Chicago: Pakistan-born Chicago businessman

Tahawwur Rana was Thursday sentenced to 14 years

in jail for providing support to Pakistan-based terror

group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that staged the 2008

Mumbai terror attacks.

The jail term for Rana will be followed by five years

of supervised release.

Although Rana, a boyhood friend of LeT operative

David Coleman Headley, was acquitted of supporting

the Mumbai attacks, prosecutors had sought the maxi-

mum 30-year sentence for his role in the aborted plot

to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for pub-

lishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

Thus US federal prosecutors are probably foreshad-

Washington: A month after the

massacre of innocents in a elemen-

tary school sent shock waves

through the US, President Barack

Obama has unveiled the most

sweeping gun control proposals in

two decades.

Flanked by children who wrote

him letters after December's shoot-

ing in Newtown, Connecticut

which left 20 children and six

teachers dead, on Wednesday he

signed 23 executive actions, which

do not require congressional

approval.

These actions are aimed at

strengthening existing gun laws

and take related steps on mental

health and school safety.

The Democratic president also

urged the Congress to reinstate an

assault weapons ban that expired in

2004, to restrict ammunition maga-

zines to no more than 10 rounds,

and to expand background checks

to anyone buying a gun.

But Obama acknowledged his

legislative push would encounter

stiff opposition in Congress.

While some of the steps he pro-

posed are given little chance of

winning congressional approval in

the face of America's powerful gun

lobby, Obama said all efforts must

London: Algerian army helicopters Thursday fired at

a petroleum facility where over 40 Western hostages

were being held, leaving at least 34 hostages and 15

kidnappers dead, media reports said.

Two Americans escaped unharmed but four cap-

tives—two Britons and two Filipinos—had died

among the 34 hostages killed in the state’s rescue

attempt. By late Thursday, 600 workers were free, as

were four foreign nationals, including two Scots, a

Kenyan and a French citizen.

The British Petroleum (BP) natural gas field is in

Ain Amenas in Illizi province, around 60 km from the

Libyan border and 800 miles from Algiers.

Mauritania's ANI news agency quoted a spokesman

for the kidnappers group named "Battalion of Blood"

that two Japanese hostages were seriously injured.

BBC reported that seven foreign hostages were still

alive after the military raid. Four foreign hostages

Islamabad: Tehrik-i-Minhajul

Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul

Qadri late on Thursday announced

an end to four days of anti-govern-

ment protests by thousands of peo-

ple after striking a deal with the

prime minister.

A high level delegation struck a

deal with the firebrand cleric, who

returned from six years in Canada,

after thousands of people paralyzed

Islamabad pressing the government

to resign over corruption charges,

Dawn newspaper reported.

“We have reached an agreement.

After getting the prime minister’s

signature, we will read it in out

front of protesters,” the TMQ chief

told his supporters.

Tahirul Qadri, who supported a

1999 military coup, has been call-

ing for the military to play a role in

the formation of a caretaker admin-

istration in the run-up to May elec-

tions. The government agreed with

OBAMA PROPOSESSWEEPING

GUN-CONTROL LAWS

34 hostages killed in Algeria raid; 2 Americans escape

Pak govt and protesting cleric reach deal

14 years jail for Mumbai terror suspect Rana

Chances of passing Congress slim as NRA andRepublicans vow fierce fight.

The Islamist kidnappers wanted French strikes in Mali to end.

Fears recede of alleged judiciary-military plot to derail May elections.

It foreshadows long sentence for Headley

Kidnappers were acting under orders ofAl Qaeda’s Mokhtar Belmokhtar

"This is the fight of the centuryand I need you on board with

NRA now more than ever," NRAchief executive Wayne La Pierresaid in an urgent fundraisingemail sent to NRA members.

Flanked by children, President Obama signed 23 executiveactions to strengthen existing gun laws and take related steps

on mental health and school safety. These actions do notrequire congressional approval.

Dr Tahirul Qadri: change agentor military stooge?

Tahawwur Rana (left) and David Coleman Headley

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

Vol.5 No. 39 January 19-25, 2013 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Kumbh Mela 16 Bollywood 18 Spiritual Awareness 30Heritage 15 excellence in journalism

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

3January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

House approves $50.7 billion in emergency aid for Sandy victimsWashington: After fierce lobbying

by political leaders in states across

the Northeast, the House of

Representatives on Tuesday

approved the long-awaited $50.7

billion emergency bill to provide

assistance to victims of Hurricane

Sandy.

The final vote was 241 to 180,

with 49 Republicans joining 192

Democrats. The Senate is expected

to pass the measure, after which

President Obama is expected to

sign it.

The $50.7 billion — along with a

nearly $10 billion aid package that

Congress approved earlier this

month — seeks to provide for the

huge needs that have arisen in New

York, New Jersey, Connecticut and

other states since the hurricane

struck in late October. The emer-

gency aid measure would help

homeowners whose homes have

been damaged or destroyed, pro-

vide assistance to business owners

who experienced losses as well as

reinforce shorelines, repair subway

and commuter rail systems, fix

bridges and tunnels, and reimburse

local governments for emergency

expenditures.

Though the package does not

cover the entire $82 billion in dam-

age identified by the governors of

New York, New Jersey and

Connecticut, leaders from the

storm-ravaged region expressed

relief over the action in the

Republican-controlled House,

where storm aid had become

ensnared in the larger debate over

spending and deficits.

Long Island Republican

Congressman Peter T. King, who

helped press his party’s leadership

into holding the vote, hailed the

package’s passage as a victory for

storm victims. “It is unfortunate

that we had to fight so hard to be

treated the same as every other

state has been treated,” Mr. King

said. The vote was scheduled over

a week ago by Speaker John A.

Boehner, after he came under

intense criticism for concluding the

business of the previous Congress

without taking up a $60.4 billion

hurricane-aid bill that the Senate

had approved. His critics included

influential Republicans in and out

of Congress, including Mr. King

and Gov. Chris Christie of New

Jersey. In a statement, Mr. Christie

joined with Govs. Andrew M.

Cuomo of New York and Dannel P.

Malloy of Connecticut, both

Democrats, to express gratitude to

the Congress for providing the

relief to hurricane victims.

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Congressmen SteveIsrael and Peter T. King and Steve Bellone, Suffolk County

Executive celebrated after the House vote Tuesday.

Rana sentencing hint of similar fate for Headley?Chicago: By seeking a prison term of 30

years for Tahawwur Hussain Rana, US

federal prosecutors are probably fore-

shadowing a similar sentence, if not

longer, for David Coleman Headley, a

key plotter behind the Mumbai terrorist

attacks of November 26, 2008.

Although District Judge Harry

Leinenweber will decide the quantum of

Rana's sentence, the fact that the prosecu-

tion is asking for 30 years could be

regarded as a benchmark for Headley's

sentence scheduled for Jan 24.

Having pleaded guilty to all the 14

counts of his involvement in the plotting

of the Mumbai attacks, which resulted in

the deaths of six US citizens, as well as

the abortive Denmark plan, it seems logi-

cal that at the very least his sentence will

match Rana's.

Rana, a childhood friend of Headley's

who will be handed a sentence on Jan 17

by a court here, was convicted in June

2011 of two counts of conspiring to pro-

vide material support to a plot to commit

murder overseas from October 2008 to

October 2009 and providing material sup-

port to the foreign terrorist organization

Lashkar e-Tayyiba from late 2005 to

October 2009. The plot could have led to

murder on what is described by the prose-

cutors a "grand, horrific scale."

That plot, also being initiated by

Headley, involved storming the offices of

the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in

the heart of Copenhagen and beheading

its employees and throwing their heads

on to the street. The newspaper had earli-

er published cartoons of Prophet

Mohammed offensive to Muslims.

The prosecution had produced a record-

ing where Rana was heard saying the

Denmark plan was "good" and "this

would be a huge event in the media."

In pressing for a 30-year sentence for

Rana, the prosecutors made several refer-

ences to the Mumbai attacks for which

too he was accused of providing material

support to Headley but acquitted. This

was not the first time that Rana applauded

mass murder.

After approximately 164 men, women

and children were mercilessly slaughtered

by the foreign terrorist organization

Lashkar e Tayyiba, Rana simply stated

that the victims "deserved it". Rana

praised the attacks, stating in a recorded

conversation that they struck "fear in the

hearts of Indians". Instead of showing any

compassion for the innocent victims, the

defendant believed that the Lashkar

leader who planned the attack and the

nine Lashkar operatives who carried out

the attacks, "deserved medals."

IALI’s new President floats India House ideaMineola: A new president

and 11 executive board

members of the India

Association of Long Island

(IALI) were sworn into

office Sunday at a ceremony

at the office of the Nassau

County executive.

Taking over as IALI

President, Dr. Kishore

Kuncham, Superintendent of

the Freeport School District,

turned to IALI’s longtime

dream - raising a center for

public activities to be called

India House. He proposed

that to begin with a facility could be leased for

this purpose. He requested help from Deputy

County Executive Phillip Elliot, present on the

occasion, in securing such a lease and in the cre-

ation of a cricket pitch. Mr. Elliot expressed his

willingness to help with these initiatives.

Dr. Kuncham also proposed that IALI’s India

Fest be celebrated in conjunction with India Day

Parade (in Hicksville) to expand the profile of

both these mega events.

He also intends to expand the association’s

charitable work with the Interfaith Nutrition

Network and Rota Care. He also advocated that

IALI should be responsive to the needs of strug-

gling families in the community at large.

County Executive Ed

Mangano was slated to pre-

side over the ceremony, but

could not attend. In his

stead, Kamlesh Mehta,

Director of the County’s

Business & Economic

Development, introduced

the new President and

administered the oath of

office.

Others who took office

Sunday were Satnam S.

Parhar as vice president of

IALI, Ved Behl as secretary,

and Bina Sabapathy as treas-

urer. Ajay Batra, Nishi Behl, Damyanthi

Gokhlani, Jyoti Gupta, Veena Lamba, Shoba

Prakash, Rashmi Mittle and Gunjan Rastogi were

elected members-at-large.

Community leaders who graced the occasion

included Bobby K. Kalotee, National Chairman of

the All American Political Party, Harendra Singh

of Singh Hospitality, Shudh Prakash Singh, Sr

Vice President of INOC (I), Mohinder Taneja,

Deputy Commissioner of Community Services,

Town of North Hempstead; Zahid Syed,

Chairman, Nassau County Commission on

Human Rights; Dr. Sukhvinder Ranu, past presi-

dent IALI, and Sudhir Vaishnav, CEO, GloboSat

Entertainment, who was master of ceremonies.

David Coleman Headley andTahawwur Hussain Rana.

IALI President Dr KishoreKuncham and Deputy County

Executive Phillip Elliot at the event.

Dr Kuncham (middle) with the IALI Executive Council 2013.

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Obama proposes sweeping Gun-control laws storyContinued from page 1be made to reduce chronic gun vio-

lence in the country.

He called for citizens to let their

elected representatives know what

they think, saying: "The only way

we can change is if the American

people demand it."

Opposition Republicans immedi-

ately rejected the Obama proposals

as an attack on the constitutional

right to bear arms.

The powerful National Rifle

Association said it would work

with Congress to find what it called

"real solutions to protecting

America's most valuable asset --

our children." But behind the

scenes, the NRA is gearing up for a

vicious fight against Obama's pro-

posals. "This is the fight of the cen-

tury and I need you on board with

NRA now more than ever," NRA

chief executive Wayne La Pierre

said in an urgent fundraising email

sent to NRA members.

But a CNN/Time Magazine/ORC

International poll Wednesday indi-

cated that Americans generally

favor stricter gun control, but they

don't believe that stricter gun laws

alone would reduce gun violence.

34 hostages killed storyContinued from page 1were freed during the operation,

Algeria's state news agency APS

said.

The militants earlier said they

were holding 41 foreign nationals,

including Americans, French,

British, Norwegian and Japanese

workers.

Algerian Interior Minister Daho

Ould Kablia earlier said the kid-

nappers were Algerian and operat-

ing under orders from Mokhtar

Belmokhtar, a former commander

of the Al Qaeda in the Islamic

Maghreb (AQIM).

A statement purported to be from

the hostage-takers called for an end

to the French military intervention

against Islamist rebels in neighbor-

ing Mali.

Algeria allowed France to use its

airspace during its operation

against Islamist militants who

occupied northern Mali last year.

Washington and Tokyo have said

their nationals were among the

hostages, but French President

Francois Hollande said he was not

certain that French citizens were

being held

Pak govt. deal storyContinued from page 1the cleric to dissolve the National

Assembly before its term ends in

mid-March, giving 90 days until

elections are held, according to the

“Islamabad Long March

Declaration”.

The government also agreed that

the caretaker administration, which

normally precedes elections, would

be chosen in consultation with all

parties.

A declaration detailing the agree-

ment between the government and

Qadri was signed by Prime

Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and

high-level government officials.

They also agreed that the treasury

benches in complete consensus

with Qadri’s party will propose the

names of two honest and impartial

people for the appointment of a

caretaker prime minister.

Meanwhile, Qadri, a Pakistani-

Canadian dual national, is leaving

for Canada on Jan 27.

The deal he has essayed may ease

pressure on the ruling Pakistan

People’s Party (PPP), which has

come under fire for failing to tackle

a range of problems, from a Taliban

insurgency to a weak economy.

The Supreme Court had ordered

that Prime Minister Raja Pervez

Ashraf and 15 others be arrested in

connection with a 2010 corruption

case. The order came when Qadri

led protests outside parliament

seeking the government's resigna-

tion sparked panic about an alleged

judiciary-military plot to derail

coming elections.

14 year jail for Rana storyContinued from page 1owing a similar sentence, if not

longer, for Headley, a key plotter

behind the Mumbai attacks of

November 26, 2008.

Rana's lawyers, downplaying his

role in the Danish scheme, sought a

lighter sentence of no more than

nine years, citing his poor health.

They argued Rana was kept in the

dark about much of the plot.

Headley, they said was a master

manipulator who fooled Rana into

supporting his terror activities.

But Judge Harry Leinenweber

said he was baffled at the descrip-

tions put forward by his family of

Rana as a kind, caring person, say-

ing it was so "contrary" to the per-

son who aided the plot on the

Danish newspaper's office.

In new evidence submitted before

the hearing, prosecutors sought to

undercut the depiction of Rana as a

dupe by presenting a telephone

intercept of Rana's wife, saying that

her husband and Headley were just

alike and were both immersed in

Islamic extremism.

Headley, son of a Pakistani father

and an American mother, who

changed his given name of Dawood

Gilani to scout targets in Mumbai

without arousing suspicion, plead-

ed guilty in both the Mumbai and

Danish terrorism plots, and was the

star prosecution witness at Rana's

trial.

Headley would be sentenced a

week later Jan 24.

Continuations of page 1

4 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE

New York: New York City’s first

school bus strike in 34 years

entered its second day Thursday

with no resolution in sight and tens

of thousands of parents scrambling

to get their kids to school.

More than 8,000 New York City

school bus drivers and aides went

on strike over job protection

Wednesday. They ferry 152,000

students. The strike is by the

largest bus drivers' union; some

bus routes served by other unions

were operating.

Most of the city's roughly 1.1

million public school students take

public transportation or walk to

school.

Those who rely on the buses

include 54,000 special education

students and others who live far

from schools or transportation.

Parents have made plans to use

subways, carpools and other alter-

natives, hitting slippery roads as

sleet turned to rain around the city

and temperatures were at or above

freezing.

The city has put its contracts

with private bus companies up for

bid, aiming to cut costs. The Local

1181 of the Amalgamated Transit

Union says drivers could suddenly

lose their jobs when contracts

expire in June.

The city plans to distribute transit

cards to students who could take

buses and subways and to reim-

burse parents who would have to

drive or take taxis.

City school bus driver strikeunresolved

All Air India Dreamliners groundedNew Delhi/Washington: India

Thursday grounded Air India's six

Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after

the US-based Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) warned of

technical problems in the aircraft.

National carrier Air India is the

only airline in the country which

operates the 787 Dreamliner.

Currently, it has six operational

787s in the fleet, which fly both on

international and domestic routes.

"We have received instructions

from the directorate general of civil

aviation (DGCA) that all services on

787s should be withdrawn with

immediate effect," a senior Air India

official said.

Air India had booked 27 Boeing

787s in 2006 in a mega-deal. Till

now it has received six of these air-

craft.

On Sep 19, Air India started the

first commercial Dreamliner service

between Delhi and Chennai and

then followed with the New Delhi-

Bangalore route.

Contacted, DGCA said it would

wait for the results of the FAA's

inquiry into Boeing's ability to fix

the fire risk, linked to battery failure

on board the aircraft.

The move by FAA follows an

emergency landing in Japan that

prompted two of its major airlines to

ground their fleet of 787s, and a

similar problem aboard a

Dreamliner on the ground in Boston

nine days earlier.

The FAA's emergency directive,

issued Wednesday night, initially

applied to United Airlines, the only

American carrier using the new

plane. It has six 787s.

India contributes $ 1 mn to UN WomenUnited Nations: India has contributed one

million dollars to the core voluntary budget of

UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender

Equality and the Empowerment of Women) for

the 2012-13 financial year.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN,

Hardeep Singh Puri, handed over a check for

the amount to Dr Michele Bachelet, Under

Secretary General and Executive Director of

UN Women, Tuesday.

This contribution constitutes the third in-

stallment of India's multi-year pledge to pro-

vide five million dollars as core predictable

funding to UN Women's resources, and takes

its existing contribution to $ 3 million to UN

Women, so far, according to a media release

from India's UN mission.

On this occasion, Puri also reaffirmed India's

steadfast commitment to the goals of gender

equality, the empowerment of women and gen-

der mainstreaming enshrined in the mandate of

UN Women.

India is one of the founding members of the

executive board of the UN Women, and is

presently serving on the UN Women Executive

Board.

New York: Erika Menendez, a Queens woman

with a history of psychiatric problems and ac-

cused of pushing Sunando Sen into oncoming

train because she thought he was Muslim was

indicted Monday and found fit to stand trial on

murder charges.

Menendez, 31 is "charged with having been

motivated by hate" when she shoved Sen into

an oncoming No. 7 train in Sunnyside on Dec.

27, said Queens District Attorney Richard

Brown.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks be-

cause I hate Hindus and Muslims - ever since

2001 when they put down the twin towers, I've

been beating them up," cops quoted Menendez

as saying. Cops also said she displayed no re-

morse and had even bragged about smoking

and having sex with her "man in Brooklyn" af-

ter the sickening crime.

The drifter - who cackled at an earlier hear-

ing as prosecutors detailed how she killed the

hard-working immigrant - was not in court for

Monday's proceeding.

Reshma Saujani raises nearly half amillion for public advocate’s race

New York: Reshma Saujani,

who mounted a primary chal-

lenge to Rep. Carolyn Mal-

oney in 2010, raised just under

half a million dollars during

the latest six months for her

campaign for public advocate.

Saujani raised a total of

$493,473 during the latest fil-

ing period, according to her

campaign, which now has

$651,462 on hand. That figure

includes more than $71,000 in

matchable funds over the last

six months.

That puts her slightly ahead

of State Senator Daniel

Squadron over the latest filing period.

Squadron reported raising $375,000 in

the last six months, with $75,000 eli-

gible for matching funds over that pe-

riod. Squadron has about $665,000 on

hand, and has raised about $40,000

more in total matchable funds, which

would give him an advantage of a cou-

ple hundred thousand dollars.

Saujani recently served as a deputy

public advocate under Bill de Blasio,

after trying to unseat congresswoman

Carolyn Maloney in 2010.

Lately, Saujani founded a program

to teach young girls computer pro-

gramming, called Girls Who Code,

which partnered with Twitter in June.

A spokesperson for Saujani's cam-

paign said a number of her donations

came from the tech sector, and that

they brought in 150 donations on fil-

ing day, largely through social media.

"All over the city, New Yorkers are

engaging in this campaign because

they share our vision for innovation

and advocacy," said Saujani, through a

spokesperson. "Our message of sup-

porting small businesses and entrepre-

neurs, closing the gender gap in tech-

nology and engineering, and standing

up for New York's immigrant commu-

nities is resonating and giving us the

momentum to run a successful cam-

paign."

Ambassador H S Puri, PR of India to UNhanding over a cheque of US$ 1 millionto USG of UN Women, Madam Bachelet

on 15 January in New York Erika Menendez

Reshma Saujani

5January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

NY court dismisses claimsagainst former

Satyam directors New York: A US court has dismissed civil

claims filed against former independent di-

rectors of erstwhile Satyam Computer, say-

ing they themselves were victims of over $ 1-

billion accounting fraud at Indian IT firm.

Hearing the petition, the US District Court

Judge Barbara Jones of New York said there

were insufficient allegations against the for-

mer independent directors and members of

Satyam Computer’s audit committee.

The court ruled that most allegations in the

petition concerned “an intricate and well

concealed fraud perpetrated by a very small

group of insiders” and reinforce an inference

that some former board members were them-

selves victims of the fraud.

India’s biggest ever accounting fraud came

to the light in January 2009 when Satyam

Computer’s founder and the then chairman

B. Ramalinga Raju admitted to having over-

stated the company’s financials by more than

$ 1 billion and other wrongdoings at the firm.

Since then, Satyam Computer has become

Mahindra Satyam, as it was later acquired by

Mahindra group in a government-monitored

auction. In the meantime, the company has

settled various lawsuits after agreeing to pay

millions of dollars to the shareholders and

others in various cases in the US, where

Satyam shares used to be listed.

The company’s independent directors were

also dragged into various lawsuits for al-

legedly failing to detect the fraud and, there-

fore, failing to safeguard the interest of

shareholders.

Accused subway pusher ErikaMenendez deemed fit to stand trial

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano

Mineola: Going into his re-election year, Nassau

County Executive Edward Mangano is enjoying his

highest approval rating ever, according to a News-

day/Siena Research Institute poll, suggesting that he

is benefiting from his performance during superstorm

Sandy.

Of Nassau County residents, 51% said they had a

"favorable" view of Mangano, while 29 percent said

"unfavorable."

"For Ed Mangano to be a plus-22 [percentage

points] going into an election year is a pretty strong

position," a Siena spokesperson said. Even 44% of

Democrats surveyed gave the county executive a

thumbs up, 36% a thumbs down. The survey of 381

Nassau residents was conducted in early January for

Newsday. Meanwhile, the New York State Board of

Elections records show Mangano, a Republican,

raised $826,000 for his re-election during the final six

months of 2012 and now has more than $2.3 million

in cash on hand. His only announced opponent, De-

mocrat Adam Haber (a restaurateur and retired Wall

Street trader), too has over $2 million (based in large

part on a personal loan) in his campaign funds.

Mangano approval ratingup; has $2M for re-election

FDA provides a portal to India6 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Former diplomat bats for permanent UNSC status for IndiaJaipur: Acknowledging India’s growing

prowess in international arena, former US

ambassador to Bahrain Sam H Zakhem

stated on Wednesday that India should get

a permanent member status at the UN Se-

curity Council.

“India is the largest democracy and

should get a chance to be the permanent

member of UN Security Council,” said

Zakhem, who was in Jaipur to take part in

formal inauguration of US-India Cham-

ber of Commerce and Trade on Thursday.

He opined that friendship, cooperation,

peace and stability form the base of India-

US relations, and commerce is just anoth-

er rung in the ladder. The former diplo-

mat even predicted that US-India Cham-

ber of Commerce would put Jaipur on the

world map for trade and commerce. “In-

dia is growing in terms of economy and

its participation with the world is also

growing.

In this context, the organization will

play a bigger role ensuring more and

more economic interaction,” added Sam.

