India Herald012815

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NEW DELHI President Barack Obama

and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, Jan 25, declared an era of “new trust” in the often fraught relationship between their nations as the U.S. leader opened a three-day visit to New Delhi.

Standing side by side at the stately Hyderabad House, Obama and Modi cited progress toward putting in place a landmark civil nuclear agreement, as well as advances on climate change and defense ties.

But from the start, the day was more about putting their personal bond on display. Modi broke with protocol and wrapped Obama in an enthusiastic hug after Obama got off Air Force One.

Obama later told reporters that Modi’s “strong personal commitment to the U.S.-India relationship gives us an opportunity to further energize these efforts.”

Modi was as effusive. He called Obama by his fi rst name and said “the chemistry that has brought Barack and me closer has also brought

Washington and Delhi closer.”The centerpiece of Obama’s

visit was Monday’s annual Republic Day festivities, which got underway on a foggy, rain-soaked morning in New Delhi. The crowd erupted in cheers as Obama, along with fi rst lady Michelle Obama, emerged from his armored black limousine and took his seat next to Modi on a viewing stand overlooking the parade route.

Republic Day marks the anniversary of India’s democratic constitution going into force. The parade, which weaves its way past the imposing India Gate monument and a memorial to the unknown soldier, is part Soviet-style display of India’s military hardware, part Macy’s Thanksgiving Day-type parade with fl oats highlighting India’s cultural diversity.

Obama’s presence would have been unlikely only a few years ago.

Relations between the U.S. and India hit a low in 2013 after an Indian diplomat

Indian Americans celebrated India’s 66th Republic Day at three venues on Monday, Jan 26. A fl ag-hoisting ceremony at the residence of Consul General Parvathaneni Harish, left, kicked off the celebration early in the morning. About 80 people attended the program where U.S. Congressman Pete Olson,right, was the honored guest. See Page 6. Photo BIJAY DIXIT.

About 100 people attended the Republic Day fl ag hoisting ceremony at India House where the Indian, American and the Texas fl ags were unfurled. India House president Jugal Malani, in a brief speech, spoke of the signifi cance of President Obama’s visit to India as chief guest at the Republic Day celebration.

India’s Republic Day celebrated in Houston

Famous cartoonist and the creator of Common Man, R.K. Laxman, 93, passed away in Mumbai.

See Page 19.

TEA TIME. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Obama, Modi usher in era of ‘new trust’

See OBAMA, Page 9

PAGE 2 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

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COMMUNITY NEWS

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TOPIC OF THE WEEKVOICESUn-Indian American Jindal

Why Piyush "Bobby" Jindal would disdain his "Indian-American"nomenclature when it is one of the best-regarded, most-respected eth-nic identities in the US may forever remain a mystery. The simpleexplanation Louisiana's India-conceived (by his own disclosure) andUS-born governor is that his parents brought him to America to be anAmerican, not an Indian-American. As if that smackdown of his heri-tage wasn't enough, he added, unnecessarily and snarkily, that if theywanted him to be Indian, they'd have remained in India.

No such disparagement exists among most of the US's 3-millionplus Indian-Americans of a wide variety - from people of Indian-origin(PIOs) whose ancestors migrated from India and came to the US viathird countries, to those who emigrated in the sixties and seventies andtook up citizenship or permanent residency, to the real Indian-Ameri-cans - offspring of mixed marriages between Indians and Americans.

Such is the prestige attached to Indian-Americans, from being thebest-educated (80% have a college degree compared to the nationalaverage of 28%) to the highest earning ($88,538 compared to nationalaverage of $50,221) residents of the US, that they are the envy ofmany other ethnicities. Some Pakistani-Americans have even writtenabout trying to pass off as Indian-Americans because of the stigmaattached to their country because of its association with terrorism.Only Jewish-Americans, of older vintage and politically entrenched,come close.

How and why Indian-Americans occupy such a pre-eminent posi-tion in the US - to the point of being disproportionately represented inelite professions such as medicine, engineering, and financing - isn'thard to see. Even as the first wave of Indian emigres migrated asslave labor in the 19th century, small Indian groups headed to the westfor higher education. Saraswati trumped the stigma of crossing thedark waters of the seven seas.

As early as 1883, even before Mohandas Gandhi headed out toEngland to study law, a young woman named Anandibai Joshi sailed toAmerica to study medicine in Pennsylvania. In the decades that fol-lowed, while much attention was bestowed on gurus such as SwamiVivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, small groups came toStanford, Berkeley, and other centers of learning. Among them M NRoy, co-founder of the Communist Party of India, socialist leaderJayaprakash Narayan and Dr. B R Ambedkar.

By the time the US changed its immigration law in 1965 to removediscrimination against Indians the hunger for good higher educationwas so great that America easily supplanted England as the academicmagnet. Indian mercantilists were drawn to the ease of doing businessin America. Population of people of Indian origin roughly doubled ev-ery census from 1970, from around 800,000 in 1990 to 1.6 million in2,000 to 3.2 million in 2010, when Obama became the third successivepresident to visit India - a journey that isn't the norm - but has beentaken a step further with two visits in his two terms.

Indian-Americans haven't enjoyed as much recognition as they haveduring the Obama years. Although their rise began visibly in the Clintonera and progressed well during Bush's term, it's during the six years ofObama administration that they've become really prominent. Fromappointing an Indian-American to one of the highest courts in America(Sri Sreenivasan), to picking one as US attorney in the highest profiledistrict (Preet Bharara for Southern New York/Manhattan) Obamahas catapulted the community to new heights.

Some community stalwarts, particularly the Republican types, willargue that Obama has nothing to do with it; that the community hasgained heft independent of Obama. After all Bobby Jindal and NikkiHaley are Republican governors. But Obama has pushed the bound-aries like no President before, probably a result of his mixed (and in theeyes of White America purists, "foreign") upbringing.

The idea that both the US ambassador to India (Richard RahulVerma) and the pointperson dealing with India in the state department(Nisha Biswal Desai) are Indian-Americans (and comfortably em-brace that identity) would have been inconceivable a decade back.Next stop, an Indian-American Senator (Kamala Harris has declaredshe'll run in California).

Such is the acceptance of their contribution that no one would balkif an Indian-American ran for President (although many communitystalwarts would hope it's not Jindal, the un-Indian-American). Whoknows, before the century is over, we may yet see an Indian-Ameri-can president visit the country of his forbears.

— Chidanand Rajghata in The Times of India

By Sadanand Dhume

Barely a year ago, most foreignpolicy pundits would likely haveagreed on one simple prediction:the election of Narendra Modi asIndian prime minister would setback relations with the UnitedStates, and by extension with theWest more broadly.

Instead, the opposite has hap-pened. Yesterday PresidentBarack Obama shattered a sym-bolic taboo by becoming the firstAmerican chief guest at India’sannual Republic Day parade. Ar-guably, the US and India are poised complete a public makeover years in the making. To the prime minister’s

credit, he has remained tightly on message even after winning theelection.

That Modi chose to take the high road towards the US also helped.Hardliners in BJP, and in the larger ideological family to which it be-longs, would have applauded had the prime minister chosen to snubthe US by downplaying ties with it, at least early on in his tenure.

Instead Modi accepted Obama’s invitation to visit Washington withalacrity. This signalled two reassuring qualities: that the prime ministeris not a man to put personal peeves ahead of the national interest andthat he sees the US as a vital partner in fulfilling his ambitious vision forIndia.

At the margins, Modi’s passionate following among Indian-Ameri-cans also helped boost his reputation in Washington. It didn’t hurt thatover the years Indian-Americans have been among Obama’s fiercestsupporters. A higher proportion voted for him than in most ethnic groups.

When Modi filled New York’s Madison Square Garden with hisfans last year, it brought him the kind of domestic political attentionforeign leaders rarely enjoy in America.

Of course, just because the stars appear to have aligned at themoment for Obama and Modi does not necessarily mean that they willremain permanently aligned. At its core, the US bet on Modi is that hewill revive India’s economy, deepen its engagement with fellow de-mocracies, and steer clear of domestic strife. Beyond that, scepticswill also look for evidence of concrete progress in the many areas ofcooperation suggested during Obama’s visit.

How will the US and India advance a rules-based international or-der in the Indian Ocean? How do shared concerns about Islamic Statein Iraq and Syria translate into counterterrorism cooperation? When itcomes to climate change, have the US and India really drawn closerthan before?

Nonetheless, there’s no question that Modi has forced India backon Obama’s foreign policy agenda. He has raised expectations that heis a new kind of Indian leader – unafraid to break some geopoliticalcrockery while pursuing his goals. If Modi continues to reform theeconomy and revitalise Indian diplomacy, his honeymoon with Wash-ington will only lengthen. The consequences for India, Asia and theworld could be huge. — The Times of India

Why America is betting on Modi

to pursue a deeper and wider part-nership – one whose impact willpotentially be felt far beyond thetwo countries’ borders – than atany time before.

To be sure, the detailed me-chanics of stepped up cooperationbetween the US and India outlinedin Sunday’s joint statement andjoint strategic vision for Asia andthe Indian Ocean region need tobe fleshed out in the monthsahead.

The prudent will hold the cham-pagne until both countries actuallybegin co-producing weapons, UScompanies break ground on newIndian nuclear reactors, and wesee tangible gains against the likesof Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba and D Company. But onething is clear: the US and Indiadon’t lack ambition for the rela-tionship.

Why is America betting onModi, a man whose visa it re-jected a decade ago in a publicrebuke for the 2002 Gujarat riotsthat occurred on his watch? In anutshell, Washington’s posture re-flects a blend of hard-nosed cal-culation and a genuine reassess-ment of the Indian prime minister.

To begin with, the alleged Modi-Obama personal chemistry oughtto be taken with a pinch of salt.

The bookish former law profes-sor and the fiery former RSSpracharak hardly make the mostnatural friends. If anything, theirapparent willingness to forge apersonal bond says more abouttheir pressing national interests.

Shared concerns about China’shegemonic ambitions in Asia andthe destabilising impact of radicalIslamist terrorism drive the US andIndia towards each other. Thanksto India’s size, democratic polity,pluralistic society and vast eco-nomic potential, Washington hasplaced a long-term bet on the ideathat the rise of India is good forAmerica.

But the success of this bet de-pends on India fulfilling its ownambition to claim a seat at the hightable of global power. Simply put,Modi’s sweeping electoral man-date gives him a better shot atachieving India’s goals than anyof his recent predecessors.

To be sure, Modi’s own recordhas helped generate these hopes.In policy circles, his reputation forno-nonsense administration andbusiness-friendly economic poli-cies earned in Gujarat has eclipsedmisgiving generated by the 2002riots. That Modi stressed devel-opment – not identity politics – inhis campaign last year helped

More than mere symbolismWhen Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited US President Barack

Obama to join the nation’s Republic Day celebrations, it was widelyassumed that the visit was all about symbolism. Modi and Obama,however, had other plans — to infuse the special symbolic momentwith genuine political substance. No US President before Obama hasbeen present at India’s sacred political ritual in the last week of Janu-ary for the last 65 years. Political estrangement between the two coun-tries during the Cold War and deepening anti-Americanism in the In-dian political classes had made it impossible to imagine an Americanpresident on Rajpath.

Since the two leaders had met barely four months ago at the WhiteHouse, there was little expectation that the visit would produce anysignificant outcomes. It was to be a feel-good visit that would cel-ebrate the emerging warmth in the relationship over the last few years.Over the last few weeks, Modi and Obama have driven their bureau-cracies in Delhi and Washington to wrap up the civil nuclear initiativethat raised so much excitement a decade ago but turned into a repre-sentation of all that was unfortunate about the relationship — the in-ability of the two systems to implement agreements and understand-ings reached at the highest political level.

