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Vol 45 | Issue 4
BJP PLANTS SEEDS IN ASSAM P26
28th May to 3rd June 2016
North Yorkshire approves Third Energy shale gas fracking permit
See Page -5
Angelina Jolie to teach at LSE
Let noble thoughts come to us from every side
A HISTORY IN THE MAKING
India’s gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia Diaspora to decide Referendum fate?
See Page -13
Gala awards ceremony recognises global charities in the UK See Page -16
Indian Government to make custom clearance easy for NRIs See Page -20
President Rouhani and PM Modi in conversation with Supreme Leader Khamenei
A win-win situation for both the sides, India and Iran signed the much-anticipated bilateral agreement for the development of the Chabahar port along with a related agreement involving Afghanistan, and the establishment of a trilateral trade and transit corridor.
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Located 120 km west of China's own Gwadar port in Pakistan's Balochistan province, Chabahar will help India get direct access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. "Today, we are all witnessing creation of history, not just for the people of our three countries, but for the
entire region. To build bonds of connectivity is the most basic of human urges," said Modi. The trilateral pact was inked in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Afghan Prez Ashraf Ghani. Continued on page 26
Rupanjana Dutta With a month left to the EU Referendum, according to a report released this week by the British
Election Survey, it has been revealed that Indian-origin voters are largely in favour of Britain remaining within the Continued on page 6
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Asian Voice |28th May 2016
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ONE ONE with Keith Vaz, MP
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Cllr Sachin Shah Cllr Sachin Shah – Leader of Harrow Council. Sachin has lived in Harrow all of his life. Born in the local hospital, he attended local schools in South Harrow and after studying economics at Bath University, Sachin returned to Harrow where he has lived ever since. From being a governor at the schools he went to as a child to becoming a local ward Councillor in 2010, he has dedicated his life to improving the Borough and supporting those most in need. After writing the manifesto for the Labour Group in the successful 2014 local elections, Sachin in his role as Portfolio Holder for Finance has continued to develop policies that promote local businesses and regeneration, whilst protecting families and the most vulnerable from the massive Government cuts imposed on Harrow Council. In his professional life Sachin has worked for a wide range of charities, including Parkinson’s UK, the Children’s Society and TraidCraft, as well as campaigning on issues relating to the impacts of debt on children and working on ways to lift children out of poverty. 1) What is your current position? Leader of Harrow Council. The council is a big organisation. We are responsible for things from looking after elderly people to cutting the grass in parks. As leader of the Council, my role is to set the strategy and direction of the Council. 2) What are your proudest achievements?
Being elected as a councillor. No matter what else I’ve achieved in the Council, being elected to serve a borough that I grew up in is an honour. Those that live in the Queensbury Ward in Harrow have put their trust in me to serve them well and that is what I will do. 3) What inspires you? The desire to do a good job. There is nothing in life where
4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career? Fear of getting things wrong. It’s natural in life that you always want to do the right thing. Sometimes I have held back because I didn’t want to get things wrong. One thing I have learn recently is you have to do what you think is right, even if you might do something wrong. 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? My parents. Community service has been drummed into me at a very young age. I have very early memories of stuffing envelopes for a community newsletter and helping my mum and dad who have served on community groups all my life. Without their guidance, I would not be where I am today. 6) What is the best aspect about your current role? Knowing that in one day, I have more opportunities to improve the lives of residents, than most people will have in their lifetime. This is a big responsibility, but it is an even bigger privilege. I will
Banker arrested over fatal stabbing of his wife The four-year-old son of a woman knifed to death at the family’s £5million mansion repeatedly asked: “Where’s mummy.” A neighbour saw him on the drive moments after Sonita Nijhawan was taken to hospital in an ambulance. It is thought he may have Victim Sonita pictured with witnessed Sonita, 38, suffer head and neck injuries husband Sanjay and the house where body was found shortly before his father I say?” Sanjay, 46, tried to kill Sonita had been himself by slashing at his stabbed and strangled. A throat. 46-year-old man, believed The neighbour, who to be her investment did not want to be named, banker husband, was later said: “It was heartbreaking. arrested and is in hospital I came back from an receiving treatment for errand and saw Sonita’s knife wounds to his throat. father on the drive. He was Detectives are to question in tears and their little boy him when he recovers. was with him. A close family friend of “I saw the ambulance Sanjay said he was a "quiet and went over to ask what man of very few words" happened. I thought Sonita with no history of violence. had fallen over or someDr Ajit Prasad, 57, has thing but her father said known Sanjay's father, she’d been killed. Their litBaldev, for more than a tle boy was asking repeatdecade and said the family edly, ‘Where’s mummy? are in complete shock and Where’s mummy?’ I just said: "Nobody knew there put my arm around him was a problem at all. I met and said, ‘Mummy will be with Sonita a couple of back soon.’ What else could
gle aim. That aim is to deal with inequality in all its forms across Harrow. At the end of my time as leader, if I can say that Harrow Council has used its powers to deal with inequality, I will be really proud.
you can please everyone, but you can aim to do the best you can. If at the end of the day I can say ‘Yes, I’ve have done something good today’ then I’m inspired to wake up the next morning.
weeks ago, because I run care homes and they run care homes. We discussed staffing issues and things like that there was no sign at all that anything was wrong. She seemed absolutely fine." Ajit said that the couple's fouryear-old son, who is believed to have witnessed the incident on Saturday morning, was being "looked after by both sets of parents". He added: "It's a shock to everyone. Sanjay was quite a quiet person. A few years ago when he lost his job, I thought he would go into a depression, I have no idea why. But he was fine. He's a man of very few words. Nothing had been brewing. He had no history of violence or anything like that." Their house is on a private road in Weybridge, Surrey. Investment banker Sanjay and Sonita had bought the land for £925,000 in 2009, knocked down the old house and built the home of their dreams.
use this role to make sure that those who cannot stand up for themselves are heard. 7) And the worst? Having to deal with government cut backs to the budget. There are so many things I want to achieve, but this requires money. With councils losing as much as half of their funding, it makes doing anything really hard. 8) What are your long term goals? I want Harrow council to become more focused on a sin-
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? The circumstances you were born into will have a greater impact on your life than your ability. A child born into poverty is many times more likely to die in poverty than a child born into a rich family. I believe your life chances should be based on the effort you put in, not the background of your parents. 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why? Albert Einstein. He would probably be able to find a way off the island! He is someone who worked hard and has achieved so much. We understand so much of how the world works because of him. And he did all of that, not for money, but for the greater good.
Would-be IS bride jailed for terror tweets A woman who said she wanted to marry "Jihadi John" has been jailed for four years and six months for sharing so-called Islamic State propaganda. Zafreen Khadam, 32, was found guilty of 10 counts of disseminating terrorist publications after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. She shared links to execution videos and terrorist magazines online under usernames such as
PrincessKuffar. Prosecutors said Khadam, of Vincent Road, Sheffield, had "glorified" IS. Barrister Simon Davis told jurors Khadam at one stage described Kuwaitiborn Mohammed Emwazi - nicknamed Jihadi John as "kind of scary" but said she "would marry him". He told the court she set up 14 Twitter accounts and used Whatsapp to share videos, including one
showing the beheading of Kurdish fighters and another of a Jordanian pilot being burned alive.
‘Harassed’ Arooj will be missed by Council Tributes were last night paid to popular former councillor Arooj Shah who lost her seat in the recent local elections. Shah made history in Oldham, becoming its first-ever female Asian Cabinet member and just months ago went head-tohead with Jean Stretton to become the borough’s first female council leader. Councillor Riaz Ahmad claimed that Ms Shah had endured forms of harassment during her recent election campaign in St Mary’s, in which she lost her seat to independent Aftab Hussain.
He said: "Arooj, although she was only here for one term, she made a huge impact on the council and she made a huge impact, not just locally but, regionally and nationally. She has many qualities. For her to get elected in the first place was a tremendous achievement on its own. For a female to get elected in a place like Glodwick was a huge achievement and a Arooj Shah will be back say her Labour colleagues. Pictured with major step forward, Debbie Abrahams MP after her she did that and won election defeat earlier this month many hearts.”
C MMENTS
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Asian Voice |28th May 2016
American double talk ‘You speak an infinite deal of nothing’ is a line from Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice). The Bard had an uncanny knack of sizing up people and situations, whatever the age or country. The line could have been directed as much to President Barack Obama as the present Chinese leadership in Beijing. There is clearly little to enthuse over about the Obama record. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to make a state visit to the United States sometime in June, presumably to sign up to an IndoAmerican partnership of sorts, scarcely the defining one of the 21 st century, as Obama had once grandiloquently proclaimed. With a new administration in place nothing Obama and Modi sign up to will be worth more than the price of the paper bearing their signatures. Significantly, there remains a fundamental mismatch between their expectations. President Obama is stubbornly insistent that the quantum of US military and economic aid to Pakistan continue as part of a perceived necessity to engage with Islamabad. America’s relationship with India, say administration officials, are on a different, and conceptually, higher track. Over and above this, they also underscore America’s unswerving commitment to the struggle
against jihadi terrorism. It requires a willing suspension of disbelief, on the part of India, to take this all in, since it has a more than a touch of the theatre of the absurd. If Osama bin Laden has to be exterminated, and ISIL in the Middle East consigned to hell-fire, it makes no sense to keep their Pakistani handlers in business. Or does it do so, for reasons of realpolitik? What is difficult for Indians to understand is the uncomprehending administration attitude. India faces an existential threat from across its north western border. The terrorist attacks on Mumbai exceeded by far the loss in lives and the destruction of property than those endured in Paris and Brussels. Yet in the West’s breast-beating over those awful tragedies, there was never a word about Mumbai. It would appear from western media reports that the West was the exclusive target of jihadi terror. Indonesia’s Bali bombing was forgotten, as were the continuing Boko Haram depredations in Nigeria and its neighbourhood. For the reasons stated above, no US Pakistan policy can exclude India from the strategic calculus. No amount of casuistry can conceal this selfevident truth.
There is life for Britain outside the European Union. CDC, Britain’s financial institution is to invest $680 million in India. As India has the fastest growing GDP at 7.5 per annum among the large economies, CDC, as one of the earliest private equity investors in India, having already pumped in over $1 billion directly and indirectly into 325 companies in Asia’s number three economy. If it finds the right opportunities more multi-million dollar investments will be made, according to a CDC source. The world’s oldest development institution is gearing up for openings in the affordable services sector, looking to support ventures designed to create jobs and push sustainable growth, explained CDC’s South Asia head N Srinivasan. India happens to be the single largest market in terms of exposure where it backs domestic targeted private equity funds as well as making direct equity and debt invest-
ments. About 70 per cent of the $1 billion investment to date has been directed towards private equity funds such as IDFC Multiple, Actis, Aavishkar, Rabi Agro Business Fund, Avigo and Baring India, and the30 per cent balance has been invested in in companies including Ratnakar Bank, Rainbow Hospitals, Narayana Hrudalaya, Janalakshmi Finance and Equitiaas. CDC, which started direct support for companies in 2012 , looks to ramp up its direct investments in areas it finds specially attractive such as infrastructure, industry, healthcare and financial services. However, within this space it eyes companies that meet its goal of providing an improved standard of life for deprived sections of the community, the emphasis being better job opportunities, to go no further.
UK development agency to invest in India
Political realignment in Indian states Indian Union is composed of 29 states. Each state Assembly is elected every 5 years. But the timetable is not a fixed one for all of them. Every now and then a state or a group of states goes to polls. Recently elections were held in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. In each of them, a separate national or regional party has won. For the first time Assam has a BJP-led government. This is historic. BJP, which was at one stage mainly a Hindi belt party, has now made inroads into Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, earlier in Karnataka, and now it has some elected members in West Bengal, Kerala – which had earlier no BJP presence in these states. Conversely, the Congress-led UPA has lost heavily in Assam. Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and J Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu have created history by retaining power in these states. They have won in spite of the incumbency factor. In West Bengal, the Congress had allied with the Left parties and they have lost miserably. In Kerala, the Congress and the Left parties fought against each other, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front biting the dust. Puducherry (a tiny state) is the only consolation where the Congress and allies have retained power. The common factor is simple. The Congress has suffered heavy loss in all larger states and lost power in Assam and Kerala. The victory of BJP in Assam is worth studying. Veteran Tarun Gogoi, the Congress Chief Minister, lost for several reasons. The BJP and its allies have won 86 seats with 50% of votes cast. The Congress had been ruling that state for 15 years. Indeed, anti-incumbency factor was expected to play a part. But there were two major blunders by the Congress party. Instead of selecting Himanta Biswa Sarma, a young, popular, energetic leader as a potential chief minister, Tarun Gogoi anointed his son Gaurav Gogoi. Himanta Biswa Sarma was the main architect of the 2011 election victory in Assam. Disappointed Sarma left the Congress and joined the BJP
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just a few days prior to the election. Another major blunder of the Congress was not to enter into an alliance with Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) whose popular Muslim leader Badruddin Ajmal has a huge following. Assam has the largest proportion (34.2% according to Census 2011) of the Muslim voters amongst all the states except J&K. Surprisingly, out of 38 Muslim majority constituencies, BJP won 13 seats as the Muslim votes were possibly divided between the Congress and the AUDF. The Congress has offered flimsy excuses for its poor showing. But the truth is obvious. The leadership of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi has failed to grasp the knitty-gritty of the politics both at the national level and in almost all the states. Today the Congress-led UPA rules in Karnataka (the only major state) and 5 other small states (Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Uttarakhand and UT Puducherry). In West Bengal, the Congress allied with the Left parties which were their long term adversaries and strangely with 11.6% votes, the Congress won 44 seats whereas the Left parties with 27.6% votes won just 33. One interpretation is that the Left-leaning supporters voted for Congress candidates but the Congress supporters did not reciprocate in favour of Left candidates. The BJP has doubled its vote share in West Bengal and won 6 (twice) seats compared to 2011. Some interpret this as the flowering of the Lotus in the East. The overall impression is very clear. The BJP is becoming well-entrenched in several major states and has acquired power in the states previously beyond its reach. And, more importantly, the Congress has been decimated from the main political apparatus and reduced to a small power base and sadly without a leadership which can reinvigorate the party's cadre. In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the regional parties have strengthened their position. This result has given the BJP a tremendous boost and lifted its profile nationally, especially in view of the debacle in Delhi and Bihar state elections last year.
The wisest men follow their own direction and listen to no prophet guiding them. - Euripides (480-406 BC)
Lord Raj Loomba CBE becomes the Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker at The United Nations Delegations Annual Luncheon Indian-origin philanthropist, Lord Raj Loomba CBE, Founder and Chairman Trustee of the UN-accredited global NGO, The Loomba Foundation, was the Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker at the Annual Luncheon of the United Nations Delegations hosted by the Hospitality Committee at the University Club in New York on Wednesday, 11th May 2016. The luncheon is attended by members of the diplomatic corps, senior officials from the United Nations, UN supporters, business leaders and other eminent individuals. Lord Loomba was invited to be the keynote speaker because his important message raising awareness about the plight of widows is essential for furthering and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Many members of HCUN have also supported Lord Loomba ever since he first came to New York in 2005 to launch International Widows Day. As a result of an active campaign by the Loomba Foundation, in partnership with Permanent Representatives from UN member states and their governments, the 65th United Nations General Assembly designated June 23rd as International Widows Day on December 22nd 2010 to draw the world’s attention to the plight of widows. June 23rd is also the day Lord Loomba’s mother became a widow at 37 in Punjab in India in 1954, when he was only 10 years. In addressing guests at the luncheon, Lord Loomba pointed out that widows suffer, not just because they are women, but because they are widows. Thus, they are victims of double discrimination. Widows are ostracised, exploited, harassed and victims of multiple forms of violence. In South Asia, due to religious beliefs widows are often stigmatized and considered evil and inauspicious people. Forced to depend upon relatives and a com-
Lord Raj Loomba
munity that ill-treats them, they suffer physical, psychological and sexual abuse. In Africa, unjust “customary laws” persist in many communities, even when national laws and constitutions appear to proffer justice and equality. Apart from losing their wealth, widows face degrading treatment and are prevented from earning a living. “Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to mince words,” he told the gathering. “In more places than not, widowhood means denial of basic human rights. Widows become social outcasts, and, with their children, are the most vulnerable and poorest of the poor amongst us.” he added. Lord Loomba also pointed out that The Foundation’s latest Global Widows Report 2015 reveals growing numbers of widows and struggles they face, especially in the developing world. There are now 259 million widows, up 9% since 2010, and 584 million dependants worldwide. The humanitarian situation faced by widows and their children has worsened in the past few years, due to factors such as armed conflict, instability in the Middle East and north Africa, the Ebola epidemic and increasing HIV infections. “As friends and supporters of the UN, let us leave today with renewed commitment to the development agenda of the UN, and vow to make the world a better place for all our fellow beings, especially widows,” he urged.
www.theloombafoundation.org The Loomba Foundation Loomba House 622 Western Avenue London W3 0TF 020 8102 0351
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Photographer: Vincent Brown
£44k for mayoral causes
Presentation of £42,500 to Local Charities as a Result of the Mayor of Oldham Cllr Ateeque Ur -Rehman's year as Mayor Front holding cheque Steve Carroll Ace Centre North, Cllr Yasmin Toor Mayoress, Lisa Pearson, Dr Kershaws, Julie Davies Christies Oldham, Cllr Ateeque Ur- Rehman Mayor and Claire Taylor Action Oldham Fund
Former Mayor of Oldham Ateeque UrRehman's charity appeal raised £44,500 during his time in office. Last Sunday's Zip World Challenge in Wales, in which Evening Chronicle editor Dave Whaley took part, raised more than £17,000 alone - the most raised at a single
mayoral event in Oldham. Councillor UrRehman chose The Christie Oldham, Ace Centre North, Dr Kershaw's Hospice, Action Oldham Fund and Oldham Food Bank as his charities. He said: "I'm really proud to have raised that amount of money for the mayor's chari-
ties this year. It's all due to the generosity of the people of Oldham. "Ninety-nine per cent of the money collected was from Oldham people. "Oldham people are the most generous donors to charities in this country." Councillor UrRehman also paid trib-
ute to the mayoral team that helped him throughout his year as the town's first citizen. The mayor's appeal also raised a one-off £5,000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust which helps match bone marrow and stem cell donors with people who need transplants as part of the Zip Wire Challenge.
Asian man convicted of sex offences against Leicester youngster An Asian man was part of a group of nine men who have been convicted of sex offences against a youngster who was pimped out in Birmingham's gay red light district after running away from care in Leicestershire. Tahir Hussain (34) from Birmingham was alleged to have acted as a pimp, was cleared of charges of arranging or facilitating his prostitution, but convicted of sexual activity and penetrative sexual activity with him. He appeared in the dock at Warwick Crown Court with 11 other men who between them were accused of more than 50 sex offences against the boy in 2009 and 2010. Others convicted included Stephen Kelly who had befriended the youngster at New Street station, and had sold him for sex with other men, was found guilty of two
charges of arranging or facilitating the prostitution of the boy and one of sexual activity in the presence of a child. Peter Joynes (58) was also convicted of arranging the prostitution of the boy and a charge of sexual activity with him. Former Warwickshire Police special constable Ronald Potter (78) was convicted of two charges of indecently assaulting another boy some years earlier, in 2002. Ian Prestleton (54) was found guilty of sexual activity with the main victim whilst Alan Priest Ashley (63) and Sherrington (24), all from Birmingham, were both found guilty of raping and orally raping the boy. Priest was also convicted of penetrative sexual activity with him. Robert Bailey (27) from Birmingham and Michael Godbold (57)
from London, were both found guilty of arranging or facilitating the boy's prostitution, sexual activity in the presence of a child, penetrative sexual activity with the boy and making indecent photographs of him.
Kevan Tudor (55) from Birmingham, was cleared of raping the boy, having pleaded guilty before the trial to arranging or facilitating his prostitution and two charges of penetrative sexual activity with him.
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Project supporting disadvantaged women given grant of more than £240,000 A project supporting disadvantaged women has been given a grant of more than £240,000 which will be used to help combat female genital mutilation, forced marriage and honour based violence. The Zinthiya Trust helps disadvantaged women including those fleeing domestic Staff at The Zinthiya Trust violence, exploited by the sex industry, counselling over the next suffering from mental and three years. physical ill health, and "The funding will those involved in the crimenable us to address the inal justice system. It is massive need in Leicester, also a support programme especially at a time when that empowers women and there are massive cuts to girls to tell their stories, in women and girls services." a safe environment, of Geeta Gopalan, Big female genital mutilation, Lottery Fund England honour based violence and committee vice chair and forced marriages. chair of the funding panel The trust, which is for women and girls, said: based in Bishop Street, "Strong evidence from Leicester has been awardwomen and girls organisaed £249,516 from the Big tions told us of the Lottery Fund's women and increased demand for supgirls initiative. port, so we've been workZ i n t h i y a ing closely with them over Ganeshpanchan, the the past year to identify founder of Zinthiya Trust, ways that women of all said: "We are delighted to ages can get the right help, have received the funding information and a listening from the Big Lottery ear to take control of their women and girls project lives. that will help us provide "We will be working specialised holistic support closely with all the projects package. funded to share the most "The funding will be successful aspects so that used towards combating other women and girls can female genital mutilation, continue to benefit in the forced marriage and honfuture. I am delighted that our based violence through we can use money raised a range of activities includthrough National Lottery ing training for front line players to go back into the workers, raising awarecommunity and help young ness, providing one-to-one girls and women most in support for survivors and need."
Walsall terror cell facing jail over Syria plot
OAP in wheelchair targeted by purse theft criminals Callous thieves stole a purse from a pensioner in a wheelchair as she shopped for fruit and veg. Police have released images after the incident believed to have happened in Harvest Fruiterers in Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield. The purse was taken from the back of the wheelchair at around 12pm on Wednesday, May 4. The bank cards were then used to withdraw £200. The man in the image is described as Asian, aged in his mid
30s, 6ft tall, slim build, black hair and a trimmed beard. He was wearing a black hooded top and dark bottoms. The woman is described as Asian, aged in her mid 30s, 5ft 7ins tall, slim build, tied up hair. She was wearing sunglasses, a white throw around shawl, blue jeans and red trainers. Anyone with information should contact PC Moore from Birmingham Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Muslim convert Lorna Moore, 34, was accused of planning to take her three young children to the war zone - including an 11-month-old baby. Around the same time, a number of pregnant women from the same community were poised to give birth in the Caliphate. Following an Old Bailey trial, Moore, from Walsall, West Midlands, was found guilty of failing to tell authorities her husband
Sajid Aslam, 34, was about to leave for Syria. The jury also convicted Ayman Shaukat, 28, of preparing terrorist acts by helping Aslam and Muslim convert Alex Nash, 22, on their way. The pair will be sentenced later alongside Kerry Nash and Thomason, 24, who was pregnant when she was stopped from flying out with her two children to join her husband in Syria.
