VoLeuM-24 No. 4 MAY-2014 PHoNe-510-677-4488 WWW.FIJISuN-uSA.CoM email : fijisun@gmail.com

KIRTAN SHOWNDOWN IN HAYWARD

Sangeetika doesfirst show withMelody Makersin Bay Area

INSIDE

First pic. R-L Pt. Shailendra Prasad, Milpitas City Mayor (second from right) with contestants. Second picture PravinRoger(with badge) the organizer of the show with his the Hayward Bal Vikas Mandali volunteers. See photo gallery.

FIJI RUGBy NEWS: SACRAMENTO LIONS.

See Fiji Sports page inside.

Ram Naumi CelebRatioN at SaN bRuNo temple

The former PrimeMinister, MahendraChaudhry has been

sentenced to pay a fine ofnearly two million Fiji dollars,or $AUS 1.2 million, or a 15-month jail sentence.

His lawyer Anand Singhsays the sentence, if it standsafter the appeal is heard,would rule Mr Chaudhry out of

running in the Septemberelection.

Presenter: GeraldineCoutts

Speaker: Anand Singh,Lawyer acting on behalf ofMahendra Chaudhry

SINGH: I believe there aresix orders, I am yet to have alook at the judgment to tellyou, but I think by and large,my understanding is firstly theconviction stay, so that he'sconvicted on all three counts.Number two, he's been fined,

a monetary fine of two milliondollars. He has been given till30th June to pay that and indefault, he has a prison sen-tence of 15 months, out ofwhich 12 months is non-parole period. So that comesinto operation in the event ofdefault and if he doesn't paythe fine. There's another orderthat he has to repatriate themoney or put it with an author-ized dealer. The authorizeddealer, is of course, only Fiji.

CoNTINueS oN PAGe-7

FORMER FIJIAN PM MAHENDRACHAUDHRy FINED $AUS 1.2 MILLION

See photo gallery and Hinduis and American Law Society page for CEO of largest newspaper exposed.

The lawyer acting for Fiji's Labor leader MahendraChaudhry has filed an appeal against his client'ssentence and conviction for fraud-related crimes.

Drum: Kishor KumarGuitar: Rajeshvar SinghKeyboard: Rohit SinghPercussions: Ashniel SinghBass: Tom Narayan

(See more on page 2)

Retired courtclerk Jeff Jewwith judicialofficers

C H P STAFF CAN

TAKE SERVICE

DOG TO WORK

CH P non - uni-formed staffZahid Buksh is

now approved underspecial conditions to takehis service dog to work.

Full report coming soon.

CEO OF THELARGEST NEWS-PAPER KICKEDOUT OF SANBRUNO MANDIR

Speaking to FijiSun USA, a longtime trustee of

Sanatan Mandir heresaid that the CEO of thelargest newspaperintruded in the dininghall and dug into thesacred “parahad” withdirty hands and ate it.The CEO was immedi-ately ordered to leave.Continues on page-25

A Golden Voice Band presentation

FIJISUN2 EDitORiAl May2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

FIJI SUN IS NOWON FACEBOOK

FOR ALL

Robbie Michaelson Contributing writer

FIJI SUNEDITORIAL

STAFF

H. Koya (PhD)Editor-Publisher

PO BOX 54691 Hayward, CA 94544

510-677-4488www.fijisun.org

Email: fijisun@gmail.com

SAnAtHAn RAMAYAn MAnDALi of HAY-WARD/Union CitY, CA LeD BY Pt. BABU LALi

HoStS one of tHe BeSt HoMe-BASeD RAM nAoMi CeLeBRAtionS

Sangeetika Advani’s first Bay Area showwith Fiji’s Melody Makers of San Francisco

Awelcome new voice SangeetikaAdvani who relocated from LosAngles to Bay Area just recent-

ly launched her fist show as pre-moth-

er’s day celebration Saturday May 3rdteaming with all Fiji musicians – theMelody Makers at Mehran Restaurant.She was accompanied by a couple of

male singers for an exciting 3 hourshow. An amazing performance byMelody Makers who we felt did notget a fitting introduction.

BOLLYWOOD DINNER DANCEA Golden Voice Band presentation

Saturday July 26, 20147 P M to Midnight

Raja Sweets West Winton Ave., Hayward, CA 946544

$30 per person! Wine! Dine and Dance!

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Editor withNAM chair at

annual awards,San Francisco

Fiji Sun USA and Fiji TV were nominated for several

community- related events forawards last year.in what seen

as a fiercely fought competi-tions by Bay Area’s ethnic

media groups. Fiji Sun Blogalso got a mention in the

awards nomination for its FijiDiaspora segment.

CourtClerk Jeff Jewflankedby editorand JudgeLott.

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Mirza Siddiqi launches American Muslim Party

Mirza Siddiqi founder of Pakistan Association of San Francisco in the center, recently invited the Fiji Sun editor and a few friends to launch a political party in the Bay Area.

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Vinod Baba toperform inCanada, nZ andSydney, Australia

Speaking to Fiji SunUSA from LA, VinodBaba said he has

quite a few shows lined upincluding shows inCanada, nZ Sydney,Australia and a mega showin the Bay Area.

Led by Zahid Khan 9black turban second from right), the DREAMZ production plans for several shows this year.

EntERtAInMEnt BIZCome summer,everyone islooking foropportunitiesfor entertain-ment. NewlyformedDREAMZ pro-duction kickedof its shows lastweek and plansfor more showsin the comingmonths.

New and refreshingly vivacious voice SANGEETIKA ADVANI in Bay Area

(Above Indian singer Sangeetika Advani at the DREAMZ inaugural night in Hayward April 26, and in the next

pictured Sangeetika with Punjabi folk singer Jatinder Singh and DREAMZ Zaid Khan an d wife).

FIJISUN6 FIJI NEwSMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

Prime Minister,V o r e q eBainimarama has

sent a congratulatory mes-sage to the President of theRepublic of the MarshallIslands, His ExcellencyChristopher Jorebon Loek,on their 35th National Dayanniversary.

In his message, the Headof the Fijian Governmenthighlighted the growing

relations between the twonations.

“The Republic of theMarshall Islands and Fijihave over these past fewyears strengthened our

bilateral relations throughvarious development co-operation initiatives,increased labour mobilityand most recently, the his-toric official visit by H.E. thePresident of Fiji, Ratu EpeliNailatikau just a fortnightago,” Prime MinisterBainimarama said. “Wepray that this relationshipwill continue to be enrichedfurther through people topeople relationship and ourmutual efforts at building aunited and resilient Pacificpeople.” Marshall Islandsgained independence in1979.

FIJIAN PM PRESENTS CONGRATULA-TORY NOTE TO MARSHALL ISLANDS

The Minister forAgriculture, Fisheriesand Forests, Inia

Seruiratu this week had ameeting with PhilippinesDepartment of Agriculturesecretary, Dr ProcesoAlcala in Manila to discusspossible areas of coopera-tion in agriculture, fisheriesand forests sectors.

During the meeting,Minister Seruiratu briefedDr Alcala of the priorityareas of development inthe agriculture, fisheriesand forests sectors in Fiji.

Prior to the arrival of theFijian Government delega-tion in the Philippines, DrAlcala was advised through

diplomatic channels that Fijiwould like to explore possi-ble cooperation projects inthe following areas:

Re-development of theFijian Coconut Industry;

Re-development of theRice – in particular riceresearch leading higherproduction levels, smallholder farming techniquesand technologies;

§ Short term technicalstaff exchanges and postgraduate training of Fijianstaff of the Ministry ofAgriculture Fisheries andForests. This will includeopportunities for Fijian stu-dents to attend Universityof the Philippines, Los

Banos; Cooperation in thefield of Coconut productionleading to commercializa-tion of products for exports;Detail discussion on live-stock feed for small andmedium size farmers in thissector, centered on how thePhilippine Department ofAgriculture would assist theMinistry of Agriculture in Fijiestablish alternative feedproduction. The meetingwas attended by senior offi-cials in the PhilippineDepartment of Agriculture,including the undersecre-tary for livestock, Dr JoseC Reano, the undersecre-tary for policy & planning,Dr Segfredo Serrano, the

administrator of thePhilippine CoconutAuthority, Mr EuclidesForbes and directorBureau of Fisheries andAquatic Resources, MrBenjamin Tabios Jr, whoindicated for requestsassistance to Fiji.Secretary Dr Alcalaadvised Minister Seruiratuthat the PhilippinesDepartment of Agricultureis willing and able to assistthe Fijian Government inmost of the areas discussed. He alsorequested MinisterSeruiratu to submit to himthe specific areas for initialassistance.

PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST FIJI’S AGRICULTURE SECTOR

The Ministry ofLabour’s northernroadshow has been

commended by the publicin Savusavu.

The Minister for LabourMr. Jone Usamate led apublic consultations ses-sion last night in Savusavuand highlighted the impor-tance of the public’saccess to information relat-ed to labour laws andemployment matters. For

Savusavu resident MrRafaele Vui, the decisionto hold a roadshow in theNorthern Division is a wel-comed move.

“The Minister’s visit wasalso an eye opener for usas we also came to learnnew things including otherareas of services offeredby the labour ministry,”adds Mr. Vuli. Followingthe consultations, theMinister met with the peo-

ple of Naidi including theTuraga Na Tui Namuanaand briefed them on thenew constitution and therole of the ministry. TheLabour team recordedgrievances including thoserelated to redundancies,workers compensation,unclaimed wages, unfairdismissal, terms and con-ditions of employment,OHS Issues and FNPFdeductions.

SAVUSAVU COMMENDS LABOUR MINISTRY ROADSHOW

Government throughthe Committee onBetter Utilisation of

Land (CBUL) programmeis determined to contributeto economic growththrough a greater focus onincreasing production fromthe leases subsidised byGovernment says CBULchair Mr Filipe Alifereti. Hemade the comment on thebasis that not all ALTAleases renewed under theCBUL initiative had beenput to productive use.

“Records show that71,929 hectares of landhave been given out forcane leases while only

47,587 (66 per cent)hectares is under cane.

“The challenge is toensure that the remaining24,342 hectares is broughtunder cane production,” MrAlifereti added.

Mr Alifereti further adds

that the committee will beintroducing strategies tostrengthen its monitoringmechanism to ensure thatleases renewed underCBUL initiative are produc-tively utilized

“We will be fine-tuninghow we do things so thatwe can better managethese leases in line withGovernment’s expectationof raising productivity.

“We will be developingstrategies to ensure thatthese leases are moni-tored on a regular basisand the DivisionalCommissioners will be tak-ing the lead role in this,” Mr

Alifereti added.In addition, the commit-

tee has also raised its con-cerns on speculators whohold onto the leases on thepretext of cultivation butwith the “hidden agenda todeveloping the land withthe ultimate intention ofselling thereby making aquick buck in the process”.

Mr Alifereti further addsthat the poor policing ofleases renewed under theCBUL initiative havedenied Government of theopportunity to generaterevenue that could con-tribute to the nation’s econ-omy.

STRENGTHEN MONITORING OF SUBSIDISED LEASES

The Minister forLabour, IndustrialRelations & EmploymentMr Jone Usamate todayled the first 2014Northern PublicConsultation on employ-ment matters with mem-bers of the Labasa gen-eral public at the LabasaCivic Centre.

The Minister high-lighted that the purposethe consultations is toensure that every Fijianhas access to informa-tion related to labour andemployment matters.

“A better Fiji to thosethat run businesses andthose that work for them,a better Fiji for the richand also for the poor,” hesaid. Minister Usamatereminded members ofthe public that labourlaws ensure that work-ers are not to be exploit-

ed and that decentemployment conditionsare provided. TheMinister received a goodturnout in Labasa andrecorded a total of 13employment grievancethat includes areas ofunfair dismissal, workerscompensation, arrearsof wages and contract ofservice of which will beresolved within the 3months time frame.Following the public con-sultations, the Ministermet with villagers ofNasekula and briefedthem on the 2013 FijiConstitution and the roleand responsibilities ofthe Ministry.

The Minister led otherconsultations in variousparts of Vanua Levu andwill also be at NaidiVillage later thisevening.

LABOUR MINISTER

CONDUCTS PUBLIC

CONSULTATION IN LABASA

Teachers

want a raise

THE Fiji TeachersUnion (FTU) is call-ing on the Public

Service Commission(PSC) to pay servingteachers their graduatesalaries upon the comple-tion of their degree pro-grams. Union presidentMuniappa Goundar, atthe recent FTU annualgeneral meeting inLabasa, said they contin-ued to remind PSC andwould not stop fightingfor a just pay. His call fol-lows that of the FijianTeachers Association lastweek. "The union hasreminded the PSC that itis unfair, unjust andunethical not to pay serv-ing teachers their gradu-ate salaries upon thecompletion of theirdegree studies," he said."We have been fightingfor this move and we willcontinue to do so. Wehope the PSC will recon-sider its position and paythe teachers their justsalaries when they com-plete their programs." MrGoundar said the AGMlast year noted it wasunfortunate the PSCdirected the EducationMinistry to exclude theunion from Central StaffBoard meetings.

FIJISUN 7fiji news may2014www.fijisun-usa.com

ConTinues from page-1

CouTTs: How muchis that money?

singH: Well, he hasto repatriate all themoney to Fiji.

CouTTs: I'm sorry,just to clarify. Are youtalking about the moneythat he was found guiltyof misappropriating or thefine?

singH: That's right.So yes, we're talkingabout 1.5 millionAustralian dollars, so hehas to obviously repatri-ate the whole amount toFiji. And he has beenbarred from travellingoverseas, unless he paysthe fine or unless he hasrepatriated the money.So those are the majororders.

CouTTs: Is MrChaudhry in a position torepay the 1.5 million Ithink that's Australian dol-lars and the two millionFiji dollars that he's beenfined?

singH: No, he hasbeen fined two milliondollars Fijian and he'sbeen asked to repatriatethe 1.5 million dollarsfrom Australia.

CouTTs: So is he ina position to pay the twomillion fine?

singH: Well, he is notin a position to pay thefine of two million dollarsin Fiji from his assets, sohe doesn't have themeans to do that, so thatmay involve repatriatingthe 1.5 million fromAustralia, putting it withan authorized dealer, andthen taking out two mil-lion dollars from there topay the fine.

CouTTs: Would thatbe legal?

singH: I believe thecourt...well, they havefined him two million dol-lars, so the fine is legal.We have some reserva-tions on the question ofordering him to repatriatethe funds to Fiji. We feelthat they may in fact ultravires of the ExchangeControl Act, but that issomething that we maybe studying in detail overthe next week.

CouTTs: What didMr. Chaudhry say to youthe moment he heardwhat the sentence was?

singH: One of relief,and the relief was thatthere was no custodialsentence, and that isbecause the way thingswere going, he was veryconcerned that his per-sonal freedom and libertymay be curtailed.

CouTTs: Well, he stillhas a 15 month jail termhanging over him ifdefaults from the pay-ment?

singH: Ah, that is so,that is so, but that's still amonetary fine, asopposed to his libertybeing curtailed and sofrom his perspective, that

is more reasonable thatbeing in prison.

CouTTs: It doesmean though because ofthe 15 month sentence,that he may or may notserve. He's now ineligibleto run in these upcomingelections?

singH: Hmm, he'sineligibility comes fromthe fact that he's beenconvicted for an offence,which carries more than12 months imprisonment.Hmm, so he hmm as itstands, as the convictionstands, he is not in aposition to fight the elec-tions now. He won't beable to file his nomina-tions.

CouTTs: And, isthere any room forappeal and if there is, atwhat points?

singH: Yes, in factwe're already filed anappeal on the conviction.We'll now extend it tocover the sentence. Webelieve that there havebeen some error in thesentence itself, so theend result is that we'd beappealing both the sen-tence and the conviction.

CouTTs: How muchtime have you got to dothat?

singH: 28 days, butas I said, we've alreadyfiled the appeal on theconviction, so it's just aquestion of advising theappeal points andextending it to cover thesentence.

CouTTs: And whendo you think that mightcome before the courtsor be given some consid-eration?

singH: Well, if thecourt takes its normalcourse, that may take sixmonths before we seethe inside of the court byway of hearing. But wetend to make an applica-tion to court to fast trackthe conviction anyway,because he's very inter-ested to fight the elec-tions and we'd like toactually see that the con-viction is set aside.

Labasa SangamPrimary School haswelcomed the

assurance by theMinistry of Education thatthe school will be consid-ered in the next phase ofthe One Laptop PerChild program.

The Ministry’s perma-nent secretary Dr Brij Lalexpressed his apprecia-tion to the school man-agement, and the stafffor their initiative andenthusiasm in layingdown the proper ground-work to facilitate theOLPC program.

“Professional trainingto upskill teachers for theOLPC program in theNorthern Division isscheduled for Augustand this is to ensure thatthere is uniform andquality teaching in all ourschools,” said Dr Lal.The school was estab-lished by the Then IndiaSanmaryan IkyaSangam in 1944 and

now boasted a total rollof 520 students and 19teachers.