Similarly, on the defence front, unending talks on technology trans-fers have been brought to a close by identifying a set of projects. Thevisit has seen the emergence of some common ground on climatechange, which has long been a source of political tension between thetwo countries.

The two leaders also unveiled a shared vision for securing the fu-ture of the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region. Unlike the UPAgovernment, which was hesitant to engage the US on the challengesof constructing a stable balance of power in the vast Indo-Pacificregion, Modi has now decided to work with Obama on finding a con-vergence between India’s Act East policy and America’s Pivot to Asia.Over the longer term, this could be the most consequential develop-ment in India’s relations with America.— Indian Express


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COMMUNITY NEWS

New Year 2015 brings newchanges to the first of its kind Hin-duism radio program in NorthAmerica. “Voice of Sanatan Hin-duism”. The broadcast station cannow be heard on Houston Radiodial FM 106.1 or FM 102.1 (HD3) in Houston. The new FM sta-tion has broader outreach and bet-ter transmission and the HD digi-tal audio broadcasting comes withless noise and better sound qual-ity. Voice of Sanatan Hinduism isbroadcast every Sunday from 9a.m. to noon.

One can listen to the programonline http://tunein.com/radio/KBREEZE-1061-1021-s238101/

With change of station dialcomes the new studio establishedby Padmakant Khambhati fromthe media room of his home to atrue radio media room. The newstation location is 10007 MysticSpring Lane, Richmond, TX77407. Listeners are invited to thenew studio anytime during broad-cast hours. This studio has finelybuilt in equipment that was ren-dered possible with help from

Rakesh Parikh and ably supported by Kanti Patel. The program con-tinues to present many segments and one of the highlights is SriMeenakshi Temple Society radio program from 10-30 a.m. to 11-00a.m., presented by Thara Narasimhan.

Voice of Sanatan Hinduism has a discussion segment from 11-00am to 11-30am to give opportunity to anyone listening to share theirviews on a certain chosen topic of the day.

Vishwesh Shukla presents and participates in youth topics of dis-cussion. Anyone can call in to participate on a dedicated telephone line832-398-5410 or 281-389-6987. Team members associated with theprogram, Sujathy Murali and Geetha Ravula to name a few, enliventhe show from time to time.

The Hinduism Radio program has now been broadcast for over 16years. Program producers give their free time in promoting the causeof Hindu Dharma and have been volunteering time and effort in de-picting the true value and essence of Hinduism.

Giving back to community is an essential part of Hindu Dharma andthat selfless service to mankind will contribute to the welfare of theworld. The program, supported with donations from well-wishers andlisteners, has no commercials. It has been sustained over the yearsthrough generous donations from many in Houston’s Hindu commu-nity. You can send your donations to Sanatan Hindu Center, 10007Mystic Spring Lane, Richmond, TX 77407. Tel: 281-459-0866.

Financial support from the community ensures that Voice of SanatanHinduism radio program will be on air so you can enjoy in your home,car or internet the weekly presentation of unique and favorite bhajans,devotional music and Hindu news around the world.

New studio, new station for Hindu radio program

Family Services Hotline 832-900-9354Indian Music Society of Houston Presents 2015 Season Opener

Hindustani Classical Vocalist - Houston’s Own

Pandit Suman Ghosh

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Senior Disciple of Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj

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A senior disciple of Sangeet Martand PanditJasraj-ji, Pandit Suman Ghosh is one of thepresent generation celebrated flagbearers of theMewati Gharana of Hindustani Classical music.Winner of a number of prestigious awards andhonors, Pandit Ghosh has performed all overIndia and many other countries of the world.

He is endowed with a mellifluous voice, well-cultivated & all-round musicianship and sea-soned performing skills.

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Sat, March 14 @ 7 p.m.Jones Hall,Univ of St. Thomas

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Thara Narasimhan (left) Kanti Patel, Padmakant Khambhati, VishweshShukla and Rakesh Parikh.


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Houston’s Indian Americanscelebrated India’s 66th RepublicDay at three venues on Monday,Jan 26. A flag-hoisting ceremonyat Consul General ParvathaneniHarish’s home kicked off the cel-ebration early in the morning.About 80 people attended the pro-gram where U.S. CongressmanPete Olson was the honored guest.

Harish thanked Olson for hisefforts in bringing India and U.S.closer. Olson, who had to leavefor Washington, spoke of his meet-ing with Prime Minister Modi atMadison Square Garden in Sep-tember.

Consul General Harish read outPresident Pranab Mukherjee’s ad-dress to the nation on the eve ofRepublic Day. PresidentMukherjee reminded the nationabout the primacy of the Indianconstitution. “The Indian Consti-tution is the holy book of democ-racy. It is a lodestar for the socio-

Manisha Gandhi named directorfor southeast by Akshaya Patra

STONEHAM, MA:Akshaya Patra USA announcedthe hiring of Houston residentManisha Gandhi as Director ofDevelopment, Southeast. ManishaGandhi will work alongside volun-teer chapters is Houston, Atlanta,Tampa Bay, and Washington, DCto grow the Akshaya Patra move-ment.

Akshaya Patra is a non-profitserving 1.4 million children acrossIndia and Akshaya Patra USAsupports this mission by raisingfunds and awareness.

Akshaya Patra USA CEO,Emily Rosenbaum stated: “We areexcited to welcome on ManishaGandhi as our newest Director ofDevelopment who will be support-ing the AP-USA chapters andvolunteer leaders in Houston, At-lanta, Tampa Bay and Washing-ton, DC. Manisha’s passion forthe program is self-evident andwith it she brings a great mixtureof skills and experience that willgreatly enhance the work of local

leaders to grow the AkshayaPatra movement.”

Manisha, who worked on adocumentary for Houston Televi-sion Network and TV Asia aboutAkshaya Patra, said: “I am hon-ored to join Akshaya Patra and besomeone who can further growthe movement of "Unlimited foodfor education,” an undeniably noblegoal. This new opportunity is fullyaligned with my hopes for makinga difference in the lives of millionsof children in India each day”.

Manisha Gandhi

economic transformation of anIndia whose civilization has cel-ebrated pluralism, advocated tol-erance and promoted goodwill be-tween diverse communities.These values, however, need to bepreserved with utmost care andvigilance,” Mukherjee said.

In the evening, Consul generalHarish and wife Nandita hosteda reception at the Hilton Hotelwhich was attended by over 250invited guests. Harish, in his briefaddress, said there was a newenergy and new vision underPrime Minister Modi, the first In-dian Prime Minister born in freeIndia. The “Make in India” initia-tive, he said, was designed tokickstart the manufacturing sec-tor and an invitation to U.S. andEuropean to outsource their manu-

facturing to India. He said the visitto India by President BarackObama was a concrete manifes-tation of America’s desire to en-gage with India in business.

Harish said that the investmentsin India from the U.S. companieshad already jumped 50 percentsince the new government cameto power. He said India looked forcollaboration and assistance fromforeign companies in revampingIndia’s massive rail network, ex-panding broadband connectivityand electrification across ruralIndia as well as in cleaning the riverGanga.

Harish invited Dr KamleshLulla to talk of his experiences atthe recently held PravasiBharatiya Divas celebrationwhere Dr Lulla was feted andaccorded the Pravasi BharatiyaSamman for his work at NASA.Dr Lulla said that though he hadreceived numerous commenda-tions and awards, this recognitionfrom his motherland was veryspecial.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker,who is leading a business delega-tion to India in April, along withHarrisw County Judge EdEmmett, said she looked forwardto the trip with great excitement.

Dinner was catered by SatishRao of Udipi Cafe. Rao also pro-vided breakfast at the morningprogram.

At India House Indian, Ameri-can and Texas flags were hoistedby the President of India House –

Jugal Malani, Col Raj Bhalla, director, and India Culture Center Presi-dent Charlie Patel.

The U.S National Anthem was sung by Michael Miller, ProgramManager of India House. The National Anthem of India was proudlysung by all Indians.

Representative from Senator Rodney Ellis’s Office, Dawn Hurd,spoke at the event sending greetings and awarded a certificate ofrecognition for India House at the occasion. Other members that spokeat this occasion were Jugal Malani, Devi Prasad Rungta and CharliePatel. Dr. K.D. Upadhyay recited a patriotic poem. Delicious snacksand appetizers were provided by Mahesh Shah of Madras Pavilion.

Republic Day celebrations in Houston

Devi Prasad Rungta, director ofIndia House (left), Jugal Malani,President, and Dawn Hurd from

Senator Rodney Ellis’s office.

COMMUNITY NEWS INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 • PAGE 7

As part of their efforts to raise funds to aid in the education of specialized and needy children of Secondary and Higher Sec-ondary schools from the rural district of Thiruvarur, South India, a “Pattimandram “ or a “Debate in Tamil” was hosted by the Tamil Nadu Founda-tion’s (TNF) Houston chapter on Friday, January 23, at Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland.

Dr. Ram Sivaraman, Presi-dent, TNF Houston Chapter presented TNF activities in detail and the need for raising funds to improve public schools in rural Tamil Nadu. He high-

lighted the funding needs for the adopted rural schools in Thiruvarur District.

Earlier Bala J Balachandran, Vice-President / Treasurer, wel-comed the audience who turned out in large numbers in spite of being a work day evening.

Tupil Narasiman, Vice-Pres-ident, Bharathi Kalai Mandram (BKM), Dr. P. Vaduganathan, Sri Meenakshi Temple (MTS) and Srikanth Venugopal, Sec-retary, MTS complimented the services of TNF Houston Chapter and also for being a co-sponsors for the event.

This is for the fi rst time in

Houston that the three local or-ganizations have conducted a charity program jointly.

Dr. S.G. Appan, Advisory Board Member, TNF Houston Chapter, talked about the 2012 National TNF Conference in Houston.

Sam Kannappan, Advisory Board Member and Honorary President MTS, TNF Houston Chapter, felicitated Leoni and presented a memento.

The event, with a panel of six members was chaired by Kalaimamani DindIgul I. Le-oni, a teacher, a great orator and a comedy debates judge.

The panel participants were: Natarajan, Govindan, Arul, Srividya, Andrew and Nandhu.

Leoni worked as a science teacher in Saint Mary’s Higher Secondary School in Dindigul for many years before he quit his job to become a full time Pattimandram judge. He is fa-mous for his humor and for the simple messages he conveys in his Pattimandrams which enlighten the masses.

Leoni was given the ‘Ka-laimamani” award by the Gov-ernment of Tamil Nadu for ex-cellence in the fi eld of arts and Literature.

He currently conducts “Nalla Pesunga Nallathaiyae Pesunga” (Speak well & speak about good) a regular patti-manram show on Kalaingar TV.

The event in Houston drew a house full crowd, even on

a cold and rainy night. Mr. Leoni had the audience spell-bound and kept them roaring with laughter continuously for about three hours. Needless to say, the event was very enter-taining and a huge success.

Govindan Somakanthan, Committee Chair, TNF Hous-ton Chapter coordinated in bringing the chief guest to Canada and the US.

Huge Thanks to Bharathi Kalai Mandram, Houston and Sri Meenakshi Temple, Pearl-and Texas, who co-sponsored the program and made it a huge success.

Raj N Thiagarajan, Sec-retary, delivered the vote of thanks to those who attended, supported, volunteered and specifi cally the donors who graciously donated for a noble cause.

— Ponni Sivaraman

Tamil orator Dindigul I. Leoni presents ‘comedy hour’ in Houston

Sam Kannappan, left, felicitates Dindigul Leoni.