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Karen Bradley Minister for Preventing Abuse Exploitation and Crime
Tackling FGM with changing attitudes ‘I was mutilated when I was a week old, to supposedly preserve my honour. When I was eight, my sister bled to death after being mutilated in the same manner and all that we were told was: It was her time to go.’ These are the words of a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and they describe, more clearly than I ever could, why we need to end this terrible practice. Tackling FGM is in no way easy. Although we have made great progress to bring this practice into the open, it remains a hidden crime. It takes great courage for victims to talk about it. The UK is leading the way in the fight against FGM in Europe. Our work is widely recognised. This is why we recently hosted an FGM European Mutual Learning Forum here to share best practice with other Member States. Experts from twelve countries came together in London for two days to share learning about what works in combating FGM. I am proud of what we have achieved, but we cannot be complacent. In England and Wales, it is estimated that there are up to 60,000 girls who may be at risk of FGM and 137,000 women and girls living with its consequences. FGM is a crime and it is child abuse. This Government is absolutely determined to stamp it out, and we will not
allow political or cultural sensitivities to get in the way. That is why we have significantly strengthened the law on FGM. This Government has introduced a mandatory duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police. We have introduced a new offence of failing to protect a girl at risk of FGM. And there is now lifelong anonymity for FGM victims. Last July, FGM Protection Orders came into force. An order may include a requirement for a passport to be surrendered. To further deter girls from being taken abroad to be subjected to FGM, we have extended our ability to prosecute FGM offences committed overseas. We know that changes to the law alone are not enough. That is why we are working with frontline professionals, survivors and community organisations through the Home Office's FGM Unit. It is because of our leading work on FGM, that we were invited by the European Commission to host the Mutual Learning Forum, which they funded. Ultimately, the key to ending FGM is changing attitudes. I am proud that the UK is now a world leader in tackling this crime, but there is more to do. FGM has been carried out for thousand of years, ending it will not be easy.
North Yorkshire approves Third Energy shale gas fracking permit Councillors in North Yorkshire gave the green light to a shale gas fracking application from Third Energy on Monday. Britain is estimated to have substantial amounts of shale gas trapped in underground rocks and British Premier David Cameron has vowed to leave no stone unturned to extract these reserves. North Yorkshire county council’s planning committee voted in favour of the application 7 to 4 after two days of hearings. Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy, said: “This approval is not a victory, but is a huge responsibility. We will have to deliver on our commitment, made to the committee and to the people of Ryedale, to undertake this operation safely and without impacting on the local environment.” Third Energy plans to
frack at a site in Ryedale near Kirby Misperton. The planning consent or permission is a boost to Britain’s shale gas industry nearly a year after local government officials in Lancashire turned down two permits for shale gas firm Cuadrilla Cuadrilla has appealed against the decision and the government has since changed the rules to be able to approve shale gas permits at government level. Over 4,000 people had lodged objections against Third Energy’s plans, raising fears over safety, the impact on tourism and the potential for the “industrialisation of the countryside”. According to The Daily Telegraph, energy minister Andrea Leadsom has hailed the decision, saying ministers were “looking forward to the safe exploration of shale gas begin-
ning and finding out just how much of this homegrown energy supply is available to power our homes and businesses”. But extracting the gas requires hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – a process that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to fracture the rock. It is highly controversial due to concerns about its environmental impact. Valand previously told The Daily Telegraph he hoped that fracking might take place before the end of this year in a best case scenario. “This is an absolute travesty of a decision but the battle is very far from over,” said Simon Bowens, Yorkshire and Humber campaigner for Friends of the Earth. Third Energy is 97% owned by Barclay’s Global Natural Resources Investments.
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Indian restaurant owner gets 6 years for killing customer with nut allergy An Indian restaurant owner has been found guilty of killing an allergy sufferer with a peanut curry. The stingy hotel owner, Mohammed Zaman, has been jailed for six years. Paul Wilson, 38, had specifically asked for ‘no nuts’ when ordering a chicken tikka masala takeaway at Indian Garden, North Yorkshire in January 2014. But he was later found dead
Mohammed Zaman
in a toilet at his home in Helperby after suffering a severe anaphylactic shock. Zaman denied the charges, but was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter following a trial at Teesside Crown Court. Zaman swapped almond powder for cheaper groundnut mix, which contained peanuts, ‘in pursuit of profit’, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton said.
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
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Poll predicts tilt towards Remain camp
A new exclusive poll for The Daily Telegraph has predicted that following a collapse in support for Brexit, men are now backing the campaign to stay in EU. The Remain campaign is on 55%, while Leave campaign is on 42% and has a 13 point lead with just one month until the referendum, the ORB poll
has predicted. Amongst all voters, the Remain campaign now has a 20-point lead, with 58 per cent of voters saying they back the pro-EU campaign. The poll has also found that men, especially Tory voters and over-65s are increasingly turning to the pro-EU campaign after
previously supporting a Brexit in much larger numbers. However, Leave retains its lead over Remain on immigration, with 50% of voters believing that the Brexit campaign is best placed to “improve the UK’s immigration system”, compared to only 29% who believe the same
about the pro-EU campaign. The market on Tuesday, as we went to press, demonstrated increasing sensitivity to Britain’s EU referendum, pushing sterling sharply higher on the back of the latest opinion poll at the same time as driving up the cost of insuring against
a Brexit-induced run on the pound. But David Cameron after suggesting that voting for Brexit was immoral has faced backlash from members of his own government including threats of resignations. The Prime Minister is meant to appear on the BBC on June 19th over Question
Time to make the case for remain. Crucially however he will not share the programme with either Boris Johnson or Michael Gove. Sir Nicholas Soames, who is the grandson for Sir Winston Churchill has said the Prime Minister should never have offered the referendum a s it has left him a 'hostage to fortune’.
The key arguments for and against staying in the EU - in a nutshell, according to The Daily Telegraph are as following:. IMMIGRATION
Leave: Britain can never control immigration until it leaves the EU, as EU citizens have an automatic right to live in Britain due to freedom to move around freely. Stay: Leaving will not solve the migration crisis but bring it to Britain’s doorstep because border controls from the Continent will move from Calais in France to Dover in UK. CRIME
Leave: The European Arrest Warrant allows British citizens to be extradited and charged for crimes in foreign courts, often for minor offences.
Exit would stop this. Stay: Rapists, murders and other serious criminals who convict offences in Britain can only be returned once fleeing abroad thanks to the European Arrest Warrant. Exit would stop justice being done. TRADE
Leave: Britain’s links with the EU are holding back its focus on emerging markets – therefore there is no major trade deal with China or India. Leaving would allow the UK to diversify its international links. Stay: 44% of Britain’s exports go to other EU countries. Putting up barriers with the countries that Britain trades with most would be counterproductive.
LAW
Leave: Too many of Britain’s laws are made overseas by dictates passed down from Brussels with rulings upheld by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). UK courts must become sovereign again. Stay: The exit campaign has over-exaggerated how many laws are determined by the European Commission. It is better to shape EU-wide laws from the inside rather than walking away. JOBS
Leave: The danger to jobs has been over-exaggerated. By incentivising investment through low corporation tax and other perks
Britain can definitely flourish like the Scandinavian countries outside the EU. Stay: Around 3mn jobs are linked to the EU and will be plunged into uncertainty if voters support Brexit, as businesses would be less likely to invest if the country was outside Europe. PROSPERITY
Leave: Britain does not need the EU to prosper internationally. By reengaging with the Commonwealth the UK can have just as much clout as it does from inside the EU. Stay: As Nick Clegg said, Britain will be “drifting off into the mid-Atlantic” if it leaves the EU. In a globalising world the UK’s interests are best protected by remaining part of the EU block.
FINANCE
Leave: London will remain a leading financial centre outside the EU and banks will still want to be headquartered in Britain due to low tax rates. Stay: Banks will flee the UK and the City of London collapse if Britain votes for exit, because the trading advantages of being inside the EU help boost banks' profits. SOVEREIGNTY
Leave: The British Parliament is no longer sovereign. With the EU hellbent on “ever closer union” and further economic integration likely after the euro crisis, it is best to call it quits before ties deepen.
Stay: In a globalised world, every country must work closer with others if the want to flourish economically. A Little Englander desire for isolation will undermine the UK, plus the PM might have won an opt-out to “ever closer union” come the referendum. DEFENCE
Leave: Britain could soon be asked to contribute to a EU Army, with reports suggesting Angela Merkel may demand the Prime Minister’s approval in return for other concessions. That would erode the UK’s independent military force and should be opposed. Stay: European countries together are facing the threats from Isil, terrorism and a resurgent Russia. Working together will help UK to combat these challenges.
Diaspora to decide Referendum fate? Continued from page 1 European Union (EU), with a significant chunk still undecided ahead of the June 23 referendum, which has been described as a knifeedge vote. This comes right after British Asian MP Priti Patel, Prime Minister David Cameron's Indian diaspora champion and Infosys Chief Narayan Murthy's son-inlaw Rishi Sunak have spoken out in favour of Brexit, while the 'Remain' camp lead by Tory MP Alok Sharma, Labour MPs Seema Malhotra and Rt Hon Keith Vaz continue to oppose it. As per the latest report, 51.7% of Indian-origin voters were against Brexit, compared to 27.74% in favour of leaving the 28member economic bloc. However there is a significant chunk of Indian origin (16.85%) voters who still aren't decided which way they will vote, who are potentially the deciding factor in this upcoming elections. BES surveyed a large sample of 22,000 voters,
which found that 'Remain' has a narrow lead of 43% as against 40.5% in favour of 'Leave'. "The new data indicates that ethnic minority voters could hold the balance of power. While white voters are split evenly, all ethnic minority groups are far more likely to back Remain. However, the data also suggests that turnout could be 20 to 25% lower among ethnic minority voters," the report found. The figures are similar across the board among South Asians, with Pakistani-origin voters backing remain 56 to 26% and Bangladeshis 42 to 17%.
Hugo Swire, Minister of State, FCO speaks out
Hugo Swire, the Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is about to make a trip to India on business again. Addressing the ethnic and Indian media he appealed to the 1.2mn Indian Diaspora to vote in favor of the UK staying in the EU on June 23, recalling Indian PM Modi's words- always referring UK to be 'the gateway'
ing that it would be any different or easier in case of Brexit, is suggesting we would water down that criteria. That's misleading and unhelpful...” He urged British Asians to come forward and voteexplaining that if the diaspora thinks that the EU Referendum does not affect them- they are in the darkness. Every vote counts, and the Commonwealth vote as usual holds the great potential to tilt his country's fate.
Keith Vaz
to EU for Indian trade and investment. Dismissing the claim by Brexit camp that leaving EU will boost Indo-British trade relationship and also help Indian immigrants to come to the UK, Swire said, “There has been a creeping narrative promoted by the Brexitiers that somehow the Commonwealth can replace the EU as the UK's trading bloc partner. My argument is that it is an erroneous leap of faith to take. "This is all based on imagination, rather than reality. Our membership of the EU does not prevent us
from allowing people in from Commonwealth countries. It is not a binary decision, either EU or Commonwealth.” He added that India remains as one of the biggest markets for UK visas, with around 455,000 non-settlement visas issued at the same time. “Over 60,000 work visas were issued to Indian nationals in the year ending March 2015, which makes up over a third of all work visas issued globally by the UK. "So if you fulfill the criteria, you can come here with a work visa. Anyone suggest-
The infamous 'Curry War'
On last week Wednesday Employment Minister Priti Patel, addressing how uncontrolled EU immigration harming the skilled curry industry said, “Uncontrolled immigration from the EU has led to tougher controls on migrants from the rest of the world. "This means that we cannot bring in the talents and the skills we need to support our economy. By voting to leave we can take back control of our immigration policies, save our curry houses and join the rest of the world.”
She announced a “Save the British Curry Day” to take place in June, was backed by Enam Ali MBE, the founder of the British Curry Awards and Spice Magazine, and Pasha Khandaker, the president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association. Speaking to Asian Voice, a representative of the BCA said, “Priti's words have brought some hopes for us. It is wrong to believe that EU immigrants can replace our skills as chefs. The industry is suffering because of such presumptions. Many good restaurants have even shut down because of this. With Brexit, we will be able to bring in skilled workers from Bangladesh to fill in the gap. And that's a big relief.” Tory MP Paul Scully, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for the British Curry Catering Industry, raised the issue in Parliament last year. He added: “It cannot be right that skilled Bangladeshi chefs should be penalised.” Continued on page 7
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EU REFERENDUM Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
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Commonwealth citizens in UK: Have you registered to have your say in the historic EU referendum? Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP, Minister of State, FCO In just a few weeks, on Thursday 23 June, the UK will vote in an historic referendum to decide whether it should remain in or leave the European Union. I firmly believe that the UK will be stronger, safer, and better-off staying in a reformed EU, benefiting everyone in the UK, including India and other Commonwealth citizens living here. The Commonwealth is of immense importance to the United Kingdom. No matter how you look at the relationship – historic, cultural, or our personal ties – our connection with the Commonwealth is stronger now than ever. The UK, along with Malta and Cyprus, has long been the Commonwealth’s voice inside the EU: pushing for trade deals; leveraging development spending; and creating jobs and driving growth. Pakistan’s exports to the EU have soared as a result of our efforts to cut duty, linked to progress on human rights. Bangladesh’s economy has been boosted thanks to duty-free access to the EU market, championed by the UK. We help secure huge amounts of EU development funding for both these countries and many others like South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria. And we continue to push the EU for free trade deal with many Commonwealth countries like Australia and India. The fact that Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK have the right to
vote shows just how close our connection is. But many still haven’t registered to do so, despite this being the biggest decision the UK will make for a generation. So what is stopping you? Maybe you think you are not eligible? You are, as long as you are a Commonwealth national with leave to remain in the UK - even if you haven’t taken out British citizenship. Or maybe you think the process is too complicated? It’s not, it takes just five minutes online. You need your passport and National Insurance number, then go to www.gov.uk/registerto-vote (or search for ‘UK register to vote’). Or perhaps you think this referendum doesn’t matter to you? If you live in the UK, you have as much of a role in this referendum as I do. Many of you have spent years living, working and contributing to the UK. And most of you still have deep ties with India; whether through family, property, or returning to live there again one day. So the outcome of this referendum will affect not only your life, but your loved ones back in India for decades to come. Whatever side you come down on, the most important thing is that you have your say. Don’t miss the opportunity to vote in this historic moment. We all have much at stake.
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Diaspora to decide Referendum fate? Continued from page 7 More than 20 MPs from Commonwealth backgrounds, or representing constituents from BME backgrounds, have also written an open letter calling for the UK to Leave the European Union. They argue that Britain’s Membership of the EU is a barrier to ties being strengthened with the Commonwealth and the rest of the world - and say that a Vote to Leave will allow us to adopt fairer trade and immigration policies. The crossparty group of signatories include Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Gisela Stuart, Rishi Sunak and Iain Duncan Smith. However Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP and Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee attacked Priti's statement as misleading. He said, "I was furious to see Priti Patel claiming that leaving the EU and shutting the door on immigrants from Poland and elsewhere would save Britain's curry houses. "This is divide and rule politics of the worst kind. "The truth is that the stoking of anti-Eastern European sentiment is a new form of racism that is no less bad than that experienced by previous waves of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. "I will defend to the hilt the right of those who come here and contribute to our society, wherever they come from. "Giving in to rhetoric
that sets one community against another would be to take a step towards a less tolerant and more mean-spirited Britain. "I agree with Priti that there is a crisis happening in our country's curry houses. "It is deeply alarming that on average two are closing every week but this has nothing to do with the EU and everything to do the policies espoused by Priti Patel, who just happens to be an Employment Minister and the Government's "Diaspora Champion". He emphasised the problem was the current visa scheme which set a salary threshold of £29,750 for chefs that made it hard for curry restaurants to recruit chefs from abroad. "This could easily be solved in a stroke of Priti Patel's pen by lowering the minimum salary requirement for chefs, something I have campaigned for along with MPs from all parties. "Priti Patel has failed to address this vital issue and is now conveniently using the EU as a scapegoat. "She has chose to come to Leicester, a city that prides itself on its diversity, to lecture us on immigration. "This is a place where communities from all around the world, whether they are Indians, Poles, Kurds or Slovaks, can rub shoulders and get along, as demonstrated by the quarter of a million people who turned out on Monday to cel-
ebrate Leicester City's Premier League victory. "We should have no truck with those who try and divide our society and wreck our economy. "My response to Priti Patel is clear - support our struggling curry houses, but don't blame migrants from elsewhere." Seema Malhotra MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury said, “This Curry House con trick from Priti Patel demonstrates shocking hypocrisy. “As a minister who attends Cabinet, it is within her power to influence Government policy in this area, but she would rather try to blame Europe for the Tories’ failure on immigration. “Net migration from outside the EU has been well above the tens of thousands the entire time her Government has been in power, so leaving the EU would have no effect on the number of non-EU workers allowed into the country each year. “Priti Patel has in fact praised the cap on non-EU workers in the past. “People need to think carefully about what the impact of leaving will be on the British economy. With an estimated million lost jobs and our country being permanently worse off, that will mean fewer customers for curry houses and many other businesses. It's clearly a risk we should not take.”
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Samantha Cameron hosts reception in support of St Luke’s Hospice at No.10 Downing Street St Luke’s Hospice was proud to hold a special reception on Tuesday 17 May at No.10 Downing street to help raise awareness of their Single Point of Access service which gives patients, carers and health care professionals a single number they can call 24 hours a day seven days a week for end of life care, advice and support in Harrow. The hospice’s rapid response team can also provide emergency care at home to avoid patients being admitted unnecessarily to hospital when it is their wish to remain at home. Generous supporters have to date pledged £69,000 to help fund nurses and health care assistants to carry out emergency visits. St Luke’s CEO, Robin Webb, St Luke’s Chairman, Mike Redhouse, and Hospice patron Lord Dolar Popat were joined at No.10 Downing Street by prominent members of the community including CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice, the Dhamecha family, who are supporting St Luke’s as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations, together with long standing supporters and volunteers of the hospice. St Luke’s CEO, Robin Webb says, ‘We were absolutely delighted that Samantha Cameron agreed to host this very special event for some of our fantastic supporters. It was a real privilege to hold our reception at num-
Mike Redhouse, Lord Dolar Popat, Samantha Cameron, CB Patel and Robin Webb
ber 10 and our guests really enjoyed meeting Samantha, who was a natural host making everyone feel relaxed. Many of our guests had their own personal experience of the care and support St Luke’s had provided to family members, which had motivated them to support St Luke’s. It was moving that Samantha mentioned in her speech the support that she and David had received from their local children’s hospice for their son, reinforcing the immense value of hospice care. It was an amazing evening and a once in a lifetime opportunity – thanks again to Samantha for hosting and to Lord Dolar Popat, one of our patrons, for arranging the event.’ Brendan Kilker’s wife, Christine was looked after by St Luke’s and his family
UK cathedral slammed for practising Buddhist Zen meditation In quite a departure from its Christian traditions, senior clergy at the York Minster have quietly introduced a new form of spiritual enrichment altogether – Zen Buddhist meditation sessions to take place on its premises. But the issue hasn’t gone down well with evangelical Christians, who came down heavily on the York Minster, one of the largest cathedrals in northern Europe. The York Minster cathedral advertises the open meditation sessions on its website: “The York Zen Sangha meets on alternate Fridays at the Old Palace, in Dean’s Park, for Zazen (sitting meditation)...All are welcome to attend the sessions.” The sessions are led by members of the church and a Zen master from York Zen Sangha. Members of Christian Concern, an organisation pushing for the UK to “return to the Christian faith” and a member of the
Church of England’s General Synod, have disapproved of the cathedral’s meditation sessions. Chief executive of Christian Concern, Andrea Minichiello Williams, said: “Buddhism contrasts sharply with Christian teaching about God. The two are incompatible. To try to mix them is deceptive and dishonours Jesus Christ. It is remarkable that this is happening at one of the country’s best known cathedrals. The Archbishop of York must take swift action. This type of confusion undermines the Church of England’s current initiative to encourage Christian prayer.” The Very Rev Vivienne Faull, dean of York, said the sessions had not taken place within the cathedral itself, adding that Zen Sangha did not constitute a distinct religious order. She said, “The chapter of York would not give permission order to be set up at York Minster.”
were also supported. He is a long standing supporter of the hospice and attended the No.10 event. Brendan says, ‘It was a lovely evening and it was a privilege to be there. I shook Samantha Cameron’s hand and spoke to her. She was very nice and approachable and it was very exciting to meet the Prime minister’s wife. St Luke’s need to raise over £3 million each year to provide their excellent service. This is why we do what we do to help the hospice raise the money they need.’ It serves two of the most diverse boroughs of London, and work with their patients to identify and meet their individual needs: medical, psychological, social, religious and cultural. Many hundreds of people still die in hospital each year, when it is their wish to be at home. St
Luke’s is working to reach more of these people. St Luke’s is working in partnership with Harrow CCG to provide a single point of access service which allows patients who have been identified as being in the last 12 months of life to call a single number, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and get in touch with a St Luke’s nurse. The calls are covered by our trained nurses who can give advice and reassurance, try to contact the patient’s health care professional on their behalf, and if necessary send out one of our expert rapid response team to provide medical care and support. This often enables the patient to be cared for at home, avoiding the need to call 999 which can lead to the patient being admitted to hospital when it is their wish to remain at home.
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London's New Mayor appoints women in two of his top three roles
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has lived up to his promise by giving two of his top three City Hall jobs to women. He finally appointed his deputy mayors for policing and transport who between them control multi-billion pound budgets and hold huge power. Sophie Linden, deputy mayor of Hackney Council and a former adviser to David Blunkett at the Home Office, will oversee the Metropolitan Police. Val Shawcross, an experienced City Hall operator who sat on the London Assembly for 16 years, will be his number two on transport and deputy chair of Transport for London. Former Labour transport secretary Andrew Adonis will chair the board of Crossrail 2, responsible for delivering the crucial North-South rail link, and act as a link man to Government. The third major City Hall deputy mayoralty housing – will be looked after by Islington Labour
councillor James Murray, according to Evening Standard. Mr Khan has already announced his statutory deputy is long-standing Assembly member Joanne McCartney, which results to three of his four deputies are women. The new Mayor has taken two weeks to announce his first tranche of big jobs but insiders said the delay was because he was keen to get them right. Khan has also promised that the Night Tube will start from August, which will alllow London join cities like Berlin and New York. However, it has been noted that the RMT union members have voted to back a walkout of maintenance and engineering staff in a row over pay and working conditions. The union claims Transport for London has refused to discuss outstanding pensions issues until after the launch of the 24-hour service in August, though the dates of the strike are not yet confirmed.
sioned from local artisans. T h e Prince recognised the cultural value and artistic merit of the gifts he had received. On his return to Britain, he m a d e arrangements for the items to be
placed on public display, first at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum), and later in Paris and at museums across the UK, including in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, York and Nottingham. The newspapers of the time encouraged the Victorian public to see these extraordinary works of art, which were commended for their design and craftsmanship.
