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Modi lashes out at fake 'gau rakshaks' www.axiomstone.co.uk info@axiomstone.co.uk

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Indian Prime M i n i s t e r Narendra Modi seems to have had enough of the gau rakshaks taking up law in their own hands and "punishing" those they deemed deserving. In separate public addresses in the weekend, PM Modi made his stand clear on the atrocities being perpetrated on the Dalit community, miffing several cow vigilantes, and his party members, in the bid.

13th August to 19th August 2016 Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Speaking at a public meeting in Medak district, Telangana, Modi lashed out at fake cow vigilantes and warned them of stern action. "I want to tell everybody to be beware of these fake cow protectors. These handful of vigilantes have nothing to do with cow protection, but want to create tanaav

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and takrav in the society.

In the name of cow protection, these fake cow protectors are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the nation. I want the real cow protectors to expose them.

The state governments should take stringent a c t i o n a g a i n s t them," he said.

Continued on page 26

Brit-Indians honoured with peerage among controversy Conservative party supporter Jitesh Gadhia and Labour party advocate Shami Chakrabarti honoured with Life peerage

Shami Chakrabarti

Rupanjana Dutta

Jitesh Gadhia

David Cameron’s controversial Resignation Honours List has seen serious questions raised about political patronage. Questions have been raised about Honours going to those who have given political donations, the validity of giving honours to those working for the former Prime Minister, and the impact these Peers are having on public life.

Continued on page 5

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani P 25

Former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul found dead P 25 Corbyn’s stubbornness and a High Court ruling P7

Suicide bomber kills 74 in Pak

In the bloodiest terrorist attack in Pakistan since the March 27 bombing in Karachi, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded hospital, killing at least 74 people and injuring over 100. The blast ripped through the emergency ward of the Continued on page 26

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ONE ONE with Keith Vaz, MP

Asian Voice |13th August 2016

www.asian-voice.com

to

Jack D. Franks

Jack D. Franks represents Illinois’ 63rd Legislative District in the Illinois House of Representatives. As Chairman of the House State Government Administration Committee, Jack initiated and spearheaded the efforts to impeach disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich. In 2014, he chaired the Local Government Consolidation Commission and co-chaired the Subcommittee on Tax Policy. Jack is also Vice-Chairman of the House International Trade and Commerce Committee, which promotes international investment in Illinois.

He received his law degree, with honors, from the American University Washington College of Law. As an undergraduate, he studied International Relations and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, and spent a post-graduate year at the London School of Economics. A third generation resident of McHenry County, Jack lives on a family farm in Marengo with his wife, Debby, and their two sons, Sam and Henry.

1. What is your current position?

I currently serve as State Representative in the 63rd District of Illinois and am the Chairman of State Government Administration in the Illinois House of Representatives.

2. What are your proudest achievements?

I am most proud of holding

these positions of leadership accountable. I spearheaded the investigation and ultimate impeachment of former Governor, Blagojevich. I felt as though we gave the government back to the people.

3. What inspires you?

The ability to do good things that will help our citizens. Being able to change the course of

AsianVoiceNews

some ones life for the better is extraordinarily gratifying.

Holding those in power accountable for all the citizens is what drives my efforts.

has a population in excess of 310,000 people. I wish to implement a more efficient and streamlined government and reduce property taxes for my residents. I will bridge the partisan divide by showing that good government is good politics and that we all need to work together, for the common good.

4. What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

Poison partisan politics.

Unfortunately, because of the huge influx of money in our political system individuals who used to work across the partisan divide are now rarer and rarer.

As a result our government often times is in gridlock and dysfunctional. Ultimately, it is the citizens who pay the price for their leader’s inability to work together.

5. Who has been the biggest on your career to date?

My wife has been the biggest influence because without her support I would not ever have been in the position to be elected and continue to serve the citizens of Illinois.

6. What is the best aspect about you current role?

Meeting the incredible people that I have the privilege of representing. I am so fortunate to be able to interact with my constituents and be able to work on their behalf.

Each day is a pleasure.

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7. And the worst?

Asking people for campaign money. I absolutely hate fundraising for money to run for office. It is not what our founding fathers considered when creating our democracy.

8. What are your long term goals?

I plan on stepping down from the House of Representatives and becoming the Chief Executive of our County, which

9. If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

I would be ineligible to be Prime Minister because I am a loyal British subject.

However, if given that honor for a day, I would try to find a few extra strikers to help in the World Cup. I’m just saying.

10. If you were maroon on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

A master boat maker, so I can get off the island. Barring that, I’d like to hear Winston Churchill’s stories at his time as a war leader and ask if he could teach me how to paint.

Avanti school's 'I'll Be There' wins hearts at Southbank

Choir and Actors at the Grand Finale

150 children from Avanti Schools with professional musicians enthralled Royal Festival Hall as part of Southbank’s Summer of Love Festival on Sunday 17 July 2016 The Royal Festival Hall was home to the magical rendition of the Mahabharata by the Avanti Schools children.

The musical, entitled, I’ll Be There, conveyed the essence of the Mahabharata and the special relationship between Lord Krishna and his friend, cousin and disciple, Arjun. A melange of Western and Eastern musical traditions – I’ll Be There was an enthralling tribute to the unbreakable bond between the human soul and the divine, with the journey of self-discovery in which Arjun recovers his courage and finds the will to fight for love and service.

The awe-inspiring musical drama was performed by a massed choir of 150 children and a troupe of actors and dancers from primary and secondary schools. An eclectic mix of pop, Bollywood, choral and gospel music, dance, mime

and words retold the intrigue and treachery that led to the great battle of Kurukshetra.

Telling the story of the Mahabharata was apt for the Avanti Schools Trust, which manages a family of four schools currently in Harrow, Redbridge and Leicester, with a fifth school

due to open in Croydon in September 2016. The schools are united by the belief that values are essential to a young person’s development – especially the values of empathy, integrity, self-discipline, courage, gratitude, respect and of course, love.

The musical was con-

Anand Jatania (Head of PR & Communications, Avanti Schools Trust, 3rd from left), Cllr Ajay Maru (Harrow Council, 4th from left), Cllr Rekha Shah (Mayor of Harrow, 3rd from right), Srutidharma Das (Temple President, Bhaktivedanta Manor, 2nd from right) & Navin Shah (London Assembly Member, far right) and guests

ceptualised, written, produced and directed by Vandana Synghal with support from Bina Antara (Dance), Yvonne Grant (Drama), Paul Nash and Sue McCall (Choir), and the evening was hosted by Usha Sahni OBE, Educational Director of the Avanti Schools Trust. A number of VIP’s were in attendance including Mr Anil Agarwal and family, Dame Alison Peacock, Janet Hilary, the Mayor of Harrow, Rekha Shah, Harrow councillors Marilyn Ashton, Navin Shah, Ajay Maru and Christine Robson. Parents, children and members of the public enjoyed an evening of theatre, song and dance, and the actors, singers and dancers all performed outstandingly.

Mr Anil Agarwal, Founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources PLC made a pledge to fund a state of the art, multi-million pound performing arts facility for Avanti Schools Trust. Mr Agarwal is also the main sponsor of

Avanti’s first school on Camrose Avenue.

A sponsor a child initiative of £10 per child was set up to invite children from other schools and charities, the cost of which was borne by corporates, families and members of the public. This proved to be very successful with children from Sai School, Swaminarayan School, Shakha, and representatives of the charity Sevacare all in attendance.

Anand Jatania, Head of PR and Communications said, “It’s really important as part of our long term vision that we work closely with other schools and disadvantaged children, and leverage off each other as we continue to grow and build our brand profile both locally and internationally.

I’ll be there has given us the platform to showcase our children’s talents in one of the most famous theatres in the world, where some of the world’s best known artists have performed.”

Avanti’s new secondary school in Stanmore,

Harrow, sees construction commence later this year.

The school will house five football pitches, a cricket pitch, sports hall and theatre, ensuring that whilst academic excellence, character building and spiritual insight remain at the core of what the schools stands for, an important focus is also made on sports and performing arts, something many parents and children are unaware of.

The Avanti Schools Trust would like in particular to thank the title sponsors, Burnt Oak Builders Merchants and Crossville Developments Ltd and Laxcon Construction. The evening was also supported

by Rational FX, Lebara, Amai Vedanta Events, Arvind Jobanputra Insurance Services, Sonas Haute Couture, The Concert Organisation and Nu Sounds Radio.

Photography was provided by LDN clicks Photography and all Media & PR managed by Here and Now 365.

C MMENTS

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Asian Voice |13th August 2016

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GST Bill passed: India one nation one market The General Services and Tax Bill for which the captains of Indian industry and the country at large had been waiting anxiously for the past year, in particular, was finally passed by the Rajya Sabha. As the government has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha the legislation there was approved without much fuss and bother; in the Rajya Sabha it lacked the numbers, hence was forced to carry the opposition parties to get this critical measure through the House and onto the statute book.

It took a prolonged dialogue, between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Opposition leaders, especially those of the Congress party, before the Bill was done and dusted.

Mr Jaitley, in a thoughtful, statesman-like address welcomed the process, arduous though it was, as a tribute to Indian democracy. It was better that consensus was reached on such a landmark measure; more so, because a number of States were governed by non-BJP ministries, and the States were required to legislate separate and affix their stamp of authority to that of Parliament at the centre. This will undoubtedly take time, but will surely be time well spent. A number of speakers, both from the government and opposition benches called for further fine tuning to make the draft more effective on the ground. There is thus a common pool of wisdom to draw on, if necessary, which is no bad thing. The ‘patience of politics,’ to quote R A Butler, the once eminent Tory politician, had triumphed in the national interest.

The GST Bill can be said to be the most significant economic reform to be passed since 1991, when state controls of the economy were dismantled and India took the right fork on the road to faster growth and assured prosperity. In a word, what GST is designed to accomplish is national economic integration, that is

abolishing multiple local taxes on goods and services, each different from one State to another, creating multiple markets to which access was frequently bothersome on account of a plethora of cumbersome regulatory processes, the workings of which frequently entailed considerable corruption. The creation of a single market catering to the needs of 1.2 billion people is hugely self-evident and hardly requires tortuous explanation. It will noticeably ease doing business in India.

Goods like cars, two-wheelers SUVs, fans, lighting products, water heaters, air coolers are set to be cheaper, while services such as cellphone bills, air and train travel will be more expensive. There is a balance between the advantages accruing to one sector and bigger challenges in rising costs in another. Prices of capital goods could register a substantial fall of 12 to 14 per cent. Black money is likely to be reduced with easier documentation. The cost of logistics through interstate movements of goods will decrease. Overall, GST at 18 per cent compares favourably with the present tax regime of 24 to 26 per cent on goods. In complex legislation the devil lies in the detail; however there is enough space and time to amend and improve the measures in the light of unfolding experience.

The Government of India has placed a marker on the ground. It has registered intent on going forward with its reform agenda. A large country like India is best likened to a giant oil tanker. They require expert handling in moving them around, otherwise could capsize. Impatient would-be foreign and the community of domestic investors appear at times to lose sight of the myriad obstacles that need to be surmounted for the turn-around operation to achieve its goals. Hopefully, the GST, which is expected to roll out in April, will confirm its promise of a better tomorrow.

SAARC fiasco in Islamabad India’s Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, packed his early and returned to Delhi insulted and abused. The elementary courtesies which he rightly expected were conspicuously absent. His address at the SAARS summit was countered by media misrepresentation, with boorish jihadi groups dogging his every step.

He and ministerial colleagues should have expected nothing less from the hosts. Their record of intemperate behavior is cast in stone. In 1999, BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook an ill-conceived ‘peace journey’ to Lahore. His host Nawaz Shartif repaid him with Kargil war in which some 700 and more Indian soldiers perished. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped by at Lahore to attend a family bash in the self-same Nawaz Sharif’s private residence. A few weeks later Pakistani terrorists launched an infamous attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathakot. The karmic turns endlessly but no lessons appear to have been learned. Indian TV networks produce the usual late evening brawls full of sound and inchoate fury with scarcely a ray of light to relieve the gloom.

SAARC. the acronym of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, set up in the 1980s, has achieved none of the goals set out in its charter. SAARC, Rajiv Gandhi’s brainchild, has been a misbegotten, toxic product. Economic, social and scientific cooperation between members has been relentlessly vetoed by Pakistan. India has got round this hurdle through bilateral accords with individual members such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan et al.

One may ask what conceivable Indian interest does SAARC serve? Would it not be sensible to depart this discredited body and leave it to its own devices. What advantage does Indian from the SAARC pantomime?

Husain Haqqani, formerly Pakistan’ ambassador to the United States and now a well respected acdemic at an American University, is an enlightened, honourable and remarkably brave author to have written two of the most honest books about his country, from its trau-

matic birth pangs to its travails at the present time. He has subjected his country’s troubled ties with India and the United States to close critical scrutiny, blaming the Pakistan’s leadership and its political class for the poor shape of these relationships..

During an extensive interview with the Delhi-based Mint newspaper, Mr Haqqani asserted that Pakistan was caught up in a ‘frenzy of nationalism,’ and so was India – a surprising equation on all counts. His inclusion of India was apparently driven by what he described as calls in India for ‘minorities’ to leave the country. India’s minorities cover the full spectrum of religious faiths and ethnicities and no such exodus has been demanded.

Mr Haqqani was making an oblique reference to a Muslim Bollywood megastar who imprudently said that he and his wife were giving some thought to emigrating because of a perceived tide of Indian intolerance. Mr Haqqani’s ‘minorities’ was an unmentioned reference to the country’s Muslim minority. The calls to depart were made from exasperation rather than malevolence. Mumbai’s searing experiences with jihadi terrorism seeded and spouted in Pakistan seemingly left this Mumbai-based celebrity cold. When demands are made for sharia law to prevail over India’s secular law for Muslims, exasperation takes over from sense and sensibility. That said, Pakistan – Land of the Pure - was created by its founding fathers as a haven for the subcontinent’s true of believers, blasphemy laws and much else in similar vein. True or false?

Can there be any logic for Indian ‘nationalist frenzy’ since India, despite its myriad problems, is responding well to the challenges of globalization, with the country making significant strides in economic and scientific development and moving confidently to a future that works. Both Isil and Taliban have claimed responsibility for killing 70 people in Quetta, Balochistan. But the ongoing bloodshed is just a symptom. The cause actually lies in the religious bigotry. Pakistan is a failing state haunted by its multitude of inner demons.

Indian digital class coming of age in US Specialists and non-specialists alike, plus Democratic and Republican party presidential contenders, are alive to is the enormous successes of the Indian American community in almost every walk of American life, from science, engineering, medicine, business and academia.

They are law abiding, the respect America’s cherished institutions and its rule of law. They ahave precious little to hate in the American way of life.

The expanding circle of Indian-American digital

experts are making waves across the land. The latest to join this circle thriving technocrats is Sreenath Sreenivasan who was appointed by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio as the as the new Chief Digital Officer of this bustling metropolis. This tribe of digital technology officers are set ride the future. President Obama appointed Vivek Kundra as the first Chief Information Officer of the US in March 2009 when he entered the White House.

True fulfilment is, I believe, vicarious. We get our deepest satisfaction from the fulfilment, growth and happiness of others. It takes time, often a lifetime, to realize this - Anne Leer (1999)

Cllr Sachin Shah Leader of the Harrow Council

Harrow’s getting tough with the tippers I want to talk about something that gets a lot of people wound up (including me), but it’s also a problem that people like to turn a blind eye to, and that’s fly-tipping – the illegal dumping of rubbish and waste. That word ‘illegal’ is worth stressing. Fly-tipping is deliberate, wrong and criminal, and as a council we’re committed to prosecuting those who commit this offence, where we’ve got the evidence to do so. I want to send a message that this behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Harrow.

It comes in many forms and we can all do our bit to help. It’s not always a pile of rubbish sacks dumped by someone too careless or stupid to deal with their waste properly. Sometimes a flytip builds up slowly.

Let’s say a bin in a park is filled up. When the weather’s good, our parks are full, especially at the weekend and their bins also become fuller more quickly. Once one person has decided that putting their rubbish near the bin is OK, more people will follow that habit. It’s not OK, because pretty soon there will be a huge pile of litter.

Please don’t be that person. If a bin is full, please find another one, or take your rubbish home with you.

I’m tired of seeing pictures of these kind of incidents shared via social media with the demand ‘why isn’t the council doing something about it?’. We pick up fly tips constantly. It costs us a fortune in taxpayers’ money. The council didn’t dump the rubbish and nowadays we just can’t afford to follow people around, picking up after them.

Isn’t it time that we turn attention on those responsible for the dumping? Isn’t it reasonable that we all take responsibility for the litter we produce?

I think so.

I want to be clear we clear fly-tips regularly. Really regularly.

Every day, in fact, and when one is reported to us, we go out to do something about it within 48 hours. It’s a costly business and we’d rather spend the money on something else - something good and useful, and I’m sure you would too.

The truth is that fly-tipping is a complex problem and one that will take time to tackle. We’re getting tougher with those that commit this antisocial and unacceptable act and we’re looking at new ways to get our message across. I hope you’ll support us - remember, fly-tipping is a crime – please report it online at www.harrow.gov.uk/flytipping.

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MIDLANDS

/ NORTH

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Asian Voice |13th August 2016

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High Commissioner of India interacts Jilted mistress denies 'car boot' murder with diaspora in West Midlands High Commissioner of India HE Navtej Sarna visited Birmingham on August 4, 2016 to meet the diaspora in the West Midlands, which after London, is home to the largest concentration of persons of Indian origin. The total population of Indian community in the area under this consular jurisdiction is about 550,000 persons including about 100,000 persons holding Indian passports.

The High Commissioner met with some of the eminent members of the Indian Diaspora from the West Midlands region in a community interaction organised by the Consulate General of India in Birmingham. Councillor Carl Rice, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor (Ms) Julie Webb, Mayor of Sandwell Council, Mr David Jamieson, Police and Crime Commissioner of West Midlands, Dame Asha Khemka, Principal and Chief Executive, West Nottinghamshire College were among the dignitaries who welcomed the High Commissioner at the event.

During his interaction with the Indian community, High Commissioner spoke about how in West Midlands, Indians from diverse communities, regions and religions have for decades lived and prospered together in harmony.

He lauded the Indian com-

High Commissioner of India HE Navtej Sarna with the diaspora

munity for doing particularly well not only in the small and medium enterprises sector, but also Indian professionals for playing prominent roles in medicine, IT, biotechnology and banking, among others, in the region. As we near 70 years of the Indian independence, it was a particularly opportune time to reflect on the challenges confronting its people, while also celebrating its many achievements. He mentioned that the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the UK in November, 2015 laid down a road map for future collaboration between the two countries.

High Commissioner also exhorted those present to continue to engage with the Consulate and the High Commission in critical government initiatives like Digital India, Make in

India, Smart City Project, Swachh Bharat, etc. and to continue their contribution to India's growth story. He also mentioned the various steps being taken by the Government of India to make the delivery of consular services, in particular the OCI cards issuance, easier and faster.

Later, HE Sarna delivered an address at a dinner to commemorate the contribution of Indian soldiers during World War I. Among the other eminent speakers at the event were Field Marshall Sir John Chapple, Major General Peter Davies CB, and Oliver Colonel Chamberlain DL. High Commissioner said that this centenary period of the World War I was an occasion to commemorate rather than celebrate the tremendous sacrifice by

close to 1.5 million Indian soldiers who fought in all the major theatres of war from the blood-soaked trenches of the Somme and Gallipoli, to the deserts and heat of Africa and the Middle East. More than 60,000 of these soldiers died in battle. We needed to go beyond the romanticized narrative and imagery of the Indian soldiers immortalized in photographs, sketches, cartoons, post cards, even oil paintings, and examine the harsh reality through which these soldiers as well as the Indian populace lived during the war.

High Commissioner pointed out that this centenary afforded a unique opportunity to make a balanced and sober assessment of the sacrifice of Indian soldiers, their bravery and travails.

Glasgow shopkeeper killer jailed for life Tanveer Ahmed, a 32 year old Sunni Muslim man from Bradford, has been jailed for life after he admitted a religiouslymotivated murder of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah, whom he claimed had 'disrespected' Islam.

He had stabbed 40year-old Shah outside his store in Shawlands on 24 March because he had allegedly posted videos online in which he apparently claimed to be a prophet.

Ahmed would serve a minimum of 27 years in

family moved to Scotland from Pakistan in the 1990s to escape persecution over their beliefs.

Jailing him for life at the High Court in Glasgow court, according to BBC, judge Lady Rae told Ahmed: "This was a barbaric, premeditated and 40 year old victim Asad Shah wholly unjustified prison. Mr Shah was an killing of a much loved Ahmadi Muslim, a minoriman who was a pillar of the ty sect which is not recoglocal community. "He was nised by all Muslims. The described as a peaceful and peace-loving man and family man who went out of his way to show respect for those of any faith."

Major Estates Finacial The judge branded the Services attack as "an appalling display of merciless violence".

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Lady Rae added: "Noone in any civilised country including Scotland has the right to take the life of another whatever offence that individual perceives that he or she has suffered.

"It is vitally important in modern society that respect and tolerance for others of any race, creed, colour, ethnic origin or religious belief is main-

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A jilted lover allegedly murdered a married father after luring him with the promise of a birthday cake before stuffing the body into the boot of the car, a court has heard in Birmingham.

Mistress Zatoon Bibi, 37, allegedly promised businessman Iqbal, 33, a celebratory cake made by their kids, but was secretly plotting to kill him with her ex.

She and former hubbie Gul Nawaz, 44, are accused of strangling him at her home in Birmingham, West Midlands, on January 31 this year.

He was reported missing by his wife but was found by cops stashed in a widescreen TV box left in the abandoned motor two days later, the Birmingham Mail reported.

The alleged plot was revealed at Birmingham Crown Court on the first day of their trial after the pair both denied murder.

Prosecutor Sally Howes QC said Tanveer Iqbal had an “unconventional and complicated domestic relationship” with his wife and mistress who were fully aware of the affair referred to each other as “sisters”.

The jury was told Mrs Bibi and Mr Iqbal's wife had even met and chatted by text.

The prosecution said in 2015 August Mr Iqbal had banned the pair from contacting one another and tained and protected by the law of the land.

"I note with considerable concern that you have expressed no remorse whatsoever for this appalling crime."

On the day of the murder, as Ahmed travelled to Glasgow, he watched a clip featuring Mr Shah on his mobile phone and was heard in a phone message to say "listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud".

When he arrived at the shop, Ahmed said he warned Mr Shah that he was there to kill him and asked him to stop claiming to be a prophet.

CCTV footage of the attack showed Ahmed pulling a knife out and moving behind the counter and stabbing Mr Shah repeatedly. The shopkeeper managed to get outside, but was stabbed again and then stamped on and

Tanveer Iqbal

got angry after discovering in January 2016 they had continued to talk in secret.

Mrs Bibi allegedly sent a video to Mrs Iqbal of a sexual nature involving Mr Iqbal. As a result Mr Iqbal reportedly ended his extramarital affair with her.

The prosecution claims Mrs Bibi lured her former lover to her home in Bridgeburn Road, Birmingham, on 31 January, claiming she had birthday cake for him. QC Ms Howes told jurors that CCTV and mobile phone analysis allegedly linked Mrs Bibi and Mr Nawaz to the killing, and the subsequent efforts to move and then abandon the victim's remains.

Mrs Bibi and Mr Nawaz deny murdering Tanveer Iqbal. A 17-yearold girl also appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice. A 16year-old boy also denies murder.

The trial continues. kicked in a frenzied attack as he lay dying in the street.

Athar Shah, Mr Shah's brother tried to intervene, but was unable to fend off Ahmed, who then walked calmly to a bus shelter, as Asad lay dying on the ground. The police found Ahmed at the bus shelter, a short time later. After being arrested, Ahmed released a statement through his lawyer saying he had killed Mr Shah as he had falsely claimed to be a prophet.

No members of Mr Shah's family were in court to hear the sentence imposed, but friends were believed to be in the public gallery.

A victim impact statement written by Mr Shah's sister Attia on behalf of Mr Shah's family said Mr Shah's widow has been "brutally deprived of a life and companionship with her soul-mate and kindred spirit, the love of her life".

CHANGE OF NAME

I, AMARBAI PREMJI HIRANI hereby give notice of my intention to change my name to ANITA MUKESH RABADIYA

UK Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

www.asian-voice.com

Brit-Indians honoured

AsianVoiceNews

Continued from page 1

The former Prime Minister made his former George Chancellor Osborne a Companion of Honour, whilst knighthoods were also handed out to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, former Cabinet Minister Oliver Letwin, and former Downing Street Communications Director Craig Oliver.

Life Peerages were also given to several Party Donors, including Andrew Fraser, the Treasurer of the Conservative Party, and Jitesh Gadhia, the British Indian businessman and a member of the Leader’s Club.

Despite it being his privilege to select a resignation Honours list as a former Prime Minister, the list has proved highly controversial. Nearly all of those given Honours were supporters of the ‘Remain’ campaign during the recent referendum, the result of which led to Cameron’s resignation.

Other Tory Donors were rumoured to have been included on the list, including former Party Michael Treasurer Spencer, whose nomination was supposedly vetoed by the committee which reviews appointments.

Oil Executive Ian Taylor, also a Party Donor, was also on a leaked list of names, but asked for his name not to be put forward for consideration.

How effective are the new Peers?

However perhaps more concerning have been reports in the Guardian and The Times this week about how effective the new Peers have been.

A report in the Guardian on the 2nd August stated that, out of the dozen Conservative Peers who had all given significant donations to the Party since 2010, “Six of the donor peers have contributed just a handful of times to debate in the chamber since entering the House of Lords, and one has already retired.”

Similarly an investigation by The Times concluded that half the Tory peers ennobled by David Cameron at the last election have spoken fewer than five times each in the House of Lords.

Lord Dolar Popat praised

However the Guardian report wasn’t critical of all of David Cameron’s Life Peers. It pointed out that a “minority of peers who are also major Tory donors have made significant contributions to the House of Lords” and singled-out British Indian Dolar Popat

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for his hard work in the Chamber.

I t pointed out that P o p a t , made a Peers in 2010, and who has given the party more than £200,000, has made more than 340 speeches in the Lords since 2010.

Popat gave up his career as a businessman when becoming a Peer, and has subsequently been a Government Minister with responsibilities for Business and Transport.

During his time in the Lords, he has also been a

much praises for contributing to the community as well as participating in innumerable debates at the House of Lords. Similarly Baroness Shreela Flather, Lord Bhikhu Parekh and Lord Raj Loomba also deserve salutes for their contributions.

Jitesh Gadhia comments on his Peerage

Jitesh Gadhia was educated at Cambridge University (MA Economics) and the London Business School (Sloan Fellow, MSc in Management with Distinction). He lives in Northwood, Middlesex, with his wife Angeli and two children, Priyana and Dev. In a statement Jitesh told Asian Voice, "It's a huge privilege and responsibility to be nominated by David Cameron to join the House of Lords. A peerage is a job not an honour.

“I will be joining Parliament at a defining moment in British history as we grapple with the new realities post-Brexit.

We stand at a crossroads for the UK and its future relationship with the rest of the world.

“My priorities will, therefore, be threefold: “Firstly, to help secure the best possible future for UK financial services which represents over 2 million jobs, Conservative Party Whip, established a Select Committee on Exports and been the Founding Chairman of the Conservative Friends of India.