Ram Sivaram, left, TNF Houston chapter president, Bala Balachandran, vice-president, and Raj Thiagarajan, secretary, Bharathi Kalai Manram of Houston.

BKM(Bharathi Kalai Manram of Houston, dedicated to the promotion of literature & performing arts of Tamil speaking people from India, celebrated Pongal, the traditional harvest and thanksgiving festival of Tamilnadu at the Meenakshi Temple in Pearland on January 18.

The elements of the Pongal celebration in Tamilnadu, include worship of the Sun, preparation of Pongal- a dessert made of rice, clarifi ed butter(ghee), milk, and jaggery, worship of the cattle, eating Sugarcane, dancing, and community feasts. The Tamil speaking community of Houston under the umbrella of BKM uses the Pongal festival as a platform for children to perform.

The children (with parental involvement) embraced this event with aplomb and enthusiasm. There were a total of 55 perfor-mances involving 200 plus kids and total program time of more than fi ve hours. The kids ranged from tiny tots to teens and all of the displayed a very passionate sense of involvement and dedica-tion to their chosen performance. The items performed ranged from Tirukkural recitation to Bharatanatyam dances beautifully choreographed to contemporary dances to popular Tamil fi lm numbers.

The outgoing committee for 2014 led by President Partha Krishnaswamy was felicitated on the occasion. Then all the teachers of the Tamil school were felicitated for their hard work and service. Then, BKM President Sridhar Srinivasan introduced his team for 2015.

Dr. Vadugunathan, chairman of Meenakshi Temple Society and Srikant Venugopalan spoke and congratulated BKM for put-ting up a great event.

Sridhar announced the BKM had worked with local business-es and come up with a membership benefi ts program in the form of a coupon booklet. He thanked all the sponsors for their gener-ous support.

The event concluded with a tradition South Indian dinner in-cluding the traditional Pongal catered by Dakshin. The attendees left with a happy heart and with eagerness for the next Pongal event.

— Vivek Natarajan

BKM President Srinivasan Sridhar, second from left, felicitates immediate past presi-dent Partha Krishnaswamy, next to him, along with other BKM board members.

BKM celebrates Pongal with kids talent show

Children perform during the cultural show at BKM’s Pongal festival.

Photos THIRU ARUMUGAM.


COMMUNITY CALENDAR

or call for info.(713) 665-4665

Chandra & David Courtney Tabla and Vocal

Classes in Houston,Mission Bend,& Sugar Land

Visit www.chandrakantha.com

Classesnow ongoing

COMMUNITY CALENDARRepublic Day Fest

Sat., Jan 31 @ 3 p.m.ICC Houston celebrates India's

66th Republic Day celebrations atthe Stafford Center on SaturdayJanuary 31st between 3pm to10pm. Cultural program, booths,food court, musical program arethe highlights. More informationcall Falguni 281-844-4604 or visitwww.icchouston.org

Vipassana MeditationMarch 1 to 12Vipassana Meditation course

as taught by S.N. Goenka and hisassistant teachers. At AmericanBodi Center, 29123 Mellan Road,Hempstead, Tx. 77445.Vipassana Meditation courses aregiven in ten-day retreats. Thereis never a charge for them but do-nations are welcome. For infor-mation or to apply to the course,call 972-346-8020.

Arya Samaj SatsangWeekly Havan Satsang every

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindiand Naitik Shiksha classes. DAVMontessori School for ages 2 to 7years. Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat.Sanskrit & Upanishad classesTue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 SchillerRd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire offHwy 6). 281-752-0100.

Chinmaya MissionSunday satsangs for adults,

youth, and children. A unique BalaVihar program for each grade,from PreK to Grade 12. Satsangsin two sessions between 8:35 a.m.- 10:15 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. -1p.m. Bala Vihar students cantake shloka, bhajan and orchestraclasses or language classes forHindi, Telugu, Marathi, andGujarati. Located at ChinmayaPrabha, 10353 Synott Road,Sugar Land, TX 77498. New

Houston area. Web: www.sahajmarg.org Email: [email protected].

Heritage ClassesAshirwad’s Heritage Classes in

Katy, Cypress and Sugar Land forkids 4 to 18 yrs - meditation, Yoga,slokas, stories from scriptures,Vishnu Sahasranam, bhajans, com-petitions and fun activities. Adultmeditation classes. Register atwww.ashirwada-blessing.org orSri Ravula 281-995-0930.

Hare Krishna DhamHouston’s original Vedic temple,

ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan& Arati Times: 4.30am, 7am,8.30am, 12noon, 4.30pm, 7pm,9pm. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to7.30 pm. Weekly Gita classes foradults; call 281-433-1635 orharekrishnadham @gmail.com

Gandhi LibraryMahatma Gandhi Library Book

Club: Meets 2nd Sunday of eachmonth; 12:30 PM at Arya SamajGreater Houston, 13475 SchillerRd. Join the discussion of the greatman’s autobiography – The Storyof My Experiments with Truth.Call Manish Wani 713-829-6979.

Saumyakasi SivalayaSri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is lo-

cated at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX77478. Temple timings: Monday toFriday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and5:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday and Sun-day: 8:30-2:00 PM and 5:00 - 8:00PM. Contact Bharti Sutaria 281-568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh 832-541-0059 or visit www.saumyakasi.org.

Veerashaiva SamajaVSNA Houston is a group of

families who believe inVeerashaiva dharma (Basavadharma). Monthly Mahamane pro-gram for prayer and discussion onVachana Sahitya followed byPrasada. Contact: [email protected] or JagadeeshHalyal 832-744-4166.

Shiv Shakti MandirSanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir,

6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m.to 8 p.m. All major festivals, as wellas birthdays, naam karan, engage-ment and other ceremonies. CallPandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 for

puja or other ceremonies.

Houston NamadwaarA prayer house where the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Maha-man-

tra is continuously chanted. Weekends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Week-days: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly “Gopa Kuteeram” children’s heri-tage classes and Srimad Bhagavatam classes. Call 281-402-6585;visit www.godivinity.org (Global Organization for Divinity).

Mar Thoma ChurchTrinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa

Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281-261-4603.

Sri Guruvayurappan TempleHours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Week-

ends & Holidays: 6 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. BhajansSaturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas(weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids,Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620Ormandy St (77035) Tel: 713-729-8994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us

Preksha MeditationNew facilities of JVB Preksha Meditation Center. Classes for Yoga

and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. At 14102Schiller Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire and Westpark - 77082). Tel281-596-9642.

Patanjali YogpeethFree Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am to 9:30

a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281-537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000. Web:www.pyptusa.org and www.DivyaProducts.com.

Sadhu Vaswani CenterSadhu Vaswani Center of Houston holds regular Satsang on 3rd

Thursday of the month and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call 281-463-0379or e.mail [email protected]

Sathya Sai centersSunday program held at two locations (North Houston: 12127

Louetta Rd, Houston; South Houston: 246 Fluor Daniel Dr, Sugarland,TX, 77479) from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Sai Spiritual Education classesfor children; study circle for adults. Service programs - food distribu-tion & food drives; nursing home visits, tutoring at schools etc. Con-tact Sanjay Gupta (North) 832-687-6766 or Sondip Mathur (South)832-215-8675 www.sairegion10.org.

Arsha Vidya BharatiSanskrit classes and special worship sessions for all ages. At 2918

Renoir, Sugar Land (77479).Call 281-606-5607 or [email protected]. Web: https://sites.google.com/site/avbtexas/classes

Gaudiya MathSri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd., Hous-

ton 77084. Satsang Sundays 5 to 7 pm. Mantra meditation, kirtan,Sanatan Dharma classes. Vedic Education and Hindi classes for kids.Gita classes noon - 1:30 pm Wed. Hanuman Chalisa and RamcharitManas on Tue. 7:30–8:30 p.m. [email protected] or 281-499-3347.

Swaminarayan (ISSO)International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization (ISSO). Daily

aarti 7:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday satsang sabha from 5:30 to 7:30p.m. Temple is located at 10080 Synott Road (77498). 281-530-2565.

members may visit the welcomedesk between 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.or 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Visitwww.chin mayahouston.org orcall Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233.

Vedanta SocietyVedanta Society of Greater

Houston, 14809 Lindita Drive(77083) has classes every Sun-day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.on Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 1st& 3rd Sunday; Bhagavad Gita,2nd Sunday; on works of SwamiVivekananda, 4th Sunday; HolyMother Sarada’s Gospel, 5th Sun-day. Swamis of Ramakrishna Or-der visit to conduct retreats andlectures. www.houstonvedanta.org or 281-584-0488.

Durga Bari TempleDurga Bari temple is open from

9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mon.thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at 6:30p.m. Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sun-day special from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.Puja services - Priest BishnupadaGoswami 281-597-8100 Templeis located at 13944 Schiller Rd (offHwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark).Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541.

Telugu FellowshipTelugu Christian Fellowship

meets every third Saturday of themonth at Triumph Church, 10555W. Airport Blvd., Stafford TX77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for atime of praise, worship and fel-lowship. Worship is in English.Call Chris Gantela 281-344-0707,or Rev. V. Gurrala 281-997-0757.

‘The Universe Within’Sahaj Marg is a natural and

simple system of heart-centeredmeditation and spiritual practicethat helps one realize the utimatepotential within oneself. The medi-tation is available to anyone whowishes to practice. Weekly medi-tation sessions held throughout the

Open Forum Radio ProgramKGOL 1480 AM • Saturdays 4 to 6 p.m.

Informative programs with doctors,lawyers, politicians and other

newsmakers.Call 713-784-1480

Where Your Opinion Counts

Hosts: Dinkar Chheda, Jagat Kamdar & Subodh Bhuchar

SALES HELP WANTEDWell-known Houston jewelry store is looking forsaleswomen availabe to start immediately. Must be ableto speak English and Hindi well. Call 713-789-7575

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Furore over omission of ‘socialist, secular’The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry’s Republic Day

print advertisement on Monday omitted the words "socialist, secular"in the image of the Preamble to the Constitution triggering a furoreand signature campaigns over social media platforms.

While a Ministry official said an image of the original Preamble tothe Constitution was used to commemorate the 66th Republic Day,the decision has raised eyebrows, given the attacks on minorities overthe past few months. The words "socialist, secular" were introducedin the Preamble through the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act in1976. "At a time when the people of India, and even the global com-munity, have genuine apprehensions about the secular character ofIndian democracy, … this omission is utterly condemnable,’’ said anon-line petition initiated by India Resists.

Another petition in circulation sought to give the benefit of doubt tothe Government by calling the omission a "typo and not done intention-ally’’ while urging the Ministry to "make the necessary correctionsand clarifications in right earnest."

was arrested and strip-searched in New York over allegations thatshe lied on visa forms to bring her maid to the U.S. while paying thewoman a pittance. The official’s treatment caused outrage in NewDelhi, and India retaliated against U.S. diplomats.

The U.S. and India also were at an impasse over implementing thecivil nuclear agreement signed in 2008. The U.S. insisted on trackingfissile material it supplied to India. Also, Washington was frustrated byIndian legal liability provisions that have discouraged U.S. companiesfrom capitalizing on new energy development in India because of con-cerns about their legal responsibilities in the event of a nuclear powerplant accident

On Sunday, Obama said he and Modi had reached a “breakthroughunderstanding” on those areas of disagreements. Details on an ac-cord were sparse.

Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said onlythat India “moved sufficiently on these issues to give us assurancesthat the issues are resolved.” U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma saidthe agreement would not require new legislation.