Dazzling Indian objects from the Royal Collection to go on display in a new touring exhibition Some of the finest Indian treasures from the Royal Collection will go on display in a new Royal Collection Trust exhibition (launched on 25 May) that tells the story of the grand tour of the Subcontinent made by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) at the end of the 19th century. Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince's Tour of India 1875–76 has been developed in collaboration with Cartwright Hall, Bradford, and New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester. In October 1875, the Prince of Wales set off on a four-month tour, visiting over 21 localities, which today encompass India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal. Travelling nearly 7,600 miles by land and 2,300 miles by sea, he met over 90 rulers of the different regions he visited. Preceding the declaration of his mother, Queen Victoria, as the Empress of India, his visit sought to
establish personal links with the local rulers and strengthen ties between the subcontinent and the British Crown. The exhibition tells the story of the tour through watercolours, photographs and 74 exquisite works of art that were presented to the Prince as part of the traditional exchange of gifts. Many of these items were precious heirlooms from the rulers' toshakhanas, or personal treasuries, while others were specially commis-
Doctor faces music for illegally supplying Viagra A GP is facing the music for illegally prescribing Viagra to family friends. Seventy-seven-year-old Ahmed Jamil, who is facing being struck off for the illegal act, used false NHS prescriptions to supply friends with the anti-impotence drug after a pair he knew came to him for help. He said the two were “very good friends” and he agreed to prescribe the man with the tablets, although he was not a
patient. Jamil, a rotary club member, was held after pharmacists discovered the prescriptions were not genuine. The doctor – who worked at a surgery in Abergele – told a Manchester medical tribunal that he acted “selflessly”. Last year Jamil pleaded guilty to fraud and was given a two-year conditional discharge. The hearing continues.
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Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor
The British Asian Tennis Coach Creating Champions With the tennis season upon us, this week’s timely Leading Light is a gentleman who is on first name terms with Jamie and Andy Murray, Pat Cash and many others among the game’s top stars. But despite moving around the elite world of tennis, he’s never lost his drive to bring the game to the masses. Meet Aubrey Barrett, Founder and CEO of World Class Tennis Ltd. Aubrey is an International Association of Tennis Professionals coach with over 30 years’ experience of coaching and developing tennis. He set up the first local authority Community Tennis Programme in the UK, at Hammersmith and Fulham. There, he increased court usage by 100%, something that became a blueprint for other local authorities. This led to being appointed as the first Tennis Consultant/
part of the Sport Council’s Football in the Community Programme, which helped Arsenal to win the best Football in the Community Programme in the country. As an ATP coach he has worked with numerous Davis cup, WTA and ITF players from all over the world. He is a coach with the Lawn T e n n i s Association, United Aubrey Barrett the S t a t e s Development officer for Professional Tennis the Greater London Association, and is on the Council. He developed a Professional Tennis London- wide inner cities Registry. programme and coined the Aubrey gave us an phrase “Tennis for All.” interview in between flying Aubrey Barrett also set backwards and forwards to up a Tennis Traineeship at Belgrade to work; includArsenal Football Club as ing visits to the Novak
sport,” Aubrey recalled. him to London when he was eight. Current ambition and “My early memories of challenges ahead. India were of a wonderful childhood; being outdoors, Aubrey has a set of noble running around playing ambitions he has followed sport, riding rickshaws, for most of his professional going for drives in the career. He told us, “I have police jeep with Dad. recently set up a non Enjoying school, with profit organisation its beautiful called World Class grounds; Le Tennis .org. Our Martiniere My personal aim is to build C o l l e g e , communities Lucknow. goal is to help through tennis, My early players who and encourage influences cooperation, were my parwant to be friendship, and ents. Mum w a s Number One in quality training programmes that Headmistress of the world children and adults Junior school can participate in, to and Dad was become the best they Superintendent of can be. Our first base is Police. They were both well going to be in Belgrade at regarded and respected.” the Novak Djokovic Club. How the interest in tennis My personal goal is to was sparked, and an early help develop players who challenge. want to be Number One in the world. However, I want more The sport came upon people playing and enjoyAubrey rather suddenly. “I ing the sport and playing did not know anything for the love and enjoyment about tennis until I was 14, of the sport, first.” when a friend asked me to What does he see as his play at North Middlesex greatest challenge on the cricket and tennis club. road ahead? That was it, I got the bug. I “The challenges facing was a good sportsman; I me in achieving my ambiplayed football, basketball, tion are about finding good and athletics for my school, , honest people who have Finchley Catholic High the same objectives as me School (Grammar). and that know the difficulI guess the early chalties, work, time and money lenges growing up in that is needed to be the London were about trying best in Tennis.” to mix education with
Djokovic Club. He explained, “As an ATP coach I have worked with players as part of a team and individually with the top five in the world. I helped Warren Jacques, ex- British Davis Cup coach, with players like Greg Rusedski. Some of the players I have coached and travelled with are; Alex Bogdanovic , Alan Mackin, Jamie Delgado, Connor Niland, and Marlene Weingartner. I was Davis Cup coach for Ireland- with a 100% record; we won our first match against the Basque Region. As a coach on the circuit my players have trained with the best players in the world, such as Novak Djokovic , Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal. I have a lot of respect for these particular players as they are great role models for tennis as is Jamie Murray, the No. One Doubles player. Pat Cash has helped me with many projects over the years as well. Background, childhood memories, early influences. Aubrey Barrett was born in Bareilly, India, and grew up in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. His mother was born in Agra, his father in Dehradun. They brought
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Is Congress being killed by corruption? The words politics and corruption are perceived as synonyms everywhere and especially so in the poor nations. Bharat is and has been a poor nation for the last four centuries. The corruption for the ten years (2004-14) of the Congress rule (under Sonia Gandhi’s presidency) reached such a staggering scope and magnitude that it has no parallel in any other nation. The Coal, the 2G Spectrum, the Chopper, the CWG and many more scams brought the tally of the seats for the Congress in the Lok Sabha to less than 10% (44 out of 543) in the last general election in 2014. Since Swarajya in 1947, there have been different norms for the general public and for the Congress politicians. Mother and Son duo, who currently hold presidency and vice presidency respectively of the Congress cannot even read let alone understand a single language in its own script from the 22 major languages of Bharat. Bharat is a deeply spiritual ancient nation. Wearing a Sari and Tilaka does not fool anyone any more in the present information age where most of the population have access to the necessary information to make an accurate judgement. Narsibhai Patel New Malden
Long Live GB Hemang Palan laments that Britain has refused to deport Malya to India and has done so many times. But, why should Britain dance to the tune of India? Neighboring nations are harboring proven criminals and terrorists with impunity. One neighbor used veto to oppose plea by India. Mr Malya has committed crime in India, which has no impact on British legal, criminal and economic aspects. He has no criminal record in Britain. Once allowed in UK, he is not bound to hold a valid passport of any country. Thus he cannot be legally deported. Actually, unprofessional banks must be chastised for dishing out millions of rupees without any checkup and solid collateral. Also Mr. Malya cannot be blamed for environment that proved to be toxic to his Kingfisher Airline. Rising cost of aviation fuel against which he was helpless, was crippling. It may also be surmised that his Kingfisher Airline might have been strangulated by denying lucrative destinations and routes. Such fate befell on two famous airlines which began to suffer crippling losses but revived when lucrative routes were restored to them. Britain is aware of machinations by anti Malya elements to succumb to request by India to deport him. Ramesh Jhalla By email
Missing Flight MH370 On 8th March,'16 it will have been two years since the above flight disappeared and now no trace of wreckage or a dead body has been found from the Indian Ocean after long search by a few countries including America! The grieving families of the dead- loved ones still need know what happened! The co-pilot seemed a bit suspicious character like one who crashed the German flight on a mountain. I am pretty sure he willfully or unknowingly strayed and crashed in a lonely area of some island or inland in some country. If the search is done up to at least 10 t0 15 miles inland, I am sure this riddle will be solved as a great solace for so many confused and weeping families of the Dead! Upendra Kapadia By email
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Words of wisdom I have known Manoj since his days as President of National Hindu Students Forum (UK) the largest and most active Hindu Students Union outside Bharat. He was outspoken then and is as passionate now as ever with his comments on Sadiq’s election. He nailed Labour Party with his comments “Sadiq too will be conscious of his responsibility to repair huge damage that Labour Party has inflicted on itself by alienating Hindus, Sikhs and Jewish communities in large parts.” Although recentpast Labour MPs like George Galloway and Ken Livingstone alienated Indian community with their anti-India rhetoric’s, lackadaisical JC has done nothing to soothe our concerns. He even alienated himself during Indian PM Modiji’s successful visit to UK. But we must not forget that Labour was the first to establish “Labour Friends of India” and have MPs like Barry Gardiner, Stephen Pound, Keith Vaz and many more pro-India MPs. India gained independence under Clement Atlee’s Labour government, Atlee being the most successful all time PM. Now exuberant Sadiq has taken first step to mend relations with these communities, as his first official function was to attend Holocaust Memorial Day. He sounds genuine when he says I am “Mayor” of all Londoners, irrespective of their faith, beliefs and political preferences. If Sadiq gives Hindus their long awaited crematorium during his term of office, he will indeed gain our trust and respect. The ball is in his court! Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email
India’s cricket and whiskey an obsession Shri C B Patel's article ("When Cricket Fist went to India" 21st May 2016) for me raises the question why cricket went to India. When the English descended upon the "India", it was their middle classes which made first contact with the Indian masses, Army Colonel's, Priests, Lawyers and merchants they set up shop and Empire in India. The middle classes drank whiskey and played the gentleman's game of cricket while the working classes back home, drank beer and where allowed to play football at weekends. The working classes were not needed in India as there was a ready supply of labour in the colony. The coolies or Indians looked up to their new "middle class"sahibs and wished to emulate them aspired to be like them, drink whisky, play cricket and converse in English which they still do today. Even the word "India" is English. Contrast this with the US colonies, fellow white English, Anglo Saxon Christian brothers, where both classes settled, and on their Independence, kicked out all vestiges of the hated British cousins, including cricket, football, the class system and even English spelling, trying to create their own language where none existed now that was true Independence and result is, today worldwide, people aspire to live like Americans the new ruling class. Jayesh A Patel Wimbledon
Sitting ducks Recent statistics indicate that a person is attacked in his own home by a violent burglar once every 30 minutes and that householders come face to face with a burglar in 20 per cent of the burglaries. In other cases, people find that their valuables are stolen from their upstairs bedrooms while they may be watching TV in their downstairs living rooms. This begs the question. Should we be allowed to carry guns or keep weapons under our pillows to protect ourselves and our family? Or, conversley, if we are all allowed to carry arms, would this not tantamount to an escalation of crimes? In this day and age, we find ourselves as sitting ducks who are vulnerable to harm not only from burglars but, after the attacks in Paris and Brussels, we feel that we are targets for terrorists in public places or even while walking in the streets. What could be the answer? We do not want to condone gun laws in Britain which may be on all fours to those in America. But then we could not turn our homes into fortresses by placing metal bars in all windows and installing burglar alarms. Today’s world is not the same as before. We are constantly living in fear of being attacked by terrorists. We need more police with appropriate training who can protect the general public not only form burglars in our own homes but also from terrorists in the streets of London. Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford
Indo-Bangladesh border settlement In 1947 at independence the state of Bengal was partitioned into West Bengal and East Pakistan. But the border between these parts of Bengal was not properly demarcated. Despite several attempts Pakistan was unwilling to make any settlement. In 1971 East Pakistan became Bangladesh. The advent of Bangladesh created a new atmosphere of cooperation with India. In 1974 after intense negotiation demarcation was agreed upon but never implemented by either state. According to this agreement 51 enclaves within India were allocated to Bangladesh while 111 enclaves within Bangladesh were transferred to India. One of many successes of Sri Narendra Modi is Indo-Bangladesh border settlement. Within the first year of becoming Prime Minister he visited Bangladesh. He signed the agreement along with Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. It is now being implemented and the process will come into effect by November this year. Until this settlement the people living in these 162 enclaves were stateless. They were deprived of basic necessities such as education and medical care. All of them are now either citizen of India or Bangladesh and will enjoy their right to these facilities. The generosity of Modi was that he gave complete freedom to all the people of 162 enclaves to choose their citizenship. Accordingly everyone in 111 enclaves coming to India chose to be Indian and also over 1000 people of 51 enclaves going to Bangladesh chose to take up Indian citizenship. Jatindra Saha By email
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Migration can transform art and culture, argues Brum Uni Deputy Vice-Chancellor Migration from Asia and the Middle East to Western Europe could provide the kind of vibrant boost to arts and culture as movement from India and Pakistan did to UK food tastes over the past 40 years, a leading artist and academic has said. Bashir Professor Makhoul, practising artist and Deputy ViceChancellor at Birmingham
City University, believes the movement of refugees
from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria to Europe could provide a spark of creativity, pushing boundaries and leading people to explore art and culture in new ways. Professor Makhoul is the co-editor of a new book, "Conflict and Compassion", which highlights how economic arguments overlook the cultural benefits of closer links
between Western Europe and conflicted countries – which the book describes as a "Third Space". Professor Makhoul said the conflict he experienced growing up in Palestine had a profound impact on his own creativity and that the migration of refugees provided a unique opportunity to change the face of European art and culture forever.
Indian students welcome Prince William to Oxford Uni Two Indian students studying at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government took a central role in welcoming Britain's Prince William who inaugurated the institute's new building. Dinesh Kapur, a former national youth soccer player from India who is studying the one-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the school, gave a formal address yesterday at the inauguration by the Duke of Cambridge. "Your Royal Highness, you have just returned from
my beloved country, India, where you were greeted with love, respect and, I may say, fanfare. That reception, to echo your sentiments, speaks to the unique and special relationship between the UK and India," Mr Kapur said. "And as I see it, the Blavatnik School is an institution that will further deepen this country's ties, not just with India, but also with countries all over the world," Mr Kapur said. Susan Thomas, originally from Kerala, also greeted the 33-year-old second in
Abraham, a journalist from Kerala, had in 2012 won the election to the Loughton Town Council. Loughton is a vibrant town in the Epping forest district of Essex.
Brent welcomes new Mayor Councillor Parvez Ahmed was elected Mayor of Brent last Wednesday. Cllr Ahmed was elected at the Annual Meeting of Brent Council and officially appointed as First Citizen of Brent at the Mayor Making Ceremony which was witnessed by fellow councillors and representatives of voluntary and community organisations from across the Borough. Cllr Ahmed has been a Councillor in Dollis Hill since being elected in 2014 and lives in Dollis Hill with his family. He is the first person of Bangladeshi origin to be elected as Mayor of Brent. A successful businessman and community activist, he has lived and
Prince William at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government to inaugurate the institute's new building
line to Britain's throne and discussed his recent visit to India. Ms Thomas is into her 15th year working with the Government of India as the
tackle the growing rise of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Newham has been launched. The 150Club scheme is an initiative by NHS Newham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Newham Council and the 150Club partnership - made up of the West Ham United Foundation working with the council’s leisure trust activeNewam and the Staywell Partnership. Taking its name from the recommended amount of 150 minutes of exercise people should take per week, the 150Club is part of a bid to tackle high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Newham by helping people to stay healthier.
Woman jailed for spiking breastmilk to poison toddler
worked in Brent for over 30 years. His chosen charities for the year are Brent Centre for Young People, Sufra North West London and Community Action on Dementia Brent. His wife, former Brent Councillor - Lena Ahmed, will be taking on the role of Mayoress.
Warning over volunteering gap-year students Gap-year students volunteering to help orphanages abroad could be unintentionally be aiding “child trafficking and sexual exploitation, a leading university has warned. According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, David Coles, charity coordinator at the London School of Economics, said “unqualified and ill-suited” students were being exploited by orphanages that operated “like a business” and used volunteers as a form of marketing. The families in countries popular with travellers were being persuaded to give up their children by being told they would do better in orphanages, he added. The LSE has announced it will no longer promote orphanage placements amid concerns about their benefits. Scores of students from the UK head off to developing countries for a year out after receiving their A-level results every year. Well, volunteering abroad to build schools or homes or doing post-tsunami work might make people feel good about themselves, but at times it can also be detrimental to those who are supposed to be helped.
Hindus seek fairness in programming at BBC
Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Bangalore and is on sabbatical to study gender issues and good governance in India, the university said.
COUNCIL NEWS Project to tackle diabetes and cardioSouth Indian elected as disease launched in Newham Deputy Mayor of Loughton Avascular partnership initiative to
An Indian journalist has been unanimously elected the Deputy Mayor of Loughton town in the UK, it was announced last week. Philip "Councillor Abraham has been elected unanimously as the Deputy Mayor of Loughton," the announcement said. Councillor Carol Davis, the newly-elected mayor presented the Deputy Mayor's Badge to Philip Abraham. The deputy mayor normally goes on to become the mayor for the following year.
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A mother of eight has been jailed for seven years and two months for poisoning her one-year-old daughter by putting a powerful painkiller in her breastmilk. The toddler was hospitalised several times, and it eventually emerged Rose Jones, 30, had repeatedly put high doses of tramadol into her milk. Sentencing Jones at Plymouth crown court, Judge Ian Lawrie, QC, said Jones’ cruelty was worse than violent child abuse. When it was discovered, Jones of Plymouth, Devon, tried to blame the child’s father.
Hindus want the BBC to broadcast more Hindu programs, dedicating more hours to Hinduism. According to a recent report in The Sunday Times, “The BBC is too Christian in its religious output, according to an internal review, and should increase its Muslim, Hindu and Sikh programming”. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada urged BBC Director-General Lord Tony Hall to seriously and honestly look into this and increase broadcasting of Hinduism related programs and issues substantially on BBC TV, radio and online. Rajan Zed pointed out that multi-culturalism had been fast growing in United Kingdom (UK) and it was now a diverse society formed of various religions and denominations and non-believers, but BBC had not kept pace with it. Hindus deserved more airtime at BBC and live aarti broadcasts from major Hindu temples in UK should regularly feature in BBC schedules. BBC should also ensure adequate coverage of Diwali, Holi, Krishna Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, Ram Navami, Ganesha Chaturthi, Navaratri, Duserra, Hanuman Jayanti, Makar Sankranti, Yugadi and other Hindu festivals, Zed added.
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At the close of the parliamentary session, MPs in the Rajya Sabha, in reflective mood expressed remorse at the shenanigans that had prevented the House completing the business for which they were elected. Some spoke apprehensively of the increasing judicial activism that was eroding the authority of the legislature. This is, of course, a matter of legitimate concern to which President Pranab Mukherjee had recently given voice. But if Parliament fails to perform its rightful duties because of the mayhem of party political mudslinging, it is almost inevitable that the Supreme Court steps into the breach. If Parliament functioned normally, so, too, would the executive and the administration. The separation of powers would be in just and proper balance as envisaged in the country’s Constitution. The fact that a number of mainly opposition MPs emphasized the importance of conciliation and compromise is surely a sign of hope that future sessions of Parliament will be allowed to function in the best traditions Indian democracy as was once the case. Swami’s latest antic BJP MP Subramaniam Swamy, who brings neither lustre to himself or his party called for the dismissal of Raghuram Rajan, the Governor of the Reserve of India for his alleged destruction of the Indian economy, and his return to the University of Chicago whence he came. Mr Rajan has a global reputation as one of the most cerebral bankers in the world, with some of his most notable former colleagues at Chicago suggesting that he should be appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve in the US. Swamy, not having anything like a similar reputation to preserve – being a Harvard University reject, although not on academic grounds, one understands - and protect can thus afford to be his irresponsible self. But his performance added nothing to the dignity of the Rajya Sabha. (Hindu, Mint (May 18)
State Assembly polls There was sign of anti-incumbency factor as the the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the AIDMK in Tamil Nadu swept to power with increased majorities, confounding mainstream exit
at the top of the Persian Gulf, linked to Herat in western Afghanistan and a possible hub for India’s ambitious project to develop a railway network to Central Asia, Armenia and the Russian Federation. Japan’s projected partnership in the plan has shared geopolitical interests with India. With China throwing down the gauntlet with its ‘all weather friend Pakistan, and its goal of turning the Baluchistan port of Gwadar, the challenge will have to met appropriately. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran should be watched with considerable interest, as will also be the case of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Tehran later in August (Times of India May 15)
India-US ‘Red Flag’ air exercise The Indian and US Air Forces concluded the most expensive and exacting four-week air exercises in Alaska, the world’s most expensive and arduous, to their mutual satisfaction. The Air Forces simulated realistic combat operations in a networked environment. The IAF flew four Sukhoi 30MKIs, four Jaguars and two Ilyushin-78 aerial refueling tankers. The US flew F 16s and other frontline aircraft.
India’s goal Group Captain H. Assudani said: ‘The objective of this inter-continental deployment was not only
to showcase the IAF’s capability in undertaking integrated air operations but also to imbibe operational lessons from the exercise engagements, which will help us add more teeth to our war making capabilituies.’
Apple CEO comes calling
US take The teams had to endure subzero temperatures during the exervises. US Colonel William Culver said: ‘This was one of the best ’Red Flags’ I have seen. I compliment the exceptional standards displayed by the IAF and am amazed to see all the 10 aircraft the IAF had brought maintaining 100 per cent serviceability for the entire four weeks and their aircraft flying on all days as per plan.’ The IAF made it a point to switch off during its exercises with the US so as not to reveal the radar signatures (Hindu May 15)
Entrepreneurial India The Apple CEO said: ‘India is home to one of the vibrant and entrepreneurial IOS development communities in the world. With the opening of this new facility in Bangaluru, we’re giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world.’ He was greatly taken by enthusiastic crowd at an IPL Twenty/20 cricket match, and promised that Apple planned to be in India for the next 1,000 years. Phew! (Business Line, Hindu, Mint,Times of India May19, 20)
Amazon upbeat on India operations Amazon, the US e-commerce megastar has invested Rs 15,000 croe in the country and is more than satisfied at the returns. The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Brian Olsavsky, having returned from a weeklong visit to Bangalore and Hyderabad, said: ‘I had a chance to see firsthand the level of invention going on with both customers and sellers. It’s a very exciting time in India… We are inventing things in India that do not exist in other parts of the world. And the team there is one of the best.’ He concluded: ‘We’re very excited by what we see
Tom Cook, Apple CEO, was on a high profile visit to India and has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, his first port of call was Mumbai where was greeted by Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries chief, Mukesh Ambani, at the Siddhivinayak Temple. Cook met industry leaders in the city including Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of the Tata Group. Bloomberg reported that Cook will unveil a digital centre for maps in Hyderabad and introduce an accelerator programme for IOS development in Bangaluru. and we will continue to invest heavily in India.’ (Times of India April 30)
India-Bangladesh ties set for higher orbit India’s nuclear agreement with Bangladesh is a clear sign that their bilateral relations have moved into a higher orbit, with a wide range of other items that are designed to set in motion the modernization of the core sector of the Bangladesh economy. Under the first line of credit India supplied 300 buses, several railway wagons, coaches, locomotives, dredgers for inland waterways and building bridges. Work iin progress include railway expansion, energy and the setting up of two Indian special economic zones. There is also close antiterrorist security cooperation between Delhi and Dhaka (Times of India May 15) See also page 3.
Mumbai’s bullet train station With the Rs 98,000 crore, IndiaJapan bullet train Mumbai to Ahmedabad was finalized and signed in Tokyo last week by an Indian delegation led by Arvind Panagriya, Chairman, NITI Ayog,
Key Godhra jihadi suspect arrested
Mamata Banerjee celebrates victory in West Bengal
polls. The Congess party came a steady second, the Communist Left Front a disappointing third, with the BJP winning three seats. In Tamil Nadu Chief Minister stormed to victory over her DMK and Congress opponents. In Kerala, the Left Front have won power, and in Assam the BJP romped home with a thumping majority over Congress.