India's global rise, a rich opportunity for US businesses Washington, DC: With the India-US civil

nuclear deal removing the biggest obstacle in

their relationship, a US think tank has said

their concerted cooperation could help In-

dia's global rise and provide a rich opportu-

nity for US businesses.

"The 2008 US-India Civil Nuclear Agree-

ment did away with the biggest obstacle in

the relationship-India's murky status in the

global non-proliferation regime," the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

said in a new report.

"The evolving US-Indian strategic partner-

ship holds great potential for both countries,"

says the report "Opportunities Unbound:

Sustaining the Transformation in US-Indian

Relations" by Ashley J. Tellis, senior associ-

ate South Asia Program.

"India's economic growth and its ties to the

US can assist its global rise, which con-

tributes to keeping the peace in Asia, provid-

ed New Delhi and Washington sustain con-

certed cooperation," he writes.

"And India's emerging markets promise to

be the key instrument for enlarging India's

power while remaining a rich opportunity for

US businesses," writes Tellis suggesting

several steps for both sides to make the part-

nership fruitful.

His recommendations for India include ex-

panding the basis for collaboration by under-

taking planned second-generation economic

reforms and doing away with archaic protec-

tionist policies and openly embracing eco-

nomic reforms.

To improve defence cooperation, "India

ought to take advantage of the wealth of

technologies available only to Washington's

closest partners and establish greater opera-

tional ties with the US to boost its military

effectiveness without forfeiting strategic au-

tonomy," writes Tellis.

"As one of Iran's biggest trading partners,

New Delhi should quietly urge Tehran to

abandon its nuclear weapons program in or-

der to avert a conflict that threatens impor-

tant Indian interests," he suggests. At the top

of Tellis' recommendations for the US is ex-

ploring a free-trade agreement with India.

"Washington should pursue such an accord

on a specified deadline while negotiating

various arrangements to lower bilateral trade

barriers in the interim," he suggests.

Tellis also advocates building up India's

defence capabilities saying: "Adding to a

strong foundation of military-to-military co-

operation, Washington should make it easier

for India to purchase advanced American de-

fence technology and cement defence indus-

trial cooperation."

The United Nations Security Council

Anusha to represent East Meadow School district at a leadership conferenceNew York: Sophomore

Anusha Syed from the

East Meadow School

District has been chosen

to represent the district

at the Hugh O’Brian

Youth Leadership Con-

ference this spring. This

forum brings together

tomorrow’s leaders with

today’s recognized pio-

neers in business, gov-

ernment, education and

other various profes-

sions to discuss present and future issues.

Anusha was selected through a rigorous

process which included an evaluation by a pan-

el of faculty, students and administrators who

were impressed with her poise, confidence and

dedication to charitable and civic activities.

In addition to being a

superb fundraiser and

outstanding citizen,

Anusha is also a sea-

soned orator. She has

been invited to partici-

pate in and host a vari-

ety of community

events, the most memo-

rable being the emcee

for the 2010 Leadership

Breakfast hosted by

Nassau County Execu-

tive Edward Mangano.

It is no surprise that Anusha aspires to holding

a political office.

In a press statement the East Meadow School

District said it is proud to have this civic-mind-

ed young woman represent the district at the

HOBY Leadership Conference.

Anusha Syed

Washington, DC: The next time you stir

black pepper, cumin, chili or cardamom

into your stew, think about this: Nearly

one quarter of the spices, oils and food

colorings used in the United States

comes from India. In fact, India is the

largest producer, consumer and exporter

of spices globally.

But that’s not all. India is an important

source of trade with the U.S. In 2011,

India was the second largest drug

exporter and the seventh largest food

exporter to the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) works hard to make sure that

these India-produced foods and drugs

are safe, effective and of good quality.

With offices in New Delhi and

Mumbai staffed by technical experts and

experienced investigators in food and

medical products, FDA maintains close

contact with India’s government, indus-

tries, trade associations, and scientific

and academic communities.

Consequently, India’s officials are better

informed about FDA’s import require-

ments and the agency is able to share

best practices involving the production

of FDA-regulated products.

Such contacts have been especially

helpful when unexpected issues arise.

“We know who the decision makers are

and who to contact to mobilize a

response when problems arise that could

affect people at home,” says Bruce Ross,

FDA’s country director in India, who is

based in the New Delhi office.

Ross cites an event that occurred in

March 2012 as an example of the impor-

tance of FDA’s presence in India.

Experts from across FDA worked around

the clock to find the source of a

Salmonella outbreak sweeping the

United States. When the source was nar-

rowed to a manufacturer in India, two

FDA food investigators from the

Mumbai office were dispatched to the

facility. After FDA’s inspection verified

that the tuna product implicated in the

outbreak came from the suspect facility

and uncovered potential sources of con-

tamination, the Indian government

pulled the manufacturer’s license, Ross

says.

The incident demonstrates that when

collaborating with officials in another

country and supporting their efforts to

resolve problems quickly, there’s no sub-

stitute for being on the scene, rather than

thousands of miles away, Ross says.

Similarly, when contaminated materi-

als were discovered in an intravenous

product manufactured in India, FDA

investigators went to the manufacturing

plant and helped identify the source of

the contamination.

FDA could then issue an import alert to

flag the suspect product when offered for

input into the U.S.

Ross describes FDA’s India office as a

portal through which safety information

on food and drugs flows back and forth

among FDA, the Indian government and

industry.

This relationship is essential when new

requirements come along, including

those that are part of the Food Safety and

Modernization Act (FSMA), currently

being implemented by FDA.

FDA works with Indian govt. and variousagencies to ensure quality

imports reach US.

25% spices, oils and food colorings used in US come from India

Son guns down fatherover dispute in North Carolina

Raleigh, NC : In a ghastly act, a 28-year-old

Indian-American has killed his father in a North

Carolina city, following a dispute between them.

Jiten Ashwin Patel, 28, is charged with first-

degree murder of his father Ashwin Kumar

Vaghjibhai Patel, 62, and is being held without

bond at the Gaston County Jail, police said.

The incident happened in the Mount Holly

city, a suburb of Raleigh. The Mount Holly

Interim Police Chief David James said police

found Jiten Patel driving the Camry in nearby

Gastonia, N.C. Jiten was arrested after he was

on the run for more than 12 hours.

Both the father and son operated a BP gas sta-

tion in the city. The motive of the attack has not

been determined yet. According to the arrest

warrant affidavit, Ashwin Kumar Vaghjibhai

Patel died of several gunshot wounds on January

11. His body was found inside his home and was

first reported by his family members.

As per the affidavit, Jiten was not at home

when the police arrived. But they found a note

written by Jiten in which he said that he was

sorry for what he did and that he was going to

kill himself. The Police said Jiten had a criminal

record. In 2005, he spent several months in

prison and was convicted of felony larceny. In

December 2002, he was convicted of a drug

charge in Jackson County and was placed on

probation.

7January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: An India ori-

gin researcher working with the

University of Arizona has

explained how social media

sites like Twiiter act as a tool of

spreading news.

The answer, according to pro-

fessor Sudha Ram's research,

varies widely by news agency,

and there may not be one uni-

versally applicable strategy for

maximizing Twitter effective-

ness.

However, news agencies can

learn a lot by looking at how

their news diffuses once it is

posted on Twitter, said Ram,

McClelland Professor of Management

Information Systems in the UA's Eller

College of Management.

Ram, who recently presented her findings

at the International Workshop on Business

Applications of Social Network Analysis in

Istanbul, examined, over a six-month peri-

od, the Twitter activity of 12 major news

organizations focused on U.S. news, global

news, technology news or financial news.

Ram, working with Devi Bhattacharya,

an MIS doctoral student at the UA, tracked

what happened to a news article after it was

tweeted by a news organization.

Together, they looked at how many peo-

ple retweeted, or reposted, the article on

their own Twitter feeds, then how many

times it was subsequently retweeted from

those accounts and so forth.

Of the organizations analyzed, BBC had

the maximum reach in terms of affected

users and retweet levels.

BBC articles also had the highest chance

of survival on Twitter, with 0.1 percent of

articles surviving, through continual

retweets, for three or more days.

The BBC's high numbers were likely due

in large part to the fact that the main "bbc-

news" Twitter account also is supported by

two other agency accounts-"bbcbreaking"

and "bbcworld," Ram said.

Overall, Ram said the data showed that

articles on Twitter dissipate fairly quickly,

with retweeting typically ending between

10 and 72 hours after an article is originally

shared.

Sudha Ram’s research reveals how newsspreads on Twitter

Washington, DC:

South Carolina's

Indian American

Governor Nikki

Haley bid tearful

goodbye to her hus-

band Michael, who

has been deployed on

a year-long mission to

Afghanistan.

Michael Haley is

captain in the South

Carolina National

Guard; which he

joined in 2006 and

this is his first deployment to

Afghanistan.

He will undergo a month-long

training in Indiana before being

leaving for Afghanistan where he

will be deployed as part of a unit

that will teach Afghan farmers to

grow sustainable crops.

At the departure ceremony, Nikki

Haley and her two children, daugh-

ter Rena, 14, and son Nalin, 10,

were seen hugging Michael and

wiping off tears alongside the fam-

ilies of other departing servicemen

and women.

"We are a proud military family

who understands the sacrifices any

family goes through when a loved

one is serving his or her country.

This is what our men and women

in uniform sign up for, and

although Michael, like his brothers

and sisters, is looking forward to

his mission, we will miss him

while he's away.”

"Rena, Nalin and I are proud of

Michael and will pray for his - and

all others' - safe return," Nikki

Haley wrote on her Facebook page.

"Praying for Nikki Haley's hus-

band Michael and all of our troops

as they serve our country over-

seas," Bobby Jindal, the Governor

of Louisiana said in a tweet.

Nikki Haley's husband Michaeldeployed in Afghanistan

Houston: As the US debates its gun

control laws, Louisiana's Indian

American Governor Bobby Jindal is

seeking a law that will keep guns

out of hands of the mentally ill

while allowing other citizens to own

weapons.

In an effort to reduce gun-related

deaths and injury, Jindal says he will

seek legislation to improve gun

safety in Louisiana by enabling the

state to report to the federally

administered National Instant

Criminal Background Check

System (NICS) database an individ-

ual's eligibility to purchase firearms

based on mental health records.

The "relief from disabilities" pro-

vision will protect the rights of

healthy, law-abiding citizens and

allow Louisiana to utilize federal

funding for NICS.

Similar laws exist in Alabama,

Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New

York, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas,

Virginia and Wisconsin.

Jindal said passage of such legis-

lation would enhance gun safety and

mental health reporting standards in

Louisiana.

"Too often, both in Louisiana and

in states across the nation, the men-

tally ill are slipping through the

cracks and getting lost in the sys-

tem," Jindal said in a statement.

"In order to protect these individu-

als and the communities they reside

in, it is imperative that (we) define

situations where mental health eligi-

bility must be reported and when a

person would be disqualified from

purchasing a firearm," he said.

The Governor said the determina-

tion about disqualification would be

made by a court on the basis of laid

out criteria.

"Criteria will include whether or

not a person is deemed to be a dan-

ger to himself, herself or others as a

result of mental illness; whether or

not a person is deemed incapable of

managing his or her own affairs;

whether or not a person has been

found not guilty by reason of insani-

ty or other mental disease or defect

in a criminal case; whether or not a

person has been found guilty but

insane in a criminal case; whether or

not a person has been found incom-

petent to stand trial; and whether or

a not a person has been formally and

involuntarily committed to a mental

institution or asylum."

The law would define situations

when the state may request to have

an individual deemed competent by

health care professionals removed

from the NICS database.

Bobby Jindal to propose gun safety legislation

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

Prof Sudha Ram

Gov Nikki Haley bids emotional goodbye tohusband Michael. Also seen daughter Rena

and son Nalin.

8 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Top US leaders to attend Indiaspora Inaugural Ball

Sikh Americans favor tougher gun laws

Washington, DC: The Sikh-Amer-

ican community has lauded Presi-

dent Barack Obama's push for

tougher gun laws in the wake of De-

cember massacre of 20 children and

six teachers at an elementary school

in Connecticut.

The Sikh community supports

Obama's initiative to take measures

to stop the proliferation of deadly

weapons in the American society,

said Rajwant Singh, Chairman of

the Sikh council on Religion and

Education (SCORE).

"Too many innocent people have

become victims of these senseless

killings," said the community leader

who was among the invitees at a

White House event Wednesday

where the President unveiled the

most sweeping gun control propos-

als in two decades.

Urging the Congress to step in and

show real leadership in this hour of

need, Rajwant Singh said "it's a

moral obligation to create safety for

all particularly our young ones. "

The Sikh community will observe

Feb 5, marking six months of the

August shooting at a Sikh Gurdwara

in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that left six

worshipers dead, as a day of prayers

for all victims of gun violence in

America and will ask congregants to

contact their representatives to sup-

port gun control legislation.

Rajwant Singh was among 12

faith leaders, including a representa-

tive of the Hindu American Founda-

tion invited to meet Vice President

Joe Biden, who headed a task force

set up by Obama to to examine gun

control steps after the Newtown

shootings.

Biden's recommendations formed

the basis of the package of propos-

als Obama announced Wednesday.

Rajwant Singh he had suggested

to Biden a major educational initia-

tive to teach children against indis-

criminate violence with a major

push at the state and the federal

level.

The Sikh community was looking

forward to work with the "Obama

administration and Congress to find

the comprehensive solution that

makes our society more secure

where we can raise our children free

from any fear of violence," he said.

Parminder Singh jumps into Arizona meteor crater to “appease gods”New York: Parminder Singh, an Indi-

an American resident of California

who was rescued early Jan. 11 from the

bottom of a mine shaft in northern Ari-

zona's Meteor Crater reportedly,

jumped in to “appease the gods,' au-

thorities said.

Coconino County Sheriff's officials

said Singh told deputies after the eight-

hour rescue in freezing temperatures

that he intentionally jumped into the

shaft, which is 100 feet deep and

closed to the public.

The 28-year-old Singh, of Union

City, was reported to be in fair condi-

tion at Flagstaff Medical Center. A hos-

pital spokeswoman said Singh was not

in any condition to speak to reporters

and she would not disclose what in-

juries he suffered. But sheriff's

spokesman Gerry Blair said deputies

believe Singh had “a broken arm and a

broken leg and some abrasions.'

Blair said it was still unclear if Singh

came all the way from California just

to jump into the vertical mine shaft.

During an interview with deputies

after the rescue, they reported Singh

told them he intentionally jumped into

the shaft to “appease the gods.”

Meteor Crater, a tourist attraction 35

miles east of Flagstaff, was created by

an asteroid about 50,000 years ago. It

is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in

circumference and about 600 feet deep.

An employee at the park called the

sheriff's office about 4 p.m. Jan. 10 to

report a man trespassing at the bottom

of the crater. He then told authorities

that he watched through binoculars as

the man jumped feet first into the mine

shaft, which is surrounded by a seven-

foot-high fence topped with barbed

wire.

It took hours for rescuers to get to the

opening of the mine shaft and they

were battling 20-degree temperatures

with a wind chill factor of below zero.

Arizona's meteor crater fromwhere Parminder Singh was

rescued

Washington, DC: The who's who of Amer-

ica, including several governors, lawmakers

and government officials, are expected to

participate in the 'Indiaspora 2013 Inaugural

Ball' being organized by Indian-American

community to honor President Barack Oba-

ma's second term and highlight the benefits

of Indo-US ties.

More than 1,000 people are expected to

participate in the event on January 19 here.

"We want the Indiaspora ball to be more

than a fantastic party. Many of Indiaspora's

leaders have called for us to raise our voices

together with the aim of setting an Indian-

American policy agenda," said California-

based M R Rangaswami, the brain behind

the first of its kind event.

"With hundreds of influential community

members in the same room as local, state and

national political officials, there will be no

better time to start a national conversation,"

he said.

The interest level of the community is very

high, Mr Rangaswami said. "People are ex-

cited and enthusiastic about getting together

this coming weekend in Washington DC."

Prominent among those to have confirmed

their participation are Senator Mark Warner,

who is also Co-Chair of the Senate Caucus;

and Congressman Joe Crowley, Co-Chair of

the Congressional Caucus on India and Indi-

an-Americans.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell (Chair-

man of the National Governors Association);

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Mas-

sachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Califor-

nia Attorney General Kamala D Harris; and

Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa

have also confirmed their attendance.

Congressman Ami Bera, only the third In-

dian-American lawmaker ever, and Con-

gresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is the first-

ever Hindu lawmaker, would also attend the

inaugural ball.

US Ambassador to Belize, Vinai Thumala-

pally, the first Indian American to occupy

such a post, and USAID Chairman Raj Shah,

the highest ranking Indian-American in the

Obama Administration, are among the many

to participate in the ball from the US gov-

ernment.

Mr Rangaswami said the Indiaspora Inau-

gural Ball will serve as a catalyst for sup-

porting Indian-American candidates at all

levels of US government regardless of party

affiliation; raising the awareness and re-

sources needed to take care of the underpriv-

ileged and "invisibles" in the US communi-

ty, and a kick-start for Obama's second-term

"strategic partnership" with India.

"Entertainment will be headlined by Red

Baraat, The Mona Khan Company and

Shankar Tucker.

Food Network star Maneet Chauhan will

create an exquisite meal which will be ac-

companied by exotic Indian drinks," Mr

Rangaswami said.

Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami

Gov Jack Markell, Gov Martin O'Malley, Gov Deval Patrick, California Attorney General Kamala D Harris, LAMayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congressman Ami Bera, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, US Ambassador to Belize

Vinai Thumalapally and USAID Chairman Raj Shah, are among the many expected to participate

Chicago: In the week since news sur-

faced that a Chicago man was poisoned

to death with cyanide just before he was

to collect a lottery payout, surprising de-

tails about his convoluted family saga

have trickled out daily.

Urooj Khan's widow and siblings

fought for months over the business-

man's estate, including the lottery check.

His father-in-law owed tens of thousands

of dollars in taxes. His 17-year-old

daughter from a previous marriage had

moved out of her stepmom's home and

into his sister's after his death. Then his

ex-wife came forward, announcing in

anguish that she hadn't seen her daughter

in more than a decade and hadn't even

known she was still in the U.S. The

slowly emerging family backstory and

ever-expanding cast of characters have

added layers of intrigue to a baffling case

in which authorities have revealed little

and everyone is wondering: Who did it?

The victim's relatives hint at family

squabbles. And Khan's wife, Shabana

Ansari, has endured clutches of reporters

outside the family home and business,

asking even whether it was a lamb or

beef curry dinner she made for Khan on

the night he died.

“She's just as curious as anyone else to

get to the bottom of what caused her hus-

band's death,' said Al-Haroon Husain,

who is representing Ansari in the case

that will divide up Khan's estate, includ-

ing the $425,000 in lottery winnings.

Ansari and other relatives have denied

any role in his death and expressed a de-

sire to learn the truth.

Lottery winner’s death: Family backstory adds dramatic twists

9January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS

Washington: President Obama

announced sweeping gun control pro-

posals Wednesday designed to curb

mass violence, including new restric-

tions on guns, efforts to enhance

school safety, and improving treat-

ment of mental health issues. Some

items will be enacted via executive

order while others will require action

on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post

examined the larger proposals that

will require action from Congress and

offered educated guess of how likely

they are to pass.

A ban on assault weapons and

high-capacity magazines: Sen.

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is set to

introduce such a ban in the Senate,

but its odds of passage don’t look that

promising right now. Both Senate

Majority Leader Harry Reid and

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer

have expressed doubts, as do conser-

vative Democrats. The National Rifle

Association opposes such a ban.

But 58 percent Americans in a poll

supported a nationwide ban on the

sale of assault weapons. So odds of

passage: Less than 50 percent.

Requiring universal background

checks in gun sales: There is better

consensus around the issue of

strengthening background checks by

requiring them in firearm sales at gun

shows and in other private transac-

tions, to end the so-called “gun show

loophole.”

88% of Americans support such a

measure, including 89 percent of

Republicans. Odds of passage: 75

percent or better.

Enhancing school safety: The

Obama administration is proposing

enhancing the physical security of

schools and better preparing them to

respond to outbreaks of mass vio-

lence. The administration’s proposal

includes a call to put as many as

1,000 trained police officers and

school counselors on the job. The

administration is leaving the choice to

individual school districts. It is also

calling on Congress to provide $30

million in one-time grants to states to

help school districts shore up emer-

gency management plans.

Overall, few Americans seem to

disagree with the idea that school

safety must be beefed up. The differ-

ences arise when it comes to the

specifics. The Washington Post-ABC

News poll showed, for example, that

most support putting armed guards in

every school — which is the idea the

NRA has put forth. Odds of passage:

Very good.

Albany, NY: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a

package of tougher gun measures Tuesday, soon after the

state Assembly voted to bolster the state's ban on assault

weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The Democrat-dominated Assembly passed the provi-

sion Tuesday by a 104-43 vote after the state Senate

approved it by a wide margin late Monday.

The signing makes New York the first state to enact

tighter restrictions on guns after the Dec. 14 massacre in

Newtown, Conn., in which 28 people died including 20

children.

"I am proud to be a New Yorker today," Cuomo said

shortly before signing the bill. "I am proud to be part of

this government, not just because New York has the first

bill, but because New York has the best bill."

The gun-control package makes changes and additions

to a broad swath of state law, ranging from requiring uni-

versal background checks for all gun and ammunition

sales, boosting the state's power to confiscate firearms

from the mentally ill and increasing penalties for gun-

related crime.

The new laws provide for an immediate ban on semi-

automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols with a "military-

style feature," such as a flash suppressor or a bayonet

mount. Guns that had been legal but are being banned

would be grandfathered in, but their owners must register

their firearms with the state or sell them out of state with-

in one year. Magazines are limited to a maximum capaci-

ty of seven bullets, down from the current 10.

The legislation includes a "Webster provision," a life-

without-parole sentence for anyone convicted of killing a

first responder. The provision is a reference to the

Christmas Eve shooting in a Rochester, N.Y., suburb

where two firefighters were shot and killed.

An additional provision permits gun licensees to opt out

of having their personal information available to the pub-

lic under the state's Freedom of Information law. It was

inserted in response to a controversy that erupted after

Journal News (Westchester, N.Y.) published an interac-

tive map with names and addresses of handgun-permit

holders in two suburban New York counties.

For the first 120 days of the new law, no information on

gun licenses will be available to the public, then the opt-

out provision will take effect. People who already have

licenses will be able to fill out a form at their county

clerks' offices to opt out. Criticism from gun rights advo-

cates and a number of Republicans in the state Legislature

was swift. The National Rifle Association, which had pre-

viously labeled Cuomo as "America's most-anti-gun gov-

ernor," expressed "outrage" at the "draconian gun-control

bill that was rushed through the process."

Obama’s anti-gun proposals andchances Congress will pass them

New York first state to pass tough gun laws since Sandy Hook

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signingthe gun control law

Washington: The US Defense

Secretary, Leon Panetta, has

pledged to "take all necessary

steps" to rescue American

hostages taken by terrorists who

took over a natural gas plant in

Algeria, Xinhua reported.

"I want to assure the American

people that the United States will

take all necessary and proper

steps that are required to deal

with this situation," Panetta was

quoted by the American Forces

Press Service as telling the US

reporters travelling with him on

his current visit to Rome.

The US defense chief arrived in

Rome Tuesday on a six-day trip

to Europe to visit defense coun-

terparts and troops.

He said the US strongly con-

demns these kinds of terrorist

acts. "It is a very serious matter

when Americans are taken

hostage, along with others."

Panetta said he did not know

how many Americans were being

held by the terrorists, but noted

that the US and British authori-

ties -- the natural gas complex is

partly owned by British

Petroleum -- are in close consul-

tation with their Algerian coun-

terparts to learn as much as possi-

ble.