Earlier this year he was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, a non-salaried post. It is anticipated that his attendance in the Lords will be reduced whilst he continues to undertake trade delegations to both nations.

While criticisms are in plenty, many capable Peers from the ethnic minority b a c k ground and their contributions do not receive their due credit.

L o r d Navnit Dholakia is an unsung hero and deserves

The Biggest S Sale

EVER!

Shami Chakrabarti's honour under scrutiny

Among others to get a place in House of Lords is Human Rights activist Shami Chakrabarti, a British Bengali, who has been nominated by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to become a Baroness. She is

underpins business investment and generates substantial tax revenues that pay for essential public services; “Secondly, to help strengthen our international economic links, notably between UK and India; “And finally, and certainly not least, to connect Parliament and key decision makers with 1.5 British Indians - particularly the next generation.

“On a personal note, I want to acknowledge my long and close association with CB Patel and his various publications.

During my University summer holidays I worked at the Gujarat Samachar offices which also published New Life (the predecessor title to Asian Voice). It was this formative experience under CB's mentorship that helped shape many of my insights and connections with the British Indian community - for which I am truly indebted to him."

the chancellor of the University of Essex and former director of Liberty, an independent human rights organisation which works to defend and extend rights and freedoms in England and Wales. She said, “I am honoured to accept Jeremy Corbyn’s challenge and opportunity to help hold the Government to account.

This is a dangerous moment for our country and we share vital human rights values that need defending more than ever before in my lifetime.”

However Chakrabarti's peerage has ran into controversy after she has been criticised by MPs and Jewish groups after it emerged that she had allegedly suppressed an interview with Labour leader Jerey Corbyn in her report into anti-semitism allegations in the Labour party.

Continued on page 13

5

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www.asian-voice.com AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice |13th August 2016

Have your say to help BME workers progress in their careers Baroness Ruby McGregor, chief executive of Mitie group is investigating why black and minority ethnic (BME) people find it more difficult to progress into managerial and senior positions than their white counterparts is calling on people to share their views.

The call for evidence launched earlier this year is aimed at people from all BME communities across Great Britain to help Baroness McGregor-Smith understand the obstacles faced by people in the labour market, from recruitment through to executive level.

Baroness Smith, who has been known as the first Asian woman CEO in a FTSE 250 company, believes in a more 'inclusive' policy has never

Baroness Ruby McGregor Smith

looked at herself as a role model, though now a champion of this role, she wants the stories of extra ordinary people and their journeys to be told.

She will publish the findings of her independent review into the obstacles that people from different communities face in the labour market, what

impact this has on the economy and employers, and, for the first time, will bring together data that shows the extent of the problem.

The review will also include recommendations to government and business on how BME talent can be fully utilised by employers as well as highlighting best practice from across the public and private sectors.

Baroness Smith may be still awaiting for your opinion. You can submit your view at https://beisgovuk.citizenspace.com/lm/baronessmcgregor-smithreview/consultation/intro/ view.

The last date for submission is 22 August 2016.

UK armed forces to celebrate Raksha Bandhan The Armed Forces Hindu Network is celebrating Raksha Bandhan all over the UK. The celebrations will include events in 5 different locations around the country. This is the second time they are hosting such a celebration. Starting from 8th August the celebrations will go on till 12th August, in various major UK cities such as Glasgow (8th) at the Hindu Mandir, Bolton (9th) at the Shree Krishna Temple, Birmingham (10th) at Shree Geeta Bhawan temple, Cardiff (11th) at the Sanatan Dharma Mandal and London (12th) at Shree Swaminarayan temple in Kingsbury.

The Armed Forces Raksha Bandhan celebration will see British

Hindu youth tie rakhis on the wrists of personnel from their local Armed Forces units, together establishing bonds of friendship, brotherhood, and mutual protection and support between the British Hindu community and their Armed Forces.

Dr Manish Tayal, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Royal Navy and Chair of the Armed Forces Hindu Network said, “This relationship is especially pertinent as we commemorate the centenary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, in which a combined 2 million Hindus fought

alongside British and other Allied forces.

Further, those pivotal events give us cause to reflect on a long and proud tradition of Hindu contribution to UK defence, going back some 4 centuries and continuing to this day.

"The day promises to be festive, informative and spiritual, but mostly a fun way to celebrate the significant Hindu contribution to, and considerable support for the Armed Forces.”

30,000 Muslims from 100 countries to pledge allegiance to the Caliph of Peace Tens of thousands of British Muslims are travelling to the South-East of England to hear the Caliph of the world’s largest organised Islamic community.

Around 30,000 Muslims from approximately 100 countries will join together in order to listen to and pledge allegiance to the Caliph of Peace, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth (Khalifa) Caliph and Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The three-day international gathering, known as the Jalsa Salana, is designed to promote the peaceful and

Muslim Community was established in 1889 in India and is led by the single largest caliphate in the world, with millions of adherents.

The 50th Jalsa will climax Sunday 14th August with a pledge of allegiance at the hand of His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Worldwide Head and Caliph of the Ahmadiyya M u s l i m Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Community.

His Holiness has humanitarian teachings been an extremely vocal of Islam and to counter critic of all terrorist and extremist views and misextremist groups who interpretations of the have sought to align world’s second largest themselves with Islam. religion. The Ahmadiyya

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Goans International hosts successful global business lunch

Antonio Fernandes (Events Manager GI), Marylou Zuzarte (Speaker Germany), Keith Vaz Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP Guest of Honour, Milton Rodrigues, President of Goans International and Rabi Martins (Councillor)

Goans International (GI) organised their second global Business Lunch at The Tamarind Mayfair on 06 August 2016. It was very enjoyable and fruitful afternoon with a very wide section of Goan business professionals attending.

Antonio Fernandes

FIH did the introductions, followed by speech by Mary Lou Zuzarte a research professional from Germany on how Brexit is affecting Europe. This was followed by a speech by Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP on opportunities that Goan can undertake in business,

culture and the India initiative planned for 2017.

Milton Rodrigues the President of GI proposed the vote of Thanks.

This was followed by a superb Goan lunch especially prepared by Michelin star Chef Peter Joseph Andoven.

Air India to start non-stop flights from London to Ahmedabad on 15th August Air India is starting its non stop flights from London to Ahmedabad on 15th August, celebrating India's 70th independence day.

Earlier, Air India passengers flying between London and Ahmedabad had to stop at Mumbai or travel via Delhi. This non-stop service will reduce journey time by up to three and a half hours, each way. Non-stop flights from London Heathrow to Newark, New Jersey in the USA are being introduced, effective August 15, 2016.

This came after Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar along with other local organisations ran campaigns for several years to restart the direct or non stop flight and submitted petitons to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi during his visit to London in November 2015, promised the diaspora to restart the direct flight (eventually the non-stop flight), and made a special mention of CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar who pursuaded him to make this arrangement for the diaspora through continuous and tireless campaigns. The flights that started as direct (made a stop at Mumbai, where people did not have to change aircraft) will now be non-stop, without making any hault before Ahmedabad.

Customers will be able to experience direct flights on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operating on these routes. The 18 Business Class seats offer the luxury of comfortable, flat beds to ensure passengers arrive fresh and relaxed at their destinations. The Economy class cabins boast of a seat pitch of 33 inches, and a good width of 17 inches.

Ms Tara Naidu Regional Manager UK & Europe for Air India stated “We are delighted to announce the introduction of non-stop flights from London Heathrow to

Ahmedabad, a popular destination for the huge Gujarati community in the UK. We are excited to restart flights from London Heathrow to the USA. Both these direct flights commence from 15th August 2016 coinciding with India’s 70th Independence Day.” Air India, a Star Alliance Member, now operates 5 flights from the UK, into India’s gateway cities, with the choice of seamless connections to over 50 domestic destinations within India.

Passengers can take advantage of convenient onward international connections to Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Maldives, Melbourne, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney & Tokyo. l

From London Heathrow to Ahmedabad – 4 times a week - Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun

l

From London Heathrow to New York – 3 times a week – Mon/Wed/Fri.

First ever Asiatic Lion triplets

Now 10 weeks old, lion cubs Kali, Sita, and Sonika are the first triplets to be born at Cotswold Wildlife Park conservation centre. Born to parents Rana and lioness Kana who are both five years old. The three cubs are the newest members of the Asiatic lions, a subspecies of lion living in western India. The Asiatic lion is listed as an endangered species, with just 523 lions living in the wild as of 2015.

UK Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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Discover 'Rangeelu Gujarat' in the heart of London On Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August 2016, Red Lotus Events together with Brent Council will be holding an Interactive Culture Exhibition, ‘Rangeelu Gujarat – The Glorious State’.

Rangeelu Gujarat, is an extravagant interactive culture exhibition, designed to showcase the best parts of the Glorious State, Gujarat.

The aim of the event is to allow the British public to strengthen the existing relationship with Gujarat, through understanding the cultural identity. The two day event will provide a large platform to showcase the optimum culture of Gujarati Arts including Literature, Food, Fashion, Music, Dance, Business Development, Tourism and much more. As guests experience the walk through the streets of haggle alley, the scent of mouthwatering street food will fragrant the air as the live music played on the grand stage will pulse over the ground. The variety of folk dancers with traditional costumes will showcase spectacular acts never seen before. The interactive workshops, mud works and stand up comedy sectors

are sure to win the hearts of all ages.

Artists like Devang Patel (jalsa kar), Arvind Vegda (bhai bhai) and Parthiv Gohil will be performing on stage! For the first time in the UK, Planet parle will be performing live!

Both days will be hosting, a kite festival from 10 am to 2pm, on the Saturday there will be open air Garba from 6pm onwards and on Sunday the grand finale will be setting the scene through a holi festival also from 6pm onwards.

Gujarat is one of India’s fastest growing states as it tops in textiles, arts, agriculture and tourism.

Gujarat is the best place in India to do business, according to the World

Bank's ranking on ease of doing business in states.

Gujarat has leaped ahead of other Indian states in growth and has topped the list of states in rapidly implementing business reforms, a study conducted by the World Bank. Visit for a quirky and eccentric festival that showcases the enlightening wonders of Gujarat.

Buy your tickets online before 19th August for entry only for £3 with further group discounts. Or you can buy your tickets at the door for £3.50.

Visit www.rangeelugujarat.com or Facebook www.facebook.com/Range eluGujarat or contact them on:-info@redlotusevents.com/07737302451/ 07956527788

7

Corbyn’s stubbornness and a High Court ruling The ship continues to sail, dented, damaged, still filled with ‘mutineers' but still guided by its captain.

It might seem like a story of a to be doomed 18th century exploration mission but we speak about the ship that is the Labour party. Over the weekend leader Jeremy Corbyn, stubbornly announced that he continue as the leader even if Labour loses the general election adding it would up to the membership to decide if they want him to step down.

Speaking with the Huffington Post, Mr Corbyn said ”The party members control what happens. They will decide one way or another. Let’s not start predicting the results of the next general election, which may be four years away.” Corbyn’s comments came as his ally, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said “Any Labour leader who loses an election usually goes”.

While this does not inspire confidence to an already troubled party, Labour MPs who passed the vote of no confidence 172 to 40 believe that en electoral defat could be the only way to defeat him. Corbyn has received 120 nominations

from local Labour parties compered to Smith’s 24.

The Welsh contender was booed by party members in the capital Cardiff as he faced Jeremy Corbyn in a leadership debate last week.

Labour heavyweights of the past have made bold promises over the years, however Jeremy’s promises might be the boldest of them all. In a bid to unsettle Owen Smith’s campaign, the Labour leader announced a pledge to invest “£500bn in infrastructure, manufacturing and new industries” over a period of 10 years. This announcement overshadow’s Owen Smith’s commitment of £200bn in infrastructure spending over five years. When questioned by reporters of how it would be funded Mr Corbyn indicated by cutting on tax evasion and a growing economy. Mr Smith’s proposal of infrastructure spending is to be funded through government bonds. Corbyn also made a promise to to bring full employment and end private sector involvement within the NHS. He also pledged that his government would build half a million council houses, a

number not built since the 1980.

In a further blow to the Smith campaign, a high court judge ruled that the 130,000 people who joined the party since January should be allowed to vote in the ongoing leadership race.

Mr Justice Hickinbottom at the high court overturned the Labour NEC decision to stop members who joined after 12th January from having an automatic vote.

According to pundits a majority of these new members are endorsing Mr Corbyn. In another key event, Mr Corbyn’s allies secured six out of eight places on the NEC in an internal election, which allows Jeremy Corbyn to strengthen his position.

These events mean Labour Party’s internal turmoil could now continue well beyond the party’s annual conference next month. Senior party figures conceded the leadership contest was highly unlikely to be completed by the end of the conference.

It makes it harder for the party to look united in what should be a unity rally. Labour are currently trailing behind the Conservatives by 10 points.

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UK

www.asian-voice.com AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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Project 'Life' makes international tour 'to give back to Gujarat' Aaditya Kaza Executive of Project 'Life', a Rajkot based non-profit, embarked on a "give-backto Gujarat" campaign utilising his current visit to the United States, Canada and UK, to urge NRIs, especially Gujaratis, to open their hearts and to inform about its various social and developmental activities in the Gujarat State to take the mission further.

Mr Rushikesh Pandya commenced the London tour with a meeting with Mr CB Patel, who is the Publisher/Editor of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice. Joint Director Smt. Meetal Shah also joined Shree Rushikesh Pandya in the tour of United Kingdom. These representatives of Project ‘Life’ acquainted Londonbased NRIs and particularly NRGs about the various humanitarian activities being carried on by the organization and informed them about future projects of the organization During their visit to London, last week where they met various community leaders from Gujarat and current and prospective donors, who have traditionally supported the organisation in reaching its goals in the field of Education, Women Empowerment & Health.

Vinod Thakrar, President of the Lohana community North London, Ashok Sodha and leading Lohana's inform them about the organization’s humanitarian activities and scope thereof specially Thalassaemia Control &

Rani Singh

Prevention Programme (TCPP) They also made a presentation about the various humanitarian activities of Project 'Life' to Dhirubhai Galani, President, Mayur Sanghavi, Trustee, along with the members of Executive committee of Navnat Vanik Association of UK and Vinod Udani, Anil Parekh, Anil Doshi, Bhogilal Sanghavi, Ramesh Shah were special invitees in the meeting. Proposed infrastructure development school project at Village Jabalpur of Gujarat State was also presented in the meeting. Approval for the proposed school project at Village Jabalpur is announced from the desk of President.

They met Shree Tushar Mr. Shah, President, Nilesh Shah, Vice President and Executive Committee Members of Oshwal Association of UK and made a presentation about the various humanitarian activities of Project 'Life'. They showed their keen interest in humanitarian educational activities of Project 'Life' especially for the Halar region (Jamnagar Dist.) Pandya also addressed around 300 'Navnati's' of Navnat Vadil Mandal and this was coordinated by Mr. Ramesh Shah. He invited the first Jain Gujarati lady Mayor of Harrow Personally. Also met Gopalbhai Popat, Patron, Vice President and Vinod Kotecha, Trustee of Asian Foundation For Help, showed keen interest about the humanitarian activities of Project 'Life'.

Also invited Mr. Narendra

Thakrar of Sanatan Hindu Mandir, Bharati & Bipin Kantaria etc.

Mr. Pandya mentioned about CB Patel, who earlier visited Project 'Life' headquarter at Rajkot with his team & was much impressed with it's work.

Describing Mr. Patel as a 'Genuine Gujarati'. Pandya said that C.B Patel said that he wishes that the benefit of our voluntary work reaches out to the last person in the society. Pandya who has been with the organization for a little over two decades, said "we are engaged in that work" Pandya said.

USA and Canada tour concluded

The Chief Development Officer of Project ‘Life’, Shree Rushikesh Pandya was on tour of America and Canada since many days.

During his visit of these two nations, he had arranged meetings with various Gujaratis residing there and acquainted them with humanitarian activities of Project ‘Life’.

Shree Pandya explained the motive of the tour to Dr. Kiran Patel in Florida, Ashwin Desai, Drs. Indu and Mahesh Varia from North Carolina, Sharad Shah, Chairman of Share and Care Foundation, Arun Bhansali, Amar Shah, Dr. Bharti Palkhiwala, Dr. Kiss from Central Blood Bank, Dr. Dhaval Mehta, Pittsburgh, Harshad Shah, Raleigh and specially Dr. Sir Sudhir Parikh during meetings therewith.

During the tour of

A special visit to Karma Yoga House

Mr Rushikesh Pandya accompanied with joint director Mrs Meetal Shah met CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar at our office (Karma Yoga House) in Old Street, where they discussed aspects of project.

CB had met the Project Life team during his visit to Gujarat.

Mr Pandya is the Chief Development Officer of Project ‘Life’ consisting of two registered charitable trusts namely, Saurashtra Medical and Educational Charitable Trust and Indian Medical Scientific Research Foundation.

Both charitable trust’s are based in Rajkot, Gujarat.

Project ‘Life’ was established in 1978 has today grown into to support many causes in the developmental field.

Its individual projects include: Blood Banking, Thalassaemia Control and Prevention, Rural E d u c a t i o n a l I n f r a s t r u c t u r e Development, Excellence in Education, Science of Living through Yoga, Pranayama and Greenfield E n v i r o n m e n t a l Intervention. Over the Canada, Shree Pandya met Shree Prabhudas Ruparell, Jaymalbhai Ruparell, Ashid Bahal, Deepak Ruparell, Ramesh Chotai, Raju Tanna, Ashok Shah, Pankaj Dave, Girish Dani etc and explained the motive of the tour. During these

Dhirubhai Galani, Aaditya Kaza, CB Patel, Rushikesh Pandya

years, Project ‘Life,’ through its various activities in the fields of health, education, environment, women empowerment, tribal housing, NRG Services and many more. has touched millions of lives and bring solace to the suffering humanity. As an organisation, Project ‘Life’ always believed in going an extra mile and impacting society, especially the needy.

Among their various projects, the eduction project has had significant impact to the rural community of Gujarat. Their target to deliver a total of 108 schools, so far they have 79 government primary schools with a 5 news schools slated for development, all this backed by individuals,

donors and organisations.

By 2020 they hope to setup a university for paramedical staff. When the blood donation centre opened they received 100 units of blood per month, now they receive the same quantity per day. They provide a school once every 81 days to the Gujarat government.

Their women empowerment program started with 25 women, they now support 6000 women.

Among its many celebrity backers in India is Mrs Jaya Bachchan who sits on the governing council. Her husband, the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is a Thalassaemia patient.

For further information visit online, www.999life.org.

meetings, Smt. Neeta Koticha and Shree Jiten Koticha accompanied Shree Pandya.

Shree Pandya’s tour of America and Canada was successful and many donors promised to provide support for future projects of the organiza-

tion.

Saint Well-known Pujya Moraribapu’s Ramkatha was arranged Shree in Canada.

Rushikesh Pandya and Shree Deepak Ruparell from Canada attended Ramkatha and received blessings.

Gujarat delegation visits UK ahead of Vibrant Gujarat 2017

Ahead of the international Vibrant Gujarat 2017 Summit in January, a high profile business delegation came to the UK to hold talks across major cities.

Led by Mrs Mamta Verma, IAS, Industries Commissioner for the Government of Gujarat, the delegation included top industry leaders and Sunil Parekh, Adviser to the government and Strategic Advisor for Zydus Cadila, healthcare provider.

Mrs Verma said that post the 2003 Kutch earthquake, the need to reposition and re-establish Gujarat was vital to build investor confidence. Mr Parekh said that the potential total value of investment to Gujarat was around £30 billion.

Both of them sat down for an exclusive interview with the Asian Voice at the delegate hotel in London.

While no MOUs were agreed, this visit was a curtain raiser for a summit on

start ups this October in Gujarat and the eighth Vibrant Gujarat summit.

Around 23 or 25 investment -friendly countries have been identified to work with, they said, so 12 Gujarat delegations were sent out. Mrs Verma’s had just been to Israel.

Core areas for talks included Financial Services, Defence and Aerospace, Engineering, Automobiles and Auto components, with an emphasis on Innovation, Start Ups, Textiles and Pharmaceuticals.

On Defence, Sunil mentioned that the UK has many products to offer India, and that this helps the Indian workforce too.

This is due to the rule that of any goods supplied in the Defence sector, 30% have to be procured locally.

“Many Gujarat SMEs make a lot of components. We are now one of the largest Defence markets in the world and last year our order for 63 Boeing planes was the biggest ever.”

Among the delegates

mentioned GIFT ( G u j a r a t International Finance Tech City Ltd), India’s first smart city just near Gandhinagar.

Ajay Kumar Pandey is the MD and group Mrs Mamta Verma IAS giving a speech CEO. Gujarat is aiming to make it were several global agency hub to rival Singapore, representatives; healthcare Dubai and London. provider Zydus Cadila, and Mrs Verma said that Harish Mehta of Suzlon, though the delegation was the world’s fifth largest government-led, “The drivWind Turbine supplier as ers are from the public secrecorded in 2013. Amit tor.”

Agarwal of Jindal Mrs Verma and Mr Worldwide represented the Parekh spoke about “fruittextile industry, while Vikas ful” talks they had had with Nath represented the Adani Tech UK, Innovate UK and group, one of the biggest Lloyd’s Reinsurance. The Indian infrastructure and latter said that, at 20, logistics companies. Sanjay Gujarat has the largest Kumar Randhar is the MD number of incubators in of Gujarat Venture Finance India.

Ltd, India’s oldest and Mr Parekh said, “We biggest finance company, found in Innovate UK two and Dhanraj Nathwani is programmes; 1) where an Senior VP of Reliance Indian company in conIndustries, one of India’s junction with an Indian biggest private sector comuniversity can apply for a panies. Mrs Verma also

research project with a British company and a British university. Both governments have agreed at a national level to fund 50% /50% to a total of about five million pounds. We have four other such relationships like with the Karo Linska University in Sweden.”

He also mentioned the October summit for Start Ups happening in Gujarat.

From ongoing talks with Innovate UK, “we have the Grand Challenge Award where we want British entries to compete for challenges in agriculture and water. The prize money is in the region of £100,000 pounds.”

Mrs Verma was also pleased at the Lloyd’s Reinsurance meeting, in which GIFT was a focus.

“We are working with the Federal Government to get regulations approved,” she said. “As part of their own programme with India, (not our visit,) Lloyd’s Reinsurance has committed £200 million pounds to

invest in reinsurance in India.”

She said that though she was not initially sure how BREXIT had affected the UK, she found it had given India an advantage.

“Each company here is thinking about how to mitigate the BREXIT fallout.”

On the often raised complaints about Indian regulations, she said that last year, a survey by the World Bank ranked Gujarat as the best Indian state for doing business.

“A lot of our processes are now online, so clearances are now much faster.”

Finally, Mrs Verma and Mr Parekh attributed much of the success of Gujarat to a “pragmatic” ecosystem.

Mr Parekh said, “We have a political class that comes from a society that is related to business so they understand business requirements.

When a new IAS officer arrives, he is moulded and shaped by an environment that is entrepreneur-friendly.”

UK Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Sachin Handa, Military Man and Radiographer 37- year old Sachin Handa is a British army Warrant Officer, Class Two, who is also a Military Radiographer based at Defence Medical Group South East (Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey).

He provides a high-quality imaging service for Defence Medical Services and NHS. In the UK he operates alongside his civilian colleagues to treat all patients, not just military ones. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On operations we provide the same high quality of imaging as would be expected at home, because the ability to provide diagnostic images within seconds is crucial to saving lives in high-intensity trauma situations. As a military radiographer I am a SNCO (senior non-commissioned officer). My role is to ensure clinical competency to deploy at short notice on operations and contingency exercises,â&#x20AC;? he said to me.

What makes this kind of person? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with

Sachin Handa

the genesis. Born in Chandigarh, Sachinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indian parents were Indian Government civil servants before they retired.

Influences and behaviour Sachin says that he was cheeky and â&#x20AC;&#x153;always in trouble at school. I wanted to be famous- that was my motivation. I was an electronics engineer. I wanted to do my higher education in England and moved to the UK to do a Masters in

Electronics and communication.â&#x20AC;?

Sachin joined the military â&#x20AC;&#x153;To settle in the UK and get permanent citizenship. It was transformed into a great career move when they sponsored my education.â&#x20AC;?

Frank speaking; early challenges â&#x20AC;&#x153;My challenges started with my initial fitness test, my English and basic stuff like using a knife, fork and

spoon. Not being born here, having no family support and no role model to aim for or learn from was hard. Whatever is normal for everyone was a challenge. I have served over 15 years, but sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still tough. The way I overcome it is by crying, working hard and thinking if I do well then my parents will fly for the first time in a plane and come to see me on my pass off parade.â&#x20AC;?

Turning point It was when he finished his basic training at ATR Bassingborn, Royston watched by his parents in May 2001.

Soon after, he started his second phase of training and transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corp from the Royal Engineers as a Radiographer.

He was sponsored full time for a BSC (Hons) in Diagnostic Radiography at Cranfield University at Shrivenham. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I went to India to see my family. When my family received me at the airport my mum had had a haircut- which confused me. When I asked, I was told by my dad and my sister that mum had had brain surgery without my knowledge. When my parents visited the UK she had increased pressure developed in her brain and later was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was operated on a few weeks before I visited

9

alone. I implement radiathem. That really hit me. tion safety, managing radiMy family had not told me ology and IT equipment to as if I had been informed ensure radiology images about her health, they are diagnostic and transknew I would leave everymitted to the Royal Centre thing and return to India. I for Defence Medicine, felt bad- something could Birmingham. have happened to her- and The core elements of was angry with them. They radiology equipment I did it just for me and my deploy with are Direct future. But if she had never Digital Radiography, CT been to the UK then that scanning, Image tumour would have Intensifiers and never been diagPACS sysnosed.â&#x20AC;?

Biggest chaltems.â&#x20AC;?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all lenge Sachin happening for works with It was real. Rockets were NHS colSachinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first operational landing left right and l e a g u e s , tour in Iraq centre. It was the first maintaining necesin 2007, time in my life that I sary clinitime for all thought I could be cal expertthe training ise to deliver and qualificakilled or dead. trauma radition to be put ography on into practice. deployment.

He â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all happenalso helps develop juning for real. Rockets were ior personnel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am state landing left right and cenregistered with HCPC and tre. It was the first time in seek opportunities to develmy life that I thought I op,â&#x20AC;? he says. could be killed or dead. It â&#x20AC;&#x153;The care of patients is was really scary, hard to put a priority. Delivering high in words. But after a bad quality imaging to Service day with attacks, treating personnel and civilians for badly injured soldiers in clinical diagnosis is a way hospital, sharing thoughts of contributing to the Army with my comrades and felMedical Services.â&#x20AC;? low colleagues motivated Sachin and his â&#x20AC;&#x153;best me to keep my head down friend and lovely wifeâ&#x20AC;? and keep marching on.â&#x20AC;?

Military Radiographer Sucheta have twins Rohan and Samya, seven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In my â&#x20AC;&#x153;I lead a team of radiograopinion without family phers. I deliver an NHS support serving for the standard imaging service, Queen and The Country is often in challenging envinot easy.â&#x20AC;? ronments and if deployed

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READERS’ VOICE

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Way forward for Narendra Modi Caste violence has got its first victim in the resignation of Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat.