India, Japan to tie-up on Chahabar port In a boost to India’s investment in the Iranian port of Chahabar
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and Japanese ministers and officials. The bullet train station at Mumbai is to be located in the Bandra Kurla Complerx. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised all assistance in bringing the Mumbai project to fruition (Hindu May 17)
High end SUVs boost ITBP operations Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), the usual symbols of high living among smart sets in metropolitan centres, have been acquired by the paramilitary IndoTibetan Police Force ((ITBT) have been deployed for high altitude border transport in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. ITBT’s General Krishna Chaudhury explained: ‘We were looking for good high powered vehicles at these heights where regular vehicles are not as adept as SUVs.’ The SUVs are for the exclusive use of ITBT troops (Times of India May16)
CIA’s betrayal of Mandela Western leaders, with Barack Obama in the forefront, were out in force at Nelson Mandela’s funeral singing his praises, the odour of sanctity much in evidence. This being the age of cynicism few ordinary South Africans would have guessed at the time that it was tip-off by the CIA to the security services of the apartheid regime that led to his capture, arrest – as he travelled between Durban and Johannesburg - and trial, leading to his imprisonment on Robbin Island, where was incarcerated for the next 27 years.
British film revelation Farroq Mohammed Bhana
Farroq Mohammed Bhana, believed to be one of the masterminds of the GGodhra massacre was arrested by the Gujarat anti-terror squad en route to Godhra to meet his family. For
more than 14 years after the massacre of over 50 Hindu pilgrims returning home from Ayodha on a train which on a routine stop at this Gujarat town. Farooq Mohammed had
absconded, changing his identity and working as property broker in Mumbai. But the police never gave up; they were rewarded for their diligence when he was caught at the Kalol-Khadki check point (Times of India, Hindu May 20)
Truth will out, and the story of the betrayal is now in the public space, thanks to a British film directed by John Irving. His informant was the late US Vice Consul and CIA operative Donald Richard. The CIA, thus far, has refused to release the documents pertaining to the case (Times of India May 16).
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Angelina Jolie to teach at LSE The Idiots Guide to Brexit The Case For Staying in the EU: My fellow idiots, it is with great, non, avec grand plaisir, I make the case for staying in the EU. The case is simply that without us, Europe will be a shambles and the silly buggers will start fighting amongst themselves again, and you just know we will be dragged in to sort out their mess. It’ll probably be the Germans again; they have got track record of 2 out 2 for World Wars. At least with us in the EU, those waring Germans and French have a common enemy – us the British. And that always keeps the peace. Putin wants us to leave, can’t imagine where he learnt ‘divide and conquer’. I don’t want to strike fear into you of the unknown of leaving, but consider how quickly your passport will fill up with stamps, how much even longer immigration queues at the fricking airport will be than they are now, without being part of the EU special lanes? Prices will rocket up, jobs will fall, no one will buy our products everyone, there will be a nuclear winter, I mean every single company in Britain will relocate somewhere else in Europe. Ohhh la la, sacre bleu I say. We will even have to seal the Euro Tunnel again…with the carcasses of English virgins. If we leave, kiss goodbye to all things continental – croissants, baguettes, sausage, champagne, pizza – you will have none of them if we leave the EU. Instead, you will have to live with bad weather, bad suits and bad food. And what of our influence in the world. Our nukes will be more limp than an oversoaked biscuit in English tea. We may even have to make alliance with the peoples of the Commonwealth, and they
aren’t so white. At least with EU immigrants it’s difficult to notice them amongst us and so more comforting. I rest my case for staying in Europe. The Case For Leaving the EU: It’s simple. We are too good for them. We stand aside even geographically from them, looking down on their weird continental ways. We use deodorant for instance. Plus think of the immigrants. We are a small island. First we let in the blacks, then the Asians, now it’s just open season for God’s sake. We didn’t conquer the rest of the world, only for it to come and move in with us. And if that doesn’t convince you – one more word – MUSLIMS. OMG, they will let Turkey into the EU, we will be over-run with headscarves and terror alerts. Churchill would want us to leave. He’d have nothing to do with Europe if he were alive, never did, never would. Even Jesus wants us to leave – it says love thy neighbour in the Bible – that’s right, a concept of a neighbour – someone next to you, not the same as you. And if we leave we regain our Sovereignty and once again Her Majesty can make whatever laws she sees fit – just like she did before the EU. And we get to control our borders, just the way we do our prisons and drugs. And every single world politician except Donald Trump wants us to stay… never a better argument for leaving has there ever been. I rest my case for leaving Europe and sailing off.
Lord Dholakia queries length of sentences during statement on prison violence Lord Dholakia questioned Lord Faulks, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, after a statement was given on the recent escalation of violence in Wormwood Scrubs during which two prison officers were injured. Querying the Government's response to prison violence, Lord Dholakia noted that there was recognition of the problem of psychoactive drugs entering prisons, their use, and "the extent to which that could destabilise the control of discipline in prisons." This was an issue of great concern to Lord Dholakia. But, said Lord Dholakia, there was another, second issue of concern,
Lord Dholakia
that also contributed to problems within prison estates that was not referred to: the length of sentences. Lord Dholakia, a longstanding campaigner for reforms to sentencing,
to stop the 'revolving' door of prisoners routinely returning to jail, called for "some light" to be thrown "on the extensive use of severe and harsh sentences." Lord Dholakia declared: "[t]hey are one of the causes of overcrowding," and this, he opined, "ultimately results in the type of violence that we saw in Wormwood Scrubs." The Minister, in his reply, noting Lord Dholakia concerns, and stating that the length of a sentence should reflect the severity of the crime, concurred: " ...but short enough to give the offender a chance to rehabilitate and give them some hope."
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, pictured, is to join the London School of Economics (LSE) as a visiting professor on a new masters course on women, peace and security, the school announced on Monday. The LSE said the course, which starts next year, is the first of its kind globally and will be run by the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security which was launched last year by Jolie
and Britain's former foreign secretary, William Hague. "It is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women's rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict," Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), said in a statement. "I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students, as well
as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations."
Swindon in South West England has a new Hindu temple now. Swindon Hindu Temple & Cultural Centre organized its first formal puja on May 21, which reportedly included Ganesh puja, Satyanarayan puja, etc., followed by community lunch. Run by Swindon Hindu Temple Trust, a registered charity; besides providing worship services; it reportedly plans to organize monthly bhajan-kirtan fol-
lowed by preeti-bhoj, events, festivals, religiouseducational-social-cultural-charitable activities, discourses, religious rites; promote traditional performing arts, Hindu values/traditions, Hinduism and its doctrines; provide a gathering venue for area Hindus; and be a medium for social interaction among people in wider community; etc. Pradeep Bhardwaj is the Trust Chairman. Commending the
efforts of temple leaders and area community involved in realizing this Temple complex, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, indicated that a Hindu temple was urgently needed for the spiritual needs of about 20,000 Hindus in the area, who had to visit London (about 80 miles) and Birmingham (around 84 miles) for worship services in the absence of Hindu temple.
Hindu temple opens in Swindon
Deepak Kuntawala declares bankruptcy British Asian business community in London was shocked to hear the news about the bankDeepak ruptcy of Kuntawala aka DK of DVK Group. The self-proclaimed hero ‘rescued’ over 150 Taj residents from the clutches of death by using bed sheets as rope! He even organised an event at Kensington Palace in London to raise
funds to help Mumbai terror victims. It was attended by Bollywood stars,
members of House of Lords, and even Prince Michael of Kent, Queen’s cousin. DK runs several companies offering financing services to businesses and individuals, venture capitalists, etc. But he was sued by Mr Jitesh Patel seeking £3.8 million. The court ordered a bankruptcy verdict on the self-employed businessman.
Indian Lesbian couple lose court fight to stay in UK A married lesbian couple from India has lost their legal battle to stay in the UK on the grounds that their relationship would not be legally recognised in India. The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left from India as friends in 2007 and went on to enter into a civil partnership in Scotland in 2008, which they converted into marriage last year. Judges at the UK's Court of Appeal rejected their application to remain in the UK on the grounds that their relationship would not be legally recog-
nised in their home country. According to The Guardian newspaper the couple both completed Master’s degrees in
Scotland and then found work and have always lived on legal visas in the UK and now want to acquire an “indefinite leave to remain” in the country.
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Books, Conversations and Music: Celebrating South Asian literature at the JLF
Saturday, the 21st of May witnessed the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in its third consecutive year at Southbank, London. The festival brought together thinkers, writers, poets and balladeers, showcasing South Asia’s unique multilingual heritage. It was held in collaboration with Alchemy, Southbank Centre’s festival of South Asian Culture. JLF at Southbank perfectly captured and celebrated the spirit of the annual festival by the same name in India since the year 2006. The inaugural address was given by High Navtej Commissioner Sarna, followed by the Directors of the JLF Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple and producer Sanjoy Roy (of Teamwork Arts). The late afternoon session on ‘Women Writing War’ was particularly compelling with authors Shrabani Basu, Yasmin Khan and Alex von Tunzelmann in conversation with Sidin Vadukut. Once considered a subject of male scrutiny, war narratives and military history are increasingly being examined by women writers. The topics of discussion ranged from women writing about wars and their representation in war narratives, to the prejudice these women academics/ writers still face owing to their subject of interest. Shrabani Basu has written ‘For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 1914-1918’. Alex von Tunzelmann is the author of ‘Red Heat: Conspiracy,
Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean’. Yasmin Khan has written ‘The Raj at War: A People’s History of India’s Second World War’. Sidin Vadukut is an author, blogger and columnist. All the three authors confessed to having faced prejudice as women writing about wars. The narratives of bravery, violence, war politics, military life, battlefield and soldiers had caught their keen eye, and they explored the different layers of stories that are set within these contexts. Shrabani spoke about her story of Noor Inayat Khan’s life titled ‘Spy Princess’. What drew her, she said, were human stories – their routine, habits, access to food, and experiences. Alex exemplified one of the prejudices that women writers on war routinely face – writing only about women and children affected by wars. Women are the only ones assumed to be “caring for children in a war situation”, she said. This, she clarified, exemplified the existence of stereotypes and diluted the gravity of such issues. The representation of women as the Queens, mistresses and sex workers in war narratives has been more common than females as soldiers on the battle front or involved in the operations of war, and women researchers and authors are increasingly attempting to change that. Both Yasmin and Shrabani spoke on how war writings have mostly catered to the high-ranking officers and medal bearers, and how this is just the tip of an iceberg.
They discussed some untold stories like the fascination with the Turban outside India during wars, and how English nurses were not allowed to nurse Indian soldiers during the First World War because of this. Issues of identity for these soldiers (being either Indian or British) need a further study, according to Shrabani. The authors, most importantly, encouraged diverse perspectives on war narratives such as recruitment for the armed forces, family military traditions, prisoners of war, role of women, microlevel resistances, and the complexity of such stories. Some of the other sessions included ‘British Asians: The Changing Face’ (on the changing attitudes and affiliations of the second and third generations of South Asian Britons), ‘The Third Gender’ (on sexual minority rights and social and personal gender roles), ‘Reading Women- Writing Women’ (Women’s narratives from India and South and Central Asia), ‘Reporting India’ (A discussion on reporting on South Asia, moderated by eminent Indian journalist Barkha Dutt), ‘Democracy at Work: An Eye on Elections’ (on the mayoral elections in the UK, ongoing state elections in India and the forthcoming US elections). Alongside these intense discussions, the festival also enjoyed the traditional Morning Ragas, Tabla takeovers (led by the world renowned Zakir Hussain), Lokkhi Terra and (Bangladeshi folk, Afrobeat and Cuban Rumba blend).
Brothers who faked charity donations to swindle nearly £400,000 in gift aid have been jailed. Abu Talib Ghadri and Mohsin Raza, both of Preston Waye, Harrow, used dead people’s details when submitting claims for two charities – the Fatimiyya Trust and The Light.
For every £1 donated to charity by a taxpayer, the charity can claim 25p back – but the pair listed donations from people months after their deaths and used details of ineligible taxpayers to claim. Ghadri also submitted false VAT invoices worth £47,000 linked to seven
bogus companies, but lied and said they had been set up by his estranged ex-girlfriend. Ghadri, 35, was sentenced to six years in jail at Harrow Crown Court on Friday, while Raza, 33, was sentenced to four years. Both charities are now being investigated by the Charities Commission.
Charusmita
Spriha Srivastava
Axis Bank presents Tat Tvam Asi Tat Tvam Asi, which means the whole universe is centered in the self is the latest exhibition running the whole of next week at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. Sponsored by Axis Bank, the exhibition brings together the work of various artists from India. I spoke to the organisers to know more about the exhibition and its uniqueness. Tell us in brief about the exhibition? In association with Axis Bank, we a group of 3 artists and a curator, who have several decades of experience of showcasing artworks around the world will showcase our works. The Curator, Mrs. Raj Kumari Modi Aggarwal brings to this exhibition a set of 10 Lithographs by the renowned Indian contemporary artist Late M.F Hussain. The other three participating artists are – Ms. Sarla Chandra, Ms. Seema Kohli and Ms. Bharti Singh. Why is it unique and about the artists? Artists speak through their painting in a universal language. The 4 artists of Tat Tvam Asi successfully tell a story that revolves around the theme,in their unique style which they have developed over the years. Though this exhibition has a spiritual bend, yet each artist has put forth the sum of their philosophy, interests and personality among other things, which they have arrived at via their technique. Late Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as MF Husain, also known as the Picasso India, was a modern Indian painter of international acclaim, and a founding member of The Progressive Artists Group of Bombay. Early in his painting career, and until his death, he enjoyed depicting the lively and free spirit of horses in many of his works. His themes— sometimes treated in series—include topics as diverse as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the British raj, and motifs of Indian urban and
rural life. Bharti Singh, a Royalty from India, married into the family of wildlife enthusiasts. Thus, her true artistic education began at the most basic level by physical contact and emotional involvement with the natural world. From realistic representation of wildlife, her work gradually moved towards mod-
intellect. It leads a seeker (symbolised by birds) to a spiritual ascent in this world and beyond. What is special about the theme The statement TatTvam-Asi is one of the 4 prominent Mahavakyas which are considered quintessence of the vedas. The theme conveys, that, the self in its original,
ernisation, experimentation and simplification of form. Then came a dramatic change in her work, forms of deities in their relation to various animals and birds appeared on her canvas. However, on her canvas she continues to narrate her belief and personal thought process evolved from various sources and ever growing questions regarding existence of life with a temperament of subconscious and conscious evolution of inner voice. Her current series Karma that will be on display, revolves around the belief that each individual has unique coded lines on the palm and fingers indicating cause and effect of Karma in the journey of life, through which an individual travels each birth. Living in god consciousness has the power to open the flood gates to higher
pure, primordial state is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the ultimate reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomenon. The theme resonates in todays world as people are reconnecting with the thought and the fact that the ultimate goal in life is SELF REALISATION. It is not the attainment of anything external to us, but it consists in our simply knowing or becoming aware of our eternally Free nature. How did the curator being the 4 artists together Once the theme was decided and arrived at, it was not difficult for the curator to tie the works of these 4 artists in the form of an exhibition as each artwork from these 4 artists highlights the essence of matephysical, temper, tone and the underlying message of Tat-Tvam-Asi.
Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com
Brothers who faked charity donations from dead people jailed
Asian man with thalassaemia in new blood donors advertising campaign Amit Ghelani, a 30 year old man living with Beta Thalassaemia Major, who needs blood transfusions every few weeks, is at the heart of a new advertising campaign to highlight the life-saving power of blood donation. He features in NHS Blood and Transplant s new outdoor advertising campaign which enables members of the public to
give a virtual blood donation and see the lifesaving transformation of patients before their eyes. Amit, pictured, from Wembley is one of three people whose lives have been saved by blood transfusions who is taking part in the campaign. He hopes to encourage people
who have never given blood before to register to donate blood for the first time. Amit was diagnosed with B e t a Thalassaemia Major at 18 months old, and requires blood transfusions every three weeks, with each transfusion taking six hours.
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I combine the complexity of Indian flavours with the simplicity of European ingredients
The Aligarh Connection: From Modi to the House of Lords
On 19th May, under the grey clouds of London and a dull day, the evening suddenly brightened up and became magical for me at the House of Lords. On receiving one of the most coveted awards for excellence in poetry and extraordinary achievements from Lady Flather, the Patron, and Divya Mathur, the Chair, of Vatayan International Poetry on South Bank, I felt incredibly challenged to do more to keep it justified. Vatayan mostly honours poets from Hindi literature. I write in mainly in English and Gujarati, and occasionally in Hindi. They made me feel once gain connected to Aligarh where I also began my journey with Skylark magazine and was connected to writers there. At this event, as I was discussing Aligarh to Poet Bechain, writer Shikha Varshney and Dr Shakeb took me down the memory lane as they come from there. Appropriate to those sentiments I read one of my most celebrated Gujarati poems, Dhummas, which I wrote in Aligarh. Granted that Aligarh is associated with the Muslim culture, the writers at the House of Lords reminded me of the place that I knew of as a hub of mixed cultures and tolerance. To be a Gujarati in those days in Aligarh was not a problem as Modi had not yet been invented! The hate University of Modi had not been founded yet with the footing worldwide dragging all Gujaratis in Modi’s hated image. As a British citizen, I have been always a ‘foreigner’ and used to be stopped by police and CID in Aligarh. Nevertheless, it used to be friendly, though cornering in the streets always came at a wrong time. This allows me now to relate to how stop and search must be making the ethnic minority feel here. Yet Aligarh never made me feel as an outsider. The debates around the migrant crisis, racism, UK literary establishment’s shamefully jarred doors ajar doors to our diaspora writers, and government after government having nothing to do with the minority literature are the things still keep reminding me how Britain is still a divided nation where we have to talk as us and them! India has not done much for this ‘Hum
Snigdha Dua
Photo Credit: Silaja Birks
Yogesh Patel
15
Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Inside out
Nehruchachake pyare’ child either. Here is an excerpt from a poem that I wrote about my alienation. Haunted still by the Rhythm of Idi Amin’s army boots Nehru’s absolute claims Hum Nehruchachake pyare (We are the children Nehru Uncle loves) He meets Thelma the Thames whale Watches in desperation Her rescue. Then bones. Wondering in which museum he would Leave bones of Nehruchacha’s fêted child The poem is entitled Disenfranchised. Hate and disenfranchisements are two different social issues. Hate involves a passionate engagement from a negative emotional launch pad, and it can be as extreme as any religious brainwashing. A disenfranchisement is apathy. As long as there are ears, hearts and brains in the equation, the disenfranchisement can be removed with persuasions and arguments. Hate cannot be. Therefore, when it comes to racism and other issues I am hopeful for changes. However, in consuming hate there is no hope. Loathing removes any rationale and dehumanises individuals without them being aware of it. Those who hate Modi are such uncompromising extremists. Need I say how that defines the British media? Therefore, I salute Aligarh where a Muslim group, The Forum for Muslim Studies and Analysis, has just decided to institute a scholarship in the name of Narendra Modi. It will support Muslims from the poor background, inspired by one of Modi’s primary goals. The organisation’s director Jasim Mohammad expressed that Mr Modi is genuinely concerned about the problems the minority community faces. The British press and much of Indian media consumed by the hate game will never report such goings on including Modi addressing international Sufi conference. Hence, on the day I received the award I accredited Aligarh for questioning my hope in that if Word Masala Foundation I have established will make any difference. I am not hopeful of the British media consumed by its hate, but I have a faith in the British publishing industry that is listening to what I have to say and responding positively – though not the vast majority.
TLIGHT
@
EAST – Eat Snigdha’s Table
Sunetra Senior Gastronomy sounds as if it should be a science, but after talking to the talented cuisiniere, Snigdha, I was left convinced it is an art – just look at the enticing pictures! Currently serving up her vibrant pop up menu at the Anise bar at Cinnamon Kitchen - a beautiful location with Indian and Moroccan décor - Snigdha’s preparations have already earned her recognition from Time Out: “I was delighted to have made it onto their radar despite being a temporary restaurant,” she told us. “My proudest accomplishment to date really is all the love I’ve been getting from customers.” Indeed, Snigdha’s keen experimentation with “the complexity of Indian flavours and the simplicity of European ingredients, such as her Gin-infused Rasam and raw oysters,” gives her an attractive, avant-garde edge. “I also added an interesting twist to traditional fish and chips when I did my very successful pub menu at the W B Yeats,” she continued. “I substituted Bengali fish and mustard peas to produce a wasabi-style feel. It was true to both India and Britain, and even inherited a transnational quality. That opportunity really stoked my passion for preparing a la carte, main dishes, and was what got attention from quite a few, respected food critics. I was especially happy because the food was selling itself; I’d not put any effort into extraneous marketing.” *** As with all great pieces of work then, Snigdha’s cookery is not just there for show (though her venison with chocolate sauce does sound very impressive): “what really grabs me about the process” she went onto explain, “is the moment when all the flavours come together in exactly the right way; you create that perfectly balanced, lovingly prepared meal. The food needs to taste and smell as beautiful as it looks. I remember once, I was given a beautiful Bourbon, and the sauce I ended up making with it turned out so exactly right that I just stood there, for what seemed like minutes, relishing this dream concoction! It’s the small elements that make the fantastic whole.” In this way, the appeal of Snigdha’s dishes is not just that they are colourful, modern fusions, or even multi-ethnic; it’s that they are ultimately transcendental. This is the essence of the young chef’s signature, where the piquant of her culinary variety comes from her spiritual fervour itself. So - why not go E.A.S.T of what you’re used to and come Eat At Snigdha’s Table? Your brand is called East- Eat at Snigdha’s Table: what prompted you to settle on that name? My sister-in-law! It reflects really well what my food is all about. The name is modern and symbolises the flavoursome roots: classically Indian food which has been inspired by the world. When I came to England I did travel through Europe extensively and my preparations have been heavily influenced by that. The ‘Snigdha’s Table’ aspect of it is also very important. It reflects my personalised approach. Each plate is one I’ve created. I don’t have a team of chefs working under me. I come out and talk with people as I serve the food too – it is as if you’re coming to my house to eat. How have you found it balancing being both a chef and a CEO? It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to work for yourself and decide what you can and can’t do. I love to cook and surely it’s the dream to have your profession and passions aligned. Do you think your previous desk job in the city motivated you towards your own business, or do you feel you would have been as successful going straight into it out of education? Everyone’s journey is different. I went down the desk job route to be safe, but
always loved creating food: I’d look forward to coming home after work to cook and I remember thinking ‘if I could do this for work, it wouldn’t feel like work.’ Perhaps if I’d started straight out of university I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate how much it meant to me. Tell me more about your journey with East –Eat at Snigdha’s? It was one thing to have cooking as a hobby, to have it all come together in your kitchen, but quite another to make a commercial success out of it. I wanted to gain some useful inside experience. I left my desk job to start working for the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant: it was invaluable working with others who loved and cared so much about food. After that, I worked at Cinnamon Club, an institution for Indian food in UK – and eventually got a taste of the nitty gritty beyond the glamour of the spices: basic knowledge such as peeling onions and long hours really taught me the patience and groundwork for the techniques required of the culinary business. Did you get to meet Gordon Ramsay? Yes, and he was so lovely and smiley. I think a good kitchen is a happy kitchen, and his is one of the best. People who are passionate about food
are going to be firm about it. I don’t know a single chef who doesn't want to do right by their creations! Name a personal, favourite dish of yours? My crispy okra with Balsamic reduction I think is quite a clever dish - a combination of what is a quintessentially indian vegetable and pairing that with the acidity and sweetness of a very mediterranean Balsamic vinegar - you wouldn't think but the flavours work very well together. There's also my Whole Leaf Spinach Tempura which is like a deconstructed pakora chaat. Do you have a tip for social media after running your own business for a while? It’s important to be regularly active and engage at all times. Have a single message telling a story about your product, if it helps; however I have to emphasise that’s it’s always the product –in this case the food - that matters. A delicious picture on Instagram will get the customer to the restaurant, but it’s not what keeps them coming back. Finally, what’s a good vegetarian tip for cooking? Buy fresh, seasonal products and don’t overcook! W www.snigdhastable.com Twitter: @SnigdhasTable
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016 AsianVoiceNews
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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016 AsianVoiceNews
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GALA AWARDS CEREMONY RECOGNISES GLOBAL CHARITIES IN THE UK An extensive report about the awards has been published by PTI in Economic Times.
