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Parsi community created modern India: Amitav Ghosh

Features, Page 26

Indian-American broadcaster files age discrimination suit

National Community, Page 7

Deadlock over separate Telangana, protests hot up

India Newswire, Page 12

JAINA’s 16th Convention in Houston – a huge success

JAINA Convention, Pages 16-18

Pakistan turns ‘new front line’ of war on terror

2G scam claims another minister: Maran quits

Kerala temple treasure could be worth $100 billion

New Delhi/Chennai: Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Ma-ran resigned Thursday following allegations of involvement in the 2G spectrum scam, becoming the second DMK minister after A. Raja to exit the cabinet.

New Delhi: The valuables found in the secret cellars of Kerala’s famous Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiru-v a n a n t h a p u r a m could be worth Rs 5 lakh crore ($100

Toronto: Pakistan is now the new front in the war on terror as it has become a new safe haven for al-Qaeda, says the Canadian media a day after the country blacklisted the Pakistani Taliban and started with-drawal from Afghanistan Tuesday.

“The war on terror has shifted, and Pakistan is its new front line,” said the daily National Post.

“These two events (blacklisting of the Pakistani Taliban and the start of withdrawal from Afghani-stan) encapsulate a shift, not only for Canada, but for all other na-tions on the front lines of the war on terror. For a number of years, those lines have been shifting southeast, from Afghanistan to Pakistan,” the paper said.

It said the Tehrik-e-Taliban is very dangerous as its “stated goal” is

resistance to the country’s govern-ment, the draconian imposition of Sharia law and the waging of war against NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Because of these militant outfits Pakistan has become “the main staging area for terrorist plots around the world and - despite the United States’ assassination of Osa-ma bin Laden in Abbotabad - a new safe-haven for al-Qaeda.”

Quoting a study by the New America Foundation, the paper said 53 percent of terror plots worldwide since 2004 involved jihadists trained in Pakistan, com-pared to six percent in Yemen and three percent in Iraq. Pakistani ji-hadi groups have directed 44 per-cent of the terror plots since then, according to the paper.

War on terror continued on page 4

While the government and the Congress party did not comment on the big political development, an emboldened opposition described it as “too little too late” and sought resignation of Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who they alleged

showed complicity in the scam. Thursday’s turn of events is

likely to impact both the shape of impending cabinet shuffle and deli-cately poised relations between the Congress and the DMK.

2G scam continued on page 4

Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran is second DMK minister to exit Manmohan government in the spectrum scam.

53 percent of terror plots worldwide since 2004 involved jihadists, like Tehrik-e-Taliban and LeT cadres, trained in Pakistan.

Only five of the six secret cellars of Padmanab-haswamy Temple have been opened, yielding Gold idols, ornaments and other valuables.

billion), believes former chief sec-retary of Kerala CP Nair.

As per a report, Thursday, the former bureaucrat claims that the estimated market value of the trea-sures unearthed from the temple makes it the richest temple in the world. Kerala treasure continued on page 4

Resurgent India displays its power and heritage on 63rd R-Day

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India chooses to wield its soft power

R Day Special, Page 20

Young Indians on state of the Republic

R Day Special, Page 12

America indis-pensable in world affairs: Obama

US Affairs, Page 36

Giants, Patriots to meet in Super Bowl XLVI

Sports, Page 40

to Pakistan that confronting terrorism in all forms is in Islam-abad’s interest. Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna re-spon

ded by saying that terror sanc-tuaries in Pakistan need to be eliminated for regional peace and stability. And Krishna welcomed Washington’s decision to suspend the $800-million aid to Islam-abad,” it said.

There were boycott calls by in-surgents in parts of the country, including restive Chhattisgarh and Orissa, where Maoists hold control over large swathes of territory, and in volatile northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, but the day passed off peacefully. And even in these cynical times, when fatigue with the government, corruption and rising prices dominates daily dis-course, people came out in large numbers to celebrate the day.

New Delhi: It was a celebra-tion of India in all its diversity, complexities and color. The 63rd Republic Day unfolded Thursday with a grand pageant here show-casing a resurgent India’s military power and culture kaleidoscope and also millions of tricolors hoisted across the country in cer-emonies big and small.

Promises were made and sacri-fices acknowledged in state capi-tals and in New Delhi, the cen-terpiece of the festivities where history, tradition and modernity marry perfectly in a 90-minute ceremonial parade down Rajpath.

The beginnings are traditionally somber and so it was Thursday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laying down a floral wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti to pay tribute to an unknown soldier. Soon after, a grateful nation acknowledged one of its heroes when President Prat-ibha Patil posthumously conferred the Ashok Chakra, India’s high-est peacetime gallantry award, to young army commando Lt. Navdeep Singh, who died battling terrorists in Kashmir.

As Thailand’s first woman Prime Minister Yinluck Shinawatra, the guest of honor, watched along with the president, Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh and other dignitaries, the spectacle began with the uni-formed men and women of armed and paramilitary forces marching down the famous boulevard.

There were camels and horses, the showcasing of India’s ad-vanced arsenal, including India’s latest nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV displayed for the first time, elaborate tableaux from states and ministries and school-children dancing down the road.

As the sun shone brightly and crowds squinted to look up at the blue skies, the flypast began with intricate aerial maneuvers. The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) lat-est acquisition, the US Lockheed Martin C-130J transporter, made its debut. The culminating act was the vertical Charlie manoeu-vre by a lone Sukhoi.

R Day celebration story continued on page 6

See Republic Day Special pages 5-27.

President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra, at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.

India’s nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV displayed for the first time at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, January 26, 2012.

Tristate Community 32

SPECIAL ISSUE ON INDIA'S 63RD REPUBLIC DAY

NEW YORK EDITION

Vol.4 No.40 January 28-February 3, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Minister Ravi at NY Consulate R-Day eventMinister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi (left) attended the Republic Day celebration at Indian Consul-ate in New York, seen here with veteran diplomat Lalit Mansingh and host Consul General Amb. Prabhu Dayal.

Republic Day celebration in India

Namaste India, says Thai PM at India’s R-Day

Poll panel showcases ballot power in parade

5

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: Namaste India.

Elegantly attired in a cream skirt

and jacket, Thai Prime Minister

Yingluck Shinawatra, accompa-

nied by President Pratibha Patil,

moved around the sun-dappled

lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan,

hands folded, greeting hundreds

of invited guests on India's 63rd

Republic Day.

It was also a special day for the

77-year-old Patil as she hosted

what could well be her last At

Home reception for around 1,000

carefully chosen guests at the ele-

gantly manicured Mughal

Gardens.

After the national anthem was

played, Patil moved around with

Shinawatra, chief guest at India's

Republic Day reception,

exchanging greetings with her

guests.

The contrast in their profiles

was too obvious not to notice: the

44-year-old Shinawatra is more

than three decades junior to Patil,

who became India's first woman

president in 2007.

Incidentally, Shinawatra,

known for here elegant sense of

style and couture, is the first

woman head of government to be

invited as guest of honour at

India's Republic Day parade in

the last five decades. Queen

Elizabeth II came to India in

1961 as the chief guest.

The bright sunny weather

ensured an unusually large

turnout of guests that included

diplomats, senior officials, artists,

businesspersons and journalists.

Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh and his wife Gursharan

Kaur, United Progressive

Alliance chairperson Sonia

Gandhi, Vice President Hamid

Ansari were among those who

were seated under a makeshift

marquee erected on the lawns

with the president.

The guests milled around the

sprawling ground, many nibbling

on the samosas, idlis, patties and

fish fingers, what has come to be

known as the staple At Home

menu.

Unlike earlier At Home recep-

tions, there were only a handful

of cabinet ministers present.

Finance Minister Pranab

Mukherjee, Defence Minister

A.K. Antony, Agriculture

Minister Sharad Pawar were

among the senior ministers pres-

ent at the function.

Patil's five-year presidential

term ends July 24, 2012. Though

there is no established rule bar-

ring a second term, the only pres-

ident to have got one is Rajendra

Prasad who was in the post from

Jan 26, 1950, to May 13, 1962.

The guessing game on who

would succeed Patil was the pet

topic of conversation at this sun-

lit At Home reception.

New Delhi: Amid a grand display of India's

military might, the Election Commission for

the first time in the history of Republic Day

parade Thursday put on show the power of

ballot too, and sought to woo the electorate,

particularly youngsters, to come out to vote.

The panel marked its first presence at the

Republic Day parade and rolled its tableau

down Rajpath depicting a mammoth model

of electronic voting machine and banners

asking young Indians to vote.

With elections barely a week away in

some states, the poll panel used its participa-

tion in the parade as a platform to get more

people to vote, an Election Commission offi-

cial said.

The tableau depicted the entire election

process with a replica of Parliament House

in the backdrop. Human replicas lining up to

cast their vote with their voter ID cards sur-

rounded the float.

A human bust was shown beating a naga-

da, a big kettledrum played with sticks, as if

asking more and more people to come to

polling booths and vote.

The poll panel float was among the 23

tableaux from 23 states and union ministries

and departments exhibiting diverse histori-

cal, architectural and cultural heritage of

India and its progress in various fields.

The Election Commission tableau also

highlighted the National Voter's Day,

observed for the second time Jan 25, which

is also the panel's foundation day.

It observes the day with the objective to

maximize enrolment of voters and thereby

enhance the quality of Indian democracy.

The panel was set up Jan 25, 1950, as a

constitutional body to conduct free and fair

elections.

It was a celebration of India in all its diversity, complexities and color. The 63rd Republic Day unfoldedwith a grand pageant here showcasing a resurgent India's military power and culture kaleidoscope and

also millions of tricolors hoisted across the country in ceremonies big and small.

Rajpath came alive with the daredevil stunts of motorbike riders of Border Security Force.

BSF Jawans riding camels duringthe Republic Day celebrations

in New Delhi.

Chief Guest and Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra withPresident Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Publisher & Chairman of The South Asian Times,receiving the Jewel of Rajasthan felicitation from Mr. Chandmal Kumawat,CEO & President of Maneesh Media, publisher of Jewels of Rajasthan cof-fee table book featuring 64 eminent Rajasthanis across the world, launchedon Jan 8, 2012 during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 in Jaipur. Seen in the

photo: Mr. Kamlesh Mehta receiving Lifetime Achievement Trophy fromMr. Chandmal Kumawat & Mr. Abhishek Kumawat in Jaipur.

In a first, IAF woman officer leads contingent

New Delhi: The latest nuclear

capable Agni-IV missile, its C-

130J special operations plane,

and a woman officer leading the

IAF unit on Rajpath were among

the firsts at the 63rd Republic

Day parade.

Agni-IV, successfully tested in

November 2011, was on display

as part of the Defence Research

and Development Organisation

(DRDO) tableau.

A potent and technologically

advanced arsenal, Agni-IV,

which can hit targets 3,500 km

away, adds a new dimension to

the country's capabilities in

strategic deterrence.

The DRDO also showcased the

new tactical battlefield support

high-speed missile Prahaar and

the medium altitude long

endurance unmanned aerial vehi-

cle Rustom-I.

Indian Air Force's (IAF) latest

acquisition, the US Lockheed

Martin C-130J transport plane,

made its debut at the parade.

Three C-130Js were part of the

IAF's 29 aircraft fly past, includ-

ing three Su-30MKIs and MiG-

29s.

India bought six C-130Js from

the US for over $1 billion. Ft. Lt.

Sneha Shekhawat made history

when she led the IAF contingent

down Rajpath, becoming the first

woman officer to do so.

Shekhawat, from Sikar in

Rajasthan, flies non-combat

transport planes like the Avro.

She was joined by three other

women officers to march ahead

of the 144-men contingent.

The other women are Flying

Officer Anupam Chaudhary, who

flies Chetak and Cheetah heli-

copters, Flying Officer Pooja

Negi and Flying Officer Hena

Pore, both from IAF accounts

branch.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

6 Turn Page

January 28-February 3, 2012

Praise for India’s upsurge at R-Day event in NY

Mangano honors Woodbury business for

medical supplies to typhoon hit in Philippines

New York: The 63rd anniversary of In-dia’s Republic Day was celebrated with great fanfare at India’s Consulate General here in the presence of Minister for Over-seas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi where the Ball Room was packed with diplomats, ex-servicemen, community leaders and elected representatives of the Tri-state area.

Minister Ravi, in his speech, listed the accomplishments of India as a nation where the parliamentary democratic system has thrived for more than six decades. “We stand as an economic powerhouse, unaffected by the world-wide recession”, he proudly announced adding that the reason behind India’s success story was its ‘Regulated Economic System’. “We have nationalized banking system and a central Reserve Bank that ensured oversight over the monetary process”, he said referring to the policies of India’s late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had provoked uproar among the finan-cial sector with her decision to nationalize the country’s banking system in the 1970s. Ravi said that another reason of India’s up-surge was its multi-party system in which coalitions of political parties govern at the center as well as in states. He pointed out that India proved that Democracy not only survived in India but flourished after inde-pendence. “We proved the predictions of Western experts wrong, who had cast doubt about India’s future as the country suffered from widespread poverty and illiteracy.”

Consul General Prabhu Dayal, who hosted the event, in his welcome address, lauded the Indian American community for giving the push in strengthening the strategic bilateral

relationship between India and the US. La-lit Mansingh, former Ambassador of India to USA, underscored India’s role in various world bodies. He said that India was play-ing major role in strengthening various eco-nomic and political groups of nations, such as, BRIC, ASEAN and others and hoped that ‘we will soon gain the permanent member-ship of the United Nations Security Council’.

“India’s absence from the Security Council as a permanent member was a great loss for the United Nations, not ours”, he commented. While admitting that 80% people in India are still mired in poverty, Mansingh said that a visible sign of India’s prosperity was vast in-crease of cars seen on India’s roads. “Some people complain about increase in pollution in cities like Delhi due to too many cars on the city roads, which in fact proved that Indian’s purchasing power was getting stronger and many could afford their own cars.”

Vijay Nambiar, the newly appointed special UN ambassador on Myanmar, commented that India’s sign of prosperity may not be seen by increase in number of cars and pollution, but by its commitment to curbing pollution and making its contributions in world affairs. Prasad Srinivasan, the only Indian-origin lawmaker in Connecticut legislature, opined that the Indian community here should now give back to the country of their origin.

Prominent guests who graced the event in-cluded Consuls General of Trinidad and To-bago Ms. Rudrawatee Nan Ramgoolam and Australia’s Phillip H. Scanlan AM. A num-ber of retired Indian army officers, who are settled in USA, proudly displayed the med-als they received for valor. The audience was moved by Indian patriotic songs that were sung. The program ended with a dinner.

strife-torn Afghanistan who were special invitees of the Indian government. The states saw their own, smaller versions of the event with chief ministers and gover-nors presiding over the functions.

Saffron, white and green were the colors of the day. Patriotism the underlying essence. And this is the one day of the year when even the most cynical doffed their hat to that spirit.

R Day celebration story continued from page 3

Petals were showered on the people be-low as the parade drew to a close.

Amongst those at the ceremony, the an-nual gooseflesh moment for hosts of Indi-ans who are glued to television year after year, were a group of 20 children from

Woodbury, NY: Nassau County Ex-ecutive Edward P. Mangano (center) was joined by Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines in New York Mario de Leon, Jr. (front 1st left) and Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Com-missioner Craig Craft (front 3rd right) as he honored Service by Air Global Logis-tics of Woodbury and the Catholic Medical Mission Board for helping those in criti-cal need in the Philippines after Typhoon Washi that struck December 16th-18th, devastating the cities of Cagayan de Oro and lligan and killing over 1,200 people with many still missing.

The Catholic Mission Board donated $2.2 million worth of medical supplies

and Service by Air, headquartered in Woodbury, not only provided the techni-cal assistance needed to export this ship-ment promptly, but also incurred all ex-penses associated with logistics, labor, and shipping in excess of $2 million worth of medical supplies. The County’s Office of Emergency Management packaged 116 cases of MRE’s for the relief. The special boxes and shipping for the meals was paid for by the American Asian community.

“It is inspiring to see these acts of gen-

erosity in the wake of a natural disaster,” said County Executive Mangano. “Aver-age citizens reaching out to help complete strangers is what being a true humanitar-ian is all about.”

By Ashok Ojha/SATimes

8

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.infoRepublic Day Celebration in India

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy

got the rare opportunity to take the

Republic Day parade salute, as

Governor M.O.H. Farook was on

medical leave.

H.R. Bhardwaj who is holding

charge in the absence of Farook

could not come down here as he is

the governor of Karnataka.

Chandy hoisted the national flag

at the Central Stadium here. "The

total plan outlay for the Twelfth

Five Year Plan period is more than

Rs.1.50 lakh crore and this will

certainly propel our state into

newer realms of development. Our

aim is to see that this takes place in

a timebound manner and also in a

transparent way by taking into con-

fidence all," said Chandy.

"Even as we talk of the proposed

Smart City Kochi, IT project which

will provide one lakh new jobs, we

are equally serious on our efforts to

uplift the beleaguered fishing com-

munity. Both these programs

would get equal importance," said

Chandy. Chandy pointed out that

despite keeping the secular flag

flying high, it was most unfortu-

nate that there had been efforts in

some quarters "to dilute the secular

principles of our state".

"It is best that those who did this

correct themselves and if that does

not happen, then the people of our

state will take up that effort," said

Chandy.

On the Mullaperiyar Dam issue

that has caused heartburn in rela-

tions between Tamil Nadu and

Kerala, Chandy emphasised that

his government's stand remains the

same - which is safety for Kerala

and water for Tamil Nadu.

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor

M.K. Narayanan unfurled the tri-

color as the state celebrated the

63rd Republic Day along with the

rest of India.The governor took the

salute at a parade by the combined

forces of the army, navy and air

force on the Indira Gandhi Sarani,

popularly known as Red Road.

An air force helicopter showered

flower petals on the flag just after

Narayanan unfurled it.

Kolkata Traffic Police, Eastern

Railway and NCC cadets also took

part in the colourful ceremony.

Five girls from Purulia district,

who battled pressure from their

families and called off their mar-

riage in order to continue studies,

also joined the parade on Red

Road.Colorful tableaux of the

Election Commission, the industry

department and West Bengal

Power Development Corp were

showcased at the two-hour cere-

mony, which drew huge crowds.

Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee, several of her ministers

and senior officials were present

on the occasion.

Kerala CM takes R-Day parade salute

West Bengal celebratesRepublic Day

Chandigarh: Republic Day

was celebrated in Punjab

under the watchful eye of the

Election Commission (EC)

officials as the state goes to

assembly polls on Jan 30.

Chief Minister Parkash

Singh Badal unfurled the

national flag in Ferozepur

town while deputy chief

minister Sukhbir Singh

Badal did it in Mohali town,

adjoining Chandigarh.

The EC, while allowing the

chief minister and ministers

to hoist the national flag at

official functions, had direct-

ed that no political element

or listing of achievements of

the government would be

done in the speeches of the

leaders.

The EC had also directed

that all political functionar-

ies, who are contesting elec-

tions will not be allowed to

attend Republic Day func-

tions in the district from

where they are contesting

the polls.

Punjab celebrates R-Dayunder EC watch

Srinagar: It was a peaceful

Republic Day in Jammu and

Kashmir with the main parade in

summer capital Srinagar passing

off uneventfully. There were no

reports of any untoward incident

from anywhere in the Valley where

separatists had called a shutdown.

Finance Minister Abdur Rahim

Rather unfurled the tricolor and

took salute at the Bakshi Stadium

where smartly turned out contin-

gents of police, paramilitary,

Home Guards and school children

march passed the podium.

Rather said the situation had

remarkably improved in the

Kashmir Valley and time had come

to focus on moral education of the

youth.

"Democracy should be respected

by everybody and all people asso-

ciated with the democratic dispen-

sation must exercise their powers

and functions to bring relief into

the lives of the ordinary people.

"While we talk of rights, we

must also realise and respect our

duties," he said.Senior civil, para-

military officials and many promi-

nent citizens attended the function

that passed off peacefully.

R-Day parade passes offpeacefully in Srinagar

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inspects the Republic Dayparade at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Jaipur: More than 5,000 people

packed into the Sawai Man Singh

(SMS) Stadium to watch Rajasthan

Governor Shivraj Patil hoist the tri-

color to mark the 63rd Republic

Day celebrations.

Patil took salute and inspected

the guard of honor from the march-

ing contingents amidst cheers and

thunderous applause from the spec-

tators.

Personnel from the Rajasthan

Armed Constabulary (RAC),

Rajasthan Police, government rail-

way police (GRP), home guards,

NCC cadets and defense forces

besides school children participat-

ed in the parade.

After the parade, school children

and more than 200 artists per-

formed folk dances, and some set

to patriotic songs.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,

some of his cabinet colleagues and

senior officials were present on the

occasion.

On the occasion, the governor

honored 43 officers, employees,

police personnel and players for

distinguished and meritorious serv-

ices. In his address to the people,

Gehlot called upon citizens to

respect the constitution and partici-

pate in the development of the

nation.

The tableau of Rajasthan.

Bangalore: Karnataka Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj

urged people of the state to restore probity in public

life by eliminating corruption in society.

"There is an urgent need to restore probity in public

life due to lack of which there is a strong discontent in

society. There is a growing demand for an environ-

ment free from corruption," Bhardwaj said in a brief

address at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations after

hoisting the tricolor at the Field Marshall Manekshaw

ground in the heart of this tech hub.

Assuring the people that he would not allow dilution

or weakening of the ombudsman (Lokayukta) in the

state, the governor said the anti-graft institution would

be given independence and powers to carry its investi-

gation into various high-profile cases, including the

multi-billion rupee mining and land scams that led to

the fall of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP)

first government in south India in July 2011.

"There will be no dilution or weakening of the

Lokayukta and independence of its investigating teams

will be maintained to prosecute the guilty and bring

justice to the affected people," the governor told about

10,000 people who gathered to witness the colorful

event, which included ceremonial parade by the three

services and security agencies.

Cautioning the authorities against any attempt to

weaken the administrative structures and institutions,

the former central law minister said that efforts should

be made to build strong institutions and administrative

structures for rendering high standards in serving the

people.Lauding the state's rich cultural heritage and

the spirit of co-existence, Bhardwaj said nothing

should be done to disturb the fine balance of the plu-

ralistic traditions.

Karnataka governor calls for probity on R-Day

The tableau of Karnataka passes through the Rajpath during the 63rd Republic Day

Parade-2012 in New Delhi.