The school’s managerMr Kamlesh Reddy saidthe vision to have a com-puter lab was conceivedin 2009. “After a lot ofhard work and prepara-tion, we have now beenable to have a computerlab with 10 laptops and 5desktops donated by aformer student Mr ReggyMudhaliar who nowresides in Sydney,” saidMr Reddy.“Today the def-inition of literacy meansthat a person should notonly be able to read andwrite but also be able toeffectively use the com-puter. It is imperative thata child gets to use com-puters right from year 1. Icommend the staff andmanagement for theforesight and effort ingetting our children hereto be at par with the mod-ern progress,” Dr Lalsaid.

LABASA SANGAMPRIMARY ASSUREDOF OLPC PROGRAM

More than 900 market ven-dors now have a comfort-able environment to sell

their goods following the opening ofthe Suva market shelter today bythe Prime Minister, VoreqeBainimarama. The new $550,000market shelter, an initiative by gov-ernment and the Suva City Council,signifies a new chapter in the histo-ry of the Suva Municipal Market.Commending government’s contri-bution of $500,000 for the newSuva market shelter, the SuvaMarket Association president, JohnPratap said that they were happywith government’s investment in anare that will not only benefit vendorsbut consumers and shoppers whovisit the market. “We are pleasedthat now the market vendors will nolonger have to worry about theirproduce getting wet and spoilt dur-ing rainy weather,” Mr Pratap said.“Previously the vendors used to

face a lot of difficulty and motherswith little children used to sleep out-side with their produce and nowwith today’s opening of the newmarket shelter gone are thosedays.” Sharing similar sentiments,Waivaka, Namosi rural vendor,Tobia Nataro said that today was ahistoric occasion for all vendors inthe Suva market. “Today is a spe-cial day for us as now we finallyhave shelter for ourselves and ourproduce from the rainy weather andthe scorching sun,” Mr Nataro said.“I have been selling here at themarket for 37 years now and Iwould like to thank government forits commitment to improving ourlives especially those of us that livein the rural areas. “Finally our pleashave been heard.” The 59 year oldwho sells dalo, cassava and durukaadded that conditions at the marketnow have greatly improved with thenew market shelter.

Former Fijian PMMahendra Chaudhryfined $AUS 1.2 million

The National OccupationalHealth and Safety Serviceunder the Ministry of

Labour, Industrial Relations andEmployment is today celebrat-ing the World Day for Safety andHealth at Work with the theme“Safety and Health in the use ofChemicals at Work”.

The day is marked with aspecial Awards Night to honorcompanies with best chemicalmanagement practices in Fijiand to recognize the signifi-cance and commitment ofemployers and their organiza-tions towards upholding safeand healthy practices in theworkplace.

The Minister for Labour,Industrial Relations andEmployment Mr Jone Usamatesaid the celebration of the WorldOHS Day is an integral part ofthe global strategy onOccupational Safety and Healthat the workplaces and promotesthe creation of preventativesafety and health culture in theworkplaces. “Our Ministry’s aimis to ensure safe and productivi-ty driven workplaces in Fiji andonly safe workplaces can beproductive workplaces, there-fore I urge all employers and

workers to take extra care andall necessary safety measureswhile at work,” MinisterUsamate said.

The ILO records an estimat-ed 2 million deaths from work-related accidents and diseaseseach year. In the case of Fiji, theseverity is not that high.However, the compensationpayout for deaths and injuriesfor both private and public sec-tor amounts to $800,000 fromthe beginning of this year. Fromthis amount injuries and deathsrecorded by exposure of chemi-cals are minimal.

“The Ministry has not record-ed any deaths directly related tochemical exposure in the coun-try since the implementation ofthe Control of HazardousSubstance Regulations (COHS)

in 2009. However, one injurycase was reported and hasbeen compensated,” MinisterUsamate said. The Ministry’sChemical and Hygiene Unit in itseffort to promote healthy andsafe workplaces conducted apilot project this year on devel-oping best chemical manage-ment practises with two organi-sations in the Private and PublicSector.

“The aim of this project wasto establish sound managementof chemicals in the workplace.The project, which involved theauditing of workplaces on safestorage and use of chemicals,will set a bench mark for theother employers to learn and tomake improvements in handlingof hazardous chemical at theirworkplaces,” Mr Usamate said.

As part of commemoratingthe World Day for OHS and toraise awareness on the use ofChemicals at work the Ministryin collaboration with its tripartitepartners, the InternationalLabour Organization (ILO) forthe Pacific Island Countries andFiji Commerce and EmployersFederation (FCEF) and FijiTrades Unit Congress (FTUC)also organized workshops to

educate both employers andworkers on safe of use chemi-cals at the workplace.

The major aim of these work-shops were to increase aware-ness on safe management ofchemical in the workplace, itsimplementation and to reducethe number of chemical relatedillness, injuries and workplaceaccidents in regards to handlingof hazardous chemical.

A total of about 85 workersand employers have beentrained on the safe use of chem-icals at workplace in this work-shop.

The Ministry verifies the reg-istered chemicals with therequirements under the COHSand monitors the safe use andstorage of these chemicals toensure prevention of occupa-tional diseases, injuries anddeaths in the workplace.

A total of 357 companies inFiji have registered the chemi-cals utilized by their companieswith the National OHS Service.The Minister urges employerswho have not yet registered tocomply with the requirementsunder the COHS Regulationsand register the chemicals beingutilized at their workplaces.

MINISTRY CELEBRATES WORLD DAY

FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK

MORE THAN 900 MARKET VENDORS ACCESS COMFORT-ABLE SELLING ENVIRONMENT

FIJISUN08 INDIA NEWSMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

It's the last lap of the 36-day nine-phase LokSabha elections and all

eyes are on the remaining105 constituencies that goto the polls on May 7 andMay 12. From NarendraModi to Rahul Gandhi, fromMulayam Singh Yadav toArvind Kejriwal and fromRabri Devi to Ram VilasPaswan - the fortunes ofsome of India's biggestleaders will be decided inthe eighth and ninth phas-es.

In Uttar Pradesh thereare 33 seats where thestakes could not get higherfor parties across the spec-trum. Top guns - Modi,Mulayam, Rahul, Mayawatiand Kejriwal - haveunleashed their forces forthe final assault. In the2009 Lok Sabha elections,the Congress secured vic-

tories in 10 of these seatswhile the BSP won 10, theSP bagged 9 and the BJPgot only 4. Will the BJPregain lost ground or willthe Congress, BSP and SPcheck the Modi juggernautwhile holding on to theirvote banks? To gobble thesupport bases of other for-mations, the BJP hasstrategically fielded Modifrom Varanasi. Along withthe 33 seats in east UP, italso wishes to cash in onhis charisma in 13 seats inneighbouring Bihar. Issueslike broken roads, erraticpower supply, 2,000 chil-dren falling prey to killerencephalitis, recurringfloods, non-supply of waterin the canals that wereraised earlier have beenpushed under the carpet aspoll dates draw closer. "Theelection for 33 seats in east

UP is now being foughtonly on one issue: BringModi or Stop Modi," saysKumar Harsh, an academicat Gorakhpur University.

In north-west Bihar, the13 seats going to the pollswill put the Modi 'wave' totest. The stakes are high for

the JD(U), which won 6 ofthese 13 seats in 2009.Widely perceived to havefared poorly till now, theJD(U) has pinned its hopeson the last two phases. Theelectoral battle will also becrucial for the RJD's LaluPrasad, who is fighting a

proxy battle in Saranthrough his wife Rabri Devi,who faces a tough battleagainst the BJP's RajeevPratap Rudy. A defeat herewould be a huge setbackfor Prasad. LJP presidentRam Vilas Paswan is work-ing hard to recover theHajipur seat, which he rep-resented seven timesbefore losing it to JD(U)'sRam Sundar Das in 2009. Ifhe doesn't win even afterre-aligning with the BJPand putting his 'secularimage' at stake, it will bedifficult for him to regain it infuture.

In Andhra Pradesh, all25 seats of Seemandhra goto the polls on May 7. TheCongress, bearing the bur-den of shepherding thedivision of the state, isexpected to fare dismally.The main battle here is

between the BJP-TDPcombine and the YSRCongress led by JaganMohan Reddy. The latter isreported to have the edgeat the moment.

In West Bengal, 23seats go to polls. The stateis witnessing multi-cor-nered contests in manyseats. The TrinamoolCongress is fighting a LokSabha election on its ownfor the first time and aims toretain its base as well aseat away the base of its for-mer ally, the Congress. TheBJP is widely reported tobe rising, but whether aspike in vote share willtranslate into seats isuncertain. Also going to thepolls within the next 10days are 5 seats inUttarakhand, 4 in HimachalPradesh and 2 in Jammuand Kashmir.

Lok Sabha polls nearing end, but big fights are far from over

Exuding confidenceabout the BJP's win inthe 2014 Lok Sabha

elections, Jaitley also wrote inan article on the party websitethat Priyanka Gandhi Vadrahad robbed Rahul Gandhi(her brother and theCongress vice-president) ofthe "limelight". Pointing outthat the Congress was on theback foot in the last leg of the2014 Lok Sabha elections,the leader of opposition inRajya Sabha added, "If dis-courtesies could win votes,the Congress would secure alandslide victory". "The BJPleaders and supportersshould concentrate only onthree issues — vikas (devel-

opment), leadership and sta-bility." He added theCongress had left voters"more and more confused".Taking a dig at the Congress'family, Jaitley said, "When he(Rahul) was not seen asbeing able to deliver, themother stepped in. The focushas now shifted to the sister."Ostensibly intended to attackNarendra Modi daily in some-what impolite language, thesister has succeeded in rob-bing the brother from being inthe limelight. Attack Modi wasthe strategy but a dilute Rahulis the consequence." Jaitleysaid the UPA had made threeunsuccessful efforts in recentdays.

Next govt has the right toreview UPA's order on 'snoop-

gate' probe, says Jaitley

Propelled by the high octanepoll campaign by leaders ofall parties, women and

youth have registered recordturnouts in 438 Lok Sabha con-stituencies where polling wasover by the seventh phase onWednesday, Election Commission(EC) officials said. But there isonly one Congress-ruled state —Maharashtra — in the list of top10 states recording higher voterturnouts.

About 140 million more peopleturned up at polling stations inthese constituencies compared tothe turnout in these 438 con-stituencies in the general elec-tions in 2009. This is about 40million more than the total num-ber of voters -- 100 million --added to the electoral rolls in thepast five years.

According to EC data, asmany as 442 million people --more than South America’s popu-lation -- of India’s 814 million vot-ers have exercised their franchiseso far. In 2009, the number ofpeople who cast their votes was

about 300 million in the sameconstituencies. “It is an impres-sive and phenomenal voter partic-ipation never seen before,” saidAkshaya Rout, director general incharge of the EC’s voter aware-ness programme. Rout said theEC’s efforts to simplify voter reg-istration and cleaning of electoralrolls contributed in a big way tothe higher turnout this time. Thefigures translate into 66.20 % vot-ing this time compared to 57.61%in 2009. The highest ever pollingwas registered in Punjab,Chandigarh, Goa and Tripura.And if the present trend contin-ues, the 2014 polls will break therecord of 64.01% polling in 1984-85 when the elections were heldin an emotionally surchargedatmosphere following the assas-sination of the then PM, IndiraGandhi. This election has alsoshown that voting has becomefashionable among many youngvoters, with many of them postingselfies with the ink marks on thesocial media. BJP prime ministeri-al candidate Narenda Modi gal-

vanising the campaign andPriyanka Gandhi dominating themedia space over the past fort-night may have contributed to thehigh turnout, analysts said. ArvindKejriwal’s AAP has also caughtthe imagination of the youth inmany constituencies. This wouldnot have been possible withoutwomen and youths, who consti-tute about two-thirds of the coun-try’s population of 1.2 billion. ECdata shows that more womenturned up at polling booths thanmen although the difference invoting numbers between the twogenders was marginal. RanjanaKumari, director of the Center forSocial Research, said the datagives two clear indications. “First,they (women) are now moreaware about their rights and wantto exercise it and second, theyare angry,” she said. Anotherinteresting trend is the highervoter participation in states withsizeable numbers of youth in theelectoral rolls. About one-fifth ofthe total voters in India are in theage group of 18-25.

Women, youth power push up turnout by 140 million over 2009

The BJP is ready for the final pushto its campaign centred onNarendra Modi, the party's prime

ministerial candidate, for the last tworounds of Lok Sabha elections on May7 and 12. Starting Friday, Modi willaddress 3D hologram rallies every day,with the focus on rural pockets ofPoorvanchal and Awadh region.

"While the 3D rallies are a big hit inurban areas, the response from ruralareas is immense too. We plan to holdone event every day, which wouldcover 100 places," said BJP vice-presi-dent Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who headsthe party's Central ProgrammeImplementation and CoordinationCommittee.ast elections, the BJP hadwon none of the 15 Lok Sabha seats inUttar Pradesh (UP) going to polls onMay 7, while it had bagged just three ofthe 18 seats where polling will be heldon May 12. These seats consist mostlyof rural pockets.

Nearly a dozen groups of around 15theatre artistes each have also beensent to canvass for Modi in the rural

pockets of eastern and central UP.Each team will hold around five showsevery day. "To add a regional flavor, wehave involved local artistes fluent inAwadhi and Bhojpuri to connect withvoters. It is like thinking global anddoing local," said BJP national secre-tary Vani Tripathi, who is overseeingthe exercise. These plays, also high-lighting failures of the UPA, are alsobeing performed in Bihar and WestBengal. While several party workersfrom outside the state are already

camping in Varanasi, sources say thecampaign will gain momentum afterModi shifts his base to Varanasi. Partyleaders say Modi, who will be busycampaigning till April 5 for the eighthround of polls, will spend three to fourdays in Varanasi from April 6. "He(Modi) will also campaign in otherstates, but is likely to spend the nightsin Varanasi. During the entire campaignso far, he returned to Ahmedabad orspent the nights in Delhi. This will bethe first time he will camp in a placeoutside Ahmedabad and Delhi. This isbound to boost the party's campaign,"said a senior BJP leader. The peoplebehind the BJP's campaign strategysay they are focussing on "consolida-tion" of efforts and resources. "Thefocus is on consolidation in the remain-ing phases. Booth management exer-cise for the last two phases will be moreextensive. People from outside theareas going to polls will also join," saidBJP's IT cell convener Arvind Gupta, akey member of the BJP's social mediacampaign team.

BJP gives final push to Modi's campaign for last two phases

I am RajivGandhi’s daugh-ter: Priyanka’sreply to Modi

“I am Rajiv Gandhi’sdaughter,” was PriyankaGandhi terse reply onThursday to purported com-ments by Narendra Modi thathe considers her as hisdaughter. Ms. Gandhi, who ison a campaign trail in Amethi,reacted sharply when shewas asked by reporters tocomment on purportedremarks by the BJP primeministerial candidate that shewas like a daughter to him.Priyanka’s brother Rahul isthe Congress candidate fromAmethi in Uttar Pradesh.“Main Rajiv Gandhi ki betihoon’( I am Rajiv Gandhi’sdaughter),” she said. Ms.Gandhi was in her SUV andhalted briefly to shake handswith some supporters. Initiallyshe did not answer the ques-tion but later came out of theSUV and with a stern facereplied to the query and leftwithout answering any otherquestion.

FIJISUN 09INDIA NEWS May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

The Tamil Nadu spe-cial investigativewing probing the

twin bomb blasts on theB a n g a l o r e - G u w a h a t iExpress suspect that theexplosives could havebeen planted at Bangalore.

Sources in the investi-gation agency, whichrushed a team toBangalore to pursue thenew leads it stumbled on,have information that theperpetrators of the explo-sion could have got sup-port from sleeper modulesworking in Karnataka. Anofficial refusing to benamed told PTI here thatinformation so far collatedby it suggest that the bombfitted with a timer devicecould have been planted atBangalore. The CB-CIDpolice have been interact-ing with neighbouring Statepolice and viewing CCTVfootages of Chennai

Central Railway station,the scene of the blast,sources said. “We arestudying the footages tosee if the accused actuallytravelled in the train”, theofficial said. The train,which left Bangalore onApril 30 at about 1135 hrs,arrived here yesterday by7.10 a.m. and was delayedby about an hour. Ten min-utes after its arrival, twolow-intensity bombsexploded in quick succes-sion, killing a woman techieand injuring 14 others. Inanother development a six-member National SecurityGuard (NSG) team led byLt. Col. Balakrishna arrivedhere late last night to assistthe State police in theongoing investigation intothe explosions, sourcessaid. The NSG team helddiscussions with top policeofficials of the state on theincident, the sources said.

A large posse of police personnel deployed on the platform of Bangalore railway station, after the twinblasts in Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Chennai blasts: CB-CID team rushes to BangaloreSurface-to-air

Akash missile

test-fired

India on Thursday success-fully testfired indigenously-developed surface-to-air

Akash missile with a strikerange of 25 km and capabilityto carry warhead of 60 kgs fromthe Integrated Test Range atChandipur as part of a user-trial. Describing the launch assuccessful, Defence sourcessaid that the sophisticated mis-sile was testfired at about10.58 hours from launch com-plex-3 of the Interim TestRange. “The mission was suc-cessful. The trial was conduct-ed by Indian Air Force person-nel,” ITR Director M.V.K.V.Prasad said. Akash, whichaimed at a para-barrel targetduring the trial, is a mediumrange surface-to-air anti-air-craft defence system devel-oped by the Defence Researchand Development Organisation(DRDO) as part of theIntegrated Guided MissileDevelopment Programme.