It was a glittering evening at London's Sheraton Park Hotel, as Britons celebrated the first ever charity awards in the Asian circle. The Asian Voice Charity Awards powered by Charity Clarity hosted a gala dinner on May 20th, to reward charities that think big and solve the most pressing social issues of our time, both in Britain and globally.
AVCharityawards
AsianVoiceNewsweekly
Rupanjana Dutta
I
t showcased excellent charities which operate in Great Britain and globally, that aim to give a much-needed boost to organisations struggling to get the profile and funding they need to move forward. Different from other awards, each charity and
Winner Natwest (Phil Northey) with Shashi Shah (Director, Edwardian Group) and Col Tom Yori Griffiths CBE (British Army)
Rajay Naik, winner Magic Bus (Bim Sandhu), Kate Marsh
L George, COO, ABPL Group, Welcome address
CB Patel, Publisher /Editor ABPL Group
Lord Dolar Popat, Chair of the Judging Panel
individual winner of this awards received a huge package of support, that could be worth up to £20,000 for each and potentially much more. The winners were chosen by an independent panel of Judges, chaired by Lord Dolar Popat. Others judges included Kate Marsh, CEO,
The Funding Network, Jonathan Burchfield, Partner and Head of Charity & Social Enterprise Team, Stone King LLP, Rajay Naik, CEO, Keypath Education and Subhash Thakrar, ViceChairman, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Patrons for the awards included social innovator
and entrepreneur Michael Norton, OBE, Kate Marsh, CEO, The Funding Network, actor Nitin Ganatra, Rajesh Agrawal Group Chairman and CEO, Funke Rational FX, Abimola, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Roche, Anand Shukla, CEO, Brightside, High Commissioner of Uganda to
Compering for the evening, Sheena Bhatessa
Pratik Dattani (Charity Clarity) , Vote of thanks
the UK, Joyce Kikafunda, Senior Counsellor, APCO Dr Roger Hayes, Celebrity hair Stylist, Mentor and Entrepreneur, Jawed Habib and Head CSR and Telenor Myanmar Min Thu Aung. The awards were divided into 10 categories, viz. Charity of the Year, StartUp of the Year, Outstanding Achievement, Outstanding PR team, Fundraising Campaign, Most enterprising, Excellence in CSR, Consultancy of the Year, Investment Management of the Year and Editor's Choice Awards. This year's winners are: Magic Bus, My life films, Priya Varadarajan Durga Alarm, London’s Air Ambulance, Polio Children, Shanti Life, Natwest, New Philanthropy Capital, and Mahmood Ahmadu respectively. The compere for the evening was the very talented actress Sheena Bhattessa, while excellent entertainment was provided by singer
Navin Kundra and Matthew Sulzmann jazz group. Speaking about the awards, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, CB Patel said, “Britons have generous hearts. On average each person donates £100 to support worthwhile charities every year. According to the Charities Commission, there are over 165,000 registered charities, of which some 25,000 have an Asian connection and of which about 10,000 have an Indian background. The Indian heritage of sharing, caring and giving is an age old tradition. Celebrating our tradition of self-help encourages better standards and transparency. Let’s also hope that it also reminds us all to help our fellow man- if not with money then with our time.” Chair of the Judging Panel Lord Dolar Popat said, “During my 45 years in this country, I have witnessed the amazing generosity of many individuals.
Kate Marsh, Winner Mahmood Ahmadu, HE Prof. Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda (High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda to the UK & Ireland) and CB Patel Santosh Vishwakarma, Winner Priya Varadrajan (Durga), Manjunath Vishwakarma and Naman Bhadrasetty (Aaditya Karma Group)
From those who volunteer in hospices to those act as trustees for other charities; passionate and selfless individuals have dedicated time, energy and emotion to making this world a better place. But with all that good-will comes a tremendous responsibility. “It is vital that, if charities are to continue to thrive, they act in a way that implements the best practice guidelines we demand of any publicly-listed business or Government Department. That means transparency, democracy and a skills-based approach to Governance. “I’d like to thank all the nominees tonight. Your work inspired me and my fellow judges and you left us with some extremely difficult decisions to make and the winners were ultimately decided after an extremely rigorous and thorough process. You are worthy and brilliant charities and I
speak on behalf of all the panel when I say it is an absolute honour to have chosen all of you as tonight’s winners. “This one is particularly special as you’ll be the very first winners of your respective categories; but I hope that in fifteen or twenty years’ time the Asian Voice Charity Awards is established as it rightly should be: as a forward-thinking set of awards that acts as a kite mark for the very best activity in the third sector...” Pratik Dattani, on behalf of Charity Clarity, co-partner and co-organiser of this awards ceremony said, “'It's wonderful to see winners involved in tackling some of the most difficult social problems, such as dementia, women empowerment, polio and microfinance loans, not just in Britain but as far afield as Nigeria.”
Nitin Ganatra (Actor), Winner Polio Children (Arun Patel and Mayoor Patel) and P K Sachdeva (Bank of Baroda)
Kaushik Bathia Photography
Lord Raj Loomba, Winner New Philanthropy Capital (Rachel Wharton) and Alok Sharma MP
Winner Shanti Life (Shamir Shah) with Tony Matharu (Grange Hotels)
The Panel of Judges Jonathan Burchfield, Rajay Naik, Subhash Thakrar, Kate Marsh and Lord Dolar Popat
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Manoj Nair ( Red Girraffe)and Winner My Life Films ( Carolin-Marie Roth & Jorg Roth )
Gurudev Jassi (Sunrise Radio), Winner London Air Ambulance (Alice Gray), Seema Malhotra MP
Navin Shah AM, Winner Saracins (collected by Lizzie HultonHarrop from The Big Give on behalf of Sarasins), Subhash Thakrar
16
Asian Voice | 28th May 2016 AsianVoiceNews
AsianVoiceNewsweekly
www.asian-voice.com
ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS
www.asian-voice.com
Asian Voice | 28th May 2016 AsianVoiceNews
AsianVoiceNewsweekly
17
GALA AWARDS CEREMONY RECOGNISES GLOBAL CHARITIES IN THE UK An extensive report about the awards has been published by PTI in Economic Times.
It was a glittering evening at London's Sheraton Park Hotel, as Britons celebrated the first ever charity awards in the Asian circle. The Asian Voice Charity Awards powered by Charity Clarity hosted a gala dinner on May 20th, to reward charities that think big and solve the most pressing social issues of our time, both in Britain and globally.
AVCharityawards
AsianVoiceNewsweekly
Rupanjana Dutta
I
t showcased excellent charities which operate in Great Britain and globally, that aim to give a much-needed boost to organisations struggling to get the profile and funding they need to move forward. Different from other awards, each charity and
Winner Natwest (Phil Northey) with Shashi Shah (Director, Edwardian Group) and Col Tom Yori Griffiths CBE (British Army)
Rajay Naik, winner Magic Bus (Bim Sandhu), Kate Marsh
L George, COO, ABPL Group, Welcome address
CB Patel, Publisher /Editor ABPL Group
Lord Dolar Popat, Chair of the Judging Panel
individual winner of this awards received a huge package of support, that could be worth up to £20,000 for each and potentially much more. The winners were chosen by an independent panel of Judges, chaired by Lord Dolar Popat. Others judges included Kate Marsh, CEO,
The Funding Network, Jonathan Burchfield, Partner and Head of Charity & Social Enterprise Team, Stone King LLP, Rajay Naik, CEO, Keypath Education and Subhash Thakrar, ViceChairman, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Patrons for the awards included social innovator
and entrepreneur Michael Norton, OBE, Kate Marsh, CEO, The Funding Network, actor Nitin Ganatra, Rajesh Agrawal Group Chairman and CEO, Funke Rational FX, Abimola, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Roche, Anand Shukla, CEO, Brightside, High Commissioner of Uganda to
Compering for the evening, Sheena Bhatessa
Pratik Dattani (Charity Clarity) , Vote of thanks
the UK, Joyce Kikafunda, Senior Counsellor, APCO Dr Roger Hayes, Celebrity hair Stylist, Mentor and Entrepreneur, Jawed Habib and Head CSR and Telenor Myanmar Min Thu Aung. The awards were divided into 10 categories, viz. Charity of the Year, StartUp of the Year, Outstanding Achievement, Outstanding PR team, Fundraising Campaign, Most enterprising, Excellence in CSR, Consultancy of the Year, Investment Management of the Year and Editor's Choice Awards. This year's winners are: Magic Bus, My life films, Priya Varadarajan Durga Alarm, London’s Air Ambulance, Polio Children, Shanti Life, Natwest, New Philanthropy Capital, and Mahmood Ahmadu respectively. The compere for the evening was the very talented actress Sheena Bhattessa, while excellent entertainment was provided by singer
Navin Kundra and Matthew Sulzmann jazz group. Speaking about the awards, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, CB Patel said, “Britons have generous hearts. On average each person donates £100 to support worthwhile charities every year. According to the Charities Commission, there are over 165,000 registered charities, of which some 25,000 have an Asian connection and of which about 10,000 have an Indian background. The Indian heritage of sharing, caring and giving is an age old tradition. Celebrating our tradition of self-help encourages better standards and transparency. Let’s also hope that it also reminds us all to help our fellow man- if not with money then with our time.” Chair of the Judging Panel Lord Dolar Popat said, “During my 45 years in this country, I have witnessed the amazing generosity of many individuals.
Kate Marsh, Winner Mahmood Ahmadu, HE Prof. Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda (High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda to the UK & Ireland) and CB Patel Santosh Vishwakarma, Winner Priya Varadrajan (Durga), Manjunath Vishwakarma and Naman Bhadrasetty (Aaditya Karma Group)
From those who volunteer in hospices to those act as trustees for other charities; passionate and selfless individuals have dedicated time, energy and emotion to making this world a better place. But with all that good-will comes a tremendous responsibility. “It is vital that, if charities are to continue to thrive, they act in a way that implements the best practice guidelines we demand of any publicly-listed business or Government Department. That means transparency, democracy and a skills-based approach to Governance. “I’d like to thank all the nominees tonight. Your work inspired me and my fellow judges and you left us with some extremely difficult decisions to make and the winners were ultimately decided after an extremely rigorous and thorough process. You are worthy and brilliant charities and I
speak on behalf of all the panel when I say it is an absolute honour to have chosen all of you as tonight’s winners. “This one is particularly special as you’ll be the very first winners of your respective categories; but I hope that in fifteen or twenty years’ time the Asian Voice Charity Awards is established as it rightly should be: as a forward-thinking set of awards that acts as a kite mark for the very best activity in the third sector...” Pratik Dattani, on behalf of Charity Clarity, co-partner and co-organiser of this awards ceremony said, “'It's wonderful to see winners involved in tackling some of the most difficult social problems, such as dementia, women empowerment, polio and microfinance loans, not just in Britain but as far afield as Nigeria.”
Nitin Ganatra (Actor), Winner Polio Children (Arun Patel and Mayoor Patel) and P K Sachdeva (Bank of Baroda)
Kaushik Bathia Photography
Lord Raj Loomba, Winner New Philanthropy Capital (Rachel Wharton) and Alok Sharma MP
Winner Shanti Life (Shamir Shah) with Tony Matharu (Grange Hotels)
The Panel of Judges Jonathan Burchfield, Rajay Naik, Subhash Thakrar, Kate Marsh and Lord Dolar Popat
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Manoj Nair ( Red Girraffe)and Winner My Life Films ( Carolin-Marie Roth & Jorg Roth )
Gurudev Jassi (Sunrise Radio), Winner London Air Ambulance (Alice Gray), Seema Malhotra MP
Navin Shah AM, Winner Saracins (collected by Lizzie HultonHarrop from The Big Give on behalf of Sarasins), Subhash Thakrar
18
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Have your cake and eat it too Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company
By the time this article is out we will hopefully have exchanged on a property we have spent the last few weeks focusing and researching on. The property is due to come up in auction on Thursday 26th May 2016. This means by the time you’re reading this article the deal would have or not been done. The property is in E9 and has a guide price of £650k. In truth the price will go to £750k and even a touch higher. The guide price is often kept low to attract interest and therefore ensure the property sells for well in excess of guide price on the day. The property is freehold and looks like it’s made up of three flats. If a case can be made that we are purchasing three flats, we will benefit from a saving in stamp duty. This relief is known as Multiple Dwelling Relief and in my experience is often missed by lawyers, this would save about £20,000 in this scenario. In this business it is important to have good professionals, but never just let them get on with it, they need to be overseen. Their interest is not you, it is them. They therefore ensure they are protected first and they are able to charge you well.
The beauty of this deal is the long term strategy. This property is not being purchased just on the basis of future capital growth, it is being purchased so it can be turned into a cash cow, giving a good yield every month. As mentioned in last week’s article the big money in property is to be made in its capital growth, this is driven by location. It is of course great to have a cheque in every month but these are the extras and not the main objective. The property will no doubt rise strongly in value, as it’s in a ‘up and coming' location. I know of a couple of property developers, both Jewish, who never sell. They purchase for the yield however this is done within the shelter of a strong location. This means they make money regardless of the weather, come rain or shine the cash pours in. They should know how to preserve and increase wealth. One of the parties has been lending money since the time of Jesus I'm pretty sure. They come originally from Persia, now Iran, and they have been lending money for generations. What’s interesting about this model is it is very hard for them to lose money. They lend out bridging funds and only on properties in London, and only to people they know. Their clients are property dealers and developers. This means they are purchasing the properties for cheap. If for example a property is purchased for 25% off the market value, so a £100k property is bought for £75k, they would lend 70% on the £75k purchase price. This means they would lend £52.5k. Their exposure would only be on 50% of the open market value.
The
Real Deal Ealing Road, Wembley, HA0 Purchase Price: £2.8m
In the 2007/2008 crisis property prices in London dropped only by 20% at the lowest point, so the money lent by these bridging companies is totally safe. This is almost a risk free exercise, this is why they have been doing this for generations. They make about 10-12% per annum. I once asked why they do this given they are property developers too and they make more money in this area. They disclosed to me this is just their offshore money which earns no interest any way. The other activity I discovered they are into is ownership of freehold blocks. This is another great way to preserve wealth. When you own the freehold you make money in a number of ways. Firstly each flat has to pay you a ground rent; secondly you get a premium when lease holders renew their lease; thirdly you can manage the block and earn from the service charges. This again means you will get your money regardless of the market conditions. Everyone has to pay their service charge and ground rent. If they do not, you simply write to the mortgage company and they will pay it on the leaseholder’s behalf and add it to their mortgage. Whether the property market goes up or down this money will be coming in. Every so often you will be able to get a large lump sum when a leaseholder decides to increase the length of their lease. You also have the option to purchase short lease properties for yourself and then sell them on with the benefit of a long lease. When I purchased a property on behalf of a client in a purpose built block I discovered that the bridging lender I knew was also the freeholder. This was helpful when it came to extending the lease shortly after purchase. Their business is not simply to make 20% - 25% on a development project, but to invest in property in a way which insulates their wealth from fluctuations in the market. Hence I for one pay great attention to what angle they focus on when investing in property. Currently their focus is on attaining high yields, which will make money regardless of the state of the market.
● Freehold building in a strong location with commercial on the ground floor and residential on the first floor ● High rental yeild ● Scope of adding two more flats to the property ● Very good buy and hold opportunity
In this regard I have been given a deal close to Seven Sisters, which after development will give a yield of 8.9% on costs. This is very, very high for anywhere in London, furthermore this is a location where property prices will still rise. The investment should yield 116% with a year assuming a 50% borrowing. So not only do you have a massive value add, you have a great yield and brilliant future growth prospects. This is a deal from all three angles, a rarity. Call the office for more details.
Call us now to secure this deal!
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Tips of the Week ● Have two exit strategies when doing a property deal, as things may not always go to plan. ● Caution must be applied when purchasing ‘below market value’ properties, are you buying cheap because no one else is purchasing them? Will the price drop even further in years to come?
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a billionaire? Look at billion dollar businesses. They solve a major problem (not Coca Cola of course – but it did once). What’s the equivalent in finance. How about the following: A fund manager who buys and sells for you but does not charge an annual fee? One that does not charge an entry fee One that does not charge an exit fee One that does not charge trading commissions One that does not lock you in for months, or even days One that let’s you see your portfolio live 24/7 on the internet One that is an expert with a track record, not a faceless firm One where your money is not mixed with other peoples One which is regulated in the UK, not Cyprus or Gibraltar One that tells you what they are thinking every morning not once a month One that tell you what they are going to trade before they do it each day, not once a month One that is that transparent One that only makes money if you do One that only makes money by sharing 85-15 of the profits – in your favour One that is looking to beat the market so make much more than just tracking an index One that buys stocks and currencies, not simply puts your money into other people’s funds so creating a layer of cost on top of another layer of cost One where you can meet the fund manager Now would that solve a major problem? A billion dollar problem. Would you be interested? Well, I have a reason for telling you…it’s revolutionary, it’s live, it’s launched and it’s mine!
Cairn India CEO Mayank Ashar quits Managing director and CEO of Cairn India, Mayank Ashar has quit the firm Cairn India, citing "personal reasons". Head of a company that operates the country's biggest on-land oilfield, Ashar is the third CEO to resign from the company ever since it was taken over by Vedanta Group, four and a half years back. The company released a statement saying Ashar "has decided to step down for personal reasons effective June 5, 2016." Currently, Sudhir Mathur, CFO, has been appointed as the acting CEO. "The Board expresses its appreciation for Mayank's contribution during his association with the company. Under Mayank's leadership, Cairn India has delivered a resilient performanec in a challenging business environment," the statement read. The company said it remains committed to maintain "one of the lowest cost operations in the world" to pursue innovations and technology in its asset portfolio and cre-
Mayank Ashar
ate value for its stakeholders. Navin Agarwal, Chairman, said, "Mayank has had a positive stint at Cairn. He leaves Cairn India in the hands of a strong leadership team." The company had reported a historic loss of Rs 10,948 Crore for the fourth quarter ended in March, as fall in crude oil prices affected its performance. It is also involved in a legal battle with the Petroleum Ministry over the extension of contract for its flagship Barmer block in Rajasthan.
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Government to make customs clearance easy for NRIs
The government is in the works of a framework that will most likely ensure trouble-free customs clearances for non-resident Indians who are bothered by customs for carrying 'too much' gold. Strict norms that were placed to stop gold smuggling through personal baggage, has posed troubles particularly for families. A senior finance ministry official
said, "We are examining the norms. We understand that some people get jewellery for weddings and take it back as well." The move is a part of CBEC's ease-of-doing-business plan that focuses on removing unnecessary hurdles. A series of measures have already been taken to make customs clearances easier, and less time-consuming, including risk-
based checks by agencies like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for food imports. Passengers who want to bring their jewellery back have to undergo cumbersome procedures at ports. They have to get the jewellery photographed and complete paperwork at a separate counter. The government now finds itself between want-
India to grow at 7.5 % - Moody's Moody's Investors Service has projected an economic growth rate of close to 7.5 per cent in 2016 and 2017, saying the prevailing low headline inflation is expected to continue with the help of a good monsoon. It however, said in a report that India has a strong GDP growth, but private investment remains weak. “Prevailing low headline is expected to remain so, given the current forecast of a good monsoon se ason, and should allow the Reserve Bank of India to sustain its current accommodative stance,” Moodys' said, adding it expects the Indian economy to continue to grow close to an annual rate of
7.5 per cent in 2016 and 2017, largely driven by private consumption growth. “Moreover, investment spending fell in the last quarter of 2015, as did industrial production and capital utilisation rates remain low.” It said that India's overall economic growth is supported by robust consumer spending, which makes up 55 per cent of aggregate demand in the economy.
Private spending will be supported by the implementation of the public sector salary increases, mandated by the 7th Pay Commission, and a rise in rural incomes, provided the forecast of a good monsoon is realised. “Looking forward the impact of weaker commodity prices is likely to fade over time with the stabilisation of commodity prices. Combined with the fact that external demand is likely to remain lackluster, a sustained improvement in domestic private investment would be required for the growth momentum to be sustained,” it said.
ing to allow easy movement of gold and other priced metals, and ensure the new norm is not used for smuggling. Various options are being explored, which means that based on the valuation of jewellery, duty could be paid on entry and refunded when the person returns. This way, even if jewellery is brought in and not taken back, customs duty would have been paid.
Mallya's woes reach US Vijay Mallya's default loans stint has come right over and bit him in the behind, with his USbased brewery firm Mendocino Brewing Company Inc pressing him for a $1 million loan promised by his holding firm United Breweries Holding Ltd. "Vijay Mallya, the company's chairman and indirect majority shareholder, is presently subject to certain legal proceedings in India, which may impair the company's ability to obtain financing from UBHL and other potential funding sources."
HSBC to cut down SBI merger gets a on branches in India thumbs up from Jaitley British bank HSBC has decided to cut its branch network in India from 50 to 26, after its decision to shut down its private banking business targeted at the rich. The move would result in the bank losing the title of a foreign bank with the second largest branch network to Citibank. “The affected roles are less than 1 per cent of the total HSBC employee population in India,” said a bank spokesperson. “A key priority is the fair treatment of our staff and we will do anything we can to assist affected employees during this business transition. Redeployment opportunities will be accorded to the affected employees.” HSBC has over 33,000 employees in India including those who work in its global back office. Stuart P Milne, group
general manager and CEO, HSBC India, said, “This move aims to position our retail business for the future, with the right mix of digital versus physical branch distribution. Customer expectations are changing rapidly and we need to adapt accordingly. India is a priority market for HSBC and we will continue to invest to achieve sustainable growth by supporting the needs of our customers in retail banking and wealth management, global banking and markets, and commercial banking, businesses where we have scale and a highly differentiated proposition.”