Cheers as Rajasthan celebrates R-Day

"Heartiest Congratulations

on 62nd Anniversary of

Republic Day of India"

10

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.infoPresident Patil message

Miranda, Hazarika in Padma honors' listNew Delhi: India's highest civilian

awards, the Padma awards, would

be conferred on 110 eminent people,

including the late Bhupen Hazarika

and cartoonist Mario Miranda,

showbiz star Dharmendra and cardi-

ologist Devi Prasad Shetty, it was

announced. This year too, nobody

has been listed for the Bharat Ratna

honor. In the list are those who have

contributed in an entire gamut of

fields, from cinema and civil service

to science and social work.

While five people have been listed

for Padma Vibhushan, 27 will get

the Padma Bhushan and 77 the

Padma Shri. Among the awardees

are 19 women such as actor Shabana

Azmi, director Mira Nair and

activist Uma Tuli.

President Pratibha Patil gave the

nod for five people to get the Padma

Vibhushan for "exceptional and dis-

tinguished service".

Mario Miranda and Bhupen

Hazarika found posthumous men-

tion. The others are sculptor K.G.

Subramanyan, orthopaedist Kantilal

Hastimal Sancheti and civil servant

T.V. Rajeswar.

Prominent showbiz names like

Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and

Mira Nair as well as artist Jatin Das

will get the Padma Bhushan for

"distinguished service of high

order". Former ambassador to the

US Ronen Sen and Devi Prasad

Shetty also figure in the list.

Amongst the eminent NRIs get-

ting the Padma Bhushan are sculptor

Anish Kapoor (Britain) and judge

P.C. Rao (Germany). The list also

includes four people in the literature

and education category -- Vidya

Dehejia, Arvind Panagariya and

Jose Pereira from the US and Homi

K. Bhabha from Britain.

George Yong-Boon Yeo,

Singapore's former foreign affairs

minister, will get the Padma

Bhushan too.

Another Singaporean, Gopinath

Pillai, is slated to get the Padma Shri

in the trade and industry category.

Shoji Shiba from Japan (trade and

industry) and US-based professor

Jagadish Shukla (science and engi-

neering) are also in the list.

The 77 Padma Shris for "distin-

guished service in any field" include

22 people from the field of art.

Vocalist Fariduddin Dagar, theatre

veteran Joy Michael as well as com-

poser Vanraj Bhatia, bhajan singer

Anup Jalota and the famous

Gundecha brothers, Ramakant

Gundecha and Uma Kant Gundecha,

who sing dhrupad have been

acknowledged as well.

No sportsperson got the Padma

Vibhushan or the Padma Bhushan.

Eight people will be awarded the

Padma Shri. Amongst them are

hockey legend Zafar Iqbal, former

archer Limba Ram and adventure

sportsperson Ajit Bajaj.

The world of science was repre-

sented in the Padma Shri list by V.

Adimurthy, Krishna Lal Chadha and

Rameshwar Nath Koul Bamezai.

The social work category recog-

nizes the work of people from all

over the country, some known and

others working in relative anonymi-

ty. The names include P.K. Gopal

from Tamil Nadu and Phoolbasan

Bai Yadav from Chhattisgarh.

The last person to have got a

Bharat Ratna was Pandit Bhimsen

Joshi in 2008.

New Delhi: Cautioning against losing sight of long-term goals while dealing with short-

term pressures, President Pratibha Patil said the most effective law was the con-

science of citizens and hoped that solutions will be found to matters of national impor-

tance in the spirit of national interest.

In her address to the nation on the eve of the 63rd Republic Day, the president said

all countries were facing the impact of global economic instability and there were ques-

tions about how growth and resources will be shared in an equitable manner.

In an apparent reference to the contentious debate on the Lokpal bill between the

government, Team Anna and the opposition parties, the president said the tree should

not be brought down while shaking it to remove the bad fruit, and process of dialogue

in a democracy should flow in a manner that "we are willing to listen to each other."

Patil, who is the country's first woman president, said people should build a strong,

prosperous nation based on firm system of values".

In an address replete with references to country's civilizational values, Patil said

youth should be involved in nation building beyond self-advancement.

"As we remove poverty, let us enrich our thoughts. As we remove disease, let us all

remove ill-will towards others," she said.

Patil began her fifth address as president by greeting the citizens in all parts of the

world and conveying her best wishes to the armed forces and security personnel.

She said forces of globalization had created an interlinked and interdependent world

and no country exists in isolation.

"All nations, developed and developing, are facing the impact of global economic

instability, as well as problems of unemployment and inflation in varying degrees," she

said .

"There is also a growing quest for materialism. There are worries about the direction

in which the human community is heading in this age of globalization, knowledge and

technology," Patil said.

Patil stressed the need for scientific and technological outlook among people and

said India will continue to bring moral force on the global stage.

"How should we proceed to build our nation and its people? I believe that the answer

lies in our age-old values, the ideals of our freedom movement, the principles of our

Constitution, as also in our unity, a positive attitude and our aspiration to grow."

"We look at building our country, as one whose economy demonstrates a robustness

to grow, so that we can become a developed nation."

Underlining India's growing global stature, Patil pitched for the reform of global institu-

tions to reflect contemporary realities.

She said the country's institutions may not be flawless but they have coped with

many challenges.

"While bringing about reforms and improving institutions, we have to be cautious that

while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself.

There will be short term pressures but in the process we must not lose sight of the long

term goals and must work together on our core national agenda," the president said,

apparently referring to the contentious issues including the Lokpal bill.

Patil said there can be no place for violence in democracy and all differences should

be resolved through dialogue.

"Negativity and rejection cannot be the path for a vibrant country that is moving to

seek its destiny. Our work, our values and our approach must be based on the vast

capacity that India and its people have."

Patil said solutions to matters of national importance in the spirit of national interest

will strengthen "roots of democracy and the foundation of our nation".

R-Day: President urges nationto trust its institutions

President Pratibha Patil addressing the nation on the eve of the 63rd Republic Day in New Delhi.

Legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika (right) and cartoonist MarioMiranda were awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously. Eight people of Indian origin

in Padma listTen people of Indian origin and

foreigners have been awarded

India's prestigious Padma awards

announced. While seven have got

the Padma Bhushan, three are list-

ed for the Padma Shri.

Amongst the eminent NRIs get-

ting the Padma Bhushan are sculp-

tor Anish Kapoor (Britain) and

judge P.C. Rao (Germany). The

list also includes four people in the

literature and education category -

- Vidya Dehejia, Arvind

Panagariya and Jose Pereira from

the US and Homi K. Bhabha from

Britain.

Also in the Padma Bhushan is

George Yong-Boon Yeo,

Singapore's former foreign affairs

minister.

Another Singaporean, Gopinath

Pillai, is slated to get the Padma

Shri in the trade and industry cate-

gory. Shoji Shiba from Japan

(trade and industry) and US-based

professor Jagadish Shukla (science

and engineering) are also

in the list.

The tableau of Assam passing through Rajpath

12

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Miles still to go... IndiaAs the nation celebrated its 63rd Republic Day, SATimes spoke to a cross-section

of Indian youth to know their views about the relevance of this day to them, how far do they think has our democracy moved and their idea of a developed nation.

Indians React

Ankit Kharod from Vadodara, Gujarat current-ly working as an Electrical Engineer outsidethe city of Philadelphia

The Republic Day is clearly one of the

most significant days in Indian history,

considering our constitution came into

effect on that day. It's a day when I appreci-

ate being born in a country with a constitu-

tion that pushes forward a democratic and

free nation ideology. India has come a long

way, when it comes to being a living and breath-

ing Democracy, the gift our forefathers bestowed upon

us. In light of the current Anna Hazare led anti-corrup-

tion movement, one can say that surely, Indians are not

afraid to take on to the streets in order to make a point.

This is however, one part. A huge part of being a dem-

ocratic nation, is to shine its bright light around the

world while being successful in defending one's own

democracy from the eyes and deeds of violent

states/individuals. India hasn't been able to do a great

job in defending its territory from frequently attempt-

ed assaults, coming from outside or inside

the country; this results in an insecure

nation, which can be harmful to our

goal of furthering our cause of

democracy.

The fact that 40 per cent of our

children are still malnourished,

points to two main issues: a) A

vibrant democracy needs a respon-

sible and responsive government,

which doesn't engage in corruption

and helps in looking after the needy. This

clearly isn't the case with our country. b)

Another vital piece to a democracy is its citizenry. The

fact that we as a nation can go to bed at night and

swipe away our flashy credit cards mindlessly when

40 % of our nations' children are malnourished, is

quite telling.

We need to instill a sense of belonging as well as a

fundamental quality of charity in our current and

future generations so as to help avoid the danger of

being called an inhumane democracy.

Siddharth Shah, PharmaIT Functional Consultant,Pune:

The day reminds me of

the promises that our lead-

ers made for a post inde-

pendent India in 1947.

Salute to our soldiers who

protect us and I hope to see

an India where we can say

"saare jaha se aacha,

Hindostan hamara."

As far as my perception

of how far our democracy

has moved? Well,

nowhere. It is development

with-

out vision. First we need

the political will, then poli-

cies with practical gover-

nance and transparent

feedback from citizens to

know how good/bad the

policies being implement-

ed are.

Vidya Sharma, home maker,Bangalore

My mom used to make us

watch the R-Day parade on tele-

vision and I have continued with

the tradition. I think the visuals of

our fleets’ march past and the dis-

play of our military might are

moments of pride for all Indians

at heart.

We sure haven’t had our share

of visionary leaders steering the

country on a steady path of

progress but considering from

where we started 60 years back

we sure haven’t done bad. All we

need is a focused growth, able

leadership and efficient system.

But that’s asking for too much

isn’t it? I am optimistic though.

The way people came out in full

support of Anna Hazare proved

the extent to which people are

frustrated with the system. If peo-

ple in the Arab world can bring

about massive change we are the

largest democracy.

Shreya Dholakia, Post Graduate student of Microbiology

Post Graduate student of

Microbiology: Going by the

current scenario, Republic day

seems more of an occasion to

show-off for political leaders.

We ourselves have made a lim-

itation in making the best of

democracy. Apart from the elec-

tion process we hardly get involved.

In fact what per cent of the literate elec-

torate cares to go and vote… while

we as a nation of 35 per cent

youth should be able to make a

huge difference at the ballots.

We have developed but we

still need a direction. The

growth is haphazard. The

government has started pro-

grams like 'Madhyahn

Bhojan' even rationing

schemes for rural areas but due

to corruption majority are still

away from benefiting from those.

Jatin Chaudhary, entrepreneur & CEO,SweetlyDesigns, Ahmedabad

The republic day reminds me of the

greatest step of a country to become self

sufficient and be directed by the wishes

of its citizens and not by a dictatorial

monarchy.

I am very proud to be the citizen of the

largest democracy in the world in spite of

being hamstrung with all sorts of prob-

lems. Right To Information, Indian

Judiciary, Election Commission are some of

the great examples of the success of Indian

democracy which gives power to common man to

take on the powerful. Recently Indian Prime

Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh termed malnutrition

as a matter of national shame, so

definitely we haven't developed

enough where almost half of

the Indians are still not able

to get the basic necessities

in life.

To solve such problems

we really need to focus on

inclusive development and

enable the grassroots peo-

ple to earn sustainable

livelihood. I believe if we

can make our people in

remotest areas resourceful

enough to earn the livelihood it

would be one of the greatest achievements as a

country.

Kiran Singh, SchoolTeacher, New Delhi

How can we forget the con-

tribution of those who fought

for our freedom? Republic Day

is a great way to honor those

who make us proud, because of

whose sacrifices we are able to

live without any fear. In day

and age of Facebook it is

encouraging to see how the

youth today feels and express-

es their patriotism.

Given our geographical

diversity our development is

uneven.

Some areas have benefited a

lot from the center’s policies,

some have remained deprived.

There’s this huge gap which

needs to be bridged.

Dr.Siddharth Jain, SurgicalGastroenterologist, Indore

Republic day for me carries a very special

meaning. It instills in me a sense of pride

and patriotism. The day confers and reiter-

ates the power of the people of India. It tells

us that we are the masters of our country,

which we have conveniently forgotten over

the last 50 years. But most of all on the

Republic day the images which gets the

adrenaline pumping and gives me goose

bumps are of our army and the other wings

marching past. The valor and dignity, the

loyalty and bonds between the soldiers, the

patriotism surges and also the hatred for

the political class increases because

you see them fighting for their bet-

terment while the people who

give away their lives for all of us

are neglected and never taken

care of. To enjoy power we

have to be responsible and

believe in ourselves. The cen-

turies of slavery has weakened

our genetic structure to such a

great level that the mutation has

become the norm. We always

believe that somebody else will come

to solve our problems, first there were

the kings, then the Britishers,

then came Gandhiji and

other leaders, after that

the politicians took

over. We as a nation

have never believed

in our potentials

and have always

looked up to others

to solve our prob-

lems, whether it is

God or other mortals.

Our democracy has

become strong no doubt,

otherwise we wouldn’t be

having this discussion. But the progress and

the democracy has been skewed, we have

substituted our cowardice and spinelessness

as our tolerance, which makes us more and

more weak. Our development has also been

skewed and for a select few with the left-

overs passed to the common people who are

satisfied with some basic facilities like cars

and cell phones. Corruption is the most dif-

ficult problem facing our nation at present.

We as a nation have to rise above our basic

needs. We have to have the moral courage

to stand up against wrong and injustice and

learn to ask questions and displease those in

power.

By Hiral Dholakia-Dave

Congratulations on 63rd Republic Day of India

Accepting Applications for MD Admissions

Open House Schedule

DATE LOCATION ADDRESS TIME

Saturday

January 28

MIAMI Miami Airport Marriott

1201 Le Jeune Road, Building A, Miami, FL 33126

12:30 PM

Sunday

January 29

TORONTO Marriott Courtyard Toronto Airport

231 Carlingview Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M9W 5E8

11:00 AM

Sunday

January 29

VANCOUVER Vancouver Marriott Downtown

1128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4R5

11:30 AM

Sunday

February 5

SURREY Ramada Langley Surrey

19225 Highway 10, Surrey, BC Canada V3S 8V9

11:00 AM

Sunday

February 5

QUEENS Marriott LaGuardia Airport

102-05 Ditmars Blvd., East Elmhurst, NY 11369

11:00 AM

12:00 PMSaturday

February 11

FALLS CHURCH Courtyard Dunn Loring Fairfax

2722 Gallows Road, Vienna, VA 22180

Sunday

February 12

BALTIMORE Courtyard BWI Airport

1671 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

11:30 AM

Sunday

February 12

SEATTLE Seattle Bellevue Redmond Courtyard

14615 NE 29th Place, Bellevue, WA 98007

2:00 PM

Saturday

February 18

LONG ISLAND 82 North Broadway

Hicksville, NY 11801

11:00 AM

2:00 PMSaturday

February 18

HOUSTON Courtyard Houston Downtown

916 Dallas Street, Houston, TX 77002

Sunday

February 19

DALLAS Dallas Marriott Suites-Market Center

2493 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207

10:30 AM

Sunday

February 19

EDISON The Edison Hotel

3050 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, NJ 08337

11:00 AM

Saturday

February 25

SYRACUSE Courtyard Syracuse Carrier Circle

6415 Yorktown Circle, East Syracuse, NY 13057

12:00 PM

Sunday

February 26

BINGHAMTON Courtyard Binghamton

3801 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY 13850

12:00 PM

Cellular jail in Mumbai

A glimpse of historic ‘KalaPani’ in Mumbai

The doyen of India’s broadcasting and veteran sports commentator reminisces on how he happened to celebrate August 15, 1947 in Paris.

Jasdev Singh: Voice of the Republic Day Parade

14

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Quaid Najmi

Soon a replica of the world-famous

Cellular Jail in the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands, along with some orig-

inal fittings and articles, will be seen in

Mumbai at the country's first upcoming

museum dedicated to revolutionaries of the

Indian freedom struggle.

The museum will come up on 10,000 sq ft

at the existing 'Swatantryaveer Savarkar

Rashtriya Smarak' at Dadar, which is a

national monument to one such revolution-

ary, Veer Savarkar.

According to his grand-nephew, Ranjit V.

Savarkar, the museum will be an ultra-mod-

ern one with 3D effects to highlight the

struggles and travails undergone by Savarkar

in the dreaded 'Kala Pani' jail.

"Veer Savarkar spent 14 years in an isolat-

ed cell in the Cellular Jail and another 13

years under house arrest in Ratnagiri, coastal

Maharashtra," Ranjit V. Savarkar, who is

also executive president of SSRS, said.

He said many people in the country have

little or no idea of the Cellular Jail situated

on a remote group of islands in the Bay of

Bengal, around 1,200 km from Kolkata and

Chennai.

"Many people want to go there and witness

its historical past but are constrained by vari-

ous factors. A replica with some of the origi-

nal articles from that jail would enable the

new generation, especially the school and

college youth, to get a glimpse of its histo-

ry," he added.

SSRS president Arun S. Joshi said while

some of Veer Savarkar's belongings have

already been brought to Mumbai, a team will

leave for Andaman and Nicboar Feb 1 to

bring back some other articles.

"So far we have brought a couple of the

original doors of the iron cell where he was

lodged, some heavy iron chains and cuffs

with which he was tied on the arms and legs,

his jail clothes and other small items," Joshi

said.

Now, the SSRS team plans to request the

jail authorities to hand over other belongings

or items used by Veer Savarkar there.

"This will include a huge crushing instru-

ment to which the prisoners were chained

and forced to move around to crush and

extract oil from dried coconuts, one of the

most dreaded forms of rigorous labor in

those times," Joshi said.

"It is now more than 45 years since Veer

Savarkar died after giving up food and water

for several days. However, there is not a sin-

gle museum in India dedicated to armed con-

tribution or revolutionaries in the country's

freedom movement," Ranjit V. Savarkar

explained.

"Besides Veer Savarkar, the museum will

also depict major events spanning 1857-

1947 in which armed freedom fighters also

played a significant role."

The SSRS plans to have a full-fledged

library of all available literature around the

country at the proposed museum. So far, the

SSRS has already uploaded for free down-

load all the writings, including books, poems

and plays, penned by Veer Savarkar.

Both Joshi and Ranjit V. Savarkar said

while the contribution of the unarmed (non-

violent) freedom fighters has been focused

upon for the past six decades, the struggle of

armed revolutionaries has been relegated to

the fringes of history.

"One of the aims of the museum is to

enable people get a total picture of the Indian

freedom struggle with the valuable contribu-

tion of people like Netaji Subhas Chandra

Bose, Veer Savarkar, the Bhagat Singh-

Sukhdeo-Rajguru trio, and many others

around the country," Joshi said.

The three-storied Cellular Jail, constructed

between 1896 and 1906, originally had

seven wings in a circular design with a tall

watch tower and a bell at its centre.

Two of the wings were destroyed after the

Japanese invasion of the islands in 1942 and

its reign there till 1945 - when the British re-

captured it.

Since India's Independence in 1947, the

jail's 693 tiny cells remained vacant even as

two more wings were demolished.

The remaining three wings were converted

into a 500-bed public hospital for the local

population in 1963, though Veer Savarkar's

original cell has still been preserved.

Later, in 1969, the premises of the entire

Cellular Jail and the watch tower at the cen-

ter were declared as 'national monument'.

Incidentally, the Cellular Jail was made

famous in a Bollywood movie in 1996,

"Sazaa-e-Kala Pani," a multi-lingual classic

directed by Priyadarshan, which won three

National awards and six Kerala state awards.

By Prakash Bhandari

The doyen of India’s broad-

casting and veteran sports

commentator had never

dreamt in his youth that one day he

would do the commentary of the

Republic Day parade. Jasdev Singh

still remembers how India’s

Independence was celebrated by the

young Indian scouts who had gone

for the world Scouts jamboree in

Paris.

Jasdev Singh, who is now 80, has

been a popular commentator who

not only gave his voice to sports

commentary, but did other national-

ly important commentaries on

Independence Day and Republic

Day. Jasdev Singh joined as an

announcer at All India Radio Jaipur

and retired as deputy director gener-

al of Doordarshan.

He covered 9 Olympic Games, 8

hockey World Cups and was hon-

ored with the Olympic Order by the

International Olympic Committee

for his contribution to sports as a

commentator.

On the eve of India’s 63rd

Republic Day, Jasdev Singh spoke

to SATimes. He divides his time

between Delhi and Jaipur where he

manages a school started by late

freedom fighter Gita Bajaj. He remi-

nisced how he and his Indian friends

celebrated India’s first

Independence. “Jab hum England

hote France ke liye world jamboree

ke liye rawana hue, tab hum ghulam

the, jab pani ke jahaj se wapas apne

desh laut rahe the to azad the,”

Jasdev says in his familiar baritone

with a twinkle in his eyes.

Four boys -- Jasdev Singh, who

had earned 26 Boy Scout badges,

Hariharnath Kaul, Manohar Lal

Nigam and Prithipal Singh -- were

sent to the world Scouts jamboree

by the Maharaja of Jaipur. There

were eight boys from Mayo

College, Ajmer who had gone to the

jamboree under the leadership of

well known educationist late Dan

Mal Mathur.

“On July 29, 1947 we along with

6,000 scouts from all over the world

were invited by King George VI and

Queen Elizabeth to Buckingham

Palace. Little did we know that we

assembled there as representatives

of India which would get its

Independence after just 17 days.

When on the night of August 14-15,

Jawahar Lal Nehru was delivering

his famous ‘Tryst with destiny”

speech from Red Fort, we were in

France and were just thinking how

back home Indians would be cele-

brating the first taste of

Independence.

“Next morning at the world jam-

boree assembly we lined up as three

flags were to be hoisted at the rally

– Indian Tricolor, World Scouts flag

and the third one of Pakistan. The

scouts from what is now Pakistan

had come as part of the Indian con-

tingent, but with the Partition, they

were to hoist Pakistani flag. VK

Krishna Menon, India’s high com-

missioner in London, immediately

sent across the Indian flag. But there

was no Pakistani flag. The leader of

the contingent from what became

Pakistan was one Qureshi Iqbal.

Spotting me wearing a green turban,

he asked me to spare an extra green

turban so that a flag resembling

Pakistan’s green flag could be

stitched. This was done in great

hurry. As a result, the Indian tri-

colour was bigger than the Pakistani

green flag,” recalls Jasdev Singh,

who was later decorated with Padma

Shri and Padma Bhushan.

“But during the flag hoisting cere-

mony, as a gesture Qureshi Iqbal

raised the Indian flag and Dan Mal

Mathur raised the Pakistani green

flag. Both Indians and Pakistanis

then sang Tagore’s Jan Gan Man

and Saare Jahan Se accha Hindustan

hamara as the flags of the two

nations were raised. BBC and

French radio had recorded this great

and memorable ceremony. We sang

the national anthem for the two

radio services and it was for the

first time that I saw a microphone

used for radio program recording,

knowing little that I would become

a broadcaster one day”.