Senior BJP leader LKAdvani on Friday favouredUS-style public debatebetween main competingcandidates for the post ofPrime Minister inIndia.“Instead of rallies bydifferent political parties,the Election Commissionshould organise discus-sions between main con-tenders for the post ofPrime Minister in particularelection,” Mr Advani saidwhile addressing an elec-tion rally in favour of BJP’sAlmora LS candidate AjayTamta in Pithoragarh. Theveteran BJP leader said,

“had this system beenadopted in the country rightafter the first general elec-tions, the Indian democracywould have strengthened.”He counted construction ofgolden quadrilateral andcreation of three states ofUttarakhand, Chattisgarhand Jharkhand as achieve-ments of NDA governmentunder leadership of formerprime minister Atal BijariVajpayee. Mr Advani saidthe NDA’s vision of solvingwater crisis by interlinkingthe rivers could not be fol-lowed up by UPA govern-ments.

Advani favours US-style debate in IndiaL

ow turnout greetedCongress presidentSonia Gandhi at the

Andhra Muslim Collegegrounds on the Ponnururoad here when she arrivedto address a campaign rallyFriday, apparently reflectingthe anger of the people ofSeemandhra region overstate’s bifurcation. It was MsGandhi’s first visit toSeemandhra post bifurca-tion. Around 7,000 peopleturned up for the rally, theonly one she was address-ing in Seemandhra ahead ofthe May 7 elections.

The crowd remainedindifferent and not once did itcheer during her 30-minuteaddress. “I don’t grudge yourcriticism or anger,” theCongress chief said, while

taking pains to explain thereason for the state’s bifur-cation, and asking the peo-ple to “look forward”. “Thestate re-organisation was

done in a manner that pro-tects the interests ofSeemandhra. It is done infull fairness to Seemandhra,”she stressed, and listed out

the various provisions in theAndhra PradeshReorganisation Act-2014that would address theneeds of the region.

Seemandhra stoic as Sonia speaks

Arepeat of the 1996-like situation is pos-sible and the

Congress may be forced tosupport a government ofsecular parties at the Centreto keep the BJP out ofpower, the CPI(M) generalsecretary Prakash Karat toldthe PTI in an ineterview.

He also did not rule outparties like the AIADMK join-ing an alternative front tokeep the Narendra Modi-ledBJP and the NDA out ofpower like it happened in1996 when a governmentunder Deve Gowda wasformed with Congress sup-porting from outside. “Well,depending on the results,there may be a situationwhere the Congress willhave to play a role in termsof ensuring that there is asecular alternative govern-

ment put in place. “If theCongress does not want aBJP-led government, then itwill have to play a role ofcontributiung to the forma-tion of a secular alternativegovernment...,” Mr. Karatsaid. He acknowledged thatthe anti-Congress mood ishelping BJP in States where

the two parties are in directfight but dismissed reportsof a Modi wave across thecountry.

Mr. Karat said that thereare powerful regional partieswhich are strong and fight-ing the BJP and they maynot be joining the saffronparty in forming the govern-ment. The front of non-Congress, non-BJP partieswould be able to cobble up amajority with outside sup-port from Congress, he said.“There are some secularparties which have oppor-tunistically tied up with theBJP and we know who theyare. But the bulk of theregional parties today whoare in the non-Congress,non-BJP category have notaligned with either theCongress or the BJP inthese elections.”

Congress may back alternativefront to keep Modi out: KaratT

he alleged failure ofmigrant Muslims tovote for a tribal party

candidate in Kokrajhar LokSabha constituency hasclaimed 23 lives in westernAssam's Baska andKokrajhar districts sinceThursday evening. Thedeath toll is expected to goup with many reportedmissing.

Kokrajhar is the head-quarters of the ethnicallyvolatile areas underBodoland TerritorialCouncil (BTC), which isruled by the BodolandPeople's Front (BPF), aconstituent of theCongress-led governmentin Assam.

Officials in the affecteddistricts said the attacks,presumably by Bodo tribalmilitants, has madeMuslims and other minoritygroups flee their villages tosafer locations. The admin-istration in adjoining

Dhubri district has openedup two relief camps, fear-ing a rerun of the 2012communal clashes thattook the lives of 108 peo-ple. An umbrella group of21 non-Bodo organisationshas attributed the violenceto BPF legislator PramilaRani Brahma's view onApril 30 that her party can-didate (for Kokrajhar seat)and Assam ministerChandan Brahma couldfind it hard to win becauseMuslims did not vote forhim. Violence had preced-ed polling in Kokrajhar onApril 24. Muslims are amajor constituent of thisgroup that fielded NabaKumar alias Hira Sarania,a former United LiberationFront of Asom rebel, as anindependent candidate inKokrajhar. Non-Bodosincluding other tribes havenever won this seatdespite constituting two-thirds of the population.

23 killed in militant attacksin Assam, curfew imposed

4 Indians win

awards in

Harvard’s contest

Four Indians are among thewinners of a Harvard BusinessSchool competition that awardsprizes to innovative business andsocial impact start-ups.

Harvard MBA student AmritaSiagal won the grand prize in the‘Social Enterprise’ category for herventure ‘Saathi,’ which she co-founded with Oracle engineerKristin Kagetsu. Saathi providesaffordable sanitary pads madefrom waste banana tree fibre towomen in rural India. Siagal andKagetsu received a $50,000 prize.

The winner in the businesstrack category was the start-up‘Alfred’, launched by SaurabhMahajan, Marcela Sapone andJess Beck. Alfred is a conciergeservice individuals can use fortasks including housekeeping. Therunner up in the social enterprisetrack was ‘Tomato Jos,’ a tomatoprocessing company, founded byMBA students Mira Mehta andMike Lawrence. In the businesscategory, ‘Booya Fitness’ foundedby MBA student Pritar Kumar wonthe runner-up award.

FIJISUN10 ART & ENTERTAINMENTMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

Chairperson Zahid Buksh is spearheading theteam with a view to holding the 3rd Girmit

Festival at Legion Hall in Tracy. Food and snackswill be prepared by the chairperson and his vol-unteers nearby at his home and catered free at

the dining hall later at night.

PlEASE SEE AdVT. ON PAGE-32

Call Mr. Zahid Buksh 209-629-0913Free! Admission to the dinner will be free.

Any donations will be most welcome.

youth Talent/quiz competitionThe show will also have a youth quiz competition

basedon Fiji Girmit to keep our abreast with sacrifices their great grandparents made in

developing their new homeland Fiji.

Exhibitions and displaysThe committee is pleased to announce that anyonecan send or bring old pictures of our dear Girmit.

lAhREN RAdIO ShOWAT PUNJABI RAdIO USA

lISTEN TO lAhREN PROGRAM FROM 1 PM TO 3 PM

cAll BABU lAl

510-706-5013

MASTER OF MUSIc BABU lAl *RIGhT) WITh cO-hOST BIMlESh (cENTER) INTERVIEWING FIJI

SUN USA EdITOR, dR. h. KOyA

FIJI SUN’S TWOMAJOR EVENTS

IShq SUFIyANI a Sufi Ghazal program featuring Fiji artists.

BATTlE OF ThE GIANTSfeaturing only the best of the soccer

teams is coming up late summer.

Famous Fiji Hindi poetand longtime radio hostof Stockton, Piara Singh

Gill to read his poems atUS FIJI GIRMIT FESTIVAL

New Kirtan stars are born: Pravin Roger HAYWARD-TheKirtan showdownorganizer PravinRoger, HaywardHondo top sales-man and leader ofHayward BalVikash Mandali isall excited aboutthe overwhelmingsuccess of hisfirst showdownheld April 26.“Two new starswere born,” said avery thrilledPravin Roger whoadded that thisfirst Kirtan show-down was a soldout with over 600people whoattended the end.

A musical band to watch!An all-Fiji artists band, the Melodymakers can do what it takes over 75member orchestra to deliver.

If you are a truemusic lover, youcannot resist

admiring this Fijigroup and will feellike just listening tothem again andagain! No specialtraining, no givengift from forefathersno institution train-ing, except theirindividual traits andabilities. While bassand lead guitaristsgive the muchneeded supportand keyboard sus-tains the perform-ance, the percus-sions and dohlakprovide the relishyou cannot afford to

leave out in theIndian songs.

The lineupincludes: TomNarayan (bass),Kishor Kumar(dohlak), AshnielSingh (drum/per-cussions), RohitSingh (keyboard)and Rajeshvar (leadguitar).

This sought-afterteam has manygreat qualities andone that FIJI SUNlikes most is theirhumility and will-ingness to performfor all at shortnotices with no“nakrabazi” and“show off”.

An all-Fiji artists MelodyMakers band dish out

mesmerizing performance.

At Norfolk sports annual Dhamaka

FIJISUN 11PAKISTAN NEWS May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

Aday before he wasshot at in Lahore,journalist Raza Rumi

had contacted AmnestyInternational to inform that hisname was on PakistanTaliban’s hit list. The organi-sation’s new report, titled “ABullet has been chosen foryou, attacks on journalists inPakistan” was released onWednesday.Based on inter-

views with 100 journalists andmedia workers and extensivefield research on over 70cases, it examines severalrecent cases where journal-ists were targeted for theirreporting. According to theresearch, at least 34 journal-ists may have been killed as adirect consequence of theirwork since democratically-elected government was

restored in Pakistan in March2008.

The report says journalistsface a range of threats inPakistan, including thosefrom civil and military stateorgans such as the police andsecurity forces. But no stateactor is more feared by jour-nalists than the Directoratefor Inter Services Intelligence(ISI). Amnesty’s investigation

of cases shows journalistsare particularly at risk ofharassment and abuse if theyexpose security lapses by themilitary, its alleged links toarmed groups, human rightsviolations by the securityforces in Balochistan andnorthwest Pakistan or if theywork for foreign media outletsconsidered by the state to behostile to Pakistan.

34 journalists killed in Pak. since 2008: AmnestyTwo convictionsAmnesty investigated 74 cases for this report, andin only two of these have the perpetrators beenconvicted — murder of Wali Khan Babar and the2002 killing of Wall Street Journal reporter DanielPearl. Of these 74 cases, police or other authoritiescarried out an initial investigation in 36 cases, andin a handful of incidents victims or their familiesreceived security protection, compensation or otherassistance from the state.

Senior Pakistani TV journal-ist Hamid Mir, confined toa wheelchair after surviv-

ing an assassination attempt, onFriday recorded his statementbefore a judicial commissionprobing the attack on him.

The three-member probepanel, constituted by theSupreme Court to investigate theattack, held its proceedings atthe Supreme Court's KarachiRegistry. The inquiry commis-sion headed by Justice AnwarZaheer Jamali and comprisingJustice Ejaz Afzal Khan andJustice Iqbal Hameed urRehman conducted the judicialproceeding in a closed roomwhere Hamid Mir appeared on awheelchair and recorded hisstatement.The commission com-prising three Supreme Courtjudges was formed last week toprobe the attack on Mir. Thecommission has three weeks tosubmit its report. A reward of Rs.1 crore has been announced forthose who help identify theattackers. Mir, 47, came to thecourt under heavy securityarrangements. He has alreadybeen shifted out of the hospitalto an undisclosed location due to"security threats". "Yes, I had tobe taken out of hospital aftersome serious security threats,and I am right now bleeding fromthe stitches covered by bandag-es at the slightest movement,"he told the News daily, which ispart of the Jang group that Mirworks for. One bullet hit Mir's uri-nary bladder damaging it as was

part of his intestine that was hitby another bullet, a part of whichthe surgeons removed after theApril 19 gun attack. Thoughthere have been suggestions tomove Mir abroad for furthertreatment, he is not medically fitfor air travel as of now. Mir hasblamed the "ISI within the ISI" fororchestrating the attack on himalleging that he is receivingthreats which "advise" him toleave the country. "Yes, advicekeeps coming in that I shouldleave the country but the reasonI refuse it is because I and mybrother have taken a certainposition saying that rogue ele-ments tried to take me out, and Iwill not bow my head in front ofthem by leaving the country.""Repeatedly, I have said I am notagainst any institution. I havebeen made an example but thiswill not deter me in any manner,"he was quoted as saying by thedaily. Mir's brother has alreadyrecorded his statement beforethe judicial commission. Hisbrother has also accused "ele-ments in the ISI" of orchestratingthe attack on Mir, a chargedenied by the military.

Pak's probe panel recordsHamid Mir's statement

Prime Minister DavidCameron andPakistan Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif in ajoint statement on May 1underscored the impor-tance of “developing closerco-operation” with the newgovernment that would besoon elected in India.

In a wide-ranging state-ment on developing bilater-al relations, the two leaderslaid out the blueprint forcooperation in the areas oftrade and investment, cul-ture and education, defenceand security, and regionalstability.

On his first official visit tothe UK after assuming the

reins of government in2013, Mr. Sharif also metwith Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg and other seniorministers. He gave akeynote speech at thePakistan InvestmentCentre. Mr. Cameron andMr. Sharif committed to theopening of a new BritishDeputy High Commission inLahore. A calendar of edu-cational engagement for thenext three years includes acommitment from theBritish Council to train onemillion teachers of Englishover the next five years inPunjab, Sindh and KhyberPakhtunkhwa provinces toupgrade English language

teaching in Pakistan.UK aid, through the

Department forInternational Developmentwill support the delivery ofprimary and secondaryeducation to help realizeMr. Sharif’s commitment tospend 4 per cent ofPakistan’s GDP on educa-tion. The two sides agreedto increase bilateral trade to£3 million by 2015, and inthis regard welcoming theannouncement by the UKcompany Asian PreciousMetals of a new £ 100 mil-lion project in Pakistan. Onsecurity and defence, thetwo governments will worktowards countering the

shared threats of terrorism,organized crime and illegalmigration. The UK prom-ised support for Pakistan’snew National InternalSecurity Policy. Pakistanalso endorsed theDeclaration of Commitmentto End Sexual Violence inConflict, a campaignlaunched by ForeignSecretary William Hague in2013. He is to co-host,along with the SpecialEnvoy of the UN HighCommissioner forRefugees Angelina Jolie, aGlobal Summit to EndSexual Violence in Conflicton 10—13 June 2014 inLondon.

Pak, UK resolve to work closely with new govt in India

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (right) talks with PrimeMinister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif at 10 Downing Street, in London.

Pakistanmosque namedafter SalmanTaseer killer

After a library in the infa-mous Lal Masjid was namedafter Osama bin Laden, it isthe turn of a mosque in asuburb in the capital to benamed after Mumtaz Qadri,sentenced to death for killingPunjab Governor SalmanTaseer. Qadri, who hasappealed his sentence, is injail and on the anniversary ofTaseer’s killing there wereprocessions to eulogise him.The naming of the mosqueafter a murder convict hasbeen defended by its author-ities who are raising fundsfor its expansion. The placewas built three years ago in adeveloping township, but itsname was made public onTwitter. The move has beencondemned by Taseer’s fam-ily but it remains to be seen ifthe government will take anyaction.

One in four refugees intoday’s world areAfghans and while the

Syrians are about to overtakethat, the onus is onAfghanistan to do more toensure the return of five mil-lion refugees back to theircountry after the drawdown ofU.S. troops. This wasPakistan’s appeal on Tuesdayas it called on donors to pro-vide $367 million for theimplementation of variousprojects. The United NationsHigh Commissioner (UNHCR)for Refugees AntonioGuterres and the federal min-ister for states and frontierregions Lt. Gen. Abdul QadirBaloch launched the PakistanPortfolio of projects under theSolutions Strategy for AfghanRefugees (SSAR) seekinginternational funding support.Lt. Gen. Baloch said the cut-

off date for the over three mil-lion Afghan refugees inPakistan had been extendedto December 31, 2015 afterquite a bit of effort. “I don’tknow how long we can testthe patience of the local pop-ulation,” he said while appeal-ing to the door community tocome forward and reduce thenegative impact. He saidthere are complaints from theprevious Afghan government

that nothing meaningful wasdone to develop sites forrefugees to return home.“How long can we wait forthat,” the minister said. Hesaid Pakistan was committedto ensuring that refugeesreturn in dignity and they can-not be forced. Issues of therefugees not wanting to goback voluntarily will beaddressed when the timecomes and it was up to theAfghanistan government todevelop infrastructure forthem and a substantive effortneeds to be done. There hasto be a pull factor whichattracts refugees intoAfghanistan, he added. JananMosazai, the Afghanistanambassador to Pakistan saidthe refugees did not leave oftheir own volition and it wasdue to the Soviet invasion ofthe country.

Kabul needs to act to bringback refugees : Pakistan

Protest for miss-ing persons turnsugly in Islamabad

Aprotest to demand therelease of missing per-sons at D Chowk turned

ugly on Monday with policetear-gassing them when theytried to go towards Parliament.Police arrested activist AminaMasood Janjua who is leadingthe demand for justice for miss-ing persons and some others.Later at night the PrimeMinister ordered their release.

