AV 16th September 2017 by Asian Business Publications Ltd

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Vol 46 | Issue 20

'RACIAL INJUSTICES'

16th September to 22nd September 2017 Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

IN UK'S LEGAL SYSTEM Rupanjana Dutta

An inquiry has concluded that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals still face bias, including overt discrimination, in parts of the justice system” in the UK. His findings provide facts that people from minority ethnic backgrounds, especially Asians have argued for decades. Ministers have therefore been urged to put in place a comprehensive race strategy following the publication of the Lammy review. The report in fact has not been entirely surprising for the ethnic minority, and has suggested that prosecutions against some BAME suspects should be deferred or dropped to help tackle the bias against them in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The critical report written by the Labour MP David Lammy at the request of the former prime minister David Cameron, supported by Theresa May, cites studies suggesting a "stark difference" in plea decisions between different

Asian Achievers Awards Rising above a sea of run-of-the mill gongs

Community demands action after Lammy review

Continued on page 16

Rejoice, here comes the great Navratri Festival CB Patel

The Navratri festival is around the corner and the diaspora is looking forward to celebrate it with much pomp and gaiety. It's a unique Indian festival for all the denominations of Hindus and Jains which is encompassing faith, culture, traditions, music and high energy dancing with friends and family for 9-15 days, beginning next Thursday 21 September. However the community feels distressed at the money involved in celebrating their beloved festival at their local venue, as the Councils withdraw their support, costing a family of four no less than £300.

Continued on page 17

The season of Awards has begun. In recent years there has been a proliferation of awards - from local to national, industry based or generic. It is of course crucial for any organisation, in business or the arts to gain recognition for its products and services. Winning an award allows you to differentiate your company from your competitors and ensure that the audience are aware of your titles. There are people who profit from the various organisations' desire to be on top of the polls. However it is only the best award schemes that matter because they provide an insight into what hard work, intellect and inspirational thoughts can deliver. The best work of the most talented and creative people make us realise that convention exists by breaking moulds and it is too easy to adjust and settle for compromise. The Asian Achievers Awards organised by the

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar stand out by creating an unmatchable platform for role models in the community. The nominees come directly from the over 250,000 readers, and judged by a very well esteemed and independent panel of judges. The aim of the awards is to create leaders for the community and establish the track record of those, who are regularly contributing to Britain's 'Big Society'. Known as the ‘people's choice award,’ since launching, the Asian Achievers Awards has helped to raise millions of pounds for various charities, and this year the chosen charity partner is the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which works to eradicate classroom hunger and facilitate childhood education by serving freshly cooked, nourishing lunches to 1.6 million school children across India every day. Continued on page 17

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

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with

Keith Vaz, MP

Shree Ashwinbhai Soni Shree Ashwinbhai (also known as Ash in short) Soni was born in Kampala, Uganda. His wife Elaben and he have two sons Brijesh and Sunil and daughter Kajal and have two beautiful grandchildren, Aarya and Annika. Ashwin did his “O” levels and “A” levels in Kampala (Uganda) and then immigrated to UK for further studies completing Chemical Engineering at Bath University and obtained BSc (Hons) in 1974. He is now settled in Crawley, West Sussex. UK. In 1974, he joined Kimberly Clark a Graduate Trainee and remained with the same company for the 35 years. In 1989, Ashwinbhai and the family moved to Barrow-in-Furnace (Cumbria) where he worked in the plant first as a Process Engineer and then the Site Technical Manager. Prior to Barrow, from 1974 to 1989 he worked in process and project engineering functions at Central Engineering at Northfleet in Kent. Ashwinbhai is a fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineering and a Chartered Engineer and he looks after the career development of young engineers joining Kimberly Clark. 1) Which place or city or country do you most feel at home in? Definitely the UK. I was born and brought up in Uganda, where there were a lot of uncertainties for Indians. Due to the discrimination, I could not secure a place at university. In 1970, through my parent’s financial support, I got the opportunity to study in the UK to pursue Chemical Engineering from University of Bath. However, in 1972, my parents were expelled from Uganda and hence I had no funds to continue my education. The UK Government welcomed my parents into the UK and took care of them and me, in addition to covering my university costs.

Hence I am grateful to this country and have so much to give back. 2) What are your proudest achievements? There are three things that are my proudest achievements; First, my family. I have three beautiful children and two grandchildren. I believe my heritage is amazing as my parents looked after my sibling and me so lovingly and brought us up with good values and a positive outlook on life, while keeping in mind the love for the family, general community and religion. Second, my career. I was one of the first to achieve high grades in my community in Uganda and

passed my O levels with very good scores. This was all thanks to my parents who pushed and supported me. Hence I was able to come and study in UK and graduate as a chemical engineer. In 1974, I joined Kimberly Clark working there for 35 years. I started off as a trainee, later becoming a senior manager, looking after very important business aspects of the company in Europe. Third, my community. I have been lucky to have been given the opportunity as an engineer to manage a project that aimed to build a Hindu temple in Crawley and serve the community of Crawley. 3) What inspires you? As a professional, I aim to see how I can better whatever I do and what I’ve done so far. In other words, I especially believe in a process of continuous improvement, in not just myself, but in others around me. I want others to see that there are a lot of good ways and means of being better at what they are tomorrow, than what they are today. 4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career? I cannot think of any! But an incident that shaped my life was, at the tender age of 4, my mother passed away. But I was lucky that mymaasi (aunt) stepped in and gave me all the motherly love and

Hundreds gather to say goodbye to Jaskaran Hundreds turned out to say farewell to tragic car crash victim Jaskaran Sandhu as he was laid to rest. Champion athlete, Mr Sandhu, 22, died on

Monday, August 28 after his car crashed down an embankment in Riding Court Road, Datchet. Another 22-year-old man was injured in the crash, and is recovering

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at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. Jaskaran was an acclaimed athlete and despite his young age represented the United Kingdom in the 2013 and 2014 Kabaddi World Cups in India, playing in the Raider position. He was also an accomplished wrestler, who won gold at the 2011 and 2012 British W r e s t l i n g Championships in the 100K weight category. His funeral on Tuesday was attended by hundreds of friends and family members. Dozens packed into Slough Crematorium for the funeral ceremony, while hundreds more listened to the ceremony on speakers outside. Afterwards, the mourners travelled to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara for a final service, where friends and family read tributes to Jaskaran’s short, but eventful life.

affection that I missed in yearly days. Had it not been for her, I would have not achieved what I achieved my life. 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? I would say, my family, because despite being from a moderate income family, they managed to send me to university in the UK at a great expense. They made a lot of sacrifices so that I would get a great education and an excellent career. Another influence would be my two bosses at Kimberly Clark. I was very lucky to have two senior managers who guided, helped and supported me to become bigger and better in my career. 6) What is the best aspect about your current role? Now that I’ve had much experience and expertise in my career and with the community, I’m able to help, support and advise the new generation in various fields, including their education, personal lives and business. 7) And the worst? The lack of support and difficulty in overcoming obstacles that are placed by local and national authorities. I’ve learnt that there are not many people you can turn to, to give you genuine support. 8) What are your long

term goals? I want to see my family settled down and be very happy. I have two children who are yet to be married a n d that’s

what worries all parents! I also want to see real progress in the community I serve. My temple has a debt of £1.2 million pounds and I want to help and support the community to repay that loan. Additionally, I am very keen that the Hindu organisations of the UK reconcile and make up from their differences that they have and speak with one voice, so life becomes a lot easier for this generation and the next. 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? I see a lot of wastage coming from industries when I see how our local authorities and government departments are run. I see a lot of duplication, unnecessary bureaucracy and tremendous amount

of waste. As a PM, I would look at improving all these areas, while taking the leap from how the industries in the UK work and implement a system of organising around work and not people 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why? Swami Vivekananda, with no question. He was full of vision and ideas for all mankind. He single-handedly changed the world for Hindus, not just in India but throughout the world. It has been 150 years since he passed away, but his words of wisdom, vision and ideas for all mankind are so true, even today. Hence, I would like to understand and learn a lot from him, so that I can pass it on to others in the world.

World's most wanted gangster faces having Midlands hotel and property seized One of the world’s most wanted gangsters has had his assets frozen - including property in the Midlands. Kaskar Dawood Ibrahim is the second richest criminal to have ever lived, after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, according to Forbes business magazine. The 61-year-old Indian national, who goes by 21 aliases, is estimated to be worth $6.7 billion while rewards totalling $25m are on offer for his capture. He owns a hotel in Warwickshire and other residential properties across the Midlands. The shadowy son of a Mumbai policeman is accused of heading a global crime empire called D Company, spanning 16 countries across five continents. The Indian government claim he has ties to Al Qaeda and blame him

for a series of bombings in Mumbai in 1993 and for planning the Mumbai massacre in 2009. Ibrahim, known as The Don, appears on the latest UK Treasury department’s Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets, updated last month. The Treasury sanction document lists three recorded addresses for Ibrahim in Pakistan including one sprawling property called The White House near the Saudi mosque in the seaside suburb of Clifton in Karachi Pakistan. The UK also lists 21 aliases for Ibrahim including Abdul, Shaikh, Ismail; Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hamid; Abdul Rehman, Shaikh, Mohd, Ismail; Anis, Ibrahim, Shaikh, Mohd; Bhai, Bada; Bhai, Dawood; Bhai, Iqbal; Dilip, Aziz;

Dawood Ibrahim

Ebrahim, Dawood; Farooqi, Sheikh; Hasan, Kaskar, Dawood; Hassan, Dawood; Ibrahim, Anis; Ibrahim, Dowood, Hassan, Shaikh; Kaskar, Daud, Hasan, Shaikh, Ibrahim; Kaskar, Daud, Ibrahim, Memon; Kaskar, Dawood, Hasan, Ibrahim; Memon, Dawood, Ibrahim; Sabri, Dawood; Sahab, Haji; and Seth, Bada. In 2015 Indian investigators visited the Midlands to identify and seize the underworld kingpin’s UK assets.

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COMMENTS

Something rotten in the State of India Journalist Gauri Lokesh was a robust member of an honourable profession. That surely is how the Fourth Estate is, or should be, perceived in a functioning democracy. Indians, by and large, are committed to democracy; if they weren’t, ever increasing numbers wouldn’t be queuing to cast their ballots in State or general elections, would not bother to open a television set to watch a news hour programmes, where contentious are discussed ad nauseam. India without newspapers would be a dystopia. India, being neither China nor Pakistan, is unaccustomed to decrees imprisoning journalists or murdering them through intelligence agencies or by mobs on call to mete out instant justice to perceived blasphemers of holy writ. The murder of Gauri Lokesh was a case in the latter category of three armed men, cowardly masked, arrived at her dwelling in Bangalore and shot her dead, then fled on motorcycles. There was no hint of a robbery. Until the assassins are caught and interrogated one can only presume that the brave Ms Lokesh was targeted for her serial criticism and lampooning of Hindutva nationalism and its considered verities, which more frequently than not, are ritualized abs urdities. She laughed at them and invited laughter from her readers. Those opposed to her views had an equal right to present their case. Heavens above, what a dull place would England be if all that on offer was the Murdoch press and papers of similar ilk. Private Eye steps into the breach, takes on the establishment and its sacred nostrums, stripping away their pretentious verbiage with humour and wit t hat is the stuff of enjoyment. Why else would Private Eye have a devoted readership that exceeds all the weekly magazines on the newsstands? One recalls with fond admiration and nostalgia the acerbic wit of

cartoonists like Laxman in India and the iconic Low and Vicky in Britain. Returning to Gauri Lokesh, what a waste of an exuberant life, for no civilized reason except that her views gave offence to thu ggish morons. Her brother has rightly said that her tragic death should not be politicized. Indeed, it should not, but India today is a country deeply at odds through discord and intolerance of the Other, that this eminently sensible and noble call has thus far been unheeded with accusations flying thick and fast across party alignments. If only party leaders, much given to preening rectitude, paused for a moment and considered the true implications of Gauri Lokesh’s loss. Do they not understand the blow to India’s time-tested values of respect for diversity, whether it be faith, ethnicity or the right of unbelievers to question the existence of a supreme deity? The Indian Constitution continues to uphold the basic rights of free speech and thought, of privacy and much else. For that we have to thank the Supreme Court and its valiant judges who have borne their responsibilities with uncompromising honesty and sense of duty. They are a shining light amid the encircling gloom. The State government of Karnataka has announced a substantial reward for any person giving information leading to the arrest of the murders of Gauri Lokesh. The people of the State are known generally for their tolerance, hence there is deep shock at this senseless crime. It is this sense of outrage that is likely to yield the information that the police and other law enforcement agencies seek. Hopefully the present nightmare will end sooner rather than later with the arrest of the criminals.

Doklam is a blip in a long game The belief expressed in certain sections of the Indian media the Sino-Indian relations will now be rebooted to take it them to the uplands of trust and cooperation is little short of cultivated hallucination. The irony is that China estimation of itself is rarely subject to close critical scrutiny by these newspapers who, prefer, instead, to endorse it. This cuckoo-land approach is mercifully cuts little ice with the military brass, guardians of India’s borders and its overall security. They see Chinese behavior at close quarters almost every day and what they see and purposefully digest ensures there are no lotus-eaters in their senior ranks. Hence amid bromides of a positive Sino-Indian relationship, the Army chief, the no-nonsense General Bepin Rawat announced that the country’s armed forces had contingency plans for a two-front war with Pakistan and China. This is not to say that he or his colleagues would welcome such a conflict. It is simply a reminder of a worst case scenario for which the country must learn to accept as a possibility. Preparation is the most effective deterrence to war. Diplomacy based on a scabbard without its sword is an invitation to indecent

exposure, as was, alas, the case in 1962. At the recent BRICS summit in Xiamen, a declaration condemning named jihadi organizations operating from Pakistan evoked optimistic response among a number of Indian columnists. However, no sooner had the new Pakistan Foreign Minister arrived post-haste in Beijing to explore the apparent Chinese volt face, he discovered to his pleasure and satisfaction that there had been no change in Chinese policy towards his country, that its BRICS stance was, in essence, an international public relations gambit. As proof, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that Pakistan was in fact a victim of terror, which the world had yet to fully appreciate. Presumably the jihadi assaults on Mumbai in March 1993 and November 2008 were perpetrated by creatures from another galaxy! Be that that as it may, Minister Wang floated a Chinese promised international conference in the near future consisting China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, Iran and Russia, not to speak of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, had best twiddle their thumbs. Rest assured they won’t just stand and wait.

Achyuta Samanta: Visionary of New India Deep inside Odisha’s tribal belt the vision of a remarkable man has transformed despair into hope, a seemingly unachievable dream into unbelievable reality. Tribal people beyond the pale, and hence long neglected, prey to Maoist intimidation and exploitation in the name of a false, beguiling liberation are shaking off the shackles of a blighted past. Theirs is now the liberated voice. ‘In the early 90s when the literacy rate of the tribe was 29 per cent and when nobody was paying serious attention to our plight, Dr Achyuta Samanta looked towards our emancipation through education…Maoists used to trap us. Our girls were lured to be the nets of human trafficking. We never knew how to deal with this menace. It was like fire to the frying pan. At this juncture Dr Samanta and KISS helped us and our children to…differentiate between a trap and truth.’ Dr Samanta set up India’s (and the world’s) first tribal university, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), and following twenty-five years of sustained endeavour has borne fruit with its guaranteed status as a university recognized by the central government in Delhi, and the assured funding that would will KISS to the next level.

Today KISS has an enrolment of 27,000 students lodged in a single campus where study and sports deepen the community spirit. Says Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme: ‘KISS is the future of India as well as the world…KISS is the right platform to fufil your dreams.’ Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, said: ‘I have been to more than 50 countries …and I have spent time in some of the countries much longer, but I have not come across any institution of this kind anywhere in the world.’ You have in a nutshell what KISS has achieved. But this is no justification to rest on its laurels. There is more work to be done, more hurdles to surmount, more challenges to overcome as the past is the present shade into the future. There is much talk in the public space about India being on the threshold of superpower status. But all is vanity if critical segments of Indian humanity remain mired in poverty, are socially disadvantaged and look despairingly at a future without hope. Such a country will remain insecure, despite the boast of heraldry, the pomp of power. Justice and magnanimity is not seldom the truest wisdom.

Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Everything that ever happens in life has an end as well as a beginning - Tonga proverb

Freedom for India – Freedom for widows I would like to congratulate all supporters of the Loomba Foundation, all readers of Asian Voice and all Indian Diasporas living in London on India’s 70th year of independence. This year has been an incredible year for Indo-UK relationship, with the Indo-UK Year of Culture, bringing the countries Lord Raj Loomba closer together and making their relationship stronger. This day would not have been possible, but for one man – a supreme leader of India’s freedom movement, and India’s greatest philanthropist, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Popularly known to Indians as Bapu, the father of the Indian nation, Gandhi was a great supporter of women emancipation, education and empowerment. He believed in the equality of women, and propagated education and skilled-based training to allow them to gain their own freedom, while contributing towards their family, and nationbuilding. “Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity; the female sex,” quoted Gandhi. He recognised the evils attached to the practices of child-marriage and widowhood in India, and vehemently opposed the cruel practices and ostracisation of widows in the name of religion and age-old cultural practices. “In the name of religion, we force widowhood upon our three lakh girl-widows who could not understand the importance of the marriage ceremony... If we would be pure, if we would save Hinduism, we must rid ourselves of this poison of enforced widowhood,” said Gandhi. He realised the importance of skilled-based training to support impoverished widows, and had schemes to teach them to make yarn and weave the India cotton garment khadi. “Khaddar (khadi) brings a ray of hope to the widow’s broken-up home, the Charkha (spinning wheel) in the hands of a poor widow brings a paltry price to her,” Gandhi had said. Khadi became the symbol of freedom – freedom from ills imposed on widows by decades of religious and cultural conditioning, freedom from dependence on relatives and begging and the economic freedom needed to lead a live of dignity. His vision is similar to the work we, at the Loomba Foundation do. We have put in twenty successful years of fighting injustice against widows around the world. A Widows World Report, commissioned by the Loomba Foundation, has revealed that 258 million widows and over 584 million children suffer in silence worldwide. Over 100 million widows live in poverty struggling to survive. HIV/AIDS, ethnic cleansing, armed conflict and poverty are among the most prolific causes of widowhood. Through our skilled-based programmes in India, we have been able to train impoverished widows in tailoring, and given them foot-operated machines on completion of the training programme in Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana, where we have supported widows and female inmates in all 19 district jails in the state. We also support the education of their children through five-year-long Loomba scholarships. The Loomba Foundation is honoured and privileged to be supported by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, who launched our Varanasi project last year to empower 5000 impoverished widows. Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development Hon’ble Shrimati Menaka Gandhi is also building an ashram that would house around 1000 widows in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh in India. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, and we need to be prepared for several such initiatives to give widows the freedom that they have been waiting for. www.theloombafoundation.org The Loomba Foundation Loomba House 622 Western Avenue London W3 0TF 020 8102 0351

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Tunstall imam 'preached support for IS at mosque' A British imam who preached support for the socalled Islamic State told children that martyrdom was the "supreme success", a court has heard. Kamran Hussain, 40, is accused of giving the radical Friday lunchtime sermons in front of around 40 worshippers at a charity-funded mosque in Tunstall, Stokeon-Trent. Jurors at the Old Bailey were told the alleged offences took place between June and September last year. Mr Hussain denies eight charges. The court heard from

June last year, 17 of his speeches were secretly recorded by an undercover officer, who then arrested him. Mr Hussain, of Knightsbridge Way, Tunstall, talked about martyrdom to a congregation of nine children and 35 adults on September 2 last year, the jury were told. Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said: "Mr Hussain told his audience that martyrdom was the supreme success and was greater than any other success, such as school or college." Martyrs had nothing to

Benefits cheats should be made to pay back money

A judge has urged the Department for Work and Pensions to speed up benefit fraud prosecutions, which at the moment often take several years to reach court. Leicester Crown Court’s most senior judge, Nicholas Dean QC, said long delays were “bringing disrepute to the justice system". The judge also said the delays made it more difficult to send perpetrators to prison, "even though they may deserve it". He also urged a “proactive” approach be taken by the authorities in speedily getting the money back from defendants’ assets - before they disappear.

He spoke out when sentencing a benefits cheat, Bharaj Rawji, who dishonestly claimed £24,000 in state handouts to which he was not entitled. He failed to declare that he had at least £16,000 savings in his bank account, between September 2011 and August 2014. The money is being repaid via deductions of £120 a month from Rawji’s current benefit entitlement. The money could take up to 20 years to re-pay under that payment plan, and that Rawji's assets could be seized to enable the state to recoup the money quicker. The court was told the £16,000 Rawji had had in savings had disappeared.

Kamran Hussain

fear when "you go in front of Allah with the bullet wounds

and the sword wounds and you are raised in that situation with the blood still coming from your body," Hussain allegedly said. The court heard Hussain also spoke in favour of engaging in jihad to "take over a land" and "stand the black flag" at a different sermon last year. He is accused of saying that neither the "Queen or prime minister" could stand in the way of the law of Allah. Mr Hussain denies eight charges, two of supporting IS and six of encouraging terrorism. The trial continues.

Taxi driver jailed for kidnapping and raping teenage passenger A taxi driver has been jailed for kidnapping and raping a teenage passenger. Saeed Shaikh, pictured, who held the woman against her will and raped her, has today been found guilty at Leicester Crown Court. He denied kidnap, rape and sexual touching, but was convicted after a six day trial. The 41-year-old picked his victim up in Leicester city centre in the early hours of March 5, and was asked to take her to an address

L e i ce s t e r s h i r e . Instead of taking her where she had asked him to, he stopped the Toyota Auris in the country lanes around Barkby, and sexually assaulted her. He got out of the driver’s seat, got into the back of the car with her and raped her. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and he will also be the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be placed on the Sexual Offender’s Register.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan delivers a speech on Freedom in the 21st Century

Frederick Parekh-Glitsch On Saturday 2nd September in Hull, the UK city of Culture for 2017, former United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan delivered the Wilberforce lecture entitled Freedom in the 21st Century. The title was a poignant tribute to Hull-born William Wilberforce, the 19th century parliamentarian and philanthropist who played a pivotal role in securing the abolition of slavery act, which was passed in 1833. The act gave freedom to all slaves in the British Empire. In his speech, Mr Annan described how the fundamental human right of freedom is under threat in the modern world. He described that loss of freedom takes various forms including forced labour of adults (which he thought affected more than 20 million people) and sexual trafficking and exploitation. He also presented disturbing evidence that young children are not only coerced into working

under extremely hard and dangerous conditions but, in parts of Africa, thousands have been forced to become soldiers and fight in brutal civil wars. Children fortunate to survive such conflicts are nevertheless traumatised for life. How can we prevent such shameful and inhumane abuse and exploitation of our fellow man and woman? Mr Annan had two suggestions. First, nations should work together to ensure the right of freedom is universally respected. Second, drawing inspiration from Wilberforce and his fellow abolitionists, Mr Annan argued that change can happen when

Seventeen men and one woman from a Newcastle sex gang will be sentenced over the next three days for crimes that include rape, sexual assault, drug dealing, and inciting girls into prostitu-

tion. Three members have already been jailed for a total of 56 years for using mephedrone to turn abuse victims into addicts and forced them to have sex. The three men were part of a 40-

individuals take up a cause they believe in and then work collectively to bring about change. Such a movement, he believed, could transform the world. In the open questions and answers session after his lecture, Mr Annan reiterated his view that a two-pronged attack on states that support or do not confront violation of freedom was needed. He stressed that countries must work together to impose pressure on these states and that emboldened citizens should take up the cause locally and internationally. However, such approaches have limitations. First, it assumes different countries

will co-operate for the greater good. But what we have seen recently is that national interest dominates and individual states will act in their own best interest. “America first’ is one clear example of this as is Britain’s ‘ethical foreign policy’, which was trumpeted during last year’s general election despite Britain securing arms deals with Saudi Arabia, a country in which Amnesty International has reported serious abuse of human rights. Second, in countries where freedom is suppressed, internal protestors are likely to be punished severely. Even in democracies, large group of citizens protesting against a government policy can be unsuccessful. Over 1 million people marched in London in protest against the War on Iraq, but this had no impact at all. More stringent measures are needed to counter loss of freedom than the goodwill of nations and the courage of a few individuals.