Greek lawmakers have approved tax increases, a new privatisation fund, and freed up the sale of nonperforming loans in exchange for the muchneeded bailout loans and debt relief. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed lawmakers in the parliament before the vote. He said, "Greeks have already
paid a lot, but this is probably the first time that the possibility of these sacrifices being the last is so evident." The new taxes will hit the country below the belt with increases in value added tax by one point to 24 per cent, more tax on fuel, tobacco, internet usage and an extension of a property tax.
Greece approves reforms for debt relief
Arun Jaitley
The recent proposal of SBI to merge its five associate banks with itself and acquire Bharatiya Mahila Bank is in compliance with the government's policy of consolidation, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after it sought the government's approval. “Consolidation was part of the Indradhanush package. I had announced about consolidation in the Budget... therefore, the banks have acted. It is accordance with the government's policy,” he said. “Let the proposal come to the government. I had already announced consolidation as the road map in the Budget itself. And therefore, I think the larger question is that India doesn't need so many banks in the public sector,” Jaitley said in an interview. “Let larger globalsized institutions come into existence without adversely impacting the
employees' working conditions. And if it comes to us, I will certainly look at that. And I will look at it very positively.” SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said with the merger, the balance sheet size of the bank will soar to Rs 37 Lakh Crore, from the current Rs 28 Lakh Crore. The five associate banks under proposal for the merger with the major are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore. When asked if more lenders are expected to come out with similar consolidation plans, Jaitley said, “I think the immediate priority with regard to other banks is to get them out of the stress situation, improve on their economic health and then look at a possible consolidation, wherever possible.”
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Foreign Exchange Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.
Remain or to exit ? There was more discussion surrounding the Brexit with the release of the results by a poll conducted. The "remain" camp held an eight-point lead over its "leave" rivals in Britain's EU referendum campaign, according to the latest telephone poll from ICM for the Guardian newspaper, published yesterday. The poll found that support for remaining in the union stood at 47 percent, whilst that for the so-called "Brexit" option was at 39 percent and 14 percent were undecided. There has been a long-running trend in opinion polls on the EU referendum issue whereby telephone polls have tended to find a comfortable lead for "remain" while online polls have suggested a closer race, with "exit” in some cases. The entire British polling industry failed to predict the Conservative Party's outright win in last year's general election. This illustrates the unreliability of the polling system. Retailers and pay experts also pointed to a subdued outlook in other reports published on Monday. Uncertainty is looming over global growth, particularly around weakening emerging markets and the outcome of the EU referendum, which Carolyn Fairbairn CBI'S general director
said is "chilling some firms' plans to invest,". The CBI said it now expected Britain's economy to grow by 2 percent a year this year and next, down from forecasts of 2.3 percent and 2.1 percent made in February and below the longrun average. It based its forecasts on an assumption that Britain would stay in the EU. This also echo’s the Bank of England’s recent reduction in growth forecasts on Thursday to 2.0 percent growth this year and 2.3 percent in 2017 and said the economy would slow more sharply, and possibly even go into a short recession, if Britain votes to leave. The UK’s consumer pricing index showed inflation fell in April for the first time since September, largely because of cheaper air fares after the Easter holidays. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate dropped to 0.3% and the main causes were falls in the prices of air fares, vehicles, clothing and social housing rents. The largest downward effect came from air transport, with prices falling by 14.2%, compared with a rise of 4.5% between the same two months last year. This was influenced by the timing of the Easter holidays in March. Yesterday we also had more
positive employment data in the UK with 31.58 million people in work, up 44,000 from the previous quarter taking the employment rate to a record high of 74.2%. However the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said the jobs market could be "cooling off". The pound continued its positive move higher following better than expected retail sales figures, despite Brexit fears, consumer spending is still growing. The Bank of England has said its next move on the monetary policy would be an increase in interest rates; many investors have been concerned of the systemic effects of a Brexit and the impact this could have on the UK economy. These concerns are to such extent that many market participants were beginning to price in a rate cut should a Brexit materialise – however these concerns have since been eased given the recent poll showing more favour of a vote to remain. The US monthly CPI grew to 0.4% against an expected level of 0.3%. This is significant as the cost of living in the US has now grown, in the month of April, by the greatest amount in three years. More than half of the rise in consumer inflation stemmed
from a recent bump in the cost of gasoline. Rent was another major contributor, accounting for about one-fourth of the increase. This is an indication that inflation is heading towards the levels that the Federal Reserve are seeking. The Federal Reserve is likely to give US interest rates another hike next month, according to the minutes of its latest policy meeting published this evening. Unless the economy is blown off course, The US Fed is gearing up to raise interest rates for only the second time since the financial crisis when they next meet on 14 June The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) "judged that if incoming data was consistent with economic growth picking up in the second quarter, labour market conditions continuing to strengthen, and inflation making progress toward the FOMC's two percent objective, then it likely would be appropriate to increase the target range for the federal funds rate in June". The dollar strengthened following the comments of a possible rate hike in June despite Philly Fed manufacturing index coming out worse than previous at -1.8 against a previous of -1.6.
Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 24th May 2016 @ 2.50pm GBP - INR = 98.78 USD - INR = 67.70 EUR - INR = 75.24 GBP - USD = 1.45 GBP - EUR = 1.30 EUR - USD = 1.11 GBP - AED = 5.36 GBP - CAD = 1.91 GBP - NZD = 2.16 GBP - AUD = 2.03 GBP - ZAR = 22.82 GBP - HUF = 412.70
www.rationalfx.com Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.
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India must sign NPT for NSG – China In Brief
NEW DELHI: In a new way to block India's move for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, China has announced that the NSG is linked to the NPT. To put it clearly, the statement directly implies that India could be eligible for NSG membership only if it signed the NPT. Chinese diplomats spoke to journalists in New Delhi, denying the situation was a "bilateral issue". A Chinese official said, "As a member of
believe there are double standards. But it only recognises nuclear weapons states as those that tested weapons before 1967. China did not make this rule, western powers did. We just have to maintain the rules." The Chinese put their foot down once the US began endorsing India's membership to the NSG last week. Since its NSG waiver in 2008, India has engaged many members of the NSG
UN security council, we are the watchdog of the world, we must ensure the rules. And we must also think about others, not just India who want an exception of the rules." In a style that India knows too well, the official said, "China would never block India's entry into any world body but what about the efficiency of the regime? China joined the NPT in 1992. The treaty has some problems and Indians
to give them all a closer look into the country's nuclear system, its non-proliferation practices, etc. A lot is on the cards considering the matter at hand. President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to engage Chinese leaders on the membership during his trip to China next week. With the NSG plenary scheduled for June, sources said India would be actively pursuing the subject with China.
Obama lifts U.S. arms ban on Vietnam HANOI: President Barack Obama lifted a half-centuryold ban on selling arms to Vietnam during his maiden visit to the communist country. In a step to tighten ties between both the countries, the leader announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he expressed desire to reward what he called, a modest progress on human rights in the one-party state. "At this stage, both sides have established a level of trust and cooperation, including between our militaries, that is reflective of common interests and mutual respect. This change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself and removes a lingering vestige of the Cold War," Obama said. His trip comes at a time when China moves
Barack Obama and Tran Dai Quang
No Apology for Hiroshima: Obama "No, because I think that it's important to recognise that in the midst of war, leaders make all kinds of decisions. But I know, as somebody who has now sat in this position for the last seven and half years, that every leader makes very difficult decisions, particularly during wartime."
Obama said he will not apologise to Japan over the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, stating that improving mutual ties will be the focus of his upcoming trip to the country. In an answer to question issued by Japanese national broadcaster NHK he said,
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to strengthen its claims to the disputed territory in the South China Sea. In a joint news conference in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Obama said that the removal of the ban on lethal weapons was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and dismissed suggestions it was aimed at countering China's growing strength in the region. "Instead, it was the desire to continue normalizing relations between the United States and Vietnam and to do away with a ban "based on ideological division between our two countries." China lauded the lifting of a U.S. arms embargo, saying it hoped "normal and friendly" relations between the U.S. and Vietnam are conducive to regional stability.
Hindu teacher beaten up for 'anti-Islam' remarks DHAKA: A Hindu school headmaster was beaten up and made to do sit ups in front of a local lawmaker for allegedly making deprecating statement against Islam. The government has reportedly launched a probe into the incident. Shyamal Kanti Bhakta of Piyar Sattar Latif High School in Bandar Upazila was thrashed up by locals after some unidentified people claimed that Bhakhta made offensive comments about the religion while punishing a Muslim student for not studying. Bhakta was later rescued by police but only after he was battered and made to do sit ups holding ears in the presence of ruling Awami League lawmaker Selim Osman. Unrepentant, the MP claimed that the punishment was the only way to save the teacher from the wrath of the mob. Meanwhile, the victim has denied making any statement against Islam and claimed that some people in school management held grudges agaisnt him. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid termed the humiliation of the headmaster as "unacceptable and inhumane". He said action would be taken after a three-member inquiry committee submitted its report.
Nepali woman creates history
KATHMANDU: A 42 year old woman from Nepal climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time, breaking her own record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain by any woman. Lhakpa Sherpa, who works in a 7-Eleven in Connecticut, reached the 8850 meter peak from the Tibetan side and was accompanied to the top by a Nepali guide. "She has broken her own record," said Rajiv Shrestha of the 7 Summits Adventure company. Over 330 climbers have scaled the mountain from the Nepali side after expeditions were forced off due to last year's devastating earthquake that killed at least 18 people at Base Camp.
Israel defence minister warns of 'extremist' rise
JERUSALEM: Israel's defence minister resigned saying the nation was being taken over by "extremist and dangerous elements" shortly after Prime Minister Netanyahu made a move to replace him. "To my great regret, I have recently found myself in difficult disputes over matters of principle and professionalism with the prime minister, a number of cabinet members and some lawmakers," said Moshe Yaalon, in a statement from his Tel Aviv office. "The State of Israel is patient and tolerant toward the weak among it and minorities. But to my great regret extremist and dangerous elements have overrun Israel as well as the Likud party, shaking up our home and threatening harm to those in it." Meanwhile, PM Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed the claims saying, "The reshuffle in portfolios did not result from a crisis in faith between us. It resulted from the need to expand the government so as to bring stability to the State of Israel."
Pakistani terrorist charged with waging war
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Naveed who was caught during a terror attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur district, last year, has been charged with waging war against India and, conspiring and collecting arms for the same. Special judge for the NIA court, Kishore Kumar also charged the youth with killing government officials on duty and making an attempt on the lives of others. Naveed and his accomplice Mohammad Noman allegedly attacked the convoy on August 5, 2015, at Narsoo nullah along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Udhampur. Two BSG personnel died and 13 others were injured in the bid. Noman was killed in retaliatory action.
First American drone strike in Baluchistan
KABUL: The Afghan intelligence agency reported that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour has been killed in a strike in the restive Pakistani province of Baluchistan. While the US announced the strike, it could not confirm the death. The news, confirmed or not, is of significance as it is believed to be the first American drone strike in Baluchistan, the de facto headquarters of the Afghan Taliban. It is also a sign that the Obama administration is growing less patient with Pakistan's incapability to act against the terrorist insurgency. The US and the Afghan government has long blamed the outfit for the resilience of the insurgents despite a strong campaign being lead against them involving 150,000 international troops. Repeating 2011 attack on leader Osama bin Laden, the US yet again alerted Pakistani officials only after the attack. The country's Foreign Ministry issued a statement later, denouncing the attack as a violation of the country's sovereignty.
Seven killed in Indonesia volcano eruption
GAMBER: Houses were incinerated and villages left covered in ash after Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra erupted with fast-moving flows reaching temperatures of up to 700C. Seven people were killed and many others left with lifethreatening injuries as the effects of the natural calamity stretched for an area of 7.5 miles. "The villagers who managed to survive were running around in panic, trying to save themselves. There were only a few dozen. They were terrified and covered in ash," said Agustatius Sitepu, head of the local military.
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Trudeau apologises for 1914 "injustice" to Indians TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has formally apologised in the parliament for the "great injustice" that happened due to discriminatory laws, in reference to the country turning away pver 376 migrants from India, almost 102 years ago. Apologising in the House of Commons for the 1914 decision of the then Canadian government to turn away the migrants onboard ship 'Komagata Maru' after their arrival in Vancouver, Trudeau said, "Canada's government was, without question, responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely."
WORLD Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
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Nepal Maoist rebels unite
KATHMANDU: Different blocs of Nepal's Maoist movement have begun to come together to counter cases registered against them involving the decadelong civil war in the region. The Maoist splinter groups are now making a common cause on the issue with UCPN (Maoist) and chairman Pushp Kamal Dahal. Leaders said their unity process will be completed within a week and that they have prepared an 11point joint strategy paper for the bid. Maoist leader Dev Gurung said that after various lower courts and the Supreme Court started digging out various civil war-
era cases against Maoist leaders, different groups were forced to come together and unite under the UCPN. There was international pressure saying serious cases of human rights abuses should be handled by courts while others could be considered for pardon. Dahal and other senior party leaders have been accused of wrongdoings in several cases. Just last month, the six splinter
groups demanded withdrawal of civil war-era cases against Dahal and other leaders from regular courts and repeal of the Supreme Court verdicts, citing conspiracy to derail the peace process. Maoist rebels had launched an armed insurgency against the parliamentary and monarchy system in Nepal, in 1996, a war that lasted till 2006 and only ended with the Comprehensive
Sikh councilman faces racism WASHINGTON: With Presidential hopeful Donald Trump triggering a wave of racist and antiimmigrant vibes across the US, racial bigotry has come to be normal. A recent incident included Sikh-American councilman from Hoboken, New Jersey, Ravinder Bhalla, who sent out a tweet on passing a measure to make bike lanes a part of the area's waterfront. The plain and simple tweet prompted 'Pro-US' Twittizen Robert Dubenezic to reply saying, "How the hell did Hoboken even allow this guy to be a councilman? Shouldn't even be allowed
Ravinder Bhalla
in the US." The worst part of his tweet was #terrorist. An unfazed Bhalla however, took the attack in stride and style, replying, "Sir, I am born & raised in America. You clearly don't know what it means to be an American. #ignorant"
CRANING HIS NECK: President Barack Obama, the most powerful person on the planet, is seen struggling to wrap a medal around the neck of a hero police officer. The 6ft 1in Commander-in-chief used every inch of his tall frame to award the LAPD bomb technician Donald Thompson with the Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor presented to public safety officers. The cop received the award for pulling an unconscious man from a burning car.
The Twitter exchange drew attention from many and the councilman was soon joined in by supporters with one of them even pointing out, "Your last name is as foreign as it gets! BTW, he's not Muslim. Educate yourself." Taking a cue from the leader himself, the Trump fanboy hit back saying "No towel on my head" in a jibe at Bhalla's turban. An open supporter of the billionaire Dubenezic's page is full of posts expressing his support for the controversial candidate. "With a lot of the rhetoric we're hearing from people like Donald Trump about Muslim Americans and people who are perceived to be from a Muslim background, I think the spread of Islamophobia from our national leaders sends the wrong message," said Bhalla to a media source. "People should be educated on different faiths and backgrounds so that diversity is celebrated. America is, after all, a nation of immigrants. And if we work together instead of against each other, we'll accomplish so much more." Bhalla said he has not only forgiven the Trump fanboy for his outburst but also offered to take him out for lunch to educate him.
Peace Accord signed on November 21, 2006. As per the accord, two transitional justice mechanisms, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission on Enforced Disappeared Persons, were set up to hear out complaints from victims. Also agreed, was that all war-time cases would be dealth by the TRC and not by regular courts. The end of the war also resulted in the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) which became the single largest party in the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections. However, internal politics forced the party to split into six factions.
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In Brief Indian-Origin Student Wins Architecture Award In South Africa
JOHANNESBURG: An Indian-origin student won a prestigious award in South Africa for developing a safe water purification infrastructure model to clean the Ganga River using Varanasi's architectural principles. Vedhant Maharaj won the 2015 Architectural Student of the Year Award for his architectural thesis "Yantra". His dissertation shows critical elements that were picked out by the judges, such as innovation and technical excellence expressed with a keen understanding of the combined social, economic and environmental context that is changing the approach to the built environment today. Maharaj illustrated how creativity could make an exceptional and meaningful contribution to South Africa's diverse and multi-cultural landscaoe. His co-supervisor said that the student's report explored water architecural heritage of Varanasi in India.
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
Amma assumes office for record sixth time
CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister by Governor K Rosaiah at the Madras University's Centenary Hall along with twenty eight others, who will serve as her Cabinet colleagues. Not one to waste time, Jaya sprung into action shortly after assuming office, and signed a file reducing the business hours of state-run liquor outlets managed by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) by two hours, daily.
Jayalalithaa
Liquor shops across the region will now only be opened between 12 noon and 10 pm as opposed to the cur-
Telangana minister faults AP's attitude HYDERABAD: With the ongoing issues of irrigation projects and river water sharing in Krishna, the Telangana government has expressed strong objection towards the attitude of neighbour Andhra Pradesh. After AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu issued a complaint with the Centre and Kurnool district administration's letter to Raichur authorities against carrying out works on Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme anicut. In reference to the complaint, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao alleged that AP was walking on a confrontational path, and that with the two complaints, the AP government was opposing the decisions agreed upon by them in the past. He also faulted the state's reluctanct to talk on the RDS issue and other contentious subjects, if any. Rao pointed out that it was in 2005 the then government had sanctioned Rs 72 Crore for the purpose since Mahbubnagar was not getting water to even one-thirs of the 87,500 acres ayacut under
T Harish Rao
the project. He, in his telephone conversation to AP counterpart Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao, demanded their government withdraw its letter. "If this does not happen in the next two days, then do not expect any cooperation from Telangana." He further said "Telangana believes in and follows a give-and-take policy. We are seeking cooperation from all our neighbours. If you (AP) want to stop our projects, we will not tolerate. We have written to the Krishna River Management Board informing it of AP's efforts to block the RDS project and asked the Board to ensure protection of Telangana's interests."
Five suffocate to death while cleaning well CHANDIGARH: Five men lost their lives during an attempt to clean an unused well in Jind district, Haryana. District officials said the victims suffocated after inhaling a poisonous gas emanating from the well. Jind Deputy Commissioner Vinay Singh said, “All departments were pressed into action to get the five persons out of the well. Bleaching powder was used to control the gas. The well had been lying unused for the last five to six years.” All the men belong to the Dhanak caste of the SC community. Identified as Sanjay (23), Sukhchain (20), Mahipal (36), Mohan (18) and Dinesh (24), it is reported that Sukhchain was the first to enter the 20 feet deep well, and was followed by others one by one after he failed to return. Another resident of the village who had accompanied them entered the well with a t-shirt wrapped around
his mouth. While the five victims were cremated in the evening, villagers blamed water scarcity in the region as the culprit for the deaths. “The well where the five dies was not in use since 1995. With water not being available at all, some people decided to clean it to get water for daily use. That proved fatal,” said Shamsher, brother-inlaw of the sarpanch. He also claimed that repeated reminders to the district administration and political leaders to solve the water crisis in the village had yielded no results. However, the Deputy Commissioner denied, saying, “No complaint has come to my notice. The villagers had also not asked for any water tanker. They were cleaning the well to get water for bathing and other purposes, and not for drinking. The supply this year has been less.”
rent 10 am and 10 pm. All Tasmac shops in the state will work only for 10 hours instead of 12. The manifesto has promised to impose a liquor prohibition step by step. Along with the lowering of the hours, 500 Tasmac shops will also be closed. Amma has also signed an order to waive farm loans pending as of March 31, 2016. "All types of loans taken by small and medium farmers from banks, cooperative banks, loans taken on crops, short and long term loans will be waived. This will cost Rs 5780 Crore for the govern-
ments' exchequer," said an official press release. From now on, 100 units of power will be available free to all domestic consumers in the state. More than 78 lakh consumers will get first 100 units free. It will cost Rs 1,607 Crore annually and the state government will pay the amount to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco). The chief minister has also signed an order to increase the free gold scheme for the marriage of poor girls from 4gms to 8gms, amongst others.
Bedi takes control of Puducherry
PUDUCHERRY: BJP leader and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has assumed the role of Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory Puducherry. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué released a statement saying, "The President has been pleased to appoint Ms. Kiran Bedi to be the Lt. Governor of Puducherry with effect from the date she assumes charges of her office." The post was vacant ever since the Modi government sacked UPA nominee Virendra Kataria on July 2014. Bedi, who had joined the BJP just before the 2015 Assembly elections in Delhi and was the part's chief ministerial candidate ever since. "I look forward to giving every bit of myself to the responsibility. I am there for the benefit of the country. I am here to give my best every day, each day. I am grateful for the government's decision. They trusted me." Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjriwal congratulated Bedi on Twitter with a tweet that read, "My best wishes to Kiran Didi for this new role." Assuming her seat, Bedi has already started the works to better governance. She
Kiran Bedi
recently sent out a tweet to her followers saying she is just a tweet away for any idea and feedback for serving Puducherry to the best. She got an overwhelming response, with several people sharing their views and suggestion on improving the territory, while others warning her not to interfere with the functioning of the elected government of the territory. People brought her attention to a range of issues including connectivity with other parts of the country, to strengthening and reforming police force. The appointment comes three days after the CongressDMK alliance won 17 seats in the 30-member Assembly. The AIADMK, which contested the elections on its own, won four seats while the BJP could not get even a single seat.
State issues crackdown on officers CHANDIGARH: The Prakash Singh committee has indicted several senior IAS and IPS officers, for their lack of competence, and utter failure during the Jat agitation violence in Haryana in February. Over 30 people were killed and 300-something others injured. The state government unleashed action, suspending three Haryana Civil Services officers and 10 deputy superintendents of police for lapses during the violence. Sources said that both the chief minister and the chief secretary are currently studying the committee report and will soon take a call on taking action against IAS and IPS officers indicted in the report. Senior level officers were in touch with the CM's office and officials of the Department of Personnel and Training at the centre were given the sensitivity of the issue. "The roles of the senior
officers are being probed," said Home Secretary Ram Niwas. Suspended HCS officers include former sub-divisional magistrate of Gohana, Dharmender Singh, former Hansi SDM Jagdeep Singh, and SDM of Jhajjar city Pankaj Kumar. Pankaj Kumar is believed to have discouraged police from taking action against rioters, while the other two are accused of failing to control the mobs. Suspended DSPs include Sukhbir Singh of the state crime bureau (SCB) who was DSP of Rohtak at Kalanaur during the violence, Surender Singh of SCB, earlier posted in Meham, Vijender Singh, DSP, headquarters at Rohtak, and Pawan Kumar, DSP, Rohtak city. Rohtak was the epicenter of all trouble as the violence had started from here on February 17 after which it spread to other districts in the state.
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In Brief Apple to create 4000 jobs in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Apple Inc has announced the opening of a new office in Hyderabad, that will solely focus on the development of Maps for their products. With CEO Tim Cook on a 4-day visit to the country, several projects were announced in a bid to strengthen ties between the Californian tech giant and India. While the company did not disclose the amount of investment it intends to put in the facility, a statement issued by it said the investment will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4000 jobs. Cook said, "We are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development. The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations."