Panetta said he was not sure

whether there was a link between

the terrorist attack in Algeria and

the French military operation in

Mali, where France launched air

strikes against militants that he

identified as affiliated with al-

Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb

(AQIM).

Stating that he had spoken with

European government and

defense leaders in Portugal,

Spain and Italy about the situa-

tion in Mali, Panetta said: "I

believe that there is a consensus

that France took the right step

here to ... deter AQIM from tak-

ing even further action there."

He noted that European defense

ministers would hold a meeting

Thursday to discuss ongoing

assistance in Mali.

Washington: Declaring that

America is not a deadbeat nation,

President Barack Obama has asked

the US Congress to raise the debt

ceiling while making it clear that

he would not negotiate with the

opposition Republicans over the

issue.

Raising the debt ceiling is not a

license to spend more money,

Obama said Monday at the last

press conference of his first term.

Rather, he said, it would allow

Treasury to pay financial obliga-

tions already authorized by law-

makers.

"America cannot afford another

debate with this Congress about

whether or not they should pay the

bills they've already racked up. ...

We are not a deadbeat nation."

But Republicans, who control the

House of Representatives, appear

to be equally adamant, saying they

would not support a debt ceiling

increase unless it is matched or

exceeded by spending cuts.

"The consequences of failing to

increase the debt ceiling are real,

but so too are the consequences of

allowing our spending problem to

go unresolved," said Republican

House Speaker John Boehner in

response to the president's com-

ments.

Meanwhile, the Treasury

Department followed up Obama's

call with a missive to

Congressional leaders saying it

will run out of ways to keep the

country under the legal borrowing

limit sometime between mid-

February and early March.

US borrowing officially hit its

$16.394 trillion legal limit Dec 31.

As a result, until the debt ceiling is

raised, Treasury is not allowed to

borrow new money to help it pay

all the country's financial obliga-

tions.

To cover near-term borrowing

needs, Treasury has begun using

"extraordinary measures", or cash

management through selective

payments, to harvest $200 billion.

"If extraordinary measures were

allowed to expire without an

increase in borrowing authority,

Treasury would be left to fund the

government solely with the cash

we have on hand on any given

day," Treasury Secretary Tim

Geithner said in a letter to congres-

sional leaders.

Panetta vows to rescue US hostages in Algeria We are not a deadbeat nation: Obama

10 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoUS AFFAIRS

Facebook launchesnew search tool

Washington: Social media giant Facebook has

unveiled a new tool -- Graph Search -- to enable

users in conducting targeted searches for people,

places, photos and interests on the site.

"You should theoretically be able to ask

Facebook 'Who are my friends who live in San

Francisco?' and Graph Search should be able to

return an answer to you," Facebook founder

Mark Zuckerberg told reporters Tuesday.

Facebook's Graph Search photo component is

the first of its kind for the California- based tech

company.

"Photos will be surfaced based on the query,

and then based on the number of likes and com-

ments," said Lars Rasmussen, Facebook's direc-

tor of engineering. "For example, you can look

up photos of friends taken in Paris, or even pho-

tos of friends taken in national parks," he said.

Want Thai food in New York City? The new

tool will let users see which friends have dined

where, and which restaurants were "Liked" by

friends. And using natural language search

terms such as "friends who like college football",

Graph Search is also able to comb through the

billions of "Likes" to curate results, a tool that

advertisers might find useful, experts said.

"You can only search for content that has been

shared with you," Zuckerberg said, adding that a

message will appear on users' Newsfeeds to

remind them to review their privacy settings

before the product begins to roll out this week.

As ZeroDarkThirty captivates audiences, director defends torture scenesWashington: After the Oscar-winning "The

Hurt Locker" on the Iraq war, Kathryn

Bigelow now brings one of the world's great-

est manhunts in "Zero Dark Thirty", key

sequences of which have been shot in India.

Though the director admits it is a sensitive

topic as it involves Al Qaeda leader Osama

bin Laden, she says it "has been sensibly and

cautiously made".

"Zero Dark Thirty" chronicles the decade-

long hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama after the

September 2001 attacks and his death at the

hands of the Navy SEAL Team 6 in

Abbotabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.

"Yes, it is sensitive topic, which has been

sensibly and cautiously made, which the peo-

ple can judge for themselves. The movie is

not for anyone or against any one; it has no

agenda. It is a very neutral depiction of what

happened during the world's greatest man-

hunt," Bigelow said.

"The movie is based on a first-hand

account; so we have tried to keep the cinemat-

ic version of it as accurate as possible. This is

a naturally dramatic and exciting story and, as

you know, it is one of the biggest manhunt

story ever. This is a story told by the people

who lived and encountered the hunt," she

added. Now, however, Bigelow has had to

defend her use of the torture scenes in the film

after audiences and senators alike have called

her out on their nature. In response, Bigelow

released an open letter.

"Experts disagree sharply on the facts and

particulars of the intelligence hunt, and

doubtlessly that debate will continue," the 61-

year-old Bigelow writes. "As for what I per-

sonally believe, which has been the subject of

inquiries, accusations and speculation, I think

Osama bin Laden was found due to ingenious

detective work. Torture was, however,

employed in the early years of the hunt. That

doesn't mean it was the key to finding Bin

Laden. It means it is a part of the story we

couldn't ignore."

The film has done well so far and last

month won four Golden Globe nominations.

Washington: Cycling superstar Lance

Armstrong, who overcame cancer to win the

Tour de France seven consecutive times, and

has defiantly denied using performance-

enhancing drugs, has admitted to doping in

an interview with talk show host Oprah

Winfrey.

"I think he was just, ready. I think the

velocity of everything that's come at him in

the past several months and the past several

weeks, he was just ready," Winfrey told

"CBS This Morning" Tuesday.

The interview - taped in Austin, Texas

Monday - is scheduled to air over the course

of two nights, beginning Thursday on

Winfrey's OWN network.

Last year, the US Anti-Doping Agency

(USADA) stripped Armstrong of all the titles

he had won since 1998 and announced a life-

time ban from all sports that follow the

World Anti-Doping Agency code.

The USADA found in its report that as a

champion cyclist, Armstrong took part in

and helped enforce "the most sophisticated,

professionalized and successful doping pro-

gram that sport has ever seen".

In an effort to reduce the ban, Armstrong is

set to testify against officials from the

International Cycling Union, which governs

the sport, The New York Times reported, cit-

ing "people with knowledge of the situa-

tion".

CBS News reported Armstrong is negotiat-

ing the possible return of a portion of money

his team - sponsored by the US Postal

Service - received, an amount said to be in

the millions.

Winfrey described Armstrong as "emotion-

al" at times during the interview, telling CBS

that "emotional doesn't begin to describe the

intensity of the difficulty that I think he

experienced in talking about some of these

things". She also called it "certainly the

biggest interview I've ever done in terms of

its exposure".

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Kathryn Bigelow

Fallen cycling star Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong admits doping to Oprah Winfrey

11January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

Chautala, son convicted in graft case

Akbar Owaisi produced in Medak court

New Delhi: Former Haryana chief minister Om

Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay were taken

into police custody after a CBI court convicted

them in a recruitment scam involving JBT

(junior basic training) teachers.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and

son Ajay, both Haryana legislators, were taken

into custody immediately after the ruling by the

Central Bureau of Investigation court in Rohini.

The court also convicted 53 others for the illegal

recruitment of over 3,000 JBT teachers. The

court will pronounce the sentence on Jan 22. The

CBI had formally charged the father-son duo and

others June 6, 2008, in connection with the scam

that took place in 1999-2000 when Chautala was

chief minister of Haryana.

Over 3,000 teachers were to be recruited in the

state and Chautala had pressurized a senior offi-

cial, Sanjeev Kumar, to change the list of select-

ed candidates by fudging the marks of certain

favorites.

Later, Sanjeev Kumar went to the Supreme

Court and submitted before it the list of the can-

didates originally selected. The official also

alleged that money had changed hands in the

recruitment scam.

The Supreme Court directed the CBI to inves-

tigate the matter, especially the bribery charges.

The federal investigating agency in its

chargesheet said forged documents were used to

appoint the teachers.

Although Chautala alleged that he was politi-

cally victimized, the Rohini court convicted him

in the case.

Son of former deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal,

Chautala is the leader of opposition in the

Haryana assembly. The INLD was earlier part of

the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Chautala and his two sons -- Ajay Singh

Chautala and Abhey Singh Chautala -- are legis-

lators in the Haryana assembly. He was the chief

minister of Haryana between 1999-2005.

Hyderabad: MIM leader

Akbaruddin Owaisi was produced

in a court in Medak district in con-

nection with a case booked against

him in 2005.

The leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen leader, who was arrest-

ed and jailed last week for making a

hate speech, was brought to

Sangareddy town from Adilabad

district jail. He was produced in the

court, which adjourned the hearing

to Jan 28.

The court had issued Prisoner

Transit (PT) warrant against him in

connection with a 2005 case for

obstructing officials from carrying

out the demolition of a place of

worship to facilitate road extension.

He had allegedly misbehaved

with then Medak district collector

at Muttangi village.

Sangareddy is about 55 km from

Hyderabad, while Adilabad is some

290 km away from the state capital.

Several MIM workers who had

gathered at the court complex

raised slogans when Akbar Owaisi

was brought there amid tight securi-

ty. Police used force to disperse

them.

Akbar Owaisi was having diffi-

culty in walking and was seen

keeping one hand on his stomach,

indicating that he was in pain. MIM

leader Afsar Khan said the legisla-

tor was not well and alleged that he

was not being given proper treat-

ment.

Akbar Owaisi, a member of the

Andhra Pradesh assembly from

Chandrayangutta constituency in

the old city of Hyderabad, is facing

charges of sedition, waging war

against the nation and criminal con-

spiracy.

A CBI court convicted them in arecruitment scam involving JBT (junior

basic training) teachers

Akbar Owaisi is facing chargesof sedition, waging war against

the nation and criminal con-spiracysic training) teachers

Chandigarh: The fate of hundreds of teach-

ers in government schools in Haryana has

become uncertain with the conviction of for-

mer chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, his

son and 53 others in the JBT (junior basic

trained) recruitment controversy.

Chautala and others were convicted for

tampering with the selection list of over

3,200 teachers recruited in 1999-2000 when

he was chief minister and selecting them on

the basis of bribes, nepotism and favoritism.

Senior functionaries in the government

maintained that a decision on the fate of the

selected teachers, who have been in govern-

ment service for over 12 years, will be decid-

ed by the present Congress government led

by Bhupinder Singh Hooda only after receiv-

ing a copy of the judgment of the Rohini

CBI court.

"We will evaluate the court order and then

the government will decide the next course

of action," said Education Minister Geeta

Bhukkal.

Some of the selected teachers had in fact

gone to the Punjab and Haryana high court to

seek promotions.

A senior education department officer said

the government and the education depart-

ment will have to look into all the aspects,

including the fate of the wrong selections as

well as those who were left out of the selec-

tion to accommodate the favorites.

Chautala's fallout: Haryanateachers' fate uncertain

12 January 19-25,2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA

New Delhi: Pakistan has to take

concrete steps to reduce tensions

in the wake of the outrage over the

killing of two Indian soldiers near

the Line of Control, one of whom

was beheaded, security analysts

say.

They also asserted that India's

"no business as usual" move

towards its neighbor was a reflec-

tion of public sentiment.

On January 17, Indian and

Pakistani forces agreed to main-

tain peace on the LoC in Jammu

and Kashmir after days of bitter

stand-off that had threatened their

uneasy ties.

The two armies agreed not to

violate the 2003 ceasefire on the

LoC, an officer said. "The

DGMOs (Director General of

Military Operations) of India and

Pakistan had a 10 minute talk in

the morning and agreed not to vio-

late the ceasefire and exercise

maximum restraint," an Indian

Army spokesperson told IANS.

The DGMOs agreed not to allow

the situation along the LoC, which

divides Kashmir between India

and Pakistan, to escalate, he

added.

Former Intelligence Bureau

chief Ajit Doval said it was for

Pakistan to address India's con-

cerns over the killing of its sol-

diers, through proper follow-up

action that India could verify.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court.

If it takes suitable measures, the

situation can be de-escalated. That

would be in the interest of both

countries," Doval said.

"It will necessitate some con-

crete and verifiable actions by

Pakistan rather than mere assur-

ances," he said.

Doval said Pakistan needed to

stop violating the Line of Control.

It must also act to trace the culprits

responsible for killing and mutilat-

ing Indian soldiers, he said.

"Somebody is responsible, and

Pakistan needs to take action," he

said.

Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and

Lance Naik Hemraj were killed

and their bodies mutilated in the

Mendhar sector in Poonch district

of Jammu and Kashmir Jan 8.

Hemraj's head was missing from

the body, and there is concern that

it might have been taken away as a

trophy by the raiders.

Pakistan has denied any involve-

ment in the killings, and accused

Indian forces of killing two of its

soldiers - one on Jan 6 and another

four days later.

Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh said there can be "no busi-

ness as usual" with Pakistan. He

called on the neighboring country

to ensure that those responsible for

the barbaric and heinous act be

brought to book.

Indian Army chief General

Bikram Singh termed the Jan 8

incident a "gruesome and an

unpardonable act". He said his

forces could not be expected to

remain passive, and would reserve

the right to retaliate at a time and

place of their choosing.

Doval said that besides bringing

those responsible for the gruesome

act to book, Pakistan must also

offer India an assurance that such

"inhuman activities" would not

happen again.

The prime minister's remarks

reflected the mood of the people

over the incident and the subse-

quent denial by Pakistan, Doval

said.

Former foreign secretary

Shashank said the prime minister's

remarks were cautious, and the

government was still waiting for a

response from Pakistan to the con-

cerns raised.

He said that it was now up to

Pakistan to decide if it wanted to

move ahead in bilateral relation-

ship.

"Pakistan has to take the initia-

tive now, and India has to

respond," he said, adding: "We

have to prepare ourselves for any

eventuality."

With tension persisting on the

LoC over ceasefire violations, the

government put on hold the Visa-

on-Arrival (VoA) regime for sen-

ior citizens of Pakistan. Its players

in the Hockey India League (HIL)

have also been asked to go back.

External Affairs Minister

Salman Khurshid had made it

clear that the government would

not ignore the brazen denial and

the lack of a proper response from

Pakistan to India's demarches over

the Jan 8 incident. He said bilater-

al relations could not remain unaf-

fected.

Ball is in Pakistan's court

US favors India-Pakistan dialogueWashington: The United States

has said it favors a dialogue

between India and Pakistan as

the "right way" to resolve ten-

sions over the killing of two

Indian soldiers along the Line of

Control in Kashmir.

"We favor dialogue between

India and Pakistan on this issue

in any and all channels that both

governments consider appropri-

ate," State Department

spokesperson Victoria Nuland

told reporters in response to a

question.

"That's the right way to work

through this," she added.

Nuland said US was concerned

about the violence along the

LoC, but was encouraged that the

two countries had recommitted to

a dialogue to calm the situation.

Khar calls for talks with KhurshidI s l a m a b a d :

Pakistan Foreign

Minister Hina

Rabbani Khar has

called for talks

with her Indian

c o u n t e r p a r t

Salman Khurshid,

saying that contin-

ued tension along

the Line of

Control (LoC) in

Kashmir region

was not in the

interest of South

Asian peace.

Stating that

Pakistan had gone out of the way

to build constructive relationship

with India, Khar said: "We have

invested hugely in the dialogue

process and have worked energeti-

cally to keep the dialogue process

moving forward in a sustained and

constructive manner."

Earlier, Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh said that there

can be "no business as usual" with

Pakistan following the brutal

killing of two Indian soldiers.

Indian Army chief General

Bikram Singh termed the killing

of the Indian soldiers "an unpar-

donable act" and said his forces

reserved the "right to retaliate".

The two armies have agreed not to violate the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar

Poonch : Life has turned full cir-

cle for many villagers whose

homes virtually hug Jammu and

Kashmir's porous border with

Pakistan.

With the Indian and Pakistani

militaries locked in fresh shelling

and firing, and with tensions peak-

ing, panic has gripped the villages,

which had been breathing easy

since the 2003 truce.

"They (villagers close to the bor-

der) are fearing a collapse of the

ceasefire agreement (between

India and Pakistan)," said a

Poonch resident, Aijaz Kazmi.

Hashim Din, 75, of Khari hamlet

recalled what life was like before

the two countries decided to sign a

truce along the winding LoC.

"Earlier we led a life of animals,"

Din said over telephone. "We had

to frequently migrate to safer areas

during firing across the LoC. The

firing would kill people and our

cattle and damage our homes."

In the process, fields were not

farmed. People preferred to build

mud houses instead of concrete

ones due to frequent firing. The

2003 ceasefire changed all that.

But the bliss is over, for now.

After Pakistan accused India of

killing a soldier on Jan 6, two

Indian soldiers were killed in

Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani

raiders beheaded one and took

away his head, and mutilated the

other soldier's body. Since then,

Pakistan says it has lost two more

soldiers to Indian firing.

Many of the villages -- also

called hamlets because of their size

-- are located close to the border,

so close that one can see move-

ments of troops and people across

the LoC.

Each hamlet is home to 150 to

200 people, dominantly Sunni

Muslims. The Indian Army posts

are not far away.

Already, the Pakistani Army has

breached the truce 10 times this

year, compared to 117 last year

and 61 in 2011. Indians say that

Pakistani forces open fire at Indian

posts to help terrorists to sneak

into Jammu and Kashmir.

Chand Mohammad, a 45-year-

old farmer in Salotri village, said

children in the border hamlets had

stopped going to schools "as their

route is exposed to shelling".

Pakistan firing hits life on Kashmir border

After a week full of tension across Line of Control (LoC), India and Pakistan have finally agreed to maintain peace after the beheading oftwo Indian soldiers by Pakistan troops that angered the nation; US wants amicable solution through peaceful dialogue

The Pakistani Army has breached the truce 10 times this year

New Delhi: Faced with a direct

contest with the BJP in five

assembly polls this year and in

the 2014 general elections, the

Congress is set to discuss ways to

counter the main opposition party

at its 'Chintan Shivir' brainstorm-

ing session from Jan 18-20 at

Jaipur, party sources said.

Aimed at paving the way for

the return of the Congress-led

United Progresive Alliance for a

third consecutive term in 2014,

the conclave is expected to draw

a roadmap for the party to count-

er the BJP in the assembly polls

and the Lok Sabha elections.

"We need a strategy to counter

the main opposition (BJP) in the

assembly polls and the general

elections," a senior Congress

leader who did not wish to be

named said.

Assembly elections are due this

year in Delhi, Karnataka,

Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and

Madhya Pradesh. While the

Congress rules in Delhi and

Rajasthan, the BJP is in power in

the other three states.

Four states in the northeast -

Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura

and Mizoram - are also set to

vote for new assemblies but there

no direct Congress-BJP challenge

here.

During the conclave, a sub-

group on future political chal-

lenges is expected to deliberate

Jan 18-19 on the possible strate-

gy and this will then be discussed

at the All India Congress

Committee (AICC) session Jan

20, sources said.

The recent win in the Himachal

Pradesh assembly polls proved to

be a leveller for the Congress.

However, the party failed to dent

the prospects of Gujarat Chief

Minister Narendra Modi in the

Dec 2012 assembly polls.

The Congress has been out of

power in Gujarat since 1995, and

could only increase its tally from

59 in 2007 to 61 in 2012 in the

182-member House.

While returning to power for

the fourth time in a row in Delhi

could be an uphill task for Chief

Minister Sheila Dikshit, a divided

Congress in Madhya Pradesh

may yet find it difficult to stop

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chouhan from performing a hat-

trick in 2013.

The Congress is not too strong

in Chhattisgarh either.

Karnataka, which goes to polls

mid-year, is the only hope for the

Congress, which should not find

it difficult to defeat a divided

Bharatiya Janata Party led by

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.

The exit from the BJP of former

chief minister and strongman

B.S. Yeddyurappa, who now

heads his Karnataka Janata Party,

is expected to further dent the

party's vote share.

New Delhi: The Center conceded before the

Delhi High Court that it found nothing to war-

rant a criminal investigation in its inquiry into

utilization of foreign funds by a few NGOs

affiliated to anti-graft activist Anna Hazare's

civil society organization.

In a status report filed before the bench of

Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K

Jain, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said

NGOs Navjyoti Indian Foundation and India

Vision Foundation — run by Kiran Bedi —

and NGO Kabir — run by Manish Sisodia —

did receive foreign funds, but these were not

used for any political activity or the India

Against Corruption (IAC) movement.

The government said technical irregularities

were found relating to accounting.

"Inspections were carried out in August and

also in November 2012 under Foreign

Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and

FCR Rules and some irregularities were

found," the report says.

"These irregularities are not serious enough

at this stage to warrant a criminal investiga-

tion. During inspection no documentary proof

in the records of the association was found to

show the use of the fund in any such political

activity or in India Against Corruption (IAC)

movement or agitation," said the MHA report.

The government said during inspection of

India Vision Foundation's accounts last

November, it was found that the organization

maintained as many as 15 bank accounts,

including FCRA designated bank account,

and it frequently withdrew foreign contribu-

tion.

Hyderabad: Police arrested dozens of pro-

Telangana students here as they tried to disrupt

a meeting of Seemandhra leaders, opposing

the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh.

Students belonging to Osmania University

and activists of the Telangana Jagruthi, cultur-

al arm of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi

(TRS), tried to barge into the high-security

Ministers' Quarters in Banjara Hills to stop the

meeting of Congress party leaders of

Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra

regions). Raising slogans of 'Jai Telangana',

the students said they would not allow any

meeting which is aimed at stalling formation

of Telangana state.

As tension mounted, police arrested the pro-

testors and bundled them into waiting vehi-

cles. Later, activists, including from Telangana

Jagruthi, tried to lay siege to the Ministers'

Quarters but were arrested.

The protestors, including women, said they

would not tolerate attempts by Seemandhra

leaders to stop formation of a Telangana state.

The leaders from Seemandhra, including

ministers and legislators, are meeting to chalk

out their future course of action amid indica-

tions that the centre will soon take a decision

to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC),

comprising various pro-Telangana groups,

began day-long silent protest to demand the

centre to make an announcement for carving

out Telangana state by Jan 28. After the Dec

28 all-party meet on Telangana, union Home

Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said a decision

on the issue would be taken within a month.

Leaders of various political parties and repre-

sentatives of the groups of government

employees, lawyers and journalists are partici-

pating in the silent protest at Telangana

Martyrs' Memorial, Gun Park near state

assembly building.

Congress 'Chintan Shivir' to counter BJP

Govt's clean chit to Team Anna

Assembly elections are due this year in Delhi, Karnataka,Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh

The government had said technical irregularities were found relating to

accounting of foreign funds

13January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

Hyderabad: Police

began questioning

Hindu religious

leader Swami

Kamalananda Bharati

in connection with a

hate speech he deliv-

ered at a rally here

last week.

The Special

Investigation Team

(SIT) took custody of

Bharati on Thursday

morning from

Cherlapally Jail.

A city court had

sent Bharati to two

days police custody while dismissing his

bail petition. The questioning will continue

on Friday.

Bharati, president of Hindu Devalaya

Parirakshana Samithi, which works for pro-

tecting Hindu temples, was arrested on

Monday in Srisailam and brought to

Hyderabad.

The same day, he

was sent to judicial

custody for 14 days.

Police booked a

case against him for

promoting enmity

between different

groups on grounds of

religion and per-

forming acts detri-

mental to communal

harmony.

Meanwhile, a

group of Hindu reli-

gious leaders called

on home minister

Sabita Indra Reddy to demand Bharati's

release, alleging that a false case was

booked against him.