The U.S. and India also agreed to extend a 10-year defense part-nership deal and cooperate on the phasedown of hydroflurocarbons,the greenhouse gases used for refrigeration and air conditioning.

Still, that was hardly the kind of sweeping climate change agree-ment the U.S. ultimately has in mind with India. The White House ishoping that the surprise deal with China late last year setting ambitioustargets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions will influence India andothers.

Modi, however, rejected comparisons with China. “India is an inde-pendent country, and there is no pressure on us from any country orany person,” he told reporters Sunday.

Obama arrived Sunday morning to a capital whose normally bus-tling streets were empty. Police cleared sidewalks as Obama’s motor-cade sped to the presidential palace for a welcome ceremony. Obamathen visited a memorial to the father of India’s independence move-

ment, Mohandas K. Gandhi.Obama and Modi spent much

of the afternoon in private talks.They broke briefly for a strollthrough the gardens ofHyderabad House, the guesthouse where the leaders held theirdiscussions. Sitting down beforecups of tea, both men looked re-laxed. They smiled and laughedoften as they chatted animatedly.

The president and first ladywere hosted at a state dinner fea-turing a dance performance by acultural group that performed dur-ing Obama’s 2010 visit to India.

Taking some of the luster offthe trip, Obama does plan to cuthis time in India slightly short. Fol-lowing a speech Tuesday morn-ing, he will travel to Saudi Arabiato pay respects to the royal fam-ily following the death of KingAbdullah.

To make the trip to Riyadh,Obama scrapped plans to visitIndia’s famed white marble TajMahal.

Obama concluded his three-day tripwith a tough-love messageto his hosts, as he vowed to be“India’s best partner” in taking itsplace in the ranks of the world’sgreat powers but urged it to domore to protect human rights andfight climate change.

In a pointed message wrappedin the language of friendship,Obama said India needed to com-bat human trafficking and slavery,elevate the status of girls andwomen in society, promote reli-gious and racial tolerance andempower young people. He alsoargued that India had an obliga-tion to curb greenhouse gasesdespite its economic challenges.

“America can be India’s bestpartner,” he told an audience of1,500 mostly young Indians at SiriFort Auditorium before departingthe country. “America wants to

be your partner as you lift up the lives of the Indian people and providegreater opportunity.”

It was a notably sharp speech at the end of a trip dominated bydisplays of affection. But Obama had come under pressure from ad-vocacy groups to deliver a strong appeal for human rights in a coun-try proud of its democracy.

But as he often does, Obama couched his edged comments with anacknowledgment of American flaws, an effort to avoid seeming as ifhe were lecturing. He cited his own experiences as an African-Ameri-can. “Even as America has blessed us with extraordinary opportuni-ties, there were moments in my life where I’ve been treated differ-ently because of the color of my skin,” he said.

For many Indian listeners, Obama’s words on religious diversitywere the most important, and the most delicate, part of his speech,said Siddharth Varadarajan, a veteran journalist in India, adding thatthe president’s warnings “will not go over well” with leaders in Modi’sBharatiya Janata Party.

Others, though, bristled at what they considered a hectoring tone.Chetan Bhagat, a popular author, noted that Mr. Obama would notgive such an address at his next stop, in Saudi Arabia, a country knownfor its repressive monarchy, a ban on women driving cars and a recentconviction of a blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years inprison for supposedly insulting Islam.

“He’s not even going to get a chance to give a speech like thatthere, and he is much closer to them,” Bhagat told the news channelNDTV. “To say the prime minister took it really seriously is to go alittle too far.”

At end of trip, Obama gives unasked for adviceFrom Page 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama hit it offvery well in their private talks.

PDP, BJP close to forming allianceSRINAGAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People’s

Democratic Party (PDP) are close to announcing an alliance in Jammuand Kashmir. The State elected a hung Assembly in December and iscurrently under Governor’s rule. Both parties have agreed on thecontours of the alliance, and PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeedwill be Chief Minister for the entire six-year term of the Assembly, itis understood, but both parties refused to divulge details. This will bethe first time that the BJP will be in power in the State.

In the 87-member Assembly, the PDP is the single largest partywith 28 seats; the BJP, the National Conference and the Congresshave 25, 15 and 12, respectively. Others have won seven seats thatincluded Sajad Lone’s People’s Conference, which won two seats.

The BJP and the PDP said they had already reached an under-standing for elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats in the State sched-uled for February 7.

The Delhi Assembly elections are on the same day, and the BJP islikely to wait till that day to announce the J&K alliance. The PDP andthe BJP will contest two each of the RS seats as per arrangementbetween the two. “We will have to make arrangement with anotherpolitical party because on our own, we might not be able to win evenone seat,” PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhter told The Hindu.“Most likely we will go with the BJP.”


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Dr. David Frawley D.Litt. (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) has been awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the gov-ernment of India, one of the highest civilian awards granted in the country. He was one of 20 people to receive the Pad-ma Bhushan award this year, which included Bill and Me-linda Gates and a variety of important fi gures from Indian culture and society.

The Padma Bhushan award is given for “distinguished ser-vice of a high order” relative to the nation and culture of India. These awards go to a variety of individuals in all fi elds of life who make important contribu-tions to the national ethos. This year 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan, and 75 Padma

Shri awards were given.Vamadeva received the

award as a Vedic teacher for his work in Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic astrology and Vedic studies. It is rare for non-Indi-ans to receive Padma awards. This makes Vamadeva’s award particularly special. The award will be offi cially conferred later in March or April by the President of India at a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bha-van in Delhi.

Vamadeva notes: “I am most humbled to receive this exalted award from the government of India. I fi rmly believe that India with its great spiritual and yogic heritage should be the guru among nations, Vish-vaguru, and is in the process of awakening to its great world

mission that is crucial for the future of humanity.

“Though born in the West, I have always been a devotee of Ma Durga and Bharat Mata and sought to spread her great teachings and culture world-wide as well as to help revive it in India. I hope and pray that all sincere efforts in the fi elds

of Yoga and Vedic knowledge prosper for the good of all.

“There are many individu-als I would like to thank. They include Sri Anandamayi Ma, Sadguru Sri Sivananda Murty Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Sri M. P. Pandit of the Sri Au-robindo Ashram, Swami Veda Bharati, Dr. B.L. Vashta, Sri K. Natesan of the Ramanashram Dr. B.V. Raman, Ram Swarup and Sitaram Goel of Voice of India, Sri Ashok Singhal, the former International Working President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sri K. S. Sudarshan, the fi fth Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Sri Ram Madhav, HR Nagendra of S-VYASA, dean of the only deemed Yoga Uni-versity in India for carrying

on the message of Swami Vi-vekananda, Sri Lokesh Chan-dra, now head of ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Prime Minister of India Sri Narendra Modi for support-ing the Sanatana Dharma and conferring this recognition on my work and my wife Yogini Shambhavi Devi for remaining a continual support and inspi-ration and providing the Shakti for this Vedic mission.

“And the many other indi-viduals in various fi elds and from different countries who have aided in my work and activities over the decades, including those in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, Bra-zil, Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Germany, Great Britain, and of course India.”

David Frawley gets Padma Bushan award from government of India

Vamadeva Shastri


Chinmaya Mission Houston www.saumyakasi.org 10353 Synott Road Contact: Sugar Land, TX 77478 Jay Deshmukh 832-541-0059 281-568-1690 Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233

Tuesday, Feb 17th 2015

( Temple Hours 8:00 am to Midnight )

Puja Schedule

9:00 am - 9:45 pm Ksirabhiseka to Utsava Murti of Lord Siva 9:00 am - 11:30 am Mahanyasa purvaka Rudrabhiseka 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm Laghunyasa purvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhiseka 10:00 pm - 10:30 pm Arati & Prasada 10:30 pm - 11:45 pm Meditation followed by midnight Arati

( Rudrabhiseka puja sponsorship with Ksirabhiseka Seva: $21 per family )

Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya

MAHASIVARATRIMAHASIVARATRIMAHASIVARATRI Come, celebrate and receive Lord Siva’s grace and blessings

Om Namah Sivaya

Sunday, Feb 15th 2015

( Temple Hours 8:30 am – 2:00 pm & 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm )

Maha Mrtyunjaya Homa

8:35 am - 10:30 am Session 1 11:20 am - 1:00 pm Session 2

( In Chinmaya Smrti Building — Homa sponsorship: $21 )


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Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston Inc. 6640 Harwin Dr, Houston, TX 77036

Note: We do not have any other Temple at 5645 Hillcroft Ste 701

Devotees who desire to sit in Pooja may give their names to our Priest Shri Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 or

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MahaShivratri Celebration Tue., Feb 17, 2015

MahaArati 6:30 pm. Four-Prahar pooja will continue till next day 6:30 am. List your name for Pooja with the Priest.Mrutyunjaya japa Yajna will continue for the whole day.For Mahapooja, a donation of $201 is appreciated, Abhishek during daytime a donation of $21 is appreciated. Milk for Abhishek& Prasad is welcome.

Tuesday, February 17th 2015 • Maha Aarti –6:30 pm• First Prahar pooja – 9:00 p.m. To 12:00 am • Second Prahar pooja – 12:00 a.m. To 2:00 am• Third Prahar pooja – 2:30 a.m. To 4:00 am • Fourth Prahar pooja - 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.

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REVIEW/PREVIEW

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Astrology & Vaastu Shastra are Science of Nature, and are not related with any religion, caste, or community. It is an Occult Science and gift of nature for the welfare of the people.

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The fi lm is about a delightfully unapologetic con-woman, who, along with her troupe, goes about their modus operandi in a most organized manner. But there is fun on the job as well, like a family group, ensures. The con-woman in question is Dolly (Sonam Kapoor), and her cons give a new meaning to the term, "marrying into money".

The group is your typical version of the great Indian family, includ-ing a dazed grandmother whose part in the play, is to say the dialogue, "Beti de di, sab de diya."

Dolly is as sly as she is beautiful. She picks the bottom crate from the groom stable – the boy still dominated by his mother who wants a timid wife, the ageing man, etc— all of whom are fl attered that this looker wants them. She bats her eyelashes making them feel like the men they imagine themselves to be. And they're all "clean-bowled". No wonder, this "looteri dulhan" says she feels no guilt for conning them later. After several complaints from the Meerut-Sonepat-Gudgaon area, a cop Robin (Pulkit Samrat) is assigned this case, which he pursues at a feverish pace. It is to the fi lm's credit that we are emotionally invested with the character at all times, and don’t want her to get caught.

Of course, it’s a manipulative tool to make all the conned people and their families utterly unlikeable, the boys are dunces and the moms-in-law greedy. Naturally, the audience sides with the beautiful vivacious, fun Dolly, who makes her crimes look almost innocuous.

Some crude dialogue in the fi lm is completely unnecessarily. Ex-ample – Dolly serving her father-in-law a glass of milk suggestively saying, “Main sabko doodh doongi,” as he looks on lustfully. There’s the ‘Agar mard hote to...’ type dialogue, which is so outdated. And that dance number with co-producer Malaika Arora Khan with hugely sug-gestive lyrics.

Con fi lms are great fun and this one will have you thinking back to the super-fun Bunty Aur Babli. This one had the potential to be as good, but falls short. One is unsure of the character’s motivation to earn her livelihood this way, and an ambiguity about her background. Ditto, her gang. Sonam Kapoor's act has that trademark spontaneous, free-spirited texture, and she seems to have found her niche in the rom-com genre. Her dialogue delivery and accent falls short, but Kapoor's sprightliness is a great cover.