After Narendra Modi moved to Delhi political stability in Gujarat has been marred first by Patels’ protest for job reservation and second by atrocities on so-called Dalits. Violence against Dalits is not something specific to Gujarat. It is an Indian national problem for thousands of years, e.g. the heading “Dalit couple hacked to death in UP for Rs 15 (AV page 26, Aug 6 issue) is a case in point.

After Patels’ protest Narendra Modi said some words of wisdom to the Patel community. As regards violence against Dalits, so far he has maintained complete silence. Only time will tell if it is the right way forward. Perhaps he is discussing the situation with advisors and social experts and working out the right solution of the problem.

Since becoming Prime Minister Narendra ji has taken India to the highest level in world recognition of India. His achievement in two years has exceeded all expectations. By any measure he is fully and sincerely dedicated to economic prosperity for all Indians and political stability through fair and just democratic process. He is a political figure of unique quality. At this juncture of Indian history India needs him as much as he needs India. He should recognise that his continued commitment and dedication is possible only by his selfless service for his countrymen, not by his success in world politics. Dalit protests throughout India offer him an ideal opportunity to achieve this goal.

Jatindra Saha Via Email

Hinduism-an incredible faith Hinduism is a religion of seekers. It preaches love for God and realise Him through a medium of numerous deities and spiritual enlightened persons. The ancient Hindu faith has evolved from time to time and is still in progress. It’s so rich and complete that it teaches the seekers life here and beyond, to acquire Godly qualities, lead pious, virtuous and spiritual life.

God is one but he can manifest in many forms and be formless. He is the creator, almighty and all-knower.

Call him by any name, pray however and wherever you like. If your heart is pure, He will respond. Hindus see His presence everywhere, sun, moon, river and all His creations. His holy names, hymns, devotional songs sung with devotion with the melody of music brings enormous joy, ecstasy, emotion, vibes and vibration to the hearts of devotees that can only be experienced.

The devotees feel totally immersed in God feel his divine presence, experience oneness, uniqueness that cannot be described in words.

Hindus are so comfortable with their faith, that they not only tolerate other faiths but respect them.

Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism are offshoot of Hinduism with some reforms. Hindus don’t view this as contempt but in fact regard them in high esteem.

Hindus do not justify the superiority of their faith over others nor have any agenda to convert others. It’s not the quantity they are after. They do not claim any monopoly on God. God is one and for all. He can be reached through different paths if practised in correct manner.

Hinduism is fascinating, because it’s a religion of love, dance, mysticism, treasure of wisdom, and rich culture based on several scriptures. Call it a religion, philosophy, or a way life, Hinduism is for the entire humanity.

Niranjan Vasant Via Email

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Natural Gas and Climate Change

There is a belief that natural gas is a very clean and safe source of energy compared to coal or crude oil. This is not quite true. Countries, such as UK and India, still have huge untapped reserves of coal.

With advances in carbon capture technology, it may be more economical to use coal rather than natural gas.

Why? Because natural gas has methane as its main component.

Even though natural gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal, and almost a third less than petrol, and even though methane stays in the atmosphere for 12 years whereas carbon dioxide stays for centuries, methane is 25 times more deadly than carbon dioxide.

Methane emissions in US in 2014 by source were: natural gas: 33%; livestock digestion 22%; landfill 20%; and other 25%.

Most other countries monitor carbon dioxide but not methane. It is important that all countries and major oil companies monitor methane emissions from natural gas leaks when gas and/or crude oil comes out of ground.

Normally 2-2.5% natural gas leaks in the atmosphere at time of production.

This tiny amount of natural gas became a source of 33% methane in atmosphere in US in 2014. (Source: The Economist, 23-29 July).

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

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Thank you NHS

On 22nd July after lunch when I was sitting in my chair in our kitchen-dinette overlooking our garden suddenly I felt my chair was moving, I looked around, saw everything moving! I got up and collapsed, right arm of chair hit near my right eye and it was bleeding heavily. I screamed my wife's name, she immediately came and called for ambulance. It came with 4 men in 7 minutes. They took some tests and took me to NWP hospital.

They thought it was a stroke, took me straight for MRI test in the modern wing with all the facilities! They took so many tests checking whole of my body. Result was it was a small stroke on left side of my brain affecting the right side of my body. They gave me all sorts of treatments, medicines and physio exercises incessantly, kept me for 5 days in wards specially meant for stroke. All the doctors, consultants and other ancillary staff were wonderful and caring. I came home on the 26th July. NWP also provided 2 wheel-frames to walk and organised home visits of Physio Therapist.

Likewise, in 1998 on the 50th Anniversary of NHS, our son only 11 sent a letter to Harrow Newspaper saying “Thank You NHS for saving my Dad's life when he had Heart Surgery for Mitral Valve Repairs at Harefield Hospital.”

At this point I can't help remembering the birth of fully Free NHS on July 5, 1948 when Mr. A Bevan, Health Minister, opened Park Hospital in Manchester. I wonder if he was honoured for NHS by a Reward or a Statue in his memory!

We should try to payback NHS if we can, so that it can help more people.

Upendra Kapadia Via Email

Hindu festivals

Gujarat Samachar has covered 23 Hindu festivals in 4 months-August to November. Such cheering news item is welcome after shocking Brexit referendum and consequential economic wobble. Hindus will bravely and piously celebrate God given auspicious festivals with pomp and glory. These will be treated as “feastivals” rather than “fastivals”. Therefore it will not be surprising that Hindus will discard dietetics precautions. Oils, sugars, salt, spices market will boom whether these ingredients are over used at home or hotels. Danger signals were not sounded in our scriptures because people had strenuous and laborious lives. Yet such signals are abundantly visible by rota of fasting days throughout the year.

On daily basis one single word “yuktahar” is prescribed for all and sundry all the year around. Modern civilization with sedentary habits, labor saving gimmicks and polished foods has made humans vulnerable to illnesses caused by luxury foods. High energy foods are not neutralized by compatible activity. Thus, organs cannot cope with onslaught high energy foods consumed during festive periods. To overcome this hazard, it is essential to watch and restrict ones intake of sweets, salt, spices and oils. At the same time, please beware of chain snatchers, purse snatchers and pickpockets.

Ramesh Jhala Via Email

Putin’s words of wisdom

In recent communication, Russia’s popular President Vladimir Putin expressed his sorrow at West’s intransigency, particularly that of US and UK, trying to surround Russia with NATO members, and seemingly doomsday prognosis, akin to cold war era, thus presenting huge threat to humanity.

Britain tried it’s best to get Russian team thrown out of Olympic games, on pretext that every Russian team member is bent with Russian government actively involved in cheating. Yes, it is true that some Russian sports personalities were involved in drug taking. But Russia is not alone. Kenya, China and many other countries, including Britain were involved to some extent. No one would even imagine these countries not participating in Olympics.

How did Qatar who is hosting football world cup, got preference over more suitable countries including Britain? Moreover it is madness to play football in 45 degree centigrade heat! Most FIFA officials, including its president were knee deep in corruption for decades. Not a single world cup was awarded on merit!

Putin rightly points out that Russia could be valuable partner in fighting terrorism if only West drops it’s holier than thou attitude. It could provide cheap energy and be valuable partner in economic development, as Russia is rich in natural resources that include oil and gas. With biggest landmass and lowest population, Russia could be granary of Europe if West stops being political predator, paddling imaginary prejudices.

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Continued on page 11

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EDUCATION

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10 year old named 'Child Genius 2016' in UK A 10 year old girl of Indian-origin was given Britain's brightest child tag, after she won a popular television quiz competition. Six correct answers gave Rhea a one way ticket to the final of 'Child Genius 2016' on Channel 4, after which she drew with her opponent Saffy, also 10, with nine points in the final round.

The 10 year old became the youngest winner in the show’s four year history.

"It meant getting up early, going to sleep late, studying. It just feels really, really great," she said. Rhea correctly spelled the word 'eleemosynary' meaning charitable, to claim the title at the end of four weeks of the contest. Her mother Sonal however, invited some social media backlash as people called her 'pushy'. Twitter posts that read 'Rhea is such a smart young lady but her mother is shocking! This isn't about you' and 'Rhea's parents are ridiculously pushy, poor kid', targeted the mother who gave up her profession as an obstretician to train her child.

The source of controversy was Sonal's intervention and objecting to a question about Florence Nightingale which she said was too broad and general. The independent adjudicator agreed and gave Rhea an extra point, putting her ahead of fellow contestant Stephen, with whom she would have to face a tie break round to proceed into the finals.

Unbrazed, Sonal said, "Rhea loved doing it. The show gives them a chance to be with kids like them, to be in that room and feel normal." Host Richard Osman called the competition "the greatest final in the history of Child Genius". The finals drew in an audience of 1.3million viewers. Audience behind TV sets were bemused by the fact that both Sonal and Saffy’s mother Sophie, a former accountant, sacrificed their careers to prepare their daughters for the competition. Like many Child Genius parents of past competitions, they were living through their children.

Before moving to Britain, Sonal, 41, and Anish, 42, lived the US, where she

I find it intriguing that sometimes when I submit a letter for publiction in this column, I would consider the matter to be interesting and informative and useful to readers and that it would receive favourable consideration from the publisher. But to my disappointment, it would not be included. On the other hand, when I am not sure that my letter would even be looked at, to my pleasant surprise, it would receive the coveted position in the pink shaded area in the top left part of the page. Having already published some 325 letters to date, my target is to make four centuries before I stop putting pen to paper or stop tapping on the keyboard, for that matter.

I am disappointed that like other subscribers to these papers, I also sent in my story about my emigration from Dar-es-Salaam to the UK. It seems to have been put aside due to the space requirement in relation to the Brexit saga and the developments that ensued. I feel that my story is interesting and infromative and hope that now that the tide of uncertainty created after the resignation of the former Prime minister has been lifted, CB bhai’s brainchild, the unique and exemplary column under the heading of “remember, recollect, recharge” will be resurreceted and the publication of readers’ experiences will resumed. After all, which other newspaper provides such a platform for readers to express their woes or happiness on arrival to this country!

We plan to reinstate the column in the latter part of the year. We are disappointed that we haven't been able to restart it as planned, but all your efforts are due its credit and like always we hope to make you happy in the coming months.

- Editor worked 100 hours weeks including weekends and nights. However she cut down her hours after Rhea and now eight year old Rohan was born. It was Anish’s work for a pharmaceutical company that brought the family to London when met Sonal would have to retrain to continue practising, a prospect so unappealing she decided to stop working, although she takes annual exams to keep her US qualifications valid. Sonal says “I didn't quit work for Rhea’s education, but because the two of us working endless hours was not what we wanted for our family.” The couple, both from Indian backgrounds, agree that education is probably more highly valued their culture than in Britain.

Rhea, who was in reception when her teacher recommended that she apply to join Mensa. The intelligence test showed she was in the top 0.1% of the population. However Sonal says “You saw a carefully edited version of our reality that made it seem like we drive Rhea to study.

Rhea is very headstrong. She does exactly what she wants to do.”

Does Rhea this her mum is pushy? "I think Mummy could push me harder" she says.

examination at age 10 to 11.

There are currently about 163 in England - out of some 3,000 state secondaries - and a further 69 in Northern Ireland.

But under a law created by the Labour government in 1998, no new grammar schools were allowed to open in England.

Education policy is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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Dear Mr Sheth

ately rejected the idea that they encourage social mobility, with the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, accusing the prime minister of “harking back to a mythical ‘golden age’”.

“Selection belongs in the dustbin of history and has no place in modern society. There must be no going back,” she said.

Grammar schools are state secondaries whose pupils are selected by

Taster Cou rses| Street Food Meet the Teachers | Cou rse Registration

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Dinesh Sheth Via Email

May to launch new generation of grammar schools Theresa May is planning to launch a new generation of grammar schools by lifting the 20 year ban on them.

However she has been warned she will face stiff opposition to plans for new grammar schools from some senior Tory MPs as well as Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

More than 100 Tory MPs are said to support the campaign but critics of grammar schools immedi-

READERS’ VOICE 11

Step inside and disc cover tth he beauty of IIn ndian arts

‘Fake’ Gau Rakshaks

Referring to Mr Jatindra Saha’s letter dates 6th Aug, I would agree that the violence against Dalits is certainly wrong and the most despicable act of social intolerance but recent violence shown against Dalits in Una, Gujarat is entirely of a different character sad it seems that the attackers have themselves allowed the video of the entire indecent to be done leisurely and fully, and be published by the media, and none of the attackers is found to be afraid of being caught guilty of beating, and published by the media, as if they are hired to do the act; as sushi they seem ‘Fake’ cow protector, and to have nothing to do with cows; we should be wary of blaming Hindus for their particular incident. In practice since Mahatma Gandhi’s message of considering Dalits as ‘Harijan’ -human being of god- Hindus have stopped discriminating against them since independence but the Congress government and some other state governments supported by other religions have allowed social inequality by making the roots of the caste system firm wither to establish their political voting block permanently or to take advantage of faith conversion. BJP is to crackdown of such ‘fake’ cow protectors and they simply believe in development with the support of all the people without caste or creed.

R. N. Patel Essex

12

MEDIA WATCH

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Gujarat is the midst of social convulsions. Attacks on Dalits by cow-worshipping vigilantes for beef-eating have resulted in floggings, deaths and injuries have been roundly condemned in Gujarat itself and across India including Parliament.

Regressive elements in the Sangh Parivar, bit between the teeth, are a reminder of the riotous instincts of mobs out of control, determined to destroy the rule of law for the code of the hooligan.

The unrest has been compounded by the revival of Hardik Patel’s agitation for reserved quotas for government employment of the Patidar community – the mainstay of the BJP in the State.

Enough was enough. Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced her resignation, saying that, as she would be 75 in November, it was time for change with someone younger taking over the reins of power. She did so at the weekend to Vijay Rupani (Times of India, Hindu, Telegraph, August 3, 6)

Modi’s saving grace

Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided a welcome touch of civility towards Congress President Sonia Gandhi who was taken ill during a party roadshow in Varanasi, which happens to be the PM’s his parliamentary

since March. ‘The progress of the monsoon and the good mjacroeconomic parameters have put have helped in attracting in FII inflows,’ said G. Chokkalingam, founder and Managing Director of Equinomics Research and Advisory.

Optimism

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, foreign exchange levels and excise duty collections have been robust, hence adding momentum to the optimism on India. ‘The India story is intact.

FIIs are investing in India as the growth potential is good,’ said Deven Choksey, Managing Director, Choksey Shares and Securities. ‘Brexit concerns have made investing in Europe unattractive,’ he said. (Times of India August 3).

Excellent monsoon

Meteorological Department predictions about this year’s monsoon have been spot on so far and present indications suggest that the good rains will continue through to the end of September. Weather experts say that the current monsoon promises to be the Sonia Gandhi Narendra Modi most bountiful in 25 years – constituency. He tweeted: ’Heard which is very good news for the about Soniaji’s ill-health during country’s economy (Mint, her Varanasi visit today. I pray Business Line August 3). for her quick recovery and good health.’ The Congress party in an Honda Motors in appropriate response , replied, record surge ‘Thank you Narendra Modi.’

Decency and good manners are The good monsoon, new models what India expects of her leaders. and cuts in fuel prices have led to Sonia Gandhi in a statement a surge in growth for Honda expressed her regret that should Motors. ‘Crossing the 4.5 lakh could not visit the city’s iconic unit sales in July and growing at Kashinath Temple and address 21 per cent, nearly double the the large crowd which had turned that of the total two-wheeler up to hear her speak. She was industry in the first four months flown back to Delhi and admitted of this fiscal gives us more confito a specialist hospital for a dence of a bumper festival season checkup. She had been under the ahead,’ said Yadvinder Singh, weather recently, said daughter Senior Vice President Marketing, Priyanka (Telegraph August 3).

Honda Motors India. Other automobile companies are also set to Core sector growth perform well, given the at four-month high favourable conditions prevailing in the country (Business Line India’s factory output in July August 3). grew at its fastest pace in four months. Exports jumped and Xerox unveils new device prices remained largely stable.

The principal drivers of growth Xerox India has launched an were the coal and power indusaffordable device colour multitries, with crude oil, natural gas function device for small and and cement also showing medium size businesses. The encouraging results (Business DocuCentre SC2020 equipped Line August 3). with colour printing technologies is an A3 designed to expedite FII investments rise print jobs The launch took place in Chennai last week (Business 78 per cent Line August 3) Foreign institutional investments (FIIs) have risen substantially, BrahMos steep-dive having this fiscal (less than half missile for North East way through) already surpassed the 2015 fiscal by 78 per cent.

The Cabinet Committee on Overseas investors turned bullish Security has approved the proonly from March this year, makduction of the ‘steep-dive’ version ing net investments of $7 billion

technology and engineering is the world’s safest, said V l a d i m i r A n g e l o v , Director of Projects, ASE Group in India. ’We analysed the basic technical design of Units 1 and 2 in terms of the lessons learned f r o m Fukushima.

BrahMos steep-dive missile There are 12 Russian nuclear power plants of the 2.8 mach supersonic that are scheduled to be built in BrahMos Block III cruise missile India (Hindu August 1). and its installation in the North East State of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Tibet, where China has Raised Narmada Dam up an enormous military infraready by December structure for offensive operations. The missiles will be carried Construction work to raise on heavy duty trucks to ensure Gujarat’s Narmada Dam to mobility and effectiveness. The 138.72 metres from the existing BrahMos has nine times the 121.92 metres extending irrigakinetic force of a subsonic mistion, will be completed by sile. The BrahMos Block-III December, nine months ahead of ‘steep-dive’ version takes up to 75 schedule, said a top official. degrees. Defence scientists are Construction of piers and the planning working on a 90 degree bridge have been completed dive capability which can lead to (Hindu August 2). an aircraft carrier destructive capacity. BrahMos has a comJundal gets 7-year bined high-low trajectory to Jail sentence evade enemy defence systems.

(Times of India August 2).

A special court in Mumbai handed down a 6-year jail sentence to Rafale talks stalled jihadi arms trafficker Abu Jundal for his role in the 26/11 terrorist Defence Minister Manohar assault on Mumbai.The Special Parrikar has said that the acquisiJudge, Shrikant Anekare, handtion of 36 Rafale fighter planes ing down the sentence,said: from France have stalled over ‘Taking into consideration the pricing and offset conditions. gravity of the offence, lack of Meanwhile the Indian Air Force remorse, society at large should operates an under strength 34 not suffer due to undue leniency.’ squadrons, instead of the Six other accused, including required 42 if hostilities were to Faisal Shaikh were sentenced to break out with China and life imprisonment. Jail sentences Pakistan. It is said that the of 7 to 8 yeears were given to Emperor Nero fiddled while Jundal associates. (Times of Rome burned. Parrikar and his India August 3) three associates colleagues appear to be following suit (Business Line August 3).

Delhi-Tripura-Bangla

P-81 deal with US

India has sealed a $1 billion deal for four more high tech Poseidon-

rail link to North East

In a game-changing of immense regional significance a rail link from Delhi to Tripura and India’s

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

North Eastern States via the important Bangladesh rail junction of Akhaura, with its own linkages to the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong and Sylhet, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu accompanied by his Bangladesh counterpart, Mohammed Mazibul Hoque flagged off the first train from Delhi on its momentous journey east. Among other things, it makes Bangladesh a stakeholder in the project, as well as makig it the cornerstone of India’s strategic ‘Look East’ policy that will connect the subcontinent to South East Asia via Myanmar and Thailand.

Economic benefits

The initial economic benefits with increased volumes of trade will benefit India and Bangladesh. India’s NorthEastern investment-starved States will get the full benefits of goods and services and greater market access to the Indian mainland. This gels well with the vision of the Modi government which has worked to bring this visionary project to reality by reaching out to Bangladesh and taking Indo-Bangladesh ties a giant step forward (Mint August 3).

UP crime horrors

Uttar Pradesh presents a landscape of burgeoning crime, from gang rapes to armed robberies on highways.. The State police and Government appear complaisant to this ugly reality. A number of horrific rapes have occurred on highways, questioning the wisdom of building them when highway travel is so hazardous. The latest horror story on the Kanpur Delhi highway involved 935 – year-old woman her 14 year-old daughter. A senior State minister, the loathsome Azam Khan, no less,, ascribed the national outrage to ‘a political conspiracy.’

His vote bank keeps him in office - a thundering disgrace, surely (Times of India August 4).

Ambani donation to Tory party

Mukesh Ambani’s London-based Reliance Europe Ltd made 25,000 pound donation to Tory party,then headed by David Cameron. The donation showed up in the UK Electoral Commission’s website. It is the first time that an Ambani-owned company has made a donation to a political party outside India. It’s a bet it won’t be the last.

(Telegraph August 3).

P- 81 Maritime surevellane aircraft

81 long-range naval surveillance aircraft with state-of-the electronic systems and missile interdiction capabilities for anti-submarine warfare. The P-81 has a nautical range of 1,200 knots and can remain airborne for fours hours at a stretch.

Meanwhile, the Naval Coastguard has begun keeping close watch on the Bengal coastline with the aid of satellite imageries (July 24).

Kudankulam plant world’s safest

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant based on advanced Russian

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressing Parliament on GST Bill. see comment page 3

P. Chidambaram speaking on the GST Bill. see comment page 3

UK Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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Changes to the Immigration Act 2016

Independent?

But Where is the Respect?

Over this past decade I have been fortunate enough to visit the home in Delhi where Gandhiji spent his final day, the home in Gujarat where Sardar Patel was born, and thanks to flights delays rewatch Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi on my iPod at the airport.

There is a spirit of the founding fathers (and mothers) of a nation which should be more invoked in a country’s politics.

As you visit the homes of Sardar Patel and Gandhiji and witness their words passing through the ages at the birth of their nation, you wonder if ever the politicians in India ever bother to read them.

Trite Gandhian phrases roll off easily on airport billboards ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ – but so many of the politicians don’t want to see the change for good in the world. They are the elite in receipt of their brown envelopes – what does it matter to them that their country may be sold down the river for a few rupees more?

No, what Gandhiji should have said is not ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ but ‘see the change we sacrificed for and show some decency and respect for us the founding fathers’.

Gandhiji and Patel were barristers – they had no need to spend years in cockroach infested prisons. Or consider the patriots described in the book ‘Remember

Us Sometimes Once in A While’ who wrote to their wives and children why they were willing to be hanged for their sedition against the British Crown during the Independence movement. And hanged they were.

It seems appropriate with current British political controversies to remember Cromwell.

And if Cromwell could be considered the founding father of the modern British Parliament then his speech to Parliament could aptly be invoked today targeted at British Parliamentarians where he said, “...It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.”

Founding fathers were able to found nations precisely because of their foresight and wisdom and their wisdom should be more often invoked – especially if a mighty America does it to this day 200 years later, India certainly should merely 60 years later. How but in our schools do we invoke this, when all from Gandhiji and Nehru are disrespected widely.

Lord Bilimoria receives honourary degree from University of East Anglia Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL was one of two Zoroastrian Parsis awarded honorary doctorates from the University of East Anglia last month (July 20).

Lord Bilimoria and Bahram Bekhradnia, pictured, were invited alongside other notable figures from the fields of business, literature, science and charity to attend UEA’s week of graduation ceremonies, offering advice to graduating students and sharing their success stories. Each received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law. Lord Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited and of Molson Coors Cobra India. In 2006, he was the first Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of

Lords. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law, the tenth honorary doctorate he has received to date.

Honorary degrees are presented each year by the University to honour those who have made an impact in fields such as the arts, science, and civil society, but this is believed to be the first time that two Zoroastrians have been honoured at the same ceremony in the UK. Lord Bilimoria, who unveiled The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia in October last year, shared some words of advice with fel-

How does this affect you if you are a business owner or manager in a company?

The Home Office has recently made changes to the Immigration Rules on employing migrant workers, resultManpreet Matharu ing in tougher penalties and stricter sanctions on employers who employ illegal workers and people without the Right to work.

The Immigration Act 2016 came into force on 12th July and it is therefore very important to understand what the changes are and how exactly, they will affect you.

As of the 12th July 2016 the sanctions for employing an illegal worker include doubling the maximum civil penalty from a £10,000 fine payable per illegal worker caught working, to £20,000 per worker.

The Immigration Act 2016 now makes illegal working a criminal offence in its own right.

This means that there is a maximum custodial sentence of six months and/or a fine of the statutory maximum (unlimited in England and Wales). In addition all wages earned illegally will be recoverable under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The new Act clarifies that employing an illegal worker or someone that you believe is an illegal worker now carries a maximum custodial sentence on indictment of 5 years. This will apply to all employers regardless of the field of work (e.g. catering, building, domestic working, taxi drivers and private/professional carers etc.).

In addition, the new Act gives the Home Office the power to close your business for a period of 48 hours if

low graduates. He said: “I have been able to see firsthand why UEA is one of the UK’s top universities.

It is such an honour and privilege to receive an Honorary Doctorate and I am truly humbled.”

Bahram Bekhradnia became the first director of the Higher Education Policy Institute in 2002 following the course of a career devoted to Continued from page 5 the higher Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP education (longest serving Indian MP in sector both the UK), Chairman of a nationally Commons Committee which is and interinvestigating anti-Semitism nationally allegations in Labour party, and also wrote to Chakrabarti asking if received she was offered this peerage a n before she published her report.

Honorary In an interview to a tv on July Doctorate 14th, Chakrabarti said he had of Civil interviewed the Labour leader Law. regarding his comment on

inated for a peerage before the report was published, and only recommended after its publication.

Chakrabarti was born to Bengali parents in the suburb of Kenton. After graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from London School of Economics, Chakrabarti was called to the Bar by the Middle Templein 1994. In 1996, she started working as a barrister for the Home Office. On 10 September 2001, she joined the human rights organisation Liberty.

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Hamas 'as his friends', to which he said that he 'regretted having used that language', and 'described it as an attempt to be inclusive during a different meeting'. When asked why she had ommitted this in her report, Chakrabarti clarified saying, “I was not adjudicating on Mr Corbyn, his leadership or any other individual in the party.”

A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn said Ms Chakrabarti was not told she would be nom-

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there is suspected employment of illegal workers. If you as an employer can confirm that you have carried out all appropriate checks this closure notice may be cancelled; to find out more about the checks that need to be conducted, please contact one of our specialist immigration lawyers in our Business/Private Immigration team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors.

The changes to the law mean that obtaining a Licence to operate your specific type of business (for example, sale of alcohol or a minicab licence) will be contingent on not breaching immigration laws.

You may not always be aware that you are employing someone who does not have right to work, so it is important to understand what this means, to ensure you can take any reasonable steps to avoid it. For example you are liable to criminal sanctions if you have employed someone with leave to remain as a Tier 4 Student migrant, to work a minimum of 20 hours doing domestic work in your company/home without carrying out the correct checks to confirm if the Migrant is entitled to work in your organisation.

If you have any doubt as to whether you are illegally employing a migrant worker or employing someone who does not have the right to work, you should seek legal advice immediately.

Our specialist Business/Private Immigration team can advise and assist you with ensuring that all employment and right to work checks have been carried out correctly. We can assist you in ensuring that you are complying with the law at all times.

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India Connect

AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

PIO to OCI

The last date for submission of applications for registration as OCI cardholder by the erstwhile PIO cardholders has been extended till 30 December 2016.

Important note for all OCI Applicants (Mandatory): Applicants are required to submit the originals along with a set of photocopies of the originals, both sets of documents need to be submitted at the counter. Originals will be returned once the High Commission of India and its respective Consulates are satisfied with the documents provided. All photocopies need to be self-attested.