Another group of leaders launched a

hunger strike at Banjara Hills police station

demanding that they be allowed to meet

Governor ESL Narasimhan.

New Delhi: Over hundred people protesting

the Dec 16 gruesome gang-rape marched to

Jantar Mantar with lit candles to silently

mark one month since the crime was com-

mitted.

"Today we remember the braveheart who

died after fighting for her life for several

days," said Radhika, who has been joining

protests at Jantar Mantar since Dec 20.

People lit candles and marched towards

Parliament Street. However, they were pre-

vented by policemen from moving beyond

Jantar Mantar.

"We are holding a peaceful protest which

we will continue till there is justice for the

woman who has died. We want justice, and

we want amendment in laws dealing with

rape," said Nupur Sharma, a college student.

Among the protesters was former woman

Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi.

Bedi demanded a social audit of the police

forces and the judiciary. "We should demand

that gender sensitivity be taught in schools

and colleges," Bedi said.

"We should teach our daughters to be

brave," Bedi said, as she remembered the 23-

year-old student of physiotherapy who died

Dec 29 in a Singapore hospital after battling

for life for over a week after being brutally

raped by six men in a moving bus Dec 16.

Police question Swami Kamalananda Bharati

Protests, placards mark a month of Delhi gangrape

Swami Kamlananda Bharati

People lit candles to silently mark one monthsince the crime was committed

Pro-Telangana students disrupt Seemandhra meet

14 January 19-25,2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoOP-ED

By Amulya Ganguli

By disappearing during the wide-

spread popular protests in Delhi

against the gang-rape and death of a

23-year-old paramedical student, Rahul

Gandhi hasn't done his prime ministerial

chances any good.

The upheaval posed a major challenge to

the government and the party, forcing them

to appoint a committee to stiffen the penal

provisions on rape, and another to probe the

lapses into the police response to the barbar-

ic incident. Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi

also broke with protocol to go to the airport

to receive the girl's body when it was flown

in from Singapore.

But, even as the country was exercised not

only over the brutal incident but also over

the rising cases of violence against women,

the heir apparent, who has been widely tout-

ed as the person to replace Manmohan

Singh in 2014, was nowhere to be seen. He

only issued a brief message of condolence

from behind the scenes before falling silent

even as the turmoil continued with the trag-

ic incident being discussed night after night

on television and the ruling party fending

off the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's

(BJP) demand for a special session of par-

liament.

Rahul's absence was felt all the more

because it was the younger generation

which played a leading role in expressing

outrage over the tragedy and the seemingly

tardy official and political response as well

as the earlier callousness of the establish-

ment towards the deteriorating social scene.

What Rahul's absence showed at a time

when the entire central vista of the national

capital was sealed to keep out the protesters

was his lack of interest in playing a key role

in politics and administration. A few months

ago, a union minister had ruefully said that

the young general secretary had been play-

ing only a few "cameo roles" instead of

being more proactive. But, this time, he did

not enter the stage at all.

There may be two reasons for such indif-

ference. One is that having risen to a No.2

position in the party by virtue of his lineage

and, therefore, without having to strike for

it, his political instincts have been dulled.

The other is that he may have been disheart-

ened by some of the failures in his political

forays, notably in Uttar Pradesh, and earlier

in Bihar, and more recently in Gujarat,

which shows that he lacks the Nehru-

Gandhi family's match-winning charisma.

There may be a third reason, which is that

Rahul is not a political animal. Politics is

not his natural arena, which explains why

he does not attend parliament regularly. He

has been pushed into the field by his mother

for the sake of continuing the family's tradi-

tional occupation. But he remains a debu-

tant who shows no signs of becoming a

mature player. As much is evident from his

desultory efforts to carve out a path of his

own, but with no clear idea of what he

wants to achieve.

Hence his exercises in slumming, as it

were, when he spent a night or two in Dalit

homes with a bottle of mineral water and

then lost interest in whatever he had in

mind. Or his endeavors to democratize the

party by favoring internal elections, which

can seem strange for someone who is the

prime beneficiary of a feudal culture to try

to do. He may still make it to the top, but

the rest of the country will look upon his

ascent with skepticism in the wake of his

latest disappearing act.

A prospective PM cannot be a part-timer

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

Rahul Gandhi may still make it to the top, but the country will look upon his ascent withskepticism in the wake of his latest disappearing act.

By Mohit Dubey

It was a rare 'sangam' of tech-

nology and tradition on day

one of Maha Kumbh 2013

with Google map integration, GPS

and 'flying cameras' making their

advent in the 55-day festival, the

biggest religious congregation

anywhere in the world that is esti-

mated to draw tens of millions

from India and around the world.

The Uttar Pradesh government

has also spent about Rs.1.17 crore

on 13 gigantic LED screens,

which dot the mela premises at

vantage points in this north India

town that is playing host to the

mega event.

These screens, some fixed and

some on moving trucks, relayed

events like the bathing and 'aartis'

to faithfuls, who could not make it

to the Sangam - the sacred conflu-

ence of the Ganga, Yamuna and

Saraswati rivers - in this Uttar

Pradesh town.

The other attraction, also a first,

are the 'flying cameras' that have

been positioned by the mela

administration to click high defini-

tion aerial shots of the tents, sadhu

camps and the multitude.

Millions of people are expected

to congregate each day and cam-

eras will record the devotees

flocking to the 18 pontoon bridges

constructed to ease the flow of

people as they converge on the

Sangam area, Arail and Jhoosi.

Rakesh Sharma, the chief execu-

tive officer of Prabhatam, the

company that has set up the media

center for national and internation-

al media, said 10 OB vans have

been stationed at the Sangam nose

and would be telecasting live pic-

tures. The feed would later be dis-

tributed free of cost to the televi-

sions channels and whoever seeks

to keep them. In addition, 30 com-

puters, all connected to broadband

and printers and scanners have

also been provided to the media.

Also, in a first, the mela admin-

istration has gone in for Google

map integration of the whole

township. Every inch of space,

officials say, has been accounted

for. Through the global position-

ing system (GPS), the employees

are surveying the land and all

information collated has been put

up on the website for easy access

to journalists and other visitors.

The seers are equipped too. At

many 'akhadaas', as each commu-

nity of different sadhu sects are

called, the holy men and their dis-

ciples are not only carrying latest

gadgets like Android mobile

phones, tablet note books and

broadband connecting dongles,

some vehicles of these sects,

including a fleet of Mercedes,

have GPS technology installed

"just in case they get lost".

An interactive map has been

made online wherein one can see

how the 4,000 camps have been

allotted in the 193.5 hectare

sprawling campus. In these maps,

details of the sector markets, sec-

tor offices, ration shops and

important religious places has

been given.

The state government has also

taken the opportunity to highlight

its own achievements at the once

in 12-year event billed the largest

gathering of people in the world.

Small advertisements of the state

government, highlighting the

achievements of the 10-month-old

Akhilesh Yadav government were

also displayed. Shiva, in-charge of

the Mumbai based company that

put up these screens, was happy at

the crowds gathered around the

screen. With all this technology in

place, one visitor remarked, it

would indeed be impossible for

anyone to get lost in the Kumbh

mela -- a staple of many a lost and

found theme in Hindi films.

'Sangam' of technology and tradition at Kumbh

An interactive map online shows how the 4,000 Kumbh Mela camps have been allotted in the 193.5 hectare campus. Sector markets, sectoroffices, ration shops and key religious places are also marked.

HERITAGE 15January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Rashtrapati Bhavan is now more accessible to public

New Delhi: Rashtrapati Bhavan,

the imposing presidential palace

spread over 130 hectares in the

heart of this capital city, has

become a more accessible place

for tourists and common people of

India. Pranab Mukherjee, who

became the 13th President of India

on July 25 last year, said his mis-

sion was to make the place as

"open as possible to people,

including children."

All one needs to do is to log on

to the internet and make an

advance booking for any of the

three days it is open to the public

every weekend.

Previously, one had to physical-

ly go to Rashtrapati Bhavan to

make a booking. The new system

has seen footfalls spiral from 500

over three days on an average last

year to nearly 1,600 over the same

period, with a cap of 700 visitors

per day, an official said.

A media tour through

Rashtrapati Bhavan threw up

interesting sights of groups of for-

eign tourists being escorted by

young scholar-guides through the

Durbar Hall, the Marble Hall, the

south and north drawing rooms,

the museum, library and banquet

hall.

Explaining the growing popular-

ity of the president's abode on the

capital's sight-seeing map, the

official said: "We have been

receiving online reservations from

around the world. We have thrown

open new galleries and the front

entrance of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The sale of souvenirs at the

memento shop has increased."

For the media on Tuesday, it was

a landmark tour. "For the first

time, the media has been allowed

inside Rashtrapati Bhavan other

than the designated areas," the

official said. Visitors have a

choice of two guided tours around

the premises.

The interiors were a revelation.

The grand British-style decor and

the furniture have been spruced up

in a mega restoration drive to

bring the Bhavan back to its origi-

nal glory. The main library is the

focus of the restoration drive.

Nearly 24,000 books and manu-

scripts are in queue for digitization

- 4,000 having been archived dur-

ing the tenure of President A.P.J

Abdul Kalam.

President Mukherjee is taking

personal interest in bringing a

semblance of order to the library.

"Dr Kalam had initiated many

good projects and created infra-

structure. I am ensuring that they

are utilized. The Rashtrapati

Bhavan auditorium which he inau-

gurated in 2007 is being used reg-

ularly," Mukherjee said while

interacting with the media.

The decision to build the 340-

room mansion -- the erstwhile res-

idence of the British viceroy - was

taken in 1911 when the British

decided to shift their capital from

Kolkata to New Delhi. Designed

by Edward Landseer Lutyens, it

took 17 years to build the abode at

a cost then of Rs. 1.28 crore.

The most distinguishing aspect

of Rashtrapati Bhavan is its dome,

which is superimposed on its

structure. It is visible as the most

eye-catching round roof with a cir-

cular base in the heart of Delhi.

The presidential art collection

that begins at the Durbar Hall - the

public assembly space - with a 5th

century statue of Lord Buddha and

an Ashokan edict is being cata-

logued and dusted. The private

collection comprising art by mas-

ters like Jamini Roy and Jogen

Chowdhury has been mounted in a

dedicated art gallery that will open

for viewing soon, an official said.

The collection that adorns the

walls of the presidential abode is a

veritable treasure chest with com-

missioned portraits of all the

Indian presidents and East India

Company paintings of India in the

19th century.

The artworks complement the

art deco furniture of the British

Raj - in gilded golden metal,

ornate hard wood, rich upholstery

and soft carpets.

The south and the north drawing

rooms - where the dignitaries call

on the president - shine like jewels

out of time with ornamental

chairs, richly inlaid tables, color-

ful portraits and expensive panel-

ing. Two of the most exciting fea-

tures of the president's house are

the kitchen museum and the

Marble Hall that draw steady

streams of visitors.

Set up by Kalam when he was

president, the kitchen museum is a

virtual walk through the pantry

and culinary traditions of

Rashtrapati Bhavan with laid-out

tables, British-era cutlery and pots

and pans used by the crew.

The Marble Hall is a gallery of

marble who's who from modern

Indian history - including two sin-

gle marble sculptures of King

George V and Queen Mary - the

founding forces behind Lutyen's

Delhi as the country's political

capital.

The Mughal Gardens modeled

on the Persian style 'char bagh' is

yet to burst into its riot of colorful

blooms. But a fleet of gardeners is

hard at work to ready it for a

spring gala. A single black rose on

a freshly pruned black pearl rose

bush against the pink backdrop of

the presidential home serves as a

reminder of the mystique that

hangs like an aura around the

country's domed echelon.

Last year, nearly 700,000 people

visited the Mughal Gardens alone

when it opened for viewing in

February, the official said.

Rashtrapati Bhavan is illumined for Republic Day. This central Delhi landmark isbecoming a draw for visitors.

The Durbar Hall inside the Bhavan has been remodeled at the behest of the current occupant, President Pranab Mukherjee. It is now open to public.

The Ashoka hall is often used for cabinet swearing in ceremoniesand other important state events.

Modeled on the Persian style 'char bagh', the Mughal Gardens inthe presidential estate is a riot of color in spring when it is

opened to the public.

Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India, has made it his mission to make theimposing presidential palace as open as possible to people.

16 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoRELIGION

Maha Kumbh: Over 10 million take holy dip

Hatha yogis grab eyeballs

Allahabad: Millions of devout

Hindus, led by naked ascetics with

ash smeared on their bodies,

plunged into the frigid waters of

the Ganga on January 14.

Divisional Commissioner of

Allahabad Devesh Chaturvedi said

that the first day with record devo-

tees passed off peacefully.

Elaborate arrangements were

made on the VIP ghat, where the

13 sects of sadhus lead bathers in a

mutually agreed sequence.

The fraternity was led by Maha

Nirvani Akhada and was followed

by Niranjani, Anand, Juna and

Bairagi akahadas, among others.

As the clock struck five, heavily

decked-up chariots, some in silver

and gold, wound their way to the

Sangam, with hundreds following

in procession on foot, beating

drums and blowing conch shells.

There was a mad frenzy in the

foreign and national media, with

photographers rushing to get win-

ner shots of the naked, ash-

smeared Naga sadhus jumping

into the chilly waters of the

Ganga. Before they did so, the

sadhus danced and threw garlands

at the press gallery in gay aban-

don, waving to hundreds of fol-

lowers on the other side.

Carrying silver tridents, maces,

axes and swords, some of the sad-

hus with flowing beards said that

they felt on top of the world as

they "touched mother Ganges".

"This is an electrifying

moment," said a visibly elated 75-

year-old Mokshanand from

Vrindavan, who said he this was

his seventh Kumbh in a row.

Several rows of sand bags have

been piled up on the three-km

'bathing stretch', said Mani Prasad

Misra, the 'mela adhikari', in-

charge of Kumbh 2013.

Misra said that arrangements had

been made to ensure that the

Ganges flowed "well and clean"

during the major bathing days. A

special team of 10,000 sweepers

have been pressed into service to

keep the area clean.

"Deep water barricading has

been done and an extensive pres-

ence of 'jal' police has also been

pressed into service to avoid

mishaps," Additional Director

General of Police (ADG) Law and

Order Arun Kumar said.

Policemen from Uttar Pradesh

and neighbouring Uttarakhand

were on vigil. Many policemen

were seen blowing whistles to

keep crowds in order, while some

were spotted showing lost devo-

tees the way.

While some thought of the large

crowd as a "spiritual mayhem",

there were those who bit their nails

as they watched Naga sadhus into

the water. For the hundreds who

have not been able to reach the

bathing sites, 13 huge LED

screens, both mobile and station-

ary, were playing the recording of

the bathing sessions.

An army of mediapersons is cov-

ering the event. Over 100 foreign

journalists and more than 500

local and national journalists are

present here. Special arrangements

have been made for the coverage,

likely to be beamed across the

globe.

Allahabad: Apart from hosting saints, pil-

grims and visitors from across the globe, the

ongoing Maha Kumbh has also become

home to weird practices performed by saints

in the name of 'Hatha yoga'. Derived from

the Hindi word "Hatha" meaning resolve or

pledge, the practice is common in Hindu tra-

dition. Jhoola Baba, camping on the premis-

es of Juna Akhara, has made a wooden

swing his abode for the next two months.

Sitting precariously on a wooden block sus-

pended with the help of a rope, the Baba is

drawing large crowd of curious onlookers.

Talking to reporters, he said it is part of a

Hatha yoga practiced by him over the past

few decades. The Baba rarely talks to visi-

tors and appears unmoved by the gathering

of curious onlookers around him.

Similarly, Swami Tyagiji Maharaj has

pierced his body with 21,000 steel needles

and is staying on the premises of Hanuman

temple in Jhalwa. Looking like an embodi-

ment of steel, the Swami withstood the pain

and agony with a smile on his face even as

locals who gathered around him appear

shudder at the sight.

The Swami who is also the founder of

Shani Sarkar Sewa Dham trust, Khaga

Fatehpur, said: "The painful ritual as a part

of Hatha yoga is for public welfare and to

solicit support for construction of Shani tem-

ple on the premises of Hanuman temple,

Jhalwa."

Chants of "Jai Shani dev" rent the air as

the entire premises becomes home to one of

the most difficult and painstaking effort of a

sage to ensure construction of a temple for

his beloved deity.

Another sadhu accompanying the Peshwai

procession of Shankarcharya Vasudevand

Saraswati also became the centre of attrac-

tion given the extra-ordinary size of his nails

measuring around 20cm, which have twisted

wildly over the passage of time. The sadhu,

however, refused to share his reason for

growing nails.

Similarly, a disciple of Juna Akhara carry-

ing a copper kalash (pitcher) containing

waters of some holy rivers like the Ganga,

Yamuna, Shipra, Godavari and Narmada has

also drawn crowds in the Kumbh Mela.

Deriving his name from the task he has been

carrying out since the past 40 years, the 55-

year-old Kanhaiya Lal Kumbh Kalash car-

ries the urn on his head for at least 18 hours

a day during Kumbh mela, Magh Mela and

Ardh Kumbh.

A big draw for foreigners tooAllahabad: Expecting that

around 60,000 foreign

nationals will attend the

Maha Kumbh, the Mela

police have set up a Foreign

Resident Registration Office

(FFRO) where the visitors

can get themselves regis-

tered within 24 hours of their

arrival in the Kumbh area.

This would provide the Mela

police with detailed informa-

tion about every foreigner

and ensure security to them.

Most of the foreign nation-

als will staying on the cam-

puses located at Sangam,

Jhunsi and Arial areas.

"We have chalked out an

elaborate security plan for

them and police teams are

being deputed," IG said. The

foreigners will be provided a

hand-out on Dos and Dont's

to be followed for a safe

stay.

A Russian tourist Ala and

her husband Barno have

decided to spend a long time

in Allahabad during the

Kumbh Mela. They are fac-

ing language problem but

are inspired and interested in

enjoying the Indian culture.

Narayan, who is an Indian

and working in Germany,

has come with his mother to

be a part of the Kumbh

Mela.

Narayan has been left mes-

merized by the huge gather-

ing of humanity for the

Kumbh Mela and is enjoying

at Sangam.

The holy dip on day one was led by Maha Nirvani Akhada andwas followed by Niranjani, Anand, Juna and Bairagi akahadas

Shri Juna Akhara sadhus taking out aprocession 'Peshwai' as part of

Maha Kumbh celebrations

Over 60,000 foreigners are expectedto visit Maha Kumbh

The world's largest

gathering of people,

the 55-day Maha

Kumbh congregation,

began in the north

India town of

Allahabad with over a

crore people, led by

the ash-smeared

Naga ascetics, taking

a dip at the Sangam -

the confluence of the

Ganga, Yamuna and

Saraswati river

Actor Shilpa Shetty took a holy dip at thefirst day of the Maha Kumbh. The 37-

year-old mother, who did not bring herseven-months-old Viaan, was accompa-nied by her parents. The actor, her par-ents and NRI business tycoon Srichand

Hinduja attended a special prayerorganized at the camp of Swami

Chidananda Saraswati.

FESTIVALS

Makar Sankranti: holy bath, harvest and sun

17January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: The Maha Kumbh,

which occurs once every 12

years, began with Makar

Sankaranti, marking a new har-

vest and worship of the sun god.

In the east, on the Sagar island,

where the Ganga empties into the

Bay of Bengal, about six lakh

devotees converged to take a ritu-

al bath believed to wash off the

sins of a lifetime.

Millions of people in Odisha

took a ritualistic dips in ponds

and rivers and visited temples

across the state as they celebrated

the harvest festival of Makar

Sankranti.

More than two lakh devotees

visited the temple of Lord

Jagannath at Puri, about 55 km

from here, to witness the special

rituals performed by temple

priests on the occasion.

People in several places of the

state prepared special sweet rice

made with sugar, banana, coconut

and black pepper and offered it to

the gods. They also distributed

the special rice popularly known

as Makar Chaula.

Thousands of devotees also

worshipped the sun god at

Konark with great fervor and

enthusiasm. The festival marks

the beginning of the annual swing

of the sun northwards, according

to various Indian calendars.

Tribal groups lit bonfires,

danced and organised feasts in

various places of Mayurbhanj,

Balasore, Keonjhar and

Sundergarh districts.

Kite-flying competitions were

organized in places like Cuttack

and other towns with fun and

enthusiasm.

In Gujarat, colorful oblations

were made to the Sun god, and

decorated kites were flown,

almost in an attempt to reach the

sun. The kite-flying ritual was

also observed in Maharashtra and

Karnataka.

Reports from Hyderabad city

indicated that with vast numbers

of people traveling to other parts

of the state to be with family for

the festival, city streets wore a

deserted look.

Maghi, as the festival is known

in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal

Pradesh, is an occasion to make

"kheer" (sweet made of rice

boiled in milk).

The winter festival sees the

preparation of foods that are

high-calorie, meant to keep the

body warm. Til (sesame seeds)

and jaggery are used in many rit-

ual preparations at this time.

Sankaranti is probably the only

Hindu festival celebrated on the

same day, Jan 14, each year.

Makar Sankranti is considered

one of the most auspicious days

by Hindus. Many believe that a

ritual bath at ponds and rivers and

prayers at temples on the occa-

sion would cleanse them of dis-

eases and wash away sins.

The lunar calendar is usually

followed for traditional purposes,

but Makar Sankaranti is observed

in keeping with the solar calen-

dar. There are 12 Sankarantis

each year, marking the shift of the

sun into different signs of the

zodiac. The festival of Makar

Sankaranti is celebrated when the

sun transits from Dhanu

(Sagittarius) to Makara

(Capricorn), falling 24 days after

the winter solstice.

Chennai: Tamil

Nadu celebrated the

harvest festival

Pongal with thanks

being offered to the

sun, rain and farm

animals on the first

day of Tamil month

Thai.

Across the state,

people rose early,

wore new clothes

and offered special

prayers at temples.

At homes, chil-

dren beating a small

drum shouted

'Pongolo Pongal' when milk started boiling

over at the auspicious time. The ritual is part

of preparing Chakarai Pongal, the special

dish cooked as part of festivities.

When the milk boils over, other ingredi-

ents - rice, jaggery, Bengal gram - are added

to the milk and finally ghee-fried cashews,

almonds and cardamom.

The vessel in which the dish is cooked -- a

mud pot in earlier days and stainless steel

pots now -- is decorated with ginger, turmer-

ic, a piece of sugarcane and banana tied at

the neck.

The Pongal dish is offered to the sun god

as thanksgiving and eaten as 'prasad'. People

exchange greetings and Chakarai Pongal

with their neighbors.

Pongal festivities took place over four

days, the first day being Bhogi, when people

burn old clothes, mats and other items, and

homes are painted afresh to mark a new

beginning.

The second day was the main Pongal festi-

val, celebrated on the first day of the Tamil

month Thai.

The third day was Mattu Pongal when

bulls and cows are bathed and their horns

painted and worshipped as they play an

important role in farms.

Women feed birds with colored rice and

pray for the welfare of their brothers. In

some parts of the state, jallikattu - a bull-

taming sport, also seen as a celebration of

masculinity, though banned these days over

concerns about the rights of animals - is

held.

The fourth day was the Kannum Pongal -

the day to go out and meet relatives and

friends.

"We got up early and prepared the

Chakara Pongal and offered prayers. We

plan to visit relatives," Revathi Vasan, a

housewife, said.

Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal

New Delhi: Bonfires, drumbeats

and revelers singing and dancing to

folk songs -- that was the sight in

many residential areas in Delhi, as

people gathered around crackling

fires to celebrate the harvest festival

of Lohri.

Traditionally associated with the

harvest of the rabi crop, people cel-

ebrated Lohri with feasting,

exchange of gifts, and songs and

dance around bonfires.