Pulkit Samrat as the cop, Rajkummar Rao as the besotted Sonu and Chinmay Chadda as the conned groom are superb. Archana Puran Singh is hilarious even in the stereotypical North Indian mother-in-law role, who objects that her "kothi" is being referred to as a house.

There is a clear attempt to cash in on Kapoor's successful Khoobsu-rat, from the character's vivacious disposition, to the drunken wedding dance, and the song at the end credits. As we've seen, most Hindi fi lms cop-out in the end, offering a conventional ending when there was po-tential for a more subversive one. Dolly Ki Doli redeems itself with the super-cool ending.

Debut director Abhishek Dogra gives us an above-average entertain-er, with an interesting story and a solid ensemble cast. Worth a watch!

Dolly ki Doli: Fun & vivacious

It’s Shahid Kapoor who seems to be the choice to replace Saif Ali Khan who was to play the title role in Mr Chaalu. The character is a suave casanova and the fi lm, to be directed by Reema Kagti, has Kangana Ranaut playing the lead-ing lady and Pooja Bhatt playing a detective! Richa Chadha, who is also part of the project, plays one of the male protagonist’s girl-friend. Mr Chaalu starts shooting in March.

*** Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Jag-ga Jasoos‘, which was to hit the screens in August, will now re-

lease in November this year. The two actors were earlier seen in movies like Raajneeti and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

Shahid replaces Saif


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Please make check or money order payable to India HeraldP.O. Box 623 • Sugar Land, TX 77487

IMMIGRATIONCitizenship offer for peoplewilling to serve in Military

By Rahul Reddy Attorney at Law, Reddy & Neumann PC

The Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI)Program authorizes the military to enlist certain legal non-citizens whoseskills are considered to be “vital to the national interest.” Enlistmentcan lead to conditional citizenship. Soldiers who enlist in this programare able to move from non-immigrant visa or asylee/refugee/TPS sta-tus directly to citizenship, bypassing the lengthy green card process.There are reportedly 150 types of roles that the army is looking to fillthrough the MAVNI program.

Only 5 to 6 of these roles involve combat, the rest of the positionsare in a support capacity. The army is currently recruiting aliens whospeak Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Nepalese, Persian Dari, Persian Farsi,Punjabi, Sindhi, Somali, Tagalog, Tamil, Urdu, or Yoruba, as well as ahost of other languages.

There can be a four to six years minimum serving time, dependingon the type of position an enlisted soldier fills.

A training period of 10 weeks at minimum is included in the four tosix years of serving time. There can be up to 8 to 52 weeks of special-ized training required.

Alien asylees, refugees, Temporary Protected Status recipients, aswell as aliens in most nonimmigrant visa categories, i.e., H, F, E, TN,are eligible to participate in the MAVNI program.

Please note, if an alien filed an application for adjustment of status(AOS) while in H nonimmigrant status, but lost that H nonimmigrantstatus while the AOS application was pending, then the Army maywaive the nonimmigrant status requirement on a case by case basis.Individuals who have been granted deferred action for childhood ar-rivals (DACA) are also eligible.

An alien must legally present in the U.S. for at least two yearswithout an absence of over 90 days in order to be eligible.

In addition, an alien must be a high school graduate as well as re-ceive qualifying scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test and alanguage proficiency test in order to be eligible.

If you believe you may be eligible for this program, you may con-tact the Army directly.

SSG Khan, Arsalan, U.S. Army Recruiter in Houston, can be reachedat 281-257-9281. Email: [email protected]

Rahul Reddy practices im-migration law and is a princi-pal in Reddy & Neumann, P.C.in Houston, TX.

Contact Rahul Reddy at hisdirect number 713-395-4371.Reddy & Neumann, P.C • P.O. Box 421807, Houston, TX77242 713-953-7787 Ext.104. Fax 713-953-7797 E-m a i l :[email protected],Web: www.rnlawgroup.com

Sania-Soares in Australian Semi

Former India captain RahulDravid has described co-hostsNew Zealand as “serious contend-ers” for the upcoming cricketWorld Cup starting February 14.

“I think they’ve got a really re-ally good pace attack. That’s whyyou look at them and you thinkthese guys are one of the seriouscontenders,” Dravid said on ‘Con-tenders’, a special World Cupbuild-up show on ‘ESPNcricinfo’

From being perennial darkhorses New Zealand are beingdescribed as among the favouritesand Dravid believes that the homepressure will not weigh too muchon the Black Caps.

“I think with New Zealand it’sa much smaller country, surethey’ll expect their team to do wellbut you’re not going to talk aboutwinning straightaway. I think thepressure is going to be less on theNew Zealand players,” said thecricketer-turned-analyst.

Dravid thinks New Zealand are seriouscontenders for World Cup

Always a keen student of thegame, Dravid realises the impor-tance of leadership in cricket andfeels that Brendon McCullum hasthe quality to inspire the Kiwis.

“Under pressure when youneed someone to make that keytactical change, that key interven-tion that can actually turn the

The top-seeded duo of Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares sailed intothe mixed doubles semifinals of the Australian Open after carving outa straight-set win over the home pair of Casey Dellacqua and JohnPeers, in Melbourne on Jan 28.

The Indo-Brazilian pair needed only 53 minutes to outplay the lo-cals 6-2 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Sania and Soares broke their rivals two times each in both the sets.They did not face any breakpoint in the opening set and saved the twoin the second.

They now await winners of the other last-eight match betweenthird seeds Kristina Mladenovic/Daniel Nestor and fifth seeds CaraBlack/Juan Sebastian Cabal.

Leander Paes is another Indian in fray with Swiss partner MartinaHingis. The seventh seeds are up against fourth seeds AndreaHlavackova and Alexander Peya.

Meanwhile, in the boys singles, Sumit Nagal’s campaign ended witha crushing 1-6 1-6 defeat against Australia’s Marc Polmans.

Sanath Jayasuriya not happy with SriLanka’s WC preparations

Sri Lanka’s chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, is unimpressed withthe progress of the national team ahead of the 2015 World Cup thatstarts next month. Sri Lanka have lost the ongoing seven-ODI seriesagainst New Zealand 4-1 with a game to go. “I am not very happy theway things are going out there in New Zealand,” Jayasuriya wasquoted as saying by The Nation.

“There are areas to be improved and in the next few weeks I hopewe can sort them out. I am not 100 percent happy as there are aspectsto improve every day. The only good thing is that we are playing inNew Zealand and against the same opposition whom we will meet inour opening match of the World Cup.” Since their arrival in NewZealand in December last year, Sri Lanka have been at the receivingend of a 2-0 Test series whitewash followed by another defeat in theseven-ODI series.

However, Jayasuriya tried putting a positive spin on the situationsaying these are testing conditions for the side and they will fare betterduring the World Cup because of the familiarity. “It’s a good advan-tage for us to play here in these conditions which are tough. We havealmost two months here playing Tests and ODIs to settle down and toplay against the same country is a big advantage,” he said. Jayasuriyais especially concerned about the inexperienced bowling departmentthat has allowed the opposition to recover from pressure situations.

game, you’d back him (BrendonMcCullum) to do it because he’sbeen in that position before, he’sbeen someone who has experi-enced it all,” said Dravid.

Riding on top-order batsmanKane Williamson’s belligerent run-making in the ongoing seriesagainst Sri Lanka, New Zealandhave shown their ‘might’ andDravid is all praise for the No.3batsman’s rise.

“He’s really creative, he’s gotsome really good shots. Becausehe can score quickly without ac-tually looking like he’s taking risks,he’s actually a good classical bats-man who is able to find the gaps,hit good cricketing shots, he’s gotgood consistency as well,” saidDravid, who once personified theNo. 3 position.

The bowling, led by TimSouthee, also has the potential tomatch the best of the best andDravid is impressed with the pacespearhead’s wicket-taking ways.

“Good control of the yorkerunder pressure. I think that’s oneof the things about Tim Southee.That’s a critical ball to be able tobowl at the back end and we allknow that that’s the obvious thingbut it’s an extremely hard ball toexecute under pressure,” he said.

Commenting on DanielVettori’s invaluable presence inthe team, Dravid, who had playeda fair bit of cricket against the left-handed all-rounder, said that noth-ing can replace experience.

“Whether he can stay fitthrough the tournament and howthey’ll have to nurse him throughthe tournament will be interestingto see but there is no doubt thathe brings quality and he bringsexperience to the table, which youcannot buy at a supermarket,”Dravid concluded.

Rahul Dravid

Virtual semi finalagainst England

Gearing up for a virtual semifi-nal against England here on Fri-day, the Indian cricket team willkeep a keen eye on the progressof batsman Rohit Sharma, whocontinues to nurse a sore ham-string.

With two losses and a wash-out, India have their back againstthe wall in the ongoing ODI tri-series against Australia and En-gland.

Rohit’s injury has affected thebatting order a bit with AjinkyaRahane not finding time to settleat number three, the new strat-egy when Rohit opens withShikhar Dhawan.

Ambati Rayudu has been bat-ting at three with Rahane opening

the innings then, and the Hyderabad batsman has been all at sea sofar. The latest information from the Indian team regarding Rohit is thatwhile his injury is not threatening his World Cup participation, he isbuilding back slowly to full fitness.

The batsman had a net session in Sydney while India took on Aus-tralia in the rain-curtailed game on Monday and could be available assoon as Friday. However it remains to be seen if he will be straight-away thrown into the deep end, considering that Dhawan has beenstruggling for runs.

The problem is that both Rohit and Rahane can open the innings aswell as bat lower down the order as per the situation demands.

Dhawan has only been known to open the innings throughout hiscareer and has been given quite a free run at the top of the order eversince the Men in Blue started preparing for this upcoming World Cup.

Dhawan enjoyed a brilliant outing in the 2013 Champions Trophy inEngland, scoring back-to-back hundreds, but ever since it has beendownhill. If the tour to Zimbabwe in mid-2013 is taken out, then, in 17ODI innings in West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand, England andAustralia, he has scored only 386 runs at an average 24.12.

RELIGION/ SPIRITUALITYINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 • PAGE 17

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Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir

Rehabilitating the ‘dark’ mindsBy Pulkit Sharma

We are repeatedly confronted with ‘dark’ minds -- people whobrutally kill innocent men, women and children to prove a point, indi-viduals who use and destroy fellow human beings to fulfil their mis-placed desires and those who seek to obliterate a community becauseit does not share their religion or culture.

Such incidents generate shock, fear and widespread anger and wedesperately look for solutions. One set of people who believe in tit-for-tat feel that by ensuring stringent punishments and counterattacks wecan silence ‘dark’ minds.

Another set of people with a humanistic perspective feel that bygenerating shame and guilt in the perpetrators for their wrongdoingand guiding them to better sense, this negative mindset can be altered.

By and large our experience shows that both of these approachesare likely to fail. Whereas, punishment breeds more aggression andretaliation, moral and ethical patronage are not taken kindly.

This is because we are unable to create a dialogue with the ‘dark’mind so that it can feel understood and evolve. While anger is a basichuman emotion and some are predisposed to aggression, no one is aborn criminal, terrorist, rapist or fanatic. It is only unfortunate life ex-periences and perhaps indoctrination that condition the mind into dark-ness.

A growing body of psychological research has confirmed that manyabusive, violent and cruel people have experienced severe trauma anddeprivation in the past. (There are exceptions, of course. Consequently,their mind is wired differently.

Firstly, the person loses trust in universal goodness. He feels thatthe world is a bad and cruel place and that he needs to hold on to anideal, even if proposed by unsavoury elements. To ‘belong’, he irratio-nally starts hating, attacking and killing what he thinks is bad. Suchvulnerable people are often selected and groomed to become killersby organised groups.

