leaving the country. Any violation of provision of the Fourth
Saeed and the four men had been placed Schedule may result in imprisonment of
under house arrest on January 30 in up to three years and fine or both.
Lahore. The JuD chief is under UN sanctions and
According to a senior police official, the carries a bounty of $10 million on his
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had head. He is accused of masterminding the
added their names to the list of the 1,450 2008 Mumbai attacks which left over 160
'fourth schedulers' after an order by the persons dead, and hundreds injured.

Sufi shrine devotees defy Nepal to hold local

terror, Pak cracks down
Karachi: As Pakistan launched a
nationwide crackdown after a
horrific suicide bombing that
killed nearly 90 people at a Sufi
shrine, revered by Shias, in Sindh
province, the custodian of the
shrine announced that the
evening 'Dhamaal' ritual would
continue as usual.
The deaths in the attack, which
the Islamic State owned, on the
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine rose
to 88, health officials told media.
The police cordoned off the Lal
Shahbaz Qalandar shrine as
forensic investigators arrived.
But the shrine's caretaker
stood unshaken by the carnage
and vowed to continue the week
ly ritual that draws hundreds of
devotees.
Devotees said they would not
be deterred by the attack that
left the shrine's white marbled
precincts blood splattered, and
tried to break the police cordon
to enter the place.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
and Army chief General Qamar
Javed Bajwa flew into Sehwan
town and visited the injured in
the hospital. They also visited the
shrine. Sind h Chie f Minister
Murad Ali Shah has been sta
tioned at Sehwan, his political
constituency, since T hursday
night soon after the attack.
T he Islamic State g roup
claimed the attack, which also
Policemen stand guard outside a mosque in Pakistan.
left more than 200 injured, many
critically. The bomber struck as
devotees g athered for the
evening 'Dhamaal' ritual in a
crowded space within the shrine.
T he province's Inspector
General of Police termed the
attack a result of a "security
lapse".
Security was tightened at reli
gious places across the country
in the aftermath of the bombing
at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
shrine, with some closed till fur
ther notice and entry to others
severely restricted.
Stung by one of the worst ter
rorist attacks in the country,
Pakistan government and mili
tary went into an overdrive
against terror suspects, and in a
nationwide crackdown at least
44 militants were killed and as
many suspects rounded up.
bodies election,
Madhesis reject move
Kathmandu: Nepal government Commission.
decided to hold the elections in Ahead of the polls date, the
local bodies across the country government also decided to dis
in a single phase on May 14. But cuss the much awaited
the decision saw strong reserva Constitution amendment Bill in
tion from Madhesbased political LegislativeParliament in order
parties. to appease the Madhes based
Within an hour after govern parties.
ment declared dates for the In the midst of failing constitu
polls, the Madhes based parties, tion amendment proposal, the
who had been demanding an Mad hes based part ies also
amendment to the Constitution declared fresh round of protest.
prior to the poll announcement, Nepal was bound to hold elec
Foreign Policy Adviser to re jected the polls and tions to local level, provincial
Nawaz Sharif, Sartaj Aziz called announced a fresh stir program. and center parliament by 2018
Afghan National Security Adviser Prior to the Cabinet meeting, February.
Hanif Atmar and stressed that the Prime Minister had held final The last local elections were
the government and people of consultations with the Election held in May 1997.
Pakistan were in deep anguish
because of the recent spate of
terrorist incidents.
Aziz conveyed to the Afghan
of ficial that terrorist g roup
JamaatulAhrar was behind the
recent barbaric acts of terrorism.
He expressed serious concern
that the group continued to oper
ate from its sanctuaries and safe
havens in Afghanistan.
T he bombing at Qalandar's
shrine was the tenth militant
attack over the past five days in
the country. The fresh wave of
terrorism started with an attack
on a media van in Karachi on
Sunday, leaving a media worker
The last local elections in Nepal were held in May 1997.
dead.
 22 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 INTERNATIONAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Turkey tries 47 Canada's border sees surge

over President's
assassination attempt
Ankara: A Turkish court began
the trial of 47 people over their
alleged involvement in plotting
President Recep Tayy ip
Erdogan's assassination during a
coup attempt in July last year.
The defendants, among them
37 soldiers who formed an
alleged hit squad, are mainly
accused of attempting to kill the
President, remove the constitu
tional order and kill intentional
ly, Xinhua news agency reported.
Six life sentences have been
demanded for each of the defen
dants, three of whom are still on
the run, court sources said.
The defendants are accused of
joining efforts to raid a hotel in
Turkey's Aegean resort town of
Marmaris, where Erdogan and
his family were on holiday, after
some in the Turkish military
launched a coup attempt on the
night of July 15, Xinhua report
ed. T he overthrow bid was
crushed hours later but left near
ly 250 people dead.
Erdogan said the hotel was
bombed 15 minutes after he left.
Erdogan and his family were on
holiday when the assassination
was attempted.
Two police officers in charge of
the president's security were
killed during the raid.
Outside of the courthouse, a
group of people staged a protest
demanding a reinstated death
sentence for it to be applied to
the coup plotters, the staterun
Anadolu Agency said.
Ankara be lieves the coup
attempt was masterminded by
Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric
living in the US, and has been
pushing for his extradition.
in families crossing from US
Toronto: A growing number of
asylum see kers and other
migrants trekking on snow and
ice are crossing the US border
into Canada, a media report said.
"We have a port of entry for a
reason because that's where we
expect people that want to enter
into our country to come," said
Ted Falk, a member of the
Canadian Parliament whose dis
trict includes Emerson and
Manitoba, ABC News reported.
"I think that the attitude is basi
cally we're better off welcoming
them in than being repressive
because that's just going to com
The USCanada border near northern Vermont.
plicate things," he said.
"What is new now is the num Que bec where Canadian the US was temporarily blocked
bers," said Eric Taillefer, an immi authorities say there has been under President Donald Trump's
g rat ion lawyer and Vice the biggest rise in illegal cross executive order.
President of the Que bec ings the number of asylum At the law enforcement level,
Immig rat ion Lawyers claims by people who crossed police said the flow of people
Association. "It is very, very sur over legally and illegally more was still manageable.
prising". than tripled in January compared The Royal Canadian police said
The number of asylum seekers to a year earlier, ABC quoted that while they were busier now
crossing into Canada rose from authorities as saying. Taillefer and require more manpower,
2015 to 2016 and it has contin said those crossing into Quebec they were not in "emergency
ued to spike this year, according include people from Iraq, Syria mode" and the border crossings
to the Royal Canadian Mounted and Sudan three of the seven were still managed at the local
Police. North of the eastern US in countries from which travel into level.