The memory of that Paris episode

is etched in Jasdev’s mind and often

when he covered the Republic Day

parade, he would recount how

Indians celebrated India’s

Independence in a foreign country.

Later, on subsequent visits to

Pakistan on commentating assign-

ments, he renewed his association

with Qureshi Iqbal and other mem-

bers of the contingent and all of

them fondly remembered the flag-

hoisting ceremony in Paris.

Aerial view of the historic Cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of the jail recreated at a Mumbai museum for Indian revolutionaries.

Jasdev Singh on assignment inSeoul, South Korea, for the 1988

Olympic Games; (inset) doingrunning commentary as he regu-larly did of Indian National Days.

15

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Lone lenswoman's tryst withIndia, before and after 1947

Homai Vyarawalla (1913-2012)

India's first and oldest photojournalist won several accolades includ-ing the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor. Her tryst with Independence as India's lone lens-woman in the

male-dominated media came on the night of August 14-15, 1947. The Parsi from Gujarat died a fortnight ago. Here are some of her

best shots including the scandalous one of Nehru smoking..

Homai Vyarawalla with her Speed Graphic Pacemaker

Quarter Plate camera.

(Photos courtesy: Homai Vyarawalla archive, Alkazi Collection of Photography)

Homai at work, shooting late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Nehru at an exhibition with children.

Nehru spinning khadi on a modern charkha.Prime Minister Nehru with Mrs. Simon, the wife of the British Deputy High

Commissioner, on board the first BOAC flight in India.

Homai's "favorite photo".Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Ambassador toRussia, received at the Delhi airport

by brother Jawaharlal Nehru.

Till a year ago, Homai Vyarawalla,

India's first and oldest photojournal-

ist, was still as spirited as she was in

the 1920s when she captured glimpses of

Bombay (now Mumbai) life with her box

camera and chronicled the Independence

struggle. The story of Vyarawalla's life

spans almost a century -- older than that of

independent India.

"I started clicking photographs at the age

of 13 in Bombay with a box camera in 1926

and I shot my last photograph in 1970, 40

years ago. Since then, I have not touched

the lens. But I am aware of the drifts in

press photography down the decades,"

Vyarawalla had said.

The daughter of an actor in an Urdu-Parsi

theatre company, Homai Vyarawalla was

born in Navsari in Gujarat in 1913. She

grew up in Bombay and learnt photography

from a friend.

Her tryst with Independence as India's

lone lens-woman in the male-dominated

media was on the night of August 14-15.

"The women decided to organize a 'havan'

at night to felicitate the leaders who were

going into parliament for the transfer of

power. I was not allowed to photograph the

leaders by the man in charge of the press

section because he thought he was a greater

patriot. However, I was supplied with pic-

tures by a friend who had gone in,"

Vyarawalla recalled in the interview.

In the morning, Lord Mountbatten was

sworn in as the governor general, she

recalled. "The prime minister and the cabi-

net were sworn in at the Government House

Aug 15 and the tricolor was unfurled at the

Red Fort on Aug 16 and I wanted to photo-

graph the guard of honor," Vyarawalla had

said.

"I climbed on to the ramparts to shoot the

sea of faces and the unfurling of the flag. I

had a Rolleiflex camera, but cameras did

not have zoom, wide-angle or telephoto lens

those days. I was fortunate because I man-

aged to capture Lady Mountbatten with

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in my frame.

Pandit-ji (Nehru) was addressing the peo-

ple... and we shot many photographs,"

Vyarawalla said

For eight years, Vyarawalla used a 35mm

camera and then a Rolleiflex Speed Graphic

with which she could take pictures on the

darkest of the dark nights.

"I remember shooting Pandit-ji and

Mountbatten talking under a tree at night.

As I used the range finder mounted at the

side, he thought a worm had crept up his

coat and he tried to brush it off," Vyarawalla

said.

She also photographed the departure of

Lord Mountbatten from India and the funer-

als of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru

and Lal Bahadur Shastri. She was awarded

the Padma Vibhushan last January.

The 1990s sounded the bugle ofthe golden era for the Indian econ-omy. Today, 100 percent FDI inretail sector has been allowed, theeconomy is looking around 8.5percent growth in 2011-12 and thefiscal deficit is set to remain underthe target of 4.6 percent of theGDP. Despite the slowdown, Indiaremains one of the fastest growingeconomies in the world. As we cele-brate the 63rd Republic Day, hereis the great India story.

By New Delhi Bureau/SAT

Sixty three years is a long time. From the

perspective of a nation’s history, it is a

brief moment in time. But much can

happen in such brief moments.

In 1947, India awoke to light and freedom,

and chose to become a democracy based on

universal suffrage. Have the last 60 years,

seen equally dramatic change in the economy?

This is the time to explore different dimen-

sions of our economic trajectory since 1947.

Between 1900 and 1950, the Indian econo-

my stagnated—the growth rate was below 1%

per year. From 1950 to about 1980, we grew

at the so called 'Hindu Rate of Growth' of 3.5

percent.

From 1980 to the early 1990s the annual

growth rate accelerated to about 5%. In the

late 1990s, the government was hoping to

achieve an annual 8% growth rate in the Ninth

Plan.

From 2002 or so, growth seems to have

averaged 8% or more. The trend seems to

have changed to a higher level.

Despite the World Bank sharply lowering its

global economic growth rate forecast to 2.5

percent in 2012 from its previous estimate of

3.6 percent, amid risks triggered by the ongo-

ing eurozone crisis, India's "growth story is

intact."

"The government would target more than

eight percent growth in the next financial year

on the back of easing inflation and rate cuts by

the central bank that would stimulate private

investment and demand," said Minister of

State for Finance Namo Narain Meena recent-

ly.

Global observers are talking of the ‘India

Growth Story." India's foreign exchange

reserves are $317.50 billion at the moment.

"India's gross domestic product (GDP) is

expected to grow by 7.7 percent in 2012 and

7.9 percent in the following year as compared

to the estimated 7.6 percent in 2011, the

United Nation's department of economic

affairs said recently.

Agriculture

Agriculture in 1947 was traditional. Nearly

70% of the population contributed over 50%

of national income. In these 60 years, it has

changed fundamentally. Today, 20% of the

national income is from agriculture, but it still

supports 50% odd of the population. The

Green Revolution of the late 1960s brought in

the “new technology”—new seeds, fertilizers,

credit, aimed at the progressive farmer.

Parts of the country—Punjab, Haryana,

western UP, coastal Andhra, etc saw dramatic

increases in output. India became self suffi-

cient in food by the end of 1970s. Cash crops

like sugar became important in several states

when irrigation became available. But there

has been no such boom in other food crops.

Millets like ragi and jowar, which the poor

eat, await a green revolution.

One of the important items on the agenda at

Independence was land reform. Zamindari

was abolished. This made a difference in

states like Bihar. But it was not until the late

1970s and early 1980s that the process was

taken further in states like West Bengal.

That this step in West Bengal was the right

one is borne out by the dramatic increase in

agricultural output later in the 1980s. But the

process was not taken to its logical conclusion

of land to the tiller in most states. India still

has a very large number of landless laborers.

There has been remarkable success in the

‘white revolution’—milk production, which is

ancillary to agriculture.

Based on the success of the co-operative

movement in Anand in Gujarat, technology

and organization together have led to India

becoming one the largest producers of milk in

the world, in a system based on small produc-

ers, but taking advantage of economies of

scale innovatively.

This is in part a success of marketing, with

Amul becoming one of the best known of

Indian brands. But it is also an organisational

innovation. This experience holds lessons for

other non-farm sectors too, and holds promise

for the future.

Industry

Manufacturing has increased significantly

since Independence. There was little by way

of industry in 1947. There has been some spo-

radic industrial development in the war years,

to support the British war effort.

Two steel plants—both in the private sec-

tor—and one in our own state—a railway sys-

tem, some textile plants in Bombay, tea in

Kolkata and small enclaves of industry in

Baroda and Mysore, were what the country

started with in 1947.

The Second Five Year Plan, around which

there was general agreement, began a thrust

for public investment in industry, and in a

short span of years, capacity was built up in

machine tools, heavy electricals, power equip-

ment, electronics, chemicals and fertilizers,

telephones and many more areas. As an aside,

perhaps I can note the fact that Bangalore can

truly be described as the Mahalanobis city, as

HMT, ITI, HAL, BEL etc were all located

here.

With the Third plan, for a host of reasons,

industrial growth slowed down. Not least was

the bureaucratic grid lock through the licens-

ing system which led to a new term being

introduced in economics—'rent seeking

behavior'. Economists were worried then

about 'inflationary recession'. After the late

1960s, public sector growth based on new

investments slowed down. Such growth as

took place was on the basis of nationaliza-

tions—coal, banking etc.

The public sector grew, but by transfer from

the private sector. Not all of it was viable; coal

and textiles were in a disastrous condition

when taken over. The base for public sector

inefficiency and losses was set.

The next phase across India was a growth of

what then was called small scale industry,

often as ancillaries to big units.

Who has not heard of Aligarh locks, Agra

shoes, or Tirupur hosiery? This took place in

many parts of the country, but the overall level

of investments, for a large country, was not

enough to push growth. This was the time

when a new term entered the economist's lexi-

con: industrial sickness. Large amounts of

bank funds were locked up in sick units.

The next major thrust for industry came

from the software boom, in which 'namma

Bengaluru' played—and continues to play—a

major role. The software firms that were

happy with simple “Y2K” work reinvented

themselves as pioneers in Business Processes

Re-engineering, and bid for work successfully

in the global market.

Bengaluru, with its Indian Institute of

Science, engineering and medical colleges

built over the past century, and public sector

Continued on page 17

Development in India

16

India@63: The birth of a powerhouse

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Continued from page 16

R&D institutions, had the resources which

provided the foundation for this industry. Call

Centres offering simple services have boomed

and provided the youth with jobs.

One aspect of glottalization has been the

shift of work and jobs from the

West—mainly the US—to Bangalore led to

a new word being added to the English vocab-

ulary—Bangalored. This outsourcing process

is now happily spreading to other parts of the

country. Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata,

Thiruvananthapuram are all now important IT

locales.

Indian industry, especially the private sector,

had become soft after the 1970s. The protect-

ed environment of the license raj gave it no

incentive to modernize. This circumstance

changed after 1991, when the current round of

reforms, especially liberalization, began.

Many of us were worried that Indian indus-

try could not face competition and would dis-

appear over time. After an initial period of dis-

comfort in the mid 1990s, Indian industry has

responded magnificently to the challenge of

global competition. In a range of sectors—

automobile components, pharmaceuticals,

steel, aluminium, garments, mobile telephony,

earth moving equipment, cement, space—

Indian firms have established themselves and

taken advantage of the opportunities provided

by globalization.

If the stock market is booming today, it is in

part due to the competitiveness of our

industry.

Economic services have increased their

share in the national income, now accounting

for more than half. This sector is a mixed bag,

including all that cannot be classified under

the other two. It includes a bewildering vari-

ety of activities and technologies—from rag

picking to software consultancy. In part this

increase in the sectoral share reflects the

growth of information-based services that our

large companies provide across the world.

But it also reflects the cost/price advantage

of education/knowledge intensive services

that India can provide. There has been consid-

erable investment in higher education in India.

Apart from the IITs and IIMs, today has more

than 250 universities.

The institutional investors are optimistic and

are taking a long-term view of the economy

and its performance rather than being dis-

turbed by the short-term statistics.

The next generation financial sector reforms

have already been initiated. These include,

among other steps, the widening and deepen-

ing of the Indian securities markets, liberaliz-

ing the policy on foreign capital flows,

strengthening the regulatory and other institu-

tional architecture and reducing transaction

cost in the securities markets.

Despite the slowdown, India remains one of

the fastest growing economies in the world.

High savings rates and strong domestic

demand will drive our growth in the future.

Development in India

17

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

18

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India’s paradox: HungaMa amid growth and hope

Opinion

By Subhash Chopra

India has a long way to go to meet the basic

needs of her people and nobody could be

more candid in acknowledging it than

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who, despite

his empathy for IMF solutions to problems,

called the prevalence of hunger and malnutri-

tion, especially among the country’s children,

a “national shame.” This double deficit in

human welfare has rightly acquired the

acronym of ‘HungaMa,’ a gigantic issue by

any yardstick.

The Prime Minister had no hesitation in

admitting that malnutrition among 42 per cent

of the nation’s children is “unacceptably high,”

but he also reminded that the scourge had

declined from a high of 53 per cent over the

last seven years. All that “Impressive growth

in our GDP,” was not enough, he said while

quoting malnutrition figures from a private

foundation’s survey. The media and opposition

parties had a field day bashing the government

as if they had no part in this shameful phenom-

enon.

Home grown criticism, though always

healthy, can sometimes lose sight of the picture

in the wider context. Nobel Laureate Joseph

Stiglitz, for instance, thinks that by recogniz-

ing the Right to Food Security as a basic

human right, legislation for which is currently

on the anvil, India is “leading the way for the

rest of the world and is on the verge of a his-

toric implementation of the world’s largest

social program against hunger.” He was refer-

ring not just to the right to food but to a slew of

similar programs like the National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (Nregs), later

named after Mahatma Gandhi.

Putting it in a comparative context while

speaking at the Indian Statistical Institute in

Kolkata, Manmohan Singh pointed out that

while one in seven Americans today are on

food stamps, an equal number still face food

insecurity. “While India debates whether there

should be basic human rights like the right to

food, such debates are still not part of the dis-

course in America.” Attacking the global GDP

“fetish,” he said the success or failure of any

programs should be judged not on the GDP

growth but on the welfare of the people.

Fellow American and billionaire George

Soros, also on a tour of India, said he was

“positive over the long term about India and

less optimistic about the US where we are in a

political and financial crisis.” The crash of

2008, he said, was the result of a “super-bub-

ble” that began in 1980 when Ronald Reagan

became the US president and Margaret

Thatcher was the British prime minister. The

misconception was the belief that “markets

correct their own excesses.” The bubble effect

was more in evidence in the US and the UK

than in the developing economies like India.

“When developed countries are facing one of

the worst crises, developed countries, India in

particular, show an aspiring phenomenon of

(handling) market and democracy.”

Like Stiglitz, Soros blames the flawed eco-

nomic theory of market equilibrium as part of

the problem in creating booms and busts. “The

assumption that markets left on their own will

allocate resources efficiently leading to market

equilibrium does not work in the real world, as

people act on imperfect knowledge and human

thinking is indeterminate.” Speaking in

Bangalore at the Azim Premji University lec-

ture series, Soros underlined that in a globaliz-

ing world, capital will flow to regions where

regulations are less stringent, thus increasing

the chances of bubbles and all the consequent

perils of instability.

Asked about the mass deprivation and cor-

ruption in India, British Labour party leader

and former foreign secretary David Miliband

said anyone visiting India sees a vibrant econ-

omy and also a vibrant political system. “That

is one of the great things about this country

that it has a vibrant political system. It’s a

standing testimony to the value that’s placed

on different opinions expressed often with

great force and passion. Every democracy is

trying to figure out how to make its democracy

work better.” There are dysfunctions in all

democracies. We have to address them. “In the

Indian system, you have got your own debate

how best to do that; you don’t want people

coming from Britain to tell you how to do it!”

Miliband said.

Another vote of confidence in India has just

come from the WHO on the country’s land-

mark achievement of eradication of polio in

the year just gone by when not a single case of

wild polio was recorded wile as many as 741

cases were recorded only two years earlier.

WHO director general Margaret Chan said,

“India’s success is arguably its greatest public

health achievement and has provided a global

opportunity to push for the end of polio (in

other countries).”

India’s health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad

claimed, justly, “This giant leap towards polio

containment in a short span of two years is an

endorsement of India’s tireless and persistent

efforts.”

Next target: Elimination of hunger and mal-

nutrition, even as India quite realistically

hopes for 6-7 % GDP growth while downturn

stalks the developed economies of the world.

Hunger and malnutrition(HungaMa), especially

among the country’s chil-dren, are still prevalent. Yet,as Nobel Laureate Joseph

Stiglitz said, by recognizingthe Right to Food Security

as a basic human right,India is leading the way for

the rest of the world inimplementing the world’s

largest social programagainst hunger.

2012 as year of 'Proud to be a Skilled Indian'By Vijay Thadani

Never before in the history of any

country has human capital develop-

ment been such a key focus area as

2011 was for India, marking the beginning of

exciting times. Determined to leverage the

demographic dividend and reach the goal of

imparting skills to 500 million, India created

many ripples in 2011. Four themes dominat-

ed the year in this context:

1. Private industry participation

Skills development in India got a fillip

when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh con-

stituted the National Council on Skills

Development in 2008 and the National Skills

Development Corporation (NSDC) there-

after. For NSDC, a-one-of-its-kind public-

private partnership has been formed to con-

tribute to the charter of skilling Indians.

NSDC forged many joint ventures with the

Bharti Group for 11.5 million, with Everonn

for 15 million, with Future Group for seven

million and with NIIT for another seven mil-

lion. They have approved 34 training projects

and eight sector skills councils, covered 177

districts, set up 2,427 centers, touched 20

sectors and have already set up the founda-

tion to train 58.6 million people in 10 years.

In addition, under a special scheme, indus-

try showed interest in joining

hands with NSDC to induct

youth from Jammu &

Kashmir to train them in spe-

cial skills at their facilities

across India. Appointment of

an industry veteran, former

TCS chief executive S.

Ramadorai as an advisor to

the PM in NSDC with the

rank of a cabinet minister, is

yet another achievement.

Private participation also

came along. Fiat India

launched "Diksha" to provide

educational avenues and

technical training for youth.

Axis Bank and Bandhan jointly launched a

Rs.100-crore initiative on providing skills

training and assets to the marginalized in

West Bengal.

2. Higher secondary education reform

The HRD Ministry launched the revised

scheme of vocationalization of higher sec-

ondary education. To promote vocational

training in schools, the government estab-

lished a vocational education cell within

Central Board of Secondary Education. The

scheme also helps create a bridge between

academia and industry. The National

Occupational Standards (NOS)

developed by the sector skills

councils formed by NSDC will

govern the activities in vocation-

al education.

In higher education, HRD

Minister Kapil Sibal advocated

the need for mobility of students

from one university to the other.

The number of engineering seats

went up to 1.3 million in 2010-

11 and there was talk on how to

make the selection process for

IITs and other engineering col-

leges stress-free for the stu-

dents.

3. Job creation remained a

key challenge

The government could create only one mil-

lion jobs against the target of 50 million jobs

during the 11th Plan period that ends March

31, 2012. It has now set a daring target of

creating 60 million jobs during the 12th Five

Year Plan.

As a step towards this, the government

unveiled a new Manufacturing Policy that

promises 100 million new jobs. India is also

on the path to dusting off the Apprentices Act

to create an industry-driven apprenticeship

regime.

4. Changing the social perception of

skills

The WorldSkills Competition got signifi-

cant coverage in the media in India. A 16-

member India contingent participated in the

competition in London and showed the deter-

mination to become the skills reservoir of the

world.

Path forward

As we move into 2012, we are moving in

the right direction. Skills do not form the

social fabric of India as yet. To have social

currency, the acceptable tags are of an engi-

neer, a doctor, an MBA. Skills, such as

plumbing, electrician and masonry, have little

social currency, and this is evident even in

our matrimonial advertisements. Changing

the social perception about skills, therefore,

is our big challenge for 2012.

We should also look at launching events

such as 'Indian Skills Idol' and have popular

brand ambassadors to endorse pride in skills.

Then we will not be apologetic about our 1.2

billion population. We can be an enviable

reservoir of 1.2 billion skilled people. Let's

declare 2012 as: "The Year of 'Proud to be a

Skilled' Indian."

Vijay Thadani is CEO of NIIT Limited andChairman of CII's Northern Region.

India as leader: Where the head is held high

India chooses to use its soft power only

20

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Namit Narain

While India is still far from assuring

social security and health care to

all, and struggling with controlling

corruption, it has come a long way after

becoming a Republic in 1950. It is the leading

developing country in the entire world. Being

the second most populous country in the

world is no more considered a curse as in the

1960s and 70s. India now treats its population

as an asset and as human capital – indeed as

demographic dividend. More, it is the only

young country in an aging world.

But this demographic dividend is only good

if there is a huge investment in the human

capital for education, health, social security,

and jobs. Looking forward to connecting the

dots, India is evolving rapidly compared to

any other country in Europe or the Americas.

The countries which have not respected the

value of human capital have turned demo-

graphic dividend into demographic disaster.

So far India has been the largest exporter of

highly educated and skilled human capital to

the west. Indians have clearly been far more

comfortable with globalization.

There has been a sea change in the way peo-

ple think now in India. The role of entrepre-

neurs has evolved from being seen as villains

in the 1950’s to role models in the 21st centu-

ry. These people have taken risks in business,

succeeded and created jobs so many more can

run their homes, send their children to good

schools and make a better future. So far they

have done this by learning from the past and

from other economies. Credit for local entre-

preneurs’ success also goes to the banks.

Their micro credit system has created a huge

value chain, which drives success and a safe

economic environment.

Central to India’s success story is embrace

of technology over the past decade.

Technology was earlier seen as a new shift in

a business that cut jobs. Today the country has

led the race of technology and created jobs in

the bargain. The irony is, technology first

evolved in the West, was adopted with gusto

in India and China, where it helped create

jobs. India sells over 8 million mobile phones

a month -- a measure of how technology has

been liberated in India and embraced by the

culture.

In 2011, we saw India taking the lead in not

only technology but also education, energy,

politics, and sports. Hundreds of thousands

Indians stood together against corruption and

valued the democracy by using their right to

free speech and protest. Schools such as IIMs

and ISB (Indian School of Business) got list-

ed in the Financial Times Top 50 business

school rankings. More and more Indians are

getting master’s degrees compared to other

nations, making them highly skilled and high-

ly paid work force. This has enabled to double

the per capita income of India over just 9

years as compared to 45 years it took for the

same increase earlier. Naturally, aspirations

have risen among the billion plus people. This

is also the key reason the West is looking to

India for its growing purchasing power.