OCI card is a smart card which will facilitate quicker immigration clearance at the ICPs and also for obtaining various Consular services from the Indian Missions. Further, for those residing in India, it will facilitate in availing various services in India.

The applicants may submit the applications for OCI card in lieu of PIO card to the Indian Mission/FRRO concerned within the jurisdiction of his/her place of residence. This is in modification of the earlier instructions that they should apply only at the location where the PIO card was issued.

Printed Application form for OCI in lieu of PIO service: All applicants need to fill the online application form on the website 2 photographs as per the photo specifications Current foreign passport Photocopy of the current foreign passport Old foreign passport (which has been endorsed on the PIO) Copy of the old foreign passport (which has been endorsed on the PIO) PIO card Copy of PIO card. (All Pages).

Applicants holding a PIO card, obtained on the basis of their spouse│s Indian Origin proof, need to provide a letter of authorisation/consent of the spouse (of Indian origin) for OCI application, with copy of Marriage Certificate & Copy of spouse│s current valid passport The letter needs to be addressed to the High Commission of India or to its respective Consulates in Birmingham or Edinburgh.

Important Information for all OCI Applicants: Signatures should be in the box provided. In case of minor applicant, his/her thumb impression (left hand thumb) or signature (if minor can sign, signature is mandatory) of the minor applicant should be provided in BOX. An OCI card holder is not entitled to undertake any Missionary, mountaineering and research work in India. They need prior approval from Ministry of Home Affairs in India before undertaking such activities.

NonUK passport holder should give residential address in respective country. The processing time is longer for such cases.

Minor foreigners born out of live-in relationships, Step & adopted children are not eligible for OCI. However an adopted child who has had an Indian passport in the past and can produce a surrender certificate for the same, is eligible to apply for an OCI, all other documents advised above for minors will be required in addition to the Surrender Certificate and the Indian passport. All cases will be put under review and a final decision will be made by the competent authorities. For any unsuccessful applications the refund policy will apply.

In case of minor children, both the parents need to be signed in part ‘B│ or parent│s consent letter is mandatory (if divorced) or court order having custody of children.

Applicant whose birth certificate mentions about only one parent and nationality and other parent is not known, is not eligible for OCI Card.

Asylees or Stateless applicants are not eligible for OCI. Defence/Military/Civil Foreign

Servants/Police/ex-Defence personnel/ persons working with security agencies and their family members are not eligible to apply for OCI. The above implies that the personnel of Home Office as well as of MoD. In addition, foreign diplomats are also not eligible.

For applicants applying on the basis of spouse, now deceased, are required to furnish the death certificate, marriage certificate and self-declaration to confirm the same or if re-married again. If re-married, then provide the new marriage certificate along with the above.

If one of the parent/grandparent is of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, applicant will not be eligible for OCI. If the OCI card holder acquires nationality of a different country after obtaining the OCI card, except that of Pakistan and Bangladesh, he/she shall also be allowed to enter/exit India on the strength of his/her new passport of the recently OCI and nationality acquired Registration Certificate (OCI card).

Entry on the Diplomatic/Official passport shall not be granted on the basis of OCI/PIO cards as OCI/PIO cards are not issued to the foreign diplomats and their family members. However, if he/she holds valid ordinary passport with valid OCI/PIO cards, entry can be allowed.

Applicants applying on the basis of spouse need to submit registered marriage certificate Marriage should have been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the application.

In the event of change of passport of PIO card holder, he/she can travel to India on the basis of new passport with the valid PIO card and the old passport on which PIO card number is endorsed, till the validity of the PIO scheme

For more information please contact us on our helpline numbers: +44 203 793 8629 / +44 203 695 9849 Monday – Friday 8:30 – 17:30 (except for Consular Holiday)

Alternatively applicants can also call : 09057 570 045* * Please note calls to this number will be chargeable at the rate of 95p per minutes plus a connection charge from a BT landline. Calls from mobile phones may cost considerably higher.

For Email inquiry please email us: OCI: info.ociuk@vfshelpline.com Visa: info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Consular & Passports: Info.ppt-Consularuk@vfshelpline.com

India Connect - your questions answered on India visas” a service offered by

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Bhavan celebrates India's independence day

HE Navtej Sarna addressing the audience at the Bhavan independence day celebration.

On stage present are (L-R): Barry Gardiner MP, Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Bhavan Chairman Joginder Sanger, Mayor of Hammersmith Cllr Mercy Umeh, Bhavan Vice Chairman Padma Shri Dr John R Marr and Lord Ranbir Suri

Rupanjana Dutta

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan celebrated Independence day in London, which was attended by High Commissioner of India Navtej Sarna, the Mayor of Hammersmith Cllr Mercy Umeh; MP Virendra Sharma, Rt Hon Keith Vaz and Barry Gardiner; Joinder Sanger, Chairman of the Bhavan, and Padma Shree Dr John R Marr, Vice Chairman of the Bhavan and a large number of Indian community members. Speaking at the occasion the High Commissioner said, “The Bhavan is a not just a centre for Indian thought and culture in the UK, but also a keeper of values and ethos of true India. Values such as inclusivity, simplicity and truth and my deepest appreciation to the Bhavan for nurturing these values.

He went on to say, “70 years ago, there were many who questioned India's chances of survival, but India had proved them wrong because of precisely these values. This is an occasion to reflect and collectively thank the thousands of freedom fighters, not just the leaders of the freedom movement but also those who remained anonymous. People who

sacrificed their lives, families, jobs and fought for freedom.

“It is also an occasion to thank the people who made India not just survive, but helped make it what it is today. The scientists, the soldiers, the farmers, the industrial workers, the hundreds of thousands who you see in old black and white photographs, wearing simple clothes and chappals working away tirelessly towards an ideal... Despite all that has been achieved and all that remains to be achieved, India is today a leading example. In all of human history, a democratic experiment of this level has never been done or succeeded. The economic success and prospects of India are now well recognised by most international organisations like the IMF, the World Bank. We have huge challenges of poverty, education and disease, but if we can’t face them with our resources, and our survival instincts, not many can..."

He also spoke about the huge India outside India ie diaspora.“UK’s Indian community is a shining example of success. 1.5 million people, many of who came in difficult circumstances, made a new life and reached the very top in politics, economy, and in

the professions like the doctors and the engineers.

They are critical bridges in the relationship between India and the UK. India treasures these links, these bridges. The role of the diaspora in India’s development cannot be underestimated. When PM Modi was here, his gathering at Wembley underlined the strength of the British Indian community,” said HE Sarna.

High Commissioner Sarna also invited the Indian community to join him to celebrate India's independence day at the Indian Gymkhana (organised by the High Commission of India) on Sunday 21 August. On that day about 1000 people will be joining performing artist Jignesh Patel at the club's hockey pitch, to paint UK's largest Indian flag on a canvas, using wooden block. Every participant for this flag painting event will be receiving a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Record. The Chief Guest for this event is BJP MP Shazia Ilmi.

UK Asian Business Council that is promoting this event, will be donating all the money raised through this flag painting campaign to India's Swach Bharat initiative.

Brit-Indian student beats thousands to Spanish spelling bee title Mihir Jagwani, a Year 7 student of Indian origin from Whitgift School in South Croydon, has beaten tens of thousands of students from across the country to win a competitive spelling bee – in Spanish. He won the national final of the Routes into Languages Spelling Bee in Cambridge.

Mihir had to correctly translate and spell the most number of words in Spanish in just 60 seconds.

More than 75,000 youngsters from 580

schools across the country took part in this year's

competition at Anglia Ruskin University.

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In Brief AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Advertising Spending expected to grow

SP

TLIGHT

Amrit Bagha: Avaaya

15

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

ple is surprisingly difficult but it’s a valuable skill.

Forecasts from the Advertising Association/ Warc Expenditure Report expects advertising spending to grow later in the year despite the uncertainty around Brexit. Total UK adspend is expected to grow by 4.2% to £20.9bn this year, down for the April estimate of 5.5%. A growth forecast of 3.8% is predicted for 2017.

Even though the overall adspend is still expected the EU referendum had deepened the decline in certain sectors, with newspapers suffering the most. Spending on national newsbarnds is not expected to 10.1% to £1.1bn this year, compared to the previous estimate of a 5.9% drop. Among regional newspapers, it is a similar outlook with spending down 9.7% this year and 8.5% in 2017.

Adspend growth on TV has been revised to reflect the drop from 5.1% to 3.6% this year, totalling £5.2bn. On the other hand Internet adspend is predicted to be higher than expected to 12.3% to £9.7bn.

What were some of the particulars of your market research?

I always keep an eye on what’s going in the fashion world: what the next new trend is. I researched a lot of webyou're only sites and the different turnover rates. You don’t going to get want to emulate sucback as much cessful products but it’s good to learn from what energy as you they do right. I also put in immersed myself in the product – I would never buy from suppliers whose product I didn’t try. I’ve travelled to India to sample the different fabrics available as well as arranging potential business meetings.

Decline of faith stops

According to research carried out by social research agency NatCen, the decline of religious faith has come to a stop. The research conducted between 2009-2015 shows there was no increase in the percentage of people saying they had no religion. This was in contradiction to a gradual increase in those who declared they were non believers. In 1983, 32% said they were non believers and in 2009 the figure was up to 51%.

London student named suspect in Russell Square attack

Teenager who allegedly killed a retired American teacher

Zakaria Bulhan and Darlene Horton

Darlene Horton, 64 and injured five others in central London, has been identified as Zakaria Bulhan, a Norwegian of Somali descent. He lived with his mother, 42, younger brother, 16, and sister, 24, in Tooting.

Horton had been visiting the capital with her husband Richard Wagner, a university professor from Florida who was teaching summer classes, and was due to return to their home in Tallahassee the following day.

Bulhan's former classmates said he was a "teacher's pet" and was occassionally bullied. His neighbours described him as a polite teenager and that his mother was "kind and friendly". One of his neighbours Kuljit Bhamra, reportedly said, "I am shocked... He was a pleasant boy." Her son said, "He was generally a good lad... We are all in shock. He was not a gangster or someone who got into trouble. He played with my nephews and was a polite kid. He was academic and as far as we were concerned, he was happy. He was never involved in anything wrong."

The police said Zakaria has a history of mental illness and there is nothing to suggest that as a Muslim, he was radicalised. Bags of his belongings were taken from his house for examination. 64 year old American, Darlen Horton was announced dead when rushed to the hospital after the event.

The police refuses to acknowledge Zakaria until he is charged.

A Road Too Narrow

Road users in Plymouth, Devon might well be advised to stay clear of one of this residential road in the city. The reason, its long parking bays drawn by council on both said of the road leaving just a few feet for the ‘vehicles’ to pass, though in reality, it means allowing a cyclist or pedestrian to pass in between cars.

Plymouth City Council said the zones on both sides of the road were introduced more than ten years ago but had been re-painted over the years following fading or resurfacing.

One resident said ‘Now cars can park both sides, but how the hell are you meant to drive in the centre? It’s funny yes, but once again the council is wasting our cash and taxes.’The parking scheme on Cross Park Avenue means the roads are literally impassable if all parts of the bays are full. Ian Bowyer from Plymouth City Council said “Permit holders are able to park anywhere within the marked areas, while using common sense to allow space for other drivers to get past.”

Sunetra Senior

What’s the most important aspect about branding that you’ve learnt?

First develop your own style; then stay consistent. The jewellery boxes I send out are black and white, for the continuity of my simple style. People will come back to what they trust.

Since launching online with ASOS Marketplace in January 2015, Amrit’s “edgy but elegant” jewellery business, Avaaya, has only grown in momentum: “we enjoyed a broad international customer base before the launch,” the proud owner and fashion-conscious entrepreneur told us, “but with this seismic brand behind us, the world-wide sales have become consistent. We now have shop- How has your Psychology degree pers from the US, Turkey and Kuwait on repeat purchases. It’s helped you? incredible. When you see so many satisfied customers tagging Of course marketing is very psychoyou in their pictures on social media, alongside all their favourite logical; you have to draw people into buying. You have to think about what labels, there’s no feeling that rivals it.” It’s also telling that Amrit triggers a consumer into making has both a qualification in Psychology and valuable merimmediate decisions - where their eye might go to instincchandise experience working with the legendary Coca tually on the page. It’s evi–Cola: she is part of that millennial generation who keeping dent in the lettering of my aren’t afraid to take passionate risks and venture out of it simple is logo – it’s very snappy the canny. Indeed, if you look at Amrit’s current pieces and angular, again reflectsurprisingly ing the edginess and con– an array of frosty, bold necklaces, that are simple difficult tinuity of my brand. but striking to behold – there emanates a signature ornamental allure: already approached by style giants What’s a top tip for best such as Vogue and Elle magazine, the wider world seems utilising social media? to agree. “A lot of market research, taking on board good prac- Observing top brands like Topshop tices and the success stories of fashion brands, definitely entered and ASOS, I think it’s about not shoving all your products into the coninto it,” Amrit aptly added, “but it was important for me to infuse sumer’s face. You should make sure my own personal style: I thought very hard about what I would your posts have a total of one to two wear; what matched my wardrobe and various pieces; what could good images a day, with the essence be deftly accessorised for both the office and evening settings. of your brand in mind: the colours, Much of the development of the brand followed on from my self- the shapes, and the theme. belief and the desire to push further. You’re only going to get back Finally, what’s a brand you really the energy you put in.” So Amrit shows, to always build yourself admire?

I like Net-a-Porter because they’re personally is part of professional success.

So tell us a bit more about Avaaya?

Well I’m proud to report that every month the profits have built steadily, since the store’s inception in 2014. In the future, I’m hoping to expand out from jewellery and accessories – we have actually just launched a selection of bags too – and make the brand a one-stop place for fashion: clothes, shoes, western and Indian clothing.

How would you describe Avaaya’s style?

I’m very particular when it comes to design: I think it’s about originality and simplicity. I’ve noticed, for example, that statement necklaces are trending. Those can be very elaborate but still have a modest sort of appeal. The layout of our website complements the product: it’s monochrome and very easy on the eye, emphasising your desired product.

I’m an avid online shopper and I know I just want to be able to reach the clothing I want to buy easily. I had a simple, everyday collection which just sold off the charts- keeping sim-

plain but chic as well. Topshop is incredible in that it is a British brand which has exploded world-wide.

When they opened as a high street store in the US, it was buzzing. Zara is a great in terms of an efficient business model: it takes them something like a month from the inception of the product to getting it into the stores.

They’ve streamlined the turnover process for clothes in way no other store has. Now they don’t have to spend anything on advertising.

W

www.shopavaaya.com

HELPIN 16

SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Disabilities can be split up into 4 categories: learning disabilities such as dyslexia, mental illness such as depression, physical disabilities such as loss of limbs and chronic illness such as churn’s disease. It is important to remember that when looking into disabilities and finding the help needed each case is unique which means the help required will need to be tailored to the person affected. People with disabilities are fighting hard every day to living a normal life as much as possible.

OVERALL WEIGHT The overall weight of the wheelchair can vary from chair to chair.The lighter the chair the easier it is to load into a car, and easier to push, but the lighter the chair, as a rule, the more it costs.Another thing to bear in mind is that some chairs can dismantle for transport.

LEARNING DISABILITIES There are many learning disabilities that many suffer from and it is more common that you think. To spot learning disabilities one needs to see the signs of reading difficulty include problems with:letter and word recognition, understanding words and ideas, reading speed, fluency and general vocabulary skills.

However, to confirm this a simple test can be done by various organisations in learning institutes such as schools and universities. If you are an adult and think you have as learning disabil-

Eat well and drink sensibly

Your brain needs a mix of nutrients in order to stay healthy and function well, just like the other organs in your body. A diet that’s good for your physical health is also good for your tion they’re going to get from other people,” Pam says.

Her mission to get dis-

PRESENTS

ASIAN ACHIEVERS

AWARDS

The people’s choice awards

ACCESSING THE RIGHT SIZE One needs to consider the user’s weight as most standard wheelchairs have a weight limit of around 18 stones. This weight should not be exceeded as the wheelchair will not have been designed to carry more weight and could become dangerous. Also, it is imperative that you choose a wheelchair that is the correct size for you.

Top Tips for good Self-Care

Talk about your feelings Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled. Find a friend or a family member you can confide in. Don’t feel guilty about the state of your mental health just because you don’t have a “good reason” for feeling the way you do. Always remember that the feeling you feel are just as valid and real as the next person.

groups such as Asians living in the UK aremore likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems, admitted to hospital and experience a poor outcome from treatment. These differences may be explained by a number of factors including poverty and racism. The reason for this may also be because mainstream mental health services often fail to understand or provide services that are acceptable and accessible to non-white British communities and meet their particular cultural needs. There are heavy stigmas attached to those suffering from poor mental health which leads the the underutilisation of mental health services and for all Asian groups, there is a stigma attached to going to an outsider to obtain treatment for mental health problems rather than sorting it out within the family or on their own.

The statistics on the numbers of Asian people in the United Kingdom with mental health problems are inconsistent, although it has been suggested that mental health problems are often unrecognised or not diagnosed in this ethnic group.

Living with depression and anxiety is a constant struggle but the number 1 way to help ease it is good self care, never forget to look after

SELF-PROPEL OR ATTENDANT This is determined if one wants to propel themselves using push rims outside of the wheels. If you are not strong enough or capable to propel the chair yourself, then you may opt for a transit chair.

The official definition of a disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities and a disadvantage or handicap, especially one imposed or recognised by the law. Under the law you’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

Where ‘substantial’ is more than minor or trivial, e.g. it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed and ‘long-term’ means 12 months or more which includes progressive conditions that gets worse over time. People with progressive conditions can be classed as disabled and you automatically meet the disability definition from the day you’re diagnosed with a HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis. ity it is useful to contact your local Dyslexia Association. There is a lot of support for those in study and with learning disabilities such as extra time during exams and a possibility of an extension on deadlines.

Pam Malhi talks about having a daughter in the Asian community who has severe autism with learning disabilities and she wishes that by raising awareness and acceptance of autism, within the Asian community. She notes that: “Within the British Asian community, we don’t tend to understand disabilities. We can be ignorant to other people’s needs so it’s a case of, ‘Well it doesn’t really affect me so I don’t need to know about it’.”

Statistics show that 1 in 68 children suffer from autism in the UK. This is evidence enough that there are numerous children within the British Asian community who need vital support: “We do have autistic children in our community.

It’s brushed under the carpet, autism is. Some people don’t bring their children out. I don’t know if they’re afraid, or what kind of reac-

AsianVoiceNews

Guide to buying a wheelchair

the Special Ones

Tanya Datta

SPECIAL Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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mental health, it can be bad to skip meals as it can lead onto dangerous habits.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly yourself and take that extra time for yourselves away from your busy schedule.

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES Physical disabilities cover those with loss of limbs, blindness, loss of hearing and those with loss of movement. For those with physical disabilities travelling by public transport is the biggest challenge as many Tube stations are simple not facilitated to suit those with disabilities. The Asian Community Care Servicesis a non-religious and non political self help organisation, set up, managed and run by Asian disabled people and it is a membership organisation with members spread over fourteen local authority areas. They organise several outings throughout the year such as visits to the Neasden Hindu temple.

The APDA also provides an Asian Day Respite Care and Development service for Asian adults with physical, mental and learning disabilities and Asian elders.

To accommodate those with physical disabilities there are various things that can help. Wheelchair access to public places such as ramps and lifts are useful.

Those that suffer from loss of hearing can make use of British Sign Language as the UK government formally recognised that BSL is an

tacted her through Twitter saying that they haven’t been to the Gurdwara in 7 years, because of the way people look at him and his daughter. She states that if there is more of an understanding about disabilities such her daughter then there can be change in attitudes among the Asian community.

Ask for help None of us are superhuman. We all sometimes get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan.If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can’t cope, ask for help. Your family or friends may be able to offer practical help or a listening ear.Local services such as the Suicide hotline are also there to help you.

46 Church Road, Stanmore, Middx, London HA7 4AH *All prices are from and subject to change and availability*

MENTAL HEALTH In general, people from black and minority ethnic official language in 2003.

Those that suffer from blindness can apply for aides such as guide dogs through charities such as The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association. Those that are living with loss of limbs prosthetics are an option offered by the NHS however, one must go through rigorous physiotherapy and rehabilitation in order to get used to the prosthetic limb and more information can be found out through the NHS website or your GP.

Take a break A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health.It could be a five-minute pause from cleaning your kitchen, a half-hour lunch break at work, or a weekend exploring somewhere new. A few minutes can be enough to de-stress you. Give yourself some ‘me time’. abilities more accepted within the Asian community has received a massive response as someone con-

TRAVLIN STYLE

CHRONIC ILLNESSES Crohns, degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy, chronic pain, HIV and many other conditions all fall under chronic illness.

The problem with this type of disability is that as with mental and learning disabilities this is an “invisible” disability and it affects a wide age range of people. To highlight the struggle that those go under suffering from a chronic illness the term “Spoonies” have been used or “Spoon” theory has been applied to make able bodied people understand this struggle.

Spoons are an intangible unit of measurement used to track how much energy a person has throughout a given day. Each activity requires a given number of spoons, which will only be replaced as the person "recharges" through rest. A person who runs out of

spoons has no choice but to rest until their spoons are replenished. The concept was created by Christine Miserandino in 2003 in her essay The Spoon Theory, which is posted on her website.

However, within the Asian community there is a struggle

as those with chronic illness have the struggle of proving to people that they are ill even though the don’t look ill. A student Mathy Selvakumaran has been working as a regional Trailblazer ambassador in the East Midlands to raise awareness about those with disabilities.

Mathy said in an interview with the Telegraph, “If you met me and I were sitting down, you might not notice my disability – it’s “hidden” to a degree. I don’t use a wheelchair but I have mobility issues that affect my arms and legs, which makes walking and lifting things difficult. When it comes to relationships, I feel this prevents me from being attractive – and I often get the sense that people judge me on my disability. It feels like I’m “undateable” in some people’s eyes.”

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Disabilities can be split up into 4 categories: learning disabilities such as dyslexia, mental illness such as depression, physical disabilities such as loss of limbs and chronic illness such as churn’s disease. It is important to remember that when looking into disabilities and finding the help needed each case is unique which means the help required will need to be tailored to the person affected. People with disabilities are fighting hard every day to living a normal life as much as possible.

OVERALL WEIGHT The overall weight of the wheelchair can vary from chair to chair.The lighter the chair the easier it is to load into a car, and easier to push, but the lighter the chair, as a rule, the more it costs.Another thing to bear in mind is that some chairs can dismantle for transport.

LEARNING DISABILITIES There are many learning disabilities that many suffer from and it is more common that you think. To spot learning disabilities one needs to see the signs of reading difficulty include problems with:letter and word recognition, understanding words and ideas, reading speed, fluency and general vocabulary skills.

However, to confirm this a simple test can be done by various organisations in learning institutes such as schools and universities. If you are an adult and think you have as learning disabil-

Eat well and drink sensibly

Your brain needs a mix of nutrients in order to stay healthy and function well, just like the other organs in your body. A diet that’s good for your physical health is also good for your tion they’re going to get from other people,” Pam says.

Her mission to get dis-

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ACCESSING THE RIGHT SIZE One needs to consider the user’s weight as most standard wheelchairs have a weight limit of around 18 stones. This weight should not be exceeded as the wheelchair will not have been designed to carry more weight and could become dangerous. Also, it is imperative that you choose a wheelchair that is the correct size for you.

Top Tips for good Self-Care

Talk about your feelings Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled. Find a friend or a family member you can confide in. Don’t feel guilty about the state of your mental health just because you don’t have a “good reason” for feeling the way you do. Always remember that the feeling you feel are just as valid and real as the next person.

groups such as Asians living in the UK aremore likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems, admitted to hospital and experience a poor outcome from treatment. These differences may be explained by a number of factors including poverty and racism. The reason for this may also be because mainstream mental health services often fail to understand or provide services that are acceptable and accessible to non-white British communities and meet their particular cultural needs. There are heavy stigmas attached to those suffering from poor mental health which leads the the underutilisation of mental health services and for all Asian groups, there is a stigma attached to going to an outsider to obtain treatment for mental health problems rather than sorting it out within the family or on their own.

The statistics on the numbers of Asian people in the United Kingdom with mental health problems are inconsistent, although it has been suggested that mental health problems are often unrecognised or not diagnosed in this ethnic group.

Living with depression and anxiety is a constant struggle but the number 1 way to help ease it is good self care, never forget to look after

SELF-PROPEL OR ATTENDANT This is determined if one wants to propel themselves using push rims outside of the wheels. If you are not strong enough or capable to propel the chair yourself, then you may opt for a transit chair.

The official definition of a disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities and a disadvantage or handicap, especially one imposed or recognised by the law. Under the law you’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

Where ‘substantial’ is more than minor or trivial, e.g. it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed and ‘long-term’ means 12 months or more which includes progressive conditions that gets worse over time. People with progressive conditions can be classed as disabled and you automatically meet the disability definition from the day you’re diagnosed with a HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis. ity it is useful to contact your local Dyslexia Association. There is a lot of support for those in study and with learning disabilities such as extra time during exams and a possibility of an extension on deadlines.

Pam Malhi talks about having a daughter in the Asian community who has severe autism with learning disabilities and she wishes that by raising awareness and acceptance of autism, within the Asian community. She notes that: “Within the British Asian community, we don’t tend to understand disabilities. We can be ignorant to other people’s needs so it’s a case of, ‘Well it doesn’t really affect me so I don’t need to know about it’.”

Statistics show that 1 in 68 children suffer from autism in the UK. This is evidence enough that there are numerous children within the British Asian community who need vital support: “We do have autistic children in our community.

It’s brushed under the carpet, autism is. Some people don’t bring their children out. I don’t know if they’re afraid, or what kind of reac-

AsianVoiceNews

Guide to buying a wheelchair

the Special Ones

Tanya Datta

SPECIAL Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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mental health, it can be bad to skip meals as it can lead onto dangerous habits.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly yourself and take that extra time for yourselves away from your busy schedule.

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES Physical disabilities cover those with loss of limbs, blindness, loss of hearing and those with loss of movement. For those with physical disabilities travelling by public transport is the biggest challenge as many Tube stations are simple not facilitated to suit those with disabilities. The Asian Community Care Servicesis a non-religious and non political self help organisation, set up, managed and run by Asian disabled people and it is a membership organisation with members spread over fourteen local authority areas. They organise several outings throughout the year such as visits to the Neasden Hindu temple.

The APDA also provides an Asian Day Respite Care and Development service for Asian adults with physical, mental and learning disabilities and Asian elders.

To accommodate those with physical disabilities there are various things that can help. Wheelchair access to public places such as ramps and lifts are useful.

Those that suffer from loss of hearing can make use of British Sign Language as the UK government formally recognised that BSL is an

tacted her through Twitter saying that they haven’t been to the Gurdwara in 7 years, because of the way people look at him and his daughter. She states that if there is more of an understanding about disabilities such her daughter then there can be change in attitudes among the Asian community.

Ask for help None of us are superhuman. We all sometimes get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan.If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can’t cope, ask for help. Your family or friends may be able to offer practical help or a listening ear.Local services such as the Suicide hotline are also there to help you.