The World Bank said onFriday it had approveda $1 billion loan for

Pakistan and "envisages" anoth-er $11 billion package spanningfive years. The loans are meantto support Pakistan's strugglingenergy sector and bolster itsefforts to increase growth andinvestment and arrest poverty."The World Bank Groupapproved a package of assis-tance worth $1 billion to supportPakistan's economic reforms on

Thursday," the bank said in astatement. "The assistancepackage consists of two devel-opment policy credits (DPCs) tosupport the government ofPakistan's efforts to improve thepower sector, and reinvigorategrowth and investment for reduc-ing poverty and building sharedprosperity," it said. The bankalso said it was "envisaging" $11billion worth of loans under anew country partnership strategyfor Pakistan over the next five

years, covering fiscal years 2015to 2019. The government, how-ever, said the World Bank hadapproved the $11 billion partner-ship strategy to tackle its fourmain challenges of energy,economy, education and fightingextremism. "The other landmarkachievement of the day was theapproval of country partnershipstrategy under which Pakistanwill get US$11 billion in theshape of project loans and budg-etary support," it said.

World Bank approves $1bn loan to Pakistan

FIJISUN12 PAKISTAN NEWSMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

Pakistan's armychief Gen RaheelSharif has

described Kashmir as the"jugular vein" of his coun-try, saying the issueshould be resolved inaccordance with the wish-es of Kashmiris and in linewith United NationsSecurity Council (UNSC)resolutions for peace inthe region.

Addressing a ceremo-ny to mark the Martyrs'Day at army headquarters

in Rawalpindi, Sharif onWednesday claimedKashmir was an interna-tionally recognised dis-pute. "Matchless sacri-fices offered by Kashmiriswill not go in vain," hesaid. Gen Sharif, who justreturned from an officialtrip to Saudi Arabia,termed Kashmir as a"jugular vein" of Pakistan.

He called for resolutionof the Kashmir issue inaccordance with the wish-es and aspirations of

Kashmiris and in line withUNSC resolutions.

The resolution of theKashmir issue is "indis-pensable" for lastingpeace in the region, hesaid. "Pakistan army is infavour of peace but isalways ready to respondto any aggression in befit-ting manner," he said.

Pakistan has oftendescribed Kashmir as the"jugular vein" but this isthe first time Gen Sharifhas used the term or spo-

ken about Kashmir sincetaking over late last year.

Talking about domesticissues, he said thatPakistan army believed instrengthening of democra-cy, supremacy of constitu-tion and rule of law.

The army chief laudedthe media and said: "Webelieve in freedom ofmedia and responsiblejournalism". His com-ments came amid a con-troversy surrounding theattack on leading Geo TV

anchor Hamid Mir andsubsequent move by thedefence ministry seekingcancellation of the broad-casting licence of thechannel. Sharif said armysupports every effort forelimination of terrorismand restoration of peacein the country. The cere-mony was attended by alarge number of digni-taries, including defenceminister Khawaja Asif andformer army chief AshfaqPervez Kayani.

Kashmir a 'jugular vein of Pak': Army chief Sharif

No one knows whopaid for them, print-ed them or tacked

them to lampposts. But themessage carried in supersize font on the posters iscrystal clear despite theclumsy English: “Pakistanloves ISI.”

A rash of posters hasappeared mysteriouslyacross Islamabad in whatappears to be a desperateattempt to shore up supportfor the country’s intelli-gence agency as it faceschallenges to its onceunquestioned position asthe nation’s guardian.

The latest crisis began aweek ago when gunmenpumped six bullets intoHamid Mir, one of the coun-try’s best known televisionpresenters.

His brother immediatelyaccused the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI) directorateof organising the hit, aclaim broadcast endlesslyon Geo News, Mr Mir’s sta-

tion, setting off a high-stakes struggle betweenthe country’s most suc-cessful independent mediahouse and the spies. “Ifthey tried to kill Hamid Mirthen I don’t see howposters can help them,”said Farooq, a trader, as hewalked throughIslamabad’s central busi-ness and shopping district,the Blue Area.Although alittle known trade associatehas claimed credit for someof the posters, manybelieve the military’sresources are behind thecampaign.

Other signs bore thelegend: “A traitor ofPakistan army is a traitor ofthe country.” At stake is thestruggle for democracy inPakistan. The military hasruled for almost half itsshort history and although ithas publicly backed thetransition to multiparty elec-tions since General PervezMusharraf was forced from

power in 2008, the generalscontinue to control chunksof the country and elementsof foreign policy. Last yearNawaz Sharif, who wasdeposed by Mr Musharrafin 2009, returned to powerand promptly ensured thathis nemesis was put on trial

for treason – another indig-nity for the once untouch-able top brass.

At the same time, anoisy media has beengrowing rapidly.Sensationalist talk showhosts spread flaky conspir-acy theories and heap

blame for Pakistan’s prob-lems on the CIA, India andsometimes the shadowyfigures of the ISI.

Mr Mir is one of the bestloved – and most hated – ofthem all, having playedboth sides by cultivatingclose links with militants

and with security agencies.He has been a frequent

critic of the military’s brutalcampaign in Baluchistan,where soldiers are fightinginsurgents, a stance hesaid was responsible forthreats to his life. In 2012,the Pakistan Taliban said ithad planted explosives onhis car in a failed attempt tokill him. Mr Mir released astatement after the latestattack, in which he said hemost feared the ISI. “I hadbeen facing threats fromboth state and non-stateactors, but some develop-ments in the recent pastconvinced me to inform mycolleagues about the ele-ments who could most like-ly try to kill me,” it said. Theclaims have put the militaryon the offensive. ISI offi-cials have denied any rolein the attack and haveasked Pakistan’s broad-casting regulator to takeGeo off air. But attempts towhip up public support

have so far struggled.Demonstrations in supportof the generals on Fridaywere poorly attended. RanaJawad, Islamabad bureauchief of Geo, defended thestation’s coverage, whichhe said had merely broad-cast the comments of MrMir’s relatives as it wouldany other family caught upin an attack. “Obviouslythere are suggestions thatperhaps there are still a lotof imbalance the relation-ship between the civiliangovernment and military,which controls so manyspheres of life,” he said.

A security official saidGeo had failed to offer anyevidence to support theallegations. "The publicholds the military and ISI inhigh esteem and will not tol-erate such insults," he said,speaking on condition ofanonymity. "The postersare people expressing theirsentiments in a peacefulway."

Mystery poster campaign praises Pakistan’s spies

Pakistan’s prime min-ister has becomethe most high-profile

victim of his own pushagainst utility bill defaultersafter the gas was cut off tohis residence. Gas compa-ny officials said they shutoff supplies on Sundayevening after sending afinal demand to NawazSharif’s office for arrears ofmore than £28,000. Unpaidbills are one of the biggestfactors in the country’s crip-pling power crisis that seesswathes of the country dis-connected for hours everyday. A spokesman for SuiNorthern Gas PipelineLimited said the prime min-ister’s residence and astring of other governmentbuildings were cut off overbills totalling almost£100,000. The move hadbeen made, he added, afterMr Sharif himself orderedthe crackdown. “We were

already acting against gasdefaulters but the primeminister’s initiative furtherstrengthened it,” he said.He said repeat notices hadbeen ignored and that thebuildings would be recon-nected when payments hadbeen made.The episodewill be seized on by MrSharif’s opponents as yetanother example of ineffi-ciency at the highest levels– or a fresh symptom of thecorruption that has plaguedthe country for years.

Pakistan PM’s house has gascut off over unpaid bills

Sharif in UK asBrit MPs urgedto cut Pak aid As Pakistan Prime Minister NawazSharif arrived in London for bilater-al talks, a key committee of theHouse of Commons onWednesday said Britain should cutits aid to Pakistan unless there was‘clear evidence’ that it was beingused to reduce the threat ofextremism. Noting that Britain had“very large bilateral programmes”in Pakistan, the InternationalDevelopment Committee said thatit was unlikely that Britain’s aidwould have been “so high if thecountry were not having to confrontIslamic extremism”. It said: “(If) ifthis is the case, the budget canonly be justified if there is clear evi-dence that DFID (Department forInternational Development) sup-port is effective in reducing theextremist threat”. The reportadded: “If not, we recommend thatDFID consider reducing spendingin Pakistan and increasing it in lowincome countries. We also drawattention to our report on Pakistanand our recommendation that aidshould not be increased unless thePakistan Government increases itstax collection and the political lead-ership pay their fair and proportion-ate share of taxes”.

An ambitious new solarpower project in Pakistanis well under way as the

country attempts to tackle its crip-pling energy crisis.

The government says theQuaideAzam Solar Energy Parknear Bahawalpur will benefit theentire Punjab province – thelargest and most populous in thecountry.

The desolate area is currentlybeing transformed and thePunjab government has spent £3million installing initial infrastruc-ture for the new solar energypark, which it hopes will becomeone largest of its kind in theworld. "In phase one, a pilot proj-ect producing 100MW of electric-ity will hopefully be completed bythe end of this year," ImranSikandar Baluch, head of theBahawalpur district administra-tion, told AFP. "After completionof the first 100MW project, thegovernment will invite investors toinvest here for the 1,000megawatts." "We need energybadly and we need clean energy,this is a sustainable solution foryears to come," said Mr Baluch."Pakistan is a place where youhave a lot of solar potential. In

Bahawalpur, with very little rainand a lot of sunshine, it makesthe project feasible and moreeconomical." Shahbaz Sharif,chief minister of Punjab said thatthe project would bring an invest-ment of more than 200 billionPakistani rupees (£1.2 billion) tothe region. Pakistan has sufferedcrippling "load shedding" or elec-tricity shortages for years thatcan leave households across thecountry without power for up to18 hours a day. A World Bankreport suggests that around 44per cent of Pakistan's householdsare not connected to the grid,most of which are in rural areas.

Temperatures in central Pakistancan reach 50 degrees Celsiusduring the summer months, send-ing demand for electricity sky-rocketing and leaving a shortfallof around 4,000MW. The solarpark is one of the latest energysaving projects launched by thegovernment of Nawaz Sharif. InJanuary, it began installing a1.8MW solar power plant atParliament House in the capital,Islamabad. The initial cost of£36.5 million was covered by theChinese government as a good-will gesture and it is expected that£600,000 a year will be saved inenergy costs.

Pakistan building huge solar energy park

FIJISUN 13May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

FIJISUN14 May2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

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FIJISUN20 bollywoodMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

,

ONE film wonder ChiragPaswan who featured withKangna Ranaut in the 2011film Miley Naa Miley Humhas clearly left behind hisBollywood aspirations. Son ofpolitician Ram Vilas Paswan,Chirag is contesting from theJamui parliamentaryconstituency in Bihar on the

Lok Janshakti Party ticket —a party floated by his father.While Paswan Sr iscontesting from Hajipur, alsoin Bihar, he diverted all hisenergies in Jamui to garnersupport for his son. Six yearsago, bitten by the acting bug,Chirag parked himself inMumbai and did the

Bollywood rounds hoping tofind a foothold. When herealised that the going wastough inspite of his father’sbacking, he decided to takethe plunge in politics. Chiragincidentally considers it as hishomecoming.

Hopes galoreGRACY Singh is still aroundand has not given up on heracting aspirations. She recentlydid a dance recital as part of theInternational Dance Day (April29) celebrations. After starringin the Aamir Khan-starrerLagaan in 2001, she went on todo some utterly forgettable films.The actress feels that afterLagaan anything she did was ahuge step down. With thisdriving her career decisions, sherealised that acting offers werescarce and went back to herclassical dance shows. ThoughVikram Bhatt cast her in his2012 film Dangerous Ishhq, itdid nothing to resurrect her career.

Waiting to exhale

Kangna Ranaut (left) and Chirag Paswan in Miley Naa Miley Hum

Remember the times

On the goTHERE’S nothing like a tall glass of chilledlassi to keep cool in the sweltering heat.Rapper Honey Singh was spotted dining ata suburban five-star. And what did theLungi Dance crooner insist on? After hismeal, he insisted on a glass of lassi which hegulped in one go.

Yo Yo Honey Singh

The ex effectPRIYANKA Chopra is strangely bondingwith the present flames of her exes. Far fromsharing Artic vibes with them, PC has beenextra-friendly with Sonakshi Sinha andBipasha Basu. Priyanka was dating ShahidKapoor during the shoot of their filmKaminey, while Sonakshi is rumoured to bemore than just good friends with herR…Rajkumar co-star. While Bips ispresently Harman Baweja’s ladylove whowas PC’s ex. Phew.

Sonakshi Sinha (left) and Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra (left) and Bipasha Basu

Gracy Singh

SONAM KAPOOR was spotted at a recent event in one of the tightest corset dresses ever. Far from beingsnug, it appeared as if she had poured herself in. How on earth did she manage to wear it — and moreimportantly, how did she manage to breathe? PIC/ATUL KAMBLE

ever since Sonakshi Sinha

started on herweight loss regimeand revamped her

wardrobe in thepast few months,

she has won manymore followers on

social media.

Sona’s Facebook page nowhas over one million likes.Thus the actress now joins

the ranks of Shah Rukh Khan,Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoorwho also have over a million likeson Facebook. The actress hasbeen talking about her weight lossprogrammes on Twitter and puttingup snapshots of her exercising.Looks like Sona is now determinedto get the hot image.

Sonakshi's Facebook pagenow has over one million likes

Poonam arrested for'indecent behaviour',

ReleaSed

Controversial starlet Poonam Pandey

was arrested in Mum-bai's Mira Road area

late on Friday night forallegedly indulging in

indecent acts in public.She was later released

after a warning Pandey, who made her Bollywood debut with'Nasha' last year, came to prominence after statingin an interview that she would strip if the Indian

Cricket Team won the 2011 World Cup. While she did notkeep her promise after India won the World Cup, shefinally bared all after Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL in2012, and became an internet sensation. "Wow I amtrending World Wide... Tweethearts and fans round theWorld... the pic was just a trailer lot more you will see inmy debut film... so stay tuned," Poonam had then tweet-ed. The starlet has courted controversy numerous timessince then most notably for uploading more revealing pic-tures of herself on social media websites.

FIJISUN 21bollywood May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

pers

fashionista fun

Beyond trends COMFORT is what matters the most for Sushmita Sen who can bedescribed as a practical dresser. She loves signature pieces andpampering herself at a spa. Here are her style mantras:

Style mantraAccording to me, a person is truly stylish whenhe knows the trend yet manages to break them

with flair. I like to dress in a simple manner. Iwould advise all women to dress in a simple andelegant way. A bit of drama works well as longas it’s subtle. No matter how lovely an outfitlooks, you will look bad if it fits you badly. So, getthe right fit.

Comfort clothingOn my days off, I like to dress mostly in ganjis,skinny jeans or pajamas. A short cotton dress is

another favourite. Comfort is my number one priority.

Dressing upComfort and fit are two must-haves for me. I won’t wear thetrendiest outfit in town if I feel uncomfortable in it. I believe

that what you wear must complement your body type. The weatherplays an important role in deciding my choice of outfit as well. I wearclothes that suit the temperature at the venue.

Best of the bestI feel that our Bollywood celebs have their individual stylestatements and like to dress as per their moods. Arjun Rampal

comes across as stylishly dressed while Deepika Padukone dresseswell even without help from a stylist. I like Sonam Kapoor for her lovefor fashion and the ability to take sartorial risks.

Hollywood hottiesThere are so many well-dressed celebs abroad that the list isendless. However, the ones I feel are most comfortable in their

own skin are Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Victoria Beckham andDavid Beckham. Their sense of style, body sculpture, clothes andpoise makes them look plain beautiful.

Beauty regimeI drink lots of water and keep my skin moisturised and clean allthe time. I practice Ariel Silk, a form of acrobatic exercise that

keeps my blood circulation high. It helps blood rush to my face andkeeps it glowing. I don’t oil my hair frequently but I do keep my scalpclean. I am not fussy about it. However, since I like to keep my hairopen most of the time, I pamper my tresses with a spa session once ina while.

Shining brightI wear minimal jewellery but I want my pieces to make astatement. An item or accessory like a cocktail ring or a

neckpiece looks great with a simple dress.

Fashion nightmareIt would be wearing and doing exactly the same kind of thingsthat others are doing at that particular event or place. Lack of

individuality scares me.

Bag essentialsLip balm, floss, lip-gloss, sunglasses, house keys, chewing gum,medicines for my headache and my wallet. I travel with my

whole world.

(As told to Nilesh Rao)

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THE 95th birth anniversarycelebrations of late tablamaestro, Ustad Allah Rakhawas marked by a fusionconcert that saw aperformance by RakeshChaurasia among others. Theevening celebrated musicand memories.

1. Fazal Qureshi2. Pandit Shiv KumarSharma and RakeshChaurasia3. Louis Banks4. A performance by aWestern quartet

1000

750

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00BA

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First look THE premiere of a social filmwas low key with membersof the cast and crew inattendance. Sudhir Mishraand Anubhav Sinha werealso present at the event.

Raj Zutshi

Gulzar

Vijay Raaz and Manu Rishi

A class apart

1

Mugdha Godse, who has been missing fromthe big screen for a while

now, is shooting for 'Bezubaan Ishq'with Sneha Ullal and newcomerNishant. Mugdha plays an obses-sive lover and apparently to pre-pare for the role, is ahem, watchinga lot of Hollywood films! The film isbeing shot in Jaipur.

What is

Mugdhaupto?