France's Le Pen cancels crucial Iraq launches operation to

meeting over headscarf regain control of western Mosul
Beirut: Farright French presidential candi
date Marine Le Pen cancelled a meeting
with Lebanon's Grand Mufti after refusing
to wear a headscarf.
"You can pass on my respects to the
Grand Mufti, but I will not cover myself
up," Le Pen told reporters.
"I have met before with Grand Imam
Sheikh alAzhar in Egypt without wearing
a veil," the 48yearold leader of the
National Front (FN) party.
Le Pen was told by Lebanese of ficials
that she would have to wear a veil for her
audience with Grand Sunni Muslim Mufti,
Sheikh Abde lLat if Derian, the
Independent reported.
Video footage showed Le Pen at the
entrance to his office shaking her head.
Le Pen said she had met in the past with
the grand mufti of Egypt's AlAzhar, one of
the world's top Sunni clerics, without
wearing a veil.
"He did not have this demand," said Le
Pen. "But it's not a problem, you can pass
on to the Grand Mufti my considerations,
but I am not putting the veil on."
Once told that customs were different in
Lebanon, Le Pen walked out of the build
ing and left in her car, according to the
report.
Her aides had reportedly been informed
before her visit that she would be required
to wear a headscarf.
Praising the "political gesture", Florian
Philippot, one Le Pen's closest aides, said
it was "a beautiful message of emancipa
Baghdad: Iraq has launched an operation advancements to the western side and
to regain control of western Mosul from "provide guidance and recommendations"
the Islamic State (IS) terror group, Prime for citizens ahead of the offensive.
Minister Haider alAbadi announced. The leaflets also warn IS members to
alAbadi described the operation, which turn in their weapons and surrender
comes after Iraq recaptured eastern "before they face their inevitable fate at
Mosul, a "new dawn" in the liberation of the hands of our heroic forces".
the last IS stronghold in the country, CNN The area has been targeted only by
reported. airstrikes in the past.
"Go forward with my blessing, heroic Iraqi forces have had control of the east
forces of Iraq," he said on state television. ern part of the city since January.
The Iraqi air force dropped millions of According to the UN, as many as
leaflets over western Mosul recently, 800,000 civilians live in western Mosul.
warning residents of an of fensive by The offensive to retake Mosul began in
ground forces on the ISheld part of the October with a push by the Iraqi army,
city. counterterrorism forces, federal police
The leaflets say Iraqi forces are making and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
Pen is the 48yearold leader of National
Front party in France. Iraqi counterterror forces assemble in
Bartella, about 20 km east of Mosul.
tion and freedom sent to the women of
France and the world", reported the Daily
Mail.
The antiimmigration politician made a
threeday visit to Lebanon this week to
meet of ficials in an ef fort to bolster her
presidential credentials two months
before the first round of voting in the
French presidential election.
Polls suggest that Le Pen is expected to
win the first round of voting in presiden
tial elections in April.
The latest poll, according to reports,
showed support for the farright candidate
had risen by one per cent to 27 per cent.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Have balanced view on professionals' movement: Modi to US
New Delhi: We lcoming a 26
member bipartisan delegation
from the US Congress, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi urged
the United States to develop a
balanced outlook towards the
movement of skilled profession
als, said an official here.
Underlining the contribution of
the Indian talent to the US econo
my and so ciety, the Prime
Minister asked the United States
to develop a reflective, balanced
and farsighted perspective on
movement of skilled profession
als, a statement from the Prime
Minister's Office said.
"The Prime Minister shared his
perspective on areas where both
countries can work even more
closely, including in facilitating
greater peopletopeople link recalled his "positive conversa
ages that have over the years
No plans to introduce Rs 1,000 notes
New Delhi: The government has
no plans to reintro duce Rs
1,000 and will focus instead on
issuing lower denomination cur
rency notes, Economic Af fairs
Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.
"(There are) no plans to intro
duce Rs 1,000 notes. Focus is on
production and supply of Rs 500
and lower denomination notes,"
Das tweeted.
His clarificat ion followed
media reports that the govern
ment was planning to reintro
duce Rs 1,000 notes with a new
Russia still India's largest
defense partner
New Delhi: Despite India expand
ing its military ties with the US,
Europe and Israel, Russia remains
New Delhi's number one supplier
of weapons with America at a dis
tant second, according to a report
on global arms trade in the last
five years.
From 2012 to 2016, Russia sup
plied 68 per cent of India's arms
import, as per the survey by
Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute (SIPRI) an
internat ional thinktank that
researches on conflict, arma
ments, arms control and disarma
ment. In the same period, the US
helped in contributing to each
other's prosperity," it said.
India, in January, had
expressed its concern over a bill
to change rules on H1B visas
that will impact the IT industry
and Indian techies working in
America.
The HighSkilled Integrity and
Fairness Act of 2017, introduced
in the House of Representatives
by California Congressman Zoe
Lofgren, calls for doubling the
minimum salary of H1B visa
holders to $130,000 from the
current minimum of $60,000 a
move that could impact Indian
techies.
Calling the visit as a good start
to bilateral exchanges following
a new US administration, Modi
ment to further strengthening of
t ion w ith President Donald
design. Referring to complaints
of dry ATMs even more than
100 days after the November 8
demonetisation, Das urged peo
ple to withdraw only as much
cash as "they actually require".
"Overdrawal by some deprives
others," he said.
Post demonetization, the gov
ernment introduced new Rs 500
notes along with Rs 2,000 notes.
Over Rs 1 lakh crore worth of
the new Rs 500 notes have been
printed, with the presses churn
ing out some 22 million pieces
supplied 14 per cent of arms to
India, followed by Israel (7.2 per
cent).
The SIPRI report also foresees
Russia maintaining the lead in
supplying weapons to India
which has emerged as the biggest
importer of major arms with over
seas procurements exceeding that
of China and Pakistan.
"Based on existing orders and
weapons, Russia will remain, by
far, the main supplier of major
arms to India for the foreseeable
future," it said.
"However, India expects increas
ing deliveries due to several major
BUSINESS
Narendra Modi met a 26member bipartisan delegation from the US Congress. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
Trump and the shared commit
ties that have grown deeper in
every day. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi demonetised the
old currency to fig ht black
money and terror funding. There
were 17,165 million pieces of Rs
500 notes and 6,858 million
pieces of Rs 1,000 notes in circu
lation on November 8.
T he total amount of hig h
denomination currency circulat
ing in the system on that day
was Rs 15.44 lakh crore Rs
8.58 lakh crore in Rs 500 notes
and Rs 6.86 lakh crore in Rs
1,000.
orders from France (another tra
ditional supplier) and from the
US, South Korea and Spain all of
which only recently became sup
pliers of major weapons to India,"
said the report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has been making increasing
efforts towards his flagship "Make
in India" init iat ive that also
endeavours to modernize the
country's ageing military equip
ment.
Modi has pledged $250 billion
for the domestic defence industry
to manufacture fighter jets, guns
and submarines locally.
Feb 25-March 3, 2017 23
the last twoandahalf years". support for the IndiaUS
"In this regard, he recognized partnership," the statement
Congress's strong bipartisan added.
Chandrasekaran
chairs first meeting
as Tata Sons head
Mumbai: Natarajan
Chandrasekaran took over as head
of Tata Sons Ltd from Chairman
Emeritus Ratan N. Tata and
chaired its first Board meeting.
"Chandrasekaran chaired his
first Board meeting as Chairman
of Tata Sons Ltd," said the princi
pal investment holding firm in a
statement here. Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
Tata, 79, returned to head the
holding firm as an interim
new role, I will focus on three
Chairman after its previous strategic priorities: bring the
Chairman Cyrus Mistry, 48, was group closer to leverage its collec
sacked on October 24, leading to a
bitter boardroom battle in the
country's largest corporate house,
tive strength; reinforce a leader's
mindset among the operating
firms and drive their operating
with over 100 operating firms. performances across the group;
"I welcome Chandra, who has bring greater rigour to our capital
successfully displayed his leader allocation policies and deliver
ship in his career at Tata superior returns to our sharehold
Consultancy Services (TCS). I am ers," asserted Chandrasekaran.
sure he will bring considerable Chandrasekaran's first Board
value to his leadership role in the meeting follows his appointment
Tata Group in the years ahead," as Chairman of group operating
said Tata on the occasion. companies, including Tata Power,
Chandrasekaran, 54, was the Tata Motors, Tata Steel and TCS.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and "I look forward to working with
Managing Director of the Indian IT colleagues, management teams
bellwether (TCS) since 2009 prior and Boards of the companies
to his appointment on January 12 towards achieving these goals,"
to head the holding firm of the said Chandrasekaran in the state
$104billion Tata Group. "In my ment.
 24 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 SPORTS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