46 Church Road, Stanmore, Middx, London HA7 4AH *All prices are from and subject to change and availability*

MENTAL HEALTH In general, people from black and minority ethnic official language in 2003.

Those that suffer from blindness can apply for aides such as guide dogs through charities such as The Guide Dogs For The Blind Association. Those that are living with loss of limbs prosthetics are an option offered by the NHS however, one must go through rigorous physiotherapy and rehabilitation in order to get used to the prosthetic limb and more information can be found out through the NHS website or your GP.

Take a break A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health.It could be a five-minute pause from cleaning your kitchen, a half-hour lunch break at work, or a weekend exploring somewhere new. A few minutes can be enough to de-stress you. Give yourself some ‘me time’. abilities more accepted within the Asian community has received a massive response as someone con-

TRAVLIN STYLE

CHRONIC ILLNESSES Crohns, degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy, chronic pain, HIV and many other conditions all fall under chronic illness.

The problem with this type of disability is that as with mental and learning disabilities this is an “invisible” disability and it affects a wide age range of people. To highlight the struggle that those go under suffering from a chronic illness the term “Spoonies” have been used or “Spoon” theory has been applied to make able bodied people understand this struggle.

Spoons are an intangible unit of measurement used to track how much energy a person has throughout a given day. Each activity requires a given number of spoons, which will only be replaced as the person "recharges" through rest. A person who runs out of

spoons has no choice but to rest until their spoons are replenished. The concept was created by Christine Miserandino in 2003 in her essay The Spoon Theory, which is posted on her website.

However, within the Asian community there is a struggle

as those with chronic illness have the struggle of proving to people that they are ill even though the don’t look ill. A student Mathy Selvakumaran has been working as a regional Trailblazer ambassador in the East Midlands to raise awareness about those with disabilities.

Mathy said in an interview with the Telegraph, “If you met me and I were sitting down, you might not notice my disability – it’s “hidden” to a degree. I don’t use a wheelchair but I have mobility issues that affect my arms and legs, which makes walking and lifting things difficult. When it comes to relationships, I feel this prevents me from being attractive – and I often get the sense that people judge me on my disability. It feels like I’m “undateable” in some people’s eyes.”

Call and book your place NOW! 020 7749 4085

Join us at the 16th Asian Achievers Awards Venue: Central London 16 September 2016 th

Nitin Ganatra

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

Sponsors

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17

Partners

Event Management

Official Caterer

Farrah Storr

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FINANCIAL VOICE

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Indian Parliament clears GST bill; Modi calls it a great step Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

In the biggest tax reform since 1991, the Parliament unanimously voted for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill giving it a thumbs up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the victory calling it a win for Indian democracy.

Speaking at the Lok Sabha during the debate on the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill, Modi said, "There has always been a debate on who gave birth to Krishna and who brought him up. This is not a victory of any party. This is a victory of Indian democracy. This could not be done because of participation of earlier government and this government." Comparing the passage of the GST with the August Kranti movement, Modi said, "Today is the day of August Kranti. On August 9, freedom fighters faced torture. We will remember this day as the GST will also make people free from tax terrorism."

Touted the biggest financial reform since the economy opened up 25 years ago, the bill is expected to improve the ease of doing business in the world's fastest-growing major economy and lower prices of many commodi-

ties. The proposed levy will be a single tax to cover all levies at the Centre and state level, including entry tax and cut through the maze of indirect taxes that hampers free movement of goods and discourages investors. It is also expected to lower the burden on consumers and add 1-2 percentage points to the national GDP. It will help curb tax evasion and usher in transparency and should convert into revenue gains for the Centre and states.

Modi called the bill a "Great step towards Transformation" and a "Great step towards transparency". After being stalled in the Rajya Sabha

since quite some time, the GST finally brought the BJP and the Congress together in a rare show of strong bipartisan convergence. There were several dramatic moments including a face off between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his Congress predecessor P Chidambaram. The latter sought a categorical assurance that subsequent GSTrelated bills would not be introduced as money bills, a parliamentary device that does away with the need for Rajya Sabha's approval.

Jaitley responded by saying that state finance ministers from Congress-ruled states would be part of the

process to finalise a GST rate and draft bills.

No party opposed the Constitution amendment and AIADMK was the sole entity to express its dissatisfaction and stage a walkout. The GST bill was approved by a 203-0 vote with a lack of fuss that belied the long drawn negotiations and acrimonious exchanges that saw it being stalled in Parliament.

The next steps require sustained efforts as 50% of states must approve the legislation. The setting up of the GST council is a vital element as the entity will determine the GST rate and institute a dispute resolution mechanism.

growth next year. BoE Governor Mark Carney said, "By acting early and comprehensively, the (Bank) can reduce uncertainty, bolster confidence, blunt the slowdown and support the necessary adjustments in the UK economy." He said he had unveiled an "exceptional package of measures" because the economic outlook had changed markedly following the Brexit vote.

Sterling fell as much as 1.6 per cent against the dollar following the announcement, while British government bond yields hit record lows and the main share index rose by 1.6 per cent.

BoE expects the econo-

my to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth next year. With the cutting of rates to the lowest in its history, the bank now joins the rank of the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia, which both undertook unprecedented stimulus in the past week. Finance Minister Philip Hammond welcomed the rate cut and said he and Carney had "the tools we need to support the economy as we begin this new chapter and address the challenges ahead." Carney said the BoE had scope to do more stimulus in the form of rate cuts and quantitative easing, but ruled out negative

interest rates, and rejected "flights of fancy" such as handing out 'helicopter money' with no strings attached. He said commercial banks had "no excuse" not to pass on the BoE's rate cut to their customers.

The Bank's policy makers were not completely united on how to respond to the fallout from Brexit.

Three policymakers have, however, opposed raising the target for quantitative easing government bond purchases to 435 billion pounds from the 375 billion total reached in late 2012. Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale expressed their displeasure with the move.

Rajan keeps interest rate unchanged Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan in his last monetary policy review has kept the policy rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent, even as inflation has hit a near two-year high and continues to be above the comfort zone.

In fact, Rajan also said there was upside risk to the March 2017 inflation target of 5 per cent, but added that it has retained its GDP growth projection at 7.6 per cent for 2016-17. The RBI kept the cash reserve ratio of scheduled banks

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

4 Indian-origins among US' top wealth advisers

Indian Americans Raj Sharma, Ash Chopra,Sonny Kothari and Raju Pathak have been ranked 17, 129, 176 and 184 respectively on the Forbes 2016 Americas Top Wealth Advisers list

Bank of England cuts interest rates for first time since 2009 Bank of England (BoE) has cut interest rates, releasing billions of pounds of stimulus to soothe the economy hit by the recent vote to leave the European Union.

It reduced interest rates by 2 basis points to a recordlow 0.25 per cent. The cut is the first since 2009, and was accompanied by a pledge to buy 60 billion pounds of government bonds with newly created money over the next six months, and two new stimulus schemes.

BoE said most policy makers expected to cut the main interest rate to even closer to zero later this year, and sharply downgraded its outlook for

AsianVoiceNews

Raghuram Rajan

unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities.

Rajan is set to retire on September 4 after a threeyear term.

Tuesday's meeting was also the last bi-monthly monetary policy to be decided by the central bank governor. That's because the broad-based 6-member panel may take over the job before the next review scheduled for October 4. In conjunction with naming 3 members to the Monetary Policy Committee, the government is also likely to name a successor to Rajan later this month. The government announced that it would like the RBI to focus on maintaining a retail

inflation rate of 4 per cent for the next five years, based on which the new interest rate setting panel would take its monetary policy decisions going forward. Rajan has been criticized for following a hawkish monetary policy for far too long before he started to lower rates. He has reduced the benchmark interest rate by 1.5 per cent since January last year, and has been persuading banks to fully transmit the benefit of the policy rate cut to customers.

Forbes list of America's top wealth advisers include the names of four Indian-origin persons. The list of 200 members who collectively manage USD 675 billion include Raj Sharma and Ash Chopra, of Merrill Lynch. They are ranked at 17 and 129 respectively.

Sonny Kothari of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management stands at 176, and Raju Pathak of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is placed at 184. Forbes said the members serve clients ranging from Silicon Valley billionaires and Wall Street majors, to small business owners and family fortunes. "Most great fortunes have their roots in hard work, brilliant business decisions or savvy

investing somewhere along the way, but once the money is made, growing, preserving and passing it on to the next generation becomes paramount," Forbes said.

"That's where a wealth advisor can come in handy."

Advisers from big wirehouses topped the list, while others focus more on investments and getting clients into exclusive opportunities like top-performing hedge funds or pre-IPO startups. Forbes said, "Each of the 200 advisers on the list have one thing in common: they are trusted to handle the money of wealthy individuals and families, and will do whatever it takes to keep that trust."

Sahara pays £30 mn, SC asks for £30 mn more The Supreme Court of India has asked the Sahara group to deposit £30 million more with market regulator Sebi by September 16 for continuation of group head Subrata Roy's bail over and above the £30 million it had deposited with the regulator. With this payment, the Sahara group's total deposit with Sebi has crossed £1 billion.

But it still has to pay £1.40 billion, according to the SC judgment as principal amount. Repeated flouting of deadlines to pay up had landed Roy and two directors of the group in jail.

They were granted interim bail on the condition of depositing £500 million in cash and furnishing a bank guarantee of £500 million.

Appearing for the Sahara group, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the cash component of the bail condition had been met as promised and the group would soon be able to provide a bank guarantee. The argument was meant to convince the court about the bonafides of the group and to request it to confirm bail for Roy and the two directors.

A bench said payment of bail bond amount was not a guarantee for Roy's freedom as the group was still far away from paying up the £ 2.40 billion principal liability, which the SC in one of its judgments

Subrata Roy

quantified with interest to be Rs £3.60 billion. "We are getting tired of recovering the outstanding dues from you. At this rate (£2030 million at a time every three months), you will take 10 years to pay up the principal amount. You have said on affidavit that you have landed property worth £18.7 billion. Why are you not selling them and depositing the entire amount?" the bench asked.

Sibal said the value mentioned was reflective of the price the lands would command after development.

However, he promised that the Sahara group would pay up the entire principal amount in the next 18 months. "It will not take more than one-and-a-half years. The group will pay up £2.47 billion in the next one-and-a-half years," he said.

The bench asked Sebi about the e-auction of Sahara properties. Senior advocate Arvind Datar said of 58 properties, eight were sold and fetched £19.5 million,

REALESTATEVOICE

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Only yesterday we got confirmation of another deal being agreed. The property is in the prime neighbourhood of St John’s Wood. It is a probate property which requires modernisation.

The property is priced at 25% below what it would be worth developed. It has been agreed at £750,000 which equates to just under £900 per sq. ft.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

The deal was agreed on the basis of a quick exchange, and we managed to get this contract on the condition of us being cash buyers.

This was what helped us to clinch the deal, rather than it going to the other offers floating around.

It makes no sense to purchase with cash, given you should be able to get a

DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT While it may sound easy enough - buy a home, make a few renovations and rent it out for more than the monthly mortgage payment - to truly successfully manage your own BTL property requires the mindset of a business professional. Without experience, it can be easy to quickly lose money, time and sleep by making these common new landlord mistakes.

1. Location, location, location This mistake is made by many landlords, particularly those wishing

to make their first steps.

That thatched cottage in the countryside might be great for homebuyers who want to settle down in their dream home, but remember that tenants in their 20s-30s with an active social life are dependent on public transport.

If you choose a spot that has a bad reputation, or is in the middle of nowhere, you will struggle to charge a decent rent and find good tenants, regardless of how appealing you have made it.

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY 2. Viewing it as a hobby

Edgware Road, London W2 Purchase Price: £850,000

Asian Voice |13th August 2016

19

high street mortgage on this property.

Typically, the higher the floor the higher the price.

This property is on the fourth floor which should command a premium.

A couple of years ago this deal would have been viewed differently, in that the property could have been potentially done as a buy, develop and resell deal. Given the raft of stamp duty changes and the current market conditions this is no longer a viable option. Higher transactions costs make the market less liquid.

Something which could have been developed and resold to end users, giving the government two bites at the stamp duty is no longer a viable proposition, not to

Although the hands-on nature of buy to let make it an enjoyable investment for many, it’s important to remember that it is an investment. As with any investment, if you fail to give it the care and attention it needs, chances are it’s going to cost you a lot of money in the long run. The process of being a landlord doesn’t stop as soon as you’ve handed the keys over. If you’re unable to find the time to market, maintain and look after your property, it may be time to reconsider your priorities.

3. Hidden costs Remember you will have to spend money to make money. While you know

mention making more stock available to end users.

Instead this deal is being pitched as a buy and hold proposition, as we are in uncertain times.

It comes with a long lease,

about mortgage repayments and agent fees, there will be lots of extras you haven't thought of; buildings insurance, contents insurance and even landlord insurance to cover any rent arrears or damages. You will also need to provide a gas safety and pay for annual checks.

In addition to these initial costs, you will be expected to maintain the property to a reasonable standard.

Costs like these add up.

Failing to factor them in could derail your carefully planned budget.

4. Not vetting tenants thoroughly Putting the time in to select good tenants is key to the success of your

l

Long lease l Approx. 1,000 sq. ft. l Concierge/Porter l 2 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 Reception Rooms l Value post renovation expected to be £1.2m l Currently used as a health clinic with residential above Call us now for more information!

and reasonable service charges, given the location and the fact it is a portered block. Whilst going to view it, there was a developer waiting to see the property just after us. Unbeknown to him, the deal was concluded in the property before he even walked in.

We have concluded the deal at £750,000, it is now waiting for a buyer, which given the location and the discount one should appear in the horizon very soon! If you are interested in the deal, then get in touch quickly, before you miss out.

rental business. If you don't do your research beforehand, you could end up with tenants who damage your property or miss rental payments. As much as you might like to hope they will cherish your property, tenants do not always treat places as they would their own home, meaning wear and tear costs will be higher.

Ask for references, as past behaviour is a good guide to how your tenants will act in the future so this should give you an indication of whether they pay the rent on time and how well they might will look after your property.

landlords face is sticking with their investment the way it is. You have successfully brought and rented out your beautiful three bed house with income X coming in monthly, it is easy to become stuck in a rut and not have the vision to improve the income as you are simply used to this.

It is not all doom and gloom as being a landlord can be very profitable and enjoyable, allow us to take all the hassle out of the equation as we can assist and advise on all the pitfalls that you may come across and make your investment hassle free.

5. Stuck in a rut Another problem that

Richard Bond

Lettings Manager Sow & Reap

20

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Why Invest In India? The Overview – another economic America.

Time to diversify – it is good for British people to earn income from abroad. To make the case for opportunities in India would seem self-evident then.

Meeting a California Silicon Valley billionaire who has re-emigrated back to India is perhaps one of the more striking proofs of India’s potential. These, the most successful of Indians, who moved to the US in the 1960s from an opportunity-shorn India, return today with their millionaire colleagues, to capture the types of opportunities few, if any places on earth can match. After, all, no other major capitalist economy will even come close to matching India’s growth for decades.

Imagine a business person with a time machine. They would probably choose to go back to the beginning of last century to the US to make their fortune – the time of Rockefeller and Getty.

Consider during that century, the Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497. This gain, though it appears huge, shrinks to 5.3% when compounded annually. And that nevertheless was the American century – the century when the US became a super power. Consider that that growth rate transformed a backward nation from the horse and carriage to one which freely sent man to the moon. Yet India today exceeds and is projected to exceed for our working life times that return-rate of 5%. The baton of Rockefeller and Getty is truly carried by Ambani and Tata.

If your investment options were binary: US, the world’s largest economy, or India, think now about this century. For investors to merely match that 5.3% marketvalue gain, the Dow – recently below 10,000 – would need to close at about 2,000,000 on December 31, 2099. We are nearly a decade into this century, and we have racked up none of the 1,990,000 Dow points the market needed to travel in this hundred years to equal the 5.3% of the last.

Whereas, India, with the real economy targeting 8% for the foreseeable future is far more likely to provide the types of returns to match the transformation the United States had since 1900. Where would you invest?

Little wonder then this nation had the greatest GDP of any country on the eve of the formation of the British East India Company. There is nothing to suggest her people will not return to resume their destiny.

Private banks too record fall in profits With public sector banks coming under the radar due to mounting losses and rising bad loans, private sector banks have also seen a deterioration in credit quality and consequent fall in profits. Net non-performing assets of ICICI Bank, more than doubled to 3.01 per cent in AprilJune quarter of 2016, from 1.40 per cent in the same quarter previous year. The bank's gross NPA ratio jumped to 5.28 per cent in April-June 2016 from 3.29 per cent in the same quarter previous year.

ICICI Bank expects NPA additions and credit costs to be at elevated levels in the current fiscal year. "About 77 per cent of the gross additions to NPAs for the wholesale and SME businesses in Q1 of 2017 were on account of slippages from companies internally rated below investment grade in key sectors, and slippages from the restructured portfolio," the bank said. To strengthen monitoring of its corporate and SME portfolio, the lender has formed a dedicated credit monitoring group, responsible for

leveraging analytics, developing predictive models and parameters for early warning signals, said ICICI Bank's MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.

Shares of ICICI Bank fell from Rs 270 to Rs 245 in two trading sessions since the announcement of its quarterly results. The bank had reported a 25 per cent drop in profits in the April-June quarter, to £223.23 million from £297.62 million in same quarter a year ago. Axis Bank’s net NPA also more than doubled to 1.08 per cent in April-June quarter of 2016 (or £440.10 million), from 0.48 per cent in the same quarter previous year (or £146.10 million).

The bank’s gross NPA ratio jumped to 2.54 per cent or (£955.30 million) in AprilJune 2016 from 1.38 per cent (£425.10 million) in the same quarter previous year. Axis Bank had last month reported a 21 per cent (YoY) decline in its net profit to £155.60 million for the April-June quarter because of an 88.7 per cent (YoY) rise in provisions necessitated by a 124.7 per cent jump in gross NPAs.

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ED to attach over £600 mn worth of Vijay Mallya assets AsianVoiceNews

The Enforcement Directorate has identified assets worth over £600 million in a fresh attack against liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The agency is in the works to initiate the second round of attachments under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the businessman recently made his absence before a special PMLA court under a proclamation order issued under sections of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Sources said the agency has identified several pledged shares, associated immovable and movable assets of Mallya and his family members that would be seized and frozen as part of its action plan to widen probe in the case. They said, "Similar action can be initiated against few others named in the case apart from Mallya." Adding that the agency has already written to banks and other financial institutions to obtain details in this regard. Meanwhile, the agency is also in the process of getting a 'pro-

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None show interest in Kingfisher House e-auction

Vijay Mallya

claimed person' order issued from the special court which will be further sent to the Ministry of External Affairs in order to execute the India-UK MLAT to bring Mallya back from London.

The ED had sought a proclamation notice in June, to be issued against Mallya as it said he had "multiple" arrest warrants pending against him, including a non-bailable warrant under the PMLA, and that the agency wants him to join the probe "in person". It has already attached his properties worth about £141.10 million under PMLA in the case a few months back,

The second e-auction of Kingfisher Airline's corporate office Kingfisher House, in Mumbai, was mostly drab as no buyer approached SBICAP Trustee Company, again.

Sources said SBICAP Trustee did not receive the earnest money deposit from any interested buyer.

Bidders were required to submit 10 per cent of the reserve price or £1.35 million as the EMD amount.

The reserve price for the property was lowered by 10 per cent to £13.5 million after the first e-auction of the property in March failed. Bidders once again found the reserve price high, sources said, which is why no one came forward to participate in the auction. Last

year the property was estimated to be £10 million, said property experts.

SBICAP Trustee Company gave a public notice in July, announcing an e-auction of the property; part of the recovery process of dues from the airline's promoter Vijay Mallya, under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002. The notice said that Mallya owed banks over £696.3 million. The land along with the building measures around 3,988 square metres. Kingfisher House is among the assets pledged by the company to a consortium of 17 banks.

and wants Mallya to personally join the investigations in its PMLA probe against him and others in the £90 million alleged

loan fraud of banks. A Delhi court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him in a 2012 cheque bounce case.

India’s power group NTPC sells ‘green’ masala bond Following the footsteps of HDFC's masala bonds, or rupee-dominated offshore debt, India’s largest power group NTPC has raised $299 million and added a twist to what is only the second deal in the sector by designating the issuance “green.” Masala bonds have been touted by bankers as well as by New Delhi as a new funding channel for Indian business. However, their higher borrowing costs - a result of Indian tax laws - had deterred issuers until Housing Development Finance Corporation broke the ice last month.

State-backed NTPC, which originally looked to raise Rs10 billion, sold fiveyear bonds to yield 7.48 per cent, attracting demand totalling Rs 29 billion.

Sixty investors were involved, up from the 40

that participated in HDFC’s three-year deal.

“It is a very new market and the deal was checking a box by extending market tenor to five years,” said Ashish Malhotra, global head of bond syndicate at Standard Chartered, who said Indian companies were increasingly weighing the feasibility of the masala market.

“We’re also seeing secondary market liquidity emerging - that had been a concern among investors,” he added. The deal’s green

credentials will not have hurt. The label means the proceeds will be invested in “green” areas - in this case, renewable energy development.

Borrowing via green bonds globally has already reached $41bn this year, according to Dealogic - surpassing last year’s full-year total. Growth in issuance from emerging markets borrowers accounted for $21.8 billion of that - more than four times last year’s total.

For Indian borrowers

NTPC’s deal is particularly important in light of the country’s small, illiquid domestic market.

Outstanding corporate bonds in India amounted to less than one-tenth of gross domestic product in 2014, compared with 46 per cent in China and 88 per cent in South Korea, according to the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

The offshore issuance of rupee bonds is back in the spotlight after a muchneeded boost last week.

Investor concerns about currency risk attached to masala bonds have been mitigated by India’s improved economic fundamentals in the past two years: inflation has been much lower and less volatile, and both fiscal and current account deficits have narrowed.

Chief Executive pay packets rise by 10% According to new research the average pay packet for chief executives of Britain’s largest companies rose last year by 10% to £5.48 million. FTSE 100 bosses earned 140 times more than their employees. The latest figure is a reduction compared to 2014 when the pay package for company bosses was 148 times more than their employees.

Analysis of annual reports by the High Pay Centre shows the pay of chief executives in FTSE 100 companies was up over 10% on

average £4.96million in 2014.

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the advertising and PR Agency remains the highest paid paid chief executive in the top 10 list after his pay rocketed from £43 million in 2014 to £70.4 million last year. Among the top 10 was Rakesh Kappor who is ranked 3rd on the list. Mr Kapoor, the chief executive of consumer goods group, Reckitt Benckiser, earned £23.2 million. However the list is also glaring in the fact

that none of the FTSE 100’s five women chief executives made the top 10 list, which was the same as the 2014 and 2015 list. Furthermore, the ten companies featured on the list had no female executive directors and no renumeration committee has a women within, it is the committee which makes plans about pay and bonuses.

Britain’s highest paid CEOs in 2015 • Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP, £70.416m • Tony Pidgley, Berkeley

Group, £23.296m • Rakesh Kapoor, Reckitt Benckiser, £23.190m • Jeremy Darroch, Sky, £16.889m • Flemming Ørnskov, Shire, £14.638m • Bob Dudley, BP, £13.296m • Erik Engstrom, Relx, £10.869m • Mike Wells, Prudential Financial, £10.031m • Michael Dobson/Peter Harrison, Schroders, £8.905m • António Horta Osório, Lloyds Group, £8.773m

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Islamophobia plagues US flights AsianVoiceNews

CHICAGO: In yet another case of Islamophobia, a Pakistani-American couple claims to have been removed from a US-bound flight after an onboard crew member felt "uncomfortable" after noticing that they were "sweating" and saying "Allah" and texting.

Nazia and Faisal Ali have accused Delta Air Lines of throwing them off their flight from Paris to Cincinnati, Ohio. Nazia, 34, was settling into her seat for the nine-hour flight when a Delta Air Lines crew member approached them. A flight member had expressed her discomfort with the Muslim couple, to the pilot.

She allegedly told the pilot that the woman was wearing a head scarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating. The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and she heard them use the word "Allah".

The pilot contacted the ground crew and would not take off until the two stepped out. Nazia said, "We had been in our seats for 45 minutes. The ground

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agent said, Can you step out with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions. So I said, Do you want us to get our things? And he said, Please grab all of your belongings, you're not going to be on this flight."

The couple were interrogated by a French police officer about their stay in Paris, and later said he had no problem with them.

Following the incident, the Muslim advocacy group filed a religious profiling complaint against Delta Air Lines to the US Department of Transportation.

The Airlines said, "Delta condemns discrimination

toward our customers in regard to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender." They said they will investigate the matter and issue a full refund of these customers' airfare.

2 Muslim women working for US govt deplaned: Two American Muslim women were asked to leave an American Airlines plane after one of them talked to another passenger about the lack of water and food and a flight attendant said they had made him feel “unsafe.”

Niala Mohammad, a journalist for the government-funded news outlet Voice of

America, and her friend, who works for the federal government, were travelling from Miami to Washington when they were asked to disembark the plane.

Mohammad wrote on Facebook that their plane had been grounded for about five hours in Miami and they were not allowed to buy food or drink. Her friend and a white male passenger seated behind her started talking about the delay. A male flight attendant allegedly approached her friend and said: “If you have a problem, you can get off the plane.”

He also accused her of “instigating” objections from other passengers and allegedly threatened to remove her from the plane.

The friends took a picture of the flight attendant to try and identify him as he was not wearing a badge.

An American Airlines representative came on board and asked the two women to follow her off the plane, where they were greeted by armed air marshals and police officers.

Prachanda is new Nepal PM KATHMANDU: Following the stepping down of CPNUML chairman, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Maoist chief Prachanda has been elected by lawmakers as Nepal's new PM. The second time leader promised a better future, and to lead the nation toward economic development and work as a bridge between communities following deadly protests over a divisive new Constitution.

The only contender for the post, Pushpa Kamal Dahal had to go through the voting as the Constitution requires the Prime Minister to prove support of the majority lawmakers in the House.

Mostly known for his staunch stand against India, Prachanda was elected with 363 votes in

Abhishek Sachdev

Over four years ago, my colleague Martin Berkeley began to help one of our clients, Ms Mehnaaz Chaudhry, a businesswoman who undertakes social support and residential care services to more disadvantaged families in the

favour and 210 against him. Out of the total 595 members, 22 did not vote.

He found backing by the country's largest political party, Nepali Congress, constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance and some other smaller parties.

Ahead of the election, the leader had vowed to lead the nation toward eco-

nomic development while moving ahead with the spirit of national consensus during his premiership. He will not only become the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal, he will also become the first communist leader to become the PM twice.

The move came after Nepali Congress and CPNMaoist signed a threepoint agreement with the Madhesi Front to secure

support from the Madhesi parties. According to the agreement, the government would implement the Madhesi Front's demands that include acknowledging those killed during the Madhes agitation as martyrs and providing free treatment to the injured besides amending the Constitution to redraw provincial boundary, while the Madhesi parties would support the new government.

Welcoming the news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the newly elected leader and assured him India's full support.

He tweeted, "Spoke to Nepal's PM-elect Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' ji & congratulated him.

Assured him of our full support & invited him to India."

London area. Ms Chaudhry contacted us because of her concern in being mis-sold complex derivative contracts.