Veena Malikreturns to Pakistanafter four years

Pakistani actress Veena Malik has returned to her homecountry 'as a mature girl' after spending four yearsabroad. The 30-year-old star, who married business-

man Asad Basheer Khan Khattak in December 2013, saidthat her time away has increased her love for her country by1000 times and she wants to do social work in Pakistan now,the Express Tribune reported. Malik had previouslyannounced that she's retiring from the film industry. Her hus-band also said that the retirement was Malik's own decisionand said that he would support her in whatever she does

YamUnOTRIThe Temple of Yamuna ji is the main temple of

worship. Near this temple there are a few hot watersprings where the water rushes out of the mountaincavities at boiling point. Surya-Kund is the mostimportant kund. A pinch of rice or potatoes, tiedloosely in a cloth, are dipped in it and after a few min-utes when taken out completely cooked. These aretaken home as prasad. Near the Surya Kund there isa shila called Divya-Shila which is worshipped beforepuja is offered to Yamunaji. Nearby is the Jamuna BaiKund-built about 75 years ago-which is used for a holybath. The water is pleasantly warm and relaxing.

GanGOTRIThe place of origination of shri

Bhagirathi is situated from a dis-tance of 28 K.M. The temple ofBhagirathi is situated at Gangotri. Inthis temple statues of Shri Ganga ji,Yamuna ji, Saraswati ji, Lakshmi ji,Parwati ji and Annapurna ji are situ-ated. All articles of Pooja are madeup of Gold only. A dense forest ofdeodar is also located here. Thetemple of Ganga is situated on theright bank of the Bhagirathi (Ganga)and its journey can be seen in vari-ous moods deep and silent in thelower plains, but at Gangotri,Bhagirathi is gurgling, tossing, froth-ing and singing an ecslatic melody.Bhagirthi is quite different fromAlaknanda, Saraswati and Yamuna,so the water ofGangotri is carried toRameshwaram in south India andoffered to Lord Shiva. There arealso a few Ashrams andDharamshalas on the left bank ofBhagirathi.

HISTORYThe great task of bringing the

Ganga on earth started. Anshumanfailed and so did his son Dilip, butthe grandson Bhagirath was verydetermined who meditated atGangotri. After several years ofintense meditation, the Gangadescended from Heaven andremained in suspense in the coils ofShiva's hair. Now king Bhagirathmeditated to propitiate Shiva. Shivabeing pleased released the Gangaas three streams-one of which cameof earth in the form of theBhagirathi, The Ganga's waterstouched the ashes of the 60,000sons and they rose to their eternalrest. The slab of stone on whichKing Bhagirath in believed to havemeditated is called the BhagirathShila and is located near the templeof Ganga.

FIJISUN22 HINDUISUMMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

CHaR dHam HISTORY

Very little is known about

the origins of Char dham.

Originally, the name Char

dham used to be reserved

for the India's most famous

pilgrimage circuit, four

important temples of Puri,

Rameshwaram, dwarka,

and badrinath. These sites

were grouped together by

the great reformer and

philosopher of 8th century -

Shankaracharya (adi

Sankara), into the four car-

dinal pilgrimage sites of

the subcontinent. at some

point of time, badrinath,

the last visited and the most

prominent of the four sites

in the original Char dham,

also became the most visit-

ed site of the Himalayan pil-

grimage circuit and was

named Chota (little) Char

dham. Unlike the original

Char dham, the holy sites

of the Chota Char dham do

not share a single affiliation

to sects. Rather, the three

major sectarian movements

in modern worshipping

Hinduism all have repre-

sentation, with the Vaisnava

site - badrinath, joined by a

Saiva site - (Kedarnath),

and two devi sites

(Yamunotri and Gangotri).

during the mid-twentieth

century, the "Chota"

denomination was still used

invariably to characterize

the Himalayan version of

the Char dham. This usage

believably reflects the rela-

tive significance of the cir-

cuit for most of its history.

Reachable, until recent

times only after a two-

month trek, which lengthily

exceeds an altitude of 4000

meters, the Chota Char

dham was long captivated

by tour enthusiasts and reli-

gious professionals, along

with a small number of

devoted retirees and

wealthy patrons. although

the various sites and the

circuit as a whole were

important to Hindus on the

plains below, they were not

a specifically visible aspect

of yearly religious culture.

after the 1962 India-China

war, however, the accessi-

bility to the Chota Char

dham improved signifi-

cantly, as India's short-lived

measures at Himalayan

expansionism required

huge infrastructural invest-

ments. as the buses of pil-

grims start to arrive, the

Chota appendix apparently

have dropped away, howev-

er the prefix "Himalayan"

(Hindi: Himalaya ki Char

dham) is still sometimes

used to avoid confusion.

With ease of accessibility

and infrastructural

improvements, the signifi-

cance of the Char dham, as

both an actual destination

and an object of the Hindu

faith and devotion has

improved considerably.

backed by the growth of

new forms of bourgeois

"religious tourism" and by

the rise of a conservative

Hindu population, which

speaks to the existence of

an all-India Hindu culture,

the Char dhamhas become

an important pilgrimage

site for people from all

across the world.

badRInaTH

Considered as the holiest of the four importantshrines of Hindus, Shri Badrinath ji is situated in theGarhwal region at the confluence of the RishiGanga and Alaknanda rivers and at an altitude of3110 M above the sea level. A great religiousimportance has been attached to Badrinath Puri,which was once surrounded by wild berries or"Badri" and so it was named "Badrivan". This landhas been worshipped by saints and sages and hasbeen the abode of yogies, and great hermits overthe ages. Shri Badrinath is guarded by the twinmountain ranges of Nar and Narayan range nearthe towering Neelkanth Peak. The other hot watertanks are "Narad Kund" & "Surya Kund" in whichpilgrims take the holy bath. Badrinath stands first inthe pilgrimage programs since it bears thesupreme degree of faith and devotion towardsGod. At the backside of Badrinath temple, a valleyopens to Nilkanth peak, which embodies all thedivinity of this sacred land. The pujaris of Shri BadriNath Temple are known as the Rawal, who aregenerally the Namboodri Brahmin of Kerala, aspart of a tradition. Adiguru Shankracharya was alsoa Namboodri Brahmin. The Rawal is appointedjointly by the Badrinath temple committee andMaharaja of Tehri Garhwal. The Rawal is well-versed in Sanskrit and Puja ceremonials.

HISTORYAs to the age, there are no historical records are

available of this holy temple, however reference tothe Lord Badri Nath has been made in Vedas, theholy book of the Hindus. The temple is situated onthe banks of the Alaknanda River in the lap at theNarain Parvat, near a hot water spring-the TaptaKund. The temple was worshipped as a Buddhisttemple, when King Ashoka was the ruler of India,but according to Skand Puran the idol of LordBadrinath was recovered by AdiguruShankaracharya from Narad Kund and was re-enshrined in the 8th century A.D. in this temple.The idol of Lord Vishnu (Badri Nath) is made ofblack stone (Shaligram) and seated in a PadmasanPosture. Devotees can see the idol of Lord BadriNath as Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Hanuman, Kalior Guru, in what so ever form they wish to see thealmighty, all pervading and all in one. The templeis divided into three parts. The garbh griha in whichthe idol of Lord Badrinath is seated in the inner partof this place and canopy covered with gold sheet.Second part is known as Darshan Mandap in whichpuja ceremonies are performed. Third part is theSabha Mandap, which is an outer hall, where devo-tees wait for darshan of Lord Badrinath. Darshan ofLord Badrinath is available in Sabha Mandap at6:30 A.M. to 13:00 Noon and 4:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.The chanting of Vedic Hymns together with thechiming of bells creates a heavenly atmosphere inthe temple. Pilgrims can join the puja ceremonyafter a dip in the Tapta Kund. Some of the morningpujas are - Mahabhishek, Adhishek, Gitapath andBhagwat Path, while the evening pujas are GeetGovind and Aarti.

Char dhamHOlY YaTRa

KedaRnaTHKedarnath, the famous holy town of Lord

Shiva has been situated at the height of 3583 mabove sea-level on a marshy plain, on the slopeof Himalyas. Kedarnath is the place where LordShiva Lingam has been installed in the beautifultemple where the perpetual snow clad exists onthe Himalayas and down to the flower-deckedMandakini Valley. The ancient temple ofKedamath was constructed by Pandavas. This isone among Dwadasha Jyotirlinga. In outer areaof temple, the statues of Godess Parvati,Pandva, Godess Lakshmi etc are situated.Hanskund is situated near to Kedarnth templewhere Shradha-Tarpan is use to perform forMoksha of Pitra (the ancestors). Amritkund is sit-uated behind the Kedarnath temple and Retaskund is situated at little distance from temple.The lake of cold water (ice) is located very nearto temple which is the origin of river Mandakini.Uddandkund is situated at a few distances fromtemple which has a great importance in history.

HISTORY After the war of Kurukshetra, the Pandvas set

out on a yatra to Varanasi in order to be blessedby Lord Shiva and be absolved from the sin ofkilling their own brothers-the kauravas. LordShiva, unwilling to give darshan to the Pandvas,fled from Kashi to Uttrakhand and lived inGuptakashi. On being detected by the Pandvas,Shiva went ot Kedarnath, but the Pandavas fol-lowed him. He assumed the form of a bull andstarted grazing amongst the cattle, but even thencould not escape detection by the Pandavas, Atdust, when it was time for the cattle to returnhome, Bhim (of gigantic stature, great courageand strength) stretched his legs across themountains (standing on either side of theKedamath Valley) in order to identify Shiva. Allthe cattle passed under his legs except Shiva,whom Bhim noticed. As Bhim bent down to catchhold of him, Shiva sank into the earth and onlyhis back portion (the hump) was taken in Bhim'shand. Shiva being pleased with the determina-tion of the Pandavas, exonerated them from theirsin, gave them darshan and requested them toworship his hump. It is from that date the humpof Shiva worshipped in the Temple of SriKedarnath-in the conical Shiva pinda form.

HISTORYThe pandas of Yamunotricome from the village ofKharsali, which is one theother bank of the Yamunanear Jankibaichatti. The entireadministration of Yamunotri isin their hands. In addition toperforming their usual reli-gious rituals, they are thepujaris of the temple.

FIJISUN 23bangLadesh news May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

Fewer than 300 ofBangladesh’s 5,000 cloth-ing factories have allowedin trade unions, as workers’rights remain under pres-sure a year on from theRana Plaza building col-lapse in which more than1,100 people were killed.

Amirul Haque Amin,president of the country’sNational Garment Workers’Federation, said his unionhad doubled the number offactories where it operatedduring the past 12 monthsto 42, while the total num-ber of factories with anyunion representation hadmore than doubled toabout 237.

However, many work-ers were still vulnerable toexploitation despiteunprecedented internation-al efforts in the wake of oneof the world’s biggestindustrial disasters.

“I think it is really hard tosay that an ethical factoryexists in Bangladesh at

present. As a trade unionwe cannot say that. Wecan simply say that facto-ries are moving towardsbetter conditions,” said Mr.Amin, who took part inprotests on Oxford Streetin London on Thursday tomark the anniversary of theRana Plaza disaster andput pressure on companiesthat have yet to pay into acompensation fund for vic-tims.

Mr. Amin said that evenwith a 77 per cent increasein Bangladesh’s minimumwage last year, workerswere struggling to surviveon 5,300 taka (£41) amonth, while many facto-ries still required improve-ments to bring them up tobasic safety standards.

“If multinational brandsreally want to improve thelife of the workers then theycan take the initiative. Ifrepresentatives of the buy-ers, the factories and theworkers sit down together

they can work out a betterprice and some kind ofmechanism so workers canget the benefit,” Mr. Aminsaid.

Further evidence hasemerged in an Italian docu-mentary of poor workingconditions in Bangladeshifactories. The PresaDiretta programme filmedfactories working for

Benetton’s Olimpias sourc-ing division using youngworkers and continuingunsafe working practicesmonths after more than1,100 workers were killedand 2,000 injured at RanaPlaza. Benetton is one of anumber of retailers linkedto Rana Plaza that haveyet to pay into an interna-tional compensation fund

backed by the UN’sInternational LabourOrganisation.

The documentary mak-ers filmed locked factorygates at two facilitieswhere they saw Olimpiasbranded clothing beingmade. One factory owneradmitted that employeescould start work as youngas 13 and the other said heused workers aged 15 or16. A production managerfor Olimpias was secretlyfilmed defending theemployment of children inits factories, saying: “Atleast they are not on thestreets.” The Olimpias rep-resentatives admitted thatthey continued to makeorders despite knowingthat few factories in thecountry had external fireescapes, seen as a basicsafety requirement by mostexperts. One said: “Noneof the buildings here haveoutside fire exits. It’s notmy fault.” Benetton said

that comments by itsemployees and factoryowners were “taken com-pletely out of context andwith the objective of con-structing a specifically neg-ative message about us”.

Both factories filmed byPresa Diretta were on thelist of facilities supplyingretailers that have signedup to a legally-binding fac-tory safety deal, whichincluded inspections.Benetton had signed up tothe deal and admitted ithad added the factories tothe list, as it was legallyobliged to do. It also said ithad commissioned inde-pendent audits of them.

“We will move to imme-diately stop working withthem if we find that theyare not in compliance withour code of conduct,” aspokesman for the compa-ny said. However, headded that Benetton didnot recognise the facilitiesfilmed in the documentary.

The arrest of IndianMujahideen's (IM) topcommanders, Zia Ur

Rehman alias Waqas andTehseen Akhtar alias Monu,would not have been possiblewithout help from Bangladeshand Nepal. Waqas, an allegedbomb expert with the IMbelieved to be a resident ofPunjab, Pakistan, had slippedinto Bangladesh soon after IMco-founder Yasin Bhatkal'sarrest. "Bhatkal was nabbedafter IB's Patna unit got a tip off,"a senior IB official confirmed."But the leak about his arrestenabled Waqas and Tehseen toescape from Mangalore hoursbefore a police raid on August 29last year," the official said. Forover a month, officials fromR&AW and Bangladesh's

Directorate General of ForcesIntelligence (DGFI) workedclosely to track down Waqas,before sharing the informationwith the Delhi Police special cell.Dhaka's cooperation came afterNew Delhi threw its weightbehind Bangladesh PM SheikhHasina. "R&AW's assessmentsalso indicated that Pakistan's ISIwill create trouble during thehanging of Abdul QadeerMollah," a senior external intelli-gence official told HT. Mollah hadbeen found guilty of war crimesduring the liberation ofBangladesh in 1971. "New Delhishared specifics about ISI's rolewith Dhaka that helped fostercooperation in tracking the IM,"the official said. In February thisyear, DGFI reported it had man-aged to develop leads on

Waqas' location. Two R&AW offi-cials told HT that DGFI conduct-ed raids in Bangladesh to pres-surise Waqas into returning toIndia. Waqas was interceptedand detained by Indian intelli-gence officials while attemptingto cross the Indo-Bangla borderin early March. However, officialsdecided to keep Waqas' deten-tion a secret to avoid alertingAkhtar. Delhi Police special cellofficials told HT that intelligenceagencies had shared theseinputs with them as well."SinceDelhi Police was working on aparallel track, we decided to con-duct our operation jointly," a sen-ior intelligence official said. DelhiPolice, meanwhile, maintainsthat "Waqas was expected toarrive in Ajmer by train on March22 and was arrested there."

Last February, thou-sands of young peopleflocked to Dhaka’s

Shahbag Square, demandingcapital punishment for thoseconvicted of the 1971 warcrimes. Most of the protesterswere born decades after 1971and yet the massacres andrapes seemed fresh on theirminds. The Bangladesh gov-ernment is beginning aprocess to identify the sur-vivors of the 1971 rape vic-tims. Though justice willremain elusive, it will at leastbe an acknowledgment ofthose crimes.

I was in Dhaka duringthose protests and I met 70-year-old Maleka Khan. Shestarted a vocational organisa-tion in the 1970s to offer emo-tional therapy to traumatised

women. In 1971, Khan was asecret volunteer at the campsrun for rape survivors and tor-tured women by the KendriyaMahila PunarbashanShanshta, which was headedby poetess Sufiya Kamal.Khan’s memories of thosepainful days have not faded.“Young girls pregnant withunwanted foetuses ….Thosewho could were aborted withdue permission. Others suf-fered their pregnancies insilence,” she recounted.Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,Bangladesh’s founding father,let down the rape victims, pro-claiming that “we do not wantPakistani blood”. NowBangladesh is adoptingKhan’s attitude.

The ministry of liberationwar affairs is collecting data

on the victims. So far, 20,000women have come forwardwith details. Liberation minis-ter Mozammel Haque saysBangladesh wants “to recog-nise the contribution of the

rape survivors, uphold themas national heroes, andaward them some sort of ahousing facility or financialsupport to their families”.

Bangladesh has long

maintained over 200,000women were raped byPakistani troops during the1971 war — a numberPakistan contests.Independent experts feel theestimate is too low. GeoffreyDavis, a doctor from Sydneywho performed late-termabortions during the war,thinks the official figure is“pretty conservative”. Theforces arrayed againstwomen who want to tell thetruth are powerful. FerdousiPriyabhashini, who was 23and a single mother of threeduring the war, went publicwith her story. But she wasridiculed and harassed by hercommunity. An old friend,Ahsanullah, who acceptedand married her after someyears, was shunned by his

family. Maleka Begum, a stu-dent leader and an activist,says she was aghast to watcha 40-plus old man break downon a TV show because hewas the child of a womanraped during the war and peo-ple still taunt him as ‘thePunjabi’s son’. Freedom fight-er and artist Sultana Kamalregrets that this healingprocess did not happenimmediately after the warbecause the society wasorthodox and women werescared to come out. “Manyvictims don’t want to create astorm in their present life withsuch disclosures. But otherswill come out,” she added.The truth will hurt — but it isnecessary to begin the heal-ing that Bangladesh so badlyneeds.