Still in this modernizing, urbanizing India,

conflicting ideas persist such as caste system,

reservations for certain sections of society and

outmoded labor policies. There are still 93%

of Indians who don’t have health care, job

security, and pension benefits. India has the

highest rate of cardiac problems, diabetes, and

poor sanitation. What is missing can be

addressed by taking high end decisions, quick

implementation, less bureaucracy, and no-cor-

ruption. Despite all the hurdles, India’s march

in 2011 has made Indians feel proud. Witness

the launch of the Nano-satellite Jugnu, cricket

World Cup win and putting the country on the

map of F1 Grand Prix. We also caught the

world's attention by launching the cheapest

ever android tablet, Aakash, costing only $35.

India is a country full of dreams and hope

where we have seen the steepest decline in

population growth in the past decade and high

increase in the literacy rate.

In 2012, India has a lot more to give to the

globalized world where we will see Indians

going full steam ahead in business, global pol-

itics and socio-cultural aspects.

By Smita Prakash

Hailed as a superpower in the

making, India today stands

on the cusp of a past, rich in

history, and a promising future. Its

democratic ethos is hailed world-

wide; from Canberra to Cairo, India

is looked upon as a stabilizing force

in the Asian region and a voice for

developing countries.

As we celebrate our 63rd Republic

Day, it is with pride and humility

that we can look back upon our civi-

lizational ethos and our pluralistic

democracy and realize that these two

are strengths, which make us a bea-

con of light in the region. Quite nat-

urally, it leads one to wonder why

just a soft power? Why not a hard

power or a super power?

What is a ‘soft power’? Harvard

University professor Joseph Nye

first coined the term describing it as

a country’s ability to alter the behav-

ior of others through attraction rather

than sticks and carrots. No country

in the world can afford to be just a

hard power or just a soft power. The

desire to influence other countries

and make them agree with one’s per-

ceptions and co-opt them is part of

every country’s foreign policy.

Can we do that with just carrots

and sticks? Not possible, as the US

has realized in its interactions in

Pakistan and Afghanistan. Soft

power is not merely the act of per-

suasion. The country would also

need to have the ability to attract

another country to its way of think-

ing. For that one needs assets. For

example, India’s democracy, non-

violent freedom struggle, pluralistic

society, ancient and rich culture,

educated work force, arts and crafts,

computer software industry,

Bollywood and cuisine are all soft

power assets. A healthy foreign

exchange reserve helps.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

once said, “The soft power of India

in some ways can be a very impor-

tant instrument of foreign policy.

Cultural relations, India’s film

industry, Bollywood… I find wher-

ever I go in the Middle East, in

Africa people talk about Indian

films.” Or Indian doctors, or Indian

tech workers or Indian cooks. Each

of them is an ambassador. Each one

who speaks on behalf of India

becomes an instrument of India’s

soft power. He or she gives credibili-

ty and legitimacy to the Indian way

of doing things. It is at once a

responsibility, as is a burden.

Shashi Tharoor, in his essay on

India’s soft power, puts it succinctly.

“…so many speak about India as a

great power of the 21st century

when we are not yet able to feed,

educate and employ all our people.

So it is not economic growth, mili-

tary strength or population numbers

that I would underscore when I think

of India’s potential leadership role in

the world of the 21st century. Rather,

if there is one attribute of independ-

ent India to which I think increasing

attention should now be paid around

the globe, it is the quality, which

India is already displaying, in ample

measure today - its ‘soft power’.

The only objection I have to the

above statement is the word ‘today’.

India has always displayed its soft

power, albeit unwittingly, uninten-

tionally. From the times of Gautam

Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi, from

the Kushanas to the Mughals, from

Nehru and the Panchsheel, from

Tandoori chicken to Raj Kapoor and

Amitabh Bachchan, from appam and

avial to M.S. Subbalakshmi and

Rukmini Devi Arundale, from pash-

mina shawls and patola sarees to

Tagore and Mira Nair, our soft

power is constantly at play. See them

as products or assets, they have

worked for us in subtle and consis-

tent ways to show the world the

Indian way of doing things: unhur-

ried, elegant, sensitive, traditional,

pathfinding and persuasive.

In its 64-year history India has

never invaded or dominated another

country and despite its huge armed

forces and nuclear arsenal, it poses

threat to no country. We have gone

to war four times but always when

there was aggression thrust upon us

and negotiation and compromise had

failed. We have lost territory, never

gained in the wars that we fought.

This astonishes the world, as they

wonder what holds back India to

emerge as the superpower in the

region. Why don’t we flex our mus-

cles? Why do we always seem vul-

nerable to smaller nations in our

neighborhood?

The simple fact is that we are

uncomfortable being seen as a bully.

We engage with the global strategic

community but as a persuasive

power and a co-optive power. Blame

or praise Mahatma Gandhi and

Gautam Buddha for that. We follow

the middle path of peaceful coexis-

tence. It makes us vulnerable but we

don’t see vulnerability as a flaw. We

build defenses not moats. We build

bridges not fences.

It is impossible for a state to exer-

cise its soft power without having

strong foundations. Hard power is

essential for that but not chronic

warfare. Kautilya in his seminal

work, the Arthashastra, says that

compassion, morality and religious

principles have no place when a

country is under threat, unless they

are useful for bringing victory in

war. For sure, we posses hard power,

we just choose not to exercise it.

The author is Editor, News atAsian News International.

India is the leading developing country in the entire world. Being the second most populous country in the world is no more considereda curse as in the 1960s and 70s. India now treats its population as an asset and as human capital – indeed as demographic dividend.

From the times of GautamBuddha or Mahatma Gandhi,

from the Kushanas to theMughals, from Nehru and the

Panchsheel, from Tandoori chicken to Raj Kapoor and

Amitabh Bachchan, from appamand avial to M.S. Subbalakshmi

and Rukmini Devi Arundale,from pashmina shawls and

patola sarees to Tagore and MiraNair, our soft power is

constantly at play.

Comparing India and US democracies

The long march towards a clean Indian democracy

India can learn from the ways the constitution of the USA has touched the lives of its citizenry.

21

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Ashok Ojha

As the people of Indian origin cele-

brate 62 years of Indian Republic,

the largest democracy in the world, it

is natural to think how much the system has

touched the lives of ordinary citizens. It is

also relevant to look at the ways the constitu-

tion of the oldest democracy in the world,

the United States of America, has touched

the lives of its citizenry.

While socialism is the mantra of Indian

Democracy, capitalism is the hallmark of

American Democracy. India is a multi-party

representative parliamentary democracy

sharing various features with the political

system and institutions of the USA. Both

systems are federal in nature with their inde-

pendent judiciary and legislative bodies.

However, the executive branch in the US is

headed by the President rather than the prime

minister. The powers of the US president are

restricted by the two houses of the Congress.

The executive branch depends upon a num-

ber of government agencies as in India.

In India, the executive is headed by the

Prime Minister who is answerable to the

elective body, the parliament. He administers

the country with his cabinet of ministers, all

elected by people. The head of Republic of

India, the president, holds nominal powers.

The judiciary in both nations, headed by the

Supreme Court, is independent, and can rule

against the executive.

In USA there is a clear separation of power

among the executive, the legislative, and the

judiciary. The US and India are governed by

the laws and principles of their respective

constitutions. The US Constitution empow-

ers all the branches with appropriate mecha-

nism of checks and balances. This principle

is followed at the lowest rank of democratic

apparatus, such as the local self govern-

ments. The federal apparatus is watchful of

unlawful and corrupt practices of both elect-

ed officials and government employees.

There is a constant fear of being investigated

by the federal agencies, such as the FBI,

whose action is swift and free from political

interference. The legal system is efficient

and effective and though corruption is not

unusual in USA it is most often investigated

and culprits are regularly prosecuted. The

State has met its social obligation to a great

extent, thanks to a broad overseeing by the

justice system, a free press and the vigilance

of people.

The democratic society in India is based on

the principles of a welfare state where the

government is responsible for providing

basic needs to the people, such as health and

education. Indian political leaders love to

make promises of helping the poor and

claiming to be great supporters of a socialist

society. Though belonging to a communist

party has never been frowned upon in India,

most of the politicians shied away from com-

munism but took pride in calling themselves

socialists. Capitalism, for almost five

decades, remained a term that the Indian left-

ists used as if it was a form of crime. Until

the demise of communism in the late 80s, a

capitalist in India was thought to be one who

made money by exploiting the poor. In reali-

ty Indian political system has a history of

creating capitalists by granting government

contracts to favored bidders become rich

using corrupt means. The State largely neg-

lected its obligation to providing medical

facilities in most of the rural India as well as

providing a framework of primary education

system in most part of the country. Political

parties of both shades, the left and the right,

are responsible for neglecting the poor as

most of them got opportunities to rule the

country during the six decades of

Independent India.

In USA, politicians of both sides,

Republican and Democrat, shied away from

doing something that could label them as

Socialists. The conservatives never liked a

big government and labor unions, but the

working class, especially in manufacturing

sector, has greatly benefitted by unionizing

themselves. The unity among the working

class in America, including teachers, enabled

them protection of effective systems of

health and pension while the private sector

employees depend upon bonuses but

deprived of lifelong benefits other than

investment opportunities. But the State cares

for all Americans on their retirement by pro-

viding an efficient system of social security

and Medicare network.

Millions of Indians, though promised by

the State, are deprived of social security ben-

efits. However, the State has been kind to

government employees by showering them

with periodic salary increases. The politi-

cians in power are also the beneficiary of the

system as they are assured of indirect bene-

fits even after they cease to be in power.

The executive branch in India deliberately

avoided a transparent framework of decision

making affecting the lives of common peo-

ple. On the other hand, ordinary citizens are

subjected to an elaborate system of provid-

ing documentation and certificates for seek-

ing administrative approvals of different

types. The bureaucracy in India has built a

very sustainable system of supporting its

complicated nature of working by fulfilling a

variety of ‘unconstitutional’ whims of their

political masters. As a result there is a lack of

loyalty towards the guiding principles of the

constitution. Most of the government depart-

ments find it easy to listen to the politicians

in power rather than to their constitutional

obligations. Many powerful branches of the

executive including those responsible for

development and human resources are large-

ly seen favoring lobby groups while neglect-

ing the needs of the ordinary citizens. This

practice, which began in the early days of

Independent India, originated from the

Socialist pattern of controlling people’s

resources by the ruling elite, resulted into

losing propositions as most of the govern-

ment owned enterprises failed in the

Seventies and Eighties. The situation

improved only after the government relieved

itself from socialistic guidelines and moved

closer to capitalist principles of allowing the

private industry become engine of growth.

Indian political leaders win elections

promising to work for the poor. As soon as

they take the oath of allegiance to the Indian

constitution, they begin looking for opportu-

nities to make money through often dubious

dealings with contractors, builders, and

industrialists. The bureaucracy of India has

been very pragmatic. It is manipulative and

quickly coach the politicians how to govern

and then a cool liaison develops between the

minister and their secretaries.

When a common man goes to get his

papers cleared at a government office, he has

to listen to the demands of the officer con-

cerned. When a farmer goes to the block

development officer he has to find a middle

man for getting his work done as the govern-

ment officers avoid speaking local languages

for fear of losing their social status. The une-

ducated citizen is most often lost in the long

line of needy people. The police force whose

job is to protect the people, are mostly busy

protecting ministers and the MLAs and over-

looking criminal activities.

The Indian justice department and inves-

tigative agencies are not free from political

interference. The provisions of Indian consti-

tution have allowed the ruling party and the

parliament to enjoy most of the executive

powers. The members of the parliament,

who don’t have to qualify on an educational

or professional yardstick and are not often

elected by a totally fair and free election sys-

tem, are prone to corrupt practices as they

enjoy authoritative powers lacking oversight

or fear of being investigated. The people of

India are demanding overhaul changes in the

administrative system as it has been rocked

by a series of scandals in recent times. The

good news is that the Indian democratic

apparatus is working overtime these days to

clean itself of crony capitalism, nepotism,

corruption and disregard for people’s needs.

In India, political parties of all shades are responsible for neglecting the poor as both the left and right groupings have had opportunities to rule the

country during the six decades of Independent India.

First Person

Miss you, MaJinal Shah writes to her mother comparing and contrasting

living in New York and Mumbai.

American-born, not-so-confused desi

22

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Dear Ma,

It’s been six months since I left Mumbai

to live in the Big Apple. Since you keep

asking me on the phone how the transi-

tion was, I decided to put it all on paper for

you.

No doubt, everybody gets bowled over by

the enormousness of New York City, its bril-

liant infrastructure, its hustle and bustle

round the year. People are courteous too.

It is true that I am in awe of this city, which

is slowly captivating my mind. Yet, the

memories of years in India remain etched in

my mind, especially the last days in Mumbai

- hogging on street food as if I will never get

to have it again, meeting streams of relatives

and that bundling up apprehensions and inhi-

bitions with my clothes, utensils and some

home-made food.

The exposure to both the cultures tempts

me to compare and contrast the two.

Remember how we pictured New York? The

city that makes you feel tiny with its jungle

of skyscrapers, the city that makes you feel

lost with its potpourri of world cultures and

crowds thronging the streets.

Well, it is not as simple as a change in

address in what is touted as a global village.

For me it entailed a change in attitude and

even outlook towards life. Now with a slight

attitude shift, I can also be part of the con-

crete jungle, absorbing the world culture and

enjoying what the crowds enjoy, including

American football. O Ma, People here are as

crazed about football as Indians are for

cricket. Many even give work a miss to catch

up on matches, particularly the upcoming

Super Bowl, the grand finale of the league

matches.

Our Mumbai is in many ways similar to

New York. Both are financial hubs, a melting

pot of diverse cultures and languages. Both

are coastal cities dealing with crazy traffic,

and home of entertainment (Broadway and

Bollywood). Finally, both are cities that

never sleep. The throngs in subway trains

match the madness in Mumbai locals.

But after my ‘honeymoon phase’ with

NYC was over, when I started experiencing

life as an average Indian American here to

stay, small and subtle differences caught my

attention. Coming from a tea drinking coun-

try, the Starbucks culture is a novelty. I was

also pleasantly surprised by the variety of

packaged Indian food at Indian groceries

playing on your nostalgia of home cooked

food.

Also, the Sunday outings back home are

now enjoyed on Saturdays and Indian fast

food has given way to world cuisine. The

busy, busy weekdays leave little scope for

socializing as we did with our extended fam-

ily in Mumbai. Contrary to our image of

American Born Confused Desis (ABCD),

the second or third generation Indian

Americans are clear about their identity and

are comfortable with both cultures.

I live in Jersey City and commute to

Manhattan practically every day. It is impos-

sible to walk on the streets without bumping

into a fellow Indian or more specifically a

Gujarati. Indian restaurants are no more con-

fined to Little Indias; tony New York neigh-

borhoods also have Indian restaurants with

exotic menus and prices. Indian fashionistas

here are more conscious about the brands

they are wearing. And of course, it is the

whites who crowd yoga studios not browns.

As I write this on the eve of India’s

Republic day, it just dawned on me that stay-

ing away from homeland makes one more

patriotic. Apart from the parade - something

we religiously watched every Republic day

on Doordarshan - I will miss the jalebis and

flag hoisting on our building terrace.

-Jinal Shah

Jersey CityP.S.: Oh, did I mention how much I miss

our maid. Everything here is self-service

right from assembling furniture from Ikea to

cleaning up the house to doing laundry. At

times I even miss our loud neighbors as here

it is hard to see, leave alone befriend, blokes

next door. And, it pinches the pocket to hail a

cab every time for short distance, so wish

there were auto-rickshaws here too!!!

P.P.S.: I miss you Ma, and your yummy

dosas.

By Vikas Girdhar

Ihave been born and raised in

New York and, aside from the

rare weekend getaway to a

neighboring state, have spent my

entire life here. I moved from

Queens at the age of six to

Hicksville, where being Indian

meant being part of a glaring minor-

ity. That was in the early 90’s, how-

ever. Today, Hicksville is commonly

referred to as “Little India” with its

rapidly growing desi population and

booming sites for Indian shops and

grocery superstores.

The ‘Indian-izing’ of Hicksville is

something I have witnessed for 20

years. As the years passed, I noticed

not only certain aspects of my envi-

ronment becoming more identical to

values of the motherland, but I

myself became more comfortable

with my expression of them.

I come from a family that places

great importance on Indian customs

and values the unity they promote.

My parents have done an absolutely

fantastic job of keeping my brother

and myself as informed and aware

as possible about our culture. I

speak Hindi at home, regularly eat

and enjoy home-cooked Indian food

and am familiar with and able to

participate in poojas. Being in touch

with my culture and religion has

never been a problem for me. While

I am friends with several people

who are equally adept at demon-

strating core Indian values, I also

know many second-generation desis

who are not nearly as familiar with

elements of their first-generation

parents’ upbringings. I would have

to attribute many of my experiences

to my changing environment.

Going to an elementary school

where I could count the number of

fellow desi children on one hand

was tougher than some may expect.

The vast differences between my

traditional Indian home life and the

aspects of it that I could readily

expose in a society not particularly

willing to accept them was probably

the toughest part about growing up.

The transition between a well-cul-

tured home life and school life is

one that strengthens the will of a

child if he can master it. Some

might say that the transition is

inevitable, and they would be right.

The important thing to realize is that

some of these children feel so “cul-

ture-shocked” from either direction

that they tend to gravitate towards

the one that takes them less out of

their comfort zone. The result is a

child who is either too

‘Americanized’ and far apart from

cultural values or a child that is too

oblivious to the way the American

society works. Of course, this

“struggle” is much easier to tackle

as one gets older, somewhat because

of increasing maturity levels of both

the individual and the society he

interacts with. That perfectly coin-

cides with my belief that ignorance

finds its most comfortable home in

children with parents who haven’t

yet opened their eyes to the rest of

the world.

For example, if I took Indian food

for lunch one day, I would be the

center of attention. What I was so

comfortable with at home was sud-

denly a cause of commotion among

my non-desi peers. Of course, it

took adjustment. I accepted the

trades of two separate lifestyles,

ignored the stereotypical ques-

tions—and those that asked them--

and simultaneously became more

adept with mastering the values of

two separate societies.

In hindsight, it opened my eyes to

reality. I see it as such a strength to

be so well-versed in both the Indian

culture and the American culture,

but I feel there are many factors that

play a role. The persistence of the

parents to teach their children, the

environment the children grow up in

and finally the willingness of the

child to learn—are all equally

important.

My views on marriage, religion

and other major elements have been

shaped by how I’ve been brought up

and what I have been able to experi-

ence and witness within my sur-

roundings.

It must have been a tougher transi-

tion for my parents, I’m positive.

I’m just fortunate enough to have

been able to carry their lessons forth

as a follow-up to their generation.

I already consider it a success to

have—for the most part—made a

seamless transition between two

very different lifestyles. That shy

and misunderstood child who

seemed “weird” or “too Indian” to

other children now comfortably sits

and writes about his experiences to

an entire newspaper-reading audi-

ence, convinced he got the better

end of the bargain.

The author (right) at a friend’s wedding. “I accepted the trades oftwo separate lifestyles, ignored the stereotypical questions—and

those that asked them--and simultaneously became more adept withmastering the values of two separate societies.”

When the constituent assembly was formed in India, most of the 565 or so princely states had voluntarily

signed their accession to the Republic of India. We look at the contribution of two such princely

states to the growth of its people

At the Nandkuvarba Kshatriya Kanya Vid-hyalaya (NKKV) in Bhavnagar, smartly

dressed girls are gathered for the centenary celebrations of the late Maharaja Krishnaku-mar Sinhji, one of the first princes to voluntari-ly accede his princely state to the government of India. Krishnakumar Sinhji was also one of the first Rajpramukhs of Independent India.

Education flowered in Bhavnagar, which saw the mushrooming of educational institutions like schools, the institution of scholarships for foreign studies in fields like medicine and sci-ence, and the launch of an arts college that was among the first in Gujarat. The Nandkuarba school was started in the late-1800s during the reign Of Maharaja Bhav Sinhji and Maharani Shri Nandkunverba Sahiba in the princely state of Bhavnagar between 1896 to 1919.The Maha-rani in 1911 was awarded the Order of the Crown of India, the highest Imperial award for women of the Empire. From the school, we drove to the Takth Sinhji Hospital which was built in 1879 AD during the rule of Maharaja Takth Sinh. This hospital was designed by Sir Wil-liam Emerson, whose other works include Cal-cutta’s Victoria Memorial. This is an impressive building with domes, arches and latticework.

Continuing from here we drove past many institutions started by the Maharajas including the Samaldas College, the first arts college of Saurashtra, which counts many distinguished people as its alumni including Mahatma Gan-dhi and India’s first chief justice, HJ Kania.

We drove to the Barton Museum, built in 1895 AD and housed the collections of Col. Barton, a British resident of Saurashtra. Since then the collection has been enhanced with exhibits donated by the Oza family and other prominent personalities of Bhavnagar, as well as various departments. Prominent among the exhibits are the coins and curren-cy, including koris of Kutch and other royal minted coins, the old guns and other arms and armour, and farming implements.

One of Bhavnagar’s principal sightsee-ing spots is the Takteshwar temple which rises serenely from an incline and offers a good view over the cityscape to the Gulf of Cambay marshes.

From this temple, we drove into the city to see the Darbargadh, the imposing old palace of the Maharajas of Bhavnagar who founded this coastal city in the 18th century. The Maha-rajas belong to the Gohil clan that came from Rajasthan in the 13th century and founded their kingdom along the Gujarat coast. From the palace, the roads led us through the mar-kets to the lake called the `Talao’ with the Ganga Jalia Temple on its banks.

As evening approached, we drove to the Gaurishankar lake created as a reservoir in the 1800s and named for Gaurishankar Oza. This lake is a popular recreational spot of Bhavnagar and is a birding paradise.

Revisiting the glorious pastTheSouthAsianTimes.info

January 28 - February 3, 201226

The Holkar’s Indore Earlier mainly a stopover between the jyotirlingas of Ujjain and Omkaresh-war, Indore developed after this part of Malwa was given to Malhar Rao Hol-kar by the Peshwas following his mili-tary achievement. But Indore owes its heritage to his successor, Ahilya Bai Holkar, who was described by her Brit-ish contemporaries as “the most ex-emplary ruler that ever lived.” Besides developing Indore, the gifted Ahilya founded palaces, temples, dharam-shalas and charitable institutions all over the country.

After her death in 1795, a series of skirmishes between the Marathas and East India Company followed, ending in the Treaty of 1818, which secured for the dynasty a small but rich dominion with Indore as the capital and gave the city a status as a British headquarters in Malwa. Indore grew financially as the centre of cotton and opium trade through the 19th and early 20th cen-tury, and after independence it has re-mained an affluent city second to Bho-pal, the state capital, in importance in Madhya Pradesh, and the major centre for industrial growth in the state.