Asian sex gang preyed on over 100 girls, gave victims drugs to groom membered network that included Pakistani, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Bangladeshi and Turkish nationals that preyed on over 100 girls. In their impact statements, victims said they were treated

like a “piece of meat” by their abusers. One woman called the gang “monsters”. Victims spoke of going through long-term effects in several aspects of their lives as a result of their ordeals.

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Man who set dog on Muslims because 'they kill people' is jailed

A man who told his dog "to bite Muslims as they kill people" has been jailed. Jakub Wendland, of Rochdale, set his dog on a man as he left a mosque in Levenshulme during Ramadan, Manchester Crown Court was told. Later the same day, he tried to get the dog to attack a woman he believed to be Muslim. Wendland, who pleaded guilty to assault, causing injury and using racially-aggravated words, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. At 10:40 BST on 25 June, a man was leaving a mosque close to Crowcroft Park when he was set upon by Wendland's cross-breed bull terrier, the court heard. When it bit the man's arm, Wendland punched him in the face. Two hours later, he blocked the path of a woman on Market Street near Piccadilly Gardens and repeatedly told his dog to bite her "because she was Muslim". Passers-by intervened and prevented the animal from biting her, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Abused children 'refused compensation' over consent

(l-r) Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain have been convicted of grooming and sexually abusing young girls in Rotherham

A woman sexually abused as a child by a grooming gang leader was told by a government body she "consented" to it. Sammy Woodhouse was initially denied compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) which said she was not "manipulated". A Freedom of Information request revealed she is one of nearly 700 child victims of sexual abuse, including grooming, to be refused payments. CICA is now reviewing its guidelines, the government has confirmed. Ms Woodhouse, who waived her anonymity in an effort to help others, was 14 when she met 24-year-old Arshid Hussain, who was jailed in 2016. Hussain, known as Mad Ash around Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was one of three brothers behind the grooming and sexual abuse of more than 50 girls including Ms Woodhouse. He was jailed for 35 years for 23 offences including indecent assault and rape.

Murder charge over Sheffield man's stab death

A man has been charged with the murder of a 31-year-old man in Sheffield at the weekend. The body of Sami Khaled Saif Al-Sarsoor was found with Sami stab wounds on the Wensley Estate in Firth Park in the early hours of Sunday. A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon and is due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates' Court later.

Police name two young children killed in M62 crash

Two young children who were killed in a crash on the M62 at Eggborough on Sunday 3 September have been named by North Yorkshire Police. Two month old Ahmadeesaa Motara and his sister, Asmaa Motara, aged 19 months who are from the West Yorkshire area were travelling in the car with their parents when it left the westbound carriageway. Police are still appealing for witnesses to the crash. They're asking anyone with dashcam footage which might help their investigation to get in touch.

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Foreign and Commonwealth office opens door to public for the weekend

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is opening its doors to the public as part of Open House London on 16 & 17 September. The public will be invited to explore one of the world’s most iconic government buildings and discover its historic art and architecture. To celebrate Open House, they are launching a new interactive virtual tour of our headquarters in London and some of the historic embassies and residences across the world. In the virtual tour you can take an interactive journey through the fine rooms and staircases inside the King Charles Street building and our fascinating buildings and interiors in Berlin, Rome,

Vienna, Paris and Istanbul. The stunning 360° photographs contain audio podcasts and videos which give you a unique insight into Britain’s diplomatic story. The new interactive virtual tour can be seen o n : http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/fco -virtual-tour/ The tour also includes a welcome video by the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and a short video “The Art of Diplomacy” in which a curator of the Government Art Collection, Dr Laura Popoviciu, provides an exclusive look and unrivalled insight into historical art in the FCO’s collection and the role it can play in international diplomacy.

Asian Voice |

16th September 2017

Relaunch of Acorn House College celebrated in Southall The relaunch ceremony of Acorn House College, located on Southall High Street, was held on Saturday, 2nd September 2017. The College was founded in 1999 by Gladys Watt following a number of requests from local residents. The ethos of the college from the outset was to provide the finest education in a friendly, yet well-disciplined, environment. All teachers, both at GCSE and A Level, are well qualified and experienced. The relaunch ceremony, led by Gladys Watt, and Dr. Francis Choi, Principal, with Virendra Ofsted reports rated the Sharma MP as the Chief Guest and Dr Rami Ranger CBE and Dr Atul Pathak OBE as Guests teaching and progress of of Honour, including Selva Pankaj, CEO Regent Group. students as outstanding. event culminated in a very Gladys Watt, and Dr. Guest and Dr Rami Ranger Mrs Watt was Principal welcome banquet of Francis Choi, Principal, CBE and Dr Atul Pathak and Head of Physics for refreshments. welcomed Virendra OBE as Guests of Honour, sixteen years. Sharma MP as the Chief who gave speeches celeAcorn House College brating the transition has now extended along with a number other into new premises key staff including Selva and facilities and, as Pankaj, CEO Regent of this summer, is Group. part of Regent The event was also Group, a north-west attended by prominent London based edulocal councillors as well as cation provider other key community offering a complete members, Regent Group range of educationstaff, parents, students al services, ranging and alumni of Acorn House from childcare to College and of course, adult education. members of the public. The relaunch After a photo session, the ceremony, led by Virendra Sharma MP Dr Atul Pathak OBE addressing the audience

addressing the guests

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

London MP stopped by border control over daughter's name MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, Tulip Siddiq revealed that she was stopped by UK border control as her daughter did not share her surname. She said her family was returning from a holiday in France when she was stopped right before boarding the Eurostar after being allowed to join the fasttrack queue with her pushchair. Tulip, along with her 18 month daughter Azalea were separated from her husband Chris Percy. “My daughter looks quite different to me, she looks like her dad. At the UK border the man looked at my passport for a long time and my daughter's passport and he said 'Who is this girl?' I was really surprised by the question, and he repeated it, and I said, 'This is my daughter', and he asked why we don't have the same name,” Tulip said. She added, “There was a lot of discussion... the whole thing was very tense, my daughter was crying and saying 'mama, mama' but that didn't seem to be what would convince them.” The 34 year old has written to the Home Office asking for a change to children’s passports so they can hold both their parents' names. She found that in the last five years, an estimat-

Vara backs Breast Cancer's Wear It Pink with Sky TV's Jacquie Beltrao

Shailesh Vara MP with Jacquie Beltrao Tulip Siddiq with daughter Azalea

ed 600,000 women had been asked to provide evidence, on their relation with their children when crossing the border. Tulip said the whole interview made her very uncomfortable. “It wasn't exactly hostile but there was a real air of suspicion, I was made to feel like I had done something wrong.” A Home Office spokesperson said the measures were to safeguard chil-

dren and prevent people trafficking. “We have a duty to safeguard children and to prevent people trafficking, child sexual exploitation and other crimes committed against children. That is why Border Force staff need to determine whether the adult travelling with the child has parental responsibility or parental authority had been given to travel with the child,” they said.

Muslim youths face prominent social mobility barriers

A report by the Social Mobility Commission has found that young Muslims living in the UK face serious social mobility issues. Based on in-depth focus groups and interviews conducted by a team of academics led by Sheffield Hallam University, the report explored the attitudes and reasons behind the broken “social mobility promise” by examining youths of the communitytheir perceptions and experiences of growing up and seeking employment in Britain. Only one in five of the Muslim population within the economically active population is employed full time, as compared to more than one in three of the overall population. Muslim women in the UK are more likely to be economically inactive with 18 per cent of Muslim women aged 16 to 74 stated as “looking after home and family”. Only about 6 per cent of Muslims are in “higher managerial, administrative, and professional occupations” as compared to 10 per cent of the overall population. The report reveals several barriers affecting Muslim students in schools and colleges, citing incidents of islamophobia, discrimination and racism. It suggested that many of the issues were even worse for the fairer sex. Young Muslims

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feel their parents hold high but different expectations for boys and girlsregarding their educational and employment outcomes. While boys are seen to have more freedom, women are encouraged to focus on marriage and motherhood instead of trying to gain employment. Rt Hon Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission said, “The British social mobility promise is that hard work will be rewarded. Unfortunately, for many young Muslims in Britain today, this promise is being broken. This report paints a disturbing picture of the challenges they face to making greater social progress. Young Muslims themselves identify cultural barriers in their communities and discrimination in the education

system and labour market as some of the principal

obstacles that stand in their way. Young Muslim women face a specific challenge to maintain their identity while seeking to succeed in modern Britain.” He added, “These are complex issues and it is vital they are the subject of mature consideration and debate. It is particularly important to hear from young people from the Muslim community and respond positively to them.”

Shailesh Vara MP put on a pink shirt recently to show his support for Breast Cancer Now’s fundraiser, Wear It Pink. Mr Vara was showing his support along with Sky TV's sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao. The event, to take place on Friday 20th October 2017, will see thousands of people across the UK adding a splash of pink to their outfits to raise vital funds for breast cancer research. Taking place during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, over £30 million has been raised over the last 16 years for life-saving research.Mr Vara is encouraging people to join him and sign up to take part. Every year around 11,500 women and 80 men lose their lives to the disease. Anyone can take part in Wear It Pink, which brings together schools, workplaces and communities. All that people have to do is wear something pink, or hold a pink event at home, work or school, and make a donation to Breast Cancer Now. Whatever people do, they are helping the charity

achieve its aim that, if we all act now, by 2050 everyone who develops breast cancer will live. Mr Vara said: “Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. One in eight women will face it in their lifetime and every year around 11,500 women and 80 men lose their lives to the disease. It is certainly not a gender-specific condition. "This is an issue on which I have campaigned previously when I introduced a Private Member's Bill to try to increase the mandatory screening period for breast cancer. "Wear It Pink is an easy way to support the vital research being carried out by Breast Cancer Now and I would encourage as many people as possible to get involved on 20th October. Whatever you can give will help to ensure that one day anyone who develops breast cancer will survive it.” To take part in wear it pink this October, visit wearitpink.org/2017 for further details, including fundraising ideas and to register for a free fundraising pack.

Biggest handwoven Indian flag unveiled at India's independence day celebrations in London High Commission of India, Telangana NRI forum –TeNF UK, and Indian community organisations celebrated 70 years of India’s Independence by way of a grand fair at Indian Gymkhana Club grounds in London on September 10, 2017. TeNF as an organisation have been working on a year long programme promoting telegnana weavers across UK sourcing directly from the handloom weavers families. As a goodwill gesture the weavers of Sircilla town of Telangana state which is famous for hand woven fabrics,with great patriotism have woven a giant Indian national flag. This flag is the biggest

Indian flag ever unveiled outside India.(woven according to the code of the national flag ) TeNF had the honour of presenting a very special memento on behalf of Telangana weavers, the national flag spanning 51.2 meters (167.11 ft) with a width of 1.3 meters (4.3ft) .The flag was unveiled by Hon.High Commissioner Y.K Sinha along with thousands of individuals present . Thousands of Indian community members converged from all parts of UK to make this day a great success. Community organisations put up nearly 80 stalls offering various regions cuisines of India and put up a rich display of cultural programmes showcasing the

cultural heritage of India. TeNF in its third consecutive year represented Telengana state, and this year with a new spirit and enthusiasm set up a stall to promote telengana, its culture and traditions. Indian origin British MPs Virendra Sharma, Seema Malhotra, A.S.Rajan (HCI minister

coordinator),other local mps visited the stall and appreciated the efforts of TeNF and the way we marketing new state of Telangana to the world. Authentic Telangana food – Hyderabadi Biryani was served to all the guests who visited the stall, which was widely appreciated by everyone.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Business Minister urges UK's largest companies to increase transparency around workplace diversity Business Minister Margot James has urged the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest companies to increase transparency about the diversity of their workforce ahead of the first meeting of the new Business Diversity and Inclusion Group. The group was set up to coordinate action to increase diversity and inclusion in business and build on the work of a number of government-backed reviews led by senior business leaders into workplace diversity.At a meeting on 7 September chaired by Business Minister Margot James, the group will seek to establish what information listed companies could disclose to help tackle barriers in the workplace. It comes a week after the Government put forward proposals for listed companies to increase transparency about their diversity policies, targets and progress towards those targets, as part of its corporate governance reforms. The Financial Reporting Council, which sets high standards of governance for listed firms through the UK

Margot James

Corporate Governance Code, will consider the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposals as part of a review of its code later this year. Speaking ahead of chairing the first-ever meeting of the Business Diversity and Inclusion Group, Business Minister Margot James told Asian Voice: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being open and transparent about the diversity of workforces is effective in bringing about cultural change â&#x20AC;&#x201C; helping to remove barriers in the workplace from the shop floor to the boardroom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So I am calling on our largest companies to lead

Ruby McGregor-Smith

from the front and promote greater inclusion in their workplaces by increasing transparency about their diversity policies, targets and progress. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would also like to acknowledge the hugely valuable role played by the late Dame Helen Alexander in the effective work on the gender issue. Her loss will be felt by all members of the group.â&#x20AC;? Stephen Haddrill, CEO, FRC, said:â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diversity at all levels in organisations builds strong foundations for long-term success, in both the private and the public sector. Making good

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use of the talent, skills and experience of all drives better corporate performance and a successful economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those businesses which reflect the diverse nature of the environment in which they and their stakeholders operate are the ones that employees, customers and other stakeholders value.â&#x20AC;? The Business Diversity and Inclusion Group will build on the work of a number of government-backed reviews into workplace diversity, including: l FTSE women leaders: The Hampton-Alexander Review l Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review l Ethnic diversity of UK Boards: The Parker Review All reviews have set targets to improve diversity in the workplace including aiming for 33% of FTSE 350 board positions to be filled by women by 2020, all FTSE 350 firms to have at least one director from an ethnic minority and for all companies with more than 50 employees to publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band.

MP visits Friends Hub

Jon Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, met with staff and young people at the Friends Hub on Friday (Sep 8). The Friends Hub was established in January 2016 by Mr Ismail Yusuf to provide after school opportunities for young people, aged between 11 and 21,and to prevent anti-social behaviour in the area. Based in Bartholomew Street, Leicester, the Hub currently offers boxing and table tennis sessions. Mr Yusuf said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As somebody who grew up in Highfields, I know how difficult it is to find after school activities for young people in the area. I wanted to give back to my community and setting up The Friends Hub is a good way to do it.â&#x20AC;?

Breaking into News

Aspiring journalists are being encouraged to enter a national competition which offers young people, aged between 18 and 25, the opportunity to learn how to research, report and produce news bulletins for ITV regional and national news outlets. The scheme, Breaking into News, which is run in partnership with the Media Trust, is specifically designed to support young people from across the country, that wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t normally have the opportunity to gain entry into the broadcast industry. Ten finalists, one from each ITV News region, will be selected and will be given the opportunity to work with leading industry mentors to develop their own ideas and turn them into a news report for their local ITV newsroom. For more information visit www.breakingintonews.co.uk

Searching for a Soulmate?

An event for British Hindu Gujarati singletons is being planned for later this year. The get-together, likely to be held on a Friday or Saturday in Birmingham, aims to connect like-minded young professionals looking for soul mates. The event will feature networking, ice-breakers and activities tailored to bring out the talent, skill, personality and aspirations of each participant. We are currently inviting Expressions of Interest from anyone interested. Please e-mail deekatwa@aol.com your name, age, job title, geographical base.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

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Grenfell Tower: Theft prompts Met Police security review

The UK-India Lecturefest & Brit Bashing Seriously, stop lecturing on what UK and India need to do. The number of talking heads yacking about how Britain needs to do this and that post Brexit. The amazing thing is, it’s not the Indians (other than the Indian media sometimes). Classy Indians like Anand Mahindra do not lecture and talk down and patronise. It’s the self appointed British Indian experts looking to be appointed to higher office doing the haranguing and British bashing. Those who have seen the inside of trade and investment negotiations know the serious business of doing business happens without the yak yak yak, blah blah blah. False friends of Britain with British passports. Back to the Anand Mahindra. When his foundation invested in a braille company which we are helping set up in the UK, not once was their the usual rubbish you hear about Brexit being the end of the world, crash burn, self destruction of the UK. You would think the UK is begging and pleading on its knees. You would think North Korea and ISIS are not a threat, but Brits themselves. I am not saying you have to blindly be patriotic. What I am saying is anyone who knows anything about business knows we businessmen do not whinge and collapse at the first sign of trouble. Let me praise entrepreneurs and business people and separate the lucky, the whingers from the real ones.

The former will talk about collapse, like for instance the CEO of RyanAir, from whom all I can guess is his business is trading whilst insolvent the way he cries and cries about Brexit. The latter include those who whilst they wish Brexit did not happen, know they have to get on with it. It’s like a fricking playground. Some kids pick themselves up and get back on, others moan and moan about the end of Western Civilisation. Oh, and Brexiteers, don’t take this as a green light to attack Remainers. You haven’t got the monopoly on intellect – far from it sunshine. Just all show a bit more class, a little less whinging and some selfrespect and some humility before the attacks on the UK. The fact of the matter is if you think Holland and Germany and Finland and Sweden are better – great, good luck to you. You will help British exports when you buy from us. Enjoy the local culture. It’s lovely. All I can say is, the Indian business people in India I have spoken to, hundreds of them, are looking at Britain with just as much excitement as before. Ask Anand Mahindra. I did. (And no, there are no open borders. I wish there were with India. It can feel like getting into Oxford University, and you get pissed when you find you have to go to LSE instead. But it’s worth the effort anyway. Auf Wiedersehen.)

Security systems surrounding Grenfell Tower are under review after it emerged a "sum of money" was stolen from one of the abandoned flats in the block. Police believe the theft happened after 20 June - or at least six days after the fire - as a photo of the flat from that day appeared to show the cash. The Metropolitan Police said it was investigating the missing money since the theft was reported last Friday. Currently, police and private security staff patrol the site 24 hours a day.

The Met said in a statement: "Steps have been taken to review the security of all the flats within Grenfell Tower, and some changes immediately put into place." Labour MP David Lammy described the theft in a tweet as a "grotesque crime", adding: "How secure is the crime scene now?" The Met said it had informed former residents of the tower, which contained 129 flats, as well as families of those who had died or are missing from the 14 June fire. Police know that it was was stolen after 20 June,

because the Met's photos of the scene showed that the money appeared to be present on that date. At least 80 people died in the blaze, although police say the final toll will not be known until at least the end of the year.

A teenaged girl who approached a group of men and a teenager, asking for directions was subjected to an “abhorrent” rape last September. Shersha Muslimyar, 21, Tamin Rahmani.38, Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, have been sentenced to 14 years in prison. The 17 year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is given seven years. The group attacked the victim as she approached them when she was on her way to a friend's home

after a night out in Ramsgate, Kent. The men took her to a flat, raped her, then sent her away out the back of the building. The victim was eventually found crying in the street by two people who called the police. Detective Inspector Richard Vickery, of Kent Police said, “The victim in this case was a vulnerable teenage girl who was taken advantage of and subjected to some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable. It was late at night, she was lost

and she asked a group of men for directions. Instead they saw an opportunity to fulfil their depraved sexual desires and betrayed the trust she placed in them in the worst possible way.” All four defendants had denied a charge of rape, but were found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court last week. “Rape is an abhorrent crime and the victim has suffered a great deal of emotional harm from the ordeal she was forced to endure,” Vickery said.

Teen raped by three men and 17 year old

Teenage boy forced into car during Reading kidnapping by Asian men A 16-year-old boy was punched and forced into a car during a kidnapping and assault, police said.

The teenager was walking in Valentia Road, Reading, when two vehicles, including an old red

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Nissan Micra, passed him on 1 September. The victim was then approached from behind, punched and forced into the Nissan. He was driven to several unknown locations and further assaulted, before managing to escape. The boy suffered bruising to his face, neck, arm and wrists but did not require hospital treatment. His gold iPhone 6S was also stolen. Thames Valley Police said he managed to escape at about 01:00 BST on 2 September when the vehicle arrived three miles (5km) away in Royal Avenue, Calcot. The force is supporting the boy and carrying out house-to-house enquiries, taking witness statements and making CCTV enquires. One of the offenders is described as a bald, Asian man in his early 20s. Another offender was also an Asian man, while two other offenders were white men of slim build. Det Con Marius York described it as "an extremely worrying incident". "I believe this may have been a targeted attack, or a case of mistaken identity, therefore I don't perceive there is a risk to the wider public," he added.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

A BFI Weekend Devoted to Indian Documentary Maker Sanjay Kak Running throughout the weekend of 16-17 September, BFI India on Film: This Land is Ours will showcase screenings and events at BFI Southbank marking the work of celebrated documentary filmmaker Sanjay Kak. Kak will speak at events there throughout the two days. Urgent and uncompromising, Sanjay Kak has been making documentaries since the mid-1980s. He is from a generation of independent Indian film auteurs who have challenged dominant narratives and who have sought alternative distribution for their work. Kak’s films have reached audiences in villages and small towns across India. The films are distributed and screened through the country’s vast network of activist groups. Three decades after South Asians first came to Britain in the 1960s, Kak’s study of the Asian community in the UK, This Land, My Land, EngLand! (1990), follows a new generation of young creatives, examining the

rehearsals that go into the construction of identity. Though made nearly thirty years ago, it speaks to present day Brexit Britain. The screening on Saturday 16 September will be followed by a Q&A with Sanjay Kak. Also screening on Saturday will be JashnE-Azadi (2007), which Kak will introduce. Concerning an ongoing conflict in Kashmir, the film centres on the lives of Kashmiri people living in an over whelmingly militarised society. Screening on Sunday 17 September will be Red Ant Dream (2013), which Kak will also introduce. In this state-ofthe-nation film, the director uses found footage and

the rich tradition of poetry and protest songs in an urgent critique of Indian democracy. Completing the weekend will be Sanjay Kak in Conversation, an illustrated conversation with Kak when he will talk about his work as an activist and filmmaker. He will offer audiences the chance to ask their own questions. Ahead of this weekend, Sanjay Kak talked exclusively to us. Background Sanjay’s father was an officer in the Indian Army, so although the family is Kashmiri, Sanjay was born in Pune,

Sanjay Kak

Maharashtra. “My mother was a homemaker, and a great one at that!” He exclaims. Trajectory Sanjay remembers that he was always interested in reading. “Literature, newspapers, magazines, anything. That was encouraged at home, and we were never forced to do anything. No one ever insisted that I become a doctor or an engineer, the usual middle-class thing. Perhaps it was the freedom to choose that allowed me to find my way into documentary film.” C o m p a r i n g Documentary-making in India with the UK. Sanjay says that the difference lies is in the role of television. “In Britain the contemporary documentary has been shaped by the support that the television industry has offered. Great things have been made possible by this. But perhaps this has also in some ways promoted a sort of homogeneity in the form itself... Documentary in India has been rela-

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Our films can be longer, formally more adventurous served to them on the telly! It has also allowed many more people to make films in the ways they wanted them to be. Without a commissioning editor telling them what to do.” Differences between the market re Indian broadcasters and British broadcasters “In the absence of television there is no documentary ‘market’ as such in India. What we do have is a documentary audience, but that is rarely one that pays. So it’s all a bit crazy and idealistic and unviable: but it exists,” says Sanjay Kak. Making a living out of

being an activist documentary filmmaker Sanjay comments that being a documentary filmmaker, in India or elsewhere, is a precarious living, especially if you work independently outside the mainstream. “If your work carries the ‘activist’ tag, which means it is political, even more so. It’s an obsession, what we call a junoon. It is certainly not a profession! All of us do other things to keep afloat.” Storytelling technique Sanjay says the technique he uses varies. “It’s not one technique, but since we are mostly screening to audiences who have gathered to see a film that they are interested in, and not something brought into their homes by television, we can push their tastes to a considerable extent. Our films can be longer, formally more adventurous, and they need not hold the attention in one particular. In a nutshell, we have a little more room in which to play the game! Which is why the films tend to be longer, and push the audiences a little more.”