Bangladesh garment workers still vulnerable

The U.S. has acknowl-edged Bangladesh’s suc-cesses in the ‘anti-terror’efforts and said the govern-ment’s counter-terrorismmeasures have made it dif-ficult for transnational ter-rorists to use the country’sterritory.

‘The Country Reports onTerrorism 2013,’ submittedto the U.S. Congress onThursday, said : “The gov-ernment of Bangladesh hasdemonstrated political willand firm commitment tocombat domestic andtransnational terroristgroups.”

India-Bangladesh rela-tionship had provided“openings for transnationalthreats,” but the presentAwami League-led govern-ment had “demonstratedstrong interest” in regionalcooperation to fight terror-ism, the report said.

U.S.-Bangladesh ties‘not comfortable’

The U.S.-Bangladeshrelations were experiencingstress, and “not comfort-able,” said BangladeshFinance Minister AMAMuhith, at a press confer-ence here on Saturday.Saying that “the U.S. hasopposed Bangladesh fromits very birth,” the outspo-ken Minister alleged thatBangladesh’s developmentor its needs were never pri-orities for Washington.

The key Minister, who isleading the FinanceMinistry for the second con-secutive term as an influen-tial member of PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina’sCabinet, also claimed thatthe U.S. was refusingBangladesh duty and quotaprivileges for “political rea-sons.”

Returning home after a

visit to the U.S. and Mexico,the Minister said the coun-try currently exports ready-made garments worth $3.4billion to the U.S. andduties were being paid forone third of the products. Aclose friend-turned critic ofNobel LaureateMuhammad Yunus, who isin the midst of a protractedtussle with the SheikhHasina government overthe Grameen Bank, Mr.Muhith said the U.S. seesMr. Yunus as an “hon-ourable man and they willbe pleased if he is givenrespect.” ‘Worried onlyabout Yunus’ “They are notworried about anything elsein Bangladesh exceptYunus.” Claiming that what-ever actions taken againstDr. Yunus were “under thelaw of the land,” he said Dr.Yunus went to court but helost the case.

Dhaka’s policies influenced by India: U.S.

1971 wounds: Bangladesh needs a healing touch

Bangladesh, Nepal helpedIndia nab IM top guns

FIJISUN24 BANGLADESH NEWSMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

Didar Hossain is stilltrying to come toterms with the shock

of what he had to do to res-cue Aanna Khatun.

It was a year ago that theRana Plaza garment factoryin the Bangladesh capital,Dhaka, collapsed, takingwith it the lives of 1,133people.Aanna was one ofthe lucky ones – not thatshe knew it at the time.

Her hand was trappedunder a heavy machine in adark tunnel of fragmentedconcrete. She was sur-rounded by the bloodiedcorpses of workmates.

Doctors at the scene hadrefused to enter the rubbleto help her but 29-year-oldMr Hossain, a machineoperator at a neighbouringgarment factory, hadalready rescued 17 peoplewhen he heard Aanna callout for help.

Armed with a scalpel, ananaesthetic injection and afew words of advice fromthe medics he set off to cutoff Aanna's hand. "I gaveher the injection and startedcutting. The knife did notseem to be that sharp. Itwas hard. I was weepingand Aanna was weeping. Ithurt her a lot. The wholerescue took four hours," hesaid at the time. The shockremains with him.

And earlier this week,when the patient and ama-teur surgeon were reunited

nearly a year on from thatterrible day, Mr Hossein hadanother shock in store.

Aanna revealed she wasonly 13 years old when hefound her – not the workingwoman he had thought shewas but a child labourer.Her disclosure deepenedhis anguish over the ampu-tation and once again high-lighted the real cost of childlabour in keeping WesternHigh Street fashion brandsso cheap.

When Aanna and MrHossain spoke to theTelegraph after their emo-tional reunion, she revealedthat her 14-year-old sisterand another 13-year-old girlwere also working in thefifth floor Ethertex factory,which lists Walmart andC&A as clients, when theeight-storey building col-lapsed. Both survived.

The dead and the 2,500injured last year had beenmaking garments forPrimark, Matalan, Benetton,and Mango, among otherfashion brands and the linkbetween their fatal workingconditions and high streetbargain prices provokedsome soul searching inBritain and around theworld. In the year since thecollapse, there have beenfurther revelations of youngwomen and girls beingbeaten, threatened andforced to work 14 hour dayswithout a break, while some

of Britain's most popularbrands have declined tocontribute to compensation.

Aanna's age highlights asignificant use of illegalchild labour in Rana Plaza'sfactories. A survey of 1,436survivors by Actionaid found202 were under 18, whileresearch by Human RightsWatch found evidence thatchild workers were forced tohide in lavatories when buy-ers and inspectors visited.

"There were three othergirls of my age," 14-year-oldYaa Noor Akhter, one ofAanna's colleagues atEthertex, told the group.Bangladeshi law allows 14-year-olds to work five hoursper day for three days aweek, but these childrenwere working from 8am to

10pm six days a week, shesaid. Aanna had joined thecompany just over threeweeks before the collapseafter her sister, BannyaKhatun, was employedthere. An Ethertex managerdenied that the companyemployed child labour, butAanna gave the Telegraph acopy of her birth certificate,which states she was bornon Jan 1, 2000.

In a Dhaka restaurantearlier this week Aanna andher hero, Mr Hossain,spoke of their recurringnightmares and flashbacks."When I'm alone, I justrecall the incident … I regretit. I told her mother that per-haps I had made a hugeloss for your family," MrHossain said as Aanna

reassured him he hadsaved her life.

Aanna, meanwhile, suf-fers from severe post-trau-matic stress syndrome,pain, and feels too embar-rassed by the loss of herwriting hand to go to school.She cannot join in gameswith friends or help cookfamily meals and insists onsleeping under a tin roof.She has received somefinancial assistance – a12,000 Taka [£92] permonth emergencyallowance from the govern-ment and £345 fromPrimark, even though heremployer did not supply thefirm. That income is consid-erably higher than the 4,000Taka [£30] a month sheearned from Ethertex but itis not enough for a usefulprosthetic hand.

A local charity fitted acheap artificial hand lastNovember but she said itwas heavy, uncomfortableand of limited use. She cov-ers her arm with a scarf.

"One year ago I had bothhands but now I have onlyone and I cannot work. I cansimply hold a glass of water.Others can work, cook,wear dresses and play but Ican't," she said, close totears. She feels humiliatedthat she cannot go to thelavatory unaided. Her moth-er has to clean her, dressher and comb her hair. Twoof the companies listed by

her employer as buyers,Walmart and C&A, havedeclined to offer direct com-pensation to victims or say ifthey plan to help Aanna.They did not have anyorders with Ethertex at thetime of the collapse, theysaid. Walmart said it haspledged £9 million toimprove working conditionsin Bangladesh's garmentindustry and made a £1.8million donation to BRAC,the Bangladesh charity thatfitted Aanna's prosthetichand and gives her £7 amonth in assistance. C&Asaid it had given £410,000to the Rana Plaza DonorsTrust Fund.

The fund, which is man-aged by the InternationalLabour Organisation, hopesto raise £23 million to helpvictims and their families,but so far has received just£9 million. Only 13 of 29 for-eign fashion brands whoseclothes were made at RanaPlaza have agreed to con-tribute. Kalpana Akhtar, acampaigner, said Aanna'scase had shown that foreignbrands had failed to detectchild labour in their suppli-ers' factories and must nowsupport her rehabilitation."Modern technology canmake Aanna's life easier.She won't get back whatshe lost but the owner, gov-ernment and brands have aresponsibility to ensure shehas a normal life," she said.

Bangladesh's Rana Plaza tragedy lives on for the child workers who survived

Bangladesh opposi-tion leader KhaledaZia was set Sunday

to launch a last-ditch legalbid to avoid standing trial forcorruption, a case she sayswould destroy her alreadyweakened centre-rightparty.

The two-time former pre-mier had been expected togo on trial from Monday,after being indicted lastmonth on charges she andassociates embezzled morethan $650,000, accusationsthat could see her jailed forlife. Zia's lawyers havecalled the charges politicallymotivated, aimed at keepingher out of politics anddestroying her BangladeshNationalist Party (BNP),which has vowed to topplearch rival Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina's govern-ment. The lawyers areseeking an order on Sundayfrom the High Court to haltthe trial which was set to beheld in a special anti-cor-ruption court in Dhaka,arguing that Zia has beencharged unlawfully.

"The charges framedagainst her were not donein accordance with the law,"her lawyer, Moudud Ahmed,a former law minister, told

AFP. Prosecutors say Ziaand three of her co-accusedsiphoned off 31.5 milliontaka (about $400,000) froma charitable trust namedafter her late husband ZiaurRahman, a former presidentwho was assassinated in1981. She is also accusedof leading a group of fivepeople, including her eldestson Tarique Rahman, whonow is in London, in embez-zling 21.5 million taka($277,000), funds whichwere meant to go to anorphanage set up in memo-ry of her late husband.

The charges date backto Zia's last term as primeminister from 2001 to 2006and can carry a life sen-tence, prosecutors havesaid. Zia's BNP has threat-ened to hold nationwideprotests if the court rules on

Sunday that the trial shouldgo ahead. Attorney GeneralMahbubey Alam rejectedthe defence's claims ofpolitical motivation, sayingthey were tactics to buytime. "The charges wereframed lawfully and trans-parently," Alam said, addingthat a separate high courtjudges' panel has alreadyruled there is a prima faciecase against Zia."Everything was on therecord. Can the then-PMavoid responsibility?" Alamsaid, referring to Zia's role inthe alleged embezzlement.He added her lawyers havealready sought to delay thecase at least "34 times".Zia, who first became pre-mier in 1991, has a famous-ly poisonous relationshipwith Hasina -- an enmitywhich dates back threedecades. The BNP and itsallies boycotted generalelections held in Januarywhich they denounced as afarce. Nearly 200 peopledied in political violence inthe run-up to the polls asthe opposition and securityforces fought pitched bat-tles. Zia was kept under defacto house arrest for morethan a week ahead of theelections.

She was the "mira-cle" seamstress,plucked from the

rubble of the world'sworst garment factorydisaster 17 days after thebuilding collapse. Oneyear on, she has marriedand found a new job.

The case of ReshmaAkhter, 19, was a rarebright spot in the RanaPlaza catastrophe on theoutskirts of theBangladeshi capitalDhaka on April 24 lastyear that left 1,138 deadand more than 2,000injured. Images of her,dusty and dazed, beingpulled from the wreckageappeared on newspaperfront pages worldwideand turned her into anational heroine.

Like thousands ofother survivors – as wellas the rescuers whofaced appalling scenes,often having to performimpromptu amputationson the spot – Akhter stillsuffers from insomniaand panic attacks.

But she married herboyfriend in a simple cer-emony in her village innorthern Bangladesh inFebruary and is enjoyinga new job in a hotel runby the international chainWestin, whichapproached her after herordeal. "I enjoy the job.This is completely theopposite of the work of agarment factory. The job

is sober and relaxed,"she said, adding that shewould never set foot in aclothing factory again.

Speaking to AFP ather sister's home justmetres from the site ofthe disaster, Akhter saidshe joined one of the fivefactories in Rana Plazajust 22 days before itcaved in. Her basicmonthly salary was 4,700taka ($60) working a 10-hour daily shift.

A year later, she saidshe has not received anycompensation from atrust fund financed byWestern retailers to com-pensate survivors, whichhas received only $15million instead of a target-ed $40 million. "I only got

some money from theprime minister and pri-vate donors," she said.Since the experience shesays she has becomemore religious, offeringregular prayers for othersin the garment sector andher late colleagues. "Ialso pray our garmentfactories are safe so thatnone have to die there,"she said. Despite thetrauma she still suffers,she said she is lookingforward to life with hernew husband and plansto move into a biggerhome with him.

"We knew each otherfor years, as we had beenneighbours. He is a goodguy and cares for me,"she explained.

Khaleda Zia asks Bangladeshcourt to halt trial

woman who survived 17days under factory debrismarries, finds new job

I enjoy thejob. This iscompletely

the opposite ofthe work of a

garment facto-ry. The job is

sober andrelaxed

FIJISUN 25fiJi SpORtS May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

A F aaron@sacra-mentolionsrugby.orgvia yahoo.com

Here is a story about acoaching member weadded to the team this

year. Hoping you can sharethis article with readers.

picture 1 - naituivau

on the left and

tawake on the right

picture 2 - naituivau

in center with several

of the sacramento

lions players

I took these pictures

but do not need credit

for the photos.

CO-AUtheRS, MAikAliNAMAdAli ANd JOel SCOtt

The Sacramento Lionshave just completed the 2014spring season at 8-1, andhave secured first place inNorthern California’sDivision-1. The Lions arenow entering the post-sea-son leading their league forthe 2nd year in a row afterthe arrival of head coachIferemie Tawake, but thisyear’s team has improvedsignificantly and attributesmuch of their success to thenewest addition of the coach-ing squad.

At the start of the 2014spring season, the Lions wel-comed former Fijian Nationalplayer Epeli Naituivau inJanuary as an assistantcoach and forwards special-ist, which has proven to be avery advantageous additionto the team. Naituivau, a for-mer Fijian national team propand member of the 1991 and1999 Fijian World Cupteams, brings a wealth ofexperience with over 39appearances for his country,

and 22 international caps.Naituivau served alongsideTawake on their national sidefor nearly a decade, and hasserved in many capacitieswith the Fijian Rugby Unionfrom player to coach.

“Epeli has been pivotal inhelping to enhance the boys’training, introducing newdrills and refining their skills,”said Lions Head CoachIferemie Tawake. “All of hispast experience playing andcoaching in Fiji is helping tobring this team to the nextlevel as well as assist in theadvancement of rugby herein the States.”

Naituivau is heraldedthroughout the Fiji islands asa player and coach of greatprestige, and has receivedample praise for his abilitiesand passion to develop andprogress the sport of rugbyfor his country. His accoladesand achievements have beenchronicled in the Fiji Times,ESPNScrum and BBC News.

As a member of the FijianNational team, Naituivau hadthe opportunity to compete inthe 1991 and 1999 RugbyWorld Cups. After servingtwo years with the Fijianarmy, he was called back fornational team honors to playin the 1999 World Cup, which

was the first Rugby WorldCup to be held in rugbyunion’s professional era.

Naituivau played his finalgame for Fiji in the 1999Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final Play-offs, againstEngland at TwickenhamStadium. Where along sideteammates Tawake and thelegendary Waisale Serevi,the Fijian team pushed thehighly favored England side,but lost 45-24. In this gameFiji posted 3 tries toEngland’s 4, but the boot ofJohnny Wilkinson sealed thedeal for the English as henotched 23 points off ofseven penalty kicks and oneconversion.

A little unknown fact isthat Naituivau became theoldest capped Fijian playerever when he played in thisgame at the age of 37 yearsand 151 days, up-ending histeammate and captain,Tawake, who was 37 yearsand 29 days. This record hasyet to be broken in Fiji. In1995, Naituivau decided totake on coaching in order toshare his knowledge of rugbytechniques. He was able tocoach international levelteams such as the FijiWarriors, the Fiji Barbariansand the Fijian National Team.

To date, he has been certifiedfor the International RugbyBoard’s coaching Level 1 andLevel 2 in Fiji; and is currentlyon track to achieve Level 3.

Naituivau also had a posi-tion as Academy Coach with-in the High Performance Unitat Fiji Rugby from 2006-2012.His responsibilities includedrecruitment to the academyas well as referrals for thenational team, and helpdevelop players who werechosen for professionalteams overseas. “Naituivauhas developed a range ofskills in terms of coaching thegame acquired from his play-ing days, and more so, fromhis professional developmentgained at Fiji Rugby, whichsurely puts him in good steadfor venturing into coachingoutside Fiji,” said WilliamKong, Manager of Sports,Science and Medicine at theFiji Rugby Union.

Under Naituivau’s tute-lage on the national teamcoaching staff, he helpedlead the Flying Fijians to theRugby World Cup in 2007.Naituivau’s coaching con-tributed to Fiji achieving a tripto the cup quarter-finals foronly the second time in theirhistory after defeating Walesin the quarter final play-offs,

38-34, in what was describedas one of the best matches ofall time by Australian legendMichael Lynagh. Despite asubsequent loss to SouthAfrica in the quarter final,Fiji’s performance at the timemoved the team to 9th in theIRB world rankings – theirhighest position ever.

Naituivau also led theU20 Fijian National Team tothe IRB Junior Rugby WorldCup for three consecutiveyears from 2008-2010. Hethen helped coach the FijiWarriors into the IRB PacificRugby Cup and the FlyingFijians into the IRB PacificNations Cup and ScotlandTest Match ¬– all in 2012.