I remember my visits to Indore in the 1980s when industrial estate of Pithampur was hyped as “the Detroit of India” with auto-manufacturers like Honda, Bajaj, Hindustan Motors, with steel industries and ancillary units, set-ting up units here as the car-economy began in India, and of course there are various other industries at Indore and nearby towns like Dewas and Mhow. Incidentally, Indore was also a centre of the 1857 mutiny and again the Hol-kars were among the first princes to

support Gandhiji’s call to open temples, schools and wells to Harijans.

After spending the night at a 5-star ho-tel, we set off to explore the city driving into the market area early in the morn-ing to avoid the crowds. The market has many three and four storey historic buildings, some of them palaces and havelis converted into shopping or of-fice blocks with their ornate overhang-ing jarokha balconies still in place and comings-and-goings through a court-yard in the centre. We had skipped breakfast to have it in the market and enjoyed indulging in sweetened milk, poha wrapped in newspaper, stuffed kachoris and gulab jamun!

Walking from the stall, we came to a palm-filled square in the marketplace dominated by the Raj Wada, an eigh-teenth-century palace worth seeing for its ornate seven-storey gatehouse that is something of an Indore landmark. Most of the palace inside was burnt in a fire and only the newer wings can be seen.

We drove out of the market as it began to bustle with energy, and set off to the Lal Bagh palace in a pleasant garden setting. This extravagant palace has an eclectic style like most other princely buildings of the British Raj period with Doric columns, gilded stuccowork and a neo-classical façade. Rated among the most flamboyant of the palaces of Mad-hya Pradesh, after the Jai Vilas palace in Gwalior, it has been restored and reno-vated into a museum open to visitors for a fee. For me one of the highlights of Indore was the Maharaja’s private planetarium where we were shown the position of planets, important stars and constellations in the Indore night sky on the day of our visit.

Historic college building of Bhavnagar

Barton Museum & Gandhi Smriti

The Indore Palace (top) and the Raj Wada

By Anil Mulchandani

Photos by Dinesh Shukla

The public works of Bhavnagar

Chandigarh: The recent cold wave

may have partially abated from

Punjab, but political clouds continue

to loom over the state. The state's

ruling first family Badal (which lit-

erally means cloud) and its extended

clan are out in full force to contest

next week's assembly polls.

There may be over 1,000 candi-

dates testing their luck in the Jan 30

elections to 117 assembly seats in

Punjab, but the Badal family, led by

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,

84, has nearly a dozen leaders in the

fray this time.

While the chief minister is con-

testing for his traditional Lambi seat

from Muktsar district, his son and

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir

Singh Badal, who is also the

Shiromani Akali Dal president, is

seeking re-election to the Jalalabad

seat from Ferozepur district.

Sukhbir's wife and Bathinda MP

Harsimrat Badal is actively cam-

paigning for her father-in-law as he

faces perhaps his toughest political

test, being pitted against his younger

brother Gurdas Badal, 81, and

cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal in

Lambi.

Gurdas Badal, who used to be his

elder brother's poll manager till the

last election (2007) and used to

nurse the constituency on his behalf,

has entered the fray as a candidate

of the People's Party of Punjab

(PPP).

The PPP was floated last year by

former Punjab finance minister

Manpreet Singh Badal, the son of

Gurdas Badal. Manpreet had left the

government of his uncle in October

2010 following ideological differ-

ences.

Manpreet Badal is himself con-

testing from two assembly con-

stituencies - Gidderbaha, which he

has represented four times, and the

new constituency of Maur.

The surname 'Badal' comes to the

family from their ancestral village

Badal, near Lambi town in Muktsar

district.

Another Badal in the fray, though

not from the original Badal family,

is former Punjab agriculture minis-

ter Gurdev Singh Badal from the

Jaiton (reserved) constituency.

Besides the immediate Badal fam-

ily, there are other close relatives in

the fray as well.

Bikram Singh Majithia, the broth-

er of Harsimrat Badal and brother-

in-law of Sukhbir Badal, is seeking

re-election from Majitha near

Amritsar.

Parkash Singh Badal's son-in-law

Adaesh Pratap Singh Kairon is seek-

ing re-election to his traditional Patti

seat from Tarn Taran district.

Another relative of the chief min-

ister, Irrigation Minister Janmeja

Singh Sekhon, is contesting against

Manpreet Badal for the Maur seat.

'Clouds' galore over Punjab's electoral skies

Lucknow: The Election

Commission went on an unprece-

dented drive across poll-bound

Uttar Pradesh to inculcate the

spirit of voting among the state's

12 crore electors.

While a mega show to mark the

'National Voters Day' was held in

Lucknow where Governor B.L.

Joshi led the voting promotion

bandwagon by exhorting the citi-

zens to make it a point to come

out and cast their vote, the mes-

sage was spread right down to the

polling booth level across the

sprawling state by lower func-

tionaries.

As a symbolic gesture, Joshi

also gave away voter cards to a

few people, while he handed over

certificates of appreciation to

school and college children as

well as organisations and officials

engaged in the two-month-old

campaign.

The function drew massive

crowds, keeping the entire Indira

Gandhi Pratishthan premises

packed to its capacity. Much

enthusiasm was visible among

students, who not only turned up

in huge numbers but also took a

pledge to do everything to urge

more and more people to vote.

"It was matter of serious con-

cern that the educated were partic-

ularly shy or reluctant to exercise

their right of franchise," said the

governor, expressing hope that the

efforts of the election commission

would bring the desired change.

The state's pro-active chief elec-

toral officer Umesh Sinha, who

has been deeply engaged in

exhorting the young and old alike

to exercise their vote, expressed

confidence that his efforts will not

go wasted.

"I am sure, our efforts to pro-

mote voting will bear fruit; I am

particularly hopeful because the

youth has displayed tremendous

enthusiasm in join the campaign,"

he told this scribe.

Praising the role of several

younger officers, he said, "Some

young district magistrates came

up with novel ideas to encourage

people to cast their vote."

Seven-phased elections will be

held in Uttar Pradesh from Feb 8-

March 3.

Huge turnout at drive topromote voting in UP

BJP candidate Navjot Kaur Sidhu (right) with husband and formercricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh

Badal at a rally in Amritsar.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters at a rally in Muktsar.

28 India

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

30 India

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Bangalore/New Delhi: In an unprecedent-

ed action in the annals of Indian space

odyssey, the central government blacklisted

top scientist G. Madhavan Nair from offi-

cial jobs following the controversial deal

with Devas Multimedia but the former

space agency head hit back, blaming his

successor K. Radhakrishnan for the action.

The government's action and the blister-

ing attack of Nair, the man who led the suc-

cessful launch of India's first Lunar probe

in 2008, on Radhakrishnan sent shock-

waves among the scientists and staff at the

Indian Space Research Organisation's

(ISRO) in Bangalore and other centers.

Along with Nair, three other scientists --

former scientific secretary A.

Bhaskarnarayana, former satellite center

director K.N. Shankara and former Antrix

executive director K.R. Sridharamurthi --

have also been barred from holding any

government position or being on official

committees over the deal ISRO's commer-

cial arm Antrix signed with Devas for allot-

ting the scarce S-band spectrum (air

waves).

The deal, signed during Nair's steward-

ship of ISRO, was cancelled in February

last year on the ground that it would have

caused the government loss of billions of

rupees. Besides blaming Radhakrishnan,

who succeeded him as ISRO head in 2009,

Nair said ISRO had "gone to the dogs" and

asked the government whether he was

"worse than a terrorist" for blacklisting

him.

The government's move came in for sharp

attack from the BJP also which wanted

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take

action against the then minister of state in

his office, Prithviraj Chavan, now

Maharashtra chief minister, as the space

department was handled by him.

Atomic Energy and Space Science have

always been under the direct charge of

prime ministers.

ISRO, however, chose to keep mum and

declined to comment on Nair's outburst.

Congress slams Hazare for justifying slapping

ISRO row: ex-chief, govt locked in battle

New Delhi: The Congress hit out at Anna

Hazare for justifying slapping as a means of

expressing anguish against corruption and

said the whole country would like to be edu-

cated on "this new definition of the

Gandhian path".

Reacting to Hazare's remark that an indi-

vidual is left with no option but to slap when

his power of tolerance of corruption runs

out, Congress spokesperson Abhishek

Singhvi said that it was not appropriate for

the social activst to say so."We would all like

to understand this new approach to the

Gandhian way which talks of fast and sacri-

fice and also about slapping other people,"

Singhvi said.

Hazare had told reporters Tuesday after

seeing a movie on the theme of corruption

that slapping appeared to be an option for a

person who had run out of tolerance in fight-

ing graft.Hazare had also sparked a row in

November last year by his remarks seeming-

ly approving the action of a youth who had

slapped Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

The social activist had later condemned the

incident.

Fresh setback for Modi, probe in fake shootouts

New Delhi: In yet another setback to

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,

the Supreme Court directed a panel head-

ed by former apex court judge M.B. Shah

to probe 15 cases of alleged staged

shootout killings in the state 2003-06.

An apex court bench of Justice Aftab

Alam and Justice C.K. Prasad said that it

was open to the monitoring authority

headed by Justice (retd) Shah to consti-

tute its own investigating team of police

officers either from the existing special

task force (STF) or other officers from

within and outside the state.

The court said the monitoring authority

would steer clear of the cases that were

already under investigation on the direc-

tion of the apex court or the Gujarat High

Court. This included the staged shootout

cases of alleged gangster Sohrabuddin

Sheikh and alleged terrorist Ishrat Jahan

and three others.

The apex court is already hearing a CBI

plea seeking investigation into the

alleged staged shootout kil l ing of

Tulsiram Prajapati , an aide of

Sohrabuddin Sheikh, saying his case was

part of a chain.

The government has blacklisted MadhavanNair from official jobs following the

controversial deal with Devas Multimedia.

By Prakash Bhandari/SATimes

Jaipur: The annual Jaipur Literature

Festival (JLF) has undoubtedly

become Asia’s biggest literary festi-

val. This year, with Oprah Winfrey,

Deepak Chopra, Ben Okri, Jamaica

Kincaid, Lionel Shriver and Richard

Dawkins in its lineup, over 70,000

people, including hordes of students

from all over north India, turned up

at the venue Diggi Palace.

The Jaipur festival aims to provide

a platform for Indian writing, in

English as well as in other official

Indian languages, including Hindi

and Bengali. An appearance by

Salman Rushdie in 2007 was a turn-

ing point, attracting global attention -

- and no incidnet. He was followed

by Tina Brown, Vikram Seth, Martin

Amis and Nobel laureate Orhan

Pamuk.

This year, Oprah Winfrey had most

mass appeal and she was on stage

with India’s top TV presenter Barkha

Dutt.

Oprah showed up in light mustard-

yellow kurta and a floral churidar

with a pink dupatta, creating a rap-

port. She praised the Indian chaos

and calm. In Agra, she said, she was

amused to see a cart being pulled by

an ass, reminding her how after ful-

filling her mission to get Barack

Obama elected President, she stuck a

picture on her pinboard of a

Rajasthani woman riding a camel

with the caption: "Come to India".

“The festival has become a hotbed

of activity, with publishers scouting

for talent and writers for book deals.

Even Indian publishers have begun

rushing books to capitalize on the

event,” said Mita Kapur, an author.

“JLF has had a ripple effect, with

similar events springing up all over

South Asia,” said Pakistani writer

Ameena Saiyid.

“There is everything for everyone

at the festival. There is a star-studded

lineup and we also showcase home-

grown talent,” said co-producer of

the festival Namita Gokhale.

The session 'The Magic of Reality'

had Lalla Ward in conversation with

Richard Dawkins, a self-proclaimed

atheist and science writer. Dawkins

spoke passionately about the impor-

tance of science and how it can teach

us to look at the world ‘in unfamiliar

ways.’

The session 'Adaptations', chaired

by Girish Karnad, had Lionel

Shriver, Vishal Bhardwaj, Richard

Flanagan and Tom Stoppard discuss

adaptation of books into theatre and

movies. Novelist Flanagan said it

took three years for him to write the

screenplay for ‘The Sound of One

Hand Clapping’, and when he could-

n’t sell it, turned it into a novel

instead, a very different process.

Indian screenwriter and director

Vishal Bhardwaj talked of his,

Maqbool being based on Macbeth.

The session 'Nothing to Declare:

Straight Lines and History' had

Fakrul Alam, Mohammed Hanif,

Rabi Thapa and Siddhartha Gigoo

talk about interpretation of the word

‘border’. Poet and novelist

Siddhartha Gigoo spoke about his

experience of Kashmir, talking of the

migration within the country itself.

The session ‘The Good Muslim’

had Tahmima Anam read passages

from her novel, The Good Muslim,

which portrays post-1990s

Bangladesh. The session ‘Writing

and Resistance’, moderated by

Fatima Bhutto, had Raja Shehadeh,

ThantMyint-U and Iftikhar Gilani

explore writing contributing to

resistance. Bhutto questioned

whether books themselves were

inherently dangerous. Iftikar Gilani

responded that there was nothing

dangerous about books.

Festival co-producer William

Dalrymple talked about the wonder-

ful heritage of arts still alive in

Rajasthan, citing the performance of

epic stories such as Pabuji The

Camel Herder, a sacred and healing

performance event which can start at

sunset and end at dawn, taking place

over eight days.

Rich fare attracts 70,000 to Jaipur litfest

Oprah Winfrey was interviewed byBarkha Dutt

Fatima Bhutto moderated a ses-sion on ‘Writing and Resistance’.

Rushdie fiasco cloud overfreedom of expression in IndiaJaipur: The organizers of Jaipur

Literature Festival (JLF) were

disappointed when because of

pressure from Muslim clerics

Salman Ruhdie was neither

allowed to come to the festival

nor to speak via video conferenc-

ing.

The alleged death threat to the

controversial author of The

Satanic Verses forced him to can-

cel his visit.

“It is tragic. What is hurting is

the protestors are trying to snatch

from the authors their right to

speech. This is happening in a

country which claims to be the

world’s largest democracy," said

William Dalrymple, an author

and co-organizer of the JLF.

Rushdie is unpopular with the

Muslims because of his 1988

novel The Satanic Verses which

was banned in India. He lived for

long years in police protection

when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran

issued a fatwa against him.

The strong stand against

Rushdie by the Muslim organiza-

tions in India this time became a

free speech controversy. The

cancellation of his trip to Jaipur

and videoconferencing drew crit-

icism from authors and writers

from all over the world for rising

censorship and limits on freedom

of expression in India. Four

authors including Amitava

Kumar and Hari Kunzru, who

dared to read a few paragraphs

from the banned Satanic Verses

were forced to leave the festival

as they were likely to be arrested

for reading the banned book. The

Congress government in

Rajasthan did not rise to the

defense of Rushdie because of

the Assembly election in Uttar

Pradesh where a large number of

electorate are Muslims.

Salman Rushdie

Washington, DC: The Indian

community in the US celebrat-

ed the Republic Day with the

Ambassador Nirupama Rao

unfurling the national flag at a

colorful function at the Indian

embassy here on a rain swept

chilly day.

After hoisting the flag in front

of the embassy overlooking a

statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Rao

read out President Pratibha

Patil's message to the nation. A

short cultural program of patri-

otic songs in Marathi, Telugu,

Assamese and Hindi followed.

About 200 members of the

community joined the celebra-

tions.

Similar flag hoisting cere-

monies were also held at the

Indian consulates in New York,

San Francisco, Chicago and

Houston

R-Day celebratedin US

Iselin, NJ: Indus American Bank has

appointed Smita Goradia as Senior

Vice President & Director of Retail

Banking.

In welcoming Goradia, Jasbir

Chopra, President & CEO of the

Bank said, “Smita brings with her

extensive retail banking and manage-

ment experience, and her client net-

work and a proven track record of

business development will help us in

our plans for expansion and growth

in market share.” In this position at

Indus American Bank, Goradia will

be responsible for heading the Retail

Banking Division, which includes

the four branches located at Iselin,

Parsippany, Jersey City and

Hicksville, and increasing the sales

and promoting business development

for the Bank.

Goradia has held executive and

managerial positions which include:

VP /Regional Sales Manager at

United Central Bank and AVP /

Branch Manager at Unity Bank. Her

experiences include business devel-

opment, relationship management,

account and portfolio management,

branch compliance and operations.

New York : In the wake of revela-

tions about NYPD's involvement in

production of an anti-Muslim propa-

ganda film, the Muslim American

Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC)

has called for the resignation of Police

Commissioner Raymond Kelly and

the Deputy Commissioner of Public

Affairs Paul Browne. Kelly's and

Browne’s admission of their involve-

ment in the production of The Third

Jihad marks the blatant bigotry and

lack of transparency that permeates the

NYPD’s approach to New York’s

Muslim communities MACLC said in

a press statement. It demanded that the

City Council institute an independent

community control and oversight

mechanism for the NYPD. MACLC

further called on the NYPD to retrain

all 1500 officers who watched The

Third Jihad during cadet training.

In early 2011, MACLC contacted

the NYPD regarding the use of the

The Third Jihad in cadet training, only

to have the NYPD deny its role in

training of cadets. However, police

documents obtained by a Freedom of

Information Law (FOIL) request now

reveal that the film was shown to near-

ly 1500 officers during police training.

Only after the film’s producer identi-

fied for the New York Times the date

on which Kelly was interviewed for

the film, did Kelly and Browne admit

to participation in the film.

“NYPD officials should not have

permitted and actively participated in

the screening and creation of such

hateful propaganda produced by a spe-

cial interest organization,” said

Nermeen Arastu, staff attorney at the

Asian American Legal Defense and

Education Fund (AALDEF), a mem-

ber of MACLC.

Shown to NYPD officers, The Third

Jihad portrays Muslims as engaged in

a “1400 year war” to “infiltrate and

dominate America.” The film alleged-

ly includes inflammatory imagery,

including people who appear to be

Muslim engaging in acts of terrorism,

car bombs exploding, executed chil-

dren, and repeated images of an

Islamic flag flying over the White

House.

Smita Goradia appointed head ofretail at Indus American Bank

Muslim civil rights group asksNYC top cop to step down

Ambassador Nirupama Raounfurling the Indian National Flag.

Smita Goradia

Raymond Kelly, NYC PoliceCommissioner

By Ashok Ojha/SATimes

New York : Prominent Indian American teachers and

professionals, who gathered at the Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan auditorium in New York City on January 20 to

celebrate World Hindi Day, felt disappointed when

India’s Consul-General Prabhu Dayal categorically stat-

ed that Government of India was not able to pursue a

long standing demand to make Hindi as one of the

working languages of United Nations due to financial

reasons. “In order to introduce Hindi at the UN as a

working language, it will cost India enormous money,”

said Ambassador in response to speeches by speakers at

the event. “The United Nations will have to recruit

many translators and interpreters for varieties of work it

would need to do in Hindi.”

Earlier Dr. Navin Mehta, Trustee of Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan and Dr. Surendra Gambhir, Chairman of Yuva

Hindi Sansthan raised the issue of introducing Hindi at

the UN and Government of India offices in USA and

other countries. Reminding the audience that the

Government of India had organized the eighth World

Hindi Conference held in July 2007 in New York with

great fanfare, Dr. Mehta pointed out that the conference

was inaugurated at the United Nations General

Assembly Hall where promises to introduce Hindi at the

UN were made by officials in the presence of 800 writ-

ers, authors, and teachers who came from various parts

of the world to attend. “Nothing substantial was done to

fulfill the promise to introduce Hindi at the UN.”

To commemorate the World Hindi Day the Consul

General read a message sent by the Prime Minister of

India in which Hindi was termed as a very important

aspect of Indian culture. Paying rich tributes to

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan for its services in promoting

Hindi and Indian culture he said that the Bhavan was

conducting Hindi classes at the premises of the Indian

Consulate in New York for a long time. He said that

Hindi was used in private conversation among the

Consulate staff. Traditionally it is celebrated on January

10 every year.

An announcement to teach Hindi at the TV Asia stu-

dio in Edison was made by H. R. Shah, Chairman,

Board of Trustees of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

at the event.

Introducing Hindi at UN: India’s apathy irks community

The Consulate General of India celebrated theWorld Hindi Day Jan 20 where H. R. Shah (extremeleft) announced to launch a Hindi teaching program

at TVAsia studio in Edison, NJ. Also seen in the picture are Dr. Navin Mehta (second from left),

Consul General Prabhu Dayal, Dr. Surendra Gambhirand Kenny Desai of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

(Photo by Ashok Ojha)

Rao paying floral tribute at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in front of theIndian Embassy in Washington, DC

32 Tristate community

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nambiar named UN chief's adviser on Myanmar

United Nations: Veteran Indian

diplomat Vijay Nambiar is step-

ping down as chef de cabinet of

UN Secretary General Ban Ki

Moon to become his special

adviser on Myanmar.

"Nambiar expressed (his) wish

to step down, so as to allow me

to compose a new team of senior

managers for my second term as

UN chief," Ban told reporters

Wednesday.

Nambiar, who has held his cur-

rent position since 2007, will

move to serve as Ban's "Special

Advisor on Myanmar at an

appropriate time, following the

transition in my Executive

Office," the UN Chief said.He

thanked the former Indian

Permanent Representative to the

UN for his "unfailing support,

wise counsel, and dedication in

handling the many challenges

that have faced the organization

during my first term."

Nambiar previously served as

India's ambassador to Pakistan,

China and Afghanistan.

Ban said the United Nations

has been playing a key role in

furthering the democratization

process of Myanmar.

"Encouraged" by the recent

release of political prisoners in

the country, Ban said he is plan-

ning to visit Myanmar in the near

future to have further discussions

with the authorities.

Vijay Nambiar

Let me start with a warm, happy and joy-

ous wish: Happy Republic Day, India!

Luckily, it comes soon after New

Year’s Day and part of the global wellness

during January, when the world over folks are

wishing each other a “Happy New Year!” and

harnessing the promise of tomorrow. The

Republic Day of India commemorates January

26, 1950, when the Constitution of India

replaced the Government of India Act of

1935. Amazingly, while India declared its

independence on August 15, 1947, it contin-

ued its life under the Act of 1935 for two and a

half years. India, like the United States, is a

nation of laws. 26th January is celebrated with

much enthusiasm all over India, and outside

India, by folks who trace their ancestry to

India. It is also a solemn reminder of all the

sacrifices made by freedom fighters who gave

their lives for the freedom of the country. So

here is to all the SHAHEEDS- JAI HIND!

Their sacrifices did not go to waste. Look

where India is today.

Living life in the greatest city in the world,

New York, and reflecting upon India’s

Republic Day is a pretty blessed thing to do.