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Gauri Lankesh

I really appreciate your journalists and their passionate job that despite being beaten many times, they don’t give up and provide us with news of various kinds. The gruesome murder of Gauri Lankesh (an Indian journalist) is an assault on the freedom of the press in India. Gauri Lankesh was the editor of a Kannada language tabloid that has frequently been critical of Hindu extremists. The Karnataka government should spare no effort to uncover the frightening plot and bring the culprits to book. By silencing this editor and journalist, we Indians have proved that we are a country run by goons. Gauri Lankesh worked for the betterment of the society and what she wrote was appreciated by most of the people. Who said that the pen is mightier than the sword? It is just the opposite. The Karnataka government did the right thing by giving her a State funeral. May her soul rest in peace. Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India

The big clawback

As negotiations for Britain’s exit from the European Union are continuing, I was apalled to learn that Britain is being asked to pay vast sums of money, to the tune of £56 billion, as a consequence of its exit from the EU. It is ridiculous that the so called “divorce bill” will cost us billions of pounds. On the contrary, I would have thought that the Brirtish negotiators should try and clawback the billions of pounds which we have contributed towards the running of the EU since 1974, and in bailing out its sick partners. Make it tough for EU negotiators and ask for refund of UK’s investments in the EU projects and loans we have given to the EU. Without getting into the intricacies of the process and the exact amounts involved, as laymen, we want to see if our negotiators can clawback the vast amounts of funds we were made to contribute towards the running of the EU or towards subsidising other member countries.The monies thus reverted back to us could be put towards the much needed funds to help our ailing NHS and other infrastructures. If EU bosses fail to agree to our counter demands, we must adopt the carrot and stick approach and threaten to remove all EU nationals from our shores without giving them much choice. If our negotiators are taking a soft approach, us Indians, with our financial acumen, could be better placed to get more favourable deals. Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Warm Amiable Indian Hospitality

We may say every cloud has silver lining. If one has faith, belief and patience, than more often than not, it proves to be true. The heart-warming story of French family caught in heavy “Mumbai Monsoon Mayhem” would touch our hearts and make us proud to call ourselves Indians. French family of five, parents and three lovely daughters were caught in an unusually heavy rain, even for an Indian monsoon downpour with nowhere to go, sent from pillar to post by unconcerned hoteliers who were full to the brim. In the end, one hotel owner moved by the plight of the family directed them to nearest Gurdwara. Although this popular place was overflowing with humanity, Boleswaski family was granted shelter, offered tiny private room in view of their daughters’ need, along with dry cloths, three veggie meals until rain abated and they could continue their journey. Their despair, isolation, holiday in hell in a foreign country at last turned into hope, gratitude, admiration and appreciation for Indian culture and hospitality. When they returned home to Paris, the family wrote a warm letter of thanks to Gurdwara, offering to reciprocate their hospitality if they ever visit France. In view of pernicious publicity generated by pseudo, persevering anti-Indian fiduciary Western press with insatiable hate who do not miss single opportunity to denigrate India, like an occasional rape of foreign girls piled with drugs and drinks, in the beach resort of Goa, it is time such heart-warming stories get equal publicity. We have hyperactive Hindus, Jain, ISKCON and Swaminarayan temples, mostly luminary grand eyecatching buildings, most with little practical value but when it comes to providing hospitality, beacon of hope in sea of despair, myriad, caring Gurdwaras top the list. Kumudini Valambia By email

Is this the end?

Do you believe the world will end this month? No, neither do I. According to space-watching experts, a planet is hurtling towards us, due to crash into Earth and destroy all trace of life here between 20th and 23rd September. Well, we have had "end of the world" predictions many times before and nothing, thank goodness, has happened. Hopefully we can expect the same outcome this time round. Rudy Otter by email

Londonvaasi

“Londonvaasi” letter in Gujarat Samachar of 9-92017, is one of very unimaginable subject of futile economizing by his relative. The culprit borrows his Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar and returns it the following week. “Londonvaasi”, though himself a subscriber, is left to read stale news and miss the fun of serial stories, poetries etc. Though “Londonvaasi” rightly praises Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar, one praise can never be attributed. No newspaper can match the “pasti”(scrap) value of Kenyan newspapers eg “Africa Samachar”, “Daily Nation”, “Sunday Nation”, “East African Standard” etc. Every two to three months, these old newspapers would fetch many shillings, when sold as scrap. Following suggestions will help “Londonvaasi”. Ask relative directly/ bluntly to buy his own paper. This method may misfire if he is in law related to wife. One may hide the newspapers at places beyond imagination of the borrower, eg tape it below the coffee table, hide them behind toilet tank, or in deep freezer. Read the papers till late in the night, to enjoy the goodness of Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar first hand. Confuse the relative by substituting pages of new issues with old issues. Relative may get confused and stop borrowing. If all fails, gift him long term subscription of Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar. Ramesh Jhalla By email

Brexit facing American perspective US businesses are not happy with the progress Brexit is making to complete the negotiations. The Brexit team is taking its time to negotiate, whereas time is running out, which is upsetting the European Union. American perspective is different from the British perspective as seen from the following statement: “Brexit has caused a lot of uncertainty, a lot of confusion,” Emanuel Adam, director of trade and policy at British American Business, says. The transatlantic network, which represents more than 2,000 companies, asked its members if they thought Britain should leave the EU - 95% said no. Fourteen months after the referendum, they are trying to adjust to an uncomfortable political reality. Some of its American members have been working to anticipate the different types of Brexit and what they would mean. “That costs a lot of time and effort,” Adam adds. “That has, at least in certain cases, delayed investment decisions.” Brexit is ambiguous. The UK could, as now weakened Prime Minister Theresa May still aims, leave the Single Market and the Customs Union and restart its trading relationship with the world. Or it could stay in both and remain party to EU deals. Whether politicians are for or against Brexit, they have come to understand its success or failure by how fast the UK can agree trade deals once it leaves the EU. Voices from the UK-US business community have told HuffPost UK Brexit’s threat to existing arrangements looms larger than any opportunity for better trading it might present. Adam says, despite potential advantages of a new US/UK deal after a Hard Brexit, BAB’s members “more and more” would prefer Britain remain in the Single Market and Customs Union. He says: “If we could take out the uncertainty that’s being created by Brexit; especially when it comes to the future access to the Single Market and Customs Union, that would be the perfect scenario for US business. But we do acknowledge the political situation is currently different one.” Baldev Sharma Rayners Lane, Harrow

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Welcoming young readers to write in our Diwali issue Dear Readers, Diwali is now just over two months away. The New Year is knocking at the door waiting to bring in colours and light to our lives with fervour of joy and ever lasting happiness. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will once again be publishing the ‘Diwali Special’ Magazine for our fabulous and supportive readers like yourself. This year we are once again inviting our young readers to send in their articles for the English section. 1. If you are between 5-25 years of age, write an article in English on either of the following topics in no more than 350 words, along with a suitable photo: l how do you celebrate your Diwali every year OR l Your most memorable Diwali with friends and family OR l how do you celebrate Diwali in your school'. 2. If you are 2-25 years of age, you can also draw/paint a picture of what Diwali means to you or your memorable Diwali, with a suitable photo caption, your full name, age; scan and send the picture to the the below address, by the mentioned deadline. 3. If you are within 9-25 years of age, you can also write a short story within 350 words or a poem within 150 words for our Diwali special. 4. If you are a part of an organisation, which has a youth wing or support youth activities, please tell us how your young members or youth wing celebrates Diwali in 300 words with 2 pictures (in no less than 300dpi). Send your articles/stories/poem with your photo and/or painting/picture to aveditorial@abplgroup.com. Last date of entry: 30th September 2017. - Asian Voice

Artifically create organ scarsity

I would like to congratulate Rupanjana Dutta for her well researched frontline article on organ shortages, especially among Black and Asian communities, highlighting perceived barriers, based mainly on lack of knowledge and ignorance. Two decades ago, we lost two members from our close friends’ circle who could not find kidneys badly needed to save their lives. It encouraged me to get involved in a campaign to make organs easily available, have written, met and discuss the issue with MPs, GPs and social workers, unfortunately decorousness had little impact. As usual lack of courage among our cornucopia, selfish politicians is the stumbling block who behave like three monkeys, not to see, hear or comment on politically sensitive subjects, silence is golden? While visiting EU countries, my journalistic curiosity leads to such discussions. I was pleasantly surprised that in most countries, organs are readily available under different schemes. But ultimately it comes to political will and law enforcement without fear or favour where we are light year behind, mainly due to vote-bank politics. Most countries operate “In or Out” schemes with some variation. All patients registering with GPs are obliged to sign forms, after meaningful consultation, that if they opt out, they will under no circumstances receive organs in their hour of need. This is most effective way to eliminate perceived religious and cultural barriers on organ donations, if explained and implemented properly, as such misgivings never prevail when one is recipient. Other schemes include financial inducement, payable when registering deaths if opted in, presenting NHS entitlement card that also prevents “Health Tourism” that is so prevalent in Britain. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes is an undeniable fact, so why let these life-saving organs go to waste through ignorence! Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

EDUCATION/COUNCIL

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Cambridge University could allow laptops and iPads for exams Fears young people are losing ability to write Cambridge University is considering axing compulsory written exams and allowing students to use laptops or iPads instead, after tutors complained that students' handwriting is becoming illegible. Academics say that the move, which would bring an end to more than 800 years of tradition, has come about because students rely too heavily on laptops in lectures, and are losing the ability to write by hand. Cambridge University has now launched a consultation on the topic as part of its "digital education strategy", having already piloted an exam typing scheme in the History and Classics faculties earlier this year. In an online survey, students are asked whether they would like

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FLIG GHT OFFERS RS the option to type exams, and whether this would have a “significant positive impact” on their “wellbeing”. Dr Sarah Pearsall, a senior lecturer at Cambridge’s History Faculty who was involved with the pilot earlier this year, said that handwriting is becoming a “lost art” among the current generation of students. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph she said:

“Fifteen or twenty years ago students routinely have written by hand several hours a day - but now they write virtually nothing by hand except exams. As a faculty we have been concerned for years about the declining handwriting problem. There has definitely been a downward trend. It is difficult for both the students and the examiners as it is harder and harder to read these scripts.”

Rogue landlord fined more than £10,000 for housing adults and children in miserable conditions A landlord who kept 24 adults and children in appalling conditions has been fined more than £10,000. Residents of a twostorey flat over a commercial premises in Ealing Road, Wembley, endured overcrowding, cockroaches and fire safety hazards while paying rent to Shyam Popat who had crammed them into six bedrooms and two undersized rooms inside the flat. When neighbours complained to Brent Council about rubbish and overcrowding coming from the property in November last year, enforcement officers reacted immediately. Although they tried to work with Mr Popat, the officers found that he ignored their advice and failed to meet the deadlines for his licence condi-

tions when they inspected the flat in February and May this year. Mr Popat pleaded guilty to breaching the conditions of his HMO licence at Willesden Magistrates Court on 31 August this year. He also failed to provide up-todate certificates, tenancy documents or protection for his tenants' deposits. Cllr Harbi Farah,

C a b i n e t Member for Housing and W e l f a r e Reform, said: "Rogue landlords like Mr Shyam Popat often believe their tenants choose to live in squalid conditions. It's a characteristic of a rogue landlord to be forever promising to do repairs and meet deadlines and always failing to do so. We want to work with landlords to prevent this from occurring. It's not acceptable for tenants to live in cramped, unhygienic and unsafe conditions." Mr Popat was fined £6000 for breaching the conditions and ordered to pay £3,953 in costs.

Homeowner taken to court over breach of planning permission A homeowner who constructed a dormer window that didn’t meet planning regulations has been forced to take it down after the city council took legal action. Sadique Yusuf was also ordered to pay more than £14,000 in costs and faced prison, having already been given a suspended sentence. The matter was initially reported to the city council in May 2012, and the council served an enforcement notice requiring the dormer window to be demolished. Mr Yusuf appealed. Although the appeal was dismissed, and despite reassurances by Mr Yusuf that he would address the situation, no significant work to comply with the

notice was carried out. This left the city council with no other choice but to obtain an injunction to compel Mr Yusuf to undertake the necessary work. Mr Yusuf breached the injunction and the council took further proceedings against him. Each time the case went to court, Mr Yusuf was granted extensions of time to put things right. In July 2016, Mr Yusuf was given a four-week prison sentence, suspended for six months, for failing to comply with the injunction. At the hearing on 4 September, the court warned Mr Yusuf that he will need to make good the roof of the property, or, if constructing another dormer window, he will

need to ensure that it complies with planning permission granted by the council. Assistant city mayor Cllr Piara Singh Clair, who is responsible for planning enforcement, said: “This is the result of lengthy court action the city council has been forced to take, because Mr Yusuf refused to comply with planning permission. “It sends a clear message to homeowners that even if you delay complying, we will pursue legal action and you will have to put things right. “It simply isn’t worth taking the risk of building without planning permission – you could end up having to pay substantial court costs and could even face prison.”

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

The keenly awaited government reshuffle was greeted by a wave of excitement, for this was no ordinary game of musical chairs. Four new faces on show were former bureaucrats who had joined the ruling BJP, before its ascent to power. Their experience in administration, it was felt, would stiffen the administration and take government to the next level. Incumbent ministers with a good record were shifted to ministries requiring a revamp, for fresh, testing challenges.

Piyus Goyal

Nitin Gadkari

Newspaper headlines reflected the high fever: ‘Team Modi gets a makeover and a mission’ was how Mint viewed the exercise; ‘A rejig, PM rewards performance was the Hindu take; its stablemate Business Line captured the moment with, ‘Modi chooses performance over politics’; while the Times of India and the Telegraph chose directed their lens on the stellar arrival of Nirmala Sitharaman to a major ministry. The Times headline was truly eye-catching: ‘Nirmala Smashes Defence Glass Ceiling: and the Telegraph title lacked nothing in novelty: ‘ JNU [Jawaharlal Nehru University] gifts defence minister.’ (September 4). Ms Sitharaman entry into the cabinet represents a great leap forward from her previous position as Commerce Minister of State. She appeared overwhelmed, ‘just makes you feel sometimes that cosmic grace is there.’ As India’s first woman Defence Minister, she is empowered to make history if she gets things moving from the accustomed present logjam. She will have be an enforcer on the scale of Goddesses Durga and Kali, alternately kind and feared. Nothing less will do.

Goyal, Prabhu, Gadkari, Pradhan Other notable appointments involve Piyush Goyal from the Power Ministry, where he was an outstanding success,, to a new berth as Railways Minister, where Suresh Prabhu initiated farreaching changes. Prabhu takes over the Commerce Ministry, where his management skills should get things moving on the export front. Nitin Gadkari, Transport Minister gets crucial charge of the Ganga river rejuvenation and water transport, while Dharmendra Pradhan is rewarded for his performance as energy minister with additional charge of skills development.

Bureaucrat faces Hardeep Singh Puri, a Former Indian Ambassador to the UN,with a prior record of distinguished service in Brazil, Japan and the UK. Portfolio: Minister of State (independent charge charge) at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. K.J. Alphons, a former IAS

Nirmala Sitharaman, the new Defence Minister being sworn in

officer from Kerala, he has legislative and political experience in his home state and in the Development Authority. Portfolio: Minister of State (independent charge) at the Ministry of Tourism and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Raj Kumar Singh is a former Home Secretary who joined the BJP in 2014. Portfolio: Minister of State (independent charge) at the Ministry of Power and New and Renewable Energy. Satya Pal Singh was Police Commissioner of Pune, Maharashtra; also Mumbai Police Commissioner. Portfolio: Minister of State in the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship.(Mint September 4).

Congress take The somnolent Congress Party reaction to these developments was as original as people have come to expect: ‘Nonperformance rewarded.’ Sounds like a suicide note in anticipation of the next general election result in 2019. Rahul Gandhi as the policeman Dogberry in Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, should repeat his lines: ‘Remember that I am an ass; though it not be written down, yet forget not that I am an ass’.

Japan pats India on Doklam While the Trump Administration kept its distance on Doklam with a few anodyne statements, Japan displayed no such qualms. The Japanese Foreign Policy Advisor Katsuyuki Kawai, addressing a think-tank in Delhi hailed ‘India’s persistence and resilience’ the stand-off with China. This augurs well for the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s forthcoming visit to India (Times of India September 6).

which was firmly rejected, with the advice that China must engage with India in a dialogue to defuse the situation. The subtext was that war would gain China nothing and perhaps imperil the BRICS summit in Xiamen. Throughout the crisis New Delhi kept its lines to Moscow open and ticking over. (Times of India September 4).

surprising of all, China came on board for the historic declaration, choosing to ditch its ‘all weather friend, Pakistan in its larger national interest. The Pakistan alignment has done nothing for China’s credibility as a responsible would-be global superpower. (Hindu, Times of India September 5).

Bilateral ventures

State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has swung orders for 41 indigenously designed and manufactured Dhruv light helicopters for the Indian Army and Navy. T. Suvarna Raju, Chairman and Managing Director, HHAL, said the order reposed the faith of the armed forces in Dhruv. Earlier this year, the Indian Coast Guard signed a contract for 35 Dhruvs. (Hindu September 5).

Prime Minister Modi and President Putin had a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade and investment, particularly in the energy sector. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan President Putin thanked Prime Minister Modi for India’s high level participation at the Eastern Russia Economic Forum at Vladivostok (Hindu September 5).

Upbeat Modi Addressing the BRICS Economic Council, Prime Minister Modi said India was changing fast in to one of the most open economies in the world, with improvements on global indices and the biggest ever reform with GST now operational, making India a unified market. He touched also on digital utilization, its impact and likely long-term consequences. In 2016-17 foreign fund inflows reached $60.08 billion (Hindu September 5). India’s foreign exchange reserves have soared to a little over $398 billion (Business Line September 9).

West ignores BRICS The Western media, much coddled by their Indian counterparts, for their sources and opinions, chose lofty disdain of BRICS by scarcely reporting

HAL seals Dhruv deal

Sniper rifle from Ishapore History was made at the Ishapore ordinance factory with the production of its first sniper 7.62 mm rifle to state police forces from West Bengal, Haryana and Rajasthan. This represents an immense saving in costs for German manufactured rifles (Times of India August 30)

Army to recruit women jawans The Indian Army is to recruit women into its ranks – hailed as a long overdue progressive step by observers. The Air Force and Navy have already done so, with women in officer ranks doing skilled jobs. Two women pilots at present are undergoing training before induction as fighter pilots in the IAF. For self-evident reasons, the Army has ruled out women joining frontline combat troops. For a start, their recruitment will be restricted to

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The door is now ajar for the company to push it wider for a lasting footprint in the State (Telegraph September 9).

Maruti plan in Gujarat Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker is to set up its fourth production line in Gujarat, said Chairman R.C. Bhagarva. The new production line will manufacture 250,000 cars per annum, taking the company’s total capacity to a million (Telegraph September 9)

Star India bags IPL media rights Star India Pvt Ltd has won television, digital, Indian and global rights to the India Premier League (IPL), the world’s most lucrative Twenty/20 cricket tournament, which attracts an audience across of continents of a billion, possibly more. Star India outbid the previous holder of the franchise Sony Sports Ltd (Mint 5).

Mumbai jihadis sentenced Two decades and more after the Mumbai bomb blasts (March 13. 1993) that killed 257 innocent citizens and inflicted injuries on 713, two of the accused bombers, Firoz Khan and Taher Merchant were sentenced to death, wile their accomplice Riyaz Ahmed Siddiqui received a 10 year prison sentence, with Mohammed Tahrir receiving sentenced to death, while their accomplices, Karimullah Khan and Abu Salem Ansari receiving life sentences (Hindu September 8).

Unruly fliers face life ban The dark spot are in India’s booming aviation industry are the numbers of unruly passengers on planes and airport – some even VIPs. In serious a life ban on air travel may follow. (Hindu September 9).

PM in Myanmar Prime Minister Modi has assured Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de facto leader, Aung San Ssu Kyi, of India’s full support against what was ‘extremist violence.’ Myanmar’s geopolitical importance to India

PM with BRICS leaders in Xiamen, China

the summit. Yet the BRICS, straddled across continents, represents 42 per cent of the world’s population. The acronym was coined by Goldman Sachs CEO Jim O’Neill who predicted that BRICS, with its market size and military power would rival Western groupings. Ignoring BRICS as it stands today is born of myopic conceit (Times of India September 4).

Russia swings it for India.

Terror groups named, Pakistan shamed

The Doklam crisis gave rise to feverish behind-the-scenes diplomacy. Chinese officials made a strong pitch in Moscow,

BRICS did the unexpected: it named the jihadi terror groups operating from Pakistan, and denounced their activities. Most

the military police. (Telegraph September 9).

Infosys in Bengal IT major Infosys has made long awaited entry into Bengal, the SEZ sticking point surmounted with the State government’s 50 acre land grant in the plush Kolkata suburb of Rajarhat, also known as New Town. According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Infosys had agreed to invest Rs 100 crore in the project. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) involve tax exemptions – a measure the government refused to accept

PM Modi with Myanmar leader Aung San Ssu Kyi

is such that New Delhi cannot afford the Rohingya issue to become India’s problem. At the same time, he advised the desirability of a peaceful outcome to the crisis (Telegraph September 7, 10).

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

To learn more about our EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme and connect with likeminded individuals visit eoy.co.uk #EOY2017UK

COMMUNITY/CULTURE

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Inter-faith

Insights

Zaki Cooper is on the Advisory Council of the Indian Jewish Association.

Proud of our unique heritage The question is a familiar one. Are you Asian? My dark complexion has always prompted people to ask where I am from and what my identity is. Well the answer is, I'm a British Jew of Indian Jewish heritage. That usually leads to a whole set of follow-up questions. My mother's family came from the small Kolkata Jewish community, living in the city from the early nineteenth century for approximately 150 years. Over the course of my working and personal life, I must have discussed this with hundreds of people. These have included a whole range of office colleagues I've worked with, Buckingham Palace officials (I worked there for 3 years) and even a former Prime Minister. I grew up in a Jewish household in north-west London, so naturally came across the local Indian community, and felt a kinship with it. My mother had a number of close (non-Jewish) Indian friends. At my secondary school, which split roughly one-third Christian, onethird Jewish and one-third Asian, I made some good Indian friends. Over the years I have been fortunate to visit India three times, the first time on a month-long visit in 1990 with extended family through the country with a special focus on the places of Jewish and personal interest in Kolkata. My working life has also brought me into contact with the Indian community. Working for the Jewish religious leader Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, we held a particularly memorable reception at his home in 2005 for the Jewish and Hindu communities. The excitement and energy in the room that evening is something I still remember clearly. In my last job, my boss was a wonderful Indian man, and we had many interesting discussions about the relationship between our two communities.

India. My ancestors, on my mother's side, were Jews in Iraq and Syria and travelled to Kolkata looking for trade and commercial opportunities around 1800. The founder of the community was Shalom Cohen, who arrived in the city in 1798. Many Jews worked hard as merchants and business people. My great-grandfather Benjamin Elias (1865-1941) set up and grew a business with a range of interests including jute, tobacco, property and electricity. By the mid-twentieth century, it was a significant company in India with 20,000 employees.