INDIA NOT BOTHERED ABOUT

AUSTRALIA: VIRAT KOHLI
Pune: India cricket captain Virat
Kohli sounded confident as he
said that his side is not bothered
about Australia and is instead
focused on delivering up to its
potential in the fourmatch Test
series, starting here.
India come into the series after
a successful home campaign
which has seen them thrashing
New Zealand (30), England (40)
and Bangladesh (oneoff Test).
Moreover, India are unbeaten
since 2012 at home winning 17
Test matches and having drawn
three.
Now, with Australia set to begin
the challenging tour, captain
Kohli said that India need to focus
on their game and not be worried
about the form and combination
of the visiting side.
"Every match, every series is
challenging. All the teams we
played are good quality teams
and Australia is not different. We
don't rate anyone series higher or
lower than the other. We are not
treating Australia differently.
Every opposition has to be
respected on equal terms," Kohli
said at the prematch media con
ference.
"We are not worried about
opposition's combination. We are
comfortable what we want to do.
We are aware of their skills, posi
tives and negatives. We have
done certain preparations. We
tend to focus on our game. We
respect every team but we focus
on our skills and qualities," the
premier batsman added. "England
was a top quality side and in the
first match at Rajkot which we
drew and that gave us a lot of
confidence to turn it around. So,
now everyone is feeling confident
and we are in a good space as a
team and not bothered about the
opponent too much."
Kohli, who has won over many
fans as a batsman and a captain
alike in the last few years, howev
er, felt that a captain is just as
good as his team.
"Captaincy will only be as good
as the team performs and how
the consistent the players are. If
players are not playing up to their
potential, not much I can do as
captain," the 28yearold said.
"I don't judge myself after every
series. Priority and the only goal
that we have is to win games of
cricket. The more the team
becomes mature, the captain
starts looking good. If the team
doesn't do well, the captaincy bit
seems out of control."
Kohlim said, "Maybe five to
eight years down the line, I
will be able to judge
myself as a captain if I
remain captain for that
long. I feel personally
it's too early for me
to sit down and
judge what I have
done well or
haven't."
However, he
asserted that cap
taincy comes with a
sense of responsibili
ty which has helped
him evolving as a batsman as
well.
Australia lost opener David
Warner before reaching 84/1 by
lunch break on the opening day
of the first cricket Test.

Dhoni travels in train after 13 Underdog' Australia will

years for Vijay Hazare Trophy
MS Dhoni did the journey from Ranchi to Howrah station to take part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Kolkata: A couple of days after
the cricketing world was abuzz
w ith the news of Mahendra
Singh Dhoni's removal as the
skipper of IPL franchise Rising
Pune Superg iants, the just
appointed Jharkhand skipper, in
his typical unfazed avatar,
regaled his teammates with sto
ries from the past in a rare train
journey from Ranchi to Howrah
station to take part in the Vijay
Hazare Trophy.
In the last couple of seasons,
Dhoni while play ing for
Jharkhand, never captained the
side but has taken up the mantle
this time around. It was learnt
that the state association pushed
the envelope to make him skip
per again.
"We always fly when we come
to Kolkata for the Ranji Trophy.
This time, he wanted to travel by
train since it has been long he
last boarded a train," team man
ager P.N. Singh told reporters at
a city hotel on Wednesday.
"We all got on the train from
Ranchi and he insisted since the
boys are together we should do
this," Singh said.
He also informed that Dhoni
was awake till 2 a.., talking about
his initial days in the game and
chronicling many a tale which he
encountered during his famed
career. "He was talking to the
players about how to wriggle out
of a dif ficult situat ion in a
match," Singh said.
Since the last time Dhoni took
a train, about 13 years ago, the
Ranchi wicketkeeperbatsman
captained India to two World
Cup titles 50over in 2011 and
give tough fight: Smith
Pune: Despite admitting that his team
will start the upcoming fourTest
series against India as underdogs,
Australia captain Steven Smith
asserted that the visitors are confi
dent of giving a tough fight to the
hosts.
The Virat Kohliled Indian team
have won six consecutive Test series
and are unbeaten in their last 19 Test
matches a streak which started in
August 2015. Australian skipper Steve
Smith addresses during a
With star offspinner Ravichandran
press conference in Pune.
Ashwin and leftarmer Ravindra
(Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
Jadeja in excellent form and the
Indian pace attack also showing from home. They have lost their last
promise, the hosts are expected to be nine Tests in the subcontinent,
be a handful for what is being seen including a 03 drubbing in Sri Lanka
as one of the weakest Australian last year.
teams to tour the subcontinent. Smith admitted that the Australians
Former of fspinner Harbhajan need to approach the series with a
Singh has even predicted that the positive mindset and rise to the occa
World T20 in 2007 bagged a
Australians will lose all four Test sion during crucial moments.
Champions Trophy, shepherded
matches. But Smith begs to differ. "I "We have to start things afresh. We
the side to No. 1 ranking in Tests
guess we are the underdogs in this have come here with a positive mind
and became one of the best fin
series. We hear comments like set. The more we think about the last
ishers, the game has ever seen.
Harbhajan said he expects us to lose time we came here or Sri Lanka, we
The berth Dhoni was sitting in
40. That's not how we feel. We want start to lose the battle set straight
had Rajiv Kumar Raja (coach),
to compete here against India and it away. For me it is about learning
Monu Kumar Singh, and P.N.
is going to be a tough series. They from what has come before us and
Singh by his side as the 35year
have got some quality players in have a positive mindset once we get
old Mahi bhaiya (as he is
their lineup from one to 11. So yeah, out there," the 27yearold said.
famously called by his team
it is going to be difficult," Smith told "But I guess what I want from my
mates) sipped tea and kept on
reporters here. boys is the ability to adapt to the
chatting till late in the night.
"Everyone is entitled to their opin plans we have in place, show some
"There were so many selfie
ion. But I don't believe that's the case. fire and rise to the tough situations.
seekers and some Dhoni recog
I'm confident about the squad we There are going to be some difficult
nised by name as he has worked
have got here to compete against moments. We need to identify the
w ith them when he was
India. It's going to be a dif ficult key moments, and hopefully we can
employed as ticket collector (in
series. India have played some very have the skills and mindsets in place
West Bengal's Kharagpur junc
good cricket, particularly at home. So to counter those difficult moments,"
t ion). T here was a g roup D
we are under no illusions that it is he added. "Hopefully we have got the
staf fer, whom Dhoni called by squad here that can compete in these
going to be tough." T he current
his name and made him sit conditions."
Australian team have been poor away
beside him.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info HEALTH Feb 25-March 3, 2017 25

Your paunch may well

hide cardiac risks
typical young Indian male and thighs are also at greater risk teins. Something about the visceral

A marries, and a few months

later he develops a noticeable
paunch. His mother and motherin
law are pleased as punch, perceiv
ing the paunch as a sign of his well
being of his being "looked after
well" by his wife.
But is it all good?
Observational studies have linked
abdominal adiposity with car
diometabolic disease but it is yet
unclear whether it is a surrogate for
obesity in general or it plays a
causal role. New genetic evidence is
supporting the idea that people who
are predisposed to carrying fat in
their belly as opposed to their hips
for developing heart disease and
Type 2 diabetes, says Dr (Col) Anil
Dhall, Director, Cardiovascular
Sciences, at Venkateshwar Hospital
in New Delhi.
Citing a recent study reported in
JAMA, Dhall said those with higher
waisttohip ratios seemed to have
higher levels of triglycerides, 2
hour glucose, and systolic (higher)
blood pressure.
The abdominal fat cells could
secrete a lot of bad factors that go
into the blood and that actually
leads to delayed clearance of the fat
from the blood, which leads to high
er levels of triglyceriderich lipopro
fat is different from the fat that is in
the thighs and hips, but further
research is needed to clarify it. Very
little is known about what the fac
tors are that lead to the apple shape
versus the pear shape. And it's
impossible to model in animals
because they just have a totally dif
ferent body fat distributions than
humans. Physicians often focus
more on overall weight or BMI of
their patients, and not specifically
where the fat is stored. But the
waisttohip ratio is "an easily avail
able marker for who is at particular
ly high risk for diabetes and heart
disease", observes Dhall.

