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Asian Voice | 14th October 2017
Protesters decry inaccurate portrayal of Hinduism CALIFORNIA: The continued controversy over the allegedly inaccurate portrayal of Hinduism and Indian culture in California's elementary school textbooks was raised yet again on September 27 in Sacramento as the California Department of Education's Instructional Quality Commission reviewed drafts of new editions. A statement issued by the Hindu Education Foundation claimed that the proposed revised texts continued to “demonise Hindus and Indians by promoting Orientalist narratives and including pictures of Hindu Deities, slums and poverty, and trash to represent ancient Indian civilization and Hinduism.” Shantharam Nekkar of the Hindu Education Foundation released a statement saying, “While the dis-
Japanese died after clocking 159 hours of overtime TOKYO: A woman in Japan died from overwork after logging 159 hours of overtime in the month leading up to her death, labour inspectors have ruled. Miwa Sado, a political journalist at the country's national broadcaster, suffered heart failure in July 2013, though her employer only made the case public this week. Officials in Tokyo deemed the 31-year-old had died from karoshi - death due to overwork - after taking just two days off in the 30 days before she died, reports The Japan Times. As a journalist for NHK, Sado covered the Tokyo metropolitan government, dying just three days after reporting on a local election in the House of Councillors. Masahiko Yamauchi, a senior official at the broadcaster, said Sado's death was a “problem for our organisation as a whole.”
Indian Americans stood outside the California state capitol building in Sacramento to protest the allegedly inaccurate portrayal of Hinduism and Indian culture in elementary school textbooks.
paraging images were rejected and a few positive changes were made, many of the textbook narratives still contain extensive inaccuracies and stereotypes. Moreover, several items that are mandated in the California History-Social Science textbook framework
(state guidelines) for India and Hinduism are also being ignored by some publishers.” He added, “We will continue to seek the accurate inclusion of our history, including Yoga, Hindu philosophy, Sanskrit, and Tamil Sangam literature, Jainism, and the
contributions by Hindu Dalit saints and sages.” A ninth grader who testified at the IQC hearing, said, “The textbooks show all cultures in a positive way, but sadly only Hinduism and India are singled out and shown with pictures of trash, slums, and poverty.” As the state rejected drafts from one publisher whose texts showed India as primitive, poor, and dirty, organisations cheered at the progress. A petition signed by over 8,000 people demanding the withdrawal of biased and inaccurate content was also submitted to the Department of Education. Krishna Maheshwari of Hindupedia said, “Some improvements have been made, but significant additional changes are required to present India and Hinduism in an accurate and equitable manner.”
Billionaire Vinod Khosla complies with court order, reopens beach CALIFORNIA: IndianAmerican billionaire and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla has re-opened access to a beach in California's Half Moon Bay. The reopening came two days after legal papers were filed demanding him to comply with a court order. The move has been quoted as a victory for surfers. However, lawyers sense the case is not over. Lead attorney for nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, Joseph Cotchett said, “I think this man is so embarrassed by his conduct that somebody must have said to him, 'open the gate and let the courts figure it out down the line'.” The foundation sued Khosla in 2013, arguing that the shoreline had been open to all since at
Vinod Khosla
least 1918, and belonged to the public. It was filed that the entrepreneur had no right to block public access without first obtaining a permit. Cotchett said that Khosla and his lawyers are attacking the California Coastal Act, a law established by the state legisla-
ture in 1976 to protect public access to the shoreline. He said the businessman's actions is a victory to the entire state. His lawyers told the court in August that any interference by the state with his “fundamental right to exclude the public from private property” would be a type of confiscation that requires compensation under the US Supreme Court property-rights rulings. The public was allowed to access the beach by paying a $5 to $10 parking free before it was sold to the founder of Khosla Ventures in 2008 for $37 million. After, access continued for about two years. Later, Khosla locked the gate and hired security guards to roam the beach and fend off any stray people.
Over 120 MPs call for publication of Brexit Economic Impact Studies BEIJING: In an letter coordinated by Labour Members of Parliament and Seema Malhotra MP and David Lammy MP, over 120 Members of Parliament are today calling on Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis MP to publish the findings of analysis undertaken by his Department into the impact of leaving the European Union on over 50 sectors of the economy. The letter, signed by Labour, Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party Members of Parliament, accuses the Government of
keeping “not only Parliament but the public in the dark”, and preventing Parliament from holding the Government to account. The letter also accuses the Government of contradicting its position by arguing that Brexit will repatriate sovereignty to our Parliament whilst simultaneously attempting to bypass Parliament by supressing these impact assessments. The MPs’ call on the Government to ensure there can be “full and frank debate about the impact of Brexit on our economy, jobs, trade and
living standards and what can be done to mitigate risks” by publishing the impact studies. Seema Malhotra MP said: “This is yet another sign of the Government desperate to avoid scrutiny and seeking to bypass Parliament and the public. Publishing both the list of sectors and the results of the studies is clearly in the public interest and vital for protecting our jobs and economy. This is now not about leave or remain but a nation planning together for a big change ahead. It is about leadership, clarity and responsibility.”