Altar, Magen David Synagogue, Kolkata

Aside from Kolkata, the two main communities were the Cochin Jews and the Bene Israel, who mainly lived in Mumbai. The first group had an ancient charter and dated back to the year 1,000. They lived in an area called Jew Town which still exists and boasts a beautiful synagogue, which is part of the tourist trail and was visited by the Prince of Wales on his 65th birthday in 2013. Meanwhile, the Bene Israel in the Mumbai area were the largest community. By the end of the Second World War, there were 24,000 Bene Israel in India but over half were soon to settle in Israel. Once Israel was formed in 1948, one year after India's independence, most Jews left for the "motherland" or came to the West. Several decades on, Indian Jews remain proud of their unique heritage. It is no accident that Jews in Britain, whatever their background, feel a close connection with the Indian communities. Granted, the Jewish community, numbering less than 300,000 according to the last Census, is small by comparison to the Hindu and Indian communities, but there are factors that bind us together. The Interior Magen David Synagogue, Kolkata first is a deep desire to integrate into Britain and contribute to British society, Nowadays I am honoured to play a without losing our core identity. A secrole on the Advisory Council of a small ond point is that, whilst we both feel but effective charity, the Indian Jewish British, we have a special relationship Association, which seeks to act as a with another country - because of historforum for the friendship between our two ical, family and cultural ties communities. Its formation (in your case, India and in was inspired by your very own the case of British Jews, C B Patel! Israel, the only Jewish state). I am of course proud of my Indian Jewish heritage. Finally, both the Indian and The Jews of India were only Jewish communities place a high premium on education ever a small community, peakand family. When we meet ing at a population of 30,000, each other, there is often an but contributed towards India instant connection based on in business, politics, the law, these shared values. the army (General Jack Jacob, As someone with family for example, was a respected history in India who admires military hero) and a number your wonderful communiof other ways. Whereas Jewish ties, I am honoured to have communities experienced Magen David persecution and pogroms else- Synagogue, Kolkata been asked to write for Asian Voice. Over the next few where, particularly in Europe, weeks, I'll be writing about themes of the Jews of India were granted freedom Jewish interest, and seeing what resoof religion and made to feel welcome. I recall my grandmother saying that they nance and relevance they have for your own communities. never experienced any anti-Semitism in

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Actress applauded for her role after stepping in for star's injury Actress Sheena Bhattessa stepped in for star Romola Garai, acting as Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough in the West End performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Queen Anne, when Garai fell down and hurt herself. Audience described how Garai had tripped on her 'voluminous' costume and fell on Sheena Bhattessa

Romola Garai as Sarah Churchill

the stage, probably hurting her chin. This happened few minutes into last Wednesday's evening performance during the opening scene, and she did not return on medical advice. Bhattessa took over from where Garai left, and audience applauded for the 'understudy' Bhattessa who finished the role with sincerity and great composure. Bhattessa who has previously played the role of the Duchess of Marlborough, first time on Friday 1 September, stepped into Garai's shoes

immediately, and was garlanded with praise for her 'brilliant' stand-in performance. Bhattessa told the Evening Standard, “Everyone is on their tiptoes and on edge to make sure that the show continues when you’ve got hundreds of people in the audience. “It was absolutely crazy adrenaline but you don’t have time to think because everything is gogo-go, your wigs and costumes are changed, they say ‘this is your first line, go on and get on with it’.

“Taking to the stage at the end of the play to take the applause was wonderful. It was a real sense of accomplishment and achievement. “The whole cast and crew was helping me do it, it was a really supportive atmosphere, they were doing everything to help me do the best.” Bhattessa started her career with Hindi films, before appearing in Eastenders, Doctors and Midsomer Murders and this production was her first time on a West End stage where as an Asian she played a British woman- a lovely crossover that has opened up scopes for diversity.

Taj Mahal's love story to set for the archive gala The restoration of the 1928 production of Shiraz by the BFI national Archive has been announced as part of the launch for the UK India Year of Culture, a celebration of the long-standing relationship between the UK and India, which will see cultural events, exhibitions and activities taking place in both countries throughout 2017. The film will premiere as the Archive Gala at the 61st BFI Film Festival in partnership with American Express®, on 14 October at the Barbican. Shiraz tells the love story of the 17thcentury princess who inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal. Planning is now underway for the film, which has rarely been seen in India since 1928, to be screened in India once again with the Taj Mahal forming a backdrop to the event. Both screenings will be accompanied by a live performance of a specially commissioned score by the Indian composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar. Subsequently Shiraz will screen at festivals and cinemas across India as a

powerful symbol of the partnership between India and the UK. Shiraz tells the story behind the construction of the Taj Mahal. It’s a tale of love and undying devotion, following Shiraz, the building's designer, and his childhood sweetheart, the princess who became the Empress Mumtaz Mahal – to whom the mausoleum was dedicated. It’s a film as remarkable and ornate as the structure itself – and Shankar’s score, performed here by an eight-piece ensemble of

players on Indian and western instruments, promises to echo the magnificence of the building. Shankar was taught by her father, the celebrated Ravi Shankar, a pivotal figure in the popularisation of the sitar, introducing the instrument to many Western ears. And like her father, she continues to open up new possibilities for this instrument, and has collaborated with musicians as diverse as MIA and Herbie Hancock.This is the world premiere of both the score and of the BFI National Archive’s restoration of the film, specially commissioned to mark the UKIndia Year of Culture 2017.

Anoushka Shankar

Two men sitting outside Taj Mahal

Photo credit: Deutsche-Kinemathek (Source: Barbican)

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Conceited heroin gang jailed A heroin gang that used military encrypted phones to operate their ring have been served jail sentences of up to 15 years. They came to public notice for posting pictures of themselves posing on fake golden thrones on social media. Mohammed Jabbar, Mohammed Rafique, Jonathan Clorley, and Jeremy Curran were caught last year after police stopped their car. 2.5 kg of heroin worth £275,000 as found hidden in two boxes of dog biscuits and a box of washing powder. Officials said the men had been communicating using encrypted mobile phones. They even posted images of themselves casually joking about their activities.

Medical students from state schools fared better than those privately-educated A new study has found that medical students who went to state schools, were most likely to fare better than those who were educated privately. Paper's lead author, Professor Jen Cleland from the University of Aberdeen, said, “While this study didn't look at why students from state school significantly outperform students from independent schools, one possibility is that once given equal access to resources, state-educated students take advantage of the opportunities available to them. All students who get into medical school have had to work hard, but those from state schools may have had less support in place to assist them, and so once they get to university, they may already have well-developed non-academic attributes such as motivation and resilience, which set them up to manage medical school effectively.” For the study, the team took the demographics of the candidates into account, including pre-admission test scores and preentry grades.

Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Penguin Random House hosts aspiring Asian authors

As part of its nationwide campaign to seek out and publish new and under-represented voices in writing, UK publisher Penguin Random House brought 50 aspiring authors together at a special event in London. The programme was one of three free events taking place across the UK as part of the WriteNow programme launched last year to ensure books and publishing better reflect UK society. Attendees were writers from different communities

including BAME, LGBTQ, disabled, and thoses from socioeconomically marginalised backgrounds. They were given advice, tips, and

insights from authors Elif S h a f a k , Francesca Martinez, Afua Hirsch, Mahsuda Snaith, Dave Rudden and Fox Fisher, and leading literary agents. The writers were given a better understanding of the industry and how to get published. One of the best parts of the event was a one-to-one feed-

back on the amateur writers' manuscripts from a Penguin Random House editor. Hirsch spoke of her own experience of moving from journalism to writing nonfiction. “It's really important to get away from the idea that there is just one kind of writer from one kind of background. I thought I couldn't be a writer because I didn't it the profile of what I expected a writer should be. But I was wrong, anyone can write, and there are so many ways of being creative.”

British soldiers arrested on Duchess wins damages over neo-Nazi links gross invasion of privacy The defence ministry said that some of the four alleged members of a banned British neoNzi group arrested last week are serving soldiers. In a statement, the British police said the suspects are being held “on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.” While the four haven't been named, they are said to be aged between 22 and 32, and come from Birmingham, Ipswich, and Northampton in England and Powys in Wales. The statement read, “The

arrests were pre-planned and intelligence-led; there was no threat to the public's safety.” It added that raids were also being carried out on “a number of properties”. The Ministry of Defence released another statement, later, saying, “We can confirm that a number of serving members of the Army have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for being associated with a proscribed far right group. These arrests are the consequence of a Home Office Police Force led operation supported by the Army.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been awarded £92,000 in damages after a French magazine printed topless pictures of Kate. A French court ruled that the photos used by magazine Closer, which was taken as the couple holidayed in Provence in 2012, was an invasion of their privacy. Closer editor and owner have been fined 45,000 euros. The long-lens images were published on the front and inside pages of the publication. During the hearing at the

Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre, presiding Judge Florence Lasserre- Jeannin also instructed regional newspaper La Provence to pay 3000 euros in damages for printing images of the duchess in her swimwear. A statement from Kensington Palace read, “This incident was a serious breach of privacy, and their Royal Highnesses felt it essential to pursue all legal remedies. They wished to make the point strongly that this kind of unjustified intrusion should not happen.”

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

'RACIAL INJUSTICES' IN UK'S LEGAL SYSTEM

Continued from page 1 ethnic groups. It attempts to disentangle the broader effects of discrimination and disadvantage in society from the procedures of police, courts, prisons and the probation service. Speaking about his report David Lammy told the Asian Voice: “My review clearly shows BAME individuals still face bias including overt discrimination - in parts of the justice system. “It is only through delivering fairness, rebuilding trust, and sharing responsibility that we will build the equal and just society so often spoken about. ”As the Prime Minister said, if you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white. Now is the time to stop talking and take action.” David Isaac, Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: "Everybody should have full trust in our criminal justice system and the Lammy Review is a major contribution to understanding the challenges we face to achieve this. "The Government must respond to the review urgently and put in place a comprehensive race strategy with stretching targets to reduce the race inequality that is so apparent in our society."

Recommendations The review contains over 30 formal recommendations, including introducing assessments of a young offenders’ maturity, exploring how criminal records could be ‘sealed’, and allowing some prosecutions to be ‘deferred.’ Lammy also urges the justice system to take major steps to increase diversity and transparency. The study found that BAME disproportionality in the criminal justice system costs the taxpayer at least £309million each year, as well as a number of other concerning statistics. For example, the proportion of BAME young offenders in custody rose from 25% to 41% between 2006 and 2016, despite the overall number of young offenders falling to record lows. Meanwhile, evidence shows the rate of Black defendants

pleading not guilty in Crown Courts in England and Wales between 2006 and 2014 was 41%, compared to 31% of white defendants. This means they lose the possibility of reduced sentences and it raises questions about trust in the system. One finding was that for every 100 white women handed custodial sentences at Crown Courts for drug offences, 227 black women were sentenced to custody. For black David Lammy men, this figure is 141 fare.” for every 100 white men. The review also calls for ‘Local Lammy’s review also revealed Justice Panels’ to be established, that the BAME proportion of taking inspiration from New young people offending for the Zealand’s Rangatahi courts, where first time rose from 11% in 2006 to local people with a direct stake in 19% a decade later. There was an a young offender’s life are invited identical increase in the BAME to contribute to their hearings. proportion of young people reofThese panels would normally deal fending over the same period. with first-time offenders given The review has taken 18 community sentences, include key months to complete and, as well as figures such as teachers or social visiting communities and instituworkers, and hold local services to tions across the UK, has encomaccount for a child’s rehabilitapassed fact-finding visits to countion. tries including the US, Canada and Lammy also makes pioneering New Zealand. recommendations for judges, Taking inspiration from youth prosecutors and prisons. In one justice in Germany, David Lammy particularly radical proposal, he argues that rigorous assessments calls for a ‘deferred prosecution’ of a young offender’s maturity model to be rolled out, allowing should inform sentencing decilow level offenders to receive tarsions. Those judged to have low geted rehabilitation before enterlevels of maturity could also ing a plea. Those successfully receive extended support from the completing rehabilitation proyouth justice system until they are grammes would see their charges 21. dropped, while those who did not Speaking on youth justice, he would still face criminal proceedtold the newspaper: “Youth justice may be regarded as a success story, ings. The scheme has been piloted but this is no time for self-conin the West Midlands, with violent gratulation. offenders 35% less likely to reof“Despite fewer young offendfend. Victims were also more satisers than a decade ago, the proporfied, feeling that intervention tion of BAME young offenders has before submitting a plea was more risen disturbingly. likely to stop reoffending. “The system also appears to have given up on parenting – just Trust deficit 189 parenting orders were issued last year, despite 55,000 youth convictions. All sentencing remarks in the “Unless we see fundamental Crown Court should also be pubreform, these young people will lished, making justice more transbecome the next generation of parent for victims, witnesses and adult offenders, stuck in a cycle of offenders, and addressing the crime, unemployment and wel‘trust deficit’ between BAME individuals and the justice system.

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David Lammy argues this has contributed to Black and Asian men and Asian women being over 50% more likely than their White counterparts to enter a not guilty plea. The review found that BAME defendants often pleaded “not guilty” and opted for trial in the Crown Court, because they had more confidence in the fairness of juries than they had in the fairness of magistrates’ courts. Speaking about trust deficit Lammy added, “Over representation of BAME individuals has resulted in a chronic ‘trust deficit’, as well as costing the taxpayer over £300m a year. “Many BAME defendants simply do not believe that the justice system will deliver less punitive treatment if they plead guilty. “The best way to ensure fair, equal treatment is to subject decision-making to scrutiny - helping identify and eliminate bias at source.”

Sealing of criminal records Lammy also argues the UK should learn from the US system for ‘sealing’ criminal records, claiming exoffenders should be able to apply to have their case heard by a judge or independent body, such as the Parole Board, where they could prove they have reformed. The judge would then decide whether to ‘seal’ the record, having considered factors such as time since the offence and evidence of rehabilitation. If the decision goes the applicant’s way, their record will still exist, but the individual would not need to disclose it and employers would not be able to access it. David Lammy told the newsweekly: “A job is the foundation of a law-abiding life and the key to reform for any offender. “Our criminal records regime must protect the public, but it is having the opposite effect and trapping offenders in their past. “We need a more flexible approach which recognises when people no longer pose a risk to

: Venue don

Lon l a r t n r Ce nd tembe p e S 22 017 2

society and gives a chance to start afresh.” However, he makes clear that many of the causes of BAME overrepresentation lie outside the criminal justice system. For example, black children are more than twice as likely to grow up in a lone parent family, and black and mixed ethnic boys are more likely than white boys to be permanently excluded from school. Lammy’s review makes clear that government policy can only go so far, and challenges communities to assume greater responsibility. On community responsibility, David Lammy said: “The criminal justice system has deep-seated issues to address, but there is only so much it can do. “The factors behind BAME over-representation begin long before a guilty plea, court appearance, or prison sentence. “Communities must take greater responsibility for the care and development of their people – failing to do so only damages society as a whole.”

His other notable recommendations include: l The CPS should revisit its approach to gang prosecutions, including reviewing its role in protecting vulnerable children and women who are often coerced into gang activity l New tools like Modern Slavery legislation must be used to hold adult criminals to account for their exploitation of young people. l The government should set a national target to achieve a representative judiciary and magistracy by 2025. l Prison governors should ensure Use of Force Committees are not ethnically homogeneous, with consequences for officers misusing force on more than one occasion. l The Prison Service should set public targets for moving a cadre of BAME staff through into leadership positions over the next five years. l A new approach should be agreed to record and publish ethnicity data. In particular, the CPS and courts should collect more data on religion so the treatment of different religious groups can be examined.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Asian Achievers Awards

Rising above a sea of run-of-the mill gongs Continued from page 1 The theme of the Awards is Diversity in Media, Arts and Culture, and the aim is to provide a better platform for the under represented in the society. According to surveys only one in 16 senior leadership positions are held by someone from an ethnic minority, despite there being a pool of one in 8 ethnic minority people of working age in the UK. This year’s Awards will be attended by Bollywood actor, producer, director and singer. Farhan Akhtar will also be attending the Asian Achievers Awards to reflect the theme of this year’s event. Bollywood singer, actress and model, Raageshwari will join former Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra to host the glittering ceremony- another role model, who stands for diversity in the field of acting. While awards like ours

have taken years to establish, build credibility and stand out as a reputable and trustworthy brand, unfortunately in the recent past there have been some also-rans who not only copy the idea but also pass it off as their own. It is a compromise that one should not make, especially when competition is fierce.

In today's Britain there are too many award schemes. As the Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK, Ambassador Dinesh Patnaik once added in jest, that given the number of awards he gets invited to, he is sure that every Indian would receive an award one day. It is a fact that though receiving an award builds your viability, reputation and visibility, associating with a wrong title can also

lead to irreversable damage. Entering your business or yourself into some awards, can improve brand awareness and promote your business or yourself to new customers or a different audience. The application process for entering a business award can often force you to look at yourself from a different perspective and compare yourself to your competitors. Winning it can also give a seal of approval to your activities, helping build future relationships, staff motivation and attract talents. It is therefore very important that one must be selective about where they are nominating themselves, what award they are associating themselves with and the track record of the organisers. Because what they might unwittingly create for themselves is an unalterable and questionable record.

Rejoice, here comes the great Navratri Festival Continued from page 1 The Hindu Council of Brent organised the first ever pre launch celebrations at the Portcullis house of the Westminster, which was attended by the Mayor of Brent Cllr Bhagwanji Chohan, Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council, MP Barry Gardiner and several other dignitaries. The purpose of the prelaunch was for all those who are not well versed with the ethos and benefits of Navratri- a sort of introduction to the cultural nuances around these festivities. The Navratri festivals are celebrated by hundreds of thousands at over one thousand venues up and down the length and breadth of the UK. The Brent Hindu Council was founded over 40 years ago, representing three scores of local associations organising Navratri - at one stage over 40 venues in Brent

alone. Most remarkable thing that such a huge assembly of people have always remained peaceful and harmonious and there has never never been any extra stress or strain on the Police or other security apparatus. The Indian community especially Hindus and Jains are devoted to their family values as well as higher education, professions, entrepreneurship, art culture and other positive values, especially least involved in anti social or anti national activities, aptly proven by their minimum numbers in Her Majesty's prisons. Perhaps the foundation of such value based tradition of this community has been nurtured by their festivities like Navratri. Up until 2010, in Brent and elsewhere, school halls and other facilities were available at reduced rates by local authorities, who recognised the importance of

promoting such beneficial programmes. Regrettably the austerity measures have forced the organisations to charge some entrance fees to cover the cause. Some manage it but most find it very difficult. Indirectly the casualty is the culture and tradition, which is otherwise so useful for the evolution of a civilised society. Where the state fails that is a role for those who can contribute to be more appreciative and generous. But the powers may have to take cognition of such valuable festivities for common good. Harish Mistry, speaking to Asian Voice said, “I have three children. Previously, my mother, wife and children would go to our local Navratri festival, to take part in Raas Garba. But now the membership with the local organisation costs me £100 per year, without which I may be denied a

Jasminder Singh and Amrit Kaur host "Wedding of the Year" at Lake Geneva

Ushira with father Jasminder Singh and husband Siddharth

British billionaire Jasminder Singh hosted a lavish wedding of his youngest daughter Ushira to Siddharth Kapoor, in a four-day event which was just as luxurious as his distinguished chain of hotels. The destination wedding took place at the gorgeous Lake Geneva, in the Swiss Alps. All events, including Mehendi, Anand Karaj Ceremony, Doli, and farewell, were held at the famous five star luxury hotel Fairmont Le Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. The whole affair was rife with fun, inclusive events. The Baaraat arrived on September 7, and a Mehendi ceremony was held in evening the same day, which went on till late in the night. The

ticket for Navratri. That does not have much use anyway, and top of that the tickets costs me over £300 to enter the Navratri celebrations for the 9 days. Besides there is the cost of travel, clothes etc. We cannot afford it any more.” Seema Patel, speaking to the newsweekly said, “The number of Garbas have gone up, there are more and more organisa-

holy Sikh Anand Karaj ceremony was held on September 8, which was followed by a luncheon, and Doli at Wedding celebrations that can be described as nothing short of Asian Royalty, went on till the early hours of the night. All those who attended the wedding made the most of the festivities, taking in the picturesque surroundings of Switzerland, and giving their hearty blessings to the newly-wed couple. A grand Gala Dinner reception was held for all on September 9, followed by a black tie dinner that went on until late. The world famous singer Beverley Knight who starred in "The Bodyguard" serenaded the 600 guests . The family gave a worthy farewell to all attendees,

tions celebrating Navratri nowadays in the UK. But with the lack of quality check, from cost to other factors- it makes difficult for us.” A young Brit-Asian girl, who did not want to be named said, “I love Navratri. I am often joined by my Punjabi friends, who love it too. Of course we are nicely dressed and attract attentions. But

on with a Farewell brunch. One guest commented “It was dubbed the Wedding of the Year as guests from all over Britain and the world, gathered at Lake Geneva for Siddharth and Ushira's wedding. One of Britain's leading businessmen, Jasminder Singh and his wife Amrit spared no expense for the wedding of their youngest daughter. It seemed like the who's who of the community were present at the event". The wedding saw Siddharth and his pals perform a dance off number in competition with his new bride, Ushira and her friends who was seen gushing with happiness. No wonder it has been dubbed as the Wedding of The Year.

sometimes we are harassed by young men (often not from the same community or faith) who stand outside the venues, hovering around to cat call or strike an unpleasant conversation. It makes us really uncomfortable. We need more security, to ensure the vicinity is clear of such nuisance.”

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Thyssenkrupp hopes to reach merger deal with Tata Steel soon Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger favours a joint steel venture, saying this could be best option to eliminate over capacities in the volatile steel sector

Thyssenkrupp hopes to reach an agreement on merger of its European steel business with that of Tata Steel soon since the talks have entered into the final stage. A spokeswoman for Thyssenkrupp said the companies were close to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), paving the way for a detailed look at one another’s books and detailed negotiations before creating the second-largest steelmaker in Europe. The shareholders last week put pressure on Thyssenkrupp to clinch a deal after talks over a potential steel combination dragged on for a year and a half, mainly held up

by negotiations over Tata Steel's British pension liabilities. That hurdle has been removed after Tata Steel received regulatory clearance on a pension deal initially reached a month ago, enabling it to separate its UK pension scheme from the group. Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger favours a joint steel venture, saying this could be best option to eliminate

over capacities in the volatile steel sector but drawing opposition from e labour representatives who fear thousands job cuts. “We reject a merger with Tata,” said Dieter Lieske, head of the Duisburg-Dinslaken unit of IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, adding there were no signs that labour representatives on the group’s supervisory board would agree to the merger plan. Lieske said Ulrich Lehner, Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board chairman, may

be forced to use his casting vote if the 20-member board, with equal representation of labour and capital interests, reaches a stalemate over the decision. Sources also reported that activist investor Cevian, Thyssenkrupp’s No.2 shareholder, was also opposed to the merger with Tata Steel, potentially robbing Hiesinger of a majority if all labour representatives also vote against the plan. Monthly Manager Magazin earlier reported that Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board could agree to a combination either on Sept. 23 or 24, citing people involved in the negotiations.

After GST, India moves to rework direct taxes

The Indian government has now set its sights on overhauling the 56-yearold direct tax law covering income and corporation tax as it seeks to make the Indian regime more contemporary and tailor it to current requirements. Senior government officials said the finance ministry was in the process of setting up a task force to write the new tax law, attempted in 2009, when Pranab Mukherjee released the

India, China to set up working groups to promote exports India's Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said that India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups to bridge trade deficit with Beijing. “Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India,” he tweeted. The minister who was in Manila to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Minister's Meeting, is also expected to participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 RCEP member countries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. Prabhu met with his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries.

Direct Taxes Code (DTC) prepared by P Chidambaram and his team- only to be diluted a few years later. While the Bill was never legislated, the Finance Ministry has now begun a review, and the Prime Minister himself has made comments on the outdated nature of the law. Sources said the plan is to have the draft legislation ready by the budget before it is put out for public comments. The idea is to

simplify the regime and increase the threshold for taxation. Several exemptions were to be withdrawn for companies too. Proposing an exemption of up to Rs 3,00,000, it had suggested that the peak rate of 30 per cent tax apply to those with income above Rs 25,00,000, while those earning Rs 10,00,00025,00,000 were to face 20 per cent levy. The idea was to simplify the regime and increase the thresh-

old for taxation. For companies, too, several exemptions were to be withdrawn. While tax experts are in favour of a new law, the question is timing. “The government should give a breather to India Inc since it is already dealing with several changes such as GST, the new Companies Act and the new accounting standards,” said Sudhir Kapadia, national tax leader at Ernst & Young.