Male reluctance causes contraceptive use

fall, population surge in India
ver the eight years to 2016, as Indias Ipas Kulkarni, a medical doctor. quacies. Condoms are a better option than

O population surged, the use of contra

ceptives declined almost 35 per cent,
even as abortions and use of emergency pills
both with health hazards and side effects
doubled. Despite a 14 per cent percentage
point rise in literacy in the decade to 2011,
hazardous birthcontrol measures of the last
resort are becoming the first choice among
both poorer and wealthier, bettereducated
Indians.
The result is that the countrys population,
now estimated at 1.32 billion, is expected to
surpass Chinas in the next six years and
reach 1.7 billion by 2050, even as millions of
women die from unsafe abortions.
While condom use declined 52 per cent
over eight years and vasectomies fell 73 per
cent indicating greater reluctance among
men to use birth control the use of oral
birthcontrol pills fell 30 per cent, Health
Ministry data showed.
Compared to 300,000 men who agreed to
vasectomies in 200809, more than 5.5 mil
lion women agreed to use intrauterine contra
ceptive device (IUCDs) to avoid pregnancy the
same year. Over the years, the number of
women resorting to these devices has
remained steady. People think that women
should undergo everything, said Nozer
Sheriar, deputy secretary general of the
Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological
Societies of India (FOGSI).
The government is trying to expand contra
ceptive choice and use, Health Minister J.P.
Nadda referring to the forthcoming launch
of controversial injectible contraceptives for
women in the public health system said in
January 2017. Greater contraceptive use
allows births to be spaced better and reduces
the chances of accidental pregnancies and
population rise. Does the use of conventional
contraceptives correlate with literacy rate?
That is not clear. Indeed, there is some evi
dence that the opposite is true. For instance,
Karnatakas literacy rate (75.6 per cent) is
higher than the national average of 74 per
The growing reluctance to undergo vasec
tomies could be an echo of the wariness creat
ed by the hardsell. While 290,000 Indian men
other oralcontraceptive methods, but men
are not keen to use them. Though 660 million
condoms were distributed nationwide in
chose this permanent contraceptive in 2008 200809, that figure fell to 320 million in
09, the figure for 201516 was less than 201516. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya
80,000. Information, education and commu Pradesh recorded the highest falls of 83 per
nication about male sterilization is inade cent and 79 per cent, respectively. Over the
quate, said experts, not only in society at same eightyear period, the use of oral pills
large but in the publichealth system. The fall by women came down by 30 per cent. Tamil
in use of condoms could reflect these inade Nadu and Kerala recorded the highest falls.
cent. Yet the state is among the top five of
those that reported the highest drop in vasec
tomies, IUCDs and oralpill use. In Bihar, with Putting your best fork forward
a 73 per cent maleliteracy rate (overall 64
per cent), the use of oral pills rose four times re you Dining Out.
and the use of condoms doubled between
2008 and 2016. In Kerala, where 96 per cent
of men are literate, condom use dropped
A finding
it diffi
cult to keep up with your
Finding healthful
options at restaurants
is easier today than it ever
42 per cent. healthy New Years habits? has been, says Passerrello.
While Indian men believe that con Tackle those resolutions with Look for items that are steamed
doms reduce sexual pleasure and renewed energy in March dur or roasted, and ask for sauce,
vasectomies rob them of their man ing National Nutrition Month and dressing and cheese on the side. To
hood, women have concerns remember that small changes, made over time, can go boxes can help control portions. Eat half your
about the health impacts of add up. The 2017 National Nutrition Month theme, meal at the restaurant and take the other half home.
IUCDs and oral pills, said Umesh Put Your Best Fork Forward, encourages everyone to Set a Good Example for Your Children. Parents are
Kulkarni, part of the training start small one forkful at a time. Whether youre plan the most important role models for their children.
team of Ipas, an NGO that tries ning meals to prepare at home or making selections Modeling healthful eating habits starts in the kitchen,
to prevent death and disability when dining out, its crucial to develop a healthy eating Passerrello says. Involving your kids in the cooking with
from unsafe abortions. style that you can maintain. ageappropriate tasks, serving balanced meals with a
Over a decade to 2016, in 10 To make lasting, healthful changes to your eating variety of nutrientrich foods and enjoying dinner togeth
of 14 states surveyed as part of habits, its important to start small, says registered dieti er as often as possible are among the many things you
the National Family Health tian nutritionist and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics can do to help your family be mindful of their eating
Survey, 201516, use of any spokesperson Caroline Passerrello. habits.
modern method of family plan Passerrello recommends the following: Consult a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
ning among women of childbear Choose Healthier Options When Cooking at Passerrello says, A registered dietitian nutritionist
ing age (15 to 49) decreased 6 per Home. Eating a variety of healthful foods across can educate you and guide your food choices while
cent, despite a greater awareness of and within all food groups helps reduce the risk keeping your tastes and preferences in mind.
birthcontrol methods and an improve of preventable, lifestylerelated chronic dis They are able to separate facts from fads and
ment in family planning services. eases, including cardiovascular disease, type translate nutrition science into information
So, why is contraceptive use falling? The 2 diabetes and obesity, says Passerrello. you can use.
governments aggressive approach with Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole T he Academy of Nutrition and
doctors in publichealth centres given targets grains, fatfree or lowfat dairy, Dietetics National Nutrition Month
and incentives for vasectomies and IUCD lean proteins and oils. website is eatright.org/NNM.
insertions and government school teachers Find Healthful
offered pay rises to push these family plan Options When
ning methods is counterproductive, said
 26 Feb 25-March 3, 2017
Zuckerberg hails Modi for Facebook use
New York: As India conducts assem
bly e lections in five states,
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
has applauded Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's style of working
using the social networking plat
form to establish a meaningful dia
logue between the people and the
government.
Modi recently asked his ministers
to share their meetings and infor
mation on Facebook so that they
can receive direct feedback from
citizens, the Facebook CEO wrote in
a 5,700worded post on its
"Community Standard" Page.
Zuckerberg hailed the use of
social media in election campaign
ing and gave the examples of coun
tries like India, the US, Kenya and
Indonesia where leaders were
active on social platforms and con
nected well with the people.
"In recent campaigns around the
world from India and Indonesia
Nokia 3310 rumored to
make a comeback
at MWC 2017
New York: Nokia is rumored to
relaunch 3310, one of its most
reliable handsets that was offi
cially unveiled in the year
2000, at the Mobile World
Cong ress (MWC) 2017 in
Barcelona later this month, a
media report said.
"The new 3310, which will
feature the same "indestruc
tible" body and longlasting
battery as the original, will
retail for 59 euros, or about
$62. It's expected to ship with
software packing the same
clock, calculator, reminder app,
and games (Snake II, Pairs II,
Space Impact, and Bantumi) as
its ancestor," Digital Trends
reported. Nokia is also set to
Google, Microsoft agree to
crack down on internet piracy
London: Websites that stream or
host pirated material may find it
harder to feature on the first
pages of two leading search
engines as Google and Microsoft,
which uses Bing search engine,
have agreed to a new code of
conduct designed to demote such
websites in Britain, media report
ed on Monday.
The code brokered by Britain's
Intellectual Property Office (IPO)
aims to stop search engines from
driving traffic to illegal websites,
the Telegraph reported.
across Europe to the United States
we've seen that the candidate with
the largest and most engaged fol
lowing on Facebook usually wins.
Just as TV became the primary
medium for civic communication in
the 1960s, social media is becoming
this in the 21st century," he wrote.
"We can help establish direct dia
logue and accountability between
people and our elected leaders,"
Zuckerberg added.
He said the use of social platforms
created an opportunity for people
to connect with their representa
tives at all levels.
"In the last few months, we have
already helped our community dou
ble the number of connections
between people and our representa
tives by making it easier to connect
with all our representatives in one
click," Zuckerberg noted.
At the same time, he said,
Facebook wanted its users to define
launch its first Android smart
phone Nokia 6 in China on
February 26.
Last year, Nokia announced
that it licensed HMD Global to
produce Nokiabranded mobile
phones and tablets.
Nokia remained the owner of
the Nokia brand after it sold its
handset business to Microsoft
for 5.4 billion euros but was
forbidden to license it to out
siders until the end of 2015.
Under the code, Google and
Bing must demote websites that
have repeatedly been served
with copyright infringement
not ices so that they do not
appear on the first page for com
mon searches.
Although the code is voluntary,
the copyrig ht watchdog w ill
monitor how Google and Bing
respond over the next few
months and depending on its
assessment, tighter measures
might be taken in the future.
How much the move will help
SCI-TECH TheSouthAsianTimes.info
what is "objectionable", eventually
empowering them to decide how
much nudity and violence they are
comfortable seeing.
"The idea is to give everyone in
the community options for how
they would like to set the content
policy for themselves," Zuckerberg
wrote. "Where is your line on nudi
ty? On violence? On graphic con
tent? On profanity? W hat you
decide will be your personal set
tings. We will periodically ask you
these questions to increase partici
pation and so you don't need to dig
around to find them," he asked.
T he letter also noted that for
those who do not make a decision,
the policies decided by majority of
people in their region would be
enforced. To classify the objection
able content, the Menlo Parkbased
company will use artificial intelli
gence and it wants to start with the Mark Zuckerberg hailed the use of social media in election
cases in 2017. campaigning and gave the examples of countries like India.
First crop of Chinese cabbage
harvested on space station
Washington: The International
Space Station crew will soon get
to eat some Chinese cabbage,
The space
thanks to the efforts of astronaut
station's first crop
Peggy Whitson who has harvested
of Tokyo Bekana
the space station's first crop of
Chinese cabbage
Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage
after tending to it
after tending to it for nearly a
for nearly a
month.
month.
T his is the fifth crop grown
aboard the station, and the first
Chinese cabbage. While the space
station crew will get to eat some crop was chosen after evaluating out to be the most highly rated in
of the Chinese cabbage, the rest is several leafy vegetables on a num all the taste categories. Later this
being saved for scientific study ber of criteria, such as how well spring, a second Veggie system
back at Kennedy Space Center, they grow and their nutritional will be sent up to be seated next
NASA said. value. The top four candidates to the current one, NASA said.
"I love gardening on Earth, and were sent to Johnson Space It will provide sidebyside com
it is just as fun in space ..." Center's Space Foo d Systems parisons for future plant experi
W hitson tweeted in early team, where they brought in vol ments and will hopefully make
February. "I just need more room unteer tasters to sample the astronauts like Whitson happy to
to plant more!" Whitson said. The choices. The Tokyo Bekana turned have a bigger space garden.
Yahoo inks content deal
with British media houses
New Delhi: Yahoo announced
global content partnerships
riences for our users and we
are thrilled to use the power of
the TV, film and music industries,
with some of Britain's premi our global platform to work
however, is not immediate ly
um publishing platforms, with such high calibre publish
clear as Google has long argued
including the Telegraph, the ers," said Greg Miall, Director
that search engines are not a
Guardian, the Independent, the of Global Partnerships, Yahoo,
major source of traffic to piracy
Evening Standard and Hearst in a statement.
websites.
UK. The move will enable the In addition, the partnerships
"Goog le has been an active
publishers distribute content create a new revenue stream
partner for many years in the
via a curated feed, created in for publishers, with content set
fight against piracy online.
partnership with Yahoo in five to be monetized via a revenue
We remain committed to tack
countries India, the US, share mode l using Yahoo's
ling this issue and look forward
Britain, Canada and Singapore. powerful crossplatform native
to further partnership w ith
"Yahoo is committed to build advert ising marketplace,
rights holders," a spokesperson
ing the richest set of premium Yahoo Gemini, the company
was quoted as say ing in the
and personalized content expe said.
report.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info LIFESTYLE Feb 25-March 3, 2017 27