DMDK derecognised for scoring a duck
CHENNAI: Vijaykant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, has been stripped of its title of being a 'state party' after a humiliating performance in the recent Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Failing to win a single seat, the main loss for the party is their status. The derecognition means the DMDK will no longer have exclusive access to the drum symbol. Law suggests that the Election Commission of India accords the recognition of 'state party' to any registered outfit that wins eight per cent of the total votes cast in a general election. The status may also be given to a party if it wins three per cent of the seats in the Assembly. Actor-turnedpolitician, party chief Vijaykant had launched the party as an alternative to existing majors AIADMK, and DMK. His party contested in 104 seats, won nothing with even Vijaykant losing his deposit in the Ulundurpettai constituency, by a margin of 47,500 votes. The party will now have to revaluate its positioning in Tamil Nadu's politics if it wants to make a comeback.
State needs funds, not just a SCS- Naidu
RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has stated that getting the Special Category Status will not solve the state's problems. He wants to look beyond SCS and wants the Centre to provide funds liberally to enable the state to develop. Probably answering to qualms expressed by the opposition saying he is against the SCS, he said development of a new state without a capital needed a steady flow of Central funds. " This does not mean that I am against SCS and I don't want it. All I want to convey is that it will not solve all the problems being faced by a newly-formed state such as A.P," he said during an interaction with farmers. He thanked the people for reposing faith in him by electing a large number of Telugu Desam MLAs, and praised the farmers for achieving the highest yields of crops with minimum water during the rabi season.
World's largest single rooftop solar plant in Punjab
BEAS (AMRITSAR): Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal inaugurated a Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant with capacity of 11.5 MW, dedicating it to the state of Beas at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh of Radha Soami Sect. The CM appreciated the Punjab Energy Development Agency to usher in a solar power revolution in the state and lauded the state's immense contribution to tap enormous power potential from various renewable energy sources. Badal said the project would go a long way to motivate the other states for replication of such projects to provide clean and green energy to the consumers. The Rs 139 Crore project is spread over 82 acres of rooftop in single campus on multiple roofs. Also present at the event was Bikram Singh Majithia who said the solar plant would be instrumental in abatement of 4 lakh tonnes of Carbon Dioxide in the next 25 years, which is equivalent to planting nearly 2 lakh trees.
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BHC launches Facebook page in Hindi The British High Commission in India launched its Facebook page in Hindi, on 20th May, in a bid to communicate more effectively with India's younger generation and promote different offers from the UK. Director of Press & Communications, Stuart Adam said, "In today's networked world, citizens are accessing information in rapidly changing ways. As million more Indians come online every month, we want to ensure that Britain connects in an accessible manner. The new Hindi language Facebook page will open a new window to Indians who want information in their own language, whether they're interested in studying in the UK, visiting for holidays, doing business or just want to find out more about us." The page will cover UK's partnership with India and also offer space to hear India's views about the UK. An engaging platform, the page will see discussions and updates of activities conducted by the Commission.
INDIA Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
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Apple weighs India, sets startup accelerator
Baroda girl bags Google project A final year student of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, has won Google backing for her mobile app, also recognised by PM Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' initiative. Bhavita Lalwani of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, is also selected for the 'Google Summer of the Code' project, under which she will develop a regional language keypad for smartphones. "This project will develop intelli-
Bhavita Lalwani
gent layouts which will be scalable to majority of Indian languages. It will also have next word predictions and auto correct and will be developed in ILIT," said Bhavita.
Her app, the Aadhaar Authenticator App which verifies an individual's real Aadhaar data through a one-time password and biometrics and fingerprints, is considered by the Digital India Research. She said it would even enable wireless payment module that would facilitate customers to pay bills, send money to another person with Aadhaar authentication. Bhavita has reportedly also received a $5,500 stipend from Google.
BJP MP falls into open drain
A BJP MP from Jamnagar was injured after she fell into an eight-feet deep drain while on protest of the demolition of 237 housing units by the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation. The 41 year old fell into the drain as a thin concrete crust covering the hole cracked under her feet. She suffered a 4inch deep gash on her head and also hurt her shoulder and foot. Doctors said Poonam has received five stitches on her head, and while her condition is out of danger, she was taken to Mumbai for further treat-
ment. Dr Dinkar Savariya of Gokul Hospital said, "She received five stitches on her head where she had sustained the 4-inch gash, but her condition is out of danger. We felt she required to be taken to a Mumbai hospal as a pre-
cautionary measure." Another doctor said, "She hurt her left shoulder but has not sustained a fracture. All in all, her condition is stable, her vitals normal, and she is conscious and there is nothing to worry about." The MLA had gone to meet residents of Jalaram slum locality who were opposing the demolition, and had entered into a dispute with the employees of JMC.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook made his maiden visit to India last week, travelling through the country and weighing in options for investment. The IT giant launched an ambitious plan to tap into the startup ecosystem and announced plans to set up what it called a "design and development" startup accelerator in Bengaluru. Cook said the new facility would help iOS developers create innovative apps for the company's customers globally and that it would provide resources to support entrepreneurs. "India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world. With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we're giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world." The iOS App Design and Development Accelerator is expected to open in early 2017. Apple’s team will work to instruct and encourage iOS developers on best practices, help them hone their skills and
Tim Cook
transform the design, quality and performance of their apps on the iOS platform. The company also announced the opening of a new office in Hyderabad that will focus on development of its Maps product. The Apple head's tour concluded with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the two discussed the "possibilities of manufacturing" and tapping into the pool of young talent in the country. An official statement released said, "Cook shared Apple Inc's future plans for India. He spoke of the possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in India. He appreciated the breadth of young talent in India and said the youth have significant skills which Apple would like to tap."
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A History in the Making Continued from page 1 Apart from the port agreement, both sides signed 12 other deals, including economy, trade, transportation, port development, culture, science and academic cooperation. A joint statement issued after the meeting said, "Noting with deep concern that terrorism and ideologies of violent extremism continue to infest and ingress the
boost economic growth in the region," the Indian PM said. President Rouhani hosted a lunch in honour of the guest while, gifted him reproductions of Ghalib's collection of poetry in Persian 'Kulliyat-e-Farsi-eGhalib', as also Sumair Chand's Persian translation of Ramayana. Modi also called upon Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah
PM Modi begins his two-day visit with a visit to the Gurudwara
region, posing a grave threat to peace, stability, and developmen, they stressed the need to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism and defeat the forces of extremism." Tackling Terrorism Even with the port agreement being the underlying point of focus, terrorism took up a big part of the discussion held between both the leaders. "Due to the importance of stability and security in the region, especially in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, a big problem called terrorism is running rife and rampant in the region. The two countries discussed political issues as well, and how they can cooperate on intelligencesharing, their fight against terrorism and extremism, and how they can contribut towards peace and stability in the region," said Rouhani. Modi said the bilateral agreement to develop the port and related infrastructure, along with availability of about $500 million from India for this purpose, is an "important milestone". "This major effort would
Khamenei, gifting him a specially commissioned reproduction of a rare seventh-century manuscript of the Holy Quran attributed to Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph. Ayatollah Khamenei warned that terrorist groups are recruiting forces in Muslim countries by taking advantage of some problems and weaknesses in Muslim communities. "Countries must strip terrorists of such pretexts," added the Leader. He said “genuine and serious fight on terrorism” provides the grounds for cooperation between Iran and India. Modi kickstarted his trip with a visit to the region's only functioning gurdwara where he paid obeisance. The first Indian PM to visit Iran in 15 years, Modi did a lot more than just offering prayers at the Bhai Ganga Singh Sabha Gurdwara. He applauded the efforts of the Sikh community in the Persian Gulf nation for preserving and spreading Indian culture and tradition. Modi also addressed the inaugural session of a Conference on ''India and Iran, Two Great Civilizations: Retrospect and Prospects' and released a rare Persian manuscript.
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BJP plants seeds in Assam
Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janta Party has found roots in the northeast after their coalition managed to grab 86 out of 126 seats in the Assam state legislature. Knocking Congress right off its feet in the one state it has enjoyed monopoly until recently, Sarbananda Sonowal swore in as the chief minister of the first ever BJP government in Assam. The National Democratic Alliance secured an absolute majority with the BJP claiming 60 seats, AGP 14 and BPF 12, while the Congress seats were reduced to a petty 26. Arrangements of the swearing-in were one of its kind and the occasion was flagged by the Prime Minister himself, BJP stalwart L.K. Advani, party president Amit Shah, Union Ministers and several other chief ministers. Former chief minister Gogoi, who was extended an invitation by Sonowal, played sport and also marked his presence. The win comes after a vehement campaigning focused on curbing the flow of Muslim immigrants in the region. Taking charge of the reins of Assam will help the party balance and regain its momentum after it recorded shameful defeat in Delhi and Bihar last year. Even as Sonowal's priorities remain hazy, he has openly been saying that the BJP remains committed to fulfilling its promises including its Vision Document for Assam that issued instead of a traditional manifesto before the elections. Given the statement, it is assumed that his immediate step will be to take some concrete measures on the influx of Bangladeshi migrants. The party promised to form a government of indigenous people and said the state government would work closely with the Centre for the "complete sealing" of the Indo-Bangla border. It has also vouched for a law to "deal sternly" with industries, businesses, small and medium enterprises or any other agencies employing infiltrators. Speaking at the ceremony, Modi said, "Assam is a focal point for the devel-
lar demand in the south Indian state. Making her the first Tamil Nadu chief minister in 32 years to be voted back to the seat, Amma's AIADMK clinched a record 134 seats, with a vote share of 40.8 per cent. The party leader won in her Dr Radhakrisha Nagar constituency.
Sarbananda Sonowal with Modi at the Swearing-in ceremony
WEST BENGAL | 294 Party
2016
2011
Chg
TMC 211 184 +27 Left+Cong 76 103 -27 Others 7 7 0 The Left is now third behind TMC and Cong. and TMC’s vote share is 44.9%, a gain of 6%
TAMIL NADU | 234
Party
2016
2011
ADMK 134 DMK+ Cong 97 Others 1 Gains for Opposition combine are DMK’s, Cong tally up from 5 to 8
Chg
150 -16 28 +69 56 -55 almost entirely
KERALA | 140
Party
2016
2011
Chg
LDF 91 68 +23 UDF 48 72 -24 BJP 1 0 +1 The BJP’s first ever MLA in the state and a sharp drop in the UDF vote are highlights
ASSAM | 126
Party
2016
2011
BJP+ 86 Cong 26 AIUDF 13 Others 1 Cong vote share of 31.5% higher than the latter contested fewer seats opment of North-east. I urge the people of Assam to also work along with the government for the development of the state. I have always stressed that India's growth should be balanced and all inclusive, for this, the north-east has to develop as well." The leader praised Sonowal saying, "A leader belonging to the tribal community, a leader dedicated to serving society will now be the CM of Assam. I am sure he will work tirelessly for the progress of Assam. I want to assure you that the government at the centre believes in competitive federalism. We want all states to progress, and we are
Chg
27 +59 78 -52 18 -5 3 -2 BJP’s 29.5%, but
working for it." The win has distinctively boosted the national party's confidence and it now targets the other two Congress-led states, Manipur and Meghalaya, where the polls are scheduled to be held in 2017 and 2018. Assembly elections held in four states and one union territory this month, saw two powerful women leaders rise back in power and, two other historic wins. Tamil Nadu Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa stormed back to power by popu-
West Bengal Mamata Banerjee's decisive victory in the assembly elections was registered with the second highest vote share by the Trinamool Congress in history- 44.9 per cent against Congress' 49.1 per cent in 1972. Didi will now rule for a second term with the second largest majority of seats ever obtained by a single party or coalition71.77 per cent against Congress' 77.14 per cent for the Congress in 1972. Kerala Routing back to power, the Left Democratic Front established anti-incumbency in Oommen Chandy's Kerala as CPMled LDP was elected to power in the May 16 assembly polls. CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan who will be sworn in as chief minister on May 25, will have a leaner cabinet of 19 members as said by LDF convener Vaikom Viswan. Of the 19 ministers, CPI(M) will have 12, CPI four, Janata Dal(S), NCP and Cong(S) one each, Viswan said. Other minor parties, which support LDF from outside, including Kerala Congress(B) and RSP(L), which have won one seat each, will not get a berth. While the Speaker’s post will go to CPI(M), deputy speaker’s post will be held by CPI. Puducherry Failing to make a mark in any of the states, Congress won the union territory in a result that was more insult to injury. Out of the 30 assembly seats, the party won 15 and its ally DMK two. Quick on their feet, the BJP government appointed candidate and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as the Lt General, in a move criticised by several political leaders.
AsianVoiceNewsweekly | Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
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Dr Bala Raju, Director of Advatech Healthcare has worked as a doctor for over 20 years and has been developing private healthcare services in India and the UK for the past 6 years. He is writing the columns on important topics in healthcare in association with UK Consultants and GPs who have good experience in these topics. Dr Bala Raju
Yoga boosts brain activity, helps relieve depression
e all are aware of the positive and constructive effects of the spiritual practice of Yoga. Boosting its effects all the more, a study has found that regular Yoga not only significantly increases and maintains your memory health, it can also be helpful in relieving depression and anxiety. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the medical health study funded by the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, analysed 25 participants over the age of 55. 11 of the study's participants had weekly 1 hour long memory training sessions with things like crossword puz-
zles and digital games. The other 14 participants were given weekly 1 hour long yoga sessions, along with a 20 minute spiritual Hindubased Kirtan Kriya meditation to practice at home each day over 12 weeks. At the end of the 12 week study, all participants recorded similar verbal memory improvements, however, the yoga study group improved the most with visual-spatial memory. Researchers saw changes in the way the brain cells connected with each other, and the only statistically significant change were found in the people practicing yoga. Lead researcher Harris Eyre, from the University
of Adelaide, said, "Historically and anecdotally, yoga has been thought to be beneficial in aging well, but this is the scientific demonstration of that benefit. We're converting historical wisdom into the high level of evidence required for doctors to recommend therapy to their patients." The study used the method of Kundalini yoga, which incorporates movement, breath, sound, and meditation and is not your typical asana or vinyasa practice. It is however, a series of invigorating kriyas that will sometimes have you flapping your arms or kicking your feet for several minutes at a
time to stir the Kundalini energy. This isn't the first study that vouches for the ancient Hindu practice. The discipline is so widely accepted today, that a recently released '2016 Yoga in America Study' said that around 37 million Americans now practice yoga. Professor Helen Lavretsky of the University of California, said, "If you or your relatives are trying to improve your memory or offset the risk of developing memory loss or dementia, a regular practice of yoga and meditation could be a simple, safe and low-cost solution to improving your brain fitness."
Western-style diet linked Pray for a longer life L to colorectal cancer
C
olorectal cancer, the second most common cause of deaths relating to the disease, is most likely to be spread by a diet rich in fat and low in fibre, vitamin D, and folic acid. Researchers said the earliest changes in normal colonic mucosa- the first layer of the intestines were nutrients, fats, and protiens are absorbed from the food we eat, has the potential to lead to the early detection and prevention of cancer development. Marjaana Pussila, doctoral student at the University of Helsinki, Finland, said, "We wanted
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to be able to spot cancerpredicting events in the colon mucosa before tumours developed." Her team carried out a longterm diet experiment on genetically engineered mice model affected with Lynch syndrome. A mouse with the form of cancer carries a mutation in Mih1, a mismatch repair gene, which is one of the main susceptibility genes in the disease. Each time the cells divide, DNA replicates itself. The study showed that the gene expression profiles of normal mucosa in those mice that developed colon cancer were very different from those of the mice that did not. "This seems to indicate that there is a colon-wide effect of events that predispose to cancer. And the western-style diet seemed to be a severe risk factor, since 80 per cent of cancers were detected in such mice," she said.
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isten up, ladies! A new research has suggested that women who attend religious services frequently, possibly longer than women who don't. The study conducted over the period of over 16 years, by Tyler J Vanderweele, of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, concluded that women who attended religious services regularly were 33 per cent less likely to die during the study period, as compared with women who never attended services. Vanderweele and his colleagues collected data every four years, between 1996 and 2012, from nearly 75,000 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study- most of the subjects were either Catholic or
Protestant. It was observed that oncea-week attendees were 26 per cent less likely to die, and those attending less than once a week were 23 per cent less likely to die. Overall, frequent religious attendance was associated with 27 per cent lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 21 per cent lower risk of death from cancer. Frequent attendance was also associated with significantly less risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Researchers wrote, "Although attendance at religious services was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality and cancer mortality, attendance was not significantly associated with incidence of breast cancer of cardiovascular disease."
Neeta’s Clinic Herbal for Hair & Skin Care
Whenever anyone suffers from an illness, they normally need to have an assessment and management plan for that illness. The assessment part commonly involves diagnostic tests that help to identify the type of illness. In addition, the management part may also involve diagnostic tests to monitor the benefits of treatment. Rajesh is 50 years old and has been know to have high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The diagnostic tests that are done routinely after taking and update of his problems normally include his weight, height and tummy measurements, blood pressure levels as a part of his general health check, blood and urine tests. These are all done once a year in the NHS, before medications are started or continued. While this is a simple example of diagnostic testing, some patients may want to have certain tests done by their GP or specialist, that are not routinely done in the NHS. There is also another group of people called the “worried well” who want to have check ups and tests whilst they are actually fit and well, just to make sure that nothing is wrong. Overseas visitors would not be eligible to have any diagnostics tests in the NHS unless there was an emergency or life threatening illness. In all these groups, a range of diagnostic tests can be done through private clinics and hospitals, either by patients paying themselves or through their private insurance. Rajesh was worried about whether his increased weight was due to Thyroid problems and also about his Prostate tests as his father had died of Prostate cancer some years ago. The private GP arranged for these tests to be done and the results, which were normal, were all
available within a day. The doctor also recommended that as Rajesh’s general health has been poor, that it may be useful for him to have a full cardiology check up. An ECG and CT coronary angiogram was done amongst further tests and he eventually needed stents in two of his coronary arteries. There is a growing public awareness about the range of diagnostic tests that can be done within the private sector that could be helpful in diagnosing illnesses earlier. What is not clear is, how to ask for a referral, who would decide what tests would be useful and who would be responsible in dealing with the abnormal results and any diagnosed illnesses. Tests can vary widely in price and this information is always important to check by email or by phone to the numerous private clinics that can be found online. There are also simple diagnostic kits that cost a few pounds in pharmacies and are quite reliable to expensive scans that could cost hundreds or even thousands of pounds and are carried out in the advanced centres. Nowadays GPs, specialists and other healthcare professionals order blood tests, biopsy results, endoscopies, ultrasound scans, X-rays, CT and MRI scans from a range of private and NHS hospitals. The patients pay for the tests and the results are given directly to the patient and a copy can be sent to their GP, especially where the results are abnormal. The reporting of these tests and scans have to be done by qualified personnel and all these services are monitored closely by UK regulatory bodies such as the CQC and UKAS.
A traumatic experience when one is balding or suffering from hair loss
There are many reasons why a person can start losing their hair. Research has shown that stress plays a vital factor in determining hair condition. Poor hair care, environment, lifestyle and diet too has its effect on hair growth. Neeta’s Herbal offers a safe and natural solution to combat hair and skin problems.
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Allu Arjun Gautham Ramachandran Dulquer to goes 100 buckles his belt for Tamil make his Crore, again debut maiden stint
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llu Arjun has his feet firmly rooted in the 100 Crore club and shows no signs of budging. The Telugu star earned the box office king and audience favourite status once again with his release 'Sarainodu'. The film has reportedly crossed 100 Crore in 17 days and is touted to be the second film for Allu after 'Race Gurram' in 2014. The movie is also the 8th in Telugu cinema history to achieve this feat. The actor who was in the news recently for the #CheppanuBrother and Pawan Kalyan Controversy, chose to speak out at a music launch. Striking headlines every day since he refused to comment on Kalyan, he made fans of the latter upset. He said that the fans should respect other stars and their fans too, otherwise the Mega family actors would lose their respect.
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irector Gautham Ramachandran is all set to make his directorial debut in Tamil and has cast 'Premam' actor Nivin Pauly in the lead. A remake of Kannada film 'Ulidavaru Kandanthe', the crime drama thriller will feature Pauly as a notorious bully. Gautham said, “I got this film because of Nivin who is a good friend of mine. My script has numerous drafts. I have spent almost one year on the script. People might laugh if I say that I had reworked on a remake script so many times, but we have done extensive work.”
Speaking about the cast, he said, “There are two hero subjects and I will be announcing the second hero next week. There are two heroines too. I am going to introduce a couple of interesting new faces.”
with action
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ctor Dulquer Salmaan of 'OK Kanmani' and '100 Days of Love' fame will soon set the screens on fire with his first ever full-length action avatar in Malayalam gangster drama 'Kammati Paadam'. A source from the film's unit said, “It's a gangster flick featuring raw and realistic action. It will be Dulquer's first attempt at doing a fulllength action role and going by the response to the trailer, the film has already garnered lot of positive buzz ahead of its release.” Director Rajeev Ravi said gave a few takeaways saying, “The story unfolds between 1970 and 2000 and it shifts between Kochi and Mumbai, two key places where the film was predominantly shot.”
Kamal Haasan and Brahmanandam to fight crime together
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ctor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and comedian Brahmanandam will soon be joining hands for an action sequence in the first schedule of upcoming trilingual action-comedy 'Sabaash Naidu'. Haasan who plays a RAW operative in the film, will be joined by the veteran actor as his sidekick. A source from the film's unit said, “In the first schedule which will start later this week in the US, Haasan and Brahmanandam will shoot for a chase sequence. The team will spend the first few days rehearsing for the scene and will eventually shoot the scene without body doubles.” Directed by TK Rajeev
Waiting
A film about grief, two people befriend each other during troubled times.
Veerappan
A biographical film on notorious dacoit Veerappan and Operation Cocoon.
Kumar, the film also stars Shruti Haasan, Ramya Krishnan and Roger Narayan. Shruti will be
playing Haasan's reel daughter for the first time.
Anushka opens up about lips to Vogue
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nushka Sharma has found herself a permanent place in the limelight with her 2014 controversy surrounding her fuller lips. Addressing the old controversy again, the actress said she is “human and not perfect.” The 'Band Baaja Baaraat' star, in an interview to Vogue, said, “I have nothing to hide. So when I spoke about my lip job, a lot of people called me brave for coming out. But I did what I had to. I am not going to lie and say I didn't. I wanted fans to know that I'm human and not perfect. For a short while now I have been using a temporary lip enhancing tool and that along with make up techniques is the the reason why there might be a change in the appearance of my lips. I have by no means gone 'under the knife' or done any kind of 'plastic surgery' or undergone any intrusive procedure.”
Randeep asks journo to shut up
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ressed in a t u x e d o , Randeep Hooda looked sharp and dapper as ever at the red carpet premiere of 'Sarbjit' with his sister next to him. Usually not the kind to lose his cool in public, a journalist did manage to blow Hooda's top at a press interaction. Caught off-guard with a question about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan overshadowing him in the movie, Randeep initially ignored the question until the pap prodded him a little and the actor uncharacteristically shouted “Shut up”. Offended, the scribe said the question was not out of context and it was unbecoming on his part to say what he did. Randeep responded by saying, “I ignored your question and if you keep asking me the same question what am I going to do? When it was pointed out that a usual 'no comments' would have sufficed as an answer, Randeep tried to mend the situation by blowing an air kiss saying, “No comments bro. Is that better?”