Sesame seeds, jaggery, peanuts

and popcorn are tossed into the fire

and celebrations continue till the fire

dies out. The festival is particularly

special for newly-weds, and for

new-borns who have never seen

such festivities before.

"It is my daughter's first Lohri. All our

relatives have joined us for the celebrations,

and more importantly, to bless the child,"

said 30-year-old businessman Sanket

Bhatia.

According to Bhatia, the maternal grand-

parents of the baby got gifts, sweets, dry

fruits, peanuts and popcorn on the occasion.

Though largely celebrated as a harvest

festival, for some Lohri is an occasion to

seek the blessings of Agni Devta (fire god).

"I prepared prasad on the occasion com-

prising til (sesame), jaggery and peanuts.

Once the bonfire was lit, milk and water

was poured around it to thank Agni Devta

and seek blessings," said 52-year-old Savita

Manchanda. "A part of the prasad, after

being offered to the fire, was distributed,"

she said.

Manchanda said her newly-wed son and

his bride performed all the rituals to seek

the blessings of Agni Devta.

For 55-year-old Surmeet Chahal, Lohri is

a time to bond with friends and family.

"Everyone is busy these days, but Lohri

brings us together in the warmth of the bon-

fire in chilly winter. At this time, the com-

pany of friends and family is priceless," he

said.

Besides Lohri, a host of other harvest fes-

tivals are also celebrated across the country:

Uttarayan in Gujarat, Magh Bihu in Assam

and Pongal and Makar Sankranti in south

India.

With bonfires and drumbeats,Delhi celebrates Lohri

Women celebrating Kaanum Pongal in Chennai

People believe that a ritual bath and prayers would cleansethem of diseases and wash away sins on this auspicious day

A participant with his kite in Ahmedabad paying tribute toDelhi gang-rape victim

The festival is particularly special for newly-weds, and for new-borns who have never seen

such festivities before

18 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

Oscar nomination good for Carnatic music: JayashriT

he Tamil lullaby "Kanney

Kanmaniaye.. Aararo,

Aararo" sung by her, per-

haps has robbed Carnatic music

vocalist Bombay Jayashri

Ramnath of her sleep, what with

the excitement of being nominat-

ed for the Oscar. More important-

ly, it has reinforced her faith in the

reach of Indian classical music.

Written, composed and sung by

Ramnath, "Pi Lullaby" from the

Hollywood film "Life of Pi", has

been nominated in the best music

original song category for the

85th Academy Awards.

"The Oscar award is never in the

minds of Carnatic musicians. But

the nomination has reaffirmed my

faith that the reach of Carnatic

music is much wider than what

we normally think," Ramnath

said.

Interestingly, her song is the

first Tamil song to be nominated

for an Oscar. However, she does

not think of what the Oscar nomi-

nation might do to brand 'Bombay

Jayashri' or to the world of

Carnatic music, though lovers of

this genre say that there will be

renewed interest not only among

Indians, but also from the global

audience.

Queried on whether it was 'met-

tuku paatta or paattuku metta' -

song written for a set tune or the

tune set for the song - she said:

"Originally it was 'mettuku paatu'

- song for a tune. A framework

was given. Later, there was some

change and finally it was a mix of

both - song for the tune and tune

for the song."

She says the song is a combined

effort of movie director Ang Lee

and Canadian composer Mychael

Danna.

"We looked at various words

and selected them," she said.

Ramnath says she had no idea that

the song would become popular

and would get an Oscar nomina-

tion.

"The news came as a surprise. I

was with my students with my

mobile phone on silent mode. I

saw several missed calls and came

to know about the Oscar nomina-

tion through friends and televi-

sion," she said.

Curiously, Ramnath has sung

only the traditional lullaby for her

son Amrit when he was a baby.

"In India, we compare child lan-

guage with musical instruments

and nature while cuddling a baby.

A baby's utterances are the sweet-

est things in the world and even

great musical instruments cannot

compare with that," she said.

The movie "Life of Pi" has

bagged 11 Oscar nominations

overall. "It was a great learning

experience for me - whether

working for this Hollywood

movie or with great music com-

posers like Illayaraja, A.R.

Rahman, Harris Jayaraj and oth-

ers," said Ramnath, who is mar-

ried to a chartered accountant.

Indian actors Tabu and Suraj Sharma

walked the red carpet of the 70th annual

Golden Globe awards with Oscar-win-

ning director Ang Lee here. Their film "Life

of Pi" was nominated in three categories, but

won just one award.

Tabu, known for her offbeat and intense

performances, opted to stay desi at the inter-

national gala, wearing a bright red designer

sari teamed with a heavily embroidered gold-

en blouse. Debutant Suraj, 19, exuded confi-

dence in a white shirt and formal black suit

with a matching bow-tie.

"Life of Pi" won the best original score

motion picture award for Mychael Danna,

who pipped Alexandre Desplat ("Argo"),

Dario Marianelli ("Anna Karenina"), Tom

Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil

("Cloud Atlas") and John Williams

("Lincoln") to walk away with the prestigious

trophy.

It was also nominated for the best motion

picture (drama) as well as for best director

(motion picture).

Actors Tabu and Suraj Sharma withOscar-winning director Ang Lee

'Pi Lullaby' from 'Life of Pi' has been nominated in the bestmusic original song category

'Kai Po Che!' to premiere atBerlin film fest

Abhishek Kapoor's upcoming film "Kai

Po Che!" will be premiered at the 63rd

Berlin International

Film Festival starting February

7. The film, based on Chetan

Bhagat's bestselling novel

"The 3 Mistakes Of My Life",

features Sushant Singh Rajput,

Amit Sadh and Raj kumar

Yadav in prominent roles.

"'Kai Po Che!' selected to premiere at the

Berlin International Film Festival. Yeah baby,"

tweeted Kapoor. Bhagat also calls it a proud

moment. "Proud moment for Abhishek Kapoor

and team 'Kai Po Che!', more than anything,

proud moment for India. Wow Abhishek!

Salute," Bhagat also tweeted. As many as 31

fictional features from 23 coun-

tries, including Turkey, Indonesia,

India, Taiwan and the Ivory Coast,

have been invited to provide

insights into contemporary world

cinema production for the ten-day

long festival. The film will hit the-

aters on Feb 22.

70th Golden Globe awards Tabu, Suraj walk Golden Globe red carpet'Argo' wins top honors,

'Les Miserables' leads tally'

Argo' walked away with the two top hon-

ors - best film and best director - at the

70th Golden Globe awards, which was

otherwise dominated by Tom Hooper's

musical drama 'Les Miserables' that

clinched the maximum gongs.

"Les Miserables" won best film (musical

or comedy), as well as the best actress in a

supporting role for Anne Hathaway, and

Hugh Jackman triumphed in the best per-

formance by an actor in a motion picture

(musical or comedy) category.

It was double whammy for Ben Affleck,

whose "Argo" not just won the best film

award, but also helped the actor-filmmaker

win the best director's gong.

Daniel Day-Lewis managed to win the

best actor in a motion picture (drama) title -

the only award for political drama

"Lincoln", which led the nomination pack

with seven nominations this year. He played

former US President Abraham Lincoln in

the movie.

Among the actresses, Jessica Chastain

secured the winner's position for her role in

"Zero Dark Thirty" at the gala, where

actress Jodie Foster was bestowed the

reverred Cecil B. DeMille trophy.

In the best supporting actor in a motion

picture category, Christopher Waltz

received the prize for "Django Unchained",

which also won the best screenplay award

(motion picture) for Quentin Tarantino.

Jennifer Lawrence bagged the best actress

in a motion picture (musical or comedy)

honor for "Silver Linings Playbook".

Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi', which stars Indian

actors Suraj Sharma, Tabu and Irrfan, won

just one accolade - for composer Mychael

Danna in the best original score motion pic-

ture category.

Pt. Jasraj, BigB launch Lata's

music labelL

egendary singer Lata

Mangeshkar's music compa-

ny LM MUSIC was

launched by Pandit Jasraj, Amitabh

Bachchan and Nita Ambani at a

star-studded function in Mumbai.

Bollywood celebrities like Sridevi,

Boney Kapoor, Madhur

Bhandarker, Alka Yagnik, and

Mahalakshmi Iyer were among

those present.

Amitabh wished all the luck to

the new label. "I am too small in

front of all the dignitaries present

here.... best wishes to LM MUSIC

and I wish the company also

becomes a precious stone like

Lata," he said

LM MUSIC will encourage

young talent that needs an outlet for

its creativity including budding

artists who Lata feels have the

potential to maintain the high stan-

dards set by legends. The label has

six new albums including Sufi and

spiritual music.

Jasraj said that there was no one

who could match Lata's contribu-

tion to the field of music.

"There is no one today who has

contributed so much to music....she

is the eight wonder of the world,"

he said.

"Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola" is a polit-

ical satire. The film begins with Mr.

Mandola and his drinking companion,

Matru, creating havoc.

"Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola", belongs to

feudal lord, Hukum Singh Mandola aka

Harry (Pankaj Kapur) from the first frame,

literally. Harry harbors the dream of selling

his agricultural land for industrialization and

development, not sparing a thought to the

villagers' plight.

But that is only when he is sober. But after

taking alcohol, he is a changed man, com-

pletely transformed. The socialist in him

surfaces and incredibly, he challenges his

own feudal self, wanting to help his vil-

lagers.

He is not the only one wanting to help the

poor villagers. Matru (Imran Khan),

Mandola's driver-cum-assistant and his part-

ner in crime, too is egalitarian and wants to

help the villagers save their land.

There is Mao, a faceless well-wisher, who

manages to offer timely help to the villagers.

And there is Mandola's foreign educated

daughter Bijlee (Anushka Sharma) too join-

ing in the revolution.

On the surface, at the start, it seems like a

light-hearted entertainer about an alcoholic

feudal lord, his drunken idiosyncrasies and

his villagers. It's when Chief Minister

Chaudhary Devi (Shabana Azmi) mouths,

"Maslaa hai desh ka, na power ka na bijli

ka," sums up the larger issues that the film

deals with and post her entry it becomes evi-

dent that it is a political satire.

The film is not only layered with demons

of the society, but also deals with personal

demons that haunt Mandola, his people and

the place.

Pankaj Kapur is the only star of the film as

the film belongs to him. After "Maqbool",

this is easily his best. He keeps the audience

regaled with his "pancho pancho" after guz-

zling a few pegs, hallucinating about a

"gulabi bhains" (pink buffalo) and when he

is confronting the scheming Devi (Azmi).

Bhardwaj has managed to package the

film well. The treatment is indeed poetic and

smooth. The cinematography is good and

inspiring. The dialogues and lyrics are hard

hitting with messages and oodles of enter-

tainment, mostly double entendre.

'Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola' electrifying entertainment

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 19January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Urvashi Dholakia believes it

was her straightforward

nature that helped her win

"Big Boss 6". The actress bagged

Rs.50 lakh as prize money, and

admits she "never earned so much

money at one go in my life".

"This is the way I am and how I

have always been. You can ask

everyone. I told them I never

thought that I could last so long.

My straightforwardness works

against me, but today it worked for

me and I won," Urvashi said.

"I never earned so much money

together ever in my life. I can say

this openly and this is a big thing

for me. And I am very confident

this time.

"I believe in the philosophy that

the more you run after something,

the more it runs away from you.

So, the money was not at all impor-

tant for me. I didn't come here

because of that," she added.

Do not pretend, suggests the 33-

year-old, best known for playing

negative role of Komolika in popu-

lar TV show "Kasautii Zindagii

Kay". "My personal experience is

that be the way you are. You don't

need to become someone else or

have a split personality. If you are

accepted the way you are, then it is

good," said the mother of two

teenage sons.

Talking about co-contestant

Imam Siddique with whom she had

several tiffs on the show, Urvashi

explained that she noticed both

positive and negative traits in his

personality.

Anurag Basu's "Barfi!" has

won maximum nomina-

tions, including for best

film, best actor, best actress and

best director, for the 58th Idea

Filmfare Awards 2012. Yash

Chopra's last directorial "Jab Tak

Hai Jaan" follows close behind.

"Barfi!", a heart-warming love

story of a deaf-and-mute man,

essayed by Ranbir Kapoor, with an

autistic girl (Priyanka Chopra) has

received nine nods. Shah Rukh

Khan-starrer "Jab Tak Hai Jaan"

stands a chance to win across

seven categories.

Apart from Ranbir and Shah

Rukh, those vying in the "best

actor in a leading role" (male) are

Hrithik Roshan ("Agneepath"),

Irrfan ("Paan Singh Tomar"),

Manoj Bajpayee ("Gangs Of

Wasseypur") and Salman Khan

("Dabangg 2").

Priyanka apart, those nominated

in the "best actor in a leading role"

(female) category are Deepika

Padukone ("Cocktail"), Kareena

Kapoor ("Heroine"), Parineeti

Chopra ("Ishqazaade"), Sridevi

("English Vinglish") and Vidya

Balan ("Kahaani").

In the best director section come

Anurag Kashyap ("Gangs Of

Wasseypur"), Gauri Shinde

("English Vinglish"), Shoojit

Sircar ("Vicky Donor") and Sujoy

Ghosh ("Kahaani") along with

Basu ("Barfi!").

For the best film trophy, the

nominations are: "Barfi!", "English

Vinglish", "Gangs Of Wasseypur",

"Kahaani" and "Vicky Donor".

Crime thriller "Gangs of

Wasseypur" has clinched a total of

six nominations, Karan Johar's

action-packed "Agneepath"

remake has five nods, and "Vicky

Donor", about sperm donation, has

secured four. "English Vinglish",

"Kahaani" and "Talaash" have

been nominated across three cate-

gories each.

My nature made me win 'Bigg Boss': Urvashi

'Barfi!' leads Filmfare nominations

'Big Boss 6' winner Urvashi Dholakia

Ranbir Kapoor in a scene from 'Barfi'

Review

Pankaj Kapur in a scene from 'Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola'

Television

London: There has been a 24 per

cent drop in the number of Indian stu-

dents coming to Britain to study dur-

ing the 2011-12 academic year, latest

official figures show, reflecting con-

cerns generated due to visa restric-

tions imposed on non-EU students by

the David Cameron government.

According to the Higher Education

Statistics Agency (HESA), the num-

ber of Chinese domicile students at

British Higher Education institutions

continued to grow during the aca-

demic year, but "the number of Indian

and Pakistan domicile students fell

for the first time" in recent years.

New restrictions on student visas

have been much in the news since the

Cameron government came to power,

particularly its closure of the post-

study work visa, which was popular

among Indian students who used it to

recover some of the cost of studying

in Britain. The government, keen to

reduce immigration from non-EU

countries, clamped down on universi-

ties such as the London Metropolitan

University, which saw its license to

recruit Indian and other non-EU stu-

dents cancelled recently. Jo Beall,

British Council director of education

and society, said the Indian and

Pakistani falls were "very alarming

indeed."

"Not only are these countries with

large numbers of ambitious students

aspiring to study overseas, but they

are also countries with which we

have historically been actively

engaged in the areas of higher educa-

tion and research," she added.

Tim Westlake, director for the stu-

dent experience at Manchester

University, told The Guardian that

students whose families relied on

them working in Britain after their

studies to gain experience and repay

the fees were starting to look else-

where.

"Since 2004, the university has had

significant growth in Indian students,

but over the past two years there has

been a 32 per cent drop in Indian

master's enrollments. Master's appli-

cations from India are down again by

33 per cent this year," Westlake

added. Beall said: "Although the UK

government has made it clear there is

no cap on international students, these

statistics for the first time provide real

evidence that the changes to UK visa

regulations may have dissuaded

many students from applying to the

UK, and in particular postgraduate

students who are so important to the

UK's research output."

It's official: Indian students shunning Britain RBI: NRI deposits nearly double to $11.24 bn

20 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoDIASPORA

Indian-origin scientist creates breakthroughmaterial for soft electronics

InternetNZ's chief executiveVikram Kumar resigns

Melbourne: Scientists including

one of Indian origin, have created

liquid metal marbles coated in

nanoparticles, which they hope will

advance research in soft electronics

and industrial sensing technologies.

Lead investigator Vijay Sivan

from RMIT's Platform Technologies

Research Institute said that these

marbles are like flexible ball bear-

ings, which can endure high impacts

and temperatures, and operate like

semi-conducting systems, the

Herald Sun reported.

According to Sivan, these are still

early days but the possibilities of the

new platform appear to be "amaz-

ing" as it overcomes the limitations

of liquid metals. Sivan said that as

it is a liquid metal it can be used in

soft electronics where flexibility is

needed.

He said that as the marbles have

a nanoparticle coating they will not

stick on the surface and also by

having a functional material as a

coating it can be used it like a tran-

sistor. And as a liquid metal, any

damage caused in the circuit could

be self-healed, he said.

He added that it could be used in

optical sensing as a heavy metal

sensor and it also has a high sensi-

tivity to gas.

The multidisciplinary team

research has been published in the

journal Advanced Functional

Materials.

New Delhi: Calcutta High Court has

granted the interim custody of two chil-

dren to their mother.

The interim order came less than a year

after a Norway court sent the children to

India on the condition that they would live

with their uncle.

Norwegian child welfare services,

which had taken away the children and

put them in foster care citing "fear of pos-

sible violence against the children and

lack of adequate parental care", had

allowed them to return to India last April

after the parents signed an agreement giv-

ing the children's custody to their paternal

uncle. The Indian embassy in Oslo had

notarized the agreement between the par-

ents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya,

and the uncle, Arunabhas Bhattacharya,

that the Norwegian court's verdict ' that

Arunabhas would get custody ' would be

honored.

The uncle of the children, who had been

taking their care since April last, also has

the liberty to meet them once in a week.

The meeting will take place in the cham-

ber of the mother's lawyer on Saturdays.

Sagarika, who is now separated from her

husband and lives in Birati, said after the

judgment: "I am very happy today. My

husband (Anurup) does not stay with me.

But for the sake of the children's future, I

will not mind staying with him provided

he returns to Calcutta," she said.

Wellington, New

Zealand: The Indian-

origin boss of

InternetNZ, the group

protecting and promot-

ing the Internet in New

Zealand, has announced

his resignation. Kumar

will step down as chief

executive of the firm at

the end of the month

when his term expires.

According to

Stuff.oc.nz, he was as

yet undecided on where

he would go but said he had been

"talking to a few people" and was

open to anything new.

He will leave the

organization in good

shape, the report said.

Over the past three

years InternetNZ has

doubled its member-

ship and tripled its

work output, without

an increase in the oper-

ating budget.

According to the

report, Kumar was

instrumental in setting

up the NetHui forums

to discuss the shape and

direction of the Internet, which he

described as a "gamechanger for

the way discussions are held."

Indian nurse's family hasn't gotreply to questions

London: The family of Indian-origin nurse Jacintha

Saldanha, who was found hanging after taking a hoax

phone call about the Duchess of Cambridge, said they

are yet to receive answers from her hospital to 40 ques-

tions over her death. The Telegraph said Saldanha's wid-

ower and her two children were also waiting to hear

from radio show bosses in Australia after the nurse was

duped by two radio presenters who impersonated Queen

Elizabeth and Prince Charles to ask questions about

Kate who was being treated for morning sickness. The

40 questions prepared by her family on Saldanha's death

will only be answered following an internal inquiry led

by hospital chairman Lord Glenarthur, the daily said.

Liquid metal marbles coated innanoparticles

InternetNZ's chiefexecutive VikramKumar resigns

Sagarika Bhattacharya with the son

Norway kids back in mom's custody

New Delhi: Continuing rupee fall

and higher interest rate have seen

NRI deposits nearly doubling in

the first eight months of 2012-13 to

$ 11.24 billion from $ 6.39 billion

a year ago, according to the

Reserve Bank data.

However, the non-resident (ordi-

nary) rupee accounts and foreign

currency non-resident accounts

saw an outflow this year as against

an inflow last year, according to

the central bank data.

It can be noted that the rupee had

hit an all-time low of 57.32 to the

dollar on June 14. However, last

Friday, the rupee ended at 54.76 to

the dollar, which is 4.67 per cent

stronger from its all-time low.

Even though the currency has

appreciated from its all-time low,

inflows into NRI deposits continue

on the back of higher interest rates.

In November this year, net

inflows into NRE accounts touched

$ 696 million.

According to the RBI data, the

non-resident (ordinary) rupee

accounts saw a net outflow of $

307 million in November, while

foreign currency non-resident

accounts which allow NRIs to hold

deposits in foreign currency, rose

by $ 116 million in the month.

The aggregate value of NRI

deposits held by Indian banks

stood at $ 57.9 billion as of March

2012.

Kabul: Six suicide bombers who targeted a

compound of Afghanistan's intelligence

agency here were killed, police said.

Several civilians who were injured were in

critical condition. A six-member group of

suicide attackers raided a compound of the

National Directorate for Security (NDS) in

Charahi area around noon.

Police said five of them were gunned

down by security personnel while the sixth

died in a blast he himself triggered. One of

the attackers first blew himself up next to

the gate of the compound, enabling the

other five to get inside.

But security personnel responded imme-

diately and killed all of them on the spot.

However, 30 civilians, mostly passersby,

suffered injuries in the firing. Some of

them were in critical condition. Several

shops and cars nearby were damaged in the

first blast. Earlier reports said the powerful

blast occurred close to a compound of the

intelligence agency and the interior min-

istry building.

21January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info SUBCONTINENT

Islamabad: Officials of the

National Accountability Bureau

(NAB) will appear before the

Supreme Court following

orders that Prime Minister Raja

Pervez Ashraf and 15 others be

arrested in connection with a

2010 corruption case, Geo

News reported.

Chief Justice of Pakistan

Justice Iftikhar Mohammad

Chaudhry ordered all those

accused of graft in power gener-

ation projects be arrested. He

also said that the NAB chair-

man report to the court.

The order, which came when

cleric Tahirul Qadir began his

protest with tens of thousands

of supporters outside parliament

seeking the government's resig-

nation, sparked panic about an

alleged judiciary-military plot

to derail elections due by mid-

May.

Interior Minister Rehman

Malik threatened overnight to

disperse the crowd unless

Thehrik-e-Minhajul Quran

leader Qadri ends the demon-

stration, but President Asif Ali

Zardari later intervened to stop

authorities from using force

against protesters.

Last June, Ashraf replaced

Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was

disqualified by the Supreme

Court in a showdown between

the government and the

judiciary.

NAB to face PakSC over

PM's arrest

Islamabad: Pakistan President

Asif Ali Zardari was not going

anywhere and was ready to face

"any situation", his spokesperson

has said, adding that he was

extending his stay in Karachi from

where he would monitor political

developments. Zardari has also

reiterated that general elections

would be held on time.

Denying reports of Zardari plan-

ning to leave for Dubai to avoid

the uncertain political situation in

the country, his spokesperson

Farhatullah Babar said the presi-

dent has reiterated government's

resolve that elections will be held

on time and not be delayed in any

case, Dawn News reported.

"He is not going anywhere and

is ready to face any situation,"

Babar said, adding the president

preferred to monitor fast changing

political developments in

Islamabad while sitting in Bilawal

House, Karachi, for next few days

despite the fact that he has been

staying there for almost a month.

The spokesperson said the over-

stay in Karachi had nothing to do

with Pakistani-born Canadian

cleric Tahirul Qadri.

"The president will follow his

own schedule. Qadri's presence in

Islamabad or anywhere else is not

a factor in the determination of

president's schedule," he said.

Qadri, a Pakistani-born

Canadian cleric and Thehrik-e-

Minhajul Quran leader, has been

staging a protest along with his

tens of thousands of supporters

here to seek ouster of the govern-

ment, dissolution of parliament

and a corruption-free Pakistan.