E-switch over call puts auto makers in a jam Indian transport minister Nitin Gadkari's warning to the auto industry asking them to hasten the switchover to electric vehicles or face consequences has put the auto makers in a big challenge. The message brings along a massive challenge of how to move from nearly 99 per cent petrol or diesel engine capacity to pure battery-powered ones. India saw production of nearly 25 million vehicles in 2016-17, comprising of motorcycles, scooters, cars, SUVs, three-wheelers, and commercial vehicles. Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava said, “I don't think all of a sudden millions of cars can be converted to electric. A customer has to get used to the idea of an electric car. It will be necessary to keep a close watch on the customer sentiments. We need a clearer roadmap.

Then we can plan our future investments clearly.” Maruti currently has an engine capacity of nearly 15,00,000 per annum, and its parent Suzuki is now in the process of setting up a 5,00,000-capacity engine plant in Gujarat. Director, Hyundai India, Rakesh Srivastava welcomed the government's intention, saying there would be challenges in the transition. “We welcome the direction towards electric vehicles, but it would also lead to certain challenges. There is a sizeable big investment that has been made for the engine plant. A platonic shift towards electric vehicles will bring

in a new set of challenges towards utilisation of the current capacity of engines as well as investments towards electric,” he said. The company has an annual capacity of around 7,00,000 engines. Srivastava meant this runs the risk of becoming idle. The Indian auto industry is already working to migrate to the stricter BS6 emission norms that kick in from 2020. The government said companies need to work on electric vehicles and technologies immediately so that there is no sudden pressure towards 2030, by when it expects the entire fleet to move-over to cleaner drivetrains.

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Bank accounts of 2,00,000 Indian firms frozen The Government of India ordered freezing banks accounts of over 2,09,000 companies whose names have been struck off from the records, saying action would be taken against more such firms. A senior financial ministry official said banks have also been asked to step up their vigil against those companies that are noncompliant with various regulations and not carrying out business activities for long. They said banks have been directed to freeze the bank accounts of deregistered companies. Warning that the action would be taken against erring firms, the official said the efforts would help enhance corporate governance standards and clean up the system that otherwise is prone to be misused. “The names of 2,09,032 companies have been struck off from the register of companies under Section 248 (5) of the Act. The existing directors and authorised signatories of such

struck-off companies will now become ex-directors or ex-authorised signatories,” an official release said. Section 248 of the Companies Act, which is implemented by the corporate affairs ministry, provides powers to strike off names of companies from the register on various grounds including for being inactive for long. The official said since these companies ceased to be legal entities, there was no reason having active bank accounts which could be prone to misuse. Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, PP Chaudhary said, “Furthering our war against black money, banks have been advised to immediately restrict bank accounts of struckoff companies.”

RBI chief's term must be protected: Rajan

Raghuram Rajan

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan stated there is a need to safeguard the “term and turf” of the central bank head by providing protection similar to those given to judges. Referring to the tensions between the RBI and the government, he said sometimes this conflict was on some silly status issue that ended up taking up a lot of time. “I would say make it clear what is the realm over which RBI's sway holds and let us not bring that down,” he said. Rajan added that even if the tenure was protected, central bankers would still be exposed to other factors if they stood up to the government unless the turf was also defined. Speaking at the launch of his book 'I do What I Do' – a collection of his speeches and writings updated with comments, Rajan said past bureaucrats who occupied the governor's chair have taken a stand in favour of the central bank after taking charge.

“If you are subservient, you will not get respect from your staff, so people develop backbone very quickly,” Rajan said. He said public sector bank reform was an area where more work was required. He said the Centre needs to do more work on autonomy and have banks run by independent boards rather than taking direction from the government. “When we get there, we will have truly created the distance between the government and public sector banks. One indication we have achieved that will be the day we can close down the department of financial services.” Rajan spoke in support of the institution of monetary policy committee (MPC), and ruled out the possibility of the government appointing its own people in the committee to influence policy. He said, “If RBI members in the MPC agree, they can outvote other members because the governor has the casting vote.”

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PROCRASTINATION, PATIENCE AND PROVIDENCE AsianVoiceNews

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Deals, like people, have their own nature. You can push them but they have their own timing. They evolve and they fructify at their own pace.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

One deal we closed recently was located in Park West, London W2. It consisted of three flats all merged into one lateral flat, giving a massive 2,200 square feet. This is too much space for one flat; you won’t achieve the rental income or the right sales price. Having had a proven track record with the agents, we were given the first right of refusal. It had some quirks to it; for one it needed a cash purchaser because a mortgage would have been difficult as the flat had been used as an office for the family. Often with these deals, there is always a story in the background; the family behind the ownership of this property were having personal issues, which prompted them to sell the property. Generally, you have one of three categories into which good deals fall in to, they are either triggered by divorce, distress or death. This one was a distress sale, caused by the break down in family relationships which had led to a breakdown in the business relationship. We procrastinated over the deal. It was a good deal, but we just had a lot going on and didn't close it in time. To be honest, having a lot going on is also a story. It is an excuse. It

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back to the agent for the next highest bidder to perform.

The deal equated to £773 per sq. ft. in a block where the prices float around £1,250 per sq. ft. This represented a discount of a shade under 40% in W2.

I suspected he wasn’t going to perform on the contract, so, I gave the agent a heads up about the contract coming back, and informed him that we were there to pick up the deal. He assured me this was not the case and he was confident that the buyer would perform.

What were we waiting for? We should have acted immediately. We delayed. A competitor acted more quickly and locked us out of the deal with a decent deposit. And it is when you lose a good deal your desire for that deal increases exponentially. We really wanted it now! So, I checked to see if the party buying it will perform. I was advised that they have performed previously, and were known to the agency. Furthermore, the lock-out clause meant there was no room to enter a contract race or give a higher offer. As it happened, luck smiled on me. I was introduced to a lawyer who had a client who was in the process of setting up a fund for some Indian buyers in central London. He was on the ball and picking up deals. He mentioned the deal in Park West, and I realised he had been my competitor. He had the contract and was set to close the deal, but it no longer suited him so he suggested that I step in, take his position and pay him a healthy fee. I told him, honestly, that we were getting the deal directly. If he wasn't doing the deal, it would revert

In the end, the deal ended up back on the market as the buyer didn’t perform. The sellers were now anxious for a deal to be concluded so they allowed two parties to compete in a contract race. It was now all about who was first to the line. This situation didn't bother us as we were confident we had the right team of lawyers to execute this in time. We ended up concluding the deal much to the satisfaction of our investor. It is interesting to reflect on how deals work and evolve. This experience provides a great opportunity to do this. We initially lost the deal to procrastination. Six months later, and with a little patience, we ended up with the contract again. And the will of providence ensured it was closed in our favour. There is a gulf of difference between patience and procrastination; one should not be mistaken for the other. The definition of procrastination is you delay

Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

making a decision. Patience is defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay. Both involve taking time. However, the emotions that prompt these two states of mind are very different. Procrastination is bad for business, and patience is a virtue. Because these are subjective, you perhaps can present one state as another to an outsider. However, the astute observer will know the difference. Procrastination is often felt in the head space of a body, your mind does mental gymnastics and goes through various what ifs, again, and again, and again. In short, you will find reasons to avoid making a decision. The symptom of this tends to be experienced in the mind alone. This can be very fallible. Patience on the other hand is a ‘knowingness’. It will be felt in a balanced way, through the whole body, a more grounded, integrated feeling, in contrast to only being experienced on the mental plane. It's important to differentiate between the two, and to be honest with yourself about which space you are

in. We often see people in the procrastination mode, who delay making decisions for years. This costs them hard money. Money in the bank, though liquid, is a depreciating asset. Whatever deal you present to these people, they will find a reason to talk themselves out of it. And there is always one if you look hard enough, including ‘it is too good to be true’. Patience is important. Waiting for the right opportunity and evaluating the deal from every angle is not the same as procrastination. Procrastination is driven by fear. Waiting for the right deal and thorough evaluation is driven by knowledge. In our example, we started the deal off with procrastination, which led to it being taken by someone else. Then when it returned we had the patience and know-how to execute and close the deal. Overriding and superior to both these states of subjective emotions is the will of providence which has the final and ultimate say in all matters.

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Asian Voice | 16th Septmeber 2017

JLR to make only electric or hybrid cars from 2020

Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, A family member asked me recently how to get into investing, and then quickly machine gunned a few more questions; ‘isn’t Amazon expensive? What about Lloyds? Won’t there be a market crash? How do I buy shares? How do I buy American stocks? Should I spread bet? Is India a good bet? Moreover, there is this fund manager, should I give my money to him?’ Okay, clearly we need a simple, transparent process. Here was my advice to a complete beginner: You are too busy to look at the market daily. In fact, if you do, you will be gambling. So if this is you then look for stocks, you will be happy to hold for ten years, or at least five years. For me, these are stocks like Amazon and Visa. If there is a crash, they have lots of cash anyway. If you are anxious, then you can buy in small instalments, i.e. average in. If you are petrified, then wait for the crash. Good luck with that strategy. If you want to learn about stock selection, then you need to learn about things such as PEG, CROCI, Sharpe Ratio. Yeah, you do not want to do that do you? So instead you may want to diversify by having index trackers. Even Warren Buffett recommends these. They track a basket of stocks, e.g. Dow, NIFTY (India). Avoid fund managers. Ample research shows they track indices anyway or are just lucky in any one year. They are good at advertising and selling stories. So for you – Index trackers – ETFs. Brokers? Well, you are a beginner, so avoid spread bets and always avoid binary options. Check for inactivity charges. I like Halifax, else look at MoneySavingExpert. Now there is a heck of much research from my 200 columns in the Financial Times which are the basis of the above information. Your basic enemy is stories. Stories that XYZ company or fund manager has a very good idea. They may do or may not. However, the hidden risk will kill you most likely in the pocket. An investment expert like me feels like a doctor whose patient has self-diagnosed off the internet. They are so sure and do not know the research that goes into discovering the actual truth, as opposed to the 1 minute that goes into an advert on the internet. If you would like more free education, try www.trading-champions.com (there is a free course there on 12 things the rich do right in investing). Alpesh.patel@tradermind.com

Currency in circulation dips Data released by the Reserve Bank of India revealed that currency in circulation dipped for the second consequent week, proof that cash in the economy has settled at a lower level, resulting in over £23 billion, remaining with banks following demonetisation. Following the

move in November last year, currency in circulation fell from nearly £1.78 billion to a low of £898 million in January. When the cleansing of black money seems to be sort of a failure, reducing dependence on cash appears to have been achieved.

Abhishek Sachdev

Since the Brexit vote, Sterling has dropped by 13 percent against a basket of currencies. This led many to believe the UK would benefit from increased export orders. The Brexiteers

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Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest car-making company to say it will stop launching new models solely powered by internal combustion engines. It promised that all new models from 2020 will be fully electric or hybrid. The announcement came shortly after Volvo pledged to do the same. Chief Executive, JLR, Ralf Speth said, “Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice.” He, however, also warned of the unintended consequences of the electrification of cars and arrival of autonomous vehicles. “In the UK, there are currently more than a quarter of a million lorry drivers. What happens to our society if these lose their jobs? Who pays for them? What happens to the social fabric of the country?” Over 250,000 lorry drivers in the UK are at risk from driverless technology with knock-on effects for the country's social fabric, Speth said. He added that the

impact of electric cars on petrol and diesel demand could hurt oil-producing nations. “Many could be forced to impose substantial spending cuts within the next five years, straining living standards and so creating unrest in areas already suffering from instability. The very technology that could liberate us, autonomous vehicles, could become a method of insecurity and enslavement... Big freedoms could end up creating the big brother state.” Average CO2 emissions from JLR cars were 164g per km in 2015- more than the UK average of 121.4g. Also, they are way behind on the 95g target to be achieved by 2021.

Automotive expert Prof David Bailey said Jaguar was slow to wake up to electric vehicles. “Jaguar are playing catchup- Tesla has stolen a chunk of their lunch, BMW are way ahead as well. The premium end of things is moving more quickly (towards electrification) in part because electric car costs are higher at the moment because of battery costs, so they can absorb that. It's also because they are heavily dependent on diesel and the market is moving away from diesel.” JLR, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Tata, makes no electric cars but plans to begin building production versions of its battery-powered SUV next

African start-up finds financial back-up from UK firm British firm East Africa Investments (EAI) has approached Nairobi, Kigali-based start-up Digiskool with $50,000 as investment. Mentored by Anu Shah's incubator EFI Hub, Digiskool is a complete school management and information system that has all essentials needed for running a school. The software is designed to suit all education institutions below the tertiary level and provides Comprehensive and Enriched school management functions in realtime. EFI Hub's endorsement and support in areas like execution of business

strategy and product development has helped Digiskool find gradual recognition. The budding company is currently preparing to install its system in 100 schools across Rwanda, East Africa. CEO David Irakoze said, “I believe EFI Hub is one of the solution for the African/Rwanda entrepreneurs who are committed to the sustainable development of entrepreneurs by stimulating the growth and knowledge for them to scale and understand their businesses and enlarge their chain of knowledge. It has come as a solution for African entrepreneurs to help

Not much ‘marching’ from our makers...

were cheering that this would lead to the ‘march of the makers’. More than a year after the EU referendum, however, this evidence has yet to appear in official figures. Meanwhile, the fall in the pound has increased the cost of imports, leading to a rise in consumer prices, with inflation at twoyear highs. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has scaled down its growth forecast for

2018 and 2019 from 1.3% to 1.2% and from 1.5% to 1.4%, respectively, with inflation expected to temper consumer spending as wage growth lags price increases until 2019. Nevertheless, the BCC expects imports to increase, as there has been little evidence that consumers were substituting away from imported goods, in spite of their rising costs. As I write, the Pound is down 1.32% against the Euro in one month

and 7.08% since the start of the year. Putting that into context, you would need to spend £121,097 more to import €10m worth of EU goods today than if you had made the purchase four weeks ago. We assist a number of i m p o r t e r s / ex p o r t e r s with FX benchmarking services to ensure they receive the lowest rate regardless of who they buy their currency from; a bank or broker. The cost of a fiveyear fixed rate loan has

them grow and increase their networks.” He added, “As entrepreneurs from Africa, we all share the same challenges, for example, you are making small progress, but at the same time you feel there is much more to gain. Unfortunately, you either don't have the resources to hire a consultant or, in case you do, there is simply no local consultant around with specific knowledge that you are looking for.” EAI finds EFI Hub's involvement in the startup, creditable to render financial backing and help David and his team expand throughout Africa.

fallen 10 bps in one month to 0.65%, while the cost of a ten-year fixed rate loan dropped 14 bps to 0.98%. The latest moves leave the five and ten-year rates down 10 and 16 bps respectively since the start of the year. So what does this mean for borrowers? Securing a £5m loan over a five-year period is now £25k less expensive than it was a month ago. Similarly, the cost of securing the same amount for a tenyear period has gone down by £69k in one

year. The I-Pace will have a range of 310 miles (500km), putting it on a par with competition from USbased Tesla but ahead of cheaper options such as the new Nissan Leaf, unveiled recently. JLR has indicated that it would like to build an electric car plant in the UK, similar to Nissan’s Sunderland facility, where the Leaf is built, but it has yet to make a concrete commitment. The Leaf is the UK’s bestselling electric model, and this week Nissan revealed its new design and an extended, 235-mile range. Such a move would be a significant boost to the British car industry and follows BMW, which in July pledged to build its electric Mini in Oxford. Jaguar sold more than 583,000 cars in 136 countries last year. Industry watchers had spotted earlier this year that JLR had trademarked a series of car names that suggested an electric future, although the company will continue to build existing petrol and diesel models beyond 2020.

Vistara to fly abroad Vistara is all set to launch international operations anytime next year, after March. The Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines JV will have 20 planes in its fleet by March 2018, about three months ahead of earlier planned schedule to meet this cut-off for Indian airlines to fly abroad. CEO Phee Teik Yeo said, “We are very close to finalising our plans for international operations. Vistara will fly to places like Japan as that is a very important market. We are very excited by the aircraft order (the airline will place) to support our aggressive overseas plan.

month. In other words, these swap / fixed rates do have a real impact on all of us. You can keep track of key market rates by subscribing to our FREE market rate sheet. Updated daily, this concise summary covers swap rates (i.e. fixed rates for loans), FX rates and more. Visit our website for more details.

Tel: 020 7183 2277 www.vedantahedging.com

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LeT and Jaish using its territory, admits Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has finally admitted that internationally denounced terrorist outfits, Lashkar-eTaiba and Jaish-eMuhammed, have been operating from within its territory. Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif called for tougher action against these groups. Speaking to national media, he said, “We should impose restrictions on activities of elements like LeT and JeM so that we can show the global community that we've put our house in order.” He said Pakistan could no longer afford to “test” its friends on the issue, keeping in light the dynamic changes around the world in dealing with the menace. He said, “Friends like China should not be tested every time, particularly in the changed (global) scenario.” The statements followed a BRICS declaration that

Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed

named several terrorist groups, including the two, as threats to regional security. Pak Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir was quick to reject the declaration, saying there were no safe havens for terrorists inside the country. However, Asif said, “I am not making any political statement. We cannot afford to shut our eyes on activities of these organisations

Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood Azhar

in our country. If we continue to do that we will always face such embarrassments.” He admitted that Pak had made mistakes in the past saying there was no need for the country to participate in the proxy war in Afghanistan during Zia-ul Haq's regime, and later in the war on terror. “There's an urgent need for a clean break from our past. In 1979, Pakistan had

made a wrong decision and acted like a proxy for the next decade. After 9/11, we again made a wrong decision and adopted a war, which was never ours. We have suffered uncountable losses of lives and properties in this war.” Asif also said Pakistan needs to question whether it had fully implemented its National Action Plan on terrorism that was framed after a Taliban attack on an armyrun in Peshawar in 2014 killed nearly 150 people. Though the interior ministry had published an advertisement that directed people not to donate the hides of animals sacrificed during Eid-ul-Azha to banned organisations such as LeT, this directive was violated at a few places, Asif said. The civilian and military leadership were on the same page on the need to act against terror groups, he said.

India, Japan to boost defence cooperation TOKYO: India and Japan have decided to boost their defence cooperation by including more combat exercises, exchanges, and collaboration in military and dualuse technologies, all the while keeping an eye on China. Both the countries will also work towards including anti-submarine warfare training in their expanding military-to-military ties at a time when Chinese submarines have begun regularly venturing into the Indian Ocean region. The decision was made during a meeting where Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who previously also held the defence portfo-

Trump admin supports sale of F-16, F-18 to India WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has told the US Congress that it "strongly supports" the sale of F-18 and F-16 fighter jets to India and asserted that the proposals have the potential to take Indo-US defence ties to the next level. Alice Wells, acting assistant secretary of state for the South and Central Asian Affairs, told a C o n g r e s s i o n a l Subcommittee in a written submission that defence cooperation with India would be an important pillar in the bilateral relationship as it needs New Delhi to be the net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region. These proposals have the potential to take India- US defence relationship to the next level, the official said."

Arun Jaitley with Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera

lio, met with Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera during the bilateral annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo. Jaitley welcomed Japan's proposal

to field its state-of-art military assets, including the P-1 maritime patrol aircraft with potent anti-submarine warfare capabilities, for the Malabar exercise next year.

Both nations will also enhance their cooperation on counter-terrorism, which will include a joint field exercise between the armies of the two countries in 2018. India and Japan also decided to begin technical discussions for joint research on unmanned ground vehicles and robotics, as also carry forward the talks on Japanese US-2i amphibious aircraft. A joint statement read, “The ministers exchanged views and ideas with the aim to further strengthen defence and security cooperation under the framework of the 'JapanIndia Special Strategic and Global Partnership'”.

Pak army chief for dialogue on Kashmir issue ISLAMABAD: Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through political and diplomatic means. His statement, at the annual 'Defence Day' speech last week, came two days after Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif admitted for the first time that internationally proscribed terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-eMuhammad were operating from within the country. “The welfare of million of people of these two countries is linked with permanent peace. Instead of insulting Pakistan and using force against Kashmiris, it is in India's favour to seek res-

Qamar Javed Bajwa

olution of the dispute through diplomatic and political means,” Bajwa said. Without naming India, he talked about a “neighbouring country”. “We did not bring nuclear weapons to South Asia, and even now these weapons are simply a

guarantee of peace in answer to a neighbouring country which is high on power. It is this country which has brought unconventional war to the South Asian region.” He said, “We have paid the price for the wars started by super powers, in the form of terrorism, extremism, and economic loss. We are abiding by our policy that we will not allow our soil to be used against any country, and expect the same of other countries.” The Pakistan military leadership's change of approach gains significance in light of a consolidated global fight against terrorism. Pakistan has recently come under fire from all quarters, including the US, for harbouring terrorists.

Attorney Manisha Singh tipped for key US administration post

WASHINGTON: According to a White House report, President Donald Trump intends to nominate Indian American lawyer Manisha Singh to a key administration post in the State Department. Currently Chief Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser to Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Manisha Singh, if confirmed by the Senate, would replace Charles Rivkin as the assistant secretary of state for economic affairs. The position has been vacant since January after Rivkin resigned following Trump’s swearing-in as the 45th president of the United States. A resident of Florida, Singh, 45, has served as the deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, and as an aide to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Her private sector experience includes, practising law at multinational firms and working in-house at an investment bank.

Indian origin men plead guilty in US call centre scandal

WASHINGTON: Four Indian-origin men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges for their roles in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by a network of India-based call centres, the US Department of Justice said. Nisarg Patel of New Jersey, Dilipkumar Ramanlal Patel of Florida, and Rajesh Kumar of Arizona, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering offences. In a related case, Dipakkumar Sankalchand Patel of Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Nisarg Patel, Dilipkumar Patel, Rajesh Kumar, 53 other individuals and five India-based call centres had been charged for fraud over a money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on October 19, 2016.

Indian-origin boy of 14 youngest to fly single-engine plane

SHARJAH: An Indian-origin teenager based here has become one of the youngest pilots to fly a single-engine aircraft. Mansour Anis, a 14-year-old Grade 9 student at Delhi Private School in Sharjah, received a certificate for his first solo flight from an aviation academy in Canada last week, Gulf News reported. "Let it be known throughout the aviation world that Mansour Anis at the age of 14 years successfully took off and landed from Langley Regional Airport thereby accomplishing his first solo flight," the solo flight certificate issued by AAA Aviation Flight Academy on August 30 stated. Back in the United Arab Emirates after his achievement, Anis claimed that he had also set a record of being the youngest pilot to fly solo with the least number of training hours.

Judge dismisses Indian American Shiva Ayyadurai's libel suit

GUANGZHOU: Massachusetts: A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed the $15 million libel suit filed by self-proclaimed email inventor Shiva Ayyadurai against California-based technology blog Techdirt. The suit was filed against the corporation that operates Techdirt, the website's chief executive and editor Michael Masnick, and writer Leigh Beadon over 14 articles that disputed the Indian American's claim that he invented email in 1979 when he was 14 years old. Ayyadurai, who is currently campaigning as a Republican for a US Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2018 against Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren, said he received copyright protection for software code in 1982 that recognizes him as the inventor of email, the Boston Globe said in a report. Despite the copyright protection, many still are skeptical of his claim, the report added..

Heavy rains kill 164 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Heavy rains have killed 164 people and injured more than 165 others across Pakistan since the monsoon season began in June, according to weather officials. Sindh and Punjab provinces were the worst hit with 38 fatalities in each province since the advent of the monsoon season. The torrential rains have also left hundreds of people homeless. NDMA and provincial government teams are carrying out rescue and relief operation in the affected areas.