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Asian Voice | 28th May 2016
What's 'Cook'ing at Mannat?
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Shah Rukh takes a selfie with ace tennis player Sania Mirza and Cook at the party
Apple CEO Tim Cook with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan
With Music composer A. R. Rahman
(L to R) Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Tim Cook and Shah Rukh Khan
Sriram Madhav Nene with Tim Cook and Madhuri Dixit Nene
Salman plays protector for rumoured girlfriend
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ith reports suggesting Salman Khan's plans to tie the knot in the spotlight, the media and the actor's fans has been following his rumoured girlfriend and Romanian model-actor Iulia Vantur ever since. With the matter of her security on hand, the actor was quick to dispatch some of his own security men to guard Iulia whenever she's out. A report quoted a source as saying that Salman didn't want Iulia to “face any hassles while stepping out”. The actor understands that fans and media will focus on her and decided that “three bodyguards will be with her while she is out.” Ever since the actor was acquitted in the 2002 hit-and-run case last year,
everybody has been waiting for his wedding. The 'Prem' actor had earlier said he will tie the knot once his legal cases are decided. Also, recently surfaced pictures are also suggestive of the growing closeness of Iulia and the Khandaan. Salman and Iulia have been openly making public
appearances and the two were seen lately at actress Preity Zinta's wedding reception. With the speculations on its peak, the actor's Galaxy apartments home is already flooding with bouquets and gifts and according to reports, Salman is quite embarrassed with all the attention.
pple CEO Tim Cook was given a warm and rather glamorous reception by the Bollywood fraternity at a dinner hosted by none other than King Khan SRK. Khan welcomed Cook and his team for dinner, were the industry's famed celebrities marked their attendance. The page 3 event held at the actor's lavish house Mannat, was flanked with the Bachchans, Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao, Madhuri Dixit, Farah Khan, Sania Mirza, and the likes. A source said details of Cook's visit to Shah Rukh's house were kept hush-hush and that “it was a very private gathering”. Shah took to Twitter to express his gratitude to his guests. “Thank you all for coming and making Tim Cook and his wonderful team feel the warmth and love of India. Mr Cook you are a rockstar.” He specially thanked the Bachchans saying, 'Thank you Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya and Jaya Aunty for taking time out. 'Sarbjit' will be awesome I am sure.” Cook, who arrived at the pad before the guests, was already impressed with the hospitality, and the gorgeous bungalow, before he was swept off his feet with the star-studded event.
Hrithik and Sussanne together?
H
rithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan who had split nearly two years back, were spotted partying together at socialite Anu Dewan's house. However, there are no photos of the exes together as the media had been requested to give them some privacy. The ex-couple have always maintained a cordial relationship with each other for their sons. In fact, they just threw a birthday party for their son Hridaan earlier this month. So between Susanne taking the 'Bang Bang' actor's side in the ugly controversy including Kangana Ranaut, and the media finding the two socialising together, speculations of a reconciliation began to do the rounds. While the interior designer has done her best to stop the rumours
b y
tweeting, “I request people to stop speculating. There will never be a reconciliation with @iHrithik. But we will always be good parents. #no1priority (sic)”, is this really enough?
Kids go halff-price this half-term! (T&Cs apply)
★★★★ “A hug ge blast of fun fun” The Times
MUST END 11 JU NE peacockttheatre.com
Holbor H n
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65 year old man jumps from plane in support of Shishukunj London On Saturday 11 June – Satish Patel, aged 65, will be undertaking a sky dive to raise money for Shishukunj London. Satish has been in the UK since 1978 and is married with 2 children; after running a general supermarket store for almost 20 years, Satish then moved to Leicester for his retirement. A very active youngster, Satish used to enjoy athletics in particular excelling at the high jump. It has been his dream to do a sky dive for many years and instead of merely fulfilling his ambition in isolation – he has decided to raise money for a worthwhile cause. Initially Satish was considering making a donation to a charity in India, but a conversation with CB Patel led to the suggestion of supporting Shishukunj, whom CB has
been actively supporting for a number of years. Satish subsequently visited Shishukunj in London, and after seeing the fantastic work it does for children decided that it was the right organisation to support. Satish says “Shishukunj is like a mandir (temple) of a different nature and the child is like bhagwan (god)”. Suraj Shah, President of Shishukunj London, said “it is a testimony to the great work of our young members that someone who has had no prior connection to Shishukunj has been inspired to support us – particularly as we are in need of significant funds – many thanks to Satish Patel for his efforts.” For more information on Shishukunj London, please visit www.shishukunj.org.uk
Leicester man jailed Rajiv Chandrakant Vyas, more famously known as Raju Vyas has been jailed for 38 months at the Leicester Crown Court, it has been revealed. More details to follow. Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Deputy Editor: Anand Pillai Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Email: anand.pillai@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Advertising Managers: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Senior Business Development Manager: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Head - New Projects & Business Development: Cecil Soans - Email: cecil.soans@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 111 Advertising Sales Executive: Rintu Alex - Email: Rintu.alex@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4003 - Mobile: 07816 213 610 Business Development Manager: Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com Leicester Distributors: Shabde Magazine, Shobhan Mehta Mob: 07846480220 (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad. Tel. +91 79 2646 5960
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy promises to 'rock on' Leicester and London with sell out performance
ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Your urge towards greater
freedom and independence is very strongly accentuated. In intimate affairs, the prospect appears entirely favourable. In work matters you can expect a progressive phase. Efforts to bring about desirable changes in your working life are more likely to be positive.
TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 It would be unwise to take
any risks, particularly in regard to joint interests and investments. So be extra careful if you need to deal with complex legal matters and necessary red tape. If love has left you feeling rather dejected or cynical, it looks as though soon events will pull you out of this mood of despondency.
GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Relationships are complex
British Asians are eagerly waiting the most anticipated show of the weekend, presented by India's multitalented Bollywood musical trio, Shankar - Ehsaan – Loy, brought over to Britain by Rock on Music. The shows that are to be held on Friday 27 May at Leicester 's De Montfort hall and at Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 28th, and are expected to be housefull. Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy are internationally renowned composers, record producers, performers and multi-instrumentalists. They have com-
posed music for over 50 soundtracks across four languages and won over 20 awards, including a National Film award, three Filmfare awards and three IIFA Awards, among others. At this performance, the three stars are accompanied by an ensemble of top musicians and vocalists from India, and the evening also includes a special segment called Next Generation which showcases new talents. Vijay Bhola of Rock on Music said, "These concerts are going to be a sell out".
WINNER ANNOUNCED The winner of Asian Voice's 'Win a pair of ticket' competition (out of the hundreds of entries that we received) is Manjula Borkhataria from Leicester. The organisers will directly contact the winner to discuss further details.
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in the best of times, but Saturn's motion can make things even more complicated now. Misunderstandings can plague partnerships or potential romances - be more careful and forgiving. A good time for completing unfinished business and reassessing your future projects. The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-thescene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.
CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22
Jupiter is transiting your solar second house for some time to come. During this transit, you have the chance to make lots of money and improve your standard of living. You are likely to feel more confident and enthusiastic about life. Your personal relationships are still going through a period of re-assessment.
LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23
The Sun’s transit continues to put a spotlight on your solar tenth house. Satisfaction and fulfilment during this cycle comes from being professionally responsible and contributing to the world in practical ways. You will get a lot of support from authority figures during this transit. Avoid the pitfalls by being confident and positive.
VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23
Your horizons are most certainly expanding. Your philosophical thoughts will make your mind run wild. With Sun transiting your Solar 9th House, there will be many opportunities. Your financial affairs are looking up. Do not miss out on ways to better yourself in the coming weeks.
LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23
The prevailing astrological trend indicates increasing vigour and stamina, both mentally and physically. At an ordinary everyday level you can expect this to be a pleasant time, indulging in the good things of life and taking a much needed break. At a deeper level, however, there does appear to be a new energy stirring within you. Romance will have its pleasant surprises.
SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22
This is the time to listen to your intuition, to take a break from the hectic pace of your life, and to reflect on what you have learned in the past year. A good time to retreat a little and make time for yourself now. Your physical energy levels are low, and this is your body telling you to take a break. Good time to take up yoga and meditation.
SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21
Health is an important area that you will take seriously. It is likely that you may embark on a course of physical exercise and diet. It could be quite a difficult week psychologically with increased danger of misunderstandings arising and not being able to see the wood from the trees. Try to be diplomatic.
CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20
A blast of personal energy comes your way, and showing your leadership skills works for you now. Romance and pleasure are highlighted this week. The flowing, expressive, and spontaneous energy surrounding you attracts like-minded people. Be sure to take time to enjoy yourself, preferably around others!
AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19
Your communications are at their peak and any initiatives you take now will be well received by people in authority. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time. Although the very practical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, you will still be very much in demand socially.
PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20
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Indian cueist creates history
India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani created history by claiming the Asian 6-Red Snooker title, and becoming the first in the world to hold both world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at the same time. With a 6-1 semi-final victory against Aditya Mehta booking his spot in the finals, Advani won the first 39-4. With a loss of the second frame, 6-51 to the Malaysian who scored a break of 51, Advani won the third frame 40-14 before losing the fourth frame, 370. The fifth and sixth frame belonged solely to the 30year-old who cleared the table 41-7 and 44-8 respec-
Pankaj Advani
tively. With him leading the match 4-2 at the end of six frames, Keen Hoh Moh
Best friends raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital A pair of young boys sacrificed their leisurely Saturday for a charity walk to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Ishan Kotecha, who goes to Priestmead School and Shaan Gera, a pupil at Alpha Prep, both in Harrow, raised nearly £2,000 at the RBCRaceforkids challenge. Ishan who is 10 years old, saw the poster for the event when on a trip to London with his family and asked Shaan, his best friend, also 10, if he wanted to join, reported the Harrow Times. They took part in the race with their fathers Sarju Kotecha and Sanjay Gera - at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Mother Minal Kotecha reportedly said: “It was all off their own back. They
wanted to raise money by doing something fun. “Ishan has seen his older sister Ria do charity work so he wanted to do the same. We are very proud of them and very impressed. “The generosity people have shown has been brilliant. We never thought they’d raise £2,000.” However during the race, the boys allegedly wanted to run ahead but were slowed down by their fathers who wanted to walk the course.
Football coach calls for greater access to sports science Indian National but when they go coach Stephen back to their clubs Constantine, who the level drops. is of British origin That's when they are susceptible to has reportedly said injuries. that it will be ben"It will be hugely eficial to Indian beneficial for Indian football if the clubs football if the clubs have greater access Stephen have access to to sports science. Constantine sports science or at Constantine, least a high level fitness who is currently preparing the team for the upcoming coach," Constantine said. 2019 Asian Cup Qualifier Talking further on the match against Laos, is importance of sports sciemphasising on physical fitence, the Briton said, ness. "Bengaluru FC are a good "Not all Indian clubs example. The boys are reguhave an access to a sports lar at the gym doing the scientist. That makes the extra bit, there is a sports job of the club coaches all science coach and physicalthe more harder and it also ly, they are in a better conmakes it difficult for the dition (than most others) when they report to the players. Most of the injuries camp. Things which we do which a player sustains at the national camp do not happen some 7-10 days surprise them." after they have left the There are quite many national camp. It's because new faces in the national they train at a much higher level with the national team camp this year.
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fought back by winning the seventh frame, 38-21 only to lose the eight frame 24-
45 and the Indian ace securing a 45 break. Commenting on his win, an ecstatic Advani, who won his first title of the year, said, "It's my first individual Asian snooker championship, so the feeling is unreal. Having missed out on the 15-red Asian snooker title last month made this a mission for me to accomplish. Winning it the same year as my world title in the Six Red sends me over the moon." Advani will now head the Indian challenge in the team event with Aditya Mehta, Manan Chandra and Kamal Chawla.
BCCI elects new president in unanimous vote Anurag Thakur has been unanimously elected as the second youngest BCCI president in what was a smooth change of guard despite the board going through a rough weather lately. The 41 year old replaced Shashank Manohar who quit the position to become the ICC chairman. Senior BCCI vice-president CK Khanna chaired the Special General Meeting held on Sunday and announced his name for the job. The group also chose Ajay Shirke as the BCCI secretary. BCCI, the world's richest and most powerful cricket body was left without a head to offer directions after Manohar exited from the spot after a mere seven months of tenure. Thakur got signatures of all six east zone units in his BCCI presidential nomination, making his way to become the 34th president of the influential cricket body. The Cricket Association of Bengal, Assam CA, Tripura CA, NCC and Jharkhand SCA signed his nomination papers even though the rules required only one unit to nominate the name of the presidential candidate. He is also the third person backed by East Zone to be elected to the top post during the 2014-1017 period.
The Redbridge Museum in Ilford has paid a tribute to South Asian sports icon, Fauja Singh, widely known as the world's oldest marathon runner. Fauja began running marathons at the age of 89, only to choosing to retire at 101. The exhibition showcases the runner's life. "I saw a really captivating photograph of Fauja Singh taken by the photographer David Bailey in The Guardian, taken for an article titled 'This is what a hundred looks like'. This immediately inspired me to begin documenting his journey for Redbridge Museum, particularly as he is such a well-known local resident," said the museum's Akbinder Deo. Talking about the motivating short film, producer Sukhpal said, "When Redbridge Museum approached me about making a short documentary on Fauja Singh, I jumped at the chance. I remember thinking Fauja Singh was someone I had heard a lot about and had seen on many posters or on television, but at the time I knew very little about his backstory." "The reaction to the display has been fantastic. We’ve had lots of people from many different backgrounds and ages leaving the Museum feeling inspired by Fauja’s story. I’ve heard children say 'I know him, he came to my school!', whilst others have realised that old age is no barrier to staying healthy. Fauja Singh is a well-known face in the local community. He is often seen just going about his daily business in Ilford town centre. The local community recognises his achievements which have made history," Akbinder said.
Para-cricketer redefines boundaries Anurag Thakur
The three time BJP member of the Parliament, Thakur has taken up the responsibility at a time when the verdict of the Supreme Court remains in the offing and the possible implementation of the Lodha Committee's recommendation. The next hearing has been set for June 29 and things do not particularly look rosy for the cricket body. Talking about the challenges of taking over as BCCI chief, Thakur said, "Where there is a challenge, there is opportunity. I would like to state my example only when I took over as the HPCA chief at a young age of 25, that time I inherited only seven chairs, one iron cupboard and a typewriter. But within five years, we built and international stadium in Dharamsala." Thakur said the BCCI is not running away from the Lodha recommendations, saying "we need to understand what is practical to implement."
Pooja Rani ousted
Not a good year for female boxers as Pooja Rani (75 kg) bowed out with a secondround defeat in the Women's World Boxing Championships in Astana. Faced against 2012 world champion Savannah Marshall from Britain, Pooja went down 0-3, putting an end to India's bid for Rio quota berths this year. Her defeat came a day after veterans Mary Kom and Sarita Devi were shown the exit door. The World Championships are the final qualifying competition for the Rio Games to be held from August 5-21.
Fauja Singh paid tribute by Redbridge Museum
Pooja Rani
Only three weight categories of 51 kg, 60 kg and 75 kg are part of the women's boxing competitions at the Olympics.
The 26 year old captain of the Jammu and Kashmir para team, Amir Hussain Lone is a force to reckon with. Life did not stop for the cricketer even after he lost both his arms at his father's sawmill at the young age of 8. He bowls using his feet and bats by putting it between his chin and neck. Hussain Lone's unusual technique for batting involves holding the bat between his neck and shoulder, and he bowls with his toes using a sweeping leg movement to launch the cricket ball. "Cricket is my passion and in the beginning, it was very difficult for me," said Amir, who lives in Indian-administered Kashmir. "When I was younger, I wasn't even able to eat without my hands." Describing his ordeal trying to find his place in the sport, he said, "When I tried to play cricket for the first time after the accident, people used to make fun of me. Now they are very supportive." "I’ve never lost hope. I’ve never accepted defeat. I’ve always said that I’ll keep going. That’s my desire," he says. "I am a supporter of Sachin Tendulkar. He is my inspiration and I want to play like him. My dream is to play for the national team."
Junior wrestler Divya Sain hurts knee, calls foul
Merely a week before she was to participate at the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships in Manila, promising player Divya Sain was ruled out of the tournament after she was allegedly injured by a rival during a practice session. Sain, 67 kg, had won bronze in the previous edition of the Asian Juniors in Myanmar. "I had suffered a slight ligament strain on my left knew. I had been told by a doctor that it would heal on its own but I had been advised not to wrestle for some time. But because the Asian Championships were about to start, coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi asked me to practice some techniques," Sain said. She alleged that her opponent Suman first gave her the advantage position to let her practice her holds. However, when it was Suman's turn to take the advantage position, she grabbed Divya's leg and sharply twisted the injured joint. "I screamed because my knee swelled up almost immediately. I still can't put any weight on it. I am really upset because I had been training really hard to well in Philippines," said the 17 year old.
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Cricket beyond boundaries
During Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first official visit to India, they attended a cricket match at the famous Oval Maidan in Mumbai, where thousands of young children meet to play cricket every day. This event was hosted by Indian cricketing legends, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar, at the Vengsarkar Cricket Academy. Both Vengsarkar and Tendulkar support the UK-based charity, Cricket Beyond Boundaries (CBB), which uses cricket as a vehicle to improve the lives of young impoverished children. Dr. Samir Pathak established Cricket Beyond Boundaries in 2011. Dr Pathak is a gastrointestinal surgeon who also represented the England Universities team in 2004 and is a current playing member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He understands the impact that education and sport can have on children coming from underprivileged backgrounds. “The purpose of this scheme is multi-faceted,” said Lord Bhikhu Parekh, the Patron of the charity alongside Vengsarkar, and added that “young cricketers benefit via exposure to different cricketing approaches and from playing and practicing in dif-
Oldest Olympic champion dies at 102
Others like Saba Karim, the former India stumper who is now a national selector, and Nilesh Kulkarni and Sahil Kukreja (former Mumbai opening batsman), have also weighed in with their inputs. This summer the charity will see four young
Prince William and Kate Middleton with Sachin Tendulkar during a charity program at Oval Maidan in Mumbai
ferent conditions against a variety of opponents.” He further noted that “more importantly, the boys are exposed to different cultures, life experiences and the classroom which, combined with their cricketing experience, should hold them in good stead for their future endeavors.” Pathak himself believes that “education combined with cricket empowers these youngsters to fulfill
their potential.” Since its inception, Cricket Beyond Boundaries has facilitated the visit of eighteen poor young talented Indian children to not only study but also enhance their cricketing potential at leading UK schools such as Durham school, Cheadle Hulme, Denstone College and King’s College Taunton. One such cricketer, Sarfaraz Khan, is now
Kom and Devi out of Olympic race
Sandor Tarics
Sandor Tarics, a water polo gold medallist for Hungary at the 1936 Berlin Games passed away at the remarkable age of 102. The oldest living Olympic champion, the news of his demise was reported by the Hungarian Olympic committee. An architect by profession, Tarics moved to the US in 1949 where he became a university professor and designed earthquake-resistant buildings. The Hungarians had won gold on goal difference over Germany in Berlin, in 1936. In an interview last year, Tarics said, "Sport is an area where people love each other. Sports competition leads only to good things among nations."
Sarita Devi and Mary Kom
Asian Games bronze medallist L Sarita Devi has run out of the race for the Rio Olympics and so has five time world champion Mary Kom's after both the boxers lost in second round bouts of the AIBAWomen's World Boxing Championships in Astana. Mary Kom (51 kg), lost 0-2 to Germany's Azize Nimani, while Sarita was beaten 0-3 by Victoria Torres in the second round of the 60kg division. However, there's a glimmer of hope for Kom as her destiny to qualify for the Olympics depends on others' performance. "Right now she (Mary) has not qualified. The only
possibility for her to qualify is if No. 1 (Ren Cancan) and No. 3 (Lin Yu-ting) from the Asia/Oceania Olympics tournament finish with a medal in Astana," said Nicolas Jomard, AIBA Senior Manager Corporate & Media Relations, AIBA. "I gave my best effort after a lot of sacrifices. Winning and losing is a part of game. The decision hurts me but it is not in my hand. I just have to respect the judges decision with true sportsmanship," Kom said. The Indian boxer put quite an aggressive show against Nimani who somehow managed to fight from a safe distance.
playing for the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and also the India U-19 team. A string of former and current India cricketers have been impressed with the impact of the scheme. Both Dilip Vengsarkar and R Ashwin already send young cricketers to the UK via CBB. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar have attended previous fundraisers for CBB.
ceding years and embrace a future of unbridled opportunity. This year he will be returning for a longer stint, alongside another orphan cricketer from the Chembur Childrens Home, both of whom are coached by Kukreja. Both were present at the event on
Kate Middleton with Sachin Tendulkar and Mr. Vengserkar during a charity program at Oval Maidan in Mumbai
cricketers coming to England. One of the youngsters, Rupesh Borade, who is an orphan from Chembur Children’s Home, already visited the UK last year where he both studied and trained at the Durham School. Rupesh witnessed the suicide of his parents (due to extreme poverty) at the tender age of six. This opportunity has allowed him to forget his dark pre-
Sunday, alongside Prithvi Shaw, another child prodigy who has benefitted from the scheme. There are two other cricketers coming to the UK this year from the Vengsarkar academy in Pune and from R Ashwin’s academy in Chennai. For more information about CBB, www.cricketbeyondboundaries.org.uk
HC refuses to involve in SushilNarsingh issue Delhi High Court has refused to involve itself in the controversy over wrestler Sushil Kumar being denied the chance to make the Indian wrestling team for the Rio Games. Justice Manmohan said the Wrestling Federation of India and Kumar must display "sportsman spirit" and directed the WFI to call Kumar, and hear his concerns. The bench said, "This person has done many things in the past. You (WFI) do not discredit him. You call him, talk to him and then decide. He should be a respected member of the federation. He has won medals. You explain everything to him and as a good sportsman, he will hear you. Keep his dignity and respect and try to sort it out." The observation came after Sushil's counsel pressed for a direction. The HC declined to issue interim orders saying, "We cannot do this at this stage. Indian cause has to be placed on a higher pedestal. WFI is point-
Sushil Kumar
ing out relevant facts. They are the people who are experts, they will have to take the decision. I will only interfere as a last resort." The issue arose after Kumar's dreams of competing at the Olympics was dampened with the Federation not keen on conducting a trial in the contentious men's 74kg category, saying it would set a wrong precedent and might "finish Indian wrestling". The WFI has instead, expressed interest in sending quota winner Narsingh Pancham Yadav. Taking a diplomatic stand, the bench said,
"Court can interfere as a last resort, that too if there is something malafide or perverse. I don't see any perversity in the selection of the gentleman who has won the berth. Without him competing on that day you wouldn't have a berth. You cannot deny the fact that one of them has given India a place in the Olympics." Asking WFI to grant a hearing to Sushil, Justice Manmohan told Sushil, who was present in court, that both he and Yadav are equally placed. "WFI are the experts. Let them decide first. Court can't interefere like this."