Share photos, videos,

GIFs via WhatsApp
'Status' now
New York: Popular messaging
platform WhatsApp has updat
ed to "Status" feature that
allows users to share images
and videos with their contacts
on WhatsApp in a secure way.
WhatsApp's Status feature
lets users share photos, GIFs or
videos overlaid with drawings,
emojis and a caption that will
be visible to selected friends
for 24 hours, before disappear
ing.
"As a utility, we're focused on
building features that will be
used around the world by our
1.2 billion users," a WhatsApp
spokesperson was quoted as
saying in media reports.
According to a W hatsApp
blog, status updates are now
endtoend encrypted.
"This new and improved sta
tus feature will let you keep
your friends who use
WhatsApp easily updated in a
fun and simple way," the blog
said.
WhatsApp has been rolling
out updates and features to
make the app more secure for
its users. The social networking
app recently rolled out a two
step verification process for all
devices to enhance the security
of users' accounts.
WhatsApp was recently sur
rounded by controversy when a
Guardian report alleged that
the WhatsApp messages can be
read or intercepted.
However, WhatsApp claimed
that the messages and calls on
its platform are endtoend
encrypted by default.
Your child is 40% likely
to inherit your obesity
London: Worried about your kid's
(Image courtesy: nydailynews.com)
ever increasing waistline? Blame
your level of obesity, as according
to a new study, kids are nearly 35
40 per cent likely to inherit the
body mass index (BMI) how fat or
thin they are from their parents.
The findings showed that for chil
dren who are in the heavy obese
category, the proportion rises to 55
60 per cent, suggesting that more
than half of their tendency towards
obesity is determined by genetics
and family environment. grow up the parental ef fect is intergenerational transmission of
Conversely, the 'parental ef fect' more than double for the most BMI is approximately constant at
was found to be the lowest for the obese children as compared to what around 0.2 per parent i.e. that
thinnest child, as opposed to being it is for the thinnest children," said each child's BMI is, on average, 20
the highest for the most obese lead author Peter Dolton, Professor per cent due to the mother and 20
child. For the thinnest child their at the University of Sussex in per cent due to the father.
BMI is 10 per cent due to their Britain. For the study, published in "These findings have farreaching
mother and 10 per cent due to their the journal Economics and Human consequences for the health of the
father, whereas, for the fattest child Biology, the team used data on the world's children. They should make
this transmission is closer to 30 per heights and weights of 100,000 us rethink the extent to which obe
cent due to each parent. children and their parents spanning sity is the result of family factors,
"This shows that the children of six countries worldwide: the Britain, and our genetic inheritance, rather
obese parents are much more likely US, China, Indonesia, Spain and than decisions made by us as indi
to be obese themselves when they Mexico. The results showed that the viduals," Dolton noted.