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Indian immigrants in US fear deportation post DACA repeal WASHINGTON: Thousands of people from India, who arrived in the US illegally as children, are fearing deportation after President Donald Trump's decision to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) programme. The number of such people from India, could be more than 20,000, according to an estimate carried out by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the rescinding of the DACA, an Obama-era amnesty programme that granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children. The announcement was greeted with protests from across the country. "Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 Pakistan respectively are eligible for DACA, placing India in the top 10 countries for DACA eligibility," SAALT said. With the termination of DACA, these individuals could face deportation at the discretion of the administration, it said. "The President's decision to terminate DACA puts 800,000 individuals at

risk of deportation from the only country they've ever called home. Ending DACA is the latest evidence of this administration's utter lack of commitment to our nation's founding values of equality and fairness," Suman Raghunathan, executive director of SAALT, said. "Our current patchwork of immigration policies and programs is broken, and we demand the Congress does its job to craft a commonsense immigration process that creates a road-map to

citizenship for aspiring new Americans. "This is the only way to align our immigration laws with the values Americans hold dear," she said. In a statement, South Asian Bar Association (SABA) president Rishi Bagga said "Dreamers" were brought to the US by their parents in hopes of a better life. "As children, they did not choose to break the law. Most of these young men and women have never returned to the countries of their birth, and many

do not even speak the language of their native countries. Rescinding DACA effectually takes away these young people's right to live in the only country they have ever known," Bagga said. SABA said when the DACA program ends, the 800,000-plus registrants who relied upon the federal government's representations by coming out of the shadows and willingly shared their information with the federal government will be in danger of deportation.

dating apps and at one point a guest jokes about “the elephant in the room”, and everybody laughs except Ganesha. Depiction of the elephant-headed lord in the short ad sparked several protests in Australia's Hindu

community. The Indian High Commission in Canberra protested to three Australian Federal government departments over the video that was launched by Meat and Livestock

Australia. President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, said if the ad was not removed, “Hindus might think of a worldwide boycott of Australian lamb meat”. While members of the country's Hindu community almost immediately began to protest the ad once it was released, the Indian High Commission became involved a couple of days late. It released a statement saying the “offensive” ad “hurt the religious sentiments of the Indian community.” Zed said Ganesha should not be used in “selling lamb meat for mercantile greed.”

Thousands of homes wrecked by huge Mexican quake MEXICO CITY: Death toll from the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico has risen to 96 as more victims have been confirmed in hardest-hit southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Foreign Relations Department said 95 people had died nationwide in the quake last week. Chiapas state civil defence director Luis Manuel Garcia Moreno said the number of deaths there had risen from 15 to

US shuts Pakistan's Habib Bank

NEW YORK: US banking regulators ordered Pakistan's Habib Bank to close its New York office after nearly 40 years, for failing to heed concerns over possible terrorist financing and money laundering, officials said. Habib, Pakistan's largest private bank, neglected to watch for compliance problems and red flags on transactions that potentially could have promoted terrorism, money laundering or other illicit ends, New York banking officials said. The state's Department of Financial Services, which regulates foreign banks, also slapped a $225 million fine on the bank, although that is much smaller than the $629.6 million penalty initially proposed. Habib has operated in the United States since 1978, and in 2006 was ordered to tighten its oversight of potentially illegal transactions but failed to comply.

Nikki Haley to appear on Time Magazine cover

India complains to Australia over 'offensive' Ganesha advertisment CANBERRA: The Indian government has expressed disgust over a television advertisement featuring Hindu Lord Ganesha enjoying lamb. Produced by a meat industry lobby group, the advertisement shows a dozen religious figures seated at a barbecue lunch. Ganesha is shown sharing a lamb lunch and red wine along with Jesus, Zeus, Aphrodite, L. Ron Hubbard, and a man in Jedi robes. Also at the table is the founder of Scientology, who when ticked off for mentioning religion protests, “I gave up dinner with Tom Cruise for this!” Aphrodite and Zeus are seen using their internet

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16. Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat released a statement saying the toll in his state increased to 76, and officials have reported that

four people were killed in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco. He said the natural disaster hit 41 municipalities and had likely affected around one in five of the state's 4 million-strong population. “We're talking about more than 800,000 people who potentially lost every-

thing, and some their loved ones,” he said. Chiapas governor Manuel Velasco said approximately 41,000 houses were damaged in the region, estimating 1.5 million to be affected. In Juchitan, over 5,000 homes were destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans are currently left without electricity or water. Many in the south were evacuated from coastal dwellings when the quake sparked tsunami warnings.

CALIFORNIA: Nikki Haley, the former Indian American governor of South Carolina and current US ambassador to the United Nations, was selected as one of the 46 women who are changing the world by Time magazine. Haley, along with 45 other women, will be on the cover of the publication as part of a Time special project entitled, "Firsts," which will appear in the Sept. 18 edition. Time tweeted out the cover photo of Haley, and all the “Firsts” women. Haley, whose interview page was simply titled, “The Leader,” was the first Indian American woman to be elected governor. Her initial political aspirations, albeit at a young age, weren’t as lofty, however. In an interview with Time, Haley, who served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, said growing up her dream was to become the mayor of Bamberg, SC, "because that was as high as I could see."

Risk of terror financing: Pak on top 50 list

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the top 50 countries with high terrorism financing and money laundering risks, according to a latest report by a Swiss group. The Basel Institute on Governance, in its 2017 edition of the Basel AntiMoney Laundering (AML) Index which has assessed 146 countries regarding money laundering and terrorism financing risks, said that Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka stand out with particular high risk scores. Pakistan has been placed on the 46th position in the list of 146 countries which have been given marks on a scale of 0 (low risk) to 10 (high risk),.

Malay woman to be Singapore President

SINGAPORE: Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of Parliament, will be formally named to the ceremonial post of Singapore President on Wednesday, media reported, after other candidates fell short of the criteria set for contesting the election. Yacob (63) was born to an Indian Muslim father and a Malay mother. Aiming to strengthen a sense of inclusivity in the multicultural country, Singapore had decreed the presidency would be reserved for candidates from the Malay community this time. Yacob’s experience as house speaker automatically qualified her under the nomination rules. Of the four other applicants, two were not Malays and two were not given certificates of eligibility, the elections department said. The last Malay to hold the presidency was Yusof Ishak, whose image adorns the country’s banknotes.

Merkel coalition seeks to punish social media for hate speech

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government plans to fine social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter if they fail to combat hate speech, as German officials accuse media companies of being too slow to take action. Volker Kauder, chairman of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union parliamentary caucus, said that he reached a preliminary agreement with Social Democratic Justice Minister Heiko Maas that would require companies to respond to speech complaints within 24 hours. Otherwise they’ll have to pay. “The fines have to hurt, otherwise it won’t work,” Kauder told reporters at a meeting of the CDU’s leadership in the western region of Saarland.

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India refuses to join declaration against Myanmar at international meet

NUSA DUA: India has refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference in Bali, Indonesia, as it carried “inappropriate” reference to violence in Rakhine state, from where 125,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh. In a show of solidarity with Myanmar, an Indian parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the World Parliamentary Forum on S u s t a i n a b l e Development. A press release issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat read, “This was in view of the fact that the declaration, which was to be adopted at the conclusion of the Forum, was not in line with the agreed global principles of 'sustainable development'. Therefore, the proposed reference to the violence in Rakhine state in the declaration was considered as not consensus-based and inappropriate.” India reiterated its stance that the purpose of convening the Parliamentary forum was to arrive at mutual

Narendra Modi with Aung San Suu Kyi

consensus for implementation of SDGs (sustainable development goals) which requires inclusive and broad-based development processes. India objected to the part of the declaration that spoke of the forum expressing “deep concern on ongoing violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, amongst others...” It went on to “call on all parties to contribute to the restoration of stability and security, exercise maximum selfrestraint from using violent means, respect the human rights of all people in Rakhine State regardless of their faith

and ethnicity, as well as facilitate and guarantee safe access for humanitarian assistance.” The Indian stance came the same day when Prime Minister Narendra concluded his visit to Myanmar where he expressed solidarity with the government there against the “extremist violence” in the Rakhine state. Modi said India empathises with its concern over “extremist violence”. “Whether it is the larger peace process or finding a solution to a special issue, we hope that all stakeholders can work together towards finding a solution while

respecting the unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar to ensure peace, justice and dignity for all,” Modi said during his visit to the country. “We fully appreciate the challenges you have been battling. We share your concern over the extremist violence in Rakhine state which has caused the loss of lives especially of security forces and innocents,” he said. Modi's visit to Myanmar came at a time when the Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's government faces international pressure over military atrocities on Rohingya Muslims. A joint statement issued at the end of Modi's visit to Myanmar and his talks with Suu Kyi said India would help to “bring about overall socio-economic development in the state by undertaking both infrastructure and socio-economic projects.” While Modi supported the Myanmar government in its efforts to contain extremist violence, India also impressed upon the need for Rakhine's economic development in the context of security.

MY CITY

Kenya’s election body meets to end feuding over poll NAIROBI: Kenyan electoral commission initiated a three-day emergency meeting to end an escalating crisis over who to blame for the Supreme Court's nullifying of the recently held presidential election. Dispute within the agency over responsibility for alleged illegalities and irregularities in the August 8 ballot is anticipated to affect the integrity of the repeat election in east Africa's dominant economy scheduled for October 17. “If they don't calm the tension, the political class will start discrediting the commission to say they're not capable of running the election and we'll end up in a political and constitutional crisis,” said political analyst Duncan Otieno. In the first such ruling in Africa, the election result was voided by the court after challenger Raila Odinga appealed against incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta's victory, alleging widespread rigging. Atmosphere within the agency has been described as “toxic” by commission officials. The current crisis places commission chairman Wafula Chebukati and his supporters against chief

executive Ezra Chiloba and his surrogates. Chebukati appointed six people to oversee the repeat election, in effect bypassing Chiloba and his deputy. This prompted a backlash from Chiloba's commission supporters and both presidential challengers, who said they had reservations about the team's neutrality. Chebukati issued a threepage memo demanding answers to 12 concerns about the election was leaked to the media. His concerns included the failure of the electronic results transmission from a quarter of the 40,883 polling stations, use of unofficial results forms, and the use of almost 10,000 times of an unauthorised account in the chairman’s name to access the commission's computer system. Meanwhile, diplomats worry that the commission will struggle to organise a credible re-run by next month without everyone involved making compromises. Twelve western ambassadors released a joint statement saying, “Kenyans from across the political spectrum will need to work hand-in-hand and in good faith with the IEBC if it is to deliver a better election in October.”

Ahmedabad's Textile Industry and its Booming Past

Kunjan Panchal

The city of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat in western India was one of the major centres of the Indian textile industry. Over the years, Ahmedabad saw the rise of its textile industry, so much so that it came to be known as the 'Manchester of India'. The prosperity of the textile industry played a major role in the city's economy. It was the leadership of the Gujarati people which brought this industry to the city. Their business skills, indigenous entrepreneurship and expertise in finance played a key role in the process. The initiative of setting up a textile mill in Ahmedabad was first taken by an Indian entrepreneur, Ranchhodlal Chhotalal. The start of the Ahmedabad textile industry was special and trend-setting because it was financed by Indian capital and in that sense, it later came to represent the 'Swadeshi' movement in India. Gujarat had been a hub of national as well as international trade for centuries. The prevalence of high morality in trade among the people and a well worked-

out capital borrowing system were also significant traits which helped this industry to flourish. It is noteworthy that the system that was established for borrowing capital was highly trust-based. A tradition of co-operation rather than competition was visible in the trade guilds of Ahmedabad. The market of the textile industry was large and there was less to fear and more to gain from co-operation. It was Ranchhodlal Chhotalal, who, in 1847, looked into the possibilities of textile manufacturing in Ahmedabad. Subsequently, capital was raised and preliminary plans were formed. As a result, in 1859, Rs 75,000 were invested by wealthy merchants along with Rs 25,000 by Ranchhodlal himself. It is said that the machinery

that was purchased burned and went down at sea, so, presumably, the purchasing had to be done twice. (The decision of Ranchhodlal to do the purchasing once again reflects his grit to fulfil his ambition in such an adverse situation, which is surely worthy of praise.) Finally, the first cotton textile mill of Ahmedabad, the Ahmedabad Cotton Mill, started production on May 30, 1861. Employing 63 workers, it contained 2,500 spindles and provided yarn to handloom weavers. Ranchhodlal's mill at Shahpur set an example which led to more such efforts. Ahmedabad's second mill was founded by Bechardas Ambaidas Patel in 1867. By 1891, the Bania community entered the industry. Also, financial and managerial institutions for

running the mills were established. The Mill Owners' Association of Ahmedabad was founded too. Channels for procurement of machines and for recruitment of personnel had been formed. In 1892, MangaIdas Girdhardas Parekh, in partnership with Balabhai, founded the Aryodaya Spinning Mills. Lalbhai Dalpatbhai, a prominent financier, opened the Saraspur Mill in 1897. Soon, the Parsis also entered the Ahmedabad textile industry as entrepreneurs. The establishment and success of these early mills had a profound psychological effect

on other investors who were to follow. From 1891 to 1905, the industry witnessed a period of record growth. The Swadeshi movement instilled confidence in the people of Ahmedabad and gave a fillip to the number and profits of the mills. The number of mills increased to 32. The number of spindles, also, rose to 5.77 lakhs and that of looms, from about 2,500 to about 7,200. The number of workers tripled and the capacity of Ahmedabad's industry grew at almost double the pace of all India growth. By 1905, mills in Ahmedabad represented 15 percent of the total mills in India. Even after 1905, the industry grew speedily. Newer technologies and managerial pioneering along with the entry of more families into the industry fuelled this growth. The Swadeshi movement in India, which supported domestically manufactured products, gave a huge boost to the Indian textile industry and Ahmedabadis seized the opportunity. The cotton textile industry was affected by the partition of the country in 1947. India got

Ranchhodlal Chhotalal

409 out of the 423 textile mills of undivided India while 22 percent of the land under cotton cultivation went with Pakistan. For many years after independence, Indian mills had to import cotton from Pakistan and from other countries. In 1965, 62 textile mills in Ahmedabad employed about 1,30,000 people one-tenth of the population of Ahmedabad at that time. 1,150 million yards of cloth were produced annually - a quarter of all of India's mill production in those days, worth over Rs 100 crores (1961). However, a crisis emerged in the Ahmedabad textile industry in 1966. Post 1970s, largescale fragmentation was visible in the industry. Nevertheless, the origins and growth of the Ahmedabad textile industry remains an example of the Indian Swadeshi movement.

INDIA

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Stalin indicates steps to 'topple' AIADMK govt He wants the Governor Vidyasagar Rao to order for a floor test within a specified time-frame

THANJAVUR (TAMIL NADU): DMK leader MK Stalin has hinted at adopting legal means and mobilising people to “topple” the K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government in case Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao does not order for a floor test within a specified timeframe. In reference to the ongoing revolt of the 19 AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to party's sidelined deputy chief TTV Dhinakaran against Palaniswami, Stalin said the government was now short of the required majority of 117 MLAs in the 234-member House. The CM now only had

MK Stalin

the support of 109 MLAs, he said. The Leader of the Opposition said he himself could lead the delegation this time. “When the Leader of Opposition seeks (appointment) it has to be given. In the event of it being given, we are going to apprise (Rao) of

the prevailing issues and urge him to convene the Assembly and give an opportunity to prove the (Chief Minister's) majority,” Stalin said. “While making the plea, we are also going to fix a time frame. If the Governor doesn't take steps within the time, in the next step as part of toppling this government... not just (by adopting) legal means but by also mobilising people. Our struggle will not relent till this government is brought down,” he added. Stalin said the state was in ruins. “The state is in ruins. Law and order situation is deteriorating. Farmers are facing untold miseries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dhinakaran during his meeting with the Governor, sought the removal of CM and his deputy O Panneerselvam from their posts. He indicated that he didn't want the state government to fall. “It is evident he (Palaniswami) has no majority. Therefore, he should be asked (by the governor) to prove majority,” Dhinakaran told reporters outside his residence, after the meeting. He said that he had sought “action” on the demand of his camp MLAs, who had earlier told the governor that they had lost confidence in the chief minister and that he should be removed.

Telangana legislator stripped SIT probe ordered into killing of Bengaluru journalist of Indian citizenship NEW DELHI: A Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA's citizenship was revoked by the Union Home Ministry after it was found that he also held a German passport. Ramesh Chennamaneni from Vemulawada, Telangana, had reportedly obtained Indian citizenship after submitting “fake documents”. He was elected thrice to assembly, including in a by-election. A home ministry official said Chennamaneni's citizenship was cancelled after a court-directed investigation found that he was a German national. The investigation was initiated after the MLA's political rival first approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging the election of the TRS leader to the assembly saying he was a German passport holder. It was later

found that the MLA had never stayed in India for more than 12 months to become Indian national as required under the Foreigners Act, and also held German citizenship. Chennamaneni was first elected to the assembly of the undivided Andhra Pradesh on a TDP ticket in 2009. He later shifted his loyalties to the TRS and resigned his seat and contested and won from the same constituency as a TRS candidate in the 2010 by-election. Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed his election in 2013, but Chennamaneni then approached the Supreme Court and obtained a stay. He contested the 2014 assembly election on a TRS ticket from Telangana and won again, all while the stay order was in operation.

Tunnel connecting Ram Rahim's 'gufa' to sadhvis' hostel found

SIRSA (Haryana): Security agencies found a tunnel and a passageway connecting Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's quarters to the hostel of his female disciples during a massive sanitisation exercise inside the headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda. Also found was an illegal fire cracker factory along with chemicals. A passageway was found from the “gufa” where the cult chief used to stay, opening to “Sadhvi Niwas', where his female disciples were kept. The official spokesman said, “A fibre tunnel too has been located during the search of the dera. The derawas is connected to Sadhvi Niwas.” He said some chemical material used in making fire crackers was also found. An empty box for cartridges of AK-47 was also recovered during the search. Hordes of police, paramilitary, and civil administration personnel were involved in the massive search operation that was conducted on the direction of Punjab and Haryana High Court. An unregistered luxury car and some banned currency notes were seized during the exer-

cise. Hard disk drives and unlabelled medicines were recovered during the operation. The entire sanitisation process is being videographed and overseen by retired District and Sessions Judge AKS Pawar, who was appointed as Court Commissioner by the high court. Curfew remains in force in the area around the premises. A large number of vehicles, including police buses and paramilitary vehicles, Quick Reaction Team vehicles, bomb disposal squad and anti-sabotage team vehicles, carrying cops and paramilitary personnel made their way inside the dera premises. Also, vehicles of the district administration carrying officials drawn from various government departments also made their way inside the dera premises.

Inciting violence The special investigation team probing the violence, meanwhile, revealed that Dera members Aditya Insaan, Honeypreet Insaan and Surender Dhiman Insaan had pumped at least £5,00,000 to fuel violence after Ram Rahim's conviction.

BENGALURU: A day after unidentified assailants gunned down journalistactivist Gauri Lankesh outside her house, Bengaluru police said they were yet to make any major breakthrough in the case. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said a special investigation team would be set up to probe the murder which he described as an “organised crime”. Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said they have retrieved footage from two CCTV cameras outside the victim's house. He said, “The footage is not very clear. But it shows a man wearing a black helmet following Gauri after she gets down from her car and entering the compound and opening fire at her. We are collecting footage from all the CCTV cameras along the stretch between Basavanagudi, from where Gauri left, and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, before she was shot dead.” Gauri had two CCTV cameras installed outside her house less than a month ago. Footage from the cameras showed her stopping the car in front of the big gate of her

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said he has been denied permission to visit China to participate in a UNWTO meeting by the Centre. Surendran said he was shocked by the ruling party's narrow-minded outlook. “Don't you know the way the BJP government at the Centre acts. I feel the only reason for me being denied permission to travel is nothing but political.” He said, “I will certainly want to know the reason and will write to the Prime Minister”.

Two boys caught playing Blue Whale in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: The deadly Blue Whale Challenge has found its roots in Bengaluru as two boys aged 18 and 19 remain in counselling against playing the game further. Lecturers of the second-year commerce students raised alarms as they caught the younger boy sporting an injured left wrist. Police authorities involved in the investigations said the boy's Whatsapp status read “I'm on the way” with a blue whale as a display image. “This raised suspicion among his classmates, who informed their principal. Understanding the severity of the game, authorities approached cops,” said Rani Shetty, head of Vanitha Sahayavani.

9 killed as bus stand in Coimbatore collapses

Gauri Lankesh

house, sit for a few minutes in the seat and browse through her phone, keeping her car engine and headlights on with music playing. She later got down and entered the premises through a small gate right next to the big one. When she walked to the big gate and opened the latch, the assailant appeared, entered the small gate and fired at her. The first bullet entered her rib and she tried to run. The attacker ran behind her and shot at least four more rounds at her, before they fled. Sources said, “From what we gather, soon after bullets were fired, a single headlight beam was turned on and its light fell on Gauri's car. The next second, the vehicle took a turn and sped away”.

HC orders FIR against godwoman Radhe Maa CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the police to file an FIR against self-proclaimed godwoman Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa, based on a plea filed by former Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Surender Mittal. A resident of Punjab's Phagwara district approached the court stating that Radhe Maa has been constantly threatening him for speaking against her. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court had earlier asked the police to record the statement of the victim who had accused Radhe Maa of instigating her in laws to harass her for dowry. The Borivali police was directed by the court to record the statement on a plea filed by Niki Gupta in which she had

Kerala minister denied permission to visit China

Radhe Maa

pleaded that she be allowed to assist the police in conducting the probe further. Police had dropped the name of Radhe Maa from the case on the ground that no evidence was found against her. The complainant was not informed of the move. Gupta had pleaded that her statement is recorded in the case for further investigation.

COIMBATORE: At least nine people were killed and over 20 reported trapped as the roof of a bus stand collapsed near Coimbatore. Police said the roof suddenly caved in on passengers waiting for the buses. Cops and the public immediately swung into action to rescue the trapped people. As many as 10 ambulances were deployed to shift the injured to hospitals. The area around the bus stand was receiving heavy rains of late which could the reason behind the roof collapse.

Case filed against school over murder of boy

GURUGRAM: Hundreds of parents and locals gathered outside Ryan International School to protest the death of a seven-year-old who was found lying in a pool of blood. Ashok Kumar, who works as a bus conductor confessed to the crime after being grilled by authorities. Ashok Kumar tried to sexually abuse the boy and when the boy resisted his attempt, an infuriated Kumar slit the boy's throat. The authorities, meanwhile, suspended the principal of the school and ordered filing of criminal case against the school.

38 pilgrims injured in bus accident near Phagwara

PHAGWARA (PUNJAB): Thirty-eight pilgrims on their way to Haridwar were injured as their bus rammed into a stationary bus along the National Highway. Police said the the pilgrims were going to Haridwar after offering prayers at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir. Bus driver Gaund Das and conductor Janardhan Yadav suffered fractures in the accident according to Senior Medical Officer Dawinder Singh of local Civil hospital. One of the victims Anil Kumar said they were all asleep when the accident occurred.

60 AAP leaders taken into preventive custody

CHANDIGARH: Over 60 Aam Aadmi Party leaders have been taken into preventive custody after they tried to violate prohibitory orders during a protest against alleged mining scams in Chandigarh. AAP activists led by MP and party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann and Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira were demanding investigation into mining scams and handing over of the case to the CBI. “We demand investigation of corruption cases involving Ludhiana city centre and mining scams be handed over to the CBI for trial outside the state as a free and fair trial is impossible here... everyone is being given a clean chit here.”