Our firm, Vedanta Hedging is the largest FCA authorised derivative advisory firm for SMEs in the UK and has assisted more than 440 corporates to settle derivative disputes with their banks, but almost all of them contain strict confidentiality clauses.

Unusually, in this legal settlement, the client refused to sign a confidentiality agreement. Hence, we can report that RBS was forced to settle a High Court claim over the mis-selling of two derivative

products in 2007. Despite paying a total financial cost in excess of £1m, RBS continues to deny any liability in this case. The settlement received included repaying Ms. Chaudary 92% of her direct losses.

I assisted my colleague Martin in this dispute and was shocked by Ms Chaudhry’s treatment by RBS. This customer did not fully understand the Interest Rate Collars and therefore RBS should not have sold them. RBS failed to fully explain the risks associated with the Collars, in particular breakage costs. Had Ms

Chaudhry fully understood the complexity and risks of the Collars, she would not have entered into them and would have chosen alternative hedges. The Collars were overpriced at inception by between 149% and 169% whereas the customer could have had more effective hedges at a fraction of the cost.

The FCA IRHP review scheme has sadly failed in many cases to ensure customers get fair redress and instead has significantly reduced the cost of compensation that is truly owed by banks to victims.

This is particularly disap-

21 WORLD Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

"Send her home" judge orders father A judge ruled last week to send back a British women caged by her father in Saudi Arabia. Mr Justice Holman made the landmark ruling at the family division of the high Court in London saying that Amina al-Jeffery was entitled protection under British law despite her father saying her captivity was normal under Saudi Arabia’s Islamic rules.

The 21 year old photography student from Swansea said she feared being killed after revealing her father brutal treatment towards her.

She described being kept in a “cage” in her father’s home in Saudi Arabia, where she was starved and tortured if she displayed him or tried to escape. Her treatment

was her father, Mohammed al-Jeffery’s punishment for her western lifestyle which he described as “toxic”.

Mr Justice Holman said “She is currently in peril from which she requires to be rescued.”

He has ordered Mr alJeffery to give back his daughter’s passports to her and allow her to return to Britain within five weeks. The judge’s unusual step was taken because “to do nothing at all would amount, in my view, to dereliction towards Amina and in effect giving up on her.”

Despite the ruling the judge accepted that there was nothing he could do to enforce the order if Mr al-Jeffery refused to comply.

The Happiness of ‘Sad Singles’ A new study has found that unmarried people live more fulfilled lives, stay in contact with friends and are more self reliant than their married peers, a psychologist has found after reviewing hundreds of studies. Dr Bella DePaulo from the University of California, claims that the traditional view of singles being “sad and lonely” is nonsense and that people on their own often live more meaningful lives.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Dr DePaulo said there was a relentless celebration of marriage and couples in popular culture, which she has labeled as “matrimania”, while singles face discrimination and being stereotyped. Despite this, after reviewing 841 studies, Dr DePaulo found single people tend to be happier in their jobs, more likely to stay in touch with friends and family, more self-reliant and less

inclined to negativity.

She also found singles to more more connected with their parents, siblings, friends, neighbours and colleagues than married people, and when people marry they become more insular. The general view that people will more happy when married as they benefit from the emotional and psychological aspects of marriage like intimacy, caring and companionship. Yet the fail to consider the financial benefits and protections offered to couples.

Comparative research among people who stayed single to those who stayed married show the singles have an enhanced sense of self-determination and are more likely to experience continued growth and development as a person. However Dr DePaulo warns that the obsession with the insecurity of loneliness often hides the benefits of solitude and and can make singles unhappy.

Bank pays £1m for mis-sold swap after 4yr dispute pointing, because we started to advise Ms Chaudhry about this dispute in March 2012, before the FCA IRHP Review scheme had even been announced in June 2012. Yet, after more than four years of arguing with the Bank, only now did the Bank relent and pay the customer what she was owed. The FCA IRHP Review scheme was instigated by our firm by raising awareness of the mis-selling of complex derivative contracts to SMEs in late 2011. The (then) FSA even paid us to advise them on how these products worked and how they should be sold to SMEs.

The reality is that thousands of SMEs were not adequately explained the risks of such derivatives, and hence were sold products that were inadequate for them.

Although we assist leading solicitors and QC’s to settle such disputes weekly, it is rare that we are able to publicly share any of this.

If you would like any more information about this, please do contact us.

Tel: 020 7183 2277 www.vedantahedging.com

22

WORLD

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A nation’s terrorist can’t be another’s martyr: Rajnath Singh Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

ISLAMABAD: India's home minister Rajnath Singh attended the SAARC Home Ministers' Conference in Islamabad, amongst severe protests, and gave an open speech expressing India's stand regarding Pakistan calling slain Kashmiri terrorist Burhan Wani a "martyr".

Speaking at the platform, Singh denounced "glorification and patronisation of terrorism" by any country. "One country's terrorist cannot be a freedom fighter for anyone... I also speak for the entire humanity, not just for India or other SAARC members; in urging that in no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs," Singh said. "Countries that provide support, encouragement, give sanctuary and safe haven and assistance to terrorists and terrorism must be isolated. Moreover the will and mandate of the international community against proscribed and want-

ed terrorists and their organisations must also be respected and implemented," he said. "Immediate action is required against all those who support or encourage international terrorism, whether state actors or nonstate. Only then justice will be ensured for the victims of terrorist attacks such as in Mumbai and Pathankot."

Responding to the statements, Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisal Ali Khan slammed the use of "excessive force to suppress

protests in Kashmir", saying there was a difference between fighting for freedom and terrorism. "Brute force against children and torture of civilian qualifies as terrorism. It's important to respect the fundamental human rights of people and not suppress freedom struggle in the name of fight against terrorism," he said.

While Singh talked tough on terrorism, members of the Indian media who had come from New Delhi to report on the conference, were not

allowed to cover his speech.

They were reportedly kept at a distance by Pak officials which even led to a verbal dual between officers of either sides. Only Pak state PTV was allowed to cover introductory speeches of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Khan.

The troubled Indo-Pak relationship was evident when Singh barely shook hands with his counterpart Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan.

They came across at Serena Hotel – SAARC conference venue – but the two leaders barely touched their hands.

Singh along with senior officials of the Home Ministry went to Islamabad. He did not have any bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart. Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and leaders of other terrorists groups wanted by the Indian agencies condemned Singh's visit to Pakistan.

US asks Pak to act against all terror groups ISLAMABAD: The US asked Pakistan to act against terror groups targeting its neighbours and not just the ones that pose a threat to it, at the SAARC ministerial meet held in Islamabad. Endorsing India's stand, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said, "We have been very clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that they must target all militant groups and that includes those that target Pakistan's neighbours. They must also close all safe havens."

"We obviously believe

that Pakistan needs to do all it can to confront all terrorists operating on its soil. We have seen it make progress; we want to see more progress on its part," Toner said when asked about Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to the country. He said Pak was going after terror groups "selectively" and "we need to see them go after all groups, even those that might not threaten Pakistan itself but threaten its neighbours." Toner said it was important to have a forum where countries can "talk about in a candid way" on the

areas of disagreement and concerns and advocated closer cooperation between India and Pakistan to deal with terror threat in both the countries. "We encourage that kind of regional dialogue regarding counter-terrorism efforts. We advocate for closer cooperation, certainly, between India and Pakistan to deal with terrorist threats in both countries." He called out both countries to fight together against terrorism, saying, "Terrorism is obviously a reality in both countries, and in order to effectively confront it, they need

to work together. That is something we have long encouraged. So it is important that these forum, rather, to talk about in a candid way some of the areas of disagreement and some of the areas of concern between the two of them."

Rajnath Singh attended the SAARC Home Ministers' meeting amongst massive protests in Islamabad.

Addressing the meet, he had said that mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough and that there are "no good terrorists or bad terrorists".

Kashmir main pillar of Pak foreign policy: Sharif ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called the Kashmir issue, the main pillar of Islamabad's foreign policy, in fresh attacks on India.

Addressing the concluding session of the three-day conference of Pakistani envoys in Islamabad, Sharif called upon the Pakistani diplomatic corps to canvass opinion in world capitals on J&K and to tell them that the "Kashmir

Nawaz Sharif

issue is not the internal matter of India".

In a start to Pak diplomatic offensive, he said that the "desire of freedom is running in the blood of Kashmiris." While Sharif's speech was in line with the policy the government has followed, it did raise a few eyebrows as it coincided with the Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh's presence in Islamabad for the SAARC meet. He also added that the "movement" in Kashmir "is

running into the bloods of third generation of Kashmiri people and the world has itself seen its intensity in the wake of July 8."

Just last month Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had accused Islamabad of an "unabashed embrace of terrorism" and warned that its stated goal of detaching Kashmir from India will "not be realised to the end of eternity."

SA ruling party suffers biggest loss JOHANNESBURG: Suffering a major election setback, South African ruling party lost the metropolitan area in the municipal polls, including the country's capital. Opposition Democratic Alliance party pushed out ANC in Tshwane, though it did not win a majority.

The race for Johannesburg, on the other hand, remained too close with just 1per cent of votes left to be counted. The ANC has had widespread support since SA's first all-race election in 1994.

However, this time, it has

found challenge due to its corruption scandals and a stagnant economy that has provoked protests in poor communities. "Election after election, the ANC has hung on to

its past glory. This time round, though, it's not enough," a report read.

The party also lost its first najor black-majority municipality in the poll, Nelson

Mandela Bay, which was won by the Democratic Alliance, which has roots in the antiapartheid movement. Party chief Mmusi Maimane said, "For far too long, the ANC has governed SA with absolute impunity." He added the idea that this party was a white one has been "completely shattered". The ANC has received 53 per cent of votes so far, its lowest ever, with the Democratic Alliance getting 26 per cent. The results could put pressure on Zuma to leave office before his mandate ends in 2019.

In Brief

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Gunmen abduct American, Australian in Kabul

KABUL: An American and an Australian have been abducted by five gunmen wearing Afghan military uniforms in Afghan capital, Kabul.

They were taken from their SUV whil driving on a main road near the American University of Afghanistan, as said by Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry.

He added that initial reports show that up to five armed men stopped the foreigners' vehicle and carried out the kidnapping. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement confirming "the apparent kidnapping of an Australian in Kabul". It said, "Due to privacy and security considerations we will not be commenting further.We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Afghanistan because of the extremely dangerous security situation, including the serious threat of kidnapping." Over three foreigners have been kidnapped in Kabul in the past year.

Muslim woman fired for wearing hijab at workplace in US

WASHINGTON: A young Muslim woman was fired from her job at a dental clinic for wearing a hijab, in an alleged case of discrimination in the US. Najaf Khan was put off her job as a dental assistant at Fair Oaks Dental Care in Fairfax County, Virginia, as her employer wanted to keep a "neutral environment". "I was really upset. The day that it happened, I was devastated," Najaf said. She said she did not wearthe hijab for her interview or the first two days of her job. The third day, she chose to put it on and Dr Chuck Joo asked her to take off the hijab. Joo asked her to remove it because the Islamic head scarf would offend patients and wanted to keep religion out of the office. Khan said she was given an ultimatum.

"When I said that I would not compromise my religion for that, he held the door open for me and I walked out." Council on American Islamic Relations said, "No employee should face termination because of his or her faith or religious practices. We call on Fair Oaks Dental Care to reinstate the Muslim employee and to offer her reasonable religious accomodation as mandated by law."

Syria's civil war: 'Chlorine gas dropped on Idlib town'

DAMASCUS: Helicopters dropped containers of toxic gas on a town in Syria's Idlib province, seriously injuring 33 civilians, including 18 women and 10 children. Raed Saleh, head of the Syrian Civil Defense group said, the injured were brought to a local hospital after the attack in the town of Saraqeb. "Just before midnight, helicopters dropped five explosive barrels containing cylinders of chlorine and shards of metal on neighbourhoods in Saraqeb." He added, "We suspect it was chlorine because of the smell and the nature of the injuries, suffocation and burning, red eyes.

Members of the civil defense brought them all to the nearby hospital." The town is situation 15 km away from where a Russian helicopter was shot down, killing all five onboard. While no group has claimed responsibility for the shooting down, people are wondering whether the chlorine attack came in retaliation for the loss. Russia rejected reports of the chemical attack and said it was false information.

US designates Pakistan's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar as 'terrorist group'

WASHINGTON: The United States has added Pakistani militant outfit Jamaat-ur-Ahrar to its list of global terrorists, after it claimed responsibility for at least five major attacks in Pakistan since December. The designation announced by the State Department in a statement, means anyone who supports the group could have their assets frozen by the US government. JuA's most recent attack was a suicide bombing in a hospital in Karachi. The faction of the Pakistani Talibani movement has also declared loyalty to Islamic State's leadership in the Middle East. It is yet to comment on the designation.

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Did pilot error cause Emirates plane crash?

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Dubai: An Emirates plane crash-landed at Dubai International Airport before exploding into flames. Air traffic control reports showed that Flight EK521 was on its final approach to the airport when it aborted its landing. However, instead of climbing height to start a new approach, it touched down on the runway and immediately burst into flames. The crew effectively evacuated the plane, saving all 300 people on board. Aviation Expert Anthony Davis said, "It is good that the crew got everybody off the plane but a Boeing 777 has been written off. This just should not happen. It looks to me like this is an issue of not very good airmanship."

Air traffic control recordings cited by Aviation Herald said controllers at Dubai

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reminded the crew to lower the landing gear as it came into approach. Later, the crew announced they were aborting the landing to "go around", a procedure for which all pilots are trained. Passengers said the equipment did not deploy and the jet landed on its belly.

Davis said, "It is a serious incident and we need an investigation to explain what happened.

It looks like the pilots retracted

the landing gear and we need to know why. There are no signs of the wheels breaking off. When looking at the pictures the plane has belly landed, there are no wheels down.

If the gear was down then the plane would have landed nicely. But the plane landed flat on its belly which caused the massive fire." He added, "The question is why was the decision made to 'go around' and

when was the decision made to retract the gear?"

The three-hour flight took off from Trivandrum International Airport, India, and the captain is said to have sent out an emergency signal shortly before the plane was to land. A passenger said, "Technically (I have) no idea what happened but while landing something abnormal took place on the runway. We saw smoke inside the aircraft and all the emergency doors were opened. I pulled my daughters and took my travel documents and slid under the slides."

Another said the plane "went boom" just seconds after he and other petrified fliers were evacuated. "The engine blew away right after landing. As soon as everyone got out, the plane blew up."

Belgian policewomen attacked by knifeman shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ Two policewomen standing guard outside the police station in the Belgian city of Charleroi were wounded by an assailant armed with a machete shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’. The attacker was shot in the chest and the leg by a third woman officer. One policewoman suffered severe wounds on the face when he slashed her several times. She is being treated in hospital though her injuries are

described as being not life threatening, while her colleague was not injured that much.

The incident happened at 4pm as the attacker arrived at a checkpoint outside the police station. The checkpoint, designed to withstand direct attacks on the police station is however susceptible to close attacks on the officers manning the checkpoint, as the incident demonstrates.

Older women can get pregnant with the help of anti-inflammatory drugs A study in the US suggests anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen could help older women get pregnant.

Scientists have discovered the reason why women over 40 struggle to conceive could be due to the scarring and inflammation in the ovaries rather than the quality of eggs.

Researchers of the study found there was a little difference between older and younger eggs, but the environment in which they are produced.

Dr Francesca Duncan, lead study study author and execu-

tive director of the Center for Reproductive Science at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said “Under the microscope, eggs from reproductively young and old animals may look identical, but the environment in which they are growing is completely different. There is no way this environment won’t impact the eggs growing in it, and it very likely contributes to their decrease in quality”.

The research was published in the journal Reproduction.

Halal supermarket told to sell pork and alcohol or close down Owners of a halal supermarket in France found themselves in a soup after the store was accused of breaching conditions of its lease. Good Price discount store, situated in north-west Paris, is not acting as a general food store, according to the local housing authority. It argues that the local community in Colombes are not being served properly at the shop if no pork or alcohol products are sold there.

Mayor of Colombes, Nicole Goueta personally visited the store and asked the owner to start selling non-

halal meat and alcohol, but manager Soulemane Yalcin argued the store caters to the demands of the local customers. Authorities said the shop is prioritising a certain group within the society, which is illegal as it breaches the country's principles.

Mayor's chief of staff, Jerome Besnard said, "We want a social mix. We don't want any area that is only Muslim or any area where there are no Muslims." Legal action is currently being taken to end the establishment's lease that runs out in three years.

Eyewitnesses describe the assailant taking out the machete out of his bag as soon as he arrived and lunged it towards the officer, repeatedly hacking at her head.

The Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, told broadcaster RTL that the attack appeared to be a terrorist incident.

A police spokesman said the case was being handled by criminal prosecutors rather than

counter-terrorist prosecutors.

The attacker was taken to hospital but later died according to Belgian media.

This incident comes less than five months after bomb blasts killed 32 people in Brussels. 30 miles south of Brussels, Charleroi, was used as the base of a few jihadi’s involved in the Brussels bombings and the Paris attacks last November, leaving 130 people dead.

Syrian refugee to participate in the Rio Olympics BERLIN: At the age of 18, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, has prepared herself to compete in the pool. She has been practicing for the tournament since October, at one of the oldest swimming clubs in the city, Wasserfreunde Spandau.

Mardini, however, is no ordinary teenager.

The swimmer and her sister fled from Syria, last August.

What followed was a painful month-long journey through Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Balkans, Central Europe, and Germany. The girls narrowly missed death, after their boat broke down in the Mediterranean Sea, and they jumped into the water and guided it to safety. The youngster was identifies as a candidate in March, by the International Olympic Committee as a candidate to compete on a new team of refugees. Mardini was officially named to the team in June, along with nine athletes from Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.

The team will compete under the Olympic flag and anthem, and Mardini will compete in the 100-meter freestyle and the butterfly.

"It's going to be really cool,"

Yusra Mardini

she said. A talented swimmer back in Damascus, she was supported by the Syrian Olympic Committee.

However, as the unrest grew, it became difficult for her to practice. "Sometimes we couldn't train because of the war, and sometimes we would be swimming in pools where the roofs were blown up in three or four places."

The sisters have now settled in Berlin where Mardini's potential was seen

by Coach Sven Spannekrebs.

While he had her booked for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, things turned up better for her. She trains for two to three hours every morning, attends school, and then trains again in the evening.

Syria has reportedly been monitoring her swimming career, and asking for regular updates.

WORLD Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

In Brief

23

Japan emperor signals abdication

TOKYO: Japan emperor Akihito has expressed his desire to retire at the age of 82.

In a televised address, he spoke about his age, his rigorous schedule, and increasing physical limitations. "When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now. If he steps down, it will not only redefine the world's oldest hereditary monarchy, but also ignite the debate over allowing a woman to occupy the throne.

Akihito wants to pass the title to his son Crown Prince Naruhito, 56. However, Japanese law says an emperor serves until death, and there is no provision for an abdication. Japanese emperors define eras in the country. As per the calendar based on their reigns, 2016 is counted as Akihito's 28th year on the throne. The date will be reset to Year One, when his successor takes over.

Spanish couple wins battle to call son Wolf

MADRID: Officials have finally bowed down to a couple's wish to call their newborn son 'Wolf'. Nako and Maria Javierre launched an online campaign after a registry office in Madrid refused to accept the name, arguing it could be "offensive" to their son. They were later told that "Lobo" (Wolf), was a surname in Spain and could cause confusion.

The parents wanted the name because of their "love for this animal". Their petition received over 25,000 supporters and was reported across the world. After their brief fight, national registry office chief Javier Gomez Galligo said the case had been reviewed and the couple would be allowed to name the child "Lobo".

Iran executes scientist who gave N-intelligence to US

TEHRAN: Iran executed an Iranian nuclear scientist who gave the country's contested nuclear programme to the US intelligence. A spokesman for Iran's judiciary, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi confirmed the news of the execution of scientist Shahram Amiri, who was caught up in a US spy mystery. Amiri "provided the enemy with vital information of the country," Ejehi said. He however, did not reveal the details on where the execution took place, but said his initial death sentence had been reviewed by an appeal court and that he had access to a lawyer. Amiri worked for a university affiliated to Iran's defence ministry. He vanished in 2009 while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, only to reappear a year later in a series of online videos filmed in the US. In interviews, Amiri claimed to being kidnapped and held against his will by Saudi and American spies, while US officials said he was to receive millions of dollars for his help in understanding Iran's contested nuclear programme.

American deported for spying returns to Pak, held

ISLAMABAD: An American citizen who was deported from Pakistan and blacklisted years ago, has been arrested upon returning to the country. Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency officials arrested Mathew Craig Barrett from an Islamabad guest house, said interior ministry spokesman Sarfaraz Hussain.

He said Barrett was deported in 2011 after he was found in an area of sensitive installation. Barrett, 33, was previously arrested May 2011, in Fateh Jang near a highly secretive military research facility. He lived in Pakistan for four years, married a Pak woman, and had two children. Barrett denied being a spy and claimed he was a victim of simmering tensions at the time between the US and Pakistani governments.

An FIA court has allowed the agency to hold him for three days for investigation.

24

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Andhra's special status demand divides BJP, TDP In Brief AsianVoiceNews

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

NEW DELHI: Demand for special category status for Andhra Pradesh, has taken its toll on relations between the ruling BJP and key ally TDP. The government was recently left red-faced when several TDP MPs joined those of the YSR Congress Party in forcing adjournments of the Lok Sabha.

The steady sloganeering and placard flashing forced Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to reiterate the central government's assurance that it is committed to their demand.

He said, "Some members have concerns over particular issues. The government stands by its commitment. We are trying to find a solution to these issues." However, this

wasn't enough for the MPs. MP Jayadev Galla said, "We have waited for two-and-ahalf years. Are we expected to wait another two years? We need a time-frame."

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar tried his hand at consoling the people. "The

Hillary’s presidential bid inspired by Amma: MLA CHENNAI: High on Amma love, an AIADMK MLA feels that US Democrat Hillary Clinton decided to run for US presidential elections after being inspired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

Coonoor MLA A Ramu said the decision was the outcome of a meeting between the two on July 11 when she as US Secretary of State visited the country.

Ramu said, "Today, the world is celebrating this meeting for its historical importance. Through this meeting, Hillary Clinton understood Amma's personality and was awestruck by her proficiency in English and her encouragement. Finally, accepting the assuring words of Respected Amma, an overwhelmed US Secretary of State went back to become the presidential candidate. I would like to record that the reason for this is Respected Amma."

He added, "When Hillary

Jayalalithaa and Hillary Clinton

Clinton met Amma, she was influenced by her leadership qualities and achievements and that inspired her to contest US presidential polls.

Only after the meeting, did Hillary Clinton decide to take a significant step forward."

AIADMK ministers are known for their outlandish love for their Amma, and this is not the first time a party member gave such statements. Ramu who joined AIADMK recently, which according to his political rivals, was why he had to outdo other loyalists by trying to please Amma with such outlandish claims.

Phoolka, Shergill in AAP's first list of nominees CHANDIGARH: Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has released its first list of 19 candidates for the upcoming Punjab elections. Candidates range from 25-60, with the party giving equal importance to youngsters and seniors.

Names were announced by Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann, who was accompanied by Punjab Affairs in-charge Sanjay Singh, and women's wing chief Baljinder Kaur.

On the list are, lawyer HS Phoolka from Dakha, party's legal wing in-charge Himmat Singh Shergill from Mohali, and youth wing in-charge Harjot Singh Bains from Sahnewal. Arjuna awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema and Gurdit Singh Sekhon, former basketball players, will contest from Sultanpur Lodhi and Faridkot, respectively. Retired Brigadier Raj Kumar, 59, will contest from Balachaur.

Tickets have also been given to two former BSP members, two-time MP Mohan Singh Phalianwala and Santokh

HS Phoolka

Singh Salana. Gurvinder Singh Shampura, who has served as SGPC member for 16 years, will contest the Fatehgarh Churian seat. Kultar Singh Sandhwa, grand-nephew of former President Giani Zail Singh, who runs Bhai Ghanaiya Cancer Roko Seva Society, is the party candidate from Kotkapura. Law graduate Rupinder Kaur Ruby, 27, will contest from Bathinda.

Rupinder Kaur Rubi, 27, is the only woman candidate in the list. She will contest from Bathinda Rural constituency.

While the party was to announce nominees for 26 seats, it dropped seven names from the first list following objections by volunteers.

demands of Andhra Pradesh are under consideration. I request my friends to take the assurance of the finance minister and resume business. I am assuring the MPs of Andhra Pradesh that the government is committed to whatever has been assured.

We are with the people of Andhra Pradesh. Give us some time."

TDP and YSRCP members started shouting slogans soon after the House met in the morning. Members in traditional attire and yellow headgear, held banners and stood by the aisles even though they were barred from entering the well.

Schools and businesses remained shut last week as the

YSRCP and the Left parties sponsored a state-wide bandh.

The protests have caused such a rift that party MPs have asked Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to break ties with the BJP. Naidu meets Modi: Meanwhile, Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu landed in New Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which he is believed to have raised the issue of special status for his state. Sources said Naidu told the Prime Minister that a special status was assured to Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation by his predecessor Manmohan Singh and also by the TDP and the BJP during the polls and the promise must be delivered.

25 blackbucks found dead in Telangana HYDERABAD: The discovery of the carcasses of 25 blackbucks near an illegal maize farm in Telangana's Mahabubnagar has led to suspicions they may have ingested toxic pesticide pellets while grazing. “The area has very good grasslands which serve as the ideal blackbuck habitat.

The maize crop was being grown illegally on government land,” divisional forest officer Chukka Ganga Reddy said.

The blackbuck was the state animal of united Andhra Pradesh, but was replaced by the chital in Telangana following the bifurcation. Thought the exact cause of death is yet unknow, the authorities, worried that more blackbucks in the area may get drawn to the maize crop and accidentally consume the pesticide pellets, have decided to destroy the crop. “We hope this will prevent other blackbucks from coming here,” Reddy said. He added that the stomach content retrieved from the carcasses has been sent for analysis to determine the actual cause of death.

Rajasthan cattle deaths Meanwhile, the death of 200 heads of cattle at a government shelter has rattled the Vasundhara Raje administration in Rajasthan. The deaths at Hingonia cow shelter have elicited strong criticism from opposition Congress, besides the Hindu right-wing outfit VHP, over the “poor” condition of cow shelters in the state. Congress has alleged that the deaths were a result of the “mismanagement and lack of facilities,” while VHP claimed more than 500 cows died due to the “inhuman behaviour” of Raje government towards them.

Rajasthan government swung into action with its minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat inspecting the Hingonia cow centre.

Punjab cop booked in sexual abuse case CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police Officer Salwinder Singh has been booked for allegedly abusing his position to demand sexual favours. A case was lodged in Gurdaspur last week after a police probe found he had demanded sexual favours from the wife of an accused in a rape case.

"The complainant has alleged that Salwinder used to frequent their house and sought sexual favours from his wife, besides demanding Rs 50,000 to give him a clean chit," a police officer said. He added that they have "clinching" evidence against Salwinder in the form of audio recordings.

The women's husband said Salwinder "physically exploited" his wife and demanded Rs 50,000 as bribe. "We gave him the money, but he didn't stop harassing us. I met Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and complained

against Salwinder. On the Deputy CM's direction, two inquiries were ordered. One was conducted by SSP, Batala, the other by SSP, Gurdaspur. Salwinder was given a clean chit in both...