Particularly, since the exhaustion from organ-

izing and staging an awesome AIA-NY’s

Diwali 2011 is finally behind us, and the

Diwali Stamp Petition process awaits contin-

ued and concerted action.

So, let’s take a quick look back, and a longer

look forward. 2011 was pretty cool: we made

it into 2012 without injury and the world is

safer. The Arab Spring has sprung, and politi-

cal solutions necessary to cause stable and

peaceful governance may in fact force all con-

cerned stakeholders to find that “sweet spot,”

closer to the “center,” which each stakehold-

er's ideology permits. We wish all our global

citizens to realize their dreams peacefully and

make regime change through the ballot box.

Japan’s nuclear incident was scary, as was the

Tsunami that caused it. India’s blossoming

relationship with the United States, the single

most important bilateral to India, is at its high-

est, particularly, given the warmer multilateral

dynamic at the highest level. The robust bipar-

tisan India Caucus in the House and Senate as

well as tangible policy warmth by President

Obama and his cabinet bodes well for greater

partnering between the US and India. The

globally well received Prime Minister of

India, Dr. Manmohan Singh's reference to

Pakistan as a "friendly power" is a milestone

for the sub-continent. That the Supreme

Courts have become active, some say hyper-

active, leaves no doubt that there is a rule of

law and civil society is well and strong.

2012 is a year when we push for the Diwali

Stamp in a concerted way, harness the good-

will of our dear friend Congresswoman

Carolyn Maloney, and get the United States

Postal Service to take note. In addition, we

seek to launch new programming for AIA-NY,

as Diwali at the Seaport Street in Manhattan

needs a cultural relative during the earlier part

of the year; something before FIA’s glorious

India Day Parade on Madison Avenue. I

would like to invite emails from those inter-

ested in supporting AIA’s goal of greater com-

munity activities, be it to volunteer or with do-

able program suggestions and enhancements.

This is also a big year, while the Euro fights

for relevance, we have a presidential election,

and through the ballot box our nation will re-

define or re-calibrate our nation's direction

and policies, from economic growth and debt

reduction, border security and immigration

reform, national security and global stability.

But most of all, it will seek to re-energize the

American Dream for all, especially, for those

who are more challenged in life or society.

America is exceptional in human history,

and American exceptionalism needs to be re-

felt the world over. That India is becoming a

stronger presence on the global stage is a mat-

ter of greater joy if it also continues in becom-

ing even closer to the US, as this will let free-

dom ring louder yet.

The cultural heritage of India, the economic

and professional achievements, and the young

folks amongst us who are ready to embrace

the public service across the US is both satis-

fying as it is exhilarating. The mainstreaming

of our young is a top priority for all of us, as

well as keeping their roots memorable.

Happily, it seems our young ones are well on

their way to make their families, communities

and nation proud.

I cannot close without noting that AIA was

started in the 1960's, when civil rights was a

hot button topic. In 2012, an African-

American president Barack Obama is seeking

that special “Second Term” from his fellow

patriot, the Republican candidate for presi-

dent, and what lies ahead after the election is a

better and stronger America. AIA’s core mis-

sion in 2012 isn’t a civil rights agenda any-

more, but one of enhancing American excel-

lence while serving to protect and enhance the

contributions that one’s cultural “Indian-ness”

can make to all our neighbors from sea to

shining sea.

Let me close by wishing everyone a Happy

& Healthy New Year, and to India, a safe and

strong republic that can continue to harness

the benefits of civil society from “Jan Gan

Man” to “Jai Ho.” God bless America!

Wishing all readers Happy 63rd Republic Day of India.

Happy 63rd Republic Day, India

33

January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Ranju Batra

President, Association of Indians inAmerica-NY Chapter (AIA)

34 National Community

January 28 - February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Jay Leno sued over Golden Temple remarkNew York: Talk show host Jay Leno has

been sued by an Indian-American in

California for his "racist" comments on the

Golden Temple and ridiculing the entire Sikh

community by portraying the holy shrine as

a vacation home.

According to court papers filed in the Los

Angeles Superior Court, Randeep Dhillon

claims that Leno "hurt the sentiments of all

Sikh people in addition to those of the plain-

tiff" with his joke that the Golden Temple

could be a possible summer home of Mitt

Romney, a leading Republican presidential

hopeful.

Celebrity website TMZ said Dhillon has

filed a libel suit and is seeking unspecified

damages.

The suit adds that Leno's joke "clearly

exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their reli-

gion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and oblo-

quy because it falsely portrays the holiest

place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort

owned by a non-Sikh."

It also mentions that this is not the first

time that the talk show host has ridiculed the

Sikh community.

"Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs 'dia-

per heads.' Clearly, Jay Leno's racist com-

ments need to be stopped right here," the suit

added.

In more trouble for Leno, a Sikh rights

group here has lodged a complaint with a

federal agency demanding action be taken

against him and NBC channel for airing the

"racist and derogatory" depiction of the

Golden Temple.

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has filed its com-

plaint with regulator Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) against

Leno and NBC.

FCC is tasked with regulating the broad-

cast of television programs, analyzing com-

plaints and conducting investigations.

SFJ's Legal Advisor Gurpatwant Singh

Pannun said that while freedom of speech

should be valued and protected, it should not

be made a tool to ridicule a religion.

He added that Leno's wrongful depiction

of the Golden Temple is "more hurtful to the

sentiments of the Sikh community because

any disrespectful or derogatory remark about

the Golden Temple brings back the torment-

ing memories of Operation Blue Star in June,

1984."

SFJ will be holding a protest rally on

February 2 in front of the NBC Headquarters

in New York demanding that the channel

sack Leno.

India has strongly objected to Leno's

remark, with Overseas Affairs Minister

Vayalar Ravi directing Indian Ambassador to

the US Nirupama Rao to take up the matter

with the State Department.

In turn, the US defended Leno's right to

free speech and has termed his comments as

"satirical."

Romney’s loss a setback for Nikki HaleyWashington, DC: Republican pres-

idential hopeful Mitt Romney’s

crushing defeat in the South

Carolina primary comes as a major

setback for the state’s Indian-

American Governor Nikki Haley,

who not only endorsed him but also

extensively campaigned for him.

Haley won the South Carolina

gubernatorial election with an

impressive margin only a year ago,

and her candidate not winning the

Republican primary is an indication

that her popularity is fast slipping

away, which was also reflected in

recent opinion polls.

Only the second Indian-American

after Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana, to

be elected as Governor of a US

state, she was praised by Romney

when he conceded defeat.

“Governor Nikki Haley has been

fabulous and I owe her so very

much,” Romney said. Romney’s

opponent Newt Gingrich, who won

the primary with a decisive margin,

was endorsed by the Speaker of the

South Carolina House of

Representatives and the House

Majority Leader.

Immediately after former

Massachusetts Governor Romney

was defeated, a disappointed Haley

said she would continue to cam-

paign for him and would travel to

other states in his favour.

According to Huffington Post,

Haley, who won the South Carolina

gubernatorial elections last year

because of the support from Tea

Party activists, shocked her base by

endorsing Romney. “Haley isn’t get-

ting the kind of strong support she

did when she was elected, and Tea

Party supporters couldn’t have been

more shocked with her choice to

back Romney,” National Public

Radio said.

Amit Gupta finally gets bone marrow donorCalifornia: Amit Gupta, a California based

Indian-American entrepreneur diagnosed

with leukemia, has finally found a donor with

matching bone marrow. More than 100 drives

organized by Amit's family, friends and

strangers through tweets and Facebook posts

were eventually able to find him a perfect

bone marrow match.

The 32-year-old Silicon Valley entrepre-

neur, who is the founder of start-ups like

Photojojo and Jelly, was diagnosed with

leukemia last year. His South Asian ancestry

meant his odds of finding a matching donor

were slim - a successful donation required a

close genetic match. But of the nine million

names in the National Bone Marrow registry

in the US, approximately only one per cent

are South Asians.

On his Tumblr page, Amit said, "... After

over 100 drives organized by friends, fami-

ly, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a

bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and

Facebook posts, press, fundraising and

international drives organized by tireless

friends, and a couple painful false starts,

I've got a 10/10 matched donor! You all lit-

erally helped save my life. (And the lives of

many others.)" He adds that the transplant

procedure will begin at the Dana Farber

hospital in Boston, where he will be kept

for the next four to five weeks.With a donor

in place, Amit can now look forward to the

successful completion of the procedure and

a healthy life ahead.

Raju Narisetti namedManaging Editor of Wall

Street Journal

New York: The Wall Street

Journal has named Indian-

American journalist Raju

Narisetti as Managing Editor of

the publication's digital network.

Narisetti is currently the

Managing Editor for The

Washington Post, where he over-

sees the company's digital content

products, staff and strategy.

Narisetti's appointment marks

his return to the Journal, where he

had first worked in 1994 as a

reporter in Pittsburgh and most

recently served as Editor of The

Wall Street Journal Europe in

2006.

At the Journal he will be in

charge of the online platforms

like the WSJ.com,

SmartMoney.com and the

Chinese, Japanese and German-

language editions of WSJ.com.

Narisetti will also become a

Deputy Managing Editor of the

Journal and he will report to Alan

Murray, Deputy Managing Editor

and Executive Editor, Online.

Narisetti holds a Bachelor's

degree from Osmania University

in Hyderabad and a Master's in

Management from the Institute of

Rural Management in Gujarat.

Prior to joining the Post in

2009, Narisetti had served as

founding editor of Mint newspa-

per In India.

Robert Thomson, Managing

Editor of the Journal said

Narisetti's experience in creating

Mint brings "important relation-

ships and unique expertise that

will assist us as we expand our

global digital network."

Amit Gupta was diagnosed with leukemia

in Sept 2011

Talk show host Jay Leno

Raju Narisetti

Nikki Haley had endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney

Washington, DC: A group of Indian American IT-profes-

sionals have asked US Senators to support a key immigra-

tion-reform legislation, which if passed would drastically

reduce the "Green Card" waiting period for highly- skilled

workers from countries like India and China.

"This as an important step in the effort to reform immi-

gration policy in response to the changing global situa-

tion," said the Silicon Valley-based Global Indian

Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) in a

statement.

Currently pending the Congress, Fairness for High-

Skilled Immigrants Act (HR 3012) proposes to eliminate

the per nation cap on employment-based visas in favor of

a more fair, "first come, first serve" system, where all

green-card applicants meeting the requirements will have

the same waiting period.

"The bill will also reduce the uncertainty faced by

organizations in retaining experienced resources critical to

support the business," said Khanderao Kand of GITPRO.

GITPRO asked US Senators to support the legislation in

the Congress.

The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, contains

a technical fix to eliminate per-country limits on allotment

of high-skilled green cards without adding a single addi-

tional green card to the system, he said.

The bill also increases per-country limits from seven to

15 per cent in the family-based immigration system, which

will help reduce the huge backlogs in the family based

system as well, without adding any new visa numbers,

GITPRO said in its statement.

Launched in 2009, GITPRO is a global networking plat-

form for Indian Technology Professionals for their profes-

sional and self-development and their contribution back to

the profession, society and people of US and India.

Indian Americans ask Senators to supportimmigration reform

36 US Affairs

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Romney pays about 14% taxWashington: Republican presiden-

tial hopeful Mitt Romney Tuesday

made public his two most recent tax

returns, which reveal that the mil-

lionaire businessman is subject to a

much lower tax rate than the aver-

age working American.

The returns released show

Romney had income of some $42

million in 2010 and 2011 and paid

taxes at an effective rate of 14.6

percent, The Washington Post said.

The question of taxes has become

a bone of contention in the

Republican election debate, after

another of the candidates, former

House speaker Newt Gingrich chal-

lenged front-runner Romney to pro-

vide details about the origin of the

fortune he made as a financier.

The former Massachusetts gover-

nor urged Gingrich to make public

his consulting contracts with the

government-backed mortgage giant

Freddie Mac, an institution often

criticized by Republicans.

For months, the campaign team of

Romney, erstwhile boss of private

equity firm Bain Capital, refused to

release his tax returns.

Romney's fortune is estimated at

around $250 million.

More than half of Romney's

income in 2010 and 2011 came

from the interest and dividends on

his investments, which the US tax

code states are taxable at a rate of

up to 15 percent.

US taxpayers whose income is

derived from wages and salary pay

at rates ranging from 23 percent to

35 percent.

Gingrich promises moon base by 2020

Florida: Newt Gingrich has

promised to build a moon base

by 2020 if he becomes the next

US president in the November

poll. The former Speaker of the

House of Representatives said

this before a crowd of over 700

people on Florida's "Space

Coast" Wednesday.

"By the end of my second

term, we will have the first per-

manent base on the moon and

it will be American," Gingrich

promised to an applauding

crowd.

He also said that he would

push to develop "the first con-

tinuous propulsion system in

space" that would enable

humans to travel to Mars,

Politico.com reported.

The topic of Gingrich's latest

campaign struck a particular

chord with the residents of

Florida's "Space Coast" who

are still struggling economical-

ly after recent US federal cuts

to the space program.

"We will have commercial

near-Earth activities that

include science, tourism and

manufacturing, and are

designed to create a robust

industry precisely on the model

of the development of the air-

lines of the 1930s," CBC News

quoted Gingrich, "the Chinese

and the Russians will never

come anywhere close to match-

ing."

Gingrich's rival, former

Massachusetts governor Mitt

Romney, mocked the idea of a

lunar settlement, but Gingrich

simply commented that "here's

the difference between roman-

tics and so-called practical

people".

Gingrich leadsRomney 37-28

nationally as pernew WSJ/NBC

poll amongRepublican

voters.

Washington: Joining issue with those sug-

gesting that Washington's influence was on

the decline, President Barack Obama has

asserted that America remains the one

indispensable nation in world affairs and he

intended to keep it that way.

"Yes, the world is changing; no, we can't

control every event. But America remains

the one indispensable nation in world

affairs - and as long as I'm president, I

intend to keep it that way," he said in his

third annual State of the Union address to a

joint session of the Congress Tuesday.

"Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone

who tells you that America is in decline or

that our influence has waned, doesn't know

what they're talking about," Obama said,

turning to foreign policy issues in his 65-

minute address focused on the economy.

"That's not the message we get from lead-

ers around the world, all of whom are eager

to work with us. That's not how people feel

from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to

Rio; where opinions of America are higher

than they've been in years," he said.

"The renewal of American leadership can

be felt across the globe. Our oldest

alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger

than ever. Our ties to the Americas are

deeper," Obama said.

"Our iron-clad commitment to Israel's

security has meant the closest military

cooperation between our two countries in

history. We've made it clear that America is

a Pacific power, and a new beginning in

Burma has lit a new hope," he said.

"From the coalitions we've built to secure

nuclear materials, to the missions we've led

against hunger and disease; from the blows

we've dealt to our enemies; to the enduring

power of our moral example, America is

back," Obama said.

Seeking the cooperation of opposition

Republicans, he said: "When we act togeth-

er, there is nothing the United States of

America can't achieve. That is the lesson

we've learned from our actions abroad over

the last few years.

"Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to

strike decisive blows against our enemies.

From Pakistan to Yemen, the Al Qaeda

operatives who remain are scrambling,

knowing that they can't escape the reach of

the United States of America," he said by

way of examples.

America indispensablein world affairs: Obama

President Obama giving his 3rd State of theUnion address to Congress.

Eyeing re-election, Obama calls for bringing jobs back home

Washington: Saying that 'no challenge is

more urgent' than keeping the American

dream alive, President Obama virtually

launched his re-election campaign hitting out

at "outsourcing" with a call to bring "manu-

facturing jobs back" to America.

Declaring that "the state of our union is

getting stronger", Obama in his third State of

the Union address to Congress Tuesday

pledged to fight obstruction by opposition

Republicans saying America had come too

far in its still sluggish recovery from eco-

nomic recession "to turn back now".

Obama, who then went on a three-day

swing through five key election states,

offered both his administration's priorities for

the coming year and his campaign messaging

for his re-election bid in November.

While he did not name India in his tirade

against outsourcing, Obama announced cre-

ation of a trade enforcement unit to investi-

gate "unfair trade practices in countries like

China", where a large number of American

goods are made.

"No, we will not go back to an economy

weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and

phony financial profits," Obama said as he

defended a long list of his trademark policies

-- tax increases on the wealthy, Wall Street

reform, healthcare reform and government

stimulus spending.

Describing the possibilities offered by what

he called a "blueprint for an American econo-

my that's built to last," Obama said: "Think

about the America within our reach... a coun-

try that leads the world in educating its peo-

ple." He called for lowering corporate taxes

and providing incentives for US manufactur-

ers to bring overseas jobs back to America,

while ending tax breaks for businesses that

continue to outsource.

At the same time, Obama said, every multi-

national company should pay a basic mini-

mum tax while giving American manufactur-

ers a tax cut.

"It's time to stop rewarding businesses that

ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding com-

panies that create jobs right here in

America," Obama said, adding a line that he

repeated throughout the speech in a chal-

lenge to Congress. "Send me these tax

reforms, and I'll sign them right away."

With unemployment still above 8 percent

amid sluggish economic recovery, Obama

framed the challenges facing the country as a

choice between opportunity for some or giv-

ing everyone a chance to prosper.

The Republican response chided Obama

for not addressing the nation's $15 trillion

debt more forcefully, presenting a stark con-

trast in policy proposals and outlook to the

president's more optimistic assessment of

what has been accomplished and what is

needed.

"It was irresponsible for him not to recog-

nize the dire circumstances our country is in

because of our debt," conservative Senator

Jim DeMint said. "He spent his speech mak-

ing some more promises from government.”

International+Subcontinent 37

TheSouthAsianTimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012

Insurgents and militias in Iraq still carry out daily attacks and assassinationsin an attempt to undermine the government.

The Concordia rammed a reef and capsized on January 13 off the tinyTuscan island of Giglio as it was carrying 4,200 passengers and crew on

a Mediterranean cruise.

Baghdad: Four car bombs exploded in mainly

Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad, killing 14

people and wounding 75, underlining a politi-

cal crisis that threatens to revive sectarian

strife in Iraq.

The first blast hit a group of day laborers

gathering for jobs in the poor northeastern

Sadr City area of the capital, leaving a chaotic

scene of scattered shoes and food, and pools of

blood. The bomb killed at least eight people

and wounded 24, police and hospital sources

said.

"We were all standing waiting to earn our

living and all of a sudden it was like a black

storm and I felt myself thrown on the ground,"

said Ahmed Ali, a 40-year-old laborer whose

face and hair were burned by the explosion.

"I fainted for a while then I woke up and

hurried to one of the cars to take me to the

hospital," said Ali, lying on a bed in the emer-

gency room at Imam Ali hospital in Sadr

City.The second blast near a traffic roundabout

in Sadr City killed three people and wounded

26 others, the sources said.

Two other car bombs exploded in mainly

Shi'ite northwestern areas of Baghdad, killing

three people and wounding 25, sources said.

One car blew up near two schools in the Shula

district, the other on a busy commercial street

in Hurriya.Violence in Iraq has dropped

sharply from the height of sectarian killing in

2006-07, but insurgents and militias still carry

out daily attacks and assassinations in an

attempt to undermine the government.

Car bombs kill 14,wound 75 in Iraq

Rome: Nudged gently by the tides

off Tuscany, the capsized Costa

Concordia has been deemed stable

enough on its rocky perch for sal-

vagers to begin pumping fuel oil

from its giant tanks.

The cruise liner, its hull gashed by

a reef and pocked by holes blasted

by divers searching for the missing,

yielded two more bodies, 10 days

after the accident. The corpses of

two women were found in the luxu-

ry liner's Internet cafe, now 55 feet

(17 meters) underwater.

Tables, desks, elegant upholstered

armchairs and cabinets bobbed in

the sea as divers guided the furniture

out of the holes to clear space for

their exploration inside.

So far, the bodies of 15 people

have been found most of them in the

submerged portion of the vessel,

while 17 others remain unaccounted

for. Authorities said earlier reports

that an unregistered Hungarian

woman had called friends from the

ship before it flipped over turned out

to be groundless.

The Concordia rammed a reef and

capsized on January 13 off the tiny

Tuscan island of Giglio as it was

carrying 4,200 passengers and crew

on a Mediterranean cruise.

Salvage experts received the green

light to start pumping fuel soon

from the double-lined tanks of the

Concordia. The weekslong fuel-

removal operation aims to avert a

possible environmental catastrophe

in the waters off Giglio, part of a

protected seven-island Marine Park.

The ship's Italian captain,

Francesco Schettino, is under house

arrest near Naples, facing possible

charges of manslaughter, causing a

shipwreck and abandoning his ves-

sel while some people were still

aboard. He has insisted that he was

coordinating rescue operations from

a lifeboat and then from shore.

Despite earlier fears, officials said

the crippled cruise ship, with a 230-

foot (70-meter) gash in its hull, is

not expected to roll off its rocky

seabed perch and be swallowed by

the sea.

The sea has been calm for several

days but was expected to become

choppy in the next few days.

Seven bodies still await identifica-

tion. Gabrielli said officials have

DNA from the relatives of all of the

missing passengers and are working

to confirm their names.

Italy ship disaster:More bodies found

Colombo: Sri Lanka has ordered a

group of 161 foreign Islamic clerics,

including Indians, to leave the coun-

try for flouting visa regulations.

Sri Lanka's immigration head

Chulananda Perera said that the

clerics had no right to preach in

mosques as they had arrived on

tourist visas. "They have violated

immigration laws.

A tourist visa is to have a holiday

or visit friends and family, and not

to preach Islam," The BBC quoted

Perera, as saying.

The official also said that some

local Muslims had complained that

the visitors were not teaching a

moderate form of Islam. The group

also included preachers from

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives and

Arab nations. They have been

ordered to leave by January 31.

Perera said the group belonged to

Tablighi Jamaat, an international

Islamic movement popular in Sri

Lanka and the region.

According to the report, Muslim

members of Sri Lanka's government

have expressed concern at the mass

expulsion, and are expected to meet

other officials to try to delay the

move.

The news has also created conster-

nation in the Muslim community in

Sri Lanka, the third largest ethnic

group in the country after Sinhalese

and Tamils.

Lanka expels 161 foreignMuslim clerics

Pak Senate wants Musharraftried for treason

Islamabad: The upper house of Pakistan's parliament

unanimously adopted a resolution that demanded the

arrest of former president Pervez Musharraf on his

arrival in the country and the registration of a case of

high treason against him.

The resolution was moved in the Senate by Raza

Rabbani, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan People's

Party.

Rabbani accused Musharraf, currently living in self-

exile in London and Dubai, of abrogating the

Constitution twice, arresting members of the superior

judiciary and compromising national interests.