Secondly, trauma and deprivation increase self-centredness in people.They feel that because the world has neglected them it is fine to fulfiltheir desires at the expense of others. They show no remorse in ex-ploiting fellow human beings as need-satisfying objects. Also, trau-matic experiences make people feel extremely vulnerable and in or-der to safeguard their fragile self, they become violent.

As self-defence, anything that reminds them of their vulnerability isfought with even greater force. This possibly also explains why pun-ishment and contempt that aim at making the perpetrators feel vulner-able have been unproductive in bringing positive change.

We need to think of comprehensive rehabilitation by changing ourperspective. These misguided people are neither bad nor mad; theyare wounded. The permanent solution to this lies in healing wounds.We need to encourage perpetrators to share the pain that emanatesfrom their traumatic past or current experiences.

In order to heal, one must remember, feel and express the pain inthe presence of an empathic listener. When perpetrators find that some-one can see the pain and suffering behind their mask of aggression,they feel suspicious and angry, initially. However, with consistent pres-ence and empathy their lost hope is revived.

They can once again begin to believe in goodness. Home is wherewe start from. In the long run, the most effective solution will be toensure that every neglected and abused person gets love and care sothat they do not take recourse to violence in order to feel better.

Although it seems like a daunting task, this approach can perhapsbring a ray of hope to the darkness around us.

(The writer is a clinical psychologist).

By Rajaque Rahman

Without being cynical and with-out undermining patriotic fervour,let’s ask: Have we measured upto the dreams of those who ledIndia’s freedom struggle? Despitetremendous technological and eco-nomic progress, we are not yetfully free, happy and cultured.

So what went wrong? We leftout a crucial element while draw-ing up the blueprint of modern In-dia. Though we added the twoarms of being socialist and secu-lar, the soul of India continued tocrumble without the backbone ofspirituality.

Without doubt, spirituality is thevery backbone of India. It is whatVivekananda saw as her specialgenius. It is that which poweredIndia’s pre-eminence in the world.It is this power that Gandhiji usedto secure us freedom.

Socialism, communism, capital-ism, and consumerism have failedto create a classless, cooperative,free and happy society anywherein the world.

Depression, suicides, disparity,conflicts have only risen withthese -isms. On the contrary, Indicspiritualism holds out hope for abeleaguered world.

Generations of people from allover the world have been comingto India in the hope that its spiritu-ality will help them learn about lifeand get a true taste of happiness.

In it, they have found solace toovercome many ills such as de-pression, stress, anxiety, profes-sional burnout, and addictions.Undoubtedly, we do seem to knowthe indigenous formula. It’s just thatthat we forgot to apply it on our-selves!

“Spirituality naturally raises hu-man values and breaks the nar-row boundaries of caste, creed,religion and nationality,” says Artof Living founder, Sri Sri RaviShankar, advocating that a revivalof spiritual values alone can en-sure a happy and cultured soci-ety. A spiritual, all-encompassingperspective alone can inspirepeaceful revolutions in society, beit in social, political or economicspheres.

It was her spiritual resiliencethat helped India withstand vari-ous external onslaughts and re-main united as a single unit.

Her spiritual ethos made it pos-sible for alien religious traditionsto flourish here, giving everybodythe freedom to practice what theybelieve.

This is what exactly a secularrepublic should aspire for. Unfor-tunately, pseduo-secular politiciansof Independent India hijacked the

Celebrating the spiritual Republic of Indiaspiritual anchor and pursued a distorted concept of secularism.

Instead of harnessing India’s inherent unifying values, they playedinto the temptations of vote-bank politics. Caught in the political com-pulsion of being “secularly correct”, India's administrators developedsome kind of an allergy to anything spiritual. This dealt a body-blow tothe character of the Republic.

“When spirituality and politics don't go hand in hand, then we havecorrupt politicians and pseudo-religious leaders”, says Sri Sri. And, thisis exactly what has happened in India in the last few years whichwitnessed appeasement and polarisation, instead of a focus on policiesthat uplift every citizen irrespective of caste, creed, region or religion,bluntly undermining the avowed ideals of the Indian Republic.

At a time when society is divided on the lines of rigid political andreligious ideologies, spirituality can unite our hearts and minds. Indiacan surely bounce back to her Golden Era by anchoring itself again toher spiritual ideals.

Many of her woes which are threatening the very concept of Indiawill find their own solutions if we reorient ourselves towards building aRepublic based on spiritual values of belongingness, responsibility andcompassion, caring, and sharing.

This Republic Day, let’s amend our mindset and pray for a SpiritualRepublic. Tathastu! (The author is a full-time volunteer of the Artof Living. The views expressed here are personal).

When existence speaks alanguage you understand

By Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

The fundamental problem with us human beings is that when weare angry or miserable, we believe someone else needs to be fixed.What we conveniently forget is that when we are sick, it is we whoneed the medication, not someone else.

When we are hungry, it is we who want the food, not someoneelse. The only one who needs to be fixed is oneself, but just to under-stand this simple fact people takes lifetimes!

Take the example of anger. Who you are angry with does not mat-ter. Your anger has nothing to do with anyone other than yourself. It isonly because you believe your anger has its origins outside you that itkeeps recurring.

If you see it is only about you, it cannot last very long.From where does this anger originate? It originates in a strong sense

of like and dislike. These likes and dislikes arise, in turn, from a deepsense of identification with a certain way of thinking and feeling.

As your identifications become stronger, all you are doing is exclud-ing aspects of this existence. In exclusion, you become trapped, sepa-rated. In inclusion, you become liberated. So, the crux of the matter isexclusion, not the object of your anger.

When you dis-identify from everything that is not you – your clothes,your education, your house, your family, your culture, your ideas, youremotions, your body, every cell in your body – you become all-inclu-sive. This is what the spiritual process is about: becoming more andmore inclusive. The day everything in this existence is included withinyou is the day you are liberated.

One day, Shankaran went drinking with his friends. He intended toreturn home at 8 o’clock, but when he looked at his watch, he discov-ered it was 2:30 a.m. He decided to take a shortcut home.

Because his legs were unsteady, he fell into a thorny bush. His facewas scratched and bruised. In this condition, he reached home, andtried to find the keyhole – that took another half hour.

He finally got in and staggered into the bathroom. His face wasbleeding. He opened the medicine chest, fixed himself whichever wayhe could and quietly crawled into bed.

Next morning, his wife threw a bucket of cold water on his face.“You! Once again drinking?” He said, “No dear, I haven’t touched adrop.’ She led him into the bathroom and showed him: the band-aidwas plastered all over the mirror!

So, when pain, misery or anger happen, it is time to look within you,not around you. Your preferences and dislikes are of no existentialconsequence.

As soon as you learn this, life becomes a tremendous possibility.The question is not what you like. The question is, have you madeyourself in such a way that everything and everyone around you can-

not help loving you? If you make yourself such that the very Earth youwalk upon responds to you, you will find yourself leading a life that isextraordinary and wonderful.

The spiritual process is not about imposing your ideas on existence;it is about making yourself in such a way that the creation and theCreator, and every atom in this existence, cannot help yielding to you.When you pursue your own likes and dislikes, you feel alone in thisvast existence, constantly insecure, unstable, psychologically challenged.

But once existence yields to you, it delivers you to a different placeof grace – where every pebble, every rock, every tree, every atom,speaks to you in a language you understand. Suddenly, your very life ismagical.

INDIAPAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

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India Census: How many Hindu?How many Muslim?

NEW DELHI: The share ofHindus in India’s population hasshown the sharpest dip in a de-cade since Independence and hasdropped below 80%.

According to figures of the re-ligion census of 2011, yet to beofficially released, Hindus com-prised 78.35% of the total popu-lation of 121.05 crore, comparedwith 80.45% of the total popula-tion in 2001.

In real numbers, however, theHindu population increased14.5% from 82.75 crore to 94.78crore during the period (2001-11),The Indian Express reported.

The number of Muslims in-creased 24.4% to 17.18 crorefrom 13.8 crore during the period2001-11. And during the previousfive decades — 1951 to 2001 —their share rose from 9.8% to13.4%.

The 2011 religion census dataalso shows that the share of Mus-lims in the population has risen 80basis points (one basis point is 1/100 of a percentage point) from13.4% in 2001 to 14.2% withsome border states showing a highincrease. This decadal increasein share, however, is lower thanthe 1.7% increase registered inthe previous decade, 1991-2001.

The share of Hindus over theprevious five decades — between1951 i.e. post-partition and 2001— dropped 3.65 % from 84.1%to 80.45% of the total population.Again in absolute terms, the Hindupopulation more than doubled(172% increase) from 30.36crore to 82.75 crore during the50 years till 2001.

The drop in share of Hindus,

due to a steady dip in therate of growth of theHindu population, comeson the back of risingeducation and incomelevels of the majoritycommunity.

On Jan 21, UnionHome Minister RajnathSingh had announcedthat the religion data ofcensus 2011 would bereleased soon. The data

was ready in January 2014 but theUPA government, facing a resur-gent BJP, took the decision not torelease the data ahead of the LokSabha elections.

Normally, the data from the re-ligion census is released withinthree years of the census beingcompleted. The data should havebeen out by March 2014.

The share of other religiousgroups like Sikhs and Christians inthe total population remainedsteady at a little over 2% each,roughly in the same range as in the2001 census.

The Census 2011 data showsthat since independence, the shareof Hindus has dropped by 5.75%while the share of Muslims hasrisen by slightly more than 4%.According to the 1951 census,Hindus comprised 84.1% of thepopulation post partition, after theinflow of Hindus from Pakistanand the outflow of Muslims at par-tition changed the demographics.Hindus comprised just about 66%of the population of India beforepartition.

Registrar General of India CChandramouli briefed the HomeMinister again about the findingsof the religion census before its fi-nal release. Ministry sources saidwith the dates for Assembly elec-tions in Delhi and bypolls in sixstates already announced and thepoll code of conduct in place, theannouncement could be pushed tonext month or even to after theBudget session of Parliament.Chandramouli, the officer who hasdealt with the religion data since2011, was given a three-monthextension in December 2014.

Three killed in courthouse blast in BiharARRAH/PATNA: A police constable, a woman thought to be the

bomb carrier and an undertrial prisoner were killed and 17 others in-cluding several lawyers were injured, in a blast at Ara civil court pre-mises, 40 miles from Patna on Friday morning, Jan 23.

The explosion helped two undertrial criminals escape. Talking toreporters here soon after the incident, ADG (HQ) Gupteshwar Pandeysaid that the explosion took place around 11.30 am when a van carry-ing 37 undertrials, entered the court premises. The undertrials werebeing taken to the court lock-up.

The woman died on the spot and the constable Amit Kumar whowas standing nearby suffered grievous injuries. He was rushed to thehospital where he died.

There have been several instances earlier when criminals explodedbombs to facilitate escape of prisoners or eliminate witnesses.

The DGP said that according to initial investigation the woman wasa courier and had come to hand over a bomb to a criminal, LambuSharma, to help him escape. He also added that the bomb was notcontrolled by a remote device.

"Though forensic science laboratory officials have reached the siteand they would examine the quality of the bomb but prima facie itappears that the bomb might have fallen from her clutch and exploded,"the DGP added.

The explosion led to the escape of two criminals Lambu Sharmaand Akhilesh Upadhayay. Lambu had earlier exploded a bomb in 2009in Arrah court campus and escaped from there. He was later rear-rested.

The Padma Award, a high ci-vilian Award, is conferred in threecategories — Padma Vibhushan,Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The awards are given in vari-ous disciplines – art, social work,public affairs, science and engi-neering, trade and industry, medi-cine, literature and education,sports, civil service, etc.