David Lammy MP said: “We have to wonder what exactly the Government are hiding in refusing to publish these reports. Parliament and the public have a right to know what analysis the Government has done on the impact of Brexit, particularly if this analysis reveals that a hard Brexit will be a disaster for our economy, jobs, trade and living standards. So we are calling on the Government to come clean and publish these studies so we can have a full and frank debate about the impact of Brexit with all the facts and analysis out in the open”.
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Congressman Ami Bera’s father released from prison
CALIFORNIA: Babulal Bera, the 84-year-old father of Indian American Congressman Ami Bera of Sacramento, California, was released from prison, two months ahead of his one-year sentence because of good behaviour. The elderly man – who has suffered from spinal stenosis with failed back surgeries and prostate cancer must now serve three years of probation and also pay a $100,000 fine. According to court documents, Babulal Bera allegedly funnelled about $300,000 to his son’s bids for Congress in 2010 and 2012. Babulal Bera and his wife Kanta made the maximum allowable contribution of $2,400 each election cycle. He then asked family members and friends to also make the maximum contribution and said he would pay them back the full amount, a practice known as using straw donors. Prosecutors stated that Bera was aware of what he was doing, as he would issue refund checks from five different bank accounts. Investigators found more than 130 improper campaign contributions involving about 90 contributors.
Trump's nominee Ajit Pai confirmed to head FCC
WASHINGTON: The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission despite Democratic complaints that Ajit Pai will undermine net neutrality. The vote was 52-41 for the Indian American, who has served as a commissioner at the FCC since 2012. The nomination turned into a proxy fight over Obama-era net neutrality rules established in 2015. Those rules mean service providers such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast must treat all content the same and not favour their own websites and apps over others, such as a movie streaming service. Pai has tried to roll the rules back, drawing more than 22 million comments and ire from Democrats.
Hema Malini honoured in Moscow
MOSCOW: Veteran actress and politician Hema Malini, who was in Moscow to receive an award for her contribution to cinema, was overwhelmed with the love she has received in Russia. She says people want to see her in part two of her memorable film "Seeta Aur Geeta." Hema, 68, was in Moscow to attend the 4th Indian Film Festival of Russia (IFFR), which was honouring her and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. Sharing glimpses from her trip and the event, Hema Malini tweeted: "In Moscow to receive an award for my contribution to Indian cinema and popularising it in Russia and the world. The way Russians are crazy about me is unbelievable. Especially 'Seeta Aur Geeta.' They are ready to see part 2 if I'm going to act in it even now 40 years later!"
PIO stabs wife 40 times over affair, jailed
NEW YORK: A 48-year-old Indian-origin man in the US has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his wife by stabbing her nearly 40 times after she told him she was having an affair. Nitin P Singh must serve 85% of the sentence on the single charge of firstdegree aggravated manslaughter before he is eligible for parole under the terms of the sentence handed down by superior court Judge Linda Lawhun in New Jersey. Authorities said the July 2016 stabbing of 42year-old Seema Singh, a Collingswood shopkeeper, occurred in the couple's apartment while their three children slept nearby. The children were not injured. Nitin told the court that he attacked his wife after she said she was leaving him and would be taking all of his money and their children with her. He said that he went into a rage and picked up the first thing he saw, a knife, and began stabbing her.
S African healer jailed for beheading of Indian-origin woman
JOHANNESBURG: A South African traditional healer has been sentenced to life in prison for motivating the brutal beheading of an Indian-origin woman by promising four youths over USD 150,000. Sibonakaliso Mbili had promised one of the four coaccused, Falakhe Khumalo, to pay 2 million Rand (USD 153,000) for bringing head of an Indian or a white or a coloured woman, to be used in illegal witchcraft purposes, officials said. Khumalo, with the help of three other youths, lured Indian-origin Desiree Murugan to a sports field in the sprawling Indian township of Chatsworth near Durban in 2014. The four had killed and decapitated Murugan after stabbing her 192 times. Khumalo, who earlier confessed to the murder, is serving a life sentence for killing the woman. Two others were sentenced to 15 years each while the third one will serve 12 years behind bars.