Babar said the president was

closely watching Qadri's protest

program and developments fol-

lowing the Supreme Court order-

ing the arrest of Prime Minister

Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Zardari believes that there are

two aspects of the Supreme

Court's order - one is legal and the

other is political, he said.

"As far as the legal aspect is

concerned, Law Minister Farooq

Naek has informed the president

about the whole situation and

repercussions of the Supreme

Court's order and about its politi-

cal fallout, the president will soon

consult coalition partners," the

spokesperson said.

Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari

was not going anywhere and was ready to face

"any situation", his spokesperson has said, adding

that he was extending his stay in Karachi from

where he would monitor political developments.

Zardari has also reiterated that general elections

would be held on time. Denying reports of

Zardari planning to leave for Dubai to avoid the

uncertain political situation in the country, his

spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the presi-

dent has reiterated government's resolve that elec-

tions will be held on time and not be delayed in

any case, Dawn News reported. "He is not going

anywhere and is ready to face any situation,"

Babar said, adding the president preferred to

monitor fast changing political developments in

Islamabad while sitting in Bilawal House,

Karachi, for next few days despite the fact that he

has been staying there for almost a month.

The spokesperson said the overstay in Karachi

had nothing to do with Pakistani-born Canadian

cleric Tahirul Qadri. "The president will follow

his own schedule. Qadri's presence in Islamabad

or anywhere else is not a factor in the determina-

tion of president's schedule," he said.

Qadri, a Pakistani-born Canadian cleric and

Thehrik-e-Minhajul Quran leader, has been stag-

ing a protest along with his tens of thousands of

supporters here to seek ouster of the government,

dissolution of parliament and a corruption-free

Pakistan.

Babar said the president was closely watching

Qadri's protest program and developments fol-

lowing the Supreme Court ordering the arrest of

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Zardari believes that there are two aspects of

the Supreme Court's order - one is legal and the

other is political, he said.

"As far as the legal aspect is concerned, Law

Minister Farooq Naek has informed the president

about the whole situation and repercussions of the

Supreme Court's order and about its political fall-

out, the president will soon consult coalition part-

ners," the spokesperson said.

Washington: "Imagining

our Future Together", an

art exhibition organized by

the World Bank, is aimed

at taking forward the

vision that art has the

potential to connect people

and countries in South

Asia.

The exhibition's 25

artists come from

Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Bhutan, India, Maldives,

Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Opening from

Jan 22 at World Bank headquarters here, the

exhibtion advances the concept that breaking

barriers is not only about economics and trade

of goods and services and more and better

regional cooperation will help South Asia, the

least integrated region in

the world, to realise its full

potential.

Scheduled to run

through Feb 13, the exhi-

bition is the result of a

regional competition

organized by the World

Bank's South Asia vice

presidency and the World

Bank Art Program for

young South Asian artists

in 2012.

The theme for the competition was creating a

vision for a common future and showcasing

the unique beauty, creativity, and challenges of

South Asia. Forty-four artworks by the 25 win-

ners of the competition are being exhibited

here.

Zardari ready for 'any situation', stays on

'India-Sri Lanka ties have scope for improvement'

WB exhibit aims to bring South Asia together

Six die in Afghan intelligence office attack

Pakistani-born Canadian cleric Tahirul Qadri has been staginga protest to seek ouster of the government

A six-member group of suicideattackers raided a compound of the

National Directorate for Security(NDS) in Charahi area

A six-member group of suicideattackers raided a compound of the

National Directorate for Security(NDS) in Charahi area

No force against Qadri supporters: ZardariIslamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out the possi-

bility of using force to disperse cleric Tahirul Qadri's followers who are

staging a sit-in near parliament.

Zardari told a Geo News TV host over the

phone that no use of force would be under-

taken against the marchers in Islamabad.

The clarification came when speculation

was rife over the Pakistan government's next

line of action to deal with the massive sit-in

in the capital.

Pak to hold general elections by May 6Islamabad: General elections in Pakistan will be held by May 6,

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah said.

Shah assured the people of Pakistan that the date of elections will not

go beyond May 6, Geo News reported. Polling "can be held on May 4,

5 or 6 but the date will not be extended beyond May 6", the minister

was quoted as saying.

Earlier, the main political parties representing the opposition pressed

the government to announce the date for elections. Heads of opposition

parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamaiat Ulema-e-

Islam (F), Jamat-e-Islami, Pakistan Milli Awami Party and others made

their joint stand at a press conference.

Pakistan PresidentAsif Ali Zardari

22 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINTERNATIONAL

French troops' groundoperations in Mali on

France will only end its intervention in Mali when political sta-bility and an election process are restored

British Airwaysfound guilty of religious bias

London: British Airways discriminated against a devoutly

Christian airline employee by making her remove a crucifix

at work, Europe's highest court ruled. But the court rejected

discrimination cases by three other Christian claimants.

BA check-in clerk Nadia Eweida sparked a national debate

in Britain over religion in public life when she was sent home

in November 2006 for refusing to comply with rules banning

employees from wearing visible religious symbols.

She claimed she was a victim of religious discrimination,

seeking damages and compensation for lost wages. British

courts backed BA, but Eweida went to the European Court of

Human Rights.

The Strasbourg, France-based court ruled on Tuesday that

the airline's policy "amounted to an interference with her right

to manifest her religion".

Mali: French troops will be in

direct combat with Islamist mili-

tants in Mali "within hours," the

country's military chief of staff has

said.

Admiral Édouard Guillaud said

on Wednesday morning that

French ground operations had

begun overnight – hours after the

defense minister, Jean-Yves Le

Drian, said France's intervention

would continue "as long as neces-

sary".

A column of French armored

vehicles left Mali's capital Bamako

and headed north towards insur-

gent frontlines. Guillaud's

announcement reversed France's

earlier insistence that it would only

provide air and logistical support

for a military intervention led by

African troops.

"Now we're on the ground,"

Guillaud said. "We will be in direct

combat within hours."

President François Hollande said

France will only end its interven-

tion in Mali when political stabili-

ty and an election process have

been restored to the west African

country and Islamist groups have

been wiped out, raising the

prospect of a drawn-out engage-

ment on hostile desert terrain.

Mali is in political disarray after

a coup last year and the fall of the

vast northern desert to Islamist

groups who operate a drug traf-

ficking and kidnap economy in

several Sahel countries.

Le Drian said French air raids

continued "day and night" in the

vast area seized by the Islamist

alliance, which combines al-

Qaida's north African wing,

AQIM, with Mali's homegrown

Movement for Oneness and Jihad

in west Africa (Mojwa) and Ansar

Dine rebel groups.

Le Drian described an implaca-

ble fight against Islamists who

were "agile, determined, well-

equipped, well-trained" and could

easily hide in the desert.

Seoul: There would be "more

developments in the days ahead"

in Washington's push to punish

North Korea for its rocket launch,

said a top US diplomat.

Kurt Campbell, assistant secre-

tary of state for East Asia, told

reporters in Seoul that the US was

in talks with the key players at the

UN, including China and Russia,

over potential sanctions against

Pyongyang, Xinhua reported.

"We're very clear in our position

that provocative steps are to be

discouraged," Campbell, who

arrived in Seoul a day ago on a

two-day visit, told reporters. "We

are closely working with the key

players including South Korea at

the UN with respect to our diplo-

macy after the missile test late last

year."

North Korea launched a satellite

last month despite being banned

by UN resolutions from conduct-

ing any ballistic missile tests.

Pyongyang said the launch was

for scientific and peaceful purpos-

es only.

Campbell, who is scheduled to

meet with South Korea's

President-elect Park Geun-hye

later in the day, said policy coor-

dination between the two coun-

tries would continue under the

new leadership in Seoul.

China readying forwar with Japan?

Beijing: China's armed forces have been

instructed to raise their fighting ability in

2013, state media reported on Tuesday, amid

heightened tensions with Japan over disput-

ed islands.

In 2013, "the PLA and the Chinese People's

Armed Police Force should focus on the

objective of being able to fight and win bat-

tle," according to a report in the overseas

edition of the People's Daily newspaper, the

Communist Party organ.

The directive came in a document released

at the beginning of the year by the PLA gen-

eral staff on military training in 2013, said

the report, republished from a website linked

to a PLA newspaper.

To prepare for combat, the armed forces

must also "vigorously strengthen real-com-

bat-like military training" and intensify

efforts to cultivate high-caliber military per-

sonnel, the report said.

Death toll from Syria blastsreaches 87

Damascus: The death toll from

two massive blasts that ravaged the

campus of a Syrian university has

reached 87, anti-regime activists

said.

The Britain-based Syrian

Observatory for Human Rights said

the number of those killed in blasts

at Aleppo University could rise

even further because medics have

collected unidentified body parts

and some of the more than 150

injured are in critical condition.

It remains unclear what caused

the blasts, which hit the campus as

students took exams, setting cars

alight and blowing the walls off

dormitory rooms.

The opposition and the govern-

ment have blamed each other for

the explosions, which marked a

major escalation in the struggle for

control of Aleppo — Syria's largest

city and once the country's main

commercial hub.

Activists said forces loyal to

President Bashar Assad launched

two airstrikes on the area at the

time of the blasts, while Syrian

state media said a "terrorist group"

— the government's shorthand for

rebels — hit it with two rockets.

Either way, the explosions shat-

tered the relative calm of the

sprawling, tree-lined campus, sig-

naling that Syria's civil war has

reached areas that were mostly

spared the violence that has killed

more than 60,000 people and

reduced entire neighborhoods all

across the nation to rubble.

The competing narratives about

what caused the blasts highlighted

the difficulty of confirming reports

from inside Syria.

Aleppo has been the focus of a

violent struggle for control since

rebel forces, mostly from rural

areas north of the city, pushed in

and began clashing with govern-

ment troops last summer.

The university is in the city's

northwest, a sector still controlled

by the government. Both activists

and the Assad regime said those

killed in Tuesday's blasts were

mostly students taking their mid-

year exams and civilians who

sought refuge in the university

dorms after fleeing violence else-

where. Activists said a government

warplane carried out two airstrikes

on the university. To support their

claim, they circulated a video they

said showed a small trail of smoke

left by a jet. They could not explain

why the government would strike

an area controlled by its forces.

Syria's state news agency said a

"terrorist group" — government

shorthand for rebels — fired two

rockets at the university from an

area further north. It did not give

numbers for the dead and wounded.

Meanwhile, the White House has

downplayed media speculations

that chemical weapons had been

used by President Bashar al-

Assad's regime against the Syrian

rebels. According to a recent report

in the Foreign Policy magazine, a

secret American investigation

revealed that Assad forces used a

poisonous gas against the rebels in

Homs city on Dec 23, 2012.

Syria's crisis began with political

protests in March 2011 but quickly

descended into a full-blown civil

war, with scores of rebel groups

across the country fighting Assad's

forces. The U.N. said that more

than 60,000 people have been

killed in the violence.

The U.N. said that more than 60,000 people have been killed inthe Syrian violence

Washington mulls sanctions on North Korea

After slowdown, India set to grow: World BankWashington: After a sharp slowdown pushing

down its projected growth to 5.4 percent in the

fiscal year ending March 2013, the World

Bank expects India to grow at 6.4 percent this

year, rising to 7.3 percent by 2015.

The slowdown in India, South Asia's largest

economy, also weakened growth in the region

to an estimated 5.4 percent in 2012 (7.4 per-

cent in 2011), said the World Bank's latest

Global Economic Prospects.

Regional GDP is projected to grow by 5.7

percent in the 2013 calendar year, and by 6.4

percent and 6.7 percent in 2014 and 2015,

respectively, driven by policy reforms in India,

stronger investment activity, normal agricul-

tural production, and improvement in export

demand.

However, growth in the region remains vulnera-

ble to an uncertain external environment and

country-specific factors, the report said suggesting

a resumption of financial market tensions in the

Euro Area or protracted debt uncertainty in the

United States would affect the South Asia region

through both trade and financial channels.

"Moreover, greater volatility in international

financial markets could make it difficult for India

to finance its widening current account deficit," it

said.

South Asian countries urgently need to strength-

en their macroeconomic fundamentals and rebuild

their policy buffers to withstand external shocks,

as well as enhance their longer-term domestic

growth drivers, the report said.

23January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info BUSINESS

India's financial sector vulnerable: IMFWashington: Despite

remarkable progress

toward developing a stable

financial system, India's

financial sector still con-

fronts longstanding imped-

iments to its ability to support growth

as well as new challenges to stability,

according to a new IMF report.

Since liberalization in the early

1990s, the system's growth and

increasing commercial orientation

have been accompanied by steady

improvements in the legal, regulatory,

and supervisory framework, the

International Monetary Fund noted in

a Financial System Stability

Assessment Update for India.

"The Indian economy and its finan-

cial system weathered the global

financial crisis well-due to strong bal-

ance sheets and profitability entering

the crisis, a robust regulatory frame-

work, and timely actions to counter

pressures on liquidity, the

supply of credit, and

aggregate demand," said

the paper. Noting that the

system is becoming more

complex, with interlink-

ages across institutions and borders,

the update on assessment undertaken

in June and October 2011 suggests the

main near-term risks to the financial

system are a worsening of bank asset

quality and renewed pressures on sys-

temic liquidity.

"However, stress tests did not reveal

near-term stability concerns, suggest-

ing the banking system would be

resilient to a range of adverse shocks,"

it said.

"The prominent role of the state in

the financial sector contributes to a

build-up of fiscal contingent liabilities

and creates a risk of capital misalloca-

tion that may constrain economic

growth," the report said.

New Delhi: In a move to boost

investor confidence, India has

deferred the implementation of

the controversial General Anti-

Avoidance Rules (GAAR) by two

years to April 2016 and exempted

non-resident Indians in foreign

institutional investors (FIIs) from

its purview.

"Having considered all the cir-

cumstances and relevant factors,

government has decided that the

provisions of Chapter 10A will

come into force with effect from

April 1, 2016 as against the cur-

rent provision of April 1, 2014,"

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram

told reporters here.

The controversial GAAR norms

introduced by the then finance

minister Pranab Mukherjee is tar-

geted at the foreign investors and

companies routing money through

tax havens like Mauritius.

The finance ministry had earlier

said it would implement GAAR

(General Anti-Avoidance Rules)

from April, 2014.

Chidambaram said the govern-

ment has accepted the major rec-

ommendations of the Parthasarthi

Shome committee, appointed last

year to look into the concerns of

foreign investors, who are against

the GAAR.

He said the tax proposal will not

apply to foreign institutional

investors (FIIs) run by non-resi-

dent Indians and will ensure that

the same income is not taxed

twice.

GAAR, which was proposed in

2012-13 budget to prevent tax

evasion, evoked sharp reactions

from foreign as well as domestic

investors who feared that the law

could be misused by taxmen to

harass investors.

Paris: Fitch ratings agency

issued a strong warning to the

United States to deal with its

recurrent debt-ceiling dramas in

a way which strengthens the

economy in the long term, say-

ing that its top "AAA" credit rat-

ing was at stake.

Fitch said it might revise

downward its notation for the

United States from the "AAA"

level if Congress did not reach

agreement on raising the ceiling

for the national debt.

Fitch said that failure to raise

the limit in time would lead to a

formal revision by Fitch of its

ratings of US debt instruments,

but the agency also said the risk

of a US default was extremely

low.

However, Fitch also warned

that fundamental strengths in the

US economy were being under-

mined by the weight of debt and

associated strains.

Fitch warned, that even if a cri-

sis over the ceiling were averted

in the immediate future, if the

solution did not address the debt

in a way which supported

growth, then it was set to down-

grade the US rating later in the

year anyway.

Mumbai: Ratan Tata has said

that the biggest challenge for

Tata group's new chairman

Cyrus Mistry will be the coun-

try's business environment that

is going to be tougher and more

complex than the crisis of 1991.

"The big picture challenge is

that the (business) environment

is going to be tougher and more

complex than it was in 1991. In

1991, there were less people

aspiring to succeed in this

newly opened economy. On

Tuesday there are many," he

said in an interview published

by Time magazine.

Ratan Tata, who has just

stepped down as Tata group's

head on December 28 after 21

years at its helm, was replying

to a query about the biggest

challenge for his successor.

Mistry has taken over from him

as Chairman of Tata Sons, the

holding company of salt-to-

software conglomerate Tata

group. Asked whether corrup-

tion was eroding investor confi-

dence in India, Tata said:

"It's been a concern to many

of us for some time", but it has

been masked by the very high

rate of growth and prosperity of

the country.

"It has led to a fair amount of

crony capitalism and people

like us have been concerned

that it is not usually a level

playing field as it should be," he

said.

Regional GDP is projected to grow by 6.4 percentand 6.7 percent in 2014 and 2015

Tata group's new chairman Cyrus Mistry with Ratan Tata

India defers anti-avoidance tax norms to 2016

Fitch may downgrade US rating over debt

Mistry lauds Gujarat's culture of implementation

New Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry has lauded the Gujarat

government and chief minister Narendra Modi saying they have cre-

ated an enabling business environment and a culture of implementa-

tion. As Mistry's name was announced for delivering his maiden pub-

lic address since taking over the helm of the salt to software con-

glomerate at the valedictory session of the sixth 'Vibrant Gujarat'

summit, a thunderous applaud resounded at the packed Mahatma

Mandir auditorium.

"At the outset I would like to applaud the spirit of entrepreneurship

of the people of Gujarat and the spirit of entire Gujarati diaspora...It

is important to recognize the infrastructure and enabling enviornment

put in place by Gujarat government," Mistry said.

Mistry said, "In Gujarat, we see a culture of implementation,

reflecting the qualities of the chief minister...And our commitment in

Gujarat goes beyond industrialisation and investment".

The new Tata Group chairman said the $100-billion group would

continue to invest in the state. "We, as the Tata Group, will continue

to invest in the state".

'India's business environment Mistry's major challenge'

24 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPORTS

Pakistani hockey players to return homeNew Delhi: All nine Pakistani play-

ers, now here for the Hockey India

League (HIL), will be sent home in

the wake of the protests against

their presence in the inaugural event

when tensions are mounting on the

Line of Control (LoC).

The players leaving for home are

Fareed Ahmed, Imran Butt,

Mahmood Rashid and Muhammad

Tousiq (all Mumbai Magicians),

Muhammad Rizwan Sr. and

Muhammad Rizwan Jr. (Delhi

Waveriders), Muhammad Irfan and

Shafqat Rasool (Ranchi Rhinos)

and Kashif Shah (Jaypee Punjab

Warriors).

The players, blissfully unaware of

the late-evening development, were

practicing with their franchise

teams.

"The decision was made in con-

sultation with the Pakistan Hockey

Federation (PHF), International

Hockey Federation (FIH) and the

franchise officials," HIL chairman

Narinder Batra told reporters.

"Due to extraordinary circum-

stances, we reached a consensus

that it was best for Pakistanis to

return home. We did not want them

to play under any sort of pressure.

As it is not their fault, they will be

paid according to their three-year

contract and the teams are free to

look for their replacements. The

decision (to send them home) how-

ever was taken only for 2013,"

added Batra.

There were indications Monday

night that the Pakistani players

might not feel secure enough to

play in the league when Jaypee

Punjab Warriors and Delhi

Waveriders did not field them in the

inaugural game here.

The clamor for their ouster began

when Shiv Sena threatened to dis-

rupt the Mumbai franchise team's

home matches if it fielded the

Pakistani players. The extreme right

wing party's action came following

the killing of Indian soldiers at the

Line of Control in Jammu and

Kashmir. Taking the cue, a couple

of youngsters raised slogans against

the presence of the Pakistani play-

ers during the opening HIL match in

the national capital.

Mumbai Magicians, the franchise

which had the maximum number of

Pakistanis in their squad, have

already started looking at replacing

Ahmed, Butt, Rashid and Tousiq

with players from Australia and

New Zealand.

"Keeping the public sentiment in

mind, we have decided to send the

players back to Pakistan," Mumbai

Magicians owner Amit Burman

said.

"To replace the Pakistanis, we

have already started talking to the

Australian and New Zealand play-

ers," he added.

Cricket: India level series with emphatic winKochi: India leveled the five-

match series against England in

emphatic fashion, defeating the

tourists by 127 runs in the second

One-day International at the

Nehru Stadium here.

India did well to post 285 for six

after winning the toss and cleaned

up England for 158 with 14 overs

to spare in the game.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja

performed his role to perfection,

smashing an unbeaten 61 off 37

balls and picking up a couple with

the ball. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

(72) continued with his good form

while Suresh Raina (50) too came

handy with the bat. Speedster

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/29)

impressed with his swing again

and offie Ravichandran Ashwin

(3/39) cleaned up the tail.

It was a much need win for

India, who were under pressure to

perform after losing the series

opener in Rajkot.

England were in the hunt of the

steep target as long as their skip-

per Alastair Cook and the danger-

ous Kevin Pietersen were in the

middle. The duo took the score to

58 for 1 in 10 overs before Cook

was adjudged leg before wicket

off Kumar.

Kumar struck twice in the 14th

over innings to give India the

advantage, his incoming delivery

rattling the stumps off Pietersen

and Eoin Morgan edging one to

Dhoni two balls later, leaving

England at 73 for four.

From there on, the England

could not keep up with the asking

rate and fall of wickets at regular

intervals pushed them out of the

game.

Earlier, a blistering 96-run stand

off 60 balls by Dhoni and Jadeja

propelled India to a score which

looked unlikely when they were

119 for four in the 27th over. The

partnership saw some serious hit-

ting by the left and right hand

combination. Dhoni came up with

a slew of helicopter shots to

enthrall a packed house.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja performed his role to perfection

Bhupathi, Bopanna advance in Australian OpenMelbourne: Finally, there was

something to cheer for India in the

men's doubles as Rohan Bopanna

and Mahesh Bhupathi advanced to

the second round with their

respective partners.

Bopanna and American Rajeev

Ram, seeded 12th defeated

Australian pair of Thanasi

Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios 6-2

6-4 in their first round.

Fifth seeded duo of Mahesh

Bhupathi and Canadian Daniel

Nestor ousted the Spanish pair of

Pablo Andujar and Guillermo

Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-4 in their first

round match.

Second seeded Leander Paes and

his Czech partner will begin the

defense of their title against South

Africa's Kevin Anderson and

Isarel's Jonathan Erlich tomorrow.

Bopanna and Ram will next take

on Italian team of Simone Bolelli

and Fabio Fognini.

Earlier, Somdev Devvarman

gave a mighty scare to world num-

ber 26 Jerzy Janowicz before fiz-

zling out while Sania Mirza and

her American partner Bethanie

Mattek-Sands suffered a shock

first round exit in a mixed day for

the Indians at the Australian Open

on Wednesday.

Somdev was well on course to

record his best performance at theGrand Slams but frittered away a

two-set lead to go down 7-6(10) 6-

3 1-6 0-6 5-7 against 24th seed

Polish rival in a marathon men's

singles second round, which lasted

four hours.

Somdev showed he has recov-

ered well from his shoulder sur-

gery, which spoilt his 2012 season,

but somehow could not complete

the job despite a magnificent start.

Somdev was lone Indian featur-

ing in the men's singles.

In the women's doubles Sania

and Bethanie, who came into tour-

nament after winning the Brisbane

international, were ousted by

unseeded Spanish team of Silvia

Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez

Navarro. Sania will now compete

in the mixed doubles with new

partner Bob Bryan.

IOC tells sports federationsto keep off IOA

Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi

New Delhi: The International

Olympic Committee (IOC) wrote a

letter to the suspended Indian

Olympic Association (IOA) asking

its national sports federations (NSF)

not to associate themselves with the

"illegitimate individuals purporting

to act on its behalf".