Padma Vibhushan is awardedfor exceptional and distinguishedservice; Padma Bhushan for dis-tinguished service of high orderand Padma Shri for distinguishedservice in any field. The awardsare announced on the occasion ofRepublic Day every year.

-There were nine PadmaVibhushan awardees — L.K.Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, DilipKumar, Parkash Singh Badal, Dr.D. Veerendra Heggade, ShriJagadguru RamanandacharyaSwami Rambhadracharya, Prof.Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan,Kottayan K. Venugopal andKarim Al Hussaini Aga Khan(Foreigner - France/UK)

There were 20 PadmaBhushan winners including Prof.Manjul Bhargava from USA aswell as David Frawley (Ayurveda

Padma Vibhushan for Advani, Bacchchan, Dilip Kumar

practitioner in New Mexico) and billionaire philanthropists Bill andMelinda Gates. The list of 75 Padma Shri honorees includes Dr.Nandrajan “Raj” Chetty, classical vocalist Tripti Mukherjee, GeorgeL. Hart, Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (all in theUSA), Dr. Saumitra Rawat, UK, and Jagatguru Amrta SuryanandaMaha Raja (Portugal)

P.S. Badal (left), L.K. Advani, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar

The Uber rape victim is “veryupset” and “surprised” at the “au-dacity” of the cab-hailing com-pany which copied her on anemail it sent to its customers onFriday, saying it was “relaunch-ing” operations in Delhi.

The 25-year-old woman’sAmerican lawyer, DouglasWigdor, who is assisting her in aneffort to file a suit against Uber ina US court, told The Indian Ex-press that the victim and her fam-ily “are very upset that they weresent an email from Uber, and thatUber has come back to Delhiwithout a consultation processwith them”.

“We had made it clear to Uberthat the victim wanted to be partof a consultation process regard-ing safety procedures to ensurethat no other person becomes avictim at the hands of an Uberdriver.

Most unfortunately, this has nothappened and we have no confi-dence that the touted ‘India-spe-cific safety measures’ will pre-vent another attack,” he ex-plained.

A day after applying for a freshlicence under the modified rulesof the 2006 Radio Taxi Scheme,Uber sent emails to its customersin Delhi, claiming, “We’re back,to serve you and get you movingonce again.”

On Jan 22, Uber applied for afresh licence, but through an In-dian subsidiary named ResourceExperts India Private Limited.“Applying for a licence does notmean it has been granted. Till weget an official confirmation that avalid licence has been granted toUber to operate in Delhi, the ser-vice will be considered illegal andwill not be allowed to operate,”said Special Commissioner ofPolice (Traffic)

“We are back,”says Uber in email

to rape victim

Three die taking ‘daredevil’ selfieAGRA: Attempts to click "eye-catching pictures" to upload them

on social networking sites cost three college going friends from NewDelhi, Moradabad and Faridabad their lives on Monday when theywere run over by the speeding train.

The accident happened at about 9.30am in the railway tracks ofMathura, near Kosikala. The fourth friend, Aneesh, who survived theaccident, told police that they were on their way to Agra to see the TajMahal on Republic Day and had stopped their car at the railway trackto attempt the "daredevil selfie". Those who died have as of now justbeen identified as Yakub, Iqbal and Afzal. All of them were between20 and 22 and college-goers, police said.


INDIA

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Legendary cartoonist and cre-ator of the Common Man, R.K.Laxman, one of post-Indepen-dence India’s greatest caricatur-ists, died of a cardiac arrest atDeenanath Mangeshkar Hospitalhere on Monday evening, Jan 26.He was 93. He was cremated inPune on Tuesday at a State Fu-neral attended by Maharashtrachief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Laxman, battling a severe uri-nary tract infection and kidneyfailure, was put back on ventila-tor support after his health took aturn for the worse on Sundayevening. His health had deterio-rated after a series of strokes in2004 and 2010, which severelyimpeded his speech and left himbedridden.

“Unfortunately, his conditionstarted rapidly deteriorating in thelast 24 hours and he failed to re-spond to the ongoing therapies

tures of the New Zealand-born SirDavid Low, then the pre-eminentcaricaturist of the Western world.

Sir David’s acerbic caricaturesof the momentous events in theearly 20th century, especially ofits great reactionaries, fascists andauthoritarians who shaped Europeand the world’s destiny, made alasting impression on the youngLaxman. Famously denied admis-sion to the J.J. School of Art,Bombay, after his drawings“failed” to meet the standards,Laxman caricatured the passionand folly of India’s human com-edy.

The messy business of the de-mocracy that was India was un-forgettably captured in the iconiccreation, labelled simply The Com-mon Man, of R.K. Laxman, whodied here on Monday.

Laxman, who was awardedthe Padma Vibhushan and theMagsaysay Award, was a com-plex man, who defined his métierwith an ingenious lightness oftouch as evinced in his autobiog-raphy, Tunnel of Time.

“There was an unmatchedbrilliance and warmth in his wit.He was inimitable. He could bemany things to many people at thesame time,” reminisced friend andfellow cartoonist MangeshTendulkar.

Be it Gattu, the tousled boymascot of Asian Paints, or themasterly Malgudi illustrations,Laxman’s dab hand portrayed thetokenism of politicos and the angstof the common man.

“In a sense, we were all his dis-ciples. His death has left a mas-sive void in Indian journalism. Itmarks the end of an epoch in itshistory,” said cartoonist VikasSabnis. “His stature was greaterthan any editor’s. He was thatuncommon,” said cartoonistSudhir Telang.

R.K. Laxman passes awaymade to improve his multi-organdysfunction,” said Sameer Jog, thedoctor who had been treatingLaxman since his admission to thehospital on January 17. Laxman,under close observation by a teamof intensivists in the hospital, wastaken off the ventilator last weekafter his health showed a little im-provement, sparking hopes of apossible recovery.

“The last few days have beenunnerving for us,” said Laxman’sson, journalist Srinivas Laxman.Laxman’s wife, 89-year-old Ka-mala Laxman, had “borne thenews stoically,” he said. Tributesflowed in soon after the news ofthe demise filtered through. “In-dia will miss you R.K. Laxman.We are grateful to you for addingthe much needed humour in ourlives & always bringing smiles onour faces,” tweeted Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi. “We have losta truly uncommon cartoonist whogave a new dimension to carica-turing in India,” said MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis.

Laxman, born in the thenMysore state on October 24, 1921,was the youngest of six sons of aschool headmaster and the onlyone among his siblings to sharefame with his brother, writer R.K.Narayan. Growing up in the city’sidyllic environs, Mr. Laxman wasinfluenced by the scathing carica-

R.K Laxman drawing himself drawing the common man

Indira Gandhi after her byelection victory in Chikmagalur

Newspapers toeing the government line during emergency

Laxman’s tribute to the common man

KCR is Vastu-bitten!HYDERABAD: Bit by the

Vastu bug, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao wants to shifthis official residence, and is noweyeing the IAS OfficersAssociation's office, angering thebabus in the process.

Plans are in place for the gov-ernment to take over the land andbuilding leased out to the associa-tion for 33 years in 2000 as theplace offers better Vastu proposi-tions than his current residence inBegumpet, sources confirmed.

Indicating that the lease willsoon be cancelled, the Roads andBuildings department officials pri-vately said, they have started lev-eling the ground on the rear sideof the four-acre plot, where theofficer's swimming pool is located.

Even if the CM does not moveinto the building immediately, hewill anyway want the IAS offic-ers to move out from the South-west side of his current residence,because Vastu experts have toldthe CM that since this contentiousplot is at an elevated position, theresidents of the plot (IAS offic-ers) could dominate governance.

While the Telangana cadre of-ficers have not voiced their dis-sent against the CM's decision,sources said that retired-IAS of-ficers from the Andhra cadre haveapproached the governor E S LNarasimhan to express their ire.

EC pulls up Kejriwal on bribe issueNEW DELHI: Taking "serious note" of AAP leader Arvind

Kejriwal's repeated remarks asking voters to accept bribe from Con-gress and BJP but vote for his party, Election Commission directedhim to desist from making such comments and warned of stern actionin case of any violation. "...The Commission has taken serious note ofthe fact that you have been indulging in the violations of the ModelCode of Conduct repeatedly despite the repeated notices to you... ,"EC said in its order.

EC took note of Kejriwal's undertaking that he respects the pollbody and the law and he would stop making such appeals if the Com-mission thinks his statements were inappropriate.

EC was responding to separate complaints made by BJP and Con-gress against the Aam Aadmi Party convener. The public speech madeby Kejriwal that invited EC's ire was — "It's election time. Whenpeople both from BJP and Congress come offering money, don't refuse,accept ... some have looted money from 2G, some have looted moneyfrom coal scam ... Take money from both the parties but vote for AamAadmi Party. We will fool them this time. They have been deceivingus for the last 65 years. Now it's our turn," he had said.


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Promoting gender equality wasvital in President Obama's mes-sage to India, so it made sense thata 12-year-old female activist whohas overcome incredible odds wasthere to draw attention to theAmerican leader's message.

And to share a heartfelt mo-ment with the first lady, too.

During a stop on the Obamas'trip to the South Asian country onTuesday, photographers caught asmiley exchange betweenMichelle Obama and 12-year-oldPayal Jangid, a victim of slaveryturned children's rights advocate,ABC News reported.

Payal and two other children

President Obama and Michelle Obama meet with Kailash Satyarthi, thirdfrom right, his wife Sumedha Satyarthi, left, with Payal Jangid, right, atthe Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on Jan. 27.

who escaped slavery met with theObamas at the Siri Fort Audito-rium in New Delhi alongsideKailash Satyarthi, who won theNobel Peace Prize last year withMalala Yousafzai for his work pro-moting children's rights, accordingto the Associated Press.

Satyarthi’s NGO, BachpanBachao Andolan, is responsible forrescuing Payal.

During the weeklong trip, thepresident met with Indian officialsto focus on mutual goals of en-hancing clean energy practices,discussed global trade and partookin the country's Republic Day fes-tivities, according to the White

House.But he ended the visit on gen-

der equality."We know from experience that

nations are more successful whentheir women are successful,"Obama said in a speech on Tues-day to mostly students and mediarepresentatives, according toReuters.

The outlet reported that genderequality has become a hot-buttonissue in India after a woman wasgang raped and murdered in De-cember 2012. The incidentsparked protests and called forimprovement for women in re-gards to health, education andemployment.

Payal leads the Child Parlia-ment in her Indian village wheremany people live in poverty andgirls are often forced into childmarriage -- according to theWorld's Children's Prize. As theleader of the group, Payal is fight-ing for positive change, and de-manding men respect women forthe betterment of all.

“We visit children at home andexplain to their parents why schoolis important," Payal, who wants tobecome a teacher some day, said."We also tell fathers not to beattheir children or wives. If theybehave in a loving way, life is bet-ter for everyone.”

Obamas meet 12-year-old slave turned child activist Sri Lanka: Ex-presidentRajapaksa faces backlash

COLOMBO: Their friends have deserted them. Their houses havebeen raided. Their power - near-absolute on this island nation just amonth ago - has melted away, replaced with talk that some familymembers could face charges of corruption or murder.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family - brothers,nephews and cousins who have dominated Sri Lanka for nearly adecade - are suddenly portraying themselves as victims.

"My family is in politics since 1931 and for the first time they haveraided my home," Rajapaksa told reporters after police entered hisprivate home in the southern town of Hambantota just days after theJan. 8 election upset, in which he lost to former ally Maithripala Sirisena.