Musharraf dented the national economy and inflicted

colossal loss to the national exchequer, Rabbani said.

The rules of business of the Senate were suspended

when Rabbani moved a motion and informed the chair-

man of the House that he and several other Senators

intended to move the resolution against the ex-dictator.

Muslim members of Sri Lanka's government have expressed concern at the mass expulsion, and are expected to meet other

officials to try to delay the move.

The former president of Pakistan is currently living inself-exile in London and Dubai.

38 Business

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mumbai: After keeping money supply

under a tight leash for nearly two years to

tame galloping inflation, India's central bank

took steps to infuse more liquidity into the

system by reducing a key rate that would

help the industry get out of the current down-

turn.

The cash reserve ratio (CRR), the amount

against deposits which commercial banks

have to keep as liquid assets such as cash,

has been lowered by 50 basis points to 5.5

percent from 6 percent and will be effective

Jan 28.

"This step will release Rs.320 billion into

the system," Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Governor D. Subbarao said in a statement,

soon after presenting the third quarter review

of the monetary policy for the current fiscal

year.

"The policy actions and the guidance are

expected to ease liquidity conditions, miti-

gate downside risks to growth and anchor

medium-term inflation expectations on the

basis of a credible commitment to low and

stable inflation," he added.

Industry welcomed the cut in CRR, but

urged the central bank to start lowering inter-

est rates in forthcoming reviews.

"This gives a clear signal that the RBI has

recognized the challenges to growth owing

to a weakening demand condition. The RBI

needs to start reducing the repo rate as well

in order to start the investment cycle, which

has weakened," said Chandrajit Banerjee,

director general, Confederation of Indian

Industry.

For the past two years, the central bank

had been taking steps to curb liquidity with a

mix of measures such as hikes in the short-

term lending and borrowing rates to contain

inflation that had risen to double digits with

food inflation at 20 percent once.

But this has affected investments and

increased the cost of capital to industry. As a

result, industrial output has been largely

sluggish in the current fiscal.

Cumulative factory output in the April-

November period has been sluggish at 3.8

percent as against a growth of 8.4 percent in

the like period of 2010.

In the mid-quarter review of the monetary

policy in December, the central bank had hit

the pause button on rate hikes while also

indicating that it may ease the tight money

policy regime if inflation were to moderate

further.

"The growth-inflation balance of the mon-

etary policy stance has now shifted to

growth, while at the same time ensuring that

inflationary pressures remain contained,"

Subbarao said in Tuesday's policy statement.

India's annual rate of inflation currently

stands at a two-year low of 7.47 percent for

December. Food inflation has been in the

negative for the past three weeks, giving

some comfort to policy-makers.

India's central bank infuses Rs 320 bn into system

Industry welcomed the cut in CRR, buturged the central bank to start loweringinterest rates in forthcoming reviews.

Currently, the government allows for FDI up to 49 percent in Indiancarriers by non-airline players.

New Delhi: Operating through a

tough financial environment,

Indian carriers see a ray of hope in

the government proposal to allow

foreign airlines to invest funds and

expertise in them so as to bring

back the zing in the sector.

"A market growing at over 15

percent, huge untapped market in

the interiors, growing per capita

incomes and propensity to fly

make India an attractive aviation

market to be in," said Amber

Dubey, a director in global consul-

tancy firm KPMG.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit

Singh will move a cabinet note

seeking 49 percent foreign direct

investment (FDI) by foreign carri-

ers in domestic airlines. The Group

of Ministers will take up the issue

of direct ATF imports and discuss

plans to revive the aviation sector.

Currently, the government allows

for FDI up to 49 percent in Indian

carriers by non-airline players but

bans foreign airlines from directly

investing for security concerns.

But would foreign carriers be

keen to invest in a bleeding sector

where three listed players -- Jet,

Kingfisher and SpiceJet -- are

reporting heavy second quarter

losses?

Industry watchers say 'yes'. The

Indian aviation market is one of the

fastest growing in the world. Last

year, it expanded by 20 percent.

And the current downturn makes

valuations attractive. "Those who

wait and watch may have to pay a

higher price later," Dubey said.

But a deterrent for foreign carri-

ers could be the plethora of state

sales taxes which make jet fuel one

of the costliest in the world.

FDI in aviation may giveflight to domestic airlines

New Delhi: India has taken possession of a nuclear-

powered submarine from Russia on a 10-year lease.

The Akula II craft was handed over to India in a cer-

emony in eastern Russia in a deal that has cost close to

$1bn. India previously owned a Soviet-built nuclear

submarine but decommissioned it in 1991. It now

rejoins China, Russia, the US, the UK and France as

an operator of underwater nuclear vessels.

India is also developing its own nuclear-powered

submarine.

It is expected to be ready by the end of this year. The

8,140-tonne Akula II submarine, the K-152 Nerpa, has

been renamed by India as the INS Chakra II.

It was due to be handed over to Delhi in 2009 but

was delayed because of problems during testing.

In November 2008, at least 20 people died in an

accident on the Nerpa when a fire extinguishing sys-

tem was activated by mistake. The INS Chakra II will

operate from the Visakhapatnam base in the Bay of

Bengal and have Granat nuclear cruise missile

capability.

India gets N-capable Russian submarine

India likely to weather global slowdown better: ILO

Morgan Stanleytops India deal

showGeneva: The International

Labour Organization (ILO)

believes India is likely to weath-

er the latest global slowdown

better than most countries, pro-

vided it ensures rising income

levels for the working class and

enough jobs for a growing work-

ing-age population.

According to the annual report

on global employment by the

ILO, "The main challenge is not

unemployment, but rather the

high degree of informality that

persists despite strong growth."

"The robust growth witnessed

in the South Asian region was

driven largely by India and was

largely due to the rapid rise in

labour productivity, rather than

an expansion in employment,"

the report, titled, 'Global

Employment Trends 2012:

Preventing a Deeper Jobs Crisis',

said. This situation is prominent

in India, which accounts for 74

per cent of the South Asia

region's labour force.

In India, total employment

grew by only 0.1 per cent over

the five years to 2009-10 -- from

457.9 million in 2004-05 to

458.4 million in 2009/10 -- while

labour productivity grew by

more than 34 per cent over this

period.

Mumbai: Morgan Stanley was the

top Indian deal maker last year con-

solidating its position five years after

its split with Nimesh Kampani's JM

Financial. Morgan Stanley's M&A

team, led by the 41-yearold Aisha de

Sequeira, the new power woman on

the deal street, occupied the top slot

in the three prominent deal league

tables even as Goldman Sachs ral-

lied to become the number two firm

in 2011. Aisha de Sequeira is MD

and head of investment banking at

Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley

advised transactions worth $11.2 bil-

lion , with 29.4% share of the deals

by value, according to data from

Thomson Reuters.

The 8,140-tonne Akula II submarine, the K-152 Nerpa,has been renamed by India as the INS Chakra II.

40 Sports

January 28-February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Adelaide: Virat Kohli's maiden Test

ton and three quick wickets gave

India something to cheer for, but

Australia remained in command

with a massive 450 runs lead after

the third day's play of the fourth and

the final cricket Test at the Adelaide

Oval. India's first innings folded up

for 272, in reply to Australia's 604

for seven, shortly after tea with

Kohli scoring a valiant 116. Kholi

also became the first Indian batsmen

to score a century on the current

tour. Peter Siddle was the pick of

Australian bowlers with five for 49

while Ben Hilfenhaus bagged three

for 62.India spinner Ravichandran

Ashwin (2-24) then struck twice to

remove Australian openers Ed

Cowan (10) and David Warner (10)

while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan

(1-24) dismissed Shaun Marsh to

leave the hosts at 50 for three in the

second innings at stumps. Ricky

Ponting (1) and skipper Michel

Clarke (9) were at the crease.

Despite a poor start in the second

innings, Australia remained on top

of the Test. They also didn't ask

India to bat again despite the fact

that visitors fell 132 runs short of

avoiding the follow-on.

With bowlers tiring and two days

in hand, Clarke decided to built on

the first innings lead of 332 runs

before setting a stiff target for the

tourists, who are probably staring at

another 0-4 whitewash, their second

in seven months.

Barring Kohli, the Indian batting

crumbled yet again as they were

bowled out post the tea break on a

flat track after resuming at 61 for

two. Kohli's innings remained the

highlight of the day as he experi-

enced some nervous moments while

batting with the tail before getting

his maiden Test century.

Olympics ethics panelcommissioner quits

Oz Test series: India fear 4-0 whitewash

London/Bhopal: Meredith

Alexander, a prominent

member of the independent

watchdog that monitors the

sustainability of the 2012

London Games, has resigned

to protest Dow Chemicals'

sponsorship of the Olympic

Stadium wrap.

Alexander, who was one

of the 13 Ethics

Commissioners for the

Games, quit her unpaid role,

protesting against the 7 mil-

lion pound sponsorship deal

with the chemical giant,

which is linked to Union

Carbide, the company

responsible for the 1984

Bhopal gas disaster that

claimed thousands of lives.

Her step was welcomed by

organizations representing

the Bhopal victims, who

lauded her courage while

asking Indian leaders to fight

against Dow's sponsorship

more actively. Dow's associ-

ation with the London

Olympics has angered

human rights campaigners.

Kohli blasts Australia for sledgingAdelaide: Young middle-order batsman Virat

Kohli, who struck his maiden Test century,

blasted the Australian team for their over-

indulgence in sledging and also the local fans

for disrespecting the Indian cricketers.

Kohli said Australians were frustrated at not

getting a wicket for long after they had

reduced India to 111 for five. Kohli (116) and

Wriddhiman Saha (35) resurrected the innings

with their 114-run stand before India's first

innings folded up for 272.

"They (players) sledge when they get frus-

trated. Obviously, it was hot out there.

Constantly they were sledging the players so

that they could spoil their concentration.

During that partnership (between him and

Wriddhiman Saha) they were really, really

having a go," said Kohli, who also became the

first Indian on this tour to get the three-figure

mark.

Asked about his heated exchange with Ben

Hilfenhaus after he survived a run out, Kohli

said: "Hilfenhaus said something to me which

was quite unnecessary. It was out of the blue.

He wasn't even bowling. I had just survived a

run-out on 99. He said something to me which

I can't say in press conference. I gave it back

to him, (I said) you didn't have to do anything,

why would you do it."

Kohli had to be pulled away by former

Australian captain Ricky Ponting before

things turned ugly.

The Australia Test series has been a disastrous one for Team India.

By Vikas Girdhar/SATimes

One by one, Facebook statuses around the

world reflecting the new development were

trickling in. It was a sight to behold, as people

all over were filling up their personal pages

with updates about football, not the usual

Sunday status content. Quotes about life and

complaints about another weekend gone and

work the following day no longer dominated

the Facebook realm.

Instead, the New York Giants, New England

Patriots, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, referees,

fumbles, touchdowns and the pending Super

Bowl were at the table of discussion. If you

had no idea what was going on before, you

most certainly did after logging in.

January 22, 2012 was a different sort of

Sunday. Those who were watching the two

crucial games that day chose to let the world

know, as Facebook essentially became a per-

sonal play-by-play broadcast with updates

almost every minute.

The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday,

February 5 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in

Indianapolis in Indiana.

Fans in New York and New England area

are sharing a bit more of the excitement, as

the Giants and Patriots both advanced to the

Super Bowl for the second time in four years.

To do it, they defeated the San Francisco

49ers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively, in

dramatic fashion.

In the AFC Championship game, the

Ravens’ Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field-

goal that would have tied the game up in the

final moments, giving Tom Brady a shot to

capitalize in his fifth Super Bowl appearance.

In the NFC Championship game, the Giants’

Lawrence Tynes hit the game-winning 31-

yard field goal in an overtime thriller to

advance over the 49ers. The Giants are now a

perfect 5-0 all time in NFC Championship

games. This year’s NFC Championship game,

with an average 57.6 million people watching,

was the second most-watched since 1982 and

the third most-watched ever.

Eli Manning’s Giants and Tom Brady’s

Patriots are slated for a rematch of Super

Bowl XLII, played in 2008. That year, the

Patriots were 18-0—until losing that one

game, 17-14, to the underdog Giants. Even

two-time league MVP Brady had publicly dis-

missed any chance of the Giants winning that

game.

“We’re only going to score 17 points?”

Brady scoffed at the Giants’ Plaxico Burress’

prediction that the Giants would down the

Patriots 23-17 that year.

How the Giants and Patriots got to the final

game in 2008 and this time is quite similar.

The Patriots, though not unbeaten this season,

were a dominant 13-3 while the Giants had to

rally furiously and didn’t look back. They had

to win their last two regular-season games just

to make the playoffs and followed that up

with victories over the Falcons, Packers and

49ers to make the Super Bowl, which is just

the third time a 9-7 team has ever done that.

It’s been 7 seasons since the Patriots last

won the Super Bowl, that was against the

Eagles. They have now made 5 appearances

in the last 11 years. When the two teams faced

off this past season, the Giants won 24-20 on

November 6, 2011.

Fan bases of both teams started talking trash

as soon as it became clear that there would be

a rematch: New Yorkers playing up

Manning’s dominance in 2012, fans in

Connecticut, Massachusetts and New

Hampshire harping on Brady’s track record

and stellar leadership. With the lines clearly

drawn, there remained just one question:

would New York Jets fans be cheering their

cross-town rivals on in the championship

game?

“Well, the Jets aren’t going there anytime

soon, so sure why not?” said Jets season-tick-

et holder and Farmingdale, NY resident Poly

Saha-Gogia. “But seriously, I will be cheering

the Giants on because in the end, it’s New

York. It would have been much sweeter if the

Jets were representing in the Super Bowl

instead of the Giants, but at least New York is

there. As long as Tom Brady loses, I’ll be

happy!”

Giants, Patriots to meet in Super Bowl XLVI

The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday,February 5 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in

Indianapolis in Indiana.

Meredith Alexander.

Ultimate Bollywood 41

Thesouthasiantimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012

Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is back! The

character, made popular by megastar

Amitabh Bachchan in 1990 film

"Agneepath", is making a comeback on the

big screen, albeit in a new avatar with

Bollywood hearthrob Hrithik Roshan.

The 1990 film, directed by Mukul Anand,

was produced by Karan Johar's father Yash.

Though the film didn't work at the box-

office, it won the best actor national award

for Amitabh.

Twelve years later, Johar came up with the

idea of remaking the film by setting it in the

modern day scenario, with debutant Karan

Malhotra taking the mammoth task of direct-

ing it.

Set in a small Indian village of Mandawa,

Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik) is taught

by his principled father about the path of fire

- Agneepath. However, Vijay is left com-

pletely broken after evil drug lord Kancha

Cheena (Sanjay Dutt) hangs his father to

death.

Following the death of his father, Vijay

leaves for Mumbai with his pregnant mother,

pledging to return to his native village later

and bring his father's glory back. The role of

evil Kancha Cheena was originally played by

Danny Denzongpa. But this time, Sanjay has

been roped in to essay the villain's part.

Three films produced by

Reliance DreamWorks, a

venture between industrialist

Anil Ambani and Hollywood pro-

ducer-director Steven Spielberg,

have bagged as many as 11 Oscar

nominations this year, it was

announced Tuesday. This is the first

time movies produced by a compa-

ny with such huge Indian holding

has bagged such large nominations

for one of the most prestigious cine-

ma awards across the globe.

The nominations are for "War

Horse", "The Help" and "Real

Steel".

Directed by Spielberg himself,

"War Horse" has been nominated

for six categories -- best picture,

sound editing, sound mixing, origi-

nal score, art direction and cine-

matography.

This movie is about the friendship

between a horse named Joey and a

young man called Albert and releas-

es in India Feb 10.

Nomination for best achievement

in visual effects is for "Real Stee" --

a sci-fi thriller with Hugh Jackman

in the lead.

For "The Help", directed by Tate

Tylor, the nominations are again for

best picture, as also for best actress,

best supporting actress and best pic-

ture trophies.

This year's Oscar nomination pack

is led by "Hugo", which has 11

nominations alone. It is followed by

"The Artist" with 10 nominations.

Apart from movies produced by

Reliance DreamWorks, India's only

hope at the Oscars -- Sohan Roy's

"DAM 999" -- failed to make it to

any category.

One of Ambani's group firms and

Spielberg-promoted venture had

forged a mega venture in 2008 to

make films for the global audience

and set up a Hollywood studio.

The deal also helped the celebrat-

ed filmmaker to break away from

Viacom Paramount Pictures, which

owned DreamWorks till then.

While the Reliance Group

pumped in $325 million, a similar

amount was raised from a consor-

tium of investment banks.

Though the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Agneepath' did not catch the eye of theaudience, the remake has already grabbed eyeballs.

'Agneepath' returnsin new avatar

Dhanush signs firstHindi film

Aanand L Rai will direct

the Kolaveri Di singer in

his next film, set against

the backdrop of Banaras

Director Aanand L Rai has

signed Tamil actor Dhanush for

his film. He says, "For the past six

months, I've been looking for a

simple boy to play the lead in

Raanjhnaa. My requirement was a

man who could look vulnerable

on screen. When I saw Dhanush

in the Tamil film Aadukalam (for

which he won the National

award), I liked him immediately.

He looks very ordinary and hon-

est, and that was the demand of

the character."

Dhanush doesn't know Hindi;

won't language be a problem?

Dhanush says, "The problem is

not language. It's culture. I will

learn the culture and the language

will come automatically."

Rai adds that he's not worried

about it. "The film is an intense

love story. Just like my film Tanu

Weds Manu, the film and its char-

acters will take you to Delhi,

Punjab, Chennai, etc."

Director Aanand L Rai hassigned Tamil actor Dhanush for

his film Raanjhnaa.

4084 is a crisply edited one-wild-night-on-the-wrong-end-of-town caper that manages an improbable merger of the sinister

and the satirical.

'ChaalisChauraasi' -

a quirky comedy

Four fine actors, one wild

unpredictable night of

adventure. As a premise for

a two-hour adventure-caper this

sounds exactly like the recipe

Sudhir Mishra ordered from his

scriptwriters when he made "Iss

Raat Ki Subah Nahin" 15 years

ago.

Times have changed. So has

morality. Nowadays guns are no

longer what the villains hold in

our films. They are often the tools

to trigger off a torrent of titters in

times of violence. In this day and

age of dithering morality "Chaalis

Chauraasi" (4084) has some fin-

ger-licking fun with the formula

of farce.

4084 is a feast of the feisty.

Indeed Hriday Shetty who earlier

directed a tender but undercooked

tale of midlife romance "Pyar

Mein Twist", is here on far surer

grounds as he takes his quartet of

quirky characters through a maze

of mindboggling adventures. All

highly nefarious.

The camaraderie among the

quartet of over-aged fun-seekers

is so convincing you wonder if the

director Hriday Shetty came up

with this brawny concoction of

crime and comedy after getting

Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni,

Kay Kay Menon and Ravi Kissan

on board.

There's no blood and gore, no

abusive invocation of mothers and

sisters and their private spaces.

And yet the rollercoaster ride is

never free of excitement. In spite

of some repetitive scenes Bunty

Negi's editing is crisp and sassy.

4084 is a crisply edited one-

wild-night-on-the-wrong-end-of-

town caper that manages an

improbable merger of the sinister

and the satirical. The four princi-

pal performers are dead-on, full of

beans percolating with a pun-

gency that makes them credible

all through their incredible

journey.

Reliance DreamWorks filmsget 11 Oscar nominations

Steven Spielberg directed Reliance-DreamWorks' "War Horse" hasbeen nominated for Best Picture Oscar.

Everyone’s offering money-

saving tips these days, trying

to help people survive the eco-

nomic downturn. It doesn’t take

much to save a few bucks here and

there, even if you’re already scrimp-

ing, even if you order the “short”

cappuccino at Starbucks and have

reduced your cable TV package to

only 380 channels.

Anyone who’s really serious about

saving money needs to follow

Melvin’s can’t-miss tips:

1. Be more religious. Yes, going to

the temple, gurudwara, mosque or

church can save you money. How?

Well, many of these religious institu-

tions offer you something you can’t

usually find anywhere else: FREE

FOOD! Entire meals are served at

many temples, gurudwaras and

mosques, while snacks are common-

place at churches.

I’m not suggesting, of course, that

you go there just to eat. You can also

get something to drink. But if the

minister asks if you want to be “filled

with the spirit,” it’s probably not a

good idea to say, “No, thanks. I’m

driving.”

2. Don’t pay interest on your

credit card. If you’re buried in credit

card debt, it might be time to look in

the mirror and accept that there’s

only one person to blame for the

mess you’re in: your spouse. (Or sig-

nificant other.) He or she buys all

sorts of luxury items with the credit

card, whereas you use it only for

essential items, such as wool pajamas

for the dog. It might be time to get a

divorce –- from your credit card.

3. Find vacations on the Internet.

Let’s face it. it’s expensive to travel

abroad and, even if you can afford it,

do you really want to spend half your

vacation going through airport secu-

rity? Thankfully, there’s an easy solu-

tion. Just travel anywhere in the

world –- Tahiti, Jamaica, Hawaii –-

by gazing at your Facebook friends’

vacation pics. Put your face right

against the computer screen and

you’ll almost feel yourself there.

4. Cancel your gym membership.

Does it really make sense for you to

spend two hours lifting weights,

sweating profusely and not getting

paid for it? Instead, head to the air-

port or train station and get yourself a

job as a porter. Many companies,

including UPS, Wal-Mart and Sears,

offer “lifting opportunities,” though

it might be a good idea to stay away

from shoplifting.

5. Take the bus or train to work

and do some reading. The first step

is to buy a monthly bus/train pass.

The second step is to cancel your

newspaper subscription. Why sub-

scribe to the newspaper when you

can read it for free over someone’s

shoulder?

6. Take advantage of telemar-

keters. If you get lots of calls from

telemarketers, you need to do what I

do: sell them stuff. It’s amazing how

much you can sell if you’re a little

forceful. Just ask Satwinder, the guy

in New Delhi who just bought 100

copies of my novel “Bala Takes the

Plunge.”

7. Do your own recycling. Don’t

throw out that fashion magazine –-

pull out the glossy pages and use

them to wrap small gifts. Don’t

throw out that worn boot –- fill it

with soil and grow a plant in it. Don’t

throw out that old pair of underwear

–- cut it into a fancy shape and use it

as a doily.

8. Keep your lotto dreams in

check. It’s okay to buy a lottery tick-

et now and then, but if you’re plunk-

ing down 10 bucks a week, you’re

throwing your hard-earned money

away. Yes, people do win the lottery,

but you have a better chance of get-

ting Justin Bieber to share nail pol-

ishing tips with you.