In 2013, Naituivau movedto California and was askedby Tawake to assist him incoaching the Lions. Underthis new coaching staff, theteam has maintained steadyimprovement in gameplay aswell as club organization.With just one loss in the reg-ular season thus far,Naituivau has high hopes forthe Lions in the 2014 post-season, and for future devel-opment of the club in theyears to come. TeamManager Aaron Frederickshares this enthusiasm.

“Many of the Lions play-

ers have their roots in Fijiand the Pacific Islands, so itmeans a lot to these guys tobe playing for and learningfrom two of their childhoodidols,” stated Frederick.“Having Coach Tawake andCoach Epeli helps immense-ly to bring a whole new stan-dard of high-performancerugby to our team as we tryto keep pace with the topclubs, and the players knowthat these coaches have thenecessary experience andknowledge to take them tothat next level.”

Tawake and Naituivauhave quickly established asuccessful partnership asthe Lions continue to evolveand move towards a higherstandard of rugby inSacramento and theNorthern California region.While there is still much toprove for the Lions,Frederick believes the teamis moving in the right direc-tion. “Sacramento rugby hasamazing programs fromyouth to high school, andwith the local collegesimproving their standard, ithas become our mission totry and improve rugby at themen’s club level and withinthe Sacramento area,”added Fredrick. “Theseplayers have jobs and fami-lies, but they love the sportand want to be apart of agreat club, and havingcoaches like Tawake andEpeli really helps keep thatmotivation high. It requiresmany different factors tohave a consistently success-ful top-level men’s club in theU.S., but its good to knowthat we can cross coachingoff the to-do list, and I ammore than confident thatrugby will continue to improvein Sacramento with these twoat the helm.”

Sac Lions added EpeliNaituivau to Coaching Staff

SAN BRUNO -Speaking to Fiji SunUSA, a long time trusteeof Sanatan Mandir heresaid that the CEO of thelargest newspaperintruded in the dining halland dug into the sacred“parahad” with dirtyhands and ate it. TheCEO was immediatelyordered to leave.

The CEO got defen-sive and objected that hewas a Muslim and therules didn’t apply to him.It only shows his upbring-ing as we all know verywell that both Hindus andMuslims in Fiji observe

the same rules withregards to “parshad” andwhat Muslims call“sheerni.” As kids wewere trained not to touchor taste them beforeprayers were completedat the end of which, theyare properly served to all.

tHIrd tIMe FIjIHIndus Have

Been Insulted!

First time it was a fewyears ago when the CEOwrote some objection-able article on the Hinduscripture that led to ahuge protest meeting of

all Hindu priests at theHayward University cam-pus.

second tIMe!

The CEO threatenedSharma family, a well-known Fiji Pundit family,that he was a Muslim anda terrorist that he wouldbeat them up. The familywas so frightened thatthey did not make a for-mal complaint to police.

tHe tHIrd tIMe!

The third is this cur-rent incident of eating“parshad” with dirty handwithout permission that

has angered the officialsand the members of theMandir.

HIs paper Is unIversIty, FBI

departMent,polIce agency

as well ascourt oF law!

Ever since, the CEOstabbed the editor behindhis back and secretlystarted his newspaper inviolation of law, heassumes that his news-paper has widespreadpower as an educationalinstitute, FBI, law agency

and even a judicialdepartment. A class eightdrop out with an extreme-ly bad language skill andapt at using foul mouthand harassing women,the CEO thinks he ishighly educated toassess credentials ofothers based on half-truths he and his yellowjournalism copy writers

grab from here and there.He has published severalarticles about my creden-tials all which is nothingbut trash. Who is he tomake those statements?What qualifications doeshe possess? Who caresabout his opinions oropinions of those whowrite hiding behind theirfake titles?

CEO OF THE LARGEST NEWSPAPER

KICKED OUT OF SAN BRUNO MANDIRHIs paper Banned at tHe MandIr His lawyer a former FBI agent?

The CEO has used the name of his lawyer as aformer FBI agent to intimate people he does notget along with that he gets free advice and advo-cacy from this former FBI agent. Well guess whatwe have been reliably told that his attorney is not aformer FBI. Even if he is, who cares about it? Ideal with such attorneys on a daily basis.

FIJISUN26 STAR AGEMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

SAGITTARIUSNOV 23-DEC 22

This is a sensitive month for manyof you. Activity is indicatedthroughout the month. You will be

intent on making a name for yourself orseeking the limelight in some way.Business interests can bloom beyondexpectations, perhaps, though you willalways have a good idea what you areafter and should be able to judge whenopportunity will come.

CAPRICORNDEC 23-JAN 20

This is a fair month for you. The first halfof the month is promising for a longertrip than usual. Express yourself by

doing something different or visiting a newplace with your family members. The mid-month is a bit tricky. Associates may notbehave fairly, but you may nevertheless findit all but impossible to point this out. Changeof image in the second half of the monthcan refresh your sense of self by allowingyou to adopt a whole new way of behavior.

CANCERJUNE 22-JULY 23

This is a busy and hectic month foryou. Love life is also highlighted thismonth. It is especially true of people

whom you work along side. Just be surethat your personal life does not get tooentangled up with career matters. Familymembers and close relatives will bemonopolizing most of your time. Duringthe second half of the month, over expen-diture may cause financial miscalculations.

LEOJULY 24-AUG 23

This is a fair month for manyof you. During the first halfyour concentration is not

likely to be interrupted by anyimportant problems. Knowledgethat you gain this month can behelpful to business and careermoves extending into the nextyear. You would be well advised tomake an early start.

VIRGOAUG 24-SEPT 23

This is an encouraging month formany of you. The first half of themonth is especially happy and easy-

going period for romance. Nostalgia andsentimentality may prompt you into a newcourse of action. The second half of themonth is a bit misleading as gambling orspeculative urges may be strong, butthey will require restraining. The lastweek will be pleasant for outings.

TAURUSAPR 21-MAY 21

This is an eventful month for you. Themonth full of festival will keep youbusy and occupied through out

shopping expenditure is highlighted. Themid-month is good for traveling, particu-larly over a long distance. In the financialarea of your life you should be ready toaccept any opportunity to increase ourresources. You will be rushing throughjobs and projects in record time.

AQUARIUSJAN 21-FEB 19

This is an exciting months foryou. A festive month in India willbe able to encourage you to do

something new which will supplementyour income. During the second andthird week, you should perk up con-siderably at some news. It will comethrough unexpectedly and should giveyou quite a boost.

PISCESFEB 20-MAR 20

This is a satisfactory month by andlarge. Not many events are indi-cated but leisure activities will be

pleasant if not especially stimulating.Do not try to force the pace. The sec-ond and third weeks are good and suc-cessful for new beginnings. Get outand about more than you have beendoing in mid month. The second half ofthe month is busy and spendthrift.

ARIESMAR 21-APR 20

This is a hopeful and encouragingmonth for many of you. People atyour place of work can be unreli-

able. The more you can depend on your-self, the better. During the mid-month youwill extremely sensitive to the feeling andmoods of others. With more energy atyour disposal in the second half of themonth, you will be able to begin to formu-late many of your plans of the New Year.

SCORPIOOCT 24-NOV 22

This is an average month. Duringthe first half of the month socializ-ing with your family members can

be a surprisingly buoyant affair. You willenjoy yourself more than you thought.Your love life can have its ups anddowns. For some it will be the first tasteof real romance especially during themid-month.

LIBRASEPT 24-OCT 23

This is a rewarding month for you. Thefirst half of the month is one of thebest part that you have experienced

so far this year. Possibly it could prove sofor this month. During midmonth you willhave many new ideas for streamlining jobsthat have become boring and commonplace. The second half of this month isappropriate time to go all out to make agood impression on people who matter.

GEMINIMAY 22-JUNE 21

The month of October is sensitivefor you. It is important that you getoff as early a start as possible. In

the second and third week, you will bebusy buying things for home and office.Expenditure is highlighted throughoutthe month. In the second half of themonth you may develop an interest insubjects that previously held no attrac-tion for you at all.

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FIJISUN 27AfghAN News May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

More than 2,000people are nowbelieved to have

been killed after a landslideripped through a remoteAfghan village.

Days of heavy rain hadalready killed more than150 people in flash floodsacross northernAfghanistan when tragedystruck on Friday afternoon,a day off and a time whenfamilies would have been athome.

Thousands of tons ofmud and rock was set looseas a hillside collapsed inBadakshan province, in thefar north-east of a country,sweeping through a villageof some 1,000 homes.When residents rushed to

the site to find survivors,they were engulfed in asecond landslide, accordingto witnesses. At first officialssaid they feared 2,000 peo-ple missing.

But as the scale of thedisaster became clear, thedepth of mud and rubble –up to 90 feet in places – hasdestroyed hopes that manyof those buried would befound alive.

“More than 2,100 peoplefrom 300 families are alldead,” Naweed Forotan, aspokesman for theBadakhshan provincial gov-ernor, said.

Survivors spent a bitterlycold night in tents as offi-cials distributed food andwater. Rescuers and resi-

dents resumed their searchat daybreak, using onlyshovels and a few basictools, as they awaited thearrival of more specialistteams, which arrived on

Afghan military aircrafts.The wet conditions respon-sible for the landslide havealso hampered the rescueeffort, making it difficult toreach the area and raising

the risk of further land-slides. United Nations offi-cials said much of the arearemained out of reach mak-ing it difficult to gauge thefull extent of the damage.

Mark Bowden, the UN’shumanitarian coordinator inAfghanistan, said “The fore-most priority at the momentis saving as many lives aspossible of those stillbeneath the rubble. The UNsystem is fully engaged inthe ongoing effort and ismobilising more capacityand resources to bolster theresponse.” The Nato-ledInternational SecurityAssistance Force also saidit was on standby to help ifneeded. Barack Obamaoffered American assis-tance on Friday night.

“Just as the UnitedStates has stood with thepeople of Afghanistanthrough a difficult decade,we stand ready to help ourAfghan partners as theyrespond to this disaster, foreven as our war therecomes to an end this year,our commitment toAfghanistan and its peoplewill endure,” he said.

Death toll in Afghan landslide expected to pass 2,000Rescuers fear scale of disastermeans few will be found alive

as Afghanistan’s military airliftsspecialised teams to help.

Officials say amilitant attackon a security

post in easternAfghanistan has killedfour policemen. TheKhost provincial gov-ernment says in astatement onThursday that twomembers of thenational police andtwo border police diedin the attack the previ-ous night in Ali Shirdistrict. It says threemilitants were killed inthe battle and onewas captured.Thedeputy police chief for

Khost, Yaquob Khan,says the battle for thepost lasted two hours.He says the attackerswere from theHaqqani network, aPakistan-based mili-tant group alignedwith both the Talibanand al-Qaeda. TheTaliban and their allieshave intensifiedattacks on Afghanforces nationwide,seeking to underminethe government in therun-up to the with-drawal of most inter-national troops by theend of the year.

Afghan elections head to second round after no candidate gains an absolute majority

Afghanistan is set tohold a secondround run-off in its

presidential elections afterpreliminary results showedno candidate was able towin an absolute majority.

The vote will be contest-ed by former foreign minis-ter Abdullah Abdullah andex-World Bank economistAshraf Ghani. Mr Abdullahwon 44.9 per cent of thevote in the first round,whilst Mr Ghani was sec-ond with 31.5 per cent.Zalmai Rassoul, the thirdmain candidate, and thereported favourite of

incumbent PresidentHamid Karzai, finished adistant third with 11.5 percent. "This is a preliminaryoutcome and will now go tothe Independent ElectionComplaints Commissionand they will work on this.As soon as they sharetheir findings with us wewill also announce it," IECchairman Ahmad YousufNuristani said.

The final results will notbe announced until May14, because officials mustinvestigate up to half a mil-lion votes suspected ofbeing fraudulent. Even if

they are counted, it is high-ly unlikely to give MrAbdullah the absolutemajority he needs to avoida run-off. "I think we areprepared and if it goes tosecond round yes we thinkit is doable and we have atentative schedule of June7 to start the second

round," Mr Nuristani said.Eight men ran in the elec-tion, which was hailed asuccess by Afghan officialsand foreign allies, becausethe Taliban failed to launcha major attack despitethreats to disrupt the vote."The election went prettygood, we are satisfied with

it and I think we are pre-pared if it goes to the sec-ond round," Mr Nuristanisaid. Mr Nuristani saidnearly seven million peo-ple voted in the April 5election out of an estimat-ed electorate of 13.5 mil-lion. Of those who voted,36 per cent were female.The United Nations' mis-sion in Afghanistan wel-comed the results, butwarned election officialsthat they must address allcomplaints "in a profes-sional, expeditious andopen manner" to safe-guard the election process.The 2009 election, whenMr Karzai retained power,was marred by fraud, lead-ing to a sharp decline inrelations with the UnitedStates. Mr Karzai, who hasruled since the Taliban

were ousted in 2001, isconstitutionally barredfrom serving a third term.Whoever wins will have tooversee the fight againstthe Taliban’s insurgency as51,000 foreign troopsleave this year, andstrengthen an economyreliant on declining aidmoney. Both leading can-didates have pledged toexplore peace talks withthe Taliban and sign a dealwith the US that wouldallow 10,000 US troops tostay on after this year on atraining and counter-terror-ism mission. Mr Karzai'sdecision to refuse to signthe bilateral securityagreement last year, afteragreeing to the draft text,led to a new low in rela-tions between the US andAfghanistan.

Afghans will choose between twocandidates in a run-off election onJune 7, in Afghanistan's first demo-

cratic transfer of power

Nato-led Afghan troops kill 60 militants

Afghan troops backed by Westernair power have killed at least 60militants near the Pakistan bor-

der, Afghan officials said on Wednesday,as the US steps up counter-insurgencyahead of planned troop withdrawals.

The National Directorate of Security,Afghanistan's main intelligence agency,said in a statement that about 300 insur-gents from the Taliban-linked Haqqaninetwork together with foreign fighterscame under intense fire on Mondaywhen they tried to storm Afghan bases inZiruk district of Paktika province. Theattack is one of the biggest assaults yeton the Haqqani network, against which

US officials say Washington is intensify-ing its campaign. The group's militantsare believed to have been involved insome of the most deadly attacks of theAfghan war. Sediq Sediqqi, InteriorMinistry spokesman, said Afghan forceswere already in position after havinglearned of the insurgents plans to attackZiruk on Monday.

"Hundreds of insurgents tried to take

over the district centre but we were thereand hit them with a huge blow," he toldReuters, adding that five Afghan police-men were wounded. The Haqqani net-work, which professes obedience toTaliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar,has been blamed for attacks on hotelspopular with foreigners in Kabul, thebombing of the Indian embassy in thecapital, a 2011 attack on the US

embassy and several big attempted truckbombings. Monday's battle occurred inthe southeast province of Paktika whichshares a long and porous border withlawless areas in Pakistan where foreignfighters and the Haqqani network arebelieved to be based. The US accusesPakistan's powerful spy agency of sup-porting the network and using it as aproxy in Afghanistan to gain leverageagainst growing influence of its arch-rivalIndia, which Islamabad denies. nn Latelast year the Obama administration cre-ated a special unit based in Kabul tocoordinate efforts against the Haqqaninetwork, officials familiar with the matterhave told Reuters. The unit, headed by acolonel and known in military parlance asa "fusion cell", brings together specialforces, conventional forces, intelligencepersonnel, and some civilians to improvetargeting of Haqqani members and toheighten the focus on the group, the offi-cials said. The US-led military operationin Afghanistan is due to end on Dec. 31,although the United States wants to keepa small force in the country for counter-terrorism support and training.

Hundreds of

insurgents come

under fire as US

steps up opera-

tions against

Taliban-linked

Haqqani networka

4 policemen killedin militant attack

FIJISUN28 AFGHAN NEWSMay2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

helicopter crash: reservist worked for Lib DemsA

reservist who died inthe crash worked forthe Liberal

Democrats it emerges as air-crew in an accompanyinghelicopter reported no evi-dence of a Taliban attack ALynx helicopter crashed tothe ground in Afghanistankilling all five on board withno sign of enemy activity,eyewitnesses have told mili-tary investigators probing theincident.

Aircrew in a helicopteraccompanying the specialforces Lynx have told crashinvestigators they saw noenemy fire before the crash,despite Taliban claims theyhad shot it down. It was alsodisclosed that one of thedead, L/Cpl Oliver Thomasof the Intelligence Corps,

was a reservist who hadworked in Westminster as aresearch for Roger Williams,MP for Brecon andRadnorshire. Mr Williamssaid L/Cpl Thomas was "anexceptional young man" whohad first worked in his officeas an intern in 2011 and thenhad quickly been promotedto his Westminsterresearcher. it had been “aprivilege to have been ableto call him a friend”.

He said: "He was very tal-ented, but also he had suchan infectious sense ofhumour. He was popularwherever he went, but popu-lar for the right reasons."Military air accident investi-gators continued to probethe reason for the crashclose to Kandahar Airfield,

but Army sources said earlyinterviews with witnesseshad found no evidence of aTaliban attack. If this is thecase, then it opens up thepossiblity that the crash wascaused by either mechanicalfailure or pilot error. PhilipHammond, DefenceSecretary, said the accidentappeared to be “a tragicaccident on a routine sortie”.