HERITAGE HISTORY

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Dr. Hari Desai

Dangers of ignoring N-E Indian states

Sir Fuller considers the region as “a museum of nationalities” The Maharaja of Manipur was unwilling to join Indian Union The borders of the eight North Eastern states, seven sisters and Sikkim as the brother, are touching five countries i.e. China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

Act, 1947.A coalition government was formed by parties other than the Congress. Since the Maharaja and the elected government were against joining the Indian Union, the Manipur Congress started a movement for the merger of Manipur with India. Tripura, a small tribal kingdom, was never part of India. Even during British rule, Tripura was never annexed to British India. Maharaja Bir Bikram, the last independent king, died on 17 May 1947. Three months later, when the British left India, the situaThe Map of North East , seven sisters and one brother tion was fluid enough for India to annex the kingopposed to merger with and Tripura. In order to dom. To counter the conIndia following Partition of quell the various ethnic spiracy to annex Tripura to British India.The people’s aspirations new states were East Pakistan, the Queen of movement under the bancarved out of Assam: Tripura, Kanchanprabha ner of Praja Sangh, the Nagaland (1963), Devi, was made to sign the leaders Irabot and Longjam Meghalaya(1972), Tripura Merger Agreement Bimol, resisted the proposal Arunachal Pradesh and in September 1947, leading of Sardar Patel to form the Mizoram(1987). Sikkim to its final integration with state of Purbanchal consistmerged with India in 1975. India as “Part-C state” on ing of Manipur, Cachar, The North Eastern 15 October 1949. Tripura Lushi Hills(present states are known to have became Union three major Princely Territory on 1 States: Ahom, November 1956 and Manipur and Tripura. attained full stateAhom Kings, having hood on 21 January roots in Burma, ruled 1972. To dislodge the present-day the CPM governAssam for nearly six ment in Tripura, the centuries. When BJP is using the Burmese invaded name of Maharaja Assam and the King Bir Bikram, propossought help from the ing Bharat Ratna British East India posthumously, but Company, the dynasty his grandson and lost the kingdom to the present the British Company “Maharaja” Pradyot in 1826 vide Treaty of Manikya Deb Yandabo following Burman heads the the two year long first Tripura Pradesh Anglo Burmese War. Congress ! The British annexaTo assess the tion of Assam consolmood of the ruler of idated the Assamese Manipur and that of nationalism and idea of Maharaja Bir Bikram of Tripura with people, Akbar Hydari, Swadin Asom(indepenMaharani Kanchanprabha Devi the Governor of dent Assam).Even the Assam, visited Manipur. Mizoram) and Tripura. One leading intellectuals of Dhabalo Singh, the would be surprised to know Assam favoured the conPresident of the ruling that the first ever election tention that Kamrup party in Manipur, submitof state assembly held in (Ahom) was always a sepated a memorandum to the India based on adult franrate country. Manipur, the king on 17 December 1948, chise was in Manipur under Princely State of Maharaja expressing desire to remain the Manipur Constitution Bodh Chandra Singh , was

under Communist rule since last more than two decades. Mizoram and Meghalaya have governments headed by Congress since last one decade. Of course, with BJP-Sangh Parivar trying to reach out aggressively, the three nonBJP coalition states are also likely to be in NEDA basket in early 2018 elections. The term “North East” was first used by the British rulers to identify a geographical area. Alexander Mackenzie was perhaps the first to use the term “North East Frontier” to identify Assam, including the adjoining hill areas and the princely states of Manipur and Tripura in his book in 1884. The British had the plan to merge Assam with Eastern Bengal and they referred it as the “North Eastern Frontier of Bengal”. It was to be protected and defended militarily. With the separation of Burma from the Indian sub-continent in 1937 and the Partition of 1947 virtually created what is now being called the “North East”. The North East India is a region of diverse geographical features with population characterized by diversity of ethnicity, language, culture., religion, social organization and levels of economic development. According to Sir J. B. Fuller, the Lt. Governor of the new province of Eastern Bengal who resigned in August 1906, “the province of Assam at the far northeastern corner of India is a museum of nationalities.” At the time of independence “North East” basically meant Assam and the Princely States of Manipur

ven after seven decades of independence, the citizens from the mainland India and the North Eastern India are maintaining rather an unusual distinction. The efforts are on at all levels by the Government of India and various state government level to bring the people from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura along with Sikkim in the mainstream. The isolation needs to end. The Union government headed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) is making all out efforts for the political inroads and economic development of all the eight N-E states through the North-East Democratic Alliance(NEDA) headed by Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sarma had a long stint as a Congress Minister in Assam and is now the senior leader of BJP and a Minister in the Sarbanand Sonowal Ministry. The borders of the eight North Eastern states, seven sisters and Sikkim as the brother, are touching five countries i.e. China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan; making them sensitive not only because of the border security but also due to militancy. The Indian National Congress ruled over the states for decades and gave birth to lot many amoeba regional parties with regional aspirations to rule over. These days out of the eight states, five are being ruled by BJP or BJP coalition partners in NEDA. They are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur. Tripura has been

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independent. The Maharaja was invited to Shillong in September 1949 for talks with regard to integration and Hydari placed before him the merger agreement to be signed. The Maharaja expressed inability to sign it without consulting his Council of Ministers. “At this juncture he was placed under house arrest and debarred from any communication with the outside world. Under such circumstances the Maharaja was forced to sign the Merger Agreement with India on 21 September 1949 and Manipur became “Part-C state” of the Indian Union.” A number of insurgent groups regarded the merger as “illegal and unconstitutional”. B.G. Verghese, a leading Indian journalist who was born in Burma (now Myanmar), recognizes the North East India as “another India, the most diverse part of a most diverse country, very different, relatively little known and certainly not too well understood, once a coy but now turbulent and in transition within the Indian transition.” Most of the inhabitants consist of people who migrated from South West China or South East Asia via Burma at various points of history. The Indian authorities need to handle the North East with care. Any wrong step may lead to disastrous results.. Next Column: Dangers of ignoring N-E Indian states (The writer is a Socio-political Historian. E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com)

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Japanese PM Abe to lay foundation stone for India's first bullet train

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will lay the foundation stone for India's first bullet train in Gujarat, this week, as both India and Japan look forward to tighten ties mere days after New Delhi ended a tense military confrontation with China. Abe's two-day visit to the country showcases an early lead for his country in a sector where the Chinese are known to have been trying to secure a foothold. The 500 km long highspeed rail link between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is yet another one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to flaunt India's ability to build cutting-edge infrastructure. Both the leaders will launch the start of work on the line on September 14. Indian Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said, “This technology will revolutionise and transform the transport sector.” Japan will provide 81 per cent funds for the 1.08 trillion-rupee project, through a 50 year loan at 0.1 per cent annual interest. Ties between both the countries are seen to have blossomed as Modi and Abe share similar views in counter growing Chinese assertiveness across the continent. Both the countries also intend to boost plans for New Delhi to buy Japanese amphibious aircraft , ShinMaywa Industries' US2, what would be Tokyo's

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (File Photo)

first arms transfers since ending a self-imposed embargo. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official addressed reporters saying, “We would like to support Make in India as much as possible, and for that, we want to do what's beyond the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line and achieve economies of scale.” During Abe's visit, he and Modi will hold the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit in Gandhinagar- the fourth such event between the two leaders. The Ministry of External Affairs said, “The two leaders will review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their special strategic and global partnership and will set its future direction.” Both of them will also take a tour of Dandi Kutir in Gandhinagar, India's largest

museum showcasing the life and teachings of the Mahatma. Regarding the AsiaAfrica Growth Corridor, a senior MEA official said talks were going on and Inia was looking at collaboration with Japan in third countries. “This (the talks) is acquiring gradual maturity.” The AAGC is an economic cooperation agreement between the governments of both countries. Professor of Indian politics and Sociology at King's India Institute, Christophe Jaffrelot believes the partnership could be a cornerstone of a larger coalition of countries eager to resist India. "Shinzo Abe, while inaugurating the line of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train on September 14, will probably reassert Japan's will to build an ambitious strategic partnership with India."

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1993 Mumbai blasts case: Lukewarm Justice

Abu Salem

Twenty four years after serial blasts rocked Mumbai to its core, a special court has sentenced two convicts to life imprisonment, two to death, and the last to 10 years in prison. On March 12, 1993, 12 consecutive lasts claimed 257 lives, and injured more than 700. It took more than two decades to serve justice, and even so, many feel justice hasn't been completely received. A special judge presiding over the second trial pronounced death by hanging for Taher Merchant, 55, and Feroz Khan, 47, for having conspired to cause the RDX blasts. Extradited gangster Abu Salem, 48, by virtue of a Lisbon court order saying her could not be given death, and Karimullah Khan, 55, by Tada court judge G A Sanap, were spared the noose. Riyaz Siddiqui, 67, guilty of the lesser charge of abetment, was given 10 years

and a fine of a few lakhs. He has been in jail for 11 years after his arrest in 2006. The Tada court that pronounced the sentence, began with Karimullah's sentence, followed by Salem's, then Siddique's and the two big punishments in the last. The CBI had sought death for four, including Mustafa Dossa, who died in custody on June 28 before the sentencing. The court said Merchant was to be “hanged by the neck until dead”, later reading out a similar sentence against Feroz. It said the hanging was to be carried out only after the SC confirms the sentences. The judgement said, “RDX cannot be used as a powder to kill mosquitoes and flies, and it cannot be assumed that AK-56 rifles were being distributed in schools in Bombay as toys. The accused had knowledge about the offence.” The blasts that occurred on a Friday, had targeted prominent landmarks including the Air India building, and the Bombay

Stock Exchange. Bombs used were assembled in the garage at prime absconding Tiger Memon's Mahim house and packed into cars and scooters, which were then parked at various spots by planters. The judge also slapped varying amounts of fines on the convicts after finding them guilty on various charges, including murder, hatching a criminal conspiracy to carry out the blasts, waging a war against the nation, supplying arms and ammunition, and other serious offences, Salve told media persons after the ruling. Yakub Memon, one of the conspirators was convicted in the earlier phase of trial, and was the only one whose death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court. He was hanged in 2015. The court said his Merchant's role was more serious than Memon's. It said it wasn't awarding death to Karimullah only because he was once the bodyguard of absconding accused Anees Ibrahim.

Indian-Americans pool resources to help Irma hit Floridians WASHINGTON: IndianAmericans in Atlanta and Georgia have collected resources to help over million people from Florida who remain affected by hurricane Irma. The storm crashed across part of the US coastal State with a wind speed of over 193 km per hours. Irma made landfall on southern islands of Florida, claiming four lives as millions of people, including thousands of Indian-Americans evacuated from the state. The region boasts of about 120,000 IndianAmericans, thousands of whom reside in the nowdangerous zones of Miami, Fort Laura deal and even Tampa. Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna rushed his New York Consul General to Atlanta to oversee the relief operation and coordinate with the local community leaders. Atlanta consulate officials, led by New York Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty, visited several evacuee shelters housing people chiefly

Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida

Florida residents taking refuge in shelter homes

from Tampa, Florida to ascertain their welfare and well-being. Sewa International, with the help of local residents, has created a pool of houses where evacuees can stay till the situation improves. The American Telugu Association has also made arrangements for over 600 people in the entire Metro Atlanta Area. The Hindu Temple of Atlanta, along with other major Indian

organisations, including Indian Friends of Atlanta (IFA) and Seva USA, have provided boarding and lodging facilities for over 100 people. Officials from the Indian Embassy in Washington, and from the Consulate in Atlanta have been maintaining steady contact with Florida residents. “More than 400 homes in Orlando are ready to provide shelter to those

evacuating,” the Indian Consulate in Atlanta said in a tweet. A state of emergency has been declared in Florida and curfews have been imposed in several cities as Irma left behind a trail of destruction. US President Donald Trump held yet another review meeting with his Cabinet of the preparedness and relief operations at Camp David. Addressing reporters, he said, “I hope

there aren't too many people in the path. You don't want to be in that path. That's a path you don't want to be in. We tried to warn everybody. For the most part, they've left, but that's a bad path to be in.” He is set to visit Florida soon. “I think it's been going really well. It's a rough hurricane, as you better than anybody. The Coast Guard has been amazing already. You've been hearing what theyr'e doing right in the middle of the storm.”

38 killed in Caribbean: The hurricane cut a swathe of deadly destruction as it roared through the Caribbean, claiming at least 38 lives and turning the tropical islands of Barbuda and St Martin into mountains of rubble. St Martin suffered the full fury of the storm. With some 95 per cent of homes destroyed on the French side of the island - the other half belongs to The Netherlands - a delegation of troops, rescuers and medics arrived from France to help with rescue efforts.

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health lifestyle

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement any advice. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

Foods you need to eat to beat the bloat

Daily magnesium supplements 'significantly' reduce blood pressure and boost blood flow

n Experts look at activated charcoal to bitter greens and celery

Many people suffer bloating after they've eaten, but for some its a daily recurrence that can cause ongoing problems. While many reasons have been found to cause the health issue, diet - especially carbheavy food such as bread and pasta - and stress are considered leading factors. And although there are myriad medical solutions, Sydney-based natural health expert Amie Skilton told Woman's Day there are also some natural alternatives that can help.

Activated Charcoal: It might sound like a less conventional cure, but charcoal has been found to ease pain caused by gut gasses. The 'black stuff' works by 'soaking' up less harmful, but uncomfortable, acids and gasses that can accumulate in the stomach. It's these substances that are often responsible for indigestion and acid

reflux Wellness practitioners, including Ms Skilton, are of the opinion charcoal tablets can be effective in relieving some symptoms some associated with bad bloating. 'If someone is really gassy, this can absorb any biotoxins that are sitting in the gut. It only provides symptomatic relief though, but do see a practitioner to fix any gut imbalances,' said Ms Skilton. Bitter Greens: Eating plenty of green, leafy vegetables is not only good for your health, it's also been found to be great for your gut. According to Jeannette Hyde, author of The Gut Makeover, starting a meal with a handful of rocket leaves, chicory, or radicchio severed with extra virgin olive oil and a

An old farmer is inconsolable after his dog goes missing. He takes out an ad in the newspaper, but two weeks later, there’s still no sign of the mutt. “What did you write in the ad?” his wife asks. “ ‘Here, boy,’ ” he replies. ********************************* A panda walks into a bar and gobbles some beer nuts. Then he pulls out a gun, fires it in the air, and heads for the door. “Hey!” shouts the bartender, but the panda yells back, “I’m a Panda. Google me!” Sure enough, Panda: “A tree-climbing mammal with distinct blackand-white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves.” ********************************* The attorney tells the accused, “I have some good news and some bad news.” “What’s the bad news?” asks the accused. “The bad news is, your blood is all over the crime scene, and the DNA tests prove you did it.” “What’s the good news?” “Your cholesterol is 130.” ********************************* A grasshopper hops into a bar. The bartender says, “You’re quite a celebrity around here. We’ve even got a drink named after you.” The grasshopper says, “You’ve got a drink named Steve?” ********************************* On an icy, bitter-cold day, Hank visited Lou. “I had a rough time getting here,” said Hank. “For every step forward, I slipped back two.” “If you slid back two steps for every one you took forward, how’d you get here?” asked Lou. “I almost didn’t. But then I said to myself, Forget it. So I turned around and started home.”

squeeze of lemon can help with digestion. 'Bitter leaves can help you digest your food better, leading to less bloating down the digestive tract,' said Ms Hyde. Ms Skilton also believes that eating more greens – especially those that are denser – can help relieve bloat caused by constipation. 'Bloat from constipation can be addressed by kale, spinach, watercress, broccoli, rocket, charred silverbeet, leafy greens from the top of beetroot, dandelion greens and endive,' the nutritionist said. Celery: Nutritionists agree: celery is a superfood, especially when if you are retaining fluid and

feeling really puffy. This is because it's naturally full of water which means it helps gets the system moving by flushing excess fluid. Digestive health expert Linda Booth believes it's also great for women who suffer from uncomfortable bloating before their period. 'It's good for hydration and getting your digestive system moving, helping to combat that unwanted bloat during your period,' said Ms Booth. Ms Skilton said that

while celery juice is one of the easier ways to take the vegetable, she adds that sprinkling of celery seeds over your salad also does the trick. 'Celery is a natural diuretic,' she said, 'that assists the kidneys in shifting excess fluid.'

Children suffering more serious head lice infestations as parents refuse to treat them British children are suffering from severe head lice infestations because parents refuse to treat them, an expert has claimed. An increasing number of parents are failing to treat head lice in their children because they fear using chemicals or simply 'can't be bothered'. Parasitologist Ian Burgess, director of the Medical Entomology Centre in Cambridge, warned parents' relaxed attitudes were contributing to an increase in serious infestations which can cause skin infections and put other children at risk. He said: 'People are putting up with them for much longer than they would have done in the past. It could be that they don't want to use a treatment or they simply can't be bothered.' Around one in 10 primary school children in the UK has head lice - tiny insects which live and lay their eggs in hair. Their empty egg cases which stick to hair are

known as 'nits'. Lice quickly multiply and can cause itching and inflammation of the scalp. In severe cases, infections can be caused when children scratch their head with dirty fingernails or if faecal matter from the lice gets into a scratch.

Daily magnesium supplements significantly reduce blood pressure, new research reveals. Taking a 300mg tablet, the recommended dose for males, lowers hypertension and boosts blood flow after just one month, a study review found. Researchers recommend magnesium supplements be considered for people suffering from, or at-risk of, high blood pressure. Yet, other experts argue dietary sources of the mineral, such as leafy greens, bananas and nuts, are sufficient to keep magnesium levels topped up. Excessive levels of the mineral can cause side effects, including diarrhea. The researchers from Indiana University analyzed 34 studies with a total of 2,028 participants. Results reveal taking a 300mg magnesium supplement every day for one month is enough to significantly lower hypertension and

improve blood flow. Dr Lead author Yiging Song said magnesium supplements should be considered for lowering blood pressure in ‘high-risk persons or hypertension patients’. The findings were published in the journal Hypertension. NHS Choices recommends men aged between 19 and 64 have 300mg of magnesium a day, while women need 270mg.

Sources of magnesium rich food Magnesium-rich foods include dark leafy greens, fish, bananas, dried fruit, and nuts and seeds. Experts often argue dietary sources alone are sufficient to maintain people's magnesium levels. An excessive dietary intake can cause diarrhea. Some therefore recommend people absorb magnesium topically, for instance via bath salts.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

‘Lucknow Central’

Set in a jail in Lucknow, a group of prisoners form a music band.

‘Simran’

A Gujarati housekeeping lady in the US allows ambition to get the better of her & gets involved in a world of crime. A racy, fun film with Kangana Ranaut playing the titular role.

Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi loves to work with Anjali

i r u t h i g a Udhayanidhi, who recently debuted with romantic comedy 'Vanakkam Chennai', is all set to feature in her next, a suspense thriller 'Kaali', with Vijay Antony. The movie is said to have four heroines including Shilpa Manjunath, Anjali, Sunainaa, and Amritha. Expressing her excitement Kiruthiga took to Twitter to share her happiness on working with Anjali. “Shooting with @yoursanjali for #Kaali this month... love her actin n been wanting to work with her.. finally!” Kiruthiga said, “Anjali will be playing one of the four female leads, but I cannot talk about her role because it is crucial to the plot. I chose Shilpa because I liked her unconventional look in a short video clip of hers that I came across. We did a test shoot and I felt that she would be apt for the role. This will be her launch in Tamil industry.”

Mega star Mammootty on signing spree

egends are legends for a reason, and our beloved Maamukka has plenty. Kerala's superstar Mammootty's next film with Joy Mathew and Girish Damodhar has been titled 'Uncle'. Mathew will pen the script, while Damodhar will take over direction. All set to start rolling on September 15, the first schedule is reported to take place in the Kerala town of Calicut. Mammootty has already had four releases this year, and our sources reveal there are four others lined up by the end of 2017. He has also reportedly signed up for three more films slated for a 2018 release. Guess we will see a whole lot of the actor until the next year, and no, we are not complaining.

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Samantha threatened and I was shocked: Naga Chaitanya B usy promoting his upcoming film 'Yuddham Sharanam', actor Naga Chaitanya revealed how a threat from now fiancée Samantha Ruth Prabhu made him run to his parents. “We fell in love during the making of 'Ye Maaya Chesave' in 2009 and the love affair continued very well in the following years. I was, however, delaying revealing to my parents about my love affair despite Sam's insistence.” He added, “One day, when we were chatting casually, Sam threatened to tie a 'rakhi' on me if I didn't tell about the love to my parents. I was shocked by her threat and spoke about my love soon after to my parents and got their consent.” Sam's stint apparently worked wonders as the beautiful couple is all set to get married on October 6, in Goa.

Working with Rahman is unforgettable: Sanah Moidutty

opular singer with movies like '24' and 'Mohenjodaro' to her name, Sanah Moidutty recently engaged in a live Twitter chat session with her fans. When asked about her work experience with the Mozart of Madras himself, AR Rahman, the 26 year old said, “The whole process was magical! Rahman Sir was present throughout, telling me what to do. Couldn't get more magical. Working with Sir was a challenging yet an unforgettable experience. Can say another life journey started after I met him:).” About sharing track 'Tu Hai' from 'Mohenjodaro' with Rahman, Sanah said, “I had no clue who my co singer would be. My heart almost stopped out of excitement when I came to know it was Sir haha!”

Arvind Swami hopping from one movie to another

ctor Arvind Swami is on a signing spree ever since his smashing comeback in Mohan Raja's 'Thani Oruvan'. As per news reports, one of the films he will be seen in is director Selva's 'Vanangamudi'. The movie is reportedly an action drama starring Ritika Singh, Simran, Nandita Shweta, Chandini, Ganesh Venkatraman, and others. Not only has the star signed the movie, he has also apparently gone the extra mile to prepare for his character. “Been on a gruelling

workout and diet, for an episode in #Vanangamudi.. needed to sleep. Apologies to have used this forum to rant.” A source close to the actor said, “After the Maldives schedule, the actor has wrapped up the shooting of 'Bhaskar Oru Rascal'. Now, he is concentrating on an important sequence in 'Vanangamudi', where he is required to flaunt his muscles.” The next schedule of Vanangamudi will commence soon and once he completes it, he will move on to Karthick Naren’s 'Naragaasooran' from October.

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Akhtar holds special 'Lucknow Central' screening for the Flying Sikh

I thank my stars

Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

Ali Fazal

fter immortalising Indian athlete Milkha Singh in 2013 hit 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', actor Farhan Akhtar formed a special offscreen bond with him. With Akhtar's 'Lucknow Central' all set to hit the screens worldwide, he requested producer Viacom18 Motion Pictures to hold the first screening of the film for Singh at his hometown Chandigarh. He presented the film to Singh and sought his blessings. “I'm humbled that Milkha Ji took out sometime to watch my film, 'Lucknow Central'. Milkha Ji and I share a great bond since 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and I was keen on showing the film to him and seek his blessings. The ever so humble man, had some wonderful things to say about the film and the entire cast. I'm thrilled with the feedback,” Akhtar said. Singh heaped praises on the movie, saying, “I want to thank Farhan Akhtar and the team to have thought of me as one of the first few people to have watched the film. The film is an honest attempt to break away from the stereotypical films and deliver a good product. 'Lucknow Central' has brilliant performances from the entire cast and I would urge the audiences to go watch the film.”

When Deepika felt 'strange connection' with Princess Diana

arking 20 million followers on micro-blogging website Twitter, leggy lass Deepika Padukone held a question-answer round with her fans. Answering a question on who she would want to meet, dead or alive, the 'Bajirao Mastani' actress said, “I would have loved to meet Diana. I was a little girl, obviously never met her but felt a strange connection. She radiated warmth and humility.” The 'Piku' actress credited her family, espe-

cially her “favourite superhero” father Prakash Padukone for her success. She said whenever she wants to boost her confidence, she thinks of all the good things in her life, including her “parents, sister, and friends”. Even famous devotional singer Anup Jalota asked her who her favourite Bhajan singer is, and she said, “You are definitely one of them, Sir. My sister Anisha and I have grown up listening to your music, thanks to our parents!”

“N

othing like this Dame when she plays a Queen,” read a report as the muchawaited 'Victoria and Abdul' premiered in Venice last week. Featuring Dame Judy Dench, and Bollywood hunk Ali Fazal in titular roles, the Stephen Frears creation has people feeling fresh. Set to be released later this month, the film brings to light the lesser known side of Queen Victoria's life- her relationship with a young clerk from India named Abdul. Ali, who was last seen in 'Happy Bhaag Jayegi', plays Abdul, Victoria's most-trusted Munshi, and friend. In an interview with Asian Voice, ahead of the release, Fazal opened up about the film, his transition, and the

“Queen” herself.

sort of hidden away.