Days after the Pathankot terror attack, I again lodged a complaint to the Deputy CM. This time the SP, Pathankot, was asked to probe. In this inquiry, I was found innocent in a rape case lodged against me and SP Salwinder was found guilty of harassing my wife and taking Rs 50,000 as bribe," said the complainant.

Currently posted as assistant commandant of Punjab Armed Police at Jalandhar, Salwinder has been booked under Section 376 C of the IPC and other provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. He was also questioned by the NIA in connection with the Pathankot terror attack,

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

3 minors chained for not attending madrassa

BENGALURU: Three minor boys were chained in a Madrassa as punishment for refusing to attend the institution. HSR police soon rescued the boys aged between 7 to 10 years, after they received a tip off about the incident. The kids were reportedly chained in front of other students as a punishment, and their father Siraj Wahab, a labourer claimed he wanted his children to study, which is why took the extreme step. Siraj and teacher Mubarak Moulasaab were arrested and sent to judicial custody. DCP Boralingaiah said a video of the incident circulated on WhatasApp, which brought the police's attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, the kids have been sent to a state home.

Selfie brings death to AP engineering student

KODAIKANAL: An Andhra Pradesh-based engineering college student took a fatal fall while taking a selfie. C Sandeep, 22, of Arvind Nagar in Ananthapur district, Andhra Pradesh, tried taking a photo of himself at the edge of a 2,000-foot-deep gorge at Vilpatti village on upper Kodaikanal hill. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot.

They said six engineering students were in the region on a holiday tour. Sandeep's friends told the police he fell while taking a selfie. A case has been registered.

Sasikala's husband, sons move HC fearing arrest

CHENNAI: AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa's husband and son have moved the Madras Court seeking anticipatory bail just two days after she sought protection from the Parliament. T Lingesvara Thilagan, 54, and Pradeep Raja, 21, fear arrest by the Anna Nagar police for alleged offences. They claimed that people who bore a grudge against the MP have planned false cases against them.

They also added that the FIR had been registered against them with an intention to cause further problems to the MP and try to put an end to her political career. Justice S Vaidyanathan adjourned the petition for further hearing.

Union cabinet approves AIIMS in Bhatinda

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhatinda, Punjab. An official statement said, "The union cabinet chaired

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatinda under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana." The organisation shall have a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds which will include emergency/trauma beds and AYUSH beds, private beds and ICU Speciality and Super Speciality beds. "In addition, there will be an administration block, AYUSH block, auditorium, night shelter, hostels and residential facilities," said the statement. The cost for the project sums up to £92.5 million.

Indian asylum seekers in US double in 2 years

JALANDHAR: The number of Indians seeking refuge in US in the last two years show a steep rise. Statistics stated that while 722 Indians applied for refugee or asylum in the US earlier, their numbers rose to 2,412 in 2014 after PM Narendra Modi's government came to power.

The number rose to 4,434 in 2015, and has crossed 1,802 this year. While 181 people were granted asylum in 2015, around 59 were already granted asylum this year. Satnam Singh Chahal, Executive Director of NAPA, said there was need for the NDA government to check the reason behind such a steep rise in the number of Indians seeking asylum in the US. "Is it intolerance, unemployment, unfriendly government policies or the deterioration of law and order situation that is making many more people seeking a secure future in foreign countries," Chahal said.

INDIA Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

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Former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul found dead Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul allegedly hanged himself at his residence on Tuesday.

The death of the Congress rebel has made situation tense in Itanagar, as his supporters demonstrated outside Chief Minister Pema Khandu's residence.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Khandu about the alleged suicide. Pul had been the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for four-and-ahalf months earlier this year, but was made to resign following the Supreme Court's verdict in July.

AP DGP S Nithianandam said, "The body was found hanging around 9 pm by a servant.

He may have committed suicide on Monday night itself. A long not titled 'My

Kalikho Pul

Vichar', which contains details on various subjects, was found in the room where the body was hanging. I won't call it a suicide note."

Reports suggested Pul was extremely upset since the apex court’s order and had stopped communicating properly with others for the past few days. "It is sad and really unfortunate that young leader Kalikho Pul is no more with us," former CM Nabam Tuki said.

Manipur's Irom Sharmila ends 16-year-long fast Putting an end to the world's longest hunger strike, Manipur's 'Iron Lady' Irom Chanu Sharmila completed her 16 year long protest.

"I will never forget this moment," she said as she Irom Chanu Sharmila broke her fast allegedly killed 10 civilians with honey. in a village near Imphal.

Addressing the media, She began her fast she said, "I want to join demanding a revocation of politics as I've been called the AFSPA, which allows the Iron Lady of Manipur security men to kill any and I want to live up to person based on a mere that name. I want to be the suspicion. chief minister of Manipur She was on a hunger and I want my people to strike for 5757 days, and believe in me." She said she was being force-fed would stay at an ashram through a nasal tube at her and would not require any prison-turned-hospital. security.

Sharmila's Sharmila was released protest was prompted after from court this week. an Assam rifles battalion HUMOUR CORNER A family was celebrating their daughter's fifth birthday at a local restaurant when the little girl's father noticed her looking sadly at a moose head on the wall. Someone had placed a party hat on its head. Her father knelt beside her and explained why some people hunt animals. "I know all that," the child sobbed. "But why did they have to shoot him at his birthday party?" *** A local charity had never received a donation from the town’s banker, so the director made a phone call. "Our records show you make $500,000 a year, yet you haven’t given a penny to charity," the director began. "Wouldn’t you like to help the community?" The banker replied, "Did your research show that my mother is ill, with extremely expensive medical bills?"

"Um, no," mumbled the director.

"Or that my brother is blind and unemployed? Or that my sister’s husband died, leaving her broke with four kids?"

"I … I … I had no idea."

"So," said the banker, "if I don’t give them any money, why would I give any to you?" *** On the first night of their honeymoon, the husband isn’t sure how to tell his bride about his stinky feet and smelly socks, while the wife is wondering how to break the news to him about her awful breath, which so far, she’s been able to cover up. After some soul-searching, the husband gathers his nerve and says, "I have a confession." She draws closer, peers into his eyes, and says, "Darling, so do I." Recoiling, he says, "Don’t tell me— you’ve eaten my socks."

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani

Vijay Rupani was sworn in as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat and Nitin Patel as deputy Chief Minister at a swearing in ceremony held at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on 7th August. The ceremony was attended by top BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and party patriarch LK Advani.

The decision to put Rupani at the helm of affairs instead of the muchhyped Patel, wasn't easy to make. Reports suggest, the BJP office in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, saw high drama and heated arguments between Amit Shah and Anandiben Patel when the party got together to choose the next CM, on 5th August.

A source said, "Anandiben almost broke down saying the Patidar agitation was internally engineered to dislodge her. This provoked Shah to retort he had no role to play but now he would decide on the next chief minister and he mentioned Rupani's name." The source added, "Anandiben insisted that as agreed earlier, the party should go by seniority and select Nitin Patel because Rupani is a first-time MLA and lacks administrative experience.

She even reportedly threatened to leave the meeting halfway but Shah did not budge from his backing to Rupani."

Rupani making the new CM hit the Patel community a tad too hard as it had rallied behind Patel. Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel said, "Nitin Patel should immediately resign from the party." Hopefully, the decision, which seems in the vested interest of Shah, does not affect the party's backing in the Patel community.

On Sunday, Governor OP Kohli also administered the oath of office and secrecy to seven Cabinet Ministers and 16 Ministers of State. Rupani stirred up the state cabinet, dropping 8 of Anandiben's ministers.

The new board effectively reeks of Amit Shah. In a major move, the new CM dropped Saurabh Patel, Minister of Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Tourism and Planning.

RUPANI TEAM Vijay Rupani/ Chief Minister: GAD, administrative reforms and training, home, industry, ports, mines and minerals, information and broadcasting, science and technology, climate change, all policies and subject matters not allotted to other ministers Nitin Patel/ Deputy CM: Finance, town planning, urban development and housing, road and building, Narmada, Kalpasar, petrochemical and patnagar yojna

25

Vijay Rupanai taking oath as chief minister

CABINET RANK Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, 66: One of the senior ministers in the previous Anandiben government, Chudasama was one of the first to be retained by Rupani in his Cabinet. With strong RSS roots, he will handle revenue and education.

Ganpat Vasava, 45: The youngest and first Speaker of Gujarat from the tribal community, Vasava will ahndle Forest, tribal development, tourism Chiman Shapariya, 61: A noted Leuva Patidar leader from Jamnagar, will handle agriculture and power.

Babu Bokhiria, 63: Bokhiria, a science graduate, has retained his position as cabinet minister.

Will handle water supply, animal husbandry, fisheries, cow breeding, civil aviation, salt industries Atmaram Parmar, 64: BJP MLA from reserved Gadhada constituency, Parmar is the only Dalit minister in Rupani cabinet.

He will handle social justice and empowerment (including welfare of scheduled castes, welfare of socially and educationally backward class), women and child welfare Dilip Thakor, 57: Thakor is a powerful OBC leader from Chanasama constituency of North Gujarat, Patan district. He will handle labour and employment, disaster management, pilgrimage development Jayesh Radadiya, 35: He is also the youngest minister in the cabinet of Rupani. Will handle food, civil supplies & consumer affairs, printing and stationery, cottage industry MINISTERS OF STATE Shankar Chaudhari, 46: Chaudhari is a representative from OBC communities and a controversial figure.

He will handle health and family welfare, medical education, environment (independent charge) and urban development Pradipsinh Jadeja, 54: A strong Amit Shah loyalist, Jadeja is retained by Rupani from the previous government. He will handle police housing, border security, civil defence, home guards, gram rakshak dal, prison, prohibition, excise law and justice NGO coordination, non-resident

Gujaratis protocol (independent charge), home and power Jayanti Kavadiya, 56: A Patidar from Dhrangadhra.

He will handle panchayat, rural housing and rural development (independent charge) Nanu Vanani, 60: He is one of the seven Patidar ministers in Rupani cabinet. He will handle water resources (independent charge), primary and secondary education.

Parshottam Solanki, 55: An influential Koli leader, Solanki has retained his position in Rupani cabinet. Will handle fisheries department.

Jasha Barad, 64: Barad has worked as a Minister of State in different governments in the past and was a Minister of State (Agriculture & Civil Aviation) in the Anandiben government. Will handle water supply, civil aviation and salt industry Bachubhai Khabad, 61: He was a Minister of State (Fisheries and Forests & Environment) in the Anandiben government.

Will handle animal husbandry and cow breeding Jaydrathsinh Parmar, 52: A three time MLA, Parmar was a Minister of State for Roads & Buildings Department in the Anandiben Government.

Will handle road and buildings, higher and technical education Ishwarsinh Patel, 51: Three-time MLA from

Ankleshwar, Patel is an OBC leader from South Gujarat. He will look after cooperation (independent charge) Vallabh Kakadiya, 72: Kakadiya, a Patidar, is a second time MLA from Thakkarbapa Nagar constituency of Ahmedabad city. He will handle transportation (independent charge) Rajendra Trivedi, 62: Trivedi is an MLA from Vadodara’s Raopura constituency. He is a law graduate from MS University of Vadodara and will handle sports, youth, cultural activities (independent charge) and pilgrimage development.

Keshaji Chauhan, 54: An OBC, Chauhan has been elected from the North Gujarat constituency of Deodar. Will handle welfare of socially and educationally backward classes.

Rohit Patel, 67: A strong Patidar leader, Patel had been the treasurer of BJP for Anand district between 1999 and 2010.Will handle industries, finance and mines and minerals Vallabh Vaghasia, 61: Vaghasia, a Patidar, has been elected from Savarkundla constituency of Saurashtra. Will look after agriculture and urban housing development Nirmala Wadhwani: Women and child welfare Shubdasharan Tadvi: forest and tribal development

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India House hosts the Karta Scholars

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Three students and two teachers from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools in rural Maharashtra were hosted at the High Commission on August 8, 2016 as part of the The Karta Initiative.

This non-profit initiative works in collaboration with the Tata Trusts to connect brilliant lowincome Indian students with world class higher education. Founded by Ms. Ranjita Rajan, the initiative launched this year as a pilot, brought the students and teachers to participate in an intensive two week programme at Pembroke and Somerville Colleges, University of Oxford.

High Commissioner Mr. Navtej Sarna welcomed the initiative and had a long interaction with the young students.

During their discussions with the High Commissioner, the Karta students shared their experiences and the takeaways from the programme and talked to him about their future plans and aspirations of serving their communities.

High Commissioner encouraged them to make the most of this unique opportunity of learning and interaction,

Suicide bomber kills 74 in Pak

HE Sarna with the students and teachers from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) school in rural Maharashtra

The visit culminated with the students joining young Indian entrepreneurs at the High Commission where individual presentations were made by the visitors. Chair of Trustees of the Karta Initiative, Mr Vindi Banga, outlined future plans of the Initiative, and thanked the High Commission for its deep support to the launch of the Initiative.

During this interaction, many participants present undertook to extend support to the Initiative in the form of scholarships, mentorship, summer programmes, laboratory visits and knowledge sharing.

and to share the knowledge and experiences gained at the UK institutions with their fellow students and teachers back in India.

Later, senior High Commission officials conducted a roundtable session with The Karta Initiative group and explained to them, inter alia, the role of the various wings of the High Commission. Of particular interest to the 16 and 17 year old students was the sheer variety of backgrounds (e.g. veterinary sciences, medicine, economics), of officers representing India in the UK.

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Continued from page 1 Civil Hospital when nearly 100 lawyers had gotten together to collect the body of a prominent lawyer shot dead hours before in the city.

The hospital was a ghastly scene with body parts scattered around and bloodied people. A bomb disposal squad said the suicide bomber carried around 10 kg of explosives in his vest. Pakistan Taliban faction Jamaat ur Arhar claimed responsibility for the attack that included 25 lawyers and two TV cameramen. The almost deafening explosion could be heard on video, killing dozens on the spot. As the clearing is still underway, doctors warn that the toll could rise.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew to Quetta and Army Chief Raheel Sharif visited the injured in the Civil hospital. He ordered intelligence agencies to initiate "special combing operations to target those involved in terror attacks", said a spokesperson.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri was quick to blame Indian intelligence agency RAW for the incidents, even before the police could point its finger at those responsible. This is not the first time a Pak leader has pointed at India for something initiated by their own homegrown ter-

rorist groups.

The bombs took off when lawyers were at the hospital to take the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi, president of the Balochistan Bar Association, who was killed before the incident.

Survivors were both shocked, yet on their feet to fetch stretchers for those in need. A journalist even broke down on seeing the bloodbath.

An emergency was declared in all Quetta hospitals and many of the wounded were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said, "This was a security lapse and I am having this personally investigated. PM Sharif expressed his "deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives".

Balochistan fosters low-level insurgency by Baloch separatists, along with Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militants who operate in the region. The region has been facing violence and targeted killings

for more than a decade.

Condemning the attack, UK Foreign Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Alok Sharma had released a statement saying, "I am shocked and saddened by today's attack in Quetta, Pakistan. The loss of life is abhorrent and I condemn utterly this senseless act of violence at a hospital emergency department. My thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have died or been injured as a result of this appalling act. The UK stands with the government and the people of Pakistan, as we confront the shared threat of terrorism."

Major attacks in Pak in 2016: March 27: Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore park, Dead: 65 March 16: Bombing in Peshawar, Dead: 15 March 7: Suicide bomber attacks court entrance in northwest Pak Jan 20: Militants storm Charsadda school, Dead: 20 known

Modi lashes out at fake 'gau rakshaks' Continued from page 1 The statements came almost 11 months after a mob lynched Mohammad Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly consuming beef, and a month after four Dalit youth in Gujarat's Una taluka were lashed by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow. The community has traditionally been in the profession of skinning dead animals for over centuries.

Following the whipping of the four Dalit boys, they abandoned the job and hundreds of dead carcasses were left rotting across the state, since July 11, in protest.

The PM and the Bharatiya Janata Party had faced hell for its lack of steps in favour of the minority communities of the country. Modi asked people to protect and respect Dalits who have long been neglected by the society, in a party address in Hyderabad. "I would like to tell these people that if you have any problem, if you have to attack, attack me. Stop attacking my Dalit brethren. If you have to shoot, shoot me, but not my Dalit brothers. This game should stop." His choice of Hyderabad to denounce the attacks on

Dalits was significant as his government faced pressure following the suicide by Dalit student Rohith Vemula last year, which prompted unrest in other parts of the country.

Modi said, "It should be our responsibility to save and respect them. I know this problem is social. It is a result of sins which have crept into the society... But we need to take extra care and save society from such danger." In another statement in New Delhi, Modi denounced cow vigilantism, saying he felt enraged at such "anti-social elements" who indulged in crimes by the night and masqueraded as cow protectors by the day. He also pitched to protect the animal. "Cow will never become a burden. Cow urine and dung are used in agriculture." India is a land of diversity, Modi said, adding "protecting our country's unity and integrity is our primary responsibility. To fulfil it all countrymen should protect and serve cows. Such service enhances national wealth... it does not create problem for the nation."

He claimed that 80 per cent vigilantes are fake. "I feel angry when people, in the name of cow protec-

tion, do business. Many people claim to be cow protectors just to hide their illegal trade. Cows mostly die of eating plastic bags and these cow protectors should urge people not to throw plastic on roads, this will be a big service. I’ve seen many people who carry out anti-social activities all night, and during the day they wear the garb of gau rakshaks."

Slamming fake gau rakshaks, he said, "But fake (cow protectors) destroy society and country. We need to be beware of these people. There is a need to punish these people. Then alone can we take the nation to great heights."

The RSS felt that his statements on several cow vigilantes being fake could have been avoided. RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said, "The 80 per cent remark should have been avoided but the PM later made amends at Hyderabad, saying only a handful of so-called gau rakshaks were fake. And as regards why issue a statement after the Dalit flogging, it should not be seen as a caste or religion issue.

The RSS has always espoused the cause of gau raksha."

AsianVoiceNews

A

study says that exercise therapy is as effective as surgery for middle aged patients with a common type of knee injury known as meniscal tear. According to a report in the British Medical Journal, researchers say that every year at least two million people undergo knee arthroscopy (keyhole surgery to relieve pain and

FITNESS

improve movement). Yet they say that evidence suggest that arthroscopic surgery offers little benefit for most patients.

So researchers based in Denmark and Norway carried out a randomised controlled trial to compare exercise therapy alone with arthroscopic surgery alone in middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears. They identified 140

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LIFESTYLE

adults with degenerative meniscal tears at two public hospitals and two physiotherapy clinics in Norway.

Almost all (96%) participants had no definitive xray evidence of osteoarthritis. Half of the patients received a supervised exercise programme over 12 weeks (2-3 sessions each week) and half received arthroscopic surgery followed by simple daily exer-

cises to perform at home.

Thigh muscle strength was assessed at three months and patient reported knee function was recorded at two years. No clinically relevant difference was found between the two groups for outcomes such as pain, function in sport and recreation, and knee related quality of life. At three months, muscle strength had improved in the exercise group.

No serious adverse events occurred in either group during the two-year follow-up. Thirteen (19%) of participants in the exercise group crossed over to surgery during the followup period, with no additional benefit.

"Supervised exercise therapy showed positive effects over surgery in improving thigh muscle strength, at least in the short term," say the authors. "Our results should encourage clinicians and middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tear and no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to consider supervised structured exercise therapy as a treatment option."

Brisk walking more effective than jogging

A

To Our Readers

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

erate-intensity exercise alone provided nearly the same benefit on glucose tolerance that we see in the gold standard of fat and calorie restriction along with exercise,” said Cris Slentz, assistant professor at Duke. “High-intensity exercise tends to burn glucose more than fat, while moderate-intensity exercise tends to burn fat more than glucose,” Kraus said.

“We believe that one benefit of moderate-intensity exercise is that it burns off fat in the muscles, which relieves the block of glucose uptake by the muscles, he said. “That’s important because muscle is the major place to store glucose after a meal,” Kraus said.

moderate intensity (equivalent to walking briskly for 18.5 km per week); and high-amount at vigorous intensity (equivalent to jogging for 18.5 km per week).

“We know the benefits of lifestyle changes from the DPP, but it is difficult to get patients to do even one behaviour, not to mention three,” said William Kraus, professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in the US. “We wanted to know how much of the effect of the DPP could be accomplished with exercise alone, and which intensity of exercise is better for controlling metabolism in individuals at risk for diabetes,” Kraus said.

Participants in the DPP

group had the greatest benefit, with a 9 per cent improvement in oral glucose tolerance - a key measure of how readily the body processes sugar and an indicator used to predict progression to diabetes.

One of the exercise-only groups came in a close second. Participants in the moderate-intensity, 18.5 km group saw a 7 per cent improvement in glucose tolerance on average. The moderate - intensity, 12 km group had a 5 per cent improvement on average.

The lowest improvement was seen among those in the vigorous-intensity, 18.5 km group, with only a 2 per cent average improvement.

“Another way to say it is that a high amount of mod-

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new study has found that walking briskly on a regular basis may be more effective than vigorously jogging for people with pre-diabetes. The findings are the result of a six-month study of 150 participants, each of whom was designated as having pre-diabetes based on elevated fasting glucose levels.

Study participants were divided into four groups.

The first group followed an intervention modelled after the Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP), considered a gold standard, that aims to achieve a 7 per cent body weight reduction over 6 months.

The programme requires cutting calories, eating a low-fat diet, and exercising. Study participants in this group adopted the diet changes, and performed moderate-intensity exercise equivalent to 12 km of brisk walking in a week.

Other study participants were randomly assigned to receive exercise only, using different amounts and intensities low-amount at moderate intensity (equivalent to walking briskly for 12 km per week); high-amount at

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Women who had appendix or tonsils removed get pregnant faster

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study of half a million British women has found that those women who underwent operations to remove appendix or tonsils are more likely to have baby.

This revelation has thus burst a myth – that the removal of both appendix and tonsils would delay pregnancy. Researchers said the operations could reduce inflammation of the reproductive organs caused by problems with the appendix or tonsils but insisted women should not resort to surgery to increase their chances of starting a family.

The reason favoured by the researchers is that surgery does not cause women to become more fertile but that pregnancy results from them having more sex. The women who had had their tonsils or appendix taken out also had higher rates of chlamydia and pelvic inflammations.

Sami Shimi, of the University of Dundee and senior author of the study, said: “The results have been surprising. We have found that women who have had an appendectomy or tonsillectomy, or even more particularly both, are more likely to become pregnant, and sooner than the rest of the general population.

“This scientifically challenges the myth of the

effect of appendectomy on fertility. What we have to establish now is exactly why that is the case.”

His team looked at the medical records of 55,000 women who had had appendectomies, 113,000 from those who had had their tonsils removed and 10,000 from women who had had both operations, comparing them with 355,000 otherwise similar women. Over 15 years 250,000 of the women got pregnant.

They concluded that women who had an appendix removed were 34 per cent more likely to become pregnant, rising to 49 per cent in those who had tonsils out and 43 per cent more likely in those who had both operations.

Shimi added: “This research does not mean that removing a normal appendix directly increases fertility. It does, however, mean that young women who need to have their appendix removed can do so without fear of the risk on future fertility.”

Li Wei, another author of the study, said: “This research is of paramount interest because appendectomy and tonsillectomy are very common surgical operations. Although a biological cause is possible, we believe that the cause is more likely to be behavioural. We are pursuing both hypotheses.”

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

'Baahubali 2' Tamil Nadu theatrical rights sold

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rapevine around SS Rajamouli's 'Baahubali: The Conclusion' has already begun. Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for the movie has been sold for a whopping amount of £4.5 million. A source from the film unit said, "The TN theatrical rights have been bagged for £4.5 million.

The buyer is yet unknown because the makers have kept the name under wraps." The film is slated to hit theatres worldwide in 2017, and the makers are currently wrapping up the climax.

"The climax features an awe-inspiring battle sequence which will last for about half hour in the film. It's going to be even more grand and dramatic than the battle scene in the first part," the source added.

Part one of the franchise ended with audience realing under the question why Kattappa killed Baahubali. Starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannah Bhatia, and Anushka Shetty, 'Baahubali 2' will conclude the epic saga of two warring brothers for a kingdom.

Arvind Swamy to make Hollywood debut

Catherine might be seen in Udhayanidhi’s next

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ctor Arvind Swamy might just crack an important role in a Hollywood project.

Currently busy with 'Bogan', Swamy plays a mysterious character in the movie directed by Lakshman. A major star in the 1990s, Swamy took a long break from the movie industry, making a comeback in 2013 with Mani Ratnam's 'Kadal'. If the deal goes positively, the actor will become one of the very few to act in foreign language films. If he bags the role, finally, Arvind Swamy will join the list of the elite few Tamil actors like Rajinikanth, Nasser and Dhanush who have acted in foreign language films.

Samantha forces director to drench with her

S

amantha was on a self-imposed hiatus for a few months to give herself a much needed break after working in back to back films. Currently shooting for a song with Junior NTR for upcoming 'Janatha Garage', the actress has stalled the shoot insisting director Koratala Siva also get

drenched.

She later shared on her social media that Siva is the easiest person in the world to bully.

'Janatha Garage' also has Mohanlal in a pivotal role and is expected to be released on the 2nd of September.

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ctress Catherine Tresa might just have bitten off more than she could chew.

Already neck deep in work, Tresa has shown interest in playing the lead in Udhayanidhi Stalin's yet-to-be-titled Tamil film. A source close to the actress said, "Even though she has two Telugu and

two Tamil films in her kitty, she is keen to sign the project because she really loved the script. It's an out-and-out comic entertainer and Catherine is quite excited to sign the project." Even though the rest of the cast hasn't been finalised yet, makers intend to go on floors by the end of this year. "Since

the project will take a few more months to take off, she hopes to relieve herself of one of her existing projects and join the team," the source added. To be produced by Thenandal Films, the project will be helmed by Thalapathy.

Catherine was last seen in Telugu blockbuster 'Sarrainodu'.

Rajinikanth’s Twitter account hacked

S

u p e r s t a r Rajinikanth's T w i t t e r account was reportedly hacked last week. The actor's official handle t w e e t e d "Rajinikanth #HitToKill", which slightly stirred his fans. Confirming the news, his daughter posted a tweet saying "@superstarrajini appa's account was hacked..handle retrieved. Thank you all :) #AllIsWell" Reports said after the account was hacked, Thalaivar started following Kamal

Haasan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, 'Kabali' director Ranjith, Producer S Thanu and PRO Riaz Ahmed. Later however, after the account was restored, all the stars were unfollowed.

The actor's 'Kabali' ran to packed houses for the first weekend, followed by fans giving milk baths to Rajini's cut outs.

It broke records, and to say it fared well is a gross understatement.

'Kabali' is closing in on £30 million worldwide.

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Big B miffed with Aishwarya's steamy scenes?

Ali Fazal plays Abdul Karim in next

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

K

aran Johar's u p c o m i n g romantic drama 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' is slated for release this Diwali, and we all are waiting to see Ranbir Kapoor, 33 and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's, 42, chemistry. While the unusual pairing is already raising curious eyebrows, the Bachchans are not too happy about the film.