He said: “This incident isnow the subject of a thor-ough investigation to find outexactly what happened.“Lynx Mk 9A helicoptershave a good operationalsafety record and command-ers have judged that it is safefor the fleet to continue tooperate while the investiga-tion is carried out." The heli-copter was part of the Army

Air Corp’s elite 657Squadron based at RAFOdiham, which flies Lynxhelicopters for the JointSpecial Forces AviationWing. The helicopters areused to ferry troops such asthe SAS and SBS on mis-sions, and are also heavilyarmed for supporting fire.Only the Army’s most skilledpilots are given posts in thesquadron. The helicoptercrashed on Saturday inKandahar’s Takhta Pul dis-trict some 30 miles from thePakistan border. The inci-dent was the worst involvinga British helicopter inAfghanistan since the cam-paign began in 2001 andbrought the death toll for theUK’s armed forces in thecountry to 453.

L/Cpl Thomas died alongside Capt ThomasClarke, WO2 Spencer Faulkner and CplJames Walters of the Army Air Corps, and FltLt Rakesh Chauhan of the Royal Air Force.

Three Americanswere shot dead byan Afghan police

guard at a Christian mis-sionary hospital in Kabul.

Two others, including amember of its foreign med-ical staff, were wounded.

The killings are the latestin a series of attacks on for-eign “soft targets” in recentmonths as Taliban insur-gents have struggled toengage international forcesas they gradually withdraw.

Analysts said theybelieve the attacks are partof a Taliban campaign whichis increasingly targetingnon-Muslim “unbelievers”.

The police guard openedfire on a group of five, whichincluded a doctor, a father

and son who were visitingand a nurse, after theyentered the CureInternational Hospital com-pound shortly before 10amthis morning.

Three Americans wereshot dead by an Afghanpolice guard at a Christianmissionary hospital inKabul. Two others, includinga member of its foreignmedical staff, were wound-ed. The killings are the latestin a series of attacks on for-eign “soft targets” in recentmonths as Taliban insur-gents have struggled toengage international forcesas they gradually withdraw.

Analysts said theybelieve the attacks are partof a Taliban campaign whichis increasingly targetingnon-Muslim “unbelievers”.

The police guard openedfire on a group of five, whichincluded a doctor, a fatherand son who were visitingand a nurse, after theyentered the CureInternational Hospital com-pound shortly before 10amthis morning. As they made

their way towards the hospi-tal building, the police guardopened fore. The officer,who was identified by col-leagues at Kabul’s sixth dis-trict police station asAeyudin, was wounded andis now in police custody. Hehad joined the force twoyears earlier from Laghmanprovince and was part of ateam of police securityguarding the hospital.

The United States

Embassy in Kabul laterissued a statement confirm-ing the deaths. "With greatsadness we confirm thatthree Americans were killedin the attack on CUREHospital. No other informa-tion will be released at thistime." The attack is the sixththis year to target foreignersin Afghanistan. It followedthe suicide bombing of aLebanese restaurant inJanuary in which 21, includ-

ing a Labour MEP, werekilled and a commando-style attack on the SerenaHotel in which nine werekilled. They included anAfghan journalist for AgenceFrance Presse, his wife andtwo of their children whowere killed as they enjoyeda family meal. A guesthouse used by an anti-land-mine charity was attackedlast month and earlier thismonth Associated Pressphotographer AnjaNiedringhaus was killed andher colleague, KathyGannon, was wounded in agun assault in Khost. Afghananalyst Borhan Osman hassuggested this wave ofattacks reflects a shift in theTaliban’s focus from fighting“foreign occupation” to acampaign to “Islamicise theAfghan state” by targetingforeigners and those theyregard as “western pup-pets.”

“Recent Taliban propa-ganda disseminated by theirCultural Commissionignores the conventionaldistinction between civilian

and military targets. Theirvideos which showcase thesuicide bomber campaignstate clearly that they arefighting “unbelievers”, whichis much broader categorythan foreign soldiers”, saidMichael Semple, formerdeputy European UnionSpecial Representative toAfghanistan and a leadingexpert on the Taliban.

It had explained a failedattack on a Kabul kinder-garten by claiming that“Afghan converts were pres-ent”, he added. This couldexplain why they had target-ed the Cure InternationalHospital, which is run byChristian missionaries whodescribe their work as “heal-ing the sick, proclaiming thekingdom of God.” The hospi-tal, which was established in2005, is one of its largest inthe world with 27 doctors,64 nurses and 100 beds. Ittreats 37,000 patients a yearand carries out 2,600 surgi-cal operations on childrenwith cleft paletes andwomen with gynaecologicalproblems.

Three Americans shot dead by guard at Christian missionary hospitalAfghan police

guard killed a USpaediatrician andhis two guests asthey opened fireon international

hospita.

The number of US troops inAfghanistan may drop wellbelow 10,000 - the minimumdemanded by the US militaryto train Afghan forces - as thelongest war in American histo-ry winds down, White Houseofficials have briefed.

Since Afghanistan’s gener-al election on April 5, WhiteHouse, State Department andPentagon officials haveresumed discussions on howmany American troops shouldremain after the current US-ledcoalition ends its mission thisyear. The decision to considera small force, possibly lessthan 5,000 US troops, reflectsa belief among White Houseofficials that Afghan securityforces have evolved into arobust enough force to containa still-potent Taliban-led insur-

gency. The small US force thatwould remain could focus oncounter-terrorism or trainingoperations.

That belief, the officials say,is based partly onAfghanistan’s surprisinglysmooth election, which haswon international praise for itshigh turnout, estimated at 60percent of 12 million eligiblevotes, and the failure of Talibanmilitants to stage high-profileattacks that day. The Obamaadministration has been look-ing at options for a possibleresidual US force for months.“The discussion is very muchalive,” said one US official whoasked not to be identified.“They’re looking for additionaloptions under 10,000” troops.There are now about 33,000US troops in Afghanistan,

down from 100,000 in 2011,when troop numbers peaked adecade into a conflict originallyintended to deny al Qaedasanctuary in Afghanistan afterthe Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

With British and other for-eign troops scheduled todepart at the same time as USsoldiers, the size of any resid-ual US force could add fuel toa debate in Washington overwhether Taliban-led violencewill intensify amid the vacuumleft by Western forces, assome US military officialsexpect. Military leaders,including American GeneralJoe Dunford, who heads USand NATO forces inAfghanistan, has identified10,000 soldiers as the mini-mum needed to help train andadvise Afghan forces fighting

the insurgency, arguing asmaller force would struggle toprotect itself.During a Marchvisit to Washington, GeneralDunford told lawmakers thatwithout foreign soldiers sup-porting them, Afghan forceswould begin to deteriorate“fairly quickly” in 2015. TheAfghan air force, still severalyears away from being self-sufficient, will require evenmore assistance, he said. Asmaller US force could haveother unintended conse-quences, possibly discourag-ing already skeptical lawmak-ers from fully funding US com-mitments to help fund Afghanforces. At their current size,Afghan forces will cost at least$5 billion (£ 3 billion) in 2015, asum far beyond the reach ofthe Afghan government.

US troop numbers in Afghanistan may drop below 10,000

Gunmen abductedthe Afghan deputypublic works min-

ister in Kabul on Tuesday,officials said, a grimreminder of the insecurityplaguing Afghanistan asmost foreign troops pre-pare to withdraw from thecountry at the end of theyear.

Ahmad Shah Wahidwas on his way to workwhen five gunmen ran hiscar off the road in northernKabul, dragged him intotheir 4-wheel-drive vehicleand sped away, said GulAgha Hashim, the city'spolice chief of investiga-

tions. The armed men shotand wounded Mr Wahid'sdriver when he tried todrive away to safety, saidSoheil Kakar, the publicworks ministry spokesman.

It was not immediatelyclear who was behind theabduction. Mr Kakar saidthere has so far been noransom demand. MrWahid, who is in his mid-50s, studied engineeringand road construction inItaly and has been deputyminister for four years.Before that, he worked inthe ministry overseeingroad reconstruction, MrKakar said.

Afghan minister abductedby gunmen in Kabul

FIJISUN 29IslaM today May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

(communicating with our children about sensitive subjects)

IntroductIon

There is no greater respon-sibility for us than passing onthe beautiful teachings of Islāmand Aḥmadiyyat to our chil-dren. Setting a personal exam-ple for our children is by far thenumber one way to accomplishthis. Communicating with ourchildren in the most effectiveway is the next essentialresponsibility. In order to dothat, we must first know ourchildren, then empathize withthem, and then we must devel-op the courage to communi-cate with them about real lifemoral challenges. The combi-nation of love and guidanceneeded requires a special bal-ance. Everyone has differentstyles of communication. Thegoal of today’s discussion is tolearn from each other to com-municate with our children inmost difficult situations.

Qur’ānic Guidance [3:135]Those who spend in prosperityand adversity, and those whosuppress anger and pardonmen; and Allāh loves thosewho do good.

[20:133] And enjoin Prayeron thy people, and be constanttherein. We ask thee not forprovision; it is We that providefor thee. And the end is forrighteousness

relIgIous guIdelInes

Ḥadīth 1: Anas Ibn Malik,may Allāh be pleased with him,relates that the Holy Prophet,peace and blessings of Allāhbe upon him, said: “Respectyour children and give themgood moral training.”

(Ibni Mājah)

Ḥadīth 2: Ayyūb ibn Mūsā,may Allāh be pleased withthem, relates with reference tohis father and grandfather thatthe Holy Prophet, peace andblessings of Allāh be upon himsaid: “There is no better andsuperior present that a fathercan give to his children thancultivation of good morals.”(Tirmidhī)

Statement by the PromisedMessiah (may peace be onhim): I wish that, instead ofpunishing children, parentswould have recourse to prayer,and should make it a habit tosupplicate earnestly for theirchildren; for supplications ofparents on behalf of their chil-dren meet with special accept-ance.

(Malfūẓāt vol 2, p4)

Excerpts from the sermondelivered by Ḥaḍrat KhalīfatulMasīḥ II (may Allāh be pleasedwith him) – Way of Seekers –Moral Training of Children:

1. Address a child politely andcourteously, for a child is agreat mimic. If you addresshim rudely, it will return thecompliment in kind.

2. Do not lie to a child nor bepeevish or arrogant with it.It will certainly imitate you.It is the parents who teacha child lying. The motherdoes something in thechild's presence but denies

having done it when askedby the father. Thus the childlearns to lie.

3.Teach them to admit theirmistakes, as a matter ofhabit. For this the followingmethods would be foundhelpful:

• Do not try to hide your ownmistakes before a child.

• Be sympathetic when itcommits a mistake. Let itfeel that the mistake is akind of loss it has suffered.Hence so much sympathy.Also let it feel that a partic-ular mistake has resulted ina certain loss.

• To guard against the repeti-tion of a mistake, talk to thechild in a manner thatbrings home to it the trou-ble its mistake has occa-sioned to the parents. Theycould, for instance, pay forthe loss its mistake is sup-posed to have caused. Thiswill make it realize that theresult of damaging things isnot good. The doctrine ofatonement is not valid butthe method is useful for thetraining of a child.

• If you want to reprimand achild, do not do it beforeothers; do it in privacy.

Excerpt from the Friday ser-mon delivered by ḤaḍratKhalīfatul Masīḥ V (may Allāhbe his helper) on December13, 2013, Aspects of SelfReformation:

If the parents are righteousand observe the Ṣalāt andrecite the Holy Qur’ān and livewith each other in an atmos-phere of love and affection andabhor falsehood, then the chil-dren, under their care andinfluence, will also be such aswill adopt virtues. But if, on thecontrary, lying, fighting and dis-putes, abusive talk of others inthe house or of disrespect toothers, not taking due regardof Jamā‘at affairs even, orother such bad actions; whenthe child sees these, thenbecause of that tendency tocopy or because of the impactof the environment the childlearns these same bad things.Similarly the wrong deeds ofthe father leave an impress onthe child’s brain and whateverwrong replies that the fathergives, the child registers themin his or her brain. So themother and father both, fromthe point of view the training ofthe child, if they are actingwrongly or doing wrong thingsthey are taking the child in awrong direction and impartingto him wrong education bytheir own actions. And whenthe child grows older he replieswith these same types ofanswers. So if we want to carry

out a real practical reformationof our future generations andour children so that the level ofour practical reformation ishigh, then the parents will haveto keep an eye on their ownsituation and actions also, andwill need to have friendshipswith such people who arealright from their practicalactions point of view. MajlisAnṣārullāh, USA - Copyright ©2014 Page 18

tarbIyat exercIses

1) Let’s start with a quiz: Doyou know your kids or grand-kids?

Answer the following ques-tions and if you think you knowthe answer for at least yourunmarried kids or grandkids,give yourself one point foreach answer you know. Youwill add up your points at theend to know your total score.

1) What are their favorite col-ors?

2) What is the name of theirbest friend or friends?

3) What are three musicgroups they like?

4) How many hours a day arethey on the internet?

5) What is three of theirfavorite video games?

6) What is their favorite sub-ject in school which is theirleast favorite?

7) What is there favorite TVshow?

8) How much time do theyspend out of the house withtheir friends in a week?

9) What is their favorite Sūrahto recite?

10) What is their favorite sportsteam?

your scoreIf you score above 50% you

pass! If you fail, you shouldwork on getting the passinggrade in future.

2) A son, 12, asks his fatherone day that he needs asmart phone. He needs tocommunicate with hisfriends and also it would beuseful for his educationalpurposes. What shouldfather do?

A) Father should show hisanger on son’s asking for aphone at such an early ageand say to him straight thatcell phones are not goodfor younger kids and heshould wait for 2 moreyears before he can get acell phone.

B) Father should calmly listento his son and have a dia-logue with him about prosand cons about cell phones

at such an early age. Heshould involve his wife inthe decision makingprocess and come to a jointdecision between the threeof them about his son hav-ing a cell phone or not.

C) Father says, ‘yes, son, I willget you the cell phonetomorrow’.

D) Deal with it in a differentway

3) A 16 year old daughtercomes to his father andasks him to go to her sen-ior Prom. Father is caughtoff guard as it has been anunderlying rule that shewould never go to a mixedsocial function/dance. Sheexplains that she would gowith her friend and wearher head covering. Shewould not dance or sit andchat with boys. She said it’sa one-time opportunity thatshe doesn’t want to miss.How should the father han-dle this?

A) Empathize, but explain whyit’s a religious line she justcan’t cross.

B) Trust her. She has alwaysbeen good and told thetruth. Let her go.

C) Offer to be a chaperone atthe dance or to have anolder brother or sister gowith her.

D) Express that he is upsetthat she is putting him inthis position …. she knowsshe can’t go

E) Something else.

Majlis Anṣārullāh, USA -Copyright © 2014 Page 19

4) A son comes home fromhis first semester of col-lege. He is a bit withdrawn.He immediately wants to goout with his friends. Hecomes home much laterthan normal and goes tohis room. He avoids sayingSalaam to his parents.Father becomes worriedthat he might be strugglingwith alcohol at school.Perhaps he was evendrinking that night. Fatherknows that he needs toapproach his son. What isthe best possible action father should take?

1) The father follows the sonright up to his room andasks him what is wrong. Heis frustrated. He asks himwhy he seems so different.The son says in an irritated

way, “nothing is wrong”.The father says, “I don’tbelieve you”. The fatherimmediately demands areport on activities at col-lege.

2) The father waits till the nextday. Asks to sit with his sonand catch up with himabout school. After somechat he comes right outand says “are you strug-gling with alcohol atschool?” The dad explainsto son that it was hard forhim to resist temptations inschool and that he triedalcohol once. Only afterthat he found that it wasnot that what he thought itwould be. He asks himstraight out again if he alsohad a similar experience.

3) Leaves him alone. It maypush the son away fromhim. It’s better not to knowor make the son feel bad.He has seen the dad’sgood example and there isno point in pushing theissue with no proof that it iseven a problem. Keeppraying for him, and when-ever get a chance in future,discusses with him in gen-eral about the hardships ofearly college life, being aMuslim.

4) Try another approach.

5) A father is worried that histeenage son has a girl-friend because of his son’ssecret phone calls in theevening times and alsoonce a girl called the homenumber asking about theson. The dad also noticessome dating sites beingused by the son on hiscomputer. The son has, infact, met a girl he likes.They have started a secretbut innocent relationship.The son is very conflicted.He really wants advice fromhis dad but they havenever talked about this sub-ject before. They are bothafraid to broach the sub-ject. Dad needs to makethe first move. What is thebest possible action Dadcan take?

A) Dad asks the son straightout who is that girl. Let himknow about his suspicionand tell him that he sawthose dating sites which hevisited on his computer.

B) Dad sits down with his sonand speaks with him ingeneral about the toughoutcomes of secret dating,or engaging in physicalactivity. He lets him knowthat he should talk to him ifit becomes too much todeal with it. Dad trusts himto take it from there anddoesn’t bring up any otherissues. Dad keeps prayingfor the son.

C) Dad lashes out on son andtells him that he is ground-ed and his computer will beconfiscated for one monthbecause he went to inap-propriate sites.

D) Use another approach.

Let’s get real with our chiLdren

FIJISUN30 May2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

FIJISUN 31GALLERY May2014www.fijisun-usa.com

Ram Naomi at SanatanMandir, San Bruno

FIJISUN32 May2014 www.fijisun-usa.com

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