Prefer going solo while ED SHEERAN'S

traveling? Think again
New Delhi: Traveling by
onese lf is becoming a
growing trend but imag
ine companionship and
comfort of likeminded
people creating amazing
memories that you might
treasure for the rest of
your life, and in a budget
that would not kill your
pocket?
Chirag Gupta, founder
and CEO, Deyor Camps,
says that traveling is one
of the most beautiful things
that you can experience with some
one, and doles out reasons why holi
daying with a group of people can
be fruitful.
4 Broaden your perspective:
Traveling with a group allows you to
meet culturally dif ferent people,
who you wouldn't normally meet in
your local area! Get a chance to have
some deep conversations with peo
ple of dif ferent backgrounds and
perspectives. They would of fer a
chance to see the world w ith a
whole new vision and give deeper
insights about reality.
4 Budget friendly: Not only a
group travel is an excellent value for
money, but it also helps in planning
the budget in advance! Group travel
splits every little cost like accommo
dation, guides and transportation
(Image courtesy: wanderlustandlipstick.com)
among the entire group, giving you
a valuable experience for every
rupee spent.
And once you have already paid
for the trip, all you need to take care
of are your beers and local shop
ping, thus fulfilling your wanderlust
dreams without burning a hole in
your pocket!
4Take a deep breath and relax: If
you are a lazy ass and a big fat pro
crastinator, with no organizational
skills, because of who you are as a
person, and have faked enough of it
in the job that you hate, then it's
time to get real! Group travel is a
blessing in disguise.
For once, you would have someone
act as a personal assistant to take
care of all the planning and imple
mentation of your travel needs. The
only responsibility you take is to sit
back, relax and explore the beauty
of the place without having to take
any hassle.
4 Safety matters: It would be an
excellent idea to give up on all the
safety worries while traveling with
company, as large groups are least
likely to be a target of the threat. Be
assured of your luggage and in case
of any problem or an injury, know
that you have a large number of
people to back you up.
4Explore more: Dif ferent people
bring vast experience and knowl
edge to the trip. They might take
you places that are yet to be
explored, or have the better local
knowledge, which will bring you
face to face with different local cul
tures and wildlife.
FITNESS PLAN
FOR PARENTS
Ed Sheeran with his mom Imogen Sheeran
(Image courtesy: urbantabloid.com)
Los Angeles: Singer Ed Sheeran has had a gym and
swimming pool installed in his parents' house because
he wants to make sure they live long and healthy lives.
The 26yearold wants his parents John, 60 and
Imogen, 57, to be fit, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
"I think any kid at my age starts getting worried
about their parents' health. I have bought them a
crosstrainer and built them a swimming pool," he told
The Sun.
"They are now training and swimming every day. I
want them to be able to hang out with their grandkids
for a very long time," he added.
However, in his own home, Sheeran has opted to
build a pub, where he intends to host parties in the
coming years.
 28 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

Smartphone apps give you superpower

use for good or evil
ads of the world need a which should be used for good. down in history. Lynette: "Well

D smartphone app that detects

whenever a family member
is reaching out to buy something in
a store and then speaks out loud in
a Dad Voice: "Come on, do you real
ly need that?"
We dads can't be everywhere at
once and modern children seem to
have an insatiable appetite to
waste money on needless luxuries
such as food, drink and the like.
I told my kids that in the old days
our parents would throw us a
gnawed stegosaurus bone once a
week and we were pitifully grate
ful. Many current phone functions
just make life harder. Last week, I
accidentally switched my smart
phone to British English and it now
keeps saying things like: "On a
bloody bender again, you cheeky
daft plonker?" At least it's a compli
ment, or so a British friend tells me.
Technology is a super power
Also last week, I lunched with techy
people who told me that the smart
phone has become a massively suc
cessful "antijerk device".
One shared a news item about a
naughty guy in France who called
up Uber, the taxi service, on his
wife's phone. Over the following
days, all his trips showed up on his
wife's phone, including secret ones
to one or more mistresses. She
found them very interest ing
indeed, as did her divorce lawyer.
The husband is now suing Uber for
ruining his life, rather than his own
genitalia, which it seems to me are
clearly at fault.
Another lunch attendee shared a
recent report from the United
States. A woman called Stephanie
was so horrified by a long conver
sation she overheard on a train
that she took a sneak photo of the
main speaker and put it on the
Internet with a caption: "If this is
your husband I have spent 2 hours
listening to him and his friends
brag about their multiple af fairs
and how their wives are too stupid
to catch on."
It's not just guys who get caught
out. A male technology correspon
dent at the lunch said that
Facebook often exposed the cheat
ing ways of women.
He showed me a post by a
woman called Sarah who put a
"conversat ion starter" on her
Face book page: "How did we
meet?" A woman named Jessie
responded promptly: "You were
screwing my husband."
He also showed me a reallife
Facebook exchange which has gone
everybody, guess what, I'm single
again, but I'm not upset bcuz who
wants to be with someone that's
gonna cheat on me." Brittany :
"Awww what happened?" Lynette:
"He wanted to b with his wife."
But back to the concerns of
Family Men. A colleague, a father
of three, has come up with another
app that dads desperately need.
It would be called something like
"Font Of All Knowledge". When
children or wives ask questions
that Dads dislike, such as "Can we
buy this?", the app would give Dad
a wisesounding response: "Sorry:
leading indicators prevent retail
expenditure at the moment
because of a fall or rise in the semi
circular futures options hedges
weighted beneficiary composite
valuations thingummy index."
Brilliant idea. I congratulated him
on being a cheeky daft plonker.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN

New York Head Quarter

422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
by Mahendra Shah
5168271010
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
FEBRUARY 25MARCH 3, 2017
Aries: This week you will benefit pro
vided you are willing to take bold
decisions at workplace. Your deter
minat ion and confidence w ill y ie ld
favourable results with each passing day.
Money position improves as pending pay
ments get cleared. Your life partner will
bring you immense pleasure, but would
behave highly possessive. During this peri
od you should go out and build new rela
tionship and contacts, but avoid strangers
and people that you have ignored in the
past.
Taurus: You are likely to become
highly ambitious, determined and
enthusiastic this week. Your high
energy level would bring enormous gains
and enhance your reputation. Financially
you would become more comfortable and
have plenty of time for recreational and
other activities. Members of the opposite
sex would be source of inspiration and will
help you in need of the hour. Some tension
might arise with close friends or relatives.
Gemini: For those of you who have
not been going out lately, you will
have plenty of opportunities to meet
and build new alliances. Anxiety and inde
cisiveness that has plagued you in the past
seems to end, as optimism and confidence
seems to take control. Financial gains like
ly but you need to be extra careful before
entering into any new partnerships. House
ladies are likely to be more involved into
embroidery, cooking or other creative
activities. Children and youngsters will
look up to you for inspiration.
Cancer: Finish your pending jobs
that have been hovering over your
head before you pick up any new
assignment. Work pressure might leave
you irritated and exhausted, but you
should remember that harsh words and
erratic behaviour would only bring disre
gard and criticism. Financial gains seem
likely as you recover delayed and pending
payments. Children would need careful
handling and proper attention. Try to med
itate to calm inner conflicts.
Leo: T hough progress has been
slow and not rewarding on financial
front, some news will bring happi
ness and boost your morale. Business deci
sions and investments need to be made
very carefully, as speculation will only
bring major losses. Close relative might
make an unexpected visit bringing gifts
and presents. These pleasant and memo
rable moments bring happiness and har
mony at home. Your interest in religious
and spiritual activities would make you
seek divine knowledge.
Virgo: Improvement in relationship
with important and influential peo
ple would bring a change in your
personality. Your confidence and determi
nation would be upbeat and you are likely
to win plenty of favours with your charms
and pleasant personality. However decep
tion from a close associate and losses due
to hasty investment cannot be ruled out.
Encourage children to spend their extra
time with creative activities and sports.
Spouse in a loving and caring mood ban
ishes your troubles away.
ASTROLOGY
Libra: You might be bestowed with
rewards and recognition for your
recent achievements. The appreci
ation you receive will have major contribu
tions from your family members and
friends. Religious feeling will arise, making
some of you embark on a pilgrimage.
Journeys and travelling that you under
take during this period would be highly
rewarding and educating. Though gains of
luxury items are foreseen, but few losses
due to hasty speculation cannot be ruled
out.
Scorpio: This week you seem to
possess the Midas touch. Gains from
investment and speculation would
be beyond expectations. New plans and
offers would dominate the week. For those
at service new job opportunities or some
sort of monetary benefit cannot be ruled
out. Domestic happiness and new romance
will flourish. Despite such a prosperous
time and financial gains, some tensions
due to careless actions of your domestic
servants, coworkers or working partners
cannot be ruled out.
Sagittarius: A brilliant week for
creative as well as literary activi
ties. Your imaginative talent will
prove to be highly lucrative. Financial
gains are also expected from investments
that you have made recently. New contacts
and friendships will develop through
social activities. Uncertainty regarding
career opportunities of your children will
seem to bother your mind, seek advice
from an academic counsellor if necessary.
Do not overspend on friends and spend
more time with family members.
Capricorn: This week you should
set your goals and make the best of
your ef forts to reap the rewards.
Your confidence and ability to work on
projects, which require high responsibility,
would bring you benefits in the long run.
This period is also good for building ties
with influential people and important govt.
officials. A short trip for pleasure later in
week cannot be ruled out. Nuptial knots
for some lovebirds.
Aquarius: This week opportunities
to travel should not be turned
down. There would be improve
ment in your business as well as profes
sional skills. Certain legal matters would
need immediate attention, therefore seek
an advice of a lawyer if necessary.
Financial gains will accrue throughout the
week, but you need to control your ten
dency to be extravagant, in order to save.
Friends and relations will be helpful to
complete pending jobs.
Pisces: Despite some tensions and
botheration that you might have
experienced last week, this period
start on an optimistic note. Excitement and
gaiety marks this week with plenty of
gains in whatever you do. New ventures
and assignments would improve your
financial conditions.
Your interest in outdoor activities will see
you go out on short trips, outings and
other entertainment activities. Children
are likely to win laurels in extra curricular
activities.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
25th February, 2017
Influenced by number 7 and the planet
Neptune, you are ambitious, independent,
sincere and an energetic person. You are
highly enterprising and have an inbuilt tal
ent to impress others, but you need to check
your tendency to behave moody, reckless and
impatient at times. This year your financial
condition would improve, as you would bene
fit from past investments. New business ven
tures would prove quite lucrative. Improved
finances will make you spend more on luxu
ries and other living comforts. You would
change your perception of love this year, as
you would tend to be more secretive and
keep many things to yourself only. Your rela
tionship will lack the trust it normally did,
which might create problems at times. Health
would be matter of concern, and preventive
medication should not be ignored at any cost.
The months of June, September, December
and February will be important.
26th February, 2017
Ruled by number 8 and the planet Saturn,
you are authoritative, practical, systematic,
original, and highly disciplined person. You
feel very happy when you are close to nature.
You are very religious and you take deep
interest in spiritualism, but you need to check
your tendency to behave moody, stubborn and
lazy at times. This is going to be a highly
rewarding period for women, as there seems
to be a promise of a bright career prospect.
You would also improve your income and sav
ings, provided you are ready to curb lavish
expenses. This year would also prove to be
highly significant for students wanting to go
for higher education overseas, as they would
manage to obtain admission in their desired
college/ university despite tough competition.
Middle of the year taking care of your health
would be important, especially for expecting
mothers. An eminent person would provide
new ideas and unconditional support on your
projects. T he months of June, October,
January and April will be eventful.
27th February, 2017
Influenced by number 9 and the planet
Mars, you are active, courageous, energetic,
and enthusiastic person. Your impressive
personality and your command over your
work do wonders for you, but you need to
control your tendency to behave timid and
indecisive at times. This promises to be a
memorable year bringing you prosperity and
good fortune. Your creative ideas would
flourish and you would be highly appreciated
for your efforts. You would gain importance
amongst your colleagues because of your
improved skills and aptitude. Participating in
lectures and seminars would bring you new
growth opportunities. This seems to be a
good period for new ventures and alliances,
but speculation needs to be done with
extreme care. The months of July, September,
November and February will be significant.
28th February, 2017
Influenced by number 1 and the Sun, you
are energetic, practical, dignified, brilliant
and highly sensitive person. You possess
excellent communication skills and you take
advantage of the given opportunities, but you
need to check your tendency to behave
spendthrift, fickle minded and restless at
times. This coming year you would tend to be
highly adventurous and would be taking
major risks, but you should avoid making any
Feb 25-March 3, 2017 29
hasty investment decisions otherwise losses
are certain. Legal and tax matters would
trouble you. Some unexpected dispute or liti
gation might also arise around the later half
of the year. Seek the best professional advice
available before making any decisions. It
would be a rather interesting year for young
sters. Exciting romance would lift their spir
its and gifts and presents are almost certain.
Some care is needed towards your health.
The months of May, August, September and
December will be important.
1st March 2017
Governed by number 1 and the Sun. You
are active, assertive, original, authoritative,
brilliant and a talented person. You always
welcome new ideas and thoughts, but you
need to check your tendency to behave
extravagant, stubborn and vindictive at
times. This year lady luck is definitely on
your side. Pending assignments and jobs will
be completed. Investors who speculate in the
sto ck market w ill bene fit financially.
Important decisions that you will take during
this phase will enhance your prosperity and
security in years to come. Sportsmen need to
take extra care of their health. T hose
involved in art and other creative profession
will receive recognition and monetary gains.
Your spouse in a loving and caring mood will
provide immense support. Children will
demand more attention. Pilgrimage or jour
ney will be high on your cards. The months
of November, March and July will prove to be
highly significant.
2nd March 2017
Ruled by number 2 and the Moon. You are
simple, friendly, cooperative and love peace
and harmony. You are full of new and innova
tive ideas and simply a perfectionist in what
ever work you decide to do, but you need to
control your tendency to be moody, jealous
and fickleminded at times. New opportuni
ties come your way this year. Financial posi
tion stabilises as past investment starts
bringing in profits. Journeys undertaken for
work purpose will be beneficial and highly
rewarding. Investment in a house and select
ed stocks recommended. Legal matters will
get complicated and expensive, as a visit to a
lawyer to seek professional advice seems
likely. Children will win laurels in their
respective fields and will be supportive and
understanding towards you. Wedding bells
for those e lig ible and others w ill find
romance to get them going. The months of
November, February and May will bring in
prosperity.
3rd March 2017
Ruled by number 3 and the planet Jupiter.
You are ambitious, dignified, confident, help
ful, hard working and systematic. You are
blessed with remarkable imagination and
strong intuition, but you shouldnt behave
restless, vindictive and dominating at times.
This year resourceful and influential peo
ple are likely to boost your moral. Fame and
fortune will be plenty provided you grab the
right opportunities. New relation and attach
ments will develop through out the year.
Children will do remarkably well in studies.
Spiritual gains for some later in the year.
People looking for matrimonial alliances will
find a life partner. Avoid lending money, as
recovery of the same would not be easy. The
months of August, December, February and
June seem to be highly eventful.
30 Feb 25-March 3, 2017 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