The letter, addressed to IOA act-

ing president Vijay Kumar Malhotra

and secretary general Randhir

Singh, asked the NSFs not to attend

any meeting convened by "these

individuals, who do not represent

the suspended IOA and are acting in

violation of the IOC's decisions and

the Olympic Charter".

The IOA was suspended by the

IOC Executive Board Dec 4. In

spite of this, "illegal elections" were

conducted where Lalit Bhanot and

Abhay Singh Chautala were elected

as the secretary general and presi-

dent of the IOA, respectively.

"Take all necessary measures

against these individuals at national

level (including any appropriate

legal action) to stop their illegal

activities with immediate effect and

to protect the interests and assets of

the suspended IOA," said Pere

Miro, National Olympic Committee

relations director.

"The members of the suspended

IOA must not associate themselves

with these illegitimate individuals or

interact with them in any manner

whatsoever. In particular, the nation-

al federations must not attend any

meeting convened by these individ-

uals, who do not represent the sus-

pended IOA.

"In the event that any federation

associates itself with these individu-

als, in violation of the IOC's deci-

sions and the Olympic Charter, the

IOC will immediately ask the

International Federation concerned

to take necessary action," added

Miro. The IOC also proposed to

hold a joint meeting at its headquar-

ters in Laussane with Singh,

Malhotra and a senior representative

of the Government of India as soon

as possible to get the IOA back on

the road.

All nine Pakistani players will be sent home in the wake of theprotests against them

FOOD

Royal kitchens revealing secret recipes25January19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Madhusree Chatterjee

Erstwhile royal families have

closely guarded culinary

secrets of their kitchens like

treasures down the ages. But the

struggle to keep the estates sus-

tainable is forcing the descendants

to open up.

Nearly six decades after inde-

pendence, the hosts of the royal

palace resorts are opening their

recipe books to contribute to the

experimental culinary wave

sweeping through the kitchens of

urban India.

"Cooking a family recipe is like

singing a 'ghazal'. It sounds differ-

ent each time, but you know the

flavor. One of our favorites was

'Shahi Sabzi Pulao'," Randhir

Singh, scion of the family of the

erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala, said.

It was a dry pulao that could be

improvised with meat arranged in

layers, he said. The pulao, origi-

nally cooked by royal chefs, has

now been tweaked to suit the low-

oil palate. The pulao can be paired

with "Murgh Musallam Laung

Elaichi", a sweet and sour dry

chicken dish with hints of clove,

cardamom, lime juice and honey.

Like Patiala, till about a decade

ago, Tripura was a culinary wilder-

ness unknown to mainland India.

The repast table of the Deb Barma

family was a locked wonderland.

"General awareness about north-

eastern food is poor. Most of us are

ethnically, linguistically and cul-

turally of Tibeto-Burmese origin.

Our food is basic, represents plen-

ty of eats with pork, bamboo

shoots and red chillies. It is similar

to Burmese cuisine with a bit of

Cambodian spice blend," Pradyot

Manikya Debbarma, scion of the

erstwhile Tripura royal family,

said.

He lives for his "bhaat" -- a

sticky rice variety -- like other

northeasterners. "It is a level world

in our land because we are looked

upon as custodians of the land, not

rulers. We don't have a caste sys-

tem and it tells on our royal cuisine

as well," he said.

Debbarma loves to cook "Wahan

Mos Deng" -- a pork dish, pork

marinated in salt water, boiled and

cooked lightly with ginger, onions

and mixed with mustard oil.

Fish is another staple, the former

prince-turned-journalist-cum-cook

from Tripura said.

"Sheena Kebab", "Tunde Ka

Kebab" and "Kakori Kebab" - the

signature of Awadh Dastarkhwan

created by the Mughals -- long

moved out of the palace to the

neighborhood eatery. While

Tunde Ka Kebab, named after an

one-armed chef, uses 160 spices,

Kakori has a divine legacy.

It was created at the 'dargah' of

Hazrat Shah Abi Ahder Sahib in

Lucknow with a mince of the

"raan" of mutton and spices that

still continue to vex the common

cook.

"Dining With the Maharajas", a

recent book published by Roli,

says: "Every day, any given meal

for Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of

Awadh and his wife was cooked in

six different kitchens at a monthly

cost of Rs.60,000. The amount did

not include salaries of the cooks".

Legend has it that Mughal

Emperor Jahangir had a weakness

for chicken that was kept on a diet

of saffron for a year. It took at least

100 chickens to cook the dish with

a special blend of spices, the book

says.

Food and cuisine have been inte-

gral to Indian culture, says Neha

Prasada, who authored the book

with Ashima Narain. "Traditional

Indian cuisine is backed by years

of experimentation.

The fun is that the Indian royal

cuisine has evolved with different

influences.

Somewhere, the original recipes

have been deleted. What finds

place on the table are improvised

or diluted versions of the original

fare -- with reduced oil or ghee.

We have tried to preserve some of

the original recipes from their

kitchens," Prasada said.

Shehzadi Naghat Abidi from the

former royal family of Lucknow

says the cuisine is no longer con-

fined to palace kitchens. "From

rich to poor, everyone loves ‘Tar

Gosht’, a traditional dish of

Rampur served during feast after a

man's wedding," Abidi said,

adding, "It is a gravy dish of either

baby lamb or buffalo meat stir

fried in a light spice base of ginger

and chilly served with red

tamarind dip and good wine."

Legend has it that Mughal EmperorJahangir had a weakness for chicken thatwas kept on a diet of saffron for a year. It

took at least 100 chickens to cook the dishwith a special blend of spices, "Dining

With the Maharajas", a new book, says.

Exploring the cuisine of eastern IndiaB

engalis are one of the most food and

culture obsessed people in India.

They are commonly compared to the

French in that regard, as dining and entertain-

ing are such an integral part of their culture.

What makes Bengali cuisine so unique is the

variations and complexities that are a result

of practice and delicate subtlety. Now a new

cookbook brings this distinctive culinary

experience to home kitchens in the US. In

‘The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles’, author

Rinku Bhattacharya explains the food and

culture of her native homeland in Eastern

India and showcases the recipes that are at

the heart of Bengali life.

The book gets its title from the five-spice

blend Bengalis call panch phoron. This spice

blend consists of five whole spices in equal

proportions: cumin seeds, mustard seeds,

nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, and fennel

seeds and is at the heart of Bengali flavors

and the individual spices form the basis of

the Bengali pantry.

“The Bengali diet leans heavily on vegeta-

bles, rice and fish. Bengali cooks prepare a

variety of imaginative dishes using the many

types of vegetables that grow in the region

year round,” Rinku explains. “A traditional

Bengali meal sequence involves eating

through a rainbow assortment of vegetables,

and then finishing off usually with a fish

dish, but sometimes mutton or goat. Since

Bengalis rely on seasonal foods and usually

eat what is available, meals are prepared in

small quantities so cooking is a daily ritual.”

With over 180 easy-to-follow recipes incor-

porating a balance of traditional and contem-

porary recipes, The Bengali Five Spice

Chronicles showcases the best of the Bengali

table. The book begins with a thorough intro-

duction to Bengali culture and cooking,

including sections on spices, ingredients, and

equipment. Recipe chapters cover Rice &

Breads, Lentils, Fried Vegetables and Fritters,

Vegetarian First Courses, Vegetarian Entrees,

Eggs, Fish, Chicken & Poultry, Meat Dishes,

Chutneys & Relishes, Drinks & Snacks, and

Desserts.

Rinku has adapted the cuisine for the

American kitchen and markets making it easy

and accessible to find ingredients. Some of

the recipes in the book include tempting dish-

es like Eggs Cooked in Caramelized Onion

Sauce; Crisp Lentil Cakes in Curried Gravy;

Lentil-Stuffed Puffy Breads; Tart Pigeon

Peas and Green Mangoes; Lightly Spiced

Pan-Sautéed Okra; Green Plantain and Taro

Cakes; Golden Cauliflower in Orange

Mustard Sauce; Slow-Cooked Rice with

Saffron, Shrimp and Rosewater; Steamed

Mustard Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaves;

Red Snapper in a Coconut Tamarind Sauce;

Pickle-Spiced Lamb Curry; Coconut and

Cardamom Fudge, and Milk Cake.

The Bengal region is made up of the Indian

state of West Bengal and the country of

Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal). The food

of this area comes from a long history of

influences, both foreign and South Asian and

stems from the historical invasions and trade

links it had with many parts of the world.

For anyone who loves to cook and experi-

ence food of different cultures, The Bengali

Five Spice Chronicles is a fascinating culi-

nary journey without ever having to leave the

kitchen.

Rinku Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata,

and moved to the US about 25 years ago. A

doctorate in business, she has been teaching

cooking classes for the last seven years at her

home, community college, and Whole Foods

Market in Westchester, NY, where she lives.

Rinku has a natural passion and love for

regional Indian cuisine and uses it to share

and connect with her cultural heritage. She

has travelled extensively and specializes in

adapting Indian cuisine in global environ-

ments and kitchens. Her deep commitment to

using seasonal ingredients for Indian cooking

is reflected in her recipes. Rinku writes a

popular blog, Cooking in Westchester, and a

weekly column “Spices and Seasons” for the

Journal News online, Small Bites.

‘The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles’ isauthored by Rinku Bhattacharya, who

lives in Westchester, NY.

Men make cautious buyers, but

Indian men are even more conser-

vative and traditional when it

comes to their dressing style, feels British

designer Fabian Lintott, who is currently in

India to launch a new range of bags.

"Indian men are a touch more conservative

compared to the international field. Indian

men are still fairly new to fashion con-

sumerism. Men in general tend to lean

towards the more cautious side when it

comes to the purchases they make," Lintott

said.

Based out of London, the 31-year-old is

currently in Pondicherry to launch the latest

collection of Hidesign bags, a brand he has

been associated with from 2006. He is

responsible for giving a quirky taste to the

Indian brand's designs.

"I have been fortunate enough to visit the

Hidesign factory here in Pondicherry every

year for the last six years. I have to be hon-

est: I love coming here. The vibe of India is

always electric and contagious. There is a

real sense of the way the country is changing

and developing, which is exciting. It is

always an inspirational experience," he said.

Lintott feels Indian men need to keep into

account their personality while dressing up

as well as accessorizing, without thinking

much about others.

"I think you have to be true to yourself. As

long as you are comfortable with your style,

no one else really matters. In Japan, for

instance, men are happy to carry man bags

and underarm bags, as well as the more com-

monly seen city and cross body bags. As

long as you are comfortable, I say go for it,"

he said.

A graduate of Central St. Martin's College

of Art and Design, London, the designer

feels there has of late been tremendous

growth in the area of men's accessory. The

effect of that, he believes, is reflecting on

Indian soil too.

"There is now a huge growth in the men's

accessory market over the last few years.

Men have woken up to accessories and to

more adventurous use of color," he said.

"I think accessories are and will be ever

more important in our lives. With iPads,

tablets, laptops and other tech pieces, acces-

sories like the humble despatch bag, brief-

case or day bag are called upon more and

more to help us carry our precious items.

This will lead to more and more demand for

bags to fulfill our needs," he added.

Talking about his design inspiration, he

said it varies from simple things to extraordi-

nary landscapes.

"I am fluid with my inspiration sources. I

love details and my sources are always var-

ied. It may be a bonnet catch on an old

sports car or as varied as leaves from the

garden. It is always the little things that

spark an idea that leads me to the finished

item," said Lintott. He also revealed that

Hidesign will soon launch its first range of

sunglasses, shoes and non-leather luggage.

Looking for love in America? Perhaps

what you need is a little faith. Call it a

21st century take on an age old bibli-

cal teaching -- Surf, and ye shall find.

Christians in the US trying to find their

soul mates are turning with increasing fre-

quency to the internet, so much so that

Christian dating sites have become a boom-

ing and very competitive business.

"The benefit of coming to a site like ours is

knowing you are coming to an online

Christian community where you know peo-

ple share your faith and your values," said

Ashley Reccord, spokeswoman for

ChristianMingle.com.

"We are the largest and fastest growing

online dating site for Christians," she said.

With just over eight million registered

members, ChristianMingle.com is the largest

of a dozen or more Christian dating sites.

It is also the most popular of the 28 differ-

ent, niche-dating sites owned by Spark

Networks including JDate.com which is tar-

geted toward Jewish singles and has 750,000

active members.

While LDSSingles.com is for Mormons,

which reports over a thousand couples that

have found their matches, BlackSingles.com

reports thousands of members that log onto

its site each day.

Tre Reaume said he logged onto

ChristianMingle.com from his home in San

Diego, California in February 2009, after a

breakup with a girlfriend. He was not look-

ing for anything

serious, but

for another

C h r i s t i a n ,

someone ambitious, adventurous, and attrac-

tive.

Three weeks later, he met Miki, a former

Radio City Rockette dancer and a musical

theatre performer who was living across the

country in New York City.

The long distance relationship allowed

their friendship to take off.

"I proposed at the end of 2009, we got

married in June of 2010. It's definitely a God

story for us," he said.

His story and scores of others like it are

helping to drive the popularity of Christian

dating sites across the US, a growing trend

that seems to contradict reports about

the decline of religion in

America, particularly for

those under 30. The Pew

Research Center, a

Washington-based

think tank that

studies national

and global trends,

released a report

in 2012 that

found the number

of Americans

who have no reli-

gious affiliation

had grown from

15.3 percent in

2007 to 19.6 per-

cent in 2012, the

vast majority of

them under the age of 50.

"While I can't argue with the numbers in

the report, I can argue that perhaps our coun-

try isn't really losing its religion but rather

finding new ways to keep the faith," said

Clayton Coates, a pastor at Grace Point

Church in Texas and an advisory board

member for ChristianMingle.com.

"Perhaps it's because singles are no longer

going to church in the traditional sense, they

now are finding new ways to associate and

share their beliefs in online communities as

well as the faith community," he added.

Christian online dating sites surge in US

Indian designer Shouger Merchant Doshi

26 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoLIFESTYLE

British designer Fabian Lintott.

Merchant to showcase'real India' at Hongkong

Fashion Week

Indian designer Shouger Merchant

Doshi is set to light up the ramp at the

ongoing edition of Hong Kong Fashion

Week with vibrant Indian colors.

The four-day fashion extravaganza start-

ed Jan 14 and the designer will showcase

her collection - A pink opera - Wednesday

at the Hong Kong Convention and

Exhibition Centre.

"I have taken inspiration from the vari-

ous shades of the color pink that is present

in almost every flower. I decided on this

theme because I wanted to show different

ensembles in one color. Each model will be

wearing a creation inspired by a different

pink flower and will be wearing the flower

as a hairpiece as well," Merchant said.

"Also, India is known for its bright col-

ors, so why not showcase this to represent

the country's rich culture," she added.

From anarkalis to saris and lehengas in

fabrics like net, velvet, silk, chiffon, geor-

gette and organza, the designer has covered

every ethnic style.

She has also used lot of embellishments

like zardozi, zari, threadwork and swarovs-

ki work to add elegance to her creations.

"This collection is different from the last.

It is a little more feminine, cute, fun and

flirty," she said.

Indian men conservative: British designer

Indian and Chinese companies have

become better in developing new com-

plex products, a Swedish researcher says.

Monica Plechero has questioned the notion

that Indian and Chinese companies compete

with their Western counterparts only through

lower wages and cheap imitations.

"It is still the case that both Indian and

Chinese companies imitate others but they

have also become better at developing new

complex products", said Plechero from Lund

University, Sweden.

Plechero has studied Indian and Chinese

companies in the automotive, information

and communication technologies and green

bio-tech industries as part of her doctoral

thesis.

But the process has not been the same in

both countries, a Lund University statement

quoted her as saying.

China mainly develops products for the

domestic market. In India, the international

market is used as a springboard in product

development, she said.

"(But) the Chinese market is larger and

more mature," said Plechero.

In just a few years, the Chinese and Indian

share of the world's research and develop-

ment centers has risen from eight to 18 per-

cent.

Plechero claims that India and China

invest more than the West in organizational

innovation or the implementation of a com-

pany structure that creates a favorable cli-

mate for new inventions.

But what is the West to do then when it can

neither compete on low wages or on the best

innovation capacity?

"I think we need to become better at utiliz-

ing others' knowledge, just as is done in

China and India," she said.

"Of course, you have to specialize and find

your own niche. Successful European com-

panies are far too eager to keep their trade

secrets to themselves," she said.

Indian, Chinese firms lead in innovations

27January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info ARTS AND LETTERS

Now Ramayana in Polish languageWarsaw: Ramayana, the great Indian

epic, is now available in Polish lan-

guage, courtesy Janusz Krzyzowski,

an Indologist in Poland who has

translated the monumental work.

Though few episodes of Ramayana

were translated into Polish in 1816,

these were mere translation of west-

ern writers. In the 20th century, some

attempts were made to translate a few

more chapters.

It seems Krzyzowski collected the

material from dozens of books and

presented in a coherent manner so

that a reader could sustain his interest

while going through different chap-

ters. The original was penned by

Maharishi Valmiki in Sanskrit.

"My main purpose was to translate

this epic into many chapters in a story

format so that laymen and particularly

Polish children could enjoy the book

as well as they should be aware of the

great Indian mythological tradition.

"Ramayana and Mahabharata are

two great epics which cannot (be)

compared with other epics. Even

Greek epics come out as pale shad-

ows when we see the canvas of the

Indian epics. They are almost unique

in the history of mankind,"

Krzyzowski told.

The book's effect was visible when

a group presented a two-hour show on

the pattern of Ramlila. In May, the

group will visit few cities in Poland to

enact Ramlila for Polish schoolchild-

ren with the help of the Embassy of

India in Warsaw.

"He has done great justice to pro-

mote India in his nation. He deserves

all our praise and we feel proud that

such a gem is with us in Poland,"

Indian ambassador Monika Mohta

said.

Krzyzowski has been a prolific

writer on India since 15 years. His

love for India has roots since his uni-

versity days when he enrolled for a

master degree in philosophy after a

medical degree. This interest turned

him into an automatic Indophile.

His books on Ashoka and Tansen

were well-received along with books

of Urdu masters like Mir Taqi Mir,

Mirza Ghalib, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Faiz

Ahmad Faiz that he translated with

Surender Zahid, an Urdu poet in

Warsaw.

Krzyzowski is the president of

India-Poland Cultural Committee

since its inception in 2004.

Rashtrapati Bhavan library being digitized New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee is a

man of many talents, at ease with a multitude of

assignments of varying kinds. Besides managing

the affairs of the state, the veteran politician is

these days busy digitizing historic records and

books in the Rashtrapati Bhavan library, sorting

his old journals to put together a book and

restoring the British-era building to its pristine

glory - and of course, reading.

Briefing the media at an informal interface in

Rashtrapati Bhavan Tuesday, Mukherjee said

the library was big enough for "anybody to

spend five years reading."

"The library has records as old as government

proceedings of 1891. Right now, the documents

are dumped on the floor are being removed and

put in order. After seeing the library in order, I

will concentrate on reading.”

"I want to read official records - the history of

the transfer of power and how the financial busi-

ness of the government was transacted. The first

budget was passed in 1892," Mukherjee said

adding digitization of old books and reports was

his priority.

An aide to the president said: "Out of the

24,000 documents and records, only 4,000 have

been digitized during president A.P.J Abdul

Kalam's tenure."

But the "hardware is outdated and restorers are

trying to retrieve them in a user-friendly for-

mat."

The president is also keen on writing a couple

of books. "Not an autobiography or anything

like it," he said.

The president said "he did not want to add

anything new to Rashtrapati Bhavan but "just

restore the building to its original glory."

"I will not change anything. I am traditional-

ist," he said.

Mukherjee said he has recently watched

"Lincoln" that won its lead actor Daniel Day

Lewis a Golden Globe award and has bought a

copy of Ramachandra Guha's new essays.

Jaipur to host literary stalwarts at Jan 24-28 Literature FestivalBy Prakash Bhandari

Jaipur: There is a mad rush of

participants for the Jaipur

Literature Festival. So far 70,000

people have already registered

online and the on-the-venue regis-

tration which would begin from

January 20 is expected to add a

few thousands more. The festival

will be held from January 24 to 28.

Considering the large turnout, the

organizers have split the festival

into two venues. The festival

which was held at a heritage prop-

erty Diggi Palace will have its cul-

tural session at a five star hotel

which can accommodate 20,000

people at a time.

The five-day festival will

encompass a wide range of activi-

ties including debates, discussions,

readings, music and workshops for

the participants.

Festival will play host to sub-

jects as diverse as the history of

miniature painting and war report-

ing, Sharia Law and gay and les-

bian literature, the Jewish novel,

the 18th century sexual revolution,

detective fiction and the literature

of 9/11. It will focus on new writ-

ing from Latin America and Iran;

examine the economic prospects

of India. The audience will look at

the mixed legacy of the British

Empire, the decline of America

and the rise of China.

In fiction this year, the festival

will host Commonwealth Prize

winner Aminatta Forna from

Sierra Leone, Booker Prize winner

Howard Jacobson,two Orange

Prize winners Linda Grant and

Madeline Miller and Abraham

Verghese - he best-selling writer

of Indian origin in the US. Two

respected novelists from the Arab

world Ahdaf Soueif and Tahar Ben

Jalloun are also expected to join.

The Festival welcome’s back

two of Pakistan’s most celebrated

wunderkinds Nadeem Aslam and

Mohammad Hanif and look for-

wards to introducing Jamil

Ahmad. From Chile come Ariel

Dorfman, the playwright and cele-

brated author of Death and the

Maiden. For the first time Indian

audiences will hear favorite histor-

ical novelist, Lawrence Norfolk,

and three of Britain’s most popular

literary writers, Sebastian Faulks,

Deborah Moggach and Zoe Heller,

whose award-winning books have

been adapted into the highly

acclaimed movies Birdsong, The

Exotic Marigold Hotel and Notes

on a Scandal. The festival will also

be graced by two of the greatest

poets in Europe, Simon Armitage

and John Burnside.

Sharing his enthusiasm Festival

Co-Director William Dalrymple

said, “It’s going to be an absolute-

ly extraordinary five days and only

wish it were possible to clone one-

self so that one could attend five

sessions simultaneously.”

The non-fiction list is especially

strong this year. No less than three

winners of the Samuel Johnson

Prize for non-fiction Frank

Dikotter on Mao, Wade Davis on

Everest and Orlando Figes on

Stalin’s purges, while Pulitzer

winner Andrew Solomon will

speak on his remarkable new

book, Far From the Tree.

Harvard Diana Eck, whose book

India: A Sacred Geography has

been one of the hits of the year,

philosopher Michael Sandel who

brings his popular BBC Radio 4

series, "The Public Philosopher,"

to Jaipur and the leading cultural

theorist, Homi Bhabha are also

expected.

From Columbia University

comes the much-revered post-

colonial and post-modern literary

critic and thinker Gayatri

Chakrovorty Spivak. From Oxford

University comes acclaimed

authority on Eastern Europe,

Timothy Garton Ash and the

Shakesperian Christopher Ricks.

DSC Jaipur Literature Festival

will present three of the world’s

most acclaimed artists in conver-

sation: Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn

and William Kentridge.

Nandan Nilekani will discuss

Breakout Nations with Ruchir

Sharma, author of this year's best-

selling book of non-fiction. Some

of the most admired essayists in

the world will also be speaking:

Elif Batuman of the New Yorker,

Pico Iyer of Time Magazine and

Tim Parks and Ian Buruma of the

New York Review of Books.

On a lighter note, to celebrate

the 50th anniversary of the James

Bond films DSC Jaipur Lit Fest

will have a special session featur-

ing Sebastian Faulks, who wrote

the latest book in the franchise,

Devil May Care, and Ian

Fleming’s biographer Andrew

Lycett.