What attracted you to the role of Abdul? The fact that nobody knew about the story. The fact that I didn't know about the story. I felt I should have read about it in my history books in school. But then you don't know anything and you feel cheated in some way. It's a huge time, it almost brings a human side to the most powerful monarch of that time, of history, the richest era in world historythe Victorian Era. The Industrial revolution at its peak, India is going through hell with British Raj and the East India Company. We are straight out of the mutiny. This is one of the most iconic times in history. There is 15 years unknown and it makes you think it has been very conveniently

What was it like to work with a legend like Judi Dench? Wow... uh... Just...wow! I think she is such a generous actor, she is massive! I couldn't have asked for more. I thank my stars and I thank whoever chose me for this part, that I could get to work with her, share notes with her, and make such a wonderful friend. It's almost parallel to the film because this is my first time in London, my first time meeting royalty- Judy Dench. I cherish my time with her. What was the transition into Hollywood from Bollywood like? Well, lots of flights! I started with a cameo in 'Furious7' . I got a glimpse of Hollywood then, and now with this

film I think the processjust the fact that it is a Stephen Frears film...his films are just different from any other film on this planet. It was wonderful. I have also never been part of a film based on a true story and that itself changes a lot of things. You have to put in work, you have to put in that time, focus, and I am half as good as the work I am talking about. I think I was more focused on the work and not as much on the transition. How has your career changed after doing the film? It has pretty much put me on a global stage. It is rare for Indian actors to be able to play such parts so it is definitely a big step on the other side of cinema and I look forward to working on more such exciting stuff.

Priyanka Chopra feels like a 'nomad'

fter visiting her family in M u m b a i , 'Quantico' actress Priyanka Chopra has left for Toronto with her mother, for the film festival, where she has been invited as the guest of honour. This year's Toronto International Film Festival will feature PeeCee's maiden

Sikkimese production 'Pahuna', just one of her several projects. The actress has a lot going on in her plate right now, however, she has claimed production to be one of her vital interests. The fifth of her Purple Pebble Pictures production, the Sikkimese film's screen-

ing on an international honour comes as a massive honour to the 'Desi Girl'. On the professional front, Priyanka is currently shooting for her next Hollywood project 'Isn't it Romantic?' alongside Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth and Adam Devine.

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Asian Voice |16th September 2017

Thousands celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in Leicester Thousands of Hindus in Leicester have been gathering to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi – where they worship the deity and share their “obstacles” in life with him. The ten-day festival began on August 25 and will last until Monday. At the end of it the Ganesh idol that has been revered over the celebrations is submerged into a body of water so he can “return home to his parents” and take the “obstacles with him”. Shailesh Patel, the coorganiser of the celebrations on Harrison Road, in Rushey Mead, said: “It’s like the birthday celebra-

tions of Ganesh. He’s the remover of obstacles. At the end we immerse him in the sea and basically he’s taking all of our obstacles with him.” There are numerous events over the course of the festival including numerous offerings to Ganesh, prayers and cere-

An amateur poker player has been celebrating his biggest cash prize to date following an impressive performance at a PokerStars Main Event. Aeragan Arunan, from Harrow, scooped a whopping $226,875 (£171,810) at a live championship competition in Barcelona. The 21-year-old finished seventh overall in the

No Limit Hold’em game and was the youngest player at the final table. It was the most high-profile event he has taken part in and he explained how, initially, he was just grateful for the opportunity to compete. He said: “I felt pretty relaxed all the way through. The whole tournament was just one big

monies. Mr Patel has also said they have been feeding hundreds of people each night at the gatherings. The Rushey Mead statue, which is currently in a marquee at the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple, will be taken to Stratford Marina to be submerged.

Harrow poker player, 21, collects £170,000 at PokerStars Main Event in Barcelona

Coming Events

l Celebrating the UK-India Year of Culture 2017, This Glorious Noise:5 British Indian Poets will read poems showcasing their different expectations. The event includes Dr Bashabi Fraser, Rishi Dastidar, Dr Debjani Chatterjee MBE, Yogesh Patel, and Mona Dash. In support with the British Council and the Poetry Library, it will be held on October 4, 8.00 pm, at the National Poetry Library, Southbank. l Shree Sorathia Prajapati Community UK Hounslow invites you to celebrate Navratri with them, from September 21 ro 29, at Alec Reed Academy, Bengarth Road, Northolt, Middlesex, UB5 5LQ. l Nagrecha Charitable Trust proudly to host Navratri celebrations from September 21 to 29 at Hariben Bachubhai Hall, 204-206 Leyton Road, London E15 1DT.

Sneh Joshi

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 The Sun, Mercury and Mars

transit your solar sixth house and highlights your health and also makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, you should enhance your skills, get organized and take up a health regime for your well being. This transit highlights the need for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 You will have plenty of

energy and drive to improve your status and at the same time achieve financial prosperity - you must make good use of the energy that is flowing, by channelling it positively! Creativity, romance and leisure all receive a tonic.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Mars, Sun and Mercury transiting your solar 4th house creates a lot of activity in the home. This could be in the form of negative energy and loose ends to tie up. You are likely to find tension in your family connections and experiences. Re-assessment for home improvements and renovations are also favoured.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 If your ambitions have been undefined, don't worry as from now on, you understand exactly what kind of impact you need to make on the world. Saturn in your work sector rules your daily life. All those little details should run perfectly, without you constantly worrying. That means you can focus on matters that are important to you. Health-wise you will be more disciplined than ever before.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

UK's first big lottery winner lies in unmarked grave

He rose to fame in 1994, becoming a household name as he struck jackpot with a month-old lottery. 42 year old factory worker who lived with his wife and three children in Blackburn, Lancs, Mukhtar Mohidin, pictured, won £18 million in November that year, much to a lot of people's chagrin. Britain’s first National Lottery multi-millionaire, he now lies in a freshly-dug grave in Berkshire that refrains from giving away the identity of its inhabitant. Mohidin is now just plot Q1147. Shunned by the local Muslim community after the win, he took his family to Blackburn, to start a new life in the home Counties. However, rows over his over-spending and lifestyle soon drove things down south between him and wife Sayeeda. After

their divorce in 1998, the multi-millionaire recreated his image as Mike. A wealthy investment banker. Mohidin gambled in the top casinos of London, hired the most expensive escorts, lavishing them with presents and luxury holidays. He reportedly fell for a 24 year old escort Charlotte Doyle. The two led a jet-setting lifestyle, and had a child together in 2002. However, Mohidin wasn't one for a family life. They soon separated, only after an involvement from police authorities. Doyle called him a “troubled and confused” man. “He stopped buying me beautiful jewellery and would come home with cheap trinkets, such as a £2 watch. During a holiday in Portugal he battered me round the head so badly that I had to see a doctor.

He would even threaten to kill me. He'd stroke my face menacingly and say, 'For £100,000 I could have you killed, darling.'” Mohidin was last seen staying in a £35-a-night bed and breakfast in Blackpool, along with a woman he met in Thailand. He died in a hospital in Berkshire, on August 23. He reportedly died of complications from a urinary tract infection.

500 mourners remember 'incredible' M1 crash victim Cyriac Joseph

Aeragan Arunan

dream so I never felt under much pressure and was enjoying the experience. “Barcelona is such a beautiful city with great people and great dogs, which is always a bonus.” Aeragan is currently studying in Southampton and harbours ambitions to become a professional poker player. Normally he takes part in cash games, both live and online, but he does occasionally enter tournaments – such as the Barcelona one last month.

Five hundred people gathered to pay tribute to a victim of the M1 crash tragedy – who was described as an “incredible father, husband and friend”. Cyriac Joseph, from Nottingham, was the driver of the minibus which was involved in the horror smash in the early hours of Saturday, August 26. A memorial service at the city’s Good Shepherd Church heard a moving tribute from his 16-yearold daughter, Bennita. Mr Joseph’s son, Benson, had just been given a place at the University of Birmingham to study cyber security

Cyriac Joseph

while his wife Ancy is a cardiac nurse. Mr Joseph, 52, was among eight victims killed in the crash, which happened near the motorway’s junction 14, at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. Two lorry drivers have been charged in connec-

tion with the incident. Ryszard Masierak, 31, appeared in court to face eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit and was remanded in custody to appear next at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 26. At a court hearing on Monday, David Wagstaff, 53, was charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

020 8518 5500

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

The Sun Mercury and Mars transit your solar second house. This is the most "financial" period of the year for you. You have an increased interest in your own possessions, during this period. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. This is a time when "comfort zones" are more important to you than usual--you value the familiar.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

The fiery planet Mars, continues to occupy your sign for some time to come. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. However, you will need to focus on what is most important in your life, otherwise mistakes will be made.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 Living in the moment, and enjoying it, without too many expectations is your best bet right now, as long as you don't go overboard. Work is strong now, and you're likely to immerse yourself in it. Private affairs and solitary work might need to be put on the back burner. Any fears or anxieties need to be dealt with as concerns of the past could be part of the picture. SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

The fiery planet Mars, continues to occupy your Solar 11th house for some time to come. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. If you are involved in a fairly competitive field of activity, you will be the one who comes out on top.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

The fiery planet Mars, Mercury and Sun continue to occupy your Solar 10th sign for some time to come. It’s influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve anything that requires drive and initiative. If you are involved in a fairly competitive field of activity, you will be the one who comes out on top.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 The Sun, Mercury and Mars transit your solar ninth house now. In this period you seek to expand your experiences and awareness, whether through philosophical thinking, travel, or simply activities that take you away from your mundane routines. It's an excellent period for looking at your life from a different perspective. AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 Legal or official matters are likely to occupy your attention this week. A long-standing problem or disagreement will need to be sorted out before allowing you to restructure both personal and joint financial interests more efficiently. Decision making will prove to be a bit of a bind because of your wavering mind - seek professional advice and then steam ahead.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Plans can change suddenly, but the diversion you take now may be helpful overall. There may be some drama regarding a relationship or a significant discovery about one. It's not the time to push yourself too hard with Mars in your opposing sign. You should try to get away from mundane realities of life, but choose any escape routes wisely.

SPORT

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INDIA TO TOUR ENGLAND FOR 5 TESTS, 3 ODIS AND T20S IN 2018 AsianVoiceNews

India will travel to England for a five-match Test series, three ODIs and as many T20s next year. England will kick start their 2018 summer season, with a twomatch Test series against Pakistan on May 24 at the Lord's. Subsequently, the Eoin Morgan-led side will play five ODIs and lone T20 match against Australia from June 13 at Kia Oval before India tour to England to play one of the most anticipated series of the year. The Virat Kohli-led side and England will play three T20 matches from July 3 at the Old Trafford, which will be followed by three ODIs and then Tests at Edgbaston, Lord's, Trent Bridge, the Rose Bowl and The Oval. Prior to limited-overs series against Australia, England will also travel to Edinburgh for a lone ODI against Scotland on June 10. Reflecting on the same, ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison admitted that the five Tests against India is at the heart of next summer's international

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to attract good crowds," Harrison said. "Alongside these, England's white-ball contests against India, Australia and Scotland will give a fascinating guide to form ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, to be staged here in 2019," he added. Last time, India slumped to a 1-3 defeat to

England in the five-match Test series in 2014, while they thumped England 3-1 in the five-match ODI series and lost the only T20I match. It should be noted that it would be Virat Kohli's first tour to England as captain and a chance for him to take avenge of 2014 drubbing.

Cricket match in support of White Ribbon UK Sports stars and politicians join hands on 17th September in aid of White Ribbon UK, a national campaign for the eradication of male violence against women. In association with Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) and the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC), a cricket match will be organised between The Lords and Commons XI vs. White Ribbon/NACC XI for the Regal White Ribbon Trophy. Among the cricket stars taking part are Kabir Ali and Minal Patel (former England cricketers). Professor Lord Patel OBE, non-executive director of the English Cricket Board, and a major supporter of White Ribbon UK, will be captaining the Lords and Commons XI team. “Cricket has a proud tradition of reaching beyond the boundary line in terms of respect and fair play. We are proud to support the work of White Ribbon UK

Asian Voice | 16th Septmeber 2017

Ashwin, Jadeja left out again for first 3 ODIs

Ravichandran Ashwin

programme. "This is always a muchanticipated contest which attracts a huge following across the globe for the five-day game. Test match cricket has a strong, consistent and passionate following across England and Wales and the seven summer Tests, starting with the Pakistan matches, are sure

Colin Graves

Chris Green

Lord Patel

Leicestershire County Cricket Club and former professional cricket star. He said, “It is a great pleasure to host this match and be part of the White Ribbon UK Campaign. We are a club that firmly supWasim Khan Ikram Butt ports the eradication of male with this exciting violence against females. I match,” he said. hope that many will attend Captain of White and support our aim of Ribbon/NACC XI will be raising greater awareness Wasim Khan MBE, CEO

of this cause.” Chris Green OBE, founder of White Ribbon UK, said, “Sport provides a fantastic opportunity to engage young people, and spread a message of respect and equality. This is key to everything that White Ribbon stands for. We’re delighted and very grateful to be provided with this wonderful opportunity by Wasim Khan MBE and call ‘all out’ on violence in all its shapes and forms.” Gavin Newlands, MP, chair of White Ribbon UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group, added, “This upcoming match will be a fantastic occasion to unite around a message which says that violence against women and girls cannot be tolerated.” For more information, contact Ikram Butt, Sports Campaign Manager, White Ribbon UK, on 07958 329027

Simi in Ireland, made his international debut against New Zealand in May this year. The 30year-old is also in the Irish squad for their Onedayer against West Indies. "Although, I didn't play international cricket for India, hopefully, I'll

play my first Test for Ireland soon," Simi said from Dublin. For over seven years, Simi would toil, amass runs and take wickets for Punjab's junior teams - only to be overlooked by the selectors when time came to pick the state's U-19 squad. He represented

Punjab successfully at the U-14 and U-17 level; and in 2004, he scored 725 runs in the state interdistrict U-17 championship. "He was named the best player at the 46th National School Games held in Vijayawada in 2001," his father Amarjit Singh said. Despite being

Ravindra Jadeja

After being “rested” from the ODI series against Sri Lanka, India's front line spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja - were again left even as seamers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav, who too had been rested from the Lanka ODI series, returned to the 16-member squad for the first three games of the five-match ODI series against Australia. The series will begin on September 17 in Chennai. Ashwin, currently playing county cricket in England, has two more games left in his contract for Worcestershire, and the selectors thought it was prudent to allow him to gain more county exposure ahead of India's five-Test tour of England next summer. The only change in the Virat Kohli-led squad was the omission of pacer Shardul Thakur at the expense of Yadav and Shami, who have been recalled after a break. Thakur has been picked for the India A series for New Zealand, but, following his impressive debut in Lanka, should be able to stage a return later against the Aussies. Justifying the omission of Ashwin and Jadeja, chief selector MSK Prasad said that young spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel have been given an extended run due to their impressive showing in Sri Lanka.

Bumrah jumps to fourth place in ODI bowling rankings Pacer Jasprit Bumrah jumped 27 places to the fourth spot in the ICC rankings for OneDay International (ODI) bowlers after scalping 15 wickets at an average of 11.26 in India's 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka. The list was led by Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood with South Africa spinner Imran Jasprit Bumrah Tahir and Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc the other two bowlers ahead of him, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC) release. The 23-year-old Bumrah, whose previous best was 24th position in June this year, moved up the table with his Player of the Series effort of 15 wickets against Sri Lanka. Also gaining in the rankings is India's leftarm spinner Axar Patel, who moved up from 20th to 10th position after finishing with six wickets in four matches. Hardik Pandya (up two places to 61st), Kuldeep Yadav (up 21 places to 89th) and Yuzvendra Chahal (up 55 places to 99th) are other India bowlers to gain in the rankings. Virat Kohli also consolidated his position at the top of the rankings for batsmen after his 330 runs in the series, which included an unbeaten 110, his second century of the series. India secured three points from their 5-0 victory and pushed their tally to 117. Australia are on 117 as well, but stay ahead on decimal points.

Punjab cricketer makes it to Ireland team Simaranjit Singh, who failed to make it to the Punjab U-19 team, makes waves in international cricket by finding a place in the Ireland cricket team. He has broken into the Irish national team on the back of consistent all-round performances. Simaranjit, known as

Simaranjit Singh

a consistent performer,

Simi failed to make the cut at the U-19 level. "It was a frustrating time for me and my family. My dream to play for India was nipped in the bud," Simi recollects. "He was hard working, but was treated badly here (in Punjab). Simi didn't get the chance to prove his mettle at the U19 level," says Bharti Vij, Simaranjit's coach.

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Asian Voice | 16th September 2017

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ANDERSON HELPS ENGLAND WIN SERIES AGAINST WINDIES

A superb bowling display by James Anderson helped England win three-match Test series against West Indies by a margin of 2-1. With match winning figures of 7/42 in the second innings Anderson became the first England bowler to take 500 Test wickets and bundle out West Indies for 194. This allowed the visitors to secure a paltry lead of 107 which was comfortably chased down in 28 overs by England as they won the Test by nine wickets. While England did survive a scare when they lost Alastair Cook early, Mark Stoneman and Tom Westley forged a fifty-run partnership to guide England home. Earlier, West Indies were bowled out for 177 in their second innings. This was after a fantastic spell of bowling by James Anderson in the opening hour rocked the visitors as they were always struggling as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Shai Hope was the only batsman who offered some amount of resistance. Later on, James Anderson came back once more to clean up the tail and finish the job for skipper Joe Root. He ended the day with figures of 7/42. Anderson struck twice in

James Anderson celebrates the wicket of West Indies' Kieran Powell after joining the 500-club

his opening spell as England threatened to fatally constrict the West Indies innings but Hope, the "man of stone" on whom victory at Headingley was built, gave another display of his class. It may not have provided West Indies with a winning score but it served further notice of Hope's burgeoning talent. West Indies' hopes had rested squarely on his shoulders during the morning session, when he was vigilance personified while losing three partners. But

having faced 144 balls, Hope was finally removed almost inevitably - by Anderson, in his second over after the interval. Anderson's bellow of delight was unrestrained, in part because of the identity of the batsman and perhaps also down to the quality of the ball, which demanded a stroke before taking the edge with Hope stuck on the crease. That completed his five-wicket haul and he had a sixth moments later when he bent a delivery in from round the wicket to beat

Devendra Bishoo's defensive prod and hit off stump. Jason Holder struck a few boundaries to push West Indies' lead into three figures but when he topedged a pull to mid-on to depart for 23 - Anderson taking the catch for Stuart Broad - the jig was just about up. Shannon Gabriel avoided a king pair thanks to the Decision Review System but Anderson then rattled Kemar Roach's stumps to better his 7 for 43, against New Zealand in 2008, by one run.

India blank Sri Lanka 9-0

After hitting back-to-back centuries in the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka, India skipper Virat Kohli guided his team to a seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 match at R Premadasa Stadium last week. The Indian team thus returned home with a 9-0 record, winning all in this island nation. Kohli steadied the ship after India lost openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul cheaply while chasing 171 runs for victory. But in no time he took control of things and started playing his shots all around the park. He lifted leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for the first six of the Indian innings to bring up the team's 50 in 7.1 overs and then greeted Thisara Perera with consecutive boundaries in his first over. It was difficult to play shots on a pitch that played slow and Kohli and Manish Pandey rotated the strike well to unsettle the Lankan bowlers during the early stage of their 119-run thirdwicket stand that came off 78 balls. Playing his 50th T20I, Kohli reached his half-century in 30 balls only. Pandey

Virat Kohli runs between wickets next to Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera during the one-off T20 in Colombo

played the perfect supporting role allowing his skipper to play more balls. He too grew in confidence and played some delightful strokes and finished the game for his side in 19.2 overs with a boundary that also brought up his own maiden T20I half-century. The Karnataka batsman remained unbeaten on 51 off

36 balls with four fours and one six. Kohli finally perished, playing 54 balls for his 82 that included seven fours and one six while going for a big shot off left-arm pacer Isuru Udana to be caught at the deep mid-wicket boundary by Dasun Sanaka. India then needed just 10 runs from 10 deliveries.

Earlier, it was the same old story for Sri Lanka who failed to capitalise on a good start and managed 170 for seven in 20 overs after being put into bat by Kohli on winning the toss. Opener Niroshan Dickwella set the tone by hitting Jasprit Bumrah for three boundaries in the second over after the match started 40 minutes behind schedule due to rain. Although Lanka lost their skipper Upul Thranga early, Dilshan Munaweera, playing his 10th T20I, took the attack to the rival camp by hitting the pacer for two boundaries in that same over. The righthander greeted Yuzvebdra Chahal with two big sixes over extra cover and over bowler's head - in the very next over. The 28-year-old reached his maiden T20I fifty in 26 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes. Kuldeep Yadav finally stopped the onslaught as the batsman lost his bat and his stumps while going for a pull. But a middle-order collapse then saw the hosts slump from 99 for three to 134 for seven.

Anderson joins into Club 500 Swing bowler James Anderson sealed his place in the cricket history by capturing 500 wickets at the third test between England and West Indies at Lord's. It was at the “home of cricket“ where the 35-year-old Lancashire paceman made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in 2003 - a match in which he took five wickets in the first innings. Anderson's greatest skill has been his ability to swing the ball late. But no one gets to 500 wickets simply by starring on home soil and Anderson's career has featured many memorable away successes - notably when he led England's attack during their 2010-11 Ashes triumph in Australia. Anderson, the first English bowler to reach the landmark, had played just three one-day games for Lancashire when he was called into England's limited-overs squad in Australia as cover for Andy Caddick in 2002-03. He impressed to such an extent he forced his way into England's squad for the 2003 World Cup. Then came his Test debut. Yet within a couple of years, Anderson had been relegated to the role of a “net bowler” with England. His unusual action, in which Anderson appeared to dip his head at the moment of delivery rather than having eyes firmly fixed on the batsmen, raised eyebrows and he played no part in England's 2005 Ashes success that saw them end a 19-year wait for a Test series win over Australia.

ICC rechristens Kohli 'Chase Master' India skipper Virat Kohli has a penchant for chasing down totals and he did just that as Team India thrashed Sri Lanka by 7 wickets at the R Premadasa Stadium in the only T20I between the two sides. An impressed International Cricket Council decided to tag him the ‘chase master’. Taking to Twitter, ICC posted a sequence of pictures from the match which read: “Chase master Virat Kohli hits 82 to guide India to a 7 wicket T20I victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo!” Kohli smashed a scintillating 82 while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav put breaks on the opposition during the Sri Lankan innings as India crushed the hosts. Chasing a challenging target of 171, India didn't have the best of starts as opener Rohit Sharma was sent packing by his Mumbai Indians teammate Lasith Malinga for just 9 runs. KL Rahul then steadied the ship with skipper Virat Kohli. But Rahul was dismissed by Prasanna. But from there on, it became all about India as Kohli and Manish Pandey put on a solid partnership to take the game away from Sri Lanka. The duo kept hitting boundaries for fun but it was their running between the wickets that was just brilliant to watch.

Ankur shoots down World silver Ankur Mittal of India won the silver medal in the double trap event of the World Shotgun Championship at the Fox Lodge Shooting Range in Moscow last week. In the process, Mittal became only the fourth Indian Ankur Mittal shotgun shooter to win an individual medal at the senior level of a World Championship after Dr Karni Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Manavjit Singh Sandhu. This has been a phenomenal year for the 25-year-old, who went to Moscow with a kitty of two gold medals and a silver medal in top international competitions this year. He has set himself up for nicely for the ISSF World Cup Finals slated to be held in New Delhi in October. Ankur, after shooting brilliantly through the 80-shot final, narrowly lost out in the end to Russia's Vitaly Fokeev. The Russian, who was the the world champion in 2006, took the crown with 68 points to Ankur's 66. In the individual final, Ahvar carried his shoot-off momentum and shot brilliantly to lead till the end, but lost the gold in the last two targets to talented Briton James Dedman. Ahvar finished with 66 out of 80 targets, a point behind Dedman.