THE SPIRITUAL CATALYST

and is eager and ready to learn
will gain something. However, if a
student is egotistical and thinks
he or she knows more than the
teacher, little will be gained.
When we have the attitude that
we have nothing to learn, we close
ourselves off from receiving what
the teacher has to give. We then
remain at a standstill as far as our
own development is concerned.
By Sant Rajinder Singh Great scientist Isaac Newton
Ji Maharaj once spoke of the vastness of
knowledge. He remarked that he
night. Most people act and feel as
if the whole universe circles
around them. In reality, we are a
small part of the whole.
W hen our heads become
swollen, thinking we are better
than everyone else including God,
we can no longer be open to
learning and receiving. We
become small and congealed and
do not learn and g row. To
increase knowledge, sharpen our
skills, and improve our techniques
in any worldly field, we need to be
called initiation. At initiation, he
opens our inner eye to see the
light of God and opens our inner
ear to hear the sound of God with
in. He gives us a spiritual boost so
we can withdraw our attention
from the body to focus at the sin
g le or third eye between and
behind the two eyebrows to expe
rience inner light. We become
absorbed into the light and wit
ness inner vistas such as flashes
of light, pinpoints of light, lights
of various colors and the inner
during our meditation, the greater
the benefit we receive from a
Master, because we are open to
receive the spiritual radiation.
We can receive the spiritual
boost from the Master through his
eyes. That glance is called the dar
shan of the Master. It is so power
ful it can uplift our soul to the
third eye to connect with the light
and sound within. The glance of
grace gives more bliss than intoxi
cating drugs and alcohol and has
no harmful side ef fects to our

T
he catalyst that ignites our
spark to connect with the
Divine is a divine Engineer.
Right now there is static interfer
ing with the connection between
the soul and God. We cannot com
municate with God because on
our own we do not know how to
eliminate the interference to open
the lines of communication. Just
as we are untrained to connect a
radio station with a radio or a
computer with the Internet, simi
larly, we are untrained to connect
our spark to the Divine. To make
the connection between our soul
and God, we need training. We
need to call someone who is com
puter literate to hook us up to the
Internet. We need to call a cable
technician to hook our television
to cable TV. In the field of spiritu
ality, if we were able to connect
our soul to God ourselves, each
would have done so by now. Yet,
few people know how to do it. To
connect with God, we need an
expert. T hat person who can
make that connection for us is a
spiritual Master.
A spiritual Master teaches a
form of meditation that does more
than help us feel peaceful and
calm; he connects our soul with
God. The meditation connects us
to a current of light and sound
emanat ing from Go d that is
already reverberating within us.
We just need to learn how to tap
into it to see and hear it. A Master
is a catalyst who makes that inter
nal connection for us. He teaches
us how to meditate to stay in tune
with the light and sound current,
which takes us through the astral,
causal, and supracausal regions
until the soul merges back with
God in Sach Khand.
The divine Engineer attunes our
instrumentthe soulto receive the
spiritual communication from
God. As in science, the process
must be done correctly to work.
Even in the worldly sphere, when
we go to a teacher, there is an
understanding that the teacher
has something to offer to the stu
dent. It may be intellectual knowl
edge or career training. It could be
techniques of playing a sport or
skills in the performing arts. Any
student who goes to an instructor
was just picking up pebbles from open to receive what the instruc sky, stars, a moon, and a sun. That body, mind, society, or relation
the seashore of time. If such an tor has to give. This principle is boost then leads us to the radiant ships. Physical intoxicants may
intellectual giant as Newton felt equally valid when we look at the or ethereal form of the Master, temporarily make us forget our
as if he were still a student with spiritual sciences. When we go to who serves as our inner Guide. In pains, but when these wear of f,
much more to learn, then how can a spiritual Adept to learn how to the presence of the radiant form we need another fix. The spiritual
intoxication of a glance of grace
uplifts us immediately and takes
us to a state of consciousness
higher than any we can reach in
this world. It takes us to a state of
bliss more intense than any in this
physical realm.
Through his charged attention,
we can receive that glance direct
ly whether in his presence or dur
ing meditation even when we are
physically ten thousand miles
away from him, because that
glance is not emanating from the
physical form of the Master. The
charg ing is coming from the
Divine through the catalyst of the
Master.
The beauty of this glance is that
it stays with us. It is free and avail
able to us anytime we go within
during mediation.
The Master is not the physical
The Master is a catalyst that connects us to the spark bo dy, but a catalyst throug h
of the Divine. When performing certain scientific which the Divine can flow to us. It
is always radiating divine love. We
experiments, we add a catalyst to cause a chemical can experience that power of
divine love when we turn our
reaction; similarly, the Master is a catalyst that makes attention from the world to the
the connection between our soul and God. The process channel of God within. The Master
is that divine Eng ineer, who
by which he makes that connection to experience the through the glance of grace, helps
us switch our channel from the
light and sound of God within us is called initiation. . world outside to God within. On
our own, we are tuned out. If we
anyone of lesser stature feel so realize ourselves and realize God, we travel beyond the physical are open to receive the spiritual
proud of his or her learning? we need to approach him with a realm to experience the astral, radiation and the glance of grace
There is an anecdote about for w illingness to learn. W hat a causal, and supracausal realms, of the Master, we will become
mer United States President Master has to give is unique. It is until we merge back in God in the tuned in to the channel of God.
Teddy Roosevelt. He was a great not available from anyone else in highest spiritual realm of Sach Through initiation by a spiritual
nature lover. In the evenings, he this world. From all other instruc Khand. Master, the spark of the Divine is
would spend time talking with a tors we gain esoteric knowledge, Souls experience upliftment to ignited so that through meditation
friend, and afterwards they would which is knowledge of the outer reconnect with God in two ways: on the light and sound current we
take a walk together. One night, as world. From a Master we gain eso through the radiation of a Master journey through higher spiritual
they went for a walk, they looked teric knowledge, or knowledge of that emanates from his physical realms until our soul reconnects
up at the starry night sky. They the inner world. presence, and through his charged with God.
noticed how vast space was and The Master is a catalyst that attention sent to us even from
how many stars there were. They connects us to the spark of the around the world. Those who are Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
looked with wonder at the Milky Divine. When performing certain receptive receive the full dose of is an internationally recognized
Way, the Big Dipper, the Little scientific experiments, we add a divinity whether in his presence spiritual leader and Master of
Dipper, and the vastness of space, catalyst to cause a chemical reac of not. The spiritual boost either Jyoti Meditation who affirms the
and were in such awe that they tion; similarly, the Master is a cat from the spiritual radiation in his transcendent oneness at the heart
walked in silence. alyst that makes the connection physical presence, or from his of all religions and mystic tradi-
Finally, Teddy Roosevelt spoke between our soul and God. The charged attent ion which we tions, emphasizing ethical living
what both of them had on their process by which he makes that receive in meditation, helps us and meditation as building blocks
mind, saying, "Well, I think we are connection to experience the light enjoy inner experiences. The emp for achieving inner and outer
small enough now. Lets call it a and sound of God within us is tier we are of distracting thoughts peace. www.sos.org.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info Feb 28-March 3, 2017