Poems, stories, readings, and

panels will discuss the multifac-

eted experience of being a woman,

and the search for gender equity

and justice.

To add to the enthusiasm, a

friendly cricket match is being

organized between leading authors

coming to the DSC Jaipur

Literature Festival and the Royals

XI, comprising of few players,

team management and esteemed

personalities. The ‘Authors XI’

versus ‘Royals XI’ match will be

held in Jaipur, on January 23.

Sreesanth, Ashok Menaria, Ajit

Chandela, Dishant Yagnik, Raghu

Iyer, Shashi Tharoor, Tarun Tejpal

and Lakshya Raj Singh Mewar are

among the eminent players consti-

tuting the Royals XI team. The

Authors XI team includes promi-

nent names such as Richard Beard,

Sam Carter, Nicholas Hogg, James

Holland, Tom Holland, Anthony

McGowan, Anosh Irani, Alex

Preston and Charlie Campbell, the

captain of the team.

Commonwealth Prize winnerAminatta Forna

Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson

Pranab Mukherjee browses throughbooks in the library

European poetJohn Burnside

Author GayatriChakravorty Spivak

By Nury Vittachi

AMAN TRIED to get on a plane wear-

ing 60 outfits. Too miserly to pay the

excess baggage charge, he simply

opened his suitcase and put on everything he

owned.

"I've done the same thing myself, but only

with four jackets," said Shreya Gangul, the

reader who sent the story to me."I was really

uncomfortable. I can't imagine wearing 60

layers."

The news clip said the passenger, a non-

Chinese man at Guangzhou airport in southern

China, looked like a giant ball. I can imagine

the conversations that would have ensued had

he managed to board the aircraft:"Please sit

down, sir." "I AM sitting down."

But he never made it on to the plane. That's

because he had a USB drive or two tucked

into one or other of his garments. When the

security gate went beeeeep, guards asked him

to empty his pockets. Imagine his horror:

"Yeah, sure. Just gimme a moment." But there

was no way he could reach all his pockets.

The staff detained him.

Shreya said that her worst clothes-smug-

gling experience was when she wore a leotard,

three outfits and a padded jacket.""I started

the journey in a really hot country, so I nearly

died of heatstroke on the way to the airport. I

had to drink two litres of water."

But the worst part of the ordeal was still to

come."NEVER wear a leotard as your bottom

layer. When you have to go to the toilet, you

have to strip totally naked, even if it's just for

a ten-second pee."

On a 19-hour trip with a three-hour

stopover, she had to strip naked seven times.

"I seriously considered asking the baby sitting

behind me if I could have one of his diapers,"

she said.

-*-

TWEET FROM Gabbar Singh describing

India's parliament:"Think of a bus where

every seat has a steering wheel & the bus

moves in the direction of the sum of all the

vectors." That sums it up pretty well.

-*-

YOUNG DESPOT Kim Jong-un released

video footage of his missile launch centre.

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed his monitors were

running Windows Vista.

This is a terrifying thought for anyone in

range of North Korean missiles (i.e., all of us

in Asia). Picture the scene. Hackers send a

virus to launch all the missiles at once. Kim

reaches for his master computer to stop them.

But the screen freezes and up pops a mes-

sage" "Keyboard not responding.

Press any key to continue."

-*-

A RESTAURANT in China serves spicy

soup which is so hot it burns a hole in your

stomach, I read in several Asian news sites.

After dealing with a 26-year-old victim, hos-

pital staff in Wuhan said that 15 percent of

gastrointestinal cases now came from extreme

soup eating.

Women reading this are thinking: Yeuuch,

how dumb can people be?

Men reading this are thinking: Where can I

get me some of that?

-*-

GEEKS HAVE INVENTED a programme

that can make anyone East Asian. The link

was forwarded by a helpful reader who had

heard this columnist lament that he had not

been born a member of one of the cooler

races. "This will make you Chinese or

Japanese or South Korean," said Sunita Chau.

I clicked the link but Make Me Asian only

works on photographs, not on real people - not

yet, anyway. You upload your photograph,

whether you are Caucasian, Australoid,

Mongoloid, or, like me, Random Nondescript

Brownoid-and then press a button.

Round eyes are flattened, noses shrink, skin

is tinted yellow and a wig of straight black

hair is photoshopped over the top of your

head.

The app-developers have been castigated as

racists in America, since people on that side of

the planet are terribly sensitive about these

things. But Chinese and Japanese people seem

unoffended, and are using it themselves to

make their eyes longer and their noses tinier.

Further investigation revealed that it's part

of a range of photo-editing apps which include

Make Me Old (your hair disappears), Make

Me Fat (the lower part of your head expands)

and Make Me Irish (orange hair and a beard

appear on your face).

Surely the range would sell better if they

were Make Me LESS Old, Make Me LESS

Fat or Make Me ANYTHING BUT Irish.

Anyway, the Make Me Asian app is so badly

coded it crashes all the time. One reviewer

wrote a note to the programmers: "If you want

to be Asian, you should make functioning

apps for a starter."

-*-

TWO STUDENTS wore hi-tech cheating

shirts during exams, the Indian press revealed

last week. The shirts have a lapel mike built

into the collar and a mobile phone in the

armpit. This is utterly despicable and I wish I

had thought of it first. Grade F for ethics,

Grade A for resourcefulness.

-*-

A NEW TRAFFIC law was passed in China

last week, forcing drivers to stop at yellow

lights, I heard from reader Chris Donnolley.

"How about getting them to stop at red lights

while they're at it?" he asked. That may be

asking too much!

-*-

A BOLSHIE MONKEY with a Donald

Trump hairdo took up residence in the US

embassy in Sri Lanka the other day, forcing

staff to evacuate. It was eventually persuaded

to leave using a trail of bananas - to the British

government building next door. If this starts

another war in Sri Lanka, America will pay.

-*-

Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi

A group of local public school teachers use rubber training guns as theypractice drills on disarming an attacker during a teachers-only firearms

training class offered for free at the Veritas Training Academy inSarasota, Florida January 11, 2013. The December 14 tragedy in

Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 first-graders and six adults were killedat Sandy Hook Elementary School, has sparked a national debate about

whether to arm teachers, prompting passionate arguments on both sides.

Photo of the week

28 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

Man tries to board plane wearing 60 outfits

January 19

You are dominated by the number 1 and the Sun.

The planet Moon, also has a strong influence on

you. Happiness, prosperity and fame, is what most

of you can expect in the coming year. Your me-

thodical approach to work, coupled with your sin-

cerity, will take you to newer heights in your pro-

fessional career. You will be able to go to the depth

of any project that you undertake. Your quest for

knowledge and research, will help you immense-

ly in your field of work. But, sometimes you tend

to get a little restless and this results in your tak-

ing hasty decisions. Weigh the pros and cons, be-

fore taking any important decision. Hasty actions,

will not only result in wrong decisions, but will

also lead to unpleasantness with colleagues and

friends. Your warmth nature, will make friends

around you, confide in you, and look towards you

for help, when they are in distress. March, June,

July, September and January will be significant.

January 20

You are dominated by the planet Moon. You are

also governed by the number 2. Your warm nature

and your helpful attitude, draws people towards

you. You will have a large circle of friends around

you, in the coming year. For those of you, who are

going to be married, can expect to achieve success

and prosperity in their married life. Those of you,

who are in the field of journalism or teaching, can

expect to reach newer heights of excellence, in the

year ahead of you. For most of you, proximity to

a water body, will bring you prosperity. You

should, therefore opt for a posting near a river or a

seaside. Most of you will be associated with char-

itable institutions, and you will be spending a lot

of your spare time, in doing social work. May,

July, November and February will prove highly

significant.

January 21

You are governed by the number 3 and by the

planet Jupiter. You are also influenced by the

Moon. You are courageous by nature and are not

afraid to overcome any obstacle which may come

your way. The coming year, will see you achieve

honour and fame, in your professional front. You

will have to do a lot of traveling, both for work and

for pleasure. Self respect and happiness, is what

you can achieve from the year, ahead of you. Your

kind hearted nature, and your generosity, will draw

friends towards you. You will always have a circle

of friends who will find solace and peace in your

company. But you will not tolerate too much in-

terference in your life. You like privacy and will

go all out to maintain it at any cost. You tend to be-

come suspicious at times. This may result in a rift

with your friends and loved ones. June, Septem-

ber, December and March will be eventful.

January 22

You are governed by the number 4 and the planet

Uranus. You are also influenced by the Moon.

Those of you in your 40th year and above, should

expect to reach the height of your professional ca-

reer, in the year ahead of you. Most of you will be

lucky in money as well as love matters. You will

benefit by your friendship with the opposite sex.

Some of you may get into a special relationship

which may turn out to be everlasting. Your do-

mestic front, will be peaceful and full of harmony.

You like to avoid disputes and keep those around

you happy. Your introvert nature will not allow

you to express your sentiments and because of

this, you will have limited friends around you. You

do not like to mingle easily with all persons. The

months of April, June, July, October and Novem-

ber will be highly eventful.

January 23

You re governed by the number 5 and the planet

Mercury. You are also dominated by the Moon.

You have a fascination for anything that moves

fast. You like your projects and plans to move in

double quick time. You will be able to achieve suc-

cess and that too in a short time, in the year ahead

of you. Honour, fame and recognition, will be

yours in the coming year. Financially too, it will

be a good year. Some of you can expect to inherit

property from your ancestors. Those of you in the

field of writing, or teaching, can expect it to be an

exceptionally good year. Your extensive vocabu-

lary and communication skills, will take you to

greater heights of success. Because of your devo-

tion and loyalty, you will be able to gather many

admirers and friends around you. You will be the

centre of attraction at social gatherings. The

months of May, July, September and December

will be important.

January 24

You are governed by the planet Venus and domi-

nated by the Moon. You are also influenced by the

number 6. You are full of confidence and do not

underestimate you capabilities. In the coming

year, you will try to impose your ideas on others.

This may not be liked by your colleagues, who

tend to drift away. You will achieve success in

your pursuit of knowledge. Gaining an imparting

knowledge to others, is what you enjoy doing. You

will spend a lot of time in collecting donations for

charitable institutions. Your warmth nature draws

you to those who need help. This gives you ulti-

mate satisfaction. A word of advice for the coming

year – keep away from speculation and gambling.

Overindulgence in these may lead to losses. The

months of February, June, August and January will

be important and significant.

January 25

You are governed by the number 7 and dominated

by the planet Neptune. Moon also has an influence

on you. You are faithful and honest by nature. You

will go all out to fulfill your duties towards your

friends and family, in the year ahead of you. You

will be able to pursue many subjects, rather than

confine yourself to anyone. Your honesty and loy-

alty, towards your work, will impress your seniors.

Those of you, in the teaching line, will do well,

professionally. Your sharp memory and intelli-

gence, will be your assets. But, sometimes you

tend to get fickle minded and inconsistent in your

attitude.

This could reflect on your work. The months of

April, June, August, November, March and April

will prove to be highly significant.

By Dr Prem Kumar SharmaChandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: January 19-25, 2013 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

Learn about the fair value ofdiamonds & precious stones.

from a Gems Expert For appointment, please call 516-390-7847

or email consult.gems@gmail.comA special offer for the readers of

The South Asian Times

Free Consultation

29

Aries: This is a period to invest with

extreme precaution and care. Past invest-

ments need another reexamination. If you're

planning on investing in a new venture then you

better take small factors into consideration.

Your ability to charm others will put you in the

limelight. Property or vehicle transactions seem

quite likely. Children will cause some dissatis-

faction but spouse remains quite cooperative.

Taurus: Stabilization in your relation-

ship with your family members seems

certain if you are willing to compromise on cer-

tain fronts. Professional gains for some bring

gains and prosperity. Your new ideas and tech-

nical knowledge will make a good impression

on others. Residential moves and renovation

during this period will prove auspicious.

Outdoor sports events and entertainment pro-

gramme will help you keep relaxed.

Gemini: This is an excellent time for

professional advancements, promotions

and recognition. At work you will be in the

good books of your seniors and you will also

benefit monetarily. Romance is in the air, so

make the best of it and avoid any arguments

with your lover. Opportunities to go out with

friends will be informative and pleasurable. You

need to do more things that you enjoy in order

to relax. Foreign transaction or overseas jour-

ney will prove to be highly beneficial.

Cancer: Your optimism will push your

career to new heights. Put some of your

innovative ideas into your work to reap long-

term benefits. The next few days will see pres-

sure on your work front arise giving you little

time for recreational and other activities. Gifts

and presents will be plenty from visiting guests.

Avoid standing for surety of any one to avoid

unnecessary complications in the coming peri-

od. Family members will be supportive and

caring.

Leo: You will be in a commanding posi-

tion as your confidence and enthusiasm

will be high. Important messages should be

attended to immediately. You will make finan-

cial gains if you get involved in speculation. A

spiritual person’s blessings give comfort and

relief. New relations and attachments will

develop as a result of vacation and other recre-

ational activities. Get involved in activities that

will help you keep in perfect shape.

Virgo: Some challenging project will

see you express your skills in a very dif-

ferent way. New approach will give you new

confidence on which you will build future

hopes and dreams. Businessmen and investors

will see past investments reaping profits.

Relations with somebody close might get

strained over petty issues. Good week to call

important people over to your place. Spouse

will be highly supportive and shower you with

love and affection. Legal affairs will create a

state of nervousness.

Libra: Financial matters demand more

attention. You should cut down your

expenses on entertainment and shopping.

Financial difficulty will even effect your health.

Stay focused on your goals, but take necessary

precautions. For some, a change of residence or

a new construction will prove highly auspi-

cious. Your erratic behaviour will raise emo-

tions at home. Don’t take criticism too serious-

ly. Travel will be highly exciting but expensive.

Scorpio: Your present health condition

will be primarily because of the work

pressure that you carry on your mind. You need

to take time out with your friends will help you

relax and regain your energy. Relationships

with your clients will strengthen and you can

accomplish a lot through smart negotiation and

diplomacy. This week you should meet people

who can further improve your career goals.

Take care while driving, especially during the

nights.

Sagittarius: This week you will focus

on domestic issues and should think

about the immediate needs of your family mem-

bers. Spouse and children will be a source of

immense happiness. Guests and visitors bring

you gifts in cash and kind. Going out with

friends will be exciting and you will learn new

and different skills. A good diet, coupled with

fitness program will make you feel better.

Capricorn: You will meet interesting

people at social functions that you

attend this week. Your ability to stand out in the

crowd will bring you popularity and recogni-

tion. Your creative ability will surface, bringing

you good ideas to make extra money. Great

period to go out shopping for expensive items

and jewelry. Spend some time with the one you

love. Travel will be highly educating.

Aquarius: Work will suffer this week

as romance clouds your mind. You will

find it difficult in concentrating on your jobs

and getting favours from others. Keep your

focus clear on your goals to reap professional

benefits. Pleasure trips for some will be

educating.

Little time for meditation and yoga will be

important for mental as well as physical gains.

Group involvement will entertertaining, but

expensive if you don’t learn to say no.

Pisces: Money making efforts will be

profitable provided you work on new

ideas and plans. This seems to be an excellent

time for you to do things that will keep you

relaxed and entertained. This period seems

exceptionally good to take time out for hobbies,

or take an adventure trip or go out on a short

vacation.

Friends and family members will seek your

advice. Wonderful week to look into new cours-

es that interest you.

i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date,

Time and Place of birth is accurate.

ii) Careful: Did you check background of the

astrologer before disclosing your secrets.

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

shy. It’s his business.

iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the out-

come is not as desired, never give up.

v) Consult: Take second opinion before

spending thousands on cure/remedies.

Before you consult...

January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

Look at all the amazing tasks

humans do when they have

a desire and how they put in

time to make their dreams a reality.

For example, people have figured

out how to put a human being on

the moon. Who could imagine that

someone walking on earth, pulled

down by gravity, could rise out of

the earth’s gravitational pull, travel

through oxygen-less space, land on

a moon, without any oxygen, walk

on that lifeless surface, and come

back alive. It is remarkable. Yet,

someone had the dream to make it

happen and then set in motion all

the necessary steps for it to

become a reality. If we can put a

physical body on a moon, why

cannot we take our spirit and

return it to the spiritual realms

from where it came? All it takes is

the desire to do so and a will to fol-

low the instructions to make it

happen, and it will happen.

Another example of making a

dream into a reality is that of the

astronauts who are able to leave

the space shuttle to do a spacewalk

safely and even make repairs or

upgrades to the ship. Is that any-

thing less than amazing?

Some people are afraid to lean

out their window on a second floor

or higher lest they fall. Yet, astro-

nauts venture out to space, where

there is no oxygen, and face dan-

gers such as the cord breaking,

causing them to float off to their

death in space. Yet, these people

put their mind to doing these feats

and achieved it.

If we ever watched the

Olympics, we are awed by the

tremendous feats that athletes train

themselves to do with their physi-

cal bodies. We marvel at their ski

jumps, hurdles, gymnastics rou-

tines, or amazing triple jumps

while skating. We wonder how

they can hurl their body into the air

and do all those gyrations, seem-

ingly defying laws of gravity. Yet,

they set their mind to it and their

body followed along.

In marathon races people test

their stamina and endurance to run

miles and miles. We marvel at how

they do it. Yet, they had a goal and

worked day after day to increase

their ability to run. They not only

trained their body, but they trained

their mind to keep at the task until

they achieved their goal.

Some people can barely swim

across a pool, yet there are people

who train themselves to swim the

English Channel. We wonder how

it is possible. But someone had

that desire and worked hard to

make it happen.

If we look at the field of medi-

cine, we marvel at how doctors

have created ways to transplant an

organ such as the heart or do deli-

cate brain surgery. For centuries no

one could have dreamed these

treatments possible, yet people had

the idea to develop these methods

and they worked hard to make it

reality.

The mind is a great tool to use to

achieve a goal. All the great inven-

tions, innovations, and creations

have come about due to the power

of the mind. The question is, why

can’t we control our mind to sit

still to concentrate within?

For success in any field, we need

a ruling passion and commitment.

When we do not succeed at a task

it is because we take it as a low

priority. Then, we do not have the

will to do it. We are focused on all

the other aspects of life. Success

requires us weeding out those

time-wasters or distractions that

keep us from achieving our goal.

In this connection, there is a

story from a novel that illustrates

this point well. Five people were

being held in a prison camp during

a war. They found there was only

one way for them to escape. They

had to escape in a hot air balloon.

They were able to escape to an

area where a hot air balloon was

being kept and were able to lift off

before the guards discovered them.

As they sailed off, they discovered

to their horror, that the wind was

blowing them over the ocean. They

drifted further and further away

from land and were fearful of how

long the hot air balloon would stay

up.

They drifted for many hours over

the ocean waters and then discov-

ered that the balloon was descend-

ing, getting closer to the water’s

surface.

One of them said, "We are going

to crash into the ocean unless we

either heat the air in the balloon or

get rid of some weight." Another

said, "We have no way to heat the

air in the balloon so we have to

reduce the weight by throwing

something overboard."

They took stock of what they had

with them. They decided to throw

overboard their shoes, coats, and

weapons which they had smuggled

out with them when they escaped.

As they threw these items into the

ocean, they each took a sigh of

relief as the balloon rose higher.

Hours more passed. Soon, they

realized the hot air balloon was

descending again. What were they

to do now?

As they neared the ocean’s sur-

face, they discussed what to do.

All they had left to throw over-

board was their small supply of

food. With no choice, they threw

overboard their food.

As one said, "It is better to be

hungry than to drown." They fig-

ured they could live for days with-

out food, whereas if they kept the

weight of the food, it would mean

certain death for all five of them

by drowning if the hot air balloon

fell into the ocean.

The balloon rose again and all

were relieved.

Hours more passed. Again, the

solution to throw overboard the

food was only temporary. Without

heat for the air in the balloon, it

started flying lower and lower,

again nearing the surface of the

water.

"Now what?" they wondered.

There was nothing left to throw

overboard.

Finally, one of the men had an

idea. It was their last resort. They

could cut the ropes that held the

basket in which they were riding.

The basket was heavy, strong

enough to hold five men and their

supplies. If the balloon did not

have that weight to carry, it could

stay aloft.

"But how will we be saved?"

asked one of the other men.

The man with the idea said, "We

will each tie all the ropes together

strongly to form a basket out of the

ropes, and we will sit on the ropes

hanging from the balloon once we

release the basket from the ropes."

The men knew they would have to

hold on to the ropes for their lives,

but there was no other hope for

them.

The men began to cut away the

basket beneath their feet and tie the

ropes together as support for them.

As they did so, the hot air balloon

had less weight pulling it down

and it rose up again.

As they sat, sitting on the sup-

port of the ropes only and holding

on for their lives, a welcome sight

greeted them. They were nearing

land. As their hot air balloon

reached close enough range for

them to swim to land, they jumped

off and swam to the island safely.

The story has an instructive les-

son. Each time they were faced

with the possibility of their death,

they had to toss out something

they considered the least neces-

sary. They first decided that their

lives were more important than

their clothing. Next, they had to

choose between their lives and

food. They decided they could live

without the food for a few days.

Finally, they had to decide

between their lives and the comfort

of the basket. Each time they had

to discard something less neces-

sary than what their chosen goal

was.

For success in life, especially on

the spiritual path, we must do the

same. In our case, it is a matter of

discarding time-wasters. What are

those things that are keeping us

from our chosen goal?

Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharajsaid beautifully in a verse:

Begin to live your life according

to your aspirations,And step towards your chosen

goal.Our trouble is that we have not

yet made up our mind what our

aspirations are. One day we say we

want God but the next day we

want to make a lot of money. Then,

the next day we want to have a

physically fit body. Then, the next

day we want to travel and see the

world. We do not stick with one

goal long enough to have success.

We allow the chatter of the world

to sway us from our goal.

If our goal is to find God, we

need to stay still, physically and

mentally, in meditation. This

requires us to quiet the distracting

voices that call to us from the

world outside and from our own

mind. We need to set our sights on

our spiritual goal and silence all

other distractions.

We do not realize what a great

gift simran is. We do not have to

worry about silencing our mind by

ourselves. We can repeat the five

Charged Names given to us at the

time of our holy initiation as a way

to silence the mind. While repeat-

ing the five Charged Names, our

mind is automatically silenced.

The Names do not allow any space

for our own thoughts to distract us.

Simran is a powerful tool given to

us by the attention of the Master to

help us silence our mind. All we

need to do is make a decision.

What is that decision? We need to

decide that we want to find God

and that we are willing to put in

time to meditate. If we make that

choice then all we need to do is sit

still and keep quiet. Five magic

words—sit still and keep quiet.

Repeating simran helps our mind

stay quiet. In this way, we will be

still long enough for God to have a

chance to meet us and greet us.

God will have a chance to bathe us

with the Light and Sound.

Absorbed in the Light and Sound,

we will rise on that Current to

meet the radiant form of the

Master. The Master will then guide

us through the higher spiritual

realms until our soul reunites with

God.

Let us stay still for God. If we

can do so long enough, we will

find we can achieve our lifelong

goal and desire—to be one with

the loving Lord.

To find God silence all distractions

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

The mind is a great toolto use to achieve a goal.All the great inventions,innovations , and cre-ations have come aboutdue to the power of themind. The question is,why can’t we control ourmind to sit still to con-centrate within?

30 January 19-25, 2013 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPIRITUAL AWARENESS

Concluding part of the discourse 'Stay still for God'

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajis an internationally recognizedspiritual leader and Master ofJyoti Meditation who affirms thetranscendent oneness at the heartof all religions and mystic tradi-tions, emphasizing ethical livingand meditation as building blocksfor achieving inner and outerpeace. www.sos.org.

January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info

January 19-25, 2013TheSouthAsianTimes.info