9. Think big. Don’t buy a small

bag of rice when a big bag is more

economical in the long run. The best

part is, once the bag is empty, you

can recycle it. Just write “Gucci” on

the side of it and use it for shopping.

10. Get to know your neighbors.

Neighbors can save you a lot of

money. In fact, if you’re trying to

buy a house, make sure you find one

with a plumber living on one side, an

electrician on the other and a carpen-

ter across the street. Don’t forget to

show them your appreciation with a

special gift, such as a nicely wrapped

doily.

42 Humor

Money-saving tips that really work!

Tech Life

Humor with Melvin Durai

by Mahendra ShahMahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession,

artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recordingthe plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Kolkata: It may sound like another Rajinikanth

joke, but a new website dedicated to the super-

star runs 'without an internet connection'!

Visitors to www.allaboutrajni.com are greeted

with a warning that "He is no ordinary man,

this is no ordinary website. It runs on Rajini

Power" and are advised to switch off their

internet connection to enter the website.

Only when the web is disconnected, one is

allowed to explore the site.

Netizens can trace the story of

the legend from the beginning,

read inside scoops from his films

and get a glimpse of behind-the-

scenes action, while browsing

through famous Rajini jokes about

impossible feats only he can

achieve.

"The unbelievable spectacle of running a

website without the internet is a tribute to

Rajinikant's larger than life image," claimed

Webchutney's creative director Gurbaksh

Singh, who developed the site for

Desimartini.com.

With a heady mix of foot-tapping music,

vibrant splash of colors, quirky quotes and

illustrations, and icons in true Rajni style and

lingo, the unique website reflects Rajini's sig-

nature style.

Singh told that the website is based on a com-

plex algorithm running in the back-end that

keeps an eye on the propagation of data packets

between two terminals.

Magic kicks in soon as the internet speed is

down to zero, which is the basic premise on

which the site and the concept has been con-

structed.

The humor element on the website is accentu-

ated by the error message in

typical Rajini style that

appears if a visitor attempts

to re-connect the internet.

"Aiyyo! That was unex-

pected. To keep browsing,

switch off your internet,"

reads the message.

"The website has received

a phenomenal response and has gone viral with

several thousand hits and counting, along with

innumerable shares and mentions across the

web, especially on popular social networking

sites like Facebook and Twitter," Singh said.

"After a few iterations and testing, we

cracked the code required to build the world's

first website that runs without the internet - a

website that runs offline - which is as awesome

and unbelievable as miracles and stunts associ-

ated or performed by Rajni himself," he said.

No joke this! Rajnikanth websitereally runs without internet

January 28 - February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 26449898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: January 28-February 3, 2012

January 28

Dominated by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you are sim-

ple, energetic, authoritative, jovial, reliable and highly or-

ganized person. You possess magnetic appeal and you are

very fond of accepting challenges, but you need to check

your tendency to behave moody, timid and spendthrift at

times. This year someone close to you would bring you un-

expected opportunities. Financial gains would also accrue

from past investments. A wonderful period to do things that

you enjoy and make you feel good. A distant journey for

pleasure or pilgrimage seems likely later in the year. Your

health would remain good but health of an aged family mem-

ber would become a matter of concern. New friendships and

contacts would develop during this period. The months of

May, June and September will be important. Number 4 and

planet Uranus will be chief negotiator and also provides you

the qualities of being naïve, industrious, dominating, jubi-

lant, reliable and extremely systematic. You have the courage

to fight against any inequalities, extremely resplendent in na-

ture and loves to be aware of all around the world but should

give a look at your sullen, fearful and extravagant nature.

Sidestepped lending of money will now again comes to you

to its original master. A privilege time which support you to

conduct all the activities which give you calmness and tran-

quility. Be aware of the status of the health of some elder in

the family which might take off your peace. Upsurge of new

people in your life continues to be the main focus. May, June

and September will be lively for you.

January 29

You are governed by the number 2 and the Moon. Your alert-

ness allows you to lead a cautious life. The coming year will

see you and your spouse enjoy your marital relationship,

which will be full of peace and harmony. Most of you have

a good communication skill, and there are chances that you

will be able to develop your linguistic mastery to teach lan-

guage as a profession. Your high degree of imagination and

your inborn talent will bring success in any creative work

that you undertake, in the coming year. The months of Feb-

ruary, May, September and December will be important.

Number 2 and the Moon will be path seeking for you. The

motto of your life is to live cautiously with kid gloves. Your

personal relation has less demand which paves the way for

outstanding and highly adhesive chemistry between both of

you. Your breakthrough is your command over your native

language skills which eventually become your hard earned

way of livelihood. You way of reaching out directly to the

work area with pre defined concepts in mind accompanied

by massive blessed acumen will helps you to sit on the

mountain of money. February, May, September and Decem-

ber will be in your favor.

January 30

With Jupiter as your governing planet, you are blessed with

intelligence and optimism. You are governed by the number

3. Your religious mind and noble nature, makes you tolerant

towards those who need your help. The coming year has a lot

of travel in store for you. Visits to pilgrimage places, is fore-

seen. Although you appear outwardly to be gently and sensi-

tive, you sometimes tend to get secretive and deep down in

your heart, you are restless. Try to get over this habit so that

you can overcome even the smallest of difficulties, which

you may confront. Those of you, who are in government job,

will reach the acme of success. The months of March, May,

July and November will be highly productive for you. Abil-

ity to comprehend the enigmatic task and highly positive at-

titude are the traits given by the combative planet Jupiter.

Number 3 will make you benevolent and compassionate to-

wards humanity for which you always stand by. Time prom-

ises to pave the way for highly hectic schedule stuck in lo-

comotion. Your focus is shifted towards some quest to some

sacred place for finding the eternal peace. In principle you

seemed to be highly disciplined and decent person but from

the inner side very restive and covertive in nature. You need

to commence a movement against it via appropriate mecha-

nism to bypass all the nitty gritty troubles. In your profession

you are likely to reach maximalist positions. March, May,

July and November will be highly yielding for you.

January 31

Governed by Uranus and the Number 4. Truthfulness is what

you preach and practice. You detest whatever is achieved

through dishonesty. You are meticulous in your way of work-

ing, and this will catch the attention of your Bosses, in the

year ahead of you. Your analytical and logical mind will take

you to the pinnacle of success. However, your argumentative

nature needs to be controlled. If you overcome this drawback

in your nature you will be able to win over your enemies.

Originality of thought and expression brings around unex-

pected changes for you. Your association with a charitable

organization for the handicapped, will not only give you sat-

isfaction, but also bring fame to you. You will be able to put

your ideas and concepts into practice with a little assistance

from your friends and colleagues. The months of February,

April, August and January will be result oriented. Number 4

and Uranus regulate you. Loyalty and honesty are your trade-

mark. You always find people incompetent and uncivilized

who are deceit and of double standard. You have the power

to commute any decision in your organization by your ex-

traordinary heedful and measured attitude. You resort to the

path of utmost success and glory through your way of syn-

thesizing the problems. Sometimes you might have to regret

for your combative and contentious issues. If you consider to

lower down this spirit then you fervently move forward in

your life. You have plenty in reserve to bring about favorable

and cheerful change through your innovative and artistic

ideas. A huge cheer and great experience associated with

NGO’s of disabled person paves the way to be in upbeat

mood ubiquitously. You share wonderful chemistry with

your friends who always help you to transit your ideas into

reality. February, April, August and January will be healthy

for you.

February 01

Influenced by number 7 and the planet Neptune, you are hon-

est, affectionate, creative, sensitive and a very emotional per-

son. You are a wonderful host and you love to entertain oth-

ers, but you need to control your tendency to behave stub-

born and extravagant at times. There would be opportunities

for miscommunication with your employer this year. Be sure

to check your work before you give it to your seniors. It

would not be an easy period as many things would not be in

your favor, but support and help from friends and family

members would induce new energy into you and make things

much comfortable than they actually might be. Gains from

property transaction, investments and gifts cannot be ruled

out. The months of January, August and October will remain

significant. Every act that you play on the stage teaches an

unforgettable and inspirational lesson to the viewers. Besides

being a loyal and artistic soul you need to curb your obdu-

rate and prodigal behavior. You need to be very careful re-

garding your calculation in your task as slight mistake may

bring down your performance and being impeached. You

might be in a locked up situation in reordering the scattered

matters which are the matter of concern for you but the much

celebrated victory over them is because of the galvanization

induces by loved ones. Surprises in the form of cash and

goodies are high on your cards. January, August and October

will be celebration time for you. The qualities like calm-

ness, sensitive and compassionate are provided by number 7

and planet Neptune.

February 02

Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn, you are prac-

tical, disciplined, systematic, original, and authoritative per-

son. You never run away from challenges. You are bold,

strong and always ready to face difficult situations and find

creative solutions, but you need to control your tendency to

behave moody, stubborn and jealous at times. This year your

work would offer you great opportunities to express your

skills. However, certain changes would be essential. Take ex-

tra care of the important documents that you carry while trav-

elling. Few losses due to theft and hasty decisions seem like-

ly. Businessmen should see their new plans and ventures get-

ting implemented. You would be emotionally interested in

someone whom you do not get to see so often. Romantic en-

tanglement would disturb your concentration and decision

making ability. Property investment would be beneand

morale would reach new height as you establish important

contacts. The months of February, July and December will

be highly significant. You are a organized, firsthand, domi-

nating, checked and pragmatic soul. You never swing from

hard line to soft line whatever be the situation might be. With

the difficulty level of the problem your stubbornness and ex-

citement for the same also increases. But hold back your

sullen, adamant and green eyed traits. Alternative proposals

are high on your fate agenda list to check your activeness and

hunger for growth. Some alteration might be there, accept

them. Preserve the testimonies carefully as they collectively

provides sigh of relief to you. Watchman is needed to guard

your legacy. In spite of taking small leaps be ready for the

hard work which starts now for giant one. It is good time to

look at the insights of the plans that you are trying to start for

so long. Someone from distant place might get come closer

than anybody in this world. Pleasure of love might create

pains at the work. Potential gains in trading of land will boost

you up and also helps you to make ever-lasting relation with

top honchos. February, July and December will be

good for you.

February 03

Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are intelligent,

energetic, confident, enthusiastic and courageous person.

You possess a sharp memory and amazing technical skills,

but you need to check your tendency to behave short tem-

pered and vindictive at times. This year professional ad-

vancement would depend on your ability to handle important

responsibilities. Your significant other would be a real asset

to you. This person would make your daily life comforting

and enjoyable. Distant pilgrimage is certain later in the year.

Be extra careful while lending money and take extra care of

your jewelry, precious gifts and items. The months of Feb-

ruary, April, September and November will be important.

Besides controlling your life, number 9 and planet Mars will

make you more sound in knowledge, store house of energy,

surefooted, keen and bold soul. You are versatile to take

many forms with the help of your honed mind and profes-

sional attitude but should restrict your impulsive and venge-

ful attribute. You need to be as clever as your policies are so

as to show your positive and right attitude. A lover of you

will probably reduce all your worries and provide comfort

throughout your life. Broad proposals to go for quest are at

your anvil. Blow your whistle by guarding your hard earned

money and deter yourself from any money transaction activ-

ity. February, April, September and November will be vital

for you.

Taurus:This week romantic thoughts will ruin

your ability to work efficiently.

Difficulties concerning financial

matters would ease, bringing

happiness and peaceful atmos-

phere at home. Scholars and

artists will gain recognition in their

work. Health related problems might bring

some discomfort. Your varied interests and

vast knowledge will become a major attraction

for you at social gatherings. Sports and physi-

cal exercise will be beneficial.

Aries: Your confidence and energy level will

be high and accomplishing diffi-

cult tasks will be much easier

than you ever thought. Find ten-

der love and comfort in the

arms of your beloved.

You would find members of the

opposite sex very appealing, but try not to

annoy someone you really care. Partnership

with people having a creative mind will bring

enormous monetary gains. Be to the point in

your correspondence.

Sagittarius: Spend more time doing your hob-

bies in order to relax. Pressure at

work and home will increase

making you short-tempered and

a little restless. Investment deci-

sions should be made only after

proper guidance. You will make extra

bit of money if you bring your creativity to

proper use. Your outgoing nature will help you

in making some new friends. Contribute gener-

ously towards social events and organizations.

Travel will be pleasurable but expensive.

Capricorn: A colleague, being jealous of

your recent success might try to

sabotage your plans. Your cre-

ative side will grow during this

period, bringing you popularity

and good monetary gains.

Certain changes in your looks will

be highly appreciated. Later in the week a

spiritual person gives blessings and good

wishes. Catch up on pending correspondence

and call up friends with whom you have not

been in touch for the past few days.

Aquarius: Love and romance dominate your

week as you spend extra time

with your beloved. Govt.

favours sees pending proposals

getting implemented. Spend

some time with children and

close relatives. Your high energy and dynam-

ic approach would make you popular

amongst your colleagues. Fix up something

exciting and entertaining to do for the week-

end. Avoid rash driving when you are mov-

ing out with your friends.

Pisces: Participating in lectures and seminars

will bring new growth opportu-

nities. You are likely to gain

approval from your seniors if

you present your ideas well.

Favourable period for new ven-

tures and alliances. Take care of

your health and avoid overwork and late

nights. Problems with your beloved will sur-

face if you try to force your ways. Do not

overspend on your friends and entertainment.

Spiritual gains for some.

Cancer: This week entertainment activities along

with family members will be highly

enjoyable. You should look for

ways to make things better for all

those around you. Personal needs

and requirements will be fulfilled

and a cordial relationship with the

spouse brings peace and harmony at home.

Business partners however are unlikely to agree

to your terms and uneasy atmosphere might pre-

vail at work. You can make long lasting relation-

ships during this period if you are open to some

unique ideas.

Gemini:This week you will try new ideas

and methods to improve your

work efficiency. You will reap

fantastic rewards if you stick

to your objectives. Personal

spending on yourself and your

friends should be avoided, rather

children and family members should be on

your priority this week. Weekend would be

perfect to go out for some recreation and

entertainment. Sports persons should look

after their health and physique.

Leo: This week your interaction with influ-

ential people will be highly pro-

ductive. New assignments and

jobs for some.

You will gather valuable

information if you are open to

new cultures and ideas. Unexpected

guests crowd your place later in the week.

Your involvement in the affairs of others

will only bring you criticism. A small out-

ing towards the weekend will be good for

the entire family.

Virgo:This week completing your backlog of

personal work should be your pri-

ority. Your communication skill

and knowledge will be highly

impressive. Investment opportu-

nities if any should be properly

verified, as only wise investments

will fetch returns. Spouse remains cooperative

and helpful. Children would win laurels and

make you feel proud. Certain domestic issues

will need immediate attention. You are likely

to get cornered if you are not honest at work.

Libra: This week you should avoid discussing

issues, which are likely to disturb

the peace at home. Your attitude

and sarcastic comments need to

be controlled. Health of an eld-

erly person in the family will

cause anxiety. You will meet new and

interesting people at social gathering, however

be careful while revealing your secret plans.

Do hobbies and work that would keep you in a

relaxed and jovial mood. Avoid spicy and oily

food and be regular towards exercise.

Scorpio: Confusion and arguments will arise if

you ignore your spouse ruining the

peaceful atmosphere at home.

Rise in frustration will dampen

your work and slow down your

progress. Company of friends

would keep your relaxed, but you

should not shy away from your responsibility

towards your family members. Shopping

would be pleasurable and exciting provided

you stick to your budget. Not a favourable

period for venturing into joint ventures.

Astrology 43

TheSouthAsianTimes.info January 28-February 3, 2012

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

44 Spiritual Awareness

January 28 - February 3, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Once upon a time there was

a carpenter who worked

out of his home. Every day

he took joy in building some furni-

ture or tools to sell to others. He

merrily sang and hummed as he

worked, content with life.

One day, his rich neighbor grew

fed up with the noise the carpenter

made as he hammered the wood.

The neighbor had reached a point

in which he could not take the

noise anymore. The neighbor final-

ly had a plan to quiet the carpenter.

He took several hundred dollars

from his money and left it in an

envelope in the carpenter’s work-

shop. The neighbor thought that if

he gave the carpenter money he

would not have to work and he

would stop his incessant hammer-

ing.

The carpenter entered his work-

shop and found the envelope lying

there. Instead of using it to take a

vacation or a break, the carpenter

thought, “Someone left me several

hundred dollars. What good for-

tune!

I will take some of the money

and invest in new tools so I can

build bigger and better furniture

and make more money.” Thus, the

money flamed the carpenter ’s

desire to earn more money. He

began working even harder, hoping

to increase the newly found hun-

dreds into thousands.

As he began to make more

money, he was still not content. He

decided he wanted to turn the thou-

sands into tens of thousands and

thus he worked still harder. The

rich neighbor was annoyed that his

plan had failed and instead of

silencing the carpenter, it merely

increased the noise because now

the man worked longer hours.

When the carpenter had earned

tens of thousands he wanted to

make a hundred thousand. He put

pressure upon himself to work day

and night and even on weekends.

Soon, he stopped his humming and

singing. He no longer took joy in

his work but felt strangled by the

pressure he had put upon himself.

On many nights, he was so

stressed out he could not even

sleep. The inner contentment and

peace he had when he was just a

poor carpenter were gone in the

pursuit of trying to make more and

more money.

Consider our own lives. Do we

find ourselves spending all of our

time working to make money so

we can retire? Do we work over-

time to make more money? Do we

work all weekend long to increase

our profits?

Do we find that we cannot even

take a day or even several hours off

work without thinking about work?

If this is what is happening to us

are we becoming like the carpen-

ter? If we make all the money in

the world but cannot enjoy person-

al peace and joy in our work, is it

worth it?

If we find that we are devoting

too much of our time to making

money and not enough to our fami-

ly, our hobbies, our spiritual pur-

suits and those things we love then

we need to analyze whether we are

making the right choices. It is good

to save for the future, but is it

worth using up our entire life in

trying to have more than what we

need?

Who knows what the future will

bring? When we become old, will

we have the health to do what we

waited our whole life to do? If we

leave our spiritual pursuits until we

have reached our senior years, who

knows how much time we will

have left or whether we will be

able to devote time to spirituality at

that stage. If we ignore our family

until they are already grown and

have children of their own, we

miss an important part of their

lives that can never be recovered.

Let us consider how we spend

our time. If we have decided that

certain goals are important then we

should try to find time for them

throughout our life and not put

them all on the back burner in the

pursuit of amassing more money

than we need. We should weigh

our time and make sure that we do

not lose our peace and contentment

over the stress of being engaged in

a mad pursuit for money and pos-

sessions.

Being conscious of how we

spend our time and our life is

important. If we listen to our soul,

we will find that inner peace and

contentment are more valuable

than all the riches in the world.

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj,an international spiritual leaderand Master of meditation, affirmsthe transcendent oneness at theheart of all religions, emphasizingprayer and meditation as buildingblocks for achievingpeace.www.jyotimeditation.org

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

In our daily life we face many difficulties,

hardships and disappointments. Things do

not always go our way. If we listen to the

discussions of others and review our own

words and thoughts, we find that many of

them deal with complaints about how life is

treating us. Life seems to be bitter at times

and in turn makes us bitter. Have we ever

thought about life from a different perspec-

tive? Think about how fortunate we really

are.

After all, we are human beings. How many

species of life are there that walk the earth?

There are mammals, reptiles, and insects.

There are creatures of the air and creatures of

the sea. Fortunately for us, we have been born

as human beings.

How many of us have ever thanked God for

the life we have been given? We complain to

God when things go wrong but what about

the hundreds of things that God has given us?

God has provided us enough food to keep us

alive this long. We have had protection from

the elements in the form of

clothes and some sort of shelter. Most of us

have families who love us. We have received

some kind of education and have some kind

of work.

If we take all that comes to us as a gift from

God then we can accept the good and the

tribulations equally under God’s will. In this

respect, there is a story about King Mahmud

of Ghazni. One day, while he was sitting with

his most devoted servant, Ayaz, he shared half

of his cucumber with him. When he had fin-

ished, the king then took a bite of his own

half.

“Yuk!” he cried, as he made a disgusted

face and spit out the cucumber.

“This is so bitter! How could you have

eaten your piece if it tasted like bitter poi-

son?”

Ayaz replied, “My dear king, I have

enjoyed so many favors and blessings from

you all these years.

Whatever you give me tastes sweet!”

Ayaz’s attitude demonstrates the frame of

mind of a true lover of God. Such a lover is so

much enamored of God and so grateful to

God, that he or she takes everything, good or

bitter, as a gift of the Beloved. Ayaz had

received so many blessings from the king that

he felt it was not his place to complain if one

of these gifts were bitter.

After all, if the king gave him so much

good, he must love him. If therefore, once in

a blue moon, he had handed him something

bitter, Ayaz knew he had no evil intention. He

accepted all the king gave him with love and

gratitude.

If we could accept the rainy days with the

same gratitude as we do the sunny days, we

would find our lives would be more full of

love, peace, and happiness. If we could appre-

ciate the weeds as well as the roses, we would

enrich our daily lives. If we could appreciate

our enemies as well as our friends, we would

not have to waste precious breaths in com-

plaints and bitterness. If we could accept days

when we are ill and under the weather as well

as those in which we are well and healthy, we

would reduce our stress and worry and maybe

even heal faster.

Life is precious. Do we want to live our

lives to their fullest? The pain and disappoint-

ments will not go away by complaining about

them. We must pass through those times. Let

us try to do so in a state of calm acceptance

and conserve the energy that we normally use

for complaining. Instead we can think of God

in love and gratitude. We will find that we

pass through the times of tribulations more

easily.

Like Ayaz, let us take everything coming

from God as tasting sweet. Then, we will

sweeten our whole lives and the lives of those

around us.

For more visit www.sos.org

No end to desiresThis article has been selected and reprinted from Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj’s book,

Spiritual Pearls for Enlightened Living (Radiance Publishers), an inspirational collection ofstories from the world’s great wisdom traditions.

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

If we find that weare devoting toomuch of our time tomaking money andnot enough to ourfamily, our hobbies,our spiritual pur-suits and thosethings we love thenwe need to analyzewhether we aremaking the rightchoices. It is good tosave for the future,but is it worth usingup our entire life intrying to have morethan what we need?

Whatever you give me tastes sweetLife is precious. Do wewant to live our lives totheir fullest? The painand disappointments willnot go away by com-plaining about them. Wemust pass through thosetimes. Let us try to do soin a state of calm accept-ance and conserve theenergy that we normallyuse for complaining.Instead we can think ofGod in love and grati-tude. We will find that wepass through the times oftribulations more easily.