A report said man of the house, Amitabh Bachchan is not too happy with his daughter-in-law Aishwarya's romantic and steamy scenes with Ranbir. He has even talked to KJo about it and wants several scenes to be cut from

B

the film. While close sources have rubbished the news saying the Bachchan family has no say in Aishwarya's work, we can't be too sure as the family does have a reputation for control-

ollywood hunk Ali Fazal has bagged a role opposite Oscarwinning actress Judi Dench in the movie adaptation of Shrabani Basu's 'Victoria & Abdul: The True Story'.

Fazal will play the role of Indian clerk Abdul Karim, while Dench will play the 'Empress of India' Queen Victoria.

The 24 year old Karim arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Over the span of an year, he established himself as a prominent figure at the court, and struck an unlikely friendship with the queen. He became her "munshi" and taught her Urdu, Hindi, and about Indian affairs. Their intense relationship almost led to a revolt in the royal household.

Fazal is known for his roles in '3 Idiots', 'Fukrey', and 'Always Kabhi Kabhi'. He is also featured in American TV series 'Bollywood Hero'. The forthcoming film will be produced by Working Title Films, and directed by Stephen Frears. Filming is scheduled to take place in India, Scotland, and the Isle of Wight.

ling professional choices of the women in the family. Oh, well. We can't wait to see how well Ranbir romances an older woman. 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will hit the screens on October 28.

Great time for women in Bollywood: Sonakshi Sinha

I

t is a woman's world for 'Dabangg' actress Sonakshi Sinha. The 29 year old feels more and more women-centric films are coming out and it is a great time for women to be in the industry. When asked if women in Bollywood are taking up central characters in the films, she said, "Yes they are...And I think it's about time they did. There are some great characters being written for women in films."

Yet another Deepika Padukone established herself as one of the reigning queens in Bollywood long back and is now taking the west by storm. After becoming the highest paid actor in India, to making her Hollywood

Speaking at the launch of her new song 'Rajj Rajj Ke' from her upcoming 'Akira', she added, "The audience has become much more accepting about what they are watching on screen so I think it is a great time to be a woman in Indian cinema." "'Akira' is a Sanskrit word, which means graceful strength. It applies to the girl, who is graceful and strong. She knows where to use her strength and her power." The film is a remake of 2011 Tamil film 'Mouna Guru', and is directed by A R Murugadoss.

Ileana D'Cruz is too busy to get married

L

ike every other actress, Ileana D'Cruz is tired of reporters asking her about her wedding date. The 'Barfi' actress has never kept her personal life a secret from the media, and is often seen with Australian beau, photographer-actor Andrew Kneebone. Their social media pages are filled with photos of each other, giving us major relationship goals.

However, wedding bells are not expected to be ringing anytime soon as Ileana is too busy to get married. In a recent interview, when asked when she would be tying the knot, the actress said, "I'm too busy to get married. When the time is right, everything will fall into place. People think I am a Barbie doll, living a fairy tale, but I am a real person, with real problems."

The 28 year old will be seen next in Akshay Kumar's 'Rustom' where she plays the actor's wife. She revealed that playing Cynthia Pavri was challenging as the role needed a certain maturity, experience, and subtlety. "It was surreal!" she said.

Ileana has a lot on her cards with three films in a line, including Milan Luthria's 'Baadshaho'.

feather in Deepika's cap

debut opposite Vin Diesel in xXx: Return of Xander Cage', Dippy has come a long way professionally.

In another feather to her cap, the 'Om Shanti Om' actress was featured among Vanity Fair's pick of

Hollywood's Next Generation, recently. The list includes young actors like Lily Collins from 'Mirror Mirror', Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keogh, and Elizabeth Debicki from 'The Great

Gatsby'. The actress stands at no. 2 on the list, and the magazine shows her dressed in a bright red Gucci dress, coming out of a car. In a pop quiz for the article, the actress reveals she is a morning person,

her favourite take-out is pizza, and guilty pleasure is, chocolate cake.

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

'Unity can be achieved within diversity'

The panelists at the Navnat Centre

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK hosted a seminar on Identity & Integration with an esteemed panel at the Navnat Centre in Hayes on 2nd August 2016, attended by over 250 community leaders and guests. The stage was graced by panelists: Samani Pratibhaji Pragya – Head Nun of Jain Vishva Bhariti, London.

Shri Dr Girdharilalji Bhan – Former President of VHP UK, Shri Mohanraoji Bhagwat – Sarsanghchalakji of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - India and Shri Gauridasji – Managing Director of Bhaktivedanta Manor - ISKCON – London.

The seminar was inaugurated by the President of Navnat Centre, Shri Dhirubhai Galani and Shri Mohanraoji Bhagwat by light of a deep, followed by all panelists giving a thought provoking glimpse of their life’s experiences on Identity and integration.

Shri Gauridasji said “You will see in the person, you will see in the elephant, your will see in the cow in the civilized and uncivilized the same. This aatma in all of us.. we are Aatma” He also added we didn’t keep the manor open because we were Hare Krishna. It was because we we’re Hindu” In summary Shri Mohanraoji said ‘The world today needs India’s example to resolve conflicts. We have a glorious tradition of unity in diversity. We see

diversity as the manifestation of unity, of a single inherent unit, of the underlying oneness. We have no problem with identities.

Oneness and many-ness are not opposites; it is not so in our tradition,” “This unity in diversity...is being lived. Where to find it? Go anywhere, where Hindus live. Hindu is that identity that says all identities are respected, accepted and they are bound together by this magnificent oneness of ‘atman’. Hindu says diversity is to be celebrated. It enriches our unity,” Mohanraoji added.

Portraying a picture of harmony in Indian society, Mohanraoji said “We go to each other’s religious places...not only the identities who have origin in the land of Bharat, but also other identities acquired from outside...they come together and we celebrate their identities also. In spite of our history, we don’t treat anyone as a foreigner. A ‘gyani’ from every discipline was equally respected in the past, and that is what happens even now.”

Finally, all panelists answering questions from the audience, Mohanraoji said that according to Indian tradition, every individual can independently decide which faith to belong to. “But using other means, and using conversion for some other things, and converting people by lure or some other means

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that is aggression on individual rights. That should not be allowed, that is what our tradition tells us,” Urging Hindus settled anywhere to become torchbearers of “unity in diversity,” Mohanraoji also added: “Unity can be achieved within diversity,

without conflict. But then you have to be a human being. You have to have that compassion. You have to have clarity of truth.

And you have to have the daring not to succumb to lowly impulses, existing or artificially created from somewhere.”

Parsi New Year, also known as Jamshedi Navroz is celebrated every year in August. This year it is on 17th August.

The new year celebration includes wearing new clothes, making donations, cleaning the house, and giving gifts - a part of the

renewal. Jamshed, the King of Persia, started the Parsi calendar and is named for the holiday. The Parsis believe in the religion of Zoroastrianism and are the largest single group worldwide. We wish our Parsi readers a very Happy New Year!

Two dry cleaners from Walsall told their brother’s BMW, watch and wedding outfit, to help him raise funds as he fought for so called Islamic State in Syria.

Law student, Mohamed Hussain, 26, and Mohamed Rohaman, 32, collected £10,000 for Musadikur Rohaman as he was fighting in Raqqa. The two men were convicted by the Old Bailey under terrorism offences.

Musadikur Rohaman and his wife Zohura Siddeka, both 27, went to Syria in December 2014. The couple were part of a radical group called Islam Walsall. The convicted

men tried selling the couple’s wedding outfits until their mother caught them as they took pictures for eBay. The £10,000 was sent in six instalments to six different people in Lebanon via Western Union. A family friend Mohammed Atiqur Rahman Khan also 27, who shared a love of BMWs was convicted along with the pair. A fourth man, Maruf Uddin, 26, was cleared of funding terrorism after the jury decided they did not know if the money was for Syria.

The three people are due to be sentenced on 9th September.

Happy New Year dear Parsi readers

Brother’s BMW sold to fund ISIS fighter

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 You could work with some-

one on a project that calls for clear communication and a high degree of cooperation. You may also find yourself thinking deeply about what it is you really want to do, and who you really want to be with. The decisions you make now will be important for the path you take.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The pattern of significant

relationships in your life will continue to favour you. It seems that a great deal of mutual benefit will accrue because of various interactions. The underlying trend indicates that deep creative energies are stirring within you and that seemingly insignificant events will play a vital role in the future.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Your focus is on material

affairs and comfort issues.

Security is a driving force for you at the moment, and you might find that you are especially interested in accumulating possessions. This is the time of year when personal finances and possessions receive maximum attention.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 Your communication sector is all-abuzz with planetary energies firing you up preventing you from sleeping properly. Give yourself plenty of physical outlets to drain off some of the excess mental stimulation. All this activity will make you feel like you can finally settle into a more grounded and steady routine instead of letting your schedule run you.

You have been feeling disconnected for some time and this will be the week you will finally feel a sense of grounding. If unclear about what path to take you will soon realize exactly what you must do to fulfill your plans.

Financially you will implement your plans to bring in the cash.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 It's time when experience will enable you to enrich your inner mind and personality. You are moving into a new phase of life which will bring wider scope for developing your unique qualities and talents. You are likely to move around more than usual. Life will become very lively and there will be a lot of social interactions.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 You may find yourself hard at work behind the scenes, although that may not be apparent to others. You may find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of activity, with opportunities to advance on both the inner and outer level. There’s a sparkle to your social life and you will have fun communicating with others.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 You will be pleased to see that your social life livens up during this week. 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 come out on top.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 The pace of everyday life will gather momentum and there may be times when you find it hard to keep your act together. Any obstacles that have stood in the way of your heart's desires should melt into the background soon. Your selfconfidence will be extremely high and this will be helped by various encouraging events.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

It is essential that you adopt a very open attitude now for this is a time of lucky opportunity and a chance to greatly enrich your life. New windows on the world are about to open and this is bound to have a maturing effect on you from now into the future. There is a rather secretive aura surrounding new romance, which could turn into something very special.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 It is a particularly favourable time for dealing with financial interests with a long-term basis, such as investments, insurance and pension schemes, legacies and all jointly held resources. There may be a certain amount of unfinished business to be dealt with. Therefore you will need to adopt a fairly flexible policy in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 You’re likely to receive insights into where everything is going and this may shape your life for months to come. There are opportunities to expand your sphere of operations and you and a partner could really go places. Professional and financial pressures will begin to ease.

SPORT

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India's shooters, hockey team disappoint AsianVoiceNews

Shooter Abhinav Bindra narrowly missed out on a medal in his Olympic swansong as the men’s hockey team suffered a late 1-2 defeat to Germany in their second match of the pool phase in a disappointing start to India's campaign at the Rio Olympics Games. Adding to the disappointment was archer Laxmirani Majhi, who crashed out in the Round of 32 eliminators. Bindra, India’s sole individual Olympic gold medallist, finished fourth in the final of the men’s 10 metre Air Rifle final at the Olympic Shooting Centre on Monday. Bindra started well, but a couple of wayward shots cost him dearly as he lost in the bronze medal play-off to finish fourth with a total score of 163.8. Monday’s disappointment will see the curtains come down on the glittering career of the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist as he had earlier announced that he will retire after the Rio Olympics. “I think I did my best but a medal was not to be. It was a tough field.

Somebody had to finish fourth and I did. Well I think that's the way it is. I gave it all. It was good day a hard day. Could have been better with a medal,” a dejected Bindra, who had finished seventh, said later.

Participating in his fifth Olympics, the 33-year-old got off to a good start with scores of 29.9 and 30.2 in the first two series placing him in the top three. He fell to the fourth spot after a relatively poor 21.1 in the third series with a total score of 81.2. But luck favoured Bindra in the fourth series as he climbed to second with 21.5 as the other shooters in the top four also faltered.

However, Bindra seemed to let the pressure get to him as his performance started to go downhill from there. The former World Champion registered progressively poorer scores of 20.8, 20.2 in the next two series. A brilliant series of high 10s saw him go up to second after 11 shots and third after 12. He main-

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Abhinav Bindra

tained the position till the 14th shot but a couple of poor shots saw him score 20.1 in what would eventually be his final series and tied at fourth with Ukranian Serhiy Kulish after the 16th shot. In the shoot-off that followed, Bindra could manage only a 10.0 while the Ukranian shot a brilliant 10.5 to

the women’s individual event, beaten 101-108 by Slovakian Alexandra Longova. The Indian trailed for the very beginning of the contest and lost three of the four rounds, eventually going down 2527, 26-28, 26-26, 24-27. In hockey, it was a familiar scene where India failed to remain in control in the

move ahead, thus relegating the Indian to the fourth place.

The same event witnessed a heartbreak for Gagan Narang who finished a lowly 23rd in the qualification round. He could only manage 621.7 and crashed out of the event which gave him a bronze medal in the London Games. Trap shooters Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Kynan Chenai also brought bad news by failing to enter the semifinals after finishing 16th and 19th. Sandhu, in his fourth Olympics, lost out after scoring a cumulative total of 115 while Chenai scored one less to be out of the fray on the second day of qualifications.

However, from the shooting range, Bindra came agonisingly close to another medal Archer Laxmirani bowed out of

final moments.

Christopher Ruhr deflected the ball from close range in the 60th minute as Germany earned a crucial win in a Pool B match that India deserved a point.

Niklas Wellen scored in the 18th minute to give the two-time defending champions the lead before Rupinder Pal Singh (23rd) brought India level with his third goal in two matches.

There was more disappointment in store for Indian fans in the swimming pool as Shivani Kataria and Sajan Prakash were knocked out in the opening rounds of their respective categories, ending India’s campaign in the discipline. Shivani finished a disappointing 41st to miss the race to the quarter-finals after clocking 2:09:30 minutes in the women’s 200m freestyle heats at the Olympic

Aquatics Stadium. The 18year-old completed the first 50 metres in 29.28 seconds before taking 1:01.36 minutes to reach 100m. She then posted a time of 1:34.95 minutes to reach 150m and eventually completed it in 2:09:30 minutes to finish second in the heat. Kathleen Ledecky of the US clocked 1:55:01 minutes to top the list followed by Australia’s Emma Mckeon at the second spot in 1:55:80 minutes and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom ended third in 1:56:11 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 200m butterfly event, Prakash clocked 1:59:37 to finish fourth in his heat and 28th overall to bow out of the competition.

The Kerala swimmer got off to a poor start as he failed to feature in the top three even after the completion of the first 100 metres. Hungarians Tamas Kenderesi and Laszlo Cseh topped the list clocking 1:54:73 and 1:55:14 minutes respectively while South African Chad Guy Bertrand Le Clos took 1:55:57 minutes to finish third.

Dipa Karmakar lifts India: The only good news is that gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted history as she became the first Indian to make the cut for

Dipa Karmakar

the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games after finishing eighth in the qualifying round.

She managed to perform her much-appreciated 'Produnova' vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts. It was a

Earthquake Survivor Makes Waves in Rio

The youngest athlete at this year’s 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro is a survivor of the earthquake which hit Nepal in April last year. Gaurika Singh, 13, has already been the centre of a diplomatic wrangle when she was informed that the Head Coach of Barnet Copthall Swimming Club, Rhys Gormley couldn't not accompany her for the games. Instead she was trained over the phone by a coach from Nepal.

The teen who moved to

Gaurika Singh

England aged two retains her Nepalese citizenship as her parents, mother Garima and father, Paras,

a consultant urologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, would like to move back eventually. The Nepalese Swimming Federation insisted she be accompanied to the games by a coach she has never met. In 2015 she was playing table tennis along with her mother and brother on the fifth floor of a building in Katmandu when the earthquake hit leaving 9000 dead. She was among the lucky ones to survive and flew back to UK a month later.

She began her training around five years back with the Copthall swimming club and soon realised she was among the country’s fastest swimmers. Gaurika’s olympic glory lasted exactly one minute and 8.45 seconds as he came 32rd out of 34 competitors attempting to qualify for the 100metres backstroke. Despite this she will still have further opportunities because even if she was competing in the next four Olympics, she would still be only 29.

nervous wait, for she had ended sixth after the third sub-divisions with two more to go. She dropped to 8th eventually when Canadian Shallon Olsen's effort of 14.950 reshuffled the overall standings.

But that was just about enough to secure her a place in the finals scheduled for August 14 as the top-8 made the cut for the medal round. Dipa secured 7.000 on difficulty and 8.1 on execution in her first attempt. Her score for difficulty was a tad lower at 6.000 in the second attempt.

The best result of the day was the Indian women's hockey team drawing 2-2 with Japan in their first Olympics appearance since 1980.

Indeed, the return of Indian women's hockey to the Olympics after 36 years ended on a promising note, as the team, ranked 13th in the world, rallied from 0-2 to having conceded two goals in the first half. Goalless at half-time, India rebounded through Rani Rampal in the 31s minute and Lilima Minz in the 40th for a superb rearguard effort.

India next play Great Britain in their next pool match on Tuesday.

Inglorious exit for Leander-Bopanna: Indian tennis' soap opera ended at the Olympic Tennis Centre.

It took all of an hour and 24 minutes. Afterwards, Rohan Bopanna squinted into the sun, and Leander Paes held forth in the only way he can, about the hurt and lack of respect he felt from a certain section of the media.

Of course, he added that the Polish team of Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski -who dumped them 6-4, 7-6 on Saturday were “hot”.What he didn't say was that before Saturday's first-round match, he and Bopanna had only played together as India's men's doubles team for less than ten days - five to six days in Chandigarh for the Davis Cup last month, according to coach Zeeshan Ali, and just one day here in Rio.

Sania, Prarthana go down: None gave world No.1 Sania Mirza a chance in women's doubles as her partner Prarthana Thombare is ranked a lowly 192nd.The Indians did go down in the first round, but not before giving the experienced Chinese pair of Shuai Zhang and Shuai Peng a tough fight. It took Zhang and Peng 2 hours and 44 minutes to squeeze out a 76 (8-6), 5-7, 7-5 victory.

With Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna bowing out in the first round of men's doubles, mixed doubles remains India's lone hope in tennis.

Senior partner Sania shouldered the responsibility of carrying the team and even Prarthana, who was the weakest of the four players on court, showed fighting skills. But in the end, it was Prarthana's serve which let the Indian team down.

In the first set, the Indian and Chinese pairs traded three service breaks each as it went to a tiebreaker. It was again a close affair which the Chinese clinched 8-6 to pocket the first set in 70 minutes.

The Indians got an early break in the second set to take a 3-1 lead. The Chinese broke back to make it 5-5. But Sania and Prarthana broke through again to make it one set all.

The Chinese drew first blood in the decider to go up 3-1, but Sania struck some trademark forehand winners to get the Indians back on an even keel. The Indians were broken again in the ninth game and the Chinese were serving for the match at 5-4. But the gritty Indians refused to give up and made it 5-5.

That breakback was of no avail as Prarthana failed to hold serve. Serving for a place in the second round for a second time, the Chinese made no mistake.

“India always wants gold from me, no matter what I play. At the end of the day, we can just try,” said Sania.“There is no guarantee in sport. We can just try and give our best.”

West Indies manage draw West Indies transformed themselves into capable gladiators who not only fought off India's advances, but also stamped their authority on the final day's play to end the second test in a draw. Bad weather which shaved off more than 100 overs also helped them in achieving the favourable result. On the penultimate day West Indies were 48 for four when the play ended.

There was still a full day remaining and at 48 for four, they needed a further 256 runs to make India bat again. Nobody gave the

hosts any chance against a rampant Indian team. And the man who largely made it possible is a two-Test rookie - Roston Chase. The gangly all-rounder from Barbados had already impressed with his bowling, taking a five-for when India batted.

Chase capped it with an innings of such control that it was difficult to believe he was only playing his second Test.

In the process, he became the first West Indian in almost 50 years to take a five-for and hit a century in the same Test.

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Asian Voice | 13th August 2016

Australia's No 1 test ranking in danger Following their poor performance against Sri Lanka, Australia are in serious danger of relinquishing their number one spot in the ICC Test rankings. Depending on the results in other ongoing series, all of India, England and Pakistan have an opportunity to reach the summit.

Currently, the Aussies have 118 rating points and are followed by India with 112, Pakistan with 111 and England with 108. By virtue of their series loss in Sri Lanka, they are poised to lose at least seven rating points. After a remarkable turnaround from the hosts saw them succumb to a 106-run loss in Pallekele, Steve Smith’s side were mauled in the second Test in Galle and consequently lost the WarneMuralitharan Trophy.

Even if they manage to pull off a consolation victory in the 3rd Test at Colombo, the difference in their present ranking with Sri Lanka will see them lose vital points. As a result, Australia now have to rely on other results going their way if they are to hold on to the top spot.

With England and Pakistan engaged in a

Nita Ambani becomes IOC member

Nita Ambani

Reliance foundation chairperson Nita Ambani was elected as an individual member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), making her the first Indian woman to be part of the world body. Ambani, who is the only individual member from India, will be at the world body until she attains the age of 70, IOC announced. After being nominated in June 2016 by the IOC Executive Board, she was elected by IOC members in Rio de Janeiro at the 129th IOC session. The independent selection process follows a new procedure for the recruitment of IOC members based on the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations; those nominated are done so wholly on merit and then elected by existing IOC members.

fierce tussle (England leading 2-1), a series victory for the visitors should propel them to the summit for the first time since rankings were introduced in June 2003.

However, if Australia do not win the third Test, a drawn series would be enough for Pakistan’s cause.

Continuing that scenario, England move to the pinnacle as long as they win the series by any margin.

In case, the Aussies emerge victorious in Colombo, England will require a 3-1 series win while a drawn affair translates to status quo. But, India are the team which could have a major say in

the entire scheme of things.

Even though the stalemate in Jamaica pushed them back, Virat Kohli’s team still have a massive chance to climb to the number one spot. For that to happen, they need to win both the remaining matches and take the series 3-0 against West Indies in the Caribbean.

In such a scenario, they will leapfrog Australia irrespective of what the latter do in the third Test. But, India will then want England to either win or draw the series as a Pakistan victory by any margin should come in their way. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s African safari

(Zimbabwe followed by South Africa) would not have any bearing on the battle for the number one spot in the Test rankings which are updated at the end of every Test series. As per the ICC, ratings are calculated by dividing the points scored by the match/series total. A draw between a higher and lower rated team will slightly benefit the rating of the lower rated team at the expense of the higher rated team. A draw between two similarly rated teams will leave both their ratings unchanged and the home/away factor is not taken into consideration at any stage.

Pakistani cricketer Hanif Mohammad put on ventilator Legendary Pakistan batsman Hanif Mohammad, who has been battling lung cancer, was on Monday put on a ventilator after his condition worsened during his ongoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi.

Confirming the news, Hanif's son Shoaib Mohammad said his father was admitted to the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi last week after a two-weeklong struggle with breathing problems and congestion.

The 81-year-old was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013. The legend underwent a surgery in London and the disease was brought under control. He said doctors in London had ruled out the option of chemotherapy after seeing his father's latest biopsy report. Shoaib, who is a Pakistan International Airlines employee, said the treatments were expensive and he would seek the government's help or sports' funds for his father's recovery. Hanif made 55 Test appearances for Pakistan between 1952-53 and 1969-70, having averaged 43.98, including 12 centuries. Hanif authored the longest ever Test innings in the history of Test cricket a marathon 970-minute

Hanif Mohammad

337 for Pakistan against West Indies at Bridgetown, wherein he compiled century stands with four different players including his brother, Wazir. The hot steak continued as he made 499 for Karachi versus Bahawalpur before being ironically run-out whilst attempting the 500th run, the very next year in 1959.

The record stood tall as the highest first-class individual score until Brain Lara eclipsed it in 1994. He also held the unique distinction of making a ton against all his Test opponents in 'away' conditions, which highlighted his adaptive abilities. Hanif, nicknamed

Little Master, was born in Junagadh, Gujarat, on December 21, 1934. His brothers - Mushtaq, Sadiq, Wazir and his son Shoaib all figured in Tests for Pakistan. He made his test debut on October 16, 1952 vs India at Feroz Shah Kotla ground. He played his last test on October 24, 1969, vs New Zealand.

Hanif also bagged Wisden Cricketer of the Year award in 1968. He was named among the inaugural batch of 55 inductees into the ICC's Hall of Fame.

Interestingly, Hanif was ambidextrous with the ball and also served as an occasional keeper.

Perera spins Lanka to seriesclinching win

Dilruwan Perera ripped the heart out of the Australian order to spin Sri Lanka to a series-clinching 229-run victory inside three days of the second test at Galle last week. The 34-year-old off-spinner laid bare Australia's spin frailties, claiming 6-70 as the world's top ranked test team folded for 183 in their pursuit of an improbable 413-run victory target.

Perera, who had claimed 4-29 in the first innings and scored 64 in his team's second innings, became the first Sri Lankan player to score a 50 and claim 10 wickets in the same match as his side clinched their first test series victory over Australia since 1999.

Resuming on 25 for three, Australia captain Steve Smith (30) and deputy David Warner (41) showed positive intent, frequently using their feet against the spinners and dealing mostly in boundaries even though it was merely delaying what looked inevitable.

Perera separated them, trapping Warner leg-before with a straight delivery. The batsman reviewed the decision but could not get it overturned. The spinner then returned to induce Smith into giving a bat-pad catch to Kusal Mendis at forward short leg.

Perera, whose all-round performance earned him the man-of-the-match award, completed his fivewicket haul when Adam Voges (28) attempted a reverse sweep only to have his leg stump pegged back.

Kusal Mendis then displayed tremendous reflexes as he stopped a Peter Nevill shot at forward short leg and flicked it back on the stumps to run out the batsman and trigger wild celebrations at the Galle International Stadium.

England beat Pak, take 2-1 lead in series

England dismissed Pakistan for 201 and won the third test by 141 runs and go 2-1 up in the series. England refused to be cowed by a 103-run first-innings deficit, building a 343-run lead when they batted again and then destroying the tourists with an immaculate performance in the field that saw six wickets tumble between lunch and tea. Pakistan's most determined resistance came in the final session when a last wicket stand of 50 between Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali frustrated England as the overs ticked down and play entered the final hour.

But, on 36, Sohail drove a flighted delivery from Moeen Ali straight back at the bowler, who safely clung on to a catch that sparked wild celebrations among Alastair Cook's side. With a rare sense of symmetry, each of England's five bowlers took two wickets although it required a devastating spell by Steve Finn and Chris Woakes, which yielded four wickets for just one run, to open up the innings. Finn, who has faced criticism for his performances this summer, led the way by taking the vital wickets of Misbah-ul-Haq his first wicket in 414 balls this series and Sami Aslam.

The opener had led the fight with a determined 70, his second half-century of the game.

At the other end, Woakes proved equally lethal, trapping Asad Shafiq without scoring and then having Sarfraz Ahmed well caught by Joe Root in the slips for another duck. That wicket was Woakes' 23rd of a prolific series. Earlier, Stuart Broad struck the first blow, removing opener Mohammad Hafeez for two while Moeen Ali accounted for first-innings centurion Azhar Ali for 38 with a deceptive delivery that was edged to Cook at slip. Jimmy Anderson also weighed in, having Younus Khan caught behind on four and then removing Yasir Shah for seven just after tea. The result vindicated Cook's strategy of batting on in the morning.

Brief Scores: England 297 & 445-6 (Moeen Ali not out 86, Jonny Bairstow 83; M Amir 2-75, S Khan 2111, Y Shah 2-172) beat Pakistan 400 & 201 (S Aslam 70, A Ali 38, S Khan 36; J Anderson 2-31, S Broad 224, C Woakes 2-53, S Finn 2-38, M Ali 249) by 141 runs.