"Is this good governance?" the former president demanded.The police, who were looking for high-end sports cars and a private

plane the family is believed to own, said they found nothing suspiciousat the house. But authorities say the investigations have barely begun.

The new government, with help from the International MonetaryFund and Indian Central Bank, is trying to track down several billiondollars of foreign assets allegedly being held by top officials of theprevious regime, Cabinet Minister Rajitha Senaratne said Thursday.So far, prosecutors have not filed formal charges against the family,but some people have filed police complaints against them.

Few people expected such a reversal back in November, whenRajapaksa called the election with two years remaining in his secondterm. Nearly everyone expected him to easily win another six-yearterm.

Rajapaksa had built up immense power during his nine-year ruleand had clear dynastic ambitions. He was popular among the country'sethnic Sinhala majority, and some supporters hailed him as a king andsavior for defeating the 25-year ethnic Tamil insurgency in 2009.

But Sirisena attacked the president's family relentlessly, accusingthem of nepotism and corruption, and Tamils turned out to vote againstRajapaksa. Those factors, along with the country's rising living costsand promises of good governance under a new government, liftedSirisena to victory by a small margin.

Rajapaksa's defeat has emboldened once-frightened Sri Lankans tospeak out against the family. Former ministers, long angry at how hehad given relatives many key positions, have turned against him.

Mervyn Silva, a childhood friend of Rajapaksa and former Cabinetmember, has filed a police complaint accusing one of the ex-president'sbrothers of murder.

According to Silva, former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksaordered the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, a prominent newspa-per editor shot by gunmen on motorcycles as he drove to work inJanuary 2009.

His newspaper, the Sunday Leader, had been highly critical of thegovernment's conduct in the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, andreported on alleged human rights violations and government corrup-tion.

"When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me,"Wickrematunge wrote in his final editorial, which was published post-humously and was addressed to then-President Rajapaksa. "We bothknow who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name."

Silva also says that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was behind the "whitevan abductions," a string of kidnappings that terrified the family's crit-ics. During and after the civil war, scores of journalists, suspectedrebel sympathizers, rights activists and government critics were grabbedby unknown men, blindfolded and forced into white vans. Some werebeaten and later dumped by roadsides. Many simply disappeared.

Silva told reporters he had given evidence to the police proving that"Gotabhaya is the author of the white van culture."

The new government took journalists to see the elaborate furnish-ings bought at state expense for the official presidential residence, withstate television cameras lingering on images of air-conditioned bath-rooms with video screens built into the walls.

Basil Rajapaksa, another brother of the former president and one-time economic development minister, has faced repeated allegations inthe media of misusing state money and resources.

But Basil, who also holds U.S. citizenship, is believed to have leftthe country days after his brother lost the vote.

Sirisena's government has also told police that the former presidentsummoned police officers, military chiefs and the attorney general onthe night of the election to discuss ways to declare a state of emer-gency and halt the count when it appeared he might lose.

Rajapaksa has insisted there's no truth in those accusations. He stillhas a base of support, especially in the Sinhala community, which wouldbe deeply suspicious of any moves to give any autonomy to Tamilareas in the north and east.

Sirisensa's government has appointed a civilian as governor of theTamil-majority Northern Province, pushing aside a former military of-ficer. It has also allowed free access to blocked websites, includingsome linked to remnants of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

In a speech made in his home village soon after his defeat, Rajapaksasounded defiant. He said Sirisena had won because of votes from"Eelam," the Tigers' name for their dreamed-of homeland.

"I don't consider this a defeat," he said. "I have faced worse de-feats."

SRI LANKA

PAKISTANINDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 • PAGE 21

Christian school stormed by protesters

PESHAWAR: Hundreds of students protesting against a Frenchmagazine for publishing blasphemous cartoons of the ProphetMuhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) stormed a Christian boys' schooldemanding its closure, officials and police said Tuesday, Jan 27.

Four students were slightly hurt in the incident in the town of Bannuon Monday, which happened as students from local colleges andschools demonstrated against the cartoons printed in French satiricalweekly Charlie Hebdo.

“A group of some 200 to 300 protesting students entered PanelHigh School after jumping its outer walls and forcibly opened thegates,” school principal Fredrick Farhan Das said.

He said the students who wanted the school to be shut damagedthe property and smashed windows.

“This caused kind of a stampede, which slightly injured four stu-dents,” Das said.

He said the school remained closed on Tuesday in protest againstthe incident and will re-open on Wednesday.

District police officer Abdul Rashid Khan confirmed the incidentbut said it was not thought to be an anti-Christian attack.

Two gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo earlierthis month, killing 12 people. The magazine then published a “survi-vors” issue with another cover, triggering a wave of angry condem-nation and protest in Muslim-majority countries across the world.

12-hour outage after power plant shuts downKANDHKOT: Immense fog and leakage from the gas pipeline

caused 11 units of the Guddu Thermal Power Plant to shut down dueto tripping, officials said Tuesday.

The tripping of these 11 units caused suspension of electricity for 12hours in various areas of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab. Authoritiessaid the units will be restored as soon as the gas leakage is repaired.

The Guddu Thermal Power Plant has 17 power units, out of whichonly six are currently working.

Pakistan was plunged into darkness after a key power transmissionline broke down early on Sunday in an incident being initially blamedon a rebel attack, the latest reminder of the country's crippling energycrisis. The power failure caused electricity to be cut in major citiesthroughout the country, including the capital Islamabad.

Sartaj Aziz: Indo-U.S. nuclear deal will havenegative impact for South Asia

ISLAMABAD: In a formalresponse to statements andpledges made during US Presi-dent Barack Obama's visit to In-dia, Pakistan has said that an Indo-US nuclear deal struck for "politi-cal and economic expediencies"would have a detrimental impacton nuclear deterrence and overallstability in South Asia.

The response addressed IndianPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Obama's announcement thatthey had reached an agreement tobreak the deadlock that has beenstalling a civilian nuclear poweragreement between the two coun-tries.

The two countries in 2008signed a landmark deal giving In-dia access to civilian nuclear tech-nology, but it has been held up byUS concerns over India's strictlaws on liability in the event of anuclear accident.

While there were no immedi-ate details on how the impasse hadbeen broken, India has reportedlyoffered to set up an insurance poolto indemnify companies that buildreactors in the country against li-ability in case of a nuclear acci-dent.

In response, Adviser to PrimeMinister on National Security andForeign Affairs Sartaj Aziz saidPakistan expects to see the USplay a constructive role for stra-tegic stability and balance in SouthAsia. He added that Pakistan re-serves its right to safeguard itsnational security interests.

Reacting to the joint statementsuggesting that India is ready tojoin the Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) and other nuclear exportcontrol regimes, the adviser saidPakistan is opposed to "yet an-other country-specific exemption"

from NSG rules to grant mem-bership to India. Aziz argued thatsuch a move would further com-pound the already fragile strate-gic stability in South Asia, andwould further undermine the cred-ibility of NSG, while weakeningthe nonproliferation regime.

Addressing the impression thatPakistan is not playing its due rolein countering terrorism, the advisersaid cooperative and collectiveactions by all member states arerequired to effectively tackle theglobal threat.

"Pakistan is also a victim of ter-rorism, including that sponsoredand supported from abroad", theadviser said.

"Pakistan rejects any insinua-tion or aspersion over its commit-ment to fight terrorism. Condem-nation of terrorism in all its formsand manifestations should not bebased on selectivity or doublestandards", he further added.

Strongly opposing the grantingof any special status to India atthe UN security council, the ad-viser said India stands in violationof the United Nations SecurityCouncil resolutions on matters ofinternational peace and security,such as the Jammu & Kashmirdispute. He said India, "by nomeans qualifies for a special sta-tus in the Security Council."

Sartaj Aziz

Bank accounts of JuD frozenISLAMABAD: In what ap-

pears to be a move towards theswift implementation of the Na-tional Action Plan (NAP), Paki-stan on Thursday said the bank ac-counts of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD)have been frozen and foreigntravel restrictions have been im-posed on Hafiz Saeed, theorganisation's leader.

"Pakistan took this decision un-der the UN obligation and not un-der pressure from any other quar-ter including John Kerry," ForeignOffice spokesperson TasneemAslam said in a briefing at the For-eign Ministry in Islamabad.

Aslam said that assets of allbanned organisations in the coun-try have been frozen and that thecountry is taking action against ter-rorists with discrimination, accord-ing to a report published on RadioPakistan.

The FO spokesperson also saidthat the Haqqani Network has alsobeen banned, however, she addedthat the organisation does not havebank accounts in Pakistan. Shefurther reiterated that the decisionhas been taken in Pakistan's owninterest and not due to externalpressure.

The US and India both have al-ways considered JuD, the ‘char-ity’ organisation run by HafizMuhammad Saeed, as the sisterorganisation of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant outfit facingblame of masterminding 2008 ter-rorist attacks in Mumbai.

The Haqqani Network, foundedby Afghan warlord JalaluddinHaqqani, has been blamed forsome of the most deadly attackson US-led foreign forces in Af-ghanistan was designated as a ter-rorist organization by the UnitedStates in September 2012.

An interior ministry official aday earlier confirmed that

Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and theHaqqani network are in the list ofproscribed outfits. However, thegovernment was reluctance to an-nounce the curb officially.

Talking to Dawn.com, an inte-rior ministry official said theUnited States had sought a banon the Haqqani network and theJamaatud Dawa (JuD) but thematter was being delayed.

According to the documentsavailable with Dawn.com, the in-terior ministry has added Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahi-deen, Falah-i-InsaniatFoun-dation, Ummah Tameer-i-Nau, Haji Khairullah Hajji SattarMoney Exchange, Rahat Limited,Roshan Money Exchange, AlAkhtar Trust, Al Rashid Trust,Haqqani network and JamaatudDawa to the list of proscribedorganisations.

“In his recent visit to Islamabad,US Secretary of State JohnKerry also hailed the decision ofthe government to put a ban onthe Haqqani network and theJamaatud Dawa,” the official said.

He said the government hadalready directed the departmentsconcerned to take immediatesteps to freeze the assets of thebanned outfits, including theHaqqani Network and JuD.

Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed

Raheel: Will notabandon FATA

RAWALPINDI: Chief ofArmy Staff (COAS) GeneralRaheel Sharif visited the Feder-ally Administered Tribal Areas’(FATA) Mohmand Agency onTuesday and vowed not to aban-don the area without fully restor-ing it to normalcy.

The army chief was given adetailed briefing on the progressof stabilisation operations, includ-ing the ongoing developmentprojects by army engineers in thetroubled region, an Inter-ServicesPublic Relations statement said.

The development projects thatcame after Operation Zarb-I-Azb, launched by the PakistanArmy in June 2014, left large partsof North Waziristan's infrastruc-ture destroyed. The militaryclaims to have eliminated a largenumber of terrorists in NorthWaziristan, as well as KhurramAgency in continuing operations.

Cricketer spooked by ‘ghost’ in hotel roomWELLINGTON: Pakistan team management says cricketer Haris

Sohail was left “visibly shaken” after a ghostly encounter in aChristchurch hotel room.

Sohail fled what he believed was “a supernatural presence” whichshook his bed at the Rydges Latimer hotel, taking refuge in the roomof a team coach after the encounter earlier this week.

Team manager Naveed Akram Cheema said Tuesday Sohail, 26,phoned a member of the coaching staff to say he had been woken byhis bed being shaken. The coach rushed to Sohail's room and foundhim shaken and feverish. Cheema said management tried to persuadeSohail the fever may have caused a nightmare, but the player wasadamant his experience was supernatural.eing shaken.




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